and strengthened the influence of the west; but that a Russian army would immediately have marched into Berlin, and that the emperor would rule there by actual force, as he now rules by terror. If, by possibility, and in the progress of time and events, a similar explosion could be expected in Austria, the result would be precisely the same. In Austria, however, there is at present no enthusiasm for liberty, and there is no probability of any attempt at revolution there for a long time to come. The whole north and west of Germany will have been distracted by these internal agitations, and have been thrown by them under the dictation of Russia, long before the epoch of freedom arrives in Austria.

Thus there appears to be very little probability that Austria and Prussia will be detached from the triple alliance, and consequently that the balance of power will ever be restored. Thus by a singular fatality the progress of the principles of liberty, so hostile in their character to those of the Russian government, is itself one of the circumstances most favourable to the influence of this government over the western powers. It furnishes at once a pretext for interference in the affairs of these powers, and an infallible means of sowing among them and in their bosoms the seeds of distraction and disunion, the only thing necessary to insure the victory of any single great power over any coalition, however extensive and formidable. Inflamed by persecu

tion, the friends of liberty in the several countries will finally lose their patience and their prudence, and be hurried into attempts at revolution. Under pretence of checking these attempts, the Russian garrisons will advance from capital to capital, as their terror has already spread itself from cabinet to cabinet, and should the disorderly materials now fermenting in England burst out into open insurrection, we may see at last the two-headed eagle extend his wings and unfurl his charts triumphantly over the tower of London itself.

Had the western powers understood their policy better, and were they united among themselves in such a way as to enable them to derive the greatest possible advantage from accidental circumstances, the present commotions in Turkey would have afforded them an excellent opportunity to strengthen the western and constitutional interest, and to abtain an important check upon the Russian power, by erecting a new Greek empire at Constantinople. The late diabolical outrages of the Turks upon the christian inhabitants of their territory, not only furnish a good pretext for other powers to interfere, but make it the bounden duty of the neighbouring nations,as men and christians, to rescue their fellowmen and fellow-christians from this horrible tyranny. I consider it as much incumbent upon the European powers to unite at last and expel this horde of ruthless and bloody barbarians from Greece, as it would be upon any regular government to dis

lodge and break up an association of professed highwaymen. Having taken this preliminary step, the western powers, by restoring the Greek empire, would have obtained a new and very powerful ally precisely on the point where a new ally would be most useful, and would serve best as a check upon Russia. But would Russia, having concurred with her troops in expelling the Turks, consent to put this bridle upon her own ambition? And if the other powers, in the event of her refusal, attempted to obtain her consent by force, would the battle be fought in Greece or in Germany, and with what success? These questions might have been of great importance had a better union existed among the western states. As the case now stands, the fate of Turkey will be decided by Russia: and the present troubles will probably be the means of extending instead of diminishing her influence; although it may be hoped that they will not be wholly without advantage to the unfortunate countrymen of Miltiades and Epaminondas.

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CHAP. IX.

THE BRITISH NAVY.

NEXT to the Russian army, the navy of England is the most remarkable engine of war now existing in Europe: it is not, however, like the former, of recent growth. England was always a considerable maritime power; and since the decline of Holland, she has reigned. without a rival upon the ocean. For a short period during the American war, the union of all the maritime states of Europe and her own colonies endangered her superiority. But in the late long struggles she not only recovered all her former advantages, but carried her naval greatness to a point which it had never reached before, and very probably will never reach again. At present, however, it is not threatened with any immediate danger. The United States exhibited, in the several actions of the late war, at least an equality of naval science in all its branches; but the nature of our political institutions does not permit us to aim at conquest by land or by sea. We have as little ambition to wield the sceptre of the ocean, as willingness to submit to the enormous burdens which it brings upon its possessor. Our permanent naval establishment will never be

pushed beyond a very moderate point; and in the future struggles, which may be forced upon us by the aggressions of other powers upon our com. merce, as in the last, we shall always depend principally for actual annoyance of the enemy upon our private armed ships; while the gallantry and skill displayed by our naval officers in single actions will serve, as they did then, to sustain and exalt the national character. It is only in the peaceful pursuits of commerce that we shall ever contest the superiority of England: and as there is no European power from which it appears to be in danger, she will probably remain in undisturbed possession of her watery empire, as long as the foundations of her power remain in other respects unshaken.

The trident of Neptune, says a French poet of the last century, is the sceptre of the world. The power conveyed by it is, however, of a very peculiar kind. A great navy is not, like a great army, immediately dangerous to the liberties of the nation to which it belongs. The only inconvenience they can suffer from it arises from the immense expence required for its maintenance, and for the conduct of the distant expeditions, which it tempts the government that wields it to undertake. It is in like manner not directly dangerous to the liberty and independence of other nations; unless indeed, as has never yet happened, it should exist in connection with a great developement of military power. In general, it makes no attempt upon the