The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1873-09-02
Hayne and Webster.

count o, the way IN Wnlcn, Us uescrlDcu
by himself, he overcamc the habit of
stammering in youth and adding grace.
full tribute by him to his old antagonist
Daniel Webster. Mr.. Foote writes
Gen. IIayne was Of medium stature, well
shaped, and OF singularly animated and
mercurial aspect His eyes were very
bright and dazzling, and of light hazel
color. His countenanco wore very
mild aud benignant expression. His face
was clcanly shaven, and he was elegantly
but unosicntatiously attircd. His man
ners were marked with graceful and
winning affability which | have never
seen surpassed. asked him how he had
been able TO acquire such wondrous facili.
ty of expression, and such remarkable
capacity for keeping alive the interest of
his audience. He answered my queries
without any false modesty, and without a
particle Of vulgar egotism, very nearly in
these words: You give me credit for
much facility of expression and for hav-
ing successfully cultivated to some extent
the graccs Of rhetorical display. | shall
surprise you, Go not doubt, when l tell
you that at 16 years of age l was an
awkward, stammering boy. L desired to
become a lawyer, and was even then
assiduously preparing myself for the legal
profession, A youth more ambitious Of
oratorical distinction than | was L am
sure has never lived But my friends
aud relatives all joined in urging me to
give up the hope oe future renown as a
speaker, and to devote myself to some
other calling better adapted to the slen-
derncss of my faculties. They told me
that it was absurd and ridiculous in one
who suffered so abominably to think of
becoming even tolerable pleader of
causes This mortified me much, but l
did not desert from the struggle in which
| had so zealously enlisted. | thought
much Of the difficulties of similar kind
which Demosthenes was reported to have
encountered, and of the successful efforts
made by him to overcome them. l dill
gently studied the tones of my own voice.
essayed to find out all the mysteries
which belonged to our complex vocal or
gan. | labored from hour to hour, and
from minute TO minute, to ascertain the
precise nature of those particular impedi-
ments to clear and easy articulation
under which was suffering. pondered
this subject by day, and it was with me
the prompter Of many painful and Of
many pleasing dream. At length the
light broke in upon me. | found that |
had never before learned to talk that l
had been suffered all my life to jabber
confused and unintelligibe sounds. |
learned at last that to speak, in the true
sense OF the word, was to articulate dis.
, tinct vocables that the ardor Of my
temperament was such, as well as my
ambition, to communicate ideas to the
minds Of others, that | had heretofore un.
duly hurried my syllabes upon each
other, or rather tried to do SO. so that
+ the vocal sounds became ihextricably in.
termingled and hopeessly iudisti1ct, and
that every frcsh effort had involved me
in greater and greater embarrassments
| came at last to the conclusion that the
first step | had to take 10 order to &C.
, quire the complete control of my voice
was " P-t ~ fnnl;-er unao- The
5 strict-st discipline, to habituate myself tc
sober thought, and to learn the indispensa
bic art of keeping the fervent sensibllties
: with which was endowed under thor.
ough command, and that after had done
these things in an effectual manner il
5 would then be indispensable that should
strive to enuncate each syllable that
, had to utter clearly and emphatically be
e fore attempting to emit Il succeeding one
and so on until the whole sentence, ,whethe
t long or short, should have passed forth
e from my lips. By pursuing this cours'
e rgidy for considerable period of time
| hoped that at last | might accomplish
il the great object that | was seeking t.
attain, and that should become able t.
!. speak huently aud without pain either t
c myself or to others. | practiced con
). stantly upon these ideas, aud if | no'
n speak with ease, as you seem to think,
i. am indebted for my power in this respec
d to the abors which | have just described
st This is so certainly the case that assur
r you that were | even now to attempt
,e express myself in the rapid manner whic
Is has become 80 common OF late anon
" young men Of fiery temperament and III
a. chastencd moral organism, | should inev
tably stutter just as disgustingly as | dl
ID forty years ago"
Id After this interesting recital had clio
as ed, | vcnured to refer to the great orr
q. torcal contest between himself and NJ
n. Webster, in the national Senate, no
e, nearly half century ago and asked hi
Il. what he thought Of Mr.. Webster's po'
al crs as speaker. lie at once answere
rs that he supposed him, upon the whole,
he be the most consumnatc orator of ancie
is or modern times that his ability as
w reasoner, he was confident, had ncv
ce been exceeded that his imagination W
~ as fertile and vigorous as that of Mlt,
4. or Homer that his humor was both C
a. quisite ard abundant that his know
;or edge was unlimited; that he had Il
on most happy command Of his temper
oh all times, and that on certain great occ
adj sious he had excellcd all the speakers tn
te. had ever lived, not excepting either ID
We mosthenes or Cicero. then asked hi
D.. what he thought Of Webster's mann,
81 He replied that it was always grand IA
Ia. impressive, that he had never heard h
te utter word in careless or vulgar sty
cs that he seemed never to forget his o.
,lv dignity, or to be unmindiul of the ch;
,c. acter and feelings of others, and II
nd when thoroughly excited, the subli
he grandeur of his thoughts and langua
ay derived great additional potency from
dy noble and soul-moving enunciation a
ms his few but impressive gestures. ! h
ION said to him: But, Ger. Ilayne eve
es one in the South admired your speecl
aid Oh the occasion to which you have b.
fits referring more than they did those