The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1858-03-18
Remember. 1 Die Gnme.


H ,- IT, aaHF u.a.
Such were the last words Of young mur-
derer. named Fife, who was executed at Pitts.
burg. on Friday. He stood upon the scat
fcld-the rope around his neck-and with
but few moments between him and eterni.
.ty. Yet, instead of being overwhelmed by
thoughts and feelings natural to that awful
hour, he took pride in his iron stolidity o
nerve, and called upon the crowd to mark
that "he died game" Brave fellow! He
had she courage Of hero! These exclams
tons, we doubt moi. have broken from very
many who have perused the narrative Of the
execution. No, he was not brave fellow
and il 10 strange that men should mistak.
the mere brutal insensibility of criminals
like Fife, for that virtue which is the cen
trail spring Of noble character. 1t is no
only in the case of persons who have showl
their capability Of committing the most hor
rible crimes without pang of remorse, bu
in regard to certain kinds of soldiers upor
the battle field, that we often foil into ths
grave error Of dignifying mere quality O.
physical nature with the name of an exalt.
cd virtue Of the soul. A man may be per.
feetly calm and impsssib'e while hundred
sannons are laundering death around him,
and yet want genuine bravery, while the
noble quality may often be most gloriously
manifested in frail and sinking frames.
Charles James Napier, endowed by ma
ture with such extreme sensitiyeness OF
nerve, that a harsh sound caused him to
shudder-and horrifed by the bloody scenes
of war-yet maintaining clear, calm in.
tellect in the heat Of battle, and giving ex.
plicit directions to surgeons while suffering
the most acute agonies in his mangled
body, was an example of true courage
Ney, walking on foot at the head of the
old Guard, up to the muzzles of two hun.
dred blazing cannons at Waterloo, was sim.
ply an iron machine-insensible to leur.-
Kane racked with mortal disease, and with
nervous FIBRE almost destroyed-yet defying
the rigors of appalling cold, maintaining an
ascendeney over men stronger in body than
himself, and with amazing prudence and
sagacit5 conducting their retreat from the
world Of hight and ice to the hounts of civi.
lized beings-was brave. McGarry, labor.
ing tw enty. y.fohr hours at the oar, yet giving
way to despair under less suffering than
Kane endured almost without a murmur,
was simply what his commander called him
fan iron man." The stalwar,h Wind
ham1-callh and collected amid the horrors
Of the Redan-is called brave man; bu,
we doubt whether he would have dared the
dangers of the hospitals like the gentle
Florence Nightingale. ThetN were strong
men at Norfolk who would have faced the
foe in the time Of war, and "died g4me" in
defence Of their city. But they fed from
the breath ofpestilence, and left relations and
friends INTENDED and unburied, while deli.
cate maiden from New York took the place
they should have occupied. ..
The distinction between true bravery and
mere physical hardness is important, and it
ought 10 be more strongly insisted upon
than we find it to be in general. 1t is too
much the custom to talk Of the courage oil
Griminala, as II II were a redeemiug virtue,
which tis$ possessed in common with the
great characters of history, and eulogies oI
the moral apathy Of the mindless soldier
are extremely extravugant. Physical firm.
ness is an attribute which men receive from
nature. Moral resoIution-''the spirit tc
combat against every trial, which is alon,
true bravery"-is quality Of the immorta
part, which We may all cultivate, even ii
the humble wulks Of life-and, in this re.
sPect; the weakest may become the mosl
sdtiir able in their strength. There is moi
day in the career OF man or d woman
that does Hot present some temptation to be
resisted-sorise difficulty to be overcome
and each act of resistance, and each victo
ry over Obstacles that appeared insurmount.
able, adds new force to the will, and
strengthens the soul for a still greater
struggle to maintain it's ascendancy in the
hour Of tremendous peril or appalling Co
lamity. The brutal Indifference of the
Springs, the Langfeldts. and the Flies. ii
mean and paltry in comparison with ,ha
sublime determination Which, presses on te
achievement, in spite Of the ills Of the flesh
and of dangers of which we have an agoniz
ing sense. This latter is the virtue that WI
would teach our rising generation. We
would prefer that thsy should learn how 't,
suffer and be strong,' rather than acquir'
the faculty Of "dying game" upon q scaffold
-PhslG. Ev. Journal. n