South-Western American (Austin, Tex.), Vol. 4, No. 22, Ed. 1, Wednesday, December 8, 1852 Page: 1 of 6
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TH-flSf
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& EUmocratic Nctospapcr Dcuotcb to agriculture Ncujs jjalitics ana Qtcxan interests.
'IT n 111 1 HI! Ir ra M H- KilL - - .
raw- rnirawwre..-
($4atthe- end- of' the Year: .
VOL. IV-
CITY OF AUSTIN TEXAS. WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 8 1852.
XO.'Z&y
EyLOG-Y ON THE LIFE AND SERVICES OF HENRY CLAY.
i
BV ALEXA.VEER K. Jl'cLUNO. ESQ.
Ladies. and Gentlemen:
We have met to commemorate the life and services of
HENRY CLAY. After a 1 ng I fe. after a long useful and
illustrious career he has passed away. The fiery and apir-
ing spirit whose earthly Lfo was one long storm has at length
sunk to rest. Neither praise nor censure can now reach him.
When his haughty soul passed away from the earth and the
grave closed over his dust it also entombed in its dark and
narrow chamber the bitterness of detraction and the tiger le-
rocity. of party spirit with which he had so long wrestled.
Death has hallowed his name and burnished his services
blgh'trin the memory of his countrymen. We have met to
expr. s in the manner which the custom of our country has
established our appieciation ot "note services and our sense
of his glory. We have mpt not as partis-ins or friends po-
litical or personal of (he illustrious dead but as Americans
desirous to do honor to a great American. "
In attempting io discharge the duty which has been impos-
ed upon me I shall avoid the indiscriminate eulogy which is
the proveibial blemish of obituaries and funeral discourses
and shall essay however feebl3' to present Mr. Glay as he
was or at I past as he seempd to me. Great beitigs grand
human creatures scattered sparsely throughout time should
be painted with truth. An indiscriminate deluge of praise
drowns mediocrity and greatnpss in ttte same grave where
none can distinguish between them. When the greatest of
all Englishmen Oliver Cromwell sat to the painter Lely for
Bis portrait whose pencil was aldiced to flattery he said :
'Paint me as 1 am; le-tve not out one wrinkle scar or blem-
ish at your peril." He wished to go to the world as he was;
and greatness is wise in wishing it. No man the world ever
saw was equally great in every quality of intellect and in ev-
ery walk of action. All man are unequal; and it is tasteful
as well as just to plant the prai-e where it is true rather than
Jo drown all individuality aud all character in one foaming
chaos of eulogy.
Henry Clay was most emphatically a ppcuiiar and strong-
ly marked character; incomparably mo e pecul'ar than any
of those who were popularly considered his mental equals.
Impetuous as a torrent yet patient to gain bis ends; overbear-
ing and trampling yet winning and soothing; haughty and
fierce yet kind and gen le; dauntless'y brave in all kinds of
courage yet eminen ly prudent and conservative in all his
polcy all these moral a-tributes antithetical as th-y seem
would shine out under di fie rent phases of his conduct.
.There are many ph ses in which it is necessary to regard
Mr. Clay to reach a correct estimate of his character; and to
accomplish their delineation without a decree of jumbling
confusion is a work of some difiiculry. As an orator he was
brilliant and grand. None of his contemporaries could so
stir men's blood. None approachel him in his mastery over
the heart and the imagination of his hearers Of all the gifts
with which nature decks her favorites not the greatest or
grandest certainly but the most brilliant the most fascinat-
ing and for the moment the most powerful is exalted elo-
quence. Bsfore its fleeting and l)rief glire the steady light
of wisdom logic or philosophy pales as the stars fade before
the meteor. With this choice and glorious gift nature had
endowed Mr. Clay beyond all men of the age Like all na-
tural orator he was very nneqnal; sometimes sinking to com-
monplace mediocrity then again when the occasion roused
bis genius he would soar aloft in towering majesty. He. had
little or none of the tins-el of Rhetoric or the wordy finery
which always lies within the reach of the Rhetorician's art.
Strong passions quick sensibility lofty sentiment powerful
reason were the foundation of his oratory as they are of all
true eloquence. Passion feeling reason wit poured forth
from his lips in a-torrent so srong and inexhaustible as to
whirl awav his hearers for the time in despite of iheir opinions.
Nor should it.be forgotten slight and unirrportant as physical
qualities may appear in our estimate of the mighty dead that
bis were eminently fitted for the orator. A tall. s!eider erect
person changing under the excitement of spVecb its loose flac-
cidity of muscle into the most vigorous and nerved energy;
an eye small indeed but deep and bonily set and flaming
with. expression; and last and most impoitam of all a voice
deep powerful mellow and rich beyond expression rich is
a feeble phrase to express its round articulate fullwss. ro'I-
ing up with the sublime swell of the organ all these toge-
ther formed wonderful aids to eloquence. And his grrat and
numerous triumrhs attest their powris. He had the true me-
meric stroke of the orator the power to infuse his feelings
into his hea-eri; to make them think as he though' and feel
as he felt. No one can form any adequate conception of the
Eower of his eloquence who has not heard Mr. Clay when
is blood was up- and the tide of inspiration rolling full upon
him. His words indeed might be written down; but the flame
pf mind which sent them forth red hot and blazing from its
mint could not be conveyed by letters. As well attempt to
paint the lightning. The crooked angular line may be traced;
but the glare and the flame and the roar and the terror and
the electric flash are gonfc Stormy vehement and tempes-
tuous as were his passions and his oiatory there was still un-
derneath them ail a cool stream of reason running through
the bottom of his brain which always pointed him to his ob-
ject and held him to his course. No orator so passionate ev-
er committed fewer imprudencies. No passions so stormy
ever left their possessor so watchful of his objects. Reason
field the helm while passion blew the gale.
It is difficult among the greaft masters of oratory and de-
bate to select one whom he closely resembled. It is not pro-
bable that he had ever studied any of them closely; and even
had he done so the originality of his genius aud the intense
pride of his haughty temper would hace prevented him from
Stooping to select a model. If he le&embled any of them he
di.d not know it and he would have cared as little to abolish
tthe points of resemblance as to make them. To Demosthenes
;to whom he has been often compared he bore a likeness in
this passion his intensify and in his occasional want of logic;
.but he was utterly unlike him in other respects. He hadnone
of his terseness his nakedness and the straight forward un-
halting directness with which he dashed on to his end. To
Cicero he bore-jio resemblance whatever. Among the emi-
nent English speakers it would be almost as difficult to trace
with him a parallel in any considerable degree exact or close.
The profound philosophy of Buike with his gorgeous lurid
and golden language rolling on with the pomp and power of
an army blazing with banners he in no degree approached.
Sheridan's bright and pungent style glittering with antithesis
'and point was equally unlike him. 1 am inclined to think
that of all the speakers I have read though with less of logic
and wit and more of passion he most resembled Charles Fox.
The same rigid adheience actually to his point even when
seeming to be away from it; the same abundance and exube-
rance of matter; the same gladiatorial struggle to strike down
itis opponent though the victory might slightly affect the ques-
tion involved; the same felicitous blending of passion and log-
ic with sparkles of sarcasm and personality spangling the
whole all produced strong points of resemblance not to be
'traced with any other orator.
As a s'atesman undoub'edly Mr. Clay' was entitled to the
very highest rank among all his contemporaries. It has been
generally conceded that his learning was not profound or va-
rious. Of science in its limited sense he knew but. little;
and of the lighter and less important branches of study and
accomplishment still Ipss. It is said that he eared' nothing
for literature had never searched deep'y into history ; and ir
is remarkable that though ar one time a minister abroad and
for four years .is Secretary of State in constant rcla inns and
intercourse with foreign envoys of every nation he spoke no
language but his own. But he knew thoroughly that which
it-most imported him to know. H; was profoundly versed in
the theory and practices ol our own government and in a
knowledge of the powers of each branch of it. He knew in-
timately and to the bottom the connection politic il and com-
mercial of America with all other nations. He knew per-
fectly the relation which each part of the country bore to the
other; and he understoo I profoundly thj character genius
and wants of the Am-rican neoole. The;j"rH.s unthins sec
tional in his policy. His broadband comprenerilnVe'gniuV'
held in its vision the ni'erestol the whole nation and his big
American heart throbbed for it all. He was intensely Ame-
rican in all his' thoughs and all hi.s feelings. To cherish the
interest and the glory and to build up the power of his coun-
try and his whole country was the aim of all his policy and
the passion of his life. No candid reader who miy study his
career can deny that on all occasions he was not only purely
patriotic but eminently self-sacrificing. Far brighter exam-
ples ot this patriotic spirit will at. once occur to all who are
familiar wi:h his career; but at this moment I will only al-
lude to the instances in which he took ground upon Knutucky
state politics which Incited as examples of his unhesitating
boldness when I was discussing his character as a party
leader. Like all other true statesmen his ideas were all
relative not ahsohile. He whs in no degree a man of one.
idea. He. was not wedded peremptorily and at all hazards
to any rmasuie. or any principle. He understood the policy
of a nation not as a fixed inathematic il theorem wh -re un-
der all circumstances and at all times every result but. one
must be wrong; but as the practical science of fitting mea-
sures to the occa-ion. to necessity a-id to the times. The best
practical good which could be secured was his aim; anil un
der some circumstances ne womu uriinrain wnar under a
different condition of affairs he would oppo-e. Without dis-
cussing the philosophical soundness of his political economy.
or the correctness of all his measures il rniy be stated with
truth that in them all he looked to the integrity and inde-
pendence political and commercial of the nation. The energy
of his support- of it. gave to him the rank of the champion of
the protective tariff policy though it was established before
he came into political life: aud his arguments in its favor
principally turn upon the maintenance oft he commercial in-
dependence of the country. Yet he was not wedded to it;
and when its continuance menaced danger to the country he
himself led the way in pulliing it down.
On the two other great occasions when sectional excite-
ment shook the Unioii to its centre to which 1 have referred
he appeared as a mediator. He was the author of the Mis-
souri Compromise and of the adjustment measures of the
stormy session of 1S50. The completely relative cast of all
his political ideas the total absence from his character of
fanaticism upon any opinion or principle eminently fitted
him for a mediator; and. urton all dangerous qtteVtions he
always acted that part. Whenever conflicting interests or
opinions menaced tie integrity of the Union he stood for:h
as the harbinger and tne champion ol peace and conciliation.
He saw the. wretched condition of the miserable little repub-
lics of South America feeble demoralized and contemp ible
at war wiih each other trampled ujtoh by every European
power and despised by the world-: he was a member of a
great nation; he loved hi.s country and his whole country
from North to South from the big lakeo to the gulf from ocean
to ocean from the. sunrise to the sunset ; aud every feeling of
his heart every thought of his broin revolted at dismember-
ment. It is enough to say in eulogy of those measures and
it should immortalize the great statesman who conceived
them that both the great divisions of the. American people
have adopted them bo h as a part of their poll ical cretd.
Doubtless some portioli of. his influence in the adjustment
of those perilous questions arose from rhe en irely moderate
and conservative character of his op.nions upon that subject
and from the peculiarity of his position. He waa na ive. and
a repiesentaiive of a slave State; he had never lived any
where else: and while unflinchingly true at all times and
upon all points to the rights of the Southern States yi-l he
considered slavery as a great though unavoid'iblr evil. But
he was in no degree impassioned and blinded in regard to it.
He looked at the subject calmly and without exaggeration ;
not through the magnifying glass of religious fanaticism or
distorted philanthropy but with the calm eye of a practical
statesman. He maintained the policy of gradual emancipa-
tion on both occasions that the subject was agitated in Ken-
tucky openly and vigorously ; contending that the great nu-
merical preponderance of the whites over the blacks in that
Sta:e rendered their gradual emancipation and removal safe
and easily attainable. At the same time he always declared
that he considered all such schemes to be utterly imtiracrica-
ble in the planting States ; and if a citizen of one of them
would oppose them all because the numbers of the blacks
would render their removal impossible and their continual
presence disadvantageous and perilous to the whites. He
favored emtneipation in Kentucky; while farther. South he
declared he considered it utterly impracticable. These views
he urged and amplified at length not only in the disoussion
of the"question in his own State but also in the United Stales
Senate while discussing the reception of petitions for the
abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia. This posi-
tion might also be referred to as another illustration of the
practical and completely relative character of all his political
idea. Doubtless as an abstractproposition considered with-
out reference to its inevitable existence or the perilous con-
sequences of its cessation he was opposed to slavery; for
libeity was the passion of his life Hi.s own country and his
own countrymen were the. first and the principal object in his
thoughts and in his heart; but his broad and extended phi-
lanthropy embraced theworld. Even th'e degraded African
slave separated from his own race by a wide and impassable
gulf found in him a well-wisher to his moral and mental ele-
vation when it could occur safely in a different land and
another clime. Wherever abroad freedom found a votary
that votary met in him a champion. When Greece the clas-
sic land of Greece the fountain of refinement the birth-
place of eloquence and poetry and liberty when Greece
awoke from the long slumber of ages and heat back the
fading Crescent to its native East when Macedon at last
called to mind the feats of her conquering boy and the Spar-
tan again struck in for the land that bred him in Henry Clay's
voice the words of cheering rolled over the blue waters from
the. far wpst as the greeting of the New World to the Old.
When Mexico and our sister republics of the extreme South
shook off the rotted yoke of the fallen Spaniard and freedom's
face for one brief moment gleamed under the pale light of
the Southern Cross it was he who spoke out again to cheer
and to rouse its champions. The regenerated Greek the
dmky "Mexican the Peruvian mountaineer all who would
strike one blow for liberty found in him a frtend.amLan.adS
vocate. His words of cheering swept over 1he"plaTns of Ma-
rathon and came ringing back from" the peaks of the Andes..
But that voice is now stilled and his bright eye. fjlosed-fdre-
ver. Ho has gone from our midst and the wailing of-vgrjef
which rose from the nation and the plumage of mourning
which shrouded its cities its halls and its altars at test-'. mV
countrymen's sense of their loss. He has gone and gqW'iir
g ory. From us rises the dirge: with liim .floats the paeiut;oir
triumph. By a beautiful defree and poetical jnsticeofides'
tiny it was fated that the last effort of-lhe Union s-igr-at
champion should be made in behalf of the Union in if a; last-
great extremity. He passed off the stake as Becan3a7thec
Great Pacificator. His dying effort was worthy of antf lp.
propriate to him. When -tile fountains of rhegreatdeppiof
the public mind were broken up. and tho fierce passions of
section-il animosity fbre over it. as the storms' sweep uyer'ihe
oce.-tn it wasf.oni hi.s voice that the words of sonthfngcap-.e
forth. "Peace beUll.'It .was his last .battle. and the-gallant
no fading away of in'eilect or gradual decay of body. Minds
like his and souls so fieiy are cased in frames of stpel ; and
when they fall at list they fall at once. The Union was not
compelled to blush for the decny of the Union's great cham-
pion. Age had not crumbled the stately d gaily of his form)
nor reduced his manly intellect to the dignity of a second
childhood. He faded away into no feeble twilight; he sunk
down to no dim sunset but sprang out of life in the bright'
blaze of meridian fullupss. He passed down in'o the valley"
of the shadow of death with all his glory unclouded with all
his laurels fresh and green around him. Not a spot obscures'
the lustre of his cresl ; not a sprig has been torn from his
chaplet. "The dead Douglas has won the field." His dying
ear rung with the applause of his country and the hosannas'
of a nation's gratitude. Death has given to him the empire
in the hearts of hi countrymen not fully granted to he liv-.
ing man; and although it was not decreed that the first ho-
nors of the nat on should await him its last blessings-will'
clu-ster around his name. His memory needs no monument.
He wants no mousoleum of stone or marble to imprison his'
sacred'dust. Let him rest amid the tokens of the freedom he.
so much loved. Let him sleep on where the whistling of the
tameless winds; the ceaseless roll of the murmuring waters;
the chirping of the wild bird and all which speaks of Liberty
may chant his eternal lullaby. Peace be with thy soul. Henry.
Clay ! may the eaith lie light upon you and the undying lau-
rel of glory grow green over thy grave.
WALSH'SLIVERYSTABLE.
THE subscriber would respectfully inform tho
public that lie has erected commodious stables rind
carriage houses that he is amply supplied with prov
vender and is prepared to receive horses at livery..'
which will be under hi personal superintendence. Horses kept to
hire. He also keeps on hand and for hire at reasonable rates car
liages and buggies. Strangers wishing to hire will be expected to1
aive sfcuiity.
J8 Stables north-east of the Orleans House. D. WALSH. J
Austin Dec. 8 1852.- 22:tt.'
Wirlhnolles L-ml in Guadalupe Count)) welches auf orffnt-
lichsr Versrigrrung verkmft wird zu Nu'Braun-
fels am Freilag den 31. December 1852 .
und zu Seguin am Sliin'ag den 3. " :
Januar lbO'3'von
J. De Cordova.
100 Lot vurzuegliclie Farm-Land jjdes Lt enthaelt 20 oder 40
Acker. Dieses Land liegt an der Strasse von Ncu-Braunfela
nacb Seguin und ist ern Theil meiner Farm welche unmittel-
bar hinter der Farm des II"rrn Diatz li-gt. Ein Theil der Lots'
liegt an d 'in Guadalupe-FInss un I gehoercn zum Eznaurizar
Grant. 8 Lits 20 Acker jedes graenzn an Herrn Specbts'
F.rrm 3 Meilen von Neu-Braunfels und gehoercn ebcnfalls zu
Eznaurizars Grant.
4 Farmlots und 6 Stadtlots in Neighborsville. y
8 Lots von 20 und 40 Acker jules an Herrn Breraers Farm grcn-
zend und 4 englische Meilen von Seguin an dem Guadaloupe-'
Fluss.
8 Lots von 20 und 40 Acker jedes in dem suedoestlichen Wink"!"
des Eznaurizar G an's liegaud und ohagefaehr 3 englische Mei-i
len von Seguin entfernt.
5 Lots von 10 und 25 Acker an die Guadaloupe stossend von
Casper Loewensteins 640 Ackerstueck 5 englische Meilen ober-"
lialb Neu-Braunfels.
6 Stuecke L-md von 23d Acker steiniijes Prairieland an Casper
Loewenatein's Stueek in djr Naehe d.-s Cedernwjldes.
8 Stuecke Land jr.des von SO Acker an dir Friedericbsburger
Strasse.
Zu jjdem Farm-Lot welches ich von Eznaurizar's Grant verkaufe
will ich cin Stueek guten Cedernwald von 2j Acker auf Cper L02-
wensteins Stucck 5 englische Meilen oberbalb Neu-Braunfels hiu-
zufuegen. I
Bedinguri gen: '
Ein Fucnftheil des Preises mus baar bczahlt werden und das neb
rige in 1 2 3 4 ft 6 und 7 Jahrcn mit 10 Procant jaehrlicher In-
teresscn welche halbjaebrlich zu cntrichten sind. h
JJST Rechtskraefrige Titl WJrden ueber diese Liendereien den
Kacutcrn ausgetellt werden. J. Be Cordova.
Wanderers Retreat 8 englische Meilen von Neu-Braunfelsl
VALUABLE LANDS IN GUADALUPE CO. -For
Sale al PM.c Aution at N-w Baunfds on Friday Deal
31 1S52; at Seguin on Monday Jan. 3 1853.
I WILL offer for sale
100 lots of superior farming land." containing from 20 to
40 acres each on tbe road leading from New B'.aunfeU to Sjguin
being part of my farm imracdiately'in the rear of Mr. Dietz's farm ;
part of these lots front on the Gujdalupe river and are situated oa
the Eznaurizar Grant.
8 lots of 23 acres each immediately adjoining Mr. Spjcht'a farm
3 miles from New Braunfels part of the Eznaurizar Grant.
4 farming lota and 6 town lots in Neighborsville.
8 lots of 23 and 40 acres each immediately adjoining Mr. Bre-
mer's farm 4 miles from Seguin on tho Guadalupe river.
8 lota of 40 acres each out of the most south-easterly corner of
tho Eznaurizir grant about 3 miles from Sjguin-
5 lots of fr?rn 10 to 25 acres fronting the Guadilupa river ontho
Casper Loevensteip 640 acre tract 5 miles above New Braunfels. ' :'
6 tracts of 23i acres stony prairis land situated oa the Caspar
Loevenstein tracts adjoining the Cedar-brake.
8 tracts each 80 acres oti the Fredericksburg road.
To each farming lot sold off of the Eznaurizar grant I will add. a
lot containing 2 acres of good Cedar land off of the Caspar Laaveaj"
stein tract 4 miles above New Braunfels.
Terms :
One-fifth cash the balance at 1 2 3 4 5 6 and 7 years credit
with interest at the rata of 10 per cent.' per annum to be paid'semi-
annually. fCT Warrantee titles will be given. J. De CORDOVA -
Wanderer's Retreat 8 miles from New Braunfels.
FALL AND WINTER CLOTHING.
JUST RECEIVED a large supply of Clothing for Fall
and Winter which the citizens are respectfully invifed'to
call and examine comprising black and colored Cloth Frock and
Dress Coats black and colored Cass Pants Over Coats blue Blan-
ket do. Cassinet and Corduroy Pants and Vests ete. at
' SAMPSON & HENRICKS"
Ziller'a stone house cornor Pecan st. and Congress Avenue.
Nov. 17 1852. I9:tf.
i.-.M-Vemn forjghr it out wi h ti.e power ainrfireayt-'-hi- prime. '
The expiring light of life lhoc3'hfiieJcerifg .ixsCJts l&tims
blazed up to the fullness of Its meridian lustre.. There v&r ' Z
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Ford, John S. South-Western American (Austin, Tex.), Vol. 4, No. 22, Ed. 1, Wednesday, December 8, 1852, newspaper, December 8, 1852; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth79749/m1/1/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.