Alexandria gazette & daily advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1817-1822, 1817-10-16
ALEXANDRIA:
TUURSD.9J. OCTOBER I6 1917.
LORD AMHERST AND BoNAPsRTE.


Amherst, is quite refre.hing-like an
early salad in spring, or drausht OF
lemonade in a scorching day Of July or
August. The conversations related oy
Mr. Surgeon Warden, as having passed
between him and Bony, are now known
to be no better than impudent fictions.
and the people Of England and America
will be more cautious about giving credit
to the trumped up stories Of travellers, or
those still greater wholesale dealers in
lies, newspapers. The voracity of the
multitude in swallowing MuNcHAssEN
stories is great, but not Infinite. Abb
surdi6cs will always 60 down, but surely
it may be hoped tina. the time will come
when moral impcssibilities will, like Mac
beth's Amen, stick in the threats OF the
multitude. The hungry jackass HIMSELF
If we may credit sterne, vii reject this
| ties.
What comes from such high authority
as that Of lord Amherst, however, may
be believed; but, then, question arises,
does the intelligence to which we allude
really come from lo'd Amherst /! We
have it only from newspapers: to believe
which we take to be rather more des-
perate effort than to believe MIR Warden
himself. Indeed, in these cases, our
safest guide is the internal evidence Of
the intelligence itself. That lord Am.
herst and his suite arrived in England in
the Cesar, from Batavia, we dare say is
| true; that he touched at st. Helena E.
qually SO; and that he was introduced to
Bunaparte We think highly probable; al
/. though it has appeared under the disad-
vantages we mention, For the rest we
can emily say that we do not see any thing
in it impossible orinprobable. TIE pas
sage respecting bleeding and cal0mei has
a little the aspect Of leaf torn out OF
Warden's work; Jet, when we recollect
the pertinacity of Bonaparte in any thing
and every thing he ever took into his
head, We cannot reasonably think of call"
! ing it in question; though, putting thai
part of The ex-emparor's character ont Of
consideration, we should have given il no
credit, If it we're only fer the sake of Mr..
Warden.
But that which seems TO US more than
any other part to confer verisimiltude on
the whole is. the part which relates to the
cause Of bis lordship's failure in the OBJ
| ject Of his mission Every part Of which
! is emphatically ridiculous, and no less
characteristic Of all the persons concern.
ed in it. The fastidious, absurd formaii-
ties of the old desppti.ms Of the world
being no less strongly characterized in
the conduct of the emperor of China than
the dirty dishonorsble cbsequiousness,
when it answers the purposes OF craft and
policy, which constitutes a leading feature
in the NEW tyranny, is characterized in
the observation of Bonaparte; while lord
Amherst's conduct stands between both
in state Of prudent ard not d'scredita.
BILE u,ediocrity. That Bony would order
his ambassador to kiss the emperor Of
Chiua's great toe, or even to go farther
and fare rorse. Nay, lido it himself,
il it answered polite purpose, cannot
be doubted by any one who has heard Of
the accommodating teNper with which
he turned mussul,uan to carry point Of
policy with the Turks. We do not deny
that such an act of condescensioR may be
policy, according to the new code, but
We must say that we prefer to it the no.
tons Of the cid statesmen; who always
considered an act Of humiliation and dis
honor, however profitable, as no policy at
all
What effect the letter to the Prince
Regent will have, it would be folly to az
firm. We may, however, venture to Of
fer an opinion upon it; and we will do so
sircaraly Np-a thu priprp paoant -