“Yes, Dan'l Webster's
dead--or, at least, they buried him. But every time there's a thunder storm
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 Webster--Dan'l Webster!" the ground 'll begin to shiver and
the trees begin to shake. And after a while you'll hear a deep voice saying,
"Neighbor, how stands the Union?" Then you better answer the Union
stands as she stood, rock-bottomed and copper sheathed, one and indivisible, or
he's liable to rear right out of the ground. At least, that's what I was told
when I was a youngster.”
So begins The Devil and Daniel Webster by Stephen
Vincent Benet.
Today is the birthday of the
lawyer, statesman, and orator Daniel Webster, born in 1782 in Salisbury, New
Hampshire to Ebenezer and Abigail Webster.
You can read about this
controversial but able speaker at Wikipedia, and explore his time as a student
at Dartmouth at Daniel Webster: Dartmouth’s Favorite Son. His birthplace is a New Hampshire State Historic Site; it is not open to the public until mid-June, but looks like a
nice option for a day-trip come summer.
For me, it is time again to
read The Devil and Daniel Webster.
The 1941 movie based on the story (with Walter Huston as Ol’ Scratch) is
available on Hulu (online) and on DVD. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, give it a try.
“But they say that whenever
the devil comes near Marshfield, even now, he gives it a wide berth. And he
hasn't been seen in the state of New Hampshire from that day to this. I'm not talking about Massachusetts or
Vermont.”
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For one of New Hampshire’s
favorite sons, have something from the Granite State. This recipe, from the Woman’s
Day Encyclopedia of Cookery, is called NEW
HAMPSHIRE TURNOVER APPLE PIE. It’s
not quite the ‘turnover’ that you are used to, and the cook’s helpers are
likely to wonder (audibly) if you really know what you are doing. Ignore them.
Preheat oven to 425° F.
Peel and thinly slice enough
tart apples to make 5 cups.
Make or buy 1 pastry crust for a 9-inch pie.
Warm a serving plate (plate
should be the same size as the top of the pie).
Fill a 9-inch pie pan with
the apples.
Fit the pastry crust over
the top of the apples (like a top crust) and trim the edge.
Bake for 25 minutes or until
the apples a soft [how you are supposed
to check if they are soft is beyond me.
I just leave them for 25 minutes.]
But… but… but… what about the sugar and cinnamon? Fear not. It cometh.
Remove the pie from the oven.
[Here it comes] TURN THE PIE UPSIDE
DOWN ON THE WARM SERVING PLATE. [This is the ‘turnover’]
Lift off the pie pan,
leaving the baked apples in the crust.
Carefully scoop out the apples from the CRUST back into the pie pan, and
mash them with a spoon. Now stir
in ½ cup of sugar, 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1 tablespoon of butter.
Spread the apple mixture on
the crust again; dot with another tablespoon of butter. Put it in a warm place until the butter
is melted.
Serve warm with ice cream or
whipped cream.
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Images:
“Birthplace of Daniel
Webster” from The Private Life of Daniel
Webster by Charles Lanman (1858).
“The site of the house is
two and a half miles from the beautiful Merrimack River, and in the immediate
vicinity of that where his father built the first log-cabin ever seen in this
section of country, and at a time when, between his residence and the borders
of Canada, there was not a single human habitation, excepting the Indian's
wigwam. The house in question is not now standing; but the engraving which ornaments
this volume is from a drawing correctly representing it, as it appeared only a
few years ago, and is the only portrait of the place which ever received the
approbation of Mr. Webster. It was a good specimen
of the more elegant farm-houses of the day, one story high, heavily timbered,
clapboarded, with rather a pointed roof, one chimney in the centre, one front
door, with a window on either side, three windows at each end, four rooms on
the ground floor, and an addition in the rear for a kitchen."
“Young Daniel at the Saw
Mill” from Life of Daniel Webster: the
Statesman and the Patriot by John Frost (1868)
“Near his birthplace and in
the bed of a little brook are the remains of an old mill which once stood in a
dark glen, and was then surrounded by a majestic forest which covered the
neighboring hills. The mill was a source of income to Ebenezer Webster, and he kept it
in operation till near the end of his life. To that mill, Daniel,
though a small boy, went daily, when not in school, to assist his father
in sawing boards. He was apt in learning any thing useful, and soon became so
expert in doing every thing required, that his services, as an assistant, were
valuable. Hence the reason for his being employed there when not at school or
absolutely required elsewhere. But his time was not mispent or misapplied.
After setting the saw and "hoisting the gate," and while the saw was
passing through the log from end to end, which usually occupied from ten to
fifteen minutes for each board, Daniel was usually seen reading attentively the
books in the way of history and biography which he was permitted to take from
the house." Charles Lanman, Personal Memorials of Daniel Webster,
(1853)
