Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1867-12-27
Early Recolleo5.oas of Daniel Web
Ster.

There's a small town, little Of
south, aboc, tairsy five miles of, in
plain sigh., wnsres they've held courts
FOR the county. It's the county of
Grafton. They've held courts there
these seventy years. This Webster
used to come to court there when he
was a young lawyer. They say he
went to his first court there. | don't
know how that is, but he went there
when he was almost a. boy. sBcould
see him plainly from here. He was
singular in his look. He and his bro
Their Zeke" used to come to court to-
gether after a. year or two. Daniel
came first though Zeke was the old
est. [ can see them now driving into
that little village in their bellows top
chaise-top thrown back--driving like
Jehu-the chaise bending under them
like a clothes pole in high wind. |
had heard tell of Diomede and Ulys-
SEES, a couple of old Greeks that used
to ride in some such looking cars as
they did, though believe the Greeks
don't ride together. But Daniel and
Ezekiel Webster made me think Of
those two Greeks. Daniel used to
drive very fast. IThey'd come in as if |
they had started long before day, and
it was sight in small place, to see
those two ride in together. | could
have told either Of them thirty miles
among thousand men,
This Court House was little one
story building thai stood on a hill
They took the steeple off twenty years
ago and turned it into a wheelright's
shop. Daniel made his first speech
they. say ms that HOUSE, and his first
case was there 1t was a small case
and the only one he had. He wanted
to get it put by. The lawyer on the
other side was opposed to it. Daniel
got up and made speech to the court
that made that little old house ring
again. They all Said-lawyers and
judges and people-that they never
heard such a speech, or anything like
it. They say that he talked like dit
ferent creature from any Of the rest
of them, great and small, and there
were men there that were not small.
There was man tried for his life in
that court, or one soon after, and the
judges chose Webster to plead for
him, and from what can learn he has
never spoken better since than he did
when he first began. He was black
raven haired fellow, with an eye as
black as death, and as heavy as Ii
on's, that same heavy look, not sleepy
but as if he didn't care about any
thing that was going on about him, OF
anything else. He didn't look as if he
was thinking about anything going or
worth his while.
Ezekiel didn't use to speak in the
courts for a great many years. The
talk was that he couldu't say anything
They say be 'iwas a better judge OF
law than Daniel, but could not speak.
He did not need to speak much for III
generally put his cases into such
shape that he got EN- without coming
to trial. After some years be got t.
trying other lawyers cases, aud the
he spoke, and as we'll as man coult
speak-more sensible, they said, tina
Daniel himself 1t was not ill alte
Daniel lett the state, and some though
he didn't speak before because Dauit
was present.
There was lawyer by the nam
of Parker Noyes that went to couI
the same time with the Websters--
better lawyer it was said than citht
of them, but he had not Daniels pow
er of taIk--a nicely read lawyer all
special pIeader. Webster used I
dread to meet him, 50 he said. b
knew the books and the cases, and w
an authority about the court house,
Webster would sometimes be engage
TO argue case just as it was comm
to trial. That would set him to thin
ing. 1t would wrinkle his forehea
but make him restless. He would shl
his feet about and run his hand 0y,
his forehead through his Indian bla(
hair, and lift his upper lip and sho
his teeth which were white as
hounds. He would get up and {
across the bar to Parker Noyes, al
ask him where such and such law W
decided, and the names of the cas-,
not what the law was, but where
was in the books. What it was
decided for himself. Noyes won
tell him where it was, and then
would 90 back 70 his seat, and VIII
the case would come up for trial,
would up and pour out the law a
cite his authorities, as if he had spe
months in porting upon this o.
mind arriving at the decisions or
sages of the law, without having Sc
the books, and on the spur of the Il
ment. But for the sake of the JUG
he would ask Parker Noyes to t
him where the authorities had writ
it down.
Parker Noyes was great advoc
himself. You probably never hes
of him in your state of New York
He was a man that didn't wish to
heard of or talked about, anywhe
A man OF no vanity whatever.
wasn't an orator; but his talk v
very powerful, both to the jury q
the judges. - He got such credit
candor and honesty among the peoI
that the jury put as much conide
in what he said as if he had beer
Witness or n iudUa Ha snolxa tn tn