Weekly American. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1858-1858, 1858-04-10
A LETTER FROM MIR. WEBSTER.

In one Of Mr. Webster's private letters--Feb-
ruary A. 1649-he says
"My life has been an unimportant one, and
my stock Of information never large. Nor have
we had in this country associations, clubs, &c,
where conversation has been cultivated. And
yet have often wished that what has passed,
when have been with some eminent men, on
some occasions, could be recalled and pre-
served 7 "a Al y "a - 81
"Mr Gore, Mr.. King, Mr. Mason, the Buck
minsters-father and son--Chief Justice Mar
shall, Chancellor Kent Judge Story, Mr.. Mad
ison, Samuel Dexter, Mr. Castor, &c. &c, have
all said things worthy 10 be remembered; and
yet only some Of them have left anything val
liable on record. OF Mr. Ames's conversation,
l am not old enough to have heard much Jere-
miah Smith was, perhaps, the best talker have
been acquainted with; he was full Of knowl-
edge-of books and of men, had great deal of
wit and humor and abhorred silence as an in
tolerable state of existence. f@@ 4"
When i first came here, Washington,
there were several old men in Congress, whose
remembrance of public things went back be-
yond the Revolution; such as Colonel Picker
ing, Mr.. Findlay of Pennsylvania, and Mr.. Sher-
man of New Jersey. With these, it used to
delight me to pass time was young and
eager to learn; they bad well-stored memories,
and were willing to talk Egbert Benson was
also a very pleasant and communicative man.
Hedelghted to converse about New York things
before and during the revolutionary war. l
ought not to forget John Adams, of whose con-
versation heard but little; but that little was
always striking. ] think if his conversation
could be collected, itwould do him more credit
than his writings or his speeches. '@ahi
&c l., III Inbc orr IF
days, remember several, both men and women,
by whom my attention was always fastened, so
that when / could hear them talk, / would
neither work nor play. John Bowen, Of whom
you have heard me speak as having been
prisoner with the Indians; Robert Wise, q
Yorkshire man, who had been round the world
in the English service-army and Navy; Geo.
Bayly, yeoman of humor and mmicry; and
some neighboring women who had lived on the
border from the telling of the first trees. Oil
shall never hear such storytelling again!
"DANIEL WEBSTER"
This is an interesting, instructive, and sug-
gesiive letter: Nor have we had in this coun-
try associations clubs, &C., where conversation
has been cultivated" This is very true; and
we have, therefore, very few good takers. Mr..
Clay was good talker; SO were Mr.. Webster,
Mr.. j. @. Adams, and Mr.. Clayton. Mr.. Cal
houn would have been, had he not kept all the
talk to himself, and rather taught than talked.
But, as general thing we do not cultivate the
accomplishment of conversation; we are gen
orally too dogmatic- positive, too much dis
posed to argue every point and proposition, too
much matter of-fact, and have too little humor,
wit, badnage, and pleasantly. Nor are we
eminently social people. What was said Of
us by distinguished European, has some truth
in it: namely, that we are rather gregarious
than social
The men of the Revolution, of whom Mr..
Webster spoke, have now all passed away, and
there are few who have had the privilege of
listening to their animated and soul-stirring
accounts of the scenes and times of'76. How
much cause we have to lament that the CONVEX
sations of such men as he has named and hum
dreds of others, could not have been preserved
The conversation Of the Adamses, j. and j. O.,
Of Jefferson, of Madison, of Hamilton, of Jay,
Of Marshall, of Macon, Of CASTOR, of John RAN
dolph--what priceless volume they would
have made 1t was the lot Of the writer, in his
boyhood, to listen to the conversations of those
who had lived and borne an active part in the
Revolution; and even to hear old men tell the
tales of "the old French war" of 1745, and
relate accounts of bloody Indian battles, Of
ambuscades, night attacks, accompanied with
the hideous and appalling yells of the savage
foe, of their carrying off their wives and daugh-
ters as prisoners, and of the sutferings of the
latter while among the sayages. As Mr.. Web
ster says at such times we could neither work
nor play, and would any time rather sit down
on the ground and listen to Old Moses johnson,
who had had many brush with the Indians,
whose wife had been prisoner among them
two years, and who was one of Starke's men at
the battle of Bennington, than to play ball, or
tag" or to pitch quoits with our companions.
There is an originality and a raciness about
those whose lives have been spent in the woods,
or on the borders Of civilization, which cannot
be found in society, where every individual is
made, by conventional forms and usages, and
the tyranny Of opinion, like every other indi-
yidual just as pebble stones eternally rolled
together, lose all distinctiveness and are Just
alike. An original character, and original
thinker; one who dare express thoughts differ
ent from the general opinion Of society, is rare
thing; and, being rarity, usually attracts
much attention. BY the way, the Kentuckians,
men and women, are the best takers of any
portion Of our people that we know Of
.1a'Rh KANSAS IN THE HOUSE. -