tl;




















'nPIP
IVr/EBSTR LEA.VING HtO3E FO!0[1 EXETER, ACADt]StY.   3    )'5




THE
AMERICAN STATESMAN;
OR ILLUSTRATIONS OF
THE LIE LIFE AND CHARACTER
OF
DANIEL WEBSTER.
DESIGNED FOR
AMERICAN YOUTH.
3Y
REV. JOSEPH BANVARD,
AITHIOR OF PLYMOUTII AND THE PILGRIIS, NOVELTIES OF THE NEW WYORLD,
ROMIANCE OF AMSERICAN HISTORY, ETC.
BOSTON:
GOULD AND LINCOLN.
NEW YORK: SHELDON, BLAKEMIAN & CO.
CINCINNATI: GEO. S. BLANCHARD.
1856.




Entered, according to Act oi.ongress, in the year 1853, by
GOULD AND LINCOLN,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of MLassaclusetAtt
STEREOTYPED AT  ri.E
BiOSTON  STEREOTYPE FOUADRE.




PREFACE.
THE object of this volume is to present a
sketch of the most interesting and important
events which occurred in the history of the
distinguished statesman who has lately passed
away. The author makes no pretensions to the
discovery of new facts. He has availed himself
chiefly of the published memoirs and reminiscences of Mr. Webster, amongst which were
Daniel Webster and  his Contemporaries, by
Charles W. lMarch; The Private Life of Daniel
Webster, by Charles Lanman; Personal Memorials of Daniel Webster; Memoir of the Life of
Daniel Webster, by Samuel L. Knapp; Biographical MIemoir of the Life of Daniel Webster, by
Edward  Everett, prefixed to Mlr. Webster's
Works, and Life and Memorials of Daniel Webster; together with the numerous eulogies,
5




6               PIREFACE.
speeches, and sermons occasioned by his decease, selecting such facts and incidents from
each as would suit his purpose, and deducing
from them such lessons or principles of action
as are worthy the contemplation of those for
whom the book is specially designed.
That the distinguished subject of this work
had his faults, and that there is a difference of
opinion as to the wisdom of some of the acts
of his political life, no one presumes to deny.
But it is of his commendable traits of character
that the author here treats. These he would
hold up for the admiration and imitation of
American youth. He has endeavored to prepare
a work which every American patriot would be
pleased to have his children read.




CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
rAGn
The two Riders. - A pleasing Proposition. - Accepted. - A Bite. - A
Plunge. - A Trout caught. - Daniel Wcbster. - His Birthplace. -
Rearsage Mountain. - Tile tottling Boy. - Tile mysterious Well. -
Drinking from the moss-covered Bucket. —Influence of Nature on
Style. - Webster's Love for the Grand in Nature. - Worthy of Imitation. - Pictures admired more than the original Landscapes. -
Advice to the Young.- Influence of the Love of Nature on Character.                                 15
CHAPTER II.
Webster's Father. - Webster's Ifealth. - His Education desired. -
Providential Arrangement. - A School opened. - Teacher Chase. -
WVebster's early Struggles for an Education. - Unreasonable Complaints. - Contrasts. - Master Tappan. - Mutual Remlembrances.Webster's first Letter to Tappan. - His Donation. - Master Tap7




CONTENTS.
pan's Testimony. - Webster gets a Reward. - Tappan's Enthusiasm. - Webster's second Letter to him. - His Example commended. - Note. - Tappan's Death. - Teacher Hoyt. - His Character. --
Webster's Testimony concerning him. —Webster reads to the
Teamsters. - Domestic Scenes...................................  23
CHAPTER III.
Social Libraries. - Webster's Reading. - The Mill. - Daniel at the
Mill. - His favorite Authors. - His Employment favorable for Reading. —The Constitution  on the Handkerchief.-The  Books he
chose. - His Amusements. - Freezes his Toes. - No Pleasure in
being scolded. - Observance of the Sabbath. - Deacon True's
Boys. - The Influence of Habit. --  ebster a quick Learner. -
Concludes to become a Teacher. - Goes to an Academy. - Inportance of Education. — Webster and the Side Saddle. - His Examination.- He can't declaim. —Is ridiculed. - His two Promotions........................................................... 40
CHAPTER IV.
A  Sleigh Ride. —Affecting  Incident.-Benefits of Knowledge. —
Advice to Youth. —A Supposition. — Webster learns rapidly. -
His Mode of Retaliation. -A Day for Pigeon shooting. - Industrious Boy. - IIis Habits broken. - Blistered Hands. - Goes a Berrying. - An amusing Incident. - Poorly fitted for College. - Importance of a good Preparation  for College.- False  Position. -
Webster's Ride to Hanover. - Great Freshet. - Appears before the
Faculty for Examination. - Blue Dan. —Passes the Ordeal safely. - Enters College at the Age of Fifteen.......................  59




CONTENTS.                                9
CHAPTER V.
Webster is classed low. - He soon rises. - His Industry in College. -
Advice to Undergraduates. - College Temptations. - Their Antidote. - Webster studies Oratory. - His personal Appearance. - Delivers a Fourth of July Oration.- Great Britain's Injustice in the
French War. - English Oppressions. - Battle of Bunker Hill. -
Declaration of Independence. - Webster's Address to the Revolutionary Fathers. - Remarks upon the Oration. - Hlie delivers a funeral Eulogy. - Mortality a Principle of Action. - Prepare for the
Future. - Religious Suggestions............................   71
CHAPTER VI.
A great Gathering. - Webster's Theme at Commencement. - How
collegiate Honors are distributed. - United Fraternity. — Webster
chosen Orator. - His Oration. - Tears up his Diploma. - Studies
with Squire Thompson. - Becomes a School Teacher. - Advantages of keeping School. -Registry of Deeds. - Where there is a
Will there is a Way. - Fingers ache. -- Volumes of Deeds. - Vote
of Thanks. - Academy burned. - Affection. - Reverence for Mr.
Webster. - How  manifested. - Continues to stuidy Law. - Coemmits to Memory Orations........................................
CHAPTER VII.
Webster fond of Fislhing. - Lovewell's Pond. - Tile great Fight. - importance of Relaxation. - Mr. Webster's Course. - Relinquishes his
School. - Providential Circumstance. - Mr. Webster's Progress in




10.                          CONTENTS.
Law. - His Attention to Business. - The wrong Course. - Kimball's
Turnpike. - Webster's Determination.- Hlis Success. - Rule to regulate Subscriptions. - Mr. Webster studies with Hon. M3r. Gore. - Is
admitted to tile Bar. - Mr. Gore's Commendation and Prophecy.... 101
CHAPTER VIII.
Has a Clerkslip offered him - Declines it. - His Father displeased. -
Pays his Father's Debts. - His filial Attachmelt. - Some treat their
Parents unkindly. - Mr. Webster's first Plea. - Ie astonishes every
body. - Controlling Witnesses. - The Detection. - The Character of
his Arguments. - Webster and Mlason -" Import a young Earthquake "........................................................ 117
CHAPTER IX.
A dreadful Deed. - General Alarm. - Attack  of two  Footpads. —
Hatch's  Disclosure. - Grant's  Letters. - Grant arrested - The
Knapps arrested. - The Confession. - The Plot explained. - Palmer
imprisoned. - Crowninshield:s Signal. - Palmer's Fear. - The Trial. -- Mr. Websteras Plea. - The Wicked insnare themselves. -
Extraordinary Things - Avoid bad Company..................... 134
CHAPTER X.
Mr. elebster inm the House of Representatives. — Iis first Speech. -
Its Imnpression. - Was successful. - Not in hIaste to debate. - His




CONTENTS.                             1
Qualities as an Orator. - An Attack on New England. - Webster
and Bell. - A crowded Senate. - His Introduction. - His Allusion
to the Old Bay State. - The thrilling Effect. - Meeting in the East
Room. - Importance of the Speech.- Webster's transcendent Abilities. ~ — Seventh of March Speech. - Its Effect. - Different Opinions concerning it................................................ 73
CHAPTER XI.
Ezekiel Webster. - A noble Mother. - An Affecting Night Scene. -
Fraternal Attachment. - Touching Tribute of Affection. - A beautiful Letter. - Dedications. - Living Monuments. - The Profile. -
Mother's Garden. - Mr. Webster visits his Grave. - The Cemetery. - Iis Remarks. - Monumental Inscriptions. - Mr. Webster's
Poetry, " The Memory of the Heart "............................ 199
CHAPTER XII.
Mir. Webster's Mirthfulness. - A playful Letter. —  Mr. Choate's Pathos. - Webster's practical Joke. - Mr. Choate's poor Writing. —
Effect of the Joke. - Mr. Webster's Trout Law.-" That ain't tho
Worst of it." —Amusing Contrast. - The Senate interrupted. -
Webster and the Buckeyes. —" Old Webster" and the sporting
Snobs.-Appearances deceptive. -Webster's Wit. —Amusing Reply. -" Venerable" Trout. — Effect of Cheerfulness. - Webster's
Spelling Book..................................................   /




12-                         CONTENTS.
CHIAPTER  XIII.
Mr. Webster an early Riser. - His Letter on the Morning. - Adam's
Mornings. - What to observe in the Morning.- Dr. Doddridge on
early Rising. - Beauties of Marshfield.- Mr. Webster's Love of
Trees. - -le protects Birds. - His Reward. - The  Quails. - He
tames wild Geese. — His Interest in the natural Sciences. - Presents Audubon with Birds. - The Wall-flower. - The Sound of
the Sea. - Lessons of Nature. - Dignity of the Study of Nature.... 23b
CHAPTER XIV.
Mr. Webster's Candor. - Mr. Ketchum's Testimony. - Direction to
Mr. Everett. —His Magnanimity. - Dr. Choules's Testimony. —
Webster and Dickenson. - Webster's Eulogy on Calhoun. - Char
acter of his Mind. —H's Impressive Manner. - Ile will be remembered. vtebster and Hayne.- How  to treat Opponents. —
Charity..........................................,.........  253
CHAPTER XV.
The Human Family a Brotherhood. - Effect of little Kindnesses.-,
Webster and Miss Mitford. - Influence of a Friend's Death. - Donations of Garden Seeds. - Gives away a Cow. - Kindness to Mr.
Tappan. - Hungarian Bull. - Gores Mr. Taylor. - Kossuth. - Mr.
Webster's Present.- Charles Brown's Use of Holiday Money. -
Items in Mr. Webster's Will. -A Rebuke anil Fifty Dollars. -
The old Lady on Webster's Farm. -Another Fifty Dollars.- Web



CONTENTS.                              13
ster loans a Client Money. -A touching Story of a Widow's Poverty and Mr. Webster's Benevolence............................. 264
CHAPTER XVI.
Mr. Webster never out of Order. - Sings with an old Lady. —Religious Allusions. - The Bible is " the Book." - Piety of his Brother
Ezekiel. - An Evening Scene and Scripture Quotation. - Mh1 Webster's Remarks on Job. - lie prefers John. - Constant in Attendance on Public TWorship. — His Opinion of Sermonizing. —Ilis
Opinion of Prayer. - Mr. Kirk's Sermon. - Mr. Webster's Remarks
upon it. - Believer in the Atonement. - Requests Prayer on board
a Steamboat.- Influence of Prayer. -Arithmetic of Heaven. -
His Religious Views. - Pleased with Dr. Watts's Hymns. —  Mr.
Alden's Eulogy. - Recognition of Divine Providence. - Evidences
of Christianity. - Writes the Inscription for his own Monument. -
Its Importance....................................... 284
C HAPTER XVII.
Mr. lVebster's Health fails. - He retires to Marshfield. - His Strength
decreases. - Signs his Will. - Returns Thankls. - Encourages Dr.
Jeffries. - His Prediction. - It is fiulfilled. - Arranges for the Express. - Gives Instructions respecting his Affairs. - His last Interview with his Family.- Peter Harvey. - 24th of October. - Gray's
Elegy. —Calls in his Servants. —Thle Valley. -His Death. -
Poetry.......................................................... 320




14                          CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Funeral of Mr. Webster at Marshfield. - Appearance of his Remains. - He is borne to the Grave by his Neighbors. - Boston in
Mourning. - Impressive Arrangements. - Business suspended. -
Appropriate Mottoes. - Funeral Obsequies in Boston on the 30th of
November. - Address of Mr. Hillard. - Closing Quotation..... 329




CHAPTER I.
The two Riders. - A pleasing Proposition. - Accepted. - A
Bite. -A  Plunge. - A Trout caught. - Daniel Webster. —
His Birthplace. — Kearsage Mountain. —The tottling Boy. —
The mysterious Well. —Drinking  from  the moss-covered
Bucket. - Influence of Nature on Style. - Webster's Love for
the Grand in Nature. —Worthy of Imitation. —Pictures admired more than the original Laindscapes. - Advice to the
Young. - Influence of the Love of Nature on Character.
ABOUT sixty-five years ago, a man of stalwart
form, broad shoulders, and swarthy complexion,
was'riding through Salisbury, in New Hampshire,
on horseback, carrying with him  a puny little boy,
with dark features, sparkling black eyes, a round,
projecting forehead, and dressed in coarse, homespun clothes, with two little, shoeless feet projecting
from  beneath.   The man  had  been indulging in
juvenile conversation, adapted to the comprehension
of his young charge, for some time, in which the
little fellow had taken part, with an occasional childlike remark or question.  As they approached a
brook, whose clear, cool waters flowed, sometimes
murmuringly, at other times silently, through the
woods and fields, mnarking their course by a vigorous fertility, the, gentleman  suddenly  exclaimed,,; Dan, how  would  you  like to catch  a trout?"
/1, r\




16             THE TWO RIDERS.
The little boy, who perhaps had never used hook
and line before, immediately signified his pleasure
at the proposition.  The horse was checked; both
riders dismounted, and began to prepare for the
sport. The tall form and long arms of the gentleman were specially favorable in aiding him  to cut
from  a neighboring tree a rod.  It would seem as
if he were accustomed to these extemporaneous
fishing excursions, and always went prepared for
them; for, thrusting his hand into his pocket, he
drew out a string and hook; then turning over a
stone or two, he found a worm, which he soon adjusted as bait.  After fastening the line to the rod,
he gave it to the little boy, saying,,, Now, Dan,
creep carefully upon that rock, and throw the bait
upon the farther side of the pool."  The little fisherman did as he was ordered.  His bait was soon
in the water, and his eye intently watching it.  It
was not long before'some indiscreet fish, thoughtless
of consequences, darted from his concealnent, seized
the bait, and disappeared like a flash of lightning.
This was just what the boy wanted.  Being highly
excited with his success, he gave a sudden jerk to
the line; but, instead of drawing the fish out of the
water, he unfortunately lost his balance, and plunged
headlong into the pool. The gentleman, seeing that
the boy was more likely, from  present appearances,
to die in the water, than the fish was to expire upon








I
Implantation Iv




WEBSTER'S BIRTHPLACE.             17
tle land, ran to his rescue. HI-e succeeded n relching him  and drawing him  ashore,,, with a pound
trout trailing behind him."  This lad was DANIEL
VEBSTErP, and the person who had him  in charge
was 1his own father.
Not far from the place where this rather ludicrous
incident occurred, stood, at that time, one of the
better class of farml houses; although, at the present
period, and in other localities, it might be regarded
as a very ordinary building.  It was but one story
high, with a door in the middle, and a wtindoew on
each side, and three windows at either end. It contained four rooms on the ground floor, with, probably, chambers in the attic.  An addition in the rear
answered the purpose of a kitchen.  It had only
one chimney, t.nd this arose from  the centre of the
roof, furnishing, prqbably, three or four fireplaces,
in as many different rooms.  The fiamelwork was
of heavy timber, the exte.rior clapboarded, and the
ends pointed, differing in this respect from the gainbrel roof. On the green in front of the house arose
a large and gracefill elm, extending its long and
heavy branches over the mansion below, as if, in the
exercise of an affectionate interest, it would protect
it fiom  harm.  Many other trees of the same kind
were scattered over the groiunds, -on which account
the place received the appropriate name of " Elms
Farm."  Near one end of the house was a deep
2




I8           HIS EARLY CHILDHOOD.
well, with a long, old-fashioned well sweep, to one
extrermity of which was attached a bucket, by mneans
of which the clear, cool water was drawn up for the
use of the family. At a short distance, in front of
the house, flowed a beautiful silver streanm, over
which was thrown a safe, though  rough-looking
bridge.  Farther off was a high  hill, crovned with
a church, and beyond all, the lofty Kearsage nmountain lifted itself, ", head and shoulders " above the
surrounding hills - a beautiful type of him, who,
in intellectual greatness, rose far above his compeers.
In  tlhis house, on the 18th day of January,
1782, Daniel Webster wvas born.  Now  that he
has departed, after having  lived to a good old
age, and after having acquired a world-wide famne,
as a far-reaching  statesman, a powerfull  orator,
and a skilful diplomatist, it is interesting to look
back, and contemplate the circumstances and events
of his early life.  At one time, we see hil:m, a
little, tottling  boy, in homespun  frock, making
his first essays to balance himself upon his shooe.
less feeXt, as he advances firom  the doorstep to
greet his father, who has just crossed the bridg'e,
and is approaching, with outstretched  hands and
rapid step, to meet him.  Again we see him, anm-lus
ing himself under the shadow of the friendly elin,
that stands by the door, like a huge grenadier,




YOUTHFUL FANCIES.                19
guarding the entrance to a fort.  A few years later,
we behold  him  tripping over the fields, jumping
across the brook, or wandering along its margin,
with hook and line, ready to, try his luck " so
soon as he shall have reached a place where the
water is sufficiently still and deep to give promise
of success. Again, wearied with his wanderings, or
his labors, is he leaning over the well, gazing at another little boy that he sees far down in the bottom,
and who is mysteriously looking up at him.  It
would not be strange, if at times he imagined it a
hole cut through the earth, and that some little fellow, on the other side, was, like himself, indulging
his curiosity by looking through. A pebble dropping in disturbs the surface of the water, breaks
the mysterious picture into a thousand fragments,
and dispels the illusion.  Again, in evening twilight, we seem  to see hin sitting upon the doorsill; and, as the noble Kearsage rises in the distance, with its bold outline clearly defined against
the gray-blue sky, he gives reins to his juvenile
fancy; and, as the ancient Hebrews ", sucked honey
from  tile rock, andl oil fi'om  tle flinty rock,?' so he
drinks in inspiration from  the sublimnity of the majestic mount before him.  TWho can tell to hiow
great a degree he was indebted, for the simplicity,
the directness, and the majesty of his thoughts, and
of his style as an orator, to the noble simplicity anid




20            HIS LOVE OF NATURE.
grandeur of this mountain?  It was not decorated
with beautiful, terraced, hanging gardens, nor with
gracefil, luxuriant vineyards. It arose almost naked
from the plain, as though it spurned ornament -as
though it needed nothing but its own majestic proportions to give it grandeur; and thus, by its own
silent, powerful, eloquent example, it may have aided to impart those characteristics of thought and
diction which give such a charm and *force to the
oratory of Mr. \Webster.
From early life Mr. VWebster was fond of Nature.
He loved sunlight and shadow, rolling hills, quiet
lawns, turbulent streams, and placid  lakes.  Nature, in her milder, her gayer, or her sterner moods,
was to him  always pleasing.  He was specially
interested in the great things of creation.  He delighted to travel through the wildness of mountain
scenery.  Its projecting cliffs, its high precipices,
its deep chasms, its lightning-scarred rocks, its thundering cataracts, and its leaning, gigantic trees, with
roots half exposed, threatening  every moment to
fall, and ofttimes executing their threatenings, -all
inspired him with pleasing emotions and instructive
thoughts.  He loved to wander by the ocean, and
have its huge billows roll up and lay their bubbles
at his feet. Its vast expanse, its ceaseless restlessness, its eimerald hue, and the music of its roar,
were always grateful to him.  He loved to gaze




EXAMPLE FOR IMITATION.             21
into the unmeasured spaces above him, and contemplate the stars, as immense globes'swinging in their
orbits, as if they were the mighty pendulums which
controlled the cycles of ages, and regulated the
mechanism of the universe.
This love of Nature, Mr. Webster, as we have
said, early developed.  It strengthened with advancing years, and became a prominent feature in his
character.  In this respect, his example is worthy
of imitation by the young. It seems surprising that,
with so many objects of admiration around us, as
are presented in the infinite variety of forms, colors,
and combinations of natural objects, there are any
who derive from  their contemplation no enjoyment.
Many individuals will gaze upon a picture - a landscape for instance -with the greatest pleasure.  Its
rough rocks, vine-draped trees, or decayitng, misshapen stumps, are pointed out as interesting features, equal almost to the more important comlbinations of hill and valley, land and water, on which
the artist has bestowed his greatest skill.  And yet
these same persons would ride by the original of
that picture, executed with the infinite skill of the
Divine Artist, andl give it no attention whatever.
0, how many magnificent landscapes are every day
passed by, without eliciting any praise, or awakening any admiration in the beholder!
Let it no  be so with you.  Oni the contrary,




INFLUENCE OF NATURE.
cultivate a taste for the beautiful objects of creation.
Notice the colors on the petal of a flower, the infinite diversity of forims in the leaves of trees, and
the changing effects of light and shade.  Calhnly
contemplate the hues and shapes of the ever-;shifting
clouds, the features of the ocean, the lake, or the
river.  Form a habit of observing the peculiarities
of natural objects in your immediate vicinity, and
you will find your heart warming towards theim.
The scenery with which you have always been familiar will, to your fancy, put on a new dress, and
invest itself with more pleasing charms.  This is
not all; for the love of Nature has an elevating
and purifying influence.  It fills the mind with ennobling thoughts; it calms the passions; it reminds
us of the wisdom, the power, the goodness, and the
omnipresence of the Creator, and imakes us more
sensible of our own weakness, and of our entire
dependence upon Him  without whom  we can do
nothing.




CHAPTER II.
Webster's Father. - Webster's Health.- His Education desired. - Providential Arrangement. - A  School opened. -
Teacher Chase. — Webster's early Struggles for an Education. - Unreasonable Complaints. - Contrasts. - Master Tappan.- Mutual Remembrances. - Webster's first Letter to
Tappan. —His Donation. — Master Tappan's Testimony. —
NWebster gets a Reward. - Tappan's Enthusiasm. - Web-,;-ter's second Letter to him.-His Example commended. -
Note. —Tappan's Death. — Teacher Hoyt. - His Character. - Webster's Testimony concerning him. - Webster reads
to the Teamsters. -Domestic Scenes.
THE  parents of young Webster appreciated the
value of a good  education.  His father, knowing
firom  his, own  painful experience the disadvantages
of being destitute of so great a boon, was anxious
that his children should escape a similar experience.
He  was' particularly  solicitous with  reference  to
Daniel, who, in his childhood, was pale, weak, and
sickly.  Fearing that he would be unable to perform  the heavy work of a farmer, or to obtain his
livelihood from  any of the mechanic arts, he was
the more anxious to give him  as good an education
as his circumstances would permit.  May we not
discover in these facts the development of a wise
Providence?  If Daniel had been a strong  1m1uscular boy, or, being wealkly, if his parents had not
('23




24             DIVINE PROVIDENCE.
set a high value upon education, lie would probably
have been devoted to an agricultural life, and then
the whole current of his history would have flowed
in a channel vastly different from  that which nowv
marks its course.  His noble speeches, his model
state papers, his sagacious diplomacy, his legal
knowledge, and his clear and comprehens'ive e rpositions of the Constitution of the United States,
with all the patriotic and conservative influence
which has followed them, would have been lost to
the world.  In what respects the present condition
of our country would then have been different from
what it is, how far those principles and measures
which he opposed would have triumphed, and to
how great a degree the adoption of the views and
policy which he advocated would have failed, it may
not be easy to tell.  No one will deny that a great
loss would have been experienced to literature, to
law, and the science of civil government.  This,
however, was prevented by the providential sickliness of his youth, and the discretion of his parents.
Truly -
" There's a divinity that shapes our ends,
Roughhew themt how we will."
At the time'ittle Daniel was old enough to commence sitting at the feet of some Gamaliel, it so
happened that no, schoolmaster was abroad" in




HIS FIRST TEACHER.             25
the vicinity of his home. His mother was his teacher.  She gave him  the key to all knowledge, by
initiating him into the mysteries of the alphabet.
That she was a suitable person to have the control
of his infantile years, will be made apparent upon
a subsequent page.
As the neighbors, in the vicinity of E1ms Farm,
were equally anxious with Mr. Webster to secure
the opportunities of education for their children, a
gentleman by the name of Chase was induced to
open a school near MIr. WVebster's house.  There
was nothing particularly promising in the enterprise,
nothing imposing in its external demonstrations.
It vas not held in a public hall, nor in an edifice
erected for the purpose, which might be dignified
xvith the name of school house, but in a hired room
in the house of a neighbor, whose name was Sanborn.  To this room  little Daniel was sent every
day, to learn how to spell and read his mother
tongue.  This house has resisted the power of the
elements, and the inroads of modern improvements,
till the present time.  It will doubtless be, in future
years, an attractive spot to thousands, who will desire to see the original school room where the giant
intellect of America's greatest statesman received
its first academic instruction.  At that early period,
tby the law  of New  Hampshire, each town was
divided into several school districts.  Accordingly,




5i M-GRATORY EDUCATION.
Salisbury, the town in which Mr. Webster resided,
contained three school houses, scattered at a distance
of several miles from  each other.  In these, however, school was not kept all the year.  A teacher
was employed by the town, who taught a third of a
year in each of them; so that the opportunity of
education was somewhat migratory.  These school
houses were of a rude, unfinished, log-house character, erected for use, and not for show.  By this
time they have all passed away, leaving not a trace
behind.
When the term  arrived for the school house in
Mr. Webster's district to be-opened, it was easy for
Daniel to attend; but when the school was kept in
the other districts, the young lad did not stay at
home.  With basket, or tin pail, containing his dinner, he trudged away, mile after mile, over hill and
dale, and through comparatively unfrequented roads,
to school, and returned again at night.  So highly
did his parents value education, that they were willing to subject their children to great inconvenience
for its attainment.  It is no uncommon thing for
both children and parents, in large cities, to indulge
in complaints, if the school house happens to be situated a half mile from  their residence, although
there are good sidewalks all the way.  One might
infer, from the tone of their remarks, that they considered the sending of their children to school a




MASTER TAPPAN.                27
favor to the teacher or the school committee, instead
of a privilege to themselves, and that therefore they
were justified in their complaints of its distance.
It would be well for such to remember the incon
veniences which were endured by their forefathers,
in obtaining what at best was only a 4" little school
ing," and contrast their long and dreary walks, over
poor roads, in all kinds of weather, their miserable
school houses, and ofttimes their equally miserable
teaching, with the convenient and well-furnished
schools, and the excellent instruction of the present
day.  The number is not small of those, who, if
they were subjected to the embarrassments which
the feeble young  Webster was obliged to surmount,
would be discouraged, and faint by the way.
The next teacher to whom  young Webster was
sent was James Tappan. This gentleman is still
living, and is nearly ninety years of age. He resides in Gloucester.*  Although there had been a
separation between master and pupil for many years,
yet they each retained a distinct recollection of each
other.  That the  master should  remember the
pupil, especially when his subsequent history was
radiant with glory, and that he should continue to
follow his career with something of paternal pride,
is not remarkable; but that the scholar should retain a distinct impression of the first instructors of
+ See Note on p. 34.




2,3 9    WEBSTER S LETTER TO TAPPAN.
his childhood, of their characters and qualifications
for their office, and that that impression should not
be erased during a long series of years, filled up
with ceaseless attention to national cares, and the reception of popular glory, may justly excite surprise.
In 1851, MIr. Tappan, who was in reduced circumstances, took the liberty of addressing a letter
to his old pupil, in which he referred to his recollections of their formier relation.  This drew fiom
Mi. Webster the following reply, in which there is
a beautiful blending of the sentiments of friendship
and piety:
"' VASIIINGTON, February 26, 1851.
"6 ~MASTER TAPPAN:  I thank you for your letter, and aln rejoiced to know that you are among'
the living.  I remember you perfectly well, as a
teacher of my infant years.  I suppose my mother
must have taught me to read very early, as I have
never been able to recollect the time when I could
not read the Bible.  I think Master Chase was my
earliest schoolmaster, probably when I was three or
four years old.  Then came Master Tappan.  You,,oarded at our house, and sometimes, I think, in
the family of Mr. Benjamin Sanborn, our neighbor,
the lame manc.  Miost of those whom  you knew in
New Salisbury have gone to their graves. MJr. John
Sanborn, the son of Benjanmin, is yet living, and is
about your age.,Mr. John Colby, who imarried imy




THE DONATION.                 29
eldest sister, Susannab, is also living.  On  the,North Road'is {Mr. Benjamin Pettingil.  I think
of none else among the living whoml  you.  would'
probably  remember.  You have, indeed, lived a
checkered  life.  I hope you  have been  able to
bear prosperity with meekness, and adversity with
patience.  These things are all ordered for us far
better than we could order thlen for ourselves.  We
may )pray for olur daily bread; we may pray for the
forgiveness of silns; we may pray to be kept frorn
temptation, and that the kiongdom of God may come
in us, and in all men, and his will every where be
done.  Beyond this we hardly know for what good
to supplicate the divile mlercy.  Oulr heavenly Father knoweth what we have need of better than we
know ourselves, and we are sure that lis eye, and
his loving kindness, are upo1n us and around us every
moa'Ilent.:I I thank you again, my good old schoolmaster,
for your kind letter, which has awakened many
sleeping recollections; and, with all good wishes,
I remain your friend and pupil,
" 4DANIEL W EBSTER.
"6MRV. JAMES TAPPAN."
The Christian sympathy and consolation which
this letter contained were rendered doubly grateful
to the old gentleman by a fifty dollar badnl bill




30        MASTER TAPPAN'S ENTHUSIASM.
which it contained; * for Mr. Webster was not -.f
the number of those who profess sympathy  and
withhold relief, who say, ",Depart in peace: be ye
warmed and filled; notwithstanding they give them
not those things which are needful to the body."
He added to his professions of regard a tangible
seal.
Master Tappan took great delight in talking of
his distinguished pupil.  On this, if on no other
subject, he became enthusiastic.  A gentleman, who
in 1851 met him  on the piazza of the Pavilion,
gives the following account of him:  c, Master Tappan is now in his eighty-sixth year, somewhat infirm,
but with his intellectual faculties bright and vivid,
especially on the subject of his old pupil, whom he
esteems the foremost man of his times, and in whose
fame he takes a justifiable pride.,, Daniel was always the brightest boy in the
school,' said Master Tappan,, and Ezekiel the next;
but Daniel was much quicker at his studies than his
brother. HEe would learn more in five minutes than
any other boy in five hours.'
", It was Master Tappan's practice to hold out occasionally some reward, in order to stimulate his
* Hon. Edward Everett states, in a note to his Memoir of Daniel Webster, that a knowledge of this fact was obtained from a
paper,- the Gloucester News, - to which it was probably communica'ed by Mr. Tappan.




WEBSTER GETS A JACKKNIEE.             31
scholars to their greatest exertion.  In the above
conversation, le related how his protege, at a cer4
tain time, outstripped his competitors, and bore away
the prize.' One Saturday,' said he, 6 I renmember
I held up a handsome, new jackkni-fe to the scholars, and said, the boy who would commit to memcry the greatest number of verses in the Bible, by
ondcay 1morning, should have it.  M' aany of the
boys did well; but when it came to Daniel's turn to
recite, I found that lhe had committed so much that,
after hearing him nrepeat some sixty or seventy
verses, I was obliged to give up, he telling nme that
there were several chapters yet that be had learned.
Daniel got that jackknife.  Al! sir, he was remarkable even as a boy; and I told his father bh.e
would do God's work injustice if he did not send
both Daniel and Ezekiel to college.  The old man
said he couldn't well afford it; but I told him lhe
must, and he finally did.  And didn't they both
justify my good opinion?  WVell, gentlemen, I am
an old man, and too much given to talk, perhaps.
W'ell, good by.  Beautiful place this!  Beautiful
sea view; and the air, how  soft and refreshing 
But I must leave it all soon, gentlemen.  I have
been suffering from the asthma for fifteen years, and
it is now worse than ever.  God is calling us all
home, some s6oner, some later; for me it must




SECOND LETTER TO TAPPAN.
needs be soon.  But good by.  Enjoy yourselves
in this delightful air.  Good by!'  And the old
gentleman  totte: ed away, after a monologue almost verbatim  such as I have recorded.  It seems
to  be the  one sunny  spot in his old  age, to
talk of his old pupil, and to expatiate on his greatness as a statesman, as an orator, and as a lawyer.
Master Tappan alluded to the news in regard to
the threatened diffieulty with Great Britain, on account of the north-eastern fisheries, but confidently
remarked,, Daniel will settle it all, so that we shall
hold our owvn, and have no trouble.  They couldn't
get along at all at Washington without Daniel. The
country won't get into a scrape while it has the
benefit of his pilotage; be sure of that.' "
This enthusiastic, complimentary language of the
old gentleman, which appeared at the time in the
Boston Evening Transcript, was read to tMr. Webster.  Being in this manner reminded of his early
friend agfain, then experiencing the infirmities of
disease and age, he immediately wrote the following
letter:"BOSTON, Jully 20, 1852.
", MASTER TAPPAN:  I learn with Inuch pleasure, through the public press, that you continue to
enJoy life, with mental faculties bright and vivid,
although you have arrived at a very advanced age,




ANOTHER PRESENT TO TAPPAN.             33
anid are somewhat infirm.  I came to-day from  the
very spot in which you taught me; * and to me a
most delightful spot it is.  The river and the hills
are as beautiful as ever, but the graves of my father
and  mother, and brothers and sisters, and early
friends, gave it to me something of the appearance
of a city of the dead.  But let me 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 yet living, who, like mnyself, were brought up sub tua ferula.  They remember' iMaster Tappan.'
" And now, my  good  old  master, receive  a
renewed tribute of affectionate regard friom  your
grateful pupil, with his wishes and prayers for your
happiness in all that remains to you in this life, and
more especially for your participation hereafterin
the durable riches of righteousness.
"DANIEL WEBSTER."
The ", renewed tribute of affectionate regard,"
alluded to, did not consist so much of the sentiments of the letter, although these were peculiarly
grateful to the old gentleman, as of a twenty dollar
bill which accompanied thenm.
The example of {Mr. Webster, in giving substan* This was 5Mr. Webster's last visit to his birthplace,
3




341                TEACHER  HIOYT.
tial cvidence of his gratitude to an early instructor
merits more than a simple,_tatement.  It develops
an element of character worthy of imitation.  Too
frequently is it the case that pupils, even when they
lhave attained to manhood, use language with reference to their early instrnctors, which is expressive
of any other than respectful or grateful feelings.
This, to use no stronger terms, is unfortunate. -The
practice of speaking  disparagingly of one's early
teachers, whose kindness, patience, and skill imay
all have been exhausted in unwearied effol-ts for ouimprovement, with perhaps but little encouragement
on our part, deserves severe censure.  But we can
imagine few things nmore commlendable  than a pupil's expression  of grateful remembrance  of his
teacher, by some appropriate tribute, more significant than words, especially when the  condition of
that teacher ss one of infirmity and poverty?.
After our young hero left Master Tappan, he was
sent to school to Msr. William  Hoyt, the itinerant
teacher of the town, who successively occupie d each
of the school houses a third of the time.  When he
tauglht in the one at the greatest distance foom  tlie
" Since the above was written, we have seen it stated in the
newspapers, that this venerable patriarch has died, and that, in a
few days after, his wife followed him to the narrow house appointed for all the living. United in life, they were by death not long
rided.




HOYT'S CHARACTER.             35
Websters, Daniel was usually boarded cut in the
vicinity of the open school, coming homne, however,
every Saturday, and returning on Monday, and generally on foot. Hoyt attained to no great distinction in his profession.  He could teach what he
knew, but that was very little.  He excelled in the
art of penmanship, but was deficient in every thing
else.  The most that he could do was to teach
spelling, reading, writing, and the elementary rules
of arithmetic.  Though his advantages at this time
were not great, young Webster made the most of
them, so that, in the course of a couple of years,
he had exhausted his teacher - he could learn no
more from him.  The character of this man may
be learned from the following remarks, which were
made by Mr. Webster, after he had attained to high
distinction as a statesman and an orator: ", William
Hoyt was for many years teacher of our county
school in Salisbury: I do not call it village school,
because there was, at that time, no village, and
boys came to school in the winter - the only season in which schools were usually open - from distances of several miles, wading through the snow,
or running upon its crust, with their curly hair often
whitened with frost from  their own breaths.  I
knew William  Hoyt well, and every truant knew
him. He was an austere man, but a good teacher
of children.  He had been a printer in Newbury



36       WEBSTER AND THE T'EAMSTERS.
port, wrote a very fair and excellent hand, was a
good reader, and could teach boys, and did teach
boys, that which so few Pmasters can or will do - to
read well themselves.  Beyond this, and, perhaps,
a very slight knowledge of grammnar, his attainments
did not extend. He had brought with him into town
a little property, which he took very good care of.
H-le rather loved money - of all the cases of nouns,
preferring the possessive; lie also kept a little shop
for the sale of various conmmodities, in the house
exactly over the way friom  this.'
But little Daniel was not dependent entirely'upon his school teachers for instruction. His father
was an excellent reader, and was in the habit of
reading aloud to his family.  Sometimes the booh
he selected for this purpose was the Bible; at other
times, when the mood prompted, it was Shakspeare,
or the works of Pope.  By hearing his father read,
more than from the instruction he received at school,
Daniel becamle a good reader. Having an excellent
voice, and a ready perception of the neaning of a
writer, with the ability to give the right inflections
and emphases to develop that meaning, he was listened to with pleasure.  W~hen lie was but seven
years of age his father kept a public house, at which
the teamsters were accustomed to stop for "6 enter
tainment for man and beast."  A part of the enter=
tainnment which was then and there afforded, con



INTERESTING CONTRAST.             37
sisted of specimens of reading by the young orator.
The teamsters were accustomed, as they checked
their horses at the door of the inn, to say,, Come,
let's go in, and hear a psalm  firom Dan Webster."
The identical house in rwhich this tavern was kept
is still standing. Says Mr. Lanman, in his Private
Life of Mr. Webster, with reference to this building, ", It was on01y a few lmonths ago when Mr. Webster, bending under the iweight of years and a painfil illness, sat with the writer upon its little porch,
and descanted with streaming eyes upon the various
events associated with his boyhood's home."
How interesting the contrast between little Dan
Webster reading a psalm  in the tavern, for the
amusement of his rustic auditors, and the same
Webster, more than sixty years after, sitting upon
the porch of the same tavern, after astonishing the
world with his eloquence, visiting foreign courts -
a sovereign among kings; settling, through the skilfulness of his diplomacy, some of the most difficult
questions of international government, and, after
attaining to an eminence immeasurably higher than
any official distinctions in the gift of the people!
Who, at that early period, under the influence even
of the wildest flights of fancy, would have ventured
to predict that the little, puny, tavern Bible reader
would become the renowned jurist and statesman,
and fill the world with his fame?  What a beauti



38               HOME READING.
ful illustration does this furnish of the influence of
free institutions!  They not only give to genius
room  for growth, but assist its development, and
then furnish a large field for its exercise, with the
promise of abundant reward.
The practice adopted by the elder Webster, of
reading aloud from  standard authors, has a highly
beneficial effect.  A father, who is a good reader,
can do more to make his children such, than any
teacher can, with the time usually devoted to that
branch of education. Children are wonderfully imitative. From their observation of others, they
learn how to walk, speak, and act. If they frequently listen to good reading, they become good
readers by mere imitation.  They catch the tones,
the cadences, the emphases, and the general manner of him to whom they listen. It was fortunate
for young Webster that his father excelled in this
difficult art.
But this is not the only benefit which results from
such practice.  It assists in the cultivation of the
taste of the children.  It develops before them the
excellences of whatever is read.  It awakens an
attachment to such authors, and, in addition to their
intrinsic merits, it surrounds them with the everpleasing associations of home. It also serves to make
home attractive, and the family circle a sphere of
improvement.




BEAUTIFUL SCENE.                39
A father surrounded by his children, and reading
to them froim the Bible, or from  some standard auth-r, whilst the mother is enlgaged with her knitting or sewing, presents a beautiful domestic scene.
Such scenes were often witnessed at Elms Farm.




CHAPTER III.
Social Libraries. - Webster's Reading. - The Mill. - Daniel at
the Mill. - His favorite Authors. - His Employment favorable
for Reading. - The Constitution on the Handkerchief. - The
Books he chose. - His Amusements. - Freezes his Toes. - No
Pleasure in being scolded. - Observance of the Sabbath. -
Deacon True's Boys. - The Influence of Habit. - Webster a
quick Learner. - Concludes to become a Teacher. - Goes to
aln Academy. -Imnportance of Education. - Webster and the
Side Saddle. — His Examination. — Ie can't declaim. - Is
ridieuled. - His two Promotions.
WE have said that Webster had other sources of
islstruction  besides  his teachers.  Amongst  these
were the books to which he had access in his father's
Souse, and, after these were exhausted, Nwas the village  library.   The establishment   t of these  social
libraries had been  urged upon the attention of the
people by Dr. Belknap, who, in his History of New
Hamtpshire, says, the establishment of social libraries, is the easiest, the cheapest, and the mnost efectual mode of diffusing knowledge among the people.
For the  sum  of six or eight dollars at once, and a
small annual payment besides, a Dmasn may be supplied with the means of literary improvement during
his life, and his children may inherit the blessing."
rhllis hint commended  itself to Mr'. Web)ster, and.cm;




TIHE SAW BILL.                 41
other gentlemen  of Salisbury, among whomn' welre
the clergymapl and the lawyer of the place, who, at
a suitable time, acted upon the suggestion, and established a small library.  Here young Webster was
able to obtain the means of gratifying his love cfE
reading.  Among the books which he perused with
interest were the Spectator, Pope's works, and various biographies and travels.
Near the residence of blr.  e bster was a deep,
dark dell, covered on either side with lofty trees and
overhanging  bushles, at the bottom of wlhiclh flowed
a rapid, noisy streanm, whlich was christened witth the
rather unpoetic name of Punch Brook.  In this
secluded place the father of Daniel erected a sawmill.  As lumber of different sizes was wanted for
building and various other pulposes, Mir. Webster's
mill was in gleat demand, and prioved to him  a
source of considerable incomle.  Colonel Webster,
as Daniel's father was called, was anxious to formn
in hlis children habits of industry.  Although he did
not prohibit play, he enjoined work. He often took
Daniel, when a small boy, to the mill withl  him.
Being quick to learn, and  willing to practise wvhat
he knew, the little fellow w as soon able to render
himself quite usefiul to hlis gather in the capacity
of mill boy.  He understood how to set the large
saw, how to raise the gate, set thle machinery in
imotion, andI thlen, how to attend to the opratirat




DANIEL A MILL BOY.
until the long log was sawed through its whole
ength. Tie sawing of a log once through occupied
about fifteen minutes.  It then had to be readjusted
for the next operation.  Whilst the saw was passing through the timber, the little mill boy was not
oc~cupied with knife and stick, whittling away his
time; neither did he stand  in listless indolence,
looking on to observe how  slowly or how rapidly
the saw made progress; but, with book in hand, he
was poring over ", the best thoughts of the best authors."  He was cultivating  his taste, and gathering
instruction and intellectual stimulus from  the pages
of such men as Steele, Addison, Pope, Shakspeare,
or other valuable writers.  ", There, in that old saw
maill, surrounded by forests, in the midst of great
noise, which suchl a mill makes, and this, too, withoult materially neglecting bis task, he made himself
familiar with the most remarkable events recorded
by the pen of history, and with the lives and characters of the most celebrated persons who had lived
in the tides of time.  He has never forgotten xvhat
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 every
thing to divert his attention, the simplicity of his
occupation, the taciturn and thoughltful manncr of
his father, all favored the process of transplanting




T-IE FAMOUS POCKET HANDKERCHIEF.    43
every idea found in those books to his fresh, fruitful, and vigorous im-ind.  I have not made a visit to
any of thle scenes of Mir. Webster's boyhood imore
interesting than to this old imill." @
It will be appropriate to relate, in this connection,
another fact, for which we lhave the authority of MHr.
Webster himself. in Ihis conversation respecting his
teacher Hoyt, a part of which is given on a preceding page, he said, " Hoyt also kept a little shop,
for the sale of various commodities, in the house
exactly over the way friom  this.  I do not know
bow old I was, but I remember havino gone into
his shop one day, and bought a small, cotton pocket
handkerchief, with 6kie Gonstitttion of th;ie United
States printed onz its two sides.  From  this I first
learned either that there was a Constitution or that
there were United States. I remnember to have read
it, and hIave known more or less of it ever since.
William Hoyt and his wife lie buried in the graveyard under our eye, on my farm, near the graves
of my own family.  He left no children.  I suppose that this little handkerchief was purchased
about the time that I was eight years old, as I remember listening to the conversation of my father
and IMr. Tllhompso   upon political events which
happened  in the year 1790."   Another account
* Life and M1emorial of Daniel Webster.




44             WEBSTER'S READING.
states that he paid for that handkerchief all the
money he had in his pocket, which amounted to
twenty-five cents, and that the evening of that day
was wholly employed in the carefll perusal and
study of that novel document, while seated by the
fireside in company with his father and mother.
What an interesting memento that handkerchief
would now be, if it could any where be found!
In the character of the reading which this young
lad selected, we-see the direction of his mind; and,
as we review his subsequent career, we may discover
something of the effects which his early reading
produced upon his mental habits and tastes.  It
may, perhaps, have been a fortunate circumstance
for him that, at that time, there was no " juvenile
literature."   He was therefore obliged, if he read
at all, to peruse works of a higher character, by
means of which his mental powers were tasked and
greatly strengthened.  He was one of the very few
who, at an' early age, are capable of being interested in the master spirits of literature.  M3'any lads,
if placed in his condition, would have spent their
tine in idleness.  They have not the mental calibre
for understanding, and perusing with interest, those
works which gave him delight.  For such children
juvenile works furnish the appropriate nutriment.
They can endure nothing stronger than intellectual
milk at an age when Webster NWas digesting strong




HIS XVINTER SPORTS.              45
meat.  Care should be exercised lest they continue
the use of such milk too long.  So numerous, diversified, and attractive are the juvenile books which
are constantly falling firom the press, that some individuals make them  their exclusive reading, who
ought to hlave advanced far beyond them, and made
themselves acquainted with the most eminent authors.  Let such be rebulked by the example of the
little mill boy of Elms Farm.
Let it not, however, be supposed that Webster,
in this early period of his life, was a recluse.  Far
from it.  He loved healthy, out-door sports, as well
as other children.  In  nutting, squirrel hunting,
fishing, and, when old enough, in gunning, he took
as much pleasure as others.
In his early years, New Hampshire was distinguished for deep snows and long winters.  These
gave opportunity to Daniel to indulge in sports of
another character - skating on the ponds, coasting
down hill, or rolling balls, and making snow  men
and snovw houses.  Sometimes, so great would be
the quantity of snow as to cover up all the rocks
and fences, and make a smooth inclined:plane from
the top of the hill to the shore of thle Merrimac,
in the vicinity, down which he would coast with the
swiftness of the wind, and be carried by his accelerated force nearly across the frozen river.  On the
coldest days, our little hero n ight be seen wading




44        OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATI-I.
througllh the deep drifts, and crossing  the friozen
brooks, dragging after him his sled, that with neighboring boys he might engage in the healthful excitemerlt of this invigorating sport.  On one occasion,
so interested had he become in this amnusemuent, arnd
so unmindful of the severity of the cold, that he
froze the toes of both his feet, and, as a penalty for
his indiscretion, was confined to his house several
days, until his chilblains were healed.
Like other boys, lhe would sometimes yield to the
temptations of this sport, until it made him  late at
sheiool, when hie was sure to be reprimanded by his
father.  This led himi to say, "there was great fun
in sliding down bill, but there was not mauch fan in
hearing his father scold, when  lhe staid out of
school to enjoy it."  TJhe yo-rung should regard it
as a settled fact, that tthere can be no true enjoymerit in going contrary to a parent's wishes.
The effect of these out-door, exhilarating exercises
was to increase the robustness and strength of the
puny boy.
As the parents of Webster were religious people,
they taught their children to observe the Sabbath.
All toys and sports viere laid aside, and, the clay
reverently spent in a manner that harmonized with
thle object of its appointment.  Although the meeting house was four miles fiom  their residence, yet
Vir'o. Webster insisted upon ]lis children's attedance.




DEACON TRUE'S BOYS.              47
To this Daniel demurred, because he was obliged to
walk the whole distance.  There was on the road a
family by the name of True, who lived at an equal
distance (of about two miles) from  the WTebsters
and the church, and in which there were some boys,
playfellows of Daniel, with whom  he had many a
cc good timie."  When, therefore, Dan complained
that he was compelled to walk so far to meeting,
his father replied, —'"I see Deacon True's boys there every Sunday
regularly, and have never heard of their complaining."
Daniel at once saw that the cases were not parallel, and immediately said, -
A Ah, yes! the deacon's boys live half way there,
and of course have only half as far to walk."
W" Well," rejoined 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
nl( farther to walk than they do."
This reply, in which there was a vein of kindness
and good humor, was to the lad perfectly satisfactory.  It required no self-denial to run up to Deacon True's and meet his playfellows, and with their
company, the walk to the church could not be otherwise than pleasant. After this, therefore, on every
Sabbath when the weather would permit, Daniel
wvas found in his place at church, notwithstanding




48    WEBSTER EDUCATED FOR A TEACHER.
the four long   miles.  His father's wisdolm, in rendering his way easy, assisted him  in forming  the
hlabit of constant attendance upon public worslhip
It has been said that,' mani is a bundle of habits."
It cannot be denied  tlhat a large part of our conduct is nothinig more thanL   a repetition of acts previously performed.  By this repetition habits are
formed.  Many individuals regularly absent theimselves firoml  the house of God, and others as regularly attend, fr'om nmere hlabit.  When either of these
habits is fornmed, a departure fiomn it is attended
with  dificulty.  W'e setnstively  shrink  friom  the
violation of our established  customs.  Tihis is the
reason why individuals, whlo seldom  attend public
worship, find it so irksonme  to go, and so uninterest
ing when there.  This fact furnishes a strong inducement for the  formation of a habit of constant
attendance upon the services of the sanctuary; for,
when formed, it wiill become to us a kind of second
nature, which will prevent our absence fronm  public
worship except fir'o   necessity.
Ln consequence of the constitu;tional weakness of
young  Webster, it appeared impossible bor him  to
gain a livelihood by 1hrd laber.  HIis fatLher, therefore, resolved to qualify him  for th1e important, but
less arduous, duty of school teacher.  This had
been suggested to himi by M1r. Thompson, a lawyer
who boarded in lMr. Webster's family, and who had




GOES TO PHILLIPS ACADEMY.            49
given Daniel some lessons in the Latin Grammar.
The ease with which he committed these lessons to
menory, and his general quickness of apprehension,
induced Mr. Thompson to advise his father to send
him  to an academy, for the purpose of (qualifyrin
him  as a schoolmaster.  The mother was pleased'with the suggestion, and urged its adoption.  His
brother Joseph, who was then of age, also favored
it. He jocosely assigned as a reason, that, ", as Dan
had not such bright natural talents as his brothers
and sisters, a little education would perhaps make
up tlhe deficiency."   The father consented.  He,
supposed that, according to the customs of the times,
hiis son would teach school in the winter, and work
on the farm, if his health allowed, in the summer.
As this course had been found profitable by some
of the families in town, he inferred that it would
result in no loss to his own.  He therefore gave
consent, little dreaming of the important results
which were destined to flow from his decision.
At that time no. academical institution stood
higher in New England  than  Phillips Academy,
in Exeter.  It had been handsomely endowed by
John Phillips, LL. D., after whom  it was named,
whose donations and bequests to it amounted to a
hundred and fifty thousand dollars. This large sum
made it independent of the income which might be
received for tuition fiom the pupils.  To this insti4




50           PATRIOTIC BENEFICENCE.
tution Colonel Webster determined to send Dan.el.
It was a most fortunate circumstance for the rising
republic of the United States, that, immediately after
the war for independence, the attention of the people was directed, in different parts of the country,
with more than usual interest, to educational affairs.
Such was the genius of the new institutions to which
that independence gave rise, and so great was the
controlling power of the people in political affairs,
through the elective frianchise, that it was apparent
to all reflecting persons, that general intelligence
among the masses of the people was essential to the
healthfiul working and the perpetuity of the new
forms of government. Not only, therefore, did state
legislatures, and the municipal of3icers of the various
towns, give special consideration to educational matters, but wealthy gentlenmen, under the influence of
patriotism, contributed freely of their own private
fiunds for the endowment of schools and colleges.
As, in many respects, the systeml of government in
the United States was unlike any other that then
existed, or had ever been known to exist, - as it was
an experiment, on a magnificent scale, of the capabilities of a nation for self-government, under peculiar laws, - it was essential for the success of the
experiment that a class of men should be raised up
who -wlould be able to take correct and comnprehensive views of all parts of the complicated machinery,




AN IMPORTANT DAY.               51
who should understand all the relations and inter
ests of the country as a whole, and of the individual
states of which it was colmposed, and then be able
clearly to unfold them to others.  For this purpose
schools of an elevated character were required, in
order to discover those who possessed the natural
talents for this work, and then, by appropriate culture, to fit them for the exercise of their talents, in
those departments of influence, whether at the bar,
on the bench, or in halls of legislation, where they
would render the greatest amount of service to their
country.  Such an institution was Exeter Academy.
It has had the honor of assisting in the education.
of many who have risen to high distinction in the,
various professions, and who have wielded a vast influence over the destinies of their country.  Dr..
Phillips, by its endowment, rendered essential service to the interests of the new republic.  To this
school young Webster was sent.
The 24th of May, 1796, was an important day atr
Elms Farm.  There had been more than usual bustle in the house; clothes were collected, bundles
tied; children were running to and fro, asking questions and making all kinds of remarks - the reason,
of which was, Daniel was getting ready to leave for
the academy.  As Mir. Webster had no chaise, or
other light carriage adapted to the journey,. it was
to be made on horseback.  It so happened that one




52             A PARTING SCENE.
of the neighbors was desirous of sending a horse
and side saddle to the very town where the academy
was situated, for some female friend there, to ride
back to Salisbury.  It was agreed that this horse
should be used by the young student.  When the
time of departure arrived, the two horses were
brought to the door, and Daniel, who was dressed
in a new suit of homespun materials, was lifted upon
the one intended  for him.  Imagine the scene!
The affectionate mother, who has all along had a
presentiment of Daniel's greatness, stands at the
door, with mingled expressions of solicitude and joy
depicted upon her countenance: she has given abundant good advice, and sealed it with not a few burning kisses.  Around are the other children and
members of the family, some holding the horses,
others adjusting the bundles, and all abandoning
their mirthfulness, and becoming more serious as
the moment of departure arrives.  The last shake
of the hand and farewell kiss are given, and the
two travellers set out on their journey, —little Dan
being perched upon the lady's side saddle, where he
was destined to become, before night, more fatigued
than he had ever been before. After a romantic,
but tiresome ride, along the banks of rivers, through
valleys, and amid lofty hills and mountains, on the
third day they arrived at Exeter. A boarding place;vas obtained for Daniel in the family of Mir. Clif



WEBSTER BEFORE DR. ABBOTT.         53
ford, with whom his father had some acquaintance.
The day after their arrival he was taken to the
academy   Benjamin Abbott, LL. D., was the principal. IHe was a gentleman of the old school, and
felt it important to maintain great dignity and a
regard to formn, in the administration of the school.
All official duties were performed with pompous ceremony.  When Colonel Webster stated the object
of his visit to the doctor, who was seated in a large
hall connected with the academy, that important
personage placed upon his head a cocked hat, in
order to make a suitable impression upon the lad,
and then said,
", Well, sir, let the young gentleman be presented
for examination."
The slender-looking boy modestly came forward,
and, though every thing was new and strange, he
submitted to his examination with great self-possession.
",What is your age?" asked  the venerable
teacher.
", Fourteen," was the reply.
", Take this Bible, my lad, and read the twentysecond chapter of Luke," at the same time pointing
it out to him.
This chapter contains an account of the institution of the Lord's supper, Christ's sufferings in
Gethsemane, the betrayal, the seizure, and the ex



,54             IHIS DIFFIDENCE2.
amination of Christ.  Its diffrerent parts required a
different style of reading.  None but a good reader
could do the chapter justice.  Daniel took the book
and read with so miuch distinctness of enunciation,
correctness of enmphasis, and skill in the rnodulations of his voice, as to bring out the true sense
of the passage, -- the doctor had no occasion to
interrupt him.  It was a beautiful specimen of reading.  After he had finished the chapter, the doctor,
without asking any questions whatever, said, -
4' Young man, you are qualified to enter this institutionll."
The new student remained at this academy nine
months.  His diligence, and his capacity for acquiring knowledge, secured for him  not only thle warnm
colmmllendations of his teachers, but, what was bettelr,
a good knowledge of the branches to which he devoted attention, among which, in addition to the
usual English branches, was the Latin language.
It is not easy always to predict the man friom tile
indications of youth.  With some there appears to
be, in early life, a deficiency of the very traits in
which they excel in later years.  This was true of
Webster.  Although his fame as an orator is worldwide, yet, when a boy of fourteen, lie couldl not
summon sufficient courag'e to attempt to declaim
before the school. His own account of this singular
fact is in the foilowin   - words: "  believe I made




PERSEVERANCE CO0iMENDED.           55
tolerable progress in most branches which I attended
to while in this school; 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 Buckminster sought especially to persuade
me to perform the exercise of declamation, like other boys; but I could not do it.  Many a piece did
I commit to memory, and recite and rehearse in my
own room, over and over again; yet when the day
came, when the school collected to hear the declamation, when my name was called, and I saw all
eyes turned to my seat, I could not raise myself
from it.  Sometimes the instructors frowned, sometimes they smiled. Mr. Buckminster always pressed
and entreated most winningly that I would venture
— venture only once; but I never could command
sufficient resolution."
From any other witness, this would appear almost
incredible.  It is difficult to conceive how one who
has been so highly distinguished for self-reliance and.
moral courage, as Mr. Webster, should have beena
so singularly deficient in these traits when young:
It was attributable, probably, in a great degree% to
his physical debility.  He subsequently surmountted;
it, and, as we shall see, became in college one of
the most popular speakers, What encouragement
does this furnish for the young to set themselves
resolutely to workto surmount any difficulty that




56          THE STUDENT'S PRO)MOTION.
prevents their advancement! By frequent repetition,
b)y firm  resolution, they may overcoume embarrassments which would otherwise prove fatal to their
success.  Nothling ccan resist a deterlmined spirit.
Wrhen'Webster first entered the Phillips Academy,
ho   vas macde, in consequence of his unpolished,
country-ike appearanre, and because lie Zwas placed
at lthe  foot of the class, the butt of ridicule by soime
of the scholars.  This treatulent touched his keen
sensibility, and he spoke of it with regret to his
friends where he boarded.  They informed him that
the place assigned him in the class was according to
the standing regulations of the school, and that by
diligence he might rise above it.  They also advised
hi:m  to take no notice of the laughter of the city
boys, for after a while they would become weary of
it, and would cease.  The assistant tutor, Mr. Emery, was informed of the treatment which Wehbster
received.  iHe therefore treated  himrl withl special
consideration, told him  to care for nothing but his
books, and predicted that all would end well.  This
kindness had the desired effect.  Webster applied
himself with increased diligence, and with signal
success. He soon met with his reward, which made
those who had laughed at him hang their heads with
shalme.  At the end of the first quarter the assistant
tutor called up the class in their usual order - he
then iwalked to the foot of the class, took Wtebster




tIlS SECOND PROQMOTION.            57
by the arm, and marched him, in front of the class,
to the head, where, as he- placed  him, he said,,, There, sir, that is your proper place."  This practical rebuke made those who had delighted to ridicule the country boy, feel mortified and chagrined.
He had outstripped them.  This incident greatly
stimulated the successful student.  He applied himself with his accustomed industry, and looked forward with some degree of solicitude to the end of
the second term, to see wthether he would be able
to retain  his relative rank in the class.   Weeis
slowly passed away; the end of the term arrived,
and the class was again sumin oned to be newly arranged, according to their scholarship and deportment, as evinced during the jpreceding term. 5Yhilst
they were all standing in silence and suspense, ltr.
Emery, their teacher, said, fixing his eye at the
same time upon the country boy, c" Daniel NWebster,
gather up your books and take down your cap."
Not understanding the design of such an order,
Daniel complied with troubled feelings.  He knew
not but that he was about to be expelled froni school
for his dulness.  His teacher perceived the expresdion of sadness upon his countenance, but soon dispelled it by saying,, Now, sir, you. will please ipass
into anotler room, and joiz'C 7ighler class: and you,
young gentlemen," addressing the other scholars,,' will take an affectionate leave of your classmate,




58        XVI~WHO WERE THE CITY BOYS?
for you will never see hinm agai! "  As if he had
said,, This rustic lad, whom you have made the
butt of ridicule, has already so far outstripped you
in his studies, that froma  your stand-point he is
dwarfed in the distance, and will soon be out of
sight entirely.  He has developed a capacity for
study which will prevent you firom  ever overtaking
him. As a classmate you will never see him again."
It would be interesting to know who those city
boys wvere, who made the young rustic an object of
sport. What have they come to? - what have they
accomlplished? - who has heard of the fame of their
attainments?  Scholars should be careful how they
laugh at a classmate because of his unpolished manners or coarse raiment.  Under that rough exterior
may be concealed talents that will move a nation
and dazzle a world, when they'1 their turn might
justly be made a laughing-stock, an account of their
inefficiency.




CHAPTER iV.
A Sleigh Ride. - Affecting JIcident. - Benefits of Knowledge. -
Advice to Youth. - A Supposition. - Webster learns rapidly. -
His mode of Retaliation. - A day for Pigeon shooting. - Industrious Boy. - His Habits broken - Blistered Hands. - Goes
a Berrying.-An amusing Incident.-Poorly fitted for College. - Importance of a good Preparation for College. - False
Position. - Webster's Ride to Hanover. - Great Freshet. -
Appears before the Faculty for Examination. — Blue Dan. -
Passes the Ordeal safely. - Enters College at the age of
Fifteen.
AFTER  leaving  Exeter  Academy, Webster was
placed under the care of Rev. Samuel Woods, D. D.,
of Boscawen.  This change was probably made for
economical reasons, as Dr. W~oods gave instruction
and board to  lads for only one  dollar per week,
which was less than the expenses at Exeter.  He
was now in his fifteenth year, with a fiir knowledge
of the  Ennglish  branches, and  a considerable acquaintance with the Latin.
On his way to -Dr. Woods's, an interesting  incident occurred, of which  Mr. WVebster  himself has
give:l the account.  It seems that his father, throug2h
the kind suggestions of others, wvho had  discovered
the innate powers of Daniel, had come to the conclusion to send him to college.  But this determination
lie did not reveal to his son till he was on the way




60       AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT.
to Dr. Woods's.  The announcement deeply affected him.
It was in the depth of winter. The ground was
covered with deep snow.  Webster and his father
were travelling in a New England sleigh, commonly called a pung.  As they were ascending a hill, Mr.
Webster told Daniel that he was going to send him
to college.  This sudden and unexpected announcement overcame the lad.  This was an honor to
which, in his most ambitious moments, he had never
aspired.  To be ", college learned," in those days,
was a passport to the most intelligent and refined
society.  It was regarded as a preparation for any
of the professions.  It at once gave an individual a
respectable position in society; and whilst it developed all the capacities which he possessed, it was
supposed to impart others, of which he was previously destitute.  The relative position of a college
graduate, at that time, was far higher in the community than now, when their numnber is so greatly increased.
A lad of fourteen, who had been acquainted with
but very few who had been favored with a collegiate
education, and who regarded them with a veneration
above that which he cherished towards other men,
could not have been otherwise than deeply mloved at
such a communication.  To use his own language,
c; I could not speak.  How could my, father, with so




YOUCNG WE  OSTR 0N T11E W\ AY 10 BOSCA-WEN.








AN AFFECTING SCENE.            61
large a family, and in such narrow circumstances,
think of incurring so great an expense for me?  A
warm glow ran all over me, and I laid my head ona
my father's shoulder, and wept."  He wept from excess of joy! How different were his feelings from
those of many at the present day, who, when the
privilege of a collegiate course of education is offered them, regard the proposition as a great affliction, and cry from sorrow!  They are unwilling to
avail themselves of benefits which others would
highly value.  They do not appreciate them; the
golden opportunity they throw away; and probably, at some future period, when it is too late to
repair the disaster, they will deeply regret their
folly.
If this book should fall into the hands of any such
youth, we would say to them, Look forward -to the
future.  Remember, you will not always be boys.
You are in a few years to take your place amongst
men, and in order to be qualified to exert much influence over them, you must be educated. You
are now placed in an enviable position; by rightly
improving your advantages, you will qualify yourselves to occlpy important stations; you will be fitted to move, and to feel at home, in the most intelligent circles.  Your opinions will be respected;
they will have weight with others. Your advice will
be sought in important matters. You will be looked




G6`2            GET KNOWLEDGE.
to to fill places of trust and responsibility.  You
will honor yourselves and your families.  And it is
not impossible for you to attain to high distinction in
any of the learned professions, or to reach some of
the most honorable and responsible positions in the
state or national governments.  Who would have
supposed that, when that puny lad fiom the backwoods of New Hampshire was made an object of
ridicule by the, city boys," that he would ever
reach the exalted stations he did, and after filling the
world with the splendor of his eloquence and statesmanship, would be followed to the grave by the regrets of millions?  It is no more unlikely, now, that
you may acquire distinction, than it was in his case,
whern he was of your age.  But suppose that he had
disliked study; suppose that, when his father, as
they were ascending that hill in a cold winter's day,
informed him  that he might go to college, he had
expressed an unwillingness, and had dissuaded his
father fi'om his purpose; what would Daniel Webster
have been now?  He might possibly, by the force
of his natural talents, have excelled in any kind of
business to which he would have devoted himself;
but is it probable that he would ever have been a
senator of the United States, or a member of the
president's cabinet?  Indeed, on one occasion,
as we shall presently relate, - his own father assigns
as a reason why lie was not elected a member of




COMMIENDABLE RETALIATION.          as
Congress, instead of his successful competitor, was
because of his want of education.
During the time that Webster was with Dr.
Woods he always gave satisfactory recitations.  But
he found it so easy to learn that the preparation of
his lessons occupied but a short time; he consequently had much leisure, which he spent in the indulgence of his love of nature, in fishing and gunning.
With rod or gun in hand, he spent hour after hour
in wandering along the streams, or rambling over
the fields.  His teacher, who had but little sympathy
for these employments, administered to him a rebuke
for his wandering habits, tempering it, however, with
compliments for his quickness in learning.  He was
fearful that this fondness for out-door sports might
exert an injurious influence upon the other students.
Webster felt this rebuke, and determined to retaliate
in a way that would tax the doctor's patience.  His
lesson for the next day was a hundred lines in Virgil.  He applied himself diligently, and occupied a
good portion of the night, not in simply learning
those hundred lines, but in committing to memory
many more. At the recitation next morning, he
despatched the hundred lines, for which he received
the commendation of his teacher.,I can recite
somne more," said the student.  " Go on, then," was
the reply.  Another hundred lines were repeated.
The teacher was equally surprised and gratified.




64              THE BETTER WAY.
6, But I have not done yet," said ~Webster;,I  can
give you another hundred lines, and another hundred
beyond that; I can give you five h ncred; I can 2recite to the end of the tveftith book."  The teacher
was almazed; he had not time to hear so much;
his breakfast had for some time been waiting' for
him, and he was impatient to be at it.  This wvas
what Webster hadcl anticipated, and where he had
intended to tax the old gentleman.  He was determined to retain him  so long in hearing his recitation
as to make him  have a late breakfast; but the
teacher would not wait: after praising his pupil for
his industry, he asked to be excused from listening to
him any longer, and said,'" You may have the whole
day, Dan, for pigeon shooting."  Dan rambled to
his heart's content that day, without any compunctions of conscience, or any fear of rebukes from the
doctor.
HIow much better that mode of retaliaticn was
than for him to have thrown aside his books in a fit
of passion, and played the dunce for a few days!
In that case the punishment would have been exexclusively his own.
Prior to the time that Daniel left home, in order
to pursue his studies, he was industrious to the extent of his physical strength.  Ve assisted his faither
at the mill; e worked with the men in the fields
driving the horse in ploughing, pitching hay, or run



DANIEL BLISTERS HIS HANDS.           65
ning of errands; but after having been away fiom
home a nun-uber of months, these habits of industry
were broken up, and when lie returned to the old
homestead, it was more agreeable for him  to play
than. to work, as the following incident will show.
WAhilst he was studyi7.ng' at Boseawen with Dr.
Woods, his father on one occasion sent for him  to
come llhomle.  Haying season had arrived, and he
needed more assistance than usual. at Elmns Farm.
The young lad packed up his clothes, and coimplied
with his father's orlders.  The day after his arrival,
he went into the field to work, the father in the
mean time visiting a neighboring town on business.
Before the forenoon was expired, Daniel returned to
the house, and told his amother that hie was great!ly
fatigued; and holding up lhis hands, he showed biisters, which, lie said, would prevesnt him from worlkinl
any more.  His affietionate mother excLIsed him, as
he probably anticipated; but Dan had no idea of
losing the whole day; so, after dinner, he tackled the
horse to a wagon, placed into it two of his sisters,
and drove off to a wellknoiwn berry pasture, where
they expected to find an abundance of whortle, or
huckleberries.  Here he spent the remainder of the
afternoon, as boys, under such circumstances, know
how.
When his father Ireturned home at night, and
ascertained how his son had spent the day, instead
5




66            RETURNS TO SCHOOL.
of flying into a violent passion, he laughed over the
matter, and sent his tender son to bed. After breakfast was over, the next morning, being convinced
that he would obtain but little assistance from  his
son, and not being willing to detain him  uselessly
from  his studies during term  time, his father put
into his delicate hand his bundle of clothes, and
pointed, in a manner too significant to be misunderstood, towards Boscawen.  The boy immediately
started off. He had not gone far before he saw one
of the neighbors, Mr. Thomas W. Thompson, who
knew why he had come home.
"W Where are you going, Dan? " he asked.
" Back to school," was the reply.,,I thought it would be so," added Mr. Thornpson, with an expressive smile upon his countenance.
And back to the company of Virgil and Cicero
did the young student return.
Pronounce not harsh judgment upon this piece
of juvenility in Daniel.  He seems to have commenced work with hearty good will, but not having
been engaged in vigorous, muscular employment for
some months, he soon became blistered and tired.
Even then he did not throw aside his rake and fork
and run off, with the intention of showing his blistered hands to his father in the evening, as his apology.  But, as a child in his circumstances should
have done, he related the whole case to his mother,




IS FITTED FORt COLLEGE.             67
anld obtained her pernmission to leave the field. And
when lie found a long afternoon on his hands, instead
of strolling off alone, with fishing pole or gun, he
tackles the horse, and, like an affectionate brother,
takes his two sisters a berrying - an atnmusement in
which. children take great delight.
it may be settled as a general fact, that but little
phlysical labor can be expected of students, either
during term  time or vacations.  They leave their
studies, not for work, but relaxation, and under these
chircumstances continuous physical exertion soon becomes irksome to them. It is truly a hardship when
students are obliged to work thrlllough their whole
vacations, in order to  lefray the expense of their
education.
Master VWebster pursued  his studies witlh. Mr.
Wood fromn February till August, 1797, and fitted
himself, imperfectly however, for college.  His thie
of preparation was too limited for him to do it well.,; Still, however," says Hon. Edward Everett, in his
Biographical Menemoir,,, when we hear of a youth
of fifteen preparing himself for college by a year's
study of Greek and Latin,'we must recollect that
the attainmnents which may be made in thtat time,
by a young man of distinguished talent, at the period of life when the faculties develop thenmselves
with the greatest energy, studying  night and day,
summer and winter, tunder the master influence of




68              A GREAT MIISTAKE.
hlope, amlbition, and necessity, are not to be neasured by the tardy progress of the thoughtless or
languid children of prosperity, sent to schtool from
the time they are able to go alone, and carried along
by routine and discipline from  year to year, in the
majority of cases without strong personal motives
to diligence."
This limnited degree of preparation for college
studies  was to Webster a great disadvantage.  It
subjected him to embarrassments during his whole
course, from-n which his classmates derived advantage.
He often spoke of it, in subsequent years, with
regret.
It is a great mistake in young men to imagine
they have gained a year, when they enter college
poorly fitted, by which means they are able to graduate a year earlier than they otherwise would have
done.  They lose in scholarship what they gain in
time.
A young man who commnences a college course
poorly qualified meets ofttimes with difficulties which,
thoug.h' insuperable to him, his classmates easily surmount.  This places him  in a somewhat false position, especially if such difficulties frequently occur,
for it gives him  the appearance of possessing less
intellectual power or acumnen than the others, when
such is not the case.  It arises simply from the fact
that the subject is comparatively new to him, but,




WEBSTER S JOURNEY TO HANOVER.          69
in consequence of their longer course of preparation, during which the same subject was studied and
reviewed, it is famniliar to theml.  Still the unfortunate student is obliged to go limping after his class,
with a painfiul feeling of mortification and despondency; and if he succeed in obtaining a diploma, it
is as much as he expects.  Any particularly honorable position is out of the question.  Yet the same
individual, if lie had been well qualified for entrance,
might have led his class in all their studies, and
graduated with the highest honors.  We commend
these considerations to the attention of those who
are so impatient to enter college as to shorten their
period of preparation.
Whc- the time arrived for the student of Elms
Farra to visit Dartmouth College, for the purpose
of being matriculated, a neighbor made for him a
new suit of clothes, - coat, vest, and pantaloons,all of homlespun cloth of the deepest blue.  He made
his journey on horseback, - not this time, however,
on a side saddle.  On his way he was overtaken by
a violent rain storm, which lasted forty-eight hours,
created a freshet, bore away the bridges, and sub.jected him  to the necessity of travelling round the
country twenty extra miles, in order to find a crossing-place over the streams.  When he arrived he
was completely soaked with the rain.  The newt
garments which he wore seem  not to have been




70      HIS EXAMHINATION AND ADMISSION.
made of fast colors, for upon exatination ar. ~Webster found that the indigo hue, after penetrating all
his under clothing, had deeply dyed his skin, so that
instead of being a green country boy, he was decidedly blte.  After a little attention to his toilet,
lie presented himself before the faculty for examination.  After having given an account of the opportunities for study of which hle had availed hialself,
- the books he had read, the branches he had attended to, and after answering the questions whichl
they proposed, - he told them of the difficulties he
had experienced  in reaching  Hanover.    6   IThus,"
said he, " yot see ime as I am  "- referring to his
cerulean. appearance -,6 if  not entitled to your approbation, at least to your sylmpathy."   He has
since said of himself, when alluding to that interview, that he " was not only black Dan, but blue
Dan."  Very fortunately, that change of color was,
not produced, as in the case of some others, by the
rejection of the faculty.
The object of Daniel's visit to Hanover was accomplished.  He safely passed  the  ordeal which
students so generally dread, and was admitted a
member of the Freshman class in Dartimouth College
in August, 1797, at the age of fifteen.




CHAPTER V.
Webster is classed low. - He soon rises. - His Industry in College. - Advice to Undergraduates. - College Temptations. -
Their Antidote. - Webster studies Oratory. - His personal
Appearance. - Delivers a Fourth of July Oration. - Great
Britain's Injustice in the French War. —English Oppressions.-Battle of Bunker Hill.-Declaration of Independence. —WVebster's Address to the Revolutionary Fathers.Remarks upon the Oration. - He delivers a funeral Eulogy. -
Mortality a Principle of Action. — Prepare for the Future.Religious Suggestions.
IN  consequence of his imperfect preparation for
collegiate  studies, Webster was obliged to  take  a
low place in his class -it is said, the foot.  To a
mind constituted like his, that would  have been an
affliction, provided he had gone over the same preparatory course with  the rest of the class.  So far
was this from  being the case, that some of the text
books used in college he had never seen, while other
members of the  class were  familiar  with  theim.
What to himin  was  the  breaking  of entirely  new
ground was to them  a mere retracing of old paths,
which they had repeatedly traversed before. In the
Latin'language he was at horme.  This had always
been to him  a favorite study.  To the Greek he was
net particularly partial.  For mathematics he had
71




/2    WEBSTERIS PREEMINENCE IN COLLEGE.
special fondness, though to both these latter branches
he devoted the usual amnount of attention, and made
respectable progress.  With ancient and modern
geography and history, and with logic, he was highly
delighted.  During his course in college he did not
confine himself to the routine of specified studies,
but indulged in a wide range of reading in English
literature and history.  He also assisted in conducting a weekly paper, by making selections for its
columnns, and occasionally contributing an original
article.  It was not long before lie reached that
commancing emiuinence anmong his fellows, to which,
by his towering talents and great attainments, he
was justly entitled.  The faculty, as well as the students, by the respect with which they treated him,
and the deference they paid his opinions, yieldfed
their willinlg testimony to his extraordinary abilities.
He thus  illustrated the truth, that every person,
however false may be the position in which, by a
comlbination of unfortunate circumnstances, he is at
any time placed, may, by persevering industry, find
his true level.
What hi;s habits were in college we learn from
thle foilojri;n  witnesses.  Professor Shurtliff, who
was in the same class with him, says,," i[r. Webster,
while in college, was remarkable for his steadcy habits, his intelnse cippicctiVn to study, and hisi punctual
attendance  upon all the prescribed  exercises.   I




HIS CHARACTER IN COLLEGE.            73
knonw not that be was absent from  a recitation, 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 during any religious exercise.  He was always in his place, and
with  decorum  suited to it.  He had no  collision
with any one, nor appeared to enter into the concerns of others, but emphatically minded his owzn busizness.  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 popularity in college, and his success in subsequent life."
What an example is here fuirnished for undergraduates and all other young students   If they dlesire
to acquire popularity with  their companions, or
",success in subsequent life," they must, like the
subject of our memoir, be distinguished for c" steady
habits and intense application to study."  They must
mind their own business, and keep constantly before
them the great object for which they are pursuing a
course of education.  To do all this is no easy task,
Temptations to  deviate from  this straightforward,
single-minded  course are numerous  and  strong.
They spring out of one's natural indolence; fi'roa
the difficulty of acquiring knowledge; from  the
enjoyments of social intercourse; friom  the enticements of the wine cup; and fiom'the excitement
of the passions.  There are circumstances in which




74                TEIMPTATIONS.
a student may be placed, where, unless he possess
great decision of character and firmness of purpose,
he will certainly be led astray.  He will not be able
to resist the strong current of evil influences which
will bear down upon him.  This, however, will not
be likely to be the case with those who, like Webster, in addition to devoting themselves diligently to
study, are punctual and serious in their attendance
upon morning and evening prayers, and upon the
public services of the Sabbath.  It furnishes an unfavorable augury to any young man's future prospects, when these religious duties are neglected.
Another witness, who bears testimony to Mr. Webster's position in college, is Judge Woodward, professor of natural philosophy, who died soon after
Mr. WTebster was graduated.,, That man's victory
is certain," said he, ", who reaches the heart through
the medium  of the understanding.  He [i. e., Mr.
Webster] gained  me by combating my opinions,
for I often attacked him, merely to try his strength."
It would be interesting to know what some of those
questions were on which the judge tested the strength
of his pupil, and what line of argument was pursued by the latter.  There can be no doubt, judging
from. the effect produced upon the professor's mind,
that, in these intellectual contests, Webster exhibited
great logical power, combined with dignity and courtesy.  Ie secured the respect of his teacher by his




HE STUDIES ORATORY.              75
skill and gentlemanly bearing in debate, and induced
him, very early after their first acquaintance, to predict his future greatness.  The judge considered it
a great privilege to be the instructor of one of so
much promise.  Says General Lyman,, He took
Infinite pleasure in assisting to lay the foundation
stones of what he felt was to be a magnificent
building."
While at college, Mr. Webster devoted special attention to the study of oratory.  He made himself
familiar with its fundamental principles, and with the
speeches of those who had excelled in this delightful
art. Having a deep, yet musical voice, a commanding personal appearance, a high, projecting forehead,
and dark, piercing eyes, and conducting himself with
great dignity of imanner, and with courteous deference to his hearers, he was always listened to with
pleasure.  He became so popular as a speaker, that
when only sixteen years of age, he was chosen to
deliver an Oration on the Fourth of July, to the
members of college and the citizens of Hanover.
This, certainly, was a high honor to reach at so early
an age, and it was, if possible, increased by the request for the publication of the oration, from  those
who heard it.  It shows that he produced a strong,
favorable impression.
As this was the first public address delivered by
Mr. Webster, of whi.ch any record has been pre'




76       HIS FOURTH OF JULY ORATION.
served, it is a source of gratification that it was
printed, and that one copy, at least, of the original
edition has survived to the present time.  Of this
General Lyman has made copious use in his "Memorials."  It is exceedingly interesting to read this
oration, and  compare the tone of its patriotism,
and the style of its composition, with those of his
later productions.  It will be seen that, though his
rhetoric was afterwards greatly modified, his love of
country remained unaltered.
We cannot, perhaps, perform  a more acceptable
service  than  by presenting several extracts fromn
it, in order to furnish the reader an opportunity of
making this comparison for himself.  His introdiction was as follows:
"Countrymen, Brethren, and Fathers: We  are
now assenmbled to celebrate an anniversary ever to
be 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
from1 the degrading chains of foreign dominion - is
the event we commemorate.  Twenty-four years
have this day elapsed since tlhese United States first
raised  the standard  of liberty, and echoed the
shouts of independence.,, Those of you who were then reaping the iron
harvest of the martial field, whose bosoms then palpitated for the honor of America, will at this time




BRITAIN S INJUSTICE.              77
experience a renewal of all that fervent patriotism,
of all those indescribable emotions, which then agitatedl your breasts.  As for us, who were either thein
unborn, or not far enough ~advanced  beyond the
thresIold of existence to engage in the grand conflict for liberty, we now  most cordially unite will
you to greet the return of this joyous anniversary
to welcome the return  of the.day that gave us freedom, anld to hail the rising glories of our country!
" On occasions like this, you have hitherto been
addressed from the stage, on the nature, the origin,'the expediency, of civil government.  The field of
political speculation has here been explored by pers-ons possessing talents to which the speaker of the
vday can have no pretensions.  Declining, therefore,
a dissertation on the principles of civil polity, you
will indulge me in slightly sketching  those events
whic'h have originated, matured, and raised to its
present grandeur this new empire."
After describing the isolated and gloomy corndition of the first colonists, he touches upon tlhe
French Lwar, in which lhe accuses Great Britain of
t, presumptuously arrogating to herself the glory of
victories acquired by the bravery of the American
nmilitia," and then adds,, Btut while Great Britain was thus tyrannically
stripping her colonies of their well-earned laurels,
and triumphantly weaving theim into the stupendo us




78            ENGLISH  OPPRESSION.
wreath of her own martial glories, she was unwittingly 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 disrmemberment 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
several states, together with the General Congress,
petitioning, praying, remonstrating, and, likbe dutiful
subjects, hlunmbly laying their grievances before the
throne.  On the other hand, we could exhibit a
British Parliament  assiduously devising means to
subjugate Amnerica, disdaining our petitions, trampling on our righIts, and menacingly telling us, in Ianguage not to be nisunderstood, 6 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.




DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.            79,, Indelibly impressed on our memories still live
the distal scenes of Bunker's awful moun;t, the
grand theatre of New  England  bravery; where
Slaughter stalked grimly triumphant, where relentless Britain saw  her soldiers, the unhappy instruments of despotism, fallen beneath the nervous arm
of inj ured freemen.
6 There the great Warren fougllt, and tlhere, alas!
he fell.  Valuing life only as it enabled hii-m to
serve his country, he freely resigned himself, a will[ng martyr in the cause of liberty, and now lies encircled in the arms of glory., But, haughty Albion, thy reign shall soon be
over!  Thou  shalt triumph no longer; thine empile already reels and totters; thy laurels even now
begin to wither, and thy fame to decay.  Thou hast
at length roused the indignation of an insulted people; thine oppressions they deem  no longer tolerable.
GC 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 ler eagle elevate
his wings!
6; The solemn  Declaration of Independence is now'pronounced, amiidst crowds of admirinu citizens, by
the supreme council of our nation, and received with
the unbounded plaudits of a grateful people.




8   WEBSTEP  ADDRESSES THE OLD SOLDIERS.
This was thle hour when heroism was proved --
when the souls of men were tried."
At this point M5r. Webster gracefully turned to
the revolutionary soldiers who were present, and
addressing them, said, -
It was then, ye venerable patriots - it was then
you lifted the indignant arm, and unitedly swore to
be free! Despising such toys as subjugated eimpires,
you then knew no middle fortune between liberty
and death!
"; Firmly relying on the protection of Heaven,
unwvarped in t'ie resolution you had taken, you then
undaunted net - englaged - defeated the gigantic
power of Britain, and rose triumphant over the aggressions of your enemies.
6 TWrenton, Princeton, Bennington, and Saratoga
were the successive theatres of your victories, and
the utmost bounds of creation are the linits of your
fame!  The sacred fire of freedom, then enkindled
in your breasts, shall be perpetuated through the
long descent of future ages, and burn with undiminished fervor in the bosoms of millions yet unborn., Finally, to close the sauguinary conflict,, to
grant America the blessings of an honorable peace,
and clothe her heroes with laurels, Cornwallis, at
whose feet the kings and princes of Asia have since




HIS ALLUSIONS TO WASHINGTON.          81
thrown their diadems, was compelled to submit to
the sword of Washington., The great drama is now completed; our independence is now acknowledged; and the hopes of
our enenmies are blasted forever.  Columbia is nowi
seated in the forum of nations, and. the empires of
the world are amazed at the bright effllgelnce of her
glory."
After contrasting the peacefil and prosperouls
condition of this country with the unsettled state
of Europe, he refers to those revolutionary heroes
who had died, and says, -
"W With hearts penetrated by unutterable grief, we
are at length constrained to ask, Where is our  Washington?  W5here the hero who led us to victory?
Where the mnan who gave us freedom?  Where is
he who headed our feeble army, when destruction
threatened us, who came upon our enemies like the
storms of winter, and scattered thenm like leaves before the Borean blast?   Where, 0 ray country,
is thy political savior? - where, 0  humanity, thy
favorite son?
6, The solemnity of this assembly, the lamnenltations of the American people, will answer,' Alas
the is no more - the mighty is fallen!',Yes, Americans, Walshington is gone  -lie is
now  consignled to dusi, and sleeps in, dull, cold
marble'!




@8         PUBLIC GRIIEF AT HIS LOSS.' The iman who never felt a wound but whien it
p)ierced his country -  who never groaned but when
fair Freedonm bled - is now forever silent.
"V Wrapped  in the shroud of death, the dark dominions of the grave long since received him, and,
he rests in undisturbed repose.  Vain were the attenmpt to express our loss; vain the attempt to describe the feeling's of our souls.  Though months
lhave rolled away since his spirit left this terrestrial
orb, and soughlt the shining' worlds on high, yet the
sad event is still rermembered with increased sorrow.
The hoary-headed patriot of'76 still tells the mournful story to the listening infint, till the loss of Lis
counltry touches his heart, and patriotism  fires his
breast.  The aged mlatron still laments the loss of
the mlan beneath whose banners her husband  has
fought, or her son fallen.  At the name of Wasliintgton the sympathetic tear still glistens in the eye
of every youthfiul hero; nor does the tender sigh
yet cease to heave in the fair bosom of Columlbia's
daIughtel s."
These extracts are sufficient as specimens of his
production on that occasion.  Without indulging in
any elaborate criticism, we cannot refrain from saying, that the Saxon sirmplicity, and the terseness, for
which Mr. Webster in later years was so remiarkable,
must have required on his part a great amount of
persevering labor.




REMARKS UPON THE ORATION.             83
In reading the above passages it must be remembered that we are not perusing the language of Hon.
Mr. Webster, member of the Senate of the United
States, but of Daniel Webster, an undergraduate
of sixteen years of age, and member of the junior
class at Dartmouth.  As such, it is a credit to its
Iauthor.  To be enabled to appreciate it fillly, we
need the impassioned tones, the eloquent eye, the
manly gesture of the orator; we need to be surrounded with the audience to whom it was delivered,
- students, professors, revolutionary heroes, young
menel a-nd  maidens, old imen  and children, - who
listened, smiled, and vociferously applauded the juvenile speaker.  We need the soul-inspiring music,
and all the excitemwent of the national anniversary.
But Wxithout these, it is not difficult to  discover
gleams of that genius which broke forth with such
dazzling splendor in the maturity of his years.  It
showed that the rich veins of tihe marble were there,
and required only the labor of the sculptor to develop the forms of beauty, and give it'the slneothness of surface of which it was capable.  It was
like a fewf grains from  a mine which had not been
worked, baut which furnished conclusive evidence
that an abundance of pure gold was there.  One
who remembers the occasion says, that the oration
produced a great sensation.
0;. the 17th of April, 1801, Ephraim Simonds, a




84      A CLASSMATE'S FUNERAL EULOGY.
member of the senior class in college, was prematurely cut down by death.  It was deemed desirable
to make a religious improvement of the event, by
having a eulogy delivered by one of his classmates.
No one being so popular amongst the students as
5!Mr. Webster, lie was chosen for that purpose. The
painful nature of the event, combined with the talents of the orator, drew out a large audience.  The
house was completely crowded.  After the preliminary services were over, M[r. Webster addressed the
assermbled multitude in a dignified and solemn manner.  In his exordium  he referred- to his deceased
fellow-student thus: -
All of hinm that was mortal now lies in the charuels 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 monument of man's mortality.  The sun,
as it sinkis to the ocean, plays its departing beaons
con his tomb, but they reanimate him not. The cold
sod presses bn 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 pencil was drawing scenes
of fulture felicity, while his soul fluttered on the gay
breezes of hope, an unseen hand drew the curtain,
and shut hlin from our view."
The eulogy was listened to with deep emniotion,




REFLECTIONS AND PRINCIPLES INVOLVEI). 85
as vwas evinced by the tearful eyes of the nssemnbly.
There is s,nething peculiarly affecting in the
death of a young man, while pursuing his course of
education. The world, with all its posts of honor
and usefulness, presents itself before him.  He is
stimulated by patriotism, philanthropy, and ambition,
to qualify himself for some of its many attractive
spheres of action.  Surrounded by others in a similar condition, he is influenced, also, by a spirit of
emulation.  HIe is at the same time the object of
deep parental solicitude, and, it may be, of the hopes
of a large circle of interested relatives and friends.
Whilst pressing on diligently to the goal which he
has set before him, he is arrested by disease, and
laid low in the grave!  His sun goes down whilst
it is yet day.  He is like a vessel richly freighted,
which, whilst she is. getting ready to leave the harbor for the broad ocean before her, strikes upon
concealed rocks, and becomes a wreck; or like a
young cadet, who, whilst studying, in a military
school, the science of war, and acquiring skill in
military tactics, is suddenly cut down without ever
seeing an actual engagement.  Bright visions of fil
ture distinction, which had lured him on, have faded
away, and the hopes of parents and friiends are
blasted forever.  As no young man has any guaranty of immunity from' similar catastrophe, it




86 DUTIES WITH REFERENCE TO THE FUTURE.
becomes inmportant that all such make their imortality a prominent principle of action.  Whilst preparing themselves to occupy honorable positions in
this life, they should remelmber the fleeting character of these distinctions, aud not pursue them With
an ardor disproportionate to their real value. Much
less should they allow the present to shut out from
their view the distant fuiture.  As this life is preparatory to another, farther on, the highest wisdom consists in availing ourselves of the transient present,
in such a mnanner that we shall be well fitted for the
unchangeable future which  awaits us.  In doing
this, we shall be acting upon a principle similar to
that which governs us in our temporal affairs.  The
stuldent at college, the apprentice at a trade, the
merchant, the mariner, the professional man, - are
all acting with reference to the future.  By industry, prudence, and economy, they are endeavoring
to acquire a competency, so that at no future period
shall they be reduced to want.  They are providing
for the time to come.  If this be a wise principle of
action with reference to our present existence, can
it be unwise in its application to that period of our
being which lies beyond the grave? lWhy provide
for all the future which intervenes between the present molment and the period of our death, and entirely neglect preparation for that which is beyond
leath?  Does not consistency require that, if we do




RELIGIOUS ADVICE.               87
the one, we do the other also?  In this respect does
consistency mark your course, reader?  With all
your learning, see to it that you get that knowledge,
the beginnigr of which is the fear of the Lord, and
with all your accumulation fail not to lay up treasures in heaven, on which you nmay draw when all the
riches of the earth shall have passed away.




CHAPTER VI.
A great Gathering. - Webster's Theme at Commencement. -- How
collegiate Honors are distributed. — United Fraternity.  Webster chosen Orator. - His Oration. - Tears up his Diploma. -
Studies with Squire Thompson. - Becomes a School Teacher. -
Advantages of keeping School. - Registry of Deeds. - Where
there is a Will there is a Way. - Fingers ache. - Volumes of
Deeds. - Vote of Thanks. — Academy burned. - Affection. -
Reverence for iMr. Webster. - How manifested. - Continues to
study Law. - Commits to Memory Orations.
DURING  the last week in August, 1801,'Mr. Webster was graduated.  An unusual number of strangers visited Hanover at the time.  They contlnenced
coming early in the week, and continued to increase
until the imiportant day arrived when the senior stldents were to bid farewell to  the classic shades of
Dartmouth College, and  scatter for the purpose of
seeking their fortunes.  At that time college commencement was regarded  as  an  occasion  of  far
greater importance, and it awakened  an  interest
throughout a much wider extent of country  than
now.  Gentlemen and ladies, arrayed in their gayest attire, poured into the town, some on horseback,
single, and others on horseback in couples, the lady
riding  behind  the  gentleman on a pillion.  Some
camne in a more imposing  manner, with  horse  and




A GREAT GATHERING.                89
carriage, the harness newly cleansed, and the vehicle newly varnished; others felt it a privilege to
ride in an open wagon on a temporary rough board
seat; whilst, in some instances, groups'of the young
men and bloolming damsels preferred to ride standing up in a large hay cart, which they decorated with
evergreens and flowers for the purpose.  It was a
great gala day, and brought out people in vast
numabe rs.
It was expected by the students that Webster
on that occasion, would have had one of the most
honorable parts.  It is said that in their judgment
lie deserved the highest.  ]But the faculty decided
otherwise, and assigned him  a subordinate position.
His theime was, TWhe recent Discoveries in Chemistry, especially those of Lavoisier," which were then
recently made public.
The assignment of parts at commencement does
not depcnd entirely on scholarship, or studious application.  The professors take into consideration
the whole deportment of the students, their attainments, their punctuality at prayers, at the recitations
and the lectures, and their degree of observance of
all the comparatively trivial rules which are laid
down for the government of the college, and then
graduate their honors according to the degree in
which all the requirements of tile faculty have been
observed.




9f   THE INDUSTRIOUS STUDENT SUCCESSFUL.
Mr. Lanman states that the valedictory on this
occasion was conferred  upon one,whose nanme
has since passed into forgetfulness."  If this be true,
it shows that the college does not make the nmtan.  It
is one thing to excel in the quiet retirenment of classic cloisters, but quite a different thing to be a victorious champion in the great battle of life.  It can
seldom  be predicted with accuracy fiom  a young
man's position in college what he will be when he
enters upon the arena of the world.  It is not unusual for some to startle their fellow-students with
what appears to be the bright scintillations of promising genius, and to take the lead in the recitations
of the class.  As they pass on their linuinous course,
predictions of future eminence followv them -  predictions which a few years are sufficient to show were
uttered by those who had never received the gift
of prophecy.  After bidding farewell to their a/ma
nmatier, their flame of precocious genius is soon
quenched, and  they are  heard friom   no lmore.
Whilst others, who exhibited no particular brilliancy
durinfg their collegiate course, but wTere sinmple,
every-dclay, plocldding students, by keeping up their
industrious, studious habits in subsequent life, attain
to great eminence.  They make themselves both
ieard and widely felt.
There (are, however, occasional instances where the
boy shado vs forth the man, when discreet anld expe



ANOTHER HONORABLE APPOINTMENT.             91
rienced observers can foretell, froim early indications,
approaching greatness, as fromn the stock and branching of the young tree can be predicted its character
at maturity.  Such was t1he case with Mr. Webster.
Those who had been obse —rvanAt of his course whvilst
at Dartmouth looked forward WV'ith confidence to his
success in future years.
Though he failed of obtaining the principal part
at collmmencement, he secured in another respect the
highest honors of the clay.
There were at ]Dartmouth several literary and religious societies, composed of the memibers of the
college, whose anniversaries were held during commencement week.  Before each of these societies
some memnber wsas chosen to deliver the annual address.  The largest and miost important of these societies was that of "6 The United Fraternity."  To
be closen the orator for this association was, therefore, a higher distinction t'h!an to be selected as the
speaker for either of the others.  At the time he
graduated, M'r. Webster was unanim.,ously chosen to
perform  this honorable service.  The public  addresses which he hIad on previous occasions delivered
had given him a high reputation.   No otlher student
could attract so large an audience.  No other could
lhave mnet the expectations which iwere awakened by
the announcement that he was to be the ort;,tor of
the day.




92           TEARS UP HIS DIPLOMA.
When the hour arrived for the colmmencelment of
the service, the house was filled.  IXir. \Webster sustained his previous reputation; he acquitted Ihimself
nobly.  His sublect was " The Influence of Opinion," and was well adapted to develop the strength and
peculiar qualities of his mind.  One of the newspapers of the day said that " elegance of composition
and propriety of delivery distinguished the perforlmance," and that," a numerous audience manifested a
high degree of satisfaction at the genius displayed."
After the honors of the colleffe had been conferred, and Mr'. Webster had received his diploma,
properly signed and sealed, certifying that hle had
pursued the usual course of study, he invited a number of his classmates to go. with him  to a place of
some retirement in the rear of the church.  When
they reacled the place,:Mr. Webster held up the diploma before them, and said, ",My industry may
make me a great man, but this miserable parchment
cannot."  He then deliberately tore it into pieces, and
threw it away; then, bidding his fellow-stu'dents farewell, lhe mounted his horse, and set out for Ellms
Farnm.
Although this act was not particularly  amiable,
it developed certain traits of character which were
conspicuous in IMr. Webster's subsequent career.  It
exhibits the saLme morlal courLage, independelnce, and
self-rel:ance which mark his whole course.  It also




_~~~~~~'~'*"'f~'~ ~ ~ ~  ~   lll ll~l' ~!~irl:':i~ /l!iI!')I
I  >R.
11.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~;-~~ --
AVEIISTER'S ORATION,








MISTAKES OF YOUNG BIEN.               93
evinces his conviction that a public education is no
substitute for future industry; that to be a successful
conmpetitor in the great struggle for positions of influence and usefulness, there must be intense application.
U7hen a young n-ian imagines that the mere possesson of a diploma will be a passport to posts of
eminence; that all before himn is a sm-,nooth sea, over
which, with his sliff of papyrus, he nmay saiely float;
that from  ardnuc us toil and harassing    anxiety he is
now forever exermnpt, -  le furnishes conclusive evidence that there are some lessons left for him  to
leann.  Should he attempt to act upon his erroneouls convictions, it will not be long before his own
experience will convince him of his folly.  Before
snbh would we hold ulp the exanmple of M.r. Webster.
PRely not upon past efforts, nor upon present attainment1s.  However great mlay have been formcler privileoges, regard thiem only as so many facilities for future efforts, but by no mlean s a asubstitute for them.
Tr.nt -you leave been favored with an education beyond that of -mainy of the community has increased
your responsibilities above theirs.  Having abilities
to reGlder yourself more usefll than others, you are
under obligation to exercise them.  No man has a
riglt to hide his light under a bushel.  Unto whomsoever much is given, of him  is  ouch required.
You are stewarAds in respect of all the knowledgre




94       WEBSTER BECOMES A TEACHER.
and the talents wfi]ch you possess, and it is required
of stewards that a man be found faithful.  Industry
in the right direction many make you great and useful; without that your collegiate privileges will not.
After completing his college course, Mr. WVebster
conmmenced the study of law with his father's old
neighbor, 1Mr. Tho!ompson, who  so  significantly
laugnhed when Daniel was sent back to school during haying tined," because he had blistered his hands.
Having been so great an expense to his father,
Webster now felt the importance of doing something'
for his own support.
It was not long before he had the opportunity.
An academy had been recently founded at Fryeburg, in the State of iMaine, and was in want of a
teacher.  The trustees, who had received a favorable report of air. Webster, through Professor John
Smith, extended to himn- an invitation to become its
principal, with a salary of three hundred tand fifty
dollars.  rThis was chceerfully accepted, and  the
young studeint was soon engaged in the perplexing
vocation of a schoolnaster.  This ne'w occupation
was adluvantageous to'Mr. Webster in several respects.
Althoughla its pecuniary benefit was not great, being
less than a commnon, unskilled day laborer now receives for the lowest kind of employment, it furnished himin a-nI oppo'rtunity of observing tfhe various
phases of human  nature, and stucdyitng the principles




ADVANTAGES OF TEACHING.             95
of hunaan action.  His school was a little vworld in
itself, filled with iminiature men, possessing as great
a diversity of dispositions as the same numlber of
adults, susceptible of the same passions, and influencedl by similar motives.  He had, therefore, an
opportunity of learnin  l how to  ove minlds, and thus
of acquiring knowledge which would be of valuable
service to him  in fuiture life.  He taught the children, and the children taught him.  It may not be
easy to say who were the most benefited.   He
learned what he never could have acquired in the
lecture room  or college, nor from  books.  That
school was to him  an eminently instructive volume,
of which each child was a page, from which might
be received some iimportant lesson.  It was an intellectual and moral apparatus, by the skilfu'ul use of
which he might try experimenats and arrive at results, respecting the mind and heart, fcar more important than any conclusions which could be reached
in either of the physical sciences.
It also served to develop hlimself. If there is any
on0e employment that, more than another, will aid a
man in learning what manner of spirit he is of, it is
school teaching. This brings out the stroang and the
weak points of character.  It calls into exercise innate elements, which, under other circumstances,
inight have remained  dormant  for yealrs.  Self.
knowledge is in some respects the most difficult




96      WEBSTER'S PERSONAL APPEARANCE.
and the most important of all knowledge.  Some
advance may be made in it by self-examination.
But who indulges  in this exercise? -  who deals
faithfully with hiLself? - who is willing to draog his
"secret sins " before the clear and steady gaze of
his own contemplation? - who mleasures correctly
the dimensions of his admitted defects? -who probes
deeply the diseased spots?  It is too painful -  we
shrink frnom  it.  Yet it is desirable that a person
should know the evil tendencies of his character as
well as tile good -yea, far more so, for these evil
tendencies he must specially guard and perseveringly
resist, but the others lie may let take care of themselves.
The employmSent of  1rI. Wlebster as a teacher
rendered  him  essential aid in detecting those elements of character in himtself which needed restraint, and those which  required cultivation.  It
also gave hilm an opportunity of reviewing the studies which he purosued in college, and discovering in
what branches le was defective, the possession of
which was essential to a good teacher.
Those who have ever had a near view of Mr.
Webster will not forget his large, lustrous, dclark
eyes.  These constituted a prominent feature in the
early part of his life. Persons who were acquainted
with him  in college refer particularly to them.  H-e
was once questioned by Mr. Lanmran as to lis per




HE REGISTERS DEEDS.               97
solnal appearance, when officiating as prlilcipal of
Fryeblurg Academy. His reply was, " LoEng, slender,
pake, and all eyes; indeed, I went by the name of'All eyes' the country round."  The significant appropriateness of this appellation cannot be denied.
When  MIr. Webster found that his duties as
teacher did  not require the whole of his tinme, he
sought additional employment.  He  had gone to
Fryeburg friom  pecuniary considerations, and was
willing to engage in any honorable occupation which
promised an addition to his limited resources.  ForLunately the office of Assistant Register of Deeds
was vacant, and he was invited to perform  its duties.  This he accepted, which gave him  employment for all his leisure hours.  His duty was to
copy deeds into a large folio volume, for which lie
received twenty-five cents each.  There are at the
present time, in the office at Fryeburg, two large,
bound volumes of manuscript deeds, in his neat and
eleg'ant handwriting.  He has been heard to say,
that ", The ache is not yet out of those fingers which
so mluch writing  caused them." It, however, brought
him in a little income, which lie devoted to the ecucation of his brother.
The old adage that,6 Where there's a will there's
a way," was illustrated in this part of Mr. Webster's
history. He was willing to work. He was not particular about the kind of labor in which he engaged,
7




98          }RELICS OF HIS LABOR.
provided it was reputable.   T~hen the offer of being a copyist of deeds was tendered, he did not decline because of its sedentary character or limited
compensation.  If he could not earn much, he was
content with little.  He was determined to do something, and something was presented.  This was a
much wiser course than though he had lost much
time in waiting for something easier or more profitable to offer.  There are some individuals desiring
employment, who, unless they can obtain a berth
which is satisfactory in all respects, prefer to remain
unoccupied.  If the time which they lose in looking
for a desirable situation was devoted to such engagements as offer, they might find enough to do - and
of that which would afford them  a reasonable conmpelnsation.  This was Mr. Webster's course, and it
is worthy of imitation.
A short time since, Mr. Webster's son, accompanied by a friend, visited Fryeburg.  As might be
expected, they were attracted to the office of the
registry of deeds, that they might see the evidences
of his industry in early life.  These evidences were
furnished in the two huge folio volumes to which
we have referred. After examining these with interest, and being astonished that so great an amount
of labor could be- performed, in addition to the arduous service of superintending a school, they turned
their attention to the record of the trustees of the




THE ELOqU'ENT LOT.              99
academy, and there discovered satisfactory proof
that this extra employment did not interfere with
the faithful performance of his duties as teacher.
This proof consisted in " a most respectful and
affectionate vote of thanks and good will to  1Ir.
Webster, when he took leave of the employment,"
which they found upon the record. This evinced
the high estimation in which he was held by the
trustees of the academy.
There was one thing which they did not see,
which, if it had been in their power, they would
have examined with great gratification — and that
was, the old school house in which Mr. Webster taught.
This had been consumed to ashes many years before.  Such is the affectionate reverence in which
Mr. Webster is held, that the owner of the land on
which the academy stood, Mr. Robert J. Bradley,
would never permit any other edifice to be erected
upon the spot, and he is determined that none shall
be so long as he has control of the lot.  This devoted friendship was cherished also by his father,
who had probably previously owned the estate. The
lon-occupation of that site, therefore, is evidence
of refined sentiment. The silence of its desolation is
eloquently expressive of the ardent attachment of its
owner to him who, many years before, commenced
his self-support by there keeping school.
Whilst at Fryeburg, Mr. Webster managed, also,




D00'WEBSTER'S APPLICATION.
to secure time for the readinrg of law, and committil g  to  memory  important passages  friom  the
speechles of distinguished  orators.   Being unable
to buy, he was obliged to borrow Blackstone's Comnmentaries, which he then read for the first tine.
He also committed to mnemory the celebrated speech
of Mr. Ames, on the British treaty, which lie greatly
adLmired.
r   21 




CHAPTER VII.
Webster fond of fishing. - Lovewell's Pond. - The great Figh-bt.
Importance of Relaxation. --  r. Webster's Course. —Relinquishes his School. — Providential Circumstance. — Mr. Webster's Progress in Law.- His Attention to Business. — The
wrong Course. - Kimball's Turnpike. - Webster's Determination. -His Success. - Rule to regulate Subscriptions. - ir.
Webster studies with Hon. Mr. Gore. - Is admitted to the
Bar. - Mr. Gore's Commendation and Prophecy.
T is evident froim the facts which we have narrated in the preceding pages, that whilst Mfr.'rebster was at Fryeburg, he must have been "- diligent
in business; " yet he did inot deny himuself relaxation,
Rl'ral sports were as attractive to hlim  then  as at
any future  period.  He  was particularly fond  of
angHling, and as there was a deiiglhtfil sheet of water
not far fiom  the village, he availed himnself of the
opportunity of Waltonizing whenever the mood xwas
upon him.  This beautiful gem  of a lake was once
the scene of a dreadful tragedy, from  which it derives. its name of Lovewell's Pond, and  by Ywhich,
also, its shores have  been  consecrated  as classic
ground.
This tragedy was as follows: In  1725, such frequent barbarous murders were  committed by the Indians upon the inhabitants of the exposed frontier,
1111




1'i2      BBATTLE WITH THE INDIANS.
that the General Court of M assachusetts offered a
reward of one hundred pounds for every Indian's
scalp.  This furnished a strong temptation for the
brave and the covetous among the whites to engage
ia a murderous crusade against the lawless aborigines.  An Indian chief by the name of Paugus,
whose tribe were called the Peqwakcets, resided on
territory which is now embraced within the limits of
Fryeburg.  This chief was terrible to the English,
and they were determined, if possible, to extirpate
him and his tribe.  Captain  Lovewell of Dunstable
nldertook this hazardous service, with thirty four
men.  He came upon Paugus with eiglhty warriors,
and the battle commenced by the whites' killing one
of the Indians, who was returning from  hunting.
Both parties fought with great fury.  " The Indians roaring, and yelling, and howling like wolves,
barkinog like dogs, and making all sorts of hideous
noises; the English frequently shouting and huzzaing, as they did after the first round.  At one
time Captain Wyman  is confident they were got
to powwowing by their striking o0n the ground, and
other odd motions; but at length Wyman crept
up towards themi, and firing amongst them, shot
the chief powwow, and broke up their meeting.' "
It was a most desperate engagement.  Sixty of
the Indians and twenty English were slain,t amongst
* Rev. Mr. Synmmes.     t Drake's Indians.




T-E  BELOVED  SONG.                   1Ot
whom  were both Lovewell ant',  augus.  TNe Englishl, howlever, Nwere conquerors,
Two poems were written, con.mmemnorative of' the
fight, in which all tile prominent circumtstances were
narrated.   As nany of our readers will be more interested  in  these  poetic descriptions  than  a  mere
statement in prose, we insert one below,*' of which
-:LOVEWELL'S FIGHT.
Of worthy Captain Lovewell I purpose now to sing,
How valiantly he served his country and his king 3
He and his valiant soldiers did range the woods full wide,
And hardships they endured to quell the Indian's pride.'Twas nigh unto Pigwacket, on the eighth day of May,
They spied a rebel Indian, soon after break of day;
He on a bank was walking, upon a neck of land,
W7lich leads into a pond, as we're made to understand.
Our men resolved to have him, and travelled two miles round,
Until they met the Indian, who boldly stood his ground.
Then speaks up Captain Lovewell, " Take you good heed,'
says he;:'Tlhis rogue is to decoy us, I very plainly see.
The Indians like n ambush, in some place nigh at hand,
In order to surround us, upon this neck of land;
Therefore we'll march in order, and each man leave his pack,
That we may briskly fight them when they shall us attack,?
They came unto this Indian, who did them thus defy;
As soon as they came nigh him, two guns he did let fly,
Which wounded Captain Lovewell, and likewise one man more,
But when this rogue w-as running, they laid him in his gore.




104              THE  BELOVED  SONG.
Mr. S. G. Drake, of Indian  notoriety, says, according to tradition, it was composed  the same  year of
Then having scalped the Indian, they mrent back to the spot,
Where they had laid their packs down, but there they found
them not 3
For the Indians having spied them, mwen they them down di(. lay,
Did seize them for their plunder, and carry them away.
These rebels lay in ambush, this very place hard by,
So that an English soldier did one of them espy,
And cried out,," There's an Indian! " with that they started out,
As fiercely as old lions, and hideously did shout.
With that our valiant English all gave a loud hurrah,
To show the rebel Indians they feared them not a straw;
So now the fight began, as fiercely as could be
The Indians ran up to them, but soon were forced to flee.
Then spake up Captain Lovewell, when first the fight began,
" Fight on my valiant heroes! you see they fall like rain."
For, as we are informed, the Indians were so thick,
A man could scarcely fire a gun, and not some of them hit.
Tlhen did the rebels try their best our soldiers to surround,
But they could not accomplish it, because there was a pond,
To which our men retreated, and covered all the rear;'ht rogues were forced to flee them, although they skulked for f ar.
Two logs there were behind them, that close together lay;
Without being discovered they could not get away;
Therefore our valiant English, they travelled in a row,
And at a handsome distance, as they were wont to go.'Twas ten o'clock in the morning when first the fight begun,
And fiercely did continue till the setting of the sun,




THE  BELOVED  SONG.                   Ie5
th3 fight, ", and for several years afterward was the
most beloved song in all New England."
Excepting that the Indians, some hturs before'twas night,
Drew off into the bushes, and ceased a while to fight;But soon again returned in fierce and furious mood,
Shouting as in the morning, but yet not half so loud;
For, as we are informed, so thick and fast they fell,
Scarce twenty of their number at night did get home well.
And that our valiant English till midnight there did stay,
To see whether the rebels would have another fray;
But they no more returning, they made off towards their home,
And brought away their wounded, as far as they could come.
Of all our valiant English, there were but thirty-four,
And of the rebel Indians, there were about fourscore 
And sixteen of our English did safely home return;
The rest were killed and wounded, for which we all must mourn
Our worthy Captain Lovewell among them there did die;
They killed Lieutelant Robbins, and wounded good young
Frye,
Who was our English chaplain; he many Indians slew,
And some of them he scalped, when bullets round him flew.
Yroung Fullam, too, I'll mention, because he fought so well;
Endeavoring to save a man, a sacrifice he fell;
And yet our valiant Englishmen in fight were ne'er dismayed,
But still they kept their motion, and Wyman captain made, -
Who shot the old chief Paugus, which did the foe defeat,
Then set his men in order, and brought off the retreat;
And braving many dangers and hardships in the way,
Tey safe arrived a': Dunstable, the thirteenth day of May.




106        IMPORTANCE OF RELAXATION.
On this pond, the scene of such dreadful carnage,
B[Mr. Webster was accustomed to sail, and froml its
clear, cool waters, to draw such unfortunate fish as
were too free in their liberties with his bait.
Nature requires relaxation  after effort, whether
that effort be of a mental or physical chacracter.
This principle  Mlr. Webster always  recognized.
There can be no doubt that an individual  who is accustolmed to literary pursuits will accomplish more
by a judiciois alternation of hard study with pieaisant recreation than thoughl the latter be entirely neg.lected.   Th're  mind  wxvii not endure  a constant
draught, upon its powers.  It needs rest for the re0 -
covery of its elasticity and vig7or; there should be a
shlutting up of books, a relinquishment of problenms,
a cessation of mental effort, a throwing open of the
door, and an escape of the mind, into unfettered
~r eziom, in order to secure that perfect repose which,
after  great  effort, nature needs.  This wmas   ior.
Webster's course; hence his frequent fishing, gunning, and other rural excursions.
i1 September, 18D2, he relinquished his sehooil,
and returned home, having mnade some acquisi.otios,
both of a pecuniary and intellectual character.
MIr. Webster had now passed that importaint crisis
ina a young man's life, which, in most cases, gi'ves
character to his whole -  history, naun ely, the choice of
a profession.  He had decided in favor o(f t'e Iawo




INFLUENCE OF CIRCUMJISTANCES.         107
It may not have been impossible that the proximity
of Mlr Thompson's office to Webster's residence
contributed much towards this decision.  It was so
easy for hinm to slip in there, look over the law
books, hear conversation upon legal questions, and
thus have his taste for such pursuits awakened, that
that office, in all probability, assisted in turning his
mind in this direction.  It was, therefore, a providential circumstance that these influences existed,
and rendered it so easy for him  to enter upon the
study of this science.  Under another combination
of circumstances, he might as easily have been induced to enter upon some other pursuit, and then
the Wvorld would have lost the benefit of his great
tllents as a statesman.
After leaving Fryeburg, arrangements were mnade
for Mr1. Webster to res;ume the study of law in the
office of Mr. Thompson.  This gentleman, though
well acquainted with his profession, adopted a mode
of instruction with his students which was not popular with them  at the time, and which they did not
approve in sublseqiuent life.  He was  accustomed
to give them the most difficult books first.  On thif,
principle he put into Mr. Webster's hand Coke upon
Littleton.  It was a hard work for a student to master; bh.t'ir. Webster, nothing daunted by its difficulties, pored over it six hours daily.  Although at
first it was like entering a primevalforest, where the




108         WEBSTER'S PROFICIENCY.
traveller has to cut his own way, he believed that, by
patient and persevering industry, he would in tilme
see light on the other side; that by rmastering each
difficulty as it occurred, as the woodman fells trees
singly, he would, before long, successfiully cut iis
way through them  all.  Still he always regarded
that mlethod of introducing a boy to thle study of the
science as a mistake.  He has expressed h-imself
clearly upon this subject in the following language:"' A boy of tiwenty, with no previous knowledge
of such subjects, cannot understand Coke.  It is foliy
to set him upon such an author.  rhere are propositions in Coke so abstract, and distinctions so nice,
and doctrines embracing so many distinctions and
qualifications, that it requires an effort not only of a
mature minrd, but of a mind both stromng and mature,
to understand him.  Why disgust and discourage a
ypoung man by telling him  that he must break into
his profession t1hrough such a wall as this."
He soon got upon other books, which lie studied
with greater pleasure.  Besides the attention which
at that period he paid to law, he also found time to
read  H1-ume's  History  of England, Shakspeare's
plays, and the Latin classics.  Such w as tle proficiency which lie mlade in his profession, that, during'
the second year of his studies, he was quite a sound
lawyer.  General Lyman says,  "When clients caime
for advice, lie [t'lr. Webster] heard, with IMr. T1-hotp



HE MINDS HIS BUSINESS.             109
son, a full statement of the facts, and thereupon  he
again  and  again, vwrote out opinions, which Mir
Thompson, on perusal, adopted, signed, and delivered as his own.  He also displayed great tact in
conducting thle lawsuits pending, in ml'arshalling the
testimony, and in eliciting from witnesses the facts
to be proved on the tirials.  Many men, not profound
lawyers, have become emiuinent in theil profession,
and have paved their way to wealth, by their skill in
conducting a cause before it was brought to trial."
It is evident that, as when in college, so when studying law, Mr. WTebster mineled hiis business.  This was
one great secret of his success.  Let American
youth remember this.  At this period, Mir. Webster
was not a one-idea man; he did not devote himself
exclusively to the law.  hIe read history and poetry,
and went on excursions of pleasure;.but with all
these other employments, he still minzded ehis business;
lie kept his recreations within due limits.  The great
difficulty with not a few younog men is, that, in order
to find time for amusement, they neglect important
duties; they have not acquired that discipline, or
formed such habits, that they can, with authority, say
to the attractive pleasures of life, " Thus far shall
ye come, but no farther."  Being governed more by
their own passions than by established principle, it
becomes extremely easy for them  to throw  aside
their books, or abandon their employment, whenever




110           THE TURNPIKE CASE.
an opportunity occurs for the enjoyment of some
agreeable amusement.  Such may reach mediocrity,
but there is little probability of their attaining to a
high degree of excellence, in any profession.
An incident is related which shows that, whilst
Mr. Webster was a student of law, he developed the
same promptness, decision, and energy, which were
such conspicuous traits of character, after he had
entered upon public life.
A Captain Kimball had entered into contract to
open a turnpike.  This contract was based upon
subscriptions for the object by gentlemen of wealth,
a number of whom  were residents of Portsmouth.
After the work had been in progress for some time,
these gentlemen were called upon to pay their subscriptions: they refused.  This at once created embarrassmelit.  It was known from  the first that
money would be greatly needed, and their subscriptions bad been looked to as the source whence it was
to be obtained.  When, therefore, they declined fulfilling their own obligations, perplexing disappointment was the result.  Captain Kimball regarded
himself as greatly wronged, and applied to Mr.
Thompson for legal advice.  Mr. Thompson immediately addressed the delinquent subscribers letters,
earnestly urging them to pay their subscriptions.
The letters were unheeded.  He then sent to them
his oldest student, Mr. Noyes, to remonstrate per



WEBSTER'S DECISION.            111
sonally with  them, but with no better success
When the failure of Mr. Noyes's visit was made
known to iMr. \Webster, he said,,, Let me go to
Portslmouth; I will bring you the money."  Mr.
Thomlpson concluded to grant his request.  Having
obtained the necessary authority, he set out; he
drove his horse with such speed that when he reached
Portsmouth it was covered with foam.  Without
loss of time he called on some of the subscribers,
and sent word to others, that he had come to receive
their subscriptions, and the money must be paid.
He then despatched a messenger to the sheriff of the
county, asking his presence immediately.  He next
sat down'to a table, and very coolly commenced
making out writs for the apprehension of every subscriber.  When the delinquents understood the bearing of these preparatory measures, they beca me
alarmed.  They saw they had a hard customer to
deal with, and proposed that they have a conversa,tion upon the subject; it was granted., When the
company assembled, Mr. Webster again stated to
them  the object of his visit, and the grounds on.
which he mnade his demands, and then, in a manner
in which dignity, courtesy, and  authority  were
blended together, he coolly informed them  that he
would wait until a certain hour (which he specified)
for the money, and that if by that time it was not
paid, he would put the writs into the: hands of the




112        DELINQUENT SUBSCRIBERS.
sheriff, and have them all immediately arrested.  This
produced the desired effect.  At that time imprisonment for debt had not been abolished in New Hampshire.  The delinquents, therefore, knew what they
had to expect if they persisted in their refisal.  The
appointed hour arrived; Mr. Webster's horse was
ready for him to mount; the sheriff was on hand to
receive and execute the writs; all things were ready
for the apprehension of the guilty.  They now saw
that the subject could neither be trifled with nor
postponed; the crisis was reached; the money was
paid over to Mr. Webster as fast as hce could count
and receipt for it.  Having by his energy and tact accomplished his object, he returned home and reported
iis success, to the astonishment and great gratification of those immediately concerned.'When any enterprise which will involve a considerable outlay of money is projected, it is a common practice to receive subscriptions for that object,
and then comlmence tlle work before those subscriptions
are paid.  It follows, as a necessary consequence, that
if any of those subscriptions are withdrawn, those persons who are practically engaged in the enterprise will
be subjected to embarrassments to the full extent of
the amount thus withdrawn, and will either have to
raise the funds from some other source, or else create a debt; when, if they could have foreseen this
result, they would have done nothing towards the




SUBSCRIPTIONS SHOULD BE PAID.         113
execution of the project until t'he funds subscribed
had been paid in.  This is unjust: when a person
subscribes towards a railroad, a canal, a chunch, ot
any benevolent cause, he is in honor and in justice
bound to pay that subscription.  Ie should regard
it as sacred as a promissory note; it has all the elements of such note; it is a promise to pay a certain
specified sum for a certain specified object, and a
man  has no more right to refuse payment than he
has to refuse the payment of any other pecuniary
obli'gation.  This obligation is, if possible, strengthened, when, by virtue of his promise, the object for
which he subscribed is commenced, and debts contracted.  He encouraged the enterprise, and he is
justly held responsible to the full extent of that encoura,'ement.
These remarks are made because it is sometitmes
the case, that individuals who  have  subscribed
towards an object afterwards change their nminds,
and refuse payment.  Such instances have occurred
in benevolent and religious objects.  As there is no
danger that the law will be resorted to in order to
enforce payment of such subscriptions, they can be
repudiated with impunity.  But let it be remembered  that such conduct is disreputable, and  by
every man of honor is condemned.
To every young person, whose eye mlay fchll upon
thlis page, would we say, Never subscribe towards an
8




114    MR. WEBSTER REMOVES TO BOSTON.
object unless you are convinced of its importance;
but zwAhe  your promise is once given, sacredly releem it.
After remaining in Mri. Thompson's office two
years, Mr. Webster desired a change, where he
could acquire a knowledge of other departments of
law besides those which were pursued in the office
of Mr. T.  For this purpose he removed, in July,
1804, to Boston, and placed himself under the instruction  of that distinguished  counsellor, Hon.
Christopher Gore.  His opportunities for acquiring
broader views of his profession were here enjoyed.
He had access to an extensive and valuable library,
and the privilege of attending the sessions of the
Supreme and Circuit Courts, where questions of the
gravest importance  were discussed  by the  most
learned and emiinent lawyers.  IHe was not idle
while attending these sessions; but, with pen in
hand, he carefully watched the  opinions of the
learned judges, and made them  matters of record.
He continued in JMr. Gore's office nearly a year,
where he studied with diligence the principles of the
common and municipal law, the laws of nations,
and the science of special pleading.  In addition
to his laborious professional studies, I-e managed to
secure time for a wide range of general Leading.
Being  now regarded as qualified for admittance
to the bar, his teacher, Hon. Mr. Gore, introduced




ADMITTED TO THE BAR.             115
him to court, and made a imotion that he be admitted to practice.  It is greatly to the credit of Mr.
lWebster that he had produced such a favorable impression upon his teacher, that when he made this
motion for the admission of his young student to
the bar, he accompanied it iwith some highly commnendatory remarks. Mar. Everett says, " He dwelt
with emphasis on the remarkable attainmlents and
uncommonal promise of his pupil, and closed with a
prediction of his future eninence."
It is somletimes the case, that the general estimlation in which an individual is held is far higher than
that which he enjoys amnongst his nmore intimate associates.  In respect to such,
-c'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view;"
and this enchantment is dispelled in proportion as
the distance diminishes.  With IMr. Webster it was
otherwise.  Those who knew him best cherished for
him the highest esteem.  Adcliration for his talents
and acquirements increased in proportion to one's
falmliliar acquaintance with him.
By his admission to the bar he was fairly launched
upon the world.  Where the winds and waves of
fickle fortune would carry him, - what shoals and
quicksands he would escape, or against what rocks
he would dash, — how  little did l he know!  He
doubtless cherished certain aspirations, and probably




116             HIS ASPIRATIONS.
had a course of life marked out in his ownr mind,
which he expected to pursue.  It would be interesting, if we could learn what these expectations were,
to see in what respects they were met, and wherein
he was disappointed by the events of his subse..
tuent life.




CHAPTER VIII.
tias a Clerkship offered him. - Declines it. - His Father displeased. - Pays his Father's Debts. - His filial Attachment. -
Some treat their Parents unkindly. - Mr. Webster's first
Plea. - He astonishes every body. - Controlling Witnesses. -
The Detection. - The Character of his Arguments. - Webster
and Mason.-" Import a young Earthquake."
JMnR. WEBSTER'S stamina of character was severely
tested by an incident which occurred about the time
that he was admitted to tihe bar.  His father at that
period was one of the judges of the County Court
in New Hampshire, and though not a man of liberal
education, he was highly respected for his strong
commoon sense, his sterling integrity, and his quick
perception of the particular points at issue in the
various cases of litigation that camle before him.
The clerkship of that court, which was then vacant, was tendered to his son.  In some respects it
wias a desirable position.  Mr. March, in his spirited
account of the affair, says, -,G The office was worth fifteen hundred dollar s per
annunm, whlch was in those days, and in that neighborhood, a competency -  or rather absolute wealth.
Mr. Webster himiself considered it a great prize,
and was eager to accept it.  He weighed the ques117




118  FILIAL DUTY AND PERSONAL AMBITION.
tion in his lnind. On the one side he saw immediate
comfiort; on the otlher, at the best, a doubtful stlruggle.  By its acceptance he e nade sure his own good
condition, and, what was nearer to his heart, that of
his family.  By its refusal he condemned both himself and them to an uncertain and probably harassing future.  Whatever aspirations he might have
cherished of professional distinction, lihe was willing
cheerfilly to relinquish, to promote the itmmediate
welfare of those lhe held most dear.
6,But Mr. Gore peremptorily and vehemently
interposed his dissent.  He urged  every argument
against the purpose.  He exposed its absurdity and
its inconsequence.  He appealed to the ambition of
his pupil -  once a clerk, he said, he always would
be a clerk - there would be no step upwards.  He
attacked him, too, on the side of his family affection, telling him  that he would be far more able
to gratify his friends from his professional labors
than in the clerkship., Go on,' he said,, and finish
your studies; you are poor enough, but there are
greater evils than poverty; live on no man's favor;
what bread you do eat, let it be the bread of independence.  Pursue your profession; make yourself
useful to your friends, and a little formidable to your
enemies, and you have nothing to fear.'
"Diverted  from  his design by arguments like
these, it still remained to AMr. Webster to acquaint




HE DECLINES OFFICE.              119
his father with his determination, and satisfy him of
its propriety.  IIe felt this would be no easy task;
as his father had set his heart so much upon the
office; but he determined to go home immediately,
and give him in full the reasons of his conduct.,, It was midwinter, and he looked round for a
country sleigh,- for stage coaches at that time were
things unknown in the centre of New Hampshire, -
and finding one that had come down to mrarket, he
took passage therein, and in two or three days was
set down at his father's door.  (The same journey
is made now in four hours by steam.)  It was evening when he arrived.  I have heard him  tell the
story of the interview. His father was sitting before
the fire, and received him with manifest joy.  He
looked feebler than he had ever appeared, but his
countenance lighted up on seeing his clerk stand before himl in good health and spirits.  He lost no
time in alluding to the great appointment -- said
how spontaneously it had been made - how kindly
the chief justice proposed it - with what unanimity
all assented, &C.  During this speech it can be well
imagined how embarrassed Mr. Webster felt, compelled, as he thought, from a conviction of duty, to
disappoint his father's sanguine expectations.  Nevertheless he commanded his countenance and voice,
so as to reply in a sufficiently assured manner.  He
spoke gayly about the office-; expressed his great




1 20       "1IS MOTHER'S PREDICTION.
obligation to their honors, and his intention to write
them  a most respectfil letter — if he could have
consented to record. any body's judgments, he should
have been proud to have recorded their honors', &c.
lie )proceeded in this strain till his father exhibited
signs of ama.zement, it having occurred  to him,
finally, tthat his son might all the while be serious., Do you intend to decline this office?' he said at
lengthl.    Most certainly,' replied his son;' t cannot think of doing otherwise.  I imean to use lmy
tongue in the courts, not my pen - to be an actor,
not a register of other men's actions.'
",For a moment Judge Webster seemed angry.
He rocked his chair slightly, a flash went over his
eye, softened by age, but even then black as jet;
but it ilmmnediately disappeared, and his countenance
regained its usual serenity.  Parental love and partiality could not, after all, but have been gratified
with the son's devotion to an honorable and distinguished profession, and seeming confidence of success in it.' Well, my son,' said Judge Webster,
finally,' your mother has always said that you would
come to something or nothing - she was not sure
which.  I think you. are now  about settling that
doubt for her.'  The judge never afterewards spoke
to his son on the subject."
-The account of this interesting event, as given
by General Lyman, in his, Miemorials," contains




A BENEFACTOR.                121
some additional facts, which ought not to be omitted
here.  We give them in his own language:-,, The difficulty of satisfying his father that the
course he had resolved to pursue was the best, now
arose in his mind.  To aid Mr. WVebster 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
encumbrance, 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
Everett, since so highly distinguished, was, by the
by, one of his pupils.  The desire to relieve his
excellent father from all pecuniary responsibility on
his account, 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 clerkship and its emoluments. In this dilemma, his friend,
Mr. Rufus 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
himn 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 knowing one word of what had passed in Boston, or of his
intentions as to the clerkship.  He received his sonl




12-2       PAYS HIS FATHER'S DEBTS.
affectionately, and with a imanner that seemed to say,
Our anxieties are now ended.'  His father lost no
time in telling him how' readily and how handsolmely
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. WVebster,, were
brimful of the tears of gratitude, as he told it to
rme.'
"1' Judge,' said he,, of my father's disappointmnent and manifest vexation, when I told hirn I must
resign 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 ime, and
rmost respectfully resigned the office to which they
had appointed me.  Thereupon I hastened back to
Boston, where the court was sitting at which I was
licensed to practise.  I then for the first time held
ip my hand and took the oaths of office.'"
Mr. Gore, for the advice wvhich he then gave, and
Mr. Emery, for his removal of peclniary embarrassment, merit the thanks of the whole country.  That
advice and assistance essentially aided in making
Mr. WXebster the great American statesman that he
was.  If lie had accepted a clerkship in court, he
miglht have died an incumbent of the office.  He




SETTLES IN BOSCAWVEN.            123
would no doubt have been punctual, faithful, and
industrious.  He would have been a model clerk,
but he probably would never have moved senates,
nor negotiated treaties.  Here again we may see
the intervention of divine Providence.  Why did
lhe happen to be a student of Mr. Gore?  Why did
that appointment of clerk reach him  before he had
left his studies atnd returned home?  WThy did Mr.
Gore cherish the views and give the advice he did?
Why, too, did Mr. Emery step forward and remove
the strongest temnptation to acceptance out of the
way?  Why this combination of circumstances, except that a kind Providence interfered?  Had Mar.
Gore's advice been the opposite of what it was, or
had Mr. Emliery been indifferent to the subject, who
can tell what would have been the results?
After his admlission to the bar, Mr. \Webster wen
to Amherst, in New Hampshire, where his father
was holding court, and accompanied himn home.  It
had been his intention to open an office in Portsmouth.  That being a large town, and possessing
some foreign commerce, it presented a promising
field for practice.  But filial duty prevented.  The
infirmities of age were now creeping upon his father.
His brother Ezekiel wvas absent, and, it being desirable that one of the sons should be near the hoimestead, Mr. Webster relinquished the idea of settling
down at Portsmzouth, and opened an office in Bos



124         HIS FILIAL ATTACHMENT.
cawen, near the residence of his father, and commenced practice as a country lawyer.  This was
not an encouraging field, but the reason of its selection developed a beautiful trait in Mr. Webster's
character. His attachment to his parents was strong
and tender.  Although he was now of age, and had
a right to go wvhere he chose to seek his fortune,
yet his filial affection prompted him  to forego that
right, and to settle dowin near the homestead, that
he might cheer the hearts of his parents in their decline of life, and be at hand to render any service
which they might need.  No one denies that young
children ought to love and reverence their parents;
but, alas! examples are too numerous of those who
seem to act as if, when they reached their majority,
they outgrew filial obligation - as if fiom  that period their language to their parents was, "It is a
gift by whatsoever thou mightest be profited of
me " - it is a gratuity, a favor, and not the dis
charge of an obligation.  Their parents are neglected, their feelings set at nought, their wishes disregarded.  They are considered and treated as an
encumbrance; their death approaches too slowly;
and when it occurs, their afectionate children are
relieved of a great burden.  With Mr. Webster an
opposite class of feelings predominated.  Affectionate attachment to his parents was a prominent trait
of his character.  For their comfort he sacrificed,




HIIS APPEARANCE IN COURT.            125
for the time being, whatever emoluments he might
have received in a larger but -morie distant field of
professional labor.  H-e has said in a letter, -' My
opening an office in Boscawen was that I migllht be
near him," i. e., his father.  The sign which le then
hung out, with " D. WEBSTER, Attorney," upon it,
is said to be still in existence.  By somue of his admiriers it would be highly prized, and treasured as a
sacred meimento of him whose lname it bears.
Down to the timre that {Mr. W~ebster commn'enced
the practice of law, he was a thin and sickly-looking
young man.  His appearance in this respect was
very different from what it was in the later periods
of his life.  It was not at all adapted to plepossess
his hearers in his favor, if we except his eloquent
eye and expressive countenance.  His physical constitution was by no means the appropriate representation of  his mental character.  Under his outward
weakness was concealed great intellectual strength,
of which the following incident furnishes a striking
illustration.  The first case which he ever plead
before a jury was of a civil claracter.  It was one
of considerable interest to the parties concerned,
and created  no samall anmount of public excitement.
Colonel WTilliamn Webster, a remote relative of Daniel, was the sheriff of the county.  After  the trial
was over, the sheriff stated  to a friend, that he
thought,, wheen Mr. Webster rose, that he would




HIS FIRST PLEA.
not stand up long; I was ashamed to see so lean
and feeble a young man come into court bearing the
name of Webster; but lhe astonished every body with
his eloquence, learning, and powers of reasolningl."
H~e exhibited such a famlliliar acquaintanc e with
the principles of law, such skill in marshalling his
facts, such ingenuity ia stating them in the most faforable mranner for his clientt, aind such power of
analysis and argument, that friom  this time  lie was
never in want of business.  Notwithstanding his thin
and meagre appearance, le produced a decidedly
favorable effect upon  those who heard him; his
strength was mental, not physical.  Under a feeble
exterior he concealed the elemaents of an intellectual
giant.  This first plea of  Mr. Wvebster was heard
by his father, and it was the only one to which he
had the pleasure to listen.  Thle old gentleman, who,
as we have said, was then one of the judges of
New Hampshire, died soon after, but not before he
had heard predictions of his son's professional success, and had seen sufficient evidence of his genius
to justify their probability.
It was an interesting monment to thenm both, when
the son, after having spent years in his collegiate
and legal studies, was, by this first professional essay,
to show his father the' first fruits " of his long and
laborious training.  It was doubtless to Mr1. Webster
a pleasant recollection all his subsequent life, that his




THE TAVERN BILL.               127
father was favored with the opportunity of hearing
him at least once before he died; and the father
must have accounted it no commlon privilege that he
was permitted to witness this early effort of a beloved
son in the new and difficult sphere which he had
chosen.
This first argument of Mr. Webster before a jury
is said to have been founded upon a tavern bill
amounting only to about tswenty-four dollars.  It was
an encouraging cir1cumstance that the verdict rendered was in favor of his client, the jury awarding
him seventeen dollars.
Another case which lhe conducted at the same
term of court he lost, the jury returning a verdiCt
for an amount somewhat larger than  the  above
against his client.  This was in 1805; the next year
he exhibited in a greater degree his abilities as a
counsellor and a pleader.  At that time an argument which lhe delivered m ade such an impression
upon a lad of some ten or twelve years of age, that
though nearly fifty years have passed away, he remembers the effect which it produced upon those who
heard it, and the strong commendation which it received from them.  "I recollect," he writes, ", with
perfect distinctness, the sensation which the speech
produced upon the multitude.s   There was a great
throng there, and they were loud in his praise.  As
* B. F. French, Esq.




KNACK OF TALKING.
soon as the adjournment took place, the lawyers
dropped into my father's office, and there the whole
bearing of the young man iunderwent a discussion.
It was agreed on all hands that he had made an extraodinary effort, when, by way of accounting for it, said,, Ah, TWebster has been studying ill Boston, and  has got a knack  of talking; but let him take it rough and tumble a while
here in the bush, and we shall see whether he will
do so much better than other folks.' "
After he had fairly entered into practice,  Mr. Webster rose rapidly in his profession.
6, It is stated in the Life of Chief Justice Smith,
that in 1806, before MVr. Webster had been admitted
as a counsellor in the Superior Court, - and of
course before he was entitled to address the jury,being engaged as attorney in a cause of no great pecuniary importance, but of some interest and some
intricacy, he was' allowed to examine the witnesses,
and briefly to state his case, both upon the law and
the facts.  Having done this, he handed his brief to
Mr. Wilson, the senior counsel, for the full argument of the matter.  But the chief justice lihad noticed him, and on leaving the court house said to a
member of the bar, that he had never before?mt suzch
a young manz as that.' " 
It is often the case that clients endeavor to con>'- Joel Parker, LL. D.




CONTROLLING WITNESSES.             129
trol the evidence which their witnesses are to give in
their case.  Sometimes this interference is unduly
excessive, and recoils with tremendous force upon
him nwho has practised it. Such an instance occurred
during the  early part of Mlr. WVebster's careelr.
As he occasionally narrated it for the amusement of
his friends, we will give it in his own words: —
66 Soon after commencing the practice of rmy profession at Portsmouth, I was waited on by an old
acquaintance of my father's, resident in an jacent
county-, who wished to engage my professional services.  Some years previous, he had rented a farm,
with the clear understanditng that he could purchase
it, after the expiration of his lease, for one thousand
dollars.  Finding the said farm  productive, he soon
determined to own it; and, as lie laid aside money
for the purchase, he was prorlmpted to improve what
he felt certain he would possess.  But his landlord,
finding the property greatly increased in value, coolly reffused to receive the one thousand dollars, when
in due time it was presented; and when his extortionate demand of double that su1m was refused, he
at once brought an action of ejectment.  The man
had but the one thousand  dollars, and an unb!lemished reputation; yet I willingly undertook his case.,, The opening argument of the plaintiff's attorney
left me little ground for hope.  He stated that hle
could prove that nmy client hired the farm, but there
9




130              THE DETECTION.
was not a word in the lease about the sale, nor was
tlhere a word spoken about the sale when the lease
was signed, as be should prove by a witness.  In
short, his was a clear case, and I left the court room
at dinner time with feeble hopes of success.  By
chance, I sat at table next a newly-comlmissioned
militia officer, and a brother lawyer began to joke
him about his lack of martial knowlecldge.,Indeeed,'
he jocosely remarked, 6 you should write down the
orders, and get old W. to beat them  into your
sconce, as I saw him this morning, with a paper in
his hand, teaching something to young M. in the
court-house entry.'
C6 Can it be, I thought, that old W., the plaintiff
in the case, was instructing young Ma., who was his
reliable witness?
"After dinner the court was reopened, and M.
was putt on the stand.  Ie was examined by the
plaintiff's counsel, and certainly told a clear, plain
story, repudiating all knowledge of any agreemcent
to sell.  When he had concluded, the opposite counsel, with a triumphant glance, turned to ime, and
asked me if I was satisfied.' Not quite,' I replied.
-,I had noticed a piece of paper protruding fromn
[.'s pocket, and hastily approaching hiln, I seized
it before he had the least idea of my intention.
Now,' I asked,'tell me if this paper does not detail the story you have so clearly told, and is it not




CHARACTER OF HIS PLEAS.            131
false?'  The witness hung his head with shame;
and when the paper was found to be what I had
supposed, and in the very handwriting of old W., he
lost his case at once.  Nay, there was such a storm
of indignation against him, that he soon removed to
the west.
"'Years afterwards, visiting New  Ha1'l1mpshire, I
was the guest of my professional brethren at a publie dinner; and towards the close of the festivities, I
was asked if I would solve a great doubt by answering a question.' Certainly.'' Well, then, Mr.
Webster, we have often wondered how you knew
what was in M.'s pocket.' "
During his practice of the law, IMr. Webster
had many cases of great inmportance commiitted to
himn; he very early took a high stand int his profession; he became the acknowledged leader of the
bar; lie was opposed by the most distinguished lawyels of which the country could boast, yet always
mnaintained an honorable position among them.  He
was so simple in the statement of his propositions, so
forcible in his argument, so clear in his illustrations,
there was such an honest, common-sense straightforwardness about him, which prompted him to march,
without any circuitousness, directly to his object, that
he never failed of producing a deep impression upon
the mind of a jury; ihc addressed them as men capable of understanding an argument, as men lnot to




13'2               ANECDOTES.
be borne away by exciting appeals to their passions,
but to be moved only by a calm, clear, and logical
address to their judgment.  Such addresses be gave
them.  Ile  reasoned  to convince, and wvas successfiul.
To show how highly his legal abilities and powers
of oratory were estimated by his contemporaries, the
following anecdotes are given::Mr. Webster practised law in Portsmouth nearly
nine years, and during that time one of his best
friends, andi also his most prominent competitor, was
the distinguished Jeremniall Mason. On one occasion
a gentleman called upon the former for the purpose
of securing his services in a lawsuit; but Mr. Webster was compelled  to decline the engagement, but
recommended his client to Mr. iMason.
"6 What do you think of the abilities of Mr. Mason? 9 said the gentleman.'"  tthink him secocnd to no man in the country,"
replied Mr. 5Vebster.
The gentleman called upon M'. Mason, and having secured his promise of assistance, lie thought he
would gratify his curiosity, and therefore questioned
him as to his opinion of Mr1. Webster.  ", He's the
very devil, in any case whatsoever," replied MIr.
Mason; " and if he's ag'ainst you, I beg to be ezcused."
On another occasion, a gentleman of Nantucket




ANECDOTES.                 133
accosted a friend by saying,"I l:ave wished to see
you for some days, for I am  in trouble, and wish
your friendly advice."   4 What can it be? " replied
the other.,, Why, I have a lawsuit, and Webster is
opposed to me: what shall I do  "  " My advice
is," was the answer, ", that your only chance of escape is, to send to Smyrna and import a young earthquake."
The extravagant character of these replies was
prompted by the high opinion which was entertained
of his commanding talents.




CHAPTER IX.
A dreadful Deed. — General Alarm.- Attack of two Footpads. - Hatch's Disclosure. — Grant's Letters. - Grant arrested. --- The Knapps arrested. - The Confession.- The Plot
exp]lained. — Palmer imprisoned. - Crowninshield's Signal. —
Palmer's Fear.-The   Trial.- Mr. Webster's Plea.- The
Wicked insnare themselves. - Extraordinary Things. —Avoid
btad Company.
ALTHOUGH it does not fall in with the object of
this v'olirme to give an account of the various cases
which  Mr. Webster conducted  through  court, yet
there was one so  peculiar, so  exciting, so full of
tragic interest, so illustrative  of various conflicting
imoral principles, and which filrnished an occasion
for one of his most impressive pleas, that we are unwiilling to onlit its recital here.
In the city of Salem, in the State of IMassachiusetts, is a house which is pointed out to strangers as
a place where an act of thrilling atrocity was a few
years since committed.  It is in Essex Street, near
Newbury Street, with a garden extending in the rear
towards Brown Street, this latter street being parallel
with Essex Street.*
* Tihe facts connected with this murder are derived from Holn.
Benjamin Merrill's Narrative.
134




A HORRID DISCOVERY.            135
In this house resided a very wealthy, retired merchant of Salem, eighty-two years of age, whose
name was Joseph White, Esq.  He had neither wife
nor children; his family consisted of himself, his
housekeeper, Mrs. Beckford, who was also his niece,
and two servants, a man and woman.
Early  on the morning of the 7th of April,
1830, his servant man discovered that the back window of the east parlor was open, and that a plank
was resting against it, as if to furnish assistance in
entering the house.. His suspicions being excited
that robbers had visited them, he immediately went
to the parlor, but found all the furniture in its proper
place, and no evidence of any person having been
there. After informing the maid servant of his discoveries, lie visited Mr. White's chamber.  As he
entered the back door of the old gentleman's chain
ber, he noticed that the other door, which opened
into the front entry, was not closed.  He now approached the bed, and there beheld a sight which
explained all the previous discoveries.  The bedclothes were drenched with blood, and _ei/. White
was dead. The servant was horror stricken; he and
the maid servant were the only other persons in the
house. Mrs. Beckford was on a visit to her daughter's at Wenham.  The alarm was instantly given.
A crowd collected; the coroner and physicians were
sent for, who, upon examination,found thirteen deep




136           GREAT EXCITEM1ENT.
stabs on the body, made by some sharp instrument,
and a heavy blow on the left temple; although the
skin was not broken, yet the skull was firactured.
Gold coin and silver, to a considerable amount, were
tnm his chbamaber, yet none of it was taken.  With
the exception of the bed, the room  presented its
usual appearance.  Nothing was missed firom the
house, although it contained much silver plate, which
imight have been stolen, if plunder had been the
object of the assassin.
This deliberate, dreadful tragedy, committed, as it
was, upon a well-known, respectable citizen, in a
densely-settled part of the town, produced a deep
and wide-spread excitement.  So apparently motiveless was the deed, that all felt exposed to similar
danger.  Neglected windows and doors were made
more secure throughout the town.  Watch dogs
were obtained, and firearnls were bought to increase
the safety of the people.  No one felt secure. Who
was the criminal, or for what purpose the horrid
deed had been committed, no one knew.  The excitement was the more intense fiom the impenetrable
mystery which enshrouded the whole subject.  In
addition to large rewards being offered by the heirs
of Mr. White, by the town, and by the governor of
the state, for the detection of the murderer, the citizens appointed a comminttee of vigilance, twentyseven in number, who were to employ every means




ATTEMPTED ROBBERY.                 137
in their power to discover the perpetrator of this
dreadful crime.
During' the excitement of the commlnity upon
the subject, it was published in the newspapers, that
a darintg attempt at hiogl'way  robbery bad been
made on Joseph J. Klnaipp, Jr., and John Francis
Knapp, in WeHlnham, on the evening of the 27th
of April.  They  stated before the  committee of
investigation, tllat when near Wenham  Pond, on
their w\Tay to  Salem  in a chaise, three umen approachedl them, one of whom stopped the horse by
seizing the bridle; the others then approached, one
on each side, and attenmpted to seize a trunk which
was in the chaise.  The {lnapps of course reisisted.
iFrank mrade a thrust;  t one of them iwithl a sword
cane, and Joseph struck the other in thie face with
the but-enid of thle whip.  This decided resistance
compelled tllem  to retreat.  After giviang a loud
whistle, as if it were a signal to their accomplices,
they fled, being' pursued a short distance, but unsuccessfully, by Frank Knapp.  Their size, appearance, and dress were described  with considerable
mninuteness.  In the account of this occurrence, as
stated in the Salem papers at the time, it was iemarked that the gentlemen thus attacked were "c well
known v, and no one questioned their respectability or
veracity."  This event increased  thle  excitement.
It appeared as if there were a galng of robbers




138          DISCLOSURES OF HATCH.
prowling  about in the community, ready to plunder
or murder, as opportunity offered.  For a numiber
of weeks not the slightest incident occurred which
served t,- furnish the faintest hope of discovering
the guilty parties.  Finally, the committee of vigilance learned that a prisoner of the name of Hatch,
confined in New  Bedford jail, could make disclosures that might be of great service to tlhem. lie
was visited, the nature of his disclosures  ascertained, and they were regarded as so important, that
when the grand jury mlet, Hatch was brought in
chains fiom New Bedford to give his testimony before them.  His relation was, that several months
before the murder was perpetrated, he had firequently heard Richard Crowninshield, Jr., of Danvers, say that lie intended to destroy the life of Mr.
White.  Crowninshield was a young man of bad
character; he is described as,, of dark and reserved
deportment, temperate and wicked, daring and wary,
subtle and obdurate, of great adroitness, boldness,
and self-command.  lie had for several years frequented the haunts of vice in Salem, and though lie
was often spoken of as a dangerous man, his person
was known to few, for he never walked the streets
by daylight.  Amnong his few associates he was a
leader alnd a despot."'
* Hoil Benjamin Merrill.




GRANT'S LETTER.                 a39
On the testiamony of Hatch, Richard  Crowninshield, Jr., was arrested on the'2d of May, and conmitted to prison to await his trial.  As the evidence
of Itatch did not seerm sufficient to convict Crowninshield, the commlittee of vigilance continued their
efforts to discover more convincing proofs.  George,
the brother of Richard, was also arrested.
On the 15th of Alay, Captain Joseph J. Knapp, a
respectable im-erchant and shipmaster of Salem, and
father of the young men who were said to have
been attacked  by robbers in Wenharm, received,
through the mnail, the following letter:Charles Grant, J-., to Joseph J1. Kfnaqp.
"' BELFAST, Mn:ay 12, 1830.
6 DEAR SIR: I have taken the ieen at this timle to
address an utter strangelr, and, strange as it may
seem to you, it is for the purpose of requesting the
loan of three hundred and fifty dollars, for which I
can give you no security but my word, and in this
case consider this to be sufficient.  7My call for
money at this time is pressing, or I would  not
trouble you; but with that sum, I have the prospect of turning it to so much advantage, as to be
able to refirnd it, with interest, in the coiurse of six
months.  At all events, t thlink it will be- for your
interest to comply with my request, and trhat immediately - that is, not put off any longer than you




140             GRANT'S LETTER.
receive this.  Then sit down and cnclose nle the
money with as much despatch as possible, for your
own interest.  This, sir, is my advice; and if you
(do not comply with it, the short period between now
amid November will convince you that you have denied a request, the granting of which will never injure you, the refusal of which will ruin you.  Are
you surprised at this assertion?  Rest assured that I
make it, reserving to myself the reasons, and a series
of facts which are founded on such a bottom which
will bid (lefiance to property or quality.  It is useless for me to enter into a discussion of facts which
must inevitably harrow  up your soul.  No, I will
merely tell you that I am  acquainted  with your
brother Franklin, and also the business that he was
transacting for you on the 2d of April last; and
that I think that you was very extravagant in giving
one thousand dollars to the person that would execute the business for you. But you know best about
that.  You see that such things will leak out.  To
conclude, sir, I will inform you that there is a gentleman of my acquaintance in Salem, that will observe that you do not leave town before the first of
June, giving you sufficient time betveen now and
then to co1mply with my request; and if I do not
receive a line fi'on  you, together with the above
sum, befre the 22d of this mtonth, TI shall wait upon
you with an assistant.  I have said enough to con



KNAPP'S ADVICE.               141
vince y.u of my knowledge, and merely inform you
that yoi can, when you answer, be as brief as possible.  Direct yours to
" CHARLES GRANT, Jr., of Prospect,
6, Maine."
This remarkable epistle was entirely unintelligible
o  Captain Knapp.  He  was acquainted with no
Ce,arles Grant, Jr.; neither did he know  a single
person in tile town of Belfast, Maine.  It seemed
to be a letter to obtain " hush money " fronm  him,
with reference to somne crime be had committed,
with which the writer was acquainted.  As Mr.
Knapp had been guilty of no misdemeanor, neither
was he willinr to have imoney extorted from him by
vagu e and my sterious threats.  As, however, the
retter appeared to be serious, and not intended as a
*oke, Captain Knapp consulted his sonl, Nathaniel
Phippen Knapp, a young lawyer, to see if he could
explain it.  To him it was as inexplicable as to his
father.  They then went over to WVenhalm, and
showed the letter to Joseph J. Knapp, Jr., and John
Francis Knapp, two other sons of the captain, who
were then residing with Mrs. Beckford, to whom we
have already referred as the niece and housekeeper
of the murdered Mar. White.  J. J. IKnapp, Jr., read
-he letter, said it contained a lot of trash, and advised them to hand  t to the committee of vigilance.




142           THE SECO-N) LETTElR.
It will be found in the sequel that this was a very
important letter, and J.J. J.napp, Jr., ought to have
known tlis.  It is perfectly amiazing that he should
have advised their placing it at the disposal of the
cormmittee.  Still this was done, and the coummittee
of vigilance obtained possession of the lette'.
The next day the committee of vigilance received
the following: -
"; GENTLEMEN O' THIE COMMIITTEE OF VIGILANCE 
Hearing that you have taken np four young rneil,
on suspicion of being concerned in thle rmurder of
IMr. White, I think it time to informin you  that Stephen White carnme to me one night, anld told me, if
I would remove the old gentleman, hae would give
me five thousand dollars.  He said he was aft8id he
would alter his will if he lived any longer.  I told
him  I would do it, but I was afraid to go inlto the
house.  He said lie would go in with ne; that he
would try to get into tlhe house in the evening, and
ope1n the window; would then go home and go to
bed, and meet fm$e again about elevenl. I found him,
and we both went into his chanm-ber.  I struck him
on his head with a heavy piece of lead, and thern
stabbed hilm  with a dirk; he mnade the finishing
strokes with another.  Ile promnised to sen  mec the
loney next evening, and has not sent it yet, whic]h
is the reason I mention this.
"; Yours, &c.,         GTRANT."T




ARREST OF PALMER.              143
This was directed tc the HEon. Gideon Barstow,
Salemn.  At the same time Hon. Stephen White
received the following, directed to him  through the
post office at Salem: —, L NN, Ma y 12, 1830.
",Mr. White will send the five thousand dollars,
or a Ipart of it, before to-morrow night, or suffer the
painful consequences.         N. CLAXTON, 4th."
The murdered gentleman was uncle to this Mr.
White, and had bequeathed to him the largest part
of his property.
Both of these letters were put into the Salem
post office on Sunday evening, May 16th.
After mature deliberation, the coirmmittee of vigilance carne to the conclusion that the letter signed
66 Charles Grant, Jr.," might, if followed up, result
in important disclosures.  They therefore sent a
judicious messenger to Prospect, in Maine.  This
messenger visited the postmaster there, confidentially
commlunicated to him  his business, and then sent
for an officer.  All things being ready, he deposited
a letter directed to Charles Grant, Jr., in the post
office, and then remnained there, waiting for Grant
to call for it.  It was not long before a man came
and asked for Grant's letter, when the officer stepped
forward and arrested hini.  Upon examination, it
appeared that his real name was Palmer, and that




144           THE PLOT REVEALED.
lie resided in the neighboring tow1n of Belfast.  Al
though he was a young man of genteel appearance,
his character was bad.  He had served out a term
in the state's prison of Maine.  TWhen informed of
the reason of his arrest, and of the suspicious character of his letter to Knapp, he saw that he might
justly be suspected of being accessory to the murder, and therefore, to clear himself, he revealed all
that le knew of the affair. He stated that he had
been a coimpanion of R. Crowninshield, Jr., and
George Crowninshield; that he had spent a portion
of the winter with them in Danvers and Salem, under the assumed name of Carr - part of this time
he had been concealed in their father's house in
Danvels. He further stated that, on the 2cl of Apljil,
he saw, firoml  the windclows of the house, Frank
R-napp, and a young man named Allen, ride up to
the house; that George and Frank walked a-way
together, ard Richard and Allen together.  When
they returned, George told  Richard  that Frank
wished  thenm to kill 3'r. White, and  that J. J.
Knapp, Jr., would pay one thousand dollars for the
job.  He also said that various methods of executing the ntmurder were proposed, and that they wanted him to be concerned in it, but that le declined.
George said that the housekeeper would be absent
at the time; that the design of J. J. Knapp, Jr., in
projecting the murder, was to destroy Mr. White's




KNAPP'S CONFESSION.             145
will, because it gave the largest amount of the property to Stephen White; that the will was first to be
destroyed by J. J. Knapp, Jr., and this he could do
by obtaining from  the housekeeper  the key of an
iron chest in which it was kept.  He also stated,
that Frank Knapp called again the same day, in a
chaise, and rode off again with Richard Crowninshield, and that he, Palmer, spent the night, on
which the murder was comimitted, at the Halfway
House, in Lynn.
The important information  commmunic ated  by
Palrer was at once transmitted to the colulmmittee
of vigilance, and resulted in the apprehension of
Joseph J. Knapp, Jr., and John Francis Knapp,
both of whonm were young shipmasters, and of respectable connections.  On the third day of their
imprisonmnent, Joseph J. Knapp, Jr., made a full
confession, and acknowledged that he originated the
plot for the murder.  He had married the daughter
of Mrs. Beckford, the housekeeper, and knew  that
by his will Mr. White had bequeathed to Mrs. Beckford a legacy of fifteen thousand dollars; but, being
informed that if Mr. White died without leaving a
will, Mrs. B.'s portion would be nearly two hundred
thousand dollars, he projected the plan of destroying Mr'. White's will, and then, before he could dcliscover the loss and make another, to put the old
man himself to death.  He revealed his plan to his
10




146           THE PREPARATION.
brother, and Frank agreed to find soime one to act
the assassin. After this Frank opened the matter to
Richard Crowninshield, J1., who said he would
commit the murder for a thousand dollars.  Joseph
agreed to pay him that amount, and, as he had access to the house at all hours, it was arranged that
he should unfasten the back window, so as to give
Richard easy entrance to the premises.
He also confessed that, four days before the murder, he stole the will from the iron chest, took it to
Wenham in his chaise box, where he had covered it
with hay, kept it till after the murder, and then
burned it.  After he had abstracted the will, he informed Crowninshield that all was ready.  On the
evening of the same day he mnet Crowninshield in
the centre of Salem Comton.  Crowninshield had
with him a bludgeon and a dagger, with which he
intended to commit the deed.  Knapp asked him
if he intended to do it that night.  He replied, he
thought not; he did not feel like it.  It being ascertained that on Sunday, the 4th of April, Mr.
White had gone to take tea with a relative in Chestnut Street, Crowninshield intended to assassinate
him with a dirk on his way home, but very fortunately Mr. White returned home before dark.  Being disappointed at this time, they next arranged for
the tragedy on the 6th of April.  Knapp was by
some means to induce Mrs. Beckford to spend the




THE MURDER.                147
night with her daughter at Wenham.  This being
accomplished, Crowninshield and Frank Knapp met
about ten o'clock on the appointed evening, in
Brown Street, in the rear of Mr. VWhite's garden,
where they could observe the movements in the
house, and see at what time Mr. White and his two
servants went to bed.  Crowninshield  requested
Frank Knapp to leave him  and go home.  Frank
did so, but shortly after returned to the same spot.
In the mcan time, however, Crowninshield walked
down Brown Street, through Newbury Street, into
Essex Street, on which the house fronts, entered a
gate, and walked round to the back part of the
house. Hie there found a plank, which he placed
against the house; he then climbed to a window,
raised it, entered the house, ascended the stairs,
noiselessly opened the door of Mr. White's slee?ing chamber, cautiously approached the bedside,
and saw that the old gentleman was sound. asleep.
He now raised a heavy bludgeon, which he, had carried with him for the purpose, and inflicted a mortal blow. To be certain of accomplishing his fiendish design, he gave the body of the old man many
stabs with a sharp dirk or poniard, and then deliberately felt of his pulse, to see that, it had ceased to
beat!  The dreadful deed being accomplished, he
retired from  the chamber, left the- hcuse. hurried
back into Brown Street, where he met Fikank,




148          THE WAGES OF CRIME.
who was there waiting to learn the particul;a- rs of the
deed. Crowninshield ran down Howard Street, concealed the club under the steps of the Orthodox
Church, and then went lome to Danvers.  Joselph
also confessed that the story of the attack upon
himself and brother, on the 27th of April, in Wenham, was entirely false - it was originated by themzm
selves.  He also confessed that le was thie author
of the two mysterious letters, signed ", Grant," and
"; N. Claxton, 4th."
Not long  after the murder, Crowvninshield, in
company with Frank, went over to Wenbhar  to obtain the one thousand dollars which were to be the
wages of his iniquity.  He obtained, however, at
thiat time, only  one hundred  five franc pieces.
Crowninshield gave a particular account of all the
circumstances connected with his commission of t]he
crime, told where he concealed the bludgeon, and
expl'ressed his sorrow  that Joseph Knapp lhad not
obtained  the riglt will - that if lhe had  known
there was another, he would lhave gotten it. Joseph
sent Frank to find the club, and in some way to
destroy it; but lie was unsuccessful in discovering
wlere it was.  When Joseph, however, made his
confession, he gave particular info rmation of its
place of concealment, and there it was found.  It
was a heavy hickory bludgeon, nearly two feet long,
with a large, egg-shaped head. This head had been




THE ASSASSIN IN PRISON.            149
hollowed out, and then filled with lead.  Its surface
was smooth, and the handle well adapted for a firm
grasp.  Crtowninshield stated that he turned it in a
lathe.
After Crowninshield's arrest and imprisonment,
hae manifested great indifference -  a kind of stoical
composure; but when  he was informed of Knapp's
arrest, his knees smote together, the sweat stood in
large drops upon his brow, and he was so fi'r overcome that he fell back upon his bunk.
lWhen Palmer, alias Charles Grant, Jr., was
brought to Salem jail, Crowninshield   saw  him  as
he left the carriaige and was led by the officers into
the prison.  Palmer happened to be placed in a cell
directly  under tle  one which  was occupied  by
Crowninshlield.  One day, when several of the members of the coummittee of vigilance were in Palmer's
cell, conversing with him, their attention was arrested by a loud whistle overhead.  Presently a voice
called, - Palmer! Palmer!"  Soon a slip of paper
and a pie, e of pencil were seen dangling in the air
over their heads, and gradually descending lower
and lower.  When they came within reach, they
were received by the committee.  Upon examining
the paper, it was found to contain two lines of poetry, in order that, if Palmer was really there, he
should signify it by writing two more lines, and
make the verse complete. Palmer shrunk away into




150         THE SUJICIDE AND TRIAL.
the corner of his cell, and was afterwards transferred to another part of the prison.  Hle stood in
great fear of Crowninshield.
Upon information received from Pahnlmer, Crowninshield's barn was searched on the 12th of June,
and a quantity of stolen goods was found concealed
there.  Crowninshield, finding that the evidences of
his guilt were clustering thickly around him, and
being determined, as he had frequently said, not to
suffer a public, ignominious punishment, committed
suicide by hanging himself with a handkerchief to
the bars of his cell.
The trial of the Knapps and of George Crowninshield was commenced in the Supreme Court, at
Salem, on the -20th of July, a special term of the
court having been held for that purpose.  It continued, with a few days' recess, till the 20th of August.  John Francis Knapp was indicted as principal, the otller two as accessories. Selman and Chiase,
who had been arrested and retained in prison, on
suspicion of being concerned in the murder, were
discharged.
John Francis Knapp was tried first.  The law
required that the principal criminal, in a case of
murder, must first be found guilty before any of the
accessories could be put upon trial.  His counsel
were Messrs. Franklin Dexter and Williamn H. Gardiner, gentlemen of distinguished reputation in their
profession.




THE CONVICTIONS.                151
When Joseph J. Knapp, Jr., -  who, upon the
p1roimise of favor from the government, had made a
full confession of the whole plot and of the manner
of its execution, -  was called upon the stand, lihe
refuised to testify'.  I-e would make no acknowledgments before the court and jury.  The government,
therefore, withdrew its pledge of favor, and lhe was
left to the regular course of law, after giving, as lihe
had  done by his confession, a clew  to sufficient
evidence for the  conviction  of hinself and  his
brother.
The trials proceeded.  Both  the Knapps were
convicted.  George Crowninshield proved that lie
was somewhere else at the time of thle murder, and
so was cleared.
5',ir. Webster had been requested by the officers
of goverinment to assist them  in conducting  the
After the evidence was all in, ancl Mr.:Franklin
Dexter had pleaded in defence of John F. Knapp,
itfr. Webster arose, and addressed the jury in be.
hlalf of the government.  nll the early part of his
plea lie gave utterance to the following  thrilling   description of the manner in which the deed was cornmitted.  As we  read  it, we can almost see the
assassin engaged in his work of death.  His analysis of the operation.s of conscience is also poxverfdl.




l152         AN ASTOUNDING CASE.;6 Gentlemen, it is a most extraordinary case; in
some respects it has hardly a precedent any where,
certainly none in our New England history.  This
bloody driama exhibited no suddenly excited, ungovern1able ratge.  The actors in it were not surprised by
any lion-like temptation springing upon their virtue,
and overcoming it, before resistance could begin.
Nor did they do the deed to glut savage vengeance, or
satiate long-settled and deadly hate.  It was a cool,
calculating, money-making murder.  It was  all'hire and salary, not revenge.' It was the weighing of money against life; the counting out of so
many pieces of silver against so many ounces of
blood.
", An aged mnan, without an enemy in the world,
in his own house, in his own bed, is made the victim
of a butecherly murder, for mere pay.  Truly here
is a new lesson for painters and poets.  Whoever
shall hereafter draw the portrait of murder, if he
will show it as it has been exhibited, where such
example was last to have been looked for, - in the
very bosom of our New England society, -let him
not give it the grim  visage of IMoloch, the brow
knitted by revenge, the face black with settled hate,
and the blood-shot eye emitting livid fires of malice:
let him draw, rather, a decorous, smoothfaced, bloodless demon; a picture in repose, rather than in action; not so much an example of human nature in its




THRILLING DESCRIPTION.           153
depravity, and in its paroxysms of crime, as an infernal being, a fiend, in the ordinary display and development of his character.
"4 The deed was executed with a degree of selfpossession and steadiness equal to the wickedness
with which it was planned.  The circumstances now
clearly in evidence spread out the whole scene before
us.  Deep sleep had fallen on the destined victim
and on all beneath his roof. A healthful old man, to
whom sleep was sweet, the first sound slumbers of
the night held him in their soft, but strong embrace;
the assassin enters, through the window already prepared, into an unoccupied apartment; with noiseless
foot he paces the lonely hall, half lighted by the
moon; lhe winds up the ascent of the stairs, and
reaches the door of the chamber; of this he moves
the lock, by soft and continued pressure, till it turns
on its hinges without noise; and he enters and beholds his victim  before him; the room  is uncommonly open to the admission of light; the face of
the innocent sleeper is turned fiom  the murderer,
and the beams of the moon, resting on the gray
locks of his aged temple, show him where to strike;
the fatal blow is given, and the victim passes, without a struggle or a motion, from the repose of sleep
to the repose of death.
4,It is the assassin's purpose to make sure work,
and he plies the dagger, theugh it is obvious that




154           A DREADFUL MISTAKE.
life has been destroyed by thle blow of the bludgeon;
he even raises the ag ed arm, that he may not fami in
his aim at the heart, and replaces it ag'ain over the
wounds of the poniard.  To finish the picture, he
explores the wvrist for the pulse; he feels for it, and
ascertains thhat it beats no longer:  it is accoimplished; the deed is done; hie retreats, retraces his
steps to the window, passes out through  it tas he
came in, and escapes.  He has dclone the nurder-;
no eye has seen him, no ear has heard him; the
secret is his own, and it is safe.
6 Ah, gentlemen, that was a dreadful miistake;
such  a secret can be -safe nowhere.  The whole
creation of God has neither nook nor coiner whlere
the guilty can bestow it, and say it is safe.  Not to
speak of that eye which  pierces through all disguises, and beholds every thing as in the splendor of
no00on such secrets of guilt are never safe from dletection, even by men.
" True it is, generally speaking, that,lmurder
will out;' true it is, that Providence hath so ordained, and doth so govern things, that those who
break the great law of, leaven by sheddingn man's
blood seldom  succeed  in  avoiding;discovery; especially in a case exciting' so much attention as this,
discovery must come, and w\ill come, sooner or later.
A thousand eyes turn at once to explore every man,
every thing, every circumstance, connected vwithl the




EFFECT OF CONSCIENCE.             155
time and place; a thousand ears catch every whisper; a thousand excited minds intensely dwell on
the scene, shedding all their light, and ready to kindle the slightest circumstance into a blaze of discovery.  Meantime, the guilty soul cannot keep its
own secret; it is false to itself; or, ratller, it feels
an irresistible impulse of conscience to be true to itself; it labors under its guilty possession, and knows
not what to do with it.  The human heart was not
made for the residence of such an inhabitant; it
finds itself preyed on by a torment which it dares
not to acknowledge to God or man.  A vulture is
devouring it, and it can ask no sympathy or assistance either from  heaven or earth.   The secret
which the murderer possesses soon comes to possess him; and like the evil spirits of which we read,
it overcomes him, and leads him whithersoever it
will; he feels it beating at his' heart, rising to his
throat, and demanding disclosure; he thinks the
whole world sees it in his face, reads it in his eyes,
and almost hears its workings in the very silence of
his thoughts; it has become his master; it betrays
his discretion, it breaks down his courage, it conquers
his prudence.  When suspicions from without begin
to embarrass him, and the net of circumstances to
entangle him, the fatal secret struggles with still
greater violence to burst forth; it must be confessed, it will be confessed; there is no refuige




156            MIR. W EBSTER'S PLEA.
from  confession but suicide, and suicide is confesSion.',
As a specimen of Mr. Webster's directness, clearness, and logical power, when arguing   a case to a
jury, wve give the following extract from  the sanae
plea.  The counsel for the defendant had spoken of
the evidence against the prisoner as, circiumstiantial
stuff."  Of this plhrase Mr. Webster makes ef-fective
use; it was a powerfuil weapon furnished him by hlis
adx*rsary., And now, gentlemen, in examining this evidence,
let us begin at the beginning, and see first what we
know independent of the disputed testimony.  This
is a case of circumstantial evidence; and these circunmstances, we think, are  full and  satisfactory.
The case mainly depends upon them, and it is common that offences of this kind must be proved in
this way.  lMidnight. assassins take no  witnesses;
the evidence of the facts relied on has been somewhat sneeringly denominated by the learned counsel, circumstantial stuff;' but it is not slch stuff as
dreams are made of.  Why does he not rend this
stuff?  JWhy does he not scatter it to the waindcs?
HTe dismisses it a little too summarily.  It shall
be my business to examine this stuff, and  try its
cohesion.;, The letter from Pa.lmer, at Belfast -  is that no
more tlan flim-sy stuff?




"4 CIRCUMSTANTIAL STUFF."         157
6 The fabricated letters from Knapp to the committee, and to 3Ir. White - are they nothing but
stu-ff?
" The circumstance, that the housekeeper was
away at the time the murder was committed, as it
was agreed she should be -is that, too, a useless
piece of the same staff?
", The facts that the key of the chamber door
Awas taken out and secreted; that the window was
unbarred and unbolted - are these to be so slightly
and so easily disposed of?
"- It is necessary, gentlemen, to settle now, at the
commencement, the great question of a conspiracy.
If there was none, or the defendant was not a party,
then there is no evidence here to convict him.  If
there was a conspiracy, and he is proved to have
been a party, then these two facts have a strong bearing onil others, and all the great points of inquiry.,, The defendant's counsel take no distinct ground,
as I have already said, on this point, either to admit
or to deny.  They choose to confine themselves to
a hypothetical mode of speech.  They say, supposing there was a conspiracy, non sequitur that the
prisoner is guilty as principal.  Be it so.  But still,
if there was a conspiracy, and if he was a conspirator, and helped to plan the murder, this may shed
much light on the evidence which goes to charge
him with the execution of that plan.




158            THE CONSPIRACY.
"We Inean to make out the conspiracy, and that
the defendant was a party to it, and then to draw
all just inferences from these facts., Let me ask your attention, then, in the first
place, to those appearances, on the morning  after
the murder, which have a tendency to show that it
was done in pursuance of a preconcerted plan of
operation.  What are they?  A  man was found
murdered in his bed; no stranger had done the
deed - no one unacquainted with the house had
done it; it was apparent that somebody within had
opened, and that somebody without had entered;
there had obviously and certainly been concert and
cobperation; the inmates of the house were not
alarmed when the murder was perpetrated; the assassin had entered without any riot or any violence; he had found the way prepared before him.
The house had been previously opened; the window was unbarred from within, and its fastening unscrewed; there was a lock on the door of the chamber inwhich Mr. White slept, but the key was gone;
it had been taken away and secreted; the footsteps
of the murderer were visible, out doors, tending
towards the window; the plank by which he entered
the window still remained; the road he pursued had
been thus prepared for him.  The victim was slain,
and the murderer had escaped; every thing indicated that somebody within had cooperated with some



DELIBERATE PLAN.              159
body without. Every thing proclaimed that some of
the inmates, or somebody having access to the house,
had had a hand in the murder.  On the face of the
circumstances, it Nwas apparent, therefore, that this
was a premeditated, concerted murder; that- there
had been a conspiracy to commit it.  Who, then,
were the conspirators?  If not found out, we are
still groping in the dark, and the whole tragedy is
still a mystery., If the inapps and the Crowninshields were not
the conspirators in this murder, then there is a whole
set of conspirators not yet discovered. Because, independent of the testimony of Palmer and Leighton,
independent of all disputed evidence, we know, from
uncontroverted facts, that this mnurder was, and must
have been, the result of concert and cooperation
between two or mnore.  We know it was not done
without plan and deliberation; we see that whoever
entered the house to strike the blow was favored
and aided by some one who had been previously in
the house, without suspicion, and who had prepared
the way.  This is concert, this is cooperation, this
is conspiracy.  If the Knapps and the Crowninshields, then, were not the conspirators, who were?
Joseph Knapp had a motive to desire the death of
Mr. White, and that motive has been shown.  He
was connected by marriage with the family of Mr.
White; his wife was the daughter of Mrs. Beckford, who was the only child of a sister of the de



160                THE WILL.
ceased.  The deceased was more than eighty years
old, and had no children; his only heirs were nephews and nieces.  He was supposed to be possessed
of a very large fortune, which would have descended,
by law, to his several nephews and nieces in equal
shares; or, if there was a wvill, then according to the
will.  But as he had but two branches of heirs, the
children of his brother, Henry White, and of Mrs.
Beckford, each of these branches, according to the
commonll idea, would have shared one half of his
property.  This popular idea is not legally correct;
but it is common, and very probably entertained by
the parties.  According to this idea, Mrs. Beckford,
on Mr. White's death without a will, would have been
entitled to one half of his ample fortune; and Joseph
Knapp had married one of her three children.
There was a will, and this will gave the bulk of the
property to others; and we learn from Palmer that
one part of the design was to destroy the will before
the murder was committed.  There had been a previous will, and that previous will was known or believed to have been more favorable than the other to
the Beckford family, so that by destroying the last
will, and destroying the life of the testator at the
same time, either the first and more favorable will
would be set up, or the deceased would have no will,
which would be, as was supposed, still more favorable; but the conspirators not having succeeded in
obtainirg and destroying the last will, though they




KEY OF THAT LOCK.                161
accomplished the murder, -that will being found.n
existence, and safe, and  that will bequeathing the
mass of property to others, - it seemed at the time
impossible for Joseph KInapp, as for any one else, indeed, but the principal devisee, to have any motive
which should lead to the murder.  The key which
unlocks the whole mystery is the knowledge of the
intention of the conspirators to steal the will.  This
is derived fronl Palmer, and it explains all; it solves
the whole marvel; it shows the motive which actuateci those against whom  there is much evidence,
but who, without the knowledge of this intention,
were not seen to have had a motive.  This intention
is proved, as I lave said, by Palmer; and it is so
congruous with all the rest of the case, it agrees so
well with all facts and circumstances, thlat no man
could well withhold his belief, though the facts were
stated by a still less credible witness.  Ift one desirous of opening a lock turns over and tries a bunch
of keys till he finds one that will open it, lie naturally supposes he has found the key of thft lock.
So, in explaining circumstances of evidence which
are apparently irreconcilable or unaccountable, if a
fact be suggested, which at once accounts for all,
and reconciles all, by whomsoever it may be stated,
it is still difficult not to believe that such fact is the
true fact belonging to tle case.  In this respect
Palmer's testimony is singularly confirmed.  If it




16~2          GUILT BETRAYS ITSELF.
were false, his ingenuity could not furnish uis such
clear exposition of strange-appearinig circumstfances.
Sone t.tuth not before known can alone do that."
4 The acts of the  parties  themselves  furnish
strong. presumption of tleir guilt.  Wihat was done
on the receipt of the letter f'rorml Maine?  This letter was signed by Charles Grant, Jr1.,: a -erson not
known to either of the I napps, nor wras it known
to them that any other person beside the Crowninshields knew of the conspiracy.  Tlhis letter, by the
accidental omission of the vword AS-., fell into the
hands of the fatherl, when intended for the son; the
father carried it to Wenlham, where both the sons
were.  They both read it.  Fix your eye steadily on
this part of the circumstantia  stgff, whlich is in the
case, and see what can be made of it.  This was
shown to the two brothers on S. aturday, the. 15th of
Misay; neither of them  knew  Palmer, and if they
had klown hinm; they could not know him  to have
been the writer of this letter.  it was mysterious to
them how any one at Belfast could have had knowledge of this affair.  Their conscious guilt prevented
clue circumspection.  They did not see the bearinl
of its publication.  They advised their father to
carry it to tlie committee of vigilance, and it was so
carried.  On the Sunday following, Joseph began
to think there mlighlt be something in it.  Perhaps,
in the mean time, he had seen one of thle Crowniinshields. He Awas apprehensive that they mnight be sus



GREAT FOLLY.                 163
pected; he was anxious to turn attention froom their
fa mily. I What course did le adopt to effect this?
He addressed one letter, with a false name, to'Mr.
White, and another to the conmmittee, and to complete the climax of his folly, he signed the letter
addressed to the colmmittee " Grant," the same naume
as that which wvas signed to the letter received from
Belfast.  It was in the knowledge of the coImmittee
that no person but the  nDapps had seen this letter
friom  Belfast, and that no other person  knew  its
signature; it must have been, therefore, irresistibly
plain to themn that one of the Knapps was the writer
of the letter received by the committee, charging  the
mnurder on Mr. White.. Add to this the fact of its
having been dated at Lynn, and mnailed at Saleml
four days after it was dated, and who could doubt
respecting it?  Have you ever read or known of
folly equal to this?  Can you conceive of crime
more odious and abominable? qMerely to explain the
apparent mysteries of the letter fiom Palmer, they
excite the basest suspicions against a man, whom, if
they were innocent, they had no- reason to believe
guilty, ancd whom, if they were guilty, they most certainly knew to be innocent. Could they have adopted
a more direct methobd of exposing their own infaiy?
The letter to the committee has intrinsic marks of
a knowledge of this transaction.  It tells the time
and the nmanner in which the rnurder was committed.




164          GUILT AND SUBTERFUGE.
Every line speaks the writer's condemnation.  In
attempting to divert attention from  his family, and
to charge the guilt upon  another, he indelibly fixes
it uponl himself.' Joseph Knapp requested Allen to put these letters
into the post office, because, said he,, I wish to nip
this silly affair in the bud.": If this were not theo
order of  in' overruling Providence, I should soay
that it was the silliest piece of folly that was eC,;ec
practised.  Mark the destiny of crime!  It is ever
oliged to resort to such subterfuges; it tremlibles i
the broad light; it betrays itself iin seeking eonceil
ment.  Ie alone walks safely that walks uprigly i.
Who for a amomnent can read these letters and doubt
of Joseph ]Knapp's guilt?  The constitutio  l of nature is umade to inform  against him.  There is no
corner dark  enough to conceal him.  There is  0no
turnpike road broad enough or smooth enoulgh for
a man so guilty to walk in without stumbli ng.  Every
step) -- lproclaims his secret to every passengeoar    -is
own acts come out to fix his guilt.  In attemptting   tiho
charge another with his own crime, he wrsites his
own confession.-'To do away the effect of Pal-er's
letter, signed' Grant,' le writes a letter himise!, L r-:i l
affixes to it the name of Grant.  Ie writes iin.'
disguised hand.  But how could it hTappen th1cat the
salme Grant should be in Salem that was  t Belfast?
This has brought the whlole thing out.  Evidently




IM1PORTANCE OF THE PLEAo.            65
he did it, because he has adopted the same style.
Evidently he did it, because he speaks of the price
of blood, and of other circumstances connected with
tlhe maurder, that uo one but a coQnspirator could hlave
known.      -;.....
These specimens are sufficient to show that the
plea of Mr'. Webster, on that occasion, was one of
great power.  It produced a thrilling effect.  The
prisoners were convicted, and it cannot be doubted
that Mir. lWebster's argument contributed in no small
degree to secure that result.  The excitement on
the occ(asion was intense.  Trhie court hoause was
crowded, yet the stillness of the tomb reined there
during the delivery of this plea; for it was believed
4t1hat life or death was depending upon the wvords
wh ich were being uttered.
Before leaving this trial, in which Mr. Webster
cccupied so important a part, it will be proper to
c.al special attention to a fewof the n-ore extraordi0nary features of the astounding deed, for the comm;ission of which the defendants were convicted and
executed.
it vwas remarkable that the evidence which first
directed public attention to the guilty parties should
have grown out of casual remarks which dropped
from one of the criminals some months before the
murder was committed, which remarks were revealed
to the committee of vigilance by, Hatch, xirlo was




166         REMIARKABILE INCIDENTS.
himself an imprisoned convict, in a distant part of
the state, at the time of the perpetration of the
bloody deed, and who, therefore,  nuast have been
ignorant of all the circumstances connected with it.
Little did Crowninshield imagine, when he expressed, in the hearing of Hatch, his determination
to put Mr. White to death, that lie was filrnishing
evidlence which would lead to his own apprehension
for the murder.  Yet so it was.  Anid herein are
we firnished with an illustration of the truth, that
the wicked are insnared  by the words of their
mouth, and that, in the providence of God, a criminal is allowed to weave a net for his own entanglemlent, in which, after the commission of his crime,
he is effectually caughlt.
It was very extraordinary that the letter signed,, Charles Grant, Jr.," from  Belfast,  naine, should
have reached J. J. Knapp, the father, instead of J.
J. KInapp, Jr., the son, for whom  it was intended.
Still more extraordinary was it, that when this letter
was shown to J. J. itrnapp, Jr., instead of perceiving
how strongly it would bear against him, he pretended that it contained merely, trash," and advised
his father to hand it to the committee of vigilance,
thereby unwittingly furnishing them with evidence
which resulted in directing their attention to him,
and -ultimately in revealing the whole conspiracy.
It was strange tl:lat, after the apprehension of the




THE CRIME PREDICATED  ON ERRORS.   167
Knapps, Joseph shouldl malke a confessiona of the
whole matter, upon the pledge of favor from  the
government, and then, after fiurnishing the government with a solution of all the labyrinth of' circuamistances connected with the tragedy, should withdraw
that confession, refuse to testify upon the stand, and
be willing himself to go to trial.  It is believed that
if he had adhered to his confession, his brother Frank
would not have been convicted, because his confession stated that, on the night of the murder, Crowninshielcl told Frank, in Brown Street, to go home;
that he went home, went to bed, and then got up
and returned to Brown Street, to learn the circumstances of the deed.  If tlhis was believed, then
Frank would not have been convicted as a principal,
because it would have appeared that he was not
there to " aid and abet " in the murdcer, according
to the legal signification of those termns.  Whilst
Joseph, being state's evidence, would not lhave been
tried at all.
It was extraordinary that the Smurder was projected under the influence of two errors -one of
law and the other of fact.  The error of law was,
that if Mir. White died without a will, MBi1s. Beckford would inherit one 1alf of his estate, whereas
Joseph Kinapp knew  that, by his will, he had left
her a great deal less than one half.
The error in fact was, that when the will, as was




168          SNARES OF THE WICKED.
supposed, was taken fiom Mr. White's iron chest, it
proved to be the wzrong will.:Mr. White had made
one of later date.  So that the specific object of the
murder was effectually defeated.
It was also a remllarkable development of the hardening nature of human depravity, that, on the night
following the tragedy, Knapp should have watched
with the body of the murdered old man, and at the
funeral should have officiated as one of the chief
mourners, even following hiim to the grave in that
capacity, without, by the slig'htest word or act, creating the least suspicion of his ownV guilt.
Let the young be admonished, by the dreadful
fate of these offenders, (one of whom committed suicide in prison, and the two others being executed,)
to avoid evil associates.  They cannot mingle with
the wicked without beingl contaminated by them.  In
view of this thrilling tragedy, how significant is the
language of Solomon!M- 4My son, if sinlners entice thee, consent thou not.
If they say, Come with us; let us lay wait for blood;
let us lurk privily for the ianocent without cause;
let us swallow  them  up alive, as the grave, and
whole, as those that go down into the pit.  We
shall find all precious substance; we shall fill our
houses with spoil.  Cast in thy lot among us; let
us all have one purse.  My son, walk not thou in
the way with theml; refrain thy foet firom their path.




WEBSTER AND MASON.             169
For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed
blood.  Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight
of any bird. And they lay wait for their own blood;
they lurk privily for their own lives.  So are the
ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which
taketh away the life of the owners thereof."
Mr. Webster has been repeatedly heard to say
that he was indebted in no small degree to Mr.
Jeremiah BMason for his attainments in legal science,
and his skill in argumnent.  Mr. Mason was a most
powerfulf competitor in any cause; hence, when
Webster was opposed to him, as was often the case,
he was compelled to make a careffl and elaborate
preparation to meet his opponent.
Joel Parker, LL. D., Royall professor in the University of Cambridge, in his interesting address before the students in the Law School, on the claracter of Daniel Webster as a jurist, says,"- Some half dozen years since, in a company of
gentlemen, Mr. Webster was applied to for his opinion of M1r. Mason's ability as a lawyer.  Speaking
deliberately, and in a manner denoting his intention
to give emphasis to what Ihe uttered, he replied that
he had known, as a young man knows his superiors
in age, the bar of a. former generation, - all the
leading men in it, - and he was intimately acquainted with all the leading lawyers of the present bar
of the United States; but for himself, he had rather




|7-0        T.:IAL OF A LEGISLATOR.
mleet, if it could be combined, all the talent and
learning of the past and present bar of the United
States, than Jeremiah Mason, single-handed and
alone.  The mnan who had Jeremiah Mauson for his
counsel was sure of having his case tried as wvell as
it was possible for human ingenuity and learning to
try it." 
In a beautiful tribute to the character of Mr.
Mason, at a bar meeting upon the occasion of his
death, Mi'. Webster said,, I am bound to say, that
of my own professional discipline and attainments,
whatever they may be, I owe much to that close
attention to the discharge of my duties which I was
compelled to pay for nine successive years, from day
to day, by iMr. Mason's efforts and arguments at the
same bar. Fas est ab hoste doceri; and I must have
been unintelligent indeed not to have learned something fiom the constant displays of that power which
I had so tmuich occasion to see and to feel."
It would  appear, however, that there were
", blows to take, as well as blows to give," from the
time of the earliest mleeting of Mr. Mason and Mr.
Webster as opposing counsel.  In another note to
the Life of Chief Justice Snmith, it is stated, apparently on the authority of Mr. Mason himself, that
the first time they met was in a criminal trial.  The, P. Harvey, Esq.




MASON SURPRISED.             171
defendant was indicted for counterfeiting.  Mr. M'ason was in the defence, and Mr. Webster, in the absence of the attorney general, was applied to by the
solicitor for the county to act in behalf of the state.
hMr'. Mason, it is said, had heard of him as a 6, young
man of remarkable promise; " but he had heard
such things of young men before, and prepared himself as he would have done to meet the attorney
general.  But he soon found that he had quite a
different person to deal with. The young man came
down upon him, like a thunder shower," and'MIr.
Mason's client got off, as he thought, more oin account of the political feelings of the jury, than from
the arguments of the counsel.  Mr. Mason was particularly struck with the higll, open, and manly
ground taken by Mr. Webster, who, instead of availing himself of any technical advantage, or pushing
the prisoner hard, confined himself to the main
points of law and fact. IMr. Mason did not know
how much allowance ought to be made for his being
taken so by surprise, but it seemed to him that he
had never since known Mr. Webster to show greater
legal ability in an argument.*
It may be added, that the defendant in that
case had been a member of the legislature -one
of the creators of law.  This led Mr. Webster, in' Life of Judge Smith, p. 263.




1702   WEBSTER'S PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER.
his arglument to the jury, to say, in connection with
the sentiment that no position in society could place
a mann above the reach of law, that ", the majesty and
impartiality of the law  were such, that it would
bring even its gtuilty creator to its feet" - a passage
which has been much admired for its felicity and
povwer.
In his own, and in other states, Mr. Webster wai
engaged in some of the most important cases ever
tried in the country.  In all of them  he developed
the same great talents, and extensive information
upon the points of law involved; the same clearness, terseness, directness, and logical power, vwhether pleading to the court or to the jury. These cases
embraced almost every principle which is made the
subject of litigation in our courts, and in all of them
Mr. Webster proved himself to be at home.  Those
who wish to know the character of his pleas on
those great occasions are referred to his works, as
edited by the Hon. Edward Everett.  They cannot
be t-)o strongly recommended to the young men of
)ur land.




CHAPTE IT   T E R X.
Mr. Webster in  the  fHouse of Representatives. -  His  llsi
Speech. - Its Impression. - Was successful. - Not in tHaste
to debate. - IHis Qualities as an Orator.- An Attack on 1New
Engianild. - W\tebster and Bell. - A crowded  Senate. - His
Introduction. - His Allusion  to the Old Bay State. -Tle
thrilling Effect. - Aleetinsg in the East R1oom. - Importance of
the Speech. - Webster's transcendent Abilities.- Seventh of
Mlarch Speech. - Its Effect. -- Different Opinions concerning it.
No  individual possessed  olf Br.  Tebster's  abilities could  remain long in  thle quiet practice of tany
profession.  ]His country needed his talents, andt demanded  that ait should  be  altid as an offetring   upon
the  altar  of patriotism.   Great genius  and  great
modesty are ofttiries insepmarable compan:'ions.  This
was seen  in thie case of'i.r.'Webster.    l e was nPot
aixious to enter into the troubled wbhirlpool of politics.   Ie was satisfied   with fhis profession, and wnas
not desirous to relinquish it for the honors or emoluments of public  office..'et, at the  call of his
fellow-citizens, lhe coinsented  to enter upon  the untried  labors  atnd  responsibilities  of  congressional
life.
At the early age of thirty lhe was chosen to a seat
in the national H-fouse of;.,epresMentatives, where he
17 3




174          WEBSTER IN CONGRESS.
was immediately brought into contact with a galaxy
of the most distinguished men of the country.  He
wvas at once appointed on the most important committee in the house —that of foreign relations.
The United States were then at war with Great
Britain, and consequently an uniusual amount of responsibility and labor devolved upon this committee.
Although he was now  introduced upon a stage
where every thing was novel to him, - where the:haracters, the scenes, the machinery, and the cast
and strength of the company, were all to be learned,
-yet he soon proved himself to be an apt scholar.
Yea, before long he became a teacher there.  Not
satisfied with being like a spectator at a theatre,
an inactive beholder of other inen's performiances,he preferred to take part int the important drama
hinself.  Accordingly, in the early part of the session, he presented a series of resolutions of inquiry,
concerning the repeal of the Berlin and AMilan decrees, and on the 10th of June, 1813, lie made his
first speech in Congress in their support.  As no
report of the speech has been preserved, we have
no other means of knowing its character, and the
impression which it produced, than from  tradition,
and the remarks of those who were favored with the
privilege of hearing it.  Mr. Everett says that it
wvas a calm  and statesmanlike exposition of the object of the r'solutious he had introduced, and was




NTIS FtI'ST CONGRESSSIONAL SPEECH.    i75
mn1arked by all the char.cteristics of BSl. - I's mlaturest pariil; tia e'ty efiorts -  6 ioderation  of0 tone,
pr ecisilona of statnement, fCorce of reasoningl, anbs-ence
of ambitious rhetoric and highflo wan language, occasional bursts of true cloquence, and, pervading the
whole, a genuine and fervid patriotisml."
firo. U'Iarch  says of it, " The opening of his speech
was simple, unaffected, without pretenision, gradually
gainiog  the confidence of his audience by its trainsparent sincerity and frieedomn fiom aught resembling
display. As the orator continued and grew animlated
iris words blecanme more fluent and his language 1ore
nervous; a crowd of' thoutglhts seemed rushl.ing upon
h1i'm, all cager for utterance.  IHe lield them, however, unlder the conzmmand of his mind, as greybhounds
witih a leash, till lhe neared  the close of his speech,
when,l warmed by the previous restraint, he pourid
them  all forth, one after anothler, in glowing lianguage.
The speech took the house by surprise, not so
muc1h friom  its eloquence as fromi the vast amrount
of historical knowledge and illustrative ability displayed in it.  How a peson untrained to forensic
contests, and unused to public affairs, could exhibit
so much parlianm-entary tact, such nice appreciation
of the difficulties of a difliult question, and such
quiet felcility in surirmounting them, puzzled the nmind.
The age and iniexperience of the spfcaker had pre



176   OPINION OF CHIEF JUSTICE MARSHALL.
pared thle house for no such display, and astonishment
for a time subdued the expression of its admiration."
6"No member before," says a person then in the
house, "4 ever riveted the attention of the house so
closely, in his first speech.  Members left their
seats where they could not see the speaker face to
face, and sat down, or stood on the floor, fronting
him.   All listened  attentively and silently during
the whole speech; and when it was over, rmany went
up and warmly congratulated the orator; amaong
whom  were some, not the most niggard of their
compliments, who rmost dissented from  the views he
had expressed."
Chief Justice }'darshall, writing to Judge Story,
some timze after this speech, says,,, At the time when
this speech was delivered, I did not know Mr. Web
ster; 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 first states-.men in America, and perhaps the very first."
Such praise, from  such a man," says Judge
Story,, ought to be very gratifying.  Consider that
he is now seventy-five years old, and that he speaks
of his recollections of some eighteen years ago with
a fre3hness which shows how deeply your reasoning
impressed itself upon his mind. Keep this in m7emoriazm rei."' 
Tie speech immediately raised its a. thor to the
" Story to Webster.




HIS SPEECH SUCCESSFUL.             177
frst consideration ili the house, and gained him
great reputation throighout the country.
Not only was this imaiden speech commended in
the strongest terms by those who heard it, but, mlore
than this, it accomplished the object for which it was
delivered, viz., the adoption of the resolution, in reply to which, Mr. AMonroe, the secretary of state,
presented an elaborate and full report, furnishing
all the information that was called for.
It will not be possible, in the limits which we have
assigned for this volume, to give at any length the
history of iMr. Webster's congressional career, which
extended through a series of forty years; neither is
it necessary for those for whom we write.  It must
suffice to say, that during this long period he was
a member of the national Conigress, either as a member of the House of Representatives or of the Senate.
He was not a frequent speaker; he reserved his
strength for great occasions.  An important motto
with himn was,, Some questions will improve by keeping."  Whilst, therefore, others dashed impatiently
into debate upon the first opportunity, he calmly;amited.  By listening to the discussions of others,
hie not onlyunderstood what was said, but saw clearly what was left unsaid.  He not only perceived on
what points light was shed, but also what was left
in darkness.  He also learned the objections which
were cherished to any views which he intended to
1L




178            WEBSTER AS A DEBATER.
advocate; anrid consequently, whet lie arose, he was
better prepared to meet the issues of the case than
those who took the initiative in the debate.  He was
prepared to shed liglht upon those points which were
left in shadow, and unravel the difficulties which
others had in vain tried to solve, or which, in conscious weakness, they had  wisely left  untouched.
He was therefore  always listened to with interest
and profit.  He always  contributed something  new,
either in fact or argument.
As a debater lie was unsurpassed: witrh deep, sonerouls, bass tones  of voice, susceptible of a great
variety of nimodulation; with  deep-set, dark, bril
hlant eyes, overshadowed by a higlh projecting   forehead, yet susceptible of great expression; with a tall,
well-,develo:ped, manly form, -  he possessed all the
physical elemients of a great orator.  When to these
it is added, that he always possessed an accurate
an1d extensive knowledge of every question onr which
he intended to speak, and of its various relations to
collateral thelmes, that lhe exhibited a marked simplicity in the statement of his propositions, a wonderfull powier of condensation in his use of language,
great care in hlis narrative of facts, a lucid arrangesnent in the divisions of his subject, close logical
consecutiveness an his reasoning, and a delivery at
first calm aind deliberate, but (s le advanced in his
argument, impassioned and eai'iest, it need awalen




WEBSTER AN ORATOR.              179
no sarprise that he was listened to with equal pleasure by highly-cultivated scholars, and by plain, unlettered men.
An amusing evidence of Mr. Webster's simplicity
of expression is furnished in the following anecdote:
On  the arrival of that singular  genius, David
Crockett, at Washington, he had  an opportunity
of hearing:Mr. Webster.  A short time afterwards
he met him, and abruptly accosted him as follonws:
"Is this AMr. Webster?"  "    Yes, sir.",, The
-great Mr. Webster, of Massachusetts?" continued
he, with a significant tone.  " I am Mr. Webster,
of Massachusetts," was the calm  reply.,, Well,
sir," continued the eccentric Crockett,' I had heard
that you were a great man, but I don't think so; I
heard your speech, and understood every word you
said."  IMr. Webster was always understood; lie
possessed the rare ability of presenting the most
difficult and abstruse themes in language so simple,
yet appropriate and beautiful, that any individual of
even ordinary capacity could comprehend them.
After, by a few forensic efforts, he had established
his reputation as an orator, a report that he was to
speak upon any subject was sure to fill the Senate
chamber to its utmost capacity.  One of his most
remarkable displays of eloquence was given in his
great debate with Colonel HIayne, of SoL.th Carolina.
This latter gentleman had made in:be Senate




ISO        ATTACK OF COLONEL HAYNE.
what was regarded as a most un1justifiable and violent attack upon Mr. Wvebster and the institutions
of New England.  The speech produced a profound
sensation. If its false statements and erroneous principles were not corrected, there was danger of its
doing, much mischief.
Mr. Webster felt called upon to reply.  At the
saime time lhe regarded hilmself as placed in a critical
position; and the more so as he was aware that SOme
of his political friends might not agree with the views
he was about to  present in answer to Colonel
Itayne.  It appeared to hIlim  that the constitution
and the peace of the country were in danger.  Ile
earnestly desired to give utterance to his sentiments,
ncad yet ihe did not wish to assume a position adverse
to any of his firiends.  On the morning of the day
on which he mLade his reply, he invited Hon. Mr.
Bell, of New  It-Tampshire, into the robing  room of
the Senate, and revealed to him  his embarrassment.
You know, Mr. Bell, my constitutional opianionsS
tIere are among' my friends in the Senate some whao
may not concur in them.  Vlhat is expedient to be
done? ", I advise you," said Mtr. Bell, iin a very
emiphatic manner,,6to speak out boldly and fully
your itloughilts upon the subject.  It is a critical nmoment,'' he added, ", and it is time, it is high time,
that the people of this country should know what
this colnstitultiofl is."s




MR. BELL'S ADVICE.              181
" Then," replied Mlr. Webster, in a calm, but dcetermined manner,," by the blessing of Heaven, they
shall learn this day, before the sun goes down, what
I understand it to be."
Thanks to Mr. Bell for his word of encouragement at that trying moment; it had its influence.
NTo one has given a more lifelike and vivid account of that great occasion than Mr. March, and
wve are persuaded that we cannot render a better
service to our readers than by transferring a part of
his description to our pages., "It was on Tuesday, January the 26th, 1830,a day to be hereafter forever memorable in senatorial annals, - that the Senate resumed the consideration of Foot's resolution.  There  never was before, in the city, an occasion 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 nine o'clock of this morning, crowds poured
into the Capitol, in hot haste; at twelve o'clock, the
hour of meeting, the Senate chamber -its galleries,
floor, and even lobbies — was filled to its utmost
capacity.  The very stairways were dark with men,
who hunig 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,




182          THE SENATE CROWDED.
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 tile 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 particularly intense.  Dixon H. Lewis, then a
representative 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, constructed 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. 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.
"c 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




MR. WEBSTER PREPARED.             183
dresses threw a varied and picturesque beauty over
the scene, softening and emibellishing it., Seldom, if ever, has a 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,
ability, or position; a name to make still more glorious, or lose forever; and an audience comprising
not only persons of this country most eminent inr
intellectual greatness, hut representatives of other
nations, where the art of eloquence had flourished for
ages.  All the soldier seeks in opportunity was here..
c Mir. Webster perceived, and felt equal to, thedestinies of the moment.  The very greatness of
the hazard exhilarated him.  His spirits rose wvith,
the occasion.  He- awaited the time of onset with a
stern and impatient joy.  He felt like the war horse
of the Scriptures, who 4 paweth in the valley, and'
rejoiceth in his strength; who goeth on to meet the
armed 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 no vain estimate of his power, but the legitimate offspring of previous severe mental discipline,
sustained and excited him.  He had gauged his opF
ponents, his subject, and himself.




184       WEBSTER'S SELF-POSSESSION.' He was, too, at this period, in the very prinme
of manhood.  IHe had  reached middle age —an
era in the life of man when the faculties, physical
or intellectual, may be supposed to attain their fullest
organization and most perfect development.  Whatever there was in him  of intellectutal energy and
vitality, the occasion, his full life and high amlbition,
might well bring forth.
"He never rose on an ordinary occasion to address an  ordinary  audience  more self-possessed.
There was no tremlulousness in Ihis voice or nmanner; nothing hurried, nothing simulated. The calmness of superior strength was visible every wherein con-itenance, voice, and bearing.  A deep-seated
conviction of the extraordinary character of the
emergency, and of his ability to control it, seemed
to possess bim wholly.  If an observer, more than
ordinarily keen-sighted, detected at times something
like exultation in his eye, he presumed it sprang firom
the excitement of tile moment, and the anticipation
of victory.
", The anxiety to hear the speech was so intense,
irrepressible, and universal, that no sooner had the
vice president assumed the chair, than a motion was
made, and unanimously carried, to postpone the ordinary preliminaries of senatorial action, and to
take up immediately the consideration of the resolution.








AlkaT               E11 i,:t
I  ~    ~                         i      I
7WaERSTEI-Sn, REPLY TO RAYNEI  NTG TTE U. SI, SENA'TE.




HIS EXORDIUM.                 185
6  Mr. Webster rose and addressed tihe Senate.
His exordium  is known by heart every where:' Mr.
Presidenit, 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 stor;m, the earliest glance of the sun, to take his
latitude, and ascertain how far the elements have
driven hirm from  ]his true course.  Let us imlitate this
prudence, and, before we float further on the waves
of this debate, refer to the point fiom which we departed, that we may, at least, be able to form  some
conjecture where we now are.  I ask for the reading of the resolution.'
T Where wanted no more to enchain the attention.
There w-as a spontaneous, though silent, expression
of eatger approbation, as the orator concluded these
opening remarks; and, while the clerk read the
resolution, many attempted the impossibility of gettinIg nearer the speaker.  Every head  was inclined
closer towards  him, every ear turned in the direction of his voice, and that deep, sudden, miysterious
silence followed, which always attends fuilness of
emotion.  F1rom  the sea of upturned faces:before
hin, the orator beheld his thoughts reflected as fi'om
a mirror.  The varying countenance,:the suffused
eye, the -earnest smile, and ever-attentive look, assured hihm  of his audience's entire sympathy.  If
amongi  his hearers there wvere those who affected at




186            FIRST 1IPRESSIONS.
first an indifference to his glowing thoughts and fervent periods, the difficult mask was soon laid aside,
and profound, undisguised, 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 nearer approach, proved to be
upside down.  In truth, all, sooner or later, voluntarily, or in spite of themselves, were wholly carried
away by the eloquence of the orator.,' Those who had doubted Mr. Webster's ability
to cope with and overcome his opponents were
fully satisfied of their error before he had proceeded
far in his speech.  Their fears soon toolk another
direction.  XWhen they heard his sentences of pow-v
erful thought, towering, in accumnulative grandeur,
one above the other, as if the orator strove, Titanlike, to reach the very heavens themselves, they
were giddy with an apprehensicn that h1e would
break down in his flight.  They dared not believe
that genius, learning, any intellectual endowment,
however uncommon, that was simply mortal, could
sustain itself long in a career seenmingly so perilous.
They feared an Icarian fall.,, Ah, who can ever forget, that was present to
hear, the tremeinous, the cawful 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?




HIS DEFENCE OF MASSACHUSETTS.             187
i 6 Mr. President, I shall enter on no encoiniumn
upon Massachusetts.  There she is — behold her,
and judge for yourselves.  There is her historythe world knows it by heart 1  The past, at least,
is secure.  There is Boston, and Concord, and Lexinfgton, and Bunker Hill -  and there they wvil remain forever.  The bones of her sons, failing in the
great struggle for independence, now  lie mingled
with the soil of every state, fronm  New England to
Georgia —and  there tlhey wvill lie forever.  And,
sir, xwhere American Liberty raised its first voice,
and where its youth;was nurftured and sustained,
there it still lives, in tlhe strength of its manhood,
and full of its original spirit.  If discord  and disunion  shall wxouund it -if party  strife and  blind
ambition shall hawk  at and te;ar it-  if folly and
madness, fi uneasiness under salutary and necessacry restraint, shall succeed to separate it f1rori that
Union, by which alone its existence is miacde sure, it
will stand, in the endal, by the side of that cradle in
whiclh its infancy was rocked; it will stretch forth
its arm, with whatever of vigor it may still retain,
over the fri'ends 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 Newv Elongand heart was there but throbbed
with vehemnent, tumultuous, i'rrepressible emotion, as




188        THE SENSATION PRODUCED.
he dwelt ulpon New England sufferings, New England struggles, and New England triumphs, during
the -war of the revolution?  Thl-lere was scarcely a
dry eye in tile Senate; all hearts were overcome;
grave judges, and men grown olc in dignified life,
turned aside their lleads to conceal the evidences of
their emotion.
", In one corner of the gallery was clustered a
group of Miassachusetts men.  They had hung fiom
the first inmoment upon the words of the speaker, with
feelings 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, minidful of the savage attack upon him  and New E]ngland I, and the
fearful odds against him, her champion; as lie vwent
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 M1assachusetts, their feelings were strained to the
highest tension; and when the orator, con-cluding
his encomiun  upon the land of their birth, turned,
intentionally or otherwise, hiis burning eye full upon
them, they shed tears like girls!
"6No one who was not present can understand
the excitement of the scene.  No cne who was can
give an adequate description of it.  No word-painting can convey the deep, intense enthusiasm, the




iMR. EVERETT S TESTIMONY.           189
reverential attention, of that vast assembly, nlor
limner transfer to canvas their earnest, eager, awestruck  countenances.  Though  language were  as
subtile and  flexible as thought, it still would  be
impossible to represent the fiull idea of the scene.
There is somlething intangible 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.
M6 Much of the instantaneous effect of the speech
arose, of course, fr'om  the orator's delivery - the
tones 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 described in general ternims.  4 Of tlhe effectiveness of 3Mr. \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 fortune 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 com  letely realized my conception of what
Demosthenes was when he delivered the oration for
the ClOWin.'
Another gentlemnan who was present on that deeply interesting occasion, in describing the effect pro



199        LHAYNE'S ACKNOWTLEDGIENT.
duced upon his own  mind by this speech of Mr.'Webster, said, -
"He vwas a totally different thing friom any public
speakel I ever heard.  I sonmetimes felt as if I were
looking at a man mmoth treading, at an equable and
stately  pace, bis native canebrake, and, without
apparent consciousness, crushing obstacles which nature had never designed as impediments to hilm."
On the evening' of the day on which this great
speech was delivered, the president held a levee in
the White House, as his mansion is called.  A larlge
and brilliant company were assembled.  The famous
east room was crowded.  There were representatives, e,,na tors, judges, naval oficers, gentlemen of
distiuction fr'om abroad, privsate citizens, and ladies,
all attirred in elegant costuime befitting  the occasion.
At one end of lthis spacious apartment was Colonel:1aye, sulrroundedl by his fiiends; at the other end
was Daniel WTebster, in the centre of a g'roup of his
admi.ers.  Du:1ring the evening  M r. Hayne  made
his way to to te opposite end of the room, for the
purpose of expressing  his congratulations to his
distinguished opponent.  Mir. Webster saw him-n  approaching, and when he h ad arrived sufficiently near,
hew advanced with his hand extended, and in his accustomued  familiar manner. said,, How  are yolu,
Colonel       "        hayne?   to relich the colonel immmediately
replied, " Nioe [eC,tt:r ij'?/on, sir."  A  frank
ackowl   e d m.lent of a p.afi-fil truoth.




IMPORTANCE OF THIS SPEECH.           191
Mr. Webster's reply in the Senate to Mr. Hayne
was soon widely circulated.  It was printed in the
papers of all the states of the Union; it was read
and commented on  by thousands; it assisted  to
dissipate the dark clouds which were gathering over
our'country; it arrested  nullification; it neutralized the effect of wrong views respecting state rights,
and the relation of the several states to the national
government, by presenting those which were correct;
it rendered important assistance in saving the country from a civil war, and perhaps from a dissolution
of the Union.  The crisis was one of great responsibility, and nobly was it met.  This single speech,
viewed in connection with the circumstances under
which it was delivered, and the important effects
which followed it, was enough to have given hilm
great and permanent renown, though he had performed no other public act during his life; but when
we remelrmber that this was only one of a long series
of important acts, scattered over a period of forty
years, in which Mr. Webster proved himself equal
to every occasion, and competent to suggest remedies, in accordance with his views of the constitution,
for every difficulty, however great or intricate, in
which the nation was involved, our admiration of his
transcendent abilities is greatly increased.
Another speech which  was delivered  by M1r.
Webster in the Senate of the United  States. and




192        SEVENTH OF MARCH SPEECH.
which produced a profound sensation throughout the
country, was given on the 7th of Ma rch, 185-0, and
is in his printed works entitled  the Constitution
and the Union; it is more generally known as hI is
speech in support of the fugitive slave bill.  As
this wriTas one of the most imlportant speeches of BlJr.
Webster daurin' his long congressional career, it is
proper' that we aliude to it in this connection.
It should be relmembered that when the union of
the states was formied, a numaber of the saites at thle
north, as well as those at the south, sanctioned slavery.  It wvas no uncommon thing for the slavesapprentices and servants -  to escape from one state
and flee into another; it was, therefore, deemed
im}portaint that, in the constitution of the United
States, provision should be made for the reclaiming
of these filgitives.  The south was uinwilling to form
a union:withl the north  without such  pro7ision.
Tile north  consented; it was accordingly inserted
in the consL'itution, that persons held to service in
one state, who slhould escape and flee into another
state, might be reclaimed by those who'held th1em
as servants.  With this the Southern States were
satisfied, and believing that in this matter the north
was acting in good faith, they cheerfully came into
the Unp.ion.
In the course of years, great difficulty was experienced lin executing  this provision of the constitu



NATIONAL EXCITEAMENT.            193
tion.  The men who framed that important docunment passed away; other generations arose and
took their places; amongst these were many who
regretted the existence of this provision, and who
were unwilling to comply with it.  The legislatures
of some of the states passed laws adverse to it, and
designed to impede its execution.  Associations were
formed at the north to aid the flight of slaves into
Canada, which were instrumental in bringing many
out of bondage into the enjoyment of personal liberty.   The south became irritated, accused the
Northern States of violating the constitution, and
threatened to withdraw fi'om  the Union.  The excitement occasioned by this state of things was widespread and intense.  It was believed by some that
the Union was in danger.
Under these circumstances, Mr. Webster felt it to
be his duty to exert himself to the full extent of his
ability to allay the universal agitation.  For this
purpose he delivered, on the 7th of March, 1850,
his great speech for the Constitution and the Union,
in which he favored the passage of a law for reclaiming fugitive slaves.
This speech awakened widely different feelings
throughout the country.
There were those who regarded it as evidence of
treason to freedom - as an act which sullied what
would otherwise have been his spotless fame.  Miany
13




194            OPPOSITE OPINIONS.
of his own political friends deeply regretted the position which he then assumed.  The pulpit and the
*press poured out upon him their burning anathemas.
No language was too strong in which to give expression to the animadversions which were indulged.
But others took a directly opposite view.  They regarded it as prebiminently judicious and timely, as a
neutralizing element, thrown into the caldron of
public opinion, where the elements of disunion were
in violent effervescence.  It appeared to them as the
greatest and most valuable offering lIr. Webster
ever made for his country's good —as the crowning glory of his life.
The following extracts are presented as speciinens of these opposite views.  The first is from
an article on Mr. Webster in one of our leading
Quarterlies.
4 "We were in Boston when the telegraph brought
a few brief lines, indicating the positions of that 7th
of March speech.  Almost every body seemed filled
with amazement, and suggested that the Washington
telegraphist must be a mischievous wag, or that the
lightning had falsified the message with whose delivery it had been charged. The wisest editors confessed themselves puzzled, and besought the public
to suspend their judgment till the facts could be
learned.
"c The speech itself came in due time, and then




EXTRACT FROM A REVIEW.            195
tilere was doubt no  longer.  The whole north
seemed indignant, and Massachusetts hung her head
in mortification.  Even in her legislative halls, men
who lhad never been suspected of radical tendencies
shook their heads meaningly, and muttered of
treachery and Benedict Arnold.  The Bay State felt
that her honest pride had been heartlessly humbled,
and her confidence abused.  But Daniel Webster
was a great man, having great influence; and the
question was mooted, at first privately, whether we
could afford to lose him.  The tone of the press was
changed; the legislature laid the proposition to request him to resign his seat under the table; political commentators wrote parodies on the speech; the
merchants apologized for its seeming severity on
northern heresies; the pulpit pleaded for moderation;
a thousand men of standing and. property wrote him
a letter of thanks; he himself came on, and rode
through the streets of Boston, telling her, as he went,
that he was on the road of political safety.; and
then we knew that the battle of freedom was to be
fought, not only without his assistance, but with his
giant form towering up in the van of the hosts of
despotism, making a mock of our faith and our
feebleness."
The next is from a Eulogy of Daniel Webster, by a distinguished  divine.
I" At a later period, and nearer to our own times,




196                 EULOGY.
the prevalence at the nortli of hostility to southern
institutions  gave  birth to projects by which the
Union and the constitution were again endangered
- the Union by fostering a spirit of desperate sectional animosity, the  constitution  by  trampling
on the guaranties established by it for the pr'otection  of the  rights  of the  slaveholding  states.
Throyuglh the  excitenm'ent consequent upon these
projects, the public business was brought to a stand,
and the public mind dismayed with the apprehension
of coming evils.  In this crisis, the veteran senator
fromlll  assachusetts was seen again at his post, looking somewhat older, but showing no  abatement
either in the power of his mind or the fire of his
patriotism.  He stood where he always had stood,
and where he had promised he should always be
found -- for the constitution and the Union.  The
assailants came firom  the opposite point of the
compass, and so he had faced about; but lie had
not clhanged sides.  It was no longer the gay and
prancing  chivalry of the south which he had to encounter; but a sturdy and multitudinous northern
constituency, and foremost among them  his old
firiends from  Massachusetts, with whom  and for
whom he had stood so long, now advancing under
new leaders, and impelled to constantly new encroachmnlents by the aggressive force of moral and:'eligious convictions.  The impending contest inm



A SEVERE TRIAL.               197
posed upon him the severest trial of his life.  It
required his parting with old friends, for whom he
cherished profound  esteem, and whose animating
convictions on the great question  at issue were
deeply shared by him, in every thing but in their
threatening aspect to the Union and the constitution.
But so long as he believed these to be in danger, it
concerned him  little who were friends or foes.  In
the similar crisis just referred to, he had united in
the defence of the constitution with an administration to the general policy of which he was strongly
opposed, and against which he had always acted;
and he was prepared now, in a case equally involving the stability 6f the governiment, to separate fromn
those whose general policy lhe approved and had always supportcd.  He foresaw  the stormi  he was
raising; but it did not mlove him fiom  his purpose.
lHe was willing now, as before, to take his chance
among those upon whom blows mighlt fall first and
fall thickest.  And accordingly on the 7th of March
his voice was again heard, in tones as earnest as ever
came firom  his lips, speaking, not as a IMfassachusetts
man, nor as a northern man, but as an American,
and as a mlember of the Senate of the United
States.    He felt,' he said,' that he had a duty to
perform, a part to act, not for his own security, for
he was looking' out for no fragment upon which to
float away fron the wreck, if wreck there must be,




198               THIE RESULT.
but for the good of the whole, for the preservation
of the Union.'  It has turned out here, as before,
that the post of danger, assumed voluntarily in the
spirit of self-sacrifice, became the post of honor.
By a singular felicity of fortune, Mr. Webster be
caume, the second time, the principal instrument of a
deliverance as signal as any which has occurred in
the history of the nation.  By common consent he
is entitled to the principal credit of this great settlemneat, in which the north and the south have once
more embraced each other with fraternal affection,
and under which the country has resumed its wonted
career of peace and prosperity."
The above quotations are sufficient to convey an
idea of the conflicting opinions which were cherished
of Mr. Webster's course on that trying occasion by
different portions of the community.
This diversity of sentiment will long exist, and
will doubtless have - whether justly or unjustly -
great influence upon the opinions of men, not only
respecting his policy and conduct in that particular
instance, but also as to his general character.




CHI APTE R XI.
Ezekiel Webster. - A  noble Mother. - An affecting NigHE,
Scene. - Fraternal Attachment. -Touching Tribute of Affection.- A  beautiful Letter. - Dedications. - Living  Monuments.- The  Profile. - lother's  Garden. - Mr. Webster
visits his Grave. - The Cemetery. - His Remarks. - Moenu
mental Inscriptions. — Mr. Webster's Poetry, " The Memory
of the Heart."
WITH all his greatness, M1r. Webster was a man
of tender sensibility.   His  domestic  attachments
were strong.  His exalted honors did not dry up
the fountains of deep feeling.  Several incidents,
illustrative of these traits of character, we propose
to group together in the present chapter.
While Mr.  Webster was pursuing  his course of
studies ant college, his brother Ezelkiel was at home,
assisting his fatler in carrying on the farm.  He
was a strongr young man both physically and intellectually.'Daniel appreciated his talents, and believed that, with suitable cultivation, he might attain
to distinction in professional life.  IEe was unwilling
to enjoy the benefits of a public education  alone.
HIe earnestly desired that the same boon might be
conferred uponI his brother, and he resolved that it
should be, if any influence of his could  effect it.
He determiined to  malke the effort by introdceing
199




200             A NOBLE MOTHER.
the matter first to Ezekiel and thenl to his father.
When spending the vacations at home, he and his
brother were accustomed to sleep together.  One
night, after they had retired to rest, Daniel opened
the matter to his brother, and they conversed freely
upon it.'; Daniel utterly refused to enjoy the firuit
of his brother's labor ally 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 ino 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.  F-e wvas
advanced in age, and had set his heart upon having Ezekiel as his helper.  The very thought of
separation fiom  both his sons was painful to him.
When the p)roposition was mlade, he felt as did the
patriarch of old, when he exclaimed, 4 Joseph is not,
and will ye also take Benjamin  away?'
A family council was called.  The imother's opinion
was asked. She was a strong-minded womian. She
was not blind to the superior endowments of her
sons.  With all a mother's partiality, however, she
did not over-estimtate 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.




AFFECTIONATE BROTHERS.            201
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 lie joined his youngTer brother in college."'
All honor to that self-denying, noble mother, who,
for the intellectual improvement of her children,
would have consented to the sale of all the property,
and who'" decided the matter at once."  Let her
character ever be held  in gratefiul remeinbrance.
With such mothers, our country will never want for
able statesmen.  How affecting, too, is the scene of
that night's interview between those two brothers,
talking and weeping about their difficulties and prospects till the dawn of dayj-the younger laboring
to persuade the elder to relinquish the tilling of the
land, in order to cultivate his own mind, and the
elder dwelling upon the obstructions in the way,
only, however, to hear a method suggested by Daniel, by which those impediments might be removed!
Lyman's Memorial.




2'0,    THE HIGHEST COMIMENDATION.
This attachment between these two brothers con;
tinled  through life.  Ezekiel being the elder, th,
other w-as accustomed to cherish great respect fohis opinions.  Daniel seems to have regarded the
approbation of Ezekiel as a higher commendation
than the praises of the multitude. After his splendid
reply to Ilayne, in the United States Senate, and
when no language was strong enough to give full
expression to the admiration which it had awakened
throughout the land, he was heard to say, "6 How I
waish that my poor brother had lived till after this
speech, that I might know if he would lhave been
gratified!"  Ile, on whose lips a vast multitude had
hung with delight, - who had astonished the greatest
minds in the nation by his wonderful versatility of
talent, in which satire, pathos, logical power, keen
analysis, anlcl beauty of rhetoric, were all combined,
and by means of which an ingenious and gracefuli
comnpetitor was effectually overthrown, in one of the
most powerful intellectual contests thalt this or any
other country has ever witnessed, anted whilst the
victor's enthusiastic praises were on every tongue, -
his heart war8s modestly going forth  towards his
brother, as if his satisfaction could  not be com.p!lete without that brother's commendation!
And where, in thle history of political literature,
is there a more affecting tribute of fi'aternal love,
than in the following' dedication of the first volume
of his seechcs ~



FRATERNAL TRIBUTE.             203
t" To any Nieces, Mrs. Alice Bridge WThipple, and
Mlrs. MSary Ann Sanborn.,, Many of the speeches contained in this volume
were delivered and printed in the lifetime of your
father, whose fraternal affection led him to speak
of them with approbation.,4 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., 1I 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, so long as any thing written or
spoken by me shall be regarded or read.
4 DANL. WEBSTER."
As in early life he resolved that his brother should
share the benefits of education with him, so in the
zenith of his glory he desired to make him  a participant of his honors, by indissolubly associating
their names together.
The following characteristic letter of MI'. Webster, written SMay 3, 1846, at Franklin, Nelw H[ampshire, contains some allusion, not only to his brother,
but to other members of his family, which are beautifully illustrative of his affectionate domestic attachments:



204           INTERESTING LETTER.
"Sunday, 1 o'clock.
"~ MY DEAR SIR:,, I have made satisfactory arrangements respecting the house, the best of which is, that I find I can
leave it where it is, (that is, the main house,) and
yet be comfortable, notwithstanding   the railroad.
This saves a great deal of expense.
"This house faces due north.  Its front windows
look towards the River Maerrimack.  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 we cannot 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 philosophy of streams.
I have observed it practically, and hnow somzething
of the theory of the phenomenon; but I doubt
whether the world will ever be benefited either by
my learning  or my observation in this respect.
Looking out at the east windows, at this moment,
(2 P. M.,) with a beautiful sun just breaking out,
my eye sweeps a rich and level field of one hundred
acres.  At the end of it, a third of a mile off, I see
plain rmarble gravestones, designating  the places
where repose my father, my mnother, my brother




INTERESTING LETTER.             205
Joseph, and my sisters Mehetabel, Abigail, and Sarah, good and Scripture names, inherited fromn their
Puritan ancestors.,"My father, Ebenezer Webster, born at Kingston, in the lower part of the state, in 1739, was
the handsonmest man I ever saw, except my brother
Ezekiel, 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 hlim  in his coffin - a white
forehead, a tinged cheek, a complexion as clear as
heavenly light.  But where anm  I straying?  The
grave  has closed upon him, as it has on all my
brothers and sisters.  We shall soon be all together.
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 nmowed it.,Somehow, I
could never learn to hang a scythe.  I had not wit
enough.  MTy brother Joe used to say that my father
sent ne to college in order to make me equal to the
rest of the children!,,Of a hot day in July - it must have been in
one of the last years of Washington's administration- I was making hay, with my father, just where
I now see a remaining elrn tree.  About the middle
of the afternoon, the Honorable Abiel Foster, M. C.,
who lived in Canterbury, six miles off, called at the




206          EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
house, and came into the field to see my father.
He was a worthy man, college learned, and had
been a minister, but was not a person of any considerable natural power.  My father was his friend
and supporter.  He talked a while 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 member 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 Philadelphia 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 undergone, 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




FILIAL LOVE.               207
tuition of its excellent preceptor, Dr. Benljamin Abbott, still living, and from that time
My father died in April, 1806.  I neither left
him nor forsook him.  lMy opening an office at Boscawen was that I might be near him.  I closed his
eyes in this very house.  IHe died at sixty-seven
years of age, after a life of exertion, toil, and exposure - 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.'
3My first speech at fhe bar was made when he was
on the bench.  He never heard me a second time.
He had in him what I collect to have been the character of some of the old Puritans.  He was deeply
religious, but not sour; on the contrary, good huniored, facetious; sharing, 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.
cc Ever truly yours, &c.,
C; DANIEL WEBSTER."
How touching is the allusion to Ezekiel! ",a
white forehead, a tinged cheek, a complexion clear
as heaven's light. The grave has closed upon him




208           TOUCHING ALLUSIONS.
as it has upon all my brothers and sisters. We shall
soon all be together.  Dear, de-ar kindred blood, howt
I loved you all!"
And then his reference to his father:    My father
died.  I neither left hiim nor forsook him.  I closed
his eyes."
Durinfg the presidential campaign of 1840, the
opponents of General Harrison sneered at himn  because he was born in a log cabin.  This gave occasion for the following outburst of moving eloquence
from  Mr. Webster, in which there are other affecting allusions to his father.
Gentlelen, 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 snowdrifts
of New Hampshire, at a period so early as that,
when the smoke first rose from its rude chimney,
and curled over the firozen hills, there was no similar evidence of a white man's habitation between it
and the settlements on the rivers of Canada.  Its
remains still exist.  I make to it an annual visit.  I
carry my children 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 primitive family abode.  I weep
to think that none of those who inhabited it are now




DEDICATIONS.                 20(t
among' the living; and if ever I am  ashamed of it,
or if I ever fail in affectionate veneration for I-tI3n
whvlo raised it and defended it against savage violence
and destruction, cherished all the domestic virtues beneath its roof, and through the fire and blood of a
seven years' revolutionary wvar, shrunk fronn no dana
ger, no toil, no sacrifice to serve his country, and to
raise his children to a condition better than his own,
may my nanme, and the name of my posterity, be
blotted forever froni the memory of mankind."
The salme delicate sensibility was evinced by M' r.
Webster in the dedications of the last-five voiullmes
of his works.  It is appropriate, therefore, that they
be inserted here as illustrative of an interesting feature of his character.
Second Volune.
To ISAAC P. DAVIS, EsQ.
", My dear Sir: A warm  private friendship  has
subsisted between us for half our lives, interrupted
by no untoward occurrence, and never for a moment
cooling into indifference.  Of this friiendship, the
source of so much happiness to me, I wish to leave,
if not an enduring nmemorial, at least an affectionate
and  gratefll  acknowledgment.   I  inscribe  this
volume to you.
"D A NIEL  WVEBSTER."
I'




210               DEDICATIONS.
Third Volume.,, To MRS. CAROLINE LE RoY WEBSTER.
4 "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 productions which they contain. You have witnessed
the origin of most of them, not with less concern,
certainly, than  has been  f6lt by their author;
and the degree of favor with which they may now
be received 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 I ever entertained for your
honored father, now deceased, and the respect and
esteem which I cherish towards the members of that
amiable and excellent famnily to which you belong.
"4 DANIEL WTEBSTER."
Fourth Volunme.
"' To FLETCHER W5EBSTER, 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, nmy
only surviving child, and the object of my affection
and hopes.  You  have been of an age, at the
appearance of most of these speeches and writings,




DEDICATIONS.                21I
at w\hich you were able to read  and  understand
them; and in the preparation of some of them you
have taken no unimportant part.  Among the diplomatic papers, there are several written by yourself
vlwholly or mainly, at tthe ime when official and confidential connections subsisted between us in the department of state.  The principles and  opinions
expressed in these productions are such as I believe
to be essential to the preservation of the Union, the
maintelance of thie Constitution, and the advancement of the country to still higher stages of prosperity an-ld reinown.  These objects hIave constituted
my polestar during the whole of my political life,
which has now extended through more than half the
period of the existence of the governmient.  And I
know, my dear son, that neither parental authority
nor pa'ental example is necessary to induce you, i'n
whatever capacity, public or private, you may be
called to act, to devote yourself to the acconmplishnlent of the samne ends.
"; YOUR AFFECTIONATE FATHIEt,"
Fifit Vol0ume.
T ToJ JW.  Pg. AIEj, Esq.
"6'iy dear Sir: The friendship which has subsisted
so long between us, sprinfgs not lnore from our close
family connections than firom  similarity of opinions
and senqtiments.  I count it among the advantages




212               IDEDICATIONS.
and pleasu:es of my life, and pray you to allow me
as a slight, but gratefiul token of my estimate of it,
to dedicate to you this volume of my speeches.' "DANIEL W~EBSTER."
Sixth Volumte.,, 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 Wrebster Appleton, beloved in all the relations
of daughter, wife, mother, sister, and friend; and
Major Edwiard Webster, who dcied 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 wxas born.
t 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 ~WVEBSTER."
Over Mir. Webster's fiarmn at Marshfield are scattered numerous trees, many of which have a history
that associates them  directly with the owner of the
estate; among these  are two snall elms, which
stand ilmmediately in fiont of the mansion.  They
were planted there for a special purpose, under the
following circumstances: one day, after Mr. Webster had been absent fromn the  house for some




MEMENTOES.                 213
time, lhe  was  seen  returning  with  two  small
trees, and the shovel with which he had removed
them.  Calling for his son, Fletcher, he conducted
him  to to the front of the house, and, after digging
the holes and plantiag the trees without assistance, he turned to his son, and said, in a subdued
tone of voice, "zif y son, Protect these trees after I
am, goine; let theem ever remind gyou of Julia and Edwzard."  In the presence of his only surviving child
lhe planted those trees, as living monuments to the
nmemory of the two who had departed.
Step, now, into the house, and, amongst the many
objects of interest which will there be seen is a
small profile cut in black, elegantly frained, with a
single line in Mr. VWebster's own writing: -
6" MY EXCELLENT ]MOTHER.,D. W."
We venture the prediction that that modest profile wvill awaken in the breasts of the Marshfield visitors far deeper and tenderer emotions than  many
of the more costly and showy articles which may
there be seen.
In one of his letters to that,, true nman," John
Taylor, who had charge of Elms Farm, he gave
him a strict charge to take care of his mother's garden, though it required the labor of one mnan.
Mr. Webste- provided, n Marshfield, and not far




21 4         THE FAMILY CEMETERY.
fiom  his residence, a family cemetery.  It is upon
the sullmmit of a hill, fr'Otim which m ay be seen, on
one side, a wide extent of country, embracing,
amongst other interesting objects, the site of the
old church,   the first ever erected in the town,
and tie ocean, rolling its blue waves in ceaseless
sublinmity to the shore.
On one of his last visits to this sacred spot, he
was accompanied by  Mr. Lanmaan. They a-pproached
the place in silent reverence, and, whilst staundilng
there, Mr. Websteir, pointing to the to-mb and the
enclosed green spot, said, in a deliberate and impressive manner, -
66 This will be nmy honme; and here three nonuments will soon be erected -one for the mother of
my children, one each for Julia and Edward, and
there will be plenty of roonm  in fi'ont for the little
o:nes that must follow themin."
These were the only words he uttered.  Th'iey
were eno"ught to inldicate  he current of his thouIghts
and feelings. He was thinking, with tender interest,
of the dead and of the living, -  of those who h-ad
gone, aud of t'hose who were to follow, -  not forgetting himself   " This will be my home."  Alas 
how  soon was this verified    The monoumlenlets to
which he ireferred tare Inow there.  They are sinmple
columns, with granite bases and  iarbl'[.  cfaps, cuntaininlg the following inscriptions  - _




MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS.                215
"4,rac.e Wcbster,
Wife of DANIEL WEBSTER:
Born January 16, 1781;
Died January 21, 1828.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
"'gulfta Wetter,
*  Wife of
SAnIUEL APPLETON APPLETON i
Born January 16, 1818;
Died April 18, 1848.
Let me go, for the day breaketh."
64ajor EWBaxl  1Weboterv
Born July 28, 1820;
Died at San Angel, in Mexico,
In the military service of his country,
January 23, 1848.
A dearly beloved son and brother."
Over the door of the tomb is a plain marble slab,
on which is inscribed, in bold, deep  letters, the
name of
" DANIEL  VWEBSTER."
We see, from  the above  facts, that intellectual
greatness is in  perfect hIarmony with delicate sensibility. A man may, at one time, hold a nation spellbound  by his eloquence, or in senates, or with foreign ambassadors, be discussing, in the profoundest
manner, the most intricate questions of international




216       4' THE  MEMORY  OF THE  HEART."
law, and at another time may be giving exercise, in
the most delicate manner, to the tenderest sentiments
of affection.   There  is  nothing  unmanly  in  the
strongest attachment, even  though  it finds its  expression in a tear.
When Mr. Webster was in England, he wrote the
following  lines, in which  he doubtless  refers  to  2;s
own experience of
" THE MEMORY OF THE HEART.
" If stores of dry and learned lore we gain,
We keep them in the memory of the brain;
Names, things, and facts - whate'er we knowledge call.
There is the common leger for them all;
And images on this cold surface traced
Make slight impressions, and are soon effaced.
"But we've a page more glowing and more bright,
On which OUr friendship and our love to write;
That these may never from the soul depart,
~We trust them to the memory of the heart.
There is no dimming - no effacement here;
Each new pulsation keeps the record clear;
Warm, golden letters all the tablet fill,
Nor lose their lustre till the heart stands still.
" LONDONs, November 19, 1839.o"




CHAPTER XII.
Mr. Webster's Mirthfulness. - A playful Letter. - Mr. Choate's
Pathos. - Webster's practical Joke. - Mr. Choate's poor Writing. - Effect of the Joke. — Ar. Webster's Trout Law. -
" That ain't the Worst of it." - Amusing Contrast. - The Senate interrupted. - Webster and the Buckeyes. —" Old WVebster" and the sporting Snobs. - Appearances deceptive. —
9Webster's Wit. - Amusing Reply. — " Venerable " Trout. -
Effect of Cheerfulness. - Webster's Spelling Book.
To  see Mr. Webster in some grave  debate, or
when pleading  an important case before a jury, an
individual might infer, from the dignity anti seriousness of his manner, that cheerfulness was not an
element of his nature.  Nothing  could be farther
from  the truth.  Among the strata which  entered
into the composition of his character was a vein of
mirthfulness, that ofttimes cropped out above the surface of his habitual gravity, revealing the rich stores
that were concealed beneath.  Sometimes tiis playful hutlor was mingled with his professional duties.
It is conspicuous in the first part of his great reply
to Hayne.
Otn one occasion he conducted a case in Boston,
before the Circuit Court, having reference to the
violation of some patent for a wheel.  Whilst the
217




218         WEBSTER S MIRTHFULNESS.
case was in progress, he wrote the following letter
to a friend, who says of it, " The letter is not, of
course, written for the public eye; but I have permission to use it, and imake extracts 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." The following is the extract: —
" BOSTON, Jan. 15,'49 -!Monday, 12 o'clock,
In C. Court, United States.
" Marcy vs. Sizer being on trial, and Tabero dicerite in longuzm;
and another snow storm appearing to be on the wing.
6" MY DEAR SIR:  WXe 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
summing 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, -
s Taber making a long plea.




A HUMOROUS LETTER.              219
"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
idleness. 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 preservation. Riches were never before his eyes as a leading object of regard.  When young and poor, he
was more earnest in struggling for eminence than,
in efforts 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 his profession; that his friends,
on several occasions, induced him to take an interest in business operations; that, as often as he did
so, loss resulted, till he used to say, when spoken to
on such subjects, 4 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 biography of most good lawyers, which has been ascribeJd
to other sources, viz., that they, lived well, workele
hard, anld died poor.'"




220              WEBSTER'S POETRY.
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 enjoyed
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 consumere fruges;
Frugibus consumptis,
Hic jacet
It. C. S." ~
At the close of the letter, he added the following
postscript, relative to the case on trial: —
" Haclf past 2 o'clock - Cessat Taber; Choate sequitlur, in questione juris, crastino clie. t
tTaber 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 on a swheel!' "
The same gentleman says,, I have many letters
like this, and I have always found him, throughout
all my travelling, sojourning, and sports with him,
one of the most agreeable  men, one of the most
amiable and playfill I ever met with.  No one has
* Being born to eat firuit; and having consumed all, here lies
R. C. S.
t Taber ceases; Choate follow-s, on the question of equity, tomorrow.




WEBSTER AND CHOATE.            221
knlown him nlore intimately, or has seen him oftener,
under every variety of circumstances, for fifteen
yeatrS."
We were in the Circuit Court in Boston on a similar, perhaps on the very same occasion, when he
and Mr. Choate were pitted against each other in a
case in Nwhich the violation of a patent for the protection of a new kind of wheel for rail cars was the
qulestion at issue.  Mr. Choate, after pleading nearly
thriee days, closed with a very pathetic appeal to the
synmpathies of the jury in behalf of his client.  He
betored them to consider the condition of his client,
and the effect wLich would be produced upon him
and his family if their verdict was against him.  The
peroration produced a decided imipression.
MAr. Webster was to follow immediately.  It was
his first object to dispel the effect of M r. Choate's
closing appeal.  This he did most effectually by a
practical joke, which produced a sensation of hilarity throughout the whole court room.  To appreciate its point, it should be known that a short time
prior to this trial, Mr. Choate had been invited to
give an address on some public occasion in a disthlnt
town.  When his reply reached the committee from
whomn he had received thle invitation, such was the
peculiarity-of the chirography, or so.badly was the
reply written, that none of them  could  lead it.
They were obliged to send for some one vell skilled




CHOATE S HANDWRITING.
in deciphering difficult penmanship to translate the
document.  This anecdote was at that very time
going the rounds of the papers.  It had been read
by many, if not by all, in the court rooml.  After Mr.
Choate had finished his plea, and had gone away
from the table, where he had left his brief, or outline
of argument, which was written on. a number of
loose sheets of paper, Mr. Webster, after a moment's
whisper with his distinguished opponent, took up
these loose sheets, and turning to the spectators, said,
in a very gentlemanly manner,', Ladies, would you
like to see a specimen of Mr. Choate's writing? "
and then with his own hands distributed them amnong
the audience.  This ingenious ruse was successful.
The general burst of laughter, and the universal rush
and scranbling  after Mr. Choate's hieroglyphics,
which were flying like mammnoth snow flakes about
the room, effectually dispelled the tender, sympathetic emotions which had been awakened by the m*oving peroration of his plea.  The mirthfulness di;d
not immediately subside.  As each individual who
obtained a piece of the mysterious paper looked upon
it, his countenance was immllediately wreathed in
smiles.  We were successful in obtaining a shleet,
and, tearing it in two, gave half of it to a lady, who
seemed to be as anxious for an autograph  as ourselves.  Upon casting our eye upon it, we had no
difficulty in discoverinog the catuse of the pleasantry




]MIR. WEBSTER'S PRACTICAL JOKE.      223
which all seemed to experience.  True, there were
on tie paper plenty of lines, curves and angles; but
how to put them together so as to make out a single
sentence we found impossible.  We no longer wondered at the continued titteringr of the audience.
While his brief was flying around among the audience, Mr. Choate was standing by the stove, witlh
his back to the spectators.  A friend stepped up to
him, and, we presume, told him what was going oln.
lHe looked around, and when he saw how the audience were employed, he stroked his chin, snmiled,
and turned awain towards the stove, apparently enjoying the joke as highly as any.
As another specimen of Mir Webster's pleasantry,
we refer to a passage in a speech which he gave at
Syracuse:
"t It has so happened that all the public services
which I have rendered to the world, in my day and
generation, have been connected with the general government.  I thilnk I ought to make an exception.  I
was ten days a menmber of the Massachusetts legislaature, [laughter,] and I turned nmy thoughts to the
search of some good object in which I could be useful
in that position; and after much reflection, I introduced a bill, which, with the general consent of both
houses of the M5assachusetts legislature, 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




2~24       MR. WEBSTER'S PLEASANTRY.
other manner than in the old way, with an ordinary
hook and line.  [Great laughter.]  With that exception, I never was connected for an hour with any
state government in my life.  I never held office,
higlh or low, under any state government.  Perhaps
that was mly nmisfortune.
At the age of thirty, I was in New Hampshire,
practising law, and had some clients.  John Taylor
Gilman, who for fourteen years was governor of the
state, thoulght that, a young man as I was, I might
be fit to be an attorney general of the State of New
Hampshire, and he nominated mne to the council;
and the council taking it into their deep consideration, and not happening to be of the same politics
as the governor and myself, voted, three out of five,
that I was not competent; and very likely they were
right. [Laughter.] So you see, gentlenmen, Ii never
gained promotion in any state government."
The New York Daily Times relates the following,
which is a kind of practical joke upon M~r. Webster
himself: -
64 Some years ago he started off from M'arshfield
on a trouting expedition to Sandwich, a neighboring town on Cape Cod.  On approaching a fine
stream, lie alighted from his wafgon; and just then
he met the owner of the fairm, whose stream  ran
through it.' Good ilorninig,' says Webster; Cis
there any trout here?'' Well,' says the farnmer,




THE JOKER JOKED.                225'some people fish here, but I don't know what they
do get.'    I'11 throw  my line in,' says Webster,, and see what there is.'
"W Tebster walked the balnks of the streamu, trying
his luck, and the old farmer followed him.  Soon
Webster remaarked,   You have some bog on your
farm.'  4 Yes,' says the farmer;' that ain't the worst
of it.'  Fishing still farther along, Webster says,'You  seem  to  have plenty of mosquitoes here.'
c Yes,' he replied,  that ain't the worst of it.' Webster 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.'  c And that ain't the worst of
it,' says the farmer.    W Yell,' says Mr. Webster,,I would  lilke to know  what the worst of it is.'' Tlere never was any here' says the farmer.  Mr.
Webster enjoyed the joke, and often told it to his
particular friends."
In 1841, when le was secretary of state, he came
home fironI the department, where he had been engaged in official interviews with foreign ministers,
and taking from his parlor a small basket, very elegantly ornamented, he immediately left the house.
15




26  MR. WEBSTER BUYING EGGS.
After anl absence of half an hour, he returned, and
hanrded M[rs.,Vebster the same basket, but with its
weight greatly increased.  Imagine  her surprise,
when, as she looked in, she found it filed uwith
hens' eggs.  Feeling, perhaps, a  little  mortified
that her distinguished companion should descend to
so inappropriate an employment, she inquired the
reason of his conduct.  Her husband replied, that
he had been ", all the morning discussing with the
diplomatic corps the affairs of some half dozen of
the principal kingdoms of the world, and, as be was
fond of seeing both ends meet, he only wishled to
realize how it would seem  for him, a secretary of
state, to turn friom  such imposing business to the
opposite extremle, of purchasing, within thle same
hour, a basket of newly-laid eggs."
On one occasion, many years ago, when Ma'r. Webster was in the Senate, just as he arose to speak, a
ministerial-looking stranger in the gallery suddenly
cried out, so as to be heard by the whole Senate,
"M, Mly friends, the country is on the brink of dcestruction; be sure that you act on correct principles.  I
warn you to act as your consciences imay approve.
God is looking down upon you, and if you act upon
correct principles, you  will get safely through."
Having thus discharged what lhe probably regarded
as a responsible duty, he stepped back, and quietly
disappeared, without givilng the officers time to seize




HIS SKILL IN RIFIV, SHOOTING.          2'7
him.  Of course such an unlooked-for interruption
threw  the Senate into confusion.  Some laughed,
some conversed jestingly with each other, some left
their seats, and several minutes elapsed before the
chairman succeeded in restoring order.  During all
thie excitement MIr. WTebster retained his stan-ding(
posture, ready to comlmence so soon as the opportunity should be presented.  The favorable moment
having arrived, the first sentence he uttered was
this: 4, As the gentleman in the gallery has concluded,
I woill proceed with zmy remarks."  How much better
was this pleasantry than though he had indulged in
an outburst of passion at the disturbance, and insisted that the gallery should be cleared of spectators!
Mr. Webster was good at a rifle shot, as well as
with hook and fly.  When travelling throufg h the
State of Ohio, a number of years ago, in company
with a firiend, he came upon a party of Buckeye
farmers, who were testing their skill in the use of
the gun, by firing at a target for turkeys.  H aving
reined in his horses, for the purpose of enjoying the
sport as a spectator, he was invited by the free-andeasy marksmen to try his skill. He was not unwilling to comply.  It was an amusement with which
he was finmiliar.  After examining several rifles, in
a manner wvhlch evinced his acquaintance with the
instrument, he selected one of the best, and, with




228    HIS DINNER WITHI THE BUCKEYES.
the motley group of rough-looking western farmlers
standing around hin, he raised the weapon to his
eye, and in a imoment sent a ball directly through
the centre of the target.  He was acknowledged a
good shot, and had one of the finest turkeys in the
flock presented to him.  Then the questions went
round,  WI Tho is this?  lWhere's he fiomn?  VWhat's
his business?  Where is he going? "'  But no satisfaction could they obtain.  Thley finally invited
him to dine with them at an inn near by.  He consented.  Their curiosity being highly excited  to
learn who this skilftil marksman wvas, his friend took
the liberty of introducing him  at the dinner as the
Hon. Daniel Webster, member of Congress.  Great
was their pleasurable astonishment to learn that their
stranger guest was the distinguished individual v1ho
had recently delivered a famous speech in Congress,
of which they had heard, and some of them  had
read.  As he had discoursed so effectively frtom the
rifle's mouth, they wanted to hear.some words of
eloquence fall from  his own.  He was, therefore,
called o ut, - perhaps by one of the party giving a
toast in his honor.  In responding to the call, hle
addressed to them a few appropriate remlarks, and
then proceeded on his journey.  They earnestly endeavored to induce him to fire another rifle; but he
was too wise to inctur the liability of losing' their
good opinion of his skill by attempting  a second




WEIBST2ER{ AND THL:BUCKEYES.








HIS ADVENTURE WITH THE SNOBS.    229
"4 crack shot."  Not only did he put a ball through
the centre of the target, but succeeded in making
so favorable an impression upon their hearts, that
some of thenm accompanied him twenty miles on his
J otlrney.
This incog. character was the occasion of another
adventure, but of a somewhat different nature.
When in company, Mr. Webster always dressed
like a gentleman; but when on his farm, or on a
fishing or gunning excursion, his costume was characterized for its appropriateness.  He could be mistaken for no other character than the one he had
assumed.  In his gunning or fishing toggery, no
stranger would suspect him of being any thing more
than he seemed.  On one occasion he was out after
wild ducks, in compaiiy with his man, Seth Peterson, when they fell in with c" a couple of Boston
sporting snobs," who were in difficulty because there
was a bog in the way, which they could not cross
without getting wet. Judging of Mr. Webster from
his costume, they supposed him  to be one of the
rustic farmers of lMarshfield, and therefore asked
him to carry them on his back to a dry point on the
other side of the bog.  Without revealing himself
to them, Mr. Webster consented.  After he had
complied with their request, and had received froml
each of them a quarter of a dollar for the job, they
inquired, in a flippant, familiar manner', ", Is old




1239,       DECEPTIVE APPEARANCES.
Webster at home?  We've had such mliserable luck
in shooting, that we should like to honor him with
a call."  To this question, expressed in such an undignified manner, AMr. Webster calmly replied, "6 that
the gentleman alluded to was not at home just then,
but w7ould be as soon as lie could walk to the house,
and lie would be glad to see them at dinner."
What reply these sporting gentlemen made to this
rebuke is not recorded, but evidence is furnished
that they did not dine with ", old Webster" that
day.
Young men should be careful not to form  an
opinion of others from  their external appearance.
A noble character is ofttimes concealed under an
unfashionable costume.  It is especially dangerous,
in country places, to infer the social standing of a
stranger from the garb in which he appears. The
employment of a farmer forbids the wearing of fine
broadcloth, French satin, and polished calfskin, when
engaged in his daily occupation.  And if, because
the fabric of his garments is coarse, and their surface soiled, any one should infer that poverty of
purse, feebleness of intellect, and a low social position were among his possessions, and should treat
him  accordingly, he would incur the liability of
making a discovery which would very justly overwhelm  him with mortification.  The wisest course
is, to treat every 1man, whatever may be his appear



YOUNG WEBSTER'S WIT.           231
ance, as a gentlenman, until we learn his forfeiture
of that character.
The natural humor of Mr. Webstelr, of which we
hlave given several illustrations, manifested itself in
early childhood. Ga one occasion, when he and his
brother Ezekiel were boys, after they had gone to
bed, they got into a controversy about some passage
in the Columbian Orator, a famous school book of
that day; they left their pillows, and began some
researches in order to settle the dispute; in so doing
they managed to set their bedclothes on fire, and
narrowly escaped consuming the house.  When
asked, the next miorning, how the accident was
caused, Daniel replied, "C HIe were in pursuit of ligh7t,
but got more thian we wanted."
At another time their father gave them a certain
piece of work to perform during his absence from
the house; but finding, upon his return, that the
task was unperformed, he questioned the boys with
some degree of sternness concerning their employment: -
", What have you been doing, Ezekiel?"
", Nothing, sir," was his answer.
", Well, Daniel, what have you been doing?"
" Helping Zeke, sir."
How much help ", Zeke " required to do nothing,
we are not informed.
The same native humor peeps out in the reply he




E232         THE VENERABLE TROUT.
gave to a friend who asked him what he intended
to speak about in his historical address, in New
York, on the next day.
"I I am going," said he, 46 to be excessively learned
and classical, and shall talk much about the older
citizens of Greece.  When I make miy appearance
in Broadway to-morrow, people will accost me thus:,Good morning,   JrI. Webster.   Recently from
Greece, I understand.  How did  you  leave  iF'.
Pericles and  ~r.. Aristophanes?' "
The address alluded to in this playful manner
was one of rare excellence.  It was instructive,
classical, eloquent.  So great was the desire to hear
him, that tickets for admission were sold, in some
instances, for a hundred dollars.
Frequently, when Mr. Webster was engaged in
his favorite anmusements of riding, gunning, and fishing, his mind would  revert to the great themes
which his office or his profession required him to
discuss and settle. Some of the interesting passages
in his addresses were prepared on these occasions.
It is' stated that, at one time, when engaged in
angling, as he drew a large trout from  the water,
he exclaimed, as if addressing his captive, and regarding it as the representative of others,   Venerable nlen! you have come down to us fiom a former
generation. Heaven has bounteously lengthened out
your lives, that you might behold this joyous day."




ADVANTAGES 0F GOOD iHUMOR.           3
And these very words were afterwards employed in
his oration at the laying of the corner stone of thle
Bunker Hill monuaim)ent, when he addressed the veterans - the few surviving soldiers of that memorable battle.
It is a great mistake to suppose that cheerful lhum1or and sparkling wit should  never be indulged.
They are the developments of an element of character which tends greatly to the promotion of human
happiness.  Ofttimes, when the brow is wrinkled
with care, and the heart filled with sadness, somne
humorous remarik, or sparkling repartee, or the relation of soim-e ridiculous incident, or amusing anecdote, will smooth that brow, and neutralize the sadness of the bu-rdened spirit.  In the walks of grave
professional life, exhibitions of good humor are like
beautiful wild flowers, peeping here and there from
the rocks and crevices by the roadside, which, by
their delicate colors and pleasant perfume, afford
delight to the weary traveller, who would otherwise
be oppressed with the monotony and gloominess of
the way.  Flowers of this kind Mr. Webster both
culled and cultivated.  He knew, also, how to use
them.  There were few 1men more genial, nmore hu
morous, or who could more easily set, the table in
a roar," than he.  His relation of anecdotes always
produced a decided effect.




234        WEBSTER'S SPELLING BOOK.
He was also exceedingly happy in giving a pleasant turn, in social company, to topics on which he
differed from others.  The following is an instance.
In 1847 he visited Charleston, South Carolina.  A
dinner was given him.  There were present at the
table those with whose political sentiments he had
no sympathy - those whom  he had felt it his duty
to oppose, in Congress and elsewhere, with all the
weight of his personal talents and official position.
After being called out by a toast, which was drank
in his honor, he closed his speech in the following
agreeable manner:,, Gentlemen, allow me to tell you of an incident.
At Raleigh, a gentleman, purposing to call on me,
asked his son, a little lad, if he did not wish to go
and see Mr. Webster.  The boy answered, TIs it
that Mr. Webster who made the spelling book, and
sets me so many hard lessons? If so, I never want
to see him as long as I live.',, Now, gentlemen, I am  that Mr. Webster who
holds sentiments, on some subjects, not altogether
acceptable, I am  sorry to say, to some portions of
the South.  But I set no lessons; I make no spelling books.  If I spell out some portions of the Constitution of the United States in a Inanner different
from  that practised by others, I readily concede,
nevertheless, to all others a right to disclaim  my




AN AGREEABLE SCHOOLMIASTER.         c5
spelling, aind adopt an orthography more suitable to
their own opinions, leaving all to that general public judgment to which we must, in the end, all submit."  And when he took his seat, the following
toast was submitted: "Here's to the agreeable
schoolmaster -who sets no lessons."




CHAPTER XIII.
Mr. Webster an early Riser. - His Letter on the Morning. - Adam's Mornings. - What to observe in the Morning. - Dr. Doddridge on early Rising. —Beauties of Marshfield. -Mr. Webster's Love of Trees. - He protects Birds. - His Reward. —
The Quails.- He tames wild Geese. —His Interest in the
natural Sciences. - Presents Audubon with Birds. - The Wallflower. - The Sound of the Sea. - Lessons of Nature. - Dignity of the Study of Nature.
A PRACTICE of 1'Mr. Webster, which he seems to
have kept up through life, was that of early rising.
Long before the first gray streak in the eastern horizon heralded the approach of the " king of day,"
he was up, dressed, and in the depth of his day's
work.  It was his uniform  practice to despatch his
study and correspondence by the middle of the forenoon.  On one occasion he said, "1IWhat little I
have accomplished has been done early in the morning."  In a letter to an agricultural convention, he
wrote, ", When a boy among my native hills of New
Hampshire, no cock crowed so early that I did not
hear hinz."  During his residence at Washington, he
was accustomed to visit the market, nmake his purchases, and converse familiarly with the butchers and
farmers, long before the citizens of the capital were
2836




WEBSTER AN EARLY RISER.            237.
stirring.  Strangers in Washington, after learning
this fact, would themselves go to the imarket in the
early dawn, for the purpose of getting a sight of the
great statesman.
Mr. Lanman says, "c, Mr. Webster admired, above
all things, to see the sun rise, especially from  his
chamber window  at Marshfield.   He appreciated
the moral sublimity of the spectacle, and it ever
seemed to fill his mlind with  mighty conceptions.
n0  many occasions, at sunrise, both in the spring
and autumn, has he stolen into the chamber occupied
by the writer, which looked upon the sea, and, with.
only his dressing gown on, has stood by his bedside,
and startled the writer out of a deep sleep, by a
loud shout somewhat to this effect:,"  Awake, sluggard! and look upon this glorious
scene; for the sky and the ocean are enveloped in
flames!'
G an one occasion the writer was awakened in a
similar manner at a very early hour, when, lo, Mr.
Webster, wvho happened to be in a particularly playfil mood, was seen going through the graceful mo
tions of an angler, throwing a fly and striking a
trout, and then, without speaking a word, disappeared.  As a matter of course, that day was given
to fishing."
In 1852  Mr. WVebster visited Virginia; lie continued his habit there.  As one of its results, we have




238      HIS LETTER ON THE MORNING.
the following beautifully descriptive account of the
morning.  NTone but a passionate lover of the early
dawn could have written it.
"RICHMOND, VA.,
Five o'clock, A. M., April 29, 1852. 5
"MY DEAR FPRIEND: W~hether it be a favor or an
annoyance, you owe this letter to my early habits
of rising.  Fromi the hour markled at the top of the
page, you will naturally conclude that my companions are not now engaging nay attention, as we hrave
not calculated on being early travellers to-day.
This city has a' pleasant seat.'  It is high; thee
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 mnild.
It is morning, and a morning sweet, and fiesh, and
deliglitful.  Every body knows the morning in its
metaphorical 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, brigMht as the
morning,' and no one doubts why Lucifer is called
6 son of the miorning.', But the morning itself, few people, inhabiantas
of cities, know  any thing about.  Among all our
good people, no one in a thousai d sees the sun rise
once in a year.  They know nothinlg of the mornoing.  Their idea of it is, that it is that part of tho




METAPHORICAL ALLUSIONS.           239
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 God, the heavens and the earth; it is only
a part of the domestic day, belonging to reading the
newspapers, 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 coloring 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.
" Beautifiul 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 throughout the
universe.
", Milton has fine descriptions of morning, but not
so many as Shakspeare, from whose writings pages




5240            ADAM'S MORNINGS.
of the most beautiful imagery, all founded on the
glory of the morning, might be filled.
6I never thought that Adam had much the advantage of us, from having seen the world while it
was new.
"6 The manifestations of the power of God, like
his mercies, are'new every lmorning,' and  fresh
every moment.
"W' WIe see as fine risings of the sun as ever Adam
saw; and its risings are as mauch a miracle now as
they were in his clay, and I think a good deal mnore,
because it is now a part of the miracle that, for
thousands and thousands of years, he has come3w to
his appointed time, without the variation of a milliontl part of a second.  Adam could not tell how
this might be. I know the morning; I an 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 ]ife, and breath, and being, to
new adoration, new enjoyments, and new gratitude.
6 DANIEL WEBSTER-."
4 W4e see as fine risings of the sun as ever Adam
saw."  How interesting is that thought   By rising
early, and looking firom  an upper window, or ascending sonme small eminence which gives us the
command of thle horizon, we  imay behold a scene
of as much magnificence as greeted the eyes of




EARLY RISING.               241
Adamn, when the first rays of the risinlg  sun gilded
the beauties of paradise.  Try it, young readerl
Rise before the sun; go forth to hail his coming;
play in the beams sent forth by his upper edge, before his centre makes its appearance; observe carefuLlly the effects produced upon the appearance of
the various objects upon  hill, tree, cloud, lake,
and building, as the darkness flees away, and the
gray dawn brightens into the full light of day; and
if you possess a particle of the love of the beautiful, you will acknowledge that no display of the pyrotechnic art can bear any comparison to the gorgeous splendor of the scene before you.
Those who lounge away their time upon their
pillow are not aware of the amount which the aggregate of these lost hours would make.  Dr. Doddridge has said that the difference between rising at
five and seven o'clock in the morning for the space
of forty years, supposing a man to go to bed at the
sanme hour at night, is nearly equivalent to the addition of ten years to a man's life.
It follows that he who desires to lengthen his life
in respect to its practical influence, should rise earlier than he has been accustomed to.  All the time
that he thus redeems from te pillow is so much
added to active existence.
In addition to this, the freshness of the morning
air, and the renovation which the mind has received
16




24A2        BEAUTIES OF MARSHtFIELD.
from its recent sleep, by which the clearness of its
perceptions and the rapidity of its operations are
iicreased, render this a peculiarly favorable time
for intellectual pursuits.
Jir. Webster's habit in this respect was similar to
that of many other distinguished characters. Buffon,
tile great naturalist, ascribes the existence of many
volumes of his works to his practice of early rising.
We have already remarked that Mr. Webster was
a lover of nature.  This was evinced in his choice
of a residence at Marshfield, where hill, pond, forest, and ocean combine their peculiar beauties to
render the place attractive, and also by his assiduous
care, with which all the peculiar charms of the place
have been developed.
General Lyman, in a letter which he wrote in
November, 1843, at Marshfield, says, ", Mr. Webster,
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, 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,
however, yet small. He said his way had been to
sow the seed, in favorable places, of the locust,
horsechestnut, 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




PLANTIT;N- TREES.
produced, none of the trees of which have been
planted more than a dozen or thirteen years, bounding the lawn 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 warnm terms - terms  almost of indignation - of the stupidity of pe-sons
who omit to plant trees from an idea that they may
not live to see their growth and beauty, or to taste
their fi'ruits.  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.
"L Ile spoke of the just and excellent taste of Sir
Walter Scott, on all subjects of this kind, and referred to two articles written for the London Quarterly Review, some years ago, on planting trees,
landscape, &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
mIan were actuated by such sentiments, what a
change it would  produce in the affairs of the
world! 




244           THE HILL CHANGED.
66 Hle showed me eight or nine specimens of oak;
several of theta he had obtained from the Southern
States; all the varieties of pines and cedars, and
the arbor vite, 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 in New York and Ohio, - properly the
liriolencdron, 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
prediction, will be the admiration of every body,
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 locusts, 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 Marshfield again, she clapped her hands with




MR. WEBSTER PROTECTS BIRDS.           245
admtiration at the success of what sl:e had recomnended."
Although MJIr. WTebster was fond of gunninlg, and
often went out for that purpose, being an," excellent
shot," yet he allowed no gun to be fired upon his
premises.  Such birds and game as approached his
house, or made it their home any where on his
grounds, he would not allow to be disturbed.  T.he
delightful effect of this kind treatment is described
as follows by hins visitor --,I4  was struck wvith tihe tameness of several little
animnals and birds, which I have elsewhere round
quite wild and shy.  A  squirrel, for instance, sat
almost within our reach, eatinhg a nut, and hearing
us talk, without the least indication of fear.  The
birds hopped aboult, singilng  their wild notes, as if
unconscious of our presence.  A brood of quails
had actually been hatclled 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,
cDuring 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 thlrown at them, nor any thing done that
would frighten themn away.  They seem  to know
where they are well treated, and come with the seasons to enjoy my protectionl.:  "




246        REWARD OF PROTECTION.
On  nle occasion, Mr. Webster was walking over
his greunds with a gentleman from  Boston, when a
flock of quails darted across the road only a few
feet from them.  The gentleman was highly excited
at the discovery of the game, and longed to try his
skill with powder and ball., 0, if I only had a
gun," said he,, I could easily kill the whole flock.
Have you not one in your house, sir? ", Yes, sir," replied Mlr. Webster, with his usual
calmness -" yes, sir, I have a number of guns; but
no man whatsoever do I ever permit to kill a bird,
rabbit, or squirrel, on any of my property."  He
then  proceeded  to  condem-nl  the  indiscriminate
slaughtering propensities of the Americans.
" In this country," said he, ",there is an almost
universal passion for killing and eating every wild
animnal that chances to cross the pathway of man;
while in England and other portions of Europe
these animals are kindly protected and valued for
their comlpanionship.  This is to me a great mystery; and so far as my influence extends, the birds
shall be protected."  Just at this moment one of the
little fugitive quails, that the visitor was so anxious
to kill, mounted a little eminence, and poured forth
a song, as if in gratitude to its humane protector.,, There," said Ar. Webster,, does not that gush of
song do the heart a thousand fold more good than
could possibly be derived from  the death of that




MiR. WEBSTER TAMt;ES WILD GEESE.    247
beautiful bird?"  The stranger returned his lth-anks
to IMr. WVebster for his gentle reproof, and subsequently acknowledged that "4 this little incident made
him love the man whiom he had before only admired
as a statesmllan~"
Bir. Webster, in the earnestness of his desire to
surround his dwelling at Biarshfieldc with the chlarLms
of animated nature, has succeeded in accomplishing, what very few persons in. this country have ever
attempted, viz., the taming of wild geese.  6 Thle
value and pictorial beauty of Marshfield are greatly
enhanced," says B]r. Lanman, ", by the existence, in
the ilmediate  vicinity of the mansion, of a trio of
little lakes, all of them fed by springs of the purest
water.  The  two  smaller ones are  the favorite
haunts of the common  geese and the duck tribes;
but the larger one, which studs the landscape very
charmingly, is the exclusive domain of a large flock
of wild geese which Mr. Webster had donmesticated.
He informed the writer that his first attempts to tame
tL.ese beautifiul creatures were all unsuccessful, until
the idea occulred to him that perhaps they might be
made contented with their civilized abode, provided
they could have awarded to them  small sedgy islands,
such as wvere found at their breeding-places in the
far north, where thley im-ight make. their nests and
remaian  ndisturbed by the fox and ott-er prowilineg
anilmals.  The experiment was  tried; and while




24S8             LOVE OF NATURE.
the geese were  rendered contented with thieir lot,
the lake itself his been greatly improved in picturesque beauty by its wild yet artificial islands.  Indeed, the rural scenery of'Marshfieldl s all that
could be desired by the painter or poet; but whien
they come to add thereto an immense expanse of
marsh land, veined with silver streams, dotted with
islands of unbroken forest, skirted with a far-reach
ing beach, and bounded by the blue ocean, they cannot but be deeply impressed with the magnificence
of its scee3ry."
Mr. Webster's love of Nature was not superficial.
WhTilst he greatly admired all her external features,
he was interested in the study of her laws.  In his library was a collection of rare and valuable works on
the various departments of natural history, and the natural sciences, the perusal of which afforded him. great
pleasure whenever he could secure time for the purpose.  On a certain occasion, when these subjects
were made the topics of conversation, he said that
he wished he could live three lives while living this.
",One I would devote to the study of geologyto reading the earth's history of itself.  Another life
I would devote to astronomy.  I have recently read
the history of that science, written so clearly, that,
although I am no mathematician, I could understand
it, and was astonished at seeing to what heights it




WEBSTER AND AUDUBON. -            49
had been pushed by modern intellects.  The other
I would devote to the classics."
It is an interesting fact, and one on which the
young would do well to ponder, that, as'Ir. Webster
advanced in years, his mind was withdrawn  from
themes and speculations which interested him in the
earlier periods of his life, and was devoted, with increased pleasure, to the contemplation and study of
nature.
Amongst all the visitors who were honored with
the hospitality of his elegant mansion, there were
few  so cheerfully welcomed as those who  were
devoted  to tile investigation of natural objects.
With these iMr. Webster loved to converse, and exchange items of information.  He also furnished
such individuals every facility in his power for the
prosecution of their studies.  The celebrated Audubon was one of his personal friends; and on one
occasion, when tire great ornithologist was visiting
Marshfield, ", he was presented by Mr. Webster with
a wagon load of miscellaneous birds, which the latter had ordered to be killed by his hunters all along
the coast, and among them was the identical Canada
goose which figures so beautifully in the' Birds of
America.'  5r. Webster has said that the delighted
naturalist studied the attitude of that single goose
for an entire day, and that he was three days in taking its portrait.'




SOUND OF THE SEA.
At another time, in conversation with a clergyman,
— Pcv. Dr. Choules, -he gave utterance to the followivfng beautti-ful sentiments:-,W When I was in England I was greatly pleased
with the wallflower, so often seen upon the walls of
ruins and decaying buildings.  The country people
call it the bloo;]dy wallflower.  I seldom  picked this
sweet-scented flower without thinking of the hopes
and wishes of litfe - the best and sweetest of mny
life all surrounded with ruin  and decay: still we
must look ouit for the blossoms of hope."
",I have been reading White's Selbourne  once
more.  What moral beauty tahere was in White's
mind!  Howv he revelled in quiet country life! and
when he became deaf, and could no longer hear the
birds sing, yet he thanks God that. his eyesight is
still quick and good."
Walling in the evening at hMarshfield, and gazing
at the sea, Mr.o Webster stopped, and placing his
hand upon the shoulder of the same gntienman, recited several verses of MIrs. Hemans's impress ve
poem on the Sound of the Sea:
Thou art sounding on, thou mighty sea,
Forever and the same;
The ancient rocks yet ring to thee,
5iWhose thunders nought can tame.
" O, many a glorious voice is gone
From the rich bowers of earth,




LESSONS OF NATURE.                4;5t
And hushed is many a lovely one
Of mournfulness or mirth.
6" But thou art suelling on, thou deep,
Through many an olden clime,
Thy billowy anthems ne'er to sleep
Until the close of time."
The study of nature is one of the noblest employments of the human mind.  We are then brought
into direct coltact with the works of the Creator.
We are fiurnished with conclusive evidences of his
existence and attributes.  Not only by these pursuits
is the taste refined, and the  love of the beautiful
strengthened, but an influence is exerted favorable
to the cultivation of m-oral character.
Besides, in the study of nature we need not go
far for lessons.  They spring up in the beautiful
flowers which ornament our path; they smile upon
us in the stars above our head; we may read them
upon the tapestry of the ever-changing clouds, in the
architecture of mountains, and the solemn grandeur
of ancient forests; they whisper around us in the
buzzing of insects; they chlarm us in the melody of
birds; they fill us with awe in the howling of the
storm, the roaring of the angry ocean, and the terrific tones of the threatening thunder.  They  are
spread out all around us on nature's ample page, and
whenever so disposed, we may study them  to our'66heart's content."   We are aware of a class of in



252            DIGNITY OF NATURE.
dividuals in the community who look with a feeling
bordering upon contempt on pursuits of this nature.
Picking weeds to pieces, or carefully examining the
fornation of an insect, or a reptile, they seem  to
regard as totally unworthy so exalted a being as
They cherish a feeling of pity bordering on contempt for those who are devoted to such  pursuits.  It would be well for such persons to consider
whether any thing, which the all-wise Creator has
not deemed as beneath himself to make, can be Unworthy for us to examine and admire, and whether
it may not exhibit a want of suitable regard for the
Creator himself, when the displays of his power and
glory, as exhibited in the works of his hand, fail of
attracting attention, or of awakening admiration.




CHAPTER XIV.
AMr. Webster's Candor. - Mr. Ketchum's Testimony. - Direction
to Mr. Everett. - His Magnanimity. - Dr. Choules's Testimony. - Webster and Dickenson. - Webster's Eulogy on Calhoun. - Character of his Mind. — His impressive Manner. —
He will be remembered. — Webster and Hayne. - How to treat
Opponents. - Charity.
TIHE nobleness of Mr. Webster's nature was exhibited in a striking manner on different occasions,
when he endeavored to prevent the perpetuity of
personal feuds.  In the exciting debates of Congress it was natural, under the influence of temporary impulse, that language should be used, which,
in a calmer mood, the speaker himself would not
justify.  Such instances, however, were exceedingly
rare in the speeches of Mr. WVebster.  He seemed
always to appreciate the dignity of his character as
a senator of the most powerful republic on earth,
and evinced an unwillingness to do or say any thing
that was unbecoming his exalted position.  He was
not insensible to the high standing of his opponents,
neither was he unwilling to accord to them his
meed of praise for their genius and learning.
Hiram  Ketchurn, Esq., of New York, in a brief
eulogy upon Mr. Webster, among other things, said,
253




254        MR. KETCHUM'S 7 ESTIMONY.
"6 I have known him in piivate and domestic life.
During the last twenty-five years I have received
many letters from him, some of which I retain,
and some lIave been destroyed at his request.  I
have had the pleasure of meeting him  often in private circles, and at the festive board, where some
of our sessions were not short; but neither in his
letters nor his conversation have I ever known him
to express an impure thought, an immoral sentiment,
or use profane language.  Neither in writing nor
in conversation have I ever known him  assail any
man.  No man in my hearing was ever slandered
or spoken ill of by Daniel Webster.  Never in my
life have I known a man whose conversation was
uniformly so unexceptionable in tone and edifying
in character.  No man ever had more tenderness of
feeling than Daniel Webster.  He had his enemies
as malignant as any man; but there was not one of
them, who, if he came to him in distress, would not
receive all the relief in his power to bestow."
Another illustration of his magnanimity is furnished in his direction to the Hon. Edward Everett,
when carrying Mr. Webster's Works through the
press, to suppress all allusions which were adapted
to perpetuate personal feuds.  In allusion to this
fact, Mr. Everett, in his beautiful eulogy upon Mr.
Webster, says, -,ccIn preparing the new edition of his works, he




WEBSTER'S MAGNANIMITY.            255
thought proper to leave almlost every thing to my
discretion - as far as matters of. taste are concerned.
One tliing only he enjoined upon me, with an earnestness  approaching to a command.' My friend,'
said lie,  I wish to perpetuate no feuds.  I have
sometinmes, though rarely, and that in self-defence,
been 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 injustice 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,s
however opposed to me.',, But I need not tell you, fellow-citizens, that
there is no one of our distinguished public menc
whose speeches cntain less occasion for such an injunction.  Mr. Webster habitually abstained firom
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 discussions has of late years somewhat
declined in dignity, no portion of the blame lies at.
his door."
A gentleman who was on familiar terms with him
for years says, ", In all the interviews which I had the,
happiness and honor to enjoy with this great man;,
I cannot rememnber that I ever heard him  utter an.




256         WEBSTER AND DICKENSON.
unkind, acrimonious, or unccharitable remarkl upon
any' main.  Once, wher,   a gentlemuan had named
some violent censu:es heaped upon him in his public character, Mr. Webster calmly replied,, Perhaps
my calumniator's misfortunes have soured hlis temperament, for I remember him  a very kindly-disposed person; we must make allowances for the infirmities of age.'  The provocation had been very
great, and his motives had been wantonly assailed,
yet his considerate and  magnanimous spirit triumphed nobly upon this occasion." *
As another instance, we relate the following:
After the negotiation of the Ashburton treaty, by
which very complicated and threatening  difficulties
between this and the mother country were adjusted,
Mr. Webster had serious charges alleged against
him in the United States Senate by Hon.  Mr. Dickenson.  These charges he repelled in strong language.  When, in 18S50, Mr. Webster left the Senate
in order to enter upon his duties as Secretary of
State, he addressed the following letter to Mr. Dickenson.  The painful occurrences to which he refers
are those connected with that debate.
" WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 1850.
"MY DEAR SIR: Our companionship in the Senate is dissolved.  After this long and most impor-: Rev. Dr. Choules.




HIS LETTER TO DICKENTSON.            257
tant session, you are about to return to your home,
and I shall try to find leisure to visit maine.  I hope
we Ymay meet each othler aggain two nmonths hence,
for the discharge of our duties in our respective stations in the govern-ment.  But life is uncertain, and
I have not felt wvilling to take leave of you without
placing in your hands a note containing a very few
words vwhich I wish to say to you.
66in the earlier part of our acquaintance, my dear
sir, occurrences took place which I rememlber with
constantly-increasin g regret and pain, because, the
more I have known of you, the greater have been
my esteem  f6r your character  and  my respect
for your talents.  But it is your noble, able, lmanly, and  patriotic conduct in support of time great
measure  of this session which  has entirely wcn
any heart, and secured amy highest regard.  I hopt.
you may live long to serve your country; but I
do not think you are ever lilkely to see a crisis in
which you imay be able to do so much either for
your own distinction or the public good.  YTou have
stood where others have fallen; you have advanced
with firmi and manly step where others lhave wavered, faltered, and fallen back; and for one, I desire
to thlank you, and to commend your conduct, out of
tha fulness of an ahonest heart.
6'hrlas letter needs no reply; it is, I am aware, of
very little vallue; but I have thoulght you.miffht be
17




'258          EULOGY 01: CALHOUN.
willing to receive it, and, perhaps, to leave it where
it would be seen by those who shall come after you.
I pray you, when you reach your own threshold, to
remember me most kindly to your wife and daughter.
I lemain, my dear sir, with the truest esteem,
", Your friend and obedient servant,
6 DANIEL WEBSTER.
" HON. D. S. DICKENSON, U. S. Senate."
Another interesting illustration of his noble high
mindedness was furnished in his eulogy upon Mr.
Calhoun, of South Carolina.  On some of the most
important questions ever discussed by Congress, and
in somne of the most intensely-exciting debates, he
and Mr. Calhoun were opponents.  On the floor of
the Senate, that great arena for intellectual chivalry,
they measured lances.  A spectator might lhave imagined that in heart, as well as in political opinion,
they were strongly hostile to each other.  Yet when
it was announced in the Senate by Mr. Biutler,
his colleague, that Mr. Calhoun had deceased, Ir.
Webster arose and delivered a beautiful eulogy, friom
which we make the following extracts, whichl show
how  highly he could appreciate the talents and
character of an honorable opponent, and with what
felicity he could expresswhis admiration.,6 I hope the Senate will indulg Y  me in adding a
very few words to what has been said.  My apology




EULOGY ON CALHOUN.              259
for this presumption is the very long acquaintance
which hias subsisted between Mr. Calhoun and myself.  We were of thle same age.  I made my first
entrance into the House of IRepresentatives in aMay,
1813.  I found there Mr. Calhoun.  He had already
been a member of that body for two orc three years.
I found him there all active and efficient nmember of
the House, taking  a decided part, and exercising a
decided influence in all its deliberations.' From that day to the day of his death, amidst all
the strifes of party and politics, there has subsisted
between us always, and withouit interruption, a great
degree of personal kindness..'Differing widely on many great questionls respecting our institutions and the governnment of the
country, those differences never interrupted our personal and social intercourse.  I have been present
at amost of the distinguished instances of the exhibition of his talents in debate.  I have always heard
{him with pleasure, often with much instruction, not
unfrequently with the  highest degree of admiration.,, Mr. Calhoun was calculated to be a leader in
whatsoever association of political friends he was
thrown.  He was a man of undoubted genius and
of commanding talent.  All the country and all the
world admit that.  His nmnud was both perceptive
and vigorous.  It was clear quick, and strong.




260        nMR. CALHOUNrS ELOQIUENCE.
4, Sir, the eloquence of IMr. Calhoun, or the manner
in which he exhibited his sentiments in public bodies,
was part of his intellectual character.  It grew out
of the qualities of his mind.  It was plain, strong,
terse, condensed, concise, sopmetimes impassioned,
still always severe.  Rejecting ornament, not often
seeking  far for illustration, his power consisted in
the plainness of his propositions, in the closeiLess of
his logic, and in the earnestness and energy of his
manner.  These are the qualities, as I think, which
have enabled him  through such a long course of
years to speak often, and yet always command attention.  His demeanor as a Senator is known to us
all1-is appreciated, venerated, by us all.  No man
was more respectful to others; no man carried himself with greater decorram, no  man with superior
dignity.  I think there is not one of us, when he
last addressed us from his seat in the Senate,- his
fornm still erect, with a voice by no means indicating
such a degree of physical weakness as did in fact
possess hitn, with clear tones, and an impressive, and,
I may say, an imposing manner, - who did not feel
that he might imagine that xve saw  before us a
Senator of Rome while Rome survived..,, M~r. President, he had the basis, the indispensable
basis, of all high character - and that was unspotted
integrity and unimpeached honor.  If' he had aspirations, they were high, and honorable, and. noble.




WEBSTER AND HAYNE.               261
There was nothing grovelling, or low, or meanly
selfish that came near the hea.  or heart of Mr.
Calhoun.
64 He has lived long enough, he has done enough;
and he has done it so well, so successfully, so honorably, as to connect himself for all time with the
records of his country.  He is now an historical
character.  Those  of us who  have known  him
here will find that he has left upon our minds
and our hearts a strong and lasting impression
of his person, his character, and his public performances, which, while  we  live, will never be
obliterated.  We shall hereafter, I am sure, indulge
it as a greatful recollection that we have lived in
his age, that we have been his conteimporaries,
that we have seen, and heard him, and known him.
We shall delight to speak of him to those who are
rising up to fill our places.  And when the time
shall come that we ourselves must go, one after
another, to our graves, we shall carry with us a deep
sense of his genius and character, his honor and
intewrity, his amiable deportment in private life,
and the purity of his exalted patriotism."
Mr. Hayne was a far more violent controversialist than Mr. Calhoun.  His attack upon Mtr.
Webster and upon WMassachusetts in the Senate on
Mr. Foot's reso!ltiona, so unprovoked, so gracefully




82 f2              MrdAGNANIMIITY.
acrllmonious, called forth fiom  Mr. Webster whtat
has been termed his "' great speech," yet when Mr.'Webster visited  South  Carollna, subsequently to
the death of Mdr. Hayne, he took occasion to speak
publicly of his deceased opponent in the most respectful manner.  His animosities, if he had any,
seemed to have been buried in the grave of his
distinguished competitor.
Ye have dwelt upon this trait of character the
longer, because we desire to coimmend it strongly to
the imitation of the young.  We all have opponents.
Where the opposition is merely one of opinion, it is
comparatively harmless.   We may differ in sentiment without any interruption of friendly relations.
Yet in that case it is eminently desirable that each
should treat his opponent with great courtesy. They
should be careful not to impugn each others motives,
not to indulge in criminations and recriminations, not
to exhibit in tone or gesture an acrimonious spirit.
Each should strive to present the opinions of the
other with perfect fairness, to put upon them  the
most favorable construction, and to discuss them with
great candor.  No permanent advantage is ever
gained by misrepresentation.
But when the opposition extends beyond that of
opinion, when there is an evident intention on the
part of an opponent to inflict upon us injury, then an




CHARITY.                  263
opportunity is offered for the exercise of magnanimity.  When  a foe has fallen, attempt not his
ruin, but extend towards him the hand of kindness.
Having defended yourself, there pause.  Follow not
your vanquished opponent with invective.  Give him
credit for all the commendable qualities he possesses,
and make all the allowances charity can suggest for
the imperfections of his character and the incorrectness of his opinions.




CHAPTER XV.
The Human Family a Brotherhood. - Effect of little Kindnesses.
Webster and Miss Mitford.- Influence of a Friend's Death. -
Donations of Garden Seeds. - Gives away a Cow. - Kindness
to Mr. Tappan.- Hungarian Bull. — Gores Mr. Taylor. - Kossuth. - Mr. Webster's Present. - Charles Brown's Use of Holiclay Money. - Items in Mr. Webster's Will. -A Rebuke and
Fifty Dollars. -- The Old Lady on Webster's Farm. - Another
Fifty Dollars.- Webster loans a Client Money.- A touchling
Story of a Widow's Poverty and Mr. Webster's Benevolence.
THE  humnan family constitutes one great brothe"hood.  Each should feel an interest in each.   ~ h1,tcnever an opportunity exists of removing the dicffiulties
in others' paths, of lightening their burdens, or of
promoting their elevation, improvement, an d happi —
ness, the assistance should be cheerfully rendered.
As human happiness and misery are made up of
the angg'regate of things in themselves comparaltively
trivial, encouragement is offered for all to  labor irn
the field of benevolence.  Every kind word, or gaentle
smile, or unexpensive gift exerts a beneficent influence.  It is like  a gleam  of  sunshine  brealking'(
throughl the  clouds  in  a  dark  and  stormy dclay.
Unexpected acts of fiavor towards our fellow-pilgrimns
in the journey of life are ofttimes like the notes of'264




EFFECT OF KINDNESS.             265
some familiar tune sweetly falling upon the ear of
tlhe weary traveller when resting upon the fragments
of hoary ruins in some remote wilderness, where bie
supposed  himself excluded, by many a  tedious
league, fr om all civilized beings.  That favorite tune
dispels the illusion, by the conviction which it awakens
thal sympathetic companionship is at hand.  By the
power of association, those time-honored ruins seen
peopled with familiar forms.  The feeling of loneliness is entirely gone.  How many of life's pilgrims
thfere are, who, though surrounded by a multitude,
feel' alone   To them it seems as if there was " no
flesh in man's obdurate heart; it does not feel for
man " - as if a great gulf separated them from the
mass of unfeeling humanity moving around them.
Slight attentions, kind words, offices of friendship
bridge this gulf, and make them feel that they are in
sympathetic communication with the race.  These
labors of love, like rays of heavenly light, banish the
darkness of their hearts; the air seems filled with
the melody of household tunes, awakening in the
otherwise desolate soul a sense of brotherhood with
ran.
Among the incidents in the life of Mr. Webster
which have been made public are a number illustrative of his thoughtful firiendship and benevolence.
When in England, some dozen years ago, he was
in company with Mary Russell Mitford.  In her




266     MR. WEBSTER AND MISS MITFORD.
c" Recollections of a Literary Life," this lady relates the
following pleasing reminiscence of that occasion: —
", During this visit a little circumstance occurred,
so characteristic, so graceful, and so gracious, that I
cannot resist the temptation of relating it. vWalking
in my cottage garden, we talked naturally of the
roses and pinks that surrounded us, and of the different indigenous flowers of our island and of the
United States.  I had myself had the satisfaction of
sending to my friend Mr. Theodore Sedgwick  a
hamlnper containing roots of many English  plants
familiar to our poetry: the common ivy, (how could
they want ivy who had bad no time for ruins?) the
primrose, and the cowslip, immortalized by Shakspeare and by Milton; and the sweet-scented violets,
both white and purple, of our hedgerows and our
lanes; that known as the violet in America, (Mr.
Bryant somewhere speaks of it as'the yellow violet,')
being, I suspect, the little wild pansy, (viola tricolor,)
renowned as the love-in-idleness of Shakspeare's
famous compliment to Queen Elizabeth. Of these we
spoke; and I expressed an interest in two flowers,
known to me only by the vivid description of Miss
Martineau - the scarlet lily of New York and of the
Canadian woods, and the fringed gentian of Niagara.
I observed that our illustrious guest made some
remark to one of the ladies of the party; but I
little expected that, as soon after his return as seeds




VALUE OF TOKENS.             267
of these plants could be procured, I'should receive a
package of each, signed and directed by his own
hand. How much pleasure these little kindnesses
give! And how many such have come to me from
over the same wide ocean! "
Here an interest in certain flowers, expressed by a
lady in casual conversation, was remembered for
months, and was the means of inducing him to send,
unasked, a package three thousand miles, signed
and directed by his own hand, that she might enjoy
the gratification of raising the flowers for herself
The plants produced by those seeds were no doubt
highly prized by the gifted authoress; and now that
he who sent them has passed away, they will be held
in higher estimation than ever.  How strange it is
that the death of a fiiend enhances the value of all
the tokens of his kindness! Gifts, of which we were
unmindful while their donor was alive, become
treasured mementoes of his love, when the hand that
gave them  is mouldering in the tomb.  In such
treasures not a few have been made rich by the
demise of the great statesman.  Trees of grafts cut
from  his orchards, animals reared from stock on
his farm, plants raised from seed received from his
hands, to say nothing of tokens of other kinds, and
especially letters in which he has poured out the
fulness of his heart, though valued before, will now
be more highly prized than ever.




e26S3         DONATIONS OF SEEDS.
lhen Mr. W~ebster was in Congress, hle was accustomed to receive firom  different quarters seeds of
various kinds.  These he neither sold nor tUmonopolized for himself.  Being greatly interested in agricultural pursuits, lie was desirous of diffusing as fa-ll
as possible all kinds of crops.  For this reason he
gave away the seeds which he received, that the
farmers might experiment with theim  upon  their
different kinds of soil.  In that beautiful letter to
John Taylor, containing such a mingling of gravity
anl cheerfilness, sober politics and minute fariming
directions, where there is such a singular blending
of incongruous  objects  as, pennyroyal crops,",,little wife," 44my mother's  garden," and " the
graves of my family," he says, "I have sent you
many garden seeds.  Distribute them  amnong your
neighbors.  Send them  to the stores in the village,"
(not to sell; no, no, but)," that every body may have
part of them without cost."
It would be interesting to know the history of
some of those seeds.  What were they? which of
them were successfiilly raised? how did they compare with other crops of the same kind? cdid any
of them  introduce new  species? in what respects
was their introduction an improvement? has a succession of crops been raised from these seeds? how
nave those crops turned  out as to  quality and
quantity?




AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE.              269
If we had the means of answering these questions, it would not be at all surprising to learn that
new  and important additions had  been made to
certain departlents of the agricultural interest by
seeds received through the thoughtful attention of
the farmer statesman.
But M1r. Webster  not only gave  away seeds.
When occasion required it, he was willing  to part
with mlore important articles.  He was especially
considerate  towards  his  unfortunate     neighbors.
Such was his accessibleness when  at home, that the
farmers in his vicinity fireely approached him  and
related  their embarrassments.   Those  who  had
been acquainted with him in his early years made
capital of' their'formter friendship in appealing to his
benevolence.
On one occasion, when confined by illness to his
room  at Malshfield, an old friend who resided at a
distance of thirty miles called to see him.  He was
at once admitted to the chamber.   At first the
conversation was upon 1" days of auld  lang syne."
They each drew upon their store of reminiseences,
and lived old scenes over again.  After some time
lad been spent in this delightful manner, the visitor
entered upon his tale of woe, and related the various
misfortunes which he had experienced.  He seems
to have been in reduced circumnstances, for in the
conversation he incidentally expressed  his earnest




270            GIVES AWAY A COW.
desire to obtain a good cow.  The invalid listened
attentively to every word he uttered, but made no
reply.  When the friend had finished the story of
his sorrows, and arose to leave, Mr. Webster called
Mr. Porter Wright, the superintendent of his farm,
into his presence, and gave him instructions to show
his friend the cattle which were on the farm, and
then present him  with any cow which lie might
be pleased to select fiom the number.  The herd
was examined, and the visitor made choice of a fine
Alderney, valued at fifty dollars, which was cheerfully given him  by his invalid friend.  He went
away rejoicing.  " And  this is only one of many
similar instances which might and will be recorded
of the astonishing liberality of Mr. Webster."
We have already referred to the fact that when
his early teacher, Mr. Tappan, was reduced to
poverty, in his old age, he sent him at one time fifty,
and at another time twenty dollars for his relief.
rhe delicacy with which it was done — the words
of affectionate sympathy which accompanied these
substantial tokens of friendship - must have rendered
the donation doubly acceptable.
On the Elms Farm, at Franklin, Mr. Webster had
a bull of the Hungarian breed.  It was young,
large, and beautiful, weighing about two thousand
pounds, with a neck more than six feet in circumference, and of a delicate light slate color.  It was an




HUNGARIAN BULL.o               71
object of special interest to those who visited the
place.  On one occasion, Mr. John Taylor was in
the field with it, when, without provocation, the
animal suddenly beca-me enraged, rushed upon him,
gored him  with his horns, tossed him high in the
air, and, after he had fallen, trampled him under his
hoofs, injuring him  severely.  He would probably
have been wounded much nmore dangerously if he
had not seized and held on to the ring which ornamented the bull's nose.  As it was, he had a very
nairrow escape fronm death.
Mr. Webster heard in Boston that the superintendent of his farm was injured, but he knew not the
particulars.  It being the season of the year when
he was accustonmed to make his annual visit there,
he was soon on his way to Franklin.  When he
reached Concord, where lie heard the particulars of
the affair, and learned that bis life was considered in
danger, lhe was deeply afflicted, and manifested great
anxiety to pursue his journey.  As soon as he
arrived  at holme, he hastened to the house of MIr.
Taylor, whom  he found prostrate upon his bed,
enduring  the  severe  sufferings of a dislocated
shoulder, a dreadfiully bruised breast, and a deep
woun d in his thigh, some seven irnches long.  Mr.
Webster was filled with solicitude for his friiend.
-le inquired the opinion of the physician, and when




~F272         SALMON AND GRAPES.
he learned that lie had pronounced himn  out of
danger, he was greatly relieved.
Mr. Taylor, doubtless, in order that he might
allay the anxiety of Mr. Webster, gave quite an
amusing narrative of his rencounter with the enraged
animal, and of other feats which it had performed.
i" Do you think the creature is dangerous? " asked
Mr. W., ", and ought to be chained? "
", Why," replied Taylor, ", he is no more fit to
go abroad than your friend Governor Kossuth himself."
", Rather strong language this," humorously replied Mr. W.;, but when a man has been gored almost to death by an Hungarian bull, it is not strange
that he should be severe upon the Hungarian  govelnor."'
XTWe have related this painful incident in order to
say that when Mar. XW. first heard of it in Boston,
not, however, imagining the extent of its severity,
he immediately determined to take Mr. Taylor a
present of something which he supposed would be
appropriate to one in his condition.  He looked
around, and made the necessary purchase.  When
he arrived at Elms Farm, he gladdened the heart of
the wounded man by the donation of a basket of
grapes and afresh salmon, brought purposely for him
firom Boston.  The present was wortTy of a noble



ECONOIICAL SERVANT.              273
man, and they were noblemen of nature's mould
who gave and received it.
O, how  greatly such acts of friendly attention
smooth the sharp asperities of life!  How they pour
the oil of gladness into the wounded spirit   A bouquet of flowers, a little fruit, or pleasant confection,
sent into the room of the invalid, are odorous with
the  fragrance of affection  they are little tokens
of retmembrance; they show the sufferer that he is
not forgotten by the absent, but is thought of with
interest, and his lappiness desired.
Mr. Webster seems to have been particularly kind
to those in his employ.  He had in Washington. a
colored man of the namte of Charles Brown, who
was his servant for neai'ly thirty years.  lHe was a
worthy, trusty person. Mir. Webster appreciated his
qualities, and was accustomed to give him money to
spend on holidays and other times, in addition, as we
suppose, to his support.  A few years ago he ascertained that this servant had bought a piece of land,
and had erected a small, yet corfortable house., WYhere did you get lmoney to purchase so fine
a house? " asked he.,I am glad to say, sir," replied Brown, "c that it
all came out of your pocket.  It is the money which
you have given me on holidays and at other times."
It would seem from this that the spending-money
Is




274           IMR. WEBSTER S WILL.
given to this servant must have been somnewhat
liberal.
A similar spirit was developed by Mr. WVebster in
the followino,, items " in his last will and testament -
Item. MdVy servant Villiam  Johnson is a free
man.  I bougaht his freedom  not long ago for six
hundred dollars.  No derand is to be nmade upon
him for any  ortion of tlhis sum, but so long as is
agreeable, I hope he will remain with the family.,Itemn.  Monicha AfcCarty, Sarah  Smith, and
Ann Bean, colored persons, now, also, and for a
long time in my service, are all fiee.  They are
very well deserving, and whoever comes after me
miust be kind to them.'"
Public men, especially if they have the reputation
of wealth and liberality, are frequently called upon
by private individuals for donations to various objects.  In these calls the proprieties of time and
circumstance are not always regarded.  Soinetimes,
instead  of donations, reproofs are received.  On
one occasion, Mr. Webster gave both.  The following are the facts -
A lady called upon him in Washington, and related a long and mournfill story about her afflictions,
stating that she was very poor; that she resided in
a western city; that she had not sufacient money to




A LADY SOLICITOR.              275
reach her home, and then asked him to assist her.
He listened with some degree of impatience to her
tale, expressed his surprise that she, a total stranger,
should feel at liberty to call on him for the purpose
of soliciting charity, simply because le was connected with the government; and, after adcministering a plain reprimand for her improper conduct, he
closed the interview  by presenting her with fifty
dollars.
It is sometimes a difficult task to decide upon the
path of duty in such cases.  It is so easy to be deceived by impostors, and such deceptions occur so
frequently, that we know not, when a stranger asks
for assistance, whether it may not be one of this class.
A  safe course would be to require corroborating
evidence of the facts in the case, in addition to the
statements of the solicitor.  And even then decep..
tion would not be impossible; for such corroborating evidence might be abundantly furnished, and the
whole be based upon falsehood.
To another woman he gave a similar amount, but
under very different circumstances.  The incident is
highly interesting.
In the early part of his professional career, when he
was practising law in Portsmouth, one of his clients,
whom he had conducted successfully through a soinewhat difficult suit, was unable to pay him his fees.
He therefore insisted upon giving him the deed of a




276       WEBSTER ANTD THE OLD LADY.
certain lot of land in a neighboring county.  The
matter was adjusted by the acceptance of this deed.
Where the land was, or what was its quality, 1Br.
Webster knew not.  Aftler many years had passed
awTay, he had occasiorn to visit this county.  It occurred to hbim that perhaps it would be well to look
up the land, and ascertain its condition.  He went
to work for that purpose.  He made his inquiries,
and, after following the directions which were given
himn, he discovered the property.  Upon it was an
old house, built among the rocks, which appearled to
be inhabited.  Ile knocked at the door, and entered.
He found it was occupied by an old woman, who,
hermnlit-like, lived there all alone.  He entered into
familiar conversation with her,'and asked who owned
the place.  She told him that it belonged to a lawyer, by t;he name of Webster; and she was expectino every day that he would come and turn her out
of doors.  She little knew  the character of that
Webster.  After some futrther inquiries, he surprised
the old lady by the announcement that he was lawyer Webster, the  w-iner of the place, but that she
need not fear thal he had come to warn her out.
That was far fromn 1his intention.  After allaying her
apprehensions, he sat down at her table, partook of
such refreshments as the humlble hut afforded, and
then departed, leaving the old lady a donation of
fifty dollars.




WEBSTER AND HIS POOR CLIENT.    277
Ever since then, that rocky spot has been clesignated,, Webster's Farm."
This, hbwever, was not the limit of his donations.
When occasion required, he gave more largely.
He was a lalge-hearted man.  Says Mr. Lannan,
T — The following well-authenticated fact was related to the writer by an eye witness, and is only a
specimnen of many that might be mentioned, tending
to illustrate the character of Mr. Webster's heart.
Somewhere about the year 1826, a certain gentleman
residing in Boston was thrown into almost inextricable
difficulties by the failure of a house for which he had
become responsible to a large amount.  He needed
legal advice, and being disheartened, he desired the
author of this anecdote to go with him and relate his
condition to Mr. WTebster.  The lawyer heard the
story entirely through, advised his client what to do,
and to do it immediately, and requested him to call
again in a few days.  After the gentlemen had left
Mi'. Webster's office, he came hurriedly to the door,
called upon the gentlemen to stop a nmoment, and
having approached them  with his pocket book in
hand, he thus addressed his client:'It seems to
me, my good sir, if I understood your case rightly,
you are entirely naked; is it so?'
The client replied that he was indeed penniless,
and then of course expected a demand for a retaining fee.  Instead of that demand, however, Mr.




278   MR. WEBSTER AND HIS POOR CLIENT.
Webster kindly remarked, as he handed the client a
bill for five hundred dollars, -,,, Well, there, take that; it is all I have by me
now.  I wish it was more; and if you are ever able,
you must pay it back again.',, The client was overcome, and it may be well
imagined that he has ever since been a   Webster
man.'  Surely a man who can command the admiration of the world by the efforts of his gigantic
intellect, and also possesses the above self-sacrificing
habit of making friends, must indeed be a great and
a good man."
To all intents this was a donation.  He knew not
that the mlan would ever be in a condition to refilnd
the money; he let him  have it subject to that contingency.  It was to be a loan if the man ever hacd
the ability to return it; if otherwise, it was a gift.
This chapter cannot be more appropriately closed
than with the following deeply-affecting narrative,
which is equally illustrative of Mr. Webster's benevolence and piety.  Rather than mar the account by
presenting it in our own language, we give it as it
appeared in the National Intelligencer.
", In answer to some fanatical inputations on Mr.
Webster's religious principles, because of his support
of the compromise measures, a widow lady, who
resided in the vicinity of Mr. W.'s early home, said, -,' Mr. Webster an infidel! I cannot believe that.




MR. WEBSTER AND THE WIDOW..29
I have known him long, and, if it would not savor
too much of egotism, I could relate some incidents
that would, I think, convince you that, whatever his
political views may have been, he certainly was not
an infidel.'
"She was requested to do so, and accordingly
wrote the following:"' Mr. Webster and my husband became acquainted in early life, and the friendship of youth extended
to riper years. They were truly congenial spirits,
and sought each other's society as much as possible.
But the cares of business at length separated them,
and for many years they seldom met.  My husband
settled down in this place, and Mr. Webster went
forth to battle for the right in the councils of the
nation.',, For some time we were greatly prospered.  A
lucrative business brought us wealth almost beyond
our hopes.  Two children came like a sunbeam to
light up our happy home with their joyous smiles,
and to cheer our spirits with their innocent prattle.
Those were happy days, and I love to recall them.
But alas! they were soon covered with clouds of
darkness, that. even the eye of faith could hardly
penetrate.',, Some of the firms in which my husband's funds
were placed became involved, and our little all was




.283    IMR. WEBSTER AND THE WIDOW.
swept from  our grasp.  When he found that every
effort to recover it but plunged him  deeper into
difficulty, he became disheartened.  Soon his health
failed, and he was compelled to give up his business
entirely.  He then sold the shop, and what else ve
could spare, and with the avails paid  every debt
except one.  This was due to a friend who chose
to wait for his money rather than take from us the
cottage where we lived, the only property we could
then call our own.,,, But hardly was the arrangement made when the
gentleman died, leaving the note in the hands of one
who knew not how to show mercy.  He demanded
immediate payment, and we were about to sell our
house when our oldest child was taken down with a
fever, and soon left us, as we hope, for a better
world.  The same disease prostrated my husband;
and when the physician told me he must die, I felt
that my cup of sorrow was full.  But no; I was
mistaken.
"' There was yet another drop to be mingled in
that cup of bitterness.  ~While my husband yet lingered between life and death, my dau,'l:ter, the only
remaining child, was taken sick also, and after five
days' suffering, she too left us, to rejoin her brother
in the ", spirit land."
6, LDo you ask how I bore this second bereave.




MR. WEBSTER AND THE WIDOW.           281
merit?  I believe I had not leisure to think of it.
All my time, all my attention, were given to nmy
husbald, who was slowly but surely going down to
the grave.  I had even forgotten the hard-hearted
creditor.  But he did not forget.  Inexorable as
death itself, he came at the time appointed, and
demanded  the  money.   I think  he must have
been  intoxicated, for I am  sure  no man in  his
sober senses could h}ave been so cruel.  I told lbiin
my husband was dying; but he replied,,  Sorry,
sorry to hear it.  He won't earn any more  money,
and, as you can't pay up, I'll just take the house.
You can live somewhere else, as you have no one to
look after."  I interrupted  his cruel remarks, and,
thinking to move his feelings, I led him to the room
where lay the cold form of my child.
V 6 ain hope!  I minght as well lave tried to
move an iceberg.  After much entreaty, I obtained
permission to remain in thle house while my loved
one lived, on condition that I gave up the furniture.
This I promised, that I   gight no more be troubled
with his loathsome presence.,,, The man left me, and I sank into a chair,
utterly overcome at the prospect of the desolation
before me.  At that moment I heard a rap at the
door.  I could not rise to obey the summons.  I
felt that my heart was breaking   But the door




282       PRAYER AND BENEVOLENCE.
slowly opened, and Mr Webster stood before me.
He had come home on a visit, and, without knowing any thing of our sorrows, he rode over to see
and embrace his early friend.  What was his sutrprise to find him thus! And when the story of our
troubles had been told, when he had assured himself
that his long-cherished friend had but a few more
hours to live, he sat down and wept.
6 6 Then he asked to see the corpse of his little
pet, who, when he last visited us, sat upon his knee
and played with his watch. As he rose to leave the
bed, my husband said in a whisper, ", Fetch her to me,
that I too may look upon her sweet face once more."
"'c, We placed the still beautiful form beside the
bed, and standing near it, gave ourselves up to uncontrollable grief.  When able to command his
voice, Mr. W. said, ",Let us pray."  And kneeling
there, beside the dying and the dead, he prayed as
none but a Christian can pray.  Sure I am that a
prayer so earnest, so full of faith and hope in the
Redeemer, was never poured forth from the lips of
an infidel.,,, Gladly would he have stopped with us through
the night; but business forbade his stay.  He left
us, and as he grasped for the last time the hand of
his dying fiiend, those pale features were lighted up
with a stnile of hope, such as they had not worn for




PRAYER AND BENEVOLENCE.            Z38
many a day.  The troubled spirit was at rest, for the
assurance had been givenl that the widow should be
provided for in her affliction.
M6  y husband died the next day.  I saw no nlore
of the hard-hearted creditor, and the house retained
unsold.  I still occupy it, and the room -vX'ere Mlr.
Webster kneeled in prayer is to me a sacrecd laceo'"




CHAPTER XVI.
Mr. Webster never out of Order. - Sings with an old Lady. -
Religious Allusions. -- The Bible is " the Book." - Piety of
his Brother Ezekiel. - An Evening Scene and Scripture Quotation. - Mr. Webster's Remarks on Job. - He prefers John. -
Constant in Attendance on Public Worship. —His Opinion
of Sermonizing. - His Opinion of Prayer. — Mr. Kirk's Sermon. - Mr. Webster's Remarks upon it. - Believer in the Atonement. - rmquests Prayer on board a Steamboat. - Influence of
Prayer. - Arithmetic of Heaven. —His Religious Views. -
Pleased with Dr. Watts's Hymns.- Mr. Alden's Eulogy. —
Recognition of Divine Providence. — Evidences of Christianity.-Writes the Inscription for his own Monument. — Its
Importance.
A QUESTION in which a large portion of the cornmunity cherish a deep interest is that which has respect to the religious opinions and character of our
most eminent statesmen.  That there are any among
them addicted to profanity, drunkenness, and other
immoralities, is an  occasion  of grief and  humiliation.   An  account of the  disgraceful, belligerent
scenes which have occasionally transpired in Congress has sent a wave of sadness throughout the
land.  Such occurrences have been  deplored both
publicly and privately. They have furnished topics
for penitential confession and earnest prayer in the
services of the sanctuary, and in the private devo284




QUALIFICATIONS FOR OFFICE.          285
tions of the closet.  It will be a fortunate day for
our country when immorality of character, or a
positive disregard for Christianity, shall be sufficient
to prevent the election of any individual, however
eminent he may be in other respects, to any office
of responsibility.  In canvassing the qualifications
of candidates, the time has come when a higher
estimate should be placed upon moral requisites.
We need men of good hearts, as well as strong
minds.  Integrity of character should be the ballast
of the ship of statel; and this should be developed
not only in the laws which are passed, but in those
who enact and execute theli.
With reference to Mr. Webster, it is stated that
during his long congressional career, though lie was
frequently placed in circumstances of the most exciting character, and was ofttimes the subject of
personal and irritating allusion, he never departed
fr'om  tile proprieties of debate.  He was never called
to orde.  If this rigid adherence to the rules of
parliamentary decorum had been imitated by others,
the various scenes of congressional rowdyism which
have dishonored the halls of our national legislation
would have been avoided.
But Mr. Webster was governed by something
higher than a mnere regard to decorum.  He knew
that the character of his country was, in the opinion
of foreign nations, implicated in these scenes of




2~i6    MR. WEBSTElR AND AN OLD WOMAN.
disorder, and that they were at variance with that
spirit of good will towards others which is so prominent and beautiful an  element of Christianity.
Patriotism  and  religion  combined  to  guide his
coulrse.
His parents, as we have/seen, were Christians of
the Puritan stock.  His cc excellent mother " instilled into his mind, froml  his earliest childhood,
sentiments of piety.  He was, when quite young,
taught the Catechism and the hymnis of Dr. Watts.
The history and precepts of the Scriptures were
also impressed upon his mind.  He was taught to
regard the Sabbath and to reverence the institution
of Christianity.  These early influences were not in
vain.  He became hopefully pious, and, when a
young man, united xvith the Orthodox Congregational Church.  He had, even at that time, attained
to such a reputation, that the following incident.
comparatively trifling in itself, which occurred then,
is remembered to the present day.  On the occasion
of his making  a public profession of religion, the
only occupant of the same pew  with him  was a
"6 very poor, and a very old, woman."  The service
was closed with singing.  After Mr. Webster had
found the hymn, he offered a part of the book to
the poor woman, and they both sang together f'ron
the same page - a beautiful symbol of the union
existing between the piety of youth and that of age.




HIS ALLUSIONS TO RELIGION.         287
Even though their voices might have been discordant, they were one in spirit.  This pleasant incident
is still a topic of fireside conversation among the
members of the parish.
TiWhen he delivered his Fourth of July Oration at
Hanover, during his collegiate course, he took occasion to express the obligations of the people to cherish sentiments of thanksgiving towards the Ruller of
nations for the blessings they enjoyed.  His language was as follows:, If piety be the rational
exercise of the human 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."
These sentiments are important.  They are worthy of being incorporated in every oration on our
national anniversary.  We should never forget our
indebtedness to the Ruler of nations for the political
freedom with which he has blessed us.  The Fourth
of July ought to be a day of national thanksgiving.
With our various demonstrations of joy there should
be mingled feelings of devout gratitude.  Of this




285        HIS LOVE FOR THE BIBLE.
the youthful orator was convinced, and has earnestly
expressed it in the quotation we have given.
Being a firm believer in the divine origin of the
Scriptures, he has on various occasions expressed
himself warmly upon the importance of making
themn a subject of study.
A  correspondent of the Comnmercial Advertise'r
says, -; Somne years ago we had the pleasure of spending several days in company with Mir. 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 subjects - sometimes on doctrinal points, but more genelrally on the importance of the Holy Scriptures, as
containing the plan of man's salvation, through the
atonement of Christ.  So far as our knowledge of
the subject extends, MIr Webster was as orthodox as
any we ever conversed with.
" Oin one occasion, when seated in the drawing
room with Mr. and Mrs. Ely, MIr. Webster laid his
hand on a copy of the Scriptures, saying, with great
eniphasis,' This is the book!' This led to a conversation on the importance of the Scriptures, and
the too fri'equent 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.




PIETY OF HIS BROTHER.           289
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 supply of thought, and of
rules for his conduct; it fits man for life -it prepares him for death.',' The conversation  then. turned upon  sudden
deaths; and Mr. WVebster adverted to the then recent death of his brother, who expired suddenly at
Concord, N. H., My brother,' he continued,' knew
the importance 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 expressions of humility, I think was never excelled.'
c" 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
professors generally, who believed in the great truths
19




290           INTERESTING SCENE.
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."
The editor of the Boston Atlas, as quoted by
General Lyman, in his Memorials, says,",It was our fortune to pass several days at his
home in Marshfield, some six or seven years ago;
and well we rememlber 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 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 art mindful of him? and the son
of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made
him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned
him  with glory and honor,' &c.  The deep, low
tone in which he repeated these inspired words,




HIS REMARKS ON JOB.             291
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 visited 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 Ao 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 especially, 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 productions of any age, or in any language. As an;
epic 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 personages from death and slaughter; but
the Book of Job was a purely intellectual narrative. Its power was shown in the dialogue of'
characters introduced. The story was simple in its
construction, and there was little in it to excite the,




I HE EXPLAINS THE SCRIPTURES.
imagination or arouse the sympathy.  It was purely
an intellectual production, and dependcled upon the
power of the dialogue, and not upon the interest of
the story, to produce its effects.  This was considering it merely as an intellectual work.  He read it
through very often, and always with renewed delight.
Iln his judgment, it was the greatest epic ever
written., We well rememnber his quotation of so-me of the
verses in  the thirty-eighth  chapter:, Then  the
Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
TWho is this that darkeneth counsel by words without
knowledge?  Gird up now thy loins like a man 
fot I 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.
MIr. Webster was a fine reader, and his recitation of
particular passages, to which he felt warm, were
never surpassed, and were capable of giving the
mnost, exquisite delight to those who could appreciate
them."
With regard to this attachment to the Bible, the
author of Mir. Webster's Private Life says, —,i Indeed, he loved and he read that priceless volume as it ought to be loved and read; and he once
told the -writer that he could not rermember the time
when he was unable to read a chapter therein.  He
read it aloud to his family on every Sunday morning,




HIS REVERENCE FOR THE SCRIPTURES.  293
and, often delivered extempore sermons of great
power and eloquence.  lie never made a journey
without carrying a copy with him, and the writer
would testify that he never listened to the story of
the Savior, or heard one of the prophecies of Isaiah,
when it sounded so superbly eloquent as when coming friom  his lips.  Those admitted to the inti2macy of his conversation alone can tell of the
eloquent fervor with which he habitually spoke of
the inspired writings; how  much light he could
throw on a difficult text; how  much beauty lend
to expressions that would escape all but the eye
of genius; what new vigor he could give to the
most earnest thought; and what elevation even to
sublimity.
"6 It would be impossible, as C. W. 1March has
said, for any one to listen half an hour to one
of his dissertations on the Scriptures, and not believe
in their inspiration  or his.  And yet, while his
private conversations and public productions attest
how deeply he was imbued with the spirit of the
Scriptures, neither the one nor the other ever contained the slightest irreverent allusion to any passage
in them, any thing in the way of illustration, analogy, or quotation, which would seem  to question
their sanctity.  He was scrupulously delicate in this
regard, and therein differed widely from  most of
his contemporaries in public life; as he read and




294       HIS PREFERENCE FOR JOHN.
admired the Bible for its eloquence, so did he venerate it for its sacredness."
At a dinner table at the Revere House, Boston,
one of the party made a remark uy on the poetry of
the Scriptures.  ",Ah, my friend," immediately replied Mr. Webster, ", the poetry of Isaiah, and Job,
and Habakkuk is beautiful indeed; but when you
reach your sixty-ninth year, you will give more for the
fourteenth or the seventeenth chapter of John's Gospel, or for one of the Epistles, than for all the poetry
of the Bible."
It may be asked, If Mr. Webster was so deeply
impressed with the value of the sacred Scriptures,
why did he never give expression to his views at the
anniversary of soume of the Bible Societies?  He
stated in the above interview, that he had declined.speaking at Bible Societies, " from fear that the motives prompting to such a step would be regarded as
sinister." *  He expressed deep regret that hie had
never recorded his opinion of the word of God in
some public manner, and intimated a willingness to
comply, if invited to speak at the anniversary of the
American Bible Society.  But the arrangement was
never made, owing, probably, to the speedy decease
of the clergyman to whom the matter was suggested
It is reasonable to suppose that one who was so
4 Rev. Dr. Choules's Sermon.




CONSTANTLY ATTENDS CHURCH.          295
sincerely a lover of the Bible would not be uninterested in the public services of the sanctuary.  The
following fact will illustrate Mr. W~ebster's views
and practice upon this point:He was accustomed, at one period of his life, to
spend his months of sunnmer recreation in Dorchester, Massachusetts.  The late Rev. Dr. Codman was
at that time pastor of the Orthodox Congregational
Church in that town.  At the time he became a resident of the place,,Mr. Webster called upon Dr.
Codman,  4 with whom   he held similar religious
opinions," and said to him, -,, Sir, I am come to be one of your parishioners.
Not one of your fishionable ones; but you will find
me in Tmy seat both in the morning and in the afterH-'e is said to have been true to his word.  His
example in this respect furnishes an impressive rebuke to those 4 fashionable " worshippers whose conscience and heart are satisfied with a single attendance upon the public services of the Sabbath.  May
we not see in it, also, the influence of home education?  Being taught, when a boy, to be in his seat.on both parts of the day, he continued the practice
in subsequent years.  He did not go there  for
amusement, nor to while away an hour that would
have otherwise hung heavily on his hands. Indeed,
any thing in the form of a sermon which furnished




296          CRITICIZES A SERMON.
mere intellectual entertainment seemed to hitm  out
of place.
To Rev. Mr. Alden, of Marshfield, the pastol
whose ministrations he attended when at home.
he said with emphasis, ", When I attend the preaching of the gospel, I wish it to be made a personal
hctttcr, A  PERSONAL  MATTER, A  PERSON AL
MATiTER."
On arlother occasion he expressed his views of
preaching to a gentleman who afterwards gave thena
to the public in the Congregational Journal, in the
following article: -
" A few evenings since," says this writer, ", sitting
by his own fireside, after a dlay 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 attempting to recall some of those
remarks which were uttered 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 seems to me, the clergymnan failed to draw from




CRITICIZES A SERMON.            297
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 consummate fraud; it is either a
reality or an imposition.  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 unconmplaining sufferer for truth.  Now, considering the purity of his
doctrines, the simplicity of his life, and the sublimity
of his death, is it possible that he would have died for
an illusion?  In all his preaching the Savior mlade
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
rmust stand or fall alone - he must live for himself,
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




298         OPINION OF PREACHING.
leaves the individual sinner alone with himself and
his God.  To his own Master he stands or falls.
He has nothing to hope froml the aid and sympathy
of associates.  The deluded advocates of new doctrine do not so preach.  Christ and his apostles,
had they been deceivers, would not have so preached.
"4 6 If clergymen in our days would return to the
simplicity of the gospel, and preach more to individuals 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 lmust 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 imperfect abstract, from  memory, of one of the most
eloquent sermons to which I ever listened."
These are the true, common-sense views to be
taken of the subject.  It will be a most desirable




A CHANGE NEEDED.              299
change in public opinion when these views become
popular.  There are many to whom no preaching is
so interesting as that which indulges in all kinds of
flowery and imaginative description of scenes, circumlstances, and characters, but which leaves the
conscience unaddressed.  To hold the mirror of
divine truth before them, and show them the nmoral
deformities of their character, is to perform a most
unwelcome service.  But instead of censuring themselves, and striving for amendment, they make the
preacher the subject of their complaints, or else find
fault with the truth he utters.  Probation, mortality,
and eternity are themes too sombre for the contemplation of such. They take no pleasure in them.
How widely different was it with Mr. Webster!  " 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 at the door.' "  A  great
mind wants great themes for its contemplation. No
wonder that he added,,"These topics have often
occupied my thoughts."
Reader, permit them  to occupy your thoughts.
You can dwell upon nothing invested with more
profound interest.  In comparison with these, all
other subjects dwindle into insignificance. Your
present life is brief. Yet for all your conduct here




300'WEBSTER S OPINION OF PRAYER.
you are accountable at the tribunal of your Miaker
It is appointed unto mnen once to die, and after that
the judgment.  Then will follow your immortality,
the character of which will depend upon the course
of life which'you have followed here. How explicit is the language of revelation!-,, Be not deceived; God is not mocked.  Whatsoever a m1an
soweth, that shall he also reap.  He that soweth to
the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption.  He
that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life
everlasting."  Let the young especially remember
that this life is their seedtitne; that the harvest will
be reaped in another world, and the nature of that
harvest will depend upon the character of the seed
sown here.
Being a believer in the Bible, Mr. Webster was
convinced of the efficacy of prayer.  The last time
he attended church, this was the subject of discourse.
It was delivered by that warm-hearted, earnest
preacher, and indefatigable laborer in the vineyard
of Christ, Rev. E. N. Kirk, of Boston.
Hearing that this gentleman was to preach in
Duxbury, a few miles fiom Marshfield, Mr. W., with
some of his guests, rode over to hear him.  Mr.
Charles Lanman, who was one of the nmnber, has
given the following account of the circumstance, with
some additional remalks, of which we gladly avail
ourselves, coming as they do  from  one who was




HEARS A SERMON ON PRAYER.          301
favored with the enjoyment of a close personal
intimacy with the great statesman.,c The last time that he ever attended church, it
was my rare fortune to be his companion.  He had
been informed that the Rev. E. N. Kirk, of Boston,
was expected to preach in Duxbury, some three
miles friom Marshfield; and packing off his guests
and a part of his household in a couple of carriages,
he reserved a gig for himself, and in this did we
attend. The sermon was on the efficacy of prayer,
and was distinguished not only for its eloquence, but
for its powerful arguments.  It dealt in nothing but
pure Bible doctrines, as understood by the orthodox
church.  Mr. Webster listened with marked attention to the whole discourse, and, after the services
were closed, went up and congratulated the preacher.
On our return home, his conversation turned upon
the sermon, and he said it was a remarkable, a
great effort.  He said the arguments adduced were
ananswerable, and that if a man would only live according to the lessons of such preaching, he would
be a happy man both in this world and the world to
come.  He said, moreover,'There is Liot a single
sentiment in that discourse with which I do not fully
concur.'  And this remark, when appended, as it
ought to be, to the sermon when hereafter published,
will serve to convince the world that his views of
religion were most substantial and satisfactory.




302          RELIGIOUS OPINIONS.
During the whole of our ride home, he conversed
upon matters contained in or suggested by the
discourse; and I deeply regret that I did not take
more ample notes of what he said on the occasion.
The distinct impression left upon my mind, however,
was, that if he were not a genuine Christian, the
promises of the Bible were all a fable; and God
knows that I would rather die than, for a moment,
even imagine such a state of things.
"He was a believer in the great atonement; and
though, living as he did in a sphere of peculiar temptations, he may have committed errors, he needed no
promptings to lead him to a speedy repentance.  He
was actuated by a spirit of charity which knew no
bounds. HEe treasured no animosities to his fellowmen, and when once wronged by those in whom he
had confided with all the guilelessness of a child, he
did not retaliate, but simply moved in another sphere
beyond their reach.  He was a student of the Bible,
and read it habitually in his family whenever the
annoyances of his official position did not prevent;
and never sat down, when with his family alone, to
enjoy the bounties of his table, without first imploring a blessing.  No man ever thought or talked with
more reverence of the power and holiness of God.
He came of a race of good men; was baptized into,
and became a member, in his college days, of the
Congregational church, but died ill the communion




SCENE IN A STATE ROOM.          303
of the Protestant Episcopal Church, of which he
was a devout member; and one of the most impressive scenes that I ever witnessed, going to prove
the matchless beauty of our religion, was to see him,
in full view of the Capitol, the principal theatre of
his exploits, upon his knees before the altar, partaking of the sacrament of the Lord's supper.  That
spectacle, and the grandeur of his death, are to me
more eloquent than a thousand sermons fiom human
lips."
The sermon alluded to, preached by Mr. Kirk,
will ever be interesting, not only on accunt of
its intrinsic merits, but as being the lfast which
Mr. Webster ever heard, and as d: awing from
him the sentiments he then uttered.
He was a believer in the efficacy and the obligation of prayer.  He has given the whole weight of
his influence to sanction a practice which not a few
affect to despise.
", Many  years ago," says Rev. Dr.  Choules,
", 1834, in passing through the Sound, we occupirsA
the captain's state room.  At night Mr. Webster took
up my Bible and read the twenty-third Psalm, and
then made some fine remarks upon the character of
David, observing that the varied experience of
David as a shepherd boy, a King, victorious and
vanquished, had  made  him  acquainted with all
the diversified feelings of human nature, and had




304       REAS(NABLENESS OF PRAYER.
thus qualified him  to be the chorister of the church
in all future ages.  After this, he asked ame to comnmend ourselves to God, remarking that none needed
prayer more than, the wayfaring man.' "
"How absurd," says one, ", to imagine that our
poor requests receive any attention from  the Sovereign of the universe, or secure any benefit to ourselves!" ", How superstitious," says another, ", to withdraw to some place of retirement, and there pretend
i: talk to some unseen God! "  The spirit of such
harmonizes with certain ones of old, who impiously
said,,' It is vain to serve God," and 4, What is the
Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit
should we hlave if we pray unto him? "
Not so thouight M{r. Webster.  If his opinion on
other subjects be valuable, it is certainly not worthless on this.  -He was a believer in the importance
of prayer, an'd performed the duty with more or less
frequency.
Andl_.V,hy should not you, my young reader? The'ible enjoins the duty with great frequency.  It
promises that it shall. not be performed in vain.
Various interesting instances are given when prayer
was answered.  How  reasonable is it that feeble
creatures like ourselves should, in this way, manifest
our dependence upon that great and good Being
who called us into existence, and who supplies our.iaily wants   Even if it were not true that prayer is




REASONABLENESS OF PRAYER.           305
answered, its reflex influence upon the worshipper's
mind and heart would justify its performance.  To
draw voluntarily near to God; to hold, in the exercise
of faith, converse with himn; to acknowledge our
weaknesses; to confess our sins; to render thanksgiving for the innumerable blessings we have received,
and earnestly to implore more, — all this has a
tendency to deepen within us feelings of humility,
penitence, gratitude, and devotion.  It nmakes us
more sensible of our weakness and our dependence
upon Him who is the object of our prayers.
In respect to his religious sentiments, in addition
to what Mr. Lanman has said, Rev. Mr. Kirk, in his
sermon  on  the death of Mitr. Webster, entitled
Great Men  are God's Gift, uses the following
language: -
4,Having noticed that on several occasions gentlemen have endeavored to show that his religious
views were not definite, but indefinite, or, as soine
would term it, liberal, I would here mention an anecdote, whiclh, from his own lips, I am authorized to
say is authentic.  Beinlg asked by a Unitarian gentleman, as he was coming. out of an Episcopal church
in this city, whether he believed that three and one
are the same thing, he replied in a manner perfectly
characteristic, as it properly disposes of the real
difficulty of the Trinity,, Sir, I believe you and I
do not understand the arithmetic of heaven.' 9'
o20




306        HIS OPINION OF EDWARDS.
In further illustration of his religious sentiments,
we mention the following incident, as related by
Rev. Dr. Choules, in his sermon on Mir. Webster's
death:" That evening I asked Mr. Webster if his religious
views were those of the Orthodox Congregationalists, with whom I had heard that he united in early
life., Yes,' he said,' he thought that he had never
changed his religious opinions; that he regarded
Jonathan Edwards as being as nearly the stamp of
truth as any mere human writer.  He spoke of his
History of Redemption as having greatly interested
him, and added,' But I prefer to find truth as it is
conveyed to us in the word, without system, yet so
clear and lucid.'  In regard to the atonement, he
expressed the most abiding confidence, observing
that it seemed to him  the great peculiarity of the
gospel, to deny which, was to reduce it to, a level with
other systems of religion.  He observed that he had' no taste for metaphysical refinement in theology,
and preferred  plain  statements of truth.'  He
thought the pulpit had much to answer for in producing differences of opinion among Christians, and
expressed his belief that the best and safest way to
oppose all sorts of error was the plain enunciation
of the truth.  In this conversation I was much impressed with the remark,' I take the Bible to be inspired, and it must not be treated as though it mere




HIS LOVE FOR WATTS'S HYINS.           307
ly contained a revelation; it is a revelation.  You
ministers make a great mistake in not dwelling more
upon the great facts of Christianity; they are the
foundations of the system, and there is a power connected with their statement; it seemns to mne that
Peter and Paul  understood this.  Plain preaching
is what we all want, and as nmuch illustration as you
can bring up.  I once heard Dr. Beecher, in Hanover Street, Boston, talk for an hour on God's law,
in its application to the heart and life; he did it in
my idea of good preaching.'"
Mr. Webster was particularly pleased with those
psalms and hymns by Dr. Watts which dwelt upon
the atonement and salvation by faith in Christ.  He
regretted the modern alteration in some of them, by
which, he said, their classic beauty, not less than
their devotional character, has suffered.  The hymn
now commencing, -
"tH ere at thy cross, my dying Lord," &c.,
he would have read, as in the original,tHere at thy cross; my dying God," &c.
The beautiful hymn on the Christian Sabbath,
closing with the stanza, as now altered, -
My willing soul would stay
In such a frame as this,
Till called to rise and soar away
To everlasting bliss,"




308          HIS PASTOR'S TESTIMONY.
he would have, as Watts wrote it,"My willing soul would stay
In such a frame as this,
And sit and sing herself away
To everlasting bliss;"
the last two lines having a fine classic allusion to the
swvan, thus indicating, more effectively, the devotional
spirit.  He often repeated the fifty-first psalm, and
referred particularly to the stanza, -
" No blood of beasts, nor heifers slain,
For sin could e'er atone,
The blood of Christ must still remain,
Sufficient and alone."
Rev. Mr. Alden, the minister of Marshfield, in his
address at Mr. W'Tebster's funeral, said,6 Those who were present upon the morning of
that Sabbath upon which this head of a family conducted the worship of his household will never forget, as he read from  our Lord's Sermon on  the
M[~ount, the emphlasis which he alone was capable of
giving to that passage which speaks of the divine
nature of forgiveness.  They  saw  beaming from
that eye, now closed in death, the spirit of Him who
first uttered that godlike sentiment.,, And he who, by the direction of the dying man,
upon a subsequent morning of the day of rest, read
in their connection these words,, Lord, I believe 
help thou my unbelief;' and then the closirg chap



PREPARATION FOR DEATH.           309
ter of our Savior's last words to his disciples, being
particularly requested to dwell upon this clause of
the verse,, Holy Father, keep through thine own
name those whom thou hast given me, that they may
be one, as we are,' beheld a sublime illustration of
the indwelling and abiding power of Christian faith.," And if these tender remembrances only cause
our tears to flow more freely, it may not be improper
for us to present the example of the father, when
his great heart was rent by the loss of a daughter
whomI he most dearly loved.  Those present on that
occasion well remember, when the struggle of mortal
agony was over, retiring fromn the presence of the
dead, bowing together before the presence of God,
and joining with the afflicted father as he poured
forth his soul, pleading for grace and strength fiom
on high.
" As upon the morning of his death we conversed
upon the evident fact that, for the last few weeks,
his mind had been engaged in preparation for an
exchanwe of worlds, one who knew him well remarked,' His whole life has been that preparation.'
The people of this rural neighborhood, among whom
he spent the last twenty years of his life, among
whom he died, and with whom he is to rest, have
been accustomed to regard him with mingled veneration and love.  Those who knew hinm best can
the most truly appreciate the lessons both from  his




310   REVERENCE FOR THE SUPRE3ME BEING.
lips and example, teaching the sustaining power of
the gospel.,Al mind like Mr. Webster's, active, thoughttful,
penetrating, sedate, could not but melitate deeply
on the condition of mlan below, and feel its responsibilities.  He could not look on this mighty systemn, -' This universal frame, thus wondrous fair,'
without feeling that it was created and  upheld
by an Intelligence to which all other intelligence
imiust be responsible.   I am  bound to say that
in thie course of my life I never met with an individual, in any profession or condition, who always spoke and always thought with  such awful
reverence  of the power and presence of God.
No irreverence, no lightness, even no too familiar
allusion to God and his attributes ever escaped his
lips.  The very notion of a Supreme Being was,
with him, made up of awe and solemnity.  It filled
the, whole of his great mind with the strongest enmotions.  A man. like him, with all his proper sentiments and sensibilities alive in him, must, in this
state of existence, have something to believe, and
something to hope for; or erse, as life is advancing
to its close, all is heart-sinking and oppression. Depend upon it, whatever may be the mind of an old
man, old age is only really happy when, on feelinng




RECOGNITION OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE.  311
the enjoyments of this world pass away, it begins to
lay a stronger hold on the realities of another.
"R Mr. Webster's religious sentiments and feelings
were the crowning glories of his character."
The Hon. Mr. Barstow, mayor of Providence,
when alluding to the demise of Mr. Webster, related
the following interesting facts:6"He  also recognized God in his providence.
Who does not remember, after the sad catastrophe
of the steamer Atlantic, of his rising in his seat in
the American Senate, and recording there three
providential deliverances from impending death?
The first I have forgotten.  The second was on the
occasion of the loss of the Lexington.  He was in
New York, and had engaged passage home in her,
and, if I mistake not, went to the boat, but was led,
for some cause which then appeared slight, to change
his mind.  He went back to his hotel, and his life
was saved.  The third was on that fatal thanksgiving eve when the Atlantic was lost. He was on his
way to Washington, and had taken passage in her
at Norwich.  When the boat touched at New London, he deemed it unwise to proceed in such a gale.'But,' it was replied,'the boat is new and stanch,
and never has stopped for wind or weather; it is the
storm line.' Hle went on shore, and in one half
hour an event occurred which left that strong boat
to the mercy of the wind and waves, and sent




312              GIRARD S WILL.
mourning through the land.  He did not ascribe
these deliverances to accident, luck, fortune, chance,
but to the good providence of God, who suffers not
the sparrow to fall to the ground without his notice."
It will be appropriate, in this connection, to give
some extracts from an important plea of Mr. Webster, in which he has expressed more fully his sena
tiaments upon Christianity.
Mr. Stephen Girard, in his devise for the endowment of Girard College, Philadelphia, imposed,
among others, the following restriction:-' I enjoin and require, that no ecclesiastic, missionary, or minister of any sect whatever, shall ever
hold or exercise any station or duty whatever in the
said college; nor shall any such person ever be admitted for anly purpose, or as a visitor, within the
premises appropriated to the purposes of the said
college."
The heirs at law were desirous of breaking the
will of WMr. Girard, and for this purpose suit was instituted in the District Court of the Eastern District
of Pennsylvania, where the decision was against
them.  The case was then carried to the Supreme
Court of. the United Utates, where MIr. Webster delivered this speech, February'20, 1844.  After giving
his testimony in favor of the exalted character and
deep-toned piety of the American clergy, and speaking of the wrong done by excluding them from




MR. WEBSTER'S PLEA.            313
privileges granted even to the basest of men, he
proceeds to say, —
",In the next place, this scheme of education:is
derogatory to Christianity, because it proceeds upon
the presumption that the Christian religion is not the
only true foundation, or any necessary foundation,
of morals.  The ground taken is, that religion is
not necessary to morality; that benevolence may be
insured by habit; and that all the virtues may flourish, and be safely left to the chance of flourishing,
without touching the waters of the living spring of
religious responsibility.  With him who thinks thus,
what can be the value of the Christian revelation?
So the Christian world has not thought; for by that
Christian world, throughout its broadest extent, it
has been, and is, held as a fundamental truth, that
religion is the only solid basis of morals, and that
moral instruction not resting on this basis is only a
building upon sand.  And at what age of the Christian era have those who profess to teach the Christian religion, or to believe in its authority and importance, not insisted on the absolute necessity of
inculcating its principles and its precepts upon the
minds of the young? In what age, by what sect,
where, when, by whom, has religious truth been excluded from the education of youth? Nowhere -
never. Every where, and at all times, it has been,
and is, regarded as esse.r.tial. It is the essence, the




314             THE DECALOGUE.
vitality, of useful instruction.  From  all this Mr.
Girard dissents.  His plan denies the necessity and
the propriety of religious instruction as a part of the
education of youth. He dissents, not only from all
the sentiments of  Christian  mankind, from  all
common conviction, and from the results of all e.xperience, but he dissents also from still higher authority- the word of God  itself.  My learned
friend has referred, with propriety, to one of the
commands of the decalogue; but there is another, a
first commandment, and that is a precept of religion;
and it is in subordination to this, that the moral precepts of the decalogue are proclaimed.  This first
great commandment teaches man that there is one,
and only one, great First Cause; one, and only one,
proper object of human worship.  This is the great,
the ever-fresh, the overflowing fountain of all revealed truth.  Without it, human life is a desert, of
no known termination on any side, but shut in on
all sides by a dark and impenetrable horizon.
Without the light of this truth, man knows nothing
of his origin, and nothing of his end. And when
the decalogue was delivered to the Jews, with this
great announcement and command at its head, what
said the inspired lawgiver? That it should be
reserved as a communication fit only for mature
age? Far, far otherwise.' And these words, which
I command thee this day, shall be in thy heart; and




RELIC OUS INSTRUCTION OF YOUTH.    315
thou shalt teach them  diligently unto thy children,
and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house,
and when thou walkest by the  way, when thou
liest down, and when thou risest up.'
6 There is an authority still more imposing and
awful.  When little children were brought into the
presence of the Son of God, his disciples proposed
to send them  away; but he said, c Suffer little
children to come unto me.'  Unto me!  He did not
send them first for lessons in morals to the schools
of the Pharisees, or to the unbelieving Sadducees,
nor to read the precepts and lessons phylacteried on
the garments of the Jewish priesthood; he said
nothing of different creeds or clashing doctrines;
but he opened at once to the youthful mlind the feverlasting fountain of living waters, the only source of
eternal truths.  6 Suffer little children to come unto
me.'  And that injunction is of perpetual obligation.
It addresses itself to-day with the same earnestness
and the same authority which attended its first
utterance to the Christian world.  It is of force
every where, and at all times. It extends to the
ends of the earth, it will reach to the end of time,
always and every where sounding in the ears of
men, with an emphasis which no repetition can
weaken, and with an authority which nothing
can supersede.  SSuffer  little children to  come
unto me.'




316       EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY.
"And not only my heart and my judgment, my
belief and my conscience, instruct me that this great
precept should be obeyed, but the idea is so sacred,
the solemn thoughts connected with it so crowd upon
me, it is so utterly at variance with this system of
philosophical morality which we have heard  advocated, that I stand and speak here in fear of being
influenced by my feelings to exceed the proper line
of my professional duties. Go thy way at this time,
is the language of philosophical morality, and 1 will
send for thee at a more convenient season.  This is
the language of Mr. Girard in his will.  In this
there is neither religion nor reason."
It had been -Mr. Webster's desire to prepare a
work on the evidences of Christianity; but the pressure of public duties prevented.  During his last illness at Marshfield, when this subject was made a
topic of conversation, and knowing his inability to
accomplish it, he resolved to leave, as a substitute, an
epitaph to be engraven upon his monument, containing an unequivocal expression of his confidence in
the religion of Christ.  This was done on Sabbath
evening, October 10, 185g2.  He requested a friend
who was then with him to read the ninth chapter of
the Gospel by Mark, in which occurs that interesting
narrative of a parent bringing his afflicted son to Jesus
to be healed, to whom the Savior said, " If thou
canst believe, all things are possible to him that




DIR. WEBSTER'S EPITAPH.                31 7
believeth.  And straightway the father of the child
cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help
thou  mnine  unbelief."   He  then  desired  to  hear
another passage, commaencing  John  x. 42 —" And
many believed on him  there."   Both of these portions  of  Scripture  contain  instances  of  faith in
Christ.  After the reading of them  was finished, he
dictated a  few  sentences, which, after correction,
were lift as follows:
Aortb,  i trlfebc; Delp to-u minflze irticlfcf,
Philosophical
Argument, especially
that drawn from the Vastness of
the Universe, in Comparison with the
apparent Insignificance of this Globe, has sometimnes shaklen my Reason for the Faith which is in me;
but my Heart has always assured and reassured me that the
Gospel of Jesus Christ must be a Divine Reality. The
Sermon on the Mount cannot be a merely human
Production. This Belief enters into the
very Depth of my Conscience.'Ihe whole History of Man
Proves it.
DANIEL WEBSTER.
This he requested should be dated, and subscribed
with his name.  After this he added, "c This is the
inscription to be placed otl my monunument."
In further conversation he remarked, L"If I get
well, and write a book on Christianity, about which




318          IMPORTANT DOCUMENT.
we have talked, we can attend  more fully to this
matter.  But if I should be taken away suddenly, I
do not wish to leave any duty of this kind unperformed.  I want to leave somewhere a declaration
of my belief in Christianity.  I do not wish to go
into any doctrinal distinctions in regard to the person
of Jesus, but I wish to express my belief in his
divine mission."
We regard the above clear and beautiful inscription as one of the most valuable documents AMr.
Webster ever executed.  We know nothing amongst
all his able pleas, his earnest speeches, and his
dignified state papers, that excels it in importance.
It is the declaration of an eminently profound mind
- a mind which thought for itself, instead of being
carried away by the impassioned appeals or confident assertions of others — a mind capable of detecting  sophism  under every guise, of exposing the
fallacies of false reasoning, and feeling the power
of all arguments for the truth; it is the declaration
of such a mind 4,that the gospel of Jesus Christ
must be a divine reality."  By his confession of
faith in the divine mission of Jesus, Mr. Webster
gives the weight of his influence to Christianity; and
in so doing he administers a powerful rebuke to that
flippant, popular infidelity which treats with irreverent familiarity the most sacred truths, which is
filling the land with superficial sceptical theories and




INFIDELITY REBUKED.            319
arguments $,that have been repeatedly overthlrown.
and by means of which the young and the thoughtless are in danger of being led into the belief that
the Bible is nothing more than a mass of cunninglydevised Oriental fables~




CHAPTER XVII.
Mr. Wsbster's Health fails. - He retires to Marshfield. - His
Strength decreases. - Signs his Will. - Returns Thanks. - Encourages Dr. Jeffries. - His Prediction. - It is fulfilled. - Arranges for the Express. - Gives Instructions respecting his Affairs. - His last Interview with his Family. - Peter Harvey. -
24th of October. - Gray's Elegy. - Calls in his Servants. -
The Valley. - His Death. - Poetry.
HAVING narrated some Of the principal incidents
in the life of Mr. XWebster, and indulged in a few
reflections which they naturally suggested, we come
now to the closing scenes of his earthly career.
During  the summer of 1852, his health failed, and
he retired to his mansion at Marshfield, to obtain
some respite from the heavy pressure of his responsible public duties.
Here every thing was done which affectionate solicitude and medical experience could suggest to arrest his disease, but without avail.  It was painfully
evident that his constitution was gradually yielding
to its power.  Of this no one was more fully convinced than Mr. Webster himself.
Finding his strength was constantly diminishing,
and being impressed with the belief that his life was
320




LAST SICKNESS.              321
hastening towards its termination, he made a final
disposition of all temporal affairs.
On the evening of the 19th of October, aie occupied for the last time his usual seat at his own fireside.  After his will was prepared, which he had
drawn up himself with great care and minuteness,
he had it laid aside, with the intention of delaying a
little before affixing to it his signature; but being
convinced that he could survive but a short time, he
had that important document brought to him, and
in the presence of his friends he signed it in a larger
and bolder manner than usual.  He then folded his
Lands together, and in an impressive manner said,
66" thank God for strength to perform  a sensible
act." After which he engaged in a most devout manner in audible prayer for several minutes, closing
the exercise with the Lord's prayer, and the inscription,'"And now unto God the Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost be praise forevermore.  Peace on earth,
and good will to men. That is the happiness," he
continued with great emphasis, clasping his hands
together as before -  that is the happiness - the
essence - good will towards men."
He now requested all but Dr. Jeffries and the
nurse to leave the room, that he might, if possible,
get a little repose.  But before going to sleep, he
said, ", Doctor, you look sober; you think I shall
21




HIS PREDICTION.
not be here in the. morning, but I shall.  I shall
greet the morning light."
His prediction was fiulfilled.  He did behold the
morning light.  During the forenoon he  said to
the  physician, who, he  thought, appeared  sad,
Cheer up, doctor; I shall not die to-day.  You
will get me along to-day."  And so he did.  But the
next imorning, conscious that his disease had increased in severity, and that he could not endure it
long, he said to his physician in a distinct voice, and
with great seriousness, "' Doctor, you have carried
me through the night.  I think you will get lme
through the day.  I shall die to-nig,7t."  To which,
after a brief pause, the physician replied, ", You
are right, sir."  Mir. Webster then added, ",I wish'
you, therefore, to send an express to Boston for
some younger person to be with you.  I shall die tonight!  You are exhausted, and must be relieved.
Who shall it be? "
The doctor mentioned the name of Dr. J. Mason
Warren.  ", Let him be sent for."
When Dr. Jeffries returned from  another room,
wlhere he had gone, after the above conversation, to
prepare a note to send to Boston, he found that
during his absence Mr. Webster had made all the
necessary arrangements to send it, even designating
the person, the horse, and the vehicle that should go,
the route to be pursued, where a firesh lorse should b@




HIS CALMNESS.               323
taken, and in what manner the errand should be ex
ecuted in the city.  He also suggested the propriety
of mentioning some other physician, in case Dr.
Warren could not be obtained.  When told that this
contingency was provided for, he added, "i Right,
right."
After obtaining a little rest, he conversed with his
wife and son, anl with a few others who were
64 nearest and dearest to him in life, in the most affectionate and tender manner, not concealing from
them his view of the approach of death, but consoling them with religious thoughts and assurances, as
if support were more needful for their hearts than
for his own.  On different occasions, in the course
of the day, he prayed audibly.  Oftener he seemed
to be in silent prayer and meditation.  But, at all
times, he was quickly attentive to whatever was
doing or needed to be done.  He gave  detailed
orders for the adjustment of whatever in his affairs
required it, and superintended and arranged every
thing for his own departure fiom life, as if it had
been that of another person, for whom it was his
duty to take the minutest care."
When informed that his last hour was approach[ng, he received the announcement with composure,
and expressed a wish to see the female members of
his family.  In compliance with his rsequest, MIrs.
Webster, Mrs. Fletcher Webster, Mrs. J. W. Paige,




324           HIS LAST INTERVIEWS.
and Miss Downs, of New York, entered the room.
He called each of them by name, and addressed to
them individually a brief farewell, accompanied with
a few words of religious consolation.  It was a
deeply-affecting scene.  Whilst these beloved rnembers of his family were around his couch bathed in
tears, he over whose departure they were weeping
was calm, and by the utterance of religious truth
was endeavoring to impart relief — the dying administerifng comfort to the living.
He next had the male members of his family, and
the personal friends who were there, called in, 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 Thomas, of
Marshfield, and Messrs. George J. Abbott, and V.
C. Zantzinger, both of the state department at
Washington.  Addressing each by name, he referred
to his past relations with them respectively, and, one
by one, bade them  an affectionate farewell.  This
was about half past six.
" He now had Mr. Peter Harvey called in again,
and said to him,,' H arvey, I am not so sickl but that
I know you   I am well enough to know you..
am well enough to love you, and well enough to call
down the richest of Hleaven's blessings upon you
and yours.  Harvey, don't leave me till I am dead




)I \j~'I ~                               \,,,~,~
DEATH   SCEVNTE'O           _
DFAIII SCENE 01) M1~. WIY0STE1/








GRAY'S ELEGY.               3'25
— don't leave Marshfield till I am  a dead man.'
Then, as if speaking to himself, he said,' On the
24th of October, all that is mortal of Daniel Webster will be no more.'
"H Ile now prayed in his natural usual voice -
strong, full, and clear, ending with,' Heavenly Fa.
ther, forgive my sins, and receive me to thyself,
through Christ Jesus.',,Between ten and eleven 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 day.'
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."
At another time he was heard to say, ", This day
I shall be in life, in glory, in blessedness."
He did not deem it beneath him  to remember his
servants, most of whom had been for many years in
his service, "i and had become to him as affectionate
and faithful friends."  These also were called into
his chamber, to each of whom he addressed a few
kind words, and left with them his dying blessing.
From the time that he had announced to his physician that 4" he should die that night," he seemed to
be solicitous to recognize his advance towards the




326         THE SHADOW OF DEATH.
dark valley, and especially to know when he was
actually entering it.
", Once, being faint, he asked if he were not then
dying? and on being answered that he was not,
but that he was near to death, he replied simply,'Well;' as if the frank and exact reply were what
he had desired to receive.  A little later, when his
kind physician repeated to him that striking text of
Scripture,,Yea, tlloulgh I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou
art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me,'
he seemed less satisfied, and said, c Yes; but the
fact, the fact I want;' desiring to know if he were
to regard these words as an intimation that he was
already within that dark valley. On another occasion, he inquired whether it were likely that he
should again eject blood from his stomach before
death, and, being. told that it was improbable, he
asked,  Then what shall you do?' Being answered
that he would be supported by stimulants, and rendered as easy as possible by the opiates that had
suited him so well, he inquired, at once, if the stimulant should not be given immediately; anxious again
to know if the hand of death were not already upon
him. And on being told that it would not be then
given, he replied,, When you give it to me, I shall
know that I may drop off at once.'
"; Being satisfied on this point, and that he should,




HIS TRANQUIL DEATH.                  327
therefore, hlave a final waraning, ihe said a moment
afterwards,'I will, thern, put myself in a position'to
obtain a little repose.'  In  this he was successfufl.
He had intervals of rest to the last; but on rousing.
from  them, he showed that he was still intensely anxious to preserve his consciousness, and to watch for
the imomraent and act of his departure, so as to coinprebend it.  Awaking froim   one-of these  slumbers
late in the night, he asked distinctly if he were alive;
and on being asslred that lie was, and that his faliily was collected around his bed, lie said, in a perfectly natural tone, as if assenting to what had been
told  ]im, because hle himlself perceived. that it was
true,' I still live.'  These were his last coherent and
intelligible words.  At twenty-three minutes before
three o'clock, without a stru ggle or a groan, all signs
of life ceased to be visible; iis vital organs giving
way at last so slowly land gradulaly as to indicate -
what every thing   durinig  his illness  lhad  already
shown -  that htis intellectual and moral faculties still
maintained an extraordinary nastery amidst the failing resources of his plhysical constitution.":" Still 1 Live.' -The flesh was failing;
All in vain the healer's skill;
Light in that deep eye was paling,
And the mnighty heart grew still;
Yet the soul, its God adoring,
Clad in armor frm and bright,
C'er the body's ruin soaring,
3i~ingied wyith the Tllfilni!e.




" I STILL LIVE."
Where he sleeps, that man of glory,
Marshfield's mournful shades can say,
And his weeping country's story
Darkened on that funeral day;
But the love that deepest listened
Caught such balm as heaven can give;
For an angel's pinion glistened
At the echo,' Still I Live. "   L. H.'




CHAPTER XVIII.
F'uneral of Mr. Webster at Marshfield. - Appearance of his Remains. - He is borne to the Grave by his Neighbors. - Boston
in Mourning. - Impressive Arrangements.- Business Suspended. - Appropriate 1Mottoes. - Funeral Obsequies in Boston on
the 301h of November. —Address of ~Mr. Hillard. - Closing
Quotation.
THE fineral of M5r. Webster took place at farshfield, on  Friday, October 29, 1852.  Large nurnmbers of persons, of all sects and parties, firom various
parts of the commlonealth, were gathered there to
testify their respect for the honored dead.  Accordinog to his own request, every thing was arranged with
the  greatest simplicity possible  for so  public  an
occasion.
His remains were attired in the dress -which he
usually wore, embalmed in an elegant coffin, iind
then, that all milght have the opportunity of beholding once more his noble form  and mllanly brow, the
coffin was brought from  the library, and " placed in
front of the house, beneath the open heavens, and
under a tree which, in  its suimmer foliage, was
a conspicuous ornament of the spot.  The majestic
form reposed in the familiar garb of 1fe, with mlore




~330  TEIE FUNERAL.
than the dignity of life in its most inmposing morments.  Suffering  hlad changed without impairing
those noble features.  The grandeur of the brow was
untouched, and  the attitude full of strength and
peace.  For more t.an three hours a constant strearm
of men and women, of all ages, passed on both
sides, pausing for a moment to look upon t]hat loved
and honored formn.  Parents held their children by
the hand, bade themi contemplate tie face of their
benefactor, and  charged them   never to lose the
1memory of that spectacle and tiat Ihourl.    Ilainy
dissolved dnlto tears as they turned aside; aInd one
-a a man of plain ogcrb and appearance~ was nheard
to mke, i" n a susbdued voice, the strwilngo reitiark,
an il W'ebster, t'ie wo rl'd wvill see   lone some
wvit mlout you.'
TI-  funeral. services were  performed  by Rkev.
e'hnezemr APd en, pastor of the Orthodox Congregational Church1 of the town, after which the embalmecl
remain;;s were borne to the tomb by six of Mr. Webster's 74iarshfield neighbors, and deposited in the
place of his own  selection, where the voices of
the wind, blending with the subdued notes of the
rolling  surf, furnishis     unceasingly a mournfull requiiem.
The day of BMir. Webster's funeral at larshfield
was a day of sorrow thro:ughout the land.  In Boston, especially, it was observed with every indication




BOSTON IN MOUJRING.              331
of sorrow.  At no:time since the death of General
Washington has the city presented so universally
the habiliments of roe.  Business was suspended;
schools;were discontinued; banks, courts, markets,
offices, and public institutions  of all kinds were
closed.  A large proportion of the city was arrayed
in the drapery of mourning.  Motels, stores, public
buildings, and private edifices were clothed in imaterials whose colors of black and white, mingiling to
gether, imparted to them a sombre and finereal aspect.  Flags of all kinds, tied with crape, appropriately ornamented, and containing inscriptions, were
hung over doorways, on the fronts of the houses,
or festooned across the streets.  The impressiveness
of these arranoeme;nts Nwas increased by the fact that
in the city there were no public exercises on that
day; no procession, no address, no religious service.
As all business wcas suspended, the people were at
leisure, and conseqeuently large numbers spent the
day in slowly perambulating the streets, gazing upon
the drapery, reading the various mottoes and inscrip.
tions, and indulging in their own rmourn-fnil ~reflections.
Amongst the sentiments which were suspended
in conspicuous places on tlh4at sad occasion wcre
many beautifilly significant arnd inmpresrsive.  We
give the fllowing  specinens  -




332              TRINSCRIPTIONS.
THE GLOIRY OF THY LIFE, LIKE THE DAY OF THY DEATH,
SHALL NOT FAIL FROI THE REM~IEMIBRANCE OF MIIAN.
HIS WOPRDS OF W1~ISDOM, WITH RESISTLESS POWER,
HAVE GRACED OUR BRIGIHTEST, CHEERED OUR DARKEST HOUR.
WHEREVER ABIONG MEN A HEART SHALL BE FOUND THAT BEATS
TO THE TRANSPORTS OF PATRIOTISM AND LIBERTY,
ITS ASPIRATIONS SHALL BE TO CLAIM
KINDRED W~ITH HIS SPIRIT.
KNOW THOU, 0 STRANGER TO THE FAMIE
OF THIS MIUCH-LOVED, MIUCH-IIONORED NAMIE,
(FOR NONE THAT KINEW HIMI NEED BE TOLD,)
A WARMER HEART DEATH NE'ER MIADE COLD.
THOU ART MIIGHTY YET. THY SPIRIT W~ALKS ABROAD.
THIE GREAT HEAiT OF THE NATION THIROES HEAV7ILY AT THE
PORTALS OF HIS GRAVE.
LIVE LIKE PATRIOTS! LIVE LIKE AMERICANS2! UNITED ALL,
UNITED NOW, AND UNITED FOrEVEIR.
THOU HAST INSTRUCTED MANY, AND THOU HAST STRENGTHENED
THIE W~EAK HANDS.
VE'9vE SCANNED THE ACTIONS OF HIS DAILY LIFE, AND NOTHING
MEETS OUR EYES BUT DEEDS OF HONOR.
BSOME, WHEN THEY DIE, DIE ALL. THEIR MIOULDERING CLAY IS
BUT AN EMIBLEMI OF THEIR MEIORIES. 13UT HE HAS LIVEI).
HE LEAVES A WORIK BEHIND WHICH WILL PLUCK
THE SHINING AGE FROMI VULGAR TIMSE,
AND GIVE IT WHOLE TO LATE
POSTERITY.




HILLARD'S EULOGY.              333
Similar scenes were presented, when, on the 30th
of Novelnber, the city of Boston gave another public expression of the high r esieet entertained for the
memory of Mr. Webstelr.  A  long and imposing
civic and military procession, with craped arms,
shrouded flags, and muffled drums, passed through
the streets to Faneuil Hall, where a chaste, eloquent,
and highly appropriate eulogy was pronounced by
Hon. George S. H1illard, the close of which will
furnish an appropriate termination to this volume.
6' There, among the scenes that he loved in life, he
sleeps well.  He has left his name and memory to
dwell forever upon those hills and valleys, to breathe
a mlore 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 solelun beauty upon
the hules of autumn and the shadows of twilight.
c6 But thoulgh his mortal forin is there, his spirit is
here.  His words are wrkitten in living light along
tllese walls.  M.ay that sp-irit rest upon  us, and
our children.  }May those words live in our hearts,
and the hearts of those who come after us!  3May
we honor his memory, and show our gratitude for
his life, by taking heed to his counsels, and walking
mn the way on which the  light of his wisdom
shines!"




3 4
WE here give a picture of the Family Tomb at
Marslifield, in which now repose the mortal remains
of the c; great American Statesman,"
DANIEL'WEBSTER
For a partic.ular description of the Tomb, its lo
cation, the various inscriptions, etc., we refer the
reader to page 214.




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by DAVID A. WELLS, A. A   12ino, cloth, 1,25.
This worlc, commenced in the year 1850, and issued on the first of  arelLh annually,
contains all important facts discoverer or alnnoulnced during tlhe year. Earc1 a-olumes
is distinct in itself; and contains ceztirely lel w  atter, with a finec portrait of some listinguislhed scientific nman. As it is not intnclded exclusively for scientific men, but
to meet the waints of the general reader, it htas been the aim of the editor that tlhe articles should be brief, and intelligilble to all. Tle editor has receivced the approbatioon,
counsel, and personal contrilbutions of tlhe prominent scientific llCen throughout telc
coun try.
THE FOOTPRINTS OF THE CREATOR; or, The Asterolcpis  of StroltmnCss. With numerous Ilitlstrations.  By t-lum-l MILLEn,
author of " Thle Olds Red  Sanldstone,i   " &c.  From  the thlird Lollon
Edition.  Whith a Meemoir of the Author, by Louis AGcASSIZ.  1a1no,
cloth, 1,00.
Dr. BIUCKLAND, at a mceting of the British Association, said 7le irwosld gfire h7is l,
7ianzd to possess cstch po0errs of descrip)tion Cas t7tis sinc - anld if it pleasled Provildence
to spare hlis useful life, lhe, if any one, would certainly render science attractive andl
populal, and do equal service to tlheology and geology.
Alr.'Siller's style is rematrkably pleasing; his mlSode of popullarizing geological
knowledgre unsurpassed, perhaps unequaled; asnd the deep reverence eor dirvine revelation pervading all adds interest anad value to the volumac. - V Y. ChOl. (o/ dvertiser.
THE OLD RED SANDSTONE; or, New Walks in an Old
Field.  By IUGII om  ILLER.  Illustrated with Plates anti Geological Sections.  12mo, cloth, 1,00.
Mre. Itiller's exceedingly interesting book on this formation is just the sort of work
to render ally suliljet ipopular. It is written in a remarklably pleasing style, and cocatains a wonderful amount of informration. — /iestmiinster Rfeviecw.
It is, withal, one of the most beaultiful specimenas of English composition to be
foIeund, coiveying inlfrmaation on a lmost difficult andl prcrfound science, in a style
at osce novel, pleasing, and elegant.- Allbany Scctcator. i' 




TIHE PLURALITY OF WORLDSo
WITH AN INTRODUCTION by EDWARD HITCHCOCK, LL.D.,
President of Amherst College.  12mlo, cloth.  $1.00.
r,: This is a msastcrly production on a subject of great interest.
The Plurality of Worlds is a work of great ability, and one that cannot fail to
arrest the attention of the world of science. Its author takes tile bold ground
of contesting the generally adopted belief of the existence of other peopled
worlds beside our own earth. iA gentleman upon whose jud"gment we place
much reliance writes, in regard to it:
"' The Plurality of Worlds' s lazys the izisc7cief with the grand speculation of
Christian and other astronomers. It is the most remorseless executioner of
beautiful theories I have ever stumbled upon, and leaves the grand universe
of existence barren as a vast Sahara. The author is a stern logician, and some
of the processes of argumentation are singularly fine. [Many of the thoughts
are original anld very strilking, and the whole conception of the volume is as
novel as the results are unwelcome. I should think the work must attract
attention from scientific men, from the very bold and well-sustained attempt
to set aside entirely the scientific assumptions of the age." -Bostoes Atlas.
This work has created a profound sensation in England. It is, in truth, a remarkable book, - remarkable both for the boldness of the theory advanced, and
for the logical manner in which the subject-matter is treated. -- tsvrccsatile Joussr.
The new scientific book, Plurality of W11orlds, recently published in this city,
is awakening an unusual degree of interest, not only in this country, but in
Elngland. The London Literary Gazette, for April, contains an able review,
occupying over nine columns, frioln -vwhich  we extract the folloving,: "It is in
regard to the theological and moral aspect of the question that we think the
author urges considerations which most believers in the truths of Christianlity
will deem unanswerable." - EsveZisizg Tvranscrit.
To the theologiaen, philosopher, aend man of science, this is a most intensely
interesting work, while to the ordinary thinker it will be found possessed of
much valuable information. The work is evidently the production of a scholar.
- Albazsy Tracslcrijpt.
The work is learned, eloquent, suggestive of profound reflection. - Bost. Atlas.
GEOLOGICAL -MAP OF THE UNITED STATES AND BRITISH PROVINCES OF NORTH AMERICA. With an Explanatory  Text, Geological Sections, and  Plates  of the  Fossils
which chlaracterize the Formations.  By JULES  MArccou.  Two
volumes.  Octavo, cloth.  $3.00.
h    The 1Map is elegantly colored, and done up with linen cloth back, and
folded in octavo form, with thick cloth covers.
The nllost complete Geological Map of the United States which has yet appeared. The execution of this 1Map is very sneat and tasteful, and it is issued
in the best style. It is a wsork which all who take au interest in the geology of
the United States would wish to possess, ancd we recommencd it as extremely
valuable, not only in a geological point of view, but as representing very fully
the coal and co.ppel resgions of the country. The explanlatory text presents a
rapid sketch of the geological constilations of North America, and is rich in
facts on the subjects. - i2nielg 2lagazinze, iAC Y.                 (W)




CHA1 MBERS'S WORiIS.
CHAMBERS'S CYCLOPEDIA OF ENNGLISH LITERA.
TURE.  A Selection of the choicest productions of English Authors, from
the eariiest to the present time. Connected by a Critical maid Biographical
History.  Form-ing two large imperial octavo volumies of 1400 pages,
double coluimn  letter-press;  with upwards of 300 elegant Illustratiols.
Edited by ROBEIT CHAM3BERS, embossed cloth, 5,00.
Thlis work  embraces about osze thlousaszd awthors, chronologically anrranged and
classed as Poets, IHistorians, Dramatists, Philosophers, Aletaphysicians, Divines, etc.,
withl choice selections froml their writings, connected by a Biograplical, listosiical,
and Critical Narrative; thus presenting a eosuplete viewr of Englishl literature fi'om
thie earliest to tihe present time. Open where you will, you cannot falil to linld mnattcr
for profit and delclight. The selections are gems — infinite rillces in a little room;
"A.\VIIOLE EXrGLSII  LIBeRARY FUSED DOY'N INTO ONE CuLEAP BOOs1i!"
FEROM W. 11. PRESCOTT, AUTIIOR OF,'sFERLDINARND AND ISABELLA."  Tie pla1
of the  olrk is very judicoio us...  Readers cannot fail to prolft largely by the
labors of thle critic who has the talent asnd taste to separate what is really beautiful and
worthy of their study frosm what is superfluous.
I concur in the foregoinsg opinion of Aht. Prescott.- EwARsD ElvsERETT.
A work indispensablle to to t  library of a student of Englishl literature. - WAYLAND.
We hail with peculiar pleasure the appearanee of this waork. -  oe/rth ier. Recieec'.
It has been fitly described as " a ewrcole Eeeglish 7ibraryS fsedr doeez iieto oale checpl
booal."  The Boston edition combines neatness with chcaplness. -. l. C'ojl. elrr(t.
Tie Asmerican edition contains additional likenesses of STIAIISPrEE,       AT)DIsour, Bryso r; a full lengrt portrait of D. Jonrr-sox, and a beautifiel scensic representatione of OLIVeeER GOLDSIeITII and DE. JOIiNSOur.  TIhese impll rtant additions, togetller witil superior lpaper and binding, render the Americanr far superior to the
English edition. Tihe circulation of this    k s co  isbeeIa iillmense, aed its sale inl thlis
counetry still continues unabated.
CHAMBERS'S I'TSCELLAINY OF USEFUL ANDI ENT'ERTAINING  KNOWVLEDGE.   Edited  by A7ILIAiBI CIIAIsBERIS.
W~ith  Eleganet llustrative Engravings.  Ten volu1i11es, 1Gmo, cloth, 7,00.
This wrork has bees hillily reeommeended  by distinguisti ised idividuals, as admirably adclapted to Family, Sabbath, aend District School Iibraries.
It wsould be difficult to find any miscellany superio or or e-en equal to it; it richly
deserves the epitllets "u seful eand entertainingl,,"     and I wrould recommend it very
strongly as extremely well acdapted to foree  parts of a library for the young, or of a
social or circullating library in town or country. —GEORGE B. EMEReSON, Eso.,
CerzAIres-er fBOSTOsN SCtOOL BOOK CO0esrrTTEE.
I am gratified to have an opportunity to be instrumental in circulating " Ciamebers's  taciscellany-'" aimo'ns tie schools for which I am superintendent. - J. J. CuxTE,
Toricr. Srs). oJ Ca'st7etoiz, 2t. I.
I am not acquainted with any similar coliection in the Einglish llssnuace tieat resn
eolun)-ee     with it for purposes of instruction ora amusement. I shlould rejoice to see
tleat set of books in every house in our country.- RE r. aOIIN O. CIIaL L  S,   D. D.
The information contained  in this work is surDrisinsrly great; eand'fir thle frecsiae,
and the young, particularly. it cannot rial to prove a most valuable and entertal inin
conmpanion. - cX Y. E, sa7getist.
Acn admiciable    compilation. It unit:es the useful and entertaining. - X. YI  CoM.




CHAMJBERS'S WORKS.
CHAMBERS'S HOME BOOK AND POCKET MISCELLANY.  Containing a Choice Selection of Interesting and Instructive
Reading for the Old and the Young. Six vols. 16mo, cloth, 3,00.
This work is considered fully equal, if not superior, to either of the Chalnbers's
other works in interest, and, like them, contains a vast fund of valuable information.
Following somewhat the plan of the "Miscellany," it is admirably adapted to the
school or the family library, furnishing ample variety for every class of readers, both
old and young.
~We do not know how it is possible to publish so much good reading matter at such
a low price. We speak a good word for the literary excellence of the stories in this
work; we hope our people will introduce it into all their families, in order to drive
away the miserable flashy-trashy stuff so often found in the hands of our young
people of both sexes. - Scientific Azereican..Both an entertaining and instructive work, as it is a very cheap one. - Patritans Rec.
It cannot but have an extensive circulation. - Albany  Express.
Of all the series of cheap books, this promises to be the best. - Balogosr MIercury.
If ally person wishes to read for amusement or profit, to kill time or improve it, get
" Chambers's Home Book." — Chicago Tiames.
The Chambers are confessedly the best caterers for popular and useful reading in
tle world. - Yillis's [looze Josnltal.
A very entertainin-g, instructive, and popular work. - 1. Y. Commercial.
The articles are of that attractive sort which suits us in moods of indolence when
we would linger half way between wakefulness and sleep. They require just thought
and activity enough to keep our feet from the land of Nod, without forcing us to run,
walk, or even stalnd. - Eclectic, Poretland.
It is just the thing to amuse a leisure hour, and at the same time combhies ilzstraection with amusement. - Dover Iseqelirer.
MIessrs. Chanabers, of Edinburgh, have become famous wherever the English language is spoken and read, for their interesting and instructive publications. They
combine iozstritction with a-musceozent, and throughout they breathe a spirit of the
purest morality. - Chicago Tribsane.
CI-IHAMBERS'S REPOSITORY OF INSTRUCTIVE AND
AMUSING  PAPERS. With Illustrations.  An entirely New  Series,
containing Original Articles. p. 260, 16mo, cloth, per vol. 50 cents.
The Messrs. Chainbers have recently commenced the publication of this work, under the title of "'CIIAMBERS'S RBEPOSITORY OF INSTRUCTIVE AND AnI.USINGn
RnACTS," similatr in style, etc., to thle "Miscellany," which has maintained an enormous circulation of more than eighty thoetsatc copies ihn Eangland, and has already
reached nearly the same in this country. Arrangements have been made by the
American publishers, to issue the work simultaneously with the English edition, a
volume every twio months, to continue until the whole series is completed. Each
volume complete in itself, and will be sold in sets or single volumes.
-- Commenaldatory Letters, Reviews, Notices, &c., of each of Chambers's works,
sufficient to make a good sized duodecimo volume, have been received by the publishers, but room here will only allow giving a specimen of the vast multitude at
hand. They.,re all populala, and containa valuable instiucti'e and entertaining reading - such as should be found in every family, school, and college library.




WORKS BY DR. TWEEDIEo
GLAD  TIDINGS; or, The Gospel of Peace.  A. setors of Daily
MIeditations for Christian Disciples.  DBy Rev.'i?. K. TWlrEDIE,
D. D.  With an elegant Illustrated Title-page.  1Gmo, cloth.
63 cents.
These merditations, though brief, are colllprehenlsie a-le! wcighty. It is remarlkable for condensation, for a deep  evaigelical tone, asnIl for putting, itself
into direct contact with tlhe conscience and the heart. — Aibasy ALrgus.
Vre heartily wish this little book n-ele in every Christian faimily, and could
be carefully read tilrough by every Christia.-1V.  Y. Evaofcslist.
This sweet little volumne challenges our war  mes  t coimaendation.  Every
pae g'lows with Christian examnple and gooldness. The perusal of one chapter
will awake a keener relishl for the connlllnlcellent of another. The Fronstisiiece,
representing the sllepherds' awatch of their flocks by' niht, is sublimely beautiful. - Los;cozw ce Couriser.
A  LAMP  TO  THlE  PATH; or, the Bible in  the IHett, the
-Ionme, ancl the  iMarlet-place. e      Aith  an  elegant Illustratel
Title-page.  16oi, cloth.   C3 cents.
The power, the beauty, and the necessity of seligion il tlhe heart, the home,
the workshop, the marlret-pltce, the professions, and in social intercourse, are
happily illustrated. It is a jew-el, a.d should enrich every familsy library. The
last chapter is worthy of beingr engraven, as with the point of a cdiamondc, on
every husan hear t. —,S  zouthes Litcrcay Iiessenzgcr.
This little volumne brings Christianity hoame to the bosorns andc business of
inen. It is a ilcid, irnpressive, ncld beautiful exposition of Christian obligations. -h.iAbcy Aituss.
SSEED-TIME A5iD HIARIVEST; or Sow Well and Fetap Well,
A  Pooli for the YounonG.    ith an elegant Illustraited Titie-pag'e.
16n1o, cloth.  63 cents.
An excellenlt book, more pcartilelarlT designried for young read&rs; but persons
of all ages may deerive pleasur e and profit frolm its perusal. -1X. Y. Cosizcsne)cic.
No person can read it attentively, w ithout feeling that tlhere is an imlportance
attached even to what see-ci to lb  lhis  maost indifiereilt actions. - PL2'itanl Ies.
A most precious voluimne tllis to the  ynl, talig their first step and first look
in life; teaching them that if they- -ouild reanp -ell, they lmust sow w-ell; that
if they v-ouLl(l enjoy asn old ae oi holnor, theyr must be trained in youth to vlrtue. - -Do, Sjrctage, Aibany  es29ctato'.
THIE  IMORN  OF  LIFE;   or, Examples of Female Excellence.
A  Book for Young Ladies.   Gon eo, cloth.  In press.:-  The above worlks, by Dr. Tweedie, a e of unifornia size and style. They
are most charming, pious, and insbtsuctive wor's, beantifully gotten up, ansi
waell adapted for " gifft-bools."
FAMILY W.RT.SHI-P; c   thlle Moaning  aned  Evening  Sacr ifice.
One volume.  OctavO,, cloth..  is porSn.                            (i)




W~TO S JUST PU BL  U S 
TE PLURAT TY OF W0VORLDS. A NEWn EnmoTT. -oWi th
a SUPPrLEStEMLTA~ry DIALOGUE, iln which the autlhors review ers "ae
oeviewed. 12mo. cloth.  $1.00.
This masterly production, which has excited so much interest in i;is country and
in EIurope, will now have an increased attraction in the adilition of the Su)pplemient,
il wsiclh the author's reviewers are triumipllantly reviewed.''c Thle Suppleecnat will be furnished separate to those whio Ise thle oi ginal wvorl..
NE-Nr XTJTEXCE 7OF THE H1IiSTORY OF SCIENTCE UPO2.':
2IQTELL. ECTUAL EDUCATION. By WILLIAMWA3  TIIEW'ELL L ). P.,
Gf r'ially College. Camlhs'-e, Eng., and the alleged author of''iraiiity of Worlds.:' 16mo, cloth. 25 cts.
ROG ET'S THIESA URtS  OF o                   TENGLIS1i WOTO,. A
New andcl Improved Edlition. 1210, cloth.  $1.50.
TIIIS EDITION- is based on the last London edition (just issued). The first American edition having been prepared by D]u. SEaIRS, for strictly E.DUCATIO  AL PURroses, those words and phrases properly termed "vulgar," incorporated into the
original work, were omitted. Regret having  been expressed by critics and scholars,
whose opinions are entitled to respect, at this omission, in the present new edition
tile expurgated portions have been restored, but by such an arrangemcnt of matter
as not to interfere with the educational purposes of the American  editor. Besides
this, thiere are IMPORTANT ADDITIONS OF WORDS AND PIIRASEcS NOT IN TIIl
IENGLISoII EDITI-O, msalsing tlhis, therefore,iin all respects, aIosRe FULL ASoD PERFilECT
TIIAN TIHE A5UTIIOI'S EDITIO.
TIIE L ANDI' AT CAPE ANTNE; On, THEr CIIARTER OF
TI-E  FIRST  tERMIANTENT  COLONY  ON  THE  TERRITORY  OF TIlE
2 I[ASCAGcIIUSETTS COrIPFANT.  TNow discovered and first published
fiom tile oRIGINAL II[AUSCRIPT, with an inquiry into its authoritLr,
and a ITHISTORY OF TI1E COLONY, 1624-1628. Roger Colanit, Gover1nor. By JOIIN WVIGATE TnIOrNTOrN.   VO, cloth.  $1.50.
This is a curious and exceedingly valuable historical document.
" A volume of great interest and importance."- EvExaNI    Ti's:rt:::.'
THE AIRWTELL STORIES.
A  series of volullles iilulstrative of youthful character, and combining
Ins-truc;tion aTiith  Anomusement.  By WALTElR  AInIAVELL, uithor of'    -Thoe,oy's Own Guide," 1" The Boy's Book of MIorals and Ilacnncers,;'
&c.  Witlh numerous Illustrations.
The first three volurnes of the series, now ready, are{${1,2AIR; Oi, Tit Js Bo  O irO  RIAT 1t1)  OWVN' BAY. 10Om  Cl.  r. 1 sC eS.
CLITTOX;  or,; o    Boy-LiTE   xIN;, -  CO TJ iWT l. T. mO Clot', ";3 Cta.
ELLA; cO, TuIrnc;    0ce,  o-xcn;o I   n|,v  -.,..G          3 ctas.
)DT ER ch vounle ll    e caill   aoI:c:' i..1.'''ici:r.'::.,.,f iits.ll, but flc s cries ail li e
connected by a partial ident:t- cf' c:r-:cf.-:.ocll;its,:c.      (5o)




VALUABLE VWORKS FOR THE YOUKNG.
BY rITBE. EAICVEBY RBW OOIDIE.
lIOW  TO BE A MAN:  a 3 ook for B]oys, containing Useful
I-lints onthe Formation of Character.  Cloth, gilt, 50 cts.
" MIy desina ill writing has been to contribute something towards formislg the chlaraceter of those w-tho are to be our future elactors, legislators, goveornors, judlges, nlinistcrs, lawyers, anld lphtysicians, - after the best model. It is intended for bosys - or, if
you please, for yozuly genltlemen, inl early youth." -''efarce.
"H I-ow to be a Stanl " is an inimilltable little vo!ume.  W'e desire tlat it be avidely circulatedl. It sllould be put into the hanlsds of every youth in the lancl. - Te?,a.'Bal.
10-W TO BE A LADY; a Book for Girls, containins Usefacl
Ilints oil tlhc Formilation of Character.  Cloth, gilt, 50 cts.
" Ilaving daughters of his own, anld having been mlany years employed in aswriialg
fir the young, lie hlopes to oifer some l good advice, iln an eCnteltainin   ways, for sirls or
misses, between tlhe ages of eiglht andl fifteen. Hiis object is, to assist itheml in forming
their clae acters ulapon the best smod(el; that they may become Awell-bred, intelligent, refined, and goold; and then they will be real Itat-ics, in the ilillest sense." -1 acface.
Parents Awill consult tlhe interests of their daughtcrs,'or time and eteronity, in Ia'k —
ing thema acqlainted withl tlhis attractive anld most useful volume. - }d. 7 L''cr jetli-.
Tl/e folowsi)2y S-otolces ca2)ply to botls thfe a7ove fT'-oueses.
It -ould   be better for the nelxt greneration if every youlth wrould "readl, learn, and
inwardly dcigest" tlhe contants of these volules. - -a  I Cl  i baatcfeia7.
These volumses contain amuch matter'which is truly valtuable.- 7sca.  iTi,'2 cd.
Tlhey contasin  -ise and imporltant counsels and cautions, adapted to th e youna, a.nel
snade entertaining by the interesting style ande illustlationss of the author.   Tlhey a:e
fine mirrors, in wh]ich are reflected tle prominent lineaments   of the C/hrisitrla f/oranzg
rgetleasra  Cols d yostai lc lady. Elegant lpresents for tlhe young. - -isiaericasrs  Piiait.
hewacoimb's bookls are excellent.'We are pleaset d to commendcl   them.s- 2.. O s.
TheJy are bookls well calcullated to do good. -- ]lhil. C/h. Chr'/)Oicle.
Comimou-sense, practical hints on tlhe formation of character anld he l aits, and are
adaptreld to the inllprovement of youtll. -.Io7iheis' Jos1-a'al.
ANECDOTES F1OVR BOYS; En tertaining Anecdotes and
Narratives, illustrative of Prisnciples and Character.  lSaso, gilt, 4  cts.
ANECDOTES FOR GIRLS; Entertaining Anecdotes and
INarratives, illustrative of Principles and Clharacter.  1Sino, gilt, 4i2 ctS.
InIterestin  asend instructive,  itihout being fictitious.  TThe anecdotes are Inamiy,
short, alld spirited, aith a mosral   drawn froom  each, adapted to every age, condition,
and dulty of lilc. We coammend them to families and schools. --- Ailbca S/ ccaltoi.o
aWorks of' great value, for a truth or principle is sooner instilled into tlhe youthful
heart by an anecdote, t'han in any other wary. They are well selected. -- Ee'y GctZ.r
iothling i1as a greater illterest for a youthful  mint d tllan a Arcll-told story, andl no
medillmn of conveying moral instructions so attractive or so successful.  The influence is fl' mlore powerful when te cilchil  is assred  that they are tb-?!e.  e\'e calnnot
too strongly recommelnd them to parents. — l'esteirn C'osatieeslt, cL'otiin'ore.'




C  LINT ON.
A BOOK FOR BOYS. By WVILLIAMI $SI1ONDS, author of " Booy's
Own Guide," "Friendly  Words,'" etc.  Aith  numerous fine Illustrations.   16mflo, cloth.   63 cents.!e:- A very captivating and instructive book for the youllg. The first of a
series of works by tie sae s ale  thor, designed to portray the leading phases of
youtlhful character, and to point out their tendencies to future good and evil.
They wa -ill deplct the scenes and incidents of every-day life, in city and counltry,
ingli n  ilmportanllt moral lessons w ith amusing, curious and usceful info rmaton..
Each  volusloe will be complete of itself, but a connecting thread wnillruns tlhroughl
the wlhole series.
It is just the " book for boys," and just the sort of book boys like. - C7n'. Rlg.
Well, the boys have readc it, and they pronounce it "first s'ate."  Wre confirm
their judclienit. It cnters into the heart of tihe boy; comprelheelns his tlhoughllts,
his wAishes, and his temptations;  miilgles in hIis sports; stimrnlates lim in his
studies, and inmllanlts right principles andl nolble views. It is a safe book, an entertailling  book, and a useful book. - Itdepicdelilt, X. F.
An attractive and entertaining book for boys. A more beautifu   l and appropriate gift-book of tile kind, for lads, cannot easily be found." - tios. _Tavcrclte.
Without any qualilications, a truly admirable volume for boys. The valuco of
truthifulness, the danger of bad comipany and bad exaniples, are made  clear as
Ithe noon-day, by a real friend of tihe younag. -- ChGwllciza$ ~'srtfauie.
One of the best boolks that has been issued this manly a clay- Tcsiij. Joca'zct.
We are not ashamdcl to say w-e have read this ATork straight through, and Avithi
illlucl Illore interest, too, tlhan Ae have ieoulndl in waors  of greater lprctensions.
WVe recommendl it to all our young frienads, - -es, and to such of our older ones
as have not forgotten the best feelings they ever had. -- Po tklzctz iC oei tisic.
"A  valuable asnd highly attractive book for boys, teaching most salutary lessons iln an interestinsg narrative. - c.lViissoias Obsc)svea', fisteltdc7l7ta.i
A better bookl of combined aamusement a nd instrucation for boys, could scarcely
be found. It tells a great cleal of tratll in a most attl actie flbn. -- ~     el.. Y c. iClil
Tihe boy Twhao begins it is sure to peruse it flrom  title-page to " finis;"a ansd he
-who does canl hardlyt fail of awisiling to be a better ael s-iscr boyr. -. Ic lcraid.
One of the best boolks for boys ve hlave ever seen. Its descriptionls are exact,
and all its details are tlhose of actual life. - CoGzsyegrtcioiztdist.
".A l'iel  boolc," as w-e heard a little boy say waho had jaust got throughll wilth
it. — laoltct's CoGaaCzioi.z.
It recomlmends the pleasures of hollle, rlus acting as asn auxiliary not only to
youtiful virtue, but to domestic happiness. - Pbeitktaz,ccos'cifce.
It is a first-rate book. - Trziwzct.
A better book a boy can htardly cead. - For'eostcr's Loeys' ctazd Girls' llsactazine.
EasEmphatically a bootl for boys, and conveys many valuaeblte lessonls of self-.control
aacl indclustry in the pleasing dress of a swell-told tale. - Aseftasz's Lite. Gcazette
rWe attemptedl to read this bookl, but the boys got hold of it, and, moranintg,
noon and nsiglht, they Ikept hold of it, uLntil one andl eanother had read it througlh.
If their juedgment is worth anything, the book is capital. -.  iY..1r1iclayepist.
A book the boys will like to read, and b. lsofited by reading. - C'I,. L2'rctad.
(g)




NATIONAL SEULi'ES OF AMlERICAN  I$iST01I"ES.
BY REV. JOSEP"I  BAINVARD:.
cr-  The attention of the puztblic is incite/t  to the folloWilig?o0tices of  ANo'4'ARD'S
IIsTos'rols.  They contain2 a Ccastitdci  of jt.st that kindc oj'fiq/to/irn tion  2cscited inc
a style pso.':Se:-:sio7 call the attracticeness ance  Chactnr of?onanzce, chitichl ercy hi5cricltc,
twhet/her oil ot yottlg, shoeuld possess.
dT 1           - Y     0                T'"  A T  D T,    E  I L.         - M.;
01, Inciicnts of Adven ttures in  the History of the Feirst S-tf -ers.
AWithi Illstrations.  161lmo, clotl, 60 cts.
eti. BIv/    n sret hias wroul-ght a good work it  collecting, arranoing, and preseCtinil
inl so ilphl' —ic anldl  a-r eeable a mannoer   the le Icdin  incidents of anll event which wl il
ever wake to quiclie n w   hile tile " Pilgrim  Roc  " tells its story, or a edrop  of pilgrin
blood warlms   te veins  of a descendalnt. -- BLangyors Iet cct cy.
The book, when once ta/lel ulp, ilcl not be laid down -untilfinished. -  To.ttoo, Cos  tr,
An i  ltelestiing  volume.  The incidents  are well chosen, and are described in thlat
dir/ect, sillnpll,  and sprightly yanner, for -which f Io. Lan/vard is so i!stlT esteielcd,
ald hl selich  ci eiently quaifies him to be a writer for thle oung. -s-t" l. 7raretlte.
It is writtell in a terse and viporous  style, and is well adlipted ifor pellar rleading,
andl lparticulacyly   to entertain and instruct thle youthful ciinccd.- lerci crii   J. Jocl:7.
Evccy New England/her shloutld own this bool. - Scientific  h;ie-ricar..
i'llisiiss t bCeautitfunlly executed and extrelelhy interestiUg  volumle. It is a-citell inl
a pltoint, but vigorois style, particularly adaplted to the y-oull  t!oughii  it Imay be read
ith inlterest by tile older ones. - C ht. -ceoeciz
IIiglly' attractive ill style ancl  instructive in  mattcr, and weill calcuilated to cegagle
the antclletion of young persolls. —. Y. Co /n. tAIc.
acl si. B,; tv-rn     has  here prsoduced a work that swill be readc  wil/h p)l'easure aildl istruction by every one.  T'lhie style is clear  and frcible, ad  his manncer of wacs --
illc' ilcitdets and character,  ald gi-ving position to historical events, fciicItlu:!.- -.''his bool/   s  e pcredlict will be, ere lont, at the fireside  of cvery descell(lant of teC'-l:grils in lew  i Englan.el -  C'om 5lno5s c cectIih.
I' is written in a pleasing  style, abounding in incident, anecdote, ans   d l   et.  Teic
authlor htis slhelled thie grain from the drly husks, and s sspread a  ieast better adtapted
to the tastes /titll requirelents  ofh the young. -i Rccttner.'This bookt will be read with peculifr inaterest bly all ahvo a-ould learn tle causes
whicill g;:-ve to our country its peculiar religious anld slolitical ccharactcr. - C:Lcsi;et.
TcsreC is no work oni  Americal history of the samue size / whici  aIfforCls aln equal
tanount of ilnforsmation.. -- Cispet lcrB.
it remin/ls us much of thlat adClilrable historical series for the young, Sir Waller
Scott's Tales of a Granldfatther. - C. Registcr.
Treated witl  the talent anld slkill for whiellh Mr. Basnsarhd has becole nioLed,  as a dcscip)tive alld populasr  w/riter. -- ictattclAnai c2ad 1ceflector.
Fer v works will lhave a i rea-er run, especially swith yout.    ll tlili l, f, tets are
eith!er brought to lightl-  for the first tilssoe f roll musty recorls, or cf-ior-  tomces inaeccessible to thle public generally. -- Joraz Cet a(2d  esev1eer.
It is fulll of interest, aboundslc ing wsith  vivid illustrationls of fearless co-rage, enc
clulincg for!titldle, ingelniouls str/tegyr, l-   romaatie adeoentarce. It w-ill fiind its way
into evrcly family. -  T/'lis's H[o;;, toc Jot'acd,                                  (a)




NOVELTIES OF THE NEW WOR-LD
AN ACCOUINT OF THE ADVENTUJRES AND DIScoveries of  tille   First  Explorers   of  NTorth   Ainerica.    By
yEV. JOSEPHI JBAnVARD, allthir of "   tPilymouthe and tile P isgri s,"  etc.
Being the seconil avoltlne of B ANVARD'aS SERIES OF AIEtICAN  11ISTORIES.   Pltll n   liilrnous llustratiosis.       1r0o, ch!th,   G0 ctS.
It fi5p.  BANaVRD comnletes    the series as lie has  be"ls, lhe w-ill supe-ply an imliortant desieeratuml taor tle youns -- a series of' book  s hich will serve   as vn aluable introductions and enticements to more extended historical readil,. The plan ofe tihe anthlor is to seize one tlte tprominiiient and inoteresting poinsts in the history of' otr couantry,
anld presenlt them in a continuous and'sprightly narrative.a    - i,i i.'1 ac lclet.
W    htave sn'ithe boys bend oaer these pages, unwilling to leave tlheil, eitller for
tplay or sleeps; a ld when finislecd, incquiring ansxiously whlen the next S ould come.
_- ItChtC7ha1 Ctiil ]Reector.
It has all tlhe interest of a oinanee. -- Pors t7cezdt Ti'racscr'it.
A ritten in a fslicitols style, which is neither too chlildish for adults, nor yet too
dificult of colllpriehension i fr celilhlrcn, they viili (elightat and instrest. - Josis'ic.
Some  of the   ost interesting' scenes and eve-nts in thle  a-w World are ihe-e  broulght
togeto her and in-vested with a cltarnl tlhat is irresistible  by old or youngl    - C.. Iltel.
The subject is handlsced in a masterly manner. - Otive  ranciih.
This is a livelr and entertaining  i       of'    e ofe   story of so e of te  t  ntic n  iportant
events in the early times of European explorations of -at   erica. - Cowslsiois zecltlh.
Ip. B   svVRD t h1ns  m111Ia of  talit  n t  l  ct, so rare and velua)le,  1ich  nablebs its tpossessor to interest and instruct the youiie.   We are glad to see the romsantic stories of
our colotials times disinterred ncid ureprotduced fi'om the ponderous atolmaes il whllic
tihey h11re  beenil  uried, anld broutleht ifor-alld in a ~ form  adopted to tile taste and capacity of the youthful rcader. -.,. 1. Recor'der-.
It contains stane adscventures filled -ith romancec.  The vollume    has also some
fourteen good illustrations. - EJxl;a2ess.'The extraorditnarsy hardships  and thrillingl incidents  connlected svitll the  istorly of
the earlly explorers, togcther e  itl the charlil sswhich a ir. SBanvard has t shrowns around
it by hispopullar style of writing, renders it exceedingly insteresting. - Ch/. Sec.
A very pleasanit, instructie, anid interestisnc book is tils.  The histolical islcidents,
sketches of character,  national customs, andt ausing anecdotes told ini it, give it a
ciharsli which even the graave scllolar will acknoe -ledge and applrore. - l'atr'iot.
The style is very agreeable, anld his selection of thle smost reralrkable incidents very
happy and judicious, anld well calculated to impirove  the mind. - Sci. AiteleicCal.
tIch tlsat is fresh for the reader, imparted witl tact and spirit. - Ito)ie Jolrict tcl.
Iov "snorel" was the "New WC5Vorl" wahien examinedt by the first explorers, andc
3rr1. 13anvarcid has gone over the around int so clharminlg   a imnner tllat hie seemlss to
hav-e broughlt tile scenees down to our own expeicence.  Zee ry 2cagye is ebesoebDicbgly iyite restily. -'Esst Jostosl Gazeitte.
T!e bookt onlty needs to be knollTwn to comman d readers. -  TaTtc/htszsu    of Ps'csi-ics.
The popularity of the author, ansd the adeliirable producetions of his pen, already so
w-idely circulatecd, are a suffieieit pledge tlhat any thing from  him wvill be iu-lndci to
possess sterling imerit and worth. -  i'ncesiocilit.
Mari. PeAxreaert has hit upon a happy idea ieu  this series of publieatious, anld will no
doubt lind a full sanction  in the piublic pat-ronaage. - Ziion's Jfeciald.
Thse aultllor possesses the art of' oasriig simnple truth far isore interesting thain tile
wvonders of fable. -- Pees'ecsre.                                                   (b)




RO MiANCE OF AIEhOCANN  H|STORY;
OR, AN ACCOUNT OF THE EARLY SETTLEMENT
of North  Carolina  and Virginia, embracing  a  Narrative of
the tragic Incidents connected with the Spanish Settlement at St. Augustitle, the  French  Colonies at Roanoke, and  the English Plalltation  at
Jamestownv  tile  Captivity of Captain  Joln Smith, and  the interesting
Adventures of the youthfrul Pocahontas.  By REV.  Jos:EPII  BANVARD.
PIeing the third volume of BANVAs1D'S SrIESrs oF A.LITER1CAAN  HISTOrIeS.  Witllh numerous Illustrations.   lmo, cioth, 60 cts.
This is the third volumeof Mlr. Banvlr d's attractive series of books founded on the
early hlistoay of our country; aeld it will make a'lmost valuable addlition to all faailty
and echool libraries. - Art7llur's Gazettc.
It has all the interest of romance and the aclditional interest of history. --  lur. lec.
It is a volunie just such as we like to sec in the hands of intelligent youta, and just
suchl as intelligent youti1i like to have givenl them. It shtows thlat there were timles
hsat tried men's souls " long before the day of the Revolution."  It unfoldls the dlangcrs that were passed, tile trials endured, tlhe labors undergone in order to wr-est from
savage men and a savage wilderness tllis fair anti wide domlaiar which we now enjoy. -  W1illis's irorare Jorotzarl.
As interesting as a novel, and a thousand times more profitable. - L-it. 7Jfessee7gero
Every library should contain this Natlona  l Series of. HI-istories. -.  P17'. F7armser.
Admirally fitted fritted    fireside, f;amily reading. Its style is clear and sirprle; its successrion of' events hlappily clhosen.-  Ars. 5:',arelere.
No namu  has a better taste thaln Mr. Banvard for such a work. If any person can
read Iris baoois wVitiroatl rising froml the perusal of tllhems  wiith stronager love fbr the history of hlis country, h e must be difltsrent fi'oln ordinary menr. - 11aeltch. of Praciries.
Nao more instructive readingr call be put into the hlands  of thle younng. - -r-t. Trccrta
it is difficutlt to say whether the entertainilng or instructive prerdoinates. -- Ar'ry(s.
It is jlst the bookl to interest yo3ncm  persons. It cormbilnes the irterest of romrance
r5ithl the va;llUe Of truth. - Ziol's 1lfercal-.
MoI. B\NVtoAD has chosean a a1ost enlleracininilg heme for tfle labors of his graceful and fihcile penl.  The earlier hisolry of' the peopling of' tie Anmeriean continent by the Europieaans is frll of raolantic  and thrillinig incidelnt. It is a bookl for
Ilhe aged, thlie middle ged and tsle yoiun,; a bookr fbr our youths aand mlaicdeans; a
book to render 1us thankful for the -virtues aned lheroissm of our fathers, and for the
blessings their sufterings antid labors have entailed upon us. -- PDeriocaratic l'Pess.
M1t. BANvAr,'s series of books upon the early history of America are full of fascinating interest. --- IetputliccLrz.
The incidents are curious and deeply interesting. It is trnrly the romllance of history. -B Religioras Ieertald.
A  book of deep ansd thrlilling interest, containing  manay insteresting historical
sketches of scenes that are not faimriliar to the yocung reader. -- Ch. Sccretary.
Thlis is a very interestilng work.  The personal incidents it records awill be gratifying to the curious. -- CGht  Observer.
to- Other volulles of this popular serias are In course of preparation.  Tlle series
sill embrace tlre most interestilng asnd important events awhicil lhave  occurreel in the
United States since the settlement of the countlry. They avill be adapted to tihe popular mined, and especially to the youth of our country, and wsill contain snsmrerous
fine engravings. There sill be twelve or molae 1Gfmo volumes, of ablout s,00 pages.
Eacll volune to be cojr2plete ira itself; andll yet, a-when all are published, they wvill togethler fornm a regular SERIES OF A     oIERICASN  -ISTORoIESo                   (C)




VALUABLE ~WORKS FOR THE YOUNiG.
YOUNG AMERICANS A&BRIOAD; or, Vracation in Europe:
the  Results of a  Tour through Great Britaill, France, Itoelland, Belgiumn
Germany, and Switzerland. lry JOIN OVEPRlTON CH1OULEs, D. D., and
hiS PUPaILS.   With  Elegant Phstrations.  6lmo, clotlh, 75 cts.
A highly entectaining c work, embra-'ig Moite real  information, suct  as every one
eishes toe know about Europe, thanany  other book of travels ever published.
hrlee init     S! Ilas,  h]o k,' hl  Ilow s,o'a se their eyes, aesmat dal 4 thleir tLtor;t t!'::;      nte;s'.   ld,  a[rom a c-r efjtcllc-kept journc cl, toeyr-cott (ct, ill It sei s c li:r.    a i's r)'i',,'i;' Cccllclci sc-a  ctuy     hona, their il      cc,'eSioits Of the  inc: t c'cln:. b'.8 Id';c',Otd    Tt2l p])(cnillitcs ore  euine ic    nd  cimtc-T'ctuda'nd in all
respeccs cbrm:m b{,;:sfi' sc r icsvrtcc e 1o.col oft travel.-            ccccX's fr,..
One of the moss i-_ strctcfivc and delietfa hau bsos of tle age.- c        oWqiSc1;zC    it. GfLr-c
Boys, lere is a book ilta -will suit, yc-l exac'iy.  It is a series of letters floit  ec' ztlin
boys travellicng in- E' rop  to tlleir class' ates  I         c'is  Country,   I':,ill i l.c oe yor
kcocledgict ase c Ia c        you dcr ingr i  ler'cc inter ci, -tcs- -    ioccist ict
It is Asr'll wtc clllcc t 0sre t'cccc'cm a tIay a l.er acd cc-t are pretenticus c caolume  fc  gtia cit-r
a casccroleoi-)c ()f LI c'.l. s abroa d.- Con- c     u cction -lcc;t.
bectautif'lli book ci'r young people, ositk<:- anc  l t       e Ac.c' 5  e'ba',' seeC  -  C.7 0f:.
3ost interesti-,  sbook tliat can be put il'to' le iha",ic     f 4;  yo',  Oaie Lj'a, cce/..
The best book of fi'eigs   travel for youth to te tlb- cn  tll e,v' olr  ma we o0f, ate?-,
canu literatiSure. — itit/;.,io                      c i'onemly y E:xp ecss.'I.'       ]S-c  A scat c      oM-   E s     or, ot    cll6 Yocci  s tt tIce  c  c
CI1I1STCOP1i5    EIR RO3.1AUc T, ESq. sid Itlalt-cc  If  ussrati-s.  75 cts'.
s —Ie lse t ans(l prctiies  S boo', for boysc tiat we h's-ec le'ttly sc-~i --.o   cs.toz'.;A stirring crncl -iii-ece t ork. It wcill interest the;zaeC.eil e-p taso  --   fc-'e >,sb.
iteliglatfal nar-l'       c           rti es o cv e s of  a det s of six boy-s W-.  put- to S'  h r,~ op-11 1moxb
and w  ereI drif'el to     t     a dcsert isllnd, where they lived ip. tlece mann-r tof cisol'so   C   -1
A book of'-,'eeat interestf and one which will be a h'eat to auy boy -'r)-;2;  Ci2c7,,Tmetot. tt  t  Will pore  over its p-ages  waiti aleos   etSid ted la icter   ses a'-c/, -.it.
A modern!'olbilsonl Crujsoe story, without the dreary solitude of that:rfa le   he — e
It wVill mlnttso a nd ilst-uel thle young in nro ordinary degree. - 9c:;taVcrr i-(t. 6'<;t~.   t'e
A story that bids f'ti' to rival the far-famed Roobinson Crusoe. We beeore  as t'auch
interested in tlm5        Johnny, Arthur, and the rest of the goodly conpaly, y,.s hi. the
Swiss lnmily iRobin:son.-,~tp'tati1ff  s-C ufg ine.
TI'A  AW>2IE,CiAN STATtESMIANY; or, 1llustracions o <1
Life    antl  Chaarscter of DANIEL              rE- ST>iE 1  fior tte  EnItecrtaie cc-ci:d
-sl:ttlcction o   Acmcerican    Ylelht,  By tlhe tIc T'Iv. JOSEPTI BA:1cnt,  aI,-Iflw   (i'1 P"   coci  ci 5            t'cc
lhr'f'        ~lmymo~ttt1t d   tie Pil-rims,"       t lovelties of tie -' ic —c T:.'' 1omlln:'o (of Amelicall Tlift:ry, " etc.   with elegant lih/sirati^.n::;. 75c.
t-'  A ark of' great inteest,;es  i ensctin   a sketct of the ic      st  t'.',  acd importit cevecnts awhich  occurredt in t'he ttistory of' tihe  ist-te', D   lii
i Webster, svoitin cvt-,  -elt  ti  Oits tf a?I t't'icc cal  Iract,-r; t lbz "- t, c',,cs. for
the  ai ctio,ll ci emuliation of -cAmeican-     yoc-tlh, oclly  his coa mncelcM-t! —-         of
c:-eter".  IL iS          w jut-  slc    a work  as  every   e   -ica     pat riot   -ol wi. is -lh!
to ceact (-1c' r ficc -t -,pon.                                                            AV:




PLXtEASANIT PAGES  OR YOU NG PEOPLE;
OR, EOOK OF HOMIE EDUCAITON AND ENTERTAINMIENT.
BY S. PROUTB NEwcOonl3E. With numerous Illustrations. 7 5c..c? This work is desigrned f'or tlle pleasure and profit of young peope; an;d, as tile
title incdica.tes, intenled as olo alids to Iloere Education.   Tire great varietyS oi' s:!jerts
presenlted, consisting of' iMoral Lessons, NItturar  I-istory, IRistory, Trives I, lhysicaI
Geography, Obj ect Lessons, Draring and Perlspective,         usic, s iPoetry, etc.,,nld w ithal,
so skilfully treatdcc  as to inake trutht  srimcple asd attractive, renders it an adcmirlablle
faomily book for winter evenings anlld sutrer days.
A very excellent book.  sList-'y), philosophy, science, stories, anle  desceiptions of
gamnes are all mIrrineletd togetilerl,  ianl   olre1lo docs not liske trhe compoosd mirust be IlOart
to please. - Posf.
Pleasannt pages, containing    informiation on a great variety of subljects.  Iierc we
have science and a't lmade plin  idlr  c ptir  atinrr.  Tile lessons idn dra-iri:a arrd pelcropective alonce sre w'orth the pr ice of thie voluale.  Arl  then  a thlousad    qcuestions
helliCh   tlhe intelligernt youneg mind rlaises are lcere oaonswered. -- Par lolr lRjerazirte.
This is indeel  a home book of cldcless aorusement. -- Bosrtos Atlcrs.
Asn admirable boolk of Ilolrle education.. Ve  comlmelnd it to fiunilics. -  ilrb. A qiec.
A  oworl admirably adapllted to the instruction and alncuscmenlt of tlhe yoLucg. -  leg.
A pleasant book, full of all sorts of isllr-iation upon all sorts of subjhects. - Joo1r.
One of tlhe most delightful worors for yourng pcoprle we have ever nret o itli. FeeV
persons, young or old, coulld  e x,  ilcne   its ipafes without gaililng kno1 wledge c it' a sefr-l
kinld.  It is one of trl   most successful corlbinations of' lhe pleasant writhl tihe usceful
to be found. - Dai!c y rIdcr tie r.
A book of not only'lpleasanlt pages,"  lut of singulIrlyr  iS;'usCtirLs C p!ges.    Even
pcople not so very young milght is proiitted by is  perusal. - S'oth Eostoc. (z'-Wctle.
It prcsents imuch solid inforfomation, andl  opens before the youngr nearw fields of obcervation.  Tlhe youngsters w-ill clap thlcir hands  with joy. -- ScierLtifie.i;2e,'ctrol.
There is a great deal of' v:aluable informl ation comlsllnLunicated in a very simple and
easy way.  W          hsr ile ci is fslil ot ur'gflc  instrluction to cllildren, it is also suTgcstive to
tiose swho are called to condiuct tllci  edurcation. — Pioitcsz  Reco ce?'.
TWe like this look: it is w-cll fittedr for tile family library. Th    ou    like oun   like  acts;
rwhien thescare set f'ortl is. a pleasant was, thle interest is greater thanl fiction ever
arwakenls, unless the iiction is made to Oap ear lile trulthl. - Code/'s 0LceLLa' 1  oo.t.
TI-E GUIDING STAR; or01, The Biblo God's Messag.e. By
LOUISA PAYSON HIOPKINr S.  1W.it  Fr0lontispiece.    6lsmo, clotl, 50 cts.
An excellent workl to tlot into the ihands of youth.  It is written in convcersatiolnal
style, and openr s us) Iimost bcautisfully,  mard wsith  great simplicity, the great itarillsg cvideences tha t tsl  Bible contins God's mressage to man. Those seekinr after trutih wcill
filnd it worothy of f'rcuent pearuss.  D-. Sr L,'vc, i:, iAlbsac!,1 Srijeicltos.
Wre cordially comllmelld the avork to parents, children, ande Sabbath schools. - Cosg.
Tlis volume shoulld be in tlle h]ands of everry youtlifusIl reader, and alultt persoens
would tind it not only intecrstillg,   but instructive. - Ch. Chrlsol.
The po0l11r' srtllthor of tli book hLas colnfbrred a frravor on tle public, for achiicl shile
dleserves sonlethillrn  llore trlanl tr7rl;s. —  Chs. Screltr,!'/.
One of thle most yaruiable boojls for youth thllrt we have seen. - C(,soe. JOl)frr7.
A book of clroee thiilln colllllln exceelleCee.  Iowr oftens ihave lle w- icised tllat all the
yocuthl of our land mlligtl becomle fanailiar with its contents- - C'h. Mfirror.         X




"                     I I'  a r    B'  tr es   t1tu'g  no   t T
THE AMBMVELL STORIES;
A SEIRIES OF VOLUIMES, ILLUSTRA'TIVE OF YOUTHFUL CHARAC>
TElt, AND COABININIG  INSTRUCTION  WITH  AMUSEMENT.
BY WALTER AIMWELL,
Aulthor of " The Boy's Own Guide," " Boy's Book of Miorals and Manners," &co
WiiTh i        on.e rotlis   llustr lati oSo
The ivolumes will contain about 3Q0 pages, 16mo, each, bound in cloth, with gilt
backs. Price 63 cents.;,   Eachl volumle will be complete and independent of itself, but the series'sill be connected together by a partial identity of characters, localities, &c.
The first two volumes of this series are now ready. They are entitledOSCAR;
On, TIE BOY WHO lHAD HIS OWN WAY,
AN D
C  LI 1 NTON;
OR, BOY-LIFE IN THE COUNTRY.
NoticS  otf Cintonl.
Well, the boys have read it, and pronounce it "first-srate."  Wre confirm thele
jud-gm ent. It enters into the heart of the boy; comprehends his thoughts, lhis
wvishes, aned his temll)tations; mingles in his sports  stimunlates hie iin hli
studies, alld ih1llants right principles and noble views. It is a safe bool, an
entertaiiinn g book, sadc a useful book. - T1e Iblferilrldeft, 1N. Y.
W9p attemepted to read this book, but the boys got hold of it, and, imcorning,
noon, anld cnillht, they kept hold of it, until one, and another, dled another still,
hlad read it thrlough. If their judgment is worth  anything, the book is capital,
one of the very best of its kIind. -.  Y. Evangeeist.
Wte like "Clicnton " for its naturalness. It is a narrative about real life, pleasantly described in jenst the -way to attract young readers, resemnbling, and Cqui'te
ecqcal to, the'"1Itol"110  series. - Clristici Register.
A better bookj, as a mere book of combined amusement and hist:iction for
boys, coeuldi scarcely be found. - S.atrdady Eve~nizrg s lfai.
" 1  r,?i.le baoiee," as wve heard a little boy say who had just got through with
it. - Yeouthl's C6'oeaIsion, 2Bostoe7.
A better book a boy can hardly read. -Forrestes's Boys' mlid  Gibls' c~rgorzine.
Tlee boey who beCgins it is sure to peruse it from title-page to finis; and he who
does so can lhardlyS fail of wishing to be a better and wviser boy. -- Zone's  e2-urtcld.
One of tile best bools for boys'we have ever seen. Its descriptioins are exact,
and all its details are those of actLual life. Its mnoral and religious inluelnce is ex
cellelt. - COe.grcgalcc tonai8t.                                    t(is)




THI  CRUISE OF TWE. NORTH STAR,:
A NARiE.RATIVE OF TIE EXCURSION  TJAD&E 3BY M'R.
VANTDERB3ILT'S PARTY, IN THIE S TEg'i.    CII-, in her
Voyace to  England, Russia, Denslax.  P                 z r"a, nc' iSpaina, Italy,
Mialta, Turlley  M adceira, etc.  By   o, e. J  0 oba h a-             C1 1.:L O,
ID. D.  WVith elegent  1llustrations, andi fine a     i     enesses of Colnmlodore Vanlderbilt and Capt. 1Eclridcle.  1io, cloth  backs
and sides.  $1.50.
The ciuise of the North Star wvas a-i event of almost national concern, ancd
a;s rwatchedi with unin-er sal interas.   This volme   is      ifient ftoe   ordcinary
books of trf v tel as the cruise of tle'-orth Star a-as diivi ernit fi'on an ordinary
trip to Elurope.  TCVe.ceid not besp eak l for i-t iany readers. - -l'ovid ezece JoPs.
The American pcople ol ght to be proutd of, andci  rateful to, Ctornelius  alnderbilt. This iman has dlone more  tlan a dozen presildents to',ive America   a
respecicctec ncame in Eao )pe, In tie person of Cornelius  andcerbiit, Aimerictaa
eultemprise told tile pceople of E1urope wha t t couldc do. The -desire to get this
curious  lar-ative vas so great tlhat thle wlholc of tlhe first edition ecnt off in trwo
dasys! - Sdar of thie  rest.
Tihose aviho remember to have mlet aitlh  a very interesting -workl, published
somice two years ago, entitled " eouni   Aniericans Abroad," -sill be glad to learn
ihat he,'e is another book of travels from the same source.  Do you say your
shelves Care all full of books of travel? -a ve reply,  it  Ligh I unt,  - then plut
in another shelf, andci place this one on it. -- mrehoCdiS t r i oPCS'aczt.
he veorl; is one of the cost entertaeiii, anl, in its -a, vi-icl, portraiteures
of scenes in the Olsd Waorld, that ave have ever seen. -[-'osi-onz  a'acsC'ie:,gt.
The book. is in mcany respects as novel as the occasion -which  irodluced it w-as
i-lcisque and ilelioriable. Both the accomplishet author and the pulblislhers cleserve the best thanks for so tasteful a record ofa perfornmiance  hich has retlectedl
So much credit abroad upon Aismericail enlterprise. -,V.'oi' icbi r & Lss2, irri..
This worik is interesting, nol only as a memnorial of the iteorth  Staics, and her
trip to Elurope, but also as a record of European travel, narrated in a lively
iainner, by a       gentleman whose taste and attainmentts eminlently cquali-fy him
for the task. - lYeevl Y0or47  Tise~S.
YNever before did a private individual malk e so magnificent anc eacursionl as
IYr. Vanderbilt. Dr. Choules, vwho was onle of his Guests, has given to tle world
a clarsmiini  ascounlt of this unirque voyagae, in a beacutifully   I rintcli aL(nd illustrateda volumie.  lVe comimenlIe   it to ousr readlers  s  a  very etertainin g, -wellvwrfitsen     book. - Zionas slTerscld.
The bookl will be eagerly perused, as a record of one of the ueique occurrences
of tile age; is written wAith a killnd of dlrasoing-room,  etiquette-like styile, is cellow in sentiinlent, and is w.holly cdestitute of t'hat straihing  after the sublime,
ac-.nd strandi    te "inln, tla chilalcte                 tiz e th e effusions  of the tourist elnerally.s  -  Ci/iccao 2d'l -clii~.
This ibeautiful vaollle dcescribles, in a chaste and readable mLanner, tLe fortunles of tle wiely -knlowTn exC.riol of the pcinrcely ne\ c    o       -i' i: r-'chalt and
hIis family and guestsa.  IFrom  the eclat of the Tvoyae it         d  lic pleasaont
esay of Dr. Choules' accounLt of it, eve thinkl the boolk is desti;Led to have -- what
it deserves- a very large sale. -  Coesy,'e/; erioicl f ry. (0)




tTOPRKS JUST ISSUEDD
VISiTS TO EUIROPEAN12 CELEBRiTITES. By NVILLIiA lB.
Sltc:U-E, D.D..  imo, cloth.   j1.00.
It ccnsists of a scries of Personal Sketches, Di WriW   FROMJ LIF  0, Of ma1ny     of the
most cdistinlgtl eish    1en ald r  omcen of Eurolpe, with whlom  the author becalme  acqaiinted in tile course of several E-ropean tours. They a'e portrayed as tle auithor
saw c tliem   t i cn tlleir  own  homes, and under the icost adv:'''ta"eous ciie'e"'stllcees..Accnompanyinlg   the skietchs   Mrse  the  A~Ci.TnO  lcS of ench of the personages descibel.'ihlis uniqule feature  of' the wsor sk iadds in no s-malt degrce to its attractions.
For the socia l eircle, for the trcveller by railroadc an  stealmboa t, for all -who dcesie to
l)e reDesesle  and lot    waie d   y read'ing, the book il;-11c 1)rove to b:)e a s ost agreealble
compf') ioisl.   Thle publ!c ipess, of all shaldes of opinion,  nor1tll land south,  haye giVenit i a most flatterinc r ecection.
TTT0E              1 1TO ~T  ~ T  Es C AP  v                     Co7mileto Nanratic of fti'lXrai ill Sciuthern u  s ssia.    Ticl'te ii ai T  relt in tlh c Crimea.
137's'ajoe E0.  n       is l:r I r.I   au1 t or s of  t Ladlj  Lee s " Vidow-llcooci.;'
W  ith'sa Icw  I2Ls ap   expressly  for  the  -wo..  Thi. mo.  T ick.  Prite
paper co-ers'.' c ts.
COsNTETS. — The senlldezvous; The MIovement to the Crimea;:First Operations
ill thle CrilmeaL; B3attle oflthe Ahnlma; Thle Bacttle-field; Tlhe /I~atcha and the calbel;
Thle Flan'lk'l rch;  Occupation of Balaklava'; ThIe Positio5n before Scbastapol;
Cocimencelmlentt of tle S'ege"; Attackl onl Bsala'klava; First Action of Inlkerman;
LBattle of Inklerman;  YXrilCter on the DPlains; Circumspetei  ee;     The IIospiteals on tile
BosphorClsC;  Enxculpator y; Progrcss of tshe Siegec; Burial Truce; View of the WVo'rls.
It is the only eounected'sld continuous   narrative of the a5Ta'r in Euirope that has
yet alppeared.  Tie iatlror is an oticecr of c'ank icn tle Britislh army, anid has borne ani
active part in the camlpla igne.); he hqus also won a brillianlt reputation as an authorl. By
his proes.fcion of arcls, by his actual'larticilpationl in thle conflict, and by his litcrary
hiliies, lc is clulified in a rare degrec for the tas he has unldertaken. The expectatiolls thus raised wvill not be cdisappointed..r.        u...sic.EN..S IN TI-3  HISTORY 0 iS'sI`AB{YLA1i'D
AiND T'I'    OLD  T1,'NCt   A                     5tic'Xiith an account of various
int     COntn-es-og o       emn eelts  hllichll  occurredLL     ill the early setemet'of'   Amer-ic'-_.      )   OSE'I  BAc NVA".Ds i. ]3.   W'ith numiecrou    s
elega'n t 1llustratsiios.o 1. o10, ~1otlo. 60 cents.
Tile rolilme is one of a series by tsl  silie aclthor, andc all thosoe who have purclased cits spredecessors.ill be sure to buy tfCe  recscent w-orkl." —IIA I'TPORD PRIESS.
"' Ye comlimelnd tlhe Iorl  to our readels as a capital one for the instruction as well
Ps tihe museseini of iyoulth"." — BosrosN   TLa S.
OS," G. & L. -could call attentions  to theicr iextensive list of plublicatio ns,     ecbralcing,
valiable w'-orks in'ri1rroLorY, iCIENCE1 i,.iT' rimATU!eE A-cD At.RT; TEX IT BOONS
FOI. ScCIIOOLS,AND COLTEc(IcS,  1Calld  siSCELLANsOUS, "   etc., ils large variety, the
tiroductionls of' solme of tlhe ablest writeros and imost scientifle men of the age, among
whichl will be foild t:hse of Chambers, 1Tugh    ille  Acassiz, Gould,   S, Gyot -, rcou, Dr. isarris, Dr.'ayland,  r.         amsr.'Xtllicco, Dr. Ripley, Dr. Kitto, Dr. Tw'eedie,
Dr. Chloitles, Dr. Sicpranue, l'eicomb, Bana:d, "'Jialter Ai-sncell," B31ngenler, Mtiall,
Arcclideaccl Tiarc, aond cltlers of like standiln g andc poptc'la'ityc, andci to'tlis list  iley are
o     cnstnitly adcldiing.                                                       (:)




RECENT PUBLICATIONS.
HISTORY OF CHURCH MUSIC IN AMERICA. Treating of
its peculiarities at different periods; its legitimate use and its
abuse; with Criticisms, Cursory Remarks, and Notices relating
to Composers, Teachers, Schools, Choirs, Societies, Conventions,
Books, etc.  By NATHANIEL D. GOULD, Author of " Social Harmolly," " Church Harmony," etc.  12mo, cloth.  75 cents.
1i-~ This work will be found to contain a vast fund of information, with much
that is novel, amusing and instructive. In giving a minute history of Church
AMusic for the past eighty years, there are interspersed throughout the volume
many interesting incidents, and numerous anecdotes concerning Ministers,
Composers, Teachers, Performers and Performances, Societies, Choirs, &c.
COMPLETE POETICAL WORKS OF WILLIAM COWPER;
with a Life and Critical Notices of his Writings.  With elegant
new Illustrations on steel. 16mo, cl., $1.00; fine cl., gilt, $1.25.
POETICAL WORKS OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. With Life
and elegant Illustrations on steel. 16mo, cloth, $1.00; fine
cloth, gilt, $1.25.
MILTON'S POETICAL WORKS.  With Life and elegant Illustrations.  16too, cloth, $1.00; fine cloth, gilt, $1.25.  In press'a5 The above poetical works, by standard authors, are all of uniform size and
style, printed on fine paper, from clear, distinct type, with new and elegant
Allustrations, richly bound in full gilt, and plain; which, with the exceedingly
lots price at which they are offered, render them the most desirable of any of
the numerous editions of these authors' works now in the market.
United States Exploring Expedition. — Volunme XII.
MOLLUSCA  AND  SHELLS.  By AUGUSTUS A. GOULD, M. D,
One elegant quarto volume, cloth. $6.00.
THE  TWO  RECORDS; the Mosaic and the Geological.  By
HUGH MILLEn.  16mo, cloth.  25 cents.,Ka No work by Hugh Miller needs commendation to insure purchasers.
NOAH  AND  HIS TIMES; embracing various inquiries relative
to the Ante-diluvian and earlier Post-diluvian Periods, with Discussions of several of the leading questions of the present time.
By Rev. J. MUNsoN OLNrSTEAD.  12tuo, cloth.  $1.25.
PARISIAN PASTOR'S GLANCE AT AMERICA. By T. H.
GRAND PIERRE, D.D., Pastor of the Reformed Church, and Director of the Missionary Institution in Paris. 16mo, clo.h. 50 cts.
The author of this volume is one of the most eminent ministers now living
of the Reformled Church of France. He is distinguished as a preacher and a
writer; as a man of large and liberal views, of earnest piety, of untiring indclustry, and of commanding influence. His statements are characterized by 1-great
correctness as well as great candor. - Puritas Recorder.        (j)




IMPORTANT NEW WORAKS.
THEII CHPTISTIAN LIFE: Social and Individual. By PETER
BAYse,) A. 3i. 12mo, cloth. $1.25.
Contelets.  Part T. - STATEMENT. The Individual Life; the Social Life. Part
IT. - EXPOSITION AND ILLUSTOATION. First Principles; I-Ioward, and the rise of
Philanthrospy; Wilberforce, and the development of Philanthropy; Budgett, the
Christian Freeman; the social probleml of the age, and one or two hints towards its
solution; M[odern Doubt; John Foster; Thomas Arnold; Tilomas Chlalmers. Part
III. - OvUTLoo. The Positive Philosoplly; Pantheistic Spiritualism.
Particular attention is invited to this work. Its recent publication in Scotland produced a great sensation. IIugh MIiller mlade it the sunject of all claborate review in
his paper, the Edinburghh   " Witness," and gave his readers to understand that it was
an extraordinary work. The "News of tlhe Churches," the monthly organ of' the
Scottish Free Church, was equally emphatic in its praise, pronlouncinsg it "the religioss book of tle season." Strikingly original in plal and brlillialt iln execlution, it fhr
surpasses the expectations raised by the somewhat fnmiliar title. It is, in truth, a
bold onslaught (and tile first of the kind) upon the Pantheism of Carlyle, Fichte, etc.,
by an ardent admirer of Carlyle; and at the same time an exhibition of the Christian
Life, in its inner principle, ancd as illustrated in the lives of Howard, Vilberforce,
Bludgett, Foster, Chalmers, etc. The brilliancy and vigor of the author's style are
relmarkable.
PATRIARCHY; or, TE FAMILY: ITS CONSTITUTION AND
PeOBATION. By JorTl  I- Arnits, D. D., President of'' New Cotloge,"
London, and  author of " The Great Teacher,"  " 3Iaalllmon,"  etc.
121mo, cloth. $1.25.
T'he public are here presented with a work on a subject of universal interest, by
one of the most able and popultar livicng authors. It is a work that should elld e lplace
inl every FAMILY, Containing, as it does, a profounsld and eloquent exposition of the
constitution, laws, and history of the Family, as well as much ismportant instsruction
and sound advice, touching the fanmily, famlily governisent, family education, etc.,
of the present timie.
This is tile third and last of a series, by the samne author, entitled " Contributions
to Tlheological Science." The plan of this series is highly original, and thus fitr has
been smasst successfully executed. Of the first two in the series, "Pre-Adalnlite
Earth," and " Alan Primieval," wve hlave already issued four ansd five editionis, alnl the
demand still continues. The ininense sale of all Dr. Harris's works attest their intrinsic popularity.
"The present age has not produced his superior as an original, stirring, elegant
writer." — PIIILADELPIIIA CIIR ISTIAN CIIP. ONICLE.
GOD PIEVEALED IN NATURE AND IN- CHiIST;
Includiog a Refutation of the Development Theory contained in the' Vestiges of the Natural History of Creations."   By the author of'"The Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation."  12mo, cloth.'1.25.
The author of that remarkable book, "The Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation,"
las devoted several years of incessant labor to the preparation of this workl. It furclishtes a  new, andcl, as it is conceived, a conclusive argument against the "developcmesnt tlheosy"'  so ingeniously masintasilcel in tse i"Vesties of the Natural Ilistiory of
Creation."  As this author does not lpublis  except when lhe has somlethingc to sa'y,
tisere is gootl reason to an'ticipate that the work wvill be one of unusual interest and
value. tics fo-mS r book shas  met weith the siost signal success in both hemeispheres,
lshavils p'ss d thiol-l1h nullmcersous ceitiones in fEnelandel and Scotlanle, and l  een tlransIt'l',(  J;1o` fttr:; tOfh1-?  e 1;riapeai  la bngu ages bclsi C-s. I- ij also aetout to be t,-s'i;c1 l
i:xt.  t.l:dc slidlost::e.':,n.:.,.;.. (..iC)




MY FIlRST IMPRESSIONS
OF ENGLAND AND ITS PEOPLE.
BY  ItIGrrHI MILLER, author of     Old  Red  Sandstone,"  "Footprints of thle Creator,'' etc., with a fine likleness of the author. 12r1o, 1,00.
Let not the careless reader imnagine, from the title of this book, that it is a comeon
book of travels, on thle contrary, it is a very remarkable one, both in design, spi'it, arrd
execution. The facts recorded, and tihe views advasnced in this book, are so fresll,
vivid, and natural, that we cannot but commelllnd it as a treasure, both of iniorlnation
assd entertainmlent. -'illis's Jiomlue Josserrcl.
This is a noble bookl, wrorthy of the autihor of the Footprints of the Creator and tlre
Old R-ed Sandstone, because it is seasoned witll the same ipowser of' vivid deseription,
the sasne minuteness of observation, and soundness of criticism, and the same gesnial
piety. Are have read it with deep interest, and with ardent admiration of tile autleor's temper and genius. It is almost impossible to lay thle bsookl doewn, even to attelnd to more pressing matters. It is, without comrplirment or hyperbole, a most delighltful volunv. -    F.lr   5 Comilarer)cieal.
This is a most anmusing  and instructihve book, by a master hand. -- Dee). Iet.
The author of this w-ork proved himnself, in the Footprints of the Creator, one of tlhe
most original thlinlkers and powerful nwriters of the age. In tlre volume before us ihe
adds new laurels to his reputation. Whoever wishes to understand the ciharacter of
the present race of rniilishlmesn, as contradistinguislhed firee. lpas generations; to
comprehend the w-orkings of political, social, and religious agitation in the minds, rnot
of the nobility or genltry, but of the peos2le, will discover that, in this volumec, lie has
found a treasure. — Petereso?'s ilactgazine.
I-is eyes were open to see, and his ears to hear, every tiringl; and, as tile result of'
what lhe sawv and lheard in " metrric " England, he has made one of tile rmost spiilited
arid attractive -olumencs of travels sand observations thlat we lhave rnet with. - Teas.
IlIt grh  iiller is one of the most agreeable, entertaining, and instructive writers of
the age. WVe knlow of no work in England so full of adaptedliess to the age as this.
It opens iup clearly to view tlhe condition of its various classes, sheds new light into
its social, moral, and religious hlistory, its geological peculiarities, and draews conclusions of' great value. -  tlbsstry Slctator'.
The author, one of tile most remarkable  men of the age, arranged for this journey
into Engiland, expecting to " lodge in humble cottageS, and w-ear a humble dress, and
see nwhat was to be seen by  sunmble men only, -- society without its mask." Suchl an
observer migihllt be expected to bringi to view a thousand things unknown, or plartially
knowrrn before; and abundantly does he fulfil this expectation. It is one of thle rmost
absorlbinrg baooks of the time. - Poritlctld Cir. J1firror.
NEW WORK.
MIY SCHOOLS AND SCH-IOOLMASTERS;
OR THE STORY OF fMY EDUCATION.
BY   HEuGr  MILLErt, author of "Footprints of tile  Creator,"
"1 Old RCed Sardlstorlre," " First Impnlressions of Engrlarrid,' etc.  121mo., el.
Tiis is a personal narrative of a deeply intercsting- anda insteuctive character, conce-ernig, onIe of tlie Iost rerarkable men of tle age. NRo one who puTchases this book
will havre  occasion to regret it, our w-ord for it!                       U




A PILGRIMAGE TO EGYPT;
EMIBRACING A DIARY OF EXPLORATIONS ON TIIE NILE,
WVITH OBSERVATIONS, illustrative of the Maianless,                           Customs, and Institutions of the People, and of tle present conditi(nl of the
Antiquities and Ruins.  By J. V. C, SMITI-, MT. D., Editor of' tlie Boston
Medical and Surgical Journal. Wiill numerous elegant Engravings. 1,0-5.
There is a lifelike interest in the narratives and descriptions of Dr. Smith's pen,
which takles you along with the traveller, so that whlern lie closes a chapter you fel
that you have reached an inn, wherle you will rest for a whlile; and then, with a refieshed mind, you will be ready to move one again, in a jonessey filll of fresll anrl instructive incidents and explorations. -- Ch. Wiitness.
Every page of the volune is entertaining and instructive, and even tlose whlo are
well read in EgyIptian manners, customs, and scenery, cannot fail to find sometlling
new. - M3ercantilee Jorozesatl.
This volume is neither a re-hashl of guide books, nor a condensed mensuration of
heighlts and distances from works on Egyptian antiquities. It colltains the daily observatious of a mnost intelligent traveller, whose dtescriptions bring tI tite reader's eye
the scenes he witnessed. We lhave read many books on Egypt, somee ofe theem full of
science and lcarnicng, and some of wit and frolic, but enonee tee7ichfeurnis/cdl sao clene' can
idea of Eyg)lt as it is, - of its ruins as they now are, and of its people as they naow
live alld movte. -- WVatch2cln and cReflector.
One of the nmost agreeable books of travel which have been published fbr a long
time. -- Daily Advertise-r.
It is reactable, attractive, asnd interesting. You seren to be travelling with him, and
seeing tlhe things swhicl he sees. -- Bllhker litl  llsurora.
We see what Egypt was; we see what Egypt is; and with prophetic endowmenet,
ore sec -what it is yet to be. It is a charming book, not written for antiquarians and
the learnedl,but for the million, alnd by the million it will be read. - Congregatiotnalist.
MIr. Smith is one of the sprigihtliest authors in America, and this workl is w-ortll of
hlis pen. IIe is particularly happy icn presenting the comical and grotesque side of
objects. - C'osc eonwsecaltsh.
The reader emay be sure of entertaiiment in such a land, under thle guidanec of
cucrh anc observer as Dr. Smith, anrd will be surprised, when lee has accomapanied him
through the tour, at the vivid impression which he retains of persons,and places, and
incidents. - Scalem Gazette.
This is really one of the most entertaining bookls upon Egypt that we have mlet
with. - Albmay lArgus.
One of the most complete and perfect books of the kind ever published. - l)iaclder.
Of all tlie books we have read on Egypt, we prefer tlhis. It goes ahellad of Steplenls's.
Reader, obtain a copy for yourself. - Tr5su-jcet.
Tihe author is a keen observer, and describes what he observes witll a graphic penl.
The volume abounds in vivid descriptions of the manners, customs, and institutions
of the people visited, tlhe present condition of the ancient ruins, accompanied by a
large number of illustrations. - Courier.
SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY; Containing a Descripltive Account of  tluadraiecds, Birds, Fishes,. Insescts, Reptiles, Serpents, Plants, Trees,  inerls,  Geins, and Precious Stocnes, smentioned in
thie Bible.  By ~VILLIABI CARPENTE r, London; cwith Improvelelelnts,
by REV. GORIIASm D. ABBOTT.  Illustrated  by nuMle.e:ous EIngravings.
Also, Sketches of Palestine.  12m1o, cloth, 1,00.'T




AMOS LAWRENCE.
DIARY AND CORRESPONDENCE OF THIE LATE
AMIOS  LAWVRENCE; with a brief account of some Incidents in
his Life.  Edited by his son, WILLIAM  R. LAWVREiCE, 3M. D.  tith
fine steel Portraits of A-ros and ABBOTT LAWRENCE, an Engraving
of their Birth-place, a Fac-simile page of IMr. Lawrence's HIandwriting.  Octaro, clothl, ~1.50.  Royal duodecimo edition, 41.00.
This work was first published in an elegant octavo volunne, and sold at the unusnally low price of $1.50. At tie solicitation of numerous benevolelt individuals r-lho
were desirous of circulating the work.- so remarkably adapted to do good, especially
to yolugn  men — GRATUITOUSLY, and of givhing those of lmoderate means, of every
class, an opportunlity of possessing it, the royal duodecimo, or " CIIEAP EDITION,"
was issued, varying froll the other edition, only in a reduction in the SIZE (allowieng
less margin), and the ThICEeNESS of the paper.
Within six montlhs after the first publication of this work, TwrENTY-TrVO TIIOUSAND copies had been sold. It is the memoir of a Boston merchanlt, who became  distinguished for his great wealth, but smore distinguishled for the manner iln rwhich he
used it. It is the memoir of a snasn, wrho collmmencing business with only $20, gave
away in public and private charities, DURING rcIS LIFEsTIIE, more, probably, than
any other person in America.
"W1  e heard it once said in the pulpit,' There is no work of art like a noble life,'
and for that reason he who has achieved one takes rank with tlle great artists, and
becomles the world's property. ~WE ARE PROUD OF TIrIs sBOOK. WE A.irE WVILLING
TO LET IT GO FORTII TO OTHIER LANDS AS A SPECIBIEN OF  5II5AT A3IERICA CAN
PRODUCE. In tie old world, revieweres have called Barnunl TIIE helaracteristic Alnerican slaall. We are willing enough to admit that le is A characteristic American!nan; he is ONE fruit of our soil, but Alllos Lawrence is another. Let our country
have credit for him also. TIIE  GOOD EFFECT IVIIICII TIIIS LIFE asIY IIAVE IN
DETERMINICNG TIE COURSE OF YOUNG  M EN TO IIONOR A-D vYIRTUE I IS NCLCULABLE." - MRS. STOWVE, IN N. Y. INADEPENDENT.
"This book, besides being of a different class from most Biographies, has anotlher
peculiar charm. It shows the inside life of the maln. You have, as it were, a peep
behind the curtain, and see dIr. Lawrence as he went in and out anmong business
men, as he appeared on'Change, as he received his friends, as he poured out,' with
liberal hand and generous heart,' his wealth for the benefit of others, as lie received
tihe greetinsgs and salutations of children, and as he appeared in the bosomc of his
family, at his own hearth-stone." - BnRUxswicx TELEGoRAPII.
" We are glad to know that our large business houses are purchasing copies of this
work fbr each of their numerous clerks. As a business nman, MIr. Lawrence was a
pattern for the young clerk." —BoSTON TRAVELLER.
" We are tllanklcful for the volume before aus. It exhilits a clharity noble and active,
while the young lllerchant was still poor. And above all, it reveals to us a beautifeul
cluster of sister graces, a keen sense of holnor, integrity alhiclh never knew the
shiadow of suspicion, candor in the estimate of character, filial piety, rigid fidelity in
every domestic relation." —NoRTI- AcIERICAN REvIEWv.
"We are glad that American Biography has been enriched by such a contribution
to its treasures. In all that composes the career of'the good cllan' and the practical
Christian, ewe have read few meemnoirs more full of instruction, or richer in lessons
of wisdom and virtue." - NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER.
" A more beautifully printer  volume, or one calculated to do more good, lhas not
been issued frome the press of late years." - EvE-INxG GAZETTE.
" This voltc1cee Ihas been read wvith the deepest interest. It will be ridcelv ciircclatled,
will certainly prove a standard rwork, and be read over and over agaeil.'- BOSTON
DAILY ADVERITISER.                                                       (P)




THE CAPTIVE IN PATAGONIA;
OR LIFE AMONG THE GIANTS.
By BENJAIMIN F. BOURNE.  With Illustrations.  limo, cloth, 85 cts..
This cork, by Captain Bourne, - who was taken captive and retained three imonths
by the Patagonians, - gives an account of Ihis capture aand final escape; a description
of' this strange people; their manners, customs, habits, pursuits; the country, its soil
productions, etc., of which little or nothing has heretofore been known. r.-  A work
of thrilling interest, and of instruction to every class of readers.
Any book, descriptive of a country which is almost like fable land to the civilized
vorld, must possess great interest; but this work, besides having this attraction, is
written critil much vigor and spirit, and is replete with a variety of interesting facts,
descriptive ol the manners, customs, character, etc., of the Patagonians. - Sac. Joler.
A work of thrilling interest, and bids fair to be another Uncle Tom's Cabin. Captain Bourne is well known and highly respected in this community; and tlie narrative of his strange adventures, startling and romantic as they may seem, can be relied
upon as strictly true. - Alrcsltulc7et Eaegle.
We have seldom read a work of such intense interest. - N5 I. Sentinel.
This is a narrative of great interest. - Phil. Ch7. Obscrver.
A;We question whether the scenes, trials, hardships, adventures, etc., could lhave been
more vividly drawn had they emanated from tile pen of an InvIxu  or a CooPER.Iltllacdcl (Ft.) Ilerald.
The author is known as a respectable man, and one of high integrity; and f'om lhis
own experience has given particulars of the manners, customs, habits, and pursuits
of the natives. It is a thrilling snarrative, and as exciting as Typee. - iTwcleoct ilteec.
No work of romance canl exceed to enchain the mind and awaken interest. - Cozg.
Seldonm, if ever, have we perused a work with so intense an interest. No wrork of
romannce call excel it in power to enchant the mind, and awaken a nervous desire to
possess the valuable information which it communicates. — Am1herst Exlrcess.
I-aving begun it one evening, we would not quit until the book had been finished.
-   sonrtlpelier Jouirnaol.
Uncle Tom may stand aside for the present. MIrs. Stowe may herself, as well as
ler readers, listen to the tale of a New Bedford sailor. His narrative is one that cannot fail to move both to smiles and tears, - containing touches of the broadest and
most genial humor, as well as passages of simple pathos, which dissolve the soul in
syrmpathy. - B-. tI. Aulrosra.
Possessing all the interest of real adventure, with all the attractiveness of romance,
we do not wonder at its popularity. - Boston Atlas.
WVe have never before perused any personal narrative that has interested us as this
one. - FouteztCain Cocd JO/soccal, lIfe.
W,~e have stcarcely been able to leave Its attractive pages. If the reader wishes to be
amused, instructed, delighted, and benefited, he cannot do better than to procure a
copy. - Garde7i2er Eveszineg Transcript.
THE HISTORY OF BANKING; witit a Comprehensive,
Account of the Origin, Rise, and Progress of the Banks of England, Ireland, and Scotland.  By WILLIAMI JOHIN  LAWj SON.  First Americans
Edition.  Revised, wlith numerous additions.  By J. SMITH  HOMANS,
Editor of Bankers' Magazine.  1 vol. octavo, 2,00.
r A novel book, yet interesting and instructive; containing anecdotes of men
vho hav-e figured largely in the business, cases of forgeries, counterfeits, detections,
trials, etc.                                                             R




THESAURUS OF ENGLISH WORDS AND PlHRASES.
So Classified and Arranged as to Facilitate the Expression of Ideas,
and Assist in Literary Composition.  By PETER MjARXl ROGET,
late Secretary of the Royal Society, and author of the "Bridgewater Treatise," etc.  Revised and Enlarged; with a LiST OF
lFOREIGN WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS most frequently occurring in
works of general Literature, Defined in English, by ]BARNAs
SEARS, D.D., Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education,
assisted by several Literary Gentlemen.  12muo, cloth.  $1.50.,   A work of great merit, admirably adapted as a text-book for schools and
colleges, and of high importance to every American scliolar. Among the numerous commendations received, the publishers would call attention to the following:
A most valuable work, giving the results of many years' labor, iln an attemnpt
to classify and arrange the words of the English tongue, so as to facilitate the
practice of composition. The purpose of an ordinary dictionary is to explain
the meaanlng of words, w-hile the object of this Thesaurus is to collate all the
words by which any given idea may be expressed. - Putname's lflothEily.
This volume offers the student of English composition the results of great labor in the form of a rich and copious vocabulary. We would commend the work
to those who have charge of academics and high schools, and to all students.
- Clhristia  Observer.
This is a novel publication, and is the first and only one of the kind ever
Issued in which words and phrases of our language are classified, not according
to the sound of their orthography, but strictly according to their signification.
Wife recommnend it as a work of rare and excellent qualities. - Sciel. Alerican.
A work of great utility. It will give a writer the word he wants, when that
word is on the tip of his tongue, but altogether beyond his reach. - N1. Y. Tiszes.
It is more complete than the English work, which has attained a just celebrity.
It is intended to supply, with respect to the English language, a desideratum
hitherto unsupplied in any langluage. The purpose of a dictionary is simply to
explain the imieaning of words. The object aimed at here is exactly the converse
of this: the words and phrases of the language are here classed, not according
to their sound or their orthography but strictly according to their signification,
- i  Y. Evening lIirror.
An invaluable companion to persons engaged inliterary labors. The catalogue
of foreign words and phrases most current in modern literature, wlich the
American editor has appended, will be very useful. - Presbyterians.
It casts the whole English language into groups of words and terms, arrangedt
in sudh a manner that the student of English composition, when embarrassed
by the poverty of his vocabulary, may supply himself immediately, on consulting it, with the precise term for \which he has occasion. - Nr Y. ECvening Post.
This book is one of the miost valuable we ever examined. It supplies a want
long acknowledged by the best writers. - Portlarndl Adlvcrtiser.
EIvery writer and speaker ought to possess himself at onlce of this manual. It
is far from being a smere dull, dead string of synonymes, but it is enlivened and
vivified by the classifyiing and crystallizing power of genuine philosophy.  WVe
have put it on our table as a permanent fixture, as snear our left hand as the
Bible is to our right.- CongreUationltist.




VALUABLE WORKS.
KNOWVLEDGE IS POWVER: A VIvEW O THI PIODUCTIVE
FORCES OF 31ODERN SOCIETY, and the Results of Labor, Capital, and
Skill.  By CIARLES KuTIGHT. American edition, whith Additions, by
DAVID  A. WVELLS, Editor "Annual of Scientific Discovery,"  etc.
Tith numerous Illustrations.  12mo, cloth.  51.26.
This work is eminently entitled to be rasnked in that class styled " books for tile
pcoptl."  Tihe autIhor is one of the most poplular writers of the day. His style is
easy and racy, sufficiently polished for the mlost refined, while it is peculiarly fitted
to captivate Ilain, unletterecd, but tlinsking mlen. It is remarkaTble for its fallness
anll variety of information, and for tile felicity and force with  which tlhe authlor applies hiis facts to his reasoning.  The facts and illustrations  are drawn frolm alslost
every branch of skilfull industry. It is a work, in short, whllich the mechanic and.
srtisanl of evcry description will be sure to read wTith a I:ELISLI.
IMY So CHOeLS AND SCHOOLMTSTERS; on, Tar, STORY
o1  iVIY EDUC.ATIONi.  By I-UmII MIILLER, Author of ": Footprilits of
tllh  Creator," etc.  121u0, cloth.  f51.25.
" This autobi:ograplhy     is quite worthy of tihe renowned author. Iis first attempts
at literaturac, and his career until he stood forth an ackowledlee power amolng the
llsilosolphlers and ecclesiatical leaders of hiis native land, are 0given   without Cgotisls,
with a power and vivacity whichs are truthlefl and deleightsome." —  Pi ESBYTE:s1INs..
" 1ul il lile-r is one of tlle most remnarkable men of the age. HIaving risen froln the
humble wallcs of life, and from the employment of a stone-cutter, to the higlhest rank
amlon  sciengtifie men, everything relating to his history possesses an intcrest e -which
belongs  to that of few livillg men. The book has all the ease and graphic power
which is characteristic of his writings."-NW Ns    YOIlr OBSERIVER.
" 1This voltue is a book for thle tel tlhousand. It is emsbellisied  witlli asn admlnialab le
likeness of Iluglh Miller, the stone mslason - his coat off and llis sleeves rolled up —
witll tlhe implements of labor in hand - his form erect, and his eye brigbt ansd piercing. The biography of sucl a man will interest every reader. It is a living tiingt —
teacllhing a Iesson of self-culture of immlsense value."-P ItILA. CHIRoISTIAN OBS.
"It is a portion of autobiograplhy exqtuisitely told.  le is a living proof that a single
man may contain witllin himself something more than all thle books in thle world.
This is one of the best books we have read." -- LONDON CostlEScr. N. Y. TIoSeNrE.
" It is a work of rare interest; at timses having the facination of a romlance, and
agail su ggesting thle profoundest viiews of edlcation  and of science. The cx-mlason
holds a graphic ipen; a quiet humor runs throurgh1 his pages." —N. Y. INDEiE1)NI)INT.
" This autobiography is TrIE booole for poor boys, and others cwho are strul -glisng witih
poverty and limited advantages; and perhsaps it is not too mulch to predict that ill a
few years it will become one of the poor mlan's classics." —  Nocc ESG. FleAsrAlE.
THE HIALLIG; oR, TirE  SErEzOLr,oD IN THE ]WATERS. A
Tale of HInulble Life on thce Coast of SchleswiXg.  Translslated from  the
Germansl of Biernatzski, iby M3rs. GEOnGRE  P.   ARSI-i.  WYTith a Biographical Sketch of tlhe Autlor.    12mo, cloth.  s?1.00.
Tile author of'tils work cwas tlhe grand-son of an exiled Polish nobleman. IHis own
porltrait is understood to be drawrn in one of the characters of the Tale, and indeed
the whole work leas a substaintial founldationi in fact. As a revelation of an entire new
phase of hlumans society, it will strongly remind the reader of Miss Breleler's tales.
In originality and brilliancy of imtagination, it is not inferior to thlose; - its aisn is far
higtr. The elegance of icrs. HMarsI's translation will at once arrest the attention
of erery competent judge.                                                    (1)




VALUABLE SCH-OOiL BOU- 5.KS
rIIE ELEMENTS OF MORAL SCIENCE. By FRANCIS
WAYLAND, D. D., President of Brown University, and Professor of Moral
Philosophy.  Fiftieth Thousand.  linmo, cloth.  Price 1,25.''.* Thlis work has been highly commended by Reviewers, Teachers, and
others, and has been adopted as a Class Book in most of the collegiate, thecloegical, and academical institutions of the country.,
I have examined it with great satisfaction and interest. Dr. Wayland deserves the
grateful acknowledgments and liberal patronage of the public. I need say notlling
furlther to express my high estimate of thle work, thanl that we shall immediately
adopt it for a text book in our university..- WILBURn FisIr, late PIres. Wes. Ufniv.
I do not know of anly ethical treatise in which our duties to God and to our fellowslesn are laid down with more precision, simplicity, clearness, energy, and trlut. -
IotN. JAMIES KEN-T, late Chalcellor of New York.'We have been greatly pleased with the met]lod whichl President Wayland has
adopted; he goes back to the simplest and most fundamental principles; and, in the
statement of his views, he unites perspicuity with conciseness and precision. In all
the author's leadings flundamental prisnciples we en tirely concur. --  iblicaZl Pejpos.'We welcome it with much satisfaction. It is the result of several years' reflection
and experience in teachling, on the part of its justly distinguished author. It will be
gladly adopted by those who have for a long time been dissatisfiedw ith the existing
works of' Paley. - Literary ancZ T/heological Rceviewe.
MORAL SCIENCE, ABRIDGED, by the Author, and
adapted to thle Use of Schools and Academies. Thirty-fifth Thousanad.
18seso, half cloth.  Price 50 cts.
n    The more effectually to leet the desire expressed for a cheap editione
for schools, one is now issued at the redzsced pice of 25 cents per copy! and
it is hoped thereby to extend the benefit of moral instruction to all tile ytoutll
of our land.  Teacllers, and all others engaged in the training of youtlh, are
invited to examine this work.
Of this step we can hardly speak too highly. It is more than tiime that thle study
of moral pihilosophy should be introduced into all our institutions of education. VWe
are happy to see the way so auspiciously opened for such an introduction. It has
been not merely abridged, but also recwr ittesn.-1. A.. Reiez.
WVe spedak that we do know when we express our high estimate of Dr. W1ayland's
ability in teaching moral philosophy, whether orally or by the book. Having listened
to his instructions in this department, we can attest how lofty are the principles, hotw
exact and severe the algumentation, how appropriate and strong the illustrations,
which characterize his system. - iTatchtlanz aszd Rcfiector.
T1he work of which this volume is an abridgment, is well kInown as one of the best
andl imost comsplete works on moral philosophy extant. The austhor is well known as
one of the most profound scholars of thle ace. The study oi'moral science, a science
wvhiieh teaches good2ess, should be a brallch of education, not only in our colleges,
but in our schools and academics. This w;ork seems to us admirably calculated for
the p lrpose - -lercantitle Jors7acsl.
WVe hail the abrlidgment as admirably adapted to supply the deficiency which has
long beens felt in commneons school education. -- Ezenzistg Graette.     L




VALUABLE SCHOOL BOOKS.
EMLEMENITS OF POLITICAL ECONOTMY. By FRANCIS
WTAYLATND, D. D., President of Brolwnc  University.  Twenty-sixth thousand.  lfmo, cloth, 1,25.
o- This important workl of Dr. Vayland's is fast taking tile place of every other
text book on the subject in all our colleges and hilgher schools.
The routhti' says, " His obj cot has been to write a book  which every one who chooses
may undcerstaLnd. Ile lhas, therefore, labored to express the general principles in the
plainest neanner possible, and to illustrate them by cases with which every person is
fasmiliar. It tlas becel to tlle author a source of rert, tlat tle disLcussion hlas, uneas oidably, led hiills over grouned which teas been the arena of political controversy.  Ice is
conscious to himself- of no bias towards any party, and Ihe thinks  that lie whio will
read the whole w ork will be convinlcod theat hle has been influenced by none."   Extractfi ol the Prcfatce.
It embraces the soundest system of political econolmy of any treatise extant. -  lv,.
The topics are cwell sclected and arranged; tlce author's name is a guarantece for
more than uusual xc'ellecales. Ae  w-ish it an extensive circulation. -    }N Y. Ocbserver.
POLITICAL ECOCNOMY, ABRIDGED, biy the AutIor, and
alitlltel to    le;l t e  of   cl oc.ls andt Acadaesmies.  Thirteenth  thousansd.
18mleo, Ihalf icrocco.  Price 5a cents.
*-* The success which lhas atended  the abridtgment of " Elenents of
AMoral Science    hlas ilnduced thle aeutlhc r to nlrepare an abridgment t of this
woark, In this cease, as in tle oticr, thle work lhas been eiztirely rCZearittCe,
and adapted  to the attaineenets of yoluth.
The rising and the risen generations are deeply indebted to Dr. Wayland for the
skill andl pocer he has Cput forth to bring a hishighly ismeportalnt subject distinctly before
thile, cvitihin sueit slrreow limits. It dleserves to be introduced into every private
fainily, and to be studied by every msan cwho lhas an interest in the iwealth and prosperity of his country. It is to le l oped this will form a class book, and be faitllfully
studied in our encadmices, andc tsle t it will fincl its vway into every family library, to affbrd rich llaterial fa r thoughelt and discussion in the facmily circle. - Puriteoif  lIec.
This clear, comlmon-seaseccwork, designed for the use of academies, is just publishedi.  V'e rejoice to see such treatises lsreadin, among the people; and we uc nre
all, lwho would be inteiiigect freemen, to read them. -  5. Y:. TrCnscrsicct.
PALEY'S NATURAL THElOLOGY. Illustrated by forty
Pilates, and Selectionils fromt the Notes of Dr. Paxton, cwithl additional Notes,
original ansd selected, for this edition; cwith a Vocabulary of Scientific
Terms.  BEitedl by JOHIIN  IARPE, I. D.  NCw edition, with eazo alted clegtanlt Ilhistelrationss    1ienso, shleep, 1,25.
ca-  This deservedly popular work hals become almost universally introduced into
all academies and colleges wh-llere thie sbject is studied.
It is gratifying to fil  i i introdulced, as a text book, into the colleges and literary
institutions of our couintry. It is superior to any we have seen, and, we believe, superior to any tlhat has yet been published.- aSliiit o.r'the Pilyeciccs.
A We recollect no book in which the a crlgments for thle existence and attributes of
tle Supreme Being, to be diracrwn  fiom his works, arle exhibited inl a manner mnore att:e:,litive and more convilncing. - Cl/icriicrt FP. actirease              1L1




VALUABLE WVOIRK.
CYCLOPFEDIA OF AXN'ECDOTES OF LITERATURE
AND TIE  FINE  ARTS.  Containing a copious and choice selection of
Anecdotes of the various forms of Literature, of thi Arts, of Architecture,
E:ravinlgS, MIlusic, Poetry, Painting, and Sculpture, and of thle most celebtrted Literary Characters and Artists-of different Countries and Ages,
&c.  B, iK'AZLITT  iArsVIsE, A. I'1., i. Atllor of "Cyclopc!dia of MIoral and
Reli io0us Anecdotes."   Wlith illustrations.  705 pages octavo, cloth, 3,00.
Tahis is unquestionably the choicest collection cf anecdotes ever puLblislleld. It cont.ins trce thlosa,7.l cd fol  rt Anecdotes, and such is thle Nwonderfirl variety, that it
Trill be lbund an ulmost inexhaustible fund of interest for every class of readers;
and to public speakers, to all classes of liter-ary and scienztific een), to ar.li.st,'secehanics, arld others, a perfect DICTIONTARY,/fO reference. There are also imore than olse
7s orlred sazd fif ty finle Illutstratiozs.
1We klnow of no work wNhich comprises so much valuable information in a fornm so
caterltltiinng. - A. I5 Chronicle.
IHere is a perfect repository of the most choice and approved specimens of this species of'inforlsation. The work is replete with suclh entertainment as is adapted to all
grad.es of readers, tile iost or least intellectual. - 3fetlhodist QuarterlZy lrcgaazise.
One of the most complete things of the kind ever given to the public. There is
scarcely a parargaph in. tie whole book which will not interest some one deeply; for,
whilc mener of letters, argument, and art cannot afford to do without its immnense funrd
of sounld lnaximls, pungent wit, apt illustrations, and brilliant examples, the merchalnt, mechanic and laborer Will find it one of the choicest companions of t]ie rhours
ofrcilaxation. " Whatever be the mood of'one's mind, and however linlited the time
for readinrg, in the almost endless variety and great brevity of the articles lie can find
sonetlhing to suit his feelings, which he canl begin and end at once. It may also be
made the very life of the social circle, cotanining pleasant reading for all ages, at all
times andl seasons. - BZtffclto Conz. Advertiser.
A well spring of entertainment, to be drawnn from at any momenrt. - Ermgor thig.
A inagnrlficent collection of anecdotes touclhin, literature and the fine arts. - A1talrrr SiVectCltor.
ThIe most comprehensive collection of anecdotes ever published. - Sctlcz Gazetie.
A punblication of which there is little danger of' speaking in too flattering terms; a
Iperfect Thesaurus of rare and curious information, carefully selected and metllodically arranged. Ajewel of a book to lie on one's table, to snatch up in those brief
mnoments of' leisure that could not be very profitably turned to account by recourse
to any connected work in any department of literature. - Troy EBturget.
No famnily ought to be without it, for it is at once cheap, valuable, and very interesting; containing matter compiled from all kinds of books, firom all quarters of the
globe, fi om  all ages of the world, and in relation to every corporeal matter at all worthsy or being remarked or remembered. - Neiw Jersey Unlion.
A rich treasury of thought, and wit. and learning. illustrating the characteristics and
peculiarities of many of the most distinguishled names in history. - Phil. Chris. Obs.
The rang e of topics is very wide, relating to nature, religion, science, and art; furnishing apposite illustrations for the psreacher, the orator, the Sabbath schlool teacher,,
arnd the instructors of our common schools, academies, and colleges. It is a valuable
workt for the fireside, calculated to please and edify all classes. - Zcrieslille Cs. Reo.
This is one of the most entertaininlrg nvorks for desultorylreadigwe h Inave l secn. Wf
hardly t"-ow cf e-, y thlinfT at once sn insm.:r,rtive nd a mllsin.,. s  Cl.  fnt,. 
C



IMPORTANT WAORK.
/IITTO'S POPULAR CYCLOPLEDIA OF BIBLICAL
LITERATURE.  Condensed  from  the larger work.  By tlie Author,
JOHN  KITTO, D. D., Autllor of " Scripture Daily Reatlings," &c.  Assisted by JAMIsE  TAYLOR, D. D.  With over 500 Iltlstratiots.  3,00.
This work is designed to furnish a DrCTIONAeRY OF TIHE-  BI;LE, embodying tile
sroduects of the best and most recent researches in biblical literature, in which the
scholars of Europe and America have been engaged. The work, the result of inmmense labor and research, is pronounced, by universal consent, the best volrk of its
class ext'ant. It is not only intended for ministers and theologicct sttelclts, but is also
particularly adapted to larents, Sabbath school teachesrs, and the great boly of tAe religioass l2tblic. The illutstrationss, amounting to 2zorse than  300, are of the hllighest order.
A conlensed viesw of the various topics coiprewehendted in the wor/1.
1. BIBLICAL CRITICISaI, - Enlbracing the HIistory of the Bible Languages; Can*
on of Scripture; Literary History and Peculiarities of the Sacred Books; Forluation
and History of Scripture Texts.
2. IIIsTonr, - Proper Names of Persons; Biographical Sketches of prominent
Characters; Detailed Accounts of important Events recorded in Scripture; Chronology and Genealogy of Scripture.
3. GEOGRAPIIY, - Names of Places; Description of Scenery; Boundaries and Mulntual Relations of the Countries mentioned in Scripture, so far as necessary to illustrate the Sacred Text.
4. ARCII.ecOLOGY, - Manners and Customs of the Jews and other nations mentioned in Scripture; their Sacred Institutions, MIilitary Affairs, Political Arrangements, Literary and Scientific Pursuits.
5. ParYSICAL SCxENCE, — Scripture Cosmogony and Astronomy, Zoology, Olineralogy, Botany, Meteorology.
In addition to numerous flattering notices and reviews, personal letters from a
lasrge szunsber of the nlost distinzguishedMinisters and Laysnes of clitsfrest secligiosis dIcnoszsinatioss in the cosssztry have been received, highly coinmending this wolrk as admirably adapted to ministers, Sabbath school teachers, heads of families, anld alt
Bible students.
The following  extract of a letter is a fair specimen of individual letters received
from each of the gentlemen whose names are given below:" I have examined it with special and unalloyed satisfaction. It has the rare merit
of being all that it professes to be; and very few, I am sure, who may consult it will
deny tlhat, in richness and fulness of detail, it surpasses their expectation. Iany
ministers will find it a valuable auxiliary; but its chief excellence is, that it furnishes
just the facilities which are needed by the thousands in families and Sabbath scllools,
who are engaged in the important business of biblical education. It is in itself a library of reliable information."
W. B. Sprague, D. D., Albany; J. J. Carruthers, D. D., Portland; Joel Ilawrcs,
D. D., Hartford, Ct.; Daniel Sharp, D. D., Boston; N. L. Frothingham, D. D., Boston; IEphraim Peabody, D. D., Boston; A. L. Stone, Boston; John S. Stone, D. D..
Brooklyn; J. B. Waterbury, D. D., Boston; Baron Stow, D. D., Boston; Tonlomas II.
Skinner, D. D., New -York; Samuel WV. Worcester, D. D., Salem; Horace Bushncll,
D. D., Hartford, Ct.; Right Reverend J. M. Wainws-right, D. D., New York; Gardner
Spring, D. D., New York; WV. T. Dwight, D. D., Portland; E. N. Kirk, Boston; Prof.
George Busts, author of "Notes on the Scriptures," New York; Howard MIalcom,
D. D., author of " Bible Dictionary; " Ienilry J. Ripley, D, D., author of " Notes on
the Scriptures;" N. Porter. Prof. in Yale College, New IHaven, Ct.; Jared Sparks,
Edward Everett. Theodore Frelinaghuysen, Robert C. Wintllrop, John MNcLean, Simon Greenleaf; Thomas S. WTilliams, - and a large number of others of like charactes:' ssi stssesslisnc of the aisovre. wrhos  nsse nl ies cannot lhere appear.  H —