THE BEST POLICY. 161 



man and man is so great that the honest dealer, 

 in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, has the 

 best of it. It is so absolutely necessary for us to 

 be able to receive one another's words freely, 

 to believe in the due performance of contracts, to 

 accept the ordinary warranty of goods — in short, 

 to confide in the average honesty of the whole 

 community — that the man whom we once dis- 

 cover in an untruth or catch in a flagrant piece of 

 dishonest practice is pretty sure to lose forthwith 

 the countenance or custom of all those who know 

 of his delinquency. A good name is better than 

 riches ; and to lose one's good name is, in almost 

 ever}"" ordinary instance, to lose the means of ac- 

 quiring a livelihood. Of course, there are some 

 few men whom we all know to be rogues, and 

 who nevertheless manage to amass considerable 

 fortunes; but such cases are quite exceptional, 

 and are possible only in a very few out-of-the- 

 way walks of life. In most professions, in most 

 trades, and in most callings, services, or handi- 

 crafts, to be honest is, as it were, the prime requi- 

 site. A man may have ever so many other valuable 

 qualities for his particular calling — knowledge, 

 ability, intellect, quickness, industry, technical 

 skill,' but, if he is not honest, there is no room 

 and no chance for him in the fierce competition 

 of modern existence. However able he mav be, 

 he goes at last to the wall and leaves the field 



