Book Description

Excerpt from Colburn's United Service Magazine and Naval and Military Journal, 1851, Vol. 1 From the moment this change was effected in the military service of Europe, it became manifest that the doom of arbitrary power was sealed, though it was - and is still impossible, to foretell the date of its final overthrow, still the order of things which owed its existence to an nu reasoning army, must obviously pass more or less rapidly away, when that representative of the nation's energy and courage, assumes the right to exercise the privilege of thou ht. One of the most striking illustrations of this truth, contained in iistory, was supplied durin the last century by the armies of France, during the unha y quar be tween Great Britain and her North American colonies, w ich terminated on the founding of the United States. France, with apolicy which now appears to us short-sighted, but was then supposed to indicate consum mate prudence and sagacity, sent out a moderate force to coooperate with our revolted colonists. With the fortunes and issues of that war our readers are familiar, and they may have met also with historians, who have connected what was then accomplished beyond the Atlantic with what afterwards took place among our immediate neighbours. The French soldiers serving in America, when they asked themselves or were asked by others what was the principle for which they had drawn their swords, must have been conscious there was but one answer to be given, namely, that it was for popular liberty against power, and as it even tually turned out for a republic against a monarchy. Men easily iden tify themselves with the princi Is for which they contend, and almost necessarily believe that in all t e quarrels in which they engage, they are the defenders and upholders of the right. The French, therefore, in the course of the American war, having been made by accident the therapions of freedom, soon learned to be proud of the achievements in its defence. They talked to each other over their camp fires of what they had done for the re ublic, then rising in shadowy magnificence amid the mighty forests the New World, and though passionaw fond of their own country, thought of their return to its hereditary servi tude, not merely with reluctance but with indignation. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.