len to quote a verse which has been more than
once applied in the same way since, "And in that day Pilate
and Herod were made friends together."

Mr. Davis was a careful and prudent manager of money matters,
and left what was, for his time, a considerable estate, considering
the fact that so much of his life had been passed in the public
service. His success in public life was, doubtless, in large
measure, increased by his accomplished and admirable wife,
the sister of George Bancroft. She was a lady of simple dignity,
great intelligence, great benevolence and kindness of heart.
Her conversation was always most delightful, especially in
her old age, when her mind was full of the treasures of her
long experience and companionship with famous persons. Mr.
Davis left five sons, all of them men of ability. The eldest
has been Minister to Berlin, Assistant Secretary of State,
Secretary of Legation in London, Judge of the Court of Claims,
and Reporter of the decisions of the Supreme Court of the
United States. Another son, Horace, has been a member of
Congress, eminent in the public life of California, and, I
believe, president of the University of California.

John Davis won great distinction by a very powerful speech
on the tariff question in reply to James Buchanan. Buchanan
was one of the most powerful Democratic leaders in the Senate,
but Davis was thought by the Whigs to have got much the better
of him in the debate. It was generally expected that he would
be the Whig candidate for the Vice-Presidency in 1840. But
another arrangement was made, for reasons which may be as
well told here. The Whig Convention to nominate a President
was held at Harrisburg, Pa., in December 4, 1839, nearly a
year before the election. The delegates from the different
States were asked to consult together and agree upon their
first choice. Then they were asked to say whom they thought
next to the person they selected would be the strongest candidate.
When the result was ascertained, it was discovered that William
Henry Harrison was thought by a very large majority of the
Convention to be the strongest candidate they could find.
He was accordingly selected as the Whig standard-bearer.
A committee of one person from each State was then chosen to
propose to the Convention a candidate for Vice-President.
Benjamin Watkins Leigh, of Virginia, was a strong supporter
of Henry Clay, a man of great personal worth, highly esteemed
throu