The blood of the whole nation boiled at the thought.

To be conquered by Frenchmen or by Spaniards would have seemed comparatively a tolerable fate.

With Frenchmen and Spaniards we had been accustomed to treat on equal terms.

We had sometimes envied their prosperity, sometimes dreaded their power, sometimes congratulated ourselves on their friendship.

In spite of our unsocial pride, we admitted that they were great nations, and that they could boast of men eminent in the arts of war and peace.