El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-02-08
BY MADISON C. PETERS

school in winter and work on the farm
in summer
His first attempt in speaking at
Exeter academy was a failure He
broke down completely and burst into
tears He acquired such an antipathy
TO public speaking that he never again
tried while at the academy. His FALL
ure appears almost incredible in view
OF the reputation he had made as the
tavern-boy orator.
Reads to Teamsters.
When Daniel was but seven years Of
age MS father kept public house, at
winch teamsters were accustomed to
stop for entertainment OF man and
DeasC part Of the entertainment
Whlch was then and there afforded
consisted Of specimens Of reading by
young Daniel, so that the teamsters
were accustomed to say as they check
ed their horses at the door Of the inn:
Come, let's go in and hear a psalm
from Dan Webster and having an
excellent voice, a ready comprehen-
sion OF the meaning of a writer. with
the ability to give the right inflec-
tions and emphasis to develop that
meaning, he was listened to with
pleasure His failure at Exeter seems
all the more incredible in view OF the
achievements Of his whole career but
It is only just to say that his failure
In his first speech at Exeter was at
IrlDuCable, first, to his physical de-
blity and secondly and mainly to the
fact that the. boys were constantly
making fun Of the awkward backwoods
lad, because Of his home spun clothes
and rustic manners. We know that a
few years later Webster became the
most popular speaker IN college What
encouragement for you to set yourself
resolutely TO work to surmount any
difficulty that may prevent your ad-
vance. BY frequent repetitions, by
firm resolution, by invincibIe deter
minatiOn you may overcome every dif-
ficulty that stands in the way Of your
progress.
Is Butt Of RIdIcuIe.
This rustic lad whom the city boys
concealed under his rough exterior
talents which later moved the nation
and dazzled the world. Daniel Web
ster never again was obliged to sit
down after his failure at Exeter, ex-
cept once, when, speaking by request
at a poultry show, a giant Shanghai
got the floor and burst forth in so
defiant an ear-splitting strain that the
orator wisely sat down.
Daniel Webster thrilled the world
with his eloquence and the splendor Of
his craftsmanship because to his na-
tural ability he added the most pains
taking effort. He was a prodigy OF
physical and intellectual endowment
but MS greatest gift was prOdigiOus
capacity for hard work He furnishes
one Of the most striking illustrations
of the truth that the greatest genius
ike the richest soil, yields its choicest
fruits only to the most careful tillage
His imprOmptus were the result OF
previous study. On one occasion he
told with Extraordinary effect an an
ecdote which he had kept concealed
IN the cells OF his brain for IA years,
waiting an opportunity to use it.
It is well known that it was while
fishing in Marshfield that Webster
composed the famous passage on the
surviving veterans Of the battle, for
his Bunker Hill address. HE would
pull out a lusty specimen" says Starr
King, shouting, Venerable men. you
have come down to US from a former
generation Heaven has bounteously
heightened out your lives that you
might behold this joyous day He
would UNLOCK them into his basket,
declaiming, You are gathered to your
fathers, and live only to your country
in her grateful remem brance and your
own bright example, In his boat fish
ing for cod, he composed or rehearsed
the passage on Lafayette. when he
hooked a very large cod and, as he
pulled his nose above the water. ex-
claimed, WELCOMED all haili and thrice
welcome, citizen OF two hemispheres'