The Old Revolutioner (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1847. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER YI. EZR.A RECEIVES MORE LIGHT IN REGARD TO THE CAUSES, NATURE AND CONSEQUENCES OF WARTIME HIGHEST WAY TO DO GOOD. "Well, my son," said Mr Elliot as they were again gathered around the table at evening, "What did Mr. Foster tell you this afternoon?" "He told me about his becoming1 a soldier, and what happened to him the first night after he joined the army, and several other things." "Did his stories kindle any military enthusiasm within your breast? Did he make you feel as if you wanted to be a soldier?" "No sir, I don't think as much of war as I did before." "The more you know about war, the less you will like it. The reason men do not look upon war with abhorrence is, that they look only upon the bright and showy side of it They look at the brilliant uniforms, and the imposing sight of large numbers moving like one man, to the sound of stirring music, and at the glory of the victorious general. They do not look at the untold amount of misery which war, even in its mildest form, must occasion--the distress which every family and individual must feel in the region where the armies are encamped, and through which they pass--the hardship borne by the soldiers, who have all the doing and suffering, but very little of the glory--the sorrows of the families whose husbands and fathers and brothers have fallen in battle that the general, who usually keeps in a safe place, may be called brave and great. Men will not look at these and a thousand other evils of war: they will only look at the plumes and banners, and the great name that one or two may gain, and hence war appears glorious." "There is one thing, which Mr. Foster mentioned, which I never knew before. I never knew that a soldier's life made the soldiers so bad, as it seems it does. He tokl me h...