Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1879-07-10
CLAY AND BENTON.
An Old Time Quarrel in the senat,

fsays:-
The men who were in th
public service with the giants
Webster, Clay, Calhoun, Dou
Iglass and the other statesmen S,
we'll known to the elders of th,
lpresent generation, and of whom
SO little is known to the youn.
tger men of the day, have be.
come very few in number. A
mong those who were in Con
Igress with these leaders is Hon
L. Il. McClain of Greencastle
Mr.. Mccain was elected to the
lThirty-first Congress, without
Opposition, from his district il
Kentucky and served two years
when his failing health compell-
ed him to decline a rcnomina-
Etion. lie enjoyed a personal
acquaintance with Webster
Clay and the other great mel
of that body, and was a close
observer of them and the affairs
Of the time. He recently gave
me some interesting reminiscent
ces never before published. He
was an admirer of the oratory
of Webster, who, however, in
his intercourse with the mem
bers was very reclusivc, though
he tried hard to be social. When
he smiled it reminded one of a
ghastly grin.
He was much more respect
ful to his opponents than was
Calhoun, who would not toler-
ate any differing from his opin-
ions. Calhoun was unable to
be present at the opening of the
session on account of i'll health,
and it was evident that he had
not much longer to live. In
this connection there is an an
ecdote of Senator Benton that
has never been published. Ben
ton had met both Clay and
Webster in debate, and was
itching for a contest with
Calhoun. When the latter re-
turned to his seat he made a
bitter speech against Benton's
party, whose friends expected
him to reply. But Benton took
no notice Of the attack. Some
Of his friends, Mr.. McClain a
mong the number, asked for an
explanation. Drawing himself
up with all the dignity imagin-
able, he replied: "When the
Almighty lays His hand on a
man | take mine off,"
Benton was probably the
most egotistical man America
ever produced. He had a hab-
it of talking to himself, and as
he frequently passed TIE hotel
where Col. McClain, Col. Mar
shall of Kentucky, and other
members stayed, it became the
subject Of frequent remark. One
evening Col. Marshall accos-
ted him with the. interrogation:
''Senatcr Benton, why do you
talk to yourself so much?"
With great dignity Benton re-
piled: "Col. Marshall, | can tell
you very earnestly and very
truly why | talk to myself. /
love to talk to great man, and
/ love to hear a great man talk" )"
Benton also had a fight with
Henry Clay, on the floor, which
was carefully suppressed from
the newspapers. Clay had
made a direct attack on Benton,
TO which the latter undertook
to reply. AS a wit and humor-
ist he had not an equal in Con-
gress. Reading a long adver-
tisement of a curc-all from a
newspaper, he sarcastically
compared it with Clay's Omn;-
bus bill, then before the House,
saying that as Townsends was
the only mcritorious sarsaparil-
la, so al. the measures incorpo-
rated in the bill were objectiona-
ble until gathered up by MI.
Clay. lie kept the Senate in
roar for some time, much to the
cIlagrin Of Clay, who finally
him with:
"Whcn Mr.. Benton was can
vassing his district in Missouri,
he opposed the admission Of
California as a State"
Mr.. Benton replied: II want
to say to the distinguished
Senator that | gave the lie to-
that statement three months a.
go, but / now release the insti-
gator and hold the propagator
responsible for it. | pick it up
and ram it down the throat of
the Senator; let him swallow it.
if he can." "Clay replied: 81
take it and hurl it back IN the
face of the gentleman with all
the contempt with which it was
offered; and let him, for the rest
of his life, keep the slander in
the casket where he keeps the
other slander." This was said
with a gesture to the cravat, un-
derstood by all familiar with the
politics of that time, referring
10 a boyhood indiscretIoI to
Benton. 1t was only with diff