Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1882-08-20
CAPT. sAssETFs eaEHT SECRET.

Tfse Jealous CMre with which He
6hards Daniel Wehster'sehhfx.
Fre,u Washinss6~ Cerrespo>ssent.
Daniel Webster resigned his scat Ia
| the United States Senate on July 70,
1850. His desk is stiH in the Senxte
Chamber. bat which one, where 10 sits,
and wh0is the lucky SENATOR that has
| it, are secrets to all the world, except
Capt. Bassett, whom Mr.. Webster
brought here when meFc boy, and put
him in position as q page lSyears before
he resigned. Capt. Bassett has held q
place iu the Benate from that day until
the present, being Acting Assistant
iSergeant-at-Arans now. Hut 70 the
story of the desk: AS above suited, the
Rossessor of it or it's number r. ~ pro-
found q secret to- Gin e Senator who sits
i'm it rs it is to IN Egyptian mummy.
Capt. Bassett's reason for keeping all
Knowledge of the Rumbers of Mr.. Web
ster's, Mr. Clays and Mr.. Calhounssests
secret il that knowing and understand
ing the desire of the average American
citizen, both male and female, for relics.
he fears 10 give the secret away les1the
desk'wo0ld be Clipped away by piece
meal by the curious who thrOng tue
Capitol every day. There has been no
change in these desks from the day they
were brought into the Capitol until
now, other than the annual coat of var
nish. Capt. Bassett has a memoranduns
record of their numbers and places whichS
he keeps under lock and key, and will,
when he comes to shuttle off this mortal
coil, furnish to the proper person all the
information relative to these desks, in
order that their history may be care
fully preserved and handed down to
future generations as nementos OF
Webster and his associates in the SEN
ate. There APE three other desks in the
Senate Chamber which curiosity hunt
ers would like to be able To see aud
know that they were the right ones.
These are the desks of Jefferson Davis,
of Mississippi; Stephen A. Douglas, of
Illinois, and Charles Sumner, of Mas
sachusetts. Mr.. Davis desk occupied the
same position in the chamber that Mr..
Beck's does now, but il is not known to
any one, except Capt. Bassett whether
or not it is the same one. Mr.. Douglas
was in the same place as occupied
by Mr.. Pendleton and Mr.. Sumner was
in the place now occupied by Mr.. Dawes.
Ia 1862, when the New York Iouaves
We're in the city, about twenty of them
went into the Senate chamber early in
the morning to destroy the chair and
desk that had been occupied by Mr..
Jefferson Davis. Just as they were in
the act, Capt. BasSett put in his appear
ance, and asked them what they were
about. They quickly told him that they
were going to destroy the seat and desk
because they were the ones used by jeff
Davis. Capt. Bassett suggested to them
that their mission in Washington was
to protect public property, and not de-
stroy it. They saw the point, and Capt.
Bas-ctt proceeded to SO charge thenum-
bers of the desks as to I've able to say to
all who might inquire that the desks
that were used by the Senators were
not now in the same places, as they had
been changed around for the express
purpose OF preventing them from being
mutilated by relic and curiosity hunters.