tz, and which sealed the fate of Europe for many years. He
would often charge his absent officers to send him perfectly accurate
returns, even to the smallest detail. "When they are sent to me, I
give up every occupation in order to read them in detail, and to
observe the difference between one monthly return and another. No
young girl enjoys her novel as much as I do these returns." The
captain who conveyed Napoleon to Elba was astonished with his
familiarity with all the minute details connected with the ship.
Napoleon left nothing to chance, nothing to contingency, so far as he
could possibly avoid it. Everything was planned to a nicety before he
attempted to execute it.

Wellington too was "great in little things." He knew no such things as
trifles. While other generals trusted to subordinates, he gave his
personal attention to the minutest detail. The history of many a
failure could be written in three words, "Lack of detail." How many a
lawyer has failed from the lack of details in deeds and important
papers, the lack of little words which seemed like surplusage, and
which involved his clients in litigation, and often great losses! How
many wills are contested from the carelessness of lawyers in the
omission or shading of words, or ambiguous use of language!

Physicians often fail to make a reputation through their habitual
blundering, carelessness in writing prescriptions, failure to give
minute instruction. The world is full of blunderers; business men fail
from a disregard of trifles; they go to the bank to pay a note the day
after it has gone to protest; they do not pay their bills promptly; do
not answer their letters promptly or file them away accurately; their
books do not quite balance; they do not know exactly how they stand,
they have a contempt for details.

"My rule of conduct has been that whatever is worth doing at all is
worth doing well," said Nicolas Poussin, the great French painter.
When asked the reason why he had become so eminent in a land of famous
artists he replied, "Because I have neglected nothing."

Not even Helen of Troy, it is said, was beautiful enough to spare the
tip of her nose; and if Cleopatra's had been an inch shorter Mark
Antony would never have become infatuated with her wonderful charms,
and the blemish would have changed the history of the world. Anne
Boleyn's fascinating smile split the great Church of Rome in twain, and
gave a nation an altered destiny.