"It was a frequent saying of his that the principal difficulty that he met with in the practice of the law was to get the Court to see the law as it was; a difficulty that many of us, no doubt, have thought at times obstructed our success; but which, with that modesty and discretion so characteristic of the profession, we have failed to voice. "Mr. Hall was the acknowledged wit of the Bar of Western Washington. I might give many instances of his ability as a wit, but one must suffice. "It was the last day of a term of Court at Port Townsend. My practice was to read over the docket on the last day of Court in the presence of the attorneys, so that I could correct on my docket any omissions or mistakes. I was about to adjourn Court when Mr. Hall said he desired to have a demurrer heard. I told him to proceed. He made a brief yet clear and plausable argument in favor of the demurrer. It involved a point of statutory construction. When he had concluded, the opposing counsel rose to reply. I told him that I did not desire to hear him; that the point presented so ably by Mr. Hall was not new to me; that my mind was against the construction contended for, and that I would have to overrule the demurrer. Mr. Hall, who had arisen to his feet, and who was manifestly a little disappointed at the ruling of the Court, said that he would like to have an exception. I said: 'The Court will grant you an exception with pleasure; but,' I said, 'this very question has been up before my Brother Greene and my Brother Lewis, and we all agree in our views; now, you know that we three constitute the Supreme Court, and, while I give you the exception with the greatest pleasure, I fear you will not make much by it.' He stood in a reflective attitude for a moment, then said: 'May it please your Honor, I believe I will take the benefit of the exception, anyhow, for the tenure of office is very uncertain in this Territory.' "I have heard the incident related with this sequel, that he took the case to the Supreme Court, that the Judges mentioned were all off the Bench, and the demurrer was sustained. I cannot vouch for the correctness of this sequel, however. "Now, Mr. President and brothers, I owe you an apology for detaining you so long with this unsubstantial matter, this unwritten poetry of the profession. I am inclined to believe, however that the actual intellectual and moral tone of a given period, as well as the social status, has no truer index than its current anecdotes. Every new and formative community is marked with distinctive individualities. In the onward sweep of development and civilization, and in the largeness of population, individuality becomes fused in the general mass, and loses its salient characteristics."