The weekly Anglo-African., 1859-07-30
THE WAR AND ITS LESSONS.


Everything has its appropriate use.
Everything, if we would but heed its
teachings, imparts to us its lesson. The
acor in Europe, which has Just halted in
it's strife, has not been, too, without its les
sons, some of which we may profit by.
The devastations of war are at any time
to be deplored. Such, doubtless, is the
general feeling; nevertheless, there is
justification in yielding to the demands of
necessity; and this is the common soldiers
and his sympathizers consolation; and
in this they often find encouragement.
The Press of this country generally being
in sympathy with the great masses in Eu-
rope, on this ssground have rather inclined
to this coming together of the crowned
heads in deadly strife through their sub
iects, not for the sake of the crowned, or
the crowns, nor as to who shall wear them,
or as to whether they shall be worn at all;
but that, thus in the service of their mas
ters, they, the subjects, might learn the les
son by which to ensure their own complete
redemption from every fetter that now
binds them by the mere will of these ty-
ranical masters. That the subject shall
learn to be the master-the master of him
self-the peer of any man. This is his
lesson; and as he is pursuing his task, he
is gradually gaining confidence in his own
strength and prowess, and as sure as there
is God in Heaven guiding the just affairs
of men, so surely will he succeed.
Nor will these lessons be confined to the
oppressed of Europe alone. They will,
anon, come to us here-here in America.
They will go down to the lowest strata Of
the oppressed here, and as they take in
their lesson they will breathe out new
life-a life that will strike such terror to
the oppressor as will make him wish he
had never been born. For our part, we
have no fear, no tremblings, no meanings,
over this matter. The glorious approach
of this triumphal state here in our own
land and elsewhere, no power of the ty-
rant, no chain of the oppressor, no skill or
craft of the diplomatist, can stay. Come
it will, and come it must.
But there is lesson by reason of this
war impaired to us to WHICH it was our
purpose simply to have called attention in
the beginning of this article. We have
been slow to believe in our own prowess;
indeed, we have thought very little about
the matter, perhaps hitherto having but lit
tie occasion All claims to courage and
GOODNESS under circumstances of difficulty
or danger having been denied the black
man, we ourselves have taken it for grant
ed that he had none. Such is the effect of
false teaching. Now let us come to the
point we aimed at.
In the French army two classes of sol
diers have attracted much attention; one
only, however, on this side of the water,
viz: the Zouave The other, the Tureos,
who are genuine blacks from Africa, be-
sides being the most soldierly looking men
in Europe to-day, for fiery force and dar-
ing, have no superiors in the world or out
of it. They are men who rush right up
to the work of the soldier as though it
were and to them it doubtless is, an every
day business, avoiding no danger and
shrinking no trial. Tall even to towering,
athletic, looking every man himself a CON-
mander, dark, grim, marching with glowing
eye and unshaking hand even to the can
mons mouth, cutting away everything be-
tween them and the jaws of death, what
wonder that the Austrian army wilted
away like grass before the mower
A gentleman in high standing in one
of the crack regiments of this city and the
was asked if he candidly believed
that an equal number of his regiment
could, in any event, stand before an equal
number of the Turcos2 His prompt an
swer was, "No!"
This is our belief, and we doubt not the
belief Of every candid mind that has paid
my attention to the subject
Let prowess no longer be denied the
,lack man; rather let it, from this day