The Loyalists, Volumes 1-3

The Loyalists, Vol. 1-3, by Jane
West

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Title: The Loyalists, Vol. 1-3 An Historical Novel
Author: Jane West
Release Date: October 4, 2006 [EBook #19458]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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THE LOYALISTS:

AN HISTORICAL NOVEL.
IN THREE VOLUMES.
By Jane West
The Author of "LETTERS TO A YOUNG MAN," "A TALE OF THE
TIMES," &c.

Preserve your Loyalty, maintain your Rights.
Inscription on a Column at Appleby.
Strahan and Preston, Printers-Street, London.
LONDON: PRINTED FOR LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME,
AND BROWN, PATERNOSTER-ROW. 1812.
Transcriber's Note: The variant and inconsistant spellings in this text
have been retained and Tables of Contents has been created.

VOLUME I
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. CHAP. II. CHAP. III. CHAP. IV.
CHAP. V. CHAP. VI. CHAP. VII. CHAP. VIII. CHAP. IX. CHAP. X.
CHAP. XI.

THE LOYALISTS.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

Abate the edge of Traitors, gracious Lord, That would reduce these
bloody days again, And make poor England weep in streams of blood!
Shakspeare.
Those who have but an indifferent banquet to offer, are not usually
inclined to discourage their guests, by a repulsive bill of fare; yet surely,
when a public invitation is given, there is honesty, and prudence too, in
simply stating the kind of regale we are going to spread, lest a palled
and sickly appetite should expect stimulants, or a perverted taste should
pine for foreign luxuries and modern cookery, when we have nothing to
set before them but plain old English food. Church and King now look
as obsolete in a publication, as beef and pudding would at a gala dinner;
yet let us remember, that as the latter have fed our heroes from the days
of Cressy and Agincourt to the present times, so the former have
fashioned minds fit to animate these mighty bodies. It is only to those
who have a relish for stern virtue and grave reflection, that I would
recommend the following pages.
I have dated this narrative in a peculiarly calamitous period, though
well aware that virtue, like happiness, is supposed to flourish most in
times of tranquility. Such times afford no subjects for the historian or
the bard; and even the moralist is often led to revert rather to those
stormy eras which roused the energies of the human soul, and
compelled it to assert qualities of which they who have observed only
the repose of domestic life can form no conception. Man, attempting
with finite powers to compass the most stupendous designs in spite of
physical or moral obstacles; submitting to every privation, braving
danger and death, often even defying omnipotence, and all for the sake
of some speculative tenet, some doubtful advantage, the post of honour
burdened by superlative responsibility, or the eminence of power
attended with perpetual care, is an object no less interesting to the
philosopher, than it is miraculous to the peasant, who places enjoyment
in ease and animal indulgence. It is on the motives and actions which
characterise this self-denial and enterprise, that the hero and the
statesman fix their attention; forming their models, and drawing their
conclusions, not from the passive inclinations, but from the capabilities

of our species, not from what man would or ought to prefer, but from
what he has achieved when stimulated by hope, goaded by ambition, or
instigated by desperation.
Under the influence of these passions, how often has one restless spirit
disturbed the repose of a prosperous nation, and spread desolation and
misery over the fairest portions of the globe. Does God permit this--and
is he righteous? Yes, short-sighted questioner of Omniscience, the
Father of the universe is never more conspicuous in his paternal care,
than when, by means of temporal afflictions, he draws our regards
toward our heavenly country.--Then is death disarmed of the terrors
which are planted round the bed of prosperity; then is the soul freed
from that bondage of sensual delight, which impedes her spiritual
exertion. The no longer pampered body, subdued to spareness, braced
by toil, elastic from exertion, and patient from habit, is not a clog, but a
meet companion for its immortal associate. Prosperity, among many
other evils, engenders religious apathy, and luxurious selfishness. She
presents a gorgeous stage, on which the