ke the Spartans, to march against the
enemy, and fall, if it must be so, in the sacred cause of their
country. This picture is not an exaggeration, it is faithful, it is
true. Never was a more beautiful spectacle exhibited to the eyes of
any man, to whom the glory and independence of his country were dear,
than that of the enthusiasm and martial joy, with which the warlike
inhabitants of Alsace, Lorraine, Burgundy, Champagne, and the Vosges,
were animated. The roads were covered with waggons loaded with young
warriors, who hastened, gaily singing, to the post of honour assigned
them by Napoleon: the population of the towns and villages received
them on their way with applauses, which inflamed their minds with
fresh ardor, and made them enjoy by anticipation the praises and
acclamations, that their friends, parents, and fellow-citizens would
lavish on them at their return.

[Footnote 99: I cannot avoid here making a
comparison. On the 15th of March, the Count
d'Artois wished to form a legion from the light
infantry and grenadiers of the national guard of
Paris. He reviewed the twelve legions, harangued
them, and announced, that he would march at the
head of the volunteer national guards: a hundred
and fifty turned out.

Napoleon from his closet called the national guard
to the defence of the imperial cause: 150,000 men
took up arms, and hastened to battle.

What must we conclude from this coldness on the one
hand, and this enthusiasm on the other? I leave the
question to be answered by those, who pretend, that
the revolution of the 20th of March obtained the
assent only of a handful of factious persons.]

France seemed to call aloud, to see her eclipsed greatness restored.
She had recovered all her energy: an evident proof, that the strength
of a nation is always the work of the prince, by whom it is governed.
It is he, who enervates the public spirit, and bastardizes his
subjects, by the effeminacy of his government: or it is he, who
inspires them with the love of their country, with priding themselves
in it, and leads them to undertake, whatever can augment its glory and
its power.

To draw still more closely the b