common law. Mr. Noxon studied the cases which shaped and settled the law of this State as they arose. In many important ones he had a part. In all his career as a lawyer he was distinguished for his accurate knowledge of adjudged cases their reasons, their distinctions and their limitations, and no man had a better memory to retain, or more skill to use this knowledge. From this armory he drew at pleasure, battle-axe or scimetar, and wielded them as required with a strong or a cunning hand. I should do great injustice to Mr. Noxon's professional character, if I left it to be inferred that he was merely a real estate lawyer. His mind was equally ready or nearly so in other branches of his profession. He was quickwitted and ready as well as strong in the trial of cases. I well remember the story of his defense of a man prosecuted for libel, in calling a man a buttermilk doctor, as related to me by my old preceptor. The case was tried before Judge Van Ness. It was his habit to have a pitcher of buttermilk on the bench, and to drink it freely, after the manner of his Dutch progenitors. In summing up, Mr. Noxon said: "It is no libel to call a man a buttermilk doctor. I, as well as his honor, the judge, have some such blood in our veins, and I should not feel insulted or libeled to be called a buttermilk lawyer, nor would he to be called a buttermilk judge." This provoked a laugh upon the plaintiff by the outsiders and jury, which was a pretty sure index of their verdict. He was master of invective, always honest, but sometimes carried to excess. A false and lying witness met with no mercy at his hands, and it required something more than ordinary cunning to hide a lie from his searching cross-examination. think he delighted in hanging up the scalps of parties guilty of any kind of fraud, oppression, or overreaching, to dry in the smoke of his cabin. In a case he prosecuted for seduction, he quoted the lines, and it I is the only poetical quotation I remember to have heard from him: Are there no lightnings in the vault of heaven, to blast the seducer and destroyer of female innocence? In important causes, Mr. Noxon was sure to be engaged. In such contests he met the renowned men of his profession; the subtle and witty Collier, and Ben Johnson, as full of sense and learning as of drollery and good nature; John C. Spencer, of unrivaled acuteness, and his no less able namesake-Joshua A. Spencer, whose very presence was a spell upon juries, hard to break; Daniel Cady, a man whose clear and unclouded intellect illuminated and made plain the most obscure questions; these, and such as these, were the antagonists he was accustomed to meet, and he delighted in the shock of such encounters. It was the meeting of flint and steel. One of Mr. Noxon's noticeable points was his love of nature. He took the greatest delight in the garden. I think, in the hight of his fame as a lawyer, he was more gratified to raise a good seedling plum which should bear his name, than to win the weightiest cause in court. Pope never had any higher enjoyment in Binfield or Twickenham than he found in his orchard and garden at Green Point. He was a keen sportsman, and Izaak Walton never had a more zealous or admiring pupil." In the language of Judge Allen, "He was a great man, worthy of all admiration; he was strong in his native sense and sound judgment; strong in a knowledge of the law, in the rudiments and principles of which he was thoroughly rooted and grounded; strong in his knowledge of human nature, and his ability and tact in the use of that knowledge; strong in his self-reliance; strong in his affections and social ties, drawing to himself with the cords of love, respect, and affection, all who came to know him; strong in his love of right and justice, truth and equity." The most remarkable feature shown by Mr. Noxon in the trial of causes, was the strength he appeared to gather in difficult cases. The greater the doubt upon the questions in controversy-the stronger the opposition brought to bear against him by distinguished counsel, the stronger, more beautiful and extraordinary were the efforts and talent exhibited by him in overthrowing his adversary. He seemed to excel himself when pressed hard by his opponent. He has gone to his rest, full of years and full of honors. His record is pure and untarnished in the courts, where he spent fifty years of his life in unraveling the intricacies of the law. His good name and fame are justly appreciated by the judge, the bar, the juries of the country, who have so long witnessed his masterly efforts in a profession he loved so well. His genial nature, and his social qualities, have left behind him many pleasing anecdotes, illustrating the happiest traits of his character. While such incidents reflect in some measure the character and disposition of the man, they rarely exhibit that true greatness which shines forth in that logical and close reasoning so necessary for a successful lawyer. We omit mention of the many anecdotes told, which would fill a volume; we say nothing of the political life of him who never sought to shine in the political field. Our task is done, when we point with pride and pleasure to the achievements and laurels won in the battle-field of legal science. His life and success give the warmest encouragement to the young man entering upon the profession, without means and without the benefit of a thorough education in the schools of the country. If his record is such as will awaken noble aspirations in the young man starting in the race for the highest honors in the legal profession, the admirers and friends of him whose life was so long spared for usefulness will be most abundantly rewarded. Mr. Noxon was accidentally killed by being run over by the cars, at Syracuse, on the afternoon of May 13th, 1869, having at the time reached the advanced age of eighty-one years. SOLOMON K. HAVEN. Interesting interview between Governor Young and two applicants for a Clerkship in his Office.-One is very poorly Clad, the other fashionably Attired.-Mr. Young decides to accept the poor young Man, much to the surprise of a fashionable young Lady.-The young Man Commences his Studies.-A glance at his Career and his great Success.-This was Solomon K. Haven.-His Birth.-His want of early advantages.-The Common School.-Haven's Success as a Scholar. -A prize offered for the best Reader.-" Does Sol Haven think he can win the Prize?"-The Contest.-Haven Victorious.- Becomes a Teacher.-Decides to Study Law. Enters Governor Young's Office.-Is Appointed Deputy Clerk of Livingston County, but continues his Law Studies.-His Popularity.-Offered the Office of County Clerk.-Magnanimous Reasons for his Refusal.-He leaves Geneseo and Enters the Office of Mark H. Sibley, at Canandaigua.-Character of Sibley. Haven gains the Friendship of Francis Granger.-Haven Admitted to the Bar and visits Buffalo.-Decides to remain there.-Rents an office, arranges it, and tries a Lawsuit on the day he arrives at Buffalo.-His Success as a Lawyer. His Marriage.-Enters into Partnership with Honorable Millard Fillmore and Judge N. K. Hall.-Success and Character of the Firm.-Haven's subsequent Professional Career.-Often opposed by H. K. Smith, G. P. Barker, James Mullett, and other brilliant Lawyers.-How he Succeeded with them.-The Case of Riall v. Pulsifer.--Haven in danger of being overthrown by Mullett's brilliant Speech-Laughable manner in which Defeat is turned into Victory.-Haven Elected to Congress.-His Re-election.-Congressional Career.-Character as a Politician. As a Lawyer and Citizen.-Falls a Victim to his great Professional Labors.-His Death. IN the autumn of 1828, Mr., afterwards Governor Young, who was then a young lawyer of rapidly increasing practice, desired to engage a young man who wrote a fair hand to enter his office as a student, to whom he proposed to pay a small salary. Not long after making this announcement, two young men applied to him at the same time for the position. One of them was coarsely and poorly clad, his appearance indicating the most indigent circumstances. But there was self-respect, self-reliance and a refinement |