"
"Are not you a little peculiar, or, I might say, over-nice, in
this?" remarked Doctor Hillhouse.
"No, I am only prudent. Let me give you a fact in my own experience.
I had a law-suit several years ago involving many thousands of
dollars. My case was good, but some nice points of law were
involved, and I needed for success the best talent the bar afforded.
A Mr. B----, I will call him, stood very high in the profession, and
I chose him for my counsel. He was a man of fine social qualities,
and admirable for his after-dinner speeches. You always met him on
public occasions. He was one of your good temperate drinkers and not
afraid of a glass of wine, or even brandy, and rarely, if ever,
refused a friend who asked him to drink.
"He was not an intemperate man, of course. No one dreamed of setting
him over among that banned and rejected class of men whom few trust,
and against whom all are on guard. He held his place of honor and
confidence side by side with the most trusted men in his profession.
As a lawyer, interests of vast magnitude were often in his hands,
and largely depended on his legal sagacity, clearness of thought and
sleepless vigilance. He was usually successful in his cases.
"I felt my cause safe in his hands--that is, as safe as human care
and foresight could make it. But to my surprise and disappointment,
his management of the case on the day of trial was faulty and blind.
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