Reflections on the Revolution in France; And on the Proceedings in Certain Societies in London Relative to That Event. in a Letter Intended to Have Been Sent to a Gentleman in Paris (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: cannot be amifs for the engines to play a little on our own. Better to be defpifed for too anxious apprehenfions, than ruined by too confident a fecurity. Sollicitous chiefly for the peace of my own country, but by no means unconcerned for your's, I wifh to communicate more largely, what was at firft intended only for your private fatisfaction. I Ihall ftill keep your affairs in my eye, and continue to addrefs myfelf to you; Indulging myfelf in the freedom of epiftolary intercourfe, I beg leave to throw out my thoughts, and exprefs my feelings, juft as they arife in my mind, with very little attention to formal method. J fet out with the proceedings of the Revolution Society; bur I fhall not confine myfelf to them. Is it poffible I Ihould ? It looks to me as if I were in a great crifis, not of the affairs of France alone, but of all Europe, perhaps of more than Europe. All circumftances taken together, the French revolution is the moft aftonifhing that has hitherto happened in the world. The moft wonderful things are brought about in many inftances by means the moft abfurd and ridiculous; in the moft ridiculous modes; and apparently, by the moft contemptible inftruments. Every thing feems out of nature in this ftrange chaos of levity and ferocity, and of all forts of crimes jumbled together with all forts of follies. In viewing this monftrous tragi-comic fcene, the moft oppofite paffions neceffarily fucceed, and fometimes mixwith each other in the mind; alternate contempt and indignation; alternate laughter and, tears; alternate fcorn and horror. It cannot however be denied, that to fome this ftrange fcene appeared in quite another point of view. Into them it infpired no other fentiments than thofe of exultation and rapture. They faw nothing in what has been done in France, ...