The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-06-07
Prince and Peasant in Fight,

! IN the QltcH. Win no one 10 speak q "OT1
of praise of himself. Minstrels sang on
| ly of the mobiles. The deeds Of peasants
| interested nobody. not even the peasants
| themselves, Only in England was the sto-
ry of Robin Hood popular, and that was
| because deep down in the heart of the
Anglo-Saxon has been always a love OF
| individual liberty, a respect for the scorn-
er Of oppression and demand for equal
| ity. Chivalry and feudality passed, but
not the unshakable belief in the superior
warrior qualities of the person born with
gold spoon in his mouth. 1t is with Us
in more or less modified form. and will be
with our children's grandchildren.
| For this the writers of modern romance
are responsible. They are the successors
of the medieval jongleurs and harpers.
They have the same love Of the dramat-
ic and the same superiority to truth. A
dandy, breathing sweet perfume from his
curly locks" an "oiled and scented As
syrian bull" whose essences turn the
live air SICK youthful member Of upper
classdom, whose ''barbarous opulence,
jewel-thick, suns itself on his breast and
hands" suddenly transporter TO the
roughness and dangers of a camp makes a
more poetic and picturesque figure than
the unadorned country boy who is sup
posed to have been used to nothing bet
ter The fighting qualities Of the one are
exalted and glorifed; the fighting quail
ties of the other are taken as matter
of course They excite little attention and
receive faint praise.
History is thick with the figures Of the
nobly born who have died soldier deaths.
Such was Latour d Auvergne, whose name
is still called when his old regiment is in
nd ba fOIlOwS- On
the field of honor" Such was Sir Philip
Sidney, riding from battle with q broken
thigh and giving his last cup OF water
to a dying soldier. Such was young Cas-
abianca, son Of the admiral whose flag
ship was the Orient. Such are hundreds
Of others niched high in the temple Of
fame; but Of the commoner in the ranks
we have few words. 1t is true that John
Boyle O'Reilly has told us of Ensign Epps
who, at the battle of Flanders, sowed a
seed of duty and glory that flowers and
flames in height and beauty like Grim
son lily with heart of gold, and we have
heard, too, of little Giffen, of Tennessee,
the CLINT of whose steel-blue eye told
Of a spirit that would not die; but these
are rare exceptions. For the most part
the commoner is unhonored and unsung.
He is given justice in Miss Charlotte
Yonge's most admirable Book of Golden
Deeds" a volume which should be placed
in the hands Of every American boy, but
l am acquainted with no other which rem
ders him even a 1.-THE Of his due.
OF these young, slender, pale. languid,
affected dare-devils of history that is ro-
nance and romance that is history, the
most perfect type perhaps is Conan Doyle's
Sir Gervas Jerome. who is to be found IN
IL. AZ ~. I'll;
ed Micah Clarke" Here was a belaced
and beruffled gallant Of armours and dis
sipation. who powdered his hair before
going into action and took snuff in the
heat and carnage of the most desperate
onslaught and left his body upon the field
a testimonial of the high-born's funda-
mental courage. He is an attractice fig
ure-much more attractive than the grim
ed footmen who died about him in scores
with a valor as noble, and that is the
reason he is remembered. Squirting our
horses, we cut a way to his rescue and
laid our swords about us until we had
cleared off his assailants for a moment.
Jump up behind me-. I cried. He looked
up smiling and shook his head. I stay
with my company said ne. Your compa-
N.Y.! Saxon cried. why, man, you are
mad. Your company is cut off to the
last man. That's what / mean he an
swered, picking some dirt from his era
vat Don't We mind Look out for your
selves Goodbye, Clarke! Present my
compliments to - The dragons charg-
ed down upon US again. We were all borne
backward, fighting desperately, and when
we could look round the baronet was gone
forever" We find no such pictures Of the
deaths of the men of the line in or out
of books.
l believe 1t takes more courage 20 be a
good private than to be an officer. l be-
lieve that the officers courage is suppre-
mented and sustained by his sense of re-
sponsibility, by his prominence, by his au-
thority to command, by his uniform and
by his sword He has more chances to
distinguish himself. He is certain to get
the lions share of credit if credit accrues.
If defeat follows his opportunity to dis
play gallantry and training and earn dis
tinction is even greater. The fact that
common men for ages have borne the
heat and urden of ne day. nave met
mistaken the most fear-inspiring of cav
airy charges, have grimly locked bayo-
nets with insane fOemen, have composed
forlorn hopes and have died desperately
and silently by millions, many times for
a cause they did not understand, Is proof
that their courage is as subimated as that
of any spoiled darling who ever forsook
a home Of luxury for a campaign of woe.
Taking the Anglo-Saxon for an example,
l do not believe that there IS any appre-
ciable difference between the courage Of
the landed baron and the courage of the
farrier. The race is almost universally
brave.
In support Of this belief the state Of
Louisiana afforded two notable instances
in the late war. The Washington Light
Artillery of New Orleans was an aristo-
cratic organization. II led in society. Its
members were sons of the oldest families
They had wealth, education and spirit Of
corps. At the first Manassas the men Of
this battery went into action wearing
dress suits. Its guns were served with
notable effect by hands covered with
white kid gloves. The Washingtons got
bravely over this. In six months any one
OF them would have been glad Of a clean
shirt. But that is neither here nor there
They fought superbly. Their battle call
For the Pelican" rang high and clear on
a hundred fields. They came home in IS
a few Of them-scarred and MANNED
and ages older. but Unstained. The IA
nous louisiana Tigers belonged TO an
other class. They were composed Of screw
men. stevedores, cotton handlers Of the
levee. mechanics, fishermen. market hun
ters, what not. They were American,
French. German. Greek. Algerian. tunis-
ian and a few other things. Probably
there was not q pair OF patent-les,her
shoes or a white cravat or dress coaS
in the regiment. Fighters in twenty
pitched battles. the boast was that until
they swarmed up the slope az Gettysburg
they had never suffered q repulse. Even
a. Gettysburg they were not repulsed in