he fainted at the sight of blood, and was so unable to withstand physical pain that he fainted when pricked with a needle. A physician certified him as unable to perform his duties. But when funds ran out, he spent the winter of 1811–1812 at home reading law books and performing chores for his father. Kendall suffered a bout of "lung fever" (most likely community-acquired pneumonia) in June 1813 that left him bedridden for three weeks. In addition, he suffered such severe migraines that he could not tolerate loud sounds. Teaching the children of Henry Clay In the fall of 1813, Richardson announced that he was leaving Groton. Although Richardson offered to secure Kendall an apprenticeship with the attorney taking over his practice, Kendall declined the offer. Kendall decided that, with an economic depression afflicting New England and his only patron leaving, it was time to leave Massachusetts. He resolved to relocate to Washington, D.C., and arrived in the city on March 2, 1814. Introduced to numerous politicians by William M. Richardson, who had been elected to the United States House of Representatives, Kendall was hired by Senator Jesse Bledsoe of Kentucky to tutor the Bledsoe children. He left Washington on March 9, traveling by stagecoach to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and then by flatboat down the Ohio River to Cincinnati, Ohio. He largely walked the south to Lexington, Kentucky, reaching the city on April 12. Kendall claims that, upon arrival in Lexington, Senator Bledsoe hinted that he no longer wanted to use Kendall's services. Other sources, however, claim that Bledsoe's family had not been told of the senator's decision to hire Kendall as a tutor and refused to allow him in the home. Kendall angrily resolved to have nothing to do with Bledsoe. On April 27, Kendall met John Watkins, the younger half-brother of Henry Clay, the powerful Speaker of the House of Representatives. Watkins, a law student, frequented the same tavern as Kendall, and quickly introduced Kendall to Henry Clay's wife, Lucretia. With seven children and both parents frequently absent from the Clay estate, Ashland, the Clays needed someone who could help maintain order in the family as well as educate the children. Mrs. Clay offered Kendall room, board, use of her husband's extensive library, and $300 a year (nearly three times as much as Bledsoe had promised). He eagerly accepted the offer and began his duties on May 5.