mind. IN THE WAR AGAINST RUSSIA. 61 engaging in war. Still, the conscience of the chap. nation was sound, and the men were as well con- ^"' vinced as ever of the wickedness of a war wrongly ^^}:^°{ o J feeling in or wantonly incurred. They were in this mind : o^il^'s'"'* they would not go to war without believing that they had a good and a just cause, but it was certoin that tidings importing the necessity of going to war for duty's sake would be received with a welcome in England. Therefore when the people gradually came to Effect of , f xi f> . 1 , -r. . UieCzar'8 near oi the iierce oppression attempted by Prince ag-ression iM/v> IT • upon the Mentschikon, and the wise, firm, moderate resist- pu^^'ic ance of the Turks, they believed that there might be coming in sight once more that very thing for which they longed in their hearts — namely, a just cause of war. And when at length the seemingly unequal conflict began, the bravery of the Turks on the Danube, and the skill of their General, quickly roused that sympathy which England hardly ever refuses to a valiant combatant who is weaker than his foe ; but when they came to know of the catastrophe of Sinope, and to hear of it as a slaughter treacherously and stealthily com- mitted upon their old ally by an enemy who had engaged to observe neutrality in the Euxine * they were inflamed with a desire to execute jus- tice, and nothing was now wanting to fill the measure of their righteous anger except a disclo- sure of the Czar's cold scheme for the spoliation of the ' sick man's ' house.
- The erroTieousne.ss of tin's impression has Lecn already
shown. See ant, pp. 13 and H.
