the Turkish ships of the line[[5]]."
[5]. This sentence is printed in Italics, to mark, that, though published by the Confederate and Ally of the Empress of Russia, it contradicts the account given in the Petersburgh Gazette, in which the small craft were magnified into ships of the line.
The accounts from the east of the Crimea are, that the Tartars and Russians have had frequent actions, but with no very decisive success on either side.
Let us now leave the Moscovites, and turn to the Imperialists on the western side of the theatre of war.
Soon after the defeat of Prince Lichtenstein by the garrison of Dubitza, the Turks crossed the Unna, in pursuit of him, and, for some time, pressed him in his intrenchments; but, the moment the news of his disaster reached the Emperor, four squadrons of dragoons, and seven battalions of infantry, were ordered to his assistance.
To lead these troops, and to reanimate his army, the Emperor called forth the great Laudohn--a gallant veteran, to whom every Soldier must look up with veneration and respect. He was now in an advanced age, and had retired from the field of arms, to end his days under the shade of his laurels. The Genius of Austria seemed to call upon him for relief. Roused by her cries, and by the voice of the Emperor and the People, the veteran hero regained the powers of youth, and armed once more to lead the Imperial banners to victory.
When so great a character appears upon the stage, we can scarcely refrain from wishing him success, whatever may be the merits of his cause. An ambitious tyrant may plunge his nation into an unjust war, and his people may be prejudiced enough to support him in it; but the Soldier is neither accountable for the crimes of the one, nor for the follies of the other. His duty as a loyal subject, and his virtue as a patriotic citizen, oblige him to exert himself to the utmost, whenever his services are called upon; and, without entering into the politics by which his country is actuated, he feels himself engaged to promote, to the full extent of his power, the success of her arms, in whatever wars she is unhappily embarked.--Such a character is Marshal Laudohn: but of his Court I by no means entertain such favorable sentiments.
As an Englishman, policy obliges me to wish success to the Turks; for I have already proved to you, that our lucrative trade to the Levant can never be carried on so much to our advantage as whilst Turkey remains in the hands of its present possessors; and, as a Philanthrope, I feel the utmost detestation of the ambitious combination entered into by the Emperor and the Empress, to extirpate the Turks, merely because Nature has been bountiful to their soil, and because their country promised an easy conquest.
These Powers could scarcely imagine that Europe would look on with indifference; but they trusted that they had a sufficient party to prevent any open declaration in favor of the injured Turks. These expectations, however, the disturbances in Brabant, and the total suspension of the power of France, must have frustrated. Blush, then, O Prussia! if you neglect this favorable opportunity of shewing your justice and magnanimity.--But, still more feelingly shall I say, blush, O England! if you do not, at least, insist on an honourable peace for the Turks. Let every thing the Imperial Courts may take from them, be restored; but, above all things, prevent the Russians obtaining any solid establishment on the Black Sea, or infringing the Grand Signior's right to prevent ships of force, or warlike stores, passing the Bosphorus and Dardanelles. Let the Porte, at least, sit down on the same conditions she was forced to accept by the Treaty of Cainardgie--a treaty which created her present distress--a treaty which we ourselves, in an hour of mistaken policy, compelled her to submit to, and which now, that we know our true interests, we are bound to redress.