434 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NEW YORK MEETING 



care to the winds. The old daguerreotype, reproduced here, suggests 

 such a dis])Osition, and Dr Newberry's description of him as a young 

 man of sunny temperament, a delightful and absolutely irresistil)le com- 

 panion, is such as one knowing him well in his later days would imagine. 

 The contrast between the countenance of the young man at 35 and that 

 of the old man at four score tells the story of a life filled with conflict. 

 Burdens came early, but they belonged to the normal struggles of a New 

 England youth, and had no effect except perhaps to make him more 

 self-centered. Intimate association in the formative period with men 

 like Eaton and Emmons, the incarnation of dogmatism, must have in- 

 creased and confirmed a similar tendency in him, but could not have 

 affected his disposition. Had matters run smoothly for half a score of 

 years after the close of the survey, his life might have been an easier one ; 

 but he learned almost at once that a friend is a vain thing to lean upon, 

 and soon afterward he was plunged into official conflicts, which lasted 

 in one way or another until within three years of his death. 



The fundamental feature of his character was childlike simplicity 

 united to self-confidence and indomitable energy. Simplicity ke])thim 

 from concealment of his purposes and self-confidence kept him from 

 seeking easy modes of accomplishing them. Knowing what he wanted, 

 he took a direct line, with little regard for anybody or anything which 

 might be in the way to oppose. ' In early days the Alban^^ officials did 

 not understand him, believing his frankness to be but the cover for craft- 

 iness. He deceived his opponents by alwa3''s telling the truth, some- 

 thing strange to politicians ; but in time they came to understand him 

 well, and strong men sought combat simply to measure strength, as in 

 gladiatorial contests of olden time. Almost invariably he was victori- 

 ous, but victory was often worse than defeat, for it converted into life- 

 long enemies men who before had been merely indifferent,'^ and so it' 

 came about that, as a leading senator once said, " eternal vigilance is the 

 price of Professor Hall's position." He held his place for almost two- 

 thirds of a century through no favor of man, but solel}^ because he 

 refused to be displaced. His influence over governors, comptrollers, sec- 

 retaries, and legislators was lost for little more than five years during 

 the long period from 1843 to 1898. In bitter contest for years Avith a 

 bureau of the state government and at times with prominent officials, 

 he was pestered again and again with committees appointed too often 

 not to investigate, but to condemn. With few exceptions, those com- 

 mittees appointed to curse returned to bless. Indeed, as Judge Draper 

 once said, it is probable that Professor Hall drove more investigation 

 committees up the stump than did any other man or group of men in 

 our time. 



