RECOLLECTIONS OF E. L. APPLEGATE 257
master. His fondness for talking prevented such a misfor- tune for his assistants. He would frequently regale his clerks with stories, the merits of which did not often consist of their brevity. Occasionally he would take them into his confidence and tell them of some great project he had in view.
One morning he announced that he had concluded to write a book on logic. In it would be enunciated an original syllo- gism which he was confident would startle the philosophic world and place the author on a pedestal of enduring fame. This new syllogism would demonstrate that instinct is superior to defective reason. He said he would prove the soundness of his proposition by arguments adduced from facts, with which all observant people of that community, at least, were familiar. In short, he remarked, "I will prove by Mr. , a promi-
nent merchant of Eugene, and the farmers of the surrounding country, that my position is unassailable. It is a deplorable fact," he continued, "that there lurks in almost every human breast the desire to get the best of a bargain in plain words, to cheat somebody, and even the horny-handed farmers, I am loth to say, are not entirely clear of this iniquitous taint. These farmers come to our town to buy supplies for themselves and families. Upon reaching the burg they decry their merchant, whose stupid appearance attracts their attention and excites their curiosity. He immediately becomes a subject of their inquiry and they are delighted to learn that he is a merchant and has a store in town. The moral taint that was lying dor- mant in their natures begins to ferment at once and a process of sinister reasoning is the result. Their ratiocinations are from the premises suggested by the merchant's appearance and the facts relating to his general mentality which they gather from casual conversations about him on the street. Their
line of reasoning is as follows : Here is Mr. . He is
witless and stupid. He is a merchant engaged in trade here. I will go to his place of business to make my purchases, and my superior mentality will do the rest. Now this reasoning is seemingly sound, but in reality it is defective, in that it over- looks an important factor in the case. In their reasoning they
