<SPAN name="startofbook"></SPAN>
<h2> “In Re a Gentleman, One” </h2>
<p>
When an attorney is called before the Full Court to answer<br/>
for any alleged misconduct it is not usual to publish his name<br/>
until he is found guilty; until then the matter appears in the papers<br/>
as “In re a Gentleman, One of the Attorneys of the Supreme Court”,<br/>
or, more shortly, “In re a Gentleman, One”.<br/></p>
<p>
We see it each day in the paper,<br/>
And know that there's mischief in store;<br/>
That some unprofessional caper<br/>
Has landed a shark on the shore.<br/>
We know there'll be plenty of trouble<br/>
Before they get through with the fun,<br/>
Because he's been coming the double<br/>
On clients, has “Gentleman, One”.<br/>
<br/>
Alas! for the gallant attorney,<br/>
Intent upon cutting a dash,<br/>
Sets out on life's perilous journey<br/>
With rather more cunning than cash.<br/>
And fortune at first is inviting—<br/>
He struts his brief hour in the sun—<br/>
But, lo! on the wall is the writing<br/>
Of Nemesis, “Gentleman, One”.<br/>
<br/>
For soon he runs short of the dollars,<br/>
He fears he must go to the wall;<br/>
So Peter's trust-money he collars<br/>
To pay off his creditor, Paul;<br/>
Then robs right and left—for he goes it<br/>
In earnest when once he's begun.<br/>
Descensus Averni—he knows it;<br/>
It's easy for “Gentleman, One”.<br/>
<br/>
The crash comes as sure as the seasons;<br/>
He loses his coin in a mine,<br/>
Or booming in land, or for reasons<br/>
Connected with women and wine.<br/>
Or maybe the cards or the horses<br/>
A share of the damage have done<br/>
No matter; the end of the course is<br/>
The same: “Re a Gentleman, One”.<br/>
<br/>
He struggles awhile to keep going,<br/>
To stave off detection and shame;<br/>
But creditors, clamorous growing,<br/>
Ere long put an end to the game.<br/>
At length the poor soldier of Satan<br/>
His course to a finish has run—<br/>
And just think of Windeyer waiting<br/>
To deal with “A Gentleman, One”!<br/>
<br/>
And some face it boldly, and brazen<br/>
The shame and the utter disgrace;<br/>
While others, more sensitive, hasten<br/>
Their names and their deeds to efface.<br/>
They snap the frail thread which the Furies<br/>
And Fates have so cruelly spun.<br/>
May the great Final Judge and His juries<br/>
Have mercy on “Gentleman, One”!<br/></p>
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