Mr. Clay was admirably qualified for the interchange of social and friendly feelings, in which he indulged most judiciously. His convivial interviews were enlivened by enjoyments of a marked intellectual character. His readiness at repartee, and aptitude for reply, were conspicuous features in his character. No emergency, however sudden or unexpected, found him unprepared, or disarmed him. He perceived the bearing of remarks, with the quickness of intuition, however vague or ambiguous they might be, and, with the suddenness of thought, framed and uttered a suitable reply. Perhaps we cannot better close this imperfect memoir than by appending the following eloquent tribute from the pen of GEORGE D. PRENTICE, Esq. It originally appeared in the _Southern Ladies’ Book_, for June, 1853, and has been extensively republished in other periodicals――an evidence of its claim to preservation in a less perishable form. HENRY CLAY. With voice and mien of stern control He stood among the great and proud, And words of fire burst from his soul Like lightnings from the tempest cloud; His high and deathless themes were crowned With glory of his genius born, And gloom and ruin darkly frowned Where fell his bolts of wrath and scorn. But he is gone――the free, the bold―― The champion of his country’s right; His burning eye is dim and cold, And mute his voice of conscious might. Oh no, not mute――his stirring call Can startle tyrants on their thrones, And on the hearts of nations fall More awful than his living tones. The impulse that his spirit gave To human thought’s wild, stormy sea, Will heave and thrill through every wave Of that great deep eternally; And the all-circling atmosphere, With which is blent his breath of flame, Will sound, with cadence deep and clear, In storm and calm, his voice and name. His words that like a bugle blast Erst rang along the Grecian shore, And o’er the hoary Andes passed, Will still ring on for evermore. Great Liberty will catch the sounds, And start to newer, brighter life, And summon from Earth’s utmost bounds Her children to the glorious strife.