cal ſtrength by the increaſe of our reputation; we have gained real ſtrength by the reparation of our navy; we have ſhewn Europe that ten years of war have not yet exhauſted us; and we have enforced our ſettlement on an iſland on which twenty years ago we durſt not venture to look.
Theſe are the gratifications only of honeſt minds; but there is a time in which hope comes to all. From the preſent happineſs of the publick the patriots themſelves may derive advantage. To be harmleſs though by impotence obtains ſome degree of kindneſs; no man hates a worm as he hates a viper; they were once dreaded enough to be deteſted, as ſerpents that could bite; they have now ſhewn that they can only hiſs, and may therefore quietly ſlink into holes, and change their ſlough unmoleſted and forgotten.
