Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1890-05-23
STORIES OF WEBSTER.
"reminiscences of an Old Friend.
A Personal Acquaintance Still Living
Talks About the Great MaSSaehus-
ettS Orator and Statesman
The Dartmouth Case and
Some of His Great
Speeches.

In the little town of Franklin n. H.,
stands the house OF George W. NeSmith,
who had personal Acquaintance with
Daniel Webster such as no one else now
living can claim. \ recent visitor to the
judge found him hale and hearty. though
IN his nlnetleth year, and his mind seem
ed to be as clear and bright rs in the prime
of life
The first time | saw Webster. he said.
was in 1918, just after the decision Of the
Dartmouth College case. was than a
senior IN that Institution, and | can re-
member having my attention drawn to
two men talking together in front of the
college church. and being told that one
OF them was Daniel Webster. who was on
a visit to Hanover after his great triumph.
He was then IN the prime of life. and was
the idol of the town and college while he
remained with Us. 4 speech which he
made at an alumni dinner. held during
this visit, | was unable to bear, rs these
exercises wer, not then public. but those
present informed me that it was we'll
worthy of him.
My personal acquaintance with him
began In 1893 or 1894, when one day he
came with his brother Ezekiel to visit the
farm where he lived when a boy. | was
introduced to him As he stood conyersing
IN troat of the tavern, aud ! remember
that his talk was of the happy days he had
spent there before going off to school and
college. Ezekiel. he said. how would
you like to take third story room with
me in the tavern as we used to do when
boys? Do you remember how the rain
used to patter ON the roof and early in the
morning the ROSTERS across the river woke
Us up with their crowing?' But Ezekiel
thought he preferred high life before
stairs. You don t understand the pleas
ure of living III garnet, was the answer.
Don you remember that line in No. III
of the Rambler. How sweet in sleep to
pass careless hours, etc.
Il remember that | was surprised at his
eXactneSs in fixing the place of the quo
tation. and that afterward looked up to
make sure that he had made no mistake
In 1929 Ezekiel Webster died of heart dis
ease in the court house at Concord, and
Daniel came into possession Of the whole
of the old fam, where the orphans home
now Is. lie at this time had more or less
business to do with his tenants and about
the farm, and he applied to me for help
in this, 50 that by 1910 ! got to know him
quite well, and after that time | saw Il
great gea of him.
ION the Fourth of July. 1906 he deliver
ed the Grafton at Salisbury. About 1850
we were down there and walked ont into
the pasture together where he showed me
the rock upon which he wrote half of that
speech. At this time he told HE much
about his speeches. Those | wrote in
baniad of and was snrr,. tb4f a,,s,, h,, I
any of them n,LIi.Iad Nbama,n,, caT,o
across one nsed 10 Lurn II mn hut of
course thnrn were n,.,n,. tb,t / rorld 1ava,.
rrt hold Of Tbev were mich sound and
little substance Ioe Denny y local ,rit;,.
said that thpv we're fuIl of nmn+inass ami
+bis was Kind If criticism which ala ma
n,,,nb cool ~, 4l,o I|,. L,,,d = /
aitnraI NV .t,.io a,,i t,.;ai - a,-n;I .,,,,
homaric dispIav and Ln,nb2st in NV writ
inps.'
During the first part of his nuhIic ca
reer Webster used to spend much time in
the preparation of his speeches. He
would sit un all night WORKING over them
walking about the room and repeating
them aloud. He was ALWAYS a hard worker.
In one of the letters he wrote me. and
has since been published. he said: 4
have never eaten the bread of idIenpss. but
for the last forty wears | have worked
twelve hours day Still. in the last part
of his life he acquired n faculty i'm the ar
rangement of his thous hts which was
simply marvellous. | WAS in Boston at the
house of his brother-in-law. Mr.. PAGE on
the Friday before he made his
last speech in public. We happened
to be talking over the statement that
had appeared in one of the papers that
there were no questions of national I'M
portance then impending. and it would be
Impossible for Webster to acquite himself
on the morrow. He said: We VII not dis
cuss that. but ! was awake this morning
from , to 4 On account of pain in mywrist
and so | arranged my speech in mind and
if your care to sit down will repeat it to
Won rs I shall deliver If tomorrow uirht
He talked to us for an hour. and so far as
| could remember he made only two
changes in his address the next day. one
an alIusion to tha friend who intr0durpd
him and the otbar a rafararra 70 tha
methodist conference then bainu held i'm
the city. In the Revere Housp he once
talked IA Soma ofrs ahont his ,naarbn. and
ssILa,i II. ,,-Lich r-or,Id stand tbn +ost Of
fine the LONGEST Wa Iacidad that =
wonId nrobah7y ha the second in ranlv fo
Havne He assured ms that that had not
rarnired nearIZ so mucb time in its rrs,
naIa+io, nc ~ otl,ors ono of T-binb I-os
:, tba nsr+r,oI,+I C,oIiol.o oaso l., fant
as hos roca,,41I a+,,,oaaJ no Id ,,ra,,arod
oaloLetnj - IL, -. To-
fo,. ano+bo. ,,nrroSe
$50 ~ Pe.l p IT. l ,,,, ,,or, ooro
Ion 1GT il,,eG 'r,lo Il,.eV ne "i toIy
aeSS III ilo If5 Il%Itebs, OuI on%I We o noI
~ ~ LIS NE oouI eIt lt T,S LUZ
fho 80 b ,ou illf 't tn i,C " o $50
IL; ~ 'T !u9: toW'i" NH iio ""o
CI"IIl"9lT, ouC ulu NOV give away laige
his fathers house. and he used to enjoy
gong around to see the people In the
neIghbOrhOOd talking with them and COM