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CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 The Gift of 
 
 NEWTON C. FARR 
 
 Class of 1909 
 
^ TAT. 50 
 
THE LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 Cassius Marcellus Clay 
 
 MEMOIRS, 
 WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES, 
 
 SHOWING 
 
 HIS CONDUCT IN THE OVERTHROW OF AMERICAN SLAVERY, 
 
 THE SALVATION OF THE UNION, AND THE 
 
 RESTORA TION OF THE A UTONOMY 
 
 OF THE STATES. 
 
 "Quorum — pars fui." 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES, WRITTEN AND COMPILED BY HIMSELF, AND 
 ILLUSTRATED WITH ENGRAVINGS ON STEEL. 
 
 VOLUME 
 
 CINCINNATI, OHIO: 
 J. FLETCHER BRENNAN & CO. 
 
 SOLD BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY. 
 1886. 
 
COPYRIGHT BY 
 
 CASSIUS MARCELLUS CU1.Y, 
 
 1886. 
 
 ELECTROTYPED AT THE 
 
 FRANKLIN TYPE FOUNDRY, 
 
 CINCINNATI, O. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Among the millions of books which fill the world, as the dust 
 of summer, or the leaves of autumn, how few are Autobiographies ! 
 And, of those few, how many are fragmentary — illuminating a few 
 promontories only; whilst the vast continent of life remains dark! 
 
 The acts of the drama of a life may be few, but the scenes — 
 the thoughts — are infinite. It seems to be a law of nature that 
 the memory of evil is lasting; whilst the joys of life are soon for- 
 gotten. How shall we solve this hard problem — the Spanish apo- 
 thegm — "There is a skeleton in every house?" 
 
 In Hamlet's soliloquies the partial enumeration of the ills of Life 
 seem sufficient to make Death tolerable, if not desirable; but all its 
 ills are not there set forth. Often have I heard men and women 
 say, they would not live life over again. And so published rem- 
 iniscences and memoirs are few; because they occasion a faint 
 repetition of life. 
 
 Of these ills, not mentioned by Shakespeare, the greatest is 
 Calumny, which, unlike those others, follows us even beyond the 
 gates of death. It is often said, "a lie will not live forever;' 
 that " truth is omnipotent, and public justice certain. " These dicta 
 may be very encouraging to youth ; but to me, who have lived 
 long, and seen much of life, they are very unsafe maxims. For 
 it may just as well be said that, "a lie will travel miles, whilst 
 truth is putting on his boots." 
 
 Ill 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 The Gracci were, no doubt, patriots. The ruin of Rome came 
 of not following their advice ; yet the voice of mankind has branded 
 them as villains. Henry Clay was hounded to his death with the 
 cry of "bargain and sale," because he took the best man and the 
 best cause in charge, as was his right and patriotic duty. Now, 
 no man conceals the avowal that combinations of personal ambi- 
 tions for noble purposes are not only virtuous but wise. The mis- 
 fortune of the Gracci, and of Clay, and others, including myself, 
 is, that those who attack great interests, or thwart the ends of 
 great parties, incur immortal hatreds. 
 
 Those who follow principles can not always remain in the same 
 party. As the enemy of Slavery, the Democrats hate me; and, as 
 the vindicator of Southern autonomy of the States, the Republicans 
 (in the language of one writing of Seward's hostility,) held toward 
 me "unflinching enmity." Of course, there are great-souled and 
 just men in all parties. But the union of all personal ambitions, 
 and all honors and emoluments, in parties, creates that esprit du 
 corps which is stronger than all other human ties, and over-rides 
 all moral and religious duties. 
 
 Every man should be estimated, not by his personal success — 
 the emoluments and honors of office — but by the triumph of those 
 principles which add to human happiness. In the history of the 
 world, the latter only are remembered with gratitude. The over- 
 throw of Slavery in this Nation, in the judgment of many, was a 
 more important event than even American Independence. We 
 came out from monarchy by great sacrifice of blood and treasure; 
 but, in the course of human events, we may wisely return to it 
 again. But Slavery, at great sacrifice, is abolished; and, whether 
 we remain one nation, or many — whether Republic or Empire — 
 is gone forever ! Can any one estimate the sum of happiness which 
 has been secured to the human race by its death? 
 
 So the restoration of the autonomy of the States was but 
 another form of the great struggle for the Government of the 
 People, as against the Divine Right of Kings. These States, 
 ruled by a central power at Washington, by means of patronage 
 
PREFACE. V 
 
 and military influence, still bearing the name of Republic, would 
 be in fact a corrupt and tyrannical despotism, without the whole- 
 some checks upon tyranny which come from the hereditary de- 
 scent of the rulers. 
 
 In the light of these, great events, I desire to stand before the 
 reader, and receive such consideration among men as my share 
 in their triumph shall merit. The episodes and incidents, and 
 even the actors in this grand drama, are but the filling in of the 
 stage scenery; and, in comparison with the great principles deter- 
 mined, are nothing but "leather and prunella." 
 
 C. M. C. 
 White Hall, Madison Co., Ky., 1885. 
 
LINES TO C. M. C. 
 
 BY MRS. E. J. EAMES. 
 
 Brave heart, and truly noble! that didst single 
 
 From all Earth's lofty aims the loftiest one, 
 Pursuing it by means which might not mingle 
 
 With views less generous — nobly hast thou done! 
 And dared and striven — through every obstacle ; 
 And steadfastly resisting, through each ill, 
 
 The Wrong and False. Sure, thou hast read and pondered 
 With highest wisdom on those words divine — 
 
 " Love one another ; " therefore ne'er hath wandered 
 The star that led thy spirit to the shrine 
 
 Of holiest truth! Still may the angels have 
 Their charge o'er thee. Still (with the hope sublime 
 
 To serve thy race) mayest thou all danger brave, 
 And win thy way, now, and through future time! 
 
 For Truth — Truth pure and indestructible — 
 Is the strong ark wherein thy safety lies. 
 Even 'midst the slanders of fierce enemies 
 
 Shalt thou be armed with hero-courage still 
 T' oppose the Wrong, and pray God speed the Right. 
 Now steadily upon the wondrous light 
 
 Of Freedom, in the Future, fix thy glance; 
 Then, animated by the grandest dream — 
 
 The noblest earthly hope — still to advance 
 (With fearless will) the Cause that must redeem 
 
 The promise written on the Nation's scroll — 
 
 The pledge that in the Country of the Free 
 Men shall have Equal Rights! Courage, O ardent soul! 
 Press onward — onward still! and thou shalt reach the goal! 
 
 LINES TO C. M. CLAY. 
 
 BY JOHN H. BRYANT, (BROTHER OF WM. CULLEN BRYANT.) 
 
 Bold champion of the poor! a thorny road 
 
 Before th«e lies; for thou hast bared thy breast. 
 And nerved thine arm, to lift the heavy load, 
 
 And break the chains from limbs too long oppressed. 
 Tyrants' and Custom's dupes may strive in vain ; 
 
 Truth wields a weapon mightier far than they. 
 Huge bars and gates of brass are rent in twain, 
 
 Touched by the magic of her peaceful sway. 
 Hold then thy course, nor bate a jot of hope. 
 
 Lo! the day dawns along our eastern shore; 
 
 Soon shall the night of prejudice be o'er, 
 And a bright morning give thee freer scope 
 
 To rouse thy countrymen to deeds of good ; 
 
 And just and peaceful laws shall save the land from blood. 
 Princeton, Nov. 7, 1845. 
 
 VI 
 
CONTENTS OF VOLUME I. 
 
 . CHAPTER I. 
 
 ""' PAGE 
 
 Early Years. — The Clay Family. — My Home. — First Fight. — My Mother. 
 Fight against Odds. — Boyhood. — School-mates. — My Father. — Youth. 
 Educational Career Slavery. — Mary. — Sidney Payne Clay. — Hen- 
 dricks' Boy Joe. — The Iron Collar. — Fight with George. — Education 
 continued. — Journey to Cincinnati. — Adventure with Birdseye. 
 "Never tell any one your Business." — Education continued. — St. 
 Joseph's College, Bardstown. — Fight at St. Joseph's. — Fellow- 
 students, 17 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 My Father, Green Clay. — His Character. — His Apothegms. — His Military 
 Career. — His Letter to Capt. M. Harrison. — His treatment of his 
 Challenger. — His fondness for the Peaceful, Innocent, and Good. 
 His Death. — Why he came to Kentucky. — Transylvania University. 
 Its President and Professors. — Fellow-students. — I visit Washington 
 City and Baltimore. — President Andrew Jackson. — Estimate of his 
 Character. — John C. Calhoun. — Martin Van Buren. — Journey North. 
 John Quincy Adams. — George Ticknor. — Daniel Webster. — Prompt to 
 keep Appointments ■ • 37 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Yale College. — Its President and Professors. — William Lloyd Garrison. 
 His logical discourse converts me. — 1 deliver the Washington Cen- 
 
 • tennial Oration of 1832. — Am Baptized. — Christianity, reflections 
 concerning. — Class-mates. — Joseph Longworth. — His father, Nicho- 
 las Longworth. — American Grapes and Wines. — Allan Taylor Ca- 
 perton. — The Lost Love. — Lines Poetic. — "Girls and Boys go a 
 Hickory-nut-hunting." — A Portrait. — Engaged, .... 54 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Womans' Rights. — Death of Dr. J. P. Declarey. — Political Life. — Elected 
 
 TO the Kentucky House of Representatives. — Robert Wickliffe. — I 
 
 speak at Stanford, Lincoln County. — Fight with James C. Sprigg. 
 
 ] The Canvass of 1841. — Duel with Wickliffe. — Fight with S. M. 
 
 • Brown, at Russell's Cave 69 
 
 VII 
 
VIII CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 PACK 
 
 Tried for Mayhem. — Voluntarily defended by Henry Clay and John 
 Speed Smith. — Brown's evidence proves a conspiracy to kill me. — 
 Sketch of Henry Clay. — A few sentences from his Address to the 
 Jury. — Declared not Guilty. — Death of Brown. — The State of 
 Parties. — Henry Clay and the Presidential contest of 1844. — Daniel 
 Webster and Henry Clay. — The Canvass in Boston. — In New York. — 
 ' Result adverse to H. Clay. — He u.njustly denounces the Abolition- 
 ists. — My Reply, 86 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 "The True American." — Why it was begun. — Employment of an Editor. 
 He is frightened into desertion. — The Office armed to repel ex- 
 pected Assault. — The Committee of Sixty. — Co-Laborers. — James B. 
 Clay. — Letter from my Mother. — Letter from Committee ok Cincin- 
 nati Citizens, and my Reply. — Removal of Office of "True Amer- 
 ican" to Cincinnati. — Episode from Secret History of the Southern 
 Confederacy — Time 1864 105 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Mexican War. — James S. Jackson. — Col. H. Marshall. — Buffalo 
 Hunting. — Comanche Hunting Camps. — Tigers. — Rough Surgery. — 
 Morning Light. — A Snake Story. — The First Shot. — A Mule's Sa- 
 gacity. — Lost for Days on our Return Trip. — K's Despondency. — A 
 Night with Robbers. — My School-mate Desperado. — After Tragedy 
 a Comedy. — Arrival at last at Lavaca, 117 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 General Wool invites me to join his command. — Wild Horse and Turkey- 
 hunting. — John U. Waring. — -Thomas F. Marshall. — James S. Jackson. 
 The march to Monterey, 1845. — Gen. Z. Taylor. — Gen. W. O. Butler. 
 Gallagher's experience. — The Mexican hacienda. — Dr. Solon Bor- 
 land. — Surrounded by 3,000 Mexican Cavalry, our force of. 75 sur- 
 renders. — MiER. — Salao. — Escape of Henry. — Threatened with mur- 
 der. — I PROTEST, and the MEXICAN COMMANDER RELENTS. — RECOGNIZED 
 
 BY AN Englishman, when nearly starved, and we are fed. — Mobbed 
 
 AT QuERATERO, we ESCAPE INTO A CHURCH, . . . . I35 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The City of Mexico. — A friend in need. — Dr. Solon Borland's enmity. 
 The Water-Cure cures me. — Approach of General Scott. — Removed 
 to Toluca, Capital of the State of Mexico. — Journey thither. — 
 Characteristics of its People noticed by Humboldt and Pritchard. 
 LoLU. — Indian gravity over-rated. — Liberation and Return to City 
 OF Mexico. — Exchanged, and leave for Home. — Reception in Lex- 
 ington. — Earthquakes, 152 
 
CONTENTS. IX 
 
 CHAPTER. X. 
 
 """ CAGE 
 
 The Political Situation. — Nomination and Election of General Z. 
 Taylor President of the United States. — Defense of Henry Clay. 
 Results of his Defeat. — The Dissolution of Parties in 1848. — "The 
 True American" becomes "The Examiner." — Emancipation Conven- 
 tion IN Frankfort. — Freedom of Speech. — A Memorable Day. — My 
 conduct in Mexico endorsed by "The Salt River Tigers." — The 
 New Constitution. — Death of Cyrus Turner Kentucky Constitu- 
 tion passed in 1850. — Five Letters to Hon. Daniel "Webster, . . 168 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 "Liberty of Speech" vindicated. — I separate from the Whigs. — Anti- 
 Slavery Women: Haraiet Beecher Stowe; Evelyn Woodson; Lucre- 
 tia Mott. — The prejudice of Color. — Letter from the Ladies of 
 the Ashtabula County (Ohio) Anti-Slavery Society. — Overthrow of 
 the Whig Party. — Canvass for Governor of Kentucky in 1851. — 
 Berea College. — John J. Crittenden. — John C. Breckinridge and 
 Robert P. Letcher. — I save the Life of William Willis. — W. C. P. 
 Breckinridge, . . 206 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 Joel T. Hart. — His letters to me from Florence, Italy. — My speech 
 AT A Banquet given him at Lexington, Ky. — Hart's "Triumph of 
 Woman." — His death. — The Presidential Canvass of 1852. — The 
 Johnsons. — The Free-Soil Party of 1856. — How I first met Abra- 
 ham Lincoln. — Our further acquaintance. — My Correspondence 
 with Rev. James S. Davis, of Cabin Creek, Ky. — Letter to "Rich- 
 mond Messenger." — I speak at Chicago, ...... 222 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Origin of the Republican Party. — The Revolutionary Committee of my 
 County. — My Letter to the Citizens of Madison County. — Turmoil in 
 Kentucky. — Remarks of the St. Louis "Democrat." — Another Tri- 
 umph FOR Free Speech. — Letter to the Louisville "Journal." — 
 
 "Testimonial to Mrs. C. M. Clay. — Interview with Wm. H. Seward. 
 Resolutions of the Young Men's Republican Union of New York. — 
 
 ' President Lincoln's first Cabinet. — Promised the Secretary of War 
 Portfolio, I am offered the Mission to Spain. — I refuse, but accept 
 
 .the Mission to Russia, 239 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 The Clay Battalion. — Defense of Washington City. — The C. M. Clay 
 Guards, 1861. — General James H. Lane. — Testimonials. — Hon. Charles 
 Sumner urges my acceptance of the Commission of Major-General. 
 
 I DECLINE, AND PROCEED ON MY MISSION TO RUSSIA. — AV. R. HeNLEY. 
 
 Scraps of History. — Issue of Veracity between B. F. Wade and 
 MYSELF. — Telegram from the Blairs. — Continued Assaults by the 
 Seward faction. — Extracts from the Newspapers — New York 
 "Evening Post," "World," and Erie (Pa.) "Gazette," indorsing 
 ME for Secretary of War, 259 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Leaving Washington ; An Adventure. — At Sea. — Charles Francis Adams. 
 British Parliament. — Lord Brougham. — Lord PalnIerston. — Mrs. 
 Stowe at Stafford House. — My "'Times' Letter." — J. Lathrop 
 Motley. — Letter of John Bright. — Public Breakfast given me in 
 Paris. — Reception by the Czar. — The Russian Court. — L. Q. C. La- 
 mar. — Diplomacy as a Profession. — Her Imperial Majesty, the Em- 
 press. — Note from the Princess Radziwill 283 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Recalled and Commissioned Major-General of Volunteers. — Simon Cam- 
 eron and Bayard Taylor succeed me. — Return to Washington City. 
 Overthrow of the Slave-Power foreshadowed. — President Lincoln's 
 Letters. — Salmon P. Chase. — My Washington Speech. — Interview 
 with General Halleck. — The President sends me to Kentucky. — The 
 Battle of Richmond, Ky. — Prof. Blinn's Eulogy. — Halleck's Special 
 Order set aside by the President. — I resign my Major-general's 
 Commission, 299 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Policy of Reconstruction denounced. — Letter to Geo. D. Prentice to 
 
 THAT EFFECT. INTERVIEW WITH STANTON. LETTER FROM W. W. SEA- 
 
 TON. — Letter from Stanton. — I meet James A. Garfield. — Letters 
 FROM S. P. Chase. — Henry Bergh as my Secretary of Legation. — I 
 speak, on invitation, at Albany, New York. — My Speech, refused 
 
 publication in the leading newspapers, I PUBLISH AS A PAMPHLET. 
 I RETURN TO RUSSIA. — LETTER FROM BaYARD TaYLOR. — BiSMARCK. — THE 
 
 DuKE OF Montebello. — LoRD Napier. — Nihilism. — Alexander II.— T. 
 Morris Chester. — Received a guest at Gatchina Palace. — Mv esti- 
 .mate OF THE Emperor, Alexander II. — His Portrait. — Letters from 
 Prince Gortchacow 317 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 High Life in Russia. — Infant Asylums and the Ballet. — Actors and 
 Singers. — Lucca, Patti, and Ristori. — Fanny Kemble; her letter. — 
 Letter of the Baroness Louise Jomini. — How I escaped from " De- 
 vouring Dogs."— The Military. — Invited, I visit the Princess Dal- 
 GOROUKi. — Associations. — The Clubs. — The City of St. Petersburg. 
 Marriage of Alexander III. — The Crown Prince of Prussia. — Great 
 Britain's Prince of Wales. — Prince George of Denmark, now King 
 OF Greece. — The Grand Duchess Olga. — The White Hall, its Con- 
 servatory. — The Hermitage great Gallery of Paintings, . . . 341 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Russia. — Popular Pastimes. — Ice Mountains. — Pretty poor French for 
 business purposes. — The Perkins-Claim Swindle. — Seward telegraphs 
 me to press it. — Prince Gortchacow's Decision. — M. de Catacazv's 
 letter to Chief Justice Chase. — Catacazy's Defense. — Seward re- 
 quests ME to resign. —^ I do so CONDITIONALLY. — THE SENATE REFUSES 
 
CONTENTS. XI 
 
 PAGE 
 TO APPOINT MY SUCCESSOR. — FiNAL DEFEAT OF SeWARD. — PeRKINS-ClAIM 
 
 Swindle revived by Bancroft Davis, under auspices of the Immortal 
 Fish. — Captain G. B. Fox and his Mission. — John Van Buren. — 
 Prince Gortchacow entertains the Diplomatic Corps. — Admiral 
 Farragut. — Count Bergh and Prince Suwarrow. — Count Mouravieff 
 Amousky. — Public Dinner given me at Moscow. — I make a Tariff 
 speech. — City of Moscow. — William L. Winans. — The Orloff breed 
 OF Horses 361 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Russian Habits. — Religion and Humanity. — "Russian Cruelties." — The 
 Grand Dukes Constantine and Nicholas. — A scene at the private 
 theater of the Princess D'Italie-Suwarrow. — Comparative Courage. 
 Gen. U. S. Grant. — Letter of Gen. Edward M. McCook. — Gen. John 
 A. Rawlins. — How I lost the favor of Her Majesty the Empress. 
 Prince Alexander Dolgorouki enlightens me. — Her Imperial Maj- 
 esty's Portrait, 41S 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Madame Grimski Corsikoff. — Prince Gortchacow, with Portrait. — My 
 estimate of his fine character. — His letter to me on the fall of 
 Richmond. — The new Union of the States. — Austria's reason for 
 disliking the success of the Federal arms. — Her position among 
 THE Powers. — Reflections on the eventual condition of Europe. 
 Destiny of England. — German Beer-Gardens. — Souvenirs. — Photo- 
 graphs, 438 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Governor Curtin, of Pennsylvania, is appointed to relieve me. — I re- 
 turn Home. — "An American Diplomate." — Effect of my Cuban 
 Speech. — The Immortal Fish. — Catacazy and the Perkins' Claim 
 Swindle. — General Grant and the Battle of Shiloh. — Bazil Duke's 
 Statement. — The Autonomy of the Southern States. — Mv Speech 
 '' IN New York City silenced by Custom-House Claquers. — I pay the 
 "Tribune" for publishing it correctly. — Charles A. Dana. — How 
 THE South was made "Solid," ... 451 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Hamilton Fish, W. H. Seward's successor, reproduces the latter's False- 
 hoods and Calumnies against me. — On sight of same i publish my re- 
 sponse, with letters from Russian Notabilities and Dignitaries trium- 
 phantly vindicating me. — The Grand Duke Alexis of Russia extends 
 to me distinguished honor, at St. Louis. — H. Fish & Co. fail as 
 conclusively as W. H. Seward & Co. in securing my condemnation, 463 
 
XII CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 George W. Julian of Indiana.— Men of Mason County, Kentucky, ap- 
 prove, IN 1845, THE suppression OF THE "TRUE AMERICAN." — LATER MEN 
 
 OF Mason County "Resolve" again. — In 1848 I propose the Frank- 
 fort Convention. — Great progress made by 1849, as SHOVifN by fur- 
 ther "Resolves" of Men of Mason County. — I speak in Maysville; 
 aftervjtard in Brookville. — Am met by Wm. C. Marshall. — His tactics 
 
 BEING defeated, AS A POLITICIAN HE IS RUINED. — PROPOSING TO FORM A 
 
 National Party, I invite G. W. Julian to assist me.— Marshall's 
 
 LATER tactics OVERCOME US, AND WE RETIRE. HOW HIS PARTY SUPPORTS 
 
 Mr. Julian, 479 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 The Greeley Movement inaugurated. — Invited to speak in St. Louis, I 
 PROPOSE Horace Greeley for the Presidency. — Gen. Beauregard. — 
 The 1872 Liberal Republican Convention in Cincinnati.— Stanley 
 Matthews and Carl Schurz. — Nomination of Horace Greeley and 
 B. Gratz Brown. — Henry Watterson. — Imperialism. — Canvass of 
 1872 and 1876. — I VISIT Mississippi. — How I found matters political 
 there. — Threatened fight near Friar's Point. — Mississippi ejects the 
 , Carpet-B aggers ... 501 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 Election of R. B. Hayes decided by the Eight to Seven vote of the Jus- 
 tices of the U. S. Supreme Court. — He ratifies the Autonomy of the 
 States by the withdrawal of U. S. Troops from the South. — Why I 
 have had to write these Memoirs myself. — Letter prom Hon. James 
 G. Blaine. — Letter from Henry A. Homes, of Albany, N. Y. — Let- 
 ter of Gen. John W. Gordon. — Democratic Appreciation. — Reform 
 and Despotism. — I address the Kentucky Historical Society at 
 Frankfort. — My Speech on the Currency, . . • 5'7 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 Democratic Nihilism. — Assassination of Adam Butner. — A fraudulent 
 Election. — Assassination of Thomas Peyton by Blacks evidently 
 employed by "Ku-Klux." — But one Witness to a Tragedy. — A false 
 Friend robs me of $10,000. — I am sold out, but eventually triumph 
 over my enemies. — Mrs. Clay leaves me in Russia. — My eldest son. 
 Green Clay, as a Union Soldier. — He is dispossessed of his home by 
 his Mother. — I announce to him my intention to apply for a Di- 
 vorce. — Shocked, he tries to dissuade me. — I give him my reasons, 
 cogent and ample. — There being no legal opposition, the Divorce 
 IS granted. — Letters from sons, and daughter Mary. — Life and 
 Death of a Christian. — Letter from my daughter-in-law, Cornelia 
 W. Clay. — A disagreeable subject sufficiently explained, . . . 531 
 
CONTENTS. XIII 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 FACE 
 
 Literature, Ancient and MoDf:RN. — Opinion of the works of Shakspeare. 
 Homer's "Iliad" and "Odyssey." — Modern History and Fiction. — 
 Newspaper Literature. — Solitary and lonely in like, I send for 
 
 AND ADOPT A SoN. — LaUNEY ClAY. — MY TREATMENT BY SUCCESSFUL RE- 
 PUBLICAN PLACE-MEN. — C. M. Clay and Elizabeth de Sozia Wood. — I 
 
 AM PLUNDERED ALIKE BY WHITES AND BLACKS. — MY BLACK ATTENDANTS 
 STARVE, AND ATTEMPT THE MURDER OF MY ADOPTED SON, 550 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 I STAND ON THE ETERNAL LAWS OF SELF-DEFENSE. — ARMING MYSELF, I START 
 ON A HUNT FOR NEW SERVANTS. — DEATH OF PeRRY WhITE. — BeREA. — 
 
 John Gregg Fee. — The Higher Law Controversy. — "Expediency." 
 My Estimate of John G. Fee. — The Equality of the Races. — Let- 
 ters FROM John G. Fee. — Letter from W. C. Bryant. — From Hannibal 
 Hamlin. — Edmund Quincy. — John A. Andrew. — Archibald Alison. — 
 Edward Everett. — Thomas W. Evans. — S. C. Pomeroy. — Wendell 
 Phillips. — Joshua R. Geddings. — Caleb B. Smith. — Horace Greeley. 
 Wm. H. Seward. — T. Buchanan Read. — George Bancroft. — Eugene 
 Schuyler. — Gerrit Smith. — E. B. Washburne.— James S. Rollins. — 
 Charles A. Dana. — T. F. Bayard. — A. G. Thurman. .— My Eulogy 
 on Wendell Phillips. — Race and the "Solid South." — Reflections 
 on Social Equality, and destiny of the Black Race. — End of Vol. I., 566 
 
 LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 VOLUME I. 
 
 Portrait of Cassius M. Clay, . . . , . . . to face title page. 
 
 View of White Hall, Homestead of the Author, . . . . " " page 18 
 
 Portrait of Gen. Green Clay, " " " 44 
 
 Portrait of Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, 
 
 1861-1865, . ..<<.. 204 
 
 Full-length portrait of His Majesty Alexander II., late Emperor 
 
 of Russia, i< 1. << 2^5 
 
 Full-length portrait of Her Majesty Marie, Empress of Alexan- 
 der II. of Russia .<!<<< ^^6 
 
 Portrait of Prince Alexander Gortchacow, late Chancellor of 
 
 Russia, «. i< ■< 4^2 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY 
 
 15 
 
MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 OF 
 
 CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Early Years. — The Clay Family. — My Home. — First Fight. — My Mother. — 
 Fight against Odds. — Boyhood. — School-mates. — My Father. — Youth. — 
 Educational Career. — Slavery. — Mary. — Sidney Payne Clay. — Hen- 
 dricks' Boy Joe. — The Iron Collar. — Fight with George. — Education 
 continued. — Journey to Cincinnati. — Adventure with Birdseye. — 
 "Never tell any one your Business." — Education continued. — St. 
 Joseph's College, Bardstown. — Fight at St. Joseph's.' — Fellow-students. 
 
 I WAS born in Madison County, Kentucky, United States 
 of America, October 19, 1810, on the uplands of Tate's 
 and Jack's creeks, near the Kentucky River. My mother, 
 Sally Lewis Clay, was the daughter of Eliza and Thomas 
 Lewis, descended from Scotch and English ancestors — 
 Douglas being a family name to this day. My grand- 
 parents had a large family of sons and daughters, of fine 
 minds and physique. One of my aunts married James 
 Garrard, Governor of Kentucky, and another John T. 
 Johnson, long time member of Congress, and the nephew 
 of Richard M. Johnson, Vice-President of the United 
 States. My great-grandfather, Edward Payne, was a 
 contemporary of George Washington, and is honorably 
 named by Mr. Weems, in his life of the Father of his 
 Country. My grand-parents were born in Virginia; and 
 lived at the large spring, about four miles north-west from 
 Lexington, Kentucky, till their death. My father. Green 
 Clay, was born in Powhattan County, Virginia, August 14, 
 1757, and died October 31, 1826. 
 
 Vol. I. — 2 17 
 
1 8 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 My uncle, Ezekiel Clay, was an Episcopalian clergy- 
 man; and uncle Matthew Clay was the contemporary of 
 Thomas Jefferson, often a member of Congress, and his 
 friend. Matthew was a man of fine person, and quite 
 noted for his prowess, in the old times, when the old- 
 fashioned knock-down was deemed more honorable than 
 the pistol and Bowie-knife. One of his daughters was 
 distinguished for her beauty, and perished in the burned 
 theatre of Richmond, Virginia, which at the time created 
 a national sensation. 
 
 My grandfather was named Charles, his father Henry, 
 and his father again Charles, who, with his two brothers, 
 Henry and Thomas, came to America in "the times of 
 Queen Elizabeth, with Sir Walter Raleigh, and remained 
 here, each having received ;i^io,ooo from their father, Sir 
 John Clay, of Wales." So says Porter Clay, the half- 
 brother of Henry Clay, in 1848. But I believe I have the 
 only reliable record of the Clay family extant. It is written 
 on blank leaves in the "Works of Samuel Johnson, Lon- 
 don, 1 713." The oldest ancestor recorded is Charles 
 Clay — no birth-date given.* 
 
 *"THE CLAY FAMILY." 
 
 An old letter, written in 1848, by the Rev. Porter Clay — then 
 preaching at Alton, Illinois — gives the following facts in regard to 
 the origin of the Clay family : 
 
 LETTER IN SAMUEL JOHNSON'S BOOK. 
 
 "Your wishes to know something about the history of our family could not be 
 
 gratified in the limits of a letter. The following concise account must suffice. In 
 
 the reign of Queen Elizabeth, .... Sir Walter Raleigh brought over to 
 
 the Virginia plantations, among others, three brothers, sons of Sir John Clay, of 
 
 Wales, England. He gave them ;£'io,ooo each They were named 
 
 Charles, Thomas, and Henry. They settled on James River, near Jamestown. 
 Charles and Thomas had large families. Henry had none; but the name has been 
 handed down with great tenacity in both families ever since. Cassius M. Clay 
 . . . . is a descendant of Charles Clay; Henry and myself from Thomas Clay." 
 
 Porter and Henry Clay were the sons of John Clay, no doubt 
 named after the first John known of our family. I believe our 
 families unite in my great-grandfather, Henry Clay, son of Charles, 
 son of John, of Wales. 
 
 My "Speeches and Writings," edited by Horace Greeley, and 
 
-^ i 
 
 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 1 9 
 
 My next ancestor, Henry Clay, oldest son of Charles 
 and Mary Mitchell, was born in 1672. The other de- 
 scending line is all regular, down to my own birth. It is 
 evident that the Rev. Porter Clay speaks from tradition. 
 At what time Henry Clay, the orator and statesman, enters 
 this family-tree is not known. His father was John Clay, 
 and that is all I know about it. He always called me 
 "Cousin Cash." Porter Clay says I descended from 
 Charles, of the three brothers. My family were remark- 
 ably long-lived — Henry dying in his eighty-ninth year, 
 and my mother in her ninetieth year, I take but little 
 interest in these antecedents; but I can not but be a little 
 proud that I, through my mother and my Douglas blood, 
 can claim to be of the same race as that Gordon who is 
 now the noblest figure in our times. 
 
 I write in the house in which I was born. It is a well- 
 burned brick structure, with heavy range work of Ken- 
 tucky marble and grey limestone, and of the Grecian style, 
 having three porticos of imperfect Corinthian and Doric 
 columns. It was added to after 1861; but the old build- 
 ing, after the English manner, was preserved almost in- 
 tact. Even at that day, though there were many home- 
 steads, the original forests in near proximity to the man- 
 sion were almost unbroken by the axe. The tulip, walnut, 
 ash, Kentucky coffee-bean, beech, and other magnificent 
 trees, rose at places to sixty feet without a limb, with 
 native vines carried up with their growth perhaps centu- 
 ries old. The surface, ever undulating, was clothed in 
 the ravines with the native cane, twelve feet or more 
 high, as seemingly impenetrable as an East India jungle. 
 But most of the surface under the trees was bare, and 
 brown with fallen leaves the year round, covered with 
 exquisite wild flowers in summer, and steady light snows 
 in winter. The plum, the black haw, the May-apple, the 
 
 published by Harper Brothers, New York, 1848, has grave errors — 
 as the manuscript proof was never revised by me — which are here 
 corrected. C. 1885. 
 
20 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 paw-paw, the persimmon, the hickory, the walnut, hack- 
 berries, and wild grapes were found in profusion. The 
 rivulets, in almost every ravine, were ever fresh and per- 
 ennial from the vast reservoir of the forest humus; and 
 fish were found in the very springs, as they bubbled up 
 in never-ceasing music; whilst birds of every color and 
 song, the chattering squirrel, and the scream of the hawk, 
 made all nature harmonious in its full development. 
 
 Our family is the first of the human race, so far as 
 we know, that ever claimed fee simple in this soil, as my 
 father was the first white man that ever, by pre-occupation 
 and culture, and civic title, claimed ownership ; the natives 
 never having assumed proprietary rights in the "Dark 
 and Bloody Ground," which was the common hunting place 
 of all the tribes of the now surrounding States. 
 
 It is curious how far back the memory will reach; and 
 I remember, as yesterday, the brilliant buttons and plumes 
 of the Kentucky Volunteers whom my father led, as com- 
 mander-in-chief, to the relief of Fort Meigs, in Ohio, in 
 1 8 13, then besieged by the British under Proctor, and the 
 Indians under Tecumseh. General William Henry Har- 
 rison was the Federal commander of all the regular 
 forces and the volunteer militia. 
 
 As my physical courage and training greatly aided the 
 higher moral courage which my political life demanded, I 
 have concluded to give an account of all my personal en- 
 counters from boyhood. I am a believer in bloods, not in 
 the sense of aristocratic or plebeian bloods, but in natural 
 organization: so moral or physical traits are aggregated in 
 families. The first hewn log-house in the county was built 
 by my father; and, when the family moved into the brick 
 mansion, which was also the first of that class, the over- 
 seer, Covington, dwelt in the old house in the border of 
 the yard. 
 
 It was with Covington's son that I had the first fight. 
 I don't remember the cause of the quarrel, but I mastered 
 him, and gave him a terribly-scratched face. His mother 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 21 
 
 complained to mine, and, when I came to the house, she, 
 following Solomon's advice, had ready a peach-tree "rod," 
 and I bear testimony that she did not "spare" it. 
 
 At another time, 'tis said, I told a "story" — as the lie 
 is thus often charitably clothed in velvet vestments. She 
 ordered me sternly to come to her; but, as I had once 
 tested her mettle, I was more inclined to take, as Gobbo, 
 "to my heels," and I ran. She was not a woman to be 
 trifled with; and was not one of those sentimental creat- 
 ures who sit all day with a recalcitrant, "toddling thing," 
 lecturing it upon the reasons why it should obey the 
 mother, and not the mother obey the child. So she made 
 chase; and all the house-servants, and all the kitchen- 
 servants joined in the pursuit. Finding that I would be 
 overtaken, I concluded to fight. There was a pile of 
 stone-siftings, left over from an out-building of consider- 
 able size, upon which I took my stand, and made things 
 lively — throwing never in sham, firing no blank cartridges, 
 hitting hard. For, as I had been whipped for fighting, now 
 I fought not to be whipped. So the dear old mother had 
 to come herself Thank God, I never in childhood even 
 raised my hand or turned my heart against her. So I sur- 
 rendered. This was my second whipping, and the last; 
 for when I found escape neither in running nor in fight- 
 ing, I ever after submitted with sublime philosophy to the 
 inevitable. 
 
 My mother was a Calvinist in faith, and, though not be- 
 lieving in good works as the ground of salvation, yet was 
 the most Christian-like and pious of women in every word 
 and thought. With her, truth was the basis of all moral 
 character.. She would not tolerate even conventional lies, 
 never saying, "Not at home" to callers; but, to the serv- 
 ants, " Beg them to excuse me." And was she not right? 
 Let the wisdom of all ages decide. This it was, when I 
 was asked, in order to corner me, if slavery was not a 
 good and Christian institution? — considering all the con- 
 
2 2 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 sequences, remembering her who had given me life and 
 principles to live or die by — that led me to answer No! 
 
 My father was a stern man, absorbed in affairs. He 
 spent but little time with the children, and did not assume 
 control. Yet he directed, in the main, what was to be 
 done; and, when the time had come, he sent me to school 
 with my next older brother, Brutus J. Clay, much to the 
 regret, it seemed to me, of my mother ; for I was the Ben- 
 jamin of the family. Through the forest then, over rivu- 
 lets, flushing the birds, cropping the wild flowers, gather- 
 ing the May-apples, with book-satchel slung over my 
 shoulders, and the lunch-basket carried by turns with my 
 brother, I set out. At length, in less than a mile, we 
 came to the common school — a log cabin unchinked — 
 under a beech forest, near the spring and rivulets which 
 meet near by, forming Tate's creek. The stones of the 
 chimney yet lie there, half covered with blue-grass, but the 
 trees are gone ! 
 
 But chimnies were of little use, as it was mostly in 
 summer that the children from families far apart went to 
 school. I well remember the great pleasure with which, 
 in childhood, I took off the hated shoes and socks, and 
 waded barefooted in the rain-puddles and rivulets. The 
 large scholars were held to their books; but, laying mine 
 down on one of the rude benches, I went into the water 
 running over the bright pebbles, and amused myself by 
 catching the small minnows, which, at this season, swarmed 
 upon the clear shallows. So I was employed day after 
 day; and the good mother again and again filled the 
 lunch-basket with nice things, and topped them off with 
 the A B C mystery. The neighboring girls were also in 
 primitive stockings, and were not averse from wading also 
 in the cool waters at play-time, and hunting and digging 
 the wild turkey-peas and ginseng. 
 
 In this near association I had fallen in love! Platonic, 
 
 of course. There was a nearly-grown girl named C. B n, 
 
 and another called R. C — s. Now, when the dominie saw 
 
 o 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 23 
 
 the bad example I was setting, he determined to reduce me 
 to submission ; so, when I set out, as usual, for the branch, 
 and I not obeying, he followed me, as did all the school. 
 But, taking in the situation, as the teacher was the only 
 one who had on shoes, I took position in the deepest pool, 
 where he could not reach me with his long beech-rod, and, 
 as the girls happened to be the largest, he ordered Miss 
 C — s to bring me out. But, as she advanced, I seized a 
 stone and struck her with great violence, nearly severing 
 her big toe from the foot. In the confusion, I was forgot- 
 ten; and, C. B — n coming to me, begged me to come out, 
 which I at once did ; and without ceremony set out for 
 home. Now, was I not in love? 
 
 Some structures are like a wooden log, you can't get a 
 responsive sound with a hammer; whilst others are so 
 finely strung, like the famous Cremonas, that the slightest 
 wave of air will wake them into melody. Yes, I was in 
 love ! This broke up the school-business ; and my mother, 
 being told of the tragedy, was about to flog me once more, 
 but my father assumed command, and I was dismissed 
 (with a suppressed smile) to my usual quarters. 
 
 Such was my early life, and it leaves the question yet 
 undecided: are the tendencies of our life from nature, 
 or from education? Or, rather, are they not from both? 
 At all events, the mother, being both parent and teacher, 
 mostly forms the character. But I leave this an open 
 question for others to decide ; as many will, no doubt, with 
 M. C. J., of Lexington, Kentucky, hold that "God Al- 
 mighty made the noble and the ignoble of the same clay;" 
 but was sure "the first class was made out of the fine 
 clay, whilst the second was made of the gravel and refuse 
 which remained." 
 
 So far as memory goes, the most of my youth seems 
 but as a dark night, with here and there a light set; so 
 there remains but a few events. I saw but little of my 
 father; he was nearly always absent, and when at home 
 was engaged in business. But one incident reminds me 
 
24 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 how much those who rule children should remember that 
 example is more potent than precept. My father had an 
 old Virginia military wine-chest, holding about a half 
 dozen cups or glasses, and as many bottles of liquors, 
 mostly of domestic make. These bottles were English, 
 square, of very thin glass, and very finely inlaid with 
 gold-leaf. To prevent the breakage by awkward serv- 
 ants, he would not allow any one but himself to touch 
 them. But, in the morning, having a bottle of native 
 "Bourbon," filled with camomile-flowers, which, being bit- 
 ter, were used very generally as a tonic before breakfast, 
 he would take out the bottle, fill his mouth with the 
 hateful liquid, and, having swallowed it, make a rueful 
 face at the boys; but he would drink no more that day. 
 He never would allow us to use cards or taste liquor. 
 
 I watched him a long time, not having it clear to my 
 mind that if it was good for papa, it was not good 
 for us. At length, one morning, when he had made his 
 usual libation, and discharged a painful duty with heroism, 
 as shown by his countenance of silent suffering, I thought 
 to myself, now, if it is so bitter, why do you take it? So 
 I '11 see. And, taking up the bottle, and pouring out a 
 portion, I found it very far from bitter; though, fortunately 
 for me, the Bourbon itself was not fascinating, but the 
 bitter was all gone, and the camomile was but a sham. 
 
 Having gone to four common (voluntary) schools, as 
 before described, and then to the Richmond Academy, our 
 father sent Brutus J. and myself to the home of Joshua 
 Fry, a celebrated teacher, who, having made a fortune, 
 still, by the force of habit — living on a fine farm on the 
 banks of Dix River, in Garrard County, Kentucky — 
 taught a few scholars and his grand-children for his 
 amusement. Whilst there, among others who reached 
 distinction in the world, was the Congressman, W. J. 
 Graves who killed Cilley, in the celebrated duel between 
 the champions of the North and the South. Mr. Fry was 
 a teacher of Latin as a specialty. Among the scholars 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 25 
 
 was a beautiful young girl of about my own age, L. F — ; 
 and as, in the first joint education of the sexes, there was 
 war, so now, by the occurrence of contrasts, there was 
 peace. She inspired me to rivalry and study, and I 
 soon surpassed her, and mastered the Latin language as 
 I never did any other language; and, although my after 
 life never allowed me much leisure for its use, I am a 
 good Latinist to this day. Never having studied English 
 Grammar at all, at any time, I think I would hardly be 
 classified, in that respect, with Burns's scholars in regard 
 to my own tongue: — "What's 'a the learning of the 
 schools?" etc. Yet my readers will judge. 
 
 In the meantime, my father being the largest slave- 
 owner in the State, I early began to study the system, 
 or, rather, began to feel its wrongs. Whilst I was yet 
 a boy, my sister Eliza being very fond of flowers and 
 their culture, I had my miniature garden also; with great 
 delight living close to nature, and feeling that serenity 
 and passive happiness which she always lavishes upon 
 those who love her. One day, whilst absorbed in my 
 favorite pastime, I heard a scream, and, looking up, 
 what was my horror to see Mary coming into the yard 
 with a butcher's knife, and her clothes all bloody! All 
 the servants, from every cabin, big and little, ran wildly 
 around in tears, with exclamations of grief and terror. 
 
 Who was Mary? A handsome mulatto girl, of about 
 eighteen years of age, who had been engaged years ago 
 as one of the flower-gardeners. She was a fine speci- 
 men of a mixed breed, rather light colored, showing the 
 blood in her cheeks, with hair wavy, as in the case with 
 mixed whites and blacks. Her features were finely cut, 
 quite Caucasian; whilst her eyes were large, black, lan- 
 guid, and unconscious, except when some passion stirred 
 the fires of her African blood, when they flashed as the 
 lightning through a cloud. It was Mary who had assisted 
 in laying out my garden. A peach-tree, then planted 
 
26 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 by me, was in full bearing long after I was married, 
 being more than a foot in diameter. 
 
 After some years she was sent to the house of an 
 overseer, at one of the separate plantations, to cook for 
 the whites, the " hands " and the overseer, his wife, and two 
 or three grown daughters. Mary was very bloody, but 
 not hurt. Payne, for that was his name, was a drunkard; 
 and, returning home after sprees, made it his custom to 
 abuse Mary by words, which was not submitted to in those 
 days by any slaves, when coming from "poor white trash," 
 as they called the non-slave-holders; and so she in turn 
 used a woman's tongue in such a way as to arouse the 
 anger of the whole family. Mary was sent into the kitchen 
 or elsewhere, whilst the family, having made all preparations 
 to bar up the doors, prepared to punish the woman severely, 
 and, as the jury afterward decided, to kill her. They called 
 her in, and sent her up stairs to shell the seed-corn for 
 planting. All the field-hands were out at work. But Mary, 
 suspecting mischief, knowing Payne's temper, secreted a 
 butcher's knife in her bosom, and went sullenly to her work. 
 As she anticipated, they soon came up and all attacked her. 
 She attempted to run down stairs, and out of the house; 
 but, finding the door securely fastened, she turned upon 
 them and slew Payne, and at length succeeded in making 
 her escape. She came home to the family. The whole 
 community was in arms, and Mary taken to jail in a few 
 hours. But my father being a man of fortune, and a "long 
 head," Mary was finally acquitted and set free. 
 
 Sidney Payne Clay, our oldest brother, who had been 
 educated at Princeton College, New Jersey, and had re- 
 turned home, was an emancipationist as well as a Presby- 
 terian. By my father's will he was appointed chief ex- 
 ecutor. As was the custom in all the border slave States, 
 Mary was, by his will, ordered to be sent South, I suppose 
 to make murder odious. Now, the most astonishing feature 
 of the slave-system was the delusion that, as it was legal, 
 it was morally right; whilst all the sentiments of the soul 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 27 
 
 I 
 
 and the force of the mind proclaimed it wrong. For "the 
 greatest of all rights," said the eloquent Robert J. Breckin- 
 ridge, "is the right of a man to himself." This doctrine, 
 joined to some passing remarks in the Bible, written in an 
 age when slavery was the result of a common barbarism, 
 confused the strongest intellect, and led to the most con- 
 flicting results. Never shall I forget — and through all 
 these years it rests upon the memory as the stamp upon 
 a bright coin — the scene, when Mary was tied by the 
 wrists and sent from home and friends, and the loved 
 features of her native land — the home of her infancy and 
 girlish days — into Southern banishment forever; and yet 
 held guiltless by a jury of, not her "peers," but her op- 
 pressors ! Never shall I forget those two faces — of my 
 brother and Mary — the oppressor and the oppressed, rigid 
 with equal agony! She cast an imploring look at me, as 
 if in appeal; but meekly went, without a word, as "a sheep 
 to the slaughter." 
 
 One more tale of the " Lost Cause," and I close this 
 sad record. About 1810-15, my father, having succeeded 
 in a land-suit against a neighbor named Hendricks, the 
 angry master sent his slave Joe to burn our dwelling; but 
 Joe, driven back by the watch-dogs, went to a large barn 
 filled with hay and grain and set fire to that, in the hope 
 of averting the anger of his master, which he had too much 
 reason to dread. The barn made such a light that the poor 
 fellow was terrified, and stood looking wildly at the flames, 
 when he was seen and caught. On being questioned, he 
 confessed the whole story. Now, by the laws of the " Lost 
 Cause," in no crime against the master could a slave be a 
 witness. But the public opinion was all the same. Hen- 
 dricks and sons, having put an iron collar on Joe with a 
 bell, and moving to the banks of Station-Camp Creek, in 
 now Estill County, then a remote and sparsely populated 
 country, are said to have whipped Joe three successive 
 days; and finally, when he died under the lash, they tied 
 a large stone to his neck, and sank him in that deep 
 
28 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Stream. But the stone, heavy enough to sink the fresh 
 body, was too light when the gases of decomposition were 
 generated, and Joe's mortal remains arose to the surface, 
 and revealed the secrets of the prison-house to the world. 
 But what of that? Slavery, like necessity, knows no law. 
 But the Hendricks' family were driven, by the irrepressible 
 instincts of the human soul, into exile ; and they went West, 
 where the memory of the crime and the criminal was lost. 
 
 In early times, the use of an iron collar was to prevent 
 the slave from running off. The collar on Joe had a bell 
 on it, so that every one could see or hear it ; and, the col- 
 lar being riveted on at a smith's shop, could not be taken 
 from the runaway's neck without great danger of discovery. 
 Nothing shows the degradation of the "Lost Cause" more 
 than this custom, which was generally abandoned before 
 my time. Yet in Lexington, in 1845, whilst I edited the 
 True American, hearing one night some disturbance in my 
 hen-house, I seized my pistol, and went out to see the 
 cause. To my surprise, a negro man had both hands full 
 of chickens. He belonged to a "mild-mannered man" of 
 my acquaintance, who ran a hemp factory. The man said, 
 in reply to my questions, that he was poorly fed, and 
 that he ought to help himself to better fare. I told him, 
 with some indignation, that he ought not to come to me, 
 who was the friend of his race, to rob. To which he re- 
 plied : " Mars' Cash, I did not think you would hurt me." 
 This reasoning was not at all satisfactory; but the low 
 moon cast a few rays through the trees, and I saw the 
 bright prongs of a steel collar as long, on each side of his 
 neck, as the horns of a Texas steer. My rage, which was 
 
 at first almost deadly — standing with pistol in hand was 
 
 turned into pity; and I let the poor fellow go with all the 
 chickens. Was I not also politically guilty? This nerved 
 me to a more deadly warfare against the " Lost Cause." 
 
 When I was yet a boy, I had a playmate of about my 
 own age — a fine fellow, as straight as an Indian, and as 
 black as a crow, with large dark eyes, and large whites 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 29 
 
 around them. He was bigger than myself, and not want- 
 ing in courage — the black race is not so wanting. The 
 hands and other members of the body are moved through 
 the nerves by the central seat of intelligence — the brain. 
 Now, it takes time for the will to communicate with the 
 hands and feet. In a fight, time is not everything, but it 
 is a great factor. In the negro race this nervous move- 
 ment is slower than in the white; in other words, the in- 
 tellect, and body are quicker in the white races. Hence 
 the French, when other things are equal, are the first fight- 
 ing people among the nations. 
 
 But other qualities, as heroism, fortitude, and all that, 
 enter into the battles of nations ; and in these last I think 
 the English, Germans and Russians are superior to the 
 French, whilst the Americans have all the best qualities 
 of the English, with more intellectual quickness. So we 
 have nothing to fear in battle with any nation. Now, as 
 early in life as my fight with George, I began to appreciate 
 the situation. I offended George, who said: "Mars' Cash, 
 you would not treat me so, if you had not marster and 
 mistress to back you." "Well," said I, "George, I can 
 whip you myself" " If you won 't tell, we '11 see." "All 
 right," said I. Now, the forests on one side of our yard 
 were unbroken. My father allowed no one to touch them. 
 So George and I went alone into the near woods ; and, as 
 the boughs hung low near the light, were soon out of sight 
 of all the family, white and black. I was, of course, ex- 
 cited, and in the lead. George was evidently my over- 
 match in size and strength, so I thought of stratagem. I 
 selected the ground. The grey limestone, fine for build- 
 ing, lies near the surface. Here was a steep descent to- 
 ward the Kentucky River, and the stone being taken out 
 in horizontal layers, left a nice level bench, now covered 
 with moss and dry leaves. So I took my place near the 
 declension, leaving space for George to take his stand on 
 the level land, with my face toward the ravine. Striking 
 George the first blow, I sent him staggering down the hill; 
 
30 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 and then advancing to the very edge of the plat, I was 
 taller than he, and had all advantages, as he had to labor 
 up the hill when struck, and I had time to blow. Of 
 course, I was triumphant, and George asked for quarters, 
 and admitted himself beaten. We ever kept our secret. 
 George never saw the unfairness of my position ; nor was 
 I bound to advise him, because I considered that if I gave, 
 him a fair use of his mind and body, it was a fair fight; 
 and it was, in the broadest sense. The Democrats and 
 the Republicans may both study this episode with advan- 
 tage, in running the Republic with so large a black popu- 
 lation. This fight with an African was one of those instru- 
 mental influences by which Deity shapes the ends of life. 
 George's courage won my respect, and his sad expression 
 of defeat excited my sympathy; for he had one of those 
 faces which in the blacks at times are so expressive of all 
 the sentiments; and which, yet unmarked by crime, and 
 undegraded by conscious servitude, at times so interest the 
 observer. I had settled the question of personal supremacy 
 with George; but back of that remained that great problem 
 of my life : why should master and mistress claim the power 
 of appeal and redecision? Let the advocates of the "Lost 
 Cause" answer. 
 
 These incidents are as fresh on my mind as if they were 
 of yesterday. On this plateau, in the deep shade, was built 
 a cabin in which the freedmen of my father only dwelt. The 
 log hut has perished, but the ruins of the stone-chimney re- 
 main ; and the ledge is yet marked by a magnificent oak. 
 The appeal of George was to a higher court than my parents 
 filled, and the omnipotent God decided in his favor. Infini- 
 tesimal and obscure, he was still one of the factors in human 
 progress, and his battle in reality was not "lost!" Thus, 
 as in the Cosmos, every ounce of matter forms the attrac- 
 tion of the whole, so every truth and every noble aspiration 
 make the sum of the moral and intellectual world, on which 
 the happiness of mankind depends. 
 
 The farm of Joshua Fry, as I said, came to the very 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 3 1 
 
 banks of Dix River. In places on this peculiar stream there 
 are no hills. In early times the limestone rock seems to 
 have been cleft asunder, allowing the waters from above to 
 pass on, and in time wearing a deep channel through solid 
 rock banks, with very narrow alluvial bottoms first on one 
 side and then on the other, as the turns of the river left the 
 deposit of the reduced strata. Occasionally a great bowlder 
 of limestone was precipitated into the rushing stream, causing 
 deep eddies, where the bass, perch and other varieties of 
 fish found secure shelter and feeding-grounds. Never was 
 there a finer display of nature, on a scale not grand as 
 some, but as picturesque as any to be found. The trees 
 overhung the jutting cliffs; flowers and vines covered all 
 surfaces; and fish could be seen, as well as caught, ever 
 gambolling on the crystal rifHes, and in the rock-bound 
 depths of the river. The red birds and many-colored 
 orioles and thrushes were in great numbers, as well as 
 many other birds of brilliant plumage and melodious song. 
 Here I alone spent most of my leisure hours, fishing and 
 enjoying the loveliness of nature. I deem it fortunate in 
 my life that I was thrown so often in close contact with 
 mother earth, from whom we gain not only pleasure but 
 strength. For here the body and soul are made robust 
 for the great trials of life; and an apt fable was it that 
 made the giants of old the children of the earth, who, 
 when thrown down, arose again with new force for the 
 combat. Hence come the great characters of history ; and 
 from here the perishing cities renew their population. 
 
 When I was about twelve or thirteen years of age, 
 during a school vacation, my father sent me to Cincinnati, 
 Ohio, to pay taxes upon some lands which he owned in 
 that State. This city was about one hundred miles away ; 
 with no railroads then, nor stage-routes even. The only 
 means of travel was on horseback ; and along the ridge- 
 road, as it was called, there were inns, where travellers 
 were entertained. Being fully equipped with saddle-bags, 
 and with my money sewed up in some part of my clothing, 
 
32 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 with only enough left accessible to pay way-expenses, I set 
 out with a rather heavy heart. In those times, when city 
 robberies were little known, desperadoes, driven by crime 
 from the East, took refuge on the frontiers of civilization, 
 and committed frequent assaults upon travelers, and appro- 
 priated their money. These were not pleasant memories 
 to me; but, as I entered the sparsely-settled forests, full 
 of birds and squirrels, and occasional wild fruits, as plums 
 and grapes, I began to feel more at home, and, on the 
 whole, enjoyed my journey. I traveled about thirty miles 
 a day, and reached Cincinnati on the third day, in the late 
 afternoon. About 1812 Fulton introduced steam-boats on 
 the Ohio; but at this time, about 1823, the flat-boats and 
 barges were the main means of commerce, and a few hind- 
 wheel steamboats made the trips at long intervals up the 
 river to Wheeling and Pittsburg, and down to New Orleans. 
 I don 't remember any houses where Covington and New- 
 port now are ; and Cincinnati hardly reached above Second 
 Street, parallel with the Ohio River. The principal build- 
 ings were on the street perpendicular to the upper river- 
 wharf, on the right of which was the hotel. There were 
 few brick buildings, and on Second and Third Streets the 
 houses were low and scattering, with small yards in front. 
 Having taken my supper, I came down into the sitting- 
 room, in which at those times was also the liquor-bar. 
 Here men assembled around a huge coal fire, a mixed 
 mass of travelers and boatmen from all the river-crafts 
 spending the Sunday evening. One rather sinister-looking 
 man, with small, sharp grey eyes, and high Roman nose, 
 drew up his chair, and began to question me about my 
 journey, whence I came and where I was going. With 
 some reticence I told him the main facts. He then invited 
 me to go with him to church, to which I assented, inquiring 
 his name.. He told me it was " Birdseye." This was a 
 curious and unknown name to me, and at once excited my 
 suspicions about his character, as it seemed assumed. How- 
 ever, I went with him to church. I watched him during the 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 33 
 
 ceremonies slyly, and found he showed no reverence what- 
 ever, looking about him and the audience. As we returned, 
 he stopped opposite a small framed house, rather, isolated, 
 with two rooms. Without ceremony, he said he wished to 
 see a friend a nioment on business, and would go on with 
 me in a minute, and invited me in. I went in. There was 
 no light in the first room, and in the second was a dim dip- 
 candle burning, and a man, whom my friend asked out into 
 the back-yard. My suspicions were aroused. I was to be 
 robbed, and perhaps murdered. Why should they go out 
 of the house to talk? So I at once passed out into the 
 street, with a steady march for my hotel. My friend over- 
 took me at a few paces from the door, and continued his 
 walk with me, nothing being said by either party in expla- 
 nation. In the meantime, I had taken out my pocket-knife, 
 opened the largest blade, and put it up my sleeve, keeping 
 my friend on my side, and never allowing him to fall behind 
 me. As he passed a small alley, he said, suiting the action 
 to the word, and turning in himself: "This way is the near- 
 est route to the hotel." There were but few lights shining 
 from the houses, and most of the church-goers and citizens 
 had disappeared from the streets. Now, I was raised in 
 the woods, and was well posted as to place ; and I knew 
 that, so far from that route being nearest, it led me into the 
 street parallel to the one where I had lodged, and that I 
 would have to go to the river-wharf and then turn up to 
 my quarters. So, paying no attention to his words or his. 
 actions, I went steadily on, and arrived with safety at my 
 hotel. I sat some time awaiting the foiled Birdseye, but he 
 came no more. Now his object, no doubt, was to rob, if 
 not to murder me — take my money, and go aboard the 
 river-craft, and escape. This was a lesson to me through 
 life, and I refused ever to go about in cities with strangers.. 
 And though I have traveled much in the world, I never was 
 robbed of a cent, though many vain attempts have been 
 made to pick my pockets. I paid the taxes and returned 
 home in safety, allowing no horsemen to be long with me 
 Vol. L— 3 
 
34 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 on the road, either going forward or falling back, till I was 
 alone. And I then felt how wise was my father's apothegm : 
 "Never tell any one your business." This trip was evi- 
 dently intended by my father as a school of self-reliance, and 
 he was careful at all times to teach me such lessons, includ- 
 ing occasional manual labor. 
 
 From Garrard County we followed Mr. Fry to Danville 
 College, where he continued to teach Latin under President 
 Murray; and, still further, to the house of his son Thomas, 
 in the same county. We had a pleasant time in this old 
 Virginia family, with a large house and farm, and with the 
 noted spring, wherein suckers could be seen in ten-foot 
 water — studying by day, and dancing with the girls at night. 
 Thomas, the host, was a jolly fellow, fond of tobacco and 
 jokes, and played the violin whilst we danced. This was the 
 father of General John Speed Smith Fry, who killed Gen- 
 eral Zollicoffer in the civil war. At length, having com- 
 pleted our Latin, with some other branches of learning, my 
 brother, Brutus J., went into business as a farmer and stock- 
 raiser. He was noted as the best farmer in the State — was 
 President of the State Agricultural Fair of Kentucky, thirty 
 years President of the Bourbon Fair Association, and once 
 a member of the Congress of the United States as a Union- 
 ist ; but, when Kentucky was treated in bad faith by the 
 Republicans overthrowing slavery, without compensation, al- 
 though pledged against such illegal action, he joined the 
 Democratic party, and there remained till his death, in his 
 seventy-third year. He accumulated a large estate, left a 
 large family, having been twice married, and was much like 
 my father in ability and habits. 
 
 I was now sent to the Jesuit College of St. Joseph, in 
 Nelson County, Kentucky, to study French under Priest 
 Fouche, a native Frenchman. I boarded with the father of 
 the President of the college, William Elder, in a beautiful 
 grove of beech trees and shrubbery, in which the white cot- 
 tage was built; and where I enjoyed the advantages of the 
 conversation of some French-Catholic students from Louisi- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 35 
 
 ana. At length I joined the students in the college, and 
 there boarded. Here I had my next fight; for the only time 
 in my life acting on the offensive. 
 
 By the laws of the college, a priest was always with the 
 students to keep order in and out of class hours. About 
 the largest boy was a Kentuckian named T — r, who was 
 ever annoying the small boys, and then handling them 
 roughly, till he got to be thoroughly hated by all — going 
 far enough to be offensive, he yet stopped short of absolute 
 violation of the rules and liability to punishment by the 
 teachers. One day, when we were all playing in the class- 
 room, and the supervising priest being out of doors some- 
 what, T — r began his usual role of Hector. I had observed 
 him a long time. I had ever been devoted to athletic 
 sports — riding on horse-back, boxing, hunting, fishing, gun- 
 ning, jumping, scuffling, wrestling, playing base-ball, bandy, 
 foot-ball, and all that — so I had some confidence in my 
 prowess. 1 was then in my thirteenth year. So, as T — r 
 was torturing a small boy, who began to cry, being too 
 small to reach him, I sprang upon a bench, and hit him a 
 stinging blow upon the nose, which caused the blood to fly 
 in all directions. He was taken by surprise, and was utterly 
 confounded. The priest, who had heard the noise, looked 
 in, and, taking in the situation, went out again, glad to see 
 T — r punished, and affected to be ignorant of any cause of 
 offence. This cured T — r of his evil ways, and made me 
 quite a hero in the eyes of the little fellows. 
 
 The next year, 1824, Henry Clay, my remote relative, 
 whose anti-slavery views I had partially known, was then 
 Secretary of State under John Quincy Adams. I ventured 
 to write him a letter, to which he replied in his charactejstic 
 careful style of hand-writing. This was my first letter from 
 him, before I had ever seen him. Unhappily this letter, 
 with almost my whole correspondence up to the year 1861, 
 was burned during the war, with my study — the old hewed 
 log-house homestead — where I had carelessly left them 
 on going to Russia. 
 
;^6 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 I had a very pleasant time at the Jesuit College of St. 
 Joseph, studying only French. I had much leisure, and 
 spent much time in fishing on the Beech Fork of Salt 
 River. Here I learned to eat bull-frogs, of which my 
 French playmates were very fond. The banks of the 
 river are covered with rushes, and here the frogs were 
 found in large numbers. With a cotton sack slung over 
 my shoulder, and a native cane-rod of proper length, with 
 a short line and fish-hook bated with red-flannel or earth- 
 worms, I would find the frogs sitting among the rushes, 
 bring the hook near their mouths, when they would catch 
 it and get hung. Then I would cut off their hind legs, 
 and fill my pouch with them, throwing away all else. 
 These legs are quite tender and white-fleshed, like those 
 of the gray squirrel, which is a favorite dish in all the 
 South and West. We had much fun with the fastidious, 
 passing off the frogs for squirrel or chicken legs, till they 
 were greedily eaten, and then we informed the gourmands, 
 when they felt quite effervescent about the stomach! Here 
 I formed the acquaintance of Rowan and James Hardin, 
 and their father Benjamin Hardin; and also I visited the 
 family and knew John Rowan, sr., and his son John; also, 
 I formed associations with other families and ladies, among 
 others Miss Hardin, who married Governor Helm. Many 
 of these persons I met in after-life. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 Mv Father, Green Clay. — His Character. — His Apothegms. — His Military 
 Career. — His Letter to Capt. M. Harrison. — His treatment of his 
 Challenger. — His fondness for the Peaceful, Innocent, and Good. — 
 His death. — Why he came to Kentucky. — Transylvania University. — 
 Its President and Professors. — Fellow-students. — I visit Washington 
 City and Baltimore. — President Andrew Jackson. — Estimate of his 
 Character. — ^John C. Calhoun. — Martin Van Buren. — Journey North. — 
 John Quincy Adams. — George Ticknor. — Daniel Webster. — Prompt to 
 keep appointments. 
 
 MY father's fatal illness called me home from Bards- 
 town — where I had formed quite an attachment to 
 many friends, Catholic and Protestant, and who made me 
 ever tolerant in religion — to feel the great woe of his ap- 
 proaching death, the greatest of human calamities. 
 
 "Oh, Ada, death has come into the world!" 
 
 Has been the cry of all the generations of men. We 
 enter the world without our knowledge, and we go out 
 unconscious. As the tired child sinks into sleep, so th^ 
 man of old age falls, as a ripe apple, from the bough. 
 There can not, as a general thing, be any physical pain 
 in death, when the natural law has had sway. It is only 
 when anomalous circumstances surround us that the ter- 
 rors of the mind and the pains of the body are exhibited. 
 On the contrary, many instances are known where men 
 have been drowned and restored where pleasure and not 
 pain was the true feeling. So men, when frozen to death, 
 sink into sweet and willing sleep, and refuse to be restored. 
 Agnosticism is one thing, and aggressive infidelity quite 
 another thing. I think Ingersoll makes a mistake in his 
 propagandism of infidelity. No man has a right, in the 
 name of freedom of thought, to pull down even a bad 
 system till he is able to build up a better. Much less has 
 
 37 
 
38 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 he a right to pull down the best religious and moral sys- 
 tem evolved from the wisdom of all the ages, without 
 building up any other at all! Let the friends of Christi- 
 anity not be disturbed. IngersoU will die and be forgotten. 
 He has thrown no new light upon faith nor morals, much 
 less upon the esse of the immortal spark, which is not 
 matter, and which, even if it were matter, can not die. 
 And who can say that it will, or it will not, assume a 
 continual and a regular progression of increased happi- 
 ness forever. At all events, we have iiope left us, if 
 nothing else; and we may, from the lowest standpoint, 
 say, with Burns: 
 
 "Here lies an honest man: if there is another world, he lives in bliss. 
 If there is no other world, he made the best of this." 
 
 If the more generic word, a virtuous man, in the larg- 
 est sense of the term, was substituted for the more lim- 
 ited "honest," this seems to be about the best philoso- 
 phy on the whole subject of Futurity, so far as we are at 
 present advanced in the direction of the unknown. If the 
 Immortality of the Soul can not be proved, it certainly can 
 not be disproved; and IngersoU, standing over the grave 
 of his brother, it is said, in this found consolation. 
 
 My father was a Deist; and for months looked death 
 steadily in the face without the tremor of a nerve. I was 
 his youngest child, whom he kept mostly with him as 
 nurse, and waiting closely on all his wants. He arranged 
 all his business and papers with the utmost care, and pa- 
 tiently awaited the end. Like Brutus, before the battle 
 of Philippi, his mind was but once disturbed — just the 
 night before the ■ day of his death. He called me to his 
 bedside, and said: "I have just seen death come in at 
 that door," pointing in the direction of the family grave- 
 yard. Those were his last words. Now, after some ex- 
 perience in life, I see no reason for those fictitious tales 
 of the horrors of death-beds of illustrious men who are 
 called agnostic; many of whom have been the greatest 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 39 
 
 benefactors of mankind. The leaving all that has known 
 us in life, and all that we have known and felt, is death. 
 As John Q. Adams said: "This is the last of earth!" 
 With all his New England education of Protestantism and 
 dogmatic faith, he said all that he could say with knowl- 
 edge: "This is the last of earth" — evidently looking back 
 at what was to be left, and not to what lay before him in 
 the unknown. And this, however deprecated by enthusi- 
 asts, is the natural order; and this the "sting" of disso- 
 lution. But happily here, as I said before, nature pre- 
 pares the way ; and the true philosopher, as well as the 
 true Christian, will walk patiently, if not willingly, in it. 
 
 I think I can say impartially, that my father was intel- 
 lectually a man of the first order. In whatever he under- 
 took, he met with success. His profession was not that 
 of the soldier or statesman ; but, when he attempted 
 either, he played a very high part. His life was one 
 rather of business than anything else; and here he passed 
 all his contemporaries in the West. Those who knew him 
 best compared him favorably with Henry Clay ; and, had 
 all his powers been concentrated in one direction, they 
 thought he would have reached equal eminence. And 
 these were the opinions of those who were themselves 
 eminent, and therefore very competent judges. His grasp 
 of a subject was very quick and comprehensive. Hence, 
 though good at figures, he said he had never studied 
 them but nine months, in which he accomplished as much 
 as others in many years. 
 
 By a strange mistake in Horace Greeley's life of my- 
 self—the "Life and Writings of C. M. Clay" [N. Y., Har- 
 per Bros., 1848,] — he is represented as having only at- 
 tended school "nine months," when, in fact, he was as 
 well educated as were men generally in Virginia in his 
 day. His style was good and correct, his voice very fine; 
 and in his short statements of a subject, in public speech, 
 he was quite forcible, and much after the manner of 
 Franklin in his generalizations and utterance. He had a 
 
40 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 thorough knowledge of human nature; and took very 
 practical views of the problem of life. I remember some 
 of his homely but terse apothegms, although I was under 
 sixteen at his death: "Never tell any one your business." 
 " Enquire of fools and children, if you wish to get at the 
 truth." This, of course, referred to ordinary events, and 
 is very true; for they have no motives for concealing 
 what they know. "In traveling in dangerous times, never 
 return by the same road." In his day, highway robbery 
 on the frontiers was a common thing. "Never set your 
 name on the right-hand side of the writing." This was 
 a forcible way of warning agains securityships ; for the 
 right-hand side is the one of obligation, the left of attes- 
 tation. " Never say of any body what you would not 
 have proclaimed in the court-house yard." The force of 
 the place of utterance can only be appreciated when we 
 know that in Kentucky, in early times, that was the place 
 of the assemblage of the whole people. "Well is the 
 tongue called a two-edged sword," for it makes irrepara- 
 ble feuds. A man will forgive an injury before an insult. 
 He can bear the first, but not the last, and maintain his 
 self-respect. "Keep out of the hands of the doctor and 
 the sheriff." That is, avoid debt and disease. He never 
 put his hand to any work on his large real-estates, because 
 he might injure his limbs, when a subordinate would do 
 the work as well. He would never walk up a steep hill 
 to rest his horse, as is the almost universal custom among 
 mankind. He said: "There are forty thousand or more 
 horses, and but one Green Clay." And yet he rode much, 
 and was the most careful man I ever knew in having his 
 horse cared for in travel and in the stable. He rarely 
 sold on credit. He said: "My property is worth more 
 on the farm, or in the store-room, than in the pockets of 
 spendthrifts." He rarely employed physicians, holding, 
 with many eminent men, and with the most enlightened 
 physicians themselves, that nature is stronger than art; 
 and that a man who had a term of years to study his 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 41 
 
 own constitution would be a fool if he did not under- 
 stand his own case better than one, however skilled, who 
 only gave a few minutes of superficial observation to the 
 disease. 
 
 He was a hard-worker, yet always would have plenty 
 of sleep. He would make up in the day what was ne- 
 cessarily lost in the night. He would never allow chil 
 dren to be awakened; but left them, under all circum- 
 stances, to sleep on till they awoke of themselves. And 
 this is the most important of all the means of health. He 
 would never sleep in the house in the day-time, when he 
 could find a suitable place to lie down in the open air. 
 I attribute much of my good health to the same cause. 
 The damp and darkness of rooms, and especially the im- 
 perfect ventilation, are the causes of untold diseases. He 
 understood very well that impure water was the cause of 
 most summer-complaints, as flux, diarrhoea, typhoid and bil- 
 ious fevers, etc. Hence, he took all possible precautions to 
 secure good pure water. He bored two artesian wells — a 
 thing almost unknown in his day; and they produce pure 
 water to this time. He was a great lover of sheep; and 
 had great faith in mutton, not only for its agreeable and 
 nutritious qualities, but as a medicine. When flux pre- 
 vailed, which was rarely the case among the blacks, he had 
 mutton-soup given to all, sick and well. It is the best 
 possible remedy now for that disease. But what physi- 
 cian will open the way for a practice which sends him to the 
 poor-house? He understood how a mutton-sheep should 
 be butchered, an unknown art to millions to-day. No man 
 understood better how to manage his dependents. He pro- 
 vided first-class clothing, food, and shelter for his slaves ; 
 but always was rigid and exacting in discipline. Of all the 
 men I ever knew, he most kept in view the means which 
 influenced the end. 
 
 Now, slavery was a terrible thing; but he made it as 
 bearable as was consistent with the facts. When any of 
 the slaves were found to "play the old soldier," and pre- 
 
42 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 tended to be sick, he had a very fine medicine in the bark 
 of the white-walnut. This he would have mixed with much 
 water. If the patient was really sick, it was a safe and 
 excellent remedy for many diseases ; but, if he was play- 
 ing "possum," he would go to work rather than swallow 
 the bark. There was no market for sheep in those days; 
 and my father's object of raising large flocks was to clothe 
 his slaves well. He always had the heaviest cloth made 
 for men and women, and then "fulled." By this opera- 
 tion the web was thickened, and made, like the felting 
 of the wool-hats, water-proof. He used to say: "Better 
 lose the value of a coat than that of the workman." He 
 fed and sheltered his slaves well, allowing them gardens, 
 fowls, and bees. Groups of cabins were far apart for 
 pure air. 
 
 He was much ahead of his times in agriculture; and 
 greatly in favor of secure shelter for his stock, grain, and 
 hay. In his intercourse with the world, he was rather pleas- 
 ant than reserved — never aggressive — but always prepared 
 for defense. 
 
 When he went to the relief of Fort Meigs, in 1813, 
 which was built on the river Raisin (where now the city of 
 Monroe, Michigan, formerly known as Frenchtown, stands), 
 instead of going directly to the fort, where he must neces- 
 sarily have lost much of his force from the Indian sharp- 
 shooters, he landed above, built rapidly flat-boats, with 
 high side-planks, which were bullet-proof, and, thus drop- 
 ping down the river, he hardly lost a man. 
 
 The defeat of Colonel Dudley was the fruit of a con- 
 trary policy. He was ordered by my father to attack a 
 battery, spike it, and return to the boats. But Dudley, 
 elated by success, followed the Indians, and was cut to 
 pieces, with his whole force. 
 
 This caution of my father was regarded by the unwise 
 as timidity; and, no doubt, to avoid such imputation, the 
 gallant Dudley was ruined. When too late, of course all 
 agreed that Clay was the better commander. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 43 
 
 GEN. GREEN CLAY's LETTER TO CAPT. M. HARRISON. 
 
 "Fort Meigs, July 8, 1813. 
 
 "Dear Sir: — I should have written to you more often; but in- 
 deed, my friend, we have but little to write to you about, except 
 the battle, and you have heard that told over and over again. I 
 have been confined to my tent ever since the 8th of May, nearly; 
 but am recovering, I hope, fast. Here has been a fine field for your 
 surgeons — 200 wounded men, and but a few surgeons; many limbs 
 have been taken off, and other operations worthy the attention and 
 experience of practitioners. A siege is a horrid situation to be 
 in ; we were literally driven under ground. The enemy's cannon- 
 balls and shells and grape and cannister-shot and carcasses we 
 were unable to meet; and we were compelled to secure ourselves 
 by burrowing below. We have had picked up by the soldiers 
 about six wagon-loads of balls and shells not bursted, which the 
 enemy threw in and at our fort. 
 
 "Your countryman, Maj. D. Trimble, whom I had appointed 
 Brigadier-Quartermaster, I am likely to lose. General Harrison 
 told me the other day, when he was here, that he had appointed 
 him one of his aids. Major Trimble has rendered me great and 
 important assistance. When we arrived at Fort Defiance, we were 
 met by an express from General Harrison, informing me that the 
 enemy had arrived at Fort Meigs with three thousand (3,000) men, 
 including Indians; and ordered me to unload our boats, and force 
 ourselves by rapid marches into Fort Meigs. General Harrison 
 did not know where his orders might meet me; therefore it was 
 necessary for me to send off an express to General Harrison, in- 
 forming him where I was, the strength of my (command) detach- 
 ment, and to announce to him my intended route, and time of 
 arrival at Fort Meigs. While I was looking out for a proper 
 character to execute this dangerous and necessary service, Major 
 Trimble volunteered his services. It was, indeed, a forlorn-hope.- 
 Major Trimble set out late in the afternoon, with six or seven 
 men, rowed all night, till he reached the fort, and was fired upon 
 and nearly defeated from our o^n fort. As General Harrison ex- 
 pected the enemy to force the walls, he had ordered the sentries 
 not to hail. The night being exceedingly dark and rainy, and no 
 light in the fort, they fell below it, and were nearly in the 
 enemy's camp before they found out their error. He was re- 
 ceived with great joy by General Harrison. 
 
44 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 "On the day of the action, Major Trimble accompanied me 
 to cover the retreat of the remnant of Colonel Dudley's regiment, 
 and he behaved with great coolness and gallantry. He is really 
 the soldier; and has frequently solicited my permission to go out 
 scouting and reconnoitering. 
 
 "I can not tell what may be thought in Kentucky; but here, 
 the throwing into this fort the small succour of (1,200 men) twelve 
 hundred men, invested with so powerful a force, and such a sub- 
 tile enemy to cope with, is thought to be one of the most perilous 
 and dangerous enterprises an army could be capable of performing 
 with raw, undisciplined militia. 
 
 "Here the Kentuckians drove Tecumseh, where the hottest 
 battle was fought; and then he crossed the river, and, with their 
 whole force, overwhelmed Colonel Dudley. 
 
 "Yours, with sincere respect and esteem, 
 
 ' ' Green Clay. 
 
 ' ' General Harrison left here the day after the siege was raised, 
 and gave the command of this and all the department (forts) posts 
 to me. Here are the 4th, 17th, 19th, and 24th United States 
 Regiments, two (2) companies of Engineers and Artillerists, two 
 (2) Regiments of Ohio Militia, the Pittsburg and Petersburg Vol- 
 unteers, and a Corps of Riflemen and Calvary, and my Brigade of 
 Kentucky Militia. I am, with high esteem and respect, your most 
 obedient servant. Green Clay. 
 
 "We shall moye on to Maiden shortly. 
 "Capt. Micajah Harrison, Mt. Sterling, Ky." 
 
 The impression of timidity made at Fort Meigs caused 
 some to doubt his courage ; but, whilst none were more 
 prudent than he, none were braver when the occasion called 
 for valor. The man who slept often alone in the wilds of 
 Kentucky, among bears and Indians, could not be otherwise 
 than brave. 
 
 J. J — , owing my father money, challenged him, sup- 
 posing that he would bully him ; but my father replied, 
 through the same channel of the communication: "That, 
 if J — would pay him first, he would fight him afterward." 
 That settled the question, of course, without a fight. He 
 was economical in saving small and great sums ; but gave 
 most liberally when he felt it his duty or his pleasure. He 
 
.-_jr' cy Pt Jor-.zi. Cinrinnali 
 
 ■^^"91 
 
 '^A-C^n^ ^-iC-fL ^ „^-l-L^t^-C-uJ '/c-U t -/■.'./"-. ?^.^''- 'f •: 
 
 "c-i^J '//.-u t'>-:.-t-.'n.<U''f'.'-u- G'f'^^^^.-^^-S-v-.y-/^--!. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 45 
 
 was fond of the beautiful, dressed well, and was scrupu- 
 lously cleanly in his person and all his surroundings. He 
 always kept good liquors and a good table; but drank 
 and ate with moderation. A cultivator of tobacco, neither 
 he nor any of his family ever used it in any way. So none 
 of his children ever gambled or drank to excess. 
 
 In the discipline of women, my father . knew, as every 
 sensible man knows, the strength of the sexual passions. 
 Nature ever tends to the preservation of the races of ani- 
 mals. Opportunity, notwithstanding all the sentimentalism 
 about innate chastity, is the cause of most of the lapses 
 from virtue. Americans must soon learn this lesson, or we 
 are ruined. Reserved and rather stern toward his chil- 
 dren, he was yet much devoted to their true interests, and^ 
 under a hard bearing, he had much tenderness toward them. 
 He never struck me a blow but once. Having imported a 
 fine merino buck, he had him tied to a tree ; and, whilst 
 he was at dinner, seeing the buck a little belligerent, I was 
 in the act of inviting a trial of hardness of heads with the 
 sheep ! But my father returning, and seeing my danger, 
 with the flat of his hand knocked me farther than the sheep 
 could probably have done. Some of the calumniators of 
 my facile will said, on hearing this in after-life, that my 
 father took needless precautions, for my head would have 
 proved too hard for the buck. 
 
 He was early convinced of the destructive and exhaus- 
 tive culture of tobacco; and, among the first to do so, ex- 
 pelled it from his lands. So he saw that the use of the 
 "infernal weed," prostrating the nervous system, led in a 
 broad road to drunkenness and disease; and hence his em- 
 bargo against its use. He was also very successful in the 
 breeding of pigeons and bees, saying these were the cheap- 
 est operatives, "working for nothing, and finding them- 
 selves." He was fond of fruits and flowers and trees, and 
 attempted landscape-gardening, but it was the false French 
 rectangular kind. He had no idea of the effects of forests 
 on the production of rain, moisture, etc., in agriculture, but 
 
46 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 believed in the future value of timber; and many acres, if 
 kept in the original trees, in fact would sell now for more 
 than the land itself. He had no taste for hunting and gun- 
 ning, and looked upon them as a waste of time ; but he was 
 not averse to music and dancing- 
 
 As he died while I was yet quite young, I knew but 
 little of his early life. The tradition is that he was in- 
 spired with a love of adventure in consequence of Boone's 
 visit to the wilds of Kentucky; and my grandfather, a 
 slave-holder, for some trivial offense, put him, with the 
 women and children, to picking cotton, then cultivated for 
 family uses, which offended him. At all events, he mi- 
 grated whilst yet a minor to Kentucky. For his success, 
 and political and civil life, see American Cyclopcsdia and 
 Collin s History of Kentucky. 
 
 After the death of my father, in about my seventeenth 
 year, I entered Transylvania University, at Lexington, Ky. 
 Alva Wood was then president, succeeding Dr. H. Holley, 
 who had gained it quite a reputation. Being a brilliant 
 scholar, of fine presence, and great conversational powers, 
 he was quite a figure in the elegant society for which Lex- 
 ington was then noted, as the center of wealth and refine- 
 ment of the State — Louisville and Covington being then 
 but villages. Wood was also a New Englander, but a 
 very different man from Holley ; a fine scholar, but quite 
 modest and reserved in his manners and bearing. He was 
 very rigid in his discipline and examinations ; and turned 
 out some very finely instructed students in the short time 
 that he was in the chief place. 
 
 Among those in my class was N. L. Rice, who became 
 somewhat notorious for his debate with the illustrious Alex- 
 ander Campbell, at Lexington, where Henry Clay presided as 
 moderator or chairman. This debater, Rice, whom I heard, 
 was a close, silent, and severe student ; but he made no 
 mark in college. Lewis Rogers, of Louisville, was a dis- 
 tinguished physician, and died in old age, and was re- 
 spected there by every one. He was a member of my 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 47 
 
 class, and was the contestant with myself for the first place 
 in scholarships. It was a hard-fought battle between us; 
 but no public announcement of our relative rank was made, 
 as Dr. Wood, being called to the better-paid presidency 
 of the Alabama University, left us in the senior year, 
 before the time of graduation. But as he offered me the 
 first place in the professorships of his new university, per- 
 haps I may not be presumptuous in claiming precedence 
 in scholarship in Transylvania. 
 
 During my residence in Lexington, I had the good for- 
 tune to know and see some of Kentucky's most noted ora- 
 tors: Henry Clay, Robert j. Breckinridge, Robert Wick- 
 liffe, Jesse Bledsoe, John Pope, and Wm. T. Barry. Here, 
 also, I first saw and made the acquaintance of Mary Jane 
 Warfield, the daughter of Elisha Warfield, who bred the 
 celebrated race-horse Lexington, the best horse, sportsmen 
 say, that ever lived. Miss Warfield, the second sister, was 
 three years my junior, of medium size, graceful movement, 
 and gay, fascinating manners, which are so noted in Irish 
 women. She seemed equally pleased with me; and, with 
 a few lines from Byron, on the blank leaves of Wash- 
 ington Irving's sketch-book, if I remember aright, I left 
 her and Lexington, and joined Yale College, in Yankee 
 land, in the year 1831, entering the Junior Class. 
 
 Having letters of introduction to many distinguished 
 men of both parties, I carried one also to Andrew Jack- 
 son ("Old Hickory"), who was then President of the 
 United States. My family, father, brothers, etc., were all 
 Whigs — Henry Clay Whigs; and when I, having sent in 
 my letters, was ushered into the presence of the President 
 by his successor, Martin Van Buren, I was fearful that a 
 Clay would receive quite a cold reception from Harry's 
 old foe. But it was all the contrary. Jackson was as 
 courteous, affable, and agreeable as possible; and, after 
 inquiring about many of my acquaintances whom he knew, 
 (but nothing about Harry!) where I was going, and what 
 
48 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 I proposed in my journey East, he dismissed me, by tell- 
 ing Mr. Van Buren to take care of me. 
 
 I was surprised and delighted with Jackson; and did 
 not wonder at his great popularity with the public and 
 personal friends. As I approached him, he rose up, took 
 me by the hand, and seated me. He was a striking fig- 
 ure, above six feet high, of fine build and military carriage; 
 his hair grey, cut, and standing up, as all his portraits show 
 it. His head, high and expansive, showed great intellec- 
 tual and moral powers, rather than that bull-dog courage 
 which has always been attributed to him. But I need not 
 dwell upon a man so well known, and so often painted by 
 word and pencil. After I learned more of his life, and had 
 by reflection and experience become better equipped as a 
 critic, I think I may say that Jackson was a man of emi- 
 nent moral courage rather than physical ; though he had 
 ample store of each. 
 
 Man, like other animals, has a mental structure from the 
 brain and nerves; and also a physical structure — the brain, 
 nerves, and muscles, being more united in the last. Dr. 
 Joseph Rodes Buchanan, I think, has proven beyond cavil, 
 that the anterior brain is the place of the intellect; and 
 the posterior portion, resting upon the neck, is that which 
 regulates the muscles, the senses, the sensual and the 
 sensuous sentiments, actions and passions. Whilst reject- 
 ing the elaborate subdivisions of the brain which phre- 
 nology claims, I think these two grand divisions of crani- 
 ology must be accepted as facts. 
 
 In the bull-dog, we have the immense neck and pos- 
 terior development of the brain, which impels him to sud- 
 den and unreflecting brute force and courage. But in the 
 shepherd, the spaniel, and the St. Bernard, we see the 
 lighter neck and the facial angle of the brain more ele- 
 vated, approximating in degree the "human face divine." 
 The whole memoirs of Jackson show that he acted accord- 
 ing to his facial, or rather higher cranial, structure. He was 
 not quick to resent injuries, far less to rush into personal 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 49 
 
 assault ; but, on the contrary, was quite well poised and cau- 
 tious in difficulties, when force was to be used. He showed 
 this in his Indian wars, and also in his battle at New Or- 
 leans. But, "being in," he exerted all his moral forces, 
 and all his physical powers, to the fullest extent. So he 
 attacked the British unawares before the great battle of 
 the 8th ; not so much to demoralize those trained veterans, 
 as to prove, in a one-sided and partial success, to his own 
 new troops, that these "Red Coats" were not invincible. 
 Then, again, on account of the situation of the ground, 
 the British must advance at right lines' in the front, or not 
 at all. So he wisely intrenched and fortified with the cele- 
 brated cotton-bales, which were not only accessible, but 
 the finest possible material for the purpose. The result 
 all the world knows. And this mental foresight in resisting 
 force, or other obstructions of a mental or sentimental cast, 
 is moral courage. And this all great statesmen and gen- 
 erals have exhibited ; notably, Caesar, Hannibal, Scipio, Na- 
 poleon, and others. 
 
 At Lodi, the bridge must be passed, or the battle lost; 
 and the battle lost in the enemy's country, with an army 
 numerically greatly inferior, and far from recruits or sup- 
 plies, all was lost. Hence the "Little Corporal" went 
 into the fight first with the moral and then the brute cour- 
 age united; and fortune stood on his side. Henry Clay 
 had equal moral courage with Jackson, but he lacked 
 military glory; and, with the ignorant majority, military 
 glory is appreciable; whilst moral courage and intellectual 
 statesmanship are incomprehensible. In such conflict, Jack- 
 son, of course, triumphed. Had Mr. Clay accepted the 
 Generalship-in-Chief in the War of 1812, as proposed by 
 his friends — the President, Madison, being one — there is no 
 doubt but he would have made a great and successful 
 general; for, of all men who ever came into political 
 rivalry in our country, Henry Clay and Andrew Jackson 
 were the most alike in character. 
 Vol. I.— 4 
 
50 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Of all the generals who have lived, Julius Caesar was 
 the greatest; and he was great in all the departments of 
 human effort — great as a lawyer, great as an orator, great 
 as a historian, and greatest as a general. In the social 
 circle, among men and women, he had no superior — hand- 
 some, affable, considerate, and magnetic; whilst in batde 
 he was quick, stern, and inflexible — first anticipating all 
 obstructions, and then rushing like exploding dynamite 
 upon his astonished foes. Jackson and Clay, if they had 
 the equal talent of Caesar, had not his opportunities.; and, 
 after all, fate plays a great and unknown part in human 
 affairs, and men are rather the sequences than the directors 
 of events. Later in life I knew Thomas H. Benton. 
 
 On the same occasion I was introduced to John C. Cal- 
 houn, who was quite courteous to me. Still, as I had no 
 admiration for the man's principles, I made my visit short. 
 His person was good, and his face intellectual and express- 
 ive; but he left no great impression on my memory. As 
 we were in antagonism all our lives on great and conflict- 
 ing principles, I say no more about him. 
 
 Mr. Van Buren invited me to a family dinner, his three 
 sons being at table, among whom was "Prince John," as 
 he was familiarly called by his friends, whom I afterward 
 met in Russia, and of whom I shall speak again. Van 
 Buren was kind but reserved, and I only remember his 
 rather square German face and head. And here I was 
 struck with the different manners of the North and the 
 South, which continue to this day. The Russians of the 
 higher class are more like the Southerners, than the South- 
 erners are like the Northerners. In Baltimore I made the 
 acquaintance of Reverdy Johnson, and his most agreeable 
 family, and other men of less note. In Philadelphia, I car- 
 ried letters to John Sargent, and I was introduced to the 
 Ingersolls, Biddies, and other distinguished families, who 
 left no impression upon me. New York was democratic, 
 and then provincial, compared to Philadelphia, and I car- 
 ried no letters there. Passing New Haven, I went to 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 5 1 
 
 Boston, and formed a very large circle of acquaintances. 
 I carried letters to John Quincy Adams, George Ticknor, 
 and others. I saw Mr. Adams on my second visit to 
 Boston, after I had begun political life, at his own home 
 at Quincy, and spent over an hour with him. At that time 
 (I never have been there since,) the famous man, though 
 wealthy, lived in a framed house of very humble preten- 
 sions, in an agreeable group of trees and shrubbery. The 
 ceiling was very low, being much less airy than my own 
 house. I found Mr. Adams at home, and, waiting in the 
 hall to send in my card and letters, in a very short time I 
 was in the presence of the statesman whom I so much 
 admired, as the friend of Henry Clay. He is too well 
 known to call for my impressions of his person. He re- 
 ceived me with a smile, and talked long and familiarly with 
 me. But after such a lapse of time, but little remains on 
 my memory. I only recall that he told me he never missed 
 an appointment in his life. I, knowing the careless habits 
 of the South in that respect, said to him: "You, of course, 
 speak of appointments to speak." "No," returned he; 
 "but in all the transactions of life, I make it a rule to be 
 prompt at the time named." 
 
 This made such an impression on me, that I determined 
 that I would imitate him myself And I can now say that I 
 have made more public speeches than any man in America, 
 excepting the public lectures may be so called, and I have 
 never missed an appointment. I was always ready to move, 
 and to move on the first conveyance. So that, if the first 
 boat, car, or stage broke down, I would have the chance of 
 the next; and, if there were no other trains or conveyance, 
 I had at least all chances of repair of the ones used. Once, 
 however, whilst lecturing in New York, with all my precau- 
 tions, I missed connection, and was about to lose my ap- 
 pointment. I was getting then from from fifty to one hun- 
 dred dollars for each lecture (a large sum then for any one, 
 and I was not interested in it), so if I lost that one, I 
 I lost not only my hundred dollars, but was likely to lose 
 
52 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 the next series, or a part of it. So, going to a rail- 
 road ofifice, I paid fifty dollars for a special car, and so 
 down in time. The audience, a full house, were all in, 
 and waiting for me. The time was nearly up, and many 
 said: "He can not come; the train is in, and Clay not on 
 it." Here a friend of mine, knowing my punctuality, said: 
 " I will bet a hundred dollars that Clay will be in time by 
 the clock." The bet was made, and in I walked. My 
 friend, who afterward told me the circumstance, said: "I 
 handed back the money, telling the loser that it was not 
 fair to take it up on a certainty of the result." 
 
 When I spoke in Ohio, in 1876, I was forty miles away 
 from my appointment; and, there being no stage, boat, or 
 railroad in that direction, all my friends said it was impos- 
 sible ; but I got there in time by carriage, with relays of 
 horses. So, in 1875, ^ was at Memphis, and my appoint- 
 ment was at Greenville, Mississippi. All said it was use- 
 less to attempt it; yet, after forty-eight hours' struggle, I 
 was in the presence of my expectant audience, and received 
 with great enthusiasm. So, in all my life-work, I have 
 not recognized the impossible till fate had finally decided. 
 Something of this is, no doubt, constitutional; but much 
 was the result of illustrious example. 
 
 As this visit was probably in 1844, after I had entered 
 upon my anti-slavery career, Mr. Adams paid me the com- 
 pliment of saying he regarded me as "one of the pillars of 
 the temple of American liberty." 
 
 At my first visit to Boston, I carried letters to Daniel 
 Webster, and made his acquaintance ; but of him I shall 
 say more hereafter. I found George Ticknor in his Bos- 
 ton home. I well remember his massive, high forehead, 
 and distinguished bearing. At a private ball at his house, 
 I met again Daniel Webster. He had the largest private 
 library I had seen — the whole walls of a large room being 
 filled with books. Then and afterward I met and made the 
 acquaintance of most of Boston's distinguished men and 
 women: Whittier, the poet; the Quincys; the Otises; Dr. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 53 
 
 Howe, and his famous wife, Julia Ward H., whom I visited 
 at their country home; John J. Palfrey, John A. Andrew, 
 and Edward Everett, with all three of whom I afterward 
 had correspondence, as well as with the Quincys, Phillipses, 
 etc.; Wm. Lloyd Garrison; Robert Winthrop; Judge Bige- 
 low, and his accomplished lady, whose guests Mrs. Clay and 
 myself were in 1844; and Charles Sumner, who afterward 
 visited me in Kentucky. I saw Rufus Choate the lawyer, 
 but was never presented to him. I well remember his 
 large frame, and great thoughtful eyes; but never heard 
 him speak. It was much later in life when 1 met my 
 eccentric and distinguished friend, Benj. F. Butler, who, 
 like the German carp, is likely to live a hundred years, and 
 keep the waters muddy and turbulent all the time! 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 Yale College. — Its President and Professors. — William Lloyd Garrison. — 
 His logical discourse converts me. — I deliver the Washington Centen- 
 nial Oration of 1832. — Am Baptized. — Christianity, reflections con- 
 cerning. — Class-mates. — Joseph Longworth. — His father, Nicholas Long- 
 worth.— American Grapes and Wines. — Allan Taylor Caperton. — The 
 Lost Love. — Lines Poetic. — "Girls and Boys go a Hickorv-nut-hunting." 
 A Portrait. — Engaged. 
 
 AS I was well up in my studies, being a good Latin 
 scholar, and then well versed in the French (though 
 this last was not in the regular course), I easily joined 
 the Junior Class in their last session, toward commence- 
 ment. Jeremiah Day was president, and well advanced in 
 life ; unprepossessing in features, yet with the impress of 
 a high moral and benignant nature. 
 
 I had gone to Boston in part to determine whether I 
 would enter Harvard or Yale, and decided to go to New 
 Haven, on account of its reputed beauty of trees, as well 
 as its reputation for thoroughness in education — a prime 
 quality always with me. For when I studied Latin with 
 Joshua Fry, Graves and Bates, boarding more than a mile 
 from our school, often came to consult the old teacher 
 about the translation of a single word when they differed. 
 This was the way to make great scholars and great men. 
 The vast field of the "curriculum" attempted in modern 
 times is more destructive to the intellect than no educa- 
 tion at all, in the great mass of students. The mind, en- 
 feebled by frequent failure to grasp the subject at issue, 
 becomes often despondent, and at last impotent! 
 
 There were quite a number of Southerners then in 
 
 Yale; so I soon felt at home, and entered upon my 
 
 studies with good heart. I joined one of the college 
 
 societies, and took a leading part in the debates; but, as 
 
 54 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 55 
 
 I soon entered upon an exciting political career, I do not 
 now remember to what society I did or do now belong. 
 I believe it was the Alpha Beta Phi. President Day was 
 silent, dignified, and amiable. He never said anything; but 
 we all loved him. All the other professors had their admirers 
 and their critics. Benjamin Silliman, the chief figure, was 
 then in the height of his eminence as a chemist, and in- 
 ventor, and experimenter, in all the civilized world ; of large 
 stature and of large brain, and "as happy as a big sun- 
 flower;" full of vanity, but of that pleasant sort which, 
 running over, allows his friends to share the intoxicating 
 fluid; and so he, too, had no enemies. Professor Good- 
 rich was ambitious and great, I suppose, in Greek ; but, 
 as I went through four colleges, and don 't know my 
 Greek letters hardly, I pass on! Professor J. L. Kings- 
 ley was a man of fine common sense, and was highly 
 respected. Professor Olmstead was silent, amiable, and 
 liked by his scholars. The Rev. Leonard Bacon was then 
 the leading preacher in the Independent Presbyterian 
 Church at Yale ; a cold, technical, dogmatical Puritan. 
 He was always an uncompromising defender of slavery ; 
 bolstering it up, when it only could take a stand in the 
 Jewish Scriptures, after it had been driven for centuries 
 from the hearts of all true Christians. Perhaps he found 
 it his interest to be on the winning side for the Union 
 when he saw it was inevitable, and that slavery and all its 
 defenders would go down ! But I pass the learned doctor 
 to consider a character worthy the admiration and gratitude 
 of all mankind. 
 
 One of the peculiarities of the antebellum times was 
 the isolation of thought between the Liberals of the South 
 and the North. Such was the policy of the South. So, 
 when I entered Yale, with my soul full of hatred to slavery, 
 I had never known anything of Garrison or his history. 
 Soon after I entered college, before I had noted the situa- 
 tion, it was announced that Garrison was going to speak 
 in the South Church that night — the church, at least. 
 
56 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 nearest the South of the city, and, I think, so called. 
 " Who is Garrison ? " I asked. " Why, Garrison is the 
 Abolitionist. Don't you know?" So, as I had never 
 heard an ' Abolitionist, nor the name hardly, I went to 
 hear Garrison. 
 
 Every accessible place was crowded ; but I pressed on 
 determinedly to the front, so far as to see and hear him 
 fully. In plain, logical, and sententious language he 
 treated the "Divine Institution" so as to burn like a 
 branding-iron into the most callous hide of the slave- 
 holder and his defenders. This was a new revelation to 
 me. I felt all the horrors of slavery; but my parents 
 were slave-holders ; all my known kindred in Kentucky 
 were slave-holders; and I regarded it as I did other evils 
 of humanity, as the fixed law of Nature or of God, and 
 submitted as best I might. But Garrison dragged out 
 the monster from all his citadels, and left him stabbed to 
 the vitals, and dying at the feet of every logical and hon- 
 est mind. 
 
 As water to a thirsty wayfarer, were to me Garrison's 
 arguments and sentiments. He was often and boisterously 
 hissed; but I stood silent and thoughtful in the depths of 
 my new thought. Another meeting of the citizens was 
 called for the next night, to answer Garrison. I do not now 
 remember who were the orators; but the "Liberal" Dr. 
 Bacon ought to have been, if he was not, the man to 
 answer such broad logic of truth, and justice, and relig- 
 ion, and humanity; for he had that temperament and tech- 
 nichal training which best fitted him to make the worse 
 appear the better cause. I once more got a good place 
 to hear; and, as sophism after sophism, and false conclu- 
 sion from more false assumptions followed, in chain-like 
 succession, they were greeted with thundering applause. 
 This aroused me from my apathy. I felt the greatest in- 
 dignation. I never, in all my life, was so agitated in a 
 public assemblage. I first thought I wOuld interrupt him, 
 and deny his assumptions of fact; then I concluded to 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 57 
 
 answer him in order; and, was preparing to do so, when 
 another sprang up, and gave me time to reflect, that I had 
 come to Yale to learn, and not to teach. So I returned to 
 my room as full of tumultuous emotions as on the night 
 before. I then resolved, however, that, when I had the 
 strength, if ever, I would give slavery a death struggle. 
 
 I pursued my studies with energy. On the 2 2d day 
 of February, 1832, I was chosen to deliver the Centennial 
 Oration on Washington's birth. This I spoke only on the 
 part of the Senior Class. There was no other similar ora- 
 tion made in New Haven on that day.. So I had the 
 whole of the 'elite, social and literary, of the college and 
 New Haven to hear me. And there I made my first anti- 
 slavery speech. (See Greeley's Life and Writings of C^ 
 M. Clay, New York, 1848.) My mother, my elder brother, 
 Sidney P. (a Presbyterian), and all my family (but Brutus 
 and I), my sisters Eliza, Paulina, and Anne, belonged to 
 some church. The moral sentiments move in concert, as 
 the evil passions do. So the good seed which Garrison 
 had watered, and which my own bitter experience had 
 sown, aroused my whole soul. 
 
 There was a religious revival in our senior year. I, 
 too, abandoned my old departures from the known paths 
 of the eternal laws, and joined the revivalists ; and was 
 baptized by the Baptist minister in New Haven Sound. 
 My mother was a Calvinist Baptist, and naturally I would 
 fall into her church ; but when I remembered the speakers 
 in the Garrison foray, I could never feel brotherhood for 
 such Christians. So I sought a common-place Baptist 
 preacher, and was baptized in the sea, and received into 
 his church. I received my religion as a matter of 
 course, just as I did slavery on trust; but when I began 
 to read the Scriptures, on my return home (like Paley's 
 Evidences of Christianity), they rather upset than con- 
 firmed my faith; and I finally wrote to our New Haven 
 minister to strike me from the roll of the church. Then 
 I was reminded of Bacon's theology and its fruits, which 
 
58 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 I had seen in the old South Church; for I saw all around 
 me the whole clergy, with the exception of John G. Fee 
 (now of Berea College, Madison County, Kentucky), stand- 
 ing for slavery as a "Divine Institution!" I had no fellow- 
 ship with men with such a creed; and I preferred, if God 
 was on that side, to stand with the Devil rather; for he 
 was silent, at least. So, if I said and wrote hard things 
 against the Scriptures, and especially the preachers, it was 
 because they were the false prophets which it was neces- 
 sary to destroy with slavery. 
 
 But larger experience in the world has taught me to 
 look at Christianity (though the clergy have done more 
 for infidelity than all the infidels,) in a broader apprecia- 
 tion, and with a more philosophical spirit. The true 
 theory I have touched upon in the chapter where I speak 
 of Ingersoll. And we must look upon the Christian sys- 
 tem not as a matter of faith, nor as a religious code only, 
 but as a great moral system of infinite worth to the human 
 race ; not at all to be questioned, far less rejected, because 
 there may be in its professions or history some assumed 
 facts irreconcilable with reason. We must stand with 
 Franklin in his system of morality, as illustrated by his 
 axe : He found it difficult to grind his axe altogether 
 bright; but did not thereupon throw it away. It was a 
 good and useful axe, even with a few insignificant spots 
 left upon it. So I stand by Christianity, however repre- 
 sented, or however misrepresented — seeing a grand and 
 ennobling and saving system left for the elevation and 
 happiness of mankind. After you have washed away all 
 the dirt and all the tattered rags, which enemies and false 
 or deluded friends have thrown around it, there Christianity 
 still stands in unrivalled perfection and beauty, worthy of 
 our highest worship and devotion in the world; and our 
 only hope of another and a better life in the infinite un- 
 known. 
 
 The Cosmos, infinite in itself, can never be solved by 
 man of finite f£.culties. This morning it was dark, and in 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 59 
 
 a few minutes the light of morn began to stream through 
 the window-shutters — wonderful work of Nature or Di- 
 vinity. These same wonders have been repeated all those 
 years of a long and observant life. They have been sub- 
 jected to all science, and all logic, and all speculation; and 
 they are as far from being solved as in my infancy. It may 
 be said that of the hereafter, and of the immortality of the 
 soul, we know nothing. Granted. If a future life can not 
 be proved, it can not be disproved. And when we have fol- 
 lowed all the scientists to that unknown bourne, we are just 
 as much in the dark as in the beginning of man's existence. 
 So, when speculation and aspiration are all that is left us, 
 it seems to me the safest and most logical course to hope 
 for the happiest issues, and there rest. 
 
 Of my class-mates, Joseph Longworth was the most 
 noted in after-life, for his munificent gift at Cincinnati to 
 promote art. At college, as in after-life, he was unambi- 
 tious. We were much together. Very amiable, and very 
 full of humor and wit, he was the most pleasant of com- 
 panions. His tastes were then decidedly literary; and he 
 could aptly quote, and humorously or seriously declaim, 
 choice fragments from all of the most popular authors. In 
 Connecticut the white fish were seined and used to manure 
 the fields. The odor was not agreeable. One morning, 
 meeting me coolly taking my usual walk in the near 
 grounds, with which New Haven was surrounded, by the 
 Hillhouse estate- and others, Longworth said: "Ah!" rub- 
 bing his hands, "Ever fond of nature; listening to the birds, 
 and breathing the delightful atmosphere of the white fish ! " 
 When one of his collegiates, in after-life, wrote to him, as 
 to others, for the data of a sketch of his life, he replied he 
 had nothing to say, and "could hardly be expected to as- 
 sist in taking his own life ! " His father, Nicholas Long- 
 worth (whom I well knew, and with whose agreeable family 
 I spent many pleasant days after my marriage — Mrs. L., 
 Mrs. Eliza Flagg, and Miss Kate Longworth, who after- 
 ward married Larz Anderson, brother of the defender of 
 
6o MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Fort Sumter), was a man of sterling qualities, to whom 
 the enterprising city of Cincinnati owes much of her great 
 prosperity. He was the first who, having tried all the 
 leading foreign grapes, conceived the idea of cultivating 
 native vines. He introduced the Catawba from North 
 Carolina, the best wine and eating grape in this latitude, 
 and other varieties ; and set the public in the right direc- 
 tion. His hints have been well followed up; and we now 
 rival Europe. This, it is true, at a distance ; but finally we 
 will excel her in both grapes and wine, Mr. Longworth, 
 in both, having set the example. 
 
 Of all the snobs in the world, save me from the Amer- 
 ican snob! Mr. Longworth sent some boxes of Catawba 
 champagne to the American Minister at London, to try and 
 introduce it into Great Britain, and which was of course 
 a great market for all foreign wines ; but, instead 'of grasp- 
 ing the idea of Mr. Longworth, he wrote, and it reached 
 the journals, that he was not engaged in commerce; and 
 he indignantly refused the gift. When we remember that 
 the Prince of Wales is now breeding South-Downs, con- 
 testing the prizes in the royal agricultural shows, and else- 
 where, and sending his sheep to the United States, with 
 his name marked upon the wool for sale, we can appreci- 
 ate the difference between men of sense and gentlemen, 
 like the Prince and Longworth, and the man raised by 
 chance to distinguished position. His name is already 
 forgotten; but Longworth will ever remain in the memory 
 of Americans, as one of their greatest benefactors. For 
 he was not confined in his efforts to grape-culture, but 
 made advances in horticulture and the fine arts, and land- 
 scape-gardening. 
 
 As an instance of the absurdities of fashion and habit, 
 it was objected to the American wines that they had too 
 much bouquet, or grape-taste; and the "dry," "insipid," 
 "doctored" wines of Europe were greatly preferred. I 
 never gave way to such nonsense; for what flavor in all 
 nature is more delicious than the taste of a fine ripe grape? 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 6 1 
 
 But now American wines are sought after, for the same 
 reason that they were once rejected; and the time is near 
 when we will supply, not only ourselves, but, in part, the 
 world with wine. For our soil and climate are admirably 
 adapted to the grape ; and experience will, at last, teach 
 us the best methods of turning the fruit into wines. 
 
 Professor Ed. E. Salisbury, my junior by a few years, 
 was also my class-mate. He was wealthy, and married a 
 woman of fortune; and spent much time in Europe and 
 the East. He was a fine scholar, and studied the ancient 
 and oriental languages in Paris; and, in 1841, was made 
 honorary professor of Arabic and Sanscrit in Yale. He 
 attained distinction as a scholar at home and abroad. But 
 my purpose is simple mention; and I conclude by saying 
 that he has added much to his own and the reputation 
 of his country and Yale. 
 
 Well do I remember Allen Taylor Caperton, of Vir- 
 ginia, with his ever-beaming grey eyes and flexible feat- 
 ures. He was much my friend, and I saw much of him. 
 Full of wit and humor and "practical jokes," he won the 
 hearts of all. The leader of all fun — changing the signs 
 of business-houses, and making things very ridiculous ; 
 tossing bores, who could take no other hints to be off, 
 in blankets ; and treating the Northerners to their tradi- 
 tional pies unbaked! He led a slip-shod life, and hardly 
 passed graduation by the general favor which all enter- 
 tained for him. So, we might say of him, as Prince Hal 
 said of Falstaff : " Well could we have spared a better 
 man." But, as history frequently has shown, like most 
 men of exuberant spirits in college, when he entered real 
 life he laid aside his frivolity, and addressed himself with 
 ability and success to his life-work. He was a good 
 lawyer, but shone most as a politician, entering the Con- 
 federate States' Senate; and, after the restoration of the 
 Union, the Senate of the United States. I copy, from 
 the obituary oration of Senator Tucker, of Virginia, 1877, 
 a single extract : 
 
62 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 "As a public man, he was animated by a high pubhc spirit, 
 lending his aid to all schemes which would benefit and advance 
 
 the interests of his community He fell at the post 
 
 of duty; and has left to his countrymen a name without a stain, a 
 character for spotless and lofty integrity, and the perpetual mem- 
 ory of a noble and honorable life." 
 
 Benjamin Hardin's son Rowan, and Howard Wickliffe, 
 son of Robert Wickliffe, all Kentuckians, were in the 
 lower classes with me at Yale, and associates. They were 
 men of great natural powers and true worth, but died 
 young. So the gods decreed. Thus others, whom I re- 
 member with the pleasures of friendship, fell by the way- 
 side, in the hard ascent of — 
 
 "The steep where fame's proud temple shines afar." 
 
 Between the time when I stood in the waters of Tates' 
 creek, and nearly cut off the big toe of the girl who took 
 part with the dominie with the long beech-rod, and the 
 time when I committed the irrevocable and most important 
 act of my life — marriage — there was in my own town a 
 girl, E. R — , slightly my junior, and also a blonde. Too 
 young to have suitors, like the native wild-flowers of our 
 grand forests, she was budding unseen and unconscious 
 of her charms, which were so attractive to those who were 
 fortunate enough to have been by any chance thrown within 
 her domestic circle. To see her was to love her. How 
 far she reciprocated my half-avowed passion I can only con- 
 jecture; but that conjecture was to me full of hope, and 
 set me seriously to consider the greatest problem of life. * 
 
 * About this time inspired, as most young men, I wrote the 
 
 following lines, then published, and often complimented: 
 
 •C. 1885. 
 LINES, ^ 
 
 BY CASSIUS M. CLAY. 
 
 Dear to Chaldeans are the skies ; 
 To Magi dear the morning sun ; 
 But oh 1 give me a woman's eyes 
 To look upon. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 63 
 
 Jealous eyes, however, as ever in such affairs are inevita- 
 ble, had "ta'en a note;" and a proud family, impatient 
 under vulgar espionage and offensive comment, gathered 
 up their household gods, with the loved one included, 
 and took refuge in the Far West. What was my sur- 
 prise and despair when these facts were confirmed beyond 
 question! My first thought, on my return home, was to 
 follow, and avow my passion, and thus prove the sincerity 
 of the tacit promise, which might fairly be inferred, though 
 both of us were under the age for such serious venture. 
 But on a second thought, as our families were of equal 
 rank, might not my purpose have been anticipated, and 
 the suit have been unacceptable? ' I, too, was proud- 
 hearted; and never saw her more! Thus perished, as 
 with one awaking, a beautiful dream ; but its memory re- 
 mains forever! Such first love has been felt by poet and 
 sage, as the one undissoluble tie of kindred souls, which 
 fill with sunshine or shade all after-life ; and is the inex- 
 orable, called "fate!" 
 
 So at sea, I drifted to the scenes of later boyhood ; and, 
 
 My spirit, as the Lybian wilds, 
 Which Niger's flood would quench in vain. 
 Though drinking in a thousand smiles, 
 Yet thirsts again. 
 
 My heart, just as the fabled one 
 Of him where vultures ever prey. 
 Though long by passion fed upon, 
 Wastes not away. 
 
 My love, is like the flaming beams 
 Of vestal fire in sacred urns ; 
 By day and night, awake, in dreams. 
 It ever burns. 
 
 Chaldeans live in clouded skies. 
 And Magi breathe without the sun ; 
 Shut out from me loved woman's eyes — 
 — 1833.' I am undone. 
 
64 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 at Lexington, was united in marriage with her who held 
 the book given during my course in Transylvania. 
 
 Mary Jane had not yet reached her eighteenth year, 
 and was still going to school in Lexington. Her house 
 was already open to her young friends. Her elder sister, 
 Anne, about this time had returned from an Eastern school, 
 and made her entrance into society. She imported all the 
 follies and habitudes of such academies; and aspired to 
 lead the elegant society for which Lexington has ever 
 been noted. She was dark-skinned, slightly freckled, with 
 thin hair and person, and "jimber-jawed." So that, in 
 early life, "her nose and chin did threaten 'ither!" She 
 had what was then, in cant phrase, called the "Grecian 
 bend," an inclination of the body forward, after the man- 
 ner of some of the classic Venuses. This indecent atti- 
 tude of self-consciousness, well enough in the sensual 
 pagan idea of womanhood, was avoided by my friend, 
 Joel T. Hart, in his "Woman Triumphant." Whilst fol- 
 lowing nature in the course of time, he impersonates the 
 modern woman of purity, and the flexibility of features 
 which comes of mental and moral culture. Whilst some 
 women are said to gush with sympathy or affection, Anne 
 reversed that artistic operation. She gushed with an affec- 
 tation of contempt or hatred. She would throw up both 
 hands, roll her eyes as if all was over with her, and then, 
 opening wide her mouth, she would break out in an 
 indescribable . guffaw. She seemed at daggers'- points 
 with herself and all the world, which was ominous of all 
 the ills of her future life ! As a scandal-monger, she ter- 
 rorized all Lexington. Never, therefore, had woman so 
 magnificent a foil to set off her charms, as the younger 
 sister had in the elder Warfield. 
 
 The guests would sit in some constraint, talking to 
 each other, or the family, till Mary Jane returned from 
 school. She would come at times bolting in, with hair 
 uncombed, leaving her sun-bonnet and satchel of books 
 in the ante-room ; or, throwing them down in a chair, 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 65 
 
 dressed in plain but loose-cut school-girl's attire, and, en- 
 tering at once into general conversation, she soon had the 
 whole attention of the visitors. Was this simplicity or the 
 highest art? The morning and the evening hours of re- 
 ception were thus so occupied, that I had no opportunity 
 of saying a word of love to her. I saw that she was as 
 much attracted by me as I was by her. So she said quietly 
 to me, that she was going on a certain day hickory-nut- 
 hunting with a few girls, at the house of John Allen, Esq. — 
 with his daughter — in Fayette County. She never asked 
 me to go; yet I was there when the party arrived. 
 
 Now, in Kentucky, hickory-nut-hunting has been one of 
 the diversions of the young folks, rich and poor, from the 
 beginning ; and continues so to this day, being one of the 
 most agreeable of picnics. 
 
 John Allen was a typical Kentuckian of those days. 
 He had married my blood-relative through the Paynes — 
 the mother of Madison C. Johnson, (my brother-in-law, 
 who had allied himself with my sister, Anne, after the 
 tragic death of her first husband, Edmund Irvine, Esq., of 
 Madison County,) and of George W. Johnson, who was 
 made Confederate Governor of Kentucky, and was killed 
 in battle during the Rebellion. Allen had, also, by his 
 first wife, a fine looking and genial daughter, Eliza, and 
 several handsome sons. So we "girls and boys" all went 
 a hickory-nut-hunting. 
 
 There are no finer forests in the world than the natu- 
 ral parks of the "Blue-grass region" of Kentucky. The 
 sugar-maple, tulip, coffee-bean, hickory-nut, and other trees, 
 were just touched with an October frost, so as to cause the 
 nuts to fall. The leaves wore that celebrated many-colored 
 foliage which comes of the maturity of the sap, which is 
 seen to such perfection in no other portion of the world. 
 The long blue-grass, which turns the forests into parks, 
 was yet green as in midsummer; the subdued rays of 
 the October sun, falling with shimmering light through 
 the half-nude boughs of the trees, warmed the genial air, 
 Vol. I.— 5 
 
66 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 and dispelled the moisture from the soil. Some birds yet 
 ventured into fragmentary songs, ere taking their flight of 
 migration further South, to winter; whilst the grey squir- 
 rels, with their long bushy tails turned over their backs, 
 like an ostrich-feather over a military hat, barked with 
 vivacity at the intruders upon their quiet retreats. 
 
 Mary Jane, by all the standards of personal description, 
 was of medium size. Her grandfather, Barr, was a native 
 Irishman; and the Warfields were a Maryland family of 
 fair standing. When I visited Baltimore, on my way to 
 college, a Miss Warfield was a leading belle in polite 
 society. The Barrs were fair, but the Warfields had dark 
 skins and hair. She had the complexion of her Irish an- 
 cestors — a fair smooth skin, at times touched with rose- 
 color; a face and head not classical, with rather broad 
 jaws, large mouth, flexible lips, rather thin and deter- 
 mined, but with outline well cut, and an irregular nose. 
 Her hair was of a light auburn or nut-color, long and lux- 
 uriant. Her eyes were a light greyish-blue, large and far 
 apart, with that flexibility of the iris which gives always 
 great variety and intensity of expression. She was the 
 best amateur-singer I ever heard; and, as I have been fa- 
 miliar with the voices of Jenny Lind, Lucca, Patti, and all 
 the most celebrated singers of my day, I venture to say 
 that hers was, in compass and tone, unsurpassed. In dis- 
 position, she was apparently the most amiable of women ; 
 and basking, as the sex rarely does, in the light of uni- 
 versal admiration, she might be said to be the impersona- 
 tion, like Calypso's isle, of "eternal springtime. " 
 
 One of the calamities of civilization is the deterioration 
 of the five senses — the sight, the touch, the smell, the 
 hearing, and the taste. But, of all these, the faculty of 
 distinguishing odors is thus the most impaired. Every 
 one of the fauna and flora, and many of the mineral 
 kingdom have a distinct smell. The odor of the horse 
 is very disagreeable; but who has not read in poetry (if 
 not familiar in fact,) of the sweet breath of the ruminating 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 67 
 
 kine? Who has failed to observe how the dog recognizes 
 the master more by the smell than the sight? For by the 
 sight is recognition, whilst the smell is that and more — a 
 source of pleasure. So the well-cultivated dog hates the 
 tramp, not for his rough dress, but for his offensive odor. 
 How he pushes his nose, at every opportunity, upon the 
 garments, face, and hands, of his beloved master, and 
 touches him fondly with his tongue! So bees like one 
 and hate another, no doubt for the same reason. Now, 
 never having dulled my senses with tobacco, tea or coffee, 
 whiskey or opium, and living much in the open air, they 
 have ever remained acute. Of all odors, which city folks 
 know so little, those of the wild grape-vine, crab-apple, 
 and the fresh hickory-nuts are the most delicious. 
 
 I sat down under the trees on the long grass; and, 
 with two small stones, easily picked up in this limestone 
 region, I was hulling the nuts, whilst the others, with hands 
 and handkerchiefs, were picking them up, and in groups 
 also cracking them, carrying and emptying them into a 
 pile near me. Mary Jane, usually so careless in her dress, 
 I noticed now wore more costly material, prepared with 
 more care, but all in admirable taste. Her hair, the bon- 
 net off, with exercise having fallen down, she had hastily 
 and loosely adjusted. She came to me when the others 
 were farthest off, and busily engaged in talk, and, picking 
 up the nuts, emptied her handkerchief on the pile. I 
 said: "Come and help me." She replied, with some 
 tremor in her voice: "I have no seat." Putting my feet 
 closer together, as they were stretched out on the ground, 
 I said: "You may sit down here, if you will be mine." 
 She hesitated a moment (she was standing near me, with 
 her face in the same direction), and then — down she came! 
 brushing my cheek with her disordered hair, with the 
 aroma, sweeter than orange-blossoms, of the hickory-nuts. 
 She just touched me with the skirts of her dress, and said: 
 "I am yours." Then she hurried off to mingle with her 
 companions again. Thus she attacked nearly all my senses 
 
68 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 at once! Was it simplicity, or the highest art? This, at 
 ail events, was a moment of supreme bliss, which comes 
 but once in life, when the soul has not felt the degrading 
 union of the earthy with the immortal, by which come sin 
 and woe and death into the world! 
 ******** 
 
 Mrs Allen was a woman of superior intellect, very ob- 
 servant, and much my friend. When the city party had 
 left, she called me aside, and said: "Cousin Cash, I see 
 that you are much taken with Mary Jane. Do n't you 
 marry her ; do n't you marry a Warfield! There are the 
 Misses M. W— . E. B— , C. H— . and E. R— , fine and 
 cultured women of large fortunes and good families, but 
 in all these things you are at least their equal. I do n't 
 say you can marry any one of them, but I do say you can 
 marry one of them, who will make you a good wife, and 
 you will be happy." 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 WoMANS' Rights. — Death of Dr. J. P. Declarey. — Political Life. — Elected 
 TO THE Kentucky House of Representatives. — Robert Wickliffe. — 1 
 SPEAK AT Stanford, Lincoln County. — Fight with James C. Sprigg. — The 
 Canvass of 1841. — Duel with Wickliffe. — Fight with S. M. Brown, at 
 Russell's Cave. 
 
 MRS. Elisha (Maria B.) Warfield was a fine looking old 
 lady, with handsome and gallant brothers. She as- 
 sumed to be the head of the family, which her husband 
 with good sense allowed generally ; but I found that, in 
 matters of moment, he came to the front, and the madam 
 surrendered at discretion. I had been bred in a different 
 school, where my father never appeared to show authority, 
 because his supremacy was never questioned. So I looked 
 with some discontent at this new state of things. There 
 was no political aspirations at that time toward Womans' 
 Rights, but in all these years I find no reason to change 
 my views. It is not at all a false sentiment which places 
 the male at the head of government, and the female de- 
 pendent upon his superior intellect and physical strength. 
 The red-birds which eat at my crumb-box are the most 
 shy of all our songsters. The male enters the box very 
 cautiously, takes a crumb, and feeds his timid mate, that 
 sits on a near bough, as the mother would feed her young. 
 The barn-yard cock leads the females to the feeding- 
 grounds ; finds and shares the food, and stands forever on 
 the watch for the hawk. He is never off guard; but, when 
 the enemy appears, he sounds the alarm, the hens take at 
 once to the bushes, and he, standing alone, often defends 
 himself against his powerful enemy, or, at least, sullenly 
 takes cover when the last female is secure. So the wild 
 
 69 
 
yO MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 horses on the prairies, and the lions and elephants of the 
 African and Asiatic jungles follow the same law, and 
 which is the universal law of animal life. Even the be;es 
 are no exception ; for the queen is certainly dependent 
 upon the males and neuters, and they do not at all lean 
 upon her. I believe that the so-called advance in civilization 
 which secures separate property rights to women is a fatal 
 mistake. It denies the unity of interests in families, breeds 
 suspicion and war, and is the chief cause of divorce, which 
 signalizes modern society — "the cause of all our woe." 
 These evils would be intensely aggravated by equal suf- 
 frage, where politics often leads to bloodshed, by passions 
 which would invade the peace of every household. Suf- 
 frage is already in the hands of the ignorant and the 
 vicious — a dangerous experiment; and its extension to 
 women would, in my judgment, but add fuel to the fire. 
 
 So I foolishly asked Dr. Warfield for Mary Jane's hand, 
 saying nothing to her mother. After a long time waiting 
 for a reply and receiving none, I began to stand upon my 
 mettle. One day we had gone on horse-back from their 
 country residence, the " Meadows," to Uncle Ben. War- 
 fields', on an adjoining farm, who was a fine old gentle- 
 man, whom I always loved. Indeed, none of the War- 
 fields of the old set were bad men ; but rather men of 
 character and good sense, but narrow-minded in political 
 sentiment. When we returned, without explanation, I de- 
 clined to go in, and said I would not come again; and 
 then I went back to Lexington. That evening I was at 
 a private party of the 'elite of the city, when a messenger 
 from the "Meadows" handed me a letter. It was from the 
 father only, in response to my former letter, giving me his 
 daughter. The letter was a great relief to me; for it 
 showed that I had rightly divined the cause of the delay, 
 and had forced an assent that might justly be reluctant 
 on the part of Many Jane's mother. I was all the more 
 rejoiced, because I felt that I had escaped, I knew not by 
 what distance, from a pit-fall of my own digging. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 7 1 
 
 A few days before my marriage, my mother-in-law, Mrs. 
 Maria Barr Warfield, handed me an open letter addressed 
 to her daughter, my fianc'ee, but placed in her own hands 
 by General Leslie Combs, a friend of the family. Declarey 
 was a very popular physician of Louisville, Kentucky, and 
 was a suitor also of Mary Jane Warfield. The letter was 
 depreciatory of my character, though containing nothing of 
 serious allegation against me. It should have been thrown 
 into the fire, and nothing shown to me. But, as the matter 
 stood, I felt not only indignant at such secret and ungentle- 
 manly conduct, but was compelled by a sense of honor to 
 vindicate myself. So, taking my "best man," James S. Rol- 
 lins, with me, I went to Louisville, procured a small black 
 hickory stick, and, finding Declarey at the Louisville hotel 
 steps, I invited him into the cross street; and showing him 
 the letter, which he read, I asked him if he had any expla- 
 nations or apology to make. He remained silent. So I 
 caned him severely — Rollins keeping the crowd off till he 
 was sufficiently punished. Then, telling him that I would 
 be found at his hotel, where the event occurred, I retired 
 with Rollins to my room. In a few hours I received a 
 challenge from Declarey, which I promptly accepted. De- 
 clarey was about ten years older than myself, and of my 
 own size in weight and stature, whilst his reputation for 
 courage stood high. The terms were soon arranged. We 
 were to meet next day in Indiana, near the Ohio River, at 
 a named place and hour. Both parties were promptly on 
 the ground. But the news had spread, and a large crowd 
 was already there, and more persons continually coming; 
 so that all parties agreed to defer the meeting to a more 
 favorable time and place — first, on the same side of the 
 river, and that failing also, we returned to Louisville, it 
 being nearly dark on our arrival there. I was to be mar- 
 ried the next evening; and Lexington, in those days, by 
 stage, was a whole day's journey away. Declarey's friends 
 proposed finally to set first the next day for a meeting, 
 and- then to fight in the city that night; all of which my 
 
72 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 friend Rollins peremptorily refused. Declarey was in his 
 own home ; was then, I think, a member of the Kentucky 
 Legislature, or, at least, had been. He had, as followers, 
 a large number of roughs, as a matter of course ; and if 
 it was not, fair to ask of me a fight in the day-time, it was 
 more unfair to ask a fight in the city at night, when secrecy 
 would be impossible. We had given them a fair chance for 
 a fight ; and if the crowd prevented it, it was Declarey's 
 crowd. Rollins and myself had hardly an acquaintance in 
 the city at that time. Louisville was provincial in com- 
 parison with Lexington, and Rollins and myself were 
 strangers there. If the time and place of the fight were 
 known, it could not have been the fault of our side. For 
 a man to leave a newly-married wife to return to fight her 
 rejected suitor was too absurd for even the fool-code. So 
 Rollins gave notice that we would leave for Lexington by 
 stage next morning; and, all negotiations being at an end, 
 Declarey had his usual right of offensive attack in personal 
 rencounter. The next day Rollins and I, no attack being 
 made, took the stage ; and it was quite late in the night 
 before we reached the " Meadows," where I was duly mar- 
 ried. Declarey, my friends wrote me, denounced me as a 
 coward, and said I was beneath his notice ; that he would 
 not pursue me to Lexington, but, if ever he met me in 
 life, he would "cowhide me." Now, the cowhide was a 
 whip made of twisted raw cowhide, and was used to punish 
 slaves in all the South ; and whilst the cane could be used 
 without utter disgrace, to be "cowhided" was a doom of 
 eternal infamy, which nothing but blood could wash away! 
 So run the laws of the fool-code. 
 
 Mrs. Warfield, when the Declarey affair had concluded, 
 did nothing to aggravate the situation; but, as time wore 
 on, Mrs. Allen's warning words for the first time began to 
 impress themselves upon my memory, and I had a sus- 
 picion that madam was thus willing to avenge her wounded 
 pride. So the matter did not rest there; and I determined 
 to give Declarey a full test of his manhood. So I set off, 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 73 
 
 ostensibly for Cincinnati and St. Louis; and, after spend- 
 ing a very agreeable time with my friends, the Longworths 
 and others, at Cincinnati, and visiting my wife's connec- 
 tions, the Strothers, in St. Louis, I came to my point of 
 issue, Louisville. Taking lodgings elsewhere, about din- 
 ner-time I sauntered down alone to Declarey's hotel. Not 
 finding him at table, I asked the servants about his habits, 
 and they told me that he was irregular in his hours; but 
 that he would no doubt drop in very soon after dinner, as 
 was his custom when he missed the regular hour. So, 
 being well armed, I lounged about the hotel till I sup- 
 posed he might have arrived. The dining-room had a 
 large colonnade, as was then the custom in the building 
 of large rooms. I was leaning alone against one of these, 
 when Declarey, having entered and finished his meal, rose 
 up, and for the first time saw me. I had my eyes fixed 
 steadily upon him. He turned pale, and retreated without 
 addressing me. I staid in Louisville for a day or more ; 
 and, Declarey making no demonstrations, I returned to 
 Lexington. The next day in the evening, he committed 
 suicide, by cutting his arteries. "Thus doth conscience 
 make cowards of us all." Mrs. Warfield's imprudence — 
 if nothing worse — caused the death of this man; and also 
 sowed the seeds of alienation and distrust in her own 
 household, which in time bore fruit. 
 
 To prepare myself for political life, which was con- 
 genial to my taste, I studied law in the Transylvania Law 
 School, after my return from Yale, but never took out 
 license to practice. As soon as I was eligible, in 1835, 
 I was chosen a member of the Kentucky House of Rep- 
 resentatives, from Madison County. I was beaten the next 
 year, on account of my vote for internal improvements. 
 But I was returned in 1837 with an increased vote. This 
 was a tobacco-raising county at that time ; and an old 
 cynic, whom Bingham has made noted in the " County 
 Election," as one of his group of characters, said they 
 must " top me, and then let me spread." So they topped 
 
74 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 me in 1836; but the same cultivators of the plant never 
 liked me any the better after the topping than before. 
 Such is poor human nature — to pull down all who aspire 
 to ascend higher than themselves. 
 
 Having served two years in the Legislature, in which 
 I began to develop my opposition to slavery, the slave- 
 power, under the call of Robert Wickliffe, of Fayette 
 County, and father of my school-mate, Howard Wickliffe, 
 the then largest slave-holder in the State, commenced the 
 agitation of slavery against the Liberals ; first through the 
 press, and then against myself and Robert J. Breckinridge 
 upon the stump. These movements were, of course, 
 against me, as Breckinridge had retired from the field of 
 politics, and taken refuge in the Church. So, as my family 
 disliked country life, I determined on Lexington as a 
 residence — a more central place. I there moved my 
 headquarters — retaining my house and lands in Madison 
 County; and there made my home, by purchasing the 
 Morton residence and grounds — the most elegant in the 
 city. 
 
 I became once more a candidate, in 1840, for the 
 Legislature. Fayette then returned three members — two 
 of the candidates, Curd and Curl, were my friends; so 
 the contest fell between me and Robert Wickliffe, jr., the 
 son of Robert Wickliffe. Young Wickliffe was a man of 
 fine stature and intellect, and well educated at the best 
 schools of the nation. He was of equal fortune with my- 
 self, or, at least, his father could make him so; and he 
 was then the only living son. Thus was made up one 
 of the most exciting canvasses that Fayette had witnessed 
 for many years. But 1, a new comer, triumphed ; my two 
 friends, Messrs Clayton Curl and John Curd, being also 
 elected with me. 
 
 So far I had made a good start in my chosen career; 
 for, at the last session in which I served, my friends said 
 that, if I would refuse to go into caucus, the Democrats, I 
 being a Whig, would elect me Speaker of the House. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 75 
 
 This was very flattering; but, after mature thought, I con- 
 cluded it would be better in the long run to stand by the 
 usages ot the party, than to gratify the desire for a tem- 
 porary honor. So, of course, my opponent, Charles More- 
 head, afterward Governor of the State, was chosen by the 
 caucus, and elected speaker; he being an old politician, 
 and a citizen of Frankfort — the seat of government. 
 
 I have never been an admirer of military generals. 
 Those who have built up, not those who have destroyed 
 the nations, have with me ever been the heroes. When 
 generals have led the way to the liberty and development 
 of the resources of a people, certainly the patriotic leader 
 deserves the admiration and gratitude of mankind. My 
 reputation as a "fighting man," as the phrase goes, I 
 have never gloried in. On the contrary, it has always 
 been a source of annoyance to me; overshadowing that 
 to which I most aspired — a high and self-sacrificing moral 
 courage — where the mortal was to be sacrificed to the 
 immortal. And, after a calm review of my whole life, 
 I can truly say that I have never acted on the offensive; 
 but have confined myself by will and act to the defensive. 
 The case of T — , in St. Joseph's College, was only an 
 apparent exception; for there I was at my own risk de- 
 fending the rights of others — the weak against the strong. 
 Courage, by a wise law of nature, is of great worth, in 
 the preservation of the State, the family, and the indi- 
 vidual person ; but it too often degenerates into offensive 
 brutality, and then it is more a vice than a virtue. How 
 often have I been mortified at the vulgar view taken of 
 my moral action. When John G. Fee was maltreated 
 and driven by violence from preaching near Crab Orchard, 
 in Lincoln County, because he opposed slavery, I made 
 an appointment to speak in the same place myself on 
 the slavery issue. If we were not allowed to speak freely 
 according to our constitutional rights, our whole scheme 
 for emancipation failed. I therefore felt that it was neces- 
 sary to set my life upon the cast of the die. And there. 
 
76 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 surrounded by armed followers, I took the ground which 
 was much commented upon, and noted in the nation. 
 The legend goes, and was so illustrated by an engraving, 
 that I placed a pistol on the book-board, and a Bible by 
 its side, saying: "For those who obey the rules of right, 
 and the sacred truths of the Christian religion, I appeal 
 to this Book; and to those who only recognize the law 
 of force, here is my defense," laying my hand upon my 
 pistol. Thus related, it would seem that I had made a 
 prepared and threatened exhibition of my courage and 
 prowess, when, in fact, I was exerting all my powers of 
 appeal and argument to avoid a conflict; for such avoid- 
 ance was victory. Had I laid my pistol on the book- 
 board, some enemy was most likely to seize it. I had 
 my carpet-bag with my arms and notes, as usual, at my 
 feet, unseen; and the Bible on the board was always left 
 there in the country meeting-houses. 
 
 Again, as the slave-power of Lincoln, in meeting at 
 the county capital, Stanford, had passed resolutions threat- 
 ening with death the discussion of the slavery question — 
 more in reference to myself than to Fee — I at once made 
 an appointment to speak in Stanford. This, silly people 
 thought, was useless bravado. But our strength was a 
 moral strength, and must rest, like physical battles, upon 
 successful defense. No body knew this better than the 
 slave-holders. So, as they had made an issue with both 
 Fee and myself, they saw that they had placed themselves 
 in a fatal position ; that if I spoke with safety, their policy 
 of intimidation was broken forever ; and the boldest of 
 them feared the result, in a commonwealth where so small 
 a portion of the voters were slave-holders, if I was put 
 to death in the exercise of admitted constitutional rights. 
 They, therefore, knowing that I would speak or die, sent 
 a committee of their most prominent men from Lincoln to 
 my house, thirty miles away, with instructions to approach 
 me in a friendly spirit, and advise me of the dangers of 
 my attempt. I received the committee with cordiality at 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. ']^ 
 
 my own house, where I now write; and, after hearing 
 them with respectful attention, I said : " Gentlemen, say 
 to your friends, that I appreciate their kindness in send- 
 ing you to advise with me ; but, God willing, I shall 
 speak in Stanford on the day named." So, as I foresaw, 
 there was a square division of opinion on the part of my 
 opponents ; whilst my friends were solid. The upshot was 
 that the court-house, being one of the largest in the State, 
 was crowded to overflowing. The excitement was intense, 
 but I was heard without a single interruption. This was 
 a signal victory to me and my cause ; for, if I was vic- 
 torious in the blue-grass region, the very stronghold of 
 slavery, I might claim an easy triumph elsewhere. 
 
 It was in the same court-house, in 1872, that I made 
 my speech in favor of the autonomy of the States, by the 
 invitation of the same men, where I was received with 
 unbounded enthusiasm. The Cincinnati Commercial, and 
 other leading journals of all parties, sent their reporters ; 
 and my speech, like most of my efforts in oratory, as re- 
 ported and unrevised, will be published in my " Writings 
 and Speeches." 
 
 So long as my noble friend. Fee, stood on constitu- 
 tional ground with myself, he shared my security; but, 
 when he followed the Abolition idea of ignoring the Con- 
 stitution, and was reinforced by adventurers using force 
 also, he and, I believe, forty persons were driven by vio- 
 lence from Berea. It was claimed by Fee's enemies at 
 the time, that I approved, or, at least, assented to, this 
 course; all of which was untrue. Fee voluntarily took 
 his own ground, and I took mine. To have followed him 
 would have been disastrous to my life, and those of my 
 followers. He was at first a non-resistant; but, further 
 along, allowed his friends to use force. I had determined 
 to stand and defend my position to the death. Time 
 proved that I was right. 
 
 So "revencms a nos moutons" — the fight with Sprigg. 
 I give these accounts because all such have been misrep- 
 
78 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 resented by friends and foes; and my object is to simply 
 set forth the facts. 
 
 When I was in the Legislature of Kentucky, Sprigg 
 was an old representative from Shelby County — "a good 
 fellow," as the phrase goes, but quite quarrelsome, and the 
 hero of many fights. He seemed to think himself called 
 upon to have a "muss" with me especially. For, as my 
 mother says in one of her letters to me, I was not always 
 mild in my mode of statement. Some words passed in 
 the House, and it was thought that Sprigg would chal- 
 lenge me. As other fights of mine were tragic, so this 
 one was quite comic. Sprigg was a dear lover of the 
 State beverage — "old Bourbon" — which, as elsewhere, 
 here was apt to loosen the tongue. So, on one occasion, 
 he revealed to me, confidentially, how he had always been 
 triumphant in personal rencounters. He approached his 
 antagonist, when a fight was inevitable, in a mild and 
 conciliatory manner, dealt him a sharp blow, and followed 
 that up with unrelenting severity till he was whipped. 
 "Thus," said he, "size and strength amount to nothing 
 against mind!" Sprigg had no doubt forgotten that he 
 had ever revealed to me his system of tactics. So^ when 
 the House adjourned, as we both boarded at the same 
 hotel, and the weather was cool, I found Sprigg sitting 
 on the far side of the fire-grate, and several members of 
 the Legislature present in the same room. As soon as 
 Sprigg, who was evidently awaiting my arrival, saw -me, 
 he advanced past all these gentlemen toward me, with 
 a pleasant look, without speaking. I remembered his 
 methods; and, when he got within reach, without a word 
 on either side, I gave him a severe blow in the face, and 
 brought him staggering to the floor. As fast as he would 
 rise — for I played with him as a cat with a mouse — I 
 repeated my blows; allowing him always to rise, as I felt 
 myself greatly an overmatch for him, and would not strike 
 him when down. When the bystanders saw the unequal 
 fight, and felt that Sprigg, who was a notorious bully, was 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 79 
 
 fully punished, one of them caught him by the coat-tail 
 (fine delicate broad-cloth was then fashionable), and tear- 
 ing his coat to the very collar, pulled him away; and 
 thus ended the set-to. The upshot was that Sprigg, the 
 aggressor, was severely punished — eyes blacked, nose 
 bleeding, and coat torn; whilst I stood smiling, without a 
 touch. 
 
 Sprigg laid by for several days ; and all thought now, 
 at least, a duel was inevitable. After a while he ventured 
 out, with his eyes marked with wide black rings. Ap- 
 proaching me, smiling, with outstretched hand to show 
 peace, he said : " Clay, old fellow, here 's my hand. I 
 taught you my tactics, and you have beaten your master 
 at his own game." Of course, I accepted his hand, and 
 we remained good friends. Poor Sprigg! he was elected 
 to Congress — that school of demoralization — still patron- 
 ized "old Bourbon;" and, in a fight with an Irishman, 
 lost his eye, or his nose, I do not remember which, and 
 that was the last I have ever heard of him. 
 
 In the meantime I was chosen delegate of my Con- 
 gressional District, including Madison, my old county, to 
 represent the Whigs in the National Convention, held at 
 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in 1839-40. I was, of course, 
 with all my State, in favor of my friend and kinsman, 
 Henry Clay, for President. But Gen. Wm. H. Harrison 
 was made the nominee, with John Tyler, of Virginia, as 
 vice-presidential candidate ; and the nomination was made 
 unanimous. Here I first saw Horace Greeley, with whom, 
 in after-life, I became so intimately associated. He had 
 not then reached distinction; but I shall ever remember 
 his large head, thinly covered with auburn hair, approach- 
 ing white, and his boyish, innoceiit-Iooking, and amiable 
 face, which indicated genius and great simplicity of char- 
 acter. Thaddeus Stevens was also a delegate from his 
 district, in Pennsylvania, and made quite an impression 
 upon the Convention with one of his characteristic, bold 
 speeches, such as- made him famous in the chaotic times 
 
8o MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 of the Civil War, and pushed him to the front as the 
 leader of the war-party. 
 
 I did my part in the canvass for Harrison; and, in due 
 time, began my home-fight with Wickliffe. By reference to 
 my speeches in the pending session of the Kentucky Legis- 
 lature, it will be seen that I was drawn into open war 
 with the slave-power. They knew their strength, and wisely 
 determined to crush all liberal thought in word, or pro- 
 gression in action, in the bud. 
 
 Robert J. Breckenridge, as I said, had already fallen in 
 this cause, and been driven into the Church. J. G. Birney 
 had been forced by violence from Danville into the free 
 State of Ohio; and Dr. Lewis Marshall, the father of 
 Thomas F. Marshall, and brother of Humphrey Marshall, 
 who had the duel with Henry Clay, and others, had either 
 died, been silenced, or exiled from the State. And they 
 thought to make short work of me, also. But the sequel 
 shows they were doomed themselves. So I entered the 
 canvass with the Patrick Henry flag flying ; and on every 
 stump boldly denounced slavery to the death. 
 
 Mr. Clay had voted for me in the last election, and 
 voted for me again ; but, before I was again a candidate, 
 he very frankly told me he thought it best to give way 
 for the present, and await a more favorable time. This I 
 respectfully considered ; but I saw that the time for pru- 
 dent attack would never come ; and that with me, at least, 
 in was now or never — now and forever! The habit was 
 with "the boys," with whom I was the favorite, to make 
 torch-light processions, as a show of strength ; and the 
 slave-party imitated our example. The greatest slave- 
 holders from town and country came to Lexington and 
 joined the processions. Inflammatory speeches were made 
 on their part, and met with equal force on ours. So 
 that, at length, Wickliffe introduced my wife's name in a 
 speech, to which I took exception as inadmissible; and I 
 challenged him. We met near Louisville. Col. Wm. R. 
 McKee, who fell at Buena Vista, was my second; and 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 8 1 
 
 Albert Sidney Johnston, who fell at Shiloh, when Grant 
 had retired for security under his gun-boats, and the 
 Union cause was saved by Generals Buell and Nelson, was 
 Wickliffe's. Dr. Alexander Marshall, brother of Thomas 
 F., was my surgeon; and I do not remember, but I think, 
 Dr. Caldwell was the surgeon of Wickliffe. We fired at 
 ten paces, at the word; and both missed. Raising my 
 pistol up perpendicularly, I stood still, and demanded a 
 second fire. But the good sense of our seconds prevailed, 
 and it was decreed that the matter should be dropped. 
 No apology was made on either side, and no reconcilia- 
 tion was proposed; and we left the ground enemies, as 
 we came. 
 
 At that time I was young, but I knew full well that 
 the least show of the "white feather" was not only polit- 
 ical but physical death. So it was with me here, rather 
 policy than impulse. I wanted to show those who lived 
 by force, that it would be met, at all times, and in all 
 places, with force. But the occasion and its effects are 
 numbered with the past. And I now do Wickliffe the 
 justice to say that he was a gallant fellow ; and I regret 
 that I ever did so foolish a thing. And the not being 
 satisfied with a shot which covered the point of honor 
 would have brought upon me the ridicule of a fight upon 
 such frivolous grounds, but for the one mistake. 
 
 We were all young together; but by his leaving the 
 field, under a renewed call for a fire, I had Wickliffe in a 
 bad position. Though I believe he would have stood again 
 if so advised. I think McKee and Johnston saw the folly 
 of further results — I being a married man, and Wickliffe 
 being single — that their motives were right, but their 
 course hasty, so far as Wickliffe was concerned. So, 
 although I was in the wrong, and, had the duel resulted 
 otherwise, would have been worsted by it, I was rather 
 helped in the canvass, instead of losing ground. The 
 upshot was, that I was victor in the legal votes, but 
 beaten by unfair judges and corrupt methods; having all 
 Vol. I.— 6 
 
82 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 the judges and all the officers of the election against me. 
 Nothing daunted, I looked sternly ahead, kept my friends 
 well together, and awaited events. 
 
 The result of the duel convinced me of the absurdity 
 of the whole thing. Besides, my time was too important 
 to lose it in such trifles; and, as I had reason to believe 
 that many fools would be continually challenging me, I 
 determined to have no more of them. I so gave out ; 
 but I resolved to defend myself if attacked, as I had oc- 
 casion to do afterward — standing upon the great law of 
 self-preservation and legal self-defense. A duel might 
 result in but little or no bodily harm; but a rencounter 
 with me meant death to one or the other party. And so 
 no man has better illustrated Shakespeare's 
 
 "Thrice armed is he who hath his quarrel just." 
 
 Robert Wickliffe, jr., having ncjiv an open field, became 
 the candidate the next year for the National House of 
 Representatives — Garrett Davis of Bourbon being the op- 
 position candidate. Henry Clay having voted for me two 
 successive times against Wickliffe (for Clay always voted), 
 and his avowed sentiments on the slavery question, had 
 alienated some of his old followers from his leadership. 
 So R. Wickliffe, sr., and his son, now headed a new fac- 
 tion. Of course, what influence I had with my compact 
 body of personal friends — among laboring men mostly — 
 went with me for Davis. Wickliffe, in canvassing, was in 
 the habit of reading a "hand-bill" in his own behalf, 
 without naming another "hand-bill" which refuted his 
 friend's statement. In Garrett Davis's absence, I took 
 the liberty to interrupt him, and, by his permission, to say: 
 "That hand-bill," which he had just read, "was proven 
 untrue by another of good authority." He then would re- 
 sume his remarks. After this had occurred several times, 
 he sent for Samuel M. Brown, late of New Orleans, who 
 was post-office traveling-agent under Charles A. Wickliffe, 
 his relative, then Postmaster-General under John Tyler. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 83 
 
 Brown was soon on the ground. He was an old Whig, 
 of social character, strong physique, and, in a word, a 
 political bully. He it was who had the fight with Thos. 
 Moore, the Democratic Congressman at Harrodsburg; 
 and of whom it was said that he had "forty fights, and 
 never lost a battle." At Russell's Cave, in Fayette 
 County, when Mr. Wickliffe repeated the usual role, I 
 interrupted him again, as before, saying: "That hand-bill 
 has been proven untrue." At the moment. Brown gave 
 me the " damned lie," and struck me simultaneously with 
 his umbrella. I knew the man, and that it meant a 
 death-struggle. I at once drew my Bowie-knife; but, 
 before I could strike, I was seized from behind, and 
 borne by force about fifteen feet from Brown, who, being 
 now armed with a Colt's revolver, cried: "Clear the 
 way, and let me kill the damned rascal." The way was 
 speedily cleared, and -^ stood isolated from the crowd. 
 Now, as Brown had his pistol bearing upon me, I had 
 either to run or advance. So, turning my left side to- 
 ward him, with my left arm covering it, so as to protect 
 it to that extent, I advanced rapidly on him, knife in 
 hand. Seeing I was coming, he knew very well that 
 nothing but a fatal and sudden shot could save him. So 
 he held his fire; and, taking deliberate aim, just as I was 
 in arm's reach, he fired at my heart. I came down upon 
 his head with a tremendous blow, which would have split 
 open an ordinary skull ; but Brown's was as thick as that 
 of an African. This blow ,laid his skull open about three 
 inches to the brain, indenting it, but not breaking the 
 textures; but it so stunned him that he was no more able 
 to fire, but feebly attempted to seize me. The conspira- 
 tors now seized me, and held both arms above my elbows, 
 which only allowed me to strike with the fore-arm, as 
 Brown advanced upon me. I was also struck with hickory 
 sticks and chairs. But, finding I was likdy to get loose, 
 they threw Brown over the stone-fence. This fence, which 
 inclosed the yard near the steep desceht to the cave and 
 
84 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 spring, was built of limestone, about two feet high on the 
 upper side, but perhaps seven or eight on the lower side. 
 So Brown had a terrible fall, which ended the contest. 
 
 Raising my bloody knife, I said : "I repeat that the 
 hand-bill was proven a falsehood ; and I stand ready to de- 
 fend the truth." But, neither Mr. Wickliffe nor any of the 
 conspirators taking up my challenge, some of my friends, 
 recovering from their lethargy, took me by the arm (see- 
 ing where Brown's bullet had entered,) to the dwelling- 
 house ; and, on opening my vest and shirt-bosom, found 
 only a red spot over my heart, but no wound. On exam- 
 ination it was found that the ball, as I pulled up the scab- 
 bard of my Bowie-knife, in drawing the blade, had entered 
 the leather near the point, which was lined with silver, and 
 was there lodged. 
 
 Thus Providence, or fate, reserved me for a better work. 
 And when I look back to my many escapes from death, I 
 am at times impressed with the idea of the special inter- 
 ference of God in the affairs of men ; whilst my cooler 
 reason places human events in that equally certain arrange- 
 ment of the great moral and physical laws, by which Deity 
 may be said to be ever directing the affairs of men. Cer- 
 tain it is that he who stands on the right may often hold 
 his own against hosts in arms. 
 
 Afterward, I happened to be at the Bourbon Agricul- 
 tural Fair, of which my brother, Brutus J., was president. 
 Several hundred gamblers had gathered in mass in the 
 immense amphitheater, and interrupted the show by call- 
 ing to the judges. The directory ordered the ribbons to 
 be omitted, so that no bets could be determined. Where- 
 upon the roughs, headed by a noted bully, cried out : 
 "Close the doors, and stop the fair;" and, at the same 
 time, made a rush toward the entering doors. As the 
 mob advanced, I said: "This ground belongs to the cor- 
 porators. I stand in defense of their legal rights. I dare 
 any man to touch the doors." They were not touched. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 85 
 
 Brown had his skull cut to the brain in several places; 
 one ear cut nearly off, his nose slit, and one eye cut out ; 
 and many other wounds. Had the rencounter taken place 
 between two ordinary citizens, no notice whatever would 
 have been taken of it by the grand jury; but, as I was 
 odious to the slave-holders, they improved all the chances 
 to weaken and ruin me. I was indicted for mayhem. 
 Henry Clay and John Speed Smith were my counsel and 
 defenders; both volunteering their services. Brown, out- 
 raged at his being thrown ov€:r the fence, and deserted, 
 was my principal witness. He proved that there was a 
 consultation at Ashton's (hotel-keeper,) between himself, 
 Wickliffe, Prof J. C. Cross of the Transylvania Medical 
 School, Jacob Ashton, and Ben. Wood, a police bully; that 
 the pistol with which I was shot was loaded in advance; 
 that he was to bring on the affray, and they were to aid ; 
 that they four went in the same hack to Russell's Cave, 
 and there all took part in the fight. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 Tried for Mayhem. — Voluntarily defended by Henry Clay and John 
 Speed Smith. — Brown's evidence proves a conspiracy to kill me. — 
 Sketch of Henry Clay. — A few sentences from his Address to the 
 Jury. — Declared not Guilty. — Death of Brown. — The State of 
 Parties. — Henry Clay and the Presidential contest of 1844. — Daniel 
 Webster and Henry Clay. — The Canvass in Boston. — In New York. — 
 Result adverse to H. Clay. — He unjustly denounces the Abolition- 
 ists. — My Reply. 
 
 HUMAN nature is much the same under all forms of 
 government. Power is generally force ; and there is 
 but little sentimentalism in that, whether it be in an au- 
 tocrat or a despotic majority in a republic; and which, in 
 such cases, is, when uncovered from its mask, again an 
 autocracy. So I, instead of Brown, was prosecuted. 
 
 By our laws, shooting with intent to kill is a criminal 
 offense, punishable with confinement in the penitentiary. 
 That offense, in this case, was aggravated by a conspiracy 
 to kill me, which intensified the criminal intent, and made 
 the facts incontrovertible ; yet Brown was not prosecuted, 
 but I, who had stood upon the eternal law of self-defense, 
 was held to answer for mayhem, or maiming the person, 
 by cutting Brown's ear, and destroying his eye. 
 
 Henry Clay and John Speed Smith, my brother-in-law, 
 a great orator also, as said, volunteered to defend me. 
 Smith's speech, as he was aroused by the comparison with 
 so great a man as Clay, was a very able one — fully equal, 
 if not superior, to Clay's. He was the uncle of James 
 Speed, Lincoln's Attorney-General, and father of the Rev. 
 General Green Clay Smith, better known, perhaps, than 
 his father, but not his equal as an orator. 
 86 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 87 
 
 But the reader is interested more in Henry Clay, and 
 I shall speak of him only. Generally, when a man is 
 alive, and his person and character familiar to every one, 
 but little is said of them. And, after his death, but few 
 are left who, by personal contact, are able to sketch the 
 lost portraiture. As Henry Clay is one of those men who 
 " are not for a day, but for all time," I shall here, as else- 
 where, speak of him from my own knowledge. 
 
 It is a remarkable fact, but well known, that Mr. Clay, 
 as a criminal advocate, never lost a case. It is, therefore, 
 a subject of interest to see what were the causes of this 
 extraordinary success. In consequence of the existence of 
 slavery, and the frontier-life of Kentuckians, the men of 
 talent and character were the natural leaders; and the in- 
 fluence once gained was ever potent in all directions. Of 
 all men whom I have known. Clay had more of what is 
 called, in modern times, magnetism. He was, as is well 
 known, quite tall, yet commanding and very graceful in 
 manner and movement. He had the most wonderful voice 
 in compass, purity, and sweetness ; and which, with the 
 whole science of gesticulation and manner, he sedulously 
 cultivated. Dr. Joseph Rodes Buchanan, the celebrated 
 scientist and philosopher, now of Boston, in his treatise on 
 "Moral Education," throws new light upon the voice, and 
 its influence on the passions of men. Without agree- 
 ing with him upon some of his religious, and even scien- 
 tific views, I feel the force of his observations upon the 
 influence of the human voice. In this Clay had a great 
 source of power. There was also a natural common sense, 
 which, in him and in Abraham Lincoln, outweighed all the 
 culture in books of their great rivals. Now, without at- 
 tempting a definition of "common sense," I regard it as 
 a faculty of observing and standing close to the normal 
 laws of mind and body ; which laws operate with steady 
 influence in all the mental and physical activities of the 
 common or average man. Th'us Mr. Clay, in the back- 
 woods, where men are seen more in their real characters 
 
88 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 than in older societies and cities, was better able to un- 
 derstand them, (and men are at bottom much the same 
 every-where,) or any audience elsewhere. I but touch 
 upon these things here, as I have spoken of them else- 
 where; and conclude by the remark, that Mr. Clay had a 
 very highly developed nervous structure and temperament, 
 by which, as in war, all his forces could be at once rapidly 
 concentrated on one point of attack. 
 
 After stating clearly the grounds of vindication, which 
 was simply self-defense, and knowing that abstract justice 
 on one side was not enough, Mr. Clay ventured to counter- 
 act the intense prejudice against me, by appealing to pas- 
 sions of like intensity in a community where sentiment is 
 everything when once free to act. He generally stood 
 near his audience as possible, especially when it was a 
 jury. William T. Barry I have seen move eight or ten 
 feet in speaking — rapidly advancing and then retreating — 
 when the climax of his syllogistic argument was reached. 
 I learn that Rufus Choate followed a like course, at least 
 in intensity of physical motion. And I have seen poor 
 imitators of such men use not only the forward advance, 
 but a side vibration as well, like a chained coon or bear; 
 and even come down from the platform, like a Methodist 
 preacher at a camp-meeting revival, among the auditors. 
 
 But all this is nonsense, which may please the igno- 
 rant; yet, as Shakespeare has it, must "make the judi- 
 cious grieve." Clay was too good an artist for this. He 
 generally stood still, gesticulating with graceful movement 
 of one or both hands ; and, when in the most intense 
 force, advancing a few steps forward only. In my own 
 speaking, I stand near my audience as possible — prefer- 
 ring to have the rostrum not higher than the heads of 
 my auditors. I make few gestures ; never change from 
 my place, and use my voice only to intensify my highest 
 thought. 
 
 At this distance of time, I can hardly venture to give 
 more than a thought or two of a speech which was to 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 89 
 
 me, of all others, of most interest, and most likely to be 
 remembered : 
 
 "The question which this jury of freemen is called upon their 
 honor and conscience to decide, is not whether the political views 
 and sentiments of the prisoner were just or not, nor whether they 
 agreed or disagreed with yours; nor yet, if they were just, whether 
 ill-timed or out of place. You are bound, on your oaths, to say, 
 was Clay acting in his constitutional and legal right? Was he ag- 
 gressive, or resting peaceably in the security of the laws which 
 guard alike the safety of you, and me, and him? And yet more: 
 Did he occupy even higher ground than all human enactments — 
 the eternal laws of self-defense — which come only of God, and 
 which none but He can annul, judge, or punish? Standing, as he 
 did, without aiders or abettors, and without popular sympathy; 
 with the fatal pistol of conspired murderers pointed at his heart, 
 would you have had him meanly and cowardly fly? Or would you 
 have had him to do just what he did do — there stand in defense, 
 or there fall?" 
 
 And then turning partly toward me, with the most pathetic 
 voice, broken but emphatic, and raising himself with the 
 most imposing personality and dignity that ever an Ameri- 
 can has attained, he said: "And, if he had not, he would 
 not have been worthy of the name which he bears T^ 
 ********* 
 
 After Brown's evidence, and the very able speeches of 
 Messrs. Clay and Smith in my defense, the jury had only 
 to retire, write a verdict of not guilty, and return it to the 
 court. Now, when Brown made his confession, I thought 
 that I should be equally magnanimous ; so I sent him word 
 by a friend that I thanked him for the service he had ren- 
 dered me, and was willing to drop the* whole enmity, and 
 be friends! This he silently declined. So, after he re- 
 covered from his wounds, terribly disfigured, I expected 
 another deadly rencounter, and was ever prepared. 
 
 I met him twice afterward. I was sitting one day 
 in D. C. Wickliffe's office — editor of the Kentucky Re- 
 porter — with some friends, when Brown came in. I rose 
 
90 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 up, and stood ready for defense. But Brown, seeing me, 
 and saying a few words, retired. In a few days I met 
 him, passing on the foot-path across the street from one 
 square to the other, about midway. We passed each 
 other, both giving part of the road; and I never saw him 
 again. Not long afterward, he was blown up in a steam- 
 boat near Louisville, and was lost. Of all the men I ever 
 encountered in personal conflict Brown was the bravest. 
 Nor must outsiders take too unfavorable a view of the 
 fight; for at that time few men were my equal in such 
 conflicts; and both Wickliffe and Brown had reason to 
 believe that I would be backed by some of my friends, at 
 least. I say this in justice to the dead; and men of one 
 country can not always be judged by the moral standard 
 of another. And Mr. Wickliffe might well be pardoned 
 for leaving others to enter a congenial, personal conflict 
 with one whom he had beaten before the people, when 
 now he was entering a higher field of ambition. Davis 
 was, however, elected; and Wickliffe was sent Minister 
 Resident to some one of the Italian courts. He married 
 abroad, and died early; and even I, who had once had 
 strong friendship in the family, felt sympathy for his un- 
 timely end. 
 
 When I went afterward to the Mexican War, Mason 
 Brown, Sam. Brown's son, was Second Lieutenant of the 
 "Old Infantry," of 1812 memory; and as I had once an 
 opportunity, at Saltillo, to do him a personal favor, he 
 was ever afterward my friend. Some of my enemies, who 
 feared me, tried to incite another son, then living in Cali- 
 fornia, to a personal rencounter with me ; but the Rev. 
 Robert J. Breckinridge and Mason Brown interfering, it 
 came to nothing. I never saw him. It is rather curious ; 
 and among the letters hereafter to be published, is one 
 from Mason Brown, at a later period in our lives. Such 
 is the inconstancy of fortune. 
 
 Since the adoption of the Federal Constitution of 1789, 
 there has, under varymg names, been substantially but two 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 9 1 
 
 parties in the United States — the one in favor of a strong 
 central government, and the other favoring the more popu- 
 lar rule of the States, The first embraced mostly the 
 wealth and culture of the Republic; and the last the 
 poorer and laboring classes, under cultivated leaders. At 
 the time I entered political life, the central party was 
 called Whig, and the centrifugal Democratic. Of the 
 last, Andrew Jackson had become the leader; and of the 
 first, Henry Clay. Mr. Clay was the great statesman of 
 his times, developing the American system, which included 
 a tariff for revenue and protection of home manufactures, a 
 national currency, and internal improvements — embracing 
 roads, canals, harbors, break-waters, and all that. The 
 Democrats, of whom John C. Calhoun had more and more 
 become thinker and leader, opposed these policies. But 
 underlying and over-riding gradually all party policies was 
 slavery. 
 
 This element of society, by which the master held ab- 
 solute power over his slave, was alien to all the principles 
 and policies of a Democratic Republic. Inheriting the in- 
 stitution from our British ancestors, our fathers felt the 
 shame of such tyranny, whilst proclaiming the universal 
 right of all men in a Declaration of Independence. Mostly 
 in numbers and talent aspiring to its speedy extinction, they 
 would not put the word in our Constitution, although it wa& 
 indirectly recognized. After 1808, no slaves were to be 
 imported into the United States; and, to discourage its 
 existence, only three-fifths of the slaves were counted in 
 the basis of representation. When made free, they would 
 count man for man, as in general citizenship. Under these 
 political discouragements, and the growing liberalism of the 
 age, slavery was fast declining, and would no doubt have 
 peaceably disappeared had not the cotton-plant, which our 
 lands and climate so much favored, and the invention of 
 the cotton-gin given new value to slave-labor, in a climate 
 where the black man seemed to be the only possible cul- 
 tivator. 
 
92 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 This new interest consolidated was what was termed the 
 Slave-Power, which united all elements — moral, religious, 
 and political — into a compact and inexorable force, which 
 so far forth absorbed or over-rode all party principles and 
 policies. This produced an awakening of the consciences 
 of men, and the Abolition Party, which, in turn, made 
 all things secondary to liberation. They severed them- 
 selves from Church and State, and refused to recognize 
 the Constitution — declaring it an "agreement with Hell, 
 and a covenant with Death." This nucleus of moral pro- 
 test against slavery, however illogical in a political sense, 
 aroused the better sentiments of the nation ; for the slave- 
 power was put upon its necessity of disproving that slavery 
 was the "sum of all villainies." These were the aggressive 
 forces which ultimately drew all others into their train ; till 
 the Free-Soil Party, and next the Republican Party, stood 
 on one side, and the Pro-Slavery Party on the other, under 
 the banner of False Democracy. And thus was brought 
 on the Civil War, and the overthrow of Slavery. 
 
 The sequel proved that in reality there was very Httle 
 anti-slavery sentiment in the American people, either be- 
 fore or since the war. But the aggressions of the slave- 
 power made it plain that the freedom of the white races, 
 as well as that of the black, was involved in the contest; 
 and that practically all the States must be free or slave. 
 
 In the meantime Great Britain, France, and the leading 
 nations had abolished slavery, and the slave trade. Por- 
 tugal, Spain, Brazil, and Russia, struggling in the same 
 direction, it seemed that the United States, outside of the 
 barbarian world, were the only defenders of slavery, per 
 se, and its avowed propagandism. Thus it will be seen 
 that civilization advances in the sum of public thought; 
 whilst it only remains to the superior organizations of the 
 heroic few to give utterance and fruitage to great princi- 
 ples underlying human happiness. 
 
 Henry Clay, having been beaten in the Whig Conven- 
 tion, at Harrisburg, in 1840, by Harrison, from the defec- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 93 
 
 tion of John Tyler, who became President on Harrison's 
 decease, was at once thrown to the head of his party 
 again, in his old leadership. So he had no difficulty in 
 getting the nomination at Baltimore, in 1844. By my de- 
 feat on the slavery issue, I was disarmed from giving any 
 body help in the slave States ; but it greatly increased my 
 power in the free States. I at once received a vast num- 
 ber of letters from Whigs, and other admirers, to come 
 North, and advocate Clay's and the Whig cause. I was 
 also honored by a great number of literary and political 
 societies, by being of them elected a member. But, Mr. 
 Clay having advised me not to run against Wickliffe in 
 1 84 1, I determined, before entering on the canvass, to con- 
 sult him. I did so ; and he told me to go. So I went. 
 
 As I propose to avoid, rather than connect, my "Mem- 
 oirs" with the general political history of the times, which 
 is already so full, and a "twice-told tale;" and as my po- 
 litical action will be best studied in the second volume of 
 this work, in which will appear my " Speeches and Writ- 
 ings," I will only say a few words here upon the political 
 situation in 1844. 
 
 The South, by a compact minority, ever vigilant and 
 unrelenting, had assumed the ascendency in a Union once 
 founded upon free principles. They now reversed the 
 policy of our fathers. North and South, and determined to 
 maintain supreme control of the government, and extend 
 slavery first into all the new territory; and finally give it 
 sway, at least politically, in the free States themselves. 
 So that the issue was inevitable, as I before said, for 
 either all slave or all free States. This interest, for brev- 
 ity, will be called the slave-power. Thus the moral ele- 
 ment of the North was centered in the Garrisonian- 
 Liberty or Abolition Party; whilst the far-seeing political 
 minds contended for self-government, and republican su- 
 premacy. These were the dividing banners, with a large 
 political force, as ever in all nations, of a neutral stand- 
 ing. Of the slave-power, John C. Calhoun was now the 
 
94 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 leader ; and of the other force was Henry Clay. The Abo- 
 litionists were Disunionists ; the other two parties stood 
 in a sliding movement. The Whigs for the Union, with 
 or without slavery. The Calhoun Democrats for the 
 Union, if possible, with slavery; but, Union or no Union, 
 slavery forever. These were the trunks of the three 
 growths, with the roots yet intermingling in apparent 
 unity. 
 
 There were several causes, then, why I was received in 
 the North with universal heartiness and enthusiasm, with- 
 out claiming too much personal prowess. First, I was a 
 Clay, and near in personal relations with Henry Clay; so 
 that all office-seekers would naturally desire to be in close 
 relations with me. Then, in opposing the admission of 
 Texas, I set myself squarely with the political interests of 
 the North. And last, but not least, I stood upon the 
 eternal laws of right against wrong; whilst, unlike the 
 Abolition school, I carried with me all the sacred memo- 
 ries of our fathers, and all the future and past glories of 
 the union of these States. 
 
 Every-where I was received with the wildest enthusi- 
 asm — from Ohio to Boston. At Boston, I spoke with 
 Webster, Berrien, and others, on the famous old Boston 
 Common. It was a magnificent audience. Nowhere in 
 the world, outside of New England, and outside of Bos- 
 ton even, at that day, could so many fine heads and cul- 
 tured faces be seen. At St. Petersburg, where the whole 
 aristocracy of a great empire is gathered at some of the 
 court balls, a more agreeable assemblage may be looked 
 upon; but hardly more brain development even there. 
 
 This was the second time I had seen Daniel Webster. 
 With a massive head, "satanic" eyes, and medium but 
 rugged, stalwart body, no such figure has before or since 
 illustrated our history. I say "satanic" eyes, for so I 
 have heard intelligent women describe them. Let any 
 one see the portrait of Webster, as painted by Chester 
 Harding, in the Boston Athenaeum, and decide. No doubt 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 95 
 
 Henry Clay was a man of equal genius with Webster; and 
 they two were the leading figures during all their lives. 
 In whatever assemblage of men, at home or abroad, these 
 two men entered, all eyes acknowledged their supremacy. 
 Webster had all the early advantages of the highest intel- 
 lectual culture, and continual association with thoughtful 
 men. As a lawyer, where generalization is the first quality, 
 he was Clay's superior. His brain was perhaps the largest 
 of all his contemporaries; but it was broader, and ran fully 
 into that posterior lobe which Dr. Joseph Rodes Buchanan 
 has shown gives action to the sensual and the sensuous ; 
 whilst the intellectual and moral centers its force in the 
 anterior and high structure of the brain, in which Clay 
 excelled. The greatest single speech, I think, in our lan- 
 guage, is Webster's defense of the Union in reply to 
 Hayne. Webster was like a great wagon that took six 
 horses or more to move it; or he might be compared to 
 a huge locomotive, which required much steam to set it 
 in motion. The occasion was the greatest — the North 
 against the South ; and, greater yet, the North and South 
 against the world. No such occasion since the death of 
 Demosthenes had occurred in history ; and no such speech 
 had been uttered since the times of that greatest of orators. 
 Henry Clay was educated more in contact with men 
 than with books. He had less generalization, but higher 
 instincts and keener sympathies. His brain, though not 
 rectangular, was high in extent, and wide in the intel- 
 lectual faculties. His sentiments were always fine; and 
 his animal passions weak. In eating and drinking, and 
 all the animal proclivities, Webster and Clay were wide 
 apart. Webster was like a cat-fish — gross and omniver- 
 ous ; Clay like the brook-trout — fastidious even in the 
 taking of tlie gilded fly. So far as chastity is concerned, 
 I think the obligations of religion and morality rest alike 
 on both sexes; but practically, by the eternal laws, the 
 consequences are more grievous when women fall. I trust 
 I may always be found advocating the highest morality, 
 
96 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 and the purest religion, however I may fall short of the 
 lines laid down by myself. I, then, in plain speech, shall 
 cater to no prurient taste ; but the living and the dead 
 shall be subject to just criticism. For false is the hea- 
 then maxim: ''De mortuis nil nisi bonum;" and I prefer 
 it as amended by my friend, Robert Richardson: "Nil 
 nisi veritatem." For if the truth is suppressed, we lose 
 that incentive to the loftiest action which rests upon pos- 
 thumous glory, as foreseen by the living. 
 
 Of Webster's bearing among women, as I know noth- 
 ing, I shall say nothing; leaving him as I found him, to 
 common fame. But in defense of H. Clay, with whom I 
 associated much, I shall repudiate the surmises of the 
 frivolous, the envious, and the slanderers.* I was a long 
 time in the same city with him; dined with him at his 
 own house, and those of his associates, in Lexington; 
 was with him in the great city of Baltimore; accompanied 
 him in his noted tour through the North-west in 1842, 
 where I was often alone with him, as well as in the 
 crowd of his friends and intimates, and I never saw him 
 perform a disrespectful action, or heard from his lips a 
 sensual word in regard to women in my life; yet his 
 sympathy with intellectual, virtuous women was intense, 
 and his magnetism preeminent. With homely features, as 
 all know, he had the plastic radiation of countenance 
 which at times seemed like inspiration. Women were 
 crazy in his presence ; and grave men filled with unusual 
 enthusiasm. As a popular leader, Henry Clay had no 
 equal in his times; and of all our public men, he began 
 life in the front, and there he stayed till death gathered 
 him to his fathers. 
 
 I heard Webster at Boston, and again at Lexington, 
 Kentucky. He always spoke sense, but never excited en- 
 thusiasm. His thoughts were ever upon great speeches; 
 
 * In my letter of 1 848, I referred to the causes of his duel with 
 John Randolph.— C. 1885. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 97 
 
 Clay's upon great events. Webster used the money of 
 his friends, and his friends themselves, as the priests of 
 old. "The earth and the fullness thereof belonged to 
 the saints; we are the saints, and therefore these are all 
 ours." He reminded me of Homer's Cyclops, who made 
 his sheep his companions by day, and supped upon one 
 or more of them each night! He even drew upon them 
 after death, and made his will full of bequests which were 
 to be levied upon his friends. 
 
 Altogether different was Henry Cl?y; exact and punc- 
 tilious in monied matters to a fault. When in generous 
 hospitality he had expended his great earnings as a crimi- 
 nal advocate and judicious farmer, and went to the banks 
 at Lexington to find out his debt, that he might sell 
 Ashland and pay it off, he was told that he had none ; 
 his unknown friends had, without his knowledge, can- 
 celed all. His answer was — tears! It was not wonder- 
 ful then, that, in 1844, Webster, who had stood in the 
 hateful Tyler administration, however influenced by patri- 
 otism, was easily beaten by Clay. He was quite sullen 
 then in his support of Clay.* 
 
 Before I spoke, Mr. R. C. Winthrop, member of Con- 
 gress, and apparent master of ceremonies, advised me, as 
 Mr. Berrien and other slave-owners were present, not to 
 touch upon the slavery question. As I had just been de- 
 feated foully by that party, I treated his suggestions with 
 contempt; but, as he soon fell under the blows of Sumner 
 forever, I pass him by. I think it is not egotism when I 
 say that none of the orators were heard with such interest 
 as myself. 
 
 Some one has cut out my speech (from the preserved 
 account) on Boston Common; but the one of the same 
 night, in the Tremont Temple, is published. Webster 
 
 *See letter in Life of J. J. Crittenden, by his daughter, Mrs. 
 A. M. Coleman. 
 Vol. I.— 7 
 
98 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 was president of the vast audience, and as such made 
 the leading speech. The order of the exercises was pub- 
 lished in hand-bills. Mr. Berrien, Senator from Georgia, 
 was the first in order; but, as Mr. Webster sat down, 
 the cry for "Clay" was like the near ocean's roar. After 
 several attempts, Mr. Webster said to the audience, that 
 the list of speakers was made out by the committee ; and, 
 reading it aloud, said each would be presented in his 
 order. John M. Berrien was then presented, and spoke. 
 I was second in order; but my speech, as I said, is lost. 
 I, however, spoke, as the others, briefly, as it had already 
 been arranged that I should have Tremont Temple to 
 myself that night; whilst the others, who were to speak 
 also the same evening, were allotted to Boston Common 
 again. When I had finished, I took my seat just behind 
 Mr. Webster, on the same bench, or chairs, with other 
 speakers ; and Mr. Fowler, of New York, was after a 
 while introduced. Fowler was of great size, and sten- 
 torian voice — a fair representative of the American bird — 
 and a great admirer of Henry Clay. 
 
 Webster was quite restive under Fowler's eulogies of 
 Clay; and when the orator elevated him to the first place 
 of all Americans, as an orator and a statesman, he could 
 be silent no longer; but, turning to the friends sitting 
 near him, said: "Who put that fellow up here?" 
 
 Clay was more outspoken, when he said, in the Sen- 
 ate, in Webster's presence : " I feel no new-born zeal in 
 behalf of this administration." So it must be conceded 
 that the genius of Clay mastered the great but heavy 
 talents of Webster, and made him the leader of all the 
 men of his times. 
 
 Mr. Clay was so conscientious a man in all his public 
 acts, that he thought a personal difference of opinion with 
 himself was a want of patriotism ; and he was too hasty 
 in denouncing such action. This seems to have been the 
 reason of his frequent defeats for the Presidency. When 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 99 
 
 his name was before the people for that high office, those 
 who were in, and those who had passed out, of political 
 life, rose up in impregnable array against him; for re- 
 venge is ever stronger than gratitude. So wrongs are 
 forgiven more readily than insults — the last compelling 
 revenge to restore self-respect. 
 
 This was the visit to Boston, I think, during which 
 I saw John Quincy Adams at his residence, which I have 
 already spoken of in detail. I here again met Chester 
 Harding, now mature in fame, who had painted my 
 father, and other members of my family, in early life. 
 He stood deservedly at the head of his profession in 
 America as a portrait-painter. I now made the acquaint- 
 ance of Wm. Lloyd Garrison. I said to him: "Why, 
 Garrison, I had expected to see a long-faced ascetic; but 
 I see you patriots are jolly, sleek fellows — not at all de- 
 barred of the good things of life." He replied, in the 
 same vein: "And therein. Clay, you are wrong, and 
 somewhat confound things. The ascetics are the wrong- 
 doers! Who should be happy, if not those who are 
 always right?" 
 
 Garrison was a man of great common sense, and much 
 wit; and so, when slavery fell, he voted to abolish the 
 Abolition Society. The great error of the Abolition move- 
 ment, however, was the narrow view of the duties of the 
 citizens of a Republic, wherein the voice of the majority 
 must rule, subject to constitutional change, and influenced 
 by policy and morality. I think their denunciation of 
 slavery and the constitution did much toward the over- 
 throw of that ill-fated system. But their work would have 
 been much more efficient, had they stood for the Union 
 and the Constitution at the same time. And this they ad- 
 mitted by their action in the Civil War — abandoning the 
 idea of disunion. 
 
 After spending a very agreeable time in the modern 
 "Athens," I went to New York, where the battle of the 
 
lOO MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 canvass was to be fought. This State was the arbiter of 
 the fate of Clay; and here was a large mass of Aboli- 
 tionists, whom I was desirous to secure upon the Texas 
 issue, against which annexation Mr. Clay had declared. 
 I fought against the annexation of Texas because it was 
 a part of the slave-power's scheme to extend slavery; 
 Mr. Clay because it involved us in a necessary war with 
 Mexico, with whom we ought to remain on terms of 
 amity. Whilst opposed, in judgment, to slavery, and in 
 general aspiration for the liberty of all men, Mr. Clay did 
 not avow nor conceive a war upon slavery ; preferring, as 
 most statesmen entrusted with the leadership in public 
 affairs, to follow where he could not lead, and still main- 
 tain the leadership. But, for the time being, Mr. Clay 
 and myself were acting in good faith, in unison. The 
 celebrated Alabama letter, then, was consistent with all 
 his avowals in the Raleigh letter and his former life, and 
 the conduct of the canvass. His enemies used it, how- 
 ever, as a proof of his duplicity ; when, in fact, it was but 
 the result of his innate manliness and hatred of decep- 
 tion. But, as I had been pressing his election on the 
 ground of his anti-slavery views so often expressed, and 
 his opposition to Texas on the whole, whatever may have 
 been their main reasons of objection, the enemies of Mr. 
 Clay used some expressions in that letter, accompanied 
 with his Raleigh letter, as proof of his giving way to the 
 slave-power; when, in fact, no man in America was, upon 
 high political principles, more at heart opposed to the 
 annexation. But the clamor of an unthinking canvass 
 placed me in a false position. So I wrote to Mr. Clay, 
 saying that I based my arguments upon his oft- repeated 
 ideas on the subject of slavery ; but, if the interpretations 
 put upon his views in the Raleigh and Alabama letters 
 were the true ones, I should at once return to Kentucky, 
 and be silent. Of course, as I have above explained 
 Mr. Clay's sentiments as I understood them, he wrote me 
 to go on with the canvass — maintaining my own sense of 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. lOI 
 
 action. This letter,*^ sent by the Hon. Willis Greene, to 
 the care of Horace Greeley, as I was in the interior of 
 the State, was intercepted on the way, and published; and, 
 though in perfect harmony with the integrity of Mr. Clay's 
 whole life, was claimed yet more as proof of his infidelity 
 to principle. 
 
 The upshot was, that Mr. Clay lost New York. He 
 was beaten by 5,106 votes, J as. G. Birney getting 15,000. 
 Thus the impracticable Abolitionists defeated Clay, the 
 most honest man, next to Lincoln, that ever ran for Presi- 
 dent. Texas was annexed with slavery, and the foretold 
 Mexican War ensued. 
 
 To return to Mr. Webster. The largest meeting I 
 ever saw — except that when Capt. Fox was, with the 
 officers of the American Navy, entertained by Prince Dol- 
 gorouki, Viceroy at Moscow — was at Rochester, New 
 York. I met Mr. Webster at the Astor House, in New 
 York, his usual quarters. He had been invited to speak 
 there, and I had just come from the interior, to take 
 passage to that great assemblage, where it had been an- 
 nounced that both of us would speak. I asked Mr. Web- 
 ster if he was going? He said: "No, I see you are 
 going; and they had rather hear you than me." I men- 
 
 * LETTER OF H. CLAY. 
 [CONFIDENTIAL.] 
 
 Ashland, Sept 18, 1844. 
 
 My Dear Sir: — I received your favor of the loth instant, in 
 which you state that you will be in Boston on the 19th, where it 
 is impossible this letter can reach you ; and I therefore send it to 
 the Hon. Willis Greene, to be forwarded to you. 
 
 I am perfectly persuaded of your friendly intentions, and feel 
 grateful for them. But you can have no conception, unless you 
 had been here, of the injury which your letter to the Tribune was 
 doing; and that was nothing in comparison to that which it was 
 likely to inflict upon the Whig cause in the States of Tennessee, 
 North Carolina, and Georgia. Our friend, John Speed Smith, as 
 well as others, thought it even endangered the State of Kentucky. 
 This effect resulted from your undertaking to speak of my private 
 
I02 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 tion this, as well as the kind expressions of J. Q. Adams, 
 as honorable testimony to my fame ; though no man liv- 
 ing has ever deferred less to great men. This was the 
 last I saw of Webster. I returned to Lexington with the 
 speakers who had gone East and North to join in the 
 canvass. The mode of travel then was from Baltimore, 
 by stage over the mountains, to Wheeling, where a boat, 
 at times, could be found ; and, if not, following the stage- 
 way through Ohio was the common route by Maysville to 
 Lexington. We had not heard the final result, of the 
 election of Polk ; but we had gloomy presentiments. As 
 
 feelings and those of my near and particular friends, and your state- 
 ment that you had been ten years operating in the Abolition cause. 
 
 Under these circumstances, there was an absolute necessity for 
 the note which I published, although I regretted it extremely. I 
 endeavored so to shape it as not to wound your feelings, and I 
 hope I did not. 
 
 Had you been here, you would have concurred with myself 
 and other friends in thinking it indispensable. 
 
 You must be well aware of the very great delicacy of my 
 position. 
 
 At the North, I am represented as an ultra supporter of the 
 institution of slavery, whilst at the South I am described as an 
 Abolitionist; when I am neither the one nor the other. As we 
 have the same sirname, and are, moreover, related, great use is 
 made at the South against me of whatever falls from you. There, 
 you are even represented as being my son ; hence the necessity of 
 the greatest circumspection, and especially that you should avoid 
 committing me. 
 
 You are watched wherever you go ; and every word you pub- 
 licly express will be tortured and perverted as my own are. 
 
 After all, I am afraid that you are too sanguine in supposing 
 that any considerable number of the Liberty men can be induced 
 to support me. How can that be expected after they have voted 
 against Mr. Slade? 
 
 With assurances of my thankfulness for your friendly purposes, 
 and with my best respects for Mrs. Clay, 
 
 I am truly and faithfully, your friend, 
 C. M. Clay, Esq. H. CLAY. 
 
or CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. IO3 
 
 we reached the foot of the mountain, there was a newly- 
 erected hickory-pole, with leaves still green on the top. 
 From a limb was suspended a skinned coon; and then we 
 knew the Whigs, nicknamed "Coons," were lost! 
 
 Mr. Clay took his defeat with ill grace, and showed 
 more than usual impatience. Naturally ambitious, he 
 seemed to realize that destiny was against his elevation 
 to the presidency, when so inferior a man as Jas. K. Polk 
 was his opponent ; and when the constitution, violated in 
 the annexation of Texas, and the sure result a ' war, were 
 on his side. But he had many life-followers, and naturally 
 he was desirous of rewarding their long devotion. At a 
 dinner, at Lexington, Ky., at Dr. Benjamin W. Dudley's, 
 at which I and Ex-Governor James T. Morehead, then a 
 Senator of the United States, and other noted men, were 
 present, Mr. Clay showed that unhappy arrogance which 
 was fatal to his political personal success. He first set 
 upon poor Morehead, who had voted against Clay's view 
 on some passing ques-fion, in the style of a superior lec- 
 turing a delinquent. Morehead apologized by saying, he 
 but represented the people of his State, which he was 
 bound to do ; but that Mr. Clay, being a national man, 
 was no doubt allowed a larger liberty. Of course, Mr. 
 Clay could say no more ; but his wrath was still unap- 
 peased. He turned upon the Abolitionists, and especially 
 those of New York, and was very severe in his denuncia- 
 tion of them. I could but feel that part of his censure 
 was against myself. I had already been badgered by the 
 press, and denounced by my enemies at home; and, feel- 
 ing indignant at his lecture of Morehead, was not in a 
 humor to submit quietly even to the petulance of Henry 
 Clay. So I said, very gravely: "Mr. Clay, whatever 
 errors of judgment, or of patriotism, may justly be im- 
 puted to the Abolitionists, I think you are the last man 
 who ought to complain; for, if I remember aright, you 
 said that the Abolitionists should be set apart from, and 
 denounced by all parties ; so they but played the role you 
 
I04 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 marked out for them." Mr. Clay answered not a word; 
 how could he? All the dinner-party, composed of follow- 
 ers and admirers, were surprised and shocked; for none 
 of them, except Morehead, had any sympathy with my 
 views; and Dudley was one of the Committee of Three 
 who afterward received such bitter denunciation from me, 
 when the True American was set upon. Here began the 
 coolness between Mr. Clay and myself which resulted in 
 alienation, for awhile, on my part. For, as I loved and 
 admired Mr. Clay above all his contemporaries, so, when 
 I felt that he treated me with a want of magnanimity — 
 not to say injustice — I resisted him in all his aspirations 
 with equal intensity. But, when I was victor, my earlier 
 sentiments revived; and I could but feel some contrition 
 that I had aided in the overthrow of so great a statesman 
 and patriot. And I think my whole life shows that, whilst 
 ever ready to resist wrong, I am equally willing to forgive 
 a fallen foe ; for I have ever held that the next great 
 honor to never having committed a wrong, is to frankly 
 acknowledge it without reserve. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 "The True American." — Why it was begun. — Employment of an Editor. — 
 He is frightened into desertion. — The Office armed to repel ex- 
 pected Assault. — The Committee of Sixty. — Co-Laborers. — James B. 
 Clay. — Letter from my Mother. — Letter from Committee of Cincin- 
 nati Citizens, and my Reply. — Removal of Office of "True Amer- 
 ican" TO Cincinnati. — Episode from Secret History of the Southern 
 Confederacy — Time, 1864. 
 
 THE defeat of Clay now for the third time — first in 
 1824, then in 1828, and now in 1844 — seemed fatal 
 to his future hopes of ever reaching the presidency. But 
 his supporters, many of them, as ever has and ever will 
 be, camp-followers for plunder, were more cast down than 
 Clay himself. 
 
 The Whigs had stood by the North on the tariff and 
 other issues, mostly losing the South in consequence. 
 Now, the North deserted them on one of her own issues, 
 by her divisions, letting Slave-Texas come in by a vote 
 simply of Congress, without the constitutional treaty power 
 acquiring new territory, and taking in even an organized 
 State. So the Whigs were sore unto death, and some- 
 body must be made a scape-goat. 
 
 I was the most agreeable sacrifice to them, for obvious 
 reasons ; and so they set upon me with renewed virulence. 
 I was the cause of all the trouble ; and, if it had not 
 been for me, there would have been none of the slavery 
 muddle, and they might have been eating treasury cheese, 
 like other old rats, without hinderance. I needed no urg- 
 ing on; for I had seen a vitality in the popular heart in 
 my Northern tour which foreshowed the downfall of the 
 slave-power. It was only a question of time. After using 
 the old political journals till their columns were closed 
 
 105 
 
I06 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 against me, I determined to start a press of my own in 
 the cause of liberation. 
 
 My object was to use a State and National Constitu- 
 tional right — the Freedom of the Press — to change our Na- 
 tional and State laws, so as, by a legal majority, to abolish 
 slavery. There was danger, of course, of mob-violence, 
 as Birney and Greene and Marshall and others had been 
 silenced ; and I determined to defend my rights by force, 
 if need be. My fortune, somewhat shattered by political 
 life, was yet not greatly impaired. I knew very well that 
 such a paper would be a losing business, but I was will- 
 ing to make the sacrifice. I engaged T. B. Stevenson, 
 editor of the Frankfort, Ky., Commonwealth, to edit the 
 paper, which was called The True American,, allowing 
 him one thousand dollars a year. When he heard of my 
 design, he volunteered to join me in the movement, say- 
 ing he felt that God had intended him for the service. 
 He was a Methodist, and the founder of that sect, John 
 Wesley, had been very bitter in his denunciation of the 
 "peculiar institution." But, when mob-violence had threat- 
 ened the lives of all engaged, Stevenson's courage failed 
 him ; and he never appeared on the scene of action. Poor 
 humanity ! His cowardice was not all. Degraded in his 
 own self-esteem, and lowered in my respect, of course, he 
 turned out to be one of my bitterest enemies and de- 
 nouncers. Other men, who afterward attained high rank 
 in Kentucky, turned pale and deserted me, but said noth- 
 ing against me. 
 
 The present generation can know nothing of the terror 
 which the slave-power inspired ; but it may be faintly con- 
 ceived, when a professed minister of the Christian religion 
 in South Carolina said that it were better for him, rather 
 than denounce slavery, "to murder his own mother, and 
 lose his soul in hell ! " 
 
 My prospectus was moderate enough — proposing none 
 but constitutional methods in the overthrow of slavery; 
 but when the first number appeared, on the 3d day of 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 107 
 
 June, 1845, the war was raging apace along all the lines. 
 I selected for my office a brick' building, and lined the 
 outside doors with sheet-iron, to prevent it being burned. 
 I purchased two brass four-pounder cannon at Cincinnati, 
 and placed them, loaded with shot and nails, on a table 
 breast high ; had folding doors secured with a chain, which 
 could open upon the mob, and give play to my cannon. I 
 furnished my office with Mexican lances, and a limited 
 number of guns. There were six or eight persons who 
 stood ready to defend me. If defeated, they were to es- 
 cape by a trap-door in the roof; and I had placed a keg 
 of powder, with a match, which I could set off, and blow 
 up the office and all my invaders ; and this I should most 
 certainly have done, in case of the last extremity. 
 
 The names of my colleagues I have never given, as it 
 would have subjected them to severe persecution ; and I 
 have left it to themselves to make, or not, the revelation. 
 Wm. L. Neal now avows himself one. One, however, 
 who is now dead, I may mention with honor: T. Lewinski. 
 He was a Polish emigr'e, a man of general education, 
 speaking French and English, and an engineer. When I 
 was Colonel of the Fayette Uniformed Legion, he acted 
 as my adjutant, and formed quite an attachment for me. 
 He married a Kentucky woman ; and was the faithful 
 and efficient architect who built the addition to my resi- 
 dence, during my absence in Russia. William and Black 
 Kincaid, prominent citizens, were also friends of the 
 cause. 
 
 The truth is, the mob was worse scared than I. The 
 Committee of Sixty, I afterward found out, was composed 
 largely of my friends, who were willing to serve in order 
 to control the more violent, whom T. F- Marshall had in- 
 flamed by his speeches and writings. There was but one 
 piece of cannon in Lexington, a brass eight-pounder, which 
 had been used by the artillery company in my "Fayette 
 Legion." Though the Captain, W. R. Bradford, was not 
 friendly to me, my friends believed that the company was; 
 
I08 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 and that, in case of conflict, Bradford would have been re- 
 jected, and the cannon used in my defense, instead of 
 battering down the doors of the True American office. 
 This I know, at least, that, on my return from Mexico, 
 Bradford at first refused to fire the cannon in my honor, 
 when the company was bent on doing so at all events, 
 and he followed the public lead in my favor. James B. 
 Clay, the son of Henry Clay, who acted as Secretary of 
 the Committee of Sixty, and whom I sued in the courts 
 on my return from Mexico, and against whom I got a 
 verdict of damages for twenty-five hundred dollars, be- 
 came ultimately my warm friend.* On his return from 
 Portugal, he presented me with a pair of Spanish hogs, 
 which he imported. Such are the changes in fortune and 
 politics. 
 
 As the True American contest is fully set forth in my 
 published "Life and Writings," and also in Henry Wil- 
 
 *The following letter was written in 1845. O" my recovery 
 from my illness, I sued the Revolutionary Committee ; but the court 
 declared the True American a nuisance, under the old English com- 
 mon law, which, if ever applicable to the Press, was expressly abro- 
 gated by all our constitutions sustaining the liberty of such utterances, 
 being only liable to civil damages for the abuse, in legal process. 
 This my mother, as well as myself, foresaw. I so far, however, took 
 her advice, that I waited till my return from Mexico before I took 
 more formal proceedings against the mob. Then I recovered ;?2, 500 
 damages. Of course, she could not take as broad a view of the 
 situation as I. My prominent friends were slave-holders! Henry 
 C. Payne, my blood relative and uncle by marriage, a cotton-planter, 
 with his sons, were opposed to my views, but ready to fight in 
 defense of my life. And so were many of those who were of the 
 Committee of Sixty my friends. But when repeated messengers 
 would come, stating the bloody purposes of the mob, he and 
 others were anxious to have me give up the freedom of the press; 
 but my mother, seeing the firmness of my purpose, and the crit- 
 ical state of my health, said: "Cassius, don't give up any thing 
 you think it your duty to defend." And this greatly strengthened 
 and relieved me, in my extremity. And now, in this letter, she 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 109 
 
 son's "Slave-Power," I need only say here that the mob 
 was utterly defeated in all their ends. I was not killed; 
 and the American, published in Cincinnati, and edited by 
 me at Lexington, increased in circulation in Kentucky and 
 the Union generally, till I went to the Mexican War. 
 
 In the Slave-States the political forces are quite diffe- 
 ent from those of the Free-States. In the former, the 
 great mass of the voters could not read ; and they were 
 led by political speakers on the stump, where the orators 
 of both parties made their appeals. It was, therefore, all 
 important to the successful progress of my cause, that I 
 should add to the liberty of the press the liberty of pub- 
 lic discussion. My experience at Russell's Cave warned 
 me that I must have some more personal force in my be- 
 half than the advocacy of the freedom of the slave, and 
 against whom the non-slaveholders felt enmity rather than 
 
 shows eminent good sense, and sustains her first action : "If you 
 prefer death to dishonor, so do I." The mother of the Gracci, 
 in her celebrated advice to her children, but repeated the com- 
 mon sentiment of the Roman people; but whoever before, in the 
 world's history, stood so sublimely in defense of a moral princi- 
 ple?— C. 1885. 
 
 LETTER OF SALLY LEWIS DUDLEY. 
 
 Cassius, my son, once more I beg to impress on your mind your real situa- 
 tion. You have acted imprudently, and I can not deny my conviction of the truth, 
 although my great and ardent affection for you would make me bury all your wrongs 
 in everlasting forgetfulness. However pure your motives may have been, you have 
 acted in a way to give your enemies plausible means to take advantage of you. 
 My son, look back; you can not look into futurity. All your friends, or, at least, 
 your best friends, were opposed to your printing that paper, because they knew 
 your quick and hasty temper would bring you into difficulties. They knew you 
 were opposed to being advised, and they went as far as they thought it was proper 
 to go; and now you see you are overpowered. Your friends stood by and con- 
 sented by silence to what was done. They believed you could never carry on that 
 paper. I advised you to be mild in your course. Be still until you can see your 
 way clear. If you act hastily, your life is lost. If you prefer death to dishonor, 
 so do I. Where is your redress? Can you sue the very people, who have to try 
 and give judgment in your case, and expect justice? No; give it up, at least for 
 the present. I want you to see your brother (Brutus J. Clay), and talk freely with 
 him. Never mind Mr. Smith's jokes (John Speed Smith). No person has advised 
 me to write this letter; neither do any know I have done it. Your mother. That 
 is enough. Farewell! 
 
no MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 sympathy. For one of the methods of the slave-power 
 was to encourage this enmity between parties who were 
 really natural allies in a common progress. 
 
 Kentuckians being exceptionally, from their early his- 
 tory, fond of military glory, I hoped by the Mexican 
 War to strengthen myself so that I could take the 
 stump, where I would be an over-match for all my foes ; 
 when, if deemed necessary, the True American could 
 be located at some point secure against mobs, and act 
 as an ally of public discussion. The result proved that I 
 was right. * 
 
 * Correspondence between the Committee appointed by a m.eeting of the 
 
 citizens of Cincinnati, held on the 25^/z of August, and Cassius 
 
 M. Clay: 
 
 LETTER OF COMMITTEE. 
 
 Cincinnati, August 27, 1845. 
 Cassius M. Clay, Esq., Lexington, Ky. 
 
 Sir: — We hand you inclosed a report of the proceedings of a large and re- 
 spectable portion of the citizens of this city, in public meeting assembled, and <i. 
 series of resolutions by them adopted, expressive of their views and feelings relative 
 to the late violation of your rights, the illegal seizure of your printing press of the 
 True American, and its deportation to this city. 
 
 You will observe that we are charged as a Committee "to correspond with you 
 concerning the custody and disposition of the Press, and to take such measures in 
 relation to it as with your concurrence may be deemed advisable.'' 
 
 Understanding that the press duly arrived at this city, and is in charge of the 
 respectable commission-house to which it was consigned, and that it has been in- 
 sured against loss or damage by fire for a short time, we presume that at present 
 you do not need any services from us concerning it. But when you shall have 
 recovered your health and strength, and when you shall resume the noble work of 
 aiding your fellow-citizens in their deliverance from an enormous social evil exist- 
 ing among them, by the adoption of measures and means to that end which are 
 deemed safe, practical, peaceable, and salutary to all concerned; and when, in fur- 
 therance of that object, you may again wish to arm yourself with that great instru- 
 ment of life and liberty — the Printing Press — we shall be happy to co-operate with 
 you, and render any services in our power. 
 
 Your exasperated opponents, when the day of passion shall have passed, will 
 doubtless discover that the war they have waged against the voice that uttered, and 
 the instrument that conveyed abroad those unwelcome principles and truths, has 
 neither destroyed nor in the least changed those principles aiid truths; and that the 
 only mode by which they can render them harmless and beneficent to themselves is 
 by bringing themselves and their civil and social institutions into harmony with them. 
 
 Permit us to remind you of the fact that the eyes of the advocates of freedom, 
 the enlightenment and the elevation of all men throughout the world, are upon you; 
 and that their sympathies are with you in the high and holy work in which you 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 1 1 I 
 
 The most interesting event of the Secret History of 
 the Confederacy has just come to Hght. About January 
 2, 1864, General Joseph E. Johnston, then General-in-Chief 
 
 have so fearlessly engaged. May you be sustained in the conflict with error and evil 
 by a light and power from on high, and may you ultimately reap that highest of all 
 rewards, the approbation of God, of all good men, and of your own conscience. 
 Such is the earnest wish and hope of your fellow-citizens, 
 Signed : Benj. Urner, Geo. \V. Phillips, 
 
 Jas. S. Glascoe, R. G. Mitchell, 
 Jacob Ernst, Jas. Calhoun, 
 
 Oliver Lovell, Committee. 
 
 ANSWER OF CASSIUS M. CLAY. 
 
 Lexington, Ky., September 4, 1845. 
 Benj. Urner, James S. Glascoe, Jacob Ernst, Oliver Lovell, Geo. IV. Phillips, R. G. 
 
 Mitchell, James Calhoun. 
 
 Gentlemen: — I have just received your letter of the 27th ult., inclosing the 
 proceedings of the citizens of Cincinnati, and their resolutions in public meeting. 
 
 Their words of kindness and generous appreciation, and noble and dignified 
 avowal, have moved me more than all the studied cruelties and wrongs of my 
 enemies; though I was unnerved by disease, and threatened, for long days and 
 nights, with a horrible death. 
 
 I thank you, that you have not allowed the calumnious manifesto of the revo- 
 lutionists of the i8th of August to weaken your confidence in my loyalty to the con- 
 stitution and laws. I thank you, that you have seen nothing in the past to cause you 
 to lose confidence in the future, that my "measures and means" will be "safe, prac- 
 tical, and peaceable." I thank you, that you deem my "work high and holy," and 
 for the reverent and soul-sustaining invocation of Divine protection on me and on it. 
 
 You, gentlemen, have taken me upon trust; the time for my defense will come 
 with my re-established health, when, I venture to say, your sentence will not be 
 revoked by "Kentucky and the world." 
 
 I shall allude now to only one charge going the rounds of the papers — that 
 there was a compromise between me and the rebels of the 18th; and that I agreed to 
 discontinue the publication of the True American provided they would spare the 
 press. It is not necessary for me to say to you, who have seen my letter addressed 
 to the meeting, as well as my previous handbills addressed to the people, that this 
 story is calumnious and morally impossible. It is enough that the Committee of Sixty 
 have authorized the Lexington Observer and Reporter to state that no such proposition 
 came from me or any of my friends. This attempt, therefore, to degrade me, on the 
 part of those who failed to destroy me, is of a piece with this whole outrage of cruelty 
 and wrong, as I shall be able to show as soon as my health will allow. 
 
 I hope I shall also be able to show, that I am neither a "madman" nor a 
 "fanatic." 
 
 They who sent back from ThermopylEe the sublime message, " Go tell it at Lace- 
 doemon that we died here in obedience to her laws;" the Roman who returned to 
 captivity and to death that his country might be saved; Sydney, Hampdeii, and Rus- 
 sell; Emmet, who uttered the mighty instincts of a great soul, "The man dies, but 
 his memory lives;" Adams, who exclaimed, "Survive or perish, I am for the decla 
 
112 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 of the Confederate army at Dalton, called a council of 
 his corps and division commanders, to consider the mem- 
 orial of Major-General Cleburne, which was first approved 
 
 ration;" Henry, who cried, "Give me liberty, or give me death," — were all, in the 
 eyes of these men, "madmen" and "fanatics." 
 
 It was necessary that some one should bear the standard of Liberty into the 
 enemy's camp ; and by so doing, whether he stood or fell, arouse this great nation 
 from the lethargy and death which have come over the spirit of a once free people. 
 It has been the policy of wise statesmen in all ages, to clothe the humblest citizen 
 with the concentrated power and inviolability of the whole empire. It was enough for 
 one amidst the wildest barbarians to say, " I am a Roman citizen," and he was safe. 
 No country in Europe is so careful of individual and national glory as France, the first 
 nation of Europe; and England, but a few years ago, was ready to peril her thirty 
 millions of lives on the rescue of a single subject. It can not, therefore, be less than 
 madness in the American people, if they expect long to live as a nation, and not to 
 fall an easy sacrifice to foreign aggression or internal anarchy and despotism, to look 
 coldly on, whenever the humblest of those contending for constitutional liberty and 
 national honor are overborne and trampled down in the battle. Surely that nation 
 can not long live, far less be free, that sees, time after time, whatever of spirit and 
 manly independence may any where exhibit itself, crushed and utterly extinguished. 
 
 I thank you, then, and the people of Cincinnati, my fellow-citizens — men 
 gathered under the same national Constitution, to which I owe allegiance, and 
 which owes me protection; brothers of the same blood, inheriting the same proud 
 recollections of the past, and looking in the future to the same inseperable destiny — 
 that you have not cowered before the slave-power ; but that you have stood by the 
 friendless, the powerless, the fallen, and dared to speak out for constitutional repub- 
 licanism and eternal justice, which have been violated in my person. Above all, am 
 I deeply affected by the fact, that you assembled in "mass meeting" without distinc- 
 tion of party; and, as both parties here were lost in overwhelming subservience to 
 slavery, so you of the Free States begin to unite in the defense of your own rights, 
 and in the cause of national liberty. 
 
 If the Whigs and Democrats and Liberty Men shall become really what they 
 assume, then is half ray "work" accomplished, and the Republic safe; for, though 
 my State should sink into irrevocable despotism, there will still be left somewhere on 
 this wide continent a home for the exile and the oppressed. 
 
 With regard to the Press, I would briefly remark, that my banner, "God and 
 Liberty," will never be struck. 
 
 Though overpowered by numbers, I have the same unconquerable will and defi- 
 ant spirit, as though the day had not gone against me. It is for those who fight for 
 the wrong, to despair in defeat. 
 
 I shall not "die through mortification," as ray enemies would have it. I trust 
 that I shall yet live to see those who, on the l8th of August, 1845, rose in arms, over- 
 powered the civil authorities, and overthrew the constitutional liberties of the State, 
 and established on its ruins an irresponsible despotism, hurled from their usurped 
 places of fancied security, and Kentucky yet made free. 
 
 If, however, this be a vain hope, still I will not repine; for I should feel prouder 
 to have fallen with her honor, than to have ingloriously triumphed with my enemies 
 over the grave of the liberties of my country. With gratitude and admiration, I am 
 your friend and obedient servant, C. M. Clay. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. II3 
 
 by the brigadier commanders of his division. I quote from 
 the Cincinnati Commercial -Gazette of March, 1885: 
 
 "The points of it [the memorial] have been preserved, as ex- 
 plained below: 
 
 "SYNOPSIS OF Cleburne's memorial. 
 
 ' ' It urged on the Confederate Congress ' the emancipation of 
 all slaves, and their conscription into the army.' He claimed: 
 
 " I . Such a course would relieve the Southern people of a 
 yearly tax, an unproductive consumption, because the slave con- 
 sumed more than his profits; thus distinguishing the profit of the 
 negro from the profit of cotton. 
 
 "2. It would animate the undying gratitude of that race. 
 
 "3. It would create in the negro a greater self-respect and 
 ambition. 
 
 "4. With gratitude and ambition, the service of the soldier 
 would be both reliable and valuable. 
 
 "5. That the moral effect throughout the world, but especially 
 in Europe, would be generally strengthening and beneficial to the 
 South. 
 
 "6. That the result would be the signal for immediate Euro- 
 pean recognition, and, indeed, action. Germany and Italy would 
 have been disarmed of their prejudice, Napoleon would imme- 
 diately have been encouraged to become a Lafayette, and Great 
 Britain would not have been afraid to back him in Parliamentary 
 ■declaration, no matter how the working classes would have felt. 
 
 "7. That it would raise the blockade, and give us provisions 
 and clothing." 
 
 "The memorial was a lengthy one, each point being amplified 
 and argued. The paper itself can not be found. General Cleburne 
 destroyed his own copy, and a copy sent to Richmond at the time 
 is not to be found in the captured archives. The above points 
 were preserved by Major Charles S. Hill, the accomplished statis- 
 tician of the State Department, who was Cleburne's Chief of Ar- 
 tillery at the time the memorial was prepared. 
 
 "The papers following present the story of this plan of Cle- 
 burne's, and the action taken upon it, so far as it is preserved in 
 that portion of the Confederate archives now in possession of the 
 Government." 
 
 Vol. I.— 8 
 
114 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 The council refused unanimously to adopt the mem- 
 orial, except General Cleburne's division officers; and 
 General Johnston refused to forward it to the Confed- 
 erate Government, and burned it. It, however, reached 
 President Davis, who declared, through the Secretary of 
 War, that — 
 
 "The motives of zeal and patriotism which have 
 prompted General Walker's action are, however, fully appreciated ; 
 and that action is probably fortunate, as it affords an appropriate 
 occasion to express the earnest conviction of the President that the 
 dissemination or even promulgation of such opinions under the 
 present circumstances of the Confederacy, whether in the army or 
 among the people, can be productive only of discouragement, dis- 
 traction, and dissension. The agitation and controversy which must 
 spring from the presentation of such views by officers high in pub- 
 lic confidence are to be deeply deprecated ; and, while no doubt or 
 mistrust is for a moment entertained of the patriotic intents of the 
 gallant author of the memorial, and such of his brother officers as 
 may have favored his opinion, it is requested that you will com- 
 municate to them, as well as all others present on the occasion, 
 the opinions as herein expressed of the President, and urge on 
 them the suppression, not only of the memorial itself but likewise 
 of all discussion and controversy respecting or growing out of it. 
 I would add that the measures advocated in the memorial are con- 
 sidered little appropriate for consideration in military circles, and 
 indeed in their scope pass beyond th* bounds of Confederate 
 action, and could under our constitutional system neither be com- 
 mended by the Executive to Congress, nor be entertained by that 
 body. 
 
 "Such views can only jeopard among the States and people 
 unity and harmony, when, for successful co-operation and the 
 achievement of independence, both are essential. 
 
 "With much respect, very truly yours, 
 
 "James A. Seddon, 
 ''Secretary of War." 
 
 ^ ^fc ^k ^ ?4c ^ ^ ^tc s4c 
 
 On the 6th of October, 1864, the Richmond Enquirer began 
 a vigorous support of the proposition. The next session of the 
 Confederate Congress authorized the arming of the negroes; and, 
 just before the surrender, their enlistment began about Richmond. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. I 1 5 
 
 It was too late. General Hood, in his recent work, "Advance 
 and Retreat," in mentioning the death of Cleburne at the bat- 
 tle of Franklin, thus records his mature judgment on the pro- 
 position which he failed to defend before the Council of War at 
 Dalton : 
 
 " He (Cleburne) possessed the boldness and the wisdom to 
 earnestly advocate, at an early period of the war, the freedom of 
 the negro, and the enrollment of the young and able-bodied of the 
 race. This stroke of policy and additional source of strength 
 to our armies would, in my opinion, have given us our inde- 
 pendence." 
 
 There is no more interesting chapter than this among the un- 
 published portions of the Confederate records. — H. V. B. 
 
 Such are briefly the principal points of the movement, 
 as given by the Commercial -Gazette s correspondent, H. 
 V. B., which I propose to consider now. The proposi- 
 tion made by Cleburne was substantially the one made 
 by me to Lincoln in 1862; and which, as will be seen 
 hereafter, was adopted by him and the Republican Party, 
 with what result the world knows. But, whilst it was 
 wise in us to liberate and use the slaves as soldiers, 
 Davis was wise in the refusal to do so, because none 
 knew better than he that the non-slaveholders, composing 
 the great element of voters and soldiers, had no interest 
 whatever in the contmued existence of slavery; and that 
 they were driven into the Rebel armies by their insane 
 hatred of the blacks, who were their rivals in work and 
 social position, with the additional differences of color and 
 race. Why does the Irish emigre, and the American as 
 well, hate the Chinese and blacks? For similar reasons. 
 The unintelligent Southern white laborers there desired 
 the continuance of slavery, and fought for it. Now, had 
 Davis liberated them, and put them in the army, the great 
 mass of his white soldiers would have deserted! 
 
 Again, the object of the great mass of Southerners, 
 with a few ambitious Rebels, who fought for power, was 
 to conserve slavery ; and, that gone, the old Union was 
 
'Il6 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 theirs without a fight ! When, therefore, this scheme was 
 adopted in the last extremity, I imagine it but hastened 
 the end. It was this knowledge which drove me into the 
 Democratic ranks in the restoration of State autonomy, 
 and which caused me to take ground against our friends, 
 Sherman and Hoar, who favored armed interference in the 
 South, in the late canvass of 1884. 
 
 The moment you introduce National bayonets into the 
 South to suppress even the despotic action of the Demo- 
 cratic Party, in the overthrow of the right of the colored 
 citizens of the Republic to vote, you threaten a war of 
 races ; and in such contest the whites will stand almost as 
 a unit. The true remedy of the colored man's wrong 
 must be the division of the blacks of the South them- 
 selves into Republicans and Democrats. In my opinion, 
 however long deferred, this is the only remedy. It may 
 come out of a National Democratic rule; but I think a 
 Solid North is the best way to break up a Solid South, 
 and restore self-government to the American people. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Mexican War. — James S. Jackson. — Col. H. Marshall. — Buffalo Hunt- 
 ing. — Comanche Hunting Camps. — Tigers. — Rough Surgery. — Morning 
 Light. — A Snake Story. — The First Shot. — A Mule's Sagacity. — Lost 
 for Days on our Return Trip. — K's Despondency. — A Night with Rob- 
 bers. — My School-mate Desperado. — After Tragedy a Comedy. — Arrival 
 at last at Lavaca. 
 
 AS I had, in several speeches against the annexation 
 of Texas, predicted that such would bring on war, 
 the South was not surprised at my course; whilst the 
 North, not having noted my promises, and not under- 
 standing my motives, were for the time alienated from 
 me. On volunteering, I took my position in the ranks ; but 
 I had the promise of Governor Wm. Owsley, through his 
 son-in-law, Judge Wm. C. Goodloe, that I should be made 
 Colonel of a regiment, as I had thrown the delegation 
 from Fayette in his favor for nominee for the executive 
 office by the Whig Party. But, when the slave-power 
 heard of this scheme; as I was told, the Governor re- 
 ceived a "barrel of letters," protesting against my ap- 
 pointment. Thus I found myself in the ranks of the 
 "Old Infantry," instead of being Colonel. This company 
 was, in the War of 1812, under the command of my father. 
 General Green Clay; and it had continued organized till 
 the Mexican War, when it was received by the Govern- 
 ment as part of Colonel Humphrey Marshall's regiment 
 of mounted men. I had been its Captain ; and it com- 
 posed, also, one of the companies of the Fayette Legion, 
 of which I had also been Colonel. 
 
 In the meantime, Wm. R. McKee, my old school- 
 mate, having been educated at West Point, also volun- 
 teered in the army of invasion. Hearing that Governor 
 
 117 
 
Il8 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Owsley would surely make me Colonel of the new regi- 
 ment, he came to Lexington, and asked me to decline in 
 his favor, as he believed the companies would recommend 
 him, and the Governor would appoint him. I liked 
 McKee. He had been my second in the fight with 
 Wickliffe, and was a gallant fellow. So I said to him: 
 "The Old Infantry are now in their quarters for night- 
 drill ; go down and see them, and let them decide be- 
 tween us." So, going down, he returned, and said, 
 that they were for me, and he gave it up; and, turn- 
 ing his attention to the infantry in other parts of the 
 State, was made Colonel of Infantry, and fell gallantly 
 fighting at the head of his command at Buena Vista. 
 
 Humphrey Marshall, another graduate of West Point, 
 was made Colonel, and his cousin, Thomas F. Marshall, 
 of Woodford, was one of the Captains of the regiment. 
 We were mustered into service at Louisville ; carried to 
 Memphis, Tennessee, by water, and went mounted by land 
 to Mexico. 
 
 In the meantime, James S. Jackson, my friend, was 
 chosen Captain of the "Old Infantry," and I was muster- 
 ing along the streets of Lexington, with my musket on 
 shoulder. Now the slave-power was exultant, and said: 
 "We have him now; he will never return alive, and we 
 will be shut of the damned agitator." But I here re- 
 ceived the greatest honor ever given an American citizen. 
 The gallant Jackson, when he saw that Governor Owsley 
 had betrayed me, and that the aristocracy were trium- 
 phant over my supposed disgrace, called the company to- 
 gether in the court-house yard ; and, without giving me 
 the least hint in advance, addressed the soldiers, and, re- 
 signing, nominated me as Captain. I was unanimously 
 elected ; Mason Brown, the son of Samuel Brown, voting 
 for me, being the Second Lieutenant of the company. 
 Jackson then took my place in the ranks, and messed 
 with me till I was made prisoner at Encarnagion. More 
 of him hereafter. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. II9 
 
 At Louisville, on the night before we set out for 
 Memphis, some of our soldiers, having deserted, took ref- 
 uge in a house of ill-fame. Colonel Marshall ordered me 
 to surround the house, and bring them into camp. I did 
 so. A shot was fired from the house ; and the men, ex- 
 asperated, broke up some of the furniture. On my re- 
 turn home, my enemies, to annoy me, had me sued for 
 damages, and the jury brought in a verdict against me. 
 It was held that I had violated the civil rights of citizens 
 illegally; but, as I acted under orders which I dared not 
 disobey, the National Government, as in the case of Gen- 
 eral Andrew Jackson, under like circumstances at New 
 Orleans, promptly refunded me the money. 
 
 From Memphis, we went over swamps, lagoons, and 
 rivers to Little Rock, the capital of Arkansas. There 
 we were well received and feasted ; and one of the loveli- 
 est of the Arkansas girls gave me a beautiful red ostrich 
 feather for my cap, which I wore off on the march in tri- 
 umph over all the young fellows of the regiment. 
 
 As commissary stores, etc., had to be gathered at La- 
 vaca, in Texas, on the Gulf, believing that some delay 
 and leisure would ensue, I got leave of absence for some 
 days from our commander to hunt buffalo, then said to 
 be on the north-western line of the settlements. So, 
 taking J. K., a courageous soldier from Captain Milam's 
 company, and an extra pack-mule, with fly-tent and pro- 
 visions, we went by the way of the Hot Springs, then 
 having but a few rude cabins, where now a great city 
 begins to rise. In a few days, having crossed the Red 
 River at Shreveport, and taking by a pocket-compass a 
 north-westerly course, we were soon beyond the settle- 
 ments, and in the wild prairies of the Comanches and 
 the buffaloes. 
 
 These prairies were gently undulating, so that the riv- 
 ulets seemed, by an optical illusion, to run uphill. They 
 were devoid of trees, but full of tall grass and wild 
 flowers of infinite color, grace, and beauty. There was 
 
I20 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 no animal life; but the flowers seemed to give the pleas- 
 ure of association, and filled the eye with their novel love- 
 liness ; and their odor, of the most profuse and delicate 
 flavors, intoxicated . the senses. Occasionally a thread of 
 trees and wild rye marked some distant rivulet, where the 
 early rains had developed unusual vegetation. 
 
 It was now October, but the air was as balmy as in 
 June ; and the blood flowed merrily through our veins, 
 making existence itself a pleasure. The great rivers of 
 Texas flow approximately north and south, spreading out 
 into fan-shaped upper waters, rivers, creeks, and rivulets. 
 During the winter rains they are flush, and wash deep 
 holes in their beds ; in the summer and fall few streams 
 flow, but "water-holes" are the places where the In- 
 dians and wild animals are supplied, till the rains are 
 renewed. 
 
 After a long day's travel, toward eve one day we saw 
 a pencil-mark line on the distant horizon, which we knew 
 at once to be water, or at least a water-path. These 
 water-courses are invariably covered with shrubs, trees, 
 and vines, thickly set, which may best be termed "jun- 
 gles;" and near these, for shade and water, all animal life 
 gathers. Near dark we reached the jungle, and crossed 
 the bed of the rivulet to the west side, where we found 
 a newly-deserted Indian camp, and knew that water could 
 be most surely found near by. I pitched our tent, tethered 
 our two horses and the gray mule " Billy," and made a 
 fire to boil our coffee, whilst K. went in search of water. 
 He was not long gone before he found a fine "water- 
 hole" or pool, at which we watered our horses and filled 
 our canteens. 
 
 In this camp there was nothing but structures for dry- 
 ing buffalo-meat. These are made by setting four forks 
 of wood, cut with their hatchets, reaching about six or 
 seven feet above the ground. Upon these are laid cross 
 sticks, and again upon these other cross sticks are set, 
 upon which the buffalo or other meat, cut in long strips, 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 121 
 
 is wound around, as pumpkin is cured in the mountain 
 portions of Kentucky by the poorer families. As the 
 meat is set, a fire is kindled under it, which smokes 
 away the flies, and, with the aid of the sun, so dries it 
 that it is ready to pack and keep without salt in the hot- 
 test weather. In other camps I found the temporary bed- 
 steads of the savages, made of two short pieces, say six 
 inches in diameter, then two poles seven feet long laid 
 upon these, and again smaller cross pieces, upon which I 
 suppose the buffalo skins were laid. Over one of these 
 bedsteads small boughs were bent, like the willows of a 
 child's wagon-body, over which no doubt hides were spread 
 to keep off dew and rain. So even the hardy Indians 
 take care to avoid the damp, which, in sleep especially, 
 is so fatal to animal life. This bedstead was, no doubt, 
 for the chief of the gang. 
 
 In the Indian towns, of course, huts of high poles and 
 skins are made ; but, in their rapid movements, the Co- 
 manches lie on the ground upon their skins, or on these 
 temporary bedsteads, which are made only, I suppose, 
 when they have found plenty of game for some time's 
 use. All these days we had not seen a living thing, 
 neither bird nor animal, and the reason was plain — all 
 these take up their quarters near the water and shade, 
 where food is also plenty. 
 
 Having adjusted things for the night, we laid down in 
 our fly-tent to sleep. Here we were, for the first time in 
 our lives, several day's travel from the extreme borders 
 of civilization, in a recent Indian camp of the treacherous 
 Comanches, who acknowledged no law but force, sur- 
 rounded by we knew not what ferocious animals. So 
 "kind nature's sweet restorer" was slow to close our eye- 
 lids. Far down the ravine we heard, as we thought, the 
 low growl of the tiger; one, two, three, and then more 
 and more, as if they had caught the scent of meat, or 
 our horses, and were evidently coming nearer and nearer, 
 and increasing in numbers as they approached us. 
 
122 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 K. had hardly ever been out of cities, and I, though 
 familiar with our Kentucky game, deers, bears, etc., had 
 no idea what these voices were. He sprang to his feet, 
 rekindled the fire, and seized his rifle. I followed suit; 
 and, being prepared, we stood to our arms, as we specu- 
 lated about whence came these unheard-of sounds. At 
 length we concluded that it was the Mexican tiger, or 
 leopard, which had made its way to these unfrequented 
 woods. If they should attack us, or our horses, we 
 seemed unequal to the fight; for now they appeared to 
 increase, and were formidable in number, as well as 
 louder, on nearer approach. Having heard that wild 
 beasts were intimidated by fire, we piled on more wood, 
 and stood cautiously to our arms — guns and pistols. 
 
 After a long time these gutteral sounds began to de- 
 crease, and gradually ceased. We again laid down upon 
 our blankets, and began to enter the land of dreams, 
 when a loud cry from K. brought me to • my feet. In 
 this dry clime of vermin, a bug had entered his ear, and 
 was testing the practicability of passing its sensitive drum, 
 when the excruciating pain caused my brave-hearted com- 
 panion to cry out like a woman. What was to be done? 
 I had heard that oil poured into the ear would drive out 
 a bug, but we had no oil. I bethought me of the coffee- 
 pot, which stood still simmering on the dying embers; 
 and, knowing salt to be very offensive to insects, I placed 
 K. on his side, still bellowing like a "bull calf!" I put 
 the nozzle to his ear, and deluged it and his face and 
 eyes with the hot salt-water. The bug came running 
 out; and K., spurting the liquid from his mouth and wip- 
 ing his closed eyes, and seeing my suppressed laughter, 
 covered me with alternate curses and compliments. He 
 was relieved; and ever after he told the story with comic 
 expressions of gratitude and humor. 
 
 Without further incident, we rose with the " mighty 
 king of day;" and, packing our mule, after a hasty break- 
 fast, we entered the prairie once more, turning from our 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 1 25 
 
 course a little to examine our field of tiger sounds. We 
 had not gone far before we saw an immense herd of buf- 
 faloes grazing on the distant prairie, renewing the sounds 
 of the night before. The buffalo, like the hog, being gre- 
 garious, gives a similar grunt when feeding, with his head 
 sunk into the tall grass, by which the herd is directed and 
 kept together. But they soon saw us, long before within 
 gunshot, and put off with their awkward regular gallop, 
 and were soon lost in the distance. Turning again north- 
 west, we met with no incident of note till the afternoon ; 
 the buffalo, no doubt, having come a long way to drink at 
 the water-hole. 
 
 " Billy," the mule, was never satisfied with eating, and 
 had to be driven often into the line of march. So K., 
 cutting a long whip-staff, and slinging to it an extra 
 bridle rein, kept him between us; I going before, the 
 mule next, and K. bringing up the rear. Ascending a 
 slight acclivity, where there was more sand than grass, 
 and that little very sparse in small patches, Billy came to 
 a sudden halt, with ears cast forward, fore feet set apart, 
 and gave a loud snort. K. cried out: "Indians, Billy; 
 Indians ! " But Billy stood fixed to the spot, with his 
 eyes staring, and inclined toward the near ground. Look- 
 ing down, I saw a very novel snake, about four or five 
 feet in length, of rare and brilliant colors, and shaped like 
 a whip-thong. It lay at full length, at near right angles 
 to our line of march. K. soon dismounted ; and, club- 
 bing his long whip-staff, prepared to strike. The snake 
 made not the least motion at his approach, not even 
 opening its mouth, or thrusting out its tongue, as is 
 usual with snakes. K. came down with his blow; my 
 eyes were never taken off the snake. But the snake was 
 not killed, but g©ne! Neither of us saw him move, and 
 we never saw him more! We examined for rods all 
 around, the surface being nearly all pure sand, but found 
 no hole, and saw no signs of the snake. K. was more 
 surprised than myself; and, mounting his horse, with im- 
 
124 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 agination stored by last night's adventure, swore it was 
 the devil ! At certain speeds, objects make no impres- 
 sion on the retina, as the swiftly-turned spokes of a spin- 
 ning-wheel. The snake was no doubt of the constrictor 
 class, and of great speed, and exerting his powers escaped 
 our sight. But K. would never admit the reasoning ; and, 
 for long years afterward, when the snake story was named, 
 would look serious, shake his head, and say nothing. 
 
 Coming at length to a ravine, where there was much 
 sign of buffalo, we pitched tent, tethered Billy, and decided 
 after midday to take a hunt. Passing over a slight rise of 
 the prairie, I saw a huge buffalo bull grazing alone near a 
 jungle ; and, passing below till I reached the trees, I ad- 
 vanced cautiously till I got near him, and then tied my 
 horse and approached on foot. The rifle I carried, bor- 
 rowed in the regiment, the largest bore I could get, save 
 the carbines, carried about thirty-two balls to the pound, 
 when an ounce ball very judiciously used was needed to 
 kill these immense animals. But I had a brace of first- 
 class dueling-pistols in my belt, so I concluded to use 
 them. Having heard that the buffalo, when wounded, 
 would turn upon his enemy, I took all precautions for 
 safety. I set my rifle by a tree, and observed one with 
 suitable limbs for ascent; and then, taking my pistol in 
 hand, I sought the bull, which was behind a small patch 
 of sumac bushes, and I could plainly hear him stripping 
 the tender grass in grazing. Creeping through the bushes, 
 within ten feet of him, I fired at him behind the shoulder ; 
 and running at once to my tree, about twenty paces off, 
 climbed it. 
 
 He had evidently been hit severely, but I saw him gal- 
 loping off over the prairie. I went to the bushes, and saw 
 where he had plunged into the smoke of my pistol, tear- 
 ing up the ground for many yards with his sliding hoofs. 
 So, if I did not escape being laughed at, I avoided being 
 killed ! Mounting my horse, I at once went in pursuit, 
 but saw him no more. I had not gone far, however, before 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 1 2$ 
 
 I saw a fine buffalo calf, strayed off from the herd, and 
 soon put a ball through him, behind the shoulder, with my 
 rifle. I then struck for camp, where K. had already re- 
 turned with a larger calf than my own, in the killing and 
 capturing of which he had a wonderful tale to tell. As 
 we had now meat enough, I did not return to my calf, 
 having brought in the tuft of his tail in proof of my 
 prowess. 
 
 We now set about butchering, cutting up the better 
 pieces of the calf, and roasting them on spits set in the 
 ground. I much enjoyed our fare, the while drawing out 
 K. about his fight with the calf — how he shot him and 
 caught him, and how the calf rose and horned him, and 
 all that ; until, seeing I was using mock wonder, he drop- 
 ped the story. 
 
 Having no time to cure the buffalo-meat in the regular 
 way, we roasted the best parts on spits, and packed them 
 in our stores. Along the ravine we saw plenty of wild 
 turkeys (but no smaller game), feeding upon the wild 
 grasses, which are quite eatable ; and we occasionally 
 killed one, and, putting strips of salt pork, pinned on with 
 splinters, and turning him on a spit with one end stuck 
 in the ground, we had a delicious roast — never so good 
 elsewhere, because this is the best method of cooking it, 
 and the appetite is the best sauce. 
 
 Continuing our hunt successfully, we still bore north 
 by west, the timbered ravines increasing, so that we knew 
 we were passing one of the great rivers of Texas — a 
 State larger than France. Indian signs increased, and the 
 camps were fresher. One day we passed an Indian in 
 the open prairie, on horseback, coming exactly toward us. 
 As we knew the Comanches were ever hostile, and never 
 to be trusted, we took rifles in hand, and watchfully passed 
 him; he, also, with rifle in hand, passed us, and neither 
 spoke. Of course, a single hunter would rarely be found, 
 and we regarded him as a spy. We, therefore, pushed on 
 that day; and, having watered our horses on the way, 
 
126 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 traveled till near dark, when we lay down upon the dry 
 prairie without tent, eating our dried cooked meat only. 
 
 Now, ever since Billy had been frightened with the 
 snake — when K. cried out lustily, "Indians, Billy!" — he 
 had used that word to bring the mule from his grazing 
 diversions into line. For, as soon as he would cry out 
 "Indians," and affect to run and be scared, Billy would 
 take up a trot, and come into line behind me. We had 
 scarcely adjusted ourselves to sleep, when the mule brought 
 us up with tremendous snorts, kept up without ceasing. 
 So we concluded that the Indians had been watching us 
 during the day, and were now trailing us through the tall 
 grass by starlight, to steal our horses, take our guns, and 
 perhaps kill us. We at once packed up, changed some- 
 what our course ; and, after a few miles, slept upon the 
 prairie. Now, whether it was Indians, or bears, or wolves, 
 the horses took no notice of them, but the mule sounded 
 the alarm. 
 
 Our provisions being now nearly expended, except the 
 buffalo-meat, and the savages being near us, we resolved 
 to set out for Lavaca, on the Gulf I set my face by 
 compass, and kept a right line as well as I could. The 
 farther west we went, the more the timber and jungle in- 
 creased. The cactus began to appear in places, mingled 
 with thorns, brush-wood, and grapevines ; and, what was 
 worse, quicksands began to obstruct the crossings of the 
 rivulets, or rather the beds of the same, which were now 
 nearly all dry. The buffaloes cross these streams and 
 pick the secure places, and make very marked paths. We 
 had to follow those paths for long distances, without re- 
 gard to course, winding about over small prairies, between 
 the rivulets and creeks, which more and more presented 
 obstructions. For days and nights we worried through 
 these wastes, without seeing a living thing but slimy 
 snakes sliding through the jungles. We camped wher- 
 ever we happened to find water; and ate about the last 
 of our stores, except the buffalo-meat, being without salt 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 1 27 
 
 or bread. In the meantime, K. had become demoralized 
 and despondent, saying we might as well give up, and lie 
 down on the grass and die! We here have a sample of 
 fortitude as distinct from courage. K. would have met a 
 host of men in arms, but yielded to unforeseen disaster 
 as a child. 
 
 I had now been using the tomahawk and Bowie-knife 
 in clearing away the jungle, in all of which K. was un- 
 able or unwilling to assist. In the meantime, the differ- 
 ence in the instincts or intelligence of the horse and mule 
 was apparent. The horses were comparatively indifferent 
 to the snakes and the quicksands, while Billy was ever 
 watchful and cautious of both. 
 
 On the third day, about two o'clock, we came upon a 
 waste of jungle as far as the eye could reach ; and, as K. 
 refused to go farther, and insisted on returning on our 
 tracks, I set my compass south by east, and attempted to 
 return. In the meantime, the buffalo traces had been lost, 
 and I ran by the compass, laboring hard with the axe and 
 knife. Fortunately, we met no quicksands ; and, about 
 sunset, having traveled many hours and many miles in a 
 straight line, amidst ever-recurring patches of prairie and 
 jungle, we debouched into a wider and higher prairie, with 
 a new woods about a mile off, to which I directed myself, 
 to camp on the streamlet's banks. 
 
 I now saw a black bear about one hundred yards off. 
 He stood with his side toward me, gently turning his head 
 toward me. I shot, and he scampered off into the jungle 
 we had just left. The wolves now set up their infernal 
 howl, which seemed to be a few hundred yards from us, 
 in a small jungle on our left. K. mistook them for a set- 
 tler's dogs, and insisted upon turning to the left. I knew 
 very well that they were only wolves ; and, to humor my 
 companion, we rode up to where the notes were heard, 
 when they grew fainter in the distance, whereupon K. re- 
 lapsed into his usual despondency. I had not gone far, 
 when a reddish-gray fox stood near me on the prairie. 
 
128 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 * 
 
 looking, no doubt, for the first time upon man. I shot 
 him for variety of fare, and took him to the jungle, where 
 we pitched our camp. 
 
 Gathering our animals, I left K. to pitch our tent and 
 make a fire, and skin the fox, whilst I hunted for water. 
 I was not gone long before I found water; and, returning, 
 found K. with the tent up, but lying down, with no fire, 
 and the fox untouched. Getting our cante6ns full of 
 water, and warming up the buffalo-meat, I invited K. to 
 supper; but he declined to eat, not having tasted any- 
 thing but dry meat early that morning. Whilst I was 
 nibbling the last of the meat, and attempting to show K. 
 that there was no danger of starvation, as we had plenty 
 of ammunition, and the game began now to be more plen- 
 tiful, I heard a sound which first revealed to me how 
 much my own spirits had been depressed — for I did not 
 know what jungles, quicksands, and other difficulties were 
 before — I heard the bark of a real dog. I was sitting 
 by the fire, at the mouth of the tent, eating and reflect- 
 ing upon the dangers of the situation. The moon shone 
 brightly, and but a breath of wind blew steadily from the 
 south-east. On water and the prairies sounds are wafted 
 incredible distances with the wind. In certain stages of 
 the atmosphere, I often hear the cars passing from Lex- 
 ington to Winchester, more than twenty miles away; and 
 now I heard the bay of the dog in the far distance, but I 
 heard it unmistakably. I called to K., who was lying down : 
 
 " I hear a dog." 
 
 "No," said he, "it is the wolves again." 
 
 " K., you are a fool," said I; "don't I know a dog 
 from a wolf? Come," said I, "come and listen for your- 
 self." 
 
 At length he was persuaded to move ; and, crawling 
 upon his hands and knees, he dragged himself to the 
 tent's mouth. The moon shone brightly upon his care- 
 worn and relaxed features. A month's sickness could not 
 have done the work of a few days of lost hope! He 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. I 29 
 
 heard the far-distant, faint notes of the baying dog. Hope 
 returned like ^ flash of lightning to his features. He 
 sprang up like a tiger; and, throwing his arms around my 
 neck, cried : 
 
 "Aren't those the sweetest sounds that ever fell upon 
 mortal ears?" 
 
 His appetite returned, and he helped me to finish our 
 last piece of food. We slept well, and by light were off 
 once more. Luckily, we came upon solid ground, the jun- 
 gles grew less and far between; and, toward midday, we 
 debouched into a high rolling prairie, where some herds- 
 men had burned the early grass, and where we first saw 
 the mesquite trees and grass of the same name. The 
 looks of these patches of growth are so like an old 
 peach-orchard in shape and interval, that for more than 
 once we were sure we had entered the " settlements," 
 and were near some farm-house. We had again almost 
 doubted the veritable dog, when, mounting the top of a 
 rolling prairie, we saw afar off horses, under a few shade- 
 trees, switching away the flies. By four o'clock in the 
 afternoon we came to a newly-made log cottage and 
 farm-yard, where we were hospitably entertained, getting 
 plenty of well-cooked game, eggs, and milk from a cool 
 spring. Never did weary travelers more enjoy a meal 
 and a bed. 
 
 We must have traveled thirty or forty miles that day; 
 and the dog we heard was that of some herdsman or 
 hunter nearer our late camp. The man was illiterate, and 
 knew no more where he was in Texas than we did, save 
 that he was on the very verge of civilization. So, renew- 
 ing our stores, and cordially thanking and taking leave of 
 our host and his family, our horses having had a good 
 feed of Indian-corn and oats, we set out once more, go- 
 ing rather west than south-west, to cross all interven- 
 ing streams at nearer right angles; when, striking the 
 Ozark Mountains, we would go directly south on higher 
 ground. 
 
 Vol. I. — 9 
 
130 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 We met no very great obstacles in our route, not car- 
 ing to shoot any game; and, tlie streams becoming less 
 frequent, we began to set our course almost due south. 
 At length, one evening, while the sun was yet above the 
 horizon, we saw the indications of a stream flowing from 
 west to east, and at right angles to our course ; and still 
 nearer we found a ranch, with houses and yards and 
 stables well fenced in. Rejoicing once more to enter 
 civilized lands, we came up to the fence ; and, throwing 
 our reins over the fence-posts, for there was a post-and- 
 railing fence around the buildings, we got down without 
 ceremony, when, entering a small gate, a man quickly 
 advanced from his companions, about a half dozen men 
 lying listlessly on the grass, and met me half way, having 
 on a belt in which two pistols' were stuck. 
 
 But here I must go back nearly a quarter of a cen- 
 tury in time, long before Texas was independent, and 
 while New Mexico was a Spanish possession, under the 
 king of Spain and his viceroys. At that time, there was 
 a considerable trade carried on between New Mexico and 
 the city of St. Louis and Missouri. The merchants were 
 all Spaniards ; and, bringing gold and silver, and some 
 few other articles, carried back hats, cloths, etc., to sell 
 at home. As there were no means of exchange then but 
 metals, these were brought under guard the whole route. 
 
 As now, the most desperate and daring of our people 
 being driven to the frontier, a project was conceived of 
 murdering these carriers, and appropriating the gold. 
 Among these were persons from Kentucky and other 
 States ; and the most daring spirit among them was said 
 to be a man whom I knew well, as I had known him at 
 school, and until we were both men. 
 
 Mr. left Kentucky early in life, but not before his 
 
 daring spirit was well known by his associates. He was 
 under six feet, rather spare, but wiry and muscular. Few 
 could beat him in the school-boy plays, in jumping and 
 wrestling, and all that. He was of rather swarthy com- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. I3I 
 
 plexion, dark and flowing hair, large and flashing black 
 eyes, and a highly nervous temperament, with a glance 
 quick and penetrating as a hawk's. A merchant by the 
 name of Travis, with his followers, were the first victims ; 
 they waylaid him on the confines of Missouri, then un- 
 settled, and killing him and some of his employes, and 
 putting all to flight, they took and divided his gold. 
 Some of them were at last taken and hanged, but the 
 most escaped; and the leader, as rumor goes, my old 
 school-mate, was one of them. I had not seen him for 
 nearly twenty years; and now he stood before me in this 
 far-distant wild, with features as familiar as if we had 
 never parted. 
 
 I recognized him at once, as he did me ; and, calling 
 each other by name, we shook hands most cordially. 
 Passing by his comrades on the grass, who never spoke 
 or moved, he took me and K. into the house, and made 
 rapid inquiry about our destination. I told him 'we were 
 on our way to Mexico, and had been diverted from our 
 regiment to indulge in a buffalo hunt, and were then 
 headed for Lavaca, where we would join the regiment. 
 He showed K. the crib, well filled with corn, and the 
 stable, and told him to put our horses and mule up and 
 feed them, bringing first our luggage into the two-roomed 
 cabin, which was flanked by a small kitchen of hewn logs, 
 of which the dwelling-house was also made. One or two 
 more small but tidy buildings, which might have been a 
 smoke-house or store-rooms, were all the houses in view. 
 He never left me a moment, but to return at once after 
 giving orders to his comrades and the old negro woman, 
 who was cook, and the only other member of the family. 
 He seemed to know nothing or care nothing about the 
 Mexican War, and never mentioned it. Neither I nor he 
 made much allusion to our early life; and no questions 
 were asked by either party. His companions never moved 
 or spoke, whilst we had yet time to see them before dusk 
 set in. The horses were fed, our supper ordered and 
 
132 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 eaten by us three only, and after dark I saw them no more. 
 Whilst I saw them, however, I closely scrutinized their 
 features ; they seemed generally to be other than Amer- 
 icans, stout, beastly-looking men as ever "scuttled ship, 
 or cut a throat." And, above all, I could see that they 
 did not at all relish our arrival or company. And, whilst 
 their Captain had, no doubt, in a word or two, posted 
 them as to who we were, and what our mission was, they 
 seemed to have only a sullen scowl for us. I saw no do- 
 mestic stock, nor wagons ; the corn, if raised by the ban- 
 ditti, being brought on horseback, no doubt, or taken 
 from the far settlements. 
 
 As I said, the buildings and one post-and-rail fence, 
 nearly square, rested upon the jungle, and the jungle 
 was water and quicksand ; from the south to the very 
 north there were none but Indians ; west was the inter- 
 minable waste to the Rocky Mountains ; east hundreds of 
 miles must be passed before reaching civilization ; and 
 south an inpenetrable jungle, a mile wide, full of quick- 
 sands, cut them off from the nearer settlements on that 
 side. Against Indians and police attacks they seemed 
 secure. It could not be supposed that these rough men, 
 steeped in habitual crime, could appreciate the sentimental 
 reasons which secured me in the good offices of their 
 leader. Supper over, we saw no more of the other men. 
 There were no beds; and, K. being put upon a blanket 
 in one room, the Captain and I lay down together, in the 
 other, on the same buffalo skin. I observed that he bar- 
 red the ^ doors, and laid his pistols within reach! Nothing 
 was said, but I saw at a glance the situation — he was 
 standing in my defense against his band ! There was not 
 a man in his following who was not his superior in 
 strength, but not one seemed his rival in quickness of 
 movement and intellect. They may have had equal cour- 
 age, but quickness — other things being equal — is the 
 superior force always, when arms are used. So I rested 
 well that night. The next morning early, having fed our 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 1 33 
 
 horses and breakfasted, by the assistance of our host we 
 saddled up and started south. 
 
 The creek and wide jungle ran due east, and we were 
 instructed to follow the banks nearly a mile, when a dim 
 path would show us the crossing, which, following a slightly 
 blazed trace on the trees, led us in a very tortuous way 
 across the wide flat of trees, quicksands, and jungle. Not 
 trusting to K's discretion, I had not told him of the history 
 nor the name of our host, and he was much surprised at 
 the narration. The men had left the ranch, and now the 
 pathway led far up toward the starting point. Might not 
 these outlaws conclude to kill us at last, with or without 
 the consent of their leader? And where and to what am- 
 buscades did our way lead us? Perhaps where we might 
 be picked off without the dangers of a death-struggle. I 
 told him to have his arms and eyes in readiness ; I be- 
 ing before, Billy in the middle, and K. following up in the 
 rear. If I saw danger, I was to jump off and he was to 
 follow, and each to make a determined defense. K., who 
 had shown so little fortitude under unusual surroundings, 
 was perfectly cool and courageous where men were to be 
 met. So he readily accepted the situation. We had more 
 than half passed the jungle, and turned our faces more 
 directly toward the south, when, being relieved of the lit- 
 tle apprehension of danger which I had felt, I thought of 
 going into the other extreme — from tragedy to comedy. 
 Such is human nature. Looking back, and seeing K. with 
 compressed lips and quick eye scanning every bush, and 
 passing near a tree of some size, I jumped off, and stood 
 with rifle in hand. He, as by agreement, also jtwnped off, 
 and brought his rifle in position. I squatted down so that 
 I could see him under Billy's belly; and, watching his in- 
 tent expression, could not refrain from hardly suppressed 
 laughter. K., not seeing anything, after some delay, turned 
 toward me, saw my face, and comprehended at once the 
 situation. He was very angry ; and, moving up to me 
 very rapidly, threatened to use extreme violence. 
 
134 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 I said: "K., you are a fool! Remember the lost days; 
 if you were to kill me, you would never find the way out 
 of the jungle! " 
 
 Seeing that I was calm, but in good humor, he broke 
 into a laugh, and admitted that I was right. After a long 
 travel, we reached the settlements, and at length arrived 
 at Lavaca, where the regiment had not yet got ready to 
 move west, after less than a month's absence, fully satis- 
 fied with buffalo-hunting. 
 
 In every man there remains something of the Divine 
 nature, however fallen ; and the secret of my late defender's 
 banishment remained with me. Long since, no doubt, the 
 parties, as well as K., are dead; and the name shall die 
 with them. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 General Wool invites me to join his command. — Wild Horse and Turkey- 
 hunting. — John U. Waring. — Thomas F. Marshall. — James S. Jackson. — 
 The march to Monterey, 1845. — Gen. Z. Taylor.— Gen. W. O. Butler. — 
 Gallagher's experience. — The Mexican hacienda. — Dr. Solon Borland. — 
 Surrounded by 3,000 Mexican Cavalry, our force of 75 surrenders. — 
 MiER. — Salao. — Escape of Henry. — Threatened with murder. — I protest, 
 AND the Mexican commander relents. — Recognized by an Englishman, 
 when nearly starved, and we are fed. — Mobbed at Queratero, we escape 
 into a church. 
 
 I WAS invited by General. Wool to join his corps d' 
 armee, going north of General Taylor to Chihuahua, 
 but which the sickness of some of my men prevented. At 
 Camargo, General Patterson offered to take my company 
 to Tampico, which I declined. At length, ordered by the 
 War Department, we threw away most of our camp- 
 equipage, to make room for water-barrels, which were to 
 carry us over the desert, from the Nueces to the Rio 
 Grande. 
 
 In crossing the Nueces River, a narrow, deep, swift 
 stream, we had but a shaky flat-boat. I was officer of 
 the day, and directing the march. The wagons were 
 put in without the horses; and pushed up the opposite 
 steep bank by the men. As many of the rank and file 
 were educated men, used to slaves and unused to labor, 
 we ever had much trouble to get them to perform the 
 duties of cleaning the camp, and like seemingly menial 
 duties. The wheels stuck in the mud, and the captains 
 were unable to get the men to push the wheels. So I 
 went over; and, pulling off my boots, and rolling up my 
 pantaloons, went to the water's edge, and, putting my 
 shoulder to the wheel, I said: "Soldiers, I command you 
 to move up this wagon." All laughed, and the wagon 
 
 135 
 
136 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 went up like a top. I never afterward had any trouble 
 about the work. 
 
 Once, when I was officer of the day, a soldier fired 
 off his gun in camp, contrary to orders. I rode up to 
 the company, and inquired for the delinquent. The smoke 
 was still rolling up in a small cloud in the midst of the 
 company, so every one knew who had fired the gun, but 
 all professed ignorance. So I called the officer of the 
 guard, and ordered the whole command to be put in the 
 guard-tent for the night. They at once gave up the of- 
 fender. 
 
 In the government of children, soldiers, and other sub- 
 ordinates, many small offences must be allowed to pass 
 unnoticed; but, when there is a conflict of authority, the 
 supremacy must be maintained at all hazards. One of 
 the colored servants, having several carbines slung on his 
 shoulder, was, by the dipping of the boat, thrown over- 
 board. The guns sent him to the bottom. I saw at 
 once that, unless he was aided, he would be lost; so I 
 threw off my clothes, being already half undressed, and 
 plunged in and dived, and tried to find the poor fellow. 
 Not a man moved to assist me. He never was seen 
 again. 
 
 Between the Nueces and .the Rio Grande there were 
 great droves of wild horses. The numbers would be con- 
 sidered incredible; but those who have seen the migra- 
 tions of wild pigeons, reaching from one extreme of the 
 horizon to the other, and darkening the very heavens, can 
 form some idea of their numbers. I amused myself by 
 pursuing them, screaming at the top of my voice, and en- 
 joying the common excitement. They would run over 
 bushes and the nopal (Indian fig,) which here began to 
 appear; and the noise was like the roar of a tornado. 
 As a strange object appears, the leading males advance 
 to the front, and the wings of the line, inclined backwards, 
 includes the females and the younger horses. When the 
 leaders give the sign of retreat by loud snorts, they all 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY 1 37 
 
 take to their heels. Here, as in all animal nature, the 
 leadership is on the part of the males. Let the Women's 
 Rights people take note. These horses are generally 
 bays, but some are blacks and grays. With their long 
 and flowing mains and tails, they form a picturesque and 
 grand appearance. The Comanches use them for saddle 
 and draught of their tents; and are very fond of them 
 for food. 
 
 Knowing that wild turkeys frequented all the water 
 courses, one afternoon, taking my rifle, I diverged from 
 the march of the regiment along a jungle, and soon found 
 a flock. I tied my horse to the shrubbery ; and, entering 
 the dry channel of the ravine, whose abrupt banks came 
 to my shoulders, I adjusted my gun, and began, with my 
 wing-bone of the turkey before killed on my buffalo-hunt, 
 to call. Soon I was responded to from several directions ; 
 but one turkey especially seemed to answer my call, . and 
 approach me steadily. When it seemed sufficiently near 
 for a shot, I heard the click of a trigger. There is no 
 other possible sound like it in the forest; so I at once 
 lowered my head below the banks, and ran for my horse. 
 On mounting, I saw coming out of the jungle, about three 
 hundred yards below, a number of savages on horseback 
 in Indian file. The regiment had crossed above, and were 
 now west of the jungle; and these Indians were, no doubt, 
 moving further east, to make more distance between the 
 forces. They had observed the approach of the regiment, 
 of course, and seen me also; and, when I began to call, 
 they returned the well-imitated cheeps of the turkey, and 
 I was in the very nick of being shot. When I was seated, 
 I gave a defiant yell to my savage foes, and rode off at 
 full gallop to follow the regiment, having some fear that 
 I might be headed off; but I escaped. 
 
 After the mob of the 1 8th of August, 1845, ^^id whilst 
 I was still editing the True American, then printed at 
 Cincinnati, one day, sitting in the office of my brother-in- 
 law, Madison C. Johnson, John U. Waring entered. This 
 
138 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 man, a lawyer of Versailles, Woodford County, Kentucky, 
 was one of the greatest desperadoes in the State. He 
 had killed several men; and was the terror of every one. 
 I had often heard of him, but had never seen him before. 
 When he was introduced to me, he said: "This is Cash 
 Clay, I suppose?" I said: "Yes." "Years ago," said 
 he, "Dr. L. Marshall, Thomas F. Marshall's father, began 
 playing the same role on the slavery question as you are 
 now doing. I took a halter and showed him a limb of a 
 tree; and told him, if he did not give it up, we would 
 hang him to it, and he gave it up. Now you will meet 
 with the same fate." 
 
 This man, who went always armed, with pistols and 
 knives in boots, pockets, and elsewhere, was of a small 
 but wiry frame, with dark hair and skin, and eyes also 
 black, fiery, and furtive. 1, too, was well armed, and 
 greatly his superior in personal strength. So, though I 
 felt very much excited, I kept a cool nerve, and, advanc- 
 ing on him till I could reach him with my knife, if need 
 be, I said : " Mr. Waring, I exercise a constitutional right. 
 I shall not follow Marshall's example ; and, whenever you, 
 or your friends, attempt to use force, you will find me 
 ready to defend myself." 
 
 Finding that I was not to be intimidated, he asked 
 some questions of Johnson, and left the office. I never 
 saw him again. 
 
 Soon after, at Versailles, as he approached the hotel, 
 some unknown person — the son, it is said, of the 
 keeper — from the upper story, shot him with a heavy 
 rifle-ball ; which, striking him in the mouth, and ranging 
 downward, produced a fatal wound. Seeing it was all 
 over with him, he called for pen, ink, and paper; and, 
 sitting up on the pavement, half strangled with the blood 
 which surged from his wounded lungs, he made his will 
 and died. 
 
 When it was proposed to repeal the law of 1833, pro- 
 hibiting the home slave trade, Thomas F. Marshall wrote 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 1 39 
 
 some of the ablest papers of his life against slavery, 
 which were published in pamphlet form, and widely circu- 
 lated ; but, when the question grew serious, he proved a 
 renegade, and turned, with the usual violence of such 
 persons, upon his former allies. When a member of Con- 
 gress from the Louisville district, about 1842, he led the 
 assault upon John Quincy Adams, the champion of the 
 Right of Petition. The gallant old Puritan defeated the 
 conspirators against American liberty, and signally chas- 
 tised Marshall. Whilst the resolution for Adams's expul- 
 sion was pending, he was furnished with Marshall's pam- 
 phlet, and read extracts from it without giving the name ; 
 and, when he quoted the famous conclusion of Marshall's 
 parallel between free Ohio and slave Virginia — "Curse 
 on the tyrant hand which planted this dark plague-spot 
 upon her virgin bosom!" — Marshall's name, to the host 
 of Southerners demanding the author, was given. That 
 was the last of Marshall in the impeachment case! 
 
 In the meantime, having returned to his native county, 
 Woodford, in the Fayette or Clay district, he led the mob 
 forces against me, was equally violent, untruthful, and un- 
 scrupulous, and ultimately met the same fate as he did in 
 Congress. 
 
 T. F. Marshall's hereditary hatred of the Clays, and 
 the terror of John U. Waring's halter, were some excuse 
 for his assaults upon me. But his cow&rdice, and selfish 
 purposes of riding upon the storm which he created, took 
 away my usual magnanimity toward my political enemies, 
 and filled me with sentiments of irriplacable resentment. 
 So, when I found myself a Captain of a company in the 
 same regiment with him, I knew that his insolent bear- 
 ing would soon give me an opportunity for vengeance. 
 Col. Humphrey Marshall was an amiable gentleman, and 
 allowed the soldiers to change their captains. Under 
 this arrangement, several of T. F. Marshall's men joined 
 my company; and the permission was withdrawn, as it 
 was likely to deplete the ranks of his cousin. This occur- 
 
140 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 rence but aggravated the feud between us. One evening, 
 when I was officer of the day, and the guard-tent was full 
 of soldiers for several offenses, especially drunkenness, Tom 
 came in also drunk. I immediately reported him to the 
 Colonel, who took no notice of it. So, returning to the 
 guard on horseback, I said, in a loud tone, so that all the 
 regiment could hear it: "Officer of the guard. Captain 
 Marshall has entered the camp drunk, contrary to orders. 
 As he is allowed to go unpunished to his tent, I order 
 you to discharge all the prisoners ; as I intend to en- 
 force, so far as I have the power, equal justice in this 
 camp." So the prisoners were released. Col. Marshall 
 took no notice of it ; and there was not force enough in 
 his power to have punished me. I thus became more 
 than ever popular with the regiment. 
 
 When we reached the west bank of the Rio Grande, 
 I had already pitched my tent, and was aiding my men to 
 set up theirs, when Marshall rode down toward me. I 
 suppose he had mistaken mine for his company, as he 
 was somewhat behind. I said to him: "This is my camp- 
 ground. Captain Marshall." Whereupon, making some 
 insulting remark, he turned upon his horse. I felt now 
 that my opportunity had at last come. So, rapidly ad- 
 vancing, I said to him: "Marshall, get down; we will 
 settle our old feud now." He attempted to evade the 
 issue, by saying: "Well; at another time." "The time," 
 said I, "for men who wear swords, is now." "It would 
 embroil the regiment," he replied. "That is a coward's 
 plea. At Lexington, when men, women, and children 
 were to be ' embroiled ' and murdered, you had no scru- 
 ples in calling for blood." By this time the whole regi- 
 ment were lookers on. So, drawing my sword, which 
 flashed as a sunbeam, I advanced upon him. He turned 
 his horse, and retreated in the direction of his company ; 
 where, getting his pistols in his holsters, he returned on 
 his horse. When I saw his ruse, I entered my tent, 
 where I kept always loaded a splendid pair of duelling 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 14! 
 
 pistols ; and, with one in each hand, already cocked, I ad- 
 vanced once more, saying: "I am ready for you." Mar- 
 shall turned again, and retreated to his tent. The same 
 evening he threw himself into th€ Rio Grande, and tried 
 to drown himself. But, when the men fished him out 
 half drowned, with grim humor he exclaimed: "I did not 
 say, 'help me Cassius, or I sink' — did I, boys?" 
 
 Thus fell Thomas F. Marshall. Before I was taken 
 prisoner, James S. Jackson, in a duel, shot and wounded 
 him. They were antipodes in character; and, Jackson 
 being my friend, made Marshall his enemy. Thus was 
 eternal justice vindicated. I scarred his soul, and Jackson 
 his body. He sleeps in a drunkard's grave, in his native 
 State, which no stone marks. Spring and summer come 
 and go. No flowers shall ever bloom, or tears fall, upon 
 his neglected ashes ; for, to his selfish ambition, he be- 
 trayed the liberties of the human race, and his memory 
 shall rest in darkness forever! 
 
 My noble and gallant friend, James S. Jackson, was a 
 native of Kentucky, of honorable ancestors. Of a hand- 
 some physique, with a frank, flexible, and winning face, 
 he was a man for men to admire, and women to adore. 
 Returning from Mexico, where he did good service, he 
 was several times elected to the Congress of the United 
 States. When the Civil War broke out, he took his 
 right place in the Union army ; and, as General, at the 
 head of his brigade, in the battle near Lebanon, Ky., 
 gallantly fell in defense of his country. 
 
 Kentucky has already raised monuments in memory of 
 some of her illustrious dead. They who struck to destroy 
 the Union of these States are now the favored ones ; but 
 time will come when her true heroes shall be recognized, 
 and their deeds of patriotism inscribed on marble and 
 brass, and then the name of James S. Jackson will not; 
 be forgotten. 
 
 General Taylor, having fought and gained his great 
 battles east of the Rio Grande, and captured Monterey,. 
 
142 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 was left inactive. Whilst the Democratic Administration 
 was maneuvering to check his popularity and fame, which 
 grew dangerous to party-hacks^ by making the diversion 
 and withdrawal of his troops to General Winfield Scott, 
 who was advancing with the main army by way of Vera 
 Cruz upon the capital of Mexico, Taylor received me 
 with great kindness, as all the other generals had done; 
 and invited me to dine with him. At the hour named, I 
 entered his tent, expecting to find, at least, plenty of good 
 things, if no great ceremony, as the country was a fruitful 
 one. But I sat down with the plainly-dressed hero 
 before his camp-chest, and partook , of salt-pork, "hard- 
 tack," and camp coffee, with the General and his staff, 
 among whom was Colonel Bliss, his aid and son-in-law. 
 The General was no politician, but my history was not 
 unknown to him, and especially to Colonel Bliss.* 
 
 I was detached from the regiment; and, with Major 
 Gaines, and two companions, was sent at once to the 
 head of the column, at Saltillo, where General Wm. O. 
 Butler was in command. Here, also, I was well received, 
 and put in the advanced outposts, whilst the rumored ap- 
 proach of Santa Anna's army was awaited. Whilst here. 
 General John S. Williams, then Captain of Infantry Vol- 
 unteers, came to me, told me his company was in revolt, 
 and asked my good offices. I saw the company, told 
 them of the danger of disobedience of orders, and per- 
 suaded them to return to duty, which they did. Whilst 
 at the advanced outpost, a small village, I was, of course, 
 forced to be very strict in enforcing orders. One of my 
 
 * Here, for the first and only time, I saw Jefferson Davis, who 
 had also married General Taylor's daughter. For, though a native 
 of Kentucky, he had early in life migrated to Mississippi. Davis 
 was no better and no worse than the other rebels; and, since 
 Thomas A. Hendricks is elected to a post of honor, Davis de- 
 serves a like recognition, if the Confederates are to remain per- 
 manently in power. For, of all men in America, Hendricks least 
 deserves honor from the Nation. — C. 1885. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 1 43 
 
 company, James Gallagher, a very large Irishman, diso- 
 beying orders, and using insulting language, I gave him 
 at once a severe saber-blow and wound in the face, 
 which brought him to order. The army regulation saber 
 was rather a poor weapon for a cut, though it might well 
 answer for a thrust. My sword happened to be of fine 
 metal and temper ; and as, at the Hot Springs, in Arkan- 
 sas, I had procured one of their noted whetstones, or 
 hones, at leisure hours I sharpened my sword till it bore 
 a razor's edge. I always hated shams of all sorts, and 
 wanted a sword for possible use, and not merely for orna- 
 ment. This fact had come to T. F. Marshall's ears; for, 
 in excuse for his cowardice, he said I bore the sharpened 
 sword of an assassin. At all events, poor Gallagher tested 
 its metal ; but, to my surprise, on his return home, after 
 I was taken prisoner, he stood as my friend against my 
 envious calumniators, and political and personal enemies. 
 
 Maj. J. P. Gaines being ordered by Gen. Wm. O. But- 
 ler to take a small force and scout in the direction of the 
 noted hacienda of Encarna9ion, selected me as his Captain, 
 and allowed me to choose the men. I took about thirty 
 of the best men from my own and other companies; and, 
 with a few days' rations, set out with my command — 
 Major Gaines assuming no authority, but going along 
 with us. There were many villages in the route of about 
 one hundred miles, but I always camped in the open 
 plains, where our horses could get grass; and each man 
 was ordered to sleep near his tethered horse, so as to 
 mount at once, and be ready for fight or flight, as we 
 were on the best horses, and could outrun any Mexican 
 cavalry. 
 
 Without adventure, we entered on the third day, in 
 the late afternoon, the hacienda (country-house) of En- 
 carna^ion. This hacienda, the property of a landed pro- 
 prietor, was a large brick building with stuccoed walls, 
 and a flat roof, similarly plastered. In extension of the 
 walls was a quadrangular court-yard, in which our horses 
 
144 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 were corralled for the night. Around the flat roof was a 
 wall about four feet high, with port-holes for musketry. 
 The heavy doors, also, had salient angles in the walls, 
 with similar perforations for defense — all intended as a 
 fortification against robbers, who infest all Mexico. The 
 owner had hurriedly deserted the premises, leaving some 
 household stores; and Dr. Solon- Borland, a Major from 
 General Wool's command, who had sent him also on a 
 scouting party, was already in possession, having but 
 lately arrived. As Borland ranked Gaines, he assumed 
 legally the command. I protested earnestly against camp- 
 ing in the hacienda. They said there was not a Mexican 
 soldier in five hundred miles of us; and determined to 
 eat, drink, and be merry. This course was against all 
 military rule and common sense. For a man who has 
 the lives of others under his will and action, is bound to 
 take all precautions for their safety, and leave nothing to 
 chance. Besides this, in an enemy's country, they neg- 
 lected to place a picket-guard in the leading roads to the 
 hacienda ; and, instead, placed the night-guards on the 
 roof of the house. At day-break, the alarm was given 
 of the enemy's approach, and all called to arms, where 
 we stood till the sun lifted the fog from the plains, and 
 we found ourselves surrounded by three thousand of Gen. 
 Minon's regular Mexican Cavalry. Gaines and Borland, 
 who had treated my protest with contempt, were now as 
 ready to come to me for help ; and, surrendering the com- 
 mand to me, took places in the ranks. We were seventy- 
 two, men and officers, all told, with very limited ammu- 
 nition, without water or forage for our horses. A sur- 
 render, then, was only a question of time. I at once 
 ordered the doors barricaded, the men upon the roof, se- 
 cure behind the parapet walls, and had the interior pave- 
 ments torn up and carried above to assist as missiles; as 
 our ammunition was very limited, and we had no cannon. 
 As soon as it was light, Minon ordered his troops to 
 dismount, and on foot advance to the storming of the 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 1 45 
 
 quasi fort. Long beams, cut from trees in the neigh- 
 borhood, were carried by the soldiers as battering-rams 
 for the doors ; and the troops on foot, with carbines in 
 hand, under the command of Colonel Mendoza, were ad- 
 vanced to the attack. I gave orders for the men to re- 
 serve their fire, till I fired the first shot. I, then, alone, 
 oi all our force, stood pistol in hand, with my shoulders 
 and head exposed. No other persons had been seen ; 
 nor could they know, except from their scouts, our true 
 numbers. 
 
 The battle-cry of the Mexicans that day was "Arista," 
 to which I responded "Alamo." At Alamo, in Texas, 
 under Santa Anna, where David Crocket died, every man 
 was killed but one, who escaped by some means to tell 
 of the terrible massacre. The Mexicans very well knew 
 that Alamo meant no surrender, but war to the death. 
 The enemy had already advanced within pistol-shot, I 
 had determined to fire upon the Colonel (I was sure of 
 killing him), who had advanced close up to his men, and 
 seemed to be urging them to the assault. They hesitated. 
 At once a white flag was raised, and the forward move- 
 ment stopped. 
 
 There was in Borland's command a man named Henry, 
 who had been made a prisoner at Mier, on the Rio 
 Grande, before the war, and was now used as an inter- 
 preter, acquainted with the country, and speaking the 
 Spanish language. The officer bearing the white flag, on 
 approaching, demanded the surrender. We said : " Send 
 us a Major, the rank of our commander, and we will 
 hear you." Soon the Major came forward, was admitted 
 into the enclosure and detained, and Major Gaines sent 
 to negotiate terms. When Gaines returned, we had a 
 council of war; and, a surrender being deemed a neces- 
 sity, Gaines was sent to conclude terms with General 
 Minon. The treaty was thus concluded: 
 
 1st. The most honorable treatment as prisoners of war 
 known to nations. 
 Vol. I. — 10 
 
146 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 2d. Private property to be strictly respected. 
 
 3d. The Mexican guide to receive a fair trial in the 
 civil courts. 
 
 Under this treaty, which was verbal, in the presence 
 of witnesses, we surrendered about twelve o'clock on 
 the 23d day of January, 1846, about a month before the 
 battle of Buena Vista, which was about one hundred 
 miles in our rear. Majors Gaines and Borland were al- 
 lowed their side-arms, horses, and equipage; but no 
 others were allowed their horses or arms. Colonel Men- 
 doza, with true old-time Spanish magnamimity, seeing me 
 left afoot, gave me a very good Mexican horse, among 
 the best, as he said, in honor of my gallant conduct in 
 the defense. My pistols were delivered up; but my 
 watch, and some other articles of value, left with me. 
 
 Thus perished all my hopes of fame during the war. 
 Nothing was left me but the ever faithful discharge of 
 duty. And so, in the course of Fate, my life was spared ; 
 and I came out of my apparent disgrace with more honor 
 and popularity than any one of our regiment. 
 
 Before the war, the restless, lawless frontiers-men of 
 Texas made a foray upon the Mexican town, Mier, on the 
 Rio Grande. The Texans were defeated, and made pris- 
 oners, among whom was Captain Henry, and also a 
 countryman of mine named Oldham. He spoke Spanish 
 tolerably well. The prisoners were decimated, every man 
 drawing the tenth black bean being shot. Henry and my 
 countryman escaped death, but were taken on toward 
 Mexico, to Salao, where they rose upon the guard, killed 
 some, and escaped — some of them, through incredible 
 hardships, to the United States ; but the most of them 
 were recaptured, and confined in the prison of Perote. 
 
 This strong fortress was built of stone and adobe, 
 with a wide ditch and outer wall, and well guarded, 
 day and night, by soldiers. These men, seeing death 
 threatening them for their second offense, some of them 
 made a successful escape. They first took up the pave- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 1 47 
 
 ment of the prison floor, and dug a hole under it to the 
 wall, which they nearly opened, leaving only an outer 
 barrier, which could at once be removed. They slept 
 upon blankets and skins upon the floor; and, spreading 
 the debris under them, concealed them until the final 
 night of escape. Of the blankets and spare clothing they 
 made a rope long enough to reach over the outer wall. 
 In the meantime, those of the least daring, declining the 
 difficulties and dangers of escape, were in the habit of 
 playing noisy games, and singing songs, to attract the 
 sentinels, who were ready enough to amuse themselves by 
 looking through the prison windows. Upon a dark, 
 stormy night they ventured out, whilst the men inside 
 were unusually diverting, and, tying a stone to the rope, 
 threw it over the wall; then, lifting themselves up, sailor- 
 like, escaped. Henry was among them. My countyman 
 was nearly starved, and suffered greatly for water. One 
 day, when near perishing, and lying in a cave, he placed 
 some pebbles in his mouth to cool his tongue, when, to 
 his great joy, he found a small spring seeping through 
 the sand and gravel-. Thus refreshed, he made new 
 efforts, and reached Texas. Now, when we surrendered, 
 Henry was recognized, and severely questioned, so that 
 he was sorely troubled, fearing that he would be shot. 
 As he was the only man of our force who could speak 
 Spanish (I knew a little, mostly from books), he was 
 spared as an interpreter. 
 
 Setting out, the day of our capture, for the city of 
 Mexico, under a strong guard, commanded by Col. Zam- 
 bonino and Lieutenant Cruset, Gaines and Borland were 
 riding fine horses. Henry was on a pony, and I mounted 
 upon the good animal which Col. Mendoza had given 
 me ; while the other men and officers were in column of 
 twos on foot. 
 
 Lieutenant Cruset, a Spanish Catholic, had been taught 
 English at my old college of St. Joseph in Kentucky, and 
 was no doubt selected for that reason to go on the guard. 
 
148 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 As the men approached the old field of Salao, they natu- 
 rally thought of the old affray, and began cursing the 
 "Greasers," and boasting how they could destroy them. 
 Cruset hearing these threats, told Zambonino,- who at 
 once ordered Gaines and Borland at a distance to the 
 front, leaving me in command. In the meantime, Gaines 
 and Henry had exchanged horses, Gaines having selected 
 the best racer in the regiment, instead of his own inferior 
 horse ; and Henry consulting me, I agreed that, as the 
 Mier Expedition was against the laws of Nations, no war 
 having been declared, the United States could not inter- 
 pose in his behalf So he determined to run for it; and, 
 going down the ranks under the pretense of closing them 
 up, he put spurs to his horse, and, leaning forward, as a 
 racer, to diminish the surface of his exposed body, he got 
 a fair start before the guard could draw their carbines 
 and fire. They pursued him at once, lances in hand. 
 But the American horse was too fast for the Mexican 
 cavalry, so Henry soon distanced them ; but, imprudently, 
 he rode his horse to death, and was found by some 
 scouts from Butler's command, lying half dead and groan- 
 ing by the wayside, and taken to camp. 
 
 The information he brought, however, proved of great 
 service to our cause ; enabled Taylor to advance to Sal- 
 tillo to take command, and gain the great victory of the 
 2 2d of February, 1846, at Buena Vista. In the mean- 
 time. Col. Zambonino, who was in advance with Gaines 
 and Borland, returned to the prisoners, and ordered them 
 to be lanced — ''martez los." But I, seeing if a struggle 
 once began, we would be all massacred, ordered the 
 prisoners to lie down, to show no resistance would be 
 made, which they promptly did; when, taking the lassos 
 from their horses, the Mexicans tied their hands. I was 
 accused of all the trouble, and ordered by the two ser- 
 geants in advance to be lanced; whilst the Colonel held 
 an immense horse-pistol to my breast, and Cruset threat- 
 ened me with his sword. In as good Spanish as I could 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 1 49 
 
 muster, mixed with English, which Cruset understood, I 
 protested that the men were innocent, and knew nothing 
 of Henry's movements ; that, ahhough Henry had advised 
 with me, I took no part in his escape, as it was to save 
 himself, as he had been a captive of Mier and a prisoner 
 at Perote, and feared death at all events. Hesitating, 
 they then ordered my hands to be tied. I then said, that 
 I had received honorable terms of capture, and the at- 
 tempt to tie my hands was a breach of the terms of sur- 
 render, against which I again protested. The Colonel, 
 seeing all safe from danger, ordered me at once to be 
 released, and we all proceeded on the march. 
 
 For a few days the men and officers on foot remained 
 tied on the move and at night, but were soon released 
 from this precaution. Before many days we met Santa 
 Anna's army on the plains. They showed great bitterness 
 toward us, and made signs of stabbing us ; and some, 
 speaking English, declared they would not leave an Amer- 
 ican on that side of the Rio Grande. But, when we came 
 to Santa Anna, who was riding with his suite in a car- 
 riage drawn by six horses, with postillions and outriders, 
 in great style, I could but think of Taylor and his tin- 
 cups. Calling for the chief of our force, he made many 
 inquiries ; but our officers gave him very little real in- 
 formation. 
 
 The march from San Louis Potosi was over a narrow, 
 sterile plain, with a few poor peasantry thinly scattered 
 along the foot-hills ; and, of course, every available species 
 of live stock had been seized and used — the poor owners 
 having nothing but what they could conceal in time in the 
 soil, or drive into the dreary wastes and hills. I saw 
 no evidences of a commissary department, but with the 
 General-in-Chief. He was very fond of cock-fighting, like 
 most Spaniards and Mexicans; and he had coops made of 
 diminishing bottoms, or stories, and suspended on donkies 
 and mules by a strap on both sides of the pack-saddles. 
 These were full of cocks, herded and driven by a muleteer. 
 
15b MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 and which he fought and ate when wanted. So passed 
 on the General to his defeat at Buena Vista. 
 
 We observed that these troops were armed with new 
 British muskets, no doubt a gratuity from "Perfidious 
 Albion." And so we worried onward to the celebrated 
 mines in Potosi, half starved for water and food — at 
 times, no doubt, eating mule meat. 
 
 Whilst we were lying in our guarded quarters, with no 
 sign of coming rations, an Englishman came in and asked 
 if Mr. Clay was among the prisoners. I said: "That is 
 my name." " Cassius M. Clay?" "Yes." "Did I not 
 hear you speak in the Tabernacle, in New York City, in 
 the year 1844?" "I spoke there," said I, in not a very 
 pleasant humor. He thereupon retired; and soon sent us 
 a cold ham of mutton, well stuffed, after the French style, 
 with garlic, and other accompaniments, upon which all the 
 officers feasted with great avidity; and I suppose the sol- 
 diers had like fare. So I felt quite grateful to John Bull, 
 who, I must say, at many times in my life I have found the 
 truest of men. For, as Emerson says : " Of all men, the 
 English stand squarest in their shoes." The Texan offi- 
 cers were in fine humor, and paid me the characteristic 
 compliment of saying: "Clay, you ought never to com- 
 mit a crime ; for, no matter to what part of the world you 
 should attempt to fly, your face would expose and con- 
 demn you!" Borland and Danley were low-bred fellows, 
 but full of wit. 
 
 So we passed on to Mexico; the animosity of the pop- 
 ulace increasing as we approached the city. We had a 
 hard time of it, often wanting food, and were then sup- 
 plied, as we thought, with dog or mule-meat, which last, 
 grazing on the desert plains, was the substratum of our 
 commissary stores, being about the only available food. 
 The women, however, in all countries the most charitable, 
 would run out with eggs and the staple beans and 
 tortillas, and relieve our hunger, as we passed ranches 
 and small villas. At Queratero the mob rose against 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 151 
 
 US, and stoned us. We ran into a church, horses and 
 all, by order of the officers, when the doors were closed, 
 and thus saved ourselves, as the Mexican superstition 
 makes the churches secure places of refuge. 
 
 In all countries, and in all religions, the most ignorant 
 are the most superstitious and intolerant. When the 
 "Host" is borne in procession from one church to an- 
 other in the streets, all persons are expected to prostrate 
 themselves; and, failing to do so, are knocked down, and 
 sometimes murdered. So once, whilst at St. Petersburg, 
 on a State occasion, entering the vestibule of the church 
 of Alexander Nevski, with my military chapeau on, I was 
 quickly advised to take it off; as the custom requires 
 even monarchs to take off their hats in the churches. 
 And at the Kremlin gate, where a saintly image is 
 painted, all persons, on entering, take off their hats. 
 
 Unhappily for priest and peasant, religion and mor- 
 ality are often far apart; and the greatest sinner is often 
 the most devout. In "the good time coming," more 
 and more may we hope to see these two systems "one 
 and indivisible! " 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The City of Mexico. — A friend in need. — Dr. Solon Borland's enmity. — ^The 
 Water-Cure cures me.— Approach of General Scott.— Removed to To- 
 LUCA, Capital of the State of Mexico.— Journey thither.— Character- 
 istics OF ITS People noticed by Humboldt and Pritchard. — Lolu. — In- 
 dian gravity over-rated. — Liberation and Return to City of Mexico. — 
 Exchanged, and leave for Home. —Reception in Lexington.— Earth- 
 quake. 
 
 OUR entry into the City of the Montezumas was as 
 romantic as the earlier adventures of the Spaniards. 
 We were, as the soldiers got foot-sore, mostly upon don- 
 keys and mules; and were halted near the city walls till 
 the failing moon should throw a shadow upon the streets 
 of the famed city, and thus save us from the vengeance 
 of the populace. 
 
 About midnight the moon sunk into the west, and 
 darkness began to shadow the doomed city. Santa Anna 
 had confiscated the church property, and the Catholic 
 clergy had raised a revolt, and actual war was now going 
 on. The eternal snows of the distant mountain of Popo- 
 catepetl was yet brightly tipped with the moon's rays, 
 which, by an optical illusion, seemed to be in the very 
 skirts of the city's walls. Thus, in 1870, whilst I was in 
 Colorado, an Englishman undertook a morning walk to 
 the peaks of the Rocky Mountains, which were, in fact, 
 fifty miles or more away. All the city were in arms; and, 
 with the roar of the cannon in the streets, was the accom- 
 paniment of the musketry from the flat housetops, with 
 their continuous rattle and flashing lights. We were qui- 
 etly marched to a monastery, which was now used as a 
 State prison, and there quartered. The officers were 
 separated from the rank and file; and soon we heard a 
 152 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 1 53 
 
 rush — the rattling of chains, and a volley of musketry. I 
 supposed they were shooting our prisoners ; but it turned 
 out that the convicts, having dug a hole under the walls, 
 were shot as they emerged into the open space. 
 
 I here passed one of the most memorable nights of my 
 life. So our entry into the halls of the Montezumas was 
 not one of triumph ; but it was, at least, one of discipline. 
 It showed the vanity of human aspirations ; and how 
 "Man proposes and God disposes." To me it was a 
 school of value, which taught me also the vanity of self- 
 elation, and the necessity of some great principle of human 
 happiness as only worthy of our love. And thus, perhaps, 
 I was better fitted for carrying on that great conflict which 
 Providence rested upon individual action ; and which re- 
 sulted at last in triumph. 
 
 Mexico, the capital of the Republic, is too well known 
 now to require description. It is about 20° north latitude, 
 upon table-land, several thousand feet above the level of 
 the sea, with mountains of eternal snow looming up in the 
 distance. The modern city, of about 250,000 inhabitants, 
 is regularly built of stone and brick stuccoed. The houses 
 are Spanish in style, the best, three or four stories high, 
 running down to one in the poorer parts. The streets 
 are regular; and with the churches and parks and public 
 buildings, the city, with its surroundings, is one of the 
 finest in the world; and Baron Humboldt so expressed 
 himself — he who had seen all the leading capitals of the 
 nations. 
 
 There is no winter, really; the winter being simply the 
 rainy season, when rain falls regularly about half the day, 
 and then the sun comes out as in a May day. Hence, 
 there are no fires in the Mexican houses, except the fur- 
 naces of charcoal from the mountains, with which the most 
 delicious cooking is done. Nowhere else does man so 
 enjoy existence of itself Even the most energetic can 
 sit for hours in the shade ; and the pulsation of the blood, 
 passing through the arteries and veins, is a positive pleas- 
 
154 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 ure. And well may it be said of this country, as it was 
 related of Calypso's isle, that the clime is eternal spring, 
 and the lands bordered with perpetual flowers. I shall 
 say more on the causes of this lovely clime hereafter. 
 
 We remained prisoners in the monastery of St. Jago, 
 and in the city on parole, till Scott began, after many vic- 
 tories, to threaten the city. We had proposals from the 
 Mexicans to join them, as they had a high appreciation 
 of our prowess in arms; but this we positively declined. 
 We had poor fare in prison, and slept on our horse- 
 blankets on the floors, being allowed a few hours each 
 day for exercise in the prison-yard. But an American 
 citizen, a long time in Mexico as a stage-driver, and other 
 employments, and married there to a Mexican woman, was 
 very kind to us, loaning us small sums of money. His 
 name was Noah Smith, and I believe he is yet alive near 
 Boston, Massachusetts, and should have a pension. We 
 had a hard time of it, however, in prison, being infested 
 with vermin ; and, scarce of shirts, we had to pull off the 
 one we wore, and, in the sunlight from the window, kill 
 these annoying pests. 
 
 I was poisoned by the lead pipes which bore the water 
 from the main aqueduct, coming from the mountains, into 
 the prison. I had made an enemy of Dr. Solon Borland 
 by saying he ought to have been shot for trapping us in 
 Encarnagion; so, though I never was. in more pain in my 
 life, when he prepared a dose of medicine for me, I re- 
 fused to take it, preferring the chances of nature's forces 
 to the treacherous doctor. This but increased the offense; 
 for which he avenged himself by setting Captain Danley, 
 himself, and others, to slandering me, whilst I was yet in 
 prison at Toluca. I had a bowl of water and a towel; so 
 I tried the water-cure. I wet the towel, and laid it on my 
 abdomen, leaving the evaporation to relieve me of the 
 great heat there. This gave me relief somewhat; and 
 I would fall asleep. But, when the pain returned, with 
 the drying of the towel, I wet it, and fell asleep again. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 1 55 
 
 So, having a powerful physique, I recovered — much, I 
 thought, to the mortification of the Arkansas doctor. 
 
 When General Winfield Scott approached the city, the 
 military commander sent for us, to order us to the city of 
 Toluca, beyond the mountains, telling us to be ready for 
 to-morrow. We had all been on parole for a short time, 
 but which we hardly dared take any advantage of, on ac- 
 count of the enmity of the populace. The interview was 
 conducted by an interpreter; and Majors John P. Gaines, 
 Solon Borland, Captain Danley, and Lieutenant George 
 Davidson, as they claimed, surrendered their parole. I was 
 present, and did not so understand it. It certainly was 
 not so understood by the commander; and he was the 
 one deceived, at all events. For no sensible man will al- 
 low that the Mexican general intended to let the officers 
 go free. These men, however, escaped by the means of Mr. 
 Smith and others, and reached Scott's lines. I had also 
 offered me the opportunity of escape by Smith, and sOme 
 British denizens, but I refused ; being bound by my parole 
 d'honneur to stand. Captains Heady and Smith, of Ken- 
 tucky, and other officers, also refused to violate their 
 parole. Besides, our escape would aggravate the condi- 
 tion of the men of our commands ; and I felt that it was 
 my duty to stand by them, and for which these poor fel- 
 lows showed much gratitude. For, when the dishonored 
 officers slandered me, on their return home, these soldiers, 
 from every-where in Kentucky and other States, most ably, 
 through the press, vindicated me from all calumny. 
 
 The capital of the Mexican Republic is the City of 
 Mexico, and so the capital of the State of Mexico is the 
 City of Toluca, or, as it was called in the time of the 
 Spanish conquest, Tolocan. This city, or village rather, 
 in appearance, at least, is but a long day's journey by 
 horseback from the City of Mexico ; but it seems, in fact, 
 as far away as if it were a thousand miles. The capital 
 of the nation lies, as is well known, upon an elevated pla- 
 teau, between two mountain ranges, opening toward the 
 
156 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 north, which sinks in level as it widens northward; thus 
 throwing the drainage, which flows from the mountains, 
 into the city, and adjoining lakes, in that direction. This 
 plateau is about seven thousand feet above the sea-level. 
 At the conquest, over three hundred years ago, the greater 
 portion of the valley was covered with forests; but the 
 destruction of these conservative forces of nature, and the 
 burning of the wood on the mountains for coal and its 
 other uses, has filled the once fertile valleys with arid 
 sands and crusted nitre; and the debris from both culture 
 and forests have greatly filled up the lakes of ancient 
 times. We entered the city from the north-west side ; 
 and I do not remember any lake at all on that side. 
 So, in time, the whole of these lakes will be filled up, 
 and the climate made less agreeable, and the soil less 
 productive. 
 
 So, going to Toluca, the most of the route lies through 
 wooded mountain passes, and is cut by deep and dark ra- 
 vines. On the west side of the mountain range, appa- 
 rently on the same level of seven thousand feet, you de- 
 scend into the plain on which Toluca is built, with the 
 mountain peak of the same name, fifteen thousand feet 
 above the sea; and other mountains adding great sub- 
 limity and picturesqueness to the scene. As this city lies 
 in the latitude of 20° north, there is here perpetual spring; 
 the winter being only a succession of rains for about half 
 of the day, when the sun comes out, and all is fair again. 
 Thus, from the altitude of the sun, tropical plants flourish, 
 and their fruits mature; whilst, in the shade, the general 
 temperature is about 65° Farenheit — the May-day of 
 temperate climes. Hence, we have here all the fruits and 
 cereals of all climes, and nature aggregates her favors as 
 nowhere else on earth; for the site, between the Atlantic 
 and Pacific Oceans, and the high table-lands, are nowhere 
 else dupHcated. 
 
 On these Arcadian lands, the lemon, the orange, the 
 fig, the banana, and other tropical fruits, are mingled with 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. I 57 
 
 many products of temperate zones. And all that can be 
 desired for use or luxury is profusely grown. The effect 
 of tropical vegetation upon one born and grown to man- 
 hood in forest surroundings was intense in all its sensuous 
 influence. The impenetrable jungles, thickly set with im- 
 mense feather-shaped foliage and palms ; the hundred spe- 
 cies of cactus, with their grotesque shapes of trunk and 
 leaf, flower and fruit ; the Agave Mexicana (century plant), 
 here planted in fields as Indian corn, and in a few nights 
 sending their enormous stems, with myriad flowers, into 
 the air, twenty and more feet in height; the many-colored 
 parrots and parroquettes, and other tropical birds of rare 
 plumage ; and the many cultivated and wild flowers and 
 vines, all filled me with intense enjoyment. Then the 
 snow-clad mountains, rising abruptly from the plains, with 
 ever-flowing rivulets, toward which countless herds of 
 sheep and goats, with herders of a novel race and dress, 
 were moving, amid the songs of the birds and the rip- 
 pling of the waters, made this the Arcadia of the an- 
 cient'Sj imagination. To me, at least, it was an elysium. 
 The eye, the ear, the flow of the blood through the veins 
 and arteries — existence itself — was a positive pleasure; 
 so that I felt as an ^olian harp, which was played upon 
 by the breeze ; and my every sense was responsive to all- 
 lovely Nature. 
 
 An American race, long anterior to the Mexicans and 
 Aztecs, who understood astronomy and worked in the 
 metals and built great cities, once occupied these lovely 
 lands. Lakes and seas, encouraging commerce, have ever 
 been the seats of civilization. And these, with the ever- 
 lasting spring, developed the highest American progress — 
 mental and physical development; and this higher race 
 was the result. They were called Toltecs ; and Toluca, or 
 Tolocan, as it was called at the conquest, was, no doubt, 
 the seat of their ancient kingdom. 
 
 At all events, I found here a new race of natives, un- 
 like any others in America. They were tall, and fuller in 
 
158 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 person, with light complexion, gome having blue and others 
 grey eyes, and dark auburn hair. Used all my life to the 
 breeding of pure races of live stock of the finest forms, be- 
 sides my love of art in painting and statuary, and having 
 studied, during my anti-slavery career, all the best authors, 
 French and English, on the unity and diversity of the Hu- 
 man Race, I was not only greatly interested in these peo- 
 ple, but, I think, brought a discriminating judgment to my 
 aid, unusual in travelers. I am sure their characteristics 
 were not the result of Spanish crosses ; for such are com- 
 mon in the Mexican capital, and are not at all like the 
 Tolucans. The women, especially, would interest me ; and 
 I found them beautiful, with large brains, more thoughtful 
 minds, and more taste in all ways than other Indians with 
 whom I had mixed freely, from the Rio Grande to Toluca. 
 The hair is worn in two plaits, tied with yarn or colored 
 ribbons, hanging down the back. The chemise is cut low, 
 and the arms well exposed. To the waist is bound several 
 tiers of petticoats, made of fine native cotton-cloth, with 
 very highly-colored and well-contrasted borders. The legs 
 are generally bare; and the feet (like the hands), well 
 turned, were covered with Indian sandals, at times highly 
 ornamented with beads and needle work. No bonnets 
 or head-dress is worn; but the elegant native rebosa, 
 or shawl, covers the head and part of the face, which at 
 will reveals at times the full anterior busts and rounded 
 arms. 
 
 Spanish is spoken more or less in all Mexico ; and the 
 better class of Indians always speak it. So, when I got 
 to Toluca, as usual, I made haste to enter society as far 
 as I was able. In this provincial town, having no com- 
 merce, except the Federal Governor and a small suite of 
 dark Spaniards and Indians, there are rarely seen any of 
 the white race. So I was as much a curiosity to them as 
 they were to me; and I had no great difficulty in making 
 acquaintance's among the Tolucans. Thus I was spending 
 my time very agreeably. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 1 59 
 
 In all countries the features of nature have been the 
 great substratum of poetry and heroism. In cities, na- 
 ture, too, is appreciated, but it is human nature ; and, as 
 rural scenes are comparatively unknown, women and men 
 and domestic animals are all that remain. Consequently, 
 around these concenter the highest interest — the female 
 singers, dancers, and actors, to most persons being the 
 highest ideals of earth. But here were all the great ele- 
 ments of nature — lakes and lands, the sublime, the beau- 
 tiful, and the picturesque ; and, added thereto, the loveli- 
 est of women. 
 
 I had spent the last years of my life in the most ex- 
 hausting use of the nervous powers ; and, repose was not 
 only a needed rest, but the greatest luxury. Among these 
 primitive people there was one who especially interested 
 me. She was one of two daughters of a widowed mother ; 
 her brother being engaged as a merchant of fruits, carried 
 on burros and mules to the capital-market. She bore the 
 name of Lolu — the Indians having no surname. As we 
 Americans were the enemies of her people, being called 
 "Los Barbaras del Norte" we had but small claims upon 
 their friendship ; but what has woman to do with these 
 affairs of State ? She saw in man a universe of her own ; 
 and, like most women, that she found sufficient for all her 
 being. But, as Scott won battle after battle, and the 
 routed stragglers came home in defeat with wounds, the 
 rage of the rabble increased, till the officers in charge had 
 to place us in the monastery for security; and, yet more, 
 so intense was the excitement, that they dared not trust 
 our safety even to the sanctity of that place, but deemed 
 it prudent to place a guard of regulars to save us from 
 the vengeance of their countrymen. 
 
 We were still nominally on parole; but, in fact, close 
 prisoners. The entrance to the prison was through an 
 open court, or rather alameda, or park, which was used 
 as a fruit-market, and always full of people. So, to pass 
 
l6o MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 out, it was necessary to go through the guard and all 
 these people, when recognition would be immediate death. 
 I tried to get the officers to join me in a sortie ; but 
 they all declined, and protested against such folly. But 
 all things are possible when a woman is in the case. So, 
 procuring a sombrero and serape — a Mexican hat, and 
 blanket or shawl — I was ready for action, having no 
 weapon but a pocket-knife; but any one the most effi- 
 cient would have been useless against such odds. So, 
 putting on my hat, and drawing my serape close about 
 my face, I set out. The guard, of course, as we were 
 on parole, had orders to pass us; so on I went, and was 
 unnoticed by any one. Lolu's cottage was surrounded by 
 tropical plants ; the fences were a species of cactus, so 
 closely planted that a cat could not pass. These were 
 full of flowers and fruit, and filled with the perfume of 
 the orange and the lemon. So the whole grounds, and 
 the white walls of the dwelling, were literally shadowed 
 in shrubbery and vines and perennial flowers. I entered 
 without warning. She was sitting alone in her usual lat- 
 ticed porch, and sadly caressing her pet paroquette. This 
 small pet was as full of brilliant colors as a humming-bird, 
 and spoke many words in Spanish and Indian. This girl 
 was about eighteen years old, of a stature above the me- 
 dium Indian type, and more full in person. Her eyes 
 and hair (which were the fullest and longest I ever saw,) 
 were, the eyes grey, and the hair an auburn, but both 
 apparently black. Her teeth were as fine and even as 
 ever graced an Indian woman's mouth. Her dress has 
 been already described. As I came in, she arose in aston- 
 ishment, and turned pale with- affright ; but, when I threw 
 off my hat and shawl, and she recognized me, the color 
 came as the winter fire through a heated stove, and, 
 dropping her rebosa, she rushed, with open arms, and 
 kissed — me? Not at all. The parrot, which bore the 
 euphonious name of Leta, was unused to strangers ; and, 
 when she saw I was not a Mexican, or, rather, a Tolucan> 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. l6l 
 
 she dashed at my face; and Lolu ran and caught her in 
 her arms, and, kissing her, said: "Oh, Leta! Nuestro 
 amigo, Senor Clayo." * .... It was Leta she kissed. 
 Of all the races, the Indians are the most modest, 
 rarely looking at you ; but they are not as grave as is 
 supposed. A young man, not sixteen years' old, went 
 with my father, in the British War of 1812, and was 
 taken prisoner, being wounded in the hand. The Indians 
 took him into Canada, and imposed on him hard work 
 with the squaws. He was frequently joked by the older 
 men ; and the boys continually annoyed him, much to their 
 amusement. They would say to him: "Little boy, did 
 you come here to fight Indians? Don't you wish you 
 were at home under mamma's bed, wringing the cat's 
 tail?" And then they would laugh as loud as a country 
 tavern-keeper. One day, as usual, Jack Wood was sent 
 to the spring to bring water; the chiefs were sunning 
 themselves on the grass, and looking on. As often as 
 Jack would get nearly up the bank, an Indian boy would 
 trip his feet, and down would go boy and crock and 
 water; and this was several times repeated, much to the 
 amusement of the chiefs. At last. Wood said he was so 
 angry that he determined to revenge himself or die. So, 
 as the boy approached him, he set down his water-crock, 
 and, throwing him down, poured the water over him, and 
 rolled him down the hill ^- crock, water, and all going to- 
 
 * Humboldt and Pritchard both speak of the Mexicans, of 
 course including the Tolucans, as distinguished from other In- 
 dians by the greater quantity of their beard and mustaches. 
 Prescott says, upon their authority: "Thus we find amongst the 
 generally prevalent copper or cinnamon tint, nearly all gradations 
 of color, from the European white to a black almost African ; 
 while the complexion conspicuously varies among different tribes, 
 in the neighborhood of each other." (See, also, Humboldt's Cos- 
 mos, 2 vols. ; and Pritchard's Physical History of Man, in 4 vols.) 
 About the color there is no doubt; the only question is, were 
 these Toltecs? — C. 1885. 
 Vol. I.— ti 
 
l62 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 gether. He then seated himself also on the bank, deter- 
 mined to stir no more. Upon this, they laughed louder, 
 and more than ever; and, coming up to him, lifted him up, 
 and said: "Much brave; big warrior." And thereupon 
 they gave him a gun, and set him to hunting. So, laying 
 in provisions, he made a pretended hunt, and escaped. 
 
 In all the villages in Mexico 1 saw something of In- 
 dian life. They had every-where adopted the Spanish 
 dances, using the guitar, or, rather, a smaller instrument, 
 which they called the "guitarrilla." With this music they 
 dance, in their houses, but mostly on the grass in the 
 open air, cotillions, waltzes, and fandangos. The fan- 
 dango is danced by the lady and caballero facing each 
 other. They dance forward and back, cross over, turn, 
 etc. — like Burn's scene in Tarn O'Shanter — getting all 
 the time more active, and the music becoming more furi- 
 ous. The man holds his hat in his hand; and the woman, 
 as the dance warms up, at times drops her rebosa on her 
 arm, or into her hand. 
 
 I find the common people of all nations very similar 
 in their dances ; the difference being rather in form than 
 intensity. But I wander. The "girls and boys" at times 
 came in and danced at Lolu's house, mostly waltzes; but, 
 as I did not waltz, she paid me the compliment to pre- 
 fer my conversation, such as I could make it in poor 
 Spanish, to the dance. As I said, these people are not 
 always grave. ' I was, by my mother's side, dark-haired, 
 with dark grey eyes; but my skin was very fair, after my 
 father's family. One day the girls, thinking it could 
 hardly be possible that I was so white without paint, got 
 into a concerted romp with me, and, dipping their hand- 
 kerchiefs in an earthen bowl of water, which they had 
 prepared, all came down upon me at once, and tested my 
 color; but I stood the test better than would many mod- 
 ern fair ones. 
 
 One day I found Lolu alone, and, as usual with 
 women, ancient and modern, when in grief, with hair di- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 1 63 
 
 shevelled ; tears were streaming down her cheeks, and 
 she, holding out a handful of bright feathers, told me the 
 cat got through the open lattice at night, and killed and 
 ate up poor Leta! I never saw her look so interesting 
 before ; but so it is that, with or without art, they ever 
 hold us the more firmly, the more they seem to be least 
 thoughtful of our capture. Was this emblematic of our 
 ever-drifting life ; our sunshine and shade ? when the most 
 real joys fading into the dead past, leave us but rose- 
 tinted memories of the days which are gone, — of the 
 scenes which come no more, and whose only traces are — 
 tears ! Poor Leta ! Poor Lolu ! 
 
 Scott had now been sometime in possession of the 
 capital, awaiting the terms of peace, as they were being 
 negotiated by our government through N. Trist. We, 
 like Mrs. Heman's captive knight, were forgotten. Our 
 officers began to complain ; and I summoned up energy 
 enough to go to the governor, Oliguibel, and protest 
 against further detention. The generous commander, pro- 
 pitiated by our honorable conduct of parole, said to me : 
 " Well, be ready at once ; and I will give you and your 
 men an escort, and send you to General Scott." So, the 
 next day, we were on the march to Mexico, on parole; 
 and soon exchanged for the many officers and men whom 
 Scott was too happy to turn loose. Never shall I forget 
 how the stars and stripes, mounted upon the gate, and 
 the public buildings of the romantic city, filled me with 
 pride and joy, as the emblem of our triumphant arms, and 
 home once more. 
 
 General Scott, whom I now saw for the first time, in- 
 vited me to dinner; and, saying many pleasant things, 
 sent words of souvenir to my brother-in-law, John Speed 
 Smith, who was quite an admirer of the gallant general ; 
 and who now looked upon the second Cortes as a promi- 
 nent candidate for the Presidency. So we were soon on 
 our way home, with the first returning column, under 
 
164 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 General Harney, by way of Vera Cruz and New Orleans. 
 The sea was very boisterous ; but we reached New Or- 
 leans safely, and in good health and spirits. We were 
 there mustered out of service; and took different routes 
 to our several homes. 
 
 Some of the captives of Encarnagion had gone with 
 me to Toluca; others were sent in the direction of Tam- 
 pico, and many others had gone home from other parts 
 of the army, who, somehow or other, had proven to be 
 my devoted friends. The ofificers who had violated their 
 parole, and whom I said ought to have been shot for 
 their folly in being trapped in the hacienda, and who 
 were envious of seeing an enemy like Colonel Mendoza 
 paying tribute to my gallantry, had spread all kinds of 
 calumnies against me. These, the soldiers, now in several 
 States, had warmly refuted, by voluntary proofs in many 
 journals; so that, when I arrived at Lexington, no man 
 in the army, not even General Taylor himself, would have 
 been received with so great an ovation. The gallant 
 "boys" who had shared my defeat by the slave-holders, 
 and who had before no means of showing their devotion, 
 now rushed out with wives and children to meet me. 
 Robert S. Todd, my old and faithful friend, the father of 
 Mrs. Abraham Lincoln, was the one selected to give the 
 address of welcome ; and so Lexington was never before,, 
 or since, even, in such a state of enthusiasm. I was es- 
 corted by all to my home, where a collation had been 
 prepared ; and where all, without distinction, gave and re- 
 ceived welcome. * 
 
 * Capt. C. M. Clay. — This gentleman arrived at New Orleans on the 24th 
 ult., in the steamship Alabama, from Vera Cruz, and is daily looked for at home. 
 It will be seen, by the proceedings of a public meeting held at the Court-house on 
 Monday evening, in our columns to-day, that the compliment of a public recepuon 
 on his return to his home in this city from his long captivity in the gloomy prison- 
 walls of the city of Mexico — a captivity incurred while in the discharge of his duty 
 in the volunteer service of the country — is to be extended to him. The military 
 companies composing the "Legion" of this city have also determined to extend to- 
 him the same compliment; and, in a notice to that effect, it is announced that, 
 thirteen guns will be fired at 6 o'clock on the morning of the day of his arrival. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 165- 
 
 Whilst in Mexico I felt two very marked "tremblors," 
 or earthquakes. In the Santa Anna theatre, a part of 
 which was a hotel, I was rooming in the third story, and 
 while fully awake, but yet lying in bed one morning, the 
 doors of the clothes-press moved visibly on their hinges, 
 making a slight noise. I at once knew it was an earth- 
 
 His reception by his numerous personal friends in this city will be most enthusi- 
 astic. — Lexington Observer and Reporter. 
 
 For the Observer and Reporter. 
 
 RECEPTION OF CAPT. C. M. CLAY. 
 
 A public meeting, convened in pursuance to previous notice, vi'as held at the 
 Court-house, on Monday evening last, to take into consideration the propriety of 
 making some suitable demonstration of respect for Capt. Cassius M. Clay, on his 
 arrival at his home in this city, now daily looked for. The meeting was organized 
 by the appointment of Robert S. Todd, Esq., as Chairman; and John F. Leavy, 
 Secretary. 
 
 The following resolutions were submitted, which, after able and eloquent ad- 
 dresses from the Hon. George Robertson, James McMurtry, and Henry C. Davis, 
 Esqrs., ivere unanimously abopted: 
 
 Resolved, That as a demonstration of our esteem and confidence, we cordially 
 wflcome Capt. Cassius M. Clay to his home, and tender him a public reception. 
 
 Resolved, That in the opinion of this meeting, he possesses all the highest and 
 noblest qualities of the soldier; and that, in the voluntary proffer of his life to save 
 the lives of his men, we have an evidence of that heroic and self-sacrificing spirit 
 which would have won renown on any field, and is the brightest ornament of the 
 true soldier. 
 
 Resolved, That he was impelled to go forth to fight the battles of his country, 
 from the loftiest considerations of patriotism and duty. 
 
 Resolved, That in his tender care for the sick and suffering of his men; his 
 sympathy for them in the perils and hardships and privations of a painful and 
 harsh imprisonment; his provision for their wants, in expending the last dollar of 
 his money, and selling his coat, we see the generous warm heart alive to the afflic- 
 tions and distresses of the honest and humblest. 
 
 Resolved, That the citizens of Lexington, irrespective of party, tender to C. M. 
 Clay a cordial reception, and join in the reception. 
 
 On motion of Col. Lewinski, Col. D. S. Goodloe, Col. Jesse Bayles, and 
 Edward Oldham, Esq., were requested to act as Marshals on the occasion. 
 
 The meeting then adjourned. 
 J. F. Leavy, Secretary. R. S. Todd, Chairman. 
 
 Capt. Cassius M. Clay.— This gallant Kentuckian reached this city on Satur- 
 day last, and was welcomed by his fellow-citizens by a display of enthusiasm never 
 before witnessed in this country. At an early hour, men, women, and children, 
 from all sections of the country, might be seen wending their way to the city; and 
 at different points forming themselves into groups, when the valorous deeds of our, 
 Cassius were recounted to them by our modern Tribunes — not by public function- 
 aries, but by those who were eye-witnesses to his martial deeds, and who were con- 
 versant with the country in which he was detained a prisoner. About i o'clock. 
 
1 66 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 quake. My first idea was to run down, and into the 
 street; but, on reflection, I concluded that, in so doing, I 
 would be in equal, or greater, danger than in remaining. 
 So, with a Turk's sense of fatality, I remained in bed. 
 
 Again, when at Toluca, sitting in a portico with some 
 companions, a more sensible shock was felt. The Mexi- 
 
 P. M., the omnibus, which conveyed him from Frankfort, reached the suburbs of 
 the city, when the assembled multitude were made acquainted with the fact by the 
 booming of cannon, the echo of which died away amid the shouts of Kentucky's 
 noble yeomanry. Thither they sped their way, when he was greeted with cheers — 
 loud and long — which made the welkin ring. He was then welcomed home by 
 Captain Jouett, chairman of the committee appointed for that purpose, in an appro- 
 priate speech. Having undergone great fatigue in traveling, Captain Clay was un- 
 able to speak at any great length; but invited everybody (about 500 people,) to take 
 supper with him in the evening. He was then escorted to his residence by three 
 military companies and an assembled multitude. During their march through the 
 city, the merry peals of all the church bells in the city filled the air with music, and 
 lent a charm to the spell which bound the hearts of all. The windows of every 
 house on the route were filled with Kentucky's fair daughters, who waved their 
 handkerchiefs in token of their welcome, as the procession moved on. 
 
 At an early hour in the evening, the house of Captain Clay was filled to over- 
 flowing by his friends, who were anxious to exchange with him salutations of friend- 
 ship, and bid him, in propria persona, "welcome home." — Lexington Intelligencer. 
 
 Captain C. M. Clay's Arrival and Reception. — The firing of cannon at 
 early dawn on Saturday morning last, in conjunction with printed advertisements 
 freely circulated among our citizens, made known to them that this gentleman would 
 certainly arrive at 2 o'clock, P. M. Long preceding that time, a large concourse of 
 people, male and female, in carriages, on horses, and on foot, had assembled at the 
 outskirts of the city to greet his coming. Hundreds, if not thousands, anxiously 
 awaited his approach. His long and arduous captivity in a hostile country, and, 
 during that captivity, the magnanimity he exhibited toward his fellow-sufferers, who 
 had less advantages, and the fact that he was debarred, by unavoidable misfortune, 
 from participating in any of the glorious victories which have crowned our arms in 
 Mexico, altogether had awakened and enlisted the warmest sympathies of his fellow- 
 citizens. 
 
 Minute guns were fired as he entered the city. After reaching the principal 
 street, Captain Jouett, in behalf of the military, welcomed him home in a brief, elo- 
 quent, and tasteful address, to which Captain Clay, in appropriate and feeling terms, 
 responded. 
 
 Robert S. Todd, Esq., who presided at the meeting of the citizens, which re- 
 solved to give to Captain Clay the compliment of a public reception, then took the 
 stand; and, in a most beautiful and cordial manner, welcomed the gallant Captain 
 home, which met a wa.rm response from the multitude which surrounded him. 
 
 After Mr. Todd concluded, the procession moved on to the residence of Captain 
 Clay, and there took leave of him. 
 
 The reception, however, ended not here. The friends of Captain Clay had pre- 
 pared for illuminating the large lawn which fronts his residence ; and, upon his invi- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 1 67 
 
 cans cried out " Tremblor/" But, as we were near the 
 ground, and a slight roof over our heads, no one moved. 
 In no event, in human experience, does one feel more 
 utterly helpless than during an earthquake, unless it be 
 in the midst of a mob, such as that I went through in 
 1845; ^^^ when all that seemed possible was stoically to 
 submit to fate. 
 
 tation, our citizens thronged his house and premises after night, where an elegant 
 supper was prepared for them, and, after a friendly and cordial interchange of feeling 
 and sentiment, the great mass of people quietly dispersed. — Observer and Reporter. 
 
 Captain C. M. Clay. — A. C. Bryan, W. D. Ratcliff, Charles E. Mooney, John 
 J. Finch, and Alfred Argabright, who were among the Encarnagion prisoners, have 
 published a card in the Z^xington Observer speaking in the highest terms of the treat- 
 ment they received from Captain Clay during their captivity. They say; 
 
 " When Captain Henry made his escape, and the Mexican commander, excited 
 by that event, gave orders for the massacre of the Americans, Captain Clay ex- 
 claimed: 'Kill the officers; spare the soldiers!' A Mexican Major ran to him, 
 presenting a cocked pistol to his breast. He still exclaimed: 'Kill me — kill the 
 officers; but spare the men — they are innocent!' Who but C.' M. Clay, with a 
 loaded pistol to his heart, and in the hands of an enraged enemy, would have 
 shown such magnanimous self-devotion? If any man ever was entitled to be called 
 'the soldier's friend,' he is. He was ever watchful and kind toward us, allowing 
 every privilege that would be granted by our enemies; turned all orders and com- 
 mands into advice and consolement; and, upon our march to the city, would take 
 turn by turn, allowing us to ride his mule, that we might stand the march of forty 
 miles a day ; divided the last cent of money he had with us, and resorted to every 
 sacrifice to make us happy and comfortable. He disposed of his mule, when he 
 found it necessary — the only animal he had — his buffalo rug, his watch, and all 
 his clothes but one suit, and supplied our wants. He not only acted in this manner 
 toward those who were under his immediate command, but to all ; and expressed his 
 regret that he was unable to do more." — Lexington Observer and Reporter, October 
 20, 1847. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Poi.iticai, Situation. — Nomination and Election of General Z. Taylor 
 President of the United States.— Defense of Henry Clay.— Results of 
 HIS Defeat.— The Dissolution of Parties in 1848.— "The True American" 
 BECOMES "The Examiner.' — Emancipation Convention in Frankfort.— 
 Freedom of Speech. —A Memorable Day. — My conduct in Mexico in- 
 dorsed BY "The Salt River Tigers." — The'New Constitution. — Death 
 of Cyrus Turner.- Kentucky Constitution passed in 1850.— Five Letters 
 TO Hon. Daniel Webster. 
 
 TOWARD the close of the year 1847, parties began, 
 as usual, to prepare for the next Presidential elec- 
 tion. I said, in reply to Robert S. Todd's speech, that I 
 returned with my views on the slavery issue unchanged. 
 The gallantry of General Z. Taylor in the war had made 
 him many friends; and the effort of the Democratic Ad- 
 ministration to weaken his success, by the diversion of 
 General Winfield Scott's march upon Mexico, added to 
 Taylor's supporters, who felt that injustice was intended 
 toward a gallant soldier. Taylor was a man of moderate 
 capacity, but a fine character; and had been successful as 
 a soldier. Like most of the regular army, he cared but 
 little for politics ; had rarely voted, but was regarded as a 
 Whig. The mere politicians in the Whig ranks, long fol- 
 lowers of Henry Clay, began to weary of coi?tinued de- 
 feat, and saw in Taylor the way to power. Mr. Clay, in 
 the last canvass, made no new friends, and lost many old 
 ones. Taylor had no enemies; and, his being a slave- 
 owner, which would lose him some Whigs, would be com- 
 pensated by the many Southern Democrats, and others, 
 who would fill their places on account of his military 
 glory. My personal quarrel with the Whig Party, who 
 struck hands with the Democrats in the overthrow of the 
 168 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 169 
 
 True American; my alienation from Mr. Clay, and my 
 gratitude to General Taylor, for his friendly reception 
 of me in the army, threw me at once into the ranks of 
 Taylor's friends. Besides, it was a part of my policy to 
 destroy the old parties, to build up the new one of uni- 
 versal liberty. General Taylor's friends, seeing that Clay 
 had the old party machinery, advised Taylor to take an 
 independent position ; and he was regarded as an inde- 
 pendent candidate when he was nominated at Baltimore 
 by the nominal Whig Convention. I entered at once into 
 the canvass, joined by the secret friends of Taylor. With 
 my own followers, we carried the Fayette delegation to 
 the State Whig Convention in favor of Taylor, I being 
 one of them. At Frankfort I assumed the leadership, 
 being untrammelled by party ties, and lacking that timid- 
 ity which partizans always show in new movements. 
 
 All the factions of the Whig Party acted with me. I 
 dwelt upon Taylor's glorious victories, his noble character, 
 and the injustice done him. Our policy was to appoint 
 ■ delegates favorable to Taylor in a quiet way; and this 
 we accomplished, so as to have a majority. The Clay- 
 ites, seeing that a defeat here would be ruin in the Na- 
 tional Convention, were afraid to take a vote in his favor. 
 Garrett Davis, who was the friend of my brother, Brutus 
 J. Clay, of the same county of Bourbon, and who had 
 gone to Lexington during the mob of 1845 i"^ "^Y de- 
 fense, was true to Clay, and was put forward as their 
 leader. He made a violent and untrue assault upon me 
 personally ; but I had higher game in hand, and did not 
 intend to be diverted from my purpose. So I paid no 
 attention whatever to the little man. 
 
 As soon as the Convention was over, I went immedi- 
 ately to New York City, and, in the Courier and En- 
 quirer (the newspaper of James Watson Webb, who fa- 
 vored Taylor), published an open letter, in which I stated 
 that Mr. Clay's own State delegation was in favor of 
 General Taylor; and deprecated any further waste of 
 
170 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Whig strength in attempting to nominate Clay, He, 
 however, came out in an open letter, advocating his own 
 nomination. This was contrary to the pledge of his 
 friends at Frankfort. So I wrote a second letter, in which 
 I arraigned Mr. Clay for undue ambition; and reviewed 
 his claims to continued support in the bitterest letter of 
 my life. The Clay-Whig press roared as a herd of wild 
 beasts. Their last chance of promotion, ambition, or tri- 
 umph was gone forever. Clay was badly beaten in the 
 Convention ; and Taylor was nominated and elected — 
 Millard Fillrhore, of New York, being the Vice-President. 
 
 Among others, the New York Express, edited by the 
 Brookses, published a violent and untrue attack upon me, 
 and refused to publish my reply. Thereupon, I wrote, 
 from the Astor House, to them, demanding, in a deter- 
 mined way, justice ; for I was ready, in some form, to de- 
 fend myself — with pen or sword. So they, next day, 
 published my response. As soon as Clay was beaten, I 
 was filled with regret. 
 
 This letter of mine to Henry Clay was written before 
 the publication of my "Writings and Speeches," in 1848; 
 but I did not insert it, because there was no time for cool 
 consideration. Nor will I produce it now, but do justice 
 to Henry Clay. The letters were written under circum- 
 stances which excited in me the greatest indignation, in 
 view of all the facts known to me, and aggravated by a 
 misapprehension of other alleged facts. 
 
 The mob-movement, begun before the 15th, was called 
 several days beforehand, and was to assemble on the i8th 
 of August, 1845. In the interval, Henry Clay and Robert 
 P. Letcher left Lexington in a private conveyance, and 
 went to the Virginia White Sulphur Springs, unexpectedly 
 to everybody. James B. Clay, a son of Henry Clay, was 
 Secretary of the Revolutionary Committee of Sixty that 
 sent my press to Cincinnati. As the handbills generally 
 circulated in the interior of Kentucky called for my death, 
 it will be seen that I stood here upon impregnable 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. lyi 
 
 grounds in my letter. The friends of Clay in the Frank- 
 fort Convention had pledged themselves that, if we took 
 no vote in favor of General Taylor, Mr. Clay would not 
 be a candidate ; and we took none. When, therefore, I 
 read Mr. Clay's letter, consenting to run for the Presi- 
 dential nomination, I felt that a new wrong was added to 
 the old. And yet more, Samuel Shy had just written to 
 me, then in New York, that the " Old Chief," and other 
 counsel for James B. Clay, had driven them into trial, with 
 my counsel absent, etc. "Old Chief," as Clay was gen- 
 erally called, turned out to be Chief-Justice Robertson. 
 So all these accumulated wrongs,! as I saw them, drove me 
 to turn on my enemies with all the power I could wield. 
 
 Such is the history of this noted letter. When I 
 found I was wrong in the assertion of Mr. Clay's pres- 
 ence at the trial, I wrote a letter correcting my state- 
 ment; and, when I was cool, I felt sincerely sorry for the 
 angry method of my warfare. So much for my defense. 
 
 After I compared Mr. Clay with others of modern 
 times, I saw how infinitely more honorable he was than 
 they, and how much he deserved to be President; and, 
 above all, I saw how so many of his pretended friends 
 stabbed him in the dark, till my anger against him turned 
 into pity, for his undeserved fate. Candor now compels 
 me to reverse my opinions of his conduct ; and I give the 
 reasons. 
 
 When Wickliffe was beaten by me, in 1840, Mr. Clay 
 voted for me. Then arose the slavery issue. I was again 
 a candidate in 1841 ; and Mr. Clay advised me not to run 
 again, but to await a more favorable time. This I saw 
 was said in good faith. We stood on different ground. 
 Such time for me would never come. I therefore ran 
 again in 1841. Now, as Mr. Clay advised me not to run, 
 and I did not follow his advice, I do not think that I had 
 any right to denounce him in a political sense for leaving 
 me to my fate in 1845. I judged his duty to me by my 
 own heart, not by the logic of events. 
 
172 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 With regard to the Texas issue, Mr. Clay never con- 
 tradicted his "Raleigh letter" by his "Alabama letter." 
 The Abolitionists put a wrong construction upon his letter, 
 which my grievances against him caused me to follow, 
 without sufficient study of his real opinions expressed in 
 those two letters. So that the term "Janus-faced," though 
 apparently applicable, on mature reflection was only so in 
 appearance. 
 
 Long years ago his sons and I have been on friendly 
 terms, both of us understanding the truth about these let- 
 ters ; and, had I space, I would publish them now, with 
 the view of giving a true historical account of a personal 
 and political affair in which I claim that the "gallant 
 Harry" was right, and I was wrong.* 
 
 * Henry Clay. — This gentleman might, had he seen fit, have 
 prevented the mob at Lexington. At any rate, he could have 
 tried to stop it. But what did he? According to the papers, he 
 left Lexington on the day before the mob, well knowing what was 
 in progress, and abandoned the friend who had been so faithful, 
 and who had done so much for him, to the tender mercies of an 
 infuriated mob ! Is this the chivalrous, the generous ' ' Harry of 
 the West?" Even so. And Henry Clay's son, James B. Clay, 
 acted as Secretary of the Mob Committee that broke up the printing 
 office! What think you of this, Whigs of the North? — Chicago 
 News, 1848. 
 
 Par the Louisville Courier. 
 TO THE PUBLIC. 
 
 The extraordinary war which has been made upon me by the 
 press since my publication of the Clay letter, though unparalleled 
 for vindictiveness in the history of this country, strikes no terror 
 into my spirit. I have lived through more concentrated and bitter, 
 if not more wide-spread calumny, than this — biding my time, re- 
 posing upon the integrity of my purposes, and the ultimate tri- 
 umph of truth and justice, till, in the place of my degradation, 
 those same men, in public assembly, and by solemn vote, mag- 
 nanimously bore testimony to my honor, integrity, and patriotism. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 1 73 
 
 Henry Clay's statesmanship is eminently proved by 
 events. The ultra Abolitionists elected Polk, like the 
 Prohibitionists did Cleveland — their antipodes. As Clay 
 predicted, then came war; and the constitution was vio- 
 lated in the annexation of Texas. 
 
 The slave-power, encouraged by success, made Texas 
 a slave State, capable of division into many States, and 
 thus brought on the Civil War. 
 
 As Clay foretold, Texas, after all, is a free State. But 
 the end is not yet. The Bourbon Democrats are in 
 power. Will they save themselves by making Demo- 
 cratic States out of Texas, and thus change the Senate? 
 
 If Clay had been elected by the insane ultraists, in 
 1844, might not slavery have been abolished peaceably, 
 
 In that letter, upon the coolest examination, I find nothing to 
 retract. I challenge the friends of H. Clay to its refutation. The 
 spirit of the letter I am not by any means prepared to defend. 
 No man feels more truly than I, that it is better to forgive than 
 to avenge ! I feel no triumph over H. Clay's defeat. The faults 
 which I attribute to him are such as flow from too great ambition. 
 If ambition be the vice of noble minds, I am more ready to 
 lament than to denounce. I regret that I have, in the discharge 
 of my duty to the Whig Party, and the country, injured the feel- 
 ings of H. Clay. I forbear to urge the misapprehension of facts 
 which influenced me. A man who undertakes to instruct the 
 public can not be allowed to plead ignorance, or mix personal 
 feeling with the sacredness of country. For this, I am ready to 
 suffer the penalty. —C. M. C, 1848. 
 
 CORRECTION. 
 
 White Hall P. O., Madison Co., Ky., May 19, 1848. 
 
 Editor of the Lexington Observer and Reporter : 
 
 Sir : — Upon my arrival at Lexington, on my return from 
 Mexico, I learned that Hon. H. Clay was one of the counsel 
 against me in the mob case. Leaving home with that impres- 
 sion, when Mr. Shy wrote to me that he had been forced into 
 trial without my principal witness, without my other two counsel, 
 and in my absence, saying that he had succeeded against the 
 "Old Chief," I concluded that Mr. Clay was, of course, alluded 
 
174 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 and the conservative elements of the Nation now be in 
 power in the Union ? Ultra factions in all ages have been 
 the ruin of States. 
 
 Thus, whilst the Whig Party was divided into personal 
 and political factions, and was hastening to dissolution, 
 the Democrats were in no better condition. John Quincy 
 Adams having attacked, or rather defended, the people 
 against the attack of the slave-power on the Right of Pe- 
 tition, had begun the political war which the Abolition 
 Party had morally organized. He was sustained by Joshua 
 R. Giddings, a Whig, and Salmon P. Chase and John P. 
 Hale, Democrats, as the leading forces. Both parties 
 began rapidly to disintegrate upon this one issue ; for Mr. 
 Adams had summed it up long before Seward's "Irrepres- 
 sible Conflict," by saying: "Slavery will fall before the 
 Union, or the Union will fall before Slavery." 
 
 The Democratic Party, which illegally annexed Texas, 
 and had carried on a successful war, seemed to be in the 
 course of a sure victory ; but a split occurred, which was 
 fatal to its success. Martin Van Buren, who headed the 
 Hunker, or Pro-slavery, Party in the great State of New 
 York, opposed the annexation of Texas ; and, instead of 
 being reelected by the accustomed courtesy, was super- 
 seded by James K. Polk. So, when the election of 1848 
 
 to; as this was a designation familiarly used by his acquaintances. 
 I have just learned, however, from a friend, that Mr. Clay was 
 not present at the trial; and, as I have given currency to the re- 
 port, both by conversation and letter, on my first impressions, it 
 is due to myself and Mr. Clay, that I should now make the only 
 reparation in my power, by asking the publication of this card. I 
 exceedingly regret this error of mine, as it is the cause of some 
 injustice to Mr. Clay at a critical period; and the public press, 
 unfortunately, is not always as ready to repair an injury as to do 
 one. Your obedient servant, 
 
 C. M. CLAY. 
 P. S. — I presume Ex-Chief-Justice Robertson was alluded to 
 by the designation of "Old Chief" — C. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 1 75 
 
 came on, and Lewis Cass was made the nominee of the 
 slave-power, Van Buren joined the Barnburners or Lib- 
 erals. Nominated at Buffalo by all the elements of slave- 
 opposition, including Chase, Giddings, Hale, etc., he car- 
 ried New York, and thus beat Cass and elected Taylor. 
 Whilst my sympathies were with the Liberal movement and 
 all its elements, I canvassed for Taylor and voted for him. 
 But, though I could well have held office under him, I 
 declined being a candidate for any favor; and pursued my 
 one great aim — the overthrow of slavery by home-action. 
 
 The True American was, during my absence, edited 
 by my friend, John C. Vaughauj of South Carolina birth, 
 but then an emigre and citizen of Ohio. My brother, 
 Brutus J. Clay, my financial agent, thought it best, dur- 
 ing my long absence and uncertain return, to discontinue 
 the paper. As soon as I joined the invading army, my 
 principal supporters, the Abolitionists and some of the po- 
 litical foes of slavery, lost confidence in my purposes, de- 
 nounced me, and ceased to take my paper. So, whilst it 
 had steadily increased till the Mexican War, it now fell 
 off" in circulation. Thereupon Vaughan, taking my ma- 
 terial and subscribers' list, located in Louisville, and started 
 the Examiner ; for now there was no difficulty in carrying 
 on an anti-slavery paper in Kentucky. So, on my return, 
 I paid Vaughan for filling my unexpired list, and adopted 
 his journal for all party purposes. 
 
 In 1849 we held an Emancipation Convention in Frank- 
 fort, at my instance, and put the State Liberal Party in an 
 advanced position. * 
 
 * Speech of C. M. Clay at the Emancipation Convention, Frankfort, 
 Kentticky, May 4, 1849. 
 C. M. Clay, of Madison, remarked that he had not trespassed 
 on the time of the Convention. I know, said he, that I am char- 
 acterized as impulsive, hot-headed, reckless, and passionate. I 
 knew and felt that there was, even here, a soreness, an unwill- 
 ingness to hear me, though I had made so many sacrifices for the 
 cause, and had fought for it, in my own humble way, so many 
 
176 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 The Convention was gotten up by me. It was my 
 policy to commit as many men as possible to our cause, 
 whatever the degree of their convictions ; so I kept in 
 the background. But the resolutions of Judge Samuel 
 Nicholas, as a substitute for the original ones, (weak 
 enough, surely!) would not allow me further silence. 
 Others fell by the wayside ; I went on to the end. 
 
 I had exposed, in the True American, a vulnerable part 
 in the State Constitution, by showing that the prohibition 
 of the emancipation of slaves, without compensation, ad- 
 mitted the power to liberate with compensation; and the 
 right to act, therefore, implied the right to discuss. So 
 the slave-power, defeated at Lexington, intended in time 
 to change the Constitution and make slavery perpetual, so 
 far as a Constitution could effect that object. The last 
 
 battles. I was conscious of that feeling here, and therefore felt 
 disinclined to say anything at all. I differed from the majority of 
 the Committee on the resolutions reported ; but, in deference to the 
 judgment of the Committee, I forebore to say anything against the 
 report, but openly, here in my place, gave in my adhesion. It 
 was a very large Committee — one from each county represented. 
 They sat in council four or five hours. There was, in committee, 
 a full, frank, and candid interchange of opinion. The report of 
 the committee is the result of that free consultation. It has been 
 reported and is now in the hands of the Convention. V^ t. , fanatics 
 are willing to take your compromise. We think it too moderate; 
 and I have been reproached by some because I yielded. But I 
 have satisfied myself that I did right in yielding. 
 
 But is it hot astonishing, when we are thrown into confusion 
 because of the moderation of our councils, that we are, at this late 
 hour, presented with another proposition, cutting very far under the 
 report of the Committee ? And we who have, it is feared, compro- 
 mised too much already, are asked to come yet lower down ! 
 Really, Mr. President, if I did not know my friend. Judge Nicho- 
 las, to be at heart a true friend of this cause — if I were left to 
 judge him by his proposition only — I fear I should be constrained 
 to set him down as an emissary from Robert Wickliffe, sr., or 
 John C. Calhoun. I am the more surprised at the proposition, 
 because of the knowledge I have of his intelligence and his devo- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 1 77 
 
 Legislature had called a Convention for such change, and 
 the members were to be elected this year (1849). Feel- 
 ing now strong enough, by my war record and the cur- 
 rent of events, to take the stump and enter upon a full 
 discussion of the subject, an event came to my aid. Two 
 gentlemen, school-teachers, I believe, invited me to speak 
 on slavery at Lawrenceburg, Anderson County, Kentucky. 
 I accepted the invitation, and named the day. 
 
 This was an untried field, where the appeal was to be 
 made to the people, with all the excitement and dangers 
 of a face to face debate. Lawrenceburg, the county seat 
 of Anderson County, on the south-west side of the Ken- 
 tucky River, was then the poor, cross-roads town of a 
 broken, hilly county. It is now quite a flourishing place, 
 made rich by the celebrated Anderson County " Bourbon," 
 
 tion to this cause. I can not, however, sit down without offering 
 a very few remarks, giving reasons why we should not entirely 
 postpone the fight. The report of the Committee leaves us at 
 liberty to go to work now; to-day we may begin the fight, and 
 not cease to battle until the field is ours. What if it be true that 
 politicians and the money-power are against us? Will our silence 
 bring them to us? No sir. They were against us in '78. They 
 have been against us for fifty years; they have grown strong from 
 our supineness, and powerful because of our inaction. The last 
 Legislature put its leaden heel upon us while we slept. Thank 
 God! the touch of that heel has broken our slumber. I have 
 looked to the coming of this day with the deepest, the profound- 
 est solicitude. It is but yesterday that I was denounced as a 
 disturber of the peace — yesterday we were threatened with the 
 halter — to-day we speak in the capital of the State, and we may 
 speak and be heard in every part of the State. The tongue is 
 again free to speak the language of the heart. This is a mighty 
 progress in the cause. It is but the feeble foreshadowing of the 
 great results in store for us. Talk to me about party alliances! 
 Have not the parties forgotten their allegiance to the right in all 
 things, to fasten upon the country this curse of Slavery? 'Tis but 
 the other day that the bans were celebrated in Fayette, between 
 Whigs and Democrats, that slavery might be perpetuated! Shall 
 we be .bound down by old party ties v/hile our adversaries are 
 Vol. I. — 12 
 
178 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 which its pure and plentiful water and fine grain allow. 
 There were few slave-holders; and the people, far re- 
 moved by lack of rail and McAdam road from commerce, 
 were rude but independent. Such I deemed a favorable 
 place for testing the possibility of free discussion ; for the 
 rencounter at Russell's Cave had taught me that debate 
 was more dangerous on the stump than discussion in the 
 press. Seated in my buggy, behind a fine trotter, on a 
 pleasant spring day in April, and passing over much good 
 road, and twice over the broken, picturesque cliffs of the 
 Kentucky River — at other times the travel would have 
 been delightful. 
 
 forgetting or forsaking everything for Slavery? The party in favor 
 of freedom is growing every-where. It has broken through party 
 restraints at the North. It will do so here. 
 
 Some say: "It is imprudent to agitate." Shall we vote our- 
 selves agitators? Others may so call us, but are we prepared to 
 say that we are agitators? For myself, I am for agitating this 
 question. If we are to rid ourselves, we must agitate it. When 
 a convention of crowned heads assemble in the old world to estab- 
 lish for their people pure republican governments, then may we 
 expect slave-holders to meet to emancipate their slaves, and not 
 before. As republics are only established by agitating the ques- 
 tion of freedom, so is emancipation to be accomplished only 
 through the agitation of the subject. We must convince the 
 people — the real people — of its importance, before it can be 
 done. How are we tp get at the non-slaveholders but by agita- 
 tion? The newspapers, as a general thing, do not reach the non- 
 slaveholders. We must seek them out — at the cross-roads and 
 places of public resort in their neighborhoods. The newspapers 
 are already open. Even that old Hunker press, the (Louisville) 
 Journal, has been compelled to open its columns to the friends of 
 emancipation. But we want something more than the press. We 
 want men on the stump. We want to get at the ear of the peo- 
 ple. The resolutions of the Committee display a magnanimous 
 moderation. Let us pass them, and then do battle for them. 
 Let every good friend of the cause buckle on his armor and 
 "never say die!"* 
 
 »The resolutions were passed, as reported by the Committee. — C. 1885. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 1 79 
 
 In Mexico I had felt two earthquakes — one in the 
 Santa Anna hotel and theatre, at the City of Mexico; and 
 the other at Toluca. The idea is known to all to be that 
 there is no escape by any human effort ; and running from 
 the houses into the street is about as dangerous as staying 
 within. So, in the great struggle which I was now enter- 
 ing anew, there was no outside support; and I had to de- 
 pend upon myself and fate for the solution. 
 
 Self-defense is the first law of nature ; and, standing 
 upon my rights of State and National Constitutions, I was 
 allowed full discussion of all subjects — even slavery; being 
 responsible by legal process for punishment in its abuse. 
 At Lexington, on the i8th of August, 1845, the combined 
 physical power of the community was too strong for me, 
 and my press was removed to Ohio; but I stood impreg- 
 nable in my moral strength of self-sacrifice and fortitude, 
 which proved at last triumphant. So, now, I had all 
 the moral and legal forces on my side; and so much 
 physical power as good arms and a brave heart could 
 give me. 
 
 If there was such a thing as evil in the world, slavery 
 was an evil. If there was such a thing as justice among 
 men, then justice required the liberation of the slave; and, 
 as to rights: "The greatest of all rights, was the right of 
 a man to himself." If God governed the world by general 
 laws for the greatest happiness of all his creatures, I was 
 in the right direction of the Divine will. If there ever 
 was a Special Providence inspiring the human soul, now it 
 should be felt. Every human thought and act tells in the 
 great destiny of the race, as molecules of water make up 
 the ocean; so each individual is an essential part of that 
 force which directs all to the great ends of our earthly ex- 
 istence. The inspired Scriptures and natural law leading 
 in the same direction, it only remained for me to go in the 
 path of duty, to sow the seed of good fruit. The results 
 were in the regions of the unknown, but the end was with 
 God. 
 
l8o MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 These were the thoughts which were ever present with 
 me in so many trying scenes ; and, as Cyrus, before the 
 great battle which decided the fate of Babylon and the 
 Persian Empire, drew up his army and sacrificed to the 
 gods, and thus filled his men with faith and moral power, 
 so I went to my solitary struggles leaning confidently upon 
 the arm of the Omnipotent One. 
 
 Never shall I forget the emotions of that day. Before 
 the destruction of the forests, the spring was earlier than 
 now. But it was now about the middle of April. The 
 buds were more than half swollen into leaf; the blue- 
 grass was so rich in green as to assume that peculiar 
 color which in Kentucky only seen gives it that famous 
 name. The plowmen were whistling in the fields ; and 
 the girls and boys, white and black, in the gardens, were 
 sending out peals of laughter and merry voices in their 
 pleasant work. In crossing the Kentucky River I was 
 brought face to face with its bold cliffs of limestone and 
 its banks covered with wild-flowers and wild grape-vines, 
 and the dog-wood and red-bud in bloom. The fish were 
 playing in the clear waters; and the redbirds and orioles 
 and thrushes, and other songsters, were building their 
 nests, and pouring forth their mingled voices in one 
 universal jubilation! I could but exclaim, with Byron: 
 "Beautiful! how beautiful is all this visible world!" It 
 reminded me of my earlier days — so many spent in these 
 same ever lovely " hills and dales." Now they were more 
 beautiful than ever. It might be "the last" to me "of 
 earth!" "Our life is a false nature. It is not in the 
 harmony of things — this hard decree — this uneradicable 
 taint of sin! " 
 
 How strangely is the mortal and the immortal blended! 
 How these earthly ties held me from my noble aspirations! 
 Why should I give up all self-enjoyment for others' happi- 
 ness! Why not leave the wronged and the wrong-doer 
 to remorseless fate! Never before was I so shattered in 
 my purposes! Could I, with all my sins, be the proteg6 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. l8l 
 
 of a sin-hating God? Might I not die the death which 
 the fool dieth at last? Then again my nobler nature 
 revived. Had I not stood unharmed under the most 
 depressing circumstances? Had I not been victorious 
 against overwhelming odds? Why should I not hope? 
 If I stood born of two natures, who made them but God! 
 So, from the unseemly earth spring all the glories of ani- 
 mal and vegetable life ! The rose-tree strikes its roots into 
 the very cesspools, but its flowers are bathed in the beauty 
 of eternal sunshine! So strengthened, I went on with a 
 security and a courage which nothing on earth could move. 
 
 Thus filled with final resolve, I reached at night-fall 
 my destined village. There was but one hotel, standing 
 by itself, without trees, except a few scraggy locusts, and 
 without a fence.. But the landlord was kind; my horse 
 was cared for, and a palatable dinner and supper com- 
 bined was provided and fully enjoyed. 
 
 On inquiring about the gentlemen who had invited me 
 to speak, I learned that they had left the county. Many 
 reflections rushed upon my mind; and the departure of 
 my two friends was no favorable omen. 
 
 In these primitive times there was a sawed log placed 
 under the trees as a stand for the wash-pan, and a large 
 towel of coarse flax, or hemp, cloth used in common. I 
 had walked down stairs without my coat; and, of course, 
 unarmed, was washing, when a half dozen men came up, 
 and said: "Is this Cassius M. Clay?" '^Yes." "Well, 
 we have some resolutions here, passed in public meeting 
 of our citizens, which we, as their committee, are directed 
 to hand to you." I read them. They were in the usual 
 style, speaking of the dangers of incendiary talk about 
 slavery; and warning me that if I spoke it would .be at 
 my own peril! I said: "Gentlemen, I come here by the 
 invitation of two of your citizens; but, with, or without, 
 such request, I stand upon my constitutional rights to dis- 
 cuss any subject whatever that pleases me. Say to your 
 people, that I shall address them at the hour published, 
 
1 82 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 at the court-house." So, bowing, they took their leave, 
 and I went on washing. 
 
 During all the forenoon not a person called to see 
 me, nor did an> guest put up there. The truth is, 1 was 
 as great an object of terror and avoidance as if I had 
 come with cholera into the town. 
 
 The court-house, a fairly large brick building, was on 
 the same straggling common with my hotel ; but it was 
 enclosed with a post-and-rail fence, and surrounded with lo- 
 cust trees. The day was warm and pleasant; and, hours 
 before the time of speaking, the court-house was crowded 
 to its greatest capacity, and many had climbed into the 
 windows and filled many of the nearest trees, like black- 
 birds at roost. At the hour named, looking closely to my 
 two revolvers, and having them carefully near the mouth 
 of my carpet-bag, with my Bowie-knife concealed in my 
 belt, I walked alone to the court-house. By this time the 
 crowd pressed to the very gate; but, as I entered, they 
 opened a lane as I advanced, no one saying a word. The 
 same lane allowed me to pass into the court-room. There 
 were three chairs on a raised platform, or dais, and a small 
 balustrade, a few feet high, around these seats. Two of 
 the chairs were empty, but the central one was occupied 
 by a most remarkable man. He was a giant in frame, 
 about sixty years of age, but then as fresh and vigorous 
 apparently as a man of thirty-five years. I thought to 
 myself, if you are to be my antagonist, I shall have a 
 hard time of it. The whole audience was as still as if 
 there had been but myself there ; each looking excited 
 and pale, as men who are on the eve of action. I walked 
 steadily to the vacant seat, and sat down with my carpet- 
 sack by my side, and began to feel for my notes, which I 
 generally laid on the stand, but rarely ever used. 
 
 Wash (for such was his name,) rose up, and said: "I 
 understand that this is Cash Clay," motioning his hand 
 toward me, without looking at me. "You all know who 
 I am. The boys who went to Mexico all say that Clay 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 183 
 
 -was their friend in and out of prison, standing by the 
 soldiers, and dividing everything with them. I had no 
 hand in the public meeting held here. But this I do say, 
 that the man who fights for the country has a right to 
 speak about the country. As I said, you all know who I 
 am. I have lived here on Salt River all my life. I have 
 forty children and grand-children, and they are all here. 
 The 'Salt River Tigers' were out in Mexico; and they 
 are here, too. Now, we will stand by Clay, or die!" 
 and down he sat. 
 
 A great load was lifted from my shoulders. That spirit 
 of love of country and fair play, which I had hoped to 
 propitiate by going to Mexico, was now realized. I spoke 
 boldly for two hours, and there was not an angry inter- 
 ruption; but, on the contrary, frequent and hearty appre- 
 ciation, which could not be entirely suppressed. So ended 
 the first anti-slavery speech. 
 
 When I was invited to speak in the Lawrenceburg 
 County Convention, in 1876, in favor of Tilden, the pro- 
 gramme was broken twice — first at the fair grounds, and 
 at night in the town — by enthusiastic calls for myself; 
 for the speech of 1849 was remembered by many in 
 1876, and several of the Wash family were present, who 
 had been at the first public assembly of the people on 
 my first visit. The company of "Salt River Tigers" is 
 kept up to this day; and they, too, were there. 
 
 In a day or so, on the same visit, I spoke at Taylors- 
 ville, in Spencer County. This would fix my speech at 
 Lawrenceburg on about the 14th of April, 1849.* 
 
 * From a Spencer County Journal. 
 
 Mr. Middleton. — I presume the Secretary of the meeting has 
 transmitted to you the proceedings of the friends of Emancipation 
 in Taylorsville, on Saturday, the 14th. You may be pleased, how. 
 ever, to hear, more in detail, the effects of the address of Captain 
 C. M. Clay. 
 
 The opinion, made up from the various reports, verbal and writ- 
 ten, is generally entertained that Captain Clay is an Abolitionist in 
 
184 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 The efforts of the slave-power to change the Constitu- 
 tion, which began in 1835, had now matured into a call 
 of a Convention to take place in i849-'50. By this time, 
 finding that my political career had ended in Fayette, I 
 removed back to my native home in Madison, where, also, 
 on my return from Mexico, I had been received with great 
 enthusiasm. Having broken the ice at Lawrenceburg, this 
 Convention afforded a good field for political discussion. 
 The only avowed candidate on the Liberal side was Thom- 
 son Burnam, the father of Curtis Field Burnam, Assistant 
 Secretary of the Treasury under Grant. 
 
 As two delegates to the Convention were allowed to 
 our county, Squire Turner, a lawyer of prominence at the 
 Richmond bar, and Wm. Chenault were ultimately nomi- 
 nated. I had two objects in view; first, to propagate my 
 opinions, and then, if the popular voice warranted, to be- 
 come a candidate for the Convention myself. Whenever 
 Turner spoke in public, I replied to him. The large mass 
 of the voters here, as elsewhere in the State, were non- 
 slaveholders, and it was to them that I most appealed. 
 
 the most offensive sense ; and the citizens of Spencer sympathized 
 with it. The fact that the friends of Emancipation had invited him 
 to deliver a pubhc address on Slavery, naturally produced a feeling 
 of surprise; and every one went prepared to hear nothing but 
 bitter denunciation, and wild, ranting fanaticism ! But they were 
 disappointed! He defined his position, and that of the Emancipa- 
 tion Party in Kentucky; and then proceeded to support that posi- 
 tion in a speech of singular force and ability. For two hours the 
 audience listened with profound attention to his earnest appeals, 
 occasionally giving evidence of their gratification in murmurs of 
 applause ; and, at the close, a perfect round ; and then dispersed, 
 satisfied that he was not an incendiary! 
 
 Great good was done by that speech; and the gallant Captain 
 left Taylorsville with the good wishes of many who looked coldly 
 upon him as he entered it. The friends of reform judged well 
 when they selected him to plead their cause ; and we doubt not 
 he will find ample work during the present canvass. c****. 
 
 Taylorsville, April 16, 1849. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 1 85 
 
 Turner and I had never been friends. Now, it was plain 
 to all that I was beating him in debate ; and that my fol- 
 lowers were increasing. The slave-power became alarmed, 
 and rallied to Turner's support, Angry feelings began to 
 arise, and the debate to grow more personal. This was 
 Turner's policy, as mine was peace. At Tate's Creek, 
 among his relations, he grew quite offensive in his re- 
 marks, and I replied in an equal tone of defiance. The 
 next meeting was at Foxtown, my immediate neighbor- 
 hood. That lulled my suspicions, and I expected no as- 
 sault there, at least. So, though I always went armed, 
 and had pistols in my hand-sack, I had only a Bowie- 
 knife when I spoke. Turner opened the debate, as usual ; 
 but became extremely violent. With great animation, he 
 depicted the evils of agitation of the slavery-question, and 
 was more personal than usual. In response, I was equally 
 in earnest ; and, when interrupted by a young lawyer, 
 named Runion, I denounced him as "Turner's tool," and 
 defied him. As soon as I stepped down from the table 
 on which I stood, Cyrus Turner, the lawyer's son, came 
 up to me, gave me the lie, and struck me. I had already 
 been told, calmly, by one of my neighbors, who was now 
 among the conspirators, that if I did not quit the discus- 
 sion of the subject I would be killed. So knowing, as in 
 Brown's case, what this meant, I at once drew my knife. 
 I was immediately surrounded by about twenty of the con- 
 spirators, my arms seized, and my knife wrested from me. 
 Thinking it might be a friendly intervention to prevent 
 blood-shed, I made but little resistance. But I found that 
 the loss of my knife but subjected me to renewed attack. 
 I was struck with sticks, and finally stabbed in the right 
 side, just above the lower rib — the knife entering my 
 lungs, and cutting apart my breast-bone, which has not 
 united to this day. Seeing I was to be murdered, I 
 seized my Bowie-knife; and, catching it by the handle 
 and the blade, cutting two of my fingers to the bone, I 
 wrested it from my opponent, and held it firmly for use. 
 
1 86 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 The blood now gushed violently from my side; and I 
 felt the utmost indignation. I flourished my knife, clear- 
 ing the crowd nearest me; and looked out for Turner, 
 determining to kill him. The way was opened, and I 
 advanced upon him, and thrust the knife into his abdo- 
 men, which meant death. At this time my eldest son, 
 Warfield, being about fourteen years old, had procured a 
 pistol, and handed it to me. It was too late. I was 
 feeble from the loss of blood ; and, crying out that " 1 
 died in the defense of the liberties of the people," I was 
 borne to my bed in the hotel by my friends. Turner was 
 also taken into another room. 
 
 It turned out that the conspirators numbered over 
 twenty ; and the idea that I was killed, and too many 
 around me, saved me. But two persons besides my son 
 interfered. William and Wyatt Wilkerson rendered me 
 great service. William prevented Thomas Turner from 
 shooting me in the back of the head with a pistol, which 
 he snapped ; and Wyatt -Wilkerson threw him under the 
 table, where preparations had been made for dinner. 
 Wyatt was wounded with a knife in the arm. I had 
 many friends present; but, as is usual, they were para- 
 lyzed by the sudden and unexpected attack. Every body 
 thought I would die, but myself. I allowed no probing of 
 the wound ; and ordered nothing to be given me, relying 
 on my vigor of constitution, and somewhat upon my destiny. 
 
 I had never had any intercourse with young Turner. 
 He had married the daughter of a gentleman whom I 
 much respected, and who had been one of the associates 
 of my earlier years. He had evidently acted in obedience 
 to others, and had been put forward by more cowardly 
 men. So I sent him word that, as it seemed that we 
 were rather driven by events than any personal feeling, I 
 regretted the necessity of having given him such a wound 
 (which I knew to be fatal), and proposed a reconciliation. 
 This he accepted, and returned me a friendly answer of 
 forgiveness. He died, and I lived. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY, 1 87 
 
 I lay a long time, unable to turn over in my bed ; and 
 to this day I feel the effects, at times, of these wounds 
 of the knife and the stick upon the spine and pelvis. In 
 the meantime, exaggerated and false statements of the 
 rencounter having been published, I took occasion to pub- 
 lish, by dictation, a refutation of the many falsehoods. 
 Dr. G. Bailey, who had severely criticised my work of 
 1848, and who was now publishing the National Era at 
 Washington City, attacked me — I suppose because I was 
 not killed! — at least, he denounced my use of arms, be- 
 cause I said that I had more efficient weapons in my sack 
 at the hotel, and wore only my knife. 
 
 And thus through life I have been between two fires — 
 the Slave-power on one side, and the Abolition cranks on 
 the other. One of these fellows, of New England, re- 
 gretted that I had not been killed! And such men as 
 Bailey seemed to hate me, either because I was a South- 
 erner; or because I threw contempt upon a large class of 
 his school, who added cowardice to their false theory of 
 anti-slavery action. 
 
 Before I arose again from my bed, the election had 
 closed, and Turner and William Chenault were sent to 
 the Convention. Here was made that infamous (1850) 
 Constitution which to this day defies the National organic 
 law — holding that the right of the slave-holder to his 
 "slave and the increase" is "higher" than any other 
 human or divine law ! 
 
 As I had denounced the overthrow of all efforts to 
 save the common-school fund to the education of the non- 
 slaveholding whites, they, as a tub to the whale, made 
 this fund thereafter inviolable ; and, by a ruinous and fatal 
 policy, made, for the same reason, the judiciary elec- 
 tive — all this to reconcile the poor whites to slavery, 
 which they hoped to make perpetual by an unchangeable 
 Constitution, which can never be reached but by an ap- 
 peal to the original and indefeasible power of the people 
 to make and unmake their organic law. It is now his- 
 
1 88 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 tory that the Constitutions of the States and Federal 
 Government are no higher than public opinion; and here, 
 as in Great Britain, the Public Will is the Constitution. 
 
 Now, should the Slave Party get into the National 
 Government, and, through political action, or judicial de- 
 cision, make the late amendments null and void, the 
 slaves in Kentucky, now free, could be claimed and held by 
 their former masters; and the Kentucky Constitution would 
 sustain them. * Hence, when I attempted, after General 
 Hancock's defeat, in 1880, to urge a change of the Con- 
 stitution of the State, the Louisville Courier-Journal re- 
 fused me, in the most decided manner, the use of its 
 columns for discussion ; and yet we read, all through the 
 Democratic press, denunciations of the Czar because of 
 the suppression of the liberty of utterance! 
 
 It was in this year I addressed the following five let- 
 ters to Hon. Daniel Webster, and which were originally 
 published in the National Era, at Washington City: 
 
 Madison Co., Ky., March 20, 1850. 
 Hon. Daniel Webster — 
 
 Dear Sir : — I have just read your late speech in the Senate 
 upon the slavery question. 
 
 I trust that, in making some comments upon it, I will not be 
 considered wanting in respect to yourself. Humble as I am, I am 
 too proud to flatter; yet, what I have said, I say again, that I 
 have always regarded you as the largest intellect in the nation. 
 Whatever you may say, therefore, is at once a matter of impor- 
 tance to all the thinking men of the Republic. But, with freemen, 
 no man's opinion is authority. And the humblest citizen may, 
 without the imputation of presumption, venture to differ even from 
 Daniel Webster. But, such i now is not my province. I come to 
 shelter myself under the prestige of your great name; hoping 
 thereby to win attention to truths which only want a hearing for 
 their ultimate recognition. 
 
 Although this speech is able, broad, and well balanced, it is 
 not one which will be proudly referred to, even by your admirers. 
 Mere intellect can not of itself constitute greatness — such great- 
 
 *This was written before the last Presidential election. — C. 1885. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 189 
 
 ness, at all events, as men love to cherish. Whatever utterance 
 fails to strengthen good purposes, and to widen the channels of 
 human sympathy, and to increase the prospects of the ameliora- 
 tion of the ills of humanity, were well not to be uttered at all. 
 
 Others, like you, cherish the Union of these States. A Con- 
 stitutional Government which protects us from foreign subjection, 
 and gives us a large share of security to life, liberty, and property 
 at home, is a great thing. Any man, who should mount one 
 principle as "a war horse to ride" it down, would be as mad as 
 he who would extinguish the sun, as you say, because of its spots. 
 Though African slavery be a great evil and wrong, it is not the 
 greatest evil, or the greatest wrong, possible. For my part, re- 
 garding slavery, as it exists in America, as the most atrocious of 
 all despotisms, I yet prefer it — greatly prefer it — to anarchy. 
 Any Government on earth is better than none. 
 
 But are .we reduced to this miserable alternative? I trust we 
 are not. As little manliness and reason as there is left among 
 us, I believe there is enough to save us from such a humiliating 
 confession. 
 
 I was asked, in Cincinnati, last winter, "Would there be a 
 dissolution of the Union?" I said no; the North would recede 
 from her position ; the South would get all she asked. That the 
 cry of dissolution would be used to carry a point, as boys muddy 
 the water to catch lobsters? I claim no great credit for sagacity; 
 I had seen the thing before! 
 
 The position of affairs compel us, then, to look at the Union 
 as it is, and at its possible dissolution. 
 
 As much as the Union is to be loved, it is not to be loved 
 more than a national conscience. If the idea, all along held, that 
 slavery, by the terms of the Constitution, was to be allowed time 
 "to die out" with decency, be ill founded, and the Constitution 
 is to be so "compromised" that slave and free States shall re- 
 ceive equal encouragement and protection, and slavery and freedom 
 be equally extended forever, I prefer dissolution to that! 
 
 If the Constitution is to be made vital, in the free States, to 
 the returning a slave into bondage, but not potent to protect a 
 freeman from slavery in the South, I prefer dissolution to that! 
 I say nothing of Lynch law and proscription upon natives of the 
 South, for exercising the liberty of speech, that would not be 
 remedied by dissolution. 
 
 If the moral influence of our declaration of rights, our example 
 
igO MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 as a Republic, our personification of liberal opinions, is to be lost 
 to our own self-elation, and to the "glory of mankind," and our 
 domestic and foreign policy is to be made subservient to slave- 
 holding will and to slave-holding sentiments, I prefer dissolution to 
 that! If the national spirit of the "compromise" must forswear 
 justice and humanity forever, and bow down to an altar consecrated 
 to crime, where up-headed manliness can never venture with honor 
 to itself, or respect to others, then give me dissolution! Give me 
 justice — give me the true principles of liberty — give me manli- 
 ness — give me trust in humanity — give me faith in God, — and I 
 will risk the reconstruction of society, and the reorganization of 
 nations, — knowing well that something better may happen, but that 
 nothing worse can come than such a union — a body without a soul, 
 that stinks in the nostrils of sentiment, of reason, and of religion ! 
 
 Whilst, then, I commend your submission to law; your deter- 
 mination to pass laws, in good faith, for the return of fugitives from 
 service ; and your determination to stand by the pledged faith of the 
 Government in regard to the admission of four more slave States 
 from Texas, if she will it ; your fixed purpose, in or out of the pub- 
 lic councils, to stand upon "the penalties of the bond," — I can not 
 but regret that you did not feel it your duty, as a Northern Senator, 
 as Daniel Webster, as a man, to say a word in favor of freedom, 
 which would encourage its friends, and carry terror into the hearts 
 of its enemies. 
 
 Twenty millions of men, spread from sea to sea! — if there be 
 not a man of great soul among them, is more a cause for tears 
 and contrition than of triumph and laudatory poetry! 
 
 It is a subject of regret, that you did not equally as decisively 
 lay down the platform of defense, where liberty is to entrench her- 
 self against the assaults of those who, you confess, have moved 
 from the ground occupied at the formation of the Constitution, and 
 now threaten to enter, with bloody feet, upon consecrated ground, 
 or to destroy the temple of our common worship; that you have 
 not said for your "section" what Mr. Calhoun has said for his; 
 that, at all hazards. Northern freemen shall remain so, even to the 
 throwing down of the stone walls of Charleston, or New Orleans; 
 that free territory, by Mexican law, by American law, and by 
 "nature's law," shall remain free, though Southern madmen rage 
 in wordy war in Congress, or Quattlebums march to drum and fife 
 in the field ; that right wrongs no man, and that manliness and fair 
 dealing compel you to say what you intend to do, that the North 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 191 
 
 and South may learn that you do homage, if not to a "Wilmot's," 
 at least to "Nature's" proviso. 
 
 In my humble judgment, these issues have to be met at last; 
 the sooner the better for us, and for all mankind. 
 
 This is no time for "courtly complaisance." It is not necessary 
 to go to Europe to see a war of extermination and despair; here 
 and now are blood and crime, and a death struggle. Liberty and,^ 
 Slavery can not co-exist ! One or the other must triumph utterly. 
 
 "Where are you to go?" You will be allowed to take "no 
 fragment upon which to float away from the wreck." The good 
 ■old ship, "Constitutional Liberty," must be kept afloat (to continue 
 your metaphor,) by strong arms and gallant hearts, or else the 
 piratical hulk, "Slavery," will send you and us where tyrants in all 
 ages have sent and will send all who submit not unqualifiedly to 
 themselves — to the bottom! 
 
 Respectfully, I am your obedient servant, 
 
 . C. M. Clay. 
 
 Madison Co., Ky., March 23, 1850. 
 Hon. Daniel Webster — 
 
 Dear Sir: — The opening of your speech, in an artistic point 
 ■of view, is admirable; but, as I do not propose to consider it as a 
 rhetorical effort, but to confine myself to sentiments and principles, I 
 must deny myself the pleasure of dwelling upon the force, trans- 
 parency, brevity, unfrequent but startling imagery, unity, logic 
 powerful in "exhausting" statement of premises, sarcasm more 
 <:utting from its partial magnanimity, and other marked peculiarities 
 which characterize your utterance. 
 
 "Wise, moderate, patriotic, and healing doctrine" become not 
 ■only Senators, but all men. "Wise, patriotic, and healing" are 
 very good words, at all times, especially in troublous times. But 
 "moderate" I have very little respect for. What little considera- 
 tion it once had among men has been lost by its unfortunate asso- 
 •ciations. It has not kept good company for many long years, to 
 my certain knowledge. It has so long followed upon tame-spirited 
 men, that it is now regarded as almost a coward; and has been 
 courted so much by time-serving divines, and office-seeking poli- 
 ticians, who are too yielding by half to what may be the popular 
 will, that its motives are more than half suspected! For my part, 
 I avow I hate the word for its own sake. Like many a "good 
 fellow," it is liberal out of other people's pockets — forgetting to be 
 
192 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 just before being generous. The Southern man who reaps all the 
 benefits of slavery can afford to be "moderate." The Northern man 
 who deems himself a millionaire only in consequence of slave-grown 
 and slave-growing cotton can afford to be "moderate." The divine 
 whose cushioned pews are filled only with slave-holders can afford 
 to be "moderate." The politician who knows the power of wealthy 
 crime every- where is exceedingly "moderate" at all times; but upon 
 this subject of slavery the word does not convey the idea. I do not 
 desire to be offensive; I forbear a substitute. But what are the 
 three millions of "peeled Africans" to think of the complacent 
 "moderation" of these magnanimous "compromisers" of principle! 
 What are we, the five millions of non-slaveholders of the South, to 
 think of these "moderate" gentlemen whose "courtly complai- 
 sance" subjects us to an almost equal servitude! 
 
 I beg of you, then, to spare your admirers the pain of this sus- 
 picious companion ; leave it, I pray you, to the dodgers of great, 
 but inconvenient, questions, whom God in his equal beneficence 
 has given to the poor and obscure, to reconcile them to their ap- 
 parently hard lot, by showing what exquisite meanness of character 
 is 'sometimes found in the high places of earth! 
 
 To the graphic and brief, though comprehensive, summary of 
 the causes which have precipitated the country into the present 
 great struggle, I do not particularly object. Still, I think that 
 you overrate your powers, as great as they are, if you suppose 
 that you, with the aid your eloquence can bring to your stand- 
 ard, can restore the country to "quiet and harmony;" which God 
 has made the ministering angels that wait upon the good only, 
 and which the determined perpetrators of wrong can never know! 
 
 I venture to assert, also, that you have not looked steadily 
 into "the profoundest depths" which the storm discloses. Yes, 
 I deny that there is, has been, or ever can be, any genuine 
 "peace," until one of the great contending powers is reduced to 
 unconditional submission, or death! The war began with the Con- 
 stitution; or, rather, the war began before the Constitution — which 
 is, at best, as interpreted now, but a truce, not a treaty, of peace. 
 
 Were it not too serious a subject for diversion, I would draw 
 you a picture, whose absurdity would make me a madman, were 
 not facts to come to my help, and place the cap and bells upon 
 more illustrious heads. 
 
 I imagine you and Mr. Calhoun amid "the storm;" and you 
 have both laid hands upon that "fragment of a wreck" which is 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 1 93 
 
 only large enough to save one from death. You are both ex- 
 hausted by a struggle with the raging elements; and, by lying 
 quietly, your noses are kept above water. Mutual safety dictates 
 a truce. As your strength revives, you see that one or the other 
 must at last master the plank. Mr. Calhoun quietly takes out his 
 knife and cuts off one of your fingers. You affect not to be ag- 
 grieved, but in turn cut off one of his toes! "Allow me, my dear 
 sir, to take off your ear," says Mr. Calhoun; and he suits the 
 action to the word! "With your permission, brother," you re- 
 spond, "I will cut off your nose!" Then comes an arm — then a 
 leg — and, at last, the death struggle! 
 
 Such is the game of slavery and freedom. One or the other 
 must die! 
 
 Give me Alabama, says the South. Strengthen me witK'7 
 Maine, says the North. Give me Florida, give me Louisiana, give\ 
 me Texas, says Slavery. Give me Ohio, and Michigan, and Ore-^' 
 gon, says Freedom. 
 
 So far, they are only taking breath, and preparing the knife. 
 ' ' Now, give me leave to cut off a part of California — a mere 
 finger. Let me sever from your body New Mexico; it is but an 
 arm ! " 
 
 Yes, sir, the parties have taken breath; have long since begun 
 to cut! The North was cut, when she assented to a limited term 
 of the slave-trade! She was cut, when she set five slaves in 
 equality of representation with three Northern freemen! She was 
 cut, when she agreed to play Cuban bloodhound and slave-catcher 
 for the South! She was cut, when the first new slave State was 
 admitted into the Union! She was cut, yet deeper, when, by a 
 mere resolution of Congress, in violation of the treaty-making 
 power, "new" slave States of Texas birth were agreed to be ad- 
 mitted into the union! She was cut, when her sons, for nearly 
 half a century, bowed down into the very dust to pick up the 
 scattered crumbs which fell from the table of a slave-holding Gov- 
 ernment! She was cut, when the mail was prostituted to slave- 
 holding surveillance! She was cut, when by the "Southern com- 
 mon law" her sons were hung for exercising the liberty of speech! 
 She was cut, when her white citizens were imprisoned for address- 
 ing, through the press, the whites of the South! She was cut, 
 when she was plunged into the slave-hunt of Florida! She was 
 cut, when began the Executive war of Texas, for the acquisition 
 of slave territory! She was cut, yes, cut to the vitals, when the 
 
 Vol. L — 13 
 
194 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 ambassadors of Massachusetts were driven, with ruffian force, from 
 the vindication of her rights in the "glorious Union" by your 
 "Southern brethren!" Cut, sir, disgracefully cut! whilst a free 
 citizen of the North lies for a moment of time in a prison of 
 Charleston, or New Orleans, without crime, or without redress! 
 
 And at last, sir, when the arrogant and infamous demand is 
 made, to cut you off from California (concerning which you will 
 have something to say hereafter, when everybody else has done 
 with saying), you are flatly told that the truce is annulled — the 
 "Union" dissolved — unless you submit duly to that cutting? — no! 
 but to some indefinite cutting, which shall reduce your strength — 
 which, in spite of all Southern trimming of limbs, is likely to prove 
 an over-match for the "peculiar institution." 
 
 I think, sir, your "moderation" is above all admiration! I 
 could have pardoned something like a wry face — a suppressed 
 twitch of the muscles — an ill-concealed groan! Yes, sir, even a 
 lion might have been moved to "roar you as gently," at least, 
 "as any sucking dove;" or a god to have hurled once more his 
 stolen ' ' thunder ' ' recovered ! 
 
 Your historical review is rather singular. I have given you 
 credit for unity, in your orations; now, you have either violated 
 your usual artistic skill, or else you stand as the apologist of 
 slavery. It is true that the argument, that a thing has always 
 existed, and therefore is right, seems exceedingly silly to any but 
 slave-holders. But just as much reason exists to justify murder; 
 murder has always been committed, and, therefore, murder is right. 
 Such is the argument; and, absurd as it is, it is often used by 
 slave-holders; and is the best they have. It is to be regretted 
 that you so stated the question, that you either mean the same 
 thing, or mean nothing! 
 
 Besides, it would have been easy for you to have shown that 
 slavery has, from time immemorial, been undergoing a process of 
 amelioration and final decay — a doctrine not held speculatively, but 
 based upon authentic history. 
 
 I, like you, have read the proceedings of the Methodist Church ; 
 but I rejoice at its division. I rejoice that there has been found 
 true religion enough to break through sectarian drill. I rejoice that 
 the Christian Religion has been lustrated, even by a portion of its 
 followers, from criminal subservience to a relic of barbarism, which 
 the wild Indian had not conceived, and Mahometans have abolished, 
 for "the honor of the Prophet, and the glory of mankind." I re- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 195 
 
 joice at it, as a shadow of future events, which indicate that there 
 is a better time near at hand in Church and State. I rejoice that it 
 will wisely be taken as a sign that the time for "compromise" is 
 past forever! Very truly, your obedient servant, 
 
 C. M. Clay: 
 
 Madison Co., Ky., March 25, 1850. 
 Hon. Daniel Webster — ^ 
 
 Dear Sir: — Your reflections upon fanatics are ingenious, and, 
 in the main, just. Fanatics, upon a small scale, are especially an- 
 noying. They interrupt the current of human opinions, without 
 turning the channel, or enlarging its bounds. But the evolution of 
 a "single idea," when it lies at the foundations of society and gov- 
 ernment, is one of the boldest, most useful, and glorious of human 
 achievements. The great battles of human freedom and true morals 
 have been won by just such men as you describe. I need hardly 
 mention examples. Take the human life of Christ himself. He 
 was a fanatic to the Jews and Gentiles. To the Jews "a stumbling 
 block," to the Greeks "foolishness," and to the Romans an inno- 
 vator — "turning things upside down." After all, the new ideas 
 which He introduced into the world were few, but of immense im- 
 portance — underlying the whole fabric of human society and gov- 
 ernment. By a subtle analysis of the human heart. He enunciated 
 a rule of conduct which is applicable to all possible emergencies of 
 moral action: "Do unto others as you would others should do unto 
 you." The other idea was the rejection of all physical peace- 
 offerings to God. The doctrine of material sacrifice was world- 
 wide, and pervaded all classes of society — more fixed and univer- 
 sal in human opinion, perhaps, than any other idea. This He re- 
 jected, and restored nature to herself Teaching that the true 
 worship of God was the perfecting of His greatest work — man. 
 Enlighten the intellect; purify the soul; and beautify the body — 
 these are the three bases of all true worship of God. And, if so, 
 our fanatical friends, the Northern Abolitionists, are not so narrow 
 in their ideas as one may suppose. Slavery is in direct antagonism 
 to the only elements of human civilization and progress. Are not, 
 then, the great mass of cavillers at the " one-ideaists " themselves 
 to be pitied, who can not see their great truth! I imagine to 
 myself John C. Calhoun listening to your strictures upon fanatics. 
 Now one, and then another, of these "odious agitators" pass in the 
 memory's review: first Hale and Giddings; and then, as you dilate 
 
196 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 upon the subject, William L. Garrison, the arch-fanatic, appears. 
 He enjoys the sport; you mend your pace; he is in ecstacies; the 
 "fun grows fast and furious," till, like Tarn O'Shanter, he can con- 
 tain himself no longer — "Well done," he cries! ''Quid rides? 
 de te fabula narraturl" Daniel Webster denounces fanatics! — the 
 greatest of fanatics applauds! 
 
 "Impatient men" there are, no doubt, too. Some of them 
 have been waiting for sixty years, and more, for slavery to "die 
 out;" and yet it seems as unwilling to give up the ghost as it did 
 in 1787! How much longer must we patiently wait? How long 
 do you think the slave-holders would have us wait? They are pro- 
 verbially liberal, sir; leave it to them, and we should be as well off 
 as Sheridan's creditors! — "the day after judgment" would be soon 
 enough! I do not see the appositeness of your parallel between 
 the rise of Christianity and the fall of Slavery. Moral truth is one 
 thing, and political action is another. We can not compel belief, 
 but we can action. In Niblo's garden, in 1837, your perceptions 
 seemed to be somewhat clearer. You would hardly have regarded 
 it as a good reason for setting up slavery in Texas, where Mexico 
 had abolished it, that the Christian religion had been a long time 
 in existence, and had not yet subjected all the world! 
 
 "Impatience," if the South was in good faith making efforts 
 and sacrifices to extinguish slavery, would be worthy of denuncia- 
 tion. But, when they are doing the very opposite, such ill-timed 
 sympathy will hardly be set down, by impartial men, as the fruit 
 of an enlarged charity! And moral insensibility is worse than 
 fanaticism ! It may be true that society, left to itself, in all cases, 
 may right itself at last. Soil, by bad culture, may in a single year 
 waste the accumulations of centuries ! True, centuries will restore 
 it; but is it the part of wisdom to take the remedy instead of the 
 prevention? So, sir, it is with regard to government and morals. 
 Your idea, that moral truth is not capable of demonstration as is 
 mathematics, is now admitted by the best thinkers to be founded 
 in error. The method is different, but the result — certainty — is 
 equally attainable, though the process be more difficult and the 
 data more complicated. But what if true? The standard of every 
 man's action must be at last what he believes right. You seem, 
 however, to follow a learned magistrate, such as the great West 
 sometimes boasts: "He was satisfied, from all the evidence, that 
 the complainant ought to gain his suit; but, out of abundance of 
 caution, he would decide for the defendant!" Your charity to- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARGELLUS CLAY. 1 97 
 
 ward Southern Christianity is in part well based. There are many, 
 very many, conscientious slave-holders; but they are the "weaker 
 brethren." The leading minds among them are as finished Jesuits 
 and swindling hypocrites as ever wore a black gown! The regular 
 slave-traders are infinitely better men! 
 
 The opinions of the fathers of the Government were as you say. 
 It was expected that slavery would "run out." 
 
 Sherman and Madison and others were not willing to allow that 
 man could have property in man. Those who had just made 
 solemn avowals to the world of the right of all men to life, lib- 
 erty, and the pursuit of happiness, were ashamed to put the word 
 slavery in the Constitution. Washington and others looked forward 
 to an early extinction of slavery as a fixed fact. All, all united in 
 denouncing it as an evil. Some, as a curse, a wrong, and a sin. 
 
 Will any man deny, from all the evidence in the premises, that 
 it was a part of "the compromise" that slavery was allowed time 
 merely to die with decency! The Ordinance of 1787, prohibiting 
 slavery north of the Ohio, was coeval with the Constitution. The 
 time of slave-importation was limited; and the institution itself was 
 denounced. 
 
 Now, sir, when so much is said about "good faith" and "com- 
 promise," might not one who comprehended the "great mission" 
 of our nation (such is the cant phrase!) have said to the slave pro- 
 pagandists, you are at war with nature — at war with the advance 
 of Christianity ; at war with the progress of civilization ; at war with 
 our avowed sentiments and the organic law of our Government; at 
 war with the spirit of the national "co-partnership;" at war with 
 "the compromises of the Constitution;" at war with every pure 
 conscience — and ought to be and will be, "resisted at all hazard'- 
 and to the last extremity!" 
 
 Pardon me, I think such a declaration was to have been ex- 
 pected fronfi you. Allow me to say, it would have done more even 
 to "preserve the Union" than all your "moderation" and all your 
 "charity." I refer you to Governor Hammond as my authority for 
 saying that "moderation," "charity," and "moral suasion," are, 
 with slave-holders, synonymous with cowardice, impertinence, and 
 "nonsense! " 
 
 The main cause of the abandonment by the South of the faith 
 of our fathers is, as you state it, the increase of the cotton crop. 
 But this cause has passed north of Mason and Dixon's line, and 
 produced a change of tone in both free and slave States. 
 
198 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 The cause is one thing; the justification is another. Your de- 
 fense of the South is characteristic of the legal profession. What 
 are truth and right in the face of one hundred millions of dollars? 
 
 That which was a curse, a wrong, and a sin, in 1787, by one 
 hundred millions of dollars, in 1850, is converted into a blessing, 
 a right, and a religious charity. 
 
 As much as I abhor slavery, I abhor the defense more. One 
 strikes down the liberty of the African ; the other, mine. One 
 enslaves a people; the other, the human race. The one avowedly 
 prostrates only political rights; the other saps the foundations of 
 morals and civil safety, also. This "political necessity" is the 
 father of murder, of robbery, and all religious and governmental 
 tyranny. This is the damnable doctrine upon which was built the 
 inquisition, the star-chamber, and the guillotine. 
 
 No, sir; that which is a fault in individuals, is a crime in gov- 
 ernments. We can guard against the danger of a single assassin, 
 but a government is irresistible and immortal in its criminal in- 
 flictions. 
 
 The doctrine that individual honesty is compatible with political 
 profligacy, or that individual and governmental responsibility are dis- 
 tinct, is one of the boldest sophisms that was ever allowed to linger 
 among the shallow falsehoods of the past. 
 
 Retribution follows swift in the footsteps of crime, whether per- 
 petrated by one or a thousand. "Though hand join to hand," the 
 wicked shall not stand. The poisoned chalice of slave-holding pro- 
 pagandism is already commended to their own lips. Their spirit of 
 aggression has awakened a like spirit of resistance. They would 
 have Texas ; we will have California ! Yes, sir ; though cotton and 
 cotton mills perish forever! The unconstitutional precedent of a 
 simple majority of both Houses taking in slave States, will in turn 
 crush the political power of the South to atoms. Then how long 
 will her God-defying tyranny stand before the hot indignation of a 
 world in arms? Respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 C. M. Clay. 
 
 Madison Co., Ky., March 26, 1850. 
 Hon. Daniel Webster — 
 
 Dear Sir : — If it were my purpose, as it is not, to make out a 
 case of inconsistency against you, I could show that you once held 
 a different idea in regard to the validity of the Texas annexation. 
 
 Two foreign States can not become one, except by treaty; and 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 1 99 
 
 the treaty-making power belongs to the President and a two-thirds 
 plurality of the Senate. This power was usurped by a simple ma- 
 jority of both Houses of Congress, and Texas annexed. If the 
 Texas resolutions had been clearly legal, I still deny the power of 
 one Congress to absorb to itself a power which the Constitution has 
 made the right of all Congresses alike. And if the difficulty of 
 remedying an evil which effects such large masses of people forbids 
 us to expel Texas from the fraternity of States, neither sense, good 
 faith, or good morals, compel us to complete an unconstitutional 
 and criminal agreement. Such is the doctrine of law and of morals. 
 Whilst I, then, am as fully impressed with the necessity, in govern- 
 mental affairs, to submit to precedent, and with a conservative spirit 
 to acquiesce in the national determination, I think in excess of 
 "moderation," or in too hot haste to take a tilt at the Northern 
 Democracy, you overrun the writings of "the bond." 
 
 But granting, for argument's sake, that the resolutions of 1845 
 are, first, constitutional in their inception, and next, binding abso- 
 lutely upon succeeding Congresses, I take issue with you in their 
 construction. 
 
 The resolutions are, in part: "New States of convenient size, 
 not exceeding four in number, in addition to the said State of 
 Texas, and having sufficient population, may hereafter, by the con- 
 sent of said State, be formed out of the territory thereof, which 
 shall be entitled to admission under the provisions of the Federal 
 Constitution. And such States as may be formed out of that por- 
 tion of said territory lying south of 36° 30' north latitude, com- 
 monly known as the Missouri Compromise line, shall be admitted 
 into the Union, with or without slavery, as each State asking ad- 
 mission may desire; and in such State or States as shall be formed 
 out of said territory north of said Missouri Compromise line, slavery 
 or involuntary servitude (except for crime,) shall be prohibited." 
 
 Now, in the face of this, you have these extrordinary words: 
 "And the guaranty is, that new States shall be niade out of it; 
 and that such States as are formed out of that portion of Texas 
 lying south of 36° 30' may come in as slave States to the number 
 of /our, in addition to the State then in existence." 
 
 Here, again, you are ahead of "the bond." The most favor- 
 able construction can only give the South tkree slave States; for all 
 north of 36° 30' is prohibited from slave contamination, and, of 
 course, can never be a distinct Slave State. It must, therefore, 
 become a free State of itself, or, joined with a part of the soil 
 
200 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 south of 36° 30', be a free State. Iir either case, three slave States 
 can only remain. Here you have not rightly "expounded." 
 
 Again, what necessity is there to form three slave States south 
 of the line, and only one north of the line, more than there is for 
 the reverse? Qr why not presume that two may be made on each 
 side? Are all inferences, all advantages, to be forever on the side 
 of slavery? Once more you overrun "the bond." 
 
 You are not only wrong once, twice, three times, but radically 
 wrong — wrong in the premises, and in the conclusion — wrong in 
 spirit and in intellect! 
 
 The truth is, there is not a shadow of obligation to admit new 
 States out of Texas at all ! unless one free one north of 36° 30', in 
 order to preserve the spirit of the Compromise ; else, where is the 
 equivalent for the slave State of Texas herself? 
 
 Congress, by the resolutions, only reserves to herself the con- 
 tingent power of breaking down the overgrown bounds of Texas; 
 but imposes no obligation on herself to do so. 
 
 The language is "may." Now "may" is always contingent 
 or conditional. It "may," or it "may" not. If they may not be 
 admitted, why are you so ready to pledge yourself, both now and 
 hereafter, to admit slave States! 
 
 If there was any obligation on Congress to admit new slave 
 States, the language would have been "shall." When they come 
 to define the character of the Stated, if admitted, the conditional 
 "may" is dropped, and the definite "shall" adopted. This all 
 seems too plain for dispute. Precedent in ordinary laws, as well 
 as grammar and logic, sustain me. 
 
 "Congress may admit new States into the Union." Is Con- 
 gress here bound to admit all new States into the Union, which 
 may ask or "consent?" If so, how came you to violate your 
 oath of obedience to the Constitution by voting against Texas? 
 I know not which is the most to be deplored, your cause, or your 
 advocacy ! 
 
 Your denunciation of those Northern Democrats, who betrayed 
 the cause of freedom in the Texas plot, is well deserved. I never 
 had much faith in a death-bed repentance. The hell of conscience, 
 and the damnation of all good men, is theirs forever! But I can 
 not appreciate that judgment which condemns the repentant sin- 
 ner, and yet defends the determined perpetrator of the same 
 crime! For, after all, slavery-extension can not be whitewashed 
 by any amount of self-interest in its Southern supporters! I trust 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 20I 
 
 you are not about to institute a new code of moral law, which, 
 like your theory of slavery, grades iniquity by the rise and fall of 
 the mercury — so that what is villainous in 42° north, is most 
 reasonable, and little less than virtuous, in 32° farther south! 
 
 I can not understand how you venture the assertion that 
 slavery cem not, by the "laws of nature," exist in California and 
 New Mexico! When, in point of fact, slavery, "in the gross," 
 previous to the confirmatory act of 1836, did exist in those very 
 provinces; and "peonism" exists there now! 
 
 Nor can "peonism," or the cheapness of labor there, prevent 
 the existence of slavery. 
 
 African slavery can only be rendered "unprofitable" to the 
 individual slave-holder, where a more intelligent and equally active 
 and muscular race is reduced to the necessity of underworking the 
 slave — that is, by doing more work, or better, for the same wages, 
 food, shelter, and clothing. That stage of depression of labor is 
 many centuries off in California and New Mexico. Now, cheap 
 labor (for it has ceased already in California,) in New Mexico, 
 arises from the case of living in a sunny climate, among an indo- 
 lent and primitive people — the very case most favorable for 
 slavery. Where a harsh climate, or sterile soil, require all the 
 efforts of a man to live in the simplest manner, there slavery can 
 not live. But where a man may support himself with nine hours' 
 labor, and three may go to the profit of the master, there slavery 
 maybe "profitable." A good soil may be in a very cold climate; 
 and there may slavery go. A fair climate may have a very poor 
 soil; and even there, also, m.ay slavery go. But I understand that 
 these provinces have both good soil and climate; then, by all that 
 is sacred in absurdity, why may not slavery go there? Where is 
 your "law of Nature?" 
 
 The South says she only "wants time to get in;" and, what- 
 ever else the South may do, she never stultifies herself! Slavery 
 is her only God — she never affected to know or care anything 
 about the "law of Nature!" 
 
 In arguing the "profitableness" of slavery, simply in a pecuni- 
 ary point of view, I confine myself to the individual masters. The 
 aggregate population is always injured, the total wealth always less, 
 by slavery ! Unlike in the old fable, the belly grows, but the mem- 
 bers perish; when they can no longer "give," the belly also dies! 
 
 Those who wait for slavery "to cure itself" — "to die out in 
 the natural way" — wait for the ruin of the State. Like the silly 
 
202 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 farmer, who trusted to the sheep to kill the briers, they will find 
 at last the briers dead, and the sheep also! 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 C. M. Clay. 
 
 Madison Co., Ky., April 3, 1850. 
 Hon. Daniel Webster — 
 
 Dear Sir: — I think I showed, in my last letter, that slavery' 
 is very slightly, if at all, affected by climate or soil. The history 
 of the world confirms the reasoning. It is enough to say that the 
 worst grade of serfdom now exists in "the everlasting snows" of 
 Siberian Russia. I stated that, so far from nature's law having 
 forbid slavery in Mexico and California, they were, of all the 
 countries in the world, most suited to slavery. The "Asiatic 
 features" of the country, I thought, were the best for slavery, as 
 Asia has ever been fuller of despotism than Europe. Nothing 
 struck me with so much force, in passing through Mexico, as the 
 fact that the physical features of the country warred against a 
 middle class of small landholders, who are the best depositaries 
 of freedom. The very necessity of irrigation requires large capitcil 
 and a single ownership. Hence, the tendency is toward master 
 and slave, or landlord and tenant, almost inevitably — the most 
 unfavorable case for free institutions. But if the tillable land in- 
 vites to slavery, equally so do the barren hills, whose only wealth 
 is mineral mines. Surely, if any business would make slave-labor 
 profitable in the world, mining is that business. And yet, in the 
 face of these facts, you obstinately insist that the law of God for- 
 bids slavery there! Once more, your reasoning is as bad as your 
 facts! You "will not reenact the law of God!" I belong to that 
 fanatical class who believe that the business of law-makers is to 
 reenact the laws of God and Nature, and nothing else. Pray, sir, 
 if that sort of law is not to be reenacted, what sort is? Only 
 those which are at war with God and Nature? If there are any 
 "gentlemen," North or South, whose sensibilities are likely to be 
 wounded by the reenactment of the laws of God or Nature, those 
 I would take care to wound; because they would deserve to be 
 woimded, as all crime deserves punishment! I understand, then, 
 that the substance of all this is, that you refuse to reclaim your 
 stolen "thunder!" You back out from the Wilmot Proviso! You 
 speak of some men who, when they change themselves, contend 
 that the worid around had changed! These are the shallow sub- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 203 
 
 terfuges of weak minds. Not so with the heroic genius! With 
 him, history has changed! its valleys have changed! its hills are 
 not the same! "A plague on all cowards, say I." "Is there no 
 virtue extant?" "I will not give you a reason upon compul- 
 sion" — "1 will not reenact the law of God!" 
 
 You are quite happy in your vindication of the South from 
 Northern aggression. But I look in vain to find a word of com- 
 plaint on the part of the North against the South. At this, I 
 am not surprised. The North has proven herself quite tame in 
 her submission to insults and to blows! I have already attended 
 to this; I shall not go over the same ground. 
 
 I suppose the large class of merchants and manufacturers of 
 Massachusetts, whom you represent, applaud your course. The 
 point of honor with them is, to "put money in their purse!" 
 Nobody expected them to show any spirit of manliness — any re- 
 sistance to wrong — any demand for rights! 
 
 But Massachusetts has not "lost the breed of noble bloods." 
 There is a remnant of the old Puritan stock, who do not worship 
 only the belly! — men who put principle before gold — men who 
 rightly comprehend the rights of man, and have the iron will and 
 the indestructible energy to achieve their final vindication ! 
 
 It had been well if you had passed them in silence. It were 
 well for Daniel Webster, even, that, neither now nor hereafter, the 
 comparison should be drawn between him and them! Such men 
 as Garrison and Mann, and Phillips and Adams, and a host of 
 others, need no apologetic commiseration from any one! History 
 will vindicate them from the censures even of Daniel Webster! 
 Certainly I shall not become their defender. Speculation is one 
 thing — fact another. I have not undertaken to say who has done 
 the good; but I take issue with you about the existence of it. 
 So far from the condition of the slave having been made worse 
 since 1835, the period which Mr. Calhoun lays down as the be- 
 ginning of Abolition agitation, the condition of the slave in the 
 South has steadily improved. They are now better clothed, better 
 fed, better housed, and better treated in all respects. Every 
 traveler confirms this statement of one who lives among slaves. 
 As you pass along the extreme Southern Mississippi, you see 
 long rows of comfortable cottages, which bear unmistakable evi- 
 dence, from their newness, of having been built since the period 
 of "agitation!" You ask, if persons can now talk and write 
 in Virginia, as in 1832, upon the subject of slavery? Yes. Never 
 
204 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 before, in any period of our history, were the press and the 
 stump so free to slave discussion as now. Look, sir, at the Na- 
 tional Era; would it have been tolerated in 1832? No, sir. The 
 southern people are not as base as your argument would make 
 them. They have not passed that last round in the descent to 
 crime and infamy, where insensibility to shame and public denun- 
 ciation stupifies the villain! Their whole effort is, very naturally, 
 to make slavery just as tolerable as slavery can be made, con- 
 sistent with its permanence. But the same causes which tend 
 to its amelioration, will accomplish its abolition at last! If laws 
 can not long be better than public opinion — so they can not 
 long be worse than public opinion. When slavery comes under 
 the ban of a wide-spread public opinion, it will perish, in spite 
 of obsolete laws and paper constitutions! 
 
 Complaisance, charity, compromise, sir, are the supports of 
 slavery! "Easy virtue," in Church and State, consummates the 
 ruin of political morals, debauches the Nation, and makes slavery 
 a very tolerable thing! — a "patriarchal institution!" The praises 
 of the Southern press ought to remind you of a certain wise 
 man of antiquity, "Titinius applauds — I 've said a foolish thing!" 
 There is much to approve in what you say of disunion. 
 
 The liberty of the white race, who are the majority, is not 
 to be jeoparded for any contingent possibility of thereby freeing 
 the black race. Far less is the Union to be dissolved for the 
 purpose of maintaining slavery. Three hundred thousand slave- 
 • holders are not the South ; as they will find out, when they 
 choose to put the fearful issue — "Slavery or Disunion!" W. 
 H. Seward, nearly right in all his speech, is surely right in this, 
 that the slave-holders are the last to seek disunion! It is Bully- 
 ism and Braggartism, and nothing else! They knew the tame- 
 ness of the North, and calculated upon it, and succeeded ! I do 
 not, therefore, feel the eloquence of your speech just here — it 
 seems but "mock-tragedy" at best! 
 
 With sorrow be it said, that even your virtues lean to vice's 
 side! The proposition to appropriate money for the colonization 
 of the free blacks should, when carried into a law, be entitled 
 "a bill for the encouragement of crime!" I am a Colonizationist, 
 because I think a free, educated black colony will, perhaps, civil- 
 ize Africa. But colonization, with a view merely of getting clear 
 of a free colored class, who are "a thorn in the King's side," 
 has none of my sympathy ! 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 205 
 
 If you had said to the South, give us the liberty of all your 
 bondmen, and we will give you all our public revenue beyond 
 the actual necessities of Government, even with colonization, you 
 would have said a great, a good, and a sensible thing. I wish 
 for your own sake, much, and yet more, for the sake of the 
 Union, and of humanity at large, that you had nerved yourself 
 to paint slavery as none but you could have painted it; and then 
 have come forward in good earnest with a proffer of the proceeds 
 of the public lands, and all other available means, to assist in its 
 final eradication! It is a source of regret to all lovers of Amer- 
 ican genius, that you did not prove as gloriously great, as you 
 are unquestionably talented ! That your aspirations were not for 
 a country just, as well as '^wide-spread" and powerful — an altar, 
 where the soul could pour out its love, and prayers, as well as 
 its admiration — ' ' Liberty and Union — one, and inseperable, now, 
 and forever!" 
 
 I have freely spoken, as an advocate of liberty, not as your 
 enemy. I shall not be of those who wish to put you down, or 
 see you put down ! I trust you may long live, and long be in 
 the councils of the Nation — more earnestly and faithfully to use, 
 for the good of the Nation and humanity, those great powers with 
 which Nature has so signally marked you. 
 
 Believe me, truly and respectfully, your most obedient servant, 
 
 C. M. Clay. 
 
 fc-i-v''-'' 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 "Liberty of Speech" vindicated. — I separate from the Whigs. — Anti- 
 Slavery Women: Harriet Beecher Stowe; Evelyn Woodson; Lucretia 
 
 MOTT. — ^ThE prejudice OF COLOR. — LETTER FROM THE LADIES OF THE ASH- 
 TABULA County (Ohio) Anti-Slavery Society. — Overthrow of the Whig 
 Party. — Canvass for Governor of Kentucky in 1851. — Berea College. — 
 John J. Crittenden. — John C. Breckinridge and Robert P. Letcher. — 
 I save the Life of William Willis. — W. C. P. Breckinridge. 
 
 SO far the slave-power was triumphant. They had ad- 
 mitted Texas, contrary to the Constitution, and car- 
 ried on a successful war for slave territory. In Kentucky 
 they had made the slave clause perpetual. 
 
 On my return from Mexico, I sued James B. Clay, 
 son of Henry Clay, as the Secretary and most noted of 
 the Committee of Sixty, who removed my press to Cin- 
 cinnati, and, in a Jessamine County Court, got $2,500 
 damages against him. So the freedom of the press was 
 vindicated. 
 
 And now, although I had been struck down by vio- 
 lence, and the liberty of speech was temporarily ever- 
 thrown, so soon as I arose again from my bed, and was 
 restored to health, I went steadily on with my work. 
 After I had voted for Taylor, I separated from the Whigs. 
 
 Among the prime factors in the overthrow of the slave- 
 power, were many of the most intellectual, refined, and 
 lovely women of America. Among these, although Mrs. 
 Harriet Beecher Stowe holds the first place for ability and 
 effective service, as the author of " Uncle Tom's Cabin," 
 I must award the noblest in heroism to my native State. 
 
 About the time that Dr. Horace HoUey, the President 
 of Transylvania University, attracted many distinguished 
 strangers to Lexington, a wealthy and refined Englishman 
 206 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 2O7 
 
 established himself on a fine blue-grass estate in Jessamine 
 County, Kentucky. His landscape-grounds were elabo- 
 rately laid out, and highly cultivated; and became one 
 of the "Lions" of central Kentucky. Here he entertained 
 lavishly and hospitably persons of distinction who visited 
 the blue-grass capital. To this English family, Evelyn 
 Meade was born — an intelligent, lovely, and heroic 
 woman, who married Tucker Woodson, an eminent lawyer 
 and politician of high social position. When the men of 
 anti-slavery views cowered under the despotism of the 
 slave-power, Mrs. Woodson became the avowed advocate 
 of liberation ; and remained, through good and evil report, 
 my friend till her death. Such a woman is an honor to 
 the sex, and deserves immortal honor from all lovers of 
 the liberties of men. 
 
 Lucretia Mott deserves signal mention for her long and 
 efficient services in the cause of the slave. She was born 
 in 1793, of Friend's (Quaker) parentage; and early took 
 ground against slavery, in common with the general tenets 
 of those Christians. She was the organizer of the Amer- 
 ican Anti-Slavery branch of that Society in Philadelphia ; 
 opposed the use of slave-grown products; and, as a 
 preacher of the Society of Friends, denounced slavery in 
 - Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. She was ever the 
 friend of the slave in all her various relations in life. 
 
 On a visit to Mrs. Mott, after I began the anti-slavery 
 war, I was handsomely entertained at a dinner at her 
 home, where the leading anti-slavery men and women of 
 Philadelphia were present. The Friends, of Philadelphia, 
 in a genial climate, and by the purity of their lives, were 
 noted for their beauty of body and soul. At this dinner, 
 also, Edward Purvis, a half-breed white and African, was 
 present. His father was a ship-carpenter, and accumulated 
 a large property. His son was well educated at home and 
 abroad, and would have been regarded as a refined gen- 
 tleman in any country. He sat opposite me at dinner, and 
 by the side of one of the most lovely girls present. 
 
2o8 MEMOIRS, WRITIMGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 This was the first time in my life that I had ever sat 
 at table with a mulatto on terms of equality. Notwith- 
 standing my advanced ideas in the direction of liberalism, 
 I felt the greatest shock at this new relation of the races 
 and the sexes; so that I imagine it must have been ob- 
 served by all. After dinner, Purvis, with the address which 
 comes of intercourse in many countries, sought me, and 
 commenced a very agreeable conversation, till my preju- 
 dices were well nigh conquered. He said, on his return 
 from Europe once, on the same vessel was a South Caro- 
 lina family, including wife and daughters. They denounced 
 negro-equality; but, taking Purvis for a Spaniard, or Ital- 
 ian, they danced with him — never suspecting his lineage. 
 Such is the force of habit and prejudice. 
 
 In Europe I saw several cases of marriage between the 
 races; and no one thought anything of it. But, after all, 
 I have never thought that such alliances between whites 
 and blacks as involve progeny should be encouraged; 
 though no law should prohibit it. 
 
 But I have no room for the discussion of the subject 
 here. There are physical differences in structure ; and 
 the prejudice of slavery will last in this country for cen- 
 turies. 
 
 In my home, my white employes refuse to sit at table 
 with blacks; but do not object to wait upon them civilly 
 when they dine" with me at times. 
 
 Among the liberal women whom I have known, person- 
 ally, may be mentioned Julia Ward Howe, Lucy Stone 
 Blackwell, Susan B. Anthony, Jane G. Swishelm, Margaret 
 Fuller, Anne C. Lynch, A. B. Adams of Quincy, E. Oakes 
 Smith, S. B. McLean (wife of Judge John McLean), C. 
 M. Sedgewick, Jessie B. Fremont, M. W. Chapman, Eliza 
 L. Follen, Catharine (Ware) Warfield, and Elizabeth Cady 
 Stanton, as the most distinguished ; though I could fill 
 a long list of names of nearly equal celebrity. Most of 
 these women, after the overthrow of slavery, went into 
 the Womans' Rights movement, where I have not been 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 209 
 
 able to follow them. But their ability, purity of soul, and 
 philanthropy can not be questioned. 
 
 On another occasion, at a dinner party of the aristo- 
 cratic blacks, quite other sentiments were aroused. When 
 wine was served, with great formality, one of the party, 
 in a very grave manner, said: "Ladies and gentlemen, 
 please fill up your glasses ; let us drink to the health of 
 Cassius M. Clay — Liberator. Though he has a white 
 skin, he has a very black heart." 
 
 This complimentary toast, coming from a gentleman of 
 the darkest hue, was well received ; but to the whites pres- 
 ent it was, of course, very provocative of a laugh, which 
 was with difficulty suppressed. A friend of mine, J. R. 
 Johnston, who had a keen appreciation of the ludicrous, 
 being present, barely maintained his equanimity; but great 
 tear-drops stood in his eyes. 
 
 Letter from the Ladies of the Ashtabula County {Ohio,) Anti-Slavery 
 
 Society. 
 
 AusTiNBURG, December 9. 1845. 
 Cassius M. Clay, Esq. — 
 
 Honored Sir : — From a distant comer of a State bordering 
 on your own, we, the wives, daughters, and mothers of Ashtabula 
 County, tender you the humble but heartfelt boon of our grateful 
 sympathy. We have not been heartless spectators in this our 
 country's struggle for liberty. Though our hands have been too 
 idle, and our hearts too unbelieving, we have not carelessly viewed 
 the strife. While our fathers, husbands, and brothers are rousing 
 at the warning call, we, from our homes and from our firesides, 
 hail you as the champion of our country's liberty. It needed the 
 blow which has lately fallen upon you, to engrave on the hearts 
 of the North the bitterness of slavery's injustice and intolerance — 
 to rouse the lukewarm patriot into action. We have watched too 
 long your disinterested course, to doubt that all the insults that 
 were heaped upon your head, when it lay burning upon the fever- 
 ish bed, have been compensated to your soul by the universal rush 
 of indignation — of sympathy for all victims of the slave-holder — 
 that burst from the free heart of the North against the authors of 
 your misfortune — against the bulwarks of slavery. 
 Vol. I. — 14 
 
210 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 We offer not the poor boon of pity to one whose spirit soars 
 far above it — but, from the depths of our aroused and feehng 
 hearts, we bid you "God-speed" on your way. Yes; and not 
 merely for ourselves can we speak: Ohio's sympathies are with 
 you, and more than hers. We but echo the united voice of the 
 United Northern States, when we again bid you "God-speed" on 
 your way. 
 
 The struggle in which you are engaged is emphatically the 
 strife between Liberty and Slavery. No corresponding movement 
 in the cause of anti-slavery is marked on our country's page. 
 Many a hand has been raised for its sake, and many a tongue 
 has been eloquent in its behalf; but the friends of the slave, for- 
 getting that "Union is strength," have heretofore been unable or 
 unwilling to meet upon common ground. Rival parties and rival 
 societies have sadly weakened the arm which might otherwise have 
 wielded ere now the conqueror's sword. The serpent of political 
 party strife has crept in to sting the heart of freedom's champion. 
 But we hail you as the bond of Union — the connecting link around 
 which all may once more center. 
 
 The heart of every Abolitionist of every stripe is with you — 
 from Garrison, with disunion on his lips, to the dumb-mouthed 
 foe of slavery, who would shrink from the very idea of giving 
 utterance to his own deep sentiments; aye, and many an one, too, 
 who would spurn the name of "Abolitionist." We would not 
 pluck a single star from the crowns of the pioneers in this glorious 
 work — a Garrison, a Birney, a Tappan, and numerous others — 
 men who "shrunk not from the brunt of the battle's front;" whose 
 names stand nobly engraven on the foundation stones of Freedom's 
 Temple. But we thank heaven for a banner — a leader, under 
 which Abolitionists are disposed once more to unite; and we trem- 
 ble when we think of the precarious situation of that leader. Rest 
 assured that our prayers for your safety shall daily rise to Him who 
 holdeth Nations as "the rivers of waters in His hand;" and while 
 our hopes are centered on you, our hands shall not be idle. 
 
 "When woman's heart is bleeding, 
 Should woman's voice be hushed?" 
 
 It is a di.sgrace to our country that the Anti-Slavery Society, in 
 which our names now stand enrolled, did not, years ago, arise to 
 add its mite to the common cause of humanity; but we have now 
 enlisted, "heart and hand," in the cause; and if we but pour one 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 211 
 
 drop into the swelling tide that begins to sweep resistlessly toward 
 '"Mason and Dixon's line" — if we but send back a cheer on the 
 breeze that comes to us laden with the sighs of the oppressed — we 
 shall not have labored in vain. 
 
 And now our wish, our prayer, our trusting hope for you shall 
 be, that the One that nerved the youthful arm of him whose simple 
 sling overthrew Philistia's champion, may strengthen with a more 
 than human power your arm in this struggle against that giant 
 whose proud menace comes daily booming in the ears of liberty's 
 defenders — the giant of slavery. We bid you onward — unshrink- 
 ing — undeterred; and we know, too, that our voice is unneeded 
 here. But, as the mothers and daughters of '"y6" cheered on 
 their dearest friends to deadly strife, though their heroes were of 
 sternest mould, we cheer the hero of a severer, though a bloodless 
 strife, with as true and as warm acclamations as those. 
 
 We bid you farewell with fear, and with hope. Accept this 
 tribute from grateful hearts that are bound to yours by an indis- 
 soluble bond — the chain of liberty — the chain of human hearts 
 that are waiting with you the dawning of Emancipation's star, and 
 waiting with trembling anxiety its rise upon the heavens of America. 
 
 By the unanimous vote of the Society. 
 
 Betsey M. Cowles, Secretary. 
 
 It need hardly be mentioned that I was never indicted 
 by the grand-jury for Jcilling Turner; although the powers 
 in authority were so desirous of my death. The conspiracy 
 to murder me was too plain to everybody for any pretense 
 of that sort; and I stand justified in the opinion of men, 
 and, what is better, in my own conscience, for the exer- 
 cise of the eternal law of self-defense — Dr. G. Bailey 
 to the contrary, notwithstanding. Nor were the conspira- 
 tors indicted or punished for stabbing with intent to kill. 
 
 When John Brown went down into Virginia and fool- 
 ishly lost his life, he became a hero with the long-haired 
 Abolitionists; but when I fell in the defense of freedom 
 of speech and the liberties of all men, these fellows shed 
 tears, not because I triumphed, but because I used arms 
 and was not killed! And the same idea was held by Bis- 
 mark's paid historian, Von Hoist. If I had been killed 
 by the mob at Lexington, I would have held a prime po- 
 
212 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 sition in the world's eye; but, as I was wise enough to 
 live, and to cause slavery to die, he consigns me to the 
 place of a foot-note! For the tyrants of Europe hate 
 me as much as the tyrants of America. 
 
 Now, my attack was mostly on the Whig Party — bent 
 on its ruin ; for, in our State, it comprised a large majority 
 of the slave-holders, and they and I were of course ene- 
 mies to the death. 
 
 In the year 1851, the election for Governor was again 
 pending; and I declared myself a candidate on the anti- 
 slavery issue — George D. Blakey, of Southern Kentucky, 
 being my Lieutenant. * 
 
 In the meantime, seeing that the non-slaveholders were 
 prosecuted and driven out into the new States , and the 
 mountains of Kentucky, I projected a school of education 
 for their benefit. 
 
 I had some lands at the site of the Berea College. So 
 I wrote to my Christian friend, the Rev. John G. Fee, of 
 Bracken County — who was persecuted by his church, and 
 disinherited by his father for his Christian faith and prac- 
 tice, in regarding all men as brothers and equals before God 
 and the law — to come and help me. He willingly came. 
 I gave him a small tract of land for himself, and two hun- 
 dred dollars to aid in building his house ; and another small 
 tract of land for his church and his school. It has, by his 
 efforts, now grown into a great and successful college, where 
 whites and blacks, men and women, are educated on equal 
 terms. This last feature is due to Fee's own leadership, 
 and could not have been foreseen, but has always had my 
 hearty approbation. As a proof of my foresight, that sec- 
 tion now constitutes the only two liberal Congressional 
 Districts in the State of Kentucky. 
 
 Getting once more into my buggy, having sent a cou- 
 rier ahead to make the appointments, I spoke in nearly 
 
 *The gallant Blakey liberated all his slaves, and lives to see 
 the end of slavery. — C, 1885. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 21 3 
 
 every county of the State, where the scenes at Lawrence- 
 burg were ever repeated — always threatened, and always 
 coming out triumphant in the end. The incidents of this 
 canvass would fill a volume ; but I tire of such oft-repeated 
 tales, and hasten on to the end. The result was, that the 
 Whig party was beaten, and L. W. Powell, the Democratic 
 candidate, was elected. 
 
 I received about 5,000 votes; but nearly 30,000, by my 
 advice, staid away from the polls. Thus, and forever, fell 
 the Whig Party in Kentucky; and its national life went 
 out in i860, when John Bell and Edward Everett bore the 
 Whig standard in the fatal " forlorn -hope ! " 
 
 In the meantime the old actors on the political stage 
 had died, or passed into retirement — Adams, Clay, Web- 
 ster, Calhoun, Benton, and others — and were superseded 
 by new men. There lingered yet one who deserves men- 
 tion in this connection; who still strove gallantly against 
 fate. 
 
 John J. Crittenden was the next man in Kentucky to 
 Henry Clay. His popularity was unequaled. Always 
 amiable and unambitious, he could at all times fill any 
 public trust that he desired. A good lawyer; an eloquent 
 speaker, where extreme force was not needed; a faithful 
 friend; a safe, conservative statesman, he was Henry Clay's 
 associate, but never assumed to be his equal or rival. In 
 the last canvass, he was frankly for Taylor. His son, 
 Thomas L. Crittenden, was, at Buena Vista, General Tay- 
 lor's aide-de-camp ; and his son George, an able soldier, 
 was in Taylor's column, and also in General Scott's army. 
 
 John J. Crittenden believed, as I did, that Clay could 
 not carry the party, and he said so to him ; but he took 
 no active part against him, though he was really the cen- 
 ter of the opposition. This produced an alienation be- 
 tween him and Clay ; but they were reconciled before Mr. 
 Clay's death. It was the policy of small men to flatter 
 the vanity of Mr. Crittenden, and urge him to assert him- 
 self; but this he, knowing too well what nature had done. 
 
214 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 or being true to his pledge of friendship, never did. No 
 doubt he severely regretted the course of fate, and would 
 at last have made Clay president if he had seen his way 
 clear to such event. 
 
 As Clay declined in years and strength, the slavery 
 issue waxed stronger ; the breach between the North and 
 the South widened. Mr. Crittenden, being then in the 
 Senate, ventured to fill Clay's boots; but they were evi- 
 dently too large for him. The old attempts at compro- 
 mise were feebly revived ; but, like assuagetives and often- 
 used remedies, they aggravated the disease. 
 
 Crittenden heartily loved the Union. He had no sym- 
 pathy with slavery; far less with disunion. But he floated, 
 rather, upon the surface of the seas ; not sounding, or 
 hardly caring to know the deep currents and rocks below. 
 It was but piling damp wood upon an inextinguishable fire, 
 which must at last increase the conflagration. 
 
 The annexation of Texas, and the repeal of the Mis- 
 souri Compromise, had convinced the North that Slavery 
 and Liberty could no longer co-exist. The alliance, under 
 a general Government, never real and cordial, had now 
 grown into an open contest for supremacy. The South 
 determined that all the States should be virtually slave 
 States, or the Union should perish. Mr. Crittenden's at- 
 tempt then, by his compromise resolutions and the amend- 
 ments to the Constitution, going over the old ground once 
 more, whilst they showed his kind nature and patriotism, 
 all earnest men saw at a glance was doomed to defeat. 
 
 Yet his talents and public services should and will be 
 held in loving memory by all Kentuckians, and impartial 
 men every-where. The two volumes of his life and writ- 
 ings, edited by his daughter, Mrs. A. M. Coleman, 
 under the title of "Life of J. J. Crittenden," is pleasant 
 reading, and gives a very favorable idea of his ability as a 
 speaker and debater. The correspondence with his con- 
 temporaries shows him a general favorite; and gives more 
 secret history of the times than most other works I know 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 21 5 
 
 of. Much of the matter is Bosweliian ; but all the more 
 interesting on that account. Who cares for the eternally 
 repeated generalizations of the great? What interests is 
 the inner life of men and women, which, various as the 
 human face, presents ever novelty at least. 
 
 Some of his correspondents show but little individuality, 
 and less dignity. Every house must have its soiled clothes 
 washed ; and every politician must also have a go-between, 
 I suppose. 
 
 Leslie Combs has two names: as usual — "Combs," in 
 the West; and "Coombs," in the East. But Robert P. 
 Letcher is the chief figure. He was heavy-bodied, with 
 small short arms and legs, like the flappers of a shell-fish, 
 with a round bullet head, resting apparently upon his 
 shoulders, without any visible neck. His skin was dark, 
 so that he was known as "Black Bob;" eyes large, shiny, 
 black, and near together; with a mouth like an empty 
 seed-bag — capable of great expansion of its voluminous 
 folds. On the whole, he was a small edition of Falstaff, 
 with all his animality, and a little of his wit. 
 
 Letcher was always my enemy; and perhaps I am not 
 the man to do him justice. And yet he is the most in- 
 teresting and amusing part of Mrs. Coleman's work. He 
 certainly has much humor; and his long service in Con- 
 gress gave him a knowledge of men and events which 
 made him an associate of the leading men of his time. 
 I confess that he interests me ; and we can say, with 
 Prince Hal, over the death of the original Fat Jack : 
 We "better could have spared a better man." 
 
 George Robertson's letter to Crittenden, (see Life, Vol. 
 IL) in which he shows the conspiracy to prevent me from 
 being Secretary of War under Lincoln's administration, is 
 but a specimen of the low intrigues which my enemies 
 have never scrupled to use against one who was always 
 an over-match for them in the open field of honorable 
 war. "B." (Daniel Breck,) had married Mrs. Lincoln's 
 aunt, the sister of my friend, Robert S. Todd, Esq. And 
 
2l6 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 it is a marked example of Mr. Lincoln's self-control, when 
 he listenened for two hours to the argument, that he 
 ought to "take his enemies into his bosom," before he 
 gave utterance to the words quoted. 
 
 I allude to this matter now to say, that though never 
 intimate with Crittenden, I was always on friendly terms 
 with him and his family. And I have no evidence that 
 he ever joined the crusade against me. 
 
 In Mexico his son George B. was in difficulties with 
 his superior officers, and called upon me, as a friend and 
 Kentuckian, to carry a letter which might have involved 
 me in a duel on his account, according to the fool-code; 
 but the superior officer had the good sense to place the 
 matter in an adjustable form, and nothing came of it. 
 Col. Crittenden has ever shown a grateful appreciation 
 of my services; and Mr. Crittenden, who much loved his 
 gallant son, was no doubt aware of our personal rela- 
 tions. And J. J. Crittenden was not the man to show in- 
 gratitude, or engage in a dishonorable intrigue against 
 friend or foe. His daughter, Cornelia, who married Presi- 
 dent J. C. Young of Danville College, Ky., was one of 
 my contemporaries. She was a very attractive woman in 
 mind and person, and left ever pleasant memories upon 
 all who knew her. 
 
 John J. Crittenden was longer in the Senate than any 
 of his contemporaries. He had great influence in Presi- 
 dential circles ; and was, withal, a good lawyer, and es- 
 pecially a great advocate. There is one foot-note in Mrs. 
 Coleman's "Life," which is worth more than all else in 
 illustration of her father's character. I copy verbatim from 
 Vol. II. : "At the time of Mr. Crittenden's death his entire 
 estate was worth about eight thousand dollars." In those 
 days of remorseless luxury, and political corruption, it is 
 touching to see those lines. What evidence of honesty — 
 of a humane nature — of a noble spirit! What proof of a 
 life-engrossing patriotism! There are many millionaires 
 now in politics, and in business ; but Crittenden was the 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 217 
 
 wealthiest of all. The nation's wealth was his ; and, whilst 
 that survived, he who served her so well could never want 
 for a dollar! 
 
 Taylor having been elected, I acted no more with the 
 Whig Party — if he could be called a Whig. I had 
 worked all my life for that party; but without asking, or 
 receiving, any reward. I saw Harrison and Tyler and 
 Taylor and Fillmore and Lincoln made Presidents, speak- 
 ing in their cause every-where, often bearing my own ex- 
 penses, and never receiving a dollar for my services, as 
 did others. And now Taylor came into power, much by 
 my effort, and, Crittenden being my friend, I could have 
 entered public life with new elements of strength ; but I 
 had a higher end in view — the establishment of the Union 
 upon the only secure basis — Equal Rights to all Men 
 before the Law. 
 
 In the meantime Robert P. Letcher, having returned 
 from Mexico as United States Minister Plenipotentiary, 
 was chosen by the Whigs as their candidate for Congress, 
 in the old Clay district, against the young and talented 
 J. C. Breckinridge. Letcher had never been beaten be- 
 fore the people; but I had given that party a heavy blow 
 in the defeat of Clay, and its prestige was gone. In pur- 
 suance of my policy of disruption, I, of course, sided with 
 Breckinridge — not as a Democrat, but the opponent of 
 Letcher and Whigery. I had around me a compact and 
 plastic body of friends, which was sufficient to turn the 
 scales of fate. I set all the wits against " Black Bob," 
 and made him the jest of every crowd. Letcher had 
 made his great success in the mountain counties; but 
 among a more intellectual constituency of the blue-grass 
 region he was no match for Breckinridge. The "boys" 
 said he might run well in the "pea-vine" region; but the 
 "Black Horse was sure to get his feet tangled in the 
 blue-grass, and fall." They recommended a "close stall 
 and a short halter, lest he should rub his tail!" What 
 can stand against ridicule? I arranged for a meeting on 
 
2l8 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Boone's Creek, near the Kentucky River, adjoining my old 
 County of Madison. We were in force on the ground, 
 and played claquers as skillfully as a Paris opera-force. 
 
 The contrast between the men was itself an argument. 
 Breckinridge was tall, well-formed, with fair complexion, 
 regular face of great mental power, large blue eyes, and 
 auburn hair; intellectual, composed, and full of conscious 
 genius and future prowess. Letcher I have already de- 
 scribed. He had grown so corpulent by age and heavy 
 eating, that he seemed at times on the very verge of 
 suffocation, or apoplexy. The weather was very warm. 
 Breckinridge went at him with the coolness of a skilled 
 swordsman; making home-thrusts, and coolly observing 
 the effect of each. Letcher was very much confused, 
 greatly angry, and fought as one who had lost all muscu- 
 lar power, and even eye-sight. The perspiration poured 
 off him; and he literally "larded the earth." His voice 
 was guttural, and ejected from his lungs as a badly- 
 charged fuse of wet and dry powder. The boys shouted: 
 "Cut the halter, and give him air!" It was a pitiable 
 sight! Letcher had no friends. By invitation, all joined 
 us, and down we went to the celebrated spring at Boone's 
 Creek. 
 
 The "Black Horse" was already beaten. That was 
 the last of Letcher! The boys were in high glee; and 
 old Bourbon and mint-sling were severely mixed with the 
 cool waters of the noted spring. The heat of the day, 
 the heat of the intellectual fight, and, lastly, the heat of 
 the old Bourbon, reached a climax. 
 
 Boone's Creek sent its drift into the Kentucky River, 
 and formed a long "riffle," or shallows, with deep water- 
 holes at intervals. The sun began to lengthen the shad- 
 ows of the forest trees; and more than a hundred men, 
 leaving their clothes on the clear pebbles, went into the 
 refreshing waters. I was among them. Nearly fifty yards 
 below was another squad of bathers. I heard the cry: 
 "Clay! Clay!" At first I thought it was a cry for a 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 2ig 
 
 speech ; for when was there an occasion where in Amer- 
 ica a speech was not in order? But, in a moment, I 
 saw the situation — a man was drowning. I ran and 
 plunged into the water. A young man named William 
 Willis, a Madison County man, had come to the speak- 
 ing. The water was clear; he was quiet, a foot or so 
 beneath the surface, but his head was seen. I caught 
 him by the hair ; and, holding his head beneath the water, 
 swam with him to the shore. Many voices cried out: 
 " Raise his head ; he will drown." But I knew the danger 
 of being caught and disabled; and, in my own way, 
 placed him safely on the shore. In an hour or so he 
 was on foot again. So a farce came near ending in a 
 tragedy — such is life.* 
 
 Breckinridge's career is well known. That family was 
 always remarkable for talent and character. In my times, 
 Robert J. Breckinridge was the flower of the great men 
 of that name. I heard him make his last political speech 
 in Lexington, when I was at college in Transylvania. He 
 was a man of too much mind not to see that there was 
 no sure basis of progress in a slave State ; and was of 
 too generous and frank a nature to conceal his sentiments. 
 He was beaten, in Fayette, for the House of Representa- 
 tives in Kentucky; and never entered politics again. This 
 drove him into the Church. Of course, such an intellect 
 
 * When some gallant fellows saved the lives of drowning men 
 at the Louisville Falls of the Ohio, the Kentucky Legislature 
 honored them with a medal-; but when I saved the life of Willis, 
 the pro-slavery journals would not even publish the fact! And 
 when I saved the lives of the soldiers at Salao, in Mexico, the 
 political journals showered upon me all the possible calumnies of 
 eternal hatred. So, when I would go no longer with the Repub- 
 licans in their "Facilis descensus Avemi," in 1866, — although all 
 now admit that my work in Russia saved us from the united in- 
 vasion of France, Spain, and England, against Mexico, and thus 
 saved the Union, — they were unequalled in history in their de- 
 tractive malice! 
 
220 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 could ne be a light under a bushel any where, and he 
 was, in doctrinal matters, a great divine; but, as I often 
 said, the country lost a great statesman and orator in a 
 poor preacher. For, after all, doctrine does not amount 
 to much. We all know the right; the preacher must move 
 us to action: "Now is the time." There must be a vital 
 faith ; and a personal or, rather, intellectual enthusiasm, to 
 be a great preacher. Breckinridge's heart, I fear, lay in 
 another field; and that was closed to him for life. He 
 was, however, always true to his early love; and did yeo- 
 man's service on many occasions, by speech and pen, 
 against slavery, and in favor of the Union of the States. 
 Some of his sons are living, and are now men of mark. 
 Wm. C. P. Breckinridge, one of Kentucky's foremost ora- 
 tors and statesmen, is now a candidate for Congress in 
 the Clay district ; and, if elected, as it seems he will be, 
 will make his mark in the national council. 
 
 John C. Breckinridge was foremost whenever fortune 
 led him. But defeat settled upon the " Lost Cause," 
 and he fell with it. His circumstances were peculiar. 
 He never was at heart a Secessionist. His party had 
 greatly honored him ; and of him, I fear, it might well 
 have been said : ' ' Beware of ambition ; by that the angels 
 fell!" His country greatly honored and greatly trusted 
 him. So much greater was his crime. There is no such 
 thing as virtue and vice in this world, if this be not true. 
 He was never relieved of his disabilities on account of 
 the Rebellion. This he keenly felt. It caused, I doubt 
 not, despair, and his early death. This is the most chari- 
 table inference. But he did some deeds of repentance 
 which should be held as offsets to his great offense. He 
 denounced and effectively killed in Kentucky, at least, the 
 remorseless " Ku-Klux-Klan." I never did approve of the 
 State erecting a monument to his memory, whilst Union 
 soldiers lie obscure in turf-covered graves. To honor 
 those who have signally failed in the admitted duties of 
 civilized society, for the defense of national life, with post- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 221 
 
 humous fame, is to ignore the existence of good and 
 evil. That should have been the work of private grief; 
 for to frail humanity much leniency must be accorded, 
 and over the graves even of the fallen tears may flow 
 without the violation of the eternal laws. So great are 
 the evils of a revolution that, even in a patriotic cause, 
 there should be some reasonable chance of success to 
 halo a failure. So that the saying : " Success makes the 
 patriot, and defeat the traitor," can not be entirely con- 
 demned. But to attempt the overthrow of the American 
 Republic, to conserve the meanest of all despotisms — 
 Slavery — should leave but little sympathy or honor for 
 the " Lost Cause! " 
 
 For Breckinridge's monument was appropriated ten 
 thousand dollars ; whilst a resolution to allow a similar 
 sum for a monument in memory of the gallant Union 
 soldier, William Nelson, was voted down with contempt 
 and indignation 1 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Joel T. Hart. — His letters to me from Florence, Italy. — My speech at a 
 Banquet given him at Lexington, Ky. — Hart's "Triumph of Woman." — 
 His death. — The Presidential Canvass of 1852.— The Johnsons. — The 
 Free-Soil Party of 1856. — How I first met Abraham Lincoln. — Our 
 further acquaintance. — My Correspondence with Rev. James S. Davis, 
 of Cabin Creek, Ky.— Letter to "Richmond Messenger." — I speak at 
 Chicago. 
 
 JOEL T. HART, the Sculptor, was born, in 18 10, in the 
 County of Clarke, Kentucky, of humble but respect- 
 able parents. His education was limited to the ordin- 
 ary routine of the children of the poor — reading, writing, 
 and arithmetic. He began his trade as a stone-mason, 
 building walls, chimneys, and such rude work. Aspiring 
 still higher, he assisted in the making of tomb-stones, 
 where better material and fine work was needed. Whilst 
 I was a resident of Lexington, Kentucky, Hart was thus 
 employed; where sculptured figures began to be used in 
 higher ornamentation — alto-relievos and entire statuettes. 
 In this Hart had so much skill that he attracted my 
 attention ; and I persuaded him to attempt the highest 
 art in sculpture. Working by day, he took night-lessons 
 in drawing and anatomy; and I engaged him to make of 
 myself a nude bust in Italian marble, which was regarded 
 as a great success. It was shown, about 1838, in the 
 Academy of Art in Philadelphia, and was highly com- 
 mended. For this I paid him five hundred dollars — his 
 first money in this direction. But the fame of the young 
 Kentuckian grew apace; and he was engaged, at good 
 prices, to mould in marble Henry Clay, General Jackson, 
 Crittenden, and others. Having the ambition to be first 
 in his art, he went to Florence, in Italy, where the best 
 222 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 223 
 
 opportunities were offered to the world's students; and 
 there he remained — visiting Kentucky but once — till his 
 death. Confining his work mostly to life-busts for a sup- 
 port; but working, in fact, for the great ideal of his life, 
 a nude statue of woman, which ultimated in his "Triumph 
 of Woman" — the noblest representation of Nature's high- 
 est work — a nude female statue, with a Cupid and his 
 quiver exhausted of arrows. As I had much to do with 
 this creation of genius, I have felt always a great interest 
 in its final completion and success. As he made my first 
 bust in clay, and then in marble, he had great ambition 
 to make it a success, and took a long time and great 
 pains in its execution. As a love of art, and the beauti- 
 ful in nature, was ever a passion with me, I had many 
 long talks with Hart upon this subject. I held that the 
 education of the Greeks, in a fine climate, with light and 
 loose clothing, and out-door exercise, caused that perfection 
 of form which has made them famous in the world. Their' 
 statues then were, no doubt, the finest of all nations — 
 health and vigor being the first elements of the beautiful ; 
 whilst their heathen gods, of such great number, made 
 Greece the highest school of art in the world. But the 
 religion of the Greeks, whilst giving the highest develop- 
 ment to man, had made woman as she was socially — 
 simply a fine animal, having none of that infinite flexi- 
 bility of feature and development of brain and the senti- 
 ments which characterizes modern Christian society. So 
 that the Greek face, with all its regular lines of beauty, 
 never moved me as the modern woman. I thought the 
 ancient Venuses could be surpassed by following nature 
 more closely ; and that the Venuses of Medici, and of 
 Milo, and others, could be exceeded in perfection and 
 effect. To all this Hart agreed; for he had a fine per- 
 ception of the beautiful in sentiment, and the physical. 
 Before he went to Europe, then, he had formed his 
 plans; and the "Triumph of Woman," or, of "Chastity," 
 was his life-work. He talked with me again when he 
 
224 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 was here from his foreign home; and wrote to me at 
 times, giving an account of his progress. He studied 
 anatomy and drawing under more skillful teachers abroad; 
 and he made an innumerable number of measurements 
 from life of the female figure in all countries — holding 
 that nature was higher than art, and that the highest art 
 was simply the aggregation in one group or person of all 
 the finest elements of beauty. I have now letters from 
 him written at Florence, expressing his gratification at his 
 success ; and the appreciation which the most renowned 
 living artists had expressed in favor of his work. He 
 therein avows his design of inscribing my name upon this 
 immortal statue, which failed only, no doubt, by his death, 
 just as the finishing touches were to have been made. 
 
 LETTERS OF JOEL T. HART. 
 
 Lexington, Ky., November 28, i860. 
 
 Dear Clay: — I regret not being able to see you and your 
 family before I leave for New York, in two or three days, for 
 Italy. I hope to be back, however, in some six months, to set 
 up ... . (omission?) in New York, and have my works 
 executed in Italy, where my studio and workmen are. 
 
 I trust the column * has arrived safely at White Hall ; and beg 
 of you to accept it as a little token of my gratitude to one who 
 was so noble as you were in giving me the helping-hand in my 
 earliest struggles and darkest days. 
 
 I hope that you will be repaid for your ardent labors and sac- 
 rifices for the common good. 
 
 With my best regards to Mrs. Clay and your children, 
 
 I am, ever most truly, your friend, 
 
 Joel T. Hart. 
 C. M. Clay, Esq., 
 
 White Hall, Madison County, Ky. 
 
 *This is a column, or pedestal, of solid verd-antique, with a movable cap-piece 
 of the same materjal, highly sculptured with haut-reliefs. Hart paid all charges, even 
 transportation ; and the column, at the lowest estimate, is valued at one thousand 
 dollars. This is characteristic of the man ; caring nothing for money, but full of 
 the noblest ambition for fame. He is the fruit of my "ardent labors and sacrifices 
 for the common good " — Freedom. It is a great truth, that the greatest and noblest 
 of Kentuckians were Liberals. — C. 1885. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 225 
 
 Among many, I select one more letter, of Hart's, 
 given verbatim : 
 
 Florence, \tk\n, January 22, 1865. 
 
 My Dear Clay: — I send you greetings, with a bit of my pat- 
 riotism, which was published in one of the American newspapers, 
 but not, I believe, in the Louisville Journal, where I first sent it. 
 
 I was a soldier in your ranks in '45, and voted in the Con- 
 vention in '49, at Frankfort; and have made war in many a song 
 within the last four years against Slavery and for the Union, the 
 most of which have been published in the United States. As you 
 are the only man gifted and bold enough to stand up against that 
 common curse in Kentucky through the press — risking your life 
 and every thing — it gives me pleasure to write a word of your 
 wisdom, which, had it been followed, State by State, the war would 
 have been avoided. Though you deserve the first honors of the 
 great and free Republic, yet they are not always granted while one 
 is alive; but, come what may, yours will be one of the first his- 
 torical names. 
 
 As to myself, I have foregone every thing else to reach the 
 first degree in my profession; and, as you were my first patron, 
 and of all the most cordial to greet and favor my labors, however 
 humble, I know you will be pleased to hear a word of what I am 
 about. And first, within the last fifteen months, I have remodeled 
 my statue of H. Clay for Louisville — made it original, and far finer 
 than either of my original ones; it is far advanced in an exquisite 
 block of the finest marble. 
 
 For my portraits the Italians gave me the first place of honor 
 as sculptor, of any foreigner, in their great national exhibition three 
 years ago. But it is to the Ideal that I have mostly devoted myself 
 for the fifteen years past ; only allowing two or three busts to go out 
 of my hands. 
 
 I studied anatomy one hour a day for five or six years at Le:S:- 
 ington in winter, having modeled busts of Dudley, Cross, etc.; have 
 been five times to London, and studied there fourteen months at one 
 time; five times to Paris, grouping tableaux with the fair Pompeian 
 damsels ; five times to Rome ; once to Naples ; studied and measured 
 every beautiful young woman I could get in reach of for the last 
 thirty years, keeping my especial studies to myself, and have at last 
 gratified my passion in modeling a life ideal Virgin and Child in a 
 group; not the Christian Virgin and Child, however. The figures 
 are nude — "Beauty's Triumph." She, being assailed by Cupid, 
 Vol. I.— 15 
 
226 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 rests her left foot on his exhausted quiver, and holds his last arrow 
 
 in triumph, for which he pleads — tiptoeing, reaching after it. It 
 
 gives the most graceful and finest possible attitude both to the 
 
 woman and the boy. All who dare speak out say that the attitude 
 
 is finer than either the Venus de Medici, or the Venus of Milo, at 
 
 Paris. Reinhart, the Baltimore sculptor, who Paris says is the best 
 
 sculptor America yet produced (save our dear self), tells it around 
 
 that it is the finest work in Florence. Such speeches are now every 
 
 day being made. The idea is modern, and my own. Though not 
 
 near finished, it is a far finer work than I ever expected to produce. 
 
 I have casts of all the greatest antiques and moderns of the Venus 
 
 family, and the like, in my studio. The best connoisseurs say that 
 
 none of them equal mine. But this is too much, at least, for me to 
 
 say; but it is to you I am writing. 
 
 I wish to exhibit it, in marble, in the United States. I would 
 
 have it photographed, and send you a copy; but it is best not to let 
 
 the photographers now meddle with it. One or two sculptors have 
 
 already plagiarized from it. I expect some day to engrave your 
 
 name upon it, as my first patron; but will talk of this bye and bye. 
 
 I wish you would make a visit to old Italy. Drop me a line. In 
 
 the hope that you and yours are all well, very truly, your friend, 
 
 Joel T. Hart. 
 Hon. C. M. Clay, 
 
 U. S. Minister at St. Petersburg, Russia. 
 
 Hart died in Florence; and his remains are now buried 
 in the public cemetery at Frankfort, Kentucky, brought 
 home at the expense of his native State. The " Triumph 
 of Woman," or of "Chastity," as it was first called, was 
 bought of Hart's executors by the noted Tiffanys of New 
 York, and sold by them to the ladies of Lexington, at five 
 thousand dollars, where it will compose the nucleus of an 
 art-gallery, hereafter to be erected. The statue is, unlike 
 those of the Greeks, life-size. The body, in all its undu- 
 lations, is according to nature, there being no attempt to 
 cut it down to a supposed highest ideal ; but it follows 
 Nature, where alone exists the true ideal. The face is 
 not Greek, but modern ; and the attitude, unlike the 
 Greek, whilst it displays all the beauties of form possible, 
 is not at all sensually suggestive, but shows the most per- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 22/ 
 
 feet unconsciousness, without which all the Venuses are not 
 the real types of the highest ideal in art, but gross "pre- 
 sentments" of animal life. 
 
 Speech of C. M. Clay at the Banquet given Joel T. Hart at Lex- 
 ington, Kentucky, 1 86o. 
 
 Gentlemen: — I am more than honored by this call. What- 
 ever may be my very humble merits, I do not attribute it to 
 them. I know that I but reflect the admiration you design for 
 our distinguished guest. I see before me the early friend from 
 Bourbon (Mr. Rogers), the gentleman on my right from Clarke, 
 who has known his person longer than I. But I am his intimate 
 companion from the infancy of that immortal past which we meet 
 here to celebrate. I need not say to this audience, that Joel T. 
 Hart was bom, in 1810, in old Clarke, in old Kentucky. These, 
 our ancestors coming here, in the language of the Romans, into 
 a terra incognita, filled with wild beasts and the more terrific 
 savages of the forest, were not men whom difficulties could appal, 
 or dangers daunt. The sickly scions perished by the wayside — 
 the sturdy oaks only survived. Out of such stock sprung our 
 guest; who, with the characteristic aspirations of our State, de- 
 termined to be first or nothing! — sprung from no family of he- 
 reditary renown — a child of the people, wearing the coat of arms 
 which our glorious institutions confer on all — " an open field and 
 a fair fight" — he advanced fi-om the humble calling of a stone- 
 cutter to be the first in the divine art of living sculptors! I have, 
 I am proud to say, known him like a brother. I have seen him 
 struggle through the long night of poverty aud obscurity, caring 
 nothing for ease, luxury, social rank, wealth, or power; but with 
 a steady and sublime purpose aspiring to immortality among men. 
 Whatever we may do — whatever Kentucky may do — that pur- 
 pose is achieved; and the world decrees that the name of Hart 
 shall never die. I know what I say; I challenge criticism. We 
 do not claim for Hart supremacy in abstract conception — in what 
 may be termed, par excellence, "The Ideal." But we do claim 
 for him that, in the perpetuation of that noblest work of nature ; in 
 that on which only the Divine Writings tell us God impressed His 
 own image, Man; on the tablet of whose world-wide intelligence 
 the passions and aspirations of angels and devils in infinite flexi- 
 bility of feature play, Hart has no equal, living or dead. He is 
 no mere copyist — limning the leaden outlines of this our "earthly 
 
228 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 tabernacle;" but, seizing the happiest expression of his favored 
 subject, he passes it through the crucible of his own genius, and 
 imbues it with divine life. These people may pass away; their 
 institutions may be forgotten; but, as long as we shall be re- 
 membered among men. Hart, Clay, and Kentucky will survive 
 together. * 
 
 It is an illustration of the powers of genius, and our 
 free institutions, that this once obscure youth in Lexing- 
 ton should at last be more honored by the elite of the 
 ladies of Kentucky than any of the aristocracy who ever 
 went before him. The Ladies' Hart Memorial Association 
 bought the "Triumph of Woman" of the Tiffanys of New 
 York, at $5,000; and it was made the occasion, when re- 
 ceived in Kentucky, of many eulogies upon Hart. Mrs. 
 Wm. C. P. Breckinridge, wife of the orator, and the grand- 
 daughter of Governor Joseph Desha, was at the head of 
 the movement. The poetess of Kentucky, Rosa Vertner, 
 now Mrs. Rosa Vertner Jeffrey, who has been so long 
 distinguished for her beauty, wrote the poem upon the 
 occasion. Thus one of the most beautiful women of her 
 times honored the impersonation of the highest type of 
 her sex yet made immortal in art. 
 
 Written for the Lexington Observer. 
 HART'S "TRIUMPH OF CHASTITY." 
 
 INSCRIBED TO 
 
 MRS. WM. C. P. BRECKINRIDGE. 
 
 BY ROSA VERTNER JEFFREY. 
 
 An artist's hand hath carved a mystic story, 
 Whose inspiration through the marble shines; 
 
 Its dumb, cold whiteness is transfused with glory. 
 Illuminating all the beauty lines. 
 
 A story! in the fair form of a woman, — 
 Let woman's heart its subtle truth evolve; 
 
 *This was before Hart made the "Triumph of Woman," and which is the 
 highest ideal; being the first work of the Cosmos — "Woman" — unequalled in in- 
 spiration. I speak on Burn's authority: "All nature swears," etc. — C. 1885. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 229 
 
 This marble problem — yet with all so human, 
 By genius left, for purity to solve. 
 
 A rare creation, as to form and fashion, — 
 
 A woman, by whose lofty pose is shown 
 The soul's high triumph over earthly passion ; 
 
 A fable ! marvelously cut in stone. 
 With life's warm flushes through its pallor breaking 
 
 To tint the cheek, and pulse the sculptured breast, 
 'Twould scarcely be more eloquent — thus waking — 
 
 Than in its perfect and eternal rest. 
 
 A thing of faultless beauty, through long ages 
 
 It must forever stand, forever shine ; 
 Its meaning graved on Purity's white pages, 
 
 Worshipped forever in her cloistered shrine. 
 All honor to the genius thus achieving 
 
 Such glorious triumph, with a master's hand. 
 This chaste ideal of his soul receiving 
 
 Its impress from the women of his land. 
 
 He gave them homage, without stint or measure; 
 
 Upon the altar of his native home; 
 Be it their mission to enshrine this treasure. 
 
 Fine as the sculptured gems of ancient Rome. 
 Within the milk-white quarries of Carrara, 
 
 No purer, fairer marble ever shone; 
 No purer women live,. and none are fairer. 
 
 Than those he has immortalized in stone. 
 Lexington, Ky., April 15, 1884. 
 
 Although the Democrats were beaten in 1848, they 
 gathered strength by the weakness of Fillmore and the 
 divisions of the Whigs. Millard Fillmore, Daniel Web- 
 ster, and Winfield Scott were the aspirants for nomina- 
 tion ; and Scott was finally successful. The popularity of 
 Taylor's military career, no doubt, aided the result; whilst 
 Webster's and Fillmore's subserviency to the slave-power 
 disgusted even the conservative Whigs. 
 
 Franklin Pierce, who was little known, but had been 
 in the Mexican War, was made the nominee of the Demo- 
 
230 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 crats — the prominent candidates having been Cass, Buch- 
 anan, Douglas, and Marcy. But all personal aspirations 
 were merged into solid devotion to the slave-power; and 
 Pierce swept the country, losing only four States. 
 
 The Free-soilers nominated John P. Hale and George 
 W. Julian, as the representatives of the Liberal Party. 
 
 There was this fatality about slavery: whether it lost 
 or won, its fate was not changed. It took the sweeping 
 vote of Pierce to make them mad with prosperity ; and 
 their ultra platform, and violent action in Kansas, to arouse 
 the people from their fatal lethargy. When the great 
 Webster, who yielded so much of the old New-England 
 spirit for compromise, was so contemptuously thrown over- 
 board, lesser men took warning, and girded themselves 
 for the inevitable conflict. 
 
 The Missouri Compromise of 1820, by which all terri- 
 tory north of 36° 30' was forever consecrated to free soil 
 and free men, had been held as sacred as the Constitution 
 itself When, therefore, a bill was brought into the Con- 
 gress and passed, by which this time-honored compact 
 was annulled, and slavery allowed to enter all the territo- 
 ries, there was an alarm and indignation in the Nation 
 which was never before witnessed. 
 
 The Liberals were confirmed in their predictions of 
 the attempt at universal supremacy by the Slave-power ; 
 the ostrich-like Conservatives were dragged from their false 
 security; and the lovers of Liberty every-where saw that 
 it was "now or never." The repeal of the Missouri Act, 
 followed by other aggressions, showed that there could be 
 no compromise between Liberty and Slavery. 
 
 I took no part in the canvass ; but held my position in 
 the advanced guard of the pioneers, sympathizing with the 
 Free-soilers, but confining my action to Kentucky ; foresee- 
 ing coming events, and securing every position for future 
 action. 
 
 The Johnsons were a very large, wealthy, and influen- 
 tial family. Richard M. Johnson, the reported slayer of 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 23 1 
 
 Tecumseh, had been nominated for Vice-President of the 
 United States on the Democratic side. He was altogether 
 devoted to politics ; and, though but of moderate talents, 
 was a man of great energy, amiability, and ambition. He 
 was the admitted leader of the party in Kentucky ; and 
 his brothers and relations in several of the cotton States 
 gave the family great power. In 1845 they were effective 
 in overthrowing the True American on the i8th of August. 
 
 After my return from Mexico, there was a better feeling 
 toward me ; and I was approached by these men and emi- 
 nent Whigs, and asked kindly to discontinue the slavery 
 war, and that I should have any office in the gift of the 
 people. These promises were not vain talk; they were 
 based upon the highest possibilities. But I declined all 
 compromise, and stood by my colors to the last. 
 
 The success of the Texas annexation, and the repeal 
 of the Missouri Compromise, by which the slave-power 
 entered Kansas, once set apart forever to free men, and, 
 lastly, the Lecompton Constitution, aroused the whole 
 North to the great issue. Disintegration of the old parties 
 had long since, as I have said, set in ; but now leading poli- 
 ticians began to fall into the ranks of the followers of John 
 Quincy Adams. S. P. Chase, Martin Van Buren, John P. 
 Hale, Joshua Giddings, Thomas H. Benton, John C. Fre- 
 mont, G. W. Julian, Wm. H. Seward, the Blairs, and others, 
 sooner or later, fell into the new party, opposed to the slave- 
 power. In 1856, it had grown into respectable proportions; 
 and John C. Fremont, Thomas H. Benton's son-in-law, 
 who had won prominence by his march to California through 
 the Rocky Mountains, was made the candidate for Presi- 
 dent, with Wm. L. Dayton for Vice-President, of the Free- 
 soil Party. Once more I took an active part in the can- 
 vass in the North; and spoke, as usual, to immense audi- 
 ences. The violence against the opponents of the slave- 
 power in the North was as relentless as in the South. E. 
 B. Lovejoy was killed not Jong before at Alton, Illinois ; 
 and, in Indiana, many men were murdered at public meet- 
 
232 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 ings; whilst O. P. Morton, then a Democrat, and Thomas 
 A. Hendricks were our most unsparing opponents. 
 
 Abraham Lincoln was first seen by me at Springfield, 
 Illinois, in 1856. Here I made my appointment at the 
 capital; but, when the hour arrived, like at Frankfort, 
 Kentucky, the doors were closed against me. Fortunately, 
 the weather was pleasant; and the crowd immense. This 
 noted man, who was to fill so large a space in the world's 
 history, was then comparatively unknown, practicing law 
 quietly at Springfield, with his associate, O. H. Browning. 
 They sat under the trees. Whittling sticks, as he lay on 
 the turf, Lincoln gave me a most patient hearing. I shall 
 never forget his long, ungainly form, and his ever sad and 
 homely face. He, too, was a native Kentuckian; and 
 could bear witness, in his own person, to the depressing 
 influence of slavery upon all the races. All my weary and 
 seemingly profitless speeches in Kentucky, in the Provi- 
 dence of God, fell like seed sown in good ground; and, 
 when the day of fate came, whether the gallant State 
 should declare for Union or Secession, she stood impreg- 
 nable for the Union of our fathers. * So I flattered my- 
 
 From the Washington Republic. 
 
 * INTERESTING CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 We have received for publication the following correspondence. 
 
 It will command the wide interest and attention with which every 
 
 thing is received by the public from Cassius M. Clay, than whom 
 
 a more gallant spirit does not live: 
 
 October 8, 1857. 
 To the Editor of the Republic: 
 
 The inclosed correspondence was not designed, when written, 
 for publication; but as Mr. Davis's letter evidently was intended 
 to elicit from me something for general explanation, I have thought 
 it best, and no breach of confidence, to send his letter and this 
 reply at once to the press. Your obedient servant, 
 
 C. M. Clay. 
 
 Cabin Creek, Lewis Co., Ky., Friday, October 2, 1857. 
 Dear Sir : — In common with multitudes of the friends of free- 
 dom, I learned with regret of the disturbances which have taken 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 233 
 
 self, when Lincoln listened to my animated appeals for 
 universal liberty for more than two hours, that I sowed 
 there also seed which in due time bore fruit. At all 
 events, he was ever kind and confidential with me ; and 
 to the day of his death there never was an unfriendly 
 word or thought between us. 
 
 I saw no more of Lincoln till after his celebrated can- 
 vass with Stephen A. Douglas for the Senatorship of Illi- 
 nois, in 1858. He was going on north to make that 
 speech, before the young men of New York City, which 
 placed him so eminently before the people for President. 
 Here we renewed our old acquaintanceship; and I, on 
 the cars, had a long talk with him on the great issue. 
 He listened a long time — such was his habit — without 
 saying a word ; and, when I had concluded my argument, 
 he replied: "Yes, I always thought, Mr. Clay, that the 
 man who made the corn should eat the corn." 
 
 Now, these homely ways of expression lowered him in 
 the estimation of weak men ; but his style was that of 
 Franklin — natural and robust, and therefore impressive 
 and convincing. 
 
 place in Rockcastle County; and I was also sorry to learn, through 
 the Cincinnati Commercial, that you did not feel at liberty to inter- 
 pose your powerful influence for the maintenance of that freedom 
 of speech which has been enjoyed through the blessing of Provi- 
 dence on your exertions; and I fear that friends in the Northern 
 States will misapprehend your withdrawal of aid from Brother Fee, 
 and infer that your zeal is slackening in the cause of universal 
 liberty. 
 
 I fear, too, that what you say about Brother Fee's position 
 tending to revolution and insurrection may inflame the mob. 
 
 But, of course, my impressions come from reports received 
 from that region, and I know not the state of things as well as 
 one on the ground. 
 
 Would the determination on your part to secure to him the 
 right of speech produce the impression that you indorsed the 
 principles of the radical Abolitionists? I think not. The slave- 
 holders and pro-slavery men who met a few weeks ago in Madison 
 
234 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Once in Washington, after he was President, in com- 
 pany with a few friends, we had a talk about the fidelity 
 of some person, either civil or military, to the Union; and, 
 
 did not think so. Judge Reid, formerly of this Circuit Court, did 
 not think he was sanctioning the course of Brother Fee when he 
 here charged the grand-jury not to bring in a bill against him. 
 
 I wish, sir, you would use your influence in behalf of the un- 
 restrained utterance of what this godly man honestly believes true. 
 I am quite sure that the people of the free States would appre- 
 ciate the action, and that your magnanimity in this respect would 
 not be lost on the South. 
 
 I should be happy to hear from you soon. Respectfully, 
 
 James S. Davis. 
 Mr. C. M. Clay. 
 
 October 8, 1857. 
 
 Rev. and Dear Sir: — Your favor of the 2d instant is received. 
 I have avoided writing any thing upon the subject of the late mobs 
 in Rockcastle County, Kentucky, preferring to lie myself under 
 misapprehension rather than do any thing which might seem cal- 
 culated to increase the embarrassment of our mutal friend, the 
 Rev. John G. Fee. But since you put direct questions to me, 
 with regard to our relative position, I do not feel at hberty to 
 refuse a reply, and to assume whatever responsibility may rightly 
 rest upon me. 
 
 In the first place, then, I did not withdraw my influence from 
 him, but he his from me. We acted together, from before 1848, 
 upon the basis of Constitutional opposition to slavery. On the 4th 
 of July, 1856, against my urgent advice and solemn protest, he 
 publicly, from the stump, not in the capacity of a minister of the 
 Gospel, but as a politician, made avowals in substance of the doc- 
 trines of the Radical Abolitionists. That is, as I understand him, 
 slavery being contrary to the higher law — the law of Nature and 
 of God — is "no law," unconstitutional, and void, and ought not to 
 be enforced by judge or citizen. In consequence of this separation 
 from the Republican Party, the Central Club of our State called a 
 meeting, and elected another Corresponding Secretary in Mr. Fee's 
 stead, he being present, and silent, at the meeting. In taking his 
 position, then, he separated himself from me and my party; and 
 now, when his own action brings him into trouble, to blame me is 
 unjust and absurd. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 235 
 
 after hearing all that was said, Lincoln concluded: "Yes; 
 he is a bad egg." As we left the White House, one of 
 the company said : " Now, it is all right ; but, for God's 
 
 You complain that I characterized "Radicalism" as "revolu- 
 tionary and insurrectionary." I think it is. And, having induced 
 some of our citizens to embark their fortunes in this move against 
 slavery, I have felt it my highest duty to keep them upon safe and 
 legal grounds. The Radicals propose a fundamental change in our 
 Government, and in a way not prescribed by the Constitution, but 
 in violation of it. The distinguished head and front of the Radical 
 Abolitionists, the Hon. Gerrit Smith, in his late Chicago speech, 
 expressly declares the move a "revolutionary" one. Now, looking 
 upon Mr. Fee's position as such, I am against it; and, whilst I 
 denounce all mobs, I can give him neither "aid nor comfort." To 
 talk of maintaining the liberty of speech in such connection, with- 
 out indorsing his doctrines, is absurd. Such a propagandism in a 
 slave State is not a thing of "speech" or debate, but a state of 
 revolution and insurrection against "the powers that be." 
 
 If there is "no law," moral, divine, nor human, to hold the 
 slave, then the slave is as free as the master. If the slave is as 
 free as the master, he has a right to resist the master. If he slays 
 the master, he is acting under moral and legal self-defense, and not 
 only does not deserve punishment by the courts or otherwise; but 
 can demand, and ought to receive, "aid and comfort" from every 
 Radical Abolitionist the world over. If all this is not "insurrec- 
 tionary and revolutionary," and indictable, and punishable with 
 death under our statutes, whenever an overt act on the part of the 
 slave shall give fact to theory, then I know nothing of law or logic. 
 To all this I am opposed — now, in the past, and in the future. 
 First, because I am in favor of a peaceable and fraternal solution of 
 the slave question. History teaches me that political institutions 
 grow, and are not made; and sudden changes have always been the 
 cause of a retrocession, and not progress. I am ready to make 
 sacrifices, not for a coup de main, but for the gradual and stable 
 advancement of civilization and humanity. Second, because my 
 regard for the black race would lead me to deprecate an issue 
 which, in my judgment, would drive them to the wall. Third, be- 
 cause, if such issue as extermination should ever threaten either race, 
 I am for my own, the white race, against all other races on earth. 
 
 I have thus answered you frankly and fully. I stand now. 
 
236 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 sake, do not tell Sumner about the 'bad egg-'" The 
 truth is, those two words expressed more than ordinary 
 men could put in many sentences. 
 
 We all know Mr. Lincoln was not learned in books; 
 but he had a higher education in actual life than most of 
 his compeers. I have always placed him first of all the 
 men of the times in common sense. He was not a great 
 projector — not a great pioneer — hence not in the first 
 
 where I have always stood, upon Republican ground — the rule 
 of the majority, and constitutional opposition to slavery. And, 
 having spent fortune and lost friends and caste, and repeatedly 
 risked my life in defense of the constitutional liberty of the whole 
 human race, I feel that I can afford to look with contempt upon 
 the idea that I am "slackening in my zeal," because I do not 
 choose to follow the lead of every one who, however conscientious, 
 may jeopard a good cause by fanaticism or folly. With regard to 
 Mr. Fee, personally, I entertain toward him the most friendly 
 feelings. I consider him honest and godly, as you say. He is 
 a man of ability and pure mind. In the wide verge of life, des- 
 tiny separates us; he, and those who act with him, must reap the 
 good and evil of their deeds ! 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 C. M. Clay. 
 Rev. Jas. S. Davis, Cabin Creek, etc., Ky. 
 
 From the Cincinnati Covimercial. 
 CASSIUS M. clay on KENTUCKY MOBS. 
 
 We have received the following from Mr. Clay for publication. 
 It is a copy of a letter directed to the Richmond Messenger: 
 
 December 28, 1859. 
 Editor Richmond Messenger: 
 
 I saw to-day, for the first time, my name used in connection 
 with the Lynch-law proceedings of the late meeting of slave-holders 
 in Richmond, in the following editorial of yours: 
 
 "The Frankfort Yeoman learns that Cassius M. Clay has ex- 
 pressed himself decidedly opposed to the opinions of Fee and his 
 associates, and that they ought to be expelled from the State." 
 
 It is 'well known that, on the 4th of July, from the stump, 
 three years ago, I denounced the doctrine of the "Radical Abo- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 237 
 
 rank of thinkers among men; but, as an observer of men 
 and measures, he was patient, conservative, and of sure 
 conclusions. I do not say that more heroic surgery might 
 not have put down the Rebellion; but it is plain that 
 Lincoln was a man fitted for the leadership at a time 
 when men differed so much about the ends as well as 
 the methods of the war. The anti-slavery element in 
 these States was never, and is not now, great. The 
 
 litionists," and the Rev. John G. Fee, that ''there is no law for 
 Slavery" — and again, in a letter addressed through the press to 
 Rev. James Davis, I repeated my disavowal of any such political 
 sentiment on my part. I have again and again declared that, 
 whilst I was willing to defend the liberty of speech and the press 
 "to the uttermost," as the duty which I, in common with every 
 citizen of this commonwealth, and this nation of freemen, owed to 
 my country — that I did not believe the "radical doctrine" right, 
 and, therefore, I would not jeopard my life in any such false issue. 
 And this I said to Mr. Fee in private, long before our public sepa- 
 ration. But, on the other side, I have never said that Fee, or any 
 other man, or set of men, ought to be expelled from the State. I 
 have always said that if the Radicals, Fee, or any other man, or set 
 of men violated the laws, that I would aid in bringing them to pun- 
 ishment; and that if there was no law to punish the holding or 
 avowing Radical views in a commonwealth holding slaves, that the 
 slave-holders had the political power, let them pass a law to meet 
 the case. I am now, ever have been, and ever shall be, the sworn 
 enemy to mobs, as the worst kind of all possible despotisms! 
 
 So far as the Lynch-law Committee, through their organ, R. 
 R. Stone, strikes at me as a "faction" and a "Republican," I 
 regard it as "fair play in politics." I court full and fair discussion 
 and scrutiny of the principles and aims of the "Republican Party." 
 I have not yet learned to weigh my opinions by what numbers may 
 say or think. I ask myself, am I right? and, when I feel that I am, 
 I shall not be driven from my constitutional privilege of avowal 
 whenever it may suit my good pleasure, although the Lynch-law 
 Committee may not be able to sleep with "doors unbolted." 
 
 The "Republican Party" may not be large enough to meet the 
 wide vision of the Madison Lynchers ; but it is large enough to stand 
 by all its convictions, and defend all its rights, whenever with speech, 
 the pen, or the sword, it is attacked by despots ! C. M. Clay. 
 
238 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Americans, like the English, are ever much in favor of 
 their own liberty. Only when the slave-power projected 
 universal dominion was the North aroused; and only when 
 it was the death of Slavery, or the death of the Union, 
 did the great mass of Americans assent to its destruction. 
 So Lincoln was not indifferent to slavery, as some of his 
 superficial critics assert; but he was a type of the ma- 
 jority of Americans who, whilst conscious of the evils of 
 slavery, were not yet so enthusiastic as to desire to grap- 
 ple with its difficulties. But Lincoln was not only wise, 
 but good. He was not only good, but eminently patriotic. 
 He was the most honest man that I ever knew. Relig- 
 iously, he was an agnostic ; but practically, as the respon- 
 sibilities of his position increased, his devotion to duty 
 increased. So, like the great leaders of all times, he be- 
 came more conscious of the weakness of Man and the 
 power of God. 
 
 These sentiments are variously characterized — with 
 Cyrus, it was the gods; with Caesar and Napoleon, it 
 was individuality and destiny; and, with Lincoln, it grew 
 more and more into a lively behef in the personal gov- 
 ernment of God. This I inferred not so much from his 
 words as his acts, and that sad submission to events and 
 close observance of duty which seemed to rise above all 
 human power over events. I think, therefore, that mo- 
 rality and religion gain nothing by a perversion of facts ; 
 and the noblest heroism of all the ages has followed close 
 onto Theism. For then are the highest faculties of the 
 mind, and the noblest aspirations of the soul, moving in 
 the same direction to the grandest results of human 
 achievements. Lincoln's death only added to the grand- 
 eur of his figure; and, in all our history, no man will as- 
 cend higher on the steep where — 
 
 "Fame's proud temple shines afar." 
 
 I also denounced the Know-Nothing Party; and, by in- 
 vitation, spoke to a great audience at Chicago, Illinois. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Origin of the Republican Party. — The Revolutionary Committee of my 
 County. — My Lf,tter to the Citizens of Madison County. — Turmoil in 
 Kentucky. — Rf.marks of the St. Louis <• Democrat." — Another Triumph 
 for Free Speech. — Letter to the Louisville "Journal." — Testimonial 
 to Mrs. C. M. Clay. — Interview with Wm. H. Seward. — Resolutions of 
 the Young Men's Republican Union of New York. — President Lincoln's 
 FIRST Cabinet. — Promised the Secretary of War Portfolio, I am offered 
 the Mission to Spain. — I refuse, but accept the Mission to Russia. 
 
 THE Slave-power, by trying to carry slavery into Kan- 
 sas by force, showed the ultimate design of cutting 
 the free States, with a line of slave States to the Canada 
 line, from all possible extension toward the great West 
 and Mexico. In this they were defeated. And again, 
 when they could not force the Lecompton Constitution, in 
 Kansas, down the throats of an unwilling people, they 
 more than ever shattered the old parties, and consolidated 
 the opposition to that power in the newly-named Repub- 
 lican Party. 
 
 Edward Bates of Missouri, W. H. Seward of New 
 York, S. P. Chase of Ohio, and Abraham Lincoln of Illi- 
 nois, were the most prominent candidates on our side. 
 John Bell of Tennessee and Edward Everett of Massa- 
 chusetts, as Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates, 
 led the forlorn hope of the old Whigs; whilst Jefferson 
 Davis of Mississippi, S. A. Douglas of Illinois, and John C. 
 Breckinridge of Kentucky, were the Democratic aspirants. 
 
 I took great interest, of course, in the coming Conven- 
 tion of the Republicans at Chicago. * I had been quite 
 
 * I might fill a volume with the support which I received from 
 the press, and the advanced intellects of my times, in the winter 
 of i8$g-'6o, during my struggles for the maintenance of free 
 speech. No one knows the whole matter so well as myself; but 
 
 239 
 
240 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 intimate with S. P. Chase, an able and pure patriot. I had 
 also been long a correspondent with Wm. H. Seward, By 
 the rotten borough system of allowing votes in Convention 
 to States which stand no chance of electoral strength, I had 
 a large following in Kentucky, the other border States, 
 in Western Virginia, and several of the Northern States, 
 where I had spoken so often. So I was much courted by 
 
 I refrain from renewing old enmities, seeing that I stand, whilst 
 they fell. It gives me great pleasure, however, to here perpetu- 
 ate the language of the famous editor of the Louisville Journal — 
 George D. Prentice, Esq. — a man unrivalled in his day for ge- 
 nius in journalism, who so ably and promptly stood on my side; 
 and his own noble sentiments, whenever the galling chains of 
 party fealty allowed. 
 
 Fro?n the Louisville Journal, April 4, 1S60. 
 CASSIUS M. CLAY'S APPEAL. 
 
 We have been requested by C. M. Clay, as an act of justice 
 alike to himself and to the community, to publish the following 
 appeal to his fellow-citizens of the County of Madison. We feel 
 bound in common manliness, if nothing higher or more sacred, to 
 comply with Mr. Clay's request 
 
 If, however, we are mistaken, as we trust we are not, and Mr. 
 Clay's conviction is well-founded, we presume, without hesitation, 
 that the sober, enlightened citizens of Madison will extinguish the 
 guilty project in its very conception. They certainly owe its prompt 
 extinction to themselves, as well as to the Commonwealth, whose 
 stainless fame its execution would sully for all time to come. They 
 owe its extinction to the cause of regulated liberty here and every- 
 where else. The interests of civilization and of society demand it 
 of them. There can be no excuse for such a project. None. Mr. 
 Clay has separated himself from the Radical Abolitionists, whose 
 nefarious sentiments provoked the recent lamentable, though per- 
 haps necessary, proceedings in Madison County, by a line so broad 
 and distinct, and so frequently and clearly touched, that nobody can 
 fail to recognize it. 
 
 He long ago cut entirely loose from these fanatical outlaws. 
 He has time and again disowned their views and their purposes. 
 He now solemnly disclaims all responsibility for their action. He 
 proclaims himself strictly and purely a Republican. As such, and 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 24I 
 
 the aspirants for the Presidency. Between Seward and 
 Chase I felt bound to stand neutral, as they were mutual 
 friends, and equally qualified for office. I made a visit to 
 Washington, and was invited to dine with Seward ; which 
 I did. He showed me the speech which he had elabo- 
 rately written out for delivery in the Senate, as a cam- 
 paign document, and asked my criticism. In this speech 
 
 as a loyal citizen, he plants himself in the shadow of the Consti- 
 tution and the laws, and asks to be let alone. Assuming the cor- 
 -rectness of his statement, which we take to be indisputable, the 
 petition is a just one, and can not be denied him without casting 
 ineffaceable shame on the community and the State. It will not 
 be denied him. It can not be. It is to us utterly incredible that 
 any respectable citizen of Madison has ever entertained even the 
 thought of denying him so plain and unquestionable a right: 
 
 C. M. CLAY'S APPEAL. 
 
 Fellow-Citizens of Madison County: — Learning from a re- 
 liable source that the Revolutionary Committee of Madison are 
 about to meet in Richmond again on next Monday, to take into 
 consideration who are to be proscribed, and having understood 
 that I only escaped their denunciation last Tuesday by a small 
 majority, and that I am again to be considered on Monday, I 
 avail myself of this means of making my protest and defense. I 
 would greatly prefer always to meet my accusers face to face, 
 and there make my defense; but, as friends have insisted on my 
 avoiding any pretense for a conflict, I yield to their wishes, and 
 make this written appeal. In the first place, I, as a free citizen 
 of a Constitutional Commonwealth, most solemnly protest against 
 any power on earth but the legal and regularly constituted authori- 
 ties of my country to decide in any manner upon my "life, lib- 
 erty, or property." I regard, all impartial men will regard, him 
 as the worst enemy of true liberty who acquiesces in any usurpa- 
 tion, on the part of any man or set of men, of the sovereign 
 power of the State. If every man in Madison would assent to 
 the usurpation, it would be none the less an overthrow of the 
 Constitution; which can be annulled, set aside, changed, or dis- 
 obeyed with impunity only by the legal representatives of the 
 people in convention assembled. But, according to the known 
 facts, but about a fourth of the county signed the papers protest- 
 VoL. I.— 16 
 
242 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 it will be seen that he took the ground that he was for 
 the Union, slave or free. Now, as the war had already 
 virtually broken out in Kansas to make all slave or free 
 States, I did not see the necessity of making a great 
 party, and a great to-do about slavery, if we were to 
 end where we began. I read his speech very carefully, 
 and said nothing. The truth was, it killed Seward with 
 
 ing against the doctrines and action of the "Radical Abolition- 
 ists" — Rev. John G. Fee and others. And it is well known that 
 a very large number of those signing that paper were and are 
 utterly opposed to any other than legal proceedings against those 
 unhappy men, women, and children. So that the Committee have 
 not the show of authority, three-fourths of the county having ab- 
 solutely refused, amid threats of intimidation on the part of the 
 movers, to sanction their illegal action. But, waiving all these 
 considerations, I do not fear to plead to you on the merits of my 
 cause. If it was a crime to resist the will and action of this revo- 
 lutionary movement, I have not done even that, except by the 
 high moral power of an earnest protest; refusing to join by force 
 of arms in a common defense with the exiles. My reasons for 
 this are these: I regarded the radical doctrine that "there is no 
 law for slavery" as revolutionary. 
 
 To deny the potency of the Constitution and the laws, is to 
 set up an independent government in opposition to the existing 
 government and laws; the two necessary policies and jurisdictions 
 of which must inevitably at last come into physical conflict. And 
 whilst I am opposed to slavery on all possible grounds, my love and 
 respect for my constitution and my country override all other polit- 
 ical considerations. My theory is, that slavery is a creature of law, 
 and the subject of support, modification, increase, or destruction, as 
 any other poHcy, and to be reached in the same way only — by 
 moral suasion, by speeches, by the press, by the law, and by the 
 constitution. That so long as it constitutes property, by laws — 
 those laws must be respected and enforced in good faith. That 
 the majority have the right to rule, because we know of no other 
 or better way of promoting the ends of the government — the safety 
 and happiness of the whole of the governed. That, if the slave- 
 holders thus rule, we will acquiesce ; and, if we thus rule, they must 
 acquiesce. And therefore the Republicans in Kentucky have been 
 opposed to, and have steadily denounced, any illegal interference 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 243 
 
 me forever! He was full of confidence, seemed to as- 
 sume my support, and asked me to go and see Thurlow 
 Weed, at Albany, New York. Holding, with John Quincy 
 Adams, that, when a war with or for the States should 
 break out, it was one of the essential powers of national 
 existence to organize all its forces for self-preservation, 
 I believed we had a right to destroy slavery. And it 
 
 with slaves, from at home or abroad; they have given no counte- 
 nance to the escape of slaves, to insubordination, or to servile in- 
 surrection. Hence, on the 4th of July, 1856, at the Slate Lick 
 Springs, in this county, when the Rev. John G. Fee avowed from 
 the stump the Radical Abolition doctrine, I denounced it from the 
 stump. He was Corresponding Secretary of the Central Republican 
 Club at our first meeting in Richmond. He was displaced, and a 
 Republican elected in his stead. When he was mobbed in several 
 places, when his co-laborer, Rev. James S. Davis, asked my aid in 
 defending Mr. Fee, I addressed a letter, dated October 8, 1857, 
 declining to identify myself in any way with Mr. Fee's doctrine or 
 action. These letters were first published in the Washington Re- 
 public, in the face of the world, artd were republished in the Louis- 
 ville Journal and other Kentucky papers. Again, when the move- 
 ment was made against the Bereans, I took the same neutral ground, 
 in letters addressed to the Richmond Messenger, and to the Cincin- 
 nati papers, one only of which was published in the Cincinnati 
 Commercial, dated White Hall, Kentucky, December 28, i860, but 
 which, I know not by what means, failed to reach Judge Field 
 until the Monday following; and, the exiles being gone, I went 
 into the Messenger office and took it away, as the occasion for its 
 publication had passed. Again, when I heard that J. G. Hanson, 
 one of the exiles, had returned, I went on Friday last to the house 
 of Alexander McWilliams, where we talked the matter over, and 
 we coincided in opinion, as we always had done, that our friends 
 should separate their fortunes altogether from Hanson and his 
 party. On Saturday, with Jno. H. Rawlings, I went to Berea, 
 and there used all my influence to persuade my Republican friends 
 not to identify themselves at all in any manner with Hanson, but 
 to ask him to sell his mill and move from the State, as his pres- 
 ence would be a continual source of discontent, and might possibly 
 involve the Republicans in a conflict, when innocent men might be 
 killed. I stayed all night with William Stapp, where the same 
 
244 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 was my purpose to do so ; believing that there could be 
 no liberty, even for the whites, in coexistence with this 
 barbarism. 
 
 In the meantime, the Blairs were for Edward Bates, a 
 respectable old Whig of Missouri. They invited me to 
 their residence at the Silver Springs, in Maryland; and, 
 without ceremony, said, if I would go for Bates, I should 
 
 views were uttered and concurred in. I returned again through 
 Berea, enforced with a parting word the same advice; and was 
 leaving for home, when Mr. Hanson hallooed. I stopped, and 
 Mr. Rawlings introduced him to me. He asked me what was 
 the public feeling toward him ? I replied that I would speak 
 frankly with him ; that I was, as he knew, opposed to his polit- 
 ical principles, and could not stand by him in any way, but that 
 my personal feelings were kind toward him ; that I had not talked 
 with the Committee, but I had heard things spoken in their con- 
 fidence, and that the feeling of bitterness against him was greater 
 than ever on account of his return; and I hoped that he would 
 leave the State for his own safety, as well as to avoid the possible 
 fight between my friends and the Committee, because of his pres- 
 ence. He remarked that he had found no fanjlt with me ; that 
 every one must stand on his own convictions ; and that ' ' every 
 dog has his day." 
 
 Taking leave of him, I went to Kingston, where I stayed all 
 night with Whitt Moody. Whilst there, Messrs. Broaddus and 
 Newland came in to see me, when I expressed the same views. 
 I sent for Geo. W. Maupin, an old hunting companion, to spend 
 the night with us, and have a friendly talk about the whole matter, 
 as I knew he was one of the Committee, and had acted the part 
 of a peace-maker when Tony was attacked in the first raid to Berea, 
 as I was told. I then explained to Mr. Maupin, in the presence 
 of Mr. Si. Newland and Whitt Moody, my whole position, as he 
 had not read my Frankfort speech. I told him that he was one 
 of a Revolutionary Committee; that I should not interfere with 
 their action if they confined themselves to the expulsion of the 
 "Radicals;" but, if the Committee attacked the Republicans on 
 account of principles, that we would defend ourselves to the last ; 
 and that in such defense would shoot him, Reuben Monday, Ter- 
 rill, or any other one of the Committee who aided and abetted 
 any assassination of any of my party. That I was for peace; that 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 245 
 
 be made Secretary of War. Now, for Henry Clay to be 
 suspected of going for John Q. Adams, in consideration 
 of being made Secretary of State, was infamous ; but to 
 bargain for another cabinet office was quite patriotic! The 
 truth is, any combination of men for a great purpose, if 
 that purpose is promoted by individual elevation, is not 
 only admissible, but wise. And these gentlemen had the 
 
 I told our friends at Berea that whoever stood in defense of Han- 
 son, would do so at his own risk, and we would not stand by 
 him; but that, if they cleared themselves of Hanson, and were 
 attacked in their own right, we would make a common cause — 
 we would take to the woods, and defend ourselves to the death. 
 
 This, men of Madison, is my whole connection with the Radi- 
 cals at Berea; all the time against their doctrines; all the time for 
 the peace and the safety of the community. 
 
 On Monday night I stayed with my sister, Mrs. Smith. On 
 Tuesday, hearing that the excitement was mostly against me, and 
 that I was thought to have dictated the letter of Hanson to Judge 
 Field, with a view to bring about a war, I made my remarks at 
 the court-house to clear the popular mind of all misapprehensions. 
 The falsehood of the whole allegation is apparent, when you will 
 see by the letter to Judge Field that it is dated on the 13th 
 instant — two weeks ago — when I had neither seen nor known 
 Hanson, nor been at Berea since my Northern tour, and therefore 
 could not possibly have had any intercourse with him whatever. 
 Now it turns out just as I expected — from what Mr. Newton said 
 in Richmond last Wednesday, in the presence of G. W. Maupin 
 and others — that the Republicans had nothing to do with Hanson, 
 were for peace, and fought in their own defense. The Repub- 
 licans of Berea say that their houses were rudely searched (which 
 was admitted to me by one of the party) ; and I give you here a 
 copy of a letter written to me by Messrs. Bland and Haley, stating 
 the whole cause of the difficulty, which original letter, signed by 
 them, and by H. Rawlings, can be seen by calling upon me: 
 
 Berea, in the evening, March 30, i860. 
 My friend, C. M. Clay: — I drop a few lines to you stating the facts con- 
 cerning the fight. In the first place, it was not brought about over Hanson ; but 
 over the treatment of George West. The Committee went to his house on the 
 hunt for Hanson. West is in the last stage of consumption, and told his daughter 
 to shut the door; and they broke the door down, and they cuffed and abused West 
 and his daughter; and we went to see West, with no view of seeing any of them. 
 
246 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 higher end in view. But I knew nothing of Bates' prin- 
 ciples ; and I as frankly declined to support him. For 
 this I lost favor with the Blairs. I concluded, however, 
 to go to Albany, and did so; where I met Thurlow Weed, 
 the renowned camp-follower. He, of course, had been ad- 
 vised of my coming, and received me in a gushing way; 
 but, having made up my mind that not only Seward ought 
 
 We met them, and I begged for peace, and did all I could to obtain it. I in- 
 tended to take your good advice. Frank Bland and Green Haley. 
 
 Here, men of Madison, are some of the facts, but not all of 
 the facts — the language to the daughter of West was too gross for 
 the public eye, and I therefore suppress it; nor were these the only 
 outrages. A similar offense to the children of the poor brought on 
 a revolution in that kingdom from which we draw our blood and 
 our love of liberty. The story will sink deep into the hearts of 
 thirty millions of Americans. The battle of the 26th day of March 
 will never be forgotten in the annals of the nation! 
 
 You may drive these men into the mountains ; you may bum 
 their houses; you may hunt them down like wild beasts, till the 
 last one falls by superior force; but their cause is the cause of 
 American liberty, and of the noblest instincts of human nature. 
 Their martyrdom will light up the fires of civil war, which will per- 
 vade the Union, and be extinguished only by the downfall of one 
 or the other of these great powers. Liberty or Slavery, forever! 
 Men of Madison, / stand by these men — I stand by the Constitution 
 and laws of my native State — I stand by the Republican Party 
 every-where — I stand by the liberties which I inherited from our 
 fathers, and which my own blood has, from the beginning of the 
 Revolution of 1776 to this hour, in every battle-field, been ready 
 to defend. I stand, in a word, on my Frankfort speech of the loth 
 of January, i860, which I desire to place before the world as the 
 ground of my faith and of my action. T shall in no way whatevef 
 recognize or submit to any Revolutionary Committee. 
 
 At my country's call I have freely risked my life in her de- 
 fense; two years in exile from my home and family; nine months 
 in a foreign prison; ready at all times to sacrifice money, health, 
 and even life itself, I have brought back an unsullied name to the 
 place of my birth, and which you were not the last to welcome as 
 the common glory of our State. You may be strong enough to 
 overpower me; you can not drive me from the duty which I owe 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 247 
 
 not to be the nominee, but could not be, I desired to 
 make combinations which should be useful to my friend, 
 should I decide for one. Weed talked all I wanted ; but, 
 as I had no faith in his talk, I reduced some propositions 
 to writing which would commit him and friends, in case 
 of Seward's defeat in Chicago, to me and my friends. 
 To this the camp-follower never replied. So I left Al- 
 to myself, to my friends, and to my country. If I fall, I trust I 
 shall not fall in vain ; and it will be enough for all my long-cherished 
 aspirations if, perchance, my blood shall atone for the wrongs of 
 my race, and these States shall at last be free I 
 
 C. M. Clay. 
 White Hall, Ky, March 31, i860. 
 
 LETTER FROM C. M. CLAY. 
 
 White Hall, Ky., March 29, i860. 
 To the Editor of the Louisville Journal — 
 
 The secret purpose of the leaders of the attack upon the "Radi- 
 cals" at Berea was to suppress Republicanism in Kentucky, and 
 aimed more especially at me. Knowing that I relied upon the 
 justice of my cause, and the irreproachable and patriotic purposes 
 of my whole action in the Commonwealth, I in good faith cut my- 
 self away from the revolutionary doctrines of the "Radical Aboli- 
 tionists," and the unfortunate purposes of those who in their persons 
 made an armed insurrection against the non-slaveholding whites of 
 the Commonwealth. The proposition that the Legislature should, 
 as it could constitutionally do, enact a law to meet the difificulty, 
 and thus avoid all violence, was met by the Radical Abolitionists 
 of the North, and their enemies here, with equal denunciation. 
 The reason alleged was, that it was useless to drive off these non- 
 resistants whilst I was left to agitate the slavery question ! And it 
 is well known that my personal and political enemies desired to in- 
 clude me in the proscription 1 Nothing but the friendship of some 
 of the Committee (when the proposition was made,) and the con- 
 servatism of the county prevented. Finding that they did not get 
 a safe opportunity to attack the Republicans through the Radicals, 
 whom they supposed would be defended by us, they kept up their 
 threats against me till my Frankfort speech rallied around me all 
 the true lovers of constitutional liberty, and thwarted for the time 
 their criminal designs. Every thing that I have said offensive to 
 
248 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 bany uncommitted to any one. It is useless to add, that 
 from that day to the death of both these men, they were 
 my implacable enemies. 
 
 S. P. Chase was now my first choice; but "Bluff Ben. 
 Wade," who was another trickster, and who envied Chase's 
 high character and fame, set up for himself to divide the 
 Ohio delegation, and thus throw Chase out of the contest. 
 It was now Lincoln or Bates ; and, of course, I was for 
 Lincoln. 
 
 the slave-holding interest has been studiously paraded in the press 
 and elsewhere, and calumny added, both by the slave-holders and 
 the Radical Abolitionists of the North, to consummate my ruin and 
 the downfall of the cause of liberty here. 
 
 J. G. Hanson, one of the expelled Bereans, returned to Ken- 
 tucky, his native State, on the ^d day of this month, as published in 
 a letter to the Centreville (Ind.) Republican. The mob again threat- 
 ening him but faintly, he retired — which was well known here in 
 all circles — to the mountains for a while; and then was generally 
 at Berea, having preached and attended Sunday-school more than 
 once. But so soon as it was known that I was in Berea on Satur- 
 day, a great excitement was got up, and stories circulated that I 
 was there marshaling my forces against the revolutionary tribunal. 
 By Sunday night the mob had taken the field ; and, on Monday, 
 brought on the collision at Berea, by "illegal search" of the houses 
 of citizens there without warrant, adding insult to injury, ostensibly 
 to find Hanson, but in reality to raise a row, which they succeeded 
 in doing, several being shot on both sides. And the Revolutionary 
 Committee, driven back, rallied again on Tuesday; and, finding no 
 one, broke down that terrible thing — the saw-mill — and declared 
 vengeance against me and the Republicans who were engaged in 
 the fight. What was my true position? Standing on the doctrine 
 of my Frankfort speech, I advised Mr. Hanson to leave the State, 
 and thus save himself and my friends from the conflict which I well 
 knew was premeditated by the Revolutionary Committee. On Sun- 
 day night I stayed at Kingston, where I stated the whole thing, 
 and my message of peace to Berea, to several slave-holders. One 
 of the Revolutionary Committee being present, I was then informed 
 by that committeeman that they were " after me certainly" — that I 
 "was the one wanted;" and it was currently reported that a special 
 
t>F CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 249 
 
 I did not go to the Convention, and had no idea that 
 1 would be nominated for President or Vice-President, 
 though many friends so wrote me; but I was next to 
 Hannibal Hamlin of Maine; and all say, if I had been 
 there, I could have had the Vice-Presidential nomination 
 over any one. But, Lincoln being the Presidential nomi- 
 nee, it was thought prudent to allow Seward's friends to 
 name the Vice-President; and, Hamlin of Maine being a 
 Northern man, and Seward's friend, it was also thought 
 
 detachment had been sent to "take ine" wherever found — which the 
 said detachment was very careful not to do ! At the same time the 
 old letter of protest, which Hanson wrote on the loth instant to 
 Judge Field, was now talked of as being dictated by me at Berea 
 on Saturday, to stir up the community to madness, and execute 
 vengeance upon me without time for truth and reflection. On Tues- 
 day I was, no doubt, saved from this ruse only by timely taking the 
 stump, and showing the true people of Madison what I had really 
 done; and that some of the mob knew the whole thing on Monday, 
 and had suppressed it with a view of connecting me with stirring 
 up war in the State! The Committee well know, whilst I shall not 
 defend the Republicans in their mad purpose, that I will not be 
 driven into acquiescence in their usurped power, nor from the de- 
 fense of all Republicans who are attacked in their person or property 
 because of their Republicanism. They desire to renew the fable of 
 the wolf and the lamb; and by the committal of outrages against 
 my friends, which I am pledged to resist, to consummate, with a 
 show of public justice, their own criminal designs against my life 
 and cause. I publish these facts that all honest men may not be 
 deluded; that we may stand or fall upon our merits; and not be 
 overwhelmed with clamor, which is the strong weapon of mob vio- 
 lence always. The Governor may make his demonstration; the 
 "Minie rifles" and "cannon" may come on to extinguish the just 
 indignation of outraged freemen in vain. Standing upon the laws, 
 the Constitution, and our own patriotic purposes, we shall not be 
 intimidated by this new accession of power in the suppression of 
 our rights. If civil war is begun, it will be begun against our most 
 earnest implorations of the forbearance of friends, and most solemn 
 protest against the aggressions of enemies of the common liberties 
 of all ! If blood be shed, it will not be first shed by us ! If the 
 
250 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 best to nominate him, and not me; of an adjoining State. 
 I was well content with the result ; and entered heartily into 
 the contest. 
 
 It was generally talked of at Chicago, that I was to be 
 made Secretary of War ; and Lincoln himself wrote to me 
 to that effect. He also wrote me a letter urging me to 
 canvass Indiana for him; which I did. This State was 
 then Democratic ; but from all parts of Kentucky for long 
 
 State shall fly to arms, and citizens North and South become in- 
 volved in one common ruin, let those who shall begin the conflict 
 answer for the end ! C. M. Clay. 
 
 From the New York Times, April, i860. 
 TURMOIL IN KENTUCKY. 
 The committee then dispatched the following letter: 
 
 Richmond, March 30, i860. 
 Captain John Morgan, Messrs. Allen, Goodloe, Brtue, and Hunter — 
 
 Gentlemen: — We send the bearer of this note, requesting you to send us a 
 cannon. We are in a serious difficulty with the Fee party in our county, and we 
 need u cannon to whip them out. Your attention to this will much oblige a great 
 many good citizens of this county — citizens who will remember the kindness. Send 
 us cannon-balls and cartridges, and every thing necessary to load it. All expenses 
 and damages, if any, will be promptly paid. Your friends, 
 
 Ed. Turner, Maj. Wm. Harris; 
 R. R. Stone, Dr. Wm. Jennings, 
 And others. 
 P. S. — If you can, send us two or three of your boys who know how to load 
 and shoot, and are competent to direct the piece, etc. E. W. Turner. 
 
 We have no one who has been accustomed to loading or shooting a cannon^ 
 and would like for some one to come who is competent. E. W. Turner. 
 
 The Courier (Louisville, Ky.) adds, that the cannon was for 
 warded, and the "Lexington Rifles" were ready to march. 
 
 From the St. Louis Democrat, April, i860. 
 MOBOCRACY IN KENTUCKY — C. M. CLAY'S APPEAL. 
 
 The public are not ignorant of the unfortunate state of affairs 
 which has prevailed for a considerable period in Madison County, 
 Kentucky. There has been trouble there since 1856, but it was 
 not until the past winter that it broke out into systematic violence 
 and wholesale aggressions. One or two individuals, who profess 
 radical anti-slavery opinions, had been mobbed previously; but last 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 25 I 
 
 years, when non-slaveholders were driven out for their 
 opinions, they migrated mostly to Indiana. Thus, when I 
 spoke there, a great number of Democrats came to hear 
 me, and were won over to my cause. The upshot was, 
 that we carried Indiana for Lincoln; and this saved the 
 election. 
 
 In the meantime, the Slave-power, who had seen their 
 hopes of empire lost in Kansas, and in the election of 
 
 December several families residing in a place called Berea, and the 
 members of which are mainly natives of the State, were expelled 
 for the same offence by a pro-slavery organization which has estab- 
 lished itself as the supreme power in Madison County, One of the 
 exiles, a gentleman by the name of Hanson, a Kentuckian by birth, 
 who owned, it seems, a considerable property in Berea, returned 
 there in March. This was the signal for another and more serious 
 demonstration on the part of the pro-slavery men. They attacked 
 Berea on the 26th day of March; but, after a sharp struggle with 
 the people of the village, in which several were wounded on both 
 sides, they were compelled to retreat. Renewing the assault, two 
 or three days afterward, they succeeded in destroying a mill, the 
 property of Hanson. Encouraged by this achievement, they deter- 
 mined to expel, or exterminate, every Republican in the county. 
 In pursuance of this design, they resolved, with true instinct, to 
 strike the next blow at Cassius M. Clay. The lordly tower, or the 
 oak — the monarch of the forest — is not more apt to attract the 
 lightning from the clouds than such a man as Clay to draw upon 
 his head the bolts of pro-slavery vengeance. His address to the 
 citizens of Madison County was called forth by the dangers im- 
 pending over him. The Revolutionary Committee sat in judg- 
 ment on him once, on which occasion he escaped "denounce- 
 ment," namely, exile or death, by a small majority. The subject 
 was to be reconsidered at a subsequent meeting, and in the inter- 
 val the Address appeared. We find it called an "Appeal" in the 
 newspapers; but the body of the document proved that to be a 
 misnomer. It is a statement of the writer's case, concluding with 
 a most emphatic declaration, that he will never recognize, much 
 less submit or yield, to the Revolutionary Committee ; that, on the 
 contrary, he will fight to the death first. He vindicates himself 
 from the accusation of having any affiliation with the Radical Abo- 
 litionists, showing by indubitable testimony that he not only repu- 
 
252 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Lincoln, looked to war, and a Southern Slave Confedera- 
 tion expanding toward Mexico and the tropical islands; 
 and they made the election of Lincoln the nominal pretext 
 for revolution. 
 
 I was the only speaker, so far as I am informed, who 
 always predicted war in case of Democratic defeat; and 
 accepted the issue. 
 
 So I never wrote to Lincoln, or went to the inaugura- 
 
 diates their doctrines, but counseled the Republicans of Berea to 
 refuse, like himself, to make common cause with Hanson, and the 
 associates of Hanson. These Republicans, it appears, had a cause 
 for acting as they did, altogether non-political — a cause which true 
 men of all parties will pronounce, not only a just, but an impera- 
 tive one. Clay is a Republican pure and simple, and will not, 
 therefore, take up arms in defense of Abolitionists, however much 
 he may regret the violation of the Constitution and the laws of 
 Kentucky in their persons; but, being a Republican, a soldier, and 
 a hero, he will fight, and, if need be, perish in defense of Repub- 
 licans and Republican principles. This is his position; these are 
 ideas which he avows. 
 
 Our deliberate opinion is, that his enemies in Madison County 
 will never be able to make him a martyr to the Republican cause; 
 but we are by no means so sure that they may not succeed in 
 making him President of the United States. Notice of ejectment 
 tnay be served on him, but he will not quit the State; and it 
 were to doubt the manhood and chivalry of Kentucky to suppose 
 that the Revolutionary Committee, and their adherents, would be 
 permitted to slay him. We rather opine that the Committee in 
 question have discovered before this time that discretion is the 
 better part of valor. They have heard the lion's roar in that 
 Address ; and we have no doubt it has had a salutary effect on 
 their deliberations. Were Clay forced into the position of defend- 
 ing his common rights as a citizen, by physical force, troops of 
 Kentuckians, we have not the slightest doubt, and especially of his 
 old companions in arms, would flock to his assistance. The law, 
 too, and all law-abiding citizens, would be on his side, and against 
 the revolutionary mob. No, he could not be conquered; but a 
 demonstration against him, like that threatened, would very prob- 
 ably make him the favorite of the Chicago Convention, and the idol 
 of the entire non-slaveholding population of the country. There- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 255 
 
 tion at Washington; waiting quietly to be called to the 
 responsible post to which public sentiment and the Presi- 
 dent himself had pointed. The first enlightenment I had 
 of the intrigues against me was the publication, in the 
 Washington journals, that I had been appointed Minister 
 Plenipotentiary to Spain.. I went at once to Washington. 
 Seward had been made Secretary of State, Simon Cam- 
 eron of War, Edward Bates Attorney-General, Gideon 
 
 fore, as the advocate of the Bates movement, as well as admirers 
 of his eloquence and ability, of the nobleness of his character, and 
 of his truly heroic life, we desire that he may not be molested. 
 Could our voice reach the Revolutionary Committee of Madison, 
 we would entreat that Jacobin tribunal to let him alone for its own 
 sake, for his sake, and for ours — most of all, for its own; for we 
 entertain the notion that such of its members as should proceed to 
 execute the "denouncement" would experience a premature and 
 tragic fate. 
 
 But what shall be said of the government and laws of Ken- 
 tucky. In one of the oldest counties of that old and illustrious 
 Commonwealth, a reign of terror has prevailed for months; mob- 
 ocracy has trampled on the laws with impunity, and committed, in 
 open day, and through the instrumentality of organized bands, out- 
 rages on person and property — exiling the one, and destroying 
 the other. 
 
 Repeated attempts have been made in Missouri to drive out 
 free negroes; but the only power invoked for that purpose was 
 the legislative power. In Kentucky they drive out white men, na- 
 tives of the soil, not only without legal warrant, but with indifference 
 to the Constitution and the statutes. We have had a queer Gov- 
 ernor in this State, and we have had a queer Legislature — one 
 distinguished equally for its inhumanity and its imbecility; but yet 
 we can take some comfort by comparing ourselves with Kentucky. 
 
 Since the end of the Kansas difficulties, and the Blue Lodge 
 regime, Abolitionists as well as Democrats, Americans and Repub- 
 licans, are permitted to live amongst us. Except some of the 
 country banks, no person or association of persons, and slave- 
 holders least of all, invoke the interposition of Lynch judgment 
 and terrorism. The crime of negro-stealing is punished by the 
 laws, and not by mobs, just like any other larceny. Although we 
 dare not say that the expression of extreme anti-slavery opinions 
 
254 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Wells Secretary of the Navy, and Caleb B. Smith Secre- 
 tary of the Interior, with Montgomery Blair Postmaster- 
 General. I went directly to Lincoln, and told him I 
 would not accept the mission to an old, effete government 
 like Spain; that I had, at my own expense and great 
 sacrifice of money and time, canvassed for five real and 
 acting Presidents, and had never asked an office for my- 
 self or any friend; that I had labored for the time to 
 come when I could accept office only to vindicate my prin- 
 ciples; and now, since they seemed to have so many bet- 
 ter men than myself, I should go home at once, and 
 settle down into private life. (I never named his promise 
 about the War Department till my recall from Russia, in 
 1862.) Lincoln seemed much affected, and said: "Well, 
 
 is tolerated in all parts of our State, yet, except in the case of 
 Mr. Milliken, of Kirkville, we can remember no recent case of 
 persecution, or attempt at persecution, for political opinions of 
 any kind; though it is certain, from our large immigration for the 
 last few years, that every shade of opinion is represented among 
 our population. Even the persecution against Milliken, we be- 
 lieve, died out without producing an overt act. Missouri may, 
 therefore, plume herself by comparison with a State which per- 
 mits an illegal Society to drive her native children by force into 
 exile, for no other cause than their opinions. 
 
 From the New York World. 
 
 ANOTHER TRIUMPH FOR FREE SPEECH — C. M. CLAY AT RICH- 
 MOND, KENTUCKY. 
 
 Cassius M. Clay won another victory for free speech, and 
 struck a good blow in behalf of Republicanism, at Richmond, 
 Kentucky, the county seat of Madison County, on the 4th instant 
 (April, i860). This was the day of the opening of the County 
 Court; and a large number of people were, of course, present 
 from the surrounding country. 
 
 Mr. Clay had publicly announced, through both the papers 
 issued at Richmond, that he intended to speak on this occasion, 
 and the subject was much canvassed in the streets. The more 
 violent portion of the Revolutionary Committee, we learn, were 
 for silencing him. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 255 
 
 what office would you accept?" I said, seeing tiie Cabi- 
 net was filled, I would go as Minister Plenipotentiary to 
 London or to Paris. He said those were already full — 
 Wm. O. Dayton having been named for Paris, and Charles 
 Francis Adams for England. This was the first I had 
 heard of these appointments ; and I saw the hand of Se- 
 ward in all my defeats. I said: "Well, that settles the 
 matter." So, taking my hat, I was about taking my leave, 
 when Lincoln said: "Do not go home. I will consider 
 the proposition." 
 
 That day I dined at the house of H. S. Sanford, who 
 was just made Minister Resident at Belgium, with a large 
 party of the most prominent Republicans. After dinner, 
 Senator Ed. D. Baker of Oregon, who had been in Mexico 
 
 At one o'clock p. M., the large court-house was packed to its 
 utmost capacity. Mr. Clay took up the Republican platform and 
 read it, making no allusion to the mob, but going on to vindicate 
 the principles laid down in that platform. Finding him prudent 
 enough to avoid any mention of the mob, one of the most vio- 
 lent of them declared that Mr. Clay should be "shot through the 
 head." Mr. Clay said he claimed the same equal rights as were 
 allowed other parties, and that he would "stand or fall there!" 
 The clamor against him continued; but the great mass cried out: 
 "Go on."* 
 
 Mr. Clay then said : ' ' Gentlemen, I see what you are after. 
 If nothing but a fight will do you, we are ready for you. Now 
 try it. Shall I speak, citizens, or not?" "Yes, yes; go on," 
 was the response from the great majority of the crowd. A doz- 
 en voices cried out: "No, no." To which Mr. Clay replied: 
 "Then go out" (great applause), "if you do not want to hear!" 
 And they went out, completely foiled in their attempt at assas- 
 sination. 
 
 Mr. Clay made a strong speech, which told with great effect 
 upon his large audience. Many "Union" men, we are told, de- 
 clared for Lincoln that day. Our Republican friends there are in 
 good spirits. They say the cause is progressing; and that the 
 
 * These were the men who drove out the Rev. John G. Fee, and forty others, 
 from Berea. H. Cavanaugh was afterward shot, through a window in his own 
 house, and killed. The slave-power was as violent then as ever before. — C. 1885. 
 
256 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 with me, and who was intimate with Lincoln and myself, — 
 he who was afterward killed at Ball's Bluff, — came in, 
 and, taking me aside, said he had held a conversation 
 with Lincoln, and that he was very much disturbed about 
 me ; that Seward had promised the two missions named 
 to Dayton and Adams, and they would be offended if 
 those missions were given to others ; that Lincoln thought 
 my going home would injure the cause, and would like to 
 do something, if possible, to satisfy me; and this argu- 
 ment Baker fully sustained. He said: "Mr. Lincoln has 
 not decided not to give you one of the posts you desire; 
 
 time is not far distant when Kentucky will not only tolerate free 
 speech, but will also range herself on the right side. 
 
 From the New York Tribune. 
 TESTIMONIAL TO MRS. C. M. CLAY. 
 The splendid portrait of Hon. Cassius M. Clay, which attracts 
 so much attention at the Tremont House, is on its way to White 
 Hall, Kentucky, to be presented to Mrs. Clay, as indicated by the 
 subjoined letter. The portrait is one of Brady's best imperial mez- 
 zotint photographs, and is a perfect likeness of the hero of Frank- 
 fort. We append the letter: 
 
 New York, April 3, i860. 
 Mrs. C. M. Clay — 
 
 Madam : — The undersigned friends of your distinguished husband, and officers 
 of the organization under the auspices of which he made his recent eloquent political 
 address in this city, beg you to accept the photographic likeness herewith sent as a 
 feeble testimonial of their admiration of that heroic devotion to liberty and the right 
 which has characterized the life and made illustrious the name of Cassius M. Clay. 
 With best wishes for your continued health and prosperity, we are, with great respect, 
 
 Cephas Brainerd, R. C. McCormick, 
 
 George P. Edgar, Dexter A. Hawkins, 
 
 D. H. Gildersleeve, Charles C. Nott, 
 Wm. M. Franklin, Charles H. Cooper, 
 
 Frank W. Ballard, Charles T. Rodgers, 
 Erasmus Sterling, Benj. F. Mannierre, 
 
 Hiram Barney. 
 
 From the New York Evening Post. 
 CASSIUS M. CLAY AND THE YOUNG MEN'S REPUBLICAN UNION. 
 The following resolutions were unanimously adopted at a meet- 
 ing of the Young Men's Republican Union, last evening (April 7, 
 i860): 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 257 
 
 but can not you find something else that will do?" I 
 then said to him : " Russia is a great and young nation, 
 and must much influence this great crisis; I will go there." 
 He seemed to have anticipated me, and said: "All right; 
 get your hat, and we will go at once and see the Presi- 
 dent." So saying, we went; and found Lincoln alone, 
 evidently looking for us. When Baker explained that I 
 would accept the Russian mission, Lincoln rose up ; and, 
 taking my hand, said: "Clay, I thank you; you relieve 
 me of great embarrassment." And so that matter ended. 
 
 Whereas, We have been advised that our much-esteemed 
 friend, the Hon. Cassius M. Clay, is now being grossly assailed 
 by the advocates of slavery in the State of Kentucky, with the 
 evident intent of expelling him from the home of the Clays, or 
 depriving him of his life, because he has had the boldness to 
 express his opinions — a right guaranteed to every citizen by the 
 Constitution of the United States — therefore, be it — 
 
 Resolved, That the "Young Men's Republican Union," of the 
 city and county of New York, fully appreciate the disinterested, 
 philanthropic, and patriotic motives of the Hon. Cassius M. Clay 
 in his efforts to promote the honor and prosperity of his native 
 State; do sympathize with him in his present difficulties; and sin- 
 cerely hope that the noble stand he has taken, in fearlessly ex- 
 pressing his opinions, may open the eyes of his fellow-citizens to 
 a sense of their true position, and bring about such a change in 
 their sentiments as may awaken them to a sense of justice, dic- 
 tated by patriotic impulses, to vindicate the rights of a noble and 
 generous man, as well as to preserve the fair fame and welfare 
 of our common country. 
 
 Resolved, That we recognize, in the action of those who are 
 engaged in this attack upon Mr. Clay, a desire to crush the 
 friends of freedom in Kentucky, who accept the great principles 
 of the Republican Party as their political faith, and who look 
 upon Mr. Clay as their leader in that State. 
 
 Resolved, That the foregoing preamble and resolutions be pub- 
 lished in the New York Tribune, Evening Post, and Herald; and 
 that a copy be sent to the Hon. Cassius M. Clay. 
 
 Charles T. Rodgers, President, 
 Erasmus Sterling, Secretary'. 
 Vol. I. — 17 
 
258 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Returning to Kentucky, I made immediate arrange- 
 ments ; and, taking my wiiole family, except Green Clay, 
 I returned to Washington. Seward treated me with the 
 greatest coolness ; advanced me no money, as was usual 
 in such cases, from the treasury, and gave me no instruc- 
 tions, but the simple accustomed credentials certifying my 
 office. 
 
 I had set out in life one of the wealthiest men in the 
 West; had never lived extravagantly, but had devoted all 
 my means and energies to the accomplishment of my po- 
 litical views. I now felt extremely the cold treatment 
 which I had received from my allies, but abated nothing 
 in heart or hope. Whilst I was waiting for the instruc- 
 tions which I never received, the Rebellion culminated in 
 the destruction of the National ships in the Chesapeake, 
 and the bloodshed of the Massachusetts troops in Balti- 
 more. I heard the news of the ships; and, going at 
 once to my family at Willard's, told them to immediately 
 take the omnibus, which was at the door, for the railroad, 
 go on to Philadelphia, and there await my coming. So, 
 leaving their clothes and trunks unpacked, they reached 
 the depot, and escaped to Philadelphia. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The Clay Battalion. — Defense ov Washington City. — The C. M. Clay 
 Guards, i86i. — General James H. Lane. — Testimonials. — Hon. Charles 
 Sumner urges my acceptance of the Commission of Major-General. — I 
 decline, and proceed on my Mission to Russia. — W. R. Henley. — Scraps 
 of History. — Issue of Veracity between B. F. Wade and myself. — Tele- 
 gram from the Blairs. — Continued Assaults by the Seward faction. — 
 Extracts from the Newspapers — New York "Evening Post," "World," 
 and Erie (Pa.) "Gazette," indorsing me for Secretary of War. 
 
 HENRY WILSON, in his "History of the Slave- 
 Power," gives a very poor and inaccurate account 
 of the defense of Washington ; in which I took so active 
 a part. This history was written after my return from 
 Europe, and I had taken sides in favor of the autonomy 
 of the South. So Wilson was not at all different from 
 most Republicans, if he could not do me justice. James 
 H. Lane, of Kansas, then Senator, and myself had all 
 along been at war with the Slave-power; and, whilst 
 other men were paralyzed by their warlike movements, 
 we were ready to move steadily in defense. There was 
 no meeting at the Willard Hotel but of my own getting 
 up; nor was there, as Wilson says, a separate movement 
 by me in the theater at that hotel. I began and con- 
 ducted the whole organization myself — I at Willard's, 
 and Lane at another part of the city, where he boarded. 
 Willard's was full of guests, from top to bottom, most 
 of them Southerners. There were rumors of the capture 
 of Washington from the beginning; and, as soon as the 
 ships were sunk, I knew that the war there had begun, 
 and that Washington was the point of all the strategy. 
 The District was in the midst of the slave States of Vir- 
 ginia and Maryland, which were confidentially relied upon 
 
 259 
 
260 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 to join the South, and which would have been the result 
 but for the patriotism of Governor Hicks, backed up by 
 the great genius and moral support of Miss Anne Ella 
 Carroll, daughter of Ex-Governor Carroll, of Maryland. 
 The possession of the capital would have given the South 
 at once recognition by foreign governments; most of whom 
 were more than willing to see the overthrow of free insti- 
 tutions. 
 
 That very night I began the enlistment of volunteers 
 for the defense of Washington. The troops of the Gov- 
 ernment were but a fragment of the force necessary to 
 defend the city against traitors in and out of the army ; 
 and Col. McGruder, who commanded the largest force, 
 the artillery, was a traitor, and soon went over to the 
 enemy. General Scott, then in command in Washington, 
 was old, and not up to the political forces at work. I oc- 
 cupied a parlor and bed-room, and kept a fine pair of 
 Colt's revolvers loaded in the latter, whilst I wore my 
 accustomed Bowie-knife. As the names of the volunteers 
 were listed, I gave the pass-word; and no person what- 
 ever was entered on the roll whose loyalty was not sus- 
 tained by our several friends. Henry Wilson is mistaken 
 about oaths being taken. The entrance to the church, once 
 a theater, was from the hall of the floor where I roomed; 
 and, when the force was sufficient, the companies were 
 organized, and I was made the commander. This recruit- 
 ing went on several days, till we had about as many 
 men as the old theater could hold. 
 
 One day, whilst I was alone in my room, two ruffians 
 of notoriety from California entered my apartment, and 
 asked to be enrolled. I told them none but friends 
 vouched for as loyal to the Government could be ad- 
 mitted, and asked them to bring such proof. Thereupon 
 one of them, running his hand into his pocket, pulled out 
 several pistol-balls, and, rolling them in his palm, said : 
 "Here are our vouchers." Without a word, I went into 
 my bed-room, and, having my pistols cocked, one in each 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 26 1 
 
 hand, I — having "the drop" upon them, as they say out 
 West — drove them to the extremity of the hall, and down 
 stairs. 
 
 The same evening, as our men were by agreement 
 entering our theater in considerable numbers, I standing 
 and taking the pass-word, a stranger came up and at- 
 tempted to pass. I called for the word; he had none, 
 but said he "had as much right to go in there as any 
 one." I then leveled my pistol quickly at his head, and 
 said: "These are war-times, and I am not to be trifled 
 with. If you do not give back at once, I will put a ball 
 through your brains." He sullenly retired. 
 
 I had not seen General Scott since I dined with him 
 in the City of Mexico. I sought him at his quarters ; but 
 his staff were present, and I could not tell my business, 
 so I asked him into another room, but they followed ; and 
 I, seeing that they were determined not to give me a 
 private audience with the general, saying I would come 
 again, retired. I finally got an interview, and told the 
 general that the object of the rebels was to take Wash- 
 ington, qnd that no time was to be lost. I advised him 
 to concentrate his forces in some of the strong public 
 buildings; and hold his position, if attacked, till reinforce- 
 ments could arrive, and that we could give him — I and, 
 Lane — considerable help. Scott said I was right, per- 
 haps; that he was on the lookout, but that the moral 
 effect of the movement would be more depressing than 
 the physical strength gained. This", on reflection, I agreed 
 was wise. The general also told me that he had several 
 employes about his house and quarters unarmed, and that 
 he wished I would supply the messenger he would quietly 
 send with some of the arms I had drawn from the War 
 Department. I told him I would cheerfully do so ; and 
 that night he sent for and got them. 
 
 Knowing that a certain gentleman, whom I suspected 
 of being in sympathy with the rebels, would most likely 
 repeat my saying, I told him it was possible the next day 
 
262 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 martial law would be declared, and some of the rebels 
 then in Willard's hotel shot. It turned out as I expected, 
 and the next morning the hotel was cleared ; several hun- 
 dred men leaving for parts unknown. So great was the 
 exodus, that the house was on the eve of closing, as I 
 learned, for the want of guests, and on account of the 
 threatened war. 
 
 On the night named by Senator Wilson, Lane's com- 
 mand was ordered to join mine, and march to the Navy 
 Yard, below Washington, to assist in its defense against a 
 rumored attack from Virginia. * When the two commands 
 met. Lane desired the joint command, to which I objected, 
 as my force was much larger than his ; and, referring it to 
 the soldiers themselves, I was made the commander of 
 the battalion, and so acted at the Navy Yard. The rebels, 
 seeing determined men opposed to their military coup, de- 
 serted the city ; and we held it without further incident, 
 keeping out pickets at night, and guarding the President's 
 
 house, t 
 
 » special order. 
 
 Head-quarters Department of Washington, 
 
 Washington, D. C. April 24,' 1861. 
 Gentlemen: — The Secretary of War desires that the volunteers 
 under General James H. Lane and Major C. M. Clay should take 
 post at the United States Navy Yard for its protection. I am there- 
 fore directed by Colonel Smith, commanding, to request that you 
 will report with your respective commands to the commandant of 
 the Navy Yard, for this service, by 9 o'clock to-night, to remain on 
 duty till daylight. You will report to the commandant of the Navy 
 Yard, for the same service, on each succeeding night for the periods 
 that your respective commands may have been enrolled. 
 I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 Thomas Talbot, 
 
 Assistant Adjutant-General. 
 To Gen. J. H. Lane, and 
 
 Maj. C. M. Clay, Washington. 
 
 fAll the time, from 1861 to 1876, I had believed that General 
 Lee was present at one of the calls I made on General Scott, and 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 263 
 
 Mr. Seward, who had no intercourse with me since my 
 arrival in Washington, sent for me, and desired that I 
 should take my volunteer force and reconnoiter in the 
 direction of Baltimore, to the extent, at least, of the rail- 
 road that was left, as we could get no information of the 
 rebel movements in that direction. As I knew the Balti- 
 moreans had artillery, I told him, if General Scott would 
 give me a battery, and force to work it, I would take 
 command with my men, and see the end of the railroad 
 at least. I was not in a very good humor with him, and 
 spoke in rather a surly manner, whilst not refusing to act. 
 I heard no more of it. I have no data by me to cor- 
 rect errors of memory, but. my impression is that the first 
 troops that came to our relief were the New York regi- 
 ment, and then the Massachusetts regiment, and the Penn- 
 sylvania regiment last ; but of this I am not sure. When 
 they arrived, being of no longer use in Washington, I 
 yielded up my command. Lincoln issued an order thank- 
 that he introduced him to me; and I have so stated in speech and 
 writing. But as there is a question of doubt about his being in 
 Washington at that time, and I can not be sure of my first im- 
 pression, I desire now to so .state the facts. It is not probable 
 that General Lee would make a very distinct impression upon my 
 memory, as he was not then distinguished. I wrote, a few years 
 ago, to I. Stoddard Johnson, asking whether General Lee was, at 
 the time named, on General Scott's staff, and he said not; but still 
 he may have been in Washington.. The facts, no doubt, can be 
 easily established, if thought of any importance. Several of Scott's 
 immediate command, Colonel McGruder being one, then went over 
 to the Confederates. 
 
 Before leaving Washington, I took the liberty to give General 
 Scott my views about the conduct of the war; that our armies 
 should be advanced by sea and river routes, as we had supremacy 
 there, and thus shorten our lines of supply of food, and men, and 
 material of war. 
 
 Miss Anne Ella Carroll indicated the exact route in the West 
 which led to victory. But she never was rewarded for her emi- 
 nent services by the Government! — C. 1885. 
 
264 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 ing me for my services; and presented me with a Colt's 
 revolver, as a testimony of his regard. This pistol I yet 
 hold as an heir-loom in my family, together with the ele- 
 gant sword presented to me by the citizens of Kentucky, 
 after my return from Mexico, as stated in the following 
 letter : 
 
 Written for the Shelby (fCy.) News. 
 HONOR TO THE BRAVE. 
 
 The citizens of Madison and Fayette Counties have "caused to 
 be made,' and presented to Captain Cassius M. Clay, an elegant 
 sword, "as a token of their sincere regard and admiration." The 
 committee charged with the duty of presentation, say, in their com- 
 munication to Captain Clay: 
 
 "Your fellow-citizens, who observed you giving up the comforts 
 of a pleasant home, and encountering the dangers incident to a cam- 
 paign in Mexico, conceive that in your short service, especially after 
 the capitulation at Encamagion, when one of the prisoners escaped 
 from the Mexican guard, you displayed courage and self-possession in 
 the midst of sttdden and appalling danger, which illustrate the highest 
 qualities of the officer and the soldier. Disarmed, as you were, your 
 firmness and sagacity prevented the sacrifice of the gallant but unfor- 
 tunate little band. Such qualities on a broader field might have 
 rendered you more conspicuous before the nation; but would pre- 
 sent no truer test of the intrinsic merit of the soldier." 
 
 The committee wished to present the sword publicly; but the 
 Captain declined it, for reasons satisfactory to himself They then 
 addressed a note to Captain Clay, to know at what time it would be 
 convenient for him to receive the sword at his own residence ;■ to 
 which note he replied that he would be pleased to see the com- 
 mittee, and such other friends as might be inclined to be present, 
 on Friday evening, November loth. Accordingly, on that evening, 
 the committee, in company with a number of other gentlemen, re- 
 paired to Captain Clay's residence in the country, and, finding him 
 at home, were cordially received. Dr. A. J. Burnam, one of the 
 committee, after addressing a few handsome and appropriate re- 
 marks, referring to the correspondence touching the occasion, handed 
 the elegant sword to Captain Clay. It was received with modest 
 simplicity by the Captain, who declared that he felt his poor services 
 had not merited such a compliment, and one which was rarely tend- 
 ered for any service except distinguished conduct on the battle-field. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 265 
 
 remarking that he would not have accepted the sword did he not 
 feel that his conduct on the occasion especially alluded to was now 
 fully vindicated from the malign aspersions of some of those who 
 were associated with him. The company were then invited to par- 
 take of a most superb and tasty collation prepared with exquisite 
 taste by Mrs. Clay. After enjoying it abundantly, with fine cheer, 
 the company dispersed. 
 
 His fellow-citizens have reflected honor upon themselves by this 
 act of simple justice to a brave and gallant man, who, in the hour 
 of peril, when all hearts were sick at the prospect of a violent death, 
 stood up in the might of his greatness, and delivered them. It was 
 a display of the loftiest heroism, and challenges the admiration of 
 the world. May he long live to enjoy the gratitude of his generous 
 friends ; and may that sword never be unsheathed except in a cause 
 where virtue weaves the wreath for the brow of the living, and hal- 
 lows the grave of the dead. B. 
 
 This was but one of the many testimonials from public 
 bodies to my gallantry. The Legislature of Kentucky, 
 March i, 1848, passed a complimentary resolution for my 
 defense of Encarna9ion (see Collin's History of Kentucky, 
 Vol. I., p. 56). 
 
 For the Observer and Reporter. 
 THE LOUISVILLE AND FAYETTE, KENTUCKY, LEGIONS. 
 
 At a meeting of the officers composing the Louisville Legion, 
 held at the Washington Hall, on Saturday evening, the i8th inst., 
 on motion of Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Metcalfe, the following 
 preamble and resolutions were adopted: 
 
 Whereas, we have understood that some attempt has been 
 made to alter the arrangements entered into at Camp Madison, 
 in July, 1843, relative to the encampment to be held near Ver- 
 sailles in July next (1845), and to supersede Col. Cassius M. Clay 
 in the command — in consequence of opinions held by him on 
 certain subjects — therefore, be it 
 
 Resolved, by the officers of the Louisville Legion, that, with- 
 out concurring in, or endorsing, the correctness of the views of 
 Col. Clay on the subject referred to, we, as a body, protest, as 
 far as we have the right, against any alteration being made in 
 the general arrangements as understood at the last encampment. 
 
 Resolved, That in C. M. Clay we recognize a gentleman, whose 
 
266 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 private worth, dignity of manners, and military abilities guarantee 
 to us that harmony so necessary to general enjoyment among so 
 large a body of men as will be drawn together from all parts of 
 the State and surrounding States. 
 
 Resolved, That Col. Joseph Metcalfe be a committee to for- 
 ward a copy of these resolutions to Cd^l. C. M. Clay, and to those 
 citizens of Woodford who are dissatisfied. 
 
 Signed by the following officers: 
 
 Joseph Metcalfe, Lieut. Col. Louisville Legion. 
 
 John G. Stein, Major Louisville Legion. 
 
 Thos. L. Caldwell, Surgeon Louisville Legion. 
 
 L. Thompson, Lieutenant Louisville Guards. 
 
 J AS. Peterson, " " " 
 
 H. M. McGhee, Lieutenant Washington Blues. 
 
 F. Watson, 
 
 H. Tyler, Capt. Kentucky Riflemen. 
 
 Geo. W. Anderson, ist Lieut. Kentucky Riflemen, 
 
 J. Boecking, Capt. National Guards. 
 
 F. Kern, Capt. German National Guards. 
 
 P. Ramb, 1st Lieut. German National Guards. 
 
 C. C. Spencer, Capt. Boone Riflemen. 
 
 Gentlemen : — I have received the preamble and resolutions 
 passed by you on the i8th instant. Those only who have been 
 placed in similar circumstances can appreciate your magnanimity, 
 and the gratitude which I shall ever owe you. 
 
 You will learn from the press that resolutions simultaneous 
 with, and similar to yours, were passed by the Fayette Legion, 
 where you will also see the course which I have thought it my 
 duty to pursue, which I trust will meet your entire approbation. 
 
 Gentlemen, I am forced to attribute the very flattering terms 
 in which you allude to myself more to the generous overflowings 
 of Kentucky hearts, than to any merit of my own; yet I can not 
 refrain from here taking occasion to say, that I claim to be be- 
 hind no man, or set of men, in my devotion to the best interests 
 of my native State ; and that I do not fear that, with any great 
 portion of my countrymen, political difference of opinion will de- 
 generate into personal persecution. But, should it turn out other- 
 wise, as the commission I bear constrains me at all times to fall, 
 if necessary, in my country's defense ; so in a civil capacity I trust 
 the equally high duties which I owe her shall never be foregone 
 out of any apprehensions of insult or prostrated popularity. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 267 
 
 Receive my thanks, once more, for your generous sympathy, 
 and believe me ever ypur friend and .obedient servant, 
 
 C. M. Clay. 
 Col. Joseph. Metcalfe, 
 
 And the officers of the Louisville Legion. 
 
 For the Louisville Courier. 
 TO THE PUBLIC. 
 
 Although the calumnies of Borland and others have met with 
 very general indignation and contempt from all just men, I trust 
 those who take an interest in this prolonged controversy will par- 
 don me this last intrusion upon their time and patience. 
 
 When I found that there was to be a systematic, savage, and 
 pattisan war upon me, because I ventured to exercise the humblest 
 as well as the highest rights of a freemen — an honorable and 
 searching canvass of public men and measures — I wrote to a friend 
 of all the parties concerned in the story, which was to form the 
 nucleus of assault, asking him to get a frank statement of the 
 Mexican commander of my bearing on the 24th day of January, 
 1847. The following testimony from a magnanimous enemy may, 
 perhaps, be worth more than the unanimous and zealous "back- 
 ing" of all the men of the Encarnagion imprisonment, whose per- 
 sonal regard for me might be supposed to blind their judgment 
 and impair their impartiality. 
 
 C. M. Clay. 
 Madison County, Ky., September 5, 1848. 
 
 JOSE MARIA ZAMBONINO. 
 (Copy from the original in my possession.) 
 
 Jose Ma. Zambonino Coronel del Ejercito Mexicano — Certifico: 
 que el seiior Capitan Clay fue uno de los prisioneros tornado en la 
 Haciende de la Encamaqion, el dia 23 de Enero de 1847, 7 que 
 el dia 24 del espresado mes fuerou entregados a mi para condu- 
 cirlos a San Luis: en este mismo dia trataron de hacer una fuga 
 quitandome las annas, cuyo projecto no tubo efecto por que logro 
 el que subscribe contenerlo con las armas, y solo tubo por objeto 
 la fuga de Henry, dejando comprometidos a todos sus companeros, 
 quienes por una pura casualidad no fueron fusilados: en dicho dis 
 el Capitan Clay semantuvo con toda la serenida propia de su car- 
 acter, sin dar muestra de cobardia apesar del riesgo que corrian el, 
 y sus companeros, sin que este impilorara ninguna gracia ni espuirera 
 cosa alguna en su favor para salvar su vida: pues solo pedia indul- 
 
268 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 gencia para sus companeros: por lo tanto si alguna persona le su- 
 pone a dicho Clay aber echo o dicho algo mas sobre el particular 
 asequro bajo mi firma que es falso, y que de este echo solo el que 
 subscribe puede asequrar la verdad de este asnuto: en obsequio de 
 la justicia, paraque courte y a pedimento del interesado doy el 
 presente. 
 
 Jose Ma. Zambonino. 
 En Mexico, a \o de Agosto de 1848. 
 
 Translation of the foregoing fy a British subject in the City of Mexico. 
 
 Jose Maria Zambonino, Colonel of the Mexican army — I do 
 
 hereby certify, that Captain Clay was one of the prisoners taken 
 
 in the hacienda de la Encarna9ion on the 23d of January, 1847, 
 
 and further that on the 24th of said month, he, among other 
 
 prisoners, was delivered over to me to be carried to San Luis. 
 
 On the said 24th, a plan was combined by said prisoners to efifect 
 
 their escape by disarming me and my men, but which plan was 
 
 frustrated by my armed attitude, its only result being the escape 
 
 of one of them named Henry, who by so doing left his companions 
 
 compromised so much that it is owing to mere casualty that they 
 
 were not all shot. On that day Captain Clay behaved himself with 
 
 that coolness and serenity peculiar to his character, giving no signs 
 
 of fear, notwithstanding the risk both he and his companions were 
 
 running ; nor did he implore for himself either grace or mercy, whilst in 
 
 favor of his companions he claimed (pedia) indulgence. Therefore, if 
 
 any person or persons have supposed or inferred that the conduct 
 
 of said Captain Clay has been different in word or deed (aber echo o 
 
 dicho) on said occasion, I do hereby declare on my word and honor 
 
 that such suppositions or inferences are false, as nobody else but 
 
 myself can vouch for the truth of this affair. 
 
 In obedience to the demands of justice, and that it may stand 
 
 in proof, I give this certificate, at the request of the interested party. 
 
 Jose Maria Zambonino. 
 City of Mexico, ist of August, 1848. 
 
 About this time the non-slaveholders of Madison Co., 
 Kentucky, and the mountain counties about Berea, pre- 
 sented me, through Hamilton Rawlins, Dr. Curtis Knight, 
 and others, an elegant black-hickory cane, cut from those 
 hills. It had thirteen knots, with gold caps, inscribed with 
 the initials of the original thirteen States of the Revolution 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 269 
 
 of 1776; and on the gold head-piece were inscribed "The 
 Poor Man's Friend," and sentiments commemorative of my 
 saving the men at Salao, in Mexico, on the 24th day of Jan- 
 uary, 1847. • • ^t was the politicians who slaughtered 
 me — not the people. 
 
 The successful defense of Washington* won me golden 
 opinions every-where. There never were so many distin- 
 
 * Head-quarters C. M. Clay's Washington Guards. 
 
 Washington, April 25, 1861. 
 This is to certify that Professor Amasa McCoy, Secretary of the 
 Battalion, of Albany, State of New York, was duly enrolled a mem- 
 ber of Cassius M. Clay's Battalion of Washington Guards, and served 
 faithfully, day and night, during the perilous times, when the de- 
 struction of the capital of our country was threatened by the traitor- 
 ous designs of the so-called Southern Confederacy. 
 
 Cassius M. Clay, 
 Major Commanding. 
 F. S. LiTTLEjOHN, Adjutant. 
 
 THANKS OF THE GOVERNMENT TO C. M. CLAY'S BATTALION. 
 
 War Department, May 2, 1861. 
 Major Cassius M. Clay — 
 
 Sir : — I beg to extend you, and through you to the men under 
 your command, the assurance of my high appreciation of the very 
 prompt and patriotic manner in which your Battalion was organized 
 for the defense of the capital, and the very efficient services ren- 
 dered by it. Very respectfully, Simon Cameron, 
 
 Secretary of War. 
 
 I cheerfully concur in the foregoing testimonial given by the 
 Hon. Secretary of War. A. Lincoln, 
 
 President of the United States. 
 Executive Mansion, May 2, 1861. 
 
 Telegraphic Dispatch to Associated Press. 
 CASSIUS M. CLAY'S WASHINGTON GUARD CELEBRATION. 
 
 Washington, September 13, 1861. 
 Cassius M. Clay's Washington Guards, who rendered such effi- 
 cient service in the defense of the capital in the dark days in April, 
 held a meeting to-night, at their head-quarters, and unanimously re- 
 
270 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 guished men in one small body of troops before — ex-con- 
 gressmen, governors of States, and other men of mark, 
 who happened to be in Washington, all rallied to my ban- 
 ner. The result was, that all eyes were turned upon me, 
 as a commander of truest patriotism, if not of military 
 education. So, when there was so much treason in high 
 places, this was a prime quality. The Union Safety Com- 
 
 solved to celebrate the 17th of September, the Anniversary of the 
 Adoption of the Constitution of the United States, and the delivery 
 of Washington's Farewell Address. Professor Amasa McCoy, Sec- 
 retary of the Clay Guards, was invited to deliver the oration. Pro- 
 fessor McCoy accepted the invitation, and announced that his theme 
 would be ' ' The London Times on the Rebellion, and the war against 
 the National Constitution." The President of the United States, the 
 Secretary of State, and two or three hundred of the most distin- 
 guished civil and military characters, now at the national capital, 
 are to be specially invited to attend. 
 
 Telegraphic Dispatch to Associated Press. 
 
 Washington, September 25, 1861. 
 The National Fast Day will be generally observed here. Pro- 
 fessor McCoy will repeat, in the afternoon, in the hall of the 
 Representatives, his oration, which was delivered on last Tuesday, 
 commemorative of the Seventy-Fourth Anniversary of the Adop- 
 tion of-the Constitution. 
 
 NATIONAL FAST-DAY ORATION IN THE NATIONAL CAPITOL. 
 
 Oration delivered before the President of the United States, Secretary of State, Secretary 
 of Treasury, etc., by Professor Amasa McCoy, of Washington, D. C, Secre- 
 tary of Cassius M. Clay's IVnshington Guards, Professor of Rhetoric 
 and Oratory in the Ballston and Albany Law Scliools. 
 
 Subject: — "The London Times on the Rebellion, and the War against the National 
 
 Constitution." 
 
 REQUESTS OF THE AUDIENCE IN WASHINGTON. 
 
 Washington, National Fast Day, September 26, 1861. 
 Whereas, in compliance with an invitation by Cassius M. Clay's 
 BattEilion of Washington Guards, and General James H. Lane's 
 Frontier Guards, Professor Amasa McCoy (member and Secretary 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 2/1 
 
 mittee of New York recommended me as a Major-General ; 
 and this Charles Sumner urged with great persistence, say- 
 ing Lincoln would certainly appoint me. After mature de- 
 liberation, I declined the position. If I had been made a 
 
 of the the former battalion), delivered an oration at the National 
 Capitol, on the 17th instant, commemorative of the Seventy-Fourth 
 Anniversary of the Adoption of the Constitution, and the Sixty- 
 Fifth Anniversary of the delivery of Washington's Farewell Ad- 
 dress; and 
 
 Whereas, the audience, on that occasion, feeling that it would 
 be a great public gratification and benefit, requested that said ora- 
 tion be repeated; and 
 
 Whereas, in compliance with that request, it has been repeated, 
 with great applause and effect, on this National Fast Day, in the 
 Hall of the House of Representatives, in the Capitol, in the pres- 
 ence of the President of the United States, the Secretary of State, 
 the Secretary of the Treasury, and a great audience of citizens and 
 soldiers; and 
 
 Whereas, it is the desire of hundreds, who have twice heard it 
 at the Capital, that this eloquent and powerful appeal, in behalf of 
 the War and the Constitution, should be heard by the masses of 
 their fellow-citizens in all of the loyal States of the Union; and 
 
 Whereas the present formidable combinations of the "internal 
 and external enemies" of the Republic demand that the full strength 
 of the patriotism of all its loyal citizens, in the way of men and 
 money, should be rallied in support of the Army and the Navy of 
 its Government; therefore, 
 
 Resolved, That the Orator of the Day is hereby solicited to de- 
 liver this noble and inspiring appeal to American patriotism at as 
 many points in the Nation as he conveniently can; and all loyal 
 citizens, committees, and associations are respectfully requested to 
 co-operate in procuring its delivery in their respective localities. 
 
 Peter G. Washington, 
 
 Ex-Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Chairman, 
 S. C. POMEROY, 
 United States Senator from Kansas, 
 
 George W. Wright, 
 
 Ex-Member of Congress from California, 
 
 Jesse C. Dickey, 
 
 Ex-Member of Congress from Pennsylvania, 
 
 Committee. 
 
272 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Major-General in the army, then I should have ranked both 
 Generals Worth and Wool, who were next in command to 
 General Scott. I had no military education, and knew but 
 little of fortification and artillery service. These defects 
 could have been remedied by efficient staff officers ; but, 
 by ranking these regular officers, I knew by my experience 
 in Mexico, when the two forces came together — the regu- 
 lar and the volunteer armies — that great and perhaps fatal 
 dissatisfaction might be the result; and I urged this view 
 on Sumner. But he had great distrust of West Point and 
 the regular army. 
 
 I told Sumner that he might say to Lincoln, that I did 
 not think it advisable for me to accept the great honor 
 proffered me; but that, if it turned out that I was abso- 
 lutely needed to give confidence to the Union army, 
 which would of course consist mostly of volunteers, he 
 might recall me from Russia, and I would do my best to 
 serve the country at home. Sumner was greatly disap- 
 pointed, and never showed any friendship towards me after- 
 ward. 
 
 These facts become an important part of my personal 
 history, and will be referred to again in the course of these 
 memoirs. 
 
 I continued to have the confidence of Mr. Lincoln. 
 The formal attempt of the rebels to negotiate had been 
 rejected by the Government; and, therefore, as it was the 
 only means of adjustment left, when it was found that I 
 was holding an honorable position, and had the confidence 
 of the President, a gentleman of culture, * professing to 
 
 * Washington, D. C, April 20, 1861. 
 Memoranda : — The undersigned, on all the responsibilities of 
 a Kentuckian, a patriot, and a man, desiring the perpetuation of 
 the Union and the liberties of the people, opposed always to ag- 
 gressive wars, believing that civilization can not be advanced by 
 arms — but only preexisting ideas can be so fixed — in favor of 
 peaceful emancipation by the will of the sovereignties, and against 
 servile war and insurrection, asserts, upon his own responsibility, 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 273 
 
 come on the part of the leaders of Virginia, came to me, 
 and presented a series of propositions, which he avowed 
 would prevent hostilities between the Union and Virginia. 
 Now I knew that the South was better prepared than the 
 North for immediate war; and therefore I thought it good 
 policy to gain time in all honorable ways. Having carried 
 these propositions to Mr. Lincoln, I recommended that 
 we should assent to them ; for, if the rebels kept the peace, 
 we had a right to recapture all our national forts, and 
 maintain other rights which even Buchanan had not 
 yielded. So that we could, without a violation of these 
 
 the policy of the Republican Administration, peace, if consistent 
 witK honor. 
 
 1. He asserts the avowals of President Lincoln in his inaugural 
 address, and his late proclamation to make war upon no State, 
 much less upon Virginia, or the border States, whose Union men 
 he would conciliate and save as friends. For this reason he re- 
 tires from Harper's Ferry, as he did from Fort Sumpter, acting 
 clearly on the defensive, that he might stand before mankind guilt- 
 less of this great fraternal suicide! For the same reasons he re- 
 fuses to avenge the blood of American citizens shed in Baltimore, 
 in the peaceful passage to the seat of common government. 
 
 2. But the President will not, when pressed to the wall, fail 
 to assert, to his full ability, the power and safety of the National 
 Government, unless the people, whose servant he is, shall other- 
 wise decree. 
 
 3. Any attack on the national forces, or property in the Dis- 
 trict of. Columbia, will be regarded as a declaration of war, and a 
 fatal blow to all hopes of peace. 
 
 4. He will not deceive Maryland or Virginia, or any State, by 
 false professions; he will continue to strengthen his position in this 
 place of national exclusive jurisdiction at all hazards, and by all the 
 defensive means in his power ; and this he feels abundantly able to do. 
 
 5. Virginia and Maryland may keep the peace, and give time 
 for the passions of men to cool, by avoiding invasion of the Dis- 
 trict, or obstructing our movements. Virginia must confine herself 
 to her own soil. 
 
 C. M. Clay. 
 Copy: attest James Milward. 
 Vol. I.— r8 
 
274 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 agreements, commence, or rather renew, the war when- 
 ever we were prepared. 
 
 Lincoln agreed with me, and told me to consult with 
 such men as I thought worthy of the direction of affairs, 
 and I did so; going to Senator Benj. F. Wade of Ohio, 
 who was then in Washington, among others. I found 
 Wade, after much difficulty, and showed him my memo- 
 randa, to which he agreed at once. And so this emis- 
 sary, whether authorized or not, carried back our assent, 
 written and signed by me, to the terms he had proposed. 
 
 Avenue House, April 23, 1861. 
 Hon. C. M. Clay— 
 
 Dear Sir: — I shall go to Alexandria this morning, and will 
 not know whether it is best for me to go to Richmond till I go 
 there. I feel much refreshed this morning from a few hours' sleep, 
 and hope now to be able to work for the cause of my great but 
 bleeding country. I may find IVIason at Alexandria, or some other 
 person with whom to confer. I shall appeal for peace in the name 
 of the Union men of the South; and I regret that the Union men 
 in that section do not know that they are represented at this capital. 
 I am fully satisfied that it is not your wish, nor that of the Ad- 
 ministration, to inaugurate civil war. If you fight in the defensive, 
 every right-minded man in the nation will sympathize with you in 
 your efforts to avoid a collision. I am here not as a partisan. I 
 came here in the name of the suffering Union men of the South. 
 We are for our country, and our whole countiy. We do not wish to 
 be forced to take a position that would sacrifice us. I know no 
 flag but that of my fathers, and wherever that goes I will go. But 
 while I am for that flag, and feel that it has received many indigni- 
 ties, which it would seem necessary to avenge, and while I desire 
 to see the leaders in this unnatural war punished, yet the pro-Union 
 men, who have never taken any part in this struggle, may be com- 
 pelled to take a position in antagonism to the laws of this country. 
 We are not willing to do so, if we can avoid it. Such a war as this 
 will be will shock humanity. We will have to negotiate at some 
 time — the war can not last always. Let negotiation commence 
 now. The Government is powerful, and can aflbrd to be generous. 
 
 I am, sir, respectfully yours, etc., in the bonds of Union, 
 
 W. R. Henley. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 275 
 
 I returned from Europe in 1869; and, entering into the 
 Greeley campaign in Ohio, I spolce at Xenia in 1872. 
 Benj. F. Wade being sent for to answer me, he there 
 uttered a calumny. He said I came to him, in 1861, and 
 asked him to agree to the "Crittenden Compromise," when 
 no man in America would have been before me in reject- 
 ing such toleration of slavery, and which would have made 
 my whole life-work a miserable failure and farce. Such 
 are the infamies of party servitude in America. 
 
 Scraps of History — An Issue of Veracity between Benjamin F. Wade 
 and Cassius M. Clay. 
 
 To the Editor of the Richmond (Ky.) Register — 
 
 On my return home from Indiana, I saw to-day, for the first 
 time, in the Cincinnati Commercial of September 27, ult., Benj. F. 
 Wade's speech at Xenia, Ohio, in which I find the following clauses 
 in reference to what are known as the Crittenden Resolutions: 
 
 There were all the leading men of the Secession Party there: Mr. Davis, Mr. 
 Toombs, Mr. Mason, Mr. Slidell, Mr. Hunter, and some others. . . . After 
 
 we adjourned that night — after that exhibition — I went to bed, not in very good 
 spirits. In the night Mr. Clay — Cassius M. Clay — -appeared to me. He came up 
 in my room late in the night, after I was in bed. He said he had come on very 
 important business. "Well," said I, "what is it?" "I have been trying to find 
 you all day, to strengthen some of our weak backs," said he; "it won't do. I tell 
 you the pressure is too great. We have got to vote for these resolutions. It must 
 be done, and you must help us do it." Says I : "I will do no such thing." [Good.] 
 "I am astonished. Is this Cassius M. Clay, or is it a ghost?" [Applause and 
 laughter.] "I said that to him. 'Why,' says I, 'you used to be reputed a brave 
 man, and I have been hunting you all day, to help strengthen me and my weak 
 brethren.'" He replied: "Hear me through. I have the names of fourteen Sena- 
 tors on this paper that I hold in my hand, and they have all agreed that if you 
 will vote for these resolutions they will." "Well," said I, "Mr. Clay, then you 
 have furnished me with fourteen additional reasons why I will never vote for them." 
 [Applause.] Said I : " I will see the capital burned before I will commit the peo- 
 ple of the North to the humiliation of these infernal resolutions." And then Mr. 
 Clay went off; and I will confess that I have not since had the respect for him 
 that I had previously. I could not have, because it altered my whole opinion of 
 the man. I thought he was a hero that would stand up in the darkest hour, pistol 
 in hand, if necessary; and I found him sneaking into my chamber there in order 
 to persuade me to become a traitor to my constituents. 
 
 I lately spoke in Xenia, where I quoted extracts from Mr. 
 Wade's letter to me on the Cuban question, which letter I give 
 from the original in my possession: 
 
276 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Jefferson, February 3, 1870. 
 Gentlemen: — I have received your letter of the 28th ult., asking me to ac- 
 cept the position of Vice-President for the State of Ohio of the "Cuban Charitable 
 Aid Society." I accept the position with pleasure, and will do what I can to for- 
 ward the good work. I am astonished at the apparent indifference of our great 
 Republican Party to the fate of the people of Cuba. Are they, indeed, weary in 
 well-doing, or do they still favor that timorous, halting, hesitating policy, which 
 added more than half to the blood and treasure in conquering our rebellion, and 
 in giving liberty to our slaves? One brave word from our Administration is all 
 sufficient to end the strife, and give peace, liberty, and justice to the people of 
 that island. Shall that word be spoken? We shall be dishonored as a nation if it 
 is not. But, whether spoken or not, Cuba must and shall be free. 
 
 Yours, wiith respect, B. F. Wade. 
 
 Hon. C. M. Clay, etc. 
 
 P. .S. — I have read with great satisfaction the abstract of your speech, and 
 indorse and approve every word of it. B. F. W. 
 
 My speech denounced the cowardly policy of the immortal 
 Fish. And now Mr. Wade is foiind, since Grant sent him to San 
 Domingo, dumb as an oyster about Cuba, and calumniating all 
 those who stand to his word of revolt from the President and party, 
 who have not yet spoken that "one brave word!" 
 
 Mr. Wade's utterances about me are absolutely false in the sum 
 and the detail. I never went, in 1861, to Washington till after the 
 adjournment of Congress. (See telegram and letter on page 278.) 
 I saw Jeff. Davis in the Mexican War, and never since. "I do not 
 remember to have ever seen Mason, Slidell, etc.; they had all left 
 Washington before I got there. I never was for Crittenden's or 
 any other compromise, short of the abolition of slavery, in my life; 
 and Crittenden's Compromise was voted down by 118 to 80, on the 
 27th of February, 1861 ! I never was in confidence, or ever met 
 in council, with the compromisers, in Washington, or elsewhere, at 
 any time. I never had on my list the names of fourteen Senators, 
 or any other number, in such, or any other case. I never asked 
 Mr. Wade to compromise the slavery or any other question ; and 
 all his allegations of fact and conversation are absolute falsehoods. 
 When the South threatened war, I, from the balcony at Willard's, 
 spoke, in 1861, in favor of the liberation of all the blacks, and of 
 their being made soldiers. When I returned from Russia, in 1862, 
 I again took the same ground; and could not get my speeches pub- 
 lished in any of the Republican journals for money, and was forced 
 to published them in pamphlet form. 
 
 After hostilities were threatened, — and whilst I and Senator 
 Lane, of Kansas, were commanding the volunteer forces at Wash- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 277 
 
 ington, in defense of the President, regular army, an such Senators 
 as Wade (who slept in bed, instead of coming, like many Senators, 
 Ex-Governors, and Congressmen, to our arsenal and head-quarters, 
 in Willard's Theater,) — I was much in the confidence of A. Lin- 
 coln ; and, being virtually in command of the city. Will. R. Henley, a 
 Union man, came to me on a mission, which his letter (on page 274) 
 will best explain. Washington was full of traitors, especially in the 
 regular army, and we wanted time for reinforcements, and to allow 
 the South to cool, and our Union friends at least to save. them- 
 selves. Our ships were scuttled in the Potomac, and our railroads 
 and telegraph lines with the North were cut. Henley appeared in 
 good time. I presented his proposal to Lincoln, and asked him to 
 allow me to answer it; to which he agreed, requesting me to show 
 it to some of the most prominent Republicans then in Washington. 
 Among others, I sought B. F. Wade. It was night; he was not 
 in his usual quarters, but stored away with some friend, evidently 
 so much frightened as to take any one for "a ghost." I showed 
 him the Henley memoranda, and asked his advice; and he fully 
 indorsed them. Wade now stands convicted of wilful calumny, or 
 base cowardice, or both. He evidently confounds this interview 
 with the Crittenden Compromise, which dates show to be impos- 
 sible. Henley went on his mission. Northern troops arrived; the 
 Capital was saved-. 
 
 If Mr. Henley yet lives he will bear witness to the truth of 
 all this. I acted, not on my own responsibility, but by Mr. Lin- 
 coln's instructions in every particular; drawing up the memoran- 
 dum, and he indorsing it verbally, thus avoiding any responsi- 
 bility on his part as President, yet giving sufficient pledge to 
 Henley of our intended fidelity. S6 we stood faithful to the truce 
 till the rebels violated it. Thus, one after another, my calumnia- 
 tors are put to shame, and history stands vindicated; how much 
 to my honor, I leave others to avow. 
 
 C. M. Clay. 
 White Hall, Ky., October 17, 1872. 
 
 I spoke in Washington in favor of war (see speech, 
 January 26, 1861), and immediately returned home, where 
 the following telegrams and letters reached me. I spoke, 
 after the adjournment of Congress, in the same tone, in 
 1 86 1. All this, published in Wade's lifetime, has never 
 been denied: 
 
278 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Westetn Union Telegi'aphic Company, to Madison C. Johnson for C. 
 
 M. Clay: 
 
 [Received at Lexington March 27, 1861.] 
 
 By telegraph from Washington, March 26, 1861 : It is important 
 that Schurz should have a place in Europe. I advise you to take 
 Russia instead of Spain. You will make immense capital by it. 
 
 M. Blair. 
 
 Washington, D. C, March 26, 1861. 
 Hon. C. M. Clay — 
 
 Dear Clay : — It seems that Seward has contrived to fill every 
 first-class mission in Europe, which Carl Schurz could accept, with- 
 out providing for that gentleman ; and now it is expected that he 
 is to accept some place of inferior grade, or be left out in the 
 cold altogether. In this condition of affairs, the President author- 
 ized the Judge to telegraph you, to know whether you would 
 take the Russian mission, which I believe is 1117,000 per annum, 
 and thus open the Spanish mission to Schurz. I think if you 
 would do this, it would be a great thing for you, and would give 
 you great hold on the Germans, and the radical men of the party, 
 who feel that this embarrassment is a contrivance of Seward's, 
 from which we would be relieved by your magnanimity. I trust 
 you will see this in the light in which it appears to all your 
 friends here, and do yourself a credit and honor in the act, and 
 at the same time you will have the most splendid court in Europe. 
 Schurz will not be received in that court, on account of his being 
 a political refugee, and this is the only reason why it is not ten- 
 dered hini. F. P. Blair. 
 
 The Henley correspondence and my speeches (to be 
 found in Vol. II. of this work,) at Washington, also the 
 following, are all in proof that I was not in Washington 
 City in February, 1861, when the Crittenden Compromise 
 Resolutions were discussed and voted upon in Congress : 
 
 War Department, Washington, D. C, April 22, 1861. 
 Col. Cassius M. Clay — 
 
 Dear Sir: — Your note of this morning is received. An order 
 has been issued to the Ordnance Department to furnish you with 
 arms as requested. Very respectfully, Simon Cameron, 
 
 Secretary of War. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 279 
 
 As usual, there were continual assaults by the Seward 
 faction, and corrupt expectants of official favors, upon me 
 whilst in Kentucky quietly awaiting events. Many of 
 these put me with the compromisers, to which I made no 
 reply ; as it was just as important for Jeff. Davis to de- 
 fend himself against being a Disunionist, as for me to 
 vindicate myself from such charges. I append a few lines 
 from friends, which might be raised to a volume: 
 
 New York Evening Post, 1 861. 
 
 Cassius M. Clay is strongly urged for the War Department, and 
 is a personal favorite of Mr. Lincoln. A delegation from New 
 York was here lately bespeaking his appointment as one likely to 
 gratify the friends of freedom every-where; and to insure the effi- 
 cient management of that highly important department. If he is 
 not chosen, it will be solely from the circumstances over which Mr. 
 Lincoln has no control, and for which he (Clay) is in no wise re- 
 sponsible. 
 
 New York World, 1861. 
 
 CASSIUS M. CLAY. 
 To the Editor of the World — 
 
 That Mr. Lincoln will be able to satisfy every body by his 
 cabinet appointments is not to be expected; and it would seem 
 quite within the province of wisdom for that same every body to 
 defer worriment untill we all learn authoritatively who is to be, in 
 fact, secretary of this, that, and the other. But, with your yester- 
 day's leader for my text, I hazard the guess that Mr, Lincoln's 
 appointment of Cassius M. Clay to the War Secretaryship would 
 be indorsed by a louder popular voice than any other appointment 
 the incoming President could make. Mr. Clay is not only fairly 
 upon the Republican platform, but his Republicanism dates back 
 further than that of any prominent member of the party. His name 
 is, indeed, the very synonym of free soil, free speech, free men, 
 and a free press. His life has exemplified, as that of no other man 
 has, the principles which, of late years, have compelled the respect, 
 and secured the concurrence, of all who love liberty in its largest 
 sense. He is not an Abolitionist, although the scenes at Berea last 
 spring indorse his claim to the title of defender of that faith. His 
 course in Kentucky has been that of persistent, consistent opposi- 
 tion to the enslavement of the North by the South. He has raised 
 
28o MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 his warning voice, and his stalwart arm, against the slave oligarchy, 
 whose encroachments steadily monopolized the control of every ave- 
 nue of power in the Federal Government. As an Emancipationist, 
 Mr. Clay desires, with a practical persistency, the removal of the 
 curse of slavery, where votes can effect that removal. But those 
 who know him are well aware that he equally longs for the free- 
 dom of white men in the slave States to speak their sentiments 
 without being banished, gagged, or murdered. 
 
 A word as to his position in the party. Mr. Clay is flat- 
 footedly and whole-heartedly upon the Republican platform. The 
 great heart of the party pulsates in sympathy with him and his 
 courageous course. The present status of the party owes much to 
 his brave banner-bearing in a State, and under circumstances, un- 
 favorable to the principles he has spent his life in practicing. This 
 has been fully recognized by the Republicans in the ovations which 
 have every-where accompanied his journeyings and addresses; in 
 the enthusiasm enkindled whenever his name is referred to; in 
 the vote given him at Chicago for the nomination of Vice-President ; 
 and, lastly, in the fact itself that his name is now so constantly 
 connected with the Secretaryship of War. This appointment would 
 doubtless have been his had Fremont carried the canvass in 1856. 
 What might have been throught proper in the infancy of the party, 
 certainly can not now be deemed improper — the party having risen 
 in its strength and asserted its manhood and maturity. 
 
 When it is remembered that the name of Cassius M. Clay was 
 received, invariably, at Chicago, in that representative convention, 
 with acclamations and enthusiasm equalled only by the furor in 
 favor of Lincoln and Seward, and that his vote for the Vice- 
 Presidency placed him just where the Philadelphia Convention of 
 1856 placed Mr. Lincoln, it seems to some of us a little too late 
 to find fault with Mr. Clay's Republicanism, or to attempt to read 
 him out. of the party. F. W. B. 
 
 From the New York Evening Post. 
 CASSIUS M. CLAY AS SECRETARY OF WAR. 
 
 The following resolutions were unanimously adopted at a recent 
 meeting of the board of control of the New- York Young Men's 
 Republican Union: 
 
 Resolved, That we disclaim for ourselves and for the Repub- 
 licans of New York all thoughts of con}promise in the face of 
 resisting danger and angry threats — believing that a government 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 28 1 
 
 temporarily sustained by such means must be degraded in the 
 estimation of the world, and remain, during its further uncertain 
 term of continuance, a scorn and a b^-word among men. 
 
 Resolved^ That we indorse in advance any action proposed by 
 the incoming administration which shall present a firm, unyielding 
 front of opposition to traitors, and which shall indicate a policy 
 devoted solely to the enforcement of the laws, the upholding of 
 the Constitution, and the perpetuity of the Union. 
 
 Resolved, That the preservation of the Union being the press- 
 ing exigency of the hour, we earnestly recommend, with that 
 view, the appointment, as Secretary of War under the President 
 elect, of Hon. Cassius M. Clay, of Kentucky, whose character 
 and past career give abundant warrant that, by his wise counsels 
 and his well-tested energy, the new administration will be strength- 
 ened in the discharge of duty, the Union preserved, rebellion 
 checked, and treason punished. 
 
 From the Erie (Pa.) Gazette. 
 CASSIUS M. CLAY. 
 
 We see by an exchange that Mr. Lincoln has Mr. Clay's name 
 under favorable consideration in connection with his constitutional 
 advisers. This is as it should be. A man of Mr. Clay's power 
 and ability, a man who rendered such eloquent and effective service 
 during the late victorious contest, should not be left out in the cold 
 by the incoming administration. 
 
 If an administration would succeed, it must call around it its 
 representative men. Mr. Clay is such. He is, and has been, a 
 Republican, when our principles were not only unpopular, but where 
 it was not safe to avow, or even entertain them. He has for twenty 
 years defended our principles, and the rights of a down-trodden 
 humanity, with violence, mobs, and assassination staring him in the 
 face. He long since unlisted with our principles in one hand, and 
 his life in the other; the former have been trampled upon, the 
 latter more than once has been in jeopardy. His press was mob- 
 bed, and his property destroyed, although defended by him with a 
 heroism not excelled by any in the annals of history. 
 
 His loyalty to our principles, and the enunciation of his views, 
 compelled him to shake hands and part company with kindred and 
 neighbors ; his life since that time in Kentucky has been but little 
 better than that of an outcast in society, his friendships and social 
 relations all sundered; his fate, to that political preferment in the 
 
282 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES. 
 
 land of his nativity, and which his talent so eminently fitted him 
 for, forever sealed ; and now, when an administration has it in its 
 power to gladden and cheer the hearts of a family circle long since 
 made desolate by a worse than despotic proscription, for devotion 
 to principle, by conferring power and position, and thus honoring 
 the hero, to whom honor is due, and clothing him with the pano- 
 ply of Government, which he has shed his blood even to protect, 
 defend, and build up, is it not a duty to do it? Kentucky, slave- 
 holding Kentucky, whose soil has been enriched by Clay's blood, 
 might answer no ; but a free North, a grateful nation, with one 
 accord, say yes. 
 
 Nothing short of a recognition such as this will give to Mr. 
 Clay that security which he and his household gods have been 
 denied for long, long years; and save him from the mortification 
 and humiliation which would follow the exultation of his enemies 
 not only at home, but North and South. 
 
 The same paper, the follffwing week. 
 
 Our article last week on Cassius M. Clay meets the cordial 
 indorsement of the press of this portion of the State. It expresses 
 the sentiments of the people with regard to this tried advocate of 
 Republicanism. 
 
 Among the young Republicans of New York, who ever 
 most honored and defended me, I may name Cephas Brai- 
 nerd, G. P. Edgar, D. H. Gildersleeve, Wm. M. Franklin, 
 Frank W. Ballard, R. C. McCormick, Dexter A. Hawkins, 
 C. C. Nott, Charles H. Cooper, C. T. Rodgers, Erasmus 
 Sterling, Benj. F. Mannierre, Hiram Barney, Mark Hoyt, 
 and William Ross Wallace. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Leaving Washington ; An Adventure. — At Sea. — Chari.es Francis Adams. — 
 British Parliament. — Lord Brougham. — Lord Palmerston. — Mrs. Stowe 
 at Stafford House. — My "'Times' Letter." — J. Lathrop Motley. — Let- 
 ter OF John Bright. — Public Breakfast given me in Paris. — Reception by 
 the Czar. — The Russian Court. — L. Q. C. Lamar. — Diplomacy as a Pro- 
 fession. — Her Imperial Majesty, the Empress. — Note from the Princess 
 Radziwill. 
 
 THE road to Philadelphia not being yet practical, and 
 the railroad to Baltimore being broken up, I packed 
 my trunks, to be sent by the usual route as soon as 
 possible, and set out by rail, as far as it went, for An- 
 napolis, Maryland. An editor of Cleveland, Ohio, (E. W. 
 Cowles, I think,) anxious to get out of Washington, ac- 
 companied me. 
 
 After walking a long time, we were much fatigued ; 
 and, calling at a planter's house, were well entertained. 
 I had not supposed that my name would be mentioned by 
 Mr. Cowles, who was so imprudent as to call me properly. 
 Now, there was no man in America more odious to the 
 South than myself; and my late movement against the 
 rebels in Washington would not tend to propitiate the 
 Slave-power. I had been trapped by the imprudence of 
 others at Encarna9ion ; and now I feared that, after we 
 retired to bed, the neighbors might be collected, and I 
 made prisoner again. So, as soon as my fellow-traveler 
 was asleep, I dressed myself, and quietly went on my 
 journey, without taking leave of any one. About day- 
 light I reached Annapolis, and reported to General B. F. 
 Butler, who received me cordially. Having left my cravat 
 at the farm-house, the general gave me one of his own. 
 
 283 
 
284 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 The next day I took a steamer, and in due time joined my 
 family in Philadelphia. 
 
 Finding a ship of the Cunard line was about to sail 
 from Boston for Liverpool, I went directly on to that city. 
 Charles Francis Adams sailed on the same ship ; and we 
 were both enthusiastically cheered by a large concourse of 
 Bostonians, who had come down to see us off. Adams 
 and I had been placed in an unpleasant attitude toward 
 each other, as he and Seward were, of course, good 
 friends, and I and Seward open enemies. So we hardly 
 spoke a word to each other during the voyage. Robert 
 J. Walker, once a Cabinet Minister, was now a Unionist 
 with us. I found him very agreeable. 
 
 I did not enjoy the sea, though not much sea-sick. It 
 was to me then and ever but a waste of waters, void of 
 visible animal and vegetable life, which are the loveliest 
 features of nature. 
 
 I spent but one night in Liverpool ; and only ran 
 ashore a few hours at Queenstown, in the Green Isle. 
 From Liverpool we went by rail to London, getting there 
 by night. Parliament was then in session, and all the 
 hotels were full. I had great difficulty in getting lodg- 
 ings for the night. By hard persuasion we got the ladies 
 apartments ; and I and my Secretary of Legation, Green 
 Clay, son of my brother, Brutus J. Clay, and suite, found 
 quarters in an obscure hotel. Next day we went to Mor- 
 ley's, where Americans mostly resort. 
 
 Mr. Forster and other liberal members of Parliament 
 were quite polite to me, he inviting Mr. Adams and my- 
 self to breakfast at his house, where we met several gen- 
 tlemen of the Liberal Party, as they were then called. 
 
 I spent all my time, whilst in London, in the two 
 houses of Parliament, which, most of all things, interested 
 me. Lord Palmerston was then Prime Minister, and 
 D'Israeli leader of the opposition. I was fortunate in 
 hearing both of these noted men make set speeches. 
 D'Israeli, who had a long, rather sallow, but intelligent, 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 285 
 
 face, with very dark hair and eyes, was well-dressed and 
 polished in his manner, and elegant and labored in his 
 oratory. Of course, such a man was always listened to 
 with interest. Palmerston was a typical Englishman, with 
 sturdy frame, and rather round and heavy head, and feat- 
 ures of the blond type. I soon saw that his forte lay in 
 his severe common-sense. With a few sentences he had 
 the house in an uproar of laughter; and thereby the op- 
 position speech was flattened out. Of course, I heard 
 other speeches; but they were of little interest. 
 
 The women of England were, to my astonishment, 
 allowed no place in the British House of Commons; and 
 I had been some time in the hall before I observed them 
 in a crowded gallery, with lattice-work all over the front, 
 like parrots in a cage! 
 
 In the House of Lords I also was fortunate in hear- 
 ing Lord Brougham, who had won reputation in the 
 United States as a Liberal, and especially as an anti- 
 slavery advocate of universal liberty. It so happened 
 that a petition was sent to him, from some anti-slavery 
 men and women, asking aid for the Union cause in 
 America, which was read. Now I had formed the high- 
 est and most grateful admiration for the British Anti- 
 Slavery Party,* having had correspondence with many of 
 
 From the London Daily News, May 9, 1848. 
 »MRS. H. B. STOWE AT STAFFORD HOUSE. 
 
 On Saturday last a number of ladies and gentlemen assembled 
 at Stafford House, to welcome Mrs. H. B. Stowe to this country, 
 and to give expression personally to the respect and admiration 
 which are felt for that lady. 
 
 Among those present were observed the Duke and Duchess 
 of Sutherland, the Duke and Duchess of Argyll, the Earl and 
 Countess of Shaftesbury, Lord John Russell, Lord Palmerston, the 
 Earl of Carlisle, Right Hon. W. Gladstone, the Marquis of Lans- 
 downe, the Archbishop of Dublin, Mrs. and Miss Whately, Lord 
 Ebrington, Lord Blantyre, Mr. Russell Gurney, Lord Claude Ham- 
 ilton, Lord Glenelg, the Dean of St. Paul's, the Rev. Dr. and Mrs. 
 
286 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 them, including Thomas Clarkson. I had also received 
 an elegant print of the Slave-trade on the Coast of 
 Africa, framed in rose-wood and gold, from these gen- 
 tlemen. What was my horror, then, when Brougham 
 said to the speaker, that this question of slavery in Amer- 
 
 Kinnaird, Dowager Countess of Carlisle, Mr. Tom Taylor, the Rev. 
 Edmund Holland, Mr. and the Misses J. W. Alexander, the Earl 
 of Harrowby, Mr. and Mrs. T. Horman Fisher, Mr. and Mr# Al- 
 sop, the Misses Allen, Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Hanbury, Mr. H. 
 Harwood, Mr. and Mrs. Spicer, Mr. Elmsley, Miss Pringle, Mrs. 
 Elmsley, Miss Seeley, and Miss Webster, Mrs. and Miss Gurney, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Jos. Tritton, the Chevalier Bunsen, Mrs. Mary Howitt, 
 Lady Dover, Rev. P. Latrobe, Mr. Ernest Bunsen, Mr. and Miss 
 Benson, Rev. Mr. Beecher, Mr. H. E. Gurney, Mrs. Price, Sir 
 Robert H. Inglis, Right Hon. H. Labouchere, Mr. Higgins, Col. 
 Maclean, Right Hon. T. B. Macaulay, Mr. George, Lady Louisa 
 and Miss Finch, Mr. Monckton Milnes, Hon. W. Ashley, Sir 
 David Dundas, Hon. C. Howard, Captain J. Trotter, Dr. and Mrs. 
 Sutherland, Mrs, Grainger, the Misses Rudall, Rev. R. Burgess, 
 Rev. T. Binney and Mrs. Binney, Sir E. N. Buxton, Mr. T. Pow- 
 ell Buxton, Rev. Dr. Steane, Mr. J. Conder, Mr. and Mrs. J. 
 Cook Evans, Rev. J. Sherman, Mr. Fowler, Mr. G. Oliphant, Mr. 
 John MacGregor, etc., etc. 
 
 The company on their arrival were ushered through the mag- 
 nificent suite of rooms on the principal floor to the picture gallery 
 at the east end, where the Duchess of Sutherland and a distin- 
 guished party received her guests. Mrs. Beecher Stowe, accom- 
 panied by her husband, Professor Stowe, her brother, and Rev. 
 Mr. Binney, with whom she is at present staying, was cordially 
 welcomed by her Grace. Mrs. Stowe is rather below the middle 
 size. She was neatly but plainly attired; and, wearing no head- 
 dress, her appearance formed a remarkable contrast with the nu- 
 merous groups of ladies arrayed in all the brilliancy and variety of 
 dend-toilette. 
 
 The Duke of Sutherland having introduced Mrs. Stowe to the 
 assembly, the following short address was read and presented to 
 her by the Earl of Shaftesbury: 
 
 Madam : — I am deputed by the Duchess of Sutherland, and the ladies of the 
 two Committees appointed to conduct '-The Address from the Women of England 
 to the Women of America," on the subject of slavery, to express the high gratifi- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 287 
 
 ica was a delicate one, which they had best not interfere 
 with ; and asked that the petition, without further com- 
 ment, be laid upon the table — placed in eternal silence! 
 This was a new and terrible revelation to me; and I 
 can not better compare my feelings than to imagine those 
 
 cation they feel in your presence among them this day. The address, which has 
 received considerably more than half a million of the signatures of the women of 
 Great Britain and Ireland, they have already transmitted to the United States, con- 
 signing it to the care of those whom you have nominated as fit and zealous per- 
 sons to undertake the charge in your absence. The earnest desire of these Com- 
 mittees, and, indeed, we may say of the whole Kingdom, is to cultivate the most 
 friendly and affectionate relations between the two countries, and we can not but 
 believe that we are fostering such a feeling when we avow our deep admiration of 
 an American lady, who, blessed by the possession of vast genius and intellectual 
 power, enjoys the still higher blessing, that she devotes them to the glory of God, 
 and the temporal and eternal interests of the human race. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Beecher, Mrs. Stowe's brother, after a few prefatory 
 remarks of acknowledgment and thanks, read the following letter 
 which had been written to his sister: 
 
 My Dear Mrs. H. B. Stowe: — • .... While I am fully sensible of the 
 small results of my efforts in the cause of emancipation, I will not deny that your 
 appreciation gives me great pleasure, and, I trust, not ignoble pride. Alas! without 
 such kind and cheering words, which I have received from many sources, how could 
 I have stood so long up against such odds? However much Providence had gifted 
 me with an iron purpose, the loss of caste in the social circle in which we have been 
 used to move is hard; the obscurity from which the most fervent ambition can not 
 rescue us is hard ; the peril of good name, of life, and limb, is hard ; but harder than 
 all is the reflection that we are forever unappreciated by those for whom we sacrifice 
 our all. For if we fall, our memory perishes ; the most melancholy idea of Siberian 
 exile is the extinction of the name, when the burial-stone not even marks the ashes 
 of the past. The history of mankind, therefore, presents few instances of sacrifice for 
 the inferior castes. The Gracci fell in defense of the rights of the poor ; and the 
 winners in the contest branded their names with infamy from which the late justice 
 of history can hardly rescue them. It remained only to the Divine Messenger of our 
 faith thus to suffer and to conquer. 
 
 Our plans of procedure in this cause are simple. We follow in the lead of our 
 hearts rather than our intelligence ; for I am not insensible of the almost indestructi- 
 ble power of the slave-holders. 1 venture to say that never before was an aristocracy 
 based on such firm basis. Slavery embraces almost all the talent, the learning, and 
 the bodily energy of the people. If the slave-holders had only the two first, and the 
 mass of the people the last, we could be to them leaders, and they to us power ; but 
 alas! whenever, in the course of events, men of action spring up, the first want of 
 accumulated wealth is menial service, which here can only be slave-labor. Thus the 
 ownership of slaves places them at once on the side of the men in power. 
 
 Can we persuade men to lay down power? Can the luxurious be induced to 
 cease from luxury? Can the lame walk, or the blind see? 
 
 On the other hand, can we infuse spirit and manliness into hereditary depend- 
 
288 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 of the followers of Thomas Moore's Veiled Prophet, when 
 the horrible features of his assumed divinity were revealed 
 to them. 
 
 J. Lothrop Motley, the Dutch historian, who was then 
 living with his interesting family in London, seemed to be 
 quite a favorite in the highest official circles. He was 
 
 ence? Can we make men firm when their bread wastes away? Alas! are not the 
 dependent whites the slaves of the slaves? 
 
 Still we "never give up the ship," because to give it up is to give up our idea 
 of God ; we can not give it up, because it would be to despair of all eventual eleva- 
 tion of the human race; we can not give it up, because our soul lives upon the bread 
 of justice, of mercy, and of truth. We perish with hunger, we must eat, and eat 
 of them only. . We trust in Providence, but we trust with our shoulder to 
 
 the wheel. By agitation we prepare the minds of the ruling powers for change. That, 
 at least, think they, can not be so insufferable which so many men of all climes so 
 earnestly crave. Thus you of the Ngrth aid us ; thus England aids us ; thus France 
 aids us; thus the outcry of all mankind aids us. This, then, is, perhaps, in my time, 
 the mission of the Free Soil Party in the slave States — to take care to keep untram- 
 meled the freedom of speech and the press, and be the trumpet-tongued messenger of 
 truth and the conscience of mankind. 
 
 This is the way of Providence — the undying aspirations for the right in the 
 hearts of all true men and women. This is the Divine. All humble and obscure as 
 I am, I am yet too proud to flatter any one; but honor to you that you have not 
 buried your talent, nor repined against Him as a hard master. "Uncle Tom's 
 Cabin " is the fruit of the embryo inspiration which God has planted in every soul. 
 Be of good cheer; you will not have lived in vain through long centuries. Yes, I 
 feel, when slavery shall be no more, you have erected a shrine around which the 
 humble, the fainting, the famishing will gather, and be comforted and strengthened, 
 and be at peace with men and trustful of God. 
 
 Mrs. Clay gladly accepts the office of Committeeman on the reception of the 
 address of the ladies of England, provided it be not too late. It has been the solace 
 of long years of painful effort, that she appreciates my principles and my purposes. 
 Though all the world is lost, home is secure. 
 
 The vote cast for me advocating unconditional emancipation on the soil was near 
 five thousand. The Colonization Party did not sustain me. When they shall give up 
 that "Compromise" with slave-holders — if ever — our strength will be greatly in- 
 creased. "Uncle Tom" is much read in Kentucky and all the South; here it is mak- 
 ing daily converts to our cause. We are organized, have a feeble paper advocating 
 our views, which we hope this summer to strengthen with an abler editor. We are 
 few, but determined; and may God defend the right. Your obedient servant, 
 
 C. M. Clay. 
 
 After partaking of refreshments, the ladies who were present 
 congregated in one of the splendid saloons apart, and Mrs. Stowe, 
 seated between the Duchesses of Sutherland and Argyll, entered 
 into conversation with her numerous visitors. 
 
 In the course of her observations, she stated that the ladies of 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCEI.T.US CLAY. 289 
 
 kind enough to get me introduced to Lord Palmerston; 
 and we visited him together at his residence on Hyde 
 Park, from whence the aged but vigorous statesman 
 walked daily to the House ot Commons. As England 
 had at all times professed to be the great humanitarian 
 enemy of slavery, and could see no good in American insti- 
 
 England were not at all aware of the real state of feeling of the 
 ladieB of America on the subject of slavery; it must not be judged 
 of by the answer sent to the address, nor by the statements in the 
 American newspapers. The ladies of England seem not to be at 
 all aware of the deep feeling of sympathy with which "Uncle 
 Tom's Cabin" was received in America long before it was known 
 in England. The press in America had invariably spoken highly 
 of "Uncle Tom's Cabin." The first word that ever appeared in 
 print against "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was the article in the Times, 
 which was reprinted and reechoed in the American papers, and 
 widely circulated in the form of a tract. The bitterness and anger 
 manifested against the Ladies' Address showed how much its force 
 had engaged the advocates of slavery. Ladies in England were 
 happily ignorant of slavery; yet that address had shown sympathy, 
 and sympathy was very sweet. There was no bitter feeling be- 
 tween the ladies of the two countries; but the ladies of America 
 can not, because of their husbands' personal and political feelings, 
 stand forth and say what they feel on the subject. Some had said 
 that "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was now forgotten; but it should.be 
 mentioned that 60,000 copies of the "Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin" 
 were sold in three days. The practical question was: What can be 
 done to forward this great work ? She looked first to God ; but 
 man also could do something. Sympathy must continue to be 
 expressed. British subjects in Canada must be educated. The 
 use of the free-grown cotton must be encouraged; and there were 
 other ways in which this great work may be aided by the people 
 of England, remembering that, after all, the issue is in the hands 
 of Him that ordereth all things. 
 
 The company began to disperse soon after five o'clock, every 
 one appearing to be thoroughly gratified with the interesting pro- 
 ceedings of the day. Mrs. Stowe and her friends were among the 
 last to leave, and were accompanied to the entrance hall by the 
 Duchess of Sutherland, who there took leave of her guests. 
 
 Vol. I. — 19 
 
290 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 tutions on account of our "Inhumanity to Man," as Burns 
 has it, we felt that now, when we. risked all for the liber- 
 ation of the slave, that we had a right to, at least, neu- 
 trality and sympathy from the British Empire. We there- 
 fore explained the whole movement to the Minister; to 
 which he listened politely, but with reserve. The sequel 
 is known to all the world : England, of all the earth, 
 proved the most uncompromising enemy of the Union 
 Cause! The reasons are equally obvious: She never 
 allows a sentiment to overthrow her policy of universal 
 dominion ; and especially is she jealous of all rivalry on 
 the sea. They all understood that America, then, was 
 her only contestant on that element, and a dissolution of 
 the Union would ruin our possible supremacy. * So, dur- 
 ing all the Civil War, every-where, the English were as 
 inimical to us as the Slave power itself. 
 
 Besides Motley and Fremont, there were other eminent 
 Americans in London, including several foreign Ministers; 
 and it was generally agreed that an appeal to the British 
 public should be made at once, without awaiting the slow 
 and limited influence of our Minister, Mr. Adams ; and I 
 was thought to be the man most fit to do it. To this I 
 objected; but at length performed that duty by a letter, 
 known afterward as my "Times Letter," as it was pub- 
 lished in that leading journal. This letter was submitted 
 
 * It remains to be seen how far the introduction of steam-ships 
 and iron-dads will effect the naval power of the British Empire. 
 Europe is preparing, as never before, to contest English superiority. 
 England seems to appreciate the situation ; for she is still building, 
 by an enormous outlay, more ships. One thing is certain. Her 
 prestige at sea being lost, all is lost. She must then lose her sub- 
 ject colonies, and her independence even, or sink into an unimpor- 
 tant power. The United States only can, in such case, save her, 
 as I foretold in my ''Times Letter." Her rulers now seem to 
 appreciate our future power; and are now more than anxious to 
 propitiate us. Perhaps she may succeed. As the "Times Letter" 
 has been much commented on, I regret that I have not been able 
 to get a copy for republication here. — C, 1885. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 29 1 
 
 to Others and approved, especially by Motley, who, being 
 well informed regarding British feeling and literary criti- 
 cism, went carefully over my letter, and corrected some 
 clauses. This letter, I have reason to believe, did much 
 to hold the British people from the hazardous alliance 
 with France and the Mexican Invasion. But there it 
 stands, and I stand by it. * 
 
 *This letter attracted the attention of all Europe. Archibald 
 Alison, the distinguished historian, in consequence of it and the 
 Harriet Beecher Stowe demonstration, opened a friendly corre- 
 spondence with me upon Morals, Religion, and Politics. Some 
 of this coming to the eyes of the public, the New York Tribune, 
 in the Bayard Taylor intrigue to supersede me in office, instead 
 of complimenting me, denounced me, — I was not sent to Russia 
 to discuss Religion and Morals! When I treated the same sub- 
 jects in the Liberal movement at home, Greeley saw much to 
 commend, — it was in unison with the Tribune; but when one of 
 its editors wanted my place, it was monstrous assumption ! Yet 
 Taylor proposed, as a reason why I should give way to him, 
 that he wanted to study and write up Russian history! So it is 
 well said, in the old adage : ' ' One man may steal a horse with 
 impunity, whilst another is hung for looking (jirough the pal- 
 ings!"— C, 1885. 
 
 LETTER OF JOHN BRIGHT. 
 
 RocHEDALE, January 9, 1862. 
 My Dear Sir : — I received your kind letter with much pleas- 
 ure. The events and dangers of the last month have pressed so 
 much upon me, that I have postponed my answer to it from day 
 to day. Last night we received news which, if true, indicates 
 that the immediate danger is over. Your Government has acted 
 with moderation and a true courage; and I fear that we have been 
 wanting in that generosity and forbearance to which you were en- 
 titled. Our ruling class does not like you, or your institutions, or 
 your success ; and our people have not yet so far merged from 
 submission to it, as to be able to form a judgment of their own, 
 separate from the lies and delusions which have been offered 
 them. I hope now that this danger is surmounted, that all who 
 care for peace will labor for it; for in peace, so far as Europe is 
 
292 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 This letter was complained of by Adams.; for what 
 reason I can not imagine, unless it seemed that I invaded 
 his dominion. But, as the press is now far above all the 
 red tape of diplomacy, I do not see what ground he had 
 to object, as the whole letter was friendly and highly com- 
 plimentary to the British Nation. 
 
 Going to Paris, the Americans there thought some 
 demonstration was advisable ; and a breakfast was gotten 
 up in a formal manner, at which many speeches were 
 made, in a delicate way complimentary to the antecedents 
 of the French Nation and people, in connection with the 
 great Republic of the West. I knew very well that in 
 the internal affairs of the French there was vast oppo- 
 sition to the ruling power ; but my purpose was to en- 
 list the sympathies of the people, knowing that, as in 
 England, the monarchical element would inevitably be 
 against us. Now all confess that it was the people in both 
 
 concerned, rests your chance of restoring your Union, and your 
 power, now or hereafter, to deal with the slave question. 
 
 There is a danger in the blockade. The cotton question has 
 not yet assumed, but it may assume, a formidable shape; and the 
 French and English governments may think it good policy to force 
 the United States to raise the blockade. Nothing would be a 
 greater blunder or crime, in my opinion; but blunders and crimes 
 form the staple of the history of governments. I am in hopes 
 that the evident and growing strength of the North may convince 
 Europe of their ultimate and not distant success; and then I think 
 the temptation to any interference will be lessened. 
 
 If New Orleans and Mobile and Savannah could be occupied 
 by the Government, then the blockade might be raised as far as 
 those ports are concerned, and trade in cotton might be opened, 
 if there are men in the interior willing to be saved from the ruin 
 with which the insurrection menaces every owner of property in the 
 South. 
 
 You have been justly angry at the apparent want of sympathy 
 among the English people. Our ruling class have, as you know, 
 great influence on the opinion of all below them in the social scale, 
 and they and their press have poisoned the public mma; but a re- 
 action is now observable, and I think opinion is far more favorable 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 293 
 
 nations which held England and France in check, finally 
 overthrew the combined invasion of Mexico, and ulti- 
 mately lost Napoleon his throne. These things were not 
 unknown in St. Petersburg; for, of all the governments 
 of the world, the Russians are the best informed of cur- 
 rent events in other Empires. 
 
 My reception by the Czar was remarkable for its length 
 and cordiality. I gave it in full to the State Department, 
 that Seward might form his own opinions as to the feel- 
 ing of the Czar toward us. But he published it without 
 my authority, thinking, no doubt, to injure me by the ap- 
 parent want of dignity in my narration of the incidents. 
 The London Times commented on it to my disadvantage; 
 but I am proud to leave it before the public, where Seward 
 put it, that it should disprove the effort afterward made to 
 claim the action of the Czar in our favor as the fruit of 
 
 the short intervening ministry of Cameron and Taylor. * 
 
 • 
 
 to the United States Government than it was some time ago, and 
 that much opinion hitherto silent has been brought into action. 
 The Times newspaper in London, and the Herald in New York, 
 are responsible for a large portion of the mischief. 
 
 The Times writes for the ruling class and the military service; 
 and I suppose the Herald writes to please somebody or some class 
 in your country. Every thing said by those journals should be 
 doubted, and most of it should be disbelieved. 
 
 We will hope for better days. I think we approach a time of 
 sounder views in England ; and when once your Union is restored, 
 and the evil of slaver/ is driven out, or bound in chains and is 
 powerless, the world will have much to be thankful for, even in 
 the terrible calamity which is now shaking your continent. 
 
 With many thanks for your most friendly letter, believe me tb 
 be yours, very sincerely, 
 
 John Bright. 
 C. M. Clay, Esq., 
 
 United States' Legation, St. Petersburg. 
 
 * During my first mission, the Confederates had emissaries in 
 most of the courts of Europe; and it was reported that L. Q. C. 
 Lamar, of Mississippi, was accredited to St. Petersburg, as the 
 
294 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 The rivalry of Russia and England may be said to be 
 hereditary, if not natural. Besides the many life struggles 
 of the two powers, their position as to India, China, and 
 all Eastern Asia, and Japan, are essentially antagonistic ; 
 and no third power is likely to intervene in the final set- 
 tlement, unless it might be the United States, froni her 
 western shores, and through the Pacific Ocean. 
 
 The Czar had already entered upon the traditional 
 policy of his dynasty, in the overthrow of serfdom or white 
 slavery, and was well-informed as to the movements in 
 America ; and I was just as well-known in St. Petersburg 
 as I was in London. But whatever may have been my 
 personal influence, the policy of Russia was well-defined 
 by inevitable events ; and the attempt to detract from my 
 public service is not only unjust, but futile. 
 
 The profession of diplomacy in the old nations is con- 
 fined to the regular ofificials, gradually rising from the 
 lowest grades to the highest, where seniority, as in 
 armies, is generally allowed prominence. The conse- 
 quence is, that all the forms of etiquette, both official and 
 social, are well understood, and rigidly enforced. An 
 offense against the forms which "hedge a king" are 
 more severely punished than even crimes, for state rea- 
 sons. Whilst this gives many advantages to the diplo- 
 mates of other nations, it moulds them socially into one 
 form, as equal and indistinguishable as the pebbles on the 
 sea-shore. An American has, then, one advantage, if he 
 has tact ; that is his novelty and individuality. When all 
 
 Confederate Minister. One day I asked Gortchacow if he )iad put 
 in his appearance yet? He replied, with his usual emphasis: 
 "No; he dare not come here." After reconstruction, Mr. Lamar 
 was the first Senator from Mississippi; and at present he is Secre- 
 tary of the Interior of the United States! "The king has come 
 to his own again." On the Sherman resolution in the Senate, he 
 stood over the prostrate Republic, and declared he would "allow 
 no man to call JeiT. Davis a traitor." Such is the instability of 
 human affairs! Who can solve the mysteries of fate? C, 1885. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 295 
 
 are surrounded with the ever-recurring ceremonies of 
 court-life, this freshness, as I may call it, — "greenness," 
 as others might say, — is at times agreeable. 
 
 The true politeness of universal society is the same — 
 to be agreeable and deferential to others ; and should 
 never give way to either impertinence or self-abasement. 
 The centralization of all the wealth, of all the learning, 
 of all military achievements, of all the aristocracy of a 
 great nation in one circle, under the most finished school 
 of refinement, gives the Russian high-life the precedence 
 over all others in the world. The aristocracy of Russia, 
 men and women, are models of form and refinement ; and, 
 as an aggregate, excel all others. To one who has the 
 entree into these circles, nothing in the social way can 
 give more agreeable pastime, or " savoir-vivre." I was 
 in the prime of life, not a bad-looking fellow, who had 
 seen much of the world, and who was determined to 
 please. I broke through all etiquette so far as to be 
 affable to all classes alike; and when I made a gaucherie, 
 I was the first to laugh at it. 
 
 I remember once talking familiarly with the Empress, 
 when I first got to St. Petersburg. She was a woman of 
 good sense, and great sweetness of disposition and feat- 
 ures, though of delicate health. I was interested in her 
 conversation, and she was by no means displeased with 
 mine. Now the greatest breach of etiquette in Russia is 
 to address the imperial family without being first spoken 
 to. How could I know ? Foreign legations were glad 
 to see me in a false position. The Russians were horri- 
 fied. I was told afterward that a consultation was held 
 by the immediate suite of the Emperor to break up the 
 tUe-a-tUe, by informing me of my error. They named it 
 to the Emperor; but he smiled, and said: "He will know 
 better after a while." 
 
 The Empress, even after I had "learned better," 
 seemed to find pleasure in some new ideas and freedom 
 of thought, and frequently renewed our conversations. 
 
296 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 So two of the most distinguished ladies of Russian society 
 introduced themselves, at a ball, (each the other) to me. 
 The one was the belle of the times of Nicholas, Madame 
 the Princess Radziwill, * the sister-in-law of Prince Gort- 
 chacow. The other was the Princess Kotzoubey, once 
 Belliselski, the mother of the Prince Belliselski, who mar- 
 ried the sister of Scobeloff, the noted general of the Turk- 
 ish war. The Princess Kotzoubey was at the very head 
 of Russian society, and the wealthiest of the nobility, 
 entertaining (but few did so,) the imperial family at her 
 city palace, on the Nevski Street, on great occasions. So 
 I found Russian society very agreeable. My family, as 
 soon as the novelty of the new situation had passed 
 away, not finding the climate very healthy, returned home, 
 leaving me alone. 
 
 As Seward had not given me leave of absence, as he 
 did other ministers, and as do all other governments, I 
 had seen but little of Europe ; so I set out by railroad 
 for the kingdom of Saxony, as I was anxious to see the 
 land of our reputed ancestors, as well as to gratify my 
 artistic taste by seeing the celebrated paintings, which, 
 at Dresden, on the Elbe, are many of the finest in Eu- 
 rope, although St. Petersburg greatly outnumbers the 
 Dresden gallery. I spent many days in Dresden, visiting 
 the art halls, the palace, and its fine jewels of the crown. 
 But, above all, I was delighted with this the most pictur- 
 esque city I had ever seen, resting upon the alluvial plains 
 of this beautiful river, and spreading over the terraced hills 
 or mountains, for which Saxony is noted. But the most 
 
 *As the Princess was the sister-in-law of Prince Gortchacow, 
 I regard the following letter, among others from personages of 
 high political position, as significant of the ''entente cordialc" be- 
 tween the two powers, — she being quite a politician. — C, 1885: 
 
 La Princesse Radziwill est bien en regret d'avoir 6t6 priv6 du plaisir de voir 
 Monsieur Clay. EUe prie Monsieur le Ministre d'agr^er tous ces voeux pour son 
 heureux voyage; et elle esp4re avoir de ces nouvelles bientSt. 
 12-24 /«z«, -Sf- PUirsbourg, 1862. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 297 
 
 agreeable part of the "voyage" was the companionship 
 of several Russians — old friends, who were here spend- 
 ing the summer; and especially was I fortunate in the 
 company of my traveling companions, Madame A. E., and 
 her gallant husband — a general in the Russian army. 
 Madame E. was one of the handsomest women I met in 
 Russia, which is saying much; and we made many excur- 
 sions with her friends into the country. The trees were 
 in' full leaf, interspersed with cultivated flowers and taste- 
 ful cottages. The black-heart cherries were found in many 
 successive orchards fully ripe, and the finest I ever saw. 
 The Saxon lads and lassies, with their ruddy faces, full 
 persons, and golden-plaited hair, were seen every-where 
 gathering the cherries, which were sold cheaply in open 
 booths with rustic benches, where all travelers were wel- 
 comed with a smile and a kind word, as the luscious fruit 
 was measured and served. 
 
 So passed the hours of many days that I lingered in 
 Saxon-land; and, when the time for our parting came, to 
 set out for Baden-Baden — the celebrated springs, where 
 the Russian nobility spend much of their time — I felt 
 annoyed, like when one is aroused from a delicious dream 
 by the noisy footsteps of unwelcome comers. But my 
 friend, Madame A. E., who had very black hair and 
 brown eyes, took me by the hand and said, in her mixed 
 French-Russian (she spoke no EngHsh): "Come, Colonel 
 Clay; for your wife's sake, I will not allow you longer 
 time among these golden-haired syrens, who I see are 
 more dangerous than armies set in serried files." 
 
 So I called to mind the old distich: 
 
 "Where women fly, men will pursue; 
 Whether their eyes be black or blue ! " 
 
 And submitted with commendable grace to the inevitable. 
 
 At Baden I found more Russians than at Dresden — 
 
 the gambling-tables forming, no doubt, some attraction, as 
 
 well as the noted surroundings. Here we made the round 
 
298 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 of all the historical places, — the shady groves and im- 
 promptu picnics, as at Dresden, being to me the chief 
 attraction. But, on the Elysian fields, as on the battle- 
 field, fate presses us on — on — on, forever! I took, in 
 sadness, leave of my friends, who hoped to see me back 
 in Russia, and hurried on through Paris and London for 
 America; as my patriotism would not allow me to linger 
 again on English soil. 
 
 Passing over the sea once more, and which seemed 
 now more in consonance with my troubled thoughts, I kept 
 aloof from every one, absorbed in sober reflections upon 
 my country's ingratitude. I landed in New York, having 
 touched at Halifax, where we found the British as bitter 
 as the worst rebels, and, hurrying on to Washington, I 
 reported to President Lincoln. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Recalled and Commissioned Major-General of Volunteers. — Simon Camf.kon 
 AND Bayard Taylor succeed me. — Return to Washington City. — Over- 
 throw OF the Slave-Power foreshadowed. — President Lincoln's Letters. 
 Salmon P. Chase. — My Washington Speech. — Interview with General 
 Halleck. — The President sends me to Kentucky. — The Battle of Rich- 
 mond, Ky. — Prof. Blinn's Eulogy.— Hallkck's Special Order set aside 
 BY the President. — I resign my Major-general's Commission. 
 
 SEWARD was too glad to avail himself of my promise 
 to Lincoln, about .the generalship, to recall me, and 
 send Simon Cameron, who had got into bad odor as Sec- 
 retary of War by his business-affairs with the railroads 
 and the Government. He was sent to supersede me, 
 with Bayard Taylor as Secretary of Legation. It was 
 understood that Cameron was to slide down to his old 
 level, using the mission to St. Petersburg as a parachute ; 
 and that Taylor, who had great influence as one of the 
 owners and editors of the New York Tribune, was to 
 take his place as minister in full. I had made a very full 
 investment of my small salary in beautiful plate, and other 
 articles of vertu from Paris, made under my immediate 
 direction ; and, by giving a few elegant entertainments, 
 which were not excelled by any one, I gave the Russians 
 an idea of my taste and training. After that they care 
 no more ; for they had all that money could buy, or 
 genius invent, for all the pleasures of life. If they liked 
 flowers, I accommodated them ; if paintings, I had some 
 of the rarest; if wines, I had every sample of the world's 
 choice ; if the menu was the object, nothing was there 
 wanting. The flowers could be hired; the paintings were 
 a permanent investment; the wines cost no more of every 
 variety than one choice one; and the eating was not in- 
 
 299 
 
300 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 creased, by its variety, in price. So I was in no haste to 
 go back to America; and I determined to return to St. 
 Petersburg again. 
 
 I left my furniture and carriages unsold, in the care of 
 my chasseur, John, a freedman, and returned to Wash- 
 ington. Seward, in his .recall, had simply thanked me, in 
 the name of the President, for my services, and inclosed 
 me a Major-General's commission, informing me at the 
 same time of Cameron's succession. 
 
 Cameron was not at all fitted for this post, in which 
 personal bearing is every thing. He did not belong to 
 "them literary fellows;" and was a coarse man in senti- 
 ment, and rude in manners. I was present at his pres- 
 entation to the Emperor; in fact, I presented him. And 
 when the Emperor made, or, rather, was making, his 
 speech of reception, Cameron interrupted, and discon- 
 certed him. Such rudeness one would have thought 
 would be hardly tolerated in a backwoods-Dutchman's 
 house in Pennsylvania. He received the Russian noble- 
 men, at times, in the legation-rooms; and, on the whole, 
 his like was rarely "seen before, or behind either," as 
 Don Piatt would say. 
 
 Bayard Taylor was a traveler, and a man of some 
 learning, but was little more polished than Cameron, and 
 in all the years that I spent in St. Petersburg I never 
 heard any one whatever speak of Cameron or Taylor; 
 whilst of Mr. and Mrs. Pickens, of South Carolina, much 
 was said in complimentary reminiscence. Mr. Appleton, 
 my immediate predecessor, was a retired, quiet gentleman ; 
 and I believe had not gone much into society. 
 
 Returning through London, I was invited by Mr. Adams 
 to a family-dinner, which I accepted. I was the only 
 guest. But little was said in any way; and that was the 
 last I saw of him. In the interval, from the time of my 
 leaving him at London to my return, hearing rumors of 
 dissatisfaction, I wrote to him from St. Petersburg, asking 
 him about my ''Times Letter;" and he wrote me a long 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 3OI 
 
 vindication of his right to be discontented with my course. 
 So he and Cameron again stood between me and the 
 light. 
 
 Arriving in Washington, the Union armies seemed to 
 be every-where worsted. Lincoln, under Seward's influ- 
 ence, had restrained the generals from taking a very neces- 
 sary war-measure, declaring slaves, as other property, sub- 
 ject to capture and confiscation. And Stanton, from hav- 
 ing been an • old-line Democrat, though he joined the 
 Republicans when the Democratic Party seemed inevitably 
 ruined, yet cordially, hated all earnest anti-slavery men. 
 It was his special pleasure to kill off Frank P. Blair, J. C. 
 Fremont, and such generals, by refusing them proper sup- 
 port, as Secretary of War. 
 
 Believing that the war was and ought to be a failure, 
 with the old cancer of slavery left in the Union, I was 
 every-where outspoken in favor of declaring the slaves of 
 all the States in rebellion free, as suggested long since 
 by John Quincy Adams ; and I so expressed myself to 
 Lincoln. Henry Wilson seems to think that the emanci- 
 pation proclamations are the great events, not only of the 
 war, but of the age. They are. But he also seems to 
 be quite in the mist as to the causes and movements in 
 that regard. To show my connection with these great 
 events, and to throw light on their causes and effects, is 
 one of the most potent motives for my writing these Mem- 
 oirs. For, after I succeeded in carrying Lincoln with me, 
 delicacy forbade my avowals ; and afterward the Repub- 
 lican press was closed to me, and it was no way to gain 
 favor with the Democrats to show them how I had ruined 
 them. 
 
 So I determined to force this policy, or return to Rus- 
 sia, if possible. I went to Lincoln and told him my dis- 
 trust of Stanton and Halleck, That it was, I thought, a 
 foolish thing to fight at all, if the same old cancer of 
 slavery was to remain after a peace. That the Democrats 
 never wanted war, and were ready at any time, to make a 
 
302 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 disgraceful peace. That our party was divided by the un- 
 certain aims of the Unionists. That the autocracy of 
 Europe were ready to destroy the great Republic, which 
 was ever a menace to the crowned-heads. That whilst 
 we fought simply for empire, the people of the advanced 
 powers of England and France were indifferent to our 
 success; but that, in the cause of liberty, we would have 
 a safe check upon their rulers, who would not dare to in- 
 terfere in behalf of slavery. That, at all events, if fall 
 we must, let us fall with the flag of universal liberty and 
 justice nailed to the mast-head. Then, at least, we should 
 have the help of God, and the sympathies of mankind, for 
 a future struggle, and live in the memory of the good in 
 all time. I told him that I desired to return to St. Peters- 
 burg. That the most of my remnant of a once large for- 
 tune was expended in my outfit at the Russian court; and 
 that I wished to be sent back. That I had canvassed in 
 his behalf, by his request; and that he had promised me 
 the place of Secretary of War in his own voluntary letter, 
 a promise which he had failed to perform. * 
 
 Lincoln listened with great attention, and said: "Who 
 ever heard of a reformer reaping the rewards of his work 
 in his life-time? 1 was advised that your appointment 
 as Secretary of War would have been considered a dec- 
 
 « ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S LETTERS. 
 
 Springfield, Illinois, Jtiiy 20, i860. 
 Hon. Cassius M. Clay — 
 
 My Dear Sir: — I see by the papers, and also learn from Mr. 
 Nicolay, who saw you at Terre Haute, that you are filling a list 
 of speaking-appointments in Indiana. I sincerely thank you for 
 this, and I shall be still further obliged if you will, at the close 
 of the tour, drop me a line, giving your impression of our pros- 
 pects in that State. 
 
 Still more will you oblige me, if you will allow me to make 
 a list of appointments in our State, commencing, say, at Marshall, 
 in Clark County, and thence south and west along over Wabash 
 and Ohio River border. 
 
 In passing, let me say, that at Rockport you will be in the 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 303 
 
 laration of war upon the South. 1 have no objections 
 to your return to St. Petersburg. I thought that you 
 had desired to return home; at least, Seward so stated 
 it to me." 
 
 I here saw the sentiments of Seward and Weed, and 
 the work of the Whigs of Kentucky, whom I had defeated 
 in honorable warfare. I replied: "It is true that I had 
 said, in 1861, when pressed to take command as Major- 
 General, that I would return if it was deemed best, on 
 account of so much treason in the regular army. But 
 now, after more than a year's struggle, no such motives 
 remain ; and what I might have undertaken then would 
 be out of place now, when all but myself have had the 
 experience of more than a year's service. It is untrue 
 that I have given Seward the least intimation that I desired 
 to return home." And with this our interview ended. 
 
 county within which I was brought up, from my eighth year; 
 having left Kentucky at that point of my life. Yours, very truly, 
 
 A. Lincoln. 
 
 Springfield, Illinois, August 10, i860. 
 Hon. C. M. Clay— 
 
 My Dear Sir : — Your very kind letter of the 6th was received 
 yesterday. It so happened that our State Central Committee was 
 in session here at the time; and, thinking it proper to do so, I 
 submitted the letter to them. They were delighted with the assur- 
 ance of having your assistance. For what appears good reasons, 
 they, however, propose a change in the programme, starting you 
 at the same place (Marshall, in Clark County), and thence north- 
 ward. This change, I suppose, will be agreeable to you ; as it 
 will give you larger audiences, and much easier travel — nearly all 
 being by railroad. They will be governed by your time; and when 
 they shall have fully designated the places, you will be duly noti- 
 fied. As to the inaugural, I have not yet commenced getting it 
 up; while it affords me great pleasure to be able to say the cliques 
 have not yet commenced upon me. Yours, very truly, 
 
 A. Lincoln. 
 
 Note. — See A. Lincoln's letter ofiFering Secretaryship of War, in possession of 
 the Kentucky Historical Society, Frankfort, Ky. — C, 1885. 
 
304 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Soon afterward I received the following letter: 
 
 Executive Mansion, Washington, August 12, 1862. 
 Hon. Cassius M. Clay — 
 
 My Dear Sir : — I learn that you would not dislike returning 
 to Russia, as Minister Plenipotentiary. You were not recalled for 
 any fault of yours ; but, as understood, it was done at your request. 
 Of course, there is no personal objection to your re-appointment. 
 Still, General Cameron can not be recalled except by his request. 
 Some conversation passing between him and myself, renders it due 
 that he should not resign without full notice of my intention to 
 re-appoint you. If he resigns with such full knowledge and under- 
 standing, I shall be quite willing, and even gratified, to send you 
 to Russia. Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln. 
 
 Of all the men of my time, I was most intimate with 
 Salmon P Chase, then Secretary of the Treasury. As I 
 said before, I preferred him to all persons for President in 
 i860; but Benj. F. Wade killed him off. I had been in- 
 timate with him from very early manhood, in 1835; and I 
 was now his guest at Washington, in 1862. When I set 
 out from Russia, as before said, I intended to return there; 
 but, when I got to Washington, and saw how the war was 
 going on, I began to think that, if I could carry on the 
 war by declaring the slaves free, we could win ; if not, we 
 should fail. With these sentiments avowed, Chase was 
 extremely anxious that I should at once take a command ; 
 but I told him Stanton and Halleck had killed off all the 
 anti-slavery generals, and would sacrifice me also. That 
 I had so told Lincoln ; and had asked to return to St. 
 Petersburg. He said he thought I was mistaken; and he 
 would go with me and see Halleck himself, and urge my 
 having an independent command. To this I assented. 
 We went to Halleck's office, and, in private, had a long 
 conversation with him, Chase doing most of the talking. 
 Mr. Chase said that, as I had a Major-General's commis- 
 sion in my pocket, I should receive the western command, 
 where Fremont had been first placed. Halleck was very 
 reserved, and at length showed so much ill-nature that we 
 
Ena- hy W. WeUscoo-l JT.T 
 
 
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OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 305 
 
 left him. Chase then said: "Clay, 1 can no longer urge 
 you to stay ; I do not think you could have fair play, and, 
 of course, could not help us," 
 
 In the meantime, after leaving Lincoln, I made a 
 speech in Washington which excited the widest comment. 
 As I have not preserved any report of it, it having been 
 made, as usual, extemporaneously, I give the following 
 verbatim account of its spirit from the Louisville Journal, 
 August 19, 1862: 
 
 CASSIUS M. CLAY. 
 
 We take the following passage from a letter of the regular 
 Washington correspondent of the New York Evening Post: 
 
 Washington, August 13, 1862. — The speech of Mr. C. M. 
 Clay at Odd Fellows' Hall last night gave sufficient evidence that 
 the statement of the Evening Post a day or two since in reference 
 to him (and which has been doubted in some quarters here,) was 
 absolutely correct. Mr. Clay said repeatedly and distinctly in his 
 speech, that he would never draw his sword so long as slavery 
 was protected by the Government. The tone of his remarks on 
 this head was not very encouraging. That I may not be accused 
 of misrepresentation, let me quote a paragraph from the Repub- 
 lican's report of the speech : 
 
 "Mr. Clay then spoke of our efforts at home. He was not 
 fully satisfied with the drift of affairs. He believed the President 
 to be an honest man, and the officers in the main desired to do 
 right; but we are trying to conquer the rebellion with the sword 
 in one hand and the shackles in the other. We are fighting as 
 though we were anxious that neither side should win. You have 
 been eighteen months carrying on this war on peace principles, 
 and what have you gained? I am told by men high in authority 
 that the capital is yet in danger. You allow four millions of good 
 Union men in the South, who are your natural allies, to cut your 
 own throats, because you can not lay aside a sickly prejudice. 
 He (Mr. Clay) would never use the sword while slavery is protected in 
 rebel States. [Loud applause and cheers. A lady near us indig- 
 nantly asserted that she did not come to hear Abolition speeches.] 
 Far better acknowledge the Confederacy, and let Mr. Davis and 
 his people go by themselves, than attempt to defeat the designs 
 of God in regard to the great question of universal liberty. You 
 must give to every man the same liberty you desire for yourself. 
 Vol. I. — 20 
 
306 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 [Applause.] When I draw a sword, it shall be for the liberation and 
 not the enslavement of mankind. [Wild enthusiasm and applause.] 
 He would not have the Constitution disobeyed or altered in a line 
 or a letter. He stood now where he always stood, for the Con- 
 stitution, the Union, and the enforcement of the laws." 
 
 If this report is correct, and it is taken from the Washington 
 Republican, in which it appeared under Mr. Clay's eyes without 
 contradiction from him, Mr. Clay is a conditional Unionist of the 
 most odious description; or, rather, he is a rebel, about as good 
 or bad as can be found any where in this country. If this is, 
 indeed, Mr. Clay's position, there can be no truth in the rumor 
 that he is to receive an important military command west of the 
 Mississippi. There can be no truth, even, in the rumor that he 
 is to go back to St. Petersburg as the representative of this 
 country at the Court of Russia. The only place to which a citi- 
 zen, entertaining such views and promulgating them, can be sent, 
 consistent with a recent order of the War Department, is Fort 
 Warren, or some other military prison of the nation. 
 
 We did hope that Mr. Clay would return from abroad with 
 higher and more temperate views of our national troubles than 
 he carried away with him, or that at least he would return no 
 more extreme than he went. We certainly never dreamed that 
 he would not come back an unconditional Union man. Yet, we 
 fear our expectations touching him have come to naught. He 
 seems to have kept pace on the banks of the Neva with the most 
 swift-footed and hot-headed Abolitionists in the Lyceums of New 
 England, or the halls of the Capitol. He has outstripped him- 
 self. He is ahead of Lovejoy. He is neck by neck with Gar- 
 rison and Phillips. 
 
 We respectfully submit his position to the attention of the 
 President. If he is correctly represented, he has clearly deprived 
 himself of all powers of usefulness to his country in this day of 
 her trial. He is as litde able to serve her as he is willing. 
 
 From the Cincinnati Gazette, August 19, 1862. 
 
 Speech of Cassius M. Clay — He denounces England, thinks France is 
 
 well-disposed. Eulogises Rttssia, and Lays Down his Views 
 
 of Conducting the War. 
 
 As already announced in our dispatches, Cassius M. Clay made 
 a speech at Washington on Tuesday evening. As its principal 
 points were telegraphed by our correspondent, it is only necessary 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 307 
 
 to quote a few passages, to which justice could not be done in 
 his abstract: 
 
 ' ' I now assure you that you found your hopes of British friend- 
 ship, amity, and non-interference upon a false basis, if you sup- 
 pose there is any anti-slavery sentiment in the British dominions 
 that is going to keep England from laying violent hands upon 
 this great Republic when she dares. [Cries of "That is so."] 
 Fear is the only thing that deters her from interfering in behalf 
 of the South, for the purpose of prostrating and forever blotting 
 out from the insignia of nations the Star-Spangled Banner, which 
 is the pride of our nation, and the mighty representative of our 
 principles. [Loud applause.] I give you my word of honor that, 
 after the closest observation, and most thorough intercourse with 
 Englishmen in every part of Europe, I have scarcely met one man 
 who did not sincerely desire the overthrow of the American Re- 
 public, and believe such would be the ultimate result — Mr. Fors- 
 ter, in the House of Parliament, and Messrs. Cobden and Bright, 
 being honorable exceptions; but they are merely sectional men, 
 and do but represent the British people, who are honestly and 
 fearlessly on our side, because they love the principles which that 
 flag represents; but their influence is, as I before remarked, only 
 limited. I think I hazard nothing in saying that there is no pub- 
 lic sentiment whatever, and no potent people, in England, who 
 are on our side, against those who would lay violent hands upon 
 the insignia of our nationality. 
 
 ' ' I believe that the French people and the French Emperor are 
 now, and have been from the beginning, just as the Emperor of 
 the French has again and again avowed himself to be, a firm and 
 fixed friend of the American Republic. Let us not take England 
 as a source of information as to the disposition and design of the 
 Emperor. We all know, when it was loudly and universally pro- 
 claimed in France, that the French Emperor had declared his 
 determination to interfere, how the Government, through its au- 
 thenticated journal, the Momteur, treated the matter. The Em- 
 peror, too, in his address to the French Chambers, told them 
 that, so far from proposing to interfere by his action with the 
 blockade which the American Republic had established, he never 
 would interfere, unless just cause of interference should occur. 
 [Loud and prolonged applause.] Now, gentlemen, there is an 
 avowal. Those words are on record, and the world knows it. 
 Neither you nor I, the newspaper press nor any set of men, have 
 
308 MEMOIRS, WRlXmCS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 the right to question the integrity of this avowal until some act 
 shall occur which would give the lie to it. [Cheers.] I think — 
 I say it from the best information which I can get — followed up 
 by this letter, which was written while the difificulty attending the 
 arrest of Mason and Slidell was pending, that the French nation 
 has been and still is the friend of the American Republic* [Ap- 
 plause.] Let us, then, give him our faith and our confidence, that 
 he means what he says; that he will do and act as he means. 
 [Loud applause.] 
 
 ' ' I think I can say, without implication of profanity or want of 
 deference, that, since the days of Christ himself, such a happy and 
 glorious privilege has not been reserved to any other man to do 
 that amount of good; and no man has ever more gallantly or 
 nobly done it than Alexander II., the Czar of Russia. I refer 
 to the emancipation of the 23,000,000 of serfs, f [Vociferous 
 cheering.] Here, then, fellow-citizens, was the place to look for 
 an ally. [Renewed applause.] Here, fellow-citizens, you have 
 found an ally. [Cheers.] Trust him; for your trust will not be 
 misplaced. [Applause.] Stand by him, and he will — as he has 
 often declared to me he will — stand by you. [The speaker was 
 here interrupted by a long, continuous outburst of applause, which 
 lasted some time.] Not only Alexalider, but his whole family 
 are with you. [Renewed applause.] Men, women, and children. 
 [Continued applause.] None of them eat the bread of idleness. 
 Those that belong to the royal house are acting an important part 
 in the administration of the Government. One takes the head of 
 the navy, another the army, another agriculture, etc. — all men 
 with temperate habits, cultivated intellects, and fine address, de- 
 voting all their energies in co-operating with the Czar for the 
 elevation of his people. A more lovely, intelligent, virtuous, 
 and noble family never occupied or surrounded a throne before. 
 Whilst I spent days and weeks in moving around, gazing at and 
 admiring the people, I was surprised; for I had read in English 
 journals of the Russian people being but little better than beasts 
 of the field, but I have found that the Russians are a great race. 
 
 »It is true Napoleon subsequently prove<l false to his avowals up to this time; 
 but the French people showed, by their subsequent action, that 1 was right about 
 them. — C, 1885. 
 
 tThe initial steps toward emancipation were taken in 1861 ; but the details 
 took several years more to complete the emancipation of the serfs of Russia. —C, 
 1885. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY, 309 
 
 "Well, now, you are going to conquer the South. How? By 
 my friend Seward taking dinners and drinks? [Laughter and ap- 
 plause.] You are going to conquer the South by taking the 
 sword in one hand and slave-shackles in the other. You are 
 going to conquer the South with one portion of your force, while 
 the other is detailed to guard rebel property. You are so mag- 
 nanimous that you are going to put down this gigantic effort at 
 our national life, in the language of Jim Lane, "by fighting their 
 battles and your own." [Applause.] How long have you tried 
 it? For nearly eighteen months. Some of the best men in this 
 country have gone down to their graves. Two hundred and fifty 
 thousand of the loyal troops of the United States have died on 
 the battle-field, or been disabled by sickness. How many millions 
 have you expended? Why, a sum roUing up to one thousand 
 millions — almost one-fourth of the national debt of England, that 
 has been accumulating for ages — and still you have been carry- 
 ing on the war. Upon such principles as those you can not 
 stand upright in the eyes of the world. On these principles you 
 never can conquer; and I am told by men high in authority that 
 the Capitol is still in danger. Gentlemen, how much longer is 
 this thing to continue? 
 
 "Fight this war on the principle of common-sense. As for my- 
 self, never, so help me God, will I draw a sword to keep the 
 chains upon another fellow-being. [Tremendous applause.] Sup- 
 pose, gentlemen, that you succeed upon the present policy; what 
 have you gained? Better recognize the Southern Confederacy at 
 once, and stop this effusion of blood, than to continue in this 
 present ruinous policy, or have even a restoration of the Union 
 as it was. Change your policy, and show that you are in earnest. 
 Send an ambassador — me, if you will, much as the slave-holders 
 hate me, and I them — to Jeff. Davis with a message that, if he 
 will consent to have the rebels lay down their arms, and come 
 again under the protection of the old flag and the Constitution, 
 that protection will be granted to him; but, if not, warn him of 
 the consequence, and then go to work in real earnest, and, if 
 necessary, desolate the whole South. 
 
 "As regards the disposition of the negro, I am opposed to 
 colonization, because it will be the means of delaying emancipa- 
 tion; in fact, only tending to perpetuate the institution of slav- 
 ery, and the difficulties of its overthrow, by raising the value of 
 slaves. " 
 
310 MEMOIRS, WRITIMUS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Soon Lincoln sent for me, and said: "I have been 
 thinking of what you said to me, but I fear if such proc- 
 lamation of emancipation was made Kentucky would go 
 against us; and we have now as much as we can carry." 
 
 I replied: "You are mistaken. The Kentuckians have 
 heard this question discussed by me for a quarter of a 
 century; and have all made up their minds. Those who 
 intend to stand by slavery have already joined the rebel 
 army; and those who remain will stand by the Union at 
 all events. Not a man of intelligence will change his 
 ground." 
 
 Lincoln then said: "The Kentucky Legislature is now 
 in session. Go down, and see how they stand, and report 
 to me." 
 
 So at once I set out ; making a diversion by speaking a 
 few times, in the North, as a paid lecturer, thus to raise 
 money for my expenses which I really needed, and to cover 
 the purpose of my tour. 
 
 When I reached Lexington, Kirby Smith was marching 
 upon my county town, Richmond; and General Lew. Wal- 
 lace was in command of the Union forces. I suggested 
 that the defense against those veteran troops should be 
 made on the bluffs of thp Kentucky River; that the passes 
 were few, and easy of defense. This I knew from long 
 observation in fishing in that river, from the three forks to 
 the mouth. Wallace then asked me to take charge of the 
 troops — infantry and artillery — and make the defense as I 
 thought best. To this I consented; and the result is best 
 shown by the following letter: 
 
 Cassius M. Clay — Interesting Communication Relative to his Connec- 
 tion with General Nelson. 
 
 To the Editor of the Courier-Journal — 
 
 White Hall P. O., Madison County, Ky., April 9, 1878. — 
 In your journal of the 6th instant is a letter of General M. D. 
 Manson, about the battle of Richmond, in which my name is 
 mentioned; and, to avoid misconstruction, I beg leave to say a 
 few words in regard to my connection with General Nelson's com- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 3 I I 
 
 mand. Whilst a Major-General of Volunteers of the United 
 States, 1 had been ordered by President Lincoln on a secret mis- 
 sion to Kentucky, the Legislature being then in session, to sound 
 the public sentiment of this State in regard to a proclamation of 
 the freedom of all the slaves captured in war, or escaped from 
 the belligerent armies of the South, as well as to use my discre- 
 tion on the subject of slavery generally. I reached Lexington on 
 the 23d of August, 1862 (following General Hanson's data), where 
 I found General L. Wallace in command, as I supposed, of the 
 corps d'armee intended to repel the advance of Gen. Kirby Smith, 
 then reported to be approaching Richmond, my county town, by 
 way of the eastern border — the "Big Hill." General Wallace 
 asked me to take command, being my senior, in his stead, as I 
 was better posted with regard to the locality than he. To this 
 I promptly acceded. I borrowed a sword and pistols, and at once, 
 on Sunday, took command of the infantry and a small battery of 
 artillery, marched them till near nightfall toward Richmond, and 
 encamped near Robert Wickliffe's farm, about three miles from 
 Lexington. The troops were very raw, and not yet subjected to 
 rigid military order; but the next day, the 25th, the weather being 
 extremely warm, I moved the troops very cautiously, often resting 
 them, and taking up the foot-sore on the cannon-carriages and 
 wagons. Near night, as I was about posting the troops for the 
 night, and making a defense of the north bank of the Kentucky 
 River, where the passes were few and unknown to the enemy, 
 and where I could have made raw troops as effective as veterans, 
 and, as I now believe, could have repulsed the force of Smith, 
 General Nelson rode up and relieved me from the command. So 
 I went home that night, and next day, the 25th, reported myself 
 to General Nelson, at his head-quarters at Richmond, expecting, 
 as we were old, intimate friends, to be invited to a position, at 
 least, upon his staff; but, disappointed in this, I returned home, 
 and started for Frankfort on the 27th of August, where, addressing 
 the Legislature in the Hall of the House of Representatives, I 
 urged the views which I had pressed upon the President with 
 almost unanimous success. My speech was reported by the steno- 
 grapher of the Cincinnati Gazette, and published in full in that 
 journal in 1862. 
 
 I know nothing of the controversy between the parties about 
 General Nelson's conduct on the battle-ground. I was told, on my 
 return from Europe in 1869, by Major Green Clay, that he took 
 
312 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 General Nelson, after he was wounded, on horseback through by- 
 ways to Jessamine County. 
 
 In justice to General Nelson, I want to say that I believe he 
 was a brave, and not a bad-hearted man, His schooling in the 
 navy unfitted him for the command of volunteers, where persua- 
 sion and kindness must be used in connection with firmness. Let 
 us all cast the mantle of charity over the faults of a man whose 
 patriotism and courage have never been questioned. Truly, 
 
 C. M. Clay. 
 
 Smith having defeated Nelson (August 30), I returned 
 by way of Cincinnati to Washington, handed a copy of my 
 speech to Lincoln, and made a verbal report of my visit 
 to the State of Kentucky and the Kentucky Legislature. 
 Lincoln said but little; but, on the 2 2d day of September, 
 1862, issued his immortal Proclamation of Freedom for the 
 slaves in all the rebel States. 
 
 Thus my good star stood high in the heavens; and 
 whilst my enemies sought by unworthy means my ruin, I 
 seemed by Providence to have been called for the culmi- 
 nating act of my life's aspirations. 
 
 A letter, written and published about this time by Prof. 
 A. W. Blinn,(with myself and others, my friends, the sub- 
 jects,) may with propriety be introduced here: 
 
 Political Recollections by Professor A. W. Blinn. 
 
 CASSIUS M. CLAY. 
 
 The character and deeds of the noble are the heritage of the 
 world. The race is wiser and nobler for the heroism of Leonidas, 
 the patriotism of Algernon Sidney, and the incorruptible integrity 
 of Washington. In counting over the heroes of the nineteenth 
 century, posterity will not forget the name of Cassius M. Clay. 
 Born in affluence, surrounded by the prejudices of slavery, reared 
 amid its perverting and blinding influences, with every worldly 
 motive pressing him to follow the popular tide; yet, in .spite of 
 all these, in young manhood he laid all upon the altar of duty 
 and patriotism, and consecrated his life to freedom. 
 
 He graduated early at Yale College. How much of his love 
 of freedom and hatred of slavery he derived from his free associa- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 313 
 
 tions there, I do not know. Certainly he had the germ of 
 nobility in him — the free air of New England may have had some 
 influence in developing its power. Certain it is that he entered 
 upon active life with all the holy fervor of a Wilberforce, and 
 the martyr intrepidity of a Sidney and a Lovejoy. He declared 
 for freedom, for Kentucky, and the Nation. 
 
 A very hasty survey will show that this was a , position of 
 great daring — emphatically a position that "tried men's souls." 
 Slavery was strongly intrenched in Kentucky, and in nearly half 
 the States of the Union. It was intrenched in some of the 
 "Compromises of the Constitution," in some of the laws of Con- 
 gress, in the statutes of many of the States, and more in the 
 property interest, and the political influence which it exercised 
 in the government. It was thus a utilizing interest, uniting a 
 class into a powerful oligarchy — so powerful as to control the 
 Government, State and National. Thus we had a powerful and 
 proud aristocracy in this Republic, bound together by common 
 interests and conventionalities. 
 
 Mr. Clay rose up against this aristocracy; broke from, and 
 defied all its conventionalities. And it was no small thing. He 
 broke the laws of Caste. He took his life in his hand. His foes 
 were they of his own household. Almost every earthly friend for- 
 sook him. He stood, like Luther, amid the surging storms of 
 fanaticism and madness; like Algernon Sidney, against the leagued 
 powers of despotism, and, for long years, he stood alone. Well 
 he learned the meaning of the poet: 
 
 "But thou who enterest on the sterner strife 
 
 For truths which men receive not now. 
 Thy warfare only ends with life. 
 
 A fearful warfare, raging long. 
 Through weary day and weary year ; 
 
 A wild and many-weaponed throng 
 Hangs on thy front, and flank, and rear." 
 
 He informed me that, for more than thirty years, there was 
 scarcely a night that he did not expect an attack, — that he did 
 not expect violence, and, perhaps, death. He grew familiar with 
 danger. The fastidious critic may say that he too often provoked 
 it. Perhaps so did Luther. He did not always measure, with 
 nice exactness, his words. His noble sense of right, and indigna- 
 tion at wrong, flowed out in burning words, like the pent-up fires 
 of Vesuvius. If they kindled a conflagration, the responsibility 
 
314 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 was with those who had built up systems of wrong upon hay and 
 stubble. Such impetuous souls are necessary in such times. 
 
 The gentle spirit of Melancthon and Erasmus would never have 
 achieved the reformation. William Lloyd Garrison performed the 
 same noble function in the Free States. Clay's and Garrison's 
 noble rage brought the Slave-Power to bay, and aroused the ener- 
 gies of freedom. Well I hear the clear ring of Mr. Clay's voice, 
 amid that fearful din of battle: "For God and the Right!" Well 
 I recall the noble words of counsel and warning through his True 
 American; and the shame and sorrow that filled millions of hearts 
 on hearing that a mob had destroyed that free press. Truth 
 seemed to be crushed to earth, but it soon rose again; and the 
 same brave voice continued to ring through the State and the 
 Nation. His name was thence a synonym for heroism. 
 
 Mr. Clay's course in the Mexican War surprised most of his 
 admirers; yet, I believe, few questioned the integrity of his mo- 
 tives. His subsequent course attested his unwavering adhesion to 
 principle. I believe that Mr. Clay was among the foremost to 
 urge upon Mr. Lincoln the measure of Emancipation. 
 
 One particular incident in Mr. Clay's later life I have marked 
 as illustrating the fearlessness of his character, and his readiness to 
 go where duty called. 
 
 During the exciting canvass of i860, he spoke from the steps 
 of the State-House, in Frankfort, amid the darkness of night — a 
 mark for many who had sought his life. But Kentuckians are 
 too brave to shoot a man in the dark. I believe he spoke after- 
 ward in the State-House to both branches of the Legislature, by 
 their invitation. 
 
 In brilliance of eloquence and power to command men, he was 
 not equal to his illustrious relative, Henry Clay; but in breadth 
 of views and statesmanship, he was his superior. He had too 
 wide a discernment of moral causes and effects to be deceived 
 with the sophistry that a compromise with slavery would restore 
 harmony between the sections of the Union. 
 
 This allusion to my advocacy of freedom, and my in- 
 fluence with Lincoln, is valuable, as I have not been able 
 to get a copy of my speech of August, 1862, before the 
 Legislature in session at Frankfort, Kentucky. 
 
 On the 13th of September, 1862, I received the fol- 
 lowing : 
 
of cassius marcellus clay. 315 
 
 Head-quarters of the Army, 
 Adjutant-General's Office, Washington, Sept. 12, 1862. 
 Special Orders No. 235 (Extract). 
 
 * * * * * 
 
 3. Major-General Cassius M. Clay, U. S. Volunteers, is assigned 
 to duty in the Department of the Gulf, and will report to Major- 
 General Butler. 
 
 * * * * * 
 
 By command of Major-General Halleck. 
 
 E. D. TOWNSEND, 
 
 Gen. Clay. Assistant Adjutant-General. 
 
 This order I took next day to Lincoln, who immediately 
 sat down and wrote the following counter order: 
 
 Executive Mansion, Washington, Sept, 14, 1862. 
 Major-General C. M. Clay — 
 
 Dear Sir : — You need not proceed to New Orleans until you 
 hear from me again. I have an understanding with the Secretary 
 of War and General Halleck on this subject. Yours truly, 
 
 A. Lincoln. 
 
 Finally I sent in my resignation, as follows: 
 
 Washington, D. C, Sept. 29, 1862. 
 His Excellency, A. Lincoln, President — 
 
 Sir : — I hereby resign my commission as Major-General of 
 Volunteers in the United States service, to take effect upon the 
 resignation of Simon Cameron, Esq., as Minister Plenipotentiary 
 to Russia. 
 
 I do this to avail myself of your promise to send me back to 
 my former mission at the court of St. Petersburg, where, I flat- 
 ter myself, I can better serve my country than in the field, under 
 General Halleck, who can not repress his hatred of liberal men 
 into the ordinary courtesies of life. 
 
 I am truly, your obedient servant, 
 
 C. M. Clay. 
 
 Thus it will be seen that Lincoln promptly overset the 
 scheme of sending me to New Orleans, where the yellow 
 
3l6 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 fever was prevailing, in the heat of September; and where, 
 no doubt, I, who had wintered in the cold climate of Rus- 
 sia, would have fallen a victim to that epidemic. Besides, 
 all my friends thought me a better general than my old 
 friend, General Butler, who showed so much genius in 
 other respects. I was not advised what I was to do; 
 and the whole proceeding was so unfriendly that no one 
 thought I could ever have a fair field under Stanton and 
 Halleck's rule. So, thus timely relieved, I waited patiently 
 till Lincoln could advise with Cameron, and determine defi- 
 nitely about my return to Russia. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Policy of Reconstruction denounced. — Letter to Geo. D. Prentice to that 
 EFFECT. — Interview with Stanton. — Letter from W. VV. Seaton. — Let- 
 ter FROM Stanton. — I meet James A. Garfield. — Letters from S. P. 
 Chase. — Henry Bergh as my Secretary of Legation. — I speak, on in- 
 vitation, at Albany, New York. — My Speech, refused publication in 
 
 THE leading newspapers, I PUBLISH IT AS A PAMPHLET. — I RETURN TO RUSSIA. 
 
 Letter from Bayard Taylor. — Bismarck. — The Duke of Montebello. — 
 Lord Napier. — Nihilism. — Alexander II. — ^T. Morris Chester. — Received 
 A guest at Gatchina Palace. — My estimate of the Emperor, Alexan- 
 der II. — His Portrait. — Letters from Prince Gortchacow. 
 
 NOW, for the first time, it began to be discussed — as 
 the tide of battle, after the Proclamation, turned in 
 our favor — what shall be done with the conquered States? 
 Sumner, Stevens, and others, were for that fatal policy 
 which brought us ten years of peace more disastrous, if 
 possible, than the four years of war. I held, with Wash- 
 ington, that, the rebellion being put down, the States sur- 
 vived. As I put it, " If one loyal man survived, he was 
 the State." This was the sentiment of Lincoln, also; as 
 well as of John J. Crittenden, who had been twice Attor- 
 ney-General of the United States. (See his unpublished 
 resolutions in " Life," etc., Vol. IL) 
 
 The same sentiment was expressed in my letter, * in 
 1866, from St. Petersburg, to the Louisville Journal; and 
 
 » LETTER OF CASSIUS M. CLAY. 
 
 St. Petersburg, Russia, March 13, 1866. 
 Dear Sir : — I deem it my duty to denounce the course of 
 Sumner and Stevens. If one man remains loyal, he is the State. 
 
 I stand by the President's vet<5 of the Freedmen's Bureau bill. 
 Let the States give the freedmen all civil rights, and by degrees 
 
 317 
 
3l8 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 the same year the RepubHcan Convention in Frankfort, 
 Kentucky, re-asserted the same principles. 
 
 The result of the Sumner policy was the intensifying 
 the feeling of hatred between the South and the North, 
 and the two races every-where. The sequence was that, 
 whereas there was only eleven States against the Union 
 at the peace, there are now, as I foretold, sixteen States 
 solid against the Republican Party. 
 
 The breach between me and Sumner was yet more 
 widened by this divergence of Southern policy. As the 
 sessions of the Senate were secret, I do not know whether 
 he opposed my confirmation or not, but I have reason to 
 believe that he did, as some New England members voted 
 against me; whilst the New York Times, Seward's paper, 
 the Tribune, and the National Intelligencer, all opposed 
 me. So my nomination was secured by the votes of 
 Garrett Davis, Andrew Johnson, and other Southern 
 Union Senators. Hon. James S. Rollins, then member 
 of Congress from Missouri, aided me much. Mr. Seward 
 and Thurlow Weed entered the lobby of the Senate 
 against me, but I had the pleasure of defeating* their 
 
 extend to them the right of suffrage. Or else let an amendment 
 of the Constitution make one rule of suffrage for all the States. 
 This attempt of Congress to interfere with the right of the States, 
 after the war-power ceases, is an usurpation of power unknown to 
 the Constitution, and subversive of the whole theory of Repub- 
 licanism, as based on the old Constitution of the United States, f 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 C. M. Clay. 
 Geo. D. Prentice, Esq., 
 Louisville, Ky. 
 
 t These sentiments and policy were, to the letter, asserted in a Convention of 
 the Republicans of Kentucky in Frankfort. See resolutions published in the Com- 
 monwealth, 1866. — C, 1885. 
 
 * Among many letters of congratulation on my triumph, I pub- 
 lish this one from a long-standing opponent. Seaton had pub- 
 lished, in the National Intelligencer, a severe editorial against my 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 319 
 
 enmity; the border States supplying any votes lost to me 
 from the North. 
 
 I had no reason to like Stanton; and the feeling be- 
 tween us finally came to words. There was a Southerner 
 taken in New York by Stanton's secret police, and brought 
 to Washington a prisoner. Many of my friends, without 
 regard to party, interceded for the man, and asked my in- 
 fluence in his behalf. They thought, as there seemed to 
 be no proof of his having committed any legal offense, 
 that he should be set at liberty. I went reluctantly to 
 Stanton, and laid the case before him. He, in an insolent 
 tone, said : "It is a pretty state of affairs, when men of 
 your position, with the commission of a Foreign Minister 
 in your pocket, should be found interceding for the lib- 
 eration of traitors." 
 
 I said: "I will let you know that I am your equal, 
 and care no more for your opinions than those of any 
 other citizen. There are ten millions of men in rebellion. 
 Do you expect to execute them all? Or, rather, is not 
 the war to be put down by judicious clemency, as well as 
 force?" And, so saying, I took up my hat, and retired. 
 
 re-appointment to Russia. In calling on him to have my reply 
 inserted, a pleasant conversation ensued, and a box of Havanas 
 was lost by me on a wager; and the sending of the same was 
 the cause of this note: 
 
 Washington, March 15, 1863. 
 My Dear General Clay: — I have had the pleasure to receive, 
 with your kind note, the box of superb cigars which you have sent 
 me to make good your wager. General, during my long life, I 
 have always felt, whenever I have been fortunate enough to con- 
 ceive a fresh esteem, that a flower had been cast in my path; and, 
 as you and I shall never see each other, probably, again, I wish to 
 say to you, that as much as we differ on some things, your deport- 
 ment during the last ten days has won my esteem. Whenever I 
 smoke one of your regalias, I shall doubtless think of you ; and 
 with many a whiff, believe me, will go up a sincere wish for your 
 honor and haplpiness. W. W. Seaton. 
 
320 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 In a few days, having occasion to call his attention to 
 the case of Edward McMurdy, who caused me to lose so 
 much money, in New York, in 1869-70, I re-asserted my 
 idea of public policy, but expressed regret at any personal 
 difference between us; as I believed he was, at least, pat- 
 riotic, and I appreciated the difficulties of his position. He 
 responded in the subjoined letter: 
 
 War Department, Washington City, Fed. 25, 1863. 
 
 General : — I do not think there is any material difference be- 
 tween us in respect to the duty of the Government, on the subject 
 referred to in your note just received. The only point of difference, 
 perhaps, is as to the point of time and the manner of application. 
 
 For your confidence and support I am thankful, and the senti- 
 ment is fully reciprocated. Of my failings and short-comings I am 
 conscious, and deeply regret them when they give offense to friends 
 whose regard I esteem. 
 
 The case of McMurdy, referred to, I do not remember; and 
 will be happy to have any information concerning it you may be 
 pleased to communicate, and will be happy to correct any injustice 
 that may have been done. 
 
 It will give me pleasure to see you at any time, and trust you 
 will give me an opportunity of doing so before you leave the 
 country. With great respect, I am, yours truly, 
 
 Edward M. Stanton. 
 
 This was manly. I saw no more of Stanton. Other 
 citizens, whose good faith I could count upon, from Ken- 
 tucky, were liberated from prison by me, through direct 
 appeal to Lincoln. Among these were Jacob Hostetter, 
 John George, and Chis. Gouge. For such was the hu- 
 manity of the President, that he was ever pleased when 
 he could find a case for justifiable clemency. * 
 
 * When I spoke at Cleveland, Ohio, in the canvass of 1 884, in 
 favor of Blaine and Logan, John Hay, Mr. Lincoln's former private 
 secretary, who had married there, presided over the vast Repub- 
 lican meeting. Next day, with some friends, we were naturally 
 talking over Mr. Lincoln's personal character, when Mr. Hay told 
 the following characteristic anecdoti": 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 32 1 
 
 Mrs. Lincoln, who was the daughter of my old and 
 tried friend, Robert Todd, of Lexington, Kentucky, told 
 me that they had no confidence whatever in Mr. Seward's 
 friendship, and that I need not fear his influence against 
 me ; that Mr. Lincoln only tolerated him for political rea- 
 sons. I visited Lincoln often, at the White House, and 
 the Soldiers' Home ; and left him in much better spirits 
 than when I first arrived in Washington. 
 
 Whilst at Chase's home, as his guest, General James 
 A. Garfield was there, also, a few days. I found him a 
 very agreeable companion, and formed a favorable opinion 
 of his abilities. 
 
 It need fairly be said that I believed Chase to be, on 
 the whole, the ablest and most patriotic of Lincoln's 
 cabinet; and to him, next to the President, the country 
 is indebted for the salvation of the Republic. But his 
 talents were not more important than his unquestioned 
 integrity, which enabled him to hold the entire confidence 
 of the United States, and of the world, in all his financial 
 measures. 
 
 Before I left New York, a gentleman, who had much 
 cultivated my acquaintance on a convivial occasion, ven- 
 tured to do me the poor compliment of saying: "Clay, 
 you and Chase are life-long friends ; and we all know 
 your intimate relations with him. Now, you can do me 
 a great favor, which would not hurt the public interest, 
 if you could communicate to me when the Secretary will 
 make some new move in the money-market." I replied: 
 
 "One day a school-fellow of mine got into a bad scrape, and 
 was condemned to death. I appealed to Mr. Lincoln for a pardon, 
 and told him of my early associations with the unfortunate man. 
 Mr. Lincoln, without a word, sat down to his desk, and began 
 writing, and then said: 'You say, Mr. Hay, that your friend was a 
 good fellow?' 'No,' said I, 'Mr. Lincoln, I must say, in all truth, 
 that he was quite the contrary. ' ' Well, ' said Lincoln, ' then he is 
 too bad to die!' and so he went on and wrote the pardon." — C, 
 1885. 
 
 Vol. I. — 21 
 
32 2 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 " You are right in the estimate of my friendship for the 
 Secretary of the Treasury; but I can not agree with you 
 in your idea that divulging his financial secrets would not 
 be injurious to the public interests ; and I assure you that 
 any suggestion in that direction would be an insult to 
 Chase, which would make us enemies for life." 
 
 The following letters, from Salmon P. Chase, I loaned 
 to a friend some years ago; and only now (November, 
 1885,) have been able to recover them. The intrinsic 
 value and patriotic spirit of the man who was second only 
 to Lincoln in the salvation of the Union, more than its 
 complimentary appreciation of myself, induces me now to 
 insert them, out of their proper sequence in time: 
 
 Columbus, May 30, i860. 
 
 Mv Dear Clay: — You were not more surprised than I was 
 that you received no votes at Chicago from the Ohio delegation. 
 It was not, however, the only respect in which that delegation dis- 
 appointed my expectations, as well as those of a large majority of 
 the Republicans of Ohio. Having received, myself, an unusually 
 unanimous and emphatic preference from the Republican State 
 Convention, when called to appoint delegates to the National Con- 
 vention, I desired, of course, the earnest support of the Ohio dele- 
 gation. It would have been gratifying to me, had that support 
 been given; and had it, at any time, become evident that a ma- 
 jority of the Convention could not be brought to harmonize, in 
 judgment and action, with our delegation, I should have been 
 pleased if you could have received the suffrages previously given 
 to me. For, while I supposed that Mr. Seward and Mr. Lincoln, 
 as well as yourself, had friends in the delegation, who would pre- 
 fer one or the other, according to individual judgment, in case of 
 the withdrawal of my name, it did seem to me that you united 
 elements of character, ability, and popularity which would make 
 you an available candidate; whilst your early, continued, and de- 
 voted service to the cause gave you claims over the preference of 
 your old co-laborers, which no true-hearted man could fail to ap- 
 preciate. 
 
 But our delegation, because of some incurable intolerance of a 
 very few, but chiefly in consequence of the bringing forward Mr. 
 Wade's name in conflict with mine, in disregard of the action of 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 323 
 
 our Convention, was divided and powerless from the start, and noth- 
 ing was done as it should have been done. It is a wonder to me 
 that any delegates from other States gave me support after our own 
 delegation exhibited its incompetency to lead as it should have led 
 in my behalf; and I am exceedingly grateful to the noble and gen- 
 erous men from Kentucky, who made good in part their default. 
 
 While I should have rejoiced in your nomination to the first 
 ofiSce, however, I confess I cared little to see you named for the 
 second at this time. The Vice-Presidency is a post of little influ- 
 ence, or responsibility, and not the post for you, if a better could 
 be had; but a better can be had, if we succeed, for I doubt not 
 you will be called to take part in the administration, as a mem- 
 ber of the cabinet. 
 
 As for myself, I shall make it my business hereafter to repress 
 aspiration. It would have been entirely satisfactory to me to see 
 my political life closed with my gubernatorial term. I made no 
 canvass for election to the Senate, but left that matter, as well as 
 every other concerning myself, to the unprompted action of the 
 Republicans. As they have thought fit to place me in the Senate, 
 I shall, if my life is continued, take my seat there to fulfill my 
 duty. I desire no other fate, and shall seek no other, unless cir- 
 cumstances fully change. 
 
 As to your own future, it can not be brighter than I wish it. 
 It has never been my desire that your name should not be brought 
 forward for nomination, because my own chanced to be; nor did 
 I suppose, until I received your letter, that you felt any obligation 
 to give preference either to Mr. Seward or myself I know noth- 
 ing which could create such obligation. It is hardly likely that 
 my name will ever be mentioned again in connection with the 
 Presidency. If it should be so mentioned, and yours should be 
 also proposed, and the preference awarded to it, be assured, my 
 friend, I shall rejoice in the honor awarded as if it were given to 
 a brother. 
 
 Our present duty is with the present. The Convention, if it 
 has disappointed some hopes, has given us an excellent candidate 
 and an excellent platform. Let us do our uttermost to sustain 
 both. Ohio will, I think, do her duty, as usual ; and I hope that 
 Kentucky will give us, if not her electoral suffrage, yet such a 
 popular vote that it will be clear to all men that the spell of the 
 Slave-Power is broken forever. Write me often. Faithfully, your 
 friend, S. P. Chase. 
 
324 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 CoLVMBVS, January 26, 1861. 
 
 Dear Clay : — For the sake of our organization, for the sake 
 of our cause, for the sake of your own future, for the sake of our 
 country, give no sanction to the scheme for the admission of New 
 Mexico as a slave State, as the amendment to the Constitution 
 makes its future amendment, in respect to slaves, dependent on 
 the unanimous consent of all the States. We want no compro- 
 mises now, and no compromisers. The Constitution is outraged, 
 the Union defied and broken, the laws despised and disregarded. 
 Let these wrongs be remedied before one tittle of adjustment. Let 
 us wait, at least, until Mr. Lincoln is inaugurated and surrounded 
 by a Republican administration, before we attempt to bring forward 
 measures which will commit and divide the Republican Party. 
 
 I wrote you at White Hall, in reply to your last letter. What 
 I said of you to Mr. Lincoln, as stated in that letter, was based on 
 my belief that you, last of all men, would recommend the sur- 
 render, by compromises, of the victory we had won even before 
 the organization of the administration which it called to power. 
 
 Faithfully, your friend, 
 Col. C. M. Clay. S. R Chase. 
 
 Whilst I was willing to be spoken of as a possible 
 candidate for the Presidency, I sought neither the first 
 nor second office. To me the final triumph of my prin- 
 ciples was of more worth than elevation to ofifice; and I 
 thought Lincoln and Chase, and, at one time, Seward, 
 could rally a large organized party of personal and polit- 
 ical followers, which was not probable with my name at 
 the head. For I had begun already to feel what Lincoln 
 said in 1862, that reformers incurred enmities which were 
 too strong for life-time elevation. And enmities, alas! 
 are more potent in human affairs than friendships and 
 gratitude. 
 
 It was the policy of my enemies, of the "Bluff Ben. 
 Wade" type, to cry out against me " compromise, " and 
 of my Southern foes "u/iraism." Fortunately for me, my 
 speech at this time, herein reported, shows my true posi- 
 tion. Those who care to read it will find that, whilst 
 apparently conceding some rights, it claimed concessions 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 325 
 
 from the South, which no man knew, so well as I, would 
 never be made. Events had placed me in the leadership, 
 and I challenge criticism as to the lofty and impregnable 
 grounds upon which I placed the battle for the life of the 
 Republic. The rush of events prevented any reply to 
 this letter; and indorsed on the back in my name I find — 
 "No Compromise/" 
 
 Seward, defeated in his personal enmity (by calling T. 
 Weed to Washington to lobby against me), and, which 
 was mor^, defeated in his pro-slavery policy, continued 
 his malice against me, and refused to advance any part 
 of my salary; so I had to borrow money of private citi- 
 zens to get off once more to Russia. It is true that the 
 law does not allow such advance ; but I was told that, 
 nevertheless, such advance was often made. 
 
 Henry Bergh (my nephew. Green Clay, preferring 
 southern Europe), was made Secretary of Legation, but, 
 being soon dissatisfied, he returned to the United States ; 
 and is noted since for his humanitarian labors, though 
 his Society was begun for the prevention of " Cruelty to 
 Animals," — ^in itself, in truth, humanizing. 
 
 My speeches at Frankfort, Ky., and New York City, 
 and especially at Albany, N. Y., on February 3, 1863, 
 attracted general attention and comment in the press. 
 The speech at Frankfort went, through the Cincinnati 
 Gazette, over all the Union. As Seward and Weed were 
 against the policy, my friends in Albany, Weed's resi- 
 dence, through the Law-Class of the University of that 
 city, invited me to deliver my Frankfort speech there 
 also, avowedly to counteract their unpatriotic influence. I 
 cheerfully yielded, and made the speech, which will be 
 published in Volume IL of this work. 
 
 I was ahead of my party, as usual ; and neither the 
 Herald, Post, Tribune, or the Times would publish my 
 speech for love or money. As Bayard Taylor, of the 
 Tribune, was Charge d' Affaires at St. Petersburg, my old 
 friend Greeley, though earnestly asked, refused to publish 
 
326 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 it. So I went to a job-printer, and had it printed at my 
 own expense, and distributed to all the leading news- 
 papers in the United States. I sent a copy to Lord 
 Palmerston, the reception of which he politely acknowl- 
 edged. And in Russia it was translated into their lan- 
 guage, and distributed by thousands all over the Empire ; 
 for the Czar was engaged in the same cause at home, 
 and the arguments were good in both nations. * 
 
 Disgusted with England's enmity to our cause, I took 
 a Bremen steamer; and, without incident, arrived safely at 
 St. Petersburg once more. 
 
 As Cameron, finding that he could not beat me before 
 the Senate on his return home, had resigned, Taylor was 
 Charge d' Affaires at the imperial city when I arrived. 
 The intrigues of these gentlemen to beat me would afford 
 an interesting chapter in these Memoirs; but, as I find 
 my material growing too large, I pass on. 
 
 * As I have given the congratulatory letter of Seaton, I venture 
 to publish one (among many received from other sources,) by a 
 patriotic lady: 
 
 Schenectady, N. Y., March 21, 1863. 
 
 My Dear Mr. Clay : — Your most kind letter was forwarded to 
 me from New York, and was, I need scarcely say, received with 
 great pleasure. I write to thank you for it, and to say how much 
 I regret that our sudden departure from New York should have 
 prevented my seeing you again, perhaps, in a less formal way than 
 as an entire stranger. My father came from his tiresome duties in 
 Congress ill, and continued so, that for his sake we were compelled 
 to seek a friendly atmosphere, which we hoped would break the 
 daily access of fever. It has done so, thank God. 
 
 I congratulate you most heartily on your late triumph. Need I 
 assure you I watched with anxiety the result of all the opposition 
 which assailed your late appointment, and greatly rejoiced, not only 
 for yourself, but because I am glad, for my poor country's sake, 
 when an out-spoken man gets a place of honor and power. We 
 have, alas! so many who are cowards at heart, and get places 
 meanly by being non-committal. 
 
 Your dear words I shall cherish; and when you are far away 
 over the great deep sea, and among people of another and a 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 327 
 
 Cameron and Taylor, on my leaving St. Petersburg, 
 never had any expectation of ever seeing me there again ; 
 so, without leave, they had taken possession of my two 
 carriages, which I had left with my chasseur, John, and 
 used up one of them ; and this, added to my other griev- 
 ances, left me in no very good humor when I called upon 
 the Secretary. But Taylor accepted his defeat with good 
 grace ; and paid me at once full value for my carriage, as 
 
 strange tongue, I shall think of you in your new duties, and pray 
 for your success and happiness. May you never know, in that far- 
 off land, "the heart of a stranger." 
 
 My parents join me in most cordial compliments. I beg, dear 
 Mr. Clay, to write myself. Your young friend, 
 
 M. S. D. 
 Hon. Cassius M. Clay. ^ 
 
 I call this quite a good lesson in patriotism from one so young. 
 My lady readers will want to know something more about this 
 romantic affair. Yes? Well, whilst I was awaiting orders in New 
 York City — the instructions from Seward, which never came — I 
 was a guest at the St. Nicholas Hotel. In the ladies' ordinary, 
 where I always ate, of course, I happened to sit near an intelli- 
 gent middle-aged lady, with a beautiful girl at her side, appa- 
 rently not sixteen. I being a politician, the mother — for so she 
 was — began a common-place conversation with me, which grew 
 to me more and more agreeable ; for I found the girl was inter- 
 ested with my words also, though too young to suggest an intro- 
 duction. So thus we met, at all our meals, for many, many days., 
 without a single word from the young patriot. She was a native 
 of Massachusetts, but educated from early girlhood in England, 
 and had just returned home, as I afterward learned. As I came 
 to be more and more interested in these people, coming in one 
 day, as usual, I found their seats vacant. So, knowing the ad- 
 dress, I wrote a polite note to the mother; and, in a postscript, 
 asked a photograph of the correspondent, which she sent me to 
 Russia. Now, my fair readers will understand the accidental allu- 
 sion to "the heart of a stranger." We never spoke to each other 
 for long years; and that young face looks down on me from my 
 library-walls as I write, coming through all these years unchanged 
 by time ; but, alas ! we are changed ! 
 
328 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 he said, for both himself and Cameron. He had taken a 
 much better house than the one I had left them in; and 
 was, of course, anxious to get it off his hands. So I laid 
 aside my ill-humor, took his house, and entered into cor- 
 dial relations with him. Mrs. Taylor was a German 
 woman, and had set out for her own home; so I never 
 met her. 
 
 As some of Taylor's friends have been desirous of 
 placing him in the attitude of superior service to the Re- 
 public, and to crown his brow with laurels which I hon- 
 estly won, I can say truly that, in all the time I was in 
 St. Petersburg, I never heard his name mentioned in any 
 way ; and the reasons are not so much in a want of cul- 
 ture and character on the part of Taylor, as in the Rus- 
 sian ideas of sentiment and policy. 
 
 There are but two general classes in Russia: the No- 
 bles and the Military, on one side, and the Commonalty 
 on the other. Taylor, whatever his merit, was ranked with 
 the latter class, and regarded as an adventurer — a style 
 of person most distasteful to Russians. So, when, on 
 Carl Schurz's return from Spain home, it was said that 
 he would probably be sent to Russia, Gortchacow said 
 to me, with some warmth. "We are glad to have you, 
 an American, back again with us ; but we do not want 
 Europeans, or men of European connections, to come 
 among us." 
 
 This, if it did not embrace Schurz, at least included 
 Taylor, who had married a German wife. And Gortcha- 
 cow, being of the old Russian birth and party, regarded 
 Germany with great distrust, in spite of his love of his 
 Emperor, who was part German in blood. This is all I 
 have to say about Taylor, or his work. * 
 
 » LETTER OF BAYARD TAYLOR. 
 
 Goth A, Germany, ya«^ 16, 1863. 
 My Dear Sir: — Many thanks for the forwarding the dispatch. 
 All the German papers are publishing the substance 
 of Prince Gortchacow's note to you, in answer to Mr. Seward's 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 329 
 
 In court circles, dress is of great importance. In that 
 ancient aristocracy, the families had not only distinct 
 "coats of arms," upon which were wrought their insig- 
 nia, but the whole dress, including the breeches, or pan- 
 taloons, were wrought by skilled workmen ; so that the 
 dress of the men was as varied in color and ornament 
 as that of the women themselves. One can well imagine, 
 then, how the claw-hammered dress-coat and white cravat 
 would stand out ridiculously eccentric in such an assem- 
 blage of gay suits and military trappings, The Russian 
 servants, even, are better dressed; and the black suit was 
 mostly seen in the cafes and private houses of foreigners. 
 To avoid this, as no law governs the subject, I first 
 dressed in my Colonel's uniform, having held that rank in 
 Kentucky. This was well received ; but the belt of 
 patent-leather is also used by the rank and file of the 
 Russian regiments. On my return, I wore the uniform 
 of my rank, as Major-General, which the act of Congress 
 allowed, and which every-where is a handsome and taste- 
 ful dress ; and, on that occasion, I wore the elegant sword 
 given me by the citizens of Kentucky, which was made 
 by the Tiffanys, and handsomely set with jewels. So, 
 when I returned into the social circles of the capital, the 
 opinion prevailed that I had gone to America to increase 
 
 reply to France. I am very glad that we are so soon able to 
 repay Russia so promptly and consistently. This note of the prince 
 
 will have an excellent effect I am convinced that you 
 
 are right about Halleck; and that he is the principal stumbling- 
 block in the way of our rapid triumph To show you 
 
 that you are not the only one whom the newspapers at home 
 abuse unjustly, I quote the following from the Philadelphia Press: 
 "Bayard Taylor has been removed from the post of Secretary of 
 Legation at St. Petersburg in consequence of having allowed his 
 name to go before the Senate in opposition to Mr. Clay." 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 Bayard Taylor. 
 Hon. C. M. Clay, etc., 
 St. Petersburg, Russia. 
 
330 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 my rank; and which was considered evidence of the 
 greater confidence of my Government. So Seward, in- 
 stead of injuring me, had put quite a feather in my cap; 
 which feather I much needed, as my chasseur, John, 
 said, Cameron had taken my former ostrich plume! But, 
 as I was fairly paid for the carriage, I claimed nothing 
 more. 
 
 The Emperor received me with great warmth ; and my 
 Albany speech, translated into Russian, and so widely 
 circulated, proved that he indorsed my views. I was 
 made honorary member of many social clubs and lite- 
 rary and scientific societies in the Empire. 
 
 During my first term, Bismarck was the Prussian Min- 
 ister Plenipotentiary at St. Petersburg. He had not then 
 attained fame; but I well remember his large, fine figure, 
 and dignified but polite bearing. He was, even then, re- 
 garded as a man of ability. On my return, he had been 
 recalled, and made Premier at Berlin, where he has since 
 so greatly advanced the Prussian dynasty. 
 
 The British Empire was represented by Lord Napier 
 as Embassador, Spain by the Duke d'Osuna, and France 
 by the Duke of Montebello ; all the other nations having 
 only Plenipotentiaries. 
 
 All European governments, but that of Russia, were 
 inimical to the Union, and were rather cold in their inter- 
 course with me. They thought the great Republic was 
 lost, and they could not conceal their satisfaction. This 
 brought me more in contact with the Russian nation, and 
 greatly aided me in that friendly sympathy which saved 
 the Republic. 
 
 Before I left for America the first time, although his 
 duchess had entertained Mrs. Clay and family, and re- 
 turned her call, the Duke of Montebello failed, through 
 thoughtlessness, or discourtesy, to return my call. I did 
 not intend to pass such neglect without resenting it. So, 
 after waiting a sufficient time for the action of the French 
 Embassador, on the occasion of the state dinner given 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 33 1 
 
 at the residence of Khalil Bey, the Turkish Minister, at 
 which all the diplomatic corps and the leading Russian 
 officials were present — when the wine began to flow 
 freely — I asked to have the glasses filled, and proposed 
 "The friendship of the English races and the Russian 
 Empire." This was out of order; but something must be 
 done to cure the other slight, which was out of order, 
 also. 
 
 This toast included Napier, though he was, of course, 
 our enemy ; but it was Montebello to whom I directed 
 my slight, and my eyes. Napier sat to my left, where 
 I could hardly see his movements; but I think he 
 raised his glass only to his lips, and set it down full. 
 Nor did I care for the sensibilities of the other Lega- 
 tions, all being against us. But the Russians, who 
 grasped the situation, were pleased to the heart; and 
 drained their glasses to the bottom. 
 
 The next day the Duke of Montebello came with a 
 card (not a challenge) of a return visit. I met his car- 
 riage as I rode out, so I did not see him in person. He 
 had concluded, I suppose, that it was easier to be courte- 
 ous than to have a fight with a western barbarian. 
 
 On my return to Russia, the Embassador of France 
 was Baron de Talleyrand, the descendant of the Prince 
 Talleyrand of Napoleon's times. And Napier was soon 
 succeeded by Sir Andrew Buchanan, a fine old Scotch- 
 man with royal blood in his veins. He had known Mr. 
 and Mrs. William Preston, of Kentucky, at Madrid, and 
 spoke often of them. Mrs. Preston was Miss M. Wick- 
 liffe. During my whole term he was on cordial terms 
 with me ; and, just on the eve of my final departure, he 
 dined me at his country-house, with some of the most 
 distinguished Russians, among whom were Prince Barrat- 
 niski and Mademoiselle the Princess Suwarrow. And, 
 although much may be said of John Bull's jealousy of 
 America, it can not be denied that, "Of all people," as 
 Emerson has it, "the English stand squarest in their 
 
332 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 shoes." They are slow to form friendships, but are 
 equally tenacious of them; and n6t at all driven about 
 by foolish gossip, and weak suspicions. They base their 
 esteem more upon character than cleverness ; and are 
 generally in all things honest. 
 
 All over Europe sour oranges are sold for sweet, if 
 you are not on the alert. At Southampton, our ship 
 touching for a short time to coal and ' provision, I ran 
 ashore to buy a few oranges, which had to be done 
 quickly, as the steamer was about to be off. There was 
 an EngHshman selling oranges. I said to him: "Are 
 they sweet or sour?" "Sour, sir," he replied. "Then, 
 said I, "you are the first salesman I ever saw who 
 would say his oranges are sour; so put me up several 
 dozen, as you truly represent your fruit." This he did; 
 but he hardly comprehended why he should be thus re- 
 warded for simply telling the truth. 
 
 T. Morris Chester, an American-born black man came, 
 from the President of Liberia, to the Russian court, on a 
 temporary mission. He was a well-educated man, with 
 rather Moorish than African features, and of good intel- 
 lect and intelligence. He was received well by the Em- 
 peror, invited to attend a review, and lunched with the 
 Czar and suite. But he did not remain long in St. 
 Petersburg, as I suppose his means were limited. He 
 gave a very unfavorable account of Liberia, and said it 
 was a very hard task to keep the Liberians from becom- 
 ing themselves slave-holders. If he went back to Liberia, 
 he soon returned again to the United States. Brazil was, 
 for a short time, represented also; and Mexico, during 
 Maximilian's short reign, had a minister, F. S. Mora, at 
 the Russian court. His lady was also with him. I never 
 was introduced to them, except through cartes de visite. 
 On one occasion, at a great court ball, a lady called my 
 attention to Madame Mora. Seeing the vast quantity of 
 jewelry worn by the Russian ladies, in addition to her 
 rings, etc., she had some of the finest of them, with 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 333 
 
 diamond sets, stuck into her hair, cutting the most ridicu- 
 lous figure possible. I gravely remarked that I thought 
 such pretension came well from the representatives of 
 Maximilian. 
 
 The modern improvements and inventions in steam, 
 applied to railroads and travel and commercial transpor- 
 tation, as well as the great manufacture and use of cotton 
 goods, made serfdom poor pay. To keep pace with the 
 more advanced nations, the Russian Government felt the 
 necessity of emancipation and education. Besides, the 
 nobles in these large slave-holding estates were too pow- 
 erful and refractory for autocracy. So, when the Czar 
 liberated the serfs, they said : " Well, if the spirit of the 
 age requires liberation, it also requires a division of po- 
 litical power." To this the autocrat would not assent, 
 at once, at least. But what could the nobles do about 
 it? The army was, in its officers, with the Government, 
 as all standing armies are. The rank and file were of 
 the serf-class. There was no motive, therefore, for the 
 nobles to operate with, as the soldiers naturally sympa- 
 thized with the Czar. 
 
 There was, in 1863, an immense fire in all the com- 
 bustible part of St. Petersburg, the work of incendiaries. 
 Men, with gold, set their hirelings to fire houses, and 
 throw incendiary documents into many dwellings, — there 
 was a reign of terror. The object, no doubt, was to get 
 up a desperate mob for revolutionary purposes. But the 
 Emperor and his staff, and the Czarowitz, rode among 
 the people without fear, and assisted in checking the 
 fires. So the discontented nobles were left without other 
 resort than assassination and intimidation. This is the 
 cause, I believe, of the origin of Nihilism. And its suc- 
 cess would not save, but sink, the nation. For no pro- 
 gression can rest upon such basis of the sum of all 
 crimes. The upshot of such a forcible overthrow of the 
 central power would be universal anarchy, and the disso- 
 lution of the Empire back into petty governments, and 
 
334 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 old-time barbarism. Were I a Russian, I should certainly 
 be on the side of absolutism, and await such progress as 
 came of general enlightenment and slow civilization. 
 
 Nihilism — human language has not invented a term 
 of greater infamy. Murder is terrible enough ; war suffi- 
 ciently horrible ; but what shall be said of those who re- 
 duce crime to a system, which perpetuates revenge, car- 
 ries the evils of war from the military tent into every 
 household, and makes the bloodshed and destruction of 
 the passing battle-field an eternal woe to every living 
 soul? Nihilists are sowing dragons' teeth, and soon they 
 will spring up into legions of armed men. This is that 
 fatal disease under various symptoms and many names — 
 faction, ostracism, treason, Jacobinism, anarchy, revolution, 
 Caesarism — which comes at last to every nation, and which, 
 if not sternly and heroically resisted, ends in death. For 
 self-government is born of capabilities, and can not be the 
 fruit of any enforced formula. 
 
 Whilst autocracy can not be supposed to sympathize 
 with popular government, like that of the United States; 
 yet, as an ally against a common rival — England — it was 
 quite natural that Russia should desire the preservation 
 of the American Union. And this Gortchacow repeatedly 
 avowed — that our naval power, at least, was a necessary 
 element in the world's balance of power, especially against 
 England, the natural enemy of Russia. When we pro- 
 claimed liberty to the slaves, we gave an earnest of final 
 consolidation, enlisted the popular heart of England and 
 France upon our side, and made those rulers fear, in a 
 war with Russia behind, impossible progress in the aid 
 of the South by war upon Mexico. When the Russians, 
 therefore, sent their navy into New York harbor, it was 
 generally believed that there was an understanding of 
 mutual aid. The ships could either there be safe, or as- 
 sist the Americans; whilst Russia could advance toward 
 India by land. 
 
 Many attempts were made to sound me upon this sub- 
 
OK CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 335 
 
 ject ; but I looked wise and said nothing. Whatever may 
 have been the ultimate purpose, Russia thus made a mas- 
 terly exhibition, which broke up the Mexican invasion, and 
 prevented a foreign recognition of the Confederate States. 
 
 Such was the state of affairs when the first attempt 
 was made upon the life of the Czar at the summer- 
 garden. The serfs understood the movement against his 
 person ; and such demonstrations of love and admiration 
 I never saw before any where. For days and nights the 
 Winter Palace was besieged by thousands of the peas- 
 antry; and they were not content till the Czar continually 
 showed himself on the balconies of the palace. My chas- 
 seur, who was a freedman, was an intelligent man ; and 
 he said to me, if the nobles killed the Emperor, the peo- 
 ple would kill the last one of them in revenge. 
 
 In acknowledgment of the hospitality shown the Rus- 
 sian fleet in America, I was invited by the Emperor to 
 visit him at Gatchina. This palatial villa lies on a spur 
 of hills and cool valleys, a long day's drive south from 
 St. Petersburg. Much of the court was there. We had 
 trout-fishing and walks in the groves, by day; with danc- 
 ing by night. The trout were caught in advance, and put 
 into cool pools of running water, with wire screens, so 
 that they could not escape. We could catch as many as 
 we wanted, and what were caught were eaten. Nothing 
 could be finer for sport or for the table. I was reminded 
 of the fishing of Pompey with Cleopatra, who had divers 
 to put fish on the hooks. Many thought the fish were in 
 their native waters; though I, an old fisherman knew bet- 
 ter. But I kept my own secret. 
 
 In no country in the world are the summers more de- 
 lightful than in Russia. Round tables were set under 
 the thick -shading trees ; and the company was thus broken 
 into agreeable groups of men and women. 
 
 The Emperor and I dined at one table alone ; which 
 was indicative that I was the honored guest. He was 
 very amiable, and very abstemious in his eating and drink- 
 
336 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 ing, not only there, but at all his dinners and balls — a 
 man of industry, and well informed in affairs. He had a 
 summary made of the articles of interest in all foreign and 
 domestic newspapers, so that he could quickly be informed 
 of, and keep pace with, passing events. He was humane, 
 generous, and brave. This he- showed, not only at the 
 great burning at St. Petersburg, but when once he was 
 absent, and the Grand Duke Nicholas threw many stu- 
 dents into prison, because of a supposed conspiracy and 
 emeute. As soon as the Emperor returned, he ordered 
 them all, without trial, to be liberated; thus showing a 
 brave and generous spirit. When he walked, which he 
 did every day when in St. Petersburg, alone on the 
 streets, or in the summer-garden without guards, although 
 it was against etiquette for men of cultivation to speak to 
 him, the poorer people, men and women, often stopped 
 him, and personally made their petitions. This was often 
 seen by me; and understood to be always agreeable to 
 him. 
 
 It has been the habit of some foreigners to speak of 
 Alexander II. as a weak prince. This is not true. He 
 was not a brilliant man, being more of the German type 
 than the Russian, with a fine person, and large round 
 face and head, with large blue eyes, and amiable expres- 
 sion ; but he was a man of good common-sense. And, 
 if he was not equal to the times in which he lived, it was 
 rather because such great changes are too strong for any 
 man, than that he was not a strong man himself. We 
 must judge an autocrat by his ministers, and his public 
 policy, rather than by any superficial, personal criticism. 
 And, judged by this standard, what government in the 
 world showed more tact, and reaped more success, than 
 the Russian? His prime minister, Gortchacow, was hardly 
 equalled ; and his viceroys and generals were very eminent 
 men every-where. 
 
 The policy of an autocrat is, of course, great reserve 
 in conversation, and the Czar rarely violated the rule, and 
 
En?*- b, V/ Vf-iUsccpud *< Co- 
 
 EMPEROR AI.EXANI)ER II 
 OF RI'::'?LV 
 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 337 
 
 rarely touched on politics. Once, however, when I spoke 
 of the supposed alliance between England and France 
 against the United States, I ventured to say that France, 
 in uniting with Russia's old enemy, England, could not be 
 supposed to be favorable to Russia. The Emperor re- 
 plied, with decision: "Yes; Napoleon is not to be 
 trusted." So, from many unimportant revelations of char- 
 acter, summed up, I thought the Emperor a man of fine 
 common-sense. 
 
 It is not for us to say that Alexander II. was not a 
 man of ability because he fell by the hands of assassins ; 
 for two of our presidents died in the same way. Yet who 
 would, for that reason, assert that Lincoln and Garfield 
 were not men of great talents? We get all our ideas of 
 Russia and Russians through English sources, ever col- 
 ored with implacable rivalry ; but I think posterity will rank 
 Alexander II., not only with the good, but the great rulers 
 of the world. Fortunate was he in his life, in the great- 
 est act of humanity allotted to man — the liberation of 
 23,000,000 of men. And fortunate was he in his death, 
 if to fall a martyr to the vindication of great principles is 
 allowed to be the favor of the gods. For, since all men 
 must die, it is well to so die that posterity shall shed 
 tears of grateful memory for the dead. 
 
 I translate and publish the followihg letters from the 
 Russian Premier to show how far I had well-served my 
 country abroad, and how unjust was my recall : 
 
 St. Petersburg, February 14, 1862. 
 
 Sir: — I have not failed to place under the eyes of the Em- 
 peror, my august master, the letter which you were pleased to 
 address to me at the moment of the new duties which recall you 
 to your country. 
 
 His Imperial Majesty has been profoundly moved {Umche) by the 
 sentiments which you express, as well in your own name as in that 
 of the American nation. 
 
 His Majesty congratulates himself {se felidti) upon the good rela- 
 tions which unite the two countries, and of which neither distance 
 Vol. I. — 22 
 
338 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 {reloignement), nor difference of institutions, nor any antagonism 
 of interest, have been able to diminish the warm sympathy. Their 
 mutual friendship is not only a rational political calculation {calml), 
 it is yet more — a national instinct; and it is this which makes 
 its strength (force). His Majesty, the Emperor, has experienced 
 (epreuve) a lively satisfaction in finding in your letter the echo of 
 these friendly dispositions. 
 
 1 need not assure you of those which animate His Majesty, the 
 Emperor, and all Russia {toute entiere), toward the United States. 
 You know them. Your Government is not ignorant of them. It 
 knows that our aspirations (voeux) accompany it in the internal 
 crisis through which it is passing; and how much we desire to see 
 it emerge promptly, by means which consolidate its power, in 
 founding it upon the Union. It is that a like result may be at- 
 tained, that we have recommended to it warmly the consolidation 
 which " su'd a la force." 
 
 Your place is needed in the universal equilibrium of nations. 
 She will be great by "/« Concorde." Russia will hail {saluerd), with 
 her most vital sympathies, all progress that you accomplish in that 
 way; persuaded that she will find, under all circumstances, in the 
 American nation a cordial reciprocity. 
 
 At a moment when you are going to report in your country the 
 impressions which your sojourn among us has left, I am happy to 
 be able to reiterate to you those assurances. 
 
 I should not know how to close without thanking you for the 
 co-operation {concours) that you have constantly afforded me for the 
 maintenance of the intimate relations between our governments, and 
 without expressing to you the regrets with which I shall witness 
 the cessation of our personal associations, of which I shall retain 
 the liveliest remembrance. 
 
 Be pleased,' sir, to receive with this assurance, that of my most 
 distinguished consideration. Gortchacovv. 
 
 CzARSKO Salo, fune 15, 1862. 
 
 Dear Mr. Clay: — I made an effort of friendship to reply to 
 your confidential letter of yesterday. Suffering with a very violent 
 attack of the gout, I am compelled to be laconic. 
 
 The Emperor was well-satisfied with your discourse, and with 
 that of Mr. Cameron. In his response, his majesty has expressed 
 to you his lively {vivres), profound, and unalterable sympathies for 
 the American Union, and the earnest desires {voeux) which he con- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELI.US CLAY. 339 
 
 ceives for the near end of the intestine war which divides you to- 
 day, and for a reconciliation which would restore the Union to its 
 ancient splendor. 
 
 You know that this is a permanent aspiration {voeii) of the Em- 
 peror, with which I am always associated with all my convictions. 
 
 My august master has expressed to you his satisfaction for the 
 manner you have acquitted yourself of your diplomatic functions 
 near his person, and has manifested the firm hope that we shall 
 find the same dispositions in your successor. 
 
 Receive, dear Mr Clay, with my sincere regrets for the cessa- 
 tion of relations, which under public associations {rapports), as well 
 as under private, leave me memories which I shall cherish (conser- 
 verat) always with pleasure, the assurance of my most devoted sen- 
 timents. GORTCHACOW. 
 
 CzARSKO Salo, June 23, 1862. 
 
 Dear Mr. Clay: — The Empress has expressly charged me to 
 say, that the photographs* you have sent her have given her great 
 pleasure. Her majesty thanks you. His highness, the Grand Duke 
 Heritier, expresses to you the same sentiments. 
 
 In return for this message, I ask a favor of you in my behalf. 
 It is this: to send me also your "carte" for the album oi my friends. 
 I shall sacredly {precieusement) preserve the large photograph which 
 you have sent me; but I wish to fill in my album the place which 
 I have left vacant for your "carte." Please believe in the assurance 
 of all my sentiments. Gortchacow. 
 
 The reader will remark the refined delicacy which char- 
 acterizes the style of Russian high life. 
 
 St. Petersburg, October 5, 1862. 
 I have received', with infinite pleasure, your letter of the 20th 
 September. My dear Mr. Clay, the impressions which you con- 
 vey {dont vous me faites part,) to me upon the state of affairs in 
 your country have had for me much interest. You know with 
 what profound sympathy we follow the march of those grand 
 events. All that can make even dimly appear {/aire entrevoir) the 
 near issue of a strife that we deplore, and bring about a reconcilia- 
 
 *They were the photographs of my two youngest daughters. — C. 
 
340 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 tion which is the object of our prayers {voeux), will be always 
 received by us with satisfaction, as a pledge of the power and 
 prosperity in store for a people toward whom the Russian nation 
 professes esteem and friendship. 
 
 Till then, let me tell you how sensible I have been of your 
 affectionate remembrance, and how I would rejoice if circum- 
 stances should bring you again in our midst. 
 
 At the same time, dear Mr. Clay, receive the assurance of 
 all my sentiments. Gortchacow. 
 
 This last letter was written to me whilst I was in 
 America, in 1862, in reply to one of mine, when I had 
 reason to believe that Lincoln would soon issue his 
 Emancipation Proclamation, which he did two days after 
 the date of mine. For, whilst I had no confidence in our 
 success, should slavery be sheltered by our army, or our 
 cowardice, I had infinite confidence in our triumph under 
 universal freedom. 
 
 These sentiments of the Emperor and the Empress, 
 the Heritier and of Gortchacow, were no doubt intensified 
 by the great injustice of my recall. For, as I said, no 
 government on earth is better posted on foreign affairs 
 than the Russian. I represented the Russian idea of 
 home-policy; and Seward's enmity was well known as to 
 me, and my cause. So Gortchacow showed as much dis- 
 like for Seward as I did ; as will be seen in these Mem- 
 oirs. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 High Life in Russia. — Infant Asylums and the Ballet. — Actors and Singers. 
 Lucca, Patti, and Ristori.^Fanny Kemble; her letter.— Letter of the 
 Baroness Louise Jomini. — How I escaped from " Devouring Dogs." — The 
 Military. — Invited, I visit the Princess Dalgorouki. — Associations. — 
 The Clubs. — The City of St. Petersburg. — Marriage of Alexander III. — 
 The Crown Prince of Prussia. — Great Britain's Prince of Wales. — Prince 
 George of Denmark, now King of Greece. — The Grand Duchess Olga. — 
 The White Hall, its Conservatory. — The Hermitage great Gallery ok 
 Paintings. 
 
 THERE were extensive graperies at Gatchina; and, 
 gathered by fair hands, they were no small part o£ 
 the pleasures of this mountain home. The Russian no- 
 bility are, men and women, of the finest possible physique. 
 They are not so small as the French, nor so rugged as 
 the English. The women have the highest culture in all 
 that is beautiful and winning in the sex. They are rather 
 fuller in person than the American girls, with a subdued 
 manner, which our country-women so much need. They 
 never assert themselves, having too much tact for that. 
 What is the strangest of all is that these people, with no 
 trace of western blood in their veins, are more like Amer- 
 icans than any of the European nations. The oriental 
 ideas of the seclusion of the sexes remains to a great 
 extent in Russian society. The mother, or some other 
 chaperon, always accompanies the girls to places of as- 
 sembly of all kinds. When one is invited to a ball or 
 private party, the being there is a sufficient guarantee of 
 respectability ; and any man may dance with any lady 
 with or without a formal introduction. They generally 
 make a card-list of appointments in the usual way; and, 
 when the engagement is due, the young man, or other 
 gentleman, bows, takes the lady's hand, and dances, with- 
 
 341 
 
342 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 out saying a word. Then, returning her to her seat, bows 
 again; and this is about all the intercourse. 
 
 When one is quite . intimate in a family, some small 
 liberty of conversation is tolerated ; but this is rare in 
 public assemblies. In consequence, marriages are made 
 by the parents, even, at times, before the young couple 
 have ever spoken to each other. As a general thing, 
 their marriages are more fortunate than ours here, where 
 the silly youth are allowed to marry without any judgment 
 of character. And certainly our boasted liberty of the sex 
 is leading to very tragical results. 
 
 All the old civilizations are astonished at the freedom 
 of intercourse between the sexes in America. In primi- 
 tive times, this was all very well, among a people well-off, 
 equal in circumstances, moral and religious, with little of 
 the leisure and the luxuries of the older nations. But 
 now all that is changed. We have the wealth, the leis- 
 ure, and the luxuries of the old world; whilst the moral 
 ideas are disturbed by the decay of all forms of religion, 
 and the rapid intercourse between the extremes of civili- 
 zation, in consequence of the railroads, steamships, and 
 all the modern means of communication — the press, the 
 telegraph, and all that. Nature takes care that all animal 
 life shall be preserved; and hence the sexual passion can 
 not be easily controlled. It is the province of the family 
 and the State to restrain the impulses of the sexes till 
 the full maturity of the person is achieved. Then early 
 marriages are the best means of conserving virtue. In 
 the meantime, a philosophical system of education, leading 
 the mind and sentiments and body into agreeable chan- 
 nels of innocent pleasure, is the highest conservative in- 
 fluence. 
 
 Especially must we deprecate our foolish children's 
 parties, and the American custom of having children en- 
 ter society in earliest youth. For of this comes a devel- 
 opment of the passions before the intellectual and phys- 
 ical maturity of the person. There are now in some of 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 343 
 
 these States more divorces than in any other civiHzed com- 
 munities on earth. And the Catholic religion has its great- 
 est strength because of its conservative influence upon the 
 family ; which is the base of all civilization. 
 
 I have had large experience of observation in this re- 
 gard; and say, without fear ot contradiction, that oppor- 
 tunity is the most fatal of all to the virtue of the sexes. 
 Just now the rage in the large cities is for women to 
 marry their coachmen! Well, then, they must not be left 
 alone with their coachmen! Buggy rides are common with 
 lovers ; and, lately, a lady was drugged in one of these 
 rides, when her ruin could not be otherwise achieved! But 
 I wander from my narrative. 
 
 After marriage in Russia, as elsewhere in Europe, 
 there is more liberty allowed ; more than is here. After 
 much experience in the world, among many nations, I am 
 inclined to believe that chastity is very equally shared by 
 all ; and that there is more virtue in all than is lightly 
 allowed. Nevertheless, where large armies exist, as in 
 Russia, where marriage would be very precarious in its 
 domestic enjoyment, as troops move often, and without the 
 means of transporting women, liaisons are very common ; 
 and it is not thought discreditable to have a mistress 
 All that is required is to keep up the proprieties, and 
 never to have a scene. These girls are often as true, or 
 even more true, than wives themselves. For, in conse- 
 quence of made-matches, there is an easy excuse for the 
 wandering of the affections of the doomed parties ; and 
 they are very tolerant of each other. 
 
 In Russian cities there are asylums for infants. The 
 children are put into the hands of the female superin- 
 tendents and matrons, no questions being asked ; and 
 numbers are given, in case the parents should be dis- 
 posed to recover the child at any time. These infants, 
 from a day old and upward, when taken, are kept at 
 the public expense till they are of a suitable age to put 
 out to service; when they go into the mass of society 
 
344 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 again. They generally amount to thousands in St. Peters- 
 burg and Moscow. But this is, by no means, an evidence 
 of illegitimacy ; for, so far as I could learn, not only the 
 peasants, but women in high life, whose pecuniary circum- 
 stances were greatly reduced, avail themselves of the 
 chance to put their burdens upon the state. Lying-in 
 apartments are also provided. After seeing all the effects 
 of this institution, I am clearly of the opinion that it is 
 a wise and charitable remedy in part for one of the great- 
 est evils of civilization. Who can imagine the woe that 
 follows an unhappy frailty, when so many women commit 
 suicide, and throw their newly-born infants into sewers 
 and rivers and the sea! And how many might not live 
 on, and enjoy comparative happiness, if their first in- 
 discretion did not drive them into habitual infamy and de- 
 spair ! 
 
 The ballet of Russia belongs to the Department ol 
 Theaters, and which is a regular ministry. From these 
 infant asylums the most perfect forms are selected for the 
 ballet; where they receive a very good education, espe- 
 cially in all that improves the taste for the beautiful in 
 dress, flowers, ornamentation, and all that. Any one ac- 
 quainted with physiognomy will see that many of these 
 ballet-girls and boys are of noble genealogy. The larg- 
 est theater in St. Petersburg is devoted to the opera, and 
 the ballet, and concerts, at intervals. The ballet is not 
 often attended by the ladies of the higher nobility; but 
 gentlemen of every society are fond of the ballet. The 
 Emperor goes often ; though he sits in a private box unob- 
 served. The best instructors in Europe are employed in 
 teaching the dancers. Nothing lascivious in the least is 
 ever allowed; and, with postures which would make an 
 American woman blush to the very hair, a ballet-girl will 
 wear the face of innocence and unconsciousness which 
 might be called angelic. In fact, they are pure ; and their 
 education accustoms them to their profession. So a 
 woman, in all countries, will expose her bust in dress- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 345 
 
 circles, which she would regard as a disgraceful act at 
 other times. So much are we the creatures of custom 
 and fashion. 
 
 The ballet is generally a mimic melo-drama, where the 
 regular plot is advanced by signs and actions, intermin- 
 gled with dances and poses, as easily understood as words. 
 The ballet-scenery is got up with great expense, and the 
 best artists are employed in the decoration and stage 
 machinery, which costs, at times, as much as 30,000 
 rubles for a single ballet. The band is equal in excel- 
 lence to that of the opera, and is generally the same. 
 
 The Minister of Theaters goes all over Europe, and 
 selects the best singers and actors; and, whilst I was 
 there, Patti and Lucca, and other noted singers, could all 
 be heard. The best actors and singers are not received 
 in the first social circles in Russia; and, even when en- 
 gaged for private concerts, they are kept a separate class. 
 But in secondary circles they are often invited ; where gen- 
 tlemen of every rank may also go with propriety. Not 
 even Patti, after she married the Marquis de Caux, was 
 received at court. 
 
 I had heard Patti sing "Comin' thro* the rye," and 
 other Scotch ballads, in Cincinnati, whilst she was yet 
 wearing short dresses ; and, as all ranks to me were the 
 same in every land, I called upon, and told her of my 
 earlier acquaintance with her, through Strakosch. When 
 the Marquis returned my visit, he entertained me with 
 telling me how Strakosch had cheated him out of Patti's 
 earnings ! I was completely disgusted with him ; and I 
 was not at all surprised that she finally left him, and got 
 a divorce, having found out to her sorrow that nobleness 
 of soul does not always go with nobility of blood. 
 
 I was in Patti's box when she made her first appear- 
 ance in opera at St. Petersburg. The Russians are a very 
 proud people, and were not willing to take Patti's sing- 
 ing on the decision of others; so they withheld for some 
 time their applause. At last, however, (who could do 
 
346 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Otherwise?) they burst out into their usual enthusiasm, 
 when pleased. Patti returned to her box highly excited 
 and gratified. I began to make an explanation of the ap- 
 parent coldness with which she was at first received, in- 
 tending by that to exaggerate her success; but she inter- 
 rupted me by saying: "Oh! you are mistaken. I think 
 they received me grandly ! '.' So I thought she was, at 
 best, but a spoiled child — "vox, et preterea nihil" — and 
 did not think further explanation worth the candle. 
 
 Ristori, the tragedian, acted at St. Petersburg. I knew 
 many of the first singers, actors, and dancers of my time. 
 The foreigners are generally mechanical, with few excep- 
 tions. Ole Bull was but a big boy, but natural. Jenny 
 Lind was not only a fine singer, but a fine woman. Char- 
 lotte Cushman was very intellectual, but too homely for 
 any use — and then she drank brandy, when I dined with 
 her, like a dragoon. She said the exhaustion of the stage 
 made it necessary; but the fact remained! The American 
 women now coming forward on the stage as actors and 
 ' opera-singers are bound to go to the front, because, with 
 equal talent and beauty, they are more natural ; and purity 
 of character is now safe in such life. I always enjoyed 
 the society of intellectual women more than that of men. 
 Margaret Fuller pleased me much; though she was quite 
 plain in face and person. I think the friends of Hawthorne 
 will do well to be silent about Margaret; as it may turn 
 out that the Countess d'Ossoli will be remembered when 
 the author of the "Scarlet Letter" is forgotten. Many of 
 the great poets affected to laugh at the Scotch plowman - 
 poet. Burns, however, will live when they are remem- 
 bered no more. 
 
 I found Fanny Kemble a fine woman in person, as well 
 as intellect. I venture to subjoin a characteristic letter, 
 not more personal, perhaps, than generic in woman's tact. 
 I had made her acquaintance in Cincinnati. I append, also, 
 a letter from the Baroness Louise Jomini, the beautiful 
 daughter of Baron Jomini, preceptor to His Imperial High- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 347 
 
 ness, the Grand Duke Heritier, on the reception of my 
 Albany speech, and which answers Fanny Kemble's in- 
 quiry of "What shall be done with slavery?" 
 
 LETTER OF FANNY KEMBLE. 
 
 Boston, Sunday, 10, 1850. 
 
 My Dear Sir : — I am flattered by your remembering me, and 
 sparing leisure to write to me. I have received the volume of 
 your Writings, which I shall peruse with all the interest due to 
 such subject, treated by one who, like yourself, has undergone 
 martyrdom for the sake of what he held the truth. I was a lit- 
 tle surprised at your caring to have the likeness of an entire 
 stranger; but, inasmuch as the daguerrotype portrait-taker had 
 retained one of my likenesses, and could therefore multiply them 
 indefinitely at her pleasure, I do not think it was much of a favor 
 that you asked, or that I granted, in that transaction. 
 
 I much incline to your views of the "Rights of beggars;" 
 and, as soon as they are duly admitted, shall set about asking 
 favors to the right and left. At present, I do not much deal in 
 requests; for I quite agree with you that the price of asking is a 
 very heavy one to pay for any thing. It is my hope and purpose 
 to visit Cincinnati again before I close my public career in this 
 country, which I intend to do this spring. I was charmed with 
 the place; and more than satisfied, believe me, with the attention 
 and kindness shown me by the inhabitants. I was greatly grieved 
 that my arrangements did not admit of my remaining longer at 
 that time; but look forward to returning, when the beautiful beech 
 woods, and the soft sward beneath them, shall have put on their 
 first fresh suit of green. It will give me pleasure to think that I 
 may then have some seasons of intercourse with you ; as you, I 
 am happy to say, have not thought fit to consider me as one of 
 those "very superior" female creatures of whom men should stand 
 in awe. Pray believe me, my dear sir, your much obliged, 
 
 Fanny Kemble. 
 
 P. S. — Won't you please set about devising how to break 
 down the wall to which you and others, have fairly driven the 
 Southern planners? I pity them as much as I hate slavery, and 
 that is an infinite quantity. It does not need statesmen to prove 
 that slavery is wrong; but it does need statesmen to suggest what 
 shall be done with it. 
 
348 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 LETTER OF THE BARONESS LOUISE JOMINI. 
 
 St. Petersburg, March 31, 1864. 
 Sir: — I feel bound to acknowledge your amiable attention, 
 and thank you for the pleasure I have found in the perusal of 
 your noble speech. I need not tell you how I have felt the 
 power of such reading to kindle the latent enthusiasm in every 
 human soul. 
 
 Let me assure you that it shall ever be a pleasant remem- 
 brance to have personally known the author. Yours, gratefully, 
 
 Louise Jomini. 
 
 The diplomatic corps and the Russian officials are 
 compelled to spend the summer near St. Petersburg, and 
 the Imperial Court. A wealthy German had a large 
 country-residence near the "Point." A portion of his 
 grounds were cut off, and a cottage was built, for rent 
 during the hot months. The grounds came down to the 
 water's edge of the Neva — here a broad and clear stream. 
 It was taken by me; and I built a bath-house, anchored 
 on the clear waters, with a surrounding platform, where I 
 spent much time in fishing. The cottage was well-fur- 
 nished with flowers from a green-house, and my carriage- 
 horses were stabled with the landlord. Northward, along 
 the river, was quite a village of the humble people of St. 
 Petersburg; and a canal was cut from the river to the 
 bay, to secure the large grounds from depredation, and a 
 high fence built all around my separate grounds ; but, at 
 the rear line, a low fence, about five feet high only, sepa- 
 rated the property, and allowed me the view of a large 
 park farther west. This fence was made low, no doubt, 
 for two purposes: to allow a more extended view, and also 
 allow the watch-dogs of the German to enter the cottage- 
 grounds, to prevent marauders from getting a lodgment 
 there for further entrance into the premises of the owner. 
 
 Dogs have been used as guards from the earliest 
 known times. Homer speaks of them as being at Troy ; 
 and all remember the beautiful lines with which the Iliad 
 opens, concluding with — 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAV. 349 
 
 " Whose bones, unburied on the lonely shore, 
 Devouring dogs and hungry vultures tore." 
 
 So Plutarch tells of how the Greeks used them for the 
 protection of even armed citadels. 
 
 The German had three dogs — a large Newfoundland, 
 a mastiff, and a petulant, watchful terrier — a most for- 
 midable force. One evening, in the dim twilight, I started 
 for the rear of my grounds, and was looking over the fence 
 into the park beyond, when suddenly the large Newfound- 
 land laid his fore-feet upon the top rail, and looked me in 
 the face. He was higher, as he stood on his hind-legs, 
 than myself; and about the largest dog I ever saw. He 
 had evidently scented me, and was studying the situation. 
 The next moment I heard the angry terrier growl at a 
 short distance ; and I knew, from my long experience with 
 dogs, that, as soon as the terrier came up, the whole 
 trio would mount the fence, and be upon me. I had no 
 weapon whatever. To stand, was death ; and to run 
 seemed a like fate. But I made up my mind to run at 
 once, trusting to chance for further help. I was about one 
 hundred yards from the cottage; but had little hope of 
 reaching it. About half way, in a lilac-hedge, I saw a 
 dead stake, and broke it with a giant's effort. It cracked 
 like a pistol. The dogs were nearly upon me, when, 
 swinging my club, with a wild scream I advanced upon 
 them like lightning. It was too much for their courage. 
 They fled; not yet having fully determined who I was, or 
 what ought to be done. In a moment more I was in my 
 cottage, pistol in hand ; but I was safe. I saw the dogs 
 no more. And no more at twilight hour did I look upon 
 the park of the canny Dutchman; nor listen to the syren 
 voices of the beautiful women of his household! 
 
 The Russian guards, of various arms, about St. Peters- 
 burg, are generally about fifty thousand men. These en- 
 camp, in the summer, on the high grounds of the Neva, 
 between St. Petersburg and Peterhofif, where there is quite 
 a village (Roptcha and Krasnoe Selo) ; and the ballet and 
 
350 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 the musical band accompany them. They have also a 
 race-track, and other means of amusement, such as gath- 
 erings in the grove, with a platform for dancing at night, 
 when thousands of lamps are hung to the limbs of the 
 trees ; thus producing a very picturesque effect. 
 
 One night the Emperor was present at the dance, 
 where but little ceremony is observed, and all were gay. 
 The Emperor had been dancing, and was standing in the 
 crowd looking on, when an immense number of couples 
 were, in an old-fashion cotillion, "swinging corners." The 
 dance was animated, the twilight-lamps not giving much 
 distinctness to persons. The Princess Dolgorouki was 
 dancing. I knew her well; and, as she turned to swing, 
 in passing around, she was at a loss to know at once 
 who was her partner. So I, who was not in the dance 
 at all. turned her, and stepped back again. No one but 
 the Emperor observing it, he said to me : " Were you 
 dancing?" I said: "No; but the young lady seemed to 
 be bewildered, and I came to her relief." The Emperor 
 was delighted with my gallantry; and made some pleasant 
 rejoinder. So, after all, I thought Prince and Peasant are 
 ever near together — the same humanity. 
 
 The first families of Russia are honored in having their 
 daughters enrolled among the '^ dames d' honneur" — ladies 
 of honor — who compose the suite of the Empress, and live 
 in the palace, as part of the family. Among the most 
 noted of these, for her rank and accomplishments, was the 
 Princess to whom I have above alluded. It is true that 
 some proud old nobles refuse this honor; but they gener- 
 ally live retired on their estates, and care little for the gay- 
 eties or honors of the court. I thought my first duty in 
 Russia was to keep the Czar, if possible, on the Union 
 side; and, therefore, my business was to please. I was in- 
 troduced to the Princess ; and she invited me to call and 
 see her the next Sunday, naming the hour, at the Winter- 
 Palace. Feeling honored, I said I would call on her. So, 
 at the hour named, I entered, in full uniform; the grand 
 
CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 35 I 
 
 Staircase, near the Hermitage, being the usual place for 
 guests. The Winter-Palace extends, with the Hermitage 
 and some other buildings used by the suite at court, two- 
 thirds of a mile along the Neva. The entrance here was 
 a long distance from the left extremity of the palace, where 
 I discovered that the Princess had her suite of rooms. A 
 half dozen liveried servants, in imperial dress, were in wait- 
 ing, and took my over-shoes, etc. ; whilst the card-bearer, 
 or fourrier — a sort of avant-courier on all such occa- 
 sions — with elaborate dress, and immense ostrich-feathers 
 in his head-dress, took my open "carte de visite." He 
 was gone a long time; but at length returned, and asked 
 me to follow him. So, leaving my chasseur with the serv- 
 ants below, I followed. I was wearing my large gift-sword. 
 The Russians, on most occasions, take pride in conducting 
 one through many apartments, whose use seems to be only 
 display, to see the owner ; and, of course, the palace was 
 but an exaggeration of these rooms and custom. So it 
 seemed to me that I passed over acres of apartments. We 
 passed several squads of guards in full uniform who, as I 
 wore military dress, always saluted me as I passed, by pre- 
 senting arms, and then bringing their muskets, after I had 
 passed, to the floor with a crack of exactest precision. I 
 began to reflect, was I right in accepting her invitation? 
 Might it not be a woman's freak, which she might hazard, 
 but which would be disastrous to me, if I was violating 
 etiquette, of which I was entirely ignorant? Might not all 
 I had gained with the Emperor be more than lost by my 
 ill-timed visit, which might almost be termed an adventure? 
 At all events my sword, which was heavy at first, seemed 
 to increase in weight ! At last I arrived at the Princess's 
 rooms, was ushered in by a servant, and received by her 
 with quiet grace. 
 
 She was already holding quite a Sunday-levee : the 
 Count de Moira, Minister of Portugal, who had married 
 her aunt, being one ; and other acquaintances intimate 
 with the family. It was certainly a relief to me, that I 
 
352 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 was not alone, for the first time in my life, with a charm- 
 ing woman ! But I never paid any more visits to the 
 maids of honor! The Princess finally married one of the 
 Emperor's staff; and he was made Viceroy of one of the 
 governments of this large Empire. 
 
 I was also acquainted with the Princess Marie Dolgo- 
 rouki, and her younger sister, who were noted beauties at 
 St. Petersburg; and the elder of whom I had the honor 
 of entertaining, with other distinguished Russians, at a 
 ball at my house. 
 
 Whilst I made it a rule to see and to study every 
 rank in Russian society, I took pains to associate with 
 the most reputable, at least with the most agreeable, of 
 that class. Among these I remember the Dolgorouki 
 family, male and female. The Prince Vladimir Dolgo- 
 rouki, Governor-General of Moscow, was one of the most 
 finished gentlemen I ever met in any country. He exer- 
 cised royal powers in that province and city ; and knew 
 well how to make himself agreeable and respected. He, 
 as well as many of his family, were much my friends. I 
 was often with the Davidoffs, the Apraxines, the Kou- 
 cheleffs, the Count Stroganoff — the brother-in-law of the 
 Emperor, who had made the morganatic marriage with 
 the Grand Duchess Mary — and others. He was the 
 finest-looking man in Russia ; and was, together with 
 Counts Apraxine and Koucheleff, fond of having a "good 
 time" — when we would "not go home till morning." 
 Count Orloff Davidofif was also of fine personal pres- 
 ence — of the oldest families of Russia — always digni- 
 fied; and for a long time Master of Ceremonies — a very 
 confidential office in Russia. 
 
 One night, at a grand ball at Davidoff' s, who had a 
 magnificent house, and one of the finest galleries of paint- 
 ings in St. Petersburg, I was standing near the Count, 
 when I was attracted by the appearance of a woman of 
 great beauty; and I said to the host: "Please tell me 
 who is that fine woman?" — pointing to her unmistakably. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 353 
 
 "That," said he, "is my daughter, the Princess Wassil- 
 chicoff, of Moscow." "Well," said I, "Count, I beg your 
 pardon, but I am a Kentuckian ; and, although I did 
 not suspect that she was one of your family, I will not 
 retract a word I have said." The Count was much 
 pleased ; and afterward I asked the photographs of the 
 Prince and Princess, which were given on one card, as 
 is the custom. But I found myself on the best of terms 
 with all the Davidoff-family during my whole residence in 
 Russia. Such is the force of saying pleasant things. 
 
 A similar story is told of Lord North, of our Revolu- 
 tionary times, who had a very plain-looking family. "Who 
 is that ugly woman there?" said a courtier to his lord- 
 ship. "That is my wife!" "Oh! not she," said the court- 
 ier, "but the horrid woman next to her?" "That," re- 
 plied Lord North, "is my daughter!" I suppose, for his- 
 tory is silent, that he hardly got any office under North's 
 administration. 
 
 A cousin of mine, who was a very plain woman, but 
 very good, was at a ball, when a friend was asked: "Who 
 
 is that ugly woman?" That is Miss . _ Has not a 
 
 woman the right to look ugly?" "Of course," said the 
 other, "I grant you; but does she not a little abuse the 
 privilege?" 
 
 The clubs of Russia embrace every class of society, 
 from the highest nobles to the burgeois and operatives. 
 I was, I believe, an honorary member of every club in 
 St. Petersburg, as well as the Naval Club, at Cronstadt. 
 Being alone in my home, Mrs. Clay having, on account 
 of bad health, returned to America in 1862, I spent much 
 time in these clubs, going from one to another often in 
 the same night; where I could see almost the whole of 
 Russian society, except the ladies of the highest nobility. 
 
 And one of these. Princess , with her lady companion, 
 
 at a masked ball at Club, I introduced, as this was 
 
 my right, and they seemed to enjoy the novelty. Of 
 course, she was known to no one but myself. These 
 Vol. I. — 23 
 
354 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 clubs have rooms in the city in winter, and country-seats 
 in the suburbs in the summer, where dancing, cards, and 
 music, and eating and drinking are indulged; both sexes 
 meeting at all. Two of these clubs entertained Captain 
 Fox and officers whilst in St. Petersburg. 
 
 At the Moscow Club and Zoological Institution, of 
 which I was an honorary member, I and Captain Fox 
 planted trees in memory of the event. At Cronstadt, 
 where a dinner was given us, being also an honorary 
 member, to a toast I made a speech in which it was 
 thought that I uttered sentiments too liberal for an autoc- 
 racy. I was so told by the chief of the secret police in 
 a friendly way. So, when Admiral Farragut, with his 
 officers, were entertained at Prince Gallitzin's dinner, 
 toasts were given, but no speeches. And, in the English 
 Club, after the freedom in which Captain Murray and 
 others indulged on Fox's visit, no more speaking was 
 allowed afterward ; though, at that time, Gortchacow him- 
 self made a short and pertinent speech, as well as my- 
 self and others. To one of the clubs to which I be- 
 longed I gave an elegant painting; and, in turn, by per- 
 mission of the authorities, the United States flag was al- 
 lowed to be perpetually unfurled — an unusual permit. 
 
 The city of St. Petersburg, the present Capital of the 
 Russian Empire, was founded by Peter the Great, the 
 most distinguished of the" Czars. His genius taught him 
 that to cope with modern Europe he must use modern 
 methods, and reduce his semi-baVbarous subjects to civili- 
 zation. He not only introduced foreigners of letters and 
 art, but in the absence of railroads he sougnt such inter- 
 course as could come only of a war and mercantile navy. 
 The outlet to the great oceans through the Dardanelles 
 was blocked by the rival nations ; hence he looked to the 
 Neva, the Gulf of Finland, and the Baltic Sea, as a nur- 
 sery of future naval prowess. 
 
 The Neva flows from the great lake Ladoga and its 
 tributaries. A large portion of this vast system of swamps, 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 355 
 
 rivulets, and lakes comprised ancient Ingria, which Peter 
 had wrested successfully from Sweden by arms. Upon 
 this river, about twenty miles from its union with the bay 
 at Cronstadt, Peter began the present city in 1703. Both 
 sides being flat and swampy, piles were driven for the 
 foundations, and canals were cut every-where for naviga- 
 tion and water for domestic purposes. The city, with the 
 exception of some of the churches, which affect the ori- 
 ental style, is comparatively modern — made of burnt brick 
 and stuccoed, with a few granite and hard-burnt brick edi- 
 fices. It now has about 800,000 inhabitants, with parks, 
 open plazas for the troops, wide and well-paved streets, 
 and is no doubt the finest city of the world. 
 
 The Neva, after entering the city, branches into the 
 Little Neva and the Nevka, the former running on west, 
 and the latter flowing at nearly right angles to it, thus 
 giving the eye a long stretch over the waters. A large 
 portion of the banks on both sides are walled up even 
 with the descending plains with red granite ; and, as the 
 rise and fall of the stream is very little on the unwalled 
 banks, the vegetation grows to the very waters. Thus we 
 have one of the finest river views any where to be seen. 
 At this point, where the divided waters form an island, 
 and where the old Neva widens also into grand propor- 
 tions, on the south bank stands the Winter-Palace of the 
 Czar of all the Russias. All along the southern bank, on 
 both sides of the Imperial residence, are built the houses 
 of the most notable and wealthy of the titled aristocracy. 
 And on the opposite mainland and island shores are a 
 mass of public and private buildings, parks, trees, shrub- 
 bery, and flowers. The palace is eighty feet high, and 
 four stories in elevation; together with the Hermitage, the 
 whole river front is 970 feet, by about 350 in depth. The 
 principal front entrance is on the Neva, leading up a 
 splendid marble stairway; but the most imposing is on 
 the south side of the Hermitage. This is a porch, or ves- 
 tibule, of great pretensions, being supported by ten male 
 
356 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 figures twenty-two feet high, with their pedestals of gray 
 granite, instead of the usual caryatides. In the many gal- 
 leries of the Hermitage are about 4,000 paintings, with all 
 the usual accompaniments, statues, pottery, medals, vases, 
 jewelry, and all that; the great diamond, the Orloff, being 
 one of them, is said to be the largest and most valuable 
 one known. 
 
 The Princess Dagmar (Marie -Sophie- Fred -Dagmar,) 
 was born November 26, 1853, being the fourth child of 
 Christian, King of Denmark. She was at first affianced 
 to Nicholas Alexandrowitz, Czarowitz ; but, he dying be- 
 fore the union, she was affianced to Alexander Alexandro- 
 witz, the next heir to the throne, now Alexander III. Of 
 course, the wedding was much talked of, and great prepa- 
 rations were made. The troops in and about St. Peters- 
 burg were massed, and about fifty thousand of all arms 
 were afterward reviewed. The most distinguished guests 
 were the Crown Prince of Prussia, Frederick William; the 
 Prince of Wales, of Great Britain; and Prince George, of 
 Denmark, brother of the bride, and afterward succeeding 
 Otto as King of Greece. Subsequently he married the 
 Grand Duchess Olga Constantinowa, said to be the most 
 beautiful woman in all the royal families of Europe; her 
 mother, Alexandra, wife of Grand Duke Constantine, of 
 the Grand Duchy of Baden, having been also a cele- 
 brated beauty. Our Minister to Greece was so lavish 
 of her praises that our roundhead Congress, I believe, 
 abolished the mission. Had they seen Olga themselves, 
 I do not think that even they would have done so fool- 
 ish a thing. 
 
 There were present, also, the Embassadors of Eng- 
 land, France, and Spain; the Ministers Plenipotentiary 
 from the other first powers, and some representatives of 
 the barbarous nations of Asia. There were other distin- 
 guished guests, besides the nobles of Russia. Only to 
 the "kings that were to be" was the diplomatic corps 
 presented. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 357 
 
 The ceremony took place in one of the elegant halls 
 of the Winter Palace ; the princes entering one by one 
 into the room where the diplomates were arranged in 
 line, according to rank and seniority — Prince Gortchacow 
 officiating. I do not now remember what was said to me, 
 so long time ago; but I have yet vivid impressions of the 
 princes. Frederick, of Germany, was first introduced, I 
 suppose on account of being the heir-apparent to the 
 Empire — Disraeli not having then added the title of Em- 
 press of India to the British Crown. He was over six 
 feet high, slight in figure for a German; but firm, healthy, 
 and dignified in his personal pose and bearing. He 
 seemed to be a man of affairs, who had a great work 
 to do, and was prepared for the effort. The Prince of 
 Wales was shorter, stouter, and of full Anglo-Germanic 
 build. They were both blonds. The Prince had, no 
 doubt, often read Shakspeare's "Prince Hal," and stud- 
 ied the character. He looked to be a man who took 
 the world easily — shrewd, but yet full of bonhomie, or, 
 rather, good-fellowship. He had been in America; and 
 I imagined that, when he saw me, many scenes of our 
 naive and original life passed across his memory. Prince 
 George was the smallest of the three, of dark complex- 
 ion, with a pleasant face, and intellectual head. The 
 Prince of Wales was the only one who made any very 
 marked impression on the Russians. For a long time 
 his name was in the mouths of the young nobles and the 
 army officers of St. Petersburg; and "Prince Hal" was a 
 standing toast. 
 
 In Russia the whole people are divided into classes : 
 first, the imperial class, then the nobility, then the army, 
 then, I believe, the petite-noblesse, then the mercantile 
 guilds, etc. State and imperial balls are given each year, 
 to which all these have the entree, when thousands are 
 suppered, but few of them dance; and, I suppose, eti- 
 quette governs here in this as elsewhere. 
 
 The number admitted to the marriage ceremony was 
 
358 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 few, and only the highest classes invited. The Metro- 
 politan of St. Petersburg, assisted by the higher clergy, 
 officiated; and, after the Russian Church service had tied 
 the irrevocable knot, the Luthferan Church of Denmark, in 
 another apartment, repeated the ceremonial, so as to sat- 
 isfy the consciences . of all parties. The Princess Dag- 
 mar, who is beautiful, of rather petite, but full, person, 
 with large, dark eyes and profuse black hair, always 
 amiable and affable as an American girl, seemed very con- 
 tented and happy. Her husband (the present Czar,) was 
 serious and earnest, as he always was, and seemed to be 
 very much in love, as he had_ a right to be. She was 
 worthy of all his affection; and it has been said, I doubt 
 not, with truth, that, autocrat as he is, he has always 
 been true to his marriage vows. This he owed, no doubt, 
 to his mother, a woman of rare virtues, whose whole life, 
 more than any one 1 ever knew, seemed to have but one 
 mission — to live for her family and her people, and not 
 for herself. She had been beautiful in youth, was deli- 
 cate in health; but the mental and spiritual more than 
 compensated for the charms of earlier days. 
 
 Passing over the grand ball, to which every body had 
 the entree, there was a select party in the " White Hall," 
 a very noted room for its graceful colonnade, proportions, 
 and unique arrangements, including an actual garden bver 
 the third story, with trees, shrubs, and walks, suitably set 
 with flowers. 
 
 This favorite hall, entirely white in all its accom- 
 paniments, is lighted, as all Russian houses of wealth are, 
 with candles, without oil or gas ; so that the air is al- 
 ways pure, and more brilliancy is nowhere seen. When 
 we consider the noble figure and bearing of the Imperial 
 family ; the Russian women — not so much inclined to 
 embonpoint as the English, but more so than the French, 
 with more color and weight than even the Americans, 
 their taste and independence in dress, their unequaled 
 grace in movement and in repose, their profusion of pre- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 359 
 
 cious Stones inherited from even extinct dynasties ; the 
 richness and variety of the inherited dress of many princes 
 and nobles, no two of them perhaps alike, where the bar- 
 barous "black and claw-hammer" of Western Europe is 
 never seen ; they, too, decked out with all the jeweled in- 
 signia of their orders ; the select music from all Europe ; 
 the national dance — the mazurka (from which the Ger- 
 man is derived in the West,) — where men and women in 
 great troops, with flying hair and ribbons streaming like 
 battle-flags, sweep down the wide halls with an abandon 
 unknown elsewhere in polished ranks, — truly it is a scene 
 to remind one of the imaginings of dreams. 
 
 In the far West, on the bloom-covered prairies, I have 
 seen thousands of wild horses, male and female, come 
 rushing past with fiery eyes and distended nostrils, and 
 long manes and tails . streaming in the wind — an odor of 
 crushed flowers exhales from their feet, and the earth 
 trembles under their tread ! — thus they went to the 
 private theater in the palace. Here the best singers of 
 Europe congregate. 
 
 In the great gallery of the Italian school, flanked by 
 the halls of the Flemish and Spanish painters, where were 
 gathered the greatest works of these greatest artists of 
 all time, were set the supper-tables in two rows. The 
 Imperial Conservatory, if I remember aright, is near three- 
 fourths of a mile in length, containing all the flowers of 
 all the climes and all the continents — from the hyacinth 
 of a few inches in height to the palm of the torrid zone, 
 lifting its graceful trunk fifty feet in the air, with its long, 
 feathery foliage drooping with the waving lines of the wil- 
 low. The choicest of these plants, with fruit and bloom 
 and scented leaf, were moved in great tubs, and set upon 
 the floors of the palace ; around each the round tables 
 were placed, and the cloths deftly laid. The galleries, 
 lighted by immense sky-lights by day, were now in a 
 blaze with candles ingeniously shaded so as to imitate the 
 stars of heaven, so that the paintings of the gallery were 
 
360 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 distinctly shown. Thus culminated all the treasures and 
 all the pomp of a great Empire. 
 
 The summer nights of Russia are the wonder of all 
 who have been so fortunate as to witness them. They 
 are but an extended twilight, where print can be read all 
 the time by the light of the stars and the refracted rays 
 of the sun, ill-concealed beneath the near horizon. At 
 such times, on the beautiful waters of the clear and 
 placid Neva, light and listless boats are filled with those 
 who are given to poetry and romance — where words of 
 love are breathed in softened tones into willing ears. As 
 the wierd strains of the music died away in the distant 
 theater we entered these halls, where all that was possi- 
 ble in highest achievement in nature and in art were ag- 
 gregated. It seemed not so much that we were about to 
 renew the fabled banquet of the Babylonian king, as that 
 we were borne by some magic power into the intensified 
 poetry and beauty of a Russian summer night. Let our 
 memories and our imaginations cease with the strains of 
 the distant music, the exhalation of flowers, and the wan- 
 ing tints of paintings and stars; for the past returns no 
 more forever! 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Russia. — Popular Pastimes. — Ice Mountains. — Pretty poor French for Busi- 
 ness PURPOSES. — The Perkins-Claim Swindle. — Seward telegraphs me to 
 PRESS it. — Prince Gortchacow's Decision. — M. de Catacazy's letter to 
 Chief Justice Chase. — Catacazy's Defense. — Seward requests me to re- 
 sign. — I do so conditionally. — The Senate refuses to appoint my suc- 
 cessor. — Final defeat of Seward. — Perkins-Claim Swindle revived by 
 Bancroft Davis, under auspices of the Immortal Fish. — Captain G. B. 
 Fox and his Mission. — John Van Buren. — Prince Gortchacow enter- 
 tains the Diplomatic Corps. — Admiral Farragut. — Count Bergh and 
 Prince Suwarrow. — Count Mouravieff Amousky. — Public Dinner given 
 me at Moscow. — I make a Tariff speech. — City of Moscow. — William L. 
 
 WiNANS. — ^ThE ORLOFF breed OF HORSES. 
 
 THE cold in Russia, in consequence of the dryness 
 of the air, is not disagreeable, when one is suitably 
 clothed in furs, or other warm skins. Hence, sleigh- 
 riding is very common with the wealthier classes. Suit- 
 able sleighs are used for one, two, or more; the troika 
 uses three horses, the center one trots fast, and the other 
 two are taught a gallop, so as to make quite a pictur- 
 esque turn-out. In these last many are crowded ; and, 
 as the "girls and boys" have to sit close together, under 
 the bear or fox-skin lap-rugs, this is quite a favorite amuse- 
 ment for the young. 
 
 Ice mountains are made by a frame-work platform and 
 staircase. From the platform, about forty feet high, a 
 chute is built of wood, also in a descending line to the 
 ground, say from fifty to one hundred yards long; and on 
 the bottoms and sides are placed cakes of ice. The ice- 
 sleds are then occupied by one or two ; and away they go 
 like a shot. As this sport is somewhat dangerous, at least 
 in appearance, the gentle sex is held excusable in holding 
 on to her more self-possessed companion. 
 
 361 
 
362 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Skating, in latter times, has also become a popular 
 amusement in St. Petersburg; where large tents, with 
 stoves and refreshments, are prepared on the Neva, and 
 the ice artificially kept smooth in open areas. Dancing 
 and music are kept up by some classes, winter and sum- 
 mer, in and near St. Petersburg. The nobility, whose 
 duties keep them in, or the neighborhood of, St. Peters- 
 burg, assemble each afternoon at the "Point," which looks 
 out toward Cronstadt, in the imperial grounds of Yela- 
 gin Island; where fine horses and carriages are shown, 
 and salutations made between acquaintances, as at the 
 Alameda in Mexico. There are fine walks here, seats, 
 and a band of music ; and, in summer, it is one of the 
 most pleasant places in Russia, and is much frequented 
 by the nobility and all well-dressed people. 
 
 The "Point" is a cape, where two branches of the 
 Neva unite and widen out into a broad view toward the 
 bay of Cronstadt. The grounds are well-ornamented with 
 walks and fine trees ; and the shades are very agreeable 
 all the summer round. 
 
 Many of the clubs have their houses and grounds in 
 the suburbs of St. Petersburg; and refreshments and 
 music and dancing are kept up all the warm season. 
 
 Notwithstanding my father had taken so much trouble 
 and expense to have me taught French, saying to me I 
 might some day have use for it abroad, by the time I 
 had such use for it, I had almost entirely forgotten it. 
 So, as I had but short and unimportant correspondence 
 with Gortchacow, I wrote in French, trusting, for its cor- 
 rectness, to my attache, Mr. Williams, whom 1 took from 
 the New York Evening Post establishment to accompany 
 me, and teach my younger children, as well as myself, 
 French. He revised all my letters. But, when I came back 
 to the United States, I learned that Mr. Sumner had been 
 reporting that Gortchacow said he understood my English 
 better than my French. 
 
 Thus a continual espionage was kept up ; and every 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 363 
 
 incident turned to my disadvantage. The worst part of it, 
 however, was ,its truth. Gortchacow understood English 
 perfectly, and spoke it as well as I did. So, when 1 re- 
 turned to St. Petersburg, I dropped the French, and wrote 
 afterward in English only. As I improved in the lan- 
 guage, I observed grave errors in my correspondence; and 
 was very sorry that I trusted in my friend Williams's 
 French scholarship. So there were many calumnies whis- 
 pered about my business operations in Russia, which, 
 never having been put into writing or print, I never 
 thought worthy of notice. 
 
 I, who had spent a large fortune in the Republican 
 cause, and being at one time more than sixty thousand 
 dollars in debt, and who had paid every dollar of this 
 indebtedness, principal and interest, did not, and do not 
 now, think that any dishonesty could ever, living or dying, 
 attach to my name. And I only now say that no man, 
 living or dead, has ever, to my knowledge, at any time, 
 accused me of dishonesty in business ; and if they have 
 so done, or shall do so hereafter, I say that all such accu- 
 sations are as false as those other calumnies which I have 
 so signally disproved. 
 
 But I have blows to give as well as to receive ; and 
 am very well content with the issue. During the Crimean 
 War it was understood in" America that Russia wanted 
 especially powder, and, perhaps, arms ; and would pay well 
 for them if delivered there, which could only be done, of 
 course, by running the blockade by sea. One Captain 
 Benj. Perkins, of New England, put up some powder and 
 arms in a vessel, on the pretense that he had a contract 
 with the Russian Minister at Washington, Mr. Stoekl, for 
 the delivery of the same. The sum claimed (after the 
 war had ceased, and the goods no longer wanted,) for 
 damages was, if I remember aright, quite small — not 
 over fifty thousand dollars ; for no powder or arms had 
 been delivered. 
 
 Perkins, suing Lilienfeldt, the Russian arms-agent in 
 
364 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 America, could produce no proof, and was glad to com- 
 promise the matter in the New York courts by receiving 
 two hundred dollars. This, of course, settled the matter 
 forever. But, as Perkins pretended that he had gone to 
 much expense in getting up the cargo (which was never 
 proved), he induced the Secretary of State, Lewis Cass, 
 to write to our minister at St. Petersburg to lay the case 
 before the Russian Government — "not as a claim" at 
 all, but as a possible ground for a gratuity ; as Perkins 
 was insolvent. Of course, it all came to nothing. 
 
 In the meantime Perkins died, and his widow gave or 
 sold her claim to Joseph B. Stewart of Washington City, 
 who formed, as Catacazy, the Russian Minister, asserts, a 
 joint-stock company, with a capital of $800,000. But a 
 very different Secretary of State from Lewis Cass had 
 been put at the head of the Cabinet of Mr. Lincoln — a 
 man educated in the corrupt Albany-school of politics ; 
 and who, for the first time, imported that execrable sys- 
 tem into Washington; and which infested the whole Re- 
 publican Party with the virus of dishonor and death ! — 
 that man was Wm. H. Seward. 
 
 The Perkins' swindle was thereupon revamped and en- 
 larged, as was the custom in Washington, till it was strong 
 enough to carry finally the venal Ames party in its favor; 
 and Seward stood god-father to the new-born monster. 
 For the first time it was then urged as a legitimate claim, 
 based on contract, and so presented anew to the Russian 
 Government. 
 
 I knew nothing about the matter; and when I was at 
 St. Petersburg ordered, by Secretary Seward, to present 
 it to Gortchacow, I read it carefully, and, finding it, by 
 his own best showing, to be a swindle, made out of whole 
 cloth, I refused to present it; and so wrote to Seward, 
 giving him the reason. The upshot of the matter was 
 that I lost my place, and was recalled, under the false 
 statement to Lincoln that I desired to return home. (See 
 President Lincoln's statement, p. 303.) And, as I have 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 365 
 
 not room for repetition, I refer my readers to the follow- 
 ing statement of the Russian Minister, Catacazy : 
 
 THE RUSSIAN MINISTER'S LETTER TO CHIEF JUSTICE CHASE. 
 
 Sir: — Article three, second section of the Constitution of the 
 United States, establishes the competence of the federal Supreme 
 Court "in all cases affecting Embassadors, other public Ministers, 
 and Consuls." 
 
 In virtue of this Constitutional clause I would have the right 
 to claim from the federal Supreme Court justice and reparation for 
 the acts against my honor and my interests committed by Mr. 
 Hamilton Fish" in the exercise of his functions of federal Secretary 
 of State at the epoch when I had the honor of being Envoy Ex- 
 traordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of His Majesty the Empe- 
 ror of all the Russias in the United States. 
 
 But while I was clothed with that character the duties of my 
 position forbade all such recourse to justice, as well as all public 
 refutation of the arbitrary and outrageous assertions set forth by 
 the federal Secretary of State in official documents given the great- 
 est publicity. 
 
 I would have compromised the interests which had been con- 
 fided to me in thus engaging the imperial government in a per- 
 sonal incident, which could not and ought not to influence in any 
 way the relations between the two countries, which are happily 
 sheltered from every attack of intrigue or of personal ill-will. 
 
 The Emperor, my august master, having deigned to very gra- 
 ciously relieve me, at my own request, from my diplomatic func- 
 tions, I enter again into the possession of the rights inalienable in 
 every man to claim and obtain justice. 
 
 I will use this right, however, only within very restricted limits. 
 
 I do not intend to begin a formal suit for "malicious slander" 
 against Mr. Hamilton Fish, because the American law pronounces 
 on this head no penalty but a pecuniary compensation to the com- 
 plainant, and I am not able to face an eventuality of that nature. 
 A functionary who has had the distinguished honor to represent 
 His Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias, does not accept pecu- 
 niary compensation. He is able to claim only moral reparation; 
 and that is what I am about to secure in placing under your equi- 
 table auspices, sir, an authentic expose of the facts which have been 
 so profoundly altered by the Secretary of State, H. Fish, in official 
 documents. 
 
366 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 The federal Supreme Court has for its mission to watch over 
 the maintenance of the American Constitution. Among the prin- 
 ciples serving as the base of that Constitution there is not one 
 more important or more sacred than that establishing that justice 
 must be accessible to all the world, without distinction of origin, 
 of nationality, or of position. 
 
 Called, by the esteem and confidence of your fellow-citizens to 
 preside over that court, you are, sir, the supreme magistrate of 
 the Union, and the most authorized interpreter of the letter and 
 the spirit of the laws which rule your country. Under this title 
 you will be very willing, I hope, to take into consideration the 
 exceptional conditions in which was placed a man who, on one 
 side, was powerless to engage in a formal procedure without com- 
 promising interests more grave than those of a personal defense; 
 and who, on the other, finds it impossible to vindicate his out- 
 raged honor otherwise than in placing under the auspices of the 
 most respected authority in the United States the demonstration 
 of the inanity of the charges produced against him. 
 
 I will strive now to expose the acts of which I have so griev- 
 ously to complain, while avoiding all irritating polemics, and ob- 
 serving the respect due to the eminent functions that Mr. H. Fish 
 formerly filled. 
 
 I can not avoid, nevertheless, establishing, right at the outset, 
 that, in a note addressed to Mr. Curtin, Minister of the United 
 States at St. Petersburg, under date of the i6th November, 1871, 
 and in several other documents submitted to Congress the 6th 
 December, 1871, Mr. Hamilton Fish has willfully sent forth erro- 
 neous assertions, with the evident purpose of provoking my recall 
 from the post which had been confided to me, and of striking a 
 blow at my character and personal honor. 
 
 I am accused in these documents : — 
 
 First. Of having abused my diplomatic privileges and immu- 
 nities in denouncing, with violence and coarseness, persons inter- 
 ested in the soi-disant claim of the American citizen, Perkins. 
 
 Second. Of having interfered in questions which did not con- 
 cern me to Senators and members of Congress; jmd of having 
 bored and importuned them with solicitations fettering the free 
 course of legislation. 
 
 Third. Of having attacked the President of the United States 
 and federal functionaries in newspaper articles written at my dicta- 
 tion and bearing corrections in my handwriting, or inspired by me; 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 367 
 
 and of having falsely affirmed, on my honor as a gentleman, as 
 well as in my quality of Christian and representative of His Majesty 
 the Emperor of all the Russias, that I had not taken any part in 
 those publications. 
 
 Fourth. Of having used importunity in demanding to be re- 
 ceived by the President at his summer-residence, at Long Branch ; 
 and of having given to the Imperial Cabinet an inexact account 
 of my interview with His Excellency. 
 
 Fifth. Of having tried to hinder the success of the negotia- 
 tions between the Federal Government and that of Her Britannic 
 Majesty; and of having shown myself hostile to the Treaty of 
 Washington. 
 
 Sixth. Of having committed divers other acts which are not 
 specified is the dispatch of the i6th of November, 1871, but of 
 which Mr. Hamilton Fish has made mention, either in other docu- 
 ments, or in verbal explanations with myself. 
 
 Such are in brief the accusations produced against me, and of 
 which I am now about to show the inanity in submitting them, 
 one by one, to the most scrupulous examination; and in produc- 
 ing, in support of my assertions, proofs of which the authenticity 
 may be verified by any one whom you may designate for that 
 purpose, Mr. President of the federal Supreme Court. 
 
 FIRST COUNT. 
 
 The promoters of the enterprise generally known under the 
 name of the "Perkins' Claim" have exposed their pretended 
 rights in a voluminous compilation, which numbers several hun- 
 dreds of pages. The affair may be reviewed in a few words: 
 
 A merchant captain by the name of Benjamin Perkins asso- 
 ciated himself, in 1855, with a Polish Jew by the name of Raki- 
 elvitch, a dismissed agent of the secret police of New York, as 
 well as with a Mr. Kidder, a doctor of medicine and a merchant 
 in gas-piping, in order to extort money from my predecessor in 
 the United States, Mr. Stoekl, in proposing to him to furnish 
 powder and arms for the Imperial Government. 
 
 Mr. Stoekl declined these offers; while, as to the powder and 
 the arms, he sent Mr. Perkins to our military agent in the United 
 States, Captain Lilienfeldt. 
 
 This latter gentleman accepted conditionally the proposition of 
 a contract for 35,000 carbines — that is to say, he accepted it, 
 while reserving expressly the right to annul this preliminary en- 
 
368 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 gagement. Being assured of the insolvency of Mr. Perkins, and 
 of his inability to fulfill the projected engagement, Captain Lilien- 
 feldt availed himself of this privilege of cancelling the contract by 
 declaring in writing to Mr. Perkins that their preliminary conver- 
 sations must be considered as null and void. 
 
 Not one grain of powder, not one carbine, was ever delivered 
 to the Imperial Government; and in spite of a judgment without 
 appeal of the Supreme Court of New York — a judgment to which 
 Mr. Perkins adhered while receiving, under the name of an amica- 
 ble compromise, a sum of |>200 — his heirs formulated his rights 
 after his death into a claim amounting to ^800,000. 
 
 The widow Perkins ceded these pretended rights in considera- 
 tion of a small compensation to an advocate named J. B. Stewart. 
 In order to assure the success of this enterprise, Mr. J. B. Stewart 
 placed it in shares, which he disposed of at a low rate, in such a 
 manner as to create powerful protectors interested in realizing the 
 nominal amount of their value. 
 
 From 1855 to 1869 the Federal Government made, on three 
 different occasions, advances, more or less earnest, in order to sup- 
 port this pretended claim. The Imperial Cabinet responded to it, 
 with all the respect due to the demands of a friendly government, 
 by refusals grounded on the absence of all proof and of all justice. 
 
 Soon after the accession of General Grant to the supreme mag- 
 istracy of the Union, the federal Secretary of State proposed to 
 the Imperial Cabinet to submit the question to an arbitration. 
 
 The Emperor, my august master, deigned to name me at this 
 time his representative to the United States. Before furnishing me 
 with my instructions, his majesty ordered an investigation to be in- 
 stituted in order to thoroughly sound the Perkins' affair. Of this 
 investigation I was named reporter. The Chancellor of the Empire 
 signified to me, in the following terms, the orders of his majesty: 
 
 "The Emperor," said he, "wishes that you should proceed in 
 this matter with the most scrupulous impartiality. If, in right, or 
 even in equity, we owe any thing, whether a dollar or a million 
 of dollars, we ought to pay without hesitating; but if this is an 
 attempt at extortion, destitute of any just basis, we must not lend 
 ourselves to it, despite our desire to be agreeable to the federal 
 government." 
 
 It was in this disposition that the Commission of Inquiry set to 
 work. I must add that, for my part, I brought to it a sincere de- 
 sire to find some way of resolving amicably an affair which I foresaw 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 369 
 
 would bring about grave difficulties in the accomplishment of my 
 mission. 
 
 The labors of the investigation ended in the evident demonstra- 
 tion of the complete inanity of this claim. My instructions pre- 
 scribed to me in consequence to explain to the Cabinet at Wash- 
 ington, in categorical though friendly terms, the reasons which made 
 it impossible for the Imperial Cabinet to satisfy the pretended Per- 
 kins' Claim, or to submit it, in the absence of any just ground for 
 it, to an arbitration. 
 
 On my arrival at Washington, Mr. J. B. Stewart and his partner, 
 Mr. L. Tassistro, demanded an interview with me, alleging, as the 
 ground of their request, "their desire to produce new proof in 
 support of their claim," and complaining of having never been 
 understood by my predecessor. I did not believe it my duty to 
 decline this interview with the Perkins' advocates. Mr. Tassistro 
 was the first to present himself, producing full authority from Mr. 
 Stewart, as follows: 
 
 "I take the liberty to inform you that Mr. Tassistro, the bearer 
 of this letter, is now my associate in the Perkins' affair, and that he 
 is authorized to bind me and my other associates by whatever he 
 may do, propose, or accept." 
 
 It is important to establish the close and undoubted unity of 
 interest existing between Mr. Tassistro, a discharged employe of 
 the State Department, and Mr. Stewart; for one may estimate in 
 consequence the value of the testimony which the said Tassistro has 
 borne in an affair which will be spoken of further on. 
 
 This individual began by proposing to me to enter into discus- 
 sions for a compromise as to the amount of the claim, making me 
 at the same time understand that an agreement could be arrived at 
 in consideration of a few thousand dollars. I declined peremptorily 
 all idea of compromise. 
 
 Passing thence to another subject, Mr. Tassistro proposed to me 
 to acquire, at a low price, by his mediation and that of Mr. Stewart, 
 three millions of obligations of the Credit Foncier de Pologne, stolen 
 by a burglary in 1863, upon the Bank of Varsovie, recently imported 
 into America, and which had been thrown upon the market of New 
 York. I declined this offer also, no less peremptorily. 
 
 A few days after Mr. Stewart presented himself at my house. 
 Without producing any new proof, he tried to convert me to the 
 idea of a compromise in saying that ' ' the support of the adminis- 
 tration was gained to their cause; that Judge Dent, the brother-in- 
 VoL. I. — 24 
 
■370 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 law of the President, was interested in it; and that, if I made too 
 much opposition, they would find means to break my neck." 
 
 I received, with the same indifference, these offers of compro- 
 promise and these menaces. The day after, Mr. J. B, Stewart sent 
 me a so-called affidavit of the interview, in which he attributed to 
 me proposals that I had not made ; and by which, if made, I would 
 have recognized the validity of the Perkins' Claim. 
 
 Knowing with whom I had business, I had taken precautions. 
 A person placed in the next room had taken a note of the conver- 
 sation ; and Mr. Stewart, forced to submit to the truth, saw fit to 
 withdraw his false affidavit. After this I forbade to the advocates 
 of the widow Perkins access to my house, and I answered none of 
 their written communications. 
 
 Five, months after — that is to say the 14th of March, 1870 — I 
 had a confidential interview with Mr. Hamilton Fish, of which I 
 have rendered an account to the Chancellor of the Empire, Prince 
 Gortchacow, in a report of the 21st of March, given below in the 
 appendix. 
 
 It appears from this report: 
 
 That Mr. Stewart had sent back to the President, by the medi- 
 ation of Mr. Dent, brother-in-law of General Grant, dispatches which 
 had been attributed to me. 
 
 That, in the faith of a false telegraphic rumor, spread at this 
 time in the United States, announcing the retirement of Prince 
 Gortchacow and his replacement by General Ignatief, these pre- 
 tended dispatches, of an inadmissible tenor, and which had been 
 exchanged between the Minister of Foreign Affairs and myself, 
 were placed under the eyes of the President, with the end of preju- 
 dicing him against the Minister of Russia; and, in short. 
 
 That the Secretary of State, while recognizing the apocryphal 
 character of these dispatches, was not willing to begin suit against 
 the authors of these wrongs, "in order to avoid scandal," and under 
 the pretext of the legal impossibility of being severe upon them. 
 
 At last Mr. Fish told me, some days after, that he had had 
 Messrs. Stewart and Tassistro before him, in order to interrogate 
 them on the manner in which the dispatches had been procured, 
 and that they had affirmed that they held them from the First Sec- 
 retary of the Imperial Russian Legation. 
 
 I protested energetically against an assertion so calumnious. I 
 said to Mr. Hamilton Fish, that it seemed to me impossible that 
 people, even of that character, should dare to attribute to an em- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 37 1 
 
 ploye, whose honor had always been undisputed, such an act. I 
 demanded of him, indeed, if he had not made a mistake, and if it 
 was not some other individual bearing the same name that had 
 been designated. 
 
 "No, no," replied Mr. Fish, "it is very certainly of the First 
 Secretary of your Legation that they have spoken ; for they have said 
 that it has been in order to succeed you that he has betrayed you. ' ' 
 
 Informed immediately by myself of the fact of this odious im- 
 putation, the First Secretary of the Imperial Legation presented 
 himself with two lawyers at the house of Mr. Tassistro, and ob- 
 tained from him a formal retraction. A similar step was taken, 
 with the same result, with Mr. J. B. Stewart. 
 
 I transmitted the afifidavits of these interviews to the Secretary 
 of State, while praying him in a letter (a copy of which is given in 
 the appendix,) to severely punish the culprits. Under different pre- 
 texts Mr. Fish declined all pursuit and all inquiry. 
 
 Encouraged by impunity, the advocates of the widow Perkins 
 and their protectors had these false dispatches printed, after having 
 eliminated from them the most improbable passages, and distributed 
 them among the members of Congress, in order to provoke a senti- 
 ment in favor of thfe enterprise. 
 
 I saw myself then under the necessity to ask, by an official note 
 of the 2 1st of May (copy given in the appendix), a judicial pursuit 
 of the guilty parties. This note remained without reply; and, on 
 my officially pressing the matter on the nth of June, 1871, inspired 
 by the publication of the false dispatches in the journals, Mr. Fish 
 explained his silence in a note of the i6th of June, 1871, by "one 
 of those negligences which occur sometimes in the administration 
 of a department which conducts a vast correspondence." 
 
 I will limit myself to mention, in addition, the anonymous letter 
 containing threats of death, as well as the attacks of every descrip- 
 tion in the press, of which the advocates of the widow Perkins and 
 their protectors have pursued me, up till what they have stated as 
 their avowed end — my departure from the United States. 
 
 If I have felt it my duty to enter into these fatiguing and re- 
 pugnant details, it is because it is important to establish in an 
 unanswerable manner: 
 
 First. That the pretended Perkins' Claim is the real and deter- 
 mining cause of the exceptional animosity of which I have been the 
 object. 
 
 Second. That Mr. Fish was not ignorant of the misdeeds of 
 
372 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 the promoters of this fraudulent enterprise; and that, in conse- 
 quence, he had no right to affirm, as he has done in an official 
 document, on the faith of the interested evidence of Mr. Tassistro, 
 "that the advocates of the widow Perkins fell innocently into a 
 trap" that I had planned for them. 
 
 Third. That in characterizing Messrs. Stewart and Tassistro in 
 my official communication as "audacious forgers" and "men capa- 
 ble of any thing," I have not abused my diplomatic immunities, 
 but have only exercised an incontestable right to acquit myself of 
 an imperious duty — that of defending the interests which had been 
 confided to me. 
 
 SECOND COUNT.* 
 
 Having learned that I had been charged to buy in New York a 
 piece of ground for the building of an orthodox church, Mr. H. 
 Fish, who possessed some real-estate property, wished me to bid, 
 which will be seen by the letter given below, for two lots of ground, 
 which he desired to sell for forty odd thousand dollars; and he car- 
 ried this obliging readiness to the point of suggesting, in the post- 
 script of that letter, ' ' to proceed with the transaction without the 
 intermeddling of agents, in order to save ourselves several hundreds 
 of dollars." It was impossible for me to profit by this proposition, 
 the land in question having been appraised by competent persons at 
 half the price demanded, and another piece of ground, well situated, 
 having been offered for ;^20,ooo 
 
 THIRD COUNT. 
 
 In accusing me of having attacked, or caused to be attacked, in 
 the press, some of the federal officials, Mr. H. Fish tersely says: 
 "That on one occasion Mr. Catacazy went so far as to write to the 
 press under his own signature." This assertion has been brought 
 out in such a manner as to make it appear that I published some 
 article in a newspaper under my signature. But, in reality, it is this : 
 
 That the National Republican, of Washington, which is said to 
 have some attaches connected with the administration, having pub- 
 lished, February 26, 1870 (it should be remarked this was a few 
 days before the presentation of the false dispatches), an article upon 
 the Perkins' Claim, full of violent attacks against the representative 
 of the Emperor at Washington, General Clay, late Minister of the 
 
 "The subject matter of the "Second Count," except the paragraph here given, 
 is omitted, as not proper to be introduced in this work. — C, 1885. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 373 
 
 United States at St. Petersburg, spontaneously addressed me the 
 letter (see affix letter E), from which I reproduce the following 
 passage : 
 
 ' ' I am persuaded that if the President and the people of the 
 United States could know the facts (concerning the Perkins' Claim,) 
 as they exist, they would unanimously agree to forget that affair, 
 and save the nation from dishonor, injustice, and ingratitude." 
 
 I replied to General Clay by the letter herewith (affix letter F), 
 where I said, among other things: 
 
 ' ' Whatever may be the sum claimed, Russia would be willing, 
 I assure you, to pay it. As regards American citizens, especially, 
 she is disposed to act with liberality more than otherwise. But this 
 is not a question of money, it is a question of principle. We may 
 not be able to admit that they impose on us, and that they continu- 
 ally harass us with claims which are only based upon assertions of 
 interested persons. Between nations, as between individuals, friend- 
 ship ought to be the basis for respect and a wise discretion." 
 
 I remember chiefly that it was on my own account that this cor- 
 respondence has been made public; and I think I have but done 
 my duty in profiting by an occasion which was offered by an old 
 Minister of the United States, in order to correct public opinion 
 upon the real points of this affair, of which the official organs have 
 published the most inexact and the most outrageous statements, 
 and in order to maintain the good relations between the two coun- 
 tries. 
 
 I made of these unmerited suspicions an absolute 
 and explicit denial in a private letter dated December i, 1870, 
 which was produced among the documents submitted to Congress, 
 but with the omission of the most significant passages. Twenty- 
 four hours afterward the Secretary of State expressed to me, in the 
 annexed letter, the "entire satisfaction of the President," and his 
 own satisfaction with my assurances. This letter of the Secretary 
 of State was inserted in the collection of documents submitted to 
 Congress. In general, the collection was compiled in a manner 
 calculated to conceal the truth completely. The most important 
 papers have been omitted; others have been garbled. 
 
 On May 25, 1871, Mr. Hamilton Fish thought proper to recall 
 the subject, in spite of this exchange of explanations and his written 
 assurances that they had been entirely satisfactory to the President. 
 He told me again that he believed me to be the author of the 
 article in the World of November 29, 1870. I could only oppose 
 
374 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 a Still more energetic denial to this arbitrary assertion, and warn 
 the Secretary of State against the intrigues of persons interested in 
 raising difficulties between us. Having received, a few days before, 
 an anonymous letter, in which I was notified, with threats and in- 
 sults, that a numerous association had been formed to accomplish, 
 at any price, my expulsion from America, I showed it to the Sec- 
 retary of State, telling him at the same time that he was enabled 
 to convince himself of the means to which my calumniators had 
 taken recourse. Mr. Fish read this letter, and returned it to me, 
 saying : ' ' Indeed, this is not polite ; but do you know what I am 
 persistently told ? It is that you address anonymous letters to your- 
 self, in order to discredit, in my opinion, the Perkins' counsel." 
 
 It was impossible to continue a conversation which my interlo- 
 cutor led on such a ground. I was necessarily reduced to ask my- 
 self whether I was in the presence of one afflicted with mental aber- 
 ration, or bent on provocation. In this doubt I thought it prudent 
 to retire, after having told Mr. Fish that my dignity did not permit 
 me to reply to such imputations. 
 
 Four days later, on May 30, 1871, all the official press organs 
 were led to publish very violent articles against me — articles which 
 had been communicated by the State Department to the Associated 
 Press in Washington. 
 
 On three different occasions did I address myself to the Secretary 
 of State in order to induce him to adopt a more equitable conduct. 
 Far from complying, Mr. Fish persisted in his system of arbitrary 
 and insulting accusations. A journaUst named Piatt having sent to 
 a Cincinnati paper a letter which was very hostile to the President, 
 the Secretary of State had nothing more pressing to do than to 
 attribute it to me. He charged me, moreover, with being hostile 
 to the negotiations opened between the Federal Government and 
 the government of Her Britannic Majesty. After having exhausted 
 all the means of persuasion and conciliation, I addressed to Mr. Fish 
 the annexed letter, dated June 13, 1871: 
 
 "If I had only consulted," I said in this letter, "my own legiti- 
 mate susceptibilities, I should give up the hope of inducing you to 
 act with more justice and benevolence with regard to me. But the 
 private individual must, under certain circumstances, sacrifice his 
 self-respect to the official. I am a Minister to the Emperor, sir; 
 and, as such, I must exhaust all the means of conciliation before 
 taking resolutions which might compromise the friendly relations ex- 
 isting between the two countries." 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 375 
 
 This appeal to the loyalty of the Secretary of State remained 
 without effect. Since then, until the time of my departure, the 
 journals, inspired by the administration, attacked me most violently 
 in articles of which it was impossible to mistake the official origin; 
 for several of them coincided literally with the official communica- 
 tions of the Secretary of State. 
 
 On June 16, 1871, Mr. Hamilton Fish addressed to me an offi- 
 cial note on the Perkins' affair, in which he attempted to free the 
 counsel for that case of all responsibility for the fabrication of the 
 forged dispatches which had been attributed to me. He concluded 
 thus: 
 
 "No one knows better than you, sir, the license practiced by a 
 part of the press of this country in speaking of individuals occupy- 
 ing official positions, and the means adopted by those who institute 
 sensational articles of a personal nature, which appear only too 
 often, as you are well aware, also. Many of them contain insult- 
 ing attacks against the President of the United States; and they 
 have been the subject of my conversations with you." 
 
 Accusations so ill-disguised could not remain without an answer. 
 In the annexed letter I replied, asking the Secretary of State "per- 
 mission, not to place myself upon the ground of inuendoes, but 
 on that of frank cordiality, from which I am enjoined by my august 
 master not to depart in my relations with the Federal Government." 
 
 In spite of my formal assurances and the preceding explana- 
 tions, Mr. Fish wanted, at any price, to attribute to me the pater- 
 nity of the article of the World pf November 29, 1870. It appears, 
 from the collection • of American documents submitted to Congress, 
 that the Secretary of State addressed a letter, on the 25th of Oc- 
 tober, 1 87 1, to a certain Mr. G. Adams, in which he charges him, 
 "in the name of the duties of honor and patriotism, to depose in 
 writing when and under what circumstances M. Catacazy has par- 
 ticipated in the publication of the article in the World." Mr. G. 
 Adams yielded with great zeal to this fervent exhortation. Two 
 days afterward he deposed in writing, by a letter addressed to the 
 Secretary of State, ' ' that the article in question had been written 
 under the dictation of M. Catacazy; had been kept by him for a 
 few days and returned, with notes and corrections in the hand- 
 writing of the Minister of Russia." 
 
 I had never had relations of any kind, neither direct nor indi- 
 rect, with Mr. G. Adams. 
 
 A few days before my departure from Washington, I sent him. 
 
376 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 through an honorable lawyer, Mr. Chandler, the annexed letter, by 
 which I invited him to be confronted with me in the presence of 
 witnesses, in order to establish when and where he had seen me, 
 or had had relations with me. I notified him at the same time, 
 that I would deposit with my banker the sum of ;^3,ooo, to be 
 distributed among the poor in Washington, if any article was pro- 
 duced which bore notes and corrections in my handwriting. Mr. 
 G. Adams declined this interview by informing me, through Mr. 
 Chandler, "That he was too sure of the facts alleged by him to 
 need verifying them; that he had not been at my house himself, 
 and that, in truth, he had never seen me; but that one of his 
 friends, at present in South America, had served as intermediary, 
 and that, moreover, the manuscript corrected by my own hand 
 had been lost or destroyed." 
 
 The second witness, who, as it appears from the collection of 
 American documents, had deposed, in compliance with the re- 
 peated and pressing requests of the Secretary of State, is a Mr. 
 Turk, who is related to the family of Mr. Hamilton Fish, and 
 who has been employed for more than two years as counsel at 
 the Imperial Legation. This Mr. Turk has deposed that I had 
 avowed to him my participation in the article of a Cincinnati jour- 
 nal containing attacks against the President of the United States. 
 
 By a lucky chance I have preserved the minutes of a letter to 
 Mr. Hamilton Fish, written entirely in the handwriting of this same 
 Mr. F. Turk, under my dictation, and in which I affirmed precisely 
 the reverse of what he had deposed he had been told by me. 
 
 The following fact proves the little confidence these depositions 
 inspire in Mr. Fish himself, drawn out though they have been by 
 his exhortations to the sentiments of "honor and patriotism" of 
 Messrs. Adams and Turk. 
 
 At the moment when I was about to leave Washington, the 
 Secretary of State let me know that if I did not take the formal 
 engagement not to prosecute Messrs. Adams and Turk, and not 
 to justify myself before the Imperial Cabinet, he would suspend 
 my diplortiatic immunities, and authorize the Perkins' lawyers to 
 arrest me. 
 
 In reply to the observation made to him that this would be a 
 violation of international law, the Secretary of State said: "In- 
 ternational law is very elastic; and, besides, these men have testi- 
 fied at my request. I must protect them against the prosecution 
 of M. de Catacazy." 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 377 
 
 Having no attention to prosecute individuals who have only 
 acted as tools to those who have employed them, I declared that 
 I did not want to bring an action for false testimony against Messrs. 
 Adams and Turk ; but I reserved for myself the right of exposing 
 to the Imperial Cabinet, and to the American people, the pro- 
 ceedings of Mr. Hamilton Fish. 
 
 The Secretary of State also charged me, on several occasions, 
 with having inspired articles of the journalist named Piatt, as well 
 as articles published by the editor of the Herald, the Sun, and the 
 Tribune of New York. I herewith annex the letters of Messrs. 
 Piatt, Bennett, Greeley, and Dana, in which these gentlemen tes- 
 tify to the contrary. It is evident from these letters that I have 
 never had any relations with Messrs. Piatt and Dana, and that in 
 the intercourse which I have had the pleasure of holding with Mr. 
 Horace Greeley and Mr. James Gordon Bennett, I have never 
 departed from the reserve and discretion which are befitting a 
 diplomatic functionary. I would, moreover, have replied to the 
 arbitrary imputations of Mr. Hamilton Fish by the positive proof 
 that he himself, and his subordinate, Mr. Bancroft Davis, had 
 taken part in the writing and the circulation of the outrageous 
 articles which have been published against me during six months, 
 and to which I have only replied by the silence of contempt. I 
 have in my possession eighty-three articles of this kind, bearing 
 evident traces of their official origin; but their reproduction would 
 be both too voluminous and too repulsive. I should, moreover, 
 fail in the respect due to you, Mr. President of the Supreme 
 Court, were I to inflict upon you the reading of these contempti- 
 ble animadversions. 
 
 FOURTH COUNT. 
 
 On July 31, 1 87 1, Mr. Fish thought proper to address a note 
 to me concerning the Perkins' affair. The tenor of this communi- 
 cation was absolutely unacceptable, for it contained a denial which 
 was both discourteous and unmerited. I could not, without failing 
 in my duty, preserve such a document in the archives of the Im- 
 perial Legation. As this note was subsequently withdrawn, I have 
 no right to reproduce it; but I am compelled to mention it to 
 justify the step which I took with regard to the President of the 
 United States. It became more and more evident that, in the 
 face of such persistent provocations, the interests of the govern- 
 ment of the Emperor, as well as my personal dignity, permitted 
 me no longer to remain in the United States, I had begun in 
 
378 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 the diplomatic career as Second Secretary of Legation at Wash- 
 ington. President Grant himself stated, when he received my cre- 
 dentials, that "I had left there pleasant recollections." On my 
 part, I had carried with me sentiments of the most profound re- 
 spect for the American people, as well as the conviction that there 
 is a similarity between the interests of Russia and America. Dur- 
 ing the whole course of my diplomatic career I have not missed a 
 single opportunity to assert this conviction. 
 
 When the great majority of European governments doubted 
 the issue of the War of the Union; when men of high political 
 position called it "The Disunited States of America," I wrote in 
 a document, in i860, that the Union will come out triumphant. 
 Such were the sentiments and opinions which recommended me 
 to the choice of the Emperor, my august master, as Minister to 
 the United States. I could not, unless I failed to do my duty 
 and contradicted myself, pursue any other object than the con- 
 solidation of the ties of friendship established between the two 
 countries, which — I repeat it — can not be disturbed by the in- 
 trigues and the malevolence of individuals. 
 
 A fraudulent enterprise, and the intrigues which I have de- 
 scribed, were the rocks on which these good intentions were 
 wrecked. Already, in the month of July, 1871, I requested of 
 the Imperial Cabinet to be relieved of a post where I could be 
 no longer of any utility, because of the personal hostility of the 
 Secretary of State. Before I could be relieved of my post there 
 remained, however, an important duty for me to perform. His 
 Imperial Highness, the Grand Duke Alexis, was about to arrive 
 in the United States. I was firmly convinced that the American 
 people would give the son of the Emperor a reception, the cor- 
 diality of which would largely compensate for the personal rude- 
 ness of .Mr. Fish. 
 
 The Secretary of State foresaw it also, and he did all in his 
 power to prevent these demonstrations of gratitude and national 
 sympathy. While his organs attempted to obstruct the prepara- 
 tions for the reception made by the citizens of New York and 
 Boston, Mr. Fish informed me by an official note that if I was 
 not recalled immediately he would send me my passports. An 
 act so unjustifiable might have exercised a bad influence upon the 
 relations of the two countries. It might have prevented the visit 
 of his Imperial Highness. I was consequently obliged to do all 
 in my power to prevent such an emergency. For the very reason 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 379 
 
 that Mr. Fish doubled his provocations, I was obliged to thwart 
 his efforts by an increase of moderation, which would have been 
 excessive and undignified if the interests of Russia had not been 
 in question. I imposed silence on my susceptibilities, and post- 
 poned the vindication of my personal dignity to another period. 
 I asked an interview of the Secretary of St"te by the annexed 
 letter, which has not been placed among the collection of Amer- 
 ican documents. 
 
 The interview I requested took place on August i6th, 1871. 
 I began by telling Mr. Fish that, considering the point at which 
 matters had arrived, I had thought it best to request the Em- 
 peror to relieve me of my post. 
 
 "Your purpose," I said, "is attained. You will soon be re- 
 lieved of my presence. I can assure you I am as much in haste 
 to leave the United States as you are to see me depart. But 
 you may well understand that on the eve of the arrival of the 
 GrEmd Duke Alexis the Minister of the Emperor can not leave 
 his post. It seems to me, in the meantime, you might observe 
 the outward respect due between gentlemen. The Indians them- 
 selves bury their tomahawks at the arrival of a national guest. 
 Since you will not have peace, let us have at least an armistice. 
 Do not address to me any more notes which I can not receive, 
 and cease the daily insults in your official organs." 
 
 The Secretary of State replied to this loyal and pressing appeal 
 by excessive rudeness. He declared to me in plain language that 
 if I was not relieved immediately he would send me my pass- 
 ports. 
 
 "You can act as you please," I replied; "but I repudiate all 
 responsibility for the consequences. Be assured that the American 
 people, who are your sovereign, will disapprove of this gratuitous 
 provocation when they will know the truth. For my part, I do 
 not want to have any thing to reproach to myself before the Em- 
 peror, my master. I shall go as far as possible — farther even 
 than I, perhaps, ought to go — in the path of reconciliation by 
 making you the following proposition: You ground your action 
 with regard to me on the belief that I had attacked the President 
 in the press, and sought to obstruct the negotiations with Eng- 
 land. I have positively repelled these accusations. You persist 
 in sustaining them without a single proof I offer to submit the 
 differences to a jury of honor, composed of impartial persons, en- 
 joying the confidence of the President, and chosen among your 
 
380 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 own fellow-citizens. If the jury sustains the charges brought against 
 me, I engage myself in advance to present my resignation by tele- 
 graph. If, however, the jury finds that you are in error, I ask no 
 other reparation than the loyal acknowledgment of this error, and 
 the withdrawal of your last note." 
 
 Mr. Fish drily repelled this proposition, saying that "no jury 
 could prove that he was in the wrong." I can not produce a 
 written proof of this interview; but Senator Cameron, to whom I 
 addressed myself a few days afterward, in his capacity of President 
 of the Committee on Foreign Relations, will testify that I had 
 spoken to him of this proposition, and the refusal of Mr. Fish. 
 Mr. Cameron expressed to me in a letter his regret at the failure 
 of the steps I had taken. In the face of the obstinate malevo- 
 lence of Mr. Fish there remained to me no other resource than 
 to appeal to the President. I proceeded to Long Branch, where 
 His Excellency resided. I addressed myself to General Porter, 
 the Secretary of the President. I described to him the situation, 
 saying: "I will not make use of the right I have to ask an audi- 
 ence of the President; but, if His Excellency could be informed 
 of my arrival, if he expressed the desire to see me, I should be 
 happy to present myself before him." 
 
 Two hours later General Porter came to my hotel to inform me 
 that the President would be happy to see me at his cottage between 
 four and five o'clock. "Only," said the General, "make no formal 
 complaint against the Secretary of State; for it would place the 
 President in an embarrassing position." 
 
 Diplomatic reserve and the respect due to the Chief Magistrate, 
 to whom I have had the honor of being accredited, do not permit 
 me to report the interview with His Excellency. 
 
 Mr. Fish has thought proper to affirm in his dispatch of No- 
 vember 16, 1 87 1, that the President had begun by refusing the 
 interview; that His Excellency had peremptorily interrupted me 
 when I attempted to speak of my relations with the Secretary of 
 State, and that the General had treated me with coolness, without 
 even replying to my salutation. 
 
 I can not silently acquiesce in assertions calculated to give the 
 impression that the President of the United States had failed in the 
 respect due to the representative of the Emperor. I affirm that 
 General Grant was perfectly courteous and attentive to all I said to 
 him. The result proves that the aim I pursued has been attained. 
 In spite of all the efforts of Mr. Fish, the journey of the Grand 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 38 1 
 
 Duke has been accomplished in the most satisfactory manner. His 
 Imperial Highness, whom I have had the honor of accompanying, 
 has received from the American people, if not from all the federal 
 functionaries, a reception which has signally demonstrated the natu- 
 ral sympathies existing between the two nations, and thwarted all 
 intrigues. The incident has been kept within the bounds of a per- 
 sonal conflict, and the direct or indirect damages which Mr. Fish 
 supposes to have caused me are amply compensated by the con- 
 sciousness that I have well served my sovereign and my country, 
 without allowing myself to be swayed by considerations of wounded 
 pride or personal interest. 
 
 FIFTH COUNT. 
 
 I have in my hands a letter from one of the most honorable 
 citizens of the American Union, which attests that, toward the end 
 of 1870, the lawyer, J. B. Stewart, told him that, in consequence 
 of the opposition offered by Mr. Catacazy to the Perkins' Claim, 
 that minister would be obliged to leave America ; that by one means 
 or another he would be forced to go away, and that a number of 
 interests had coalesced to arrive at this result at any cost. 
 
 The signer of this letter, fearing the vengeance of these coal- 
 esced influences, requested me not to make use of his name except 
 to the Imperial Cabinet. In consequence, I am unable to make it 
 public. 
 
 It is not less true that a coterie, ready to resort to any means, 
 was at work in October, 1870, to create difficulties for me with the 
 Federal Government. It only succeeded imperfectly, by the com- 
 bination of false dispatches. It renewed its attempts, in taking 
 advantage of the negotiations opened at this epoch between the 
 Cabinet of Washington and that of St. James, to create an impres- 
 sion that I sought to prevent a friendly settlement of the difier- 
 ences between the United States and Great Britain. Narrow and 
 suspicious minds, who are unable to comprehend the breadth and 
 nobleness of the political principles of the Emperor, my august 
 master, persist in believing that the Imperial Cabinet speculates on 
 international dissensions, and even that he sometimes strives to en- 
 courage and to embitter them. These aberrations have especial 
 reference to Anglo-American differences. 
 
 Mr. H. Fish having judged it proper to raise this question, it is 
 of importance to clear it up. I believe that I am not wanting in 
 fitting reserve in revealing, by the narration of the following facts, 
 
382 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 the magnanimity and elevation of the political thought of which the 
 representatives of the Emperor Alexander can only be the obedi- 
 ent interpreters: 
 
 The day when I set out from St. Petersburg to go to Wash- 
 ington, Prince Gortchacow told me what follows on the subject 
 of the relations between England and the United States: 
 
 ' ' Do not lose sight of the fact that we are not sowers of dis- 
 cord. You will abstain carefully from encouraging the misunder- 
 standings which exist between England and the United States. 
 The Emperor does not desire a contemptible or hateful course of 
 political action. What he wants is peace and general repose." 
 
 By a remarkable coincidence I met, in leaving the cabinet of 
 the Chancellor of the Empire, M. Rumboldt, directing at that 
 time the English Embassy at St. Petersburg. As he did me the 
 honor to stop me to wish me a safe journey, I repeated to him 
 literally what Prince Gortchacow had just told me. I can, if neces- 
 sary, refer to the testimony of this diplomatist. 
 
 Less than a year afterward, the President of the United States 
 having addressed to Congress a hostile and almost menacing letter 
 in relation to England, I had, with an American statesman, whose 
 name I shall withhold from motives of discretion, a conversation, 
 faithfully reproduced in a report addressed to Prince Gortchacow 
 the 2d of December, 1869. 
 
 I think I am able to give a copy of it in what follows: 
 
 "Well," said Mr. X to me, "what do you think of the 
 
 message concerning England? We have not stroked superb Albion 
 with any gentle hand. I hope they will be glad at St. Petersburg, 
 where they ought to hate England as much as we do." 
 
 In effect I answered: You have not acted over gently. Since 
 you do me the honor to ask me my opinion, I shall tell it to 
 you without any beating about the bush. I think that, in en- 
 larging too much the range of the Alabama affair, you weaken 
 your title to the compensations which are in reality due to you. 
 The most impartial persons, and those the best disposed toward 
 you, will be obliged to recognize that it is a quarrel that you 
 seek, and not a legitimate compensation that you demand. You 
 wish to place to the charge of England the expense of more than 
 a year of civil war; and, what is still more, the possible benefits 
 you might have been able to realize. This, permit me to say it, 
 is what we call in France making up an apothecary's bill. 
 
 "Yes," replied Mr. X , "the amount of the account that 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 383 
 
 we are preparing is a little high; but it is good policy to ask too 
 much in order to get enough." 
 
 I am not of that opinion, I replied. It appears to me that a 
 great nation like America would refrain from having recourse to 
 these mercantile finesses. It ought to count justly, affirm what is 
 due to it, and not lower its demand. It should have the same 
 measure for all — for proud Albion or modest Denmark. This is 
 what we invariably practice at St. Petersburg ; and we have grounds 
 to be satisfied with its success. Also, I tell you, because of the 
 active sympathy with which you inspire me, that in Russia very 
 probably they will abstain from applauding that part of the Presi- 
 dential Message. We have our preference; but we hate none. 
 Above all, we are not sowers of discord; and we believe that a 
 conflict between you and England would be a universal calamity. 
 
 The Chancellor of the Empire was good enough to write to 
 me in an official dispatch, in answer to this report, that the Em- 
 peror deigned to honor with his entire approval the language that 
 I had held. 
 
 I have not deviated one instant from the way that has been 
 traced for me. While abstaining carefully from putting forward 
 in public my opinion on the practical value of the combination 
 designated under the name of the Treaty of Washington, and 
 of which it was easy to discover the defects in knowing the ar- 
 riere pensee held in reserve by Mr. Fish, I availed myself of 
 every opportunity to express my sympathies in favor of a pacific 
 solution. 
 
 The day after the signing of the treaty I went to offer my feli- 
 citations to Earl de Grey and to Mr. Fish. I had the honor of 
 receiving at my table the men of the High Commission ; and of 
 toasting the happy issue of the negotiations. The American citizen, 
 Cyrus W. Field, having invited me to take part in a banquet which 
 he offered to Earl de Grey and his colleagues, I answered by the 
 letter marked "Q" in the appendix, which was read at that ban- 
 quet, and in which I offer for a toast the words of Holy Writ: 
 "Blessed are the peacemakers." ? 
 
 In fine, I acknowledged the receipt from the official messenger 
 of two copies of the Washington Treaty in the following note of 
 July 14, 1 87 1, which Mr. Fish has not thought well to insert in 
 his collection of documents: 
 
 "Sir: — The State Department has been good enough to send 
 me two printed copies of the treaty concluded between the United 
 
384 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 States and Great Britain May 8, 1871. In thanking you for this 
 interesting communication, I believe it my duty to express to you 
 the cordial sympathy with which every thing that can contribute 
 to the general repose, as well as to the prosperity and glory, of 
 the United States will be received in Russia." 
 
 It is in the face of facts so positive, so undeniable, that he 
 could not be ignorant of them, that Mr. Fish, without producing 
 any proof, thought himself justified in affirming, in an official doc- 
 ument, that "Mr. Catacazy has made, and makes daily, efforts to 
 embarrass and defeat the Treaty of Washington," — an accusation 
 the more strange and contradictory that it emanates from the re- 
 tractive author of the indirect damages. 
 
 SIXTH COUNT. 
 
 Among the miscellaneous accusations of Mr. Fish, there is but 
 one that he has specified, in saying that ' ' Mr. Catacazy has made 
 in his conversations offensive remarks against the President and 
 some of the federal functionaries." 
 
 In a conversation, on the 25 th of May, 1871, the Secretary of 
 State was still more explicit. He told me that it had come to his 
 ears that, at a dinner given in my house, I had made remarks on 
 the President and on himself that the respect due to the chief of 
 a great State does not permit me to reproduce here. 
 
 I answered Mr. Fish that nothing authorized him to attribute 
 to me so complete a forgetfulness of every convenance and every 
 duty; that I had striven on all occasions to evidence my profound 
 respect for the President, as well as my high consideration for the 
 Secretary of State; and, finally, that I deeply regretted being acces- 
 sible to idle reports which no doubt came from the same source as 
 the false dispatches of the previous year. 
 
 "No," said the Secretary of State, "it is not alone Perkins, 
 the lawyers, who say so; but one of your colleagues affirms it." 
 
 "In that case will you be good enough to name the colleague, 
 and bring him face to face with me, that I may be able to con- 
 found him?" f 
 
 Mr. Fish refused, saying that he could not betray confidence. 
 
 "Then," said I, "you can ask this gentleman if he has the 
 courage to repeat before me what he has told you ; and, if he 
 refuses, you ought in all justice to consider him a calumniator, 
 and withdraw the painful imputation that you have thought it your 
 duty to cast on me." 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 385 
 
 The Secretary of State has never seen fit to confront me with 
 his authority, nor to retract his arbitrary imputations. 
 
 In his dispatch of the i6th of November he accuses me of 
 different social delinquencies. Notwithstanding all my desire to 
 discover what could have caused an accusation of this nature, 1 
 can remember only one circumstance relative to my social relations 
 incriminated by the federal Secretary of State in one of his conver- 
 sations with me. 
 
 Some time after the discussion which took place in the Senate 
 in relation to the project of annexing the island of St. Domingo, 
 a Washington journal, which served as a mouthpiece for the law- 
 yers of the Perkins' Claim, published an article saying that I had 
 encouraged Mr. Sumner to oppose the views of the President. 
 Notwithstanding the absurdity of this imputation, I felt called 
 upon to point out this article to the Secretary of State by a confi- 
 dential letter, in which I repudiated all fellowship with the oppo- 
 sition of the purchase of St. Domingo; and I forewarned Mr. Fish 
 against the use which the lawyers of the Perkins' Claim proposed 
 to make of this new calumny. 
 
 The Secretary of State told me a few days afterward that he 
 had not believed in my interference in the St. Domingo affair; 
 but that he saw with regret that I continued to maintain relations 
 with Mr. Sumner, after the attitude he had taken in regard to the 
 President. 
 
 I answered that, having had the honor of knowing Mr. Sum- 
 ner for more than twenty years, and appreciating the eminent 
 qualities of that statesman, I had no reason to break with him 
 because a difference of opinion had occurred in the administration 
 about an affair that in no way interested Russia. 
 
 " My instructions, " I added, "prevent me from interfering in 
 any of your home questions; but tell me to retain good relations 
 with all the notabilities of the country, without distinction of 
 parties or opinions. Besides, Mr. Sumner is President of the Ex- 
 ecutive Committee of Foreign Relations ; and I must pay him all 
 the respect that is due to him on this account, as well as on 
 many others." 
 
 "He will not be long president of that committee," Mr. Fish 
 quickly replied. "He is a bad and a mad man, and has no 
 longer any credit with the country." 
 
 I retired, asking permission of the Secretary of State to be of 
 entirely opposite opinion; and expressing my regrets at not being 
 Vol. I. — 25 
 
386 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 able to act on his suggestions. Such is the only "infraction of 
 social comiendnce" that has been pointed out to me by Mr. Fish. 
 
 It is repugnant to every serious and respectable man to be 
 obliged to descend into the lowest depths of gossip in order to 
 dissipate its unhealthy emanations. I believe I have gone as far 
 as my dignity will permit in repelling the charges made against me. 
 
 In compensation I acquit myself of a very agreeable duty in 
 bearing witness before closing my letter that, notwithstanding the 
 defamatory articles published in some organs of the press during 
 almost a consecutive year, and notwithstanding the accusations so 
 grave formulated against me in ofificial documents, the American 
 people have discerned, with the good sense which characterizes 
 them, the end and the value of these attacks, 
 
 It would be too long to enumerate all the evidences of esteem 
 and of sympathy with which I was honored up to the last moment 
 of my stay in the United States. 
 
 It suffices to say that seven governors of States, eleven mayors 
 of grand towns of the Union, and a multitude of other persons 
 belonging to different classes of society, have expressed to me, 
 personally and by letter, their benevolent interest; and have had at 
 heart to repudiate, in the name of the American people, all con- 
 nection with the proceedings of my adversaries. 
 
 Even now I daily receive letters full of expressions of sym- 
 pathy. In one of them I am written to cis follows : " It is above 
 all to-day that your sagacity and good faith, which you displayed, 
 are appreciated in discerning the schemes of Mr. Fish, and refus- 
 ing to commit Russia to them." 
 
 "One thing will result from these proceedings," said an Amer- 
 ican statesman to me; "it is the demonstration of the indissolu- 
 bility of the bonds of esteem and friendship which unite our two 
 nations." 
 
 Permit me, Mr. President of the Supreme Court, to cite one 
 of the most touching evidences of sympathy which I received a 
 few days before my departure from the United States. A Meth- 
 odist pastor from Oregon, whom I have never known, was pleased 
 to send me a letter couched in the following terms: 
 
 "My Dear Sir: — I have followed with interest, in the public 
 sheets, the bitter struggle which has been made against you by 
 intrigue. I appreciate the calmness and serenity that you oppose 
 to the outrages that have been offered to you. I will pray God 
 that He will give you the strength to walk worthily to the end." 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 387 
 
 This good prayer has been heard. Boldly, and with the con- 
 science of duty accomplished, I come to claim the place which 
 belongs to me in the esteem of all the honest and enlightened 
 minds of a country that the bonds of living sympathy unite to 
 Russia. 
 
 You are, sir, the President of the Supreme Court, in the ranks 
 of American loyalty and intelligence. As a man of honor, and as 
 a magistrate, you will permit me to place this expose under your 
 benevolent auspices. Accept the homage of my profound re- 
 spect. Catacazy. 
 
 The Minister supported the foregoing letter with the 
 following documents in defense : 
 
 CATACAZY TO GORTCHACOW. 
 
 Washington, March 21, 1870. 
 
 Prince: — On visiting the Department of State a few days ago, 
 I was surprised to hear from Mr. Hamilton Fish that certain docu- 
 ments that compromised me very much had been sent to the 
 President. 
 
 I requested him to tell me the nature of these documents, on 
 which he took out of his pocket a number of papers, and read 
 them to me privately, not ofificially. The first of these papers 
 was a letter from J. B. Stewart, the counsel of the widow of Mr. 
 Perkins, addressed to Mr. Dent, brother-in-law of the President. 
 In it he said that, having obtained possession, by certain means, 
 of a dispatch from the new Minister of Foreign Affairs in Russia 
 to M. Catacazy, and also the answer, he requested Mr. Dent to 
 submit the document to the President, in order that His Excel- 
 lency might judge for himself on the conduct of the Minister of 
 Russia, and the urgent necessity of his immediate recall. 
 
 The second paper had this title: "Translation from the origi- 
 nal of a dispatch from General Ignatief to M. Catacazy." 
 
 It ran something in this manner: "On my joining the council 
 of ministers, I find by your reports to my predecessor that you 
 have had the assurance not to pay the widow of Mr. Perkins the 
 money sent to you for her; that, in place of that, you have taken 
 measures in order to oppose this just claim with legal cunning and 
 trickery. I have reported your conduct to the Emperor. His 
 Majesty is indignant; and desires me to tell you that you will be 
 immediately expelled from the service if you persist in this case. 
 
388 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 You should not forget that it was solely for Prince Gortchacow's 
 sake you were sent to America. You are presuming too much 
 on his kindness." 
 
 The third paper, which was addressed by me to General Igna- 
 tief, St. Petersburg, replied to the above in the following terms: 
 
 "I am profoundly grieved at having incurred the displeasure 
 of our Czar {sic) for trying to save His Majesty a large sum of 
 money. Having gained over Mr. Hamilton Fish by some bribes 
 to his son-in-law, the lawyer Webster, I was confident of success. 
 What is the use of generosity or honesty in a country where 
 thieves have th^ upper hand? Why, General Grant himself sells 
 justice, and does a brisk trade in public offices. The Secretary 
 of State, Fish, wealthy though he be, robs with' both hands. 
 Being convinced that I could save ;g8oo,ooo by the judicious plac- 
 ing of less than a twentieth of that sum in private, I ventured, 
 despite the very strict orders of your Excellency, to ask permis- 
 sion to continue to act according to the secret instructions of your 
 illustrious predecessor." 
 
 At the bottom of each document was written: "L. Tassistro, 
 sworn interpreter, certifies that the translation made by him from 
 the French is exact and correct." 
 
 Having read these documents, one after the other, without 
 making the slightest comment, I placed them on the table, and 
 said to Mr. Fish that (fearing lest I might not be able to master 
 my indignation and disgust,) I wished to defer until a future time 
 what I had to say on this subject. 
 
 The Secretary of State proposed that I should call on him at 
 his house the following evening, where we could talk the matter 
 over quietly. I did so, and expressed to Mr. Fish my gratitude 
 for the confidence he reposed in me. 
 
 "There is no necessity," I added, "to denounce the false- 
 hoods in these documents. It would be impossible to concoct 
 grosser lies. General Ignatief not having been for an hour Min- 
 ister of Foreign Affairs, no communications have passed between 
 us. It appears from the dates attached that they were forged 
 about the time that the cable astonished the American public by 
 the announcement of the pretended resignation of Prince Gort- 
 chacow. It is fortunate that you have let me know about these 
 things in a confidential manner. As Minister of the Emperor, 
 .ny duty would be to suspend immediately all relations with the 
 Secretary of State of the United States, and report to my gov- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 389 
 
 ernment that some malicious persons have sent documents reflect- 
 ing most injuriously on the Imperial Legation to the President; 
 and that His Excellency has not thought proper to punish such 
 a flagrant violation of diplomatic rights. Officially I ignore, and 
 will as long as I can, this miserable occurrence. Besides," I 
 added, "not only as an attack upon a foreign Minister, but it is 
 a direct insult to the President himself to dare present him with 
 a mess of lies and ugly insinuations against you, his Secretary of 
 State." 
 
 Mr. Fish replied . that the law could only reach falsehood-mon- 
 gers when they attempt to extort money, and that such was not 
 the case in this instance. He could not, therefore, sue Stewart 
 except for slander, and all he would gain would be to recover 
 pecuniary damages. 
 
 I saw at once the truth of his remarks; and, without insisting 
 upon legal measures, I expressed a hope to Mr. Fish that, after 
 this experience, he would no longer defend a cause of which the 
 parties were such rascals. I have the honor to be, with profound 
 respect, C. Catacazy. 
 
 M. CATACAZY TO MR. FISH. 
 
 Washington, April 11, 1870. 
 
 My Dear Mr. Fish: — I have the honor of sending you an 
 account of an interview, word for word, which took place yester- 
 day between Signor L. Tassistro and M. Waldemar Bodisco, First 
 Secretary of the Imperial Legation, with Messrs. Hugh Carpenter 
 and F. Turk, two honorable American citizens, as witnesses : 
 
 Questioned by M. Bodisco about the infamous calumny he was 
 the means of spreading, Signor Tassistro positively denied having 
 had any share in the matter, and declared that neither directly nor 
 indirectly had M. W. Bodisco given him the pretended documents, 
 nor furnished the slightest information about them. 
 
 Mr. J. B. Stewart, questioned on the same subject, made the 
 same declaration, and his statement was taken down in writing. 
 
 In view of this double falsehood, and of the extreme importance 
 of the fact, I would request of you to make Messrs. Tassistro and 
 Stewart tell immediately where they got those infamous papers, in 
 which a foreign representative is so wickedly slandered, so as to in- 
 sure the success of the Perkins' swindle. I ask you this as a per- 
 sonal favor, my dear Mr. Fish. 
 
 As Minister to the Emperor I still ignore the existence of this 
 
390 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 outrageous affair; for the dignity of the character with which I am 
 invested imposes upon me such weighty obligations that I would 
 rather avoid them in this instance, in order to preserve the good 
 feeling existing between both countries. C. Catacazy. 
 
 Washington, May 9, 1870. 
 Mr. Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State — 
 
 Mr. J. B. Stewart, lawyer of the widow Perkins, has printed 
 and distributed copies of the letter inclosed addressed to you. It 
 appears that this individual pretends that he had the presumption 
 to send to His Excellency, the President of the United States, two 
 documents which, he says himself, he stole from the Imperial Le- 
 gation. 
 
 I can not allow myself to believe that such a flagrant insult to 
 the sacred rights of an Embassador, which all nations respect, can 
 be given without the President of the Federal Union delivering up 
 the guilty parties to the punishment of the law. 
 
 It is not to refute a charge so groundless, nor to protest against 
 the impunity with which such criminals can carry out their nefarious 
 schemes, that I have the honor to address you, Mr. Secretary of 
 State. 
 
 I am pleased to think, also, that it is entirely unnecessary for 
 me to show the false character of the document that Mr. Stewart 
 and his partner, Tassistro, had the impudence to attribute to me, 
 and which from beginning to end is but a tissue of lies and absur- 
 dities. 
 
 The tenor of this note shows that it is a falsehood worse than 
 criminal. A statesman of your abihty and experience, Monsieur, 
 must know at once that the representative of His Imperial Majesty 
 the Emperor of all the Russias could not express himself in such 
 terms as are attributed to me in speaking of the American nation 
 and her high representatives. 
 
 It is evident, too, that I could not so mention the "illustrious 
 predecessor" of a Minister who has been at the head of the Im- 
 perial Cabinet for fourteen years without interruption. 
 
 The malicious insinuation that these liars attribute to me in re- 
 gard to the relations which you wished to establish between me 
 and your son-in-law, Mr. Webster, also shows the extent of their 
 wickedness. 
 
 If I solicit your interference, Mr. Secretary of State, it is be- 
 cause I have heard that J. B. Stewart and L. Tassistro have circu- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 39 1 
 
 lated this document among the members of Congress, and that in 
 view of the friendly relations existing between our two countries it 
 is necessary to refute such slanders; but they might influence the 
 minds of the representatives of the American people against the 
 imperial government. 
 
 The fact, too, of the forged dispatches by the lawyers of the 
 widow Perkins fully justifies what I had the honor to say to you 
 in my note of March 3 1 , by reason of the absolute impossibility of 
 my ever holding any communication with persons of such type. 
 
 In requesting you to return the printed document inclosed, I 
 would also ask, Mr. Secretary of State, for the other papers which 
 J. B. Stewart mentions in his letter. 
 
 It is necessary to refute this falsehood; and I feel compelled 
 to submit both documents to the Imperial Cabinet, and ask what 
 course I shall pursue in case J. B. Stewart and his partners con- 
 tinue their insults with impunity. Catacazy. 
 
 MR. FISH TO M. CATACAZY. 
 
 New York, April 30, 1 870. 
 
 My Dear M. Catacazy: — I inclose a map representing some 
 lots of mine on Fourteenth and Fifteenth streets, between Second 
 and Third avenues, in the neighborhood you mentioned, and near 
 the block where my house is. 
 
 The lots A, B, C, on Fifteenth Street, are mine. The adjoining 
 lot, W, was sold by me a year or two since, but has not been built 
 upon, and I have no doubt but that the owner would be glad to 
 sell ; at least, he expressed himself so to parties who spoke to me 
 about buying the property. The four lots together are 100 feet 
 front by 103 J^ feet deep. I do not think you can find more de- 
 sirable property for the price. The lots D, E, F, and G, on Four- 
 teenth Street, belong to me also. If any of them suit, I shall only 
 be too happy to arrange with you before you leave for New York 
 City, Yours truly, Hamilton Fish. 
 
 MR. C. M. CLAY TO M. CATACAZY. 
 
 New York, March i, 1870. 
 
 M. Catacazy: — I read in the National Republican an article 
 entitled "Our Relations with Russia," in which the Perkins' case 
 is dragged forward. My name being connected with this affair, 
 silence on my part might be construed into an agreement with the 
 opinions of the writer of the article; and I do not think that it is 
 
392 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 indiscreet on my part to say that I examined the Perkins' case care- 
 fully, it having been brought before me officially while I was Min- 
 ister of the United States at St. Petersburg. 
 
 While admitting that all the parties in this case might be en- 
 titled to the consideration of the Emperor of Russia, yet it is my 
 opinion that there was not the slightest grounds for an action against 
 the Imperial Government in behalf of Captain Perkins. 
 
 I do not hesitate to say that the manner in which this affair was 
 managed for eight years by Ex-Secretary Seward and his represen- 
 tatives was any thing but creditable to American honor. I gave my 
 own opinions in my official dispatches. Every citizen should guard 
 the honor of the Republic, as well as do justice to all; and for that 
 reason I do not wish to hide my opinions. 
 
 I am satisfied that if the President and the people of the United 
 States knew the facts of the case they would dismiss it at once, and 
 spare the nation the stigma of insult and injustice toward the Emperor 
 of Russia — the sovereign who alone stood by us in our national con- 
 flict, when others wanted to remove a rival and exterminate a people. 
 
 As for what is due to Russia on the sum voted for the cession 
 of Alaska, all honest men can have but one opinion. Nations, like 
 individuals, should fulfill their obligations. The idea of making the 
 strict observance of a treaty subordinate to the vague interpretations 
 of an affair like that of Perkins, can not meet the approval of the 
 American people. 
 
 I authorize you to use this letter as far as it may serve to vindi- 
 cate justice and guard national honor. I trust that the friendship 
 between America and Russia will be eternal. C. M. Clay. 
 
 M. CATACAZY'S REPLY. 
 
 Washington, March 8, 1870. 
 
 My Dear Mr. Clay: — I am very much obliged for your letter 
 of the 1st inst., in which you speak frankly about the Perkins' case. 
 
 Your testimony is important, inasmuch as, being an old repre- 
 sentative of the United States at St. Petersburg, you had official 
 charge of the affair, and, consequently, you must know what it 
 amounts to. 
 
 You know with what- scrupulous care and impartiality the Im- 
 perial Government made this investigation, with the firm intention 
 of paying to the last cent the claim, should it be found a just one. 
 
 When the investigating committee reported that there was not 
 the slightest legal grounds for the claims made by the parties inter- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 393 
 
 ested in this false demand of the widow Perkins, you were informed 
 that the Imperial Cabinet was determined to decline, courteously, 
 but firmly, the question of arbitration in the matter. Perhaps you 
 do not know the reason of this determination. 
 
 As for the amount, beUeve me, Russia would cheerfully pay it, 
 if it was according to justice. With American citizens in particular 
 she is disposed to act quite liberally. But it is not a question of 
 money, but of principle. We could not bear a burden imposed 
 and charges constantly dinned into our ears, based upon the asser- 
 tions of interested parties. If we yielded once, we would be flooded 
 with similar demands from all parts of the United States. 
 
 Only a few days ago I received a letter from a person pretend- 
 ing that my government owed him for ten thousand artificial limbs, 
 because a Russian physician, traveling in the United States, ex- 
 amined them, and told him that in time of war he could sell them 
 in Europe. Another, a widow — one likes to put the widows for- 
 ward on occasions like these — demanded ;?300,000 for a torpedo 
 invented by her deceased husband, a design of which had been 
 shown to an officer of the imperial marine. 
 
 It is unreasonable to suppose that a government like that of 
 Russia can consent to submit demands of this kind to arbitration. 
 I must add, also, that if, on one side, there are individuals who 
 will lend themselves to such swindles, there are, on the other hand, 
 many distinguished and honorable people who repudiate entirely such 
 things, and entertain a very different opinion about them. 
 
 And in regard to your letter, so kind and characteristic, I have 
 also received one from a Massachusetts gentleman, who voluntarily 
 comes forward to prove that the claim, now grown up to ^800,000, 
 was placed 'in his hands by Perkins himself to be sold for $100,000, 
 and even less; that Perkins was addicted to intemperance, and that 
 he boasted at times of having written letters as "snares for Russian 
 agents." 
 
 These facts and others of like nature are all in my possession. 
 Unfortunately, these circumstances are not known; and in private 
 circles this question is understood and judged according to the ex 
 parte statements of the concoctors of this audacious conspiracy. 
 
 As you justly observed, Russia has ever been the sincere and 
 fast friend of America. Her sympathies have been shown in small 
 as well as great things; by deeds and not by words alone. 
 
 But, my dear sir, between nations, as well as with individuals, 
 friendship should be founded on discretion. My government ab- 
 
394 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Stains carefully from joining in the general clamor against the United 
 States, although it had demands on the part of Russian subjects of 
 better foundation than that of this Perkins. We deserve a like re- 
 turn, and I trust we shall gain it. 
 
 Regarding the interest on the price of the cession of Alaska, 
 which you referred to, the only answer I can make is that the press, 
 is in error in saying that I made a demand for the money. I made 
 no demand ; I only called the attention of your Secretary of State to. 
 that clause in our accounts, expressing my conviction that a simple 
 suggestion would be sufficient for such a high-minded government as 
 that of the United States to obtain the payment of a just claim. 
 
 I must, in conclusion, say that I can not coincide in your views 
 regarding Mr. Seward's management of this affair. A statesman of 
 his reputation, who conducted for so many years such an important 
 office as that of Secretary of State, might have been deceived for 
 once about a claim ; but I doubt not that his intentions were good,, 
 and I must express my respects for so distinguished a statesman. 
 
 Catacazy. 
 mr. fish to m. catacazy. 
 
 Washington, December 2, 1870. 
 M. Catacazy — 
 
 Dear Sir : — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of 
 your private and personal letter of the ist inst, on the subject of 
 certain newspaper articles, and I am satisfied to find an emphatic 
 denial of any connivance on your part in such articles — connivance 
 which would be calculated to lead to disagreeable consequences. 
 
 I am happy, in accordance with your request, to be able to sub- 
 mit your letter to the President, who will not be less pleased than I 
 am^ at the assurances contained therein. Hamilton Fish. 
 
 M. CATACAZY TO MR. FISH. 
 
 Washington, June 13, 1871. 
 Mr. Hamilton Fish — 
 
 Permit me to accompany my official communication to-day with 
 some personal explanations. 
 
 The last official letter which you thought fit to write to me is 
 not, indeed, encouraging to me. You have expressed doubts, sir, 
 thinly disguised, of the veracity of my assertions, in saying that you 
 can not assume the responsibility of their correctness. 
 
 I must perhaps conclude that interested parties have succeeded 
 entirely in turning you against me; and, if I consulted only my 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 395 
 
 Just feelings, I would renounce all hope of finding in you justice 
 and friendship for me. 
 
 But an individual should, under certain circumstances, sacrifice 
 his self-respect for his official duty. I am the Minister of the Em- 
 peror, sir, and out of respect for that position I should exhaust all 
 means of conciliation before the friendly relations existing between 
 our countries should be compromised. 
 
 You are too fair and too intelligent, sir, not to remember, de- 
 spite the feelings with which they have inspired you against me, 
 that the recent pubUcation of the dispatches, forged by the Perkins' 
 lawyers ; the suit commenced against Baron Osten Sacken by their 
 associates, the accomplices and receivers of the robbery of the Bank 
 of Warsaw, and the many injurious things said about me in the daily 
 journals, show a plan of combined action for the double purpose of 
 driving me from this country, and bringing around a- coolness be- 
 tween both governments. 
 
 If my departure was sufficient, I assure you I would cheerfully 
 resign ; but it is my duty to prevent the fulfillment of their second 
 purpose. 
 
 It rests with you, sir, to stop those rumors and to defeat this 
 intrigue, in granting the request contained in my official note. You 
 can not believe that these dispatches are true which have been at- 
 tributed to me; therefore it is not fair to give credence to the slan- 
 ders contained in them. 
 
 I can not take any action myself unless in violation of diplomatic 
 rules; and I think it shall be a matter of great regret to allow such 
 things to prevail to the point of putting the Imperial Cabinet to the 
 necessity of stating, by the publication of the papers, that persistent 
 refusals have been given to the just claims of the representative of 
 the Emperor. 
 
 As far as I am personally concerned, allow me, sir, to refer, for 
 the last time, in a few words, to the charges brought against me 
 which you have thought fit to entertain. 
 
 I am accused of having inspired an article signed "Don Piatt," 
 containing attacks against the administration, and pubUshed in a 
 Cincinnati journal. 
 
 I have told you, and I tell you again on my honor, that never 
 in my life have I had any relation, direct or indirect, with this 
 "Don Piatt," and that I knew nothing whatever about the article 
 until you showed it to me. 
 
 You told me, sir, that you were assured of the fact by a mem- 
 
396 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS,. AND SPEECHES 
 
 ber of the diplomatic corps. I begged of you to place this slan- 
 derer face to face with me, or even to name him. You refused, 
 saying that you could not betray confidence. 
 
 You were also told that I expressed myself in very hostile terms 
 against the Washington Treaty and its negotiations. To such vague 
 charges or child's talk I oppose positive facts — the congratulations 
 addressed by me to Lord Grey in General Schenck's presence; the 
 compliments addressed to Mr. Bancroft Davis, the day after the sig- 
 nature of the treaty, and, lastly, my letter to Mr. Cyrus Field. I 
 will merely allude to the ridiculous charge of having written mali- 
 cious articles in journals and anonymous threats to injure the Per- 
 kins' lawyers, in your opinion. 
 
 In fine, this is all that can be brought against me; and, if there 
 is any value in my proofs of good will, consideration, and friendship 
 that I have forced myself to give since I came to the United States, 
 I do not think charges of such slight foundation should be main- 
 tained for an instant. 
 
 I venture to hope, sir, that, putting all obstacles aside, you will 
 give the preceding remarks fair consideration. I also would desire, 
 through you, to gain the good opinion of His Excellency the Presi- 
 dent himself 
 
 I can not believe that certain unscrupulous blackmailers can suc- 
 ceed in creating a coolness between two governments that have in- 
 terchanged so many proofs of esteem and friendship. 
 
 I would also venture to hope, sir, that you will appre.ciate the 
 
 frankness of my language, and that you will consent to the reestab- 
 
 lishment of the friendly personal relations which existed between us. 
 
 Catacazy. 
 mr. fish to m. catacazy. 
 
 Washington, June 14, 1871. 
 M. Catacazy — 
 
 Sir : — I had the honor to receive your letter of June 11, 1 87 1 . 
 You refer to a letter of the date of May 9-21, 1870, that you did 
 me the honor to write to. me, and annex a copy of this letter, stat- 
 ing that there had been no answer to it. 
 
 It can not have escaped your memory that on June 2, 1870, 
 you called upon me to inform me of your intention of spending the 
 summer season in New York or its suburbs, and during this inter- 
 view you propounded the question whether I had any intention of 
 answering your letter of May 9-21. 
 
 You were told then that it was not considered judicious nor 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 397 
 
 necessary to prolong the correspondence in question. I remained 
 under the impression that you adhered to the motives assigned, 
 and that you were perfectly satisfied. 
 
 It is due to the representative of His Imperial Majesty that I 
 refer to this interview in order to dispel the possibility of suspicion 
 of a want of respect for you personally, or as representative of 
 His Imperial Majesty, by the absence of a written answer to the 
 letter in question. 
 
 I find in the notes made at the time, that at the same inter- 
 view you requested me to return you the printed copy which ac- 
 companied your note of May 9-21. I thought, up to the time I 
 received your last note, that this copy had been returned; and I 
 regret to learn that through some negligence, which must neces- 
 sarily occur at times in an administration of vast correspond- 
 ence, that such was not the case. I inclose the printed copy in 
 question. 
 
 I believe I am justified in saying that the article published in 
 the New York Evening Post of the loth, of which a copy was 
 annexed to yoi^r note of the nth, is fully as offensive to me as it 
 can be to you. It brings forward a letter which you addressed to 
 me on March 13, 1870, to falsify and criticise expressions attrib- 
 uted to you in pretended extracts published in the Post. 
 
 There is no need in recalling to your mind that, as soon as 
 the pretended correspondence between you and your government 
 came to my knowledge, I made you acquainted with it, March, 
 1870; and after I heard your denial of its authenticity I gave you 
 my assurance more than once that neither the President nor my- 
 self entertained the least idea that such a correspondence ever 
 passed between you and your government. 
 
 You have always attributed the origin and the publication of 
 these pretended dispatches, as well as several other publications, 
 to the agents of the Perkins' Claim; but you never brought for- 
 ward any proof for this charge beyond your own suspicions and 
 conclusions. 
 
 Even admitting, which I never supposed, that these letters had 
 really been exchanged between you and your government, it has 
 never been clear to me that these printed copies emanated from 
 those persons you mention. 
 
 I can not but acknowledge that these persons displayed con- 
 siderable intelligence and energy in the defense of their cause. It 
 is so plainly to their interest not to quarrel or to create additional 
 
398 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 trouble with the representative of Russia that no one would ever 
 suppose they would provoke such a controversy. 
 
 I can not accept, consequently, the suggestion so frequently 
 made by you — that the various articles about you in the news- 
 papers emanated from this source. These publications remain an 
 inexplicable mystery, quite in keeping with your pretended cor- 
 respondence. 
 
 No one knows better than you the liberty exercised by a por- 
 tion of the press of this country in speaking of individuals occu- 
 pying official positions, as well as the means resorted to by those 
 who contribute sensational personal articles to the press, and which 
 appear too frequently, as you know. Many of them contain inju- 
 rious articles against the President of the United States, and they 
 have a point of some of my conversations with you. I take the 
 opportunity of renewing the assurance of my distinguished consid- 
 eration. Hamilton Fish. 
 
 M. CATACAZY'S REPLY. 
 
 New York, June 15, 1871. 
 Mr. Hamilton Fish — 
 
 Sir: — I had the honor to receive your note of June 14th. I 
 beg you will receive my thanks for the explanation you have 
 given, also for the printed copy of my letter of March 13, 1870. 
 
 I remember, indeed, at an interview of June 2, 1870, your 
 assurance that you had no doubt as to the apocryphal character 
 of the forged dispatches presented by the lawyer, J. B. Stewart; 
 and I agreed with you that it would be better not to prolong the 
 official correspondence on so scandalous a subject. 
 
 But permit me, Mr. Secretary of State, to recall to your recol- 
 lection that at the same interview I requested you to institute im- 
 mediately an examination to discover the authors of this audacious 
 forgery; and that I showed b.y the copies in my hand that the 
 lawyer, J. B. Stewart, and his partner, L. Tassistro, had made 
 false assertions in affirming to you, as you told me, that these 
 pretended dispatches had been obtained through an employe of 
 the Imperial Legation. 
 
 You seem to have arrived at the conviction that the lawyer, 
 J. B. Stewart, is innocent of these intrigues. With all due defer- 
 ence to your opinion, I can prove to you that my suggestions 
 and deductions are amply grounded. The document annexed to 
 my note of May 9-21, 1870, which you have had the kindness to 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 399 
 
 return to me, is signed "J. B. Stewart." It appears to me that 
 this lawyer himself acknowledges to have sent the forged dis- 
 patches in question to His Excellency the President on March i 
 or 2, 1870; that he asserts to have received them from a Signor 
 Tassistro, and that, in spite of my denials, he sustains the authen- 
 ticity of these papers 
 
 In a letter which the lawyer, J. B. Stewart, has addressed to 
 me, dated Washington, November 20, 1869, and of which I can 
 produce the original, he expresses himself in the following terms 
 with regard to Signor Tassistro: 
 
 "I shall also take the liberty to inform you that the bearer 
 of this letter is my associate in this case, and that he is author- 
 ized to make all engagements on my behalf" 
 
 Besides this declaration which establishes the copartnership ex- 
 isting between these two individuals, there is the principal and 
 uncontested part of the transmission of the forged dispatches by 
 J. B. Stewart to His Excellency the President. As to the partici- 
 pation of this lawyer in the publication of these papers, and in the 
 attacks directed against me by the press, it seems to me to have 
 been proven with no less evidence. 
 
 I can only attribute, Mr. Secretary, the transparent allusions 
 by which your note of June 14th terminates to the equitable in- 
 tention to enable me to contradict in an official manner the calum- 
 nious imputations made against me. I am confirmed in this sup- 
 position by the assurances which you have given me, Mr. Secretary, 
 concerning your disposition not to fail in the respect due to the 
 representative of His Majesty the Emperor, my august master, 
 and towards me personally. I shall, therefore, take advantage of 
 the opportunity you offer me to repel such imputations. I shall 
 only beg leave not to place myself on the ground of innuendoes, 
 but on that of frank cordiality, from which I am instructed by 
 the Emperor, my august master, not to depart in my relations 
 with the Federal Government. You told me, Mr. Secretary, dur- 
 ing the interview of May 25, to which you refer, "that you are 
 absolved from rendering what is due to me," informing me at the 
 same time that it is stated to you from different sides that I had 
 written or inspired press articles containing violent attacks against 
 the administration and against the President himself. When I in 
 quired of you who dared utter such calumnies, you told me that 
 the fact had been reported to you by a person worthy of belief, 
 and living in the same social sphere as I do. To my request to 
 
400 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 be confronted with this person, or at least to name him, you re- 
 plied that you could not betray confidence. I opposed to these 
 imputations the most complete denial. I expressed my profound 
 respect for His Excellency the President, and my esteem for the 
 members of his administration. I repelled with indignation the 
 supposition that the representative of His Majesty the Emperor 
 could so fail in his duty as to attack the Supreme Chief of the 
 government to which he has the honor of being accredited. I 
 repeat these assurances, Mr. Secretary, in the most formal man- 
 ner; and I beg of you to communicate them to His Excellency 
 the President. Accept the assurance, etc. Catacazy. 
 
 M. CATACAZY TO HON. Z. CHANDLER. 
 
 Washington, January i, 1872. 
 Hon. Z. Chandler — 
 
 Dear Sir: — I have expressed to you the desire to have an 
 interview with Mr. G. W. Adams for the purpose of learning how 
 and by whom he could have been so completely led into error as 
 to make the incorrect statements to the Secretary of State in his 
 letter of October 28, 1871. I also request you to inform me for 
 what reason Mr. Adams has declined an interview, and to declare 
 to him that I challenge him, in the first place, to produce the 
 manuscript of the article of which he makes mention in his letter 
 to Mr. Fish, and which he affirms bears corrections in my hand- 
 writing. In the second place, to explain how and by whom the 
 article above mentioned had been handed to him at the Russian 
 Legation, by order of M. Catacazy, as he has affirmed. You may 
 add that I am ready to deposit with my banker a sum of $3,000, 
 to be distributed among the poor in Washington, whenever the 
 World article in question, which it is pretended bears signs of 
 correction emanating from me, will be produced, and recognized 
 by competent and impartial judges. I remain, etc. 
 
 Catacazy. 
 mr. piatt to m. catacazy. 
 
 Washington, October 12, 1871. 
 Mr. De Catacazy: — I have the honor to reply to your follow- 
 ing four questions: 
 
 1. Have I had the honor of seeing you until this day, or have 
 I had any relations with you? 
 
 2. Have I furnished you, directly or indirectly, any article on 
 any subject? 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 4OI 
 
 3. Have I directly, or indirectly, taken part in the editing of 
 the article of the Cincinnati Commercial regarding the Treaty of 
 Washington ? 
 
 4. Do you see me to-day for the first time?- 
 
 I reply "No" to all your questions. Though it may seem 
 strange, I have the honor of telling you that it is for the first 
 time I see you to-day. In the hope that this reply will be satis- 
 factory, I have the honor, etc., D. Piatt. 
 
 J. GORDON BENNETT TO M. CATACAZY. 
 
 New York, January 11, 1872. 
 My Dear Sir: — I have received your letter, dated Boston, De- 
 cember 13, 1870. On account of my absence from New York I 
 have not befen able to reply to it until now. You say it has been 
 published in different journals, and that it has even been officially 
 stated that you have sent me articles attacking the Federal Gov- 
 ernment and its high functionaries, and that you are therefore under 
 the obligation of asking me to reply to the following questions: 
 
 1. "Since I have had the pleasure to make your acquaintance 
 as Commodore of the Yacht Club, and as a distinguished member 
 of New York society, have I ever uttered a word in your presence 
 against the President of the United States?" 
 
 Our conversations never having had reference to politics, I am 
 unable to remember that you have ever expressed yourself in a 
 manner unfavorable to the President or any other functionary. 
 
 2. "In chatting with you about the Perkins' affair did I not say 
 to you that I firmly believed that the Secretary of State had been 
 led into error; and that, in spite of his violent attacks upon me, 
 I considered him as a perfect gentleman — an opinion that I naively 
 entertained at that time?" 
 
 I remember that, on one occasion, the Perkins' Claim was in- 
 cidentally mentioned; but I am not able to remember to-day in 
 what sense you expressed yourself in reference to the Secretary of 
 State. 
 
 3. "Have I ever tried by corruption to influence your opin- 
 ion with regard to political questions, as has been calumniously 
 stated?" 
 
 As I have already said, our conversations never had a political 
 character; they principally had reference to the reception of His 
 Highness, the Grand Duke Alexis, by the Yacht Club. 
 
 Consequently, you have never had the opportunity to seek to 
 Vol. I.— 26 
 
402 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 influence me; and, as to the accusations of corruption, I consider 
 them so absurd that they do not seem to me to deserve refuta- 
 tion. Yours, etc., James Gordon Bennett, Jr. 
 
 ANNEX N. 
 LETTER FROM HORACE GREELEY TO M. CATACAZY. 
 
 New York, Jamiary 15, 1872. 
 M. Catacazy — 
 
 Dear Sir: — I have received your letter concerning actions with 
 the press that have been imputed to you, and I reply to them as 
 follows : 
 
 1. As far as my recollection and information serve me, not a 
 line, written or dictated by you, has apppeared in the columns of 
 the Tribune, except official documents bearing your signature. 
 
 2. On two, or, perhaps, on three occasions, you have furnished 
 me contributions of which I have made use in the editing of articles 
 for the Tribune. It need not be said that no criticism against my 
 Government has been published by me upon suggestions from you. 
 
 3. One time only you have communicated with me in writing 
 about the Perkins' Claim in a fashion that might be interpreted as 
 having reference to my Government, especially in presence of the 
 notorious support accorded by this Government to the said claim. 
 
 4. I have never heard it said, and I am unable to believe that 
 you have sought to profit by the Tribune, by means of its corre- 
 spondents at Washington or other cities. 
 
 I believe I have replied very explicitly to all your questions. I 
 have the honor, etc., H. Greeley. 
 
 ANNEX O. 
 LETTER FROM MR. DANA TO M. CATACAZY. 
 
 New York, January 17, 1872. 
 M. Catacazy — 
 
 Dear Sir: — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of 
 your favor of this date, putting certain questions. To make the 
 matter simpler, I will copy these questions and append to them my 
 answers. The first question is as follows: 
 
 I . " Have I ever seen you ; or have I had direct, or indirect, 
 relations, whether with you personally, or with your correspondents 
 or reporters?" 
 
 To this I reply: I have never seen you, and do not even know 
 you by sight. I have never had any relations with you, directly or 
 
OF CA^IUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 403 
 
 indirectly. I have no reason to suppose that a correspondent, or 
 even a reporter, of this journal has had relations with you. Further, 
 I have no reason to believe that any article published in the Sun has 
 emanated from you, or has been inspired by you. 
 Your second question is as follows: 
 
 2. ' ' Have I ever tried to influence you on a political or per- 
 sonal question?" 
 
 To which I answer: Never. 
 Your third question is as follows: 
 
 3. "One of your reporters having questioned me on the stair- 
 case of the Clarendon Hotel, and insisting upon obtaining informa- 
 tion, under the pretext that the Sun had always taken my defense, 
 have I not replied to him that I do not desire to give any explana- 
 tion, and that I could form but one wish and that was that the Sun 
 should abstain from all commentary upon my relations with the De- 
 partment of State?" 
 
 I reply to this that I have substantially received from one of my 
 reporters, the day after his meeting with you, a relation agreeable 
 to the fact as stated by you in your question. 
 
 It is true, sir, that I have sometimes defended you when I have 
 believed you to be unjustly attacked; but I have also criticised your 
 conduct as a public functionary when I believed it blamable. On 
 all occasions I have acted according to the needs of the public, 
 and not according to those of any individual interest. I have the 
 honor, etc. Charles A. Dana. 
 
 ANNEX P. 
 
 PRIVATE LETTER FROM M. CATACAZY TO MR. HAMILTON FISH. 
 
 Staten Island, July 24, 1871. 
 Mr. Hamilton Fish — 
 
 Sir: — I determine to show once more that I know how to 
 make a sacrifice of my personal sentiments for the sake of the in- 
 terests which have been confided to me. 
 
 I like to believe that the same principle will guide you, in spite 
 of all the prejudices that one has succeeded in inspiring you with 
 against me. It is in this hope that, before replying officially to the 
 note that you have felt it your duty to address to me the 31st of 
 July, I now ask you to accord me an interview. 
 
 In this note, sir, you give to the Minister of Russia the He con- 
 ceived in the coarsest terms — "it is not true;" and you accuse 
 him, by insinuation, of having maliciously abused his diplomatic 
 
404 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 immunities in order to make false accusations with impunity, and 
 being animated by sentiments of personal interest. 
 
 I permit myself to appeal one more, sir, to your impartial 
 equity. Is it in the interest and for the dignity of our respective 
 governments to exchange correspondences of this nature because a 
 divergence of opinion has been produced on a private claim? Are 
 there not, in short, many other means of obtaining the displace- 
 ment of a diplomatic individuality against which one has conceived 
 insurmountable repugnances than to address him a note so offensive ? 
 
 For my part, sir, since I have the honor to be Minister of the 
 Emperor, I will go to the end in the painful accomplishment of my 
 duty; and as I am persuaded that a loyal explanation may place a 
 term to a situation too strained not to end in a scandal, I now pray 
 you to accord me an interview, in such place and on such a day as 
 may be convenient to you. 
 
 I have the honor to be, with a high consideration, your very 
 humble servant, C. Catacazy. 
 
 Correspondence of the New York Sun. 
 
 Perkins' Claim against Russia — Bancroft Davis, the Bribe- Taker after 
 
 a Share — The Dirtiest Diplomacy on Record — Effort to 
 
 oust the Russian Minister. 
 
 Washington, August 12, 1871. — We have had going on here 
 for some time a charmingly illustrative instance of dishonest greed, 
 mean deceit, and dirty diplomacy, in which Bancroft Davis, the 
 Bribe-Taker, figures as the head-center in a way so common that it 
 has ceased to create surprise. If Bancroft Davis, the Bribe-Taker, 
 has a friend in Washington, I do not know of him. His most 
 familiar associates, who frequent his house and drink his wines, 
 shrug their shoulders or nod their heads significantly at the men- 
 tion of his ill-flavored name. 
 
 It seems that there has been a long-pending and unsatisfied 
 claim of one Perkins, an American citizen, against the Russian 
 Government. This claim the present Minister, Catacazy, repre- 
 senting his Government, has contested with great vigor. It is 
 asserted and generally believed that Perkins' attorneys have driven 
 a bargain with Bancroft Davis, the Bribe-Taker, to give him a large 
 slice of the Perkins' Claim if he, the Bribe-Taker, would procure 
 a legal recognition of it from the Russian Government. 
 
 Here is the motive for the Assistant Secretary's action, and this 
 is the way he went about it. Approaching Mr. Bodisco, son of the 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 4O5 
 
 former Minister, and connected with the legation, he proposed to 
 bring the weight of our Government to bear upon that of Russia, 
 and get Catacazy displaced by Bodisco, if he, Bodisco, would allow 
 the claim of Perkins. To this the ambitious diplomatic neophyte 
 consented, and Davis set about as dirty an intrigue as ever dis- 
 graced our national capital. He got the Administration, which 
 means, of course, Ulysses S. Grant, to instruct our Minister at St. 
 Petersburg, to press the recall of M. Catacazy, upon the ground 
 that the Russian diplomatic agent here had made himself offensive 
 by his intermeddling with our affairs, and because Madame Cata- 
 cazy's career had been of such a character that the families of our 
 officials were embarrassed by her presence.* 
 
 Upon all this Bancroft Davis, the Bribe-Taker, seized; and 
 Curtin, at St. Petersburg, pressed it in a formal manner upon the 
 Imperial Government. The fact came to the ears of Mr. Catacazy, 
 and he went to work. He is a shrewd, active, experienced diplo- 
 mate, and proved too much for our sickly Mazarin, Davis, the 
 Bribe-Taker. The war grew hot and furious. The press was called 
 in to the aid of the conspirators. All sorts of lies were put in cir- 
 culation, and for a while it looked as if Catacazy were to be recalled 
 and disgraced. Davis, the Bribe-Taker, at first cared nothing about 
 the disgrace. He only wished to get the Minister out of the way; 
 but the wily diplomate had such a way of sneering at our Amer- 
 ican poor devil that it nearly drove him mad. And, so excited, he 
 made it a point to get Catacazy recalled before the Grand Duke 
 Alexis should arrive. To this end he moved all his machinery; 
 and to no purpose. The Russian Government not only refused to 
 recall the old gentleman, but in a marked manner expressed its 
 confidence in him. He remains full minister. One of the con- 
 spirators, Mr. Bodisco, has been rebuked by a transfer to the con- 
 sular service; and the Bribe-Taker's slice of the Perkins' Claim gets 
 smaller by degrees and beautifully less. 
 
 And now comes the Grand Duke Alexis, and through him 
 Madame Catacazy's triumph. He will occupy their house. There 
 he will receive and entertain such guests as Madame Catacazy may 
 designate. They who have turned up their chaste noses at the fair 
 divorcee, and lost no opportunity to insult and trample upon her, 
 will now be ready to break their worthless necks in a struggle for 
 her smiling recognition. The pavement will be covered with visit- 
 ing instead of playing cards; and the fashionable world about 
 
 'Madame Catacazy stood high in Russian society. — C, 1885. 
 
406 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Washington will be as mean and truckling as it was lately cruel 
 and arrogant. Timon. 
 
 After this ring fought me at Washington, in conjunc- 
 tion with the Bayard Taylor clique, and I was trium- 
 phantly returned to Russia, Seward, Stewart, Weed, and 
 their organs, the Times, National Intelligencer, etc., op- 
 posing me, they allowed the Perkins' swindle to rest. 
 But, about 1867, they got Congress, or, rather, the 
 House, to indorse the claim, and sent it on to me, with 
 a more elaborately written paper in its support; and 
 Seward ordered me to press the claim. He had this 
 time, no doubt, prepared it for Gortchacow's eye. 
 
 In the meantime the claim had grown from thousands 
 to hundreds of thousands, much to my astonishment, and 
 I was in less humor now for its presentment than before; 
 but, as I was now left without remedy, or such recalcitra- 
 tion as might cause Lincoln to recall me, I took the 
 document and handed it to Gortchacow. 
 
 He read the whole long argument with great patience. 
 I observed him closely. After awhile the veins upon his 
 forehead began to swell; and, as he finished, he rose up, 
 his eyes flashing with that peculiar glance which belongs 
 exclusively to the Slavic race, and making several quick 
 steps toward me, said: "I will go to war before I will 
 pay a single copeck!" He handed the documents back, 
 and said no more ; nor was more necessary. * 
 
 •LETTER OF W. H. SEWARD. 
 (Private.) Washington, August 8, 1865. 
 
 My Dear Mr. Clay: — A necessity for an occasional respite 
 from the labors of the Department for the recovery of my own 
 health, and my efforts to bring back this blessing to my bereaved 
 and sorely-stricken children, produces in return an inevitable accu- 
 mulation of business essential to the restoration of peace, and many 
 thoughts for the country. In this condition of things, I am obliged 
 to ask my friends to accept intimations of my gratitude and sensi- 
 bility, rather than full expressions of those sentiments, as they are 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 407 
 
 When Seward attempted to calumniate me afterward, 
 in the Chautems' affair, Gortchacow showed his contempt 
 for the Secretary of State, and his warm sympathy in my 
 defense. And it is a gratification to me to this day that, 
 whilst my own countrymen treated me so infamously, the 
 representatives of the two nations, who alone were con- 
 cerned in the matters alleged — Prince Gortchacow and 
 Sir Andrew Buchanan, who knew all the parties and all 
 the facts — were my warm and efficient defenders. 
 
 Just before Seward telegraphed me, through the cipher 
 which he had given me, that I would "be allowed to re- 
 sign," Joseph B. Stewart wrote to me to compromise on 
 one half the amount, if I remember aright, and to urge 
 the Perkins' Claim again; and he intimated that there were 
 movements against me in Washington, and that I would 
 be recalled if I did not. This letter was sent to the State 
 Department. 
 
 Now, I never knew, nor do I know to this day, why 
 Johnson allowed Seward to attempt to recall me. In the 
 cipher he gave no reason. But, owing to Johnson's defec- 
 tion from the Republican Party, Congress had passed a 
 law requiring that no officer who had to be confirmed by 
 the Senate should be dismissed without its consent. So 
 I wrote an indignant answer to Seward, saying I would 
 meet him on more equal grounds hereafter, and I re- 
 signed my Ministry; not unconditionally, but to take 
 effect on the arrival of my successor. 
 
 awakened by letters so full of generosity and affection, as those 
 which you and all our representatives abroad have written to me. 
 Be assured, my dear sir, that every line of those letters sinks deep 
 into my heart, and will there remain forever. 
 
 Faithfully your friend, Wm. H. Seward. 
 
 Cassius M. Clay, Esq., etc., St. Petersburg, Russia. 
 
 Notwithstanding Mr. Seward's "unflinching enmity" toward me, when he was 
 struck down in the causes of my country, it was my cause also. Alas! for human 
 frailty; when restored to health he forgot his better feelings and justice even, and 
 wronged me more than ever. — C, 1885. 
 
408 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 So here I was too much for the Albany man. If I 
 had resigned unconditionally, as he no doubt hoped I 
 would, it would have been necessary to send some one 
 to succeed me; but, as the new-comer had to receive the 
 indorsement of the Senate, they would very naturally ask 
 why not retain Clay? 
 
 Before I left St. Petersburg, Mr. Smythe, the Ex-Col- 
 lector of the Port of New York, and the Senator from 
 Florida, J. W. Osborne, came to St. Petersburg, and 
 dined with me. The Senator told me, in Mr. Smythe's 
 presence, that the Senate held a caucus, and resolved 
 that Seward should not replace me. Seward offered sev- 
 eral men as my successor, and, failing in all, he nominated 
 Mr. Smythe, who, as collector, had more patronage than 
 any man in America; but the Senate stood by me, and 
 Smythe, as he told me himself, was rejected. So, under 
 Providence, all the arts of my shameless and cowardly 
 enemy were defeated; and I held office three years after 
 his telegram, and after he retired to the privacy of his 
 home in New York. 
 
 After his trip around the world, which was intended 
 as a Presidential "boom," I happened to be in New York 
 when Seward returned. His friends got the aldermen of 
 the city to invite him to a banquet, to which he assented ; 
 but, when they were advised that they had to pay the 
 bills, not out of the city-treasury, but from their own 
 pockets, they recalled their invitation to the banquet, and 
 asked the Secretary to take his stand in the City-Hall, 
 and shake hands with "the boys." 
 
 There was an old fox-hunter from Kentucky in New 
 York, and I sent him around to see how Seward came 
 out with his "boom." By that time he was "neither fish, 
 flesh, nor good red herring." His Johnson straddle had 
 left him without the confidence of either the Democrats or 
 of the Republicans. He had no follower of force but 
 Thurlow Weed, and a few beneficiaries, so far as I could 
 learn. 
 
OF CASSIUS KARCELLUS CLAY. 409 
 
 "Well," said I, to my fox-hunter, "what did you see?" 
 "You know," said he, "I never did like Seward; but, 
 upon my word, I was sorry for him. Such a whiskey- 
 drinking, tobacco-chewing set of dead-beats and loafers 
 were never before seen in one assembly. Seward was 
 placed upon a sort of platform, where few even of that 
 foul crowd cared to go up to shake his hand. > Clay, I 
 never saw any thing like it. Did you ever see a fox up 
 a black-jack sapling, and the hounds baying him on all 
 sides? Well, that was like Seward. He looked very 
 much out of place; and very like the poor fox, who was 
 set upon by devouring dogs. Oh, Clay! it was sad!" 
 
 Some wag got up, that night, a caricature represent- 
 ing the "City Hospitality." I think it must have been 
 Thomas Nast. It represented the Falstafif-looking alder- 
 men rising from a well-stored table in the back-ground, 
 approaching the little fellow who had a hungry, care-worn 
 look, and giving him a single finger. The legend was : 
 "Welcome to New York!" 
 
 I sent these caricatures to all the places in St. Peters- 
 burg where the Chautems' pamphlet had, by his friends, 
 the banditti, been distributed. Thus perished the polit- 
 ical aspirations of my ablest, meanest, and most cowardly 
 enemy, W. H. Seward. 
 
 After the attempt to assassinate the Emperor at the 
 summer-garden, I wrote to Mr. Seward suggesting the 
 propriety of sending an embassy to congratulate him upon 
 his escape from his enemies. This I thought would be 
 justly an evidence of our gratitude for his friendly support 
 of the Union cause, and give evidence to the people of 
 Russia that we were in sympathy with their great liber- 
 ator. It will be remembered that the Emperor was saved 
 by a serf who had come a great way to see his bene- 
 factor; and I have elsewhere shown how the great peo- 
 ple appreciated, him. 
 
 In pursuance of this suggestion. Congress passed reso- 
 lutions of sympathy, and sent Captain G. V. Fox, late of 
 
410 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 the United States Navy, and Ex-Assistant Secretary of 
 the same, to bear these resolutions to the Czar. A moni- 
 tor and two wooden ships brought the party. 
 
 I received due notice of his coming, and issued tick- 
 ets of invitation to distinguished Russians, the diplomatic 
 corps, and the Russian naval officers, to meet him at the 
 legation, where I prepared a collation. I termed him 
 Captain Fox. To this he took exception. He preferred 
 the title of Assistant Secretary of the Navy. My object 
 was to honor him; the mission was at my suggestion; I 
 had no intention whatever to underrate him. So I had a 
 new set of tickets struck with the preferred title. Again 
 a question arose of precedency, Jeremiah Curtin, Secretary 
 of Legation, Seward's tool, contending that Fox, being a 
 special bearer of the dispatches of Congress, should hold 
 the place of honor. All of this was absurd. He had but 
 a special mission ; and, after the delivery of his papers, 
 whatever that rank gave him closed. 
 
 I mention these things to show how Seward had evi- 
 dently intended, as far as possible, to embarrass me; and 
 had, no doubt, inspired into Fox sentiments unfriendly to 
 myself. 
 
 The Emperor soon settled this matter; for, when we 
 dined together on his yacht, near Cronstadt, he of course 
 gave me the usual post of honor. 
 
 John Van Buren, the son of the Ex-President, with 
 whom I had dined in the times of Andrew Jackson's 
 Presidency, was also in St. Petersburg, with an interest- 
 ing daughter and niece. He was quite on good terms 
 with me; and ridiculed Fox's assumed dignity and pre- 
 tensions. However, as Fox and I got better acquainted, 
 the first unpleasant impressions wore off; and we ulti- 
 mately became quite good friends. The Americans were 
 welcomed in Russia with great -enthusiasm by all ranks, 
 and received many distinguished expressions of regard. 
 The officers were dined with the Emperor and imperial 
 family; and balls and other fUes given. A vessel was 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 41 1 
 
 launched on the Neva; and Miss Van Buren was awarded 
 the honor of breaking the accustomed bottle of wine on 
 that vessel. Entertainments were given at the' Navy De- 
 partment, at Cronstadt; and the party was sent, at the 
 government expense, to Moscow and Nizhnee-Novgorod, 
 and other places of interest. 
 
 The Governor-General of Moscow, Prince Vladimir 
 Dolgorouki, gave a grand dinner. Here Curtin, my dis- 
 contented secretary, allowed himself, no doubt by previous 
 concert with a few vulgar fellows, to be thrown up during 
 the dinner — a thing unheard of before in a grave com- 
 pany of gientlemen; though it was admissible when men 
 were on a "spree," or a "bender," as we would say. 
 This so much disgusted the Governor-General that, when 
 the Americans were invited to witness the fire-works by 
 night on the Moskwa River, Curtin was omitted; and, 
 when the officers were invited to the Governor-General's 
 box at the theater, Curtin was again ignored. 
 
 The largest crowd I ever saw together any where, 
 even greater than that at Rochester, in 1844, was gath- 
 ered at night in a grove near Moscow, in which was 
 made an immense platform for the Americans and distin- 
 guished Russians, The shouts, as the guests were ush- 
 ered in through a lane made in the vast audience, were 
 like the roar of a stormy sea. Many other stands and 
 bands of music were provided in the groves. There had 
 been so much said about precedence, that I only went to 
 Moscow on the urgent invitation of the city and Mr. 
 Fox; and from there I returned to St, Petersburg. 
 
 In St, Petersburg, Gortchacow gave an elegant dinner 
 to the diplomatic corps, then in the city, and to Mr. Fox. 
 I was given the post of honor on his right, and Mr. Fox 
 on his left. After the wine was well-flowing, the Chan- 
 cellor gave Mr, Fox an elegant box with splendid dia- 
 monds from the Emperor, which was handed around and 
 admired by all the guests. 
 
 At Moscow, some excellent engravings of buildings. 
 
412 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 etc., were given all the officers, and some sent to me, 
 which, though contrary to the rule for ministers to receive 
 presents at foreign courts, as they were articles of art, 
 and the occasion unusual, I accepted. The whole affair, 
 in a word, was every way a success; and both nations 
 were placed upon the most pleasant footing. 
 
 On the whole. Fox acquitted himself successfully in 
 this delicate affair; and, being a man of fine physique, 
 and good, regular features, left a very favorable impres- 
 sion upon the men and women of Russia. 
 
 Poor Van Buren died at sea on his way home. 
 His daughter, who had given me a photograph of her 
 father, on her return asked me to give it back, as it was 
 the only one she had of him in late years. Of course, I 
 complied with her wishes. But, fortunately, I had two 
 of him ; and I am glad to have such a memento of one 
 who had at several times in life shown me courtesies. 
 He was well received in St. Petersburg, not only because 
 he was the son of an Ex-President of the United States, 
 which counts much in aristocratic countries, but because 
 of his fine manners and ready wit, in which he much sur- 
 passed his father, who was quite grave and reserved at 
 all times; for I met him, not only at Washington, but at 
 Lexington, Kentucky, later in life. 
 
 Admiral David G» Farragut, with his wife, visited St. 
 Petersburg later, and was received with like honors. I 
 entertained him and his suite at a lunch ; and was much 
 pleased with the old hero, who was a fine person of large 
 stature, with quite a military look and a large Roman nose. 
 His wife was a very vivacious lady, younger than the ad- 
 miral, and quite pleased with the honors which her hus- 
 band every-where received. Coming by sea, he was thus 
 enabled to reciprocate the courtesies received, by enter-tain- 
 ing the Russians on his ship. He or Captain Fox had on 
 board Lieutenant McKee, a Kentuckian, the son of my 
 friend. Col. W. R. McKee, who fell gloriously at Buena 
 Vista, at the head of his regiment. This true son of his 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 413 
 
 father was killed in the Corean invasion; being the first to 
 mount the walls of a fort, and to spring into the midst of 
 the enemy, where he met certain death. 
 
 When the attempt was made upon the life of the Em- 
 peror, Prince Suwarrow, the son of the General Suwarrow 
 of the first Napoleon's time, was Governor-General of St. 
 Petersburg. He was a man of great stature, and very 
 amiable and popular. But it was thought that he wqs not 
 up to the occasion; for the assassin escaped for the time 
 being, although finally detected and executed. This was 
 no doubt the beginning of the Nihilistic movement. But 
 as little is said about these things in Russia, I was left 
 to conjecture. Count Bergh, General, Field-Marshal, and 
 Governor- General of Poland, was sent for, and I suppose 
 put in charge of bringing the assassin to punishment. I 
 was anxious to see again this eminent man, whose ac- 
 quaintance I first made in 1861. I called upon him, and 
 he returned my visit. He was entertained by a grand 
 court ball, where thousands were suppered. There was a 
 dais on which the imperial family sat; whilst tables through 
 several apartments were laid for the guests. There was 
 an immense flattened vase of China, which was covered 
 with rare exotic flowers ; and other great display was made. 
 The Governor-General had the first place of honor on the 
 occasion, supping with the Czar and the Empress. Such 
 is the policy of Russia, which makes the military the 
 highest rank, next to the sovereign himself and his im- 
 mediate family. There are several princes and counts 
 Mouravieff,* one of whom was once Governor-General of 
 
 « LETTER OF THE COUNT MOURAVIEFF, VICEROY OF POLAND, 1863. 
 
 Monsieur: — Une indisposition subite me prive du plaisir d'ac- 
 cepter votre amiable invitation pour demain. Je vous prie de croire 
 k mes regrets sinceres, et d'agreer I'assurance d'un parfait estime, et 
 de ma haute consideration. N. Mouravieff- Amousky.* 
 
 * This was the Governor-General who said, in giving a. friend a letter of intro- 
 duction to me, that I had more influence with the Emperor than any foreigner in the 
 empire. — C, 1885. 
 
414 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Siberia, and another was distinguished in the Polish re- 
 volt. 
 
 The Governor- General Bergh, Viceroy of Poland, how- 
 ever, was a man of middle age, with marked, sharp feat- 
 ures, intellectual and full of thought, a quick glance, and 
 imposing manner. His office in Poland has subjected him 
 to much odium in Europe. But it was no child's play; 
 and men are not to be pelted down from yEsop's apple- 
 tree with tufts of grass! 
 
 Suwarrow was blamed for not throwing a guard at 
 once around the summer-garden, and taking prisoner every 
 man in it. Such was the course which Bergh said, I am 
 told, ought to have been taken. That afterward seemed 
 obvious; but it takes a cool, shrewd man, at such a cri- 
 sis, to meet the issues. Suwarrow was superseded in his 
 command ; but he held, I believe, the nominal leadership, 
 whilst its powers were placed in the hands of General 
 Theodore Trepoff, Bergh's friend, who had also been 
 schooled in Poland. He was, after I left, killed by the 
 Nihilists. But Suwarrow, though retained in the favor, 
 and in the suite of the Emperor, seemed never to recover 
 his spirits; and his daughter, who spoke English perfectly, 
 said to me in a conversation something about her "poor 
 pa," which was a revelation of how these events affected 
 his happiness. 
 
 After these occurrences a dinner was given me by the 
 corporate powers of Moscow. My Albany speech of 1863 
 had been translated, as I said, into the Russian language, 
 and widely distributed over the empire. The World's Fair 
 at London showed the Russians much farther advanced in 
 manufactures than was generally supposed. In silver and 
 gold-work, in jewelry, in iron and steel-work, and many 
 other things, they were equal to, if not ahead of, other 
 nations. In leather-making and manufactures of leather, 
 especially, they were eminent. 
 
 A large class of manufacturers was aggregated about 
 Moscow. Now, as England, notwithstanding Charles 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 415 
 
 Francis Adams's vaunted diplomacy, was our worst enemy 
 in the world, I sought out how I might most injure her. 
 I had all my life been a tariff man, under Henry Clay's 
 lead; and during all my late Democratic schooling have 
 not ventured into the deep waters of free trade. Russia, 
 with her immense lands and resources, and great popula- 
 tion, was a fine field for British manufactures ; and she 
 had made the most of it. I procured the works of H. 
 C. Carey, of Philadelphia, and presented them to the for- 
 eign office, and to the Emperor himself. So that it began 
 to be understood that I was the friend of home-industry — 
 the "Russian system." I encouraged the introduction of 
 American arms, sewing machines, and all that, as far as I 
 could; the mining of petroleum, and its manufacture; and 
 got the United States to form a treaty preventing the vio- 
 lation of trade-marks in the commerce of the two nations. 
 So, when I was inyited to Moscow, it was intimated that a 
 tariff speech would be quite acceptable. 
 
 They got up a magnificent dinner ; and, with the Amer- 
 ican and Russian flags over my head, I made a regular 
 tariff speech. It was translated into Russian as I spoke, 
 and received immense applause. It was also put in Rus- 
 sian newspapers, and in pamphlet form circulated in thou- 
 sands all over the empire. This touched England in the 
 tenderest spot; and, whilst Sir Andrew Buchanan and lady 
 were too well bred to speak of it, one of the attaches was 
 less discreet, and showed how much I threatened British 
 trade. This dinner was photographed at the time, and 
 several copies given me, one of which now hangs in my 
 homestead. I found out that the arguments which I had 
 made for long years in the South, in favor of free labor 
 and manufactures, as co-factors, was well understood in 
 Russia; and, since emancipation and education have taken 
 a new projectile force, railroads and manufactures have the 
 same propulsion, as is now exhibited in the "Solid South." 
 Moscow, the ancient capital of the czars, and where 
 they are yet crowned, contains about 600,000 people. 
 
4l6 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 being but little less in population than St. Petersburg, 
 the present seat of government. It lies upon the Mos- 
 kwa, or Moskva, River, in a fine, undulating, agricultural 
 region, very similar to Central Kentucky, and I think on 
 limestone rock. The city is one of the most picturesque 
 in the world; even the exaggerated burning of 1812 not 
 having changed the streets, which, like some of those of 
 Boston, seemed to have followed the original cow-paths. 
 The streets, so irregular, are yet more noted for their 
 varied architecture, of different ages and different degrees 
 of wealth, and ornamental structure ; so unlike St. Peters- 
 burg, which, as the City of Mexico, is uniform in its 
 streets and buildings. In addition to the public buildings 
 of a secular kind, there are three hundred and seventy 
 churches of elaborate ornamental style, with tin and cop- 
 per and gold roofs, and of many colors. But the most 
 interesting part is the Kremlin, where the palace is situ- 
 ated, and other ancient and modern structures. 
 
 The city of Moscow was formerly well fortified, with a 
 wall all around; but, since the use of fire-arms, the wall 
 being, as then constructed, no protection, it has been neg- 
 lected. So there remains only the wall around the Krem- 
 lin, which covers a triangular space, resting on the Moskwa 
 River, this wall being seven thousand two hundred and fifty 
 feet in extent. These walls are now kept in their antique 
 form, though of no use against modern artillery. 
 
 But the limits of these Memoirs admonishes me to be 
 brief; and I conclude by saying that there is much to be 
 seen and admired here, especially the magnificent palace. 
 The famous cathedral bell is here; and through the broken 
 place a man can enter it walking upright. The whole 
 height of the bell is over seventeen feet. This is a fine 
 agricultural region ; and here are bred the famous Russian 
 horses of the Orloff breed, the finest carriage-horses in 
 the world. 
 
 W. L. Winans, the American millionaire, who owns a 
 palace at Brighton, England, knowing I was a Kentuckian, 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 417 
 
 and much used to horses, which are there the finest racers 
 in the world, invited me to go with him to Moscow. As it 
 was a pleasant trip, and I could see something of the peo- 
 ple and the country, I accepted his invitation, and saw nluch 
 of the country-life of the middle classes, among whom we 
 were received with great hospitality. These Orloffs are 
 seen always in St. Petersburg ; and a winter sleigh (belong- 
 ing to me,) with the Emperor, driver and horse, painted from 
 life by their best animal-artist, Swaitchcofif, has in it a dap- 
 ple gray, which, with the black, are the common colors. 
 
 They keep a stud-book, and the pedigree is ancient, 
 and well guarded against adulteration. Winans bought 
 five pairs of horses, paying as high as 3,000 rubles a pair. 
 These he drove on the fashionable road from Brighton to 
 London ; and he told me they were the finest and swiftest 
 goers on the route, a fact that much astonished John Bull. 
 It is true our fast trotters can beat them ; but I think no 
 horses of the same heavy weight can rival them in speed 
 and beauty. The breed should be imported to this country. 
 
 Vol. I. — 27 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Russian Habits Religion and Humanity. — " Russian Cruelties." — The 
 
 Grand Dukes Constantine and Nicholas. — A scene at the private 
 
 THEATER OF THE PRINCESS D'ItALIE-SUWARROW. — COMPARATIVE COURAGE. — 
 
 Gen. U. S. Grant. — Letter of Gen. Edward M. McCook. — Gen. John A. 
 Rawlins. — How I lost the favor of Her Majesty the Empress. — Prince 
 Alexander Dolgorouki enlightens me. — Her Imperial Majesty's Portrait. 
 
 THE whole of St. Petersburg, in the winter, as I said, 
 is in clubs. There are clubs of every class of peo- 
 ple, rich and poor, in which men and women promenade, 
 play at cards, dance, and eat and drink. The clubs of the 
 first nobility are not so much frequented as those of the 
 medium and poorer classes, as they are so much engaged 
 in the theaters and private and public balls there is little 
 time for club-life. But what is called the minor or petite 
 nobility, and the mercantile and laboring classes in most 
 handicrafts, have their clubs full every night. 
 
 The higher classes bet high at cards in private houses, 
 and much is lost and won. Some people of high rank 
 invite guests and entertain them handsomely, with a view 
 to win money. So at Baden, formerly no people, men 
 and women, bet higher than the Russians. At all private 
 parties middle-aged men and women play at cards; whilst 
 the younger ones dance. They rarely drink to excess. In 
 public, to be seen drunk is a disgrace; and any drunkard 
 of any class is immediately taken in charge by the police. 
 But in private the best people are fond of a quiet party 
 of similar tastes, where much champagne — the favorite 
 drink — is consumed. 
 
 In Moscow I was entertained by the young nobility. 
 The supper was elaborate, and all very dignified till the 
 champagne began to flow freely, when a gentleman (for 
 418 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 419 
 
 the rooms in winter are kept at about 65°,) said to me : 
 "General, would you object to our taking off our coats?" 
 I said: "No, sir;" and, suiting the action to the word, I 
 took off my own. They, all much pleased, then took off 
 their coats. At such times, unlike Americans, they never 
 quarrel ; though Russians are quick to resent an insult if 
 it is intended. 
 
 The duello is forbidden by law, especially in the army, 
 yet fights take place in private; when, if the parties are 
 only wounded, they are supposed to have taken a tour 
 abroad. If they, one or more, are killed, then conceal- 
 ment is not possible. The Russians are inveterate smok- 
 ers, but they never chew or spit; and I have never seen 
 women, of any class, use tobacco in any form. But the 
 ladies are fond of stimulants, if properly disguised; and, 
 having a large silver bowl, a punch which I introduced 
 was quite a celebrated thing in polite circles, and I was 
 often asked for the recipe. 
 
 In the country and the family, the cooking is not very 
 different from our own. Very young pigs, roasted or 
 boiled, are quite a favorite dish; and the small Alderney 
 cattle, poor in winter, but quickly fattened in the long sum- 
 mer days, are very choice beef-makers. They make, also, 
 the old Virginia chicken or beef pies, which are excellent. 
 
 In the large cities the bread is as fine as in Paris, 
 made of white-wheat flour. But the best bread I ever 
 ate was in the cities of Mexico and of Moscow, being in 
 both places generally made by Germans. In Moscow and 
 St. Petersburg the Russians are also good bread-makers. 
 The reason of this excellence is, no doubt, the fine wheat, 
 which is raised in both countries. 
 
 The Russians, like the Romans, have their ante-pran- 
 dium. In passing to dinner, you come upon a table 
 where are set caviar — the eggs of the sturgeon of the 
 great rivers — sardines, fine cheese, pickles, white and 
 black bread, etc. Dinner among the first classes is 
 French, and the same as in Paris. When oysters are 
 
420 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 used, they are set, in the shell, on the plates of each 
 guest, before or after they are seated. Then comes soup, 
 and so on; the courses coming in succession, and more 
 or less elaborate, according to the grandeur of the occa- 
 sion. At very elegant dinners, vases of natural flowers 
 are set on the table. On one pccasion, when I had a 
 dinner of twelve of the most distinguished persons I 
 could get together, I had, in addition to the central 
 flowers, a full-bloomed hyacinth in a fine French-china 
 vase of suitable size at each plate ; and for this innovation 
 I received many compliments. 
 
 At the same dinner I had a band of thirty musicians 
 in a rear room, which was larger than usual even in the 
 houses of the rich. Of course my limited salary would 
 not allow me to do this thing often ; but, to make an 
 Irish bull, to keep up with fashionable society, you must 
 go ahead of them! At other times I lived very econom- 
 ically, as my wants were few and not expensive; and I 
 made much money by speculating in Missouri and United 
 States stocks. 
 
 So far as I could learn, I was the first American min- 
 ister that ever attempted to entertain general society. 
 John Randolph went home in the same ship which bore 
 him to St. Petersburg. The other ministers, either dis- 
 satisfied with the climate, or discouraged by the great ex- 
 pense, where there was so much wealth and display, were 
 content to lead a quiet life. When I gave my first gen 
 eral ball, there was quite an effort to get an invitation. 
 I was told afterward that many wanted to go out of curi- 
 osity. When they found that I had more wines and 
 drinks than were ever before seen at a party there, as 
 well as oysters, which all like, in great abundance, and 
 other rare things, they were astonished. As I said be- 
 fore, it costs no more to have all the celebrated wines 
 and cordials of the world than to have but one. So much 
 only will be drunk; and wrhat is left over will keep, and 
 be used again. In fact, they all will not cost so much ; 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. ■ 42 1 
 
 for most persons will touch them lightly, and thus spare 
 much expense, whilst, if they enter at once upon cham- 
 pagne, which they like, they drink a great deal. 
 
 The Russians may be said to be heavy eaters. The 
 climate allows, and their active habits, winter and sum- 
 mer, leave but little room for indigestion. Hence I think 
 the physique of the Russian nobles, men and women, is 
 the finest in Europe. 
 
 On one occasion an officer of the Guards had married, 
 a lady of New York. The army was in summer-quarters, 
 near the naval grounds below the city, on the Neva, 
 where good substantial buildings were made for the offi- 
 cers, whilst the soldiers were in tents. I was invited out, 
 but no women were present. The officers were for "a 
 bender;" and several of the imperial family were present. 
 After dining in a common hall, they adjourned to the 
 shade-trees to smoke, and the drinking continued. I 
 asked permission to give a few rubles to the soldiers, 
 which was allowed. I handed over fifty rubles, as it was 
 an international affair. The soldiers came up in mass; 
 and, seizing me, sent me up like the boys would a bull- 
 frog on a board. It seemed as if I never would stop; 
 and, at all events, would be dashed to pieces on the re- 
 turn voyage. But they caught me; and, by closing up 
 ranks, avoided all chances of my being hurt. 
 
 After this ordeal was over, I had a harder road to 
 travel. They keep up the habit of ancient times, and 
 have a " Loving Drink-Cup." I have always been a tem- 
 perate man in eating and drinking. This cup seemed to 
 me to hold at least half a gallon. I had seen the thing 
 done before: as many as can get around fill the cup, 
 and hand it to you; and sing an unintelligible song till 
 you drink the last drop. To drink all this wine, though 
 the best champagne in Europe, threatened not only drunk- 
 enness, but death. I had rather have faced a cannon! 
 But what was I to do? No protestations were of any 
 avail. So I drank it down! I was drunk! I was taken 
 
422 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 to my room, under a cool shade, and waited upon by gen- 
 eral officers. They knew the ropes. There was no more 
 danger in a half-gallon than in a half-pint. We were 
 bound, sooner or later, to part company ; and I did not 
 care how soon. Then I went to sleep, and in an hour 
 or so woke up as fresh as ever. But I fought shy of such 
 entertainments after that. 
 
 The state religion is the Greek Church ; but the powers 
 of the Greek Pope of Constantinople are now centered in 
 the Czar. The forms are similar to the Catholic ; but more 
 humanitarian in many respects. The marriage of all but a 
 few of the highest dignitaries of the clergy ameliorates the 
 asceticism of isolation. 
 
 The Encyclopcedia Britannica, certainly good authority 
 in favor of Russia, says: "Generally, however, the Rus- 
 sian clergy, although zealous of their dignity, have not the 
 spiritual pride or priest-craft of the Roman Catholic order; 
 attributable, no doubt, in part, to the kindly national char- 
 acter, and, in part, to the humanizing influence of mar- 
 riage." Again: "There is, however, much genuine piety 
 to be met with ; . . . . donations, free-gifts, offerings, 
 and alms being liberally bestowed by both rich and poor. 
 There are no entrance-fees, no distinctions for great and 
 little, no pews, no reserved places in Russian churches. 
 The congregation stand. All are equal before God." 
 
 I quote this British authority in support of my assertion 
 elsewhere on the humanity of the Russian nation. For 
 these effects, or, rather, teachings, of the Church affect all 
 the relations of the social system. So I stand by my asser- 
 tion, in the face of so much world-wide calumny, that the 
 Russian is the most humane people in existence.* 
 
 ""RUSSIAN CRUELTIES." 
 Editor Kentucky Herald: — In your journal of December 12th is 
 a paper which is a type of the mali'gnant calumnies of the anti- 
 Russian press for a century or more. I lived in St. Petersburg 
 for nearly nine years, and made Russian life a study; mingling with 
 all classes for that purpose. I dined with the Emperor and imperial 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 423 
 
 There is one important reform, however, which begins, 
 I learn, to be made, and that is the holidays must be 
 diminished; for there, are too many lost days to labor, 
 and idleness too often brings more evil in its train than 
 good intentions from the reverence of the saints. The 
 Russian Government is, however, tolerant of all religions ; 
 and conquered peoples are left to their own religions and 
 social habits. All that is required is loyalty to the central 
 power. Hence Russian conquest is a civilizing assimila- 
 tion, and unlike the British, where the conqueror virtually 
 enslaves the conquered. After so many years the Rus- 
 sians subdued the Circassians, under Grand Duke Michael, 
 the brother of the Emperor, Alexander II. "Schimmel," 
 
 families, and took cabbage soup and black bread with the woodmen 
 who came from the interior on boats and rafts. Perhaps there is no 
 American living or dead who can speak with more authority than I 
 can on the real character of Russia. I believe that there is no more 
 charitable and humane nation on earth than Russia. I give the 
 proof. There are no deaths by absolute poverty in Russia as in 
 the great cities of Paris, London, New York, arid other European 
 cities. Besides the charitable asociations established by law, the 
 first nobles in Russia, men and women, yearly, by organized socie- 
 ties, collect funds by gifts, needle-work, and other methods, for 
 clothes, soup-houses, and bread, which is distributed all winter in 
 St. Petersburg; and such methods are pursued in other cities. 
 The infants that are drowned and thrown into sewers in Europe 
 and America are taken at a day old, if need be, and brought up 
 at the public expense in St. Petersburg, Moscow, and other cities. 
 These children, when grown up to a suitable age, are put to 
 service, and many make a generous living. Russia liberated her 
 slaves not by war, and gave them lands. America did neither. 
 I dined with the nephew of Prince Dolgorouki, Governor-General 
 of Moscow, Viceroy, and a liberated serf or slave was at the table 
 as a guest, and made the best dinner-speech on the occasion. 
 The Russians open all their pleasure-grounds, beside the public 
 parks, to the whole people. They never bar the gates and close 
 the doors against "the rabble," as in England and America. In 
 the summer the yards are open and the windows without blinds, 
 that the humblest peasants may see and hear the music. On all 
 
424 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 which means Samuel, and indicates him to be of Jewish 
 origin, was take prisoner, with his two sons. He him- 
 self was kept nominally in prison |pounds, but it was the 
 bounds of the empire ; whilst his two sons, both of whom 
 I knew, were put upon the Emperor's staff. All were as 
 happy, no doubt, as if they were in the rude rule of the 
 mountain barbarians. Thus Russia makes her whole popu- 
 lation solid in loyalty, and powerful in the civilization of 
 the great Asiatic Continent. 
 
 In the natural war for dominion between England and 
 Russia, every lover of humanity, Christianity, and civiliza- 
 tion must wish Russia God-speed. 
 
 Just outside of the fashionable circle, it is a custom 
 
 great occasions of a private nature, all the poor are feasted or 
 otherwise entertained by suitable means. In England and America 
 even house-servants are treated with contempt. The Russian no- 
 blemen speak kindly always to their inferiors; the English and 
 Americans out of the South rarely ever. The Russian Empire is 
 large and sparsely populated, so that the means of subsistence do 
 not at all press upon the increase of population. In the large 
 cities, as I said, no absolute suffering for the necessaries of life 
 is possible. 
 
 Now, as to prisons. There was at no time whilst I was in 
 Russia, so far as I know and believe, one equal in its infamy to 
 the Kentucky Penitentiary. And Governor Blackburn deserves not 
 denunciation, but eternal honor, for his manhood and philanthropy, 
 against the barbarous clamors of the press, for his reform. When 
 I was in St. Petersburg the cholera was several times in that city 
 of six hundred thousand, and there was no more sensation than 
 if the measles or whooping-cough prevailed. Every subject of the 
 disease was taken at once to wholesome hospitals, well attended; 
 and then, when convalescent, returned, without charge, to their 
 homes. The streets of St. Petersburg were an hundred times 
 cleaner than the streets, alleys, and back-yards of Richmond! 
 They never burn down the pest-houses in Russia as they did the 
 other day in Madison County, when small-pox prevailed. As to 
 prisons and Siberia, I am glad to have an opportunity to re- 
 fute some of the world-wide calumnies of the anti-Russian press. 
 Siberia is not so vile a country as the French penal colony of 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 425 
 
 after meals for each guest to kiss the hand of the hostess, 
 and thank her. And the children, before retiring at night, 
 kiss their parents affectionately. These are beautiful cus- 
 toms, and very humanizing in their effects ; and no where 
 is the family more closely united by affection than among 
 the Russians. This custom of kissing the hand prevails 
 to some extent in the highest society, where persons are 
 intimate. 
 
 By the Russian system the oldest brother takes com- 
 mand of the army, the first post of power in an autocratic 
 government; the next oldest takes command of the navy. 
 But the Emperor Nicholas, knowing Constantine's ambition, 
 and remembering that he had overthrown his own elder 
 brother, and taken the crown himself, it is said, feared to 
 give him the command of the army, but placed him in the 
 navy, where a revolt against the autocrat would be impo- 
 tent; and he put his second son, Nicholas, at the head 
 of the whole land-forces of the empire. Constantine was 
 under medium size, spare, and short-sighted, always wear- 
 Cayenne, nor the original Australia of England. Three Siberian- 
 born ladies married nobles in St. Petersburg — one the Prince Su- 
 warrow, the grandson of the Prince Suwarrow of Napoleon's 
 times. The other sisters married well — one an officer on the 
 staff of the Emperor. I have heard them speak of the "father- 
 land" as would a German. And these were the descendants of 
 Siberian exiles. I do not hesitate to say that, of all the people 
 I ever knew, the Russians are the most genial and hospitable. It 
 is true the ranks in Russia are very distinct and marked; but the 
 humane spirit of Russia thaws all coldness, breaks all conventional 
 barriers, and fuses the whole into one national feeling, as in no 
 other land. That is the reason that Russians never emigrate. 
 That is the reason of the invincible courage of the Russian army. 
 What calumniators call "stolidity" is unshaken and heroic patri- 
 otism. I could fill a book with similar proof, but I hold — 
 
 "Wad but some power the giftie gie us, 
 To see oursel's as ithers see us!" 
 
 C. M. Clay. 
 White Hall, Ky., December 14, 1883. 
 
426 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 ing eye-glasses, which gives any one a sinister look. He 
 took but little interest in the pastimes of society, and was 
 rather a looker-on than a participant. We always form in 
 our imagination some idea of noted characters in history, 
 and the head of the navy seemed the very Cataline him- 
 self. His short-sightedness gave greater rigidity to a face 
 already full of discontent and contempt of others; and his 
 isolation in all things, even riding alone in the streets with- 
 out servant or companion, but increased the public dread 
 and dislike of the man. 
 
 Of all the imperial family, he was the only one whom 
 I heard denounced. When the question of liberation of 
 the serfs was under discussion in the council, some one 
 mentioned the possible discontent of their masters, the 
 nobles; and he said, with great contempt, using the com- 
 mon phrase in Russia: "I spit upon the nobles." 
 
 Later, being made Viceroy of Poland, he named some 
 of his children after Polish celebrities, and projected a 
 separate empire, of which he was to be the autocrat. I 
 speak from rumor. Whether the Emperor was consenting 
 to the affair, with a view of getting rid of a troublesome 
 relative, whom his father had distrusted (for it is said 
 he made him take an oath not to conspire against his 
 brother), or not, it is certain a great clamor was quickly 
 raised against him, and he was recalled. For the pride 
 of Russia is especially set against loss of territory; and 
 Constantine was, of all men, the last to whom such favor 
 was likely to be shown. 
 
 It was understood that the present Emperor, Alex- 
 ander III., was not friendly to him; and I hear that, since 
 the latter has been raised to the throne, Constantine has 
 taken up his residence in Paris. He was a man of ability; 
 and, if not of great wit, was the master of great sarcasm, 
 at least — amusing himself at the petty kingdoms of Ger- 
 many, in one of which he found his wife, who, as well as 
 her daughter, the present Queen of Greece, was noted for 
 her beauty. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 427 
 
 The Grand Duke was a great friend ol the American 
 cause; and, no doubt, in conjunction with Gortchacow, 
 ably backed up the Emperor in our support. When Lee 
 surrendered near Richmond, his Imperial Highness sent 
 for me, and in great good glee congratulated me upon 
 our triumph, which all saw, of course, re-established the 
 Union upon a firmer ground than ever. As slavery was 
 eliminated, and Russia and America united upon a com- 
 mon basis of emancipation, of which the Grand Duke and 
 I might say, "Quorum pars magna fui," I was much 
 elated by this special compliment from the Emperor's 
 chief adviser. 
 
 The Grand Duke Nicholas was "a bird of a different 
 feather." He was very tall, and rather handsome in per- 
 son, with a face of great amiability. He was fond of 
 society ; and took all the delight of a school-boy in the 
 dances, and other pastimes in the Russian capital. He 
 was fond of the ballet, of horse-racing at the summer- 
 barracks, and all that. He was deservedly popular. But 
 he lacked the ability of his brothers Constantine and Mi- 
 chael, who was Governor-General of Circassia at Tiflis, as 
 his capital. 
 
 Poor Nicholas! he had a sad time during the Turkish 
 war; and his many disasters called my distinguished friend, 
 Ed. de Todleben, of Crimean fame, to the head of the 
 army in Turkey, who made quick work of overthrowing 
 the Turks. 
 
 It may be just to say here that it was neither Nicholas, 
 nor one of his sons, about whom some scandals were cir- 
 culated after I left Russia. 
 
 One night, at the private theater of the Princess 
 d'ltalie-Suwarrow's palace, a personage of whom I speak 
 more hereafter, most of the 6lite of St. Petersburg were 
 present. The Emperor, the Grand Dukes Constantine 
 and Nicholas, and other noted Russians, men and women, 
 were guests. I, too, was invited; and I sat just behind 
 the three personages above named, as I did behind Web- 
 
428 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 ster, on Boston Common in 1844. The princess had then 
 changed her name, by marriage, from that of her first 
 husband. Count Koucheleff, to Suwarrow her husband. 
 Prince d'ltalie and Count du Reminsk, now being on the 
 Emperor's staff. The prince, however, though a gentle- 
 man and a good fellow, was but the shadow of his better- 
 half, the princess. 
 
 Whilst all were expecting the opening of the amateur 
 melodrama, in which our hostess played the principal part, 
 a sudden noise, like the explosion of small pistols, was 
 heard as if under the stage, where the performers were 
 to appear. All were startled; but the imperial brothers — 
 all three — took to their heels, and disappeared for the 
 time. The audience, however, kept their seats; and thus, 
 by the nonchalance of those who sat nearest the point of 
 supposed danger, among whom I was then about the near- 
 est, the panic subsided, and no rush was made, and no 
 loss of liihb or life ensued, as is the ordinary result in such 
 crowds. 
 
 For my part I deserved no great credit; for I saw at 
 once what was the matter. Candles are used altogether 
 in the houses of the wealthy in Russia; and the princess, 
 to warm and light so large a building, had used steam 
 and gas, and the condensation in the tubes produced the 
 crackling sound. The Emperor and brothers, however, 
 soon returned ; and the play proceeded. 
 
 Now, when Webster scolded Prof. Fowler for eulogiz- 
 ing Henry Clay, I thought that he felt unworthy rivalry; 
 and when I found myself superior in courage, or self- 
 sacrifice, to the sovereign heads of a great empire, I 
 could not for the moment but feel some contempt for 
 gentlemen who, for their self-preservation, had jeopard- 
 ized the lives of many fine women and men. Especially, 
 if the Emperor, the life of the empire, was to be saved at 
 all hazards, I did not see that the head of the army should 
 also take to his heels! 
 
 But I afterward changed my opinion, when I learned 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 429 
 
 that General Grant* retreated within the fire of his gun- 
 boats, leaving his shattered regiments to be driven into 
 the Tennessee, as the Federals were at Ball's Bluff, there 
 to be drowned as blind kittens. Fortunately, however, 
 the gallant Buell and Nelson came up, and drove the 
 Confederates back in utter route, after the death of Albert 
 Sidney Johnston (he who so gallantly put a stop to my 
 foolish duel with Wickliffe), and who had proved himself 
 the greatest of the rebel generals. Then Grant, gather- 
 ing up such fragments of broken regiments as he could 
 
 * Those who read this book will see that I have omitted many 
 hard things previously published by me against U. S. Grant. As 
 an honorable man, not to say a greatly injured man, and, more 
 yet, as a patriotic man, I have had to say hard things against 
 Grant. But my feelings toward him have changed. I now be- 
 lieve him to have been, while President of the United States, 
 greatly the victim of baser men; and, therefore, do him the jus- 
 tice to append the following public letter of Edward M. McCook, 
 that, in a spirit of fair play, my readers may have something on 
 the other side. But I regard it as an unhappy thing that, after 
 his death, there appeared in the roll of the "One Hundred" — 
 though low down on that roll — his worst enemy, the Immortal 
 Fish. — C, 1885. 
 
 Washington Correspondence of Cincinnati Commercial-Gazette, 
 
 Washington, July 24. — Gen. E. M. McCook, the well-known 
 and distinguished cavalry officer, has always been a near friend of 
 General Grant. He has sent the following communication to a 
 friend : 
 
 "The first time I met General Grant was three days before the 
 battle of Shiloh, when he was in the prime of his manhood, and on 
 the threshold of his future greatness; the last time I met him was 
 after a great disaster had brought sorrow to himself and those dear- 
 est to him, and when disease had made its first assault upon his iron 
 frame. It was then, when speaking of the glories of the past, the 
 misfortunes of the present, and the darkness of the future, he bowed 
 his noble head, and from his great heart was wrung this cry: 'Ah! 
 General, General, there are some things worse than death.' 
 
 "Now that Grant is dead, the world will begin to study his 
 career and appreciate his greatness. Commanding more men than 
 
43° MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPJSECHES 
 
 find, rushed to the front; and, according to his own ac- 
 count (in the Century Magazine), when he got within 
 gun-shot range, halted till his troops could pass, and see 
 the coat-tails of the flying rebels. 
 
 It is true that Napoleon, at Lodi, thought there was 
 a time when the chief should fight and die, if need be ; 
 but Grant and Nicholas thought the chiefs should survive 
 for all time, and at all sacrifices. 
 
 any leader of modern times, it can be truly said of him that he 
 never lost a pitched battle; and, though sometimes repulsed or 
 checked, finally fought his way to the results he intended to achieve. 
 Grant's military knowledge and skill have sometimes been ques- 
 tioned by critics more accustomed to unsheath the pen than the 
 sword; but .Belmont, Fort Henry, and Donelson proved that the 
 Army of the West had a bold, decided, and fortunate leader, and 
 the Government had at last found a General who could win vic- 
 tories, and bring back to the despairing heart of the Nation courage 
 and hope. Then followed the remarkable campaign in which, in 
 less than twenty days, he fought five battles, defeated two armies, 
 captured eighty-eight pieces of artillery, and killed, wounded, and 
 made prisoners more than thirteen thousand rebels, and concluded 
 it all with the capture of Vicksburg, with its garrisons and muni- 
 tions of war; then, after Chattanooga, he was made Commander-in- 
 Chief of all the armies, and the wisdom of the ' crushing policy ' he 
 adopted was demonstrated when Lee surrendered the wreck of his 
 army at Appomattox, and the fate of the Nation passed from the 
 arms of the soldiers into the hands of the politicians. 
 
 "I think that had Grant, who was destitute of political ambi- 
 tion, been permitted by his advisers to inaugurate a policy which 
 his sense of justice and kindness of heart dictated, a thorough and 
 cordial political union between the North and South would have 
 been much less remote than it is now. I have said that I thought 
 him to a great degree destitute of political ambition. The evening 
 before his inauguration Gen. George H. Thomas and myself called 
 at Gen. Grant's house; and, after talking over the war and its inci- 
 dents, Gen. Thomas, just before leaving, said: 'Well, Grant, how 
 do you feel about leaving the old army, and being inaugurated 
 President to-morrow?' The reply of the President-elect was: *Just 
 as though I was going into prison for four years.' 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 43 I 
 
 When the Emperor returned, the play proceeded ; and 
 the princess, in night-dress of mysterious and sacred text- 
 ure, with her long, rich hair loosened and nearly touching 
 the floor, in the role of a somnambulist, was a vision to 
 be remembered, — if not forever, certainly much longer 
 than Charlotte Cushman as Lady Macbeth! 
 
 , Whilst yet in Russia, before I had any idea that Gen, 
 Grant would be the President of the United States, and 
 
 "So many elaborate sketches of the career of General Grant 
 have been published in the press of the country, that I could add 
 nothing except in the way of personal re.niniscences. I saw much 
 of him both while he led our armies and after he became Presi- 
 dent, and I believe history has recorded no character more perfect 
 in its symmetry. Grant has been compared to Napoleon. In his. 
 soldierly qualities, yes; but one was an adventurer, who fought for 
 empire, and whose genius crowned his ambition with a success 
 which left the world no better; the other a citizen, who emerged 
 from poverty, and by the magic of his genius, and the might of 
 his sword, cemented a Union which can never again be broken, 
 and freed a race which can never again be enslaved. The most 
 conspicuous figure in the world for a generation. Grant's nature 
 remained simple and modest as a child's. Wielding a greater 
 power over the Nation than any man since the days of Washing- 
 ton, that power was unselfishly used only for the good of the peo- 
 ple ; and with the vanquished at his feet, and the victors at his call, 
 all he asked of both was ' Let us have peace. ' 
 
 "There have been none in this land over whose sickness so 
 many have prayed with the tenderness of a great love. His 
 patience in suffering touched the hearts of all. He faced death 
 as he had faced all things in life, with dignity and courage; and, 
 when at last the end came, he went to sleep like a tired child, 
 and from the summit of those grand and solemn mountains, hal- 
 lowed by the memories of our fathers' struggles for liberty, the 
 great soul of our hero passed into the beyond, believing that, if 
 there has been errors in his life, the tears of a sorrowing Nation 
 would wipe them forever from the memory of men, and blot them 
 out from the book of God. 
 
 Edward M. McCook." 
 
432 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 therefore before I had been refused the compliment of re- 
 cognition or rejection of my services to the Nation by him, 
 a friend of mine proposed to send me some of his photo- 
 graphs for myself and family; but I absolutely refused, 
 although the offer was made by a lady. The reason was 
 that I had formed an unfavorable estimate of Grant as a 
 general and as a statesman. I regarded his aide-de-camp 
 and chief-of-staff, Rawlins, as his source of success; as 
 well as tlie known military talent of his lieutenants, Sher- 
 man, Thomas, Buell, Wallace, Mead, etc. Time has 
 proved this estimate correct; and now, with his own 
 Memoirs before the public, it must be fully established in 
 the judgment of all competent and impartial men. 
 
 The best short account of Gen. John A. Rawlins which 
 I have ever read is given by Gen. James Harrison Wilson, 
 in his "Reminiscences of General Grant," in the October, 
 1885, Century Magazine ; and which, supporting as it does 
 my belief that his death, in September, 1869, was a serious 
 loss to General Grant at a most important period in his 
 career, I take the liberty of copying, as follows : 
 
 ' ' Rawlins was a man of extraordinary ability and force of char- 
 acter; entirely self-made and self-educated. When he was twenty- 
 three years of age he was burning charcoal for a living. By the 
 meager gains from this humble calling he had paid his way through 
 the academy, where he had acquired most of his education. He 
 had studied and practiced law, rising rapidly in his profession, and 
 acquiring a solid reputation for ability, as a pleader and as a pub- 
 lic speaker. He had come to be a leader of the Douglas wing 
 of the Democratic Party, and was a candidate for the Electoral 
 College on that ticket in i860, before he had reached his thirtieth 
 year. Immediately after the rebels fired upon Sumter, he made 
 an impassioned and eloquent speech at Galena, in which he de- 
 clared for the doctrine of coercion, and closed with the following 
 stirring peroration: 
 
 '"I have been a Democrat all my life; but this is no longer a question of 
 politics. It is simply union or disunion; country or no country. I have favored 
 every honorable compromise; but the day for compromise is past. Only one course 
 is left for us. We will stand by the flag of our country, and appeal to the God 
 of Battles ! ' 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 433 
 
 "Among the audience was Ulysses S. Grant, late Captain 
 Fourth United States Infantry, but then a clerk in his father's 
 Galena leather-store. He was not a politician, still less a partisan; 
 but he had hitherto called himself a Democrat, and had cast his 
 only presidential vote four years before for James Buchanan. He 
 had listened attentively to Rawlins's speech, and had been deeply 
 impressed by it, and by the manly bearing of the orator, with 
 whom he had already formed an acquaintance; and that night, on 
 his way home, he declared himself in favor of the doctrine of 
 coercion, telling a friend that he should at once offer his services 
 to the Government through the Adjutant-General of the army. 
 The story of his fruitless efforts to secure recognition at first, and 
 of his final success in getting into the volunteer army through 
 Governor Yates, who appointed him Colonel of the Twenty-First 
 Illinois Infantry, is well known, and needs no repetition here; 
 but it is not so well known that, the very first day after Grant's 
 assignment by seniority to the command of a brigade, he wrote 
 to Rawlins, and offered him the place oi aide-de-camp on his staff; 
 or that, with equal promptitude, after receiving notice, only a few 
 days later, of his appointment as a Brigadier-General, he wrote 
 again to Rawlins, offering him the position of Assistant Adjutant- 
 General, with the rank of Captain. 
 
 ' ' When it is remembered that Rawlins was, at that time, not 
 only entirely ignorant of every thing pertaining to military affairs, 
 but had never even seen a company of artillery, cavalry, or in- 
 fantry, it will be admitted at once that he must have had other 
 very marked qualities to commend him so strongly to a profes- 
 sional soldier, and this was indeed the case. , 
 
 "Having been a politician himself, Rawlins knew many of the 
 leading public men from Illinois and the north-west; and, being a 
 lawyer, he had carefully studied the relations between the States 
 and the General Government, and had arrived at clear and decided 
 notions in reference to the duties of the citizen toward both. He 
 was a man of the most ardent patriotism, with prodigious energy 
 of both mind and body; of severely upright conduct, rigid morals, 
 and most correct principles. He was not long in learning either 
 the duties of his own station, or the general principles of army 
 organization; and, what is still more important, he also learned, 
 with the promptitude of one having a true genius for war, the 
 essential rules of the military art, so that he became from the 
 start an important factor in all matters concerning his chief, whether 
 
 Vol. I.— 28 
 
434 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 personal or official, and was recognized as such by Grant, as well 
 as by all the leading officers in the army with which he was con- 
 nected. 
 
 "He did not hesitate, when occasion seemed to call for it, to 
 express his opinion upon all questions concerning Grant, the army 
 he was commanding, or the pubHc welfare; and this he did in 
 language so forcible, and with arguments so sound, that he never 
 failed to command attention and respect, and rarely ever failed in 
 the end to see his views adopted. It can not be said that Grant 
 was accustomed to take formal counsel with Rawlins; but, owing 
 to circumstances of a personal nature, and to the fearless and inde- 
 pendent character of the latter, this made but little difference to him. 
 Grant himself was a stickler neither for etiquette nor ceremony; 
 whilst Rawlins never permitted either to stand between him and 
 the performance of what he considered to be a duty. Grant was 
 always willing to listen; and, even if he had not been, he could 
 not well have failed to hear the stentorian tones in which Rawlins 
 occasionally thought it necessary to impart his views to a staff or 
 general officer, so that all within ear-shot might profit thereby. 
 
 ' ' I never knew Grant to resent the liberties taken by Rawlins, 
 and they were many ; but, on the contrary, their personal intimacy, 
 although strained at times, and perhaps finally in some degree 
 irksome to Grant, remained unbroken to the end of the war, and 
 indeed up to the date of RawUns's death, in 1869. When the 
 history of the Great Rebellion shall have been fully written, it will 
 appear that this friendship was alike creditable to both and bene- 
 ficial to the country, and that Rawlins was, as stated by Grant 
 himself, 'more nearly indispensable to him than any other man in 
 the army.' Indeed, nothing is more certain than that he was 
 altogether indispensable; and that he was a constant and most im- 
 portant factor in all that concerned Grant, either personally or 
 officially, and contributed more to his success at every stage of 
 his military career than any or all other officers or influences com- 
 bined." 
 
 Whilst Rawlins lived, Grant either held his tongue, or 
 spoke a few but wise words. Far different was it after 
 Rawlins's death. 
 
 How I committed my first breach of etiquette I have 
 already written, but this brought me into nearer sympathy 
 with the Empress. She was a most lovely woman, men- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 435 
 
 tally or morally, if you please, but very delicate in health, 
 with a sad and uneasy but interesting expression of feat- 
 ures. She, no doubt, had not found the imperial crown 
 unmixed — the thorns, perhaps, being more prevalent than 
 the roses. She was loved by everybody, however; and 
 devoted her whole life to her children and to charity. She 
 set her face against all irregularities in society, as far as 
 she was able; being in faith and practice a truly pious 
 woman. The whole imperial family are all hedged about 
 by walls of dignity and reserve, which must be very irk- 
 some to all the females of that high position ; so that 
 "uneasy lies the head that wears a crown" is not confined 
 to the chief alone, but is shared by all his family. How 
 often have I seen the deep expression of ennui and re- 
 pugnance with which these unfortunate women entered, 
 bearing all their gorgeous dresses and jewels, into the 
 usual formalities of state ^parade ! How often could I say 
 for them, without fear of error: Oh! that we could have 
 done with this vain show, this unreality and pretense ! 
 Oh! that we could escape to some quiet nook of all 
 lovely nature, there to live with those only who love us, 
 unseen of hateful, impertinent eyes! — living for ourselves 
 alone ! — " forgetting and forgot ! " 
 
 The Empress took occasion often to converse with me, 
 as much as propriety would, perhaps, allow. I am sure I 
 had her respectful friendship, which I much prized, and 
 was sorry to lose. She gave me her photograph, that of 
 the Emperor, and all her children, which I yet hold as 
 heir-looms in my family. 
 
 Now there were in society three or four women more 
 prominent than others, and among them the Princess 
 Louise Suwarrow, of whom I have just spoken. She was 
 a native of Siberia, and for her beauty was married to the 
 Count Koucheleff, of one of the wealthiest and most an- 
 cient families of Russia. She had a marble palace on 
 the Neva, and was a widow when I came to St. Peters- 
 burg. She afterward married the Prince d'ltalie-Suwar- 
 
436 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 row, son of the Governor-General of St. Petersburg. This 
 woman was not so lovely in features as attractive in man- 
 ners; though she would have been considered a beauty 
 any where. Her face was regular and plastic, with very 
 large and languishing blue eyes ; whilst her hair was only 
 rivalled in length and luxuriance by the women of Toluca. 
 She was used to entertaining the imperial family in her 
 private palace and theater; and the most distinguished 
 people of St. Petersburg sought her acquaintance. I knew 
 her intimately, and was proud to be numbered with her 
 friends. She was one of the twelve whom I dined on one 
 occasion, as I have before said. 
 
 One day I was invited by the Emperor to Czarsko 
 Selo. This was one of the principal summer-resorts of 
 the imperial family, and was quite a village ; and the cus- 
 tom is for most of the nobles to accompany the Czar, and 
 there spend the summer. These grounds are very exten- 
 sive — eighteen miles in circumference — with great forests, 
 shrubbery, and lakes intermixed. The Princess Suwarrow 
 was also domiciled there with her husband, the prince, who 
 was on the staff of the Emperor. It so happened that the 
 Emperor sent me to ride in his carriage, with two liveried 
 servants, the driver and footman, as was usual. Such 
 livery all the world knew. By mere accident the Princess 
 Suwarrow was, with one female attendant and several of 
 her footmen in livery, rowing in a light boat over the lake. 
 As I drove up I stopped the carriage, and, at her request, 
 took a seat with her in the boat. St. Petersburg is so 
 near the pole, 60° North, that a small blast from thence 
 will often in a very short time bring on a rain ; so that 
 most persons, especially the military officers, wear their 
 overcoats all summer. Madame Suwarrow, at all events, 
 had not anticipated a rain ; and was dressed very lightly, 
 as it was midsummer. She had not even brought any 
 wraps, and I had none in the carriage. So, what was to 
 be done? I told her to take her companion into the car- 
 riage, let her men return on foot, and to drive home; and 
 
Fti^-^t^ V.'"WeU^Moa &■- vjKT 
 
 MARIE, EMPRESS 
 OF PJJSSIA 
 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 437 
 
 I would find shelter under the trees till the carriage re- 
 turned. This she seemed quite reluctant to do; but at 
 length got in and drove off. I remained under the trees 
 till the carriage returned, when I went back to the palace. 
 Now, I did what any born gentleman would do; and I 
 would do so again. But I had violated etiquette; and 
 the public had seen the princess in the Emperor's car- 
 riage, driving home, and no reason was given, or possi- 
 ble, of course. But such is the misfortune of an au- 
 tocracy, that no explanation of adverse circumstances is 
 possible. And I should never have suspected the cause 
 of the Empress's displeasure if Prince Alexander Dolgo- 
 rouki had not asked me about it, as we were intimate ; 
 and when, for the first time, I was made aware that a 
 scandal had been the result of my gallantry to a woman 
 in danger of her health, and which danger could only be 
 avoided by taking the carriage. We were at no time in 
 the carriage together. I saw that the prince took my ex- 
 planation in good part, and believed in my sincerity; but 
 he smiled in a sad way, which as much as said: "It's all 
 over with you! " 
 
 This is a frank and true account of an affair which my 
 enemies seized hold of in America to injure me ; and was 
 the foundation, no doubt, of the calumnies put forth in all 
 the New York Republican journals in one day from Wash- 
 ington, when I would no longer act with the party. But 
 the Empress never forgave me, and was ever after re- 
 served. Thus in the two instances, in which I acted in 
 the most humane and conscientious manner, I reaped the 
 fruits which only belong to evil-doers! So virtue and vice 
 seem to march with equal power in the wake of Fate! 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Madame Grimski Corsikoff. — Prince Gortchacovv, with Portrait. — My esti- 
 mate OF his fine character. — His letter to me on the fall of Rich- 
 mond. — The new Union of the States. — Austria's reason for disliking 
 the success of the Federal arms. — Her position among the Powers. — 
 Reflections on the eventual condition o.' Europe. — Destiny of Eng- 
 land. — German Beer-Gardens. — Souvenirs. — Photogra,phs 
 
 A WOMAN who was, for a while, quite a sensation 
 in St. Petersburg was Madame Grimski Corsikoff. 
 One night at a great ball I saw, for the first time, where 
 beauty is so common in high life, a lady who at once 
 commanded attention. She was above ordinary size, with 
 sloping shoulders, rounded arms and waist sufficiently 
 large, and a bust which would rival the finest Greek 
 statues. Her hair was a dark auburn and luxuriant, such 
 as always attends the finest health ; and she was as 
 ruddy as a rose-bud. * This was her first entrance into 
 grand society; and, as she was soon aware of the sensa- 
 tion her personal appearance produced, this self-conscious- 
 ness gave an illumination almost spiritual to her eyes. She 
 was the daughter of a Russian commoner, near Moscow; 
 and had now come to the Russian capital for the first time. 
 Among the nobility of large estates there is always a 
 supervisor, who takes charge of the lands and operatives; 
 keeps the accounts, and places the profits in some bank, 
 where the indolent and pleasure-loving proprietor draws 
 at will. One day the supervisor came to Corsikoff and 
 said : " Sir, here are your books ; and you are utterly 
 ruined." There was no reason to doubt his honesty; and 
 the master was in despair at his sudden poverty. The 
 father of Madame Corsikoff then further said: "I have a 
 
 *The criminal and disgusting face-painting is unknown in Russia C. 
 
 438 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 439 
 
 daughter, well educated and of fine appearance, and just 
 verging into womanhood. If your son will marry her, 
 her estate will stand in the place of your own, for it is 
 as large." Corsikoff assented; and the marriage was con- 
 summated. 
 
 Such a sudden change of fortune, which none can well 
 understand who do not know how rigidly the walls of rank 
 are maintained in Russia, turned the head of the poor 
 woman. The Russians, of all people, have the truest 
 ideas of beauty; for with them health, vigorous, buoyant 
 health, is the prime factor. This Corsikoff had in the 
 highest degree. She received great adulation, affected 
 great style; and, for a- while, drove six horses to her car- 
 riage, which, though not in good taste there, was yet al- 
 lowable. But by degrees she lost caste, was crowded 
 from society, and at length disappeared entirely from St. 
 Petersburg. 
 
 Once I had a large party; both the Grand Dukes, 
 Constantine and Nicholas, honoring me with their pres- 
 ence. I made it a point to gather together the most 
 beautiful women in St. Petersburg, so far as 1 could com- 
 mand them, eminent among whom was the Princess Marie 
 Dolgorouki. On this occasion, as I was told by my em- 
 ployes afterward, Corsikoff was sure of being invited ; for 
 I knew her well. But I refused to send her a ticket of 
 invitation. She had already had her wardrobe fitted up 
 in the best style ; and, when she found that she was neg- 
 lected, she tore her dresses up in a fit of despair. The 
 last I heard of her she was in Paris — the purgatory of 
 the fallen. 
 
 Prince Gortchacow, like most men of high intellectual 
 structure, was quite an admirer of the fairer half of crea- 
 tion, and was fond of talking of their charms. He was 
 born in 1800. He said to me one day: "Ah, General, if 
 I was only as young as you!" I replied: "Prince, you 
 are but a boy yet!" "No indeed," said he; "I have to 
 reserve all my forces," touching his forehead. 
 
440 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEKCHES 
 
 This is a wicked world we live in. The prince had a 
 beautiful girl living in his own house, who passed as his 
 niece, and was so received in society. I made it a rule 
 all my life to keep aloof from other people's affairs, so I 
 never inquired any thing about this matter. I only listened 
 to what others said, and made no replies. On the occa- 
 sion of a court ball, I understood Mademoiselle A was 
 
 not to be invited. A great sensation was caused in the city ; 
 and, no doubt, great political changes would have been the 
 result ! She, however, appeared at the ball ; but seemed 
 very reserved and depressed in spirits. Not long after she 
 disappeared from St. Petersburg, and one of the branches 
 of the imperial family was also found absent. The prince 
 was deeply affected by this event, and seemed never to 
 recover his vivacity of spirit. I suppose, however, that 
 he always maintained his ascendency in the councils of the 
 Czar; and, late in life, long after I left Russia, he retired 
 to Austria, to get into a more equable climate. His death 
 was surrounded with some mystery, and a woman was in 
 the case, of which, however, I knew nothing save rumor. 
 
 Gortchacow had but little philanthropy in his organiza- 
 tion. He was never the victim of sentimentalism. His 
 intellect was expansive, and his ideas of the progressive 
 order; but all advance was to be made in subordination to 
 the autocratic power. In speaking one day of some act 
 of the Emperor, he said: "I told him he made the laws, 
 and should be the last to violate them." 
 
 He was, of course, the co-laborer in the liberation of 
 the serfs; but it was a measure of development with him, 
 no more. A young enthusiast from America being intro- 
 duced by me, proposed that Russia might make a useful 
 colonization of the American freedmen in Poland, where 
 the population was rather sparse by reason of her many 
 revolutions. After the young man had retired, Gortcha- 
 cow said: "We have no use for such a class of people, 
 of slow capacity. We keep a few as door-keepers in the 
 palace, as ornaments; that is all!" 
 
OK CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 44 1 
 
 When the Monitors were invented, Russia followed our 
 lead, and introduced them into her navy. There was made 
 of metal a beautiful miniature Monitor, and presented by 
 the naval officers to the prince. At one of his balls it was 
 displayed to the public admiration ; and Gortchacow seemed 
 very proud of it. This showed me that he was the leader 
 in all such advance. 
 
 There was a society in St. Petersburg, incorporated by 
 the English residents, and called the "English Club;" but 
 the foreign element had been gradually eliminated, and it 
 was now altogether Russian. Here, on the occasion of 
 the American navy coming to Russia, they were enter- 
 tained. I and others, as before related, made speeches, 
 and also Gortchacow. His manner- was fine, and his de- 
 livery facile and expressive. The speech was short, but 
 forcible. I took occasion to say to him one day: "Prince, 
 it is a pity you have not a House of Commons ; you would 
 make a great leader." The prince I feared would not be 
 pleased with my freedom; but he was quite full of the 
 idea. And I always had my suspicions that, if the Nihil- 
 ists had not, by their insane and wicked course, interfered 
 with the whole liberal course of Gortchacow's policy, a 
 well-guarded Parliament might have been the result. But 
 the attempted overthrow of the Imperial Personage was 
 never, and could never be, in his thoughts; and the reac- 
 tion was, no doubt, encouraged by him, when his plans 
 had been made no longer possible. 
 
 These are but speculations of my own, and not drawn 
 from any revelations from the prince; but, from a close 
 observation of his measures, and the sequence of events, 
 I do not hesitate to say that in this the prince was right. 
 For a Republic, following in the wake of assassination, 
 could produce no other result than the most disastrous 
 anarchy, and a dissolution of the empire into petty tyran- 
 nies and ancient barbarism. 
 
 The work which Gortchacow has done deserves the 
 gratitude of Russia and the world. Nihilism will perish; 
 
442 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 but his liberal and intellectual forces will survive, for the 
 civilization of the Russian people and the consolidation of 
 the empire. 
 
 Gortchacow was of one of the oldest families of the 
 Russian nobility, unmixed with western blood. His stature 
 was medium, and head and face not remarkable. When 
 I went to Russia his hair was already gray; but his eyes, 
 of a mixed gray and brown, were full of fire. I never 
 saw a man of a more highly nervous temperament. When 
 he was interested in your words he was a good listener, 
 keeping his eyes ever on yours, and seeming to drink in 
 every word. But, when the subject was not agreeable, 
 he was abrupt and dictatorial to the same degree. His 
 writing-table, of considerable length, was near the win- 
 dow of his reception-room. He would sit with his back 
 to the light, and near the wall ; and there he would keep 
 his eyes upon the visitor, whose face was generally, of 
 course, toward the light. Finding this was a system with 
 him, I would take a similar position with his, and ob- 
 serve him with equal closeness. I felt myself a match 
 for any man within my own circle of action and thought; 
 and Gortchacow soon learned to treat me as such. I 
 often heard, from others, of high compliments he paid 
 me. He was fond of Latin quotations, and in the short 
 notes which among many received, and which I propose 
 to publish in the second volume of this work, he begins 
 one with: " Mea culpa" — my fault. He early entered 
 diplomatic life; was gradually advanced, and succeeded 
 Count Nesselrode of Napoleon's time, who was yet living 
 in 1861, and whose acquaintance I made before his death, 
 which occurred about that time. He reminded me of 
 Albert Gallatin, and remained chancellor through life; but 
 Gortchacow was acting as premier, and only was made 
 chancellor later 
 
 In general ability and address I think he was not 
 equalled in his time, though he had many great rivals in 
 the premierships of the nations — Bismarck, Palmerston, 
 
PPJN C F, I rO K T C HAG O W 
 
 CHAifCELLOR- OK THP; l;nf::-IAN EMPIRE 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 443 
 
 D'Israeli, and others. In his pecuniary matters he was 
 penurious; and personally he was not popular in St. 
 Petersburg. His vast field of observation and thought 
 left him but little time for relaxation, and the amenities 
 of life. He was essentially an aristocrat, and had less 
 courtesy to inferior men than Russians generally, who are 
 very careful of the feelings of others. He was married 
 but once, lost his wife before I knew him, but had two 
 sons living; neither of whom made great promise of 
 future fame. 
 
 Gortchacow was, of course, the leading man of Rus- 
 sia. I saw a great deal of him, and took great care to 
 make him my friend. In this, I think, I certainly succeeded. 
 When I was invited to Moscow, on my return he wrote 
 me a note to call upon him to give an account of my 
 visit ("ovation"); and he seemed greatly pleased to learn 
 with what enthusiasm I had been received. I always sus- 
 pected that he was at the bottom of many honors paid 
 me by the Russians; and in my fight with Seward, which 
 he perfectly understood, he was always my zealous friend. 
 On the whole, my association with him was a great epi- 
 sode in my life, from which I reaped much pleasure and 
 intellectual force. 
 
 LETTER OF GORTCHACOW. 
 
 Copie d'un telegramme de M. de Stoekl, en date de Crook- 
 haven, le 3-15 Avril, 1865. 
 
 " Third, Richmond has fallen. This breaks entirely the mili- 
 tary and political organization of the South." 
 
 Voici, mon cher ministre, copie d'un telegramme de M. Stoekl 
 
 qui m'announce un brilliant succes des armes Federales. Dieu 
 
 veuille qu'il en resulte le prochaine cessation de la lutte, et la 
 
 restitution d'une Union forte et puissante. Tout i vous. 
 
 Gortchacow. 
 le 3 Avril. 
 
 After the surrender of Lee, the Union was, of course, 
 regarded as restored. The different legations at St. 
 Petersburg — all sympathizing with the South — made me 
 
444 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 hold aloof from them, except by formal intercourse. 
 When the Republic was in danger, they were rather cold 
 toward me; but, as soon as our cause grew triumphant, 
 their whole manner changed. Even across the street, in 
 our walks, they would change to the front, and raise their 
 hats ! Such is the way of the great. 
 
 Austria, of course, was our most pronounced enemy in 
 Europe, as the Emperor's brother, Maximilian, had been 
 placed on the Mexican throne. Being in a squad of no- 
 bles and diplomates, in which Austria was included, one 
 remarked: "It was lamentable that the Emperor should 
 have been shot, instead of being held as a prisoner of 
 war." My term of long sufferance had ceased, and 1 was 
 the representative of a great Nation once more. I re- 
 plied: "Yes, it is much to be regretted that they should 
 have shot Mexicans wearing uniforms, and fighting in de- 
 fense of their homes against a foreign invader; it is not, 
 therefore, strange that, when fortune favored them, those 
 poor barbarians should have followed so illustrious an ex- 
 ample." 
 
 This cut to the very core, but nothing was said; noth- 
 ing could be said. The Russians who were present much 
 enjoyed the thing; but it was wormwood to the Austrians. 
 
 The action of Russia in the war for Hungarian inde- 
 pendence saved that empire, as is well known ; and when, 
 in the Crimean War, Austria stood seemingly neutral, but 
 in fact sympathizing with the allied powers, Russia keenly 
 felt their ingratitude. As so many of the Austrian and 
 Turkish provinces are composed in great part of the 
 Slavs and Greek Church, Russia took especial pains to 
 court them. A large delegation of the race was enter- 
 tained at St. Petersburg by the nobles unofficially, and 
 in which the lines of unity were insisted on. I was not 
 surprised, then, at the Turkish War, in which Austria was 
 worsted as well as Turkey. The alliance between Aus- 
 tria and Germany is not, therefore, so much against Italy 
 or France as against Russia; for Germany fears Russia's 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 445 
 
 approach to the Bosphorus, and the overthrow of the Aus- 
 trian Empire. But Russia will never forgive Austria; and 
 Turkey and Austria are bound to fall. Whether Russia 
 holds the Straits, or a new state supported by all the 
 European powers results, she will be the gainer in having, 
 if not a subject people, at least an ally against England 
 and Western Europe. 
 
 The two great powers, as Napoleon seemed to foresee, 
 will eventually be, in the world's history, Russia and the 
 United States. The liberal spirit in all the great powers, 
 including France, will overthrow at last even German au- 
 tocracy. It is barely possible that all Europe may become 
 Republican. If so, then Russia may be stayed in her 
 westward march. 
 
 England has played a great part in history, but I think 
 she even now carries too much sail for the bulk of her 
 ship ; and the great Empire of the world hastens to its 
 dissolution. For this I have no aspirations ; but, on the 
 contrary, I feel like giving a helping hand to the old 
 father-land, and, by our protection, allowing her a happy 
 old age. At all events, though sympathizing with Ire- 
 land's real wrongs, I would effectually dynamite the dyna- 
 miters ! 
 
 Since writing up to this point, and in review, the 
 threatened war, so long brewing between Russia and 
 Great Britain, seems about to burst into a conflagration. 
 It is possible England may, by a supreme effort, defend 
 her allies, the Afghans, against Russia's advance; but 
 Russia remains on the border all the same. Can Eng- 
 land much oftener, or much longer, submit to such life- 
 struggles? Again, the subject people of the East can 
 not fail to see that, while Russia assimilates her con- 
 quered subjects, England enslaves hers. And, in such 
 issues, where will the unbiassed sympathies of the intel- 
 ligent world rest but on the side of the oppressed? If 
 England could move all her wealth to India, and there 
 establish her central power, assimilating Indians and Chi- 
 
446 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 nese under one great consolidated empire, giving up her 
 islands to Ireland and her insatiate European rivals, she 
 might survive indefinitely. Otherwise, it is but a ques- 
 tion of time when "she must go!" 
 
 There are said to be in St. Petersburg eighty thou- 
 sand Germans. These being, some Russian subjects and 
 some merely denizens, engaged in trade or manufactures, 
 keep up the customs of the father-land, and live much 
 apart from all others. They have their summer and winter 
 beer-gardens and saloons. As the social and moral effects 
 of this feature of German life is much discussed and con- 
 demned by many Puritans, I frequented often these resorts 
 to see and judge for myself. 
 
 Imagine, then, an enclosed park on one of the beauti- 
 ful islands of the Neva, in the suburbs of the city, con- 
 taining several acres of fine old trees, with agreeable 
 shade, and gravel walks, refreshment and drinking-rooms, 
 bowling-alleys, and a fine band of music, an immense 
 cask of beer on tap, and from which are filled with cool 
 and foaming liquid the several glasses borne by waiters, 
 and which are distributed to the guests sitting around 
 tables under the trees, or on the benches which surround 
 the music-stand, and you have some idea of the beer- 
 garden. Here the Germans — men, women, and chil- 
 dren — resort on Sundays, where all, the young and the 
 old, take generally beer, and their national cakes, the 
 pretsel, or refreshments of ham and eggs, sausages, etc., 
 and listen to the music, or promenade about the walks. 
 
 Now, I was much a frequenter of these gardens, and 
 I never saw a drunken man or woman in them during all 
 my stay in that country. Beer with them is not a mere 
 drink, but stands as tea or coffee — as a part of the re- 
 past; and to restrict them in its use, by sumptuary laws, 
 would be like stopping the pork and beans of the Yan- 
 kee, or the ham and eggs of the Southerner. Here the 
 pent-up business men, women, and children of the crowded 
 city enjoy fresh air, light, and the beauties of nature, and 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 447 
 
 thus avoid the separation of families, and retain the whole- 
 some restraints of the same, which are lost to the Amer- 
 ican method of treating the Sabbath. 
 
 On this side of the Atlantic, these gardens and saloons 
 are frequented by another class of men and women, whose 
 failings come of their own degraded culture, or perverse 
 nature; and for which the German customs are not at all 
 responsible. On the whole, then, I am greatly in favor, 
 after long experience and observation, of the German beer- 
 garden; and in favor of full liberty to all in the spending 
 of the Sabbath. For the way to cure intemperance is, not 
 by prohibition and law, so much as by finding higher and 
 less debasing pleasures for body and mind. And here is 
 room for the philanthropic of all sects, where charity or 
 common funds provide music, libraries, cheap refreshments, 
 fresh air, heat, cleanliness, and good-cheer of all innocent 
 kinds. 
 
 The limits of these Memoirs will not allow me to in- 
 dulge much in the mention of personal friendships of 
 great value to me, but of little interest to the reader. 
 Yet I must briefly touch upon some names to whom I 
 owe especial remembrance. First, the imperial family of 
 Russia, to all of whom is due grateful appreciation in both 
 a. personal and political sense. I have the photographs of 
 all, and, I think, the autographs of most of them. Her 
 Imperial Majesty gave me the photographs from life of 
 the ■ Emperor, herself, and all her children. The present 
 Emperor and Her Imperial Majesty gave me their photo- 
 graphs and their autographs, and honored me by request- 
 ing my own photograph, which was proudly given. The 
 Grand Duchess Constantine gave me her photograph and 
 that of her beautiful daughter, the Queen of Greece, in an 
 elegant velvet frame, with their autographs. The Grand 
 Duchess Helenc was one of the imperial family who much 
 honored me. Also the Prince Pierre d'Oldenbourg and 
 family. The prince was a man of intellectual tastes, with 
 great simplicity of character, and always, though unusual 
 
448 MKMOIHS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 with the imperial family, returned my visits. His daughter 
 married the Grand Duke Nicholas, the Emperor's brother. 
 Count Gregoire Stroganoff, who married the Grand Duch- 
 ess Mary, the Emperor's sister, was the finest looking man 
 in Russia. Prince Gortchacow and sons, and Madame 
 Princess Radziwill, his sister-in-law; the princes Vladimir,. 
 Bazile, and Alexander Dolgorouki and their families;: 
 Prince Paul Gagarin and his son's wife and daughter, with 
 whom I spent many pleasant days; the Princes Svloff; the 
 Count Jean Apraxine and his lovely wife and daughters. 
 The Count Orloff Davidoff and his family; the Count 
 Moussine Pouschkine and family ; Count G. Koucheleff- 
 Besborodko, with whom I was as one of the family in his 
 magnificent palace in the city, and his elegant chateau on 
 the bank of the Neva, with an hundred acres of landscape 
 grounds. I also saw something of his countess, who was 
 much abroad. I was intimate with Paul Kozloff, his father, 
 mother, and beautiful sister, who married Colonel Klott, 
 the aide-de-camp of the Emperor; Baron Stieglitz, the Rus- 
 sian banker, and lady, who entertained me much at his city 
 and country mansions; Princess Helene Kotschoubey, at 
 the head of Russian society outside of the imperial family. 
 She had a splendid city residence, and grand landscape 
 grounds and residence in the country, where I was often 
 entertained. Her son, Prince Belosselski, married Made 
 moiselle Skobeleff, the sister of the famous general in 
 the late Crimean War. The family were Scobel, Scotch, and 
 the name was Russianized by adding leff. Her daughter, 
 the Princess Troubetzkoi, though plain-featured, was very 
 fascinating. Princess Louise Suwarrow ; the Princess Orbe- 
 liani; Baroness J. Wrewsky and sister; the Countess Hed- 
 vige Rzewuska and husband, to one of whose children I 
 stood godfather; Madame (Countess) Barschoff and her 
 sister, nieces of Prince Gortchacow; Madame de Polovt- 
 soff, the adopted daughter of Baron Stieglitz, a lovely- 
 woman; Mad'lle Olga Navikoff; the Countess Pratassoff- 
 BachmetefiT and son, the count, and family; Baroness de 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 449 
 
 Jomini and her father's family; Madame Gisiko and family; 
 the Baroness Olga Chroustchofif; the beautiful Countess 
 Borch, and her father and family ; the princes Gallitzin, with 
 one of whom the admiral, Mr. Fox, and I dined; Gromoff, 
 a wealthy commoner, who was very hospitable, and who 
 also gave a soiree to Fox, was much my friend; as were 
 also the Americans, Wm. L. and Thomas Winans, and 
 George W. Whistler, brother to the famous English artist, 
 also Consul Pierce and family, and Consul Geo. Pomutz, 
 with all of whom I was quite intimate, and by them often 
 entertained, — all of those, and many others, no doubt, 
 equally worthy of mention, whom I must pass over. 
 
 Among the most beautiful women with whom I was 
 acquainted I may name the Queen of Greece Olga, Alex- 
 andra her mother, and the Grand Duchess Helene ; the 
 three princesses Dolgorouki; the princesses Mesdames Kot- 
 schoubey, Radziwill, Didiani, and Suwarrow; the demoisel- 
 les Kosloff, Opotschinine, and Antoinette Schoumoff; the 
 Princess Dolgorouki, the niece of Governor-General Prince 
 V. Dolgorouki, of Moscow — now Scherbatoff, I think; 
 Madame the Countess Orloff Davidoff, now Pierre Was- 
 siltchikoff, of Moscow; the Countesses Borch and Catha- 
 rine E. Apraxine ; Madame the Princess Elise Korakine ; 
 the Baroness Louise Jomini, and Madame Na. Polovt- 
 soff, the Baroness Julie Wrevsky, etc. 
 
 These, of course, are not all of those to whom men- 
 tion is due; but, although my visiting-list for nearly nine 
 years ran up to many hundreds, and almost thousands, I 
 can only name a few. In the matter of beauty they are 
 not named in the order of precedence; but "the last may 
 even be first." Of those named in this chapter, I have 
 most of the photographs and autographs. So many won- 
 derfully fine women can hardly be seen in any country in 
 one assemblage. And even among the ballet-dancers 
 Pauline Lebideva, Petipas, Grankine, Radenor, and others, 
 would be regarded as beauties any where. 
 
 I have the photographs of the princesses Kotschoubey, 
 
 Vol. I. — 29 
 
450 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Radziwill, and Didiani, all three widows and grand- 
 mothers, I believe ; but no one would then take them to 
 be even forty years old, so well does unrivalled beauty de- 
 light and vitalize its possessors. They were still fond of 
 admiration ; and the Princess Radziwill, whose husband was 
 generally absent in Paris (making her a "grass widow," as 
 they say in Arkansas), was remarkable for her beauty, in 
 the time of Nicholas. The two first, when I began to like 
 better the daughter and niece, Madame Barschoof and 
 the Princess Troubetzkoi, grew rather cold toward me. 
 But I mean no offence; they will forgive me in saying 
 their beauty, as transmitted to the children of their blood, 
 was still to me attractive. 
 
 Among the foreign legations I must mention Sir An- 
 drew Buchanan and lady ; the Baron de Talleyrand- 
 Perigord and lady, and the Duke and Duchess d'Osuna, 
 and Baron Gevers and lady of Holland, who were ever 
 kind and friendly toward me. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Governor Curtin, of Pennsylvania, is appointed to relieve me. — I return 
 Home. — "An American Diplomate." — Effect of my Cuban Speech. — The 
 Immortal Fish. — Catacazy and the Perkins' Claim Swindle. — General 
 Grant and the Battle of Shiloh. — Bazil Duke's Statement. — The Auto- 
 nomy of the Southern States.— Mv Speech in New York City silenced 
 
 BY CUSTOM-HOUSE ClAQUERS. — I PAY THE "TrIBUNE" FOR PUBLISHING IT 
 
 correctly. — Charles A. Dana. — How the South was made "Solid." 
 
 AS the election of 1868 approached, my desire to re- 
 turn home increased ; but I was resolved to outlive 
 Seward in office, if possible. I had been on good terms 
 with Jesse Grant, the father of Ulysses S., and had held 
 a lengthy correspondence with him at Covington, whilst 
 his son was yet a farmer-lad in Ohio. As Seward had so 
 much badgered me, I was desirous to get an endorsement 
 from the President, as well as the support of the Senate. 
 When I proposed to return home, I wrote an account of 
 my difficulties with Seward, and sent it to Grant, hoping 
 he would do me the justice which was due one who had 
 faithfully served the country at home and abroad. To this 
 Grant sent me a very kind reply; but, after he was inau- 
 gurated, and had placed the Immortal Fish in the premier- 
 ship. Governor Curtin was nominated and confirmed, and 
 relieved me at St. Petersburg. 
 
 In the meantime the Immortal Fish had written me 
 officially that I would be more agreeable to the President 
 if I were more respectful to Seward ; and that, although 
 he had retired from the foreign secretaryship, he was not 
 out of favor with the President, That was the substance 
 of the thing; and so I answered with defiance and con- 
 tempt. Of course I would not use undignified words to 
 the Immortal Fish: but that was the upshot of my official 
 paper. 
 
 451 
 
452 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 A. G. Curtin and I were old friendo, and I was glad 
 to have one relieve me whom I could treat with courtesy. 
 But I said to Curtin : " You will not stay long at this 
 court." "Why?" "Because you are too honest a man 
 to favor the Perkins' swindle; and, as the Immortal Fish 
 comes in under Seward's influence, you will have to go 
 for black-mail, or lose your place." 
 
 I fear, however, from the following extracts, which I 
 clip from the New York World of May 25, 1885, that 
 Curtin gave way to the heavy pressure of the Washington 
 banditti, as he seems to have had a rough time at St. 
 Petersburg : 
 
 special Correspondence of the World. 
 
 AN AMERICAN DIPLOMATE — MINISTER CURTIN'S FIVE YEARS' 
 
 SERVICE. AT .ST. PETERSBURG. 
 
 Washington, May 23. — Andrew G. Curtin, of Pennsylvania, was 
 
 for five years our Minister to St. Petersburg One of 
 
 the earlier incidents of Gov. Curtin's career at St, Petersburg oc- 
 curred at a dinner where Gortchacow, the Chancellor of the Rus- 
 sian Empire, sat opposite to him. Mr. Curtin was unknown to 
 most of the guests. Gortchacow began talking to him in a very 
 abrupt, brusque fashion about the Alabama Claims Commission, 
 which had just been established. 'It will never succeed,' said he. 
 ' You Americans are always getting up some new thing. The prin- 
 ciple of it is opposed to every tradition of European diplomacy. 
 Have you read the English press upon this subject?' 'Yes,' said 
 the Governor. 'I have read what they have to say. But it is 
 barely possible they are mistaken.' Gortchacow did not drop the 
 subject. 'Have you seen,' said he, 'the speech of Lord John Rus- 
 sell, in which he denounces the commission as a humbug?' Curtin 
 had been listening, with a very mild air, to all this talk. He now 
 turned upon the chancellor. He said, with great abruptness and 
 dignity: 'Yes, I have read his speech. I also remember his speech 
 denouncing your plan for suppressing the Polish insurrection. Your 
 reply to him then was so overwhelming that it took away from him 
 completely the little sense that he ever had.' At this all of the 
 guests applauded, and Gortchacow was quite content to drop the 
 subject. 
 
 Gortchacow's opinion, which Mr. Curtin withheld, had been 
 very vigorously expressed. He said that this 'damned French 
 
OK CASSIUS MARCELLUS PLAY. 453 
 
 scoundrel ' * should never have any help from hiift in getting back 
 his throne, as he regarded him as a man dangerous to the peace- 
 ful condition of affairs in Europe. When Curtin returned to St. 
 Petersburg, Gortchacow invited him to dinner. During the dinner 
 he said to Curtin: 'You have been away.' 'Yes, in London.' 
 'You saw many people there?' 'Yes.' 'A number of distin- 
 guished people?' 'Yes, I saw some prominent American friends 
 of mine.' 'I am told that you also saw the man who at one time 
 seemed to hold in his hands the destinies of Europe.' 'Yes, I saw 
 him,' said Mr. Curtin. 'Have you any objections to telling me the 
 nature of the conversation you had with him?' 'It was not im- 
 portant,' was the reply. 'It was mainly upon personal topics.' 
 Here Gortchacow said, with a very knowing look: 'I know all the 
 details of that conversation. I am very much obliged to you for 
 your discretion in not communicating to Louis Napoleon my views 
 upon the reestablishment of the French Empire.' As there was no 
 third person present at the interview between Mr. Curtin and the 
 Ex-Emperor, this interview gave him a very high opinion of the 
 completeness of the Russian spy-service. 
 
 During the Catacazy affair the Russian Government came very 
 near giving Mr. Curtin his passports. The Russian authorities were 
 very much irritated over the neglect of the Grand Duke Alexis, 
 upon his arrival at Washington. Owing to the trouble then exist- 
 ing between the State Department and Minister Catacazy, no offi- 
 cial notice was taken of the Grand Duke. Novakoff, a friend of 
 Curtin's, came to him and said: 'The authorities are thinking of 
 sending you your passports. It will be nothing personal to you. 
 You must not take it as a desire to get rid of you. We want you 
 to consent to go to Cronstadt for a time, and then return.' 'No, 
 sir,' said Mr. Curtin. 'I am here as the representative of the 
 United States. If my passports are sent me, I shall go home.' 
 Novakoff then arranged a dinner, at which Gortchacow was present. 
 At this informal repast Curtin was able to explain a good many 
 things about the Catacazy affair that he could not have done offi- 
 cially. It was to his explanation that the recall of the Minister 
 was due. T. C. Crawford. 
 
 It seems from these extracts that Curtin was at once 
 in antagonism with our old ally, Russia. 
 
 * In all the time I was in Russia I never heard Gortchacow, or any Russian gen- 
 tleman, use an oath. — C, 1885. 
 
454 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 The American public would, no doubt, like to know 
 what caused Catacazy's recall ! These revelations give 
 accented significance to the Grand Duke's repeated invi- 
 tations, both at St. Louis and Louisville, for my return to 
 Russia. 
 
 Whilst I was yet in New York, waiting to receive the 
 remainder of my salary — for I determined never to enter 
 Washington City whilst Grant and the Immortal Fish 
 were in power — I wrote to the auditor for a settlement. 
 He returned my account with the balance in my favor. 
 But, when I made my Cuban speech, he revised the ac- 
 count, and sent in a new sheet making me debtor to the 
 Government. I was not the man to submit to such plain 
 robbery, so I employed Jas. H. Embry and Reverdy John- 
 son to settle my account with the treasury; and they finally 
 got more than I claimed, after paying themselves their fees. 
 This either shows that they do business in a very loose 
 way at the treasury, or they intended to punish me for my 
 defection from Grant, or both these motives were active. 
 
 In the meantime Catacazy, the special friend of Gort- 
 chacow, and on good terms with myself, arrived as Rus- 
 sian Minister at Washington. The banditti not only 
 brought forward the old swindle, but they hastened to 
 bring down upon him the President's displeasure, and the 
 immense mass of dignity accumulated on the front of 
 the immortal Fish. Catacazy, being a shrewd Greek, 
 took the precaution to have a witness seated in an ad- 
 joining room, and thus exposed the intrigues of Seward's 
 followers to black-mail the Russian Emperor. 
 
 In all these and other most discreditable performances 
 Hamilton Fish stood unflinchingly for eight years on the 
 dark side. The formidable array of those events which 
 I had prepared, moved by pity for Grant's unhappy end, 
 I suppress; and, instead, introduce the Minister Catacazy's 
 presentation of the Perkins' matter, as given on pp. 365- 
 404 of these Memoirs. 
 
 Grant's v/hole political and civil career, ending in the 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 455 
 
 unfortunate affair in Wall Street, only needed his account 
 of the battle of Shiloh, as told by himself, to convince the 
 world that my estimate of him was true to the life. It 
 was a misnomer of the highest type to call Grant's troops 
 at Pittsburg Landing "an army." It seems that he knew 
 not where Johnston or his forces were; or, at the least, 
 where he was himself. It was more like a Donnybrook 
 Irish fair, where the detached regiments and brigades and 
 army corps were ready to hit a head wherever they saw 
 it — friend or foe — than any thing else. And the farce 
 was about to be completed, when the fiery Nelson was 
 preparing to open his fire upon the fugitives — who had 
 crowded the Tennessee River banks, like our poor fellows 
 at Ball's Bluff, for easy slaughter — had not Albert Sidney 
 Johnston, the greatest of Confederate generals, been killed 
 in battle. 
 
 But Buell, Wallace, and Nelson came with a new army 
 and gained the day, it seems, unknown to Grant, who, at 
 last, as the army were about flying, according to his own 
 account, gathered up some fugitives from the battle, and, 
 when he got within sight of the coat-tails of the flying 
 Confederates, retired behind his troops, and, like Falstaff, 
 killed over again the dead Percy! 
 
 Did any body ever hear before of a great army lying 
 along side of another great army, and either not knowing 
 or trying to know whe.re the enemy were, or their num- 
 bers? Was that generalship which had the Union army 
 spread out with great intervals between the corps — some 
 of them being in line, and some out of all reach of com- 
 ing into line — so that every corps, big and little, pre- 
 sented both flanks to the enemy's attack? Did any body 
 ever hear of such an order as Grant gave to Wallace — 
 if he ever gave any — to come up to where he was leav- 
 ing, instead of going at once to the front, where the guns 
 of the enemy were already heard? Did any body ever 
 hear of a general sitting down on a log near his gun- 
 boats, as he says, but, as others say, in them, with a 
 
456 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEKCHES 
 
 large part of his army crowded like wild cattle in a corral, 
 ready for the slaughter, without making a single effort to 
 rally them back, or to run them into a safe retreat? 
 
 Gen. Bazil Duke, several years ago, wrote a lengthy 
 and elaborate article for the Cincinnati Gazette on the 
 subject of Shiloh, which attracted much attention, and was 
 reprinted in the Southern Bivouac. His view is from a 
 Confederate standpoint, and is that of one who had an 
 intimate and unpleasant acquaintance with the battle-field. 
 
 After Gen. Grant's account of the battle of Shiloh ap- 
 peared in the Century Magazine, Gen. Duke contributed 
 an article to the Louisville Post, and which was published 
 in that paper under date of February 4, 1885. From this 
 article I extract the following passages: 
 
 ' ' I gave you my opinion of his (Gen. Grant's) article in the 
 Century. He does not adduce any facts to sustain his positions, 
 but deals chiefly in generalities. He does not give a history, or 
 particularized description of the battle of Shiloh. It is throughout 
 a defense of his tactics and manoeuvers in the battle, and especi- 
 ally a reply to the proven charge that he was surprised on Sun- 
 day morning, April 6, 1862. A perusal shows that he has not 
 brought any proof to his side. His argument in regard to the 
 death of Johnston is poor and without basis. He claims that the 
 latter was killed in rallying his broken troops, when he was shot 
 as he led a victorious charge on an almost impregnable position. 
 As to the paper of Johnston's son, I believe that it is correct 
 throughout, and a good view of the battle of Shiloh. 
 
 ' ' You ask : ' When Gen. Sidney Johnston planned and led the 
 assault on Grant, was he not aware that Wallace and Buell were 
 not far off? And did he not know that they would come to their 
 commander's aid with fresh men?' 
 
 "I answer: He was well aware that they were not far off, but 
 it was his intention to attack Grant and crush him before they 
 could have arrived to his relief. His death caused this arrange- 
 ment to miscarry; but it would have been successful had all gone 
 as was preconcerted. Beaureguard, as I said before, was in the 
 rear on a sick-bed, and his position necessarily rendered him igno- 
 rant of the exact condition of affairs on the ground, where the 
 battle was actually going on between the two armies. A continu- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 457 
 
 ation of the effective charge would have utterly routed their line, 
 and shattered Grant's army. Instead, the word to withdraw was 
 given, and the victory was abandoned. Opportunity was given for 
 the federal reinforcements to cover Grant's army. At sundown 
 Gen. Lew. Wallace and his troops reached the federal position. 
 He was, I suppose, about six miles off during the day; and had 
 to cross Snake Creek to meet Grant. Buell was on the other side 
 of the "river; and in the night crossed, bringing an overwhelming 
 body of fresh men to face our exhausted troops in Monday morn- 
 ing's battle. 
 
 "Accurately as can be learned, during Sunday's fight, we had 
 39,000 men on the field. The enemy exceeded us about 2,000, 
 numbering a little over 41,000. Wallace's body of troops amounted 
 to 5,000. Buell carried across the river 20,000 troops to aid against 
 us. They then had nearly as many new men to bring before us as 
 composed our entire army, and were aided by their gun-boats on 
 the river. This is my opinion of Grant at Shiloh: I think his gen- 
 eralship was very poor, and he displayed no fine military tactics. 
 He was surprised in his tents and routed. The rout was stayed by 
 the death of Albert Sidney Johnston, and he was saved by the ar- 
 rival of Wallace and Buell. Otherwise, his army would have been 
 destroyed and captured. He had no accurate knowledge of John- 
 ston's motions; and did not know when he was going to be as- 
 saulted. He was always on the defensive, while his enemy was 
 taking the other course. He was like a man who sits supinely, 
 and waits for his opponent to strike him before he knows where 
 he is and can strike back." 
 
 Per contra: in the foregoing statement we find ample 
 support for that which Gen. Sherman said to Gen. Wilson, 
 as mentioned by the latter in his "Reminiscences of Gen. 
 Grant," in the October (1885) number of the Century 
 Magazine, p. 947 : 
 
 "Wilson, I am a great deal smarter man than Grant. I see 
 things more quickly than he does. I know more about law, and 
 history, and war, and nearly every thing else than he does; but 
 I '11 tell you where he beats me, and where he beats the world. 
 He don't care for what he can't see the enemy doing; and it 
 scares me like hell!" 
 
 In the meantime the proj'ected policy of 1862 had 
 
458 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 been put in force ; and the Southern States were to be 
 dragooned by force of arms, if need be, into Republican 
 Party support. I wrote from St. Petersburg my letter 
 of 1866 to the Louisville Journal, in which I denounced 
 the ultra and unconstitutional measures of Sumner and 
 Stephens; and the Kentucky State Republican Convention 
 declared similar views. I could never submit to a policy 
 which destroyed the vital principle of all rule by the peo- 
 ple — the untrammeled voice of the majority of the citi- 
 zens entitled to the franchise. 
 
 When I arrived in New York, in 1869, Spanish gun- 
 boats were fitted out in New York harbor, whilst the 
 Cuban masters and their liberated slaves were spied out, 
 and all their ships and material confiscated. It was the 
 policy of my great namesake, in 181 7, Henry Clay, to put 
 all revolutionary people of the American Continent upon 
 an equality with the dominant governments at home; and 
 so the laws of that time were changed to meet the upris- 
 ing of the people on this continent against their autocratic 
 masters in Europe. Thus the Republican Party, under 
 Grant's lead, not being able to rob the black Republic of 
 Hayti of their liberty and property, turned their backs 
 upon the poor Revolutionists of Cuba. I denounced the 
 whole project. A great meeting of the friends of Cuba 
 was called in the Cooper Institute. I was made the 
 leader of the movement. The venerable benefactor of 
 this great charity, Peter Cooper, was present. He gave 
 me a most cordial welcome — our acquaintance being of 
 long standing. In the meantime it was suspected that I 
 would not spare the administration. I was imprudent 
 enough to say so. The house was full to overflowing. 
 
 I was advised several days before that the New York 
 Custom-House dependents would interrupt me; but I had 
 confidence in my ability to master a mob. I made the 
 grave mistake, however, to put the thugs, burglars, and 
 shoulder-hitters of a cosmopolitan city like New York 
 upon the same level with the gallant,' ferocious, but mag- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 459 
 
 nanimous Kentuckians, At Frankfort, in i860, it is said 
 that I spoke to 10,000 men from the State-House steps 
 in the dark, and yet not a hard word was spoken. But, 
 in Louisville, in the year 1851, before the same kind of 
 roughs, I was stoned in the dark by those who cowered 
 in my presence under gas-light. I should have formed a 
 more correct idea of city bummers and dead-beats ! 
 
 When I arose, on being announced, I began my speech 
 with a short preface, showing why I had not remained in 
 the army, and for which I had been denounced for long 
 years unheard; but I was at once interrupted by this 
 squad of a few hundred men, who made such a clamor 
 that I could not be heard. 
 
 Thus I, who had never failed to secure, in the slave 
 States, a hearing, was, in the free city of New York, 
 silenced ! 
 
 The resolutions drawn up by me were unanimously 
 passed — Horace Greeley, being chairman of the meeting, 
 reading them. I was also made President of the Cu- 
 ban Charitable Aid Society, and Horace Greeley Vice- 
 President. Thus the claquers were silent at the rriost im- 
 portant time, and I carried off a substantial victory; for 
 they knew nothing about the resolutions, or me being 
 made the president of the new society. 
 
 As the Tribune, with other papers, made a false report 
 of what I said, I wrote out a short summary of my speech, 
 and, carrying it to the desk of the Tribune, left it. The 
 next day that journal announced its refusal to publish it, 
 saying it was not their business to repeat such reports, and 
 which was to their readers but as "an old almanac." No 
 names were mentioned; but I and the public, of course, 
 knew it had reference to me. Determined to have myself 
 rightly stated before the public, I went next day to the 
 advertising department, and paid about eighty-three dol- 
 lars for its insertion, and took a receipt. This I carried 
 over to Charles A. Dana of the Sun, and showed him; 
 at which he seemed much astonished. He published my 
 
460 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 summary, saying editorially that it was the ablest argument 
 yet made on the Cuban side; and charged, of course, noth- 
 ing for this act of justice. The next day the Tribune came 
 out with my correction in a conspicuous place, and said a 
 few words editorially in my favor. 
 
 The following extracts from a popular and lengthy 
 notice of Dana shows how few are up to the level of the 
 heroes of all ages. Without the many qualities here some- 
 what deprecated, the editor of the Sun would have sunk to 
 the common level of men who, in self-devotion, lose sight 
 of the public good, and are, and of course ought to be, 
 forgotten : 
 
 CHARLES A. DANA. 
 
 "The gifted and erudite editor of the Sun was bom in Hins- 
 dale, New Hampshire, sixty-one years ago. The New England 
 stock of Danas is a very old one, and comes originally from Italy. 
 It is not impossible that, like the Salas, the Costas, and other 
 English and American descendants of Italian ancestors, it contains 
 a drop of the Hebrew blood of Venice and Florence of the fifteenth 
 and sixteenth centuries. 
 
 "The present standing of the New York Sun is entirely the 
 result of the work of its editor, both in the financial and journal- 
 istic sense. Upon retiring, in 1862, from the Tribune, to which 
 he gave a power and influence until then unknown in the Ameri- 
 can press, Mr. Dana was called to official life by Edwin Stanton, 
 the Secretary of War. He became a member of several committees 
 of the War Department, and was finally appointed Assistant Secre- 
 tary of War, a post which he held until the close of the Rebellion. 
 In 1865 he went to Chicago as editor of the Republican; and, about 
 a year after, made about ;gio,ooo by selling out his interest in that 
 paper. This was his first step toward financial prosperity. Two 
 years later he formed the Sun Association, and took charge of the 
 paper on the first of January, 1868. What he has made of the 
 then obscure and decaying sheet is known to eveybody on this 
 continent. The Sun has paid a dividend of forty per cent, upon 
 its original stock of 11350,000; and shares of ^1,000 each have 
 recently changed hands at ^82,400 apiece. 
 
 "The manner in which the Sun is conducted is perfectly un- 
 ique in its way. Its contributors enjoy perfect liberty of action. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 46 1 
 
 With the exception of the 'desk men,' nobody is bound to at- 
 tend the office at any fixed hour. No member of the staff is 
 compelled to write upon any subject he does not care to -treat, or 
 does not know enough about to do credit to the journal. The 
 pay is as liberal, if not more so, than on any other New York 
 paper ; and the relations of the editor to his employes is rather 
 that of a friend than of a superior officer. The even temper and 
 courtesy of Dana have become proverbial among those who know 
 him well. But if he is a true friend to those he likes, he is an 
 unrelenting enemy to those whom he dislikes. The popular ver- 
 dict has compared him to a bull-dog in the tenacity with which 
 he holds his prey, when he has once seized it. This relentless- 
 ness has done the Sun a great deal of good, but it has done Mr. 
 Dana personally a great deal of harm. His erudition, his courtesy, 
 and his amiable temperament ought to have made him a much 
 more popular man than he is. But the bitterness of his enmity to 
 every form of corruption has caused many people to dread him. 
 
 "His accomplishments are almost boundless. There is not a 
 subject of literature, art, or science in which he does not take a 
 deep interest. He speaks French, Italian, German, and Spanish 
 with equal facility. Within a few years he established a class of 
 Icelandic among the young associates of his son, and became quite 
 enthusiastic in the acquirement of that particular useless language, 
 upon the plea that it was absolutely necessary for a thorough 
 knowledge of English." 
 
 In a storm at sea the thousand of passengers amount 
 to nothing; it is the single captain, the governing mind, 
 who counts. So, in our degenerate times, Dana has been 
 the one editor who has stood boldly forth as the advocate 
 of honesty in political affairs. That doggedness of pur- 
 pose which the amiable editor of The Hour, from which I 
 quote, almost deprecates, has been a prime force in the 
 salvation of the Nation. The genius of Dana, like that 
 of all great thinkers, cares little for any thing but princi- 
 ple. He attacks error and dishonesty in public leadership, 
 wherever he sees them, without regard to party. Like 
 every true lover of self-government, he is a Democrat, 
 but not necessarily of the Democratic Party. And Demo- 
 crats, when it becomes a duty, receive the same fiery de- 
 
462 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 nunciation which drove the stolid Grant and his corrupt 
 followers from power.* Among our fifty millions of peo- 
 ple, for the last ten years one man has stood preeminent 
 above presidents, politicians, and scholars. — That man is 
 Charles A. Dana. 
 
 What was the burden of my offense with the American 
 press? That I had not gone to the war instead of to Rus- 
 sia. I was not a warrior by profession; I had not been 
 educated at West Point; I was not a soldier of the regu- 
 lar army. I was a politician — politics was my profession. 
 Now I ask, why should a politician be required to go to 
 war and the editor remain at home to abuse him? Why 
 did not Messrs Bennett, Raymond, Greeley, and others 
 go to battle? I voluntarily volunteered to save Washing- 
 ton from capture, and did so. Why was that service for- 
 gotten ? I did more than any man to overthrow slavery. I 
 carried Russia with us, and thus prevented what would have 
 been the strong alliance of France, England, and Spain 
 against us; and thus was saved the Union! I was one of 
 the principal factors, at least so all admit, in these three 
 great events. Why did I not get some word of gratitude 
 for these services? Simply because it was known, as far 
 back as 1862, that I would never go with these gentlemen 
 in the wicked and fruitless policy, by which the South was 
 finally made "solid," and the Republican Party brought to 
 grief and death ! 
 
 *Dana, in his late review of Grant's cabinet, speaks of the 
 "Weak Fish." These are the fish which are found about New 
 York harbor, and which are game contemned by all anglers — 
 worthy synonyms are they, who, with Badeau, make war upon 
 women — the wives of Catacazy and the Prince of Wales ! — greedy 
 cormorants, political lazaroni, and treasury-robbers! who brought 
 a great party and a great country to shame! 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Hamilton Fish, W. H. Seward's successor, reproduces the latter's False- 
 hoods AND Calumnies against me. — On sight of same i publish my re- 
 sponse, WITH letters from RUSSIAN NOBILITIES AND DIGNITARIES TRIUM- 
 PHANTLY VINDICATING ME. — ^THE GrAND DUKE ALEXIS OF RUSSIA EXTENDS TO 
 ME DISTINGUISHED HONOR, AT St. LoUIS. — H. FiSH & CO. FAIL AS CONCLU- 
 SIVELY AS W. H. Seward & Co. in securing my condemnation. 
 
 IN the Cincinnati Commercial, one day during the Presi- 
 dential campaign of 1872, appeared the following, as 
 a part of its Washington correspondence: 
 
 An Uncalled-for Personal Assault on the Character of Hon. Cassius 
 M. Clay — A Stor}> that Needs Much Confirmation. 
 
 The following afifidavit, which in the files of the State Depart- 
 ment fails to become a part of the official records there only be- 
 cause, the petitioners being foreigners, no notice could be taken 
 of the same. The Administration is doing a good deal of this 
 kind of business; and the paper upon which this affidavit is writ- 
 ten is State-Department paper, by a State-Department clerk, and 
 furnished by a State-Department official: 
 
 "St. Petersburg, April 19, 1866. 
 "I, the undersigned, Eliza Leonard, of Dublin, Ireland, wife 
 of Jean Christian Chautems, citizen of Moteers, Canton of Fri- 
 bourg, in Switzerland, house-steward to the fourrier of the Imperial 
 Court of Russia, declare and affirm the truth of the following 
 statement: Last year my commercial affairs were so bad that I 
 was threatened with complete ruin. Under these circumstances, 
 and appearing to take an interest in my misfortunes. Gen. Clay, 
 the Minister of the United States of North America, declared 
 himself to be our protector and friend. The first attache of the 
 Embassy of my country in Russia, Mr. Saville Lumley, as like- 
 wise several Americans, made a subscription in our behalf, and 
 intrusted Gen. Clay with the sum thus raised for our poor chil- 
 
 463 
 
464 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 dren, and to save our furniture, etc., which the police threatened 
 to sell immediately. The general was requested to hire a lodging 
 for us, with the sum thus raised, for one year, and in the name 
 of a third person. Not then understanding his motives for taking 
 such an interest in our affairs, and having no reason to be on my 
 guard against him, I raised no objection to his hiring a lodging 
 on the Vassile Ostoff, thirteenth line house, Oussoff No. 2. He 
 redeemed those contracts, the terms of which had expired, by 
 paying the sums due to my creditors. 
 
 "After that our house was ever open to the general, with 
 whom we became very intimate, and who often came of an even- 
 ing to partake of our tea for a motive very easy to understand now. 
 He obtained an order from the Governor-General of St. Petersburg, 
 whom he deceived by false reports, for my husband to leave his 
 home. Pleased with his first result, he took advantage of his high 
 position to beg of m'y youngest daughter's godmother, the Grand 
 Duchess Catharine, to place her in the institution of St. Helen, 
 where she is to the present day. My health being in a weak state, 
 the cares of the household devolved on my elder daughter, who was 
 hardly fourteen years of age. From this time the general's visits 
 became more frequent; and once, upon pretext of a drive, he took 
 my daughter in his equipage to the Islands. 
 
 "Here my feelings as a mother overcome me, and I can not 
 refrain from weeping in writing these lines. He had a conversa- 
 tion with my daughter, which she, in her innocence and simplicity, 
 did not understand. Furious at not having succeeded in his infa- 
 mous designs last month, and taking advantage of a moment when 
 my daughter, whom he had sent on some commission, was out, 
 and my servant was likewise not at home, the general attacked 
 me most brutally; and I was only saved by the unexpected arrival 
 of my daughter, who had made use of the general's equipage to 
 perform her mission, and thus returned sooner than he expected. 
 Interrupted in his criminal attempts, he obliged me, ill and in bed, 
 to sign a paper by which I recognized that I had received certain 
 sums of him, exceeding those sent me by my benefactors. 
 
 "Since then I wrote the general a letter demanding an exact 
 settling of all our accounts, and also requesting him to return me 
 my jewels, which I had intrusted to his care, and sent it by my 
 daughter, accompanied by her sister. He tried to persuade the 
 former to accompany him into one of his more retired rooms, 
 under the pretext that he had something of the greatest import- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 465 
 
 ance to communicate to her, which he could not do in the pres- 
 ence of her Httle sister. She answered that her sister Catharine 
 might hear all he had to say to her, and refused following him. 
 He insisted, but happily my children at last escaped out of that 
 terrible house. Then — and I shudder at the thought — I under- 
 stood the intentions of the general, who, under the mask of friend- 
 ship and benevolence, wished to dishonor a poor family, already so 
 tried by misfortune. 
 
 "This is the exact statement of the facts, of which I am ready 
 to take my Bible oath. I should wish the affair to be investigated. 
 I am ready to furnish any information that may be required of the 
 statement which has now been written under my dictation, and to 
 sign with my blood. Eliza Chautems. 
 
 We have here the evidence of a political ally that 
 the Immortal Fish was the co-conspirator with Seward, 
 Stewart, and the other banditti to calumniate me, as well 
 as to swindle the Czar. He wrote, to me that Grant was 
 the friend of Seward, and that political reasons only had 
 caused his retirement. Madame Chautems told me that 
 when Stewart was in St. Petersburg he boarded with her. 
 Grant seems to have been equally unfortunate in his con- 
 nection with the Fishes. One of the name broke down 
 and ruined him, as a cabinet officer, and another, as a 
 banker, in Wall Street. 
 
 Mrs. Chautems' charges in her letter are so absurd 
 that I should never think it worth while to refute them, 
 were I not in a political canvass. She was over forty 
 years old, with chronic bronchitis all the time I knew her, 
 confining her for weeks to her bed ; with a most offensive 
 breath; and, even had she been virtuous, she was decid- 
 edly- passed Her daughtetj a handsome, but very im- 
 mature girl, was sent often to my house alone; so that I 
 forbade my servants to allow her entrance. The mother 
 was now doing her best — what she had accused her hus- 
 band before of attempting — to sell her daughter's chas- 
 tity. In her letter she charges me with designs upon 
 the virtue of herself and daughter; in her petition to 
 Congress she accuses me of theft of her jewels and 
 Vol. I. — 30 
 
466 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 bonds, and housebreaking! The Immortal Fish & Co., 
 no doubt, thought the omission of these last charges 
 was best. The grossest credulity can not swallow every 
 thing ! 
 
 As soon as I saw the foregoing, I wrote the following, 
 which, with the proof in form of accompanying letters, 
 was published in the Richmond (Ky.) Register of Septem- 
 ber 6, 1872 : 
 
 The Grant Conspirators as Calumniators — CcBsarism brings with it 
 New Phases in Political Action. 
 Editor of Register — 
 
 Dear Sir: — Heretofore it was the character of the candidate 
 for the presidency which was the subject of public consideration ; 
 now every independent citizen who will not support Grant, and 
 yield up all the defenses of free government, must be calumniated 
 and destroyed. Every prominent man who has dared to canvass 
 against Grant has been studiously defamed. I have not been too 
 obscure to escape. So soon as I came out against Grant in my 
 St. Louis speech, in 1871, I was attacked fibout the same day — 
 February i6th — in the New York Tribune, New York Herald, and 
 the New York Evening Post, all three then Grant journals. On 
 the 22d of February, in the New York Evening Post, I forever 
 silenced all those calumnies by giving the letter of the Hon. Henry 
 Wilson, and twelve letters from the imperial family of Russia and 
 the most distinguished nobles of that empire, showing that Russia 
 never asked my recall, and that my social standing, up to the time 
 of my leaving Russia in 1869, ^^^ of the highest order. Those 
 letters are now in the hands of Wm. C. Bryant, Esq., of the 
 Post, and the President, and the Secretary of State, Hamilton Fish, 
 can see and take copies of the originals now in my possession. 
 But my assaults have been so damaging to the Grant conspirators, 
 wherever I have addressed the people, that it has been by them 
 thought advisable to explore the archives of the State Department 
 to find something to arrest the force of my canvass; and in this 
 they halt at neither the law which forbids the use of the records 
 of the Foreign Department for such publication, and are not 
 ashamed to violate all the proprieties which forbid those attacks 
 upon private character, which spread, if true or false, dismay and 
 mortification through the whole circle of family relations and 
 
OFCASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 467 
 
 friends, without any compensating public good — conduct which 
 the civilization of all ages has denounced as infamous. 
 
 THE CHAUTEMS' CALUMNY. 
 
 Eliza Leonard, an English subject living in St. Petersburg, 
 married a Swiss named Jean Chautems. She kept a restaurant in 
 that city in her own name, her husband having failed, but who 
 still aided her, being esteemed the best cook in the capital. Here 
 I made the acquaintance of the madam and her two daughters, 
 one about thirteen and the other eleven years old. Soon madam 
 also failed, and was sent to prison. Her eldest daughter ran to 
 my house and implored my help. I went at once to the restau- 
 rant, where they also lived, and found that the Hon. John Saville 
 Lumley, the British first Secretary of Legation, had taken madam 
 out of prison ; but there they were, without a cent, with two girls 
 destitute of clothes and food, and a Russian winter coming on. 
 Every charitable Christian man would do what I and Lumley did. 
 He gave her about three hundred rubles, being, as subordinates 
 generally, on a poor salary; and I supplied the balance of the 
 money to rent for her a new house, and purchase the furniture 
 then in her house. She promised to repay me from the profits 
 of her boarders, and a certain sum from the wages of her hus- 
 band, as cook for Russian families. Finding, after awhile, that 
 the Chautems were not worthy of my charity; that they were steal- 
 ing and selling the furniture, and that they never paid me any thing 
 as agreed, I caused the police to turn them out of the house, and 
 by a decree of a court I sold the furniture to pay part, a very 
 small part of the debt they owed me — no other person having 
 contributed any thing to this charity but myself and Mr. Lumley, 
 whose contribution had been paid to Mrs. Chautems in money by 
 me, her receipt taken and given to him. 
 
 Madame Chautems immediately commenced a system of black- 
 mail against me — all of which I absolutely resisted. She sued 
 me in the courts; but, as soon as the Russian authorities found it 
 out, they ordered her to be sent at once out of the empire ; which 
 was prevented by the British Embassador, Sir Andrew Buchanan, 
 saying it was the fault of the Russian court that my ministerial 
 privilege was violated, and not the fault of Madame Chautems, a 
 British subject. Madame Chautems, failing to make any impres- 
 sion upon me, invoked the intercession of Ex-Assistant Secretary 
 Fox, who came on to present the Czar with the letter of Con- 
 
468 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 gress congratulating him upon his escape from assassination in 
 1866. Mr. Fox handed the letter over to me, of course, treating 
 her demand with contempt. She then sent a petition to the Con- 
 gress of the United States, embracing the most infamous charges 
 against me, most of which had not been mentioned in her letter 
 to Mr. Fox. This petition, with hundreds of others, was referred 
 by resolution without being read to the several committees — this 
 one to the Committee of Foreign Affairs — and was by them re- 
 turned to the House, and again without being read was referred 
 to the State Department, ^ee letter A.) Wm. H. Seward then 
 sent it, with an anonymous pamphlet styled ' ' Forty Chapters 
 upon Clay," to me, saying Congress required me to answer — a 
 cowardly and infamous lie, as S. Colfax's letter proves. (See dis- 
 patch B.) 
 
 I immediately, seeing myself arraigned by my own Govern- 
 ment before all Europe, upon the baseless calumnies of an anony- 
 mous writer, and the petition and declaration of a common prosti- 
 tute, answered them all, and sent them, charges and refutation, to 
 Prince Gortchacow, accompanied with a letter waiving my privi- 
 leges as a minister, and asking a full inquiry from the Russian 
 courts, and subjecting myself, if guilty, to all the penalties of 
 Russian law. In a little while the Minister of the Court of 
 Secret Justice, Count Schouvalofif, returned all the papers, begging 
 me to pay no attention to one who was well known to the police 
 as a bad character, and that he claimed no jurisdiction in the 
 case. Prince Gortchacow, when asked what I should do, said: 
 "Nothing; your own past life is the best refutation of such ca- 
 lumnies." 
 
 I then wrote to Sir Andrew Buchanan, reproaching him with 
 
 refusing to contribute to the Chautems' charity, and interfering 
 
 when she was to have been punished for her crimes. He wrote 
 
 me two magnanimous letters, acquitting me of all blame; which 
 
 letters I sent to the State Department, and the publication of 
 
 which I now demand of Hamilton Fish in my defense. (See 
 
 letters C. and D., etc.) 
 
 C. M. Clay. 
 White Hall, Ky., September 3, 1872. 
 
 [A — No. I.] 
 
 St. Petersburg, Ra., April 18, 1867, N. S. 
 I, the undersigned, counsellor in St. Petersburg, do declare that 
 I was the authorized attorney of C. M. Clay in the purchase of the 
 
or CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 469 
 
 furniture of Eliza Chautems, the wife of Jean Chautems, a Swiss 
 subject, resident in the city of St. Petersburg; and that the said 
 Clay paid through me to Messrs. Brickoff, Zakoleff, and others, 
 thirteen hundred and twenty-five rubles, part of which money was 
 to save Madame Chautems from criminal prosecution — she having, 
 in violation of law, taken up money on this furniture already 
 pledged. I declare that Mr. J., and Madame E. Chautems were 
 both notorious bankrupts before and at the time of the purchase 
 of said furniture by me for said Clay. That the time of the liens 
 having expired, it resulted that the legal title was entirely in the 
 said Clay, being duly recorded in the proper courts according to 
 law. And I further declare that no other person paid any part of 
 said purchase money. I further state that the house Oussofif was 
 rented by said Clay, and paid for by him, and by no other person. 
 That Madame Chautems was legally ejected, and the furniture sold 
 for said Clay's benefit. I further declare that all the personal prop- 
 erty not named in said Clay's recorded list of furniture was allowed 
 by said Cl^y to Madame Chautems; and taken by her creditors for 
 their own use, according to law. I declare further that I drew up 
 said Clay's answer to Madame Chautems' suit; that I advised him 
 that she could not recover a copeck against him, but advised him 
 also to make the defense of privilege, as I believed her object was 
 solely to calumniate him, or to extort money. 
 
 Arkady Nicanoff, 
 
 Aulic Counsellor. 
 [A— No. 9.] 
 
 I, Arkady Nicanoff, Aulic Counsellor, do certify that I have 
 seen the list of furniture set forth in the petitions of Eliza and 
 Jean Chautems to the Congress of the United States, and that 
 the most valuable things had been taken and sold by Eliza Chau- 
 tems and her husband, contrary to law, viz.: silverware, table-linen 
 and napkins, service of glass, and all that was most valuable. The 
 penalties of which breach of law weijf removed from possibility of 
 execution by moneys paid by C. M. Clay, and that they were not 
 on his list. • 
 
 I also certify that I made out and registered in the court of 
 "Uprava Dwarrenchinia " ("/i? tribunal de police, premier department 
 de St. Petersbourg,'"') the furniture sold by it, and bought by C. M. 
 Clay, by the decree of said court, and put into the possession of 
 said Clay in the house Oussoff; and that the most valuable things 
 were abstracted secretly by the Chautems, and could not be found 
 
470 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 on the Dealings of said property for said Clay's security; for which 
 the said Eliza Chautems could have been criminally prosecuted and 
 convicted. For instance: a service of porcelain, sold for one hun- 
 dred rubles by her, was found with Leon Mandelstramm, 13th 
 line, St. Petersburg; which he was ready to return to said Clay. 
 And a writing-desk was found in the possession of Lewenged of 
 St. Petersburg. Which prosecution said Clay, through mercy to 
 Madame Chautems and her children, declined to make. All of 
 which I know to be true. Arkady Nicanoff, 
 
 Aulic Counsellor. 
 
 Consulate, U. S. A., St. Petersburg, Ra. May 8, 1867. 
 I, the undersigned George Pomutz, Consul of the United States 
 of America, at St. Petersburg, Russia, do hereby certify that the 
 foregoing two affidavits (Numbered A — i and 9,) are true copies 
 of the originals now before me, both of which were duly acknowl- 
 edged by me. 
 
 Witness my hand and the seal of this consulate hereto attached 
 the day and date above written. George Pomutz, 
 
 ( L. S. ) United States Constd. 
 
 [A.] 
 
 London, May 2, 1866. 
 
 Personally appeared before me, Denison Chauncey Pierce, of 
 the State of New York, United States of America, temporarily 
 residing in London, being sworn, says, that he never did, at any 
 time, pay to his Excellency, Gen. C. M. Clay, for or on account 
 of Madame Chautems, or her husband, for rent, furniture, or any 
 other purpose, five hundred rubles.* And further that he never did 
 pay his Excellency, Gen. C. M. Clay, or any other person, for or 
 on account of said Madame Chautems, or her husband, any sum or 
 sums whatsoever, at any time. All of which is true, so help me 
 God. D. C. Pierce. 
 
 Sworn and subscribed to before me this the 2d day of May, 
 A. D., 1866, in the Consulat? of the United States, at London 
 
 Joshua Nunn, Depttty Consul. 
 
 [A-6.] 
 English Church, St. Petersburg, Aug. 13, 1866, N. S. 
 Sir: — Returned from England yesterday, and found your Ex- 
 cellency's note of the 7th inst. awaiting me. Mrs. Chautems has in- 
 
 *She averred that Pierce, among others, had given me 500 rubles for her. C. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 47 1 
 
 troduced herself to me — as any one, so disposed, may do — and, 
 pleading distress, made "allegations injurious" to your Excellency's 
 "character." To those allegations, however, I am in no true sense 
 a "witness," and have certainly no just warrant for believing or 
 attesting them. When, some months ago, an advertisement ap- 
 peared in some Russian paper referring "the charitably disposed" 
 to me, as to one who could testify to the truth of certain statements 
 <made by a person in some respects answering to Eliza Chautems, I 
 felt it my duty to send another advertisement, denying that I had 
 given any authority for such reference to be made to me. I am, 
 your Excellency, your obedient servant, 
 
 Arthur S. Thompson. 
 To His Excellency, Gen. Clay, 
 
 Embassador of the United States of America, etc. 
 
 [A-7.] 
 General: — I told mamma that you asked to come and see us. 
 She has no objection ; but, on the contrary, will be very happy to 
 see you. As we leave for the country on Saturday, mamma will 
 wait for you till 4 o'clock to-morrow, Friday, the 10th. 
 
 Fifth line N — 12; Login N — 7. 
 
 Thursday evening, the 9th June, 1866. 
 
 Leontine.* 
 
 [B.] 
 
 Chicago, III., May 18, 1867. 
 My Dear Sir: — Lecturing every day, your letter, through the 
 State Department, has just reached me here, remailed. All I know 
 of the matter is that my secretary presented the petition, with hun- 
 dreds of others of all kinds directed to me officially, and this one 
 was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. I never read 
 it, nor even heard of it, till my colleague, Hon. G. S. Orth, of 
 Lafayette, Ind., a member of that committee, told me he had read 
 it, and that it was referred by the committee to the State Depart- 
 ment. Congress, therefore, never heard of it; nor do I know any 
 thing of it except what my colleague incidentally told me, and he 
 did not have any faith in it. He can furnish you full particulars. 
 In great haste, yours truly, Schuyler Colfax. 
 
 *This letter was written after all her mother's charges against' me, and after she 
 was turned out of my house. Meeting her on the street, I asked her, as stated, with 
 a view of defending myself, if need be. — C, 1885. 
 
472 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 [B-2.] 
 
 The Chautems and "Synopsis of Forty Chapters upon Clay" Calum- 
 nies. — Extract from Wm. H. Seward's Dispatch, No. 242, 
 of April I, 1867, 
 
 Your attention is respectfully invited to all these papers, in 
 order that the request of the House of Representatives may be 
 properly complied with.* I am, sir, your obedient servant, 
 
 Will. H. Seward. 
 Cassius M. Clav, Esq., etc., etc. 
 
 [C] 
 
 Copy of General Mezentsoff 's Letter against Chautems, translated from 
 
 the original, on file in State Department — Dispatch No. 238. 
 
 Chancery of His Majesty the Emperor, 
 3d Section, 2d Bureau, April 18, 1869. 
 
 General: — I hasten to satisfy a demand expressed in your 
 letter of the 4th of April, 1869, to confirm' for the present: 
 
 1st. That the letter inserted in the Swiss journal Bund, of the 
 number of May 21, 1868, concerning the Chautems, without being 
 authorized in form, nor destined for publication, contains in sub- 
 stance a summary of the intelligence taken by the Third Section 
 upon the antecedents of the Chautems; and communicated in a 
 special notice, in consequence of a letter at the instance of a Rus- 
 sian lady, wounded in her national sensibility by averments un- 
 worthy and calumnious, made by the Chautems at a hotel table in 
 Berne, upon the estimate of her country, and the reflections made 
 upon her in. consequence, she believed herself obliged to cite the 
 Chautems before the local tribunals of justice, after having learned 
 what was their position at St. Petersburg. 
 
 2d. That there was a formal decree f of a competent court of 
 April 28, 1868, pronounced after trial and an examination of facts 
 and incontestable documents, in consequence of which the furniture 
 belonging to Mr. Clay was adjudged to him, whilst delivering to 
 
 * Another infamous lie of Seward. The anonymous calumnies of the "Synop- 
 sis of the Forty Chapters upon Clay" wer» never sent to Congress at all. — C, 1885. 
 
 tThis decree was confirmatory of the action of the first court which sold the 
 furniture, Mrs. Chautems having brought suit against B. C. Goldschmidt, my super- 
 intendent, for the furniture. The second decree was rendered, it seems, after she had 
 escaped hy flight from Russia. — C, 1885. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 473 
 
 the Chautems family what of right belonged to them. As to the 
 police, it only executed a legal decree. 
 
 Be pleased to accept the expression of my most distinguished 
 consideration. Nicholas Mezentsoff. 
 
 The Imperial ministry of Foreign Affairs certifies that the above 
 is the true signature of General-Major Mezentsoff of the suite of His 
 Majesty the Emperor, Chief of Staff — Major of the Corps of Gend- 
 armes, and commanding the Third Section of the Special Chancery 
 of His Imperial Majesty. In testimony whereof the said Ministry 
 has affixed to these presents its seal. St. Petersburg, the 23d of 
 April, 1869, N. S. 
 
 The Vice-Director of the Department of Interior Relations.* 
 
 Demidoff. 
 N. Hann, R. S. 
 
 From the Swiss ''Bund" of May 21, 1868. — {See original in the 
 State Department — Dispatch No. ^38.) 
 
 Chancery of His Majesty the Emperor, 
 3d Section, Bureau . . . No. 521, April 10, 1868, N. S. 
 Madam: — Count Schouvaloff, Aid-de-camp-general, charges me 
 to inform you that the following are the advices upon the conduct 
 of the married pair, Chautems, during their sojourn in St. Peters- 
 burg, which you have been pleased to demand by your letter of 
 the 6th of May. Accept, Madam, on this occasion, the assurance 
 of my perfect consideration. Nicholas Mezentsoff. 
 
 Translation: To Madame de Sangrato. The police of St. 
 Petersburg possesses, with regard to the couple Chautems, infor- 
 mation which casts a bad light upon their antecedents, and shows 
 them to be people unworthy of confidence. The Sr. Chautems, 
 after having been in the service of some Russian nobles, was at- 
 tached to the house of her Imperial Highness the Grand Duchess 
 Helen, in the capacity of fourrier. It was then that he bought 
 for his wife an establishment of furnished apartments, having been 
 forced to quit the house of the Grand Duchess. Chautems re- 
 mained some time with his wife, who, in consequence of a domes- 
 tic scandal, put him out of doors. Afterward Chautems, although 
 without resources, succeeded in setting up a hotel; but he soon 
 
 *This is the highest authority in Russia — as from the Emperor himself. The 
 "Third Section" is the most confidential of the Emperor's servants, being in fact 
 his life-guards. — C, 1885. 
 
474 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 made a failure, which is said to have been fraudulent. Sometime 
 after, Madame Chautems asked of the authorities to be allowed to 
 live alone from her husband, under the pretense that he wished to 
 speculate upon the chastity of their oldest daughter. Neverthe- 
 less, the affair of the failure being settled, they reunited themselves ; 
 and set up, in the name of Madame Chautems, a new restaurant. 
 The husband was again driven away, and she in turn made a fail- 
 ure; after which they again reunited themselves, and continued to 
 live together. In general, the couple Chautems enjoyed, at St. 
 Petersburg, a very bad reputation with regard to their honor and 
 morality. They were even accused of theft to the prejudice of 
 persons who employed them. Finally, in the spring of 1867, 
 the couple Chautems, in consequence of prosecutions commenced 
 against them in Russia, brought on by their debts, escaped by flight 
 to foreign countries. April, 1868. 
 
 [E. — No. I.] 
 
 British Embassy, June 12, 1867. 
 My Dear General: — I beg to acknowledge the receipt of 
 your letter of the 9th instant, and to congratulate you on the sat- 
 isfactory information which you have received from the United 
 States as to the Chautems' affair. Believe me to be yours, very 
 truly, 
 
 Andrew Buchanan. 
 Gen. Cassius M. Clay, 
 
 Minister of the United States, etc. 
 
 [E. — No. 2.] 
 
 Boston, December 10, 1871. 
 C. M. Clay, Esq., White Hall, Ky. 
 
 Dear Sir: — I beg you thousand pardons for not having an- 
 swered your very kind letter. I am and was so overwhelmed with 
 business of all sorts that I really have not a moment leisure. Your 
 kind message has been submitted to His Imperial Highness, and 
 gratefully received. I am deeply grateful to you for your warm 
 sympathy. You will see, bye and bye, that liars and calumniators 
 will receive their reward. Heartily yours, C. Catacazy. 
 
 [E — No. 3.] 
 
 Portsmouth, N. H., April 3, 1867. 
 Dear General Clay: — I have your note of the 15th of March. 
 I am very glad to find you well and happy. I have spent some 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 475 
 
 time in Washington; and, so far as you are concerned, you may 
 rest in peace. Your friends have distributed a libellous pamphlet 
 
 concerning you, but its own grossness destroys its object 
 
 Wishing you health and happiness, I am, yours truly, 
 
 G. V. Fox. 
 
 CASSIUS M. CLAY AND THE RUSSIAN COURT. 
 
 INTERESTING DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 White Hall, Madison Co., Ky., Febmary 10, 1872. 
 
 W. C. Bryant, Editor of the Evening Post — 
 
 Dear Sir: — The Cincinnati Commercial of January last gives 
 what purports to be an editorial "from the New York Evening 
 Post," headed "Cassius M. Clay and the Russian Government." 
 
 As you have verbally and by letter expressed your admiration 
 of my character and public services, I am persuaded that such an 
 article was never seen or heard of by yourself, for whom I have 
 always entertained the highest respect 
 
 Calumny is the tribute which every successful patriot must pay 
 to the envy and malice of those who fail in life's struggle, and 
 which I have ever treated perhaps with too much contempt, and 
 which I only now refute because found in so reputable a journal 
 as the Evening Post. 
 
 In defense allow me to say: First — Prince Gortcbacow never 
 at any time "asked my recall." Second — No letter from him 
 asking my recall was ever "laid before the Senate Committee of 
 Foreign Affairs." Third — "That Mr. Clay himself" never "always 
 denied the assertions of Prince Gortchacow's unofficial letter," be- 
 cause he never, till the Evening Post article, heard of such letter. 
 Fourth — I leave to others to say, after reading the following let- 
 ters, how far I was "respectable" at St. Petersburg, and what 
 truth there is in any of the allegations against me: 
 
 NO. I . LETTER FROM UNITED STATES SENATOR WILSON. 
 
 "Senate Chamber, February 9, 1872. 
 "Dear Sir: — In reply to your letter of the 27th ultimo, I 
 have pleasure in informing you that I have made careful inquiry 
 respecting the communication alleged to have been sent to the 
 Committee of Foreign Affairs of the Senate, requesting your re- 
 call, and I am satisfied that no such letter was ever received. I 
 
476 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 think, therefore, you may give yourself no uneasiness on the sub- 
 ject: Yours very truly, 
 
 "H. Wilson. 
 
 "Hon. C. M. Clay." 
 
 [Here follow two letters — one from the Empress, and another 
 from the Grand Duke Alexander — which, as they are in French, 
 we omit] 
 
 NO. 4. FROM THE BROTHER-IN-LAW OF THE EMPEROR. 
 
 ' My Dear General : — I am most happy to be able to fulfill a 
 wish of yours, and send you accordingly my photographical image, 
 and a specimen of my handwriting. 
 "Yours most respectfully and truly. 
 
 "Count Gr. Stroganoff. 
 3-15, December, 1867." 
 
 [Mr. Clay appends a dozen other letters from distinguished 
 persons, which we are compelled to omit, and adds:] 
 
 I could produce similar letters from the legations of every court 
 in Europe and from the first nobles in Russia till my return home, 
 but you are ready to say, no doubt, ^'jam satis!" In regard to 
 Mr. Seward, so far from his "sustaining Mr, Clay as a faithful 
 minister," he was always my bitterest enemy ever since I refused 
 to sustain him in i86o against Abraham Lincoln and Chase. He 
 recalled me in 1862, under false pretenses, as is shown in Abraham 
 Lincoln's letter, published in my life, in "Men of Progress." He 
 was my chief calumniator, as the archives of the State Department 
 prove, and would have recalled me but that the Senate refused 
 always to allow it, till, nine months after he went out of office, I 
 returned home; and which I would have gladly done years before, 
 but that I did not intend to allow him a victory over me. 
 
 In conclusion, I will add that her Imperial Highness the Grand 
 Duchess Marie (Dagmar), to be the future Czarina of Russia, paid 
 me the distinguished honor to ask my photograph, which now 
 hangs framed in her palace at St. Petersburg. Sir Andrew Buch- 
 anan, the British Embassador, and William L. Winans, Esq., gave 
 me parting dinners, at which the most distinguished persons in 
 St. Petersburg were present; and the Grand Duke Alexis avowed 
 lately at Louisville, through Admiral Possiet, that "he delayed 
 his visit in America,!' on my account, to visit Kentucky. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 477 
 
 Trusting that those journals which have copied the Evening 
 Post article will insert this defense, I remain, with respect, yours, 
 
 C. M. Clay. 
 
 Thus the representative of the British Empire, whose 
 subject was said to have been wronged, and the highest 
 officials and the Emperor, whose laws were alleged to 
 have been violated, and the Committee of Foreign Affairs 
 and the Senate, whose more immediate representative I 
 was, — all stand united in my triumphant vindication against 
 Seward's and the Immortal Fish's cowardly calumnies, and 
 assure the world of my honorable conduct. 
 
 When the Grand Duke Alexis visited the United States 
 under the pledge of the Emperor to send some of his fam- 
 ily, in answer to my invitation, he received me with distin- 
 guished honor at St. Louis, where I was his guest, asking 
 me to be seated, while other noted persons stood; having 
 a long talk with me about old times, and inviting me again 
 to visit Russia. 
 
 Again, when I was also by the city authorities of Louis- 
 ville invited to meet him there, he said he had gone out of 
 his way to visit my State. At the lunch given him at the 
 Young Men's Club, he proposed and drank my health, and 
 invited me, in the presence of all, to visit Russia again — 
 an honor paid to me only. 
 
 In standing for eight years on the dark side of the 
 most unfortunate of America's administrations. Fish can 
 not plead drunkenness in palliation of the disgrace he and 
 Seward have brought, for the first time in our history, 
 upon the Premiers of the Nation. These are the men 
 who caused the long-suffering Grant to cry out: "Oh! 
 there are things more terrible than death!" He, too, 
 shall live with the destroyed — the destroyer. John An- 
 dre fell with the traitor Arnold; yet he was not Burns' s 
 "Johnny — who soul ne'er had onny," but a gallant spirit, 
 who gave all for his country — even honor. Let us, with 
 Cyrus W. Field, shed a tear over his grave. He never 
 sold his country for gold! Peace to the fallen ! But oh ! 
 
478 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Fish Immortal ! — Nothing of the ;S58oo,ooo of blood-money 
 has been divided between him and the Washington ban- 
 ditti; for of that claim "not a copeck" has Russia paid! 
 He did not even sell his town-lot to Catacazy ! Alas ! for 
 the Immortal Fish! In the language of "English Bards 
 and Scotch Reviewers," we must exclaim: 
 
 "Oh! Amos Cottle! Phoebus, what a name 
 To fill the speaking-trump of future fame ! " 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 George W. Julian of Indiana. — Men of Mason County, Kentucky, approve, 
 
 IN 1S4S, THE SUPPRESSION OF THE "TRUE AMERICAN." — LATER MeN OF MASON 
 
 County "Resolve" again. — In i8<tS I propose the Frankfort Convention. 
 Great progress made by 1849, as shown by further "Resolves" of Men 
 of Mason County. — I speak in Maysville; afterward in Brookville. — Am 
 MET by Wm. C. Marshall. — His tactics being defeated, as a Politician 
 
 HE IS ruined Proposing to form a National Party, I invite G. W. Julian 
 
 to assist me. — Marshall's later tactics overcome us, and we retire. — 
 How ms party supports Mr. Julian. 
 
 GEORGE W. JULIAN, of Indiana, who was the Vice- 
 Presidential candidate, in 1852, with John P. Hale, 
 of the Free Soil Party, was now (1872) again a candidate 
 for the same office. In 1850 he was invited by me to 
 come to Kentucky and assist me in speaking in the bor- 
 der counties of Lewis, Mason, and Bracken, which he did. 
 To show his heroism and patriotism, we must go back two 
 decades of years. 
 
 Mason County was one of the most advanced in lib- 
 eral sentiment in all Kentucky ; but, after the fall of the 
 True American, in 1845, I was denounced. To mark the 
 spirit of the times, and Julian's danger in venturing to 
 speak in a slave State, I here introduce some of the in- 
 cidents, and some of those published resolutions: 
 
 COUNTY MEETING. 
 
 An adjourned meeting of the citizens of Mason .County was 
 held at the Court-House in Washington, on Monday, 13th Oc- 
 tober, 1845, to take into consideration the propriety of the pro- 
 ceedings of the people of Lexington in suppressing the True Amer- 
 ican. The Hon. Walker Reid, former chairman, not having been 
 present, Lewis Collins, Esq., was called to the chair, and R. H. 
 Stanton, Esq., appointed Secretary. 
 
 The resolutions offered by Wm. T. Reid, Esq., at the last 
 
 479 
 
480 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 meeting, were then taken up for consideration. Said resolutions 
 were as follow: 
 
 Resolved, i. That we highly approve of and commend the con- 
 duct of our fellow citizens in Fayette and the adjacent counties, in 
 suppressing the publication of the Abolition newspaper recently 
 conducted at Lexington under the auspices of Cassius M. Clay, 
 and bearing the misnomer of the True American. That we also 
 approve of the resolutions and address submitted by the Hon. 
 T. F. Marshall, and unanimously adopted by the meeting in Lex- 
 ington on the 8th of August, and coincide with them in the opin- 
 ion therein expressed — that no Abolition paper ought to be toler- 
 ated in Kentucky; and we (£he citizens of Mason County,) pledge 
 ourselves that, if we can prevent it, none shall be; nor will we 
 encourage or support a«y press which now does or shall hereafter 
 advocate the emancipation of our slaves among us, or in any way 
 favor or encourage the designs of Abolitionism. 
 
 2. That we are opposed, at this time, to the calling of a Con- 
 vention to amend our "Constitution, believing, as we do, that such 
 an event would superinduce the agitation of the question of eman- 
 cipation, and disturb the peace and quiet of our citizens; and our 
 Senators and Representatives are hereby instructed to act in the 
 ensuing session of the Legislature in accordance with the will of 
 their constituents as expressed in this resolution. 
 
 Hon. Adam Beatty then submitted the following resolutions, 
 which he offered as a substitute for the foregoing: 
 
 Resolved, I. That, in a government of laws, under no circum- 
 stances should force be used to inflict punishment for offenses 
 already committed, because of these the laws can take cognizance, 
 and afford the appropriate remedy. 
 
 2. That it is only in extreme cases, when a great and irreparable 
 calamity threatens a community, and where the laws do not afford 
 an adequate remedy, that force ought to be resorted to, and then 
 only as a preventive remedy. And that, in the application of such 
 force, the utmost care should be taken to guard against the slightest 
 unnecessary injury to person or property. 
 
 3. That we consider the paper, called the True American, as 
 having been commenced in a wrong spirit, conducted with indis- 
 creet violence, and that it was wantonly offensive to the community 
 where it was printed. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 48 1 
 
 4. That we consider the request submitted to the Editor, by a 
 committee of the people of Lexington to discontinue his paper, 
 warranted by the intemperate and inflammatory character of his 
 recent numbers; and that his reply to that request was conceived in 
 a spirit of outrage, wholly unjustifiable, and meriting the severest 
 reprobation. 
 
 5. That this meeting regard the continued publication of an 
 Abolition paper, in Kentucky, as dangerous to the peace, order, 
 and well-being of society; and, in order to prevent irregular action 
 in the future, we recommend that laws be passed inflicting such 
 penalties upon incendiary Abolition publications in our State as 
 shall effectually prevent their being hereafter circulated. 
 
 6. That, in the state of feeling which now prevails in Ken- 
 tucky, produced by the intemperate and injudicious zeal of Abo- 
 litionists of other States, it would be impolitic to agitate the sub- 
 ject of calling a Convention to amend the Constitution. We, there- 
 fore, request our Senator and Representatives to oppose a call of 
 a Convention at the ensuing session of the Legislature, should a bill 
 for that purpose be introduced. 
 
 7. That, in the opinion of this meeting, the moral condition of 
 emancipated slaves can not be improved, while they remain here, 
 mingling with a slave population; and that slaves thus emancipated 
 must continue to be a degraded race, injurious alike to themselves 
 and the slave population. We are, therefore, of the opinion that 
 the colonizing of them on the coast of Liberia would be greatly 
 beneficial to them, and a decided advantage to this community. 
 
 8. That we highly approve the contemplated establishment, on 
 the coast of Liberia, of a colony of free persons of color from the 
 State of Kentucky, and that a liberal encouragement ought to be 
 afforded by our citizens to so useful an undertaking. 
 
 9. That, although we are of opinion that it would not be politic 
 to agitate the subject of gradual emancipation in the state of feeling 
 which now exists, arising out of the extremely injudicious course 
 of political Abolitionists in other states, yet we confidently hope 
 that the day will come when Kentucky, by the calm and deliberate 
 action of her own citizens, will gradually and entirely rid the State 
 of our black population, and thus relieve us of a political evil of the 
 greatest magnitude. 
 
 These resolutions were advocated briefly but earnestly by the 
 honorable mover, John A. McClung, and F. T. Chambers, Esq., 
 and opposed by W. T. Reid, Esq. 
 Vol. I. — 31 
 
482 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Elijah C, Phister, Esq., then moved to amend Judge Beatty's 
 resolutions by striking out the 9th and inserting the following, and 
 sustained his amendment with a few remarks: 
 
 Resolved, i. That we regard gradual emancipation, accompanied 
 with colonization, as the true and only true policy of Kentucky ; and 
 we confidently hope that the time may come when this great system 
 will be established by the people of this State. The discussion of 
 its propriety, and the time when that discussion is to commence, 
 are matters which should be left entirely to individual judgment, 
 under the promptings of an enlightened patriotism. When that dis- 
 cussion does commence, it should be faithfully protected by law. 
 
 2. That, in thus expressing ourselves, we disclaim all sympathy 
 with modern Abolitionism, and condemn it as fanatical and danger- 
 ous, and calculated to delay the period when our State shall be 
 relieved from the evils of slavery. 
 
 He was succeeded by H. Waller, Esq., who moved to amend 
 Judge Beatty's resolutions by striking out the 3d and 4th and insert- 
 ing the following, which he advocated at great length: 
 
 Resohied, i. That the tone, temper, and tendencies — the sym- 
 pathies, principles, morals, and manners — of the True American 
 newspaper stamp it essentially an Abolition print of the most dan- 
 gerous character; and that, situated as it was, in the heart of a 
 slave State, and conducted by a man utterly regardless of the in- 
 terests of the community around him — an incendiary or a mad- 
 man, deaf to the voice of expostulation and warning — it had, at 
 the time of its suppression, become a great and dangerous public 
 nuisance. 
 
 2. That the origin, support, and course of the True American; 
 its office fortified with cannon and other deadly weapons; its sub- 
 scription list large and increasing from the Abolition patronage of 
 the North; its inflammatory appeals stimulating with persevering 
 energy the passions of all classes and colors; its effect upon the 
 slave population, exhibited by increasing insubordination in fami- 
 lies, riotous assemblages at night, accumulating instances of outrage 
 and crime, expressions intimating speedy deliverance from bondage, 
 and threatening demonstrations of armed force and preparations for 
 violence, — all pointed to and portended insurrection and bloodshed. 
 In view of facts such as these, in full existence at the time, and 
 becoming more aggravated every hour, we believe the condition of 
 the citizens of Lexington and the surrounding country was critical 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 483 
 
 in the extreme — thiat it was a case of imminent public peril, of 
 great and urgent emergency — entirely beyond the reach, control, 
 and cure of the existing forms and process of law; a case involv- 
 ing the highest interests, the peace, security, and lives of the en- 
 tire population, white and black; and, as such, demanding impe- 
 riously the exercise of those original and ultimate rights of self- 
 preservation, of which no social compact or human legislation can 
 ever divest any people. 
 
 3. That we admire and approve the forbearance, firmness, de- 
 corum, and order of the proceedings which resulted in the sup- 
 pression of that fanatical and incendiary publication; that the lib- 
 erty of the press in its purity, as guaranteed by our fundamental 
 law, has not been violated, but that its flagrant abuse, for which 
 the Constitution holds the author responsible, has simply been 
 restrained. 
 
 After this there was a short but quite an animated discussion 
 in relation to the whole matter, in which John A. McClung, F. 
 T. Chambers, H. Waller, and W. T. Reid, Esqrs., and Hon. A. 
 Beatty and Col. Jacob A. Slack participated. 
 
 The question being called for, and H. Waller's resolutions 
 being first in order, they were rejected by a vote of 49 for and 58 
 against them. E. C. Phister's amendment weis then adopted with 
 but a few dissenting voices. The' question then coming up upon 
 Judge Beatty's substitute as amended, it was carried by a vote of 
 65 for and 49 against it. 
 
 The resolutions, as passed, are as follow: 
 
 Resolved, i. That, in a government of laws, under no circum- 
 stances should force be used to inflict punishment for offenses 
 already committed, because of these the law can take cognizance, 
 and afford the appropriate remedy. 
 
 2. That it is only in extreme cases, when a great and irrepara- 
 ble calamity threatens a community, and where the laws do not 
 afford an adequate remedy, that force ought to be resorted to, 
 and then only as a preventive remedy. And that, in the applica- 
 tion of such force, the utmost care should be taken to guard 
 against the slightest unnecessary injury to person or property. 
 
 3. That we consider the paper, called the True American, as 
 having been commenced in a wrong spirit, conducted with indis- 
 creet violence, and that it was wantonly offensive to the com- 
 munity where it was printed. 
 
484 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 4. That we consider the request submitted to the Editor, by 
 a committee of the people of Lexington, to discontinue his paper, 
 warranted by the intemperate and inflammatory character of his 
 recent numbers; and that his reply to that request was conceived 
 in a spirit of outrage, wholly unjustifiable, and meriting the sever- 
 est reprobation. 
 
 5. That this meeting regard the continued publication of an 
 Abolition paper, in Kentucky, as dangerous to the peace, order, 
 and well-being of society ; and, in order to prevent irregular action 
 in the future, we recommend that laws be passed inflicting such 
 penalties upon incendiary Abolition publications in our State as 
 shall effectually prevent their being hereafter circulated. 
 
 6. That, in the state of feeling which now prevails in Ken- 
 tucky, produced by the intemperate and injudicious zeal of Abo- 
 litionists of other States, it would be impolitic to agitate the sub- 
 ject by calling a Convention to amend the Constitution. We, 
 therefore, request our Senator and Representatives to oppose a 
 call of a Convention at the ensuing session of the Legislature, 
 should a bill for that purpose be introduced. 
 
 7. That, in the opinion of this meeting, the moral condition 
 of emancipated slaves can not be improved, while they remain 
 here, mingling with a slave population; and that slaves thus eman- 
 cipated must continue to be a degraded race, injurious alike to 
 themselves and the slave population. We are, therefore, of the 
 opinion that the colonizing of them on the coast of Liberia would 
 be greatly beneficial to them, and a decided advantage to this 
 community. 
 
 8. That we highly approve the contemplated establishment, on 
 the coast of Liberia, of a colony of free persons of color from the 
 State of Kentucky; and that a liberal encouragement ought to be 
 afforded by our citizens to so useful an undertaking. 
 
 9. That we regard gradual emancipation, accompanied with 
 colonization, as the true and only true policy of Kentucky; and 
 we confidently hope that the time may come when this great sys- 
 tem will be established by the people of this State. The discus- 
 sion of its propriety, and the time when that discussion is to 
 commence, are matters which should be left entirely to individual 
 judgment, under the promptings of an enlightened patriotism. 
 When that discussion does commence, it should be faithfully pro- 
 tected by law. 
 
 10. That, in thus expressing ourselves, we disclaim all sym- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 485 
 
 pathy with modem Abolitionism, and condemn it as fanatical and 
 dangerous, and calculated to delay the period when our State shall 
 be relieved from the evils of slavery. 
 Whereupon the meeting adjourned. 
 
 L. Collins, CluUrman. 
 R. H. Stanixjn, Secretary. 
 
 MASON COUNTY RESOLUTIONS AGAIN. 
 
 It seems from the following resolutions that the slave-holders 
 think it almost a gone case with them. The friends of emancipa- 
 tion had the good sense to stay away: 
 
 From the Maysville Eagle. 
 MASON COUNTY MEETING. — C. M. CLAY'S PAPER. 
 
 In accordance with a notice, signed by four hundred and fifty- 
 six citizens of Mason County, and published in the Maysville Eagle, 
 a mass meeting of the people of the county was held at the Court- 
 House in Washington on Monday the loth of November, 1845, to 
 consider the questions growing out of the recent action of the citi- 
 zens of Lexington in the suppression of the True American, pub- 
 lished by Cassius M. Clay. The meeting was one of the largest 
 county assemblages ever held in Mason, the Court-House not being 
 able to contain them, and was called to order by David Morris, 
 Esq., upon whose motion the Hon. Adam Beatty was .appointed 
 Chairman, and R. H. Stanton, Secretary. 
 
 Henry Waller, Esq., addressed the meeting, explaining fully 
 its object, and reviewing at length the circumstances connected 
 with the action of the citizens at Lexington. He referred to the 
 testimony adduced upon the trial of the persons engaged in the 
 removal of the True American office, and elucidated most clearly, 
 by an array of powerful argument, the imperative necessity by 
 which they were actuated in their proceedings. He concluded by 
 submitting the following resolutions: 
 
 Resolved, i. That, in a land of liberty and law, whose instiut- 
 tions are based on the popular will and controlled by the popular 
 opinion, it is especially proper that the sentiments of the people 
 upon matters of great and novel- interest should be ascertained; 
 and that in assembling here to-day to express our opinions upon 
 the proceedings at Lexington of the i8th of August, we realize 
 the responsibilities we assume as citizens and men, and are gravely 
 sensible of our duties to ourselves, our country, and our kind. 
 
486 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 2. That whenever existing laws are competent to ward off im- 
 pending danger from the citizens, or the community, no magni- 
 tude of evil will justify a departure from the forms of law; and 
 that the undelegated powers of society should only be exerted in 
 emergencies beyond the cognizance of the laws — when the evil 
 is more fearful than the remedy; and then always for prevention, 
 never for punishment. 
 
 3. That cases of extreme public peril may and do occur, which 
 the laws are incompetent to meet, and which can only be encount- 
 ered and controlled by a majestic movement of the people in their 
 might; and these cases are not to be confounded, with disorderly 
 assemblages and mobs, which originate in licentious passion and 
 result in crime — the one is no more a precedent for the other, 
 than is homicide in self-defense a precedent for murder. 
 
 4. That the tone and tendencies, the sympathies and principles, 
 of the True American stamp it essentially an Abolition print; and 
 that, situated in the heart of a slave State, and conducted by & 
 man utterly reckless of the interest of all around him — an incen- 
 diary or a madman, deaf to the voice of expostulation and warn- 
 ing — it had, at the time of its suppression, become a great pub- 
 lic nuisance. 
 
 5. That the origin, support, and course of that paper; its office 
 fortified with cannon and other arms; its patronage by the Aboli- 
 tionists of the North; its constant inflammatory appeals to the 
 passions of all classes and colors; its effects upon the slave popu- 
 lation, manifested by insubordination in families, riotous and armed 
 assemblages at night, increasing instances of violence and outrage, 
 songs to Cassius M. Clay — their deliverer, his own threat that 
 ''the masses" would be "avenged," his call to "laborers of all 
 classes" for whom he had "sacrificed so muck" to rally to "this 
 battle between liberty and slavery" with their "strong arms and 
 fiery hearts and iron pikes" his atrocious allusion to the "silver 
 plate on the board, and the smooth-skinned woman on the otto- 
 man," — all pointed to and portended insurrection and bloodshed. 
 In view of such facts, existing at the time and more aggravated 
 every hour, we believe the condition of the- citizens of that section 
 of the State was Critical in the extreme; that it was a case of 
 imminent public peril, of great and urgent emergency, entirely 
 beyond the reach, control, or cure of the forms and process of 
 law, involving the peace, security, and lives of the whole popu- 
 lation, white and black; and as such . demanding . imperiously the 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 487 
 
 exercise of those original rights of self-preservation, of which no 
 social contipact or human legislation can ever divest any people. 
 
 6. That we admire and approve the forbearance, firmness, de- 
 corum, and dignity of the proceedings for the suppression of that 
 incendiary publication; that the liberty of the press in its purity, 
 as guaranteed by our fundamental law, has not been violated, but 
 that its flagrant abuse, for which the Constitution holds the author 
 responsible, has simply been restrained. 
 
 7. That, in times so critical, Kentucky owes it to herself to 
 proclaim to Abolitionists of other States, and their organs in this, 
 that she needs no lessons from such reformers, and will submit to 
 none; that she never can safely consider the subject of emancipa- 
 tion until the wanton and desperate crusade upon her rights from 
 abroad shall have been beaten back; that upon that subject she 
 will forever war against all foreign influences, and will vindicate 
 her supremacy over her own territory, so as to control and dis- 
 pose of her property at her own sovereign pleasure; and that if 
 §he should hereafter choose to emancipate, she will do so at her 
 own time, in her own way, and upon principles which her own 
 safety, experience, and wisdom may approve. 
 
 8. That the principles and practices of Abolitionists have hith- 
 erto only served to injure in Kentucky the cause of emancipation 
 and colonization, to foster and confirm a spirit of pro-slavery, and 
 to convince her citizens that "the promptings of an enlightened 
 patriotism" forbid for the present the agitation of emancipation 
 in any form. 
 
 F. T. Chambers, Esq., then rose and explained his position 
 upon the questions embraced in the resolutions, disclaiming any 
 and all sympathy with Abolitionism. He doubted the propriety 
 of giving an unqualified approval of the Lexington proceedings, 
 but would interpose no obstacle to the passage of the resolutions, 
 if the meeting were inclined to adopt them. 
 
 These resolutions were then supported by Francis T. Hord 
 and John D. Taylor, Esqrs, in speeches of some length and 
 much ability, after which the question upon the resolutions was 
 taken, and resulted in their unaniinotis adoption. 
 
 The proceedings of the meeting were then directed to be pub- 
 lished in the Maysville Eagle, with a request that they be copied 
 into the other papers of the State. The meeting then adjourned. 
 
 Adam Beatty, Chairman. 
 R. H. Stanton, Secretary. 
 
488 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 One can not but admire the heroic attempt of the 
 lawyers to justify the overthrow of all law by illegal vio- 
 lence! — whilst the justification of the suppression of the 
 True American (which was never suppressed,) would be 
 ridiculous, if it were not contemptible. This bedlam of 
 assertions of right and wrong, of action and inaction, 
 of emancipation and enforced colonization, of impotent 
 and general cowardice, but for the proofs here extant 
 would by posterity never be credited. 
 
 Thomas F. Marshall had many relatives in Mason ; 
 but, like the bombastic Thomas, they wilted when they 
 came face to face with the "fanatic." 
 
 " For what can make brave men of cowards? 
 Not all the blood of all the Howards." 
 
 In less than four years, however, in the same county, 
 and by some of the same men, the following resolutions 
 were passed; 
 
 From the Lexington Daily Atlas. 
 COUNTY MEETING. 
 
 , A very large and respectable meeting of the citizens of Mason 
 County convened at the Court-House in the city of Maysville on 
 Monday the I2th of February, 1849, in pursuance of a call signed 
 by five hundred and twenty-three voters of the county, previously 
 published in the papers of the city, to take into consideration some 
 questions connected with the institution of slavery in Kentucky. 
 
 On motion of F. T. Hord, Esq., the meeting was organized 
 by the appointment of Hon. Adam Beatty, President, and Hon. 
 John Chambers, Edward L. Bullock, Abner Hord, David Morris, 
 O. H. P. Wheeler, Jesse Turner, Joseph Howe, and Christian 
 Shultz, Esqrs, Vice-Presidents. E. C. Phister and Granville Young 
 were appointed Secretaries. 
 
 Upon motion of John A. McClung, Esq., the President a-.- 
 pointed a committee of ten, composed of the following gentlemen, 
 to report resolutions for the consideration of the meeting: John 
 A. McClung, F. T. Hord, A. J. Smedley, Charles A. Marshall, 
 Benedict Kirk, Joseph Forman, Samuel Donelson, Asa R. Run- 
 yon, Wm. C. Holton, and David Rice Bullock, Esqrs. 
 
 During the retirement of the committee, the President, at the 
 request of the meeting, offered some remarks in explanation and 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELI.US CLAY. 489 
 
 support of the objects of the meeting. At the close of his re- 
 marks the committee reported the following resolutions: 
 
 Whereas, It has been determined by the people of Kentucky 
 that a Convention shall be called for the purpose of revising and 
 amending the present Constitution; and, whereas, opinions have 
 been expressed by a portion of our fellow-citizens in a public 
 meeting, held in the city of Maysville in January last, adverse 
 to any system of Emancipation whatever, present or prospective, 
 with or without Colonization; and, whereas, we deem it right and 
 proper that a full and free expression of public opinion should be 
 had upon a question so grave and momentous in its bearing upon 
 the future destiny of our country; therefore — 
 
 Resolved, i. That, in the opinion of this meeting, the institu- 
 tion of Slavery is a political and social evil, for the existence of 
 which in Kentucky, however, the present generation is not at all 
 responsible, 
 
 2. That, while we attach no blame to the slave-holder, as such, 
 and have no sympathy with the fanatical feeling manifested by a 
 portion of the North, we esteem it our right, our interest, and our 
 duty, to deliver ourselves from an injurious political institution, 
 which we have inherited from our fathers, by any plan which shall 
 be reasonable, constitutional, and just to owners of that species 
 of property. 
 
 3. That, in our opinion, a gradual and prospective system of 
 Emancipation, accompanied by Colonization, should be adopted by 
 our State. We regard such a project as practicable, political, and 
 humane, and earnestly desire to see it accomplished. 
 
 4. That, while we declare ourselves in favor of some carefully 
 devised plan of Emancipation, which shall be gradual in its opera- 
 tion, we are utterly opposed to any system which shall not result 
 in the final removal of the black race from Kentucky. 
 
 5. That we contemplate with pleasure the present growing 
 and prosperous colony of Liberia, and indulge the hope that it may 
 hereafter become an asylum for the emancipated slaves of Ken- 
 tucky, and the means of diffusing the blessings of civilization and 
 Christianity throughout the African Continent. 
 
 6. We distinctly avow that we desire to see some system of 
 Emancipation accompanied by Colonization engrafted in the Con- 
 stitution about to be framed. We do not, however, at present 
 deem it proper to insist upon that measure. But we do deem it 
 indispensable to insist upon the insertion of a clause in the New 
 
490 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Constitution by which the people will be allowed to vote on that 
 subject separately, whenever an act of the Legislature can be passed 
 which shall authorize the same; and whenever a majority of the 
 people shall clearly manifest a desire for Emancipation, that their 
 will thus expressed shall then be engrafted into the Constitution, to 
 be as effectual as if originally inserted. 
 
 7. That we will support no candidate for the Convention who 
 will not pledge himself to support the foregoing principle. 
 
 8. That this meeting most cordially approve of the law of 1833, 
 commonly called the Negro Law, and we deem it important that 
 its essential features should be incorporated in the Constitution about 
 to be framed. 
 
 9. That the healthful climate, the exuberant soil, and the high 
 temperate latitude of Kentucky point her out as the destined abode 
 of the free white race. No human power can arrest her onward- 
 march to freedom and prosperity. No earthly combination can 
 chain her forever to the car of Slavery. The petty ephemeral 
 policy which strives to fetter her giant energies will soon banish 
 before the progress of opinion; and the free white race, who are 
 destined to be lords of her noble Soil, will soon give her that ele- 
 vated rank in the confederacy which her natural position could 
 command, and of which an unfortunate political institution has 
 delivered her. 
 
 10. That a Committee of Correspondence be appointed by the 
 Chair, who shall correspond with our friends throughout the State, 
 and shall have power to call another meeting of our friends in the 
 county, if deemed advisable. 
 
 The resolutions were advocated by John A. McClung, E. C. 
 Phister, and F. T. Hord, Esqrs. After which, Henry Waller, 
 Esq., followed in some remarks favoring the resolutions generally, 
 during which he offered the following as a substitute for the 6th 
 resolution, and sustained his amendment briefly: 
 
 Resolved, That, under all the circumstances at present surround- 
 ing this question, we are against the agitation of Emancipation 
 with a view of engrafting it upon the New Constitution; but we 
 do insist upon the insertion of a clause granting power to the 
 Legislature, at any time, by statute, to submit that question to 
 the people for their decision; and if, upon two successive popular 
 votes, the people decide in favor of Emancipation, then the Con- 
 stitution to be accordingly amended. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 49 1 
 
 The propriety of the amendment was advocated by Gen. R. 
 Collins, and opposed by John A. McClung and E. C. Phister. 
 Mr. Waller then erased from his amendment the words "upon 
 two successive popular votes." But, upon motion of John A. 
 McClung, Esq., the amendment was laid upon the table. 
 
 The question coming up upon the adoption of the resolutions 
 as reported, the Committee, at the suggestion of Gov. Chambers, 
 so altered the 3d as to add the words "or removal from the 
 State" after Colonization, and they were carried unanimously. 
 
 The President, in pursuance of the iQth resolution, appointed 
 the following gentlemen a Committee of Correspondence: F. T. 
 Hord, A. Beatty, Dr. John Shackelford, John A. McClung, A. J. 
 Smedley, Samuel Donelson, E. C. Phister, and John Green, Esqrs. 
 After which it was resolved that the proceedings of the meeting 
 be published in the papers of the city, and that the papers 
 throughout the State be requested to copy the same. 
 
 Adam Beatty, President. 
 E. C. Phister and Granville Young, Secretaries. 
 
 Thus it seems that agitation did not set back the 
 cause. And some of those who denounced me in 1845 
 were following in my lead in 1849; for by my letter, be- 
 low given, in 1848 the Frankfort Convention was called. 
 
 The Louisville Examiner printed the following in its 
 last number for 1848: 
 
 We ask attention to the following letter from our respected and 
 warm-hearted friend, C. M. Clay, Esq. 
 
 The time is rapidly sliding by. A few months only will pass 
 before we shall be called to choose delegates. Come, friends, 
 arouse yourselves. Not a day is to be lost. We doubt not that 
 the cause of Emancipation is dear to the hearts of a vast ma- 
 jority of our fellow-citizens. Let us spare no pains, leave no right 
 and honorable effort untried to secure in the Convention a fair and 
 full representation of the will of the people: 
 
 White Hall, Ky., December 25, 1848. 
 
 Editors of the Examiner-^ 
 
 Gentlemen: — I have been waiting for some time for a call of 
 a Convention of the friends of Emancipation, previous to the com- 
 ing canvass of this great question before the people. 
 
492 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 With diffidence, in default of others, I make a few suggestions 
 for your consideration: Say that a meeting take place as soon as 
 practicable in Louisville, because it is accessible to all parts of the 
 State. That all persons friendly to the cause of liberty be mem- 
 bers. Let the Convention sit with open or closed doors, as may 
 be determined on the ground. 
 
 Such a meeting seems desirable for the following among many 
 other reasons: 
 
 1. To gain the power which ever ensues from organization. 
 
 2. To appoint a treasurer, and committees of finance and cor- 
 respondence. 
 
 3. To district the State, and allot competent debaters to each 
 county, that every neighborhood may be canvassed. 
 
 4. By concert to take care that in minority counties the vote 
 should not be lost. 
 
 Your idea of avoiding the discussion of plans of Emancipation 
 is founded on good sense. By "plans" we express ourselves need- 
 lessly to the fire of the enemy, and the "cross-fire" of friends. 
 "Wherever there is a will, there is a way." 
 
 It is now for Kentucky, so eminently gifted by nature, to de- 
 termine whether she will sink forever lower and lower down, by 
 the side of South Carolina and Arkansas, into decay, impotency, 
 and barbarism; or whether she will ascend into the glorious sister- 
 hood of such States as Ohio, Massachusetts, and New York. 
 
 Whilst we urge every reason in favor of liberty toward the de- 
 velopment of our physical, moral, and intellectual well-being, let us 
 not by cowardice be driven from our true and safest grounds — to 
 liberate our slaves because it is right. 
 
 The spirit of the revolutionizing nations inspires our cause — 
 whatever is of worth in Christianity sustains us — the aspirations 
 of the good and great of all lands are for us — conscience upholds 
 us — God is on our side. Let us then finish the work which our 
 fathers have left us — sacred and inviolate — to make our country 
 free. Your obedient servant, C. M. Clay. 
 
 So soon as thos^ resolutions of 1849 were passed, by 
 which it will be seen I was not denounced, there arose a 
 violent conflict of opinion in Mason, as a matter of course. 
 The Hunker slave-holders accused the Liberal Party of 
 being my followers, and no better than \. This naturally 
 placed us upon the same ground. So when, in 1849, I 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 493 
 
 reached Maysville to speak by appointment, party strife 
 was at white heat. Young Reid, son of Judge Reid, 
 who figured in these resolutions, clamorously took the 
 ground that I should not be allowed to speak at all. 
 Among others, a Presbyterian minister as warmly de- 
 clared that I was but exercising a constitutional right, 
 and should be heard. Thereupon Reid knocked the 
 minister down. But, when I came to the fulfillment of 
 my appointment, the Liberals seemed to have a majority 
 of a house filled to its greatest capacity. I, too, was 
 excited; because of the former resolutions here passed 
 against me, and because of Reid's dastardly conduct in 
 striking the clergyman. Every inch of space was filled, 
 and I hardly had room to gesticulate. I think I made 
 there the best speech of my campaign. I saw the force 
 of animal magnetism, and I literally swayed the audience 
 by my gestures, as the billows of the ocean are moved 
 by the winds. It was a great triumph. No man ventured 
 to respond in vindication of the Slave-Power. 
 
 That night I was sitting by the fire at my hotel with 
 several friends, in a social conversation, when Reid and 
 two companions came in. I wore a cloak, as the weather 
 was yet cool in the evenings on the river. When I saw 
 Reid I stood up, unbuttoned my cloak, and eyed him 
 closely; supposing, of course, that, after striking the par- 
 son, he would hardly let me escape. Whatever were his 
 intentions, however, Reid never said a word; but, turning 
 to the liquor-bar of the same room, with his two com- 
 panions, took a drink of Old Bourbon, and retired un- 
 greeted as they came. I learned afterward that he was 
 much badgered about the whole affair; and soon he emi- 
 grated, and made Missouri his home. 
 
 From Maysville I went to my appointment at Brook- 
 ville, the county town of Bracken. All over Kentucky, 
 where I spoke at different times, I was frequently an- 
 swered ; for I always invited discussion. The old poli- 
 ticians, knowing my mettle, and the weakness of their 
 
494 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 cause, never ventured to meet me in debate. But many 
 young lawyers, seeing how odious I was, thought it a 
 fine opportunity to advertise themselves, and make capital 
 at my expense. They would get up generally great col- 
 umns of statistics and narrow antecedents, which I would 
 knock down at a blow, when they were entirely at my 
 mercy. The people who came to hear me were pleased 
 to find me reasonable, and, at times, humorous ; and, of 
 course, felt the discourtesy offered a stranger by the un- 
 usual attacks which were made upon me. And the older 
 lawyers were gratified to see the overthrow of impertinent 
 rivals. So I may say that I always came off victor. 
 
 Wm. C. Marshall, of Bracken, was by no means a 
 young lawyer, and he had long been the "Boss" of that 
 county. A Whig, he would attend the Democratic meet- 
 ings, and attack their orators, and thus made himself very 
 odious to that party. He had also broken up, by violence, 
 the meetings of the Rev. John G. Fee, who was a native 
 of the same county. When Marshall heard of my appoint- 
 ment, he raised a great clamor in the county, after the 
 manner of his cousin, Thomas F. Marshall; and came to 
 Brookville with the Donophans and other friends, with the 
 purpose of using force against me. But when he arrived, 
 and blustered around awhile, and found but little sympathy 
 in the great crowd, he concluded to bully me in debate. 
 Now, as he was a Marshall, I did not, as usual, invite dis- 
 cussion; but went on, in the most conciliatory manner, to 
 strengthen myself against an effective reply. I was re- 
 ceived and listened to with great respect. So, when Mar- 
 shall got up, with that assurance which marks the family, 
 I closely scrutinized the faces of the audience, and saiw 
 there was but little sympathy with him. 
 
 Marshall was a candidate for the Convention of the 
 Whig Party, then in the ascendant in the county, it being 
 in 1849. After some impertinent general remarks, he 
 launched out in denunciation of the Abolitionists (Fee and 
 many of his friends were present,) of the North, and then 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 495 
 
 abused the North generally. I sat perfectly quiet, watch- 
 ing his every word. After awhile, playing the demagogue, 
 he said the people of the North paid no respect to South- 
 erners, and that when he was in the North they put him 
 into the kitchen, and seated him at the table with the 
 "Niggers." Then, turning to me, as if to say: "You 
 must speak as I tell you," he asked: 'f Is not that so, 
 Mr. Clay?" I was as cool as an icicle, and determined to 
 fortify every inch of ground upon which I stood. So, ris- 
 ing very respectfully to my feet, I replied : " Does Mr. Mar- 
 shall wish me to answer that question now?" "Yes." I 
 then went on: "The people of the North have some pecu- 
 liarities, and there is some difference in manners between 
 the North and the South. But I must say that they have 
 a fine appreciation of character. When I was in the North 
 I was always treated with great respect, and was seated at 
 table in the best rooms, with the best people; but, from 
 what I know of the Marshall family, I am fully prepared 
 to believe that the gentleman speaks truly when he says 
 that they placed him always in the kitchen, with the ' Nig- 
 gers. 
 
 This struck Marshall as a clap of thunder, as he found 
 I was not a suppliant, and intended neither to ask nor give 
 quarter. As I took my seat, the whole audience roared 
 with laughter. 
 
 Thus the debate went on for a long time; he being 
 always disconcerted, and I making telling replies, which 
 "brought down the house." For the Democrats and Lib- 
 . erals were more than pleased to see Marshall meet his 
 master, and were boisterous in their applause of me. At 
 length, by that fatality which attends a failing cause, being 
 a candidate for the Convention, he asked me, in a flippant 
 manner: whether I did not think he would be a proper 
 delegate to the Convention? Now, already before the 
 debate, I was told that Marshall dressed well in Augusta, 
 where, in quite a city-like to\vn, that old college of the 
 same name is located ; but, when he came out among the 
 
496 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 poorer people of Brookville, he always wore the primitive 
 "jeans" of the South and West — and that was his dress 
 now. Rising, with great gravity, I said: "With my limited 
 knowledge of the gentleman's character, having hardly 
 heard of him till now, I could not venture to recommend 
 him ; for he seems anxious to please both sides, and could 
 not be thought a faithful Whig. He reminds me of the 
 poor fellows who, in the Revolutionary times, drove cattle 
 for both armies. They were called "Cow- Boys;" and, 
 being plundered often by falling into the wrong camp, at 
 length grew cautious, and, when asked to what side they 
 belonged, would first ask: "To what side do you belong?" 
 and, being told, said: ''That 's my side!" 
 
 By this time the audience was in a roar of laughter. 
 Marshall, from his seat, cried out: "You are a set of fools, 
 and do not know what you are laughing about." This in- 
 creased the merriment; and I remorselessly pursued my 
 advantage. "No, sir, I can not think you the proper per- 
 son to represent any constituency, Whig or Democrat; for 
 I am told that in Augusta you wear a broadcloth coat, 
 but when you come here I find you with a jeans coat on ! 
 The people would have reason to be cautious in so grave 
 a trust as forming a new Convention to confide in a con- 
 fessed turncoat!" 
 
 This but increased the clamor against him. And the 
 debate closed. He was chosen a delegate to the Con- 
 vention; but lost his hold on the people, and was never 
 more, my friend Fee told me, elected to office. I had 
 ruined him. 
 
 But Marshall, or some of this band of outlaws, to cover 
 up their treason, joined the Union army, and were officers 
 or employes of that army in 1862; and, when Fee at- 
 tempted to return from exile home again, put him back, 
 at Augusta, on the Ohio side by a mob. 
 
 The following account of this affair, as given by Rev. 
 John G. Fee, appeared in the Berea Evangelist for De- 
 cember, 1885: 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 497 
 
 "I, with our then youngest son, went around by Cincinnati, 
 Ohio, that I might publish another tract on the subject of Slavery. 
 This done, I started for Berea, Ky. I came to Richmond by stage. 
 At this time, 1862, there was neither railroad nor turnpike to 
 Berea. Carriage I could not obtain. The most I could get Wcis 
 a single horse, and that only as I would promise not to take it 
 into the rebel lines; for report was that such were then between 
 Richmond aind Berea. I made the promise, took my son, then 
 eleven years old, and on the horse we started for Berea. About 
 half of the way home, near to Kingston, we met Union forces re- 
 treating before Confederate forces then invading the State. I 
 returned to Richmond, delivered up my horse, and waited the 
 dawn of another day. Early that morning an engagement came 
 off between the Union and Confederate forces. I obtained another 
 horse, and went to the scene of conflict. To me it was a sad sight. 
 The Union forces were small, and badly managed. Soon they were 
 outflanked on both sides. Overpowered and continually decimated, 
 they were compelled to retreat again and again. 
 
 ' ' By eventide the Confederate forces were fast surrounding Rich- 
 mond. I fell back with the Union forces to the Kentucky River; 
 and from thence to Lexington, Ky. By evening of the next day 
 the Union forces decided to vacate Lexington. 
 
 "Those of us who were not in military lines had to care for 
 ourselves as best we could. With my son and two tried friends 
 I made my way across the country to Bracken County, in the 
 border of the State. There leaving my son with his grand- 
 parents, I came to Augusta, on the Kentucky side of the Ohio 
 River, intending to take boat for Cincinnati; ftnd, if possible, by 
 railroad and stage, get to my wife and the other children then at 
 Berea. 
 
 "Whilst waiting there for an expected boat, near 10 o'clock at 
 night, I was gobbled up by another mob in that Augusta, taken 
 to the office of Dr. 'Josh.' Bradford, a relative by blood, and a 
 former school-mate. He professed to be a Union man, and was 
 then attempting to raise a Union regiment. In an enclosed room, 
 and with other mobocrats around him, he demanded of me the 
 pledge that I now leave the county — my native county — and 
 never return. Of course, I declined any such pledge. He, with 
 some others, retired for consultation. Soon he returned, saying: 
 'We have decided to put you across the river' (the Ohio River), 
 ' and, if you return, ' said he, ' I will hang you, if it is the last act 
 
 Vol. I. — 32 
 
49^ MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 of my life.' I replied: 'Do what you conceive to be your duty, 
 and I will try to do mine.' 
 
 ' ' He and four others took charge of me, whilst a promiscuous 
 crowd followed. I was thus taken to the river, and led into a flat. 
 Some of the crowd attempted to press into the boat; but, being 
 refused by those who had the boat in charge, the leader of the 
 crowd, as he turned to go for other boats, said : ' We will whip 
 him like h — 1.' 
 
 "I was put across the river. The rebels were at this time 
 crossing below and behind. Soon I was landed on the opposite 
 shore. I walked steadily up the bank; and, a corn-field being be- 
 fore me and near by, I leaped the fence, and completely eluded 
 my pursuers. I passed through the field, and ascended the hill 
 rising from the river valley. From my elevated position I could 
 see my pursuers pjissing up and down searching for me. I saw 
 them abandon the pursuit, and cross the river. 
 
 "As I sat on the brow of that hill my emotions were mingled. 
 I looked up and said: 'God is good; man only is vile.' As I 
 looked around me I said: 'All nature is lovely.' It was then early 
 September — the air was soft, the sky was clear, and the moon in 
 her great beauty shone almost with the brilliancy of the noon-day 
 sun. The wide-spreading corn-fields below me were yet green. 
 The forest trees on the banks of the stream were still in their 
 richest foliage. 'Olemba's gentle wave,' in long meandering 
 stretch, flowed gently on, and was one continued scene of beauty, 
 reflecting, as it did, the soft rays of the silver moon. Across this 
 stream lay the town of Augusta. Prominent among its buildings 
 were the old college-buildings; within those walls I had studied 
 during two years of my college course. Oft in my youth I had 
 walked the streets of that town, with hopes of a happy future. 
 There, too, my wife, in girlhood days, had gone to and fro from 
 the little brick school-house, standing yet before me. Now I was 
 an exile — for no other ofiense than that of pleading, in my native 
 land, for the liberty and equal rights of all men. My wife and two 
 little ones were one hundred and forty miles in the interior of a 
 slave State, and in the very midst of rebel " bands. Mine, then, 
 was sorrow in the midst of mingled beauty. 
 
 "All I could then do was to lift up my heart in faith with him 
 who long before said: ^Jehovah jira' — the Lord will provide; and 
 then with Him who said, on the eve of a great deliverance: 'Stand 
 still, and see the salvation of God,' 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 499 
 
 ' ' In the morning I took the first downward boat, went to Cin- 
 cinnati, thence across to the Union forces on the Kentucky side. 
 
 "J. G. F." 
 
 I heard of this, and wrote at once to the War Depart- 
 ment to strike Dr. Bradford from the army roll. I received 
 an answer* from the War Office that the offender claimed 
 to be Fee's friend, and had acted in his preservation ! 
 They hated, of course, these men worse than rebels! But 
 I had no time or means to investigate the matter, as we 
 all for a time were overrun by Kirby Smith; and I re- 
 turned to Washington, by way of Frankfort. 
 
 * Head-quarters United States' Forces, 
 Maysville, Ky., September 30, 1862. 
 
 Maj. N. H. McLean, Assl. Adjt. Gen. and Chief of Staff, Deft, of the Ohio — 
 
 Sir: — I have the honor to submit the following report touching 
 the application of Major-General C. M. Clay for the removal of Dr. 
 Bradford, Brigadier Surgeon in Gen. Nelson's Division, from the 
 service of the United States. Immediately upon the receipt of your 
 dispatch, referring the matter to me for investigation, I instituted a 
 thorough investigation; and I find, ist. That Dr. Bradford was 
 Brigadier Surgeon, as represented, but that he has retired from 
 that position, and was, at the date of Gen. Clay's application, 
 engaged in recruiting a regiment for the United States' service at 
 Augusta, Ky. I was not able to ascertain whether he ever had a 
 commission as an officer in the United States' service, as he was 
 attacked at Augusta, and, after a most gallant defense, was made 
 prisoner, on the day I had sent a messenger to ascertain the fact. 
 I doubt whether he then held a commission. I find, 2d, That he 
 did not mob the Rev. John G. Fee; but, on the contrary, he took 
 him into a boat, and set him across the Ohio River, to prevent him 
 from being mobbed. The circumstance occurred soon after the 
 battle at Richmond. Mr. Fee was on his return from Richmond, 
 and passed through Augusta, where a mob assembled and threat- 
 ened him with violence. He was desired to leave the town, and 
 finally consented, when Bradford took him across the river, and, in 
 the opinion of most of the inhabitants of the town, saved his life. 
 
 I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 H. B. Wilson, 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Commanding Post. 
 
5CX) MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 This was the state of public feeling in those counties 
 when, thinking the time favorable for the beginning of a 
 National Party, embracing both North and South, I invited 
 my distinguished friend, George W. Julian, to come over 
 to Kentucky and assist me on the stump. We went over 
 the three counties named, spoke together, and met no 
 especial opposition. Marshall did not care to meet me 
 again at Brookville; but he sent his low-bred tools to soil 
 the Court-House, where we were to speak. The doors 
 of the Court- House were wide open, it being pleasant 
 weather, and, no opposition being apparent, we were sur- 
 prised at this new method of warfare ! 
 
 Julian, with his usual wit, after surveying the premises 
 with great disgust, said: "Well, we should not complain 
 of the Slave-Power; for this is the strongest argument 
 they could have presented!" 
 
 Julian is a man of fine logical powers and patriotic im- 
 pulses. Next to O. P. Morton, he is the ablest man In- 
 diana has produced. In 1872 his friends at Cincinnati 
 put forward his name for Vice-President once more ; and 
 I would have gladly given him my support, but I was 
 committed in advance to B. G. Brown. 
 
 Julian married the daughter of my old friend, Joshua 
 R. Geddings, a fine woman; and amuses himself, I be- 
 lieve, by writing the campaign speeches for the Democrats 
 of his State, which are the ablest they can get. They 
 print them, and give them wide circulation; but they give 
 Julian — no office! Gen. Durbin Ward, of Ohio, is by his 
 party treated in the same manner. 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 The Greeley Movement inaugurated. — Invited to speak in St. Louis, I pro- 
 pose Horace Greeley for the Presidency. — Gen. Beauregard. — The 1872 
 Liberal kEPUBLiCAN Convention in Cincinnati. — Stanley Matthews and 
 Carl Schurz. — Nomination of Horace Greeley and B. Gratz Brown. — 
 
 Henry Watterson — Imperialism Canvass of 1872 and 1876. — I visit 
 
 Mississippi. — How I found matters political there. — Threatened fight 
 near Friar's Point. — Mississippi ejects the Carpet-Baggers. 
 
 I DID all I could to forward the Cuban cause, appoint- 
 ing prominent individuals in most of the States as 
 Vice-Presidents of the Society, But, as Grant was act- 
 ing against us, few persons would contribute, seeing that 
 ninety-nine chances in a hundred were in favor of the 
 capture of all investments for charitable use. About 
 $1,000, handed over to Charles A. Dana, our treasurer, 
 out of over $2,000, were paid to the Cubans — the re- 
 mainder expended — most of all the contributions coming 
 from Gerrit Smith, and not a dollar from the Grant 
 party. The Tribune and Republican papers continued to 
 ignore our movement; and, discouraged, I turned the 
 Society and its records over to a new organization — the 
 Cuban League. In the meantime I had lost much time 
 and several hundred dollars in the cause; always refusing 
 to receive Cuban bonds for sale, or having any thing to 
 do with the keeping or disbursing of the funds. To fight 
 against Grant at this time seemed the height of madness ; 
 but I was no novice in great movements, and went into 
 the opposition as warmly as if victory lay at the door. 
 The Democrats were beaten in the war, and were power- 
 less in politics. I thought that the way to help them was 
 to start an independent candidate, which, if they were wise, 
 they would support with or without a conventional nomina- 
 
 Soi 
 
502 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 tion. Greeley, from his prominence and magnanimity to- 
 ward the South, seemed to be the right man. Our personal 
 relations, by the Bayard Taylor imbroglio, were strained, 
 but we became good friends again; and, before I left New 
 York, I told him I would urge him for the independent 
 presidential nomination. In the meantime almost all the 
 old leaders of the Republican Party — Sumner, Greeley, 
 Chase, Julian, Trumbull, and others — were disgusted with 
 Grant; and all careful thinkers and readers of history saw 
 that, sooner or later, the policy of putting the Saxon race 
 under African rule would come to grief. I lost no time in 
 writing and private discourse to present the necessity of 
 the new movement; and, on the 4th of July, 1871, I spoke, 
 by invitation, to an immense audience at Lexington, made 
 up mostly of Republicans — black and white — in which 
 speech I took up Greeley by name as the proper man for 
 the next Presidency.* I was invited to speak in many 
 places; but availed myself of an invitation from all parties 
 to address the people of St. Louis, Missouri, in the same 
 fall, where the great Cotton Fair then drew men from all 
 
 * Casstus M. Clay among the Blacks — Fourth of July Oration in Lex- 
 ington, Ky. — Cold Water for Granfs Friends — A Con- 
 servative Leader. 
 
 Correspondence of the World. 
 
 Lexington, Ky., July 5, 1871. — Cassius M. Clay, upon invita- 
 tion, addressed the largest audience of colored people, near Lex- 
 ington, ever assembled in the State. 
 
 He advocated the Union, the Constitution, equal rights of all 
 before the law. He claimed the interests of the blacks and the 
 old masters were the same ; and that, if they were just, they would 
 regain their former power, not by revolution, but by education and 
 the development of the unequalled resources of the South. He 
 was against the abstractions of 1789, which led to secession, and 
 the Force bill of 1871, which reduced us to despotism. He was 
 in favor of one term for the Presidency, and would prefer the can- 
 didate who came with the olive branch rather than the sword — 
 "impartial suffrage, and universal amnesty* — Horace Greeley. Mr. 
 Clay was cheered throughout with the wildest enthusiasm. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 503 
 
 the extreme Southern States. I had on the platform such 
 men as James S. Rollins, the old Whig leader and Repub- 
 lican, Frank P. Blair, Gov. B. Gratz Brown, Gen. Beaure- 
 gard, and other distinguished men of all parties. I again 
 showed the necessity of a more liberal policy toward the 
 South; and the formation of a new party, of which Horace 
 Greeley should be the head. My speech was received with 
 enthusiasm. After it was over, I had a moonlight walk 
 with Gen. Beauregard, who, it will be remembered, fired 
 the first gun on Fort Sumter. He said he had heard my 
 remarks with great interest, and that he was never a pro- 
 slavery man in the strictest sense ; that he agreed with me, 
 at least, in the economic view of the question ; that he was 
 rather the creature of circumstances than a willing Seces- 
 sionist, but went with his people; that he and most of the 
 prominent leaders of the Rebellion were content with the 
 inevitable, had abandoned all idea of the revival of the 
 "Lost Cause," and would make a new career in the old 
 Union. And, as an assurance of his fidelity, he had sent 
 
 Colonel Pratt, the federal assessor, then made a studied eulogy 
 upon Grant, and nominated him for a second term. A few cheers 
 from the stand, where all the Grant office-holders were seated, fell 
 like ice upon the people, and in all that vast assembly not a single 
 response was made! 
 
 Should Grant be the nominee of the Republicans, and the 
 Democratic Party stand upon a liberal platform with a liberal can- 
 didate, it is understood that Mr. Clay would take the stump in 
 every Southern State against the Dictator. He retains all the 
 energy and dogged perseverance of his earlier years, with his 
 mental powers enlarged by experience. In such case he would 
 be more powerful than all the office-holders with the colored peo- 
 ple, and produce a revolution of public opinion! 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Burdett, a man of color, and of extraordinary 
 genius and oratorical powers, followed Mr. Clay, whom he eulo- 
 gized as the true leader of the blacks, and whose views he sus- 
 tained to the fullest extent. He moved the whole audience, black 
 and white, to tears, and filled them with the greatest enthusiasm. 
 
 A Republican from the Start. 
 
504 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 from New Orleans, where he was now domiciled, his son 
 to Kansas City, on the border of a free State, to imbibe 
 the influences of the new era. * 
 
 When the Convention was called at Cincinnati, in 1872, 
 I headed the Kentucky delegation, and carried it against 
 the Watterson influence in Louisville, which was for Chas. 
 Francis Adams. Of all the great names of the North, that 
 of Adams was, among the masses, the most unpopular 
 since the time of Jackson ; and even many of Henry Clay's 
 friends hated it because of its ill-omened connection with 
 his defeats. So I had a double motive in Adams's over- 
 throw. First, it was good policy; and, secondly, it gave 
 me an opportunity to get even with Seward's friend and 
 defender. Many wished to put me in nomination; but I 
 declined the first office, as well as the second, which last 
 I would have had no difficulty, I think, in getting, had I 
 joined the Adams' party. I wanted neither — first, because 
 
 * Outside of my being a Southerner, with my knowledge of the 
 two races, I could not have been otherwise than opposed to black 
 rule. To throw aside all the facts of superior culture, property, and 
 refinement, which centered in the whites of the South, there re- 
 mains the sympathy of race. Who, whatever his repugnance to 
 British tyranny and domination, did not feel a responsive thrill of 
 sympathy and elation in favor of our British ancestors in India and 
 Afghanistan against the great odds of the copper-colored races? 
 Yet the battle went against the natural rights and liberties of the 
 natives. What civilized man has not had the gallant Gordon in his 
 inmost aspirations for his safety and triumph against his barbarian 
 foe? And yet he fought for conquest, and they, the Arabs, for 
 self-government ! Nor can the fact that El Mahdi included the slave- 
 trade in his right of autonomy change the sentiment. We should 
 all have felt the same toward Gordon in all events. So, in the 
 South, till the peace, the right was on the side of the black and 
 the Republican Party; but afterward the right, as well as the sym- 
 pathy of the white races of all civilization, was on the side of the 
 South against the North, because civilization and the white race 
 were, after their aberration, at odds with the blacks and barba- 
 rism. — C, 1885. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 505 
 
 I regarded the movement as initial, and not then destined 
 to certain success ; and all my life having cared more for 
 the success of my cause than personal elevation, I never 
 took ground even for self where I thought I could not 
 successfully hold it. Stanley Matthews, an old friend and 
 partner of S. P. Chase, was made temporary chairman ; 
 and Carl Schurz permanent president of the Convention. 
 All seemed easy for Adams; and the old family-chair was 
 brought down from Quincy, Massachusetts, to the Con- 
 vention, so sure were the friends of the Ex-Minister to 
 England of his triumph. The convention was an im- 
 mense one; the Democrats, of course, deeply sympathiz- 
 ing with the movement. B. Gratz Brown, Chas. Francis 
 Adams, and Horace Greeley were the candidates ; and, 
 had the balloting gone on, Adams would have been the 
 nominee. 
 
 At this juncture I called upon my old Kentucky friend, 
 James S. Rollins, now of Missouri, and told him that F. 
 P. Blair was a good manager, and was now better ac- 
 quainted with the delegations than I was; and that, as 
 the Missouri delegation was divided, he could help us ; 
 that Brown would inevitably be defeated for the first office, 
 but that if he would decline the first and take the second, 
 going for the common friend of all of us (Greeley), we 
 could carry the day. Rollins at once saw the situation, 
 and telegraphed for Blair, who arrived in time. Brown 
 made a speech, declined in Greeley's favor, and he was 
 immediately nominated for the second place; while, on the 
 next ballot, Greeley and Brown were made the nominees. 
 
 As Dana has been the representative type of progress, 
 so my State has the honor of giving notoriety to another 
 editor, the very reverse in character and patriotism. His 
 father, a man of considerable ability and political experi- 
 ence, lived a long time in Washington City, and I believe 
 his son Henry was born there. The Louisville Journal, 
 under the genius of GeOrge D. Prentice, had become the 
 leader of the Whig Party — not only of the South, but of 
 
506 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 the whole Union ; whilst, on the Democratic side, their 
 party journals, under several names, at length were con- 
 solidated into the Courier. So that, on my return home 
 from Russia, I found both united in the Courier-Journal, 
 under the ownership of the indefatigable W. N. Halde- 
 man, and at the head of the Democratic Party in the 
 South. 
 
 The great feature of our times is the great journals. 
 The inventions .of modern times all tend to the develop- 
 ment of interchange of ideas and commercial products. 
 The newspaper, then, is the necessity of the age. It is 
 read by all active minds; and, in consequence, it has su- 
 perseded the ancient political leader. The press no longer 
 waits for the oracles, but plays the part of seer itself. So 
 that, when the greatest- statesmen speak to hundreds or 
 thousands, the press talks to hundreds of thousands. It 
 is the "Third Estate." 
 
 In 1872, then, the Courier-Journal was a great power. 
 Just before the vote was taken, after Brown's nomination 
 for Vice-President, being in my seat, about half way down 
 the great hall, at Cincinnati, where the Convention was 
 held, and being appointed to announce the vote of the 
 Kentucky delegation, I saw a small, flaxen-haired, " chip- 
 per" man coming down from the chairman's platform, and 
 making his way toward myself. When he got to me, he 
 said: "Mr. Clay, just give us your vote of Kentucky for 
 Adams, once." As this would have absolutely defeated all 
 my plans, and elected Adams, I was so astonished that I 
 made no reply; and the little man returned to his re- 
 porter's desk on the platform. Recovering from my sur- 
 prise, I asked of a companion: "Who is that?" "Why, 
 don't you know?" said he, with equal surprise; "that is 
 the editor of the Courier-Journal — Henry Watterson." 
 So this was the first I had seen or heard of the brilliant, 
 eccentric, and combustible Watterson. For I had taken 
 no journals in Europe; and, though I took the Courier- 
 Journal on my return home, I did not know who was the 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 507 
 
 literary or political editor of it, though I did know that 
 Haldeman held the purse-strings. 
 
 Thus, at the very birth of my new Southern career, I 
 made an enemy of the man who was virtually dictator in 
 my own State, and the most potent politician in all the 
 South. For I not only opposed Watterson's free-trade pol- 
 icy, and made my only speech in the Convention against 
 making free-trade a plank in the Liberal platform; but I 
 defeated his candidate, and put Greeley, the impersonation 
 of home-labor, in the lead of the Democratic Party. 
 
 • But the influence of Watterson has steadily declined. 
 His dictatorial manner about Tilden's nomination, his un- 
 timely and foolish proposal to march one hundred thousand 
 unarmed men to Washington at the time of the inaugura- 
 tion of Hayes, his equally sudden abandonment of Tilden 
 in the Lexington Convention, his opposition to Hancock 
 and defeat in the National Convention at Cincinnati, his 
 free-trade folly, his foolish speech at the Iroquois Club at 
 Chicago, his support of Grant as Dictator, his toadyism to 
 Grant men, his equivocation upon the currency, — these, 
 and. all the weaknesses of a poetic temperament, and want 
 of common sense, is sinking the Courier-Journal, and build- 
 ing up the Louisville Evening Post into supremacy. 
 
 Adams was defeated, as his friends admitted, through 
 my influence; and one of the writers said the Convention 
 did not know that my faculties were failing by age ! That 
 was thirteen years ago. Greeley is dead, and other men's 
 minds have failed with age; but, in the language of the 
 editor of the Woodford County Sun, in 1876: "Clay is 
 still at work!" Greeley was beaten, but the Democratic 
 or opposition party was placed upon the road to victory; 
 and, in 1876, Samuel J. Tilden was triumphantly elected 
 President of the . United States. It was no fault of mine 
 that he was, by Democratic treachery and cowardice, and 
 Republican fraud and bulldozing, not allowed to take the 
 place to which the people, by a majority of her electoral 
 and popular vote, had assigned him. 
 
508 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS. AND SPEECHES 
 
 It will be remembered that I was, before leaving New 
 York, nominated by the unanimous vote of the Repub- 
 licans of Madison County, Ky., for member of the Ken- 
 tucky House of Representatives, and which honor I ac- 
 cepted. On arriving at home, however, I found the Re- 
 publican leaders all for Grant; and, as I had no intention, 
 under any circumstances, to support this stolid man, I 
 steered clear of all embarrassments by refusing to be a 
 candidate. Besides, I had already, before leaving New 
 York, begun the campaign for Greeley; and I thought I 
 could best promote that object by an independent move- 
 ment. 
 
 My just appreciation of Grant was demonstrated be- 
 yond cavil when the notorious 306, called Stalwarts, tried 
 to establish Caesarism in this Republic by electing him to 
 a third term; and which would have ended, if successful, 
 in a life dictatorship. It was not at all wonderful, then, 
 if the brilliant, erratic, and combustible Watterson, of the 
 Courier-Journal, the leader of the Democratic Stalwarts 
 and Nihilists of the South, was, by the admission of his 
 own party,* on the eve of joining the Grant movement. 
 Seeing that, as Jeff. Davis's road to autocracy had failed, 
 the next nearest success lay in Grant's election for a third 
 term. No one, then, was surprised that the Stalwarts, 
 under Roscoe Conkling's lead, conspired to beat Blaine and 
 Logan in the canvass of 1884, and thus joined their forces 
 for future time with the Nihilistic Solid South. 
 
 The Republicans, as soon as they found that the Greeley 
 movement would operate against their favorite, denounced 
 it and all its followers. Many men went into it, hoping to 
 force the Grant men into Greeley's support, and thus reform 
 the party within the party; but, when they saw that its 
 fruits would be reaped by the Democrats, they went back 
 to Grant. I was not of that number, as I deemed reform 
 absolutely necessary to the safety of the Republic, and be- 
 
 *See Louisville Evening Post of that date. — C, 1885. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 509 
 
 lieved that to elect Grant was to strengthen the hands of 
 the plunderers, and those engaged in the overthrow of State 
 autonomy ; so I shaped all my aims to the final destruction 
 of the Republican organization. For the Grantites, in the 
 vote of the 306 in the Chicago Convention of 1880, in favor 
 of imperialism, showed that I was none too soon in antici- 
 pating the objects of this criminal faction. 
 
 Those who impute personal motives for my change fail 
 to remember, or are ignorant of the fact, that the Senate 
 of the United States, and who represented the Republican 
 Party, refused to the last to allow Seward to remove me 
 from office; but it was the band of corruptionists and 
 traitors that I fought. And the unanimous nomination of 
 myself in Madison County by the Republican Party, when 
 they were then in a majority, showed that I could have re- 
 sumed the leadership in my native State, which now led on 
 to triumph with certainty of person and principles, — so far, 
 at least, as executive appointments were concerned. 
 
 And, even after Hayes was elected, I was invited, among 
 the few so-called Democrats, to meet him at Louisville. And 
 then being, for the first time, introduced to Wm. M. Evarts, 
 he insisted on my making a visit to Washington, which I 
 construed into a proffer of office, but which I declined upon 
 principle, though I had in a letter to Judge Stanton of Ken- 
 tucky vindicated the character of Hayes, and advocated a 
 fair support of his administration by the Democratic Party. 
 
 This incident is confirmed by gentlemen in my late 
 Northern canvass, who told me that President Hayes in- 
 tended at one time to invite me, as one of the Southern 
 men, into his cabinet. And this must, at least, be said in 
 favor of Hayes, that he made an honest and conservative 
 administration of the government, checked the tide of cor- 
 ruption, and placed the party on the road to reform, its final 
 purification and ultimate success, which must lift it again 
 into power, or the Republic be lost. 
 
 President Arthur seems entitled to similar commenda- 
 tion, for he has shown great moderation in party discipline, 
 
5IO MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 and has made a fair and conservative administration ; thus 
 placing those traitors, who went off in the last canvass to 
 Cleveland, under the pretense of reform of the civil admin- 
 istration, in the ridiculous position of swallowing Grant and 
 company, and yet rejecting the last Republican nominees. 
 Really this is "straining at a gnat, and swallowing a camel." 
 It is to be hoped that all personal ambitions and revenges 
 will be sunk into a common patriotism in the security of the 
 sacred ballot, North and South, (giving Cleveland as well 
 honest support when deserved,) without which the Republic 
 must perish. 
 
 Greeley carried Kentucky, getting but few regular Re- 
 publican votes — the Democrats not taking him up cheer- 
 fully; but I found, in Ohio and other States where I spoke, 
 that, notwithstanding the Democratic Convention at Balti- 
 more also nominated him, the Democrats supported Greeley 
 with reluctance. The wounds of the late conflict were yet 
 unhealed ; and in Greeley they saw one of their most potent 
 foes of other days, and could not find it in their hearts to 
 forgive him. And to this day many Democrats all over the 
 Union regard the Greeley movement as a mistake; when 
 every man of reflection sees that such was the only road 
 out of the pit of impotency and despair, where the "Lost 
 Cause" had sunk them. 
 
 Encouraged, however, by their partial success, they, in 
 1876, returned to their old party lines, and nominated S. J. 
 Tilden and Thomas A. Hendricks. As Tilden had been a 
 Union man throughout, no objection was made by the Lib- 
 eral Republicans. In the meantime the South, seeing there 
 was some hope of justice in their treatment, took courage, 
 and began to struggle for the expulsion of the carpet- 
 baggers, who were plundering both whites and blacks. 
 
 In 1875 I was invited to canvass Mississippi. I made 
 my first speech at Greenville. The carpet-baggers, up to 
 this time, had their own way. This State was one of those 
 few which had a majority of blacks ; and in it the outrages 
 of misrule reached their highest culmination. The bitterest 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 5 1 1 
 
 feeling was kept up by the Radicals between the whites and 
 the blacks for party purposes. The old planters could with 
 difficulty get labor upon any terms. Their gins were burned 
 by incendiaries without redress ; and their hogs and cattle 
 were common property. A planter, seeing his hogs stolen, 
 or cattle shot down for beef, had no redress. Heavy taxes 
 were laid upon the bales of cotton, so as to absorb all the 
 profits; and the public moneys put into the pockets of the 
 Radicals. In one village I found all the officials, being 
 carpet-baggers, living in one public house, and eating at a 
 common table. The collector of the taxes gave a "straw- 
 bond," with the sums of security put on the margin of the 
 paper; and, when the enforcement of the penalties of de- 
 fault was attempted, the scissors cut off the margin, and the 
 bond was not worth even a "straw!" The school-fund at 
 Jackson was plundered ; and general ruin and anarchy pre- 
 vailed. The whites had no redress in the courts ; the crim- 
 inals escaped, and the prosecutors were fined or imprisoned 
 instead of the culprits. 
 
 Such a state of things was intolerable. In many cases 
 the taxes were greater than the profits of the lands; and 
 many proprietors, in despair, took up their household gods 
 and went into exile — into other States and foreign coun- 
 tries — abandoning the best cotton-lands in the world. 
 
 I speak from my own observations of what I saw with 
 my own eyes. Such a state of society began to tell upon 
 the subsistence of the blacks themselves. Some of them 
 had accumulated small landed properties, or cultivated cot- 
 ton on the shares ; so that the cotton-bale tax reached them, 
 also, as well as the old planters. Colored clergymen and 
 small land-holders, who had accumulated small means, and 
 had intelligence enough to see for themselves, were ready 
 for revolt. So, when I reached Mississippi, there was a 
 colored party of Independents, operating upon the same 
 principles as the Liberal Republicans farther North. 
 
 At Greenville I was followed in my speech by a half- 
 Tareed liberated slave, who made as good if not a better 
 
512 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Speech than any of us, in favor of the new party. In. 
 Kentucky the Radicals, finding I was henceforth against 
 them, persecuted me with more bitterness than even the 
 Slave-Power in old times. Unheard-of calumnies were, 
 published against me in the Northern journals, and the 
 bitterest feelings were engendered in the bosoms of the 
 blacks against me. I was held up as a renegade, and de- 
 clared a worse enemy than the old slave-owners, and ready 
 to reinstate them. So intense was this feeling that the: 
 ignorant blacks, especially those who had grown up during 
 my absence, plundered my house, burned my out-dwellings 
 and barns, and attempted to murder my children and my- 
 self But in Mississippi they had not thought that I ever 
 would venture on the stump, and had taken no pains to de- 
 stroy my influence. 
 
 The heavy slave counties were peopled mostly from Ken- 
 tucky, and knew my labors and sacrifices in behalf of free- 
 dom. They received me with warm hearts, and were ready 
 to acknowledge me as a leader and friend. My audiences 
 were generally several thousand, and often not a dozen men 
 of the white race present; and they took no part in the 
 speeches or organizations, but sat as observers on the out- 
 skirts of the crowd. A chairman and secretary were gener- 
 ally chosen, and then each speaker was limited to a half- 
 hour. But, as I was a stranger, they allowed me to speak 
 first, and at will. So I took my time; and, when I was 
 through, the Radicals were ruined. 
 
 There was but one white speaker on my side, my 
 nephew. Green Clay, who had been my secretary of lega- 
 tion awhile at St. Petersburg, and afterward was sent in 
 the same capacity to Italy, under Geo. P. Marsh. He was. 
 a planter in Bolivar County, and a candidate for the Legis- 
 lature on the Reform ticket. The principal speakers on the 
 Radical side were a mulatto from the city of Jackson, and a. 
 man named Sullivan, who came down with the Union army, 
 and had been a carpet-bag office-holder from that time. I 
 saw many colored men in the audience whom 1 had seen. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 513 
 
 elsewhere in the free States ; but they kept aloof from me, 
 and consorted with my bitterest opponents. 
 
 The blacks were fond of these meetings, and the debate 
 generally commenced early, and continued almost all day. 
 The Radicals, seeing the force of my speeches, tried to in- 
 timidate my supporters; but we stood up fearlessly, and met 
 them on every point. The new-comers posted them on my 
 political position, and I was asked, whilst speaking: "Did 
 you not act as Vice-President of the Democratic Convention 
 at Frankfort?" I replied: "Of course I did. How was I 
 to put down the plunderers unless I acted with other parties, 
 who had a like interest in the protection of our property? 
 And now I ask you to do the same thing. Let all parties 
 join in a common cause against our oppressors ! " 
 
 The mulatto from Jackson was driven off by the written 
 report of the Radicals, which I read, showing that he had 
 used the school-fund! Sullivan stayed longer. But I man- 
 aged to get a copy of his "straw-bond," and put it quietly 
 into my pocket. I showed, also, that he had been a de- 
 faulter by the Radical printed reports. 
 
 Finding the battle going against them, as we neared 
 Friar's Point, where the great massacre of the blacks had 
 lately taken place, in a fight brought on by the carpet- 
 baggers, they determined upon a row. We got timely 
 notice. My nephew and I were sleeping at the house of 
 Ex-Governor Clark. At midnight, a large body of his 
 former slaves and present employes rode up, having trav- 
 eled twenty or thirty miles, and proposed to join us in self- 
 defense. My nephew, by my advice, sent back some of 
 them; but retained the most prudent and courageous. I 
 had been in the habit of shaking hands with a coal-black 
 colored man who had been treasurer, and honestly kept 
 the public moneys. He was acting with us. I would de- 
 scend from the platforn, and shake hands with him, say- 
 ing: "Here is an honest man, and I want to take him by 
 the hand." This produced a great sensation. On the 
 present occasion, after I and some others had spoken, came 
 Vol. I. — 33 
 
514 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Sullivan. There were several stout, fierce black men from 
 Friar's Point on the platform. We were all well armed, 
 and we had gathered an unusual crowd of whites, who 
 stood on the skirts of the crowd ready for action. Sulli- 
 van showed unusual temper and signs of fight. I sat at 
 his right hand, next to him. After using inflammatory lan- 
 guage, he turned to me and said : " Gen. Clay seems to 
 
 take especial pains to shake hands with , as an honest 
 
 man. Does he intend to insinuate that we are not hon- 
 est?" I rose to my feet; and, rvmning my hand into my 
 left-breast coat-pocket, drew out the "straw-bond" copy, 
 and said : ' ' Yes ; and here is the proof that you are dis- 
 honest, and trying to swindle this people." I then showed 
 the bond, and denounced the fraud. Sullivan, no doubt 
 thinking it a pistol, being taken by surprise, and finding 
 himself cornered, and us ready for any fate, stepped down 
 from the platform, and disappeared in the crowd. 
 
 My nephew took the stand, and was very bitter against 
 Sullivan and others. A very stout and firm-looking man, 
 just behind me, from Friar's Point, jumped up and inter- 
 rupted Clay; but I sprung to my feet again, and said, 
 sternly, to him: "Don't you interfere out of your time!" 
 And thus no fight took place. 
 
 After I came down from the platform, Sullivan came to 
 me, and, taking me aside, said: "Gen. Clay, we all know 
 you, and your life-struggle in the cause of freedom ; we 
 don't want any quarrel with you." I replied: "Mr. Sul- 
 livan, I am as much the friend of the black man as I ever 
 was; I want no quarrel with you, or any other man or 
 party; but as long as you plunder these people — you, or 
 others — consider me your enemy." He said no more. 
 
 These men were all armed with old shot-guns, army- 
 carbines, pistols, etc. Once there was so much excitement 
 that the crowd divided, and set up separate meetings a 
 few hundred yards apart. Our best speaker was Mr. 
 Ross, who had spoken at Greenville, a half-breed from 
 Kentucky, and liberated in Mississippi by the war. They 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 515 
 
 were especially angry with him. I never felt in more dan- 
 ger in my life ; not that they would care to kill me particu- 
 larly, but because in a melee they would not care who was 
 killed. 
 
 One day I produced quite a sensation. As I said be- 
 fore, the killing at Friar's Point was disastrous to the 
 blacks, though brought on by the white carpet-baggers, 
 who were careful to slip away unharmed. I said: "Fellow- 
 citizens, we are now, thank God, all political equals. We 
 do n't want an Irish party, nor a German party, nor a white 
 man's nor a black man's party; but a party for the peo- 
 ple, and the good of all. Whilst you, our colored fellow- 
 citizens, are in a majority here and in some States, in the 
 whole South the whites are in a majority ; and is that man 
 your friend who tries to arouse your feelings against the 
 whites, to cause a political war, or a personal war of races? 
 Or am not I but following in the road of my whole life 
 when I tell you, as a friend, it is not just, nor to your in- 
 terest, to bring on a quarrel with the whites when the num- 
 bers are on the whole against you, and where you are likely 
 to be yourselves the sufferers. These men, who come down 
 here to make money off of your misfortunes, are ever ready 
 to embroil you with the whites. You were driven to bat- 
 tle at Vicksburg, and later at Friar's Point; and you lost 
 always. Now, I ask, who was killed? If any man of the 
 Radical party will tell me of one carpet-bagger who was 
 ever killed in these battles, I will come down from this plat- 
 form, be forever silent, and vote the Radical ticket." 
 
 There was a great shout of : "That's true! They bring 
 on the fight, and then run away ! " 
 
 The upshot of the canvass was that Mississippi, before 
 Radical, was carried by 35,000 majority, and made one of 
 the "Solid South." 
 
 Not long after my nephew was elected, he wrote me that 
 Sullivan was beaten, and slipped of with the public money, 
 leaving his "straw-bond" instead! 
 
 That there was some intimidation in Mississippi against 
 
5l6 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 the blacks I have every reason to believe. Is there not, and 
 has there not been, like party intimidation in New York, in 
 Philadelphia and Baltimore, and the other great cities? 
 Who were the "Plug Uglies," the "Tammany Braves," 
 the " Dead Rabbits," but political banditti and ballot- 
 stuffers and slung-shot bullies endangering the lives of 
 voters ? 
 
 In 1856 several men were killed in the country even; 
 because, in Indiana, they were hated, and powerless to re- 
 sist opposition. These were not cases for the interference 
 of the general Government. The reform must come from 
 the States themselves. We are committed to the rule of 
 the people; and there we must stand or fall. That my 
 policy was right, from 1862 to 1884, is proved by the re- 
 sult : whereas, there were eleven States in the Southern 
 Rebellion, there are now sixteen — all below Mason and 
 Dixon's line — in the "Solid South." 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 Election of R. B. Hayes decided by the Eight to Seven vote of the Justices 
 OF the U. S. Supreme Court. — He ratifies the Autonomy of the States 
 
 BY THE withdrawal OF U. S. TROOPS FROM THE SoUTH. — WHY I HAVE HAD 
 TO WRITE THESE MEMOIRS MYSELF. — LETTER FROM HON. JaMES G. BLAINE. — 
 
 Letter from Henry A. Homes, of Albany, N. Y. — Letter of Gen. John 
 W. Gordon. — Democratic Appreciation. — Reform and Despotism. — I ad- 
 dress the Kentucky Historical Society at Frankfort. — My Speech on 
 THE Currency. 
 
 WHOM has time, the test of all theories, proven to 
 be. right: I, or Sumner and Stevens? I am as 
 much the friend of the black to-day as I was in i860, or 
 at any period of my life. And I say once more, the best 
 interest of the black race is to lose its identity, like the 
 Germans or the Irish, or any other nationality of birth, in 
 the common American people. 
 
 Tilden being elected by a majority of the electoral and 
 popular vote, and the House of Representatives — the Con- 
 stitutional organ of the final vote — being also Democratic, 
 the way for the party was plain. I came out in an article 
 in favor of a Constitutional count. The Louisville Courier- 
 Journal took up my platform ; and the Convention of Demo- 
 crats, one of the largest and most talented ever held in the 
 State, met at Louisville. I was made, unsought by me, its 
 President. The same simple count was indorsed almost 
 unanimously; but, before the resolutions went to press, the 
 telegram met us, saying a compromise had been agreed 
 upon by both parties! Grant had gathered the United 
 States troops at Washington,* and the Democratic leaders 
 proved to be unequal to the crisis. 
 
 *The brilliant, erratic, and combustible Watterson wanted one 
 hundred thousand Kentuckians to go up to Washington, all armed 
 with tooth-picks! — C, 1885. 
 
 517 
 
5l8 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 I know nothing. I speculate: Was it privately under- 
 stood that the States should be allowed their autonomy if 
 the Radicals were allowed the general Government? Did 
 Tilden lose his office because he wrote his letter denying 
 any purpose to pay for Southern losses by the war? Was 
 the Congress overawed by Grant's troops? Whatever be 
 the cause of our defeat, I never assented to any part of the 
 programme. I wrote an article, corrected, but not published, 
 by the New York Sun, fully expressing my views; but I 
 recalled it, as too late, when both parties, by a formal vote, 
 had stood by the Commission of "8 to 7." After Hayes 
 was given the seat, I was for abiding, in good faith, by the 
 contract. We had set our life upon a cast, and could in 
 fairness only abide the hazard of the die ! I fear this was 
 a blow to our institutions which will never allow us our 
 former vital forces, but plant the seeds of disease and death 
 in all our normal and once healthy organs. 
 
 R. B. Hayes abandoned the Radical remedies, withdrew 
 the United States troops from the South, and the autonomy 
 of the States stands restored to their original and normal 
 status in the structure of the Government. Here the two 
 great acts in the Political Drama, in which I have borne a 
 soldier's part, cease. The first was the freedom of the 
 blacks, and the equality of all before- the law. The sec- 
 ond was the restoration of the States to their original sov- 
 ereignty. The Union is restored. There is a Nation. I 
 trust it will remain forever one and indivisible — the sacred 
 ark of the liberties of all our people, and the beacon light 
 of progress for all the nations of the earth. 
 
 I append a few letters from living statesmen of all 
 parties, and one literary gentleman, as honorable testimony 
 to my fame and character. My friend, Gordon, the fore- 
 most criminal lawyer of a great and talented State, had 
 once proposed to write my life ; but, joining the Union 
 army, he handed over the data to Vice-President Henry 
 Wilson, for the writing of his "Rise and Fall of the Slave- 
 Power." So I have been rather forced, by Wilson's death, 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 519 
 
 and the ill-health of Miss Anne Ella Carroll, who was en- 
 trusted with my scrap-books, etc., to undertake a task my- 
 self which, perhaps, would have been better done by these 
 friends, or others: 
 
 Washington, D. C, February 2, 1885. 
 
 My Dear Mr. Clay: — Your very kind letters from Albany 
 were most gratefully appreciated both by Mrs. Blaine and myself. 
 That they were not more promptly acknowledged may be attrib- 
 uted to the great pressure of personal business, which a six-months' 
 absorption in the political fight left in a sadly deranged condition. 
 
 I feel especially honored that my candidacy attracted your sup- 
 port. Your public life has been familiar to me for forty years — 
 from my early boyhood, indeed. If I have not always agreed with 
 you, I have never failed to admire your ability, and your heroic 
 courage. I especially rejoice that now we stand together. 
 
 Trusting that your health is fully restored, I am, most faithfully, 
 your friend, 
 
 James G. Blaine. 
 Hon. C. M. Clay. 
 
 New York State Library, 
 Capitol, Albany, December 9, 1884. 
 Hon. Cassius M. Clay — 
 
 My Dear General: — Three hours after you left your Albany 
 home, I received, from the smiling negro at the door of the house, 
 the startling announcement that you had departed. I was sure I 
 was in time to bid you farewell — words that I should have uttered 
 with such pure regret that the time had come to utter them. I 
 ought to have regarded the kind note which you put into my 
 hands, addressed to me by yourself, as more prophetic of the near- 
 ness of your departure than I thought it was. 
 
 In calling that Wednesday morning I had in my hands two 
 pamphlets of my own, which I have pushed to successful results, 
 as the engravings will prove which accompany the pamphlets, 
 which I send to you by mail. All the departments seem to be 
 pleased that they are now forbidden to use any other device on 
 seals or letters than the insignia of the State from which they de- 
 rive their authority. 
 
 I thank the good angel who presides over my destiny (and I 
 hope I have such a genius,) for wishing to seek you out when I 
 learned that you were to be with us awhile. I had, during scores 
 of years, reverenced you as much more than John the Baptist in 
 
520 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 the Wilderness. I hope you may have the privilege, for still de- 
 cades of years to come, of contributing to make straight the way 
 for the triumph of righteousness. I have received the book of the 
 matron which you left with her. The inclosed cutting from a late 
 paper — Democratic — will show you the flattering way in which 
 party men strive to look at the future. What have we to do but 
 to hope for the best, and sustain Governor Cleveland in every good 
 measure he approves of? I hope to secure for you a late pam- 
 phlet — A. D. Mayo on Education in the South. His forcible lan- 
 guage is calculated to awaken all classes to strive by every sort of 
 means, individual, local, town, county, state, and national resources, 
 to secure education, culture, and elevation for the people of the 
 South. How much I regret that my missionary errands of bringing 
 you good books, and "things new and old," from the library have 
 ceased forever more. May our spirits yet meet again on the farther 
 shore, is the hope of, faithfully and heartily yours, 
 
 Henry A. Homes. 
 
 Indianapolis, Ind., February 4, 1885. 
 
 My Dear Friend: — I often think of you, and always with 
 pride and pleasure; and yet I must confess with regret. The 
 real leaders of nations and races are never allowed to enter their 
 promised lands, and therefore you are always coupled in my mind 
 with regret. Moses could look at Canaan from the top of Pisgah, 
 but might not enter with the people of God. He is the type of 
 all true and truly great leaders. I once hoped that the Republican 
 Party would be great enough to honor itself by placing at its head, 
 in the day of its power, the real leader of its opinions, and the real 
 exemplar of its manhood. You combine more of both than any 
 other man. Your opinions were never so ideal, and so distant from 
 practical life, as not to be capable of union with it; and, by bravely 
 accepting the duty uniting them and it in all perilous times and 
 places, your life became the expression of what the American peo- 
 ple's life had to become before slavery could be ended, and the 
 unity of the Nation fully established. It was therefore fit, according 
 to the dramatic unities, that you, the embodiment of the contest, 
 should have delivered the final blow to the infinite wrong of slavery, 
 and placed the glorious crown of perfect liberty upon the head of 
 the Nation. 
 
 But we must be content. Standing in the rising dawn of 
 the new day, your shadow will fall ahead of the march of the peo- 
 
or CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 52I 
 
 pie for thousands of years, pointing out to them the true West, 
 
 whither — 
 
 "The star of empire wends its way." 
 
 I shall soon hunt my quiet grave, and go to sleep there, in con- 
 fidence that you. will still live and march on, the leader and the 
 exemplar of all true men and nations. 
 
 I am glad your work is drawing to a close; and doubt not that 
 it might adopt for motto "Finis opus coronat." It was once my wish 
 to have gone down the tide of time with you — 
 
 "Awhile along the stream of time thy name, 
 Expanded flies, and gathers all its fame, 
 Say shall my little barque attendant sail. 
 Pursue the triumph, and partake the gale.'' 
 
 And so on to the end. But my thoughts are humble now, and I 
 accept dust and silence ! 
 
 " If singing breath or echoing chord 
 To every hidden pang was given, 
 What endless melodies were poured! 
 As sad as earth, as sweet as heaven ! " 
 
 It may be that there is light on the other side for me, and I 
 humbly hope ; and then in that light, with you, I may cease to 
 regret the failure of life here. 
 
 I am, whether in hope or despair, alike and always your friend, 
 
 John W. Gordon. 
 Gen. C. M. Clay, White Hall, Ky. 
 
 My noble friend would better apply some of the philo- 
 sophic reasoning bestowed upon me to his own case; for 
 he has achieved, in despite of unworthy rivals elevated to 
 temporary honor, a noble character and patriotic service. 
 Let him rest upon his own well-earned laurels. Nature nor 
 Deity aggregates its favors. Then let us be content. 
 
 DEMOCRATIC APPRECIATION. 
 
 Extracts from tJie Nashville {Tenn.) American, 1881. 
 
 "On leaving for Beersheba for the summer, where he will prose- 
 cute the work of arranging and making up the valuable material he 
 has collected, Col. W. G. Terrell left at the American office an inter- 
 
522 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 esting relic of the great slavery-struggle, which may be called the 
 first gun of the war. It is a small piece of brass artillery which was 
 loaned by Col. Terrell to Maj. J. E. Saunders, of this county, for 
 exhibition at the Centennial exhibit. The history of the piece in- 
 volves the history of a leading actor in the great drama, in which 
 the sections were inflamed to strife. It was in 1845 that Cassius 
 M. Clay was engaged in the publication of the True American at 
 Lexington, Ky., when a brief editorial, not written by Mr. Clay, 
 appeared in the paper, and gave deep offense to the people of Lex- 
 ington, being regarded as incendiary in character. A large meeting 
 of the best citizens was held, and it was resolved that Mr. Clay's 
 paper could not longer be published in that city. To meet that 
 threat, Mr. Clay had cast in Cincinnati, by the celebrated bell- 
 maker, G. W. Coffin, two pieces of fine artillery of the very best 
 metal, in the composition of which was about two hundred dol- 
 lars' worth of silver. These he mounted in his office, bearing oa 
 the entrance to a pair of double doors, which had been arranged 
 with a chain, so as to open only to a certain width. Besides this, 
 he had enlisted (about) a dozen bold men. The rest of his arrange- 
 ments were characteristic of that desperate courage Mr. Clay has 
 always displayed. He prepared for the escape of his force when 
 the office should become no longer tenable; and placed a keg of 
 powder so that he could easily touch it off, intending, as soon as 
 his force had escaped, and the room had been filled by the mob, to 
 blow up the office, his enemies and himself — to perish, like Samp- 
 son, in the ruins. No man has ever doubted that he would have 
 carried out his programme; but, fortunately, the excitement of the 
 preparations, and the waiting for the attack, brought on brain-fever, 
 and the office was peacefully removed, while he was unconscious, 
 to Cincinnati, where the publication was resumed after his recovery. 
 The two beautiful pieces of artillery remained in his possession until 
 a few years ago, when one of them was presented by him to his 
 friend. Col. W. G. Terrell. 
 
 "Mr. Clay's life in Kentucky has been one of singular advent- 
 ure and interest. No knight of the period of chivalry ever main- 
 tained his. honor with more determined courage than he his opinions. 
 He was rich, a man of fine appearance and noble presence, quiet, 
 unassuming, and courteous in his bearing, and only the terrible 
 
 when aroused He was never an Abolitionist, and 
 
 simply maintained the Henry Clay idea of the inexpediency and 
 folly of slavery, on account of its effect on the white man and 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 523 
 
 the institutions of the model Republic. He pursued his own 
 way, without ever entangling himself with the fanatics of the 
 
 East He was a candidate for Governor of Kentucky, 
 
 making his canvass armed to the teeth, and at the peril of . his 
 
 life, but was never seriously molested One of his 
 
 duels was with Robert Wickliffe. Albert Sydney Johnston was a 
 second in this affair 
 
 "Such is a brief sketch of a man who was the leading actor 
 in a great drama. In the greatest part of the drama, the prepa- 
 ration of the train which led to the denouement — the conflict of 
 opinions — he was a chief actor; and, as Minister to Russia, when 
 we consider the great part Russia played in our struggle, he did 
 more, perhaps, than any general in the field in the war itself. 
 Since his return from Russia, he has resided on his paternal acres 
 in Madison County, Kentucky — a bold, outspoken Democrat; and 
 it is a singular fact that he was compelled, a few years since, to 
 kill one of the race he helped to emancipate, in defense of his 
 own life. He is now a hale, fine-looking man of seventy, re- 
 spected by all those who once held his opinions in detestation, 
 genial and kind, and the very soul of courtesy, — disposed only to 
 regard the far-future moral effect of the policy he has advocated to 
 a successful issue, and indulging in no sentimental nonsense about 
 the race which happened to be the object of his care. He labors 
 and votes for Democratic ideas of government; and indulges in no 
 regrets over the splendid career he held in his hands and threw 
 away to pursue his convictions. 
 
 "In the hands of a Macauley or a Scott his life would be a 
 
 romance, without plot or need of embellishment It 
 
 is the singular fate of such men to be obscured in their own time 
 by the Grants and Shermans, who burn powder and make a noise; 
 but Mr. Clay was the more potent actor where Grant and Sherman 
 would have been babies. Such men as Mr. Clay stand out in 
 their own full stature in after-times for succeeding generations, 
 when epauletted nobodies are only as movers of men, as pieces 
 on a board. He could throw away honors for conviction's sake, 
 and struggle like a giant against terrible odds, and, when the 
 moral and intellectual conflict was over, and the terrific strife of 
 arms ended, he could again take the minority side, and labor for 
 the Democratic theories of the government, which slavery alone 
 prevented his advocating before; and when the Grants and Sher- 
 mans were abandoning their own convictions that rewards might 
 
524 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 follow with the strong side We have been glad of 
 
 the occasion to speak thus of a man whose devotion to principle 
 dwarfs all the pygmean rewards won by men who could more easily 
 bend toward narrow self-interest." 
 
 When I entered the Democratic Party in 1871, Ken- 
 tucky was, I believe, the only Southern State that was 
 securely Anti-Republican; so that I had no hope of per- 
 sonal elevation. I acted with the same magnanimity that 
 I had ever cultivated as the first element of statesmanship, 
 and set myself earnestly to advance the South in civiliza- 
 tion. The " Ku-klux-klans " were in full bloom. Aided 
 by John C. Breckinridge, the better portion of the party 
 in Kentucky soon drove these outlaws from their masked- 
 batteries. As education only could raise a people from 
 barbarism, I joined heartily all the advanced Democrats 
 in the increase of the common school-fund, and its divis- 
 ion among the children of the blacks. I aided in the 
 establishment of the Kentucky Historical Society, and in 
 getting a fire-proof room, and an appropriation from the 
 State. I print the following from the Frankfort Common- 
 wealth : 
 
 KENTUCKY HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 An epitome of the remarks made by Hon. Cassius M. Clay 
 before the State Historical Society, at its late meeting, appear in 
 this issue. The address was impromptu, and Gen. Clay had no 
 time to reduce it to writing before leaving the city. Application 
 was made to him by the officers of the Society after he reached 
 home, and the brief outline which we publish to-day has been 
 furnished. It gives us pleasure to add it to the record of organ- 
 ization, and to preserve it as an expression from one of the most 
 distinguished of the founders of the Historical Society: 
 
 ADDRESS OF GEN. CASSIUS M. CLAY DELIVERED BEFORE THE KEN- 
 TUCKY HISTORICAL SOCIETY ON FEBRUARY II,. 1879. 
 
 "Man may be considered in three grand divisions — intellect, 
 or reason; sentiment, or morals; and physiology. There have been 
 many attempts to distinguish man from the inferior animals, as by 
 reason, speech, conscience, etc., all of which are futile, for other 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 525 
 
 animals are possessed of the same faculties, limited only by degree. 
 I do not propose now to discuss these propositions. I speak from 
 my own consciousness, experience, and reason. There are some 
 things which man does not share with the inferior animals — the 
 transmission of knowledge, progression. The dog and the mon- 
 key will warm by the fire, but can not rebuild it ; the bee, the most 
 admirable of all animals in its constructive powers and intricate and 
 successful self-government, builds and governs now as from the 
 earliest records of men. There has been no accumulation of ideas, 
 no progress. With man it is different. Beginning almost upon the 
 level of the lowest, he has ascended above all animated nature ; and, 
 by his creative powers and intellectual accumulation, aspires to asso- 
 ciation with the gods. 
 
 "This Historical Society is in the line of this thought, and I 
 can not confine it to the narrow limits of the distinguished gentle- 
 men who have so ably spoken. Here should be gathered the ma- 
 terial not only for the history of our gallant State, but of all States ; 
 not alone for history, but for all human knowledge. It should be 
 the nucleus of a grand museum of literature, natural history, bi- 
 ology, and all the sciences. That man who was a greater general 
 than Caesar or Napoleon, Alexander, the Macedonian, was justly 
 termed the Great — not for what he destroyed, but for what he 
 built up for mankind. After he had conquered all the nations ac- 
 cessible about the Mediterranean, he founded Alexandria, at the 
 mouth of the great Nile, and in the center of the commerce of 
 Europe, Asia, and Africa. In the temple of Jupiter Serapis he 
 united the grand mythology of the Greeks with the ancient and 
 mystic theology of Egypt. 
 
 "A follower of the 'Divine Plato,' and the pupil of Aristotle, 
 he was imbued with that liberalism nevertheless which inspires a 
 belief in One Omnipotent God, eternal and omniscient; and that 
 man and matter are governed by indestructible laws. His conquests 
 brought the nations and all the religions face to face. There were 
 the Monotheists and Pantheists of the far East, the Mythology of 
 the Greeks, the Mysticism of the Egyptians, and the Paganism 
 of the Western world. All could not be true. The age of faith 
 was about to give way to the age of reason. Aristotle was the 
 father, though feebly developed, of the inductive philosophy — the 
 reasoning from individual facts to general laws — when truth was 
 greater than speculation — a system which in Newton's Principia 
 and Bacon's Novum Organum took a more perfect form, and opened 
 
526 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 up the creation to man's contemplation. The temple of Jupiter 
 Serapis was also an observatory. Here a degree of the earth's cir- 
 cumference was measured, and its rotundity proven. As Alexander 
 advanced in conquest eastward, he sent, through his friend Callis- 
 thenes, to the Imperial City, whatever was curious and valuable in 
 literature, natural history, science, and the arts. In and about the 
 temple were all these jmd other treasures stored. Here were bo- 
 tanical and zoological gardens, and the materials for astronomy, 
 natural history, botany, mineralogy, chemistry, medicine, surgery, 
 etc., etc. It was, in fact, a great university of literature — science, 
 the arts, medicine, law, and theology — where the professors lec- 
 tured, and were paid by their followers. This Alexandrian ' His- 
 torical Society' was felt by the whole human race. It maintained 
 the God-given right of freedom of thought. It was the store-house 
 of the accumulation of the human mind and man's progress. It 
 opened the way for Christian civilization ; for, though the leading 
 idea of our religion was not unknown to far antiquity, it remained 
 to Christianity to build up the sublime and God-like principle: 
 'Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and thy neighbor as 
 thyself.' 
 
 "No man holds more firmly than myself to the right of reason 
 and freedom of thought. Let the truth stand, 'though the heavens 
 fall.' But I have no sympathy with flippant attacks upon Christi- 
 anity. Let it be denounced by those who can show a better system, 
 more in accordance with the eternal moral laws, and not till then. 
 
 "These may seem to be fantastic views of the possibilities of 
 our Society. Every thing has a beginning. We have in our State 
 all the elements of greatness. There is no limit to tbe achievements 
 of those who daringly aspire. 
 
 ' ' Death is the great evil of our destiny ; here is the basis of all 
 tragedy, the central point of all religions. Benign nature gives 
 compensations for the inevitable, even on this side of a future ex- 
 istence. We live in our children as the continuation of ourselves. 
 We would be immortal in the memory of our fellow-men. Some 
 make self the circle of all thought ; others expand it to the family, 
 to the county, to the State, to all the States of this great Union. 
 No man goes farther than I in devotion to our noble State. Have 
 I not given proof on the battlefield; and in self-sacrifice with sur- 
 roundings more terrible than bayonets and cannon-balls? Yet my 
 aspirations are not for State or Nation only, but for all the Na- 
 tions. Knowledge is the basis of all civilization. As the common 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 527 
 
 law of our inheritance secures person and property and freedom to 
 ourselves, so let us do our part in building up a like community 
 of nations. Let this be our aspiration, the highest that inspires 
 humanity, that brings us in nearest approach to God." 
 
 In those times I did much to repeal the laws of the old 
 slave-system, which were in conflict with the amendments 
 of the new Union. I spent days in the Legislature in 
 this hard but at last successful task. I resisted with de- 
 termined effort the trend of the Democratic leaders to 
 violate the public faith, and repudiate the national debt 
 by an irredeemable paper-currency. The Legislature in- 
 vited me to address them on the currency question. Both 
 Houses heard me. I refer my readers to the subjoined 
 paper in explanation of my views upon that question, be- 
 cause it is brief, although my speech before the Legisla- 
 ture was fully reported, and was widely circulated : 
 
 From the New York Agricultural Kevieiv, 18S4. 
 "THE SILVER DOLLAR. 
 
 IS IT HONEST AND, IF HONEST, IS IT EXPEDIENT?' 
 
 Over the name of John A. Grier is this caption in the Feb- 
 ruary (1883) number of the Century Magazine. His paper pos- 
 sesses the highest logic — exhaustive statement; admits all real 
 objections, and yet establishes its premises upon truths which no 
 sophistry can overthrow or obscure. In maintaining the affirma- 
 tion of his problem, he has crowded into the smallest space about 
 all that need be said in favor of the bimetallic money of the Na- 
 tion. Nothing that Mr. Horace White has mentioned in "com- 
 ment" needs refutation. The querulous tone of his criticism con- 
 fesses in advance his defeat; his thin sophistry is not worthy of 
 the consideration of the philosophical searcher after truth. Indeed, 
 his epithets and "impotent conclusions" excite rather sympathy 
 than indignation; for the success of the silver policy, in spite of 
 the forebodings, in preventing threatened repudiation, bankruptcy, 
 and revolution, places its opponents in the unhappy position of 
 maintaining any claim to patriotism only by admitting their want 
 of statesmanship. 
 
528 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 But the silver question is not by any means settled; nor can it 
 be, upon any unchanging basis; althoygh all the principles of our 
 future action are thus set as landmarks for our guidance. What I 
 propose, then, is to popularize these dicta, and to bring them more 
 readily under the intellectual grasp of the voters of the Republic. 
 
 Gold and silver have been adopted by mankind as "money" — 
 a medium of exchange ; first, because of their universal desirability, 
 or value; second, because they are best suited, by their qualities, 
 for coinage. Should, in the future, other substances be found better 
 suited to these purposes, gold and silver would be abandoned, and 
 the new substances used as money. Of all the qualities which con- 
 stitute the value of gold and silver, governments have not given, 
 and can not give, one quality or ingredient of value, neither lustre, 
 nor cohesion, nor ductility, and all that. If all the governments of 
 the world were to demonetize, without other substitutes, these 
 metals, their whole intrinsic value would remain, and they would 
 enter into the commercial exchanges all the same. So that it may 
 be said that none but God can make a dollar. All that govern- 
 ments can do is to count, weigh, and stamp the amount of pure 
 metal in certain named coins — as dollars, pounds sterling, and 
 rubles; and there their powers for all purposes of trade cease. 
 Money has functions which belong to the organized society which 
 names and stamps it for purposes of taxation, and all that; but 
 we do not propose to treat of that branch of the subject here. 
 In primitive society we may well be content with one substance 
 for money; but as the articles of commerce and the activity of 
 trade grow, other facilities of exchange become imperative. Gold, 
 well fitted for large sums and coin, must, on account of its great 
 value, be suppleniented with silver for smaller ones. And, gold 
 and silver becoming too bulky, expensive, and dangerous for large 
 and distant exchanges, paper evidences of coin, deposited in one 
 place, are cheaply and economically and safely used instead. But 
 all paper so used, whether payable to order or bearer, is admis-, 
 sible and valuable as money only as it is the representative of real 
 coin at once accessible on demand. So far, then, from going back 
 to a single metal as a medium of exchange, we more and more 
 need two metals than in any former time in history. Instead of 
 our following Germany, England, and other nations, demonetizing 
 silver, they will in the future surely follow us in the use of bi- 
 metallic money. 
 
 The shock which the commercial prosperity of these two nations 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 529 
 
 has received, and which the United States has escaped, is, I think, 
 owing mostly to their unwise disuse of silver as money. As the 
 value of gold and silver is regulated in greatest measure by the 
 laws of supply and demand,, they must fluctuate in real and rela- 
 tive value toward each other. All that governments can do is to 
 observe and modify this last relation as much as may be consistent 
 with economy and the obligations of contracts; first, by enlarging 
 the uses of the weaker metal, and, that failing, by the increase 
 of the weight of the depreciating metal in the dollar. 
 We may then lay down the following deductions: 
 
 1. None but God can create a dollar, 
 
 2. No "greenbacks," and other paper promises to pay, assum- 
 ing the name of "money," not representing actual coin, can hon- 
 estly and successfully be used as such. 
 
 3. All additions to or subtractions from the metals of the dol- 
 lar, with a view singly to equalize the relative value of a bimetallic 
 money, are honest and admissible. 
 
 4. All such additions and subtractions, made with the purpose 
 of enhancing or depreciating the value of the same for debt-paying 
 purposes, are a fraud. 
 
 5. It is easier to prevent the fluctuations of the value of two 
 metals than one. When there is but one, its fluctuation depend- 
 ing on the commercial demand only, the government is powerless 
 to influence it; but, when there are two metals, their joint use 
 better guards against the depreciation or appreciation of both, by 
 maintaining the equilibrium of the relative values; there is a legiti- 
 mate check upon sudden changes, for the coin of the world con- 
 stitutes one of the greatest demands for these metals, and the 
 effect is aptly compared to the more equal motion of a carriage 
 drawn by two horses over that drawn by but one. 
 
 6. Great personal and real estate give individuals and govern- 
 ments credit, but credit is one thing and "money" quite another 
 thing; nevertheless, a certain amount of credit facilitates all mone- 
 tary movement, and may be called the necessary oil obviating the 
 friction in all such events. 
 
 7. The gold and silver in the United States' Treasury, though 
 inert, and for the time unused, are by no means a loss to the 
 people, provided they come there by legitimate savings, and not 
 by onerous taxation or interest-paying debt. It would be well 
 always to keep a reasonable surplus in the treasury to sustain the 
 public credit, to steady the exchanges, and give firmness and con- 
 
 VoL. I. —34 
 
530 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 iidence to trade and all productive industries. Such want of re- 
 served capital, too, often produces panics and disturbance of busi- 
 ness at a thousand-fold more loss than the interest of the money 
 in reserve. It is the pettiest demagoguery and shallowest states- 
 manship which would save a "miserable pepper-corn to the treas- 
 ury," whilst millions are thus lost for the want of secure and 
 productive industries. 
 
 8. And last, but not least, such accumulated gold and silver 
 in the treasury are "expedient" as a settlement of the great ques- 
 tion now pressing to the front : ' ' How shall our paper currency 
 be supplied?" A treasury note payable to bearer, issued only 
 upon the actual coin in sacred reserve, seems to be the true solu- 
 tion of the problem. 
 
 My speech was reported in the Yeoman, as revised by 
 myself, and a copy handed to the reporter of the Courier- 
 Journal; but the brilliant, erratic, and combustible Watter- 
 son took no notice of this great event in my life, or of 
 the speech. When Vorhees, of Indiana, made his " Green- 
 back" speech, however, Watterson commended the orator, 
 though feebly differing about that issue. The progressive 
 editor had not as yet "seen the wind" of public thought! 
 
CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 Democratic Nihilism. — Assassination of Adam Butner. — A fraudulent Elec- 
 tion. — Assassination of Thomas Peyton by Blacks evidently employed 
 BY "Ku-Klux." — But one Witness to a Tragedy. — A false Friend robs 
 
 me of $10,000. — I AM SOLD OUT, BUT EVENTUALLY TRIUMPH OVER MY ENEMIES. 
 
 Mrs. Clay leaves me in Russia. — My eldest son, Green Clay, as a Union 
 Soldier. — He is dispossessed of his home by his Mother. — I announce to 
 
 HIM MY INTENTION TO APPLY FOR A DIVORCE. — SHOCKED, HE TRIES TO DIS- 
 SUADE ME. 1 GIVE HIM MY REASONS, COGENT AND AMPLE. — THERE BEING NO 
 
 LEGAL OPPOSITION, THE DIVORCE IS GRANTED. — LETTERS FROM SONS, AND 
 DAUGHTER MARY. — LiFE AND DEATH OF A CHRISTIAN. — LETTER FROM MY 
 DAUGHTER-IN-LAW, CORNELIA W. CLAY. — A DISAGREEABLE SUBJECT SUFFI- 
 CIENTLY EXPLAINED. 
 
 WHILST I was thus building up the Democratic Party 
 more than all their leaders put together, they could 
 not forgive me for the evil I had done them. They could 
 not exhibit this spirit toward me, for I asked no office; but 
 my friendship was fatal to all its recipients. 
 
 In 1875 my son, Brutus J. Clay, ran for the lower House 
 of the Kentucky Legislature in Madison, our native county. 
 He had always been a Republican, and the county was fairly 
 Republican. I told my Democratic friends that I had done 
 some service to the party and State, but wanted no office 
 myself (though some spoke of me for Vice-President of the 
 party, which I encouraged as a compliment, though there 
 seemed but little hope of success), but I desired them to 
 elect my son, as there were but a few Republicans in the 
 Legislature ; that excessive majorities were not desirable in 
 a Republic, and that equal parties were a proper check upon 
 each other. These suggestions were treated with contempt 
 and even indignation. The party was never before so much 
 in arms. They said now was the time to crush out the 
 Clays; that Brutus J. had married a woman of fortune, and, 
 if once in the ascendency, could not be easily ousted again. 
 
 531 
 
532 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 One man, with whom I was on the best of terms, said to 
 me: "I will never vote for you, or your sons." "Why?" 
 said I. " Because you took away from me my slaves, and 
 I will never forgive you." 
 
 During the canvass pistols were drawn upon my son, 
 who stood his ground with hereditary pluck ; for his ances- 
 tors on both sides were men of courage. A few days before 
 the election a camp of the Nihilists was formed in my neigh- 
 borhood ; blacks were induced by music and liquor to enter, 
 and then guarded by force, with a view to vote them in mass 
 against the Republican candidate. Hearing of this, I, too, 
 formed a camp, and fed the voters; and defied the enemy 
 to capture them. I sent word that we (I) were "ready for 
 them." My elder son, Green Clay, had been a Union 
 soldier ; and, under my old friend. Gen. James S. Jackson, 
 acting as major in the volunteer service, having raised his 
 portion of the regiment, lost his health, and was compelled 
 to resign. He fought as volunteer aid under Gen. William 
 Nelson, at the battle of Richmond, in August, 1862; but 
 was now, like myself, with the Democratic Party. Whilst 
 in company with Dr. Roberts, who was afterward chosen 
 to represent Madison in the Kentucky Legislature, and 
 going home with a voter, Adam Butner, a white native of 
 the county, he was assaulted. It was toward dark, on the 
 Stringtown turnpike, where about twenty unmasked men fol- 
 lowed them on horseback, fired upon them with pistols, per- 
 forating only the clothes of Clay and Roberts, but killing 
 Butner, who fell dead from his horse. Returning the fire 
 with small pocket-pistols. Clay and Roberts put spurs to 
 their horses, and escaped. My son reported the case to 
 me, and I advised him to return to the same precinct next 
 day, and defend the rights of himself and his brother's 
 friends to a free ballot, or die. 
 
 The next day he armed himself and one of his tenants, 
 James O'Donnell, a brave Irishman, with shot-guns and pis- 
 tols, and returned to the precinct on the day of the election, 
 arriving in Foxtown late in the day, only in time to vote. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 533 
 
 There were in my own precinct of Foxtown, where we both 
 voted, but about a half dozen or so white voters ; and with 
 them I formed no combination, because I did not desire 
 them to risk their lives in such cause through any agency 
 of mine. 
 
 I then marched the blacks from my camp in columns 
 of twos, with all the arms I could obtain from them, and 
 all I had, in my rockaway. I stopped the rockaway a few 
 hundred yards from the polls; and, placing a guard over it, 
 marched the blacks through an open field which reached 
 the polls, which were held in the cattle-scales, the weather 
 being warm, so that they could not be easily jostled and 
 their ranks broken. I went alone and asked the judges to 
 let my men vote. This, after consultation, they agreed to 
 do; and the blacks began to vote. The number joined 
 to those who fell into line at Foxtown were about sixty or 
 eighty. As soon as the voting began, the leader of the 
 Democrats walked in between me and the judges of the 
 election; and, looking me sternly in the face, said: "We 
 are ready for you." This was the message I had sent a 
 few days before to the Nihilists' camp ; and I well under- 
 stood what it meant. My men were voting, and a row 
 would defeat my purpose ; and so, with great self-command, 
 I affected not to understand what was said, and made a 
 pleasant reply. Thus the election went off peaceably, and 
 no lives were lost. 
 
 The vote was close. Brutus was, in my opinion, and 
 that of all our friends, elected by the legal votes, but 
 counted out by imported repeaters, who, in Richmond es- 
 pecially, were shamefully voted against all protest. The 
 party of Democrats was about three hundred strong in 
 my precinct — almost all whites; and shot-guns and other 
 weapons were stored, as I afterward learned, in the houses 
 overlooking the polls, ready to be used against me. The 
 few white Republicans of the precinct were advised by 
 friends and relatives not to attend the election, as they 
 would be killed; and I was told, as I said in my Louisville 
 
534 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 speech, in August, 1884, that the word went round: "Now 
 we have got old Cash; God damn him." 
 
 Of course, there was no inquest held over the dead 
 martyr, Adam Butner; no indictment made by the grand- 
 jury, and no publication of these events in the county 
 Democratic papers. Was not the common law of the 
 "Solid South" but carried out? Had not I and my family 
 done that which the "Solid South" has proclaimed to all 
 the world shall not be done — "organized the blacks?" 
 And was not our crime death without redress in the 
 courts ? 
 
 My foreman, Thomas Peyton, was nearly a full-blooded 
 black, born free before general emancipation. He was in 
 the prime of life, and one of the finest specimens of an 
 African I ever saw, having but a trace of white blood. 
 He was very stout, active, and of a clear head; being a 
 good shot with shot-gun and pistol. One night, after my 
 return from Russia, and whilst Peyton was in my employ, 
 when I came home from White Hall, at my gate, a mile 
 from my dwelling, on each side were fastened to the fence 
 lines of saddled horses, but no riders, and they seemed to 
 be from thirty to sixty in number. The weather was warm, 
 and the stars gave some light. I was in my buggy, and 
 did not count them ; nor did I make any effort to identify 
 horses or equipage. Rumor said the band was about 
 eighty strong, and located in the counties of Madison, 
 Fayette, and Jessamine; that they were the band who 
 drowned five persons — men, women, and children — in the 
 Kentucky River, about five miles from my house, opposite 
 Mr. Soper's saw-mills ; knd who killed a man in the yard of 
 William Wilkerson, in Fayette County — the same who had 
 defended me at Foxtown, in 1849. 
 
 The object of this movement was evidently to show me 
 their strength, and to "bulldoze" me. For, since my return 
 from Russia, I was somewhat isolated, many of my friends 
 being dead in the war or otherwise, and removed into other 
 States. After awhile, one morning, when I came out to my 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 535 
 
 usual seat under the trees in front of my library window, I 
 picked up a half-opened letter, which read, in substance, as 
 follows ; 
 
 "C. M. Clay: — Tom Peyton is very obnoxious to us. We 
 have nothing against you; but you must send him away from your 
 house; for we will kill him. Ku-Klux." 
 
 This was to me a very grave problem to solve. If I 
 resisted, the odds were fearfully against me. If I sent 
 Tom, my faithful servant, away to death, I would shrink 
 in dishonor from an obvious duty — that of defending the 
 rights of a fellow-citizen, and my own. I sent for Tom, 
 read to him the letter, and then handed it to him to read. 
 When he had read it, he pondered awhile; then, standing 
 erect, as I would imagine Red Cloud, he said, with great 
 sensibility, but firmness: "Mars. Cash, I have done noth- 
 ing to be killed for." I replied: "What will you do: 
 stand, or run for it?" He said: "If you will defend me, 
 I will stand." I then told him : " I do n't know that I shall 
 be able to save you, or even myself; but, since you have 
 the heart to defend yourself, I will stand by you to the 
 death." 
 
 Now, a house is a fort; and, with even two determined 
 men well armed, as we were, it would be very difficult for 
 any number of foes to destroy us. And the banditti knew 
 very well that if they attempted it, more than one of them 
 would there fall dead in his boots. So Tom was not then 
 disturbed. 
 
 At the election, in 1875, Tom was at the head of the 
 black voters, and the enemies of the "sacred ballot" were 
 defeated in their criminal purposes. So, after awhile, Tom 
 was at a picnic at Needmore, a settlement of blacks a few 
 miles from me, where hundreds of men and women were 
 enjoying themselves. He, being one of the officers of the 
 Club, was set upon by three blacks, and stabbed to death. 
 He was borne to a cabin near, and sent word to me at 
 once to come and see him. When I went, the house was 
 
536 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 full of blacks, men and women. Tom was in great pain. 
 He had been stabbed in the left side and back, and the 
 bowels were protruding. I knew it was all over with him; 
 but I sent for a physician at once, to give him all the com- 
 fort possible. I then said to him: "Tell me all about this 
 affair." He said that he was drinking a little, but sober; 
 that two men unknown to him raised a quarrel with him, 
 and, though he had no arms whatever, Bob White, another 
 black, held him from behind, both arms, whilst the other two 
 stabbed him. Before he made this statement, however, he 
 said some of his enemies were present. Then I ordered the 
 house cleared, and sent home for a jug of water, that he 
 might not be poisoned; and left him under the faithful care 
 of known friends. 
 
 These blacks committed murder in the presence of hun- 
 dreds of witnesses, white and black ; and yet they were 
 cleared by the community. I believe the murderers were 
 hired, or bulldozed, or both; and that Tom met the fate 
 which long ago seemed inevitable. But my readers must 
 judge. 
 
 In neither of these deaths did I assist the prosecution, 
 because the men were dead, and I could not restore them. 
 The public sentiment of those who held the sword of justice 
 being against me, what could I do but follow a like fate? 
 
 So, also, fell my two next friends : Harper and Graham 
 Bowlin, and their two uncles — their fathers' brothers — 
 by the hands of unequal foes. Harper Bowlin and his 
 kindred were gallant men ; - but, in succeeding Tom as my 
 foreman, he entered into the "jaws of death!" A more 
 foul murder was never perpetrated than his "taking off." 
 And, when his youngest brother took his place as my first 
 man — when the same party who had killed his family, bent 
 on the completion of their vendetta, sought his life — I ad- 
 vised him to defend himself at all hazards. And when he 
 was threatened with death, and pursued by two of the party, 
 he turned and shot one of them dead. For this, without a 
 fair trial, he was sentenced to the penitentiary of the State for 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCEI.LUS CLAY. 537 
 
 life ! If he deserves punishment, then do I ; for I advised 
 his course, and was the approver of it before and after the 
 act, and am a particeps criminis. But the Nihilists rule, 
 and the Republicans of the South have no rights, and we 
 must submit to inevitable fate. 
 
 When Neal and others raped, murdered, and burned 
 the two girls at Ashland, after all the lawyers and the force 
 of the State were employed on their side, it was three years 
 before the last one was hung. But Centers (Eli) Bowlin, 
 without a lawyer in time, without his witnesses, without a 
 deferred trial to get them, without an appeal to the Supreme 
 Court — yet but a youth and an honorable man, standing in 
 self-defense — is sent to the penitentiary for life! Poor fel- 
 low ! it was his crime to be my friend ! Such is the despo- 
 tism of the " Lost Cause." 
 
 My son. Green Clay, was born December 30, 1837. He 
 was not large in size, but well-formed and muscular, with a 
 fine classic head. I sent him to the ordinary schools, and 
 finally to Yale College. There becoming discontented, as 
 most boys will do when deprived of the usual indulgences 
 of home, Mrs. Clay insisted upon his returning home, and 
 his devotion to a business career. At last I consented, but 
 under protest. 
 
 I finally got together ten thousand dollars, in the winter 
 of 1856— '7, from the wreck of my fortune, and organized a 
 banking company at Cincinnati, when, by the request of 
 my nephew by marriage, a resident of that city, I loaned 
 him these ten thousand dollars for a few days, without 
 security. He put the money in his pocket; and never re- 
 turned me one cent of this large sum. That broke up the 
 bank ; but we paid off all our debts, and the depositors lost 
 nothing. 
 
 My long neglect of business and absence in the Mexican 
 War, and my expenditures in politics, had ruined a large 
 estate; and, as soon as our bank closed in Cincinnati, I was 
 set upon by all my creditors. Among others, my father-in- 
 law, Elisha Warfield, had loaned me some money at twelve 
 
538 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 per cent, interest per annum. He was the first to claim his 
 principal and interest; and I paid it all off by giving him 
 a deed to my True American building. As he had never, 
 though wealthy, made me any advances in support of his 
 daughter and his grand-children, except a few broken-down 
 race-horses, it was a great consolation to me in my misfor- 
 fortune to feel that, at least, I owed that family nothing. 
 Though I had loaned his grandson five hundred dollars 
 without interest, and his own son many hundreds of dol- 
 lars, all of which was to me a dead loss, as I never had one 
 cent returned to me. I at once put all my property in a 
 trust sale, for the equal benefit of all my remaining credit- 
 ors. I was sold out, and turned into the public highway; 
 but not a Warfield was present at the sale, or gave me any 
 aid or sympathy. My brother, Brutus J. Clay; my step- 
 father, Jepthah Dudley ; my brother-in-law, Madison C. John- 
 son; and my nephew, Sidney Clay, aiding, sold the prop- 
 erty, and assumed all my debts; and principal and inter- 
 est — much of it usurious — without compromise, was at 
 last paid. They bought, at the public . auction, my life- 
 estate in the twenty-two hundred and fifty acres of trust- 
 land, with the homestead left me by my father; and al- 
 lowed me the use of it. Finally, I paid them off, also, 
 principal and interest, in full. When the allies of the 
 Warfields found me broken — some of those who tried to 
 murder me in vain, at Foxtown, in 1849 — they rode over 
 the country in great glee, spreading the good news: "Clay 
 is now broke; we shall be troubled with him no more! " 
 
 One day the same parties, passing my farm, found me 
 with my coat off, with a few hands, picking up stones from 
 a worn field, and loading the cart to pour them into the 
 washed places. They then said it was no use to contend 
 against any such man. And it. so turned out. With an 
 unbending will I went on to pay my debts, pecuniary and 
 political. 
 
 I entered the canvass of i860 with my life-long ardor, 
 and saw victory perch upon our hands in the election of 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 539 
 
 Lincoln. Before I left the United States for Russia, Dr. 
 E. Warfield died; but I attended neither his sick-bed nor 
 his funeral. Before I returned home Mrs. Clay's mother 
 died; and both by will so provided that I should not receive 
 any of their estate. 
 
 Whilst in Russia, I got my eldest son, Green Clay, an 
 interest in the oil-mines in Southern Russia; but, for the 
 want of capital and skill and perseverance, the venture 
 failed — though now those wells are worth millions of dol- 
 lars. But once more he was prematurely recalled home by 
 his mother, and offered a partnership in the real-estate, 
 which he accepted. But so soon as it turned out profi- 
 table, she canceled it; and Green went to work on the 
 farm which I had given him out of the trust-estate. 
 
 Mrs. Clay left Russia early in 1862, contrary to my 
 wishes, and regardless of my protest; and, when I was 
 re-appointed in 1863, and returned to St. Petersburg in 
 the spring of that year, she refused to accompany or fol- 
 low me. Before I left home, however, I gave her a power 
 of attorney to manage my property, of all which she had 
 possession for nearly nine years, and for which she has 
 never paid me one cent. 
 
 In the meantime, as I said, Green, having joined the 
 Union army and lost his health, was obliged to resign and 
 return to his farm. At the battle of Richmond, in 1862, 
 he was the volunteer aid of Gen. William Nelson; and 
 bore him off the field when wounded, and through the 
 lines of Kirby Smith, in safety, into the county of Jessa- 
 mine. 
 
 His mother had loaned him a considerable sum of money 
 at interest, which caused his ruin. He and his lovely and 
 devoted wife, Cornelia Walker Clay, were living on the 
 mortgaged farm, when they were informed that they must 
 sell out, and pay the principal and interest due the mother. 
 
 On my final return home, the bonds between myself 
 and wife, which had been strained from the date of our 
 marriage, were about to be broken forever. My younger 
 
540 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 children knew but little of me. They received their ideas 
 of my character from my inveterate enemies, the Warfield 
 clan — all but Green, who knew me well from being the 
 eldest, and much with me, I went to him, and told him 
 I intended to get a divorce. Although he knew that his 
 mother had left my home, and had gone to Lexington to 
 live, he was much shocked. He, like the remainder of 
 the family, seemed to think that I was to bear every thing, 
 like a pack-horse, with patience, and without a murmur. 
 He said he had been unfortunate in many things — in the 
 loss of property and health; but he thought at least the 
 good name of his parents was left him, and now that also 
 was to be lost ! I told him that I had maturely considered 
 the matter, and had come to an unchangeable resolve ; 
 that, as he had been a good and honorable son, and a 
 man in all things, I would explain to him what I had not 
 said to any other person or persons whatever. I then re- 
 lated the occurrences before and after marriage — how I 
 had been treated by that family all through life — referring 
 to Mrs. and Mr. Warfield, Anne Ryland, and Julia Hunt; 
 how the wedding-ring was thrown away by me in 1845 '• 
 how Julia Hunt was heard, by my niece, to say, that she 
 hoped I would die in prison in Mexico; how I found the 
 same grievance at Frankfort, in 1848, on my return home, 
 which had been one of the causes of my exile into Mexico ; 
 how I was left alone at St. Petersburg; how I could not 
 persuade Mrs. Clay to return there with me in 1863; how, 
 when Seward calumniated me, she wrote a letter, not trust- 
 ing me, but believing the Chautems' scandal, at which I 
 was indignant, and thus closed our correspondence; how I 
 found my property at home injured, the ornamental trees 
 cut down, no fences, and not a good roof on the estate, 
 but that of tin on the main building; how she sold the 
 stock before I reached home, and kept the money; how I 
 did not receive a single cent from her as my attorney-in- 
 fact, for the rent of the place — about eighty thousand dol- 
 lars, at least. That, as he knew I had burned all the brick, 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 54 1 
 
 and had ready all the heavy timbers for the additional build- 
 ing, with stone, lime, etc., before I left for Europe; how I 
 had sent her, through Duncan, Sherman & Co., nearly four 
 times the whole amount of the original estimate of the ad- 
 ditional building — which was $8,000 — I having previously 
 furnished and paid for the most of the material, as stated ; 
 how, notwithstanding all this, Anne Ryland and others had 
 induced the public to believe that Mrs. Clay had built the 
 additions to the house at her own expense ; how all my 
 faults had been studiously magnified and misstated ; how it 
 had been averred that Mrs. Clay had loaned me 5^5,000, 
 when, in fact, she never loaned me one cent in my life ; * 
 how, before she finally deserted me, and went to live with 
 Anne Ryland in Lexington, she had divided up my house- 
 hold furniture ; how she refused to pay a part of our com- 
 mon expenses ; how, when she and Mrs. Ryland could not 
 live together, (how could they?) she returned unasked to 
 my home once more; how I, on hearing of her coming, left 
 my own house, and went to his ; how she sent word by him 
 that she had come home, and ''loved me as much as she ever 
 did;'' and how I, being silent, and making no response, she 
 then returned to Lexington, bought a house, and there lived 
 
 *The "dry branch" and others having falsely asserted to the 
 public, in addition to other calumnies, that I had borrowed, before 
 setting out to Russia, five thousand dollars of Mrs. Clay, to pay 
 my expenses, I append the following copy of a paper now before 
 me, as follows: 
 
 ' ' Know all men by these presents, that I have advanced, out 
 "of the land and slaves willed me in trust by my father. Green 
 "Clay, five hundred and twenty acres of land and one slave, Frank- 
 "lin, on which he has advanced eight thousand dollars (;^8,ooo), 
 "to me paid; which |>8,ooo is not to be charged to him In a final 
 "settlement with the heirs. That is, the land valued at (^64) sixty- 
 "four dollars per acre, and Franklin valued at ;? 1,000, amounts to 
 "^134,472, less $8,000, which is an advance of ;^26,472. . Given 
 "under my hand and seal, March 7, i860. C. M. Clay." 
 
 Indorsed on this memorandum is "Green Clay's land, i860 — 
 
542 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 separate and apart from me for five years, which, by our 
 laws, gave me the right of divorce. 
 
 Green heard me with great emotion and great patience. 
 He then said, in substance, that : I was his father, and Mrs. 
 C. his mother; and that he considered it his duty, as it was 
 his sentiment, to love both. That he had regarded, and 
 would continue to regard it as a quarrel between us 
 only ; and he was not the one, but a higher Power, to judge 
 us. And so I brought suit in the Fayette Circuit Court for 
 divorce ; and all the family, so far as I heard, except Green, 
 opposed it. 
 
 In the response, I was threatened that my life would be 
 roughly treated. So I sent for my son-in-law, James Ben- 
 nett, and told him, at my own house: "The law in this case 
 only requires an abandonment for the space of five years. 
 If you are wise, you will dissuade your wife and others 
 from attacking me, or my character. They have as much 
 to fear as I. I have been silent under all sorts of calum- 
 nies ; now, in such case, I shall defend myself without re- 
 serve." After that there was no legal opposition. She let 
 the case go without resistance ; and a decree of divorce was 
 granted me February 7, 1878. 
 
 |i6,ooo repaid to Green Clay, and extra land returned to me and 
 my heirs." 
 
 Another indorsement is: "C. M. Clay's deed of five hundred 
 and twenty-three acres of land to Green Clay, i860." This last is 
 in the handwriting of my unfortunate son. 
 
 So that, instead of my using Mrs. Clay's money, who was much 
 wealthier than myself in i860, she and the children, taken to Rus- 
 sia, were all supported at my expense, she never having contrib- 
 uted, to my knowledge, a single cent; nor did I ever borrow a 
 single dollar of her, or receive one, in my life. 
 
 My poor son, in his magnanimity, having already his share 
 of the estate unincumbered with the annuity which I reserved, 
 gave up his rights, and, by Mrs. Clay's advice, went into a com- 
 mon division; and yet, when she had him in her power, she, for- 
 getting all this, turned him into the highway, penniless. —C, 
 1885. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 543 
 
 In my petition I swore that I had never had any ad- 
 vances from her, or hers; and this, as she did not assert 
 the contrary, put down forever that oft-repeated calumny, 
 that I had turned her out of the house built with her own 
 money. On the contrary, I could have gained large sums 
 of my own which she, after due support of the family, never 
 accounted for; but which I did not desire to take from her, 
 or the children. Although, before she left my house, she 
 proposed to pay me whatever she owed me, I declined to 
 take it, as I did not then know that she was preparing to 
 desert me. 
 
 After she abandoned my home, I sent for my adopted 
 son, Launey Clay, from Russia; and, through the courts 
 of Madison County, Ky., by permission of his nominal 
 parents, assumed his guardianship, and sole control of him, 
 and changed his name to the one he now bears. Green 
 knew all the circumstances; and, after the divorce, wrote, 
 among other similar ones, this letter in answer to one 
 from me: 
 
 Dear Pa: — I have been a little imprudent, and do not feel as 
 well as I did, but do not need any one to stay with me ; nor do I 
 need any thing to eat but some rice, and that I have. But any 
 time you feel inclined to come over and see me, I will be very glad 
 to see you and Launey. I want you to tell Launey that I feel very 
 kindly to him; and any time he needs a friend to come to me, and 
 I will do my best for him, if it is but little. A kind word and love 
 is sometimes worth more than money. Your loving son, 
 
 Green Clay. 
 April 6, 1878. 
 
 My son Brutus J. Clay, in consequence of my long ab- 
 sence and his youth, knew but little of my character. 
 When he came to know me better, he was very affec- 
 tionate to me, and his brother Green — to whom he was 
 kind and generous. And Mary never ceased in her affiec- 
 tion for me. The following letters, recently received from 
 my son, Brutus J. Clay, and his sister, will support my 
 assertion :• 
 
544 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Richmond, K\., June 15, 1885. 
 My Dear Father: — I will be down to see you soon — have 
 been absent from home much of the fall and winter. Many thanks 
 for the peonies. We all have had colds. Am glad to hear you are 
 in good health. Affectionately, your son, Brutus J. Ci-ay. 
 
 Ann Arbor, Michigan, January 27, 1885. 
 Dear Pa : — Yours is just received, and I am much obliged by 
 
 your acceding to my request I am much obliged for 
 
 the warning about interest on money; but, unless I am more un- 
 fortunate than I have ever been, I think I will keep myself clear, 
 so that I will know where I stand. I am glad to hear that you are 
 recovered from your. sickness. We are having a very cold winter 
 here — the thermometer down below twenty degrees, and snow two 
 feet deep. Green is complaining with cold. Frank and Green are 
 well. Hoping this will find you well, with love, your affectionate 
 
 Mary B. Clay. 
 
 These letters will be better understood when I tell how 
 my daughters, and some women of Richmond of doubtful 
 reputation, as is usual in such cases, tried to drive Launey 
 and myself from society. The historical families, and the 
 elite of Madison society, attended an entertainment at my 
 house by the invitation of myself and Launey. Green Clay 
 and his noble and accomplished wife, so largely related to 
 the old families of the county, received my company; and 
 the whole affair was a distinguished success. So my poor 
 son. Green, and his refined and devoted wife, were, in re- 
 venge for their friendship to me, sold out of his land, upon 
 which his mother held a mortgage for money loaned. The 
 mortgage was closed ; and the real-estate, and every thing 
 he had on earth — household and kitchen furniture, his very 
 bed — were sold, and he and his wife were turned into the 
 public highway. This cruel and unheard-of conduct from a 
 mother, whom he dearly loved with all her faults and in- 
 justice to himself, broke his heart. His nervous system, 
 with repeated failures in all his pecuniary struggles, could 
 not stand this last shock ; and the remainder of his life was 
 but a slow descent into the unknown forever. His nobility 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 545 
 
 of spirit was shown when, in his straitened circumstances, 
 I, in 1 861, proposed to get a lucrative office from Lincoln. 
 He declined, saying, he could not fill it properly. This 
 treatment was all the more indefensible, when I had, out of 
 my own estate, supported her and all the children to that 
 time; when I had bought for her the finest residence in 
 Lexington — the "Lord Morton" place; when I had pro- 
 posed to settle it on her before I went to the Mexican War, 
 by her father paying one third, but which he refused ; when 
 I had all my life allowed her, at all times, to buy, without' 
 restraint, whatever she pleased with cash, or on my credit ; 
 when, in consequence of the trust-estate and impossible 
 titles she bought the land of Green, and greatly under its 
 value; when all the improvements — landscape, vines, or- 
 chards, buildings, and all that, upon which my unfortunate 
 son had so much set his heart — were all taken without the 
 payment of a cent of equivalent ; when he had given up his 
 contract with her in a great-hearted magnanimity; when 
 he even gave up his separate estate, upon which he paid 
 no annuity, and came into the equal share of the same out 
 of deference to her request, and love of his brothers and 
 sisters ! 
 
 He, however, bore his accumulated misfortunes with a 
 heroism which can only come from the Divine Spirit of the 
 Christian religion. His wife was left to him, and a con- 
 science without remorse. She had a small farm adjoining 
 the old home. Here, without a murmur, he went to work 
 and built, with his own hands mostly, a new cottage-house 
 amidst old forest-trees ; and set out a new orchard, and 
 made new out-buildings, and health and happiness seemed 
 to await him. 
 
 But the ways of Providence are inscrutable, and death 
 had invaded the perishable to make more marked the 
 immortal. His temperament was by nature fiery, and ag- 
 gressive under a sense of injury and injustice; but now 
 he was — under the influence of the holy love of Christian 
 faith — as gentle as a dove; listening, at times, to my in- 
 
 VoL. 1.— 35 
 
546 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 dignant recitals of wrongs with the calm and serenity of a 
 child. Never uttering a word of complaint, he seemed to 
 feel not a single pang of regret or revenge. The derange- 
 ment of his nervous system was treated, by physicians 
 of Cincinnati, with fire — as had been tried successfully 
 with Charles Sumner in Paris. He bore the test without 
 a groan ; or despondency, when it all failed. Such suffer- 
 ing I had never before seen at a death-bed; but no outcry 
 indicated his pain. A mental anxiety for the presence and 
 safety and care of his wife seemed to be his only fear in his 
 returning consciousness; and, when at last the spirit took 
 flight to a better world — when speechless, an angelic calm 
 and the light of a higher life cast back the rays of immortal 
 love — he would fix his eyes attentively upon his wife, and 
 upon me, with the vista of childhood's years returned. He 
 could speak no more. He seemed but to throw off the 
 worn-out tenement of earth, and to enter at once upon an 
 immortality of bliss. He died June 21, 1883. 
 
 The following letter, among the last I have received from 
 his wife, I give here, as indicating her devotion, and the great 
 loss she had sustained in her husband's untimely death : 
 
 December, 17, 1884. 
 Dear Mr. Clay: — I am glad to hear that you are at home, 
 and entirely well. I am glad to know, too, that you remember 
 that I am still living; and have interest enough in me to want to 
 know how I am "getting on." I am at my mother's now; but 
 expect to go back to my own house the ist of January, and pass 
 the winter there. Life with me is a hard struggle, with all hope 
 and interest buried in my husband's grave. I miss him more and 
 more as the weary months drag on, feel more deeply the loss of 
 his love and sympathy, and appreciate more his many noble traits 
 and high principles. You, who knew him so well, must feel that 
 you never had another child that could compare with him in purity 
 and goodness. You must always feel, with me, the wrong and 
 wickedness which crushed his proud spirit and broke his heart, and 
 made desolate my life. His long and weary sickness and cruel 
 death are ever in my mind. If I can ever do any thing for you, 
 in sickness 6t need, I will, for his sake. I know he loved you very 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 547 
 
 much, and you were always good to him. Let me hear from you 
 
 sometimes Give my love to Aunt Betsy Smith. 
 
 Yours, affectionately, Cornie W. Clay. 
 
 Before I left New York, in 1870, Mrs. Clay wrote to me 
 that she wished to purchase the lot in Lexington where our 
 children were buried. The lot was owned by myself, Brutus 
 J. Clay, and others; and upon it was built quite an elegant 
 monument. After I returned to my native home in Madi- 
 son County, after the Mexican War, we purchased a lot in 
 the Richmond cemetery, where, by common consent, the 
 monument was removed. In explanation of this serious 
 move on the part of a wife who had given me already so 
 much grief in life, she said that she never would be buried 
 in Madison County, where my mother's remains were, and 
 where, of course, I would be also buried; but she intended 
 to be interred in Lexington, by the side of her mother, and 
 that the children should not be removed. This I regarded 
 as. a proclamation of perpetual war, and I sternly accepted 
 the issue. We sold her the lot. 
 
 When I returned from New York the second time, she 
 was at the house of Anne Ryland in Lexington. I was 
 received like a stranger, the "dry branch" told me I was 
 not welcome, and my trunk placed in a room where I slept 
 alone. On my return home, she ventured to treat me as a 
 stranger — putting me in a separate room; and, when the 
 weather turned suddenly cold, she moved all my clothing, 
 without consulting me, into another room in the new house, 
 where the fire-place was unfinished, being without a grate, 
 and the cold so intense that icicles froze on my beard. All 
 this I bore in good part, as I flattered myself that it was my 
 fault if I did not go into her room, where a good fire was 
 kept up always. 
 
 Knowing my real character, and failing to drive me from 
 home again, she gave it up, and confined herself much to 
 her room. One night she sent for me to come to her room 
 to look over the account of checks, or drafts, I had sent her 
 through the banking-house of Duncan, Sherman & Co. I 
 
548 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 went. On examining them carefully, and finding that I had 
 sent her all the money which I claimed to have sent, she 
 proposed, as said before, to pay me what she owed me. 
 This my instincts as a husband and a gentleman forbade 
 me to accept; for, perhaps, unhappily for me, a love of 
 money was not one of my vices. She then, to my surprise, 
 entered upon a new act in our lives — crimination; for, in 
 all our unfortunate differences, angry words had never been 
 heard. 
 
 Anne Ryland had played well her usual role — had gath- 
 ered up all the faults and escapades of a life-time — and now 
 the infuriated woman poured them upon my devoted head 
 like a deluge. At first I was indignant, and ready to retort 
 upon her my own wrongs; for, after I had married her, my 
 love for her was pure and devoted, and it was she who made 
 the first breach upon the marriage duties. But, when I 
 began to see the drift of her remarks, and where they were 
 about to end, I grew calm; for now the last touch of love 
 had vanished, and I let her go on, enumerating many truths 
 against me at home and abroad, but also many calumnies, 
 to which I gave the same tacit consent. For I desired now 
 that she should magnify, not extenuate, my offences. The 
 scene was closed by my asking her if she had any thing 
 more to say ; and I finally, with suave tones, bade her good- 
 night, and returned to my room, and locked the door after 
 me ever afterward during her stay in my house. For she 
 told me, Christian as she professed to be, that she feared 
 neither God nor man! 
 
 When she found that I was not to be exiled again, and 
 that my property was no longer for her exclusive use, she 
 prepared to leave for Lexington. We had agreed that she 
 should take every thing which she ever brought into my 
 house, or bought with her own money, and that she should 
 relieve me of her right of dower ; and this was reduced to 
 writing. 
 
 After she had tried her sister, Anne Ryland, a long time, 
 and saw her raise her shriveled hands to heaven, and roll up 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 549 
 
 her eyes in holy horror at the sins of the world, she found, 
 no doubt, that she would follow the fate of poor Ryland, 
 whom Green often told me she (Anne) killed with unkind- 
 ness. So she sent word that she was coming home again. 
 As the time came near, as before mentioned, I went over to 
 my son Green's home, and there remained, leaving my own 
 house vacant. But, when my son went to see her, she sent 
 him on a peace-errand ; and authorized him to say to me, 
 after other explanations, that ''she loved me as much as 
 ever." To this I made no reply — not even to my son. 
 Then she left once more, never to return. She had made 
 my life miserable. I was driven to the wall, and there I 
 stood ! 
 
 I now had ample reason to remember Mrs. Allen's warn- 
 ing, on the day Mary Jane Warfield consented to be my wife. 
 It had gone on from bad to worse, and the crisis of my ill- 
 fortune had come. 
 
 When my friend, R — B — n, came, much later, on the 
 same mission, and had ably pleaded for a better result, as 
 he finished an eloquent appeal, I pointed to the high bal- 
 cony of my house, and said: "B — n, you are my friend. 
 I take all you say in good part. Do you see that bal- 
 cony? I would rather jump off from that, and be dashed 
 to pieces, than again marry that woman!" 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 Literature, Ancient and Modern. — Opinion of the works op Shakspeare. — 
 Homer's "Iliad" and "Odyssey." — Modern History and Fiction. — News- 
 paper Literature. — Solitary and lonely in life, I send for and adopt 
 a Son. — Launey Clay. — My treatment by successful Republican place- 
 men. — C. M. Clay and Elizabeth de Sozia Wood. — I am plundered alike 
 BY Whites and Blacks. — My black attendants starve, and attempt the 
 murder of my adopted son. 
 
 WHEN Mrs. Clay had bought a place and settled down 
 for life, I was left entirely alone in a large house, 
 which made my isolation more gloomy. During the day 
 I attended to my farm, now reduced, by the division to my 
 children, to three hundred and sixty acres. I sowed it all 
 down in blue-grass, clover, and timothy, except enough for 
 a large garden, in which I was always much interested. I 
 bought my Indian-corn and wheat, and cut much hay, so as 
 to require the least number of workmen. I had thirty acres 
 in landscape — indeed my whole farm might be so called — 
 for I reserved much woodland, and kept the grass clear of 
 weeds. 
 
 I had now practically drifted out of politics, and devoted 
 much of my time to reading — mostly ancient and classical 
 literature. My library, for the West, was large, and em- 
 braced most of the first works of all time. I read Pope as 
 the most intellectual poet, and Burns as the truest to nature. 
 I read Shakspeare from the title-page to the end ; and found 
 all that had been said and written of him was none too 
 much in his praise. I thought some of his plays, as Mid- 
 summer-Night Dream, were so dififerent from Macbeth and 
 Richard the Third that I could not believe they were by 
 the same author. I think the dramatist found some of these 
 plays in manuscript, revamped them, and infused into them 
 5SO 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 55 1 
 
 some of his own genius. Certainly no man better under- 
 stood human nature, or better set it forth in all its intricate 
 development in thought and action, than Shakspeare. So 
 that, if out of all authors but one was to be retained, with 
 me it would be Shakspeare. 
 
 I attempted anew Milton and Bunyan and Swedenborg, 
 and failed to be interested in them. The Bible, even, as a 
 work of poetry and art, is infinitely superior to them all. 
 I refer to these because the world has held them in high 
 favor. I read the Iliad and the Odyssey through to the last 
 word, and differ again with the learned ; for I greatly prefer 
 the Odyssey to the Iliad — the first having more moral text- 
 ure and more nature, though I can not deny many brilliant 
 and thrilling scenes in the Iliad. The battles and blazonry 
 of the Iliad are foreign to my taste. I can well appreciate 
 that dictum of Hawthorne, which, it is said, he uttered on 
 Grant's nomination: "Now for forty years of bullet-heads!" 
 I reviewed much history, and read for the first time that of 
 A. Alison, with whom I had corresponded in Russia. 
 
 The modern scientists, of course, much interested me. 
 Of these, Herbert Spencer most pleased me. I do n't think 
 they have done any thing to injure religion. As a theory 
 of the creation, it, of course, touches, the subject of an In- 
 telligent and Omnipotent God. But about this scientists 
 themselves differ — being Pantheists, Christians, Agnostics, 
 Theists, and Atheists. It is the part of scientists to estab- 
 lish facts; of theologians to construct systems of faith and 
 morals. These provinces are distinct, and there is not in 
 the nature of things any conflict. It is the fault of the 
 Theists that they do not see and recognize facts or truths ; 
 and they would do well to reconcile religion with all truth. 
 
 It is a false assumption that man was made for any par- 
 ticular religion. Of this idea of an abstract system, to which 
 the life of man must be conformed, comes of necessity per- 
 secution. Religion was made, or ought to be made, for 
 man, and his happiness. And all human happiness rests 
 upon the eternal laws — moral and physical. What can be 
 
552 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 more absurd than the ordinary idea of a personal God ! — 
 with physical members which can never be of any use, and 
 even the possession of which is fatal to all his higher attri- 
 butes of Benevolence and Omnipotence! And, above all, 
 we must ever bear in mind that truth is ever safe, and no 
 error can permanently stand, or add to human happiness. 
 
 I think the clergy are over-timid about science. They 
 must acknowledge facts, and build faith and sentiment upon 
 them, as far as they are made sure. Even Ingersoll, in a 
 vulgar way, develops some truth ; but he need not be feared 
 by any defender of a higher and religious life. His theo- 
 ries are not new, and his methods are unphilosophical and 
 offensive. Ingersoll will be forgotten, and religion will live 
 forever. 
 
 The cultured, intellectual, and self-poised do well in stand- 
 ing upon the bald facts of our being. But the mass of man- 
 kind have no such base of support ; and Burns well says : 
 
 "The fear o' hell 's the hangman's whip 
 That hauds the wretch in order." 
 
 Not physical, of necessity, but an idea of rewards and pun- 
 ishment by eternal laws, running into the after-life, or by the 
 Omnipotent One, who sees all, and disposes of all things. 
 Joseph Rodes Buchanan should be named among the mod- 
 ern scientists. 
 
 I do n't think modern times have produced much litera- 
 ture that will last. Of course, that may be said of all ages. 
 The commercial growth of our days has given great promi- 
 nence to news-journals, which leave but little time to most 
 readers. So that the sensational style has invaded all the 
 departments of human culture. In literature, some even 
 deny the existence of Shakspeare, or the identity of his 
 works. 
 
 In theology, the wildest theories prevail. So quack doc- 
 tors of medicine are easily beaten by such men as Beecher, 
 Talmage, Ingersoll, and Sam Jones. All have an eye to the 
 main chance, whether it be dollars or spurious fame. Some 
 deny God; and others dress Him up in such trappings of 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 553 
 
 person and character and purpose as would disgrace the 
 most abject idiot of heathen times. So poetry and prose 
 grow more artificial, and, of course, more temporary. The 
 broad fields of nature and the human mind are deserted for 
 trifling and impotent specimens of hot-house culture. The 
 Tennysons and Coleridges, with their abstract ideas and half- 
 revealed obscurities, will be forgotten. Like old wines, the 
 crusty and quaint barnacled bottles attract, but the liquor is 
 tasteless. So I prefer Cervantes and Fielding and Gold- 
 smith, who follow in the footsteps of nature, to Scott, with 
 his immense spectacular displays and impossible chivalry. 
 Thus I give Dickens the preeminence in modern fiction. 
 After all the talk about Hawthorne and Emerson, and all 
 the New-England school of mutual admirationists, there is 
 hardly one that will live. So in poetry we have some dis- 
 connected lyrics, like a few of Longfellow's and O'Hara's, 
 which will last; whilst most of the ambitious attempts at 
 immortality are but fit for the waste-basket. 
 
 Our histories are but annals ; some of them large enough 
 for a life-time's reading. Why preserve every unessential 
 incident, when the great nucleus itself is not worth much 
 consideration? A painter might just as well set forth an 
 anatomical specimen, instead of the human form in all its 
 beauty of body, and divinity of intellect and soul. In the 
 Fine Arts we have been more fortunate. Joel T. Hart has 
 produced the finest incarnation (in marble) of woman. He 
 has followed only nature; and done all art can do — aggre- 
 gate and accumulate her beauties. 
 
 So in landscape-painting, for the same reason, we begin to 
 rival the world. In magazines we certainly show great prog- 
 ress. But even there a partizan spirit and cliques too often 
 usurp the stage, where all mankind should hold equal succes- 
 sion. The newspapers themselves, the true exponents of 
 modern progress and civilization, though of wonderful de- 
 velopment, hardly satisfy the philosophical lover of the race. 
 How are they warped by personal enmities, political preju- 
 dices, and disregard of justice ! 
 
554 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 It is worthy of note that the best efforts of the Human 
 Mind have- set forth the gloomy side of life. Thus Poe 
 won eminence by his intense originality and melancholy. 
 So Gray and Longfellow and O'Hara and others have at- 
 tained their highest eminence here. Few, like Campbell 
 and Byron, are equal in these extremes of light and dark- 
 ness; and I think no four lines in our language surpass 
 those authors in a vivid appreciation of nature, or set her 
 forth in more lovely vestments : 
 
 '"lis distance lends enchantment to the view, 
 And robes the mountain in its azure hue." — Campbell. 
 
 "Night wanes; the mists around the mountains curled, 
 Melt into morn, and light awakes the world." — Byron. 
 
 And thus the hard struggle between good and evil — be- 
 tween the mortal and the immortal — goes on forever. 
 
 So I sought companionship with the flowers and trees 
 and shrubs, and with all vegetable and animal life; with 
 books and paintings and statuary — the dread memorials of 
 those who live no more. I gathered about me dogs and 
 improved live-stock, and pigeons and barn-fowls, and the 
 mute fishes — the flora and the fauna ; and, seeking near 
 communion with all life, I nailed a crumb-box on the tree 
 at my library-window, where I fed the birds winter and 
 summer — enticing the wild red-birds by my kindness, till 
 these shyest of our songsters, generally retiring to remote 
 and inaccessible ravines and bushy hills, came to be my 
 every-day companions. 
 
 But at night I was left all the more alone — till I often 
 opened wide the shutters that the bats should enter to pick 
 the flies, as is their wont, from the walls; and their flutter- 
 ing — life — life — was a great pleasure to me. So I sat 
 long under the trees, looking at the moon and stars, and 
 speculating upon the Cosmos, and things beyond the scope 
 of mortal intellect — seeing that the finite can never grasp 
 the infinite. There, too, I was baffled, like Manfred, call- 
 ing for sympathy, with the mute worlds in vain ! Had I 
 been worse than other men? And was this the punish- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 555 
 
 ment of violated law? Was it of God, or of man? If of 
 man, then will I contend with man — I will assert my eter- 
 nal defense! And, if from Fate, then will I "wage with 
 fortune an eternal war!" 
 
 I, who had sacrificed all to men, was by men left to 
 myself alone. Kindred were cold, and children interested 
 mainly in their own families! In a distant land — at the 
 very antipodes — was one spark of eternal life, which, out 
 of all the voiceless creation, spoke to me in words which 
 I could well understand. Day by day that one image — 
 that one voice which for so many years in a strange land 
 I had listened to as the sweetest music — gathered into 
 more vividness, till in my dreams I saw the imploring 
 looks, and heard the calling for me of the lost one. 
 
 In the great city of St. Petersburg, of now near a mil- 
 lion of people — that city of isolation, infinite intrigues, and 
 silence — was born, in the year 1866, a male child. To the 
 secret of his parentage I am the only living witness — I who 
 have, of all men living, the best reason to know — and that 
 secret will die with me. 
 
 So I sent for my adopted child, and brought him into 
 the courts of Madison County, Ky., and had his name 
 changed and recorded. As, after the mob at Lexington, 
 I walked down the streets with calm indifference to my 
 persecutors, so here, having made up my mind as to my 
 highest duty, I calmly shouldered all the responsibility of 
 
 my action This boy was then about four 
 
 years old, well-formed, bright, and athletic, and full of 
 health and color as a judicious culture could develop. 
 
 After I had joined the Democratic Party, the office- 
 seeking Republicans who, when danger hung over our 
 threatened cause, kept silent and out of danger, now, 
 when offices were to be had, went to the front — to me 
 mostly unknown. They persecuted me with as much vio- 
 lence as ever did the Slave-Power. They taught the freed- 
 man that- 1 was a traitor to my own life-cause, and the 
 worst enemy of the black race. The old generation of 
 
556 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 blacks knew better ; and still had implicit confidence in my 
 fidelity to my principles, and justice. To these denunciators 
 of me one old-time black, M. C — , in Frankfort, said, with 
 great common-sense: "You say the question is not what 
 Clay once was, but what is he now? Well, he is now what 
 he always was. Another question is, who was your best 
 friend when you most needed friends? It was Cash. Clay. 
 When he risked his life in your cause many of these men 
 were joined with our enemies to destroy him. There is no 
 use of talking about who freed the blacks. Clay did more 
 towards tljat than all of these here put together. He did 
 not aid only in doing all he could towards freeing us, but 
 he did free us!" 
 
 Such argument could not be answered ; and all the more 
 thoughtful freedmen remained my friends. But the younger 
 set, who knew little or nothing of my history, were my im- 
 placable enemies, and ready to injure me in person or prop- 
 erty. The Confederates took my horses, but the blacks, 
 encouraged by the enmity and advice of the whites of both 
 parties, who hated and feared me, I have every reason to 
 believe, burned my large stone barn, full of grain, during the 
 war ; burned my business office, the old first residence of 
 my father, with all my letters, except a few scattered ones 
 in other places, with all the bedding and other furniture in 
 three rooms ; burned my two carriage-houses and carriages, 
 and tried to set fire to a stone cottage by burning its window- 
 shutters. The barn of Green Clay, adjoining my farm, was 
 also burned, with all its contents. 
 
 So when, as formerly, I stood against one party, now I 
 was set upon by both. My poor child, Launey, was the 
 next point of attack. I had only black employes.* They 
 
 •C. M. CLAY AND ELIZABETH DE SOZIA WOOD. 
 "One of the biggest frauds of the day is Cassius M. Clay, the 
 "Nephew of his Uncle," who got up a cheap reputation as a fight- 
 ing Abolitionist in time of peace, and then went back on his rec- 
 ord, and now curses the North as roundly as the most red-hot 
 unreconstructed rebel dare. He made a great ado at one time 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 557 
 
 had all my keys, commanded all my stores of the meat-house 
 and the pantry, as well as the wine-cellar. They ate and 
 drank every thing that I did — we were as one family. I 
 was absorbed in political thought, in my business, and in 
 my books. I paid no attention to household-affairs as long 
 as things were tolerable. But it turned out that every one 
 was a traitor and my enemy. They not only used whatever 
 
 over the freeing of his slaves; but a Southern lady, who knows all 
 the circumstances, says all that were of any value were first sent 
 South and sold at good round prices, and only a few old and de- 
 crepid ones were set free. This was a master-stroke of policy in 
 two ways — it obtained for him much coveted notoriety, and re- 
 lieved him of their care and maintenance. Mrs. Elizabeth de 
 Sozia Wood, of San Francisco, California, the wife of a naval 
 officer, raised in Louisville, says, in the New York Graphic, that 
 among those sold was the old nurse who suckled him when a 
 child, and who for years he loved as a mother, and called her 
 by that name. This woman fell into the hands of the family to 
 whom we have referred, and Clay's ex-slaves (who went to that 
 neighborhood,) all confirm what has been stated. Clay attempts a 
 denial, but Mrs. Wood answers his rejoinder in a way that sets the 
 matter at rest. It will be remembered, perhaps, that Clay recently 
 shot a colored man dead, when no one else was present, and his 
 unsupported word that the man first advanced on him was accepted 
 by the community where he lived without an investigation." 
 
 The above article appeared in the Lacon (111.) Home Journal 
 of March 20th; and, knowing the many sacrifices that Gen. Clay 
 had made for the cause of freedom, at a tinrie when it required 
 nerve and resolution to advocate that cause, and believing that the 
 charges contained in the article were false, we addressed a letter 
 to him, and received the following reply: 
 
 White Hall, Ky., March 25, 1878. 
 
 My Dear Sir: — I received to day your letter of the 2Sth inst., 
 inclosing a scurrilous clipping from the Home Journal, which is best 
 answered by the inclosed letter of mine from the Louisville (Ky.) 
 Courier-Journal. 
 
 With regard to the original calumny of the Hotne Journal, I will 
 only remark that my son, Launey Clay, was present at the shoot- 
 
558 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS,. AND SPEECHES 
 
 they desired, but plundered me systematically, and divided 
 my property among a large circle of friends and acquaint- 
 ances. 
 
 Sarah White, my cook, and David, her husband, had 
 two sons. The elder lived in Winchester, the county-seat 
 of Clarke. He had a market- wagon ; and, when it was 
 filled, he went with it to Lexington, sold out, and then 
 
 ing; and his testimony, under oath, taken lately before the grand 
 jury, who, together with the coroner's jury, acquitted me, in ac- 
 cordance with the unanimous voice of all parties here, so far as I 
 
 have heard. Respectfully, your friend, 
 
 C. M. Clay. 
 
 Col. J. G. Ford, Lacon, 111. 
 
 AN OPEN LETTER. 
 White Hall, Ky., February 14, 1878. 
 
 To the Editor of the New York Graphic — 
 
 Sir: — After I had repelled many calumnies — had silenced the 
 batteries of the wily Seward, the stolid Grant, the immortal Fish, 
 and "Bluff Ben. Wade," the chiefs of the Radical Party, and had 
 seen their disordered ranks go down, never again to rise — I thought 
 to have some repose, and be allowed to "hang my arms upon the 
 wall." But, alas! for human hopes! Here comes from the far 
 Pacific — from the land of the long-haired men and short-haired 
 women; from the land of the hoodlums, unsexed women with High- 
 land kilts and Turkish trowsers, with the household keys in their 
 breeches pockets — a new gladiator, who leaps defiantly into the 
 sanded ring — Elizabeth de Sozia Wood! "In the name of all the 
 gods at once" — good gracious!! 
 
 If you had printed the whole of my reply to this infuriated 
 woman, instead of suppressing the material points, you would have 
 spared your journal a correspondence in which the public have but 
 little interest, and which can not elevate the tastes or morals of 
 your readers. 
 
 Let us recapitulate. Here is a woman, or "the counterfeit pre- 
 sentment" of a woman, of whom I have never heard — of whom 
 (after diligent inquiry,) I never heard of any body that had ever 
 heard; who was affected with a chronic "disgust" because Cassius 
 M. Clay was constantly commended as a philanthropist, "for the 
 "apparently one humanitarian act of a long life in the emancipa- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 559 
 
 returned and recruited his ventures. He soon began to 
 be known as a rogue. He was known to have driven a 
 bullock from the pasture of a neighbor, and sold it to his 
 confederates, who killed and either again sold it as beef, 
 or ate it. He would come to my house, to his mother, 
 my cook, at night, load up, and be off again; and I was 
 ignorant of his coming, or his going. 
 
 "tion of (a part of) his slaves He did no such thing. 
 
 "On the contrary, he did very much as Massachusetts did when 
 "she first embarked in the emancipation business — that is, receive 
 "dollar for dollar of their value at the auction-block." 
 
 I need not tell the world that this allegation against Massachu- 
 setts is a stereotyped falsehood, as old perhaps as "De Sozia" her- 
 self! The sum of her charges against me are: 
 
 I . That I sold the greater portion of my slaves, and then turned 
 emancipationist ; 2. That I received dollar for dollar of their value ; 
 3. That I sold them at the auction-block; 4. That I, "her baby," 
 sold my "old mammy," Rachael, in Louisiana; 5. That I lied to 
 her, saying I would bring her back to Kentucky; 6. That if. I 
 again did emancipate my slaves in part, it was the only humani- 
 tarian act of my life. 
 
 Now " De Sozia," being a strong-minded woman, ought to know 
 that, in courts of equity and common sense, it devolves upon her, 
 the accuser, to prove those charges, which, if true, ought to sub- 
 ject me to the scorn of the American people. Yet, in her "reply," 
 she says, with the naivete of injured innocence: "I offer no proof 
 beyond his simple word, which he must pardon me if I can not ac- 
 cept." Well, she admits that "I (she) can lie." I do not. So 
 that would seem to settle the matter in niy favor forever. 
 
 But who, by reason or facts, can silence a woman ? I pronounce 
 once more, then, all these six charges, singly and collectively, false 
 and calumnious. 
 
 I . I have never sold a slave of mine in my life. The slaves sold 
 were Rachael and her children, Emily and Solomon. They were 
 trust-slaves — the title being in me only as trustee. I sold them for 
 crime, as was directed in such case by my father's will ; and the 
 proceeds were re-invested in lands, in Lexington, for the benefit of 
 those for whom the "cestui qui trust" was created. Rachael was 
 an abortionist, Emily a murderess, and Solomon a rogue. (See Deed 
 in Fayette County Court.) 
 
560 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Finding that some things were not in place, and must 
 have been stolen, but knowing the tendency of such people 
 to larceny, I winked at it ; seeing that, like* iEsop's fox, set 
 upon by hungry flies, I would suffer as much, or more, from 
 the new-comers, if the old were driven off. 
 
 The other son. Perry White, was a general loafer. He 
 rode a fine horse and saddle, went well-dressed, and carried 
 
 2. I never received a dollar for a slave of mine in my life. On 
 the contrary, I liberated all the slaves I inherited from my father, 
 and thirteen others whom I bought to bring families together, or 
 liberated at once — Dave "Crews," husband of trust-slave Lucy; 
 Daniel and Fanny "Shearer," and child Minerva; Lotty and Zilla 
 "Martin." "Mammy's son" paid part of the money for Jim's 
 wife, Judy, to keep her in the neighborhood; Laura and child; 
 Daniel "Parker" and his two daughters and grand-child. The 
 buying and liberating of these slaves, half of whom never entered 
 my service, cost me about ten thousand dollars. See records in 
 Fayette and Madison County courts, and the several bills of liber- 
 ation of these slaves, not recorded, but well known to all Central 
 Kentucky. To prevent the separation of Rachael's family, I gave 
 Frank and Jim and Solomon the choice of going with their mother, 
 or remaining here with me. Solomon chose to go with Rachael 
 and Emily; and Frank and Jim "Clay" refused to follow them. 
 Frank is yet alive, with his family, in Richmond, and ever my 
 friend. 
 
 3. It is false that the three trust-slaves were sold on the "auc- 
 tion-block." They were sent by a special friend, James Neal, with 
 instructions to sell them all together, and to tell the purchaser of 
 their crimes. It was De Sozia's aunt who patronized the "auction- 
 block," not I. 
 
 4. I never "nursed a slave;" and in no sense was Rachael my 
 "old mammy." 
 
 5. This namby-pamby poodle-dog talk, put into the mouths of 
 Southern blacks, making them out to be as big idiots as the nar- 
 rators, is all humbug. If the black (the weaker, like women,) is in 
 any thing equal to the white race, it is in unfathomable cunning. 
 Will any one believe that the criminal Rachael was bamboozled, as 
 claimed by the silly tale of "De Sozia," that she went down to the 
 South as a decoy-duck to get the children sold, under the promise 
 that I would bring her back; and that, after being sold on the 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLW. 56 1 
 
 a pistol always. Knowing his character, though often asked 
 to do so, I never employed him. But, as his parents were 
 with me, I disliked to forbid his coming to my place. He 
 would sometimes practice his pistol-shots at trees in my 
 pasture, which I forbade. 
 
 Launey, my son, was too young to take care of himself. 
 So I put him in charge of one of the servants, with orders 
 
 "block," taken down to the sea-coast, and held under the tender 
 mercies of a "De Sozia," she still looked for me, "her baby," to 
 come, or send after her? Judging from "De Sozia's" letters, Ra- 
 chael was the more sensible woman; and, from the motives and 
 characters of those two, I believe that Rachael did not, but that 
 "De Sozia" did lie. 
 
 6. The world knows that the liberation of my slaves was a small 
 part of the sacrifices I have made in the cause of the freedom of 
 the blacks. What does this infuriated woman know of my life that 
 she should venture to limit my humanitarianism to this one act?* 
 
 In the first letter she affects the Southern lady by slandering the 
 "Yankees;" but, when I pull off her mask, she seeks refuge under 
 the cry of "chivalry," which is very sarcastic, no doubt, upon me, 
 a Southerner. Chivalry has only to do with equals; and, whilst 
 gentlemen every-where protect the weak and unfortunate, criminals 
 deserve only punishment from every one. In that class I put "De 
 Sozia." Therefore, I stood her in the stocks, and subjected her to 
 flagellation, that she might be an eternal caveat to all future calum- 
 niators. But does she retract? Does that silence her? Not at all. 
 Here she comes again, staggering into the arena, with taunting 
 
 words : 
 
 " Rain, come wet me, 
 Sun, come dry me; 
 Stand back, white man, 
 Don't come nigh me!" 
 
 But she ill-conceals her wounds, and her sardonic smile shows 
 that henceforth, forever, she will never be "amused" at my name. 
 You, the inquisitor, I subject you to inquisition: I ask you what 
 
 *The money and lands lost by me in friendly loans, securities, and donations, 
 with interest, would not only run into thousands, but into hundreds of thousands 
 of dollars. In addition to private charities, and donations to churches in money 
 and land, the founding of Berea College, and other schools, I aided the cause of 
 Cuba and of Hungary by money and speech. — C, 1885. 
 
 Vol. I.— 36 
 
562 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 to obey her. He understood but little English, and had to 
 learn to speak it; and was taught his letters and reading 
 mostly by her. 
 
 Of all men I am the least suspicious when my confidence 
 is once gained. So I did not see what was going on all 
 around me. Articles of house-supplies, of table-linen, of 
 bedding, and all that, gradually disappeared. My clothing, 
 books, and even my money was stolen. The duplicate keys 
 
 is your age? Are you white, black, or mixed? Why were you 
 isolated temporarily on those obscure coasts of Louisiana? Your 
 family having but one slave, why did they, in that one, purchase 
 Rachael, a notorious abortionist? What is the cause of your 
 "loving" sympathy with these criminals? Did you "ever nurse 
 a black?" If not, how do you know that I might have been 
 very much better had he (I) done so? Can that be an ex- 
 cusable act in your aunt — buying and selling Rachael on the 
 "auction-block" — which you falsely impute to me as a crime, be- 
 cause she was "in no sense a politician?" As your aunt pur- 
 chased Rachael, and left Solomon and Emily behind, was she not 
 guilty of separating families, which I had expended thousands to 
 prevent? If the world cares very little whether "he (I) nursed a 
 black" or not, why did you venture to draw me from my ob- 
 scurity to hold me up to scorn for "selling my old mammy?" 
 Did you ever read of that — the meanest thing ever imputed to 
 the Athenian rabble — the sending of Aristides into exile? Did 
 you hate me for the same reason, or really yourself, for being in 
 a chronic state of "disgust?" 
 
 You attack me, then, to ventilate yourself, thinking that "very 
 possibly Mr. Clay would respond to my letter." Indeed! The 
 lepers, driven from concourse with the clean of the worid, have a 
 society of themselves. To them all happiness is not lost. But for 
 a woman afflicted with chronic "disgust," alas, there is no future. 
 You live by the ocean — try the water cure — drown yourself 
 
 C. M. Clay. 
 
 Gen. Cassius M. Clay's letter to the New York Graphic in re- 
 sponse to the aspersions of "Elizabeth de Sozia Wood," concern- 
 ing the disposition of his slaves, effectually disposes of Elizabeth. — 
 Frankfort {Ky.) Yeoman, 1878. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 563 
 
 of my safe were taken, and the cypher also. At length the 
 silver of the safe was missing. Then I saw all. 
 
 In the meantime I found that Sarah, my cook, church- 
 member as she was, was preaching that the blacks being 
 robbed by the masters, it mattered not how good they were, 
 now they ought to be plundered on all occasions, as a matter 
 of remuneration ! With this substratum of all crime, murder 
 followed fast in its wake. Launey lost his color, his vivacity, 
 his appetite ; often vomiting, he grew listless, and dropped 
 things from his half-paralyzed hands. I did every thing I 
 could to guard him from all ills. I was told that he ate 
 dirt, and desired always to return home to his Russian birth- 
 place. I attributed his decline to the change of climate ; and 
 hoped daily for a change. I then never suffered him to be 
 out of my sight. If dirt was the cause, that would be seen ; 
 but, being with the nurse, the same effects ensued, and no 
 change for the better took place. 
 
 Thus for years he was poisoned by these fiends, until 
 one day I intercepted a letter from Perry White, threatening 
 my life, because he conceived that the nurse, hired to me 
 for the year by her mother, would marry him if she was re- 
 moved from my employ. In all these years Launey had 
 never grown at all. The same clothes which he had brought 
 from Russia, three years before, fitted him to an inch. I 
 tasted a peculiar flavor in the milk — I and he drank much 
 of it — but supposed it to be acquired by the herbage in the 
 park, full of wild shrubbery, as well as blue-grass, where the 
 cattle grazed. 
 
 One morning I went into the bed-room of my son, as he 
 had begun to sleep apart, and found him gone. There was 
 left on the bed a letter written in his handwriting, saying 
 that he was going to Russia, and bidding me farewell for- 
 ever. The nurse, on being called, said that Launey had 
 often said of late that he was tired of staying with me, and 
 was going to run away, and that he would make his living 
 by fishing ; and some pieces of his fishing-tackle were found 
 on the bed, I immediately called for every one to join the 
 
564 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 search. I went myself to all the ponds, and carefully ex- 
 amined them. I went to all the adjoining fields, and ex- 
 amined if any tracks had passed; but, finding no trace, I 
 returned home about noon, and found the boy standing 
 beside the nurse. I then took him to my room. I had 
 whipped him often severely for telling lies — in which he 
 was encouraged — and no reform resulted. But finding, as 
 I supposed, that I had been too harsh, and had uselessly 
 punished him, I knelt down and thanked God for his return. 
 I then resolved never again to punish him corporeally, and I 
 never did. 
 
 When the letter of Perry White was discovered, like a 
 flash of lightning I saw the whole ground of plunder and 
 intended murder. I kept my own counsel. I made an 
 elaborate examination of all my losses ; and then sent for 
 David White, and told him and wife to leave in fifteen 
 minutes, if they desired to live. In less than five minutes 
 Sarah was on a run for Foxtown. Dave asked to return 
 next day and get his household furniture, which leave I 
 granted. I had already given Perry orders never to come 
 upon my land again, if he valued his life. I had heard of 
 his boasting that he was "not afraid of Cash. Clay;" and 
 I now told his father to tell him, if he came on my land 
 I would kill him, and this his father admitted he told him. 
 I packed up the nurse and sent her off. Then Launey, for 
 the first time, at my request, told me all. How the nurse 
 had often beaten him and starved him, and put dirt into his 
 bed and pockets, and then made me believe that it was him- 
 self; that the nurse had dictated the letter, and threatened 
 him with death if he did not jump out of the window ; that 
 he had at times told me the truth about the nurse's mal- 
 treatment, and I would not believe him, and that he feared 
 to tell me the truth ; that Sarah was in conspiracy against 
 him, and he was in despair; that, on the night of his dis- 
 appearance (it was warm weather), he sat in the window of 
 the third story (counting the basement,) with his legs over 
 the sill, and, fearing to jump, at last went to sleep, and thus 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 565 
 
 fell upon the grass ; that, when the first stunning effect was 
 over, he got up, and, fearing to return, and finding himself 
 able to walk, he went to the stable (about two hundred and 
 fifty yards from the mansion), and laid down in the hay, 
 where Perry White found him. 
 
 No language could describe my anguish. I looked upon 
 his sallow, shriveled face and parched lips, which I have for 
 long years kissed every night — so that no greater punish- 
 ment could be inflicted -upon him than to refuse him this 
 trust of love. All the injuries of a life-time loomed up be- 
 fore me in fearful array — the death of my sister Anne's 
 husband, a fine and gallant gentleman, killed by Mattingly, 
 in Richmond, a few days after her marriage; the death of 
 my elder brother, Sidney, killed with a designed dose of 
 laudanum by his physician ; the death of my two infant 
 children, poisoned in Lexington by their nurse, Emily, who, 
 on trial, was acquitted, in the midst of grateful enemies, and 
 who were base enough to insult me by insinuations ; the mur- 
 derous assaults upon myself, and now, all that was left me, 
 my innocent boy and only hope, was to be destroyed ! 
 
CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 STAND ON THE ETERNAL LAWS OF SELF-DEFENSE. — ARMING MYSELF, I START 
 ON A HUNT FOR NEW SERVANTS. — DEATH OF PeRRY WhITE. — BeREA — JOHN 
 
 Gregg Fee. — The Higher Law Controversy. — "Expediency." — My Esti- 
 mate OF John G. Fee. — The Equality of the Races. — Letters from John 
 G. Fee.— Letter from W. C. Bryant. — From Hannibal Hamlin. — Edmund 
 QuiNCY. — John A. Andrew. — Archibald Alison. — Edward Everett. — 
 Thomas W. Evans. — S. C. Pomeroy. — Wendell Phillips. — Joshua R. Ged- 
 DiNGS. — Caleb B. Smith. — Horace Greeley. — Wm. H. Seward.— T. Buch- 
 anan Read. — George Bancroft. — Eugene Schuyler. — Gerrit Smith. — E. 
 B. Washburne. — ^James S. Rollins. — Charles A. Dana. — T. F. Bayard. — 
 A. G. Thurman. — My Eulogy on Wendell Phillips. — Race and the 
 "Solid South." — Reflections on Social Equality and destiny of the 
 Black Race. — End of Vol. I. 
 
 FOR awhile I was paralyzed with despair. I had sacri- 
 ficed all things for the happiness of mankind. I had 
 shed my blood for the good of society; but society gave 
 me no protection. The philanthropy of a life-time melted 
 as the dew before a summer's sun. Sternly resolving, I 
 exclaim : I will stand on the eternal laws of self-defense 
 of me and mine! 
 
 When I had made this my resolve, I never felt more 
 calm in my life. I armed myself, and never went out on 
 the farm without shot-gun and pistol. We were now 
 alone, I and Launey — not another soul within a mile of 
 us. The man who was with me had saddled my mule, 
 and then left the place. I mounted, with revolver and 
 Bowie-knife; and, taking Launey up behind me, set out 
 for Needmore, one Sunday morning, where the blacks held 
 meeting, to hunt other servants. I will let others tell the 
 tale of this tragedy, omitting the longer and more minute 
 account sent from my home after the affair took place to 
 the Commercial of Cincinnati by Col. Wm. G. Terrill, of 
 Newport, Kentucky, 1877 : 
 566 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 567 
 
 GEN. CLAY'S MISFORTUNE. 
 
 Particulars of the Killing of the Negro Perry White — Examination 
 Waived and Bail Given. 
 
 Correspondence of the Courier-Journal. 
 
 Richmond, Kv., Oct. i, 1877. — Within the last few weeks Rich- 
 mond and vicinity have been marked by several bloody tragedies, 
 and in consequence the good name of our little city has suffered. 
 The Saunders, Kennedy, and Edwards' difficulty, as also that be- 
 tween Burnam and the Maupins, have been sufficiently explained. 
 At least, the true account has been rendered. Now comes another 
 case, in some respects entirely different. A gentleman of distin- 
 guished, aye, national, reputation has been compelled, in defense of 
 his life and property, to slay, within the very precincts of his own 
 home, an impudent bully, and that bully a negro who had been 
 fed and nurtured by the very hand that laid him in his grave. To 
 understand properly this matter, it is necessary to state a few facts 
 not generally known. 
 
 For several months Gen. Cassius M. Clay has had in his em- 
 ploy a negro woman (Sarah) as cook. Gen. Clay lives alpne, sev- 
 eral miles from town, and not nearer than a mile to his nearest 
 neighbor. This negro woman had two or more sons — one, Perry, 
 the unfortunate victim herein mentioned. Gen. Clay, in conse- 
 quence of the impudence, thievery, etc., of these negroes, was 
 compelled, in self-defense, to discharge the woman, Sarah. She 
 was impudent and violent, and threatened him with the fact that 
 she had sons and other friends who could and would protect her. 
 Gen. Clay was even informed by other and reliable parties that the 
 aforesaid Perry (Sarah's son) had said that he "was as good as old 
 Cash. Clay, or any other white man, and if he fooled with him as 
 he did with other negroes he would kill him," or words to that 
 import. Gen. Clay paid little attention to these threats, but quietly 
 discharged and sent this whole family from his place. Some months 
 ago the negro. Perry, left the county, and during that time wrote 
 several times to his mother. In these letters he distinctly stated 
 that he ' ' did not care for Cash. Clay, and, if he ever got a chance, 
 he intended to kill him." These letters, the general, by accident, 
 intercepted, and became aware of these threats. He was, conse- 
 quently, forewarned, and was constantly on the lookout. The negro 
 Perry was forbidden Gen. Clay's place. 
 
 Now comes i!a& finale. On yesterday morning, about 11 o'clock, 
 
568 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Gen. Clay, mounted upon his mule, with a boy some ten years old 
 behind him, started out in search of a cook, his negroes, through 
 the persuasion of these hostiles, having all left him; and, when ap- 
 proaching his stable, about one hundred and fifty yards from his 
 house, he discovered concealed in the woods, and behind what was 
 apparently a loose horse, the negro Perry. Divining the scoundrel's 
 object, the general at once dismounted; and, with pistol in hand, 
 rapidly advanced on the would-be assassin, and, before he had time 
 to fire, or even draw his weapon, confronted him face to face at 
 but a few feet distance, calling on him at the same time to "hold 
 up" his hands, all of which the said Perry complied with instantly. 
 No sooner, however, had this occurred, and Gen. Clay commenced 
 to question him about his cause of grievance against him, and to 
 inquire why he had threatened his life, than Perry sprang to his feet 
 and attempted to draw his weapons. At this demonstration Gen. 
 Clay fired, striking him in the neck, and immediately afterward 
 a second shot, which passed through his heart and produced in- 
 stant death. 
 
 Gen. Clay rode at once to Foxtown, and there informed Mr. 
 Green Samuels of the affair ; and . sent for his son. Major Green 
 Clay, with directions to go at once and examine the body. When 
 Major Clay arrived, about three-quarters of an hour after the kill- 
 ing, the negro's friends and kinsfolk, a dozen or more in number, 
 had already arrived and had possession of the body. As no one 
 was present, or any wl^ere in sight, save Gen. Clay, the little boy, 
 and the negro killed, and as they had no means of knowing of 
 the occurrence, unless privy thereto, it is plain that these people 
 were a party to the whole affair, and were at the time either 
 watching, or were at least within hailing distance. Such, in brief, 
 are the particulars of this unfortunate affair. Gen. Clay came up 
 at once to Richmond, and surrendered himself to the proper au- 
 thorities. He was yesterday, at his own request, placed under 
 guard; and this morning appeared in court, and having waived an 
 examination, was held to bail, and that being promptly given he 
 was released. 
 
 To his neighbors, his friends, indeed, to any one personally 
 acquainted with Gen. Clay, it is unnecessary to say that he regrets 
 the necessity of this action as much as any one could. He acted 
 through an imperative necessity; and, however unfortunate the 
 affair, has the sympathy of all good men in our community. It 
 is not necessary to speak of Gen. Clay's character at home or 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 569 
 
 abroad. He is esteemed and loved by his neighbors, and re- 
 spected every-where, even by his enemies. He is emphatically a 
 law and order man, and nothing save an absolute necessity could 
 have induced this act. The prominence of his name as a public 
 man, and the habitual proneness of political and personal enemies 
 to misrepresent public men, and a sincere desire to do justice to 
 a clever gentleman, a kind neighbor, and a good citizen, have 
 prompted me to write this letter. Bert. 
 
 Acquittal of Mr. Clay. — The jury in the case of the Com- 
 monwealth vs. C. M. Clay for shooting a negro, returned a verdict 
 of justifiable homicide, every member of the jury signing the ver- 
 dict. His son, who was present at the shooting, gave full partic- 
 ulars of the affair, under oath, before the grand jury. Thus it will 
 be seen that Gen. Clay stands honorably acquitted of the charge of 
 murder. — Frankfort Yeoman. 
 
 The Clay Affair. — It was certainly a curious freak of fortune 
 which compelled Cassius M. Clay, at the close of a long and promi- 
 nent public career, to kill a member of a race which he championed 
 so gallantly and persistently in early days. Mr. Clay is known as 
 one of the old original Abolitionists. Unlike his associates in that 
 cause, he carried the war into the enemy's camp, and preached abo- 
 lition in Kentucky when Kentucky was a slave State. No one can 
 doubt the purity of his purpose, or the honesty of his convictions; 
 for he cheerfully endured social ostracism, and fearlessly risked his 
 life for the sake of what he believed to be the truth. He was not a 
 feather-bed philanthropist, but one always ready to work and equally 
 ready to fight. His discretion and his judgment were frequently 
 open to criticism, but nobody ever questioned his sincerity or his 
 courage. His indomitable pugnacity on more than one occasion led 
 him into bloody quarrels which might have been avoided ; but, in the 
 present instance, he seems to have acted solely in self-defense, and 
 shot an antagonist who would otherwise have seriously, if not fatally, 
 injured him. An old man of sixty-seven is no match for a young, 
 burly, and vicious negro. Nevertheless, Mr. Clay and his friends 
 will deeply regret an event which throws a tragic shadow over a 
 path that had enough of such before. — St. Louis Republican, 1877. 
 
 The killing of the negro. Perry White, by Cassius M. Clay, ap- 
 pears to have been justifiable homicide. No doubt he will be ac- 
 quitted, if the case be tried at all. It can not be argued against 
 
57° MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Mr. Clay that he was actuated by prejudice against the negro race ; 
 for he was one of the most determined and one of the bravest of the 
 old Abolitionists, and one of the few men, if not the only man, who 
 fought openly against slavery where it existed. — Philadelphia Record. 
 
 It will be remembered, perhaps, that Clay recently shot a colored 
 man dead when no one else was present; and his unsupported word 
 that the man advanced on him was accepted by the community where 
 he lived without an investigation. — {Lacon, Ills.) Home Journal. 
 
 Thus perished the chief conspirator against the life of 
 my son and my own. These are the bases of my state- 
 ments in my letter to the New York Sun during the late 
 canvass of 1884. Such are the legitimate fruits of Slavery, 
 and the Nihilism of the "Lost Cause! " 
 
 When I converted mechanics, tenants, and laborers to 
 my liberal views, the Slave-Power either bulldozed them, 
 or starved them into emigration to Ohio, Indiana, and the 
 West. So I set about finding a remedy for this exhausting 
 evil. I saw that a large portion of the State was mountain- 
 ous, where there were but few slaves, and the people cour- 
 ageous ; so that, if they were once committed to liberation 
 of the slaves, we could have a permanent nucleus of po- 
 litical and physical force. I owned a considerable tract of 
 land at the "Glade," in Madison County — the present site 
 of Berea — and at the foot of the mountains of Kentucky. 
 I had already given Hamilton Rawlings a tract of land, 
 worth about one thousand dollars. He had been my ar- 
 dent and intelligent friend for years, and had at once 
 adopted my liberal views. When John G. Fee, a native 
 of Bracken County, and a preacher of the Presbyterian 
 Church, stood openly on our side, his father, a slave-holder 
 and churchman, was alienated from him, and ultimately dis- 
 inherited him. I saw in Fee's heroic and pious character 
 a fit man for the service I projected. So I wrote to him 
 to come on to Madison and help us. This he did, bringing 
 with him his intelligent wife, a Miss Hamilton, the daughter 
 of a plain and sensible farmer of the same county. I re- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 57 1 
 
 member, also, her sister, Laura, as a fine woman. I gave 
 my friend a small lot of land — as much as he wanted for 
 his profession — as a homestead, which is now a part of 
 the town of Berea; and a small tract for the church and 
 school, when it became practical to move in that direction. 
 I also sold several lots of land at nominal prices to our 
 most courageous friends for self-protection. 
 
 From the following extract from my Diary, irregularly 
 kept for long years, I suppose this movement was about 
 the year 1854-55: "1855, March 29. Paid John G. Fee 
 $200 in full of contribution to his house." 
 
 I can at least say that "we builded better than we 
 knew." It served a great purpose in my political career; 
 but I had not then anticipated its present growth, and the 
 co-education of blacks and whites, males and females, for 
 liberation "itself was then too uncertain for such project. 
 The honor of this last patriotic and Christian work be- 
 longs to John G. Fee alone. The political differences of 
 opinion between us is fully set forth in these volumes — so 
 that all the world may judge us. He has always been free 
 to criticise my course, but my friendship for him has never 
 abated. Any other man saying what he has at times said 
 of me would have brought on him my greatest indignation. 
 But as I know his sincerity of purpose, and his idiosyncra- 
 cies of thought, I have not believed it necessary to defend 
 myself. 
 
 At the late commencement at Berea, where several dis- 
 tinguished strangers — among others Roswell Smith of the 
 Century company — were present, I took occasion to refer 
 to the higher law controversy. I hold and have held from 
 the beginning, that there is an inborn sentiment of justice 
 and humanity which is the base of all human laws, and to 
 which they should be conformed; that the existence of 
 slavery, though sanctioned by constitutions and laws, was 
 in opposition to that higher law, and that it should be abol- 
 ished — not by indirection, or slave-escaping, or by armed 
 assault upon the master, but by free discussion and the 
 
572 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 ballot — to peaceably conform them to the higher law. 
 (See my letters to Daniel Webster, pp. 188-205.) 
 How far Fee differed from me remains for him, not for 
 me, to say. After the expulsion of the Bereans, I made 
 my memorable speech at Richmond, when the revolution- 
 ary committee, divided in council, attempted to silence me. 
 The Cavanaughs, with drawn pistols in hand, tried to 
 silence me; but I defied them, as will be seen in the 
 sketch of that event in these Memoirs. 
 
 With regard to the allegation that I acted always upon 
 the ground of "expediency," I say that all human action 
 is based upon it. What is the moral code of the Jewish 
 savants but a sum of all the expedients of science, of con- 
 sciousness, of philosophy, of the highest thought of all the 
 ages, of all the generations of men, generalized into the 
 Ten Commandments, for the guide of less thoughtful men, 
 and leading to the highest happiness of the race? But as 
 these commandments, which are deemed the only good, are 
 limited, in their application to the actions of men, at least 
 we must resort to a balance of "expedients" in almost 
 every one of the infinite acts and thoughts of mankind. 
 So that, whilst Fee may have followed the Jewish com- 
 mands, as he saw them, I deny that he was influenced by 
 higher and more self-sacrificing motives than myself; and 
 the world must judge between us. 
 
 As I have known Fee long, and better, perhaps, than 
 most men, it may be interesting to my readers to learn 
 something more of the man, who has made so large a 
 figure in the world. He is a classical scholar. In per- 
 son rather below medium size, slender, with a head large 
 in proportion to a rather delicate body. His features are 
 not remarkable, being rather heavy than classical; hair 
 once auburn, and skin fair but tanned. His expression is 
 rather sad and earnest; but, when pleased, his face lights 
 up into a very agreeable and sympathetic animation. His 
 voice, like Horace Greeley's, is piping, with but little in- 
 flection or compass ; so that he is a better writer than 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 573 
 
 Speaker, as his style is concise, terse, and earnest. His 
 mind concentrates -upon one truth, the subject at issue; 
 but he lacks generalization, and he can hardly be deemed 
 an eminent thinker. With such singleness of purpose and 
 unselfish philanthropy, he can not lail to have a touch of 
 fanaticism, and consequent bigotry; but it is not of the 
 ascetic kind, but full of tender passion and Christian love, 
 when his ideas of right do not prevent. On the whole, he 
 is the first figure in the Southern Church, in the great 
 struggle for Liberation. His work in Berea is fruitful of 
 great good to the races ; and the college is based on true 
 ideas, and must live. 
 
 In justification of my political course, I append a few 
 letters, not only from John G. Fee, but some of the most 
 intellectual men of the "Abolition {par excellence) Party," 
 and others. I hope one day to publish a volume of let- 
 ters from eminent men and women of all parties: 
 
 LETTERS FROM JOHN G. FEE. 
 
 Cabin Creek P. O., Lewis Co., Ky., June 31, 1849. 
 Hon. C. M. Clay: — Dear friend, for such you are to me, with 
 painful anxiety and suspense have I been waiting the arrival of this 
 morning's mail, hoping to hear a true account of the affair between 
 you and Turner. Various reports have I heard, and many state- 
 ments have I read in papers. First, we heard you were killed. 
 Sad were our hearts. We felt we had lost a standard-bearer — a 
 captain of the host. We heard, we saw, the enemy rejoicing, as 
 they supposed, in triumph. We next heard that you were alive, 
 getting well; but the enemy had still a black picture. It was that 
 you were making a speech. Runyan called you a damned liar. 
 You rushed immediately from the stand, intending to make him 
 take it back, or whip him ; then Turner pushed in and told you 
 to whip him. At this you and he exchanged snaps, then drew 
 your knives, and you emptied out his bowels. This I thought 
 was not true, and said so — saying I think Mr. Clay is too self- 
 possessed to rush in frenzy from the stand, and threaten spilling 
 of blood for every insult of low-flung scoundrels in a promiscuous 
 assembly ; that he would not feel called upon to kick every jackass 
 who, brute-like, might kick him; that, as a leader in a moral 
 
574 ' MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 reform, referring to pistols and assassination as a fruit of slavery, 
 lie would not be hasty to resort to such, and would do so only as 
 a last resort in self-defense — to save body or life. 
 
 In this morning's Eagle I see a fairer, and, perhaps, truer state- 
 ment, in which C. Turner is represented as accosting you with 
 d — d lie, and a blow in the face; another stabbed you, Alfred 
 Turner beating you over the head with a cane or club "stick," 
 and Tom. Turner snapped four times at your head ^ a set of un- 
 principled wolves, ias I believe, who had conspired to assassinate 
 you, if this account be true. I regard your action only as that of 
 self-defense, and as that which alone, perhaps, would have saved 
 your life, the Eagle account being true. 
 
 I am glad that you have forbore to use instruments of death. 
 No man can now say you were acting rashly. Those who were 
 professed emancipationists were saying, "it will have a bad effect 
 upon the cause," and so it would, had the first report been true. 
 
 And now, this account being true, I but the more admire your 
 self-possession and deliberation. From the first time I saw you, 
 and conversed with you, which was in your own house, I have 
 ever said, C. M, Clay is not a rash man. This affray will do you, 
 nor the cause, no injury, but good — it shows the spirit of slavery, 
 When the report came here that you were dead, "No," said a 
 by-stander, "he is not dead. God Almighty has a work for that 
 man to do yet. I know he is not dead." I believe as that man 
 (citizen of Madison County) did. God has a glorious work for 
 you to do. Had you rushed from your stand, and cut open 
 Turner merely for calling you a d — d liar, as first report said, 
 many friends would have blamed you — have failed to stand by 
 you — especially those friends East, who are not resistants. Many 
 of your friends here would have done so. I should, had the man 
 done nothing more than use opprobious epithets. But such is not 
 the case, as we now rejoice to know. 
 
 Now, my dear friend, you have done well in forbearing. Con- 
 tinue to do so. If they keep their hands off you, let them rail 
 with their tongues — ttieir tongues are no scandal. You have and 
 are fast winning a name that can not be reached by their calumny, 
 and which now excites their envy. Tell them, so long as they 
 keep their hands off you, they can not provoke you by words. 
 You are as Nehemiah when building the walls of Jerusalem — 
 engaged in too great a work to come down into the plain and 
 scuffle with Sanballat and Tobiah; that you are in a moral con- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. f 575 
 
 test, and that you wish to carry your glorious object by moral 
 means ; that you come not to slaughter your fellow-citizens, if they 
 will keep their hands off you. Bear long, as Christ your Saviour 
 did. Men spat upon Him, and reviled Him; but He did not even 
 revile again. May God guide and preserve you for the noble and 
 glorious cause which you have espoused. The cause is grow- 
 ing rapidly. Your visit to Lewis and Bracken did great good. 
 The people were deeply impressed; it opened many mouths, and 
 strengthened and confirmed others. I sent a letter to the Era 
 describing our meetings in Lewis and Bracken, with a notice of 
 your labors. This was volunteered on m^ part. I see not the 
 letter in this week's Era. I suppose it must have been miscarried. 
 I see a notice there that you are dead. I shall send, by first 
 opportunity, a copy of this week's Eagle, giving him a different 
 account. I brought your reply to W. C. Marshall to Maysville on 
 the next Tuesday — a day sooner than I expected to come, in 
 order that I might get it in that week, but was still too late. I 
 had it inserted it the Eagle, Herald, and Flag for the next week. 
 I see as yet that "little Billy Marshall" sings dumb. I suppose, 
 from what you told me, you are apprised of the value of cold 
 water in cleansing and keeping down fever in wounds, bruises, or 
 sores. I hope you will use great care -^refuse any and all de- 
 mands that will endanger your health and safety. You owe it to 
 your God, your family, your country, and the cause. 
 
 We want a straight account of this matter given. If others 
 do not give it, perhaps you will see fit to do so, through the 
 Examiner, or other medium. I shall be glad to hear from you. 
 May you long live to labor for man's redemption and God's glory. 
 Our best wishes to you, your wife, and family. John G. Fee. 
 
 Pittsburg, Pa., December 12, 1859. 
 Mr. C. M. Clay— 
 
 Dear Friend: — I am still in the free States, being detained 
 longer than I expected. My health is better than when I ' left 
 home. We shall raise money enough to pay for our land, and 
 open the way for other more extended interests. 
 
 I find Republicanism rising. The Republicans in Philadelphia 
 have separated from the "mere peoples' party." They are going 
 into the work in good earnest. I stopped with some true friends 
 of yours, Wm. B. Thomas and Professor Cleveland. Many in- 
 quired for you. I told them you were still in the field, and the 
 
576 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 true friend of freedom. I believe this, and I am pained when I 
 hear Republicans talk of such men as Bates, Blair, etc., and omit 
 your name. 
 
 I have repeatedly spoken of you in public and private. I think 
 the spirit is rising in the Republican ranks, and will yet demand a 
 representative man. If you or Chase or Seward are on the ticket, 
 or tried men, I shall expect to work with the Republicans. I 
 shall continue to do all I can to urge a higher standard. Wm. 
 
 B. Thomas of Philadelphia says he will thus work and expend 
 money to induce a higher standard; but, if the party "flattens 
 down" below what it was last time, he is off. Hundreds of 
 others will do the same — yes, thousands; and that class of men 
 the party, can not well do without. 
 
 Dr, Hart of New York proposed that I address a letter to 
 you, calling you out. I thought it not best to do so until I 
 should see you personally, or write to you, and have an arrange- 
 ment. I am having encouraging audiences — staying longer than 
 I had intended — perhaps 'tis all well. I learn there is some feel- 
 ing against me in Kentucky in consequence of an article in the 
 Louisville Courier, representing me as approving John Brown's 
 course, etc. Such is a direct perversion of my uniform and in- 
 variable teaching. I have been careful here, and always said I 
 disapproved his manner of action — attempts to abduct, or incite 
 insurrection; but that I thought God is speaking to the world 
 through John Brown, in his spirit of consecration. I suppose I 
 can not help the gullibility of the people, unless I attempt to cor- 
 rect by publishing. Is this best? Write to me at Cincinnati, care 
 of Geo. L. Weed. I shall start for Lewis in a day or two; from 
 thence to Cincinnati, and home. John. G. Fee. 
 
 LETTER FROM W. C. BRYANT. 
 
 New York, May 4, i860. 
 
 C. M. Clay, Esq — 
 
 My Dear Sir : — I thank you for what you are so kind as to 
 say concerning my discourse on Washington Irving. That your 
 own life has not been allowed to pass in the same peaceful tenor 
 as his ought not to excite in you any repining. You have been 
 placed by Providence in circumstances for dealing with which you 
 have shown a peculiar fitness. The great work of brmging a com- 
 munity prejudiced in favor of slavery to see their error, and to per- 
 mit its evils to be freely discussed, has been laid upon you, and 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 577 
 
 you have shown yourself fully equal to it. He may be esteemed a 
 fortunate man who does not fall below the occasion to which he is 
 summoned. I am, dear sir, truly yours, W, C. Bryant. 
 
 LETTER FROM HANNIBAL HAMLIN. 
 
 Washington, May 26, i860. 
 Hon. C. M. Clay— 
 
 My Dear Sir: — Your very generous note of congratulation, of 
 the 22d instant, came duly to hand. I thank you truly, sincerely, 
 for the confidence you so kindly express, and am profoundly grate- 
 ful to all my friends. Still, I say to you, in truth, that the posi- 
 tion assigned me by the Chicago Convention is one which I did not 
 desire. I would really have preferred to have seen it conferred 
 upon yourself. But, as a true man to the cause, I must not now 
 shrink from it. I hope I may yet live to do the cause some effec- 
 tive good. At all events, I feel confident it shall receive no injury 
 at my hands. Yours, very truly. H. Hamlin. 
 
 LETTER FROM EDMUND QUINCY. 
 
 Dedham, Mass., May 28, i860. 
 C. M. Clay, Esq — 
 
 My Dear Friend: — I owe you many apologies for not having 
 answered sooner your letter of the 3d instant. It did not reach me 
 until after some of those circumgyrations to which our American 
 letters are subject; and, when it did come, it found me indulging in 
 the rare luxury of sickness, which kept me away from the anti- 
 slavery meeting in New York. 
 
 As to the subject matter of your letter, I can only say that it 
 would take a great deal more than I have ever yet heard said 
 against you to shake my faith in the integrity of your anti-slavery 
 character. The sacrifices you have made, and the dangers in the 
 midst of which you still live, are a sufficient seal of your apostle- 
 ship, in my eyes. It is hard at this distance, and surrounded by 
 such totally different circumstances, to judge of the unfortunate 
 discrepancies between yourself and Mr. Fee and his associates. 
 Whether judicious or not in their mode of action, I can not ques- 
 tion the sincerity of their opinions, or the earnestness of their anti- 
 slavery zeal. I can only regret the fact of your differences, and 
 hope that time and tide may yet bring you side by side again. I 
 am very sure that nothing will ever set you face to face against 
 each other where slavery is to be encountered, however widely you 
 « Vol. I. — 37 
 
578 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 may differ as to the times and seasons and methods of your 
 warfare. 
 
 I was in hopes that the Chicago Convention would have seen lit 
 to go to Kentucky for its Vice-President. Seward and Clay, I still 
 think, would have made a more available ticket than Lincoln and 
 Hamlin. I do not see how the enthusiasm essential to success can 
 be aroused for a rail-splitter who holds to the fugitive slave bill, as 
 the Tribune of yesterday is careful to let us know he does. And, 
 strictly entre nous, I still have a longing weakness for having gentle- 
 men at the head of the nation. 
 
 With my friendliest regards for Mrs. Clay, I am now, as ever, 
 very faithfully yours, Edmund Quincy. 
 
 LETTER FROM JOHN A. ANDREW. 
 
 Boston, No. 4 Court St., July 2, i860. 
 C. M. Clay, Esq — 
 
 My Dear Sir: — I have this morning received your note intro- 
 ducing Mr. Campbell, of the Wheeling Intelligence}-. And I shall 
 try to do something for him by bringing his interests to the notice 
 of our friends, and otherwise, as I may be able. 
 
 I was very glad to hear from you, and I should be still more 
 pleased to see you face to face. I send you, by this mail, a copy 
 of a number of the Christian Examiner, containing an article on 
 Slavery in the Territories, which I think very able. 
 
 I saw some of your Kentucky friends at Chicago, and regretted 
 not having the pleasure of seeing you with them. Our national 
 prospects are looking well and hopeful ; and I hope we shall see a 
 happy result in the autumn of all the toils of the year. 
 
 I am, very respectfully and faithfully, your friend, 
 
 John A. Andrew. 
 
 P. S. — The have not arrived. Did you send by Ex- 
 press? If I knew where to look, I would hunt them up. 
 
 J. A. A. 
 LETTERS FROM ARCHIBALD ALISON. 
 
 4 Cannon Place, Brighton, May 21, 1861. 
 Hon. C. M. Clay— 
 
 Sir : — I have read your letter in the Times with great interest, 
 and would feel greatly obliged to you if you would favor me with 
 your opinion of the enclosed. Yours respectfully, 
 
 A. Alison. 
 
OF CASSIUS MA.RCELLUS CLAY. 579 
 
 4 Cannon Place, Brighton, June 20, 1861. 
 C. M. Clay, Esq— 
 
 Dear Sir: — I am in receipt of your favor of the 7th instant, 
 for which I beg to thank you. The subject is very important, and 
 I shall take the liberty of replying to you at some length. 
 
 You say the disruption of the Union is no sign of the failure 
 of the Constitution. But on that point we differ. Congress has 
 certainly failed to keep its people together; and as to restoring its 
 lost unity without a Revolution, and a new Constitution, that is a 
 hope which is unfortunately opposed to all experience. The dis- 
 ruption has, no doubt, arisen out of causes which have been in 
 operation from the commencement of the Republic down to the 
 present time; and, that being so, you can not restore unity until 
 you first remove those causes. 
 
 Had a National Church been provided by Gen. Washington, 
 coherence would have been given to the various States of the 
 Union; but, as that was not done, a disruption in the long run 
 was the inevitable result. There is no example in history of a 
 great nation being produced without a National Church; and if 
 the States desire to see their Nation attain the height of power 
 and splendor they anticipate, they must begin the work of regen- 
 eration by founding a National Church. There are, no doubt, 
 difficulties in the way; but I think I have shown in my work on 
 Civilization, and in the pamphlet which accompanies this letter, 
 that these are not insurmountable. Necessity has no law; and the 
 necessity of peace for America is one that is sufficient to overcome 
 every difficulty, great and numerous as these may be. 
 
 With regard to the question whether a Republic or a Mon- 
 archy would be best, I can not do better than point to South 
 America, which, with one exception, is governed by republics. 
 These governments, as you know, have fallen into a state of las- 
 situde and misrule; and if North America is henceforth to be 
 ruled by republics, and without the aid of a National Church, its 
 future history may partake of the same character. The past has 
 proven that it is not enough to embrace different provinces under 
 one government, but that there must at the same time be a har- 
 monizing principle at work in the shape of a National Church. 
 You think the idea of converting the United States into a Mon- 
 archy a very improbable result; but if you refer to the letter of 
 the Times correspondent, in which he states that there is a uni- 
 versal feeling in Charleston for a Monarchy, you will perceive that. 
 
580 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 SO far as the South is concerned, the idea is likely to be realized. 
 The existence of independent States is only the German confed- 
 eration reacted in the New World — a system which has never led 
 the way to liberty in any part of the world. The new Italian 
 nation found that the system of independent States would not 
 work; and the genius of the great Cavour wisely overruled it. If 
 all the States of the Union were merged into one, as has been 
 done in Italy, it would clear the way for a better system of gov- 
 ernment. Independent municipal governments would be given to 
 the towns, which would meet every reasonable desire for self- 
 government which the people could wish for. 
 
 But you will ask: how all these great reforms could be put in 
 operation? To which I reply, let Congress put forth a provisioned 
 scheme for a new Constitution, and send down a circular letter to 
 all the States invitirig them to take the proposed Constitution into 
 consideration. If the scheme so proposed was adequate to the 
 emergency, I do not doubt that it would be generally accepted. 
 To act upon the principle of allowing the contending parties to 
 fight it out would be suicidal; for we all know that when things 
 are left to take their own course they naturally take a bad course. 
 No, let Congress step in and apply the legislative remedies, and 
 the revolution will be brought to an issue which will raise the 
 American Nation to a pitch of glory of which she has no concep- 
 tion. England is greatly interested in the speedy settlement of the 
 war ; for, if that is to go on, we shall not only lose a large portion 
 of our cotton-trade,, but of our iron and other trades, which will 
 throw large masses of the population out of employment, and per- 
 haps bring on a revolution. You may rely upon it that England 
 will do all in her power to hasten the restoration of peace in 
 America; and, if we advocate the monarchial form, we shall only 
 do so because we think it the best — to produce a permanent peace. 
 In the event of the present Constitution being adhered to, the future 
 prospects of America are gloomy indeed. The war in that case will 
 probably go on for ten or fifteen years, as was the case in France ; 
 and, although the North in the end is certain to be victorious over 
 the South, yet when peace is declared it will be the peace of desola- 
 tion, and civilization will be thrown back to an extent of which we can 
 have no conception. I hope the great importance of the subject will 
 excuse the length of this letter, and that I may have succeeded in 
 meeting some of your objections ; and, waiting the honor of your re- 
 ply, I remain, dear sir, very truly yours, A. Alison. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 58 1 
 
 I corresponded with Mr. Alison on ethics mostly ; but 
 when he continued to urge the monarchial project for our 
 Nation, I abruptly closed the discussion. That the South 
 always intended to turn the Confederacy into a Monarchy, 
 I never had any doubt, from my own reasoning, and the 
 necessary divorce of slavery from the distrust of self-gov- 
 ernment, and the bases of its existence. This hope of 
 England to see Republicanism come to grief was more 
 potent than any financial pressure, or fear of our nautical 
 supremacy. I do not see why Jefferson Davis showed so 
 much sensitiveness about Wm. T. Sherman's assertions on 
 this subject. Is the "Solid South" any more free than a 
 liberal monarchy? 
 
 LETTERS FROM EDWARD EVERETT. 
 
 Boston, October 29, r86i. 
 Hon. C. M. Clay — 
 
 My Dear Sir: — Thinking it might be agreeable to you, in 
 addition to official demonstrations to that effect, to be able to 
 show Prince Gortchacow that his noble letter of the loth of July 
 is duly appreciated here by the public generally, I venture to in- 
 close you an article on that subject from the New York Ledger.^ 
 
 Wishing you entire success in your mission, I am, dear sir, 
 with great respect, very truly yours,- Edward Everett. 
 
 Boston, June 27, 1864. 
 
 My Dear Mr. Clay: — You will doubtless have seen in our 
 papers the accounts of the honors paid to the officers of the Rus- 
 sian fleet in our waters. I send you a pamphlet containing the 
 speeches made at a dinner given to Admiral Lessoffsky and his 
 associates by the municipality of Boston. If you think the copies 
 of the pamphlet would be acceptable to the Emperor, the Grand 
 Duke Constantine, and Prince Gortchacow, I will thank you to 
 offer them the copies herewith transmitted. I think you will be 
 pleased with the unaffected cordiality which pervades the speeches ; 
 and which, I assure you, was shared by our entire community. 
 
 I remain, my dear Mr. Clay, with high respect, very, truly yours, 
 
 Edward Everett. 
 His Excellency Cassius M. Clay — , 
 
 * Seward never noticed this letter, which filled all Europe with interest C. 
 
582 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 P. S. — I regret that it is not in my power to send you a copy 
 of the pamphlet in better binding. A very limited number only 
 were sent me in cloth, and the three accompanying this letter are 
 all that remain. E. E. 
 
 LETTER FROM THOS. W. EVANS. 
 
 Paris, May 11, 1862. 
 
 My Dear General Clay : — I write you again at St. Petersburg. 
 I thought you would be in America by this time, but it seems 
 Cameron is uncertain. I received a letter a few days since from a 
 gentleman in the States — a friend of C's. He states the gentle- 
 man will be in Paris by the first of June. He writes rather posi- 
 tively on this subject. Your nephew, Mr. Clay, called upon me 
 two days ago. He said he was going to Turin as secretary. He 
 looked well and handsome. Bigelow tells me Bayard Taylor is 
 going as secretary to St. Petersburg, according to his letter; and 
 your nephew to Italy, instead of St. Petersburg. I think him 
 fortunate to go to Turin, as it will soon be to Rome. To be at 
 the latter place will be interesting, as the beginning of a new era. 
 I hope soon to see you in Paris. You have been less in a state 
 of uncertainty — for you not to be at home so soon. You can 
 pass by Paris, and spend some time. All the Ministers are travel- 
 ing now.* Dayton has been to visit Holland and Belgium. Judd 
 has been here; also Fogg and Sanford. I hope to see you before 
 long. Come to our house direct — 41 Avenue de ITmperatrice. 
 We shall be glad to see you. I hope you will not believe the 
 story about the recognizing of the South. I do n't ; but hope we 
 shall soon have some great and startling news from home. 
 
 I inclose a few lines to Mr. Ludlow, to attend to one or two 
 little matters for me. I hope he will also come to see us when 
 he arrives in Paris. 
 
 Thurlow Weed was here a few weeks since. He desired to 
 be kindly remembered to you when I wrote. He has gone to 
 England. Believe me your sincere friend, Thos. W. Evans. 
 
 LETTER FROM SENATOR S. C. POMEROY. 
 
 Washington City, Augttst 13, 1862. 
 Cassius M. Clay — 
 
 My Dear General: — I have made some ineffectual attempts 
 to see you here; but now will write you a line to New York. 
 
 *It seems other Ministers could get leave of absence; but I was in harness for 
 nine years without a day of rest. — C, 1885. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 583 
 
 It is no time for words. So allow me at once to say that we 
 want you to take a command west of the Mississippi River, and all 
 west of it. Declare you policy: "Not to carry the sword in one 
 hand and the shackels in the other." The President will give you 
 that command under these responsibilities. I have little doubt. I 
 am going to see the President to-day upon this matter. We must 
 do it. This vacillating policy — or want of a fixed policy — is de- 
 moralizing the Nation. The hour has fully come. The first one — 
 in a century — it may be the last. God does not often repeat lost 
 opportunities. This must be done now. Let me say, you are the 
 man for this work. We have been looking for him for twelve 
 months. Lead this Nation on to victory by the short road! Eman- 
 cipation will secure peace until the millennium. There is no other 
 basis for a settlement. And can be no other. The peace of my 
 own — once distracted — State (Kansas) is an illustration. 
 
 In all kindness let me say, you must not return to Europe! This 
 is an hour of peril to the country! If you leave us after a thirty- 
 days' visit, you and we are the sufferers. You can not do it. Your 
 past history, your unselfish devotion to others, your own pluck in 
 the hour of trial, forbid you leaving the "old ship" now. By the 
 memories of the past, by the responsibilities of the present, by the 
 glorious hopes of an opening future, I urge you to stay here, and 
 command us in the West. Give the country freedom and peace. 
 God direct you, my dear sir. S. C. Pomeroy. 
 
 LETTERS FROM WENDELL PHILLIPS. 
 
 Boston, August 19, 1862. 
 Major-General Clay — 
 
 Dear Sir: — I have to-day given to my friend, Capt. M. Pinner, 
 a letter of introduction to you. He has been, for one year, quarter- 
 master on Major-General Kearney's staff, and I venture nothing in 
 
 saying he is the very best quartermaster in our army He 
 
 has tendered his resignation; but will withdraw it, if he can have 
 the same post with you, for whom he has a strong admiration. 
 
 Now, one word to yourself. Thank you heartily for coming 
 home. We need you here. Do n't, on any account, go away 
 again. Your birth, a Kentuckian, your military repute, your po- 
 litical importance, make you more than almost any man able to 
 advise, and likely to have your advice weighed. I consider you 
 worth at least any half dozen Northerners just now. Now press 
 the Government to your views, and go into the field authorized to 
 
584 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 carry them out. I think we shall succeed at last; but it seems to 
 me you have the power to hasten the adoption of the needed policy, 
 so much as to save thousands of lives, millions of dollars, and un- 
 told dangers to Republicanism springing from the continuance of 
 such a war. Faithfully yours, Wendell Phillips. 
 
 Boston, April 26, 1865. 
 Hon. C. M. Clay— 
 
 Dear Sir: — This will be handed you by my friend, E. W. 
 Kittredge, Esq., of Cincinnati. I know he will need no word of 
 mine to secure him your kind interest in furthering the objects with 
 which he visits St. Petersburg. But am sure the fact that he is an 
 original anti-slavery man will give him an added claim on your re- 
 gard; and I trust he will lose nothing by this word from one who 
 has watched your course with admiration and respect since your first 
 well-dealt blow (your speech) in Europe. May I ask for Mr. K. 
 every kindness in your power? Sincerely yours, 
 
 Wendell Phillips. 
 
 letter from joshua r. giddings. 
 
 United States Consulate General, British North American 
 
 Provinces. 
 
 Montreal, August 21, 1862. 
 Major-General C. M. Clay: — I take pleasure in commending 
 to you my friend, Seth A. Bushnell. He is one of the "old 
 guard" — a gentleman of position in Trumbull County, Ohio, has 
 seen some service, and I understand is desirous of again entering 
 upon military life. Would that I could be with you. 
 
 Very truly, Joshua R. Giddings. 
 
 letter from CALEB B. SMITH. 
 
 Department of the Interior, Washington, Sept. 10, 1862. 
 Gen. C. M. Clay — 
 
 Dear Sir ; — I regret that you did not call on me on Monday as 
 you said you would do. I saw Halleck and the President. With 
 the former I could do nothing. He seemed to think that your mili- 
 tary knowledge was acquired outside of West Point. The President 
 desires to accommodate you; and I think he will agree to give you 
 a department in the South West. 
 
 I have your note of yesterday, and am obliged for your compli- 
 ance with my request. Yours truly, Caleb B. Smith. 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 585 
 
 LETTER FROM HORACE GREELEY. 
 
 Office of the "Tribune," New York, Nm. 24, 1863. 
 Hon, C. M. Clay— 
 
 Dear Sir : — I thank you for your Albany speech, which I had 
 not before read. I mean to print it soon;* but I am now over- 
 whelmed with pledges to print one thing or another, including Mr. 
 Julian's speech, and have been long struggling for room to fulfill 
 some of these promises. But I trust I shall find room for yours 
 very soon. Yours, Horace Greeley. 
 
 LETTER FROM WM. H. SEWARD. 
 Department of State, Washington, June 3, 1865. 
 Cassius M. Clay, Esq — 
 
 My Dear Sir: — I have received your kind letter of the 25th 
 of April last, in which you speak of the future of your country; 
 and I have to thank you for your suggestions concerning the prin- 
 ciples with which we should be controlled, f While seriously 
 affected by that which you communicate, and cordially agree with 
 you, I am yet in too feeble a state of health to answer you other- 
 wise than through an amanuensis. I am, my dear sir, very faith- 
 fully yours. Will. H. Seward. 
 
 LETTER from T. BUCHANAN READ. 
 
 Rome, March 12, 1868. 
 
 My Dear General: — From a carnival of sunshine and flowers 
 to a carnival of snow and sleigh-bells; from the city of the ancient 
 Pontiff, ruling a realm still glorious in spite of its decadence and 
 malaria, to the city of the Czar, the vigorous empire of the modern 
 Odin; from the ruins of the palace of the Caesars to the renewed 
 Valhalla of the North, where you sit heroic among heroes, this 
 comes greeting. 
 
 You remember when you and General Fremont and I were 
 together, you made the general promise that, when he should be- 
 come President, then T was to go Minister to Greece ! He was not 
 elected to the White House; and you are plenipotentiary at the 
 Court of the head of the Greek Church, and I am ministering to 
 
 »He no doubt was overruled by the Bayard Taylor faction. He never kept 
 his promise. It was never published in the Tribune. — C, 1885. 
 
 tl was in favor of amnesty and State-rights. See letter to Louisville Journal, 
 1866. — C, 1885. 
 
586 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 the Muses near the chair of St. Peter. Now, I think of it, we 
 are both ministering in St. PeUrs-hurg\ Well, this is as near as 
 we frequently come to our desires. I wish you could lay aside 
 your Norland furs, and come down here for awhile, where a light 
 toga would more become you, and enjoy the delights of this an- 
 tique world of art before the vestiges of the classics entirely dis- 
 appear. 
 
 It may be, however, that I may see you in your temporary 
 home one of these days, where we can congratulate each that we 
 still have a country; and that you, the Kentucky pioneer of free- 
 dom, have seen your favorite scheme accomplished. 
 
 My immediate object in writing is to gain some information: 
 I have a young friend — rich, good looking, six feet three, just 
 twenty-one, ambitious, intelligent, etc. — who wishes to see service 
 in some foreign army. What are the chances for such a youth in 
 the Russian army? And what are the requirements? When you 
 have a moment to spare, please drop a word in reply to these ques- 
 tions, and oblige your devoted friend, 
 
 T. Buchanan Read. 
 Care of Hooker & Co., Bankers, Rome. 
 
 LETTER FROM GEO. BANCROFT. 
 Legation of the United States, Berlin, January 18, 1869. 
 Sir: — It gives me great pleasure to send you a printed copy 
 of my treaty with North Germany, and likewise copies of the 
 treaties with the minor German powers. They differ from each 
 other slightly in the details, in consequence of the different mili- 
 tary laws, from the operation of which bona fide emigrants are to 
 be relieved. In substance, they are the same. I am, sir, truly 
 yours, 
 
 Geo. Bancroft. 
 C. M. Clay, Esq., U. S. Minister, St. Petersburg. 
 
 LETTER FROM EUGENE SCHUYLER. 
 
 Moscow, April 2% — May 10 — 1869. 
 My Dear Mr. Clay: — You are very kind to write me all the 
 particulars about the mistake with regard to the Moscow consulate. 
 The post that would have brought those appointments seems to 
 have miscarried, as I knew nothing except the letter in the Lon- 
 don Times, which I had already seen, and which sufficiently dis- 
 turbed me. I am very glad that Mr. Allen goes to Morocco, and 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 587 
 
 not to Moscow; for I am not quite ready to go home yet. I have 
 not finished my Russian studies ; and, I will admit, I rather begin 
 to like the duties of the place, though I wish there were more of 
 them. 
 
 I am very glad on your account, and also on account of the coun- 
 try, that Jeremiah Curtin can no more borrow money or get drunk 
 here. My ideas of the subordination of a secretary to a minister 
 are such that I should consider it his first duty to resign in case 
 he could not agree with his principal. Much more in a case where 
 he had willfully quarrelled with the minister, and sought to injure 
 him. I wish, indeed, that the moral had been pointed even more 
 sharply by Curtin's instant recall the moment Grant came into 
 power. I am glad you have succeeded in relieving St. Petersburg 
 of him; and I trust he will not have the impudence to continue 
 his animosity on the other side of the Atlantic. 
 
 With regard to the certificate, I am afraid I can do nothing. 
 Prince Stcherbatoff is never at home when I call ; and he has been 
 succeeded as mayor by Prince Tcherkarsky, who knows nothing 
 about it, and was not in Moscow at the time. The time, too, is 
 very uncertain; but I will try. 
 
 If you have a New York Times or Tribune, with the list of ap- 
 pointments, could you send it to me? Yours, very truly, 
 
 Eugene Schuyler. 
 To Gen. C. M. Clay, U. S. Minister, St. Petersburg. 
 
 LETTER FROM GERRIT SMITH. 
 
 Peterboro, February 15, 1870. 
 Hon. C. M. Clay— 
 
 My Dear Sir: — I thank you for your letter of the nth inst. 
 Are you certain that my draft of a thousand dollars for the Cubans 
 has been put to use? My bank book was written up a few days 
 ago, and the draft had not then been presented. Perhaps it lies in 
 some file of my friend Greeley's papers; and the letter, which he 
 calls "an attack upon the Administration," lies with it, I wish that 
 letter could be found, were it only to convince him that it is not at 
 all what he characterizes it to be. It is a mild presentation of the 
 matter, and takes such ground as Senator Carpenter takes in his 
 very able speech, which I have just read in the Tribune. There is 
 such an incessantly heavy pressure upon all of Horace Greeley's 
 time, that, it is only strange he falls into no more misappre- 
 hensions. 
 
588 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 I do not know Senator Carpenter; but I infer from his great 
 speech that he is both a statesman and a lawyer. 
 
 Can our Government delay much longer to do the justice which 
 it owes to Cuba? I trust not. With great regard, your friend, 
 
 Gerrit Smith. 
 
 LETTER FROM E. B. WASHBURNE. 
 
 HoMBOURG LEs Bains, PRUSSIA, July 17, 1869. 
 My Dear Sir: — I have duly received your letter of the nth 
 instant, forwarded to me from Paris. I have never seen or heard 
 of the dispatch you speak of — neither have I ever seen Curtin; 
 but, from what I know of him, you may be quite sure I should 
 never recommend him for any thing. Your successor. Gov. Curtin, 
 is now here. I understand he proposes sending his secretary at 
 once to St. Petersburg, so that you can be relieved; and we hope 
 to have the pleasure of seeing you here quite soon. I will not be 
 here much longer ; but, if you will write that you will be here soon, 
 I will wait for you. Very truly yours, 
 
 E. B. Washburne. 
 Hon. C. M. Clay, Minister, St. Petersburg. 
 
 LETTER FROM JAMES S. ROLLINS. 
 
 Columbia, Mo., September w, 1871. 
 
 My Dear Friend: — L. U, Reavis, Esq., of St, Louis, who is 
 a very clever fellow, and now about half crazy about the election of 
 Horace Greeley to the Presidency, informs me that you have con- 
 sented to deliver an address in St, Louis, early in October, favora- 
 ble to the claims of Mr. G. I am gratified to hear this. Mr. G. is 
 an honest man ; and, if he could go in on the one-term principle, 
 would make an excellent President. My idea, however, is to get 
 clear of Grant, and put a statesman (if there are any left) in his 
 stead ; and it do n't matter much which side he comes from, so 
 that he is a statesman and a patriot. My opinion is that Grant 
 will be re-nominated by the Republican Convention; and the only 
 way to defeat him is for the Democracy to unite upon a Liberal 
 Republican as their candidate, as yourself, Gratz Brown, Judge 
 Chase, O. H, Browning, Charles Francis Adams, or some such 
 man! 
 
 Brown would be a very strong man. His record is a good 
 one, and he is a great favorite with the German element of tlie 
 entire country; and, in a close contest, this element would hold 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 589 
 
 the balance of power. Gratz is also strong in the fact that he 
 headed the Liberal Republican bolt in Missouri last year; and, 
 with the aid of Senator Schurz, carried the State by 40,000 ma- 
 jority. 
 
 Of course, the Democracy supported him very cheerfully, 
 and would do so again; and by transferring the contest in Mis- 
 souri of last year to the National theater, Missouri would give a 
 majority of 100,000 votes against Grant. But it is not merely to 
 win a partizan victory that I prefer to see the Democracy nomi- 
 nate, or accept, a Liberal Rebublican as their leader in the con- 
 test of 1872. Such a line of policy would settle finally all ques- 
 tions growing out of our civil war, and would quiet that distrust 
 which many feel about certain reactionary movements in the event 
 that the Democracy were restored to power. 
 
 Now, if you agree with me in these views, you might very 
 well, whilst advocating the claims of your friend Greeley, put in 
 a paragraph or two urging the importance of getting clear of 
 Grant; and that, if unfortunately the Republicans should nominate 
 him again (instead of Greeley or some such man), the Democracy 
 would act wisely to select a Liberal Republican as their candi- 
 date — Brown, Chase, Charles F. Adams — and who would be 
 sure to win. Such sentiments very emphatically expressed would 
 not set you back any in St. Louis, The truth is, parties are pretty 
 much broken up now, any way; and I should have no objection 
 to see an old-fashioned sweep-stake race in 1872, somewhat after 
 the fashion of the Presidential race of 1824, I think it would re- 
 lieve the country, and give many good men a chance, who have, 
 by the weight of party, been kept in the back-ground. I shall 
 probably meet you at St, Louis. 
 
 By the way, Reavis is anxious to get a copy of your "Life 
 and Writings," If you have a spare copy, please send it to him, 
 directed to St. Louis. Present my kind regards to Mrs. Clay and 
 family, and believe me, very truly yours, James S. Rollins. 
 
 LETTER FROM CHARLES A. DANA. 
 
 Editor's Office of the "Sun," New York, Feb. 23, 1872. 
 
 My Dear Sir: — I have received your note of the i6th instant, 
 and have read it with great interest. I am glad to see that you 
 take so cheering a view of the situation, and I trust that your 
 anticipations may not prove erroneous. I am thankful for your 
 expressions of kindness toward myself .... 
 
5 go MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 H. G. means business. If he should be nominated for Vice- 
 President, or for President, I think that he will prove a formidable 
 candidate; and, as the case looks now, it seems possible that he 
 will be selected for the second place on the ticket. 
 
 Yours, faithfully, C. A. Dana. 
 
 Gen. C. M. Clay. 
 
 letter from thomas f. bayard. 
 U. S. Senate Chamber, Washington, May 28, 1874. 
 Hon. C. M. Clay— 
 
 Dear Sir: — I was absent from Washington when your letter 
 of the 15 th arrived here, and must say to you how much gratified 
 I am to receive such expressions of approval from you. 
 
 The issues in regard to which we differed have had a terrible 
 solution, and are not to be recognized in the facts which now 
 confront us. I am most glad to know that a man of your de- 
 cided and independent views has reached the same conclusion as 
 myself in regard to the inevitable tendencies of our government 
 as at present administered. 
 
 So far as I can at present judge, the tide of public sentiment 
 sets strongly in opposition to the course of action which has pro- 
 duced such a condition of affairs as we now witness in Louisiana, 
 South Carolina, and other of the Southern States, and which is a 
 blot upon the very name of Republican rule, and a disgrace to 
 our country and the age of proposed civilization of which we are 
 so prone to boast. I am, with much respect, your obedient 
 servant, T. F. Bayard. 
 
 LETTER FROM A. G. THURMAN. 
 
 Put-in Bay, O., August 16, 1875. 
 Hon. C. M. Clay — 
 
 My Dear Sir: — Having been absent from Columbus for more 
 than two weeks, it was not until yesterday that I received — in my 
 mail forwarded to me here — your kind and interesting letter of 
 the 2d instant, I thank you heartily for it, and am much grati- 
 fied to know that my Mansfield speech meets the approval of 
 your Judgment. I quite agree with you that the greatest ques- 
 tion before the American people is: "Can we preserve our mixed 
 form of Government in its integrity?" Compared with that, all 
 other questions are ephemeral. I had noticed the article in the 
 Commercial that you were kind enough to send me, and had read 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 59 1 
 
 it with much interest, You are quite right in your opinion that 
 Grant has not given up the idea of a third term. He is a man 
 who believes in his destiny, or, as he calls it, his luck. He is 
 firmly convinced that he is the most popular man in the Repub- 
 lic, and that no other man of his party can be elected. 
 
 I hope that ere long I may have the pleasure of making your 
 personal acquaintance; and, in the meantime, that I may hear 
 from you as often as your leisure may permit. 
 
 With great respect, I am, very truly, your obedient servant, 
 
 A. G. Thurman. 
 
 The death of Wendell Phillips, which occurred early in 
 1884, occasioned my production of the following, which ap- 
 peared in the Commercial-Gazette, of February 14, of that 
 year : 
 
 WENDELL PHILLIPS. 
 
 "The man dies, but his memory lives." This apothegm 
 draws interest from the great man who uttered it, and the great 
 cause in which it was uttered. And this memory of man is a 
 large part of the Divine system of moral government, which is as 
 certain and as fixed in its laws as those of physics. To honor 
 the illustrious dead is not only a pleasure, but one of the highest 
 duties which we owe to society. This wide-spread reverence, 
 which the whole civilized world is paying spontaneously to Wen- 
 dell Phillips, shows that he was one of the heroes of our race. 
 As his cotemporary and coadjutor in the cause of emancipation, I 
 may be allowed to throw my bouquet of immortelles upon his 
 revered tomb, though it be but an humble tribute of wayside 
 flowers little worthy of notice among more magnificent offerings. 
 Though about the same age of Phillips, I began sooner than he 
 the anti-slavery war. I heard William Lloyd Garrison in 183 1, in 
 New Haven, when Abolitionism was treason, and committed my- 
 self to the holy cause of universal liberty in my oration, delivered 
 in 1832, the centennial year of Washington's birth, in the same 
 city. And so I have known and heard Phillips often, and have 
 had him before me in all his brilliant career. Truth is the founda- 
 tion not only of all real happiness in our earthly career, but the 
 basis of all eloquence. It is a misfortune, then, in the systems of 
 religion, that any error has entered or been maintained as a needed 
 prop to what we all can see in the main is good. Again, it is a 
 misfortune that there has been so little known and taught about 
 
592 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 the unity of the intellect, and that the obscure and misleading 
 doctrine of "Head and Heart" has been used to divide our ac- 
 tions into mind and sentiment, when they are both the result of 
 the action of the brain. It is not admissible, then, in a philo- 
 sophical sense, to say a man's heart is right, and his head all 
 wrong, or the reverse; for truth loses much and gains nothing 
 by such metaphorical utterances. I was to lecture in New 
 Haven, on one occasion, upon the "Economy of Pure Breeds of 
 Live Stbck," by the invitation of Yale College. I had a crowded 
 house, and was ready to commence, when I was told that Wen- 
 dell Phillips was about to begin his accustomed outslaught upon 
 slavery. I rose up and asked the audience to excuse me, saying 
 I wanted to hear Phillips; that I would resume my lecture next 
 day, and "let us go and hear him now." This was received in 
 good part, and we all got up and went to the hall, where the 
 great speaker had already entered upon his subject. The house 
 was crowded, but with difficulty I got where I could see and hear 
 him. I had often heard him before; and my reason for this move- 
 ment, so unusual, was to show my respect for a man who was then 
 the most effective advocate in all New England of the great cause 
 to which I was devoting my life. I mention this incident to show 
 that I am not behind Phillips' greatest admirers; whilst I shall not 
 follow them in indiscriminate praise even of the dead. It may well 
 be said of him that he was the greatest lecturer (an orator in a 
 narrow sense,) of his country; but he was not the most eloquent 
 man, — he was not the greatest speaker. The lecture and the ora- 
 tion are presented to the mind for contemplation, for instruction, 
 for pleasure; but it does not include action — near and pressing 
 action also. The most eloquent, the greatest speeches in history, 
 were made by Demosthenes, The organization of the Athenian 
 Democracy was the greatest field for oratory of the latter kind — 
 where action was the thing in hand — that was ever presented to 
 man. The whole people were addressed in person; they had to 
 act as well as decide. The man who carried the vote for war 
 had to lead the voters himself to war. The occasion was great, 
 because the Republic, though small, affected the destiny not of 
 that State only, but of the whole world. Hence, the greatest . 
 eloquence requires first a great brain, a great character, and then 
 a great cause; and, with all these, immediate action. Of these 
 four requisites Phillips had the first three; but the last he had 
 not, nor could he have. Phillips, as all know, had a fine pres- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 593 
 
 ence. He was tall, well-formed, with an intellectual head, and ex- 
 pressive features. His cultivation was perfect. His voice musical 
 and sufficiently flexible for its uses. His logic was his forte. When 
 he had demonstrated a truth, like all earnest natures, he was im- 
 patient that all did not move at once in the direction of his 
 Q, E. D. And then he would pour forth his sarcasm as cutting 
 as a Toledo blade. This paper will not allow me to dwell upon 
 his devotion to principle, his philanthropy, his self-sacrifice, and 
 all that. But after we have said all in his favor that can be truly 
 said in his favor — loyalty to the eternal truths upon which at 
 last all usefulness can stand — Phillips could not be the great- 
 est and most eloquent speaker of his country; because he was 
 wrong — wrong in his conception and his treatment of the most 
 eminent premise of the problem he set himself to solve. For the 
 slave he was willing to break up the Union of these States. In 
 that he was wrong. In that he was weak. Like Paris, he had a 
 vulnerable spot; and therefore he fell short of the highest elo- 
 quence, and failed to be a first-class hero among men. No man 
 has been more sorely pressed than I in this contest between Lib- 
 erty and the Slave-Power ; no man has had greater personal provo- 
 cation to take up his household gods and, "shaking the dust from 
 his feet," go into strange lands, and thus leave the remorseless 
 slave-holder to his fate. But there was a higher sentiment than 
 self-elevation, or even of self-preservation, which held me to my 
 work. It was the Union of the States, and the grand destiny 
 which God had allotted them. Not "Union and Slavery," but 
 the Union without Slavery — "one and inseperable. " Now, after 
 I had given up my lecture to hear Phillips, when I listened to his 
 anathemas against the Union and our fathers, I felt the same in- 
 dignation that I did against slavery itself. I had the greatest 
 difficulty in restraining myself from rising up at his closing, and 
 speaking the conscientious objections which my calmest thought 
 decreed. What was the use? He was doing great good in his 
 own way; and I had a field for all my efforts and more, without 
 antagonizing my allies. The upshot was proven error; because, at 
 the breaking out of the war, Phillips and that school were found 
 acting in union practically with the Slave-Power — they by a disso- 
 lution to destroy, and the South by the same means to save, 
 slavery. But these men had the good sense at last to see their 
 error, and to join late in the same common battle for a common 
 cause. I think, therefore, that the speeches of John Adams and 
 Vol. I.— 38 
 
594 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 Patrick Henry, for American Independence, and Webster's speech 
 for the Union, and, above all, Lincoln's speech at Gettysburg, for 
 the Hberty of all mankind, are greater speeches, of more powerful 
 eloquence, than any utterance of Phillips, or any other Abolition 
 orator. His after-life, though true to his ideas of philanthropy, 
 was tainted with the same defect of judgment; for woman's rights 
 and a spurious, fraudulent paper-currency are on a par, and, in 
 my judgment, would result in similar evils, which ever come of a 
 violation of nature's laws and eternal truths. 
 
 C. M. Clay. 
 White Hall, Ky., February 12, 1884. 
 
 The discussion of the race-issue and the "Solid South" 
 has fallen into the hands of ingenious speculators, with 
 many assumed facts and imaginary sequences. So great 
 and complicated a question above all requires common 
 sense, a close observation of facts, and unobscured logic. 
 
 The present status shows the supremacy of the whites 
 in social and political rule ; while the blacks have all the 
 legal equality that written constitutions can secure. Does 
 intimidation, corruption, force, and fraud on the part of the 
 whites override all legal enfranchisement? And, if so, is 
 there any remedy, if desirable, but time? The antagonism 
 of races, whether arising from "previous servitude," or the 
 natural antipathies of race, thus exhibited, makes the black 
 race of the South, for all practical purposes, of no force in 
 the State and National elections. And the white Repub- 
 licans of the South allied to the blacks share the same 
 fate. Thus, as parties now stand, the Democrats rule the 
 South against black and white Republicans with autocratic 
 power. Is this the best thing possible? 
 
 Thus the "Solid South," united to a few Northern 
 States, by a minority-vote of the whole people, rule. Is 
 this the best for the Nation? Will not a toleration of a 
 minority-rule debauch the public conscience, bring the rule 
 of the majority into contempt, and thus self-government 
 be lost? If the "government of the people by the peo- 
 ple for the people" is not desirable or possible, would it 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 595 
 
 not be better to come to the rule of an autocracy by more 
 direct methods at once and forever? If we are not pre- 
 pared to go back into the old worn-out slums of despo- 
 tism, what can save us? Will the superior increase by 
 birth of the blacks do it? 
 
 Some years ago I had occasion to compile a compara- 
 tive table, running for a long term of years, showing that, 
 as a matter of fact, the whites of the slave States increased 
 at a greater ratio than the blacks.* Has that ratio been 
 changed by the freedom of the slaves? I think not. I 
 know, of my own knowledge, from unquestionable testi- 
 mony, of three children being killed after birth by their 
 black parents in my own neighborhood. So I have reason 
 to believe that, by abortion before and by homicide after 
 birth, the increase of the blacks in all the South has been 
 retarded. Immigration to the South is all in favor of the 
 whites. Again, the "Solid South" has great temptation 
 to make false returns of the black voters — seeing that 
 increased numbers give increased political power. But, 
 admitting the assumption that the blacks are increasing 
 faster than the whites, in spite of the influx of whites and 
 the emigration of blacks, how long will that state of affairs 
 exist ? Now, the law of population and subsistence applies 
 alike to man and other animals ; that is, population depends 
 upon the food. But, in the artificial civilized life of man, 
 the willful destruction of offspring, want of shelter, clothing, 
 medicine, and proper nourishment and nursing, to say noth- 
 ing of epidemic diseases, falling mostly upon the blacks, the 
 
 *The table is lost, but it was conclusive in my judgment. It 
 was based on the actual census of some States — slave and free; 
 but other facts were also reviewed, changing the common data, 
 such as the barrenness of many slave women, and especially the 
 emigration of the non-slaveholding whites, — who are famed for 
 their number of children, — from mostly the border States into 
 Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois; and the further fact that from their 
 poor and inaccessible homes they were much overlooked in the 
 census, whereas every slave was counted. 
 
596 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 despotic rule of the South will forever keep them in the 
 supremacy. For it is the substratum of every people that 
 perishes first for want of subsistence. 
 
 Will education be the remedy? 
 
 Education, of course, gives power. But who is to put 
 the "salt upon the bird's tail?" The editor of the Mem- 
 phis Avalanche, one of the most intelligent in the South, 
 answers that "the South rules from above, and the North 
 from below." That is, in other words, the whites of the 
 South have the ascendency, though the blacks may in- 
 crease ever so much ; and they intend to keep the suprem- 
 acy. They will oppose the education of the blacks, as 
 before, in slavery. Nevertheless, the friends of equality 
 before the law must use all the means — and education is 
 one of them — with or without the co-operation of the oli- 
 garchy, as in Berea, in Kentucky, where blacks and whites 
 are educated and protected by the mountain people. 
 
 Will force succeed? 
 
 I think not. Force has been tried; and, like the storm 
 in ^sop's fable of the sun and the winds, caused the trav- 
 eler to bind his cloak the more closely around him — it was 
 the chief cause of southern solidity. If this was a central 
 despotism, then force by arms would be the remedy, cer- 
 tainly. But the disease is too great and widespread for 
 such remedy, and not suited to' a Republican form of gov- 
 ernment. The ten years of such attempt should warn our 
 statesmen not to attempt that remedy again for the dissolv- 
 ing of the "Solid South." 
 
 What is the true solution? 
 
 The North has the numerical majority, the superior edu- 
 cation, and greatest wealth. She, too, must become solid. 
 She must hold the government with no equivocal intent. 
 Having given the South full legal equality with the North, 
 she must show that she is determined to stand by and en- 
 force all the penalties of the bond. The South is now very 
 well content to bury, nationally, "the bloody shirt." She 
 is in power. It is not the rider of the horse who cries 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 597 
 
 out: "Ride and tie; now dismount, and let the foot- 
 man take the saddle." The ambitious men of the South, 
 seeing the national honors and emoluments impossible so 
 long as the South usurps undue power and tramples upon 
 the vital principles of self-government — the sacred ballot, 
 one vote, and a fair count — will themselves break up the 
 "Solid South." The blacks must be divided between the 
 northern and southern parties ; that will break up the caste 
 of race. That, and time, will make us one people; and 
 blot out the old Mason and Dixon's line, and all will be 
 equal before the law. 
 
 Social equality hardly enters into the political discus- 
 sion of the race-issue. Nevertheless, it does disturb legal 
 rights, and the normal relations of the races.* 
 
 A word as to the legal right of intermarriage. 
 
 Admit that there is a natural antipathy between the 
 black and white races, for argument's sake, is that a rea- 
 son why marriage should be forbidden? The right of un- 
 restrained marriage is denied to the whites and blacks in 
 the South by law. But does not every one see that the 
 law is intended to protect the white, and not the black race, 
 and therefore is unequal in its force; and, so far, works in 
 
 * There are two facts wtiich, generally unknown are overlooked, 
 are of great importance in the consideration of the race-issue. 
 First, the races or nations of blacks in Africa are as distinct in 
 form and intelligence as the whites of Europe. Consider the 
 Moors of ancient times, and the Arabs of the late conflict in the 
 Soudan, running down to the lowest type of Africans — Bushmen. 
 These varieties of race, by the slave trade, have become more or 
 less mingled in American blacks. I have known myself, Africans 
 of Caucasian face and craniums as far removed from the ordinary 
 Congo as the first of the white race is from the lowest. 
 
 The other fact is, that in a little over a half century I have 
 remarked a great improvement in the craniums and facial angles 
 in the same families of blacks. So, under favorable surroundings, 
 the progress of races is rapidly advanced — centuries crowding into 
 years. These indisputable facts, a.s I believe, can not be ignored 
 in the discussion and solution of the race-issue. 
 
598 MEMOIRS, WRITINGS, AND SPEECHES 
 
 favor of caste and the destruction of real " equality before 
 the law?" The objections to such a law is, that it de- 
 stroys the self-respect of and degrades the whole black 
 race. A wise statesman should do all things to cultivate 
 the race, not to degrade it. But I deny the right of so- 
 ciety, or the State, to say whom I shall or shall not marry. 
 In this sacred relation no one can justly forbid the inalien- 
 able elements of human happiness. But, admit that there 
 is an instinctive repugnance between whites and blacks suf- 
 ficient to warrant a restraining law of intermarriage, then 
 such repugnance is also sufficient without law; and there- 
 fore such a law is needless in the main issue, while in its 
 degradation of a whole race it is per se criminal. I con- 
 clude, then, all laws recognizing inequality between the 
 races in marriage, in public functions, in churches, in places 
 of travel, in schools, may be safely omitted. As a matter 
 of taste or judgment, if you please, I am in favor of pure 
 breeds in domestic animals, and among the races of men ; 
 and even among the white varieties of the race there is 
 reason to believe that those varieties are happiest where 
 intermarriage is confined to the nearest type and closest 
 affinities of rank, education, and sentiment. But as a mat- 
 ter of right, and the great principles of human civilization, 
 I would here, as in political power, let all stand "Equal 
 
 BEFORE THE LaW." 
 
 I might add that in Europe, where I saw several blacks 
 and whites intermarried, such alliances being there every- 
 where admitted by law, it created no sensation whatever ; 
 as such unions are so few as to cause no fear of any seri- 
 ous amalgamation of races, even by the negrophobists. 
 
 Beyond all these data, and in a wider circle, lies the 
 capital assumption that the South is the superior people 
 in that highest development of intellect and moral quali- 
 ties — fitness to rule. They say that the Roundhead, or 
 Puritan civilization of the North, where so much weight is 
 given to wealth as well as narrow views of religion and 
 life, caused the South here, as in England, to rise to po- 
 
OF CASSIUS MARCELI-US CLAY. 599 
 
 litical supremacy; and that, after a quarter of a century in 
 a minority and "exile," "the King has come to his own 
 again," and "come to stay." Some of the South's ancient 
 supremacy was due, no doubt, to a broader and truer view 
 of religion and human life, making this earth the arena of 
 development and happiness, rather than the uncertain and 
 perhaps untrue substratum and relations of a future and 
 unknown state. Thus the Puritan ideas (like the exclu- 
 siveness of the Jewish hierarchy, while, perhaps, it gave 
 certain force of character to that nation, repelled the sym- 
 pathies of other peoples,) excited antipathy in more liberal 
 minds, and gave the South allies to a large extent in the 
 North itself. 
 
 But the main cause of the South's political ascendency 
 was due, no doubt, to slavery, which, providing for econom- 
 ical wants, allowed the best intellects to concentrate in poli- 
 tics. This was well enough in such a Union as ours — the 
 North playing the part of the belly, and the South the brain. 
 But when, as shown by the late war, the "belly" was with- 
 drawn, the "brain" perished. 
 
 The first — Puritanism — is being more and more eradi- 
 cated by a wider thought in the New Englanders them- 
 selves, and by the large emigration from other nations, 
 especially the Germans, whose views of life are more lib- 
 eral, and, as I think, more in, accordance with natural law. 
 Slavery is gone forever; and the North and South stand 
 at equal vantage in the future race for supremacy. Here, 
 as elsewhere, we rest upon the survival of the fittest, and 
 we shall see what we shall see. 
 
 The equal political, and civil rights of the blacks being 
 established, the least said about race-caste, it seems to me, 
 the better. Can any man tell which of the white races will 
 dominate in this Republic? In a narrower sphere will it be 
 even Puritan or Cavalier? Then why further discuss this 
 subject? The problem will solve itself; and, when solved, 
 will no doubt be well solved. The attempt to create alarm 
 about the increase, real or imaginary, of the blacks over that 
 
600 MEMOIRS, ETC., OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. 
 
 of the whites is illusory. So long as the blacks form the 
 substratum of society, they will be subject to the influences 
 which limit all increase of the human family, and therefore 
 nothing need be feared of black supremacy. Should the 
 blacks assume domination in the far future, it will come of 
 other causes than their mere natural increase. Education 
 and wealth will make them the aids and factors of a higher 
 civilization — the road we all aspire to follow. 
 
 The discussion of the social problem seems no more 
 urgent. I stand now where I have stood all these past 
 years — against all political or civil caste. I am for "an 
 open field and a fair fight." Why discuss the social prob- 
 lem at all? Does any man ignore the differences of each 
 individual? So much greater is the difference of nation- 
 ality and of race! They can safely adjust themselves. I 
 stand as I do in stock-breeding — for purity of race ; 
 but whilst I would by no means recommend the inter- 
 marriage of whites and blacks, I would sternly leave all 
 by law to act as the highest freedom and pursuit of hap- 
 piness of the individual should indicate. If there is any 
 danger in the Nation, it is not of consolidation of social 
 ties, but of the centrifugal forces, which might ultimately 
 endanger law and order. I think, therefore, that the high- 
 est philanthropy, as well as the noblest patriotism, stand on 
 the side of Christianity, which admits and consecrates the 
 brotherhood of all the races. 
 
 END OF VOL. I.