Note 79 — Chapter XXIX
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At a civic feast in Philadelphia, on the first of May, which was attended by a great number of American citizens, to celebrate the recent victories of France, the subjoined toasts were given. The managers of the feast sent the following invitation to President Washington:—
“Sir: The subscribers, a committee in behalf of a number of American, French, and Dutch citizens, request the honor of your company to a civic festival, to be given on Friday, the seventeenth of April, appointed to celebrate the late victories of the French republic, and the emancipation of Holland.” The feast was postponed until the first of May. Washington did not attend; but the occasion was honored by the presence of the French minister and consul, and the consul of Holland. The following are the toasts:—
The republic of France, whose triumphs have made this day a jubilee; may she destroy the race of kings, and may their broken sceptres and crowns, like the bones and teeth of the mammoth, be the only evidence that such monsters ever infested the earth.
The republic of France; may the shores of Great Britain soon hail the tri-colored standard, and the people rend the air with shouts of 'Long live the republic!'
The republic of France; may her navy clear the ocean of pirates, that the common high way of nations may no longer, like the highways of Great Britain, be a receptacle for robbers.
The republic of France; may all free nations learn of her to transfer their attachment from men to principles, and from individuals to the people.
The republic of France; may her example, in the abolition of titles and splendor, be a lesson to all republics to destroy those leavens of corruption.
The republic of Holland; may the flame of liberty which they have rekindled never be permitted to expire for want of vigilance and energy.
The republic of Holland; may her two sisters, the republics of France and America, form with her an invincible triumvirate in the cause of liberty.
The republic of Holland; may she again give birth to a Van Tromp and a De Ruyter, who shall make the satellites of George tremble at their approach, and seek their safety in flight.
The republic of Holland; may that fortitude which sustained her in the dire conflict with Philip the Second, and the success that crowned her struggles, be multiplied upon her in the hour of her regeneration.
The republic of Holland; may that government which they are about establishing have neither the balances of aristocracy nor the checks of monarchy.
The republic of America; may the sentiment that impelled her to resist a British tyrant's will, and the energy which rendered it effectual, prompt her to repel usurpation in whatever shape it may assail her.
The republic of America; may the aristocracy of wealth, founded upon the virtues, the toils, and the blood of her Revolutionary armies, soon vanish, and, like the baseless fabric of a vision, leave not a wreck behind.
The republic of America; may her government have public good for its object, and be purged of the dregs of sophisticated republicanism.
The republic of America; may the alliance formed between her and France acquire vigor with age, and that man be branded as the enemy of liberty who shall endeavor to weaken or unhinge it.
The republic of America; may her administration have virtue enough to defy the ordeal of patriotic societies, and patriotism enough to cherish instead of denouncing them.”