Page:Julian Niemcewicz - Notes of my Captivity in Russia.djvu/117

Rh still. The modern republican thinks only of himself; he eats well, goes to the tavern and drinks his brandy for a dollar, loses ten dollars in a cock-fight, and when he returns home, and is asked two shillings for the repair of a bridge, he complains immediately of oppression, and swears that liberty is lost. England is the only country I have hitherto seen, where the valuable benefits of liberty are united with the advantages of an energetic administration, so necessary for the weal of all. The Americans, sheltered by their laws and geographical situation from the wars which ravage Europe, enjoy a pure and quiet life, but they enjoy it only because they do not yet know either the refinements of pleasure or the uproar of passions to which these give rise. Centuries must elapse before the increase of population can create among