1937 Stephen Vincent Benét
From The Devil and Daniel Webster
Yes, Dan’l Webster’s dead – or, at least, they buried him. But every time there’s a thunderstorm around Marshfield, they say you can hear his rolling voice in the hollows of the sky. And they say that if you go to his grave and speak loud and clear, “Dan’l – Dan’l Webster!” the ground’ll begin to shiver and the trees begin to shake. And after awhile you’ll hear a deep voice saying, “Neighbor, neighbor, how stands the Union?” Then you better answer, “The Union stands as she stood – oak-bottomed and copper-sheathed, one and indivisible!” or he’s liable to rear right out of the ground.
Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was a leading American Statesman, Senator and prominent conservative from Massachusetts during the period leading up to the Civil War. He served 29 years in the Congress and as Secretary of State for three presidents.
