STATE PAPERS. 



635 



she would also find them irritated at 

 seeing their blood set up to auction, 

 exchanged for English guineas, and 

 proving, by their indignation, that 

 the Swedish warriors, whose fathers 

 filled the armies of Charles XII. arc 

 not made to stoop to such baseness 

 and meanness ! — Where then are the 

 elements, the centre of this coalition 

 to be found ? — Will it be in Russia? 

 The king of England himself an- 

 nounces that no tie exists with that 

 power. He speaks of a correspon- 

 dence, but a correspondence begun 

 is not an alliance concluded. Be- 

 sidts, Russia is a great power with 

 out doubt ; but she can do nothing 

 againft the French empire. I go 

 farther, if the WoronzofTs and the 

 Marcoffs could entertain the idea of 

 selling the force and influence of 

 Russia to the English cabinet, Alex- 

 ander has wiser counsellors, and 

 forms more prudent resolutions. 

 He has not forgotten how the Rus- 

 sians were last war treated by Eng- 

 land, their ally, and how that war 

 terminated, in Switzerland and Hol- 

 land, during the expedition under- 

 taken by great generals and brave 

 soldiers, but undertaken with plans 

 that could not be executed under 

 <he influence of a disastrous star. — 

 In fine, the coldness between the 

 ■ cabinets of the Thuilleries and St. 

 Petersburgh is not enmity. They 

 have neither of them any real subject 

 of misunderstanding, and what has 

 passed within these three months 

 between the two governments, shews 

 sufficiently that England would, in 

 that conjuncture, have conceived 

 vain projects, and speculated upon 

 false hopes, if she tliouglit of con- 

 verting her correspondence into a 

 I coalition. Woronzoft" may have 

 conceived such a hope ; but who 

 does not know that Woronzoff is 



less a Russian than an Englishman ? 

 that, residing in England, he Avishes 

 to fix himself there ; and that a foe 

 and disapprover of Paul the First, 

 he is equally so of the great Cathe- 

 rine ? — The cabinet of St. Peters, 

 burgh is acquainted with the true 

 interests of its country ; it will have 

 always before it the audacious insult 

 of lord Nelson, wishing to dictate 

 laws in the Gulph of Finland. It 

 cannot dissemble that the attack 

 committed in the Mediterranean by 

 the English against the Spanish fri- 

 gates, against an almost unarmed 

 regiment, against defenceless women 

 and children, menaces also, on every 

 sea, the ships and subjects of tl\e 

 czar. It cannot dissemble that that 

 attack proceeds from the same spirit 

 and the same principles that produ- 

 ced the attack upon Denmark, la 

 her capital, which may produce aa 

 attack upon the Russian squadron in 

 the Mediterranean, or in the Baltic ; a 

 spirit offury and intoxication, which, 

 pervading the English cabinet, in« 

 duces them to despise all the powers 

 of the continent, make no allow- 

 ances for any one, and consider 

 themselves as out of the social state- 

 and the great civilised family of the 

 world. — There exists, then, no 

 threatening or possible coalition; 

 but the sacred guarantee of the 

 French empire against all fear, is, 

 that could one hare been formed, 

 the emperor would have attacked, 

 beat, and broken it; and after vic- 

 tory, would still have propose<J 

 peace ; he would have written to the 

 king of England that letter, in 

 which he invites humanity to the 

 aid of reason, and the interest of 

 the English people. Let us repeat 

 it then, gentlemen — one sentiment, 

 and the most honourable of all, 

 COUI4 alone have led the emperor tO; 



tak<J 



