The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-11-07
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were executed. When I saw II the wan
Of the skin and hair of the victims were
matted to the masonry. Lad who had
been apong the nercest of the fighters
was one OF the condemned While march
ing near his home and to the place of
execution. he told the officer in command
that he had locket which he had Just
taken from the body OF his dead father.
and begged that he might bear 1t to his
mother. promising to return and resume
his place IN the fated line The o1icar,
touched by his tender age. gave the per
mission. hoping and believing that he
would not return. thus spartng him the
necessity Of executing q mere child. Be-
fore the line reached It's destination, how
ever, the lad came Up with hasty steps,
stood AGAINST the wall, and faced the SOL
diers. The FIRST volley tore out his brave
little heart.
The cradles of France furnished the
troops who fought and won the desper-
ate battle of wagram. In my young
soldiers" said Napoleon. Il have found
all the valor OF my old companions in
arms"
The small boy as q soldier has never
had q historian No Foy or Napier or
Theirs has done justice to his heroism:
but he furnishes much Of the enthtisiasn.
the dash and fury. Of every triur,phant
army. II was the small boy Of Franco
VIII hal -
tories under the revolutionary govern
ment Of l7ss. and. later. under Napoleon.
When Wellington was contendinE
against Marshal SouIt In Spain, he got
a number Of young recruits from Eng
land whose smooth faces and dudish
uniforms excited the derision Of vet
Grams. But when the conflict came they
were foremost in the charge. The duks.
who had shared the contempt for thss.
''parlor soldiers was forced to admit
that the puppies fought well. They
report oftener for duty. are capable of
more endurance. and are irresistible in
charge. They need only a few vet
Grams to steady them in action. Some
are timid in the first encounter, As was
Frederick the Great, but they soon over
come it,
The soul contributes more than the
body to results. Take a boy of Is, in
spire him with enthusiasm, and however
fragile in form. he will outstrip, both on
the march and in the field, the less i'm
pressible men with twice his physical
strength. I have seen trudging in the
ranks OF Lees army striplings whose
equipments almost outveighed their DELI
cate bodies. But they struggled less.
were sick less. and were foremost in
the fight When the hour, Of battle came
their faces frightened with a beautiful
light. a smile would play over their
features, and their disposition to cheer
and charge became irrepressible.
II has been said that the most dan
gerous antagonists are those who value
seemed not to think of either life or
death. but the foe. the foe. and to b
up and at them Must a battery be
captured? They rushed at IT. and reck-
ed not of the terror and death II belched
forth Must a redoubt be carried? For
ward they Ieaped so swift and brave.
not counting the bristling mass that de-
Tended IL.
Another and well-known incident of
the bravery Of a boy is the one which
Is told of a young drummer in 179s.
who. In an engagement between the
rebels and the Kings troops. was cap
tured- During the fight he was ordered
by his captors to beat the drum for
them. Without a moments hesitation
he placed his drum on the ground and
put his foot through both heads. then
sitting down he said. II am the Kings
drummer and cannot beat for rebels
All who have seen anything Of war
appreciate the presence Of the small boy
in the ranks. for he must be reckoned
with In the hours OF battle. A fury
blazes in his little frame that nerves
his delicate arm and gives a tiger-spring
to his step.
Copyright. By Harper and BrotheAl