There are not many boys in our time who have not declaimed parts of Webster's great speeches; and it will interest them to know that the boy who afterward made those speeches could never declaim at all while he was at school. He learned his pieces well, and practiced them in his own room, but he could not speak them before people to save his life.
Webster was always fond of shooting and fishing, and however hard he studied, the people around him called him lazy and idle, because he would spend whole days in these sports. Once, while he was studying under Dr. Woods to prepare for college, that gentleman spoke to him on the subject, and hurt his feelings a little. The boy went to his room determined to have revenge, and this is the way he took to get it. The usual Latin lesson was one hundred lines of Virgil, but Webster spent the whole night over the book. The next morning before breakfast he went to Dr. Woods and read the whole lesson correctly. Then he said:
"Will you hear a few more lines, doctor?"
The teacher consenting, Webster read on and on and on, while the breakfast grew cold. Still there was no sign of the boy's stopping, and the hungry doctor at last asked how much further he was prepared to read.
"TO THE END OF THE TWELFTH BOOK OF THE ÆNEID," ANSWERED THE "IDLE" BOY, IN TRIUMPH.
"To the end of the twelfth book of the Æneid," answered the "idle" boy, in triumph.
After that, Webster did not give up his hunting and fishing, but he worked so hard at his lessons, and got on so fast, that there was no further complaint of his "idleness." He not only learned the lessons given to him, but more, everyday, and besides this he read every good book he could lay his hands on, for he was not at all satisfied to know only what could be found in the school-books.
Webster's father was poor and in debt, but finding how eager this boy was for education, and seeing, too, that he possessed unusual ability, he determined, ill as he could afford the expense, to send him to college. Accordingly, young Daniel went to Dartmouth. But after he had been there two years, and had gone home for his vacation, he startled his father one morning by declaring that he would not go back to college unless his brother Ezekiel could be educated too. This seemed out of the question. The father could barely afford to educate one son, and he could not spare the other from the farm-work that provided the means for this. But young Dan was generous and resolute. If Zeke could not be educated, he would not. He would not let them sacrifice Zeke for him, and there was an end of the matter. The good old mother solved the difficulty. She was getting old, she said, and her children were dear to her; she was willing to give up everything for their good, and if they would promise to take care of her during her old age, the property should be sold, the debts paid, and what remained should be spent in educating both the boys. After much debate, the matter was settled in this way, and it is pleasant to know that the dear old mother never knew want as a consequence of her devotion to the welfare of her children.
Many anecdotes are told to illustrate the character of young Dan. He was always lavish of his money when he had any, while his brother was careful but generous, especially to Dan, whom he greatly admired. On one occasion the boys went to a neighboring town on a high holiday, each with a quarter of a dollar in his pocket.