An  illustration  of  this  method  of  persuasion  is  found  in
the  speech  of  David  Paul  Brown  delivered  in  defense  of
Alexander  William  Holmes  against  a  charge  of  manslaughter
on  the  high  seas.  In  this  speech,  Brown  drives  home  the
point  that  Holmes  did  not  voluntarily  and  wantonly  throw
overboard  certain  shipwrecked  passengers,  because  his  heroic
conduct  in  the  following  typical  instance  shows  this  to  be
improbable :

"But  there  is  still  another  picture  to  which  I  would  in-
vite, and  upon  which  I  would  fasten,  your  attention.  On
that  dreadful  night,  the  crew  and  half  the  passengers  having
taken  to  the  boats,  the  agonizing  voice  of  a  mother  is  heard
even  beyond  the  tumult  and  the  clamor,  calling  for  the  pres-
ervation of  her  daughter,  who  in  the  consternation  of  the
moment  had  been  forgotten,  and  remained  on  board  the
fatal  ship.  In  an  instant,  you  may  see  a  gallant,  athletic,
and  powerful  sailor,  passing  hand  over  hand,  by  dint  of  a
slender  rope,  until  he  regains  the  vessel,  and  you  may  further


298  Making  the  Plea

behold  him  upon  the  quarter  deck  in  the  depth  of  the  night,
surrounded  by  the  wild  and  wasteful  ocean,  with  one  arm
entwined  around  a  sickly  and  half -naked  girl,  while,  with  the
other,  he  bravely  swings  himself  and  his  almost  lifeless  bur-
den, by  means  of  the  '  boat  tackle  falls/  from  the  stern  of
the  sinking  ship  into  the  boat  below,  and  at  once  restores
the  child  to  the  open  arms  and  yearning  heart  of  the  mother.
