Big talk.
Our neighbor of the
Whig compares the
Yankees to the Chinese, and they certainly do resemble them in a very surprising degree.
When the
Celestial had seen
Canton stormed and pillaged — when they had been routed wherever they dared to make a stand — when the whole empire was in a state of anarchy, and
Pekin itself in the possession of the outside barbarians — the Mandarins constantly announced the forthcoming of mighty expeditions that were to exterminate the rebels, or drive them into the bottomless deep.
The American Chinese began this war with a sounding of gongs, the like of which had never been heard this side of
Canton.
They were going to march to
Richmond.
Old
Scott indicated the grip he intended to take upon this devoted city, by slowly closing his hand until his fist was doubled.
The several routes indicated the fingers of the hand.
Butler's was one finger,
McClellan's was another, his own was the third, a force from
Norfolk on the
South side was the fourth, and another force from the Tennessee Railroad was to be the fifth.
Well, the march began in military state.
Butler got as far as
Bethel,
McClellan got to
Cheat Mountain, and old
Scott got to
Bull Run.
Baffled, defeated, surrounded, out up in all directions, the Mandarins are, even now, giving forth to the world that they are preparing a mightier event.
It was
Richmond before; it is to be the whole
South this time.
The New York
Herald, the Big Gong of the Mandarin concern at
Washington, almost sinks beneath the weight of this mighty subject.
The army of the
Celestial is to drink dry rivers as they pass.
The cattle on a thousand hills are to be slain for their food.
The primeval forests of the boundless
West are to be felled for their fuel.
The cowards of
Bull Run are to be metamorphosed into grim warriors, to whom the Tenth Legion of
Caesar and the Old Guard of
Napoleon were mere Sunday soldiers.
This mighty host is not to be in a hurry.
It is to take its own time.--
Bennett has allowed it until October.
For a month or two, we are told, it will be as much as can be done by
Scott,
McClellan,
Wool,
Rosencranz,
Anderson,
Prentiss,
Fremont, and the other
Generals, so make the needful preparations, &c. We should suppose it would.
At the end of that time all are to advance.
A powerful naval armament is to move along our coast, carrying on board forty thousand troops.
The others are to move through
Virginia and down the
Mississippi into the heart of the
Cotton States.
The mouth of the ancient plunderer waters at the bare prospect of the spoils.
All the cotton belonging to the
Government of the
Confederacy is to be seized as lawful plunder.
Lord Palmerston will be taught that cotton supplies are to be obtained only by acknowledging the supremacy of the
Union.
There are several objections to this plan.
In the first place, where will
Rosencranz and
Fremont be by October?
In the second place, where is our army to be while all this planning and scheming and plundering and dividing is going on?
If the Federalists have not been able in four months to take
Richmond, how long will it take them to sweep the whole country from
Texas to
Virginia?
If a man cannot accomplish a small enterprise, how is he to manage a great one?
In the third place, where is the money to come from?
England won't touch.
The associated bank scheme is a mere swindle, and the
Yankees are too poor to be taxed.
In the fourth place, where are the men to come from?
All these things are worthy of consideration before entering upon a scheme of conquest so vast.
