Page:Thoughts on a French invasion.pdf/4

 on foot, new inventions are framing, and the whole power, ingenuity, and wealth of France and its dependents, are set on the chance of an Invasion.

To these machinations the government of this country is no stranger; the extent of the danger.they can ascertain, the naval and military defence is in the best hands, and the honest mechanic, farmer, and tradesman may pursue his habits of industry, without any reasonable ground for apprehending either that his labours should be interrupted, or his property taken from him.

But since the danger, either real or apparent, may suddenly burst upon an unprotected part of this island, as its happy inhabitants know not how to ascertain the risk they run under an invasion; they may derive instruction from being made acquainted with the progress of the enemy in other countries, and apprized by what human means the fall of so many independent and powerful states was effected. They will be cheered at the view of some striking differences between those states and us, and it will prevent alarm, misrepresentation, and dismay, to show every individual in this country what ought to be his immediate object during the confusion inseparable from an attack.

The writer begs to be understood as not addressing himself to those who have made the profession of arms their study, or to those who are associated and embodied under established officers: his with is to give practical hints to the plain man, who has never seen any military service.

It may not be known to the generality of Englishmen, that when the French invaded the different countries of Europe, they calculated on suffering no impediment from their inhabitants, who were as quietly ploughing their land, opening and shutting their shops, and carrying on their traffic during the time of invasion, as if no enemy had been at their gates. The French therefore only inquired what number of regular troops were opposed to them: while these, although obliged to refrain from any coercive measure, or an kind of requisition, for fear of offending their own