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of being defeated, they undertook to injure my pri-
vate character, by raking up a law suit I had
with a man in Clarke County, growing out of a
transaction between us before I was 16 years of
age, in which he had attempted to swindle me
out of one hundred dollars. Two different messen-
gers [messengers] had been dispatched from Lincoln County to
Clarke, for the purpose of getting a copy of the
records, certificates etc. One of the messengers was
a young man, a cousin of Mr. M's & had been rai-
sed in his office (Mr. M. had been Clerk of Lincoln)
- the other, was probably also a viola-
tion, particular friend at any rate; he had been
a merchant, & was then a pedlar - both of them
were lame. I attended the Lincoln Court, for the
purpose of addressing the people, to the great mass
of whom, I was an entire stranger, tho I had a few de-
voted friends, on whom, I knew, I could rely in
any emergency. I went to the court house after
dinner & Mr. M without speaking to me, shortly
commenced addressing the people - by attacking my
character. His cousin also made a speech - read
a transcript of the records of the law first, and
several certificates to prove falsehoods. During
all this time, I sat on the judges bench in the
court house, perfectly at my ease, to the ma-
nifest astonishment of M's friends & my
enemies. When they concluded I rose to ad-
dress the people & recognized in the crowd the
noble & majestic form of Gov. Isaac Shelby
then a candidate again for the same office.
(He was the first Gov. of Kentucky having been
elected in 1792). I was confident I had the ad-
vantage of my opponent on this occasion. It was
in the county & town of his residence & a notion of
treating me, a young man who had never in-
jured him with courtesy & respect, he made a
wanton attack upon my character & surround-
ed by relations, & personal & political friends, aid-
ing him with their presence & chears in his unho-
ly attack upon my character. Being perfectly