STATE PAPERS. 



213 



of thf ir good prince ; the secret 

 practices, whicfi we hardly know 

 by wha . name to call, of several of 

 their ambitious representatives, men 

 in whom this very people see, now 

 too late, and abhor, the authors of 

 their unbounded and unceasing mi- 

 sery. All these causes have forced 

 our armies to retreat to your fron- 

 tiers. 



It is there that they are now 

 posted, weakened, but not van- 

 quished ; fatigued by an unequal 

 contest, but not humbled by dis- 

 couragement, nor subdued by des- 

 pair. It is there that they fonn, 

 as it were, an advanced wall o 

 defence for the Germanic liberty ; 

 to act as a rampart for your reli- 

 gion, your laws, and your families. 

 The Meuse is the line of separation 

 between the total loss and the pre- 

 servation, between the overthrovv 

 and the maintenance of all these ; 

 between misery and happiness — 

 Rise then, German brothers and 

 friends ! On you will depend the 

 making it possible for your deliver- 

 ers to live or die for you dsfence. 

 I myself, a German prince, fill of 

 solicitude, not less for the safety of 

 my country, tlian the preservation 

 of my warriors, I call upon yau. 

 Procure us subsistence, bring us 

 provisions fr>m your mi^azines. — 

 Thiiik that inforwarding to us these 

 painrul succours, you secure at the 

 samelimeyour approaching harvest. 

 — Share withusyour savings. — To 

 obtain what we want, employ the 

 treasures of your churclies. Give 

 your utensils and vases of silver to 

 the emperor, for the pay of your 

 defenderij. You will receive re- 

 ceipts for the payment in due form, 

 and you will be paid interest for 

 the pecuniary aids you have thus 

 procured. Replace the resources 



of Belgium, which have been cut. 

 otf from uSj and now flow for our 

 enemies. Nurse and relieve, with 

 a solicitude full of charity, our sick 

 and wounded. 



Rise, courageous inhabitants of 

 the fair countries of the Rhine and 

 the Moselle ! Arm yourselves, ye 

 valourous men ! Line your rivers 

 and your detiles ! Accompany our 

 convoys ! Watch over our maga- 

 zines ! Rise by thousands and fight 

 with us for your altars, for your 

 habitations, for your emperor, for 

 your liberty ! We will not lead you 

 beyond the rivers of your country ! 

 We will not depopulate your pro- 

 vinces ; but you will secure the 

 positions at our backs, and you will 

 guard your own confines. Assur- 

 edly, German citizens, we are not 

 deceived with respect to you ; we 

 have reposed our confidence in the 

 good sense of Germans ; wc trust 

 to the hearts and the blood of the 

 German nation. For three years 

 your emperor has borne the heavy 

 burden, and distant nations have 

 fought for your defence. You your- 

 selves must see, that your turn to 

 take arms is now corns. Then I, 

 as commander-in-ichief ofa faithful, 

 approved, and courageous army, 

 promise, inthcnameof my troops — 

 fo spare you, we will observe a 

 rigourous discipline ; for your hap- 

 pmcss, wc will shed the last drop 

 of our blood ; as we have fought 

 for you, we will die for you ; and 

 never shall the free, the happy Ger- 

 many, bow down the head beneath 

 the steel of the guillotine. — Never 

 shall her peaceful habitations ex- 

 cliange their generous morals, their 

 tranquil simplicity, their guardian 

 laws of property, th'^ir consoling 

 religion, for tlie licentiousness, the 

 calumniating spait, the legalized 



i^ 3 system 



