The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1895-11-08


Sons-StartIingly Sudden Death.
| Ezekiel Webster like his brother Daniel,
was Il lawyer, q portion of his preparatory
| legal studies having been pursued in this
| CITY in the Office of Governor james Sulli
van In 1907 Daniel Webster removed
| from Boscawcn to Portsmouth, and EZe-
kiel commenced practice at Boscawen, sue
| cccding to his brothers business. Ezekiel
was, by many persons who had an oppor-
tunity to judge his qualities, thought the
| equal of his more celebrated brother in in
tcllcctual endowments. In his younger
years he was inclined to be timid, while
Daniel was as bold as II lion, and their ia
| ther was wont to say that Ezekiel could
tell half he knew, but Daniel could
| tel more than he knew. In spite of his
natural timidity, however, his talents soon
won for him an exalted standing as jul
| rist, and at the time of his death he was
regarded as one Of the ablcst lawyers of
New Hampshire.
He was not only a lawyer Of distinguish
| ed ability, but man of noble morals and
sterling uprightncss. His bearing at the
bar won the respect and confidence of both
judge and jury, and he was esteemed and
| honored for his courtesy, talents and III
10 times-oncc as n senator and II times
as reprcsentativc-and at the election in
| March, 1929, the month before he died, he
| was candidate IAN unsuccessful one) for
q seat in the lower house of congress. He
was u model lawyer, as he was II model
man. In debate he was dignificd and cour-
teous his weapons being sound arguments,
clothed in simple but elegant language.
He was man of imposing presence, hay
| ing a magnificent form, crowned with a
| princely head. His manners were kind and
| courteous, his heart warm and affection
| ate his countenance of rare and striking
| beauty.
My brother Ezekiel, " said Daniel Web
ster in 1916, appeared to me, and so does
he now seem to me- the very finest human
form that ever laid eyes on"
Daniel Webster had for his brother Ege-
| kiel not only the most devoted affection,
but the most exalted respect. In his early
years he looked as anxiously for Ezekiel 5
approval of all his aets as Coriolanus did
for that of his mother. His confidence in
his elder brothers Judgment was un-
| bounded; his reliance upon his counsel and
wisdom was without limit. When, nine
months after Ezckicl's death, he had
brought the whole nation to pay homage
at his feet for the splendor of his triumph
over the southern champion, Robert Y.
| Hayne, he had one keen regret. Chow
wish, " he sorrowfully exclaimed, "that my
poor brother had lived till after this speech,
for know that he would have been graft
fed by itl' In their younger days the two
brothers shared the mcager contents of a
common purse until they had fully estab-
lished themselves in their profession.
| M, 10 D,,1,r H.,
ing the academy at Freyburg, Me, and at
| the same time eking out his income by act
| Ing as deputy register of deeds, he returned
| home by way of Hanover, where Ezekiel
was at college The first thing Daniel did
was to find out whether his brother was in
want of money, and. although his salary
as q teacher was scarcely more than the
wages of a day laborcr, being ut the rate of
| $3.50 Il year, he was ready to help Ezekiel
| if he was in need. The result of this visit
| of Daniels to Ezekiel may be told in
| Daniels own words: eve walked and
| talked during Il long evening, and, finally,
| seated upon IN old log, not far from the
college, gave to Ezekiel Sl00-thc result
| of my laborS in teaching and in recording
deeds, after paying my own debts-lcaving
to myself but 50 to get home with"
With all the assistance, however, which
! Ezekiel got from his brother and from his
father, he was still unable to pursue his
| college course without interruption. In
| the spring of his senior year, finding his
| Longer residence in college impossible on
account of lack of funds, he purchased the
| good will of Il private school in this city,
and he also took upon himself in addition
to this school,, the teaching of an evening
| school for sailors. At this private school
which he taught here it is interesting to
| know that George Ticknor and Edward
| Everett were among his pupils.
Mr.. Ezekiel Webstcr's death was very
| sudden and utterly without prcmonition.
| While addressing II jury in the court of
common pleas at Concord be suddenly fell
| to the floor Il corpse Hewas apparently in
| perfect health and had been speaking about
| half an hour, showing no diminution Of
his accustomed physical strength or intel
| lectual power. He had closed one branch
| of his argument, uttering the concluding
| sentence and the final word distinctly and
with his natural cadence, his form erect,
| his eye clear and bright, when the hand of
| death suddenly arrested his earthly course
| Physicians We're summoned, but no human
| aid was Of any avail. 1t was thought that
| life was extinct before he reached the floor
| in his fall. At the time of his death his
| wife happened to be in the city, Mt the
| house OF Daniel Webster, on Summer 81 rect,
| where, at about , o'clock on the morning
| of the following day, n messenger announc-
| ed the sad intelligence of EZeklePs death
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