4^ 
 
 THE 
 
 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIFE 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER: 
 
 INCLUDING 
 
 MOST OF HIS GREAT SPEECHES, LETTERS 
 FROM MARSHFIELD, &o., &o. 
 
 GEN. S. P. LYMAN 
 
 TWO VOLUMES IN ONE. 
 YOL. I. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 J. W. BRADLEY, 48 N. FOURTH ST. 
 1859.
 
 v , \vs 
 
 \ 
 
 ENTERED according to Act of Congress, In the year 1852, by 
 
 D. APPLETON & CO., 
 
 to the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District ut 
 New-York.
 
 PUBLISHERS' ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 THE Personal Memorials which compose so large a 
 portion of these volumes, are from the pen of G-en. 
 S. P. Lyman, whose intimate and confidential rela- 
 tions with Mr. Webster afford a sufficient guarantee 
 for their authenticity. They are believed by the 
 publishers to embrace a more copious collection of 
 original and interesting memoranda, concerning the 
 life and character of the great Statesman whose re- 
 cent death has created so deep a sense of bereave- 
 ment throughout the country, than has hitherto been 
 given to the world. Some of these papers appeared 
 some years since in the Commercial Advertiser and 
 the Courier & Enquirer ; and were revised and great- 
 ly extended for the Daily Times, from which they are 
 now reprinted under the author's supervision. The 
 biographical sketch is from the Times, in which it
 
 PUBLISHERS 7 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 1 
 
 appeared on the day after Mr. Webster's decease : the 
 miscellaneous anecdotes in the sequel, all of which 
 are of a striking character, and well worthy of pre- 
 servation, are credited to their various sources. 
 
 KEW-YOBK, Dec. 1852.
 
 
 CONTENTS.-VOL I 
 
 PAQI. 
 
 MEMOIR OF DANIEL WEBSTER, BT H. J. RAYMOND 5 
 
 MK. WEBSTER IN CONGRESS 19 
 
 DEBATE WITH HAYNE 82 
 
 MR. WEBSTER AND NULLIFICATION 69 
 
 THE BANK CONTROVERSY 85 
 
 MR. WEBSTER AS SECRETARY OF STATE 94 
 
 "LEADER" FROM THE NEW-YORK DAILY TIMES 
 ON THE DEATH OF MR. WEBSTER 185 
 
 MEMORIALS OF MR. WEBSTER, IN A SERIES OF 
 LETTERS FROM ELMS FARM AND MARSHFIELD, 
 BY S. P. LYMAN 147 
 
 A TRIP TO NEW HAMPSHIRE MR. WEBSTER'S FARM ON 
 
 THE MERRIMACK 147 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER'S FATHER 160 
 
 BIRTH-PLACE OF DANIEL WEBSTER His BROTHERS AND 
 
 SISTERS 170 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER IN HIS INFANCY AND BOYHOOD 182 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER A BOY Our-DooR SPORTS FIRST 
 TlME HE READ THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED 
 STATES ... . 190
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 MB. WEBSTER'S RELIGIOUS CONVICTIONS 2(56 
 
 MB. WEBSTEB'S TABLE-TALK STOBY OF THE EOBBEB . . . 2>7 
 
 MB. WEBSTEB'S DEVOTIONAL SPIBIT 269 
 
 TwENTY-FouBTH OF OcTOBEB, 1852. Br T. W. PAB- 
 
 SONS, JUN 272 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER'S LAST HOURS 275 
 
 DEATH 279 
 
 THE MEN OF THE COMMONWEALTH 281 
 
 A CONVERSATION ON ENGLAND 28 '. 
 
 ME. WEBSTER'S BRIEFS... , 285
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER, SECRETARY OF STATE IN 
 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES, died on 
 Sunday morning. October 24th, at 3 o'clock, sur- 
 rounded by his family and friends, at his home in 
 Marshfield. He had repaired thither, from the la- 
 bors and cares of his official position at Washington, 
 in consequence of failing health some weeks before ; 
 but it was not until ten days before his decease, that 
 his medical attendants pronounced his recovery hope- 
 less. His last hours comported well with the calm 
 dignity and the imposing grandeur of his character 
 and his life. The summons of Death was heard with 
 the same serenity, and obeyed with the same prompt 
 submission, with which every call of Duty during his 
 life had been answered and met. Thus has closed 
 the most illustrious career which has yet graced the 
 civil history of this Republic. It closed as was fit- 
 ting, away from the anxieties and responsibilities of 
 official place, in the midst of the sanctities and affec- 
 tions of Home. That great light, from which ra- 
 diance and warmth, and all strengthening influences, 
 have so long been shed upon his country, has disap-
 
 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 peared, not by any sudden eclipse of its meridian 
 glory, but by the natural decline from its lofty course, 
 in the full but mellowed radiance of its advanced 
 hours. For the instruction and guidance which we 
 have been accustomed to find in his presence and his 
 public acts, the country must now recur to the re- 
 cords of history, and to those matchless productions 
 of his genius which he has bequeathed to the use and 
 the care of the coming generations. 
 
 A great English dramatist, in closing a preface 
 to the collected works of two of his cotemporaries, 
 one of whom was his intimate friend, pronounces at 
 once a eulogy upon their character, and an interdict 
 upon all who should attempt to hold it up to the ad- 
 miration of the world, by declaring that " he must be 
 a bold man that dares undertake to write their lives." 
 The exigencies of journalism leave little room to 
 consult the proprieties which would deter even so 
 consummate a genius as Shirley from writing the 
 biographies of Beaumont and Fletcher. Fortu- 
 nately, however, its aims are not so lofty as to render 
 failure in the attempt to reach them, an qjfence be- 
 yond the scope of charitable consideration. And al- 
 though few men of modern times take higher rank 
 than Daniel Webster among those " worthy person- 
 ages that deserve better than dispersed report or 
 barren eulogies," and although he who shall give to 
 the world an adequate and satisfactory account of that 
 long and laborious life, which has just come to a 
 close, will render a service to the country and the 
 world, which even the high praise of Biography, by 
 Lord Bacon, could not extol too much, the ambi-
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 tion of the Journalist is simply to be useful in a 
 smaller way, and to supply such general knowledge 
 of the great deceased, as may awaken kindly recol- 
 lections of what he has done, and thus meet the crav- 
 ing which bereavement always creates m the human 
 heart. We shall have accomplished, therefore, all 
 we can hope to do, in the few hours that remain for 
 such a task, if, in sketching the life and public ca- 
 reer of Mr. Webster, we shall be found to have brought 
 afresh to memory, and to have commended anew to 
 grateful study, events reflecting honor upon the 
 country, acts evincing profound and intelligent pa- 
 triotism, and sentiments which will find an echo in 
 every heart, duly alive to the interests of the race, 
 and studious of the means by which its civil well-be- 
 ing can be best secured. 
 
 Daniel Webster was born in the town of Salis- 
 bury, New Hampshire, on the 18th of January, 1782. 
 His age. at the period of his death, was accordingly 
 seventy years, nine months, and six days. 
 
 The ancestral line of the Webster family extended 
 back, in authentic records, to the early part of the 
 seventeenth century. Thomas Webster, born in 
 1632, was the great-great-grandfather of JDaniel. 
 He emigrated to this country from Norfolk, England, 
 in the year 1656, and settled at Hampton, in New 
 Hampshire, where, soon after his arrival, he was 
 united in marriage to Sarah Brewer, by whom he had 
 five sons and three daughters. Ebenezer, his second 
 son, was born in 1 667, and was married to Hannah 
 Judkins in July, 1709. Of his sons, only one had 
 issue. This was Ebenezer, grandfather of Daniel
 
 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 who was married to Susannah Batchelder in 1738, 
 and had eight children, of whom the oldest was Ebe- 
 nezer, the father of the great statesman. 
 
 Ebenezer Webster was born in Kingston, New 
 Hampshire, on the 22d of April, 1739. The settle- 
 ment was then new, and Ebenezer's father was a dili- 
 gent and persevering farmer. The son, an active 
 youth, was early chosen as one of the famous " Ran- 
 gers" of Major Robert Rogers, and served with that 
 distinguished officer, under Lord Amherst, in the 
 French war of 1763. The Rangers were kept in the 
 pay of the Crown during the continuance of the war. 
 Mr. Webster was one of the party which, under the 
 command of Major Rogers, made an expedition to 
 Crown Point for the purpose of chastising the In- 
 dians and destroying their villages an act which was 
 deemed essential to the preservation of the whites. 
 The Rangers were always on active duty, and proved 
 most efficient allies. The history of their trials and 
 their triumphs has never been fully told. At the con- 
 clusion of the peace, Mr. Webster, taking advantage 
 of the moment of quiet which was afforded him, com- 
 menced a settlement, in company with several others, 
 in a border-town on a branch of the Merrimack 
 River. The place was first known as Bakerstown, 
 but was afterward called Salisbury a name that will 
 endure as long as the history of its greatest son shall 
 be remembered and cherished among the proudest 
 ornaments of the country. Mr. Webster had just 
 commenced the necessary preparations for a comfort- 
 able rural residence, when the Revolutionary struggle 
 began. His former reputation as one of the body of
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 Bangers served to direct the eyes of his neighbors 
 toward him, and his services were soon in active re- 
 quest as the leader in the constitution of their mili- 
 tary bands. It is needless to say that the veteran 
 Ranger entered, heart and soul, into that long and 
 dubious contest. Foremost among the brave defend- 
 ers of the nation, and skilful, brave and experienced, 
 the weight of Mr. Webster's talents was speedily 
 manifested in the consistent ardor with which the 
 battle was maintained. Mr. Webster commanded a 
 volunteer company of his friends and neighbors, un- 
 der General Stark, in the fight at Bennington, and. 
 during the engagement, was seen in the thickest of 
 the fray. It had been given out by Stark, some time 
 previous to the battle, that it was his intention to 
 march to Stillwater. and a detachment of the British, 
 one thousand strong, was consequently sent to inter- 
 cept him. The forces of the enemy having been thus 
 divided and weakened, the American general was 
 enabled to cope with them in detail. Col. Warner 
 was stationed in the rear of the American army, with 
 a reserved corps, while Captain Webster was ordered 
 to advance with his company of one hundred men, in 
 search of two hundred more, who were out upon a 
 scout. The companies once united, Captain Web- 
 ster was to assume the command of the whole, and 
 fall upon the enemy on the rear, but on no account to 
 fire, until the action had commenced on the other 
 side. It was on this memorable occasion that Gen- 
 eral Stark uttered the celebrated words : " Fellow- 
 soldiers ! there is the enemy : if we don't take them, 
 Molly Stark will be a widow to-night !" Captain
 
 10 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 Webster having fulfilled the duty assigned him in 
 collecting together the three hundred men, awaited 
 his share in the honors of the day. When allowed 
 to make his charge upon the enemy, with pieces 
 loaded, and with firm and equal step, his men ad- 
 vanced upon the opposing breastworks. Captain 
 Webster was the first to leap the defences, but the 
 reinforcements were not sufficient to render the attack 
 successful, and his command was driven back. 
 Meantime, the British were strengthened by the 
 arrival of one thousand fresh, troops upon the field, 
 and a new disposition of the battle became necessary. 
 General Stark placed Captain Webster and Captain 
 Gregg on the left wing of the American force, Colo- 
 nel JSi ichols on the right, and placed the army in a 
 strong position. The result of that struggle is a 
 matter of history, and a large proportion of its fame 
 is due to the efforts of Ebenezer Webster. At the 
 battle of White Plains, Mr. Webster was also pre- 
 sent, and performed effective service. At the end of 
 the war, he again retired to private life, and sought 
 to end his days peacefully and with honor, as an 
 humble cultivator of the soil. This, however, was 
 denied him. The people whom he had served had 
 stronger claims upon him. He was, for several years, 
 elected a Representative from Salisbury to the Legis- 
 lature of New Hampshire, and in the years 1785-6-8 
 and '90 filled the office of State Senator. In 1785 
 he was appointed Colonel of the Militia. In 1791 
 he was chosen as Judge of the Court of Common 
 Pleas, for the county of Hillsborough. which office he 
 held until 1805. On the 22d of April of the follow-
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 11 
 
 ing year (180G), Col. Webster died upon his farm, at 
 the age of 67. His wife, Abigail, survived him ten 
 years, and died on the 14th of April, 1816, aged 76 
 years. 
 
 Col. Webster was twice married. His second 
 wife, Abigail Eastman, the mother of Daniel and 
 Ezekiel, was a lady of Welsh descent, and a resident 
 of Salisbury at the time of her marriage. 
 
 Daniel Webster was born under the influence of 
 true New England institutions. A harsh and rug- 
 ged country, cold blasts and meagre natural advan- 
 tages, formed no pleasant introductions to the world. 
 The hills and forests of the Granite State offered 
 few inducements, years ago, for the development of 
 intellectual versatility and strength. It was the aim 
 of her people to impart to their children the soundest 
 principles of morality and common sense. Few in- 
 dulgences were allowed them, and the sacredness of 
 parental control was strictly guarded. In the midst 
 of such a public sentiment was Daniel Webster 
 reared. He enjoyed what is termed a good New 
 England education, receiving the fullest advantages 
 of the school system of that day not, as now, brought 
 home to every door, but occasional and migratory in 
 its nature. 
 
 While still young, Daniel was daily sent two miles 
 and a half to school, in the middle of winter, and on 
 foot. He walked the entire distance there and back. 
 If the school chanced to remove still further from his 
 father's house, board was engaged in some convenient 
 family for the youthful student, and his acquisitions 
 f knowledge were pursued without interruption. An
 
 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 ardent desire for learning was early manifest in the 
 mind of Daniel Webster. Difficulties were presented, 
 with which he was compelled to struggle ; hindrances 
 stood in the way, which he was obliged to overcome. 
 But every obstacle was surmounted, and the scholar 
 came forth a man. His father was deeply impressed 
 with the necessity of education, and spared no pains 
 to give Daniel a thorough insight into the mysteries 
 of knowledge. Among the few volumes contained in 
 the circulating library of that day. the young Daniel 
 found a special fascination in a copy of the " Spec- 
 tator " particularly in the criticisms upon ''Chevy 
 Chase." Before he was fourteen years old. he could 
 repeat the whole of the " Essay on Man." The muse 
 possessed great attractions for his fancy, and devo- 
 tional hymns were frequently added to the list of his 
 juvenile accomplishments. Among the pieces com- 
 mitted to memory, as a pastime merely, was the en- 
 tire volume of that ancient collection of church melo- 
 dies known as ' Watts's Psalms and Hymns." 
 
 In his fourteenth year. Daniel was placed in Phil- 
 lips' Academy at Exeter, N. H., at that time under 
 the care of Dr. Benjamin Abbot. This event, his 
 first separation from home and friends, took place on 
 the 25th April, 1796. Daniel was now one among 
 ninety boys, all of whom were perfect strangers. Re- 
 conciling himself, however, to the necessities of the 
 case. Daniel soon became naturalized among his new 
 associates, and made rapid progress in the customary 
 routine of academical studies. Public declamation, 
 curiously enough, was his aversion, and the thought 
 of it a bugbear. The future orator withdrew from
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 13 
 
 observation, and sought to conceal himself behind his 
 fellows. Remaining but a few months at the aca- 
 demy, Daniel, in February, 1797, was placed under 
 the tuition of Rev. Samuel Woods, at Boscaweu. The 
 prospect of a collegiate education was at this time 
 first opened to him by his father. Incited by the 
 indications of this preferment, colleges being then 
 exclusive, and not in every case attainable, the young 
 man profited by the opportunities that were offered 
 him. With Mr. Woods he read Virgil and Cicero, 
 and became a fair Latin scholar. His favorite clas- 
 sic at this time was Cicero, and the strength of early 
 impressions was never abated the immortal Orator 
 was always the favorite study of the American Sage. 
 In the summer of 1797, Daniel entered Dart- 
 mouth College as a Freshman. The regular duties of 
 a student were performed by him with faithfulness 
 and energy. He lost no time in idle dissipations, 
 became noted for a constant avidity for reading, and 
 devoted much attention to the acquisition of a know- 
 ledge of English literature. Among his college pas- 
 times he superintended the publication of a small 
 weekly newspaper, to which he contributed various 
 selections, and occasionally an original essay. These 
 early efforts in composition are probably the first of 
 his writings that were ever published. Graduating 
 with the approbation of his fellows, and in receipt of 
 the honorable testimonials of merit, though not dis- 
 playing any remarkable powers which would seem to 
 indicate his future greatness. Daniel returned home, 
 determined to adopt the profession of the law for a 
 livelihood.
 
 14 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 A course of legal reading was begun under the 
 eye of Mr. Thompson, a gentleman well known to the 
 family of Mr. Webster, and afterward United States 
 Senator. Daniel's studies were not, however, suffered 
 to be prolonged without interruption. Anxious that 
 his brother Ezekiel should possess advantages for 
 education similar to those enjoyed by himself, Daniel 
 interceded with his father with such success that the 
 brother, in 1801, was sent to college. To meet the 
 additional expenses which this circumstance involved, 
 Daniel temporarily forsook the law and commenced 
 teaching school, as much to advance his brother as to 
 cover the necessary expenditures in the prosecution 
 of his own profession. The pedagogue was first made 
 manifest in the town of Fryeburg, in Maine, where 
 Daniel taught the town Academy, at the meagre sti- 
 pend of $350. Of this amount, he contrived to save 
 the whole, having obtained the post of Assistant to 
 the Register of Deeds of the County, by which he 
 met the ordinary outlays of his position. In Frye- 
 burg. Mr. Webster found another circulating library, 
 in which was contained a set of Blackstoue's Com- 
 mentaries, the legal food of the young student during 
 his stay in that place. 
 
 In September, 1 802, Daniel returned to Salisbury, 
 and resumed the study of the law with Mr. Thomp- 
 son. When not so engaged, his time was occupied 
 with the Latin Classics. He read wi^h avidity the 
 tomes of Sallust, Csesar and Horace. Some odes of 
 the latter were translated by him and published. The 
 sports of angling, gunning and horsemanship consti- 
 tuted his pastimes. The meditative pursuit of old
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 15 
 
 Izaak was always a favorite amusement of the great 
 statesman. With fishing-rod and line he would wait 
 for hours beside some tranquil stream, watching the 
 play of the suspicious tribe, and moralizing, like his 
 piscatorian model, upon the ways and doings of fishes 
 and of men. Indeed, it is sportively said by his 
 friends, that, as the future orator one day drew in a 
 large and most tempting trout, he uttered the words 
 which he afterwards employed on the Bunker-Hill 
 Address : " Venerable men ! you have come down to 
 us from a former generation. Heaven has boun- 
 teously lengthened out your lives that you might be- 
 hold this joyous day." The tale is probably a jest; 
 but the words are immortal. In this way, Mr. Web- 
 ster was ever in the habit of planning speeches and 
 pursuing some other avocation at one and the same 
 moment. 
 
 In July, 1804, Daniel removed to Boston, where 
 his course of law-reading went forward under the eye 
 of Hon. Christopher Gore, afterward Governor of 
 Massachusetts. The most ample opportunities were 
 here enjoyed for a complete legal education, and 
 Daniel so far improved them that in the following 
 year (March, 1805), he was admitted to practise in 
 the Suffolk Court of Common Pleas. According to 
 the custom of those days, the pupil was accompanied 
 into Court by his patron. To the kind exertions of 
 Governor Gore in his behalf, on this occasion, Mr. 
 Webster acknowledged his great indebtedness. The 
 introduction insured him respect and attention, and 
 he was not long in stepping into a lucrative profes- 
 sional business. It is worthy of remark, as an evi-
 
 10 MKMORTALS OF 
 
 dence of the superior discernment of his legal guar- 
 dian, that, in the introductory address. Governor Gore 
 took the pains to utter a prophecy of the future ce- 
 lebrity of the young aspirant. Mr. Webster began 
 practice in the village of Boscawen. whence he re- 
 moved to Portsmouth, N. H., in 1807. 
 
 About this time an event occurred which was 
 nearly a crisis in the young man's history. The 
 clerkship of the County Court of Common Pleas in 
 Hillsborough, New Hampshire, became vacant, and 
 Judge Webster being at the time upon the bench, 
 his colleagues tendered the vacant post to Daniel, as 
 a mark of respect to his father. Daniel was not at 
 all in favor of the proposition. His friend, Governor 
 Gore, strongly discouraged his acceptance of the of- 
 fice. '' Once a clerk, always a clerk," was the argu- 
 ment of that gentleman. Daniel, too, saw reasons 
 why he should not accept. But he knew his father's 
 heart was bent upon it. and, fearing to refuse, he 
 started homeward. In conversation with his father, 
 he finally expressed his determination to decline. 
 Judge Webster was for a moment incensed. Daniel 
 replied that " he meant to use his tongue in the courts, 
 not the pen ; to be an actor, not the register of other 
 men's actions." His father answered him with pride, 
 " His mother," he observed, ; ' had always said that 
 Daniel would come to something or nothing, she was 
 not sure which ; he thought the doubt was about to 
 be settled." So the clerkship went its ways, and 
 Daniel reconciled to his father, and satisfied with hia 
 wn course, went back to his practice. Judge Web- 
 ster lived but a year afterward, but his life was long
 
 DANIEL WEHSTER. 
 
 17 
 
 enough to enable him to he:ir his son's first argument, 
 and to be gratified at the fulfilment of the promising 
 predictions that had been circulated regarding him. 
 He died in April, 1806. 
 
 In May. 1807, Daniel, whom we shall now desig- 
 nate by the more dignified appellation of Mr. Web- 
 ster, was admitted to practice as attorney and coun- 
 sellor of the Supreme Court of New Hampshire, and 
 in September of the same year relinquished his office 
 to his brother Ezekiel, who had then obtained admis- 
 sion to the Bar. Daniel then removed to Ports- 
 mouth. It may here be proper to say, that Mr. 
 Webster always espoused with warmth the cause of 
 Ezekiel, his Only brother. A man of strong, native 
 powers, though slow to action. Ezekiel only lacked 
 opportunity and a longer life to have become a dis- 
 tinguished personage. He died in the prime of life, 
 while arguing a cause in Concord, New Hampshire, 
 and was lamented by a large class of friends and 
 mourning relatives. 
 
 Daniel Webster was married in June, 1808, to 
 Grace Fletcher, daughter of Rev. Mr. Fletcher, of 
 Hopkinton, New Hampshire. They had four chil- 
 dren Grace, Fletcher, Julia, and Edward of whom 
 only Fletcher now survives. Grace died early ; Ed- 
 ward was killed in the Mexican War ; Julia married 
 one of the Appletons, of Boston, and died a few years 
 since. 
 
 Mr. Webster resided in Portsmouth for a period 
 of nine years. The Bar of that time presented a roll 
 of brilliant names. Samuel Dexter and Joseph Sto- 
 ry, of Massachusetts, William K. Atkinson, Attorney-
 
 18 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 General of New Hampshire, Judge Jeremiah Smith, 
 Jeremiah Mason, and men of like calibre, were the 
 leading practitioners of the law: With them was 
 sustained a pleasant and profitable intercourse, and 
 the friendship which they extended to Mr. Webster 
 was no small assistance to the efforts of the new aspi- 
 rant for legal honors. Mr. Webster's practice here was 
 chiefly circuit. He followed the Superior Court into 
 many of the Counties of the State, and was retain- 
 ed in most of the important causes upon the docket. 
 Office he never held in New Hampshire, and his private 
 professional practice was not remarkably lucrative. 
 It has been remarked, as a circumstan.ce somewhat 
 singular, that in very few cases was Mr. Webster em- 
 ployed as junior counsel. Scarcely a dozen instances 
 of this kind occurred during his long career. Men 
 had occasion for his services as their leading counsel, 
 and reposed in him the utmost confidence -a reliance 
 which was never misplaced or regretted, and to which 
 many will now turn with a grateful recollection of the 
 value of his aid. 
 
 Soon after the Declaration of War against Eng- 
 land, Mr. Webster was called to enter the arena of 
 public life. Though but thirty years of age, an early 
 period to take part in the Councils of a Nation the 
 native strength of Mr. Webster's character had al 
 ready pointed him out as the man that was needed 
 for the times ; and the undeveloped Statesman made 1 
 $ his first step in that long career of public life which 
 has identified his name, as Representative, Senator. 
 Diplomatist, and Cabinet Minister, with the history 
 the United States.
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 19 
 
 MR. WEBSTER IN CONGRESS. 
 
 The political contest which resulted in the elec- 
 tion of Mr. Webster to the House of Representatives, 
 was long and spirited. . A vehement opposition was 
 started against the party which he represented, and 
 although his ultimate triumph was gratifying in the 
 extreme, the struggle was severe. Mr. Webster 
 finally received a very handsome majority over his 
 opponent, and took his seat at the Extra Session of 
 the Thirteenth Congress, in May, 1813. The time 
 at which he entered Congress was one of great excite- 
 ment. The question of the prosecution of the War 
 was warmly agitated, and raised divisions of party 
 opinion, that threatened serious difficulties. The 
 wisdom of retorting by severe retaliatory measures, 
 against the arbitrary acts of Great Britain, respect- 
 ing American shipping, was doubted by many mem- 
 bers of that Congress. The conviction of the neces- 
 sity of the conflict was not general throughout the 
 country. Men objected that the War had been be- 
 gun by a faction, that it was non-essential in princi- 
 ple, and that it needed not to be prosecuted with any 
 extraordinary degree of ardor. Into the midst of 
 this caldron of differing opinions, Mr. Webster was 
 thrown by his constituents. He was equal to the 
 emergency in which he found himself plunged. That 
 Congress comprised men of surpassing talent. Of 
 the House, Henry Clay was Speaker. Among the 
 members were Calhoun, Forsyth, Grundy, Gaston, 
 Pickering. Intellect and learning shed a lustre over
 
 20 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 the Lower House, which it has rarely witnessed since. 
 Mr. Webster made his appearance punctually at the 
 commencement of the Session, and was immediately 
 placed by Mr. Clay upon the Committee of Foreign 
 Affairs, a position of honor and responsibility. 
 
 Mr. Webster delivered his maiden speech in the 
 House on Thursday, 10th June, 1813. It took Con- 
 gress by surprise. A young man, appearing for the 
 first time in public life, and previously unknown in po- 
 litical circles, had made a sudden and indelible impres- 
 sion upon older and more experienced men. The re- 
 sult has proved that the early promise was not falla- 
 cious. Intellect sharpened and strengthened by con- 
 tinual exercise, especially in courts of law, and under 
 the excitement of vehement opposition, is pretty 
 sure to receive a rapid and healthy development. 
 Mr. Webster founded his speech upon certain resolu- 
 tions which he introduced in relation to the Berlin 
 and Milan Decrees, requesting the President " to in- 
 form the House when, by whom, and in what man- 
 ner, the first intelligence was given to this Govern- 
 ment of the decree of the Government of France, 
 bearing date the 28th of April, 1811, and purporting 
 to be a definitive repeal of the Decrees of Berlin and 
 Milan." The resolutions were supported by Mr. 
 Webster, in a speech of masterly power and vigor, 
 producing facts and arguments, which could do no 
 less than rivet the attention of the House. The ob- 
 ject of Mr. Webster was merely to obtain informa- 
 tion, which was freely communicated by President 
 Madison. The action of Napoleon in regard to the 
 maritime questions of the day was productive of such
 
 measure of retaliation from England, that great danger 
 was experienced by the neutral powers which had 
 vessels upon the ocean. Great Britain then insisting 
 upon her right of search in vessels belonging to the 
 United States, the pent-up passions found vent, and 
 the mother country and her daughter were again em- 
 broiled in war. Mr. Webster entered Congress, not at 
 the commencement of this second struggle, but in 
 the heat of its progress. War was raging when he 
 took his seat. The minutiae of the preparations for 
 its continuance, were allotted to him as one of the 
 National Council. Although opposed to the policy 
 which had been adopted, he offered no very serious 
 opposition to the prosecution of the war, and content- 
 ed himself with seeking to guide the strong current into 
 channels which appeared safest and most expedient. 
 He had always believed that the most efficient method 
 of crippling the power of England, was to attack her 
 upon the sea, and hence, at an early period, he advo- 
 cated the improvement of the Navy. Before the com- 
 mencement of the War, or his entrance into Con- 
 gress, he had written several powerful arguments fa- 
 voring an increase of our naval force, and one of his 
 earliest speeches in the House was intended to accom- 
 plish the same purpose. Other topics of national in- 
 terest and importance also occupied his attention while 
 he continued a member of the House. On the repeal 
 of the Embargo, and on an appeal from the Chair on 
 a motion for the previous question, he spoke strongly 
 and with effect. His standing as an orator was 
 speedily attained. It never degenerated into a se- 
 condary quality, and the part assumed by him in
 
 22 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 his earliest public efforts was such as few men so 
 young have sustained. Of the speeches of Mr. Web- 
 ster on the Embargo and on the appeal, Mr. Everett 
 holds the following language : "His speeches on 
 these questions raised him to the front rank of debat- 
 ers. He manifested upon his entrance into pub- 
 lic life, that variety of knowledge, familiarity with 
 the history and traditions of the Government, and 
 self-possession on the floor, which in most cases are 
 acquired by time and long experience. They gained 
 for him the reputation indicated by the well-known 
 remark of Mr. Lowndes, that ' the North had not his 
 equal, nor the South his superior.' " 
 
 Mr. Webster was re-elected to the House of Re- 
 presentatives in August, 1814. His constituents, 
 pleased that New Hampshire could send so creditable 
 a representative, and justly proud of the honorable 
 position attained in so brief a period by Mr. Webster, 
 again gave him the preference, and he received, for 
 the second time, a handsome majority. When he 
 again entered upon the discharge of his public duties, 
 Mr. Webster found himself in a new position. The 
 Peace was declared in December, 1814, and Congress 
 had time tfo give its attention to the internal affairs 
 of the country. The debates no longer turned upon 
 the budget of War. The commercial class and the 
 mass of the people were now to receive attention, and 
 their wants were to be canvassed and supplied. Gov- 
 ernment found it convenient to propose the establish- 
 ment of a National Bank, and a bill for that purpose 
 was introduced into the House, on the recommendation 
 of Mr. Dallas, 'then Secretary of the Treasury. The
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 23 
 
 elicited a splendid display of forensic ability from 
 arose. It required the reservation of a Bank capital 
 of fifty millions of dollars ; of which only five millions 
 were to be in specie, and the remainder in the de- 
 preciated Government securities ; with an obligation 
 to lend thirty millions for the use of the Treasury. 
 With these provisions, the bill had passed the Senate, 
 and was sent to the House. It was warmly discussed. 
 Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Webster were among its oppo- 
 nents. Mr. Webster deemed the project useless and 
 pernicious. He denounced it as a mere paper-money 
 contrivance, which was calculated to injure the People, 
 to increase the financial embarrassments of the 
 Government, and to bring discredit upon the Country. 
 The bill, as originally reported, was finally negatived. 
 A reconsideration was then moved, and the bill was 
 amended in several important particulars. A specie- 
 paying Bank was planned, and received the support 
 of Mr. Webster and those who had opposed so stren- 
 uously the original draft. In its improved shape the 
 bill passed, and was sent to the President for approval, 
 but Mr. Madison returned it to the House with his 
 objections, and the subject went over for that session. 
 The adjournment of Congress left Mr. Webster 
 at liberty to resume his professional occupations, and 
 enabled him to pay that degree of attention to his 
 personal affairs of which they had stood in need during 
 his long absence from home. In the month of January, 
 1814. he had sustained a heavy loss in the destruction 
 of his house at Portsmouth by the great fire which 
 visited that place. Not remarkably rich in the goods 
 of this world at that period, Mr. Webster's finances
 
 24 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 bill contained provisions to which great opposition 
 suffered a serious blow by this disaster, and he began 
 to agitate the question of removing his family either 
 to Albany or Boston. This removal was effected in 
 August, 1816. Mr. Webster was well known in 
 Boston as a citizen and a professional man. He 
 was certain of a warm welcome among old friends, 
 and saw many reasons why he should return to 
 the field in which he first stepped forward. His 
 practice in the Courts of New Hampshire was 
 never resumed, excepting in the celebrated case of 
 Dartmouth College, tried in September, 1817. This 
 cause involved Constitutional questions, and en- 
 gaged the attention of Mr. Webster for a consider- 
 able period. The Legislature of New Hampshire 
 had passed certain acts purporting to enlarge and 
 improve the Corporation of the College and to 
 amend its Charter. The trial was to test the ques- 
 tion whether such acts could be binding upon the 
 Corporation, without its consent. Mr. Webster es- 
 pousing the cause of the Corporation, argued with 
 his usual ability upon the unconstitutionality of the 
 action of the Legislature. Upon an adverse opinion 
 of the New Hampshire Court being rendered, a writ 
 of error was sued out by the Corporation, and the 
 cause was removed to the Supreme Court of the 
 United States. The argument took place, before all 
 the Judges, in March 1818; Mr. Webster and Mr. 
 Hopkinson appearing for the plaintiffs in error, and 
 Mr. Holmes and the Attorney-General of New 
 Hampshire in opposition. The question involved in 
 the case was new to American Jurisprudence, and 
 
 * ^^^
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 25 
 
 the opposing counsel. The argument of Mr. Webster 
 served to place the matter in its true light, and Judge 
 Story at last coincided with his colleagues in declar- 
 ing the acts of the Legislature invalid, and revers- 
 ing the decision of the Superior Court of New-Hamp- 
 shire. 
 
 When Mr. Webster removed to Boston, he had 
 one session to serve in Congress as Representative 
 from New-Hampshire. The proceedings of that ses- 
 sion were unimportant. At its close, he retired to 
 his practice in Boston, where for two years he was 
 permitted to repose, in the exercise of the duties of 
 private life. He was not, however, allowed any lon- 
 ger respite. He was soon urged by friends and poli- 
 tical admirers to become a candidate for Congress for 
 the third time ; but he steadfastly declined the offer. 
 An offer of election to the Senate of the United 
 States was tendered him by his friends in the Legis- 
 lature ; but this was also declined. Devoted to his 
 profession, he had no wish to draw himself from it. 
 Earning a competency by his legal attainments, he 
 desired no honors other than those which attached to 
 a good citizen and an honest man. The community 
 insisted more strongly upon pressing him again into 
 the public service. He served for a short time in the 
 Legislature, was chosen one of the Presidential 
 Electors of Massachusetts in the canvass which result- 
 ed in the re-election of Mr. Monroe, and was a dele- 
 gate to the Convention called to revise the Constitu- 
 tion of the Commonwealth in 1821. In that Con- 
 vention, Mr. Webster took a prominent part, con- 
 stitutional argument having become his forte. His
 
 26 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 principal arguments were devoted to the subjects of 
 oaths of office, the division of the State into Senato- 
 rial Districts, and the appointment of Judicial officers 
 by the Executive. 
 
 In the Fall of 1822, after the most pressing soli- 
 citation, Mr. Webster yielded his consent to run 
 again for Congress. A committee, consisting of Col. 
 Thomas H. Perkins, Wm. Sturgis, Wm. Sullivan, 
 John T. Apthorp, and Daniel Messenger, called upon 
 him to apprise him of his nomination. He did not 
 now decline. He was elected by one thousand majo- 
 rity over his competitor, Jesse Putnam, and again 
 took his seat in the House, not as a Member from a 
 rural district in New-Hampshire, but a Representa- 
 tive from the City of Boston. Henry Clay was again 
 Speaker. Familiar faces greeted the vision of the 
 Massachusetts Representative, and earnest discussions 
 presently gave active employment to Mr. Webster's 
 busy mind. 
 
 Early in the session, the subject of the Revolu- 
 tion in Greece came before the House. Mr. Webster 
 on the 8th of December, 1823, presented the follow- 
 ing resolution : " That provision ought to be made by 
 law, for defraying the expense incident to the ap- 
 pointment of an Agent or Commissioner to Greece, 
 whenever the President shall deem it expedient to 
 make such appointment." 
 
 In his famous speech in support of this resolution, 
 Mr. Webster showed himself a profound and discrim- 
 inating judge of the laws that govern the relations of 
 nations and communities. In sympathy for the op- 
 pressed and struggling Greeks, he was not surpassed
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 27 
 
 by any of the men of his time. He evinced a ready 
 appreciation of the evils with which they struggled, 
 and uttered a trumpet-toned and indignant remon- 
 strance against the tyranny which sought their degra- 
 dation. The " Greek speech" will be remembered as 
 long as American Oratory has a place among the re- 
 cords of History. 
 
 It is interesting to notice that the principles 
 which were avowed on this occasion, were subse- 
 quently re-affirnied by Mr. Webster in language still 
 more striking, applied to the affairs of Hungary. On 
 the occasion of the Congressional Banquet to Kos- 
 suth in January last, Mr. Webster declared that " in 
 the sentiments avowed by him in the years 1823 and 
 1824, in the cause of Greece, there was that which 
 he could never part from without departing from 
 himself." Those sentiments were most fearlessly 
 put forth. On the 19th January, 1 823, Mr. Webster 
 made a long and eloquent argument, covering the 
 whole question. Reviewing the circumstances which 
 accompanied the struggles of the Greeks, and pass- 
 ing some severe strictures upon the policy observed 
 by the states of Europe towards that unhappy coun- 
 try, Mr. Webster proceeded to a statement of the 
 effects and consequences of the actions of Europeap 
 potentates in regard to free governments and the 
 spread of republican institutions. The limits of this 
 sketch permit no detailed analysis of the line of argu- 
 ment laid down by Mr. Webster, in this celebrated 
 speech, nor is it necessary. The leading idea was 
 the defence of free institutions against absolutism ; 
 an argument in favor of constitutional rights against
 
 28 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 the encroachments of despotism. In regarding the 
 position proper to be assumed by this country, in 
 reference to the Greek struggle, Mr. Webster gave 
 utterance to one of the finest passages which the lan- 
 guage has produced. He sought to discourage any 
 violent and belligerent measures, and fell back upon 
 the power of public opinion. In arguing this point, 
 he said : 
 
 " Sir, this reasoning mistakes the age. The time 
 has been, indeed, when fleets, and armies, and subsidies 
 were the principal reliances, even in the best cause 
 But, happily for mankind, there has arrived a great 
 change in this respect. Moral causes come into con- 
 sideration in proportion as the progress of knowledge 
 is advanced ; and the public opinion of the civilized 
 world is rapidly gaining an ascendency over mere 
 brutal force. It may be silenced by military power, 
 but it cannot be conquered. It is elastic, irrepressi- 
 ble, and invulnerable to the weapons of ordinary war- 
 fare. It is that impassable, inextinguishable enemy 
 of mere violence and arbitrary rule, which, like Mil- 
 ton's angels, 
 
 ' Vital in every part, 
 Cannot, but by annihilating, die.' 
 
 Unless this be propitiated or satisfied, it is in vain 
 for power to talk either of triumphs or repose. No 
 matter what fields are desolated, what fortresses sur- 
 rendered, what armies subdued, or what provinces 
 overrun, there is an enemy that still exists to check 
 the glory of these triuiflphs. It follows the con- 
 queror back to the very scene of his ovations ; it
 
 DANIEL, WEBSTER. 29 
 
 calls upon him to take notice that the world, though 
 silent, is yet indignant ; it shows him that the sceptre 
 of his victory is a barren sceptre ; that it shall confer 
 neither joy nor honor, but shall moulder to dry ashes 
 in his grasp. In the midst of his exultation, it 
 pierces his ear with the cry of injured justice ; it de- 
 nounces against him the indignation of an enlight 
 ened and civilized age ; it turns to bitterness the cup 
 of his rejoicing, and wounds him with the sting which 
 belongs to the consciousness of having outraged the 
 opinion of mankind." 
 
 In the course of this speech. Mr. Webster advert- 
 ed, in terms of reprobation, to the Treaty of Paris, 
 of 1815, by which the principles that bound together 
 the " Holy Alliance" were asserted and maintained. 
 He expressed his abhorrence of the doctrines thus 
 sought to be enforced by European despotisms, and 
 remarked : " Human liberty may yet, perhaps, be 
 obliged to repose its principal hopes on the intelli- 
 gence and the vigor of the Saxon race. So far a.-i 
 depends on us, at least, I trust those hopes will not 
 be disappointed." 
 
 Mr. Webster also took an active part in 'the dis- 
 cussions upon the Tariff in 1 824. In common with 
 the remainder of the Massachusetts delegation, he op- 
 posed that instrument on grounds of expediency, but 
 the bill was passed and became a law. 
 
 In the Fall of 1824, Mr. Webster was reflected 
 to Congress, by the almost unanimous vote of 4.990 
 out of 5000. This remarkable indication of the 
 public favor was as unexpected as well-merited and 
 gratifying. Mr. Webster was now fairly settled in a
 
 30 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 public career, and he was thenceforward but rarely 
 absent from stations of trust and confidence. 
 
 The Presidential contest in which John Qaincy 
 Adams was finally successful, now agitated the coun- 
 try. Mr. Clay accepted the post of Secretary of 
 State. The principal topic of this Administration 
 was the Panama Mission, a subject of dispute, which 
 created a great sensation, and elicited many warm 
 debates in Congress. Mr. Webster had supported 
 with earnestness, the noted Declaration of Presi- 
 dent Monroe, that any combinations of European 
 powers to promote certain objects in America would 
 be considered as directly affecting the Nation. and, 
 in accordance with the position he had assumed, gave 
 a cordial support to the proposed Mission to Panama, 
 for the settlement of existing difficulties. He made 
 an able speech on this subject in the House, in April, 
 1826. The general unpopularity of the measure in 
 contemplation, however, caused it to fail. 
 
 On the 22d December, 1820, at the second Cen- 
 tennial Celebration of the landing of the Pilgrims at 
 Plymouth, Mr. Webster delivered the grand Oration 
 which is now in the mouth of every schoolboy. Five 
 years afterward, in 1825, he spoke at Bunker Hill, 
 at the semi-centennial Celebration of the glorious 
 Battle which had there been fought. In a few months 
 he was called to commemorate the services of Adams 
 and Jefferson, whose deaths occurred under circum- 
 stances of such curious coincidence. On the 22d 
 February, 1832, upon the completion of a century 
 from the birth of Washington, Mr. Webster was 
 called upon to deliver an Address at the National
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 81 
 
 Capital, and enchained the attention of his audience, 
 by a fascinating delineation of the virtues of the Fa- 
 ther of his Country. 
 
 In November, 1826, Mr. Webster was again soli- 
 cited to represent his District in the House, for the 
 third time, but before he had taken his seat, a va- 
 cancy occurring in the Senate by the retirement of 
 the venerable Elijah H. Mills, Mr. Webster was 
 chosen to fill that post. 
 
 Toward the close of the year 1827, a heavy do- 
 mestic affliction was visited upon Mr. Webster, in the 
 loss of his wife. They were on the way to Washing- 
 ton when Mrs. Webster was taken ill, and soon died. 
 This melancholy event prevented Mr. Webster from 
 taking his seat in the Senate until January, 1 828. 
 
 In the Senatorial career of Mr. Webster, so many 
 elements of power and popularity have passed into 
 record, that it is difficult to embrace, in a simple 
 sketch, all the peculiar features of the geat move- 
 ments in which he took part. Mr. Calhoun, as Vice- 
 President, occupied the chair of the Senate. Messrs. 
 Forsyth, Benton, Van Buren, Woodbury, Tazewell, 
 Clayton and Hayne, were among the Senators. Mr. 
 Webster's first parliamentary encounter, upon his en- 
 trance into the Senate, took place with Mr. Tazewell, 
 of Virginia. The subject in dispute was the Process 
 Bill, contrived for the regulation of the proceedings 
 of the United States Courts, and the details of the 
 controversy had little public interest. Mr. Webster 
 afterward made strong and praiseworthy exertions in 
 aid of the measures of relief to the surviving officers of 
 the Revolution. In regard to the Tariff, upon which the
 
 32 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 controversy of past days was renewed, Mr. "W coster 
 deemed it his duty to vote for the amended bill in- 
 troduced into the Senate. In the course of his re- 
 marks upon certain objections which he had urged 
 against the measure, and for which he sought an im- 
 provement, he defended New-England from the injuri- 
 ous reports that had been circulated against her, and 
 established anew the credit of that large and industri- 
 ous section of the country. Though disapproving of 
 some of the provisions contained in the amended bill, 
 he yet believed it an improvement in certain parti- 
 culars, and gave it his affirmative vote a course 
 which he deemed it but just to explain to his consti- 
 tuents upon his return home. In a speech at Faneuil 
 Hall he made particular allusion to the circumstances 
 of that vote, and received the approval of the people 
 of the Commonwealth. 
 
 DEBATE WITH HAYNE. 
 
 The next event in Mr. Webster's life was one 
 which won imperishable laurels for himself, and oast 
 lustre upon the councils of his country. It was the 
 part he took in the great controversy in the Senate 
 between the North and South between the national 
 views of the Constitution which Mr. Webster had 
 often vindicated, and the doctrines of State Rights, 
 which had been for years so ably enforced by Mr. 
 Calhoun, and had reached a position of commanding 
 influence. 
 
 Gen. Jackson had been elected to the Presidency 
 in the Fall of 1828, by an overwhelming popular ma- 
 jority, against John Quincy Adains, whose admmis-
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 33 
 
 tration, although marked by signal ability, and a 
 purity seldom paralleled in the recent history of our 
 Government, had failed to fasten itself upon the pop- 
 ular sympathy. Mr. Adams was a man of sharp in- 
 tellect, multifarious knowledge, large experience in 
 public affairs, and of cold, calm courage, but withbut 
 a spark of enthusiasm in his nature, or any of those 
 qualities which command the attachment and secure 
 the support of great masses of men. Gen. Jackson, 
 on the contrary, lacking all the faculties which his 
 opponent had. possessed all those which he lacked. 
 A man of clear perceptions, prompt and generous im- 
 pulses unflinching as a friend and relentless as a 
 foe daring in action, and of unconquerable will, and 
 conspicuous in the eyes of the whole country for his 
 victory at New Orleans in the war of 1812, he had 
 come into power by a larger majority than had ever 
 before been given to any candidate. And among his 
 friends were those who had before been distinguished 
 for devotion to Mr. Calhoun. and the friends of Mr. 
 Crawford. Mr. Calhoun was chosen Vice-President 
 at the same election. Thus, though overwhelmingly 
 strong, the Democratic party was really composed of 
 discordant materials being divided especially upon 
 the fundamental principles upon which our govern- 
 ment rests Mr. Calhoun and his friends, insisting 
 upon a strict construction of the Constitution, and 
 the most rigid limitation of the powers of the Gene- 
 ral Government under it, and the other section in- 
 heriting by legitimate descent the more liberal and 
 national doctrines of Madison and Monroe, and being 
 friendly to the protection of American industry, and
 
 34 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 the prosecution of works of internal improvement. 
 Both these parties were, however, at this time, unit- 
 ed in cordial support of Gen. Jackson, and in an 
 equally cordial hostility to the leaders of the party 
 against which he had been elected, and among these 
 leaders Mr. Webster, of course, stood pre-eminent. 
 
 The first session of the Twenty-first Congress 
 opened in December, 1829, Mr. Calhoun presiding in 
 the Senate. Prominent among the topics to which 
 political attention was directed, was that of the pub- 
 lic lands. Both parties, and especially both sections 
 of the Country, the North and the South, were anxious 
 to secure the political alliance of the Western States ; 
 and although the measures of each were doubtless 
 dictated mainly by a sincere regard for the public 
 good, it is not uncharitable to suppose that political 
 purposes had more or less influence with both. Lit- 
 tle, however, had been said upon the subject until 
 Mr. Foote of Connecticut, on the 29th of December, 
 introduced the* following apparently innocent resolu- 
 tion of inquiry : 
 
 Resolved That the Committee on Public Lands 
 be instructed to inquire and report the quantity of 
 public lands remaining unsold within each State and 
 Territory, and whether it be expedient to limit for a 
 certain period the sales of public lands, to such lands 
 as have heretofore been offered for sale, and are now 
 subject to entry at the minimum price. And also, 
 whether the office of Surveyor General, and some of 
 the landed offices, may not be abolished, without 
 detriment to the public service, 
 
 It has been alleged that this resolution was in
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 35 
 
 \**s*^*^ 
 
 reality the signal and starting point of a predetermined 
 crusade, on the part of General Jackson's friends, 
 against New England, and especially Mr. Webster, 
 as its most conspicuous and formidable representative. 
 At the time, however, no such purpose was suspected ; 
 and it is only by reverting to the concurrent features 
 of the case that subsequent examination has brought 
 circumstantial evidence in support of the charge. Mr. 
 Webster, it is certain, was just at that time made the 
 shining mark for the combined attacks of the party in 
 power. The party press throughout the country sought 
 to evince its devotion to Gen. Jackson by assault upon 
 Mr. Webster. The leading friends of the President 
 and Vice-President, in both Houses of Congress and 
 throughout the country, aimed their most powerful 
 blows at his head, with an energy and determination 
 which might well suggest the suspicion of a precon- 
 certed purpose. It seems more likely, howeve^ that 
 this was simply the result of the position of parties 
 and of their prominent men. The Presidential con- 
 test had been marked by great warmth and bitterness, 
 and this zeal had not been in the least diminished by 
 the complete success by which it had been crowned. 
 The dominant party, on the contrary, seemed the 
 more resolute in its purpose of destroying and anni- 
 hilating all opposition and as New England was the 
 citadel of that hostility, and Mr. Webster the solitary 
 but formidable champion who defended its gates, and 
 hurled the crushing missiles of war from its uncon- 
 quered towers, it was natural, and indeed inevitable, 
 that their main assault should be turned against him, 
 and the section which he represented. The day after
 
 36 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 Mr. Foote -offered his resolution, on calling it up for 
 consideration, he said he had presented it from having 
 seen a statement in the last report of the Commissioners 
 of the Land Office, that the quantity of land remain- 
 ing unsold at the minimum price of one dollar and a 
 quarter per acre, exceeded seventy- two millions of 
 acres while the annual demand was not likely greatly 
 to exceed one million acres and he was desirous of 
 further official information upon the subject. 
 
 Senator 1 Jen ton. of Missouri, then, as now, wide 
 awake and keenly suspicious of designs upon himself 
 and the West, whenever any Western topic was 
 touched in debate. scented the battle afar off, in this 
 formal and ostensibly harmless resolution. He stig- 
 matized it at once as a resolution of inquiry into the 
 expediency of committing a serious injury upon the 
 new States of the West. Mr. Foote earnestly dis- 
 claim|d any such purpose, and several other Senators 
 vindicated the resolution from any such construction. 
 After a brief and colloquial controversy, not wholly 
 void of feeling, upon this point, a motion was carried 
 postponing the further consideration of the subject 
 until Monday, the llth of January, for which day it 
 was made the special order. When that day arrived 
 it was again postponed until the 13th ; and then, after 
 several Western gentlemen had spoken briefly upon 
 it, it was laid over until Monday, the 18th. On that 
 day, and evidently after much preparation, and an 
 evident nursing of his political wrath, Mr. Benton 
 took the floor against the resolution. His speech 
 was the development of the idea he had put forth at 
 the outset, that the resolution was aimed at the
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 37 
 
 West ; and he proceeded to show that the attack came 
 from New England, and that it was really directed 
 a^fi'mst him. <; The resolution," said he, " was intro- 
 duced to check-mate my graduation bill ! It was an 
 offer of battle to the West ! I accepted the offer ; I 
 am fighting the battle ; some are crying out and 
 hauling off; but I am standing to it, and mean t<? 
 stand to it. I call upon the adversary to come on 
 and lay on ; and I tell him, 
 
 1 Damn'd be he that first cries hold, enough !' " 
 
 Col. Benton proceeded to a studied attack upon 
 New England. to a denunciation of her policy to- 
 wards the West as illiberal and unjust, and to the 
 declaration that the West would thereafter look to 
 the South for succor. This was the key-note of the 
 debate that followed. The real merits of the ques- 
 tion rapidly gave way to a discussion of the relative 
 position of different sections of the country towards 
 it. The next day Mr. Holmes, of Maine, replied at 
 length to Mr. Benton. Other Senators also partici- 
 pated in the discussioi^ and finally Col. Hayne, of 
 South Carolina, commenced a speech which consumed 
 the rest of the day. 
 
 Hayne was one of the younger Senators, of un- 
 doubted ability and over-confident courage. He had 
 filled with clat successive offices of trust and respon- 
 sibility in his native State, and brought to the Sen- 
 ate in 1823 a brilliant and growing reputation. His 
 characteristics have been well set forth by Mr. March 
 in his " Reminiscences of Congress." " Hayne," he 
 says, " dashed into debate like the Mameluke cavalry
 
 38 MEMORIALS OP 
 
 upon a charge. There was a gallant air about him, 
 that could not but win admiration. He never pro- 
 vided for retreat : he never imagined it. He had an 
 invincible confidence in himself, which arose partly 
 from constitutional temperament, partly from previous 
 success. . His was the Napoleonic warfare: to strike 
 at once for the Capitol of the enemy, heedless of dan- 
 ger or loss to his own forces. Not doubting to over- 
 come all odds, he feared none, however seemingly 
 superior. Of great fluency and no little force of ex- 
 pression, his speech never halted, and seldom fatigued. 
 His oratory was graceful and persuasive. An impas- 
 sioned manner, somewhat vehement at times, but 
 rarely, if ever extravagant : a voice well modulated 
 and clear : a distinct, though rapid enunciation : a 
 confident, but not often offensive address : these, ac- 
 companying and illustrating language well selected 
 and periods well turned, made him a popular and 
 effective speaker." In his speech at this stage of the 
 debate, Col. Hayne took occasion to respond to Col. 
 Benton, by assuring him that the West might always 
 count upon the sympathies of^he South, and by echo- 
 ing and strengthening the assaults he had made upon 
 the character and condition of New England. He 
 alleged that the East was not willing that the public 
 lands should be thrown open on easy terms to settlers 
 for fear of being drained of its population. The 
 Eastern States, he said, had always sought to retain 
 their population at home " to create a manufactory 
 of paupers, who should supply the manufactories of 
 rich proprietors, and enable them to ,mass great 
 wealth." He followed up this attack upon the policy
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 39 
 
 of New England with great bitterness,* character- 
 izing her course on the public lands especially, as 
 selfish and unprincipled. Neither Mr. Webster nor 
 his friends could help feeling sensitive under such 
 assaults, and point was given to their resentment by 
 the belief that they were mainly directed against Mr. 
 Webster personally, and were intended as much to 
 crush him as to promote the welfare of the West. 
 At the previous session, Col. Hayne had made a 
 sharp attack upon his opinions and conduct, to which, 
 however, he had forborne to make any reply. But 
 upon this occasion, he felt called on to respond ; and 
 on the next day, therefore, he spoke at some length 
 in reply, confining himself clearly to the topic under 
 discussion, and referring only incidentally to the tem- 
 per in which the debate had been conducted on the 
 part of his opponents. His speech was little more, 
 indeed, than a very clear and well-digested historical 
 statement of the actual steps taken by the General 
 Government in regard to the public lands, and of the 
 part which New England had borne in that action. 
 He depicted with graphic power the wonderful changes 
 which had taken place in the Western States, their 
 rapid and marvellous increase of population, and the 
 almost magic transformation of their unbroken for- 
 ests into the abodes of civilization and comfort. And 
 in regard to the measures of the General Government 
 by which this change had been wrought, he " under- 
 took to say," in general terms sustaining this state- 
 ment, however, by reference to the records of Con- 
 gress that " if you look to the votes on any one of 
 these measures, and strike out from the list of ayes
 
 40 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 the names of New England members, it will be found 
 that in every case the South would then have voted 
 doicii the West, and the measure would have failed." 
 This sweeping declaration, made with exactness and 
 emphasis, was a direct acceptance of the issue made, 
 between the North and South, in regard to the re- 
 spective conduct of each section towards the West. 
 He closed by apologizing for thus alluding to local 
 opinions and contrasting different portions of the 
 country a course which, he said, had been forced 
 upon him by charges and imputations on the public 
 character and conduct of the State which he repre- 
 sented, which he knew to be undeserved and unfound- 
 ed. " While I stand here," said he, " as representa- 
 tive of Massachusetts, I will be her true representa- 
 tive, and, by the blessing of God, I will vindicate her 
 character, motives and history from every imputation 
 coming from a respectable source." Col. Beuton fol- 
 lowed Mr. Webster, and at once commenced a speech 
 in reply. The next day (Thursday, the 21st), Mr. 
 Chambers, of Maryland, expressed a hope that the 
 Senate would postpone the further consideration of 
 the subject until the next Monday, as Mr. Webster, 
 who desired to be present whenever it should be re- 
 sumed, had pressing engagements in another quarter, 
 and could not conveniently attend in the Senate. It 
 was well understood that the legal case of a good deal 
 of importance, in which John Jacob Astor and the \ 
 State of New- York were parties, and in which Mr. \ 
 Webster was of counsel was pending in the Supreme \ 
 Court, and the argument had actually commenced j 
 on the 20th. Col. Hayne, however, resented the 

 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 41 
 
 suggestion of postponement. He said " he saw the 
 gentleman from Massachusetts in his seat, and pre- 
 sumed he could make an arrangement which would 
 enable him to attend." He was unwilling that the 
 subject should be postponed until he could reply to 
 certain observations which had fallen from Mr. Web- 
 ster the day before. Unable, and not caring, to re- 
 strain evidences of the feeling which Mr. Webster's 
 speech had excited, he confessed that some things 
 had fallen from him on that occasion which rankled 
 here (touching his heart), and he desired at once ta 
 relieve himself. " The gentleman," he said, " has dis- 
 charged his fire in the face of the Senate ; and I hope 
 the opportunity will now be afforded me of returning 
 the shot." The menaces implied in this language, of 
 course, left Mr. Webster no alternative. With swell- 
 ing chest and lofty dignity of manner, he exclaimed : 
 " Let the discussion proceed. I am ready. I am 
 ready now to receive the gentleman's fire." The dis- 
 cussion, of course, did proceed. Col. Benton finished 
 his speech ; and Mr. Bell, of New Hampshire, then 
 moved that the further consideration of the subject 
 be postponed until Monday. This was lost by a 
 party vote. And Col. Hayne at once commenced his 
 speech in reply to Mr. Webster. 
 
 He spoke on that occasion for about an hour. 
 He began by disavowing having had any purpose of 
 charging any section of the country with hostility to 
 any other, and by professing surprise at the manner 
 in which his remarks Ixad been received. He had 
 questioned no man's opinion ; he impeached no man's 
 motives. The Senator from Missouri had indeed
 
 42 
 
 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 charged upon the Northern States an early and con- 
 tinued hostility towards the West ; but, after deliber- 
 ating a whole night, the gentleman from Massachu- 
 setts had come into the Senate to vindicate New 
 England, and, instead of making up his issue with 
 the gentleman from Missouri, on the charge which 
 he had preferred, said Col. H., "he chooses to con- 
 sider me as the author of those charges ; selects me 
 as his adversary, and pours out all the vials of his 
 mighty wrath upon my devoted head. Nor is he 
 willing to stop there. He goes on to assail the insti- 
 tutions and policy of the South, and calls in question 
 the principles and conduct of the State which I have 
 the honor to represent." Col. Hayne went on to 
 suggest reasons for this course on the part of Mr. 
 Webster. " Has he discovered," he asked, " in former 
 controversies with the gentleman from Missouri, that 
 he is over-matched 'by that Senator ; and does he 
 hope for an easy victory over a more feeble adver- 
 sary ? Has his distempered fancy been disturbed by 
 gloomy forebodings of the ' new alliances to be 
 formed,' at which he hinted? Has the ghost of the 
 murdered Coalition come back, like the ghost of the 
 murdered Banquo, to ' sear the eyeballs ' of the gen- 
 tleman, and will it not ' down at his bidding ? ' Are 
 dark visions of broken hopes and honors lost for ever 
 still floating before his heated imagination?" And 
 he proceeded to say that he would not suffer Mi 
 Webster thus to thrust him between the gentleman 
 from Missouri and himself, in order to rescue the 
 East from the contest with the West, which he had 
 provoked. " The South shall not be forced into a
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 43 
 
 conflict not its own. The gallant West needs no aid 
 from the South to repel any attack which may be 
 made on them from any quarter." With this exor- 
 dium, well calculated to stimulate interest and to 
 prepare the way for a severe personal collision, Col. 
 Hayne went on to repel the idea that the West had 
 grown great in consequence of the measures of the 
 General Government, upon which Mr. Webster had 
 pronounced what he styled an extravagant eulogium. 
 He ridiculed also the pretensions preferred by Mr. 
 Webster to prominence as a statesman, on behalf of 
 " a certain Nathan Dane, of Bcverley, Massachusetts," 
 who was only known to the South, he said, as " a 
 membQr of a celebrated Assembly, called and known 
 by the name of the Hartford Convention." His next 
 point was to show that in 1825 Mr. Webster had 
 held and expressed upon the subject of the public 
 lands precisely the views which he himself had now 
 advanced, and which Mr. Webster had assailed. "In 
 1825," said he, "the gentleman told the world that 
 the public Binds ' ought not to be treated as a trea- 
 sure.' He now tells us that they ' must be treated 
 as so much treasure.' What the deliberate opinion 
 of the gentleman on this subject may be belongs not 
 to me to determine ; but I do not think he can, with 
 the shadow of justice or propriety, impugn my senti- 
 ments, while his own recorded opinions are identical 
 with my own." Col. H. next took up Mr. Webster's 
 claim that the East had always shown its friendli- 
 ness towards the West, by favoring internal improve- 
 ments, from which the South had been deterred by 
 its constitutional scruples. He alleged, in reply, that
 
 44 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 the only occasion in which the East had thus favored 
 the West was in 1825, when the presidential election 
 was pending in the House of Representatives. There 
 it was, he said, that "a happy union between the 
 members of the celebrated coalition was consummated, 
 whose immediate issue was a President from one 
 quarter of the Union, with the succession, as it was 
 supposed, to another." Referring next to the intima- 
 tion thrown out by Mr. Webster that the extraordi- 
 nary fervor of the South for the payment of the na- 
 tional debt arose from a disposition to weaken the 
 ties which bind the people to the Union, Col. H. re- 
 pudiated the idea for the South, that a pecuniary 
 dependence on the Federal Government was one of 
 the legitimate means of holding the State together. 
 And coming then to the claim of Mr. Webster that 
 the transcendent prosperity of Ohio had been due in 
 a great degree to the Ordinance of 1787. which had 
 " secured to her a population of free men" Col. H. 
 entered into an extended rebuke of this attack upon 
 Southern slavery, contrasting the condition of the 
 slaves with that of the free blacks of the North, de- 
 nying that slavery was an element of weakness to 
 the South, stigmatizing the friendship professed for 
 the blacks as springing from the spirit of false phi- 
 lanthropy, which, like the father of evil, is constantly 
 walking to and fro about the earth, seeking whom it 
 may devour," and claiming that slavery had been 
 the means of greatly elevating the individual charac- 
 ter of the Southern people. He next assailed Mr. 
 Webster's position in regard to the consolidation of 
 the Government, provided for by the Constitution,
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 45 
 
 insisting that the Union was not designed to be na- 
 tional but federal ; and. then referring to the subject 
 of the Tariff, charged Mr. Webster with glaring in- 
 consistency in having advocated Free Trade in 1824, 
 and in 1 828 having supported the Tariff which had 
 been known ever since as the "bill of abominations." 
 Colonel Hayne closed his speech on that day by 
 citing Mr. Webster's intimation that there was a par- 
 ty in the South who were looking to disunion. If 
 the accusation had been vague and general, he said he 
 should have passed it without notice. But as Mr. 
 Webster had given to it a local habitation and a 
 name, by quoting the expression of a distinguished 
 citizen of South Carolina, (Dr. Cooper,) that " it was 
 time for the South to calculate the value of the 
 Union," and in the language of the bitterest sarcasm 
 to add, " surely then the Union cannot last longer 
 than July, 1831," it was impossible to mistake either 
 the allusion or the object. And he finished by pro- 
 testing that this controversy was not of his seeking ; 
 that at the time this unprovoked and uncalled for at- 
 tack was made upon the South, not one word had 
 been uttered by kim in disparagement of New Eng- 
 land, nor had he the most distant allusion either to 
 the Senator from Massachusetts, or the State which 
 he represents. " But, sir," he added, " that gentle- 
 man has thought proper, for purposes best known to 
 himself, to strike the South through me, the most 
 unworthy of her servants. He has crossed the bor- 
 der, he has invaded the State of South Carolina, is 
 making war upon her citizens, and endeavoring to 
 overthrow her principles and her institutions. Sir,
 
 46 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 when the gentleman provokes me to such a conflict, 
 I meet him at the threshold. I will struggle while I 
 have life, for our altars and our -firesides and if 
 God gives me strength, I will drive back the invader 
 discomfited. Nor shall I stop there. If the gentle- 
 man provokes the war, he shall have war. Sir, I will 
 not stop at the border I will carry the war into the 
 enemy's territory, and not consent to lay down my 
 arms until I have obtained indemnity for the past 
 and security for the future. It is with unfeigned re- 
 luctance, Mr. President, that I enter upon the per- 
 formance of this part of my duty I shrink almost 
 instinctively from a course, however necessary, which 
 may have a tendency to excite sectional feelings and 
 sectional jealousies. But, sir, the task has been 
 forced upon me ; and I proceed right onward to the 
 performance of my duty. Be the consequences what 
 they may, the responsibility is with those who have 
 imposed upon me the necessity. The Senator from 
 Massachusetts has thought proper to cast the first 
 stone ; and if he shall find, according to a homely 
 adage, that he ' lives in a glass-house,' on his head 
 be the consequences." And with, this formidable 
 warning, savoring far more of arrogant confidence 
 than of dignity and good taste, Col. Hayne gave way 
 to a motion to adjourn until Monday, which was car- 
 ried. The intervening time was spent in preparing 
 to rivet and strengthen the impression already made 
 against Mr. Webster. The boldness of the attack, 
 the direct personality which the debate had assumed, 
 and the vehemence of the orator's language and man- 
 ner, had given great force to the speech ; and it was
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 47 
 
 generally felt that he had made a formidable and ef- 
 fective onset. Colonel Hayne was warmly congra- 
 tulated by all his party friends upon his success, and 
 was stimulated to renewed assaults. The party 
 press swelled the acclamations with which his speech 
 was greeted, and extolled it as the greatest effort of 
 ancient or of modern times. Mr. Webster's friends, 
 moreover, were not free from misgivings. Though 
 by no means lacking confidence in the ability of their 
 great leader, they had never seen him exposed to an 
 attack of precisely this character, and could not, 
 therefore, be fully assured as to the manner in which 
 he would meet it. Some of the friends of Colonel 
 Hayne. it is said, who had felt Mr. Webster's power 
 directed against themselves, were by no means sure 
 that the victory would rest with their own champion. 
 To a friend of Hayne, who was praising his speech, 
 Mr. Iredell, of South Carolina, remarked ; " He has 
 started the lion, but wait till we hear him roar, or 
 feel his claws." On Monday, in continuing his 
 speech, Col. Hayne spoke, first, in impassioned terms 
 of the services rendered to the country by South Ca- 
 rolina, during the war of the Revolution, in the poli- 
 tical crisis of 1798, and during the war of 1812; 
 and he then proceeded to a detailed denunciation of 
 the conduct of New England, and especially of Mas- 
 sachusetts, .in that contest with Great Britain, al- 
 leging that they had taken sides with the enemy and 
 against their own country, and sustaining his accusa- 
 tions by copious citations from the federal newspa- 
 pers, partisan speeches, and the pulpit declamations 
 of that day. He then entered upon an exposition
 
 48 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 and vindication of the theory of the Federal Govern- 
 ment as held by the South, in opposition to the the- 
 ory of Consolidation, for which, as he alleged. Mr. 
 Webster was contending, quoting Jefferson and Mad- 
 ison, and resolutions passed by the Legislatures of 
 several Southern States, in support of his view, and 
 closing his speech by an earnest declaration that in 
 all the steps she had taken to resist the encroach- 
 ments and usurpations of the Federal Government, 
 South Carolina was acting on a principle she had al- 
 ways held sacred, " resistance to unauthorized taxa- 
 tion." " Sir," he exclaimed in conclusion, " if acting 
 on these high motives if animated by that ardent 
 love of liberty which has always been the most prom- 
 inent trait of the Southern character we should be 
 hurried beyond the bounds of a cold and calculating 
 prudence, who is there with one noble and generous 
 sentiment in his bosom, that would not be disposed, 
 in the language of Burke, to exclaim, .' You must 
 pardon something to the spirit of Liberty.' " 
 
 The onset was over. And, as would have been 
 the case had the attack been less formidable than it 
 was, victory rested with the only party whose forces 
 had been displayed. Mr. Webster immediately rose 
 to reply, but, as it was late in the day, he gave way 
 to a motion to adjourn. Everywhere during the 
 evening and night following, the speech was canvassed. 
 " The town," says Mr. March, " was divided into 
 geographical opinions. One's home could be distin- 
 guished from his countenance or manner; a Southern- 
 er's by his buoyant, joyous expression and confident 
 air ; a Yankee's by his timid, anxious eye and do-
 
 DANIEL U'EBSTER. 
 
 49 
 
 pressed bearing. One walked with a bold determin- 
 ed step that courted observation ; the other with a 
 hesitating, shuffling gait, that seemed to long for 
 some dark corner, some place to hear and see, and be 
 unseen"" Mr. Webster felt entirely conscious of abi- 
 lity to meet both the argument and the assault, and 
 was perfectly calm and self-possessed. Mr. Everett, 
 recording a conversation which he had with Mr. 
 Webster at the time, speaks of the dry business-tone 
 in which he talked and read over to him, the points 
 he intended to make, as giving him some uneasiness 
 for fear he was not sufficiently aware how much was 
 expected of him the next day. He had, of course, 
 taken full notes of Col. Hayne's speech, and had 
 given to each part of it a careful and exhaustive con- 
 sideration. Not a quotation nor an allusion had es- 
 caped him. It is mentioned that, while lying down 
 after dinner, he was overheard, by a friend, laughing 
 to himself. On being asked what amused him so, he 
 replied, " I have been thinking of the way in which 
 Col. Hayne's quotation about Banquo's ghost, can be 
 turned against himself ; and I am going to get up 
 and make a note of it," which he immediately did. 
 The scenes and incidents of the next day are so vi- 
 vidly presented in one of the chapters of Mr. March's 
 Eeminiscences, and the sketch has so much of liter- 
 ary, as well as biographical interest, that we transfer 
 it, with trifling omissions, to our columns. 
 
 It was on Tuesday, January the 2th, 1830, a 
 
 day to be hereafter for ever memorable in Senatorial 
 
 annals, that the Senate resumed the consideration 
 
 of Foote's Resolution. There never was before, in 
 
 3
 
 50 
 
 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 the city, an oecasion of so much excitement. To 
 witness this great intellectual contest, multitudes of 
 strangers had for two or three days previous been 
 rushing into the city, and the hotels overflowed. As 
 early as 9 o'clock of this morning, crowds poured into 
 the Capitol in hot haste; at 12 o'clock, the hour of 
 meeting, the Senate Chamber, its galleries, floors, 
 and even lobbies, was filled to its utmost capacity. 
 The very stairways were dark with men, who hung on 
 to one another, like bees in a swarm. 
 
 The House of Representatives was early deserted. 
 An adjournment would have hardly made it emptier. 
 The Speaker, it is true, retained his chair, but no 
 business of moment was, or could be attended to. 
 Members all rushed in to hear Mr. Webster, and no 
 call of the House or other parliamentary proceedings 
 could compel them back. The floor of the Senate 
 was so densely crowded that persons once in, could 
 not get out, nor change their position ; in the rear of 
 the Vice-Presidential chair, the crowd was particu- 
 larly intense. Dixon H. Lewis, then a representa- 
 tive from Alabama, became wedged in here. From 
 his enormous size, it was impossible for him to move, 
 without displacing a vast portion of the multitude. 
 Unfortunately too, for him, he was jammed in directly 
 behind the chair of the Vice-President, where he 
 could not see, and hardly hear, the speaker. By 
 slow and laborious effort pausing occasionally to 
 breathe, he gained one of the windows, which, con 
 sbucted of painted glass, flank the chair of the Vice- 
 President on either side. Here he paused unable to 
 make more headway. .But determined to see Mr.
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 51 
 
 Webster as he spoke, with his knife he made a large 
 hole in one of the panes of the glass ; which is still 
 visible as he made it. Many were so placed, as not 
 to be able to see the speaker at all. 
 
 The courtesy of Senators accorded to the fairer 
 sex room on the floor the most gallant of them, 
 their own seats. The gay bonnets and brilliant dresses 
 threw a varied and picturesque beauty over the scene, 
 softening and embellishing it. 
 
 Seldom, if ever, has speaker in this or any other 
 country had more powerful incentives to exertion ; a 
 subject, the determination of which, involved the 
 most important interests, and even duration, of the 
 republic ; competitors, unequalled in reputation, abi- 
 lity, or position ; a name to make still more glorious, 
 or lose for ever ; an audience comprising not only 
 persons of this country most eminent in intellectual 
 greatness, but representatives of other nations, where 
 the art of eloquence had flourished for ages. All 
 the soldier seeks in opportunity was here. 
 
 Mr. Webster perceived, and felt equal to the 
 destinies of the moment. The very greatness of the 
 hazard exhilarated him. His spirits rose with the 
 occasion. He awaited the time of the onset with a 
 stern and impatient joy. He felt like the war-horse 
 of the Scriptures, who " paweth in the valley, and 
 rejoiceth in his strength : who goeth on to meet the 
 ;irmed men, who sayeth among the trumpets, Ha, 
 ha ! and who smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder 
 of the captains and the shouting." 
 
 A confidence in his own resources, springing from 
 QO vain estimate of his power, ,but the legitimate off-
 
 52 
 
 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 spring of previous severe mental discipline sustained 
 and excited him. He had gauged his opponents, his 
 subject and himself. 
 
 He was too, at this period, in the very prime of 
 manhood. He had reached middle age an era in 
 the life of man, when the faculties, physical or intel- 
 lectual, may be supposed to attain their fullest organ- 
 ization, and most perfect development. Whatever 
 there was in him of intellectual energy and vitality, 
 the occasion, his full life and high ambition, might 
 well bring forth. 
 
 He never rose on an ordinary occasion, to address 
 an ordinary audience, more self-possessed. There 
 was no tremulousness in his voice or manner ; noth- 
 ing hurried, nothing simulated. The calmness of 
 superior strength was visible everywhere ; in counte- 
 nance, voice and bearing. A deep-seated conviction 
 of the extraordinary character of the emergency, 
 and of his ability to control it, seemed to possess 
 him wholly. If an observer, more than ordinarily 
 keen-sighted, detected at times something like exul- 
 tation in his eye, he presumed it sprang from the 
 excitement of the moment, and the anticipation of 
 victory. 
 
 The anxiety to hear the speech was so intense, ir- 
 repressible and universal, that no sooner had the 
 Vice-President assumed the chair, than a motion was 
 made, and unanimously carried, to postpone the ordi- 
 nary preliminaries of senatorial action, and take up, 
 immediately, the consideration of the resolution. 
 
 Mr. Webster rose and addressed the Senate. His 
 exordium is known by hfeart everywhere : " Mr. Presi-
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 53 
 
 dent, when the mariner has been tossed for many 
 days in thick weather, and on an unknown sea. he 
 naturally avails himself of the first pause in the 
 storm, the earliest glance of the sun, to take his lati 
 tude, and ascertain how far the elements have driven 
 him from his true course. Let us imitate this pru- 
 dence ; and before we float further on the waves of 
 this debate, refer to the point from which we depart- 
 ed, that we may, at least, be able to form some con- 
 jecture where we now are. I ask for the reading of 
 the resolution." 
 
 There wanted no more to enchain the attention. 
 There was a spontaneous, though silent expression of 
 eager approbation, as the orator concluded these open- 
 ing remarks ; and while the Clerk read the resolu- 
 tion, many attempted the impossibility of getting 
 nearer the speaker. Every head was inclined closer 
 towards him, every ear turned in the direction of his 
 voice and that deep, sudden, mysterious silence fol- 
 lowed, which always attends fulness of emotion. 
 From the sea of upturned faces, before him, the ora- 
 tor beheld his thoughts reflected as from a mirror. 
 The varying countenance, the suffused eye, the ear- 
 nest smile, and ever-attentive look, assured him of 
 his audience's entire sympathy. If among his hear- 
 ers there were those who affected, at first, an indiffer- 
 ence to his glowing thoughts and fervent periods, the 
 difficult mask was soon laid aside, and profound, un- 
 disguised, devoted attention followed. In the earlier 
 part of his speech, one of his principal opponents 
 seemed deeply engrossed in the careful perusal of a 
 newspaper he held before his face ; but this, on near-
 
 54 MEMORIALS OP 
 
 er approach, proved to be upside down. In truth, 
 all, sooner or later, voluntarily, or in spite of them- 
 selves, were wholly carried away by the eloquence of 
 the orator. 
 
 One of the happiest retorts ever made in a foren- 
 sic controversy, was his application of Hayne's com- 
 parison of the ghost of the " murdered coalition " to 
 the Ghost of Banquo : 
 
 "Sir, the honorable member was not, for other 
 reasons, entirely happy in his allusions to the story 
 of Banquo's murder and Banquo's ghost. It was 
 not, I think, the friends, but the enemies of the mur- 
 dered Banquo, at whose bidding his spirit would not 
 down. The honorable gentleman is fresh in his 
 reading of the English classics, and can put me right 
 if I am wrong ; but, according to my poor recollec- 
 tion, it was at those who had begun with caresses and 
 ended with foul and treacherous murder, that the 
 gory locks were shaken. The ghost of Banquo, like 
 that of Hamlet, was an honest ghost. It disturbed 
 no innocent man. It knew where its appearance 
 would strike terror, and who would cry out 'A ghost!' 
 It made itself visible in the right quarter, and com- 
 pelled the guilty and the conscience-smitten, and 
 none others, to start, with, 
 
 Prithee, see there 1 behold 1 look! lo, 
 If I stand here, I saw him 1' 
 
 Their eyeballs were seared (was it not so, sir ?) who 
 had thought to shield themselves, by concealing their 
 own hand, and laying the imputation of the crime on 
 a low and hireling agency in wickedness ; who had
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 55 
 
 vainly attempted to stifle the workings of their own 
 coward consciences, by ejaculating, through white lips 
 and chattering teeth, ' Thou canst not say I did it !' 
 I have misread the great poet if those who had no 
 way partaken in the deed of death, either found that 
 they were, or feared that they should be, pushed from 
 their stools by the ghost of the slain, or exclaimed, 
 to a spectre created by their own fears and their own 
 remorse, " Avaunt ! and quit our sight !" 
 
 There was a smile of appreciation upon the faces 
 all around, at this most felicitous use of another's 
 illustration this turning one's own witness against 
 him in which Col. Hayne good-humoredly joined. 
 
 As the orator carried out the moral of Macbeth, 
 and proved by the example of that deep thinking, 
 intellectual, but insanely ambitious character, how 
 little of substantial good or permanent power was to 
 be secured by a devious and unblessed policy, he 
 turned his eye with a significance of expression, full 
 of prophetic revelation upon the Vice-President, re- 
 minding him that those who had foully removed Ban- 
 quo, had placed 
 
 " A barren sceptre in their gripe, 
 Thence to be wrenclwd by an unlineal hand. 
 No son, of theirs succeeding." 
 
 Every eye of the whole audience followed the direc- 
 tion of his own, and witnessed the changing counte- 
 nance and visible agitation of Mr. Calhoun. 
 
 Surely no prediction ever met a more rapid or 
 fuller confirmation, even to the very manner in which 
 the disaster was accomplished. Within a few brief
 
 56 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 months, the political fortunes of the Vice-Prcsident, 
 at this moment seemingly on the very point of culmi- 
 nation, had sunk so low, there were none so poor to 
 do him reverence. 
 
 Whether, for a moment, a presentiment of the 
 approaching crisis in his fate, forced upon his mind 
 by the manner and language of the speaker, cast a 
 gloom over his countenance, or some other cause, it is 
 impossible to say ; but his brow grew dark nor for 
 some time did his features recover their usual impas- 
 sibility. 
 
 The allusion nettled him the more, as he could 
 not but witness the effect it produced upon others 
 and made him restless. He seemed to seek an op- 
 portunity to break in upon the speaker ; and, later in 
 the day, as Mr. Webster was exposing the gross and 
 ludicrous inconsistencies of South Carolina poli- 
 ticians, upon the subject of internal improvements, 
 he interrupted him with some eagerness : " Does the 
 Chair understand the gentleman from Massachusetts 
 to say that the person now occupying the Chair of 
 the Senate has changed his opinions on this subject?" 
 To this Mr. Webster replied immediately and good- 
 naturedly : " From nothing ever said to me, sir, have 
 I had reason to know of any change in the opinions 
 of the person filling the Chair of the Senate. If 
 such change has taken place, I regret it."* 
 
 * Mr. Calhoun's interruption was un-Parliamentary, or rather, 
 un-Senntorial. The Vice-President is not a member of the Sen- 
 ate, and has no voice in it, save for the preservation of order and 
 enforcement of the rules. He cannot participate otherwise, cither 
 in the debates or proceedings. He is simply the presiding offi-
 
 DAXIEL WEBSTER. 57 
 
 Those who had doubted Mr. Webster's ability to 
 cope with and overcome his opponents were fully sat- 
 isfied of their error before he had proceeded far in 
 his- speech. Their fears soon took another direction. 
 When they heard his sentences of powerful thought, 
 towering in accumulative grandeur, one above the 
 other, as if the orator strove, Titan-like, to reach the 
 very heavens themselves, they were giddy with an ap- 
 prehension that he would break down in his flight. 
 They dared not believe that genius, learning, any in- 
 tellectual endowment, however uncommon, that was 
 simply mortal, could sustain itself long in a career 
 seemingly so perilous. They feared an Icarian fall 
 
 Ah ! who can ever forget, that was present to 
 hear, the tremendous, the awful burst of eloquence 
 with which the orator spoke of the Old Bay State ! 
 or the tones of deep pathos in which the words were 
 pronounced : 
 
 " Mr. President, I shall enter on no encomium 
 
 cer of the Senate, having no vote in its affairs, save on a tie. Had 
 Mr. Webster made a direct, unmistakable allusion to him, Mr. 
 Calhoun still could have replied through a friendly Senator, or 
 the press. On this occasion he was too much excited to attend 
 to the etiquette of his position. His feelings and his interest in 
 the question made him forgetful of his duty. 
 
 Some time later than this, after a rupture had taken place be- 
 tween Gen. Jackson and himself, Mr. Forsyth, of Ga., on being 
 interrupted by some (as he thought) uncalled for question or re- 
 mark, rebuked him in an emphatic manner for violation of offi- 
 cial etiquette. Mr. Van Buren, who ousted and succeeded him, 
 always remained silent, placid, imperturbable in his seat, how- 
 ever personal or severe the attack upon him ; and no Vice-Pres- 
 ident, since his day, has ever attempted to interfere with the dis- 
 cussions of the Senate. 
 
 R*
 
 58 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 upon Massachusetts. There she is behold her, and 
 judge for yourselves. There is her history : the 
 world knows it by heart. The past, at least, is 
 secure. There is Boston, and Concord, and Lexing- 
 ton, and Bunker Hill and there they will remain 
 for ever. The bones of her sons, falling in the great 
 struggle for independence, now lie mingled with the 
 soil of every State, from New England to Georgia, 
 and there they will lie for ever. And, sir, where 
 American Liberty raised its first voice ; and where 
 ite youth was nurtured and sustained, there it still 
 lives, in the strength of its manhood, and full of its 
 original spirit. If discord and disunion shall wound 
 it if party strife and blind ambition shall hawk at 
 and tear it if folly and madness if uneasiness, un- 
 der salutary and. necessary restraint shall succeed 
 to separate it from that Union, by which alone its 
 existence is made sure, it will stand, in the end. by 
 the side of that cradle in which its infancy was 
 rocked ; it will stretch forth its arm with whatever 
 of vigor it may still retain, over the friends who 
 gather round it; and it will fall at last, if fall it 
 must, amidst the proudest monuments of its own 
 glory, and on the very spot of its origin." 
 
 What New England heart was there but throbbed 
 with vehement, tumultuous, irrepressible emotion, as 
 he dwelt upon New England sufferings, New England 
 struggles, and New England triumphs during the war 
 of the Revolution 'i There was scarcely a dry eye in 
 the Senate ; all hearts were overcome ; grave judges 
 and men grown old in dignified life turned aside their 
 heads, to conceal the evidences of their emotion.
 
 DANIEL WEBSTEIt. 
 
 59 
 
 In one corner of the gallery was clustered a group 
 of Massachusetts men. They had hung from the first 
 moment upon the words of the speaker, with feelinga 
 variously but always warmly excited, deepening 
 in intensity as he proceeded. At first, while the 
 orator was going through his exordium, they held 
 their breath and hid their faces, mindful of the 
 savage attack upon him and New England, and the 
 fearful odds against him, her champion ; as he went 
 deeper into his speech, they felt easier ; when he 
 turned Hayne's flank on Banquo's ghost, they breathed 
 freer and deeper. But now, as he alluded to Massa- 
 chusetts, their feelings were strained to the highest 
 tension ; and when the orator, concluding his enco- 
 mium upon the land of their birth, turned, inten- 
 tionally, or otherwise, his burning eye full upon them, 
 they shed tears like girls ! 
 
 No one who was not present can understand the 
 excitement of the scene. No one. who was. can give 
 an adequate description of it. No word-painting can 
 convey the deep, intense enthusiasm, the reverential 
 attention, of the'vast assembly nor limner transfer 
 to canvas their earnest, eager, awe-struck counte- 
 nances. Though language were as subtle and flexible 
 as thought, it still would be impossible to represent 
 the full idea of the scene. There is something in- 
 tangible in an emotion, which cannot be transferred. 
 The nicer shades of feeling elude pursuit. Every 
 description, therefore, of the occasion, seems to the 
 narrator himself most tame, spiritless, unjust. 
 
 Much of the instantaneous effect of the speech 
 arose, of course, from the orator's delivery the tones 
 
 n-/>^\^
 
 60 MEMORIALS OP 
 
 of his voice, his countenance, and manner.* These 
 die mostly with the occasion that calls them forth 
 the impression is lost in the attempt at transmission 
 from one mind to another. They can only be de- 
 scribed in general terms. " Of the effectiveness of 
 Mr. Webster's manner, in many parts," says Mr. 
 Everett, " it would be in vain to attempt to give any 
 one not present the faintest idea. It has been my for- 
 tune to hear some of the ablest speeches of the greatest 
 living orators on both sides of the water, but I must 
 confess, I never heard any thing which so completely 
 realized my conception , of what Demosthenes was 
 when he delivered the Oration for the Grown." 
 
 Assuredly, Kean nor Kemble, nor any other mas- 
 terly delineator of the human passions ever produced 
 a more powerful impression upon an audience, or 
 swayed so completely their hearts. This was acting, 
 not to the life, but life itself. 
 
 * The personal appearance of Mr. Webster has been a theme 
 .of frequent discussion. He was at the time this speech was de- 
 livered twenty years younger than now. Time had not thinned 
 nor bleached his hair : it was as dark as the raven's plumage, 
 surmounting his massive brow in ample folds. His eyes, always 
 dark and deep set, enkindled by some glowing thought, shone 
 from beneath his sombre, overhanging brow like lights, in the 
 blackness of night, from a sepulchre. It was such a countenance 
 as Salvator Rosa delighted to paint. 
 
 No one understood, or understands, better than Mr. Webster, 
 the philosophy of dress ; what a powerful auxiliary it is to 
 speech and manner, when harmonizing with them. On this oc- 
 casion he appeared in a blue coat and buff vest, the Revolution- 
 ary colors of buff and blue; with a white cravat; a costume, 
 than which none is more becoming to his face and expression. 
 This courtly particularity of dress adds no little to the influence 
 of his manner and appearance.
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 61 
 
 No one ever looked the orator, as he did " os 
 humerosque deo similis" in form and feature how 
 like a god. His countenance spake no less audibly 
 than his words. His manner gave new force to his 
 language. As he stood swaying his right arm, like a 
 huge tilt-hammer, up and down, his swarthy counte- 
 nance lighted up with excitement, he appeared amid 
 the smoke, the fire, the thunder of his eloquence, like 
 Vulcan in his armory forging thoughts for the gods ! 
 
 The human face never wore an expression of more 
 withering, relentless scorn, than when the orator re- 
 plied to Hayne's allusion to the " murdered coalition." 
 " It is," said Mr. W., " the very cast-off slough of a 
 polluted and shameless press. Incapable of fur- 
 ther mischief, it lies in the sewer, lifeless and 
 despised. It is not now, sir, in the power of the 
 honorable member to give it dignity or decency, by 
 attempting to elevate it, and introduce it into the 
 Senate. He cannot change it from what it is an 
 object of general disgust and scorn. On the con- 
 trary, the contact, if he choose to touch it, is more 
 likely to drag him down, down to the place where it . 
 lies itself." He looked, as he spoke these words, as 
 if the thing he alluded to was too mean for scorn 
 itself and the sharp, stinging enunciation made the 
 words still more withering. The audience seemed 
 relieved, so crushing was the expression of his face . 
 which they held on to, as 'twere, spell-bound, when 
 he turned to other topics. 
 
 The good-natured yet provoking irony with which 
 he described the imaginary though lifelike scene of 
 direct collision between the marshalled array of
 
 62 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 South Carolina under General Hayne on one side, and 
 the officers of the United States on the other, nettled 
 his opponent even more than his severer satire ; it seem- 
 ed so ridiculously true, that Col. Hayne inquired, with 
 some degree of emotion, if the gentleman from Mas- 
 sachusetts intended any personal imputation by such 
 remarks ? To which Mr. Webster replied, with per- 
 fect good humor, " Assuredly not just the reverse." 
 
 The variety of incident during the speech, and 
 the rapid fluctuation of passions, kept the audience 
 in continual expectation and ceaseless agitation. There 
 was no chord of the heart the orator did not strike, as 
 with a master hand. The speech was a complete 
 drama of comic and pathetic scenes ; one varied ex- 
 citement ; laughter and tears gaining alternate victory. 
 
 A great portion of the speech is strictly argumen- 
 tative ; an exposition of constitutional law. But grave 
 as such portion necessarily is, severely logical, abound- 
 ing in no fancy or episode, it engrossed throughout 
 the undivided attention of every intelligent hearer. 
 Abstractions, under the glowing genius of the orator, 
 acquired a beauty, a vitality, a power to thrill the 
 blood and enkindle the affections, awakening into 
 earnest activity many a dormant faculty. His pon- 
 derous syllables had an energy, a vehemence of mean- 
 ing in them that fascinated, while they startled. His 
 thoughts, in their statuesque beauty merely, would have 
 gained all critical judgment; but he realized the 
 antique fable, and warmed the marble into life. There 
 was a sense of power in his language of power with- 
 held and suggestive of still greater power, that 
 subdued, as by a spell of mystery, the hearts of all.
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 63 
 
 For power, whether intellectual or physical, produces 
 in its earnest development a feeling closely allied to 
 awe. It was never more felt than on this occasion. 
 It had entire mastery. The sex, which is said to 
 love it best and abuse it most, seemed as much or 
 more carried away than the sterner one. Many who 
 had entered the hall with light gay thoughts, antici- 
 pating at most a pleasurable excitement, soon became 
 deeply interested in the speaker and his subject 
 surrendered him their entire heart ; and, when the 
 speech was over, and they left the hall, it was with 
 sadder, perhaps, but, surely, with far more elevated 
 and ennobling emotions. 
 
 The exulting rush of feeling with which he went 
 through the peroration, threw a glow over his 
 countenance, like inspiration. Eye, brow, each fea- 
 ture, every line of the face seemed touched, as with a 
 celestial fire. All gazed, as at something more than 
 human. So Moses might have appeared to the awe- 
 struck Israelites, as he emerged from the dark clouds 
 and thick smoke of Sinai, his face all radiant with 
 the breath of divinity ! 
 
 The swell and roll of his voice struck upon the 
 ears of the spell-bound audience, in deep and melo- 
 dious cadence, as waves upon the shore of the " far 
 resounding" sea. The Miltonic grandeur of his 
 words was the fit expression of his thought, and 
 raised his hearers up to his theme. His voice, 
 exerted to its utmost power, penetrated every re- 
 cess and corner of the Senate penetrated even 
 the anterooms and the stairways, as he pronounced 
 in deepest tones of pathos these words of solemn
 
 64 
 
 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 significance : " When my eyes shall be turned tc 
 behold, for the last time, the sun in heaven, may I 
 not see him shining on the broken and dishonored 
 fragments of a once glorious Union ; on States dis- 
 severed, discordant, belligerent ! on a land rent with 
 civil feud, or drenched, it may be. in fraternal blood ! 
 Let their last feeble and lingering glance rather 
 behold the gorgeous ensign of the Republic, now 
 known and honored throughout the earth, still full 
 high advanced, its arms and trophies streaming in 
 their original lustre, not a stripe erased nor polluted, 
 not a single star obscured, bearing for its motto no 
 such miserable interrogatory as, ' What is all this 
 worth ? ' Nor those other words of delusion and 
 folly. ' Liberty first and Union afterwards ;' but every- 
 where, spread all over in characters of living light, 
 blazing on all its ample folds, as they float over the 
 sea and over the land, and in every wind under the 
 whole heavens, that other sentiment, dear to every 
 American heart, Liberty and Union, now and for 
 ever, one and inseparable ! " 
 
 The speech was over, but the tones of the orator 
 still lingered upon the ear, and the audience, uncon- 
 scious of the close, retained their positions. The 
 agitated countenance, the heaving breast, the suffused 
 eye, attested the continued influence of the spell upon 
 them. Hands that in the excitement of the moment 
 had sought each other, still remained closed in an 
 unsonscious grasp. Eye still turned to eye, to receive 
 and repay mutual sympathy ; and everywhere around 
 seemed forgetfulness of all but the orator's presence 
 and words.
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 65 
 
 When the Vice-President, hastening to dissolve 
 the spell, angrily cabled to order ! order ! there 
 never was a deeper stillness not a movement, not a 
 gesture had been made not a whisper uttered. Or- 
 der ! Silence could almost have heard itself, it was 
 so supernaturally still. The feeling was too over- 
 powering to allow expression by voice or hand. It 
 was as if one was in a trance, all motion paralyzed. 
 
 But the descending hammer of the Chair awoke 
 them, with a start and with one universal, long- 
 drawn, deep breath, with which the overcharged 
 heart seeks relief, the crowded assembly broke up 
 and departed. 
 
 The New England men walked down Pennsylva- 
 nia Avenue that day, after the speech, with a firmer 
 step and bolder air " pride in their port, defiance in 
 their eye." You would have sworn they had grown 
 some inches taUer in a few hours' time. They de- 
 voured the way in their stride. They looked every 
 one in the face they met, fearing no contradiction. 
 They swarmed in the streets, having become miracu- 
 lously multitudinous. They clustered in parties, and 
 fought the scene over one hundred times that night. 
 Their elation was greater by reaction. It knew no 
 limits, or choice of expression. Not one of them but 
 felt he had gained a personal victory. Not one, 
 who was not ready to exclaim, with gushing eyes, in 
 the fulness of gratitude, " Thank God, I too am a 
 Yankee !" 
 
 In the evening Gen. Jackson held a levee at the 
 White House. It was known, in advance, that Mr. 
 Webster would attend it, and hardly had the hospit-
 
 66 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 able doors of the house been thrown open, when the 
 crowd that had filled the Senate-chamber in the morn- 
 ing rushed in and occupied the rooms. Persons a 
 little more tardy in arriving found it almost impossi- 
 ble to get in, such a crowd oppressed the entrance. 
 
 Before this evening, the General had been the 
 observed of all observers. His military and personal 
 reputation, official position, gallant bearing, and cour- 
 teous manners, had secured him great and merited 
 popularity. His receptions were always gladly at- 
 tended by large numbers to whom he was himself 
 the object of attraction. 
 
 But on this occasion, the room in which he re- 
 ceived his company was deserted, as soon as courtesy 
 to the President permitted. Mr. Webster, it was 
 whispered, was in the East Room, and thither the 
 whole mass hurried. 
 
 He stood almost in the centre of the room, 
 hemmed in by eager crowds, from whom there was no 
 escape, all pressing to get nearer to him. He seemed 
 but little exhausted by the intellectual exertion of 
 the day, severe as it had been. The flush of excite- 
 ment still lingered and played upon his countenance, 
 gilding and beautifying it like the setting sun its ac- 
 companying clouds. 
 
 All were eager to get a sight at him. Some 
 stood on tip-toe, and some even mounted the chairs 
 of the room. Many were presented to him. The 
 dense crowd entering and retiring, moved round him, 
 renewing the order of their ingression and egression, 
 continually. One would ask his neighbor : " Where 
 which is Webster ?" " There, don't you see him
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 6V 
 
 that dark, swarthy man, with a great deep eye and 
 heavy brow that's Webster." No one was obliged 
 to make a second inquiry. 
 
 In another part of the room was Col. Hayne. 
 He, too, had his day of triumph, and received con- 
 gratulations. His friends even now contended that 
 the contest was but a drawn battle, no full victory 
 having been achieved on either side. There was 
 nothing in his own appearance this evening to indi- 
 cate the mortification of defeat. With others, he 
 went up and complimented Mr. Webster on his bril- 
 liant effort ; and no one, ignorant of the past strug- 
 gle, could have supposed that they had late been en- 
 gaged in such fierce rivalry. It was said at the time, 
 that, as Col. Hayne approached Mr. Webster to ten- 
 der his congratulations, the latter accosted him with 
 the usual courtesy, " How are you, this evening, Col. 
 Hayne ?" and that Col. Hayne replied, good-humor- 
 edly. ' : None the better for you, sir!" 
 
 The speech of Mr. Webster on this occasion is so 
 familiar to the whole country, and this extended ex- 
 tract gives so complete a picture of its general scope, 
 that any more specific outline of it would be superflu- 
 ous. In mere logic, it has oftSn been surpassed : 
 but as a reply to a violent attack, as a defence 
 against a vehement and formidable assault. and 
 as combining all the various qualities which such an 
 effort demands, it is unrivalled in the forensic his- 
 tory of this country, and has seldom been surpassed 
 anywhere. As a masterpiece in this special depart- 
 ment of eloquence, it deserves careful study ; and al- 
 though a severe analysis of it may detract something 
 
 *^>^>
 
 68 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 from the popular estimate of its character, as com- 
 pared with the great speeches of the master Orators 
 of the world, it will only quicken the admiration 
 which it deserves for felicity of retort, adroitness in 
 turning the flanks of the attacking force, the logical 
 consecutiveness of its historical statements, and the 
 grand, stately, imaginative eloquence of its rhetorical 
 passages. No one can read both speeches without 
 feeling that Hayne's did not deserve such a reply ; 
 and that the two athletes were most unequally 
 matched. Col. Hayne replied to Mr. Webster, con- 
 fining himself, however, to the single point of the 
 rights of the General Government under the Consti- 
 tution. Mr. Webster rejoined in a brief restatement 
 of his argument : but this restatement was in fact 
 a reconstruction of it. He presented it now divested 
 of all the incidental matter by which it had original- 
 ly been embarrassed, and without any of the rhetori- 
 cal attendants which had swollen its stateliness and 
 rendered it far more impressive and imposing, but 
 which nevertheless impaired its real strength. As an 
 argument merely, we consider this second speech, 
 brief and unpretending as it is. decidedly superior' to 
 the first, in the popularity of which, however, it has 
 been completely overshadowed. Mr. Webster's " great 
 speech," as it is universally known, produced a great 
 sensation throughout the country. It was widely cir- 
 culated and universally read. The debate continued 
 for some weeks, but the argument had been exhaust- 
 ed, and the discussion was really at an end. Mr. 
 Webster received from every quarter of the Union 
 the most complimentary congratulations upon the re-
 
 I 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 69 
 
 suit of the contest, and upon the service he had ren- 
 dered the country. Massachusetts passed resolutions 
 of thanks, and the example was followed by the Le- 
 gislatures of several other States. Distinguished 
 Southern gentlemen added the tribute of their praise. 
 
 ME, WEBSTER AND lfULLI|ICATIOK 
 
 
 
 Mr. Webster continued to take an active part in 
 the business and debates of the Senate throughout 
 the administration of General Jackson and his im- 
 mediate successor. This period of our history was 
 marked by events of magnitude and permanent im- 
 portance. As the characteristic of General Jackson's 
 mind was an indomitable will, so his administration 
 was marked by an exaltation of the Executive at the 
 expense of every other department of the Govern- 
 ment. Whenever he fixed upon a measure- as desi- 
 rable, the whole power at his command, personal and 
 official, was directed to its enforcement. In one of 
 his Messages, indeed, in reply to objections that the 
 will of the people, as represented in Congress, should 
 be paramount in all cases of legislation, he advanced 
 the distinct claim that the popular sovereignty was 
 in fact embodied in the President, as he was elected 
 by a direct vote of all the people. This principle, and 
 the spirit which it indicated, began to manifest them- 
 selves in various acts of the administration, and to 
 arouse no slight degree of opposition to its arbitrary 
 character throughout the country. 
 
 General Jackson had been elected by the union 
 of various parties. Mr. Adams, his unsuccessful com-
 
 70 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 petitor, in a letter written in 1836, but which has but 
 recently been published in the New-York Daily 
 Times, ascribes his defeat to the union of four 
 distinct parties against him. " At the election of 
 1 825," he says : " There were four candidates, three 
 of whom were returned to the House of Represen- 
 tatives besides a fifth, who had sunk by his own 
 weight "into the secondary rank of an aspirant to 
 the Vice-Presidency in which he succeeded for the 
 moment, by the ruin of his after-prospects, I believe, 
 for ever. My election was effected in the House by 
 the junction of the fourth and excluded candidate's 
 supporters with mine, and that operation produced 
 the subsequent failure of my re-election, the trium- 
 phal elevation of my successor, and the irretrievable 
 disappointment of him who had, as a last resource, 
 linked his political fortunes with mine, but who, from 
 that hour, was deserted and betrayed by his own 
 party. They gained the coalition of the three pre- 
 ceding disappointed candidates, and thus left me at 
 the election of 1828 to. my own solitary strength. 
 That remained unimpaired, but was unequal to the 
 contest with the united power of the four parties 
 combined against me, and I fell." It was scarcely 
 possible that this union should long exist unimpaired 
 after the success for which it had been formed had 
 brought responsibility to be incurred and duties to 
 be performed. Mr. Calhoun, whose friendship had 
 been indicated, if not purchased, by being elected 
 Vice-President, speedily found that he could have in 
 that position no special influence or control in the 
 Government ; and the exclusion 'of all his friends
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 71 
 
 from the Cabinet, and the appointment, as Secretary 
 of State, of Mr. Van Buren, who was Mr. Calhoun's 
 rival for the succession, and as such favored by Gene- 
 ral Jackson, completed the alienation. Private dif- 
 ferences aggravated the quarrel, and it soon became 
 open and violent. Mr. Van Buren, disliking all ele- 
 ments of strife, resigned the Secretaryship, and ac- 
 cepted the Mission to England. But, while in office, 
 he had given Mr. McLane, then our Minister to the 
 Court of St. James, instructions to seek concessions 
 in regard to our trade with the British colonies, and 
 to represent, as an inducement to the British Govern- 
 ment to grant them, that the party which had come 
 into power would be found more favorable to certain 
 interests which Great Britain wished to secure. 
 When, therefore, his nomination came before the 
 Senate, its confirmation was strongly opposed by Mr. 
 Webster, who in this had the concurrence of Mr. 
 Calhoun ; and it was rejected. 
 
 In the Twenty-second Congress the Bank question 
 became prominent. At the first session (1831-2), a 
 bill had been introduced by Mr. Dallas, providing for 
 a recharter. Mr. Webster supported the bill, upon 
 the ground that the Bank was highly important to 
 the fiscal operations of the Government, and to the 
 currency, exchange and general business of the coun- 
 try. The President had called the attention of Con- 
 gress to the subject, without intimating any doubts 
 of the constitutionality of the Bank. No complaints 
 had been made of its management ; it was in good 
 credit at home and abroad, and was generally popular 
 as an important agent in the financial operations of
 
 72 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 the country. The President, however, had endeavored 
 to control the appointment of some of the officers in 
 one of the Eastern branches, and this attempt had 
 been resisted. This difference created a feeling of 
 hostility and of mutual suspicion between the Presi- 
 dent and the Bank, and led to that open warfare 
 which convulsed the country for some years. The 
 bill passed both Houses, and was vetoed by General 
 Jackson. 
 
 Meantime the interest in this subject was super- 
 seded by another of more pressing importance. In 
 South Carolina discontent under the Tariff had 
 greatly increased. Under the operation of the va- 
 rious protective tariffs which had been enacted with 
 the concurrence, and generally under the lead of the 
 South, a large manufacturing interest had grown up 
 in the Northern and Central States, while the South 
 had not experienced similar benefits from them. 
 Large tracts of new lands recently opened to settle- 
 ment near the Mississippi, had drawn from the worn- 
 out sections along the Atlantic great numbers of 'their 
 people, and the injurious results of this process, as 
 well as of other circumstances, were attributed to the 
 Tariff. Public resentment at the South had been 
 thus turned against the principle of protection, and 
 its constitutionality had been strongly denied. The 
 feeling of discontent had led to the most hostile lan- 
 guage, and Mr. Calhoun, with other leading men in 
 the same section of the country, had distinctly assert- 
 ed the right of any State to resist and nullify laws 
 which she might conceive unconstitutional or in vio- 
 lation of her rights. Mr. Webster had repeatedly
 
 met Mr. Calhoun in argument upon this question, 
 and had always maintained the supremacy of the 
 Constitution and of the Supreme Court in the United 
 States as the final interpreter of its provisions. In 
 gome of his speeches, especially in one made on the 
 26th of January, 1830, Mr. Webster made a trium- 
 phant vindication of the position he had taken upon 
 this subject. 
 
 General Jackson was, however, re-elected Presi- 
 dent in the fall of 1832 ; and the people of South Ca- 
 rolina were at once roused into the most intense ex- 
 citement against the North and the protective policy. 
 Public meetings were held throughout the State, and 
 at a general convention, an Ordinance was adopted, 
 declaring the unconstitutionality of the tariff laws, 
 and proclaiming the purpose of South Carolina to re- 
 sist any attempt that might be made to t>llect taxes 
 under them within the limits of that State. The 
 Legislature, which met soon after, ratified the Ordi- 
 nance ; declared the Tariff acts unconstitutional, null, 
 and void ; directed the enrolment and enlistment of 
 volunteers, and advised all the citizens to put them- 
 selves in military array. The whole State- was in 
 arms. Musters were held every day. Charleston 
 looked like a military depot, and an immediate colli- 
 sion between the State and National forces was ap- 
 prehended. Colonel Hayne resigned his seat in the 
 United States Senate, and was elected Governor of 
 South Carolina. Mr. Calhoun resigned the Vice- 
 Presidency, and succeeded Hayne in the Senate. 
 Congress met early in December, and the vacant 
 chair was filled by the election of Hugh L. White, of 
 4
 
 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 Tennessee, over John Tyler, of Virginia White re- 
 ceiving seventeen, and Tyler fourteen votes. Mr. 
 Calhoun had not arrived, and rumors were afloat that- 
 General Jackson had threatened to arrest him on his 
 way, for treason against the Government. What 
 course, indeed, the President would take was not 
 known, but it had been the topic of current rumor 
 for some months previous. Mr. Webster in October, 
 had met the citizens of Massachusetts in a public 
 meeting at Worcester, and had there rehearsed the 
 dangers of the country, re-asserted the supremacy of 
 the Constitution, and claimed for Congress the power 
 of providing for the emergency. He raised his voice 
 " beforehand, against the unauthorized employment of 
 military power, and against suspending the authority 
 of the laws, by an armed force, under the pretence of 
 putting down nullification." Referring to a rumor of 
 General Jackson's intended action, which had been 
 widely current, he said : " The President has no au- 
 thority to blockade Charleston ; the President has no 
 authority to employ military force, till he shall be 
 duly required to do so by law and by the civil au- 
 thority. His duty is to cause the laws to be exe- 
 cuted. His duty is to support the civil authority. 
 His duty is, if the laws be resisted, to employ the 
 military force of the country, if necessary, for their 
 support and execution : but to do all this in compli- 
 ance only with law and with decisions of tribunals." 
 The course pursued by the people of South Carolina 
 roused the President from the inactivity which had 
 only concealed, but had not prevented, a vigilant pre- 
 paration for the rising storm. Confidential orders
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 75 
 
 were issued to the officers of the Army and Navy to 
 hold themselves in readiness for active service. Ge- 
 neral Winfield Scott was sent to Charleston, to take 
 such steps as he might deem necessary to preserve 
 the authority of the Government. Prudent and re- 
 solute men were stationed at the proper posts ; arms 
 and munitions of war were provided, and due prepa- 
 ration was made for all contingencies. On the llth 
 of December, 1832, the President issued a Proclama- 
 tion, written by Mr. Edward Livingston, who had 
 succeeded Mr. Van Buren as Secretary of State, 
 from notes furnished by General Jackson himself; 
 and taking, substantially, ^he ground which Mr. Web- 
 ster had uniformly maintained in debate upon the 
 subject. A counter-Proclamation was at once is- 
 sued by Governor Hajne ; and laws were at once 
 passed by the Legislature for putting the State in a 
 condition to carry on war with the General Govern- 
 ment. United States troops were collected at va- 
 rious points ; and on the other side, the militia were 
 drilled, muskets cleaned, foreign officers tendered 
 their services to the Governor, and every thing indi- 
 cated the speedy approach of civil war. At a large 
 meeting of Nullifiers, held at Charleston, Colonel 
 Preston, one of their leading men, set forth the state 
 of the case by declaring that " there were sixteen 
 thousand back-countrymen with arms in their hands 
 and cockades in their hats, ready to march to that 
 city at a moment's notice ; and the moment Congress 
 shall pass the laws recommended by the President in 
 relation to our port. I will pour down a torrent of 
 volunteers, that shall sweep the myrmidons of the
 
 76 MEMORIALS OP 
 
 tyrant from the soil of Carolina." Mr. Calhoun did 
 not reach Washington until January. On the 4th of 
 that month he took his seat in the Senate, received 
 the congratulations of the members of that body, and, 
 in the midst of a crowded and eager assembly, took the 
 oath to support the Constitution of the United States. 
 In a few days he moved for a call upon the President 
 for copies of the Proclamation, and of the counter-Pro- 
 clamation of Governor Hayne. These were communi- 
 cated by the President on the 16th of January ; and on 
 the 21st the ''Force Bill" as it was called, " making 
 further provision for the collection of the revenue," was 
 reported by Mr. Wilkins. from Pennsylvania, on behalf 
 of the Judiciary Committee. It gave the President the 
 largest powers over the men and money of the nation, 
 to put down any armed resistance to the revenue 
 laws of the United States. Upon this bill, and up- 
 on resolutions which he introduced, embodying his 
 general views on the right of a State to annul uncon- 
 stitutional laws of Congress, Mr. Calhoun made, on 
 the 15th and 16th of February, the ablest argument 
 ever advanced in support of his position. The de- 
 bate, previous to that time, had been shared by va- 
 rious Senators, and had been marked by various in- 
 cidents. Mr. Webster had maintained silence, ex- 
 cept in one or two instances, where he had thrown in 
 a suggestion upon some incidental point. Of this 
 nature was a remark which he made, when there 
 seemed to be a general disposition to attack the bil/ : 
 passing over the proclamation. Mr. Webster desired 
 it should be known, once for all, " that this was an 
 Administration measure ; that it is the President's
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 77 
 
 own measure ; and I pray, gentlemen," said he, " to 
 have the goodness, if they call it hard names, and 
 talk boldly against its friends, not to overlook its 
 source. Let them attack it, if they choose to attack 
 it, in its origin." He had declined an invitation to 
 speak upon the subject, so long as Mr. Calhoun had 
 kept silent, or so long as the advantage in debate 
 seemed to rest on the other side. But Mr. Calhoun's 
 speech on this occasion called him out. 
 
 Mr. Calhoun's speech was awaited with great 
 anxiety, and heard with eager interest. He was con- 
 sidered, beyond the bounds of his own State and 
 party, as a bold, bad man. An all-devouring, un- 
 scrupulous personal ambition was popularly supposed 
 to have driven him into this position of a conspirator 
 against the Constitution. He was daily denounced 
 as John Catiline Calhoun, by the special organ of 
 the President, the Globe, and by the people at large 
 he was feared as such. His personal appearance, as 
 is remarked by the author already largely quoted, 
 " answered well the preconceived idea of a conspira- 
 tor. Tall, gaunt, and of a somewhat stooping figure, 
 with a brow full, well-formed but receding ; hair, not 
 reposing on the head, but starting from it like the 
 Gi-orgon's; a countenance, expressive of unqualified 
 intellect, the lines of which seemed deeply gullied by 
 intense thought ; an eye that watched every thing 
 and revealed nothing, ever inquisitive, restless and 
 penetrating ; and a manner emphatic, yet restrained, 
 determined but cautious ; persons who knew not his 
 antecedents, nor his actual position, would have point- 
 ed him out as one that might meditate great and dan-
 
 78 *.' * MEMORIALS OF 
 
 gerous pursuits. To an audience, already embittered, 
 he seemed to realize the full idea of a conspirator." 
 His speech was a master-piece of direct, simple, un- 
 adorned argumentation. It very far surpassed, in 
 every respect, the previous effort of Mr. Hayne. Its 
 tone was that of injured innocence, claiming always 
 that South Carolina was the party wronged, repelling, 
 with calm and sorrowful dignity, the imputations 
 which had been thrown out against himself, lamenting 
 plaintively the decay of fraternal feeling between dif- 
 ferent members of the Union, and sustaining by an 
 elaborate argument of great cogency, the right of a 
 State not to resist the Constitution, not even to 
 judge of the exercise by the General Government of 
 any power which it delegates but to repudiate ut- 
 terly every assumption of power not delegated, and 
 to resist, as null and void, every law that may be 
 passed under any such assumption. His speech ex- 
 tended through two days : and he closed by chal- 
 lenging the opponents of his doctrine to disprove 
 them, and warned them, in the concluding sentence, 
 that the principles they might advance would be sub- 
 jected to the revision of posterity. 
 
 Mr. Webster rose immediately and entered upon 
 a reply. He had been looked to, not only by his own 
 political friends, but by the President and his party, as 
 the champion upon whom would devolve the defence 
 of the ground they had taken. The bill had received 
 prompt modification, in several respects, upon his re- 
 quirement, and had thus been brought into more 
 full conformity with the views he had expressed at 
 Worcester. His speech on this occasion is one of the
 
 DANIKL WKD8TER. *79 
 
 best he ever made. Less showy, it is more logical, 
 than his reply to Hayne, and although it produced a 
 less powerful impression at the time upon the audi- 
 ence which heard it, it will be far more frequently re- 
 ferred to hereafter for the argument it embodies. 
 He stated the theory of Mr. Calhoun in a few brief 
 sentences, stripping it of all the qualifications by 
 which that master of language and of thought had 
 concealed its real meaning. 
 
 " Beginning with the original error, that the Con- 
 stitution of the United States is nothing but a com- 
 pact between Sovereign States ; asserting in the next 
 step, that each State has a right to be its own sole 
 judge of the extent of its own obligations, and, conse- 
 quently, of the constitutionality of laws of Congress ; 
 and in the next, that it may oppose whatever it sees 
 fit to declare unconstitutional, and that it decides for 
 itself on the mode and measure of redress, the argu- 
 ment arrives at once at the conclusion, that what a 
 State dissents from, it may nullify; what it opposes, 
 it may oppose by force ; what it decides for itself, it 
 may execute by its own power ; and that, in short, it 
 is itself supreme over the legislation of Congress, and 
 supreme over the decisions of the national judicature 
 supreme over the Constitution of the country su- 
 preme over the supreme law of the land. However 
 it seeks to protect itself against these plain inferences, 
 by saying that an unconstitutional law is no law, and 
 that it only opposes such laws as are unconstitutional, 
 yet this does not, in the slightest degree, vary the re- 
 sult, since it insists on deciding this question for 
 itself; and, in opposition to reason and argument, in
 
 80 MEMORIALS OP 
 
 opposition to practice and experience, in opposition 
 to the judgment of others having an equal right to 
 , judge, it says only : ' Such is my opinion, and my 
 opinion shall be my law, and I will support it by my 
 own strong hand. I denounce the law. I declare it 
 unconstitutional ; that is enough ; it shall not be exe- 
 cuted. Men in arms are ready to resist its execution. 
 An attempt to enforce it shall cover the land with 
 blood. Elsewhere, it may be binding ; but here, it is 
 trampled under foot.' This, Sir, is practical nullifi- 
 cation." 
 
 Against these positions Mr. Webster laid down a 
 system embodied in the following propositions : 
 
 I. That the Constitution of the United States -is 
 not a league, confederacy, or compact, between the 
 people of the several States in their sovereign capaci- 
 ties ; but a Government proper, founded on the adop- 
 tion of the people, and creating direct relations be- 
 tween itself and individuals. 
 
 II. That no State authority has power to dissolve 
 those relations ; that nothing can dissolve them but 
 revolution ; and that, consequently, there can be no 
 such thing as secession without revolution. 
 
 III. That there is a supreme law. consisting of 
 the Constitution of the United States, acts of Con- 
 gress passed in pursuance of it, and treaties ; and 
 that, in cases not capable of assuming the character 
 of a suit in law or equity, Congress must judge of, 
 and* finally interpret, this supreme law, so often LS it 
 has occasion to pass acts of legislation ; and in cat -s 
 capable of assuming, and actually assuming, the cha-
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 81 
 
 racter of a suit, the Supreme Court of the United 
 States is the final interpreter. 
 
 IV. That an attempt by a State to abrogate, an- 
 nul, or nullify an act of Congress, or to arrest its 
 operation within her limits, on the ground that, in 
 her opinion, such law is unconstitutional, is a direct 
 usurpation on the just powers of the General Govern- 
 ment, and on the equal rights of other States ; a 
 plain violation of the Constitution, and a proceeding 
 essentially revolutionary in its character and ten- 
 dency. 
 
 These propositions were maintained with great 
 ability, without any attempt at sarcasm, humor, or 
 anything but simple argument. The opinion gener- 
 ally entertained of its merit and conclusiveness is 
 well indicated in a letter written to him very soon 
 after its delivery, by Ex-President Madison. As 
 Mr. Madison was largely concerned in Drafting the 
 famous resolutions of 1798, upon which the whole 
 State Rights theory is generally based, his opinion 
 upon this subject was, and still is, entitled to great 
 weight. We think, therefore, that our readers will 
 be glad to read his letter to Mr. Webster on that 
 occasion, which has hitherto been published only in 
 Mr. Everett's biographical sketch, prefixed to the re- 
 cent edition of Mr. Webster's Speeches. 
 
 " MONTPELIEE, March 15, 1833. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR : I return my thanks, &c., for 
 the copy of your late very powerful speech in the 
 Senate of the United States. It crushes " nullifica- 
 tion," and must hasten an abandonment of " seces- 
 4*
 
 82 MEMORIALS OP 
 
 sion." But this dodges the blow by confounding the 
 claim to secede at will with the right of seceding from 
 intolerable oppression. The former answers itself. 
 being a violation, without cause, of a faith solemnly 
 pledged. The latter is another name only for revolu- 
 tion, about which there is no theoretic controversy. 
 Its double aspect, nevertheless, with the. countenance 
 received from certain quarters, is giving it a popular 
 currency here, which may influence the approaching 
 elections, both for Congress and for the State Legis- 
 lature. It has gained some advantage, also, by mix- 
 ing itself with the question whether the Constitution 
 of the United States was formed by the people, or 
 by the States, now under a theoretic discussion by 
 animated partisans. 
 
 " It is fortunate when disputed theories can be 
 decided by undisputed facts, and here the undisputed 
 fact is, that the Constitution was made by the people, 
 but as embodied into the several States who were 
 parties to it therefore made by the States in their 
 highest authoritative capacity. They might, by the 
 same authority, and by the same process, have con- 
 verted the confederacy into a mere league or treaty, 
 or continued it with enlarged or abridged power ; or 
 have embodied the people of their respective States 
 into one people, nation, or sovereignty ; or, as they 
 did, by a mixed form, make them one people, nation. 
 or sovereignty, for certain purposes, and not so for 
 others. 
 
 " The Constitution of the United States, being 
 established by a competent authority by that of the 
 sovereign people of the several States who were par-
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 83 
 
 tics to it it remains only to inquire what the Con- 
 stitution is ; and here it speaks for itself. It organ- 
 izes a government into the usual legislative, execu- 
 tive, and judiciary departments ; invests it with spe- 
 cified powers, leaving others to the parties to the 
 Constitution. It makes the government, like other 
 governments, to operate directly on the people ; 
 places at its command the needful physical ineauS of 
 executing its powers ; and, finally, proclaims its supre- 
 macy, and that of the laws made in pursuance of it, 
 over the constitutions and laws of the States, the 
 powers of the government being exercised, as in other 
 elective and responsible governments, under the con- 
 trol of its constituents, the people and the Legisla- 
 tures of the States, and subject to the revolutionary 
 rights of ithe people in extreme cases. 
 
 " Such is the Constitution of the United States, 
 dejure and tie facto, and the name, whatever it be, 
 that may be given to it, can make it nothing more or 
 less than what it is. 
 
 " Pardon this hasty effusion, which, whether pre- 
 cisely according or not with your ideas, presents, I am. 
 aware, none that will be new to you. 
 
 " With great esteem and cordial salutations, 
 
 "JAMES MADISON. 
 
 " Mr. WEBSTER." 
 
 The bill, as is well known, passed with the vote 
 of John Tyler alone, in the negative ; its other op- 
 ponents having, from various reasons, left the Se 
 nate Chamber before the vote was taken. It is of 
 course scarcely necessary to add, that Mr. Clay had
 
 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 taken no part in this great debate, having been 
 anxiously and laboriously engaged in elaborating and 
 preparing the way for the Compromise, by which the 
 dispute was at last adjusted. Mr. Webster's course 
 in this crisis, commanded the warm approbation of 
 General Jackson, who felt the extent of the service 
 thus rendered to his administration. He took an 
 early opportunity, in person, to express his cordial 
 gratitude for his support, and his Secretary of State, 
 Mr. Livingston, repeatedly made similar acknowledg- 
 ments. It has been alleged that, mainly at Mr. Liv- 
 ingston's suggestion, General Jackson was strongly 
 disposed to seek an alliance with Mr. Webster, founded 
 upon the community of their principles upon this 
 subject, which should extend to the whole of General 
 Jackson's administration. It is alleged, on good 
 authority, that Mr. Livingston, with the President's 
 consent, consulted Mr. Webster upon the subject, and 
 that a seat in the Cabinet was at the same time placed 
 at his disposal. One fact, bearing upon this subject, 
 is given by Mr. March, as upon authority. He states 
 that a distinguished Senator, a political and personal 
 friend of General Jackson, brought to Mr. Webster 
 a list of intended nominees for office in the Eastern 
 States, and asked him to erase therefrom the names 
 of any who might be personally objectionable to him. 
 This he declined to do. from an unwillingness to place 
 himself under any obligation to the Administration, 
 which might at all interfere with the freedom of his 
 action. No one can avoid speculating as to the dif- 
 ferent political fortunes which might have overtaken 
 the country, had the stern energy of Gen. Jackson
 
 t 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 85 
 
 and the profound wisdom of Mr. Webster, been 
 united in directing its destiny. 
 
 THE BANK CONTROVERSY. 
 
 The next great topic which enlisted public atten- 
 tion was well calculated, and its introduction, by the 
 leaders of the Democratic party, it has been charged, 
 was designed to render any such co-operation between 
 these two commanding spirits out of the question. 
 Mr. Webster, at the close of the session, made a short 
 journey to the Middle and Western States. He was 
 received everywhere with the most distinguished 
 attention, being greeted by public meetings in all the 
 principal cities, and making at various points addresses 
 upon topics of public interest. Gen. Jackson also made 
 a Northern tour during the same recess of Congress ; 
 and it was during that period that the removal of the 
 public deposits from the Bank of the United States 
 was determined on. It was carried into effect in Sep- 
 tember, 1833, and its immediate effect upon the busi- 
 ness of the country was most disastrous. Congress 
 met two months after; and one of the earliest move- 
 ments in the Senate was the offering of a resolution 
 by Mr. Clay, calling on the President for a copy of a 
 paper said to have been read by him at a Cabinet 
 meeting in regard to the removal of the deposits on 
 the ISih of September. He supported the resolution 
 in an animated speech, and it was adopted by a vote of 
 23 to 18, the State-Rights men, on this occasion, 
 abandoning General Jackson, and leaving the Ad- 
 ministration in a minority. The President, in reply
 
 86 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 to the resolution, declared his independence of the 
 Senate, as a co-ordinate branch of the Government ; 
 and he '' had yet to learn under what constituted 
 authority that branch of the Legislature had a right 
 to require of him an account of any communication, 
 either verbally or in writing, made to the heads of 
 Departments in Cabinet Council." He therefore 
 declined to comply with the request contained in the 
 resolution. In the paper thus called for he had de- 
 clared that he had decided upon the measure in 
 question, and should carry it into effect upon his own 
 responsibility, and without requiring any member of 
 his Cabinet to make any sacrifice of opinion or of 
 principle. For this he was severely denounced by 
 the Opposition. Mr. Clay offered resolutions of sub- 
 stantial censure, and supported them in one of the 
 ablest speeches he ever made. After a long and 
 vehement debate, the resolutions, considerably modi- 
 fied by its author, passed the Senate, one of them 
 1 by a vote of 26 to 20, and the other 28 to 18. In 
 the discussion upon these resolutions Mr. Webster 
 took no part. But in reply to them, General Jackson 
 sent to the Senate on the 17th of April, 1834, his 
 memorable Protest, in which he argued with great 
 ability. 1st, that the Executive, under the Constitution 
 and the laws, is the sole custodian of the public funds ; 
 2dly,that even on the supposition that he had assumed 
 an illegal power, he was amenable to the action of 
 either House, only through the constitutional process 
 of impeachment ; 3dly, that the President alone is 
 responsible to the People alone for the conduct of all 
 the subordinate Executive Officers, while they in turn
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 87 
 
 are responsible only to him ; and 4th, that he is the 
 direct, immediate representative of the people. This 
 formidable document, and the claim it preferred to 
 the most extraordinary powers, aroused profound sen- 
 sation, not only in the Senate, but throughout the 
 country. 
 
 On the 7th of May, Mr. Webster delivered a 
 speech upon the subject, in which he subjected every 
 portion of that remarkable paper to the severest 
 examination. At the opening and the close of his 
 remarks he took occasion to disavow, in the most 
 earnest manner, everything like personal or partisan 
 feeling against the President, a man who, he said, 
 " has rendered most distinguished services to his 
 country, and whose honesty of motive and integrity 
 of purpose are still maintained by those who admit 
 that his administration has fallen into lamentable 
 errors." But he regarded the doctrines of the Pro- 
 test as at war with all sound principles of constitu- 
 tional liberty, and as indicating a tendency on the 
 part of the Executive towards a despotic usurpation 
 of powers belonging to other departments, which 
 called for the most prompt and determined resistance. 
 Even if no harm should result from the claim, still it 
 ought not to be allowed to pass unchallenged. " It 
 was against the recital of an act of Parliament, ra- 
 ther than against any suffering under its enactment, 
 that our fathers took up arms. They went to war 
 against a preamble. They fought seven years against 
 a declaration." Upon this question of principle, 
 "while suffering was yet afar off. they raised their 
 flag against a power to which, for purposes of foreign
 
 88 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 conquest and subjugation, Rome, in the height of her 
 glory, is not to be compared ; a power which has 
 dotted the surface of the whole globe with her pos- 
 sessions and military posts, whose morning drum- 
 beat, following the sun, and keeping company with 
 the hours, circles the earth with one continuous and 
 unbroken strain of the martial airs of England." 
 Mr. Webster asserted and vindicated, in the clearest 
 manner, not only the right, but the duty, of the Sen- 
 ate, to defend the public liberty against encroach- 
 ment, and to express its opinions whenever it believed 
 such encroachment to have taken place. The Senate 
 had acted in its legislative, and not in its judicial 
 capacity, and in this action it had only defended its 
 own just authority and that of the co-ordinate branch 
 of the Legislature. He examined closely, and de- 
 nounced with majestic emphasis, the extraordinary 
 doctrines put forward by the President concerning 
 the theory of his relations to the other branches of 
 the Government, and to the People, declaring that 
 if these doctrines were true, it was " idle to talk any 
 longer about any such thing as a government of laws. 
 We have no government of laws we have no legal 
 responsibility. We have an Executive, consisting of 
 one person, wielding all official power, and responsi- 
 ble only as Cromwell was responsible when he broke 
 up Parliament, or Bonaparte when he dissolved the 
 Assembly of France." 
 
 The speech elicited the warmest commendations 
 from distinguished men in every section of the coun- 
 try. Chancellor* Kent exhausted the language of 
 eulogy in extolling its merits. Governor Tazewell,
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 89 
 
 of Virginia, who had seldom concurred with Mr. 
 Webster in his views upon public topics, thanked him 
 cordially, and declared that he agreed with him 
 throughout. During the same session Mr. Webster 
 made frequent speeches upon various topics of interest, 
 as they ar^se in the course of business, and wrote 
 also a very able report on the Finances, on behalf of 
 the Committee, of which he was a member. In 1835 
 he spoke at length upon the French Spoliation bill ; 
 the power of removal from and appointments to office, 
 insisting that the President could not rightfully 
 remove from office without the consent of the Senate ; 
 and upon resolutions proposed by Mr. Benton, pro- 
 viding for the national defence, and especially upon 
 the action the President had taken to secure their 
 favorable consideration. He also drew up and pre- 
 sented a Protest against the action of the Senate, in 
 adopting a motion to expunge from its records the 
 resolutions by which, in 1834, it had expressed its 
 disapprobation of the President's course in removing 
 the deposits. 
 
 In November, 1836, Mr. Van Buren was elected 
 President, to succeed General Jackson. During that 
 winter, although the currency question and others, 
 which had grown out of it, continued to occupy the at- 
 tention of Congress and the country, and although Mr. 
 Webster spoke frequently upon them as they came 
 up for discussion, no great topic called for special 
 effort. In February he accepted an invitation, from 
 a very large number of merchants, professional men 
 and others in the City of New- York, to attend a large 
 public meeting. His speech, delivered on this occa- 
 
 \*^r*~*~^^~^s
 
 90 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 sion in Niblo's Saloon, on the loth of March, 1837, 
 embraced a comprehensive view of all the measures 
 by which General Jackson's administration had been 
 distinguished. He spoke at length of the Tariff. In- 
 ternal Improvements, &c., and called the attention of 
 the country to the movements which weren foot for 
 the annexation of Texas to the United States. He 
 declared his. opposition to that measure, mainly on 
 account of his " entire unwillingness to do anything 
 that should extend the Slavery of the African race, 
 on this Continent, or add other Slave-holding States 
 to this Union. But the main part of his speech related 
 to the action of the Administration in regard to the 
 financial condition of the country. After the adjourn- 
 ment of Congress, Mr. Webster made a rapid tour 
 through the Western States, in the course of which he 
 was greeted by the most cordial welcome on the part of 
 the people, and addressed large meetings at Wheel- 
 ing, Va., Madison, Ind., and other places. 
 
 President Van Buren came into office on the 4th 
 of March, 1837. One of his first acts was to call 
 an extra session of Congress, which met in September, 
 to provide for the serious emergencies created by the 
 almost simultaneous suspension of specie payments 
 by the banks, throughout the country, in the month 
 of May. At the meeting of Congress, the Independ- 
 ent Treasury System was brought forward by the 
 Administration, which proposed to dispense altoge- 
 ther with the aid of banks, to provide a distinct 
 set of officers to take charge of the public money, 
 and to exact specie in payment of all public dues. 
 Mr. Webster opposed the whole system, as imprac-
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 91 
 
 ticable and certain to prove in the highest degree 
 injurious to the interests of the country. In a long 
 and able speech at that session, he set forth his view 
 of the duties of the General Government in regard 
 to the Currency. The measure did not pass at the 
 extra session. 
 
 At the next regular session, on the 27th of De- 
 cember, Mr. Calhoun offered a resolution against the 
 interference of Congress with slavery in the District 
 of Columbia, declaring that it would be a " direct 
 and dangerous attack on the institutions of all the 
 slaveholdiug States." To this Mr. Clay, on the 10th 
 of January, 1838, offered a substitute, declaring that 
 such interference would " be a violation of the faith 
 implied in the cessions by the States of Virginia and 
 Maryland, a just cause of alarm to the people of the 
 slaveholding states, and have a direct and inevitable 
 tendency to disturb and endanger the Union." Mr. 
 Webster opposed both upon the ground that he could 
 see nothing in the act of cession, nothing in the Con- 
 stitution, and nothing in the history of this or any 
 other transaction, implying any limitation upon the 
 power of Congress to exercise exclusive jurisdiction 
 over the ceded territory in all cases whatsoever. 
 
 On the 16th of January, a bill was introduced 
 into the Senate by Mr. Wright, to establish the In- 
 dependent Treasury system ; which came up for its 
 second reading on the 30th. Mr. Wright, in advo- 
 cating the passage of the bill, had taken ground 
 against the allegation that Congress had anything to 
 do with providing a currency for the people. " Let 
 the Government," said he, " attend to its own business,
 
 92 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 and let the people attend to theirs. Let the Govern- 
 ment take care that it secures a sound currency for 
 its own use, and let it leave all the rest to the States - 
 and to the people." These " ominous sentences " were 
 the key-note of the speech which Mr. Webster made 
 in opposition to the bill on the next day. He de- 
 nounced the sentiment which they expressed as utterly 
 unbecoming a Republican Government, and opposed 
 the bill as in the highest degree injurious to the pub- 
 lic interest. On the 15th of February, Mr. Calhoun, 
 who had, at the extra session, intimated his purpose 
 to support the Sub-Treasury Bill, and had issued a 
 letter to his constituents upon the subject during the 
 recess, replied to Mr. Webster. This elicited from 
 Mr. Webster, on the 12th of March, another speech 
 on the same subject, much more elaborate and com- 
 plete than the first. He discussed at length the re- 
 lations of capital and labor in this country, the uses 
 of the credit system, the progress of the country in 
 agriculture, commerce and manufactures, and the ex- 
 tent to which this progress was due to the system of 
 credit, and the absolute necessity to both the Govern- 
 ment and the people of a sound Bank paper currency. 
 He vindicated, by constitutional exposition and by re- 
 currence to history, the right of the Government to 
 use banks in the custody and transmission of its 
 Funds, and pointed out the disastrous consequences 
 which could not but result from the introduction of 
 so different a system as that which the bill in ques- 
 tion proposed to establish. He closed by referring 
 to the speech of Mr. Calhoun, and by a very sharp 
 examination of the course of that gentleman during
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 93 
 
 his public career. On this and other questions of 
 public interest, Mr. Calhoun replied on the 22d of 
 March, and spoke disparagingly of Mr. Webster's 
 course during the last war with Great Britain. Mr. 
 Webster rejoined at once, with force and effect. 
 
 In the Spring of 1839, Mr. Webster visited 
 Europe, for the first and only time in his life, mak- 
 ing a hasty tour through England, Scotland and 
 France. He was received with marked attention and 
 with every mark of the most distinguished consider- 
 ation. He attended several public festivals, and 
 among them the first Triennial celebration of the 
 Royal Agricultural Society at Oxford, on the 18th 
 of July. He gave special attention during his tour 
 to the condition of Agriculture, to the subject of 
 Currency, and to the condition of the laboring classes ; 
 and the results of his study of these subjects are trace- 
 able in many of his subsequent speeches. 
 
 Previous to his departure, Mr. Webster had pre- 
 pared a letter to the Whig National Convention 
 which assembled during his absence, withdrawing his 
 name as a candidate for the Presidency. General 
 Harrison was nominated, and after a few weeks the 
 whole country became intensely agitated with the 
 contest between him and Mr. Van Buren. Mr. Web- 
 ster returned before the election and took an active 
 part in the contest. The derangement in the cur- 
 rency, the depression of labor which had resulted, 
 the apprehensions entertained of the effect of the 
 Sub-Treasury System upon the industry of the coun- 
 try, and other circumstances, laid the basis for a more 
 exciting political canvass than the country has ever
 
 94 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 witnessed before or since. At Saratoga, on the 19th 
 of August, 1840, Mr. Webster addressed an immense 
 meeting upon these subjects and other issues involved 
 in the contest. On the 10th of September, he pre- 
 sided over a vast concourse of people assembled at 
 Bunker Hill, and read a declaration of " Whig Princi- 
 ples and Purposes," which he had drawn up for the 
 occasion. On the 28th of September, he made a 
 speech from the steps of the Exchange in Wall-street, 
 New-York, principally upon the financial issues in- 
 volved. And on the 5th of October, he made a very 
 eloquent address upon the general subject at Rich- 
 mond, Virginia. All these speeches were marked 
 by Mr. Webster's characteristics, strong reasoning, 
 the utmost felicity of language, and the most impos- 
 ing grandeur of manner and of style. With the result 
 the country is familiar. General Harrison was elect- 
 ed President by an overwhelming popular majority, 
 and came into office on the 4th of March, 1841. 
 
 MR. WEBSTER AS SECRETARY OF STATE. 
 
 The inauguration of General Harrison, in 1841, 
 was the inauguration of a new era in the life of Mr. 
 Webster, Mr. Clay, his great competitor in the po- 
 litical race, had distanced him in diplomatic honors. 
 The treaty of Ghent had added the fame of the nego- 
 tiator to that of the promising orator and statesman, 
 which the colossal Kentuckian had been fortunate 
 enough to secure in the first stages of his career. 
 Mr. Webster had graduated in every other depart- 
 ment of statesmanship ; had appropriated the highest
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 95 
 
 rewards of resplendent success at the bar and in the 
 forum ; had won the just renown of patriotism, proved 
 equal to the preservation of the Union at an immi- 
 nent crisis ; and, indeed, thoroughly matured his 
 reputation before he proceeded to still higher exhibi- 
 tions of his extraordinary powers. The remaining 
 chapters of his biography form a perfect record of the 
 most important events in the history of the national 
 diplomacy down to the period of the statesman's 
 death. In the formation of his Cabinet, General 
 Harrison was prompted not only by his personal pre- 
 dilections, but by the obvious sense of a large section 
 of the Whig party, to make Mr. Webster the nucleus. 
 The Treasury Department was accordingly tendered 
 to that gentleman, but he declined it, intimating at 
 the same time his readiness to accept the Depart- 
 ment of State. Notwithstanding the enormous re- 
 sponsibility devolving upon the former office, in con- 
 sequence of the universal expectation that relief for 
 the monetary distresses of the country was to emanate 
 from that quarter, it was no consideration of indo- 
 lence that induced Mr. Webster to prefer the latter. 
 Our foreign relations were as sadly deranged as 
 the finances. Mr. Van Buren's administration, so 
 far from contributing to their adjustment, had, by 
 pursuing the tlevious and hyper-cautious policy, which 
 uniformly marked it, wrapped them in almost hope- 
 less confusion. To a majority of the questions re- 
 quiring immediate attention Great Britain was a 
 party. Some of these difficulties were of a chronic 
 nature ; of others the symptoms were acute. The 
 Northeastern Boundary had been the subject of con-
 
 96 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 troversy for nearly half a century. The treaty of 
 1783 had left it involved in obscurity. A convention 
 entered into in 1793 had determined a small portion 
 of the line, viz. : that reaching from the Atlantic to 
 the head-waters of the St. Croix, but the remainder 
 was as unknown as the wilderness through which it 
 passed. Another Convention, ten years later, prose- 
 cuted the subject further, by endeavoring to fix the 
 whole boundary as far as the Rocky Mountains ; but 
 the acquisition of Louisiana rendering our Govern- 
 ment doubtful about the extent of its rights at the 
 Westward, the negotiation was broken off, until some 
 explorations might be made. The matter stood thus 
 until the Treaty of Ghent, when it was agreed to ap- 
 point a joint Commissioner to survey the line, and, 
 in case of any disagreement, to select an arbitrator, 
 whose decision should be final. The survey was 
 made, and so was the report. There was disagree- 
 ment, and while Mr. Clay was Secretary of State, in 
 ; 1827. the question was submitted to the arbitrament 
 of His Majesty the King of the Netherlands. That 
 potentate reported in 1831 ; and his report was as 
 unsatisfactory to the Cabinet of Washington as to 
 that of St. James. The parties agreed to disagree ; 
 and we need not be surprised that, surrounded as it 
 was with financial embarrassments and internal diffi- 
 culties, which its own headlong policy had created, 
 the Administration of General Jackson found no 
 time to proceed with the calendar of unfinished busi- 
 ness. A long and desultory correspondence between 
 Mr. Forsyth, Secretary of State under Mr. Van Bu- 
 ren, and Mr. Fox, the British Envoy, only augmented
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 97 
 
 the trouble. Lord Palmcrston, then Foreign Secre- 
 tary, was characteristically vexatious and difficult. 
 Proposition after proposition emanated alternately 
 from either Government, always involving the notion 
 of tedious surveys* and no less tedious arbitrations ; 
 but the plan of neither suited the other, and they 
 occupied the relations of two divergent orbs, to use 
 Mr. Webster's own simile, which had to travel the 
 whole circle before they could again meet. Such was 
 the state of the whole subject when it descended to 
 the Administration of General Harrison, bitterly ag- 
 gravated, however, by the impatience and jealousy 
 which had sprung up among the residents upon the 
 debateable territory. Hostilities were daily expect- 
 ed ; and the legislature of Maine had even gone so 
 far as to provide for the armiug and equipment of a 
 large military force, disguised by the name of a " civil 
 posse," to defend the supposed American frontier. 
 No other than the most energetic action on the part 
 of the Federal Government could prevent hostilities. 
 The Oregon frontier was also the subject of much 
 anxiety, as the territory was rapidly filling with set- 
 tlers. Much ill feeling prevailed at the frequent 
 visits to which American vessels, on the coast of 
 Africa, 'were subjected by British cruisers, under 
 pretence of ascertaining their innocence of the Slave- 
 trade. The case of Alexander McLeod, arising out 
 of the seizure of the Caroline, in 1837, had, like 
 every thing else of real importance, remained un- 
 handled by Mr, Van Buren's Cabinet. In fact, a 
 point in our external relations had been reached, when 
 immediate negotiation was the alternative of war. 
 5
 
 98 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 Oar Minister to London entertained so lively a sense 
 of the danger as to notify the Commander of our fleet 
 in the Mediterranean of the probable approach of 
 hostilities. 
 
 Mr. Webster found himself face to face with these 
 pressing questions when he entered upon his duties. 
 He grappled with them at once. The case of Alex- 
 ander McLeod was laid before him. in an urgent letter 
 from Mr. Fox. on the 12th of March, 1841. McLeod 
 was about to stand a trial for his life before the State 
 Courts of New- York, upon a charge of murder. The 
 British Government avowed the seizure of the Caro- 
 line as an official act, thereby relieving any indivi- 
 dual serving under its flag on that occasion of any 
 criminal charge, and demanded the release of McLeod. 
 Had he been executed, there is no doubt that war 
 would have ensued. Mr. Webster, acknowledging the 
 justice of the demand, but unable to interfere with 
 the legal tribunals of an individual State, notified 
 Mr. Fox of his desire to assist in the liberation of 
 the prisoner, and Mr. Crittenden, then, as now, Attor- 
 ney-General, was dispatched to New- York to assist 
 in -the defence. A verdict of acquittal solved the 
 whole difficulty. 
 
 Early in the summer of 1841, Mr. Webster re- 
 opened the question of the Northeastern Boundary, 
 by inviting the British Government to negotiate upon 
 the new basis of a conventional line. The proposition 
 was received at London at the moment when the 
 Melbourne Ministry was about to relinquish office ; 
 and it met with no response until the following De- 
 cember, when Lord Aberdeen, Foreign Secretary in
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 99 
 
 the Cabinet of Sir Kobert Peel, acquainted Mr. 
 Everett, our minister at St. James, with the intention 
 of Her Majesty's Government to send a special envoy 
 to the United States, in order to adjust all unsettled 
 questions. Lord Ashburton, the agent selected, was 
 recommended not only by his acquaintance with 
 American character and affairs, but by his personal 
 friendship for Mr. Webster, formed during the visit 
 of the latter to England in 1839. Lord Ashburton 
 arrived in Washington in April, 1842. Mr. Webster 
 had already applied to the governments of Maine 
 and Massachusetts to appoint commissioners who 
 should participate in and sanction the negotiation ; 
 and the question, with all its collateral issues, was at 
 once entered upon. The State papers which ema- 
 nated from Mr. Webster in the course of this trans- 
 action, are among the most masterly productions of 
 American intellect. They embrace the whole ra- 
 tionale of the subjects they successively treat, stated 
 in terms so lucid, and with judgment so correct, as to 
 form a new era in the history of International law. 
 The treaty itself, undoubtedly accomplished all that 
 could be accomplished at the time. Lord Ashburton 
 was not prepared to enter upon the subject of the 
 Oregon boundary ; and that was the only question 
 which the convention left unsettled. The boundary 
 upon the Northeast was fixed on the basis of a con- 
 ventional line, approved by the Commissioners of 
 Maine and Massachusetts, the parties more imme- 
 diately interested. The Right of Search was dis- 
 franchised ; and, as a substitute, both nations engaged 
 to sustain sufficient squadrons on the African coast 
 
 \s****^~^
 
 100 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 to repress the slave trade. An agreement for the re- 
 ciprocal surrender of fugitives from justice was 
 framed ; and the minor questions, relating to the 
 capture of the Caroline and the case of the Creole, 
 were the subject of highly satisfactory correspondence, 
 which has effectually prevented, and will* always, it 
 was imagined, discourage a recurrence of similar 
 transactions. The labors of the negotiators were ter- 
 minated on the 9th of August, 1842, and two days 
 after the treaty was laid before the Senate. The 
 Committee upon Foreign Relations, of which Hon. 
 William C. Rives was chairman, reported it on the 
 15th, without amendment, and on the 20th, the Se- 
 nate assented to the treaty, unamended, by a vote of 
 Yeas 39, Nays 9. Among the affirmative votes we 
 find the names of Messrs. J. C. Calhoun, Rufus 
 Choate. John M. Clayton, John J. Crittenden, George 
 Evans, William R. King, W. P. Mangum, William 
 C. Preston, W. C. Rives, N. P. Tallmadge, Silas 
 Wright, Levi Woodbury. In the negative, the only 
 notable names were those of Messrs. Benton and 
 Buchanan. 
 
 The treaty of Washington, the ratifications of 
 which were presently afterwards exchanged in Lon- 
 don, classes with the most remarkable State papers of 
 the time. The quintuple treaty between the five 
 great powers for the suppression of the slave trade, 
 which was signed in Dec. 1841, fell to the ground, in 
 the presence of the better suggestions contained in 
 the American document. The clause relative to the 
 surrender of fugitives, has been reproduced in several 
 conventions framed for that specific purpose, between
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 101 
 
 the various states of Europe. Disputes of tedious 
 duration were laid to rest by it ; others exciting an 
 extravagant popular feeling, and promising to end in 
 an ill-timed resort to arms, were for ever quieted. It 
 is to be regretted that several points, which Mr. Web- 
 ster deemed satisfactorily adjusted by the corres- 
 pondence between himself and Lord Ashburton. had 
 not been more definitely secured by articles in the 
 treaty. The seizure of the Caroline, and the treat- 
 ment of the crew of the Creole, both involved ques- 
 tions of international right, in which the honor of our 
 flag was deeply interested. Lord Ashburton, it is 
 true, conceded the irregularity of those acts ; and so 
 long as the correspondence is remembered, it may 
 prevent any repetition. But there would have been 
 a stronger assurance, if the treaty itself had embodied 
 the understanding. It was of course the policy of 
 Lord Palmerston and the English opposition, to de- 
 nounce the treaty, as sacrificing the interests of Great 
 Britain. The subject led to an animated debate in 
 the House of Commons, and the Ministry sustained 
 a severe shock in the encounter. But the Whigs 
 failed to prevent its ratification. At home and 
 abroad, Mr. Webster was at once recognized as one 
 of the foremost diplomatists of the day. His reputa- 
 tion became a European one ; and if the expression 
 of satisfaction throughout this country was less viva- 
 cious than might have been anticipated, the fact must 
 be accounted for by the unpopularity of the adminis- 
 tration with which he was connected ; Gen. Harrison 
 having died, and been succeeded by John Tyler with- 
 in a month after his inauguration.
 
 102 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 While the negotiations with Lord Ashburton 
 were pending, other external questions divided the 
 attention of the Secretary of State. Our relations 
 with Mexico were precarious. While on the one 
 liand our Government was pressing the liberation of 
 several American citizens, who had attended the un- 
 fortunate Texan expedition against Santa Fe, the 
 Government of Mexico appealed to that of Washing- 
 ton, to repress the southern emigration to Texas, 
 which swelled the armies of that Republic to an ex- 
 tent, which threatened not only to make the conquest 
 impossible for the largest force Mexico could raise, 
 but to expose that confederation to invasion and dis- 
 solution. The correspondence of Mr. Webster with 
 Gen. Waddy Thompson, then Envoy at the city of 
 Mexico, and with Sig. De Bocanegra, the Mexican 
 Foreign Secretary, embraces a clear and eloquent 
 statement of the rights and duties of the two nations 
 under such circumstances. The Mexican Minister 
 was less respectful in the tone of his communications 
 than was fitting the dignity of our Government, and 
 Mr. Webster closed the correspondence with a re- 
 iterated averment of our entire neutrality, and an 
 expression of unwillingness to have any further inter- 
 course upon the subject. At the same time, the case 
 of the Spanish brig Amistad remained unsettled on 
 the files of the Department, where it had been left by 
 the previous administration. The vessel had been 
 found by one of our home squadron, lying close to 
 the American coast, and in the possession of a band 
 of negroes, who had murdered the officers, and were 
 too unskilful to manage the ship. It was brought
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 103 
 
 into port and a claim for salvage stated against it. 
 While the matter was in this posture, the Chevalier 
 d'Argaiz, the Spanish Minister, addressed the Secre- 
 tary of State, protesting against the reference of the 
 case to the Courts, when, as he maintained, it should 
 be treated by the Executive, as relating directly to 
 treaty obligations. This letter led to prolonged cor- 
 respondence, in which Mr. Webster defended the 
 course pursued by his government so successfully as 
 to silence, if not satisfy, the Spanish Envoy. And 
 as a portion of the diplomatic history of the period, 
 we must not omit mention of the admirable instruc- 
 tions addressed to Mr. Caleb Gushing, when that 
 gentleman was about to embark on the delicate mis- 
 sion of opening relations with China ; nor the cor- 
 respondence with the Portuguese Envoy, upon the 
 subject of duties upon foreign wines. In both of 
 these papers, relatively unimportant as they undoubt- 
 edly are, the extensive information, and comprehen- 
 sive views of the statesman, were brought into vivid 
 relief. 
 
 As completing the history of this era of Ameri- 
 can politics, we are obliged to refer to two magnifi- 
 cent displays of his rhetorical powers, which Mr. 
 Webster, the orator, felt called upon to make on be- 
 half of Mr. Webster, the statesman. Returning, af- 
 ter the arduous duties of the summer, to enjoy a few 
 weeks of relaxation at Marshfield, he was obliged to 
 listen to a pressing invitation from his Boston ad- 
 mirers, that he should address them publicly on the 
 foreign and domestic policy of the country. The dis- 
 course was delivered to a crowded audience, in Fa-
 
 104 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 neuil Hall, on the 22d of September, 1842. It is 
 needless to say. that it traversed the whole ground 
 with masterly skill, distinctness, and compactness of 
 expression, and that the recent negotiations received 
 that luminous exposition and earnest vindication, 
 which was less needed perhaps in Massachusetts than 
 elsewhere, where the subject was less familiarly un- 
 derstood. Partisan bitterness, however, denied the 
 question any rest from controversy. It was agitated 
 among other electioneering elements in the canvass 
 of 1844, and in 1846, when in the Senate, Mr. Web- 
 ster found his political opponents unsparing of their 
 objections against the Treaty. In April, of that year, 
 he took occasion to address the Senate in justifica- 
 tion of that measure. Mr. Charles Jared Ingersoll, 
 a member of the House of Representatives from 
 Pennsylvania, had made the treaty, and the Ameri- 
 can negotiator, the topic of virulent diatribes before 
 that body, never allowing his arguments to fall short 
 where a ready calumny was at hand to piece them 
 out. Messrs. Dix and Dickinson, the Senators from 
 New-York, also attacked the ex-Secretary ; the latter 
 in an elaborate speech, to which, when published, a 
 re-hash of Mr. Ingersoll's godless inventions was 
 found to be appended. The reply of Mr. Webster 
 will always rank among the most splendid and char- 
 acteristic productions of his mind. Reviewing the 
 history of the difficulties adjusted by the treaty, he 
 scored the Democratic party thoroughly for the re- 
 missuess, which had left them for the administration 
 of Mr. Tyler to settle ; and having amply vindicated 
 that settlement beyond the possibility of further ca-
 
 1 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 105 
 
 vil, he turned upon his assailants, and exhausted up- 
 on them the stores of his indignant elocution. Mr. 
 Ingersoll received the full weight of the charge. 
 Never was such a scathing torrent of contempt, ridi- 
 cule, sarcasm, and vituperation, poured out upon an 
 individual head. Clearing away with a rapid hand 
 the sheltering falsehoods beneath which the Pennsyl- 
 vanian had concealed himself, the orator held him 
 up naked to the world, and tortured him with all the 
 sharp weapons which the armories of rhetoric supply 
 to a just indignation. Mr. Ingersoll, who had been 
 more or less in public life, for the forty preceding 
 years, disappeared after this castigation. He has 
 since confined himself to domestic and professional 
 associations. 
 
 But Mr. Webster's connection with the Cabinet 
 of Mr. Tyler was never redeemed from censure by 
 the success of his negotiations. Mr. Tyler had been 
 in office but a short time when it began to be appa- 
 rent that his administration would not be conducted 
 in a manner to command the undivided support of 
 the party which had raised him to power. While in 
 the Senate, during the great controversy between 
 State Rights and the Federal Government, he had 
 espoused the cause of Mr. Calhoun, and had acted in 
 general harmony with his views. His course then 
 had prevented his enjoying the full confidence of the 
 Whigs, at a later day ; and his accession to the Pre- 
 sidency soon put his fidelity to the test. Mr. Clay 
 took an early opportunity to introduce a bill for the 
 Charter of a National Bank. A very large portion 
 of the Whig party, during the canvass, had strenu-
 
 106 
 
 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 ously resisted the endeavor to present the Bank as a 
 measure to which the party should be considered 
 pledged. The utter ruin which had overtaken the 
 Old Bank of the United States, and the conviction 
 that, during the latter years of its existence, it had, by 
 mismanagement and corrupt practices, richly deserved 
 the universal odium with which its memory was covered, 
 had led them to foresee the unpopularity which any 
 attempt to create a new one would inevitably incur. 
 But, in spite of this distrust, the overwhelming par- 
 liamentary and party strength of Mr. Clay enabled 
 him to carry the bill triumphantly through Congress, 
 and it was presented to President Tyler for his sig- 
 nature. This was withheld, and the bill was vetoed. 
 Mr. Clay at once denounced the President to the 
 indignation of his party, and a whirlwind of obloquy 
 and detestation was at once aroused, before which a 
 much stronger spirit than President Tyler's would 
 have been forced to bend. Mr. Webster, who was 
 not free from suspicion that personal ambition on the 
 part of Mr. Clay had quite as much to do with this 
 crusade as regard for the public good, with more 
 courage than success, endeavored to breast the storm. 
 He was earnest and unremitting in his efforts to 
 bring the Whigs into a more tolerant and compliant 
 mood. At a gathering of the leading Whigs of Con- 
 gress, had at his own house, he strongly urged upon 
 them the folly of throwing away all the results of 
 the great popular victory they had gained, because 
 they had been disappointed in a single measure, and 
 that, too, one of questionable necessity and expedi- 
 ency. His efforts were unavailing. The thunder of
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 107 
 
 Mr. Clay's denunciations drowned his tones of re- 
 monstrance the whole Whig sentiment of the coun- 
 try swayed respondent to his tempestuous wrath. 
 Mr. Webster's colleagues in the Cabinet indignantly 
 tendered their resignations, hurling at the President, 
 as they left, the most dishonoring charges of party 
 faithlessness and personal falsehood. 
 
 Strong in the conviction of the rectitude of his 
 own purposes, unwilling to yield to what he deemed 
 a transient ebullition of popular feeling, and pro- 
 foundly penetrated by the importance of pending 
 negotiations with foreign powers, Mr. Webster deter- 
 mined, against the most resolute entreaties of his 
 political friends, to retain his seat, and he did so 
 retain it for about two years. For this he was se- 
 verely censured by the great body of the Whig party, 
 and especially by the adherents of Mr. Clay, who 
 were not over charitable in the construction they put 
 upon his motives, or in the epithets they applied to 
 his conduct. During his continuance in office, a 
 State Convention of the Whigs of Massachusetts 
 assembled in Boston, to nominate candidates for 
 Governor and Lieutenant-Governor, at the State 
 election. Hon. Abbot Lawrence presided over its 
 deliberations, and a series of resolutions were adopt- 
 ed, expressing in strong terms disapprobation of the 
 course of Mr. Tyler, and declaring, on behalf of the 
 Whigs of Massachusetts, a "full and final separa- 
 tion from the President of the United States." Not 
 long afterwards, Mr. Webster being on a visit to 
 Boston, was tendered by the Whigs many of whom 
 had been prominent in the Convention the compli-
 
 108 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 ment of a public dinner. He declined the dinner, 
 but expressed a willingness to meet his fellow-citizens 
 at Faneuil Hall. The meeting was appointed for 
 Sept. 30, and was attended by an immense concourse 
 of the people of Boston. Hon. Jonathan Chapman, 
 Mayor of the city, presided ; and, upon presenting 
 Mr. Webster to the assembly, addressed him with 
 eloquent compliments for his public services, but with 
 special allusion to what he styled the " pointed mean- 
 ing of the occasion." He thanked him for the honor- 
 able attitude in which, " so far as his department was 
 concerned, he had placed his country before the 
 world. We are sure," said he, " whatever may befall 
 the country, that you will be ready to sacrifice every- 
 thing for her good, save honor, and on that point, 
 amidst the perplexities of these perplexing times, we 
 shall be at ease ; for we know that he who has so 
 nobly maintained his country's honor, may safely be 
 intrusted with his own." 
 
 Mr. Webster opened his reply with one of those 
 exquisitely beautiful sentences which are scattered 
 so profusely throughout his speeches. " I know not 
 how it is, Mr. Mayor," said he, " but there is some- 
 thing in the echoes of these walls, or in this sea of up- 
 turned faces which I behold before me, or in the 
 genius that always hovers over this place, fanning 
 ardent and patriotic feeling by every motion of its 
 wings I know not how it is, but there is s-omething 
 that excites me strangely, deeply, before I even be- 
 gin to speak." Recurring then to the history of his 
 life, to his labors in their midst, and to his public 
 services in the various positions he had been called
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 109 
 
 to fill ; after a clear, condensed statement of the 
 diplomatic labors in which he had been engaged, he 
 referred directly to the remark of the Mayor, that 
 he might be safely intrusted to take care of his own 
 honor and reputation. " I am," said he, " exactly of 
 his opinion. I am quite of opinion that, on a ques- 
 tion touching my own honor and character, as I am 
 to bear the consequences of the decision, I had a 
 great deal better be trusted to make it. No man 
 feels more highly the advantage of the advice of 
 friends than I do ; but on a question so delicate and 
 important as that, I like to choose myself the friends 
 who are to give me advice ; and upon this subject, 
 gentlemen, I shall leave you as enlightened as I found 
 you." With this rather unpromising preface, he pro- 
 ceeded to remark upon the " outpouring of wrath " 
 to which he had been subjected for remaining in the 
 President's Cabinet. He was " a little hard to coax, 
 but as to being driven that was out of the question." 
 He had chosen to trust to his own judgment, and 
 thinking he was at a post where he was in the service 
 of the country and could do it good, he had staid 
 there. Again apologizing for entering upon topics on 
 which his opinions might be different from those of 
 his audience, he cited the resolutions passed " by the 
 most respectable Convention of Whig delegates," 
 which had met in Boston a few days before. He 
 noticed among them a declaration, made on be- 
 half of the Whigs of the State, a " full and final se- 
 paration from the President." Whigs had a right 
 to speak their individual sentiments everywhere ; 
 but whether they might assume to speak for others
 
 110 
 
 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 on a point on which those others had given them no 
 authority, is another question. " I am a Whig," said 
 he " I have always been a Whig, and I always will 
 be one ; and if there are any who would turn me out 
 of the pale of that communion, let them see who will 
 get out first. I am ready to submit to all decisions 
 of Whig conventions on subjects on which they are 
 authorized to make decisions. But it is quite ano- 
 ther question, whether a set of gentlemen, however 
 respectable they may be as individuals, shall 
 have the power to bind me on matters which I 
 have not agreed to submit to their decision." He 
 went on to say that three years of the President's 
 term of office still remained ; that great public in- 
 terests required his attention ; and asked whether 
 all his measures upon these subjects, however useful 
 they might be, were to be opposed by the Whig 
 party of Massachusetts, right or wrong. There were 
 a great many Massachusetts Whigs also in office 
 Collectors, District Attorneys, Postmasters, Marshals. 
 What was to become of them in this separation ? 
 Mr. Everett, our Minister in England, was he expect- 
 ed to come home on this separation, and yield his 
 place to somebody else? ' And in regard to the indi- 
 vidual who addresses you what do his brother Whigs 
 mean to do with him ? Where do they mean to place 
 me ? Generally, when a divorce takes place, the 
 parties divide their children. I am anxious to know 
 where, in the case of this divorce, 1 shall fall." Mr. 
 Webster said he had alluded to this matter because 
 he could not fail to see that the resolution had an inten- 
 tional or an unintentional bearing on his position.
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 It meant that if he should choose to remain in the 
 President's councils he must cease to be a Massa- 
 chusetts Whig. " And I am quite ready," said he, 
 "to put that question to the people of Massa- 
 chusetts." He proceeded to say that there was too 
 general a disposition to postpone all attempts to do 
 good to the country to some future day. Many 
 Whigs thought they saw a prospect of having more 
 power than they then had. But there was a Whig 
 majority in Congress, and the substantial fruits of 
 the great victory of 1840 could, with moderate and 
 prudent councils, still be secured. But nothing but 
 cordial and fraternal union could save the party from 
 renewed prostration. 
 
 Mr. Webster's speech on this occasion was one of 
 great power, and it produced an effect upon the sen- 
 timent of the country. But it could not turn back 
 the tide of indignant public feeling which had been 
 turned at the outset, by the bold impetuosity of Mr. 
 Clay and the seconding efforts of the retiring Secre- 
 taries, against the President. He gradually took 
 ground against the party which had driven him out, 
 and, after an imbecile endeavor to purchase a renomi- 
 nation from the party to which he had deserted, became 
 its open ally and subservient tool. Mr. Webster 
 resigned office in 1843, and remained in private life 
 during the remainder of the Administration. He 
 was succeeded by Mr. Calhoun, who was elected by 
 the President for the special purpose of carrying 
 forward the Annexation of Texas, a measure which 
 he had been led to espouse with great earnestness. 
 though the steps towards its accomplishment were as
 
 112 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 yet concealed from the knowledge of the country. 
 Mr. Webster, on leaving office, endeavored to arouse 
 public attention to the dangers that were impending 
 from this quarter ; but his efforts were not attended 
 with marked success. It vras only upon the eve of 
 another Presidential contest that the question assumed 
 its just proportions in the public eye. 
 
 During his retirement from office much of Mr. 
 Webster's attention was engaged in professional pur- 
 suits, and the year 1844 was marked by several bril- 
 liant exhibitions of his popular and forensic oratory. 
 Two arguments, the one before the Supreme Court 
 of the United States, and the other before that of 
 Massachusetts, are in his very happiest vein. The 
 first was delivered in February, in the case of F. F. 
 Vidal and others, vs. the Executors of the will of 
 Stephen Girard. a case in which property to the 
 value of millions was involved. The main ground 
 taken by Mr. Webster, on behalf of the heirs, against 
 the validity of the will, was that the College at 
 Philadelphia, endowed by the will, was not a charity, 
 because established on Atheistical principles, and 
 therefore not entitled to the protection of the laws. 
 This proposition was supported with all the aids of 
 learning and ingenuity ; and on American soil no 
 more eloquent vindication of religion and its ministers 
 has ever been uttered. The speech, in a pamphlet 
 form, was circulated extensively among the religious 
 world. It remains among the host of evidences he 
 has left us, of the wide scope and infinite diversity of 
 his talents, and the respect he always entertained for 
 the institutions of religion. The argument at Boston,
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 113 
 
 in the case of the Providence Railroad Company 
 against the City of Boston, is, from its nature, a 
 strictly legal effort, and therefore requires no especial 
 notice here. In June, of 1844, the anniversary of 
 the battle of Bunker Hill and the completion of the 
 monument were celebrated with much eclat at Boston. 
 The speech of Mr. Webster, who had baptized the 
 first stone of the column with a stream of eloquence 
 that shall remain classic while the monument and the 
 language endure, was exceedingly appropriate, and 
 though lacking the fire and imaginative splendor of 
 his earlier efforts, abounds with passages of remarkable 
 vigor and beauty. 
 
 The Presidential canvass of 1844. opened by the 
 nomination of Mr. Clay, by acclamation, in the Whig 
 Convention at Baltimore. Mr. Webster, being in 
 that city at the time, made a speech indicating his 
 earnest desire for the triumph of the Whig party and 
 its principles. Mr. Van Buren.in a long letter written 
 just upon the eve of the Democratic Convention, had 
 taken ground decidedly against the annexation of 
 Texas. For this offence, among others, he had been 
 set aside as a candidate, and Mr. Polk was nominated 
 for the Presidency. Mr. Clay had also taken ground 
 against annexation ; and the canvass was conducted, 
 to a very great extent, in all sections of the country, 
 upon this issue. Mr. Webster made several public 
 addresses upon the subject. At Albany, Philadelphia, 
 and elsewhere, he spoke to large assemblies of people, 
 though in all cases he gave attention mainly to ques- 
 tions relating to the commercial, financial and indus- 
 trial interests of the country. There is abundant
 
 114 
 
 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 reason to believe that if Mr. Clay had been content 
 with his first declaration of opinion upon the subject 
 of annexation, he would have been elected. Subse- 
 quent explanations, made to remove anticipated ob- 
 jections to his position in Alabama, and other Southern 
 States, deprived him, to a great extent, of the benefit 
 which that position gave him at the North. 
 
 At the opening of the Congress of 1845, Mr. "Web- 
 ster resumed his seat in the Senate, having been 
 chosen to succeed Mr. Choate. He found under dis- 
 cussion some of the gravest questions that had ever 
 agitated the country. The Oregon Boundary, and 
 the results of Texan Annexation, were urgent ; and 
 popular feeling had been worked up to an extraordi- 
 nary pitch of excitement about both. The Democratic 
 Platform had declared in favor of ultra measures. It 
 only remained for the Whigs, in Senate and House, 
 to play the moderate role of a minority, and as far as 
 possible restrain the violence that threatened to bring 
 on our heads two wars, for either of which we were 
 totally unprepared, at the same hapless moment. The 
 Tariff bill of 1 842 was likewise in imminent danger ; 
 and in every point of view, the posture of the party 
 in relation to the conduct of both the external and 
 internal policy of the Government, was distressing 
 and difficult. Mr. Webster was of course found in 
 the van of the minority. Upon the Oregon question, 
 he maintained the line of adjustment to which the 
 Administration and its supporters were finally obliged 
 to descend. Having opposed the Annexation reso- 
 lutions, he was of course opposed to the precipitate 
 measures by which we.were plunged into the war with
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 115 
 
 Mexico. And on the Tariff bill, he occupied the po- 
 sition he had always occupied, by defending the Whig 
 policy tp the very last. Of the eminently judicious 
 policy of the Whigs with regard to the prosecution of 
 the war, Mr. Webster deserves the credit. While 
 protesting against the measure in its origin and pro- 
 gress, they patriotically sustained the Administration 
 with the most liberal supplies, and facilitated every 
 approach to the only term then attainable, an honor- 
 able and remunerative peace. 
 
 The settlement of the Oregon Boundary dispute, 
 which had existed for many years, was effected during 
 the first year of Mr. Folk's administration, by an 
 amicable division of the Territory to which both Eng- 
 land and the United States laid claim. A bill was 
 promptly introduced and passed the House of Repre- 
 sentatives to organize a Government for the Territory 
 thus acquired. When it reached the Senate, it was 
 amended, by making the Missouri Compromise a part 
 of it excluding Slavery above, and admitting it be- 
 low, the parallel of 36 30' north latitude. This 
 amendment was disagreed to in the House ; and when 
 the bill came back, a long discussion was had upon a 
 motion that the Senate should recede. On the 12th 
 of August, 1848, Mr. Webster spoke in favor of the 
 motion, insisting upon the right of Congress to ex- 
 clude Slavery from this Territory, upon the expedi- 
 ency of exercising that right, upon the groundlessness 
 of the complaint on the part of the South that their 
 property was excluded, and against any further ex- 
 tension of slave territory. Upon the question of ex- 
 tending Southern property, he said that the whole
 
 116 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 complaint was simply this: "The Southern States 
 have peculiar laws, and by those laws there is prop- 
 erty in slaves. This is purely local. The real mean- 
 ing, then, of Southern gentlemen, in making this com- 
 plaint, is, that they cannot go into the Territories of 
 the United States carrying with them their own pecu- 
 liar local law-*-a law which creates property in per- 
 sons. This demand I, for one, shall resist." He 
 closed his remarks by laying down three propositions: 
 
 First. That when this Constitution was adopted, 
 nobody looked for any new acquisition of territory to 
 be formed into slaveholding States. 
 
 Se.cond. That the principles of the Constitution 
 prohibited, and were intended to prohibit, and should 
 be construed to prohibit, all interference of the Gen- 
 eral Government with Slavery, as it existed, and as it 
 still exists, in the States. And 
 
 Third. Looking to the operation of these new ac- 
 quisitions, which have in this great degree had the 
 effect of strengthening that interest in the South by 
 the addition of five States, I feel that there is nothing 
 unjust, nothing of which any honest man can com- 
 plain, if he is intelligent ; I feel that there is nothing 
 with which the civilized world, if they take notice of 
 so humble a person as myself, will reproach me when 
 I say. as I said the other day, that I have made up 
 my mind for one, that under no circumstances will I 
 consent to the further extension of the area of Slavery 
 in the United States, or to the further increase of 
 Slave representation in the House of Representatives. 
 
 The Senate finally receded from its amendment, 
 and the bill passed with a clause for ever excluding
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 117 
 
 S 
 
 Slavery from the Territory in which form it received 
 the signature of the President. 
 
 In the Spring of 1847, Mr. Webster visited the 
 Southern States, passing rapidly through Virginia 
 and North Carolina to South Carolina. At Charles- 
 ton, he was honored by a complimentary dinner from 
 the New England Society of that city, and similar 
 hospitalities were paid him at Columbia, Augusta, and 
 Savannah. He designed going to New Orleans, but 
 ill health compelled him to return. 
 
 The Mexican war meantime had been prosecuted, 
 by the skill and valor of the American arms, to a tri- 
 umphant close. The capital and all the principal 
 posts of the country were in our possession, and 
 a treaty had been concluded by which Mexico ceded 
 to us immense portions of her territory, comprising 
 all of New Mexico and a large part of California. 
 Mr. Webster, on the 22d of March, 1848, opposed 
 the treaty, on the ground that it brought with it 
 large accessions of territory which we did not need, 
 which would only add new Slave States to the Union, 
 which would bring in new States of comparatively 
 small population, and thus vastly augment the power 
 of the Senate over that of the House of Representa- 
 tives, and thus destroy the just relation between the 
 two, and prove in every way injurious to the country. 
 " I think," said he, " I see a course adopted which is 
 likely to turn the Constitution of the land into a de- 
 formed monster, into a curse rather than a blessing ; 
 in fact, a frame of an unequal Government, not found- 
 ed on popular representation, not founded on equal- 
 ity, but on the grossest inequality ; and I think that
 
 118 
 
 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 this process will go on, or that there is danger that 
 it will go on, until this Union shall fall to pieces. I 
 resist it, to-day and always. Whoever falters or 
 whoever flies, I continue the contest !" The treaty 
 was ratified. New Mexico and California became 
 parts of the United States ; and the great question 
 thence arising, to be submitted to the issues of a 
 Presidential canvass, related to the nature of the 
 territorial government under which they should be 
 organized. The House insisted on the exclusion of 
 slavery. The Senate resisted it; and between the 
 two the whole question was left unsettled, and mili- 
 tary power alone kept the territories from a state of 
 anarchy. 
 
 The Democratic National Convention nominated 
 General Cass for the Presidency, greatly to the dis- 
 gust of the friends of Mr. Van Buren. The Whig 
 Convention met at Philadelphia, and nominated Ge- 
 neral Taylor. Mr. Webster declined to be a candi- 
 date for the Vice Presidency, declaring himself a 
 candidate for the first office, and his purpose to re- 
 main so until the representatives of the Whig party 
 should decide otherwise. He was dissatisfied with 
 the nomination of General Taylor, partly because he 
 was opposed to making Presidents of military men, 
 and partly because he believed that the condition of 
 the country required the selection of a Northern 
 man, known to be true in resisting the steady aggres- 
 sions of Slavery. The result led him to despair of 
 ever seeing the North united ; and when the profess- 
 edly exclusive friends of freedom in the territories, 
 selected Mr. Van Buren as their candidate and re-
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 119 
 
 preservative, he was inclined to abandon all further 
 hope of making any successful stand against the do- 
 mination of the Slave-holding States. Falling back, 
 therefore, upon the other issues which had divided 
 the two political parties, he gave his support to the 
 Whig candidate ; taking care to say that it was not 
 because he believed him to be the most fit and proper 
 person for that position, but because he believed his 
 election would be far better for the country than that 
 of General Cass. General Taylor was elected. 
 
 Meantime the people of California, getting no 
 Government from Congress, made one for themselves. 
 They met in State Convention, and formed a Consti- 
 tution, in which slavery was prohibited. This Con- 
 stitution was accepted by the people at an election 
 held for the purpose. President Taylor came into 
 office on the 4th of March, 1849. Owing to a mis- 
 understanding between them, growing out of acci- 
 dental circumstances, which involved blame upon 
 neither side, there were no confidential relations be- 
 tween the President and Mr. Webster. In the House 
 of Representatives the Anti-Slavery proviso was in- 
 sisted on as an essential feature of any Government 
 for the territories that might be passed. This posi- 
 tion was sustained by resolutions in all the non- 
 Slaveholding States, by large public meetings and by 
 Northern sentiment generally. The South felt high- 
 ly indignant at these attempts to exclude Slavery 
 from the new territories. A meeting of a majority 
 of the members of Congress from the Slaveholding 
 States was held at the Capital, at one of which Mr. 
 Calhoun was appointed to draw up an address of the
 
 120 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 Southern delegates to their constituents. The ad- 
 dress thus prepared was afterwards adopted, and re- 
 ceived the signature of forty-eight members of Con- 
 gress from Southern States. These movements led 
 to a very considerable excitement throughout the 
 country, though neither the state of public feeling, 
 nor the movements of any portion of the people, were 
 as hostile or menacing to the peace of the country as 
 had been witnessed on previous occasions of our his- 
 tory. Mr. Clay had presented a series of proposi- 
 tions, five in number, which were designed to be em- 
 bodied in a single act, and to constitute one measure 
 for compromising and adjusting the difficulty. Pre- 
 sident Taylor was understood to be in favor of act- 
 ing upon each separately, and on its merits, doing 
 whatever justice should dictate, and trusting to the 
 attachment of the people, and the vigor of the pow- 
 ers with which the Constitution clothes the Govern- 
 ment, to prevent any serious results. He was in fa- 
 vor of admitting California with the Constitution 
 which the people had framed, and of leaving the ter- 
 ritories to settle the question of admitting or exclud- 
 ing slavery for themselves. Deputations of South- 
 ern members of Congress waited upon him. with ear- 
 nest remonstrances and equally earnest menaces ; but 
 neither shook his convictions or disturbed his pur- 
 poses. The compromise measure of Mr. Clay failed 
 to command the assent of Congress. And on the 7th 
 of March, Mr. Webster made an extended and im- 
 pressive speech upon the whole subject, intended to 
 present a basis upon which all sections could consent 
 \ to stand, and by which all future collisions might be 
 
 L,
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 121 
 
 avoided. He proposed, as practical measures, near- 
 ly the plan of the President, namely : the admission 
 of California, and the organization of Territorial 
 Governments for New Mexico and Utah, without any 
 ixcluding clause urging that such a clause would, 
 41 this case, be superfluous. But he indicated a wil- 
 lingness to purchase the claim of Texas to a portion 
 if LVew Mexico, which the President proposed to sub- 
 mit to the adjudication of the Supreme Court, and 
 made sundry declarations of his own personal senti- 
 ments, indicating a strong disposition to make all 
 possible concessions to Southern demands, for the 
 sake of preserving the peace and stability of the 
 Union. His speech on this occasion was exceedingly 
 able, and awakened a degree of public interest fully 
 e<jual to that of any of his previous efforts. Con- 
 nected, to some extent, with these measures, was a 
 bill amending the law of 1793 for the recovery of fu- 
 gitive slaves, so as to make it more effectual. It was 
 originally introduced by Mr. Mason, of Virginia, and 
 received Mr. Webster's support, although he had 
 prepared and designed to offer an amendment, secur- 
 ing to persons' claimed as fugitives the benefit of a 
 trial by jury, to test the question whether they owed 
 service to their claimants. 
 
 We have good reason for believing that Mr. Web- 
 ster at this time had been disabused of erroneous im- 
 pressions that had led, as noticed above, to a partial 
 estrangement between himself and the President ; 
 and that he had come to regard G-en. Taylor as the 
 man best fitted by position, and by his views, to car- 
 ry the country tafely through the crisis. This, how- 
 6
 
 122 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 ever, belongs to the secret history of those important 
 events, and the time for writing that, even if we 
 were competent and possessed of the requisite mate- 
 rial, has not yet come. It is sufficient to say that 
 if Gen. Taylor had lived, Mr. Webster would have 
 been the acknowledged leader of the Administration 
 in the Senate, and that affairs would undoubtedly 
 have taken a different course. At this juncture, 
 however, Gen. Taylor died, and Mr. Fillmore, then 
 Vice-President, succeeded to the office. Mr. Web- 
 ster was at once called by him, and by the voice of 
 the country, to the post which he occupied at the 
 time of his decease. The office was no longer op- 
 pressed with those burdens of unfinished business, 
 which had encumbered it at the end of Mr. Van Bu- 
 ren's term. But it had nevertheless its share of pe- 
 culiar responsibilities. The administration of Mr. 
 Fillmore was required to enforce with the whole 
 weight of its exalted influence the conditions of the 
 Compromise, which were speedily enacted into laws. 
 Some of those conditions offended the moral feelings 
 and prejudices of one section of the Union : and the 
 other pressed all the more eagerly for their relentless 
 fulfilment. To no portions of the country were the 
 Compromise measures more distasteful than to New 
 England, and to Mr. Webster's own State. The Se- 
 cretary, nevertheless, did not hesitate to lend the 
 whole strength of his popularity and of his intellec- 
 tual resources to reconcile the reluctant North. His 
 zeal, perhaps, transcended the suggestions of personal 
 and political expediency. Some of it was positively 
 due to the malignant violence and keenness with
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 123 
 
 which his course had been hailed by Abolitionists and 
 ultra Free-Soilers ; but those who knew Mr. Webster 
 most intimately, bear witness that the principal mo- 
 tive of his course from first to last was an unwaver- 
 ing conviction that the duration of the Union and the 
 sanctity of the Constitution, depended upon entire 
 acquiescence in those pacificatory conventions. The 
 effect upon the state of feeling at the North was per- 
 haps fortunate for the country ; but it cannot be 
 doubted that a large number of personal friends and 
 veteran supporters of the statesman were thencefor- 
 ward obliged to temper their admiration with some 
 portion of regret. 
 
 It was only a few weeks after Mr. Webster's ac- 
 cession to the Secretaryship of State, that the letter 
 of Chevalier Hulseman, in relation to an alleged in- 
 terference of the American government in the inter- 
 nal affairs of Austria, was addressed to the Depart- 
 ment. This document, famous only for the response 
 it provoked, contained a recital of complaints pre- 
 ferred by the Imperial Court, in consequence of Mr. 
 Dudley Mann's mission of observation to Austria and 
 Hungary, and the reports made by that agent, in 
 which language disrespectful to the Governments of 
 Russia and Austria, was alleged to have been used ; 
 and the Austrian Charge felt impelled to enter a pro- 
 test against what his principals chose to regard as an 
 act of impertinent intervention. The reply of Mr. 
 Webster, which was "withheld for some time as if to 
 aggravate the contemptuous rejoinder by a preface of 
 contemptuous silence, is fresh in every recollection. 
 Its lofty and dignified tone, a tone indeed of haughty
 
 124 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 condescension ; the faithful and unanswerable refuta- 
 tion it offered to some of Mr. Hulseman's allegations, 
 and the air with which controversy about others was 
 declined ; the rebuke administered to the Austrian 
 Government for its despotic barbarity ; the bold and 
 unmistakable statement of the American policy to- 
 ward a people ridding itself of such a yoke as that 
 imposed upon the Hungarians ; these traits, and the 
 animated eloquence with which they were framed, 
 constitute the note to the Austrian Charge one of the 
 finest papers in the archives of diplomacy. It will 
 remain as a model for diplomatic controversy hereaf- 
 ter, where republican practice is called in question, 
 and republican frankness is demanded to justify it. 
 It will be regarded as the authority upon all matters 
 of external policy. And scholars and general readers 
 will recur to it as a pattern of literary elegance and 
 intellectual brilliancy. 
 
 In May, 1851, Mr. Webster accompanying the 
 President and his colleagues in the Cabinet, visited 
 the State of New-York, on the occasion of celebrat- 
 ing the completion of the New-York and Erie Rail- 
 road. On reaching Dunkirk, he was detained there 
 by the illness of his son, and compelled to separate 
 from the rest of the party. At Buffalo he was com- 
 plimented by a public dinner, at which he made an 
 extended and admirable speech, mainly upon the 
 rapid growth of that section of the State, with allu- 
 sions to some of the leading topics that had recently 
 engaged public attention. The next day, on the 
 22d, he addressed the people of Buffalo more direct- 
 ly upon the subjects which were then prominent in
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 125 
 
 the public min4, vindicating the policy of the Admin- 
 istration upon all points, and defending his own 
 course. He was greeted also by large public gather- 
 ings of people at Rochester, Albany, and other points 
 along the route, at all of which he made addresses 
 more or less extended. 
 
 Very soon after his return to Washington, Mr. 
 Webster's attention was called to our relations with 
 Spain, in consequence of the expeditions against 
 Cuba, to which General Lopez and a large number of 
 American citizens fell victims. His offices, less 
 promptly rendered than an impatient public sentiment 
 demanded, procured the release of a large number of 
 prisoners who had been carried to Spain, and subse- 
 quently obtained the discharge of Mr. John S. 
 Thrasher, whose dubious citizenship evoked from the 
 Secretary an able discussion of the law of domicil. 
 The rough treatment of the Spanish Consul at New 
 Orleans by the populace, inflamed by the cruelties 
 practised upon the soldiers of the expedition by the 
 Spanish authorities of Cuba, was likewise the sub- 
 ject of correspondence and reparation. The last 
 year of Mr. Webster's life was occupied with several 
 diplomatic questions of the highest importance, but 
 which he was prevented from completing by the hand 
 of death. These were the revival of the Clayton 
 and Bulwer Treaty in relation to Central American 
 affairs ; the Tehuantepec Treaty ; the question of 
 the right of fishery ; and that of the ownership of 
 the Lobos Islands. As these are contemporary mat- 
 ters, and opinions about them still variable, because 
 not founded upon the most ample supplies of infor 

 
 126 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 mation, and as their consummation wUl now pass into 
 other hands, we do not think proper to admit them 
 into our estimate of the Statesman. We know no- 
 thing of the issue that might have been given'to any 
 of them had the illustrious diplomatist survived. It 
 is not worth while, with the lights before us. to say 
 any thing more than that the action of Mr. Webster 
 was undoubtedly the result of entire devotion to 
 what he believed to be the truest interests of the 
 country, and that whatever room there may be to 
 question the soundness of his conclusions, there is no 
 reason to impeach his sincerity and integrity. 
 
 In tracing this outline of the biography of a man 
 who fills in American history a place equal in honor 
 and dignity, though differing in kind, with those oc- 
 cupied by Pitt, Fox, and Burke, in the history of 
 England, we have been obliged to pass by many of those 
 occasions when he came in more immediate contact 
 with the people. In the published collection of his 
 works, there are various orations, addresses, and let- 
 ters, which excited the highest applause at the time 
 of their publication, and remain as witnesses of the 
 diversified qualities and resources of his mind. We 
 might mention among these his eulogistic tributes to 
 General Jackson and Mr. Calhoun ; his various ad- 
 dresses to his friends in Boston and neighbors at 
 Marshfield ; his oration at the New Hampshire festi- 
 val; his capital paper read last winter before the 
 New-York Historical Society, and published in the 
 Daily Times ; his letter to Hon. Isaac Hill, and to 
 our Minister at Constantinople, in relation to the re- 
 lease of the Hungarian refugees. No one of these
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 127 
 
 but illustrates some strong, masculine, but exquisitely 
 sculptured feature of his Titanic intellect; and 
 forms one of the many links by which he attracted 
 to himself, not only the popular admiration, but the 
 admiration, the esteem, the enthusiastic devotion of 
 all educated men. 
 
 It would however be unjust to his memory to pass 
 unnoticed his opinions and action in regard to the 
 great event by which in future time the current year 
 will be distinguished, the visit of the Hungarian 
 Kossuth to the United States. Mr. Webster had 
 early evinced the warm interest which he felt in the 
 welfare of that noble martyr to the cause of Consti- 
 tutional Liberty in Hungary, by his letter of instruc- 
 tions to Hon. George P. Marsh, our Minister at Con- 
 stantinople, directing him to use all the influence of 
 his oflicial position to prevent his surrender to the 
 Austrian Government, and to permit his retirement 
 to the United States. Governor Kossuth reached 
 New-York on the 6th of December, 1851, and at once 
 entered upon that great pilgrimage of romance, and 
 of love to the crushed hopes and liberties of his na- 
 tive land, which stands without parallel in the history 
 of the world. " For the first time," says the most 
 eloquent American living, in speaking of his appeals 
 to the pity of the people of this Kepublic, " for the 
 first time since the transcendent genius of Demosthenes 
 strove with the downward age of Greece ; or since 
 the Prophets of Israel announced, each tone of the 
 hymn grander, sadder than before, the successive 
 footfalls of the approaching Assyrian, beneath whose 
 Bpear the Law should cease and the vision be seen no
 
 128 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 more ; our ears, our hearts, have drank the sweetest, 
 most mournful, most awful of the tones which man 
 may ever utter, or may ever hear, the eloquence of 
 an Expiring Nation. When shall we be quite cer- 
 tain again, that the lyre of Orpheus did not kindle 
 savage natures to a transient discourse of reason ; 
 did not suspend the labours and charm the pains of 
 the damned ; did not lay the guardian of the grave 
 asleep, and bring back Eurydice from the region be- 
 yond the river, to the warm, upper air?" At the in- 
 vitation of Congress, Kossuth visited Washington, 
 and on the 7th of January, partook of a public ban- 
 quet tendered to him by a large number of the mem- 
 bers of both Houses. Mr. Webster was present on 
 this occasion, and made a speech, in which, although 
 restrained by the proprieties of his position, from mak- 
 ing any allusion to the sentiments or intended action 
 of the Government, he did not hesitate to declare 
 his entire sympathy with the attempt of Hungary to 
 achieve her independence, and his opinion that she was 
 entitled, by her population, by her institutions, and 
 by the valor of her people, to an independent na- 
 tional existence. He also referred to the speech which 
 he made in the Senate of the United States, in 1824, 
 upon the principles involved in the Greek revolution ; 
 and declared that he adhered to them in every re- 
 spect, and was quite ready to apply them to whatever 
 case might be presented. The citations we have made, 
 in a previous portion of this paper, from that speech, 
 supersede the necessity of dwelling further upon the 
 specific purport of this declaration. In letters writ- 
 ten, in reply to various invitations to attend public
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 129 
 
 meetings upon the subject, he expressed similar views 
 with equal emphasis. 
 
 Mr. Webster has achieved high distinction in 
 three apparently incompatible walks of life walks 
 that are incompatible to all but men of superior ge- 
 nius. As a lawyer, he has for very many years held 
 the foremost rank. Surpassed by many in legal 
 learning, by some in logical power, and by a few in 
 the eloquence of his appeals to the jury, in the com- 
 bination of all these great faculties, he stands unri- 
 valled. As a statesman, in the most comprehensive 
 meaning of that large word, no American, except 
 Alexander Hamilton, can maintain a comparison 
 with him. Mr. Calhoun had a more acute and meta- 
 physical mind ; Mr. Clay, with a more electric nature, 
 had far greater sagacity in reading public sentiment, 
 and in gaining command of the springs of popular 
 attachment ; and each of those great men held in 
 more complete control the opinions and conduct of 
 large masses of their countrymen. But in that large, 
 liberal comprehensiveness which saw all around and 
 all through every subject which studied and judged 
 every thing in all its relations, and in that high- 
 toned, unbending, uncompromising dignity of thought, 
 of language and of manner, with which he was al- 
 ways clothed, and which gave infinite inipressiveness 
 to every thing he did or said neither of them, nor 
 any other American, living or dead, was equal to him. 
 His political career has been marked by, greater con- 
 sistency of principle than that of most of his distin- 
 guished cotemporaries, and by quite as close adher- 
 ence to a single system of measures as is compatible 
 *
 
 130 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 with wisdom in a science which is, in fact, only a 
 science of expedients. Upon the question of the 
 Tariff, he changed his policy but only to meet 
 changes in the business relations and interests of the 
 section of the country for which he acted. At a 
 still later day, during the struggles of 1 850, for sec- 
 tional supremacy, Mr. Webster held a different position 
 from that which he occupied with such distinction 
 during the similar convulsions of 1833. But the prin- 
 ciples which he maintained on both these occasions 
 were essentially the same: it was only upon the prac- 
 tical measures in which they were to be embodied, 
 that he had changed. And, always in all these 
 cases and in all the acts of his life, in every thing he 
 ever did or said, from the earliest day of his public 
 service down to the latest syllable of his recorded 
 time, he lived, and moved, and had his being, under 
 the domination of an ever-present love of Country, 
 which knew no change, and left no act or word of his 
 life unmarked by its presence and its power. A more 
 thorough American never trod the continent than 
 Daniel Webster. He loved his country; he bowed 
 before the wisdom and holy patriotism of its founders 
 and its fathers ; he reverenced the Constitution which 
 gave it national being and position in the view of the 
 world ; and he devoted all the energies of his life to 
 its defence against whatever threatened, from any 
 quarter, to weaken its foundations or impair its 
 strength. For this high service, rendered with such 
 matchless power, and fruitful of influences which will 
 make themselves felt at every period of our future
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 131 
 
 history, he merits and will receive the profoundest 
 gratitude of every heart. 
 
 But, besides the reputation which he won as a 
 lawyer and a statesman, Mr. Webster has received 
 the highest rank as a literary man. His speeches, 
 his letters, his orations all the products of his pen 
 and the utterances of his tongue, will be studied and 
 admired by future ages, not less for their consummate 
 literary merit, than for the qualities more directly 
 connected with the special purposes for which they 
 were prepared. In the early part of his life, during 
 his college days and for some years after, his style 
 was exceedingly vicious and bombastic, to a degree 
 which no one familiar only with his later productions 
 would believe possible. There have been few men in 
 this country of equally laborious and studious habits 
 with Mr. Webster ; and he devoted himself for suc- 
 cessive years, with an earnest and resolute fidel- 
 ity, to the correction and perfection of his style. He 
 was fastidious to a remarkable degree in his choice 
 of words, in the shaping of his sentences, and even in 
 the punctuation and emphasis which should be given 
 to them. And, although during his later years, as 
 the effect of this rigid and relentless mental disci- 
 pline, easy and graceful elegance of language had 
 become so habitual with him as to seem devoid of all 
 effort and study, he never laid aside this minute at- 
 tention to his style, or suffered any point, however tri- 
 fling, of critical accuracy to escape his notice. Instances 
 of his conscientious exactitude, especially in the reports 
 of his speeches, have repeatedly fallen under the ob- 
 servation of the present writer. A very foolish en- 
 
 \
 
 182 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 dcavor has been made by some of Mr. Webster's 
 friends to create the impression that the great ora- 
 tions and speeches which have carried his celebrity 
 all over the world, were made with little effort and 
 trifling preparation. Even so judicious a writer as 
 Mr. Everett, seeks to confirm the statement of Mr. 
 March, that the reply to Hayne was the result of at 
 most a few hours' reflection, and that all the notes he 
 made for it were contained upon one side of a sheet 
 of paper. This latter statement is true, so far as the 
 notes from wliich he spoke were concerned; but the 
 general impression conveyed in these representations 
 is unjust to Mr. Webster, and calculated to induce 
 very injurious theories and habits in the minds of 
 the young. Mr. Webster had prepared himself for 
 that debate with all his usual care. He knew a fort- 
 night beforehand the points that would be made, the 
 positions that would be assumed, and the parties that 
 would be assailed. And we have no doubt that all 
 those magnificent passages which live in the memory 
 and glow in the heart of all who read them, were 
 prepared beforehand, with the utmost care and the 
 nicest discrimination in the choice of words. And 
 the same thing is certainly true of many other of his 
 most celebrated speeches. 
 
 But great as Mr. Webster was in all these high 
 spheres of intellectual activity, no one who has ever 
 had opportunities of judging will hesitate to say, that 
 he was equally great in the more restricted department 
 of Conversation. He was an accomplished scholar, 
 especially conversant with the best portions of English 
 literature, and more or less familiar with every subject
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 133 
 
 which engages attention. In a circle of friends, at 
 table, or even in a tete-a-tete with a single person, his 
 conversation was the richest and most instructive enter- 
 tainment that can be conceived. He was sometimes 
 a little too didactic to suit the ideal of agoodconverser; 
 but no hearer ever complained of this as a fault. He 
 expressed himself always, upon every occasion, and in 
 making the most trifling remark, with that clearness, ac- 
 curacy and weighty dignity which were inseparable from 
 his nature. We cannot imagine a richer contribution 
 to the literature of America and the world, than would 
 be a record of Mr. Webster's conversations upon 
 topics of public concern. No such perfect collection, 
 of course, can ever be made. But those who were 
 admitted to the high privilege of his intimate and con- 
 fidential society, owe to the world some reminiscences 
 of this great man. of whom the world can never know 
 too much. For it is only thus that coming generations 
 can receive that degree of instruction and advantage 
 to which they have a claim, from Him who, iu so 
 emphatic a sense, 
 
 -" was not for an Age, 
 
 But for all Time."
 
 THE N. Y. DAILY TIMES "LEADER" ON 
 THE DEATH OF MR. WEBSTER. 
 
 THE event, which the whole country has, for a few 
 days, been anticipating with the deepest sorrow, has 
 at length occurred. Daniel Webster is no longer of 
 the living. He has passed from the scene of his vast 
 labors and his glorious triumphs, to join the great of 
 all ages in the spirit-land. But he has left a nation 
 of mourners. His family, his relatives, the extended 
 circle of his ardent personal friends, have no monopoly 
 of grief but every American in whose breast beats 
 an American heart partakes the general sorrow. No 
 man could have departed from us who would have 
 left so large a void whose place could not have been 
 more easily supplied. No name of the present day 
 is so intimately interwrought into the very web and 
 woof of our country's history none, surely, to which 
 an American may point with a more heartfelt and 
 glowing pride. The mourning which spreads over 
 the land will know no North, no South, no East, no 
 West. It will not be confined by narrow limits ; 
 | State lines cannot bound it degrees of latitude or 
 
 Vrf'VN.XN^-r'^^^./.
 
 136 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 longitude will not check its flowing ; but over the 
 broad bosom of this great Continent, from ocean to 
 ocean nay, wherever on the ocean float the Stars 
 and Stripes, there will well up from noble hearts the 
 profoundest lamentation for the inestimable loss our 
 country has sustained. Party animosities slink into 
 their burrow political rivalries and jealousies are 
 overshadowed by the great bereavement, and hide 
 away. The weapons of party warfare fall harmless 
 to the ground, and contending parties and rival sec- 
 tions give token of humanity, and swell the tide and 
 volume of the common grief. 
 
 It seems, indeed, a pity that such large experience, 
 such commanding powers, gathered and strengthened 
 amid the troublous contests, trials and vicissitudes of 
 the world, could not have been longer vouchsafed to 
 us. a conspicuous light and guide to the present and 
 coming generations of men. But no endowments of 
 heaven can guarantee an earthly existence beyond the 
 usual limits of life ; nor, however much mankind 
 might gain, would it be just to the individual, to 
 withhold him from that higher sphere that beckons 
 and awaits him. But Webster's bright example and 
 recorded wisdom remain. As he passed over the disc 
 of this life, he has enacted his part on so conspicuous 
 a field, that all have been able to profit by his career; 
 and his majestic orations yet resound in every ear. 
 It is fortunate, indeed, that his forensic reputation 
 will not depend, as that of many great orators has 
 done, merely on tradition. It will not die out of the 
 memory of any succeeding generation. His own 
 great thoughts, in his own harmonious and stirring
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 137 
 
 language, are stamped upon the living page, " and 
 there they will remain for ever." 
 
 That Mr. Webster should at this time have sur- 
 rendered his life, cannot be surprising, even to those 
 who know how much of iron entered into his consti- 
 tution, when they reflect upon the extraordinary la- 
 bors he has performed. What frame but his that 
 would not have broken down under merely the pro- 
 fessional duties that have been cast upon him ? For 
 nearly half a century, he has been sought out, not 
 only in his own, but in other countries and States, to 
 sustain the chief weight and responsibility of the most 
 important litigations. If mighty interests were at 
 stake, or new and interesting questions involved, or 
 if causes depended upon constitutional construction, 
 the services were invoked of this Goliath of the North. 
 When we remember a few of the most conspicuous of 
 the causes in which he has been employed, the Astor 
 cases in this city the Dartmouth College case the 
 famous steamboat case between New Jersey and New 
 York, of Gibbons vs. Ogden the Crowningshiclds 
 the New-York Fire cases the Girard will the 
 recent India Rubber case when we turn over the 
 decisions of the Federal Courts of the Union, and 
 see how numerous and important are the questions 
 upon which he has been professionally called to shed 
 the light of his mind -when we think how many hun- 
 dreds of nisi prius causes he has tried, reports of 
 which have never been embalmed in type remember* 
 ing too, that in all of these cases it has been his lot 
 to try his strength with the ablest end most distin- 
 guished lawyers of the Union, wjth men whose powera
 
 might well arouse the highest effort of transcend- 
 ent genius with Jeremiah Mason, Samuel Dexter 
 and Joseph Story, with Pinckney, Emmett, Wirt, 
 and with the most brilliant advocates of the present 
 day, it may well awaken surprise that, under the 
 pressure of such legal labors, he should have stood 
 up so stoutly and so long. But when we accumulate 
 the other achievements of his life his miscellaneous 
 studies his laborious researches into almost every 
 department of knowledge his agricultural supervi- 
 sion and care his varied, continuous and volumin- 
 ous correspondence his magnificent addresses upon 
 literary and patriotic topics and occasions his social 
 duties though pleasing, yet rendered numerous and 
 exhausting by his high distinction his long con- 
 tinued and prodigious legislative labors in the councils 
 of the Union, partaking in the discussions of the 
 many exciting questions that have arrested or shaken 
 the country his task so successfully performed as 
 the head of the State Department and the wear and 
 tear of the constant excogitation of his stupendous 
 intellect, we are impressed with astonishment, not 
 only at the mind that could accomplish such gigantic 
 labors, but at the corporeal frame, which, for seventy 
 years, could sustain the working of such huge en-i 
 ginery. Surely it was not of common materials, as 
 it was not of common mould. It had the elements 
 of rare endurance, and unwonted power. But, at 
 last, exhausted, it has released its hold upon the 
 great Soul that has so long inhabited and informed it. 
 And yet, up to a very recent period, we could not 
 speak of him as having grown old in his labors, for
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 139 
 
 years left no .enervating mark upon him, but only 
 seemed to lay an accumulating wealth of dignity and 
 majesty upon that historic head. 
 
 In the short period of our national existence, 
 our country has been wonderfully fruitful of great 
 men. The stirring period of her revolutionary his- 
 tory was calculated to bring out and excite to utmost 
 tension, whatever of talent, power, and genius then 
 existed amongst her sons. The succeeding stage of 
 her career was scarcely less adapted to call into re- 
 quisition the utmost efforts of her children, in the 
 necessity the time imposed, of reducing chaos into 
 order, and organizing, launching, and boldly carrying 
 forward this new government ; and intellectual capa- 
 bilities could not lie idle, when such tempting fieldg 
 of conquest stretched within the view of laudable 
 ambition. And yet the eye may glance along the 
 starry names that hang in the clear sky of our na- 
 tional history, and it will find none of greater mag- 
 nitude or brighter ray than that which has just 
 ascended to take its merited position in the constel- 
 lated dome. 
 
 In real intellectual strength it is probable that 
 Webster rarely had his equal since the morning of 
 time. Certainly, at the time of his death, no man 
 known to us, in any of the nations, evinced a like 
 capacity. Strength, mental sinew, was his crowning 
 characteristic. The resistless power with which he 
 trod the field of contest betokened inevitable overthrow 
 to those who dared oppose him. When the chosen 
 champion of the South, amidst the exultations of his 
 friends, endeavored to bind and fetter the arms of
 
 140 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 Webster with the tough cords that had been so long 
 fabricating and seasoning, the giant sat in calm repose 
 till his enemies rejoiced in the anticipated accom- 
 plishment of their object ; then, slowly rising, as if 
 sustaining the drooping hopes of the country, with 
 the light of conscious superiority beaming from his 
 eye, he tore asunder the strands that bound him like 
 wisps of straw, and applying his stalwart shoulders to 
 the temple his adversaries had reared, whelmed the 
 structure and architects in one common and undis- 
 tinguishable ruin. No intellectual contest in this 
 country had ever excited similar hopes and fears. 
 The whole people had started to their feet at the 
 eloquent and audacious assault that Col. Hayne had 
 made upon him. Great and commanding as all knew 
 his powers to be ; confident as was the reliance of 
 his friends in the exhaustless fertility of his genius, 
 yet every one but himself felt the tremor of fear that 
 there was a possibility of failure, and that, in that 
 time of awful responsibility, the lustre of his name 
 might dim and die before the darting splendor of the 
 Southern star. But, from the first moment that his 
 clarion note resounded in the Senate, hope changed 
 to confidence ; then peal on peal of withering sarcasm 
 broke over the heads of his affrighted foes ; he brushed 
 their cobweb arguments from sight, planted the pa- 
 triotism of the old Bay State on an immortal emi- 
 nence, and closed with a strain of deep and magni- 
 ficent eloquence upon the blessings, the necessity, 
 and the glory of the Union that has no parallel in 
 the records of speech. What were his sensations 
 during the delivery of this splendid oration he has
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 141 
 
 himself narrated, in answer to a friend. " I felt," 
 said he, " as if everything I had ever seen, or read, 
 or heard, was floating before me in one grand pano- 
 rama, and I had little else to do than to reach up 
 and cull a thunderbolt, and hurl it at him ! " 
 
 'In referring to a professional argument made by 
 him only five or six months since, we said of him, 
 and now repeat, that thirty years ago, when Webster 
 was in the freshness of his ambition, and the prime 
 of his physical life, he must have been the most con- 
 vincing, resistless, terrific advocate that ever stood 
 before a jury. So many forces mingled in him such 
 a substratum of common sense, the great primitive 
 rock that supports all else such comprehensiveness 
 and sweep of glance such imagination when he chose 
 to permit its intrusion amidst his sterner thoughts 
 such diction, every word a sledge-hammer such ca- 
 pacity for stripping off all disguises in which inge- 
 nuity may have dressed its sophistries such advan- 
 tages of person, of presence, manner, eye and voice 
 were perhaps never united in equal proportions in 
 any individual before. The arguments of his oppo- 
 nents were brittle in his hands. What Gordian knots 
 he could not wait to untie he rent in twain. Before 
 this tribunal a jury to our mind, unquestionably, 
 though this may not accord with the general view, 
 Webster stood in the position, of all others, best 
 adapted to display his resources and his strength. 
 Some suppose that the Senate furnished the brightest 
 scene for his intellectual gladiatorship. Many think, 
 from the logical character of his mind, that severe 
 and close ratiocination before the Supreme Court of
 
 142 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 the United States was the element in which he found 
 himself most at home. And some imagine, that on 
 great occasions of public interest and before popular 
 assemblies, where he might escape from the unyield- 
 ing bands of logic, and follow his inclination amid 
 chosen topics, and indulge the lead of his powerful 
 imagination, he rose above the standard of his usual 
 accomplishment. But. in our judgment, there never 
 was a place where he has been so thoroughly aroused, 
 where he has come so near his possibility of effort, as 
 when, standing before twelve jurors, in an individual 
 case, that touched his sympathies, and fired by the 
 immediate antagonism of able adversaries, he has put 
 forth his energies to defend some hunted right, or 
 pursue some grievous wrong. 
 
 A prominent feature in Mr. Webster's argumen- 
 tation was the extraordinary clearness, skill and com- 
 pactness of his statement. His formal statement of 
 a case was itself a demonstration. A few simple 
 sentences seemed to raise the question above the 
 realm of doubt, and place it beyond assault ; and 
 his subsequent arguments hedged it around with im- 
 pregnable defences. 
 
 Another admirable quality was his rare power of 
 condensation. While other men sought to expand, 
 he labored to condense. The material he used was 
 not beaten into leaf, but crowded into bars and ingots. 
 A graphic sentence oft contained the whole question 
 and its solution. He aimed no scattering fowling- 
 piece, that threw its innocent shot around the subject 
 to be hit, but planted his rifle bullet in the very 
 centre of the target.
 
 DANIEL AVEBSTER. 
 
 143 
 
 No man could hear or read the speeches of Web- 
 ster without being struck with the rich philosophy 
 that was continually enfolding his subject. Themes 
 that other men looked up to gaze at, he stooped to 
 touch ; and when he touched them, lifted them into 
 the sphere he occupied, enveloped them with the af- 
 fluence of his own intellect, invested them with clas- 
 sical allusion and golden suggestion, gave them greater 
 dignity and higher views, and linked them to broader 
 associations. 
 
 Mr. Webster's person wore the significance of his 
 grandeur : it was a tenement worthy of the tenant. 
 His ample proportions, brawny but graceful ; his im- 
 posing form, his dignified manner, his imperial port, 
 his solemn gaze, his majestic and towering head 
 the vision and faculty divine that looked out of those 
 comprehensive, spiritual orbs, the intellectuality that 
 sat enthroned upon his massive brow, impressed the 
 beholder with unwonted awe. Most great men fall 
 so far short of the ideal that is formed of them, that 
 they dwindle and dwarf upon approach. Distance 
 of time or space lends its enchantment to the view, 
 and through its magnifying mists those gods of our 
 idolatry loom up into Titanic stature. But to this 
 rule Mr. Webster was an exception, almost the sole 
 exception. We doubt, if ever the man came into his 
 presence, who did not leave with enhanced concep- 
 tions of his native majesty and power. Nature had 
 set her seal of greatness upon him, and the common 
 voice of his countrymen, in calling him the " godlike," 
 testified that that seal was not illegible to them. 
 
 He found the solace of his pastime hours, in the
 
 144 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 resonant voices of the waves that ocean dashed alone: 
 the beach which margined his country home in su- 
 perintending agricultural uses in walking, driving, 
 fishing, and in the genial converse of family and 
 troops of friends. He rose at the hour of three or 
 four, and. in study and labor awaited the announce- 
 ment of auroral dawn. The quiet and beautiful 
 morning hours imparted to him strength and know- 
 ledge, and garlanded with freshness his momentous 
 life. 
 
 Mr. Webster must have left materials for bio- 
 graphy of uncommon extent and opulence. The six 
 volumes of his speeches which have just appeared, 
 may be immeasurably extended. His manuscripts 
 must disclose a vast variety and range of interesting 
 composition. His diaries and correspondence would 
 be seized by the public with avidity, while his con- 
 versations, and the countless anecdotes concerning 
 him, that rest in the memories of individuals, would 
 give intense zest to his biography. We should hope 
 that every one who had any anecdote or interesting 
 conversation of his to relate and who has not, that 
 has ever spent a fealf hour in his presence would 
 commit the same to permanent form, and transmit it 
 to some common destination, where it might await 
 the pen of the biographer. His speeches have done 
 much to educate the present generation of active 
 men. In country schools, academies, and colleges, 
 his sonorous sentences have formed the staple of de- 
 clamation. He has thus poured his lofty sentiments 
 \ into the minds of our youth, and every educated man 
 > of the country must this day feel that he is under 
 
 V_r Np ^>N - *Vr*-v>* -1 jf
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 145 
 
 obligations he can never repay, to the inspirations of 
 Daniel Webster. Let us now have his life, and all 
 the productions of his pen, and such of the utter- 
 ances of his tongue as may be caught and gathered, 
 that they may all float down the stream of time, a 
 blessing and delight to all ages co-existent with 
 literature and liberty. Such names and such pro- 
 ductions make the garniture of history. 
 
 In the sadness of this occasion, how naturally, yet 
 how sorrowfully, does the mind turn towards that 
 splendid triumvirate of statesmen, Clay, Calhoun, 
 and Webster, but recently the pride and glory of the 
 land, now enacting another stage of their destiny in 
 the world beyond the stars. For forty years they 
 had mingled their efforts and voices in the councils 
 of the Union. Upon all great questions of public 
 policy, each has left his indelible m;irk. Each, as 
 we have stated heretofore, in himself a host with 
 physical and intellectual powers so different, yet so 
 surpassing though not always agreeing, indeed, 
 sometimes at angry variance a war among the gods 
 yet always inseparably associated marching side 
 by side through many years of pith and moment in 
 the history of America and the world pre-eminent in 
 powers of thought, and in the mode of expressing 
 thought ; we see them now, with the eye of memory, 
 in that more than Amphictyonic assemblage' Clay, 
 with his electric fire and burning and impassioned 
 eloquence Calhoun, clear, terse, logical, metaphy- 
 sical, with the skill of Tell, shooting an apple from 
 the head, and Webster, calm, grand, majestic, -sit- 
 ting on the loftiest peaks of Olympus, darting light- 
 f
 
 nings, and rolling thunders. But now, alas ! those 
 eloquent voices are hushed ; those great hearts have 
 ceased their beating ; their continuous guidance has 
 been withdrawn from us ; and the American people, 
 in sorrow and orphanage, lament their loss.
 
 MEMORIALS OF MR. WEBSTER, 
 
 IN A SERIES OF LETTERS FROM ELMS FARM 
 AND MARSHFIELD. 
 
 A TRIP TO NEW-HAMPSHIRE DANIEL WEBSTER'S FARM ON THB 
 
 MEERIMACK. 
 
 ELMS FARM, N. H., October ,1849. 
 
 * * * I asked a physician where a dyspeptic 
 person, suffering from want of exercise, and liable to 
 an attack from the prevailing epidemic, could go to 
 eradicate the one and evade the other? He answer- 
 ed, " Among the granite hills of New Hampshire." 
 The cholera was then raging in New- York. 
 
 On the same day, at 6 o'clock, p. M., I was on 
 board that paragon of steamboats, the Empire State, 
 commanded by the gallant Capt. Joseph Comstock, 
 bound for Fall River. The next day at an early 
 hour, having passed through Boston, Lowell, and 
 
 * A portion of the following letters were published at about 
 the period they were written, those from Marshfield in the Com- 
 mercial Advertiser, and several of the others in the Courier and 
 Enquirer. They have all been carefully revised, however, and 
 since Mr. Webster's death have been reproduced in the columns 
 of the Daily Times, from which they are now printed.
 
 148 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 other towns, with the speed of steamboat, I found 
 myself here, stepping out of the ear with my port- 
 manteau, hunting apparatus and fishing-tackle, at a 
 dingy looking depot building, on the front of which 
 was inscribed, in large letters, "Webster Place." 
 
 A gentleman of venerable age and respectable 
 appearance standing by, perceiving that I was a 
 stranger addressed me in the most courteous manner. 
 No tavern being near he politely tendered to me, and 
 I accepted, the hospitalities of his house. He is the 
 friend, and was one of the playmates and school- 
 fellows of Mr. Webster. With a mind rich in re- 
 miniscences, and unimpaired by age, he was as in- 
 structive and entertaining as any man I have met in 
 many a day. He goes back to his childhood, and 
 talks of events happening then as if it were but 
 yesterday. He talks about the Defender of the 
 Constitution, when he was a boy. and he has 
 ' made me quite familiar with that interesting period 
 of his life, of which, by-the-by, the world has hitherto 
 known comparatively nothing. I shall during my 
 sojourn here, recount to you some portions of the 
 conversation of this venerable man and his old 
 neighbours, who sit together in the cool shades of 
 these majestic elms, on pleasant afternoons, and live 
 over again the scenes of their youth. 
 
 Webster Place is at Elms Farm, owned by Daniel 
 Webster, in the town of Franklin, on the banks of 
 the Merrimack, the home of his late father Colonel 
 Ebenezer Webster. From filial affection Mr. Web- 
 ster retains and cultivates this homestead, and doubt- 
 less will do so through life. I had no conception
 
 WEBSTER'S FARM ON THE MERRIMACK. 149 
 
 that there could be found among these rugged hills, 
 BO far up this river, a spot so inviting, so enchanting. 
 It is no wonder he loves to come here. 
 
 Taking it for granted that you, in common with 
 the millions of intelligent citizens of the United 
 States, are interested in knowing whatever pertains 
 to this great man unquestionably the greatest man 
 of his time, and justly the object of his country'g 
 pride I will give you a brief description of his 
 farming lands, of this farm, its location, and some of 
 the legends which render it, and ever will, a place of 
 interest. 
 
 The whole extent of his farming lands in this 
 vicinity is not less than nine hundred acres, which 
 though composed of several tracts, do not lie con- 
 tiguous to each other. I have rambled over them to- 
 day. About 360 acres lie on the western hills bor- 
 dering this valley, which are seeded for pastures, and 
 upon it his flocks and herds feed during the summer. 
 Limpid streams meander through it. and refreshing 
 springs bubble up from the cool recesses of the earth 
 to slake the thirst of both man and beast. 
 
 Beautiful trees oak, walnut, maple, pine, &c. 
 are scattered profusely over the surface, affording 
 shade and shelter, and at the same time, giving it 
 the appearance of a vast and highly ornamented park. 
 I rode through it in different directions, and saw 
 nearly one hundred head of his thriving cattle, some 
 of them thorough-bred, all good, and all apparently 
 as fat as seals. On these hills the sweetest kind of 
 grass grows spontaneously. On the western verge 
 of this tract of land there is a swelling mount, the
 
 150 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 apex of which is known as " Pisgah's top." With a 
 telescope in my hand I ascended it, and had a view 
 of the surrounding country, well worth all the journey 
 hither. 
 
 This elevated point, which Mr. Webster owns as 
 a part of his farm and values highly, he visits annu- 
 ally, and thence re-surveys the scenes of his childhood 
 and youth ; all of which are spread out to his view 
 like a map at his feet the streams in which he an- 
 gled for trout ; the glens and the hills where, in his 
 boyhood, gun in hand, he chased his game, and the 
 fields he tilled with his own hands, are often revisited, 
 so that every incident in that bye-gone time, is kept 
 as fresh in his memory as if it had happened but 
 yesterday. 
 
 The view is magnificent. The Kearsage Moun- 
 tain, in the County of Merrimack, which rises 2,461 
 feet above the level of the sea, and the summit of 
 which is now a bare mass of granite, but whose sides 
 are covered with wood, stands out in bold relief. 
 There stood its constant neighbor, Ragged Moun- 
 tain, so aptly named from its rough appearance, ris- 
 ing 2,000 feet above the level of the sea. There 
 stand the Miuk Hills, and close by is the famous 
 Meeting-House Hill. Looking beyond Ragged Moun- 
 tain, I saw the summit of Ascutney Mountain in Ver- 
 mont, which rises 3,1 16 feet above the Connecticut 
 River, and 3,320 above the level of the sea. It is 
 solid granite, and destitute of covering. Travellers 
 make pilgrimages to its summit to take a view of the 
 surrounding country. Looking in a northerly direc- 
 tion, I had a good view of the tops of the White
 
 WEBSTERS FARM ON THE MERRIMACK. 
 
 151 
 
 Mountains. You are aware that the summit of that 
 range of crystal hills, as they were named by Neal, 
 Jocelyn and Field, who ascended them in 1632, have 
 since been named Washington, Adams, Jefferson, 
 Madison, Monroe, Franklin and Lafayette. Their 
 snow-white summits are seen from " Pisgah's top," 
 nearly sixty miles distant, and their appearance is 
 that of a silvery cloud skirting the horizon. Mount 
 Washington rises 6,234 feet above the sea. This is 
 known from its being the highest and most southern. 
 Mount Adams is next in height, and Mount Jefferson 
 is situated between these two. They are the highest 
 and most celebrated in New England. 
 
 There, too, in a more easterly direction, is a fine 
 view of the Ossipee Mountain, and of its neighbors, 
 the Gkmstock Hills. 
 
 He has a small farm on which he sometimes pas- 
 tures sheep, situated on the other side of the river, 
 which embraces about one hundred acres. 
 
 The sheep and cattle which feed on these two up- 
 land farms in the summer, are, in the winter, driven 
 to the homestead on the fiats, and sometimes to Marsh- 
 field where they are foddered during the winter. 
 
 But the valuable land, that which affords him the 
 chief inducement to own any land in this part of New 
 England, is the farm which was his father's, and with 
 which are associated his earliest, and perhaps fondest 
 recollections. 
 
 It comprises about four hundred acres. About 
 one half of it is rich bottom land, very level, hand- 
 somely laid out. and apparently under the highest 
 state of cultivation ; the other half is rolling land,
 
 152 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 rising from the western boundary of the flats, up the 
 gradual ascent of the higher lands, and is thickly 
 wooded with the most desirable and thriving trees. 
 
 The facility with which timber can be taken to 
 market, and the rapidity with which forests have 
 disappeared, render these woodlands very valuable 
 perhaps the most valuable of any lands in this 
 ralley. 
 
 It is also a great pleasure to see that the farm 
 houses, the barns, the sheds, and the fences, are all 
 as white as paint can make them, and every object in 
 view indicates the good husbandry of the farmer who 
 has them in charge. 
 
 The Northern Railway passes through it near the 
 Mansion House, and several trains of cars, freighted 
 with passengers and the products of the country, with 
 merchandise for the people, pass over it daily, almost 
 annihilating time and space, giving all the advan- 
 tages of a near approximation to Boston. Scattered 
 over the surface stands a large number of aged, ma- 
 jestic and beautiful elms, which enrich the picture 
 beyond the power of my pen to describe. Hence the 
 name " Elms Farm," by which it is known from Bos- 
 ton to Canada. No passing traveller fails to admire 
 its richness and its neatness. 
 
 On the southern boundary of this farm stands 
 one of the most commanding of the elms, and marks 
 the spot where stood an old fort, in the time of the 
 Indian wars ; and which, for many years, afforded 
 partial protection to the frontier settlements. Tradi- 
 tion startles the ear with the bloody scenes and sa- 
 vage massacres in the days of that old fortification. 
 
 Csxsx-^- 1
 
 WEBSTERS FARM OX THE MERRIMACK. 
 
 153 
 
 Capt. John Taylor, who has been with Mr. Web- 
 ster nearly twenty years, who tills this soil, and so 
 "jocundly drives his team a-field" every morning, 
 without any danger to his personal safety, little 
 dreams of the perils and sufferings of his predecessors 
 in these identical fields. 
 
 They went forth to plant or reap, carrying with 
 them not only their hoes and sickles, but loaded 
 guns, cartridges, and other weapons, to defend their 
 lives when attacked, some standing sentry to watch 
 the stealthy approach of the murderous Indian, while 
 the others cultivated the land or gathered in the har- 
 vests. How different the state of things now ! 
 
 The legends of this beautiful spot of earth would 
 fill a volume of realities " more romantic than romance 
 itself." 
 
 On the old turnpike road, under the aged elms 
 whose branches reach across the highway, affording 
 perpetual shade, stand the two old dwelling-houses 
 in which Colonel Ebenezer Webster, the father of 
 Daniel, in his lifetime lived. One is more than one 
 hundred years old, and the other more than sixty. 
 In the latter he closed his career. No man was more 
 respected for his many virtues. 
 
 From where I sit, is two miles and a half to the 
 head of the Merrimack river, which is there formed 
 by the confluence of two beautiful streams, but re- 
 joicing in harsh Indian names, viz. : 1st, The Pemige- 
 wasset ; which rises in the White Hills, pours down 
 their southern slopes and declivities, dashing over 
 many cascades, and collecting the tribute of various 
 smaller rivers and brooks in its course. It is the
 
 154 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 beau ideal of a mountain stream, cold, noisy, wind 
 ing, and with banks of much picturesque beauty. 
 2d, The Winnipiseogee ; this river issues from the 
 great Lake of that name, which lies about N. E. 
 from this spot. This lake is near twenty miles long, 
 with various arms and bays like a sea. Its shores 
 are mountainous and strikingly beautiful ; especially 
 on the north and east. The last Royal Governor, 
 John Wentworth, had his country-house on the eastern 
 side of this lake. This sheet of water is hardly more 
 than 20 or 25 miles from the tide waters which come 
 up to Dover and Berwick. Nevertheless, it dis- 
 charges its waters westerly, and they reach the sea 
 through the Merrimack, at Newburyport, having 
 made a circuit of about 100 miles. 
 
 At this place the width of the river is about fifty 
 rods ; but a few miles below, it receives several tri- 
 butary streams which greatly increase its width, and 
 render it a river of considerable magnitude. At its 
 mouth it is half a mile wide. On its borders are 
 situated some of the most flourishing towns in all New 
 England. 
 
 The surface of the lake of which I spoke, is, I 
 think, 240 feet above tide water. The river issuing 
 from it, and running to its junction with the Fcini- 
 gewasset, a distance of about 15 or 18 miles, makes a 
 fall of 100 feet, by several successive cascades, afford- 
 ing all of them, excellent mill power. The water 
 of this river is several degrees warmer, generally, 
 than that of the Pemigewasset ; the difference being 
 that between a mountain stream, and a stream issuing 
 from large and deep lakes.
 
 VHEBSTEIt's FARM ON THE MERRIMAOK. 155 
 
 It is a curious fact, or rather tradition of a fact, 
 related to me by Mr. Webster himself, who knows 
 the habits of fishes, that when the Merrimack river 
 was full of fish, on their arrival at the confluence of 
 these two streams, the salmon and shad shook hands 
 and parted ; the shad all going into the lakes, the 
 salmon all keeping up the mountain torrent, which 
 they continued to ascend, as used to be said, till their 
 back fins were out of water. This is still the case 
 with the few which annually find their way over the 
 dams and other obstructions to the fountains. 
 
 I have said, these two streams unite two-and-a- 
 half miles above where I now am. The place was 
 formerly called " Webster's Falls? but is now the 
 site of a flourishing manufacturing village called 
 Franklin, or more specifically, Franklin Upper Vil- 
 lage. Mr. Webster related to me the following le- 
 gend concerning a stream in which he has caught 
 many a fish : 
 
 Call's Brook glides meandering down a glen, 
 and runs through the meadow to the river. It took 
 its name from this melancholy tragedy. On the 
 banks of the stream, at the foot of the glen, lived 
 Philip Call. He was one of the first settlers. His 
 wife, his son and his son's wife (the latter of whom 
 had a small child), constituted his family. While 
 the Messrs. Call were both in the field, and the elder 
 and younger Mrs. Call were in the house, a small 
 party of Indians came suddenly upon them, and went 
 in. They were seen to enter by the men in the field, 
 who perceiving them unarmed, and cherishing the 
 hope that the savages would do no harm to the
 
 156 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER, 
 
 women and child, they concealed themselves in the 
 field. The younger Mrs. Call, seeing the savages 
 entering the house, seized her child and hid herself 
 behind the rude chimney. The Indians demanded 
 milk and food, which the elder Mrs. Call gave them. 
 They ate till they could eat no more. All this time 
 the little child, who was naturally a noisy, chattering 
 thing, remained perfectly silent with its mother ; the 
 least sound would have betrayed both. The elder 
 lady doubtless thought that by giving them all they 
 demanded, they would go peaceably away, though at 
 that time a high price was paid in Canada for scalps ; 
 but she was fatally mistaken ; for, instead of grati- 
 tude. Indian hatred was uppermost, and those barbar- 
 ous savages killed her on the spot and carried off her 
 scalp, while the younger woman escaped unhurt 
 Hence the stream is called Call's Brook. The child 
 lived to a good old age, and Mr. Webster has often seen 
 and conversed with her. He also told me another of 
 the legends concerning this farm. 
 
 One Peter Bowen, in those days, lived also on 
 this farm. He was a high-tempered, daring man. 
 and was often with the Indians. He owed two of 
 them a grudge. It so happened that he was alone 
 with these two very Indians, coming up the river 
 At CalVs Brook he shot one, and killed the other 
 with the butt of his gun ; he carelessly left their 
 bodies partially concealed under the top of a fallen 
 tree. The Indians were missed. Suspicion fell on 
 Peter. His known hostility, his high tempejr, were 
 circumstances against him. Besides, Peter remained 
 in his house. The bodies were found. Peter fled.
 
 WEBSTER'S FARM ON THE MERRIMACK. 157 
 
 At this time there was a treaty of amity between the 
 whites and the Indians ; and the Governor at Ports- 
 mouth sent an ambassador to the Indians in Canada, 
 to assure them that Peter should be caught and 
 hanged. But he eluded the officers for a mouth, or 
 more, concealing himself in the woods. At length, 
 he was caught and put into the jail at Exeter. At 
 that time, opinion was strong against hanging a man 
 for killing an Indian, and a party of his friends and 
 neighbors, disguised as Mohawk Indians, went to the 
 jail, tore it down, and released the prisoner. 
 
 After that, he was undisturbed, and for years he 
 lived here, tilling this land. But the ghosts of the 
 dead Indians constantly haunted him. He often 
 saw, in his imagination, other Indians, armed to take 
 vengeance on him, starting up from behind haycocks 
 in the meadows, and lurking about his house. This 
 frenzy or fear grew on him, and turned his brain, so 
 that he, finally, in the other extreme, went into Can- 
 ada and surrendered himself to the tribe of which his 
 victims were members", and there, strange to relate, 
 the affair was amicably settled. His offence was off- 
 set against some other offence, and he thenceforth 
 lived to a great age the ghosts ceased to haunt him, 
 and he finally died in their midst, as one of the 
 tribe. 
 
 The old Turnpike, which was lately so much 
 crowded with teams, leads to Concord, fifteen miles 
 below the spot, on the same side of the river. To 
 Concord, as you know, the railroad comes from Bos- 
 ton, via Lowell. Nashua, Manchester, and Hooksett. 
 A few years siuce, when the anti-railroad obstinacy
 
 158 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 of the dominant political party in the State was over- 
 come, or broken down, a charter was granted for a 
 railroad from Concord, through Franklin, to Lebanon, 
 on the Connecticut River. This is the great route 
 from Boston to Montreal, though it has competition 
 in a more Southern route, called, I think, the Massa- 
 chusetts and Vermont Railroad. This route, known 
 as the Northern Railroad, will continue to be pre- 
 ferred. I believe it is as near while Manchester, 
 Nashua, and Lowell, highly important manufacturing 
 places, are in the line of this route, and not in that 
 of the other. 
 
 From Concord, the railroad follows the river 
 through Boscawen, passes through this beautiful bot- 
 tom land, where I now am (here called Intervail), 
 goes much nearer to Mr. Webster's house, I dare say, 
 than he would wish, and keeps on up to Frank 
 lin Upper Village. There it leaves the Merrimack, 
 exactly at its head, and turning still further to the 
 west than the line or valley of the Pemigewasset, it 
 follows up a little stream, called Hancock Brook, to a 
 beautiful lake in the woods, called " Como." Ad- 
 joining this classical sheet of water, Mr. Webster has 
 forty acres of pine land, and on a distinguished point 
 along the shore, quite conspicuous for a great dis- 
 tance, stands his whitewashed boat-house, nine feet 
 by eighteen. To use Mr. Webster's own words ; 
 "The railroad having approached the lake, and done 
 homage to this little edifice, inclines still farther to 
 the southwest, and twists and turns, and wriggles, 
 and climbs, till it finally struggles over the height of 
 land near Cardigan! Mountains, and then glides down,
 
 WEBSTER'S FARM ON THE MERRIMACK. 159 
 
 like a rippling brook, through Shaker Pond, and the 
 Mascoma, its outlet, to Connecticut River." 
 
 The house in which Col. Webster lived faces due 
 north. The front windows look towards the river 
 But then the river soon turns to the south, so that 
 the eastern windows look towards the river also. 
 But the river has so deepened its channel, in this 
 stretch of it. in the last fifty years, that I cannot now 
 see its water without approaching it, or going back 
 to the higher lands behind us. The history of this 
 change is of considerable importance in the philoso- 
 phy of streams. Mr. Webster, in a letter to a 
 friend, who has allowed me to take it, says, he has 
 observed it practically, and knows something of the 
 theory of the phenomenon ; but doubts whether the 
 world will ever be benefited either by his learning 
 or his observation in this respect. " Looking out at 
 the east windows, with a beautiful sun just breaking 
 out." says the letter, " my eye sweeps along a level 
 field of 100 acres. At the end of it, a third of a 
 mile off. I see plain marble grave-stones, designating 
 the places where repose my father and mother, and 
 brother, and sisters Mahitable, Abigail, and Sarah 
 good Scripture names, inherited from their Puritan 
 ancestors. 
 
 " This fair field is before me. I could see a lamb 
 on any part of it. I have ploughed it, and raked it, 
 but I never mowed it ; somehow, I could never learn 
 to hang a scythe. My brother Joseph used to say 
 that my father sent me to college in order to make 
 me equal to the rest of the children." 
 
 The whip-poor-will has struck up her all-night
 
 160 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 song, and I'll to my couch and sleep to the time her 
 music keep. 
 
 Yours, truly. 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER S FATHER. 
 
 ELMS FARM, N. EL, October, 18-19. 
 
 Colonel Ebenezer Webster, the father of Daniel, 
 was born at Kingston, in Rockingham County, N. H., 
 in the year 1739. His father was among the original 
 grantees of the land in that township in 1692, and 
 settled there in 1 700. The name of his great grand- 
 father was Ebenezer ; this was also the name of his 
 grandfather, his own father, and of himself. This 
 name he also gave to his eldest son, and the name is 
 still descending. Col. Webster was a farmer, born 
 in those troublesome times when Kingston was a 
 frontier settlement. Savage Indians were hovering 
 about his childhood. The tomahawk and the scalp- 
 ing-knife gleamed in the sunshine of every day, and 
 his existence depended on the successful resistance 
 against those frightful instruments of death and tor- 
 ture. 
 
 At an early age, he was bound as an apprentice 
 to one Ebenezer Stevens, who, of course, brought him 
 up. In the article of apprenticeship, Stevens was 
 bound to send him to school for a certain length of 
 time in each year, an obligation which, if fulfilled, 
 would have given him a good common school educa- 
 tion, but he violated his covenant in that respect, and 
 never permitted his apprentice to see the inside of a
 
 WEBSTER'S FATHER. 
 
 161 
 
 school-house for the purpose of learning; consequently 
 he had no education except what he obtained in the 
 chimney-corner, by the light of blazing pine knots, 
 while others slept, and what he snatched as he passed 
 through his boyhood. But self-taught, he learned to 
 read and write, and made himself somewhat familiar 
 with arithmetic. It is said of him. by those who 
 remember him well, that he was one of the very best 
 readers they had ever heard. The principles of elo- 
 cution and oratory were intuitive in him. His voice 
 was loud, clear and musical, and his reading and 
 speaking were both effective. The books he took 
 most pleasure in reading aloud for the gratification 
 of others, were the Bible. Shakspeare, and Pope's 
 Essay on Man. No professed elocutionist could ex- 
 ceed him in. giving effect to what those great books 
 contained. 
 
 In 1757, at the age of eighteen, he enlisted as a 
 soldier in a distinguished corps called Hodgers 1 Ran- 
 gers, engaged in the war then raging with the French 
 and Indians on the frontier. This body of troops 
 was taken from the boldest and hardiest of the yeo- 
 manry of New England. They were required to be 
 doubly armed, and to carry with them both snow-shoes 
 and skates, to be used as occasion should render 
 necessary. Their packs were twice the weight carried 
 by common soldiers. Stark, Putnam, and several 
 others who were heroes in the Revolutionary war, 
 served with the youthful soldier of whom I am speak- 
 ing. The exploits of the band of rangers, as related 
 by those who knew them, seem like romance. All 
 along the borders of Lake George, they fought despe-
 
 162 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 rate battles and won brilliant victories, sometimes 
 with more than twice their numbers. Hardy as they 
 were, those campaigns were too severe for many of 
 these rangers, and they perished or fell fighting their 
 battles. But Ebenezer Webster survived. He served 
 under General Amherst in the reduction of Ticon- 
 deroga and Crown Point. 
 
 He was appointed a Captain, and his experience 
 as a ranger, while a boy, inspired confidence in him 
 as a man, and he had no great difficulty in raising a 
 company in his own town. When Burgoyne had en- 
 tered the territory of New- York, having taken Ticon- 
 deroga, and was making rapid strides across the 
 country, Captain Webster, with his company, under 
 the command of the brave General Stark, fled to the 
 scene of action, and was engaged in the spirited and 
 successful engagement with Count Baum, at Ben- 
 nington. 
 
 The following account of the part he performed 
 is more brief than I can relate it. I therefore sub- 
 stitute it for what I would say : 
 
 It had been given out by Stark some time pre- 
 vious to the battle, that it was his intention to march 
 to Stillwater, and a detachment of the British, one 
 thousand strong, was consequently sent to intercept 
 him. The forces of the enemy having been thus di- 
 vided and weakened, the American general was en- 
 abled to cope with them in detail. Col. Warner was 
 stationed in the rear of the American army, with a 
 reserved corps, while Captain Webster was ordered 
 to advance with his company of one hundred men, in 
 search of two hundred more, who were out upon a
 
 WEBSTER S FATHER. 
 
 1G3 
 
 scout. The companies once united, Captain Webster 
 was to assume the command of the whole, and fall 
 upon the enemy in the rear, but on no account to fire 
 until the action had commenced on the other side. It 
 was on this memorable occasion that General Stark 
 uttered the celebrated words : " Fellow-soldiers ! there 
 is the enemy ; if we don't take them, Molly Stark 
 will be a widow to-night ! " Captain Webster having 
 fulfilled the duty assigned him in collecting together 
 the three hundred men, awaited his share in the 
 honors of the day. When allowed to make his charge 
 upon the enemy, with pieces loaded, and with firm 
 and equal step, his men advanced upon the opposing 
 breastworks. Captain Webster was the first to leap 
 the defences, but the reinforcements were not suffi- 
 cient to render the attack successful, and his com- 
 mand was driven back. Meantime the British were 
 strengthened by the arrival of one thousand fresh 
 troops upon the field, and a new disposition of the 
 battle became necessary. General Stark placed Cap- 
 tain Webster and Captain Gregg on the left wing of 
 the American force, Colonel Nichols on the right, 
 and placed the army in a strong position. The result 
 of that struggle is a matter of history, and a large 
 proportion of its fame is due to the efforts of Ebene- 
 zcr Webster. 
 
 He was engaged in the battle at White Plains, 
 and was also at the surrender of Burgoyne himself, 
 on th plains of -Saratoga. In every instance he 
 proved himself worthy of all honor, and that confi- 
 dence in him was never misplaced. 
 
 After the peace of 1 783, having done his part in 
 
 l**^**f~^
 
 164 
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 achieving the glorious independence of his country, 
 he returned his sword to its scabbard and again re- 
 sumed the arts of peace. His sons and daughters 
 grew up around him, and aided him in his struggles 
 with adversity. Prosperity dawned upon him ; hia 
 log cabin, in which some of his children were born, 
 gave place to a more comfortable dwelling. For his 
 toils and sacrifices he received the rewards he sought, 
 which were, competence for himself and family, and 
 the approval and respect of his friends and neighbors. 
 He was not indebted to advantageous circumstances 
 for anything, but to his own hands for all he had, all 
 he accomplished. 
 
 A large and valuable tract of country, situated 
 between New Engla-fid, New- York and Canada, was 
 secured to the British dominions, and it became the 
 interest of the Governors of New Hampshire and New- 
 York to vie with each other in granting those lands 
 to patentees and receiving the emoluments. 
 
 The grants were of townships equal to six miles 
 square. Sixty townships were granted on the west 
 side of the Merrimack River, and eighteen on the 
 east side. A reservation was made in each township 
 of 500 acres for the Governor. The township of 
 Salisbury was thus granted to Ebenezer Webster, 
 Edward Eastman, Philip Call, Benjamin Pettengill, 
 Andrew Bohounow, Nathaniel Melton, and others. 
 The township was situated on the west side of the 
 river extending far back on the hill and embracing a 
 part of the present township of Franklin, and espe- 
 cially that part in which Elms Farm is included. 
 
 After this grant was obtained, Mr. Webster took
 
 WEBSTER'S FATHER. 165 
 
 up his march, and with the others penetrated the un- 
 broken forest, to the spot or farm he chose for his 
 location, and which was then fifteen miles beyond 
 Concord, the frontier garrison town at that time, and 
 there, where I stood to-day, the youthful and daring 
 soldier, the war being ended, cleared away the trees 
 with his own hands, erected his log cabin, and estab- 
 lished himself, to become a useful member of society 
 to rear a family and to defend his fireside from 
 whatever danger might threaten its peace. 
 
 While he and his friends who, had ventured with 
 him into that wilderness, were clearing their lands, 
 observing the growth of their children, and making 
 rapid progress towards independence in their worldly 
 circumstances, the revolutionary storm burst out. and 
 called him from his farm to the battle field. He was 
 accustomed to danger, but not to fear ; and he was 
 prepared, from previous training, for a sudden re- 
 spouse to his country's call. 
 
 Sometimes it happens that such men are sneered 
 at, and the toils of the humble and poor are men- 
 tioned, and even cast in the teeth of their children 
 by way of disparagement. While I stood upon the 
 spot where that log cabin stood, I called to mind what 
 Mr. Webster said in August, 1840, at Saratoga, in 
 reply to the imputation cast upon Gen. Harrison, 
 candidate for the office of President, that he " was 
 born in a log cabin!" Hear him : 
 
 ' ; Gentlemen : It is only shallow-minded pretend- 
 ers, who either make distinguished origin matter of 
 personal merit, or obscure origin matter of personal 
 reproach. Taunt and scoffing at the humble condi-
 
 166 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 tion of early life, affect nobody in this country but 
 those who are foolish enough to indulge in them, and 
 they are generally sufficiently punished by public 
 rebuke. A man who is not ashamed of himself, need 
 not be ashamed of his early condition. 
 
 '' Gentlemen, it did not happen to me to be born 
 in a log cabin, but my elder brothers and sisters were 
 born in a log cabin, raised amid the snow-drifts of 
 New Hampshire, at a period so early, as that when 
 the smoke first rose from its rude chimney and curled 
 over the frozen hills, there was no similar evidence 
 of a white man's habitation between it and the settle- 
 ments on the rivers of Canada. Its remains still ex- 
 ist. I make to it an annual visit. I carry my chil- 
 dren to it, to teach them the hardships endured by 
 the generations which have gone before them. I love 
 to dwell on the tender recollections, the kindred ties, 
 the early affections, and the touching narrations and 
 incidents, which mingle with all I know of this primi- 
 tive family abode. I weep, to think that none of 
 those who inhabited it are now among the living, 
 and if ever I am ashamed of it, or if I ever fail in 
 affectionate veneration for HIM who raised it and de- 
 fended it against savage violence and destruction, 
 cherished all the domestic virtues beneath its roof, 
 and through the fire and blood of a seven years' re- 
 volutionary war, shrunk from no danger, no toil, no 
 sacrifice to serve his country, and to raise his chil- 
 dren to a condition better than his own, may my 
 name, and the name of my posterity be blotted for 
 ever from the memory of mankind !" 
 
 After the peace, on the more perfect organization
 
 WEBSTERS FATHER. 
 
 167 
 
 of the militia of this State, Captain Webster was pro- 
 moted to the office of Colonel of a Regiment, which 
 office he loiig held, and took great pride and pleas- 
 ure in attending to military affairs. It is said of 
 him there was never a finer-looking officer in the field. 
 He was a large, well proportioned, dignified looking 
 man. In giving the word of command his remark- 
 able voice rose above any tumult, no matter how 
 great, and was heard distinctly by every man on 
 parade. 
 
 He was often elected a member of the Legislature 
 of this State, sometimes to the Senate and sometimes 
 to the Assembly, and he always exercised that influ- 
 ence which is due to commanding talents and virtu- 
 ous character. There was in his time a wealthy and 
 influential family belonging to the opposite party in 
 politics, who were his rivals for political distinction, 
 and not unfrequently were opposing candidates. To 
 promote their success they made strenuous efforts 
 and brought to their aid their wealth and other ad- 
 vantages, but all in vain. The recital of one of the 
 deeds of the gallant Colonel, or the repetition of one 
 of his patriotic speeches to his brothers in arms, 
 would outweigh all that could be said or done on the 
 other side, and Colonel Webster never failed to be 
 chosen. In the year 1791 he was appointed a Judge 
 of the Court of Common Pleas, the duties of which 
 he discharged with integrity a-nd honor till his death. 
 
 Although his education was limited, being self- 
 taught entirely, yet he was a man of strong, good 
 sense ; he read much, and was thoroughly acquainted 
 with the Constitution of the States and of the United
 
 168 
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBStER. 
 
 States, and he studied profoundly the laws of the 
 land, as they affected the rights and duties of the 
 people. His opinions were held in great respect by 
 all who had the opportunity of knowing them. His 
 general knowledge was very great. Like his sons. 
 Kzckiel and Daniel, he excelled in conversation, and 
 his society was sought by all intelligent men. 
 
 Judge Webster selected the farm on the hill 
 where he first settled, without much regard to its soil, 
 but because it was thickly wooded with pine timber 
 for market, and on account of a convenient mill pri- 
 vilege afforded by Punch Brook, a considerable stream 
 running through it. There he built a saw-mill and 
 a grist-mill. But after the timber had disappeared, 
 and the population on the flat lands had greatly in- 
 creased, he sold his land on the hill, and occupied 
 Elms Farm, now owned, as stated in my previous 
 letter, by his son Daniel. 
 
 The Judge was twice married, and was the father 
 of ten children five by his first wife, and five by the 
 second. None are now living except the sage of 
 Marshfield. 
 
 The Judge, after a life of sixty-seven years, well 
 spent, died at this place. 
 
 In the letter to which I have alluded, Mr. Web- 
 ster, speaking of his father, said " he was the hand- 
 somest man I ever saw, except my brother Ezekiel ; 
 and he appeared to me, and so he does now seem 
 to me, as my memory restores him, the very finest 
 human form that ever I laid eyes on. I saw him in 
 his coffin a white forehead, a tinged cheek a com- 
 plexion as clear as heavenly light ! "
 
 WEBSTER S FATHER. 
 
 169 
 
 In the grave-yard, a little distant from where I 
 am writing, repose his mortal remains. A plain 
 marble slab marks the spot where he sleeps, and on 
 that slab is this simple inscription : " Ebenezer Web- 
 ster, Esq., -Died April 22nd, 1806, Aged 67." By 
 the side of that grave is the grave of Daniel Webster's 
 mother. On the plain marble slab that tells where 
 she sleeps, is the simple inscription : " Abigail, Wife 
 of Ebenezer Webster, Esq., Died April 25th, 1816, 
 Aged 76. " 
 
 In the letter from which I am permitted to make 
 extracts, Mr. Webster thus sums up the character of 
 his father : 
 
 ' : He had in him what I recollect to have been the 
 character of some of the old Puritans. He was 
 deeply religious, but not sour on the contrary, good- 
 humored, facetious showing even in his age, with a 
 contagious laugh, teeth all white as alabaster gentle, 
 soft, playful and yet having a heart in him that he 
 seemed to have borrowed from a lion. He could 
 frown a frown it was; but cheerfulness, good-humor 
 and smiles composed his most usual aspect. 
 
 " He died at sixty-seven years of age after a life 
 of exertion, toil and exposure a private soldier, an 
 officer, a legislator ; a judge everything that a man 
 could be, to whom Learning never had disclosed her 
 ' ample page.' " 
 
 I have seldom considered the biography of a plain 
 man with more satisfaction than his. How I wish he 
 could have been permitted to see the greatness of his 
 son. 
 
 8 Yours, truly.
 
 170 
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 THE BIRTH-PLACE OF DANIEL WEBSTER HIS BROTHERS A>T> 
 
 SISTERS. 
 
 ELMS FAKM, October , 1849. 
 
 Mr. "Webster was born on the 18th day of Janu- 
 ary, 1782, in the town of Salisbury. The house in 
 which that important event happened, stood on the 
 highway named the North Road, far up the western 
 hill which borders on the valley of the Merrimack. 
 What is Franklin was a part of that old township, 
 and for a long time was called New Salisbury. The 
 farm is now owned by one Captain Sawyer. It was 
 originally owned and occupied by Col. Ebenezer 
 Webster, the father of Mr. Webster, and of whom I 
 have given you some account in a previous letter. 
 Not a vestige of that habitation remains, to mark the 
 place, unless it is the cellar, now partly filled up. and 
 the trunk of an ancient apple-tree, the top of which 
 is dead, but from which, near the earth, are sprouting 
 forth a few thriving branches. From these, I cut a 
 walking staff, which I have sent to iny excellent 
 friend, Luther R. Marsh, Esq., an eminent counsellor 
 at the bar in your city. 
 
 At a short distance from the place of his birth is 
 the old well, in which hangs an " iron-bound bucket." 
 This well was excavated by his father, long before 
 Mr. Webster was born, and from it his family were 
 accustomed to draw the pure and cool water to slake 
 their thirst, as I drew it yesterday to quench mine. 
 By the side of this well stands an elm-tree, planted 
 by his father about the year 1768. It has grown 
 luxuriantly, and its branches extend over a circle
 
 HIS BIRTHPLACE. 
 
 171 
 
 one hundred feet in diameter affording perpetual 
 shade to the well, and to those who choose to sit un- 
 der them. For more than sixty years, almost annu- 
 ally, Mr. Webster has sat occasionally under that 
 tree, and drank of that water. Scattered about the 
 premises, near the well, are a few ancient apple, plum, 
 and pear trees, which were planted by Captain East- 
 man, his mother's father, and who during the latter 
 part of his life, lived with Col. Webster. 
 
 Near the spot runs " Punch Brook," which was 
 then a roaring, rattling, bubbling stream, of consider- 
 able importance ; but clearing the lands about its 
 sources, has diminished it to a little rivulet, which 
 meanders on its way along the hill-side, through 
 glens and meadows, to the river. It was in this 
 brook that Mr. Webster remembers he caught his 
 first fish. He never passes the spot where that ex- 
 ploit was performed, without relating the anecdote 
 not only of taking the trout, but of the ducking he 
 had when a child. 
 
 On the opposite side of the road, is the site of 
 the old mill, built by Col. Webster immediately af- 
 ter he took possession of this land. Yesterday, I 
 called to pay my respects to Lieutenant Benjamin 
 Pettingill, a venerable old man, who related to me 
 many pleasing anecdotes concerning the family of 
 Mr. Webster ; and, among other things, he said, that 
 he well remembered going to that mill with his grist, 
 and having waited for it to be ground by Ebenezer 
 Webster the eldest brother of Daniel. Two huge 
 rocks projecting from the bank, on each side of the 
 stream, formed the abutments of the old mill-dam,
 
 172 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 and the remains of the constructed portion are still 
 visible. No traces remain of the old mill itself, un- 
 less they are the mill-stones. After their use was 
 discontinued, these valuable relics were carried up 
 the bank and put into a cellar-wall, where I saw 
 them. The building that stood over the cellar has 
 long since gone to decay, but there stand the grind- 
 ing stones facing each other, which, for many years, 
 assisted in making bread for the pioneers of all this 
 section of the country. Were they mine, I would 
 not be Vandal enough to break them to pieces. 
 
 There are on the farm a few fertile spots which 
 rewarded its present owner satisfactorily for his toil 
 and pains ; but the granite rocks visible in all direc- 
 tions, reader a great portion of it fit only for pastur- 
 age. Such is the birth-place of the greatest man of 
 our time. Is such a spot without interest ? 
 
 Mr. Daniel Webster was one of ten children, 
 himself the ninth. I will mention each one in the 
 order of their ages. 
 
 Ebenezer Webster was his eldest brother. He 
 always resided at home, where he not only cultivated 
 the farm but aided his father in carrying on the 
 mills. He died at an early age. and was buried in 
 the ancient burying-ground. on the North Road. 
 Daniel scarcely knew him. 
 
 Olivia Webster was his eldest sister. I know 
 nothing of her, save only that she too died at an 
 early age. 
 
 Susannah Webster, the next to his eldest sister, 
 married Mr. John Colby. He is still living a vener- 
 able and highly respected old gentleman in Bosca-
 
 HIS BROTHERS AND SISTERS. 173 
 
 wen, but she has long since been numbered with the 
 dead. She left several children who reside in the 
 vicinity. 
 
 David Webster, next to his eldest brother, married 
 Mrs. Huntoon. He was a farmer, and at an early 
 day removed with his family to Canada, where he 
 lived and died. He had a large family of children, 
 and some of the descendants are eminent men and 
 women, who are making their mark on the time. 
 Some of them hold important offices under the Gov- 
 ernment of that country. 
 
 Joseph Webster, the next brother, married a Miss 
 Colby. He was remarkable for his ready wit. He 
 too, was a farmer. He died, January 28, 1810. 
 aged 41. He had two children, who I think are still 
 living. 
 
 Mahitable Webster was the third sister. She 
 was a woman much beloved by her acquaintances, and 
 never married. She died July 4, 1814, aged 37. 
 
 Abigail Webster, the fourth sister, married Mr. 
 Haddock, who long resided and finally died in 
 Franklin. The old house in which he died stands 
 near this farm. She was the mother of Dr. Charles 
 B. Haddock, now, perhaps, the most eminent Pro- 
 fessor at Dartmouth College, and unquestionably a 
 good scholar, if not the greatest man in the State. 
 ng those who know him his reputation stands 
 high. He has been in the Legislature, and was pro- 
 minent among the Whigs as a candidate for the office 
 of Senator in Congress. 
 
 Mrs. Haddock, his mother, long since departed
 
 174 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 this life. Her grave is among others in the burying 
 ground near Elms Farm. 
 
 Honorable Ezekiel Webster was the next older 
 than Daniel, and was his full brother the others 
 being only half-brothers. 
 
 He was born in Salisbury, and although older 
 than Daniel, yet he followed him two years or more 
 through college and through the study of the law 
 not having taken up his books or made any prepa- 
 ration till Daniel had made rapid advances and had 
 proved what could be done under disadvantageous 
 circumstances. When admitted to the bar he opened 
 his office in Boscawen, and went immediately into an 
 extensive and lucrative practice. f 
 
 His extraordinary talents and great private worth 
 placed him in the front rank of his profession, and 
 indeed in the front rank of men? His wisdom and 
 solid judgment in all the affairs of men, commanded 
 the respect and admiration of all. He was often in 
 the Senate and Assembly of New Hampshire. There 
 was no man Hving for whose judgment and advice 
 Mr. Webster had so much respect as that of his 
 brother Ezekiel. It is said of him that all he ever 
 asked was the approval of Ezekiel. The applause 
 of the multitude, the laudations of the press, the 
 flattering attention of an entranced Senate, all 
 dwindled to insignificance when compared with the 
 silent but certain approbation of Ezekiel ! It is 
 said of the Roman Coriolanus, that the greatest in- 
 centive to action he ever had in his career of glory 
 was the desire to do frequently acts that would meet 
 the approbation of his mother. So it was with Mr.
 
 HIS BROTHERS AM) SISTERS. 175 
 
 Webster, while his mother lived ; but when she was 
 no more his mind turned to Ezekiel. 
 
 When, after his reply to Gen. Hayne. in the 
 Senate, his fame rose to its zenith, and his praises 
 were sounded wherever the English language was 
 spoken, Ezekiel had departed this life. Then, Mr. 
 Webster, as if doubtful of it all, was heard to say, 
 " How I wish my poor brotlier h ad lived till after 
 this speech^ that I might know if he would have been 
 gratified." 
 
 On the 10th of April, 1829, while Ezekiel was in 
 Court, at Concord, in the midst of one of his most 
 brilliant forensic efforts, death aimed his fatal dart, 
 and he fell dead at the feet of the Judges. He died 
 from a disease of the heart, at the age of forty-nine, 
 beloved and lamented by all who knew him, and at 
 that time by far the most worthy and influential man 
 in this State. 
 
 The following notice of his death was entered in 
 a Pastor's Journal the day on which it took place. 
 
 April 10, 1829. This day witnessed the most 
 solemn scene I ever beheld. At three o'clock, p. M., 
 Hon. Ezekiel Webster, of Boscawen, commenced an 
 argument before the Court of Common Pleas, in Con- 
 cord. I sat directly before him. He stood firm, dig- 
 nified. His voice, clear, full, strong. His plea con 
 nected. convincing, powerful. His health apparently 
 good ; and his whole appearance that of a man in the 
 possession and exercise of his noblest powers. He 
 had spoken about twenty minutes, when he fell back- 
 wards and expired without a struggle or a groan. 
 The impression of this instant was awful. Every
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 face was pale ! every heart trembled ! The immor- 
 tal spirit was gone and the realities of the invisible 
 world seemed in full prospect. ' In the midst of life 
 we are in death.' May I never forget the scene, or 
 the instruction it imparts." 
 
 I have taken some pains to ascertain the mental 
 endowments, the character, and standing of this truly 
 eminent brother of Mr. Webster, and everything I 
 have learned has excited my admiration. I cannot, 
 however, give you a better idea of him than by using 
 almost the very words in which I find him described 
 by one of his classmates in College. I have it before 
 me and will give you what he says: 
 
 In college, he was the first in his class ; his intel- 
 lect was of a very high order ; its capacity was gen- 
 eral, for he was able to comprehend the abstruse and 
 difficult, and at the same time to enjoy the tasteful 
 and the elegant. He was distinguished for classical 
 literature. 
 
 His knowledge of Greek, particularly, was beyond 
 that of his cotemporaries in college ; and this is al- 
 most an unqualified proof of taste, when the study is 
 pursued from a real fondness for the language, and 
 not merely for the pride of learning, or for the re- 
 wards of superiority. 
 
 His knowledge of English literature was deep and 
 extensive, for he had not skimmed over books as a 
 matter of amusement, but he looked into them as a 
 man of mind, who intends to draw lessons from all he 
 reads. Few men among our scholars knew so much 
 of the English poets as he did, and he valued them as 
 he should have done, as philosophers and painters of
 
 HIS BROTHERS AXD SISTERS. 
 
 human nature, from whom much knowledge may be 
 obtained to illustrate and adorn what duller minds 
 have put into maxims and rules 
 
 He made himself master of the law as a science, 
 and became well acquainted with its practice in his 
 native State. He went up to the first principles with 
 the ease and directness of a great mind, and separated 
 at once that which was casual and local from that 
 which is permanent and founded on the basis of moral 
 justice and the nature of man. There seemed no 
 effort in anything he did ; all was natural and easy, 
 as if intuitive. There was nothing about him of that 
 little bustling smartness so often seen in ordinary 
 persons striving to perform something to attract the 
 attention of the little world around them. 
 
 His general information was not only extensive, 
 but laid up in excellent order ready for use. He was 
 steadily engaged in the duties of his profession, but 
 never seemed hurried or confused in his business. 
 He took all calmly and quietly. He did nothing for 
 parade or show, or mere effect, nor did he speak to 
 the audience while addressing the court and jury. 
 His life was passed in habits of industry and perse- 
 verance ; and his accumulations of wealth and know 
 ledge were regular and rapid. From the commence- 
 ment of his life as a reasoning being, responsible for 
 his own actions to the close of it, he preserved the 
 most perfect consistency of character no paroxysms 
 of passion, no eccentricities of genius were ever found 
 in him. His equanimity was only equalled by his 
 firmness of purpose. In this he was most conspicu- 
 ous ; he thought leisurely and cautiously, and having' 
 8*
 
 178 
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 made up his mind lie was steadfast and immova- 
 ble. 
 
 Having no hasty or premature thoughts, he sel- 
 dom had occasion to change his opinion, and was, 
 therefore, free from those mortifying repentances, so 
 common to superior minds of warmer temperament. 
 
 By honesty of purpose and soundness of judg- 
 ment, he kept a just balance in weighing all matters 
 before him. All this firmness and equanimity, and 
 other virtues, seemed constitutional, and not made up 
 by those exertions so necessary to most frail beings, 
 who intend to support a character for steady habits. 
 He was blessed with a frame that felt few or no in- 
 firmities, such as weaken the nerves and bring down 
 the mighty in intellect to those degrading supersti- 
 tions that stain the brightness of genius and destroy 
 the high hopes of immortal beings, and make them 
 slaves to darkness and absurdity. 
 
 He suffered no moral or mental weakness in his 
 whole path of duty, for his constitution, until within 
 a short time of his death, exhibited a sound mind in 
 a sound body, and neither appeared essentially injured 
 or decayed, to the hour of his exit from the world. 
 
 He never sought public honors, nor literary or 
 political distinctions, and therefore had none of those 
 throes and agonies so common to vaulting ambition ; 
 not that he declined all public trusts, when he was con- 
 scious that he could do any good to his fellow-men. 
 He was several years a member of one or the other 
 branch of the Legislature of New Hampshire, and 
 served as a trustee of Dartmouth College. He was 
 at different times put up for a member of Congress.
 
 HIS BROTHERS AND SISTERS. 179 
 
 but it was at periods when his friends thought that 
 his name would do some good to his political party, 
 as the members of Congress in New Hampshire were 
 chosen by a general ticket ; but when they were de- 
 cidedly in power, he would seldom or never consent 
 to be a candidate. This was much to be regretted, 
 for he was admirably calculated for public life by his 
 extensive knowledge and incorruptible integrity. He 
 would have been a first-rate speaker on the floor of 
 Congress. His eloquence was impressive and com- 
 manding. There was in his delivery a slight defect 
 in the labial sounds in the familiar use of his voice, 
 which was rather pleasant to the listener than other- 
 wise, for it was a proof of a natural manner ; but 
 warmed by his subject, a more rich, full, and sonor- 
 ous voice, was seldom heard in any public body ; not 
 that his tones were delicate or mellifluous, but full of 
 majesty and command, free from arrogance, timidity 
 or hesitation. His gestures were graceful, but not in 
 the slightest degree studied ; his language was rich, 
 gentlemanly, select, but not painfully chosen ; he not 
 only had words for all occasions, but the very words 
 he should have used. 
 
 As a writer he excelled in judgment and taste ; 
 there was a classical elegance in his familiar writ- 
 tings ; and his higher compositions were marked with 
 that lucid order and clearness of thought and purity 
 of expression which distinguished the Augustan age. 
 His sentences were not grappled together by hooks of 
 steel, but connected by golden hinges, that made a 
 harmonious whole. His library was rich in works of 
 merit, ancient and modern. The history of literature
 
 180 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 and science was as familiar to him as that of his na- 
 tive State, and he had the means of turning to it 
 with much greater facility. 
 
 He was an instance in point that a man may be a 
 good lawyer, and yet devote some of his time to the 
 classical pursuits. 
 
 Ezekiel Webster was one of those great men, 
 rare instances in the world, who had thrown away am- 
 bition ; and who preferred to be learned and happy 
 in his course of life, rather than to court the gale 
 and spread his sails, to be wafted along on public opin- 
 ion. He sought not popularity, but he had it ; that 
 popularity which follows, not that which is run after. 
 
 He watched the signs of the times, and was as 
 good a diviner in politics as any one ; but whatever 
 the presages were, he looked at coming events un- 
 mo.ved, leaving their results to Heaven. 
 
 For several of the last years of his life, he was 
 curtailing his business in order to devote some por- 
 tion of the prime of his manhood to literary and 
 scientific pursuits, so congenial to his heart ; but in 
 this he was disappointed, for yet while in the fulness 
 of his strength he was called to leave the world, for 
 whose benefit he was formed. The ways of Providence 
 are right, however hidden the laws are from us. It 
 is to be regretted that one so able should have writ- 
 ten so little as he has ; probably he was waiting for 
 those hours of leisure, in which he was contemplating 
 to form his plan of some literary work. The writer 
 once suggested to him the history of his native State 
 as a subject for his pen, and the thought did not seem 
 unpleasant to him.
 
 HIS BROTHERS AND SISIEHS. 181 
 
 No one had a more admirable spirit of criticism 
 than Ezekiel Webster, united with that generous in- 
 dulgence which only great minds feel and practise. 
 A few months before he died, some symptoms of a dis- 
 ease of the heart were perceptible, but not alarming 
 to his friends ; but he knew the uncertainty of hu- 
 man life, and, without any special command, set his 
 house in order, and made preparation for his long 
 journey. There is a beauty in that calm, deep, silent, 
 religious feeling, that none but great and pure minds 
 can ever know. After having put all his worldly 
 affairs into a most perfect train for settlement at his 
 death, and wishing his friends to be free from all 
 doubts upon his religious impressions and belief, he 
 sat down and wrote his sentiments on this moment- 
 ous subject, which were found on his table after his 
 death. This was his last composition. How true it 
 is, that the enjoyment of health, the accumulating of 
 wealth, the pursuits of science, and the love of let- 
 ters, and the world's applause, sanctioned by the good 
 man's benison, are not for an immortal mind. All 
 these things are, in a great measure, connected with fel- 
 low-mortals, and are finite in their influences upon the 
 mind, while religion is a connection with infinity, with 
 Deity ; it enters into eternity, leaves time and sense 
 to earth, and by the bright inspirations of faith, takes 
 the .sting from death, and from the grave its vic- 
 tory. 
 
 A great mind, accustomed to " long converse with 
 the invisible world," and seeing, day after day, his 
 friends falling around him, breathes as each descends 
 to the tomb,
 
 182 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 How dreary is this gulf ! how dark how void 
 The trackless shores, that never were repass'd I 
 
 Dread separation ! on the depth untried, 
 Hope falters, and the soul recoils aghast 1 
 
 Wide round the spacious heavens I cast my eyes ; 
 
 And shall these stars glow with immortal fire? 
 Still shine the lifeless glories of the skies 1 
 
 And could thy bright, thy living soul expire 
 
 Far be the thought ! The pleasures most sublime ; 
 
 The glow of friendship, and the virtuous tear ; 
 The soaring wish that scorns the bounds of time, 
 Chill'd in the vale of death, but languish here. 
 
 Sarah Webster, his youngest sister, was the tenth 
 child, and next to him. She married her cousin, 
 Mr. Ebenezer Webster, and always lived in Franklin. 
 She died March 19, 1831, aged twenty-one. 
 
 In 1846. Mr. Webster in a letter to a friend, while 
 speaking of his father, says : " The grave has closed 
 upon him, as it has on all my brothers and sisters. 
 We shall soon be all together. But this is melan- 
 choly, and I leave it. Dear, dear kindred blood, 
 how I love you all !" 
 
 Peace be to their ashes. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 DANUX WEBSTER. Pf HIS INFANCY AND BOYHOOD. 
 
 EIJIS FABM, N. H., October , 1849. 
 
 I shall now proceed to speak of the events of 
 Mr. Webster's life. 
 
 The first time he appeared in public, before one 
 of those audiences which he has so often delighted,
 
 HIS INFANCY AND BOYHOOD. 
 
 183 
 
 was when carried to the old church that stood on 
 " Meeting-House Hill," to be christened. His speech 
 on that occasion is not reported, nor was there any- 
 thing recorded as to his manner, or the qualities of 
 his voice ; but in the report of his speeches on subse- 
 quent occasions, so much has been said about the 
 dignity of his manner, his self-possession, his retorts, 
 his repartees, his indignation when assailed, and of 
 the strength and peculiarity of his voice ; we may 
 thence infer something as to what was his deport- 
 ment on his first appearance. I think he gave the 
 audience a touch as to the qualities of his voice. 
 
 The ceremony of baptism was performed in the 
 most imposing manner by Rev. Jonathan Searle, who 
 for many years was the clergyman of the parish. You 
 should know something of the man, in order to get 
 an idea of his mode of administration. Regarding 
 himself as an extraordinary personage, and attaching 
 great importance to his high calling and everything 
 pertaining to it, he always claimed and received much 
 homage from the people to whom he preached. He 
 wore a tri-cornered cocked hat, powdered wig, orna- 
 mented knee and shoe buckles, with the most ample 
 surplice and gown. While his manner, in all cere- 
 monies of the church, was pompous in the extreme, 
 he was condescending and courteous to people of rank 
 and respectability, and kind to all, no matter how 
 humble. The christening of the child of Colonel 
 Ebeuezer Webster was an event of some considerable 
 moment, and, of course, everything due to the occa- 
 sion was said and done. 
 
 Tradition says the day was bright and beautiful ;
 
 184 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 and the following anecdote is told to show how 
 readily certain persons can step from what they would 
 have us think the sublime, to what others laugh at 
 as the ridiculous. I must tell it to you. I have 
 heard Mr. Webster tell it, as he said it was told to 
 him by one who saw it. 
 
 There was a lady of the congregation by the name 
 of Mrs. Clay, doubtless an excellent woman, but she 
 was proud, and passionately fond of dress and dis- 
 play, which was no crime. 
 
 Her bonnet was of the most ample dimensions, 
 and at this particular time it was in that respect at 
 the very extreme of fashion. It was, moreover, be- 
 decked with a large veil, numerous bows of ribbons 
 and feathers, among which a fresh wind created much 
 fluttering. The ceremony of the altar being over, 
 this lady, as she was accustomed to do on such occa- 
 sions, assumed a prominent position in the broad aisle 
 as the congregation was leaving the house, and there 
 waited till Rev. Mr. Searle, Col. Webster and his 
 lady, approached, that she might speak to them, es- 
 pecially to congratulate the latter on the interesting 
 event that had just transpired. Having made her 
 compliments to the party, and patted Daniel on the 
 cheeks, she was walking along by the side of the 
 stately parson across the green. In the midst of 
 the courteous salutations of the pompous clergyman 
 to her ladyship, a mischievous flaw of wind struck 
 her bonnet and carried it away, floating like a balloon 
 on the breeze, whirling and leaping down the hill 
 side. Mrs. Clay, of course, was anxious for the fate 
 of her best bonnet, and spoke to the parson.
 
 HIS INFANCY AND BOYHOOD. 
 
 185 
 
 " Dear sir, will you pick up my bonnet ?" 
 
 The parson, of course, condescendingly strutted 
 after it, but he could not so far unbend his dignity as 
 to run in the presence of his congregation. His walk 
 was not sufficiently rapid to overtake the bonnet. 
 She again appealed to him, at the same time follow- 
 ing close to his heels, 
 
 " Reverend Sir, do stop my bonnet, it will be 
 ruined !" 
 
 The parson increased his strides, and, as it hung 
 by a twig, came near capturing it, but just as he was 
 about to clutch it, away it went again. She then 
 concentrated into her voice and manner all her pa- 
 thos, 
 
 " Do, Reverend and dear Sir, be so good as to 
 hasten on and stop my bonnet ; what shall I do ! " 
 
 The clergyman was now extending his strides to 
 the utmost extent of his long legs, and was on the 
 fastest walk which his dignity would permit, but the 
 bonnet still whirled and twitched on beyond his 
 reach ; destruction seemed inevitable ; her patience 
 was exhausted ; she threw aside all restraint, and, at 
 the top of her voice, forgetting the dignity of the par- 
 son, she cried out 
 
 " Searle, you devil you, why don't you run?" 
 This appeal spurred him into a run, by which he 
 caught the truant bonnet, and restored it to the half- 
 frantic lady. The race down Meeting-House Hill, by 
 Rev. Mr. Searle and Mrs. Clay, in pursuit of the 
 bonnet, will never be forgotten. 
 
 The old church has long since disappeared. The 
 apex of the hill on which it stood is now a part of an
 
 186 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 extensive pasture, on which bleating flocks and low- 
 ing herds feed at pleasure, or roam over it, uncon- 
 scious, of course, of any of the past events which 
 have invested it with interest to those who like to 
 know the legends of that neighborhood. 
 
 On the spot where the old meeting-house stood I 
 shot a brace of birds which, to-morrow, will be cooked 
 for my dinner, and, after sitting an hour, listening to 
 the stories related by an aged but well-informed farm- 
 er, concerning " the rude forefathers of the hamlet," 
 I returned to the Valley of the Merrirnack, delighted 
 with a pleasant day's rambling. 
 
 After the close of the Revolutionary war, when 
 business of all kinds began to prosper, Col. Webster 
 bought the house still standing in a bend of the old 
 turnpike road, built by one Elizabeth Gale. It is a 
 two-story frame building, to which has since been 
 added a front piazza. Daniel was then a mere child. 
 Soon after this removal, Mr. Haddock, the father of 
 the eminent Professor, built the present mansion- 
 house, and, after occupying it for a short time, trans- 
 ferred it to Col. Webster, in exchange for the one 
 built by Mrs. Gale. Thereupon, Col. Webster re- 
 moved into it with his family. I described this 
 house and farm in a former letter. 
 
 Mr. Webster's first instructress was his mother. 
 She taught him the letters of the alphabet, and, with 
 a watchful anxiety that always distinguished her, was 
 careful that her son devoted as much time as possible 
 to learning. She prophesied in his infancy his future 
 distinction, and fortunately lived to see her prophecy 
 fulfilled. He was in Congress before she died.
 
 HIS INFANCY AND BOYHOOD. 187 
 
 Happy woman ! She was remarkable for her intel- 
 lect, her piety, and the truest affections. She was 
 loved and respected by all who knew her, and, more 
 than that, was venerated by her children. Mr. Web- 
 ster has often been heard to say, his mother taught 
 him to read the Bible ; he could read that before he 
 went to school. 
 
 It is often asserted by those who know the family, 
 that the extraordinary genius with which Mr. Web- 
 ster is endowed by nature, descended to him on his 
 mother's side ; at all events, she was unwearied in 
 her 'efforts to make him what she wished him to be 
 the first in the ranks of those around him. 
 
 New Hampshire was backward in organizing and 
 providing for common schools. At the time Daniel 
 was old enough to attend, there was no regular school 
 in his vicinity. But the immediate neighbors of Col. 
 Webster, as well as himself, were anxious to have 
 their children taught ; and, to accommodate them, a 
 Mr. Chase, a schoolmaster, hired a room in the house 
 of Mr. Sandborn, near this farm, and Daniel, with 
 other small children, went daily to him, to be taught 
 to spell and read. The house is still standing. 
 
 The common school law of the State divided each 
 town into two or more school districts. Salisbury 
 was so divided that the district in which he lived ex- 
 tended from the river backward several miles among 
 the hills. In it there were three school-houses one 
 on the river at this place, one on the north road, and 
 the third in the western part of the district. 
 
 The trustees at length employed a Mr. William 
 Hoyt, a schoolmaster by profession, for the district.
 
 188 JtfEMORIALS OF DANIEL, WEBSTER. 
 
 This man taught a school for four months in the first 
 school-house, then four months in the middle house, 
 and then the remainder of the year in the most 
 remote. 
 
 This routine he repeated annually for several 
 years. Mr. Webster was sent to Mr. Hoyt. The 
 first school-house that he ever entered was built of 
 logs, and stood on the easterly side of the old road, 
 about one hundred yards northerly from this farm, 
 between two ancient 'butternut trees, but not a ves- 
 tige of the old house remains. 
 
 When Mr. Hoyt occupied the middle school- 
 house, Daniel attended only, carrying his dinner with 
 him in a basket ; but when the third house was occu- 
 pied, Col. Webster paid for his board in the western 
 part of the town. He went on Monday morning, and 
 came home on Saturday, making those journeys on 
 his rather young and tender feet. I drove over this 
 same road yesterday, and fancied I saw Mr. Web- 
 ster, a little fellow, climbing the hills, crossing the 
 streams, carrying a heavy heart as he went, and bring- 
 ing a light one on his return. 
 
 But Mr. William Hoyt was not eminent as a 
 teacher. He was a good scribe, and in the art of pen- 
 manship he excelled, but in no other. He taught the 
 boys to read and spell, to write, and to understand, to 
 some extent, the fundamental rules of arithmetic. 
 He was severe in his discipline, and played the tyrant 
 to the extent of his brief authority over the unlucky 
 little fellows who, perchance, went counter to his de- 
 crees. A year or two enabled Mr. Webster to'learn 
 from him all the pedagogue could teach that was
 
 HIS INFANCY AND BOYHOOD. 
 
 worth knowing. But William Hoyt had the honoi 
 of being one of the teachers of the first man in this 
 country, and his memory is entitled to our respect. 
 " He taught that boy," was his chaplet his claim to 
 renown. 
 
 Under the teaching of this master, Mr. Webster 
 learned to write a beautiful hand. 
 
 Among those who taught Mr. Webster, and the 
 next in order to Mr. Chase, was a Master Tappan, now 
 known as Colonel Tappan, who still lives, at the age 
 of eighty-two, and is kindly remembered by his pupil. 
 There he learned to spell ; it is said of him there was 
 no word in the spelling book that was not also in his 
 memory. There, too, he learned the rudiments of 
 arithmetic. With his rude slate and pencil he could 
 work out the simple problems, taught by such a mas- 
 ter, in such a school. He learned the art of reading 
 well from his excellent father, who was noted for this 
 accomplishment. 
 
 His love of elocution, his taste for oratory, his 
 knowledge of true eloquence, which have shone con- 
 spicuously on all subsequent occasions, were the result 
 of twigs first bent in the right direction, by hearing 
 his father read as he could read, the Bible, Shakspeare 
 and Pope. 
 
 Professor Sandborn, who relates many incidents 
 concerning him, says that aged men, who are familiar 
 with his early life, mention, among their earliest re- 
 collections of his childhood, a fondness for books above 
 his years. His father kept open doors for all travel- 
 lers. The teamsters, who came from the North, were 
 accustomed to say, when they arrived at Judge Web-
 
 190 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 ster's house, " Come, let us give our horses some oats, 
 and go in and hear little Dan read a Psalm. " They 
 always called for him ; and, leaning upon their long 
 whip-stocks, listened with delighted attention to the 
 elocution of the young orator. 
 
 Yours, truly. 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER A BOY OUT-DOOR SPORTS FIRST TIME HE READ 
 
 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 ELMS FARM, N. H., Oct. 1849. 
 
 Mr. Webster did not, of course, go to school every 
 day. He had a due regard for that old saying : " All 
 work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." There 
 were Saturday afternoons, holidays, and occasional 
 pretty long vacations, which he hailed with delight 
 and he frequently took a holiday, as all boys will, on 
 his own account. On these occasions he entered 
 zealously into all kinds of out-door amusements. Be- 
 sides he did boy's work on his father's farm. 
 
 He rode the horse in plowing furrows between 
 rows of corn ; he raked the hay, followed the reapers 
 and bound up the wheat .as they cut it ; he drove the 
 cows to their pastures in the morning and home again 
 at night. No little hands or little feet could accom- 
 plish more than his in any thing not beyond his strength. 
 I have to-day conversed with an old farmer who, in 
 his boyhood, labored with him in the field many a 
 day. 
 
 During the season for " haying and harvesting, " 
 Daniel always staid from school, as a matter of course,
 
 OUT-DOOR SPORTS. 
 
 191 
 
 and went into the fields with the men to do what he 
 could to gather in the crops, for the hay was to be 
 made while the sun shone, and the grain was to be 
 cut when it was ripe. With his straw hat, his ' : tow 
 frock and trowsers," his rake or sickle in hand, he 
 worked from morning till night, and never was heard 
 to -complain. He shrunk not from industry when it 
 was apparent it could be turned to a good account. 
 
 He obtained, by working on the farm, a thorough 
 knowledge of agricultural business, and the taste ac- 
 quired for it then has continued, and is now his 
 strongest passion. In these fertile fields, beneath 
 these elms, he imbibed his first ideas of farming, 
 which have ripened into a knowledge not surpassed 
 by any agriculturist of the age in which he lives. 
 
 In his great speech on " The Agriculture of Eng- 
 land," at a meeting of the members of the Legislature 
 of Massachusetts, and others interested, at the State 
 House, in Boston, January 13th, 1840, he began by 
 stating that " he regarded agriculture as the leading 
 interest of society ; and as having in all its relations, 
 a direct and intimate bearing upon human comfort 
 and national prosperity. He hiid been familiar with 
 its operations in his youth, and he had always looked 
 upon the subject with a lively and deep interest." 
 His speeches in England and at Rochester, N. Y., all 
 confirm what I have said. 
 
 He had a strong propensity for out-door recrea- 
 tions at that early period of his life, and he has culti- 
 vated it from that day to this. No man in the coun- 
 try is more fond of fishing, hunting, sailing, riding, or 
 driving, than Mr. Webster. He has not the least
 
 taste or fondness for in-door amusements. He never 
 played a game of chess or checkers in his life ; nor 
 billiards, nor ten-pins. He never played, and it is 
 said, does not know, a game of cards, besides whist, a 
 game which he will play with ladies or gentlemen in 
 the evening, before his early hour for retiring. His 
 passion is. and always was, for out-door recreations. To 
 this he is unquestionably much indebted for the robust 
 constitution he established on arriving at manhood, 
 and which he has sustained throughout his career. 
 In his childhood and youth he was not robust, but on 
 the contrary, he had what was regarded a feeble con- 
 stitution. He appeared like a youth inclined to con- 
 sumption. 
 
 I went to-day to some of the places where he in- 
 dulged his propensity for out-door amusements. A 
 quarter of a mile beyond the site of the old school- 
 house, is the hill where he so often went to slide. My 
 informant, an aged lady, says, that in the coldest of 
 the weather, the little fellow could be seen trudging 
 along through the snow with his sled, to join Deacon 
 True's boys, and others, in the exciting but toilsome 
 sport of sliding down hill. 
 
 At times the snow covered up the fences, and left 
 nothing to intercept his descent from the top of the 
 hill to the current of the Merrimack. So intent was 
 his mind on this sport, and so regardless of the cold- 
 ness of the weather on one occasion, that the toes of 
 ' 
 
 both his feet were frozen, and he was compelled to 
 suffer the privations of being confined to the house, 
 too lame to walk. He used to say " there was great 
 fun in sliding down hill, but there was not much fun
 
 OUT-DOOR SPORTS. 193 
 
 in hearing his father scold when he stayed out of 
 school to enjoy it." 
 
 I went also to the pond where in the summer- 
 time he used to bathe, where he learned the art of 
 swimming, and where, in the winter-time, the water 
 being frozen, he indulged in skating. No one of his 
 years could excel him in either art. These were 
 both invigorating exercises, and not only afforded 
 him great amusement, but trained his physical ener- 
 gies for subsequent labor, which, without it, would 
 have broke down many a more robust frame. 
 
 He had a passion for fishing, and it was perhaps 
 as strong in him naturally as it was in old Izaak 
 Walton. I went, to-day, to see the four brooks in 
 which he indulged this propensity whenever he had 
 an opportunity. The name of one is Punch Brook, 
 of which I spoke in a former letter, of another Mid- 
 dle Brook, of another Stirrup Iron Brook, of the 
 fourth Wigwag Brook. They were all very near. 
 In days of yore, these brooks were famous for trout 
 fishing, and he knew every hole, every lurking-place, 
 in which these speckled beauties were found, between 
 their entrance into the river, and the fountains whence 
 they flowed. With his rude fishing-rod cut from the 
 bushes, his lines made of horse-hair, than which no 
 better have since been contrived, and his hooks bought 
 of pedlers, as soon as dismissed from school, or re- 
 leased from the task his father gave him to perform, 
 he went to trace those streams, and it was rare in- 
 deed that he ever returned without being heavily 
 laden with the trophies of his skill and patience. 
 
 His skill in shooting, which in subsequent life has
 
 194 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 rendered him famous as a go6d shot, was early ac- 
 quired, and all along this valley, up the glens and on 
 the mountain sides, he delighted to roam, with his 
 dog and gun, in pursuit of game. Tradition points 
 out several places where his eminent skill was dis- 
 played, and although it is not said of him, as it was 
 of the famous shot, Captain Scott, viz., that all the 
 raccoons and squirrels on seeing him in pursuit of 
 them, invariably told the Captain that he need not 
 take the trouble to fire at them, for they were as good 
 as dead, and would come down to meet him at the 
 foot of each tree, yet enough is said to prove that 
 those animals might have told Mr. Webster a similar 
 tale. He never missed them. 
 
 His father was very strict in all religious observ- 
 ances, and required, among other things, that his son 
 should go every Sunday to Church, though the dis- 
 tance was about four miles. Mr. Webster complain- 
 ed of the hardship, for he must needs walk all the 
 way. His father said to him : 
 
 " I see Deacon True's boys there every Sunday 
 regularly, and have never heard of their complaining." 
 
 " Ah ! but," said Daniel, " Deacon True's boys 
 live half the way there, and, of 'course, have only half 
 as far to walk." 
 
 " Well," said his father, " you may get up in the 
 morning, dress yourself, and run up to Deacon True's, 
 and go with them ; then you will have no farther to 
 walk than they do." 
 
 The logic of his father was conclusive; for he 
 never considered it a hardship to be permitted to run 
 up to Deacon True's, to play with his boys, and that
 
 OUT-DOOR SPORTS. 
 
 195 
 
 the hardships, if any, lay beyond the Deacon's resi- 
 dence. On every good old New England Sabbath, 
 therefore, when the weather would permit him, Mr. 
 Webster was found at church, notwithstanding the 
 distance. 
 
 Mr. Webster himself told me the following anec- 
 dote of a bit of fun. W r hen he was about ten years 
 of age, as a great favor his mother gave him half a 
 dollar and permission to visit one of his aunts, dis- 
 tant some ten miles beyond this place. Accordingly 
 he set forth the next morning early, and made the 
 journey on foot. His purpose was to spend several 
 days. On arriving at his place of destination, the 
 first important object that arrested his attention was 
 a splendid fighting-cock, strutting and crowing in the 
 barn-yard. He scanned his apparent powers with se- 
 cret but delightful anticipations, for one of his neigh- 
 bors had a conquering rooster, against which he held 
 a grudge, and which was the terror of every cock in 
 this vicinity. As soon as lie had passed the usual 
 salutations with his aunt, who was of course delighted 
 to see him, he began to negotiate for the purchase of 
 the game-cock. It resulted in his becoming the 
 owner of the bird for the said half dollar, all he had, 
 which he promptly paid. During the night his anti- 
 cipations and his impatience for morning to come 
 were so great he could scarcely sleep a wink, tired as 
 he was. At an early hour he was up and had his 
 game-cock safely in his possession. No entreaties on 
 
 j the part of his aunt could induce him to stay a mo- 
 
 s ment after he had bad his breakfast. 
 
 With the rooster in his arms, he set out for home.
 
 196 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 On his return, he had not proceeded far before he 
 passed a barn-yard filled with hens, among which, he 
 spied a cock manifesting his fighting propensities. 
 On seeing what he held in his arms, the cock on his 
 own ground, gave the usual challenge for a battle. 
 No sooner intimated than done, down went this 
 champion in the midst of the flock, and the sparring 
 commenced. The battle was bravely fought on both 
 sides. No lovers of cock-fighting ever saw a more 
 satisfactory contest. But the challenging party bit 
 the dust. 
 
 My game cock, said he, stood over his prostrate 
 foe, and flapping his wings, crowed his victory. 
 Thereupon he took his hero in his arms and again 
 trudged on his way. In the course of the next mile 
 he came to another yard. Here he displayed his 
 champion, he was challenged, gave battle, and came 
 off victorious as before, and came near having a bat- 
 tle with another boy of his age. Thus he journeyed 
 on, giving battle at every barn-yard he passed where 
 a cock would fight, always triumphant. At length 
 he reached the yard of his neighbor who owned the 
 cock against which he had the grudge. The day 
 was well-nigh spent. His rooster had fought several 
 times. He doubted 'the policy of letting him fight 
 the most important battle under such circumstances, 
 but being impatient, and seeing that his hero seemed 
 fresh, for he had carried him in his arms, and inas- 
 much, as on seeing his antagonist, he seemed fierce 
 for the fight, he let him slip. 
 
 The battle began. For a while the contest was 
 an even one ; but in ten minutes he had the satisfac-
 
 OUT-DOOR SPORTS. 197 
 
 tion of seeing his hero victorious. He also saw the 
 cock against which he had the grudge and which had 
 again and again driven his own fowls from his own 
 yard, led about by the comb in a manner as degrad- 
 ing as the old Romans led their conquered foes while 
 celebrating their triumphs of arms. Wellington, 
 after the battle of Waterloo, was not better satisfied 
 with the results of the day than he was with the re- 
 sults of his day. 
 
 On the left hand going towards the more settled 
 part of the town of Salisbury, known as the Northern 
 Road, on Punch Brook, stands an old saw mill, where 
 Mr. Webster's father, more than sixty years ago, 
 built himself a rude-looking mill. The place is a 
 dark glen, and was then surrounded by a majestic 
 forest, which covered the neighboring hills The 
 mill was a source of income to Colonel Webster, and 
 he kept it in operation till near the end of his life. 
 To that mill. Mr. Webster, though a small boy, went 
 frequently, when not in school, to assist his father in 
 sawing boards. He was apt in learning anything 
 useful, and soon became so expert in doing every- 
 thing required, that his services as an assistant were 
 valuable. Hence, the reason for his being employed 
 there when not absolutely required elsewhere. But 
 his time was not misspent or misapplied. After " set- 
 ting the saw" and "hoisting the gate," and while the 
 saw was passing through the log, which usually occu- 
 pied from ten to fifteen minutes for each board. Dan- 
 iel was reading attentively some book he was per- 
 mitted to take from the house. He had a passion 
 thus early for reading histories and biographies.
 
 198 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 There (let it be mentioned to his credit), in that 
 old saw mill, surrounded by forests, in the midst of 
 the great noise which such a mill makes, and this, too, 
 without materially neglecting his task, he made him- 
 self familiar with the most remarkable events recorded 
 by the pen of history, and with the lives and charac- 
 ters of the most celebrated persons who had lived in 
 the tides of time. He has never forgotten what he 
 read there. So tenacious is his memory, that he can 
 recite long passages from the old books which he 
 read there, and has scarcely looked at since. The 
 solitude of the scene, the absence of everything to di- 
 vert his attention, the simplicity of his occupation, 
 ihe taciturn and thoughtful manner of his father, all 
 favored the process of transplanting every idea found 
 in those books to his own fresh, fruitful and vigorous 
 mind. I have not made a visit to any of the scenes 
 of Mr. Webster's boyhood, more interesting than this 
 old mill. The Academy of Science, his alma mater, 
 is not invested with more interest ; no, not half so 
 much. 
 
 Mr. Webster related to me the following interest- 
 ing anecdote which had some influence on his after 
 life. 
 
 After the Constitution of the United States had 
 been adopted by all the States of the Union, and had 
 gone into operation, of course its good results were 
 apparent, and the people began to read and venerate 
 it. It was printed in all forms and widely circulated. 
 But the first time that he saw it, he found it printed 
 at length on some fine cotton handkerchiefs for sale 
 at a neighboring store. He paid all the money in his
 
 FIRST TIME HE READ THE U. 8. CONSTITUTION. 199 
 
 purse for one handkerchief, and carried it home. On 
 the same afternoon he sat under the shade of the old 
 elm tree, near his father's house, and read and re-read 
 that wonderful work of man. Considering the fact 
 that to him more than to any other man, living or 
 dead, is. due the credit of being its ablest, its most 
 zealous, and most constant defender, is there not 
 much importance attached to the place where Mr. 
 Webster first read the Constitution ? 
 
 As I was to-day standing on the identical spot, 
 I could see him in my mind's eye. There he sat, 
 beneath the wide-spreading branches of that old tree, 
 on a rude bench, with the handkerchief spread out 
 in his lap, poring over its wisdom, drinking in ideas 
 which for more than half a century have been shin- 
 ing lights, guiding the footpaths of his countrymen 
 through paths beset with perils, of which the history 
 of the world furnishes no parallels. Fortunate 
 incident ! 
 
 I take the following anecdote from the letter to 
 which I have before alluded and given to me for this 
 purpose. 
 
 " Of a hot day in July it must have been one 
 of the last years of Washington's administration, I 
 was making hay with my father, just where I now see 
 a remaining elm-tree, about the middle of the after- 
 noon. The Hon. Abiel Foster, M. C., who lived in 
 Canterbury, six miles off, called at the house, and 
 cume into the field to see my father. He was a 
 worthy man, college learned, and had been a minis- 
 ter, but was not a person of any considerable natural 
 \ powers. My father was his friend and supporter. 
 
 V_- ta ^*^^^_*>_*VX'^
 
 200 
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIKL WEBSTER. 
 
 He talked awhile in the field and went on his way, 
 When he was gone, my father called me to him, and 
 we sat down beneath the elm, on a haycock. He 
 said, ' My son that is a worthy man he is a mem- 
 ber of Congress he goes to Philadelphia, and gets 
 six dollars a day, while I toil here. It is because he 
 had an education, which I never had. If I had had 
 his early education I should have been in Philadel- 
 phia in his place. I came near it. as it was. But I 
 missed it, and now I must work here.' ' My dear 
 father,' said I, ' you shall not work. Brother and I 
 will work for you. and wear our hands out, and you 
 shall rest' and I remember to have cried, and I 
 cry now, at the recollection. ' My child,' said he, 
 ' it is of no importance to me I now live but for my 
 children ; I could not give your elder brother the 
 advantages of knowledge, but I can do something 
 for you. Exert yourself improve your opportunities 
 learn learn and when I am gone, you will not 
 need to go through the hardships which I have under- 
 gone, and which have made me an old man before 
 my time." 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 TIIOS. W. THOMPSON LAW-OFFICE LATIN GRAMMAR REASONS 
 
 FOR GOING TO AN ACADEMY GOES TO EXETER DR. ABBOTT. 
 
 ELMS FARM, N. H., September, 1849. 
 
 In the year 1791, there came to reside in this town 
 a young lawyer by the name of Thomas W. Thomp- 
 son, who opened an office a short distance from this,
 
 LATIN GRAMMAR. 201 
 
 and boarded with Col. Webster's family. I will tell 
 you more about this gentleman in another letter. 
 
 In 1795, Mr. Thompson, having no students or 
 clerks, and being often away on business, induced 
 Daniel to stay iu his office while he was absent, to 
 tell his clients, and those who called, where he had 
 gone and when he would be home. He was then in 
 his thirteenth year. Mr. Thompson gave him a Latin 
 grammar, which he committed to memory. He had 
 no object in learning it except to gratify Mr. Thomp- I 
 son. He had never dreamed of studying Latin or 
 Greek, or of going to college, nor had his father 
 thought of any such thing. Daniel expected to fol- 
 low in the footsteps of his father and elder brothers, 
 to cultivate the soil, and, while a boy, to obtain what 
 was termed a good common school education, that he 
 might be respected as a man. Nobody had yet dis- 
 covered the giant intellect God had bestowed upon 
 him. unless, perhaps, his devoted mother. But the 
 facility with which he learned the Latin Grammar, 
 and the tenacity of his memory, arrested the attention 
 of Mr. Thompson, who spoke of it to Col. Webster. 
 In the Spring of 1 796, the idea of sending him to an 
 academy to qualify him to ' be a school teaclier, was 
 entertained by his father. Mr. Thompson advised it, 
 and his mother urged it. His brother Joseph, who 
 had arrived at the age of manhood, favored his going, 
 by way of the joke which I related to you in a pre- 
 vious letter. He said, inasmuch as Daniel was not 
 as smart by nature as the other members of the 
 family, he hoped his father would send him to an 
 academy, so that with the advantages it would give
 
 20* 
 
 MEMORIALS OF DAXIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 him, he would be equal to his brothers and sisters; or, 
 to use his own words, " know as much as the rest of 
 them." 
 
 The fact that Daniel had what was regarded 
 a slender constitution, was thrown into the scale to 
 favor the idea of his going to school, to qualify himself 
 for doing some less laborious work than that of the 
 farm. 
 
 To send one of ten children away to an academy, 
 perhaps at the expense of the others, was, in the eye 
 of Col. Webster, a partiality. He hesitated in tak- 
 ing such a step, indeed, he doubted whether it would 
 promote either Daniel's happiness or prosperity. 
 There have been many instances in which fathers 
 have reasoned thus. He could not of course foresee 
 the great results that followed. But considering 
 what was said by Mr. Thompson about his capacity 
 for learning, and taking into account the young man's 
 constitution, Col. Webster finally came to the con- 
 clusion that it would be well for Daniel to qualify 
 himself as a schoolmaster. He could in that case work 
 on the farm during the summer months, and in the 
 cold winter season when his health would not permit 
 him to work out of doors, he could teach a school. 
 Other young men had done as much in this vicinity, 
 and the experiment had proved profitable so far as 
 the cost of them was concerned, and above all highly 
 advantageous to the young men themselves. These 
 considerations induced his prudent father to send him 
 to the academy ; ninety-nine of every hundred would 
 have reasoned like him. Could the book of the 
 future have been opened to him when he resolved to
 
 GOES TO EXETER. 203 
 
 place his son on the road to fame, how the vision 
 would have stirred his heart ! When his father's 
 judgment was once convinced, he never drew back 
 from his purposes. He was a just and excellent man 
 
 On the 24th May, 1796, on a bright and sunny 
 day, Mr. Webster set out for Phillips' Academy, in 
 Exeter, in the County of Rockingham, in this State. 
 He was a small boy for one of his age. At that time, 
 there were few, if any, light carriages in this part of 
 the State, and the roads, in all directions, were bad ; 
 most of the travelling, for any considerable distance, 
 was done on horseback. One of the neighbors wished 
 to send a horse and side-saddle to Exeter for a lady 
 to ride to this place. He availed himself of this 
 opportunity. Col. Webster mounted his own horse, 
 and Daniel, dressed in his new homemade suit, mounted 
 the horse with the side-saddle. They journeyed on 
 slowly, down the Merrimack to the mouth of the Sun 
 Cook River, and then up its valley to Allenstown, 
 where they stayed the first night. Although the 
 distance was not great, yet the little fellow, unaccus- 
 tomed to riding far, was tired enough. The next 
 day, refreshed by sleep, they set out again, and con- 
 tinued their journey as far as the town of Poplin, 
 where they stayed the second night. Mr. Webster 
 had never been so far from home before. The third 
 day they reached their place of destination, long be- 
 fore night. 
 
 Although his father was born at Kingston, six 
 miles distant, yet there were but two or three persons 
 in Exeter whom he knew. One was a Mr. Cass, the 
 father of his Excellency, Governor Cass. Another
 
 204 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 was a Mr. Clifford. With the latter, Col. Webster 
 procured a place for Daniel to board, so that he took 
 his lodging there the third night. The next day, he 
 went with his father to the academy to apply for 
 admission. Benjamin Abbott, LL. D., was then at 
 the head of the academy. He felt and carefully 
 maintained the dignity and importance of his posi- 
 tion. To him, of course, the application for admis- 
 sion was made. The learned Doctor, then a young 
 man, was seated in the great hall. He always did 
 every thing official with pompous ceremony. 
 
 " Well, sir," said he, putting on his cocked hat, 
 " let the young gentleman be presented for examina- 
 tion." 
 
 Mr. Webster, with his hat in his hand, modestly 
 advanced, and stood before him. He was in a stravige 
 place, and strangers were around him, but he was 
 self-possessed. It is his nature to be self-possessed. 
 
 " What is your age?" 
 
 " Fourteen." 
 
 " Take this Bible, my lad, and read that chapter." 
 
 The chapter given him to read was 22d chapter, 
 Gospel according to St. Luke. A description of the 
 conspiring of the Jews, the betrayal of Christ by 
 Judas, the denial by Peter, &c. Daniel took the 
 book, and read in a clear tone, with due emphasis, as 
 he had been taught by his father to read. He was 
 equal to the occasion. He was able to concentrate 
 his mind on the matter, and to control his manner. 
 The Doctor listened with astonishment ; and, as the 
 young man before him proceeded, giving full effect to 
 every word of that beautiful narration, he seemed in
 
 DR. ABBOTT. 
 
 205 
 
 a trance, and never interrupted him. He read to the 
 end. Such a trial would have been severe for most 
 boys, but in that exercise Daniel was perfectly at 
 home. He shut up the book and handed it to Dr. 
 Abbott, who asked him no more questions. 
 
 " Young man," said he, "you are qualified to en- 
 ter this institution." 
 
 He had never before heard the chapter better 
 read. 
 
 That school was founded in 1781, by one John 
 Phillips, LL. D. ; hence its name. He made it lib- 
 eral donations; $100.000 during his life, and at his 
 death $50.000 more : and it had already acquired 
 a high reputation. It was regarded as the best lite- 
 rary and scientific institution in the State. In 179;~>. 
 the year before Daniel went there, Dr. Phillips had 
 died, bequeathing to it a large portion of his wealth. 
 This raised it almost to the importance of a college. 
 The building stood on a plain near the centre of the 
 town, and it was well provided with accommodations 
 for the different branches of instruction. Among 
 other advantages it possessed was a large hall for 
 declamation and the annual exhibitions. The insti- 
 tution was endowed with a salary for the Principal, 
 and a salary for a Professorship besides. Phillips 
 had made it independent. 
 
 This venerable man (Dr. Abbott) retired from 
 the head of this institution in 1839, having presided 
 over it for fifty years, and having, for a considerable 
 time before his promotion to the place of Principal, 
 been engaged in the humblest ranks of instruction. 
 He has been, in fact, a schoolmaster of sixty years
 
 206 MKMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 standing. He has withdrawn to the repose of his 
 family, after an amount of labor and usefulness which 
 has no parallel among the teachers of this country. 
 The endowment of this Academy, and the respect- 
 ability of its corps of teachers, placed it on a par 
 with not a few American Colleges ; and it was for 
 many years without a rival as a school of preparation 
 for College. A thorough English education was fur- 
 nished by it to those who were not seeking for clas- 
 sical attainments. Other schools and academies have 
 since sprung up in various parts of the country, which 
 may have diminished the relative importance of this, 
 but without affecting the merits of the faithful men 
 who have maintained its repute, and have given so 
 useful an impulse to the general cause of public edu- 
 cation. 
 
 Among the three thousand boys who have been 
 also taught by Dr. Abbott, at that School, are Lewis 
 Cass, Lcvi Woodbury, Alexander H. and Edward 
 Everett, Jared Sparks, George Bancroft, Henry 
 Ware, Jr., John Gr. Palfrey, John A. Dix, and 
 Joseph S. Buckrninster all eminent men, who have 
 made their mark on the time. The Doctor possessed, 
 in a high degree, those personal qualifications of a 
 teacher, which, in. all countries, and under all systems 
 of education, constitute the most important the in- 
 dispensable requisites for success. In these qualifi- 
 cations Dr. Abbott stands pre-eminent. He is a tho- 
 rough classical scholar an expert in all the branches 
 which he assumes to teach. He has that self-knowledge 
 which gave him a ready intuition of the modes of 
 thought and the springs of action in other minds,
 
 DR. ABBOTT. 
 
 207 
 
 especially those of the young, upon whom he is exert- 
 ing his influence. 
 
 No one is better versed than himself in that diffi- 
 cult subject, " the human nature of boys," the want 
 of which knowledge has disabled so many eminent 
 men (even in some of our Universities) from the effi- 
 cient performance of the functions of a teacher. 
 
 It is said of him, by one who knew him well, that 
 by this happy degree of self-knowledge, and conse- 
 quent power of adjustment to the capacities and ten- 
 dencies of youthful minds, Dr. Abbott was always 
 able to engage their attention, and. to communicate 
 with facility the desired instruction ; a practical art, 
 for which the highest accomplishments, and the most 
 earnest and praiseworthy diligence can never be sub- 
 stituted with due effect in producing the best fruits 
 of education. The strict order and application to 
 study, which mark the department of the efficient 
 teacher, never failed to be visible under the adminis- 
 tration of Dr. Abbott, who secured obedience and di- 
 ligence by his sincerity and straightforwardness of 
 purpose, dignity of manners and regularity of system ; 
 while his constant aim was to cultivate the better 
 feelings of his pupils, to inspire them with self-re- 
 spect and a love of truth, and to incite them to the 
 pursuit of good learning for its own sake. Mr. Web- 
 ster and those above-named, in common with all who 
 wished to succeed, felt that no rules could be broken 
 without detriment to themselves, even if there were a 
 chance for impunity ; and that, under so considerate, 
 just, and kind a teacher, no requisitions would be 
 imposed that were not designed for the general good
 
 '208 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 Submission was tlms rendered easy without being 
 servile ; and to offend was not only regarded as a 
 breach of law, but of an honorable confidence reposed 
 in them by one who was more grieved than offended 
 at their faults, and whose highest satisfaction was in 
 their progress and success. 
 
 Mr. Webster remained at that Academy only 
 nine months. He gave his attention chiefly to the 
 English branches, viz., grammar, arithmetic, geog- 
 raphy, and rhetoric ; but he incidentally pursued the 
 study of the Latin language. His success in all was 
 such as to excite- the highest admiration of Mr. Ab- 
 bott. Having discovered in the very outset the ca- 
 pacity of the young gentleman, he gave him full 
 scope, and brought him forward as rapidly as he 
 could. When Mr. Webster left that school, at the 
 age of fourteen, he understood the English and the 
 Latin languages. 
 
 He had responded to the weekly call for a compo- 
 sition in writing. " but he could not make a speech." 
 On this subject he says of himself, in a short memoir 
 of Joseph S. Buckminster : " My first lessons in Latin 
 were directed by Joseph Stevens Buckminster, at that 
 time an Assistant at the Academy. I made tolera- 
 ble progress in all the branches I attended under his 
 instruction, but there was one thing I could not do ; 
 I could not make a declamation I could not speak 
 before the school. The kind and excellent Buck- 
 minster especially sought to persuade me to perform 
 the exercise of declamation, like other boys, but I 
 could not doit. Many a piece did I commit to mem- 
 ory, and rehearse in my own room, over and over
 
 DR. ABBOTT. 
 
 again ; but when the day came, when the school col- 
 lected, when my name was called, and I saw all 
 eyes turned upon my seat, I could not raise myself 
 from it. Sometimes the masters frowned, sometimes 
 they smiled. Mr. Buckminster always pressed and 
 entreated with the most winning kindness, that I 
 would only venture once ; but I could not command 
 sufficient resolution ; and when the occasion was over, 
 I went home and wept bitter tears of mortification." 
 
 Here, then, is a striking fact : the man who, dur- 
 ing the first nine months at an Academy, though a 
 good reader, and naturally self-possessed, could not 
 deliver a speech ! and yet, afterwards he became the 
 greatest Orator of his time! Bashful boys, take 
 courage. 
 
 Dr. Abbott still lives, and the proudest act of his 
 life is his teaching that boy. He talks with enthu- 
 siasm of the exploits of his pupil, and Mr. Webster 
 never fails to express his obligations to Mr. Abbott 
 for the pains he took with his education during the 
 brief period it was his happiness to be under his 
 charge. 
 
 The following description of the retirement of 
 the Doctor in 1839, you may have seen, but I will 
 give it in connection with what I am writing. Hav- 
 ing attained the age of seventy-seven years, and hav- 
 ing filled the measure of his long and faithful services, 
 Dr. Abbott announced his determination to resign 
 his office at the conclusion of the summer term. 
 This was to a large number of his pupils, to all whose 
 health or business would permit their attendance, a 
 signal for a spontaneous rally once more around their
 
 210 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL, WEBSTER. 
 
 venerable teacher and friend, to offer him a heartfelt 
 tribute of gratitude and respect. His portrait, paint- 
 ed by Harding for this occasion, will faithfully trans- 
 mit the lineaments of his countenance to after days. 
 
 The festival at Exeter, near the end of August 
 in that year, surpassed in interest the previous bicen- 
 tennial celebration of the founding of Harvard Uni- 
 versity, in 1836. The dining hall selected for the 
 festival, was filled by a long procession of Dr. Ab- 
 bott's former pupils, from all parts of the country, 
 en more gladdened by the familiar salutation, and 
 grown young again in the presence of their ancient 
 instructor ; renewing the friendships which time had 
 interrupted ; revisiting the homes of the hospitable 
 inhabitants which had sheltered their early days ; 
 tracing once more the scenes of their boyish sports, 
 and sadly bidding farewell to friends, whom most of 
 them were to see no more. 
 
 Political and all other divisions were for the time 
 forgotten, as they listened to the eloquent and ap- 
 propriate addresses of Mr. Webster, E. Everett, and 
 the other speakers whom the occasion inspired. All 
 eyes were directed toward the man of the day. Dr. 
 Abbott had prepared an address to the assembly. 
 They clustered about him in breathless expectation. 
 He arose to tender his acknowledgments and a part- 
 ing benediction. The scenes and events of so many 
 years came crowding upon his mind. His "boys" 
 of days long gone by, were gathered in his presence 
 with every demonstration of the warmest attach- 
 ment. His eye fell upon those whom he had instruct- 
 ed, counselled, guided, and for whom his prayers had
 
 HE TEACHES SCHOOL. 
 
 211 
 
 so often ascended to the throne of mercy. Some had 
 fallen asleep. Perhaps at that moment of intense 
 emotion the image of his lamented son, taken from 
 him in early life, might have passed before his mind, 
 as it glanced from the present to the lost. Overcome 
 by the conflict of his emotion, he faltered and paused. 
 U is utterance was choked, his eyes were filled with 
 tears, and he sank into his seat, wholly unable to pro- 
 ceed amid the sympathy, the enthusiasm, and the 
 overwhelming applause of the whole concourse. It 
 is difficult to describe a scene like this, more eloquent 
 than words, and ineffaceable from the memory of all 
 who were present. It was the index of an honest 
 and true fame, more precious than the richest patri- 
 mony to his surviving relatives. 
 
 It was among the most fortunate events of Mr. 
 Webster's life that he had such a teacher in the 
 outset. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 ME. WEI5STER TEACHES A SELECT SCHOOL A FROLIC RET. SAMUEL 
 
 WOOD PREPARES FOR COLLEGE ENTERS DARTMOUTH. 
 
 ELMS FARM, N. H., Sept. , 1849. 
 After the return of Mr. Webster from Exeter 
 Academy in February, 1797, he was anxious to avail 
 himself of the advantages his education gave him. 
 lie was rather young to teach a school, but he felt 
 himself qualified for the task, and he sought an op- 
 portunity. William Wirt, Silas Wright, and an 
 army of the first men in this country, and espe-
 
 212 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL, WEBSTER. 
 
 cially in this State, have pursued a similar course in 
 their career. Three-fourths of all the students in 
 New Hampshire teach school occasionally, either 
 more or less. Among his associates, and persons of 
 his own age, a class was formed for his teaching, 
 which occupied an apartment in the house of his 
 uncle, William Webster, on the North Iload. It 
 was for only a short time in the latter part of the 
 winter. The class was composed of boys and girls. 
 He gave them lessons to the utmost of their ability 
 to learn, and he continued his own studies at the 
 same time. But it was not " all work and no play." 
 The teacher and the pupils had many a frolic toge- 
 ther. I will relate one as a specimen. I give it to 
 you as it was told to me to-day by one who was one 
 of the party. 
 
 The whole class and the teacher were invited to 
 the farm of Captain Sawyer, on which Mr. Webster 
 was born, to eat apples and drink cider. That farm 
 was famous for good apples and other fruit. 
 
 Entertainments of this kind were frequent among 
 the farmers in Salisbury at that period, if not at this 
 day. I dare say " apple peelings " are not yet dis- 
 continued. 
 
 They assembled in the school-room in the even- 
 ing, a bright moonlight night, with fine sleighing ; 
 but there were no horses or sleighs as there are now, 
 for carrying large parties. They had to resort to 
 another expedient. 
 
 Daniel's uncle, William, had a fine yoke of four- 
 year-old steers, well fed. and very fast walkers. He 
 had also a large sled, with an ample box for a dozen
 
 REV. SAMUEL WOOD. 213 
 
 such passengers. This team was yoked to the sled, 
 the box filled with straw, and all the party, bent on 
 enjoying themselves, went " aboard," and a glorious 
 frolic they had of it. Mr. Webster, though the school- 
 master, was younger than many of the pupils. Their 
 relative positions were temporarily suspended, and he 
 held back nothing that he could do or say to enrich 
 the hilarity of the occasion. The events of that joy- 
 ful evening will never be forgotten by anybody who 
 then lived here. 
 
 But Mr. Webster about this time made the ac- 
 quaintance, and secured the lasting and ardent friend- 
 ship of Rev. Samuel Wood, LL. D., of Boscawen (a 
 place not far off), who was, for more than half a cen- 
 tury, minister of the Gospel in that town, and justly 
 distinguished for his learning and piety. I will tell 
 you something about him. He graduated at Dart- 
 mouth College, and at the commencement, in 1779, 
 he delivered the valedictory oration. Speaking of 
 the interruption to the progress of education whidi 
 the Revolution had occasioned, he spoke his sentiments 
 on the subject of education : 
 
 ' How sad," said he, " are the consequences when 
 a people unite to neglect the propagation of education, 
 not to mention the many instances of the kind re- 
 corded in history ; our eyes have seen, our ears have 
 heard, and our fathers have told us, how education 
 exalted the land of their nativity ! But. alas ! those 
 halcyon days are over and gone ; and we feel the dire 
 effects. Else what meaneth this din of war in our 
 land, with garments rolled in blood, this train of 
 Britain's artillery put in array against us ? Those
 
 214 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 lightnings that flash from her brazen batteries, and 
 the thunders that break from those smoky columns 
 with storms pregnant with leaden hail, promiscuous 
 instruments of death." 
 
 He was more than a clergyman sometimes is ; he 
 was a benefactor, a patron of learning, and a dispenser 
 of the blessings of education. I cannot speak too 
 highly of him. His whole time and all the means at 
 his disposal were devoted to the happiness and pros- 
 perity of the youth within his reach. He believed 
 in and acted on the principle, that the greatest good 
 man can do his fellow-man is to make him happy. 
 He believed happiness attended learning. His soul 
 knew no bounds. 
 
 His arms were open to every young man who was 
 striving for an education. Every one, when known, 
 was invited to share his hospitality and to receive 
 his instruction. It made no difference to that good 
 man whether he did or did not receive remuneration. 
 It is said that great numbers of young men have re- 
 ceived his tuition, many of whom have lived in his 
 house gratuitously. He has personally instructed 
 155 pupils in his own house. Of this number, 105 
 entered college, from 40 to 50 entered the ministry, 
 20 the profession of the law. and 6 or 7 that of me- 
 dicine. His pupils were his only pride ; he beheld 
 among them Governors, and Councillors of State, 
 Judges, and Members of Congress. But few towns, 
 in proportion to the number of inhabitants, have edu- 
 cated more young men than this ; some of whom take 
 their rank among the first advocates, not only in this 
 State, but in the United States. Their names are
 
 REV. SAMUEL WOOD. 
 
 215 
 
 as follows: Moses Eastman, 1794; Moses Sawyer, 
 1799 j Daniel Webster, 1801 ; Ezekiel Webster, 
 Ebenezer 0. Fifield, 1803; Thomas H. Pettingill, 
 18Q4; Nathaniel Sawyer, 1805; John True, 1806; 
 Ichabod Bartlett, Valentine Little, 1808 ; James 
 Bartlett, Benjamin Pettingill, 1812; Joseph Ward- 
 well, 1813; Charles B. Hadduck. 1816; Benjamin 
 Huntoon, 1817; William T. Hadduck, 1819; Joseph 
 B. Eastman, 1821. They all graduated at Dartmouth 
 College, with one exception. The Salisbury Social 
 Library consists of between three and four hundred 
 volumes, and annual additions are made to it. 
 
 He saw the mighty talents that gleamed in young 
 Mr. Webster, and at once resolved in his own mind 
 that such extraordinary gifts must not, should not, 
 remain in obscurity. At the time Mr. Webster 
 made his acquaintance, Mr. Wood was one of the 
 trustees of Dartmouth College, and was on intimate 
 terms with the faculty ; he therefore exerted himself 
 to get him into that institution. He was often at his 
 house and at his table ; he talked with that great 
 Dr. of Divinity, and in his presence, with his students 
 who were preparing for college. 
 
 No young man was ever more modest or unpre- 
 tending than Mr. Webster ; he had not then dreamed 
 of so great an enterprise, so great an advantage, as 
 going through that or any other university. In his 
 mind, the thing was as much beyond his reach as the 
 sky over his head. He had no vaulting ambition, 
 nor discontentment with his position, but he loved 
 learning and the society of learned men. Whatever 
 came before him he eagerly devoured. No topic of
 
 216 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTKR. 
 
 interest could be suggested which he was willing to 
 relinquish till he knew all about it its length, breadth, 
 weight and depth. This was the natural bent of his 
 mind. Mr. Webster and his father had conversed 
 on the subject, and Ezekiel had been taking a part 
 in the conversation, but, on the whole, the two young 
 men thought it too much to be undertaken by them. 
 
 Accustomed as Dr. Wood was to measure the 
 capacity of young men. and to estimate their relative 
 strength, he did not fail to see, what his countrymen 
 and the whole world wherever civilization had gone, 
 has since seen and is daily seeing, viz., the superiority 
 of his intellect. 
 
 This reverend gentleman, and Mr. Abbott of the 
 Exeter Academy, were intimate friends. Both had 
 discovered the promising talents of young Mr. Web- 
 ster, and both were anxious that he should proceed 
 in his career, which they foresaw led to eminence. 
 With the testimony borne by Mr. Abbott, Mr. Wood 
 went to Col. Webster, told him their opinions, and 
 recommended him to send Mr. Webster to college. 
 His father took the matter into consideration, and 
 finally resolved to do what was recommended by such 
 high authority. Mr. Wood proposed to attend to his 
 preparatory studies. 
 
 In a narrow and quite secluded road which leads 
 from this valley near the mouth of Stirrup Iron 
 Brook, towards the residence of Mr. Wood, as Mr. 
 Webster was driving with his father in a small sleigh 
 called a " pung," he was told for the first time he 
 was to be sent to college. The announcement startled 
 him, but he eagerly assented. In a moment the
 
 PREPARES FOR COLLEGE. 
 
 21 1 ? 
 
 mighty mountain he had to climb rose before his 
 imagination, but " he screwed up his courage to the 
 sticking place," and boldly commenced the ascent, 
 and never turned back till he had reached, as you 
 have seen, the pinnacle of fame. I drove over the 
 place to-day, with one familiar with the circumstances 
 I have related, and I could not but feel that a deep 
 interest attached itself to the spot where his destiny 
 and where the current of his thoughts were so com- 
 pletely changed by so important an announcement. 
 
 I have heard Mr. Webster relate the story, and 
 describe the various sensations he felt. At one 
 moment he laid his head on his father's bosom and 
 wept. At another moment he felt as much pride and 
 exultation as ever was felt by a Roman Consul to 
 whom a triumph had been decreed. 
 
 He commenced his preparation for College. It 
 must be borne in mind he had been only nine months 
 at the Academy. As late as the month of June he 
 had never opened a Greek Grammar for studying, and 
 yet he was to enter Dartmouth in August ! A short 
 time, indeed. Mr. Wood had a class of young men then 
 fitting themselves for the same purpose. They were 
 reviewing Cicero's Orations. Mr. Webster had never 
 read one of them. He entered the same class, and 
 opening the book at the pages they were reviewing, 
 he read them fluently and understandingly, as it were 
 by intuition. Their language seemed to be his own 
 language. He could think in the same strain ; and 
 he has been heard to say that no task was ever so 
 easily accomplished as his reading Cicero. But not 
 so with Greek. He did not like the language, and 
 in
 
 218 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 would never take the trouble to understand it any 
 farther than was absolutely required by his Professor. 
 It was not because he could not learn that or any 
 other language with facility, but he did not fancy it, 
 and never tried to make himself a good Greek scholar. 
 The English and Latin he thought sufficient for his 
 purposes. Had he intended to be a Greek Professor, 
 he would have thought otherwise and done otherwise. 
 Mr. Webster has often related the following anec- 
 dote, which is well told by Professor Sanborn, whose 
 words I substitute for my own. His recreations then 
 were the same which have occupied his leisure hours 
 in later life., In his rambles among the neighboring 
 woods, his rifle was his constant companion : 
 
 " linoquo solebat et hamo 
 
 Decipere, et calamo salientes ducere pieces." 
 
 " His kind mentor once ventured to suggest his 
 fears lest young Daniel's example, in devoting so 
 much time to his favorite amusements, might prove 
 injurious to the other boys. He did not complain 
 that his task was neglected, or that any lesson was 
 imperfectly prepared. This suggestion was sufficient. 
 The sensitive boy could not bear the suspicion of any 
 dereliction of duty. The next night was devoted to 
 study. No sleep visited his eyes. His teacher ap- 
 peared in the morning to hear his recitation. He 
 could read his hundred lines without mistake. He 
 was nowhere found tripping in syntax or prosody. As 
 his teacher was preparing to leave, young Daniel 
 requested him to hear a few more lines. Another 
 hundred was read. Breakfast was repeatedly an-
 
 PREJ'ARKS FOR COLLEGE. 219 
 
 nounced. The good do'ctor was impatient to go, and 
 asked his pupil how much further he could read. 'To 
 the end of the twelfth book of the .ZEneid,' was the 
 prompt reply. The doctor never had occasion to 
 reprove him again. His study hours ever after were 
 sacred. In less than a year, he read, with his teach- 
 er, Virgil and Cicero ; and. in private, two large works 
 of Grotius and Puffendorf, written in Latin." 
 
 In the month of August, 1797, Mr. Wood pro- 
 posed that Mr. Webster should enter college with 
 the class that had been long preparing and had read 
 all the books necessary to enable its members to en- 
 ter with decided advantages. That good man went 
 to the Faculty, personally, to recommend him, " not 
 so much for what he had learned as for what he told 
 them he could learn if he had an opportunity." He 
 was then only fifteen years old, and his advantages, 
 as you have seen, had not been great. But relying 
 on the influence of Mr. Wood with the Faculty, as 
 well as upon his ability to perform what he should 
 promise, he made his arrangements to go, unprepared 
 as he was. from the want of time and the absence of 
 the requisite books. 
 
 A near neighbor, who was engaged in the domes- 
 tic manufacture of clothes, with great dispatch fitted 
 him out with a new suit of blue clothing coat, vest 
 and pantaloons for the occasion of his first visit at 
 Hanover and his examination. 
 
 AVhen thus prepared, he set out on horseback. 
 On his way he encountered a violent storm, which 
 lasted two days, raised a flood, carried away bridges, 
 delayed his arrival, made it necessary in one in-
 
 220 MEMORIALS OP DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 stance for him to travel twenty miles farther than the 
 usual distance, and near the end of his journey 
 drenched him with rain. 
 
 When Mr. Webster arrived, the Faculty for his 
 examination was in session, and his presence was re- 
 quired immediately. On going to his room he found 
 that the soaking rain had started the color of his new 
 suit, and that from head to foot, under clothing, skin 
 and all, he was as blue as an indigo-bag. No time 
 was to be lost. He improved his plight all he could, 
 yet, blue as he was, he presented himself before his 
 examiners, that they might determine his qualifica- 
 tions to enter their institution. 
 
 Professor Shurtliff, now one of the Faculty, en- 
 tered that College at the same time, and has often 
 told the story of his first meeting Mr. Webster. He 
 
 "When I came to enter this Institution in 1797, 
 I put up, with others from the same Academy, at 
 what is now called the Olcott House, which was then 
 a tavern. We were conducted to a chamber, where 
 we might brush our clothes and make ready for ex- 
 amination. A young man, a stranger to us all, was 
 soon ushered into the room. Similarity of object 
 rendered the ordinary forms of introduction needless. 
 We learned that his name was Webster, also where 
 he had studied, and how much Latin and Greek he 
 had read, which I think was just to the limit pre- 
 scribed by law at that period, and which was very 
 much below the present requisition." 
 
 When Mr. Webster appeared before the Faculty, 
 he, in good-humor has said of himself, he " was not
 
 ENTERS DARTMOUTH. 
 
 only black Dan but blue Dan." However, with self- 
 possession and great tact, he narrated what time lie 
 had occupied, what books he had read, and what op- 
 portunities he had improved for study, and especially 
 the mishaps that had befallen him on the way there. 
 " Thus you see me," said he, " as I am, if not entitled 
 to your approbation, at least to your sympathy." He 
 answered the questions addressed to him without em- 
 barrassment and to his best ability. With the aid of 
 the Rev. Mr. Wood's influence, he passed what he 
 looked to as a fiery ordeal, and entered on his career 
 at College as a member of the Freshmen class. A 
 fortunate day for Dartmouth College. 
 
 Hon. John Wheelock, LL. D., was then the Presi- 
 dent. Hon. Bezaleel Woodward and Rev. John Smith, 
 D. D., were among the eminent Professors. Mr. Web- 
 ster was there, as I have shown you, more through 
 the influence of Dr. Wood than because he was thor- 
 oughly prepared. He had not read the books which 
 were set down among the requisites for admission. 
 From the month of March to the month of August, 
 under the direction of Mr. Wood, he had looked into 
 some of them as many as he could in so short a 
 time but others he had not even opened. 
 
 He was not, therefore, prepared to compete with, 
 much less to excel, the older and more thoroughly 
 prepared members of his class. Had he occupied a 
 year more in his preparatory studies, he would have 
 stood on a par with any of them in all the branches 
 of learning to which their attention was at any time 
 called. As it was, he stood at the foot of his class 
 in the beginning, and was compelled to delve into new
 
 222 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 books, the outsides of which he had never before 
 seen, to keep pace with his fellows, while some of hia 
 classmates were only leisurely reviewing what they 
 had before read. This was a disadvantage which he 
 always felt, and often spoke of in his after life. 
 
 Professor Sanborn asks the following question : 
 What one of those College idlers, who talk so flip- 
 pantly about the idleness of Daniel Webster, when a 
 student, had prepared himself for a like station in 
 two short months ? The students of that day were 
 deprived of many of the comforts and luxuries of life 
 which are now so liberally enjoyed. This learned 
 Professor also says Mr. Webster at once took the 
 position in it which he has since held in the intellec- 
 tual world. By the unanimous consent, both of 
 teachers and classmates, he stood at the head of his 
 associates in study ; and was as far above them then, 
 in all that constitutes human greatness, as he is now. 
 
 At that time, the studies of the Freshmen's class / 
 the first year, were the Greek and Latin languages, 
 the rules for speaking and composition, and the ele- 
 ments of mathematics. Since that day, the number 
 and character of the text or class books required to 
 be studied, I am told, have gradually increased with 
 the progress of public improvement. In the study 
 of the Latin language, and in the rules of speaking 
 and composition, he was perfectly at home. His 
 Virgil and Cicero were, to him. charmed volumes. 
 He read them more for the pleasure they afforded, 
 than as a task imposed on a school-boy. They con- 
 stituted a theme for his eloquence when speaking to 
 his College fellows, on every proper occasion.
 
 ENTERS DARTMOUTH. 
 
 223 
 
 The language in which those great men wrote, was 
 to him a brilliant transparency, through which he 
 could see their thoughts as others see physical objects; 
 and his young but searching mind revelled among 
 those thoughts as with congenial spirits. The Latin 
 Dictionary and Grammar were in his memory, and 
 the rapidity with which he soon read all the Latin 
 authors, terse and good, marked him as a prodigy. 
 So it was with the rules of speaking and composition. 
 His translations of the Latin authors as he read 
 them, and his essays in writing, submitted for exam- 
 ination, enabled him to reduce to practice what those 
 rules taught him in theory. There was a charm 
 about speaking and writing which had enchanted him 
 during the short time he was at Exeter. Although, 
 at that time, he was too modest or too timid to stand 
 out before the spectators, and deliver a speech, as I 
 told you in a former letter, yet he felt, and he fre- 
 quently says, that if he had a desire, with respect to 
 the future, at that early stage of his career, it was to 
 write as Virgil and Tacitus wrote, to speak as Cicero 
 spoke. This he knew he could not do, unless he 
 could think like them. In the very outset, having 
 made himself master of the rules of speaking and 
 composition, as far as the best authors could instruct 
 him ; having acquired, also, the graces of oratory ; 
 and. being by nature self-possessed, he never mounted 
 the rostrum without commanding attention. There 
 was a dignity in his manner, a grace in his delivery, 
 with courteous deference to all present, that never 
 failed, even then, to raise admirers. That large fore- 
 head, and those dark, penetrating eyes you have so
 
 224 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 often seen, were as visible then as now. No judge of 
 men could look at him, and not say God made him 
 extraordinary. Every student in that College ac- 
 knowledged and deferred to his great talents. The 
 whole Faculty, too, sanctioned by their words, their 
 actions, and the respect they paid him, the opinion 
 which the students entertained. 
 
 Professor Shurtliff, one of his classmates, also 
 speaks of him as follows : 
 
 " Mr Webster, while in College, was remarkable 
 for his steady habits, his intense application to study, 
 and his punctual attendance upon all the prescribed 
 exercises. I know not that he was absent from a re- 
 citation, or from morning and evening prayers in the 
 Chapel, or from public worship on the Sabbath ; and 
 I doubt if ever a smile was seen upon his face dur- 
 ing any religious exercise. He was always in his 
 place, and with a decorum suited to it. He had no 
 collision with any one, nor appeared to enter into the 
 concerns of others, but emphatically minded his own 
 business. 
 
 " But as steady as the sun, he pursued with in- 
 tense application the great object for which he came 
 to College. This I conceive was the secret of his 
 popularity in College, and his success in subsequent 
 life." 
 
 The venerable Judge Woodward, the Professor 
 of Natural Philosophy, (who died shortly after Mr. 
 Webster left College.) often spoke of him in high 
 terms. Said he, " That man's victory is certain 
 "who reaches the heart through the medium of the 
 understanding. He (Mr. Webster) gained me by
 
 ENTERS DARTMOUTH. 
 
 225 
 
 combating my opinions, for 1 often attacked him 
 merely to try his strength." 
 
 That learned and aged Professor, when he first 
 made Mr. Webster's acquaintance, predicted his fu- 
 ture eminence, and took infinite pleasure in assisting 
 to lay the foundation stones of what he felt was to 
 be a magnificent building. These circumstances, and 
 these flattering indications, induced him to direct his 
 steps early to the fields of oratory. From his con- 
 versations with well informed men, he obtained a 
 knowledge of the manner of such men as Fisher 
 Ames, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Patrick Henry, 
 Alexander Hamilton, and other great men, who at 
 that day were distinguished as orators. From jour- 
 nals and other sources, he acquired a knowledge of 
 the style of Pitt, Burke, and others, eminent on the 
 other side of the Atlantic. The first step towards 
 emulating them, he conceived was,, to ascertain who 
 were truly eminent, and then, how they became so. 
 As early as possible, he acquired this information ; 
 and then it was that he discovered that theory con- 
 cerning eloquence, which he so graphically described 
 years afterwards, in his eulogy on Adams and Jef- 
 ferson. Hear him ! You will never tire. 
 
 " True eloquence, indeed, does not consist in 
 speech. It cannot be brought from far. Labor and 
 learning may toil for it. but they will toil in vain. 
 Words and phrases may be marshalled in every way, 
 but they cannot compass it. It must exist in the 
 man, in the subject, and in the occasion. Affected 
 passion, intense expression, the pomp of declamation, 
 all may aspire after it, they cannot reach it. It 
 
 10*
 
 226 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 comes, if it comes at all, like the outbreaking of a 
 fountain from the earth, or the bursting forth of vol- 
 canic fires with spontaneous, original, native force. 
 The graces taught in the schools, the costly ornaments 
 and studied contrivances of speech, shock and disgust 
 men when their own lives, and the fate of their wives, 
 their children, and their country, hang on the deci- 
 sion of the hour ; then words have lost their power, 
 and rhetoric is vain, and all the elaborate oratory 
 contemptible. Even genius itself then feels rebuked 
 and subdued. as in the presence of higher qualities. 
 Then patriotism is eloquent : then self-devotion is 
 eloquent. The clear conception outrunning the de- 
 ductions of logic, the high purpose, the firm resolve, 
 the dauntless spirit speaking on the tongue, beaming 
 from the eye, informing every feature, and urging 
 the whole man onward right onward to his object 
 this, this is eloquence ; or rather, it is something 
 greater and higher than all eloquence ; it is action, 
 noble, sublime, godlike action." 
 
 Acting on this theory, Mr. Webster conceived it 
 was not enough for him to have a good voice, a fluent 
 speech, accompanied with graceful gestures and a 
 commanding person, to be eloquent, but he must, in 
 reality, be the man ; he must have the thought ; he 
 must be qualified by mental endowments and acquire- 
 ments for all the occasions which might call forth 
 eloquence, and then, and then only, could he be an 
 eloquent man. Without these, he would be like a 
 shining casket without its jewels. 
 
 It was one of the peculiar features of this college 
 that after exacting the ordinary recitations or lessons
 
 IN COLLEGE. 
 
 227 
 
 tbe minds of the students were allowed to follow the 
 bent of their own inclinations. There was no uni- 
 formity of coats, caps, or thoughts ; consequently each 
 one could distinguish himself if he had the power, in 
 other ways than by being prompt at prayers, prompt 
 at recitations, and prompt in obeying all the little 
 exactions which in other schools are too often the 
 only merits recognised by the faculty, and the only 
 basis on which claims to collegiate honors stand. 
 Although Mr. Webster was careful to observe all 
 tlie requirements, and was remarkable for his punctu- 
 ality in every duty or engagement, yet he did not 
 consider these qualifications as all that was desirable. 
 
 Mr. Webster was distinguished (says my inform- 
 ant) the first year for his great knowledge beyond 
 the range of his daily lessons, and much more for 
 his bold and independent manner of thinking and ex- 
 pressing his opinions on all subjects which came 
 within the range of his reading or observation. 
 
 But, in the study of the Greek languages and 
 mathematics, he did no more than was allotted him to 
 do to keep along with his class. The bent of his 
 mind was not in that direction. 
 
 During his second year at college he continued to 
 study the Latin and Greek languages, reading new 
 books, and also proceeded to the study of geography, 
 logic, and the higher branches of mathematics, as 
 prescribed by the rules of the College. Geography, 
 ancient and modern, delighted him ; and during that 
 year he made great proficiency in this branch of his 
 \ education. Logic was a study particularly suited to 
 his taste and mind.
 
 228 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 Professor Sanborn also relates the following anec- 
 dote : After a residence of two years at college, 
 he spent a vacation at home. He had tasted the 
 sweets of literature, and enjoyed the victories of in- 
 tellectual effort. He loved the scholar's life. He felt 
 keenly for the condition of his brother Ezekiel, who 
 was destined to remain on the farm, and labor to lift 
 the mortgage from the old homestead, and furnish the 
 means of his brother's support. Ezekiel was a farmer 
 in spirit and in practice. He led his laborers in the 
 field, as he afterwards led his class in Greek. Daniel 
 knew and appreciated his superior intellectual endow- 
 ments. He resolved that his brother should enjoy 
 the same privileges with himself. That night the two 
 brothers retired to bed, but not to sleep. They dis- 
 coursed of their prospects. Daniel utterly refused to 
 enjoy the fruit of his brother's labor any longer. 
 They were united in sympathy and affection, and they 
 must be united in their pursuits. But how could 
 they leave their beloved parents, in age and solitude, 
 with no protector ? They talked and wept, and wept 
 and talked till dawn of day. They dared not broach 
 the matter to their father. Finally, Daniel resolved 
 to be the orator upon the occasion. Judge Webster 
 was then somewhat burdened with debts. He was 
 advanced in age, and had set his heart upon having 
 Ezekiel as his helper. The very thought of separa- 
 tion from both his sons was painful to him. When 
 the proposition was made, he felt as did the Patriarch 
 of old, when he exclaimed, " Joseph is not * * *, and 
 will ye also take Benjamin away ?" A family council 
 was called. The mother's opinion was asked. She
 
 IN COLLEGE. ' 229 
 
 was a strong-minded woman. She was not blind tc 
 tliu superior endowments of her sons. With all a 
 mother's partiality, however, she did not over-estimate 
 their powers. She decided the matter at once. Her 
 reply was : " I have lived long in the world, and have 
 been happy in my children. If Daniel and Ezekiel 
 will promise to take care of me in my old age. I will 
 consent to the sale of all our property at once,' and 
 they may enjoy the benefit of that which remains after 
 our debts are paid." This was a moment of intense 
 interest to all the parties. Parents and children all 
 mingled their tears together, and sobbed aloud, at the 
 thought of separation. The father yielded to the 
 entreaties of the sons and the advice of his wife. 
 Daniel returned to college, and Ezekiel took his'little 
 bundle in his hand, and sought on foot the scene of 
 his preparatory studies. In one year he joined his 
 younger brother in college. 
 
 In the third year, besides the languages. Daniel 
 read Natural and Moral Philosophy and Rhetoric. 
 Besides the lessons daily learned by his class and 
 himself, he read with intense satisfaction, " Watts 
 on the Mind," and " Locke on the Understanding ;" 
 he committed them to memory. When he came to 
 these great lights, he began to see more clearly than 
 ever the nature of the mind, and proceeded to the 
 vigorous discipline of his own powers of analysis : so 
 that, ere the Faculty were aware of it, they had a 
 Logician in their presence, whose skill in argument 
 and deep penetration baffled all their learning and 
 experience. 
 
 Mr. Webster was now s in his seventeenth year.
 
 230 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 His manly character, his dignified deportment, and 
 his acknowledged abilities had become well known. 
 The patriotic citizens of Hanover, old and young, in 
 College, and out of it, united in an invitation to him, 
 to deliver an oration on the 4th of July. This he 
 accepted, although the time for preparation was short. 
 The ringing of bells, and the thundering cannon 
 ushe*red in the day. The ceremonies were conducted 
 with great pomp and solemnity. The concourse of 
 people was large. Anthems were sung. The glorious 
 declaration itself was read ; and then, he came for- 
 ward, and with all the graces of oratory, delivered 
 the oration for the occasion. I have taken great 
 pains to get a copy of it. One of his classmates has 
 preserved it in a pamphlet, on the title-page of which 
 I find the following : 
 
 AN ORATION 
 
 Pronounced at Hanover, New Hampshire, the 4th of July, 
 1800, being the Twenty-Fourth Anniversary of 
 
 American Independence. 
 
 BY DANIEL WEBSTER, 
 
 Member of the Junior Class, Dart. University. 
 
 " Do thou, great Liberty, inspire our er.a\e, 
 And make our lives in thy possession happy, 
 Or our deaths glorious in thy just defence." Additon. 
 
 Published by request of the Subscribers. 
 
 Printed at Hanover, 
 
 BY MOSES DAVIS. 
 
 1800. 
 
 ORATION. 
 
 Countrymen, Brethren, and Fathers: We are 
 now assembled to celebra%3 an anniversary, ever to be
 
 FOURTH OP JULY ORATION. 
 
 231 
 
 held in dear remembrance by the sons of freedom. 
 Nothing less than the birth of a nation nothing less 
 than the emancipation of three millions of people 
 from the degrading chains of foreign dominion, is the 
 event we commemorate. 
 
 Twenty four years have this day elapsed since 
 these United States first raised the standard of Lib- 
 erty, and echoed the shouts of Independence ! 
 
 Those of you, who were then reaping the iron har- 
 vest of the martial field, whose bosoms then palpi- 
 tated for the honor of America, will, at this time, 
 experience a renewal of all that fervent patriotism ; 
 of all those indescribable emotions which then agi- 
 tated your breasts. As for us., who were either then 
 unborn, or not far enough advanced beyond the 
 threshold of existence, to engage in the grand conflict 
 for Liberty, we now most cordially unite with you, to 
 greet the return of this joyous anniversary, to wel- 
 come the return of the day that gave us Freedom, 
 and to hail the rising glories of our country ! 
 
 On occasions like this, you have hitherto been ad- 
 dressed, from the stage, on the nature, the origin, the 
 expediency of civil government. 
 
 The field of political speculation has here been 
 explored by persons possessing talents to which the 
 speaker of the day can have no pretensions. De- 
 clining, therefore, a dissertation on the principles of 
 civil polity, you will indulge me in slightly sketching 
 those events which have originated, nurtured and 
 raised to its present grandeur this new empire. 
 
 As no nation on the globe can rival us in the ra- 
 pidity of our growth since the conclusion of the Revo-
 
 2-'}2 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 lutionary War, so none, perhaps, ever endured greater 
 hardships and distresses than the people of this coun- 
 try previous to that period. 
 
 We behold a feeble band of colonists engaged in 
 the arduous undertaking of a new settlement in the 
 wilds of North America. Their civil liberty being 
 mutilated, and the enjoyment of their religious senti- 
 ments denied them in the land that gave them birth, 
 they fled their country, they braved the dangers of 
 the then almost unnavigated ocean, and .sought, on 
 the other side of the globe, an asylum from the iron 
 grasp of tyranny and the more intolerable scourge of 
 ecclesiastical persecution. 
 
 But gloomy, indeed, was the prospect when ar- 
 rived on this side the Atlantic. 
 
 Scattered in detachments along a coast immensely 
 extensive, at a distance of more than three thousand 
 miles from their friends on the eastern continent, 
 they were exposed to all those evils, and encountered 
 or experienced all those difficulties to which human 
 nature seemed liable. Destitute of convenient habi- 
 tations, the inclemencies of the seasons harassed them, 
 the midnight beasts of prey prowled terribly around 
 them, and the more portentous yell of savage fury in- 
 cessantly assailed them. But the same undiminishcd 
 confidence in Almighty God which prompted the first 
 settlers of this country to forsake the unfriendly 
 climes of Europe, still supported them under all their 
 calamities, and inspired them with fortitude almost 
 divine. Having a glorious issue to their labors now 
 in prospect, they cheerfully endured the rigors of the 
 climate, pursued the savage beast to his remotest
 
 FOURTH OF JULY ORATION. 
 
 233 
 
 taunt, and stood, undismayed, in the dismal hour of 
 Indian battle. 
 
 Scarcely were the infant settlements freed from 
 those dangers which at first environed them, ere the 
 clashing interests of France and Britain involved 
 them anew in war. The Colonists were now destined 
 to combat with well appointed, well disciplined troops 
 from Europe ; and the horrors of the tomahawk and 
 the scalping-knife were again renewed. But these 
 frowns of fortune, distressing as they were, had been 
 met without a sigh, and endured without a groan, had 
 not Great Britain presumptuously arrogated to her- 
 self the glory of victories achieved by the bravery of 
 American militia. Louisburg must be taken, Canada 
 attacked, and a frontier of more than one thousand 
 miles defended by untutored yeomanry, while the 
 honor of every conquest must be ascribed to an Eng- 
 lish army. 
 
 But while Great Britain was thus tyrannically 
 stripping her Colonies of their well earned laurels, 
 and triumphantly weaving them into the stupendous 
 wreath of her own martial glories, she was unwitting- 
 ly teaching them to value themselves, and effectually 
 to resist, on a future day, her unjust encroachments. 
 
 The pitiful tale of taxation now commences, the 
 unhappy quarrel, which resulted in the dismember- 
 ment of the British Empire, has here its origin. 
 
 England, now triumphant over the united powers 
 of France and Spain, is determined to reduce to the 
 condition of slaves, her American subjects. 
 
 We might now display the Legislatures of the sev- 
 eral States, together with the General Congress, peti-
 
 234 
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 tioning, praying, remonstrating ; and. like dutiful sub- 
 jects, humbly laying their grievances before the throne. 
 On the other hand, we could exhibit a British Par- 
 liament, assiduously devising means to subjugate 
 America, disdaining our petitions ; trampling on our 
 rights ; and menacingly telling us, in language not to 
 be misunderstood, " Ye shall be Slaves !" We could 
 mention the haughty, tyrannical, perfidious Gage, at 
 the head of a standing army ; we could show our 
 brethren, attacked and slaughtered at Lexington ! 
 our property plundered and destroyed at Concord ! 
 Recollections can still pain us, with the spiral flames 
 of burning Charlestown, the agonizing groans of aged 
 parents, the shrieks of widows, orphans, and infants ! 
 
 Indelibly impressed on our memories, still live 
 the dismal scenes of Bunker's awful mount, the grand 
 theatre of New England bravery ; where slaughter 
 stalked, grimly triumphant ; where relentless Britain 
 saw her soldiers, the unhappy instruments of despo- 
 tism, fallen in heaps, beneath the nervous arm of in- 
 jured freemen ! 
 
 There the great Warren fought, and there, alas ! 
 he fell ! Valuing life only as it enabled him to serve 
 his country, he freely resigned himself, a willing mar- 
 tyr in the cause of Liberty, and now lies encircled in 
 the arms of glory. 
 
 " Peace to the Patriot's shade let no rude blast 
 Disturb the willow that nods o'er his tomb ; 
 Let orphan tears bedew his sacred urn, 
 And fame's loud trump proclaim the hero's name, 
 Far as the circuit of the spheres extends." 
 
 But, haughty Albion, thy reign shall soon be over.
 
 FOURTH OF JULY ORATION. 235 
 
 Thou shalt triumph no longer ; thine empire already 
 refcls and totters ; thy laurels even now begin to 
 wither, and thy frame decay. Thou hast, at length, 
 roused the indignation of an insulted people ; thine 
 oppressions they deem no longer tolerable. 
 
 The 4th day of July, 1776, has now arrived, and 
 America, manfully springing from the torturing fangs 
 of the British Lion, now rises majestic in the pride 
 of her sovereignty, and bids her Eagle elevate his 
 wings ! 
 
 The solemn Declaration of Independence is now 
 pronounced, amidst crowds of admiring citizens, by 
 the supreme council of our nation ; and received 
 with the unbounded plaudits of a grateful people ! 
 
 That was the hour when heroism was proved 
 when the souls of men were tried. 
 
 It was then, ye venerable patriots (speaking to 
 the Revolutionary soldiers present), it was then you 
 lifted the indignant arm, and unitedly swore to be 
 free ! Despising such toys as subjugated empires, 
 you then knew no middle fortune between liberty 
 and death. 
 
 Firmly relying on the protection of Heaven, un- 
 warped in the resolution you had taken, you then, 
 undaunted, met engaged defeated the gigantic 
 power of Britain, and rose triumphant over the 
 aggressions of your enemies. 
 
 Trenton, Princeton, Bennington, and Saratoga 
 were the successive theatres of your victories, and 
 the utmost bounds of creation are the limits of your 
 fame ! The sacred fire of freedom, then enkindled 
 in your breasts, shall be perpetuated through the
 
 236 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 long descent of future ages, and burn, with undimin- 
 ished fervor, in the bosoms of millions yet unbornT 
 
 Finally, to close the sanguinary conflict, to grant 
 America the blessings of an honorable peace, and 
 clothe her heroes with laurels, Cornwallis. at whoso 
 feet the kings and princes of Asia have since throivn 
 their diadems, was compelled to submit to the sword 
 of Washington. 
 
 The great drama is now completed: our Inde- 
 pendence is now acknowledged ; and the hopes of our 
 enemies are blasted for ever ; Columbia is now seated 
 in the forum of Nations, and the Empires of the 
 world are amazed at the bright effulgence of her 
 glory. 
 
 Thus, friends and citizens, did the kind hand of 
 overruling Providence conduct us, through toils, 
 fatigues and dangers, to Independence and Peace. 
 If piety be the rational exercise of the hujnan soul, 
 if religion be not a chimera, and if the vestiges of 
 heavenly assistance are clearly traced in those events 
 which mark the annals of our Nation, it becomes us, 
 on this day, in consideration of the great things 
 which have been done for us, to render the tribute of 
 unfeigned thanks to that God, who superintends 
 the universe, and holds aloft the scale, that weighs 
 the destinies of Nations. 
 
 The conclusion of the Revolutionary War did not 
 accomplish the entire achievements of our country- 
 men. Their military character was then, indeed, 
 sufficiently established ; but the time was coming 
 which should prove their political sagacity their 
 ability to govern themselves.
 
 FOURTH OF JULY ORATIOX. 
 
 237 
 
 No sooner was peace restored with England (the 
 first grand article of which was the acknowledgment 
 of our Independence), than the old system of Confed- 
 eration, dictated, _at first, by necessity, and adopted 
 for the purposes of the moment, was found inadequate 
 to the government of an extensive Empire. Under 
 a full conviction of this, we then saw the people of 
 these States engaged in a transaction which is un- 
 doubtedly the greatest approximation towards human 
 perfection the political world ever yet witnessed, aud 
 which, perhaps, will for ever stand in the history of 
 mankind without a parallel A great Republic, com- 
 posed of different States, whose interest in all respects 
 could not be perfectly compatible, then came deliber- 
 ately forward, discarded one system of government 
 and adopted another, without the loss of one man's 
 blood. 
 
 There is not a single Government now existing 
 in Europe, which is not based in usurpation, and 
 established, if established at all, by the sacrifice of 
 thousands. But, in the adoption of our present 
 system of jurisprudence, we see the powers necessary 
 for Government voluntarily flowing from the people, 
 their only proper origin, and directed to the public 
 good, their only proper object. 
 
 With peculiar propriety, we may now felicitate 
 ourselves on that happy form of mixed government 
 under which we live. The advantages resulting to 
 the citizens of the Union are utterly incalculable, 
 and the day when it was received by a majority of 
 the States shall stand on the catalogue of American
 
 238 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL, WEBSTER. 
 
 anniversaries second to none but the birthday of 
 Independence. 
 
 In consequence of the adoption of our present 
 system of Government, and the virtuous manner in 
 which it has been administered by a Washington and 
 an Adams, we are this day in the enjoyment of peace, 
 while war devastates Europe ! We can now sit down 
 beneath the shadow of the olive, while her cities 
 blaze, her streams run purple with blood, and her 
 fields glitter with a forest of bayonets ! The citizens 
 of America can this day throng the temples of free- 
 dom, and renew their oaths of fealty to independence ; 
 while Holland, our once sister Republic, is erased 
 from the catalogue of nations ; while Venice is des- 
 troyed. Italy ravaged, and Switzerland the once 
 happy, the once united, the once flourishing Switzer- 
 land lies bleeding at every pore ! 
 
 No ambitious foe dares now invade our country. 
 No standing army now endangers our liberty. Our 
 Commerce, though subject in some degree to the de- 
 predations of the belligerent powers, is extended from 
 pole to pole ; our Navy, though just emerging from 
 non-existence, shall soon vouch for the safety of our 
 merchantmen, and bear the thunder of freedom 
 around the ball. Fair science, too, holds her gentle 
 empire amongst us, and almost innumerable altars 
 are raised to her divinity, from Brunswick to Florida. 
 Yale, Providence, and Harvard, now grace our land ; 
 and Dartmouth, towering majestic above the groves 
 which encircle her, now inscribes her glory on the 
 registers of fame ! Oxford and Cambridge, those 
 oriental stars of literature, shall now be outshone by
 
 FOURTH OF JULY ORATION. 
 
 239 
 
 the bright sun of American science, which displays 
 his broad circumference in uneclipsed radiance. 
 
 Pleasing, indeed, were it here to dilate on the 
 future grandeur of America ; but we forbear, and 
 pause for a moment to drop the tear of affection over 
 the graves of our departed warriors. Their names 
 should be mentioned on every anniversary of Inde- 
 pendence, that the youth of each successive generation 
 may learn not to value life, when held in competition 
 with their country's safety. 
 
 Wooster, Montgomery, and Mercer, fell bravely in 
 battle, and their ashes are now entombed on the 
 fields that wituessed their valor. Let their exertions 
 in our country's cause be remembered, while liberty 
 has an advocate and gratitude has place in the hu- 
 man heart. 
 
 Greene, the immortal hero of the Carolinas, has 
 since gone down to the grave, loaded with honors, and 
 high in the estimation of his countrymen. The 
 courageous Putnam has long slept with his fathers ; 
 and Sullivan and Cilley, New Hampshire's veteran 
 sons, are no more remembered with the living. 
 
 With hearts penetrated by unutterable grief, we 
 are at length constrained to ask, where is our Wash- 
 ington ? where the hero who led us to victory ? where 
 the man who gave us freedom? where is he, who 
 headed our feeble army, when destruction threat- 
 ened us, who came upon our enemies like the storms 
 of winter, and scattered them like leaves before the 
 Borean blast ? Where, ! my country ! is thy poli- 
 tical saviour ? Where, ! humanity ! thy favorite
 
 240 
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 The solemnity of this assembly, the lamentations 
 of the American people will answer, " Alas ! he is 
 now no more the mighty is fallen !" 
 
 Yes, Americans, Washington is gone ! he is now 
 consigned to dust and sleeps in " dull, cold marble !" 
 
 The man who never felt a wound but when it 
 pierced his country who never groaned but when 
 fair freedom bled is now for ever silent ! 
 
 Wrapped in the shroud of death, the dark do- 
 minions of the grave long since received him, and he 
 rests in undisturbed repose ! Vain were the attempt 
 to express our loss vain the attempt to describe the 
 feelings of our souls ! Though, months have rolled 
 away since his spirit left this terrestrial orb, and 
 sought the shining worlds on high, yet the sad event 
 is still remembered with increased sorrow. The hoary- 
 headed patriot of '76 still tells the mournful story to 
 the listening infant, till the loss of- his country 
 touches his heart, and patriotism fires his breast. The 
 aged matron still laments the loss of the man, be- 
 neath whose banners her husband has fought, or 
 her son has fallen. At the name of Washington, the 
 sympathetic tear still glistens in the eye of every 
 youthful hero. Nor does the tender sigh yet cease 
 to heave in the fair bosom of Columbia's daughters. 
 
 Farewell, Washington, a long farewell ! 
 Thy Country's tear* embalm thy memory; 
 Thy virtues challenge immortality ; 
 Impressed on grateful hearts, thy name shall live, 
 Till dissolution's deluge drown the world. 
 
 Although we must feel the keenest sorrow at the
 
 FOURTH OF JULY ORATION. 
 
 241 
 
 demise of our Washington, yet we console ourselves 
 with the reflection that his virtuous compatriot, his 
 worthy successor, the firm, the wise, the inflexible 
 Adams, still survives. Elevated by the voice of hie 
 country, to the supreme executive magistracy, he 
 constantly adheres to her essential interests, and 
 with steady hand draws the disguising veil from the 
 intrigues of foreign enemies and the plots of domes- 
 tic foes. 
 
 Having the honor of America always in view, 
 never fearing, when wisdom dictates, to stem the im- 
 petuous torrent of popular resentment, he stands 
 amid the fluctuations of party and the explosions of 
 faction, unmoved as Atlas, 
 
 " While storms and tempest thunder on its brow, 
 .^A.nd oceans break their billows at its i'eet." 
 
 Yet all the vigilance of our Executive, and all 
 the wisdom of our Congress, have not been sufficient 
 to prevent the country from being in some degree agi- 
 tated by the convulsions of Europe. But why shall 
 every quarrel on the other side of the Atlantic in- 
 terest us in its issue ? Why shall the rise or de- 
 pression of every party there, produce here a corre- 
 sponding vibration ? Was this continent designed as 
 a mere satellite to the other ? Has not nature here 
 wrought all operations on her broadest scale ? Where 
 are the Mississippis and the Amazons, the Alleghanies 
 and the Andes of Europe, Asia and Africa? The 
 natural superiority of America clearly indicates that 
 it was designed to be inhabited by a nobler race of 
 men, possessing a superior form of Government, 
 11
 
 
 242 
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 superior patriotism, superior talents, and superior 
 virtues. 
 
 Let then the nations of the East vainly waste 
 their strength in destroying each other. 
 
 Let them aspire at conquest, and contend for do- 
 minion, till their continent is deluged in blood. But 
 let none, however elated by victory, however proud of 
 triumph, ever presume to intrude on the neutral posi- 
 tion assumed by our country. 
 
 Britain, twice humbled for her aggressions, has at 
 length been taught to respect us. But France, once 
 our ally, has dared to insult us ! She has violated 
 her treaty obligations she has depredated our com- 
 merce she has abused our Government, and riveted 
 the chains of bondage on our unhappy fellow-citizens ' 
 Not content with ravaging and depopulating the 
 fairest countries of Europe ; not yet satiated with 
 the contortions of expiring republics, the convulsive 
 agonies of subjugated nations, and the groans of her 
 own slaughtered citizens she has spouted her fury 
 across the Atlantic ; and the stars and stripes of the 
 United States have almost been attacked in our har- 
 bors ! When we have demanded reparation, she has 
 told us, " Give us your money and we will give you 
 
 s peace." Mighty nation ! Magnanimous Republic ! 
 
 > Let her fill her coffers from those towns and cities 
 which she has plundered, and grant peace, if she can. 
 to the shades of those millions whose death she has 
 
 ^ caused. 
 
 But Columbia stoops not to tyrants ; her spirit 
 
 will never cringe to France ; neither a supercilious, 
 five-headed Directory, nor the gasconading pilgrim
 
 FOURTH OF JULT ORATION. 
 
 243 
 
 of Egypt, will ever dictate terms to sovereign 
 America. The thunder of our cannon shall insure 
 the performance of our treaties, and fulminate de- 
 struction on Frenchmen, till the ocean is crimsoned 
 with blood, and gorged with pirates ! 
 
 It becomes us, on whom the defence of our coun- 
 try will ere long devolve, this day most seriously to 
 reflect on the duties incumbent upon us. 
 
 Our ancestors bravely snatched expiring liberty 
 from the grasp of Britain, whose touch is poison ; 
 shall we now consign it to France, whose embrace is 
 death ? We have seen our fathers, in the days of 
 our country's trouble, assume the rough habiliments of 
 war, and seek the hostile field. TOG full of sorrow to 
 speak, we have seen them wave a last farewell to a 
 disconsolate, a woe-stung family. We have seen 
 them return, worn down with fatigue, and scarred 
 with wounds ; or we have seen them, perhaps, no 
 more. For us they fought for us they bled for us 
 they conquered. Shall we, their descendants, now 
 basely disgrace our li-neage and pusillanimously dis- 
 claim the legacy bequeathed to us ? Shall we pro- 
 nounce the sad valediction to freedom and immortal 
 liberty on the altars our fathers have raised to her ? 
 No ! The response of the nation is, " No ! " Let it 
 be registered in the archives of Heaven. Ere the re- 
 ligion we profess, and the privileges we enjoy are 
 sacrificed at the shrine of despots and damagogues 
 let the sons of Europe be vassals ; let her hosts of 
 nations be a vast congregation of slaves ; but let us, 
 who are this day free, whose hearts are yet unappalled, 
 and whose right arms are yet nerved for war, assem-
 
 244 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 ble before the hallowed temple of American freedom, 
 and swear, to the God of our fathers, to preserve it 
 " secure, or die at its portals. 
 
 I think you will agree with me in saying that the 
 boy who delivered that Oration was, to say the least, 
 ' a clever boy. My informant says his friends were so 
 much pleased with it, that they obtained a copy for 
 publication. By this time, you may say, it is 
 pretty " much out of print," but worthy of being re- 
 printed. I dare say, Mr. Webster himself has en- 
 tirely forgotten it. It shows his bosom was full of 
 patriotism, and that in his youth the seeds of the 
 noblest sentiments had taken deep root. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 MR. "WEBSTER STILL AT COLLEGE TIIS STUDIES THE FOURTH TEAR 
 
 PERSONAL APPEARANCE HIS EULOGY ON THE DEATH OF A CLASS- 
 MATE COMMENCEMENT HIS CLASSMATES PERFORMANCE HLS 
 
 ORATION HE IS MADE A BACHELOR OF ARTS TAKES LEAVE. 
 
 ELMS FARM, N. H., Sept. 1349. 
 
 In the fourth and last year of Mr. Webster's col- 
 lege life his studies were Metaphysics and Natural 
 and Political Law ; his exercises were Compositions 
 iq English and Latin. These were according to the 
 regulations established as the routine for the stu- 
 dents. 
 
 In all the branches of education taught at Dart- 
 mouth during his sojourn there, unprepared as he was 
 at the outset, Mr. Webster made himself a respect-
 
 HIS STUDIES THE FOURTH YEAR. 
 
 245 
 
 able student ; in point of fact, in all those that bore 
 directly on the profession he had resolved to pursue, 
 he made himself eminent. 
 
 That rare faculty which Mr. Webster possesses 
 of putting the knowledge of other men into his own 
 crucible, and thence obtaining the pure metal, was 
 largely developed and cultivated while at college. 
 
 What his Professors knew he knew. The seed 
 which fell from their ripe knowledge and experience 
 dropped upon a rich soil, when he was a listener, and 
 it lost nothing of its virtue in the process of repro- 
 duction. 
 
 * * * Yesterday, I had a pleasant interview 
 with a lady, who was, as she says, "just entering her 
 teens," and residing in Hanover when Mr. Webster 
 was at Dartmouth. She remembers him well, although 
 many years have passed. She " can tell exactly how 
 he looked." She informs me that Mr. Webster was 
 slender, and evidently had a feeble constitution. That 
 he was a brunette in complexion ; that his hair was 
 as black as jet, and when turned back, there was 
 displayed a forehead, the sight of which always ex- 
 cited great admiration. His dark eyes shone with 
 extraordinary brilliancy, and when engaged in agree- 
 able or amusing conversation, he wore a smile that 
 was bewitching, and showed teeth as white as pearls. 
 He was a great favorite in the society at Hanover, 
 which, though not gay. was refined and distinguished 
 for its hospitality. She said that no young man in 
 College was more highly esteemed by all classes, old 
 and young, than Daniel Webster. She often heard 
 him speak on public occasions ; and remembers hia
 
 246 MEMORIALS ,OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 " Fourth of July Oration," before the people of 
 Hanover, and that it made a great sensation. 
 
 While Mr. Webster was there, one of the students, 
 who was also a great favorite, died. Mr. Webster 
 was chosen by his classmates to pronounce a eulogy 
 on the occasion. The house was crowded to its ut 
 most capacity, and she says : ' The scene was solemn 
 and quite affecting, for there was not a dry eye pre- 
 sent. " 
 
 His name was Ephraim Simonds, a member of 
 the Senior Class of Dartmouth College, who died at 
 Hanover, April 17, 1801. 
 
 I have not a copy of the whole funeral oration he 
 delivered, but I will quote a passage from the exordium : 
 " All of him that was mortal now lies in the charnels 
 of yonder cemetery. By the grass that nods over 
 the mounds of Sumner, Merrill and Cook, now rests 
 a fourth son of Dartmouth, constituting another monu- 
 ment of man's mortality. The sun, as it sinks to the 
 ocean, plays its departing beams on his tomb, but they 
 reanimate him not. The cold sod presses on his 
 bosom ; his hands hang down in weakness. The bird 
 of the evening shouts a melancholy air on the poplar, 
 but her voice is stillness to his ears. While his pen- 
 cil was drawing scenes of future felicity, while his 
 soul fluttered on the gay breezes of hope, an unseen 
 hand drew the curtain, and shut him from our view." 
 Mr. Webster, at this time, had been so inspired with 
 the brilliant and fervent style of President Wheelock, 
 that he gave stronger indications of rising to eminence 
 in poetry than in law or politics. 
 
 The lady with whom I conversed says that long
 
 EULOGY ON THE DEATH OF A CLASSMATE. 247 
 
 after Mr. Webster left college, other students, for 
 their occasional declamations, spoke parts of that 
 eulogy, and even then the hearers were often affected 
 to tears. A schoolmate of Mr. Webster confirmed 
 all this. I have heard the eulogy much praised. 
 Its composition proved that Mr. Webster had an 
 imagination and strength of fancy of the highest 
 order. It was full of pathos ; and was considered 
 by the students, and the faculty too, as an extraor- 
 dinary production, indeed, the most splendid that 
 ever was heard within the college walls. Those who 
 have read his Eulogy on the death of the ex-Presi- 
 dents Adams and Jefferson, will not be surprised to 
 learn that he early manifested his wonderful capacity 
 in this respect. 
 
 He was never wanting in originality. His imagi- 
 nation was of a high order. I have seen it stated 
 that he wrote poetry, vigorous, manly poetry, whenever 
 he chose. In his early productions there was a gor- 
 geousness of youthful fancy, and oftentimes they were 
 full of pathos. But the discipline to which he sub- 
 jected his mind, incorporated the fire of the muse 
 with the masses of law and politics he was forging for 
 public use, so that on his first appearance after leav- 
 ing college, all were astonished at his close, vigorous 
 and mature style. While in college, there was pub- 
 lished a paper, edited by the faculty and students, and 
 no pen was more diligent or potent than that of Mr. 
 Webster. 
 
 This excellent lady, to whom I am much indebted, 
 was kind enough to grant me the perusal of several 
 old papers and memorandums touching Dartmouth
 
 
 248 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTEK. 
 
 College, which were preserved by her departed bro- 
 ther, a classmate, and from which I learn that Mr. . 
 Webster graduated .during the last week in August, 
 1801. This was an important event in his career; 
 and the incidents of that period interested me much, 
 and I dare say they will you. Hanover, on this oc- 
 casion, was full of people ; the friends of the students 
 in college, some from a great distance, and the lovers 
 of learning from the neighboring counties were there, 
 to derive pleasure from the public exercises and so- 
 cial festivities which the Annual Commencement of 
 Dartmouth College always called forth. 
 
 The venerable and highly distinguished Professor 
 Alexander, of Princeton, formerly of Virginia, in 
 some notes he made of a journey through New Eng- 
 land, where he passed the summer of 1801, says : ''In 
 passing from Massachusetts over the mountains of 
 New Hampshire, I lodged within a few rods of the 
 house of a farmer, the father of Hon. Daniel Webster. 
 The old gentleman came over to the tavern in the 
 morning, and chatted for half an hour. Among other 
 things, he said that he had a son at Dartmouth, who 
 was about to take his bachelor's degree. The father 
 was large in frame, high-breasted and broad-shoul- 
 dered, and. like his son, had heavy eyebrows. He 
 was an affable man, of sound sense and considerable 
 information, and expressed a wish that I might be 
 acquainted with his son, of whom, it was easy to see 
 that he was proud." 
 
 Dr. Alexander tells the following anecdote of 
 Mr. Wheelock, the president, of whom I have before 
 spoken :
 
 HIS CLASSMATES. 
 
 24S 
 
 " Arriving at Hanover, the seat of the college, a 
 day or two before the commencement, I put up my 
 horse, and secured a room at one of the two public 
 houses. On the morning of the commencement I 
 presented my letters to President Wheelock, and was 
 received with a profusion of ceremonious inclinations; 
 for it was pleasantly said that the president suffered 
 no man to have the last bow.. This, it was reported, 
 was put to the test by a person of some assurance, 
 who undertook to compete with him in the contest of 
 politeness. He accordingly took his leave, bowed 
 himself out of the mansion, and continued to bow as 
 long as he was on the premises; but the president 
 followed him to the gate, and remained in possession 
 of the field. Dr. Wheelock was a man of learning, 
 especially in the department of history. Such were 
 the manners of the men at the head of the institution 
 where Mr. Webster was educated. 
 
 The young gentlemen who graduated with Mr. 
 Webster, and received the degree of Bachelor of 
 Arts, were the following. I have often heard persons 
 say they should like to know who his classmates were. 
 I give their names : 
 
 Alpheus Baker, 
 James Henry Bingham, 
 Lemuel Bliss, 
 Daniel Campbell, 
 John Button, 
 William Farrar, 
 Habyah Weld Fuller, 
 Charles Gilbert, 
 Elisha Hotchkiss, 
 Abner Howe, 
 Ebenezer Jones, 
 11* 
 
 David Jewett, 
 Joseph Kimball, 
 Sanford 'Kingsbury, 
 Aaron Loveland, 
 Simeon Lyman, 
 Thomas Abbott Merril, 
 Josiah Noyes, 
 John Nye, 
 Daniel Parker, 
 Nathaniel Shattuck, 
 Elisha Smith,
 
 250 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 William Coit Smith, Caleb Jewctt Tenncy, 
 
 Asahel Stone, Samuel Upham, 
 
 Matthew Taylor, Jabez B. Whitaker. 
 
 The degree of Bachelor of Arts was conferred at 
 the same time on a young clergyman by the name of 
 \ Rev. Thomas Worcester. 
 
 The degree of Bachelor of Medicine was con- 
 ferred at the same time on Sylvester Day, John 
 March and Augustus Correy. 
 
 The degree of Master of Arts was then conferred 
 on Messrs. 
 
 Ezekiel L. Bascom, William Lambert, 
 
 Stephen Bemis, David Long, 
 
 James Davis, Levi Pilsbery, 
 
 Phiny Dickinson, David Starrett, 
 
 Abel Farley, Solon Stevens, 
 
 Ebeuezer Flint, Jeremiah Stinson, 
 
 Alvan Foot, Josiah Webster, 
 
 Horace Hall, James W. Woodward, 
 Phinehas Howe. 
 
 The following gentlemen, on the same occasion, 
 received the degree of Master of Arts, out of the 
 regular course, viz. : Messrs. 
 
 Kiah Bayley, Joseph Powel, 
 
 Silas Dinsmore, Theophilus Packard, 
 
 Samuel Alden, Hiram Storrs, 
 
 Jabez Munsill, Daniel Gilbert. 
 
 The same degree was conferred on Rev. Sylvester 
 Dana and Jonathan Belden, from Yale College ; Ig- 
 natius Thompson, from Rhode Island College ; also, 
 on Rev. Daniel Barber and William Morrison. The
 
 COMMENCEMENT. 251 
 
 degree of Doctor of Medicine was then conferred on 
 Nathan Smith. , 
 
 Speaking of the Commencement and of the exer- 
 cises at the church on that day, Dr. Alexander says: 
 " At the Dartmouth Commencement, Gen. Eaton, of 
 eccentric memory, was marshal of the day, and was 
 unceasing in busying himself about the order of the 
 procession to the church ; giving to each graduate, 
 of every college, the place due to his seniority. 
 Among the speakers was young Daniel Webster. 
 Little dreaming of his future career in law, elo- 
 quence, and (statesmanship, he pronounced a discourse 
 on the recent discoveries in Chemistry, especially 
 those of Lavoisier, then newly made public." 
 
 Among the number of young gentlemen above 
 namod, are several eminent men. Since that day 
 they have made their mark on the time, many have 
 departed, but some are living in the full enjoyment of 
 their accumulating honors. 
 
 There were at that time, as there are now, seve- 
 ral societies composed of the students, and other 
 members of the College. The anniversaries of those 
 societies, were held on the occasion of the commence- 
 ment ; and before each society, some member was 
 chosen to make an address, preach a sermon, or de- 
 liver an oration. My informant tells me that to be 
 selected for either of these duties was a mark of dis- 
 tinction higher and more appreciated than any other. 
 None but those of acknowledged abilities and great 
 attainments were even thought of, as candidates for 
 such honors. The Faculty of the College awarded 
 honors according to certain rules, which they had pre-
 
 252 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 viously prescribed, and which were according to the 
 usage of other Institutions ; having regard to punc- 
 tuality at prayers, and at recitations, and regarding 
 the manner in which the student had observed all 
 the little orders and regulations made for the govern- 
 ment of the College, as well as to the improvement 
 each one had made in all the studies pursued from 
 the beginning to the end of the course. The exer- 
 cises of the students began on Monday and ended on 
 Wednesday. Monday and Tuesday were devoted to 
 the proceedings of the societies. Mr. Bingham was 
 chosen to speak before the " Musical Society," and 
 his oration was on the " Harmony of Sounds." 
 
 Mr. Merril was selected by the society of "Social 
 Friends." and his oration was on the subject of " Fire." 
 
 A young clergyman, by the name of Rev. Elijah 
 Parish, was chosen to preach a discourse before the 
 " Literary Adelphi," and his text was, " He shall be 
 called Wonderful." 
 
 The Rev. Eliphalet Gillet, preached a discourse 
 before the " Phi Beta Kappa" from these words, 
 " Take fast hold of instruction ; let her not go ; keep 
 her, for she is thy life." 
 
 A Latin oration on " The Prosperity of America," 
 with the salutatory addresses, were delivered by Mr. 
 Thomas A. Merril. 
 
 There was a forensic dispute on this subject : " Is 
 the earth an oblate spheroid?" by Mr. Abner Howe 
 and Mr. Daniel Parker. 
 
 A philosophical oration on the " Intellectual Sys- 
 tem," was delivered by Mr. Simeon Lyman. 
 
 A dialogue on " Algerine Piracy," by Mr. David
 
 COMMENCEMENT ORATION. 253 
 
 Jewctt and Mr. Asaliel Stone, was among the exer 
 cises. 
 
 A Hebrew oration, or an address on the " Fear of 
 the Lord," was delivered by Mr. Nathaniel Shattuck; 
 And there was an English oration on ' Education." 
 with the valedictory addresses, by Mr. Caleb J. Teu- 
 ney, a young gentleman of fine talents, and the most 
 punctual and ardent student in College. 
 
 But the most numerous, and, at that time, the 
 most important society, was .the one known as " The 
 United Fraternity." This society unanimously des- 
 ignated Mr. Webster to deliver an oration before its 
 members, and all classes were, of course, invited. 
 The audience was large. The few occasions on which 
 he had appeared before the public had already made 
 him famous. His oration was on " The Influence of 
 Opiuion." I need not add that he acquitted himself 
 well, for I have already told you enough to enable 
 you to anticipate that fact. The fame of that ora- 
 tion was widely spread, and is not forgotten to this 
 day by his schoolmates, with whom I have had the 
 pleasure of . conversing. One of the old papers I 
 have read, modestly says : " A numerous audience 
 manifested a high degree of satisfaction at the genius 
 displayed," and that " elegance of composition and 
 propriety of delivery distinguished the performance." 
 
 On the 26th day of August, 1801, at 11 o'clock, 
 A. M-., the Board of Trustees and Executive Author- 
 ity, gentlemen of literary character, candidates for 
 the Degree of Bachelor of Arts,' and members of the 
 Institution, walked in procession from the President's 
 to the Meeting House. There the honors were con-
 
 254 
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 ferred, and Mr. Webster and his classmates took 
 leave of each other and of the President, the profes- 
 sors and tutors of the College then separated, each 
 one to pursue his own path for " weal or wo." No 
 student ever left College with more blessings on his 
 head. His future eminence was distinctly foretold 
 by all the careful observers of men ; and the result 
 has excelled the most sanguine of his most partial 
 friends. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 MR. WEBSTER IS THE PRINCIPAL OF THE FRTEBURG ACADEMY HB 
 
 STUDIES LAW WITH THOMAS W. THOMPSON. 
 
 ELMS FARM, N. H., Sept. , 1849. 
 In January, after Mr. Webster left college, he 
 went to Fryeburg, in the State of Maine, to take 
 charge of an academy, for which he was proposed or 
 recommended by Rev. Dr. John Smith, Professor of 
 Greek, Hebrew, and the Oriental languages. What- 
 ever he said was high authority. This Dr. Smith 
 (who was Mr. Webster's ardent friend.) published the 
 New Hampshire Latin Grammar. u an edition of Ci- 
 cero's Orations in Latin, with Notes," and a " Hebrew 
 Grammar, designed to facilitate the study of the 
 Scriptures." He was an eminent scholar. He, too, 
 was one of those "who taught that boy." As all 
 feel an interest in knowing something about those who 
 participated in shaping the mind of Mr. Webster, I 
 say something of each of them as I proceed. His 
 taking charge of this Academy was an important step
 
 PRINCIPAL OF FRYEBURG ACADEMY. 
 
 255 
 
 in climbing the hill of Fame. At Dartmouth Col- 
 lege, it was a principle instilled into the mind of every 
 student and the same idea existed throughout the 
 State that there was no occupation, no profession, 
 more honorable than that of instructing the youth of 
 the country. All classes combined to weave chaplets 
 for, and to award due honors to, the meritorious teach- 
 er of an academy or a school. None were permitted 
 to attempt that business unless men of learning ; so 
 that under such circumstances, it was a high calling. 
 The graduates at Dartmouth were early distinguished 
 in this respect for the good they did, not only to the 
 rising generation, but to themselves. I have just 
 read a discourse on this subject, delivered by Na- 
 thaniel Bouton in 1833. Among other things he 
 says: 
 
 " On the triple foundation of the learned lan- 
 guages, mathematics, and moral and intellectual phi- 
 losophy, the sons of Dartmouth build high and 
 enduring superstructions of personal fame and public 
 usefulness. As- citizens of New Hampshire, we owe 
 much to the influence of this College, in elevating the 
 character of our primary schools and academies, and 
 in promoting education through our country. From 
 its first establishment, about three-fourths of all the 
 students have taught schools during some portion of 
 each year. For five years past the average number 
 of students has been one hundred and fifty-five, of 
 whom one hundred and five, have been teachers, 
 ordinarily for a term of three months. Within the 
 last two years the number of students has been one 
 hundred and seventy ; of whom three-fourths have
 
 been teachers. More graduates from this College 
 are now teaching," said he, '"in New England, in the 
 Southern States, and particularly in the valley of the 
 Mississippi, than from any other College that is 
 known." 
 
 An idea prevailed, that teaching was most salu- 
 tary in its influence on the mind of the teacher. It 
 aroused the recollections, and fixed on the memory 
 more firmly, what the teacher had striven to learn. 
 It enabled the graduate to see, by a little practice, 
 where the web of his learning was most weak ; and 
 in the outset to remedy the defect. The most emi- 
 nent men in New England, forty years ago, acted on 
 this idea ; and the result is, that this section of the 
 United States is in advance of all others in solid 
 education. New Hampshire is excelled only by 
 Massachusetts and Connecticut ; and those States 
 are perhaps in advance of the rest of the world ; that 
 is, there are more educated men in proportion to the 
 whole number of the people. Hearing of young Mr. 
 Webster at Dartmouth, through Mr. Smith and 
 others, the Trustees of the Fryeburg Academy, then 
 recently founded, appointed him the principal of 
 their Seminary, and he accepted the place. He never 
 had occasion to regret it. 
 
 Fryeburg is a beautiful town in Oxford County, 
 in the State of Maine. It consists of barren hills 
 and fertile valleys. The intervening lands are of the 
 richest kind. The hills are lofty and romantic. 
 The principal village is situated on a plain, surround- 
 ed by those hills ; and is watered by the river Saco. 
 Although the township is but six miles square, yet,
 
 PRINCIPAL OF FRYEBURG ACADEMY. 
 
 257 
 
 that beautiful river in its fantastic meanderings. runs 
 a distance of more than thirty miles, in passing from 
 one boundary to the other. More bewitching scenery 
 is seldom found in this land of beautiful scenes. For 
 ages past, that town, the olden name of which was 
 Pequawket, had been occupied by the Indians, and 
 improved by their successors ; the earliest inhabit- 
 ants of New England. At, a short distance from 
 the village, is " Lovewell's Pond," a beautiful sheet 
 of water, to which Mr. Webster often resorted with 
 his fishing tackle for amusement and healthful recre- 
 ation. He was then nineteen years old. On the 
 afternoons of Wednesdays and Saturdays, he was 
 often seen alone in his boat, floating on the surface 
 of that water, which was so transparent, that he 
 appeared to be suspended between earth and sky 
 angling among the smaller finny tribe, as the sage of 
 Marshfield is now often seen in his yacht on the more 
 turbulent waters of the ocean, angling Ijor codfish and 
 halibut. This amusement was then, as it now is, 
 his repose from study and deep thought. 
 
 " Lovewell's Pond" was made famous by " Love- 
 well's fight." Capt. John Lovewell, as long ago as 
 1725, with thirty-four men, fought a famous Indian 
 named Paugus, at the head of eighty savages, on the 
 shores of this beautiful pond. Both parties entered 
 the combat determined to conquer or die. They 
 fought till both Lovewell and Paugus were slain. 
 Sixty of the Indians, and all but nine of the whites, 
 " bit the dust." Finally, the remaining twenty sava- 
 ges fled, leaving nine of Lovewell's men victors of 
 the field. This scene is visited with interest by all,
 
 258 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 whether travellers or sojourners, who have ever heard 
 the story. It is, indeed, aa interesting spot. Mr. 
 Webster occupied his place at that academy until the 
 following September, nine months. During this period, 
 in the faithful discharge of his duties, he passed in 
 review his studies at College, clinched every nail, and 
 supplied every defect. While there, he also enjoyed 
 the pleasures of an agreeable and intelligent society. 
 Among his associates, he included several well-bred 
 ladies and gentlemen. There was one, Rev. Wm. 
 Fessenden, a man of great learning and distinguished 
 piety, for whom Mr. Webster had a particular regard. 
 His house was open to him at all times. He had a 
 fine library, to the use of which the youthful philoso- 
 pher was invited ; and that great and good man was 
 never so happy as when he had Mr. Webster with 
 him. He took infinite pleasure in conversing with a 
 youthful and vigorous mind, fresh from College, and 
 he imparted to him all that could be given from his 
 best experience, and the fruit of his observations 
 during scores of years. The great truths of philo- 
 sophy and religion were themes on which they dwelt 
 with mutual satisfaction. When we remember the 
 strong adherence of Mr. Webster's father to reli- 
 gious principles and practices, the influence of Rev. 
 Mr. WoDd, and Rev. Dr. Smith, of Dartmouth Col- 
 lege, his early and devoted friends, and afterwards 
 the friendship of Mr. Fessenden, we can readily ac- 
 count for the confident opinions which are entertained 
 by Mr. Webster on religious subjects, and which have 
 always been visible in every thing he has said and 
 done.
 
 STUDIES LAW. 259 
 
 While Mr. Webster resided at Fryeburg he found 
 he could do more than was set down for him to do as 
 the Principal of the Academy. The office of Assist- 
 ant Register in that place being vacant he was chosen 
 to discharge the duties. He occupied several hours 
 of each twenty-four in recording deeds, for which he 
 received considerable money, and all of which he ap- 
 propriated to the defraying of the expenses of his 
 brother Ezekiel at College. At the close of the 
 duties which devolved upon him, and which he had so 
 well performed, the appointing power felt called on to 
 pass resolutions and give him some testimonial as to 
 the manner in which he had done what he had under- 
 taken. 
 
 The time had now come when Mr. Webster was 
 to prepare himself more thoroughly and particularly 
 (though he little thought then of the extent) to be 
 the teacher of nations. His plans for self-improve- 
 ment would not permit him to spend any more time 
 in teaching others the simple rudiments of learning. 
 He therefore resigned his place at Fryeburg. grateful 
 for the benefits it had conferred on him personally, 
 and returned to Elms Farm. He entered the office 
 of his friend and neighbor, Thomas W. Thompson, as 
 a student at law, in which office he had formerly sat 
 a little barefooted boy, to tell the clients who called, 
 where Mr. Thompson had gone, and when he would 
 return. 
 
 At this time, there were only eighty lawyers prac- 
 tising at the Superior and Inferior Courts, in the 
 whole State. Mr. Thompson was one in good stand- 
 ing among them. I will here speak briefly of him. 
 
 IP^M^^
 
 260 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 He was born in Boston, and was the son of Deacon 
 Thompson, an English man. His mother was a Scotch- 
 woman. While he was young, his father removed 
 (taking his son with him) to Newburyport. He was 
 fitted for College by Samuel Moody, and graduated 
 at Cambridge in 1786. At the time of the "Shay's 
 Rebellion," he entered the army as an aid to General 
 Lincoln, and served throughout the campaign during 
 a severe winter, and until the insurrection was quelled. 
 He first studied Theology to qualify himself for the 
 pulpit. He was, however, appointed a Tutor in Col- 
 lege, at Cambridge, and was a favorite among the 
 students, owing to the suavity of his manners, and 
 his natural, easy, and unaffected politeness. After 
 this he studied law at Newburyport with Theophilus 
 Parsons, named ' ; the Giant of the Law." He was 
 admitted to the Bar, and opened an office near the 
 South Meeting House, in Salisbury ; and in about a 
 year afterwards, he removed to this place, and boarded 
 with Mr. Webster's father. In due time, he bought 
 a house for himself. He had an extensive and lucra- 
 tive practice. He made himself rich by his profes- 
 sion. He was one of the Trustees of Dartmouth Col- 
 lege at the time Mr. Webster graduated, and con- 
 tinued to be an active and efficient member of the 
 Board till his death. From 1805 to 1807, he was a 
 Representative in Congress. He was several times 
 a member of the Legislature of his State, and was 
 Speaker of the House of Representatives when the 
 excitement of party politics was high ; but his oppo- 
 nents and every member willingly bore testimony to 
 his candor, his ability and impartiality in the dis-
 
 A NARROW ESCAPE. 261 
 
 charge of his duties. He was also a Senator in Con- 
 gress from this State, and acquitted himself with 
 honor. In 1809 he removed from this place to Con- 
 cord, the seat of Government. 
 
 In August, 1819, he set out for Quebec, and was 
 on board the steamboat PJuznix, from Burlington on 
 the route to Canada, when, at midnight it took fire. 
 The vessel was all in flames, the passengers were all 
 escaping in small boats, and he was still asleep. 
 waking, he saw his situation, jumped into the last 
 boat, already filled to sinking, and was the last person 
 who escaped. The terrors and fatigues of that dread- 
 ful night made him sick, and, finally, put an end to 
 his life. He was a fine scholar and accomplished 
 gentleman, and highly respected in this State. Such 
 is the man with whom Mr. Webster commenced the 
 
 Btudy of the law. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 AND OF VOL. L
 
 THE 
 
 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIFE 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER: 
 
 INCLUDING 
 
 MOST OP HIS GKEAT SPEECHES, LETTERS 
 FROM MARSHFIELD, &c., Ac. 
 
 BT 
 
 GEN. S. P. LYMAN. 
 
 TWO VOLUMES IN ONE. 
 YOL. II.
 
 COITEHTS. VOL. II. 
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTEE. Continued. 
 
 OFFICE IN WHICH MR. WEBSTEE STUDIED LAW WHAT 
 BOOKS HE READ ACQUIRES A KNOWLEDGE OF THE 
 PRACTICE ANECDOTE OF HIS FIRMNESS AND TACT 5 
 
 MR. WEBSTER STUDIES LAW IN BOSTON CHRISTOPHER 
 GORE Is ADMITTED TO PRACTICE HlS FlRST CAUSE.. 12 
 
 OPENS A LAW OFFICE BOSCAWEN His FIRST CRIMINAL 
 CASE His LEGAL OPPONENTS 21 
 
 His PREPARATION OF HIS CASES ATTENDS TO GENERAL 
 LITERATURE ORATION AT CONCOKD ONE OF HIS PRO- 
 FESSORS AT DARTMOUTH SOME ACCOUNT OF HIM 27 
 
 HEALTH BAD REMOVES TO PORTSMOUTH OFTEN MEETS 
 MR. MASON MARRIED TAKES PART IN POLITICS 
 GREAT MEETING IN ROCKINGHAM UPHOLDS THE UNION 
 His POPULARITY IN PORTSMOUTH 85 
 
 MR. WEBSTER ELECTED TO CONGRESS FIRST SPEECH AND 
 RESOLUTIONS 45 
 
 MR. WEBSTER AT HOME WELCOME 68 
 
 EARLY RISING FRUITS AND OTHER PRODUCTS COD FISH- 
 ING FISH HOUSE SETH PETERSON How TO HAKE 
 CHOWDEE 55 
 
 ANOTHER DAY AT MARSHFIELD THE FARM THE WINS- 
 LOWS FORESTS CATTLB SHEEP CHOPS 64
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 EIDE TO PLYMOUTH ANECDOTES ON THE WAY KILLS A 
 DEEB 72 
 
 VISIT OF GEN. BERTRAND TO ME. WEBSTER CONVERSA- 
 TION ON AGRICULTURE 79 
 
 SECOND VISIT TO MARSHFIELD TALKS ON AGRICULTURE. 83 
 
 PLANTING TREES 88 
 
 HABIT OF EARLY KISING STILL TALKS ON AGRICULTURE 94 
 
 OPINION OF SIR EGBERT PEEL 100 
 
 THANKSGIVING CONVERSATION ON SHEEP 105 
 
 ANECDOTES His LIBRARY, ETC 110 
 
 PUBLIC MEETING 113 
 
 A TRIP ALONG THE VALLEY OF THE CONNECTICUT 114 
 
 THE BOOKS MR. WEBSTEB HEADS How HE READS 
 KESPECT OF THE PEOPLE 118 
 
 MR. WEBSTER AND A PARTY COD FISHING 122 
 
 HORTICULTURE PRESERVES BIRDS AND SQUIRRELS FA- 
 MOUS HORSE FISHING WITH LADIES, ETC 127 
 
 TRIP VIA NEWPORT MR. WEBSTER WITH AN EVENING 
 AT MARSHFIELD Music 1 33 
 
 His EAMBLES OVER THE FIELDS, ETC 187 
 
 COMMITTEE CALLS ON MR. WEBSTER PRESENT FROM AFAR 141 
 
 MB. WEBSTEB PREPARES FOR A SPEECH His DBESS 
 VIEWS ON THE SUBJECT, ETC 142 
 
 NOTES OF TRIP TO NEW HAMPSHIRE IN COURT LETTER 
 ABOUT HIMSELF, ETC 148 
 
 MAKES His 7ra OT MABCH SPEECH 154 
 
 SPEECH OF EDWAED EVEEETT ON THE DEATH 
 OF ME. WEBSTEE, AT A MEETING OF THE CITI- 
 ZENS OF BOSTON... .. 161
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 SPEECH OF RUFUS CHOATE BEFORE THE SUF- 
 FOLK BAR, BOSTON, ON OCCASION OF THE DE- 
 CEASE OF DANIEL WEBSTER 172 
 
 EULOGY BY GEORGE S. HILLARD, IN FANEUIL 
 HALL, NOVEMBER 80, 1852 192 
 
 PERSONAL ANECDOTES, LETTERS, REMINISCENCES, 
 TRIBUTES, ETC 231 
 
 FRANKLIN PIEKOE'S SPEECH ON THE DEATH OF WEBSTEB, 
 
 AT CONCOBD, N. H 281 
 
 THE REV. DR. HAWKS'S INTRODUCTION TO THE RESOLU- 
 TIONS ON THE DEATH OF WEBSTER, BEFORE THE NEW- 
 YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY 234 
 
 MR. WEBSTER IN COLLEGE 238 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER'S FAMILY RECOLLECTIONS 240 
 
 MR. WEBSTER'S LIBRARY, AND CONVERSATION ON THE 
 
 SCRDTTURES 243 
 
 MR. WEBSTER ON THE EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY 245 
 
 MR. WEBSTER IN 1830 248 
 
 MR. WEBSTER'S LETTER ON THE MORNING 249 
 
 MR. WEBSTER'S DEDICATION OF HIS Six VOLUMES OF 
 
 SPEECHES 251 
 
 THE GREAT ARE FALLING FROM us. BY T. BUCHANAN 
 
 READ 255 
 
 LETTERS OF MR. WEBSTER TO HIS FARMER, JOHN TAY- 
 LOR, AT FRANKLIN, N. H 256 
 
 WEBSTER AND FRANKLIN 260 
 
 His LETTER TO HIS OLD SCHOOLMASTER, " MASTER TAP- 
 PAN." 261 
 
 MR. WEBSTER AND THE FARMER 262 
 
 His RECREATIONS 263 
 
 A STAGE-COACH ANECDOTE , . . 265
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 THOS. W. THOMPSON LAW OFFICE LATIN GRAMMAR 
 REASONS FOF GOING TO AN ACADEMY GOES TO EXETER 
 DR. ABBOTT 200 
 
 MR. WEBSTER TEACHES A SELECT SCHOOL A FROLIC 
 KEV. SAMUEL WOOD PREPARES FOR COLLEGE ENTERS 
 DARTMOUTH 211 
 
 ORATION AT HANOVER, N. H., ON THE FOURTH OF JULY, 
 1800 230 
 
 MR. WEBSTER IN COLLEGE His STUDIES THE FOURTH 
 YEAR PERSONAL APPEARANCE His EULOGY ON THE 
 DEATH OF A CLASSMATE COMMENCEMENT His CLASS- 
 MATES PERFORMANCE Is MADE BACHELOR OF ARTS 
 TAKES LEAVE 244 
 
 MR. WEBSTER is PRINCIPAL OF THE F.R'YEBURG ACADEMY 
 STUDIES LAW WITH THOS. W. THOMPSON 254
 
 MEMORIALS OF MR. WEBSTER, 
 
 IN A SERIES OF LETTERS FROM ELMS FARM 
 AND MARSHFIELD. 
 
 OFFICE TN WHICH MR. WEBSTER STUDIED LAW WHAT BOOKS HE 
 
 BEAD ACQUIRES A KNOWLEDGE OF THE PRACTICE ANECDOTE 
 
 OF HIS FIRMNESS AND TACT. 
 
 ELMS FARM, N. H., Sept. , 1849. 
 * * * THE office in which Mr. Webster stu- 
 died law, is still standing on the easterly side of the 
 old turnpike road through this valley, about thirty 
 rods from his old homestead. It was built by Mr. 
 Thompson, considerably more than a half century 
 ago. It is a small wood building, one story high, 
 having a very ancient appearance. It is divided 
 into two rooms, and a narrow hall ; the chimney in 
 the centre of the building, with a wide, old-fashioned 
 fireplace in the front room : the front door or main 
 entrance in the centre of the front side, and a win- 
 dow on each side of the front door, two windows on 
 each side of the office, affording a good light to each 
 of the rooms, with one in the hall. The front room 
 was the place for the general business of the office ; 
 the back room for study and consultations with cli-
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 ents. On the right-hand side of the front entrance, 
 Mr. Thompson made a sort of fence, or small balus- 
 trade ; inclosing a space about seven by nine feet, 
 resembling the inclosures in many of the counting- 
 rooms in your city. In that, he sat by an old table, 
 and book-case, in an old arm-chair, and sometimes 
 stood at a desk, inclosed within the railing. On the 
 left-hand side stood a large book-case, containing the 
 law library. The council-room was furnished with a 
 plain table, covered with green cloth, standing under 
 the window, with several substantial chairs. This 
 room was warmed in winter by an old fashioned box 
 stove. There is a side door opening into the path- 
 way, leading to the house near by, in which Mr. 
 Thompson dwelt. The office is shaded by two mag- 
 nificent elms, standing in front, and extending their 
 long branches over it. Those trees were planted 
 many years before the period of which I am speaking. 
 The premises are now owned and occupied by Parker 
 Noyes. Esq., a venerable counsellor-at-law, who was 
 a student in the office of Mr. Thompson, and had 
 been two years before Mr. Webster began to study. 
 Mr. Noyes, in due time being admitted to practice 
 at the bar, and becoming an eminent man in his pro- 
 fession, took the business of Mr. Thompson ; and, 
 some time about the year 1809, became the proprietor 
 of the office, house and the lands, together with a 
 portion of his law library. I have had several con- 
 versations with this distinguished old gentleman dur- 
 ing my sojourn here ; and I am indebted to him for 
 many of these reminiscences. I called on his excel- 
 lent and polite lady to-day, who, with a rusty and
 
 WHAT BOOKS HE READ. 
 
 ancient-looking key, kindly unlocked the door and 
 admitted me to view the office. There stand the 
 identical tables, book-cases, desks and chairs, which 
 stood there in Mr. Webster's time. It is still a law- 
 office ; but years and years have gone by since the 
 venerable proprietor (who is rich enough to forego 
 the practice of the law) gave audience to his clients 
 in those rooms. There are the old registers of law- 
 suits, with entries made in the handwriting of Mr. 
 Webster ; and there are the old books, on whose 
 pages his mind dwelt so intently, and from which 
 he drew some of the knowledge to which the most 
 eminent judges have so often listened, to be instructed 
 and convinced. I have seldom visited a place fraught 
 with more interest to me than the interior of that old 
 law-office. I looked upon it as a valuable memento 
 of the days of his youth. If I owned it, I would 
 have it inclosed in a larger building, which would 
 preserve it for future generations to look at. 
 
 The first book that Mr. Thompson put into Mr. 
 Webster's hands was Coke upon Littleton. This he 
 read regularly six hours in the morning, while in the 
 afternoon he read Hume's History of England, and 
 Shakspeare's Plays. Day after day, he sat in the 
 back room of that little office, and pored over the 
 productions of those master minds. He made him- 
 self familiar with those books, but, so far as Coke 
 upon Littleton was concerned, Mr. Thompson made 
 a sad mistake. It was not the law book on which he 
 should have made a beginning. I remember that I 
 heard Mr. Webster comment on this mistake. He 
 said he was a long time groping about in the dark,
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 believing, of course, that he should come to light, 
 but he could not foresee when or whereabouts. It 
 was not until he took up Espina,sse Nisi Prius and 
 Blackstone's Commentaries that he discovered the 
 mistake ; and he thenceforth insisted that he lost 
 much time in unravelling black-letter webs and de- 
 ducing premises, which he found had been clearly 
 unravelled and deduced by others. 
 
 There were then no books of practice and forms 
 in the office, like Tidd's, and Graham's, and a host of 
 others, written since then. This was long before 
 Kent had written his Commentaries. There was 
 nothing visible to him. He has told me if Mr. 
 Thompson had shown him at the outset, or had 
 placed in his hands one of each kind of the writs 
 issued in a suit, together with one of each kind of 
 the papers, from the beginning to the end for in- 
 stance, a Declaration, a Demurrer, a Plea, a Record, 
 and a Judgment Roll so that he could have had 
 ocular demonstration of what each contained, and 
 could have read it, and turned it over, and looked at 
 it inside and out, he would have saved himself much 
 labor, and his path would have been illuminated be- 
 yond what many persons would, perhaps, readily 
 admit. He said he would earnestly recommend that 
 every teacher of law students should do what Mr. 
 Thompson omitted to do, when he began to study 
 law ; that is, first to show them the documents about 
 which they are to read. 
 
 The second book Mr. Thompson gave him was 
 " Espinasse Nisi Prius." This, too, he continued to 
 read for six hours in the morning, while he con-
 
 ACQUIRES A KNOWLEDGE OF THE PRACTICE. 
 
 
 
 tinued to read Hume and Shakspeawe in the after- 
 noon. Reading Espinasse, he saw the framework of 
 the law, and how extensive was the science he had 
 undertaken to master. He no longer pursued his 
 way in the dark ; every new book he encountered 
 was a feast of reason, for which he was prepared. 
 To-day, I saw the two musty volumes of Espiuasse 
 which he read. They are of an old English edition, 
 and, at a little distance, look like a couple of Psalm 
 books. Mr. Noyes has intimated that he will let me 
 have them. I will preserve them carefully if he will. 
 In the course of a year from the time he entered 
 the office, he acquired, says Mr. Noyes, considera- 
 ble knowledge of business, and gave great satisfac- 
 tion and assistance to Mr. Thompson. During the 
 second year, he showed himself a sound lawyer. 
 When clients came for advice. ; he hoard with Mr. 
 Thompson a full statement of the facts, and there- 
 upon he. again and again, wrote out opinions, which 
 Mr. Thompson, on perusal, adopted, signed, and de- 
 livered as his own. He also displayed great tact in 
 conducting the lawsuits pending, in marshaling the 
 testimony, and in eliciting from witnesses the facts 
 to be proved on the trials. Many men. not profound 
 lawyers, have become eminent in their profession, 
 and have paved their way to wealth, by their skill in 
 conducting a cause before it was brought to the bar 
 for trial. I will relate an anecdote, told to me to- 
 day, by the son of one of the parties, as a sample of 
 th^act of Mr. Webster, at that early day, in bring- 
 ing delinquents to the mark. 
 
 A turnpike was being built by Captain Kimball,
 
 10 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 s an energetic man, whose contract was founded on sub- 
 scriptions for the money, by men of property along 
 the line ; and especially at Portsmouth. In the 
 \ midst of his work, many of the subscribers, for some 
 peculiar reason, refused to pay the amount they had 
 ^ subscribed. 
 
 Captain Kimball applied to Mr. Thompson for ad- 
 vice, and legal aid to obtain the money. The con- 
 tractor could not very well wait on the law's delay. 
 Mr. Thompson wrote to the subscribers urgent let- 
 ters. This did not obtain the money. Becoming 
 more earnest, he sent Mr. Noyes, his eldest student, 
 to them personally, but Mr. Noyes returned without 
 the required funds. Mr. Webster, on hearing the 
 ill success with which the parties had met, said, 
 '' Let me go to Portsmouth. I will bring you the 
 money." A horse was speedily brought to the door, 
 and as speedily he set out on his expedition. With 
 his horse foaming he entered the town, saw some of 
 the subscribers, and sent word to others, informing 
 them that the object of his visit was to get the mo- 
 ney ! At the same time he sent a messenger to re- 
 quest the presence of the sheriff of the county. He 
 next went to the office of Mr. Jeremiah Mason, and 
 asked the privilege of writing awhile at his table 
 There was something in the manner of this young 
 stranger among them, that arrested their attention. 
 They watched every step he took, every movement 
 he made. Sitting down at the table, Mr. Webster 
 made out a writ for every subscriber, as he was au- 
 thorized to do for Mr. Thompson. Seeing these for- 
 midable weapons they proposed a parley. He met
 
 ANECDOTE OF HIS FIRMNESS AND TACT. 
 
 11 
 
 them, not to hear them, but that they could hear 
 him. He stated the object of his mission, and the 
 grounds on which he stood so imposingly, and fixed 
 so peremptorily the hour which the money must be 
 paid ; he spoke so courteously, and yet so sternly, 
 as to fill them with alarm. Writs, arrests, and bail 
 bonds, were all unpleasant objects. That was before 
 imprisonment for debt was abolished. The parley 
 ended, he ordered his horse to be at the door at the 
 time named, and directed the sheriff to be ready to 
 receive the writs for arresting the parties, if the mo- 
 ney was not forthcoming. At the hour appointed, 
 his horse was brought to the door for his return 
 home ; but by this time they saw that he was not a 
 young gentleman to be put off or trifled with, and 
 they hastened to pay over the cash as fast as he could 
 receive it. He then hurried back to the office with 
 the money, much to the amazement of Mr. Thomp- 
 son, and satisfaction of Capt. Kimball. 
 
 This anecdote shows, that in his boyhood, his 
 purposes were not easily shaken, and that he had the 
 capacity to satisfy others ; he was not to be resisted 
 whenever he was right. 
 
 Mr. Webster was in the office of Mr. Thompson, 
 with Mr. Noyes, two years. Within that time he 
 acquired what knowledge he could acquire from his 
 instructor, or from participating in his practice. He 
 desired to be in a larger field ; he wished to be a 
 lawyer on a broader scale. 
 
 Yours, truly.
 
 12 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 ME, WEBSTER STUDIES LAW IN BOSTON CHRISTOPHER GORE HE IS 
 
 ADMITTED TO PRACTICE HIS FIRST CAUSE. 
 
 ELMS FARM, N. H., Sept. 1852. 
 
 * * * After Mr. Webster had pursued his 
 studies two years with Mr. Thompson, and had ac 
 quired some knowledge of the law, as related in 
 my last letter, he went to Boston to finish his legal 
 education. 
 
 That city was then, as it is now, denominated the 
 " Athens of America." It embraced many eminent 
 members of the bar, some of whom were also dis- 
 tinguished for their general learning. Many of them 
 had travelled in foreign countries. He could not have 
 directed his steps to any place where the object he 
 had in view could have been more certainly accom- 
 plished. 
 
 His father and mother had now beheld the rising 
 fame of their son. That just pride, which fires the 
 bosom of parents who see chaplets weaving for their 
 children, animated the heart of his father, who was 
 then a judge on the bench ; he took counsel from his 
 friends, able to advise, what was best to be done, and 
 determined to do his utmost to give him all the op- 
 portunities he required. 
 
 In looking aver the list of the eminent law- 
 yers, and on making himself acquainted with the 
 relative standing, and the qualifications of each, 
 Mr. Webster selected Mr. Christopher Gore, and 
 made a successful application to him, for a seat inhia 
 office. At that time Mr. Gore was not at all engaged 
 in the common business of his profession ; he did not,
 
 CHRISTOPHER GORE. 13 
 
 in fact, pretend to do anything as an attorney or 
 solicitor, but being distinguished as a counsellor, he 
 was much consulted in matters of great doubt and 
 difficulty, and often appeared at the bar to argue 
 those cases which required great legal learning, and 
 were of great moment to the State or individuals. 
 Judges listened to him with respect, and his talents 
 and influence commanded large fees. 
 
 I had often heard the name of Christopher Gore 
 mentioned with respect, but I knew nothing of him 
 besides his name. Finding that he, too, had some- 
 thing to do with tlie teaching of that boy, and that 
 he gave him the finishing touch, I have taken pains 
 to learn more of him. But in speaking of his biog- 
 raphy I will be brief. Mr. Gore was a native of 
 Boston ; the son of a respectable mechanic, and was 
 educated at Harvard College. He was a classmate 
 of Rufus King, of New-York, and Oliver Peabody, 
 of Exeter, and I think of Joseph Hall, of Boston. 
 He studied law, I am told, with Mr. Tudor, but of 
 this there is some doubt, and he went into practice 
 soon after the opening of the Courts, on the peace of 
 1783. He soon became distinguished, and success 
 crowned his efforts. He was much, indeed for a long 
 time, almost constantly employed in the collection of 
 British debts. 
 
 He was an ardent friend of the project for a new and 
 National Government, and is understood to have drawn 
 the resolutions adopted by the mechanics of Boston at 
 the Green Dragon in 1788, and which were presented 
 by Paul Revere, to the Boston Delegates in the Con- 
 vention. Mr. Gore was himself one of that delega-
 
 14 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 tion, and stood by a fine-looking, spirited young 
 man, when Colonel Revere presented the paper to 
 Samuel Adams, and heard the dialogue which ensued. 
 These proceedings produced a great sensation at the 
 time, as a reference to the history of that Convention 
 will show you. 
 
 Mr. Gore was appointed by President Washington, 
 the first District Attorney of the United States for 
 the District of Massachusetts. He discharged the du- 
 ties of the office with great credit to himself, and benefit 
 to the country. After the ratification of Mr. Jay's 
 treaty, he was appointed a commissioner under its 
 7th article, with William Pinkney, and passed five or 
 six years, perhaps seven, in London, engaged in the 
 duties of that appointment. On his return, he re- 
 sumed the practice of his profession in Boston, where 
 Mr. Webster found him in 1804. 
 
 In 1809 he was elected Governor of Massachusetts, 
 and in 1 8 1 3 he was chosen a Senator of the Congress of 
 the United States. Infirm health rendered the latter 
 part of his life in a great measure inactive. At his death 
 he left his very valuable library to Harvard College. 
 
 Mr. Gore was thoroughly educated, had a classical 
 taste, and made himself a learned lawyer, especially 
 in what regarded commercial transactions. He was 
 acquainted with most of the great men of his time, 
 at home and abroad ; and it is said of him, that he 
 communicated his information with so much exactness, 
 discrimination and taste, that his listeners became 
 familiar with the principles of the law without much 
 labor, and no one could profit more by these commu- 
 nications than Mr. Webster. It may be doubted 
 
 "-^^^^X*%^Lrf-N^J
 
 CrtKISTOPHER GORE. 
 
 15 
 
 whether Massachusetts has ever produced a man of 
 more accomplished manners and demeanor than 
 Christopher Gore, or one from whom Mr. Webster 
 could have derived greater advantages. 
 
 In the midst of the books which Mr. Gore's exten- 
 sive library embraced, and with the advantages of Mr. 
 Gore's conversation. Mr. Webster sat down to make 
 himself a lawyer on a broad scale, and thenQeforth 
 no student ever moved forward with more method in 
 the pursuit of his object. The first effort he made 
 was to render himself master of special pleading, 
 and the first book he read on the subject was the old 
 folio edition of Saunders Williams' edition of that 
 work had not then appeared. Mr. Webster trans- 
 lated the Latin and Norman French into English, 
 and made an abstract of every case in the book. 
 This made him familiar with the forms of special 
 pleading, which is necessary to every lawyer, and with 
 the clear teaching and profound suggestions of Mr. 
 Gore, he was soon regarded as a great special pleader. 
 
 At this time, he discovered that a profound know- 
 ledge of English History was necessary to make a 
 lawyer, and in fact that law was an historical science. 
 He devoted much time to David Hume's History. 
 Lingard, Turner, Hallam, and a host of other his- 
 torians, who have gone more into the details than 
 Hume, and have consequently saved the student much 
 labor, had not then appeared. Mr. Webster had, 
 therefore, to make painful researches in obtaining, as 
 he did, a correct knowledge of the origin and pro- 
 gress of the English law. 
 
 Mr. Knapp, who has written something about
 
 16 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 this period of Mr. Webster's life, says that Mr. Gore 
 soon became acquainted with the capacity and ac- 
 quirements of his students, and forgot or laid aside the 
 office relation, and they stood to each other as mutual 
 and intellectual friends, without regard to the differ- 
 ence in their respective ages. Mr. Gore had been se- 
 veral years familiar with the best English lawyers, the 
 forms of proceedings in the Courts, and the customs of 
 counsellors and advocates, and imparted to Mr. Web- 
 ster a knowledge which books could not or did not 
 impart. There is a living law which governs courts, 
 which can only be obtained by practice and observa- 
 tion. One year spent with Mr. Gore, in addition to 
 what he had previously acquired, rendered Mr. Web- 
 ster a pretty good lawyer, qualified for admission to 
 the bar. Mr. Gore introduced him to the Court in a 
 speech highly complimentary, and while stating hia 
 character and qualifications, predicted his subsequent 
 distinction and eminence. He was admitted in 1805. 
 While Mr. Webster was pursuing his studies in 
 Boston, he boarded with a Mrs. Whitwell, where he 
 became acquainted with a Mr. Taylor Baldwin, an 
 eccentric, but an intelligent gentleman, with whom he 
 used to have much table-talk, and from whom he de- 
 rived much information about " the world at large 
 and matters and things in general;" Mr. Taylor Bald 
 win thereby became his friend. He also became ac- 
 quainted, under the same circumstances, with Mr. 
 Rufus Green Emery, who, as I will soon tell you, was 
 a friend in need. In October, 1804. at the solicita- 
 tion of Mr. Emery, who wished to promote the happi- 
 ness of his friend, Mr. Webster was induced to set 
 
 L.
 
 APPOINTED CLERK OF COUNTY COURT. 
 
 17 
 
 out on what was at that time regarded a long journey, 
 in an open carriage with Mr. Taylor Baldwin, who travel- 
 led for the benefit of his health. He went to Spring- 
 field, on the Connecticut River, thence to Hartford, 
 thence to Salisbury, thence to Albany. On arriving 
 at that city he took lodgings at a tavern in State 
 street, near the foot of the hill, and remained there 
 a fortnight. He became acquainted with Abraham 
 Van Vecten, then young, but afterwards an eminent 
 lawyer. 
 
 He visited the Schuylers, and was most courte- 
 ously entertained at Schuyler Place. He also made 
 the acquaintance of Mr. Stephen Van Rensselaer, 
 the patroon, and indeed of most of the prominent 
 citizens. After seeing all that there was to be seen 
 at Albany, learning much about the men, and the 
 politics of the State of New- York, he and his friend, 
 Mr. Taylor Baldwin, returned to Boston, where Mr. 
 Webster completed his studies. About this time his 
 father, being one of the Judges of the County Court 
 in New Hampshire, procured for Mr. Webster the 
 appointment of Clerk of the Court, with emoluments 
 equal to about $1500 a year. His father thought the 
 appointment would gratify his son personally, and 
 more especially, as it would afford him money ; which at 
 that time was wanted. He lost no time in communi- 
 cating the news of this good fortune to his son at 
 Boston, and in requesting him to hasten home, to enter 
 on the duties and the emoluments of the office. He 
 thought on the happening of this event, that no 
 young man in all New England was more fortunate than 
 his son. Mr. Webster told what had occurred to his
 
 18 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 friend Mr. Gore, who, foreseeing the destiny of his 
 student, unhesitatingly advised him not to accept the 
 appointment. He admitted that it was a high com- 
 pliment to so young a man, but he advised him to 
 pursue his profession, and he gave such cogent reasons 
 for what he urged him to do, that Mr. Webster con- 
 cluded to decline it. 
 
 The difficulty of satisfying his father that the 
 sourse he had resolved to pursue, was the best, now 
 arose in his mind. To aid Mr. Webster and his 
 brother Ezekiel in obtaining an education, their father 
 had resorted to borrowing money, and there was a 
 mortgage for it to be paid. A debt was a sore in- 
 cumbrance, more so in those days than at the present 
 time. Ezekiel Webster was doing his best, and was 
 then in Boston teaching a select school to earn money 
 towards discharging that mortgage. Edward -Eve- 
 rett, since so highly distinguished, was, by-the-bye, 
 one of his pupils. The desire to relieve his excellent 
 father from all pecuniary responsibility on his ac- 
 count, now that he had the power to do it, was, of 
 course, very great, but the sacrifice of his future 
 prospects was in the scale, weighing against the Clerk- 
 ship, and its emoluments. In this dilemma, his friend 
 Mr. Eufus Green Emery, be it mentioned to the 
 credit of his fame, on hearing what the difficulty was, 
 put gold into Mr. Webster's pocket, and sent him 
 home to see his father personally on the subject. I 
 have heard Mr. Webster tell the story, and it is a 
 pity that I should mar it. On arriving at home he 
 found his father sitting in his easy chair, not know- 
 ing one word of what had passed in Boston, or of hia
 
 HIS FIRST CAUSE. 19 
 
 intentions as to the Clerkship. He received his son 
 affectionately, and with a manner that seemed to say, 
 " our anxieties are now ended." His father lost no 
 time in telling him how " readily and how handsomely 
 his request had been complied with. I had not," 
 said he to his son, " more than mentioned it, before it 
 was done." "His eyes," said Mr. Webster, "were 
 brimful of the tears of gratitude, as he told it to me." 
 
 " Judge," said he, " of my father's disappointment 
 and manifest vexation, when I told him I must re- 
 sign the office. He could not at first believe his own 
 ears. He. of course, wanted to know the reason. I 
 told him I could do better ! I laid down the gold to 
 pay the mortgage, and all the debts on my own and 
 my brother's account. I wrote a letter thanking the 
 Judges for the honor they had done me, and most re- 
 spectfully resigned the office to which they had ap- 
 pointed me. Thereupon I hastened back to Boston, 
 where the Court was sitting at which I was licensed 
 to practice. I then for the first time held up my 
 hand and took the oaths of office. At that period 
 there were many mercantile failures among men liv- 
 ing in New Hampshire, but trading in Boston. On 
 its being known that Mr. Webster intended to estab- 
 lish himself in his native State, his friends in Boston 
 promised him their patronage, which they most lib- 
 erally fulfilled. One firm alone gave him for collec- 
 tion $30.000 of debts, divided into an almost incred- 
 ible number of individual claims. 
 
 On the first Tuesday of September, 1805, Mr. 
 Webster attended Court for the first time to try a 
 cause. It was the Court of Common Pleas for the
 
 20 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 County of Grafton, then held at Plymouth, about 
 thirty miles north of where I am. His father was 
 one of the Judges on the bench. The court-house 
 was a very small building; still standing, but not 
 now used for the same purpose. There he first ad- 
 dressed a court or jury. On my way from the White 
 Hills, I went to see that old court-house. There are 
 some persons residing in the village, but not many, 
 who heard that first cause tried. Among them, is 
 Hon. Moore Russel, a man of most estimable charac- 
 ter, now of very advanced age, who knew old Col. 
 Webster well, and who has always been an ardent 
 friend to Mr. Webster himself. I went to see him. 
 He remembers well Mr. Webster's first effort, and 
 describes it as minutely as if he had heard it but 
 yesterday. 
 
 A mile or two from Plymouth, on Baher's River, 
 lives another of the early friends of Mr. Webster, 
 Hon. Arthur Livermore, who also heard his maiden 
 speech in court. Mr. Webster met at the bar, on 
 this occasion, his friends Mr. Thomas W. Thompson, 
 Mr. Moses P. Payson, Mr. Alden Sprague, Mr. James 
 T. Swann, and Mr. William W. Woodward, now all 
 dead ; and Mr. Benjamin G. Gilbert, and Mr. Abia- 
 than Gr. Britton, still living ; the first residing in Bos- 
 ton, the last in Oxford, in' this State. My informant 
 did not, however, remember the name or title of the 
 first cause Mr. Webster tried, but it was a civil suit 
 of considerable importance to the parties, and which 
 had excited some interest and feeling in the neigh- 
 borhood in which they resided. The Sheriff of the 
 county then was Col. William Webster, a distant rel-
 
 OPENS A LAW-OFFICE. 
 
 ative of Mr. Webster, but whom he had never known 
 till then. After Mr. Webster had finished his argu- 
 ment to the court and jury, the Sheriff stated to my 
 informant, that he thought when Mr. Webster rose, 
 he would not stand up long ; he said he was ashamed 
 to see so lean and feeble a young man come into 
 court, bearing the name of Webster. But he aston- 
 ished everybody with his eloquence, learning, and his 
 powers for reasoning. To use the quaint expression 
 of Mr. Russel. they found " an old head on young 
 shoulders." Thenceforth, he never wanted clients 
 they came like the leaves of the forest. 
 
 Mr. Webster, in a letter to a friend, speaking of 
 his father, says : " My first speech at the bar was 
 made when he was on the bench ; he never heard me 
 a second time." 
 
 The night is clear ; the rays of the silver moon 
 fall on this paper, giving almost as much light as the 
 lamp before me ; and I could run on in this manner 
 till the morning dawns, but that whip-poor-will, with 
 her '' all night descant" invites me to sleep, as she 
 has done before, while she continues her sweet serenade. 
 Yours, with regards. 
 
 MR. WEBSTER OPENS A LAW-OFFICE BOSCAWEN HIS FIRST CRIM1 
 
 NAL CASE HIS LEGAL OPPONENTS. 
 
 ELMB FAHM, N. H., September , 1849. 
 * * * On being admitted at the bar, 
 Mr. Webster was urged by his friends in Boston to 
 open an office there. He had formed many acquaint-
 
 22 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 ances and several friendships, which would have been 
 of the greatest advantage to him ; and there is no 
 doubt that, under the auspices of Mr. Gore, and the 
 patronage of his friends, his success would have been 
 great ; but he loved his father, who was then old, and 
 he, his devoted son, could not be induced to go far 
 off. I have seen a letter, written by Mr. Webster 
 to a friend, in which he says : " My opening an office 
 in Boscawen was, that I might be near him." There- 
 fore he remained at his father's house awhile, but 
 opened an office as a lawyer in Boscawen, a neigh- 
 boring village between this and Concord, which was 
 the seat of the State Government, and, as usual, put 
 up a simple sign over his door, " D. Webster, Attor- 
 ney," which is still in existence, another memento of 
 his early beginnings. 
 
 The Indian name of that town was Contoocook, 
 but it was afterwards changed to its present name, in 
 honor of Edward Boscawen, a celebrated English 
 Admiral, who, in 1760, was on the American station. 
 The principal village is in the Eastern section of the 
 town, on a spacious street, nearly two miles in length, 
 very straight and level. From the numerous streams 
 of water, and the peculiar shape of the hills, the air 
 is pure, the temperature is uniform, and therefore 
 conducive to health. The eye of the traveller is de- 
 lighted with the view of the fertile valleys and ro- 
 mantic windings of the Merrimack. I have driven 
 through this town with great pleasure to-day. There 
 was a charm about it, at the time of which I am 
 speaking, attractive to a student of fine taste and 
 quiet habits. It was, moreover, the immediate neigh-
 
 HIS FIRST CRIMINAL CASE. 
 
 23 
 
 borhood of his early and devoted friend, Mr. Wood, 
 whose learning rendered his early society valuable 
 and always desirable. These considerations, as well 
 as because it was virtually his home, made it very 
 attractive. Soon after he began to practise law. a 
 trial for murder came on in the county of Plymouth, 
 and the Judges assigned him to defend the prisoner, 
 although the time had not elapsed for his admission 
 as a counsellor at the Supreme Court of the State. 
 His commanding talents warranted this deviation 
 from the general rule. 
 
 The account I have of this effort as a criminal 
 advocate, which was his second effort at the bar, the 
 first being in a civil suit. I will give in the words of 
 an eminent man, who related it some twenty years 
 ago: 
 
 " The murder," said he, " was foul and horrid ; 
 perpetrated on an innocent man a fellow-prisoner 
 for debt. They were in the same room, no provoca- 
 tion was given by the sufferer, or none that would in 
 the slightest degree palliate the offence. The fact of 
 killing could not be questioned; the defence, of course, 
 was narrowed to one point. ' the insanity of the 
 prisoner? There were no proofs of his former in- 
 sanity, but the malignity of his disposition was well 
 known to all the country around. His counsel, never- 
 theless, was not deterred from going on, with all these 
 formidable circumstances to contend with. He ar- 
 gued, that the enormity of the deed, perpetrated with- 
 out motive, or without any of those motives operating 
 upon most minds, furnished presumptive proof of the 
 alienation of the prisoner's mind ; and even the cool
 
 24 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 deliberation, and apparent serenity which he exhib- 
 ited at the time the deed was done, were proofs that 
 reason was perverted, and a momentary insanity had 
 come over him. The advocate astonished the court 
 and jury, and all who heard him, by his deep know- 
 ledge of the human mind. He opened all the springs 
 of action, and analyzed every faculty of the mind so 
 lucidly and philosophically, that it was a new school 
 for those who heard him. He showed the different 
 shapes insanity assumed, from a single current of 
 false reasoning upon a particular subject, while there 
 is a perfect soundness of mind upon every other sub- 
 ject ; to the reasoning aright upon wrong premises, 
 and to the reasoning wrong upon right premises, up 
 to those paroxysms of madness, when the eye is 
 filled with strange sights, and the ear with strange 
 sounds, and reason is entirely dethroned. As he laid 
 open the infirmities of human nature, the jury were 
 in tears, and the bystanders still more affected ; but 
 common sense prevailed over argument and eloquence, 
 and the wretch was convicted and executed. Not- 
 withstanding the fate of the murderer, the speech lost 
 nothing of its effect upon the people. It was long 
 the subject of conversation in every public place, 
 and is often mentioned now with admiration." 
 
 The same gentleman asserts that Mr. Webster 
 had not been two years at the bar, before he was con- 
 sidered one of the yery best jury lawyers in New 
 Hampshire, and he began to travel the State, attend- 
 ing the Circuit Courts in all the counties, and was 
 engaged in cases to be opposed by the first men in 
 this country. Among these, said he, were two gen-
 
 HIS LEGAL OPPONENTS. 25 
 
 tlemAi very much distinguished in their profession. 
 Mr. Mason, for his eminent talents and skill in the 
 management of causes, had acquired an extensive 
 practice. He was witty, sarcastic, argumentative 
 and persevering, and therefore a most powerful antag 
 ouist. The other was Judge Smith, who resided in 
 a neighboring town, and about this time had returned 
 to the bar, after having been Chief Justice of the 
 State. He was one of the best read lawyers in New 
 England, and also a fine classical scholar. His 
 speaking at the bar was easy, fluent, playful or severe, 
 as the occasion required. His opinions passed for 
 law with the court and jury, and the weight of his 
 character was felt in every cause in which he was 
 engaged. With these, and others of eminence, Mr. 
 Webster had to contend, at an age when' most young 
 lawyers are preparing themselves for future labors, 
 in minor causes and in inferior courts. He did not 
 rely on his eloquence for success, but prepared himself 
 with great industry and care. He secured the jury 
 by a clear statement of his case, and he always used 
 such plain language that they could not misunder- 
 stand him ; they thought it was just such as they 
 would have used had they been called to tell the 
 same story, not knowing how difficult it is to reach 
 such a style of communicating our thoughts. The 
 elder practitioners now sharpened their wits to take 
 the lead of him in the law arguments to the bench. 
 In this they were disappointed, for he was at home 
 there also. He argued his causes before the Judges 
 of the court with as much clearness and force as he 
 had done to the jury. His mind, naturally logical, 
 VOL. n. 2
 
 26 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 seized the strong points in a law case, and he pushed 
 his reasonings home to the understandings of the 
 Judges. His seniors at the bar now found it waa 
 better to divide the empire with him than to dispute 
 it. These great men soon became his cordial friends, 
 and are now, said he, among his warmest admirers 
 and eulogists. Hp met them in the counties of 
 Hillsborough, Kockingham, Strafford, Cheshire, Graf- 
 ton, Merrimack and Sullivan, almost as often as the 
 court sat. The Court of Common Pleas held two 
 sessions in each year, and the Superior Court also 
 held two sessions per annum in each of these counties. 
 To meet these men on terms of equality, he was 
 forced to study with diligence every point that was 
 made. They had long experience, which he had not. 
 No better training could have been devised for Mr. 
 Webster, than to call on him almost every day to 
 meet either Jeremiah Mason or Judge Smith. What 
 a school that must have been ! Then it was he 
 acquired that habit of retiring at an early hour in 
 the evening, and rising the next morning with "the 
 lark, as he is accustomed to speak of this habit ; or 
 at the break of day, while others still slept, he care- 
 fully studied his cases, and prepared to meet his great 
 antagonists at the opening of the court. He never 
 met them unprepared. On one occasion, while talk- 
 ing on this subject, he said, " if anybody should think 
 I was somewhat familiar with the law on some points, 
 and should be curious enough to desire to know how 
 it happened, tell him that Jeremiah Mason compel- 
 led me to study it. He was my master."
 
 PREPARATION OF HIS CASES. 27 
 
 Mr. Webster never in bis life took any credit to 
 himself for wbat was mucb praised. 
 
 Yours, truly. 
 
 <-:ifl PREPARATION OF HIS CASES ATTENDS TO GENERAL LITERA- 
 TURE ORATIOX AT CONCORD ONE OF HIS PROFESSORS AT 
 
 DARTMOUTH SOME ACCOUNT OF HIM. 
 
 ELMS FARM, Sept. , 1849. 
 
 * * * I have been repeatedly told by those 
 who were engaged with or opposed to him, that no 
 lawyer ever came into court to try his cases before a 
 Jury, or to argue his cases before the Judges, better 
 prepared than Mr. Webster. He sounded his clients 
 thoroughly, and explored every probable ground of 
 his adversaries, so that on the trial he was rarely sur- 
 prised by any new or unlooked-for testimony ; and, in 
 connection with this subject it is said, it was much 
 more rarely that he manifested his surprise, if, per- 
 chance, any thing unexpected was disclosed. So in 
 the argument of cases at the bar, he was always pre- 
 pared with ample authority from the books, to sustain 
 all the points he made, and he was armed to the teeth 
 with reason or ridicule, to meet his adversary against 
 every supposable attack he could make. Young as 
 he was, it was an intellectual treat to hear him in 
 Court. 
 
 Although as ready as other men without special 
 preparation, and always quick in repelling an attack 
 and at repartee, yet he could not, and would not ex- 
 cuse himself for not being thoroughly prepared. In 
 
 \****j*^
 
 28 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 bis opinion it was due to his client and to the Court, 
 that he should be able and ready to say all that he 
 could say on the subject under consideration. The 
 idea of slurring a matter over superficially, and 
 thereby apparently entitling himself to a fee, was 
 more repugnant to his feelings, and more foreign to s 
 his practice than that of any man in this or any 
 State. 
 
 While out of Court, during the time intervening 
 between the terms, he devoted some time to other 
 subjects. Ho devoured every new book with great 
 avidity, and followed, in his reading, every traveller 
 over the globe. He was partial to the biographies of 
 eminent men, and added much to his knowledge of 
 human nature by a careful perusal of whatever was 
 meritorious in that field of reading. Nor did he 
 suffer his pen to remain idle. He entered the lists 
 of controversy with some of the master-spirits of that 
 day, and evinced great talents as an essayist. At 
 that time there was a magazine or review of high 
 character published at Cambridge, known as the 
 Monthly Anthology, and which was edited by his 
 early friend, Joseph S. Buckminster, of whom I spoke 
 in a former letter. This Review was supported by 
 distinguished gentlemen at Boston and Cambridge. 
 Among its contributors were the Rev. Mr. Emerson, 
 Rev. Dr. J. S. J. Gardner, Professor Willard, of 
 Cambridge, Mr. William Wells, Mr. Frank Channing, 
 Mr. William Tudor, Mr. Samuel Dexter, Dr. Kirk- 
 land, Mr. A. M. Walter, Mr. John Lowell, the tra- 
 veller, and says the biographer of Mr. Buckminster, 
 "Daniel Webster, from the rocky wilds of New-
 
 ATTENDS TO GENERAL LITERATURE. 29 
 
 Hampshire, enriched its pages with his winged 
 thoughts." That writer also says, that when it is 
 recollected that all the contributors to the Anthology 
 were men engaged in laborious and exacting profes- 
 sions that their contributions were the fruits of 
 chance half hours, or of moments lighted by the mid- 
 night lamp, after days of fatiguing labor in their 
 offices, there is certainly a wonderful degree of unity 
 of purpose and harmony of sentiment, and a general 
 respectability in its pages, highly creditable to the 
 dawning literature of the day. Any one reading it 
 now will be startled at the independent tone of its 
 criticism. Mr. Webster's glowing fancy and pro- 
 found thoughts shine in many an article which he 
 transmitted to the editor under an anonymous signa- 
 ture, from that unpretending law office which he oc- 
 cupied in the lovely village of Boscawen. Mr. Web- 
 ster, on a recent occasion, told me that being at the 
 office of the editor of that paper, he met. and made 
 the acquaintance of the celebrated Fisher Ames. 
 
 On the 4th of July, 1806. he was chosen by the 
 people of Concord, the seat of government and its 
 vicinity to deliver the Oration His reputation as an 
 Orator drew together on that occasion a large con- 
 course of people, and his Oration produced a pro- 
 found sensation. Although he had not entered the 
 field as a politician, and did not intend to enter it, 
 yet he met the wishes of his hearers by discussing 
 the most interesting political topics of the day. 
 
 The subject of his speech was the question, 
 whether it were possible to preserve the present form 
 of our government the solitary representative of
 
 30 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 Republican institutions. It was a subject for the 
 contemplation of mankind. 
 
 ;i When we speak of preserving the Constitution? 
 said he, " we mean not the paper on which it is writ- 
 ten, but the spirit which dwells in it. Government 
 may lose all its real character, its genius, its temper, 
 without losing its appearance. Republicanism," said 
 he, " unless you guard it, will creep out of its case of 
 parchment, like a snake out of its skin. You may 
 have a Despotism, under the name of a Republic. 
 You may look on a government, and see it possess all 
 the external modes of Freedom, and yet find nothing 
 of the essence, the vitality, of Freedom in it ; just as 
 you may contemplate an embalmed body, where art 
 hath preserved proportion and form, amid nerves 
 without motion, and veins void of blood." 
 
 Among the most numerous and the most danger- 
 ous enemies of our Government, he mentioned the 
 passions and vices of the people. But considering 
 that evil communications corrupt systems, as well as 
 individuals, he enlarged on the dangers which threat- 
 ened its well-being from its foreign relations. Inti- 
 mately connected as was our country with foreign na- 
 tions by commerce, which, from its nature, cannot ex- 
 ist without rivalship, he inferred the necessity and 
 good policy of granting it a protection, sufficient to de- 
 fend it from the interruptions and aggressions, which 
 the spirit of rivalship and the injustice of other na- 
 tions, may dispose them to offer. The want of pro- 
 tection to commerce, said he, will be more fatal to 
 our agriculture, than either the drought or the mil- 
 dew ; for, in this instance, were it left to our choice.
 
 ORATION AT CONCORD. x 31 
 
 we should certainly imitate the conduct of David by 
 choosing " to fall into the hands of the Lord, (for his 
 mercies are great.) and not to fall into the hands of 
 men." One of the publications of that time, in speak- 
 ing of the Oration, says : " We have seldom read any 
 production of this kind, which has contained more 
 correct sentiments, expressed with so much felicity of 
 fancy and purity of style. It is free from the rancor- 
 ous colorings of party spirit, which are wholly incon- 
 sistent with true eloquence. If there is any fault in 
 the style, it is that the sentences, though not collo- 
 quial, are in general too sententious, and expressed 
 with too much brevity for the flow of a public ha- 
 rangue." I add one more extract from which our 
 readers may judge of the style. 
 
 " When we turn from Great Britain to France, we 
 are led to contemplate a nation of very different situ- 
 ation, power, and character. We seem to be carried 
 back to the Roman Age. The days of Caesar are 
 come again. Even a greater than Csesar is here. 
 The throne of the Bourbons is filled by a new char- 
 acter, of the most astonishing fortunes. 
 
 " A new dynasty hath taken place in Europe. A 
 new era hath commenced. An Empire is founded, 
 more populous, more energetic, more warlike, more 
 powerful, than Ancient Rome, at any moment of her 
 existence. The basis of this mighty fabric covers 
 France, Holland. Spain, Prussia, Italy, and Ger- 
 many ; embracing, perhaps, an eighth part of the pop- 
 ulation of the globe. 
 
 " Though this Empire is commercial in some de- 
 | gree, and in some of its parts, its ruling passion is 
 
 **~*s^s**~*^^jr-s
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 uot commerce, but war. Its genius is^conquest ; its 
 ambition is fame. With all the immorality, the 
 licentiousness, the prodigality, the corruption, of de 
 dining Rome, it has the enterprise, the courage, the 
 ferocity of Rome in the days of the Consuls. While 
 the French Revolution was acting, it was difficult to 
 speak of France, without exciting the rancor of politi- 
 cal party. The cause, in which our leaders professed 
 to be engaged, was too dear to American hearts, to 
 suffer their motives to be questioned, or their excesses 
 censured, with just severity. But the Revolution- 
 ary Drama is now closed the curtain hath fallen on 
 those tremendous scenes, which for fourteen years 
 held the eyes of the world that meteor, which ' from 
 its horrid hair shook pestilence and war.' hath now 
 passed off into the distant regions of space, and left 
 us to speculate coolly on the causes of its wonderful 
 appearance." 
 
 The same manly, vigorous style which displayed 
 itself then, in his speaking and writing, has been cul- 
 tivated ever since. He has at length established for 
 it a high reputation. Almost all speakers and writers 
 strive to acquire it, though few indeed succeed. Men 
 of letters of our time have affixed to it his great name. 
 It is denominated the " Websterian style." 
 
 Not far from the time Mr. Webster began to 
 practise law, his friend, that eminent professor who 
 had taken great pleasure in instructing him in all the 
 sound principles of philosophy, while in College, de 
 parted this life. I promised to tell you more about 
 him than I did in the letter, in which I mentioned 
 him, but I cannot do better than to state what was
 
 ONE OF HIS PROFESSORS AT DARTMOUTH. 33 
 
 said in an obituary notice published a week after his 
 decease : 
 
 DIED. 
 
 " Last Saturday, at Hanover, the Hon. Bezaliel 
 Woodward, Professor of Mathematics and Philoso- 
 phy, in Dartmouth College. It might be thought 
 needless to address the public on a character so gen- 
 erally known, and so unanimously approved. But as 
 it is no more than a just tribute of respect to the de- 
 ceased, rightly to appreciate their virtues in life ; 
 and as the living ought to profit by examples of de- 
 parted worth, it is suitable to give a very general 
 portrait of him whose death we lament, and the mem- 
 ory of whose life will ever be useful and pleasing. 
 
 ' : The birth and early life of Professor Woodward 
 were at Lebanon, in the State of Connecticut. In 
 the 20th year of his age he was graduated at Yale 
 College, 1764. After a few years successfully em- 
 ployed in the ministry, he was elected a Tutor in this 
 University. Here he soon displayed such talents and 
 improvements, such readiness of thought, and ease of 
 communication, that he was appointed to the office of 
 Professor of Mathematics and Philosophy. The dig- 
 nity with which he discharged the duties of his station 
 is witnessed by all who have shared in his instructions. 
 In the civil department, and as a member of society, 
 he was no less eminent, than as an instructor in Col- 
 lege. We might also add his usefulness in the Church 
 of Christ at this place, of which he was long a worthy 
 member, and high in the esteem and affections of his 
 Christian brethren. His remains were interred on
 
 34 
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 Tuesday last. The Rev. Dr. Smith delivered upon the 
 occasion a well-adapted discourse. Dr. Smith was 
 himself one of the Professors. The Officers, Trustees, 
 and members of the College, joined as mourners, with 
 the afflicted family, and the solemnities were attended 
 by a very numerous collection of his friends and ac- 
 quaintances. 
 
 " The Alumni of Dartmouth will join with its 
 present officers and members in deploring the loso of 
 a faithful and able instructor. Those who visited 
 him in his late illness, had a specimen of decaying 
 greatness, alleviated by an approving conscience, and 
 sustained by resignation and hope. The friends of 
 science will lament the departure of one of its en- 
 lightened patrons. Society sympathizes with the 
 bereaved family, retaining a lively sense of his public 
 and domestic virtues ; and a numerous acquaintance 
 will mingle their grief in bemourning the loss of a 
 sincere friend, a valuable citizen, and an exemplary 
 Christian." 
 
 The links which bound Mr. Webster to those 
 whose instruction had benefited him were stronger 
 than golden links; and as you may well suppose, were 
 never severed without a pang. Throughout his career, 
 he has been remarkable for his attachment to the 
 living and to the memory of the dead who had any 
 hand in framing his mind. He lamented the death 
 of Dr. Woodward as a child laments the death of an 
 indulgent father. It has so happened that I have heard 
 Mr. Webster often speak of this great teacher and 
 philosopher, and of the pleasure he took in 'drinking 
 at a fountain of so much learning. He always gave
 
 HEALTH POOR. 35 
 
 him credit for teaching him how to think, and to ex- 
 press his thoughts with brevity, instead of the redun- 
 dant style to which he was at first too much inclined. 
 That great scholar, said he, taught me how much I 
 could strike out of whatever I wrote or spoke, and 
 etill have enough to communicate all I desired to say." 
 Yours with regards. 
 
 HEALTH BAD REMOVES TO PORTSMOUTH OFTEN MEETS MR. MASON 
 
 MARRIED TAKES PART IN POLITICS GREAT MEETING IN ROCK- 
 
 INGHAM UPHOLDS THE UNION HIS POPULARITY IN PORTSMOUH. 
 
 ELMS FARM, N. H., Sept. , 1849. 
 
 MR. WEBSTER continued to practise law with 
 business enough to gratify his wishes, and at the same 
 time pursue a systematic course of studies at his of- 
 fice in Boscawen for two years. At this period I 
 learn from one of his relations, his friends became 
 alarmed, believing his constitution was rapidly sink- 
 ing under the severity of his application to books. 
 His retreat was too quiet ; indeed it was destitute of 
 any of those excitements so necessary to break the 
 monotony of a student's life, and relax his mind. In 
 the society there at that day their was little gayety. 
 little cheerfulness. 
 
 His solitary rambles with his gun or fishing-rod 
 did not unbend his mind, but whether in the forest or 
 on the banks of the stream, his thoughts were in the 
 depth of his client's case or wrapped in profound medi- 
 tation. Mr. Webster was not born to live in soli- 
 tude. In September, 1807, his friends persuaded
 
 36 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 him to establish himself at Portsmouth, the commer- 
 cial city of the State, rapidly growing in importance. 
 
 He had built up a lucrative local business, which 
 he turned over to his brother Ezekiel, who had now 
 been admitted to the bar. In his new home he found 
 an intelligent circle of friends, in whose midst he was 
 induced to pass leisure hours which at Boscawen 
 would have been devoted to intense study. He also 
 pursued a systematic course of out door exercises. 
 In this manner his time passed off happily, he re- 
 gained his health, became robust and capable of en- 
 during any hardship, sustaining any fatigue, or confin- 
 ing himself closely to books for any reasonable time. 
 
 There, too, he met his great antagonist at the 
 bar, the lion- in his very den. It was the residence 
 of Mr. Jeremiah Mason. Before he went to Ports- 
 mouth, Mr. Mason had extended to him a friendly 
 hand ; but now, he became his warmest friend, his 
 most frequent associate, and that friendship contin- 
 ued unbroken till recently, when death laid Mr. Ma- 
 son low in the dust. Of course you have read what 
 Mr. Webster said on that occasion. Mr. Webster 
 was engaged either on the same side with Mr. Mason 
 or oppose'd to him in almost every important cause 
 in the State. They travelled the circuits together, 
 and while attending court occupied apartments in the 
 same house, and always sat at the same table. This 
 friendly intercourse was marvellous to those who saw 
 them daily contending so ardently in court for oppo- 
 site opinions. None but great men could have pre- 
 sented so pleasing a spectacle. There are in the trial 
 of exciting causes in which whole communities are
 
 MARRIED. 37 
 
 often pitted against each other, many occasions when 
 the clashing steel hits an adversary though cased in 
 iron, making a wound which nothing but magnani- 
 mity can heal. 
 
 Mr. Webster was now on the road to prosperity ; 
 his clients and friends were numerous, his means, for 
 one in his situation in life, were amply sufficient to 
 meet all his expenses and to discharge every obliga- 
 tion which he or his brother had incurred. He had 
 some time been engaged to be married, and he did 
 marry. 
 
 In an old paper, the "Portsmouth Oracle" print- 
 ed June 11, 1808, I read yesterday the announce- 
 ment, " Married in Salisbury. Daniel Webster, Esq., 
 of this town, to Miss. Grace Fletcher." I have seen 
 the house in which Mrs. Fletcher then resided. Driv- 
 ing one day with Mr. Webster he pointed it out. 
 
 The father of this young lady was the Rev. Eli- 
 jah Fletcher, of Hopkinton. He was the son of the 
 Mr. Timothy Fletcher, of Westford, Massachusetts, 
 whose wife was Bridget, the third daughter of Cap- 
 tain Zachariah Richardson, of Chelmsford. Mr. 
 Fletcher graduated at Harvard in 1769. He was 
 ordained January 27, 1772, and died April 8, 1786, 
 aged 39. Few men were ever more respected or be- 
 loved. Of the five ministers who had been settled in 
 Hopkinton, previous to 1820, he is the only one who 
 died in the ministry. One who knew him Veil, says 
 of him, " he was the patron of many students, and 
 among them, the late President Webber, of Harvard 
 Colleg^, whom he found a poor boy in his parish, pos- 
 sessed of native genius, and disposed for improve-
 
 38 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 ment. Mr. Fletcher prepared him for College, and 
 assisted him in procuring an education. The Presi- 
 dent ever acknowledged his obligations to his early 
 instructor and friend. Mr. Fletcher left four chil- 
 dren, three daughters and one son. One married a 
 Mr. White, of Pittsfield ; one married the Hon. Is- 
 rael "W. Kelly, of Salisbury, and the other married 
 Mr. Webster. Timothy Fletcher, the only son, was, 
 and perhaps is, a merchant in Portland. Mr. Fletch- 
 er's widow married the Rev. Christopher Page, and 
 died at Salisbury, July 9, 1821, aged 67. 
 
 During the years 1808-09-10-1 1, Mr. Webster 
 continued his exertions at the bar. in this State, oc- 
 casionally going into Massachusetts, during which 
 time he tried more causes in Court, and his well- 
 earned fame was rising higher and spreading wider 
 than that of any other man of his age in this coun- 
 try. Massachusetts seemed to take as deep an in- 
 terest in him as his native State. 
 
 When Mr. Webster went to Portsmouth to re 
 side with his wife, they took lodgings at the house of 
 a widow lady, where they resided some time, and 
 were regarded as the proprietors of the establish- 
 ment, he paying all the expenses. At last he bought 
 the house, furniture and all pertaining to it, and had 
 just paid for it, when it took fire and was burnt to 
 ashes. 
 
 One, who knew him well, a classmate of his bro- 
 ther Ezekiel, from whom I have before quoted, thus 
 speaks of Mr. Webster when he first began to take a 
 part in the great political drama which has been on 
 the stage for forty years.
 
 TAKES PART IX POLITICS. 39 
 
 "Tt was natural." said he, "that one so well 
 fitted for public life should feel some desire to try 
 his fortune in politics, at least so far as to measure 
 his strength with those of other men, who had gained 
 reputation in the halls of legislation. He began 
 well ; the times were stormy ; war hung over us ; 
 party spirit was full of bitterness in every part of 
 the country ; sound and fury took the place of fair 
 discussion, and rancorous feuds were in every town 
 and village, but Mr. Webster entered into none of 
 them. He was decided, firm, and straightforward. 
 No politician was ever more direct or bold; he had 
 nothing of the demagogue about him. 
 
 " Fully persuaded of the true course, he followed 
 it with so much firmness and principle, that some- 
 times his serenity was taken by the furious and 
 headstrong as apathy ; but when a fair and legiti- 
 mate opportunity offered, he came out with such 
 strength and manliness, that the doubting were satis- 
 fied, and the complaining silenced. In the worst of 
 times, and in the darkest hour, he had faith in the 
 redeeming qualities of the people. They might be 
 wrong, but he saw into their true character suffi- 
 ciently to believe that they would never remain per- 
 manently in error. In some of his conversations up 
 on the subject, he compared the people in their man 
 agement of national affairs to that of the sagacious 
 and indefatigable raftsmen on his own Merrimack. 
 who had falls and shoals to contend with in their 
 course to the ocean guiding fearlessly and skilfully 
 over the former, between rocks and through breakers, 
 and when reaching the sand-banks, jumping off into
 
 40 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTEn. 
 
 the water, with lever, axe, and oar, and then with 
 pushing, cutting, and directing, made all rub and go. 
 to the astonishment of those looking on. 
 
 " The first halo of political glory that hung around 
 his brow, was at a Convention of the great spirits in 
 tl e county of Rockingham, where he then resided, 
 ai;d such representatives from other counties as were 
 sent to this Convention, to take into consideration 
 the state of the nation, and to mark out such a course 
 for themselves as should be deemed advisable by the 
 collected wisdom of those assembled. On this occa- 
 sion, an Address, with a string of Resolutions were 
 proposed for adoption, of which he was said to be 
 the author. They exhibited uncommon powers of 
 intellect, and a profound knowledge of our national 
 interests. He made a most powerful speech in sup- 
 port of these Resolutions, portions of which were re- 
 printed at that time, and which were much admired 
 in every part of the Union." 
 
 A gentleman residing in Portsmouth was present, 
 and on the day following wrote this account of it : 
 " Yesterday there was a meeting in this County, at 
 Brentwood. a town about twenty miles from Ports- 
 mouth. It was called by notification in the public 
 papers. It was the most numerous ever known in 
 this State, more than two thousand persons attended, 
 and more than jive hundred carriages conveyed 
 them there, besides horses, &c. 
 
 " The company began to assemble in the meeting- 
 house, but soon found that would not contain them, 
 and erected a stage in the open air. They chose 
 Samuel Tenney, Esq., of Exeter (formerly member
 
 TAKES PART IN POLITICS. 
 
 41 
 
 of Congress), their Chairman, and Walter A. Kent, 
 their Secretary, and were addressed by N. A. Haven, 
 George Sullivan, Daniel Webster, Esqs., and a num- 
 ber of others, in speeches that are highly spoken of 
 by good judges. 
 
 " A Committee of seventeen was appointed to 
 draft resolutions, &c. ; the meeting adjourned for two 
 hours ; they re-assembled at the time ; the Committee 
 reported a very spirited address, and a set of resolu- 
 tions equal to any that have been published ; and 
 they were adopted unanimously." Mr. Webster oc- 
 cupied about an hour and a half, and he astonished all 
 who heard him in this new field with the extent of 
 his knowledge of political affairs. How gratifying it 
 would be if the whole of his speech had been reported. 
 In those days as in the present, there were persons 
 who talked of dissolving the Union. 
 
 I quote a passage from his address adopted by 
 the meeting to show that Mr. Webster was ready 
 then as now to protest against dissolution, to fore- 
 warn his countrymen, and to resist by manly argu- 
 ment all such treasonable attempts to undo what our 
 forefathers had done. 
 
 " We shrink," said the address, " from the separa- 
 tion of the States, as an event fraught with incalcula- 
 ble evils, and it is among our strongest objections to 
 the present course of measures, that they have, in 
 our opinion, a very dangerous and alarming bearing 
 on such an event. If a separation of the States 
 ever should take place, it will be on some occasion 
 when one portion of the country undertakes to con- 
 trol, to regulate, and to sacrifice the interest of an-
 
 42 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 other; when a small and heated majority in the 
 Government, taking counsel of 'their passions, and 
 not of their reason, contemptuously disregarding the 
 interests, and, perhaps, stopping the mouths of a 
 large and respectable minority, shall by hasty, rash, 
 and ruinous measures, threaten to destroy essential 
 rights, and lay waste the most important interests." 
 
 Liberty and Union were with him then, as they 
 are now and for ever, one and inseparable. 
 
 After this event, Mr. Webster was acknowledged 
 to be the master spirit of the city in which he lived. 
 The waves of political excitement, like the waves of 
 
 \ i the ocean, ran high, as the storm of that day raged, 
 and the voices of mere politicians were drowned in 
 the tumult. Men anxious to know the right and do 
 it, withheld their opinions till Mr. Webster had de- 
 livered his, and declared what course he should 
 pursue, and then, as if all doubts were removed, they 
 went forward with zeal. Flippant speeches, appeals 
 to the feelings when the question was war or no war. 
 would not suffice. To quote again his own words. 
 " The graces taught in the schools, the costly orna- 
 
 s ments, and studied contrivances of speech, shock and 
 disgust men, when their own lives, and the fate of their 
 
 $ wives, their children, and their country, hang on the 
 decision of the hour. Then words have lost their 
 power, rhetoric is vain, and all elaborate oratory con- 
 temptible. Even genius itself feels rebuked, and 
 
 ^ subdued, as in the presence of higher qualities. 
 Then, patriotism is eloquent ; then, self-devotion is 
 eloquent. 
 
 A gentleman travelling through Portsmouth, gives
 
 TAKES PART IN POLITICS. 
 
 an account of one of the gatherings of the people, 
 and of the enthusiasm displayed which I think will 
 interest you. 
 
 He says his carriage was brought to the door, 
 and he was about to get into it, when the hostler 
 said, ' Sir, are you going to leave the town? Mr. 
 Webster is to speak to-night !" The gentleman find- 
 ing all classes so much delighted to hear that Mr. 
 Webster was going to speak, ordered his horses to 
 the stable, and put off his journey until the morrow. 
 At early candlelight he went to the Hall where the 
 meeting was held. It was filled to overflowing, but 
 some persons seeing that he was a stranger gave way, 
 and he found a convenient place to stand ; no one 
 could sit. A tremendous noise soon announced that 
 the orator himself had arrived ; but as soon as the 
 meeting was organized, another arose to make some re- 
 marks upon the object of the Caucus. He was heard 
 with a polite apathy. Another and another came, 
 and all spoke well ; but this would not do. and if 
 Chatham had been among them, or St. Paul, they 
 would not have met the expectations of the multitude. 
 The admired orator at length arose x and was for a 
 while musing upon something, which was drowned by 
 a constant cheering ; but when order was restored, ' 
 he went on with great serenity and ease to make his 
 remarks, without apparently making the slightest at- 
 tempt to gain applause. 
 
 The audience was still, except now and then a 
 murmur of delight, which showed that the great 
 mass of the hearers were ready to burst into a thun- 
 der of applause, if those who generally set the ex-
 
 44 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 ample would have given an intimation that it might 
 have been done ; but they, devouring every word, 
 made signs to prevent any interruption. The ha- 
 rangue was ended ; the roar of applause lasted long, 
 and was sincere and heart-felt. It was a strong, 
 gentlemanly and appropriate speech, but there was 
 not a particle of the demagogue about it nothing 
 like the speeches on the hustings, to catch attention. 
 He drew a picture of the candidates on both sides of 
 the question, and proved, as far as reason and argu- 
 ment could prove, the superiority of those of his 
 own choice ; and this gentleman, who was a very 
 good judge, has often said that the most extraordi- 
 nary part of it was, that a promiscuous audience 
 should have had good sense enough to relish such 
 sound, good reasoning, in a place where vague decla- 
 mation generally is best received. As the traveller 
 went on to the East, he found the fame of the speech 
 had preceded him, and was talked of in every bar- 
 room and at every public table. 
 
 At this time he was quite young to occupy such 
 a position ; and it must be remembered too, that it was 
 in the town where there lived Jeremiah Mason, a man 
 theretofore regarded throughout New England as the 
 Alpha and Omega of every thing great, original, or 
 worthy of public consideration. The truth is, it was in 
 him. So great a mind could not be outshone or 
 overshadowed by anybody less meritorious, however 
 well established in the general estimation. 
 
 Yours truly.
 
 ELECTED TO CONGRESS. 45 
 
 ME. WEBSTER ELECTED TO CONGRESS RESULTS OF THE ELECTION 
 
 FIRST SPEECH AND RESOLUTIONS. 
 
 ELMS FARM, N. H., Sept. , 1849. 
 
 * * * In the year 1812, after a spirited and 
 closely contested canvass, Mr. Webster was elected 
 to Congress. The election here was then, as has 
 been until recently, by general ticket. The following 
 was the result of the election : 
 
 THE WEBSTER TICKET. 
 
 Daniel Webster . . . 18,597 
 Bradbury Cilley . . . 18,595 
 William Hale .... 18,583 
 
 Samuel Smith . . . 18,569 
 Roger Vose .... 18.611 
 Jeduthun Wilcox . . 18,478 
 
 OPPOSITION TICKET. 
 
 John F. Parrott . . . 16,051 
 
 Jolm H. Harper . . . 15,985 
 
 David L. Morrill . . 16,060 
 
 Samuel Dinsmoor . . 15,996 
 
 Jesse Johnson . . . 15,927 
 Josiah Butler .... 15,764 
 Number of Scattering . 784 
 
 It was a proud day to the personal friends of Mr. 
 Webster, old and young, when they finally ascer- 
 tained at Portsmouth that the ticket, at the head of 
 which stood his name, was successful, and their re- 
 joiciugs were very great. 
 
 The usual time for the meeting of Congress was 
 in December, but that was during the war, and the 
 President called an extra session at an earlier day. 
 I have heard Mr. Webster relate the story of his 
 first journey to the seat of government. The " mail 
 coach" was then the most expeditious mode of travel- 
 ling, and, in company with agreeable companions, he 
 set out early in May. He went to Boston, thence to 
 Hartford, thence to New Haven, thence a very long
 
 46 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 journey to New- York, thence to Princeton, the resi- 
 dence of Governor Stockton, and so on, at the rate 
 of only a few miles a day, till he finally reached 
 Washington. Mileage then meant something. 
 
 I have heard a great many persons say, I wonder 
 what Mr. Webster first did and first said on entering 
 Congress. If you have not taken the trouble to look 
 at the records of that day, it may interest you to 
 know. I will briefly relate. 
 
 On the 24th of May, 1813, he took his seat in 
 the House of Representatives. There his name stands 
 at the head of the list of members, as it was published 
 by the National Intelligencer on the next day. He 
 had never been a member of any Legislative body, 
 yet it is well known he made himself perfectly famil- 
 iar in the outset with all the rules and orders, and 
 understood the law 'of Parliament as well as it could 
 be understood from books and observation. Hatsell 
 and all the writers on this subject were thoroughly 
 studied. 
 
 The first act of the House in which he was con- 
 cerned, was, of course, to organize itself for business. 
 Henry Clay was chosen Speaker, being a much older 
 man and having been some time in Congress. 
 
 The first Committee on which Mr. Webster served 
 was the Committee on Foreign Affairs ; which then, 
 owing to the difficulties in which the country was 
 involved with other countries, was the most important 
 of the House. His associates were Mr. Calhoun, 
 Mr. G-rundy, Mr. Jackson, of Virginia, Mr. Ingersoll 
 and Mr. Fish, of New- York, all great men. 
 
 He remained quiet in his seat, attending daily,
 
 FIRST SPEECH IN CONGRESS. 47 
 
 until June 1 1, when he moved the House on the boldest 
 measure that could be brought before the members 
 for their consideration. It was the subject of certain 
 French Decrees, known as the Berlin and Milan de- 
 crees. I will set it forth as I find it reported the 
 following day. 
 
 >TR. WEBSTER'S MAIDEN SPEECH IN CONGRESS. 
 
 Mr. Webster rose, as he said, to call the attention 
 of the House to a subject of considerable importance 
 a task which he had hoped would have fallen into 
 the hands of some other gentleman better qualified 
 than himself to undertake it. He then read the fol- 
 lowing resolutions, which embodied his sentiments : 
 
 " Resolved, That the President of the United 
 States be requested to inform this House, unless the 
 public interest should, in his opinion, forbid such 
 communication, ' when, by whom, and in what man- 
 ner the first intelligence was given to this Government 
 of the decree of the Government of France, bearing 
 date the 28th of April, 1811, and purporting to be a 
 definitive repeal of the decrees of Berlin and Milan. 
 
 " Resolved, That the President of the United 
 States be requested to inform this House, whether 
 Mr. Russell, late Chargt d 1 Affaires of the United 
 States at the Court of France, hath ever admitted or \ 
 denied to his Government the correctness of the de- 
 claration of the Duke of Bassano to Mr. Barlow, the 
 late Minister of the United States at that Court, as 
 stated in Mr. Barlow's letter of the 12th of May, 
 1812, to the Secretary of State, that the said decree 
 of April 28th, 18 11, had been communicated to his
 
 48 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 (Mr. Barlow's) predecessor there ; and to lay before 
 this House any correspondence with Mr. Russell rela- 
 tive to that subject, which it may not be improper to 
 communicate ; and also any correspondence between 
 Mr. Barlow and Mr. Russell on that subject, which 
 may be in the possession of the Department of State. 
 
 " Resolved, That the President of the United 
 States be requested to inform this House, whether the 
 Minister of France near the United States ever in- 
 formed this Government of the existence of the said 
 decree of the 28th of April, 1811, and to lay before 
 the House any correspondence that may have taken 
 place with the said Minister relative thereto, which 
 the President may not think improper to be commu- 
 nicated. 
 
 " Resolved^ That the President of the United 
 States be requested to communicate to this House 
 any other information which may be in his possession, 
 and which he may not deem injurious to the public 
 interest to disclose, relative to the said decree of the 
 28th of April, 1811, and tending to show at what 
 time, by whom, and in what manner the said decree 
 was first made known to this Government or to any 
 of its representatives or agents." 
 
 "Resolved, That the President be requested, in \ 
 case the fact be, that the first information of the ex- 
 istence of said decree of the 28th of April, 1811, ever 
 received by this Government or any of its ministers 
 or agents, was that communicated in May, 1812, by 
 the Duke of Bassano, to Mr. Barlow, and by him to 
 his Government, as mentioned in his letter to the 
 Secretary of State, of May 12, 1812. and the accom-
 
 FIRST SPEECH IN CONGRESS. 49 
 
 panying papers, to inform this House whether the 
 Government of the United States hath ever received 
 from that of France any explanation of the reasons of 
 that decree being concealed from this Government 
 and its Ministers for so long a time after its date ; 
 and, if such explanation has been asked by this Gov- 
 ernment, and has been omitted to be given by that 
 of France, whether this Government has made any 
 remonstrance, or expressed any dissatisfaction, to the 
 Government of France, at such concealment." 
 
 These resolutions in our time would appear to be 
 harmless, and would lack the causes of excitement, 
 but at that day they were considered by some politi- 
 cal leaders nothing less than so many firebrands sent 
 forth to destroy the peace and harmony of this coun- 
 try, and calculated to injure the nation in the eyes of 
 the world. 
 
 After reading them. Mr. Webster said : 
 
 " In offering these resolutions, it was not his in- 
 tention, he said, to enter into any discussion or 
 argument, or to advance any proposition whatever, 
 on which gentlemen could adopt different views or 
 take different sides. He would merely remark, by 
 way of explanation, what would be remembered by 
 all. that the subjects to which these resolutions re- 
 ferred, were intimately connected with the cause of 
 the present war. The revocation of the orders in 
 council of Great Britain was the main point on which 
 the war turned, and it had been demanded for the 
 reason that the French decrees had ceased to exist. 
 
 This then was the point at issue. Mr. Webster 
 remarked, on what he termed the contradictory evi-
 
 50 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 dence on this head, the letter of Mr. Champagny, on 
 one hand, asserting the revocation, the speech of the 
 Emperor to the free cities, on the other, denying it 
 the decisions of the French admiralty courts, on 
 the one hand, and opposite decisions of the same 
 courts on the other. The whole matter, in short, 
 was involved in doubt. 
 
 But, on the declaration of war, and not until 
 then, a decree appeared repealing the French decrees ; 
 a decree which, if issued, had lain dormant, were 
 brutum fulmen, until after the war commenced, and 
 then only made its appearance. In March last, it 
 would also be recollected, the President had commu- 
 nicated to Congress, immediately before its adjourn- 
 ment, certain correspondence between our Government 
 and its Minister to France, the prominent feature of 
 which correspondence was, that, in an interview be- 
 tween our Minister and the French Secretary for 
 Foreign Affairs, which took place about the first of 
 May, 1812, it was stated by the letter that the decree 
 in question had been put into the hands of our Minis- 
 ter in France, and transmitted to the French Minis- 
 ter in the United States, at the time at which it 
 bore date. To shed light on this transaction, Mr. 
 Webster said it was that he moved these resolves, 
 in the discharge of what he deemed a duty to his 
 constituents and his country. The declaration of the 
 French Minister had a great bearing on the reputa- 
 tion of the country on the reputation of those 
 persons who, in their official characters, represented 
 the dignity of the nation. 
 
 It is a matter of great regret that this speech
 
 FIRST SPEECH IS CONGRESS. 51 
 
 was not fully reported. It produced a profound sen- 
 sation in the House. " No member before," says a 
 person then in the House. " ever riveted the attention 
 of the House so closely, in his first speech. Mem- 
 bers left their seats when they could not see the 
 speaker face to face, and sat down or stood on the 
 floor, fronting him. All listened attentively and si- 
 lently during the whole speech ; and when it was 
 over, many went up and warmly congratulated the 
 orator ; among whom were some, not the most nig- 
 gard of their compliments, and who most dissented 
 from the views he had expressed." 
 
 Chief Justice Marshall, writing to a friend some 
 time after this speech, says : 
 
 " At the time when this speech was delivered. I 
 did not know Mr. Webster, but I was so much struck 
 with it, that I did not hesitate then to state that Mr. 
 Webster was a very able man, and would become one 
 of the very first statesman in America, and perhaps 
 the very first." 
 
 Mr. Grosvenor having required the Yeas and 
 Nays on the question of proceeding at once to con- 
 sider the resolutions, they were found to be as follows : 
 For consideration, 132 ; against it, 28. This showed 
 the effect of the speech on the House. 
 
 The resolutions having been again read, Mr. Bibb 
 said he was persuaded that on every proper occasion, 
 the most perfect disposition would be manifested by 
 the House, to ask for any information solicited by 
 one of its members. It was unquestionably their 
 right, and under certain circumstances, their duty to 
 ask for information of the Executive in relation to
 
 52 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 public affairs ; but under other Circumstances it might 
 be improper. We are. therefore, said Mr. B., in ex- 
 ercising its right, to judge of the effect any call is 
 likely to produce on the public service. If it will 
 not be prejudicial, the call ought to be indulged ; but 
 if it might do injury, it would unquestionably be 
 proper to refuse the call. For myself, said Mr. B., 
 I am unable to determine at present, from the great 
 extent of the resolutions, whether it would be proper I 
 to make the call or not. No injury certainly could 
 result from a day's delay. Mr. B. moved therefore, 
 that the resolutions lie on the table, and be ordered 
 to be printed. 
 
 Mr. Webster, with a courtesy which governed all 
 s his congressional career, said he had not the least 
 objection to this course. He was willing to give the 
 gentleman every opportunity to examine the resolu- 
 tions, under the perfect conviction that he would find 
 that nothing was demanded which would in any way 
 be prejudicial to the public service. 
 
 The resolves were ordered to lie on the table ac- 
 cordingly. 
 
 After a few days had elapsed, these resolutions 
 were taken up by the House. They became the sub- 
 ject of a most exciting debate, which was continued 
 for a great many weeks of the session. They were 
 finally disposed of as Mr. Webster desired, and the 
 information sought after was obtained. 
 
 The subject arrested the attention of every in- 
 telligent man in the United States. Thenceforth 
 Mr. Webster was on the swell of every wave of pub-
 
 WEBSTER AT HOME. 
 
 lie opinion, and his name is connected with every im- 
 portant act found in the history of this country. 
 
 Thus, you see, sir, that I have given some account 
 of Mr. Webster from his birth to the time he entered 
 Congress, including his maiden speech. I know much 
 more than I have written that is creditable to him, 
 but I will not trouble you to read it. What I have 
 written may not be worth the pains I have taken. 
 Little very little has been known about his early life. 
 Everybody who knows anything of Mr. Webster, 
 knows that he is himself not the hero of many of the 
 stories or anecdotes in telling which he* completely 
 charms his hearers. There are only a few persons 
 who ever hear him speak at any length of his boy- 
 hood, or of the toils he endured and the difficulties 
 he surmounted to reach his position among men. I 
 have met a few persons who knew something of him, 
 here and there an anecdote, yet, during an acquaint- 
 ance of fifteen years with him and many of his best 
 friends, I have never met any one who knew much 
 of his early life, or the incidents of his school-boy 
 days, or of the beginning of his brilliant professional 
 career. His public life the world knows by heart. 
 
 Yours, with regard. 
 
 MR. WEBSTER AT HOME WELCOME. 
 
 MARSHFIELD, Oct. 8, 1842. 
 
 * * * Towards evening I arrived at this town, 
 distant from Boston about thirty miles, in a south- 
 east direction, and directly on the ocean. It is in
 
 54 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 the old Plymouth Colony, chiefly occupied by the de- 
 scendants of the Pilgrims, and is undoubtedly one of 
 the most interesting places in the United States. 
 Not being on any great thoroughfare, it is out of the 
 way, and few have ever visited it. Here I found the 
 residence the country-seat of Daniel Webster. I 
 knew that he had a place in this region of the State, 
 to which he fled occasionally from the toils of his 
 public duties, and I supposed he had been indifferent 
 as to the place chosen for his retirement. Repose, I 
 conjectured, was his first object, and that. I presumed, 
 he was enjoying in some little farm cottage, by the 
 side of a bubbling brook, in some glen shaded by a 
 mountain's brow, where he could think in solitude 
 over the vast matters committed to his charge. But 
 judge of my surprise, when I came round the brow of 
 a hill and discovered instead of a little cottage by a 
 brook, in a glen, an old and stately mansion, of ample 
 dimensions, surrounded by aged elms, barns and sheds, 
 the most prominent object in view, situated upon the 
 shore of the ocean, where the walls of his garden 
 are lashed by the waves, and where he may embark 
 for any part of the world. In each direction from 
 this point lay vast and fertile fields, in which I 
 saw his " lowing herds and bleating flocks," on the 
 right, and on the left I saw his harvest grounds, 
 from which his abundant crops had been gathered, or 
 were ripe for the sickle. I followed the main avenue 
 which leads through his plantation towards Duxbury, 
 till I had reached the meandering way that led to 
 the door. 
 
 As I approached, I saw, through the surrounding
 
 EARLY RISING. 
 
 55 
 
 trees, the Secretary himself clad in his farming at- 
 tire, with his hands clasped behind him (it being 
 after the labors of the day were over), pacing his 
 piazza to and fro with a quick step and cheerful 
 countenance, apparently as regardless of conflicting 
 opinions and the complaints made concerning his 
 independent speech recently made at Faneuil Hall, 
 as he was of the murmuring of the waves, which, 
 while gently laving the beach, made music for his 
 ears. 
 
 I need not tell you of the cordial manner in 
 which I was welcomed, or how impossible it was to 
 tear myself away after I had once crossed the threshold 
 or of the cheerfulness of the family circle which, 
 during the evening, surrounded the crackling fire. 
 To-morrow I am bidden to prepare for an expedition 
 among the codfish and haddock with the renowned 
 Seth Peterson ; and, on the following day, Mr. Web 
 ster says " a stag must die." 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 EARLY RISING FRUITS AND OTHER PRODUCTS OOD FISHING 
 
 FISH HOUSE SETH PETERSON HOW TO MAKE CHOWDER. 
 
 MARSHFIELD, Monday, Oct. 4, 1842. 
 
 At an early hour this morning, Seth Peterson, 
 who always knows which way the wind blows, and at 
 what time precisely it will haul round to the east or 
 to the south, gave notice at the mansion that this was 
 to be a fine day for sport ; that " the codfish and had- 
 dock were aching to be caught ;" and for the benefit
 
 56 
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 of my particular and most excellent young friend. 
 Mr. Edward Webster, whose guest I have the honor 
 to be, he announced that the " coots" a kind of 
 duck ' ; would fly thick and low, and stop in the 
 air to be shot." But neither Seth Peterson, nor 
 any other man who comes after the break of day. can 
 find Mr. Webster asleep. I remember to have heard 
 him, some time ago, make this remark to a young 
 friend, while impressing upon him the importance of 
 early rising ; " What little I have accomplished in 
 my life has been done in the morning." Then he 
 thinks, then he reads, and then he writes. His habit 
 in this respect, is fixed ; and when others begin theirs, 
 his day's work is over. 
 
 Before the early breakfast of which all partook, 
 with cheerful anticipations as to the sports of the day, 
 he had planned and commenced all the business to be 
 done. His apples, of which he has the finest quality 
 and greatest variety, are carefully picked, each one 
 from the tree by the hand, and stored in casks 
 some designed for England, some for Boston, some 
 for New-York, some for Philadelphia, and some for 
 almost all the cities along the shore of the Atlantic. 
 Who does not want an apple produced here ? His 
 potatoes, too, which " can't be beat," and of which 
 he had an enormous quantity, are dug and stored 
 away, with a regard for their preservation and im- 
 provement, which demonstrates that nothing pertain- 
 ing to their cultivation has escaped his reading, or has 
 not been the subject of his thoughts and experi- 
 ments. His onions, with which his gardens abound,
 
 COD FISHING. 57 
 
 are also harvested, and one hundred and fifty bushels' 
 have been shipped to-day for Savannah. 
 
 These arrangements, and others of a similar char- 
 acter, touching his extensive farming operations being 
 made, so that nothing in any department would suf- 
 fer during his absence, we set forth just as the sun 
 was apparently rising from the ocean, for the fish- 
 house, which is on the south-east corner of his farm, 
 distant nearly two miles. We drove a small white 
 Canadian horse, with a switch tail, and a small, but 
 comfortable wagon, built after the fashion peculiar to 
 this section of the State, wide and stout, so that it 
 will neither upset nor break down. Behind the seat 
 we carried a little provender for the horse, and in a 
 basket, a small ration of beef and bread for ourselves. 
 
 Arrived at the fish-house, we found Seth Peter- 
 son preparing for the sport. This establishment is a 
 small, neat and safe building, erected at the end of a 
 long lane, near the brink of a river which empties it- 
 self into the ocean, and forms a secure harbor for a 
 variety of small craft ; some owned by gentlemen who 
 resort there for sport, and others by such good men 
 as Seth Peterson, Seth Atwil. Capt. Weston, Tom 
 Kent, and others, who engage in fishing and sporting 
 occasionally, for the emoluments which they afford. 
 In this building. Mr. Webster keeps his boats, and 
 all the rigging which they require, together with at 
 least half a dozen guns, some double barrelled, some 
 single, some with large bore and some with small, 
 intended for the various kinds of game found here at 
 different seasons While he is absent discharging his 
 public duties, Seth Peterson keeps the key. Nothing
 
 58 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 better than this could be contrived for security or 
 comfort, and yet everything is as plain as you can 
 find in the possession of the most unpretending citi- 
 zen any where on the coast. 
 
 While Commodore Peterson was "rigging the 
 float," and shipping the fishing tackle, we stood on the 
 shore, viewing the stirring scene. 
 
 Other parties were at the same time preparing 
 for an expedition similar to our own. I wish you 
 could have been here to take a glance at the group 
 as I saw it. 
 
 You would have seen foremost the great defender 
 of the Constitution, in a field far different from that 
 in which you are accustomed to view him. There 
 was no " sea of upturned faces before him." to be 
 agitated and made boisterous with enthusiasm as 
 " his voice thundered and his countenance flashed 
 forth the lightning of his genius ;" but a real sea was 
 before him, as calm and placid as you can conceive it 
 to be, and from its surface the beams of the morning 
 sun were reflected with uncommon splendor. 
 
 He was not dressed as a dignified statesman, 
 waiting in his Department to receive the proposi- 
 tions of the British Plenipotentiary, for establishing 
 and continuing the peace of the world, but in the 
 simple garb of a fisherman, with his thick cow-hide 
 boots reaching to his knees, and which, by the free 
 application of melted tallow, were made water-proof. 
 Over his frock-coat, which was buttoned up to his 
 throat, he wore a sort of gray cloth or linsey-woolsey 
 overcoat, which afforded ample protection against the 
 chill of an October morning. On his head he wore
 
 Xxv->^-^ 
 
 COMMODORE PETERSON. 59 
 
 an otter cap of ancient date with an oval-shaped 
 crown, having a wide frontispiece which shaded his 
 brow and face. 
 
 If by " hook or by crook " I could have turned 
 up the frontal of his cap, he would have appeared, 
 with that coat and those boots, as he stood at one 
 moment with his hand inserted in the breast of his 
 overcoat for all the world like Napoleon, as you 
 have seen that great conqueror a thousand times re- 
 presented in one of his standing attitudes. Nor was 
 his brow overcast and dark with revolving thoughts, 
 as if he were inditing to some foreign power a dis- 
 patch more potent than the sending forth of an army 
 or a navy, and in some emergency which was " instant, 
 overwhelming, and admitting of no delay ;" but he 
 was entirely unbent, and his face beamed with smiles, 
 as he enjoyed the jokes of those around him. I have 
 heard him in the Senate, which, when the Chamber 
 was crowded " from pit to dome," has listened to him 
 for hours with infinite instruction and delight, when 
 he " lavished about him the opulence of intellectual 
 wealth," and " showered down words of might and 
 fire." I have seen him at the bar of the Supreme 
 Court, when " he goes on hammering out link by link 
 his chain of argument with ponderous blows." I 
 have seen him before a vast multitude, when " all 
 eyes were turned upon him, and breathless attention 
 was the signal for his first accent ;" when the enemies 
 of his country awakened him, as if by the cry, " the 
 Philistines are upon thee ;" when the strength of his 
 seven locks is felt," when he rises in his might and 
 takes ' ; the doors of the gates of the city, and the
 
 60 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 two posts, bar and all, and removes them where he 
 pleases ;" but I Have never seen him where his pres- 
 ence gave me higher gratification, or where those fine 
 qualities which so distinctly adorn his nature, shone 
 out with more brilliancy than when he was talking 
 with those simple fishermen. * * 
 
 All things being ready, we embarked, and were 
 soon out of the harbor, upon the ocean, when the 
 Commodore spread all sail, and away we sped before 
 a gentle breeze, which had now sprung up, as if at 
 Seth Peterson's bidding. 
 
 I ought now to say a word about him. You 
 must know lie is about forty-seven years of age, 
 standing about five feet five inches in his boots ; a 
 'stout, robust and hardy fisherman, not at all unused, 
 however, to do any thing and almost every thing that 
 is done on the land. His complexion is rather florid, 
 his hair sandy, and his countenance indicates great 
 frankness, integrity, fortitude, and a very large share 
 of that rare article, good common sense. 
 
 He has a wife and eight or nine children ; lives 
 in a cottage not far off, and owns five or six acres of 
 land, where he pastures his cows, feeds his pigs, and 
 cultivates his potatoes and other garden vegetables 
 He almost always goes from his cottage to the boat- 
 house across the lots, rarely taking the time required 
 to go round by the common road ; and so. when talk- 
 ing upon any subject, he goes directly to the point in 
 view, without " hemming and hawing," or making use 
 of surplus words, and every moment excites attention 
 by the aptitude of his remarks. He was immortal- 
 ized by Mr. Webster, in his speech, a few years ago,
 
 COD FISHING. 61 
 
 at Saratoga ; and, since then, the public have been 
 anxious to see him, and know more about him ; but 
 he clings to his old and honest occupation, and his 
 quiet home, unmindful of what the world at large 
 says or thinks of his opinions. 
 
 The gallant little bark in which we were seated, 
 under the guidance of Commodore Peterson, danced 
 over the ripples of the sea, like a thing of life. The 
 sensations produced were agreeable beyond my power 
 to describe. The topics of conversation on the way 
 were numerous and different; sometimes we talked 
 upon important national questions, and, then descend- 
 ing, of the habits of the codfish and haddock, and 
 many little incidents of similar excursions. The 
 attention which I paid to the conversation almost 
 annihilated time ; so much so, that I thought I had 
 but just embarked, when I was told we were eight 
 miles at sea ! The canvass was dropped, the hooks 
 were baited, the lines thrown over, and we earnestly 
 entered into the sport. 
 
 For about four hours we lay on the bosom of the 
 ocean, now elevated above, and now depressed below, 
 the plane of the surface, watching our lines, and, 
 ever and anon, hauling in a cod or a haddock. Each 
 victim caught was the signal or the occasion of some 
 quaint remark, some scintillation of wit, or the utter- 
 ance of some magnificent thought. Would to Hea- 
 ven you and Charles Stetson had been there. 
 
 You doubtless remember the accounts of my de- 
 lightful fishing excursions, in the brooks and rivers 
 of the southern tier of counties of New-York, while 
 making my pedestrian tour through that region, last
 
 62 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 winter. Old Izaak Walton never enjoyed himself, 
 in all his life, more than I did, on some of those oc- 
 casions ; but allow me to say that this fishing for cod 
 and haddock on the ocean, under circumstances like 
 these, is as much more exciting as the incidents of a 
 spirit-stirring stag-hunt exceed the juvenile sport of 
 entrapping mice. 
 
 When we became a little weary, under the excite- 
 ment and toil, the Commodore hoisted sail, caught 
 the breeze, and steered for Brandt Rock, in sight of 
 Mr. Webster's house, on a point of land jutting into 
 the sea, quite above high tide, and very famous for 
 good shooting. 
 
 It is not an uncommon occurrence, when the ducks 
 and other wild fowl are flying along the coast, to see 
 twenty sportsmen on this rock, or in its vicinity, and 
 the report of their guns reminds one of the feu de 
 joie of a company of militia, on some joyful occasion. 
 After a pleasant sail, "beating in," the wind blowing 
 from the shore, we reached the rock, and joined in 
 the sport. The prevailing birds to-day were " coots." 
 some with red heads and white breasts, others dark 
 all over. We shot them on the wing, and brought 
 home as many as we desired. 
 
 At 3 o'clock we entered the little harbor, from 
 which we had departed in the morning, our bark 
 laden with fish and fowl, furnishing ample proof of 
 skill, with both the line and the musket ; ourselves 
 delighted and invigorated by the exercise, and our 
 appetites, notwithstanding the bread and beef, keenly 
 set for dinner. 
 
 There is no dyspepsia incidental to such an ex-
 
 HOW TO MAKE CHOWDER. 63 
 
 cursion. I will venture the assertion that more can 
 be done to repair the inroads upon one's health, made 
 by too much application to books, business, or mental 
 labor, in one day spent as this morning was, than by 
 the idle monotony of a dozen days spent at Saratoga, 
 or any other mere watering-place. 
 
 Landing at the fish-house, we found the Canadian 
 pony and the jolting wagon ready to take us safely 
 home, with ample materials for a first-rate chowder ; 
 and home we came, leaving Seth Peterson to haul 
 ashore his float, and make all fast. He is a pattern 
 of fidelity. 
 
 Here let me tell you how Mr. Webster says you 
 must make a chowder: 
 
 1 . Fry a large bit of well-salted pork in the kettle 
 over the fire. Fry it thoroughly. 
 
 2. Pour in a sufficient quantity of water, and 
 then put in the head and shoulders of a codfish, and 
 a fine, well-dressed haddock, both recently caught. 
 
 3. Put in three or four good Irish potatoes, for 
 which none better can be found than at Marshfield, 
 and then boil them well together. An old fisherman 
 generally puts in two or three onions. 
 
 4. When they are about done, throw in a few of 
 the largest Boston crackers, and then apply the pep- 
 per and salt to suit the fancy. 
 
 Such a dish, smoking hot, placed before you, after 
 a long morning spent in the most exhilarating sport, 
 will make .you no longer envy the gods. 
 
 Delicacy forbids that I should say a word, even 
 to you, as to what passes at dinner, or around the 
 | cheerful fireside in an evening at this retreat ; but if 
 
 **^*S***S****^*L^I*jl
 
 04 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 you could see what I see. you would wonder that even 
 patriotism, which burns in his bosom, or the highest 
 sense of public duty, could draw him away from such 
 a home, and from allurements which Ciucinuatus 
 himself would have envied. 
 
 The sun " made a golden set," indicating that to- 
 morrow will be a fair day, and we go to our pillows 
 with high anticipations of the sports in store. More 
 anon. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 ANOTHER DAY AT MARSIIFIELD THE FARM THE WINSLOWS 
 
 FORESTS CATTLF. SHEEP CROPS. 
 
 MARSHFIELD, October , 1842. 
 
 When I wrote you last night. I expected to set 
 out this morning for the Plymouth woods, as one of 
 a hunting party, firmly resolved that '" this day a stag 
 must die." The time being fixed, word had been 
 
 sent to Messrs. , who were to join us with their 
 
 hounds near the field of sport, but a foreign mail hav- 
 ing arrived, bringing important despatches, Mr. Web- 
 ster is detained, and without him the rest of the party 
 would not go. 
 
 The sport was, therefore, put off till to-morrow. 
 A message to this effect was sent to those who were 
 to join us ; and I have spent a delightful and quiet 
 day with my friend, Mr. Edward Webster, quite dif- 
 ferent from what I anticipated when I fell asleep last 
 night. Mot a gun has been fired, not a bird winged. 
 
 'After breakfast, the weather being indescribably
 
 THE FAKM. 65 
 
 fine, we set forth together for a stroll over the farm. 
 The residence of my young friend for two or three 
 years in England and on the Continent, in places 
 where agriculture and horticulture have attained their 
 greatest perfection, has enlarged his views, enriched 
 his mind, and most eminently qualified him for the 
 highest enjoyments as well as most valuable improve- 
 ments, while, seeking relaxation from his studies, he 
 spends a month or two on the plantation. * * * 
 The farm owned by the sage of Marshfield, em- 
 braces about thirteen hundred acres, and is bounded, 
 as I told you in my letter night before last, on the 
 ocean, where the waves at high tide dash against his 
 walls, and throw their spray into his very garden. It 
 is composed of a part of the old estate of Governor 
 Winslow. and a part of the estate of Mr. Thomas, 
 who was a wealthy refugee of the olden time. The 
 Wiuslow Mansion, which was built one hundred and 
 forty-seven years ago, is still standing on the premi- 
 ses, in a pretty good state of preservation, bearing, 
 however, the visible marks of time. Edward Wins- 
 low was the most distinguished member of a family 
 of eight children five brothers and three sisters. 
 
 All the brothers came to New England. His 
 name stands among the signers of that famous com- 
 pact, into which the Pilgrims on board the May 
 Flower entered, before they landed on the 1 1th of 
 November, 1620, old style, and in which they de- 
 clared they had " undertaken for the glory of God, 
 and the advancement of the Christian faith, and 
 honor of their King and country, a voyage to plant 
 the first colony, and for the better ordering and pre-
 
 06 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 servation, and furtherance of the ends aforesaid, did 
 covenant and combine themselves together into a civil 
 body politic, and by virtue thereof to enact just and 
 equal laws, ordinances," &c. 
 
 From the brief accounts I have seen of him, it 
 appears that he was among the foremost in perform- 
 ing the daring exploits, which characterized the Pil- 
 grims in their intercourse with the Indians of that 
 day. He was one of the most energetic and trusted 
 men in the colony. He went to England in 1623, 
 1624, 1635, and 1646. as agent of the Plymouth or 
 Massachusetts Colonies; and in 1633 was chosen 
 Governor, to which office he was re-elected in 1636 
 and 1644. He did not return to New England after 
 1646. In 1655 he was sent by Cromwell as one of 
 the three commissioners to superintend the expedi- 
 tion against the Spanish possessions in the West In- 
 dies, and died at sea near Hispaniola, on the 8th of 
 May, of that year, in his sixtieth year. In 1637 he 
 obtained a grant of this tract of land, then called 
 Green's Harbor, now Marshfield, to which he gave 
 the name of Caresrull. The estate continued in the 
 family till about ten years since, when it came in 
 possession of Mr. Webster. Edward Winslow's son, 
 Josiah, born at Plymouth in 1628, was Governor of 
 the Colony from 1673 to his death in 1680. His last 
 surviving male descendant, is Mr. Isaac Winslow, of 
 Boston, who possesses original portraits of these his 
 illustrious ancestors. The graves of all the Wins- 
 lows are on the farm, and rude stones mark the place 
 where 
 
 " Deep is the sleep of the brave, 
 And low tlioir pillow of dust."
 
 THE WINSLOWS. 
 
 The following are some of the inscriptions on 
 their tomb-stones. 
 
 " The Honble JOSIAH WINSLOW, Governor of New Plymouth, 
 Died December ye 18th, 1680. jEtatis 73." 
 
 " The Hon. ISAAC WINSLOW, Esq., Dyed December ye 14, 
 1788. ^Etatis 67." 
 
 " Hon. JOHN WINSLOW, Esq., 
 Died April 17, 1774. 
 
 Near this tomb are graves with stones on which 
 we read the following inscriptions : 
 
 " Here lyes buried the body of 
 Captain NATHANIEL WINSLOW, 
 
 Who died Dec. 1,1719, 
 In the 81st year of his age." 
 
 " Here lies ye Body of Mr. JOSEPH WATERMAN, Jnnr. Died 
 December the 23d, 1715, in the 39th year of his age." 
 
 " DEBORAH ye wife of NATHANIEL THOMAS, Esq. Deced. June 
 ye 17th, 1791, in the 53d year of her age." 
 
 The other part of the farm remained in the 
 Thomas family until about ten years ago, when Mr. 
 Webster acquired what he now owns. On this part 
 stands the old mansion house, built seventy-two years 
 since, and from which some of the British soldiers 
 marched to the battle of Bunker Hill. It is not im- 
 probable that in this very room the Colonel slept the 
 night before he sallied forth. There are other houses 
 of less note, but of ancient date, on the premises, 
 besides numerous barns, sheds, and all the requisite 
 out-houses for such a plantation. 
 
 Although the farm when found by the Pilgrims,
 
 68 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 was,- as they said, a "spit's depth, excellent black 
 mould, and fat in some places ; two or three great 
 oaks, but not very thick, pines, walnuts, beech, ash. 
 birch, hazel, holly, sassafras in abundance, and vines 
 every where, cherry trees, plum trees, and many 
 others which we know not. Many kinds of herbs we 
 found here in winter, as strawberry leaves innumera- 
 ble, sorrel, yarrow, carvel, brookline, liverworth, water 
 cresses, great store of leeks and onions, and an ex- 
 cellent kind of flax and hemp. Here is sand, gravel, 
 and excellent clay, no better in the world, except for 
 pots, and will wash like soap, and great store of 
 stone, though somewhat soft, and the best water that 
 ever we drank," yet time had materially changed its 
 character, and ceaseless cultivation had worn it almost 
 out. But during the ten years it has been under the 
 hand of Mr. Webster, it seems to have been restored 
 to its primitive productiveness. 
 
 A small part of the farm is what is called here a 
 " Salt meadow," from which he gathers annually, a 
 large quantity of hay for his young cattle. There 
 are about three hundred acres of woodland, nearly 
 two hundred of which have been planted by Mr. 
 Webster himself, and are now in the most flourishing 
 condition. Nothing can exceed the variety and 
 beauty of the foliage of this young wilderness as I 
 saw it to-day. There is near the house, a little hil- 
 lock, which he found a barren sand-hill, blown about 
 by the winds, but which is now covered with thrifty 
 trees, embracing almost every kind known to the 
 forests of this country. 
 
 On the apex of the hill he has erected a summer-
 
 THK FARM. 
 
 69 
 
 house, which, with the surrounding grove, forms one 
 of the prettiest pictures I can imagine. He con- 
 tinues to plant trees, and, like the late Stephen Girard, 
 " would plant a tree to-day though he were to die to- 
 morrow." Before the door of the mansion stands an 
 aged elm, which excites my veneration and receives 
 his greatest care. Its branches reach to the ground, 
 somewhat like those of a weeping-willow. 
 
 The diameter of the circle covered by the hang- 
 ing boughs, measured from the tips on one side to 
 the other, is eighty-six feet. Around the outside of 
 the lawn and orchard, which are in the field with the 
 mansion, he has planted a belt or circular grove, in 
 which there is a carriage way or walk, in a warm 
 day affording space for the most agreeable ramble. 
 Throughout all these groves there are avenues where 
 ladies may take an airing on horseback or a drive in 
 a carriage without obtrusion. The day is not far dis- 
 tant when you will see the nimble deer bounding 
 from side to side as in their native wilds. 
 
 His orchard is extensive, and there is no end to 
 the variety of his apples, of which I spoke in a pre- 
 vious letter. To-day at dinner we drank Marshfield 
 cider, which, having been bottled some time, is equal 
 in goodness to more than half the champagne im- 
 ported from abroad. 
 
 Adjacent to the house is a beautiful pond of 
 fresh water, which fills up the back ground of the 
 scenery, and produces an enchanting effect as one 
 turns round to take a view of the whole. Not far off. 
 in his poultry yard, is another pond, in which the 
 ducks and geese, wild and tarne ? are sporting at all
 
 70 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTEK. 
 
 hours of the day. In the raising of poultry, a busi- 
 ness to which few fawners give much attention, the 
 greatest pains have been taken, and the greatest skill 
 has been displayed. 
 
 It costs no more, I find, to raise chickens any 
 one of which is as large as a common turkey than 
 it does to raise those of a meaner kind. It is quite 
 curious to look into this yard and see the various 
 sorts of fowls, brought hither from all quarters of the 
 globe. Notwithstanding the vast concerns which 
 have crowded upon the owner's mind for the last ten 
 years, none of these little things have escaped his at- 
 tention. I have seen in the fields some seventy head 
 of cattle, the finest I have seen for many a day. 
 While in England, having a good opportunity, he 
 selected from the best herds known in any of the 
 counties, some of the most famous, and imported 
 them, from which he is now producing, and has 
 already produced the most valuable cattle in the 
 United States. 
 
 I knew that a celebrated farmer at Ashland, Mr 
 Clay, had long devoted himself to this branch of 
 business, and had justly become famous for his pro- 
 duction ; but I had no conception that I should find 
 a rival to him in this respect so formidable as I have 
 in the farmer at Marshfield. 
 
 He has a yoke of red or bay oxen raised on this 
 farm, which in all points most admired by good 
 judges, cannot be excelled, and especially in point of 
 beauty. I saw another pair of black oxen grazing in 
 the field, which in point of size, with the single ex- 
 ception of the one owned by Mr. Rust, surpass any
 
 THE FARM. 7l 
 
 thing of the ox kind I have ever seen. His full 
 blooded bulls and cows and young cattle are all fine 
 specimens, and in good keeping with every thing else 
 here. His sheep, too, excited my highest admiration. 
 They are of the Leicester breed, selected and import- 
 ed by himself, and are probably the finest blood and 
 size of any in this country. One of them pointed 
 out to me is not only the largest I ever saw. but in 
 several other respects excels all the ideas I ever had 
 of sheep. 
 
 The shepherd calls this one Goliah, and has taken 
 from it one fleece which weighed sixteen pounds. 
 This may have been beaten ; but if so, the fact is 
 not known to an individual so humble as myself. 
 The greatest care is properly bestowed upon these 
 flocks and herds, for they are truly objects worthy 
 the ambition of any man, however exalted. 
 
 In going from one pasture to another. I passed 
 through his fields of corn, of which he has raised this 
 year, not less than nine hundred, or a thousand 
 bushels. The seed selected must have been of the 
 most valuable kind. I begged four ears of it, which 
 I intend to carry away with me, and which I shall 
 keep, till I can get a piece of land on which to plant 
 it ; and then I will call it the Webster corn. 
 
 I passed through a field of turnips, in which I 
 estimated the quantity at two thousand bushels. A 
 crop of this kind in England, Mr. Webster says, is 
 regarded as of the utmost value, not only for the 
 uses to which it is put, but because it does not im- 
 poverish the soil so much where it grows. 
 
 Of hay, I saw from three to five hundred tons,
 
 72 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 and oats, and potatoes, and other crops, in equal pro- 
 portions. 
 
 After going the rounds of the farm, which I have 
 done with great satisfaction, it appeared to me that 
 I had been attending an agricultural fair, so various, 
 and so excellent, were the specimens I had seen. I 
 mention these matters in detail, because you. like my- 
 self, may not have been acquainted with the allure- 
 ments which have drawn Mr. Webster here, and of 
 the extent of the operations which invite his attention 
 as a farmer. 
 
 I have not, however, intended to mention any 
 thing, which you or any body else may not know, or 
 see, at any time, by passing along the avenues which 
 lead through Marshfield. ***** 
 
 I hope nothing will occur to hinder our going to 
 the Plymouth woods to-morrow. If fortune smiles, 
 and we have the rare sport which we anticipate, you 
 will hear from me again. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 REDE TO PLYMOUTH ANECDOTES ON THE WAT MB. WEBSTKE 
 
 KILLS A DEER. 
 
 PLYMOUTH BOOK, Oct. 7, 1842. 
 
 At an early hour yesterday morning, we break- 
 fasted at Marshfield, and then set out for this place. 
 Not wishing to make known the object of our excur- 
 sion, except to those who were to participate in our 
 sport, we departed quietly, in a one-horse wagon, which 
 contained all the apparatus required for our recreation.
 
 RIDE TO PLYMOUTH. 
 
 The face of the Old Colony, and the villages 
 through which we passed, appeared much like the 
 route that I described from Hingham to Marshfield. 
 Some of the farms are highly cultivated, but others 
 are neglected and become almost barren. A farm, 
 badly tilled, is to Mr. Webster, as it is to every good 
 farmer, a forbidding object. 
 
 In this old Colony there is avast district, nearly twen- 
 ty miles square, well known as the Plymouth Woods. 
 Within this district are a great number of ponds, 
 from one to two hundred, and some of them, as for 
 instance the Billington Sea, are quite large. Francis 
 Billington, one of the pilgrims in the Mayflower, dis- 
 covered this from the top of a tree on the hill, and it 
 now bears his name. It is, as at first, embosomed in 
 a wilderness. The eagle still soars over it, and builds 
 in the branches of the surrounding forest. Here the 
 loon cries, and leaves her eggs on the shore of the 
 smaller island. Here, too. the beautiful wood-duck 
 finds a sequestered retreat, and the fallow deer, mind- 
 ful of their ancient haunts, still resort to it to drink 
 and browse on its margin. They run in these woods, 
 and in Wareham and Sandwich. In January, 1831, 
 one hundred and sixty were killed, and forty taken 
 alive. In February, 1839, a deer, chased by the dogs, 
 ran into the streets of the village, and was caught 
 in the front yard of Hon. N. M. Davis's house. This 
 is the favorite resort of Mr. Webster when he desires 
 to relax his mind, and to indulge in vigorous exercises, 
 and nothing is more exciting than the incidents of 
 these, his annual excursions. 
 TOL. n. 4
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 Passing by the outlet to Murdock's Pond, which 
 is about half a mile in the rear of Burial Hill, he 
 was reminded of the story of John Goodman and 
 Peter Brown, who in pursuit of the first deer of which 
 we have any account in this country, lost their way 
 and came near losing their lives. It was in January, 
 1621, a few days after their landing. The story is 
 told as follows : " Going a little off they find a lake 
 of water, and having a great mastiff with them and 
 a spaniel, by the water side they found a great deer. 
 The dogs chased him, and they followed so far as to 
 lose themselves, and could not find their way back. 
 They wandered all that afternoon, being wet, and at 
 night it did freeze and snow. They were slenderly 
 apparelled, and had no weapons, but each one his 
 sickle, nor any victuals. They ranged up and down, 
 and could find none of the savages' habitations. When 
 it drew towards night they were much perplexed, for 
 they could find neither harbor nor meat ; but, in frost 
 and snow, were forced to make the earth their bed. 
 and the element their covering ; and another thing 
 did very much terrify them ; they heard, as they 
 thought, two lions roaring exceedingly for a long time 
 together, and a third that they thought was very near 
 them. So not knowing what to do, they resolved to 
 climb up into a tree, as their safest refuge, though 
 that would prove an intolerable cold lodging. So 
 they stood at the tree's root, that when the lions came 
 they might take their opportunity of climbing up. 
 But it pleased God so to dispose that the beasts came 
 not." 
 
 While in the enjoyment of the comfortable lodg-
 
 RIDE TO PLYMOUTH. 
 
 ings we bad last night, and perhaps on the very spot 
 where tlie Pilgrims on that painful night were shiver- 
 ing with fright and cold, I could not but think how 
 much more fortunate we were than they. Mr. Web- 
 ster told another anecdote, which shows a strong con- 
 trast between the fortunes of some men and of others. 
 After he had delivered his address at the centennial 
 celebration on the 22d of December, 1 820, the Pilgrim 
 Society sat down to an elegant repast, where the com- 
 pany were served with the fat of the land, and the treas- 
 ures of the sea. But to call to mind the distresses of 
 their forefathers more vividly than words could express 
 them, five kernels of parched corn were placed on each 
 plate, as an allusion to a time in 1623, when that was 
 the proportion allowed to each individual, on account of 
 the scarcity of their provisions. If I should undertake 
 to relate one-half of the anecdotes and interesting his- 
 torical facts on which Mr. Webster is more than elo- 
 quent, being as he is on the hallowed ground where they 
 occurred, I should write a volume, instead of the brief 
 letter, for which I took up my pen ; I must hasten to 
 the incidents of our sport. 
 
 We approached with our horses and wagons as 
 near as circumstances admitted, to the sequestered 
 dells, and secret recesses of the timid deer, from 
 which 
 
 " lie bursts the thicket, glances through glade, 
 And plunges deep in the wildest woods." 
 
 Our first care was to secure our horses, and at 
 the same time to insare to them the requisite atten- 
 tion during our absence. This done, our next
 
 76 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 business was to equip ourselves for a tramp on foot. 
 Waterproof boots, stout cloth pantaloons, and short 
 coat for marching through the woods, climbing the 
 hills or fording the smaller streams which constitute 
 the outlet or inlet of the ponds, were just the articles 
 required, and those we have. Our party consists of 
 six, each one of whom has a good gun, plenty of 
 powder and bullets, and buckshot, and all the little 
 apparatus for convenience. The Pilgrims, I am told, 
 used the old-fashioned matchlocks, instead of the 
 percussion caps with which we are provided. Thus 
 well accoutred we set forth "to hunt in couples." 
 Mr. Webster and myself were together. The dogs 
 we have are well trained, and are accustomed to 
 chase in these woods. My dog Cato. which occa- 
 sionally performed a conspicuous part in my hunting 
 excursions last autumn, is not up to the business of 
 following bucks and does in these parts, and is, there- 
 fore, compelled to follow close at my heels, and has 
 performed no higher office than bringing to the shore 
 a duck or two, which, being shot on the wing, fell into 
 the water. The party " let slip the dogs," and then 
 separated, with an understanding as to the place 
 where they should meet, and as to certain signals 
 which should be given in case any thing remarkable 
 should happen. -Mr. Webster and myself, after 
 making our way for some distance through a track- 
 less tbicket, at length came to a path not often trod- 
 den, but following it, we were led to the shore of a 
 good-sized pond of water, which in England or Scot- 
 land would probably be called a lake, and long since 
 would have been the burden of some immortal song.
 
 RIDE TO PLYMOUTH. 77 
 
 On a sunny side of a small hillock, which rose gradu- 
 ally from the shore of this pond, we made a stand, to 
 await the approach of the deer, and to watch the 
 result of the chase, into which the dogs had now en- 
 tered with hearty good will ; believing that the very 
 path which led us there, would be the one the game 
 would pursue, if found in that neighborhood, and 
 routed by the dogs ; in which respect we were not 
 mistaken. We sat down on a rock, for a rapid walk 
 of considerable distance, carrying our rifles, had made 
 a moment's rest agreeable to our legs. * * * * 
 The time drew near to four o'clock, and the dogs 
 had gone around a large circle. Of course, we were 
 wide awake, and on the sharp look-out. The sen- 
 sations I felt were those that excited me when I shot 
 the deer running in the centre of the Delaware river, 
 of which I gave you an account. But Mr. Webster 
 was as cool and as self-possessed as when he rose to 
 reply to Senator Hayue. of South Carolina. He 
 stood erect, where he had a full view of the path that 
 lay before him, along the foot of the hill, at the 
 water's edge, for nearly a hundred rods with his 
 eyes piercing the thicket to catch a glimpse of the 
 first motion of a twig. He held his rifle across his 
 breast, ready to take fatal aim. I stood partly be- 
 hind, ready to .fire, if there should be any object to 
 shoot at, or if there should be* any occasion for it, 
 after he had done his part. The dogs were rapidly 
 approaching. Expectation was on tip-toe. At this 
 moment, and at the distance of some eighty or a 
 hundred rods from us, partly across the circle of the 
 shore, and just at the water's edge, he saw a deer, and
 
 78 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 then another, and then another._ His ejaculations 
 instantly directed my attention to the spot. Two of 
 them dashed into the water, and plunged in their 
 noses to drink ; but the animals being routed by the 
 hounds, and of course frantic with fear, they had no 
 inclination to stand still. * * * * * * * 
 
 A fine buck led the van, gallantly throwing back 
 his antlers, as if he said, " Overtake me if you can." 
 But when he approached within about thirty rods, he 
 met something whose speed exceeded the speed of his 
 pursuers. Mr. Webster, with his usual unerring aim, 
 had lodged in his vitals a fatal bullet, and the stag 
 lay bleeding on the path, unconscious of what had 
 struck him. The smoke and report of the gun chang- 
 ed the direction of the other deer, and away they 
 went, " over the hills and far away." I fired upon 
 them, but without effect. The dogs came "in at the 
 death," in handsome style, and no man could enjoy a 
 triumph with more satisfaction, and with more en- 
 thusiastic feeling, than we did our success on this 
 occasion. Say what you will of stoicism, philosophy, 
 of dignity, and all that sort of thing, I can tell you 
 there is no man, however exalted, who will not some- 
 times unbend himself, and feel and act as though he 
 was yet in his youth. Nor is this wrong ; and I pity 
 the man who cannot find in his own bosom a senti- 
 ment which will occasionally approve of such an 
 exuberant feeling. ********# 
 
 Yours, trulj. 
 
 
 \ 
 
 VN^N^N^XV*^- >
 
 VISIT OF GENERAL BERTRAND. 79 
 
 
 VISIT OF GENERAL BERTRAND TO MR. WEBSTER MR. WEBSTER'S 
 
 CONVERSATION ON AGRICULTURE. 
 
 BOSTON, Nov. 22, 1343. 
 
 On Saturday morning, General Bertrand took 
 breakfast with Mrs. Webster, by invitation, at her 
 lodging at the Tremont House. Mr. Webster him- 
 self, who f was absent the previous day, happily re- 
 turned in time to be present. Mrs. Appleton, his 
 daughter, Mrs. Fletcher Webster, his daughter-in-law, 
 and Mrs. Page, his sister-in-law, were there. Al- 
 though the number present was not large, yet it was 
 not strictly private, but was intended as one of the 
 evidences of public regard so generally manifested. 
 
 Among the guests were Mr. Choate, of the United 
 States Senate r Mr. Abbott Lawrence, Mr. Harrison 
 Gray Otis, Mr. Ticknor, Mrs. Gray, Mr. Lathrop 
 Appleton. Mr. Codman, Mr. Grattan, and others of 
 great respectability. 
 
 At 1 o'clock, General Bertrand, accompanied by 
 his secretary, was announced, and after presenting 
 himself in the most courteous manner to Mrs. Web- 
 ster, was introduced to the great man himself, to see 
 whom was the great object of his visit here. I was 
 pleased with the interview between these two distin- 
 guished persons. The self possession and dignity of 
 Mr. Webster were conspicuous here as well as every- 
 where else, but the kind manner in which he received 
 his guest, and the appropriate words which he ad- 
 dressed to him, not only relieved him from all em- 
 barrassment, but went home to the heart of the faith- 
 ful old general, and made him feel, as I have since
 
 80 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 had reason to know he did feel, that great as were 
 his expectations, Mr. Webster did not fall below 
 the estimation which he had formed before he saw 
 him. 
 
 The general was presented to each of the ladies 
 and the other guests respectively, and entered into 
 conversation with them upon a variety of topics, which 
 was cheerful, and was kept up until breakfast was 
 announced. The table was spread with an American 
 breakfast ; not French, not English, but good New 
 England. I need not add that every body present 
 was made happy, for all this will be taken for 
 granted. 
 
 There is no entertainment which is estimated 
 higher than a complimentary breakfast. There is 
 necessarily so little ceremony ; it comes before the 
 cares and business of the day have knit the brows, 
 perplexed the minds, or disturbed the tempers of the 
 guests ; the conversation, especially of men like those 
 present upon this occasion, is always particularly 
 brilliant and sparkling with well-timed repartees. I 
 remember with the greatest pleasure the breakfast 
 which Mrs, Webster gave to Lord Morpeth, and also 
 the one to Lord Ashburton, at Washington. They 
 were so unlike a formal dinner, where the guests, no 
 matter how well-bred, always feel, or appear to feel, 
 the cumbrous weight of the ceremonies which eti- 
 quette requires. Mr. Otis, it seems on account of 
 the illness with which he is afflicted had the evening 
 before, in a note to Mrs. Webster, expressed a doubt 
 whether he should be able to take his breakfast with 
 her ; but the bright morning sun induced him to
 
 VISIT OF GENERAL BERTRAND. 
 
 81 
 
 come out, and he was presented to the General at 
 table. He speaks French fluently, and is, without 
 exception, the most finished gentleman in this country, 
 so that nothing could be more pleasing than the in- 
 terview between these " fine old gentlemen." Their 
 salutations, the affectionate manner in which they in- 
 quired after each other's health, the mutual congra- 
 tulations, all indicated the circles in which they 
 moved. 
 
 Some of the guests had seen the Emperor Napo- 
 leon, when his star and eagles were in the ascendant, 
 and, of course, had seen some of the occasions on 
 which the General had been conspicuous, there was, 
 therefore, no want of topics of conversation to interest 
 him. He appeared also to fancy Mr. Ticknor, and 
 to be deeply interested in the conversation which he 
 had with that gentleman, so justly distinguished, as 
 he is, for his intelligence and learning. 
 
 I question whether among all the entertainments 
 the General has had in this country, ostentatious or 
 unostentatious, any has been more gratifying to his 
 feelings than this ; at least I have his own testimony 
 that none has pleased him more. By 12 o'clock, the 
 hour in which the business and pleasures of the day 
 begin here, at this season, the guests had made their 
 parting " adieux," and had separated. 
 
 I must not omit to tell you an anecdote, which 
 was related to me by a lady at the breakfast, and 
 which shows the care and kindness of the General in 
 making people happy whenever an opportunity is pre- 
 sented. At a party given by the British Consul on 
 the previous evening, Bertrand was a guest, Madame 
 VOL. n. 4*
 
 82 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 Cinti Damoreau, Monsieur Artot, an.d others distin- 
 guished in the musical world, were also there. In 
 the early part of the evening one of the many beau- 
 tiful young ladies present was induced to sing and 
 play on the piano, notwithstanding the presence of 
 persons so celebrated.- 
 
 Her music was sweet, and, of course, was much 
 admired. But soon the " Italian Aria" of Cinti Da- 
 moreau, and the " Tremole Caprice" of Artot, and 
 the " Duo Concertante" of both, had absorbed the 
 attention of the party, and the sweet and unpretend- 
 ing notes of the young lady who had ventured to pre- 
 cede them, were for a moment forgotten. Seeing 
 this, the gallant Bertrand asked to be especially in- 
 troduced to her, which was done, and then he ad- 
 dressed to her the most appropriate commendations 
 on her performance, and in the most admirable man- 
 ner contrived to do away entirely the effect of any 
 contrast which appeared to have been made between 
 her music and that of those who followed. 
 
 Attentions of this nature speak volumes, and in 
 some way take a deep hold of my feelings, and I 
 thought the anecdote would interest you, knowing 
 you would make no improper use of it. If I write 
 any thing to you which ought not to be published, I 
 leave it to your better experience to strike out. 
 
 This Boston is a great place. I have now been 
 here about a week, and have not taken any meals at 
 home but once. The hospitality of the citizens of 
 Boston is unbounded. 
 
 Yours, truly.
 
 SECOND VISIT TO MARSHFIE^D. 
 
 83 
 
 SECOND VISIT TO MABSHFIELD MR. WEBSTER TALKS OF AGRICUL 
 
 TUttE. 
 
 / 
 
 MARSHFIELD, Nov. 27, 1843. 
 
 Leaving Boston I came through the town of 
 Quincy, the residence of John Quincy Adams, and 
 the township of Weymouth, in which are several vil- 
 lages, all more or less engaged in the shoemaking 
 business. This route is different from the one taken 
 by me last year. Proceeding along the Plymouth 
 road, through Scituate and Hanover, I arrived at the 
 little town of Pembroke, and here the road to this 
 place turns directly into a wilderness of pines. This 
 pine tract seems to extend eight or ten miles north 
 and south, and its eastern limit is within two miles 
 of the sea, and of Mr. Webster's house. It may be 
 worthy of remark, that directly on the sea-shore, the 
 land is stony, rock, and bearing hard wood, while be- 
 hind it a large tract of pine land, cleared or un- 
 cleared, stretches away to Plymouth road. 
 
 Over this district of country I passed rapidly, 
 following the windings of the road to the home of 
 the farmer of Marshfield. As I approached this hos- 
 pitable mansion, in the avenue leading to the house, 
 I met Mr. Webster, rejoicing in his temporary free- 
 dom from the severe labors of the legal profession to 
 which he had been devoting himself nights and days, 
 since he retired from the office of Secretary of 
 State. 
 
 He informed me of the absence of his son. " But, 
 sir," said he, " I know he will be glad to see you, and 
 you must stay till Edward conies home."
 
 84 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 He gave me a hearty welcome to his house, and 
 to whatever he had, that could amuse, or would in- 
 terest me in any manner. His kindness, as on all 
 former occasions, soon made me feel perfectly at 
 home. I had arrived just in time for dinner. 
 
 A dish of chowder, such as is eaten nowhere else 
 on the face of the globe, and corned beef, cured as 
 every farmer should know how to cure it, with Marsh- 
 field potatoes, and other vegetables, constituted our 
 well-relished repast. 
 
 When at home and on his farm, there is no topic 
 on which Mr. Webster delights to dwell so much as 
 agriculture. The affairs of nations, with which he is 
 so familiar ; the important questions which fill his 
 s mind when engaged in his profession, questions on 
 the decision of which millions depend, are all appa- 
 rently left behind when he crosses the line which sep- 
 arates his plantation from his neighbors. 
 
 Our conversation at dinner, therefore, was prin- 
 cipally on agriculture. He spoke of the pleasure he 
 enjoyed in its pursuit, and of his public speeches and 
 efforts he had made to commend it to the favor of 
 his countrymen. He said he regarded that as the 
 leading interest of society ; and as having in all its 
 relations the most direct and intimate bearing upon 
 human comfort and the national prosperity, of any 
 to which men give their attention. " Agriculture," he 
 said, " feeds us ; to a great degree it clothes us ; 
 without it we could not have manufactures, and we 
 should not have commerce. These all stand toge- 
 ther, but they stand like pillars in a cluster, the lar- 
 gest in the centre, and that largest is agriculture."
 
 HE TALKS OF AORirUI.TTRE. 
 
 85 
 
 Although the duties of his profession, and the public 
 services which the partiality of his fellow-citizens had 
 required him to perform, had necessarily occupied 
 much of his time, he had been familiar with the ope- 
 rations of agriculture in his youth, for he was a 
 farmer's son, and he had always looked upon the 
 subject with a lively and deep interest, both in pub- 
 lic and private life. There is, said he, no subject 
 which opens a wider field for study, nor is there one 
 more congenial to my feelings. I delight to talk to 
 my neighbors about farming, and I love to vie with 
 them about cultivating my fields, and in making my 
 farm as productive as theirs." 
 
 His visit to Europe in 1839 had given him a fa- 
 vorable opportunity of seeing the improved hus- 
 bandry of England, and he derived what benefit from 
 it he could ; for, said he, the great objects of agri- 
 culture and the great agricultural products of Old 
 England and New England are the same. 
 
 Neither country produces olives, rice, or cotton, 
 or sugar-cane ; but bread, meat, and clothing are the 
 main productions of both, and knowing that the ex- 
 ample of England might safely be followed, as far as 
 the circumstances of the one country corresponded 
 with those of the other, he had adopted and carried 
 into practice many modes of culture on his farm here, 
 and in New Hampshire, which he had seen success- 
 fully adopted while he was abroad. He spoke witli 
 much animation of the efforts made by farmers 
 throughout this whole country, to improve their con- 
 dition. We ought to be, he said, in this respect, the 
 first nation in the world. England is regarded as a
 
 
 86 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 prodigy of agricultural wealth. Flanders might sur- 
 pass it ; he had not seen Flanders ; England surpass- 
 ed any country he had seen. But he hoped the day 
 would soon come, when this country would bear off 
 the palm. Let us remember, he said, that this is a 
 country of small farms, and freehold tenements ; in 
 which men cultivate with their own hands, their own fee 
 simple acres, drawing not only their subsistence, but 
 also their spirit of independence and manly freedom 
 from the ground they plough. They are at once its 
 owners, its cultivators, and its defenders ; he hoped 
 the cultivation of the earth would never cease to be 
 regarded as the most important labor of man. 
 
 Walking out after dinner, I was struck with the 
 thrifty growth of several little forests of oak. maple, 
 and walnut, especially on that part of the estate which 
 originally belonged to the Winslow family. * * 
 
 Upon my making inquiries concerning these for- 
 ests, Mr. Webster told me that they had been period- 
 ically cut down, and that this had happened once 
 since the death of the last Winslow proprietor. It 
 has been thought profitable, he said, to take off the 
 wood once in about eighteen years, not selecting the 
 larger trees, but clearing the whole over a given extent. 
 New shrubs immediately spring up and cover the 
 nakedness of the land, growing sometimes as much as 
 seven or eight feet in a single year. This practice, 
 he said, prevailed over most of the great tracts of 
 woodland in the County of Plymouth. It was found 
 to be the best use that the land could be put to. Its 
 price in various parts of the country ranges from two 
 fco five dollars an acre. In some cases, large tracts
 
 HE TALKS OK AGRICULTURE. 
 
 are held by single individuals. The late Barnabas 
 Hedge, of Plymouth, he said, could travel ten or 
 twelve miles through such woodlands, without going 
 off his own soil. But the great danger to such pro- 
 perty, Mr. Webster observed, was from fire. Hardly 
 a year passed without much destruction by this ele- 
 ment, in the woods of Sandwich, Barnstable, Ware- 
 ham, Plymouth, &c. The wood cut from these for- 
 ests is valuable, and commands a high price ; as it is 
 hard, sound, round, and of convenient size. 
 
 Can you not now see, in imagination, one of these 
 hickory fires, on a cold, frosty morning, or on a chilly 
 autumn evening such a one as now burns brightly 
 on the hearth before me ! I think it requires no 
 great stretch. Mr. Webster said it was now fourteen 
 or fifteen years since any wood had been cut on this 
 farm, except for the use of the family. In some of 
 the lower grounds, the trees have been suffered to 
 grow longer, and the thickets to remain undisturbed. 
 I noticed maples and oaks, some of them quite tall, 
 and a foot or more in diameter. To these circum- 
 stances, no doubt, it is owing that the deer still re- 
 main tolerably numerous in the township of Ply- 
 mouth. I gave an account of these deer in my let- 
 ters to you last year. They delight, said Mr. Web- 
 ster, to feed on the leaves and sprouts of young thrifty 
 trees. The laws of Massachusetts properly Ve- 
 etrain the killing of these animals in certain seasons 
 of the year; but there are still wretches, said Mr. 
 Webster, who will steal into the woods in the middle 
 of winter, find the deer in the deep snows, and kill 
 them merely for the sake of their skins, which would
 
 88 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 not bring more than, perhaps, a dollar apiece. Of 
 these woods, Mr. Webster has about two hundred 
 acres, from which cattle and sheep are carefully ex 
 eluded, and which, if fenced as in England, arid in 
 some places in this country, would make an elegant 
 deer park. 
 
 The sun went down upon us, while we were ram- 
 bling and conversing upon these and kindred topics ; 
 we returned home to enjoy, and have enjoyed, the 
 comforts of a quiet evening around a farmer's fire. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 PLANTING TREES. 
 
 MABSHFIELD, Nov. 28th, 1848. 
 
 I needed no cradle to rock me to sleep last night, 
 after my long walk of yesterday. After breakfast 
 this morning, I was out again with Mr. Webster, who 
 was giving his attention to several matters concerning 
 his farm. Seeing the interest I manifested yesterday 
 on the subject of the forest, which is periodically cut 
 down for wood, and suffered to grow up again, he 
 was kind enough to show me vast numbers of trees, 
 probably one hundred thousand, which he has planted 
 from the seed, with his own hands. They are, how- 
 ever, yet small. He said, his way had been to sow 
 the seed, in favorable places, of the locust, horse- 
 chestnut, catalpa, &c., some of which have been 
 transplanted at an early age, and others left to grow 
 up in thickets. A little belt of wood thus produced, 
 none of the trees of which have been planted more 
 than a dozen or thirteen years, bounding the lawn
 
 PLANTING TREES. 
 
 and pond on one side, is already so high and dense as 
 to afford a perfectly shaded walk through the centre 
 of it, not only making a beautiful promenade, but 
 filling up the background of the landscape, of which 
 the lawn and pond constitute prominent features. 
 
 Mr. Webster spoke in warm terms terms al- 
 most of indignation of the stupidity of persons who 
 omit to plant trees, from an idea that they may not 
 live to see their growth and beauty, or to taste their 
 fruits. He reminded me of Walter Scott's good 
 advice on this subject. He would plant a tree which 
 would be growing while others were sleeping. 
 
 He spoke of the just and excellent taste of Sir 
 Walter Scott, on all subjects of this kind, and re- 
 ferred to two articles written for the London- Quar- 
 terly Review, some years ago, on planting trees, land- 
 scape, &c., as being full of instruction. Where is 
 the man. said Mr. Webster, who does not admire the 
 principle which actuated the late Stephen Girard, of 
 Philadelphia, who, when bending over the grave with 
 age, said he would plant a tree to-day if he knew he 
 were to die to-morrow. If every man were actuated 
 by such sentiments, what a change it would produce 
 in the affairs of the world. 
 
 He showed me eight or nine specimens of oak ; 
 several of them he had obtained from the Southern 
 States ; all the varieties of pines and cedars, and the 
 arbor vitae, from Maine, various sorts of ash, maple 
 and the buckeye, from Ohio, and the sweet gum from 
 Virginia. 
 
 For these last two, however, the climate was found 
 somewhat too severe. The whitewood, as we call it,
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 in New- York and Ohio properly the liriodendron 
 or tulip tree appears to grow well. Hedges of 
 buckthorn line the avenue to the house, stand the 
 climate well, and are very handsome. 
 
 In a few years these trees, according to my pre- 
 diction, will be the admiration of everybody, and 
 branches of them will be cut and carried away by 
 future generations, who will know the biography of 
 the great man of our time, as branches are now cut 
 and carried away 'from the trees which grow on the 
 plantations of other sages, whose pillars are in the 
 dust. The handsome wooden eminence, near the 
 house, is now beautifully covered with a thicket of 
 locust, catalpas, young cherry trees, &c. This little 
 hill, twelve years ago, was perfectly naked, and the 
 sand was blown about by the wind. A lady, visiting 
 Mrs. Webster, begged that so unsightly an object 
 might be made to mend its appearance. Her advice 
 was followed, and six years afterwards, visiting Marsh- 
 field again, she clapped her hands with admiration at 
 the success of what she had recommended. 
 
 Mr. Webster spoke of his unsuccessful attempts 
 to raise the live oak, and this led to a conversation on 
 climate which occupied the remainder of our morning 
 ramble ; but of which I shall try to remember and 
 speak hereafter. 
 
 I believe in my letters of last year. I gave you 
 some account of the general appearance of the farm 
 and of the neighboring country. I do not intend to 
 repeat what I said then, but an occurrence induces me 
 to return to that topic once more. N. S., Esq., a 
 gentleman of Cincinnati, an old friend and townsman
 
 PLANTING TREES. 91 
 
 of Mr. Webster, made him a long visit last Septem- 
 ber. I fell in with him on his return, and he spoke 
 to me with admiration of what he had seen. He said 
 they had an idea in the West, that Mr. Webster had 
 a place on the sea-shore, and as he always spoke of it 
 himself as " a poor farm," they thought it to be that 
 and nothing more. They thought it a place of no 
 product, but a spot from which he might go forth 
 to catch a fish or shoot a bird. And I may here re- 
 mark, that such is, or has been, the general impres- 
 sion throughout the country. In his great speech at 
 Kochester, you know he said himself: " Why gen- 
 men, I live on the sandy sea-shore of Massachusetts, 
 and get along as well as I can. I am a poor farmer, 
 upon a great quantity of poor land ; but my neighbors 
 and I, by very great care, I hardly know how, 
 contrive to live on." Mr. Webster gave me notes of 
 his speech, and referred to his printed speech. But 
 Mr. N. S. said he was himself a grazier on a large 
 scale, that he pastured five thousand acres of land in 
 the heart of Ohio, and that he had seen in Marshfield 
 as thrifty cattle as he had at home, and as rich herb- 
 age (the consequences of fish manure) as any he could 
 furnish for his own stock ; and he added with anima- 
 tion, that the whole view reminded him strongly of a 
 prairie country not indeed in the depth and richness 
 of the soil, but in the gentle risings and undulations 
 of the surface, the rankness of the grass, and espe- 
 cially the melting away of the horizon upon the sea- 
 shore, as one sees it sink in the western country on 
 boundless plains. Whoever has seen it set on the 
 
 ix^^->
 
 92 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 western lakes, can appreciate the idea which I wish 
 to convey. 
 
 It is all very true that Mr. Webster can go forth 
 from this place " to catch a fish, or shoot a bird." and the 
 opportunities for both, as I have had occasion to know 
 are second to those of no other ; but let it be under- 
 fctood, that these are not the only objects for which 
 he seeks this retirement. And it is equally true that 
 he h'as a sandy soil, and that time and neglect had 
 done their u! most to make it a poor farm before he 
 came here; but by the application of science, by 
 studying the nature of the soil, by bestowing continu- 
 ed attention upon the subject for ten or twelve years, 
 keeping pace with all improvements, he has restored 
 parts of his farm to their wonted vigor ; and the re- 
 sult is. that I see some fields capable of vying with the 
 richest of the Genessee flats. If you wait till Mr. 
 Webster tells you he has a good farm, and is in fact, 
 by the force of example, doing more for the benefit of 
 agriculture, than all the preachers on that subject in the 
 United States, you will wait till the crack of doom. 
 
 After dinner to-day we went into the building Mr. 
 Webster has erected in his garden, and has filled with 
 books on this subject. There the conversation turned 
 on the state of agriculture in England fifty years 
 ago, as compared to what it is now. Then, said Mr. 
 Webster, and he referred to the chapter and verse to 
 show it, the practice of this art was comparatively 
 cumbrous, costly and unproductive. It had not be- 
 come an object of inquiry to men of liberal minds ; 
 it was left to be carried on by the common farmer, in 
 a mechanical way, according to the unimproved rou-
 
 PLANTING TREES. 93 
 
 tine of his forefathers. The number of laboring cat- 
 tle, both horses and oxen, employed on a farm, was 
 excessive; manure was very carelessly collected, the 
 green crops were not generally hoed, and artificial 
 grasses were not generally known. The management 
 of cattle was generally so bad. that Mr. Young con- 
 ceived " that two pounds were lost upon every cow ; 
 while sheep might have generally yielded a greater 
 profit by three-fourths, and the management of swine 
 was perfectly execrable." In the general economy 
 of the country, neglect of inclosure prevailed ; a 
 large extent consisted of commons covered with 
 miserable herds which the neighborhood turned out 
 to pasture ; and a great part of the eastern coast, 
 consisting of fens and marshes, was unhealthy and 
 unfit for cultivation. 
 
 Mr. Webster called my attention to the observa- 
 tions of different writers, stated where he agreed 
 with some and differed from others. I have taken 
 numerous extracts because what he endorses may be 
 relied on as good authority. 
 
 Since the time of which he was speaking a com- 
 plete change has taken place in all these respects. 
 The greatest nobles and statesmen have vied with 
 each other in their zeal for the promotion of agricul- 
 ture. Prizes, exhibitions, and other institutions cal- 
 culated to excite a spirit of improvement, have been 
 established on a great scale. Even royal patronage 
 was extended to this most useful of arts, and a Board 
 was formed under public auspices for its promotion. 
 An extraordinary impulse was also given by the scar- 
 city at the close of the eighteenth century, when the
 
 94 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 continental ports were closed, and grain rose to an 
 unprecedented price from which it has since been 
 reduced, but not to its former rate. The old routine 
 system was after that crisis broken up, and every ex- 
 ertion made to augment the products of the soil. 
 Commons were inclosed, marshes were drained, grasses 
 of the most useful species cultivated, and every pro- 
 cess introduced that multiplied experiments had 
 proved to be advantageous. 
 
 About twenty years ago, said Mr. Webster, Sir 
 Humphrey Davy undertook to treat the subject of 
 the application of chemical knowledge to agriculture 
 in England, in the analysis of soils and manures, and 
 the extraordinary discoveries and advances in chemi- 
 cal science, since his time, have operated, and are 
 likely to operate greatly to the advantage of agri- 
 culture, not only in England but throughout the 
 world. * * * * 
 
 I am tired with walking, talking and writing, and 
 now my word for it, in twenty minutes I will be fast 
 asleep. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 HABIT OF EARLY RISING MR. WEBSTER STILL TALKS OF AORICUL 
 
 TUBE. 
 
 MAKSHFIELD, Nov. 29, 1843. 
 
 In imitation of all the Sykeses, I like the indul- 
 gence of a morning nap. My father slept sound, and 
 my mother slept long, and I do both. When I came 
 to breakfast I found that Mr. Webster had been up
 
 HABIT OF EARLY RISING. 95 
 
 several hours, writing by candle light in his study. 
 He said his correspondence and other writing for the 
 day were finished, and that he was quite at leisure, 
 and ready to accompany me anywhere. 
 
 Mr. Webster, unlike most of the men of the pres- 
 ent day, goes early to bed, and sleeps during the first 
 part of the night. By 9 o'clock, unless the presence 
 of company or some pressing engagement has induced 
 him to remain longer in the parlor, he is found in a 
 sound sleep. But he rises very qp,rly in the morning. 
 I have heard him say there have been periods while 
 in Washington, when he has shaved and dressed him- 
 self for six months together by candle light. The 
 morning is his time for study, writing, thinking, and 
 all kinds of mental labor ; from the time when the 
 first streak of dawn is seen in the east, till 9 or 10 
 o'clock in the forenoon, scarcely a moment is lost ; 
 and it is then that the mighty results which distin- 
 guish his life are produced. 
 
 I have often heard those who occasionally call on 
 him, as early as 10 in the morning, and find him ap- 
 parently unoccupied, ready to converse with them 
 and very much at their service, wonder when Mr. 
 Webster does his work, for they know he does work, 
 and yet they rarely, if ever, see him, like other busi- 
 ness men, engaged. 
 
 The truth is, that when their day's work begins, 
 his ends ; and while they are indulging in their ' : glo- 
 rious morning nap," dozing or yawning, he is up, look- 
 ing "quite through the deeds of men." This habit, 
 followed from his youth, has enabled him to make 
 those vast acquisitions of knowledge on all subjects, 
 
 j
 
 96 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 which have rendered him superior to other men, and 
 has at the same time afforded him so much leisure to 
 devote to his friends. 
 
 Mr. Webster regretted this morning that my 
 friend Edward was not at home, but he offered me 
 Rachel, a favorite setter which he brought from 
 England, and the services of an attendant, if I chose 
 to go out and shoot quails, with one restriction how- 
 ever, that several broods of these birds had been rear- 
 ed during the season in the gardens and grounds near 
 the house ; that those belonged to the family, and 
 were not to be destroyed. But my thoughts turned 
 rather upon agriculture than shooting, so I declined 
 Rachel's company and the gun, and we walked out in 
 the fields together. One of the firs$ we passed was 
 such a field, I presume, as had attracted the notice of 
 Mr. S. from Ohio. It had been an old dry pasture 
 which the plough had not touched for forty years ; it 
 usually had produced, Mr. Webster said, in the spring 
 and early summer, a little white honey-suckle and 
 other sweet grass for the use of the dairy, but by mid- 
 summer it was commonly dry, parched and brown , 
 now it was covered with herbage, green, long, fallen 
 down, and absolutely matted from thickness, although 
 it had been the pasture for half a dozen cows. This 
 led to a conversation on the utility of manuring land 
 by fish when circumstances and situations allowed it. 
 
 Mr. Webster said his attention had first been 
 drawn to the subject, by seeing the practice in Rhode 
 Island. He had subsequently seen prodigious effects 
 from it, on some parts of Long Island, especially 
 about Southampton. He had seen its use also at
 
 1 
 
 STILL TALKS OF AGRICULTURE. 
 
 Chatham, and other places on the extremities of 
 Cape Cod. He observed, that whether it could be 
 obtained or used for a reasonable price, depended, 
 first on the nearness of the land to the sea ; second- 
 ly, on the general state of the weather during the 
 time when the fish usually visit the coast. These 
 fish are a species of herring not known in Europe, 
 and called in the United States by the various names 
 of moss-bunkers, hard-heads, bony fish, and menhaden. 
 In the Summer they migrate North, and are off Marsh- 
 field sometimes by the middle of June, and sometimes 
 not till July. When the weather is mild, and the 
 sea smooth, they come close to the shore, or into the 
 mouths of the rivers and little creeks, and sometimes, 
 indeed, they appear to be driven almost out of the 
 water by the sharks and porpoises, which follow them 
 in from the sea. They are taken, he said, by the 
 seine, in the common way, drawn to the shore, and 
 hauled off immediately to their destined use. 
 
 liitil this year, he says, he has only used these 
 fish by spreading them directly on the surface of the 
 land, and as he does not hold to manuring by halves, 
 the quantity is not spared. Ten, twelve, or fourteen 
 cart loads, each ^weighing twenty-six or twenty-seven 
 hundred, are allowed to the acre. There has been a 
 notion prevailing to some extent, that this species of 
 manure stimulates the land too much, and soon ex- 
 hausts it. In refutation of this notion, Mr. Webster 
 showed me afield which was thus dressed in 1834, 
 and which has yielded an abundant crop of hay every 
 year since. This year twenty acres have been heavily
 
 98 
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 fished, and the fish ploughed immediately in, and the 
 land is destined for corn next season. 
 
 A great mass of compost is also made by mixing 
 earth or common loam with fish, in the proportion of 
 about four loads of earth to one of the fish, and put- 
 ting in lime as another ingredient. This being done 
 in the Summer, the whole mass is dug up or turned 
 over, and mixed anew in the Autumn or Winter, and 
 in the ensuing Spring it is found an excellent manure 
 for any farming purpose whatever. His gardens, 
 meadows, pastures and ploughed lands all bear abun- 
 dant proof of the utility of this species of manure. 
 
 On my way down here, I had a rather diverting 
 as well as instructing conversation with a farmer 
 whom I met in Pembroke, and I may as well men- 
 tion it here, as anywhere. I told him I was going to 
 Marshfield, and he said he supposed I was going to 
 see Squire Webster. I told him I was going to see 
 Edward, his son. "Well," said he, "you will of 
 course see the Squire's farm." I told him ouite 
 likely. "Well," said he, "you will see something 
 worth seeing ; but I did not know, two months ago, 
 but that he would drive us all out of Pembroke. 
 The Squire spreads on his land, in the summer, about 
 all the fish, I believe, he can find in the sea, and get 
 out of it. These bred a pestilent quantity of black 
 flies, not our common house flies, but black, glossy 
 fellows, that came about two hundred times as thiclv 
 as you ever saw common flies about a plate of molasses. 
 When the wind is east, it brings them here, and they 
 remind us of Scripture times and the plagues of
 
 BTILL TALKS OP AGRICULTURE. 99 
 
 Egypt; however, they don't trouble us long; for 
 when the wind changes, they make off for Cape Cod. 
 
 '' I go down to see Mr. Webster's place very often. 
 I worked on his farm this year some time, but I could 
 never get there before the Squire was up and stirring. 
 The Squire not only uses fish on his farm, but has 
 introduced, also, the use of kelp from the sea-shore. 
 This was totally neglected till he set the example. 
 While at Marshfield, I advise you to look at the 
 farms of Capt. H. and Capt. J. S.. two of Mr. Web- 
 ster's neighbors. They are industrious sea-captains, 
 now retired to their farms ; are always at home, and 
 see to every thing. Congress does not trouble them, 
 and kelp is filling up their barns right fast, I tell 
 you, and no mistake." 
 
 Thus, you see, the example of Mr. Webster is 
 followed by his neighbors, and it excites them to 
 emulate him. greatly to their advantage. There are 
 but few farmers in the United States, well skilled 
 and greatly experienced as they are justly acknow- 
 ledged to be, who would not derive great advantage 
 from a journey to Marshfield, to walk over this plan- 
 tation, and hold a few hours' conversation With the 
 great farmer himself. 
 
 George says " dinner is ready." Of course I 
 shall throw down the pen. 
 
 Yours truly.
 
 100 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 ME. WEBSTER STILL TALKS ABOUT AGRICULTURE SATS SIR ROB- 
 ERT PEEL 13 THE GREATEST MAN HE EVER SAW. 
 
 MARSHTIBLD, Nov. 29, 1843. 
 
 In my letter this morning I gave you some ac- 
 count of the conversation with Mr. Webster, as we 
 were passing over fields manured with fish ; for it 
 struck me as being a subject that could not fail to 
 interest you. At dinner to-day Mr. Webster con- 
 versed o'n another subject akin to that, and equally 
 important. It was the rotation of crops, or, as it is 
 called, the shift system, to prevent the exhaustion of 
 the land. 
 
 I remarked to him, that in passing over the farm 
 this morning, I did not find in any field the same 
 kind of crop which I saw in it last year. He said 
 that was very true, for he had always been careful to 
 avoid that great error. " A good farmer" and this 
 is the definition which others give too, said he " looks 
 not only to the present year's crop, but considers what 
 will be the condition of his land when this crop is 
 taken off, and what it will be fit for next year. He 
 carefully examines the nature of the soil and the 
 peculiarity of the last crop, and as much as possible 
 studies to\use his land so as not to abuse it." " It is 
 my aim," he said, "to get a good crop every year, and 
 in such a manner that the land shall be growing 
 better and better." If he should plant the same 
 crop continually, the soil of many of his fields would 
 soon be exhausted, or if he contented himself with 
 raising a large crop this year, and then should leave 
 the field neglected to recruit itself as it might, he
 
 should starve, and his farm would soon be a barren 
 waste. By adopting the shift system, and pursuing 
 a judicious rotation of crops, he not only made his 
 farm profitable and productive, but by the addition of 
 appropriate manures annually, he had managed to 
 reclaim a great part of it, and make it what I saw ; 
 and this practice he intends to continue until it is all 
 made fertile. " It is upon this fundamental idea of 
 constant production without exhaustion," he said, 
 ' ; that the system of all good cultivation is founded. 
 England adopts this course, and England was taught 
 by Flanders and Italy." 
 
 " The form or manner of this rotation of crops is 
 determined by me, according to the nature of the 
 soil, and partly by the demand of the home market." 
 The ordinary rotation under which lands similar to 
 his are cultivated in England, as far as his observa- 
 tion had extended, and as laid down in the agricul- 
 tural books, is either on what is denominated the 
 four-course or shift system, or five-course or shift. 
 The four-course was : 1. Turnips, fed off ; 2. Oats or 
 Barley ; 3. Grass Seed ; 4. Wheat. The five-shift 
 system was: 1. Turnips; 2. Oats or Barley; 3. 
 Clover; 4. Peas; 5. Wheat. On different soils the 
 courses were varied. Sometimes this system was 
 carried to nine shifts, the largest course with which 
 he was acquainted. He referred me to a good writer 
 on this subject. 
 
 He said he divided all crops into two classes, and 
 denominated one white, the other green. White 
 crops, such as wheat, barley, rye, oats, and corn, are 
 not to follow one another. But this was not the rule
 
 102 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 with green crops, such as turnips, potatoes, beets and 
 clover. He described the apparatus for analyzing 
 the soils, and the mode of ascertaining the nature, 
 the properties and proportions of the different mate- 
 rials of which they are composed, with as much 
 fluency as though the study of agricultural chemistry 
 had been the pursuit of his life. He said, it was well 
 for me to know that the chief constituents of all cul- 
 tivated soils were four kinds of earth, and these were 
 flint, clay, chalk, and carbonate of magnesia decom- 
 posed. <: These," said he, " are mixed together in an 
 endless variety of proportions, and are interspersed 
 with animal and vegetable remains, salts, &c.. to an 
 equally varying extent ; and it is to ascertain the 
 presence and extent of these substances, that the 
 analysis of soils is so necessary and so valuable to 
 the farmer. Without some knowledge and practice 
 on this subject, a farmer proceeds in the dark. How 
 can he tell what kind of manure he should apply, 
 without knowing what is wanted ?" " The object of 
 manuring," said he. " is to give strength to that in- 
 gredient in the soil which is weak." 
 
 After dinner we put on our overcoats and took a 
 stroll across the fields to see his cattle, the products 
 of his selections and importations from England in 
 1839. But I shall speak of them hereafter. In our 
 rambles we came to a field of turnips, where he has 
 raised this year more than two thousand bushels. 
 " Here," said Mr. Webster. " is a specimen on a small 
 scale, of the green crop of England. I say on a small 
 scale, because on the other side of the water there 
 are fields or farms of five or six hundred acres covered
 
 STILL TALKS ABOUT AGRICULTURE. 
 
 103 
 
 with this crop. Its cultivation has, within the last fifty 
 years, revolutionized English agriculture. Fifty years 
 ago, when lands were exhausted by the repetition of 
 grain crops, they were left fallow, and abandoned to 
 recruit themselves. This occurred as often as every 
 fourth year, so that it was the same as though one 
 quarter of the lands capable of good cultivation 
 yielded nothing. But turnips were now substituted 
 in the place of these naked fallows, and were gener- 
 ally fed off on the land where they grew." " It is," 
 said he, " a biennial plant ; does not perfect its seed 
 before it is consumed, and does not materially ex- 
 haust the soil ; for exhaustion of the land, as expe- 
 rience and observation have fully demonstrated, takes 
 place mainly when the seeds of the plants are allow- 
 ed to perfect themselves. Besides, plants derive a 
 large portion of their nutriment from the air ; now 
 the leaves of turnips, which are their lungs, expose a 
 wide surface to the atmosphere, and thence derive 
 their subsistence and nutriment. The broad leaves 
 likewise shade the ground, preserve its moisture, and 
 in some measure prevent its exhaustion by the rain." 
 " In one way and another, turnips give to the > land 
 almost as much as they take from it. But turnips 
 have a further and ultimate use ; they feed and sus- 
 tain animals, from which come our meat and clothing. 
 The great inquiry then should be, what kind of 
 crops will least exhaust the soil, and at the same time 
 furnish support to the greatest number of animals. 
 He knew of no crop more valuable on all accounts 
 than the turnip, and he was happy to believe that the 
 farmers in this country, as well as in England, Flan-
 
 104 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 ders and Italy, were not ignorant of its value. Its 
 culture in England had trebled the number of bullocks 
 and sheep, and he had no doubt it would produce a 
 similar result in this country. 
 
 From his fields of turnips we went to his field of 
 carrots, in relation to which he made remarks similar 
 to those concerning the turnip, attaching almost as 
 much importance to the one as he did to the other. 
 
 I find this year, as I did last, every variety of 
 what Mr. Webster denominates hia green crops, cul- 
 tivated not only in a scientific .manner, but upon a 
 scale far more extensive than I had anticipated. Each 
 plant furnished a topic on which he dwelt not only 
 with apparent pleasure, but in relation to which he 
 showed a familiarity as astonishing to me as it was 
 agreeable to hear him. 
 
 While walking in the garden the conversation 
 turned upon great men. I said to Mr. Webster. You 
 have doubtless seen most of the great men of your 
 time, and I should like to hear you say whom you 
 think the greatest man. He answered without a 
 moment's hesitation. " Sir Robert Peel is head and 
 shoulders above any man I ever saw in my life," and 
 he proceeded to show, by several apt comparisons, 
 with the dead and living, that Sir Robert was great 
 in all respects, " and whoever is a great man, viewed 
 in the greatest number of lights, must be regarded." 
 said he, " as the greatest of men." Nothing impor- 
 tant has escaped his vigilant mind. 
 
 While standing at a bed of onions, he expressed 
 his admiration of Sir Robert Peel's intimate know- 
 ledge, on subjects which seemed to be of small
 
 THANKSGIVING. 
 
 105 
 
 moment. Said he, " While Sir Robert was discuss- 
 ing his great project for a tariff, and for remodelling 
 the basis for taxation, in the midst of a speech, he 
 said ' And now, if your Lordship pleases. I come to 
 the subject of onion seed,' " about which, said Mr. 
 Webster, he talked with the familiarity of a gardener. 
 Little men scorn such topics, but great men are 
 familiar with them. The shades of evening invited 
 us home, where, before a bright crackling hickory fire, 
 I have spent a delightful evening. A friend of Mr. 
 Webster came to visit him, and the conversation was 
 a succession of the richest anecdotes of the great 
 men in this country and in England, to which I ever 
 listened. These anecdotes, if collected and published 
 in a volume, would instruct and delight thousands of 
 fireside circles for generations to come. A Marshfield 
 potato, roasted and hot, with the leg and wing of a 
 quail, I found, relished well for supper, and furnished 
 an agreeable termination of a well spent day. I must 
 not forget to tell you, that we have made the prelim- 
 inary arrangements for some rare sport, which is to 
 come off in a day or two. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 THANKSGIVING CONVEBSATIOJf ON SHEEP. 
 
 MARSHTIELD, Nov. 80, 1843. 
 
 This is " Thanksgiving Day ;" a New England 
 thanksgiving. 
 
 For more than two centuries it has been the cus- 
 tom with the descendants of the Pilgrims in this
 
 106 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 State, as you are well aware, to set apart a day in 
 Autumn, after the fruits of the year have been gath- 
 ered in. for thanksgiving, feasting, and recreation. 
 To-day the children and grandchildren and great- 
 grandchildren of each family are gathered together 
 under one roof, whenever circumstances will permit, 
 to renew and remind each other of their parental, fra- 
 ternal or filial relations. It is a good custom, and 
 one that will continue, while the memory of the Pil- 
 grims shall last. 
 
 Within a short distance from where I am writing, 
 our forefathers landed on Plymouth Rock ; and the 
 grounds on which I have rambled to-day, were culti- 
 vated by the pilgrims of the May Flower. In De- 
 cember, 1621, the year after they landed, they cele- 
 brated their first thanksgiving, or harvest festival. 
 Governor Bradford then designated the day, as Gov- 
 ernor Morton has done it now. Edward Winslow. 
 on the 1 1th of December of that year, wrote a letter 
 to one George Morton, whom he addressed as " loving 
 and old friend." Speaking of the first thanksgiving, 
 he says : " Our harvest being gotten in, our Governor 
 sent four men on fowling, so that we might after a 
 special manner, rejoice together after we had gathered 
 the fruits of our labors. They four, in one day, killed 
 as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the 
 company almost a week." Since that day what a 
 change ! For what small favors were they thankful 
 compared to those which God has given to us ! A 
 feast to-day, is within the reach of every man, woman 
 and child in New England. The hand of charity will 
 be so open, that even the strolling beggar will feed
 
 CONVERSATION ON SIIKEP. 
 
 107 
 
 if he likes it, on the fat of the land. I went this 
 morning with Mr. Webster and one of his men to the 
 pasture, to select from his sheep-fold something good 
 for the occasion. He made choice of two broad- 
 backed Leicesters; one for himself and those who 
 live with him, and feed on his bounty, and another to 
 send to his friend, Mr. Charles Stetson, of the Astor 
 House. I have had a cut of the one for his own use, 
 and I hope I shall have a bit of the other, for the 
 Sykeses are all fond of good mutton, and I intend to 
 be in New-York before he has his thanksgiving. This 
 is not Mr. Webster's sheep farm. He keeps his 
 flocks and herds chiefly on his farm in Franklin, New 
 Hampshire ; but he has sixty or a hundred sheep 
 here, a flock of Southdowns and Leicesters, which ap- 
 pear to be fat and heavy, and were selected by him 
 while abroad in 1839. He informs me that they do 
 very well, and fatten readily in the pastures by the 
 sea. He keeps them here for their meat more than 
 for their wool. This occasion led to a conversation 
 on the subject of sheep, mutton, and beef, which to 
 me was very interesting. 
 
 Mr. Webster commenced by remarking how little 
 the great mass of Americans cared for mutton as 
 food, while in England, the people generally esteem 
 it the very best of butcher's meats. He said he be- 
 lieved one reason to be, that the English mutton in 
 general, was better than ours. " You may occasion- 
 ally," he said. " find good mutton in Albany, New- 
 York, and Philadelphia, but in England you find no 
 bad mutton." 
 
 It is a maxim with English farmers, that it is not
 
 108 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 only bad economy, but absolute waste, to eat poor 
 meat, whether beef or mutton. Being at the house 
 one day of a very distinguished gentleman of the 
 medical profession, he learned something about the 
 age at which bullocks and sheep ought to be killed, 
 in order to be superior for the table. To make the 
 best beef, a bullock should not be slaughtered before 
 it is at least five years old, and a sheep should not be 
 killed before it is three. A lamb, indeed, may get 
 nearly its full growth at a year and a half, or twenty 
 months, and become very fat, and this is the age at 
 which they are usually sold for the shambles ; but 
 such early mutton is not delicately mixed, the lean 
 with the fat. It shrinks in boiling, and when cut 
 upon the table, fills the dish with white gravy. Mut- 
 ton two years older, though no fatter, will have a 
 much higher flavor, the muscle and fat being better 
 mixed, and when thoroughly cooked will fill the dish 
 with red gravy. The same distinction, he said, might 
 be observed between the beef of a bullock three years 
 old, and' that of one five or six. 
 
 Mr. Webster added, that although this was con 
 trary to the received opinion, he believed it was nev- 
 ertheless true, and he wished all lovers of good beef 
 and mutton to try it, and settle the matter by their 
 own experience. *#*#*# 
 
 He said he began to think the time was approach- 
 ing when long woolled sheep would be in demand for 
 the use of our American manufacturing establish- 
 ments, and if he were a young man, and now begin- 
 ning to be a farmer, he would have some Lincoln-
 
 CONVERSATION ON SHEEP. 109 
 
 shire sheep, fellows that would yield twenty pounds 
 per annum. 
 
 He believed that some sharp-sighted individuals 
 in the State of New-York were already turning their 
 attention in that direction. The time is rapidly ap- 
 proaching when this is to be a great wool-growing 
 as well as wool-consuming country, although at pre- 
 sent the whole number of sheep in the United States 
 does not much exceed 20,000,000. and more than 
 5.000.000 of these are in the State of New-York. 
 Sheep-raising cannot be made a profitable business on 
 the coast ; the mountain ranges and highlands, back 
 from the sea, he says, are the regions for sheep. It 
 was the opinion of Jonathan Roberts, a veteran far- 
 mer in Pennsylvania, who had taken much interest in 
 that kind of stock, that land in abundance could be 
 procured at a price that would enable the wool- 
 growers to produce it at 30 cents a pound. 
 
 With the feeding and taking care of sheep. Mr 
 Webster appears to be perfectly familiar, and entered 
 into it at length ; he spoke in terms of the highest in- 
 dignation against the mode adopted by those who 
 sometimes treat so good an animal so badly, so inhu- 
 manly ; and on the other hand, he spoke of his 
 mode of treating " his lambs " in such a manner 
 that he not only excited my admiration by the ex- 
 tent of his researches and thoughts on this point 
 but awoke my deepest sympathy. Cruelty to brutes, 
 and especially to one which is so often spoken of as 
 the type of innocence, never fails to touch a tender 
 chord. I have heard him in the Senate and at the 
 bar I have heard him speaking to countless crowds
 
 110 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 I have heard him at the festive board, and indeed 
 upon almost all occasions, back to which I look with 
 almost infinite pleasure but I never heard him on a 
 subject when he interested me more than he has to- 
 day. The idea which I am able to give you of what he 
 has said, and of, the vast volume of information im- 
 parted, is so faint and meagre, that I have almost a 
 mind to throw what I have written in the fire. 
 
 Upon a second thought, I conclude I will send it, 
 leaving you to imagine how much I have omitted. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS ANECDOTES, ETC. HIS LIBRARY ANECDOTE 
 
 OF JOHN ADAMS. 
 
 MARSHFIELD, Dec. 6, 1843^ 
 
 The weather to-day has been cold and stormy ; I 
 have not, therefore, wandered far from the fireside. 
 But time has not hung heavily ; on the contrary, the 
 whole day and evening have been cheerfully spent. 
 I never knew an hour to drag heavily where Mr. 
 Webster was ; indeed I find too often that the hour 
 is gone before I am fairly conscious of its passage. 
 
 I do not believe the man lives who is more capa- 
 ble of filling up every hour and every moment, with 
 what is either highly valuable or greatly amusing, 
 than the distinguished gentleman with whom I have 
 the pleasure of being a guest. I would not for the 
 world mention to anybody, and much less in a letter 
 which might find its way into the papers, a quarter of 
 the incidents of a day, or what is said ; for such a
 
 MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS. 
 
 Ill 
 
 betrayal of confidence would justly drive me from his 
 hospitable roof. 
 
 I trust, therefore, I do not say a word, which may 
 not with propriety be said ; and when I speak of Mr. 
 Webster's farm, his crops, sheep, cattle and all around 
 him, I only speak of what you, or anybody else can 
 see, by coming here, as well as myself. Indeed he 
 knows that you publish a good many of my letters ; 
 he knows my scribbling propensity, and if I had 
 written a word I ought not to have written, he would 
 have mentioned it to me. 
 
 And when I write you what he says on the sub- 
 ject of agriculture, or on other similar topics, I only 
 mention what he would himself say to you, or to any 
 assembly of men, if present on such an occasion. He 
 sometimes, indeed he often, condescends in these fami- 
 liar " table talks " to utter sentiments to which a se- 
 nate, or a cabinet, or a court, or a board of agriculture, 
 or a chamber of commerce, or men of letters, or arts, 
 or of sciences, might listen with infinite advantage and 
 delight. And I deeply regret that what he says on 
 such occasions, nine times out of ten, is doomed to 
 die with the memory of those who hear it. Why 
 was it not so ordained that such men could bequeath to 
 those who, in the course of nature, must come after 
 them, their storehouses of mental acquisitions, in- 
 stead of their stores of goods and chattels, or their 
 lands and stocks, which only they are permitted to 
 bequeath? In that case, how vastly superior would 
 be the bequests of Daniel Webster, to those of John 
 1 Jacob Astor! What a setting out it would be to a 
 young man on coming to manhood, if he could inherit
 
 112 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 the mental capacity and acquisitions of John Quincj 
 Adams ! Soon after breakfast I went into the study. 
 The warmth of the room, the quantity of embers 
 and the expiring brands showed that the fire for this 
 morning had not been recently kindled. On the 
 table was a pile of letters for George to seal and 
 carry to the mails, besides manuscripts indicating no 
 small amount of labor performed before 8 o'clock. 
 Around Mr. Webster lay books of authority, which 
 had been opened and consulted. His day's work was 
 nearly done. 
 
 A small portion only of his large library has yet 
 been brought here. A portion of it is at Washing- 
 ton, and a much larger portion at Boston. During 
 the last summer he has erected an addition to hi& 
 house here, for the purpose of holding the library, 
 which is now to be collected together. The building 
 is twenty feet between the floor and the ceiling, 
 divided into proper apartments, and finished in the 
 Gothic style. 
 
 His books, I think, have cost him nearly thirty 
 thousand dollars, besides the vast numbers which 
 have been presented to him from authors on both 
 sides of the Atlantic. 
 
 When put up according to his present arrange- <j 
 ments. his library will be well worth a visit. He has 
 a great many valuable manuscripts, notes and com- 
 mentaries, besides the draughts and copies of an ex- 
 tensive correspondence with the distinguished men of 
 the age, including letters to and from himself on 
 many important matters that have occurred during
 
 PUBLIC MEETING. 
 
 113 
 
 his time. The subject of agriculture is not the least 
 important. * * * 
 
 At dinner, Mr. Webster related in his happiest 
 style several anecdotes of the peculiarities of the 
 great men who have gone off the stage, and among 
 them the following, showing the force of language 
 and figures as used by one of them. He said he 
 called one day to see Mr. John Adams, the com- 
 patriot of Washington, and second President, who 
 was a large, fat man, and at times had .great difficulty 
 in breathing. He made this call a little while pre- 
 vious to his death. He found him reclining on a 
 sofa, evidently in feeble health. He said to Mr. 
 Adams, " I am glad to see you, sir, and I hope you 
 are getting along pretty well." To which Mr. Adams 
 replied, after taking a long breath, in the following 
 figurative language : " Ah ! sir, quite the contrary. 
 I find I am a poor tenant, occupying a house much 
 shattered by time ; it sways and trembles with every 
 wind, and has, in fact, gone almost to decay ; and 
 what is worse, sir, the landlord, as near as I can find 
 out, don't intend to make any repairs." 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 PUBLIC MEETING. 
 
 SPRINGFIELD, Aug. 9, 1844. 
 
 * * * * At Pittsfield, Mr. Francis Granger 
 came into the cars as a passenger, and he, too, was 
 most rapturously cheered. Thus we came and ar- 
 rived here, at 8 o'clock. At the dcp6t the crowd
 
 114 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 was immense. The whole population of the village 
 seemed to be there to receive Mr. Webster, who was 
 momentarily expected. Soon the Eastern train ar- 
 rived, bringing not only Mr. "Webster and his lady, 
 with some friends who are on a pleasure trip ; but 
 Mr. Choate, Mr. Winthrop, and other distinguished 
 personages from the East. When they all landed, 
 the vast multitude rent the air with plaudits, and 
 escorted them to their respective lodgings. It is 
 strange that any man has been able to get such a hold 
 on the feelings of the people of his State, as this 
 great man has. I cannot, if I would, describe the 
 enthusiasm which seizes them as he approaches. The 
 mention of his name is like a " hip, hip, hip ;" which 
 you know is followed by " three times three." The 
 town was beautifully illuminated in the evening, and 
 fireworks of various kinds were displayed. All night 
 long the people from distant places continued to 
 arrive. 
 
 * * * Thirty thousand people have attended 
 the meeting. The procession was grand. Mr. Win- 
 throp spoke one hour, Mr. Granger a little longer, 
 Mr. Choate about fifty minutes, and Mr. Webster 
 about twenty. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 A TRIP ALONG THE VALLEY OF THE CONNECTICUT. 
 
 SPRINGFIELD, (MASS.,) Aug. 14, 1844. 
 In my last letter I mentioned to you that a party 
 came here with Mr. Webster, which was composed of
 
 ALONG THK VALLEY OF THE CONNECTICUT. 115 
 
 several ladies and gentlemen. To the highest en- 
 dowments of nature all of them have added what 
 education, travelling, and careful observation can do, 
 to qualify them for the fullest and most rational en- 
 joyment. The object of the trip is, not only to culti- 
 vate health, but to see a portion of the good old 
 ' Bay State." not visited by the majority of travel- 
 lers. At this season how much more sensible to go 
 forth and breathe the pure air of the country, than 
 to remain in ' a pent-up city," feeding upon the 
 vapors of the town ! 
 
 * * * We shall proceed up the valley of the 
 Connecticut River to Northampton, and so on, to 
 visit some other towns on its banks ; then to return 
 by some other route to Boston, and thence to Marsh- 
 field- To me this route is quite new. and as it is 
 about my time for making my annual visit to the 
 retreat of Mr. Webster, I look forward to the inci- 
 dents of the journey with pleasure. It is a rare in- 
 stance that Mr. Webster consents to make a trip so 
 leisurely as he proposes to make this. It will be a 
 source of relaxation to him and of happiness to 
 those with him. 
 
 Among the gentlemen whom we meet here, is the 
 Honorable George Ashmun, for whom Mr, Webster 
 entertains very high respect, and places him in the 
 first rank of his personal friends. 
 
 Yours truly.
 
 116 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 VALLEY OF THE CONNECTICUT. 
 
 NORTHAMPTON, MASS., Aug., 1844. 
 The party, of which I spoke in my last letter, set 
 out this morning, and lias safely reached this place. 
 Mr. Webster and the ladies, Mr. B. and myself, six 
 in number, took seats in an extra stage-coach as 
 parties of pleasure were accustomed to do before rail- 
 roads had driven that good old mode of travelling 
 from almost all the great thoroughfares. 
 
 I am a constant advocate in the cause of internal 
 improvement, and I would have a railway on every 
 important route in the country, developing its re- 
 sources, affording, not only facilities, but strong in- 
 ducements to travel, and in other respects aiding in 
 the advancement of all the concerns of life. * * 
 
 No incident worthy of much note occurred on the 
 way. Each hamlet suggested new topics for conver- 
 sation, and of course arrested our attention. The fine 
 farms, the rich crops, and noble herds of cattle, drew 
 from Mr. Webster, as we passed along, many valuable 
 remarks upon agricultural subjects, with which, as 
 everybody knows, he is very familiar. Two of the 
 ladies had travelled over England, seeing the resi- 
 dences and estates of the nobility. Occasionally a 
 section of the valley reminded them of what they had 
 visited abroad, and this often led to topics full of in- 
 terest. The whole party was in excellent spirits, and 
 enjoyed it much. Many and many a day will go by 
 before another ride will be had as agreeable to me as 
 that of this morning. It appeared to be agreeable to
 
 VALLEY OF THE CONNECTICUT. 
 
 all of the party, for all knew how to appreciate and 
 enjoy the beautiful country through which we passed. 
 
 We drove on the east side of the Connecticut 
 River for several miles, and then crossed over in a 
 ferry-boat, propelled in the old mode, by two horses 
 walking around like convicts in a tread-mill. Steam 
 power, for which the ladies would have had less sym- 
 pathy than for these poor horses, is not yet in use. 
 We crossed the Chickapee River a rapid stream 
 on a bridge about three hundred feet long. The 
 bridge is high, stands on seven stone piers, and af- 
 forded us, while crossing, a fine view of the dam and 
 manufacturing establishment. The village of Chick- 
 apee, (or Chickopee, as I saw it written on the guide- 
 board,) is about a mile north of the bridge, and is a 
 neat and flourishing hamlet. * * * 
 
 Mr. Webster said that not many towns in New 
 England have sent forth more great and good men 
 than this. Some of them seem to have been influ- 
 enced by the grandeur of the mountains and scenery 
 amid which they were born. Among the distinguish- 
 ed men who had their origin here, are Caleb Strong, 
 the former Governor of the State ; and Judge Strong, 
 an upright and eminent man; Rev. Dr. Edwards, the 
 great theologian ; his son, Dr. Edwards, formerly 
 President of Union College ; the great and good So- 
 lomon Stoddard. an eminent divine ; and his son, Hon. 
 John Stoddard. 
 
 These are a few of the names which have graced 
 the annals of our country men who have conferred 
 honor on the place of their birth. Their memories 
 are cherished with affectionate regard by the citizens
 
 118 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 of the village. We paid our respects to a venerable 
 and highly respectable citizen Judge Lyman who 
 is, I am sorry to say, a little indisposed. His head 
 is white with age, but his bland and agreeable man- 
 ners indicate that he has not forgotten the charms of 
 hospitality, for which he has long been loved, He 
 and Mr. Webster talked over the many scenes, social 
 and political, through which they had passed. At 
 three o'clock, we returned home to dine ; and, while 
 dining, we projected an excursion to the top of Mount 
 Holyoke ; an account of which I will give you in my 
 next. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 JOURNEY FROM THE CONNECTICUT TO MARSHFIELD THE BOOKS 
 
 MR. WEBSTER READS HOW HE READS BOOKS RESPECT OF 
 
 THE PEOPLE. 
 
 MARSHFIELD, Aug., 1844. 
 
 I wrote you last from Northampton, as we were 
 about setting out for a rapid drive up the valley of 
 the Connecticut. 
 
 On the way across the country to this place, I had 
 neither time nor opportunity to write from either of 
 the NewEngland villages we visited. We passed 
 through a large number of them, remarkable for their 
 neatness and apparent thrift, and in relation to each 
 I could write a paragraph or two, perhaps of some 
 interest, for each has its legends, and its peculiar his- 
 tory ; but I shall omit it all till I make another trip, 
 which I intend to do when more at leisure. 
 
 My account of our drive from Springfield to
 
 THE BOOKS HE READS. 119 
 
 Northampton, will afford you some idea of the 
 pleasures we enjoyed as we passed from one village 
 to another. The party, however, after leaving the 
 latter place, occupied two carriages instead of one, 
 which, being open, gave us a fine view of the moun- 
 tains and valleys as we drove on. 
 
 Before setting out, Mr. Webster provided himself 
 with a variety of entertaining books, which, like Na- 
 poleon, he read constantly, when not engaged in con- 
 versation, or not interested in some object by the 
 way-side. One of these books was " Pencillings by 
 the Way." which he read attentively, and praised ; he 
 said the letters were both instructive and amusing, 
 and evinced great talents on the part of the author. 
 He read the books through with great rapidity, 
 catching at a glance what each page unfolded, and 
 mastering their contents within a quarter of the time 
 which I should consume. He did not, however, like 
 the Emperor, tear out the pages as fast as he perused 
 them, and from the window of his carriage scatter 
 them to the winds. To me it was instructive to see 
 him read a book. He first went over the index, and 
 apparently fixed the framework of it in his mind ; 
 then he studied with equal earnestness the synopsis 
 of each chapter. Then he looked at the length of 
 the chapter. Thus, before he began to read it. he 
 took an accurate survey of its parts. Then he read 
 it ; passing rapidly over whatever was commonplace, 
 and dwelling only on what was original and worthy 
 of note. 
 
 At one time, while conversing on the subject of 
 reading, and of topics worth the attention of men, he
 
 120 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 said he wished he could live three lives, while living 
 this: 
 
 One he would devote to the study of Geology, or, 
 to use his own words, " to reading the earth's history 
 of itself." 
 
 Another life he would devote to Astronomy; he 
 said he had lately been reading the history of that 
 science, written so clearly, that he, although no ma- 
 thematician, could understand it, and he was aston- 
 ished at seeing to what heights it had been pushed by 
 modern intellects. 
 
 The other life he would devote to the Classics. 
 
 He spoke in the highest terms of commendation 
 of the acquirements in this respect of Mr. Choate, 
 who by the daily habit of reading them, has become 
 as familiar with those languages as they who wrote 
 them. 
 
 While at school, he (Mr. Webster) had never 
 read much of Greek or Latin. He had, however, 
 read the latter considerably while in the study and 
 practice of the law. 
 
 The best of his life he had devoted to law and 
 politics, and he mentioned what great authors he had 
 studied, on both subjects, with most attention. For 
 his light reading and for amusement, he had chosen 
 the travels and biographies of men more or less emi- 
 nent in various respects. But for the last ten years, 
 he had studied natural subjects, and from these only 
 could he derive any adequate satisfaction. As years 
 crept upon him, he felt his mind involuntarily drawn 
 more to the study and contemplation of sober reali- 
 ties to the book of nature itself, rather than to the
 
 RESPECT OF THE PEOPLE. 121 
 
 fancies and speculations which belong to youth and 
 early manhood. 
 
 I have heretofore spoken of the respect and high 
 regard shown on the part of the people of this State 
 for Mr. Webster. Wherever we stopped, strong de- 
 monstrations were made of the hold he has upon 
 them. Lawyers, clergymen, farmers, and all classes 
 have some prominent reason for their attachment ; 
 and in a moment after his arrival at any village, al- 
 though he manifestly shunned observation, the news 
 flew from house to house, and men, women and chil- 
 dren gathered around, but without being obtrusive, 
 and seemed to rejoice in the opportunity to take, as 
 one of them said, " a good look at him." 
 
 We added to the party a young lady from Bos- 
 ton, and another Mr. Blatchford from New- York, to- 
 gether with .Mr. Tileston, a gentleman from the same 
 city, who is one of the most agreeable companions for 
 such an excursion I have ever met. 
 
 These gentlemen have left their banks, their in- 
 surance companies, their counting-houses, have turned 
 their backs on their vast concerns, for a week of un- 
 alloyed sport ; and, rely upon it, they will have it. 
 
 If enjoyment can be obtained by seeking for it, 
 here it can be found. We came by the route I have 
 heretofore described, and arrived just as the evening 
 shades began to appear. 
 
 We dined at 6 o'clock. A fishing excursion ia 
 already projected for to-onorrow. The excitement in 
 anticipation begins to run high, for both Mr. Blatch- 
 
 J
 
 122 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 ford and Mr. Tileston are expert fishermen, and the 
 strife is, who will take the greatest number ; I have 
 bet on Mr. Tileston. I now go to my pillow for that 
 sweet sleep which follows a day of wholesome exer- 
 cise. My windows open upon the sea, from which 
 comes the most delicious gales to freshen and invigo- 
 rate the sources of health. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 ME. WEBSTER AND A PARTY COD-FISHING. 
 
 MARSHFIELD, August, 1844. 
 
 The sun rose this morning with unusual splendor. 
 I was up to see it. Just as I threw up my window, 
 his upper disk was emerging, as it were, from the bo- 
 som of the ocean, and I watched his rising steadily 
 till the whole orb was above the water. A magnifi- 
 cent spectacle. The artificial fire-works, which crowds 
 rush to Niblo's to see, dwindle to nothing, compared 
 with the great natural display which I saw, and which 
 Mr. Webster sees every fair morning when at home. 
 
 The fishermen, Mr. Blatchford and Mr. Tileston, 
 of New-York, and myself, were summoned to break- 
 fast at 6 o'clock, according to the arrangements made 
 last night. The ladies were, undoubtedly, in a sound 
 sleep. Coming from a long journey, replete with ex 
 citement and fatigue, nothing could be more agreeable 
 to them than prolonged slumbers, and the uninter- 
 rupted indulgence of their sweet dreams. They were, 
 therefore, not called. While we were partaking of 
 that early repast, the wagons to take us to the fish-
 
 A COD-FISHING PARTY. 123 
 
 Louse, with afl the apparatus for sport, were drawn to 
 the door. Each one put on an apparel adapted to the 
 business. I will not stop to describe each dress, but 
 suffice it to say that four fine subjects for the pencil 
 of some Hogarth, were presented in our tableaux vi- 
 vant on the porch (including Mr. Webster), all bent 
 on fun. 
 
 We drove rapidly to the point of land at Green 
 Harbor, distant from the mansion about two miles, 
 where his fish-house is located, and where his boats, 
 when not engaged, are moored for safety. 
 
 On the way we took in Mr. Seth Peterson, who 
 was made famous by Mr. Webster's speech at Sara- 
 toga in 1840. He knows, not only where the best 
 fishing grounds are, but how to make the sport agree- 
 able to gentlemen. Respect for his age and expe- 
 rience induces Mr. Webster to call him Commodore 
 Peterson. Every thing being ready, we embarked 
 in a small sail boat called the Signet, which was 
 pulled by oars a short way down the river to the har- 
 bor, where Mr. Webster's beautiful yatch Comet, un- 
 der command of Captain Nicholas, lay in waiting with 
 her anchor weighed. We boarded her, and in the 
 twinkling of an eye, the sails were thrown to the 
 breeze, and we were scudding before the wind. The 
 Commodore in the Signet unfurled his sail and 
 followed in our wake. We steered for the fishing 
 grounds, some eight or nine miles from the land, 
 where codfish and haddock abound. 
 
 We had not sailed far, before we saw what to a 
 
 | landsman was almost incredible. It was a shoal of 
 
 manhaden, literally filling acres of the sea. I could
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 scarcely believe my own eyes. It was the first time 
 I ever had any adequate idea of the innumerable inha- 
 bitants of the ocean. The sands upon the shore, the 
 leaves of the forests, are no more countless than these 
 fish. Millions of fins were protruded above the sur- 
 face, making the bay resemble an extensive marsh 
 covered with water, when the growing grass appears 
 above it. As we glided on, we saw them moving to 
 the right and left, so thick, they seemed to crowd 
 each other. 
 
 Mr. Webster informed us that these manhaden 
 are a species of herring, which, from the first of July 
 to the last of August, swarm along the shores of the 
 NewEngland States and Long Island. They are too 
 oily to be much used for food, but they are exten- 
 sively used for manure. He applies them with great 
 effect to his lands, which had been worn out by too 
 long cultivation without being adequately manured, 
 and these lands now yield abundant crops. 
 
 These fish are also used as mackarel bait, and as 
 bait for other fish. At Lynn, in 1836, 1,500 barrels 
 were disposed of for this purpose. Recently, they 
 have constituted an article of commerce. The usual 
 length of the manhaden is from ten to fourteen in- 
 ches, and they weigh, on an average, he says, about a 
 pound. Two hundred of them fill a barrel, which will 
 bring, at the shore, 15 cents. One hundred barrels 
 to the acre is very rich manure. One fish is equal to 
 a shovel full of common manure, and he said it fre- 
 quently happens that the fishermen take, with a seine, 
 five hundred barrels at a single haul. One hundred 
 barrels is a moderate haul. These manhaden, he
 
 A COD-FISHING PARTY. 125 
 
 says, are called by various names, such as bony fish, 
 moss-bunkers, mars-bunkers, hard-heads and parr 
 hengers ; but, for a joke, he called them Marshfield 
 roses a name suggested, doubtless, by their perfume 
 just after being exposed on the fields which they are 
 to enrich. After passing these fish, we heard the 
 Commodore cry out from the Signet, "Look to the 
 forward ! " which we did, and there saw an immense 
 shoal of porpoises, apparently bound for Plymouth 
 13uy, and going at the rate of fifteen or twenty miles 
 the hour. The whereabouts and rabidity of their 
 movements, were seen by their constant leaping above 
 the surface. While we watched their movements, 
 there was scarcely a moment when several were not 
 out of the water. It was a sight to make a lands- 
 man stare. 
 
 On our way out, Mr. Webster was chiefly occu- 
 pied examining the hooks and lines, and in adjusting 
 and distributing among the party the requisite fishing 
 apparatus, with which the Comet was well furnished ; 
 others did what was called ' trailing for mackerel." 
 Mr. Blatchford, with no bait but a bit of white rag, 
 while trailing his hook, caught a codfish, weighing 
 some fifteen or twenty pounds. This indicated what 
 luck was to attend his fishing. 
 
 At length we reached the ground designated by the 
 Commodore, hauled down the canvas, cast anchor, and 
 went to work. Mr. Blatchford and Mr. Tileston were 
 each provided with two lines one large, for codfish ; 
 the other small, for haddock ; which were baited ac- 
 cordingly, and both ocqupied the most favorable po- 
 sition in the yacht ; because, in addition to the sport
 
 126 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 which all expected, the strife between those gentle- 
 men for the largest number, added much to the ex- 
 citement of the occasion, and entitled them to the pre- 
 ference. I had bet on the success of Mr. Tileston. 
 The weather was favorable, and the sport began early, 
 and continued without much interruption till it was 
 time to set out for home. 
 
 Mr. Blatchford, in the morning, led off in advance 
 of Mr. Tileston, in numbers, and by 1 1 o'clock, he was 
 a dozen ahead. 
 
 When the sport was over, it was ascertained that 
 the former had taken seventy-one, and the latter 
 fifty-seven. 
 
 I lost my wager. Mr. Webster and myself had 
 tolerable luck ; but we did not zealously apply our- 
 selves to the sport more than half the time. There 
 were, as you may well suppose, a great many pleasant 
 incidents during the day, to break any monotony that 
 might otherwise have existed, and to keep up the ex- 
 citement. 
 
 A chowder, made under the direction of Mr. 
 Webster, and a dinner composed of codfish, haddock, 
 perch, lobster, and other delicacies of the ocean, fol- 
 lowed ; and I need not add, that they were well re- 
 lished by us all. We had the company of ladies, and 
 the evening went pleasantly away. 
 
 Mr. Webster proposed a rubber of whist, which 
 was cheerfully played, he taking a hand. I have 
 often played with him when there was just time 
 enough for three games before his early hour for re- 
 tiring. He played well. 
 
 My friend, Mr. Tileston, says " it will not do to 
 
 1
 
 HORTICULTURE. 
 
 127 
 
 give it up," and has challenged Mr. Blatchford to 
 another contest, to-morrow, which the latter has ac- 
 cepted. I shall be there to see. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 HORTICULTURE PRESERVES BIRDS AND SQUIRRELS FAMOUS HORSB 
 
 FISHING WITH LADIES DRIVE TO THE POINT FOR TAKING 
 
 THE BEST VIEW. 
 
 MARSHFIELD, Aug. 1844. 
 
 Instead of going on the fishing excursion with 
 Mr. Blatchford and Mr. Tileston, with whom the 
 strife for the greater number still rages. I preferred 
 to remain to-day on shore with Mr. Webster and the 
 ladies. The Comet sailed from the mouth of the 
 river at an early hour, with the two gentlemen above- 
 named, and all the appointments required for the 
 rarest sport. 
 
 The wind was fair, and the day was fine. 
 
 After breakfast, I took a stroll through the gar- 
 den and the grounds adjacent to the mansion. During 
 a part of the time, Mr. Webster, knowing my fond- 
 ness for seeing whatever is interesting in agriculture 
 or horticulture, was with me. He showed me his 
 various kinds of fruit trees his pears, plums, 
 peaches and apples. His orchard this year fairly 
 groans under the weight of its burden ; and atnong 
 the apples are some of the best I ever saw. In his 
 garden are several varieties of plums, and among them 
 the Orleans, very fine and early. He told me a fact 
 with respect to plum trees that I did not know be-
 
 12S MEMORIALS OF DAMEL WEBSTER. 
 
 fore, which is, they should not be cultivated like 
 other fruit trees, after they come to bear. " The 
 soil." said he, ' should not be rich, and should be 
 trodden down like a gravel walk. The result will 
 be. that the tree will not grow so fast, and the sap 
 will centre itself more in the fruit. It is the prac- 
 tice of some who cultivate the plum extensively, 
 after the trees are eight or ten years old. if in a rich 
 soil, to remove it for ten feet in circumference, and 
 put in its place poor earth, sand, or gravel. Pear 
 trees, on the contrary, require rich soil." 
 
 I was struck with the tameness of several little 
 animals and birds, which I have elsewhere found 
 quite wild and shy. A squirrel, for instance, sat 
 almost within our reach, eating a nut. and hearing us 
 talk, without the least indication of fear. The birds 
 hopped about, singing their wild notes, as if uncon- 
 scious of our presence. A brood of quails had ac- 
 tually been hatched between the house and the gate, 
 in the hedge that lines the carriage-way to the door. 
 I inquired why this was so ; he said, " during the 
 whole time I have been there I have endeavored to 
 cultivate their acquaintance, and have never permitted 
 their nests to be disturbed, nor do I allow guns to be 
 fired on the premises, nor sticks or stones to be 
 thrown at them, nor anything done that would frighten 
 them away. They seem to know where they are 
 well treated, and come with the seasons to enjoy my 
 protection." 
 
 In the course of the morning ramble, I came to 
 the spot on a Gotham Hill," where lies buried a 
 famous horse, owned in his lifetime by Mr. Webster.
 
 1 
 
 FAMOUS IIORSB. 
 
 129 
 
 The horse was remarkable for his speed as a travel- 
 ler, and was therefore properly named " Steamboat." 
 At his death. Mr. Fletcher Webster now in China 
 erected a monument to perpetuate his memory. 
 
 The crest on the stone, is a horse's head, and 
 underneath is inscribed the following epitaph : 
 
 " Hie jucet 
 
 Equus celeberrimus 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTEK'S 
 
 ' Steamboat," 1 Vocatus, 
 
 Obiit Nov. 3, 1838. 
 
 Siste, viator, major te viator hie sistc." 
 
 This epitaph, translated, is as follows : " Here 
 lies Daniel Webster's celebrated horse called ' Steam- 
 boat.' Died Nov. 3, 1838. Stop traveller; a greater 
 traveller than you stops here." 
 
 Where is the man, if ever an owner of a noble 
 horse, who does not look back to his death with re- 
 gret, and is not willing to pay a slight tribute to his 
 memory ? 
 
 Returning from our stroll, Mr. Webster and my- 
 self, with the two young .ladies, taking the horses and 
 carriage, drove to the fish-house. The Comet lay 
 about eight miles from the shore on the smooth sea, 
 where we imagined the contending sportsmen, with 
 Captain Nicholas and his men to keep the tally, were 
 " pulling in " the codfish and haddock to their hearts' 
 content. A beautiful bay, a good boat, excellent 
 fishing tackle, and the fish leaping from the water as 
 if anxious to be caught, were all before us. 
 
 Seeing everything to tempt us into imitation of 
 VOL. n. 6*
 
 130 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 our friends on board the Comet, we could not suffer 
 the opportunity to pass, without " throwing a line or 
 two," and we proposed to the ladies, to join us in the 
 sport. Commodore Peterson was there, and the 
 Signet was brought frort her moorings to the steps 
 descending to the water. Everything being ready, 
 we went aboard, and rowed to the grounds where 
 perch and the smaller codfish abound, and where we 
 cast anchor. 
 
 The great expounder of the Constitution, now 
 taught the young ladies old Izaak Walton's art. 
 Without the knowledge of any art, they well knew 
 how to be fishers of men, but they had never before 
 essayed to fish among the finny tribe. 
 
 From such a teacher the art was soon acquired ; 
 and no sooner had the tempting bait of my fair friend, 
 who had stood with me on the peak of Holyoke. been 
 thrown in the crystal element, than it was caught 
 (fortunate fish ! who did not envy you?) and while 
 she was " playing the codfish in," the other lady on 
 the other side of the boat was equally successful. To 
 watch the ladies as they, with sparkling eyes amid the 
 highest excitement, drew their leaping prisoners to 
 the boat, and then to aid them in securing their prizes, 
 were to me more pleasurable that to catch them my- 
 self, much as I love the sport. Thus the fun began, 
 and for an hour it went on, keeping the Commodore 
 baiting the hooks, taking off the fish, and shaking his 
 sides with laughter to see how much it was enjoyed. 
 At length the Commodore hoisted sail, Mr. Webster 
 taking the helm, and we were wafted swiftly by the
 
 POINT FOR TAKING THE BEST VIEW. 131 
 
 beautiful islands and fields which are found in, or bor- 
 dering upon, this romantic stream. 
 
 We may search poetry or prose in vain to find any 
 description of the pleasure of sailing which exceeds 
 what we felt and enjoyed on that memorable occasion. 
 If perchance Mr. Webster is ever placed at the helm 
 of a mightier ship, may he steer her with equal skill 
 amid the rocks and shoals laid down in the chart of 
 her voyage. 
 
 Resuming the carriage, we drove to the top of the 
 hill, where stood, till lately, an observatory, to which 
 thousands resorted to admire the magnificent scenery 
 nature has there spread out to view. As the carriage 
 emerged from the grove, through which we reached 
 the summit, so that the whole of the picture was pre- 
 sented to the eye, the question often asked " What 
 induced Mr. Webster to retire to Marshfield ?" was 
 answered to my entire satisfaction. He came to oc- 
 cupy this spot because the hand of nature had adapted 
 it exactly to his taste. If there is a place on earth 
 calculated to entice such a man from the turmoil of 
 life to its more quiet shades, it is this. 
 
 The chiefest attraction is the ocean. As we stood 
 on the corner of the hill facing the sea, looking from 
 the right all round in front to the left, the eye rang- 
 ing a complete semicircle, we had as fine a view of the 
 ocean as can anywhere be found. Ships of all sizes, 
 some near and some almost lost in the dim blue dis- 
 tance, were gallantly ploughing the main. 
 
 From that vast expanse came cool invigorating 
 breezes to fan our cheeks, and sport with the ringlets 
 of the ladies. Before us, stretching from our feet
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 down the declivity across the plain to the water's 
 edge, lay the farm, embracing some twelve or thirteen 
 hundred acres, with its abundant fields of corn or 
 other luxuriant crops, its well filled barns, thriving or- 
 chards, green pastures, and high-bred cattle. 
 
 In a central position, surrounded by trees, gar- 
 dens and out-houses, and adjacent to a fishpond on 
 an extensive lawn, stands the dwelling. It was built 
 in olden times, but has recently been enlarged and 
 greatly improved. The style is what is called Eliza- 
 bethan. Few houses in this country, constructed for 
 convenience rather than for display, are more to be 
 admired than this. I will not dwell on the details 
 of the picture before us. but suffice it to say, that any 
 man knowing Mr. Webster as well as I do, and seeing 
 what has brought him here, will not only cease to 
 wonder why he came, but will wonder what can allure 
 him hence. We returned from our drive, and at din- 
 net met the fishermen. We heard them relate the 
 incidents of the day. 
 
 Taking into account the number and size of the 
 fish caught, they both regard it as an even match, and 
 neither boasts of victory. But the sport is not over : 
 the contest is to be resumed to-morrow, and, if pos- 
 sible, with increased excitement. 
 
 Yours truly.
 
 TRIP VIA NEWPORT. 133 
 
 TRIP VIA NEWPORT MR. WEBSTER WITH AN EVENING AT MARSH- 
 FIELD MUSIC. 
 
 MAESHFTELD, August, 1848. 
 
 I left Newport before the grand fancy ball, which 
 is to be the closing scene of this season's melo-drama, 
 and hastened here, touching Boston on my way. A 
 sail up the bay from Newport to Fall River, and a 
 ride thence on the railway, must always be an agree- 
 able pastime, but my trip on this occasion was doubly 
 so, for I was in the most agreeable company. Three 
 Boston ladies so far beguiled my attention, that I 
 found myself at that city before I thought half time 
 enough had elapsed. All I remember seeing on the 
 way were some handsome landscapes, some pretty 
 islands, a few flourishing hamlets, and a great many 
 smiles. Of Boston I shall not say much. The 
 hotels were crowded, and the accommodations afford- 
 ed to a sportsman and his dog were not those of which 
 I am disposed to boast. When I speak of my dog, 
 by the way, don't imagine he is the same Cato so 
 much petted during my early travelling and sporting. 
 His days have been numbered. This is Cato the 
 younger. Instead of spending a day, as I was wont 
 to do, coming here on foot, from Boston, that I might 
 have a crack at woodcock and other birds along the 
 path, I took the cars on the Old Colony road, with 
 my fishing-tackle, dog and gun, and was brought to 
 Kingston, seven miles distant from this, with the 
 speed of steam. I wish Capt. Miles Standish that 
 great captain among the pilgrims of the May Flower 
 could have seen us coming.
 
 134 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 Marshfield appears better, far better than ever. 
 All things, notwithstanding the prolonged absence of 
 the great agriculturist, who expends annually so 
 much skill, are in good repair, and here " two blades 
 of grass " are made to grow where " only one grew 
 before." 
 
 When I arrived at the mansion of my friend, I 
 found no one in except his faithful George, who made 
 me feel at home. It was towards the close of the 
 day, and the cool breezes from the ocean had sprung 
 up to fan the face of nature. The herds of oxen, of 
 cows, and of younger cattle, which the heat of the 
 day had driven to the shades, were then venturing 
 forth ; the bleating flocks were visible, and all the 
 inhabitants of the farm were astir. There was an 
 enchantment in the scene before me, which the hot 
 bricks and dusty streets of a crowded town rarely 
 present to the mind. The ladies had gone out for a 
 drive ; I entered my room to await their return. 
 
 From what I had heard, I expected to find Mr. 
 Webster confined to his house with illness, brought 
 on by severe labours at Washington, and the journeys 
 hither and thither during the late oppressively hot 
 weather ; but in a few moments after my arrival, my 
 apprehensions were dispelled by his cheering voice 
 calling me out (for George had told him I was here) 
 to see the result of his afternoon's sport, in the shape 
 of eight or ten blue fish, which he had just brought 
 from Duxbury Bay. There they were, on the clean 
 straw in his buggy wagon, a sight gratifying to a 
 fisherman, and giving me no very distant idea of a 
 delicious chowder. He is not sick. His iron consti-
 
 tution manfully sustaiiis him against the ravages of 
 time, under the most incessant toil, and in the luidst 
 of the most heart-rending afflictions. Let it be the 
 prayer of his countrymen that his health may not be 
 impaired, and that the years on years to which he is 
 entitled before old age comes, and his undiminished 
 intellect, may be devoted to his country during the 
 perils through which she too often passes While the 
 governments of the old world, touched by the potent 
 influence of the new. are crumbling to atoms, it is of 
 vital importance that he, who has so often averted 
 imminent dangers, should be on the watchtower of 
 the exposed battlement. 
 
 In a day or two he will meet his friends and 
 neighbours on his own farm, under the shade of his 
 own trees, and give them the benefit of his wisdom 
 and experience, by suggestions touching the coming 
 election. He is true to his country and his party ; 
 indeed he cannot be otherwise, and he yields to no 
 complaints, to no unworthy motives, but on the con- 
 trary, is governed by the loftiest patriotism, and will 
 now and always do his duty to both. A whisper at 
 variance with this is a gros^ slander. He does not 
 always follow blindly this or that particular leader in 
 the party, but acting on his own judgment and expe- 
 rience, he is always consistent, always right. 
 
 After Mr. Webster had given some directions 
 about his farming affairs, I joined him in his library. 
 He bade me welcome to Marshfield. The many 
 pleasant scenes field sports, fishing and social amuse- 
 ments through which it has beeu my good fortune, as 
 well as great pleasure, to pass with him here and
 
 136 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 elsewhere, and of which I have given you some 
 accounts in years gone by, are the gems of my life. 
 Arrangements are already made for the cheerful repe- 
 tition of some of them, while I am in this vicinity. 
 The ladies returned and are with us. 
 
 The pleasures of the day and many agreeable 
 incidents being talked over, supper was announced, 
 and after supper each took himself to that which was 
 most agreeable. I came back to the library, and 
 while looking over a large number of books, ancient 
 and modern, as I went from case to case, I was in- 
 structed and amused by an account of the sale of the 
 copyright of " Paradise Lost." Milton, it seems, 
 contracted to sell it to one Samuel Simmons, on the 
 following terms: 5 to be paid down, 5 to be paid 
 on the sale of thirteen hundred copies, 5 on the sale 
 of thirteen hundred copies of the second edition, 
 and 5 on the sale of the same number of the 
 third. Only fifteen hundred of each to be printed. 
 By his own receipt, dated April 26, 1669, it appears 
 he received two instalments 10 in all. The other 
 10 were received by his widow. Mr. Simmons sold 
 it to one Braban/on Aylmer for 25. It was after- 
 wards sold to Jacob Touson, who made a fortune from 
 it. The evening has been cheerful. I shall now re 
 tire to dream, if I can, how rich I should be with all 
 the money that has since been made from the selling 
 of Milton's "Paradise Lost." 
 
 I wish I could give you a true idea of one of 
 nature's concerts or operas as I hear it at this moment 
 The ocean on one side, with its continual roar, makes 
 music as deep toned and solemn as the fullest note of
 
 SHOOTS A TEAL. 137 
 
 Bcneventano ; a thousand insects are rendering vocal 
 every bush and plant on the lawn, and on the border 
 of the fish-pond on the other side. No Italian chorus I 
 ever heard displayed finer voices. In the midst of all 
 these conies the whip-poor-will, making the welkin 
 ring with her wild notes, first on one side and then 
 on the other, like Truffi. the prima donna t in one of 
 her exciting scenas. What a glorious serenade to 
 welcome slumber, and lull me while I sleep. 
 
 Yours, truly. 
 
 MB. WEBSTER SHOOTS A TEAL HE RAMBLES OTEH HIS FIELDS AXD 
 
 TALKS OF AGRICULTURE, AND HIS CATTLE AND SHEEP. 
 
 MAKSHTIELD, August, 1848. 
 
 " But yonder comes the powerful King of day, 
 Rejoicing in the East." 
 
 Just as I sit down to write the sun is rising, and 
 half his circle is seen from my window above the sur- 
 face of the ocean. What a magnificent sight ! How 
 tame all the colors which art has put 01: canvas, when 
 compared with the brilliancy of the scene before me. 
 Come, ye citizens of Gotham, and see v/hat ye rarely 
 ever see in your lives a glorious sunrise. 
 
 Bang! I hear the report of a gun. What has 
 fallen ? 
 
 On going to my window, I saw Mr. Webster, to- 
 wards the ocean, standing on the point of the bay 
 which stretches inland to his garden wall, with a gun 
 in his hand, the smoke .rising above his head, and one 
 of his men bringing to him a bird. He has shot a
 
 plump teal, one of the numerous kinds of wild fowl on 
 this part of the coast, which had ventured thus late 
 in the morning to linger too near the premises, not 
 knowing that the sun never rises to find the owner 
 asleep. For this unseasonable contempt of danger on 
 its part we will taste the bird at dinner. So says 
 Mr. Webster. 
 
 Excuse me for an hour, for I am called to take a 
 ramble in the fields with boots proof against the 
 morning dews, to use Mr. Webster's words, " to spy 
 out the nakedness of the land." I don't think we shall 
 find much nakedness to spy out. * * 
 
 I have returned from a delightful walk with far- 
 mer Webster. Thousands have seen Mr. Webster in 
 the Capitol, where listening Senators were hearing 
 the wisdom that fell from his lips ; tens of thousands 
 have heard him at the bar demanding justice, excul- 
 pating innocence, and expounding the law ; hundreds 
 of thousands "with up-turned faces," have been charm- 
 ed by his eloquence in popular assemblies ; and mil- 
 lions have read his speeches, sent by reporters to all 
 parts of the civilized world ; but comparatively few 
 have seen and heard farmer Webster, among his cat- 
 tle and sheep, his crops and forests, the products of his 
 own care and labor. Whenever he is to speak on any 
 of the above mentioned occasions, short-hand writers 
 are sent to take down his words, so that no idea of 
 his may be lost. 
 
 Now if the cultivators of the soil should send re- 
 porters to note down what he says touching their 
 most useful and indispensable occupation, whenever 
 he has occasion, they would be enriched, as the earth
 
 TALKS OF AGKICULTURE. 139 
 
 is by the overflowing of the Nile. In the fields, walk- 
 ing through his crops, among his cattle and his sheep, 
 each one suggesting a topic, he surpasses even himself. 
 But alas ! of what use is so much wisdom to me in a 
 chase for a fox, or in shooting a woodcock, or in an- 
 gling for a trout? Were I a farmer, it would be 
 otherwise. You may become one, therefore I will 
 give you the benefit of what 1 saw. 
 
 We took a good look at the potatoes. If there 
 is any crop worthy of attention, and. indeed abso- 
 lutely requiring it, Mr. Webster says it is the po- 
 tato crop, and especially so when it is liable to that 
 fatal disease by which it is destroyed in so many 
 countries. He has this season produced a large quan- 
 tity, chiefly of two kinds, the mercers and the pink- 
 eyes. He has never had a finer crop. He planted 
 them early, and they are ripe early. Many are al- 
 ready harvested, and all have been ready for the har- 
 vest some time. They grow, he says, to a large size, 
 with but few in a hill, and without any appearance of 
 disease. He planted the seed on a light, loamy soil, 
 which he prepared with a sub-soil plough, and ma- 
 nured with a fish called manhaden, and a sea-weed 
 called kelp, taken from the ocean bordering on his 
 farm. For this crop he uses no barn-yard manure, 
 for where it is scattered on the land, weeds will grow. 
 At a proper time his men will take these potatoes to 
 Boston, where their good quality will bring for them 
 a good price. 
 
 We looked at the turnips. He has one field of 
 ten acres, the best he has ever produced. He said 
 he chooses for this crop also, a light soil, and ex-
 
 140 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 eludes from it all barn yard manure. Manure fresh 
 from the sea is exactly the thing for turnips. All 
 succulent crops delight in it. To-morrow he will 
 show me how and where he obtains the weed, and 
 how he uses it. 
 
 We next looked at a field of five acres of beets, 
 growing by the side of the turnips in a most luxuriant 
 manner. His preparation for this crop was like that 
 of the potato and turnip, consequently the field is free 
 from weeds. After the seed is once planted, he has 
 nothing to do. but wait for the harvest to come. 
 Mr. Webster has a strict regard for what is called a 
 rotation in crops, and generally makes his turnips and 
 beets follow a crop of wheat or oats. These green 
 crops, he says, do not exhaust the soil, but bring to it 
 as much annually as they take away. 
 
 In former letters I have given you his views, the 
 result of his reading, his reflection and his experience 
 on this interesting topic. 
 
 His corn is growing finely and promises an abun- 
 dant harvest ; and, as we passed over the stubble 
 fields, I could see there had been an extraordinary 
 yield. Mr. Webster remarked that in this respect, 
 ,' Nature had been bountiful." His barns are all full. 
 
 Among his cattle he apparently takes great de- 
 light. He has imported some of the finest breeds in 
 England and Scotland. His Devonshires, Durhams 
 and Ayrshires are all noble specimens. He almost 
 always has some prodigies in nature. Sometimes an 
 ox, sometimes a cow ; but this year he has a remarka- 
 ble pair of twin steers, yearlings, exactly alike, and 
 as large as a common three-year old.
 
 A COMMITTEE CALLS ON HIM. 
 
 141 
 
 His sheep, especially the South-Dowus and 
 Cheviots, are the finest I ever saw, and I presume 
 they are not excelled by any in this country. 
 
 Coming through the lawn, around the fresh pond 
 near the house, I saw a larg number of the real 
 Canada geese. He says they feed on grass, and 
 flourish best when left alone, where they have access 
 to water and islands beyond the leap of a fox. Here 
 they have just such an island. 
 
 You must excuse me again, as I am going to take 
 a ride with a lady. The " neighing and pawing 
 steeds " are at the door. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 A COMMITTEE OALIS ON MB. WKBSTEK HE HAS A PRESENT FROM 
 
 AFAB. 
 
 MARSRFIELD, August, 1848. 
 
 * * * On our return home from the ride with 
 Miss B. we found the defender of the Constitution 
 seated under the shade of the great elm tree, in front 
 of his house, with several eminent men. his guests, 
 talking gravely and wisely upon some political topics 
 of deep concern to the country. I listened awhile 
 and was greatly instructed, but under his own tree 
 Mr. Webster would rather talk on any other subject. 
 Some gentlemen had come from a distance to see 
 him on these subjects, but as soon as courtesy would 
 permit it, topics more agreeable were introduced. 
 While under the trees, a messenger brought him a 
 walking-staff with this inscription : " Constantinople,
 
 142 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 September, 1846. The Honorable Daniel "Webster, 
 Marshfield. Massachusetts, United States of America, 
 for whom this Daphne-wood stick was cut on the bor- 
 ders of the Bosphorus, where Mahomet II. and the 
 Greeks had their last field battle before the complete 
 subjugation of the latter." It was a present from a 
 clergyman. Mr. Webster, in September, 1846, proba- 
 bly little thought that any one so far off was thinking 
 to compliment him in this manner. His premises 
 are greatly occupied by mementoes from all sorts of 
 persons, in all the States and Kingdoms with which 
 we have intercourse. 
 
 The house is filled with guests, and I see another 
 carriage full driving up the glen. I must dress for 
 dinner. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 MR. WEBSTER PREPARES FOR A SPEECH HIS DRESS HIS VIEWS 
 
 ON THESE SUBJECTS DRIVES OVER HIS FARM, AND TALKS OF 
 
 AGRICULTURE. 
 
 MARSHFIELD, August , 1848. 
 
 Long before the sun rose, Mr. Webster was in 
 his library, pondering doubtless on what he should 
 say to his neighbors, who are to meet him to-morrow; 
 in other words, he is going to make a speech. Al- 
 though it is taken for granted that he could draw 
 from his immense storehouse on the spur of any mo- 
 ment sufficient to give them tolerable satisfaction, 
 and to produce the desired effect without much think- 
 ing, no man is more ready such is never his practice
 
 PREPARES FOR A SPEECH. 143 
 
 He would sooner appear before them half -clothed 
 than half-prepared : and he has told me he would as 
 soon stand up aud tell them that he had garments 
 enough at home, but did not think it worth while to 
 put them on, as to tell them he could have made a 
 satisfactory speech, perhaps, if he had taken the re- 
 quisite pains. He never turns off his hearers b} 
 saying he throws out crude thoughts for their im 
 proveinent and consideration, in which there may 
 be something or may be nothing. All the thoughts 
 he throws out have been well digested, and all their 
 bearings and soundings have been carefully ascer 
 tained. He holds it disrespectful in a high degree to 
 an audience that will listen to him. and perhaps come 
 a great distance to do so, " to make an apology in- 
 stead of a speech." Besides, what he is to say to- 
 morrow, and, indeed, what he says on almost all occa- 
 sions, is virtually said to the whole country. Several 
 reporters are already on the ground, short -hand 
 writers, to send forth, on the wings of lightuing. o each 
 word as soon as it shall be spoken. And he knows, 
 too. that each word will be weighed in a thousand 
 scales, and, if found wanting, complaints will be 
 made. 
 
 I have never heard of a man who would take more 
 pains to meet the just expectations of those who are 
 to hear him. or be more particular in showing a pro- 
 per respect to their opinions, taste, and their conve- 
 nience, than Mr. Webster. He even takes care that 
 he is dressed in a becoming manner. Whoever saw 
 him in Court, in the Senate, at dinner, at any party 
 in the presence of ladies, or on any occasion, without
 
 144 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 discovering that he was dressed in a manner pecu- 
 liarly proper ? His uniform for the Senate and the 
 Bar is, a blue coat with gilt buttons, a buff-colored 
 vest, and black pantaloons. It is not that he fancies 
 he appears personally better in one suit than another, 
 but because he will, on all occasions, show, by some 
 mark of attention, that he omits nothing that is due 
 to those before whom it is his duty or his pleasure to 
 present himself. If he does not show this respect, 
 it is because some circumstance prevents him. Hence 
 it is, that whenever time is given, he goes before his 
 hearers with every topic well considered, with every 
 mark of respect. 
 
 He never writes out a speech, which he over and 
 over again scratches and amends, and finally commits 
 to memory in hcec verba, as many speakers do, but 
 he prepares himself by thinking. The whole mass of 
 matter pertaining to any subject he puts into the 
 crucible of his brain, and there separates the dross 
 from the pure gold, which he forges into links and 
 forms a chain. 
 
 It is his custom to do this great business of 
 thinking at an early hour, before any of the stirring 
 events of the day, or matters of common concern come 
 to occupy or divert his attention. I saw him this 
 morning in his library, surrounded by those countless 
 volumes which contain the thoughts and learning of 
 all preceding ages, with one hand in his vest pocket, 
 standing erect, and his countenance illuminated, as 
 if he was communing with some master spirit. On 
 the table lay the half-sheet of paper on which he had 
 noted down the index of the thoughts he was revolv- 
 
 tw^M
 
 DRIVE OVER HIS FARM. 
 
 145 
 
 ing. If Healy will transfer to canvas a correct por- 
 trait, as I saw him, with all his surroundings, and 
 catch a gleam of the inspiration which seemed, at 
 that time, to have touched his. mind, I will pay him 
 any price he may ask. Harding, the great artist, has 
 done it to perfection, except, in his portrait, the right 
 hand touches the table. 
 
 After breakfast, Mr. Webster and myself drove 
 to the residence of his son, Mr. Fletcher Webster, a 
 pleasant place on this farm, nearer the sea than the 
 mansion-house, and paid our regards to his lady, and 
 for a while played with his children. 
 
 In driving and riding about I had seen scores of 
 wagons and carts loaded with an article which had 
 never before arrested my attention. I asked what it 
 was. Mr. Webster said it was kelp, a sea-weed, to 
 which he alluded yesterday. It is used by himself 
 and neighbors to fertilize their farms, and one load 
 of it, he says, is equal to three of manure taken from 
 barn-yards. In some countries it is used in making 
 glass. I was curious to know all about it. He said, 
 previous to his coming to Marshfield, it had never, 
 to his knowledge, been used here, though thousands 
 of tons were thrown on the shore annually, to be de- 
 composed, and washed back again to the deep. It 
 had long been used advantageously in Ireland and on 
 the coast of Scotland. He drove me to the beach, 
 that I might see where the bounteous ocean deposited 
 so much real wealth. There it lay, in an extended 
 pile, at high-water mark, from which the waves had 
 receded, leaving it in a convenient position to be 
 taken away, and there could not be less than one
 
 146 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTKR. 
 
 thousand tons or loads. It has a greenish appear- 
 ance, and is, beyond all doubt, very rich in fertilizing 
 qualities. In ancient times, when Heaven rained 
 down manna, there was no more cause for gratitude 
 than this bounteous gift. 
 
 Between the beach and the uplands a small river 
 runs, some distance partly parallel to the shore of the 
 ocean, and, without a bridge, would prevent commu- 
 nication. Mr. Webster and 'the Hon. Gershon B. 
 Weston, a rich and liberal citizen of Duxbury, headed 
 a subscription to build one, and thereby afforded the 
 inhabitants of the neighboring farms an oppor- 
 tunity to use it. A greater public benefit can scarcely 
 be conferred than to disclose such a source of wealth, 
 and, at the same time, open the way to its general 
 enjoyment. 
 
 Having seen where it was obtained, we drove to 
 that part of his farm which he was covering with it. 
 After spreading it carefully and evenly over the 
 surface, he turns it deep into the soil by plows, each 
 drawn by three yoke of oxen, in its fresh state. 
 There his men were at work, as if their lives depend- 
 ed on what they could accomplish in a short time. 
 He says this plan is adopted by the Kentish and 
 Suffolk farmers, and many of the Scotch, and he has 
 found that by consigning it to the soil as soon as pos- 
 sible after it comes from the sea, the better will b. e 
 its effects. . After the salt water has drained from the 
 weeds, and a partial decomposition has taken place, 
 its value will be materially diminished. His poorest 
 lands, those .that have been worn and tilled since the
 
 TALKS OF AGKICULTCRE. 147 
 
 Pilgrims landed, are benefited and rendered greatly 
 productive by its use. 
 
 One chief excellence, he says, this manure pos- 
 sesses over barn-yard, and which he highly prizes, is 
 that it brings with it no noxious weeds, which require 
 vast labor to destroy them, or which exhaust the land. 
 It freshens and endows the soil with capacity to pro- 
 duce the most luxuriant crops. All his landsjn which 
 he produces potatoes, turnips, and beets, are ferti- 
 lized with kelp. No plant, he says, delights in it so 
 much as the potato. Hence one of the reasons for his 
 having so fine a crop, always free from the disease so 
 destructive in other parts of the country. 
 
 In rating one load of this at a value equal to three 
 of the other kind, he thinks he underrates it. Al- 
 though these green manures have been in use since 
 man began to till the land, they have not been syste- 
 matically used. The idea of piling them up and 
 leaving them to decompose before using them, he en- 
 tirely repudiates, and shows beyond ill doubt the 
 advantage of using not only this, but all green 
 manures, in their freshest possible state. 
 
 While upon our morning excursion, we went to 
 the top of Bascom Hill, which is one of the highest 
 promontories of his farm, and sat in the enjoyment 
 of the breeze, in the shade of a rude summer-house 
 erected for that purpose. From this point, farmer 
 Webster can view his whole plantation. On its sum- 
 mit has been also planted a flag-staff a hundred feet 
 high, with halliards for hoisting and lowering the 
 American flag. I have spoken of this on another 
 occasion.
 
 148 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 On the Fourth of July, and on every important 
 occasion, its stars and stripes are flung to the wind, 
 and can be hailed by the mariner as he approaches 
 the shores of the greatest nation on earth. 
 
 We have made up our minds, to use the language 
 of Mr. Webster, that " there are some codfish off in 
 the vicinity of South Rock, waiting to see us ; and 
 we are not the men to disappoint them." 
 
 Our men are carefully selected. Our bait and 
 fishing-tackle are ready, and we believe our sport will 
 be good. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 NOTES OF A TRIP TO NEW HAMPSHIRE MR. WEBSTER IN COURT A 
 
 LETTER ABOUT HIMSELF VERSES, &C. 
 
 BOSTON, Oct. 1849. 
 
 After having spent a week at Marshfield in fish 
 ing, sailing, driving on the beach, shooting, and in all 
 the delights of that charming resort, we changed the 
 scene. 
 
 Lady Emily Stuart Wortley, a daughter of the 
 Duke of Rutland, who is a warm friend of Mr. Web- 
 ster ; Governor Everett, Mr. Gray, of Boston, and a 
 number of others, whom Mr. Webster esteemed high- 
 ly, had been with us, and the time passed gayly. I 
 remember no week replete with more rational enjoy 
 ments. All persons were in good spirits. 
 
 On Saturday night Mr. Webster was kind enough 
 to say to me, " You and I had better go for a week 
 or ton days to New Hampshire, where it is still more
 
 TRIP TO NEW HAMl'SHIRB. 149 
 
 quiet than it is here ; " and at the same time he smiled 
 at the idea that Marshfield was under such circum- 
 stances a quiet place. I speak of what has been going 
 on out of doors, in the fields, on the highways, and on 
 the water. No one present will forget that week. 
 
 On Monday morning early, taking with us two 
 faithful servants from Marshfield, we set out for 
 Franklin, the home of his childhood. We dined in 
 this city on our way, and, leaving- directly after, we 
 were at the old homestead at an early hour in the 
 evening. The old doors grated on the hinges, as they 
 were opened for us. The house is not occupied, ex- 
 cept when he goes there, and that is only once, or, at 
 most, twice a year, and then only for a short time. 
 But he loves to go there, if only for a day. 
 
 John Taylor, who lives in the large farm-house 
 near by, was there, and another servant was added to 
 the number, so that every thing wanted for our hap- 
 piness was made ready at once, or as soon as the 
 slightest wish was expressed. 
 
 There we lived, eating and sleeping when we 
 pleased, and enjoying ourselves as we pleased, in that 
 really quiet place. 1 have on a former occasion des- 
 cribed this farm. 
 
 Mr. Haddock, his distinguished nephew, came 
 > from Dartmouth college, to pay Mr. Webster a visit. 
 He brought with him Mr. Kimball, who has written 
 \ a clever book about Italy and they made the time 
 pass very agreeably ; and while we were there, a large 
 number of the remote kindred, by blood and mar- 
 riage of Mr. Webster, came in a party to make him
 
 150 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 a visit. All rambled over the fields together. They 
 came just after an early dinner, and stayed to tea. 
 Mr. Webster was cheerful, and happy in the enjoy- 
 ment of the company of his relations ; he took pains 
 to make them happy, and all carried away some little 
 memento to keep. Hearing he was there, a great 
 many young gentlemen and ladies, who were not re- 
 lations, came in couples from some distance, to see the 
 great defender of 'the Constitution. With those young 
 people he was social, full of anecdotes, and as playful 
 as the youngest of the party. 
 
 Every day we were there, the weather was uncom- 
 monly fine, and we drove over every road in that vi- 
 cinity, and as we drove, Mr. Webster talked Al- 
 most every brook, tree, rock, mount, valley, plain, 
 house, or building, seemed to suggest some rich anec- 
 dote, which he told in his happiest manner. He point- 
 ed out the place of his birth, his marriage, his school- 
 houses, the place where he studied the law, where he 
 began to practise as an attorney, &c. The anecdotes 
 in which he or his family were concerned, were full of 
 interest. I listened attentively, hoping to bear them 
 in mind ; for every thing concerning him, or them, will 
 some day be deeply interesting to the whole civilized 
 world. He called often to pay his respects to his old 
 friends and neighbors, hardly passing a door. They 
 were all glad to see him. and he never failed to speak 
 cheerfully and encouragingly to all we met. The 
 events of his youth and of their young days were the 
 topics of their conversation. 
 
 We spent some time every afternoon in the fields,
 
 IN COURT. 
 
 151 
 
 with the cattle and sheep. He designated some to be 
 sent to market, for they were fat and ready for the 
 shambles ; and from droves passing his door, from the 
 Canadas towards Boston, he purchased others to re- 
 plenish his stock. All these were very agreeable in- 
 cidents, and happily filled up the time we passed. 
 
 Having remained on the banks of the Merrimac 
 as long as we intended, we shut up the old mansion 
 house, with its precious relicts and pleasant associa- 
 tions. Leaving all things in the charge of his faithful 
 John Taylor, we came to this place, where Mr. Web- 
 ster is concerned as counsel in an important lawsuit 
 about ready for trial. He is still a hard-working 
 man in his profession. He looks to that as his chief 
 source of income, though he has other sources. 
 
 By the by, speaking of lawsuits, reminds me of a 
 letter Mr. Webster wrote last winter, while trying a 
 cause I think about a patent for a water-wheel, at 
 all events there was something in it about a wheel. 
 Mr. Taber and Mr. Choate. whom Mr. Webster high- 
 ly esteemed, were engaged in the same cause. 
 
 The letter is not, of course, written for the public 
 eye ; but I have permission to use it, and make ex- 
 tracts from it. You will see from its half serious and 
 half ironical character, how playful he can be, even 
 while sitting at the bar waiting for his turn to be heard 
 in a cause. He speaks of himself in it, as he supposes 
 others will speak of him. To show you that he is not 
 always cold and unbending, I will give you an extract 
 from the letter. 
 
 For instance, he dated it in this manner :
 
 152 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WET1STER. 
 
 BOSTON, Jan. 15, '49 Monday, 12 o'clock, 
 ' In C. Court, United States. 
 
 Marcy vs. Sizer being on trial, and Tdbero dicente, m longum / and 
 another snow storm appearing to be on the wing. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR : We are in Court yet, and so 
 shall be some days longer. We have the evidence in, 
 and a discussion on the law. preliminary to our sum- 
 ming up, is now going on. I think it will consume 
 the remainder of this day, if it lasts no longer. Mr. 
 Choate will speak to-morrow, and I close immediately 
 after. *#***** 
 
 I am afraid my luck is always bad, and I fear is 
 always to be so. * * * * (Here Mr. Webster 
 speaks of what he expects, and about which he fears 
 he may be disappointed, and the consequences of it.) 
 
 He then goes on to say: 
 
 " It will be said, or may be said hereafter, Mr. 
 Webster was a laborious man in his profession and 
 other pursuits. He never tasted of the bread of idle- 
 ness. His profession yielded him, at some times, 
 large amounts of income ; but he seems never to 
 have aimed at accumulation, and perhaps was not 
 justly sensible of the importance and duty of preser- 
 vation. Riches were never before his eyes as a lead- 
 ing object of regard. When young and poor, he was 
 more earnest in struggling for eminence, than in ef- 
 forts for making money ; and in after life, reputation, 
 public regard, and usefulness in high pursuits, mainly 
 engrossed his attention. He always said, also, that 
 he was never destined to be rich ; that no such star 
 presided over his birth ; that he never obtained any 
 thing by any attempts or efforts out of the line of
 
 * s ^ w - S ^X^^--^-^^W-^-f^l*^^--WVN.^*l*-l-^^ 
 
 ANECDOTE. 153 
 
 his profession ; that his friends, on several occasions, 
 induced him to take an intesest in business opera- 
 tions ; that as often as he did so, loss resulted, till he 
 used to say when spoken to on such subjects 
 
 " Gentlemen, if you have any projects for money 
 making. I pray you keep me out of them ; my singular 
 destiny mars every thing of that sort, and would be sure 
 to overwhelm your own better fortunes." After this he 
 says : " Mr. Webster was the author of that short bio- 
 graphy of most good lawers, which has been ascribed 
 to other sources, viz : that they ' lived well, worked 
 hard, and died poo?:' " 
 
 And in the same letter he tells the following an- 
 ecdote of himself: 
 
 Sitting one day at the Bar in Portsmouth, with an 
 elderly member of the Bar, his friend, who enjeyed 
 with sufficient indulgence that part of a lawyer's lot 
 which consists "in living well," Mr. Webster made an 
 epitaph, which would not be unsuitable 
 
 " Natus consuinere frugea ; 
 
 Frugibns consnmptis, 
 
 Hie Jacet. 
 
 E. C. S." 
 
 At the close of the letter, he added the following 
 postcript, relative to the case on trial: 
 
 Half-past 2 o'clock Cessat Taber; Choate se- 
 quitur, in q^^c$t^ane juris, Crastino die. 
 
 " Tabert is learned, sharp and dry ; 
 Choate, full of fancy, soaring high ; 
 Both, lawyers of the best report, 
 True to their clients and the Court ; 
 What sorrow doth a Christian feel, 
 Both should be ' broken vn a whtd. 1 " 
 VOL. n. 7*
 
 154 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 Most persons who know but little of Mr. Webster 
 or have seen him only on great public occasions, when 
 his brow was knit with thought, think he is always 
 stern, and never unbends himself ; but the truth is far 
 otherwise. I have many playful letters like this, and 
 I have always found him throughout all my travel- 
 ling, sojourning and sports with him, one of the most 
 agreeable men one of the most amiable and playful 
 men I ever met. No one has known him more inti- 
 mately, or has seen him oftener, under every variety 
 of circumstances for fifteen years. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 MB. WEBSTER MAKES HIS *7TH OF MARCH SPEECH. 
 
 WASHINGTON, March 8, 1850. 
 
 It happens to be my great and good luck to be 
 here at this interesting stage in the progress of na- 
 tional events, and that I heard Mr. Webster's speech 
 yesterday in the Senate. I have never been present 
 on any occasion more interesting, or when the excite- 
 ment ran higher, or on any to which my country will 
 recur with more pleasure. 
 
 It had been known for several days that, on 
 Thursday, Mr. Webster was to speak on the subjects 
 which shake the foundations of our government. Mr. 
 Calhoun, the greatest champion of the South, utter- 
 ing sentiments which made many stout hearts tremble, 
 had spoken on Monday, and his speech, like flashes 
 of lightning, had been seen simultaneously in all parts 
 of the surrounding country ; consequently every man
 
 MAKES HIS SEVENTH OF MARCH SPEECH. 155 
 
 or woman who could come to Washington with any 
 hope of hearing Mr. Webster, was here. The day 
 itself was glorious. At an early hour crowds of ladies 
 and gentlemen moved along the avenue, and besieged 
 every door of the Senate Chamber. 
 
 On the opening of the galleries they were imme- 
 diately filled by the most fortunate, but the crowd 
 without was not sensibly diminished. At 10 o'clock, 
 two hours before the Senate was to convene, privi- 
 leged persons, and other gentlemen and ladies with 
 permits from Senators, began to pour into the Senate 
 Chamber itself. Soon all the seats, except the chairs 
 of the Senators, were occupied by ladies, whose smiles 
 had won the privilege to enter, while the lobbies were 
 crowded with members of the other house, and other 
 eminent gentlemen, standing. Soon the Senators 
 themselves made their appearance with more ladies 
 their wives, daughters and friends, and then extra 
 chairs, and sofas, and temporary seats, made with 
 public documents piled one upon another, were called 
 into use. The steps which surround the Vice-Presi- 
 dent's chair were occupied by ladies, while between 
 every two Senators was sandwiched at least one 
 pretty woman. In many instances gallantry so far 
 overcame convenience that the Senators gave up their 
 own seats to ladies, standing themselves in the crowd. 
 There was not unoccupied a spot in that chamber, 
 above or below, or in any avenue leading to it, 
 where the sound of Mr. Webster's voice could be heard. 
 
 It was a magnificent sight. The assembled wis- 
 dom and beauty of this country never before beheld 
 an audience of a higher grade.
 
 156 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTEK. 
 
 At 12 o'clock the Vice-President took the chair, 
 and a rap on the table with the ivory mallet before 
 him called the Senate to order ; then a prayer was 
 made by Rev. Mr. Butler, and the minutes of the 
 previous day were read by the Secretary. As soon 
 as possible the Senate proceeded to the special order 
 of the day, which was the subject of the Compromise. 
 The Vice-President said that Mr. Walker, of Wis- 
 consin, not having finished his speech the day before, 
 was entitled to the floor. Thereupon Mr. Walker 
 rose and said. 
 
 " Mr. President : This vast audience has not as- 
 sembled to hear me ; and there is but one man, in 
 my opinion, who can assemble such an audience. 
 They expect to hear him, and I feel it to be my duty, 
 is well as my pleasure, to give the floor therefore to 
 the Senator from Massachusetts." 
 
 In a moment the buzz of a thousand voices and 
 whispers was silenced, and as many bright and pierc- 
 ing eyes were turned to the seat of Mr. Webster. 
 With that self-possession which so eminently distin- 
 guished him, he rose, passed his hand over his brow, 
 bowed to the Vice-President, surveyed the multitude 
 in his presence, expressed his obligations to the gen- 
 tleman who had yielded the floor to him, and began 
 by saying ; " Mr. President, I wish to speak to-day, 
 not as a Massachusetts man, not as a Northern man, 
 but as an American, and a member of the Senate of 
 the United States." And he did so speak. He made, 
 as you, and hundreds of thousands ere this reaches 
 you will have read, one of the greatest speeches he 
 ever uttered, if not the greatest of all.
 
 MAKES HIS SEVENTH OF MARCH SPEECH. 157 
 
 It was my good fortune, by the courtesy of a 
 Senator, to have a position on the floor of the Senate, 
 exactly in front of the Speaker. I heard every word, 
 and saw every gesture, and every look. In manner, 
 as well perhaps as in matter, he surpassed himself. It 
 was not an occasion for fluent oratory, as if it were a 
 dinner speech, and therefore nothing of that sort was 
 introduced. It was not a political harangue, made 
 to excite the action or draw forth the plaudits of the 
 people. It was none of those occasions on which we 
 are apt to look for smart sayings, classical allusions, 
 or many of the flowers of speech. 
 
 It was a grave occasion. It was before the Senate 
 of the United States ; treating the Senate as if it 
 were what it ought to be, whether it is or not. The 
 question was, substantially. " SHALL OR. SHALL NOT 
 THE UNION BE DISSOLVED ?" When, in your time or 
 mine. has arisen a question more momentous? Never, 
 and Heaven grant that hereafter the question may 
 never be asked. He spoke three hours ; yet, what is 
 extraordinary, he never looked at his notes, except 
 to take from them copies of resolutions arid several 
 extracts from his former speeches, which he asked 
 Mr. Green, of Rhode Island, whose seat is near his 
 own, to read for him. He never transposed a sen- 
 tence, or attempted to change the phraseology of an 
 idea he had put forth ; but his speech came on, as the 
 Mississippi rolls from its fountains, increasing in 
 depth and width till it terminates in the ocean. 
 
 I happen to know that it was his intention to oc- 
 cupy parts of two days. He supposed that, in the 
 order of business, he should begin not far from two
 
 158 MEMORIALS OF DANIET, WEBSTER. 
 
 o'clock, and might speak till the usual hour for the 
 adjournment of the Senate, and that on the next 
 morning he could finish,what he had to say. He had 
 notes prepared on half a sheet of letter paper, to 
 which he would have referred, and he would have in- 
 troduced several other topics, had Mr. Walker not 
 given way, and had he not concluded thereupon to 
 curtail his speech to what could be submitted on that 
 morning. Hence the reason of his laying aside his 
 notes, and making, as he did, an entirely extempo- 
 raneous speech, more brief than it would otherwise 
 have been and purposely stripped of ornament. 
 
 His utterance was slow and his enunciation very 
 distinct. His voice was generally raised just loud 
 enough to be heard clearly in all parts of the chamber, 
 and only occasionally rose to a pitch indicating ex- 
 citement. As he approached the close he became a 
 little warm, and the Senate felt and manifested the 
 force of his sentiments. When the idea of dissolving 
 the Union by peaceable secession came into his mind, 
 his eyes appeared like two balls of fire, and his gesticu- 
 lation indicated the strength of his patriotic impulses. 
 
 His whole manner spoke on this topic more than 
 any words that he could command. Not a sound 
 not even the falling of a pin broke the silence be- 
 tween his sentences. He stood erect, with his burn- 
 ing eyes fixed on Mr. Calhoun, to whom at this 
 instant every eye was drawn, and to whom a hundred 
 curling lips were bidding simultaneous defiance. I 
 should like to see and study for hours a true picture 
 of the Senate, taken at that moment. A more sub- 
 liine tableau vivant I never expect to see.
 
 MAKES HIS SEVENTH OF MARCH SPEECH. 159 
 
 There was one sentence on the subject of the 
 proposed Southern Convention which roused the feel- 
 ings of those venerating the name of Andrew Jackson, 
 who swore "by the Eternal, this Union must and 
 SHALL be preserved," and who lies in his tomb at 
 Nashville. 
 
 "I believe," said Mr. Webster, "if the Conven- 
 tion meet at all, it will be for this purpose ; for cer- 
 tainly, if they meet for any purpose hostile to the 
 Union, they have been singularly inappropriate in 
 their selection of a place. I remember, sir, that 
 when the treaty was concluded between France and 
 England at the peace at Amiens, a stern old En- 
 glishman and an orator, who disliked the terms of the 
 peace as ignominious to England, said in the House 
 of Commons, that if King William could know the 
 terms of the treaty, he would turn in his coffin. Let 
 me commend the saying, in all its emphasis and in all 
 its force, to any body who shall meet at Nashville for 
 the purpose of concerting measures for the overthrow 
 of the Union of this country over the bones of 
 Andrew Jackson." 
 
 The effect upon the audience was like a shock of 
 electricity Here again the flashing eye and the 
 glowing countenance, spoke more than any words that 
 can be uttered. 
 
 He finished his speech by quoting the poet's de- 
 scription of the ornamental buckler of Achilles, and 
 sat down. An enthusiastic burst of applause fol- 
 lowed, though the enchanted hearers were in the 
 presence of the Senate. 
 
 The Senators from all parts of the Chamber ad-
 
 160 MEMORIALS OP DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 vanced, took him by the hand, and complimented him, 
 and congratulated the country. 
 
 Mr. Benton told him that his speech would do 
 more toward allaying the dangerous excitement, and 
 for ever annihilating the idea of disunion, than all the 
 propositions and schemes for compromise that had 
 been or could be proposed from any quarter of the 
 Union. Such language was addressed to him spon- 
 taneously from all parts, East, West, North, and 
 South. 
 
 Sir Henry L. Bulwcr took him by the hand and 
 said : " Sir, that was one of the most finished speci- 
 mens of oratory I have ever heard, and would do 
 honor to any man I ever saw." This from one so dis- 
 tinguished as a scholar, and so well acquainted with 
 all the great men of Europe, is a high compliment, to 
 say the least of it. 
 
 The speech is reported this morning, and it reads 
 well ; but it is impossible to put it on paper as it 
 appeared to those who heard it, and are capable of 
 appreciating its merits. 
 
 5Tours truly.
 
 EDWARD EVERETT'S SPEECH ON THE DEATH OF 
 WEBSTER, AT A MEETING OF THE CITIZENS OF 
 BOSTON. 
 
 MR. MAYOR AND FELLOW-CITIZENS : I never rose to 
 address an assembly when I was so little fit, body 
 or mind, to perform the duty ; and I never felt so 
 keenly how inadequate are words to express such an 
 emotion as manifestly pervades this meeting, in com- 
 mon with the whole country. There is but one voice 
 that ever fell upon my ear which could do justice to 
 such an occasion. That voice, alas ! we shall hear 
 no more forever. No more at the bar will it unfold 
 the deepest mysteries of the law ; no more will it 
 speak conviction to admiring Senates ; no more in this 
 hall, the chosen theatre of his intellectual dominion, 
 will it lift the soul as with a swell of the pealing 
 organ, or stir the blood with the tones of a clarion, 
 in the inmost chambers of the heart. 
 
 We are assembled, fellow-citizens, to pour out the 
 fulness of our feelings ; not in the vain attempt to 
 do honor to the great man who is taken from us ; 
 most assuredly, not with the presumptuous hope on 
 any part to magnify his name and his praise. They 
 are spread throughout the land. From East to West,
 
 162 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 and from North to South, (which he knew, as he told 
 you, only that he might embrace them in the arms of 
 loving patriotism,) a voice of lamentation has already 
 gone forth, such as has not echoed throughout the 
 land, since the death of him who was " first in war, 
 first in peace, and first in the hearts of his country- 
 men." 
 
 You have listened, fellow-citizens, to the resolu- 
 tions which have been submitted to you by Col. 
 Heard. I thank him for offering them. It does 
 honor to his heart, and to those with whom he acts in 
 politics, and whom, I have no doubt, he well repre- 
 sents, that he has stepped forward so liberally on this 
 occasion. The resolutions are emphatic, sir, but I 
 feel that they do not say too much. No one will 
 think they overstate the magnitude of our loss, who 
 is, capable of appreciating a character like that of 
 Daniel Webster. Who of us, fellow-citizens, that 
 has known him that has witnessed the masterly skill 
 with which he would pour the full effulgence of his 
 mind on some contested legal and constitutional 
 principle, till what seemed hard and obscure became 
 as plain as day ; who that has seen him, in all the 
 glory of intellectual ascendency, 
 
 Hide on the whirlwind and direct the storm 
 
 of parliamentary conflict ; who that has drank of the 
 pure, fresh air of wisdom and thought in the volumes 
 of his writings ; who, alas sir, that has seen him 
 
 -in his happier hour
 
 EDWARD EVERETT'S SPEECH. 163 
 
 that has come within the benignant fascination of his 
 smile, has felt the pressure of his hand, and tasted the 
 sweets of his fireside eloquence, will think that the 
 resolutions say too much ? 
 
 No, fellow-citizens, we come together not to do 
 honor to him but to do justice to ourselves. We 
 obey an impulse from within. Such a feeling cannot 
 be pent up in solitude. We must meet, neighbor 
 with neighbor, citizen with citizen, man with man, 
 to sympathize with each other. If we did not, mute 
 Nature would rebuke us. The Granite Hills of New 
 Hampshire, within whose shadow he drew his first 
 breath, would cry shame : Plymouth Rock, which all 
 but moved at his approach ; the slumbering echoes of 
 this Hall which rung so grandly with his voice, that 
 "silent but majestic orator," which rose in no mean 
 degree at his command on Bunker Hill, all, all, 
 would cry out at our degeneracy and ingratitude. 
 
 Mr. Chairman, I do not stand here to pronounce 
 the eulogy of Mr. Webster ; it is not necessary. Eu- 
 logy has already performed her first offices to his 
 memory. As the mournful tidings have flashed 
 through the country, the highest offices of Nation and 
 State, the most dignified official bodies, the most 
 prominent individuals, without distinction of party, 
 the press of the country, the great voice of the land, 
 all have spoken, and with one accord of opinion and 
 feeling ; with a unanimity that does honor at once to 
 the object of this touching attestation, and to those 
 who make it. The record of his life, from the humble 
 roof beneath which he was born, (with no inheritance 
 but poverty and an honored name,) up through the
 
 164 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 arduous paths of manhood, which he trod with lion 
 heart and giant steps, till they conducted him to the 
 helm of state, this stirring narrative, not unfamiliar 
 before, has, with melancholy promptitude, within the 
 last three days, been again sent abroad through the 
 length and breadth of the land. It has spread from 
 the Atlantic to the Mississippi. Struggling poverty 
 has been cheered afresh ; honest ambition has been 
 kindled, patriotic resolve has been invigorated ; while 
 all have mourned. 
 
 The poor boy at the village school has taken com- 
 fort as he has read that the time was when Daniel 
 Webster, whose father told him he should go to col- 
 lege if he had to sell every acre of his farm to pay the 
 expense, laid his head on the shoulder of that, ibnd 
 and discerning parent, and wept the thanks La could 
 not speak. The pale student who ekes out his scanty 
 support by extra toil has gathered comfort when re- 
 minded that the first jurist, statesman, and orator of 
 the time, earned with his weary fingers by the mid- 
 night lamp, the means of securing tbe same advan- 
 tages of education to a beloved brother. Every true- 
 hearted citizen throughout the Union has felt an 
 honest pride as he re-peruses the narrative, in reflect- 
 ing that he lives beneath a Constitution and a 
 Government under which such a man has been formed 
 and trained, and that he himself is compatriot with 
 him. He does more, sir ; he reflects with gratitude 
 that in consequence of what that man has done and 
 written, and said in the result of his efforts to 
 strengthen the pillars of the Union a safer inherit-
 
 EDWARD EVERETT'S SPEECH. 1(55 
 
 ance of civil liberty, a stronger assurance that these 
 blessings will endure, will descend to his children. 
 
 I know, Mr. Mayor, how -presumptuous it would 
 be to dwell on any personal causes of grief, in the 
 presence of this august sorrow which spreads its dark 
 wings over the land. You will not, however, be 
 offended, if by way of apology for putting myself for- 
 ward on this occasion, I say that my relations with 
 Mr. Webster run further back than those of almost 
 any one in this community. They began the first 
 year he came to live in Boston. When I was but ten 
 or eleven years old, I attended a little private school 
 in Short-street, (as it was then called ; it is now the 
 continuation of Kingston-street.) kept by the late 
 Hon. Ezekiel Webster, the elder brother to whom I 
 have alluded, and a brother worthy of his kindred. 
 Owing to illness, or some other cause of absence on 
 his part, the school was kept for a short time by Dan- 
 iel Webster, then a student of law in Mr. Gore's 
 office ; and on this occasion, forty-seven or forty-eight 
 years ago, and I a child of ten, our acquaintance, 
 never interrupted, began. 
 
 When I entered public life, it was with his en- 
 couragement. In 1838, I acted, fellow-citizens, as 
 your organ in the great ovation which you gave him 
 in this hall. When he came to the Department of 
 State, in 1841, it was on his recommendation that I, 
 living in the utmost privacy beyond the Alps, was 
 appointed to a very high c ffice abroad ; and, in the 
 course of the last year, he gave me the highest proof 
 of his confidence, in intrusting to me the care of con- 
 ducting his works through the press. May I venture,
 
 166 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 sir, to add, that in the last letter but one which I had 
 the happiness to receive from him, alluding with a 
 kind of sad presentiment, which I could not then 
 fully appreciate, but which now unmans me, to these 
 kindly relations of half a century, he adds : " We 
 now and then see stretching across the heavens a 
 clear, blue, cerulean sky, without cloud, or mist, or 
 haze. And such appears to me our acquaintance 
 from the time when I heard you for a week recite 
 your lessons in the little school-house in Short-street, 
 to the date hereof," 21st July, 1852. 
 
 Mr. Chairman, I do not dwell upon the traits of 
 Mr. Webster's public character, however tempting 
 the theme. Its bright developments in a long life 
 of service are before the world ; they are wrought 
 into the annals of the country. Whoever in after 
 times shall write the history of the United States for 
 the last forty years, will write the life of Daniel Web- 
 ster ; and whoever writes the life of Daniel Webster, 
 as it ought to be written, will write the history of 
 the Union from the time he took a leading part in its 
 concerns I prefer to allude to those private traits 
 which show the MAN, the kindness of his heart, the 
 generosity of his spirit, his freedom from all the bit- 
 terness of party, the unaffected gentleness of his na- 
 ture. In preparing the new edition of his works, he 
 thought proper to leave almost everything to my 
 discretion as far as matters of taste are concerned. 
 One thing only he enjoined upon me. with an earnest- 
 ness approaching to a command. " My friend," said 
 he, " I wish to perpetuate no feuds. I have some- 
 times, though rarely, and that in self-defence, been
 
 EDWARD EVERETT S SPEECH. 
 
 167 
 
 led to speak of others with severity. I beg you, 
 where you can do it without wholly changing the 
 character of the speech, and thus doing essential in- 
 justice to me, to- obliterate every trace of personality 
 of this kind. I should prefer not to leave a word 
 that would give unnecessary pain to any honest man. 
 however opposed to me." 
 
 But I need not tell you. fellow-citizens, that there 
 is no one of our distinguished public men whose 
 speeches contain less occasion for such an injunction. 
 Mr. Webster habitually abstained from the use of 
 the poisoned weapons of personal invective or party 
 odium. No one could more studiously abstain from 
 all attempts to make a political opponent personally 
 hateful. If the character of our congressional dis- 
 cussions has of late years somewhat declined in dig- 
 nity, no portion of the blame lies at his door. With 
 Mr. Calhoun, who, for a considerable portion of the 
 time, was his chief antagonist, and with whom he was 
 brought into most direct collision, he maintained 
 friendly personal relations. He did full justice to 
 his talent and character. You remember the feeling 
 with which he spoke of him at the time of his decease. 
 Mr. Calhoun, in his turn, entertained a just estimate 
 of his great opponent's worth. He said, toward the 
 close of his life, that of all the leading men of the 
 day, ' : there was not one whose political course had 
 been more strongly marked by a strict regard to 
 truth and honor than Mr. Webster's." 
 
 One of the resolutions speaks of a permanent 
 memorial to Mr. Webster. I do not know what is 
 contemplated, but I trust that such a memorial there
 
 168 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 will be. I trust that marble and brass, in the hands 
 of the most skilful artists our country has produced, 
 will be put in requisition to reproduce to us and 
 nowhere so appropriately as in this* hall the linea- 
 ments of that noble form and beaming countenance, 
 on which we have so often gazed with delight. But. 
 after all, fellow-citizens, the noblest monument may 
 be found in his works. There he will live and 
 speak to us and our children when brass and marble 
 have crumbled into dust. As a repository of political 
 truth and practical wisdom applied to the affairs of 
 government, I know not where we shall find their 
 equal. The works of Burke naturally suggest them- 
 selves to the mind as the only writings in our Ian 
 guage that can sustain the comparison. Certainly no 
 compositions in the English tongue can take prece- 
 dence of those of Burke in depth of thought, reach of 
 forecast, or magnificence of style. I think, however, 
 it may be said, without partiality, either national or 
 personal, that while the reader is cloyed at last with 
 the gorgeous finish of Burke's diction, there is a se- 
 vere simplicity, and a significant plainness, in Web- 
 ster's writings that never tires. It is precisely this 
 which characterizes the statesman in distinction from 
 the political philosopher. In political disquisition 
 elaborated in the closet, the palm must perhaps be 
 awarded to Burke over all others, ancient or modern. 
 But in the actual conflicts of the Senate, man against 
 man, and opinion against opinion, in the noble war 
 of debate, where measures are to be sustained and 
 opposed, on which the welfare of the country and the 
 peace of the world depend, where often the line of
 
 EDWARD EV :RETT'S SPEECH. 169 
 
 intellectual battle is changed in a moment no time 
 to reflect no leisure to cull words, or gather up il- 
 lustrations but all to be decided by a vote, although 
 the reputation of*a life may be at stake all this is a 
 very different matter, and here Mr. Webster was im- 
 measurably the superior. Accordingly, we find histo- 
 rically (incredible as it sounds, and what I am ready 
 to say I will not believe, though it is unquestionably 
 true), that these inimitable orations of Burke, which 
 one cannot read without a thrill of admiration to his 
 fingers' ends, actually emptied the benches of Parlia- 
 ment. 
 
 Ah, gentlemen, it was very different with our 
 great parliamentary orator. He not only chained to 
 their seats willing, or, if there were such a thing, un- 
 willing Senators, but the largest hall was too small 
 for his audience. On the memorable 7th of March, 
 1850. when he was expected to speak upon the great 
 questions then pending before the country, not only 
 was the Senate Chamber thronged to its utmost ca- 
 pacity at an early hour, but all the passages to it, 
 the rotunda of the Capitol, and even the avenues of 
 the city, were alive with the crowds who were desi- 
 rous of gaining admittance. Another Senator, not a 
 political friend, was entitled to the floor. With equal 
 good taste and feeling, he stated that " he was aware 
 that great multitudes had not come together to hear 
 him ; and he was pleased to yield the floor to the 
 only man, as he believed, who could draw together 
 such an assembly." This sentiment, the effusion of 
 parliamentary courtesy, will, perhaps, be found no
 
 inadequate epression of what will finally be the 
 judgment of posterity. 
 
 Among the many memorable words which fell 
 from the lips of our friend just befor% they were closed 
 for ever, the most remarkable are those which my 
 friend Hilliard has just quoted. "I STILL LIVE." 
 They attest the serene composure of his mind ; the 
 Christian's heroism, with which he was able to turn 
 his consciousness in upon himself, and explore, step 
 by step, the dark passage (dark to us, but to him, we 
 trust, already lighted from above), which connects 
 this world with the world to come. But I know not, 
 Mr. Chairman, what words could have been better 
 chosen to express his relation to the world he was 
 leaving " I still live." This poor dust is just return- 
 ing to the dust from which it was taken, but I feel 
 that I live in the affections of the people to whose 
 services I have consecrated my days. " I still live." 
 The icy hand of death is already laid on my heart, 
 but I shall still live in those words of counsel which 
 I have uttered to my fellow-citizens, and which I now 
 leave them as the last bequest of a dying friend. 
 
 Mr. Chairman, in the long and honored career of 
 our lamented friend, there are efforts and triumphs 
 which will hereafter fill one of the brightest pages 
 of our history. But I greatly err if the closing scene 
 the height of the religious sublime does not, in 
 the judgment of other days, far transcend in interest 
 the brightest exploits of public life. Within that 
 darkened chamber at Marshfield was witnessed a 
 scene of which we shall not readily find the parallel. 
 The serenity with which he stood in the presence of
 
 EDWARD EVERETT'S SPEECH. 
 
 171 
 
 the King of Terrors, without trepidation or flutter, 
 for hours and days of expectation : the though tfulness 
 for the public business, when the sands were so nearly 
 run out ; the hospitable care for the reception of the 
 friends who came to Marshfield ; that affectionate 
 and solemn leave separately taken, name by name, of 
 wife, and children, and kindred, and friends, and fa- 
 mily, down to the humblest members of the house- 
 hold ; the designation of the coming day, then near 
 at hand, when " all that was mortal of Daniel Web- 
 ster would cease to exist!" the dimly recollected 
 strains of the funeral poetry of Gray ; the last faint 
 flash of the soaring intellect ; the feebly murmured 
 words of Holy Writ repeated from the lips of 
 the good physician, who, when all the resources of 
 human art had been exhausted, had a drop of spiritual 
 balm for the parting soul ; the clasped hands ; the 
 dying prayers. Oh ! my fellow-citizens, this is a 
 consummation over which tears of pious sympathy 
 will be shed ages after the glories of the forum and 
 the senate are forgotten. 
 
 " His sufferings ended with the day, 
 
 Yet lived he at its close ; 
 And breathed the long, long night away, 
 In statue-like repose. 
 
 " But ere the Sun, in all his state, 
 
 Illumed the Eastern skies, 
 He passed through glory's morning gate, 
 And walked in Paradise."
 
 RUPUS CHOATE'S SPEECH BEFORE THE SUFFOLK 
 BAR, BOSTON, ON OCCASION OF THE DECEASE 
 OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 MAY IT PLEASE YOUR HONOR I have been re- 
 quested by the members of the Bar of this Court to 
 present certain resolutions in which they have embo- 
 died, as they were able, their sorrow for the death of 
 their beloved and illustrious member and country- 
 man, Mr. Webster ; their estimation of his character, 
 life, and genius ; their sense of the bereavement to 
 the country as to his friends incapable of repair ; 
 the pride, the fondness the filial and patriotic pride 
 and fondness with which they cherish and would 
 consign to history, to cherish the memory of a great 
 and good man. 
 
 And when I have presented these resolutions, my 
 duty is done. He must have known Mr. Webster 
 less and loved him less than your Honor, or than I 
 have known and loved him, who can quite yet quite 
 yet, before we can comprehend that we have lost him 
 for ever before the first paleness with which the 
 news of his death overspread our cheeks, has passed 
 away ; before we have been down to lay him in the 
 Pilgrim soil he loved so well, till the heavens be no
 
 RUFUS CHOATE'S SPEECH. 
 
 173 
 
 more he must have known and loved him less than 
 we have done, who can come here quite yet, to re- 
 count the series of his service to display with psy- 
 chological exactness the traits of his nature and mind 
 to ponder and speculate on the secrets, on the mar- 
 vellous secrets and sources of that vast power, which 
 we shall see no more in action, nor aught in any de- 
 gree resembling it. among men. These first moments 
 should be given to grief. It may employ it may 
 promote a calmer mood to construct a more elaborate 
 and less unworthy memorial. 
 
 For the purposes of this moment and place, in- 
 deed, no more is needed. What is there for this 
 Court or for this Bar from me to learn, here and now 
 of him ? The year and the day of his birth ; that 
 birth-place on the frontier yet bleak and waste ; the 
 well of which his childhood drank dug by that fa- 
 ther of whom he said, " that through the fire and 
 blood of seven years' revolutionary war, he shrank 
 from no danger, no toil, no sacrifice, to serve his 
 country, and to raise his children to a condition bet- 
 ter than his own" the elm-tree that father planted, 
 fallen now, as father and son have fallen that train- 
 ing of the giant infancy 3n Catechism and Bible, and 
 Watts's version of the Psalms, and the traditions of 
 Plymouth and Fort William and Mary, and the Re- 
 volution, and the age of Washington, and Franklin ; 
 on the banka of the Merrimack, flowing sometimes in 
 flood and anger, from his secret springs in the crystal 
 hills ; the two district schoolmasters, Chase and Tap- 
 pan ; the village library ; the dawning of the love 
 and ambition of letters ; the few months at Exeter
 
 174 MEMOBIALS OF DANIEL "WEBSTER. 
 
 and Boscawen ; the life of college ; the probation- 
 ary season of school-teaching ; the clerkship in the 
 Fryburg Registry of Deeds; his admission to the 
 Bar, presided over by Judges like Smith, illustrated by 
 practitioners such as Mason, where by the studies, in 
 the contentions of nine years he laid the foundation 
 of the professional mind ; his irresistible attraction 
 to public life ; the oration on commerce ; the Rock- 
 ingham resolutions ; his first term of four years' ser- 
 vice in Congress, when by one bound he sprang to his 
 place by the side of the foremost of the rising Ame- 
 rican statesmen ; his removal to this State ; and 
 then the double and parallel current in which his 
 life, studies, thoughts, and cares, have since flowed, 
 bearing him to the leadership* of the Bar, by univer- 
 sal acclaim ; bearing him to the leadership of public 
 life last of that surpassing triumvirate, shall we say 
 the greatest, the most widely known and admired 
 of all ? These things, to their minutest details, are 
 known and rehearsed familiarly. Happier than the 
 younger Pliny, happier than Cicero, he has found his 
 historian unsolicited, in his lifetime and bis coun- 
 trymen have him all by heart 
 
 There is, then, nothing to tell you ; nothing to 
 bring to mind. And then, if I may borrow the lan- 
 guage of one of his historians and friends one of 
 those through whose beautiful pathos the common 
 sorrow uttered itself yesterday, in Faneuil Hall " I 
 dare not come here, and dismiss in a few summary 
 paragraphs the character of one who has filled such a 
 space in the history who holds such a place in the 
 heart of his country. It would be a disrespectful fa-
 
 RUFUR CHOATE'S SPEECH. 175 
 
 miliarity to a man of his lofty spirit, his great soul, 
 his rich endowments, his long and honorable life, to 
 endeavor thus to weigh and estimate them." A half 
 hour of words, a handful of earth, for fifty years of 
 great deeds, on high places ! 
 
 But although the time does not require any thing 
 elaborated and adequate forbids it rather some 
 broken sentences of veneration and love may be in- 
 dulged to the sorrow which oppresses us. 
 
 There presents itself, on the first, to any observa- 
 tion of Mr. Webster's life and character, a twofold 
 eminence eminence of the very highest rank in a 
 twofold field of intellectual public display the pro- 
 fessiofi of the law, and the profession of statesman- 
 ship of which it would not be easy to recall any pa- 
 rallel in the biography of illustrious men. 
 
 Without seeking for parallels, and without as- 
 serting that they do not exist, consider that he was 
 by universal designation the leader of the general 
 American Bar ; and that he was also, by an equally 
 universal designation, foremost of her statesmen liv- 
 ing at his death inferior to not one who has lived 
 and acted since the opening of his own public life. 
 Look at these aspects of his greatness separately, 
 and from opposite sides of the surpassing elevation, 
 consider that his single career at the Bar may seem 
 to have been enough to employ the largest faculties 
 without repose for a lifetime and that if then and 
 thus the " infinitus forensium rerum labor," would 
 have conducted him to a mere professional reward 
 a Bench of Chancery or Law the crown of the first 
 of advocates -jurisperitorum eloquent issimus to
 
 the pure and mere fame of a great magistrate that 
 that would be as much as is allotted to the ablest in 
 the distribution of fame. Even that half if I may 
 say so of his illustrious reputation how long the 
 labor to win it how worthy of all that labor ! He 
 was bred first in the severest school of the common 
 law in which its doctrines were expounded by 
 Smith, and its administration shaped and directed by 
 Mason, and its foundation principles, its historical 
 sources and illustrations, its connection with the pa- 
 rallel series of statutory enactments, its modes of 
 reading, and the evidence of its truths, he grasped 
 easily and completely : and I have myself heard him 
 say, that for many years while still at the bftr, he 
 tried more causes, and argued more questions of fact 
 to the jury than perhaps any other member of the 
 profession any where. I have heard from others, how 
 even then he exemplified the same direct, clear, and 
 forcible exhibition of proofs, and the reasonings ap- 
 propriate to the proofs as well as the same marvel- 
 lous power of discerning instantly what we call the 
 decisive points of the cause in law and fact by 
 which he was later more widely celebrated. This 
 was the first epoch in his professional training. 
 
 With the commencement of his public life, or 
 with his later removal to this State, began the 
 second epoch of his professional training con- 
 ducting him through the gradation of the national 
 tribunals to the study and practice of the more flex- 
 ible, elegant, and scientific jurisprudence of Com- 
 merce and of Chancery, and to the grander and less 
 fettered investigation of international jurisprudence 
 
 L.
 
 RUFUS CHOATE'S SPEECH. 177 
 
 and constitutional law and giving him to breathe 
 the air of a more famous forum, in a more public. pre- 
 sence, with more variety of competition ; although he 
 never met abler men, as I have heard him say, than 
 some of those who initiated him in the rugged disci- 
 pline of the Courts of New Hampshire ; and thus, at 
 length, by these studies, these labors, this contention, 
 continued without repose, he came, now many years 
 ago, to stand, omnium consentu, at the summit of 
 the American Bar. 
 
 It is common, and it is easy, in the case of all in 
 such position, to point out other lawyers, here and there, 
 as possessing some special qualification or attainment 
 more remarkably, perhaps, because more exclusively ; 
 to say of one that he has more cases in his recollec- 
 tion, at any given moment ; or that he was earlier 
 grounded in equity ; or has gathered more black-let- 
 ter, or civil law, or knowledge of Spanish or Western 
 titles ; and these comparisons were sometimes made 
 with him. But when you sought a counsel of the 
 first rate for the great cause, who would most surely 
 discern and most powerfully expound the exact law 
 required for the controversy, in season for use; 
 who could most skilfully encounter the opposing 
 law ; under whose power of analysis, persuasion 
 and display, the asserted right would assume the 
 most forcible aspect before the intelligence of the 
 Judge ; who, if the inquiry became loaded with, or 
 resolved into facts, could most completely develope 
 and most irresistibly expose them ; one " the Law's 
 whole thunder born to wield" when you sought such a 
 counsel, and could have the choice, I think the uni- 
 8*
 
 178 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 versal profession would have turned to him. And 
 this would be so in nearly every description of causes. 
 In any department, some able men wield civil inqui- 
 ries with a peculiar ability some criminal. How 
 lucidly and how deeply he unfolded a question of 
 property, you all know. But then with what address, 
 feeling, and pathos, he defended ; with what dignity 
 and crushing power, accusatoria spiritu^ he prose- 
 cuted the accused of crime, few have seen ; but none 
 who have seen can ever forget it. 
 
 Some scenes there are some Alpine eminences 
 rising above the high table-land of such a professional 
 life, to which, in the briefest tribute, we should love 
 to follow him. We recall that day for an illustra- 
 tion, when he first announced with decisive display, 
 what manner of man he was to the Supreme Court of 
 the Nation. It was in 1818, and it was in the ar- 
 gument of the case of the Dartmouth College. Wil- 
 liam Pinkney was recruiting his great faculties, and 
 replenishing that reservoir of professional and elegant 
 acquisition in Europe. Samuel Dexter. " the honor- 
 able man, and the councillor, and the elegant orator," 
 was in his grave. The boundless old school learning 
 of Luther Martin ; the silver voice and infinite ana- 
 lytical ingenuity and resources of Jones, the fervid 
 genius of Emmett, pouring itself along immenso ore: 
 the ripe and beautiful culture of Wirt and Hopkin- 
 eon the steel point unseen, not unfelt, beneath the 
 foliage ; these and such as these were left of that no- 
 ble Bar. That day, Mr. Webster opened the case of 
 Dartmouth College to a tribunal unsurpassed on
 
 RUFUS CHOATE S SPKECH. 
 
 179 
 
 earth in all that gives illustration to a Bench of 
 Law, not one of whom any longer survives. 
 
 One would love to linger on the scene, when, after 
 a masterly argument of the law, carrying, as we 
 may now know, conviction to the general mind of the 
 court, and vindicating and settling for his lifetime 
 his place in that forum he paused to enter, with an 
 altered feeling, tone and manner, with these words, 
 on his peroration : " I have brought my alma mater 
 to this presence, that if she must fall, she may fall in 
 her robes, and with dignity ;" and then broke forth in 
 that strain of sublime and pathetic eloquence, of 
 which we know not much more than that in its pro- 
 gress. Marshall the intellectual, the self controlled, 
 the unemotioned announced visibly the presence of 
 the unaccustomed enchantinent. 
 
 Other forensic triumphs crowd upon us in other 
 competition- with other issues. But I must commit 
 them to the historian of constitutional jurisprudence. 
 
 And now, if this transcendent professional reputa- 
 tion were all of Mr. Webster, it might be practicable, 
 though not easy, to find its parallel elsewhere in our 
 own. or in European or classical biography. 
 
 But when you consider that, side by side with 
 this, there was growing up that other reputation 
 that of the first American statesman ; that for thirty- 
 three years those embracing his most herculean 
 works at the Bar he was engaged as a member of 
 either House, or in the highest Executive Depart- 
 ments, in the conduct of the largest national affairs ; 
 in the treatment of the largest national questions , in 
 debate with the highest abilities of American public
 
 1 80 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 life ; conducting diplomatic intercourse in delicate 
 relations with all classes of foreign powers ; investi- 
 gating whole classes of truths, totally unlike the 
 truths of law, and resting on principles totally dis- 
 tinct, and that here, too, he was wise, safe, control- 
 ling, trusted, the foremost man ; that Europe had 
 come to see in his life a guaranty for justice, for 
 peace, for the best hope of civilization and America 
 to feel sure of her glory, her safety, as a great arm 
 enfolded her ; you see how rare, how solitary almost 
 was the actual greatness ! Who anywhere has seen, 
 as he had, the double fame, wore the double wreath 
 of Murray and Chatham ; or of Dunning and Fox ; 
 or of Erskine and Pitt ; or of William Pinkney and 
 Rufus King, in one transcendent superiority ? 
 
 I cannot attempt to grasp and sum up the aggre- 
 gate of the service of his public life at such a moment 
 as this and it is needless. That it comprised a term 
 of more than thirty-three years. It produced a body of 
 performances of which I may say generally, it was 
 all which the first abilities of the country and time, 
 employed with unexampled toil, stimulated by the 
 noblest patriotism ; in the highest places of the state 
 in the fear of Grod in the presence of nations 
 could possibly compass. 
 
 He came into Congress after the war of 1812 had 
 begun, and though probably deeming it unnecessary, 
 according to the highest standards of public necessity 
 in his private character and objecting in his public 
 to some of the details of the policy by which it was 
 prosecuted, and standing by party ties in general op- 
 position to the administration he never breathed a
 
 RUFTTS CHOATE'S SPEKCH. 181 
 
 sentiment calculated to depress the tone of the public 
 mind ; to aid or comfort the enemy ; to check or 
 chill the stirrings of that new passionate, unquench- 
 able spirit of nationality, which then was revealed, 
 or kindled to burn till we go down to the tombs of 
 States. 
 
 With the peace of 1815, his more cherished public 
 labors began ; and thenceforward has he devoted him- 
 self the ardor of his civil youth the energies of his 
 maturest manhood the autumnal wisdom of the 
 ripened years to the offices of legislation and diplo- 
 macy of preserving the peace keeping the honor 
 establishing the boundaries, and vindicating the neu- 
 tral rights of his country restoring a sound curren- 
 cy, and laying its foundation sure and deep in up- 
 holding public credit in promoting foreign com- 
 merce and domestic industry in developing our un- 
 counted material resources giving the lake and the 
 river to trade and vindicating and interpreting the 
 Constitution and the law. On all these subjects on 
 all measures practically in any degree affecting them 
 he has inscribed his opinions, and left the traces of 
 his hand. Everywhere the philosophical and pa- 
 triotic statesman and thinker will find that he has 
 been before him, lighting the way sounding the 
 abyss. His weighty language his sagacious warn- 
 ingshis great maxims of empire will be raised to 
 view, and live to be deciphered when the final catas- 
 trophe shall lift the granite foundation in fragments 
 from its bed. 
 
 In this connection, I cannot but remark to how 
 extraordinary an extent had Mr. Webster, by his acts, 
 
 ^
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 words, thoughts, or the events of his life, associated 
 himself for ever in the memory of all of us with every 
 historical incident, or at least with every historical 
 epoch ; with every policy, with every glory, with every 
 great name and fundamental institution, and grand or 
 beautiful image, which are peculiarly and properly 
 American. Look backwards to the planting of Ply- 
 mouth and Jamestown, to the various scenes of Colo- 
 nial life in peace and war ; to the opening, and march, 
 and close of the Revolutionary drama to the age of 
 the Constitution to Washington, and Franklin, and 
 Adams, and Jefferson to the whole train of causes 
 from the Reformation downwards, which prepared us 
 to be Republicans to that other train of causes which 
 led us to be Unionists ; look round on field, work- 
 shop, and deck, and hear the music of labor rewarded, 
 fed and protected look on the bright sisterhood of 
 the States, each singing as a seraph in her motion, yet 
 blending in a common beam and swelling a common 
 harmony and there is nothing which does not bring 
 him by some tie to the memory of America. 
 
 We seem to see his form and hear his deep, grave 
 speech every where. By some felicity of his personal 
 life ; by some wise, deep or beautiful word spoken or 
 written ; by some service of his own, or some com- 
 memoration of the services of others, it has come to 
 pass that " our granite hills, our inland seas, and 
 prairies, and fresh, unbounded, magnificent wilder- 
 ness ;" our encircling ocean ; the rock of the Pil- 
 grims ; our new-born sister of the Pacific ; our popu- 
 lar assemblies ; our free schools, all our cherished 
 doctrines of education, and of the influence of reli-
 
 RUFUS CHOATE'S SPEECH. 
 
 183 
 
 gion. and material policy and law. and the Constitu- 
 tion, give us back his name. What American land 
 scape will you look on what subject of American 
 interest will you study what source of hope or of 
 anxiety, as an American, will you acknowledge, that 
 it does not recall him ? 
 
 I shall not venture, in this rapid and general re- 
 collection of Mr. Webster, to attempt to analyze that 
 intellectual power which all admit to have been so 
 extraordinary, or to compare or contrast it with the 
 mental greatness of others in variety or degree of 
 the living or the dead ; or even to attempt to appreciate 
 exactly, and in reference to canons of art. his single 
 attribute of eloquence. Consider, however, the re- 
 markable phenomenon of excellence in three un- 
 kindred, one might have thought, incompatible forms 
 of public speech that of the forum, with its double 
 audience of Bench and jury of the halls of legisla- 
 tion and of the most thronged and tumultuous 
 assemblies of the people. 
 
 Consider further, that this multiform eloquence, 
 exactly as his words fell, became at once so much ac- 
 cession to permanent literature, in the strictest sense 
 solid, attractive, and rich and ask how often in 
 the history of public life such a thing has been exem- 
 plified. Recall what pervaded all these forms of 
 display, and every effort in every form, that union of 
 marked intellect in its largest measure, which pene- 
 trates to the exact truth of the matter^in hand by 
 intuition, or by inference, and discerns everything 
 which may make it intelligible, probable, and credita- 
 ble to another, with an emotional and moral nature,
 
 184 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 profound, passionate, and ready to kindle, and with 
 imagination enough to supply a hundred-fold more of 
 illustration and aggrandizement than his taste suf- 
 fered him to accept that union of greatness of soul 
 with depth of heart, which made his speaking almost 
 more an exhibition of character than of mere genius 
 the style not merely pure, clear Saxon, but so con- 
 structed, so numerous as far as becomes prose, so 
 forcible, so abounding in unlabored felicities, the 
 words so choice, the epithet so pictured, the matter 
 absolute truth, or the most exact and spacious resem- 
 blance the human wit can devise, the treatment of 
 the subject, if you have regard to the kind of truth 
 he had to handle, political, ethical, legal, as deep, as 
 complete as Paley's, or Locke's, or Butler's, or Alex 
 ander Hamilton's, of their subjects, yet that depth 
 and that completeness of sense, made transparent as 
 through crystal waters all embodied in harmonious 
 or well-composed periods ; raised on winged language, 
 vivified, fused and poured along in a tide of emotion, 
 fervid and incapable to be withstood recall the form, 
 the eye. the brow, the tone of voice, the presence of 
 the intellectual king of men recall him thus, and in 
 the language -of Mr. Justice Story, commemorating 
 Samuel Dexter, we may well rejoice that " we have 
 lived in the same age. that we have listened to his 
 eloquence, and be.en instructed by his wisdom." 
 
 I cannot leaye the subject of his eloquence with- 
 out returning to 3, thought I have advanced already. 
 All that he has left or the larger portion of all 
 is the record of spoken words. His works, as already 
 aollected, extend to many volumes a library of r;a-
 
 RUFUS CHOATE'S SPEECH. 
 
 185 
 
 Bon and eloquence, as Gibbon has said of Cicero's 
 but they are volumes of speeches only, or mainly ; 
 and yet who does not rank him as a great American 
 author an author as truly expounding, and as char- 
 acteristically exemplifying, in a pure, genuine and 
 harmonious English style, the mind, thought, point 
 of view of objects, and essential nationality of his 
 country, as any of our authors, professionally so de- 
 nominated? Against the maxim of Mr. Fox, his 
 speeches read well, and yet were good speeches, great 
 speeches in the delivery. For so grave were they, 
 so thoughtful and true so much the eloquence of 
 reason at last so strikingly, always, they contrived 
 to link the immediate topic with other and broader 
 principles ; ascending easily to widest generaliza- 
 tions so happy was the reconciliation of the quali- 
 ties which engage the attention of hearers, yet re- 
 ward the perusal of students so critically did they 
 keep the right side of tl.e line which parts eloquence 
 from rhetoric, and so far do they rise above the pen- 
 ury of mere, debate, that the general reason of the 
 country has enshrined them at once and for ever 
 among our classics. 
 
 It is a common belief that Mr. Webster was a 
 various reader ; and I think it is true, even to a 
 greater degree than has been believed. In his pro- 
 fession of politics, nothing, I think, worthy of atten- 
 tion, had escaped him nothing of the ancient or 
 modern prudence, nothing which Greek or Roman, or 
 European, or Universal History, or public Biography 
 exemplified. I shall not soon forget with what admi- 
 ration he spoke at an interview to which he admit- 
 

 
 186 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 ted me while in the Law School at Cambridge, of 
 the politics and ethics of Aristotle, and of the mighty 
 mind, which, as he said, seemed to have " thought 
 through " all the great problems which form the dis- 
 cipline of social man. American history and Amer- 
 ican political literature, he had by heart the long 
 series of influences which trained us for representa- 
 tive and free government ; that other series f in- 
 fluences which moulded us into an united government ; 
 the colonial era ; the age of controversy before the 
 revolution ; every scene and every person in that 
 great tragic action ; every question which has suc- 
 cessively engaged our politics, and every name which 
 has figured in them the whole stream of our time 
 was open, clear and present, even, to his eye. 
 
 Beyond his profession of politics, so to call it, he 
 had been a diligent and choice reader, as his extra- 
 ordinary style in part reveals, and I think the love 
 of reading would have gone with him, to a later and 
 riper age, if to such an age it had been the will of 
 God to reserve him. This is no place or time to ap- 
 preciate this branch of his acquisitions ; but there is 
 an interest inexpressible in knowing who were any of 
 the chosen from among the great dead, in the library 
 of such a man. Others may correct me, but I should say 
 of that interior and narrower circle were Cicero, Virgil, 
 Shakspoare, Bacon, Milton, Burke, Johnson to whom 
 I hope it is not pedantic nor fanciful to say, I often 
 thought his nature presented some resemblance ; the 
 same abundance of the general propositions required 
 for explaining a difficulty and returning a sophism, 
 copiously and promptly occurring to him the same
 
 RUFUS CHOATE'S SPEECH. 
 
 187 
 
 kindness of heart and wealth of sensibility ; under a 
 manner, of course, more courteous and gracious, yet 
 more sovereign ; the same sufficient, yet not predom- 
 inant imagination, stooping ever to truth, and giving 
 affluence, vivacity and attraction to a powerful, cor- 
 rect and weighty style of prose. 
 
 I cannot leave his life and character, without se- 
 lecting and dwelling a moment on one or two of his 
 traits, or virtues, or facilities, a little longer. There 
 is a collective impression made by the whole of an 
 eminent person's life, beyond and other than, and 
 apart from, that which the mere general biogra- 
 pher would afford the means of explaining. There 
 is an influence of a great man, derived from things, 
 indescribable alrnoct, or incapable of enumeration, or 
 singly insufficient to account for it, but through which 
 his spirit transpires, and his individuality goes forth 
 on the contemporary generation. And thus, I should 
 say. one great tendency of his life and character was, 
 to elevate the whole tone of the public mind. He 
 did this, indeed, not merely by example ; he did it 
 by dealing, as he thought, truly and in manly fashion, 
 with that public mind. He evinced his love for the 
 people, not so much by honeyed phrases, as by good 
 counsels and useful service vera pro gratis. 
 
 He showed how he appreciated them, by submit- 
 ting sound arguments to their understandings, and 
 right motives to their free will. He came before 
 them less with flattery than with instruction ; less 
 with a vocabulary larded with the words humanity 
 and philanthropy, and progress and brotherhood, than 
 with a scheme of politics, an educational, social and
 
 188 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 governmental system, which would have made them 
 prosperous, happy and great. 
 
 What the Greek historians said of Pericles, we 
 all feel might be said of him " He did not so much 
 follow as lead the people, because he framed not his 
 words to please them, like one who is gaining power 
 by unworthy means, but was able, and dared on the 
 strength of high character, even to brave their anger 
 by contradicting their will." 
 
 I should indicate it as another influence of his 
 life, acts and opinions, that it was in an extraordinary 
 degree uniformly and liberally conservative. He saw 
 with .the vision as of a prophet, that if our system of 
 united government can be maintained till a national- 
 ity shall be generated of due intensity and due com- 
 prehension, a glory indeed millennial, a progress with- 
 out end a triumph of humanity hitherto unseen 
 were ours, and therefore he addressed himself to 
 maintain that united government. 
 
 Standing on the rock of Plymouth, he bid dis- 
 tant generations hail, and saw them rising demand- 
 ing life " impatient from the skies," from what then 
 were " fresh, unbounded, magnificent wildernesses " 
 from the shore of the great tranquil sea not yet 
 become ours. But observe to what he would wel- 
 come them. It is " to good government." It is to 
 " treasures of science and delights of learning." It 
 is to the " sweets of domestic life the immeasurable 
 good of a rational existence the immortal hopes of 
 Christianity the light of everlasting truth." 
 
 It will be happy, if the wisdom and temper of his 
 administration of our foreign affairs, shall preside
 
 RUFTTS CHOATE'S SPEECH. 180 
 
 in the time which is at hand. Sobered, instructed 
 by the examples and warnings of all the past, he yet 
 gathered, from the study and comparison of all the 
 eras, that there is a silent progress of the race with- 
 out return, to which the counsellings of history are 
 to be accommodated by a wise philosophy. More 
 than, or as much as that of any of our public char- 
 acters, his statesmanship was one which recognized a 
 Europe, an Old World, but yet grasped the capital 
 idea of the American position, and deduced from it 
 the whole fashion and color of its policy ; which dis- 
 cerned that we are to play a high part in human af- 
 fairs, but discerned also, what part it is. peculiar, dis- 
 tant, distinct and grand, as our hemisphere ; an in- 
 fluence, not a contact the stage the drama the ca- 
 tastrophe, all but the audience, all our own, and if 
 ever he felt himself at a loss, he consulted, reverently, 
 the genius of WASHINGTON. 
 
 In bringing these memories to a conclusion, for I 
 omit many things because I dare not trust myself to 
 speak of them I shall not be misunderstood or give 
 offence, if I hope that one other trait in his public 
 character, one doctrine, rather, of his political creed, 
 may be remembered and appreciated. It is one of 
 the two fundamental precepts in which Plato, as ex- 
 pounded by the great master of Latin eloquence, and 
 reason and morals, comprehends the duty of those 
 who share in the conduct of the State, " Ut qucecun- 
 que agunt, TOTUM corpus reipublicce curent ne- 
 dum partem aliquant tuentur, reliquas deserant" 
 that they comprise in their care, the whole body of 
 the republic, nor keep one part and desert another.
 
 190 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 He gives the reason, one reason, of the precept, " Qu i 
 autem parti civium consulant, partem negligunt 
 rem perniciosissimam in civitatem inducunt sediti- 
 onem atque discordiam." The patriotism which em- 
 braces less than the whole, induces sedition and dis- 
 cord, the last evil of the State. 
 
 How profoundly he had comprehended this truth 
 with what persistency with what passion, from 
 the first hour he became a public man to the last beat 
 of the great heart, he cherished it how little he ac- 
 counted the good, the praise, the blame of this lo- 
 cality or that in comparison of the larger good and 
 the general and thoughtful approval of his own, and 
 our, whole America, she this day feels and announ- 
 ces. Wheresoever a drop of her blood flows in the 
 veins of man, this trait is felt and appreciated. The 
 hunter beyond Superior the fisherman on the deck of 
 the nigh night-foundered skiff the sailor on the utter- 
 most sea will feel, as he hears these tidings, that 
 the protection of a sleepless, all-embracing, parental 
 care, is withdrawn from him for a space and that 
 his pathway henceforward, is more solitary and less 
 safe than before. 
 
 But I cannot pursue these thoughts. Among 
 the eulogists who have just uttered the eloquent sor- 
 row of England at the death of the great Duke one 
 has employed an image and an idea, which I venture 
 to modify and appropriate. 
 
 " The Northman's image of death is finer than 
 that of other climes ; no skeleton, but a gigantic fig- 
 ure, that envelopes men within the massive folds of 
 its dark garment. Webster seems so enshrouded
 
 RUFUS CHOATE'S SPEECH. 191 
 
 from us as the last of the mighty three, themselves 
 following a mighty series ; the greatest closing the 
 procession. The robe draws round him, and the era 
 is past." 
 
 Yet how much there is which that all-ample fold 
 shall not hide ; the recorded wisdom ; the great ex- 
 ample ; the assured immortality. 
 
 They speak of moments ! 
 
 Nothing need cover his high fame but heaven, 
 
 No pyramids set off his memories, 
 
 But the eternal substance of his greatness, 
 
 TO WHICH I LEAVE HIM.
 
 EULOGY PRONOUNCED IN FANEUIL HALL, BOSTON, 
 NOVEMBER 30, 1852, BY GEORGE S. H1LLARD, 
 ESQ. 
 
 It is now twenty-six years since the heart of the 
 nation was so deeply moved by the death of two great 
 founders of the Republic, on the fiftieth anniversary 
 of the day when its independence was declared. Then, 
 for the first time, these consecrated walls wore the 
 weeds of mourning. Then the multitude that filled 
 this hall were addressed by a man whose thoughts 
 rose without effort to the height of his great theme. 
 He seemed inspired by the occasion, and he looked 
 and spoke like one on whom the mantle of some as- 
 cended prophet had at that moment fallen. He 
 lifted up and bore aloft his audience on the wings of 
 his mighty eloquence. His words fell upon his hear- 
 ers with irresistible subduing power, and their hearts 
 poured themselves forth in one deep and strong tide 
 of patriotic and reverential feeling. 
 
 And now he, that was then so full of life and 
 power, has gone to join the patriots whom he com- 
 memorated. Webster is no more than Adams and 
 Jefferson. The people, that then came to listen to 
 him, are now here to mourn for him. His voice of 
 wisdom and eloquence is silent. The arm on which
 
 GEORGE s. HILLARD'S EULOGT. 193 
 
 a nation leaned is stark and cold. The heroic form 
 is given back to the dust. We that delighted to 
 honor him in life, are now here to honor him in death. 
 One circle of duties is ended and another is begun. 
 We can no longer give him our confidence, our sup- 
 port, our suffrages; but memory and gratitude are 
 still left to us. As he has not lived for himself alone, 
 so he has not died for himself alone. The services 
 of his life are crowned and sealed with the benedic- 
 tion of his death. So long as a man remains upon 
 earth, his life is a fragment. It is exposed to chance 
 and change, to the shocks of fate and the assaults of 
 trial. But the end crowns the work. A career that 
 is closed becomes a firm possession and a completed 
 power. The arch is 'Imperfect till the hand of death 
 has fixed the keystone. 
 
 The custom of honoring great public benefactors 
 by these solemn observances is natural, just and wise. 
 But the tributes and testimonials which we offer to 
 departed worth are for the living, and not for the 
 dead. Eulogies, monuments, and statues can add 
 nothing to the peace and joy of that serene sphere 
 into which the great and good, who have finished 
 their earthly career, have passed. But these expres- 
 sions and memorials do good to those from whom 
 they flow. They lift us above the region of low cares 
 and selfish struggles. They link the present to the 
 past, and the world of sense to the world of thought. 
 They break the common course of life with feelings 
 brought from a higher region. Who can measure the 
 effect of a scene like this these mourning walls 
 these saddened faces those solemn strains of music?
 
 194 
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 The seed of a deep emotion here planted may ripen 
 into the fruit of noble action. 
 
 A great man is a gift, in some measure, a reve- 
 lation of God. A great man, living for high ends, is 
 the di finest thing that can be seen on earth. The 
 value and interest of history are derived chiefly from 
 the lives and services of the eminent men whom it 
 commemorates. Indeed, without these, there would 
 be no such thing as history, and the progress of a 
 nation would be as little worth recording, as the 
 march of a trading caravan across a desert. The 
 death of Mr. Webster is too recent, and he was taken 
 away too suddenly from a sphere of wide and great 
 influence, for the calm verdict of history to be passed 
 upon him, and an accurate gauge to be taken of his 
 works and claims. But all men, whatever may have 
 been the countenance they turned towards him in life, 
 now feel that he was a man of the highest order of 
 greatness, and that whatever of power, faculty and 
 knowledge there was in him, was given freely, heartily, 
 and during a long course of years, to the service of 
 i is country. He, who in the judgment of all, was a 
 great man and a great patriot, not only deserves 
 these honors at our hands, but it would be disgraceful 
 in us to withhold them. We among whom he lived, 
 who felt the power of his magnificent presence, his 
 brow, his eyes, his voice, his bearing, can never put 
 him anywhere but in the front rank of the great men 
 of all time. In running along the line of statesmen 
 and orators, we light upon the name of no one to 
 whom we are willing to admit his inferiority. 
 
 The theory that a great man is merely the pro-
 
 GEORGE s. HILLARD'S EULOGY. 195 
 
 duct of his age, is rejected by the common sense and 
 common observation of mankind. The power that 
 guides large masses of men, and shapes the .channels 
 in which the energies of a great people flow, is some- 
 thing more than a mere aggregate of derivative forces. 
 It is a compound product, in which the genius of the 
 man is one element, and the sphere opened to him by 
 the character of his age and the institutions of his 
 country, is another. In the case of Mr. Webster, we 
 have a full co-operation of these two elements. Not 
 only did he find opportunities for his great powers, 
 but the events of his life, and the discipline through 
 which he passed, were well fitted to train him up 
 to that commanding intellectual stature, and perfect 
 intellectual symmetry, which have made him so ad- 
 mirable, so eminent, and so useful a person. 
 
 He was fortunate in the accident, or rather the 
 providence, of his birth. His father was a man of 
 uncommon strength of mind and worth of character, 
 who had served his country faithfully in trying times, 
 and earned in a high degree the respect and confi- 
 dence of his neighbors a man of large and loving 
 heart, whose efforts and sacrifices for his children were 
 repaid by them with most affectionate veneration. 
 The energy and good sense of his mother exerted a 
 strong influence upon the minds and characters of her 
 children. He was born to the discipline of poverty ; 
 but a poverty such as braces and stimulates, not such 
 as crushes and paralyzes. The region in which his 
 boyhood was passed was new and wild, books were not 
 easy to be had. schools were only an occasional privi' 
 leee, and intercourse with the more settled parts of 
 
 O 7 *
 
 196 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 the country was difficult and rare. But this scarcity 
 of mental food and mental excitement had its advan- 
 tages, and his training was good, however imperfect 
 his teaching might have .been. His labors upon the 
 farm helped to form that vigorous constitution which 
 enabled him to sustain the immense pressure of cares 
 and duties laid upon him in after years. Such books 
 as he could procure were read with the whole heart 
 and the whole mind. The conversation of a house- 
 hold, presided over by a strong-minded father, and a 
 sensible, loving mother, helped to train the faculties 
 of the jtounger members of the family. Nor were 
 their winter evenings wanting in topics which had a 
 fresher interest than any which books could furnish. 
 There were stirring tales of the revolutionary struggle 
 and the old French war, in both of which his father 
 had taken a part, with moving traditions of the hard- 
 ships and perils of border life, and harrowing narra- 
 tives of Indian captivity, all of which sunk deep into 
 the heart of the impressible boy. The ample page of 
 nature was ever before his eyes, not beautiful or pic- 
 turesque, but stern, wild and solitary, covered with a 
 primeval forest : in winter, swept over by tremendous 
 storms, but in summer, putting on a short-lived grace, 
 and in autumn, glowing with an imperial pomp of 
 coloring. In the deep, lonely woods, by the rushing 
 streams, under the frosty stars of winter, the musing 
 boy gathered food for his growing mind. There to 
 him the mighty mother unveiled her awful face, and 
 there we may be sure that the dauntless child stretch- 
 ed forth his hands and smiled. We feel a pensive 
 pleasure in calling up the image of this slender, dark-
 
 GEOKGE s. HILLARD'S EULOGY. 
 
 browed, bright-eyed youth, going forth in the morning 
 of life to sow the seed of future years. A loving 
 brother, and a loving and dutiful son. he is cheerful 
 under privation, and patient under restraint. What- 
 ever work he finds to do, whether with the brain or 
 the hand, he does it with all his might. He opens 
 his mind to every ray of knowledge that breaks in 
 upon him. Every step is a progress, and every blow 
 removes an obstacle. Onward, ever onward, he 
 moves ; borne " against the wind, against the tide." 
 by an impulse self-derived and self-sustained. He 
 makes friends, awakens interest, inspires hopes. Thus, 
 with these good angels about him, he passes from 
 boyhood to youth, and from youth to early man- 
 hood. The school and the college have given him 
 what they had to give ; an excellent professional 
 training has been secured ; and now, with a vigorous 
 frame and a spirit patient of labor, with manly self- 
 reliance, and a heart glowing with generous ambition 
 and warm affections, the man, Daniel Webster, steps 
 forth into the arena of life. 
 
 From this point his progress follows the natural 
 law of growth, and every advance is justified and 
 explained by what had gone before. For every thing 
 that he gains he has a perfect title to show. He is 
 borne on by no fortunate accident. The increase of 
 his influence keeps no more than pace with the growth 
 of his mind and the development of his character. 
 He is diligent in his calling, and faithful to the inter- 
 ests intrusted to his charge. His professional bear- 
 ing is manly and elevated. He has the confidence of 
 the Court, and the ear of the jury, and has fairly
 
 198 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTEK. 
 
 earned them both. Hi? business increases, his repu- 
 tation is extended, and he becomes a marked man. 
 He is not only equal to every occasion, but he always 
 leaves the impression of having power in reserve, and 
 of being capable of still greater efforts. What he 
 does is judicious, and what he says is wise. He is 
 not obliged to retrace his steps or qualify his state- 
 ments. He blends the dignity and self-command of 
 mature life with the ardor and energy of youth. To 
 such a man, in our country, public life becomes a sort 
 of necessity. A brief service in Congress wins for 
 him the respect and admiration of the leading men of 
 the country, who see with astonishment in a young 
 New-Hampshire lawyer, the large views of a ripe 
 statesman, and a generous and comprehensive tone of 
 discussion, free alike from party bias, and sectional 
 narrowness. A removal to the metropolis of New- 
 England brings increase of professional opportunity, 
 and in a few years he stands at the head of the Bar 
 of the whole country. Public life is again thrust 
 upon him, and at one stride he moves to the foremost 
 rank of influence and consideration. His prodigious 
 powers of argument and eloquence, freely given to an 
 administration opposed to him in politics, crush a 
 dangerous political heresy, and kindle a deeper na- 
 tional sentiment. The whole land rings with his 
 name and praise, and foreign nations take up and 
 prolong the sound. Every year brings higher trusts, 
 weightier responsibilities, wider influence, until his 
 country reposes in the shadow of his wisdom, and the 
 power that proceeds from his mind and character be-
 
 GEORGE s. HILLARD'S EULOGY. 
 
 199 
 
 comes one of the controlling forces in the movements 
 and relations of the civilized world. 
 
 To trace, step by step, the incidents of such a 
 career, would far transcend the limits of a discourse 
 like this, and of all places, it is least needed here. 
 Judging of him by what he was, as well as by what 
 he did. and analyzing the aggregate of his powers, we 
 observe that his life moves in three distinct paths of 
 greatness. He was a great lawyer, a great states- 
 man, and a great writer. The gifts and training, 
 which make a man eminent in any one of these de- 
 partments, are by no means identical with those which 
 make him eminent in any other. Very few have at- 
 tained high rank in any two ; and the distinction 
 which Mr. Webster reached in all the three is almost 
 without parallel in history. 
 
 He was. from the beginning, more or less occu- 
 pied with public affairs, and he continued to the last 
 to be a practising lawyer ; but as regards these two 
 spheres of action, his life may be divided into two 
 distinct portions. From his twenty-third to his 
 forty-first year, the practice of the law was his 
 primary occupation and interest, but from the latter 
 period to his death, it was secondary to his labors as 
 a legislator and statesman. Of his eminence in the 
 law meaning the law as administered in the ordinary 
 tribunals of the country, without reference, for the 
 present, to constitutional questions there is but one 
 opinion among competent judges. Some may have 
 excelled him in a single faculty or accomplishment, 
 but in the combination of qualities which the law 
 requires, no man of his time was on the whole equal
 
 200 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 to him. He was a safe counsellor and a powerful 
 advocate thorough in the preparation of causes and 
 judicious in the management of them quick, far- 
 seeing, cautious and bold. His addresses to the 
 jury were simple, manly, and direct; presenting the 
 strong points of the case in his strong way. appealing 
 to the reason and the conscience, and not to passions 
 and prejudices, and never weakened by over-state- 
 ment. He laid his own mind fairly alongside that of 
 the jury, and won their confidence by his sincere 
 way of dealing with them. He had the grace to 
 cease speaking when he had come to an end. His 
 most conspicuous power was his clearness of state- 
 ment. He threw upon every subject a light like that 
 of the sun at noonday. His mind, by an unerring 
 instinct, separated the important from the unim- 
 portant facts in a complicated case, and so presented 
 the former, that he was really making a powerful 
 and persuasive argument, when he seemed to be tell- 
 ing only a plain story in a plain way. The trans- 
 parency of the stream veiled its depth, and its depth 
 concealed its rapid flow. His legal learning was 
 accurate and perfectly at command, and he had made 
 himself master of some difficult branches of law. such 
 as special pleading and the law of real property ; but 
 the memory of some of his contemporaries was more 
 richly stored with cases. From his remarkable powers 
 of generalization, his elementary reading had filled 
 his mind with principles, and he examined the ques- 
 tions that arose by the light of these principles, and 
 then sousht in the books for cases to confirm the 
 
 O 
 
 views which he had reached by reflection. He never
 
 GEORttE S. HILLARDS EULOGY. 
 
 201 
 
 resorted to stratagems and surprises, nor did he 
 let his zeal for his client run away with his self- 
 respect. His judgment was so clear, and his moral 
 sense so strong, that he never could help discriminat- 
 ing between a good cause and a bad one, nor betray- 
 ing to a close observer when he was arguing against 
 his convictions. His manner was admirable, espe- 
 cially for its repose - an effective quality in an advo- 
 cate, from the consciousness of strength which it 
 implies. The uniform respect with which he treated 
 the Bench should not be omitted, in summing up his 
 merits as a lawyer. 
 
 The exclusive practice of the law is not held to 
 be the best preparation for public life. Not only 
 does it invigorate without expanding not only does 
 it narrow at the same time that it sharpens but the 
 custom of addressing juries begets a habit of over- 
 statement, which is a great defect in a public 
 speaker, and the mind that is constantly occupied in 
 looking at one side of a disputed question, is apt to 
 forget that it has two. Great minds triumph over 
 these influences, but it is because they never fail, 
 sooner or later, to overleap the formal barriers of the 
 law. Had Mr. Webster been born in England, and 
 educated to the bar, his powers could never have been 
 confined to Westminster Hall. He would have been 
 taken up and borne into Parliament by an irresistible 
 tide of public opinion. Born where he was, it would 
 have been one of the greatest misfortunes, if he had 
 narrowed his mind and given up to his clients the 
 genius that was meant for the whole country and all 
 time. Admirably as he put a case to a jury, or
 
 202 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 argued it to the court, it was impossible not to fee] 
 that in many instances an inferior person would have 
 done it nearly or quite as well ; and sometimes the 
 disproportion between the man and his work was so 
 great that it reminded one of the task given to Michael 
 Angelo, to make a statue of snow. 
 
 His advancing reputation, however, soon led him 
 into a class of cases, the peculiar growth of the in- 
 stitutions of his country, and admirably fitted to 
 train a lawyer for public life, because, though legal 
 in their form, they involve great questions of politics 
 and government. The system under which we live 
 is, in many respects, without a precedent. Singularly 
 complicated in its arrangements, embracing a general 
 government of limited and delegated powers, or- 
 ganized by au interfusion of separate sovereignties, 
 all with written Constitutions to be interpreted and 
 reconciled, the imperfection of human language and 
 the strength of human passion, leaving a wide margin 
 for warring opinions, it is obvious to any person of 
 political experience that many grave questions, both 
 of construction and conflicting jurisdiction must arise, 
 requiring wisdom and authority for their adjustment. 
 Especially must this be the case in a country like 
 ours, of such great extent, with such immense mate- 
 rial resources, and inhabited by so enterprising and 
 energetic a people. It was a fortunate, may we not 
 say a providential circumstance, that the growth of 
 the country began to devolve upon the Supreme 
 Court of the United States the consideration of this 
 class of questions, just at the time when Mr. Web- 
 ster, in his ripe manhood, was able to give them the
 
 GEORGE s. HILLARD'S EULOGY. 
 
 203 
 
 benefit of his extraordinary powers of argument and 
 analysis. Previous to the Dartmouth College case, 
 in 1818, not many important constitutional questions 
 had come before the Court, and, since that time, the 
 great lawyer, who then broke upon them with so 
 astonishing a blaze of learning and logic, has exerted 
 a commanding influence in shaping that system of con- 
 stitutional law almost a supplementary Constitution 
 which has contributed so much to our happiness 
 and prosperity. Great as is our debt of gratitude to 
 such judges as Marshall and Story, it is hardly less 
 great to such a lawyer as Mr. Webster. None would 
 have been more ready than these eminent magis- 
 trates, to acknowledge the assistance they had derived 
 from his masterly arguments. 
 
 In the discussion of constitutional questions, the 
 mind of this great man found a most congenial em- 
 ployment. Here, books, cases, and precedents, are 
 of comparatively little value. We must ascend to 
 first principles, and be guided by the light of pure 
 reason. Not only is a chain of logical deduction to 
 be fashioned, but its links must first be forged. Geo- 
 metry itself hardly leads the mind into a region of 
 more abstract and essential truth. In these calm 
 heights of speculation and analysis, the genius of Mr. 
 Webster moved with natural and majestic sweep. 
 Breaking away from precedents and details, and soar- 
 ing above the flight of eloquence, it saw the forms of 
 truth in the colorless light and tranquil air of reason. 
 When we dream of intelligence higher than man, we 
 anagine their faculties exercised in serene inquisi- 
 tions like these, not spurred by ambition, not kin-
 
 204 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEHSTER. 
 
 died by passion, roused by no motive but the love 
 of truth, and seeking no reward but the possession 
 of it. 
 
 The respect which has been paid to the decisions 
 of the Supreme Court of the United States, is one of 
 the signs of hope for the future, which are not to be 
 overlooked in our desponding moods. The visitor in 
 Washington sees a few grave men, in an unpretending 
 room, surrounded by none of the symbols of com- 
 mand. Some one of them, in a quiet voice, reads an 
 opinion in which the conflicting rights of sovereign 
 States are weighed and adjusted, and questions, such 
 as have generally led to exhausting wars, are settled 
 by the light of reason and justice. This judgment 
 goes forth, backed by no armed force, but commanded 
 by the moral and intellectual authority of the tri- 
 bunal which pronounces it. It falls upon the waves 
 of controversy with reconciling, subduing power ; and 
 haughty sovereignties, as at the voice of some superior 
 intelligence, put off the mood of conflict and defiance, 
 and yield a graceful obedience to the calm decrees of 
 central justice. There is more cause for national 
 pride in the deference paid to the decisions of this au- 
 gust tribunal, than in all our material triumphs ; and 
 so long as our people are thus loyal to reason and 
 submissive to law. it is a weakness to despair. 
 
 The Dartmouth College case, which has been al 
 ready mentioned, may be briefly referred to again, 
 since it forms an important era in Mr. Webster's life. 
 His argument in that case stands out among his 
 < other arguments, and his speech in reply to Mr. 
 Hayne, among his other speeches. No better argu-
 
 GEORGE s. NILLARD'S EULOGY. 205 
 
 ment has been spoken in the English tongue, in the 
 memory of auy living man, nor is the child that is 
 born to-day, likely to live to hear a better. Its 
 learning is ample, but not ostentatious ; its logic irre- 
 sistible ; its eloquence vigorous and lofty. I have 
 often heard my revered and beloved friend, Judge 
 Story, speak with great animation of the effect he 
 then produced upon the Court. " For the first hour," 
 said he, "we listened to him with perfect astonish- 
 ment ; for the second hour, with perfect delight ; for 
 the third hour, with perfect conviction." It is not too 
 much to say that he entered the Court on that day a 
 comparatively unknown name, and left it with no ri- 
 val but Pinckney. All the words he spoke on that 
 occasion have not been recorded. When he had ex- 
 hausted the resources of learning and logic, his mind 
 passed naturally and simply into a strain of feeling 
 not common to the place. Old recollections and early 
 associations came over him, and the vision of his 
 youth rose up. The genius of the institution where 
 he was nurtured, seemed standing by his side in 
 weeds of mourning, with a countenance of sorrow. 
 With suffused eyes and faltering voice, he broke into 
 an unpremeditated strain of emotion, so strong and so 
 deep, that all who heard him were borne along with 
 it. Heart answered to heart as he spoke, and when 
 he had ceased, the silence and tears of the impassive 
 Bench, as well as the excited audience, were a tribute 
 to the truth and power of the feeling by which he 
 had been inspired. 
 
 With his election to Congress, from the city of 
 Boston, in 1822, the great labors and triumphs of hi*
 
 20G MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 life begin. From that time until his death, with an 
 interval of about two years after leaving President 
 Tyler's Cabinet, he was constantly in the public ser- 
 vice, as Representative, Senator, or Secretary of 
 State. In this period, his biography is included in 
 the history of his country. Without pausing to 
 dwell upon the details, and looking at his public life 
 as a whole, let us examine its leading features and 
 guiding principles, and inquire upon what grounds he 
 enjoyed our confidence and admiration, while living, 
 and is entitled to our gratitude when dead. 
 
 Public men, in popular governments, are divided 
 into two great classes statesmen and politicians. 
 The difference between them is like the difference be- 
 tween the artist and the mechanic. The statesman 
 starts with original principles, and is propelled by a 
 self-derived impulse. The politician has his course 
 to choose, and puts himself in a position to make the 
 best use of the forces which lie outside of him. The 
 statesman's genius sometimes fails in reaching its 
 proper sphere, from the want of the politician's faculty ; 
 and, on the other hand, the politician's intellectual 
 poverty is never fully apprehended till he has con- 
 trived to attain an elevation which belongs only to 
 the statesman. The statesman is often called upon 
 to oppose popular opinion, and never is his attitude 
 nobler than when so doing ; but the sagacity of the 
 politician is shown in seeing, a little before the rest 
 of the world, how the stream of popular feeling is 
 about to turn, and so throwing himself upon it, as to 
 seem to be guiding it, while he is only propelled by it.
 
 GEORGE S. HILLARD S EULOGY. 
 
 20 1 ? 
 
 A statesman makes the occasion, but the occasion 
 makes the politician. 
 
 Mr. Webster was pre-eminently a statesman. He 
 rested his claims upon principles ; and by these he 
 was ready to stand or fall. In looking at the endow- 
 ments which he brought to the service of his country, 
 a prominent rank is to be assigned to that deep and 
 penetrating wisdom which gave so safe a direction to 
 his genius. His imagination, his passion and his 
 sympathies were all kept in subordination to this sov- 
 ereign power. He saw things as they are, neither 
 magnified nor discolored by prejudice or preposses- 
 sion. He heard all sides, and did not insist that a 
 thing was true because he wished it to be true, or be- 
 cause it seemed probable to his first inquiry. His 
 post of observation was the central and fixed light of 
 reason, from which all wandering and uncertain ele- 
 ments were at last discerned in their just relations 
 and proportions. The functions of government did 
 not, in his view, lie in the regions of speculation or 
 emotion. It was ' a contrivance of human wisdom to 
 provide for human wants." The ends of government 
 are, indeed, ever identical ; but the means used to at- 
 tain them are various. The practical statesman must 
 aim, not at the best conceivable, but the best attain- 
 able good. Thus, Mr. Webster always recognized and 
 accepted the necessities of his position. He did not 
 hope against hope, nor waste his energies in attempt- 
 ing the impossible. Living under a government in 
 which universal suffrage is the ultimate propelling 
 force, he received the expressed sense of the people as 
 a fact, and not an hypothesis. Like all men who are
 
 208 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 long in public life under popular institutions, he in 
 curred the reproach of inconsistency ; a reproach not 
 resting upon any change of principle for he never 
 changed his principles but upon the modification of 
 measures and policy which every enlightened states- 
 man yields to the inevitable march of events and in- 
 novations of time. 
 
 Nor was he less remarkable for the breadth and 
 comprehensiveness of his views. He knew no North, 
 no South, no East, no West. His great mind and 
 patriotic heart embraced the whole land with all its 
 interests and all its claims. He had nothing of par- 
 tisan narrowness or sectional exclusiveness. His point 
 of sight was high enough to take in all parts of the 
 country, and his heart was large enough and warm 
 enough to love it all, to cling to it, to live for it, or 
 die for it. Nothing is more characteristic of great- 
 ness than this capacity of enlarged and generous af- 
 fections. No public man ever earned more fully the 
 title of a national, an American statesman. No heart 
 ever beat with a higher national spirit than his. The 
 honor of his country was as dear to him as the faces 
 of his children. Where that was in question, his 
 great powers blazed forth like a flame of fire in its 
 defence. Never were his words more weighty, his 
 logic more irresistible, his eloquence more lofty 
 never did his mind move with more majestic and vic- 
 torious flight than when vindicating the rights of 
 his country, or shielding her from unjust aspersions. 
 
 It is a hasty and mistaken judgment to guage the 
 merits of a statesman, under popular institutions, by 
 the results which he brings about and the measures
 
 GEORGE s. HILLARD'S EULOGY. 200 
 
 which he carries through. His opportunities in this 
 respect will depend, generally, upon the fact whether 
 he happens to be in the majority or the minority. 
 How much would be taken from the greatness of one 
 of the greatest of statesmen, Mr, Fox, if this test 
 were applied to him. The merits of a statesman are 
 to be measured by the good which he does, by the 
 evil which he prevents, by the sentiments which he 
 breathes into the public heart, and the principles he 
 diffuses through the public mind. Mr. Webster did 
 not belong to that great political party which, under 
 ordinary circumstances, and when no exceptional ele- 
 ments have been thrown in. have been able to com- 
 mand a majority in the whole nation, and upon which 
 the responsibility of governing the country has been 
 consequently thrown. Thus, for the larger part of 
 his public life, he was in the minority. But a mino- 
 rity is as important an element, in carrying on a re- 
 presentative government, as a majority ; and he never 
 transcended its legitimate functions. His opposition 
 was open, manly, and conscientious ; never factious, 
 never importunate. He stated fairly the arguments 
 to which he replied. He did not stoop to personality, 
 or resort to the low and cheap trick of impugning 
 the motives or characters of bis opponents. He has 
 earned the respect which the Democratic party, to 
 their honor be it spoken, have shown to his memory. 
 He was a party man, to this extent he believed that 
 under a popular government, it was expedient that 
 men of substantially the same way of thinking in po- 
 litics should act together^ in order to accomplish any 
 general good, but he never gave up to his party what
 
 210 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 was meant for his country. When the turn of the 
 tide threw upon him the initiative of measures, no 
 man ever showed a wiser spirit of legislation or a 
 more just and enlightened policy of statesmanship. 
 He combined what Bacon calls the logical with the 
 mathematical part of the mind. He could judge well 
 of the mode of attaining any end, and estimate, at 
 the same time, the true value of the end itself. His 
 powers were by no means limited to attack and de- 
 fence, but he had the organizing and constructing 
 mind, which shapes and fits a course of policy to the 
 wants and temper of a great people. 
 
 His influence as a public man extends over the 
 last forty years, and, during that period, what is 
 there that does not bear his impress ? Go where we 
 will, upon land or sea from agriculture to commerce, 
 and from commerce to manufactures turn to do- 
 mestic industry, to foreign relations, to law, educa- 
 tion and religion everywhere we meet the image 
 and superscription of this imperial mind. The Ash- 
 burton treaty may stand as a monument of the good 
 he did. His speech in reply to Mr. Hayne may be 
 cited as a proof of the evil he prevented ; and, for 
 this reason, while its whole effect can never be mea- 
 sured, its importance can hardly be overrated. Pro- 
 bably no discourse ever spoken by man had a wider, 
 more prominent, and more beneficial influence. Not 
 only did it completely overthrow a most dangerous 
 attack on the Constitution, but it made it impossible 
 for it ever to be renewed. From that day forward 
 the specious front of nullification was branded with 
 treason. If we estimate the claims of a public man
 
 GEORGE 8. HILLARD 8 EULOGY. 
 
 211 
 
 by his influence upon the national heart, and his con- 
 tributions to a high-toned national sentiment, who 
 shall stand by the side of Mr. Webster ? Where is 
 the theory of constitutional liberty better expounded, 
 and the rules and conditions of national well-being 
 and well-doing better laid down than in his speeches 
 and writings? What books should we so soon put 
 into the hands of an intelligent foreigner, who de- 
 sired to learn the great doctrines of government and 
 administration on which the power and progress of 
 our country repose, and to measure the intellectual 
 stature of a finished American man ! 
 
 The relation which he held to the politics of the 
 country was the natural result of a mind and temper- 
 ament like his. A wise patriot, who understands the 
 wants of his time, will throw himself into the scale 
 which most needs the weight of his influence, and 
 choose the side which is best for his country and not 
 for himself. Hence, it may be his duty to espouse 
 defeat, and cleave to disappointment. In weighing 
 the two elements of law and liberty, as they are 
 mingled in our country, he felt that danger was rather 
 to be apprehended from the preponderance of license 
 than of authority that men were attracted to liberty 
 by the powerful instincts of the blood and heart, but 
 to law by the colder and fainter suggestions of the 
 reason. Hence he was a conservative at home, and 
 gave his influence to the party of permanence rather 
 than progression. But in Europe it was different. 
 There he saw that there were abuses to be reformed, 
 and burdens to be removed ; that the principle of 
 progress was to be encouraged, and that larger iufu-
 
 212 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 Bions of liberty should be poured into the exhausted 
 frames of decayed states. Hence, his sympathies 
 were always on the side of the struggling and the 
 suffering ; and, through his powerful voice, the public 
 opinion of America made itself heard and respected 
 in Europe. It is a fact worthy of being stated in 
 this connection, that at the moment when a tempest 
 of obloquy was beating upon him, from his supposed 
 hostility to the cause of freedom here, a very able 
 writer of the Catholic faith, in a striking and, in 
 many respects, admirable essay upon his writings and 
 public life, came reluctantly and respectfully to the 
 conclusion that Mr. Webster had forfeited all claim 
 to the support of Catholic voters, from the counte- 
 nance he had given to the revolutionary spirit of 
 Europe. Such are ever the judgments passed by 
 fragmentary men upon a universal man. 
 
 His strong sense of the value of the Union, and 
 the force and frequency with which he discoursed 
 upon this theme, are to be explained by the same 
 traits of mind and character. He believed that we 
 were more in danger of diffusion than consolidation. 
 He felt that all the primal instincts of patriotism 
 all the chords of the heart bound men to their own 
 gtate, and not to the common country ; and that with 
 the territorial increase of that country, it became 
 more and more difficult for the central heart to pro- 
 pel to the extremities the life-blood of invigorating 
 national sentiment, without which a state is but a 
 political corporation without a soul. He knew, too, 
 that the name of a. Union might exist without the 
 substance, and that a Union for mutual annoyance 
 
 1
 
 GEORGE s. HFLLARD'S EULOGY. 
 
 213 
 
 and defiance, and for mutual aid and support, which 
 kept the word of promise to the ear and broke it to 
 the hope, was hardly worth the having. Hence, he 
 labored earnestly and perseveringly to inculcate a 
 love of the Union, and to present the whole country 
 as an object to be cherished, honored and valued, be- 
 cause he felt that on that side our affections needed 
 to be quickened and strengthened. 
 
 As was to be expected, so powerful a man could 
 not pass through life without encountering strong 
 opposition. All his previous experiences, however, 
 were inconsiderable in comparison with the storm of 
 denunciation which he drew'down upon himself by 
 his course on what are commonly called the Compro- 
 mise measures., and, especially, his speech on that 
 occasion. It was natural that men, whose fervid 
 sympathies are wedded to a single idea, should have 
 felt aggrieved by the stand he then took ; and if de- 
 cency and decorum had governed their expressions, 
 neither he nor his friends could have had any right 
 to complain. But. in many cases, the attacks were 
 so foul and ferocious that they lost all claim to be 
 treated as moral judgments, and sunk to the level of 
 the lowest and coarsest effusions of malice and hatred. 
 It is a good rule in politics, as elsewhere, to give men 
 credit for the motives they profess to be actuated by, 
 and to accep* their own exposition of their opinions 
 as true. Let us apply these rules to his course at 
 that time. He had opposed the admission of Texas, 
 and predicted the train of evils which would come 
 with it. He had warned the North of the perilous 
 questions with which that measure was fraught. But
 
 214 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 his prophetic voice was unheeded. Between zeal on 
 one side, and apathy on the other, Texas came in, 
 Then war with Mexico followed, ending in conquest^ 
 and leaving the whole of that unhappy country at our 
 mercy. Mr. Webster opposed the dismemberment 
 of Mexico, provided for in the treaty of peace, on the 
 ground that no sooner should we have the immense 
 territory, which we proposed to take, than the ques- 
 tion whether Slavery should exist there, would agi- 
 tate the country. But again the warning voice of 
 his wisdom was unheeded, and the storm, which he 
 had predicted, gathered in the heavens. The ques- 
 tions against which he had forewarned his country- 
 men now clamored for settlement, and would not be 
 put by. They required for their adjustment the most 
 of reason and the least of passion, and they were met 
 in a mood which combined the most of passion and 
 the least of reason. The North and the South met 
 in " angry parle," and the air was darkened with their 
 strife. Mr. Webster's prophetic spirit was heavy 
 within him. He felt that a crisis had arrived in the 
 history of his country, and that the lot of a solemn 
 duty and a stern self-sacrifice had tallen upon him. 
 As he himself said, "he had made up his mind to 
 embark alono on what he was aware would prove a 
 stormy sea, because, in that case, should disaster en- 
 sue, there would be but one life lost " In this mood 
 of calm and high resolve he went forward to meet the 
 portentous issue. 
 
 It is not to be expected that a speech made under 
 such circumstances, going over so wide a range of 
 exciting topics, should, in every part, command the
 
 GEORGE s. HILLARD'S EULOGY. 
 
 215 
 
 immediate and entire assent even of those who would 
 admit its truth and seasonableness as a whole. It is 
 also doubtless true, that there are single expressions 
 in it, which, when torn from their context, and set by 
 the side of passages from former speeches, dealt with 
 in like manner, will not be found absolutely identi- 
 cal. But the speech of such a man-, at such a crisis, 
 is not to be dissected and criticised like a rhetorical 
 exercise. It should be judged as a whole, and read 
 by the light of the occasion which gave it birth. 
 
 The judgments which Mr. Webster's course has 
 called forth were widely divided. By those who hold 
 extreme views, he was charged with expressing senti- 
 ments which he did not believe to be true. It was a 
 bid for the Presidency, and his conscience was the 
 price he offered. It is a mere waste of words to argue 
 with men of this class. Fanaticism darkens the mind, 
 and hardens the heart, and where there is neither 
 common sense nor common charity, the first step in a 
 process of reasoning cannot be taken. Others main- 
 tained that he was mistaken in point of fact, that he 
 took counsel of his fears and not of his wisdom, and 
 that, through him, the opportunity was lost of putting 
 down the South in an open struggle for influence and 
 power. But, in the first place, it is not probable that 
 a man, who, upon subordinate questions, had shown 
 so much political wisdom and forecast, should have 
 been mistaken upon a point of such transcendent im- 
 portance, to which his attention had been so long 
 and so earnestly directed ; and, in the second place, 
 the testimony of all men whose evidence would be re- 
 ceived with respect upon any similar subject, fully 

 
 216 MEMORIALS OF DANIKL WEBSTER. 
 
 sustains Mr. Webster in the views he then took of 
 the state of the country, and is equally strong as to 
 the value of the services he rendered. In such an 
 issue, the testimony of retired persons, living among 
 books and their own thoughts, is not entitled to any 
 great value, because they can have no adequate no- 
 tion of the duties, responsibilities or difficulties of 
 governing a great state, and what need there is of 
 patience and renunciation in those who are called to 
 this highest of human functions. A statesman has the 
 right to be tried by his peers. 
 
 It is curious to observe how hatred, whether per- 
 sonal or political, when it enters into the mind, dis- 
 turbs its functions, as a piece of iron in the binnacle 
 of a ship misleads the compass. Many who have 
 found it so hard to forgive Mr. Webster for his inde- 
 pendence in opposing them, would admit the import- 
 ance of having a class of public men who will lead 
 the people and not be led by them, and that a great 
 man is never so great as when withstanding their 
 dangerous wishes, and calmly braving their anger. 
 Their eyes will sparkle when they speak of the neutral 
 countenance of Washington, undismayed by Jacobin 
 clamor, and of the sublime self-devotion of Jay. It 
 is strange that they cannot, or will not, for a moment 
 look at Mr. Webster's position from a point of view 
 opposite to their own, admit that he may have been 
 in the right, and see him clad in the beauty of self- 
 sacrifice. It is to be feared ^hat this form of virtue 
 is growing more and more rare, as it is more and 
 more needed. The story of Curtius leaping into a 
 gulf in the Roman forum is but the legendary form
 
 GEORGE s. HILLARD'S EULOGY. 
 
 217 
 
 in which a perpetual truth is clothed. In the path 
 of time there are always chasms of error, which only 
 a great self-immolating victim can close. The glory 
 has departed from the land in which that self-devoting 
 stock has died out. 
 
 Mr. Webster was an ambitious man. He desired 
 the highest office in the gift of the people. But on 
 this subject, as on all others, there was no conceal 
 ment in his nature. And ambition is not a weakness, 
 unless it be disproportioned to the capacity. To have 
 more ambition than ability, is to be at once weak and 
 unhappy. With him it was a noble passion, because 
 it rested upon noble powers. He was a man cast in 
 a heroic mould. His thoughts, his wishes, his pas- 
 sions, his aspirations, were all on a grander scale than 
 those of other men. Unexercised capacity is always 
 a source of rusting discontent. The height to which 
 men may rise is in proportion to the upward force of 
 their genius, and they will never be calm till they have 
 attained their predestined elevation. Lord Bacon 
 says, " as in nature things move violently to their 
 place, and calmly in their place, so virtue in ambition, 
 is violent ; in authority, settled and calm." Mr. 
 Webster had a giant's brain and a giant's heart, and 
 he wanted a giant's work. He found repose in those 
 strong conflicts and great duties, which crush the 
 weak and madden the sensitive He thought that, 
 if he were elevated to the highest place, he should 
 so administer the government as to make the country 
 honored abroad, and great and happy at home. He 
 thought, too, that he could do something to make us 
 more truly one people. This, above every thing else, 
 
 YOL. II. 10
 
 218 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 was his ambition. And we, who knew him better 
 than others, felt that it was a prophetic ambition, and 
 we honored and trusted him accordingly. 
 
 As a writer and as a public speaker, upon the 
 great interests of his country, Mr. Webster stands 
 before us and will stand before those who come after 
 us, as the leading spirit of his time. Sometimes, 
 indeed, his discussions may have been too grave to be 
 entirely effective,- at the moment of their delivery. 
 but all of them are quarries of political wisdom ; for 
 while others have solved only the particular problem 
 before them, he has given the rule that reaches all of 
 the same class. As a general remark, his speeches 
 are a striking combination of immediate effectiveness 
 and enduring worth. He never, indeed, goes out of 
 his way for philosophical observations, nor lingers 
 long in the tempting regions of speculation, but his 
 mind, while he advances straight to his main object, 
 drops from its abundant stores those words of wisdom 
 which will keep, through all time, a vital and germi- 
 nating power. His logic is vigorous and compact, 
 but there is no difficulty in following his argument, 
 because his reasoning is as clear as it is strong. The 
 leading impression he leaves upon the mind, is that 
 of irresistible weight. We are conscious of a pro- 
 pelling power, before which everything gives way or 
 goes down. The hand of a giant is upon us, and we 
 feel that it is in yain to struggle. The eloquence of 
 Burke, with whom he is always most fitly compared, 
 is like a broad river, winding through a cultivated 
 landscape ; that of Mr. Webster is like a clear moun- 
 tain stream, compressed between walls of rock.
 
 GEORGE s. HILLARD'S KULOGY. 
 
 219 
 
 But his claims as a writer do not rest exclusively 
 upon his political speeches. His occasional discour- 
 ses, and his diplomatic writings, would alone make a 
 great reputation. His occasional discourses rise 
 above the rest of their class, as the Bunker Hill Mon- 
 ument soars above the objects around it. His 
 Plymouth Oration, especially, is a production which 
 all, who have followed in the same path, must ever 
 look upon with admiration and despair. It was the 
 beginning of a new era in that department of litera- 
 ture. It was the first and greatest of its class ; and 
 has naturally fixed a standard of excellence which 
 has been felt in the efforts of all who have come 
 after him. Its merits of style and treatment are oi 
 the highest order, and it is marked throughout by 
 great dignity of sentiment and an elevating and stir- 
 ring tone of moral feeling, which lifts the mind into 
 regions higher than can be reached by eloquence, or 
 power of expression alone. 
 
 His diplomatic writings claim unqualified praise. 
 Such discussions require a cautious as well as firm 
 hand, for a single rash expression, falling upon an 
 explosive state of mind, may shatter to pieces the 
 most hopeful negotiation. Mr. Webster combines 
 great force of statement with perfect decorum of man- 
 ner. It is the iron hand but the silken glove. He 
 neither claims nor yields a single inch beyond the 
 right. His attitude is neither aggressive nor dis- 
 trustful. He is strong in himself and strong in his 
 position. His style is noble, dignified and transpa- 
 rent. It is the " large utterance " of a great people. 
 T know of no modern compositions which, in form and
 
 220 MEMOHIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 substance, embody so much of what we understand by 
 the epithet, Roman. Such, indeed, we may imagine 
 the State papers of the Roman Senate to have been, 
 in the best days of the Republic. 
 
 His arguments, speeches, occasional discourses, 
 and diplomatic writings, have all a marked family 
 likeness. They are all characterized by strength and 
 simplicity. He never goes out of his way to make a 
 point or drag in an illustration. His ornaments, 
 sparingly introduced, are of that pure gold, which 
 defies the sharpest test of criticism. He had more 
 of imagination, properly so called, than fancy, and his 
 images are more grand than picturesque. He writes 
 like a man who is thinking of his subject, and not 
 of his style, arid thus wastes no time upon the mere 
 garb of his thoughts. His mind was so full, that 
 epithet and illustration grew with his words, like 
 flowers on the stalk. It is a striking fact that a man 
 who has had so great an influence over the mind of 
 America, should have been so free from our national 
 defects ; our love of exaggeration, and our excessive 
 use of figurative language. His style is Doric, not 
 Corinthian. His sentences are like shafts hewn from 
 the granite of his own hills simple, massive, and 
 strong. We may apply to him what Quintilian says 
 of Cicero, that a relish for his writings is itself a mark 
 of good taste. He is always plain ; sometimes even 
 homely and unfinished. But a great writer may be, 
 and indeed must be, homely and unfinished at times. 
 Dealing with great subjects, he must vary his manner. 
 Some things he will put in the foreground, and some 
 in the background ; some in light, and some in
 
 GEORGE s. HILLARD'S EULOGY. 
 
 221 
 
 shadow. He will not hesitate, therefore, to say plain 
 things in a plain way. When the glow and impulse 
 of his genius are upon him, he will not stop to adjust 
 every fold in his mantle. His writings will leave 
 upon the mind an effect, like that of the natural 
 landscape upon the eye, where nothing is trim and 
 formal, but where all the sweeps and swells, though 
 rarely conforming to an ideal line of beauty, blend 
 together in a general impression of grace, fertility, 
 and power. 
 
 His knowledge of law, politics and government 
 was profound, various and exact ; but a man of learn- 
 ing, in the sense in which this word is commonly used, 
 he could not be called. His life had been too busy 
 to leave much time for scientific or Ifterary research ; 
 nor had he that passionate love of books which made 
 him content to pass all his leisure hours in his library. 
 He had read much, but not many books. He was a 
 better Latin scholar than the average of our educated 
 men, and he read the Roman authors, to the last, 
 with discriminating relish. A mind like his was 
 naturally drawn to the grand and stately march of 
 Human genius. With the best English writers he 
 was entirely familiar, and he took great pleasure in 
 reading them, and discussing their merits. 
 
 To science, as recorded in books, he had given 
 little time, but he had the faculties and organization 
 which would easily have made him a man of science. 
 He had the senses of an Indian hunter. Of the 
 knowledge that is gathered by observation as of the 
 names and properties of plants, the song and plumage 
 of birds, and the forms and growth of trees he had
 
 222 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 much more than most men of his class. His eye was 
 accurate as his mind was discriminating. Never was 
 his conversation more interesting than when speaking 
 of natural objects and natural phenomena. His 
 words had the freshness of morning, and seemed to 
 bring with them the breezes of the hills and the fra- 
 grance of Spring. 
 
 Mr. Webster, both as a writer and a speaker, was 
 unequal, and from the nature of his mind and temper- 
 ament, it could not be otherwise. He was not of a.n 
 excitable organization, and felt no nervous anxiety 
 lest he should fall below the standard of expectation 
 raised by previous efforts. Hence, he was swayed by 
 the mood, mental or physical, in which each occasion 
 found him. He required a great subject, or a great 
 antagonist, to call forth all his slumbering power. 
 At times, he looked and spoke almost like a super- 
 human creature : at others, he seemed but the faint 
 reflex of himself. His words fell slowly and heavily 
 from his lips, as if each cost him a distinct effort. 
 The influence, therefore, which he had over popular 
 assemblies, was partly owing to his great weight of 
 character. 
 
 He had strong out-of-door tastes, and they con- 
 tributed to the health of his body and mind. He 
 was a keen sportsman, and a lover of the mountains 
 and the sea. His heart warmed to a fine tree, as to 
 the face of a friend. He had that fondness for agri- 
 culture and rural pursuits so common among states- 
 men. Herein the grand scale of the whole man gave 
 direction and character to his tastes. He did not 
 care for minute finish and completeness on a limited
 
 GEORGE s. HILLARD'S EULOGY. 
 
 223 
 
 scale. He had no love for trim-gardens and formal 
 pleasure-grounds. His wishes clasped the whole 
 landscape. He liked to see the broad fields of clover, 
 with the morning dew upon them, yellow waves of 
 grain, heaving and rolling in the sun. and great cattle 
 lying down in the shade of great trees. He liked to 
 hear the whetting of the mower's scythe, the loud beat 
 of the thresher's flail, and the heavy groan of loaded 
 wagons. The smell of the new-mown hay, and of 
 the freshly-turned furrows in Spring, was cordial to 
 his spirit. He took pleasure in all forms of animal 
 life, and his heart was glad when his cattle lifted up 
 their large-eyed, contemplative faces, and recognized 
 their lord by a look. 
 
 His meutal powers were commended bya remark- 
 able personal appearance. He was probably the 
 grandest -looking man of his time. Wherever he went, 
 men tu'.-ned to gaze at him and he could not enter 
 a room without having every eye fastened upon him 
 His face was very striking, both in form and color, 
 His brow was to common brows, what the great dome 
 of St. Peters is to the small cupolas at its side. The 
 eyebrow, the eye, and the dark and deep socket in 
 which it glowed, were full of power ; but the great 
 expression of his face lay in the mouth. This was the 
 most speaking and flexible of features, moulded by 
 every mood of feeling, from iron severity to the most 
 captivating sweetness. His countenance changed from 
 sternness to softness with magical rapidity. His 
 smile was beaming, warming, fascinating, lighting up 
 his whole face like a sudden sunrise. His voice was 
 rich, deep, and strong ; filling the largest space with-
 
 '224 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 out .effort, capable of most startling and impressive 
 tones, and when under ^excitement, rising and swell 
 ing into a volume of sound, like the roar of a tempest. 
 His action was simple and dignified and in his ani- 
 mated moods highly expressive. Those of us who 
 recall his presence as he stood up here to speak, in the 
 pride and strength of his manhood, have formed from 
 his words, looks, tones, and actions, an ideal standard 
 of physical and intellectual power, which we never 
 expect to see approached, but by which we uncon- 
 sciously try the greatness of which we read, as well 
 as ih it which we meet 
 
 He was a man more known and admired than un- 
 derstood. His great qualities were conspicuous from 
 afar but that part of his nature, which he shared 
 with other men, was apprehended by comparatively 
 few. His manners did not always do him justice. 
 For many years of his life, great burdens rested 
 upon him, and at times his cares and thoughts settled 
 down darkly upon his spirit, and he was then a man 
 of an awful presence. He required to be loved, be- 
 fore he could be known. He, indeed, grappled his 
 friends to him with hooks of steel, but he did not al- 
 ways conciliate those who were not his friends. He 
 had a lofty spirit, which could not stoop or dissemble. 
 He could neither affect what he did not feel, nor de- 
 sire to conceal what he did. His wishes clung with 
 tenacious hold to everything they grasped and from 
 those who stood, or seemed to stand in his way, his 
 countenance was averted. Some, who were not un- 
 willing to become his friends, were changed by his 
 manners into foes. He was social in his nature, but
 
 GEORGE S. IIILLAKDSJ EULOGY. 
 
 225 
 
 not facile. He was seen to the best advantage among 
 a few old and tried friends, especially in his old 
 home. Then his spirits rose, his countenance ex- 
 panded, and he looked and moved like a schoolboy 
 on a holiday. Conscious that no unfriendly ear was 
 listening to him, his conversation became easy, play- 
 ful, and natural. His memory was richly stored with 
 characteristic anecdotes, and with amusing reminis- 
 cences of his own early life and of the men who were 
 conspicuous when he was young, all of which he nar- 
 rated with an admirable mixture of dignity and 
 grace. Those who saw him in these hours of social 
 ease, with his armor off, and the current of his 
 thoughts turning, gently and gracefully, to chance 
 topics and familiar themes, could hardly believe that 
 he was the same man who was so reserved and austere 
 in public. 
 
 But it may be asked, had this great man no 
 faults ? Surely he had. No man liveth, and sinueth 
 not. There were veins of human imperfection run- 
 ning through his large heart and large brain. But 
 neither men, nor the works of men, should be judged 
 by their defects. Like all eminent persons, he fell 
 upon evil tongues ; but those who best knew his 
 private life, most honored, venerated and loved him. 
 
 He was a man of strong religious feeling. For 
 theological speculations he had little taste, but he-had 
 reflected deeply on the relations between God and the 
 human soul, and his heart was penetrated with a de- 
 votional spirit. He had been, from his youth up- 
 wards, a diligent student of the Scriptures, and few 
 men, whether clergymen or laymen, were more fauii- 
 
 10*
 
 226 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 liar with their teachings and their language. He had 
 a great reverence for the very words of the Bible, 
 and never used them in any light or trivial connec- 
 tion. He never avoided the subjects of life, death, 
 and immortality, and when he spoke of them, it was 
 with unusual depth of feeling and impressiveness of 
 manner. Within the last few months of his life, his 
 thoughts and speech were often turned upon such 
 themes. He felt that he was an old man, and that it 
 became him to set his house in order. On the eight- 
 eenth day of January last, he had completed the 
 threescore and ten years which are man's alloted 
 portion, and yet his eye was not dim, nor his natural 
 force much abated. But he grew weaker with the 
 approach of summer, and his looks and voice, when 
 he last addressed us from this place, a few months 
 ago, forced upon us the mournful reflection that this 
 great light must soon sink below the horizon. But 
 yet, when the news came that the hand of death was 
 upon him, it startled us like a sudden blow, for he 
 was become so important to us, that we could not look 
 steajdily at the thought of losing him. You remember 
 what a sorrow it was that settled down upon our city. 
 The common business of life dragged heavily with us 
 in those days. There was but one expression on the 
 faces of men, and but one question on their lips. We 
 listened to the tidings which came up, hour after 
 hour, from his distant chamber, as men upon the 
 shore, in a night of storm, listen to the minute guns of 
 a sinking ship, freighted with the treasures of their 
 hearts. The grief of the people was eager for the 
 minutest details of his closing hours, and he died with
 
 GEORGE s. HILLARD'S EULOGY. 
 
 22? 
 
 his country around his bed. Of the beauty and 
 grandeur of that death I need not speak to you, for it 
 is fixed in your memories, and deep in your hearts. 
 Jt fell upon the whole land like a voice from heaven. 
 He died calmly, simply and bravely. He was. neither 
 weary of life, nor afraid of death. He died like a 
 husband, a father, a friend, a Christian, and a man ; 
 with thoughtful tenderness for all around him, and a 
 trembling faith in the mercy of God. He was not 
 tried by long and hopeless suffering ; nor were his 
 friends saddened by seeing the lights put out before 
 the curtain fell. His mind, like a setting sun, seemed 
 larger at the closing hour. Such a death narrows the 
 dark valley to a span. Such is a midsummer's day 
 at the poles, where sunset melts into sunrise, and the 
 last ray of evening is caught up, and appears once 
 more as the first beam of the new morning. 
 
 I should not feel that my duty had been wholly 
 discharged, did I not speak of the touching simplicity 
 and solemnity of his funeral. In his will, made a few 
 days before his death, he says : " I wish to be buried 
 without the least show or ostentation, but in a manner 
 respectful to my neighbors, whose kindness has con- 
 tributed so much to the happiness of me and mine, 
 and for whose prosperity I offer sincere prayers to 
 G-od." His wishes were faithfully observed, and, in 
 the arrangements for his funeral, there was no recog- 
 nition of worldly distinction or official rank. He was 
 buried simply as the head of a household, after the 
 manner of New England. But the immense crowds 
 which were there, drawn from all parts of the land 
 by their own veneration and love, formed an element
 
 228 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 of impressiveriess far above all civil pageantry or mil- 
 itary honors. Who, that was there present, will ever for- 
 get the scene on which fell the rich light of that soft 
 atumnal day? There was the landscape so stamped 
 with his image and identified with his presence. There 
 were the trees he had planted, the fields over which 
 he had delighted to walk, and the ocean whose waves 
 were music to his ear. There was the house, with its 
 hospitable door : but the stately form of its master 
 did not stand there, with outstretched hand and smile 
 of welcome. That smile had vanished for ever from 
 the earth, and the hand and form were silent, cold 
 and motionless. The dignity of life had given place 
 to the dignity of death. No narrow chamber held 
 that illustrious dust; no coffin concealed that majestic 
 frame. In the open air, clad as when alive, he lay 
 extended in seeming sleep ; with no touch of disfea- 
 ture upon his brow ; as noble an image of reposing 
 strength as ever was seen upon earth. Around him 
 was the landscape that he had loved, and above him 
 was nothing but the dome of the covering heavens. 
 The sunshine fell upon the dead man's face, and the 
 breeze blew over it. A lover of nature, he seemed to 
 be gathered into her maternal arms, and to lie like a 
 child upon a mother's lap. We felt, as we looked 
 upon him, that death had never stricken down, at one 
 blow, a greater sum of life. And whose heart did not 
 swell, when from the honored and distinguished men 
 there gathered together, six plain Marshfield farmers 
 were called forth, to carry the head of their neighbor 
 to the grave. Slowly and sadly the vast multitude 
 followed, in mourning silence, and he was laid down
 
 GEORGE S. UILLARD 8 ECLOGY. 
 
 229 
 
 to rest among dear and kindred dust. There, among 
 the scenes that he loved in life, he sleeps well He 
 has left his name and memory to dwell for ever upon 
 those hills and valleys, to breathe a more spiritual tone 
 into the winds that blow over his grave, to touch with 
 finer light the line of the breaking wave, to throw a 
 more solemn beauty upon the hues of Autumn and 
 the shadows of twilight. 
 
 But though his mortal form is there, his spirit 
 is here. His words are written in living light along 
 these walls. May that spirit rest upon us and our 
 children. May those words live in our hearts and 
 the hearts of those who come after us. May we 
 honor his memory, and show our gratitude for his life 
 by taking heed to his counsels and walking in the 
 way on which the light of his wisdom shines.
 
 PERSONAL ANECDOTES, 
 
 LETTERS, REMINISCENCES, TRIBUTES, ETC, 
 
 FROM VARIOUS SOURCES. 
 
 FRANKLIN PIERCES SPEECH ON THE DEATH OF WEBSTER, AT CON 
 CORD, N. H. 
 
 MR. CHAIRMAN: How deeply have all hearts 
 been impressed by the fervent appeal to that Power 
 in which our fathers put their trust, in the hour of 
 their weakness and trials ! And how has that solemn 
 impression been enhanced by the last words of the 
 truly great man. just read by the Rev. Dr. Bouton ! 
 
 But a few weeks have passed since a deep gloom 
 was cast over our country by the death of the great 
 statesman of the West. It had long been understood 
 that his light was flickering in its socket, and must 
 soon go out. Still, the announcement, when it came, 
 was laden with sadness ; and we have all. since then, 
 been disposed to look with warmer affection and more 
 glowing gratitude to his great compeer and associate, 
 the intelligence of whose sudden decease will fall like 
 a funeral pall upon the public throughout that Union 
 to which he gave his best affections and noblest 
 efforts.
 
 232 MKMQRIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 I had met Mr. Webster repeatedly prior to 1833 
 but my personal acquaintance with him may be said 
 to have commenced with my first winter at Washing- 
 ton. His attachment to our State was singularly 
 .strong, and this circumstance, perhaps, led to a series 
 of kind acts and courtesies toward me. during the 
 session of 1 833-4, and afterward, the grateful recol- 
 lection of which will never be effaced. I mourn for 
 him as for a friend, for whose personal regard my 
 own heart has given back a true and full response. 
 
 Among eminent citizens, of commanding power 
 and influence, while I was in the Senate, he stood, 
 perhaps, pre eminent. In his rich combination of 
 qualities as an orator, lawyer and statesman, it may be 
 safely said, he had no rival. How forcibly and sadly 
 are we reminded of the great men with whom he was 
 associated in the Senate chamber, and who preceded 
 him in his transit through the " dark valley !" 
 White. Grundy, Forsyth, Southard, Wall, Linn. Se- 
 vier. Silas Wright. Hill, Woodbury. Calhoun, Clay 
 men who left their impress upon the age names in- 
 dissolubly connected with the fame and history of 
 their country ; all, like him whose death we are now 
 called upon to deplore, were links in the chain which 
 bound the past generation to the present, and all, like 
 him, are now on the other side of that narrow line 
 which divides time from eternity. Upon whom have 
 their mantles fallen? Who are to take their places 
 in the perils through which our country may be called 
 to pass? Who, with patriotic courage and states- 
 man-like forecast, are to guide in the storms that 
 will, at times, inevitably threaten us, in our unexarn-
 
 FRANKLIN PIERCE's SPEECH. 233 
 
 pled development of resources as a nation, our almost 
 fearful progress, our position of amazing responsibil- 
 ity, as the great, confederated, self-governing power 
 of the globe ? These are questions which will press 
 themselves upon all minds ; but who, alas, can satis- 
 factorily answer them? 
 
 To speak of Mr. Webster's genius, his varied and 
 solid attainments, his services, would be to discourse 
 of matters as familiar, even to the children of his 
 native state, as household words. Besides, this must 
 be left to vigorous pens and eloquent tongues, after 
 the first gush of grief, and the oppressive sense of 
 loss, shall, to some extent, have passed away. It is, 
 and long has been, my firm conviction that Mr. Web- 
 ster had a hold upon the minds and hearts of his 
 countrymen, which will fail to be justly estimated, 
 only because there has been no full opportunity to 
 measure it. You, Mr. Chairman, have truly said 
 that Mr. Webster's greatness was of that rare cha- 
 racter which no earthly position could exalt. He 
 came to official stations, as he approached all subjects 
 presented to his mind, their superior and their mas- 
 ter. He has reared for himself a vast pillar of re- 
 nown, which will stand, in undiminished strength and 
 grandeur, when the work of men's hands, erected to 
 his honor, will be like Nineveh ; and. I fear, when 
 this Union may have shared the fate which was the 
 dread of his later years. A few years ago, when the 
 distinguished brother of the deceased was called in 
 an instant from time to eternity, in the court-room in 
 this place, with the last word of a perfect sentence 
 lingering on his lips, another citizen, most eminent
 
 and beloved, (the late lamented George Sullivan), 
 exclaimed, " What shadows we are, what shadows we 
 pursue !" How these emphatic words come back to 
 us here, as if by an echo ! How mere earthly honors 
 and distinctions fade amid a gloom like this ; how 
 political asperities are chastened ; what a lesson to 
 the living ; what an admonition to personal malevo- 
 lence, now awed and subdued, as the great heart of 
 the nation throbs heavily at the portals of his grave ! 
 I have no .heart to speak, or to contemplate the 
 extent of the loss we have sustained. As a personal 
 friend, as a son of New Hampshire, as an American 
 citizen, I shall be, with thousands, a sincere mourner 
 at his obsequies. 
 
 THE REV. DR. HAWKS S INTRODUCTION TO THE RESOLCTIOXS OX THE 
 DEATH OF WEBSTER, BEFORE THE NKW-YO-RK HISTORICAL SOCIETT. 
 
 MR. PRESIDENT: A sad duty has been confided 
 to me, and I, in common with my countrymen, mourn 
 over the occasion which calls for its performance. 
 When I recall the saddened expression which, for the 
 last week. I have seen on the countenance of my fel- 
 low-citizens ; when I observe the deep stillness which 
 pervades this hall, I feel that words are scarce neces- 
 sary to render the tribute that we fain would yield 
 to the memory of the illustrious man to whom you 
 have alluded. Our hearts are already rendering that 
 tribute by expressive silence. 
 
 And yet, when such a, man as Daniel Webster 
 dies, we owe it alike to him and to ourselves to speak ;
 
 R2V. DR. HAWKS 8 REMARKS. 
 
 235 
 
 it is meet that American hearts should render, in the 
 face of the world, their outspoken attestation to the 
 worth of one to whom, if to any man, justly belonged 
 Lie epithet " The Great American." 
 
 I am unmeet to speak this eulogy ; I came not 
 here for that, purpose. Let that task be committed 
 to a more skilful tongue than mine. Should I make 
 the effort, the feelings under which I labor would 
 disqualify me for the performance. But thus much 
 will I venture to say : the head and the heart con- 
 stitute all that really make the man. Of his high 
 intellectual powers, so happily blended, the story has 
 at once been told with equal brevity and beauty by 
 one of the worthiest of his countrymen, in a single 
 sentence. In his illustrations of mind, " the lightning 
 of passion flashed along the links of the iron chain 
 of argument." And, sir, of his heart, and that deep 
 sea of human affection in which it floated, the story 
 is one just as long as his life, and of touching'beauty. 
 You may read its beginning in the history of the 
 New Hampshire farmer's boy, whose deep and gen- 
 erous fraternal love consecrated his earliest earnings 
 to a beloved brother's education ; you may read its 
 close in the honest tears shed over his remains by the 
 faithful, though humble, dependents, who, for ten 
 twenty, aye, even thirty years, had loved his service 
 because they knew his kindness. 
 
 But, sir, he has only gone before us ; he is not 
 lost to us. He yet lives. True, we have said " earth 
 to earth" over that which was mortal, but he has left 
 behind him that which I would fain believe his coun 
 trymen " will not willingly let die."
 
 236 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 It only remains to discharge the duty attached 
 to me by submitting the following preamble and reso- 
 lutions : 
 
 " Whereas, The dispensation of an all-wise Pro- 
 vidence has removed from the earth Hon. Daniel 
 Webster, late Secretary of State of the United States, 
 and for nearly half a century associated 4n the coun- 
 cils, arid identified with the history of the nation ; 
 and whereas (to use his own most appropriate and 
 expressive language), 'it is fit that we commemorate 
 the services of national benefactors, extol their vir- 
 tues, and render thanks to God for eminent blessings 
 early given and long continued to our favored coun- 
 try;' therefore we, the New-York Historical Society, 
 as a body, would add our mournful tribute to the 
 sounds of sorrow which now come up from a nation's 
 heart, at the bereavement, which but too forcibly re- 
 minds us of one who, springing from the ranks of the 
 people, evinced, with the generosity natural to youth, 
 the resolute determination that belongs to the matu- 
 rity of manhood, and with indefatigable industry, 
 surmounting obstacles amidst the vast labors of an 
 arduous profession, and continuous devotion to legis- 
 lative duties, prosecuted his extended researches in 
 the domains of general learning, having acquired in 
 early life those solid attainments which formed the 
 strong foundation on which he reared in after times 
 an intellectual structure, on which men looked with 
 undiminished admiration to the last, brought to the 
 service of his country the best labors of his head and 
 the best affections of his heart ; maintained his prin- 
 ciples with an energy, manliness and eloquence, worthy
 
 REV. DR. HAWKS'S REMARKS. 237 
 
 an American statesman ; with an indomitable moral 
 courage, stood ever fearlessly in the front rank in 
 defence of the Constitution, regardless of personal 
 consequences ; with an intensity of patriotism worthy 
 of the purest days of the Republic, acknowledged no 
 earthly allegiance, and rendered no loyalty save to 
 his country and his whole country ; and, finally, with 
 caltu dignity, in beautiful harmony with his long and 
 illustrious career, met death with a ' reasonable, re- 
 ligious and holy hope ; ' thus, after ; sounding all the 
 depths and shoals of honor,' adding the weight of his 
 testimony to the truth of God, and relinquishing the 
 glories of the statesman, to repose his soul in the 
 humblest hope of the Christian. 
 
 " Resolved, That while we thus feebly express our 
 sympathies in the nation's loss, we feel the true and 
 appropriate tribute which becomes American citizens 
 in youth to imitate his indefatigable industry ; in 
 manhood his honorable and disinterested patriotism ; 
 and so live, that, in old age, theirs may be. as was 
 his, the tranquil composure, which, resting on a 
 Christian's hope, disarmed death of his terrors. 
 
 ' Resolved, That these resolutions be entered on 
 the journal of the Society, and a copy thereof, duly 
 authenticated by the officers of the New- York His- 
 torical Society, be forwarded to the immediate rela- 
 tives of Mr. Webster."
 
 238 MEMORIALS OP DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 MR. WEBSTER IN COLLEGE. 
 
 Prof. Shurtleff, of Dartmouth College, made the 
 following remarks at a meeting held on receiving in- 
 telligence of Mr. Webster's death : 
 
 I wish for liberty to state, before the close of the 
 meeting, a few facts in Mr. Webster's history for the 
 benefit of the young gentlemen in College. 
 
 When I came to enter this Institution in 1797, I 
 put up, with others from the same Academy, at what 
 is now called the Olcott House, which was then a 
 tavern. We were conducted to a chamber, where we 
 might brush our clothes and make ready for examina- 
 tion. A young man, a stranger to us all, was soon 
 ushered into the room. Similarity of object ren- 
 dered the ordinary forms of introduction needless. 
 We learned that his name was Webster, also where 
 he had studied, and how much Latin and Greek he 
 had read, which I think was just to the limit pre- 
 scribed by law at that period, and which was very 
 much below the present requisition. 
 
 Mr. Webster, while in College, was remarkable 
 for his steady habits, his intense application to study, 
 and his punctual attendance upon all the prescribed 
 exercises. I know not that he was absent from a re- 
 citation, or from morning and evening prayers in the 
 Chapel, or from public worship on the Sabbath ; and 
 I doubt if ever a smile was seen upon his face dur- 
 ing any religious exercise. He was always in his 
 place, and with a decorum 'suited to it. He had no 
 collision with any one, nor appeared to enter into the
 
 WEBSTER IN COLLEGE. 
 
 239 
 
 concerns of others, but emphatically minded his own 
 business. 
 
 But as steady as the sun, he pursued with intense 
 application the great object for which he came to 
 College. This I conceive was the secret of his popu- 
 larity in College, and his success in subsequent life. 
 But notwithstanding Mr. Webster's constancy and 
 sobriety at religious services, I never spoke to him 
 in regard to his opinions and feelings on the all-impor- 
 tant subject, and I know not that he uttered them to 
 the members of his own class. A few years, how- 
 ever, after he left College, either while a student at 
 law, or soon after he opened an office, I heard that he 
 had become a professor of religion by joining an or- 
 thodox church ; and I think his Christian example 
 was without reproach, so long as he remained in his 
 native State 
 
 For several years after his removal I could hear 
 little in regard to his religious course, and the thought 
 occurred to me that such eminent men might suffer 
 for the want of direct personal influence through the 
 fear of their pastor to approach them ; and it ap- 
 peared that considering my age and profession, and 
 relation to those who had been educated at Dart- 
 mouth, it belonged 'to me as much as to any one. so 
 far as I could, to supply the deficiency. About two 
 years ago, being in Boston, I received a message in- 
 viting me to an interview with Mr, Webster at the 
 house of a mutual friend. The call was gladly re- 
 sponded to ; and while I was crossing the street, my 
 resolution recurred to me. He met me with his usual 
 cordiality, and when I attempted to turn the conver-
 
 240 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTEU, 
 
 sation towards religion, he at once anticipated me, 
 and laid the subject fully open between us ; and I 
 need not tell you how much I was gratified in finding 
 that not only his opinions in regard to the great doc- 
 trines and duties of our holy religion, but also his 
 views of what is needful to prepare a soul for death 
 and the coming judgment, were in sympathy with my 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER 8 FAMILY RECOLLECTIONS. 
 
 In a letter dated Franklin, N. H., May 3d, 1846, to a friend in New- York, 
 communicated to the Commercial Advertiser. 
 
 I have made satisfactory arrangements respecting 
 my house here, the best of which is, that I can leave 
 it where it is, and yet be comfortable, notwithstand- 
 ing the railroad. 
 
 This house faces due north. Its front windows 
 look toward the river Merrimack. But then the river 
 soon turns to the south, so that the eastern windows 
 look toward the river also. But the river has so 
 deepened its channel in this stretch of it, in the last 
 fifty years, that we cannot see its waters, without ap- 
 proaching it, or going back to the higher lands be- 
 hind us. The history of this change is of consider- 
 able importance in the philosophy of streams. I have 
 observed it practically, and know something of the 
 theory of the phenomenon ; but I doubt whether 
 the world will ever be benefited, either by my learn- 
 ing, or my observation, in this respect. 
 
 Looking out at the east windows at this moment, 
 
 v^-^-,x
 
 FAMILY RECOLLECTIONS. 241 
 
 (2 P. M.) with a beautiful sun just breaking out. my 
 eye sweeps a rich and level field of 100 acres. At 
 the end of it, a third of a mile off, I see plain marble 
 grave-stones, designating the places where repose my 
 father, my mother, my brother Joseph, and my sis- 
 ters Mehitable, Abigail, and Sarah ; good Scripture 
 names inherited from their Puritan ancestors. 
 
 My father ! Ebenezer Webster! born at Kings- 
 ton, in the lower part of the State, in 1739 the 
 handsomest man I ever saw, except my brother Eze- 
 kiel, who appeared to me, and so does he now seem 
 to me, the very finest human form that ever I laid 
 eyes on. I saw him in his coffin a white forehead 
 a tinged cheek a complexion as clear as heavenly 
 light ! But where am I straying? 
 
 The grave has closed upon him, as, it has on all 
 my brothers and sisters. We shall soon be all toge- 
 ther. But this is melancholy and I leave it. Dear, 
 dear kindred blood, how I love you all ! 
 
 This fair field is before me I could see a lamb 
 on any part of it. I have ploughed it, and raked it, 
 and hoed it, but I never mowed it. Somehow, I 
 could never learn to hang a scythe. I had not wit 
 enough. My brother Joe used to say that my father 
 sent me to college in order to make me equal to the 
 rest of the children ! 
 
 Of a hot day in July it must have been one of 
 the last years of Washington's administration, I 
 was making hay with my father, just where I 
 now see a remaining elm tree, about the middle of 
 the afternoon. The Hon. Abiel Foster, M. C., who 
 lived iu Canterbury, six miles off, called at the house, 
 
 VOI. I. 11
 
 242 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 and came into the field to see my father. He was a 
 worthy man, college learned, and been a minister, but 
 was not a person of any considerable natural powers. 
 My father was his friend and supporter. He talked 
 awhile in the field, and went on his way. When he 
 was gone, my father called me to him, and we sat 
 down beneath the elm on a hay-cock. He said, " My 
 son, that is a worthy man he is a member of Con- 
 gress he goes to Philadelphia, and gets six dollars 
 a day, while I toil here. It is because he had an 
 education, which I never had. If I had had his 
 early education, I should have been in Philadelphia, 
 in his place. I came near it as it was. But I 
 missed it, and now I must work here." " My dear fa- 
 ther," said I, " you shall not work. Brother and I 
 will work for ^ou, and wear our hands out, and you 
 shall rest" and I remember to have cried and I 
 cry now at the recollection. " My child," said he, 
 " it is of no importance to me I now live but for my 
 children ; I could not give your elder brother the ad- 
 vantages of knowledge, but I can do something for 
 you. Exert yourself improve your opportunities 
 learn learn and when I am gone, you will not 
 need to go through the hardships which I have un- 
 dergone, and which have made me an old man before 
 my time." 
 
 The next May he took me to Exeter, to the 
 Phillips Exeter Academy placed me under the 
 tuition of its excellent preceptor, Dr. Benjamin Ab- 
 bott, still living. 
 
 My father died in April, 1806. I neither left 
 him, nor forsook him. My opening an office at BOB-
 
 WKltSTERS LIBRARY. 
 
 243 
 
 cawen was that I might be near him. I closed hif 
 eyes in this very house. He died at sixty-seven 
 years of age after a life of exertion, toil, and expo 
 sure a private soldier, an officer, a legislator, a 
 judge every thing that a man could be, to whom 
 learning never had disclosed her " ample page." 
 
 My first speech at the bar was made when he 
 was on the bench he never heard me a second time. 
 
 He had in him what I recollect to have been the 
 character of some of the old Puritans. He was 
 deeply religious, but not sour on the contrary, good- 
 humored, facetious showing even in his age. with a 
 contagious laugh, teeth, all as white as alabaster 
 gentle, soft, playful and yet having a heart in him, 
 that he seemed to have borrowed from a lion. He 
 could frown ; a frown it was, but cheerfulness, good 
 humor, and smiles, composed his most usual aspect. 
 Ever truly, your friend, 
 
 DAN'L WEBSTER. 
 
 MR. WEBSTER'S LIBRARY, AND CONVERSATION ON THE SCRIPTURES. 
 
 Around the Library room, writes a correspondent 
 of the Journal of Commerce, upon all sides, was that 
 choice selection of books that the owuer had carefully 
 gathered in Europe and America, during the last 
 thirty years. There had often spoke to him the kin- 
 dred minds of Bacon, Milton, Shakspeare, Chatham 
 and Burke. There he had been pleased with the 
 lesser poets, such as Gray, the author of the Elegy 
 in the Country Church Yard, which he indistinctly
 
 244 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 called for on the night of his death. This was a 
 favorite room with the owner, and there he was ac- 
 customed to sit, and write, and read. On a Sabbath, 
 when detained from the house of God by ill health, 
 as he often was during the last years of his life, he 
 was accustomed to peruse the book that he regarded 
 as the best of all the Bible, and commentaries there- 
 upon. For a Sunday sermon he delighted to read 
 one from Dr. Barrow, a prince of English sermonizers 
 of the 17th centary. 
 
 It was in this very room that the writer, who had 
 just then taken charge of the parish to which Mr. 
 Webster belonged, had his first interview with him, 
 several summers since. The conversation turned 
 upon theological and Bible topics. Mr. Webster 
 discoursed most eloquently upon the book of Job, 
 which has been for many years a favorite portion of 
 Holy Writ with him. He had just been reading 
 Barnes on Job. and did not agree with -that learned 
 author, whom he respected, that Job was an histori- 
 cal character. Said Mr. Webster, " There vras no 
 such person, in my judgment, as J-o-b" (spelling the 
 name as he spoke). " Job was the hero of a great 
 epic poem," he continued, " the object of which is to 
 teach religious truth : a poem as much superior to 
 the boasted Homer of antiquity, as Homer is supe- 
 rior to the production of a mere school-boy." 
 
 After discoursing upon other portions of the 
 Scriptures, he proceeded to speak of the ministry of 
 this and a former day. He spoke of the -great elo- 
 quence of Dr. Osgood, of Medford, whom he was ac- 
 customed to hear often when he first removed tc
 
 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 245 
 
 Boston, in 1816. He spoke of how the cause of 
 orthodoxy was protected in the north of Boston, by 
 the indefatigable Dr. Morse of Charlestown, "a man 
 who was always thinking, always reading, always 
 writing, always preaching, always acting ;" of Rev. 
 Dr. Codman. who maintained the cause of the South 
 at Dorchester, and of other clergymen of that day. 
 It was his impression, that the clergy of that day 
 were more strictly students of the Scriptures, and 
 abler divines and preachers, than those of the present 
 day. He expressed the idea, that though the minis- 
 ters of our day had been quite useful in giving so 
 much of their attention, as they have, to the various 
 charities and other labors, than those more strictly 
 belonging to their profession, they have lost as stu- 
 dents, and pastors, and as to their power in the pul- 
 pit. " But after all," said the profound critic, " I do 
 not know; I cannot judge for others; perhaps I 
 ought not to have ventured these suggestions." 
 
 MR. WEBSTER ON THE EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 A few evenings since, says a writer in the Con- 
 gregational Journal, sitting by his own fireside, after 
 a day of severe labor in the Supreme Court, Mr. 
 Webster introduced the last Sabbath's sermon and 
 discoursed in animated and glowing eloquence for an 
 hour on the great truths of the Gospel. I cannot 
 but regard the opinions of such a man in some sense 
 as public property. This is my apology for attempt-
 
 246 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 ing to recall some of those remarks which were ut- 
 tered in the privacy of the domestic circle. 
 
 Said Mr. Webster : " Last Sabbath I listened to 
 an able and learned discourse upon the evidences of 
 Christianity. The arguments were drawn from 
 prophecy, history, with internal evidence. They were 
 stated with logical accuracy and force ; but. as it 
 seemed to me. the clergyman failed to draw from them 
 the right conclusion. He came so near the truth 
 that I was astonished he missed it. In summing up 
 his arguments, he said the only alternative presented 
 by these evidences is this : Either Christianity is true, 
 or it is a delusion produced by an excited imagination. 
 Such is not the alternative, said the critic ; but it is 
 this : the Gospel is either true history, or it is a con- 
 summate fraud ; it is either a reality or- an imposi- 
 tion. Christ was what he professed to be, or he was 
 an impostor. There is no other alternative. His 
 spotless life in his earnest enforcement of the truth, his 
 suffering in its defence, .forbids us to suppose that he 
 was suffering an illusion of the heated brain. 
 
 Every act of his pure and holy life shows that he 
 was the author of truth, the advocate of truth, the 
 earnest defender of truth, and the uncomplaining 
 sufferer for truth. Now, considering the purity of 
 his doctrines, the simplicity of his life, and the sub- 
 limity of his death, is it possible that he would have 
 died for an illusion? In all his preaching the Saviour 
 made no popular appeals. His discourses were all 
 directed to the individual. Christ and his Apostles 
 sought to impress upon every man the conviction that 
 he must stand or fall alone he must live for himself
 
 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 247 
 
 and die for himself, and give up his account to the 
 omniscient God, as though he were the only dependent 
 creature in the Universe. The Gospel leaves the 
 individual sinner alone with himself and his God. To 
 his own master he stands or falls. He has nothing 
 to hope from the aid and sympathy of associates. 
 The deluded advocates of new doctrines do not so 
 preach. Christ and his Apostles, had they been de- 
 ceivers, would not have so preached. 
 
 If clergymen in our days would return to the 
 simplicity of the Gospel, and preach more to indi- 
 viduals and less to the crowd, there would not be so 
 much complaint of the decline of true religion. Many 
 of the ministers of the present day take their text 
 from St. Paul, and preach from the newspapers. 
 When they do so. I prefer to enjoy my own thoughts 
 rather than to listen. I want my pastor to come to 
 me in the spirit of the Gospel, saying, " You are 
 mortal ! your probation is brief ; your work must be 
 done speedily. You are immortal, too. You are 
 hastening to the bar of God ; the Judge standeth 
 before the door." When I am thus admonished, I 
 have no disposition to muse or to sleep. " These topics," 
 said Mr. Webster, "have often occupied my thoughts; 
 and if I had time I would write on them myself." 
 
 The above remarks are but a meagre and imper- 
 fect abstract, from memory, of one of the most 
 eloquent sermons to which I ever listened.
 
 248 PERSONAL ANECDOTES. 
 
 MR. V.'EBSTER IN 1830. 
 
 The late Col. Samuel L. Knapp thus described 
 Mr. Webster's personal characteristics, tweuty-twc 
 years ago : 
 
 The person of Mr. Webster is singular and com- 
 manding ; his height is above the ordinary size, but 
 he cannot be called tall ; he is broad across the chest, 
 and stoutly and firmly built, but there is nothing of 
 clumsiness either in his form or gait. His head is very 
 large, his forehead high, with good shaped temples. 
 H-e has a large, black, solemn looking eye, that ex- 
 bibits strength and steadfastness, and which sometimes 
 burns, but seldom sparkles. His hair is of raven 
 black, and both thick and short, without the mark of 
 gray hair. His eyebrows are of the same color, thick 
 and strongly marked, which give his features the ap- 
 pearance of sternness ; but the general expression of 
 his face, after it is properly examined, is rather mild 
 and amiable than otherwise. His movements in the 
 house and in the street are slow and dignified ; there 
 is no peculiar sweetness in his voice its tones are 
 rather harsh than musical ; still there is a variety in 
 them, and some of them catch the ear and chain it 
 down to the most perfect attention. He bears traits 
 of great mental labor, but no marks of age ; in fact, 
 his person is more imposing now, in his forty-eighth 
 year, than it was at thirty years of age. His manners 
 at the bar, and in the deliberative assembly, are pe- 
 culiar. Hear him, and you will say that his eloquence 
 is founded on no model, ancient or modern all his 
 own excellences and defects. His voice has an ex-
 
 LETTER ON THE MORNING. 249 
 
 traordinary compass. His emphasis belongs to himself 
 alone ; it is founded on no rule, nor can it be reduced 
 to any. 
 
 ME. WEBSTER'S LETTER ON THE 
 
 The following beautiful letter, from the pen of 
 Mr. Webster, was written to a friend some years ago. 
 It will be read with much interest, not only for its 
 intrinsic beauties, but as a purely literary production : 
 
 KICHMOND, VA., ) 
 Five o'clock, A. M.. April 29, 1852. f 
 
 MY DEAR FRIEND : Whether it be a favor or an 
 annoyance, you owe this letter to my early habits of 
 rising. From the hour marked at the top of the 
 page, you will naturally conclude that my companions 
 are not now engaging my attention, as we have not 
 calculated on being early travellers to-flay. 
 
 This city has a "ploasant seat." It is high; the 
 James river runs below it. and when I went out, an 
 hour ago. nothing was heard but the roar of the Falls. 
 The air is tranquil and its temperature mild. It is 
 morning, and a morning sweet and fresh, and delight- 
 ful Everybody knows the morning in its metaphori- 
 cal sense, applied to so many occasions. The health, 
 strength, and beauty of early years, lead us to call 
 that period the "morning of life." Of a lovely young 
 woman we say she is u bright as the morning." and 
 no one doubts why Lucifer is called "son of the 
 morning." 
 
 But the morning itself, few people, inhabitants of
 
 250 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 cities, know anything about. Among all our good 
 people, no one in a thousand sees the sun rise once 
 in a year. They know nothing of the morning. 
 Their idea of it is, that it is that part of the 
 day which comes along after a cup of coffee and a 
 beefsteak, or a piece of toast. With them morning 
 is not a new issuing of light, a new bursting forth of 
 the sun, a new waking up of all that has life from a 
 sort of temporary death, to behold again the works 
 of Grod, the heavens and the earth ; it is only a part 
 of the domestic day, belonging to reading the news- 
 papers, answering notes, sending the children to school 
 and giving orders for dinner. The first streak of 
 light, the earliest purpling of the east, which the lark 
 springs up to greet, and the deeper and deeper color- 
 ing into orange and red, till at length the " glorious 
 sun is seen, regent of the day" this they never enjoy, 
 for they never see it. 
 
 Beautiful descriptions of the morning abound in 
 all languages, but they are the strongest perhaps in 
 the East, where the sun is often an object of worship. 
 
 King David speaks of taking to himself the 
 "wings of the morning." This is highly poetical 
 and beautiful. The wings of the morning are the 
 beams of the rising sun. Rays of light are wings. 
 It is thus said that the sun of righteousness shall 
 arise " with healing in his wings " a rising sun that 
 shall scatter life, health and joy throught the Universe. 
 
 Milton has fine descriptions of morning, but not 
 so many as Shakspeare, from whose writings pages of 
 the most beautiful imagery, all founded on the glory 
 of morning, might be filled.
 
 DEDICATIONS OF HIS SPEECHES. 251 
 
 I never thought that Adam had much the advan* 
 tage of us from having seen the world while it was 
 new. 
 
 The manifestations of the power of God, like Hia 
 mercies, are " new every morning," and fresh every 
 moment. 
 
 We see as fine risings of the sun as ever Adam 
 saw ; and its risings are as much a miracle now as 
 they were in his day, and I think a good deal more, 
 because it is now a part of the miracle, that for 
 thousands and thousands of years he has come to his 
 appointed time, without the variation of a millionth 
 part of a second. Adam could not tell how this 
 might be. I kjiow the morning I am acquainted 
 with it, and I love it. I love it fresh and sweet as it 
 is a daily new creation, breaking forth and calling 
 all that have life and breath and being to new adora- 
 tion, new enjoyments, and new gratitude. 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 MR. WEBSTER 8 DEDICATIONS OF HIS SEC VOLUMES OF SPEECHES. 
 
 The following are Mr. Webster's tributes of affec- 
 tion to his family and friends, and to the memory of 
 the dead, displayed in the dedication of his speeches 
 and writings recently published in six volumes : 
 
 DEDICATION OF THE WEST VOLUKB. 
 
 To MY NIECES, MRS. ALICE BRIDGE WHIFFLE, AND 
 
 MRS. MARY ANN SANBORN: 
 Many of the speeches contained in this volume 
 were delivered and printed in the lifetime of your
 
 252 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 father, whose fraternal affection led him to speak of 
 them with approbation. His death which happened 
 when he had only just passed the middle period of 
 life, left you without a father, and me without a 
 brother. I dedicate this volume to you, not only for 
 the love I have for yourselves, but also as a tribute 
 of affection to his memory, and from a desire that 
 the name of my brother Ezekiel Webster, may be 
 associated with mine, as long as anything written or 
 spoken by me shall be regarded or read. 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 DEDICATION OF THE SECOND VOLUME. 
 
 To ISAAC P. DAVIS, ESQ. : 
 
 My Dear Sir : A warm private friendship has 
 subsisted between us for half our lives, interrupted 
 by no untoward occurrences, and never for a moment 
 cooling with indifference. Of this friendship, the 
 source of so much happiness to me, I wish to leave, 
 if not an enduring memorial, at least an affectionate 
 and grateful acknowledgment. I inscribe this vo- 
 lume to you. 
 
 DEDICATION OF THE THIRD VOLUME. 
 
 To MRS. CAROLINE LE ROY WEBSTER- 
 
 My dearly -beloved Wife : I cannot allow these 
 volumes to go to the press, without containing a 
 tribute of my affection and some acknowledgment of 
 the deep interest that you have felt in the produc- 
 tions which they contain. Yon have witnessed the 
 origin of most of them, not with less concern, cer- 
 tainly, than has been felt by their author ; and the 
 degree of favor with which they may now be received
 
 DEDICATIONS OF HIS SPEECHES. 
 
 253 
 
 by the public, will be as earnestly regarded, I am 
 sure.- by you as by myself. The opportunity seems 
 also a fit one for expressing the high and warm regard 
 which 1 ever entertained for your honored father, now 
 deceased, and the respect and esteem which I cherish 
 towards the members of that amiable and excellent 
 family to which you belong. 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 DEDICATION OF THE FOUKTH TOLUMK. 
 
 To FLETCHER WEBSTER, ESQ. : 
 
 My dear Sir : I dedicate one of the volumes of 
 these speeches to the memory of your deceased 
 brother and sister, and I am devoutly thankful that 
 I am able to inscribe another volume to you, my 
 only surviving child, and the object of my affection 
 and hopes. You have been of an age. at the appear- 
 ance of most of these speeches and writings at which 
 you were able to read and understand them ; and iu 
 the preparation of some of them you have taken no 
 unimportant part. Among the diplomatic papers, 
 there are several written by yourself wholly or mainly, 
 at the time when official and confidential connections 
 subsisted between us in the Department of State. 
 The principles and opinions expressed in these pro- 
 ductions are such as I believe to be essential to the 
 preservation of the Union, the maintenance of the 
 Constitution, and the advancement of the country to 
 still higher stages of prosperity and renown. These 
 objects have constituted my pole star during the 
 whole of my political life, which has now extended 
 through more than half the period of the existence
 
 254 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 of the government. And I know, my dear son. that 
 neither parental authority nor parental example is 
 necessary to induce you, in whatever capacity, public 
 or private, you may be called to act, to devote your- 
 self to the accomplishment of the same ends. 
 
 YOUR AFFECTIONATE FATHER. 
 
 DEDICATION OF THE FIFTH VOLUME. 
 
 To J. W. PAGE, ESQ.: 
 
 My dear Sir : The friendship which has sub- 
 sisted so long between us, springs not more from our 
 close family connections, than from similarity of 
 opinions and sentiments. I count it among the ad- 
 vantages and pleasures of my life ; and pray you to 
 allow me as a slight, but grateful token of my esti- 
 mate of it, to dedicate to you this volume of my 
 speeches. 
 
 DEDICATION OF THE SIXTH VOLUMB. 
 
 With the warmest parental affection, mingled with 
 afflicted feelings, I dedicate this the last volume of my 
 works, to the memory of my deceased children. Julia 
 Webster Appleton, beloved in all the relations of 
 daughter, wife, mother, sister, and friend ; and Major 
 Edward Webster, who died in Mexico, in the military 
 service of the United States, with unblemished honor 
 and reputation, and who entered the service solely 
 from a desire to be useful to his country, and do 
 honor to the State in which he was born. 
 
 " Go, gentle spirits, to your destined rest ; 
 While I reversed our Nature's kindlier doom, 
 Pour forth a Father's sorrow on your tomb." 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 1
 
 THE GREAT ARE FALLING FROM US. 
 
 255 
 
 These eloquent and unique tributes to living and 
 departed kindred and worth, we venture to say, will 
 be admired and appreciated wherever the English 
 language is spoken or the social affections are cherish 
 ed. They will serve as models for this class of com- 
 position, and are worthy accompaniments of the 
 treasures of intellectual worth displayed in the vo- 
 lumes to which they are affixed. Their publication 
 in a combined form, we doubt not, will be deemed 
 appropriate at this time, particularly to that nume- 
 rous class of readers to whom these voluminous 
 works are not readily accessible. 
 
 THE GREAT ARK FALLING FROM US. 
 BY T. BUCHANAN KEAD. 
 
 The great are falling from us to the dusl, 
 Our flag droops midway, full of many sighs ; 
 
 A nation's glory and a people's trust 
 Lie in the ample pall where Webster lies. 
 
 The great are falling from us one. by one, 
 As fall the patriarchs of the forest trees ; 
 
 The winds shall seek them vainly, and the sun 
 Gaze on each vacant space for centuries. 
 
 Lo, Carolina mourns her steadfast Pine, 
 Which, like a mainmast, towered abore her realm ; 
 
 And Ashland hears no more the voice divine, 
 From out the branches of her stately elm. 
 
 And Marshficld's giant oak, whose stormy brow 
 Oft turned the ocean tempest from the West, 
 
 Lies on the shore he guarded long and now, 
 Our startled Eagle knows not where to rest 1
 
 256 MEMORIALS OF DANIKL WEBSTER. 
 
 LETTEKS OF ME. WEBSTER TO HIS FARMER, JOHN TAYLOR, Al 
 FRANKLIN, N. H. 
 
 WASHINGTON, March 13, 1822. 
 
 John Taylor : I am glad to hear from you again, 
 and to learn that you are well, and that your teams 
 and tools are ready for Spring's work, whenever the 
 weather will allow you to begin. I sometimes read 
 books on farming ; and I remember that a very sensi- 
 ble old author advises farmers " to plough naked and 
 sow naked." By this he means that there is no use 
 in beginning Spring's work till the weather is warm, 
 that a farmer may throw aside his Winter clothes and 
 roll up his sleeves. Yet he says we ought to begin as 
 early in the year as possible. He wrote some very 
 pretty verses on the subject, which as far as /I re- 
 member, run thus : 
 
 " While yet the Spring is young, while earth nnbindfl 
 The frozen bosom to the western winds; 
 While mountain snows dissolve against the sun, 
 And streams, yet new, from precipices run 
 E'en in this early dawning of the year, 
 Produce the plough, and yoke the sturdy steer; 
 And goad him till he smoke beneath his toil, 
 And the bright share is buried in the soil." 
 
 John Taylor, when you read these lines, do you 
 not see the snow melting, and the little streams be- 
 ginning to run down the slopes of your Punch-brook 
 pasture, and the new grass starting and growing in 
 the trickling water, all green, bright and beautiful ? 
 And do you not see your 'Durham oxen moking from 
 heat and perspiration as they draw along your great
 
 LETTERS TO JOHN' TAYLOR. 
 
 257 
 
 breaking-up plough, cutting, and turning over the 
 tough sward in your meadow in the great field ? The 
 name of this sensible author is Virgil ; and he gives 
 farmers much other advice, some of which you have 
 been following all the Winter without even knowing 
 that he had given it. 
 
 "But when cold weather, heavy snow and rain, 
 The laboring farmer in his house restrain, 
 Let him forecast his work, with timely care, 
 Which else is huddled when the skies are fair ; 
 Then let him mark the sheep, aud whet the shining share, 
 Or hollow trees for boats ; or number o'er 
 His sacks ; or measure his increasing store; 
 Or sharpen stakes, and mend each rake and fork, 
 So to be ready, in good time, to work - 
 Visit his crowded barns at early morn, 
 Look to his granary, and shell his corn ; 
 Give a good breakfast to his numerous kine, 
 His shivering poultry and his fattening swine." 
 
 And Mr. Virgil says some other things which you 
 understand up at Franklin as well as ever he did : 
 
 " In chilling Winter, swains enjoy their store, 
 Forget their hardships, and recruit for more ; 
 The farmer to full feasts invites his friends, 
 And what he got with pains, with pleasure spends ; 
 Draws chairs around the fire, and tells once more 
 Stories which often have been told before ; 
 Spreads a clean table, with things good to eat, 
 And adds some moistening to his fruit and meat ; 
 They praise his hospitality, and feel 
 They shall sleep better after such a meal !" 
 
 John Taylor, by the time you have got through 
 this, you will have read enough. The sum of all is,
 
 258 
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 be ready for your Spr.ing's work as soon as the 
 weather becomes warm enough, and then put your 
 hand to the plough, and look not back. 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 WASHINGTON, March 17, 1852. 
 
 John Taylor : Go ahead : The heart of the Win- 
 ter is broken, and before the 1st day of April, all 
 your land may be ploughed. Buy the oxen of Captain 
 Marston, if you think the pi'ice fair. Pay for the 
 hay. I send you a check for $160, for these two 
 objects. Put the great oxen in a condition to be 
 turned out and fattened. You have a good horse- 
 team, and I think in addition to this, four oxen and 
 a pair of four-year old steers will do your work. If 
 you think so, then dispose of the Stevens oxen, or 
 unyoke them, and send them to the pasture for beef. 
 I know not when I shall see you, but I hope before 
 planting. If you need any thing, such as guano, for 
 instance, write to Joseph Buck, Esq., Boston, and he 
 will send it to you. 
 
 Whatever ground you sow or plant, see that it is 
 in good condition. We want no pennyroyal crops. 
 "A little farm well tilled," is to a farmer the next 
 best thing to a " little wife well willed." Cultivate 
 your garden. Be sure to produce sufficient quantities 
 of useful vegetables. A man may half support his 
 family from a good garden. Take care to keep my 
 mother's garden in good order, even if it cost you the 
 wages of a man to take care of it. I have sent you 
 many garden seeds. Distribute them among your 
 neighbors. Send them to the stores in the village,
 
 LETTERS TO JOHN TAYLOR. 259 
 
 that everybody may have a part of them without 
 cost. I am glad that you have chosen Mr. Pike Re- 
 presentative. He is a true ma'n ; but there are in 
 New Hampshire many persons who call themselves 
 Whigs, who are no Whigs at all, and no better than 
 disunionists. Any man who hesitates in granting and 
 securing to every part of the country its just and its 
 constitutional rights, is an enemy to the whole 
 country. 
 
 John Taylor : if one of your boys should say that 
 he honors his father and mother, and loves his brothers 
 and sisters, but still insists that one of them shall be 
 driven out of the family, what can you say of him 
 but this, that there is no real family love in him? 
 You and I are farmers ; we never talk politics ; our 
 talk is of oxen ; but remember this that any man 
 who attempts to excite one part of the country 
 against another, is just as wicked as he would be who 
 should attempt to get up a quarrel between John 
 Taylor and his neighbor, old Mr. John Sanborn, or 
 his other neighbor, Captain Burleigh. There are 
 some a,nimals that live best in the fire, and there are 
 some men who delight in heat, smoke, combustion, 
 and even general conflagration. They do not follow 
 the things which make for peace. They enjoy only 
 controversy, contention and strife. Have no com- 
 munion with such persons, either as neighbors or 
 politicians. You have no more right to say that 
 Slavery ought not to exist in Virginia, than a Vir- 
 ginian has to say that Slavery ought to exist in 
 .New Hampshire. This is a question left to every 
 State to decide for itself; and if we mean to keep the
 
 2fiO MEMORIALS 'OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 States together, we must leave to every State this 
 power of deciding for itself. 
 
 .1 think I never wrote you a word before upon 
 politics. I shall not do it again. I only say love your 
 country, and your whole country ; and when men at- 
 tempt to persuade you to get into a quarrel with the 
 laws of other States, tell them that " you mean to mind 
 your own business," and advise them to mind theirs. 
 John Taylor, you are a free man ; you possess good 
 principles ; you have a large family to rear and pro- 
 vide for by your labor. Be thankful to the Govern- 
 ment which does not oppress you, which does not bear 
 you down by excessive taxation, but which holds out 
 to you and to yours the hope of all the blessings 
 which liberty, industry and security may give. John 
 Taylor, thank God, morning and evening, that you 
 were born in such a country. John Taylor, never 
 write me another word upon politics. Give my kind- 
 est remembrance to your wife and children ; and 
 when you look from your eastern windows upon the 
 graves of my family, remember that he who is the 
 author of this letter, must soon follow them to. 
 another world. 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 WEBSTER AND FRANKLIN. 
 
 I recall with pleasure, said Dr. J. W. Francis, in 
 some remarks before the New-York Historical So 
 ciety, a conversation once held with Mr. Webster 
 in regard to that illustrious sage. No individual
 
 LETTER TO HIS OLD SCHOOLM ASTKR. 
 
 201 
 
 throughout our wide domain cherished a deeper rev- 
 erence for the taleuls and services of this incompara- 
 ble man than did Mr. Webster. 
 
 In a discussion which arose among some friends, 
 at a social board, Mr. Webster was asked his opinion 
 concerning the political and fiscal integrity of Frank- 
 lin, a subject which had been agitated with some as- 
 perity. 
 
 "Gentlemen," answered Mr. Webster, "the topic 
 is too broad for present discussion. Among all our 
 political men, Franklin stands prominent for astute- 
 ness, sagacity and integrity. Amidst all his negotia- 
 tions, though the depositary of innumerable state 
 transactions, he was never known to betray the 
 slightest secret, or to utter a hint from which a sinis- 
 ter revelation might occur. As to his fiscal integrity, 
 who knew him better than Washington ? And bad 
 the slightest blemish rested upon that portion of his 
 character, would that exalted man have nominated 
 him as the first President of the Union, and at the 
 time when he himself was waited upon by authoized 
 delegates to urge him to accept that vast trust ! I 
 want no other demonstration of the incorruptible 
 principles of Franklin than that nomination by 
 Washington." 
 
 HE LETTER TO HIS OLD SCHOOLMATES, ''MASTER TAFPAN." 
 
 BOSTOX, Jaly 20, 1852. 
 
 MASTER TAPPAN: I hear with much pleasure, 
 through the public press, that you continue to enjoy
 
 262 
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 life, with mental faculties bright and vivid, although 
 you have arrived at a very advanced age, and are 
 somewhat infirm. I came to-day from the very spot, 
 in which you taught me ; and, to me, a most delight- 
 ful spot it is. The river and the hills are as beauti- 
 ful as ever. But the graves of my father and mother, 
 and brothers and sisters, and early friends, give it, 
 to me, something of the appearance of a City of the 
 Dead. But let us not repine. You have lived long, 
 and my life is already not short ; and we have both 
 much to be thankful for. Two or three persons are 
 still living, who, like myself, were brought up sub tua 
 ferula. They remember " Master Tappan." 
 
 And now, my good old master, receive a renewed 
 tribute of affectionate regard, from your grateful 
 pupil ; with his wishes and prayers, for your happi- 
 ness, in all that remains to you. of this life, and more 
 especially, for your rich participation, hereafter, in 
 the more durable riches of Righteousness. 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTEE. 
 
 ME. WEBSTER AND THE FARMER. 
 
 Some years since, says a correspondent of the 
 New-York Daily Times, Mr, Webster started off 
 from Marshfield on a trouting expedition to Sandwich, 
 a neighboring town on Cape Cod. On approaching 
 a fine stream he alighted from his wagon, and just 
 then he met the owner of the farm, whose stream ran 
 through it. " Good morning;" says Webster, " is 
 there any trout here ?" " Well," says the farmer,
 
 HIS KECRKATIONR, 
 
 2f53 
 
 " some people fish here, but I don't know what they 
 do get." " I'll throw my line in," says Webster, 
 " and see what there is." 
 
 Webster walked the banks of the stream trying 
 his luck, and the old farmer followed him. Soon 
 Webster remarked, " You have some bog on your 
 farm." "Yes," says the farmer, "that aint the 
 worst of it." Fishing still further along. Webster 
 says, " You seem to have plenty of mosquitoes here." 
 ' Yes," he replied, " that ain't the worst of it." Web- 
 ster still kept on throwing his line into the deep pools, 
 and then said, " You have plenty of briers here." 
 Yes," says the farmer, " and that ain't the worst of 
 it." Mr Webster getting somewhat discouraged in 
 a hot August day, bitten by mosquitoes, scratched by 
 briers, and not raising a single fish, dropped his rod 
 and said, ' he didn't believe there* was any trout 
 here." " And that ain't the worst of it," says the 
 farmer. " Well," says Mr. Webster, " I would like 
 to know what the worst of it is ?" " There never 
 was any here !" says the farmer. Mr. Webster en- 
 joyed the joke, and often told it to his particular 
 friends. 
 
 RECREATIONS. 
 
 This taste for field sports, says a writer in the 
 Spirit of the Times, Mr. Webster indulged to an 
 extent that may be called passionate. With his 
 private Secretary, Mr. Lanman, and his old friend 
 Seaton, it was his wont to spend many hours almost
 
 264 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 every day in the season, in the enjoyment of field 
 sports. He was in the habit of getting up at 4 
 o'clock in the Summer morning, driving out to George- 
 town, then taking in his Secretary and fellow sports- 
 man, and, after passing a few hours angling in the 
 Potomac, near the upper bridge, returning to the 
 Capitol, and presenting himself at the Department, 
 ready for business, at 10 o'clock. 
 
 Hon. J. Prescott Hall. U. S. Attorney for this 
 District (himself a good Waltonian,) in announcing 
 the death of Mr. Webster to the Bar of New- York 
 remarked : " I have partaken of his innocent and 
 manly amusements ; I have walked with him alone at 
 twilight, upon the shore of the far-resounding sea." 
 His success at sea-fishing is proverbial, and there is 
 scarcely a bay or an inlet within a day's sail or ride 
 of Boston or Marshfield, that has not felt his line. 
 Many members of the venerable " M. C. A." can 
 bear testimony to his success in this, his private 
 amusement. 
 
 Mr. Webster was a good trout killer, and de- 
 lighted in this most refined of all the modes, " saZiatJcs 
 calamo aucere pisces." Apropos of this fact, we 
 may quote a playful allusion of his in a dinner speech 
 given to him in 1851, at Syracuse, in this State: 
 
 u It so happened," said he. " that all the public 
 services which I have rendered, in my day and gene- 
 ration, have been connected with the General Govern- 
 ment. I think I ought to make an exception. I 
 was ten days a member of the Massachusetts Legis- 
 lature, and I turned my thoughts to the search for 
 some good object, in which I could be useful, in that
 
 A STAGE-COACH ANECDOTE. 
 
 2C5 
 
 position, and after much reflection. I introduced a bill 
 which, with the general consent of both houses, passed 
 into a law, and is now a law of the State, which enacts 
 that no man in the. State shall catch trout, in any 
 other manner than the old way, with an ordinary 
 hook and line." 
 
 A STAGE-COACH ANECDOTE. 
 
 Mr. Webster used to relate this as no one but 
 himself could do : 
 
 A few years since, but before the great Northern 
 Railroad passed through his farm, Mr. Webster was 
 on his way to the old homestead ; he took the stage 
 at Concord, New Hampshire, and had for his com- 
 panion a very old man. After some conversation, he 
 ascertained that the old man was from the neighbor- 
 ing town of Salisbury, and asked him if he ever knew 
 Captain Webster. " Surely, I did," said the old 
 man; "and the Captain was a brave and good man, 
 sir ; and nobly did he fight for us, with General Stark, 
 at Beunington." "Did he leave any children?" in- 
 quired Mr. Webster. " 0, yes ; there was Ezekiel, 
 and I think, Daniel." " And what lias become of 
 them ?" asked Mr. Webster. " Why, Ezekiel and 
 he was a powerful man, sir : I have heard him plead 
 in court often. Yes, sir, he was a powerful man, and 
 fell dead while pleading in Concord." " Well," said 
 Mr. Webster, "and what became of Daniel?" "Dan- 
 iel Daniel," repeated the old man thoughtfully; 
 "why, Daniel, I believe, is a lawyer about Boston 
 somewhere " 
 
 12
 
 266 MEMORIALS OP DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 MB. WEBSTEUS RELIGIOUS CONVICTIONS. 
 
 A writer in the Commercial Advertiser remarks: 
 Some years ago we had the pleasure of spending 
 several days in company with Mr. Webster at the 
 residence of a mutual friend, Harvey Ely. Esq., at 
 Rochester. During that intercourse, we had more 
 than one opportunity of conversing on religious sub- 
 jects sometimes on doctrinal points, but more gen- 
 erally on the importance of the Holy Scriptures, as 
 
 \ containing the plan of man's salvation, through tho 
 atonement of Christ. So far as our knowledge of the 
 
 \ subject extends, Mr. Webster was as orthodox as any 
 we ever conversed with. 
 
 On one occasion, when seated in the drawing-room 
 
 \ with Mr. and Mrs. Ely, Mr. Webster laid his hand on 
 a copy of the Scriptures, saying, with great emphasis. 
 "This is the book !" This led to a conversation on the 
 importance of the Scriptures, and the too frequent 
 neglect of the study of the Bible by gentlemen of the 
 legal profession, their pursuits in life leading them to 
 the almost exclusive study of works having reference 
 to their profession. Mr. Webster said, ' I have read 
 through the entire Bible many times. I now make 
 a practice to go through it once a year. It is the 
 book of all others for lawyers as well as for divines ; 
 and I pity the man that cannot find in it a rich sup- 
 ply of thought, and of rules for his conduct ; it fits 
 man for life it prepares him for death." 
 
 The conversation then turned upon sadden deaths ; 
 and Mr. Webster adverted to the then recent death
 
 RELIGIOUS CONVICTION. TABLE TALK. 267 
 
 of his brother, who expired suddenly at Concord, 
 N. H. " My brother," he continued, " knew the im- 
 portance of Bible truths. The Bible led him to 
 prayer, and prayer was his communion with God. 
 On the day on which he died, he was engaged in an 
 important cause in the court then in session. But 
 this cause, important as it was, did not keep him from 
 his duty to his God ; he found time for prayer, for 
 on the desk which he had just left, was found a paper 
 written by him on that day, which, for fervent piety, 
 a devotedness to his Heavenly Master, and for ex- 
 pressions of humility. I think was never excelled." 
 
 Mr. Webster then mentioned the satisfaction he 
 had derived from the preaching of certain clergymen, 
 observing that " men were so constituted, that we 
 could not all expect the same spiritual benefit under 
 the ministry^of the same clergymen." He regretted 
 that there was not more harmony of feeling among pro- 
 fessors generally, who believed in the great truths of 
 our common Christianity. Difference of opinion, he 
 admitted, was proper ; but yet, with that difference, 
 the main objects should be love to God love to our 
 fellow-creatures. In all Mr. Webster's conversations 
 he maintained true catholicity of feeling. 
 
 ME. WEBSTER'S TABLE-TALK STOET OF THE ROBBER. 
 
 " Mr. Webster," says a writer in the Boston Atlas, 
 "was one of the best story-tellers in the world. He 
 could relate an anecdote with wonderful effect, and 
 nothing was more easy than for him to ' set the table
 
 MEMORIALS OF- DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 in a roar.' His fund of anecdote and of personal re- 
 miniscence was inexhaustible. No one could start a 
 subject relating to history, and especially to American 
 Congressional life, about which he could not relate 
 some anecdote connected with some of the principal 
 characters, which, when told, would throw additional 
 light upon the narrative, and illustrate some promi- 
 nent trait in the characters of the persons engaged in 
 the transaction. This great gift he possessed in a 
 degree unsurpassed. Mr. Webster's 'table-talk' was 
 fully equal to any of his more elaborate efforts in the 
 Senate. He could talk, to use a somewhat misno- 
 mcric expression, as well as he could speak. He had 
 a keen sense of the ludicrous, and loved and appre- 
 ciated nice touches of eccentric humor. We have 
 many reminiscences of his story-telling, for, when at 
 Washington, we often had the pleasure of dining at 
 his table. On these occasions it was the purpose of 
 those present to draw him out ; and to do this, it was 
 but necessary to start some topic in which he felt an 
 interest. We shall never forget his account of his 
 visit to Jefferson, at Monticello, his analysis of the 
 character and intellectual attainments of Hamilton, 
 who he thought bore a closer resemblance to the 
 younger Pitt than any other man in English or Amer- 
 ican history, and his anecdotes of Chief Justice Mar- 
 shall, and old Mr. Stockton, of New Jersey ; and of 
 his ride from Baltimore to Washington in a wagon, 
 with a stout, burly fellow, who told him he was a 
 robber." 
 
 Another journal, the Evening Post, supplies this 
 anecdote of the robber in full :
 
 HIS DEVOTIONAL SPIRIT. 269 
 
 " The incident to which the Atlct^ alludes, we be- 
 lieve occurred to Mr. Webster, before railroads were 
 built, as he was forced one night to make a journey 
 by private conveyance from Baltimore to Washington. 
 The man who drove the wagon was such an ill-looking 
 fellow, and told so many stories of robberies and 
 murders that, before they had gone far. Mr. Webster 
 was almost frightened out of his wits. At last the 
 wagon stopped, in the midst of a dense wood, when 
 the man, turning suddenly round to his passenger, 
 exclaimed fiercely, ' Now, sir, tell me who you are ?' 
 Mr. Webster replied, in a faltering voice, and ready 
 to spring from the vehicle, ' I am Daniel Webster, 
 member of Congress from Massachusetts !" ' What,' 
 rejoined the driver, grasping him warmly by the hand, 
 ' are you Webster ? Thank God ! thank God ! You 
 were such a deuced ugly chap, that I took you for 
 some cut-throat or highwayman.' This is the sub- 
 stance of the story, but the precise words used by 
 Mr. Webster himself, in repeating it, we cannot 
 recall." 
 
 MB. "WEBSTER'S DEVOTIONAL SPIRIT 
 
 It was our fortune, writes the editor of the Bos- 
 ton Atlas, to pass several days at his home in Marsh- 
 field, some six or seven years ago ; and well we re- 
 member one beautiful night, when the heavens seemed 
 to be studded with countless myriads of stars, that, 
 about nine o'clock in the evening, we walked out, and 
 he stood beneath the beautiful weeping elm which
 
 2(0 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 raises its majestic form within a few paces of his 
 dwelling, and. looking up through the leafy branches, 
 he appeared for several minutes to be wrapped in 
 deep thought, and, at length, as if the scene, so soft 
 and so beautiful, had suggested the lines, he quoted 
 certain verses of the eighth Psalm, beginning with 
 the words : " When I consider thy heavens, the work 
 of thy fingers ; the moon and the stars, which thou 
 hast ordained; what is man. that thou are mindful of 
 him ? and the son of man, that thou visitest him 1 
 For thou hast made him a little lower than the an- 
 gels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor." 
 &c. The deep, low tone in which he repeated these 
 inspired words, and the deep, rapt attention with 
 which he gazed up through the branches of the elm, 
 struck us with a feeling of greater awe and solemnity 
 than we ever felt, when, a year or two later, we visit- 
 ed some of the most magnificent cathedrals of the 
 Old World, venerable with the ivy of centuries, and 
 mellowed with the glories of a daily church service 
 for a thousand years. 
 
 We remained out beneath the tree for an hour, 
 and all the time he conversed about the Scriptures, 
 which no man has studied with greater attention, and 
 of which no man whom we ever saw knew so much, 
 or appeared to understand and appreciate so well. 
 He talked of the books of the Old Testament espe- 
 cially, and dwelt with unaffected pleasure upon 
 Isaiah, the Psalms, and especially the Book of Job. 
 The Book of Job, he said, taken as a mere work of 
 literary genius, was one of the most wonderful pro- 
 ductions of any age, or in any language. As an epic
 
 HIS DEVOTIONAL SPIRIT. 
 
 271 
 
 poem, he deemed it far superior to either the. Iliad 
 or Odyssey. The two last, he said, received much of 
 their attraction from the mere narration of warlike 
 deeds, and from the perilous escape of the chief' per- 
 sonages from death and slaughter ; but the Book of 
 Job was a purely intellectual narrative. Its power 
 was shown in the dialogue of the characters intror 
 duced. The story was simple in its construction, and 
 there was little in it to excite the imagination or 
 arouse the sympathy. It was purely an intellectual 
 production, and depended upon the power of the dia- 
 logue, and not upon the interest of the story, to pro- 
 duce its effects. This was considering it merely as 
 an intellectual work. He read it through very often, 
 and always with renewed delight. In his judgment, 
 it was the greatest epic ever written. 
 
 We well remember his quotation of some of the 
 verses in the thirty-eighth chapter : ' ; Then the 
 Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, 
 Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without 
 knowledge ? Gird up now thy loins like a man ; for 
 [ will demand of thee, and answer thou me. Where 
 wast thou, when I laid the foundations of the earth ? 
 Declare, if thou hast understanding," &c. Mr. 
 Webster was a fine reader, and his recitation of par- 
 ticular passages, to which he felt warm, were never 
 surpassed ; and were capable of giving the most ex- 
 quisite delight to those who could appreciate them.
 
 272 
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 TWENTY-FOUBTH OF OCTOBER, 1852. BY T. VT. PARSOXS, JUN, 
 
 Comes there a frigate home ? What mighty bark 
 . Keturns with torn, but still triumphant sails ? 
 Such peals awake the wondering Sabbath : hark ! 
 How the dread echoes die among the vales. 
 
 What ails the morning, that the misty sun 
 
 Looks wan and troubled in the autumn air, 
 Dark over Marshfleld ? 'Twas the minute gun : 
 
 God ! has it come that we foreboded there ? 
 & 
 The woods at midnight heard an angel's tread, 
 
 The sere leaves rustled in his withering breath ; 
 The night was beautiful with stars : we said, 
 
 "This is the harvest moon." 'Twas thine, Death, 
 
 Gone, then, the splendor of October's day ! 
 
 A single night, without the aid of frost, 
 Has turned the gold and crimson into gray , 
 
 And the year's glory with the world's is lost. 
 
 A little while, and we rode forth to greet 
 His coming with glad music ; and his eye 
 
 Drew many captives, as along the street 
 His peaceful triumph passed, unquestioned by. 
 
 Now there are meanings by the desolate shore, 
 
 That are not ocean's. By the patriot's bed 
 Hearts throb for him whose noble heart no more- 
 Break off the rhyme ; for sorrow cannot stop 
 
 To trim itself with phrases for the ear. 
 Too fast the tears upon the paper drop ; 
 
 Fast as the leaves are falling on his bier ; 
 
 Thick as the hopes that clustered round his name, 
 While yet he walked with us, a pilgrim here. 
 
 He was our prophet our majestic oak, 
 
 That like Dodona's, in Thesprotian land, 
 Whose leaves were oracles, divinely spoke. 

 
 TWENTY-FOURTH OF OCTOBER, 1852. 
 
 273 
 
 He was our Daniel. 'Mid the roar of men, 
 
 He in the stormy senate stood serene, 
 Like his great namesake in the lion's den. 
 
 "We called him giant, for in every part 
 
 He seemed colossal ; in his port and speech, 
 In his large brain, and in his larger heart. 
 
 And when upon the roll his name we saw, 
 
 Of those who govern, then we felt secure ; 
 Because we knew, his reverence for the law. 
 
 So the young master of the Koman realm 
 
 Discreetly thought, we cannot go astray, 
 Not far astray, with Ulpian at the helm. 
 
 But slowly to this loss our sense awakes, 
 
 To know what space it in the forum filled: 
 See what a gap the temple's ruin makes ! 
 
 Kinsrs have their dynasties, but not the mind ; 
 
 Caesar leaves other Caesars to succeed; 
 But wisdom, dying, leaves no heir behind. 
 
 Who now shall stand the regent at the wheel ? 
 
 Who knows the dread machinery ? Who hath skill 
 Our course through oceans unsurveyed to feel ? 
 
 Her mournful tidings Albion lately sent 
 How he, the victor in so many fields, 
 Fell, without fighting, in the fields of Kent ; 
 
 The chief whose conduct in the lofty scene 
 
 Where England stood up for the world in arms, 
 Gave her victorious name to England's queen. 
 
 But peaceful Britain knows, amid her grief, 
 
 .She could well spare the soldier and his sword: 
 What can OUB councils do without OCB chief? 
 
 Blest are the peace-makers ! and he was ours, 
 
 Winning, by force of argument, the right 
 For kindred, rather than for rival powers.
 
 274 
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 Let us be thankful, if we kept alpof 
 
 From their calumnious ranks who slandered him, 
 Putting his fineness to their venom's proof. 
 
 It hurt him not ; for, if his gold contained 
 
 Some specks of earth, it was not such as theirs, 
 But only human crystal that remained. 
 
 The richest stones, the most refined and pure, 
 
 Most need the lapidary's wisest hand. 
 Man, without error, make thy cutting sure ! 
 
 'The autumn rains are falling on his head ; 
 
 The snows of winter soon shall be his shroud ; 
 And spring with violets will adorn his bed ; 
 
 And summer shall be joyful on the shore 
 
 Where he is sleeping : but the breath of spring, 
 Or summer sunshine will not wake him more. 
 
 Eesume the rhyme, and end the funeral strain. 
 
 Dying he asked for song ; he did not slight 
 The harmony of numbers ; let the main 
 
 Sing round his grave great anthems day and night. 
 
 Not with vain hope to hang upon his hearse 
 
 A little, selfish trophy of our own, 
 We give to grief this tributary verse, 
 
 But simply to record the nation's moan. 
 
 We have no high cathedral for his rest, 
 
 Dim with proud banners and the dust of years; 
 
 All we can give him is New England's breast 
 To lay his head on, and ten thousand tears.
 
 HIS LAST HOURS. 
 
 275 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER'S LAST HOURS. 
 
 The telegraphic reports present the most vivid 
 narrative of these closing incidents, and may preserve 
 for other generations something of that feeling of 
 interest and anxiety with which the United States of 
 1852, hour by hour, listened to this dying intelli- 
 gence. 
 
 BOSTON, October, 28. 
 
 A messenger left Marshfield at 6 o'clock this 
 morning. Mr. Webster passed the night quietly ; 
 sleeping at times. He was not quite so well this 
 morning, and is slowly sinking. 
 
 MARSHFIELD, Saturday, October 28 7 P. M. 
 
 Mr. Webster's physicians have given out the fol- 
 lowing bulletin : 
 
 " Mr. Webster has failed during the night, and 
 is quite low and exhausted this morning. 
 
 BOSTON, 12J ** 
 
 A messenger just arrived from Marshfield informs 
 the Courier that Mr. Webster, in the opinion of his 
 physicians, cannot live an hour. 
 
 The following is an account of the state of Mr. 
 Webster during the night : 
 
 At 1 1 o'clock he was again seized witl vomitings, 
 though at the time they were slight. Between one 
 nd two o'clock this morning he was again attacked, 
 and for three-quarters of an hour suffered terribly. 
 From that time to the date of our writing this, half-
 
 276 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 past eight o'clock, he remained free from pain, and in 
 a placid state. His mind is still as clear and bright 
 as the sun now rising. 
 
 During all the time for ten hours past, when he 
 was free from pain, he conversed cheerfully with the 
 friends around his bedside, and more than once play- 
 fully reproached his faithful nurse, Sarah, for not re- 
 tiring to bed. 
 
 Mr. Webster is fully conscious of his condition, 
 as is evidenced from the fond consolations he is con- 
 stantly addressing to his mourning family and friends. 
 * Occasionally, in the presence of those not his re- 
 latives, he speaks on public matters with a calmness 
 and interest which clearly show that the welfare of 
 his country is as present and dear to him as ever. 
 
 The illustrious invalid is now asleep, but fears of 
 further terrible suffering on his part are entertained 
 by his friends should he be again seized with vomit- 
 ing on waking. 
 
 MARSIIFIELD, 12 M., Saturday. 
 
 Mr. Webster still continues to sink. Shortly af- 
 ter 6 o'clock this morning he had further attacks of 
 vomiting, which are gradually wearing away his 
 strength. He may live through the day, but it is 
 thought cannot survive through the night Messages 
 have just been dispatched for Dr. J. M. Warren, of 
 Boston, requesting him to come down in the after- 
 noon train Just as this express starts, the following, 
 from his physician, has been put into my hands : 
 
 12 M. 
 " Mr. Webster is gradually sinking; it is thought
 
 HIS LAST HOURS. 
 
 he will not survive more than twenty-four hours, if 
 so long. His frame of mind is that of entire tran- 
 quillity and happiness. He attends to all necessary 
 business, and his mind maintains its usual attention 
 to all subjects and persons." 
 
 MARSHFIELD, 2 P.M. 
 
 Mr. Webster continues to- sink. His mental fa- 
 culties seem unclouded and brilliant as ever. He 
 occasionally speaks to his family, contemplates death 
 calmly, and is perfectly resigned. His physicians 
 think he will expire during the night. 
 
 BOSTOX, Oct. 24th, 2 A.M. 
 
 An express messenger has just arrived, having 
 left Marshfield at 10 o'clock last night, at which time 
 Mr. Webster was not expected to survive more than 
 an hour. 
 
 Dr. James Jackson left the patient at 2 Vclock 
 in the afternoon. 
 
 During the early part of the afternoon there was 
 some decrease in the swelling of Mr. Webster's ab- 
 domen, and fewer symptoms of nausea, but there 
 were no signs of rallying. 
 
 Repeatedly in the course of the forenoon, and in 
 the early part of the afternoon, he conversed freely, 
 and with great coolness of detail, in relation to his 
 private affairs and the condition of his farms, stating 
 his plans fully, and the manner in which he wished 
 to have them carried out. 
 
 About halt-past five o'clock, Mr. Webster was 
 again seized with a violent nausea, and raised con-
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 siderable dark matter, tinged with blood. Exhaus- 
 tion now increased rapidly, and his physicians held 
 another consultation, which resulted in a conclusion 
 that his last hour was fast approaching. 
 
 He received the announcement, and requested 
 that the female members of his family might be 
 called in; viz.. Mrs. Webster, Mrs. Fletcher Webster, 
 Mrs. J. W. Paige, and- Miss Downs, of New -York. 
 To each, calling them individually by name, he ad- 
 dressed a few words of farewell and religious conso- 
 lation. 
 
 Next he had called in the male members of his 
 family, and the personal friends who have been here 
 within the last few days, viz.. Fletcher Webster (his 
 only surviving son), Samuel A. Appleton (his son-in- 
 law), J. W. Paige, George T. Curtis, Edward Curtis, 
 of New- York, Peter Harvey and Charles Henry Tho- 
 mas. of Marshfield, and Messrs. George J. Abbott 
 and W. C. Zantzinger, both of the State Department 
 at Washington. Addressing each by name, he re- 
 ferred to his past relations with them respectively, 
 and, one by one, bade them an affectionate farewell. 
 This was abput half-past six. 
 
 He now had Mr. Peter Harvey called in again, 
 and said to him "Harvey, I am not so sick but that 
 I know you I am well enough to know you. I am 
 well enough to love you, and well enough to call down 
 the richest of Heaven's blessings upon you and yours. 
 Harvey, don't leave me till 1 'am dead don't leave 
 Marshfield till I am a dead man." Then, as if 
 Bpeaking to himself, he said " On the 24th of Oo-
 
 DEATH. 2*79 
 
 tober, all that is mortal of Daniel Webster will be 
 no more." 
 
 He now prayed in his natural usual voice strong, 
 full and clear, ending with " Heavenly Father, for- 
 give my sins, and receive me to thyself, through Christ 
 Jesus." 
 
 At half-past seven o'clock Dr. J. M. Warren ar- 
 rived from Boston, to relieve Dr. Jeffries as the im- 
 mediate medical attendant. 
 
 Shortly after he conversed with Dr. Jeffries, who 
 said he could do nothing more for him than to ad- 
 minister occasionally a sedative potion. "Then," 
 said Mr. Webster, " I am to lie patiently to the end ; 
 if it be so, may it come soon." 
 
 At 10 o'clock he was still lower, but perfectly 
 conscious of everything that passed within his sight 
 or hearing. 
 
 BOSTON, October 24, 18529 A.M. 
 
 Hon. Daniel Webster, Secretary of State, died at 
 his mansion at Marshfield, twenty-two minutes before 
 three o'clock this morning. His last hour was en- 
 tirely calm, and he breathed his Jast so peacefully, 
 that it was with difficulty the precise moment of his 
 departure was perceived. 
 
 DEATH. 
 
 The Boston Courier contained the following par- 
 ticulars relativf to Mr. Webster's death and burial : 
 The last hours of one so beloved as he whose
 
 280 
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 earthly career has just closed amid so many circum- 
 stances of consolation, were of the same even tenor 
 
 * . 
 
 as all the rest. The public are already informed of 
 
 the chief features of that deeply interesting scene up 
 to the period when Mr. Webster desired to take 
 leave of all who were in the house. One by one, in 
 deep sorrow, but sustained by his own great example, 
 the members of his family, and the friends and at- 
 tendants, came in and took leave of him. He desired 
 them to remain near his room, and more than once 
 enjoined on those present who were not of his imme- 
 diate family, not to leave Marshfield till his death 
 had taken place. Reassured by all that his every 
 wish would be religiously regarded, he then addressed 
 himself to his physicians, making minute inquiries as 
 to his own condition, and the probable termination 
 of his life. Conversing with great exactness, he 
 seemed to be anxious to be able to mark to himself 
 the final period of his dissolution. He was answered, 
 that it might occur in one, two, or three' hours, but 
 that the time could not be definitely calculated. 
 " Then," said Mr. Webster, " I suppose I must lie 
 here quietly till it comes." The retching and vomit- 
 ing now recurred. Dr. Jeffries offered to Mr. Web- 
 ster something which he hoped might give him ease. 
 " Something more, Doctor, more I want restora- 
 tion." 
 
 Between 10 and 1 1 o'clock, he repeated somewhat 
 indistinctly the words "Poet, poetry, Gray, Gray." 
 Mr. Fletcher Webster repeated the first line of the 
 elegy 
 
 " The curfew tolls the knell of parting daj."
 
 THE MEN OF THE COMMONWEALTH. 281 
 
 * That's it, that's it," said Mr. Webster, and the 
 book was brought, and some stanzas read to him, 
 which seemed to give him pleasure. 
 
 From 12 o'clock till 2, there was much restless- 
 ness, but not much suffering. The physicians were 
 quite confident that there was no actual pain. A 
 faintness occurred, which led him to think that his 
 death was at hand. While in this condition, some 
 expressions fell from him, indicating the hope that 
 his mind would remain to him completely until the 
 last. He spoke of the process of %he difficulty of 
 dying, when Dr. Jeffries repeated the verse. 
 
 " Though I walk through the valley of the shadow 
 of death, J will fear no evil, for Thou art with me ; 
 Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me." 
 
 Mr. Webster said immediately, " The fact, the 
 fact. That is what I want Thy rod, Thy rod Thy 
 staff, Thy staff." 
 
 His dying words were, " I STILL LIVE." 
 
 THE MEN Or THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 At a dinner party in Boston, Dr. Charles narrates 
 in his Funeral Discourse, at Newport, on Webster : 
 
 Mr. Webster stated that he had been reading 
 " Burton's Diary," and that it was a mine of great 
 value. " There you get the true calibre of the 
 Koundheads; their speeches in Parliament were 
 really wonderful productions, and I am satisfied that 
 their discussions about religion, were mainly in view
 
 282 MEMORIALS OF DANISL WEBSTER. 
 
 of the great civil consequences involved. The men 
 of that day were richly furnished ; look at Cowley, 
 Evelyn, and Clarendon, on one side, and Elliot, Syd- 
 ney, Milton, Harrington, and Marvel on the other. 
 These men all breathed in gardens, and kept up their 
 humanity by meditations amidst the tranquillity of 
 nature. Cromwell and Hampden were the men. 
 Cromwell was a statesman every inch. Hampden is 
 a man of whom I want to know more than Lord 
 Nugent has told us ; I want to know how he talked 
 and lived every day down in the country. A proper 
 history or biography is the story of a life ; mere 
 public facts do not make a biography. I want to 
 know not only what a man did, but the way in which 
 he did it, when it sprang up in his heart to do it. I 
 want to know all about the days of adversity or sun- 
 shine in which he was schooled, I want to know about 
 the boy as well as the man. Facts, naked facts, are 
 not history, they are but the oil and brushes ; and 
 when you have them, an artist must come along to 
 work you up an historical picture." 
 
 A CONVERSATION ON ENGLAND. 
 
 I think, says Dr. Charles, in the Discourse just 
 quoted, the sentiments embodied in a conversation 
 which I had with Mr. Webster, at Washington, pre- 
 vious to my visit to Europe in 1851. are worthy of 
 record. " Well, sir, I notice from your letter for 
 Passports, that you take three of your pupils. I am 
 glad that they are going. You will teach them things
 
 A CONVERSATION ON ENGLAND. 
 
 283 
 
 abroad which will be useful to them when they 
 return. Show them the great farms, the noble stock, 
 let them see the rural life of England, and learn to 
 love it. We want to have more love for the country. 
 We want more beauty thrown around our houses, and 
 the lads will come home with better taste. Try to 
 cultivate their memories as to the localities of Eng- 
 land. Let them never forget the places sacred to 
 liberty. The Tower is a perfect study, it requires 
 thought, it is no place to be dispatched in a hurried 
 visit. It is history, sir. Westminster Abbey is a 
 wonderful place, not only for what it is, but for what 
 it is not. Smithfield, too, is full of glory. If ever 
 Jacob's ladder rested upon earth, it was there, where 
 bloody Mary made it the gate to heaven for so many 
 martyrs. Bunhill Fields ; I was too good a Puritan 
 not to go there. I wanted to stand where Bunyan, 
 Owen, Goodwin and Defoe were buried. I should 
 like to stand at the graves of all the great men of 
 England. This journey will do the lads great good ; 
 it will furnish them matter for thought in future life, 
 and if they improve this opportunity, it will teach 
 them what few so understand, how to grow old de- 
 cently. An ignorant, uncultivated old man is a poor 
 affair ; the tailor can pad out his wasted form, but 
 nothing except early acquirements and good senti- 
 ments can make fine old age. You will .see 'the 
 Duke,' sir, he is the most remarkable man in the 
 country; so practical, such sterling sense, so self- 
 reliant ; a man is nothing, nothing, who does not de- 
 pend upon himself. I shall give you letters, sir, 
 addressed to men I value highly, who are ornaments
 
 284 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 to our nature. Pray make the lads notice the atten- 
 tion paid in England to age and position ; nowhere 
 can the proprieties of life be learned so well. What 
 a destiny lies before these two countries. England and 
 the United States ; the same language, laws, and 
 religion. Did you ever think of the wonderful con- 
 cealment of America from Europe, till 'the set time' 
 had arrived for its revelation?" 

 
 MK. WEBSTER'S BRIEFS. 
 
 IN the biographical sketch of Mr. "Webster, with which 
 these volumes open, brief reference is made to the degree 
 and method of Mr. Webster's preparation for his public 
 speeches. The impression has been current that his groat 
 speeches were quite unstudied ; and several of his bio- 
 graphers, including Mr. Everett, have taken no incon- 
 siderable pains to create the belief that his Reply to 
 Hayne was in the main an extempore performance. All 
 such representations seem to us not simply without foun- 
 dation, but likely to be productive of mischievous influ- 
 ence upon the minds of students, with whom the example 
 of so consummate a master as Mr. Webster cannot fail to 
 be more weighty than the lessons o all the schools. Mr. 
 Webster was always a laborious student, and in the early 
 part of his professional and public career, he expended 
 upon all his public addresses the utmost care. He hap- 
 pened to be dining with a company of friends a few years 
 since, when the first message of an eminent public man, 
 then Governor of the State of New- York, was issued and 
 became the subject of conversation. " Governor W " 
 said Mr. Webster, on being appealed to for his opinion, 
 " is a very able man and a very able writer : the only 
 thing he needs to learn is how to scratch out." A Sena- 
 tor of the United States present expressed some surprise 
 at this remark, and said that no one who read Mr. Web- 
 ster's addresses, or listened to his speeches, would suppose
 
 286 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 that he ever had occasion to alter or amend any tiling 
 that came from his pen. " Uowever that may be now," 
 replied Mr. Webster, " a very large part of my life has 
 been spent in * scratching out ;' when I. was a young man, 
 and for some years after I had acquired a respectable 
 degree of eminence in my profession, my style was bom- 
 bastic and pompous in the extreme. Some kind friend 
 was good enough to point out that fact to me, and I de- 
 termined to correct it, if labor could do it. Whether it 
 has been corrected or not, no small part of my life has 
 been spent in the attempt." This careful preparation to 
 which Mr. Webster thus resorted in early life, from a con- 
 viction of its necessity, soon became a fixed habit, and 
 was never abandoned. He seldom made a public speech, 
 however temporary the interest of the occasion might 
 seem, which he had not previously studied with laborious 
 care. Sometimes he wrote it out, very fully; but his 
 usual method was to prepare a careful and complete outline 
 of the argument he wished to present, and to write out in 
 the exact language he wished to use any portions which 
 he desired to make especially forcible or impressive. 
 Under the excitement of speaking he would often vary 
 the phraseology of such passages, infusing into them 
 more energy and life than his pen had given them origi- 
 nally, and adapting them oftentimes to incidents that were 
 passing before him. This was undoubtedly the character 
 of the preparation he had made for his Reply to Hayne. 
 Although he rose to speak as soon as Hayne sat down, 
 the whole subject had been under discussion in the Senate 
 for weeks, and nearly every point made by Col. Hayne 
 had been previously presented by Col. Benton or some 
 of the others who had participated in the debate upon 
 the same side. Mr. Webster had been preparing to take 
 part in the discussion from the beginning. The question 
 of constitutional power involved had been his special
 
 HIS BRIEFS. 287 
 
 study for years, and upon that branch of. the subject he 
 had little more to do than to present the conclusions he 
 had formed, and the process of argument by which he 
 had reached them. The personal attacks of Col. Hayne 
 were made mainly in the opening part of his speech, 
 which was made on Thursday, the remainder being ad- 
 journed over to the succeeding Monday; so that upon 
 these points Mr. Webster had time to elaborate the un- 
 rivalled retorts by which they were repelled. And the 
 declamatory passages, those sentences of fervid elo- 
 quence, unsurpassed in our language for their stately, 
 dignified, and impassioned rhetoric, had been framed 
 laboriously in the forge of his creative intellect, while 
 studying the speech he intended to make upon the gen- 
 eral topic. Mr. Everett in his life of Mr. Webster affects 
 to sneer at the intimation that he could thus utter pathos, 
 indignation, and patriotism, a' week old ; but the sneer 
 will scarcely alter the fact, nor does the fact in the least 
 degree derogate from the intellectual and oratorical su- 
 premacy of Mr. Webster. On the contrary, it simply 
 shows that he belonged to that race of Orators of which 
 Demosthenes, Burke, Massillon, Choate, and Everett him- 
 self are the great exemplars, and that he, too, resort- 
 ed to the same methods of intellectual labor, by which 
 they have commanded the admiration and applause of 
 successive generations of the race. 
 
 No study could be more interesting and instructive 
 than that of the process of a great mind, like' Mr. Web- 
 ster's, in the construction of a great speech. The writer 
 of this note happens to be in possession of material that 
 could not fail to be useful in such a study, much of which, 
 however, cannot here be sed. He chanced to be at 
 Washington in the winter of 1848, and hearing that Mr. 
 Webster .was to argue a legal case in the Supreme Court 
 he very naturally went to hear him. It proved to be a
 
 288 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 case growing out of the famous Dorr rebellion in Rhode 
 Island, and involved the legal merits of that proceeding. 
 Mr. Webster came up to the bench on which he had taken 
 his seat, and after some general conversation spoke of the 
 interest and importance of the case, and expressed a wish 
 that he would prepare a report of the argument he in- 
 tended to make. Knowing nothing whatever of the short- 
 hand art, but being fond of reporting Mr. Webster as a 
 valuable method of critically studying his style, and hav- 
 ing succeeded on former occasions in satisfying Mr. Web- 
 ster's taste in the reports of his speeches, and no man 
 was ever more fastidious, he readily acceded to the re- 
 quest, took notes, wrote out the speech, and early the next 
 morning read it over to Mr. Webster in his private study. 
 Mr. Webster made very few alterations in the language, 
 and none at all in the structure of the sentences: but 
 each was examined and discussed with the most careful 
 criticism, and the fitness and import of every word were 
 weighed with as deliberate labor as any University student 
 ever expended upon his theme. In two or three cases 
 the reporter had substituted a word for the one which 
 Mr. Webster had chanced to use, hither for here, in one 
 instance, which is specially recollected. Not one such 
 case escaped Mr. Webster's notice ; he detected the va- 
 riation instantly, and at once began to consider which was 
 the best. Quotations were verified, punctuation care- 
 fully done, and the literary character of the speech was 
 quite as critically attended to as its legal argument had 
 been. And this was merely one of his professional 
 performances, an argument in Court upon a legal ques- 
 tion. 
 
 After the revision of the speech had been finished the 
 writer asked, and promptly received, permission to retain 
 the brief from which Mr. Webster had spoken : and it is 
 now appended to this notice, as a curious and valuable
 
 HIS BRIEFS. 289 
 
 guide in studying the process by which Mr. Webster pre- 
 pared his addresses. The speech itself will be found in 
 Vol. V. of the Writings of Mr. Webster, edited by Mr. Ev- 
 erett, where it makes scarcely twice as much, in its com- 
 plete form, as in this outline of notes which he used in 
 speaking : his abbreviations and marks are retained sc 
 far as possible. 
 
 PEELIMINAET. 
 
 There is something novel and extraordinary, in Judi- 
 cial proceedings, in the aspect of this cause. 
 
 In '41 and '42 agitation existed in R. I. conflicting 
 parties were formed each party claimed the au- 
 thority of Gov.'t resort was had ; to arms' force 
 was used and it seemed at one moment, that the 
 parties were on the " perilous edge of battle." In 
 June and July '42 the tumult subsided, without 
 bloodshed. Gov't resumed its ordinary course, and 
 the State its accustomed quiet. 
 
 But past disturbances were to be looked into Grand 
 Juries found Bills. Among the rest an Indictment 
 was found v. Mr. Dorr, who had asserted a claim 
 to be considered as Gov'r had presumed to act as 
 such and had manifested an intention to sustain 
 his Gubernatorial character by force of arms. On 
 this Indictment, he was tried by a Court, now ad- 
 mitted on all sides to have been a Constitutional 
 and competent Court, and a R. I. Jury, impannelled 
 according to law, and standing' above all challenge. 
 
 Mr. Dorr was convicted of treason, by this competent 
 Court, and sentenced to imprisonment for life. 
 
 Now, an action is brought in Gourt of U. 6. and here 
 by appeal, in which the attempt is to prove, that 
 Mr. Dorr was no traitor, nor insurrectionist ; but 
 the real Gov'r of the State at the time. That the 
 force used by him was exercised in defence of the 
 Constitution and Laws, not against them; that the 
 treasonable force was really on the other side ; and 
 that the Supreme Court of R. I. made rather- an 
 important mistake. Gov'r King, if any body, 
 should have been tried for treason, and Mr. Dorr 
 w. TI. is
 
 290 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 regarded as the Defender of the Constitution and 
 Laws. Certainly, this is a considerable mistake ! 
 quite a wrong casting of character ! King Lear. 
 
 This gives vivacity to the dulness of Judicature 1 
 
 It enlivens the drudgery of perusing Briefs, Demur- 
 rers, and Pleas in Bar, Bills in Equity and answers. 
 
 " Handy-dandy." 
 
 Change places handy-dandy "which is the Justice 
 and which is the thief,", which is the Gov. and 
 which the rebel ? 
 
 This discussion not to be regretted. 
 
 American Liberty has an Ancestry, a Pedigree, a His- 
 tory. 
 
 The Settlers of Plym. and Jamestown were English- 
 men ; leaving oppression and misrule, but bring- 
 ing all the buds, and blossoms, and fruits of civil 
 and religious Liberty, at that time to be had. 
 
 Hab Cor : trial by jury. Forms of Gov. were to be 
 new. 
 
 They had close and controlling colonial feelings, but 
 they had also English feelings; learning, tastes, 
 literature, and prejudices. 
 
 They suffered by the tyranny of James the Second ; 
 and took a lively interest in the Kevo of 1688 
 Mass 
 
 With the Decla of Independence, they departed from 
 the political maxims and example of England, and 
 pursued a course more exclusively American. 
 
 They adapted their conduct to their new condition, 
 and framed systems accordingly, changing what 
 needed change, and leaving the rest. 
 
 The Govts had all now become entirely popular. 
 ^ There was no longer any allegiance to the Crown. 
 
 } Constitutions were to be formed, conformable to this 
 
 / new state of things. 
 
 "Where the form of Govt was already well enough, 
 they let it alone ; where necessary they reformed it. 
 
 Every where, and in all things, they acted in a true 
 
 conservative spirit. 
 
 "Whatever was valuable they retained ; whatever else 
 was essential, they added,. and no more.
 
 HIS BRIEFS. 
 
 AMERICAN PRINCIPLES. 
 
 1. The People are the source of all political power; Govt 
 is instituted for their good ; and its members ate 
 their agents and servants. The people exercise 
 their power by regulated suffrage. 
 
 55^* Nobody denies this, and therefore nobody need 
 argue it> 
 
 When counsel insists on this, they insist on what no 
 one doubts. 
 
 Where else can there be power, in such a country as 
 this? 
 
 Why make a merit, of maintaining what no man 
 denies ? 
 
 no crown no Lords 
 
 2. As the people cannot, in a mass, exercise political 
 power, they establish Govts ; conferring on them 
 so much authority as they please. People only 
 
 act, by suffrage, and Representation both to be 
 
 carefully secured. 
 
 In a general sense the Sovereignty is with the People ; 
 but the organized, acting Sovereignty, -to the ex- 
 tent the people claim, is in their Govts. 
 
 Legislation is a sovereign power ; it is not exercised 
 by the People directly, but intrusted by them to 
 their own Govts created by themselves. 
 
 Chief Justice Jay's paradox "Subjects & Citizens." 
 
 A STATE. Judge Durfee. 
 
 The People limit their Govts, in all their branches; 
 and they occasionally limit themselves : as in cases 
 of not alt'g constitution without 2/3rds. 
 
 That is, they impose restraints, on sudden impulses of 
 mere majorities. 
 
 Constitution U. S. Art. '5, mode of Amendment. Mr. 
 Whipple's Statement 4 vs 16 millions 
 again the Senate The treaty-making power. 
 jgjT' power in impeachments. Confederation 9 
 
 States necessary. 
 
 3. Having thus established Constitutions, according to 
 their own pleasure, and established Departments, 
 they carry on the Govt. by REPRESENTATION. 
 
 This is a great, the great, distinctive character, of Ame- 
 
 J-^N*
 
 292 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 rican Liberty. It differs from every thing, that 
 has gone before it. 
 
 Difference between our principle of representation and 
 that of England, in its origin. 
 
 4. The right of Representation is to be strictly secured 
 and guarded ; as it is the main political right of 
 every man. 
 
 Here, again, the People limit themselves. 
 
 1. In the qualification of the persons to be 
 elected ; in regafd to age, residence, and 
 property. 
 
 2. The qualification of voters in the same 
 
 respects. 
 
 Every where, there are some qualifications, 
 of electors and elected. 
 
 This Election of Reps, is regulated, by laws previously 
 passed. Elections are to be at stated times, in fixed 
 places, conducted by sworn officers of the Law, in 
 forms prescribed, viva voce, or by ballot ; and these 
 officers are bound to prevent all fraudulent prac- 
 tices, to receive the votes of all legal Electors, and 
 of none others. This is the American System. 
 This is our mode of ascertaining the will of the 
 People, and there is no other. 
 Hitherto, it has worked admirably. Maine and 
 Louisiana act together. 
 20 millions of People. 
 
 If any thing has stood for the public will, not thus 
 ascertained, the case is an anomaly. 
 
 At the Revolution, Legislative bodies assembled, irreg- 
 ularly, from necessity; as in England in 1688. 
 
 Men cannot get together count themselves -say they 
 are hundreds or thousands judge of their own 
 qualifications, call themselves the People and then 
 proclaim alterations of the fundamental law, or 
 any other law. 
 
 7 do not so understand the American Principle. 
 
 This regular action, by popular representation, unites 
 liberty with order. To strength it adds security. 
 
 1 
 
 J
 
 HIS BRIEFS. 
 
 293 
 
 Flowing in this regular channel, the public will is at 
 once, irresistible and calm. 
 
 Sir -John Denman. 
 
 Who would wish this to be otherwise ? 
 
 Who wishes a tempestuous, stormy, violent liberty, 
 without power, except in its spasms; tumultuary, 
 mobocratic, terrifying the timid, and alarming thV 
 prudent : A South American Liberty ; supported 
 by arms, to-day : crushed by arms to-morrow. 
 
 6. There is another principle of American Liberty, of the 
 highest importance, and directly applicable to this 
 case. 
 
 When, in the course of events, it becomes necessary 
 to ascertain the will of the People, on a new exi- 
 gency, or a new state of things, or of opinion, the 
 Legislative power provides for that ascertainment, 
 by an act of Legislative power. 
 
 Cons, of U. S. Act of old Congress. Laws of the 
 States, in calling conventions. 
 
 This is the uniform mode, in proposing changes of 
 Govt. as in other cases. 
 Wisconsin Iowa Mich iga n Maine. 
 
 The old Constitutions have been so changed. 
 
 The old Thirteen. None but N. H. had a provision 
 for change. 
 
 What State has ever changed its Constitution "but in 
 
 this way ? 
 There, must be some authentic mode of ascertaining the 
 
 Will of the People. 
 
 Else, all is anarchy. 
 
 The existing Legislature only can prescribe that mode. 
 All this proves no affinity of our System with the Doc- 
 trines of the HOLT ALLIANCE. 
 State the DIFFERENCE. 
 N. York Act of 1845 exemplifying the whole. 
 Bear'ng of Con. U. S. on this. To ensure Domestio 
 
 tranquil'y. U. S. shall guarantee to the States Kep. 
 
 form Govt. 
 
 Art. 4, 4. 
 
 Act of Feb. 28, 1795. 
 
 vm. H. 13* 
 
 ~
 
 "1 
 
 294 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 1 vol. S. at L. p. 424. 
 ch. 36. 
 
 This means of course, insurrection ag't an existing 
 Govt. A new Govt. cannot displace the old, by 
 force, or insurrection. 
 
 The Exist'g Govt. is the Govt. which U. S. must pro- 
 tect. It is said, that these two things together, 
 tie up the hands of the People. 
 
 If the existing Legislature will not hegin reform, and 
 
 if Congress must take the side of the existing Govt. 
 
 then people can never reform their Govt. 
 
 It wpuld be just the same thing, and is just the same 
 
 thing, if reform begins out of doors, with mobs and 
 
 multitudes. 
 If the existing Govt. held on, and resist, Congress is 
 
 bound to protect it against force. 
 But how does this R. I. mode of proceeding help the 
 matter.- If the existing Govt. does not yield, U. B. 
 must support it. 
 Luther v. Borden et als. 
 
 Decl'n that Def dts broke and entered Plf. 
 house, in Warren, E. I., on the 25th of June, 
 '42. ' 1842, and disturbed his family, &c. 
 
 That large numbers of men were in arms, 
 Filed "NOV. 1, f r the purpose of overthrowing the Govt. 
 '42. of the State; and made war upon the 
 
 States. 
 
 That for the preservation of the State, the 
 Gov. and the people, martial law was de- 
 clared by competent authority, on the 25th 
 of June, '42. 
 
 That the Pf. was aiding and abetting, hi the 
 attempt to overthrow the Govt. 
 That Defdts. were under the military au- 
 thority of John T. Child, a regularly ap- 
 pointed military officer, and ordered to take 
 and arrest the Pf. ; for which purpose they 
 forced the door of his house, having first 
 been refused admittance. 
 
 2. I see no material ditFerence between 1 and 2. 
 
 8. The third Plea sets forth the act declaring 
 
 martial law, declaring it to have been passed 
 
 by a regularly chosen and constitutional
 
 HIS BRIEFS. 295 
 
 Legislature, and and then as the 1 
 
 and 2. 
 4. The 4th Plea is general non cnl. 
 
 Replications. De sua propria injuria, and 
 without snch cause. 
 
 Proofs ; offered in Nov. 1843. 
 Defdt offered in evidence ; viz. 
 
 I. The original charter of R. L, its acceptance, &c. ; and 
 
 its continuance and the existence of a regular Govt. 
 under it, until 1776. 
 
 The participation of R. I. in Dec. of Ind., 1776. 
 
 Joined the Confederacy, in 1778. 
 
 Admitted into the Union, in May, 1790 ; and has ever 
 since been received and recognized as one of the 
 States of the Union ; and that the Govt. under the 
 Charter continued, until adoption of her present 
 Constitution, in Nov. 1842. 
 
 II. Resolutions of the Legislature, and proceedings under 
 
 them, beginning in Jan. '41, for obtaining amend- 
 ments of the Constitution ; amendments proposed, 
 submitted to the People in March, '42, but rejected ; 
 Pit', and his confederates voting against them. 
 
 III. All the laws, resolutions, and proceedings of the 
 
 General Assembly under the Charter Govt. till the 
 adoption of the previous Constitution. 
 
 IV. The plf., with a large No. of other men, were assem- 
 
 bled in arms. June 24, '42 with intent to destroy 
 the Govt. by military force. 
 
 V. The Act declaring martial law, and the Govt. Pro- 
 
 clan' ation. June 25, '42. 
 
 VI. That the Def. was aiding and abetting the attempts 
 
 to overthrow the Govt. 
 
 VII. That Defds. were members of the military force, 
 
 under Child ; and Child was ordered to arrest suspi- 
 
 VIII. cious persons ; and that Child ordered Defts. to en- 
 
 IX. ter Plfs. house, if necessary, to take plf ; and that 
 
 X. they did so ; and that the town of Warren was 
 
 XI. then in danger of an attack. 
 
 And the Plf. to maintain the issue on his part, offered 
 in evidence the following matters, facts, and things, viz: 
 
 1. Proceedings of Assembly in 1790. A. 
 
 2. Rept. of Comm. of H. of R. June 1829. B. 
 8. Resolutions of Genl. Assembly, Jan. '41. 0.
 
 296 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 4. Memorial of Elisha Dillingham et als. D. 
 
 5. That in '40 and '41, associations were formed. 
 
 called " Suffrage Associations," to diffuse informa- 
 tion on question of forming a written constitu- 
 tion ; and, to prove this, offered testimony of 
 officers and members, and a declaration of princi- 
 ples, February, '41 ; and proceedings of a meeting, 
 April 13, '41 ; and witnesses to prove that a 
 portion of the people assembled at Providence, 
 April 17, '41, under a call from Suffrage Associa- 
 tion ; and to prove proceedings by chairman and 
 members. E. 
 
 6. A mass convention, May 5, '41, of 4,000 and up- 
 
 wards, at Newport, when resolutions were passed. 
 F. 
 
 7. That convention adjourned to July 5, '41, at Provi- 
 
 dence, when 6,000 assembled, 21 years old or 
 upwards, free male inhabitants. Resolution 
 marked G. 
 
 8. Resolution of the General Assembly, May, 1841-2 ; 
 
 and bill presented, and proceedings thereon. II. 
 a. H. b. 
 
 9. Minority report of committee, June, '41. I. a. 
 I. b. 
 
 10. That State committee of mass convention notified 
 the town to appoint delegates to a convention, to 
 form a constitution. Ja. J. b. 
 
 11. Notice published. 
 
 12. Committee enlarged. 
 
 13. S. H. Wales and others present. 
 
 14. In Aug. '41, citizens of the State met, in the sev- 
 eral towns, to choose delegates ; offered chairman to 
 prove Nos., ballots, &c. 
 
 16. Delegates met, Oct., '41 ; drafted a constitution, 
 and submitted it to the people ; and adjourned to 
 Nov., '41 ; to be proved by minutes or records. 
 
 16. Delegates met again in Nov. '41 ; completed drafts, 
 and submitted it to the people for adoption, 
 &c. &c. 
 
 IV. Meetings held, and proceedings offered to be 
 proved by moderators, &c. 
 
 18. Convention met January 12, '42, and counted 
 votes ; and the citizens of the State found to have
 
 HIS BRIEFS. 
 
 297 
 
 ratified, &c. ; and constitution pronounced to be 
 law of the land; and proclamation to be made, 
 &c. 
 
 19. Proclamation made, &c. 
 
 20. Constitution was adopted by a large majority of 
 the male people of the State, 21 yrs. old, and quali- 
 fied to vote under the constitution. 
 
 21. Copy of the constitution. 
 
 22. Officers elected under the new constitution, April, 
 1842. ' 
 
 23. New gov't assembled, May, '42; and copies of 
 proceedings. 
 
 24. Copy of U. S. Census. 
 
 25. Certificate of No. votes, polled in the State, for 
 10 yrs. 
 
 26. Act of Assembly under charter gov't to provide 
 for a convention, June, '42. 
 
 Eulings of the court, p. 20. 
 
 P. 20. Convention resolved the people's constitution 
 
 was adopted, '42, Jan. 13. Proclamation, 144. 
 
 On the 18 April elected officers. 
 22. And 3d of May, '42, Tuesday, organized, and the 
 
 constitution then and there became the rightful 
 
 constitution of the State. 
 112. Legislature met (Dorr) May 3d. 
 127. Adjourned on the 4th, to meet at Providence, 1st 
 
 Monday in July. 
 
 And never word spake more. 
 sembled. 
 
 They never reas- 
 
 The present constitution was adopted Nov. 5, 
 1842, to go into operation 1st Tuesday in May, 43. 
 Vide resolution of convention, and by the people, 
 21, 2 and 3 of Nov'r. 
 
 So that according to Def., from May, '42 to May, 43, 
 no acting gov't. 
 
 Now Dorr's trial. 
 
 Thos. W. Door was indicted for treason, in Sup. Conrt 
 
 of R. Island, and tried April 26, '44. 
 17. Indictments stilted, p. 17.
 
 298 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 18. Treason, May 17, '42, 1 ct. 
 " " 18, 2 cts. 
 
 " June 26, . 3 cts. 
 u 27i 
 
 Pleaded not guilty, submitting to jurisdiction. 
 Judge's charge read as marked. 
 
 My points are now three. 
 
 1st. That the matters offered to be proved by deft 
 in court below are not of judicial cognizance, 
 and proof of them, therefore, was properly rejected 
 by the court. 
 
 2. That if all were proved, they would amount to no 
 defence, as they show nothing but an illegal at- 
 tempt to change the government of R. Island. 
 
 3. That no proof was offered to show that in fact 
 another government had been established and gone 
 into operation, by which the charter gov't, as it 
 has been called, had become displaced. 
 
 L The matters alleged, in defence, are not of judicial cogni- 
 zance. 
 
 1. Deft, asserts a change of sovereignty ; for to some 
 extent the States are sovereign. 
 
 State that. 
 He offers to prove this, by parole, as a fact. 
 
 It cannot be so proved. 
 
 That is a matter which, if it be of general notoriety, the 
 Court may possibly take notice of itself, but it is a 
 matter in which the Court must look to the acts of the 
 Government of the United States and their public pro- 
 ceedings. 
 
 The Executive Government in '42 recognized p. 12, the 
 continuance of the old government. 
 
 The Senate and House. 
 
 2. From the nature of the case, the Court cannot settle 
 such questions. For example, 
 
 Nos. 12, 14, 20. 
 This last the most important. 
 The Court was asked to try 
 
 1. How many persons voted for the new'Con- 
 
 stitution. 
 
 2. Whether they were all qualified voters.
 
 HIS BKIEFS. 
 
 299 
 
 3. Whether a majority of all qualified persons 
 
 voted. 
 And this he offered to prove. 
 
 1. By production of votes and ballots. 
 
 2. By production of registers, which registers 
 were made by no legal officers. 
 
 3. By testimony of witnesses. 
 
 4. To prove the new Constitution, not by 
 official record but by parole. 
 
 Now these are things into which no Court 
 can inquire vide Judge Durfee. 
 
 5. The continuance of the old Government in 
 full operation till the new legal Constitution 
 went into effect in 1843, May, and the deni- 
 piou of R. I. itself by its Supreme Court in 
 Mr. Dorr's case, precludes all inquiry into 
 any such matter as Pltf. offered to prove. 
 
 II. Evidence offered only proved an illegal attempt to 
 overturn the Govt. 
 
 1. It was ILLEGAL according to all American principle 
 
 and precedent. It attempted to subvert a Govt 
 by force. 
 
 All previous proceedings, mass meetings, committee-, 
 amounted to nothing, not having a regular origin ; 
 and the attempt was therefore nothing less than 
 to take the Govt. by force. 
 
 It was an insurrection just snch as the Constitution 
 of the United States and the laws denounce. 
 
 2. It has been declared illegal by R. Island ; her 
 Govt. has proclaimed it to be Rebellion. Her legis- 
 lature has passed laws, punishing those concerned 
 in any form, and some of them as for treason, and 
 her highest Jud. Tribunal has tried sundry persons ; 
 found them guilty, punished some, and the rest have 
 escaped under general pardon. 
 
 Can this Court receive acts in justification of Pltf. 
 which have thus been stamped and marked as cri- 
 minal by the proper judicial authority ? 
 in. No proof that another Gov't. was established and 
 went into operation. 
 
 Reason for making this point. 
 
 Recur again to May 3 and 4, 42-61, page 127. These 
 new functionaries never exercised a single act of
 
 800 
 
 MEMORIALS OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 power they sued nobody served no civil pro- 
 cess laid no tax confined themselves to paper 
 and broke up May 4 admitting it was all a misera- 
 ble sham. 
 
 I do not think it to be regretted, that the case has 
 been brought here however impossible for this 
 Court to try the question. 
 
 It is truly said, the case calls for discussion of our 
 American system of liberty. 
 
 It will bear discussion and improve by it. 
 
 It has bei-n pretty well tried, and thus far escaped 
 from clangers on both sides. Scvlla and Cha- 
 ry bdis.
 
 J. W. BBADLEY'S LIST OF PUBLICATIONS. 
 " To the Pure all things are Pure." 
 
 WOMAN AND HER DISEASES 
 
 THE CKADLE TO THE GKAVE: 
 
 Adapted exclusively to her Instruction in the Physiology of 
 her System, and all the Diseases of her Critical Periods. 
 
 BY EDWARD H. DIXON, M.D., 
 
 Sdltor of " The Scalpel," Consulting and Operating Surgeon, author of a Treatise on 
 
 the " Causes of the Early Decay of American Women," 4c., 4c., and formerly 
 
 Physician to the New York Deaf and Dumb Asylum. 
 
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 Impure emotion, but much to strengthen purposes of virtue, and at the 
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 men whose opinions have great weight with the friends of morality and 
 religion. New York Tribune. 
 
 The chapter on the consequences and treatment of self-abuse, is one of 
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 J. W. BRADLEY'S LIST OF PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 DR. LIVINGSTONE'S 
 
 TRAVELS AND RESEARCHES 
 
 OP SIXTEEN YEARS IN THE 
 WXCIDS OIF SOTJTII 
 
 This Is a work of thrilling adventures and hair-breadth escapes among 
 savage beasts and more savage men. Dr. Livingstone was alone and nn- 
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 Those of our readers who would have a delightful book for reading at 
 any hour, will not be disappointed in this work. United States Journtil. 
 
 This interesting work should be in the hands of every one. Its inter- 
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 With truth we can say, that seldom is presented to the reading public a 
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 TEN NIGHTS IN A BAR-ROOM 
 
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 Is meeting with immense sales, ten thousand copies having been ordered 
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 English muslin, gilt back. Price $1.00. 
 
 The following are a few of the many Notices of 
 the Press. 
 
 Its scenes are painfully graphic, and furnish thrilling arguments for the 
 temperance cause. Norton's Literary Gazette. 
 
 Powerful and seasonable. ^V. Y. Independent. 
 
 Written in the author's most forcible and vigorous style. Lehigh Vallty 
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 In the "Ten Nights In a Bar-Room," some of the consequences oftavern- 
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 THE MASTER-SPIRIT OF THE AGE, 
 
 THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 
 
 or 
 
 NAPOLEON THE THIHD 
 
 Biographical Notices of his most Distinguished 
 Ministers, Generals, and Favorites. 
 
 ' BY SAMUEL M, SMUCRER, A,M, 
 
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 HIS COURT, AND FRANCE UNDER THE 
 SECOND EMPIRE, 
 
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 It is the most complete biography of the French Emperor yet published, 
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 This book is well written, printed on good paper, is ueatly bound, good 
 i*e, and sold cheap. Valley Spirit, Chatnbemburg. 
 
 This work does full and ample justice to the subject. It is a production 
 of superior ability. Mr. Smacker is an accomplished writer. He is learued 
 and accurate in his researches, and his style is polished and scholarlike. so 
 that he produces works of sterling value and permanent interest. Phil. Dls. 
 
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 I 3XT X> I 
 
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 COMPRISING A COMPLKTR 
 
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 LIFE AND EXPLORATIONS 
 
 or 
 
 DR. E. K. KANE, 
 
 AND OTHER DISTINGUISHED 
 
 AMERICAN EXPLORERS, 
 
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 ONTAINING NARRATIVES OP THEIR RESEARCHES AND ADVEN- 
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 BY SAMUEL M, SMUCKER, A,M, 
 
 Aithor of " Court and Eeigo of Catharine II.," "Emperor Nicholas I.," "Life of 
 
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 In the princely mansions of the Atlantic merchants, and in the rude log 
 cabins of the backwoodsmen, the name of Arthur is equally known and 
 cherished as the friend of virtue. Graham's Magazine. 
 
 We would not exchange the copy of these sketches, with its story of 
 "The Methodist Preacher," for any one of the gilt-edged and embossed 
 Annuals which we have yet seen. Lady's National Magazine.. 
 
 The first story in the volume, entitled " The Methodist Preacher ; or, 
 Lights and Shadows in the Life of an Itiaerant," is alone worth the price 
 of the work. Evening Bulletin. 
 
 It is emphatically a splendid work. Jfiddletoum Whig. 
 
 Its worth and cheapness should place it in every persons hands who de- 
 sire to read an interesting book. Odd Fellow, Buonsboro'. 
 
 "The Methodist Preacher," "Seed-Time and Harvest," "Dyed in the 
 Wool," are full of truth as well as instruction, and anyone of them is 
 worth, the whole price of the volume. Lowell Day-Star, Rev. D. C. Eddy, 
 Editor. 
 
 There is a fascination about these sketches which so powerfully interests 
 the reader, that few who commence one of them will part with it till it is 
 concluded ; and they will bear reading repeatedly. Norfolk and Ports' 
 mouth. Herald. 
 
 Thot>e who have not perused these model stories have a rich feast Ir 
 \v--itiiig, and we shall be happy if we can be instrumental in pointing 
 tl em to it. Family Visitor, Madteon, Geo. 
 
 No library for family reading should be considered complete without 
 this volume, which is as lively and entertaining in its character as it is 
 salutary iu'its influence. Jf. Y. Tribune. 
 
 The work is beautifully illustrated. Those who are at all acquainted 
 Willi Arthur's writings need hardly be told that the present work is a prize 
 to whoever possesses it. N. T. Sun. 
 
 We know no better book for the table of any family, whether regarded 
 for its neat exterior or valuable contents. Vox Popnli, Lowell. 
 
 The name of the author is in Itself a sufficient recommendation of the 
 work. La.wre.iwx Sentinel. 
 
 J. W. BRADLEY, Publisher, 
 
 48 N. Fourth street, Philadelphia.
 
 J. W. BRADLEY'S LIST OF PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 THE 
 
 INGBt iND Til DEMON 
 
 BY T. S. ARTHUR. 
 A handsome 12mo. volume, ...... Price $1.0C 
 
 In this exciting story Mr. Arthur has taken hold of the reader'* 
 attention with a more than usually vigorous grasp, and keeps him 
 absorbed to the end of the volume. The book is one of START- 
 LING INTEREST. Its lessons should be 
 
 IN THE HEART OF EVERY MOTHER. 
 
 Onward, with a power of demonstration that makes conviction a 
 necessity, the author sweeps through his subject, fascinating at 
 every step. In the union of 
 
 THRILLING DRAMATIC INCIDENT, 
 
 with moral lessons of the highest importance, this volume stands 
 forth pre-eminent among the author's many fine productions. 
 
 NOTICES OF THE PRESS. 
 
 A story of mnch power, imbued with that excellent moral and religion* 
 spirit which pervades all his writings. ff. Y. Chronicle. 
 
 This volume is among his best productions, and worthy of a place oa 
 every centre-table. Clarion, Pa., Banner. 
 
 This is a most fascinating book, one which the reader will find It qnit 
 card to lay aside without reading to tbe last page. Albany, A. J., /cur 
 <nal and Courier. 
 
 gg^* Agents wanted in every part of the United States and 
 British Provinces. Address, 
 
 J. W. BRADLEY, Publisher, 
 
 48 N. Fourth street, Philadelphia.
 
 J. W. BBADLEY'S LIST OF PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 Irals atto lleasro 
 
 WITH FINE COLORED PLATES. 
 
 Large 12mo., 336 pages, 
 
 $1.00 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 Baiting for an Alligator Morning among the Rocky Mountains En- 
 counter with Shoshonees A Grizzly Bear Fight and Terrible Result 
 Fire on the Mountains Narrow Escape The Beaver Region 
 Trapping Beaver A Journey and Hunt through New Mexico Start 
 for South America Hunting in the Forests of Brazil Hunting on the 
 Pampas A Hunting Expedition into the Interior of Africa Chase 
 of the Rhinoceros Chase of an Elephant The Roar of the Lion 
 Herds of Wild Elephants Lions attacked by Bechuanas Arrival 
 ia the Region of the Tiger and the Elephant Our first Elephant Hunt 
 In India A Boa Constrictor A Tiger A Lion Terrible Conflict 
 Elephaut Catching Hunting the Tiger with Elephants Crossing the 
 Pyrenees Encounter with a Bear A Pigeon Hunt on the Ohio 
 Wild-Hog Hunt in Texas Hunting the Black-tailed Deer. 
 
 ^g" Agents wanted in every part of the United States and 
 British Provinces. Address, 
 
 J. W. BRADLEY, Publisher, 
 
 48 N. Fourth street, Philadelphia.
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 Santa Barbara 
 
 THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE 
 STAMPED BELOW. 
 
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 31205 00485 4764 
 
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