The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1900-02-22
FREDERICKSBURG. VA
PRAYING SOLDIERS.
The Beers Pray and other Soldiers Have
Been Devout.
81 Louis Globe Democrat

OI. lOulh 0AGbb DNhNNN'
Before a recent battle In Natal the
Beers are reported TO have stood on then
kopjes. with barred heads, singing tbe
HYMNS that all in the Transvsal know
from earliest childhood. These reilg'
ious songs, handed down for genera
tiuns, are ruggedly strong and simple
Beyond almost any other branch OF the
white race, the South African burghers
are openly devout. Their prayers are
not secret nor their psalms ehanted
apart from their daily vocations Ar
English writer refers 30 them as " sat
urated With the Bible " Their remark
able old President is endesred to them
because he often goes into the pulpit to
deliver q sermon, aud one replste with
living interest. as we're the discourses
of Spurgeon. In the scenes Of war a.
at home, the Beers are pray ing pee
ple. sturdily and sternly pious, no mat
ter il some would call them narrow
They are temperate, trurbfol, and not
unkindly Have the British people
fully estimated the military strength Of
60, 900 or 50. 600 men OF this moral fiber.
lighting with the homes at their backs?
II not. then a glance over the history
Of what soldiers Of the religious type
have done will clear away some Of the
illusions as to the seriousness Of the
task.
Ia the sacred book with which the
Beers are said to be extraordinarily
familiar. the people in the foreground
are praying and fighting race, peo
ple who passed through every phase Of
battle. siege, enslaved captivity and
migration for the sake Of opinion Even
the women had the warlike spirit and,
like Miriam. sang the fervent songs OF
triumph and deliye 'ance. Time has
proved that such a strain OF blood,
founded on stable religious ground,
cannot be .exterminated. bat holds its
place in the affairs OF the world. While
not a nation, il is part OF all nations
and its theology and moral code tinge
the most advanced civilization. The
ctusades OF the Middle Ages turned
Europe into a religious camp, and the
prodigious marches and battles Of that
era were marked by constant prayer and
religious song. Modern records present
the same phenomena The praying sol
dier is a mighty man 10 the earth an
nails. Oromwells Roundheads could
not be shaken in defense nor resisted
in attack. They too. sang hymns on
the battlefield, and were brought up on
Scripture. New England's pilgrims
carried hymnbook in one hand and rifles
in the other. Penn was mln OF peace.
physically, but was militant spirit in
the ethics that must not be disp3raged
in the government and development Of
mankind.
Gustavus Adolphus was religious
monitor, as we'll as a great and yictorl'
ous general. His soldiers prayed openly
as they fought their way through q
third Of Europe. Our own age has pro.
duced military leaders like Havelock
and Stonewall Jackson, imbued with
religious zeal and yet soldiers OF the
ablest type. Nor must the snimating
purpose Of fighting Oriental races be
forgotten when this subject is reckoned
with. The hosts OF Mohammed were
checked at last on the plains Of France.
Not many years ago, the Devishes, arm
ed with knives and lancers, flung them
selves on British squares and repeating
rifles. No antagonist is more stubborn
or reckless Of danger than the Turk OF
today. Before his religious chants the
Greek army recently melted away in
panic. defeated even before the battle
was Joined. With the Orientals religion
may be a fatalistio fanaticism but with
the Beers 1t is profound moral prlnci-
pie. He accepts 1t is an element to be
frankly declared in his everyday ao'
tions, in the army as we'll as In his
quiet community and home. lie is no
ordinary foeman. To vanquish 90. 600
such men in their own rocky fsstnesses,
is undertaking Of unknown magni'
tudp