Berkeley and Jefferson intelligencer. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va.) 1802-1810, 1804-06-01


FROM HISTORY or THE LAIR EuRo.
p PEAN VAR B. -.
1ust published in London, in tspo %
h1mes gHarto-7he aushor's name a.
2iesandsr Stephens ~ :
."TNHE epoch OF the French revoluti-
i on, and the WINS to which that
celebrated event gave rise, almost iustil,
the assertion, that the annals Of mankind
contain little more than record Of their
crimes and calamities. - :
Atno period, either in antient or in
modern times, have the revered names
Of religion, liberty and social order,
been sofrequently invoked or 20 audaei.
ously prostituted; and it is to be feared,
that the civil rights of individuals, rs
well As that system Of public morals cali
ed the law Of nations, have received
deep and incurable wound.
"But, on the other hand, tits a series
Of singular, magnificent, and disastrous
events, like that just alluded to, which
affords suitable imagery of narrative, and
constitute at onceth miseries Of society
and the materials for history. He who
is destined to retail recent transactions,
if actuatsd BY the spirit of independence,
willhave to recapitulate such multitude
Of enor1nities, that the reign of; Nero
and Domitian must appear less intolera-
bic from comparison. The murder Of
prisoners in open day the public deten-
tion and assassination of ambassadors;
the uncontrolled reign of that panic terror
which appalled, the innocent and not un.
frequently spared the guilty; the tri-
umph Of men of blood over the public
enemy as well as the most virtueus of
their fellow citizens; one faction swal-
lowed up by another, while the instru-
ment Of destruction was stretched forth,
and the tomb yawned for the victors a
frantic populace dividing the palpitating
members of their victims, and king
eoolly numbering those subjects Of a So
Tenn treaty the torture, at once the
mark of aharbarous age and the oppro-
brium of civilized one, publicly inAict-
cd while, as if to form climax and to
realize the metaphono the ancient poets,
the dogs Of war were literally unclaimed,
and ths7eaaine race employed to hunt
down the human species; such is the
galaxy of crimes presented during this
night Of wonders. 49,. :
Yet, Notwithstanding these hideous
pictures, Europe has displayed many
uncommon instances of heroism, and
some scenes have occurred in q neigh
bouring country which surpass all that is
to be found during the boasted reign Of
Marcus Aurelius and the Antonines.-
Never did any nation exhibit such mag
nanimityy when threatened with subiu-
cation. slavery and ACKNOWLEDGMENT, on
the part Of the combined powers OF the
continent never didso many orators,
philosophers, men of letters, and states
men, evince such a perilous and deadly
enmity to anarchy, injustice, andblood-
shed /; or prefer with so much readiness
the uplifed axe ofthe executioner 70 the
seon Of their contemporaries and the re-
proaches Of posterity. Even the softer
sex assuming amasculine courage, main
tanned their principles on the scafFold,
and persisted without sigh before the
statue Of outraged liberty. :
"The art, Of war, too, during this
memorable period, has been carried on
to agreater degree of perfection than in
any former age and the Young tastici-
ans of the new school have overcome &C.
nerals grown hoary under arms. The
machinery of battles has been calculated
on more gigantic scale; fleets have
not only fought with greater 6erceness /;
but exhibited evolutions hitherto un-
known or unpractised |; a single army
sometimes extended its wings from the
frontiers Of France to the heart Of Italy,
while, At other. periods, one immense
line Of soldiers has occupied the interven-
ing country from the banks Of the Rhine
to the shores Of the Adriatie. q
"The sciences, also, have ON this oc-
easion followed in the train of Mars, and
Il, cnaa 80 a,,.S..,.. - kaS1A h..n,s