whole had been developed by circumstantial evi dence, and the confession of one of the parties. He painted the horror of the murderer after the deed was done-his conscience impelling him to confess, his fears restraining him. "There is no refuge," he said, "from suicide but confession, and suicide is confession." The hired assassin's connexion with his accomplices was established, and his confession by suicide sealed their doom. Without Mr. Webster's aid, justice would have been defeated of her due. The great advocate undertook the case with much unwillingness, but having undertaken the assistance of the prosecuting attorney, he brought all his powers to bear upon the case; and, while he procured the conviction of the desperate murderers, he gave to the world the most sublime description of "the worm that never dies" that modern literature can furnish.

CHAPTER XII.

Mr. Webster's reluctance to re-enter Congress - His Election in 1822 and 1824 — Present of an Annuity-Speech upon the Greek Question—The Panama Mission—Mr. Adams's Administration-Mr. Webster's Labors in Committee-His Election as Senator - Death of his Wife-Webster and Hayne - Death of Ezekiel Webster-Nullification-The Bank Question-Faneuil Hall Dinner-Visit to England - Mr. Webster as Secretary of State-Again in the Senate-Mexican War-Death of his Son Edward-Again Secretary-Hulseman-Kossuth.

WE have now reached that point in Mr. Webster's life at which the plan of our work requires that we should be less minute in detail and less diffuse in comment. Having traced him to the head of his profession as a lawyer, and shown the full reward which he received for his early application and industry, we may briefly notice his career as a legislator and a statesman. While this portion of his life is widely known as a part of the history of his whole country, its proper discussion would require volumes. To larger works, to the published collections of Mr. Webster's speeches

and writings, and to the history of the United States since 1824, we must refer the reader who would perfect his knowledge of Daniel Webster's public services. From his election to Congress, in 1823, until the close of his life, he was almost un interruptedly engaged in the service of his country -his WHOLE COUNTRY; for he had, more than any other public man since Washington, a comprehensive attachment to the Union as a whole. He believed that in the preservation of the Union alone could the prosperity and glory of the several parts be maintained.

On some points of public policy his opinions unquestionably were changed and modified by circumstances. If they had not been, he would have stood alone in the history of men and of parties; for there is no one of whom the same cannot be said. His principles remained unchanged — his love of country unabated. But in the modes of applying those principles, and vindicating his attachment to his native land and her true happiness, the growing population, wealth, and power of the United States, the uprising of new interests and the decline of old, suggested and made necessary some changes in matters of policy and legis