Black Beetles in Amber - читать онлайн бесплатно полную версию книги . Страница 127

ONE JUDGE

Wallace, created on a noble planTo show us that a Judge can be a Man;Through moral mire exhaling mortal stenchGod-guided sweet and foot-clean to the Bench;In salutation here and sign I liftA hand as free as yours from lawless thrift,A heart—ah, would I truly could proclaimMy bosom lighted with so pure a flame!Alas, not love of justice moves my penTo praise, or to condemn, my fellow men.Good will and ill its busy point incite:I do but gratify them when I write.In palliation, though, I'd humbly state,I love the righteous and the wicked hate.So, sir, although we differ we agree,Our work alike from persecution free,And Heaven, approving you, consents to me.Take, therefore, from this not all useless handThe crown of honor—not in all the landOne honest man dissenting from the choice,Nor in approval one Fred. Crocker's voice!