t that the entrance was much
crowded, curiosity led me to cross over and ascend the steps and listen
to what was going on, supposing it some political demonstration; in
this, however, I was mistaken, for I found that the cause of the
commotion was the recent arrival and presence of the celebrated
statesman and lawyer, Daniel Webster, _en route_ to Washington, whither
he was called by Congressional duties. I pressed forward to shake hands
with this great expounder of American laws, as he is called by the
citizens, who seemed, by the way, on the occasion I refer to, to regard
him as a sort of divinity. I could not, however, succeed in getting near
enough to accomplish my object, although I strove hard for it. It was
quite amusing to see the anxiety shown by some of those present to
effect the same purpose. The senator kept shaking hands with all around,
repeating over and over again, "Glad to see you, citizens, glad to see
you." Amongst others, a gentlemanly-dressed negro with a gold-headed
cane pressed forward and held out his hand. There was, however, no
chance for him in the throng, for he was rudely pushed back, and I heard
several angry exclamations of disapprobation from the crowd, at the
liberty he had taken, one individual in particular crying out, "Kick
that nigger off, what has he to do here." These exclamations caught the
ear of the negro gentleman, and he shrunk back in an instant, as if
electrified. Mr. Webster was a yeoman-like looking person, of rather a
muscular-build, and at one time of life was, no doubt, as I have heard,
possessed of great physical powers; he had a heavy and rather downcast
turn of features, which were not improved by a pair of enormous black
eyebrows; there was, however, an expression in his physiognomy that
indicated deep thought, and a degree of intelligence above the
mediocrity. In addition to this, there was also a pleasing urbanity in
his manner that was certainly contrary to what might have been expected
from his personal appearance and known burly character in business. He
gradually retreated up the steps towards the interior of the hotel, the
excessive attentions paid by the crowd appearing troublesome to him. He
was closely followed, however, by his admirers, whose boisterous
behaviour savoured much more of enthusiasm than deference or politeness.
I had heard that the Americans profess never to do things by halves, and
so set this instance down as a proof of their propensity to