enry Clay was born near Richmond, Virginia, in 1777, in a low, level
region called "the Slashes." He was one of seven children. His father was
a Baptist clergyman, of fine voice and pleasing manner of speaking. He
died when little Henry was four years old, leaving but a small sum for his
family to live upon.

Henry went, like the other boys of "the Slashes," to a tiny log school
without windows or floor. The schoolmaster, who knew very little himself,
taught the boys to read, write, and cipher. But that was all.

Outside of school hours Henry shared in the farm work. He helped with the
ploughing and often rode the family pony to the mill, using a rope for a
bridle and a bag of corn, wheat, meal, or flour for a saddle. For this
reason he has been called "the Mill Boy of the Slashes."

[Illustration: Henry Clay.]

When fourteen years old he was given a place as clerk in a Richmond drug
store. But he was not to stay there long, for about this time his mother
married again, and his stepfather became interested in him. Realizing that
Henry was a boy of unusual ability, he secured for him a place as copying
clerk in the office of the Court of Chancery at Richmond.

[Illustration: The Birthplace of Henry Clay, near Richmond.]

Henry was fifteen years old, tall, thin, and homely, when he entered this
office. The other clerks were inclined to jeer at his awkwardness and his
plain, home-made, ill-fitting clothes. But Henry's sharp retorts quickly
silenced them, and they soon grew to respect and like him. He was an
earnest student. He stayed indoors and read in the evenings, while the
other young fellows were idling about the town. He was eager to do
something in the world. His opportunity soon came in the ordinary course
of his daily work. His fine handwriting attracted the notice of the
chancellor, a very able lawyer. This man was wise and kindly and had a
deep influence on his young friend.

[Illustration: The Schoolhouse in "the Slashes."]

Clay joined the Richmond Debating Society and soon became the star
speaker. He improved his speaking by studying daily some passage in a book
of history or science, and then going out into a quiet place and
declaiming what he had learned.

The chancellor knew about this, and it pleased him. He advised Henry Clay
to study law, and within a year after his studies began, when he was only
twenty-one years old, he was admitted to the bar.

To begin his law practice, he went to Lexingto