Page:Life of Henry Clay (Schurz; v. 1).djvu/350

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338
HENRY CLAY.

had bought in Pennsylvania. His dairy was profitably managed by his excellent wife. He raised good crops of hemp and corn. But, after all, the larger part of his correspondence ran on congressional elections, the prospects of his party, and the doings of President Jackson. He thought that Jackson could not possibly hold his following together. Jackson's friends in Congress “must decide on certain leading measures of policy;” if he came out for the tariff, the South would leave him; if against the tariff, there would be “such an opposition to him in the tariff states as must prevent his reëlection,” — in all which prophesyings the prophet proved mistaken. He also believed that the great majority at the last election was directed rather against Mr. Adams than against himself, and that his own public position was improving from day to day.

After the great defeat of 1828 the plaudits of the multitude were especially sweet to him. On his way from Washington to Lexington in March, he had been received everywhere by crowds of enthusiastic admirers. With profound complacency he wrote to a friend: “My journey has been marked by every token of attachment and heartfelt demonstrations. I never experienced more testimonies of respect and confidence, nor more enthusiasm, — dinners, suppers, balls, etc. I have had literally a free passage. Taverns, stages, tollgates, have been generally thrown open to me, free from all charge. Monarchs might be proud of the