370 WALL STREET AND THE WILDS 



his customary retainer for looking after our 

 taxes. He received me in his Chambers and was 

 just as chatty and agreeable as a judge as he had 

 been when as a Tammany lawyer he called upon 

 me for a check. Cases waited in his court while 

 I told him my story to which he listened atten- 

 tively. 



"I should burn my fingers if I interfered,'' 

 said he, "and it wouldn't do you any good. 

 Don't be quixotic and don't kick against the 

 pricks. Let your creditors fight their own bat- 

 tles." 



I consulted another prominent Tammany 

 judge who often spent evenings at my house 

 where he was given to making cynical comments 

 on his own wise dictums while wearing the 

 ermine. His expressions were more guarded 

 than usual, but the substance of his advice was 

 that of his brother on the bench. 



In the long struggle for a settlement with 

 creditors there were strong forces that battled 

 for me and soon the signatures of ninety per cent 

 were obtained. My enemy of the trust company 



