The argument ended. Mr. Webster stood for some moments silent before the
court, while every eye was fixed intently upon him. At length, addressing
the chief justice, Marshall, he proceeded thus:--

"This, Sir, is my case! It is the case, not merely of that humble
institution, it is the case of every college in our land. It is more. It is
the case of every eleemosynary institution throughout the country,--of all
those great charities founded by the piety of our ancestors to alleviate
human misery; and scatter blessings along the pathway of life. It is more!
It is, in some sense, the case of every man among us who has property of
which he may be stripped; for the question is simply this: Shall our State
legislatures be allowed to take that which is not their own, to turn it
from its original use, and apply it to such ends or purposes as they, in
their discretion, shall see fit?

"Sir, you may destroy this little institution; it is weak; it is in your
hands! I know it is one of the lesser lights in the literary horizon of our
country. You may put it out. But if you do so, you must carry through your
work! You must extinguish one after another, all those great lights of
science which, for more than a century, have thrown their radiance over our
land!

"It is, Sir, as I have said, a small college. And yet, there are those who
love it----."

Here the feelings which he had thus far succeeded in keeping down, broke
forth. His lips quivered; his firm cheeks trembled with emotion; his eyes
were filled with tears, his voice choked, and he seemed struggling to the
utmost simply to gain that mastery over himself which might save him from