Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1882-01-25
The Webster Centenary.

Iut WeDSteF OtutShhr1s
One hundred years ago the 18th instant
Daniel Webster was born. The centennial
anniversary Of the event was brilliantly eel
ebrated by the Marshfeld club Of Boston
Among the many addresses those Of Cover
nor Long and Honorable Robert G. Win
throp surpassed all others in true eloquence
and in felicity Of language and Of sentiment
Referring to the supremacy Of Webster as
the great teacher of the people, Governor
Long said with wonderful force and truth
"The greatness Of Webster and his title to en-
during gratitude have two Illustrations. He
taught the people of the United States, In the
simplicity OF common understanding, the prin-
ciples OF the constitution and government OF the
country, and he wrought for them, in style of
matchess strength end beauty, the literature OF
statesmanship. From his lips flowed the discus
sion OF constitutional law, OF economic philosophy,
Of finance, Of international right, Of national gran
deur and OF the whole range OF high public themes,
so clear and judicial that II no longer discus
sion, but judgment. To-day and go II will be
while the republic endures, the student and the
legislator turn to the full fountain OF his state
ment for the enunciaton OF these principles.
What other authority is quoted or holds even the
second or third place Even his words have i'm
Deuueu themselves IN the common pnrHseOlORY,
and come 10 the tongue like passages from the
psalms OF the poets. do not know that SEN
tence or word OF Sumner repeats Itself In our
everyday parance. The exquisite periods OF Ev-
erett are recalled like the consummate work OF
some master OF music, but no note OF refrain sings
itself over and over again to our ears. The brill
liant eloquence of Choate is like the flash OF a
bursting rocket, lingering upon the retina indeed
after 1t has faded from the wings of the night but
elusive of our grasp as spray drops that glsten
in the The fiery enthusiasm OF Andrews
did, indeed, burn some Of his heart beats forever
into the sentiment of Massachusetts,, but Webster
made his language the very household words of a
nation They are the library of a people, They
inspired and still inspire patriotism They taught
and still teach loyalty. They are the school book
OF the citizen, They are the inwrought and ac-
cepted fiber OF American politics"
Mr.. Winthrop INDUCED in "reminiscences
as delightful as they were gracefully spoken
Recounting the incidents of visit to the
sage of Marshtield in his rural retreat
more than forty years ago, this compeer Of
the illustrious men of past generation says
His matchless form rises to my eye at this mo-
ment, as he welcomed the British minister and
myself at his door midsummer morning. clad
In his favorte rustic suit, with the broad brimmed
white hat overshadowing that Olympian brow
just as he may be seen in one OF the most char
ject for Rembrandt on that morning, and Rem
brandt never had subject more worthy of his
magic brush. remember well how proudly he
treated us to fish of his own catching, to game Of
his own shooting, to beef or mutton OF his own
raising, and to vegetables of every sort from his
own gardens with nothing on his table from any
other source except the delicious black Hamburgs
which grand old Colonel Perkins, his lifelong and
devoted friend had Just sent him from his green
house at Brookne. But his own presence and
his own conversation were the choicest Injuries
we enjoyed He was not always gracious In Sc
ciety, and at other peoples tables on ceremoni-
Gus occasions, he was sometimes reserved and
moody. But he was the very prince OF hosts at
his own board; on that occasion, certainly, his
rich "reminiscences and sparkling anecdotes
outdid the meat outdld the frolic Wine
Commemorative exercises were also held
in other places and among them in the
old church at Franklin, New Hampshire, in
which Mr.. Websters parents worshiped a
hundred years ago. The permanency of
Webster's fame will not be affected by the
voice of fulsome eulogy. 1t needs no shor-
ing up at the hands of men of these times.
Like Cicero and Demosthenes, he will be re-
membered by what he himself has said and
not by what others may say of him. His
speeches have become English classics and
will form the material for the declarations
of untold generations of school boys and for
the study and admiration of their matured
years. Craftsmanship and country received
golden legacies from his great intellect, and
he stands out to-day the one single and con-
spicuous figure in the middle period of the
first century of this nations existence. His
argument in the Dartmouth College case,
as a criminal lawyer in the trial of the
Knapps, his grafton on the bi-centennial of
the Landing of the Pilgrims, on the laying
of the corner stone of Bunker Hill monu-
ment, his eulogy on Adams and Jefferson,
are polished blocks in the grand arch of his
oratorical and forensic achievements, of
which his reply to Hayne forms the uphold
ing Keystone. Upon this solid structure his
fame rests and there it will endure forever"