What
are the little sufferings of the present day, compared with the
hardships that are past? There was a time, when we had neither house
nor home in safety; when every hour was the hour of alarm and
danger; when the mind, tortured with anxiety, knew no repose, and
every thing, but hope and fortitude, was bidding us farewell.
It is of use to look back upon these things; to call to mind the
times of trouble and the scenes of complicated anguish that are past
and gone. Then every expense was cheap, compared with the dread of
conquest and the misery of submission. We did not stand debating
upon trifles, or contending about the necessary and unavoidable
charges of defence. Every one bore his lot of suffering, and looked
forward to happier days, and scenes of rest.
Perhaps one of the greatest dangers which any country can be exposed
to, arises from a kind of trifling which sometimes steals upon the
mind, when it supposes the danger past; and this unsafe situation
marks at this time the peculiar crisis of America. What would she once
have given to have known that her condition at this day should be what
it now is? And yet we do not seem to place a proper value upon it, nor
vigorously pursue the necessary measures to secure it. We know that we
cannot be defended, nor yet defend ourselves, without trouble and
expense. We have no right to expect it; neither ought we to look for
it. We are a people, who, in our situation, differ from all the world.
We form one common floor of public good, and, whatever is our
charge, it is paid for our own interest and upon our own account.
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