Lippincott's Magazine, August, 1885 Read online

  OUR MONTHLY GOSSIP.

  Daniel Webster's "Moods."

  A late magazine-article treating of one of America's illustriousdead--Daniel Webster--alluded to his well-known sombre moods, and thegentle suasion by which his accomplished wife was enabled to shortentheir duration or dispel them entirely.

  On an occasion well remembered, though the "chiel takin' notes" was buta simple child, I myself was present when the grim, moody reticence ofthe great orator converted fully twoscore ardent admirers into personalfoes.

  During the summer of 1837, Mr. Webster, in pursuit of a Presidentialnomination, executed his famous tour through the Great West, at thattime embracing only the States of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, andIllinois. The first infant railway of the continent being yet inswaddling-clothes, the journey was accomplished by private conveyance,and the bumps and bruises stoically endured in probing bottomless pitsof prairie-mud, diversified by joltings over rude log-ways and intrusivestumps, were but a part of the cruel price paid for a glittering prizewhich in the end vanished before the aspirant like fairy gold. Atstations within reach of their personal influence, local politiciansflew to the side of the brilliant statesman with the beautiful fidelityof steel to magnet: hence he was environed by a self-appointed escort ofobsequious men, constantly changing as he progressed.

  "Our member" spared neither whip nor spur, and joined the triumphalmarch at Chicago. Mr. Webster was then on the home-stretch, and it wasshortly after this date that the incident I describe occurred. It was atime of wild Western speculation; towns and cities sprung into being asbuoyantly as soap-bubbles, and often proved as perishing. Major Morsewas president of a company which, perceiving a promising site for harborand town on the shore of Michigan, where yet the Indian charmed thedeer, secured a tract of land and proceeded to lay out an inviting townof--corner-lots. The major's family occupied temporarily a wide loghouse, with a rough "lean-to" of bright pine boards freshly cut at themill below. Outside, the dwelling was merely a hut of primitive patternnestling under the shade of a tall tree; inside, it presented a largeroom divided by curtains into cooking-and sleeping-apartments,surmounted by a stifling loft reached by the rungs of a permanentperpendicular ladder. Savory odors of wild fowl and venison dailydrifted up the charred throat of its clay-daubed chimney, and by thesame route, whenever the rolling smoke permitted, children sitting aboutthe hearth took observations of the clouds and heavenly bodies,according to the time of day. A narrow passage cut through the heart ofthe old logs led into the fragrant "lean-to," where against the wallrested a massive sideboard of dark mahogany, its top alight with glitterof glass and silver, its inmost recesses redolent of the creaturecomforts which the hospitality of the times demanded. Vases and meanercrockery overflowed everywhere with the gorgeousness of blossoms dailyplucked from sandy slopes or the verge of the adjacent marsh. Brightcarpeting kindly hid the splintered floor, and pictures did like servicefor the rough walls, while the whitest of muslin festooned the tinywindows.

  On the morning of the Occasion, cheerful sunshine filtered through thequivering leaves of the big tree near the house, glorifying a latebreakfast-table, around which the family were gathering, when horsesdriven in hot haste were reined up at the door. Stepping quickly forth,the major found his hand clasped by "our member," who begged thehospitalities of the house for the great Daniel Webster and suite, justat hand. Despite political differences, the desired welcome was heartilyaccorded, and with crucified appetites the family retired to give placeto the unbidden guests, who filed into the room bandying complimentswith their gay host. A kingly head, grandly set above powerfulshoulders, easily marked the man in whom the interest of the hourcentred. Strangely quiet amid the noisy group, he moved alone, nor wakedresponsive even to his host, until a brighter sally than usual provokeda grim kind of laughter. Then he suddenly aroused himself to new life,joining with a burst of humor in the pleasantries of the feast. Theunexpected brightness of the cosy room was not lost on Mr. Webster, who,on entering, paused at the threshold and glanced around in anappreciative manner, while a deep, restful sigh escaped his weary soul.The dreary drive through the wilderness lent an added charm to thelittle oasis of civilized comfort thus encountered in the lonelybackwoods of a Western quarter-section.

  News of the distinguished arrival speedily flew among the laborersrunning the mill and constructing dwellings for the in-rushingpopulation. Tom and Bill of the hammer, and Mike and Patsey of thespade, alike forsook their tools in order to witness the exit of a herofrom the major's door. They even hoped to receive some expression ofwisdom in golden words from lips used to the flow of stirring thoughtand burning eloquence. Lounging patiently under the trees, the expectantmen listened to the clink and clatter of serving and the bursts ofmerriment within. At the conclusion of the breakfast and the subsequentchat, Mr. Webster asked for his hostess, to whom with great courtesy heexpressed his sense of "the kindness extended to the stranger in astrange land," and, adieus being over, he approached the open door-way,and looked strangely annoyed at the sight of a double line ofwhite-sleeved stalwart men who stood with bared heads awaiting hisappearance. Then a great _mood_ fell upon the _man_, withnever a gentle soul at hand to charm it away. Not a feature stirred inrecognition of the, voluntary homage rendered by the throng of humblemen,--men controlling the ballots so ardently desired and sought. Withhat pressed firmly over an ominously lowering brow, looking straightbefore him with cavernous, tired eyes which seemed to observe nothingwhereon they rested, Webster walked through the hushed lines in gravestateliness. The crowd was only waiting for a spark of encouragement toshout itself hoarse in enthusiastic huzzahs. Eyes shone with suppressedexcitement, and strong hearts swelled with pride in the towering manwhose fame had surged like a tidal wave over the land. Yet with insolentdeliberation he mounted the step and seated himself in the waitingcarriage, giving no sign of having even noticed the flatteringdemonstration made in his honor. The smiles, nods, and hand-claspsexpected of the chief were lavishly dispensed by his mortifiedsatellites, all of which availed not to smother the curses, loud anddeep, splitting the summer air, as the wheels disappeared in the forest.

  "Begorra, thin," bawled Patsey, "it's mesilf ut'll niver vote fur thisbig Yankee 'ristocrat, _inne_how. Ef he wuz a foine Irish jintleman,now, er even a r'yal prince av the blud, there'd be no sinse in hisairs, bedad!"

  Tom and Bill were less noisy in their just wrath, but it ran equallydeep: "He belongs to the party. But when Daniel comes up foroffice--look out! We'll score a hard day's work against him, party or noparty!"

  The major rose to the occasion. Being a bit of a politician and anold-school Democrat, he could not resist the opportunity presented. Witha humorous air he sprang to the nearest stump and improvised an electriclittle speech which sent the men back to labor, _madder_ if notwiser voters.

  With other living witnesses of the events narrated, often wondering overthe strangeness of the scene of long ago, I am truly glad at theeleventh hour to find the solution of the problem in _moods_,rather than in a snobbish pride unbefitting the greatness of the man.

  F.C.M.