The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1885-10-21

Henry Clay" said he. ''was not oniy a
great statesman, but he was a great man. If
Webster was law-expounder, Clay was a
law-giver. He was man of action. He was
a creator, builder, a pioneer. He was more
like Chatham than any other American
statesman, and he was greater than Chat
ham. Had he been Prime Minister OF Eng
land in 1901 Austerlitz would have been
Waterloo, as lac would have made Marengo
LEIPZIG. He was the beau ideal of party
leader as much the superior OF Blaine as
PrOsPerO the superior OF Caliban. His
motto was Never strike flag 70 a fear.
Come into port greatly, or sail with God
the seas
KING OF MEN.
"He was grand man, king OF men. |
see him now Is he appeared in the Senate
His form was tall, slender and willowy; his
arms long and graceful. his head small. and
his flashing eye, dark blue, could gaze an
eagle blind His hands were long, slender
and almost transparent with the blue veins
prominent on the back. The chisel OF Praxi-
teles has preserved none such. But his voice.
In that was the magic OF the wizard. Its
fiute-like tones can not be described in words.
One must have heard il to imagine how the
harp of Orpheus aroused pity in the breast
OF Rhadamanthus, moved Pluto to surrender
q soul and gave TO hell itself moment of
iov. He dominated the Senate from the day
he entered the body. He lowered above
Hugh l. White and Thomas Ewing Blu
chanan and Choate. Crittenden and Man
gum. aS Saul among the Jews. He was
man of magnetism. His friends not only
loved him; they idOlized him. Greeley, the
Puritan; Lincoln, the Westerner; Wise. the
Cavalier; Stephens, the Southerner. and the
CreOles OF New Orleans were ready to follow
his fortunes wherever they might lead For
forty years, beginning with 1910, he was the
greatest parsonage on our continent. He was
the man who declared war against Great
Britain in 1912. He enacted the tariff of
1916. He compromised the Missouri matter
in 1921. He compromised the tariff trouble
in 1882. He created the United States
Bank after the model of Hamilton, it is
true but he enacted il. He saved the Union
in 1850, for if secession had prevailed then
the South would have attained indie
pendence. He had the spirit of Coriolanus
and the heart of Brutus. No man had so
many friends among the ladies. He was the
most cOurtly gentleman l ever saw. Proud,
naughty and imperious toward men, TO wo-
man he was Difference personitied, ''cour-
teous Antony
Whom nc'er the word OF no woman heard speak
BOUT WITH WEBSTER.
For years he was with the Wing party.
He nodded il to his will, and would brook
no rival in its councils. Illustrative of this
was his humiliation of Webster on one oC-
casiOn. During Tyler's administration,
party spirit was at fever heat. Daniel Stew
ensOn. father OF John W. Stevenson. of Ken
lucky, was speaker of the House of RepreSen-
tatives. He was Nirginlan and a lifelong
friend of the President. He was an accom-
plished man of great experience in public
affairs. He desired the English mission, and
the President was disposed to give it him,
but it was doubtful if he could be confirmed.
The Wings and a majority in the Senate,
and were exasperated on account of the bank
vetOes. Friends of the administration saw
Webster, who agreed to vote for confirmation
and influence others to do 50. Clay was not
consulted. The speaker resigned his seat in
the House. and the President nominated him
as Minister to the Court of St. James. When
the Senate acted on it in executive session.
Clay made a most bitter speech in OppO-
sition. He denounced the President and his
policy in unmeasured terms, and declared
that OF all the men OF whom the executive
had sought counsel Stevenson was the most
repulsive TO the Wings. While he was
speaking. Webster was slowly pacing the
lobby with his head bowed and his face ex-
pressive OF care aud anxiety. His word had
been passed. but he had not counted upon
such a trial. When, closing his
long and expressive finger pointing
threateningly at Webster: And now l want
to see the Wing who will vote to confirm
this nomination. The debate closed and
every Wing, Webster included voted against
confirmation. The great expounder exouis-
lite as was his intellect and powerful as was
his Oratory, quailed before the manhood
of hi rival There were but two men in this
country who would not have sUccumbed to
the dctation of that naughty leader. and
they were not Whigs-one was Andrew Jack
son. the other was John Randolph of Roam
oke. Stevenson was in despair for his heart
was set upon the place, and the President
was chagrined and panied because OF his
friends disappointment. Clay, whose heart
was as full OF generosity as il was OF pride,
saw that vexation was sapping the health of
Stevenson and became sorry for him; beside,
he only wished to discipline Webster, and
that he had done. Within q few weeks he
told friend of the President TO have the
name sent in again. 1t was done. Clay ab-
sented himself, and the nomination was con-
frmed Buchanan and Rufus ChOate Jared
no better in his hands. lie crushed them as
he crushed Webster.
DUEL WITH RANDOLPH.
''Clays duel with Randolph has been the
theme of a thousand pens not one in hun
dred OF which has related the facts just pre-
ceding il. Randolph was an aristOcrat a
genius scholar, and an orator. He knew
more OF our political history than any other
man of his day unless II was John Quincy
Adams, whom he hated in common with
everything connected with the Puritans He
was TO American politics what Swift was to
the politics of England in the days of Queen
Ann or Noltaire TO the literature OF the
Eighteenth century. His spirit was as
naughty rs his body was frail, and his intel
lect as penetrating as his sarcasm was blight
ing. His tongue
'Out-yenOmed all the worms OF Nile.
'Randolph deliberately insulted Clay by
an illusion in one of his speeches 10 Field
ing's Tom Jones' comparing Clay and
Adams to Black George and Blifil, and sup
plementing it with an invective against Clay
such as has no parallel in our language. 1t
was as elegant in the construction of its SEN
fences as it was severe in the characterize
ton of its subject. A challenge was the re-
suit, and Randolph was as much determined
TO Kill Clay "a he was to feed his hounds the
following morning. He was the best shot of
his day, and could cut tape string at twenty
PAGES. Old Tom Benton hated Clay almost
as cordially as he hated paper money, but
he knew that If Clay fell i'm duel the DEM
ocrat party would be held responsible for it.
| He took il upon himself to save Clay's life,
! not that lac wished him to survive, but that
his party might be successful at the next
election lie called on Randolph the even
! inc before tho dupl and asked him 10 snare