was toasted at their
public dinners with enthusiasm. Mr. Clay himself, while lamenting his
enormous power and the suspension of ancient nationalities, always had
a lurking sympathy with him. "Bonaparte," said he in his great war
speech of 1813,

"has been called the scourge of mankind, the destroyer of
Europe, the great robber, the infidel, the modern Attila,
and Heaven knows by what other names. Really, gentlemen
remind me of an obscure lady, in a city not very far off,
who also took it into her head, in conversation with an
accomplished French gentleman, to talk of the affairs of
Europe. She, too, spoke of the destruction of the balance of
power; stormed and raged about the insatiable ambition of
the Emperor; called him the curse of mankind, the destroyer
of Europe. The Frenchman listened to her with perfect
patience, and when she had ceased said to her, with
ineffable politeness, 'Madam, it would give my master, the
Emperor, infinite pain if he knew how hardly you thought of
him.'"

This brief passage suffices to show the prevailing tone of the two
parties when Napoleon was the theme of discourse.

It is, of course, impossible for us to enter into this question of
Napoleon's moral position. Intelligent opinion, ever since the means
of forming an opinion were accessible, has been constantly judging
Napoleon more leniently, and the Tory party more severely. We can only
say, that, in our opinion, the war of 1812 was just and necessary; and
that Henry Clay, both in supporting Mr. Jefferson's policy of
non-intercourse and in supporting President Madison's policy of war,
deserved well of his country. Postponed that war might have been. But,
human nature being what it is, and the English government being what
it was, we do not believe that the United States could ever have been
distinctly recognized as one of the powers of the earth without
another fight for it.

The war being ended and the Federal party extinct, upon the young
Republicans, who had carried on the war, devolved the task of
"reconstruction." Before they had made much progress in it, they came
within an ace of being consigned to private life,--Clay himself having
as narrow an escape as any of them. And here we may note one point of
superiority of the American government over others. In other countries
it can sometimes be the interest of politicians to foment and declare
war. A war str