[Footnote: Ibid., 47, 56, 57, 60, 62-64,
66.] He was a master of political manipulation; but among his rivals
were men of almost equal skill in this respect.
Clay was again chosen speaker, on his return to the House of
Representatives in December, 1823, by a triumphant majority, and, as
the session advanced, he and Calhoun, with all the arts of
fascinating conversation, plied the old and new members. At this
critical period in his campaign, Crawford was overwhelmed by a
stroke of paralysis (September, 1823), which wrecked his huge frame
and shattered his career. Shut in a darkened room, threatened with
blindness and the loss of speech, bled by the doctors twenty-three
times in three weeks, unable to sign his official papers with his
own hand, he was prevented from conducting his own political battle.
But he kept his courage and his purpose, concealing his real
condition from all but his most trusted intimates. Not until April,
1824, was he able to attend cabinet meetings, and within a month
after that he suffered a relapse, which prevented his active
participation in his duties until the fall.
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