the feelings of his heart. And, sir, whatever may be the opinions of others, for one, I should not hesitate to say, in the language of the Sage of Monticello, Honor and gratitude to him who has filled the measure of his country's honor.""

JOSEPH EMORY DAVIS.

The subject of this sketch was born near Augusta, Georgia, on the 10th of December, 1784. He was the oldest one of a family of ten children, of which his brother Jefferson Davis was the youngest. His father, Samuel Davis, was a soldier of the American Revolution, and served in the mounted troops of Georgia, his native State, from his seventeenth year to the close of the War for Independence.

When Joseph was about twelve years of age his father emigrated to Kentucky, and settled in that portion of Christian County which was afterward erected into the county of Todd. Having received such education as the common schools of the country afforded, he was placed at an early age in a mercantile house, where he acquired those characteristic habits of business and knowledge of accounts which, no doubt, contributed largely to his future success. But he had but little taste for the life of a tradesman, and after having served a few years as a merchant's clerk he began the study of law in the office of Judge Wallace, of Russellville, Kentucky. Here he found a field commensurate with his ambition, and suitable to the development of his genius.

In 1811 he removed with his father's family to Wilkinson County, Mississippi, and continued to read law, under Joseph Johnson, Esq. In 1812 he was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice at Pinckneyville in that county. He remained there, however, but a short time before he removed to Greenville, in Jefferson County, where he remained until 1820, and rose to a high rank in his profession.

In 1817 the people of that county chose him as a delegate to the convention for the organization of the State Government; and his services in framing the fundamental law of the State.

were marked by a depth of legal learning, of sound judgment, and practicality, which placed him in the ranks of its most eminent and useful men.

In 1820 he removed to Natchez, at that time the most important commercial town in Mississippi, and formed a copartnership for the practice of his profession with Thomas B. Reed, who was then the acknowledged leader of the bar of the State. It was the usage of the lawyers of that period to travel the circuit with the judge, it being one of the customs of England which still lingered in this country; and as those of the highest rank were thus brought in constant contact, it required the highest intellectual qualities to achieve success; consequently the bar of Mississippi at that time was not inferior, perhaps, to any that ever existed in the State; and it was under these exacting circumstances, and in the midst of this array of talent, that Mr. Davis attained his eminence.

As a lawyer Mr. Davis was thoroughly versed in the learning of his profession. He possessed an intellectual vigor, an inquisitiveness of mind, and a practicality of disposition which led him to look beyond the mere existence of the statute to an inquiry into the origin and reason of the law. The poetry and sentimentality of his nature had been pruned and subdued by the mathematical teaching and stoical example of his father, and he viewed things in the light of reason and stern reality. His opinions were the result of deep reflection, and his views were always judicious and prospective. His perception was acute, and he was quick to detect points of weakness, and slender probabilities. As Lord Cockburn said of Lord Jeffrey, "He was a first-rate legal pilot. He saw at the outset of the voyage all the rocks and shoals on which the ship was likely to strike, and all the gales that might favor or obstruct it; all the anchors that would hold, and all the harbors of refuge into which he might run. He scented what would turn out nonsense or falsehood a great way off, and thus was one of the safest of all gen. eral advisers. It was not exactly acuteness or talent; it was a faculty which these qualities often obstruct; it was the power of taking large and calm surveys, with a view to detect strong or weak points."

To these superb qualities of judgment and perception, in which lay the secret of his facility in the formation of correct opinions, and in a wise regulation of conduct, Mr. Davis added a correct association of ideas and a memory for details which enabled him to array facts and circumstances in the most exact and imposing order, and a logical power that presented them in the most forcible manner to the minds of his hearers. And to his powers of analysis and synthesis were superadded superior oratorical accomplishments. He had a deep, clear, and musical voice, a brilliant imagination, a refined taste, forcible expression, a graceful manner, and engaging personal appearance. Hence he was a pleasing and entertaining speaker and a powerful advocate.

In 1827 he decided to retire from the bar and begin the life of a planter, and steadily closed his engagements. His professional success had been great and his practice remunerative, and he now sought that repose which can only be found in the bosom of rural domesticity. But he carried with him into his new occupation the same energy and capacity which characterized his career as a lawyer, and the result was that, in 1861, he possessed one of the most valuable plantations on the Mississippi River. His numerous slaves, flocks and herds, beautiful grounds, extensive orchards, commodious dwelling, and largehearted hospitality, caused his home to become a bright landmark in the memory of the happy days of a prosperous country.

Among the prominent features of his character were his great benevolence and humanity. Many youths of both sexes were indebted to him for a liberal education, and some who were his friends in the days of his comparative poverty found in their necessities a refuge under his roof; and so considerate was his kindness, so sincere his generosity, and so hospitable his manners, that no one to whose wants he administered ever felt the sting of dependency, or suffered humiliation in the reception of his benefits.

He was exceedingly kind and just in the management of his slaves. It was a fixed rule upon his plantation that punishment should only be inflicted for crime of which the accused had been

convicted by a jury, selected from the other negroes on the plantation; and over these trials he alone presided as judge; and he gave it as his experience that the tendency of his plantation juries, like those of other courts, was to find a verdict not from the evidence adduced, but from their opinion of the character of the accused, a disposition which it became necessary for him to check by the most careful charges and an un-judgelike defence of the criminal. His tender care for them ceased not with his life, but was continued by an unusual testamentary provision for those who were incapable of supporting themselves.

With a cheerful temper, attractive manners, and a heart so full of kindness, he possessed every element for popularity, and might have achieved high political distinction had he chosen the field of politics for the exercise of his great talents; but he seems to have had no desire for the honors, emoluments, or excitements, of public life. He held no office but that of a delegate to the Convention of 1817, and sought but one other—that of delegate to the Convention of 1832. At this convention the important question of an elective judiciary was to be decided, and he entered the canvass in opposition to that measure, which he feared would drag the ermine through the mire of party strife, and prove fatal to the purity and efficiency of the bench. But, controlled by an intelligent suffrage, the election of judicial officers in Mississippi produced no such effect, but, on the contrary, proved, so far at least as the Supreme Court was concerned, an improvement upon the former system; and it is a notable fact that the judges of the High Court were generally chosen from the political party then in the minority in the districts from which they were elected.

In politics Mr. Davis was a disciple of Jefferson. With that creed he began his career, and from that faith he never swerved. Far-seeing and conservative in his character, he doubted the expediency of secession when it occurred, but never questioned the right of a State to judge, in the last resort, of its wrongs, and the mode and measure of their redress.

During the war he was driven from his home and property on the banks of the Mississippi, and, without complaint or an expression of regret, procured a more humble residence in Hinds