sumed he could make an arrangement which would enable him to be present, here, during the discusssion to-day. He was unwilling that this subject should be postponed before he had an opportunity of replying to some of the observations which had fallen from that gentleman yesterday. He would not deny that some things had fallen from him which rankled here, [touching his breast,] from which he would desire at once to relieve himself. The gentleman had discharged his fire in the presence of the senate. He hoped he would now afford him an opportunity of returning the shot." This last remark was uttered, it is said, in a very taunting and defiant air; as if the South Carolina senator felt that he had only to touch the trigger, and his great antagonist would fall. The tone of defiance, however, was not likely to intimidate such a man as Mr. Webster. With a compassionate smile, he answered from his seat : "Let the discussion proceed; I am ready, now, to receive the gentleman's fire!"

But it was not then Mr. Hayne's place to speak. Mr. Benton had the floor; and he had delivered only the exordium of his speech on the day before. He now proceeded, according to his usual manner, to utter some sweeping charges against New England in relation to its bearing in congress toward the west, and sustained his charges with great vehemence of style, by a few quotations of irrelevant votes, and by an hour or two's length of severe denunciation, highly declamatory, but without his usual point. Mr. Hayne rose as Mr. Benton took his seat; and, after speaking in reply to Mr. Webster longer than Mr. Webster had himself spoken, he found himself only at the threshold of what he wished to say. Exhausted, and out of breath, he reached the hour of adjourn ment, when, probably for his accommodation, the subject was postponed till the 25th, and made the special order for that day. The day arrived. The senate chamber and the lobbies were well filled with spectators. Mr. Hayne proceeded with

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his speech, which consisted of a defense of the doctrine of South Carolina, which claimed the right, as a reserved state aight, of nullifying the laws of the general government, whenever, in her opinion, those laws were plainly and palpacly unconstitutional. He endeavored to show that the doctrine was not a new one; that it had been originally set up by Virginia; and that, what was expected by him, doubtless, to be a particular and triumphant overthrow of Mr. Webster, it had been maintained by numerous writers, orators, and even ministers in Massachusetts. He spoke, this day, about two hours and a half; and Mr. Webster rose, with the intention of making an immediate answer, the very moment when Mr. Hayne took his seat. The day, however, was nearly gone; and, as every one now seemed desirous to give Mr. Webster time to reply at length, the nullifiers themselves now feeling, after Mr. Hayne's great effort, that they could afford to be magnanimous, and thus make the victory and the defeat more signal, the senate immediately adjourned.

The next day was the day of days in the senate of the United States. It was the day never to be forgotten, as long as argument, and eloquence, and triumph, are words possessed of any meaning in any language or dialect on earth. It was the day of the delivery of the greatest parliamentary speech ever listened to on this continent; and it was a day, which, for any similar or equal effort, will scarcely find a parallel, it may be, for a hundred generations. Never, till that day came, had the illustrious orator of New England, of America, of the nineteenth century, been fully roused. Never had he felt called upon, or been pushed to put forth all his powers. Until that day, and that occasion, no man, not even his best friend and his warmest admirer, had known the full strength, the vast sweep, the unrivaled and resistless might of his massive, majestic, and imperial mind. It is likely that he and never been entirely conscious of his whole power himself.

From the conclusion of that day, however, his friends, his ene mies, the senate, the country, and the world, have been able to understand, with a nearer approach to truth, how much of every human faculty, how much of every possible endowment, how much of every manner and measure of attainment, how much of every element that can enter into the mental and moral constitution of a man, is comprehended in the name, often used but seldom fathomed, of Daniel Webster.

It is remarkable, very remarkable, that, of the hundreds who listened to that speech, and of the many who were entirely capable of appreciating and describing its delivery and effect, so few should have taken the pains to portray what they saw, and felt, and heard. In fact, while the world has, ever since its delivery, resounded with its fame, but two or three persons have ever given such account of it, as could aid materially the imagination of other persons, or satisfy the curiosity of mankind. One of those individuals is Mr. Justice Sprague, at the time a senator from Maine, and the mover of the amendment to Mr. Foote's resolution, but now of the bench of Massachusetts. Immediately upon the death of Mr. Webster, the circuit court, sitting in Boston, met to commemorate the event; and Mr. Sprague was requested, as one of the speakers on the occasion, particularly to dwell for the satisfaction of the court, on the great effort now under consideration. In compliance with this request, after speaking generally of the unequaled talents and attainments of Mr. Webster, he proceeded: "The present occasion does not permit me to verify these general remarks by specific and detailed references; nor has the time arrived when his later efforts can be dispassionately considered. But there is one speech, made so long since as to be now matter of history, and involving no topic of personal excitement, of which I have been especially requested to speak, because it is the more celebrated; and of the then senators from New England, I am, with one exception, the only survivor; and it is

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proper to speak of it here and now, because a great, vital question of constitutional law was, by that speech, settled as completely and irrevocably as it could have been by the greatest minds in the highest judicial tribunals.

"Mr. Foote's resolution involved merely the question of limiting or extending the survey of the public lands. Upon this, Mr. Benton and Mr. Hayne addressed the senate, condemning the policy of the eastern states, as illiberal toward the west. Mr. Webster replied, in vindication of New England and the policy of the government. It was then that General Hayne made the assault which that speech repelled.

“It has been asked if it be possible that that reply was made without previous preparation. There could have been no special preparation before the speech began to which it was an answer. When General Hayne closed, Mr. Webster followed, with the interval, only, of the usual adjournment of one night. His reply was made to repel an attack, sudden, unexpected, and almost unexampled, an attack on Mr. Webster personally, upon Massachusetts and New England, and upon the constitution.

"There can be little doubt that this attack was the result of premeditation, concert and arrangement. His assailant selected his own time, and that, too, peculiarly inconvenient to Mr. Webster, for at that moment, the supreme court were proceeding in the hearing of a cause of great importance, in which he was leading counsel. For this reason, he requested, through a friend, a postponement of the debate. General Hayne objected; and the request was refused. The assailant, too, selected his own ground, and made his choice of topics, without reference to the resolution before the senate, or the legitimate subject of debate. The time, the matter, and the manner, indicate that the attack was made with a design to crush a formidable political opponent. To this end, personal history, the annals of New England and of the federal party

were ransacked for materials. It was attempted to make him responsible, not only for what was his own, but for the opinions and conduct of others. All the errors and delinquencies, real or supposed, of Massachusetts, and the eastern states, and of the federal party, during the war of 1812, and throughout their history, were to be accumulated on him. It was supposed, that, as a representative, he would be driven to defend what was indefensible, and to uphold what could not be sustained, and as a federalist, to oppose the popular resolutions of '98.

"General Hayne heralded his speech with a declaration of war, with taunts and threats, vaunting anticipated triumph, as if to paralyze by intimidation; saying that he had something rankling in his breast, and that he would carry the war into Africa, until he had obtained indemnity for the past and security for the future.

On no

"Mr. Webster evidently felt the magnitude of the occasion, and a consciousness that he was more than equal to it. other occasion, although I have heard him hundreds of times, have I seen him so thoroughly aroused. Yet, when he commenced, and throughout the whole, he was perfectly self-pos sessed and self-controlled. Never was his bearing more lofty, his person more majestic, his manner more appropriate and impressive.

"At first, a few of his opponents made some show of indif. ference. But the power of the orator soon swept away all af fectation; and a solemn, deep, absorbing interest, was manifested by all, and continued even through his profound discussion of constitutional law.

"When he closed, the impression upon all was too deep for utterance, and, to this day, no one who was present has spoken of that speech, but as a matchless achievement and a com plete triumph. When he sat down, General Hayne arose, and endeavored to restate and reënforce his argument. This in