"Inclosed within the jury-box or on the bench he is separated from the
great mass of mankind--"
Then you should not pay any attention to the opinion of the public. If
you are separated you should not be dominated by the press. If you are
separated you should not be disturbed by the desires of anybody. But he
continues:
"and sentiments of brotherhood die away."
About that time you would be nice men:
"Standing above humanity and nearest God he looks down upon his fellow,
and judges them without any reference to the sorrow his judgment may
bring."
That is not my doctrine. The higher you get in the scale of being,
the grander, the nobler, and the tenderer you will become. Kindness is
always an evidence of greatness. Malice is the property of small souls.
Whoever allows the feeling of brotherhood to die in his heart becomes a
wild beast. You know it and so do I:
"Not the king's crown, nor the deputed sword,
The marshal's truncheon, nor the judge's robe,
Become them with one-half so good a grace as mercy does."
And yet the only mercy we ask in this case, gentlemen, is the mercy of
an honest verdict. That is all.
I appeal to you for my clients, because the evidence shows that they are
honest men. I appeal to you for my client, Stephen W. Dorsey, because
the evidence shows that he is a man, a man with an intellectual horizon
and a mental sky, a man of genius, generous, and honest. And yet this
prosecution, this Government, these attorneys representing the majesty
of the Republic, representing the only real Republic that ever existed,
have asked you, gentlemen of the jury, not only to violate the law of
the land, they have asked you to violate the law of nature. They have
maligned mercy. They have laughed at mercy. They have trampled upon the
holiest human ties, and they have even made light of the fact that a
wife in this trial has sat by her husband's side. Think of it.
There is a painting in the Louvre, a painting of desolation, of despair
and love. It represents the night of the crucifixion. The world is
represented in shadow. The stars are dead, and yet in the darkness is
seen a kneeling form. It is Mary Magdalene with loving lips and hands
pressed against the bleeding feet of Christ. The skies were never dark
enough nor starless enough; the storm was never fierce enough nor wild
enough, the quick bolts of heaven were never lurid enough, and arrows
of slander never flew thick enough to drive a noble woman from her
husband's side. And so it is in all of human speech, the _holiest word
is wife_.
And now, gentlemen, I have examined this testimony, I have examined
every charge in the indictment against my clients not only, but every
charge made outside of the indictment. I have shown you that the
indictment is one thing and the evidence another. I have shown you that
not one single charge has been substantiated against John W. Dorsey.
I have demonstrated to you that not one solitary charge has been
established against Stephen W. Dorsey--not one. I believe that I have
shown to you that there is no foundation for a verdict of guilty against
any defendant in this case.
I have spoken now, gentlemen, the last words that will be spoken in
public for my clients, the last words that will be spoken in public
for any of these defendants, the last words that will be heard in
their favor until I hear from the lips of this foreman two eloquent
words--_Not Guilty_. And now thanking the Court for many acts of
personal kindness, and you, gentlemen of the jury, for your almost
infinite patience, I leave my clients with all they have and with all
they love and with all who love them in your hands.