Page:Life of Henry Clay (Schurz; v. 2).djvu/241

Rh age and infirmity made a heavy charge upon him. Should he turn them, and the infants, upon the cold charities of the world? There were those who would not leave him: should he drive them away? He recommended to Mr. Mendenhall the benevolent example of other Quakers who, while in principle firmly opposed to slavery, would not resort to revolution and disunion for its abolition. He expressed his respect for the “rational abolitionists,” among whom he had many friends. They were not monomaniacs, but knew that they had duties to per form towards the white man as well as the black. Finally he put to Mr. Mendenhall a practical question. If he (Clay) liberated his fifty slaves, worth about $15,000, would Mendenhall and his friends undertake to contribute an equal sum to take care of the slaves after their liberation? Then he dismissed Mendenhall with the admonition to begin the work of benevolence at home: “Dry up the tears of the afflicted widows around you; console and comfort the helpless orphan; clothe the naked, and feed and help the poor, black and white, who need succor, and you will be a better and a wiser man than you have this day shown yourself.”

The assembled multitude was lost in admiration. Poor Mendenhall withdrew, discomfited and laughed at. Clay's speech was triumphantly published in the newspapers all over the country. But many thousands of Mendenhalls were to rise up in the campaign of 1844; and it was the cause