CHAPTER XV.

Arrival at Washington City-Interview with the President-State of the Country-Canvass for the Presidency-Mr. Clay-Mr. Polk-Arrival at Montgomery-Mass-Meeting of the Whigs-Honorable Alexander H. Stephens-Honorable Arthur F. Hopkins-Defeat of Mr. Clay-Nomination for a Seat in Congress-Canvass-Election.

AFTER a brief stay in New York I left for Washington. Upon my arrival in that city I sought an early interview with the President, and was received by him with the greatest cordiality; he was my personal and political friend. Mr. Tyler was looking well; the cares of office had touched him lightly; having no longer aspirations for a re-election to the presidency, and looking forward to the return to his Virginia home, he was in high spirits; his intellectual face shone with animation, and his splendid conversational powers never appeared to greater advantage. He gave the morning to me, and expressed his views of the state of the country with the utmost freedom. I found him decidedly opposed to the election of Mr. Clay, and I expressed my regret at his hostility to the candidate of the Whig party. He gave me his reasons at length for his opposition to Mr. Clay; he left wholly out of view their personal relations, and there was not the slightest asperity in his tone; but he based his objection to him mainly on the ground of his declared opposition to the annexation of Texas. Mr. Tyler regarded that measure as far the most important in American politics; it overshadowed every other; it was essen

tial to the protection of the South; and promised, if successful, to enhance the power, wealth, and prosperity of the whole country. His ardor in stating his views to me greatly interested me, and I assured him of my full concurrence with his statesman-like attitude in regard to a question of such vast importance. At the same time I frankly expressed my regret at his hostility to Mr. Clay's election; as a Whig, I regarded his success in the canvass as essential to the good government of the country, and I would never abandon the standard of a party so wise in its policy and so patriotic in its traditions and its objects. He regretted that the party had committed its fortunes to the leading of Mr. Clay, an imperious chief, who would conduct it to certain defeat. In this conversation with Mr. Tyler I felt for the first time a distrust of Mr. Clay's leadership. I had followed him for years with the ardor of youth; his grand statesmanship had captivated me, and in the midst of the most perilous surroundings I had pressed to his standard as the soldiers of King Henry of Navarre rode to battle wherever his white plume led them at Ivry. I could not turn away from him now. I was strongly attached to Mr. Tyler; he was one of the most fascinating men I had ever known-brilliant, eloquent, even more charming than Mr. Calhoun in conversation, with that warmth of manner so irresistible with young men ; but his persuasion was lost upon me; when I took leave of him I was as true a Whig and as firm a friend of Mr. Clay as I had ever been.

The canvass for the presidency was in full sweep; it may be said to have engrossed the country; the enthusi asm for Henry Clay was at flood-tide; wherever he travelled the receptions accorded to him were magnificent ovations; the heart of the people warmed to him; not only was he the chosen leader of the Whigs, but his personal qualities drew men to him irresistibly, while his

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eloquence constituted him an unrivalled tribune of the people. Unhappily, however, he had declared his opposition to the annexation of Texas; pausing at Raleigh in a triumphal career, he wrote a letter, in which he committed himself against the measure, already prepared by the administration, for the immediate annexation of that republic. It was understood that, by an interchange of views with Mr. Van Buren, who was the leader of the Democratic party, and whose nomination for the presidency by the convention to be held at Baltimore was supposed to be assured, both were to occupy the same ground in regard to the Texas question; but Mr. Van Buren had lost the nomination on this very ground, and to the surprise of the whole country Mr. James K. Polk, of Tennessee, had been brought out as the candidate of the Democratic party for the presidency, avowing himself decidedly in favor of the annexation of Texas. But for this issue the election of Mr. Clay by a large majority was supposed to be as certain as any future event dependent upon the popular will could be; but after his letter there was observed a small cloud rising on the horizon, so bright before, that threw its ominous shadow over his fortunes. Some of his truest friends, like Calphurnia, the wife of Cæsar, had presaging dreams of his defeat at the last moment. Mr. Clay himself treated Mr. Polk with disdain; he did not entertain a thought of discomfiture; he was as buoyant as Napoleon at Waterloo, who is described by Victor Hugo as surveying the field before the battle, and, in view of some adverse appearances, seemed to say to fate, "Wouldst thou dare?" His friends were full of courage and hope, and bore themselves gallantly everywhere. I had just returned to the country after an absence of some years in Europe, and I looked over the field with the deepest interest; a great popular contest roused me; it was so American that I entered into it with all my heart.

Upon my arrival at Montgomery I was generously received; a large number of my friends assembled to welcome me. In the evening I was serenaded at my home. The enthusiasm of my old and true friends warmed my heart, as they extended to me and to my family a reception that showed how deeply their hearts were moved. This beautiful city seated on the banks of the Alabama, and surrounded by a wide belt of the most fertile lands, where planters of ample means and high culture lived with elegant and profuse hospitality, was one of the most cultivated and delightful places in the South; its hills crowned with beautiful residences, and its streets exhibiting a large and growing commerce, while magnificent steamboats floated on its abounding river, bore the products of the soil to Mobile, and returning, landed at numerous places on the banks passengers and merchandise.

Shortly after my arrival a mass-meeting of the friends of Mr. Clay was held in Montgomery, and gentlemen of distinction in Alabama and other States were invited to address the people. The most elaborate preparations were made for the occasion; the meeting was held in the open air, with a large platform erected for the accommodation of visitors, which was beautifully decorated, and ladies in large numbers were seated on it, while the grove was filled with gentlemen seated in their carriages or standing, the whole scene presenting one of those Southern pictures, no more to be witnessed in these times of ours, under the new conditions of society.

Among the invited guests was a gentleman already advancing upon the road destined to conduct him to great distinction, Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia, who had just been elected to Congress. His appearance was remarkable: pale, with piercing dark eyes, an intellectual cast of features, slender, he might have been mistaken for a youth in delicate health, just emerged from college, and giving but little promise of force in public life; a voice

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shrill but musical, and while not flexible, singularly pleasing. He attracted great attention; his slight person, it seemed too frail to fit him for great tasks of any kind, disappointing the expectations awakened by the reputation which he had already gained. Seated upon the stage, surrounded by other gentlemen, his boyish appearance interested every one in him, and won for him a sympathy that contributed greatly to his success as an orator. had the honor of being chosen to welcome the guests to the convention, standing in a floral arch which had been constructed for the speakers, and made the first address.

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Mr. Stephens followed me, and addressed the immense audience in a brilliant speech, stating the strong points in the campaign, and illustrated them with anecdotes that drew from the people tumultuous applause; comparing Mr. Clay with Mr. Polk in a way to recall the famous lines of Shakspeare, in which Hamlet contrasts the late king, his father, "with the front of Jove himself," with the queen's husband, "like a mill-dew'd cur blasting his wholesome brother," so that when he concluded the shout of the people was one wave of boundless enthusiasm.

Another gentleman, of a widely different order from Mr. Stephens, Honorable Arthur F. Hopkins, of Mobile, delivered a great speech. Mr. Hopkins was a man of a high order, of fine appearance, his bearing full of dignity, a lawyer of great ability, who had adorned a seat on the Supreme Court bench of the State, a statesman of large attainments and national views, with noble aims and singular purity of character. His speech made a great impression, and Mr. Stephens said to me, "There is a man who would make a good Cabinet minister," showing his appreciation of one whom he had never seen before, and so eminently fitted to take part in the administration of a great government.

The canvass for the presidency was drawing towards its close, and while the friends of Mr. Clay were full of ardor,