ment of the Legislature, in May, 1851, I
went several times to see him at the hotel where he stopped. On one
occasion in the evening, while we were in the saloon of the hotel, he
asked me to take a glass of wine with him. We stepped up to the bar
and were about drinking, when he suddenly threw himself before me and
with great violence pushed me out of the room. The proceeding was
so sudden and unexpected that I was astonished and for a moment
indignant. I demanded an explanation, saying "What does this mean, Mr.
Broderick?" He then told me that while we were standing at the bar
he had noticed Vi.--or to give his full name, Vicesimus--Turner, a
brother of the Judge, a man of desperate character, come into the
bar-room, throw back his Spanish cloak, draw forth a navy revolver,
and level it at me. Seeing the movement, he had thrown himself between
me and the desperado and carried me off. These good offices on the
part of Mr. Broderick filled me with a profound sense of gratitude.
For years afterwards I thought and felt as if there was nothing I
could do that would be a sufficient return for his kindness. On his
account I took much greater interest in political matters than I
otherwise should. In order to aid him in his aspirations for election
to the United States Senate, upon which he had set his heart,
I attended conventions and gave liberally, often to my great
inconvenience, to assist the side to which he belonged. To many
persons it was a matter of surprise that I should take such an
interest in his success and through good and evil report remain so
constant and determined in my support of him; but the explanation lies
in the circumstances I have narrated and the brave manner in which he
had stood by me in a most critical moment of my life.

I regret to state that this friendship was ever broken. It was not by
me; but broken it was. Shortly after Mr. Broderick was elected to the
Senate, he quarrelled with Mr. Buchanan over appointments to office
in California; and when he returned to the State, he expressed a good
deal of hostility to the Administration. In that hostility I did
not participate, and he complained of me for that reason. I was then
spoken of throughout the State as a probable candidate for the bench,
and he announced his opposition to my nomination. I made no complaints
of his conduct, but was much hurt by it. My nomination and election
soon afterwards removed me from the sphere of politics. I seldom met