Leaves from an English Solicitors Note-Book. death, and of the effect of the will, and ask for her instructions as to the arrangements to be made for the funeral. I did so, and in a few hours received a reply telling me to act on the instructions of her Cousin Mary in everything, and that she (Emma) would come down to the funeral and confirm all that her cousin ordered to be done; and asking me to meet her at the house of the testatrix after the funeral. The day before the one fixed for the funeral Maule returned to Georgetown. I made a point of calling on him as soon as I heard of his arrival. Had I been dealing with any ordinary member of the profession I should at once have handed the will over to him, and retired from the business in his favor. But he was one of those keen, ag gressive, self-seeking practitioners, whose hand was against all his brethren in the pro fession, consequently he was distrusted by all who knew him. Sleek and fawning in outward demeanor, with an insinuating mode of approach which was attractive, at first im pulse, to those who were not fully acquainted with him, he took in many a stranger meet ing him for the first time; he always seemed at first to agree with the view which you ad vanced to him as your opinion, and approved of the course which you suggested should be adopted, but you found before you left his presence that he gradually so qualified his opinion as not only to stand uncommitted to anything, but to leave an uncomfortable im pression in your own mind that on the first available opportunity he would adopt the precisely opposite view, and act upon it; and that later on he would tell you that he had differed with you from the first. I suppose some people would consider this very clever, and strictly professional. I, for one, do not. I hold that when one member of our profes sion meets another, and the meeting is not essentially a hostile one, perfect candor should rule on both sides; it is always open to either party to say "our clients' interests are antagonistic, and you must not expect me to concede anything;" and then the busi
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ness can be discussed on its dry legal merits, in the same way that a case would be argued in court, keeping your opponent at arm's length. But, in the greater number of in terviews taking place between solicitors, it is essential that the men meeting should be able to trust each other once and for all. On some such footing as this the rules of profes sional courtesy and etiquette which, in my younger days at least, governed the conduct of the best members of the profession, sprang up and became a code of honor in our dealings with one another; and any one of fending against this code became discredited and lost caste, to his own detriment, and to the detriment of his client also. Such a man was Mr. Maule, shrewd, in a certain sense, clever, but disliked and distrusted by all the respectable members of the profession. In my interview with Mr. Maule I briefly explained the circumstances under which I had been called in, and the effect of the will which I had drawn, and my fear that it would place Mr. Simpson, of High Street, in an awkward position; but I expressed the hope which I felt that Mrs. Emma Simpson would meet her cousin's husband reasonably and give him time to turn round, or possibly con tinue his employment as manager of the business for some definite period, a course which seemed to me prudent under the cir cumstances. His answer was characteristic of the man. "Well, Mr. Borret, I acknowledge your courtesy in calling on me. You could hardly have acted otherwise than you did; you were called in, no doubt, in my stead and in conse quence of my absence, and you had a delicate position to face, and, no doubt, acted for the best, according to your knowledge in draw ing the will as you did and saving an intestary. Of course you will at once see the pro priety of handing the will over to me, and letting me carry through the business of my late client." "I can hardly do that, Mr. Maule, in the face of Mrs. Emma Simpson's telegram ask ing me to meet her at the house immediately
