Prison thoughts Elegy written in the King's bench: In Imitation of Gray. Lines written on the back of a "horse" and All the World's at Law. By a Collegian [i.e. W. T. Thomas] |
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ALL THE WORLD'S AT LAW. |
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ALL THE WORLD'S AT LAW.
All the world's at law,And all our thriving fellows now are lawyers!
They have their articles and their entrances,
And one man in his time brings many actions,
Each cause having seven stages. First the writ,
Hunting and seeking in the bailiff's hands,
And then the declaration, with its venue
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Too quickly on its fellow; and then the plea to't,
Drawn by some special pleader.—Then the demurrer,
Full of denials, lying like young Wilding;
Eager to put off, sudden and quick in filing;
Seeking for some procrastination,
Even in the judge's teeth. And then the judgment,
With fair decision and good records lined
With legal words and terms of formal cut.
Full of old precedents and modern instances,
And so they go to court. The scene then shifts
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With levy on its back, and poundage too.
Last stage of all, that ends this strange and useless persecution,
Is the King's Bench, or Fleet, or else the Marshalsea;
Sans law, sans sense, sans cash, sans every thing.
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