His calm judgment is apt to leave him, and his mind is for the time being closed, and only obstinacy remains.

Now these improvements had to be made--as I said before, it was essential.

Yet we could not quarrel with our old partner, but a minority of us had made up our minds that we must try to get him to yield, and we resolved to try another line of argument, and said to him: "You say that we do not need to spend this money ?" "No," he replied, "it will probably prove to be many years before such a sum must be spent.

There is no present need for these facilities you want to create, and the works are doing well as they are--let's let well enough alone." Now our partner was a very wise and experienced man, older and more familiar with the subject than some of us, and all this we admitted to him; but we had made up our minds, as I have said, to carry out this idea if we could possibly get his approval, and we were willing to wait until then.

As soon as the argument had calmed down, and when the heat of our discussion had passed, the subject was brought up again.