to effect. He is now in
practice in San Francisco, and has a large clientage.

Judge Burnett continued in office until the election of his successor
in the fall of 1858. His successor was Joseph G. Baldwin, a lawyer of
distinction and a gentleman of literary reputation. He was the
author of "The Flush Times of Alabama and Mississippi," and of "Party
Leaders." The first is a work full of humor and a great favorite in
the section of the country whose "times" it portrays with such spirit
and glee as to excite roars of laughter in the reader. The latter is a
thoughtful history of the character and influence upon the country
of Jefferson, Hamilton, Jackson, Clay, and Randolph. His portraitures
present these men in the fullness and freshness of living beings, whom
we see and hear, and whose power we feel.

My friendship for Mr. Baldwin commenced long before he came to the
bench, and it afterwards warmed into the attachment of a brother. He
had a great and generous heart; there was no virtue of humanity of
which he did not possess a goodly portion. He was always brimful of
humor, throwing off his jokes, which sparkled without burning, like
the flashes of a rocket. There was no sting in his wit. You felt as
full of merriment at one of his witticisms, made at your expense, as
when it was played upon another. Yet he was a profound lawyer, and
some of his opinions are models of style and reasoning. He remained on
the bench until January, 1862, when he was succeeded by Edward Norton,
of San Francisco. This gentleman was the exemplar of a judge of
a subordinate court. He was learned, patient, industrious, and
conscientious; but he was not adapted for an appellate tribunal. He
had no confidence in his own unaided judgment. He wanted some one upon
whom to lean. Oftentimes he would show me the decision of a tribunal
of no reputation with apparent delight, if it corresponded with his
own views, or with a shrug of painful doubt, if it conflicted with
them. He would look at me in amazement if I told him that the decision
was not worth a fig; and would appear utterly bewildered at my
waywardness when, as was sometimes the case, I refused to look at it
after hearing by what court it was pronounced.

It is not my purpose to speak of my own career on the Bench of the
Supreme Court of California. It is only for reminiscences of my
previous life that you, Mr. Hittell, have asked.[1] I am tempted,
however, to hand to you a letter of Judge Bal