Cause in which any god or man of this British Nation can be thought to be concerned.Sham-kingship,recognized and even self-recognized everywhere to be sham,wrestles and struggles with mere ballot-box Anarchy:a pleasant spectacle to British minds.Both parties in the wrestle professing earnest wishes of peace to us,what have we to do with it except answer earnestly,"Peace,yes certainly,"and mind our affairs elsewhere.The British Nation has concern with that indispensable sorrowful and shameful wrestle going on everywhere in foreign parts.The British Nation already,by self-experience centuries old,understands all that;was lucky egh to transact the greater part of that,in le ancient ages,while the wrestle had yet become a shameful one,but on both sides of it there was wisdom,virtue,heroic leness fruitful to all time,--thrice-lucky British Nation!The British Nation,I say,has hing to learn there;has quite aher set of lessons to learn,far ahead of what is going on there.
Sad example there,of what the issue is,and how inevitable and how imminent,might admonish the British Nation to be speedy with its new lessons;to bestir itself,as men in peril of conflagration do,with the neighboring houses all on fire!To obtain,for its own very pressing behoof,if by possibility it could,some real Captaincy instead of an imaginary one:to remove resolutely,and replace by a better sort,its own peculiar species of teaching and guiding histrios of various name,who here too are numerous exceedingly,and much in need of gentle removal,while the play is still good,and the comedy has yet become tragic ;and to be a little swift about it withal;and so to escape the otherwise inevitable evil day!This Britain might learn:but she does need a protocolling establishment,with much "having the ho to be,"to teach it her--she has in fact certain cottons,hardwares and such like to sell in foreign parts,and certain wines,Portugal oranges,Baltic tar and other products to buy;and does need,I suppose,some kind of Consul,or accredited agent,accessible to British voyagers,here and there,in the chief cities of the Continent:through which functionary,or through the penny-post,if she had any specific message to foreign courts,it would be easy and proper to transmit the same.Special message-carriers,to be still called Ambassadors,if the name gratified them,could be sent when occasion great egh demanded;sent when it did .But for all purposes of a resident ambassador,I hear persons extensively and well acquainted among our foreign embassies at this date declare,That a well-selected Times reporter or "own correspondent"ordered to reside in foreign capitals,and keep his eyes open,and (though sparingly)his pen going,would in reality be much more effective;--and surely we see well,he would come a good deal cheaper!Considerably cheaper in expense of money;and in expense of falsity and grimacing hypocrisy (of which human arithmetic can count the ultimate cost)incalculably cheaper!If this is the fact,why treat it as such?If this is so in any measure,we had better in that measure admit it to be so!The time,I believe,has come for asking with considerable severity,How far is it so?
Nay there are men current in political society,men of weight though also of wit,who have been heard to say,"That there was but one reform for the Foreign Office,--to set a live coal under it,"and with,of course,a fire-brigade which could prevent the undue spread of the devouring element into neighboring houses,let that reform it!In such odor is the Foreign Office too,if it were that the Public,oppressed and nearly stifled with a mere infinitude of bad odors,neglects this one,--in fact,being able nearly always to avoid the street where it is,escapes this one,and (except a passing curse,once in the quarter or so)as good as forgets the existence of it.