The Judge And The Robber

A villain was by hands of justice caught,
Just as of cash, and even of his life,
At the sharp point of murderous knife,
A luckless wayfarer to rob, he sought
The Judge upbraids him with his crime--
He answered: "Sir, from earliest time
I've been a rogue, practised in petty theft;
When buckles, watches, trunks and cloaks,
And swords, I stole from other folks.
Then, fairly launched upon my wild career,
I houses sacked. Now--no compunction left--
On the highways I rob, without a fear.
Let not your worship, then, make such a stir,
That I should rob and slay a traveller--
Nor of the matter make a charge so sore!
I've done such things these forty years, and more."

* * * * *

Do we the bandit's wretched plea allow?
Yet writers give no worthier excuse,
Who justify, by argument of use,
Errors of speech or of expression low--
Urging the long-lived blunders of the past
Against the verdict by sound critics cast.