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.

William Lowndes, after Clay, exercised more influence in the House than any other man.  He was a South Carolinian, and of distinguished family.  His health, at this time, was failing:  it had always been delicate.  Mr. Lowndes was comparatively a young man.  He was remarkably tall:  perhaps six feet six inches.  He stood a head and shoulders above any man in Congress.  His hair was golden; his complexion, clear and pale, and his eyes were deep blue, and very expressive.  He had been elaborately educated, and improved by foreign travel, extensive reading, and research.  As a belles-lettres scholar, he was superior even to Mr. Randolph.  Very retiring and modest in his demeanor, he rarely obtruded himself upon the House.  When he did, it seemed only to remind the House of something which had been forgotten by his predecessors in debate.  Sometimes he would make a set speech.  When he did, it was always remarkable for profound reasoning, and profound thought.  He was suffering with disease of the lungs, and his voice was weak:  so much so that he never attempted to elevate it above a conversational tone.  So honest was he in his views, so learned and so unobtrusive, that he had witched away the heart of the House.  No man was so earnestly listened to as Mr. Lowndes.  His mild and persuasive manner, his refined and delicate deportment in debate and social intercourse captivated every one; and at a time when acrimonious feelings filled almost every breast, there was no animosity for Mr. Lowndes.  His impression upon the nation had made him the favored candidate of every section for the next President; and it is not, perhaps, saying too much, that had his life been spared, he, and not John Quincy Adams, would have been the President in 1824.  He would have been to all an acceptable candidate.  His talents, his virtues, his learning, and his broad patriotism had very much endeared him to the intelligence of the country.  At that time these attributes were expected in the President, and none were acceptable without them.  Mr. Lowndes in very early life gave evidence of future usefulness