The
majestic presence of Webster, the classic eloquence of Everett,
the lofty zeal of Sumner have made them more conspicuous figures
in the public eye, and it is likely will preserve their memeory
longer in the public heart. But the figure of John Davis
deserves to stand by the side of these great men in imperishable
memory as one of the foremost men of the State he loved so
well and served so faithfully and wisely.
The Bar of Worcester County in 1850 and the years following
was a very able one, indeed. It had many men of high reputation
in the Commonwealth and some of wide national fame. The principal
citizen of Worcester and the most distinguished member of
the Bar was Governor Levi Lincoln. Although he had long since
left practice, he used always to come into the court once
at each term of the Supreme Court, bow respectfully to the
Bench, and invite the Judges to dinner at his house, and withdraw.
He filled a very large place in the history of Massachusetts
from the time of his graduation at Harvard in 1802 until the
close of the War in 1865. There is, so far as I know, no
memoir of him in existence, except one or two brief sketches
which appear in the proceedings of some local societies of
which he was a member.
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