The Weekly Kansas chief. [volume] (Troy, Kan.) 1872-1918, 1873-08-28
REPORTER,s NOTE BOOK.
"Reminiscences Of Webster, Choate, Calhoun
and Other Netabies.


At the annual dinner of the aw Stenograph
ers Association of this city, Mr.. Henry III. Park
hurst, in responding to toast, SAID: looking
back over professional career nov exceeding "A
quarter of a century, many pleasing incidents
crowd upon my memory. lremember the Fourth
of July excursion to Marshfied to listen 70 Dan
icl Webster Seated with him in the rear car,
when the coupling broke, and the locomotive
with the rest of the train dashed on without u.s.
remember cOnsOling myself with the reflection
that, wherever the rest of the audience might be,
whatever Daniel Webster might say, should be
there to hear and report. There is a curious cir
cumstance connected with that very Marshfield
speech. IL was reported Independently by DIR.
Stone and myself, and either of us could at that
time have written nearly or quite 1JO words per
minute. While the reports agreed almost liter
ally in every other respect, there was an apostro-
Pie TO Lord AshburtOn, occupying two or three
printed lines, which we gave ia entirely different
language. The reason was this: Webster broke
out 50 suddenly and SO rapidly in that apOstrophe
that almost dropped my pencil in astOnlshnent
and lost the commencement of it, while DR.. Stone
dashed on until he broke down, taking the first
part of it. In the meantime recovered my equa-
nimity, and took the last part. So that. although
the ordinary rate of Webster's speaking was less
than loo WORDS there were occasions when be far
exceeded lJ0 per minute. l remember the man
userpt handed me by Rufus ChOate from which
he had read brilliant political speech, which |
had been called upon To report because no print
eli COuiu Icdu lndt manuscripts, anu DelnS conf
PEELED to throw it aside, after vainly attempting
for half an honr with the aid oy my notes, to dis
cover from which end of that manuscript he had
begun to read remember, in the Senate of the
United States, the dying speech of John G. Cal
houn; the compromise speech of Henry Clay;
the boast of John F. Hale, that the Free Soil par
ty had doubled in numbers, because at the prev
ious session there was but one, and now there
were two; and remember seeing the new South
Carolina Senator, Baruwell Rhett, perhaps not
Oh the Same occasion, buryng himself in a news
paper, lest lie should appear to be listening, but
soon, overcome by the eoquence of Mr.. Hale,
first laying down his newspaper, and finally re-
moving his seat for more convenient location.
l remember the grave announcement of Daniel
Webster 10 the Senate, when President Taylor
lay at the point of death, that digestion of the
brain had commenced. iremember the scene when
Senator Foote stood near the Presidents chair
with a drawn pistol in his hand, waiting the at
tack of Senator Benton, who, drawn behind a
desk, and held there by four stalwart western
men, two on either hand, thrust them all aside
by one vigorous motion, and called upon the as
saSsin tOiiTe; and / remember Jefferson Davis
a little after midnight on the morning of the 4th
of March, advancing to the Presidents desk and
demanding tn be sworn into the new Congress,
upon the ground that the term of the sitting Con-
gress had expired kicking spitoon ont of his
way with the same impetuosity with which he
afterward kicked the constitution itself out of
his way when he desired to be sworn out."-NeU
York Times.