“Oh, the songs they would sing, and the tales they would spin,
As they lounged in the light of the old country inn.
But a day came at last when the stage brought no load
To the gate, as it rolled up the long, dusty road.
And lo! at the sunrise a shrill whistle blew
O’er the hills—and the old yielded place to the new—
And a merciless age with its discord and din
Made wreck, as it passed, of the pioneer inn.”
Before reaching Mrs. Coding’s the Clay Monument is passed. This monument was erected by Moses Shepherd and Lydia, his wife, under an inspiration of personal admiration of the great statesman, and with a further view of commemorating his distinguished public services in behalf of the road. It is of free stone, located upon a level piece of ground about fifty feet south of the east end of a stone bridge of three arches, over Wheeling creek. At its base its circumference is twenty-four feet, towering to a height of twenty feet, and surmounted by a chiselled figure of the Goddess of Liberty, at this date bearing plain evidences of the ravages of time and storm. Originally each of the four sides of the base column revealed an elaborate inscription, but all are totally effaced now, except the one on the east side, which is as follows: “Time will bring every amelioration and refinement, most gratifying to rational man, and the humblest flower freely plucked under the shelter of the Tree of Liberty, is more to be desired than all the trappings of royalty; 44th year of American Independence, Anni Domini, 1820.” The word Time stands out in bold relief over the other words quoted. John Awry, of Claysville, and Alexander Ramsey, of Washington, two old and well remembered stone-cutters, worked on this monument. The former did most of the carving, in which he was an expert, and the latter much of the fine chiselling. Ramsey was the father-in-law of William G. Beck, the old stage driver previously mentioned.