DANIEL WEBSTER 



feelings. He was not merely defending a great prin- 

 ciple of constitutional government, but he was pleading 

 the cause of the little college where, by dint of hard 

 work and many sacrifices, his brother Ezekiel and him- 

 self had obtained their education. Instead of describ- 

 ing in general terms what would happen if American 

 colleges were liable to be drawn into the political 

 arena and their government made the sport of contend- 

 ing parties, he closed his speech with these few sim- 

 ple words : " This, sir, is my case. It is the case not 

 merely of that humble institution, it is the case of 

 every college in our land. . . . Sir, you may destroy 

 this little institution ; it is weak, it is in your hands ! 

 I know it is one of the lesser lights in the literary 

 horizon of our country. You may put it out. But if 

 you do so, you must carry through your work ! You 

 must extinguish one after another those greater lights 

 of science which for more than a century have thrown 

 their radiance over our land. It is, sir, as I have said, 

 a small college. And yet, there are those who love 

 it." Here Mr. Webster's voice trembled and his eyes 

 were wet with tears. Coming from this grand and 

 stately man, who for five hours had held judges and 

 audience spellbound by power of reasoning and beauty 

 of phrase, the effect of this natural burst of feeling 

 was extraordinary. Leaning forward in breathless 

 silence, with eyes suffused and with beating hearts, 

 judges and audience forgot all else in eager watching 

 of every movement of the speaker's face, when recover- 

 ing himself he said in his most solemn tones, addressing 

 the chief justice : " Sir, I know not how others may 

 feel [glancing at the opponents of the college before 

 him], but for myself, when I see my Alma Mater sur- 



