The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1850-10-15

the mother of Daniel and Ezekiel and
like the mother of George Canning, was
woman of FAR more than ordinary in :
tellect. She was proud Of, and ambis
tIous for her sons and the distinction
they both afterwards achieved, may have
been, in part, at least, the result of her
promptings.
Ebenczer Webster commcmorated his
second marriage, by the erection of a
frame house, hard by the log cabin lie
dug well near it, and planted an elm
sopling In this house, the subject of
our memoir was born. The house has
long since disappeared, from roof to
foundation stone. But the well still re
mains, with water as pure, as cool, as
limpid, as when first turned to the light;
aud will remain, in all probability, for
ages, To refresh hereafter the votar es Of
genius, who make their pilgrimage hith-
er to visit the cradle of onc OF her great
est sons. The elm that shaded The hoy
still ffourishes i'll vigorous leaf, and may
have an existence beyond its perishable
nature. Like "the witch-elm that guards
81. Fillan's Spring" ii may live in story,
long after leaf, and branch, aud root
have disappeared forever.
1t was the great desire of Ebenezer
Webster, 10 give his children an educa-
iion. A man of strong powers Of miud
and much practical knowledge himself,
he still had felt deeply and often, the
want OF carly education, and wished to
spare his sons the moriifcatio,. he had
experienced. The schoolmas,er then
was not abroad, at least had not visited
Salisbury in his travels. Small town
schools there were, it is true, and per-
sons experimenting them called teachers
'"e"S nv" hutcHuO' Dui tneSe SCHOOLS
were not open half the year, and the
schoolmasters had no claim to the posi-.
'ion but their incapacity for anything
else. Their qualification was the want
of qualification. Reading and writing
were all they pro(essed, and more than
they were allie. to teach.
The school was migratory. When it
was in the neig ghborhood Of the Webster
residence, il was easy to attend : but
when it was removed into another part
of the town, or another town, as was
often the case, il was somewhat difficult.
While Mr.. Webster was quite young, he
was daily sent two miles and IA half, or
three miles, to school, and, in the midst
of winter, on foot For carriages or car
riags-roads then were mott" and, with
the exception Of an occasional ride on
horseback, he walked daily to school
and back. If the school moved yet
farther off. into tcwn not contiguous,
his father boarded him out, in a neigh.
boring family. lie was better provided
with opportunities for obtaining what>
ever of instruction these schools could
impart than his elder brothers, partly
because he evinced early aud rrepressi-
ble thirst for information, and partly, be-
cause his father thought that his consti-
tuition was slender and somewhat frail,
too much so for any robust occupation.
But Joe his elder halfbrother, who was
somewhat of way, used TO say that
4" Dan was sent to school, in order that
he might know as much as the other
boys"
Mr.. Webster had no sooner learned TO
read, than he showed great eagerness for
books. lie devoured all he could lay
hands upon. When he was unable to
obtain new ones, he read the old ones
over and over, till he had committed most
of their contents to memory Books
were then las DR.. Johnson SAID on some
occasion) bread in a beseiged town 4;
every man might get mouthlul, but
none full meal" What were obtained
we're husbanded with care. Owing
chiefly to the exertIons of MIR Thomp-
son, (ihe lawyer Of the place of the
clergyman, and Mr. Websier's father, a
very small circulating library was pur-
chased. These institutions, about this
time received an impetus from the zeal
aud ldbors Of DR.. Belknap. the celebra-
ted historian OF New Hampshire.
Among the few books of the library,
have heard Mr.. Webster say, he found
the Spectator, and that he remembers
turning over the leaves Of Addison's 5
Criticism upon Chevy Chase, for the
sake of ofTeuding, connectedly. the ballad
the verses Of which Addison quotes from
time to time, as subjects OF remark.
AS DIR. Johnson said, in another case,
the poet was read, aud the critic neg
lected could not understand why 1t
was necessary that the author OF the
Spectator should take so great pains to
prove tina, Chevy Chase was good sto-
ry.