Mr. Clay's Early History.-His Birth, Parentage, and Family History.-Death of his Father.-The Widow's Cares.-Schoolmaster and Schoolhouse of the Slashes. -The Mill-Boy of the Slashes.-Second Marriage of Henry Clay's Mother.Kindness of his Father-in-Law.-His Entrance on a Commercial Apprenticeship at Richmond.-Removal to a Clerkship in a Public Office.-First Impressions of Fellow-Clerks.-Change of their Opinion.-Henry attracts the Attention of Chancellor Wythe.-Becomes his Amanuensis.-Advantages of this Position.His Tastes and Intellectual Improvement.-His Fame in the Rhetorical Society.Purity of his Character.-His Popularity.-Removal of his Mother and Family to Kentucky.-Letter from his Mother.-Basis of his Character.-His Study of the Law.-Admission to Practice.-Removal to Kentucky.
THE MAN who leaves his impress on a great nation, and imparts character to the age in which he lives, not only merits the regard of contemporaries, but will be a study for future generations. That HENRY CLAY Occupies this position in the social state of mankind, by a consideration of the past, and in the prospects of the future, will scarcely be questioned. His name, character, and history, are identified with the history of his country; and the student who makes himself acquainted with his life, private, professional, and public, will not be ignorant of the standing and career of the United States of North America, as one of the family of nations.
HENRY CLAY was born April 12, 1777, in Hanover county, Virginia, in a neighborhood (commonly called the Slashes a term indicating a district of country that abounds in low swampy grounds. His father, the Rev. John Clay, also a native of Virginia, and his mother, Elizabeth Hudson, the younger of two VOL. I.-2