Whether he said it or not, the statement is perfectly true.

The thoughts on the Union and on the grandeur of American nationality had been garnered up for years, and this in a greater or less degree was true of all his finest efforts.

The preparation on paper was trifling, but the mental preparation extending over weeks or days, sometimes, perhaps, over years, was elaborate to the last point.

When the moment came, a night's work would put all the stored-up thoughts in order, and on the next day they would pour forth with all the power of a strong mind thoroughly saturated with its subject, and yet with the vitality of unpremeditated expression, having the fresh glow of morning upon it, and with no trace of the lamp.
More than all this, however, in the immediate effect of Mr.Webster's speeches was the physical influence of the man himself.

We can but half understand his eloquence and its influence if we do not carefully study his physical attributes, his temperament and disposition.