6 THE POCKET AND THE STUD. 



persons who do anything, when estimating their 

 own qualities and acts. 



This very prevalent idea may appear to border 

 very closely on over-weening vanity on the part 

 of those who entertain it, but candour must in- 

 duce us to exculpate many of such persons from 

 so serious a charge ; for, if we fairly consider the 

 case, it requires a good deal of time, practice, ob- 

 servation, and modesty, to teach a man that he 

 really is managing anything badly. He may find 

 that what he manages does not answer his wishes 

 or expectations ; but, unless he seeks or has the 

 opportunity of seeing another person's mode of 

 managing the same thing, and also sees it succeed 

 under a different management, what is to tell him 

 that his own mode is and has been wrong ? Practice 

 and good sense combined may, in time, certainly 

 show him his errors, and teach him to adopt other 

 and perhaps better modes ; but this does not even 

 follow by any means as a matter of course 

 " ccelum non animum mutant qui trans mare cur- 

 runt" A man in doing anything may change his 

 mode; but if acting only on the suggestions of 

 his own mind and invention, he must be more 

 fortunate than his neighbours, if he does not find 

 it necessary to make several alterations in his 

 plans before he produces one solid improvement. 

 Practice and experience, though very sure, are ge- 

 nerally very slow and very expensive teachers ; and 



