University of Virginia Library

“My lord, 'tis easy to conceive
That we may piously believe
Our client guiltless of transgression,
Yet not be free from apprehension.
Our greatest danger lies with those
Whose sex forbids to call them foes,
But whose attractions charm the soul
And all our reasoning powers control.
'Tis known that their inventive powers
Surpass, in every instance, ours;
And here, necessity will drive
To keep finesse and art alive.
Ardent in every passion still,
They know no arbiter but WILL;
And are the same, in love or hate,
The pivots of revolving fate.
We've also much to fear, from those
Ingenious counsel who're to close;
Who've the advantage over ours
In numbers, eloquence, and powers.
Indeed, my lord, it seems to me,
A kind of novelty, to see
So many champions of the laws
Enlisted in a plaintiff's cause.
In every criminal debate
There's counsel furnish'd by the state,
Whose duty, to convict defendant,
Is not relax'd, you may depend on't.
Then why this ardor, to enlist
A host of veterans to assist?
What, but a thirst of vengeance, could
Induce a search through all the wood,
For beasts of talents, cull'd and pickt,
An honest mastiff to convict?
The jury should consider this,
In order not to act amiss;
For if their testimony fails,
Without such props, when truth assails,
It will....it must be understood
Their testimony can't be good.