John Ashton - The Dawn of the XIXth Century in England

“6. Ye shall not murder each other, save it be by my own commands, for purposes that may be known to me alone; but of your enemies, and all those nations that will not acknowledge your, and my greatness, ye may kill an infinite number; for that is a pleasing sight in the eyes of your supreme Commander.

“7. Ye shall not commit adultery at home, whatever ye may do in the land of the infidels, and the stiff-necked people; for they are an abomination to the Lord your Commander.

“8. Ye shall not steal at home, but suppress your covetousness and insatiable desire for plunder until ye may arrive in the land of your enemies. Ye shall neither steal from them with indiscretion, but seem to give with the left hand, when the right taketh.

“9. Ye shall not bear false witness against your neighbour, if he should distinguish himself in the land of the enemies.

“10. Ye shall not covet anything of your neighbour, but everything of your enemies – his jewels, his gold, his silver, his horse or ass, his maid, his daughter, his wife, or anything in which your hearts find delight; and ye may take it, but still with cunning; for the Lord your Commander loveth mildness more than strength, to please the people when he plunders. Use the sword in battle, cunning after it; look for plunder, but subject the people to me. Herein lie all my Commandments, and those who keep them shall be protected by my power, and prosper in all their undertakings.

“When the reading of these Commandments were over, the multitude gazed with amazement. There were present the gentiles, and ambassadors of various nations, and many looked at each other as if they were looking for the sense of what they had heard. The Chief Priest, however, more cunning than all the rest, thus broke silence:

“ Bishop. Our mouths shall glorify thee for ever; for thou hast regarded the lowliness of our hearts, and hast raised thy servants from the dust.

“ Pope. And I will support your holy endeavours; for without him I would not sit upon the holy seat of Peter.

“ All (Priests and many of the Multitude). Praise be to him, for he has mercy on those that are humble, and fear him – throughout all the world, and all nations but the English, who are an abomination in his sight.

“ Bishop of Amiens. Bow to him, for he commands ye.

“ An Italian to a Swiss. I bow to him, for I fear and dread him.

“ A Dutchman (to the two former). Ay, ay! I must bow, at present, with you; but I would rather make him bow before me and my nation.

“ French Gentleman. Dat be very right to you! Vy vere ye sush fools, and bigger fools yet, as we French, to submit to him, and even to court his tyranny?

“ Bonaparte (in one corner of the hall, and not hearing part of the preceding discourse, to one of his slaves). Do you observe that proud Englishman?

“ 1st Slave. He neither bows, nor does he seem to approve of the homage paid to thee by the worshippers.

“ 2nd Slave. Ay, he is one of the stiff-necked Englishmen.

“ Bonaparte. And so are all of his breed, except some of the meanest rabble.

“ Lord Whitworth (to himself). I shall bow to thee with all my heart and soul, as soon as I may have the pleasure of being recalled.

“ Bonaparte. This is an insult which shall be revenged on the whole nation.”

There is not much “go” in the above, but it is mild, as being one of the first; they soon developed.

“Bonaparte threatens to invade us; he promises to enrich his soldiers with our property, to glut their lust with our Wives and Daughters. To incite his Hell Hounds to execute his vengeance, he has sworn to permit everything. Shall we Merit by our Cowardice the titles of sordid Shopkeepers, Cowardly Scum, and Dastardly Wretches, which in every proclamation he gives us? No! we will loudly give him the lie : Let us make ourselves ready to shut our Shops, and march to give him the reception his malicious calumnies deserve. Let every brave young fellow instantly join the Army or Navy ; and those among us who, from being married, or so occupied in business, cannot, let us join some Volunteer Corps, where we may learn the use of arms, and yet attend our business. Let us encourage recruiting in our neighbourhood, and loudly silence the tongues of those whom Ignorance or Defection (if any such there be) lead them to doubt of the attempt to invade or inveigh against the measures taken to resist it. By doing this, and feeling confidence in ourselves, we shall probably prevent the attempt; or, if favoured by a dark night, the enemy should reach our shores, our Unanimity and Strength will paralyze his efforts, and render him an easy prey to our brave Army . Let us , in families and neighbourhood, thus contribute to so desirable an event, and the blood-stained banners of the Vaunted Conquerors of Europe will soon be hung up in our Churches, the honourable Trophies of our brave Army – an Army ever Victorious when not doubled in numbers, and the only Army who can stand the charge of Bayonets. What Army ever withstood THEIRS!!! Let the welfare of our Country animate all, and ‘come the World in Arms against us, and we’ll shock ‘em!’

“Prave ‘orts,” but they answered their purpose. It was an article of faith that an Englishman was certainly a match for two ordinary foes, perhaps three, and this, no doubt, was to a certain extent true. The history of that time shows victories, both by land and sea, gained against fearful odds. What then might not have been done under such stimulant as

“Who is he? Why an obscure Corsican, that began his Murderous Career with turning his Artillery upon the Citizens of Paris – who boasted in his Public Letters from Pavia, of having shot the whole Municipality – who put the helpless , innocent , and unoffending Inhabitants of Alexandria, Man , Woman , and Child , to the Sword, till Slaughter was tired of its work – who, against all the Laws of War, put near 4000 Turks to death, in cold blood, after their Surrender – who destroyed his own Comrades by Poison , when lying sick and wounded in Hospitals, because they were unable to further the plan of Pillage which carried him to St. Jean d’Acre – who, having thus stained the profession of Arms, and solemnly and publicly renounced the religious Faith of Christendom, and embraced Mohametanism, again pretended to embrace the Christian Religion – who, on his return to France, destroyed the Representative System – who, after seducing the Polish Legion into the Service of his pretended Republic, treacherously transferred it to St. Domingo, where it has perished to a Man, either by Disease or the Sword – and who, finally, as it were to fill the Measure of his Arrogance, has Dared to attack what is most dear and useful to civilized Society, the Freedom of the Press and the Freedom of Speech, by proposing to restrict the British Press and the Deliberations of the British Senate . Such is the Tyrant we are called upon to oppose; and such is the Fate which awaits England should We suffer him and his degraded Slaves to pollute Our Soil.”