Clay in Western Virginia, and by Virginians. It stands in a beautiful
valley, immediately on the road's side. From that time until, as old
men, they met in mortal combat upon the banks of the Potomac, they were
rivals and enemies.
Randolph was rancorous in his hatred of Clay. In proportion as Clay
rose in the estimation of his countrymen, did Randolph's hate increase.
Clay sprang from the plebeian stock of his native Virginia. He had come
as the representative of the rustics of Kentucky. He was not sanctified
by a college diploma. He boasted no long line of ancestry, and yet he
had met, and triumphed over, the scions of a boasted line--had bearded
the aristocrat upon the field of his fame, and vanquished him. This
triumph was followed up, in quick succession, with many others. He was
now the cynosure of the nation, and the star of Randolph was waning.
His disregard of Randolph's proposition, to withdraw from Congress and
denounce the Union, and his success in effecting this compromise,
sublimated Randolph's hatred, and no opportunity was permitted to pass
unimproved for abuse of him as a politician, and as a man.
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