e midst of a miserably poor region known
as the slashes. There, on the 12th of April, 1777, Henry Clay, the great
American statesman, was born, and from the district-schools of his
neighborhood he derived his education. He was the son of a Baptist
clergyman of very limited means, hence his early advantages were of
necessity meager. He was very bashful and diffident, scarcely dare
recite before his class at school, but he DETERMINED to BECOME AN
ORATOR, he accordingly began the plan of committing speeches and then
reciting them in the corn-fields; at other times they were delivered in
the barn, before the cows and horse.

[Illustration: DETERMINATION. Engraved Expressly for "Hidden Treasures."]

Henry became a copyist in the office of the clerk of the Court of
Chancery, at Richmond. Here he was enabled to begin the study of law, an
opportunity which he at once embraced. While other boys were improving
their time 'having fun,' he was studying, and so closely did he occupy
his odd time that he was enabled to pass the necessary examination and
be admitted to the bar at the early age of twenty. Two years later he
moved "West," (he was enterprising), settling at Lexington, Kentucky,
where he entered upon the practice of law.

Here he became an active politician as well as a popular lawyer. He was
an intelligent young man, and early cultivated a genial disposition
which was a leading feature of his splendid success in life. In 1799
Kentucky called a convention for the purpose of revising the
constitution of the State. During this campaign young Clay labored
earnestly to elect delegates to that convention favorable to the
extinction of slavery. Thus early he manifested an interest in a
question many years in advance of his countrymen. This is the man who,
when afterward told that his action on a certain measure would certainly
injure his political prospect replied, "I WOULD RATHER BE RIGHT THAN BE
PRESIDENT."

It was even so in this case, his action in behalf of the freedom of
slaves offended many but his opposition to the obnoxious alien and
sedition laws later restored him to popular favor. After serving in the
State legislature with some distinction he was elected to fill the
unexpired term of General Adair in the United States Senate. Here he
made excellent use of his time, advocating bills on internal
improvements, accomplishing much toward that end, although his time
expired at the end of the year. He left an impressi