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 NATIONAL SONGSTER. 
 
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 "•^s^ 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 GREELEY & M'ELRATH, TUIBUNE BUILDINGS. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 THOMAS, COWPERTHWAIT AND CO. 
 
 1844. 
 
 ur printed sheets — Postage under one hundred miles four cents, 
 over one hundred miles six cents per sheet. 
 
 
V3^ 
 
HEEKT CLAT. 
 
T il E 
 
 CLAY MIA^STREL: 
 
 OR, 
 
 NATIONAL SONGSTER 
 
 TO WHICH IS PREFIXED ->* ' 
 
 A SKETCH 
 
 OF THE 
 LIFE. PUBLIC SERVICES, AND CHARACTEE 
 
 OF 
 
 HENRY C,LAY, 
 
 BYJOHN & LITTELL, 
 
 President of the Clay Club of Germantown. 
 
 SECOND EDITION; ENLARGED. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 GREELEY & M'ELRATH, TRIBUNE BUILDINGS. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 THOMAS, COWPERTHWAIT AND CO. 
 
 1844. 
 
.C4.Ln 
 
 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 
 1843, by Thomas, Cov\perthwait and Co., in the 
 clerk's office of the district court of the United States 
 in and for the eastern district of Pennsylvania. 
 
 J. Fagan, Stereoty3)er. 
 
 J. Kav, Jun. & Brother, Printers. 
 
ADVERTISEMENT 
 TO THE FIRST EDITION. 
 
 It occurred to the Editor of the Minstrel, that a publi- 
 cation upon the pian of that now offered to the public 
 would be acceptable, and might be useful at the present 
 .juncture; and finding that his design was approved by 
 friends whose political experience save increased value to 
 their opinions, he prepared the brief and unpretending 
 Sketch that follows, of the life of Mr. Clay. He takes 
 pleasure in statins that he is much indebted to the re- 
 searches of Mr. Prentice and of Mr. E. Sargent, whose 
 comprehensive and interesting biographies are alike cred- 
 itable to their talents and worthy of their subject ; and al". 
 whose curiosity may be sharpened and excited by the im- 
 perfect glimpses of the illustrious Statesman, afforded 
 through the following pages, will find in them more full and 
 circumstantial information than could be embraced within 
 the narrow limits and unambitious design of this publica- 
 tion. From their works, and from such other public 
 sources as were immediately at hand, the torch of the 
 Editor has received its feeble light, and he holds it aloft iii 
 the hope that it also may be instrumental, although in 
 humble degree, in scattering the misfs of prejudice with 
 which ignorance and party rage have so long enveloped 
 the subject, but which, even now, are gradually rising and 
 rolling away beneath the influence of revealing light, and 
 of that " tTiitk which is mighty and will prevail^ 
 
 The Songs are by various authors. Some of them have 
 been written expressly for the Minstrel ; others have been 
 gleaned from the public journals, and other publications 
 of the day. J. S. L. 
 
 Germantown, Oct. 184S. 
 
BIRTH-PLACE OF HENUT CLAY. 
 
SKETCH 
 
 OF THE 
 
 LIFE, PUBLIC SERVICES, AND CHARACTER 
 
 OF 
 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 B.rth of Mr. Clay— Death of his Father— His Motiier, her 
 energy and powers of mind— Her marriage with Mr. 
 Watkins — Early employments of Mr. Clay— His exam- 
 ple—Clerk in a store — Enters the office of Mr. Tinsley 
 — Chancellor Wythe — Studies law under Governor 
 Brooke. 
 
 Henry Clay, who is, at this moment, 
 confessedly the first Statesman of the 
 Nation, and whom posterity will place 
 by the side of the Father of his Coun- 
 try, when recounting the deeds of her 
 purest benefactors, is, emphatically, the 
 architect of his own fortune and fame. 
 While his instructive history presents 
 a splendid illustration of the beauty of 
 our republican system, which throws 
 
 C9) 
 
10 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 wide open the door to political ad- 
 vancement to all degrees of men, he 
 furnishes also, an extraordinary exam- 
 l)le of the combination of the highest 
 powers of the mind, as various as they 
 are rarely found united in the character 
 of a single person. 
 
 With an eloquence which challenges 
 comparison with the noblest of the 
 olden time, and a gracefulness and 
 impressiveness of manner, which, in 
 beautiful keeping with his rich and 
 overflowing periods, enchants and cap- 
 tivates the hearer, he possesses indomi- 
 table perseverance, and an' industry 
 that never flags, — a rare facility in the 
 transaction of business, — unshrinking 
 courage, an ardent and lofty patriotism, 
 long-tried, self-sacrificing,, and without 
 reproach, — a judgment, mature and 
 unerring, — profound sagacity, and an 
 enlightened forecast ; all of which, with 
 long experience in affairs of state, unite 
 in the character of this extraordinary 
 and illustrious man, and seem to point 
 him out as the chosen instrument of 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 11 
 
 Providence for restoring the lost pros- 
 perity of his hitherto favoured people, 
 and in redeeming their country from 
 the stains of treachery and misrule, 
 from the disgrace of violated faith, and 
 the degradation of national honour. 
 
 Henry Clay is also remarkable for 
 simplicity of life, character, and man- 
 ners, and for an earnest and devoted 
 attachment to purely republican prin- 
 ciples, Vviiether in the great business 
 of government, or in social intercourse 
 with his fellow men, among whom, 
 wherever he meets them, he inspires a 
 veneration and an enthusiasm seldom 
 equalled. His position at the present 
 time is as truly enviable, as it is unpre- 
 cedented ; and to his generous mind 
 must be far more gratifying, than 
 would be the actual possession of the 
 attractions and the trappings of any 
 station, however exalted, within the 
 gift of a grateful and admiring people. 
 Without patronage to bestow, or inte- 
 rest with those who temporarily and 
 through sufferance, hold the reins of 
 
12 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 government ; a retired statesman, a 
 plain, practical farmer, he is, neverthe- 
 less, the MAN OF THE PEOPLE, and pos- 
 sesses for more influence and conside- 
 ration with the nation at large, than 
 they enjoy who have the bestov/al of all 
 the emoluments and dignities of office. 
 
 Mr. Clay was born in Hanover 
 County, Virginia, on the 12th of April, 
 1777, and was the fifth among seven 
 children. His father was a preacher of 
 piety and zeal, of the Baptist denomi- 
 nation, who died during the war of the 
 revolution, leaving his large family with 
 little besides, to the care of his wife, 
 wdio was distinguished among her sex 
 for strong natural powers of mind, but 
 who was thus left entirely destitute of 
 the requisite means to alford to her 
 children any higher instruction than 
 could be obtained in the Log Cabin 
 schools of the country in which she 
 dwelt. 
 
 It was at the early age of five years 
 that the subject of our sketch was de- 
 prived of the care of his good and 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 13 
 
 affectionate father ; and as his mother, 
 some years later, formed a second mat- 
 rimonial connexion, and removed with 
 her husband, Mr. Henry IVatkins, into 
 Kentucky, Henry and his eldest brother 
 who remiained in Virginia, were left 
 in circumstances requiring from them 
 severe manual labour. 
 
 Frequently, has Henry Clay, clad in 
 the coarsest apparel, and with bare 
 feet, ploughed the live-long summer 
 day, with no other companions than 
 his plodding team, and his own high 
 thoughts, which, even in the midst of 
 his humble but honourable toil, must 
 have soared above the lowly circum- 
 stances of his condition to hold com- 
 munings with the loftier things of life. 
 If we had space for the purpose, we 
 might here pause to attempt a parallel 
 between the early lives of Mr. Clay, 
 and the "forest born Demosthenes," 
 Patrick Henry, whose earliest years 
 were passed in the laborious, but inde- 
 pendent employment of cultivators of 
 the soil. While those more favoured 
 2 
 
14 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 by fortune — the wealthy sons of the 
 land, with splendid equipage and hixu- 
 rious ease, were rolling onward, the 
 listless witnesses of the humble employ- 
 ments of those "a-field," little could 
 they have suspected that the dust from 
 their chariot-wheels was scattered upon 
 the iiomely garments of those who 
 were destined to take exalted rank 
 among the greatest of our own proud 
 land! 
 
 The career of Henry Clay is rich in 
 instruction and encouragement to all 
 upon whom adverse fortune has laid 
 her depressing hand. From indigent 
 infancy to the present period of his 
 illustrious life, he affords a sublime 
 illustration of the results of aspiring 
 persev^erance. 'With such an example 
 before him, no American youth, how- 
 ever unpropitious the circumstances 
 of his position may be, need despair 
 of ultimate success ; that success which 
 is the almost certain result of well- 
 directed, steady and laborious effort, 
 but which the labour, and the constant 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 15 
 
 self-dependence of the mind can alone 
 achieve. 
 
 " Ah! who can te!I how hard it is to climb 
 
 The steep where Fame's proud temple shines afar; 
 
 Ah ! who can tell how many a soul sublime 
 
 Has felt the influence of malignant star, 
 
 And waged with fortune an eternal war ; 
 
 Check'd by the scoffs of Pride and Envy's frown, 
 
 And Poverty's unconquerable bar, 
 
 111 life's low vale remote has pined alone, 
 
 Then dropp'd into the grave, unpitied and unknown." 
 
 With Clay, the " bar of poverty" so 
 touchingly alluded to by the poet, was 
 regarded merely as a difficulty over 
 which he was, of course, to achieve a 
 triumph ; it reared its discouraging and 
 depressing front betbre his unflinching 
 eye and unshrinking heart, but was 
 not deemed "unconquerable," by one 
 who, in believing' he should triumph, 
 had already secured to himself the cer- 
 tainty of victory. 
 
 In the performance of his multifa- 
 rious labours as a farmer's boy, he has 
 often ridden to the mill with grain, his 
 sole equipment in harmony with his 
 own humble appearance, being a rope 
 
16 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 bridle, and his seat, in lieu of a saddle, 
 the bag containing the grist or the 
 iiour, which he brought upon his re- 
 turn. 
 
 In such employments, and with none 
 of the advantages of education, or of so- 
 cial intercourse with cultivated minds, 
 did our country's future statesman and 
 benefactor, pass the first thirteen years 
 of his active and useful life. At the 
 age of fourteen he was placed in a 
 small retail store at Richmond, where 
 he remained, attentive to the duties of 
 the counter until the following year, 
 (1792) when he was transferred, but by 
 whom does not appear, to the office of 
 Mr. Peter Tinsley, who was, at that 
 time. Clerk of the High Court of Chan- 
 cery. It was here that he had the good 
 fortune to attract the attention of the 
 celebrated George Wythe, a Signer of 
 the Declaration of Independence, and 
 one of the most eminent jurists of that 
 day, and it certainly forms not the least 
 of the claims of that distinguished man 
 to the veneration and gratitude of pos- 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 
 
 17 
 
 terity that he had the sagacity to dis- 
 cover the merit of young Clay, and the 
 inclination also to afford him the bene- 
 fit of his counsel and conversation. If 
 the generous example of Chancellor 
 Wythe were more frequently followed 
 by those who possess the opportunity 
 and means, how often would the sun- 
 shine of hope illumine the paths of un- 
 protected genius, and save from despair 
 those who, under more .favourable cir- 
 cumstances, might become the orna- 
 ments and the benefactors of mankind ! 
 The encouragement and counsel re- 
 ceived by Henry Clay during the strug- 
 gles of this period of his career, from 
 his distinguished friend, were certainly 
 of great "advantage to him, and have 
 te^ver. beea.»§^e£uJl^ a'emeiiil^ered ; but 
 his was of that order of mind which 
 derives strength and renewed courag. 
 ft-om difficulties and opposition, and he 
 is one of that class of men of which 
 our country has furnished many bright 
 examples,' and for which the cause of 
 liberty, literature, and scif^iv.-e, is in- 
 ' 2 •' B 
 
 t> 
 
18 SKETCH OF Tlli: LIFE 
 
 debted to the fostering care and equal- 
 izing influences of her admirable insti- 
 tutions, — who have by strong native 
 genius, unshaken fortitude, and un- 
 wavering courage, overcome the stern 
 barrier which separates poverty and 
 its attendant evils from the hopes and 
 sacred influences which the lights of 
 education and knowledge impart to 
 those who are the favoured and happy 
 recipients of her elevating and inappre- 
 ciable privileges. In the achievement 
 of triumphs like these, and under cii 
 cumstances most disheartening, the 
 obstacle of mere poverty is, perhaps 
 not always the greatest. Mankind are 
 generally slow in perceiving the merits, 
 and in admitting the claims of the 
 friendless qj^d . riy—ijn4i^injb- .aJJ^^- ail^^ 
 powerful prejudice is among the most 
 formidable impediments, wlTn^^-i l*e who 
 stands alone, uncheered and unsup- 
 ported, is forced to encounter and to 
 vanquish as the hard condition" of ulti- 
 mate success. 
 Towards the close of the year 1796, 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 19 
 
 young Clay entered the family of Mr. 
 Robert Brooke, an eminent lawyer, and 
 formerly governor of Virginia, and his 
 only regular study of his profession 
 was during the year that he resided 
 with this crentleman. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Mr. Clay's introduction to Chief Justice Marsiisil! — Biish- 
 rod Wp.sliiii^ton — DcT.th of his Brother— Is admitted to 
 the Bat — Removes to Kentucky — His early struggles — 
 Aiiecdote — Comtneiicement of his poli'ical career — New 
 State Constitution — Alien and Sedition laws opposed by 
 I>Ir. Clay — Elected to the Legislature — Appointed Sena- 
 loi ill Congress. 
 
 The business and social relations of 
 Mr, Clay, during a residence at Rich- 
 mond, of a little more than six years, 
 introduced him to the notice of most 
 of the leading irembers of the bar of 
 a city which has always been distin- 
 s^uished for lesral talent and learninq". 
 Chief Jus/ice Marshall, and Mr. Bush- 
 rod Washington, were also among the , 
 number of his early friends. During 
 his residence at Richmond, his eldest 
 
20 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 brother died, and in the year 1797, 
 with a license to practise law, which 
 he had received from the judges of the 
 Virginia Court of Appeals, he removed 
 to Lexington, Kentucky, where, at the 
 age of twenty years, friendless and a 
 stranger, and destitute of the means 
 wherev/ith to pay the small sura de- 
 m.anded for his board, he made his 
 brief preparations to enter upon the 
 busy stage of life in the society of men, 
 and in "honourable contention with 
 those who had advanced far up the hill 
 of fame, and who were already in the 
 full enjoyment of high professional 
 
 influence. 
 
 It was a bold, but characteristic ven- 
 ture for one so young, thus to launch 
 his frail bark into the stormy sea, to 
 unfurl its virgin sails upon the bosom 
 of its trackless waters, and he its soli- 
 tary and inexperienced guide '. Truly 
 has it been said, that no subljmer spec- 
 tacle can be presented for the admira- 
 tion and instruction of mankind, than 
 that of a great and good man strug- 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 21 
 
 gliiig with adversity. But it was not 
 the fate of Mr. Clay to struggle long, 
 either for practice as a means of sup- 
 port, or for reputation. Wherever his 
 destiny called him, he carried that with- 
 in which prompted those exertions and 
 studies in which he soon excehed his 
 contemporaries. 
 
 He early acquired a profound ac- 
 quaintance with the principles of law, 
 and commanded the respect and confi- 
 dence of his veteran rivals and asso- 
 ciates at the bar. " 1 remember," says 
 he, in his speech at Lexington, in June 
 1842, " how comfortable I thought I 
 should be, if I could make £100 Vir- 
 ginia money per year ; and with what 
 delight I received the first fifteen shil- 
 lings fee. My hopes were more than 
 realized. I immediately rushed into a 
 lucrative practice." 
 
 An anecdote is recorded of this pe- 
 riod of his life which proves that he is 
 indebted to practice for the extraordi- 
 nary readiness which he always mani- 
 . teats in debate or repartee. He had 
 
22 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 joined a debating society, and at one 
 of the meetings, just as the vote was 
 about to be taken, he remarked, in a 
 whisper to a person near him, that the 
 subject did not appear to him to have 
 been exhausted. The member to whom 
 the observation was made, exclaimed, 
 " do not put the question yet, Mr. Clay 
 will speak." The chairman nodded to 
 Clay in token of attention, who rose 
 v/ith extreme embarrassment, and fal- 
 tering out. " Gentlemen of the Jury,''' 
 paused as if endeavouring to recover 
 his scattered tljoughts. His audience 
 with commendable forbearance kindly 
 affected not to notice this extraordinary 
 commencement, or the agitation of the 
 ne\Y speaker, who, after much hesita- 
 tion and confusion repeated the v/ords, 
 but they were scarcely uttered, when 
 rising above the distress and difficulties 
 of his novel position, he acquitted him- 
 self in the debate in a manner that 
 excited general surprise and admira- 
 tion. 
 An amusing anecdote is also record- 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 23 
 
 ed cf his early practice which we are 
 tempted to repeat. He had success-' 
 fully defended two Germans, a father 
 and son, who had been indicted for 
 murder ; and an old, withered, and ex- 
 tremely ill-favoured woman, wife of the 
 elder, and mother -of the younger pri- 
 soner, learning the result of the trial, 
 rushed into court, and throwing her 
 arms around the neck of the young 
 advocate, almost suffocated him with 
 caresses and kisses in the presence of 
 the assembled crowd ! 
 
 Although Mr. Clay was now profita- 
 ably engaged in the prosecution of his 
 professional avocations, he was not an 
 indifferent observer of passing events. 
 His political career commenced, indeed, 
 almost as early as his professional ; and 
 in the exciting scenes which imme- 
 diately followed the determination of 
 the people of Kentucky to form for 
 themselves a new constitution, he was 
 a prominent actor, and a fearless and 
 able champion of popular rights. 
 
 The prominent feature of the new 
 
!cJ4 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 constitution, was a provision for the 
 prospective eradication of slavery from 
 witiiin tiie jurisdiction of Kentucky by 
 gradual emancipation. A majority of 
 the people were decidedly hostile to the 
 measure, but the violence of popular 
 opposition did not •deter the young 
 lawyer from taking a bold stand by the 
 side of those who were friendly to it, 
 although he knew that by so doing he 
 was placing at hazard the splendid 
 prospects of wealth and fame, which 
 had so early, unexpectedly, and so 
 auspiciously opened upon him. He 
 did not hesitate for a moment, but with 
 that noble and sel '-sacrificing spirit 
 which has since so strongly endeared 
 him to his countrymen, and which has 
 made his name illustrious among the 
 patriotic of mankind, devoted himself 
 with fervent zeal to a cause which for- 
 cibly appealed to the best feelings of his 
 generous nature. The views of Mr, 
 Clay upon this momentous question, 
 have, as is well known, undergone no 
 change, but time has made clearly 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 25 
 
 manifest the wisdom and purity of his 
 early course in relation to the matter. 
 He entertains, however, no sympathy 
 with those who have raised the hue 
 and cry of unconditional abolition, and 
 who, in the accomplishment of their 
 mistaken and injurious design, appear 
 to be regardless alike of the tranquillity 
 of the country, and the preservation of 
 that union, in the strength of which we 
 achieved our independence, and have 
 attained our present exalted degree of 
 national greatness and prosperity. 
 
 The institution of slavery deplored 
 by none more sincerely than by Mr. 
 Clay, and the abolition of which had in 
 him an early devoted and manly advo- 
 cate of its gradual accomplishment 
 by strictly Constitutional means, was 
 founded by our English predecessors in 
 possession of the soil. It is an evil 
 which requires time and skill to eradi- 
 cate and heal, and the incendiary spirit 
 which has gone abroad among those 
 who are ignorant of the principles in- 
 volved in its present toleration, or are 
 3 
 
26 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 culpably reckless of the consequences 
 of their unwise proceedings, only serve 
 to retard a consummation devoutly 
 wished by all good and patriotic cit- 
 izens. 
 
 To the Alien and Sedition laws, 
 passed by Congress in 1798, during the 
 administration of the elder President 
 Adams, Mr. Clay was heartily and per- 
 severingly opposed. 
 
 The first of these celebrated acts 
 jointly productive of an excitement 
 which agitated the very foundations of 
 the infant Republic, provided the man- 
 ner in which aliens were to become 
 citizens of the United States, and re- 
 stricted the facility with which citizen- 
 ship had previously been acquired. It 
 authorised the President, at his discre- 
 tion, to order all aliens whom he might 
 consider dangerous to the national 
 peace and safety, or who were con- 
 cerned in treasonable practices or mea- 
 sures, to leave the country. It also 
 gave a power to the President to grant 
 licenses to aliens to remain during his 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. ^7 
 
 own good pleasure. It further pro- 
 vided imprisonment not exceeding three 
 ye-dis to all aliens remaining witliout 
 license, and perpetual disqualitication 
 for citizenship. It also authorised the 
 President to require of aliens bonds 
 for their good behaviour, and all com- 
 manders were required to report the 
 names of such persons arriving in their 
 vessels under a penalty of three hun- 
 dred dollars. 
 
 The following w^ere the offences made 
 punishable by the Sedition law, popu- 
 larly denominated the " gag law :" 
 
 Defaming or bringing into contempt, 
 the Congress or President. Exciting 
 the hatred of the people against them. 
 Stirring up sedition in the country, 
 raising unlawful combinations for re- 
 sisting the laws and legal authorities- 
 aiding and abetting foreign nations 
 against the country, the people or their 
 government. 
 
 Many of these were certainly very 
 grave offences ; but for some, adequate 
 penalties had already been provided. 
 
28 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 and with respect to others, it may be 
 remarked, that the law prohibiting 
 them was a restriction of the liberty of 
 expression, not the less intolerable that 
 the truth of the libel might be pleaded 
 in justification of the accused. 
 
 The following case illustrates the 
 practical operation of the Sedition law, 
 and is one only among many of the 
 oppressive, vexatious and friyolous 
 prosecutions to which it gave rise. 
 President Adams, on his return from 
 the seat of government, passing through 
 Newark, was complimented with a dis- 
 charge of artillery by the citizens of 
 the town in honour of his arrival. A 
 Mr. Baldwin, who, it would appear, was 
 not very re^iarkable for the delicacy 
 of his sentiments, expressed much re- 
 gret that the wadding discharged from 
 the cannon had not lodged in a par- 
 ticular part of the President's person, 
 and for this humorous exhibition of 
 known dislike, he was actually tried, 
 convicted, and fined one hundred dol- 
 lars I It was the abuse of this law, ill 
 
CF HENRY CLAY. 29 
 
 adapted, under any circumstances, for 
 the meridian of a people who had so 
 recently waged a seven years' v/ar, in 
 maintenance of their independence 
 from foreign oppression, which ren- 
 dered it odious to the country ; and Mr. 
 Clay, who has always been a consistent 
 advocate of the amplest freedom of 
 speech and of the press, launched 
 against it the mighty thunders of his 
 indignant eloquence. 
 
 Mr. Clay was elected to the Legis- 
 lature of his adopted state in the year 
 1801, and immediately participated in 
 all the leading questions of interest 
 which were discussed in that body. 
 
 In December, 1806, when only in his 
 twenty-ninth year, he was elected b}- 
 the legislature of Kentucky, a Senator 
 in Congress, to fill a vacancy which 
 had just occurred in that body by the 
 resignation of the honourable John 
 Ada'ir, and, as the journals will prove, 
 he entered at once, and with character- 
 istic activity and zeal, upon the ex- 
 alted and untried duties of the station. 
 3* 
 
so SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 Here was made his earliest manifesta- 
 tion of devotion to the cause of inter- 
 nal improvement, and he vi^as imme- 
 diately distinguished among the ablest 
 legislators of his country. We shall 
 be pardoned for a momentary trespass 
 upon our limits in pausing here, to con- 
 trast the position held, at this time by 
 this remarkable man, with the friendless 
 destitution of that which he occupied 
 but nine years before ! 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Mr. Clay's election a second time to the Legislature — Ap- 
 pointed Speaker of Assembly — Re-eiecled to the Senate 
 of the United States — Madison's rroclama'.ion — Origin 
 of the title of "The Great Commoner" — Is elected 
 Representative in Congress — Chosen Speaker — War 
 Declared, &c., &c. 
 
 The period for which Mr. Clay had 
 been chosen Senator was but for a 
 single session, and upon the adjourn- 
 ment of Congress he was again elected 
 to the Kentucky Legislature, and was 
 soon after appointed speaker of the 
 Assembly. He not only performed, 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 31 
 
 with unsurpassed ability, the duties of 
 this new position, but, entering upon 
 the arena of debate, actively and elo- 
 quently participated in the discussion 
 of all the leading questions before the 
 house. 
 
 In the winter of 1809-10, Mr. Clay 
 was a second time elected by a large 
 majority to the Senate of the United 
 States, again to fill a vacancy which 
 had occurred by the resignation of Mr. 
 Buckner, and it was during this session 
 of Congress that Mr. Clay proclaimed 
 his early and cherished predilection for 
 that truly American Sj^stem of which 
 he is the Father, and which, by encou- 
 raging domestic industry, and manu- 
 facture, would render us independent 
 of the pauper labour of other nations, 
 and thus lay broad and deep, the foun- 
 dations of real independence,, and of 
 permanent national prosperity. 
 
 The limited space allotted to this 
 sketch, will not permit us to dwell upon 
 any of the great measures with whicR 
 Mr. Clay is identified. To many of 
 
32 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 them, indeed, we cannot even allude. 
 From the period of his second entrance 
 into the Senate of the United States, 
 his life has been spent in the service 
 of his country, and his country's his- 
 tory, down to his recent, final, and 
 voluntary retirement from public life, 
 is the noblest monument to his fame. 
 
 When President Madison issued his 
 proclamation, declaring that the terri- 
 tory between the Mississippi and Per- 
 dido rivers, and comprising a large 
 portion of Western Florida, was subject 
 to the laws of the United States, and 
 upon which it was contended that we 
 had no legal claim, Mr. Clay boldly 
 and eloquently defended the President 
 from the fierce assaults of opposition, 
 and triumphantly vindicated the na- 
 tional title to the land. 
 
 One of the Senators had expressed 
 the deep interest he felt in the fate of 
 the Spanish King. Mr. Clay, in reply, 
 exclaimed, " I shall leave the honoura- 
 ble gentleman from Delaware to mourn 
 oyer the, fate of the fallen Charles. I 
 
OF HENHY CLAY. 33 
 
 have no commiseration for Princes. 
 31]/ sympathies are <$// reserved for the 
 great mass of mankind ; and I oivn 
 that the people of Spain have them 
 most sincerely.''^ 
 
 It was the eloquent and overpower- 
 ing expression of this generous sym- 
 pathy for the people, and of honest 
 devotion to their great interests, both 
 in the speeches he delivered at home 
 and in the Senate, that procured for 
 him about this time, the title of the 
 "Great Commoner." Preferring a seat 
 in the House of Representatives, to a 
 re-election to the Senate, Mr. Clay was 
 returned a member of the popular 
 branch of the national legislature, and 
 was chosen Speaker in 1812. He was 
 an earnest friend of the patriotic ad- 
 ministration of Madison, and gave to 
 his prominent measures a hearty sup- 
 port. In April of this year, Mr. Madi- 
 son recommended that a " general em- 
 bargo be laid on all vessels now in 
 port, or hereafter arriving, for the 
 period of sixty days." In the discus- 
 
S4 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 sion of this measure Mr. Clay largely 
 shared and advocated it with his ac- 
 customed zeal and ability. He declared 
 that he *' approved of it because it is 
 to be viewed as a direct precursor to 
 war." John Randolph and Josiah 
 Gluincy were foremost in strenuous 
 opposition, and they were among the 
 intellectual giants of those days. Mr. 
 Clay, however, did not hesitate to meet 
 them, and it has been said that he was 
 a " flame of fire," upon this occasion. 
 "He had now brought Congress to the 
 verge of what he conceived to be a 
 war lor liberty and honour, and his 
 voice rang through the capitol like e 
 trumpet tone sounding for the onset 
 On the subject of the policy of thf 
 embargo, his eloquence, like a Romap 
 phalanx, bore down all opposition, and 
 he put to shame those of his oppo- 
 nents, who flouted the government a? 
 being unprepared for war." As had 
 been anticipated and predicted by Mr. 
 Clay, the Declaration of War against 
 Great Britain immediately followed, 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 35 
 
 and received from him that warm and 
 powerful support without which it 
 could hardly have been prosecuted to 
 a successful and honourable close. 
 
 The dignity and commercial inde- 
 pendence of the nation had been, for a 
 long series of years, arrogantly assailed 
 by the British, and the time had at 
 lensTth arrived, when a decisive demon- 
 stration of resentment was essential to 
 the preservation of the national honour. 
 Under such circumstances, and uro'ed 
 by such considerations, it was charac- 
 teristic of this noblest champion of 
 American liberty to give to the war 
 upon which his country had entered, 
 all the support of his transcendant abili- 
 ties. " My plan,'' said he, " would be 
 to call out the amplest resources of the 
 country, give them a judicious direc- 
 tion, prosecute the war with the ut- 
 most vigour, strike wherever we can 
 reach the enemy, at sea or on land, and 
 negociate the terms of a peace at Glue- 
 bee or at Halifax. We are told that 
 England is a proud and lofty nation, 
 
36 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 which, disdaining to wait for danger, 
 meets it half way. Haughty as she is, 
 we once triumphed over her, and if we 
 do not listen to the counsels of timidity 
 and despair, we shall again prevail. In 
 such a cause, with the aid of Provi- 
 dence, we must be crowned with suc- 
 cess ; but .if we fail, let us fail like 
 men, — lash ourselves to our gallant 
 tars, and expire together in one com- 
 mon struggle, Jigkting for free trade 
 and seamen's righis.^^ 
 
 The Presidential election occurred at 
 this time, and Mr. Madison was re- 
 elected by a majority of thirty-nine 
 votes over De Witt Clinton, in the 
 electoral colleges. 
 
 The war-party, of which Mr. Clay 
 was at once the ruling spirit and the 
 head, was thus sustained by the people. 
 . In 1813, Mr. Clay was again chosen 
 Speaker of the House of Representa- 
 tives by a large majority. Many of 
 those who most ably and strenuously 
 opposed the war, did so without doubt, 
 from the purest motives, — others, how* 
 
OF HJaNilY CLAY* 37 
 
 ever, opposed it through fear of the 
 power and avenging w^rath of our 
 haughty mother ; but this pusillanimous 
 objection was met at its threshold by- 
 Mr. Clay, \\ 1th a sublimity of patriotism 
 which has seldom been equalled, and 
 never surpassed, " Sir," said he, in ad- 
 dressing the Committee of the whole 
 House, "Is the time never to arrive 
 when we may manage our own affairs 
 without the fear of insulting the majesty 
 of England] Is the rod of British 
 power to be forever suspended over 
 our heads'? Does Congress put an 
 embargo to shelter our rightful com- 
 merce against the piratical depredations 
 committed upon it on the ocean 1 We 
 are immediately warned of the indig- 
 nation of offended England ! Is a law 
 of non-intercourse proposed] The 
 whole navy of the haughty Mistress of 
 the seas is made to thunder in our ears I 
 Does the President refuse to continue 
 a correspondence with a Minister who 
 violates the decorum belonging to his 
 diplomatic character, by giving and de- 
 
 4 
 
3S SKETCH or THE LIFE 
 
 liberately repeating an affront to the 
 whole nation ] We are instantly men- 
 aced with the chastisement which Eng- 
 lish pride will not fail to inflict ! 
 Whether we assert our rights by sea, 
 or attempt their maintenance by land, 
 wheresoever we turn ourselves, this 
 phantom incessantly pursues us !" 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Clay resigns the Speakership— Is appointed Cornnris- 
 sioner to Ghent— His great ability— Is re-elected to Con- 
 gress — Compensation Bill — Anecdote— South American 
 Independence— Mr. Clay's .popularity in South America 
 — Correspondence with Bolivar— Internal ImproveiEent 
 — Cumberland Road Monument. 
 
 In January, 1814, Mr. Clay resigned 
 the office of Speaker of the House of 
 Representatives, and, as one of the 
 Commissioners appointed for that pur- 
 pose, proceeded to Ghent to negotiate 
 a peace with England. To the great 
 diplomatic ability he displayed during 
 this memorable mission, Mr. John Q,. 
 Adams, who was associated with him, 
 and than whom there can be no better 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 39 
 
 judge, has borne the strongest testi- 
 mony, which the country has abun- 
 dantly confirmed. During his absence 
 at Gaeiii lie was re-elected to Congress ; 
 but doubts having arisen respecting 
 the legality, under such circumstances, 
 of the proceedings of his constituents, 
 upon his return a new election was 
 ordered, and with the same result. 
 
 Mr. Clay, as we have heard, never 
 canvassed for a seat in Congress but 
 once. During this canvass he met 
 with an old hunter who had always 
 been friendly towards him, but who now 
 opposed his election on account of his 
 course in connection with what was 
 termed the "Compensation Bill." A 
 proposition had been made to give to 
 each member of Congress a yearly 
 salary of fifteen hundred dollars. Mr. 
 Clay preferred an increase of daily 
 compensation to a fixed salary, " Have 
 you," said he to the hunter, "a good 
 rifie, my friend V " Yes," was the an- 
 swer. "Did it never flash.?" "Once 
 <>nly,*' he replied. " Did you throw it 
 
40 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 away?" "No," replied the hunter, "I 
 picked the flint, tried it again, and 
 brought down the game." " Have I," 
 asked Mr. Clay, " ever flashed but on 
 the Compensation Bill r' " No." " Will 
 you then throw me away?" "No, no," 
 exclaimed the excited man, nearly over- 
 come by the intensity of his feelings, 
 "I will pick the flint and try you 
 again." He became from that time, a 
 warm friend and supporter of Mr. 
 Clay. 
 
 There was, at this time, residing at 
 Lexington, an Irish barber, who, at all 
 elections previously to the passage of 
 the unpalatable bill to which allusion 
 has been made, had manifested the ut- 
 most zeal for Mr. Clay. He had, in- 
 deed, often profited by his counsel and 
 assistance when involved in those diffi- 
 culties to which his w^arm -hearted and 
 impetuous countrymen are, of all men, 
 most exposed, but after the passage of 
 the "Compensation Bill," he became 
 distrustful, and reserved — was no 
 longer active, and manifested a total 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 41 
 
 indifference as to the result of the can- 
 vass. At length he was questioned 
 upon the subject by a gentleman for 
 whose opinions and character he had 
 professed a high respect. "I tell you 
 what, docthur," he replied, " I mane to 
 vote for the man that can put but one 
 hand into the treasury." In early 
 youth, Mr. Pope, the able and respect- 
 able opponent, at this time, of Mr. 
 Clay, had lost one of his arms I But 
 the Irishman's heart, like the hearts of 
 his countrymen generally, was in the 
 right place. He repented of his ingrati- 
 tude, and meeting Mr. Clay afterward 
 in the street, he burst into tears as he 
 accosted him, voluntarily confessed that 
 he had wronged him, and that his wife 
 had also reproached him for his con- 
 duct. "Don't you remember, Jerry," 
 she said, '• when you were in jail, Mr. 
 Clay came to you and made the baste 
 of a jailor let you out V 
 
 At the next session of Congress, Mr. 
 Clay voted for the repeal of this un- 
 popular Bill, and strongly advocated 
 4* 
 
42 SKETCH OP THE LIFE 
 
 tlie recognition of South American In- 
 dependence. He was opposed for the 
 reason, that the people of that country 
 were believed to be too ignorant to ap- 
 preciate the blessings of Liberty, and to 
 conduct and sustain a system of gov- 
 ernment, founded upon free principles. 
 To these objections, Mr. Clay replied 
 that he was " no propagandist. He 
 would not force upon other nations our 
 principles of Liberty if they did not 
 want them. He v/ould not disturb the 
 repose even, of a detestable despotism." 
 With regard to the superstition of the 
 South Americans, he said, " they wor- 
 ship the same God with us. Their 
 prayers were offered up in their temples 
 to the same Redeemer whose interces- 
 sion we expected to save us. Nor was 
 there anything in the Roman Catholic 
 religion unfavourable to freedom. All 
 religions united with government, were 
 more or less inimical to liberty. All 
 separated from government, were com- 
 patible with liberty." *' Are we not 
 bound," he asked, " upon our own 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 43 
 
 principles, to acknowledge this new 
 Republic ! If we do not, toho will 1" 
 
 We have learned from a gentleman 
 who has travelled in South America, 
 that the noble speeches, pronounced by 
 i\Ir. Clay in support of his motion for 
 the recognition of Colombian Inde- 
 pendence, were printed and suspended 
 in the Legislative Halls and Council 
 Chambers of that country, and that his 
 name was mentioned only to be blessed 
 by the people whose cause he had so 
 ably and so eloquently espoused. 
 
 In 1827 Mr. Clay received from Presi- 
 dent Bolivar, a letter expressive of the 
 high sense entertained by that distin- 
 guished personage of his talents and cha- 
 racter, and acknowledging the obliga- 
 tion conferred upon the people of South 
 America, by the effective and timely 
 service which he had rendered to their 
 cause. The reply of Mr. Clay, lind 
 which v/e regret our inability to copy 
 entire, is alone sufficient to give the lie 
 to every imputation Vv'hich, vrith pre- 
 meditated falsehood, has been cast upon 
 
A 
 
 4 SKETCH OP THE LIFE 
 
 him, of aristocratic predilections, and 
 of an inordinate love of power. It is 
 the production of., a mind, conscious 
 of rectitude, and conscious also of 
 having deserved the homage of gra- 
 titude and respect thus spontaneous- 
 ly offered, and of one, who having 
 from his cradle, breathed the pure at- 
 mosphere of liberty, and imbibed its 
 noblest principles, feels itself entitled to 
 address, even to the " Liberator" of 
 South America, the language of admo- 
 nition, and to assiuiie the part of an 
 expounder and defender of what he 
 rightly regarded as the inestimable and 
 inalienable birth-riaht of man. 
 
 " I should," he writes in reply to 
 Bolivar, " be unworthy of the consid- 
 eration with which your Excellency 
 honours me, and deviate from the frank- 
 ness which I have ever endeavoured to 
 practice, if I did not on this occasion, 
 state, that ambitious designs have been 
 attributed by your enemies to your 
 Excellency, which have created, in my 
 mind, great solicitude. * * * I cannot 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 45 
 
 allow myself to believe that your Ex- 
 cellency will abandon the bright and 
 glorious path which lies plainly before 
 you, for the bloody road passing over 
 the liberties of the human race, on 
 which the vulgar crowd of tyrants and 
 military despots have so often trodden. 
 I will not doubt that your Excellency 
 will, in due time, render a satisfactory 
 explanation to Colombia and to the 
 world, of the parts of your public con- 
 duct which have excited any distrust ; 
 and that, preferring the true glory of 
 our immortal Washington, to the igno- 
 ble fame of the destroyers of Liberty, 
 you have formed the patriotic resolu- 
 tion of ultimately placing the freedom 
 of Colombia upon a firm and sure 
 foundation." 
 
 Mr. Clay's exertions in Congress were 
 now made in behalf of Internal Im- 
 provement, and with his accustomed 
 success. It is, indeed, to his able and 
 persevering efforts that we are in- 
 debted for the finest road in the United 
 States, — the great Cumberland road 
 
46 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 which crosses the AUeghanies. Tri al- 
 lusion to this great national work in 
 one of his congressional speeches, he 
 said : " We have had to beg, entreat, 
 supplicate you, session after session, to 
 grant the necessary appropriations to 
 complete the road. I have myself toiled 
 until my powers have been exhausted 
 and prostrated, to prevail on you tc» 
 make the grant." 
 
 He may almost be regarded as the 
 father of this great enterprise, and we 
 well remember, when a boy, while 
 travelling in the West, the admiration 
 with which we gazed upon the beauti- 
 ful monument erected in commemora- 
 tion of his efforts, upon the Cumber- 
 land, Road. It is surmounted by the 
 genius of Liberty, records the exertions 
 in behalf of the measure, of the hon. 
 oured object of a nation's gratitude, 
 and bears, as a further inscription, the 
 now time-honoured name of " Henry 
 Clay." 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 47 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 General Jackson — Florida Campaign — Aibuthnot and 
 Ambrister — Mr. Clay's appreciation of Jackson's mili- 
 tary services — Mr. Clay's macnanimity — Tariff— Op- 
 posed by Mr VVebst&r — Defended with great power by 
 Mr. Clay — Its effects — John Randolph — Mr. Clay'* 
 retort upon him. 
 
 It was during the session of 1819 
 that the conduct of General Jackson, 
 in the prosecution of his Florida Cam- 
 paign, was discussed in Congress. The 
 principle measures for which he was 
 censured were the harsh conditions ftf 
 his proceedings and terms with the 
 Indians — the execution of the two Eng- 
 lish prisoners of war, Arbuthnot and 
 Ambrister, and the seizure of the then 
 Spanish ports of St. Marks, and of 
 Pensacola. It is well known that these 
 arbitrary acts of the General did not 
 meet with the approbation of Mr. Clay. 
 Indeed, he was compelled by the cir- 
 cumstances of his position in Congress 
 to meet them with direct censure. His 
 grateful appreciation however, of the 
 important military services rendered 
 by Jackson, prompted the exercise of 
 
 E 
 
48 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 characteristic kindness and forbearance 
 on the part of Mr. Clay, in his re- 
 luctant animadversions upon conduct 
 which it was impossible for him as a 
 faithful public servant to pass over in 
 silence. So far as he had the power he 
 threw the broad mantle of charity over 
 the deeds he condemned. To the 
 motives of the distinguished object of 
 censure, he has always awarded the 
 fullest justice ; and never was he more 
 ready to admit the purity of the Gen- 
 eral's intentions, than in the midst of 
 the exciting debate to which his con- 
 duct gave rise. "I am disposed," said 
 he, "to allow it in the most extensive 
 degree. Of his acts, it is my duty to 
 speak with the freedom which belongs 
 to my station." The whole of Mr 
 Clay's subsequent conduct in relation 
 to General Jackson, has been charac- 
 terised by the same noble magnanimity, 
 and that too, upon occasions when its 
 practice could not have been antici- 
 pated. That devoted and generous 
 patriotism which, in a peculiar manner 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 49 
 
 and degree, distinguishes Mr. Clay 
 above all his contemporaries, has ever 
 been sufficiently powerful to create, in 
 his bosom, esteem for those who have 
 zealously served their country; and he 
 has, accordingly, on all suitable occa- 
 sions, not only awarded the highest; 
 praise to Jackson's military achieve- 
 ments, but has never hesitated to pro- 
 claim his gratitude for the noble ser- 
 vices Vv'hich that distinguished per- 
 sonage has — in his proper vocation — 
 rendered to the country; and it will be 
 more injurious to the Ex-President than 
 to Mr. Clay, if he has failed to imitate 
 this high-toned magnanimity. 
 
 In 1820 the subject of a Tariff which 
 had often before engaged the attention 
 of Congress, and of which Mr. Clay- 
 was ever the strenuous and able advo- 
 cate, was again discussed by the peo- 
 ple's representatives, and he renewed 
 his earnest appeals in favour of his fa- 
 vourite American system. " I frankly 
 own," said he in a speech delivered ar 
 this time, " that I feel great solicitude 
 
 5 D 
 
50 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 for the success of this measure. The 
 entire independence of my country on 
 all foreign states, as it respects a supply 
 of our essential wants, has ever been 
 with me, a favourite object. The war 
 of our revolution effected our political 
 emancipation. The last war contri- 
 buted greatly towards accomplishing 
 our commercial freedom. But our 
 complete independence will only be 
 consummated after the policy of this 
 bill shall be recognized and adopted. 
 We have, indeed, great difficulties to 
 contend with; old habits — colonial 
 usages — the enormous profits of a 
 foreign trade prosecuted under favour- 
 able circumstances, which no longer 
 continue. I will not despair. The 
 cause, I verily believe, is the cause of 
 the country. It may be postponed ; it 
 may be frustrated for the moment, but 
 it finally must prevail." 
 
 The Tariff bill was ultimately lost in 
 the Senate. In 1824 the subject was 
 again revived, and a new Tariff bill 
 reported to the House by the Commit- 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 51 
 
 tee on Manufactures ; and Mr. Clay- 
 made, on the occasion, his matchless 
 speech in support of American Indus- 
 try. Mr. Webster opposed the bill 
 with all the force of his great abilities, 
 but he was answered by Mr. Clay in a 
 speech of surpassing eloquence and 
 power, in which he reviewed and tri- 
 umphantly refuted the objections that 
 had been urged against it. The bill 
 became a law in April of the same 
 year, and eight years afterwards, in 
 recalling the gloomy aspect of affairs 
 in 1824, he thus describes the happy 
 results of his far-seeing policy : 
 
 " I have now to perform the pleasing 
 task of exhibiting an imperfect sketch 
 of the existing state — of the unparallel- 
 ed prosperity of the country. On a 
 general survey v/e behold cultivation 
 extending, the arts flourishing, the face 
 of the country improved, our people 
 fully and profitably employed, and the 
 public countenance exhibiting tranquil- 
 lity, contentment and happiness. And, 
 if we descend into particulars, we have 
 
52 SKETCH OF THE LITE 
 
 the agreeable contemplatian of a people 
 out of debt ; land rising slowly in value., 
 but in a secure and salutarj? degree ; a 
 ready, though not extravagant market 
 for all the surplus productions of our 
 industry ; innumerable flocks and herds 
 browsing and gamboling on ten thou- 
 sand hills and plains covered with rich 
 and verdant grasses ; our cities ex- 
 panding, and whole villages springing 
 up, as it were, by enchantment; our 
 exports and imports increased and in- 
 creasing, our tonnage, foreign and 
 coastwise, swelling and fully occupied : 
 the rivers of our interior, animated by 
 the thunder and lightning of countless 
 steam-boats; the currency sound and 
 abundant ; the public debt of two wars 
 nearly redeemed ; and, to crown all, 
 the public treasury overflowing, em- 
 barrassing Congress, not to lind sub- 
 jects of taxation, but to select the 
 objects which shall be relieved from 
 the impost. If the term of seven years 
 were to be selected of the greatest 
 prosperity, which this people have en- 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 53 
 
 joyed since the establishment of their 
 present constitution, it would be exactly 
 that period of seven years which im- 
 mediately followed the passage of the 
 tariff of 1824." 
 
 In Mr. John Randolph, so celebrated 
 for bis oratorical abilities, eccentricities, 
 and violence, the tariff bill had a bitter 
 and an untiring opponent; and one 
 who was not sparing of his malignant 
 personal taunts at Mr. Clay, whom he 
 rightly regarded as the great father of 
 the measure. The history of this re- 
 markable individual is fraught with 
 instruction and admonition to ail pub- 
 lic men. His rancorous partizanship 
 and personal animosities absorbed 
 every feeling, and taxed every power 
 of his strong and gifted mind, leaving 
 nothing for his country, to which his: 
 great talents, if properly and steadily 
 directed, might have been at once an 
 ornament and a blessing, illustrating 
 the principles and developing the re- 
 sources of her political system, and 
 creating towards himself a debt of 
 5* 
 
54 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 gratitude which would have been long 
 and proudly acknowledged. With a 
 heart thus unhappily constituted, he 
 seemed to have no sympathy with his 
 fellow-men, but wrapped in self, and 
 aware that he was better adapted for 
 the work of demolition than construc- 
 tion, he appeared to rejoice in a cynical 
 and habitual opposition to the great 
 and patriotic statesmen with whom he 
 was associated. 
 
 "Can he love the whole 
 Who loves no part ? He be a nation's friend 
 Who is, in truth, the friend of no man there ? 
 Can he be strenuous in his country's cause 
 Wlio slights tlie charities, for whose dear sake 
 That country, if at all, must be beloved?" 
 
 " Sir," said Mr. Clay on one occasion, 
 in reply to Mr. Randolph, " the gentle- 
 man from Virginia was pleased to say 
 that, in one point, at least, he coincided 
 with me, in an humble estimate of my 
 grammatical and philological acquire- 
 ments. I know my deficiencies. I was 
 horyi to no proud patrimonial estate; 
 from my father I inhernted only infan- 
 cy, ignorance^ and indigence. I feel my 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 55 
 
 defects ; but so far as my situation in 
 early ]ife is concerned, I may, without 
 presumption, say they are more my 
 misfortune than my fault. But, how- 
 ever I deplore my want of abihty to 
 furnish to the gentleman a better speci- 
 men of powers of verbal criticism, I 
 will venture to say, my regret is not 
 greater than the disappointment of this 
 Committee as to the strength of his 
 argument." 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ISIiesouri Question — Excitement — Mr. Clay resigns (he 
 Speaker^hip — He proposes a plan of Accommoilation — 
 The Great Pacificator — Jiu (F esprit — Greece — Mr. 
 Clay's Speech — He is nominated for the Presidency — 
 Failure ot the people to elect a President — Harrison's 
 friendship for Mr. Clay. 
 
 The great, exciting and, at the time, 
 all-absorbing '•'•Missouri Question,'''' was 
 debated in Congress during the session 
 of 1820-21. It is hardly necessary to 
 remind the intelligent reader, that the 
 point at issue was, whether or not 
 Missouri should be admitted into the 
 
56 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 Union as a slave state. The discussion - 
 of this vexed question was continued 
 ibr several months, with wonderful 
 ability, but with an intensity of bitter- 
 ness and fierceness without precedent 
 in the annals of legislation. The noble 
 vessel of state was tempest-tost on the 
 angry and overwhelming billows of 
 party strife, and those who had never 
 before despaired of her safety, beheld 
 nothing in prospect but the inevitable 
 destruction, the total wreck of the most 
 splendid fabric which the wisdom and 
 .genius of man had yet devised for the 
 happiness, security, and elevation of his 
 race. Rufus King, John Sergeant, and 
 Mr. Otis were the most prominent 
 .imong those who advocated the ex- 
 clusion of slavery from the new state, 
 and they with their coadjutors, were 
 zealously opposed by Henry Clay, John 
 Randolph, Louis McLane, and others 
 of eminent abilities ; yet with each re- 
 newal of the subject for several con- 
 secutive sessions, the prospect of a safe 
 and amicable adjustment of the dis- 
 
OP HENRY CLAY. 57 
 
 tracting question, seemed, to the actors 
 and to the nation, more and more 
 hopeless. 
 
 Meanwhile heavy pecuniary losses 
 and an utter derangement of his pri- 
 vate affairs, consequent upon long ser- 
 vice in Congress, and an almost exclu- 
 sive attention to his laborious and 
 engrossing public duties, compelled 
 Mr. Clay to resign the office of Speak- 
 er, and with it his membership of the 
 House of Representatives; but in con- 
 sideration of the agitation of the public 
 mind, and the danger of disunion, aris- 
 ing from the continued and still angry 
 discussion of the Missouri (Question, 
 both in Congress and among the peo- 
 ple, he was prevailed upon to retain his 
 seat in the House until the expiration 
 of the period for which he had been 
 elected, although he no longer con- 
 tinued to preside over its deliberations. 
 The subject of the admission of Mis- 
 souri into the Union, had now occupied 
 the attention of Congress, and of the 
 country, during the greater part of 
 
58 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 three entire sessions, threatening dis- 
 union at every stage of its gloomy- 
 progress, when in 1821, and just before 
 his retirement from Congress, Mr. 
 Clay proposed a plan of settlement 
 and accommodation, which was finall}'' 
 adopted by an overwhelming majority 
 of the House, and unanimously by the 
 Senate. His appeals to the patriotism 
 of Congress, were frequent, strong, and 
 brilliantly eloquent, and it was in the 
 final, amicable disposition of this preg- 
 nant controversy, that he first won the 
 proud title of " The Great Pacifica- 
 tor." 
 
 After an absence of three years from 
 Congress, Mr. Clay, at the earnest 
 solicitation of his former constituents, 
 consented to a nomination, and was 
 elected, without opposition, a Repre- 
 sentative in Congress, and was chosen 
 Speaker of that body upon the first bal- 
 lot, by a majority of ninety-seven votes 
 over Philip P. Barbour, the late incum- 
 bent. The following jeu d'esprit ap- 
 
OF IIEXRY CLAY. 59 
 
 peared in the newspapers, soon after 
 the election : 
 
 ' As near the Potomac's broad stream, t'other day, 
 
 Fair Liberty strolled, in solicitous mood. 
 Deep pondering the future— unheeding her way — 
 
 She met goddess Mature beside a green wood ; 
 'Good mother,' she cried, 'deign to help me at need!' 
 
 " I must make for my guardians, a Speaker, to-day;' 
 'The lirst in the wovld I would give them.' ' Indeed!' 
 
 ' When / made the first Speaker, I made him of 
 CLAY.' " 
 
 In 1823, Mr. Webster submitted to 
 Congress a proposition providing for 
 the appointment of a Commissioner 
 to Christian Greece, then struggling 
 against the unparalleled cruelties and 
 oppressions of the " Tarbaned Turk ;" 
 and Mr. Clay, equally a stranger to 
 debasing jealousy which, unhappily, 
 prompts to the commission of unwor- 
 thy deeds, and to that despicable envy 
 which seeks to tear the laurel from a 
 favoured brow, stood side by side with 
 Mr. Webster, in defence of that illus- 
 trious and injured people. 
 
 " Are we," exclaimed Mr. Clay, to 
 the opponents of the proposition, " so 
 
60 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 humbled, so low, so debased, that we 
 dare not express our sympathy for suf- 
 fering Greece, that we dare not articu- 
 late our detestation of tlie brutal ex- 
 cesses of which she has been the bleed- 
 ins: victim, lest we misrht offend som.e 
 one or more of their imperial and royal 
 majesties? * * * If the great body of 
 Christendom can look on calmly and 
 coolly, while all this is perpetrated on 
 a Christian people in its own immediate 
 vicinity, in its very presence, let us at 
 least, evince that one of its remote ex- 
 tremities is susceptible of sensibility to 
 Christian wrongs, and capable of sym- 
 pathy for Christian sufferings ; that in 
 this remote quarter of the world there 
 are hearts not yet closed against com- 
 passion for human woes — that can 
 pour out their indignant feelings at the 
 oppression of a people endeared to us 
 by every ancient recollection, and 
 every modern tie. Sir, it has been 
 attempted to alarm this Committee by 
 the dangers of our commerce on the 
 ^Mediterranean ; and a wretched invoice 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 61 
 
 of Jigs and opium lias been spread be- 
 fore us to repress our sensibilities, and 
 eradicate our humanity. Ah ! sir, ' what 
 shall it profit a man if he gain the 
 whole v/orld and lose his own soulf 
 or what shall it avail a nation to save 
 the v/hole of a miserable trade and 
 lose its liberties 1" 
 
 In 1822, Mr. Clay was nominated, by 
 the Legislature of Kentucky, as the 
 successor of President Monroe, whose 
 second term of service would expire 
 on the 4th of March, 1824. It is well 
 known that the other prominent candi- 
 dates for the succession were Messrs. 
 John Q,uincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, 
 and Wm. H. Crav/fbrd. Mr. Calhoun, 
 although not a candidate, had been 
 nominated by a strong body of his 
 political admirers. He, however, early 
 withdrew his name, and the contest 
 v/as confined to the friends of Mr. Clay, 
 and those of the gentlemen whom we 
 have named. It was soon discovered 
 that the peoj'tle would fail to elect a 
 President by the votes of the electoral 
 6 
 
62 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 colleges, and that the responsible duty 
 of selection would devolve upon their 
 Representatives in Congress. 
 
 On the eve of the Presidential elec- 
 tion a report was widely circulated by 
 the friends of one of the opposing can- 
 didates that Mr. Clay had withdrawn 
 from the contest, and his prospects 
 were, in consequence, much injured 
 before his friends in Ohio -among the 
 foremost and most zealous of whom 
 was the lamented Harrison, — could 
 issue a declaration in which they pro- 
 claimed that their candidate " would 
 not be withdrawn but by the fiat of his 
 Maker." 
 
 We may here remark that the " good 
 President" Harrison was always a 
 warm, personal friend of Mr. Clay, 
 and made no secret of his just and 
 patriotic sentiments, in regard to him. 
 In a letter written in 1835, when many 
 were pressing his own claims, he gene- 
 rously declares : " Under no circum- 
 stances will I suffer myself to be put 
 in competition with Mr. Clay. In re- 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 63 
 
 ference to the other gentlemen who 
 have been brought before the people, 
 as suitable persons from whom the 
 Whig candidate for the Presidency is 
 to be chosen, it is my determination to 
 yield to neither of them the track who 
 may be thus chosen. But Mr. Clay 
 has far higher claims upon me, and if 
 the question is between us, I shall 
 leave it to himself to decide it, even if 
 the majority of our friends should have 
 decided in my favour." 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Election of President by the Representatives of the people 
 —Mr. CJay's opinions of the Candidates — Mr. Oraw- 
 ford— An infamous Calumny— lis Refutation— Mr. Ma- 
 dison's intention to confer a hish military appointment 
 upon Mr. Clay - Mr. CJay's inllutnce and importance 
 as Speaker prevents the appointment — Mr. ]Monroe- 
 Offers Mr. Clay a seat in the Cabinet— A foreign Mis- 
 sion-Noble conductof Mr. Clay -Ungenerous De- 
 claration of Colonel Johnson— Anecdote. 
 
 The election, as had been anticipated, 
 now devolved upon the House of Re- 
 presentatives, and the position occupied 
 by Mr. Clay was one of extreme diffi- 
 
64 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 culty, delicacy, and importance. His 
 personal and official inliuence was im- 
 mense, — upon his decision, the fate of 
 the candidates was suspended, and his 
 course, therefore, became an object of 
 great solicitude to the nation. His 
 opinions had not been concealed in 
 regard to the three individuals who, by 
 Constitutional provision, were returned 
 to the House. In letters and in con- 
 versation, long before it was under- 
 stood that the election would devolve 
 upon Congress, he had expressed his 
 predilection, and declared the course 
 he should take in the event of a failure 
 on the part of the people to elect their 
 President. 
 
 The evident physical inability of Mr. 
 Crawford to discharge the duties of the 
 Presidency, narrowed the choice of the 
 House to the two highest candidates, 
 Messrs. Adams and Jackson, and while 
 the issue was yet undetermined, an 
 infamous attempt was made, by the 
 imputation of corrupt motives, to force 
 Mr. Clay into the abandonment of his 
 
OF HEaNRY CLAY. 65 
 
 well-known preference of the former. 
 The calumny found a fitting vehicle in 
 a rabid and scurrilous newspaper pub- 
 lished at Philadelphia, and being caught 
 up and re-echoed by the affiliated press- 
 es thrqughout the Union, was made the 
 text of disappointed and unprincipled 
 partizans, by ringing the changes on 
 which they succeeded, to a considera- 
 ble extent, in deceiving the ignorant 
 and unreflecting. 
 
 The charge was, in substance, that 
 by an understanding between Mr. 
 Adams and Mr. Clay, the latter was to 
 receive the appointment of Secretary 
 of State in reivard for his vote and in- 
 fluence in placing the former in the 
 Presidential chair! It is extremely 
 difficult, at this late day, to record with 
 patience, a slander so vile in itself, and 
 so absurdly destitute of truth or proba- " 
 bility to support or excuse its malicrnant 
 fabrication, ° 
 
 What was Mr. Clay's position in 
 public afl^airs at this time ? The simple 
 answer to this question is a conclusive 
 
 E 
 
(;6 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 refutation of the charge. He occupied 
 ti-.e Chair of Speaker of the House of 
 the Representatives of the people of 
 the United States. In the discharge 
 of the duties of this high and responsi- 
 ble office, at that time second in in- 
 fluence only to that of the President, 
 he had acquired a reputation co-exten- 
 sive with the country, and was an 
 object of interest and pride to the 
 whole people as the " unrivalled Speak- 
 er." Could the exchange of the advan- 
 tages, the influence, and the reputation 
 attendant upon this elevated station, 
 for the drudgery, inadequate compen- 
 sation and comparative obscurity— so 
 far as this country was concerned— of 
 a Secretaryship, be regarded as a Re- 
 ward by him who would consent to 
 make it 1 But the slander was reitera- 
 ted over and again by those by whom 
 it had been originally promulgated, 
 until a large body of the people— that 
 people to whom he had been so long, 
 so successfully and so earnestly de- 
 voted—forgetful of his pre-eminent 
 
OP HENRY CLAY. 67 
 
 services, and of his high claims, from 
 character, station and fame, to their 
 unlimited confidence and regard, at 
 length gave credence to it, and sympa- 
 thising with the party whom they erro- 
 neously supposed to be injured, did 
 grievous injustice to men whose past 
 history, and elevated standing placed 
 them above the temptation, and should 
 have shielded them from the imputation 
 or suspicion, of wrong. 
 
 It is not, vv-e believe, generally known 
 that ]\Ir. Madison, at the commence- 
 ment of the war, designed to appoint 
 Mr. Clay Commander in Chief of the 
 Army of the United States. For his 
 eminent fitness for a station involving 
 duties so arduous and responsible, no 
 doubts were entertained then, so uni- 
 versally favourable was the impression 
 in regard to his versatile talents ; and 
 none who are acquainted with Mr. 
 Clay, or possess a knowledge of his 
 character, temperament and services, 
 will entertain them now. He was, 
 however, the main support of the 
 
68 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 Madisonian adn;iinistration, and could 
 not be spared from the House, for 
 which reason only his nomination to 
 the Senate was withlield by the Presi- 
 dent. Here was a very strong" proof 
 of the confidence of Mr. Madison in 
 the abihty, patriotism and courage of 
 Mr. Clay, who afterwards declined re- 
 peated offers of appointment to the 
 highest offices in the bestowment of 
 this gentleman, whose estimate of his 
 talents was so exalted that he twice 
 tendered him a seat in his Cabi- 
 net, and, when this was declined, a 
 foreign mission of the first grade. 
 
 By ivir. Monroe, the successor of Mr. 
 Madison, he was, indeed, importuned 
 to accept a Secretaryship, and when he 
 found that he could not prevail upon 
 Mr. Clay to comply with his, earnest 
 wish in this matter, he offered him a 
 Carte Blanche of all the foreign mis- 
 sions. 
 
 No reflecting or candid mind will 
 doubt or deny that if, through Mr. 
 Clay's influence, the election either of 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. G9 
 
 General Jackson, or of Mr. Crawford, 
 had been secured, the most honourable 
 otiice in the President's gift would have 
 been proposed to him as his right. 
 Vv'hat possible advantage then, we may 
 ask, could Mr. Clay secure to himself 
 by his inliuence in the election of Mr. 
 Adams, which he had not before re- 
 peatedly refused, or, now desiring, was 
 not certain of receiving from either of 
 the other candidates 1 
 
 It ' is well known to all intelligent 
 men, that from the period of the Semi- 
 nole war, to that of the unexpected 
 nomination of General Jackson for the 
 Presidency, Mr. Clay had entertained 
 and expressed but one opinion in re- 
 gard to his civil qualifications. Of the 
 positive and comparative fitness of Mr. 
 Adams for the Presidential office, he 
 was from long and intimate association 
 fully qualified to judge: and he would 
 have proved strangely false to his pro- 
 fessions, to his country, and to his own 
 fame, if, with his strong convictions in 
 regard to the widely differing charac- 
 
70 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 ters of these eminent men, and of their 
 respective claims to civic honours, he 
 had, for a single moment, hesitated as 
 to the course which daty so plainly in- 
 dicated, and so forcibly urged him to 
 adopt. Why then, it may be asked, 
 did he abandon those advantages to 
 which we have adverted, as attaching 
 to the office of Speaker, and accept a 
 prominent appointment in the Cabinet 
 of the Statesman whom his influence 
 had placed in that high office which he 
 filled with so much dignity and useful- 
 ness 1 The whole of Mr. Clay's pre- 
 vious political life furnishes the answer. 
 He accepted the appointment that he 
 might have the power, more success- 
 fully, and in a more eminent degree, 
 of serving his country, by forming part 
 of, and in aiding to sustain an adminis- 
 tration, for the honour and success of 
 which he felt himself, in a measure, 
 justly responsible to the people. And 
 here, again, he exhibited an example 
 of moral courage, and of self-devotion, 
 for which we may search in vain for a 
 
OP HENRY CLAY. 71 
 
 parallel, unless, indeed, we find it in 
 other periods of his own noble history. 
 He was well aware of the violence of 
 the storm of calumny, and of the exas- 
 |3erated and malignant jealousy and 
 hatred with which he would be assail- 
 ed by those who had endeavoured to 
 obstruct his manly course in the path 
 of duty, honour and patriotism; but, 
 with a nobleness of purpose and cou- 
 rao-e which will endear his name to all 
 future generations, he made his elec- 
 tion, and decided for his country I If 
 he had selfishly calculated the personal 
 consequences of his patriotic course in 
 regard to this matter, he would have 
 abandoned the man whom his influ- 
 ence had elevated to the Presidency, 
 to the relentless and unprincipled oppo- 
 sition of those who, like Mr. Richard 
 M. Johnson, could declare, in advance, 
 that the administration of Mr. Adams 
 slfould be '■'•put down, if 'as pure as the 
 angels at the right hand of God^ In 
 a recent speech delivered to his con- 
 stituents by Mr. Clay, he thus alludes 
 
72 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 with entire absence of unkindly feel- 
 ing, to the consequences, personal to 
 himself, which followed upon his deter- 
 mination to form a part of the adminis- 
 tration of this distinguished Statesman : 
 " My error in accepting the office arose 
 mt of my underrating the power of de- 
 traction and t lie force of ignorance, and 
 abiding, with too sure a confidence, in 
 the conscious integrity and uprightness 
 of my own motives. Of that igno- 
 rance, I had a remarkable and laugha- 
 ble example on an occasion which I 
 will relate. I was travelling in 182S 
 through Spottsylvania, in Virginia, on 
 my return to Washington, in company 
 with some young friends. We halted 
 at night at a tavern, kept by an aged 
 gentleman, who, I quickly perceived, 
 from the disorder and confusion which 
 reigned, had not the happiness to have 
 a wife. After a hurried and bad sup- 
 per, the old gentleman sat down %y 
 me, and without hearing my name, but 
 understanding that I was from Ken- 
 tucky, remarked that he had four sons 
 
OF HE^fRY CLAY. 73 
 
 in that state, and that he was very 
 sorry they were divided in politics, two 
 being for Adams, and two for Jackson. 
 Why ] I asked him. ' Because,' he 
 said, ' that feJlow Clay, and Adams, 
 had cheated Jackson out of the Presi- 
 dency.' Have you ever seen any evi- 
 dence, my old friend, said I, of that] 
 ' No," he replied, ' none,' and he wanted 
 to see none. But, I observed, looking 
 him directly and steadily in the face, 
 suppose Mr. Clay were to come here 
 and assure you, upon his honour, that 
 it was all a vile calumny, and not* a 
 word of truth in it, would you believe 
 him] No, replied the old gentleman, 
 promptly and emphatically. I said to 
 him, in conclusion, will you be good 
 enough to show me to bed, and bade 
 him good night. The next morning, 
 having in the interval learned m}^ 
 name, he came to me full of apologies; 
 but I at once put him at ease, by assur- 
 ing him that I did not feel in the slight- 
 est degree hurt or offended with him." 
 7 
 
74 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 / 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. ^ 
 
 The Calumny — Its origin — Beverley's Letter of Confes- 
 sion — Mr. Adams — His denial of the charge against 
 himself and Mr. Clay — His opinion of Mr. Clay — 
 Anecdote. 
 
 In addition to the evidence we have 
 adduced of the absurdity and utter 
 falsity of these charges, the testimony 
 ' is upon record of General Lafayette, 
 at this period the nation's honoured 
 guest, of the honourable John J. Crit- 
 tenden, the present worthy successor 
 of Mr. Clay in the Senate, and of the 
 entire delegation of that day, in Con- 
 gress from Kentucky, which sustains 
 in the most unequivocal manner the 
 statement of Mr. Clay, that his course 
 had been determined upon, and widely 
 proclaimed, long before his departure 
 from Kentucky to. enter anew upon his 
 congressional duties. 
 
 •' Time as he courses onward still unrolls 
 The volume of coticealment," 
 
 % and the miserable slanderer, if mot 
 exposed by the treachery of his profli- 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 75 
 
 gate accomplices, is often prompted by 
 the upbraidings of a restless conscience 
 to make spontaneous atonement for 
 injuries inflicted in wanton malice, 
 or in earnest of expected, or of pro- 
 mised reward. 
 
 The recent, voluntary disclaimer of 
 Carter Beverley, of Virginia, who, 
 whether as the instrument of General 
 Jackson, with whom, we regret to say, 
 they originated, or in the gratification 
 of a weak propensity to meddle, and 
 desire to gain for himself a momentary 
 importance, gave circulation to the 
 slanderous aspersions, should forever 
 disabuse the minds of all who lent a 
 credulous ear to the wretched calumny 
 aimed directly at Mr. Clay, and by im- 
 plication against Mr. Adams, also. 
 
 In Mr. Beverley's letter of confession 
 to Mr. Clay, (which will be found entire 
 in the United States Gazette of March 
 2, 1842,) the following passages occur : 
 " Although the time is quite far gone 
 since I became very innocently instru- 
 mental in circulating throughout the 
 
76 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 «;ountry, a very grave attack upon your 
 character and virtue as a gentleman, 
 and certainly a very heavy one as a 
 public man, I feel exceedingly desirous 
 to relieve you, as far as 1 can, from the 
 slander, and my own feelings from the 
 severe compunction that is within me, 
 of having been, though neither directly 
 nor indirectly, your personal accuser, 
 yet that I was drawn indiscreetly into 
 the representation of an attack upon 
 you. * * * My entire object now is, a 
 desire I have to be exonerated from 
 the belief of any special desire to injure 
 you. * * * This letter is intended to 
 show you that the long lapse of time, 
 and the many growing circumstances 
 of the country and government have, 
 long ago, convinced me that the very 
 greatest iiijustice ivas done you in the 
 charge made. * =^ * I again say, that 1 
 am most thoroughly convinced that 
 you were most untruthfully, and, there- 
 fore, unjustly treated, for I have never 
 seen any evidence to substantiate at 
 all the charge. =^ * * He who was 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 77 
 
 GENERALLY BELIEVED TO BE THE CIRCULA- 
 TOR OF THE EGREGIOUS SLANDER AGAINST 
 YOU, HEREBY REVOKES HIS BELIEF OF IT, 
 AND UNEQUIVOCALLY DECLARES THAT IT IS 
 UNPROVED, AND STANDS UTTERLY UNSUP- 
 PORTED TO THIS TIME, A PERIOD OF FIFTEEN 
 OR SIXTEEN YEARS." 
 
 Upon the retirement of Mr. Adams 
 from the Presidency, a Committee of 
 gentlemen of New Jersey, transmitted 
 to him a complimentary address, which 
 contained an expression of their re- 
 spect, attachment, and undiminished 
 confidence ; and also of their approval 
 of the measures of his truly republican 
 administration. In his reply to this 
 address, and in allusion to Mr. Clay, 
 the venerable Ex-President wrote as 
 follows: "Upon him, (Mr. Clay,) the 
 foulest slanders have been showered. 
 Long- known and appreciated, as suc- 
 cessively a member of both Houses of 
 your National Legislature, as the un- 
 rivalled Speaker, and, at the same time, 
 most efficient leader of debates in one 
 of them; as an able and successful 
 7* 
 
78 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 negociator for your interests in war 
 and peace, with foreign powers, and as 
 a powerful candidate for the highest 
 of your trusts — the department of state 
 itself was a station, which, by its bestow- 
 al, could confer neither- profit nor ho- 
 nour upon him, but upon which he has 
 shed unfading honour, by the manner 
 in which he has discharged its duties. 
 Prejudice and passion have charged 
 him with obtaining that office by bar- 
 gain and corruption. Before you, my 
 fellow -citizens, in the presence of my 
 Country and Heaven, I pronounce that 
 charge totally unfounded. This tribute 
 of justice is due frofti me to him, and I 
 seize with pleasure the opportunity af- 
 forded me, by your letter, of discharg- 
 ing the obligation. As to my motives 
 of tendering to him the department of 
 state when I did, let that man who 
 questions them come forward. Let 
 him look around among the statesmen 
 and legislators of that day. Let him 
 then select and name the man whom, 
 by his pre-eminent talents, by his splen- 
 
OF HEIVHY CLAY. 79 
 
 did services, by his ardent patriotism, 
 by his all-embracing public spirit, by 
 his fervid eloquence in behalf of the 
 rights and liberties of mankind, by his 
 long experience in the affairs of the 
 Union, foreign and domestic, a Presi- 
 dent of the United States, intent only 
 upon the honour and welfire of his 
 country, ought to have preferred to 
 Henry Clay. Let him name the man, 
 and then judge you, my fellow-citizens,' 
 of my motives." 
 
 We feel it to be unnecessary to pur- 
 sue this matter further. The testimony 
 of Mr. Adams, so full, so eloquent and 
 so conclusive, must, apart from all other 
 evidence, carry conviction to every 
 intelligent, candid, and honourable 
 mind. Among the warmest and most 
 devoted, at this day, of the friends of 
 Mr. Clay, we have the pride and the 
 happiness to rank this illustrious and 
 extraordinary man ; and the following 
 anecdote will prove that in private as 
 well as in public he omits no opportu- 
 nity of expressing his admiration and 
 
80 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 attachment for his friend : "I have fre- 
 quently," writes a Washington cor- 
 respondent of a New Jersey paper, 
 "observed ladies' albums circulating 
 through the House and Senate Cham- 
 ber, with the view of collecting the au- 
 tographs of the members. One belong- 
 ing to a young lady of attracted 
 
 considerable attention. Upon exami- 
 tion, I found that it contained a page 
 of well-written poetry, dated 23d July, 
 1842, in the tremulous hand-writing of 
 John Q.. Adams. This piece was de- 
 scriptive of the wild chaos at present 
 spread over our political affairs, and 
 anticipated commg events which would 
 bring order out of disorder. The clos- 
 ing verse was as follows: 
 
 " Say, fur whose brow, tliis laurel crown ? 
 
 For wiioin this web of life is spinning ? 
 Turn this, thy Album, upside down, 
 
 And take the end for the beginning!" 
 
 The meaning of this was somewhat 
 mystical, but by turning to the back of 
 the book, and inverting it, on its last 
 page a piece was found with the signa- 
 ture of " H. Clay." 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 81 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Mr. Clay resigns the office of Secretary of State— Returns 
 to Kentucky — Enthusiastic Reception— Eloquent Speech 
 — Gen. Smyth — Anecdotes— Elected Senator in Consres? 
 —The Tariff- Free Trade-Speech. 
 
 At the close of Mr. Adams' presi- 
 dential term, Mr. Clay resigned the 
 office of Secretary of State, and re- 
 turned to {lis residence in Kentucky, 
 where he was welcomed by the entire 
 mass of his old constituents, with the 
 most enthusiastic cordiality. 
 
 Upwards of three thousand persons 
 had seats at the dinner, which was 
 given in honour of his return, and after 
 a toast, expressive of their ardent at-' 
 tachment, of their undiminished confi- 
 dence in his patriotism, of their pride 
 in his character and talents, and of gra- 
 titude for his eminent public services, 
 Mr. Clay arose and addressed the as- 
 sembled multitude for nearly two hours 
 in a strain of the richest and most 
 touching eloquence, and with a power 
 which even he had never yet surpassed. 
 
 In allusion to the trials of his position 
 
 p 
 
62 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 as Secretary of State, and to the flood- 
 gates of detraction which his enemies 
 had opened upon him, and after ex- 
 pressnig his gratitude for the unwaver- 
 ing support he had always received 
 from his constituents, he thus expressed 
 himself: " When I felt as if I should 
 sink beneath the storm of abuse and 
 detraction, which was so violently rag- 
 ing around me, I have found myself 
 upheld and sustained by your encour- 
 aging voices, and your approving 
 smiles, I have, doubtless, committed 
 many faults and indiscretions, ov^ 
 which you have thrown the broad man- 
 ' tie of your charity. But I can say, and, 
 in the presence of my God, and of this 
 assembled multitude, I will say that 
 I have honestly and faithfully served 
 my country ; that I have never wronged 
 it ; and that, however unprepared I la- 
 ment that J am to appear in the Divine 
 Presence on other accounts, I invoke 
 the stern justice of his judgments on 
 my public conduct without the smallest 
 apprehension of his displeasure." 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 83 
 
 It is, we believe, generally known, 
 that when the House "resolves itself 
 into Committee of the whole," the 
 Speaker temporarily vacates the chair, 
 calling thereto any other member of the 
 House, who presides during the sitting 
 of the Committee. On all such occa- 
 sions, when any important questions 
 were discussed, Mr. Clay took an ac- 
 tive part, and hence it was that he so 
 frequently addressed the House during 
 the long period that he occupied the 
 Speaker's chair. His spirits were al- 
 ways buoyant, and his disposition play- 
 ful, and the tediousness of debate was 
 often enlivened by his gay sallies of 
 wit, and the graceful friendliness of his 
 attractive manners. The late General 
 Smyth, better known, perhaps, by the 
 soubriquet of " Pj-oclamation Smyth," 
 on account of some famous proclama- 
 tions published by him during the war, 
 is represented to have been a gentle- 
 man of considerable learning, but by 
 no means an attractive or agreeable 
 Sneaker. He was, in truth, sometimes 
 
84 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 insufferably dull and tedious. On one 
 occasion, while in busy search for an 
 authority, he remarked to Mr. Clay, 
 who sat near him, " You, sir, speak for 
 the present generation ; but I speak for 
 posterity/' " Yes," replied Mr. Clay, 
 " and you seem resolved to speak until 
 the arrival of your audience!" 
 
 General Lincoln, of Massachusetts, 
 when a member of the House, was dis- 
 cussing the Revolutionary Pension Bill, 
 and in reply to a remark that it would, 
 for a long time, be a serious burthen 
 upon the treasury, as many of the pen- 
 sioners would be very long-lived, ex- 
 claimed with patriotic fervour, " Sol- 
 diers of the Revolution live forever!" 
 Mr. Clay followed him in the debate, 
 and expressed the hope that his " wor- 
 thy friend would not insist upon the 
 very great duration of these pensions, 
 which he had suggested." " Will he 
 not," asked Mr. Clay, " consent, by way 
 of a compromise, to a term of 999 years 
 instead of eternity ]" 
 
 Mr. Clay has always been an ardent 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 86 
 
 and eloquent friend of these poor revo- 
 lutionary pensioners. 
 
 In the autumn of 1831, Mr. Clay was 
 again elected a Senator in Congress by 
 the legislature of his adopted State, and 
 at the time of his re-appearance at 
 Washington, he was nominated by the 
 National Convention, which had as- 
 sembled at Baltimore, a Candidate for 
 the Presidency, in opposition to Presi- 
 dent Jackson. 
 
 The old question of a tariff was 
 again agitated during this session of 
 Congress, and, as usual, had in Mr. 
 Clay, an able and consistent advocate. 
 We cannot resist the temptation to 
 make, from one of his speeches pro- 
 nounced upon this occasion, the follow- 
 ing extract from his reply to the ene- 
 mies of the American System, and the 
 advocates of the fallacious and imprac- 
 ticable doctrine of " Free Traded It 
 is graphical, and disposes of this chi- 
 mera in a very, summary manner : 
 
 " Free trade ! free trade ! the call for 
 free trade is as unavailing as the cry 
 8 • 
 
86 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 of a spoiled child in his nurse's arms, 
 for the moon or stars that glitter in the 
 firmament of Heaven. It never existed. 
 It never v/ill exist. Trade implies at 
 least two parties. To be free, it should 
 be fair, equal and reciprocal. But if we 
 throw our ports wide open to the ad- 
 mission of foreign productions free of 
 all duty, what ports, of any other fo- 
 reign nation shall we find open to the 
 free admission of our surplus produce] 
 We may break down all barriers to 
 free trade on our part, but they will not 
 be complete until foreign powers shall 
 have removed theirs. There would be 
 freedom on one side, and restrictions, 
 prohibitions, and exclusions on the 
 other. The bolts and the bars and the 
 chains of all other nations will remain 
 undisturbed. Gentlemen deceive them- 
 selves. It is not free trade they are re- 
 commending to our acceptance. It is, 
 in effect, the British Colonial System 
 that tve are invited to adopt ; and if this 
 policy prevail, it will lead substantially 
 
t 
 
 OF HENRY CLAY. 87 
 
 to the re-colonization of the States, un- 
 der the Commercial Dominion of Great 
 Britain,'''' 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Exciiement at the South — Nullification— Re-election of 
 Genetal Jackson — His ProclamatioH — His Firmness- 
 Proclamation of Governor Hayne — The Tariff— iMr. 
 Clay's "Compromise Bill " — Tho {t«u,o pr^servctl by 
 Wr. Clay— Mr. Tyler— His fervent Eulopy of Mr, Clay- 
 Principles of llie Compromise Bill — Disirit.ution of the 
 Sales of the Public Landb— Justice of the rneasuie, and 
 its general importance. 
 
 We have now arrived at a period in 
 the history of the country, through 
 which, it is true, we passed in safety, 
 but with a renewal of all the elements 
 of the furious discord and party ani- 
 mosity which characterized her strug- 
 gle through the memorable scenes of 
 the Missouri excitement, d^d which 
 again disturbed the foundations of our 
 cherished political system. With the 
 lapse of time, the wild spirit of Nullifi- 
 cation, fostered by discontent and nur- 
 tured hy the ravings of disappointed 
 ambit.'o';. and vrhich had its inaus- 
 
4 
 
 88 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 picious origin in the new tariff law, 
 became bolder and more insolent in its 
 threatening s and denunciations. In 
 South Carolina, the revenue laws 
 which had been passed by Congress 
 were declared, in an ordinance issued 
 by a Convention in the name of the 
 people, null and void. The excitement 
 was tremendous and alarming, and in 
 the midst of it General Jackson was 
 re-elected to the Presidency, by a de- 
 creased majority, over Mr. Clay. In 
 December, 1832, the President issued 
 his celebrated Proclamation, in which 
 he warned the Nullification party of 
 the consequences which would follow 
 a perseverance in the course they had 
 adopted. " I consider," said he, " the 
 power to annul a law of the United 
 States, assumed by one State, incom- 
 patible with the existence of the Union, 
 'Contradicted expressly by the Constitu- 
 tion, unauthorised by its spirit, incon- 
 sistent with every principle on which 
 it was founded, and destructive of the 
 great object for which it was formed." 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 89^ 
 
 In conclusion, he announced to the ' 
 people his fixed determination to exe- 
 cute the laws of the land, and that a 
 forcible opposition should be repelled, 
 for " disunion by armed force is trea- 
 son." 
 
 Governor Hayne, of South Carolina, 
 issued a counter Proclamation, in which 
 the offensive doctrine was strongly up- 
 held. He exhorted the people to disre- 
 gard the " vain menaces " of the Presi- 
 dent, "to protect the liberties of the 
 State, to remain steadfast in their alle- 
 giance to it, and to hold themselves in 
 readiness to take the field at a mo- 
 ment's >varning," in resistance of the 
 President's designs upon their inde- 
 pendence ! Upon the re-assembling of 
 Congress,' the tariff again occupied, 
 almost exclusively, its attention. The 
 Judiciary Committee of the Senate re- 
 ported a bill to enforce the collection 
 of the revenue. The aspect of national 
 affairs was nov/ gloomy in the extreme. 
 Those at the helm, proved utterly inca- 
 pable of weathering or of allaying the 
 
 8* 
 
90 SKErCII OF THE LIFE 
 
 storm which had arisen, and which 
 threatened to ox'^rwhelm the noble 
 barque which Iiad before so gallantly 
 breasted the billows that dashed in 
 angry tumult against its sides. Dis- 
 union, with the destruction of the long 
 cherished hopes of the friends of free- 
 dom and of mankind, was again threat- 
 ened, and its direful accomplishment 
 now seemed inevitable. 
 
 It was at this juncture that Mr. Clay, 
 sacrificing upon the altar of his coun- 
 try's peace and tranquillity, his long- 
 cherished, opinions, stepped forward, 
 and with his " Compromise Bill" — the 
 intention of which was, by mutual con- 
 cession, to reconcile the apparently 
 conflicting interests of the North and 
 the South — lulled the troubled waters 
 of party strife, and, a second ti-me, pre- 
 served THE INTEGRITY OF OUR GLORIOUS 
 CONFEDERATION I 
 
 To the wisdom, courage, and pa- 
 triotism evinced by Mr. Clay, upon 
 this trying occasion, Mr. John Tyler, 
 now acting as President of the United 
 
OP HENRY CLAY. 91 
 
 States, has borne the strongest testi- 
 mony. In a speech, delivered by him 
 in the Virginia House of Delegates in 
 1839, in favour of Mr. Clay's great 
 measure of the Distribution of the 
 Sales of the Public Lands, he held this 
 manly and eloquent language : " In my ♦ 
 deliberate opinion there was but one 
 man who could have arrested the then 
 course of things (the tendency of Nul- 
 lification to dissolve the Union) and 
 that man was Henry Clay. It rarely 
 happens, Mr. Speaker, to the most 
 gifted, talented and patriotic, to record 
 their names upon the page of history, 
 in characters indelible and enduring. 
 But, Sir, if to have rescued the country 
 from civil war — if to have prese?'ved 
 tJie Constitution and Union from hazard 
 and total wreck, constitute any ground 
 for an immortal and undying name 
 among men, then, I do believe, that he 
 has won for himself that high renown. 
 I speak what I do know, for I was an 
 actor in the scenes of that perilous 
 period. When he rose in that Senate 
 
92 SKETCH OP Tiit LIFE 
 
 Chamber, and held in his hand the 
 olive brancii of peace. I, who had not 
 known' what envy was before, envied 
 him. I wa^ proud of him as my fel- 
 low-countryman, and still prouder that 
 the Slashes <if Hanover, within the 
 limits of my own district, gave him 
 birth." 
 
 The Compromise Bill was introduced 
 by Mr. Clay as a substitute for one 
 which had the sanction of President 
 Jackson, and which contemplated the 
 immediate reduction of duties to about 
 fifteen per cent, on the foreign valua- 
 tion ; it proposed a gradual decrease 
 of imposts through a period of nine 
 years, when they were to remain fixed 
 at twenty per cent, on the home valua- 
 tion. Its objects were to preserve, as 
 far as possible, the American System, 
 and avert an impending Civil War; 
 and while both of these were accom- 
 plished, its beneficent operation has 
 been to save American Manufacture 
 and Industry from the ruin which 
 would have been the inevitable conse- 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 93 
 
 quence of the project which it supplant- 
 ed, and to unite the half alienated divi- 
 sions of the country in the bonds of 
 harmony and peace. 
 
 The course pursued by Mr. Clay in 
 reference to the distribution of the pro- 
 ceeds of the sales of the public lands 
 among the States, has added another 
 chaplet to the wreath that adorns his 
 brow ; while the opposition of General 
 Jackson to this measure — an opposition 
 prompted by an unworthy spirit of 
 jealousy and dislike towards its illus- 
 trious originator, has injured his own 
 fame, and been a source of regret to 
 many of his friends. 
 
 Originally conveyed to the General 
 Government by the States in whose 
 jurisdiction they lay, they were held 
 in trust and in express limitation for 
 the use and benefit of those who were 
 then, or should hereafter become, mem- 
 bers of the Confederation ; and it was 
 provided that distribution of the pro- 
 ceeds of the sales among them should 
 be made, in the language of the Deeds 
 
94 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 of Cession, " according to their usual 
 respective proportions in tlie general 
 charge and expenditure." 
 
 One great " use and benefit" to which, 
 with common consent, they were ap- 
 plied, was the extinguishment of the 
 debts — several and confederate — of the 
 Revolution, v/hich were assumed and 
 funded by Congress under the new 
 Constitution. This object accomplished, 
 the distribution of the proceeds of the 
 sales of the lands among the States is 
 a matter not of expediency merely, but 
 of absolute right; required in faithful 
 execution of a solemn contract; and 
 which, at the present time, would be 
 especially salutary, — lightening the tax- 
 ation necessary for the fulfilment of the 
 obligations which some of them have 
 contracted in the prosecution of their 
 plans of internal improvement, and 
 constituting, for those not thus involved, 
 a fund for the great purposes of edu- 
 cation, and the development of their 
 physical resources. But, apart from 
 the manifest justice of the measure, and 
 
OF IIEXRY CLAY. 95 
 
 its influence in lessening the burdens 
 and promoting the welfare of the indi- 
 vidual members of the Union, it cannot 
 fail to be directly beneficial to the whole 
 nation, by removing from the political 
 arena a topic of contention and means 
 of corruption, and by withholding from 
 the revenue, an element, which, by rea- 
 son of its varying amount, must neces- 
 sarily be productive of fluctuation and 
 instability ; leading to the alternate ex- 
 pansion and contraction of duties, and 
 causing every department of industry 
 to languish through the v/ant of a fixed 
 and permanent policy. 
 
 Thwarted in his hopes respecting this 
 measure, once by the assumption of the 
 " responsibility" of its defeat by Presi- 
 dent Jackson, and more recently by 
 Mr. Tyler, who, with easy facility, has, 
 within a few months, both advocated 
 and opposed it, it is still commended by 
 Mr. Clay, together with the entire Whig 
 party, to the common sense and true 
 interests of the people ; its adoption is 
 demanded by the will of the nation, 
 
)6 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 declared through their Representatives 
 in Congress, where it has repeatedly 
 passed by large majorities; and the 
 efforts for its attainment will not be re- 
 laxed until crowned with complete suc- 
 cess. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Mr. Van Burnn'a Rejection by the Sen;ite — Removal of 
 the Df^posiies — U. S. FJ^ink— Mr. Clay — Prediction- 
 Gen. James Hamilton's Letter to Mr. Calhoun. 
 
 Mr. Clay was constantly and labo- 
 riously occupied during the remainder 
 of his Senatorial term. The rejection 
 of Mr. Van Buren's nomination, as Mi- 
 nister to England, for violating the na- 
 tional dignity by presenting his country 
 in a divided attitude, before the British 
 government, and supplicating as a boon 
 to party what should have been asked 
 as the right, and in the name, of the 
 nation; the Resolutions of Censure of 
 General Jackson for his unconstitu- 
 tional and arbitrary measures in con- 
 nexion with the removal of the public 
 deposltes — the re-charter of the Bank 
 
OF HENHY CLAY. 97 
 
 of the United States, which had been 
 unequivocally and emphatically de- 
 manded by the people, and of which 
 measure, therefore, Mr. Clay was the 
 most prominent advocate— the exciting 
 debate upon the President's extraordi- 
 nary and unprecedented Protest; — in 
 the discussion of ail these, and many 
 otlier questions of minor importance, 
 did this Indefatigable and able States- 
 man participate with his accustomed 
 eloquence and ability, establishing new 
 claims to the respect and admiration 
 of his countrymen, and laying stili 
 more broadly the firm foundations of 
 an enduring and overshadowing fame. 
 As an instance of remarkable pre- 
 science, displayed by him in 1835, wc 
 give a short extract from a speech de- 
 livered at this time in the Senate. How 
 truly did he then predict the policy of 
 tl:e administration towards the catas- 
 trophe now so widely felt and deplored ! 
 " There being," said he, " no longer any 
 sentinel at the head of our banking es- 
 tablishments, to v/arii them, by its in-. 
 
 
08 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 formation and operations, of approach- 
 ing danger, the local institutions, alrea- 
 dy multiplied to an alarming extent, 
 and almost daily multiplying in seasons 
 of prosperity, will make free and unre- 
 strained emissions. All the channels 
 of circulation will be gorged. Property 
 will rise extravagantly high, and, con- 
 stantly looking up, the temptation to 
 purchase will be irresistible. Inordi- 
 nate speculation will ensue, debts will 
 be freely contracted, and when the sea- 
 son of adversity comes, as come it 
 must, the banks, acting without con- 
 cert and without guide, obeying the 
 law of self-preservation, will all at the 
 same time, call in their issues : the vast 
 number will exaggerate the alarm, and 
 general distress, wide-spread ruin, and 
 an explosion of the general banking 
 system, or the establishment of a new 
 Bank of the United States, will be the 
 ultimate effects." 
 
 What was thus accurately predicted 
 by Mr. Clay, has since become matter 
 of history, and the following extract 
 
* OF HENRY CLAY. 99 
 
 from a letter recently addressed by Ge- 
 neral Hamilton, formerly of South Carp- 
 ina, to his friend the Hon. John C. Cal- 
 houn, pourtraying the present disas- 
 trous condition of things, is the more 
 valuable as being the admission of one 
 who, in advocating the election of Ge- 
 neral Jackson, was instrumental in 
 bringing upon the country the evils 
 which he deplores. 
 
 "This circulation," he observes, (al- 
 luding to that of the late Bank of the 
 United States,) — " in the recesses of that 
 financial wisdom which is past finding 
 out, was destroyed by our friend Gene- 
 ral Jackson, when he slew the Bank of 
 the United States with the arm of Sam- 
 son, and almost 'with the self-same 
 weapon, too,' wiien we recollect all the 
 twattle of the old gentleman on this 
 subject. He, as Burke said, was cer- 
 tainly a ' consummate architect of 
 Ruin,' in his time and tide, and had 
 the happy faculty of impersonating a 
 corporation ' in his mind's eye,' for the 
 purpose of hating it as cordially as he 
 
100 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 once did you and Mr. Poindexter. 
 When, therefore, Mr. Biddle entered 
 into a contest with this hero of two 
 wars, he forgot the wisdom of the Spa- 
 nish proverb, ' That he who sets down 
 to dine with the devil should eat with a 
 long spoon.' What has been the result 
 of this feast, in broken meat and empty 
 plates you well know. It has left our 
 country palsied indeed — hungry in 
 flesh and poor in spirit. I doubt, since 
 the creation of the world, whether such 
 an example can be exhibited as we 
 have presented for the last sixteen 
 years of folly and misgovernment. No 
 Southern planter v/ould permit his 
 plantation for one hour to be governed 
 with such a lack of all sense and pro- 
 vidence. The Caffres and Hottentots, 
 in reference to their condition, I doubt 
 not, have been governed with a policy 
 far more vigilant and enlightened. A 
 countr)'- of immense resources, in a pe- 
 riod of profound peace, on the verge 
 of bankruptcy ! Any man who will 
 read Hume's essavs on ' Public Credit' 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 101 
 
 and on ' Money,' can be at no loss to 
 trace our present condition to its true 
 cause. We have been suffering ever 
 since General Jackson destroyed the 
 Bank of the United States, (with the 
 exception of a short period of distem- 
 pered inflation, created by his own 
 measures) under a steadily diminishing 
 circulation, which the eminent philoso- 
 pher to v/hom I have referred, has de- 
 clared to be one of the worst calamities 
 that can befal a civilized country— far 
 more disastrous 'than the continued 
 bliG:ht of unfavourable harvests and 
 seasons.' This result has been first in 
 the constant action of the Federal Go- 
 vernment, or their supposed meditated 
 action on the Banks of the States, which 
 created an universal panic, that has com- 
 pelled the Banks to vrithdraw their cir- 
 culation, and next the General Govern- 
 ment permitting to rem.ain in criminal 
 abeyance their sovereign function to 
 supply a currency equal to that of the 
 wants of the country, " to regulate its 
 ¥alue." 
 9* 
 
102 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 The consequence is, that the States 
 have nothing in the shape of credit or 
 money at home to pay with abroad. 
 Every species of property has fallen 
 from fifty to one hundred per cent, and 
 the standard of value so seriously dis- 
 turbed that a man in 1839 might have 
 had property to three times the value 
 of his debts, yet he is now ipso facto 
 ruined by the silent transit of our 
 country from a redundant circulation 
 to what some are pleased most felici- 
 tously to call a hard money currency 
 — when the fact is that we can procure 
 that which is neither hard nor soft." 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 103 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Mr. Clay's re-election to the Senate — Senator Benton's 
 Infamous Expunging Resolution — Eloquently opposed 
 by Mr. Clay — Mr. Van Buren elected President — Nomi- 
 nation of General Harrison — Magnanimous conduct of 
 Mr. Clay — His Letter to the Kentucky Delegation in the 
 Harrisburgh Convention. 
 
 In 1836, Mr. Clay was re-elected to 
 the Senate of the United States, and 
 besides the renewed discussion of the 
 Land Bill, involving extraordinary pro- 
 jects of Mr. Calhoun, and of Mr. 
 Walker of Mississippi, for the disposi- 
 tion of the public domain, the infamous 
 Expunging Resolution of Senator Ben- 
 ton, introduced by that arch dema- 
 gogue more in hatred of Mr. Clay than 
 regard for GJeneral Jackson, and the 
 iinal passage of which has left an indeli- 
 ble stain upon the national scutcheon, 
 by prostrating the independence of the 
 Senate at the footstool of Executive 
 power, was long debated and manfully 
 opposed by Mr. Clay and his Whig 
 associates of that body. 
 
 We hope that the day is far distant 
 
104 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 when the people of this country, who 
 should endure 
 
 •' Chains no where patiently ; and cl)ains at h<':ne 
 Where they are free by birth-right not at all,"' — 
 
 will forget the fratricidal crime of those 
 who, marshalled by such a leader, wan- 
 tonly violated their country's constitu- 
 tion in sustaining a measure so despi- 
 cably puerile and deliberately wicked. 
 
 In 1836, Mr. Clay declined being a 
 candidate at the Presidential election 
 of that period, and Mr. Van Buren was 
 elected through the influence of the 
 vchief under whom, with characteristic 
 sycophancy, he once accounted it suiR- 
 cient glory to have served, over Gene- 
 ral Harrison and Mr. White, the former 
 of whom had fought the battles of his 
 country, and grown grey in her ser- 
 vice! 
 
 Mr. Clay continued at his post in the 
 Senate in the faithful performance of all 
 the arduous duties of the station, and 
 upon every question involving the in- 
 terests of the people and the honour 
 of the government he was ever the 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 105 
 
 most fearless and able champion, dis- 
 tinguished among Senators illustrious 
 for talent, learning, and length of ser- 
 vice, and justly regarded as the " No- 
 blest Roman of them all." The pe- 
 riod for a new election of President of 
 the United States to succeed Mr. Van 
 Buren was now rapidly approaching, 
 and the hopes of a large majority of the 
 people were centered, once more, upon 
 Mr. Clay. 
 
 Mr. Van Buren was nominated by 
 the purely democratic, 07ie term, party, 
 for Re-election ! The Harrisburgh 
 Convention in due time assembled, and 
 it was the general expectation, as well 
 as the wish of the Whigs, that their 
 veteran favourite should receive an 
 unanimous and cordial nomination. 
 For reasons now too generally known 
 to require a particular reference to 
 them here, his acknowledged claims to 
 this great distinction were reluctantly 
 postponed, and the nomination of Gene- 
 ral Harrison received his prom-pt and 
 generous support. 
 
106 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 Documents on record, relative to this 
 Convention, exhibit in strong colours 
 the generous and disinterested conduct 
 of Mr. Clay. Writing in 1839 to the 
 Kentucky Delegation in that body, and 
 alluding to the request made by the 
 State Convention of Pennsylvania, that 
 he would withdraw his name in favour 
 of General Harrison, as being, in the 
 opinion of that body, the first choice 
 of the opposition in that State ; and 
 also to the numerous appeals from pri- 
 vate citizens, public meetings, and con- 
 ventions in various parts of the United 
 States, Pennsylvania and elsewhere, 
 that he would consent to be a candi- 
 date, he observes, with characteristic 
 patriotism and magnanimity : 
 
 "* It is perfectly manifest that I cannot 
 comply with all these conflicting opi- 
 nions and wishes, nor, I apprehend, 
 with any one of them, without diso- 
 bliging the others. 
 
 Under these embarrassing circum- 
 stances, I have thought it most advisa- 
 ble to leave to the Convention at Har- 
 
OF HENRY CLA.Y. 107 
 
 risburgh the free selection of candidates, 
 as being the assembly to which, by- 
 common consent, that important duty 
 has been referred. Representing, as it 
 probably will, all parts of the United 
 States, bringing together the feelings 
 and views of all, comparing and weigh- 
 ing the local information which it will 
 derive from every portion, it will be 
 most competent to make a nomination 
 acceptable to the great majority of its 
 constituents. That it will be faithful to 
 the high trust confided to its judgment 
 and patriotism, cannot be doubted; and 
 having a full view of the whole ground, 
 it will be more likely to make a selec- 
 tion agreeable to the great body of the 
 opposition than any separate conven- 
 tion could do, however enlightened and 
 patriotic it may be. If the Pennsylva- 
 nia Convention, to which I have just 
 alluded, be right in supposing that the 
 distinguished citizen whom it prefers 
 would be more likely to be successful 
 than any other, he ought to be nomi- 
 nated, and undoubtedly for that reason 
 
108 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 will be nominated, by the Harrisbnrgh 
 Convention, should it entertain the 
 same opinion. 
 
 " With a just and proper sense of the 
 high honour of being voluntarily called 
 to the office of President of the United 
 States by a great, free, and enlightened 
 People, and profoundly grateful to those 
 of my fellow-citizens who are desirous 
 to see me placed in that exalted and 
 responsible station, I must, nevertheless, 
 say, in entire truth and sincerity, that 
 if the deliberations of the Convention 
 shall lead them to the choice of another 
 as the candidate of the opposition, far 
 from feeling any discontent, the nomi- 
 nation will have my best wishes, and 
 receive my cordial support. 
 
 '•And, gentlemen, I hope that you, my 
 friends and neighbours, will excuse the 
 liberty I take in expressing to you ni}^ 
 anxious desire that, discarding all at- 
 tachment or partiality., to me, and 
 guided solely by the motive of rescu- 
 ing our country from the dangers that 
 now encompass it, you will heartily 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 109 
 
 unite in the selection of that citizen, 
 although it should not be me, who may 
 appear to be most likely, by his elec- 
 tion, to bring about a salutary change " 
 in the administration of the General 
 Government — a change, without which 
 we shall be mocked by the forms, and 
 stript of the substantial benefits of free 
 institutions." 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Election of General Harrison — His Death — Dcroclion of 
 John Tyler — Extra Session — Important Services of Mr. 
 Clay — Treacherous Conduct of the Acting President — 
 Noble Speech of Mr. Clay. 
 
 The Whigs having elected their can- 
 didate by an overwhelming majority, 
 were now prepared to carry out the 
 measures, for which they had so long 
 and so strenuously contended, when, 
 by a dispensation of Providence as 
 mournful as it was unexpected, the 
 power of action was snatched from 
 their grasp, and the advantages of vic- 
 tory being lost, through the treachery 
 and defection of the Vice-President, 
 
 
110 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 they are compelled to buckle on their 
 armour and combat once more for the 
 ground already so bravely won. 
 
 The country is famihar with the ex- 
 traordinary exertions of Mr. Clay in 
 the Senate, down to the period of his 
 final retirement to the shades and com- 
 parative repose of private life. His ser- 
 vices, especially during the Extra Ses- 
 sion of Congress, called by Gen. Harri- 
 son, in degree and importance surpass- 
 ing those rendered by most Statesmen 
 during a long public career, excited the 
 surprise and extorted the respect of 
 men of all parties. 
 
 The course of Mr. Tyler, since his 
 assumption of the duties of the Presi- 
 dency on the demise of General Harri- 
 son, has been a source of mortification 
 and regret to those by whose votes he 
 was, so unmeritedly, raised from the 
 safe and befitting obscurity of private 
 life, to the second office of the nation. 
 His unexpected and extraordinary op- 
 position to measures essential to the 
 public welfare, his violation of pledges 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. HI 
 
 expressed and implied, his weak vacil- 
 lating and destructive policy, (if that 
 fnay be termed policy which exhibits 
 no definite aim,) his proscription of for- 
 mer filends; his pmiy jealousy of Mr. 
 Clay, and his betrayal of every princi- 
 ple involved in his elevation, have re- 
 ceived, and are receiving the indignant 
 rebuke of an insulted people. In refer- 
 ence to the Bank Bill vetoed by Mr. 
 Tyler, in disregard of all his previous 
 declarations in its favour, Mr. Clay, in 
 a speech of 19th August, 1841, thus 
 nobly expressed himself: 
 
 " Shall I be told that the honour, the 
 firmness, the independence of the Chief 
 Magistrate might have been drawn in 
 question if he had remained passive, 
 and so permitted the bill to become a 
 law ] I answer that the office of Chief 
 Magistrate is a sacred and exalted 
 trust, created and conferred for the be- 
 nefit of the nation, and not for the pri- 
 vate advantage of the person who fills 
 It. Can any man's reputation for firm- 
 ness, independence, and honour be of 
 
112 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 more importance than the welfare of a 
 great people I" 
 
 In reply to Senator Rives, on tlfe 
 same occasion, he held the following 
 characteristic and striking language : 
 " The Senator says that, if placed in 
 like circumstances, (with Mr. Tyler) I 
 would have been the last man to avoid 
 putting a direct veto upon the bill had 
 it. met my disapprobation ; and he does 
 me the honour to attribute to me high 
 quahties of stern and unbending intre- 
 pidity. I hope that in all that relates 
 to personal firmness — all that concerns 
 a just appreciation of the insignificance 
 of human life — v/hatever may be at- 
 tempted to threaten or alarm a soul not 
 easily swayed by opposition, or awed 
 or intimidated by menace — a stout 
 heart, and a steady eye that can sur- 
 vey, unmoved and undaunted, any 
 mere personal perils that assail this 
 poor, transient, perishing franie, I may, 
 Vvithout disparagement, compare with 
 other men. But there is a sort of cour- 
 age which, 1 frankly confess, I do not 
 
c 
 
 OF HENRY CLAY. 113 
 
 possess,— a boldness to which I dare 
 not aspire, — a valour which I cannot 
 covet. I cannot lay myself down in 
 the way of the welfare and happiness 
 of my country. That I cannot, I have 
 not the courage to do. I cannot inter- 
 pose the power with which I may be 
 invested, a power conferred not for my 
 personal benefit, nor for my aggran- 
 iizement, but for my country's good-- 
 to check her onward march to great- 
 ness and glory. I have not courage 
 enough, I am too cowardly for that. I 
 would not, I dare not, in the exercise 
 of such a trust, lie down, and place my 
 body across the path that leatis my 
 country to prosperity and happiness. 
 This is a sort of courage widely differ- 
 ent from that which a man may display 
 in his private conduct, and personal re- 
 lations. Personal or private courage is 
 totally distinct from that high and noble 
 courage which prompts the patriot to 
 offer himself a voluntary sacrifice to 
 his country's good. * * * Apprehen- 
 sions of the imputation of the want of 
 10* 
 
 H 
 
114 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 firmness sometimes impel us to perform 
 rash and inconsiderate acts. It is the 
 greatest courage to be able to bear the 
 imputation of the want of courage. 
 But pride, vanity, egotism, so unamia- 
 ble and offensive in private life, are 
 vices which partake of the character 
 of crimes in the conduct of public af- 
 fairs. The unfortunate victim of these 
 passions cannot see beyond the little, 
 petty, contemptible -circle of his own 
 personal interests. All his thoughts are 
 withdrawn from his country, and con- 
 centrated on his consistency, his firm- 
 ness, himself The high, the exalted, 
 the silblime emotions of a patriotism, 
 which, soaring towards Heaven, rises 
 far above all mean, low, or selfish 
 things, and is absorbed by one soul- 
 transporting thought of the good and 
 the glory of one's country, are never 
 felt in his impenetrable bosom. That 
 patriotism which, catching its inspira- 
 tion from the immortal God, and leav- 
 ing, at an immeasurable distance below 
 all lesser, grovelling, personal interests 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 115 
 
 and feelings, animates and prompts to 
 deeds of self-sacrifice, of valour, of de- 
 votion and of death itself— that is pub- 
 lic virtue, — that is the noblest, the sub- 
 limest of all public virtues." 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. • 
 
 Mr. Clay's Last Speech in the Senate. ' 
 
 After a few preliminary remarks re- 
 specting some Resolutions which he 
 had offered, tending to propose certain 
 amendments to the Constitution, which 
 subject he now committed to the wis- 
 dom of the Senate, with a reiteration 
 of his conviction of their supreme ne- 
 cessity, Mr. Clay proceeded with his 
 eloquent valedictory. Its length pre- 
 cludes its transference, entire, but it is 
 necessary to the connexion of our sub- 
 ject that a few extracts should be 
 given from a speech which cannot fail 
 to be particularly interesting to every 
 reader. Mr. Clay spoke as follows : 
 
 "I entered the Senate of the Unitea 
 
116 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 States in December, 1S06. I regarded 
 the body then, and still contemplate it, 
 as a body, which may compare, with- 
 out disadvantage, with any legislative 
 assembly, either of ancient or modern 
 times, whether I look to its dignity, the 
 extent and importance of its powers, 
 or the ability by which its individual 
 members have been distinguished, or 
 its Constitution. If compared in any 
 of these respects, with the Senates ei- 
 ther of France or of England, that of 
 the United States will sustain no dero- 
 gation. With respect to the mode of 
 Us Constitution, of those bodies I may 
 observe that in the House of Peers in 
 England, with the exception but of Ire- 
 land and Scotland — and in that of 
 France, with no exception whatever— 
 the members hold their places under no 
 delegated authority, but derive them 
 fronTthe grant of the crown, transmit- 
 ted by descent, or expressed in new 
 patents of nobility ; while here we have 
 the proud title of Representatives of 
 sovereign States, of distinct and inde- 
 pendent Common v/ealths." * * =^ * 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 117 
 
 " Full of attraction, as a seat in this 
 Senate is, — sufncient to fill the aspira- 
 tions of the most ambitious heart, — I 
 have long determined to forego it, and 
 to seek that repose which can be en- 
 joyed only in the shades of private life, 
 and amid the calm pleasures which be- 
 long to that beloved word, ' home.' 
 
 *:(; ****** 
 
 " My acts and public conduct are a 
 fair subject for the criticism and judg- 
 ment of mj'- fellow-men ; but the private 
 motives by which they have been 
 prompted, are known only to the 
 Great Searcher of tne human heart and 
 to myself; and I trust I may be par- 
 doijfd for repeating a declaration made 
 thirteen years ago, that, whatever er- 
 rors — and doubtless there have been 
 many — may be discovered in a review 
 of my public service to the country, I 
 can, with unshaken confidence, appeal 
 to that Divine Arbiter for the truth of 
 the declaration, that I have been influ- 
 enced by no impure purposes, no per- 
 sonal motive — have sought no personal 
 
118 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 aggrandizement; but that in all my 
 public acts I have had a sole and single 
 eye, and a warm and devoted heart, 
 directed and dedicated to what, in my 
 judgment, I believed to be the true in- 
 terest of my country." * * * :f; * 
 "I emigrated from Virginia to the 
 State of Kentucky, now nearly forty- 
 five years ago: I went as an orphan 
 who had not yet attained the age of 
 majority — who had never recognised a 
 father's smile nor felt a father's ca- 
 resses — poor, pennyless — without the 
 favour of the great ; with an imperfect 
 and inadequate education, limited to 
 the ordinary business and common pur- 
 suits of life ; but scarce had I set my 
 foot upon her generous soil, when I 
 was seized and embraced with parental 
 fondness, caressed as though I had been 
 a favourite child, and patronised with 
 liberal and unbounded munificence. 
 From that period the highest honours 
 of the State have been freely bestowed 
 upon me ; and afterwards, in the dark- 
 est hour of calumny and detraction, 
 
OF HENRY CLA.Y. IW 
 
 when I seemed to be forsaken by ail 
 the rest of the world, she threw her 
 broad and impenetrable shield around 
 me, and bearing me up aloft in her 
 courageous arms, repelled the poisoned 
 shafts that were aimed for my destruc- 
 tion, and vindicated my good name 
 against every false and unfounded as- 
 
 " In retiring, as I am about to do, for 
 ever from the Senate, suffer me to ex- 
 press my heartfelt wishes that all the 
 great and patriotic objects for which it 
 was constituted by the wise framers of 
 the Constitution may be fulfilled ; and 
 that its deliberations, now and hereaf- 
 ter, may result in restoring the pros- 
 perity of our beloved country, in main- 
 taining its rights and honour abroad, 
 and in securing and upholding its inte- 
 rests at home. I retire, I know it, at a 
 period of infinite distress and embar- 
 rassment. I wish I could take my leave 
 of you under more favourable auspices ; 
 but, without meaning at this time to 
 say whether on any or on whom re- 
 
120 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 proaches for the sad condition of the 
 country should fall, I appeal to the Se- 
 nate and to the world, to bear testi- 
 mony to my earnest and anxious exer- 
 tions to avert it, and that no blame can 
 justly rest at my door." * * * 
 "From 1806, the period of my entry 
 on this noble theatre, with the excep- 
 tion of short intervals, to the present 
 time, I have been engaged in the public 
 councils, at home and abroad. Of the 
 nature or the value of the services ren- 
 dered during that long and arduous 
 period of my life, it does not become 
 me to speak ; history, if she deigns to 
 notice me, or posterity, if the recollec- 
 tions of my humble actions shall be ' 
 transmitted to posterity, are the best, 
 the truest, the most impartial judges." i 
 
 " May the blessing of Heaven rest 
 upon the whole Senate and each mem- 
 ber of it, and may the labours of every 
 one redound to the benefit of the na- 
 tion, and the advancement of his own 
 fame and renown. And when you 
 
OF HEKRY CLAY. 121 
 
 shall retire to the bosom of your con- 
 stituents, may you meet the most cheer- 
 ing and gratifying of all human re- 
 wards, their cordial greeting of ' Well 
 >done, good and faithful servants.' " 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Mr. Clay's Retirement — Impressive Scene — Colonel Pres- 
 ton — Anecdote — Mr. Calhoun. 
 
 The thirty-first of March, 1842, will 
 be long remembered as a remarkable 
 day in the annals of the Republic. The 
 events that immediately followed upon 
 the retirement of Mr. Clay from the 
 Senate of the United States, were of a 
 most interesting and solemn character. 
 Early in the morning of that memora- 
 ble day, crowds of people were to be 
 seen wending their eager way, through 
 every avenue, to the Capitol, it having 
 been publicly announced that Mr. Clay 
 would appear for the last time in his 
 Senatorial capacity. When he arose 
 the buzz of uneasy and anxious spec- 
 tators was, instantaneously, and as if 
 11 
 
122 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 by some powerful magical influence, 
 calmed into quiet; and repose settled 
 upon the previously excited and rest- 
 less multitude. The scene has been 
 described as truly affecting and sub- 
 lime ; and the eyes of all present were 
 turned, with painful expectancy, upon 
 the majestic form of " The Great Pa- 
 cificator," whose melodious and thrill- 
 ing tones alone were heard. The usual 
 business of the morning had just been 
 concluded, and the Senate Chamber, — 
 crowded, as has been described, to 
 excess, by an admiring people, anxious 
 to witness, what they had not the power 
 to prevent, — the exit of the illustrious 
 Statesman from the theatre of his bril- 
 liant exertions, — was hushed into the 
 stillness of almost perfect silence. It 
 was at this, his own appointed hour, 
 that Mr. Clay pronounced that remark- 
 able valedictory which can never be 
 forgotten by those whose enviable for- 
 tune it v/as to hear it, and to be wit- 
 nesses of the unaccustomed scene. The 
 appearance of the great Sena<-or was 
 
OF HENRY v,^._Y. 123 
 
 strikingly commanding, and the liighly 
 wrought feelings deeply depicted upon 
 his open and manly countenance, were 
 unerring indications of a struggle with- 
 in of no ordinary power and character. 
 After an arduous and brilliant service 
 of more than thirty-six years, during 
 the whole of which time he had acted 
 a leading part, the period had at lengtli 
 arrived for his release from the cares 
 of public life, and for the long-delayed 
 enjoyment of that retirement so con- 
 genial to his disposition, and which 
 had become equally necessary to his 
 health and to a proper regard for the 
 private interests of his family. But 
 this, to him, momentous change in the 
 habit of his life, was not the only source 
 of that keen sensibility to which refer- 
 ence has been made. Attachments, 
 deeply rooted and of long duration, 
 and daily associations of a most ele- 
 vated and pleasurable kind, conspired 
 to render the feelings of that moment 
 powerfully and painfully affecting, to 
 such a mind, especially, as his, ardent, 
 
124 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 constant and peculiarly susceptible of 
 the kindly feelings of our nature. But, 
 ihe sacrifice was to be made, and more 
 from public considerations, as will be 
 shown hereafter, than from any private 
 motives, strong as the latter were 
 known to be. 
 
 It was Mr. Clay's intention to resign 
 his seat in the Senate, after the tri- 
 umphant election of General Harrison, 
 in 1S40; but learmng that an Extra- 
 Session of Congress would be called, 
 and feeling desirous to contribute to 
 the restoration of the prosperity of the 
 Country, by the support of such mea- 
 sures as the united counsels of the 
 Whigs might devise, he relinquished 
 his intention, and participated in every 
 important debate of that memorable 
 Session. — It was then his purpose to 
 retire from the Senate, but much im- 
 portant business remained unfinished ; 
 and hoping for more complete success 
 at the regular session, he continued at 
 his post of duty, determined, " whether 
 in prosperity or adversity, to share the 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 125 
 
 fortune of his friends," resolving, how- 
 ever, to resign so soon as he could do 
 so with "propriety and decency." The 
 time at length arrived. 
 
 The voluntary retirement of Mr. 
 Clay, from the Senate of the United 
 States, was universally regretted. The 
 demonstrations of attachment and re- 
 spect, manifested by nearly every mem- 
 ber of that august body, of which he 
 had been, for so many years, the ruling 
 spirit and chief attraction, was deeply 
 affecting, and honourable to the distin- 
 guished men by whom he*; was sur- 
 rounded. His speech upon that occa- 
 sion was singularly impressive, and 
 was an overflow of that truly generous 
 sensibility and all-embracing benevo- 
 lence, which constitute so endearing- 
 and beautiful a feature of his noble 
 character. Upon the conclusion of Mr. 
 Clay's valedictory, and after he had 
 left the Senate Chamber, Colonel Pres- 
 ton, the eloquent and gallant Senator 
 from South Carolina, rose and spoke, 
 in substance, as follows : — " What has 
 11* 
 
126 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 just taken place is an epoch in the le- 
 gislative history of the country, and 
 from the feelings now evinced by ho- 
 nourable Senators, it is plainly to be 
 seen that there is little disposition to 
 attend to public business. I therefore 
 move that the Senate do now adjourn." 
 The motion was, unanimously, carried. 
 In illustration of the feeling to which 
 Colonel Preston referred, the following 
 anecdote is transcribed, in the assur- 
 ance that it will give pleasure to every 
 reader, whatever may be his bias. It 
 shows that political differences and 
 strife, although they may weaken and 
 smother, for a season, the nobler and 
 more generous feelings of the heart, 
 cannot, at least in noble minds, entirely 
 destroy them. 
 
 Mr. Clay and Mr. Calhoun had not 
 spoken to each other for several years. 
 As Mr. Clay was passing from his seat 
 to the door of the Senate Chamber, he 
 was met by his former friend. They, 
 simultaneously, extended their hands, 
 and rushed into each other's arms. Not 
 
or HENRY CLAY. 127 
 
 a word was uttered by either; but, 
 they wept ! And what language was 
 ever so eloquent as that mute embrace .' 
 It proclaimed, with an energy of pathos 
 which language was too feeble to con- 
 vey, the reconciliation of these mighty 
 men, who, however widely different 
 may be their political principles, are 
 both destined to fill a broad space in 
 their country's history, and to draw, 
 yet more largely, upon that country's 
 confidence, admiration and affection. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Temporary Frustration of Whig Policy by the Treachery 
 and Hostility of the Acting President. 
 
 Mr. John Tyler, of Williamsburgh, 
 Virginia, was selected for the second 
 office of the Republic, by the Whigs 
 of the Union, to whose party he pro- 
 fessed to belong; manifesting, at the 
 time of his nomination, an attachment 
 so extraordinary to their veteran fa- 
 vourite, Mr. Clay, as even to shed tears 
 at the reluctant postponement of his 
 
128 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 great, and universally admitted, claims. 
 In the faithful association of his name 
 with that of the lamented Harrison, 
 during the whole of the memorable 
 contest of 1840, the Whigs failed to re- 
 ceive the co-operation and support of 
 their political brethren of Mr. Tyler's 
 native State. This both surprised and 
 grieved them at the time, but the appro- 
 bation of Virginia, although earnestly 
 desired, was not essential to success ; 
 and, while her frowns were sincerely 
 deplored, it was still a consolation to 
 believe that what she withheld was, at 
 least, deserved. It is true that Mr. 
 Tyler had not particularly distinguished 
 himself by the manifestation of enlarged 
 statesmanship, or the prominent advo- 
 cacy of any great measures of national 
 interest or importance; but the office 
 — created for a contingency which had 
 never occurred in the history of the 
 country — was regarded, chiefly, as ho- 
 norary ; and, in a spirit of kindness and 
 conciliation towards the Southern mem- 
 bers of the Confederacy — a spirit 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 129 
 
 which, it is hoped, may always be che- 
 rished and reciprocated between the 
 aifferent sections of the country — he 
 was placed before the people, together 
 with General Harrison, in the earnest 
 hope that his elevation would tend to 
 unite yet more firmly the opposition to 
 Executive misrule and usurpation. Ne- 
 ver was distinction more gratuitously 
 and more generously bestowed, and 
 never was confidence more basely be- 
 trayed. Scarcely had he turned from 
 the honoured dust of him 
 
 " Who, departing, left millions in tears," 
 
 when, listening to the suggestions of a 
 grovelling ambition, he proved recreant 
 to the principles for the establishment 
 of which he was elected, and, deserting 
 to the antagonist party, has since en- 
 deavoured, in the true spirit of treason, 
 to evince the sincerity of his apostacy 
 by unrelenting hostility to the persons 
 and measures of his former friends. 
 The Whigs, therefore, (although with- 
 out reference to its source, they will, 
 zealously, co-operate in whatever may 
 
 I 
 
130 SKETCH OF THE LSFE 
 
 tend to promote the general welfare,) 
 are, in truth, no more accountable for 
 tlie errors and practices of his miserable 
 administration, than was our Revolu- 
 tionary Congress for the treachery of 
 Benedict Arnold ; and they have, from 
 the moment he unmasked, indignantly 
 disclaimed all such responsibility. The 
 administration is not, and, since the de- 
 mise of President Harrison, has not 
 been, a Whig administration. The act- 
 ing President has, in violation of solemn 
 pledges, expressed and implied, and by 
 the abusive exercise of a Constitutional 
 provision, prevented the enactment of 
 laws wholesome and necessary for the 
 public good, and where he dared not 
 refuse assent to their passage, has en- 
 deavoured to impair their obligation 
 by recording objections, which might 
 be adduced in justification of their in- 
 fraction.— He has removed from office 
 faithful and competent men, for no 
 other reason than that, in conformity 
 with just views of duty and in obedi- 
 ence to his mvn Proclamation — issued 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 131 
 
 * before he yet meditated defection— they 
 refused to prostitute official station to 
 the furtherance of his preposterous as- 
 pirations ; and has appointed, in their 
 stead, political mercenaries, whose only 
 recommendations were hostility to the 
 Whig party, and slavish subserviency 
 to his will. He has calumniated the 
 Representatives of the People, because 
 in steadfast adherence to their princi- 
 ples, they faithfully endeavoured to give 
 effect to the wishes of their constitu- 
 ents, and nobly scorned to be the pli- 
 ant instruments of his puny hatred and 
 insolent ambition. Early discovering 
 that the great and patriotic party which, 
 unwittingly, gave to him the power to 
 perpetrate such mischief, would not 
 consent to sacrifice the claims of their 
 great leader to his insane dream of 
 further elevation, he has visited both 
 them and him with the venomous abuse 
 of a purchased press ; and, in the vain 
 Iiope that they who have profited by 
 the treason may be persuaded to love 
 the traitor, is endeavouring to court a 
 
132 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 nomination at the hands of those to 
 whose signal overthrow he owes his 
 present elevated position ! 
 
 Conduct so unworthy will not fail to 
 receive the indignant rebuke of an in- 
 'Sulted and injured people. The deep 
 mortification, and still deeper disgrace 
 which they have thus experienced, will 
 not permit indifference in the choice 
 of candidates for their highest trusts, 
 or excuse inaction in the approaching 
 struggle for the rescue of their govern- 
 ment from the degradation into which 
 it has fallen, and the vindication of their 
 good name among the Nations. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Elevated Character of Mr. Clay— His generous Patriotism 
 — Anecdote — Clay Club of Germaiitown — Neaglu's 
 Portrait-" The Tall Boy." 
 
 It is grateful to turn from the petty 
 and selfish strife of inferior spirits, and 
 from the disgusting and pervading evi- 
 dences of political expedients and in- 
 trigue, daily exhibited in the actions of 
 public men, to the vigorous and efficient 
 
OP IIEXRY CLAY» 133 
 
 efforts of commanding talent, sound 
 and various learning, pure and lofty 
 patriotism, especially manifested in the 
 career of the illustrious man whose 
 brilliant and instructive history we 
 have thus imperfectly endeavoured to 
 trace. It exhibits, in bold relief, the 
 unwavering determination of a strong, 
 cultivated, ardent and superior mind^ 
 to press onward in an undeviating 
 course to the grand ultimate object of 
 a patriot's ambition, — his country's wel- 
 fare and glory. Of such a Statesman 
 the whole country has reason to be 
 proud ; his fame, his name, as well as 
 his services are national, and who that 
 venerates the Sanctus amor patrice^ 
 that can feel and appreciate the power 
 of matchless eloquence and genius, ex- 
 erted for the sublimest of purposes — 
 the preservation of the national union, 
 dignity and honour — the promotion and 
 advancement of universal happiness 
 and freedom, can fail to be deeply inter- 
 ested in the past career and futu're des- 
 tiny of such a man as Henry Clay. It 
 12 
 
134 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 matters not what part of the country 
 may claim him by particular adoption, 
 or may boast the honour of his birth ; 
 his fame, enduring as the race of man- 
 kind upon earth, is the common pro- 
 perty of the nation, and as such will 
 ever be scrupulously and fondly cher- 
 ished by an enlightened, and a grateful 
 people. 
 
 In the contemplation of such a char- 
 acter, abundant consolation is afforded 
 for past misfortunes and disgrace, and 
 a feeling of grateful pride is engendered 
 by the reflection that if the country we 
 revere has, by an unhappy mischance, 
 given birth to an Arnold and a Tylei% 
 she may still boast a glorious mother- 
 hood to a Washington and a Clay. 
 
 The name of Henry Clay is seldom 
 mentioned in a public assembly without 
 occasioning a powerful ebullition of 
 popular affection. 
 
 We have been informed that, during 
 a lecture delivered af Utica, in the State 
 of New- York, by a scientific gentleman 
 of that place, upon the amusing subject 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 135 
 
 of Phrenology, he frequently, in illus- 
 tration of his theme, held up before his 
 audience, the busts of several distin- 
 guished persons, reniarkable for some 
 "external indication of character" — 
 and among the number thus exhibited, 
 was one of Mr. Clay. The name was 
 scarcely uttered by the speaker, when, 
 as with a cooniion volition, and with 
 one voice, there burst forth from the 
 auditory, a loud and prolonged peal of 
 applause, which shook the house to its 
 foundations ! And this extraordinary 
 manifestation of feeling was prompted 
 by the mere mention of the name of a 
 private citizen of the Republic ! 
 
 Another proof of the surpassing popu- 
 larity of this eminent man was recently 
 witnessed at Germantown' in Pennsyl- 
 vania. One of the members of the 
 *' Clay Club " of that ancient and 
 celebrated town had purchased a full- 
 length portrait of Mr. Clay, exquisitely 
 engraved in mezzotinto by Sartain, 
 from Neagle's splendid painting, exe- 
 cuted at Ashland, in 1843. Early in 
 
136 SKETCH OP THE LIFE 
 
 the evening, and before the opening of 
 the Hall, the picture was placed against 
 the wall, behind the President's Chair, 
 and covered. When silence prevailed, 
 the covering was suddenly removed, 
 and instantly the large assemblage 
 arose, as one man, and gave repeatea 
 cheers for the illustrious Statesman 
 whose noble form and features were 
 there so faithfully delineated by the 
 distinguished and accomplished artist. 
 It was at once a touching and a pa- 
 triotic tribute to transcendant talent, 
 services and worth, incited by feeli-ngs, 
 the unbought and unprompted expres- 
 sion of which, thus welling forth from 
 warm and devoted hearts, Kings and 
 Potentates may envy, but do not pos- 
 sess the power to inspire or to com- 
 mand. 
 
 The picture of Mr. Neagle is worthj 
 of his subject and of his own profes- 
 sional fame; and to him will posterity 
 award the honour of having been first 
 to pro.duce, for the veneration of future 
 ages, and with* almost the fidehty of 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 137 
 
 nature, the graceful person and beam- 
 ing countenance of the man whose 
 character and fame is the pride and 
 the glory of his Country. 
 
 We cannot resist the inclination to 
 introduce, in this connexion, a well- 
 authenticated anecdote which has not 
 often appeared in print, and in thus 
 presenting it to our readers, we will 
 record the prediction that the same 
 "TALL BOY," to whom reference is 
 made — the unfriended Orphan — the ad- 
 venturous and solitary Stranger — the 
 brilliant Orator — the successful Advo- 
 cate — the unrivalled Speaker of the 
 House of National Representatives — 
 the able Negotiator — the matchless 
 Senator — the Nation's peerless States- 
 man — will, and in despite of vile de- 
 traction and base ingratitude, yet fulfil 
 his splendid destiny — shedding, through 
 his own, an unfading lustre upon his 
 Country's, name, from that exalted sta- 
 tion — the first and the last — to which 
 the returning justice, no less than the 
 
 12^ 
 
138 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 exigencies of a great people, impera- 
 tively demand his elevation. 
 
 " The Bar at Lexington was distin- 
 guished for its talents. A tall, plain- 
 looking, farmer-like young man, of one 
 and twenty, was admitted to practice 
 in the Courts. The old lawyers, al- 
 though there was much professional 
 rivalry among themselves, determined 
 to prevent this beardless plebeian, as 
 they termed him, from rising, by speak- 
 ing disrespectfully of his qualifications. 
 He pursued, however, the even tenor 
 of his way, daily increasing in legal 
 and intellectual strength, to the mor- 
 tification of his seniors. At length, 
 a case was called, of a complicated 
 character, and he appeared for the de- 
 fence, against such an array of the old 
 members as had never before been re- 
 tained by a client. Upon taking his 
 seat, after making a triumphant argu- 
 ment, they said, one to another, " we 
 may as well let that tall boij pass, for 
 he will pass, whether or not." He did 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. ISO 
 
 pass — and his practice thereafter was 
 more lucrative than that of all the other 
 members of the Bar." 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Mr.' Clay's Characteristics as a Statesman — Extraordinary 
 position of Mr. John Tyler — Its effect upon his mind 
 and character — Eulogy of Mr. Clay by Mr. George Ban- 
 croft. , 
 
 Mr. Clay has long occupied the first 
 rank among the great men of the na- 
 tion ; pre-eminent for the fervour of 
 his patriotism and stern public virtue, 
 unquaiJing courage, and determined 
 faithfulness in the performance of his 
 high national duties; he is, moreover, 
 a Statesman of enlarged experience, 
 comprehensive views, and most mag- 
 nanimous dispositions ; and his varied 
 and unprecedented labours, exalted 
 and inappreciable services, entitle him 
 to the profoundest gratitude and the 
 highest honours of his country, — ho- 
 -^iOurs which it concerns the national 
 character cordially to bestow. 
 
140 SKETCH OP THE LIFE 
 
 But it is more for that country's 
 credit, happiness and prosperity, than 
 for the advancement of his individual 
 glory, that his feilow-citizens wish for 
 the guidance of his master-spirit at the 
 hehii ; for no station can add lustre to 
 his fame, and universal experience 
 proves that the heavy responsibilities 
 of power countervail its attractions. 
 His retirement from the Senate in 1842, 
 — deeply as his conviction of its pro- 
 priety was regretted by the people, was 
 regarded by them as a noble act of self- 
 sacrifice at the shrine of his country's 
 welfare. The position he occupied in 
 that august assemblage made him the 
 "observed of all observers;" and the 
 eyes and the hearts of the patriotic of 
 all sections of this broad land were 
 directed toward him with anxious so- 
 licitude and hope. But the intrigues 
 of envious and ambitious politicians 
 rendered his counsels no longer availa- 
 ble for the public good. Measures, 
 originating with him, and essential to 
 national prosperity, were pressed, in- 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 141 
 
 deed, with patriotic fervour upon those 
 in office, but the wand of power was 
 stretched forth, — "in envy of Great 
 Caesar," — and all his earnest efforts for 
 his country's happiness were paralyzed 
 by the selfish and arbitrary will of one 
 man, whom neither merit nor services 
 of his own, but a deeply afflictive dis- 
 pensation of Providence, had elevated 
 to a station towards which, in his wild- 
 est aspirations, his dazzled vision had 
 never, seriously, endeavoured to gaze, 
 and the giddy eminence of which, so 
 unexpectedly attained, has produced, 
 through a lamentable bewilderment of 
 ordinary faculties, a strange forgetful- 
 ness of honesty and truth, and de- 
 veloped his utter unfitness for a wise 
 discharge of its high responsibilities. 
 Neither can the powerful apologetical 
 eloquence, nor the rare special pleading 
 of the late Secretary of State, as exhi- 
 bited in his disingenuous and malevo- 
 lent Speech at Faneuil Hall in Septem* 
 ter 1842, win for the administration of 
 the acting President the affection or the 
 
142 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 confidence of the nation, or rescue its 
 head from that universal and abiding 
 contempt to which he has been doomed 
 by a deeply injured and offended peo- 
 ple. 
 
 " The age of virtuous politics is past, 
 
 Jlnd we are deep in that of cold jfretencc. 
 Patriots are grown too shrewd to be sincere, 
 And we too wise to trust them." 
 
 There is a crisis in the affairs of men 
 upon which turns their best interests 
 and the stability of their institutions. 
 That crisis, with the American people, 
 is at hand. Men elevated to power, 
 almost by acclamation, reach the pin- 
 nacle of ambition, and then betray the 
 principles which commended them to 
 favour ! And by another, and much 
 larger class, every kind of unstates- 
 manlike and ruinous experiment is de- 
 vised in mere wanton hostility to the 
 great conservative Party of the coun- 
 try, which is, happily, never wearied in 
 defending our blood-bought Constitu- 
 tion against the assaults of those who 
 seek a confirmation of their power, 
 
OF HEXRY CLAY. J 43 
 
 even if their march for its attainment 
 should be over the prostrated liberties 
 of their suffering and, too long, patient 
 country. That country, therefore, now 
 demands the counsel and the rule of 
 real Statesmen : men who have won 
 the title in the Nation's service, and in 
 her days, especially, of depression and 
 of gloom. 
 
 It is to them, under Providence, that 
 she must look for political salvation — • 
 for the guidance of the vessel of State 
 through the billows and the breakers 
 which threaten its integrity or destruc- 
 tion, into the broad, calm, waters of 
 the Pacific, where the surges of party 
 animosity and corruption will cease 
 to deluge her decks, and where, be- 
 yond the reach and the rule of reck- 
 less, unskilful or treacherous pilots, she 
 will again majestically ride, the pride 
 and the hope of freemen throughout 
 the world ! 
 
 In the agent through whom these 
 great national benefits are to be ac- 
 complished and firmly established, wd 
 
144 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 have presented to us a man whose illus- 
 trious career is identified with his coun- 
 try's history, the brightest page of 
 which, no less than that which is 
 clouded by the gloom of despondency 
 and of doubt, bears — gratefully and 
 proudly — the imperishable record of 
 those inappreciable services and sacri- 
 fices which have given character, dig- 
 nity, and honour to the American name, 
 and a glorious immortality to that of 
 Henry Clay. 
 
 Mr. Clay has been too long identified 
 with the patriotic hopes of the Whigs, 
 to permit his continued separation 
 from them for any other cause than 
 that of death. Considerations of gra- 
 titude and admiration apart, the neces- 
 sities of a misgoverned and suffering 
 country loudly call him from retirement, 
 and the history of his life abundantly 
 proves that her call has never yet been 
 made in vain. 
 
 We cannot better close this imperfect 
 sketch than in the just and appropriate 
 language of Mr. George Bancroft, the 
 
OF HENRY CLAY. 145 
 
 learned and accurate historian of the 
 United States. In 1832, he thus wrote 
 in reference to Mr. Clay, whose opi- 
 nions, principles and character have, as 
 has been shown, undergone no change, 
 while circumstances, extraneous to the 
 present position and past career of the 
 distinguished object of his glowing pa- 
 negyric, have placed Mr. Bancroft fore- 
 most in the ranks of ultra-democracy : 
 " In early youth and in maturer years, 
 as a citizen and as a Representative, at 
 home or abroad, in peace and in war, 
 in the Chair of the House of Represen- 
 tatives, in a most important Diplomatic 
 capacity, in the Cabinet and in the Se- 
 nate, he has been the strenuous, inde- 
 fatigable, eloquent and triumphant sup- 
 porter of those principles of govern- 
 ment and policy on which the union of 
 the States and prosperity of the people 
 depend. The entire political life of this 
 distinguished Statesman is a guaranty 
 to the country that, beneath his auspi- 
 ces, the reign of violence, of arbitrary 
 discretion, of secret influence, and per- 
 13 K 
 
146 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 emptory dictation, will pass away, and 
 that of civil rule will return. Under 
 his administration, the people of the 
 United States will enjoy, what they are 
 now deprived of— the benefit of a go- 
 vernment of laws. The directory of 
 tlie administration will be found in the 
 statute book, and the other constitu- 
 tional depositories of the law, and not 
 in private executive construction. Of- 
 fices whose uncorrupt discharge is es- 
 sential to the welfare of the people, will 
 no longer be regarded as the spoils of 
 victory. Appointments repeatedly ne- 
 gatived by the constitutional advisers 
 of the President, will not be renewed, 
 by his sole will, the moment that the 
 Senate adjourns. The execution of the 
 laws will not be suspended on the pre- 
 tence of their unconstitutionality. The 
 countenance of the administration will 
 not be extended to an unprincipled 
 press, nor offices of trust and emolu- 
 ment bestowed as the reward of the 
 slanderer. The patronage of the go- 
 vernment will not be exerted to defeat 
 
OP HENRY CLAY. 147 
 
 the will of the people. The great do- 
 mestic interests of the country will be 
 upheld by a steady unequivocal sup- 
 port ; its industry will be spared the 
 shock of a disordered currency. The 
 faith of treaties will be kept sacred, and 
 the honour of the United States will be 
 sustained in their intercourse with fo- 
 reign governments ; and the Union of 
 the States, the precious legacy we have 
 inherited from our fathers, will be pre- 
 served unimpaired for our children." 
 
THE 
 
 CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 {149) 
 
" I was born a Democrat, — rocked in the 
 cradle of the Revolution— aud at the darkest 
 period of that ever memorable .struggle for 
 Freedom. I recollect in 1781 or '82, a visit 
 made by Tarletoa's troops to the house of 
 my mother, and of their running their swords 
 iuto the new-made graves of my father, and 
 grandfather, thinking they contained hidden 
 treasures. Though then not more than four 
 or five years of age, the circumstance of that 
 visit is vividly remembered, and it will be to 
 the last moment of my life. I was born a 
 Democrat— was raised and nurtured aRepul>- 
 lican — and sh^U die a Republican, in thefaiih 
 aad principles of my fathers." — 
 
 Clays Speech, in Indiana, 1S42. 
 
 (150) 
 
A .IM IL Ji m w 
 
 ^mm ^niii? ©IF ^isiis 
 BLOWo HEMMY OILAY 
 
 NEAR LEXINGTON, KY. 
 (152) 
 
 » 
 
THE . 
 
 CLAY MINSTREL 
 
 HARRY OF THE WEST. 
 Air — The Star- Spangled Banner, 
 
 Lo ! the chieftain is gone from the scene of his 
 
 fame, 
 But the halo of ages shall gather around it ; 
 For his sword waved in Justice and Liberty's 
 
 name, • 
 
 And Liberty's hand with her myrtle has 
 crown' d it, * 
 
 He has mounted on high to the patriot's sky, 
 While his country was last in the heart and the 
 
 sigh, 
 But joy ! tho' the hero has gone to his rest, 
 His MANTLE is left to our Hope of the West. 
 
 He shall wear it in glory, in honour, in power, 
 fa despite of abstraction, of knaves and of 
 treason, 
 
 And the venal shall tremble, the coward shall 
 cower, 
 Ephemeral insects that flutter their season. 
 
 (153) 
 
134 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Yes, the noble and great, in the forum of state, 
 By the dictum of freemen, the fiat of fate, 
 Shall rule o'er the land thathis labours have blest, 
 Our Harry, the dauntless, and pride of the West! 
 
 He has stood like a rock when the tempest has 
 roar'd, 
 
 And the gallant have trembled at dangers sur- 
 rounding, 
 '.'\Iid the war of great minds his warm spirit has 
 • soar'd, 
 
 In the triumph of genius the proudest con- 
 founding. 
 
 The tyrant's strong chain he has riven amain— 
 Bear witness, fair Greece, and Colombia's plain ; 
 Then deep in our hearts with the noblest and 
 best, 
 
 We'll shrine him, our Harry, and Hope of the 
 West. 
 
 Look o'er the proud scroll of your glorious 
 names. 
 
 From the light of to-day, through the long 
 lapse of ages. 
 
 To souls that were honour's, and virtue's and 
 fame's, 
 
 Whose fire and devotion illume the world's 
 pages- 
 Then turn in your pride where the whole are 
 allied — 
 
 To the statesman unyielding, the patriot guidosj 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 155 
 
 And point, while your gratitude beams all ex- 
 
 press'd, 
 To Harry, our glory, and Star of the West. 
 
 Fill, fill to the brim in the lymph of your springs, 
 And toast him, fair Liberty's peerless de- 
 fender : 
 And bear it, ye breezes, on wondering wings, 
 
 Wherever Aurora diffuses her splendour. 
 Our banner's unfurled, it shall beacon the world, 
 'Till the Dagon of doubt and abstraction is 
 hurled. 
 
 And we throne in his place whom his country 
 
 loves best — 
 Our Harry, the glory, the pride of the West. 
 
 F. R. H. 
 
 A WHIG WAR SONG. 
 
 Tune — Auld Lang Syne. 
 
 O Freemen raise the battle cry, 
 And to your weapons spring ; 
 With all the force your wrongs supply, 
 Loud make the welkin ring ! 
 Loud make the welkin ring, brave boys. 
 
 Loud make the welkin ring ; 
 With all the force your wrongs supply, 
 Loud make the welkin ring ! 
 
156 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 What though the laurels dearly won 
 
 By courage, toil, and cost, 
 Withered hke grass beneath the sun, 
 Have been through treason lost ; 
 Have been through treason lost, brave boys, 
 
 Have been through treason lost ; 
 
 Withered hke grass beneath the sun, 
 
 Have been through treason lost. 
 
 Another field will them restore, 
 
 In all their pride and bloom, 
 And twine securer than before, 
 Sealed by a Traitor's doom. 
 
 Sealed by a Traitor's doom, brave boys, 
 
 Sealed by a Traitor's doom ; 
 And twine securer than before, 
 Sealed by a Traitor's doom. 
 
 And shall the Brave who late o'erthrew 
 
 Their foes in might arrayed, 
 Now shun the conflict they renew, 
 Led by the Renegade ? 
 
 Led by the Renegade, brave boys. 
 
 Led by the Renegade ; 
 Now shun the conflict they renew, 
 Led by the Renegade ? 
 
 Then to the rescue once again ! 
 
 Rend from the Fox his prey ; 
 And shout, as home ye strike amain 
 
 The name of Henry Clay ! 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 157 
 
 The name of Henry Clay, brave boys, 
 
 The name of Henky Clay ; 
 And shout, as home ye strike amain, 
 
 The name of Hejxry Clay ! 
 
 s. l. 
 
 GALLANT HARRY. 
 
 Tune — Royal Charlie. 
 Song of the Clay Club of Germantovvn, 
 
 Once more, and at our Country's call, 
 
 We're here this night to rally, 
 From lowly cot and stately hall, 
 
 From mountain top and valley ! 
 Come east, come west, 
 Come strive your best ; 
 
 Oh ! freemen do not tarry, 
 But strike the blow, your foes o'erthrow. 
 
 And shout for gallant Harry ! 
 
 And shout for gallant Harry ! 
 But strike the blow, your foes o'erthrow, 
 
 And shout for Gallant Harry. 
 
 When doubt and gloom o'erspread the land 
 
 And e'en the boldest trembled, 
 Who was it took the foremost stand, 
 And never yet dissembled I 
 Come south, come north, 
 Come boldly forth. 
 And strike for Clay and Glory ! 
 
15S THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 For this he'll stand the test of tune, 
 
 And live in noblest story, 
 
 And live in noblest story ; 
 For this he'll stand the test of time, 
 
 And live in noblest story ! 
 
 Then pass his honour'd name around, 
 Till echoes catch your thunder I 
 
 The universal glad rebound, 
 Shall make the Tories wonder I 
 Come one, come all 
 Let naught appal, 
 Brave boys no longer tarry. 
 
 But stand by him M^ho never quail'd. 
 Our true and gallant Harry, 
 Our true and gallant Harry ; 
 
 But stand by him who never quail'd, 
 Our true and Gallant Harry ! 
 
 There's not a lass in this broad land 
 
 But vows she'd scorn to marry, 
 The lad who don't give heart and hand 
 
 To glorious, gallant Harry ! 
 Come east, come west. 
 Come all the rest, 
 
 'Tis ours the day to carry. 
 And once again our foes o'erthrow, 
 
 Led on by gallant Harry, 
 
 Led on by gallant Harry ; 
 And once again our foes o'erthrow, 
 
 Led on by Gallant Harry ! 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 159 
 
 Then here's a heakh to Harry's cause ! 
 
 Let not the wild notes tarry ! 
 Thy noble name our heart's blood warms, 
 
 Thrice great and gallant Harry ! 
 We'll strive our best, 
 And know no rest, 
 
 'Till we the ship shall carry, 
 And all our foes o'ercome or won, 
 
 Subdued by gallant Harry, 
 
 Subdued by gallant Harry ; 
 And all our foes o'ercome or won, 
 
 SusDUED BY Gallant Haeky ! 
 
 Our Western Hope — the Hope of all, 
 
 Through us shall not miscarry, 
 For NOW we're pledged to stand or fall, 
 With noble, gallant Harry ! 
 Then strive your best, 
 Heroic West, 
 The glorious cause to carry — 
 To strike the traitor's banner low ; 
 And stand by gallant Harry, 
 And stand by gallant Harry ; 
 To strike the traitor's banner low, 
 And stand by Gallant Harry ! 
 
 J. s. L. 
 
 14 
 
160 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 HARRY OF KENTUCKY. 
 
 Tune — ' Tis my delight of a shi7iy night. 
 
 Once more our glorious banner out 
 Upon the breeze we throw — 
 
 Beneath its folds, with song and shout, 
 Let 's charge upon the foe ! 
 
 Our chosen chief, alas ! — no more 
 Shall place his lance in rest — 
 
 But well we know the love he bore 
 Our Harry of the West, 
 Our Harry of the West, my boys, 
 Our Harry of the West. 
 
 Then brothers, rise and rally round 
 
 The statesman ever true. 
 Until his name, with trumpet sound, 
 
 Shall wake the welkin's blue. 
 And millions, with admiring eyes. 
 
 Shall call him from his rest, 
 The Hero of new victories. 
 
 Our Harry of the West, &c. 
 
 When sought the red coats, as of old, 
 
 The empire of the Free. 
 And British cannons once more rolled 
 
 Its thunder o'er the sea. 
 Who loudest cheered our gallant tars. 
 
 And fired the soldier's breast. 
 Till victory Irailed our stripes and stars', 
 
 But Harry of the West, &-c. 
 
\ 
 
 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 161 
 
 And when no more the groaning South 
 
 To Spain would bend the knee, 
 But rising, at the cannon's mouth, 
 
 Proclaimed she would be free — 
 Who heard his burning accents fall, 
 
 And reared her starry crest, 
 YouNa Independence, at the call 
 
 Of Harry of the West, &c. 
 
 Whene'er forgot the common weal, 
 
 And party waves run strong. 
 Till e'en the wisest halt and feel 
 
 That everything goes wrong — 
 There 's one the ohve branch who brings, 
 
 And lulls the storm to rest, 
 Till peace comes on her angel wings, 
 
 'Tis Harry of the West, &c. 
 
 Let Ty with Calhoun -'jump just so," 
 
 And dance " Virginny reels," 
 Each striving which to Whigs can show 
 
 The cleanest pair of heels. 
 Let loco focos bid them hail, 
 
 We 'II head their trait'rous guest, 
 Kentucky rifles never fail 
 
 With Harry of the West, &c. 
 
 Let Van his mottled forces drill, 
 
 Till Benton swears 'tis hard, 
 
 And captain Tyler shows his skill" 
 
 With his tremendous " Guard." 
 1 « "^ 
 
162 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 What care we for them, great and small, 
 
 .E'en though they do their best? 
 For old Kentuck will head them all — 
 Our Harry of the West, &c. 
 
 The honours which the hero won, 
 
 Encircle not his head — 
 Like withered wreaths, they rest upon 
 
 Another'' s brow instead — 
 The statesman never faithless known, 
 
 The worthiest and the best, 
 Shall make them bloom again — our own 
 
 True Harry of the West, &.c. 
 
 Oh ! ever green the sods that lie 
 
 Above the sainted Dead — 
 And o'er our path his memory, 
 
 For aye his radiance shed ! 
 Its hallowed light shall fall upon 
 
 Our flag, where'er it rest, 
 And write the name of Harrison 
 
 With Harry of the West, &c. 
 
 Then let the glorious banner float 
 
 To the sunshine and the blast, 
 Till victory sounds her bugle note, 
 
 The din of battle past. 
 No brighter name can lead us on, 
 
 High on its folds imprest. 
 Than thine, truth's gallant Champion, 
 
 Our Harry of the West, &c. 
 
 i. H. w 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 163 
 
 THE WORKING-MEN'S SONG. 
 
 Tune — '^There 's nae luck about the house" — or 
 ''The Washing Day." 
 
 Times wont be right, 'tis plain to see, 
 
 Till Tyler runs his race ; 
 But then we'll have a better man, 
 
 To put into his place. 
 For now we '11 rouse with might and main, 
 
 And work and work away. 
 And work ! work ! work ! work ! 
 
 And put in Henry Clay. 
 
 The Farmers want good times again, 
 
 To sell their wheat and pork. 
 And so, to put in Henry Clay, 
 
 They 're going right to work. 
 They '11 plough and sow, and reap and mow, 
 
 And thresh and thresh away. 
 And thresh, thresh, thresh, thresh. 
 
 And vote for Henry Clay. 
 
 The Labouring Men that want more work, 
 
 And higher wages too, 
 Will help to put in Henry Clay, 
 
 With better times in view. 
 They '11 saw and chop, and grub and dig, 
 
 And shovel and shovel away, 
 And shovel, shovel, shovel, shovel. 
 
 And vote for Henry Clay. 
 
164 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 The Weavers too will go to work 
 
 For a Tariff and Henry Clay, 
 They '11 make us all the cloth we want, 
 
 If they can have fair play. 
 They '11 reel and spool, and warp and wind, 
 
 And weave and weave away, 
 And weave, weave, weave, weave, 
 
 And vote for Henry Clay. 
 
 We want no clothino ready made, 
 
 From England or from France, 
 We 've Tailors here who know their trade, 
 
 They ought to have a chance. 
 They '11 cut and baste, and hem and press^ 
 
 And stitch and stitch away. 
 And stitch, stitch, stich, stich. 
 
 And vote for Henry Clay. 
 
 The Hatters do not want to see 
 
 Their kettles standing dry. 
 And so they'll go for Henry Clay, 
 
 And then the fur will fly. 
 They '11 nap and block, and colour and bind, 
 
 And finish and finish away. 
 And finish, finish, finish, finish. 
 
 And vote for Henry Clay. 
 
 Shoemakers too, with right good will. 
 
 Will join the working throng, 
 And what they do for Henry Clay, 
 
 They do both neat and strong. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 165 
 
 They 'II crimp and cut, and last and stitch, 
 
 And ball and ball away, 
 And ball, ball, ball, ball, 
 
 And vote for Henry Clay. 
 
 The Coopers know, when farmers thrive, 
 
 Their trade is always best, 
 And so they '11 go, with one accord, 
 
 For Harry of the West. 
 They '11 dress and raise, and truss and croze, 
 
 And hoop and hoop away, 
 And hoop, hoop, hoop, hoop, 
 
 And vote for Henry Clay. 
 
 The Blacksmiths will roll up their sleeves, 
 
 Their sledges they will swing, 
 And at the name of Henry Clay, 
 
 They '11 make their anvils ring. 
 They '11 blow and strike, and forge and weld, 
 
 And hammer and hammer away, 
 And hammer, hammer, hammer, hammer, 
 
 And vote for Henry Clay. 
 
 And thus we '11 work, and thus we '11 sing, 
 
 Till Tyler's race is run, 
 And then we '11 have, to fill his place, 
 
 Kentucky's favourite son, 
 For now we '11 rouse, whh might and main, 
 
 And work and work away, 
 And work, work, work, work, 
 
 And put in Henry Clay. 
 
166 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 ONWARD. 
 TvNE—Eory O'More. 
 
 Onward ! — speed onward ! and spread to the 
 gale, 
 The time-honour'd banner our fathers once 
 bore, 
 And fast to the mast-top the star-spangles nail, 
 Till our country's great conflict is gloriously 
 o'er! 
 
 They fought for that freedom, so long our proud 
 boast — 
 They peril'd their fortune, their honour, their 
 life,— 
 And shall all be hetray'd, or dishonour'd or lost, 
 And their Sons hazard naught in the patriot 
 strife ! 
 
 The laurels they won are still green in their age, 
 And never shall fade in a chaplet so pure ; 
 
 But brighter and clearer, on History's page, 
 Shall glow the proud record while time shall 
 endure ! 
 
 Then onward ! press onward ! nor pause ye to 
 rest. 
 While a foe to your country is found in the 
 land ! 
 With a cause that is makshalled by Hal 
 OF THE West, 
 Tee bulwarks of freedom securely shall 
 sta:?jd. J- s. L. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 167 
 
 WHIG BANNER SONG. 
 
 Tune — Bruce' s Address. 
 
 Whigs ! once more the Banner raise ! 
 Whigs ! remember by-gone days 1 
 Let not time the name erase, 
 That led to victory ! 
 
 By your love for Harrison ! 
 By your triumph dearly won ! 
 Arouse ye now and nobly on ! 
 Whigs that dare be free ! 
 
 By your hopes of Harry Clay ! 
 By your resolve to win the day ! 
 Rush ye, bravely, to the 'fray, 
 Freedom loudly calls I 
 
 Should foul dishonour mar our name, 
 Or Treason's vile, envenom' d flame, 
 O'erspread the land with gloom and shame, 
 This glorious fabric falls ! 
 
 No party mandate prompts the strife, - 
 We wage a war for Home, — for life, 
 Against corruption, rank and rife. 
 And heartless treachery ! 
 
 Raise high the Banner to the storm ! 
 No blast from traitor lungs can harm ! 
 No Tory slander can deform 
 
 Its peerless blazonry . J. s. l. 
 
168 THE CLAY MINSTKEL. 
 
 YANKEE DOODLE! 
 
 Shout Yankee Doodle ! Whigs, huzza ! 
 
 We're done with Captain Tyler ! 
 He who has been his country's flaw, 
 Shall never more defile her ! 
 For farmer Clay then boys hurrah, 
 And proudly here proclaim him 
 The great, the good, the valiant Hal, 
 And shout whene'er ye name nni ! 
 Our noble Harry is the man 
 
 The Nation most delights in ; 
 To place him first is now the plan ;— 
 For this we're -all uniting ! 
 For farmer Clay then boys hurrah, &c. 
 
 Then, Johnny, haste your " duds" to pack, 
 
 iJe '• spry" and do not tarry ; 
 But run to " Old Virginny" back- 
 We'want the House for Harry ! 
 For farmer Clay then boys hurrah, &c. 
 For loud and long the country calls 
 For the bold Ashland Farmer ; 
 Bravest when danger most appals. 
 With him no foe shall harm her. 
 For farmer Clay then boys hurrah, &c 
 Brave Whigs ! where'er the gallant song 
 —'•Log Cabins and Hard Cider"— 
 Was chorus'd loud and echo'd long ; 
 Let this be heard — and wider ! 
 For farmer Clay then boys hurrah, &c. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 169 
 
 Old Yankee Doodle's noble tune 
 Suits glorious Hal quite handy ! 
 Then be it sung again " righf^ soon, 
 Sweet Yankee Doodle Dandy ! 
 For farmer Clay then boys hurrah ! 
 
 And proudly here proclaim him 
 The great, the good, the vahant Hal, 
 And shout whene'er ye name him. 
 
 J. s. L. 
 
 ST. LOUIS CLAY CLUB SONG. 
 Tune — Rosin the Bow. 
 
 Come all ye bold lads of old '40, 
 Who rallied 'round Tippecanoe, 
 
 And give us your hearts and your voices, 
 For Harry the noble and true. 
 
 Come show the whole world that our spirit 
 Is up again, ^' sartain and sure;'''' 
 
 And push right ahead for our Harry, 
 Great Harry — the honest and pure. 
 
 Come forth, one and all, to the battle. 
 Determined the country to save ; 
 
 And strike for the Farmer of Ashland, 
 For Harry, the great and the brave. 
 
 A leader is he who ne'er fail'd us, 
 So now we will give him our best ; 
 
 Then shout for the friend of Home Lahour, 
 The patriot, Hal of the West. 
 15 
 
170 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 For Protection he ever has struggled 
 His coat you will find is home-made: 
 
 He goes dead against the starvation 
 That comes vi'ith one-sided free trade. 
 
 So for home, and home's friend, let's huzza, 
 
 And never give over the fight, 
 Till the corporal's guard and the Locos 
 
 Are put to inglorious flight. 
 
 We're engaged for the war, and we'll " go it !" 
 You need'nt believe we'll back out ! 
 
 For the flag of bold Harry is flying. 
 And " Harry and Home,^' we will shout ! 
 
 For Harry's the name we delight in — 
 O'er mountain and plain let it flow ; 
 
 For as true as you live, if we falter, 
 To ruin we surely must go. 
 
 LEAVE VAIN REGRETS. 
 
 Air — Auld Lang Syne. 
 Leave vain regrets for errors past. 
 
 Nor cast the ship away — 
 But nail your colours to the mast, 
 And strike for Harry Clay. 
 And strike for Harry Clay, my boys. 
 
 And strike for Harry Clay, 
 And nail your colours to the mast, 
 And strike for Harry Clay. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 171 
 
 From him no treason need be fear'd, 
 
 Your cause he'll ne'er betray, 
 What name to Freemen so endear'd, 
 As that of Harry Clay ; 
 As that of Harry Clay, my boys, 
 
 As that of Harry Clay, 
 What name to Freemen so endear'd, 
 As that of Harry Clay. 
 
 No vain abstractions fill his head, 
 
 To lead his heart away. 
 For every noble promise made, 
 Is kept by Harry Clay. 
 Is kept by Harry Clay, my boys, 
 
 Is kept by Harry Clay ; 
 For every noble promise made, 
 Is kept by Harry Clay. 
 
 Then let not ruin's hated form 
 
 Thus fill you with dismay. 
 But gathering strength to breast the storm, 
 Stand fast by Harry Clay. 
 Stand fast by Harry Clay, my boys, 
 
 Stand fast by Harry Clay ; 
 But gathering strength to brave the storm, 
 Stand fast by Harry Clay. 
 
 Rise, bravely rise, one effort more, 
 
 Your motto thus display, 
 Protection for our native shore, 
 
 >?iistain'd by Harry Clay, 
 
172 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Sustain'd by Harry Clay, my boys, 
 Sustain' d by Harry Clay ; 
 
 Protection for our native shore, 
 Sustain'd by Harry Clay. 
 
 And o'er our gallant Chieftain's* grave, 
 
 Pledge we our faith this day, 
 In weal or ivoe, no change to know, 
 Till triumphs Harry Clay, 
 Till triumphs Harry Clay, my boys, 
 
 Till triumphs Harry Clay, 
 In weal or woe, no change to know, 
 Till triumphs Harry Clay. 
 
 THE LITTLE RED FOX. 
 
 Tune — Ole Dan Tucker. 
 
 The moon was up, and bright as day, 
 The stars they winked in their quiet way— 
 When the Kinderhook Fox was chased by a 
 
 Coon, 
 As the west wind whistled this bran new tune — 
 Get out of the way, you 're quite too late — 
 You Uttle Red Fox of the Empire State. 
 
 The Fox had hoped that the Buckeye Boys 
 Would beat off the Coon with a thundering 
 noise. 
 
 *The lamented Harriaon. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 173 
 
 Bat his heart grew sad, and his fur flew off, 
 As he heard, while he hiccupped a church-yard 
 cough, 
 Get out of the way, &c. 
 
 Over the Una to old Pennsyltuck, 
 
 The Fox thought he 'd go in search of luck ; 
 
 But the cry went up, "we don't want you 
 
 here," 
 And they sung, as there dropt from his eye a 
 
 tear, 
 Get out of the way, &c. 
 
 So on he went, to the old North State, 
 With the hope that "Old Rip" would avert 
 
 his fate ; 
 But when he got there, he lost his tail. 
 And the Coon boys sung, as he " cut " with a 
 wail. 
 Get out of the way, &c. 
 
 The tailless Fox then went to Tennessee, 
 To beg a Utile help from Old Plick-o-ree ; 
 But he heard, as he went, a loud shout for 
 
 Jones, 
 And the song, as he scampered to save his 
 
 bones, 
 Get out of the way, &c. 
 
 Breathless with fear, and without a tail, 
 The sight of a Coon-skin made him quail ; 
 
174 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 He jumped like a thief to a " cut-dirt" tune, 
 And heard, while he yelled Uke a frightened 
 loon, 
 Get out of the way, &c. 
 
 On he leaped, with a limping gait, 
 And took his way through Maryland State ; 
 But it followed him there Uke a hue and cry, 
 That terrible sound which he could not fly, 
 Get out of the way, &c. I 
 
 Wearied and worn, and chased by the "Coon," 
 
 His head became bald as a shaved baboon ; 
 
 When he reached Lindenwold he sighed "I'm 
 unlucky ;" 
 
 For the people all sing, as they shout "Ken- 
 tucky," 
 Get out of the way, &c. 
 
 So the Fox lay down, and his voice got wheezy, 
 His face grew pale, and his stomach uneasy ; 
 He heaved, he kicked, and cried I am lost. 
 And the night- wind moaned, as he gave up the 
 ghost, 
 The little Red Fox is quite unlucky, 
 For the people are going for Old Kentucky ! 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 175 
 
 GET OUT OF THE WAY! 
 
 Tune — Ole Dan Tucker. 
 
 The moon was shining silver bright, 
 The stars with glory crowned the night, 
 High on a limb that " same old Coon" 
 Was singing to himself this tune : 
 
 Chorus. 
 Get out of the way, you're all unlucky ; 
 Clear the track for Old Kentucky ! 
 
 Now in a sad predicament 
 The Lokies are for President, 
 They have six horses in the pasture, 
 And don't know which can run the faster : 
 Get out of the way, &c. 
 
 The wagon-horse from Pennsylvany, 
 The Dutchmen think he 's best of any ; 
 But he must drag in heavy stages. 
 His federal notions and low wages : 
 Get out of the way, &c. 
 
 They proudly bring upon the course 
 An old and broken-down war-horse ; 
 They shout and sing ' O rumpsey dumsey, 
 Colonel Johnson killed Tecumsey '' 
 Get out of the way, &c. ^ 
 
176 
 
 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 And here is Cass, though not a dunce. 
 Will run both sides of the track at once ; 
 To win the race will all things copy, 
 Be sometimes pig, and sometimes puppy : 
 Get out of the way, &c. 
 
 The fiery southern horse Calhoun, 
 Who hates a Fox and fears a Coon, 
 To toe the scratch will not be able. 
 For Matty keeps him in the stable ; 
 Get out of the way, «Sz-c. 
 
 And here is Matty, never idle, 
 A tricky horse that slips his bridle ; 
 In forty-four we '11 show him soon 
 The httle Fox can't fool the Coon : 
 Get out of the way, &c. 
 
 The balkey horse they call John Tyler, 
 Wo '11 head him soon or burst his boiler ; 
 His cursed " grippe" has seized us all. 
 Which Doctor Clay will cure next fall : 
 Get out of the way, &c. 
 
 The people's favourite, HexVry Clay, 
 Is now the ' Fashion' of the day, 
 And let the track be dry or mucky, 
 We '11 stake our pile on Old Kentucky : 
 
 Get out of the way, he 's swift and lucky. 
 
 Clear the track for Old Kentucky ! 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 177 
 
 A NEW SONG TO AN OLD TUNE. 
 Tune — John Anderson, my Jo. 
 
 John Tyler, sir, my Jo, John, 
 
 When first we were acquaint. 
 You did pretend to be a Whig, 
 
 For Harry, sir, you went ; 
 But now you 've got in power, John, 
 
 The cloven foot you show, 
 A curse upon all traitors, John, 
 
 John Tyler, sir, my Jo. 
 
 John Tyler, sir, my Jo, John, 
 
 The Whigs they fought t'gither, 
 And many a canty day, John, 
 
 They had with one anither. 
 But you have them betrayed, John, 
 
 And why did you do so ? 
 A curse upon all traitors, John, 
 
 John Tyler, sir, my Jo. 
 
 John Tyler, sir, my Jo, John, 
 
 When nature first began. 
 To try her canny hand, John, 
 
 Her master- work was man. 
 But when she turned out you, John, 
 
 She swore it was " no go," 
 You proved to be but journey-work. 
 
 John Tyler, sir, my Jo. 
 
178 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 John Tyler, sir, my Jo, John, 
 
 Why will you be a fool, 
 And sneak around the locos, John, 
 
 Who use you for a tool. 
 They 're laughing in their sleeves, John. 
 
 To think that you '11 veto 
 The only Bill can save you, John, 
 
 John Tyler, sir, my Jo. 
 
 John Tyler, sir, my Jo, John, 
 
 The higher monkeys go, 
 The more they show their tails, John, 
 
 You know it's even so. 
 Then get you out the White House, John, 
 
 And homeward do you go, 
 And make the people happy, John, 
 
 John Tyler, sir, my Jo. 
 
 John Tyler, sir, my Jo, John, 
 
 You've vetoed now the Bill, 
 And done an act of treachery. 
 
 That must your measure fill ; 
 Now go among the people, John, 
 
 Their minds if you would know. 
 And hst to their deep curses, John, 
 
 John Tyler, sir, my Jo. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 179 
 
 THE WHIG BATTLE CRY. 
 
 Tune — The Campbells are Coming. 
 
 Away to the battle, our foemen are near, 
 The cries of their leaders are mingled with fiear; 
 Their host is divided — their courage is fled, 
 And the Eagle of victory screams at our head. 
 
 Then down with your enemies — rush to the 
 
 charge. 
 They have set on our people dread ruin at 
 
 large ; 
 From mountain and valley their cries have 
 
 gone up. 
 They have drunk, of the contents of misery's cup. 
 
 Then onward — our leader has ever been true, 
 He lives for his country and battles for you. 
 Old Time in his hurry has honoured his brow, 
 And Harry for freedom is struggling now. 
 
 Our banners are flinging their folds to the air, 
 And the name of our champion nobly they 
 
 bear — 
 The friend of the poor man — the greatest — the 
 
 best, 
 The man that we love— Henry Clay ohhe West. 
 
180 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 THE WHIG CHIEF. 
 
 Tune — Hail to the Chief. 
 
 Shout for our Whig Chief, the bold Ashland 
 Farmer, 
 From the East to the West pass his glorious 
 name. 
 No heart for his country beats truer or warmer, 
 No mind glows more brightly with Liberty's 
 flame. 
 He who in danger's hour, 
 With Demosthenian power. 
 First roused our sons to repel the proud foe, 
 With our votes we will hft 
 To our land's highest gift. 
 And honour great Harry, ho ! ieroe ! ro ! 
 
 Shout for our Whig Chief the honest and fearless, 
 
 Onward he comes to relieve the distress'd. 
 The sky of our country, so long dark and 
 cheerless, 
 Shall brighten beneath this great light of the 
 west. 
 Then raise the joyous song. 
 Give the long pull and strong, 
 To the White House at last our Whig Chief 
 must go ; 
 Fair trade shall flourish then. 
 Justice shall reign again. 
 And Freemen bless Harry, ho 1 ieroe ! ro! 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 181 
 
 FOR HOME PROTECTION AND 
 FOR CLAY. 
 
 The gallant Whigs have drawn the sword, 
 And thrown the idle sheath away ; 
 
 And onward is the battle-word, 
 For Home Protection and For Clay. 
 
 We now have set the ball in motion, 
 That like the sun rolls night and day ; 
 
 While from the prairie to the ocean 
 Awakes a shout for Henry Clay. 
 
 Farewell to sorrow, grief, and fear ! 
 
 Farewell to him who now has sway ; 
 The day of change is drawing near, 
 
 When he gives place to Henry Clay. 
 
 We 've drawn the sword, now rally all, 
 As hunters at the break of day ; 
 
 Leave cottage hearth, and festive hall. 
 And take the field for Henry Clay. 
 
 For he is now the naticcn's choice, 
 The nation's hope, the nation's stay ; 
 
 Then shout, with one united voice, 
 For home Protection and for Clay. 
 
 16 
 
182 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 OUR HARRY THE TRUE. 
 AiR' — Eosin the bow. 
 
 Ye Locos of old Pennsylvany, 
 Of every old state and each new ; 
 
 Take warning, come out with the many, 
 And vote for our Harry the true. 
 
 We 've a multitude here past enduring, 
 Our foes once again they look blue ; 
 
 They see there 's no chance for Van Buren, 
 In a fight with our Harry the true. 
 
 New York and New Jersey are ours, 
 
 Massachusetts, Connecticut too ; 
 And Vermont, with her green mountain flowers, 
 
 Will flourish for Harry the true. 
 
 We 'd a brush in Rhode Island but lately. 
 Just to show 'em what Yankees could do ; 
 
 And we flogged 'em all round most completely, 
 In the name of our Harry the true. 
 
 In old never-tire Virginny, 
 
 They have found of good Whigs not a few ; 
 She 's a state, sirs, I '11 hold you a guinea, 
 
 Goes hollow for Harry the true. 
 
 Who flies to the rescue ? Kentucky ! 
 
 Full of hearts gallant, loyal, like you ; 
 We shall beat them with brave men and lucky, 
 
 With Harry Clay noble and true. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 183 
 
 Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, 
 
 Their towns and green prairies go through ; 
 And you '11 hear, in each nook of the trio, 
 
 Loud shouts for our Harry the true. 
 
 On Michigan shores, in Missouri 
 The ball still in motion we view ; 
 
 But Benton cries out, in a fury, 
 'Tis rolling towards Harry the true. 
 
 xMissiseippi and Louisiana, 
 
 Tennessee, Alabama, here too ; 
 They, from each noble hill and savannah, 
 
 Send voices for Harry the true. 
 
 Should I name all the people are ibr us. 
 It is plain I should never get through ; 
 
 Then rejoice in the prospect before us — 
 Huzza ! for our Harry the true. 
 
 But before I quite finish my ditty. 
 Let me claim, patriot Maryland, you ; 
 
 And hail ! noble monument city, 
 Where we gather for Harry the true. 
 
 HURRAH FOR THE CLAY! 
 
 Tune — How happy^s the Soldier. 
 
 A health to the Farmer, who follows the plough, 
 And earns independence by sweat of the brow ! 
 
184 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 He sings, as he turns the rich soil to the day, 
 ' How happy 's the farmer who hves by the 
 
 Clay.' 
 Hurrah for the Clay, Hurrah for the Clay, 
 How happy 's the farmer who lives by the 
 
 Clay! 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Hurrah for the Clay, hurrah for the Clay, 
 How happy 's the farmer who lives by ihfc 
 Clay! 
 
 The Brickmaker places his forms m tne sun. 
 To harden them well when his moulding is 
 
 done ; 
 Then fires them boldly, not fearing that they 
 Will crack in the kiln, for he trusts to his Clay, 
 Trusts to the Clay ! trusts to the Clay ! 
 It stands every trial, the well-tempered Clay ! 
 Hurrah for the Clay, hurrah for the Clay, 
 It stands every trial, the well-tempered Clay ? 
 
 The Potter is careful in choosing his stuff, 
 And works it to make it both plastic and toagh ; 
 And sings, as he fashions his ware on the tray, 
 ' We 'd all go to pot if it were not for Clay, 
 If it were not for Clay, if it were not for Clay, 
 We 'd all go to pot if it were not for Clay 1' 
 Hurrah for the Clay ! hurrah for the Clay ! 
 We 'd all go to pot if it were not for Clay. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 185 
 
 The Dyer, good fellow, the ladies to please, 
 Takes Clay for a mordant, and Clay for the 
 
 grease ; 
 And proud of his colours so true and so gay, 
 Sings, ' Boys, as we live, let us dye by the Clay. 
 Dye by the Clay, dye by the Clay! 
 Who wouldn't be willing to die by the Clay. 
 Hurrah for the Clay ! hurrah for the Clay I 
 Who wouldn't be wiUing to die by the Clay ?' 
 
 The Ditcher, who works in the mud and the 
 
 sand. 
 Is cheated by slides of the treacherous land ; 
 And cries in despair as the work breaks away, 
 ' It wouldn't be so, if I trusted to Clay I 
 Trusted to Clay ! trusted to Clay ! 
 It wouldn't be so if I trusted to Clay.' 
 Hurrah for the Clay ! hurrah for the Clay ! 
 It wouldn't be so if we'd trusted to Clay ! 
 
 The toil- wearied Cotter, at evening at home, 
 Though soiled are his hands and his jacket with 
 
 loam, 
 Is happy to see his sweet children at play, 
 And smiles at their bhss, for he earned it by 
 
 Clay, 
 Earned it by Clay ! earned it by Clay ! 
 He smiles at their bliss, for he earned it by Clay. 
 Hurrah for the Clay ! hurrah for the Clay I 
 Let 's follow the Cotter and ' work in' the Clay! 
 16* 
 
186 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 When winter-winds howl round the Clay-plas- 
 tered cot, 
 
 And ven'son is smoking, and hominy hot, 
 
 The woodman exults that the tempest's at bay, 
 
 And he laughs at the storm, for he 's sheltered 
 by Clay. 
 
 Sheltered by Clay ! sheltered by Clay ! 
 
 He laughs at the storm, for he 's sheltered by 
 Clay. 
 
 Hurrah for the Clay ! hurrah for the Clay ! 
 
 We'll laugh at the storms when we're shel- 
 tered by Clay. 
 
 The Cabin of State to its ruin runs fast, 
 It lets in the snow drift, the rain and the blast ; 
 Its furniture 's rotten, its timbers decay, 
 And nothing can save it but filling with Clay. 
 FiUing with Clay ! filling with Clay! 
 Nothing can save it but filling with Clay. 
 Hurrah for the Clay ! hurrah for the Clay I 
 And nothing can save it but filling with Clay. 
 
 The world over, boys, there is Clay that is good, 
 For building of cabins and raising of food, 
 But for work such as ours let me tell you the 
 
 best 
 Is Clay of Kentucky — The Clay of the 
 
 West. 
 Clay of the West, Clay of the West, 
 There 's nothing for us like the Clay of the 
 
 West. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 187 
 
 Hurrah for the Clay ! hurrah for the Clay ! 
 There 's nothing for us hke the Kentucky Clay. 
 
 Come join then, my hearties, each son of the 
 
 land, 
 And citizen stranger, hand linked into hand, 
 United and earnest, we 'U carry the day. 
 And rescue the land by top-dressing with Clay. 
 Topping with Clay, topping with Clay, 
 We '11 rescue the land by top-dressing with 
 
 Clay. 
 Hurrah for the Clay ! hurrah for the Clay ! 
 We '11 rescue the land by top-dressing with 
 
 Clay. 
 
 Nine cheers for great Harry, whose honour 
 
 won't bend. 
 Who never turned back on a foe or a friend, 
 Who works for his country by night and by 
 
 day, 
 The country will thank him by working for 
 
 Clay. 
 Working for Clay, working for Clay, 
 The country will thank him by working for 
 
 Clay, 
 Hurrah for the Clay ! hurrah for the Clay ! 
 The country will thank him by working for 
 
 Clay. 
 
188 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 HARRY, THE HONEST AND TRUE. 
 
 Tune — Eosiii the Bow. 
 
 Ye gallant true Whigs of the army 
 That conquer' d for Tippecanoe, 
 
 Come with us, and join now the standard 
 Of '^ Harry, tkehonest and true ;^^ 
 Of Harry, the honest and true, 
 Of Harry, the tried and the true ; 
 
 Who " fought in the ranks," as a soldier. 
 With us, for old Tippecanoe. 
 
 We have not, my friends, now to lead us, 
 
 Our former commander, 'tis true. 
 For death has been here and promoted 
 
 Our chieftain, brave Tippecanoe ; 
 
 Our chieftain, brave Tippecanoe, 
 
 Our gallant old Tippecanoe ; 
 He's left us to join the high army 
 
 Of those who are faithful and true. 
 
 Yet in the same cause we're united, 
 
 We fight the same enemy too, 
 And have for our leader invited 
 
 The friend of old Tippecanoe ; 
 
 The friend of old Tippecanoe, 
 
 Our honest old Tippecanoe ; 
 He's left none behind him more worthy 
 
 Than Harry the gifted and true. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 189 
 
 We know that he never will leave us, 
 
 To join with the enemy's crew ; 
 We know he will never deceive us, 
 
 He ever was honest and true ; 
 
 The Statesman, bold, fearless and true ; 
 
 Our Harry, the honest and true ; 
 The trusty and cherish' d supporter, 
 
 And friend of old Tippecanoe. 
 
 Our gallant old chief when he left us, 
 
 Bequeath'd us a " Captain," thought true. 
 But the traitor has since join'd the army 
 
 That fought against Tippecanoe ; 
 
 That fought against Tippecanoe, 
 
 Our noble old Tippecanoe ; 
 But come, boys, we'll yet "head the Captain,'" 
 
 With Harry, the dauntless and true. 
 
 The victory we gain'd once so nobly. 
 
 We've lost, and by treachery too, 
 But shall ever the soldiers despair, boys, 
 
 Who've fought with old Tippecanoe ? 
 
 Who've fought with old Tippecanoe, 
 
 The gallant old Tippecanoe ; 
 Pick your flints again — look to your priming j 
 
 And — Fire I boys, for Harry, the true. 
 
190 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 HARRY OF KENTUCKY, HO ! lEROE ! 
 
 I Tune — Hail to the Chief. 
 
 Welcome the strain that around us is pealing, 
 Fraught with a music to Freemen so dear, 
 Who but will join it, the glad truth revealing, 
 That our victory's sure, our triumph is near ! 
 
 Back to his element, 
 
 Madly impenitent, ^ 
 Proclaim to the world, the traitor must go ! 
 
 Send forth the sound again. 
 
 Raise high your voices then, 
 *' For Harry of Kentucky, ho ! ieroe !' 
 
 Rouse from your lethargy, ye who have slum- 
 ber'd; 
 Brace on the armour once gallantly worn ! 
 Tell that the hours of King Veto are number'd, 
 Ere you strip him of honours so faithlessly 
 borne ! 
 
 All ye hill sides awake ; 
 The charm let us break, 
 And rise in our might for Freedom's last blow, 
 Up from the valley all, 
 Shout loud the battle call, 
 " For Harry of Kentucky, ho! ieroe !" 
 
 Honest and true is the Kentucky Farmer, 
 Firmly he stood when the tempest raged high ; 
 
 Tho' the Union shook, no peril could harm her, 
 While he guarded her helm with unsleeping 
 eye; 
 
THE CLA.Y MINSTREL. 191 
 
 Unfurl the banner bright, 
 
 Blaze high the beacon Hght, 
 They'll shine on our path and dazzle the foe ; 
 
 Down then with Tyranny, 
 
 Strike then for Liberty, 
 " And Harry of Kentucky, ho ! ieroe !" 
 
 Rally men, rally, now your chains rend asunder j 
 
 Let city and plain, the bench and the loom, 
 The plough and the forge, awake their Whig 
 thunder, 
 And join the full chorus o'er treachery's doom! 
 Rise with the morning sun. 
 Strive till the field is won. 
 Once more to beam 'neath prosperity's glow ; 
 Fly high our eagle bird. 
 As the loud cry is heard, 
 " For Harry of Kentucky, ho ! ieroe." 
 
 CLEAR THE WAY FOR HARRY CLAY. 
 
 Tune — What has caused this great commotion. 
 
 What has caused this agitation, 
 Tation, tation, our foes betray. 
 
 It is the ball a rolling on. 
 To clear the way for Henry Clay, 
 To clear the way for Henry Clay, 
 
 For with him we can beat any man, man, 
 
 Man, of the Van Buren clan. 
 
 For with him we can beat any man. 
 
192 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Mechanics cry out for protection, 
 'Taction, 'taction, and bless the day 
 
 That set the ball a rolling on 
 To clear the way for Henry Clay, 
 To clear the way for Henry Clay, 
 For with him, &c. 
 
 The merchants say there'll be no money, 
 Money, money, their debts to pay. 
 
 Until the ball that's roUing on. 
 Has clear' d the way for Henry Clay, 
 For with him, &c. 
 
 The farmers say there'll be no market. 
 Market, market, for cattle or hay. 
 
 Until the ball that's rolling on 
 Has clear'd the way for Henry Clay, 
 For with him, &c. 
 
 From all professions comes the cry, 
 
 Cry, cry, speed the day. 
 When this good ball that's rolling on, 
 
 Shall clear the way for Henry Clay, 
 For with him, &c. 
 
 The great, the small, the short, the tall, 
 Tall, tall, shall heave away 
 
 To keep this ball a rolling on, 
 And clear the way for Henry Clay, 
 For with him, &c. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 193 
 
 Let honest locos stand from under, 
 
 Under, under, without delay. 
 Join in whh us to roll the ball, 
 
 That clears the way for Henry Clay, 
 For v>ith him, &c. 
 
 We see the ladies on us smiling, 
 Smiling, smiling, in their sweet way, 
 
 One word from them would be enough 
 For Van or Clay to clear the way — 
 We know they'll give that word for Clay, 
 For with him, &c. 
 
 We've spread our banner to the breeze, 
 Breeze, breeze, and it shall stay 
 
 Until the ball that's rolling on. 
 Has clear'd the way for Henry Clay, 
 For with him, &c. 
 
 Come all true-hearted patriots rally, 
 Rally, rally, your strength display, ~ 
 
 Doubt not the ball that's rolling now 
 Shall clear the way for Henry Clay, 
 Shall clear the way for Henry Clay, 
 For with him, &c. 
 
 17 
 
194 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 THE SAME BRAVE OLD COON. 
 
 Tune — The American Star. 
 
 Wake ! Whigs, from your slumbers, oppres- 
 sion's cloud gathers, 
 And treachery darkens the hue of the sky, 
 Rise up with the spirit which nerved your brave 
 fathers, 
 Which thrill' d in each breast, and which 
 flash' d from each eye. 
 Bring the hearts that will meet the stern onset 
 undaunted. 
 Bring the freemen who crave but the contest 
 as boon ; 
 Bring the spirit which wide o'er your banners 
 once flaunted, 
 Bring the spirit of Forty, the same brave old 
 coon. 
 
 Though the being raised up in the strength of 
 your power, 
 Now scorns the proud spirits who placed him 
 on high, 
 In his palace he sits, but the thing of an hour, 
 And trembles e'en now, as your curses 
 sweep by. 
 Speak out the bold tones of your manly defiance, 
 Let treachery know 'twill be punish' d full 
 soon ; 
 In the truth of our freemen we still have reliance, 
 We'll conquer again with the same brave old 
 coon. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 195 
 
 See ! our eagle again rises up in his gladness 
 
 Again the sun gilds his magnificent form, 
 Up, Whigs, from your apathy ; throw off your 
 sadness, 
 Prepare for the battle with energies warm ; 
 We've a cause true and noble which needs our 
 assistance. 
 We've a man pure and bright as the heavens 
 at noon. 
 With them foes and traitors shall meet our re- 
 sistance, 
 And quail once again at the same brave old 
 coon. 
 
 One blow for your country, its laws and its ho- 
 nour, 
 One blow for prosperity blighted and fled. 
 One blow at the miscreant preying upon her, 
 For the charter of liberty broken and dead. 
 From the West, the loud voices of freemen are 
 swelling. 
 Raise ! raise the glad shout in harmonious 
 tune. 
 For our hope once again the loud chorus is telling 
 r the " Farmer of Ashland," the same brave 
 old coon. T. w. 
 
196 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 WHIG SONG/ 
 
 Tune — Boy's Wife of Aldivalhch. 
 
 Harry Clay of old Kentucky, 
 Harry Clay of old Kentucky, 
 There's ne'er a man in all the land 
 Like Harry Clay of Old Kentucky. 
 When foreign foes our rights denied, 
 
 Whose voice aroused our martial thunder ? 
 And when we'd lower'd old England's pride, 
 Who still' d the storm that swept her under? 
 'Twas Harry Clay of Old Kentucky, &c. 
 
 When dread disunion rear'd its head. 
 And civil broils our land distracted. 
 
 At his approach the Hydra fled. 
 Abstraction was itself abstracted, 
 By Harry Clay of Old Kentucky, &c. 
 
 Who all his fond desires represt 
 To save his country from pollution ? 
 
 When friends were doubting who could best 
 Restore our bleeding constitution ? 
 'Twas Harry Clay of Old Kentucky, &c 
 
 The industrious workman's constant friend. 
 
 He would exalt his low condition ; 
 Protect his labour and defend 
 
 Him 'gainst all foreign compeiitiou. 
 Harry Clay of Old Kentucky, &c. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 197 
 
 True principles he will defend, 
 Despite of all who dare oppose them, 
 
 No cursed abstractions fill his head, 
 No cobweb conscience, in his bosom, 
 Harry Clay of Old Kentucky, &c. 
 
 Though treason's blight pervades the land, 
 
 And tyrant veto rules the hour, 
 " He's but a snap, a flash in the pan, 
 So pick your flints and try your power," 
 For Harry Clay of Old Kentucky, 
 Harry Clay of Old Kentucky, 
 There's ne'er a man in all the land 
 Can match our Clay of Old Kentucky. 
 
 THE DEEDS OF CLAY. 
 TuJiJE — The Bonny Boat. 
 
 When in the South dread civil war 
 
 Rose like a storm of night, 
 And nuUifiers near and far. 
 
 Braced for the field of fight ; 
 Then sons of those illustrious sires. 
 
 Who bled at Bunker Hill, 
 Rush'd madly forth to light their fires, 
 
 Their brothers' blood to spill. 
 
 When from the vault of Vernon first, 
 
 A cry was heard aloud. 
 And words of " Peace" in thunder burst 
 
 From fallen freemen's shroud. 
 
 17* 
 
198 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 When swords leap'd to the hero's hand, 
 
 And ghtter'd in our gaze, 
 When terror reign'd throughout the land, 
 
 As in young freedom's days. 
 
 When Clay, the nation's Solon, stood 
 
 Alone and undismay'd. 
 To save the flow of freemen's blood, 
 
 The flag of Peace display'd ; 
 Loud and through the land afar, 
 
 His bold voice hush'd the blast, 
 Calhoun fell from the battle car, 
 
 The storm of war was pass'd. 
 
 Then Clay's bright eloquence still broke. 
 
 Upon the nation's ear ; 
 The Senate shouted as he spoke, 
 
 While thousands rush'd to hear. 
 They saw that hope again was nigh, 
 
 And hail'd the happy day. 
 The dangers in the Southern sky 
 
 At Clay's voice roll'd away. 
 
 The statesmen of the West arose. 
 
 And with our hero's tongue, 
 They hush'd the voice of freedom's foes, 
 
 A rainbow round them hung. 
 A thankful nation blest the deed. 
 
 And flags of peace unfurl'd. 
 And envious nations gave the meed 
 
 Of an admiring world. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 199 
 
 Her pen of gold, the hand of fame, 
 
 From her high temple took — 
 And wrote Clay's never-dying name 
 
 In Time's eternal book. 
 Like all the fathers of the state, 
 
 He in that chair shall rest, ^^ 
 
 To guide and make our nation great, 
 
 And through all ages blest. 
 
 No marble monument he needs 
 
 To crumble and decay, 
 The memory of his mighty deeds 
 
 Can never pass away. 
 Within the people's hearts enshrined 
 
 He'll dearer grow each day. 
 Free from distress each State shall bless 
 
 The hallow' d name of Clay. 
 
 OUR CANDIDATE. 
 Tune — Hurrah ! hurrah ! 
 
 For Henry Clay, our candidate. 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah ! 
 To place him in the Chair of State, 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah ! 
 " God's noblest work — an honest man," 
 A nobler show us if you can ! 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah, hurrah. 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah ! 
 
200 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 We spread our banners to the sky. 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah ! 
 Our motto — "Clay and Liberty 1" 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hur-rah ! 
 At Vetoes we our " Veto" fling, 
 A President we want — not King ! 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, (See. 
 
 Of Demagogues we 've had enough, 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah ! 
 From Tyler down to Johnny Brough, 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah J 
 We 're sick of all their brawHng fuss^ 
 An honest man 's the man for us ! 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, &-c. 
 
 An honest man 's the man we want, 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah ! 
 
 We 're tired of Locofoco cant, 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah ! 
 
 We nail our colours to the mast, 
 
 And shout — Our Country, first and last • 
 Hurrah, hurrah, fcc. 
 
 And when the vict'ry has been won— 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah 1 
 
 (As 'twill be when the conflict s done,) 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah ! 
 
 The fruits will not be thrown away, 
 
 No traitor yet was Henry Clay I 
 Hurrah, hurrah, &c. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 201 
 
 Now, boys, three cheers for lienry Clay, 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah ! 
 With him we 're sure to win the day, 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah ! 
 Our President, if he 's ahve, 
 He 's bound to be in Forty-five, 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah, hurrah, 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah ! 
 
 GET ALONG HARRY, YOU'RE 
 BOUND TO GO IN. 
 
 Tune — Gee up Dobbin. 
 
 Throw doubts to the Locos — we 're confident,, 
 
 'sure 
 That Harry's the boy all our troubles to cure, 
 If Matty, Calhoun, or Buchanan begin 
 To strive for the vict'ry, brave Hal will go in. 
 Get along Harry, get along Harry, 
 Get along Harry, you're bound to go in. 
 
 In the days of old Hick'ry, we all of us thought 
 That he the best was who'd oft'nest fought; 
 Though battles from English and Indians he 'd 
 
 win, 
 To fight with our Statesman he wouldn't begin. 
 
 Get, &/C. 
 
202 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 He managed the people, he governed the 
 
 Banks ; 
 And played while in office all sorts of queer 
 
 pranks ; 
 He killed the old monster, and then with a grin 
 He got many little ones of the same kin. 
 
 Get, &c. 
 
 He promised hard money and " easy to get," 
 But it proved vice versa, as few will forget, 
 The money was soft, ragged, flimsy and thin ; 
 The Banks got it out, but would not get it in. 
 
 Get, &c. 
 
 Houses, lands, and expenses all were up so 
 
 high. 
 That it took all our money provisions to buy, 
 And as it was plenty its value was low, 
 For easy to come is more easy to go. 
 
 Get, &c. 
 
 To be sure the old Hero made Louis of France 
 Pay all that he owed us or he 'd made him 
 
 dance — 
 He threatened Calhoun with a twist by the chin, 
 For Nullification he thought a great sin. 
 
 Get, &c. 
 
 Whate'er he did right another might do ; 
 And for all honest motives our thanks are still 
 due— 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 203 
 
 But to close the last act of the old Hero's plan, 
 He said his successor should be httle Van. 
 
 Get, &c. 
 
 Little Van, while old Hick'ry stood at his back, 
 Was elected our President quite in a crack •, 
 But gad how he scampered when Tippecanoe ' 
 Came at him again, with all the Whig crew I 
 
 Get, &c. 
 
 The people were happy with shouts of delight. 
 At the dawn of the morning they chased the 
 
 black night, 
 And flouted the welkin with banners so gay, 
 To the honours of Harrison, Tyler and Clay. 
 
 Get, &.C. 
 
 But see through the glories of that happy day, 
 The horizon looks dim and the sunshme wears 
 
 gray— 
 'Tis dark, and a cloud has spread over the 
 
 whole — 
 Now hushed be the mirth, and now thoughtful 
 
 each soul. Get, &-c. 
 
 By the stillness of dread, by the gloom of that 
 
 hour, 
 We felt that around us misfortune did lower ; 
 Too soon the sad truth we had cause to deplore, 
 The people's best friend of the time was no 
 
 more. Get, &c. 
 
204 THE CLAY MINSTREL- 
 
 "Who then could their wishes, their feeling con- 
 strue ? 
 
 Who battle for freemen's dear rights and be 
 true ? 
 
 Alas ! we lament thee for thy martyr and chief, 
 
 Thy fate shall be mourned with a nation's deep 
 grief. Get, &c. 
 
 But not without hope — for to Tyler we turn, 
 While his lips with sweet promises throbbingly 
 
 burn— 
 Ah, shame on the traitor ! he fails to pursue 
 The course of our Chieftain, old Tippecanoe. 
 
 Get, &c. 
 
 Let him sink to the dust — yet his name ne'er 
 
 forgot, 
 For no time from his mem'ry shall wipe the 
 
 foul blot ; 
 Then steady our purpose, for traitors ne'er 
 
 stay, 
 To the conflict again for the great Henry Clay. 
 
 Get, &c. 
 
 From the valley's fair bosom, the mountain's 
 
 rough side, 
 From the wilderness dense, and the prairie bo 
 
 wide. 
 We '11 rouse in our might, and no longer delay, 
 We 'U shout for our country, our laws and our 
 
 Clay. Get, &c. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 205 
 
 In vain shall opponents detract from his fame, 
 And seek with their falsehood to tarnish his 
 
 name ; 
 As bright as the diamond it dwells in each 
 
 breast, 
 Its safety secured by its pure nature best. 
 
 Get, &c. 
 
 By the force of our voices — our own hallowed 
 
 cause, 
 By the love of our country, our kindred and 
 
 laws, 
 We're nerved for the battle, away with dismay, 
 Huzza for the strife, and success to Hal Clay. 
 
 Get, &,c. 
 
 H. B. 
 
 THE ORATOR'S COMING. 
 
 Tune — The Campbells are Coming. 
 
 The orator's coming, huzza, huzza! 
 The orator's coming, huzza, huzza! 
 The orator 's coming, our nation to save 
 From the grasp of false Tyler, the despotic 
 
 knave ; 
 The bold demagogues that would ruin our state 
 Must yield to our Solon, and Cicero great, 
 
 1 ''; 
 
208 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 He has long lit our halls with his eloquence 
 
 bright, 
 'Tis he can bring day 'mid our nation's drear 
 night. 
 Our orator 's coming, huzza, huzza I 
 Our orator 's coming, huzza, huzza! 
 Our orator 's coming, our nation to save, 
 And drive from her temple each false ruUng 
 knave. 
 
 Each vile speculator with foreigners joined, 
 To take from our country the money she 's 
 
 coined, 
 His tariff shall rob them of their tyrannous hold. 
 And our own manufactures he '11 nobly uphold. 
 Our orator 's coming, &c. 
 
 The false-hearted statesmen who change every 
 
 hour. 
 Moved only by avarice, plunder and power, 
 His wisdom shall sweep the proud knaves from 
 
 their throne, 
 And each honest toiler shalLthen get "his own." 
 Our orator's coming, &c. 
 
 Then freemen arouse, and with united voice, 
 Shout all through the land for the chief of our 
 
 choice, 
 And let not the cause of the people once rest. 
 Till triumphant our orator comes from the west. 
 Our orator 's coming, &c. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 207 
 
 COME VOTE FOR THE PATRIOT 
 , CLAY. 
 
 Tune — Rosin the Bow. 
 
 Ye freemen throughout the whole nation, 
 
 Attend to your duty, I pray, 
 Come aid in your country's salvation, 
 
 And vote for the patriot Clay, &c. 
 
 Though we 've lost the brave Tippecanoe, 
 So long our best anchor and- stay, 
 
 Our efforts at length we '11 renew. 
 And vote for the patriot Clay, &c. 
 
 "We put into office John Tyler, 
 In hopes that he faithful would stay. 
 
 But since he 's joined hands with the spoiler, 
 We'll vote for the patriot Clay, &c. 
 
 The country is now in great trouble, 
 
 And has been so many a day, 
 And the mischief we fear will be double. 
 
 Unless we 're delivered by Clay, &c. 
 
 The workmen are starving around us. 
 Can you tell me the reason, I pray ? 
 
 Such misery ne'er would have found us. 
 If we had for our President, Clay, &c. 
 
208 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 We used to have money a plenty, 
 Our debts we were able to pay, 
 
 But our pockets so long have been empty, 
 We think we '11 make trial bf Clay, &,c. 
 
 The folks long in power have spoken, 
 And things will be better they say, 
 
 Their promises all have been broken. 
 So we '11 wait no longer, for Clay, &c. 
 
 The nation 's a prey to the spoiler, 
 On all sides 'tis filled with dismay. 
 
 So we '11 quickly drop Captain Tyler, 
 And stick to the patriot Clay, &c. 
 
 Then gather ye friends of the nation, 
 
 Attend to your duty, I pray, 
 Come aid in your country's salvation, 
 
 And vote for the patriot Clay, &c. 
 
 HARRY CLAY. 
 
 Tune — Harry Bluff. 
 
 Harry Clay when a boy was without friends or 
 
 home, 
 Left a poor orphan lad on the cold earth to roam, 
 But the lire of his genius flash'd early to y'lQVf, 
 And he fill'd all with wonder the older he grew. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 209 
 
 Tho' his mind it was young, he won sages' ap- 
 plause, 
 
 When our land was in danger, he roused hearts 
 in her cause. 
 
 Old statesmen all cried he'd one day lead the 
 — Van, 
 
 Tho' in years but a boy, heM the wisdom of 
 man, 
 
 And the soul of a pure Yankee Freeman. 
 
 Ere to manhood advanced, he a statesman be- 
 came, 
 And toil'd for his dear country's freedom and 
 
 fame, 
 So true to his party — in council so brave, 
 The tones of his voice hush'd each treacherous 
 
 knave ; 
 If our nation was wrong' d his heart leap'd at 
 
 the sound. 
 And the power of his mind awed the nations 
 
 around ; 
 Then honour brave Hal with our country's high 
 
 sway, 
 And he'll make foe and knave all our lost rights 
 
 repay, 
 With the soul of a pure Yankee Statesman. 
 
 18* 
 
210 THE CLAY MINSTREL- 
 
 WHAT SOUND IS THAT, THAT O'ER 
 THE HILLS. 
 
 Tune — O^er the Hills and far away. 
 
 What sound is that that o'er the hills 
 
 Is borne upon the sweeping gale ? 
 On ev'ry breeze the thunder swells, 
 
 From mountain top and blooming vale^ 
 They are a nation's shouts that rise. 
 
 And cry aloud with eager zest, 
 While every rock and hill replies. 
 
 And echoes Harky of the West. 
 
 Then swell the shouts, and let it rise 
 
 From every happy freeman's voice, 
 Until its thunders reach the skies. 
 
 And Freedom's mighty self rejoice. 
 Around the brow of Harry Clay, 
 
 Shall twine a never-fading wreath, 
 A chap let of the brightest bay. 
 
 That Fame can to her sons bequeath. 
 
 J. D. Vt\ 
 
 APPEAL TO FREEMEN. 
 
 Tune — Bruce' s Address. 
 
 Freemen whom your states adore, 
 And your blood-bought rights of yore? 
 Pwally now and you'll restore 
 Your past prosperity. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 211 
 
 Delay noi, boys, another hour, 
 Up each state and town to scour, 
 Show the glorious might and power, 
 Of men that will be free. 
 
 Up bold Whigs with speech and song, 
 Name your rights — redress your wrong, 
 Shout the huzza, loud and long 
 
 For Clay and liberty. 
 By his noble heart and voice. 
 He is now the people's choice. 
 He will make the land rejoice. 
 
 And burst Ty's ty-ranny, 
 
 Workies who so long have borne 
 Tyler's falsehood, schemes and scorn, 
 No more in quiet meet and mourn. 
 
 Rouse in your majesty. 
 Remember ye opprest and low, 
 " Who would be free must strike the blow, 
 f)n then to the struggle go, 
 
 Nor cease till you are free. 
 
 Sons of "seventy-six's" souls. 
 
 Through whose veins their true blood rolls, 
 
 Shall it be said a king controls 
 
 Your nation's destiny ? 
 Shall a chief that high seat fill, 
 Who defies the people's will, 
 And would plunge us deeper still, 
 
 In ruia and misery ? 
 
212 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Shall a despot's word command, 
 The "bone and sinew of the land,' 
 Snatching from the toil-sore hand 
 
 The rights of industry ? 
 Rouse then, brothers, now's the day, 
 To the ballot-box for Clay, 
 Sweep the bugs that on us prey, 
 
 In hum-6w^'s livery. 
 
 Vain is all the Captain's post, 
 Corporal guard, and loco host, 
 With noble Clay, the nation's boast, 
 
 We'll make 'em turn and flee. 
 Try the "Distribution's" power. 
 And the noble White House scour, 
 Millions then shall bless the hour 
 
 When Clay our chief shall be. 
 Vain are the props on which they rest, 
 Calhoun and Van can't stand the test, 
 Against bold Harry of the West, 
 
 The honest, wise and free. 
 
 THE CLAY GATHERING. 
 
 Tune — The Macgregor's Gathering. 
 
 The land-shout rings loud for our bold Hero 
 
 Clay, 
 A nd his name and the true cause grow brighter 
 
 each day, 
 Our signal to go for our Tariff and laws 
 Must be heard in our shout for bold Harry, 
 
 huzza ! 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 213 
 
 Then huzza! huzza! huzza! for Harry, boys, 
 The treasury's sapp'd by political beagles, 
 We'll muzzle the hounds and restore our lost 
 eagles. 
 
 Then gather, gather, gather, 
 Gather, gather, gather, gather. 
 
 While we've patriots like Clay, our dear land 
 
 to deliver, 
 Her freedom and glory shall flourish for ever. 
 Our fair land is plunder'd, 
 By demagogue powers. 
 Its trade and its treasures 
 
 No longer are ours ; 
 We are tradeless and fundless, 
 Fundless freemen all. 
 Fundless, &c. 
 
 Through our towns, plains and mountains, our 
 banners we'll rear. 
 
 For reform and a Tariff, still louder we'll cheer, 
 
 And our cliffs and green mountains shall moul- 
 der away. 
 
 Ere we yield up our cause or our patriot Clay. 
 Then huzza ! huzza ! huzza ! for bold Harry, 
 boys, 
 
 Though our nation is plunder'd by Ty and his 
 beagles. 
 
 We will muzzle his hounds and restore our lost 
 eagles. 
 
214 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Then gather, gather, gather, &c. 
 While we've sages like Clay, our dear land to 
 
 deliver, 
 Her freedom and glory shall flourish for ever. 
 And thus, &.c. 
 
 THE CHIEF OF THE WEST. 
 
 Tune — Spring time of year is coining. 
 
 The chief of the west is coming, coming, 
 Whigs all must muster, night and day, 
 Throughout the land they're humming, hum- 
 ming, 
 And all their cry is Clay, boj^s. 
 And all their cry is Clay, boys. 
 Great freedom's bird soars lighter, 
 Each patriot's hope is brighter, 
 And freemen as they meet, now. 
 All shout through hall and street, now — 
 
 The chief of the west is coming, &c. 
 
 .Each patriot's heart is swelling, swelling, 
 
 With hope of Clay and prosperous days, 
 Large meetings now are telling, telling 
 That all will go for Clay, boys ; 
 Clay'U make the Corporal guard retreat, 
 With all who mock the people's will, 
 And while he fills the lofty seat, 
 
 The land with wealth and peace he'll fill, 
 The chief of the west is coming, &c. 
 
 s. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. ^15 
 
 THE STAR OF THE WEST. 
 
 Tune — Meeting ef the Waters, 
 
 There's not in the union, the' we search it thro' 
 A chief Uke old Hal of Kentucky, so true ; 
 And the on<3 to restore our dear land so opprest, 
 Is the bold Harry Clay, tlie bright sto.r of the 
 West. 
 
 Long, long has he toil'd in our Senate's great 
 
 hall 
 To give equal rights, equal blessings to all, 
 Corruption's, sly serpents he braved in their nest, 
 Unbcught and undaunted — the star of the West, 
 
 While the proud " Veto" monarch was toiling 
 
 each hour 
 To step o'er our necks as he stept into power, 
 The first heart tliat strove his foul sway to resist, 
 Was bold Harry Clay, the bright star of the 
 
 West. 
 
 Then Democrat Whigs, to the rescue come all. 
 Ere the Tyler-rack'd Temple of Freedom shfill 
 
 fall. 
 With Clay we'll eement it, and illumine it3 
 
 crest 
 With the land-cheering light of tlie star of the 
 
 West. 
 
21 G ' THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 TRUE HARRY OF KENTUCKY, O. 
 TuwE — Green grmo the Rushes, 0. 
 
 There'"s naught but care throughout the land, 
 
 The nation can't be lucky, i 
 Until her men go heart and hand 
 
 For Harry of Kentucky, O ! 
 Huzza for old Kentucky, O ! 
 
 True Harry of Kentucky, O ! 
 Prosperity again we'll know 
 
 Through Harry of Kentucky, O. 
 
 The opposition know him good. 
 
 Though contrary they say, my boys, 
 Their tory chiefs are only mud, 
 
 Compared with our true Clay, my boys. 
 Huzza for old Kentucky, O ! 
 
 True Harry of Kentucky, O ! 
 Their candidates will be no go 
 
 'Gain&t Harry of Kentucky, O. 
 
 Sly Benton, he is Bent-on spoils. 
 
 And swears the Tariff shall not go ; 
 But Whigs will give him for his toils, 
 
 Clay halls for his rag mint-drops, O ! 
 Huzza for old Kentucky, ! 
 
 True Harry of Kentucky, ! 
 The bright mint -hail again shall flow 
 
 Through Harry of Kentucky, O ! 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 217 
 
 His tariff then our rights shall guard, 
 
 From foreign speculators free, 
 And keep our money to reward 
 
 Our native toilers' industry. 
 Then shout for old Kentucky, O ! 
 
 And vote for old Kentucky, O ! 
 The good old times again will grow, 
 
 From pure Clay of Kentucky, O ! 
 
 From the Coons of Rhode Island to the Clay 
 Whi&s of the Union — Greeting. 
 
 Tune — Ole Dan Tucker. 
 
 As I've got time I'll tell you all 
 The States that vote for Clay next fall, 
 'Tis easy told, and thus 'tis done — 
 They all will vote for Clay but one. 
 
 Chorus. 
 
 Then Tyler clear, get out the way, 
 Make room now for Harry Clay ; 
 Get out the way you John Tyler, 
 You 've collapsed and burst your biler I 
 
 Old Tennessee began the dance, 
 And woke Van Buren from his trance ; 
 'T is hard to beat the " Farmer Jones" 
 As 't was for Dorr to leave " them bones.'* 
 19 
 
218 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Chorus. 
 
 Next coni« the news from Maryland — 
 'T is mighty bad for me, says Van ; 
 For " Tyler too" it is a roarer, 
 As well as Bob, who wrote Medora. 
 
 Chorus. 
 
 Georgia, too, right well she 's done 
 For old Kentucky's gallant son ; 
 She wants a tariff, " fair to good," 
 To give her " Crackers" meat and food. 
 
 Chorus. 
 
 ]\Iore news has come from the Jarsey shore, 
 It makes old Tyler grin once more ; 
 And the locos rant and the locos roar — 
 We '11 beat them bad in forty-four. 
 
 Chorus. 
 
 We 've heard the news from the Quaker State, 
 It shows Van Buren his true fate ; 
 It tells John Tyler he must clear ; 
 We '11 beat them bad the coming year. 
 
 Chorus. 
 
 We 've heard more news from Ohio — 
 For Clay 't is good, for Tyler no ! 
 That hall is surely rolling on, 
 hn^ makes more verses for this song. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 219 
 
 Chorus. 
 Van Winkle's State has spoken loud, 
 And adds to Harry's swelling crowd ; 
 She 's bid farewell to Tyler John, 
 And now she goes Kentucky's son. 
 
 Chorus. 
 
 Now, Bay State Boys, wheel into place, 
 And meet your foe, now, face to face. 
 And drive them all from bed and pallet, 
 With Morton, Wright, and Green and Hallett. 
 
 Chorus. 
 
 And what do you think New York will do ? ^ 
 She '11 drive from her this loco crew; 
 In all good time she '11 come along, 
 And go for Clay, ten thousand strong. 
 
 Chorus. 
 
 Virginia, too, will do her best. 
 
 To put this winded nag at rest ; 
 
 Of good Whig votes she has got lots— 
 
 " Long time ago" she had the Botts. 
 
 Chorus. 
 
 Rhode Island 's sure for Henry Clay, 
 As sure as cometh November's day. 
 She's "up and dress'd," and won't give way 
 Until she 's voted strong for Clay. 
 
220 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Chorus. 
 
 To all good Whigs conjoined, I say, 
 Be "up and dress'd," and vote for Clay; 
 Remove afar this " crying sin," 
 " Pick your flints and try agin." 
 
 THE PEOPLE'S RALLY. 
 
 Come, come to the meeting, 
 
 Come one, and come all, 
 For true hearts are beating. 
 
 Responsive the call ; 
 From highland and valley, 
 
 From mountain and plain, 
 Come, come to the rally, 
 
 Our rights to regain. 
 
 Indignantly spurning 
 
 The yoke of the slave. 
 With liberty burning. 
 
 We cringe not, nor crave ; 
 Our banner is flouting 
 
 Its red wings on high. 
 And freemen are shouting 
 
 To do or to die. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 221 
 
 Let triflers preach Union 
 
 For office and spoils ; 
 We shun a communion 
 
 Environed with toils; 
 Away with caresses, 
 
 Contrived to betray, 
 The tunic of Nessus 
 
 Were better than they. 
 
 Our country for ever, 
 
 From Sabine to Maine ; 
 No true Whigs will sever 
 
 One hnk in the chain, — 
 No pretences hollow. 
 
 No mixing of taeeds — 
 Our flag we will follow 
 
 Wherever it leads. 
 
 Then come to the meeting, 
 
 Come one and come all, 
 For true hearts are beating. 
 
 To answer the call ; 
 From highland and valley, 
 
 From mountain and plain, 
 Come, come to the rally, 
 
 Our rights to regain. 
 
 19 
 
222 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 KNOW YE THE LAND? 
 
 Tune — Know ye the land where the cypress and 
 myrtle ? 
 
 Know ye the land where defaulting and thieving 
 By Swartwouts in office are done every day ; 
 
 Where party men vie in the art of deceiving, 
 And then cap the cUmax by running away ? 
 
 Know ye the land of the vault and the key, 
 Where the vault is unclosed, and money left 
 
 free 
 To be pilfered and spent through the vigilant 
 
 care 
 Of collectors and agents whom party put there ? 
 
 Where reform is a by-word, retrenchment a 
 
 dream, 
 Corruption the practice, and plunder the 
 
 scheme ; 
 Where a kitchen cabal, or a caucus in drill 
 Dares proclaim its own voice as a free people's 
 
 will? 
 
 Know ye the land where Sub- Treasurers riot, 
 Like an army of rats when the cat is away, 
 
 Where the cash of the people is stolen in quiet, 
 And nothing is left but to whistle for pay ? 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 223 
 
 'Tis the land of our fathers, 'tis America's soil, 
 Where Hberty's price was blood, treasures and 
 
 toil : 
 'Tis the land that was freed and by Washington 
 
 won, 
 Where deeds so disgraceful are openly done. 
 
 Let a people oppressed arise in their might, 
 Avenge their own wrongs, and contend for the 
 
 right ; 
 Dispel the deep gloom overspreading the land, 
 With boldness of heart and with vigour of hand! 
 
 COME TO THE CONTEST. 
 
 Tune — The old oaken Bucket. 
 
 Come on to the contest, the call is loud rinffiner: 
 Each son of the Key Stone, the call is to you ; 
 The foe all his forces to action is bringing, 
 
 The battle-field soon will arise to your view. 
 Then say, "are you ready," and wait to re- 
 ceive it, 
 The shock which the freeman must shortly 
 repel ; 
 Right onward ! your aid ! every true son will 
 give it, 
 And vote for the Farmer that 's worked the 
 farm well ! 
 
224 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 The hard-fisted Farmer, 
 The honest old Farmer ! 
 We ffo for the Farmer that's worked the farm 
 wells 
 
 We want no new workmen, no experimenting 
 On the blood-hallowed spot where our fore- 
 fathers fought ; 
 We'll keep the old path, and there'll be no 
 repenting, 
 And we '11 ever remember good lessons when 
 taught. 
 Then away in your pride, for the Farmer pre- 
 siding, 
 Let the note of approval in loud concert swell. 
 And his foes may in vain still persist in deriding, 
 We '11 vote for the Farmer that 's worked 
 the farm well ! 
 
 The hard-fisted Farmer, 
 The honest old Farmer ! 
 We go for the Farmer .that's worked the 
 farm well ! 
 
 The Van Buren Locos in vain with their legions 
 Would vanquish the free in the land of their 
 birth. 
 And they '11 hear in loud thunder that these are 
 the regions 
 Where no tribute is paid save the tribute to 
 worth 1 
 
THE CLA-Y MINSTREL. 225 
 
 That tribute is due, and we 're going to pay it, 
 And soon shall they hear the glad triumph- 
 tone swell ! 
 Than the year forty-four, we'll no longer 
 
 delay it, , , , 
 
 But vote for the Farmer that 's worked the 
 
 farm well ! 
 
 The hard-fisted Farmer, 
 The honest old Farmer ! 
 We'll support Clay, the Farmer, who worked 
 the farm well ! 
 
 The foUowi«g song wis written by aa OLD DEMOCRAT of 
 1798, an original Jackson man. but not an admirer of such modem or 
 ^^ patent dtmocracy^' as is professed by " Not-a-single-drop-of-demo- 
 cratic-blood" Buchanan, or " As-long-as-the-federal-flag-waved-m-New- 
 Jersey-I-was-proud-to-rally-under-it» Garret D. Wall. 
 
 THE ARISTOCRACY OF DEMOCRACY. 
 
 Tune — " John Anderson, my Jo." 
 
 Ye aristocratic Democrats ! 
 
 Buchanan, Wall, and Co. 
 Ye black-cockaded Federalists, 
 
 You 're Democrats — Oho ! 
 The loco-foco Democrats, 
 
 Of which you take the lead, 
 Are spawn' d from every faction '. 
 
 Van Buren's bastard breed I 
 p 
 
226 THE CLAY MINSTREL 
 
 Ye aristocratic Democrats ! 
 
 Within whose veins don't flow 
 A drop of Democratic blood ! 
 
 Buchanan's boast you know ; 
 You '11 say it was before he went 
 
 To Russia's autocrat ', 
 And pocketed some thousands ; — 
 
 A full-blood Democrat ! 
 
 Ye aristocratic Democrats ! 
 
 Who lead corruption's crew; 
 Who, with a single eye direct, 
 
 Keep office aye in view ; 
 The dear \ dear people ! you'd persuade, 
 
 Alas ! poor simple elves, 
 Their cash you'd watch with vigilance ; 
 
 Then — pocket it yourselves ! 
 
 Ye aristocratic Democrats I 
 
 Encased in triple brass, 
 ' While plundering of the people's purse, 
 
 For patriots you would pass f 
 A cut-purse oft-times has been known. 
 
 When running from the crowd. 
 To bawl stop thief, stop thief, stop thief J 
 
 The loudest of the loud ! 
 
 Ye aristocratic Democrats ! 
 
 Like hags of dark midnight, 
 A pall of blackness you have spread 
 
 O'er prospects once so bright ; 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 227 
 
 Industry you have paralysed ; 
 
 Destruction stalks around; 
 And all our country's happiness 
 
 You 've levelled with the ground. 
 
 Ye aristocratic Democrats I 
 
 Ye sordid demagogues ; 
 All round the horizon you have spread 
 
 Delusion's noisome fogs ; 
 The ten years' ruthless war you 've waged 
 
 Against our country's weal, 
 Our children's children, much I fear, 
 
 Are doomed for years to feel ! 
 
 Ye aristocratic Democrats ! 
 
 Sub -treasurers you would be, 
 As Democrats, par excellence, 
 
 None are more fit than ye ; 
 To keep the people's cash, I ween. 
 
 None will your Price dispute ; 
 Who'd grudge di price for honesty,. 
 
 Would priceless make Swartwout! 
 
 Ye aristocratic Democrats ! 
 
 Ye hollow-hearted clique, 
 Who for the sake of power and pelf 
 
 Will at no vileness stick ; 
 Who Proteus-hke will change your garb, 
 
 Your baseness to disguise, 
 To cheat the people of their wealth, 
 
 Their rights and liberties 1 
 
228 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Ye aristocratic Democrats ! 
 
 The "sober second thought" 
 Of an awakened people 
 
 Will spurn you into nought ! 
 The masks torn from your faces, 
 
 And from your places hurled, 
 You '11 stand the scorn of all mankind, 
 
 A proverb through the world ! 
 
 Ye aristocratic Democrats I 
 
 The hateful theme I '11 quit, 
 Convinced the people will ere long 
 
 Unmask each hypocrite ! 
 And to the view of honest men. 
 
 Your ingrain baseness show, 
 Ye tiger-hearted demagogues, 
 
 Van Buren, Wright, and Co. ! 
 
 Ye aristocratic Democrats ! 
 
 One word, and I have done ; 
 I '11 leave you in the people's hands, 
 
 By Harry Clay led on, 
 Who hke a torrent from the hills, 
 
 Will sweep you all away ; 
 Your names, a by -word through the land. 
 
 Forever and for aye ! p. p. , 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 229 
 
 JOHN C. CALHOUN MY JO. 
 
 Tune—" John Anderson, my Jo.^^ 
 
 John C. Calhoun my Jo John, I 'm sorry for 
 your fate, 
 
 You 've nullified the tariff laws, you 've nulU- 
 fied your state ; 
 
 You 've nullified your party, John, and princi- 
 ples, you know, 
 
 And now you 've nullified yourself, John C. 
 Calhoun my Jo. 
 
 Oh I John, how could you look into the face of 
 
 Henry Clay ? 
 The glory of the Western World and of the 
 
 world away ; 
 You call yourself his " master," John, but that 
 
 can ne'er be so, 
 For he " would not own you for a slave," John 
 
 C. Calhoun my Jo. 
 
 The Father of the Tariff, John, and Patron of 
 the Arts, 
 
 He seeks to build his country up m spite of 
 foreign parts ; 
 
 And Harry Clay will soon upset the little Van 
 &Co., 
 
 And renovate the Ship of State, John C. Cal- 
 houn my Jo, 
 20 
 
230 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 John C. Calhoun my Jo John, ambition in 
 
 despair, 
 Once made you nullify the whole, the lialf of it 
 
 to share ; 
 The " whole hog now you 've gone,' John, 
 
 with Kendall, Blair & Co., 
 But " you've got the wrong sow by the ear," 
 
 John C. Calhoun my Jo. 
 
 American mechanics, John, will never sell their 
 
 votes, 
 For Mint Drops or for Treasury Bills, or even 
 
 British coats; 
 They want no English coaches, John, white 
 
 servants they forego. 
 For their carriage is of Yankee stamp, John 
 
 C. Calhoun my Jo. 
 
 Oh ! John, he is a slippery blade with whom 
 
 you 've got to deal, 
 He '11 pass between your clutches too, just like 
 
 a Uving eel ; 
 You think he '11 recommend you, John, but Van 
 
 will ne'er do so, 
 For he wants the fishes for himself, John C. 
 
 Calhoun my Jo. 
 
 John C. Calhoun my Jo, John, if this you dare 
 
 to doubt, 
 Go ask the Living Skeleton, who deals his 
 
 secrets out, 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 231 
 
 His favourites are marked, John, the mark yoa 
 
 cannot toe, 
 And you '11 soon repent the bargain made, John 
 
 C. Calhoun my Jo. 
 
 This is a dirty business, John, go wash your 
 
 little hands, 
 And never bow your knee again to cuniiirig 
 
 Van's commands; 
 " How you are off for soap," John, I cannot eay 
 
 I know, 
 But " yovar mother does not know you 're out," 
 
 John C. Calhoun my Jo. 
 
 The brave sons of the South, John, will never 
 
 own you more, 
 And Benton's Mint Drops will not save— 
 
 you 're rotten to the core ; 
 The peopk will no power, John, on such as 
 
 you bestow, 
 And you 've jumped your final somerset, Jckn 
 
 C. Calhoun my Jo. 
 
 John C. Calhoun my Jo John, you '11 ride with 
 little Van, 
 
 From yonder Whited Sepulchre, with all jts 
 motley clan ; 
 
 The journey will be long, John, now mind I 
 tell you so, 
 
 For they never can return again, John C, Cal- 
 houn my Jo, 
 
232 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Then better men, my Jo John, our sad affairs 
 will fix, 
 
 Republicans in principle, the Whigs of seventy- 
 six; 
 
 The offices they '11 purge, John, Swartwouters 
 all will go. 
 
 And sycophantic fellows too, John C. Calhoun 
 my Jo, 
 
 The farmer of the West, John, will plough the 
 
 weeds away, 
 And the noble friend of Harrison will gain 
 
 another day ; 
 America will flourish, John, mechanics find 
 
 employ, 
 And our merchants will rejoice indeed, Johr 
 
 C. Calhoun my Jo. 
 
 John C. Calhoun ray Jo John, when one term 
 shall expire. 
 
 He'll drop the reins of power, and with dig- 
 nity retire, 
 
 To look upon a smiling land, that he has ren- 
 dered so. 
 
 And every Whig will cry Amen ! John 0. 
 Calhoun my Jo. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 233 
 
 THE PEOPLE'S RALLY. 
 Tune— TAe Campbells are Coming. 
 
 Come up to the polls ! there is work to be 
 
 done; 
 Come up m your strength, and the battle is 
 
 won. 
 With our Clay for a leader, then enter the fight ; 
 The people are rising, resistless in might ; 
 Then hurrah, boys ! hurrah, boys ! the truth 
 
 will prevail ; 
 The custom-house slaves are beginning to quail ; 
 The elections have told them their race is near 
 
 run: 
 Hurrah, boys I hurrah, boys ! the battle is won ! 
 
 Down, down with the rulers who've rui?ied the 
 
 land, 
 
 Who have crushed all our hopes with a merci- 
 less hand ; 
 
 The men who would make our loved country 
 the same 
 
 As serf-peopled Russia, or tyrannized Spain, 
 
 Who would rule our loved land with imperial 
 
 sway, 
 And give for our labour but sixpence per day, — 
 Van Buren, Buchanan, and Benton, the 
 
 knaves — 
 Such are but fit to be rulers of slaves. 
 20 * 
 
"234 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Arouse, then, ye freemen, at Liberty's call! 
 Aroiwe, in your glory, and out with them all ! 
 Already they falter, already they reel ; 
 The signs of defeat they 're beginning to feel ; 
 One blow from your hands lays them low in 
 
 the dust, 
 Arise in your ardour, and conquer you must ; 
 Then be true to your country, to principle true, 
 And bold Harry Clay will be faithful to you ! 
 
 LOST HOPES. 
 Tune— T^e last rose of summer. 
 
 "Tis the last Locofoco 
 
 Left weeping alone ; 
 All his loafer companions 
 
 Are vanished and gone. 
 
 No old friend is near him, 
 
 No Conservative nigh, 
 To muse on his sorrows, 
 
 Or give sigh for sigh. 
 
 We must leave thee, thou lone onCr 
 
 In Tammany Hall, 
 Till Moore and Cambreling 
 
 The people recall. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 235 
 
 Soon Tyler will follow 
 
 His friendship's decay ; ' 
 From the White House departing, 
 
 His hopes pass away. 
 
 Since the party is withered, 
 
 Its leaders all gone, 
 Oh, who would inhabit 
 
 Saint Tammany alone ? 
 
 COME, CHEER UP, YE WHIGS. 
 
 Air—" The star-spangled banner.''^ 
 
 Come, cheer up, ye Whigs ! for your cause it 
 is glorious, 
 
 Like your sires be united and like them be vic- 
 torious, 
 
 For freedom and honour was the meed of their 
 toils, 
 
 For independance they fought, and not hke 
 pirates for spoils. 
 / 
 
 Com'c, cheer up, ye Whigs ! for your cause is 
 divine, 
 
 In " Union for the sake of the Union" combine, 
 
 To expel from all power each fell demagogue, 
 
 Who'd expunge from our morals the whole 
 Decalogue. 
 
236 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Come, cheer up, ye Whigs I resolved heart and 
 
 hand 
 To rescue your country from corruption's foul 
 
 band ; 
 On the altar of Union light up Freedom's fires, 
 And rush to the rescue, as of old did your sires. 
 
 Come, cheer up, ye Whigs! "you are right. 
 
 go ahead," 
 Your candidate has filled the Sub-Treasurers 
 
 with dread, 
 For he's honest, he's capable, he's fearless 
 
 and just, 
 And with honour untarnished has filled every 
 
 trust. 
 
 Come, cheer up, ye Whigs! for most holy's 
 
 your cause. 
 You strike for your country, constitution, and 
 
 laws, 
 Raise the banner of union with Harry Clay on, 
 Whose pole star's his country, his guide 
 
 Washington. 
 
 Come, cheer up, ye Whigs ! see your own 
 
 Henry Clay, 
 On the ramparts resisting the demagogues' 
 
 sway ; 
 No selfishness rankles in the patriot's pure 
 
 breast, 
 And purer don't live than our Hal of the West ! 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 237 
 
 Come, cheer up, ye Whigs ! lo, the man of 
 
 the North, 
 With the constitution displayed, in his might 
 
 standing forth. 
 To rescue the country from the gripe of the 
 
 knaves, 
 Who 'd the constitution destroy and of freemen 
 
 make slaves! 
 
 Come, cheer up, ye Whigs ! hurrah ! go ahead ! 
 Your candidate has filled all the plunderers 
 
 with dread ; 
 Raise the star-spangled banner of the Union on 
 
 high. 
 And contempt be his lot who the battle would 
 
 fly. 
 
 Now, onward, ye Whigs ! for your cause it is 
 
 glorious, 
 United, you must, and you will be victorious ! 
 On, on ! with the friend of your own Harrison, 
 For great are the laurels he nobly has won ! 
 
 p. p. 
 
238 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 THE WHIG GATHERING. 
 Tune — Pibroch of Do7inel Dku. 
 
 Voice of the nation bold ! 
 
 Voice of the nation ! 
 Wake thy free tones of old, 
 
 In loud invocation. 
 Come away, come away ! 
 
 Merchant and yeoman, 
 Strengthen the Whig array 
 
 Strong 'gainst the foeman. 
 
 Come from forest of Maine, 
 
 Through the mist and the shower. 
 Come o'er prairie and plain, 
 
 From the south sunny bower. 
 Come from high northern hill, 
 
 And from green western hollow, 
 With stout heart and good will 
 
 Come, follow ! come, follow. 
 
 Leave the store, leave the shore. 
 
 Leave the crop and the cattle. 
 Ten thousand strong and more, 
 
 Troop to the battle. 
 Come every blue jacket. 
 
 And true heart that wears one, 
 Come each country crab-stick, 
 
 And brave hand that bears one> 
 
THE CLA-Y MINSTREL. 231# 
 
 Onward fall, one and all, 
 
 On to your station. 
 Hear ye the people call — 
 
 "Rescue the nation!" 
 Faster come, every man. 
 
 Faster and faster, 
 Show quick the Tory clan 
 
 Who'll be their master. 
 
 Fast they come, fast they come: 
 
 See them all ready ! 
 Strike up the people's drum, 
 
 Stand firm and steady. 
 Wave the Whig standard high. 
 
 All bright in its glories — 
 Then for the nation's cry, — 
 
 " Down with the Tories '." 
 
 THE CLAY GATHERING. 
 
 Tune — McGregor's Gathering. 
 
 The land is awaking, and free to the blast, 
 The standard of Freedom is fearlessly cast, * 
 For the rights that we all from our forefathers 
 
 drew 
 We fight, and our leader is Harry the true t 
 Then halloo ! halloo ! halloo ! to the coa- 
 
 test 1 — 
 
240 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 The spirit that kindled our fathers of yore 
 
 Is throwing its hght o'er the country once more. 
 Then gather ! gather ! gather ! gather ! ga- 
 ther ! gather ! — 
 
 While a mountain shall stand, or while sparkles 
 a river, 
 
 The cause of the people shall flourish for ever. 
 
 The land is awaking, and vanishing night 
 Flies away from the east at the dawning of 
 
 hght, 
 The beams of Connecticut gladden the eye, 
 The star of Rhode Island is bright in the sky. 
 Then halloo! halloo! halloo! to the con- 
 test !— 
 The people are rising, resistless in strength, 
 And the cause of the people will triumph at 
 length. 
 Then gather ! gather ! gather ! gather ! ga- 
 ther ! gather ! — 
 While a mountain &c. 
 
 Virginia rises at Liberty's call — 
 
 One blow from her arm, and the Despot must 
 
 fall. 
 Iier son is our leader. She falters not now, 
 And the chaplet of Victory circles her brow. 
 Then halloo ! halloo ! halloo ! to the con- 
 test 1— 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 241 
 
 From the shades of Mount Vernon the people's 
 loud voice 
 
 Calls every true man of the land to rejoice. 
 Then gather ! gather ! gather ! gather ! ga- 
 ther ! gather ! — 
 
 While Virginia has ehher a mountain or river, 
 
 The cause of our country shall flourish for ever. 
 
 The land is awaking — our rulers, in fear, 
 
 See plainly their time of departure is near ; 
 
 There is grief in the White House, and many 
 an eye 
 
 Is watching in tears the political sky. 
 Then halloo ! halloo to the contest ! — 
 
 And many a pampered political beagle 
 
 Crouches down at the sight of the Kentucky 
 eagle. 
 Then gather ! gather ! gather ! gather ! ga- 
 ther ! gather ! — 
 
 While a mountain shall stand, or while sparkles 
 a river. 
 
 That eagle, despite them, shall flourish for ever. 
 
 21 
 
242 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 THE GATHERING SONG. 
 
 A PARODY. 
 
 They 're rousing, they 're rousing, in valley and 
 glen, 
 
 The noble in soul, and the fearless in heart ; 
 At Freedom's stern call, to the contest again 
 
 They rush with a zeal she alone can impart. 
 
 From wild Madawaska's dark forest of pine, 
 To the fair fertile glades where the calm Wa- 
 bash flows, 
 True sons of their fathers ! the people combine 
 To shake off the chains of their treacherous 
 foes. 
 
 They're gathering, they're gathering on hill- 
 side and plain, 
 They swarm every vale and o'ershadow each 
 river ; 
 Each hamlet and dale is made vocal again 
 With the soul-thriUing cry, "Our coimtry 
 forever !" 
 
 The flag of the fre6 to the breeze is unfurled, 
 Around it they rally to guard its fair fame ; 
 
 And well may the foes of corruption be bold. 
 In the glory and strength of great Harry 
 Clay's name. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 243 
 
 Where the noble Ohio in wild beauty sweeps — 
 Where the swift Susquehanna bears onward 
 
 its waves— 
 And e'en where the Hudson in calm grandeur 
 
 sleeps — 
 There are thousands who ne'er will be traitors 
 
 or slaves. 
 
 Arouse then, true hearts, to the battle once 
 
 more ! 
 
 And the Locos shall quail at the gallant array! 
 
 Despair fades behind us — Hope's morn dawns 
 
 before ! 
 
 It will brighten full soon to a shadowless day! 
 
 THE POPULAR AVALANCHE. 
 
 Tune — Little wat ye who's a coming. 
 
 Little wat ye wha's a coming, 
 Little wat ye wha's a coming, 
 Little wat ye wha's a coming. 
 North, South, East, and West are coming '. 
 
 Vermont's coming, the Bay State's coming, 
 Rhode Island — yes, and Maine is coming, 
 Connecticut is surely coming, 
 The Empire State and a' are coming ! 
 
 Little wat ye, &c. 
 
244 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 The Key- Stone State is bravely coming, 
 The Marylanders all are coming, 
 The boys of Delaware are coming. 
 And never- tired Virginia's coming ! 
 
 Little wat ye, &c. 
 
 Old Rip's awake, and he is poming, 
 Georgia for her right is coming. 
 The Alabamians fast are coming, 
 And Louisiana a' is coming ! 
 
 Mississippi, too, is coming, 
 Tennessee and Jones are coming, 
 Kentucky all en masse is coming, 
 Ohio ! every man is coming ! 
 
 Little .wat ye, &,c, 
 
 Illinois is quickly coming, 
 Indiana, too, is coming, 
 Michigan, redeemed, is coming. 
 In troth, the braw lads a' are coming I 
 
 Little wat ye, &c. 
 
 THE AMERICAN FLAG AND CLAY. 
 Tune — Sjparhling and bright. 
 
 See in the light of glory bright, 
 Each star and stripe proudly beaming 
 
 Our flag once more unfurled to the war. 
 To the breeze of reform now streaming. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 245 
 
 Your goblets fill, with a free good will, 
 
 To the Chief renowned in story, 
 Pledge your faith to him on the beaker's brim, 
 
 To speed him onward to glory. 
 
 Oh ! that he might arrest the blight 
 
 Destroying our dominions, 
 Yet first awhile he must beguile 
 
 The spoiler of his minions. 
 
 Your goblets fill, &c. 
 
 Our Chieftain bright will stop the wight, 
 And all his friends shall leave him, 
 
 And every one, for Harry Clay, 
 With loud huzzas shall grieve him. 
 
 Your goblets fill, &c. 
 
 When high in state, we'll place elate, » 
 
 By his side our flag unwaved ; 
 Loud be our cheers, when the hero for years 
 
 Plants that flag o'er a union saved. 
 
 Your goblets fill, &,c. 
 
 WE PLEDGE THEE. 
 
 All hail ! to the Whigs, who have nobly come 
 forth, — 
 CoNNEcxicuT, honour to thee ; 
 Thou hast shown to the world, that the men of 
 the North 
 Have willed, and they dare to he free! 
 21* 
 
246 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Rhode Island, triumphant, has echoed thy 
 voice. 
 
 Every patriot Wlaig will combine 
 To accomphsh a victory,— virtue o'er vice,— 
 
 Decisive and glorious as tliine. 
 
 Come Whigs, to the polls, let each name be 
 enrolled, 
 
 Our weapon the popular will ; 
 The foeman does battle with " Treasury gold. 
 
 And vaunteth its potency still. 
 
 But arouse ye ! who still boast of patriot blood, 
 
 And would yet have your children be free. 
 
 Stem the tide of corruption, whose poisonous 
 
 flood 
 Hath deluged our land like a sea. 
 
 Now up with your banner ! the battle 's begun. 
 And nerve every arm for the fight ; 
 
 With Clay for our leader the vict'ry is won, 
 Our motto, " our country, our right.'' 
 
 Ye minions of power ! your eftorts are vain : 
 And Locos ! your cause is unjust ; 
 
 Our country, we pledge thee again and again, 
 Thy sons will prove true to theu- trust. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 247 
 
 THE PEOPLE ARE COMING. 
 
 Air — " The star-spangled banner." 
 
 The people are coming — the Locos are down, 
 Let a loud shout of triumph be heard in our 
 
 town ; 
 Tom Benton is beaten and Amos is loo'd, 
 The " pip" and " bhnd staggers" have reached 
 
 the whole brood ; 
 Huzza, then, huzza ! 'mid the cannon's loud 
 
 roar, 
 Let's resolve to be ruled by Van Buren no 
 
 more. 
 
 'T\\e people are coming— oh, Matty, beware, 
 The people are coming— oh, Tyler, take care ! 
 Tom Benton, Buchanan, and Silas Wright, too. 
 The people are coming to take care of you : 
 Huzza, then, huzza ! from the lakes to sea 
 
 shore, 
 Let 's resolve to be ruled by the Locos no more. 
 
 Our Harry is coming your whole crew to rout. 
 The people have called him to help turn you out, 
 He 's one of the people — he 's honest and true, 
 Whig, Loco, or Neutral can't say that of you. 
 Huzza, then, huzza ! — to the rescue once more, 
 Such scampering of Locos was ne'er seen 
 before. 
 
248 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Old Harry is coming to take the command 
 Of the ship Constitution, and bring her to land ; 
 The whole Kitchen Cabinet will be set ashore, 
 And Matty and Tyler be heard of no more. 
 Huzza, theij, huzza ! once more let us cheer ; 
 With such a commander we 've nothing to fear 
 
 COME TO THE RESCUE. 
 
 Tune — " Marseilles Hymn.''^ 
 
 Rise, rise ! ye freemen, once 'twas glory 
 
 For man to oppose a tyrant's power ; 
 And who resisted lived in story : 
 
 Oh, seize, then seize, the present hour! 
 Say, shall we slumber, while around us 
 Oppression's galling chains are cast? 
 Say, will they lighter hang at last, 
 To call them gold when they have bound us ? 
 No, no, no, no ! then rise 
 
 For our forefathers' laws ; 
 Mardi on, march on ! resolved to win 
 Our favourite Statesman's cause ! 
 
 Will flattering tales of coming pleasures. 
 When plenteousness and peace shall reign, 
 
 And all be rich in glittering treasures. 
 The poor man's present wishes gain? 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 249 
 
 Will 't stay the tide of desolation, 
 That sweeps so strongly o'er our land, 
 To gorge an office-holding band, 
 
 And rob the pockets of the nation ? 
 
 No, no, no, no ! then rise, &c. 
 
 Oh, freemen, up ! let widely flowing 
 Your banners to the breeze be thrown, 
 
 Your love of worth and wisdom showing ; 
 Your scorn for tyrant knaves made known ! 
 
 Shall men believe their voices telling 
 In syren tones, your ship of state 
 Is safe, when all around, dark fate 
 
 Frowns out in every wave that 's swelling ? 
 No, no, no, no ! then rise, &c. 
 
 The statesman-chief who leads undaunted, 
 
 And cheers a pure and patriot band ; 
 Whose praise a grateful nation chanted, 
 
 Who tills, a farmer bold, his land. 
 
 Shall we neglect for one, who scorning 
 
 Our rights, the people^s cause. 
 
 Who dares to trample on our laws, 
 
 Nor lists their prayer, their threats, nor warning ? 
 
 Then rise, rise all for one 
 
 The champion of our cause ; 
 Huzza ! for him a loud huzza ! 
 Nor let your paean pause. 
 
250 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 FOR HARRY CLAY, HUZZA! 
 
 Tune— "Prog in a well,'' or any equal measure. 
 
 Ye Whigs, Conservatives, and all, 
 
 Listen to your country's call. 
 
 For troubles " press her to the wall," 
 
 Party giving law ! 
 
 There 's nothing, surely, more sublime, 
 Than freemen roused in party time, 
 To save their lands from plot and crime : 
 
 Republicans, huzza ! 
 
 The Tory Lord of Kinderhook 
 Honest men have most forsook ; 
 There 's naught of him, where'er we look, 
 
 Confidence can draw ! 
 
 We to the Locofoco clan, 
 
 The patent demo's leave the man, 
 
 And riddance seek from wizzard Van! 
 
 Republicans, huzza ! 
 
 This man you know has often told, 
 That our land should flow with gold ; 
 And honest men their freedom sold. 
 
 For this dictum law. 
 
 His plans are only to deceive : 
 Leg Bail, is all the treasurers give ; 
 But Still our cause we can retrieve ; 
 
 RepubUcans, huzza ! 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 251 
 
 We feel oppression bearing on, 
 Taxes high, and money low, 
 And officers, exempt, alone. 
 
 From the destructive law. 
 
 Then, Whigs, advance, of every grade. 
 Your country to redeem and aid, 
 In freedom's panoply arrayed ; 
 
 Republicans, huzza! 
 
 We for the country firmly stand, 
 
 As a patriotic band ; 
 
 From party men, of party-brand, 
 
 We, of course, withdravs'. 
 
 " Our country first, our country last," 
 Her standard, " nailing to the mast," 
 " We 're clear for action," standing fast. 
 
 Republicans, huzza! 
 
 We know, indeed, that men must rule, 
 But we spurn the party tool. 
 Republicans of ancient school 
 
 Our actions draw. 
 
 Of such, the man for whom we go. 
 He 's known to all, and this we know, 
 His feelings for his country flow ! 
 
 'Tis Harry Clay, huzza! 
 
 What good has Ty or Martin done ? 
 None, that ever saw the sun ! 
 
252 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Their schemes are all for " number one," 
 
 Power and wealth to draw. 
 
 Great Harry 's quite another man, 
 To help the people all he can, 
 His steady aim, his only plan ; 
 
 For Harry Clay, huzza ! 
 
 THE FARMER PRESIDENT. 
 Tune — The Poachers. 
 
 Did you ever hear of the Farmer 
 
 That lives up in the West ; 
 Of all the men for President 
 
 The wisest and the best ? 
 To put him in the Capitol, 
 
 We 've found a capital way : 
 Oh ! we '11 sing a good Clay song by night, 
 
 And beat his foes by day. 
 
 Oh ! we '11 sing, &c. 
 
 Come, all of every station, 
 
 The rich as well as poor ; 
 For all the farmer has a place 
 
 Who ever sought his door : 
 He never shrunk before the rich, 
 
 Nor turned the poor away : 
 Oh ! we 'II sing a good Clay song by night. 
 
 And beat his foes by day. 
 
 Oh ! we'll sing, &c. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 25S 
 
 Come all the folks of every age, 
 
 The old as well as young ; 
 There 's not in all Columbia 
 
 A name more justly sung j 
 The bravest of the brave M^as he, 
 
 When found in deadly fray, 
 Oh I we '11 sing a good Clay song by nighty 
 
 And beat his foes by day. 
 
 Oh! we'll sing, &c. 
 
 When gathered into council, 
 
 Among the wise and great, 
 He never thought to serve himself, 
 
 But wisely served the state ; 
 A statesman he of vigour yet, 
 
 Although his locks are grey ; 
 Oh I we '11 sing a good Clay song by night, 
 
 And beat his foes by day. 
 
 Oh ! we'll sing, &,c. 
 
 There 's news about election 
 
 Borne on in every gale, 
 A shout from every place is heard. 
 
 About the plough and flail ; 
 And freemen's voices gladly join 
 
 To catch the sound so gay : 
 Oh I we '11 sing a good Clay song by night. 
 
 And beat his foes by day. 
 
 Oh ! we'll sing, &c. 
 22 
 
254 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Then raise the great Clay banner 
 
 Upon the outward wall ; 
 The word is rolling trumpet-tongued : 
 
 We 'II win against next fall ; 
 The cry of victory rends the air, 
 
 It swells the joyous lay : 
 Oh ! we '11 sing a good Clay song by night, 
 
 And beat his foes by day. 
 
 Oh! we'll sing, &c. 
 
 THE SUB-TREASURY GENTLEMAN. 
 
 Tune — The fine old English gentleman. 
 
 I '11 sing you a bran new song, 
 
 Which was made by a queer old pate, 
 Of a Sub-Treasury gentleman, 
 
 Who controls the nation's fate ; 
 And who keeps up his old mansion, 
 
 All at the people's cost. 
 With pampered menials to receive 
 
 The sycophantic host. 
 
 Like a Sub-Treasury gentleman, 
 All of the modern time. 
 
 His splendid halls are hung about 
 
 With richest tapestry. 
 The mirrors bright and paintings rare 
 
 Are wonderful to see ; 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 255 
 
 And there his worship sits in state, 
 
 And rumour's tongue doth say, 
 He quafts, from golden cups, rich wine, 
 To moisten his old clay. 
 
 Like a Sub- Treasury gentleman. 
 All of the modern time. 
 
 His custom is, when hard times come, 
 
 And the distressed repair 
 To his old hall, to seek relief 
 
 And claim protection there, 
 To say to them — " My policy 
 
 I cannot change a hair 
 For your relief, the government 
 
 Must of itself take care." 
 
 Like the Sub-Treasury gentleman, 
 All of the modern time. 
 
 Yet all at length must bend to fate. 
 
 So like the ebbing tide. 
 Declining swiftly, at the last 
 
 This man must stand aside. 
 Then quickly will the poor man's tear 
 
 Be wiped away and dried, 
 And people shout both loud and long, 
 
 So much they scorn the pride 
 
 Of the Sub- Treasury gentleman, 
 All of the modern time. 
 
 When times and rulers both are changed, 
 And rogues have passed away, 
 
256 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 The people's hands and people's hearts 
 
 Will prove the people's sway. 
 The offices will then be filled, 
 
 As they were wont of yore, 
 That is, by honest men and true, 
 
 With heart to help the poor. 
 Like Clay, true-hearted gentleman, 
 
 Whose kindness knows no end, 
 Once poor himself, has ever proved 
 
 The poor man's steady friend. 
 
 SONG OF THE WHIG. 
 
 Tu:*iE — Eemember the day when Brings proud 
 glory. 
 
 Remember the day when our banner unfurled, 
 Like a sun-burst of glory, first flashed to the 
 
 world ; 
 When the spirits of Washington, Madison, 
 
 breathed. 
 And the blades of the patriot band were un- 
 sheathed ; 
 
 A Whig was the cry 
 That went up to the sky ! 
 Oh ! yet may that name, hke a billow of flame. 
 
 Roll onward, till tyranny's form 
 Lies prostrate and cold, as it weltered of old, 
 When freedom directed the storm. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 257 
 
 Ye Whigs ! shall those spirits still breathe on 
 
 us now, 
 And nerve every heart and illume every brow ? 
 Shall the memory of those in our bright land 
 
 expire, 
 And tyranny scatter its patriot fire f 
 While Kentucky's star 
 Waves on from afar 
 While the glory of Harrison, Shelby, and 
 Clay, 
 Like rainbows of victory shine — 
 We will hallow each name, we will cherish 
 their fame. 
 And gather round Liberty's shrine I 
 
 We have sworn it when traitors were forging 
 
 our chains, 
 'T is a cause rendered holy by patriot veins ; 
 The oath is recorded by bright hands above — 
 'T is enshrined in each freeman's unchangeable 
 love ; 
 
 And "A Whig" is the cry! 
 Let it ring to the sky — 
 While we march for our fires and the graves of 
 our sires 
 O'er a land by their ancestors trod— 
 With our banner unrolled, each heart free and 
 bold- 
 Reliance on Justice and God ! 
 23 * R 
 
5i58 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 THE GALLANT SAILOR has ailwajs had a firm and steady 
 fneiid iu HENRY CLAY. Id a speech delivered by bim, in 1812, jm8 
 before the war, in the House of Representatives, he spote as follows. 
 '• We are toW that England U a proud and lofty nation, which disdain- 
 ing to wait for danger, meats it haif way. Ha>ighty as she is, we once 
 triumphed over her, and if we do not listen to the counsels of timidity 
 SLd despair, we shall again prevail. In such a cause, with the aid of 
 P 'evidence, we must be crowned with success ; but if we fail, let us fau 
 Ike mea,-las,h ourselves to our gallant tars, and ei[>ire together in Oct- 
 tammoQ strue?le, fighting for free trade and Seamen's ri^htf^' 
 
 Ship a-hoy! 
 
 HARRY CLAY AND THE JACKETS 
 OF BLUEr 
 
 Tune — " Ye sons of Cdumhia." 
 
 The good ship of state is now driven ashore. 
 The thunder howls round us, and dark tempests 
 
 lower ; 
 The sea is fast rising— and breaks in the bay, 
 And the hearts of the boldest are filled with 
 
 dismay : 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. i^59 
 
 She will founder, unless, with true patriot zeal, 
 We get rid of the lubber who stands at the 
 wheel ! 
 
 And take a ?iew pilot, whose heart is true 
 blue — 
 
 And such we shall find in our Harry the true. 
 
 Our Harry's a leader, brave, honest, and true, 
 And deserves the esteem of the jackets of blue; 
 His bosom, so free from intrigue, guile, or art. 
 Is the shrine of that treasure, a patriot's heart. 
 Besides, if we turn o'er his log, we shall find 
 Him a foe to oppression— a friend to mankind. 
 What say ye, then, sailors \— ye jackets of blue, 
 Shall we choose as out pilot bold Harry the true ? 
 
 He has stood by our rights— and nobly has 
 shown 
 
 That m state navigation he 's second to none; 
 His soul with the true "live-oak grit,'' is im- 
 bued ! 
 
 He is worthy to stand where a Washington 
 stood I » 
 
 Then give him the tiller— v^hen he steps on 
 deck, 
 
 His firmness and wisdom will save us from 
 wreck. 
 
 Then summon him, tars ! Shout, jackets of 
 blue, 
 
 " Oh, haste to the rescue, bold Harry the true." 
 
260 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Had he lived in a country where merit is known, 
 And rewarded by pensions and praise, or a 
 
 throne, 
 Wealth, power, and fame would have been jusi 
 
 his meed. 
 And an humble " log hut" had ne'er sheltered 
 
 his head ; 
 But his nature is noble— his worth stands con- 
 fessed — 
 The son of Virginia— fAe pride of the west ! 
 Come on, then, my hearties 1 Ye jackets of 
 
 blue, 
 And salute with nine huzzas bold Harry the 
 
 true ! 
 
 THE CLAY FLAG. 
 
 Tune.— TAe Soldier's Gratitude. 
 'Tis fair to see yon banner bright 
 
 Unfurling to the breeze ; 
 'Tis joy to hear that shout arise, 
 
 A Nation's voice it breathes. 
 
 And see upon that sunlit flag 
 With glorious mottoes strewed ; 
 
 The patriot name which justly claims 
 A Nation's gratitude. 
 
 The stainless crest of Harry Clay, 
 Its waving canvass bears ; 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 261 
 
 We proudly nail it to the mast, 
 And cry, "gainsay who dares !" 
 
 Breathes there a man who bears a heart 
 With patriotic fire imbued, 
 
 But yields our Chief his well-earn'd meed, 
 A Nation's gratitude ? 
 
 If the LADIES,— Heaven bless them ' could vote, the election of Mr. 
 
 Clay wo'.ild be carried by acclamation ! Their influence was power- 
 fully felt in 1840, and their appreciation of eloquence, patriotism and 
 ftnius, will prorapt them to a warm support of " Harry of the West." 
 Of this the following excellent song is a proof: 
 
 IF E'ER I SHOULD WISH TO GET 
 MARRIED. 
 
 BY A LADY. 
 
 Tune,—" Rosiri the Bow." 
 
 If e'er I should wish to get married, 
 And indeed I don't know but I may, 
 
 The man that I give up my hand to, 
 Must be the firm friend of Old Clay, 
 
 Must be &c. &c. 
 
 For I am sure I could ne'er love a loco. 
 No matter how grand he might be. 
 
 And the man that could vote for Dick Johnson 
 Is not of a taste to stiit me. 
 
 Is not &c. &c. 
 
262 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Tom Benton 's too much of a rowdij, 
 To claim any good man's support, 
 
 And on Jemmy Buchanan's low wages 
 The people have made their report. 
 
 The people &c. &c. 
 
 John Tyler 's too mean to be thought of, 
 A circumstance dropt for a man ; 
 
 By every true Whig he 's regarded, 
 As only a "flash in the pan.'' 
 
 As only &c. &c. 
 
 His conduct can no way dishearten — 
 The Whigs only wait for the day, 
 
 To make him another " gone Martin," 
 And move on with Old Harry Clay. 
 
 And move &c. &c. 
 
 Then rouse gallant Whigs to your duty, 
 And drive all the miscreants away, 
 
 Complete what you strove for in forty, 
 Your watchword be Old Harry Clay. 
 
 Your watchword &c. &c. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 263 
 
 HOW MANY CLAY MEN ARE 
 THERE ? 
 
 DEDICATED TO THE CLAY CLUB OF SALEM, N. J. 
 
 Tune — Rosin the Bow. 
 
 Johnny Tyler in good time will know, 
 By the shouts of the Whigs everywhere 
 
 Whose voices of thunder will show 
 Full " how many Clay men are there." 
 
 The Captain will hear the sad news. 
 Which will his dear Locos all scare, 
 
 When the ballots of we Jersey Bkes 
 Say " how many Clay men are there." 
 
 Vermont that is true as the pole, 
 Will from mountain and valley declare, 
 
 That the ball she as ever will roll 
 With many good Clay men yet there. 
 
 Mississippi is ready to sliow, 
 
 With Ohio, and stout Dclav/are, 
 That all of them very well know 
 
 A world of strong Clay men are there. 
 
 Kentucky, the gallant and bold, 
 
 The weak-headed traitor won't spare ; 
 
 She'll proclaim, as she has done of old, 
 That none but good Clay men are there. 
 
264 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 There 's Maryland's voice he will hear, 
 And Georgia as loudly will dare. 
 
 To shout in the imbecile's ear 
 How many firm Clay men are there. 
 
 Carolina will echo the sound : 
 
 Louisiana it onward can heai ; 
 Indiana shall pass it around — 
 
 For plenty of Clay men are there. 
 
 From New York he shall hear it again ; 
 
 In her strength she will make him aware. 
 That through her wide-reaching domain 
 
 Great hosts of strong Clay men are there. 
 
 A voice from far Michigan comes ; 
 
 Massachusetts and " Rhody" prepare 
 To tell, with Connecticut's sons, 
 
 That a strong vote of Clay men are there. 
 
 Pennsylvania '11 speak bravely for one ; 
 
 And Virginia is ready to swear 
 That, though Johnny Tyler's her son, 
 
 Enough of good Clay men are there. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 265 
 
 THE WHIG RIFLE. 
 
 Air—" Old Rosin the Bow.'' 
 
 Come true gallant Whigs of the Union — 
 Though cheated, we '11 never complain ; 
 If a traitor has snapped our Whig Rifle, 
 We '11 pick flint and try it again ; 
 We '11 pick flint and try it again, 
 We '11 pick flint and try it again ; 
 If a traitor has snapped our Whig Rifle, 
 We '11 pick flint and try it again. 
 
 This time we fell in with a Judas, 
 And dotard both selfish and vain ; 
 
 And he 's made our Whig Rifle burn priming, 
 But we '11 pick flint and try it again. 
 
 But we '11 pick flint, &c. 
 
 His eyes have grown dim with the v.apours, 
 Abstractions have addled his brain ; 
 
 And whatever he shoots at he misses — 
 But we '11 pick flint and try it again ; 
 
 But we '11 pick flint, &c. 
 
 Brave William, when he lay a-dying, 
 Gave up the Whig Rifle with pain ; 
 
 And for his sake, who gallantly won it, 
 We'll pick flint and try it again ; 
 
 We '11 pick flint, &c 
 23 
 
266 THE CLA.Y MINSTREL. 
 
 From the green fertile fields of Kentucky, 
 
 A hunter steps over the plain, 
 And his eagle-eye sights our good Rifle — 
 
 And he '11 pick flint and try it again ; 
 
 And he '11 pick it, (Sec. 
 
 Huzza '. for our bold gallant Harry, 
 
 He hfts not the Rifle in vain. 
 And straight to the centre she '11 carry, 
 
 Ayhen he picks it and tries it again ; 
 
 When he picks it, &,c. 
 
 Last war when our captive Sailors, 
 
 Their cries sent abroad on the main. 
 " Free Trade !" " Sailor's Rights !" cried brave 
 Harry, 
 Lads, pick flint and try it again ; 
 
 Lads, pick flint, &c. 
 
 And now when a dastard and traitor 
 Has caused us to triumph in vain, 
 
 True Harry leads on to the rescue. 
 Crying, " pick flint and try it again !" 
 
 Crying, " pick flint," (See. 
 
 Henry Clay of Kentucky is our leader, 
 
 Come, rally from mountain and plain ! 
 Think no more of the thing that betrayed us ; 
 But pick flint and try it again ; 
 But pick flint and try it again. 
 But pick flint and try it again ; 
 Think no more of the thing that betray'd us, 
 But pick flint and try it again. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 267 
 
 THE DAYTON GATHERING. 
 
 To Dayton we have come, my boys, 
 
 AH in a great arraj', 
 And we will sing and shout aloud, 
 Hurrah for Henry Clay ! 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah for Henry Clay, 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah for Henry Clay ! 
 
 He is the man for us, my boys, 
 
 He 's honest, great and true ; 
 And he can beat that little Van, 
 
 Or any of his crew. 
 
 Hurrah, &c. 
 
 It 's right to have the people meet 
 
 In a good old-fashioned way ; 
 And when they 've met to sing Hurrah, 
 
 Hurrah for Harry Clay ! 
 
 Hurrah, &c. 
 
 He lives in Old Kentuck, my boys. 
 
 The Banner-State, you know, 
 And she has lots of relatives. 
 
 The nearest, 0-hi-o .' 
 
 Hurrah, &c. 
 
 The first is little Tennessee, 
 
 And she is not so slow, 
 And when election does come on, 
 
 For Harry Clay she 'II go. 
 
 Hurrah, &c. 
 
268 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 The next is Louisiana State, 
 
 On her you can depend, 
 To boost along old Harry Clay, 
 
 A helping hand she '11 lend. 
 
 Hurrah, &c. 
 
 Old North Carolina is safe enough, 
 
 For Harry Clay is she. 
 Old Captain Tyler she will head, 
 
 And veto him "per se." 
 
 Hurrah, &c. 
 
 When Georgia votes in forty-four, 
 
 She '11 rank among the best, 
 Of those that help along the ball 
 
 For Harry of the West. 
 
 Hurrah, &c. 
 
 The next relation is that State 
 
 Which is called Maryland, 
 And she has pledged herself to go 
 
 For the Farmer of Ashlajid ! 
 
 Hurrah, &c. 
 
 Of the Empire State I need not speak, 
 
 But this much will I say. 
 That she has done whh her favourite son, 
 
 And goes for Harry Clay. 
 
 Hurrah, &c. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 269 
 
 The Yankee States they are all safe, 
 
 For Harry Clay the true, 
 While " Little Rhody'' opposes Dorr, 
 
 And Captain Tyler too. 
 
 Hurrah, &c. 
 
 New Jersey State is safe and true, 
 
 For Harry of the West, 
 ^For she has said that of all men, 
 
 That man she loves the best. 
 
 Hurrah, &c. 
 
 The little State of Delaware, 
 
 She's "glorious to behold," 
 And in eighteen hundred forty-four 
 
 The right tale will be told. 
 
 Hurrah, &c. 
 
 And yet there is the Key-stone State, 
 
 And she '11 not fail to be 
 In eighteen hundred forty -four 
 
 With the rest of the family. 
 
 Hurrah, &c. 
 
 The Wolverines are a set of boys 
 
 The Locos cannot buy. 
 And when they growl and show their teeth. 
 For Harry Clay, they'll cry. 
 
 Hurrah, &c, 
 23* 
 
270 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 And " last, not least," the Hoosier State, 
 
 Will do what she has done, 
 And give to Harry of the West, 
 
 What she gave to Harrison. 
 
 Hurrah, &c. 
 
 In eighteen hundred forty-four 
 
 The people all will say, 
 That for our President we'll have 
 
 The Patriot Henry Clay I 
 
 Hurrah, &c. 
 
 Three cheers for Harry of the West, 
 
 To whom our love is due ; 
 Three cheers for Tom the Wagon Boy, 
 Three cheers for ladies true. 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah for Harry Clay, 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah for Harry Clay ! 
 
 HERE*S A HEALTH TO OUR 0^V^^ 
 HARRY CLAY. 
 
 Tune — Hurrah for the Bonnets a' Blue. 
 
 Here's a health to the working-man's friend, 
 Here's good luck to the Plough and the Loom, 
 
 And who will not join in support of our cause, 
 May light dinners and ill-luck illume. 
 
 It's good from true faith ne'er to swerve, 
 It's good from the right ne'er to stray. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 271 
 
 It's good to maintain America's Cause, 
 And stick by our own Harry Clay. 
 
 Here's a health to our own Harry Clay, 
 
 Hurrah for our own Harry Clay, 
 It's good to maintain America's cause, 
 And stick by out own Harry Clay. 
 
 Here's a health to the sons of " Kentuck," 
 Here's good will to her matrons and sires, 
 Here's a health to our Harry, the pride of his 
 State, 
 Whose name ev'ry true heart inspires. 
 Hurrah for our own Harry Clay, 
 
 We'll shout him from Texas to Maine, 
 If once in his life he perchance has missed fire, 
 " Pick his flint, and then try him again." 
 Here's a health to our own Harry Clay,, 
 
 Hurrah for our own Harry Clay, 
 It's good to maintain America's causBj 
 And stick by our own Harry Clay. 
 
 AS I WALKED OUT. 
 
 As I walked out dis arternoon, 
 To a drink by de light ob de moon, 
 Dar I see dat "same Old Coon" 
 
 A sittin' on a tree, 
 
 A sittin' on a tree, 
 
 A sittin' on a tree, 
 
 A sittin' on a tree, 
 
 And looking werry glad. 
 
272 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Says I to him, wot make you grin? 
 De Lokies say your'er dead as sin ; 
 Dut dar you is, de same old skin, 
 A sittin' on de tree, &c. 
 
 " Ob course I ar," says he. " and soon 
 De Whigs will sing de good old tune 
 About dis werry same Old Coon, 
 A sittin' on de tree, &c. 
 
 " When Massa Harrison — bless his soul ' 
 Began the great Whig ball to roll. 
 Why here I sot, and see de whole — 
 A sittin' on dis tree, &,c. 
 
 "One ting dar was in dat campain, 
 I hope to neber see again, 
 It gives the Old Coon so much pain, 
 A sittin' on de tree, &c. 
 Lookin' werry bad. 
 
 " De way ' Ole Weto 'd take you in, 
 I oilers thought would be a sin ; 
 It almose made me shed my skin. 
 While sittin' on de tree, &c. 
 Lookin' mighty mad. 
 
 " Now when you get into de fray, 
 Dat will be 'fore many a day, 
 And end in 'lecting Harry Clay, 
 I'll sit upon dis tree, &c. 
 Lookin' werry glad. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 273 
 
 "And den, I hope, If you put on 
 Your flag de name of any one 
 Wid his'n, 'twill be an "honest John," 
 Or else not none at all !" 
 So says dis Same Old Coon. w. b. 
 
 CLARE DE KITCHEN. 
 
 In old Kentuck, in de arternoon, 
 
 We take a bee-line for de same old coon, 
 
 And when de nigger tree him, we ail form a 
 
 ring, 
 And dis is de tune which dis nigger sing. 
 Oh, clare de kitchen, Loco-Foco, 
 Clare de kitchen, Looo-Foco, 
 Ole Kentuck he neber tire. 
 
 I went to Washington on de old white hoss, 
 I ?iead Captain Tyler — he look bery cross ! 
 He look at dis nigger, and dis nigger look at him ; 
 " Massa Weto, for Wirginny you'd better set 
 your shin." 
 Oh, clare de kitchen, &c. 
 
 Den Massa Calhoun come a walking by, 
 And dus, at de White House turn de white ob 
 
 his eye, 
 But Massa Calhoun, you can't come it nigher, 
 You bery big man, but you too big nuUifier. 
 So clare de kitchen, &c. 
 
214: THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Massa Benton den he come — he cut such a 
 swell, 
 
 How I row him up Sah River, jist hear dis nig- 
 ger tell ; 
 
 He calls me deblish humbug — I call him 
 anoder — 
 
 He call me possum tief—l say, " ho-w d'ye do, 
 hroder V^ 
 
 So dare de kitchen, &.c. 
 
 Den Massa Dick Johnson, he come along too. 
 He walk mighty grand up de Abenue ; 
 I hold dis flat nose, and tell him push along, 
 Cause he smell of raissa nigger a leetle toC' 
 strong. 
 So clare de kitchen, &c. 
 
 Den Massa Van Buren come back side de 
 
 kitchen door. 
 He neber walk grand, but he creep on all four ; 
 Says I, " Massa, sl&pe /" and I gib him such a 
 
 grin, 
 Dis nigger's kitchen cabinet and Matty can't 
 
 cum in, 
 So clare de kitchen, &c. 
 
 O hush! who come yonder! — oh! dem's de 
 
 Whig boys, 
 Dey bringin' Massa Clay— by golly what a 
 
 noise ; 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 275 
 
 Dis nigger better colonize— hut hark, what day 
 
 say, 
 " You must all clare de kitchen for Massa 
 
 Harry Clay!" 
 So clare de kitchen, &c. 
 
 ON, FREEMEN, ON. 
 
 Freemen, rouse, or sleep for ever ! 
 
 On, freemen, on ! 
 Strike, for freedom, now or never, 
 
 On, freemen, on ! 
 A traitor's sceptre waves above you ; 
 Strike, if freedom's call can move you, 
 For those you love, for those that love you, 
 
 On, freemen, on ! 
 
 Would you still your birth-right cherish ? 
 
 On, freemen, on ! 
 Live unawed, unfettered perish ? 
 
 On, freemen, on I 
 Would you that your sons inherit 
 Your fathers' rights, your fathers' merit, 
 Their fearless heart and freeborn spirit ? 
 
 On, freemen, on ! 
 
 Where's the right those fathers won you ? 
 On, freemen, on ! 
 
276 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Where's the fame they shed upon you ; 
 
 On, freemen, on ! 
 Where's your country ? Slaves caress her; 
 Tyrants mock, enslave, oppress her. 
 Rouse ye ! rescue, and redress her 1 
 
 On, freemen, on I 
 
 By the red graves of your sires, 
 
 On, freemen, on ! 
 By their virtue and their fires, 
 
 On, freemen, on ! 
 By the blood they shed to save you, 
 By the sacred chart they gave you, 
 By the foe that would enslave you, 
 
 On, freemen, on ! 
 
 Gather by each glen and valley, 
 
 On, freemen, on ! 
 By stream and hill-side, rally ! rally ! 
 
 On, freemen, on I 
 Rend each tie, each shackle sever; 
 Strike ! and ye are free for ever ! 
 Will ye bow ? Oh ! never ! never ! 
 
 On, freemen, on ! 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL, 277 
 
 THE CLAY RALLY CRY. 
 
 Tune — All the Blue Bonnets, 
 
 Out, out, whigs and true democrats, 
 
 To the rescue of liberty come in quick order, 
 Out, out, with your Clay shouts and waving 
 hats. 
 Freedom calls Hal of Kentucky to guard 
 her, 
 Far your bright banner spread, 
 " Clay at our Nation's Head,'* 
 His voice plead for freedom and sham'd every 
 tory, 
 Rouse men of Clay then, 
 Resolve to be Clay men. 
 He '11 guide us to wealth and restore us to glory, 
 Out, out, whigs and true democrats, &lc. 
 
 Arouse in the North where false statesmen op- 
 press you. 
 
 Arouse in the South where your trade they've 
 cruslied low, 
 Arouse in the East by the patriots that blessed 
 you," 
 Arouse in the West where the Clay heroes 
 grow. 
 Hark, freedom is calling, 
 Her dear Temple's falling. 
 Then to the bold rescue come all in quick order, 
 Freemen shall bless the day. 
 When their true hero Clay, 
 24 
 
'^TS THE CLA.Y MINSTREL. , 
 
 ''ook our Nation's high post to preserve and to 
 guard her, 
 Out, out, whigs and true democrats, 
 Millions are calling, then out in quick order, 
 
 ">ut, out, with your Clay flag and waving hats, 
 Freedom calls Hal of Kentucky to guard her. 
 
 THE HEROES OF THE MIND. 
 
 Beneath the rule of men entirely groat, 
 
 The pen is mightier than the sword. — Richelieu, 
 
 Tune — " The star'spangled banner.''^ 
 
 Let bards unto fame on the lyre proclaim 
 The worth of the heroes who flourish the 
 sabre. 
 But laurels more stainless those sages can claim, 
 Whose voices or pens for their countrymen 
 labour. 
 A nation may boast 
 Of the walls on her coast. 
 Their homes to defend from the enemy's 
 host, 
 But a country's defenders will ne'er show their 
 
 might, 
 Till the pen, or the orator, stirs them to fight. 
 
 Remember the bold words of Adams and Paine, 
 That raised Freedom's sons in our dark revo- 
 lution, 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL, 279 
 
 And when Britain's crown sent her ships on 
 our main, 
 'Twas Clay stirred the land on for bold resti- 
 tution. 
 Then shout for Great Clay, 
 Soon our land he shall sway, 
 He '11 guide us and rouse us at danger's dark, 
 day. 
 With joy and prosperity, shall all be blest, 
 When the chair holds the heroic sage of the 
 West. 
 
 RISE! RISE! YE FREEMEN! 
 
 TtJNE — Bruce' s Address. 
 
 Ye Yankee sons of Yankee sires, 
 Whose souls burn bright with patriot fires ; 
 In whom oppression's rod inspires 
 
 The love of Ltbetty. 
 
 Come quickly to the rescue — fly! 
 E'en now the enemy are nigh, 
 Loud, loud! is heard the struggling cry 
 Of Tory-tyranny. 
 
 Yes, now 's the day, and now 's the hour ! 
 The Locos' faces long and sour, 
 Proclaims our chosen Leader's power. 
 And fear his victory. 
 
280 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 O'er the whole land her shouts arise, 
 Behold a nation's eager eyes 
 All turned on Clay, the great, the wise, 
 The brave, the good, the true. 
 
 Shall golden crown and clanking chain 
 Of faithless Locofoco reign 
 O'er hill and plain, and stream and main^ 
 Red with our fathers' blood ? 
 
 Shall Freedom's sons e'er teach their hands 
 To till, like slaves, these happy lands ? 
 And chained in cringing, craven bands. 
 Crouch to a traitor's voice ? 
 
 No ! down with these intriguing knaves 
 Who'd have us live like Eussian slaves! 
 While yet the flag of Freedom waves 
 In pride o'er this fair land. 
 
 COME UP WITH THE BANNER. 
 
 Come up with the banner 
 
 Of good Harey Clay, 
 Who in peace and in war 
 
 Was his country's firm stay : 
 Spread it wide to the breeze, 
 
 We 're freemen who rear it, 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 281 
 
 And whate'er its fate be, 
 We 11 willingly share it, 
 We are some of the lads who in '40 
 
 were true, 
 To the gallant old hero of Tipppecanoe. 
 
 For cute Van and Calhoun, 
 
 We care Uttle or naught, 
 They spread their own snares, 
 
 And in these they are caught; 
 They 're for tarifF— no tariff, 
 
 This, that thing and 'tother, 
 And so much and nothing, 
 
 That they honest men bother. 
 
 We're some of the lads who in '40 were 
 true, 
 
 To the gallant old hero of Tippecanoe. 
 
 Then up with the banner 
 
 Of bold Harry Clay, 
 He has told us his course 
 
 In his frank, manly way; 
 And we know that old Cato 
 
 Was never to Rome 
 More devoted, than he 
 
 To the land of his home. 
 
 We 're some of the lads who in '40 were 
 true, 
 
 To the gallant old hero of Tippecanoe, 
 
 24* 
 
"^82 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 To our Wki£ friends abroad, 
 
 Heartily greeting we send — 
 Wishing v/isdom and peace 
 
 May their councils attend, 
 And prosperity's star 
 
 Shed its light on their way, 
 A^'hile they strive in the cause 
 
 Of our Country and Clay. 
 
 We are some of the lads who in '40 
 were true, 
 
 To the gallant old hero of Tippecanoe, 
 
 THE LOUNGER'S LAMENT. 
 
 Tune—" The EzUe of Erin^ 
 
 ^hmxf*- •tood by the polls a poor heart-broken 
 lo«nger. 
 No hope fired his eye, for his bosom was chill, 
 *.^wailing the fate of his party in danger, 
 He thoizght of the days when it stood on a 
 Hill. 
 3.\s, wild heaving breast and his heart's sad 
 
 emotion 
 Were all that the lounger had left for his portion 
 Of glory and spoils, to repay his devotion, 
 And a few Extra Globes from his patron saint, 
 Blair, 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 283 
 
 Sad, sad is the day, cried the office*born 
 lounger, 
 Oh, once to the custom-house always I'd 
 flee ; 
 And there seek a refuge in lessees own manger, 
 
 For spouters and editors, hungry like me ; 
 Oh, never again in the Treasury bowers, * 
 Long kept by the leaders, shall I loaf oflf the 
 
 hours, 
 For the Log Cabin boys have robbed Van of his 
 powers, 
 And he heeds not to-day the poor lounger's 
 lament. 
 
 Benton, my darling, though sad and forsaken, 
 Dreaming of mint drops — I hear thy sad roar ; 
 But alas, among hard-handed Whigs I awaken. 
 And mourn for the HumUtgs that cheat them 
 no more. 
 Oh, merciless fate, wilt thou never return me 
 To my office of ease, where the feehngs that 
 
 burn me 
 Would be lost if the weighers that gathered to 
 teach me, 
 Should greet me again as they greeted before. 
 
 Where 's the Sub -Treasury ? — loved scheme of 
 Van Bur en, — 
 
 Woodbury and Wright they weep for its fall'- 
 And where is Buchanan, the sweet and alluring, 
 
 Who went for hard money, hard prices and all. 
 
284 THE CLAV MINSTREL. 
 
 Oh, Johnson forsaken, before the full measure 
 Of woe had o'erflowed, in the cup of our plea- 
 sure, 
 Once sparkling with spoils, the victor's own 
 treasure. 
 Kill Tecumseh again, and thy glory recall. 
 
 But oh, my old leaders, there's naught in sup- 
 pressing 
 The tears that my own saddened memory 
 drew, 
 For the people they heed not your wiles and 
 caressing, 
 They've sworn their allegiance to another 
 than you ; 
 They're sweeping along hke the waves of the 
 
 ocean, 
 And voice after voice, with a grateful emotion, 
 Is joinmg the chorus of freemen's devotion, 
 And sweUing the shout of great Harry the 
 true. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 285 
 
 CLAY, OUR NATION'S GLORY. 
 
 TvNE—3Iarch to the Battle-Field. 
 
 A chief's in the gallant West, 
 
 His name is high in story, 
 He 's doomed to make us blest — 
 'Tis Clay, our nation's glory. 
 
 Then swell on high 
 
 The Tariff cry, 
 And keep his name before ye. 
 
 And honest Hal, 
 
 Presiding shall 
 To happy days restore ye. 
 
 A Chief's in the gallant West, &c. 
 
 Hail, Clay, great Freedom's star, 
 From thee naught can divide us, 
 Whose eloquence can fire in war. 
 Whose words in peace can guide us. 
 
 Then freemen rouse, ' 
 
 His cause espouse, 
 A brighter day's before ye, 
 The bright star, Clay, 
 Illumes your way 
 To happiness and glory. 
 
 A chief's in the gallant West, &.c. 
 
286 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 THE STATESMAN OF ASHLAND. 
 
 The stars are bright, and our steps are light, 
 
 As we sweep to our camping ground, 
 And well we know, as we forward go, 
 
 That the foe fills the greenwood round ; 
 But we know no fear, though the foe be near, 
 
 As we tramp the greenwood through. 
 For oh ! have we not, for our leader, got 
 
 A patriot tried and true ? 
 
 Now the deep green grass is our soft mattrass, 
 
 Till the beating of reveille : 
 No light 's in our camp but the fire-fly lamp, 
 
 No roof but the greenwood tree ; 
 Brief slumber we snatch till the morning watch, 
 
 But one eye no slumber knew ! 
 One mind was awake for his country's sake — 
 
 'T was the patriot tried and true. 
 
 The faint dawn is breaking, our bugles are 
 speaking, 
 Quick rouses our lengthened line ; 
 Sweet dreams are departing, the soldier is start, 
 ing, 
 And welcome the morning shine. 
 But, hark ! 't is the drum I the foe is come, 
 Their yells ring the dark wood through ; 
 But see mounted, ready, brave, cautious and 
 steady, 
 The patriot tried and true. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 287 
 
 Now nigher and nigher, though hot is their fire. 
 
 And ceaseless the volleying sound, 
 We press down the hollow, and dauntlessly 
 follow, 
 Then tramp up the rising ground. 
 Whh death- deahng ardour, we press them yet 
 harder, 
 And still, as they come into view, 
 " Now steady, boys, steady ; be quick and be 
 ready!" 
 Cries the patriot valiant and true. 
 
 Down, down, drop the foe, and still on, on, 
 we go, 
 
 And each thicket and dingle explore, 
 Loud our shrill bugles sing, till the wild woods 
 ring. 
 
 And their rifles are heard no more. 
 Now weave the green crown of undying renown. 
 
 For the patriot Leader's brow, 
 And write his name with a halo of flame — 
 
 Brave Harry the valiant and true. 
 
288 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 WHIGS, WHOSE SIRES FOR FREE 
 DOM BLED. 
 
 Tune — Bruce' s Address. 
 
 Whigs, whose sires for freedom bled ; 
 By the blood those sires have shed, 
 By the ashes of the dead, 
 
 Now awake or die I 
 
 They, when tyrants forged the chain, 
 When the war-storm swept the plain, 
 Piled the ground with " foe-men slain," 
 
 Or they made them fly. 
 
 In your veins their blood flows warm ; 
 Wake to face the gathering storm ; 
 See the sword and treasure arm 
 
 Our relentless foe. 
 
 Once, the rod our fathers broke ; 
 Shall their sons yield to the stroke, 
 Bow and serve beneath the yoke ? 
 
 No ! never 1 No ! 
 
 No ! of chains let bondmen boast ; 
 Collar-slaves come like a host, — 
 Tories muster through our coast,— 
 
 Then as one we rise ! 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 289 
 
 Rise for freedom and our land, 
 Rise against oppression's hand, 
 Rise to dare a hireling band, 
 
 And we '11 win the prize ! 
 
 Let the gathering shout then ring ; 
 To the breeze our banner fling : 
 Hurl to earth the Tory-King,— 
 
 Soon his reign is o'er I 
 
 Wake and crush his rotten throne ; 
 Wake to'end a nation's groan ; 
 Wake and tread th' oppressor down, 
 
 Then to rise no more ! 
 
 When in dust your ashes rest, 
 Then your sons will call you blest, 
 And your land, no more oppressed, 
 
 Blest and blessing be; 
 
 While our mountains prop the sky, 
 While the thunder speaks on high, 
 Free the starry flag shall fly — 
 
 Free above the free I 
 
 25 
 
290 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 THE PENITENT LOCO. 
 
 A Glee — Adapted to a popular melody, and dedicated to 
 the Norlhampton (N. J.) Whig Association. 
 
 I 've been a Loco-foco, this eight years or nine, 
 A spending my cash for ' ' blanks, paper, and 
 
 twine ;" 
 Now therefore let us lay by our money in store, 
 And we never will play the Loco-foco any 
 more : 
 Loco-foco ! Loco-foco ! Loco-foco any more ; 
 And we never will play the Loco-foco any 
 more. 
 
 I went to the White House, where I used to 
 
 resort, 
 I told them my money began to grow short ; 
 I asked them for an office — their answer was, 
 
 Nay! 
 
 We 've new men to buy, sir, and old men to 
 
 pay ! 
 
 Loco-foco, &c. 
 
 Thinks I to myself then, 'tis a hard case, in- 
 deed, 
 
 That a man in this land should lack money for 
 bread ; 
 
 I '11 return to the true Whigs, from whom I did 
 run, 
 
 I 'U return to the Whigs, like a prodigal son. 
 
 Loco-foco, &c. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 291 
 
 Here 's a health to the patriot, the best we e'er 
 
 knew, 
 Here 's a health to the Whigs, the firm-hearted 
 
 and true ; 
 
 Now therefore let us layby our money in store, 
 
 And we never will play the Loco-foco any 
 
 more. 
 
 Loco-foco, &c. 
 
 HARRY THE TRUE. 
 
 TuiTE — Hurrah for the bonnets of blue. 
 
 Here 's a health to America's friend, 
 Here 's good luck to the honest and just, 
 And who will not join in support of the right, 
 Let them still go astray — if they must ! 
 It 's good from true faith ne'er to swerve, 
 It 's good from the right ne'er to go. 
 It 's good to maintain true democracy's cause, 
 And stick by great Harry the true. 
 
 Here 's a health to Harry the true, 
 
 Hurrrah for Harry the true ! 
 
 It 's good to maintain demockact's cause, 
 
 And vote for great Harry the true. 
 
 Here 's a health to the sons of the west, 
 Here 's good will to her matrons and sires, 
 
292 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Here 's a health to our Harry, the pride of his 
 
 state, 
 Whose name every true heart inspires ! 
 Hurrah for great Harry the true, 
 We '11 shout him from Texas to Maine, 
 And, if in Convention his friends they missed 
 
 fire, 
 "PicA: his flint — and now try him again !" 
 
 Here 's a health to Harry the true, 
 
 Hurrah for Harry the true ! 
 
 It's good to maintain demockacy's cause, 
 
 And vote for great Harry the true ! 
 
 NATIONAL WHIG SONG. 
 
 Tune — " The fine old English Gentleman^ 
 
 I '11 sing you now a new Whig song, made to a 
 
 good old rhyme, 
 Of a fine true-hearted gentleman, all of the 
 
 olden time ; 
 By birth and blood, by kith and kin, a sound 
 
 true Whig was he. 
 The pride of all this western world— the country 
 
 of the free. 
 
 Like a line true-hearted gentleman. 
 All of the olden time. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 293 
 
 And when he serv'd his country well, her safe- 
 guard and her shield, 
 
 The honours that awaited him most freely did 
 he yield ; 
 
 He turned him to his home again, and sought a 
 farmer's toils, 
 
 For though he 'd filled the offices, he never took 
 the spoils. 
 Like a fine true-hearted gentleman, 
 All of the olden time. 
 
 And when the people in their might, have put 
 
 their solemn ban 
 Upon the arch deceiver and on all his Tory 
 
 clan, 
 To manage well their state affairs, with one ac- 
 cord they'll send 
 Harry Clay the dauntless — the poor man's 
 steady friend. 
 For he 's a fine true-hearted gentleman, 
 All of the olden time. 
 Let every sound, true-hearted Whig, now raise 
 
 his voice on high, 
 And for the^triumph of the cause, join freedom's 
 
 loudest cry ; 
 Come to the fight; we'll win the field — away 
 
 with doubts and fears : 
 The people's man is Haery Clay — let 's give 
 him three good cheers. 
 For he 's a fine true-hearted gentleman 
 All of the olden time. 
 25* 
 
294 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 " Whigs ! arouse from the igno- 
 ble supineness which encompasses 
 you'awake from the lethargy in 
 which ycu Ire bound— cast from 
 you that unworthy apathy which 
 teems lo make you indifferent to 
 the fate of your country.— Arouse 
 —awake, shake off the dew-drops 
 that glitter on your garments, and 
 once more march to Battle and to 
 Victory."— Mr. Clay's speech at 
 Home, June, 1842. 
 
 GREAT NATIONAL WHIG SONG. 
 
 "In the strength of your might, from each 
 mountain and valley," 
 Sons of Freedom, arise ! the time is at hand — 
 Around Liberty's standard we 'U rally, we'll 
 rally ; 
 The star-spangled banner floats over the land. 
 Then let the proud eagle spread his wings wide 
 asunder. 
 And burst from the trammels which strive to 
 enchain ; 
 " If we rise in our strength, if we speak but in 
 thunder," 
 The bit of "striped bunting" will flourish 
 again. 
 
 For our rights and our laws we '11 stand firm 
 and united; 
 The blood of our fathers shall ne'er be forgot, 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 295 
 
 The faith and the honour they sacredly plighted, 
 Shall never be tarnished by Anarchy's blot ; 
 Around Liberty's standard, we'll rally, we'll 
 rally ; — 
 And Haery the true, boys, the watchword 
 shall be ; 
 Its echo will thunder from each mountain and 
 valley 
 Of the home of the brave — the land of the 
 free. 
 
 JOHN AND THE FARMER. 
 
 Tune — The Ki7ig and the Countrymaii. 
 
 A farmer there was of each good man the friend. 
 Esteemed by his neighbours and more without 
 
 end; 
 And you '11 see, on a time, if you follow my 
 
 ditty. 
 
 How he took a short walk up to Washington 
 
 city. 
 
 Ri tu, di nu, di nu, di nu, 
 
 Ri tu di ni nu, ri tu, di nu, ri na. 
 
 His snug Ashland home he left with regret, 
 
 And he put up a sign that it would be to let ; 
 
 But whatever rare sights the White House 
 
 might display, 
 
 He 'd find none so strange as he 'd seen in his 
 
 day. 
 
 Ri tu, &c. 
 
296 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 The farmer walked on, and arrived at the door. 
 And he gave such a thump as was ne'er thumped 
 
 before ; 
 Mister John thought the rap was the sound of a 
 
 flail; 
 
 And his heart beat with fear, and he turned 
 
 deadly pale. 
 
 Ri tu, &c. 
 
 "Run, Pete, and run, Levi, — run, Joel and 
 
 Jim," 
 Said John, " but leave Bobby, I cannot spare 
 
 him ; 
 There 's only one living dares make such ado ; 
 That sturdy old fellow called Harry the true. 
 
 Ri tu, &LC. 
 
 They were all growing merry, and taking 
 
 champagne. 
 And the farmer, impatient, rapped louder again; 
 To the door all the cabinet ministers run, 
 And demand who so boldly had spoiled all their 
 
 fun. 
 
 Ri tu, &c. 
 
 Says Harry, " My fellows, get out of my way, 
 I 've routed a Congress like you in my day ; 
 My mind is made up to walk into that chair, 
 Where John takes his wine with a swaggering 
 
 air." 
 
 Ri tu, &c. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 297 
 
 Then Bobby, who hstened, spoke, "Mister, I 
 
 can — 
 I know how to tickle that old farmer man ; 
 I 'II ask him pohtely to come up and dine, 
 And then we can muddle his wits with the 
 
 wine." 
 
 Ri tu, &,c. 
 
 " Oh ! pray, Mister farmer, just walk up this 
 
 way, 
 We hardly expected to see you this day ; 
 So many stout swiggers are here at this time. 
 There 's but one bottle left, but you '11 find it is 
 
 prime." 
 
 Ri tu, &c. 
 
 " I tell you what, Bobby, I see what you 're at, 
 I wont take a glass of champagne, and that's 
 
 flat; 
 But a mug of hard cider will answer my turn, 
 'Twas once much in fashian up here, as I 
 
 learn." 
 
 Ri tu, &c. 
 
 Then Bob and John searched the table all round, 
 Not a drop of hard cider was there to be found ; 
 So the farmer advised them to lay in a store, 
 On the fourth of next March, if they shouldn't 
 before. 
 
 Ri tu, &c. 
 
298 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 The farmer was off, but 't was easy to see 
 
 That his visit had sobered their cabinet glee ; 
 
 And John said he knew how the matter would 
 
 end ; 
 
 He should have to clear out for old Tip's gallant 
 
 friend. 
 
 Ri tu, &c. 
 
 A BUMPER AROUND NOW, MY 
 HEARTIES. 
 
 Tune — Old rosin the how. 
 
 A bumper around now, my hearties, 
 I '11 sing you a song that is new ; 
 
 I 'U please to the buttons all parties, 
 And sing of great Harry the true. 
 And sing, &c. 
 
 When first near the Ohio's dark waters, 
 My sword for my country I drew, 
 
 I fought for America's daughters, 
 Cheered on by bold Harry the true. 
 Cheered on, &c. 
 
 Ere this, too, when danger assailed us. 
 And Indians their dread missiles threw, 
 
 His voice and his counsel availed us ; 
 We conquered at Tippecanoe. 
 
 We conquered, &c. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 299 
 
 And now that the good of the nation 
 Reqmres that something we do, 
 
 We'll hurl weeping John from his station, 
 And elevate Harry the true. 
 
 And elevate, &c. 
 
 Again and again fill your glasses. 
 
 Bid Martin and Tyler adieu ; 
 We'll please ourselves and the lasses, 
 
 And vote for bold Harry the true. 
 And vote, &.c. 
 
 " Our Bufferings t? intolerable, and calls aloud for relief."— Van 
 
 iuren. 
 
 THE BEST THING WE CAN DO. 
 
 Tune—" Malhroohr 
 
 The times are bad and want curing, 
 They are getting past all enduring ; 
 Let us turn Tyler out with Van Buren, 
 
 And put in our Harry the true. 
 The best thing we can do, 
 Is to put in our Harry the true. 
 It's a business we all can take part in, 
 So let us to Tyler and Martin 
 Get quickly, sirs, ready for starting, 
 
 For we'll put in our Harry the trae. 
 
300 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 • 
 A change of the administration 
 Will be for the good of the nation, 
 For it is now in a bad situation, 
 
 So we '11 put in our Harry the true. 
 The best thing we can do, 
 Is to put in our Harry the true, 
 And send the whole posse a packing, 
 John Tyler and all of his backing ; 
 For we 've tried them and found them all 
 lacking. 
 And we 'II put in our Harry the true. 
 
 We 've had of their humbugs a plenty. 
 
 For now all our pockets are empty ; 
 
 We 've a dollar now where we had twenty, 
 
 So we 'II put in our Harry the true. 
 The best thing we can do 
 Is to put in our Harry the true ; 
 For their roguery can't be defended, 
 And it's time that their reign should be ended ; 
 We never shall see the times mended. 
 
 Till we put in our Harry the true. 
 
 Uncle Sam ha' n't a cent in his purse now, 
 And matters are still growing worse now : 
 There's only one thing left for us now, 
 It's to put in our Harry the true. 
 The best thing we can do, 
 II to put in our Harry the true t 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 301 
 
 For we are all of us going to ruin, 
 As long as we keep such a crew in, 
 So let us be up and a-doing, 
 
 And put in our Harry the true. 
 
 FREEMEN, AWAKE! 
 
 Tune — " A life on the ocean wave.^^ 
 
 Awake to the stirring sound ! 
 
 Hark, hark to the loud alarms! 
 A shout on the breeze is heard — 
 
 'Tis the people up in arms! 
 Then rouse to the rescue, rouse ! 
 
 In a body all as one — 
 Let your watchword be " Our Eights V' 
 
 And your war-cry, "Harry! on! 
 
 Awake, &c. 
 In vain did our fathers toil 
 
 And fight for the rights of man. 
 If tyrants may scorn us now, 
 
 And to take our freedom plan. 
 We'll let them know M'e'U fight 
 
 For the cause our sires have won, 
 And our shout shall go forth aloud, 
 
 "Ashland and Harry Clay! on! 
 Let us teach these men in power 
 
 What they seem not now to know,. 
 That they cannot stay an hour 
 
 When the people utter "go!" 
 
30<} THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Then up with the shout again, 
 Press the cry of victory on, 
 
 "The rights which our fathers gave:"- 
 Onward ! brave Harry Clay ! on ! 
 
 THE TREASURY CHEST. 
 
 Air — The Mistletoe hough. 
 
 The cabinet men in the White House hall, 
 They knew there was going to be a squall ; 
 For some members had come to draw their 
 
 pay; 
 To give them a spree and a holiday. 
 And Johnny was sad, and his heart oppressed, 
 As he turned his eyes on the Treasury chest ; 
 For well he knew, if the truth was told, 
 That chest was hare both of silver and gold. 
 Oh ! the Treasury chest, 
 The Treasury chest. 
 
 Then Johnny looked up, and he heaved a sigh. 
 While the devil stood ready to help with a lie ; 
 There's our Treasury chest as you all may see. 
 But Spencer's gone out and has taken the key: 
 Just call next month when some lands are sold, 
 And we '11 pay you your wages in silver and 
 gold ; 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 303 
 
 And should the Whigs ask you, I have to 
 
 request 
 That you wont say one word of our Treasury 
 
 chest. 
 
 Oh ! the Treasury chest, 
 The Treasury chest. 
 
 The members went off; and they all began 
 To puzzle their brains to plot and plan. 
 And Wickliffe was sent to smuggle the mail ; 
 And Spencer took some drafts for sale, 
 And Henshaw he cut down the sailor's cups ; 
 And Porter took for sale some blood-hound pups, 
 And Johnny cried, now my mind is at rest. 
 At length we'll have gold in our Treasury chest. 
 Oh ! the Treasury chest, 
 The Treasury chest. 
 
 They tried to sell but none would buy. 
 They tried to pump but the well was dry ; 
 They tried to borrow but none would lend, 
 For all knew their days were near their end. 
 But their smuggling scheme was the worst by 
 
 far. 
 For Wickliffe was caught and kicked out of the 
 
 car, 
 So they sought the White House as a place of 
 
 rest, 
 And all sat in tears round the Treasury chest. 
 Oh ! the Treasury chest, 
 The Treasury chest. 
 
304 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 But the fourth of March caused a dreadful rout, 
 For John and his robbers were all turned out ; 
 And the cabinet scattered, for well they knew 
 They could never impose on Harry the true : 
 And they, from great Harry, their tricks could 
 
 not shield. 
 For too cunning he was, and too honest to yield, 
 And that in obeying the people's behest, 
 He would soon find the rights of the Treasury 
 
 chest. 
 
 Oh ! the Treasury chest, 
 The Treasury chest. 
 
 WHIG RALLY. 
 
 Tune — All the blue bonnets over the Border. 
 
 Form ! form ! good Whigs and true ! my boys ! 
 Why dinna ye all fall in ! ridin' or walkin' ! 
 March ! March ! my brave Western boys ! 
 Still move on to victory — spite of their talkin 
 
 Up and be ready then ! 
 
 Forward I my merry men, 
 Fight for the right and the old Constitution I 
 
 Loud shall the capitol 
 
 Ring with your happy call. 
 When Harry Clay tramples the nest of pollu- 
 tion I 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 305 
 
 Come ! from the fields where your fathers have 
 
 tilled the ground ! 
 Come ! from the ports where your vessels ye 
 
 moor ! 
 Gome from the streams where the factory 
 
 wheels whirl round ! 
 Come from the mountain, the plain, and the 
 shore ! 
 Tyrants are trembling ! 
 Freemen assembling ! 
 Up with the flag of our country to guide us ! 
 Tyler shall rue the day ! 
 Martin shall skulk away ! 
 When the Whig banner flaunts over the White 
 House ! 
 
 Swartwouts and Pnees are waiting their plun- 
 ders ! 
 " Cobblers and Tinkers"* are up in their ire, 
 No more shall the tumble-bug Gouge the Sub- 
 Treasurer, 
 For soon a new cook shall be stirring the fire ! 
 Pay off the scuUion 
 With Tom's patent bullion ! 
 Gather the dishes and bring the hot water I 
 Loud shall Grimalkin cry ! 
 Lord, how the rats will fly! 
 When our bold Harry Clay sweeps to the 
 slaughter ! 
 
 Form ! form ! &c. 
 
 • Mr. PiuWing, in speaking of the oflBcerE of the Navy. 
 
 26* u 
 
^06' THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 UNCLE SAM'-S TALK TO HIS 
 MAN, JOHN. 
 
 7Vn£ — Ulalhrook — cr L, A, W, law, 
 
 Herej'Jahn, ome here this minit — 
 Why, wliat the devil is in it, 
 Tiiat you didn't taks and sign it. 
 That little Takiff Law ? 
 'T is the best I ever saw. 
 In my coffers cash to draw. 
 When I put you on my farm, sir,. 
 You know I told your marm, sir. 
 That I feared you 'd do me harm', sir,. 
 And make your master jav/ I 
 J, A, W, jaw I 
 For I '11 have it, if not the law. 
 When I raised you from your statioHj, 
 You know you were a poor relation,. 
 If I 'd give you a situation, 
 Didn't you say you 'd sign that law ? 
 
 Now, John, you '^ve done it, haint you? 
 You precious Httle saint, you. 
 You 're a pretty fellow, aint you, 
 To set up your will for law ? 
 But not a fig or a straw 
 Do you care for honour or law. 
 You 'd better be looking about, sir. 
 Far the moment your lease is out, sitj 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 307 
 
 You will feel wiihout any doubt, sir, 
 The weight of this huge paw, 
 P, A, W, paw, 
 You '11 have it if not the law. 
 
 When I raised you, &,c. 
 
 When I set black Dan to watch you, 
 
 I hardly thought that he would catch you. 
 
 With a loco-foco match, you. 
 
 Among my hay and straw, 
 
 Instead of signing that law, 
 
 The cash in my box to draw^ 
 The moment he turns his back, sir, 
 You are peaking through some crack, sir, 
 Or giving some one a whack, sir, 
 
 kSetting up your will for law, 
 
 F, h, A, W, fiaw, 
 
 You can't pick in the law. 
 
 When I raised you, &c. 
 
 My Yankee lads, away, sir, 
 You 're turning every day, sir, 
 And bringing from Botany Bay, sir, 
 
 New chaps unhung and raw. 
 
 They know my Tariff law 
 
 With "hemp" their necks will draw! 
 My jennies no longer spinning. 
 My girls no money winning, 
 My cotton fields beginning 
 
308 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 To make me curse and jaw, 
 
 J, A, W, jaw, 
 
 You said you 'd sign that law. 
 
 When I took you, &.C. 
 
 You are ever mischief brewing, 
 My farm is going to ruin, 
 My workmen swearing and sueing, 
 Because no cash they draw- 
 It makes them fret and jaw 
 To think you won't sign that law. 
 Of my farm you've sold the land, sir, 
 Which I gave my boys in hand, sir. 
 And you pocket the rent as grand, sir. 
 As if it hadn't a paw, 
 P, A, W, paw, 
 The hugest that ever you saw. 
 
 SVhen I took you, &e. 
 
 Why, where did you go to school, John, 
 That you think me such a fool, John, 
 As the roast to let you rule, John, 
 
 And make your will the law ? 
 
 Why, what a chap ! haw ! haw ! 
 
 You're as bright as Governor Dorr. 
 I took you to befriend you, 
 But soon I back must send you. 
 Without a recommend, you, 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 309 
 
 Stupid Johnny Raw, 
 
 R, A, W, raw, 
 
 I find you 're not worth quite a straw. 
 
 When I took you, &c. 
 
 Be packing up your duds, sir, 
 I want to see you scud, sir. 
 You've got me in the mud, sir, 
 My team you cannot draw, 
 Why didn't you sign that law f 
 Such a coon I never saw ! 
 Next time I'll have better luck, sir, 
 I've spoken to Old Kextuck, sir, 
 To take my farm, and chuck, sir, 
 You off among the straw — 
 With his P, A, W, paw. 
 He 's the man to sign the law. 
 When I took you from your station, 
 You know you were a poor relation, 
 If I 'd give you a situation, 
 Didn't you say you 'd sign that law ? 
 
 J. H. w. 
 
 o 
 
 NOW LET US TRY HARRY! 
 
 Tune — Away up Salt River. 
 
 Near four years ago the country was stirred 
 By the Whigs, who resolved that they would 
 
 be heard ; 
 They elected their President, Tippecanoe, 
 They elected another, a Traitor to you. 
 
310 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Chorus. 
 
 Now let us try Harry, now let us try Harry, 
 Now let us try Harry, who always was true. 
 
 The Union was called to deplore her sad fate, 
 For death had removed the Chief Magistrate, 
 And Tyler wo thought would never betray, 
 Because he shed tears for great Harry Clay. 
 Now let us try Harry, &:c. 
 
 The doom of hypocrisy always is sealed, 
 To you, John, it will very soon be revealed ; 
 So pack up your vetoes — clear out of the way. 
 For yonder is coming the great Harry Clay. 
 Now let us try Harry, &c. 
 
 Your Protest may please you, but still it won't 
 
 do, 
 Prepare then to travel that old " Avenue ;" 
 Your flattering party will case you away, 
 When we march in one column for great Harry 
 
 Clay. 
 
 Now let us try Harry, &,c. 
 
 The gaze of our party is fastened on him, 
 Who stands hke a tower amid party's din. 
 At the " blast of the bugle," we'll rally a band. 
 To welcome him from the "shades of Ash- 
 land." 
 
 Now let us try Harry, &,c. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 311 
 
 Encircled in glory he then vv'ill be seen. 
 As a Patriot decked in his laurels of green, 
 As the charm of our music floats gently away, 
 The welkin will ruig with great Harry Clay. 
 Now let us try Harry, &c. 
 
 UNCLE SAM AND HIS FIDDLERS. 
 
 Tune— OM King Cole. 
 Old Uncle Sam had a strange whim- wham, 
 
 A silly whim-wham had he ; 
 He called for his fiddlers, and danced in a jam, 
 
 With the troop of old Hickory. 
 And every fiddler had Uncle Sam's fiddle. 
 
 And a very fine fiddle had he ! 
 Then " tweedle-deedle-de" went the fiddlers, 
 
 Tweedle-de ! 
 Oh ! slily and raro they did comb dov>'n his hair, 
 
 To the tune of " E-cox-o-my !" 
 
 Old Uncle Sam they sweetly did cram, 
 
 How sweetly crammed was he 1 
 He gaped and grinned at each humbugging flam, 
 
 Crying, " This is the stufi"for me I" 
 And every piper he set up his pipe, 
 
 TickUng Sam's catastrophe. 
 Then " toodle-dood!e-doo" went the pipers ; 
 
 " Tweedle-deedle-dee" went the fiddlers;"' 
 Tweedle-dee I 
 But oh 1 how rare Uncle Sam did stare. 
 
 When each fiddler came for his fee I 
 
312 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Old Uncle Sam found it all was a sham, 
 
 As saucy a sham as could be ; 
 And he cried, " You rogues ! do you think you 
 can gam- 
 mon a sensible chap like me ?" 
 But each rogue — Oh law ! had a griping paw, 
 
 And a pair of light heels as you '11 see. 
 Then " chink-chink-chink !" went the money- 
 bags ; 
 " Toodle-doodle-doo" went the pipers ; 
 " Tweedle-deedle-dee" went the fiddlers; 
 
 Tweedle-de l 
 And each one with a dash made a snap at the 
 cash, 
 Wasn 't that "pure democracy ? ! ! /" 
 
 Old Uncle Sam felt flat as a clam, 
 
 As flat as a clam-shell he ; 
 He scratched his head and did nothing but stam- 
 mer and stare in his quandary. 
 For these musical cits played the dogs with his 
 wits, 
 And the deuce with his currency. 
 Then " flap, flap, flap !" went the money-bags ; 
 " Scatter, scatter, scatter !" said the pipers; 
 " Here's leg-bail," said the fiddlers, 
 And good-by to tweedle-de, 
 
 Tweedle-de ! 
 Oh! there's naught so rare but a rogue will 
 dare 
 With a snug Sub-Treasury ! 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 313 
 
 Now Uncle Sam has a new M-him-wham, 
 A better whim-wham has he; 
 
 That each Tory sham shall speedily scam- 
 per away to " retiracy," 
 
 Then every fiddler shall have a new fiddle, 
 And a Whig fiddle it shall be, 
 
 So " tweedle-deedle-dee" merry fiddlers, 
 A true Whig tweedle-dee ; 
 
 Tweedle-dee ! 
 
 Then all start fair, and take good care 
 Of the Nation's Liberty. 
 
 COME ALL YE MEN WHO PUSH 
 THE PLOUGH. 
 
 Tune — Auld Lang Syne. 
 
 Come all ye men who push the plough, 
 
 Or make the shuttle hum ; 
 Look up unto your country now. 
 
 And see what must be done. 
 Alas! 'tis sinking in the mud. 
 
 As by John Tyler led ; 
 The rich can scarcely pay their mugs, 
 
 The poor cannot get bread. 
 
 Then who will help us out again ! — 
 
 — I'm sure 'tis Henry Clay! 
 Unless we keep him in the West, 
 
 And force him to say "nay!" 
 27 
 
314 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Then let us work with all our might, 
 
 Elect this shining star, 
 And vote by day and sing by night, 
 
 And fetch him from afar. 
 
 And truly not a heavenly star. 
 
 Or mineral of the earth. 
 Will say a word against the start. 
 
 To rouse Clay from his hearth; 
 To rule a nation gone astray. 
 
 To bring relief to us ; 
 To show us that much better way, 
 
 Then put him in we must. 
 
 Although we died with Harrison, 
 
 We're getting life with Clay; 
 Because he is the very one. 
 
 Who'll take his place some day, 
 " Huzza, huzza! Kind Heaven be praised — 
 
 The western star benign 
 
 Shines bright I — 'tis Freedom's star that 
 blazed 
 
 In days of old Lang Syne!" 
 
 D. G. s. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 315 
 
 JOHN TYLER, JOHN TYLER, THIS 
 
 MOMENT WE'VE HEARD. 
 
 Tune, Derry Down. 
 
 John Tyler, John Tyler, this moment we've 
 
 heard, 
 And not without pain, of your veto the third ; 
 We pity a man's first offence, while we blame ; 
 But a man who thrice errs, no compassion can 
 
 claim. 
 
 When you found yourself, John, in the Presi- 
 dent's chair, 
 
 You might well be amazed how the de'il you 
 got there ; 
 
 Ydu your poverty saw, ana you caught at the 
 veto — 
 
 It might magnify somewhat a very small potato. 
 
 'Twas a hobby, this Veto, so pleasant to ride, 
 That mount it you must, though the devil betide; 
 Nay, John, e'en your friends at your folly will 
 
 jest. 
 And whisper, — "this hobby's an ass at the 
 
 best'." 
 
 By all parties you 're scorned as abase renegade, 
 Who your ovv'n, and your friends' honest hopes 
 
 have betrayed ; 
 They will make of you, John, a convenient tool, 
 For the rest of the term of your President-rule. 
 
»^ 
 
 16 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 But presume not too much, John ; v.hat acci- 
 dent brought, 
 
 By a second good hap 's not so easily caught ; 
 
 If you think that a second snug term may be 
 snatched. 
 
 You may reckon your chickens before they are 
 hatched. 
 
 Then mark what I say, John, your vetoes and all 
 Won't hinder presumption from getting a fall : 
 There 's a proverb about " the two stools," so 
 
 beware — 
 There 's no sitting between them : John, John, 
 
 have a care ! 
 
 And as to your hint, John, thrown out so off- 
 hand, 
 
 That " the thing may as yet become law of the 
 land, 
 
 If two-thirds of the house should agreed be 
 about it;" 
 
 No thanks, John, for that — they can do so 
 without it. 
 
 And we call on them, John, as they love the 
 
 dear earth 
 That gave them and their own " god-hke 
 
 ancestors" birth. 
 To come up to the scratch, and indignant efface 
 The opprobrium your veto would fix on their 
 
 race. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 317 
 
 JOHN TYLER'S SONG. 
 
 Tune — A Wet Sheet and a Flowing Sea. 
 
 When Harrison, the good and brave, 
 
 Was laid upon his bier, 
 The whigs then looked on me to save 
 
 The cause they held most dear, 
 The hero could not die without 
 
 A parting word for me ; 
 
 He bade me truly carry out 
 
 The system of the free, 
 
 When Harrison, the good and brave, 
 
 Was laid upon his bier. 
 The whigs then look'd on me to save 
 The cause they held most dear. 
 
 These dying words do truly tell 
 
 How plain he did foresee, 
 That when to me his office fell, 
 
 All sense with it would flee. 
 I knew I dared not then proclaim 
 
 A word that would appal ; 
 I'd strove high honours to obtain, 
 
 And hid my views from all. 
 
 When Harrison, &c. 
 
 I promis'd fair, and told them then 
 
 That I would carry out 
 The measures those true-hearted men 
 
 Had warr'd so long about. 
 27* 
 
318 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Though fain a mask I would retain, 
 
 My evil heart to hide, 
 That awful Bank-bill when it came 
 
 It slipp'd it quite aside. 
 
 When Harrison, &c. 
 
 When first to me the bill was brought, 
 
 I pious scruples feign'd; 
 When chang'd to suit my ev'ry thought. 
 
 The veto power I claim' d. 
 Another term I wish'd to run, 
 
 And so, without delay, 
 Forgetting all the whigs had done, 
 
 Their cause I did betray. 
 
 When Harrison, &c. 
 
 But they are just what they pretend — 
 
 My conduct they despise — 
 Their rigid virtue would not bend 
 
 To aught beneath the skies. 
 My native state it knew so well 
 
 How oft I've "jump'd just so," 
 To me it bid a last farewell 
 
 A long, " long time ago." 
 
 When Harrison, &c. 
 
 I'm hke the old Egyptian king. 
 
 My heart 's so hard to-day ; 
 All o'er the land a curse I bring : 
 
 It's glory's pass'd away. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 319 
 
 Jackson did bad, and Van still worse, 
 
 And I too bad to name ; 
 On history's page we'll stand accurs'd — 
 
 Our deeds its pages stain, 
 
 When Harrison, &c. 
 
 From zenith's heights to nadir's view 
 
 We 've brought our own fair land, 
 The merchant, tradesman, farmer too 
 
 Have suffer' d by our hand. 
 The boasted blessings of free trade 
 
 We now have fairly proved. 
 Distress o'er all our land has made ; 
 
 Yet we cannot be moved. 
 
 When Harrison, &c. 
 
 In vain I 've reached ambition's height ; — 
 
 I can't retain my throne ; 
 And soon, alas! I'll sink in night — • 
 
 No party will me own. 
 There 's not a thought to give relief 
 
 When all my power is gone ; 
 " The worm, the canker, and the grief," 
 
 W^ill prey on me alone. 
 
 W^hen Harrison, &c> 
 
 In wrath the nation speaks, Depart 1 — 
 
 Its tones like thunder seem ! 
 I 've acted a disgraceful part 
 
 Since president I 've been. 
 
320 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Earth mourns! for Jackson, Van, and I 
 
 Have ruled with tyrant's sway, 
 The brightest land beneath the sky ; — 
 Its freedom cast away. 
 But Henry Clay, he is a match 
 For Jackson, Van and me ; 
 The chains we 've forged he 'II soon despatch, 
 And set the people free. 
 
 YE WORSHIPPERS OF TYLER. 
 Tune — -Ye Parliament of England. 
 
 Ye worshippers of Tyler, 
 
 Who spread ruin through the land, 
 And pluck off her prosperity 
 
 With treason's coward hand. 
 Pause in your march of plunder, 
 
 For there's one in your track, 
 Will drive you from the state's high chair, 
 
 And bring her glories back. 
 
 Think not your schemes can prosper, 
 
 Think not to 'scape our eyes. 
 When your spoils are wet with people's tears, 
 
 And by wronged tradesmen's sighs. 
 Look on their once bright dwellings. 
 
 Now destitute and bare, 
 While want's lank eyes are telling 
 
 The hopes you've b'asted there. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 321 
 
 'T were better they were sleeping 
 
 Within the silent tomb, 
 For never to their sunken hearts 
 
 Shall hope and trade e'er bloom, 
 Unless each state despoiler 
 
 Renounces on this day 
 The "veto" monarch, Tyler, 
 
 And wears the badge of Clay. 
 
 Your chief's dog-star is waning, 
 
 Now in the glowing West, 
 Before the brilliant dawning 
 
 Of Freedom's sun, the best. 
 
 Its blaze is lighting onward. 
 
 Swift as the lightning's wing, 
 And soon will write his veto 
 
 Upon your "veto hing.^^ 
 
 WHEN TYLER FOUND THE REINS 
 OF STATE. 
 
 Tune — Woodland Mary. 
 
 When Tyler found the reins of State 
 
 So firm within his tyrant grasp, 
 He chuckled at the course of fate, 
 
 And then resolved the Whigs to rasp. 
 V 
 
32:^ THE CLAY MINSTREI^ 
 
 In course of time the veto came, 
 
 Inflated like a huge balloon — 
 The Captain thought while he did reign 
 
 He'd hunt, till death, "that same old Coon." 
 
 " That same old Coon" sat looking on. 
 
 And seem'd to ponder o'er the scene ; 
 He wonder' d much, and studied long, 
 
 Why John did whh the Locos lean. 
 The varmint thought John's head was crack'd. 
 
 Or he 'd been stricken by the moon ; 
 Of sense, he knew, John's head much lack'd. 
 
 To think he 'd kill " that same old Coon/* 
 
 But John, with this, was not content, 
 
 More vetoes he must give his friends — 
 His perfidy would have free vent ; 
 
 Corrupt and vicious were his ends. 
 The wolf, clothed like a sheep, came forth — 
 
 Again he played the self-same tune : 
 From East to West, from South to North, 
 
 He'd hunt, till death, " that same old Coon/* 
 
 A traitor^^ mad career is short. 
 
 He soon becomes despised by all ; 
 John Tyler, though within his fort, 
 
 Will witness soon a tyrant's fall. 
 His merciless proscription told, 
 
 Too w^ell, how soon would be his doom ; 
 The people, now, will soon behold 
 
 His downfall by " that same old Coon." 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 323 
 
 Whigs ! to your posts ! — lift up your voice, 
 
 You 'U yet behold a joyful day ; 
 Let all throughout the land rejoice, 
 
 And shout aloud for Henry Clay 
 For Henry Clay, the people's man, 
 
 Prosperity will be the boon, 
 Defeat the Loco Tyler clan — 
 
 Hurrah, boys, for " that same old Coon." 
 
 R. L. 
 
 YE JOLLY YOUNG WHIGS OF OHIO. 
 Tune — Rosin the Bow. 
 
 Ye jolly young Whigs of Ohio, 
 And all ye sick " Democrats" too, 
 
 Come out from among the foul party, 
 And vote for great Harry the true. 
 
 And vote, &:.c. 
 
 The great day of reck'ning is coming, 
 And the Locos begin to look blue, 
 
 There's no chance for you John or for Matty, 
 If we stick by great Harry the true. 
 If we stick, &c. 
 
 I therefore will give you a warning, 
 
 Not that any good it will do, 
 For I'm sure that you all are a-going 
 
 To vote for groat Harry the true. 
 
 To vote, (Sec. 
 
324 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Then let us be up and a-doing, 
 The Locos have yet much to rue ; 
 
 I '11 bet you a fortune we '11 beat them, 
 With great Harry the dauntless and true. 
 With great Harry, &c. 
 
 Good men from their ranks still are flying, 
 Which makes them look kinder askew, 
 
 And fast they are joining the standard 
 Of Harry the great and the true. 
 
 Of Harry, &c. 
 
 Then let us, boys, once again rally. 
 And form a procession or two. 
 
 And I tell you our foes will all startle 
 At the voice of great Harry the true. 
 At the voice, &.c. 
 
 And for one I'm fully determined, 
 To vote let it rain, hail or snow, 
 
 And I '11 do what I can in the battle, 
 For Harry the great and the true. 
 For Harry, &.c. 
 
 And if we should get at all thirsty, 
 As in time of old Tippecanoe, 
 
 We will tap a large keg of hard cider 
 And drink to great Harry the true. 
 And drink, &c. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL, 325 
 
 OUR PATRIOT HEARTS. 
 
 Tune — ^The Hurrah Song. 
 
 Our patriot hearts for freedom burn, hurrah, &c. 
 
 To noble deeds our steps we turn, hurrah, &c. 
 
 We rally with the brave and true, 
 
 With flowers the path of Clay to strew. 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah, hurrah, 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah ! 
 
 United in the patriot's cause, hurrah, &c. 
 For freedom and our country's laws, hurrah, &c. 
 Our hardy sons with pride display 
 The spotless flag of faithful Clay. Hurrah, &c. 
 
 Behold the Loco bands appear, hurrah, &c. 
 Their brows o'erhung with rankling fear, 
 
 hurrah, 
 They falter now, they hear our gay. 
 Our earthquake shout for Harry Clay. 
 
 Hurrah, &-c. 
 
 Then wind the bugles, sound the drums, 
 Hurrah, 
 
 Our stainless chief triumphant comes, Hur- 
 rah, &c. 
 
 His eye as bright, his heart as free 
 
 As when he strikes for Liberty, 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah, hurrah. 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah ! J. k. 
 28 
 
326 
 
 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 It is truly ridiculous, in the Spent party, to denounce the IVhig,, m 
 Ftderalists ! If this be, indeed, a term of reproach— ix^d it has, in tbat 
 «ense, been applied, let us, for a moment, pause to consider whether it 
 is hind to their oion leaders ; or consistent in these, self-styled, " dem'»- 
 crats" laus to use it. Facts speals louder than mere words. Who 
 proved themselves the best "democrats" dliring the last War? Wa.i 
 President Madison a Federalist ? Who gave tint support to that truly 
 ^l-eat man, during the late war with Great Britain, which every patriot 
 was bound to give ? From first to last, amidst opposition the most bitter 
 and unrelenting, and amidst almost universal despondency and gloom, 
 Henry Clay was the main support and unfaltering friend of Mr. Madi- 
 son. Who opposed him, and, in so doing, abandoned their cr>untry 
 in her hour of trial, we shall truly learnj as we sing the follow ; ng excel' 
 lent toog:— Ed. 
 
 WHEN THIS OLD HAT WAS NEW. 
 
 When this old hat was new, the people used to 
 
 say, ' •" 
 
 The best among the Democrats was Farmer 
 
 Harry Clay ; 
 The Locos now assume the name, a title most 
 
 untrue, 
 A]:id most unlike their party name, when :his 
 
 old hat was new. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 327 
 
 When ihis old hat was new, Van Buren* was 
 
 a Fed,, 
 An enemy to every man who laboured for his 
 
 bread ; 
 And if the people of New- York have kept 
 
 their records true, 
 H€ voted 'gainst the poor man's rights, when 
 
 this old hat was new. 
 
 Wlien this old hat was new, BnchananT was 
 
 the man 
 Best fitted in the Keystone State to lead tliG 
 
 Federal clan. 
 He swore "if DeTnocratic blood sliould make 
 
 iiis veins look blue. 
 He'd cure them by Phlebotomy," when this 
 
 old hat was new. 
 
 * Van Buren opposed the war, and then changed his 
 course; he opposed Mr. Madiso.n, and again changed hi3 
 course; he opposed the right of sufirage, and then advo- 
 cated it. 
 
 t Mr. James Buchanan declared, during the war. " K 1 
 were conscious of the existence of one drop of democratic 
 blood in my veins, I would apply to the nearest surgeon to 
 let it out." ! Could the " drop" be fouvd, it yvon\d spring 
 rapidly, and pale would be its hue, provided especially that 
 !his very distinguished— " dmocrat " could-previously 
 to said surgical operation— be induced to test, by actual 
 <^xperience, the efficacy of his favourite - Uw wages sys- 
 iem, benevolently recommendea by him for the poor and 
 industrious labourer ! 
 
328 THE CLAY MINSTREL, 
 
 When this old hat was new, ('twas eighteen 
 
 hundred eleven) 
 Charles Ingersoll* did then declare, by all his 
 
 hopes of Heaven, 
 "Had he been able to reflect, he'd been a 
 
 Tory true, 
 
 And ne'er have thought it a reproach," when 
 this old hat was new. 
 
 * Mr. Charles Jared Ingersoll is said to take great de- 
 light, when among his country friends, in dressing, as he 
 supposes, to suit his company ! His taste is really exquisite, 
 in old clothes and old hats, and that this temporary dis- 
 guise is successful is proof alike of his genuine republican- 
 ism, and of the good sense and discernment of those ex- 
 cellent people of the Fourth Congressional District of 
 Pennsylvania, who gave him their support. He is sincere ! 
 Of course he is I ! The same disinterested and truly repub^ 
 liean, "democratic^' Statesman, is known to have said 
 that, had he been capable of reason and reflection, at the 
 time of the Revolution, he would have been a— Tory I No 
 doubt can be entertained of his sincerity in this also. But 
 how is all this inconsistent with intense love of " Demo- 
 cratic^' votes and principles? 
 
 Heigho ! 
 
 " With slouched hat and round-a-bout. 
 With knees scarce in and elbows out. 
 This doughty £)c»«. with Stentor shout 
 Declaims for Liberty 1 
 
 Yet bed he lived in days of yore, 
 Our country's wounds still bleeding sore. 
 We should have had one traitor more, — 
 A heartless Torp heV 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 329 
 
 When tliis old hat was new, of Richard Rush* 
 
 'twas said, 
 To figure well among the Feds., he wore a 
 
 black cockade ; 
 Deny this. Locos, if you please, for every word 
 
 is true, 
 I knew full well old Dickey Rush, when this 
 
 old hat was new^ 
 
 When this old hat was new, the senator from 
 
 Maine 
 Destroyed by fire an effigy, t to immortaHze his 
 
 name: 
 The effigy was Madison's, if common fame be 
 
 true, 
 So Reuel Williams was a Fed., when this old 
 
 hat was new. 
 
 When this old hat was new, ' twas in the 
 
 Granite State, 
 That Gov' nor Hubbard asked each town to send 
 
 a delegate, 
 
 "* Ricl.ard Rush was the first man who mounted the 
 black cockade. 
 
 t — " I saw this done ; it was burned on Robinson and 
 Crosby's wharf, in the town of Augusta, Maine; there 
 was powder in the head, and I saw and heard the explo- 
 sion. I have seen Reuel Williams's house brilliantly illu- 
 minated at the reverse of our arms during the last war. — 
 James D- Ernest 
 
 28* 
 
^5 
 
 •>:J 
 
 330 THE CL\Y MINSTREL. 
 
 To meet in council at the time when Federalism 
 
 bUie 
 :Viade Hartford look like indigo, when this olc^ 
 
 was new. 
 
 When this old hat was new, Sam Cushman did 
 
 declare 
 ^' That should a soldier cross the Imes, he hoped 
 
 he 'd perish there. 
 And leave his bones in Canada for enemies to 
 
 So much for his '' Democracy," when this old 
 hat was new. 
 
 When this old hat was new, Old Governor 
 Prevost 
 
 The States invaded, at the head of numerous 
 British host, 
 
 Then mark, ye Locos, what did Martin Chit- 
 tenden then do ? 
 
 Forbade Green Mountain Boys to fight ! when 
 this old hat was new. 
 
 When this old hat was new, Woodbury and 
 
 Van Ness, 
 E. Allen Broion, and Stephen Haight were of 
 
 the Federal mess, 
 A. H. Everett, and 3Iartin Field, and Billy 
 
 Wilkins too, 
 Now " Patent Democrats," were Feds, when 
 
 this old hat was new. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 331 
 
 When this old hat was new, those worthies did 
 oppose 
 
 The cause and friends of Liberty, and stood 
 
 among their foes ; 
 Not so with KOBLE Harry Clay, the ever wise 
 
 and true,— 
 He bravely stood by Madison, when this old 
 
 hat was new. 
 
 When this old hat was new, the friends to 
 
 Liberty 
 Knew where to find the dauntless Hal, the 
 
 champion of the free ; 
 Come then, huzza for Harry Clay, just as we 
 
 used to do 
 When first we heard of War's alarms, when 
 
 this old hat was new. 
 
 THE STANDARD FLOATS ! 
 Tx7NE— 07^ Aunt Sally. 
 
 The Standard floats !— the cry is up 
 
 The Whigs are ripe for action ; 
 They fear no motley Loco host, 
 
 Or mongrel Tyler faction. 
 Their hands are one— their hearts are one ; 
 
 No 'possum— though they " coon" it ; 
 From every section of the land 
 
 They gather as an unit. 
 
 J 
 
332 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 An unit ! an unit ! they gather as an unit ! 
 
 From every section of (he land, 
 They gather as an unit ! 
 Harry ! Harry ! that old coon, Harry ! 
 
 Ra, re, ri, ro — that old coon, Harry ! 
 
 Sly Matty brings his forces up 
 
 From city, town, and border ; 
 A grumbling, discontented set — 
 
 Half doubting — in disorder ! 
 He speaks a little Dutch to them, 
 
 And sometimes Irish blarney ; 
 But Mynheer cannot understand. 
 
 And doubts remain with Barney ! 
 Barney ! &c. 
 
 Calhoun, he beats the Southern drum, 
 
 To draw his clans together ; 
 From swamp and land-hill, see, they come, 
 
 Like toads in foggy weather ! 
 His ragged banner is unfurl' d — 
 
 He 's most ashamed to show it ; 
 But then his backers urge him on. 
 
 With " Go it, Johnny, go it ?" 
 Go 'it: &c. 
 
 Now Cass has drill' d his new recruits ; 
 
 Buchanan looks phlegmatic ; 
 And Tyler calls his corporal's guard 
 
 The " purely democratic ;" 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 333 
 
 While Johnson draws his sword, and swears 
 
 That he 's the thumpsy, dumpsy, — 
 The folks may say just what they please, 
 
 'Twas he that killed Tecumseh ! 
 Tecumseh, &c. 
 That same old coon sits on a hmb 
 
 At all their follies grinning ; 
 The more they fight among themselves, 
 
 The more he 's sure of winning. 
 He knows they cannot shake him down, 
 
 While true Whigs gather round him ; 
 And so they '11 have to beat retreat, 
 
 And leave him where they found him. 
 Found him, &c. 
 
 COME, ROUSE UP, YE BOLD HEART 
 ED WHIGS OF KENTUCKY. 
 
 Tune — When Britain s oppression Jier laws, ^c. 
 
 Come, rouse up ! ye bold-hearted Whigs of 
 Kentucky, 
 And show the nation what deeds ye can do ; 
 The high road to victory lies open before ye, • 
 While led to the charge by your Harry the 
 true. 
 When he to the National Council elected, 
 The good of his country would he ever 
 pursue ; 
 And every poor man by him thus protected. 
 Should ever remember kind Harry the true. 
 
334 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 And now from retirement the people do call 
 him, 
 
 Because he is vaUant and qualified too ; 
 And for one teem they soon will instal him 
 
 As PRESIDENT Harry the faithful and true. 
 
 The Republican banner of Freedom is flying, 
 The Eagle of Liberty soars in your view ; 
 
 Then rally, my hearties — all traitors defying, 
 And thunder huzza ! for great Harry the true. 
 
 Among the supporters of brave General Jackson, 
 
 There are many Republicans, old men and 
 
 new; 
 
 To all such we say, "come out from among 
 
 them," 
 
 And "go it" for Harry the dauntless 
 
 AND TRUE. 
 
 THE DISPERSION OF THE SPOILERS. 
 
 Tune — " The star-spangled banner." 
 
 The spoilers came down Mke a wolf on the fold, 
 And their train-bands were revelling in ill-gotten 
 
 gold. 
 And Benton's hoarse howl on the gale did 
 
 resound. 
 Like the deep deadly yell of the blood-scenting 
 
 hound. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTKEL. 335 
 
 Like leaves of the forest when summer is green. 
 In the great year forty their banners were seen,. 
 Like leaves of the forest when autumn hath 
 
 blown, 
 In March forty-four they lay withered and 
 
 strewn, 
 For Freedom's proud bird spread its wings on 
 
 the blast, 
 And the breath of his wrath laid them low as 
 
 they passed, 
 And the eyes of the Locos grew deadly and 
 
 chiU, 
 And sub -treasurers' legs for ever grew still. 
 
 The wail of the scullions is still loud in their wo. 
 
 And Matty has vanished and John he must go. 
 
 And the popular might hath the spoiler ex- 
 punged. 
 
 The might of the freemen hath freemem 
 avenged. 
 
 OUR FLAG IS FLOATING ON THE 
 BREEZE. 
 
 Our flag is floating on the breeze, 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah ; 
 O'er mountains, valleys, lakes and seas : 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah ; 
 Our rallying cry — a magic word, 
 From Maine to Michigan is heard ; 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah, hurrak. 
 
 Hurrah for Harry Clay : 
 
336 THE CLAY 3IINSTREL. 
 
 Press on, press on with Harry Clay, 
 
 Hurrah, &c. 
 The Statesman who so oft hath won ; 
 
 Hurrah, &c. 
 With such a leader in the field, 
 The foes of freedom soon must yield. 
 
 Hurrah, &c. 
 
 Comes from the east the stirring cry. 
 
 Hurrah, &c. 
 In trumpet tones of victory ; 
 
 Hurrah, &c. 
 The south gives back the cheering shout, 
 DispelUng fear, dissolving doubt. 
 
 Hurrah, &c. 
 
 Comes from the north the thrilling peal. 
 Stand by him, Whigs, be true as steel ; 
 
 Hurrah, &c. 
 Let recreant cowards turn and flee. 
 We go for death or victory. 
 
 Hurrah, &c. 
 
 Comes from the west in thunder tone, 
 
 Hurrah, &.c. 
 *' He is our best, our chosen one,' 
 
 Hurrah, &c. 
 East, west, north, south,— all now display 
 Their love for gallant Harry Clay, 
 
 Hurrah, &c. 
 
 7> 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 337 
 
 JOHN C. CALHOUN. 
 
 Tune — John Andersen my Jo, John. 
 
 John C. Calhoun, my Jo, John, 
 
 When we were first acquent, 
 You went "the tariff" strong, John, 
 
 And on " a baxk" were bent, 
 But now you 've sadly changed, John ; 
 
 Ah I how can you do so ! 
 You 're by ambhion all deranged, 
 
 John C. Calhoun, my Jo. 
 
 John C. Calhoun, my Jo John, 
 
 Some year ago or two, 
 You tuck'd yourself " io little Van" 
 
 In hopes 'twould bring you through, 
 But the man you called "■ a v/easel," John, 
 
 Could not be " suck'd in" so ; 
 And he said you " could 'nt come it quite," 
 John C. Calhoun, my Jo. 
 
 John C. Calhoun, rny Jo, John, 
 
 From year to year you've passed, 
 Hoping that some party, John, 
 Would bring you out at last ; 
 But it never has "inured," John — 
 
 They trifle whh you so — 
 i 'd cut them all, if I wete you, 
 
 John C. Calhoun, my Jo ! 
 39 V. 
 
338 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 John C. Calhoun, my Jo, John, 
 
 Be pleased to tell us now 
 What hobby next you '11 mount, John, 
 
 To put us in a row ? 
 You've tried to "nullify," John, 
 
 But found it was " no go ;" 
 Perhaps you v/ill " secede" next, 
 
 John C. Calhoun, my Jo! 
 
 John C. Calhoun, my Jo, John, 
 
 I beg you, if you love us. 
 Come not to the Whigs, John, 
 
 To " RUIN," or " rule" above us. 
 We do not wish to take you, John, 
 
 We 've tried you once you know, 
 And that was once too often, John, 
 John C. Calhoun, my Jo ! 
 
 WORKINGMEN'S SONG, No. 2. 
 
 The Tars will man their gallant ships, 
 
 And fling the canvass free, 
 Again unfurl the " bunting strips," 
 
 And cheerly put to sea. 
 They '11 heave, and weigh, and stow, and pull- 
 
 And sing and hoist away, 
 They '11 hoist, and hoist, and hoist, and hoist, 
 
 And hoist in Henry Clay. 
 
 The Carmen long to see the loads 
 
 Of merchandise arrive. 
 For then the wharves, and streets, and roads 
 
 T'^^ill be a busy hive. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 339 
 
 They '11 back, and pack, and pile, and lash, 
 
 And drive and cart away ; 
 And cart, and cart, and cart, and cart. 
 
 And carry in Henry Clay. 
 
 The Press foretells a brighter day 
 
 To cheer the Printer's breast ; 
 They 've turned the world the other way — 
 
 There 's Sunrise in the West ! 
 They '11 set, and impose, and correct, and re- 
 vise. 
 
 And print, and publish away ; 
 They '11 pubhsh, and pubhsh, and publish, and 
 pubUsh 
 
 The name of Henry Clay, 
 
 The Ladies — bless the lovely band — 
 
 Our country's joy and pride, 
 They go for Harry, hand in hand, 
 
 Maid, matron, belle, and bride, 
 To gain " Protect io?i" for themselves ; 
 
 They '11 marry, and marry away, 
 And tell their lovers and husbands, and sons, 
 
 To vote for Henry Clay. 
 
 The rich, the poor, the bowed, the free, 
 
 Through all our noble land, 
 To bring the nation's jubilee, 
 
 Will lend a helping hand ; 
 They '11 pull together all as one, 
 
 And shout and work away. 
 Together, together, together, together, 
 
 Thi77,n f for Tfpvni Clov ! J, D. 
 
340 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 ONE DAY JUST AT SET OF SUN. 
 Tune-— Ge< along home my Ycller Gals. 
 
 One day just at set of sun, 
 When labour ceased its busy hum, 
 I took a walk and heard this tune, 
 Sung gUbly by that same old Coon: 
 Chokus. 
 
 Get along home you Loco Clique, 
 For your strength is fast dechning ; 
 
 Get along home you Loco CUqae, 
 For the star of the Whigs is shining. 
 
 Oh there is a man down in the South, 
 Who has a most conspicuous mouth ; 
 He thinks he '11 eat up every coon, 
 But you can't come it, John Calhoun ! 
 Get along home, &.c. 
 
 And Captain Tyler much does yearn, 
 To keep his seat a second term : 
 But Captain you must " Crawfish^' soon, 
 Now mark the v/ords of this here coon. 
 Get along home, <Scc. 
 
 There 's General Cass, " he can't come in," 
 He never will this old Coon skin ; ' 
 I cant come down, you '11 waste your shot, 
 ^ Cause GerCral Cass ai7it Captaiii Scott. 
 Get along home, &c. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 341 
 
 And little " Mat" will plot and plan, 
 But he is not the people's man, 
 I licked that varmint once before. 
 And will again ia Forty-four. 
 
 Get along home, &c. 
 
 But right down here in Old Kentuck, 
 It this old coon has any luck, 
 We '11 find a man to gain the day, 
 And who will stick as tight as Clay. 
 
 Get along home, &c. 
 
 Yes, give us Harry of the West, 
 
 The truest, wisest, and the best. 
 
 And then if things don't mend right soor - 
 
 Just take the hide off this old Coon. 
 
 Get along home, &c. 
 
 ROLL THE DEMOCRATIC BALL. 
 Tune — Bruce' s Address. 
 
 Freemeii ! hear your country's call, 
 Roll the Democratic ball, 
 Let your voice be heard by all 
 
 The foes of liberty. 
 Now's the day and now 's the hour. 
 See they struggle hard for power : 
 But in vain the Locos roar 
 
 Against Democracy, 
 29* 
 
342 > THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Who will be a Loco slave, 
 Who would not his country save, 
 Who a monarch soon would have, 
 
 Let him turn and flee. 
 Who Columbia's glory love, 
 Who hr freedom, freemen prove ; 
 Onward to the battle move, 
 
 Let us all be free. 
 
 From all labour-crushing laws, 
 From official plunderers^ jatus, 
 And Suhtreasurers'' " specie claws, ^ 
 
 Keep your country free. 
 Let Henry Clay then lead the van. 
 To carry out the glorious plan. 
 Approved by every honest man 
 
 Who loves his liberty. 
 
 COME ONE AND ALL! 
 Tune— 0Z(^ Tip's the Boy. 
 
 Come one and all, obey the call, 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah; 
 And rally round on freedom's ground. 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah. 
 Renouncing all the Tyler truck. 
 Once more we mean to try our luck. 
 With Harry Clay of Old Kentuck, 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah 
 
 I 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 343 
 
 A Western star that shines afar, 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah; 
 A ray of Ught that quivers bright, 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah. 
 Then place him proudly on your crest, 
 A man with truth and wisdom blest. 
 The lion Statesman of the West, 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah! 
 
 While Harry's there let none despair, 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah ; 
 For when he spoke the Tyrants shook, 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah. 
 Who in a dark and doleful hour, 
 His voice in thunder tones did pour 
 Against that fatal veto power, 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah ! 
 
 The Battle fights of all State Rights, 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah; 
 With Union too, he 's firm and true, 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah. 
 And looking to our rights alone, 
 Strict justice he would not postpone. 
 But give to every State her own, 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah ! 
 
 The sterling friend of Old North Bend, 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah. 
 The ladies, too, beheve him true, 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah. 
 
344 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 The Father of Columbia's cause. 
 Whose measures must demand applause, 
 A Tariff and Protecting laws, 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah! 
 
 With Benton's gold he can't be fool'd, 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah ; 
 
 Nor Tt/ler^ s plan, Calhoun, nor Van, 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah ; 
 
 But dauntless he will face the storm, 
 
 Our currency he will reform, 
 
 And make it sound and uniform, 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah! 
 
 Our cause is just, and thrive it must, 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah. 
 
 Then let's be wise and seize the prize, 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah. 
 
 Let every Whig go hand in hand, 
 
 And form one patriotic band, 
 
 To save this blest and happy land, 
 Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah ! 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 345 
 
 THE HUGE PAW. 
 
 Tune— "Zaw." 
 
 Come list to me a minute, 
 
 A song, I 'm going to sing it, 
 
 You 'II find there 's something in it, 
 
 'Tis all about a paw. 
 
 P, A, W, paw, 
 
 The hugest ever you saw, 
 If you 've any commiseration 
 For the luckless situation 
 Of this bamboozled nation, 
 
 Hear the tale of this HUGE PAW. 
 
 The wheel was lustily spinning, 
 The merchant merrily grinning. 
 And cash the farmer was winning, 
 
 As fast as he could claw. 
 
 C, L, A, W, claw. 
 
 Went each industrious paw; 
 And all was jollification. 
 Till a meddling botheration 
 Confounded the circulation 
 
 Of the blood of this HUGE PAW, 
 
346 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 * For a quack came slily creeping, 
 While Uncle Sam was a-sleeping, 
 And, astride of his shoulders leaping, 
 
 Like a hungry dog did gnaw, 
 
 G, N, A, W, gnaw, 
 
 All the flesh of his honest paw, 
 And with mighty speechification, 
 Made a blarneying protestation. 
 How he'd "better his circulation," 
 
 By the wag of his impudent jaw ! 
 
 But, sirs, the quack was a Tory, 
 And his wonderful " blaze of glory," 
 To make short work of the story. 
 
 Was puffed away in a flaw ! 
 
 F, L, A, W, flaw, 
 
 Like snow in an April thaw ! 
 If you've any commiseration, 
 Think of Uncle Sam's consternation, 
 When he felt the sudden prostration 
 
 Of the strength of his HUGE PAW ! 
 
 But the rogues will soon be nabbin. 
 
 If guessing I 'm any dab in ; 
 
 So — come out and stop the squabbUn', 
 
 Great Hal ! and give 'em the law ! 
 
 L, A, W, law. 
 
 Shall worry 'em all till they jaw, 
 Then sound a loud acclamation. 
 And hand him into his station. 
 For he 's the man for the nation, 
 
 To wield of reform the HUGE PAW. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 347 
 
 So, Tories, prepare to knock under, 
 For he '11 down upon you like thunder, 
 And smite your whole squad asunder, 
 
 With his HUGE and VETERAN PAW. 
 
 P, A, W, paw, 
 
 Will hit you over the raw ! 
 Then hurrah for the Whigs and the nation ! 
 And a shout of loud jubilation 
 For the glorious restoration 
 
 Of the HUGE and PATRIOT PAW. 
 
 THE RUBBER; OR MAT'S LAST 
 GAME. 
 
 Tune — 3Iiss Bailey. 
 
 Our little Mat, from Kinderhook, no friend to 
 
 country quarters, 
 Resolved to rule a second term, or dangle in his 
 
 garters ; 
 Though Lindenwold grew cabbages, he got but 
 
 Uttle of it ; 
 'Twixt public crih, and private crib, there's a 
 
 difference in the profit ! 
 
 Great difference in the profit ! 
 
 Ye office-seeking sycophants, novsr ready let 
 
 each one be ; 
 The Argus, with its hundred eyes, looked every 
 
 way for Sunday ; 
 
 i 
 
348 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Mat sung all tunes in double voice — one bass, 
 
 the other treble ; 
 While in the Senate, Silas Wright was playing 
 
 second fiddle. 
 
 Wright playing second fiddle ! 
 
 Importers and onr factories Mat wished in good 
 
 condition, 
 And Slavery 'twas a sacred thing, and so was 
 
 Abolition ! 
 He was for Union and Repeal — ' ' more no than 
 
 yes" — the Treaty; 
 He loved Protection and Free Trade, Sub- Trea 
 
 sury notes and Specie ! 
 
 All salaries paid in specie ! 
 
 Then Agriculture — he revered it ! he himself a 
 
 "happy Tiller, 
 ' At first, he bought his hay and oats, but past 
 
 two years" was seller; 
 "Had reclaimed twelve acres bog" — in the 
 
 " useful" was their true vassal, 
 " But for him to talk to farmers, was carrying 
 
 coals to Newcastle." 
 
 Mat " carrying coals to Newcastle !" 
 
 And oh ! the generous rival; — Calhoun, although 
 
 Quixotic, 
 Was an honest NuUifier ! — Cass, vain, but 
 
 patriotic, 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 349 
 
 Johnson, an honourable man— all were in his 
 opinion ! 
 
 Dick never wrote that mail report, but doubt- 
 less killed an Indian ! 
 
 Dick doubtless killed an Indian ! 
 
 Now any mortal man but Mat— such studied 
 
 non-committal, 
 Such twidling, twaddling, twisting, would very 
 
 much be- little ; 
 He patted Cass-men on the back, and Johnson 
 
 and Calhoun-mcn ; 
 Soft-sawdered all mankind, and loved— Lord ! 
 
 how he loved the women ! 
 
 Who doesn't love the women ! 
 
 Now Mat had learnt in Jackson times, in Loco- 
 
 Foco sections, 
 That soldiering and rub-a-dubs, were just the 
 
 thing for 'lections ; 
 But his merit-roll was mighty short in service*. 
 
 thus exciting ; 
 
 He "faZ/iec? of Battles," suug at home, when 
 others did the ficrhlino- ! 
 
 Dick Johnson did the fishtino- ! 
 
 Quoth Mat, I need the Hickory poles to reach 
 
 the place assigned me 1 
 I '11 mount the Presidential horse and pilHon— 
 
 Polk behind me ' 
 SO 
 
350 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Old Tennessee can help me raore than scores 
 
 of " Accidentals," 
 If she'll rig me out in the General's cdcked 
 
 hat and regimentals ! 
 
 Old Hickory's regimentals! 
 
 Like bag on bean-pole, such a ft, the tailor 
 
 tribe were shock' d at ; 
 Old soldiers snickered to see Mat play general 
 
 in a cocked hat ! 
 Old Hickory shakes his sides to see how slouch- 
 
 ingly his suit sets, 
 While " Puss in boots" makes awkward strides 
 
 to " follow in his footsteps !" 
 
 In his "illustrious footsteps !" 
 
 Then all contributed their mite: the Argus, 
 
 "public feeling;" 
 Old Hickory furnished, rub-a-dubs— John 1 y- 
 , ler, double-deahng ! 
 Ritchie, to gull the populace, fluttered Uke a 
 
 stool-pigeon ! ' , j 
 
 Hoyt furnished funds, Dick Davis wind, and 
 
 Butler the Religion ! 
 
 Ben Butler the Rehgion ! 
 
 And Humbug Benton, having heard, although 
 he never read it. 
 
 That Balaam's Ass had made a Bpeech, re- 
 ported to his credit; 
 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 351 
 
 Came forth in many a wind}' speech ; for he 
 
 felt some ambition, 
 Like his great prototype, to show an ass's sad 
 
 condition ! 
 
 The Ass's sad condition ! 
 
 By ' British gold' and ' Biddle Banks,' he said 
 
 he 'd never be bought, 
 " Rumbled his belly MV'—[Khig Lear] — hke 
 
 tempest in a tea-pot ; 
 He always thought the popular breath like 
 
 herring spoiled in curing, 
 But their "sober second thought," he hoped 
 
 would be for Mat Van Buren 1 
 For ?iim and Mat Van Buren ! 
 
 Prince John, too, fired with patriot zeal, met 
 with responses hearty. 
 
 His honeyed voice, and spindle-shanks, devoted 
 to "the Party;" 
 
 'Barn-Burners' and ' Old Hunkers' were dear 
 alike to Matty, 
 
 If they 'd resolve, nem. con. to vote their favour- 
 ite son — his Pappy ! 
 
 His well-fed, grateful Pappy ! 
 
 Mat's nomination now v.'as deemed as past al! 
 
 apprehension. 
 His rivals —jockey'd off the course — Mat 
 
 ' heads' them in Convention I 
 
352 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 But HENRY CLAY was waxmg strong, while 
 
 I\Iat grew faint and feeble ; 
 Huzza for Clay, and exit Mat, cursing the 
 
 stupid People ! 
 
 Mat could'nt gull the People ! 
 
 ALL'S WELL. 
 
 Hark ! from the broad and noble West, 
 From whsre the Hero's ashes rest, 
 The loud and stirring peal rings out — 
 And comes on every breeze the shout 
 For Harry Clay ! 
 For Harry Clay ! 
 For Harry Clay ! 
 For gallant Harry Clay ! 
 See them rush from the mountain's side- 
 They come from plain and prairie wide !■ 
 From every forest, glade and glen, 
 The shout goes up again, 
 " ^Yho goes there ? Stranger, 
 Stand ! Say the word." 
 "Kentuck!" 
 "Hurrah!" 
 "All 'swell! All's well !'^ 
 The West, 
 The East, 
 All— All 's well ! 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 353 
 
 From wild New England's mountain's steep, 
 On through her valleys green they sweep — 
 And swelling high his glorious name, 
 His noble deeds aloft proclaim 
 For Harry Clay ! 
 For Harry Clay ! 
 For Harry Clay! 
 For fearless Harry Clay ! 
 From ocean's surge to mountain rills, 
 Bright burn the watch-fires on the hills ! 
 Each arm is nerved, each sword gleams high, 
 To strike for victory ! 
 " On ! on ! Comrade ! 
 To the front ! who leads V 
 "Kentuck!" 
 " Hurrah !" 
 "All's well! All's well!" 
 The West, 
 The East, 
 All 's well ! All 's well ! 
 
 And from the palm-groves of the south 
 The lofty strains are ringing forth, 
 Hark irom her thousand plains they come, 
 In tones that thrill Uke battle drum. 
 
 For Harry Clay ! 
 
 For Harry Clay! 
 
 For Harry Clay! 
 For faithful Harry Clay. 
 
 30* X 
 
S34 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 And when they hear his honoured name. 
 It kindles Freedom's hohest flame, 
 And million hearts with joy beat high. 
 Resolved to do or die. 
 "Ho! what of the night? 
 Quickly tell, who leads?" 
 "Kentuck!" 
 " Hurrah r" 
 " All 's well ! All 's well V 
 The East, 
 The South, 
 All— All 's weU I 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 355 
 
 THE COON SONG. 
 
 Tune — Dandy Jim of Caroline. 
 
 A race ! a race ! And who will win ? 
 Who will be out ? who will be in ? 
 Trot out your nags ! we '11 see who '11 take, 
 From all, the Presidential stake ! 
 
 The people say they '11 go for Clay, 
 The true heart's hope, the country's stay 
 So raise the shout, and clear the way, 
 For work and worth and Harry Clay! 
 
356 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 First Tyler comes the boon to crave : 
 A laugh and hiss meet the traitor knave, 
 He lowers his nose and sneaks away ; 
 For he dares not face old Harry Clay. 
 
 For the people say, Sec. 
 
 Next sneaking in, Grimalkin Van 
 Purrs low, and thinks " I will if I can." 
 But we whipp'd him once — Lord, how he ran I 
 Hang up your fiddle — you 're not the man. 
 
 For the people say, &c. 
 
 Then comes Calhoun, now right, now wrong ; 
 Though six feet two, he's " nothing long." 
 But short or tall he '11 be no higher, 
 We'll nullify the nuUifier ! 
 
 For the people say, «&c. 
 
 There's Old Tecumseh: "he won't do: 
 While he loves black, he will get blue ; 
 And taking a wife, so weak his sight, 
 Poor rnan ! he did' n't know black from white. 
 
 So the people say, &.c. 
 
 Buchanan comes. A shilling a day ! 
 Work Locos ! How d'ye like your pay ? 
 Old Conestoga's stall'd, they say, 
 He 's sticking in Kentucky Clay. 
 
 For the people say, &,c- 
 
I 
 
 THE CLAY MINSTREL. S57 
 
 Now hobbles in old Madam Cass ; 
 She 's not what she was, alas ! alas ! 
 She might be a pet of the frog-eaters' king,— 
 Where the people rule she 's not the thing. 
 
 For the people say, &.c. 
 
 Then Clay, with a lion port, strides by, 
 And shouts of thunder cleave the sky ; 
 The pure, the bright, the tried and true, 
 The laurel wreath belongs to you. 
 
 For the people say, &c. 
 
THE 
 
 CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 PART II. 
 
 {359) 
 
HENRY clay; 
 On his return to Kentucky,— April, IS42. 
 
 Slowly, serenely now he sinks to rest 
 
 Behind the towerins Alleghanies. Far 
 In the loved valleys of his genial West, 
 
 He woos the peace which Man nor Fate may mar. 
 Well may the land in proud remembrance bear 
 
 The glories of his long, bright summer day : 
 Its storms subdued, its skies which kindlier ivere 
 
 As high he moved on his majestic way. 
 Long shall it muse o'er his benignant sway 
 
 In darker following hours — Ah no ! not long! 
 full soon the gladness of his morning ray 
 
 Shall wake all hearts to ecstasy and song ! 
 Behold I even now the blackness disappears, 
 And soon his risen orb shall dry the Nation's tears t 
 
 (360) 
 
THE 
 
 CLAY MINSTREL. 
 PART II. 
 
 I cannot lay myself down in the way of the welfare and happiness 
 of my country. That I cannot, I have not the courage to do. I cannot 
 interpose the power with which I may be invested, a power conferred 
 not for my personal benefit, nor my aggrandizement, but for my coun- 
 try's good, to check her onward march to greatness and glory. 1 have 
 not courage enough— I am too cowardly for that, I would not, I dare 
 not in the exercise of such a trust, lie down and place my body across 
 the path that leads my country to prosperity and happiness, 
 
 Mr. Clay— in the Senate— 1841. 
 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 ON HIS RETIRING FROM THE U. S. SENATE. 
 
 Wail for the glorious Pleiad fled — 
 
 Wail for the ne'er-returning star 
 Whose mighty music ever led 
 
 The spheres in their high home afar ! 
 Bring burial weeds ? and sable plume ? 
 
 What — lift the funeral song of wo 
 Such as should o'er the loved one's tomb 
 
 In sorrow's tenderest accent flow ? 
 31 (361) 
 
362 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Ah ! Freedom's kindling minstrel, no ! 
 Strike ! strike with a triumphant hand 
 
 Thy harp, and at hs svvelhng roll 
 Speak, thi'ough the borders of our land, 
 
 The might — the beauty of that soul 
 Whose Genius is our guardian light 
 Through sunny ray or darkling night — 
 A worshipped Pharos in the sea. 
 
 Lifting on high its fearless form 
 To guide the vessel of the Free 
 
 Safe through the fury of the storm. 
 
 Pride of the west ! whose clarion-tone 
 Thrilled gladly through her forest lone, 
 And waked to bounding life the shore 
 Where darkness only sat before — 
 How millions bent before thy shrine. 
 Beholding there a light divine — 
 Caught on the golden chain of love. 
 From its majestic source above. 
 
 Stau of our Hope ! when Battle's call 
 Had wove the soldier's gory pall — 
 When blazing o'er the troubled seas. 
 Death came tumultuous on the breeze, 
 And men beheld Columbia's frame 
 Scorched by the lurid levin-flame — 
 Thou ! thou didst pour the patriot -strain," 
 And thrilled with it each bleeding vein — 
 
 * Ailudiog to hie eSorU as Bepublicaa leader io Congress during tbs 
 Sate Wn. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 363 
 
 Until the star-lit banners streamed 
 
 Like tempest-fires around the foe, 
 Whose crimson cross no longer gleamed 
 In triumph where it erst had beamed — 
 But sunk beneath our gallant blow. 
 
 Sun of the Free ! where Summer smiles 
 Eternal o'er the clustered isles — 
 Where Greece unsheathed her olden blade 
 For Glory in the haunted shade — 
 Where Chimborazo stands sublime 
 A land-mark by the sea of Time* — 
 Thy name shall, as a blessing given 
 
 For man, oh ! never to depart, 
 Peal from our gladdened Earth to Heaven — 
 
 The warm, wild music of the heart. 
 
 Pride of the Just ! what though dark Hate 
 
 Her phrensied storm around thee rolls — 
 Has it not ever been the fate 
 
 Of all this Earth's truth-speaking souls? 
 Lightnings may play upon the rock 
 
 Whose star-kissed forehead woos the gale. 
 While they escape the thunder-shock 
 
 Who dwell within the lonely vale — 
 Living unnoted ! — not so thou, 
 Chief of the fearless soul and brow! 
 
 * Who can forget Henry CIsy's buroiag eloquence in advocacy of 
 Creciao &Dd South American Independence 7 
 
364 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Yet let the lightning and the storm 
 Beat on thy long-devoted form ! 
 The silvery day- beam bursts ! and lo ! 
 Around thee curls the Promise -Bow ! 
 
 Look ! on yon height Columbia stands — 
 
 Immortal laurels in her hands ! 
 
 And hark her voice—" Rise! Freemen, rise! 
 
 Unloose the chain from every breast ; 
 See ! see the splendour in yon skies 
 
 Flashed from the bosom of the West !" 
 Roused at the sound, lo ! millions leap 
 Like giants from inglorious sleep ! 
 What cries are here ? What sounds prevail I 
 Whose name is thundering on the gale ? — 
 (Far in the mountains of the North — 
 
 Far in the sunny South away — 
 A winged lustre bounding forth—) 
 
 The deathless name of Henry Clay! 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 365 
 
 That patriotism which, catching its inspiration from the immortal 
 God, and leaving, at an immeasurable distance below, all lesser, grovel- 
 ling, personal interests and feelings, animates and prompts to deeds of 
 self-sacrifice, of valour, of devotion, and of death itself— that is public 
 virtue, that is the noblest, the subliniest of all public virtues. 
 
 Mr. Clay, in the Senate.— ISil, 
 
 MR. NEAGLE'S PORTRAIT OF 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 Lofty, erect, beneath the Senate's dome, 
 His bald, high forehead eloquent with thought, 
 His clear eye kindled with a patriot's fire. 
 Stands up, my country, here, the noble form 
 Of one amidst the proudest, and the best 
 Of thy illustrious sons, — around him spread 
 Memorials of the trophies he has won. 
 Here are the anvil and the shuttle : here, 
 Hard by, the plough, which his own hand hath 
 
 held; 
 While far upon the blue and booming sea. 
 Leans the tall ship before the fresh'ning gale ; 
 Fair symbols all, of that tri-sisterhood. 
 The bond of nations, and their monument. 
 The strength and glory of the common weal — 
 Wide Commerce, ancient Husbandry, and 
 
 Art. 
 
 Beside him hangs, in broad and flowing folds 
 Of striped and starry blazonry, that flag 
 Ne'er borne aloft by tyrant hands, nor struck 
 In base dishonour to a conquering foe— 
 
366 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Young Freedom's ensign to a waiting world ! 
 
 ! well the artist's cunning hand hath wrought, 
 In shape and shade, the spirit of the scene ! 
 And musing here, in still and thoughtful mood, 
 In pensive silence gazing on that brow, 
 
 My busy memory gathers up the past, 
 Runs o'er the records of departed time, 
 And marks the progress of his high career, 
 Whose form and features beam upon me now. 
 
 I see him first, an orphan boy ; his name 
 Unknown to greatness, born upon no page 
 Of proud and empty heraldry ; his lot 
 Cast not amidst the gay and glittering scenes 
 Of rank and riches ; liis sole heritage 
 A clear, strong head, a great and fiery heart, 
 And, crowning these, the birthright of the free ! 
 
 While yet the fresh bloom of life's youthful 
 
 years 
 Glows on his cheeks, that burning soul hath 
 
 found 
 Full utterance from his eloquent lips to scourge 
 The false fear of oppression, and to claim 
 Unshackled freedom for the pen and speech. 
 
 1 see him next ere thirty summer suns 
 Had shed their radiance on his upward path, 
 Standhig, a peer, amid that choicest few, 
 The honoured and the trusted of the land, 
 The guardians of its liberty and laws— 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 367 
 
 Bearing upon his brow, and in his heart, 
 With the high hope and confidence of youth, 
 The cahn, clear wisdom of experienced age. 
 
 Well hast thou placed him, artist — underneath 
 That vaulted roof, whose arches have sent back 
 So oft the echo of his warning voice, 
 Uplifted, ever, for the right and true. 
 
 * * * * * 
 
 Hail ! Patriot, Sage, and Statesman ! on thy 
 brow 
 Though fickle Fortune may not set her seal, 
 A greener garland blooms than any wreath 
 The wayward Goddess for her minions binds: 
 And in thy hands though office may not place 
 Its barren sceptre and its fleeting power — 
 A brighter, better destiny is thine 
 Than all these empty honours can bestow. 
 Thou hast thy country's love: — with her re- 
 nown 
 Thy own is woven ; with her name, thy name. 
 In union indestructible, is bound : 
 The pages of her history are thine ! 
 And when thy setting sun shall touch the verge 
 Of life's horizon, shall a nation's eyes 
 Follow in sadness the departing light ; 
 A nation's heart thy memory shall embalm ; 
 A nation's tongue thy eulogy shall speak; 
 Worthy amongst the worthiest of her sons, 
 Her dauntless champion and her steadfast friend J 
 
368 
 
 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 "What patnofc purpose is to be accnmpiu,,ed by (his Re«oIutiou? 
 Cau you make that not to be which has been ? Can you eradicate from 
 tnea.ory and from history the fact, that ia March, 1834, a majority of 
 the Senate of the Uni.ed States passed the resolutio^ whi^h exc J you 
 enn3.,y? Is.t your vain and wicked object to arrogate to youSes 
 .^ power of annihilates the pas. which has been denied t Z ^ 
 
 to pluck out the deeply rooted convictions which are there ? Or i, 1, 
 your desip, merely to stigmatize us ? You cannot stigmatize US. 
 
 " Ne'er yet did base dishonour blur our name." 
 Standins securely upon our conscious rec.itude, and bearing aloft the 
 .h.eld of the coo.titution "^ our country, your pu'ny efforts are impotent 
 aiid we defy all yonr power." * c impoiem, 
 
 Mr. Clay on the Expunsing Sesolution. 
 
 STAR OF THE WEST! 
 
 Not Fallen ! No ! as well the tall 
 And pillowed Alleghany fall— 
 As well Ohio's giant tide 
 
 Roll backward on its mighty track, 
 As he, Columbia's hope and pride, 
 The slandered and sorely tried, 
 
 In his triumphant course turn back. 
 He is not Fallen ! Seek to bind 
 The chainless and unbidden wind ' 
 Oppose the torrent's headlong course 
 And turn aside the whirlwind's force ; 
 But deem not that the mighty mind ' 
 Will cower before the blast of hate 
 
 Or quail at dark and causeless ill'- 
 J or though all else be desolate, ' 
 It stoops not from his high estate ; 
 A Marius 'mid the ruins still. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. S6£ 
 
 He is not Fallen ! Every breeze 
 
 That wanders o'er Columbia's bosom, 
 From wild Penobscot's forest trees, 
 From Ocean shore, from inland seas, 
 
 Or where the rich Magnolia's blossom 
 Floats, snow-like, on the sultry wind. 
 
 Is boommg onward on his ear, 
 A homage to his lofty mind— 
 A meed the falling never find, 
 
 A praise which Patriots only hear. 
 
 Star of the West ! A million eyes 
 
 Are turning gladly unto him ; 
 The shrine of old idolatries 
 
 Before his kindling light grows dim ! 
 And men awakes as from a dream. 
 
 Or meteors dazzling to betray ; 
 And bow before his purer beam, 
 
 The earnest of a better day. 
 
 All Hail ! the hour is hastening on 
 
 When, vainly tried by Slander's flame, 
 Columbia shall behold her son 
 
 Unharmed, without a laurel gone, 
 As from the flames of Babylon 
 
 The angel-guarded trial came 
 The Slanderer shall be silent then, 
 His spell shall leave the minds of men, 
 And higher glory wait upon 
 
 The Western Patriot's future fame. 
 
 J. &. w. 
 
S70 THE CLA-Y MINSTREL. 
 
 ERECT HE STANDS. 
 
 " Hold iiig the principle thjtt a citi- 
 zen, 80 long- as a single pulsation re- 
 mains, is under an obligation to exert 
 bis utmost energies in the service of hii 
 country, whether in a private or public 
 station, luy friends may rest assured thai 
 in either condiiion 1 shall stand erect, 
 with a spirit unconquerei, while life 
 endures, ready to second their exertions 
 in the cause of union and liberty." 
 Henry Clay. 
 
 Ay ! stand erect — the cloud is broken ; 
 Above thee stands the rainbow's token ^ 
 The shadow of thy onward way 
 Is bending into perfect day ; 
 The slanders of the venal train 
 Assail thy honest name in vain ; 
 For thou art still, as thou hast been. 
 The hope of fi-ee and patriot men. 
 
 Still boasts thy hp its fiery zeal, 
 Thy heart its joy in human weal ; 
 Still free thy tongue to soothe or warm. 
 Still keen its fiery shaft of scorn ; 
 Still soars thy soul untamed and strong. 
 The loftier for its sense of wrong , 
 Still first in Freedom's cause to stand, 
 The champion of her favourite land. 
 
 ! what to thee were pomp and show, 
 Aught that thy country can bestow ? 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 371 
 
 Her highest gifts could only take 
 New honours for their wearer's sake ; 
 They could not add a wreath to thine, 
 Nor brighter make thy glory shine ; 
 No — meaner ones may borrow fame ; 
 Thine lives through every change the same. 
 
 The Grecian, as he feeds his flocks 
 In Tempe's vale, on Morea's rocks, 
 Or where the gleam of bright blue waters 
 Is caught by Scio's white-armed daughters, 
 While dwelling on the dubious strife,'' 
 Which ushered in his nation's life. 
 Shall mingle in his grateful lay, 
 BozzARis with the name of Clay. 
 
 Where blush the warm skies of the south 
 O'er Cotopaxi's fiery mouth. 
 And round the fallen Incas' graves, 
 Tile pampa rolls its breezy waves— 
 The patriot in his council-hall, 
 The soldier at his fortress-wall, 
 The brave, the lovely, and the free 
 Shall offer up their prayer for thee. 
 
 And where our own rude valleys smile, 
 And temple-spire and lofty pile 
 Crown, like the fashion of a dream, 
 The slope of every fountain-stream ; 
 
372 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Where Industry and Plenty meet, 
 Twin-brothers, in the crowded street ; 
 Each spire and mountain upward sent 
 Shall be thy fitting monument. 
 
 Still stand erect ! — our hope and trust, 
 When law is trampled in the dust ; 
 When o'er our fathers' yet green graves 
 The war-cry of disunion raves, 
 And sons of those who, side by side, 
 Smote down the lion-banner's pride, 
 Are girding for fraternal strife, 
 ' For blow for blow,' for life for Hfe ! 
 
 Let others rob the public store. 
 To buy their ill-used power once more ; 
 Shrink back from truth, and open wide 
 The floodgates of corruption's tide ; 
 Thou standest in thy country's eye, 
 Unshrinking from its scrutiny. 
 And asking nothing but to show 
 How far a patriot's zeal can go. 
 
 And those whose trust is fixed on thee — 
 Unbought, unpledged, and truly free— 
 They bow not to an idol down, 
 They scorn ahke the bribe and frown ; 
 And, asking no reward of gold 
 For barter' d faith, for honour sold, 
 Seek faithful to their hearths and home, 
 Not CiESAR's weal, but that of Rome! 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. S73 
 
 " Mr. President, I have been accured of tmbition. I believe, how- 
 ever, that my accusers will be generally found to be political oppo* 
 nents, or the friends of aspirants in whose way I was supposed to 
 Eland. « * * • If to have served my country, during a long 
 series of years, with fervent zeal and unshaken fidelity in seasons of 
 peace and war, at home and abroad, in the Legislative Halls and in au 
 Executive Department, if to have laboured most sedulously t:. avert the 
 embarrassment and distress which now overspreads this Union ; and 
 when they came, to have exerted myself anxiously, at the Extra ses' 
 sion, and at this, to devise healing remedies; if to have desired to in- 
 troduce economy and reform in the general administration, curtail enor- 
 mous Executive power, and amply provide, at the same time, for the 
 wants of the Government and the wants of the People by a Taritf 
 which would give it revenue and them protection ; if to have earnestly 
 sought to eslablisli the bright but too rare example of a party in pow^r, 
 faithful to its promises and pledges made when out of power— if these 
 rervices, exertions and endeavours justify the accusation of ambition, I 
 urjst plead guilty to the charge." 
 
 Benr7j Clay at Home—June 1S42. 
 
 WELCOME HIS WAY! 
 
 Hail to the Statesman great and wise, 
 
 The patriot true and bold ! 
 Where'er our irophied eagle flies, 
 
 His name with pride is told. 
 From Maine's dark pines and crags of snow, 
 To where magnolian breezes blow 
 
 O'er rich Fioridian flowers ; 
 From hilly east to prairied west, 
 We hail him as our mightiest— 
 
 Rejoice in him as ours, 
 32 
 
e^-*** 
 
 74 THE CLAY MINSTREL. \ 
 
 Twice, when the tempest o'er us hung, 
 
 And roar'd destruction's wave ; 
 Like light to darkness forth he sprung, 
 
 To guide us, and to save : 
 In the fierce flashings of the storm, 
 We saw his proud undaunted form 
 
 Upon the quivering deck, 
 As, with his eye on Union's star. 
 He saw the danger from afar, 
 
 And shunn'd the threatening wreck. 
 
 His heart has beat in sympathy 
 
 Where'er throughout the world, 
 The yoked have fought for Liberty, 
 
 With Freedom's Hag unfurled. 
 Say, Greece ! when nations caw you bleed, 
 Who trumpet-tongued proclaim'd your need? 
 
 And cHmes of Andes, say ! 
 That templed land with answering shout, 
 And these stern summits thunder out 
 
 The name of Henry Clay. 
 
 A soul, where patriot love intense, 
 
 And frankest feelings dwell ; 
 A splendid, matchless eloquence, 
 
 A courage naught can quell : 
 No paltry limits bound his fame. 
 
 An empire's scatter'd myriads claim — 
 
 On mountains wide and lone. 
 In the throng'd city's busy streets, - 
 In the green forest's calm retreats, 
 
 His glory is their own. 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. S75 
 
 What though detraction has essay'd 
 
 To cloud his Tioble brow ; 
 Down from the height himseJf has made 
 
 He smiles vipon it now. 
 The eak, while growing, may be stirr'd 
 By a Hght touch of breeze and bird. 
 
 Its bai'k eacii insect slime ; 
 Matured — though whirlwinds sweep the ^ky, 
 It lifts, unbow'd, its head on high. 
 
 In conscious strength sublime. 
 
 Welcome his way ! — his steps "beneatli 
 
 Let proud green wreaths be spread : 
 O ! how our proudest, greenest wreath 
 
 Would brighten on his head! 
 Familiar as a household word, 
 In after ages will be heard — 
 
 (When our's has pass'd away) — 
 A theme for song in happy hours, 
 A trumpet-blast when danger lowers, 
 
 The name of Henry Clay, 
 
 WHIG REVEILLE. 
 
 The old alarm rings through the land., 
 
 And thrills in every heart, 
 And gathers now a mighty band 
 
 To play a mighty part: 
 The mouldering fires again relume 
 That led us thre-'igh a night of gloom. 
 
376 THE CLAY MINSTREL. 
 
 Where swelling Mississippi's tide 
 
 Sweeps on his sullen way, 
 Or smiling to his sunny bride, 
 
 Flashes in joyous play, 
 Brave Louisiana's sons still bear 
 Our glorious standard proudly there. 
 
 Where cloud-throned Alleghany bends 
 
 His misty locks to hear 
 His thunder-echo, as it sends 
 
 That name so doubly dear, 
 Through Pennsylvania's glad domain, 
 The unbroken phalanx forms again. 
 
 The grey-haired 'Hero,' dark and sad, 
 
 Within his Hermitage, 
 Hears, with a sullen start, the* shouts 
 
 Of Freedom round him rage, 
 And feels, poor desolate old man ! 
 How joyless the career he ran. 
 
 From North to South, from East to West, 
 
 Whig hearts are swelling high — 
 Rekindles hope in every breast, 
 
 And light in every eye. 
 The dark night fades — the morn appears — 
 And breaks away the gloom of years. 
 Oh, noble hearts, yet falter not, 
 
 Nor hnger on your way ! 
 Be worthy your exalted lot — 
 
 Worthy the name of Clay I 
 More have your deeds to make or mar 
 Than Bunker-Hill or Trafalgar i / 
 
THE CLAY MINSTREL. 377 
 
 I call upon Senators to bury, deep and forever, the character of Iho 
 partisan, to rise up patriots and statesmen, to break the vile chains of 
 party, to throw the fragments to the winds, and to feel the proud satis- 
 faction that we have made but a small sacrifice to the paramount obli- 
 gations which we owe our common country.— ^enn/ Clay. 
 
 SONNET — HENRY CLAY. 
 
 Hero of years, thy name, on every tongue, 
 
 Lives, and shall live, through all succeeding 
 time. 
 
 The thought — the record of thy path sublime, 
 Taken the great confed'rate Stars* among, 
 Shall be inscribed on banners, and be flung 
 
 With shouts of thousands, to the fragrant 
 gales ; 
 
 Till, from the quiet bosoms of the vales, 
 To every mountain-summit — ever young. 
 And free, and overwhelming, shall ascend 
 
 The song of millions, gath'ring to redeem 
 A Nation's honour — and a Nation's Friend 
 
 To crown with blessings sent from each ex- 
 treme, 
 
 And busy centre, of his Land supreme. 
 By hearts all kindred, of the gift they send. 
 
 * states. 
 
 P- 
 
J378 THE €LA¥ MIN5TREL. 
 
 HENRY CLAY, 
 
 The great — the wise— ^the virtuous, all they say. 
 In Time's dread progress, die, — and turn to 
 
 Clay; 
 A dying nation shall the comment give, 
 She turns to Clay — but turns io Clay to live ! 
 
 TO HENRY CLAY. 
 
 Sir, we have left your uaine upon a rock. 
 
 Beyond the mighty prairies of the West, 
 Where rove the tempest and the thunder- shock ; 
 
 And where our native eagle builds his nest, 
 
 We made you there one day a fancied guest. 
 When revelry was high and hearts were warm, 
 
 And placed your name upon the mountain';? 
 breast. 
 To face the elements and brave the storm. 
 
 Sir, we just stampede symbol of our faith 
 Upon " Rock Inde'pendence''' old and grey ; 
 
 And faith can do more wonders, scripture 
 saith, 
 Than even turning granite into Clay ! 
 
 Although the " Devil's Gate"* stands right 
 fernenst it, 
 '* The gates of hell shall not prevail against it !" 
 
 *A famous mouQtaia chasm called the "Devil's Gate," throu§ti 
 •which the Sweetwater plun»es, stands directly opposite " Bode lade- 
 ^Ddeace.'' 
 
TO THE READER. 
 
 Since the " Sketch of the Life of Mr, 
 Clay," contained in this volume, was printed, 
 the Editor has received a report of the Speech 
 delivered by the venerable Ex-President, John 
 QuiNCY Adams, at Ivlaysville, Kentucky, 
 during his recent visit to the noble West. The 
 Editor regrets that he did not receive it in time 
 for its partial introduction into the chapter* dc" 
 voted to the refutation of the miserable and 
 exploded slander of " Bargain and Sale." He 
 places an extract in the first vacant space that 
 offers. Such a declaration as it contains, from 
 so distinguished a source, cannot, however, be 
 misplaced ; and although not required now, by 
 Mr. Clay, who has " lived dowii'' the slander, 
 it is, nevertheless, gratifying to his friends to 
 know that it has again been made. No man, 
 be his party attachments what they may, if 
 possessed of decent information, and of common 
 r^ense, and whose mind is not darkened, or hi.s 
 heart hardened, by political malignity, can really 
 believe the infamous charge. In responding to 
 the address of General Collins, who remarked 
 ■hat Mr. Adams had ' ' placed Kentucky under 
 
 * Sketch, Chaptor VU. 
 
 379 
 
380 TO THE READER. 
 
 deep and lasting obligations to him for his noble 
 defence of her great Statesman in his letter to 
 the Whigs of New Jersey" * the E-x-President 
 spoke as follows : 
 
 "I thank you, sir, for the opportunity you 
 have given me of speaking of the great states- 
 man who M'as associated with me in the admin- 
 istration of the General Government, at my 
 earnest solicitation — who belongs not to Ken- 
 tucky alone, but to the whole Union; and is 
 riot only an honour to this State and this Nation, 
 but to mankind. The charges to which you 
 refer, I have, after my term of service had ex- 
 pired, and it was proper for me to speak, denied 
 before the whole country ; and I here reiterate 
 and reaffirm that denial ,• and as I expect shortly 
 to appear before my God, to answer for the con- 
 duct of my whole life, should those charges have 
 found their way to the Throne of Eternal Jus- 
 tice, I WILL, IN THE PRESENCE OF OMNIPOTENCE, 
 TRONOUNCE THEM FALSE." 
 
 •Sketch, Chapter VIII. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 A. 
 
 A Whig War Song 155 
 
 A New Song to an old tune 177 
 
 Appeal to Freemen 210 
 
 Aristocracy of Democracy 225 
 
 American Flag and Clay 244 
 
 As I walked out 271 
 
 A Bumper around now my Hearties 298 
 
 All 's Well 352 
 
 B. 
 Banner Song 167 
 
 C. 
 
 Clear the way for Harry Clay 191 
 
 Come vote for the Patriot Clay 207 
 
 Clay Gathering 212 
 
 Chief of the West 214 
 
 Come to the Contest 223 
 
 Come, cheer up, ye Whigs 235 
 
 Clay Gathering 239 
 
 Come to the Rescue 248 
 
 Clay Flag 260 
 
 Clare de Kitchen 273 
 
 Clay our Nation's Glory 385 
 
 Clay Rally Cry 277 
 
 Come up with the Banner 277 
 
 Come all ye men who push the Plough 313 
 
 Come rouse up ye bold-hearted Whigs of Kentucky 333 
 
 Come one and all 342 
 
 Coon Song 355 
 
 Clay, Henry, on his return to Kentucky 359 
 
 Clay, Henry, on his retiring from the Senate 360 
 
 Clay, Henry, Neagle's Portrait of 365 
 
 Henry, Clay 378 
 
 D. 
 
 Deeds of Clay 197 
 
 Dayton Gatheriiig 3Q7 
 
 E. 
 Erect he stands 370 
 
 F. 
 
 For Home Protection and for Clay 18J 
 
 From the Coons of Rhode Island 217 
 
 For Harry Clay, huzza 250 
 
 (381) 
 
382 INDEX. 
 
 Farmer President 252 
 
 Freemen awake 301 
 
 G. 
 
 Gallant Harry 157 
 
 Get out of the way 175 
 
 Get alonnr Harry, you 're bound to go in 201 
 
 Gathering Song 242 
 
 Great National Whig Song 294 
 
 H. 
 
 Harry of the West . .". 15S 
 
 Harry of Kentucky 160 
 
 Hurrah forClay 183 
 
 Harry the honest and true 188 
 
 Harry of Kentucky, ho ! ieroe ! 190 
 
 Harry Clay when a Boy 20P 
 
 Harry Clay and the Jackets of Blue 258 
 
 How many Clay men are there 263 
 
 Here 's a health to our own Harry Clay 270 
 
 Heroes of the Mind 278 
 
 Harry the True 291 
 
 Huge Paw 345 
 
 I. 
 
 If e'er I should wish to get married 261 
 
 J. 
 
 John C. Calhoun, my Jo 229 
 
 John and the Farmer 295 
 
 John C.Calhoun 337 
 
 K. 
 Know ye the land 222 
 
 L. 
 
 Leave vain regrets 370 
 
 Little Red Fox 172 
 
 Lost Hopes 234 
 
 Lounger's Lament 282 
 
 N. 
 
 National Whig Song 292 
 
 Now let us try Harry 3tt< 
 
 O. 
 
 Onward 1C6 
 
 Our Harrv the True 182 
 
 Our Candidate '. I9& 
 
INDEX- 
 
 383 
 
 Orator's Coming 205 
 
 Oil, Freeinen.on ~'^ 
 
 Our Patriot Hearts ^jji 
 
 Our Flag is Floating on the Breeze Aio 
 
 One day just at set of sun -^W 
 
 P. 
 
 People's Rally 220 
 
 People's Rally ^^^ 
 
 Popular Avalanche ~^* 
 
 Penitent Loco •^^^ 
 
 Rise, Freemen ! rise STO' 
 
 Roi'i the Democratic Ball •»^* 
 
 S. 
 
 Saint Louis Clay Club Song 16^ 
 
 Star of the West j^S^ 
 
 Sub-Treasurv Gentleman ^* 
 
 Song of the Whig -^X 
 
 Sonnet— Henry Clay •'' * 
 
 T. 
 
 The Working-Men's Song 163 
 
 The Little Red Fox JXq 
 
 The Whig Battle Cry • '^ 
 
 The Whig Chief. {=^ 
 
 The same brave old Coon ^-^ 
 
 The Deeds of Clay 1^7 
 
 The Orator's Coming ^"^ 
 
 The Clay Gathering ~|- 
 
 The Chief of the West ^14 
 
 The Star of the West j}"' 
 
 True Harry of Kentucky, O ~lo 
 
 The People's Rally --^ 
 
 The People's Rally ^l" 
 
 The Whig Gathering -* 
 
 The Clay Gathering -f^^^ 
 
 The Gathering Song ^^~ 
 
 The Popular Avalanche -^-J 
 
 The American Flag and Clay -4f 
 
 The People are Coming ^|^ 
 
 The Farmer President ^»'- 
 
 The Sub-Treasury Gentleman ^j* 
 
 TheClnjijyag -V^ ~«^^ 
 
 The W^igllifle. .-. •••. ^^^ 
 
38i INDEX. 
 
 The Dayton Gathering 267 
 
 The Statesman of Ashland 286 
 
 The Clay Rally Cry 277 
 
 The Heroes of the Mind 275 
 
 The Penitent Loco 290 
 
 The best thing we can do 299 
 
 The Treasury Chest 302 
 
 The Standard Floats 331 
 
 The Dispersion of the Spoilers 334 
 
 The Huge Paw 345 
 
 The Rubber ; or Mat's Last Game 347 
 
 The Coon Song 355 
 
 To Henry Clay 378 
 
 To the Reader.. 379 
 
 U. 
 
 Uncle Sam's Talk to his Man, John 300 
 
 Uncle Sam and his Fiddlers 311 
 
 W. 
 
 Working-Men's Song 163 
 
 Whig Banner Song 167 
 
 Whig Battle Cry 179 
 
 Whig Chief 180 
 
 Whig Song 196 
 
 What sound is that, that o'er the hills 210 
 
 Whig Gathering 238 
 
 We Pledge Thee 245 
 
 Whig Rifle 265 
 
 Whigs, whose Sires for Freedom Bled 288 
 
 Whig Rally : 304 
 
 When Tyler found the Reins of State 321 
 
 When this Old Hat was new 326 
 
 Working-Men's Song, No. 2. ., 338 
 
 Welcome his way 373 
 
 Whig Reveille 375 
 
 Y. 
 
 Yankee Doodle 169 
 
 Ye worshippers of Tyler 320 
 
 Ye joHj^ young Whigs of Ohio. 323 
 
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