HE WRITES HIS EPITAPH. 453 passed oL, each brought with it some slight proof of a gradual decay in his bodily powers and resources. On Sunday evening, October 10th, he desired a friend who was sitting with him," continues Mr. Ticknor, " to read to him the passage in the ninth chapter of St. Mark's gospel, where the man brings his child to Jesus to be cured, and the Sav ior tells him, 'If thou canst believe; all things are possibie to him that believeth; and straightway the father of the chilo cried out, with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.' 'Now,' he continued, 'turn to the tenth chapter of St. John, and read from the verse where it is said, Many of the Jews believed on him." After this, he dictated a few lines and directed them to be signed with his name, and dated Sunday evening, October 10th, 1852. This,' he then added 'is the inscription to be placed on my monument.' A few days later on the 15th-he recurred to the same subject, and revised and corrected with his own hand, what he had earlier dictated, so as to make the whole read as follows: "LORD, I BELIEVE; HELP THOU Philosophical argument, especially that drawn from the vastness of the Universe, in comparison with the apparent insignificance of this globe, has some 66 times shaken my reason for the faith which is in me; Sermon on the Mount cannot be a merely hu man production. This belief enters into the very depths of my con science. The whole history of man proves it. 'DANIEL WEBSTER.'" Such a scene as this, such a record as this, will not fail to have its weight in behalf of the christian religion, not only with all thinking nien, but even with the comparatively thoughtless, as long as the scene is preserved in history, as long as the record shall stand uneffaced on his tomb-stone of granite, or on his monument of marble. Daniel Webster, the most intellectual man of recent history, the profoundest reasoner of modern times, near the end of his days, but while all his faculties were in their full vigor, and at a season of the utmost solemnity, gives his deliberate testimony to the truth and reality of religion; and yet, there are hundreds of superficial men, as shallow as he was deep, who, with not sense enough to have ascertained their want of mind, are ready, anywhere, to say that they look upon the Bible as a book of fables, and christianity as a long-plotted and well-fabricated lie. Had this been true, would not such a man as Daniel Webster have been likely, if any one, to detect it? Through his whole life, on the contrary, he never failed to give his whole testimony on the side of practical religion; and now, in the very face of death, he declares a belief in it, which, when the circumstances are all considered, renders it equal in weight to any testimony ever given by a man not inspired. "If I get well" said he to his friend, on the occasion of his first dictating this epitaph, “if I get well, and write a book on christianity about which we have talked, we can attend more fully to this matter. But, if I should be taken away suddenly, I do not wish to leave any duty of this kind unperformed. I want to leave, somewhere, a declaration of my belief in christianity." Knowing, even in the humble hour of his last illness, that nis nnai opinions upon this subject would not fail to have great authority among men, he hastens to give a formal utterance of that opinion, and or"ders this solemn declaration of his faith instead of the events and now worthless honors of his life. to be inscribed where it would be read and respected as long as any regard should be paid to his memory, or any weight of authority should be carried in his name. LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT. 455 "Warned by his increasing debility," continues Mr. Ticknor, "he had already given some directions concerning a final dis position of his worldly affairs; but he now desired that his will might be immediately drawn up in legal form, and the next day, he dictated a considerable portion of it with great precision and a beautiful appropriateness of phraseology.” Mr. Ticknor is undoubtedly correct in regard to the time, as well as the manner, in which the instrument was drawn up; but all the published copies of the will bear the date of the 21st of September, which, in this volume, has been changed to that of the 21st of October, which is indisputably the true date. Whenever made, however, that last will and testament of Daniel Webster is entirely characteristic of his great mind. He scarcely ever did anything like other men; and yet he affected novelty in nothing he performed. There was always in his position, or in the circumstances of the case where he was called to act, something new, something original, something that had never occurred before; and therefore, as in this instance, he was almost always called upon to do something in a way for which he had no precedent. This will is without a precedent: it is so perfectly original, and yet so beautifully adapted to his case, that it must ever be admired, as a model of its kind; nor could any life, however cursory, of the great statesman, be at all complete, unless it put intc the possession of the reader, word for word, a document which, more than anything he ever produced in so small a compass, is the best exhibit of his worldly condition, and the most con summate image and emblem of his life, his intellect, and his heart: IN THE NAME OF ALMIGHTY GOD! "I, DANIEL WEBSTER, of Marshfield, in the county of Plym. outh, and commonwealth of Massachusetts, Esquire, being now confined to my house with a serious illness, which, considering my time of life, is undoubtedly critical, but being nevertheles in the full possession of my mental faculties, do make and publish this, my last will and testament: "I commit my soul into the hands of my Heavenly Father, trusting in his infinite goodness and mercy. "I direct that my mortal remains be buried in the family vault at Marshfield, where monuments are already erected to my deceased children and their mother. Two places are marked for other monuments, of exactly the same size and form. One of these, in proper time, is for me, and perhaps I may leave an epitaph. The other is for Mrs. Webster. Her ancestors, and all her kindred, lie in a far distant city. My hope is, that after many years, she may come to my side, and join me and others whom God hath given me. 66 "I wish to be buried without the least show or ostentation, but in a manner respectful to my neighbors, whose kindness has contributed so much to the happiness of me and mine, and for whose prosperity I offer sincere prayers to God. 66 Concerning my worldly estate, my will must be anomalous and out of the common form, on occount of the state of my affairs. I have two large real estates. By marriage settlement, Mrs. Webster is entitled to a life estate in each, and after her death, they belong to my heirs. On the Franklin estate, so far as I know, there is no incumbrance except Mrs. Webster's life estate. On Marshfield, Mr. Samuel Frothingham has an unpaid balance of a mortgage, now amounting to twenty-five hundred dollars. My great and leading wish is, to preserve Marshfield, if I can, in the blood and name of my own family. To this end, it must go in the first place to my son, Fletcher Webster, who is hereafter to be the immediate prop of my house, and the general representative of my name and character. I have the fullest confidence in his affection and good sense, and that he will heartily concur in anything that appears to be for the best. CONTINUATION OF THE WILL. 457 "I do not see, under present circumstances of him and his family, how I can now make a definite provision for the future beyond his life; I propose, therefore, to put the property into the hands of trustees, to be disposed of by them, as exigencies may require. "My affectionate wife, who has been to me a source of s much happiness, must be tenderly provided for. Care must be taken that she has some reasonable income. I make this will upon the faith of what has been said to me by friends, of means which will be found to carry out my reasonable wishes. It is best that Mrs. Webster's life interest in the two estates be purchased out. It must be seen what can be done with friends at Boston, and especially with the contributors to my life annuity. My son-in-law, Mr. Appleton, has generously requested me to pay little regard to his interests, or to those of his children, but I must do something, and enough to manifest my warm love and attachment to him and them. The property best to be spared for the purpose of buying out Mrs Webster's life interest under the marriage settle ment, is Franklin, which is very valuable property, and which may be sold under prudent management, or mortgaged for a considerable sum. "I have also a quantity of valuable land in Illinois, at Peru, which ought to be immediately seen after. Mr. Edward Curtis and Mr. Blatchford and Mr. Franklin Haven know all about my large debts, and they have undertaken to see at once whether those can be provided for, so that these purposes may probably be carried into effect. "With these explanations, I now make the following pro visions, namely: "ITEM. I appoint my wife Caroline Le Roy Webster, my son Fletcher Webster, and R. M. Blatchford, Esquire, of New York, to be the executors of this will. I wish my said executors, and also the trustees hereinafter named, in all things |