»78 THE BEE, OR Feb. l6, 



petuoftty of her rival, (he has been put to a great deal of un- 

 aeceffarv cxpeiice, yet Ihc had the wifdom to fee at laft how 

 matter:- really Hood ", and to acquiefce in the good old pro- 

 verb, that it was more for her intereft to . The 



proverb is fo trite, that it is unneceffary to repeat it. To 

 flie^T, i:owever, to all the world, that there was no other 

 obieft aimed at but an apparent viftory, and to prove that 

 the real vitlory was on the other fide, fhe has dictated a pa- 

 cifica'don in fuch terms, as to throw every real advantage ihc 

 coi'ld;atnHtiiitolier ownfcale, while (lie made a fliew of gis'ing 

 i'lmething to her opponents. This kind of legerdemain in 

 volitics, is however, at beft, a mean fort of attainment, which 

 a candid mind would think it beneath its dignity to adopt, 

 whatever were the temptatloi. to do it. 



Vanity is the ruling principle of nations. It has been the 

 j:n;ixediate caufe of the ruin of almoft every ftate that has 

 f\'tx attained celebrity in the world, and will be fo to the 

 end' of time. Whtrevcr power is lodged, there will this 

 patlion be difplayed •, and wherever it is difplaycd, it muft 

 provoke other nations, fooner or later, to humble it. Bri- 

 tain, for forae time paft, has been placed in more fortunite 

 «ircumftances, than the rival powers around her, and has 

 ihewn that rtie has poITeffed tliis filly palfion in as eminent a 



degree as any other nation She alfo felt, during the lalt 



•war, fome of its natural confequences, but not in fuch a de- 

 gree as to eradicate, but merely to moderate it for a time. 

 It is to be regretted, that the prefent circumftances of other 

 nations tend fo powerfully to nourilh this propenfity ia her. 

 May the time foon come, when we ihall be obliged to view 

 them with a greater degree of refpeft ; for it is then onlyi 

 that (he (liall be enabled, as a nation, to aft in a rational 

 and refpeftable manner ! 



With regard to the internal adminiftration of this coun- 

 try, it is like that of every other nation, a tiifue of good and 

 bad blended together, in which the bad greatly preponde- 

 rates. This, indeed, muif ever be expected to be the cafe j 

 becaufe the good produced by government, can only be the 

 refult of knowledge, while the bad is the confequence of er- 

 roi. — But truth is only one, and the road to that folitary 

 oae is often dilTicult to be diicovered ; whereas every devia- 

 iion from it le^ds to error j nor can a minifter, embaraffe^ 



