CHARLES XII. of Sweden, was evidently born to be a scourge to mankind, and he carried on his game (in the language of conquerors-his career of glory) until Sweden had lost all her foreign provinces, and had neither trade, money, nor credit. Her veteran troops had been either killed, or had perished through want, or were in a worse situation, above one hundred thousand being slaves in Muscovy, and as many more among the Turks and Tartars; and the very species of men was so visibly decayed in the country, that there were not sufficient for cultivating their lands!!! "When kings, by their huffing, Are nations such fools as not only to submit tamely to the sanguinary pranks of these monstrous madmen, but even to put firebrands into their hands, and assist them with their lives and fortunes? Yes-they are The wide-mouthed brutes, that bellow thus for freedom; Like cow'rdly, fearful sheep, breaking their herd, OTWAY. And all this cowardice too, at a time when they might instantly stop the maniac by saying "We have defended our own territories, and justice demands that we should not attack those of our neighbours."--If he will go on, let him go alone and be d-d -he will not go far. This is no speculative theory: We have all witnessed the inefficacy of kings going to war, when not joined by the hearts of the people, in the Italian States, Dutch Provinces, Germany, and Russia; and we are much mistaken if we shall not yet find, to our cost, that same inutility in other states. The old system is moth-eaten, and kings have had a severe lesson, that the sullen apathy of an insulted people, is more dangerous than an open insurrection. If men are to be asses of burthen, the devil may drive; one tyrant is as good as another. To be a king in fact, is to govern men indeed—freemen! If the reader should require any more examples that conquerors have been the same pests in all ages, let him turn to almost any page of history, of any nation, and he will find that there have always been from one to half a dozen insignificant individuals blustering and hectoring it over five or six hundred millions of souls-souls! no, bodies without souls! Were history only to record the actions of princes who have benefited mankind, it might be comprized in somewhat less space than the walnut-shell, which is said to have contained a complete copy of Homer's Iliad; and we cannot see why any others should be handed down to posterity, unless, indeed, by way of gibbeting them, as we serve murderers, in terrorem ;-but there are thousands of volumes to prove, that mankind, in all ages, have been fools. What can their foolish wars prove else? The Grecian princes carried their whole forces beyond sea-for what purpose? to recover a libidinous, runaway adultress! The dear-bought curse, and lawful plague of life; A bosom serpent, a domestic evil, A night invasion, and a mid-day devil.” Well; they destroyed the city of Troy, and all its innocent inhabitants, to punish the guilty Paris; (very just this indeed!) and having spent ten years in this notable exploit, they returned home cuckolds, as might have been naturally expected, and most of them were slain by the paramours of their wives: Bravo! They went out to revenge one cuckold, and all came back 66 in their old confines, with forked heads." SHAKESPEAR. as will ever be the case with those fools who do not look at home. Alexander and Cæsar fought for ambition, which is the destruction of millions for the vanity of one person— "How vain a creature were the plotting knave, But for easy fools!" TATE. Even the heathen Virgil exclaims-O cursed wars! (bella horrida) and we shall pass them over as such, to make way for what the Christians (soi-disant, but mal-faisant followers of the mild doctrines of Christ) term holy wars, (a devilish good joke!) but which were as bloody as the most infernal wars that ever the world witnessed. True religion Is always mild, propitious, and humble; MILLER. In real fact, these wars sprung only from the accursed policy of the Roman pontiffs, |