The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1883-12-15
DANIEL WEBSTER AND HIS BROTHER
ZEKE

''Did Webster consider any of his
brothers and sisters as possessed ofabil-
ity?"
"Oh, yes. His eldest brother, Eze-
kiel, he thought, when he had made
the speech against Hayne, of South
Carolina, which made him the popular
hero of the whole Union, Webster
said elbow l wish that poor Ezekiel
had lived till after this speech. know
he would have been so gratifed." The
fact was that Ezekiel sacrificed himself
to let Dan go to college. No more
than one of the boys could go, and
Ezekiel said: "Dan likes college, ard
let him stay there The old man
finally sent Zeke to college, and he
became good deal of a lawyer. He
had to teach school in Boston to pay
his expenses, and among his pupils
were Edward Everett and George
Ticknor. The Webster boys had a
hard time in their youth through the
proverty of their parents.
(Which of the boys was the estrongest
minded ?"
"Dan had impudence, but the people
in New Hampshire who knew them
both say that he was not capable as his
brother Ezekiel. Zeke was a sensitive
fellow, with real, sincere, true mind.
Dan was splendid fellow, but tricky.
When he was 40 years old Zeke Webster
fell dead in the midst of an argument
in the court house at Concord. He
had the heart disease. Dan was hun
ter, fisherman, a Bohemian, and as
you often see in some families, he
probably rose by bantering his big
brother. In other words, Zeke Web
ster's shrinking qualities forced Dan
off"
"There are a good many anecdotes
Portsmouth, N. H. One of the best
qualities Webster had at the Portsmouth
bar was his audacity, which he mixed
with great deal of dignity and defer
ence. He had made a speciality of
public speaking, and spoke with his
whole temperament, and with a good
deal of acting power. The judges
were particularly struck with his fine
bearing, his gravity, and sometimes
with his wit. The first case he tried
was for the trespass of one mans horse
on another pasture field. Webster on
this little case began his argument with
his eyes on the floor, as if he had COM
mitted some part of his speech to men,
ory. He kept moving his feet, too,
but his voice rolled out so strong and
fine that it filled the whole house, and
when he saw that he was heard and
listened to, he began to throw his head
hack and open his eyes, and his count
enance shone. The people were tramp
ing into the court room, and Webster
continued to speak and the old judges
were very much impressed indeed"
"Did not Mr.. Webster owe a good
deal to his appearance?"
"Oh, yes. He was large man,
close to six feet high, with raven black
hair, deep, dark intrepid eye, and he
could shake his head and hair like a
lion. He generally looked as ifhe had
nothing to think about but as if he
could get mad tremendously. He owed
a greal deal to his appearance and to
his voice. These advantages enabled
him to think intrepidly. He soon got
to see that the moment he chose to
speak he would be listened to, so he
took his own time about it, and there
fore his thoughts enlarged like the
volume of his voice. People said that
Zeke Webster was the best lawyer, but
that he couldn't speak like Dan. In
deed Zeke appeared to be afraid of Dan,
and never rose to his good proportions
till Dan went down to Massachusetts,.