Book contents
- Frontmatter
- PREFACE
- Contents
- LETTER I To Sir Frederic Waller
- LETTER II To the Baron Von Kemperfelt
- LETTER III To the Same
- LETTER IV To the Same
- LETTER V To Sir Edward Waller, Bart
- LETTER VI To the Same
- LETTER VII To the Same
- LETTER VIII To the Baron Von Kemperfelt
- LETTER IX To the Count Jules de Béthizy
- LETTER X To the Same
- LETTER XI To the Same
- LETTER XII To the Same
- LETTER XIII To the Same
- LETTER XIV To Sir Edward Waller, Bart
- LETTER XV To the Same
- LETTER XVI To the Same
- LETTER XVII To the Same
- NOTES
LETTER IV - To the Same
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2011
- Frontmatter
- PREFACE
- Contents
- LETTER I To Sir Frederic Waller
- LETTER II To the Baron Von Kemperfelt
- LETTER III To the Same
- LETTER IV To the Same
- LETTER V To Sir Edward Waller, Bart
- LETTER VI To the Same
- LETTER VII To the Same
- LETTER VIII To the Baron Von Kemperfelt
- LETTER IX To the Count Jules de Béthizy
- LETTER X To the Same
- LETTER XI To the Same
- LETTER XII To the Same
- LETTER XIII To the Same
- LETTER XIV To Sir Edward Waller, Bart
- LETTER XV To the Same
- LETTER XVI To the Same
- LETTER XVII To the Same
- NOTES
Summary
I closed my last with the sentiments of my American friend, on the subject of La Fayette. I confess that the time was, when my feelings had not entirely escaped the prejudice which is so common among certain people in Europe, on the subject of the character of this distinguished individual. The French Revolution led to so many excesses, that, under a disgust of its abuses, the world has been a little too apt to confound persons, in judging of its characters and events. It is now time, however, to begin to consider, whether its sacrifices have been made without a sufficient object. If the consciousness of civil rights, and the general intelligence which are beginning to diffuse themselves throughout Christendom, are remembered, it will be generally admitted, I believe, that France has not suffered in vain. If any man can be said to have foreseen, and to have hoped for these very results, on which the kingdom, no less than the enlightened of all Europe, is beginning to felicitate itself, it really seems to me, it must be La Fayette. That he failed to stem the torrent of disorder, was the fault of the times, or, perhaps, the fault of those whose previous abuses had produced so terrible a re-action. It was fortunate for Napoleon himself, that his destinies did not call him into the arena an hour sooner than they did.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Notions of the AmericansPicked Up by a Travelling Bachelor, pp. 54 - 69Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009First published in: 1828