The bag of an English barrister is also an important part of his outfit. It is very large, capable of holding his wig and gown, as well as his briefs, and suggests a clothes bag. It is not carried by the barrister himself, but it is borne by his clerk. Its color has a deep significance. Every young barrister starts with a _blue_ bag and can only acquire a _red_ one under certain conditions. As devil, and as junior, it is not considered _infra dig._ to carry his own bag and he has ever before him the possibility of possessing a red bag. At last he succeeds in impressing a venerable K. C. by his industry and skill in some case, whereupon one morning the clerk of the K. C. appears at the junior's chambers bearing a _red_ bag with his initials embroidered upon it--a gift from the great K. C. Thereafter he can use that coveted color and he may be pardoned for having his clerk follow him closely for awhile so there may be no mistake as to the ownership. Custom requires him to tip the K. C.'s clerk with a guinea and further exacts that the clerk shall pay for the bag, which costs nine shillings and sixpence, thus, by this curious piece of economy, the clerk nets the sum of eleven shillings and sixpence and the K. C. is at no expense. CHAPTER V SOLICITORS LINE WHICH SEPARATES THEM FROM THE BAR--SOLICITOR A BUSINESS MAN--FAMILY SOLICITORS--GREAT CITY FIRMS OF SOLICITORS--THE NUMBER OF SOLICITORS IN ENGLAND AND WALES--TENDENCY TOWARD ABOLISHING THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN BARRISTER AND SOLICITOR-- SOLICITORS WEAR NO DISTINCTIVE DRESS EXCEPT IN COUNTY COURTS--SOLICITORS' BAGS. The line which separates solicitors from the Bar--the barristers--is difficult for an American to fully appreciate, for in our country it does not exist. The solicitor, or attorney, is a man of law business--not an advocate. A person contemplating litigation must first go to a solicitor, who guides his conduct by advice in the preliminary stages, or occasionally retains a barrister to give a written opinion upon a concrete question of law. The solicitor conducts all the negotiations or threats which usually precede a lawsuit and if compromise is impossible he brings a suit and retains a junior barrister by handing him a brief, which consists of a written narrative of the controversy, with copies of all papers and correspondence--in short, the facts of the case--and which states on its back the amount of the barrister's fee. The brief is engrossed or type-written on large-sized paper with very broad margins for notes, and is folded only once and lengthwise so as to make a packet fifteen by four inches.