But we
have reason to suppose, that they have not reached their ultimate
termination. There is still an awful void between the present, and what
is to be the last chapter of that history; and I fear it is to be filled
with abominations, as frightful as those which have already disgraced
it. That nation is too high-minded, has too much innate force,
intelligence, and elasticity, to remain quiet under its present
compression. Samson will arise in his strength, and probably will ere
long burst asunder the cords and the webs of the Philistines. But what
are to be the scenes of havoc and horror, and how widely they may spread
between the brethren of one family, our ignorance of the interior feuds
and antipathies of the country places beyond our view. Whatever may be
the convulsions, we cannot but indulge the pleasing hope, they will
end in the permanent establishment of a representative government;
a government in which the will of the people will be an effective
ingredient. This important element has taken root in the European mind,
and will have its growth. Their rulers, sensible of this, are already
offering this modification of their governments, under the plausible
pretence that it is a voluntary concession on their part. Had Bonaparte
used his legitimate power honestly, for the establishment and support
of a free government, France would now have been in prosperity and rest,
and her example operating for the benefit of mankind, every nation in
Europe would eventually have founded a government over which the will
of the people would have had a powerful control.
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