He said soon after he left college, and with perfect truth, that his scholarship was not remarkable, nor equal to what he was credited with.
He explained his reputation after making this confession by saying that he read carefully, meditated on what he had read, and retained it so that on any subject he was able to tell all he knew to the best advantage, and was careful never to go beyond his depth.

There is no better analysis of Mr.
Webster's strongest qualities of mind than this made by himself in reference to his college standing.

Rapid acquisition, quick assimilation of ideas, an iron memory, and a wonderful power of stating and displaying all he knew characterized him then as in later life.

The extent of his knowledge and the range of his mind, not the depth or soundness of his scholarship, were the traits which his companions remembered.

One of them says that they often felt that he had a more extended understanding than the tutors to whom he recited, and this was probably true.