 At a state dinner given by Pierce , Benjamin first met Secretary of War Jefferson Davis , whose wife Varina described the Louisiana senator as having " rather the air of a witty bon vivant than of a great senator " . The two men , both ambitious for leadership in the South and the nation , formed a relationship that Evans describes as " respectful but wary " . The two had occasional differences ; when in 1858 , Davis , by then a Mississippi senator , was irritated by Benjamin 's questioning him on a military bill and suggested that Benjamin was acting as a paid attorney , the Louisianan challenged him to a duel . Davis apologized . 
