Confessions of a Free-Thinker

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1850 Excerpt: ...belligerent parties fight it out, unaided and unopposed; another was directly to make war upon the Carlists; the third was to do the same thing indirectly. This last named course it was they determined to pursue. Recruiting for armies to serve under foreign governments was forbidden by the terms of the Foreign Enlistment Act; by suspending iti operation for two years they in effect said to the tottering Spanish government--Assist you openly and directly we dare not, such policy might cost us our places; but covertly and indirectly we will help you to an Auxiliary Legion of genuine " Britishers," who will fifht for her majesty the Oneen or his majesty th- Devil, if well paid for fighting. Terms were agreed on, abandance of money promised, some fools with a considerable number of rogues enlisted, and the famouft British Legion formed--to the exceeding great joy of Lord Paimerstone, and disgust of absolutists all the world over. On the poor Legion these people exhausted the vocabulary of vituperation. They were not only disgissfvi with its formation, but the, "material" of whciii it was composed. On hearing their piteous lamentations, one might have imagined that "playing at soldiers" was a game only " respectable" people should be engaged in. That the British Legion was not the most respectable body of heroes is quite true. A noble peer described them as the sweepings of our large towns, against which sweeping description I have not one word to say. To my knowledge the Legion was, in great part, composed of bankrupt tradesmen, ruined reprobates, broken-down dandies, discharged lunatics, refractory paupers, and sturdy beggers, who, full of patriotism, "left their country for their country's good." Add to t...