CHAPTER II.
LAW AND POLITICS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.
The occasion of Mr.Webster's first appearance in court has been the subject of varying tradition.

It is certain, however, that in the counties where he practised during his residence at Boscawen, he made an unusual and very profound impression.

The effect then produced is described in homely phrase by one who knew him well.

The reference is to a murder trial, in which Mr.Webster gained his first celebrity.
"There was a man tried for his life, and the judges chose Webster to plead for him; and, from what I can learn, he never has spoken better than he did there where he first began.

He was a black, raven-haired fellow, with an eye as black as death's, and as heavy as a lion's,--that same heavy look, not sleepy, but as if he didn't care about anything that was going on about him or anything anywhere else.