often find them out. On the other hand thoughtful men appreciate the perplexities and embarrassments which beset the attor ney; they accept without complaint the frank admission of an honest lawyer that his con clusion may not be reliable, as he has arrived at it only through processes which may be shown to be illogical and misleading. Nice discernment in the investigation of the facts of a case, aided by a careful interpretation of relevant laws, has often led to conclusions afterwards declared by the courts to be ut terly worthless. After all, true safety is in the avoidance of that " experience," the reputa tion for which is gained by the assumption of knowledge and by dignified arrogance, and in reliance upon the opinion which its author is candid enough to admit may be rendered valueless by the operation of those uncertain causes which seem to attend nearly every human effort and action. But there is a universal complaint, — law yers are not practical. One hears this obser vation from all classes. It seems to afford people great satisfaction to attribute the miscarriage of fanciful aspirations to their attorney's inability to appreciate practical points and details. The impression is a wrong one. The course pursued by many in seeking advice is ill-advised, if not sense less. There are lawyers of every description, and life is not long enough to enable the average man to gain real proficiency in more than one department of law. Hence he who seeks enlightenment of a criminal lawyer upon business of a commercial nature should, when his plans are thwarted and his hopes shattered, place the blame where it belongs, — on himself. I,t is natural, of course, that business men should sometimes find their

legal advisers slow to grasp exceptional problems and complicated facts. But let the merchant remember that while he him self is familiar with affairs peculiar to his own environment, the business lawyer is called upon to grapple with questions be gotten by conflicts and embarrassments, arising in a great variety of trades, employ ments, and commercial enterprises. The merchant's especial knowledge may be com prehensive; the business lawyer's general information is of greater service and value. To vindicate our position we need not re sort to rhetorical enlargement; our appeal is to history. Who will deny that the remark able mercantile progress of the Englishspeaking races is not in a measure due to the help afforded by lawyers familiar with commercial affairs, in shedding light upon dark and difficult paths, in suggesting the reasonable and practical course to be pur sued where questions are not quite suscep tible of deductive reasoning, in unravelling entanglements requiring patient and intelli gent treatment, and in promoting the establishment and indicating the methods of management of the great institutions which have facilitated and still facilitate the trade and commerce, not only of Eng lish-speaking people, but of the world? No one can attain to intellectual perfection. He is the superior man whose memory is en riched by diversified facts, and whose reason is enlightened and whose reflections are lib eralized by the discipline and attainments of years. His superiority may be questioned by the tongue; but the reliance placed upon, and the confidence reposed in it demon strate a certain, although perhaps not candid acknowledgment.