The British lion roars over the impotence of
Brazil: he lies still and watches before the might of Napoleon. In the
one case he stands forth the lordly king of beasts; in the other he
seems metamorphosed into the fox. The hope that America would descend
incontinently to the rank of an inferior power was quickly dispelled; so
the lion crouched and the foxy head appeared. The everlasting caution
came in and said,--"Wait your chance; a hasty judgment is always a poor
judgment; let events take their course, and if occasion offers, strike
the right blow at the right time; but do not decree away the stability
of the Union either by the illusion of hope or by an expectation as yet
ill-founded." It was the wisdom of the serpent, eager, and conquering
eagerness.
Under the cloak of a pretended neutrality, the ministry have had
opportunity to watch the course of events, to connive at aid to the
Rebellion, and to leave themselves unembarrassed when the success of
one side or the other should make it expedient to declare in its favor.
It has been with the greatest difficulty that Mr.
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