ed to judge their claims. The justice very gravely
took the oyster, opened it, and put it into his mouth, whilst the two
claimants looked on. Having deliberately swallowed the oyster, the
justice, in the portentous tones of a Lord Chief Justice, said, "The
court here awards each of you a shell, without costs. Let each go home
peaceably."

Reckon what it costs to go to law in these days. Then count what remains
to most families. You will see that Justice Nincompoop draws all the
money and leaves only the empty purse and the shells to the litigants.

[Illustration: Deliberately swallowed the oyster.]

XXVIII

THE CAT AND THE FOX

(BOOK IX.--No. 14)

The cat and the fox, in the manner of good little saints, started out
upon a pilgrimage. They were both humbugs, arch-hypocrites, two
downright highwaymen, who for the expenses of their journey indemnified
themselves by seeing who could devour the most fowls and gobble the most
cheese.

The way was long and therefore wearisome, so they shortened it by
arguing. Argumentation is a great help. Without it one would go to
sleep. Our pilgrims shouted themselves hoarse. Then having argued
themselves out, they talked of other things.

At length the fox said to the cat, "You pretend that you're very clever.
Do you know as much as I? I have a hundred ruses up my sleeve."

"No," answered the cat, "I have but one; but that is always ready to
hand, and I maintain that it is worth a thousand other dodges."

Then they fell again to disputing one against the other on each side of
the question, the whys and the wherefores, raising their voices higher
and higher. Presently the sudden appearance of a pack of hounds stopped
their noise.

The cat said to the fox, "Now, my friend, ransack that cunning brain of
yours for one of your thousand ruses. Fetch down from your sleeve one of
those certain stratagems. As for me, this is my dodge." So saying, he
bounded to a tall tree and climbed to its top with alacrity.

The fox tried a hundred futile doublings; ran into a hundred holes; put
the hounds at fault a hundred times; tried everywhere to find a safe
place of retreat, but everywhere failed between being smoked out of one
and driven out of another by the hounds. Finally, as he came out of a
hole two nimble dogs set upon him and strangled him at the first grip.

Too many expedients may spoil the business. One loses time in choosing
between them and in trying too many. Have