exertions, however, have, also, their boundary; the struggle at last grows faint; the contending harlequins, welter in blood; conquered and conquerors, alike relax, and fortune declares for the larger force; the beaten retire to recruit their strength; the victor to render thanksgivings unto God for his infinite mercies, and to propound the law of nations in the way most agreeable to his own inclinations*: dispute the authority who dare. Thus has the current of worldly affairs ever run, and, if experience can at all be taken for our guide, thus it will proceed, as long as the great globe shall continue its course. Did not Louis XIV. prove, according to his account, that the law of nations was with him, when he seized upon Alsace, and overthrew with his troops the weaker state of Hol It is curious to remark how tenacious every government is of reserving to itself the power of interpreting the law of nations after its own fashion. At the conference of Chatillon, in 1814, France demanded the liberty of commerce and the freedom of the seas; on which the British plenipotentiaries declared, "That all discussion on the maritime code would be contrary to the usages hitherto observed in negotiations of a nature similar to the present,-that Great Britain does not demand from, and will not grant to other nations any concession relative to rights which she considers to be mutually obligatory, and of a nature only to be regulated by the law of nations, except in the instances where these same laws have been modified by special conventions between particular states."-Manuscript of 1814; Barou Fain: p. 337, 338. land? Was not the law of nations with Prussia, according to Frederick, when he commenced his mad career in Silesia *? Was it not equally so The succession of Maria Theresa of Austria to the possessions of her father, Charles VI., was secured by the pragmatic sanction, and by the guarantees of the various powers of Europe: but Prince Eugene, with his accustomed foresight, advised the emperor to rely rather on 200,000 soldiers than on any parchment guarantees,-and he was right; for no sooner was life extinct in Charles VI., than his daughter, who was helpless and young, was immediately attacked by those who had promised to defend her cause, amongst whom was Frederick of Prussia, by far the most powerful and dangerous of the assailants. When Damrath, the imperial envoy at Berlin, informed his court that a storm was gathering, and that it might possibly burst in Silesia, the council of the queen replied from Vienna, "We will not, we cannot give faith to the intelligence you send." The entrance of the Prussian troops into the country speedily cleared up all doubts on the subject. Previous to ordering their march, Ferdinand sent Count Gotter to propose terms of conciliation, although his anxiety to commence operations was such, that he would not even allow his own ambassador time to arrive at the Austrian capital, but actually invaded Silesia two days before the count set foot in Vienna. In this marauding attack we can find but one good trait in Frederick. There were not wanting wretches to recommend the motto of Pro Deo et Patrid being inscribed on the colours; but the king with great honour objected to the Pro Deo, observing that it was improper to couple the name of God with the disputes of men; that the business referred to the conquest of a province, and not to any religious matter.History of Louis XIV. Voltaire,-vol. 4, p. 52.-Histoire de when the same Frederick, in 1756, marched, during profound peace, into Saxony? Did not the partitioners of Poland incontestably prove, to their own satisfaction, that they but followed the law of nations when they committed their accursed robberies? Have we not seen the allies, in their famous declaration of Frankfort, appeal to the law of nations before they crossed the Rhine, to break that promise which, at the moment of publishing it, they did not intend to fulfil? To talk, therefore, of the law of nations, is a mere waste of words. The "ultima ratio regum" is the only law that nations acknowledge; and however individuals may, and in some cases we believe do, regulate their conduct by the true spirit of law and of justice, yet between state and state no other code than that enforced by violence is in reality practised; and the king who is not prepared at the cannon's mouth to prove his knowledge in this code, will find, when too late, that the choicest selections, either from the lex scripta or the lex non scripta, will fail to produce conviction *. France, Lacretelle, vol. 2, p. 222.-History of My Own Times, Frederick the Great, part 1; pp. 96, 97.-History of England, Smollett, vol. 4, pp. 62, 80. * An amusing instance is given by Prince Eugene of his respect for the law of nations. In 1701, this general, finding it convenient, for the furtherance of his military movements, to violate the territory of the neutral republic of Tren Napoleon's declaration signified, in reality, nothing. It left matters as it found them. It made the sovereigns to whom it was addressed neither weaker nor stronger. It took not from them, whenever their power would admit, the facility of explaining both Puffendorf and Vattel according to their own ideas; and, in the interim, the "brutum fulmen" of their friend could be considered in no other light than as the boasting of an unchequered career, the ebullition of a bloated success,-the impudent flourish of the spoiled child of fortune. ton, did not of course hesitate one moment to make the infringement. Wishing, however, in fine words to act legally, he despatched, he says, one of his staff to offer his excuses to the serene republic for his want of delicacy. His highness continues,-" C'etait la le cas de lacher le grand mot de circonstances impérieuses, de mal entendus, et de l'incer titude d'un aveu general dans une republique, aussi je n'y manquaipas.-La raison favorise les gros escadrons."—Memoirs du Prince Eugene, pp. 36, 37. The same contempt forthe law of nations was shown by Prince Schwartzenberg, when he determined on attacking France, in 1814, on the side of Switzerland. No sooner was the convenience of the plan felt, than the Swiss were immediately made to perceive that their conduct had not been strictly impartial; and as their general, M. de Watteville, had only 12,000 men to oppose 150,000, he was not long in yielding. It is but fair to state, that the Emperor of Russia at first objected to this violation of a neutral territory; but he, too, was speedily convinced by his generals, that delicacy was not appropriate to the occasion.-Memoir of the Operations of the Allied Armies in 1813 and 1814; Lord Burghersh: p. 87. CHAP. XV. GROSSNESS OF NAPOLEON. "BUONAPARTE wanted truth;-he wanted dignity;-he wanted the manners of a gentleman, and the honesty of a man."-New Times, September, 1822. PUBLIC men are, we know, public property, and, as such, must expect to have their conduct investigated by the public; but even investigation should have its limits, although, to judge from the strictures of the Editor of the New Times, we must suppose that Napoleon ought, in his estimation, to have been debarred from the benefit of this charitable rule. The vices, the foibles, the weaknesses, the most trivial defects, have, when discoverable in Napoleon, been laid hold of with such a malicious pleasure, to make his character appear both contemptible and wicked, that, in common fairness, we think we are entitled to inquire whether, in his unguarded moments, Napoleon really was the low-bred, vulgar fellow, that the. Editor strives to make him out, or whether he was not, at least, borne in countenance by those who R |