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Show A STOUT THING Miss Burden was not devoid of good sense, but she had brooded over her neighbor's treatment of her until it seemed both intolerable and lawless. It involved a question of shares in the privileges of a certain spring of water and of rights in a certain path, and disagreement over these had led to other differences, small and large, until the main issue seemed hopelessly confused. Finally Miss Burden resolved to consult a lawyer, law-yer, to ascertain if there might not be comforting relief for her feelings in a lawsuit. When a woman's wom-an's exasperation reaches the point where she la ready to resort to the law, she is to be dreaded, and Miss Burden went to Lawyer Fairman's office with a long and spirited story of her wrongs. Unfortunately for her plan, these wrongs were rather of word than of deed, and rather of fancy than of record. What the neighbor wanted to do-and do-and talked about doing, and even what he meant to do at some future time, did not greatly impress Mr. Fairman. He gently suggested to the angry client that her mood was unjustified by what had actually happened and concluded his advice with some words which she never forgot. "Don't go to law, my dear lady, until you have some facts to take with you. Law by itself Is a poor friend; but a fact's a stout thing a fact's a stout thing!" The country lawyer's wisdom is sound philosophy philoso-phy for every day in the year. Fancy gives birth to a long train of children, good and bad, and they all have legs and arms of characteristic slender-ness slender-ness and a grasp on life too gentle to be controlling. control-ling. Set them in line of battle and Master Fact will scatter them all like dry leaves for In deed and in truth a fact is a stout thing' - Youth " Companion. |