The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1852-10-26


Board adjourned. @
In Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Boston,
and in other places far as heard from, similar
testimonials of respect have been offered 10 the
memory of Mr.. WEBsTER. IN
"Reminiscences or MIR. Webster.
The Boston Transcript of Saturday evening says:
"The last time that Mr.. Webster visited Boston
was the twentieth of last month, when he passed
the night at the residence Of his son, In Cedar
street. and left the morning Of the next DAY. after
III Perkins. Mr.. Webster expressed great graft
fication at the interview, and said that he hoped
shortly to make flying visit to his paternal man
zion in franklin New Hampshire, and should on
his return give Mr.. Perkins call at his house in
Brookline. .....-- ....
"Mr Websters age was seventy on the 18th of
rangement of his worldly concerns, and has pro-
vided that his remains shall be deposited in the
tomb which he has caused to be constructed upon
his farm at Marsh6eld. a1t.
che now lies under the influence of morphine,
which has been freely administered to stop the
vomiting, which has continued at intervals up to
last evening, and which leaves him in drowsy
state, and consequently keeps . him indispossd TO
CLANS DESIRE DR.. jackson left this morning for
Marshfeld. agreeably to the wishes of the family
land DR.. Jefries."
The Boston atlas, after noting some of the incl
dents Of Mr.. Webster's illness publishes the fol-
lowing "reminiscences of the great statesman:
"Mr. Webster, without doubt, possessed the most
massive and vigorous mind that was ever vouch.
|safed to any in America. His speeches will
lever be regarded the purest specimens of Amer
and as Thao the richest
preserved, and SO far as they are concerned, il
may be said Of them as he upon another occasion
|said, 1.-THE past at least is secure" But it 10 not
altogether in his speeches that he great, nor
lin them alone ia eyinced the vast powers Of his I'M
(surpassed intellect. Mr. Webster was never seen
Ito more advantage than within his own household,
THE family board, or in strolng with him over his
farm at Marshfield, or standing with him upon the
|sea-b beach and looking out upon the ocean before
U.S. which, like the scope of bis intellectual vison
appeared boundess.
tno events in life in which we have experienced
more pleasure. As we write they invoiuntariiy
rise up before u.s. like blessed visions of other and
better days. TO hear him converse upon the past,
THE present, the future, in familiar colloquial
3manner-to listen to his great thoughts expressed
fin the purest words of our language. and wonder
how he could thus speak and thnk--are joys which
I'VE can find no words to express. Il was our for.
TUNE to pass several days at his home in Marshfed
some elk or eight years ago, and we'll we remem-
Der one beautiful night, when the heavens seemed
about nine O'Clock in the evening we walked out,
land he stood beneath the beautiful weeping elm
which raises its majestic form within few PAGES
|of his dwelling, and looking up through the leafy
wrapped in deep thought, and at length, if the
scene soft and beautiful had suggested the lines,
The quoted certain of the eighth Psalm, be-
lginning with the words: when consider thy
heavens, the work OF thy ingers--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 q
little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him
with glory and honor &c. The deep, low tone
lin which he repeated these inspired words and the
deep wrapped attention with which he gazed up
Through the branches Of the elm. struck US with
feeling of greater awe and solemnity than We
Ifelt, when In year or two later visited come
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
Thousand years. He was thinking then of that far
distant world, wherein it is promised that the good
Iof this life shall live for ever and ever. We
manned out beneath the tree for over an hour, and
Iall the time he conyersed about the scriptures,
= which no man has studied with great attention,
and of which no man whom we ever saw knew 80
much, or appeared to understand and appreciate
SO well. He talked of the books Of the Old Tcsta-
ment especially, and dwelt with unaffected plea
sure upon Isaiah, the Psalms, and especially the
Book ofJob. 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 lam
guage As an epic poem, he deemed it far superior <
either the Had the Odyssey. The two last, he
said, received much Of their attraction from the
mere narration of warike deeds, and from the
perous escapes Of the chief personages from death
and slaughter; but the Book of JOB was purely
intellectual narrative Its power was shown in the
dialogues of the characters introduced. The story
was simple in it's construction, and there little
lin il to excite the imagination arouse the sym
pathy. 1t was purely an intellectual production,
not upon the interest of the story, to produce its
Jeffects. This was considering 1t merely as an in
atelcctual work He read it through very often,
and always with renewed delight. In his judg
ment, it was the greatest epic ever written. We
we'll remember his quotation of some Of the verses
in the thirty. eighth chapter: "Thcn the Lord an
oswercd Job out of the whirlwind, and said: Who
is this that darkeneth counsel by words without
Nfor will demand of thee, and answer thou me.
Where vast thou when laid the foundations OF
the earths Declare if thou hast understanding
3&c. MIR. Webster was o fine reader, and his re-
Scitaton Of particular passages to which he feft
warm, we're never surpassed, and were capable OF
! giving the most exquisite delight 70 those who
4could appreciate them.
"Mr. Webster was great upon every matter upon
(which man kind feels or has felt an intnfast.
sMr. Webster was one Of the best story tcIlcrsi in
the world. He could relate an anccdote with won
4derful effect, and nothing more easy than for
him TO .set the table in roar His fund of ancc-
4dote and Of personal "Reminiscences was inexhaua-
ibc. No one could start subject relating TO his.
TORY, and especially to American Congressional
Sife about which he could not relate anecdote
connected with some Of the principal characters,
which, when told, would throw additional light
upon the narrative and illustrate come prominent
trait in the characters Of the persons engaged in
degrees unsurpassed MIR. Websier's table talk
was fully equal to any of his more elaborate efforts
4 in the Senate. He could talk, to use a somewhat
8misnoneric expression, well as he could speak.
He had keen sense of the ludcrous, and loved
yand appreciated nice touo hes of eccentric humor.
! WEI have many "reminiscences of his story .tell-
ing, for, when at Washington, we often had the
pleasure of dining at his table. On these oc-
casions II was the purpose Of those present to
draw him out; and to do this, it was but neces-
&sary to start some topic in which he felt an in
Interest,". We shall never forget his account of his
visit to jefferson at Monticello, his analysis of
the character and intellectual attachments of Ham,
ilton, who he thought bore closer resemblance to
the younger Pitt than any other man In English
: or American history, and his anecdotes OF Chisf
Justice Marshall and old Mr. Stockton, OF New
Jersey, and of his ride from Baltimore. TO wash
|ington in a wagon, with stout burly fellow,
who told him he was a robber.