Shall Those Who May Escape, See
Everything They Hold Dear Destroyed And Gone.
Shall those few
survivors, lurking in some obscure corner, deplore in vain the fate
of their families, mourn over
Parents either captivated, butchered,
or burnt; roam among our wilds, and wait for death at the foot of
some tree, without a murmur, or without a sigh, for the good of the
cause? No, it is impossible! so astonishing a sacrifice is not to be
expected from human nature, it must belong to beings of an inferior
or superior order, actuated by less, or by more refined principles.
Even those great personages who are so far elevated above the common
ranks of men, those, I mean, who wield and direct so many thunders;
those who have let loose against us these demons of war, could they
be transported here, and metamorphosed into simple planters as we
are, they would, from being the arbiters of human destiny, sink into
miserable victims; they would feel and exclaim as we do, and be as
much at a loss what line of conduct to prosecute. Do you well
comprehend the difficulties of our situation? If we stay we are sure
to perish at one time or another; no vigilance on our part can save
us; if we retire, we know not where to go; every house is filled
with refugees as wretched as ourselves; and if we remove we become
beggars. The property of farmers is not like that of merchants; and
absolute poverty is worse than death. If we take up arms to defend
ourselves, we are denominated rebels; should we not be rebels
against nature, could we be shamefully passive? Shall we then, like
martyrs, glory in an allegiance, now become useless, and voluntarily
expose ourselves to a species of desolation which, though it ruin us
entirely, yet enriches not our ancient masters. By this inflexible
and sullen attachment, we shall be despised by our countrymen, and
destroyed by our ancient friends; whatever we may say, whatever
merit we may claim, will not shelter us from those indiscriminate
blows, given by hired banditti, animated by all those passions which
urge men to shed the blood of others; how bitter the thought! On the
contrary, blows received by the hands of those from whom we expected
protection, extinguish ancient respect, and urge us to self-defence-
-perhaps to revenge; this is the path which nature herself points
out, as well to the civilised as to the uncivilised. The Creator of
hearts has himself stamped on them those propensities at their first
formation; and must we then daily receive this treatment from a
power once so loved? The Fox flies or deceives the hounds that
pursue him; the bear, when overtaken, boldly resists and attacks
them; the hen, the very timid hen, fights for the preservation of
her chickens, nor does she decline to attack, and to meet on the
wing even the swift kite. Shall man, then, provided both with
instinct and reason, unmoved, unconcerned, and passive, see his
subsistence consumed, and his progeny either ravished from him or
murdered?
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