But
the use of this temporary suspension of the recognized modes of respect
consists in its being mutual, and in the spirit of conciliation in which
all ceremony is laid aside. On the contrary, when one of the parties to
a treaty intrenches himself up to the chin in these ceremonies, and will
not on his side abate a single punctilio, and that all the concessions
are upon one side only, the party so conceding does by this act place
himself in a relation of inferiority, and thereby fundamentally subverts
that equality which is of the very essence of all treaty.
After this formal act of degradation, it was but a matter of course that
gross insult should be offered to our ambassador, and that he should
tamely submit to it. He found himself provoked to complain of the
atrocious libels against his public character and his person which
appeared in a paper under the avowed patronage of that government. The
Regicide Directory, on this complaint, did not recognize the paper: and
that was all. They did not punish, they did not dismiss, they did not
even reprimand the writer. As to our ambassador, this total want of
reparation for the injury was passed by under the pretence of despising
it.
In this but too serious business, it is not possible here to avoid a
smile. Contempt is not a thing to be despised. It may be borne with a
calm and equal mind, but no man by lifting his head high can pretend
that he does not perceive the scorns that are poured down upon him from
above.
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