The Devil and Daniel Webster

Written by American author Stephen Vincent Benét, “The Devil and Daniel Webster” is a variation on the Faust myth. Benét’s story tackles themes such as The Devil in America, Patriotism and the Limits of Loyalty, and The Nature of Justice. The story first appeared in The Saturday Evening Post in 1936, though it was later republished in Benét’s collection of stories titled Thirteen O’Clock in 1937. The story subsequently received the O. Henry Award, earning recognition as the best short story published that year. “The Devil and Daniel Webster” was directly influenced by Washington Irving’s “The Devil and Tom Walker,” another tale in the Faustian bargain canon.

This guide refers to the version of “The Devil and Daniel Webster” published by Fountainhead Press, which is a direct republishing of Benét’s original 1936 short story. A PDF of the story, with page numbers, can be found here.

Content Warning: The story and guide reference enslavement and the genocide of Indigenous Americans.

The story opens with an unnamed first-person narrator describing what follows as a local legend in parts of New England. The narrator introduces Daniel Webster, a renowned lawyer described in godlike terms: “He never got to be President, but he was the biggest man. There were thousands that trusted in him right next to God Almighty, and they told stories about him […] that were like the stories of patriarchs and such” (1).

The story then shifts focus to a chronically unlucky farmer named Jabez Stone. Stone lives in Cross Corners, New Hampshire, and all of his ventures seem to go astray. Eventually, Stone gets sick of his lot in life and expresses a desire to sell his soul to the Devil in exchange for better luck. While Stone immediately regrets his wish, it comes to fruition the following day, when a genteel man dressed entirely in black arrives at his door. This man is the Devil—he later introduces himself by the name of Scratch—and he comes to offer Jabez Stone seven years of good luck in exchange for his eternal soul. Despite his reservations, Stone agrees to the terms, using a pin to prick his finger and signing the contract in his own blood. Thereafter, Stone’s luck dramatically changes; his farming endeavors are suddenly all prosperous, and Stone and his family become some of the most successful and influential people in Cross Corners. Stone is even asked to stand for selectman, a position of local government, and is considered as a potential candidate for state senate.

Nevertheless, Stone is haunted by his deal and reminded of his impending doom by Scratch’s yearly visits. In the sixth year of his contract, Stone challenges the terms of their agreement, bargaining for an additional three years of life before Scratch can claim his soul. Scratch agrees, and these years pass in turn. When Stone asks for additional extensions, Scratch refuses, and as his time dwindles, Stone seeks alternative ways to extricate himself from his deal, eventually seeking the help of Daniel Webster.

After Stone tells Webster the terms of his deal, Webster agrees to represent him in a court battle against Scratch. Webster and Stone return to Cross Corners on the last night of Stone’s contract and are greeted by Scratch at midnight. While Webster is more than willing to go toe-to-toe with the Devil, Scratch insists that Mr. Stone’s contract is very clear and implores Webster to obey the law that he has dedicated his life to enforcing. Webster questions Scratch’s citizenship, insisting that “no American citizen may be forced into the service of a foreign prince!” (5). Scratch insists that he is not foreign, as Webster suggests, but an American citizen himself, citing his presence at various terrible events in American history as proof.

Granting Scratch’s American citizenship, Webster claims that Stone has the right to a trial by jury. Scratch agrees, so long as he is allowed to select the jury, promising that every juror will be an American citizen. Scratch’s jury of the damned then enters, revealing significant deceased figures from American history: Walter Butler and Simon Girty, both Loyalists during the American Revolution; King Philip, a Wampanoag chief who led a failed battle against New England colonials; Governor Thomas Dale, a dictatorial administrator of then-colonial Virginia; Morton of Merry Mount, a rival of the Plymouth Pilgrims; Edward Teach, more popularly known as the pirate Blackbeard; and Reverend John Smeet, assumedly an invented character by Benét. John Hathorne, who presided over the executions during the Salem Witch Trials, serves as judge.

Webster quickly realizes that Scratch has stacked the jury against him and Stone and begins to grow angry. Just as he is about to erupt, he realizes that this was Scratch’s intention: He hopes to capture Webster’s soul as well. Webster therefore calms himself and begins to speak of life’s simple pleasures: “​​the freshness of a fine morning when you’re young, and the taste of food when you’re hungry, and the new day that’s every day when you’re a child” (7). Webster suggests that all of these things are rendered meaningless in the absence of freedom. While Webster admits that America and her people have made many mistakes throughout their history, he argues that each of these mistakes has led to something bigger and better for the country. He concludes by suggesting that Scratch, or any devil, cannot possibly know what it is like to be an American or a human.

After a short deliberation, the jury announces that they have decided in favor of Stone and Webster even though the terms of the contract are clear. They admit that it was Webster’s eloquent testimony that swayed them in Stone’s favor. As the sun starts to rise, the jury disappears.

Scratch congratulates Webster on his victory and tears up Stone’s contract. Before Scratch can escape, however, Webster grabs him by the arm, demanding that he never return to New Hampshire to bother Jabez Stone, his family, his heirs, or anyone else in the state. Scratch agrees to these terms, though Webster continues to threaten him for some time afterward. Before leaving, Scratch offers to read Webster’s future from the palm of his hand. Webster allows this, and Scratch predicts that Webster will fail to attain his main ambition: to become president. He also says that Webster will experience a backlash after his final speech (a reference to Webster’s “Seventh of March Speech,” during which Webster announced his support for the Compromise of 1850).

Webster resigns himself to these eventual realities, trusting that his legacy will prevail. He goes on to ask Scratch if the Union, for which he has fought his entire life, will survive. Scratch says that Webster will not live to see the outcome of the struggle but that the supporters of the Union will prevail. Webster laughs at Scratch’s response before kicking him out the door. According to legend, Scratch keeps true to his word and never returns to New Hampshire.