PAPERS OF MIRABEAU BuoNAPARTE LAMAR 317 have not yet manifested any inclination to unsheathe the sword, and until they make some demonstration of this nature it is futile to try to help them and to give freedom to them as we would give rewards to children. I already know that you are persuaded to the contrary of all this. You believe that the people of Cuba are like a magazine, full of com- bustible elements, capable of being set on fire with the least little spark and of causing a great explosion. You are certain that a revolution is developing everyw~ere, and that if you could land on the coast of Cuba at the head of five hundred American Volunteers, the natives, inspired and animated by such a demonstration in their favor, would gather about your standard instantly and proclaim the independence of the country. But as for me, I can- not see any reason for you to harbor such an opinion, for what I con- sider incomprehensible is that so few soldiers could produce such great results. It sometimes happens, .that by [trying to] prove too much, nothing is proved. It seems to me that if the appearance and presence of five hundred men in arms (and even these five hundred can not be organized in all of that · island) should be sufficient to start a revolu- tion, what rational deduction could be made from such a state of affairs except that the fears of the people predominate over their cour- age & patriotism, and, as a consequence, they do not want to become involved in war. If this is not the case, if I am not right, why, then, did the Cubans permit your enemies to persecute you to the extent of for~ing you to flee and seek safety in the United States? You have the honor of being the first patriot who has openly and publicly dared to defend the freedom of your country. And how has your patriotic zeal been recompensed? Your reward has been exile, the confiscation of your property, and a high price put on your head by the Govern- ment of Spain. If your compatriots actually possess the virtues which you concede to them, why is it that they did not support you when you took such a bold step in favor of their rights? That was a very opportune occasion to begin the war, but instead of doing it and rushing to your defense, they forsook you at the moment that you had great need of their assistance and protection and left you to escape in the best way you could. And now, Sir, permit me to ask you what motive or reason you have for believing that the same people who abandoned you then would want to support you now? Their weak conduct on that occasion should, open your eyes to the true state of affairs in that Island. Believe me, my dear friend, you deceive yourself in this particular. If it were possible for you to take a sufficient force to Cuba to liberate the country without compromising the safety of the inhabitants, or placing their lives and fortunes in any danger, they would in that case, doubtless cover you with eulogies and honors. They would greet you as a great champion of liberty and as the benefactor of their country, they would praise you to the skies •and sing hosannas to you, but, on ·the contrary, if you should land there with a handful of foreign vol- unteers-they would be weak and insignificant to fight their opponents, [and even] counting upon the cooperation of the natives of the country, I am certain that your ruin and that of your valiant companions would be inevitable, because no one would come out to your assistance, nor
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