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FOOTSTEPS OF BLOOD.

2.

Yet then they found a warlike race,
The mountaineers perplex'd them so ;
They found it brave, and left the place,
And found in Rome enough to do.

3.

Their toppling state had steerless grown,
Unmindful of the good possess'd;
The realms of Rome were all their own,
They sought new climes, and were unbless'd.

4.

Ages roll'd on ere Romans fell,

Then Britain claim'd her native reign;
Her kings arose, and all was well-
Her kings her glory to maintain.

5.

A thousand years beyond are past
Since Britain saw th' invading foes;
How great her welfare, and how vast,
That neither fear nor faction knows.

6.

Our tars invite the Gauls to fight,

And spread their signals o'er the seas;

While nations sing Britannia's King,

When e'er THY navies court the breeze.

33F

[Erratum, in the last Poem by the same Author; page 290, verse 8th, for lav'd, read lov'd.]

Footsteps of Blood.-N° IX.
[Concluded from p. 320.]

WHEN We began to make extracts, for the purpose of exemplifying the horrid deeds of the republican generals, their bloodthirsty followers, and the French revolutionists, who imitated their example, we expected to have completed the black catalogue in the course of a few pages; but as we advanced in our inquiries, it seemed more and more difficult to bring this subject to a conclusion. What we have already recited of the conduct of the French armies in several parts of Europe, is found to have been their usual conduct in every country where they obtained admission; so that, in order to form a just notion of this race of modern barbarians, we have

only to conceive of their gaining an entrance into any city, or village, or habitation, either by force or by treachery, and then to picture in our minds what would be the worst possible treatment that could be inflicted by a set of diabolical emissaries on their helpless and unoffending captives. We therefore forbear to recite, any farther, the particular instances of atrocity which were committed by the French in various other parts of Germany; since they may be all summed up in the words of General TARREAU, who declared, "He only repented of having at any time acted with humanity, and of not having converted into dust and ashes all the cities, villages, and convents he had seen on his march;" so that, if any peaceable living creature was spared, it became matter of regret to these incarnaté devils!!!

66

While such transactions were acting in Germany, Buona, PARTE had the honour of making similar inroads among the Italians. Half-famished and untamable wolves could scarcely have committed greater excesses and cruelties than did his sans-culottes in Italy; all kinds of atheistical abominations and sacrilegious profanations were practised in the temples of God; every species of treachery and collusion was invented to overreach and entrap the poor inhabitants; no plan was left untried of displaying the mockeries and emptiness of French liberty and equality:" To burn a city and erect a column, saying, "HERE STOOD PAVIA," was no more than Buonaparte deemed reasonable for the sacrifice of a single Frenchman" by an enraged and tumultuous people, who had been roused into action by their oppressors: to such a man, good faith was a bauble, religion was a puppet, sound principle was a weakness, having no existence in the bosom of a GREAT MAN. By this man "Carthage must be destroyed," England must be annihilated, and France must be exalted on its ruins! What has been done to Switzerland and to Hanover is too gentle for Britons! The murderer of Jaffa, the impious hypocrite of Corsica, is determined to shew US no mercy, but to extirpate the name of Britons from off the face of the earth! "No quafter will be given to the English," says he, "but all shall be put to the sword," if they prove so perfidious as to defend themselves. And will they not defend themselves? Will they receive those monsters of iniquity with open arms, and regard them as their brethren? From such fraternity, good LORD deliver us! May the GOD of Heaven be our friend and protector: on HIM we rely, and in his name will we go forth with our fleets and our armies. With one heart we have resolved, even single-handed, to conquer or to perish.

( 333 )

The Shade of ABERCROMBY,, to the British Soldiers.. PREPARE! Let the usurper and his barbarians know the difference between slaves and freemen, between a Frenchman and a Briton! Let him see the strong and lofty position we take. We call Heaven to witness, no passion for vain-glory, no thirst of ambition, no desire of power, wealth, and dominion, points the edge of our swords! No; our bosoms are fired with motives more worthy of men and of Englishmen ! The defence of our lives and liberties, the preservation of our wives and children, the security of civil order, and the maintenance of religious liberty, sanctify our cause and brace our sinews! Your country's freedom sounds the trumpet, and beseeches you in the name of the throne, the altar, and your families, to stand at the breach between them and a horde of savages, whose object is ruin, ravishment, and massacre!

Whilst one spark of fire remains in the British bosom, whilst the warm current of life circles in his veins, who would not sooner welcome death than behold those scenes of misery renewed in his native land which have been exhibited in other countries? Nay, is it not to suffer a thousand deaths, to see your aged and venerable parents dragged from the bosom of their families, bleeding at your feet beneath the dagger of the unfeeling assassin; your wives and sisters seized by the insulting conqueror, for the victims of his brutal passion; and your darling infants torn from your affectionate embraces, and, made the sport of wanton barbarity and refined torture? Thank God, the smiles of delusion which at one time overspread your minds are now dispersed: the professions of a deceitful and unprincipled foe no longer impose on your understandings. Your eyes are open; the sense of one common danger draws you together by one common and indissoluble band: his flourishing menaces, instead of appalling, serve only to animate your courage and inflame your patriotism. Your spirits are in proportion to your danger; your energies, zeal, and fortitude, keep pace with his vaunting note of preparation. You shew yourselves at this important crisis worthy of the name of BRITONS! The shade of Abercromby, the genius of Nelson, is proud to own you!

Concluding Suggestions. By the PROPRIETORS and EDITOR of the LOYALIST.

FOUR months have elapsed since the first number of this periodical miscellany was published. The professed design of the LOYALIST was that of awakening the British nation to

a just sense of its danger, and of stimulating its patriotic efforts for the preservation of all that is valuable to ourselves and to our posterity. This important object has been attained. We have had the supreme felicity of witnessing a general and magnanimous exertion throughout the United Kingdom, in defence of its rights, liberties, and existence; we have seen the best and most beloved of Kings surrounded by nearly thirty thousand freemen, in one city alone-men of all ranks and stations-voluntarily expressing their ardent attachment to the Sovereign, and their full determination to protect their property, their altars, and their fire-sides, against the lawless inroads of a powerful invader. The patriotism witnessed in London, is only a specimen of the spirit which prevails in every city, town, and village of the British dominions. What can a body of slaves, connected only by the chains of a merciless despot, accomplish on English ground, in opposition to the united strength of an armed nation? But we have here adverted to the VOLUNTEERS and YEOMANRY alone: we have said nothing of the multitudes composing the REGULAR ARMY and MILITIA, whose state of discipline and experience entitle them to our fullest confidence in a time of combat. If the French army boasts of its "INVINCIBLES," we also can name those who have conquered the Invincibles themselves, and under the most disadvantageous circumstances, in respect to situation and numbers. May we not then trust, under GOD, who is our solid rock of defence, that our foes shall never prevail? to HIM we will, therefore, render the praise for our national strength, unanimity, and state of preparation. Having thus acquitted ourselves, and used our best endeavours towards effecting the great object we originally had in view, it cannot be deemed either supine or unwatchful in us to suspend our weekly labours; which have, indeed, been wholly prosecuted without gain, even so much as the daily emolument of hirelings, though not without a conscious reward. Time and circumstances must decide whether it will be necessary hereafter to resume our pen, in the cause of humanity and of Britons. No 190, Piccadilly. December 10, 1803.

THIS Volume of the LOYALIST, containing Twenty Numbers, may be had of the Publishers, Price 5s. in boards; or any Gentleman, whose set is incomplete (if he applies early), may obtain detached Numbers of Mr. HATCHARD, N° 190, Piccadilly.

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