Southern sentinel. [volume] (Plaquemine, Parish of Iberville [La.]) 1848-1858, 1850-11-02

The Anglo SaxOBas.

| InC Anglo S;lXO11S.
In the present age, when the Anglo-Saxo
race is renowned for it's strict adherence t
principles ofjustice and its great exertions il
the cause ofbenevoence and religion, it wou
hardly be supposed that its early history wa
distinguished for deeds of rapine and piracy
Mr.. Abbott, in his history Of Alfred the Great
thus describes them:
The Anglo-Saxons commenced their caree
as pirates and robbers, and as pirates of th'
most desperate and dangerous description. !,
fact the character which the Anglo -Saxon
have obtained in modern times for energy anl
enterprise, and for desperate daring in thci
conflicts with foes, is no recent fame. The
progenitors of the present race were celebrat
ed every where, and every where feared and
dreaded, not only in the days Of Alfred, but
several centuries before. All the historians oi
| those days that speak of them at all, describe
them as universally distinguished above their
| neighbors, for their energy and vehemence Of
character, their mental and physical superior.
ity, and for the wild and daring expeditions to
which their spirit of enterprise and activity
were continually impelling them.
They built vessels, on which they boldly put
forth on the waters Of the German Ocean or of
| the Baltic Sea, on excursions for conquest or
plunder. Like their present posterity on the
British Isles, and on the shores of the Atlantic,
they cared not in these voyages, whether it was
summer or winter, calm or storm. Ia fact,
they often sailed in tempests and storms by
choice, so as to come upon their enemies the
more unexpectedly. They would build their
small vessels, Or rather boats, Of oziers, cover
ing them with skins, and fleets of these ffail
boats they would sally forth among the how
ling winds and foaming surges of the German
Ocean. On these expeditions they all en-
barked as in a common cause, and felt COM
mon interest. The leaders shared in all the
tolls and exposures of the men, and the men
took part in the councils and plans of the lead
ers. Their intelligence and activity, and their
resistless courage and ardor, combined with
their cool and calculating sagacity, made them
successful in every attempt. If they fought
they conquered; if they pursued their enemies
treated they were sure to make their escape.
They were clothed in . loose and flowing
dress, and wore their long hair hanging about
their shoulders; and, they had the art, as their
descendants have now, of contriying and fab.
ricating arms of such superior construction and
workmanship as to give them, on this account,
great advantage over all contemporary ma
tons.
There were two other points in which there
was remarkable similarity between this pa
rent stock in rude early form, and the extend
ed social progeny which represents it at the
present day. One was the extreme strctness
Of tEeir ideas ofconjugal fidelity, and stern and
rigid severity with which all violations of fe-
male virtue were judged. The woman who
violated her marriage vows was compelled to
hang herself Her body was then burned in
public, and the accomplice of her crime was ex-
ecuted over the ashes. The other point of re-
sembance~ between the ancient Anglo-Saxons
and their modern descendants, was their indo-
mitable pride. They could never endure any
thing like submission. Though some time
overpowered, they were never conquered
Though taken prisoners and carried captive, the
indomitable spirit which animated them could
never be really subdued. The Romans used
sometimes to compel their prisoners to fight
as gladiators, to make spectacles for the amuse-
ment Of the people of the city. On one oc-
casion, thirty Anglo-Saxons, who had been
taken captives and reserved for this fate,
strangled themselves rather than submit to this
indignity. The whole nation manifested on all
occasions very unbending and unsubmissive
will, encounterng every possible danger and
Drawing every conceivable i'll, rather than sue
comb OF submit to any power except such as
they themselves had created for their own
ends; and their descendants, whether in Eng
land or America, evince the same spirit still.