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THE VOLUNTEERS

OF THE

UNITED KINGDOM,

WHO

WITH AN IMPULSE OF GENUINE PATRIOTISM,

HAVE OFFERED THEIR SERVICES

TO DEFEND

THE RIGHTS OF THEIR COUNTRY,

FROM THE

VIOLATION THREATENED

BY AN IMPLACABLE FOE;

THESE VOLUMES

INTENDED TO PROMOTE THE SAME OBJECT,

ARE

RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED.

Let come three corners of the World in Arms,

And we shall shock them :-NOUGHT SHALL MAKE US RUE,
IF ENGLAND TO HERSELF DO REST BUT TRUE.

SHAKESPEARE

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ADDRESS TO THE BRITISH NATION.

THE expiring embers of War being again re-lumed by the

vengeance of an implacable enemy, and its flame directed against the dearest liberties of our NATIVE LAND, it becomes no less the INTEREST, than the DUTY, of every Englishman, to lend his aid in rescuing his Country from the impending danger. The storm excited by the most imperious of our foes, is driven onward with a celerity proportioned to the magnitude of the purposed mischief. Not content with the subjugation of the greatest part of Europe, the FIRST CONSUL OF FRANCE directs every engine of his malice to the overthrow and destruction of this Island. The firm and dignified resistance which it has opposed to the extension of his tyranny, has raised his hatred, and given force to his malignity. Intoxicated by the more than regal splendours of the state he has usurped, he would bend the world to his will, and force it to stoop beneath the footstool of his power. Dazzled by success, and blinded by flattery, his judgment has become. morbid, and every opposition to his purposes is followed by deep and lasting displeasure. Hence his enmity to Britain; for daring to raise barriers to the overwhelming progress of his destructive influence,

influence, he has vowed her ruin; and every artifice that Vengeance can inspire, is pursued to accomplish his dire intent. His Legions, already versed in the completion of human misery, are excited to the charge by the promise of unlimited plunder. The spoils and the riches of the Country are to be at their disposal; their licentiousness is to be unbridled, and their passions glutted to satiety. The promised Canaan is pointed out to their view; and the land flowing with milk and honey, is at the will of the proud Conqueror, to become to its inhabitants, a scene of desolation and of bitterness,

Britons! the Danger is imminent. The ferocious bands of Gaul have been too long nurtured in blood and rapine to resist the influence of the allurements thus displayed. Like rapacious wolves they advance to the conquest as reckless of danger, as divested of humanity. The "compunctious visitings of nature," are stifled in their bosoms. In their hearts, mercy is not an inmate; and so well does this fierceness of temper accord with the disposition of their despotic Ruler, that a Public Edict directs them to the massacre of every Man whose loyalty or whose bravery has impelled him to arm in defence of the menaced liberties of this Country!

The security which results from ignorance, or confidence unfounded in reality, is the sleep of delirium on the precipice of death. The means employed for our destruction, are great and extensive; and aided as they are by every kind of Machiavelian artifice, the only way of preventing their success, is by a kindred preparation. We know, and we feel, that DEATH is preferable to DEFEAT; yet let us not supinely neglect the precautions which tend to conquest, till the moment when the tempest bursts upon our heads. Let us prove that we deserve to live; not more by our contempt of an existence which reproach or shame would embitter, than by making the sacrifices which prudence dictates, to preserve that existence uncontaminated. Let us prove to Europe and to the World, that the insulting vaunt of the Usurper of Gaul, that Britain could not contend "single handed" with his enslaved Republic, was nothing more than the vapid ebullition of intoxicated pride.

The

The bravery of Britons is proverbial; yet it rests not on the shallow basis of report. The roll of History has recorded the triumphs of our country in unfading colours. Admiring nations have beheld our victories, and wondered at the greatness of the spirit displayed in atchieving them. Can it be, that the descendants of the Heroes that obtained the Battle of Cressy, of Poictiers, and of Agincourt, should have degenerated, and become unworthy of their sires? Oh! No. No. The pages of modern times sufficiently illustrate the falsehood of the supposition. LINCELLES, VALENCIENNES, EGYPT, ACRES, all, demonstrate that British Courage is still unconquerable. But not to courage alone must we look for security its resources must be marshalled by Discretion, and directed by Wisdom. The foe with whom we contend, has all the subtlety of his country, and it behoves us to be wary: even the magnanimous Lion may be caught in the toils, should his generous spirit occasion him to despise the craft of the hunters.

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Once more, Britons, permit us to assert, that the danger is imminent! Your courage wants not animation; but the idea of the folly of an Invasion of this Country, which too many entertain, must not be suffered to paralyze your efforts, and render that courage nugatory. WE MUST PREPARE FOR THE WORST: Your FOE, who never yet shrunk from a merciless deed, has told you, that army after army will be found for the enterprize. Let us remember, that these armies are inured to warfare, and must be opposed by discipline. It is not the mere register of names that can make SOLDIERS. We must be practised in the use of arms; we must learn to march; to sustain privation and fatigue ; to act in concert; to oppose an unshaken firmness to the extreme of danger; and so to embody ourselves (if the expression may be allowed) with the threatened fate of our Country, that every other idea may be absorbed in a determined resolution to DIE, or CONQUER.

E. W. B.

THE

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