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Show He Made Up With Jackson f Thomas H. Benton Could Not Afford to Remain Estranged From General Gen-eral After Latter's Praise of Henry Clay. One very warm evening in July, 1S81, several members of President Garfield's cabinet went from the White House to the lawn and stood a while in -such a position that they were able to catch the cooling breeze that came j from the Potomac. There were two or I three friends with them, and all were i in a happier frame of mind than they i had been for some time, for the phy-I phy-I sicians had reported but a short while i before that the president was in a more comfortable condition than at any time since he had been shot. As they stood thus, enjoying the cool breeze, Mr. Blaine, the secretary of i state, who' wore a very thin and some-j some-j what frayed alpaca coat and a straw I hat which had certainly seen service ' for several summers, turned to his companions. "This afternoon, as I stood before I the fireplace in the president's room, I there came to my mind for the first time in years an anecdote or, rather, two anecdotes of Andrew Jackson that I heard on good authority when 1 first' came to Washington." he began "But before I tell them to you as they were told to me I shall remind you ol the fact that, an intense animosit) characterized the relations that existed between Jackson and Henry Clay. -It was one of the rare cases in whict Clay permitted himself to have a per sonal animosity, though frequently, as j we all know, he would be a man's po litical enemy to the full limit of his powers. "Well, one day, a friend, calling up on President Jackson, remarked in the course of the conversation: 'Henry Clay is not only a moral coward; he is n nhvsical coward, as well.' "Thereupon Jackson got up, knocked knock-ed the ashes out of his corncob pipe into the presidential fireplace, straight ened up to his full height, and re torted: "'By God, you wrong him! The d d scoundrel is as brave as a lion I know his weakness and his strength.' "Now, for many years Thomas H Benton, for thirty successive years spnator from Missouri, beginning ir 1820, and Andrew Jackson had beer bitter enemies, although they were ol the same party. They had not spokei since 1813, I believe, when Benton was thrown downstairs at the time whei his brother put a bullet through Jack son's shoulder down In North Caro Una. At any rate, Benton had nol visited the white house since Jacksor had been its chief occupant. But il so happened that a day or two aftei President Jackson had paid his char acteristic tribute to Clay's bravery the man to whom Jackson had deliv ered the tribute met Benton and told him of the Incident. Benton, clearl) astonished for an instant, eagerly ask ed if his informant was sure thai Jackson had made the remark a: quoted, and the reply was that there was no doubt about it. " 'Then I will call upon him my self,' said Benton, with grim deter mination. "Sure enough, a day or two latei the senior senator from Missouri pre sented himself at the white house anc his name was taken into his old ene my. In a moment he was admitted t( the president's private office. Jack son was standing before the fireplace He looked searchingly at Benton, whe remained standing upon the threshold At last Jackson spoke. 'Is it to b war or peace?' he asked. "For answer, Benton, with botl hands outstretched, went across tht room, the next moment the differences of years were healed, and the friend ship thus unexpectedly and suddenlj re-established remained unbroken tin til Jackson's death, "But to my mind," concluded Mr Blaine, "the best part of the reconciliation recon-ciliation of those two great character! lay in the reply that Benton gave U his friends when they asked him how he came to put aside his enmity to ward Andrew Jackson. 'I could nol afford to remain estranged from a mar who was brave enough to pay such 1 tribute to an enemy as Andrew Jack son did to Henry Clay when he de clared he was as brave as a lion,' sale Senator Benton." (Copyright, 1910. by E. .1 Fdwnrds. Rights Reserve-! 1 |