Yet in the midst of this happiness, like the Hindoo prince, the spirit
of sadness comes over him when he reflects that very few are so
fortunate as himself, and that a great many seem to be born to positive
misfortune. The change in him was so marked that his classmates took
notice of it and attributed it to too much of a religious interest; but
it was not that. He accepted religion as he found it, and lived and died
in the faith of his ancestors. What is called a religious experience
never came to him; but from this time forward he showed an especial
tenderness and consideration for unfortunate people. It is well we bear
this trait of his character in mind, for it is the interpretation of the
various phases of his career.
He studied law, but does not appear to have ever taken a serious
interest in it. Sumner, on the contrary, became a shining light in the
law-school, and there laid the solid foundation of his future eminence.
Looking back at the past, we see now how the lives of these two men
diverged. In tact and readiness, in mental gifts, and fineness of
nature, Phillips was slightly the superior of Sumner, but Sumner easily
surpassed him in greatness of design. Phillips wished to be an orator,
and afterwards confessed that at this period of his life his admiration
for Webster knew no legitimate bounds. But oratory is an art which
requires a liberal profession for its basis; and Webster and Sumner
became orators by virtue of their profession.
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