new Constitution. Compared with his later efforts, of course it was boyish enough, but the sentiments are honest and manly, while the literary work was certainly very creditable to a youth of eighteen. In his early speeches he advocated love of country, fidelity to the Constitution and the absolute necessity of the loyalty of the several States to the great whole.

Two other college speeches have been preserved, the one being a eulogy on a class-mate, and the other an address which was given before a college society, and these manifest much the same style, and method of work, which had been shown in the first, and they also indicate the taste for politics which was afterward so fully developed.

Webster was graduated from Dartmouth in 1801, and, returning to his native township, entered the law office of one of his father's friends.

Here he read some law, for which it must be confessed he had little taste, and a great deal more of English literature, but the financial question was pressing the Webster family, and before a year was gone, he became a teacher in the little town of Fryburg, Maine.

He was a successful teacher, having great dignity and affability. His influence over pupils appears to have been very strong, and some of them, even in old age, used to tell of the impressiveness of the scene when the sonorous tones of the young teacher's voice rang out in the morning and evening prayers, with which he always opened and closed his school.

Even as a young man his personal appearance was very striking. He was tall and slender, with black hair,

and the luminous eyes which seemed to fairly burn beneath the heavy brows. His head was massive in structure, while the high, dark forehead, and rugged features gave an appearance of mental strength, which never failed to impress even a careless observer.

The wonderful dark eyes were inherited, through his maternal grandmother, from a talented old preacher by the name of Batchelder. This sturdy character belonged to the early colonial days and was a man of distinction and devoted service among the pioneers.

The early New Englanders were quick to recognize "the Batchelder eyes" which were found in the Webster family, and were also inherited by Caleb Cushing, Nathaniel Hawthorne, John G. Whittier, and other sterling characters of New England history.

The affection between the subject of our sketch, and his older brother had always been very strong, and it was at Daniel's earnest entreaty that the self sacrificing father made an effort to give Ezekiel also, a college education. Having tasted the sweets of learning himself, Daniel was anxious that his brother should be likewise favored.

The father was now in poor health, and the farm was heavily mortgaged. The older son was the main-stay of the family, but the mother pleaded for him, as mothers will, and showed her willingness to give up everything if necessary for the education of her boys. The sisters too, shared willingly in the prospective privations, and Ezekiel began his studies, entering Dartmouth the same year that Daniel was graduated. While at Fryburg.

Daniel Webster, the schoolmaster, was learning a lesson which was a wonderful benefit to his really lovable nature.

He had long been accustomed to receive sacrifices from other members of the family, and now he realized that it was his turn to give some practical evidence of his affection. Out of school hours he did clerical work which he despised, and gave every dollar which he could spare to the loyal brother, who had so long ministered. to him.

After three years in college, Ezekiel entered the schoolroon, teaching in Boston, and his salary was sufficient, not only for his own modest needs, but it enabled Daniel to continue his studies in this home of New England culture. He obtained a position in the office of Christopher Gore, an eminent member of the Boston bar, who was afterward a Governor of Massachusetts. Like Webster he was a Federalist in politics, and it was upon this basis that he was elected to the Senate of the United States.

This was a wonderful opportunity for the young lawyer. The professional friends of Mr. Gore were among the leaders of the Massachusetts bar, and the association with this class of men stimulated Webster to his best efforts.

In 1805 he was admitted to the Boston bar, but he returned to New Hampshire and opened an office, where he might be near his father. He went to work with a will, and not only obtained a practice which brought him a modest competence, but he was also winning a

reputation as one of the ablest advocates in the state. In 1806 the faithful father died, at the age of sixty-seven, and Daniel manfully assumed his financial obligations, waited until Ezekiel was admitted to the bar, then placing the brother in his own office, he went to Portsmouth where, in 1807, he made his home.

Young Webster had always been a favorite with the ladies, but he was a little slow about forming a permanent attachment. When the fine-looking young lawyer appeared in Portsmouth, he was considered a great acquisition to society, especially as his fame had preceded him. Older men were not slow to see that he was one of the most promising advocates in the State, and the girls were interested in the striking personality of the stranger.

He was the recipient of many social attentions, and his brilliant conversational powers made him the centre of attraction at dinners and other functions. But he paid no marked attention to any one in Portsmouth; on the contrary he slipped away from his new friends in the spring of 1808, and went to Salisbury where he found his bride. He was then married to Miss Grace Fletcher who was the daughter of a minister. He had first seen her at church, whither she had gone on horseback wearing a closely fitting black dress.

Daniel said at the time that she "looked like an angel" and he prosecuted his suit with that determination which was so characteristic of the man. The lady in the case was given little opportunity to see other suitors, until the promise was given, and he was surely a very ardent lov

er.

When his powerful mentality and warm-hearted