ld,
not able to work much on the farm, his parents permitted him to spend much
of his time fishing, hunting, and roaming at will over the hills. Thus he
came into close touch with nature and absorbed a kind of knowledge which
was very useful to him in later years.

He was always learning things, sometimes in most unusual ways, as is shown
by an incident which took place when he was only eight years old. Having
seen in a store near his home a small cotton handkerchief with the
Constitution of the United States printed upon it, he gathered up his
small earnings to the amount of twenty-five cents and eagerly secured the
treasure. From this unusual copy he learned the Constitution, word for
word, so that he could repeat it from beginning to end.

[Illustration: Daniel Webster.]

Of course, this was a most remarkable thing for an eight-year-old boy to
do, but the boy was himself remarkable. He spent much of his time poring
over books. They were few in number but of good quality, and he read them
over and over again until they became a part of himself. It gave him keen
pleasure to memorize fine poems and also noble selections from the Bible,
for he learned easily and remembered well what he learned. In this way he
stored his mind with the highest kind of truth.

When he was fourteen his father sent him to Phillips Exeter Academy. The
boys he met there were mostly from homes of wealth and culture. Some of
them were rude and laughed at Daniel's plain dress and country manners. Of
course, the poor boy, whose health was not robust and who was by nature
shy and independent, found such treatment hard to bear. But he studied
well and soon commanded respect because of his good work.

After leaving this school he studied for six months under a private tutor,
and at the age of fifteen he was prepared to enter Dartmouth College.
Although he proved himself to be a youth of unusual mental power, he did
not take high rank in scholarship. But he continued to read widely and
thoughtfully and stored up much valuable knowledge, which later he used
with clearness and force in conversation and debate.

After being graduated from college Daniel taught for a year and earned
money enough to help pay his brother's college expenses. The following
year he studied law and in due time was admitted to the bar. As a lawyer
he was very successful, his income sometimes amounting to twenty thousand
dollars in a single year. In those days that was a very