Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 10.pdf/270

 The Malefactor.

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THE MALEFACTOR. By John Albert Macy.

' I "HERE is a law that I may till my land, Or build upon it, or, at will, mine deep Into its heart. I am its lord and king. But if from my pursuits, my neighbor's fields, His cattle or his house be jeopardized, Then must I stay my reckless hand and turn My labor to some safer course. Even now Our vandal neighbor has abused his right, Spreading disease throughout the fertile farms That lie near ours, endangering our trade, Strewing with wreckage all the road that marks The boundary between his rule and ours. Is there no law as high above the nations As is the law of nations over men, To trip the crushing heels of criminals Who waste a part of earth and shake the whole?

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