An Englishman's Travels In America: His Observations Of Life And Manners In The Free And Slave States - 1857 - By J. Benwell.
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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.
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