r it is
possible, to draw up a minute or memorial of every transaction,
subscribed by both, with a clause signifying that in case of any
difference, they would submit the matter to arbitration.

Nothing is more common than for a designing person to put off the
individual he wishes to take advantage of, by saying; _We shan't
disagree. I'll do what's right about it; I won't wrong you, &c._ And
then when accounts come to be settled, and the party who thinks himself
aggrieved, says that he made the bargain with the expectation of having
such and such advantages allowed him, _No_, says the sharper, _I never
told you any such thing_.

It is on this account that you cannot be too exact in making contracts;
nor is there indeed any safety in dealing with deceitful and avaricious
people, after you have taken all the precaution in your power.

SECTION X. _How to know with whom to deal._

There are two maxims in common life that seem to clash with each other,
most pointedly. The first is, 'Use every precaution with a stranger,
that you would wish you had done, should he turn out to be a villain;'
and secondly, 'Treat every man as an honest man, until he proves to be
otherwise.'

Now there is good advice in both these maxims. By this I mean that they
may both be observed, to a certain extent, without interfering with
each other. You may be cautious about hastily becoming acquainted with
a stranger, and yet so far as you have any concern with him, treat him
like an honest man. No _reasonable_ person will complain if you do not
unbosom yourself to him at once. And if he is unreasonable, you will
not _wish_ for an intimate acquaintance with him.

My present purpose is to offer a few hints, with a view to assist you
in judging of the characters of those with whom it may be your lot to
deal. Remember, however, that like all things human, they are
imperfect. All I can say is that they are the best I can offer.

There is something in knavery that will hardly bear the inspection of a
piercing eye; and you may, more generally, observe in a sharper an
unsteady and confused look. If a person is persuaded of the uncommon
sagacity of one before whom he is to appear, he will hardly succeed in
mustering impudence and artifice enough to bear him through without
faltering. It will, therefore, be a good way to try one whom you have
reason to suspect of a design upon you, by fixing your eyes upon his,
and bringing up a supposition of your ha