Page:Steadfast Heart.djvu/290

 virtue itself but for the rewards of virtue. As a lawyer and judge he had striven, according to his nature, to act honorably, impartially, conscientiously. It is true he had his meannesses and his petty vanity and the vindictiveness which so often goes hand in hand with vanity. On the other hand, he was of commendable industry, holding to laudable ambitions—and with the persistence of fair winds and in charted seas he might have voyaged to honored success. In short, he was a normal man, compounded as we all must be of the admirable and of the despicable…. But he was not equipped with that sturdiness of soul which alone enables the best of us to weather tempest and shipwreck…. By his good name he set great store….

When temptation first lifted its head before his consciousness he crushed it down with a shudder. It returned….

The country lawyer, the country judge, occupies to an extent the position of the trust company in larger centers of population. Fiduciary responsibilities are thrust upon him. He must manage estates, husband investments; his safe is the depository of securities, and it is not without precedent that he holds power of attorney to exercise the widest discretion over the properties of his clients. He must be both man of law and man of business, and to this rule Malcolm Crane