An Astral Partner. my client at our first meeting, and was sur prised at a certain lack of responsiveness on his part, which seemed out of character with so positive a man and so keen a litigant as I had reason to believe him to be. "I don't know," he said, doubtfully and with a certain reserve for which I could not account, " whether we can try at this term or not. To tell the truth, it depends on matters not within my control and as to which I am not yet informed." I waited for him to explain further, but as he only sat clasping and unclasping his hands nervously, I said, somewhat coolly no doubt : — "Well, it is your affair; but I should ad vise, — strongly advise that we press for trial. If you wish to continue, I don't fancy your opponents will object; but I wash my hands of responsibility. If the case is con tinued and you are beaten by Garner's tes timony, don't blame me." "Not at all, Mr. ," replied my client. "I appreciate what you have done and my judgment quite coincides with yours; but there are others, — at least another, — in short, Mr. , I am not a free moral agent, — not in this matter at least, though I am hardly at liberty to make known to you the real facts of the situation. I trust you will pardon my seeming lack of confi dence, or rather perhaps, what you may deem an unaccountable reserve. I hope to be able to speak with entire freedom in re gard to the matter, perhaps very soon." I could not but recognize the sincerity of my client's words and the evident pain his lack of candor caused him. He was clearly worried and undecided, a fact at which I greatly wondered from what I had heard of his character. It was a time of great finan cial instability, however, and I concluded that his language referred to business difficulties which might culminate in an inability to continue the litigation. So I said, cordially, for I wished to show a sympathy with his distress: —
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"O, it is of no consequence, Mr. Morris. Of course one likes to have his judgment regarded in such a matter; but after all a lawyer is only his client's agent, and what ever you may determine to be for your in terest, that I shall most cheerfully do." Was I mistaken? There certainly was a quiver of the lip. He took out his hand kerchief, pressed it to his face, rose, walked across the room and stood for a while look ing out of the window. After a time, he returned and extending his hand, said with a most engaging smile : — "I thank you, Mr. , for yielding so considerately to what must seem a mere whim on my part. Perhaps when you know the real cause, you will even think it puer ile; but I must beg you to believe that to me it is a matter of serious moment." He shook my hand and started to leave the office. " I hope to see you again be^ fore night if you are at leisure," he said, looking back from the open doorway. He walked across the porch, down the step to the sidewalk, and calling his son, a young man of seventeen or thereabout, who had gone out into the street during our con versation, took his arm in a most gentle fashion and strolled toward his hotel. My client was a man of fifty odd years of age; of medium height; a little inclined to port liness, full rather than fleshy; having a short neck set squarely on his shoulders; a broad, firm chin, a wide mouth with thin, finely-cut lips; a smooth face save for a brown moustache just beginning to be sprinkled with gray; large brown eyes and a dome-like head, the hair on which was growing scant on top, but was yet curling and abundant at the sides. Save for an ex pression of softness, almost melancholy, his appearance fully sustained the character he bore of a careful business man and daring speculator " on change." I could imagine one of his type coolly taking risks which would terrify other men; and believe what I heard of his placid demeanor in times of
