Page:The Cambridge History of American Literature, v2.djvu/110

94 Webster He loved literature undoubtedly. He had been educated, both at school and at college, upon the old classical system, and it is obvious that he always retained his knowledge of Latin: in fact, he was a good Latin scholar. There is no evi- dence that he was a good Greek scholar or even kept up the Greek of his youth. He knew the history of Greece and Rome and much of modern history, but he was not a student of history, and this he realized. It is also apparent that he Tvas fond of pure literature, and he never forgot at least the eigh- teenth century poets who were the standard poets of his youth. The story of his dispute with Rufus Choate over a quotation illustrates not his knowledge of Pope, which is unimportant, but his love of literature, which is significant. At a most exciting moment in the trial of a case very famous in its day, Webster was observed to write a few words upon a slip of paper and pass it to Choate. The spectators thought some- thing very vital to the case was going on, but what Webster wrote was this: Lo ! where Mceotis sleeps and softly flows The freezing Tanais through a waste of snows. Choate wrote "wrong" on the slip and then: Lo! where Masotis sleeps and hardly flows The freezing Tanais through a waste of snows. Webster wrote "right" against his version and offered a bet. The volume of Pope containing The Dunciad was sent for, and it appeared that Choate was right. Webster wrote the words "Spurious Edition" on the book, and the consultation between the two great lawyers ended. The fact, however, that in Johnson's phrase he had litera- ture and loved it, although it tells us of the man, would not give him a place in literary history. Yet he has that place and his right to it rests and must rest upon his speeches, for speeches and addresses ^e all that Webster has left to us to prove his Uterary quality, and it very rarely happens that a literary reputation can be based upon speeches actually spoken and delivered. The reason for this rarity of speeches