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Spanish papers and other miscellanies, hitherto unpublished or uncollected
Spanish papers and other miscellanies hitherto unpublished or uncollected Author:Washington Irving Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: LIEUTENANT BURROWS. It is the laudable desire of every brave man to receive the praises of his countrymen; but there is a dearer and more cherished wish that ... more »grows closer to his heart; it is to live in the recollections of those he loves and honors ; to leave behind him a name, at the mention of which the bosom of friendship shall glow, the eye of affection shall brighten; which shall be a legacy of honest pride to his family, causing it to dwell on his worthy deeds and glory in his memory. The bravest soldier would not willingly expose himself to certain danger, if he thought that death were to be followed by oblivion; he might rise above the mere dread of bodily pain, but human pride shrinks from the darkness and silence of the grave. It is the duty, and it is likewise the policy, therefore, of a nation, to pay distinguished honor to the memories of those who have fallen in its service. It is, after all, but a cheap reward for sufferings and death ; but it is a reward that will prompt others to the sacrifice, when they see that it is faithfully discharged. The youthful bosom warms with emulation at the praises of departed heroes. The marble monument that bears the story of a nation's admiration and gratitude, becomes an object of ambition. Death, the great terror of warfare, ceases to be an evil when graced with such distinctions; and thus one hero may be said, like a phoenix, to spring from the ashes of his predecessor. In the gallant young officer who is the subject of the presentmemoir, we shall see these observations verified; he fought with the illustrious example of his brethren before his eyes, and died with the funeral honors of Lawrence fresh in his recollection. Lieutenant William Burrows was born in 1785, at Kinderton, near Philadelphia, the seat of his fa...« less