Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1827-11-23
.1.rrn Am PUBLISHED,
From the Baltimore Patriot,

sumed severely TO criticise the spirit in which
Sir Walter Scott las chosen 10 record the e.
vents Of their Revolution. Some Of cur sapient
editors are very much scandalzed at this, call
inc ii the madness or criticism, The wrath oil
criticism double distilled, &c. Our Reviewers
too, the Gelibera,ive and sometimes executive
head Of the Republic of Letters, have here
shown a remarkable lenicncy and moderation,
choosing rather to imply from the greatness Of
the name, the meri, of the work, than to exa-
mine into the accuracy Of the numberless facts
and opinions embodied in il We recommend
o,odestv, more especially when il is SO seldom
found, and in the review Of the novels Of this
great man. could he content 70 see them in
scribe, Duere 5eas rech, al The conclusion Of
their txtraris. we should then not sedulously
INQUIRE whether these expressions were extor'-
ed by the influence Of truth, or by the fo.ce Of
authority But when The actions and character
Of men are brought before US, many Of whom
deserve our gratitude IS benefactors ofihe hu-
man race, and some of them our highes, CEN
sure il becomes 10 silt the evidences OF facts,
and examine the grounds OF opinions deduced
from them, and TO fear lest we should do .injus.
tice by hlipdly asserting 20 The one or the 9th.
Such considerations, we conceive, should
have Influenced the "direetors of the public
taste"-Ihey have induced US 20 suggest an ex-
animation Of the character OF Lafayette, as pre-
sentcd by the author Of the Life Of Napoleon.
II has been the pride Of the FRIENDS Of Liberty
throughout the world, 10 recognise in him an
exrmplar Of purity, frmness and consistency.
The account Of the French Revolution, spreads
doubt over each, and gives us man wavcr-
ing between the dictates Of his head and his
heart, and whose honor, render; d suspicious
by one act, must be acquitted by another which
involves his consistency. THESE lmputatlons
may appear indirect, and to effect little more
than 10 cast doubt upon the character of La
fayettc. Yet doubts should not DC suffr red TO
rrmain--thry give us clouds instead Of clt ar
sunshine, and useless veil in tead Of the beauty
il conceals.
II is 10 be observed, that whenever the author
speaks in general terms of the character of La
fayctte, his testimony is always, as il we're Of
necessity, favorable But he well knew how
little such terms avail against the colorng Of
circumstances, ironical hints, sneerng and
indirect aecusat,t ms Homes, reputation is ever
more in danger from WISE shake Of the head,
or contraction Of The brow, than from open and
bold accusation, We extract the following
from his account of the political views Of the
National Assembly:
"This resolution Ito continue Louis XVI al
the head of the government might be partly
ont of regard 10 The long Partially Of the nation
Tor the house of Bourbon, partly out Of respect
TO the philanthropical and accommodating cha
racter of Louis We may conceive also that
Lafayette, bred soldier, and Dailli educated
magisua ate, had still, Notwithstanding their 20.
lirical creed, natural though unphilosophical
Partially 10 their well meaning and i'll faicd So
vereign, and 4 conscientious desire TO relax as
far as his particular interest was CONCERNED,
,heir general rule Of reversing all that had pre-
Yiously had political existence in France"
To this we have only to oppose The uniform
tenor OF Lafayelte's life. There was no strup-
gle between his "polilical creed and his "na.
tural" feelings, as If nature yearned towards a
despotism! Lafayette was, from the FIRST, the
firm and consistent friend of monarchy; of mo-
narchv under Constitutional limitations His
party were uniformly considered and opposed
as such. For such principles he suffered his
almost unheard Of confinement in the dungeons
of Olmntz, confinement prosecuted for FIVE
years in vulgar spiIi OF cruelty and revenge,
Of which there is scarcely an example; under
which his life, almost failing, was studionsly
protraciGd, that il might become n burden; a
confinement, Of The severity Of which his impe-
rial jalors were sensible, that they removed
knives and forks from his prison, in,ima,ing to
him at the same time that his Situation was
such as woald naturally lead him to suicide!-
1t is worthy Of remark, that Englands counte.
nanced and assisted in thrse atrocities. Dur
ing all these miseIies, mental and physical, we
see nothing OF that wavering which indicates
the contention OF opposite principles, and sure
ly il there can be, this was the time when ma
ture, at war with philosophy, would Nave shown
herself victorious. Let his biography tell what
symptoms of this appeared. On opening the
! negotiation, an auempt was made, on the part
Of Austria, 10 compel Lafayette to receive his
freedom on conditions prescribed HIM; bu,
this he distinctly refused, and, in documen,
that has often been published, declared, with
frnness which We can hardly believe would
have survived such sufferngs, that he would
:. The Emperor of Austria when Madame lie Lafay- |
cite applied for the liberation of her husband
ed her that shis hands were tied" This could refer
10 no law of his Empire and therefore could relate on
" to his engagement with his allies against France, |
England was one of them. North I'm. Reriesc