The Life of General Francis Marion Part 28

With his son, a youth of thirteen, who was permitted to stay with him in the prison, colonel Haynes used often to converse, in order to fortify him against the sad trial that was at hand. And indeed it was necessary, for seldom has a heavier load been laid on a tender-hearted youth.

War, like a thick cloud, had darkened up the gay morning of his days: the grave had just closed her mouth on a mother who doted on him; and he now beheld his only parent, a beloved father, in the power of his enemies, loaded with irons, and condemned to die.

With cheeks wet with tears, he sat continually by his father's side, and looked at him with eyes so piercing and sad, as often wrung tears of blood from his heart.

"Why," said he, "my son, will you thus break your father's heart with unavailing sorrow? Have I not often told you, that we came into this world but to prepare for a better? For that better life, my dear boy, your father is prepared. Instead then of weeping, rejoice with me, my son, that my troubles are so near an end. To-morrow, I set out for immortality.

You will accompany me to the place of my execution; and when I am dead, take and bury me by the side of your mother."

The youth here fell on his father's neck, crying, "Oh my father! my father!

I will die with you! I will die with you!"

Colonel Haynes would have returned the strong embrace of his son; but, alas! his hands were loaded with irons. "Live," said he, "my son, live to honor G.o.d by a good life; live to serve your country; and live to take care of your brother and little sisters!"

The next morning colonel Haynes was conducted to the place of execution.

His son accompanied him. Soon as they came in sight of the gallows, the father strengthened himself and said -- "Now, my son, show yourself a man.

That tree is the boundary of my life, and of all my life's sorrows.

Beyond that, the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest.

Don't lay too much to heart our separation from you; it will be but short.

'Twas but lately your dear mother died. To-day I die. And you, my son, though but young, must shortly follow us."

"Yes, my father," replied the broken-hearted youth, "I shall shortly follow you: for indeed I feel that I cannot live long."

And so it happened unto him. For on seeing his father in the hands of the executioner, and then struggling in the halter, he stood like one transfixed and motionless with horror.

Till then he had wept incessantly; but soon as he saw that sight, the fountain of his tears was staunched, and he never wept more.

It was thought that grief, like a fever, burnt inwardly, and scorched his brain, for he became indifferent to every thing around him, and often wandered as one disordered in his mind. At times, he took lessons from a fencing master, and talked of going to England to fight the murderer of his father. But he who made him had pity on him, and sent death to his relief. He died insane, and in his last moments often called on the name of his father, in terms that brought tears from the hardest hearts.

I hope my reader will not suppose, from these odious truths which I have been telling him about the British and tories, that I look on them as worse than other men; or that I would have him bear an eternal hatred against them. No, G.o.d forbid. On the contrary, I have no doubt on my mind, that the British and tories are men of the same pa.s.sions with ourselves. And I also as firmly believe, that, if placed in their circ.u.mstances, we should have acted just as they did.

Upon honor this is my conviction now; but it was not always so: for I confess there was a time, when I had my prejudices against them, and prejudices, too, as strong as those of any other man, let him be who he would. But thank G.o.d those prejudices, so dishonorable to the head, and so uneasy to the heart, are done away from me now. And from this most happy deliverance, I am, through the divine goodness, princ.i.p.ally indebted to my honored friend, general Marion, of whose n.o.ble sentiments, on these subjects, I beg leave to give the reader some little specimen in the next chapter.

Chapter 26.

Short and sweet -- or, a curious dialogue between general Marion and captain Snipes, on retaliation.

"No radiant pearls that crested fortune wears, No gem that sparkling hangs in beauty's ears; Not the bright stars that night's blue arch adorn, Nor opening suns that gild the vernal morn, Shine with such l.u.s.tre as the tear that flows Down virtue's manly cheeks, for others' woes."

What gigantic form is that which stalks thus awfully before the eyes of my memory; his face, rough and dark as the cloud of winter, and his eyeb.a.l.l.s burning like coals of fire? 'Tis the impetuous captain Snipes. He is just returned from the quarter house near Charleston, where he and captain M'Cauley, with Macdonald and forty men, have recently surprised and cut to pieces a large party of the enemy.

He looks as if the fury of the battle had not yet subsided in his wrathful countenance. His steps are towards Marion, and as he presents a packet, he exclaims in an angry tone, "There, sir, is a Charleston paper. You'll see there how those villains are going on yet.

Not satisfied with all the murders they had committed before, they have gone now and murdered colonel Haynes." Here he gave the heads of that disgraceful act, seasoning his speech every now and then, as he went along, with sundry very bitter imprecations on lord Rawdon.

"Ah shame! shame upon him!" replied the general with a sigh, and shaking his head; "shame upon lord Rawdon!"

"Shame!" answered captain Snipes, his eyes flashing fire; "shame!

I hope something heavier than shame will light upon him for it soon.

The American officers have sworn never again to give quarter to the British or tories."

Marion. G.o.d forbid that my countrymen should have taken such an oath as that!

Snipes. Why, general Marion, would you have the enemy go on at this rate, and we take no revenge?

M. Revenge? O yes, to be sure, sir; revenge is sweet, and by all means let us have it; but let it be of the right kind.

S. Of the right kind, sir! what do you call revenge of the right kind?

M. Why, sir, I am for taking that kind of revenge which will make our enemies ashamed of their conduct, and abandon it for ever.

S. Ashamed of their conduct! Monsters! they are not capable of shame.

M. Pshaw! don't talk so, captain Snipes! our enemies, sir, are men, and just such men as we are; and as capable of generous actions, if we will but show them the way.

S. Well then, general Marion, how do you account for that great difference between us and them in point of spirits? We have never yet killed any of their men, except in fair fight, that I have heard of; but they have often murdered ours. Yes, the cowardly rascals!

they have often done it, and that in cold blood too.

M. Granted. And I am very glad that when we have had them in our power, we have always treated them so much more generously. But, I suppose the reason of such barbarity on their part, is, they have had, or which is the same thing, have THOUGHT they had greater provocations.

S. They be d--n-d, they and their provocations too! Are not WE the persons who have been invaded, and plundered and murdered by THEM, and not they by us? How then can they have greater provocations?

M. Why, sir, sprung originally from them, and always looked on by them as their children, our turning now and fighting against them, must appear, in their sight, a very great provocation; as great perhaps as that of children fighting against their parents.

And again, our shaking off what they glory in, as the wisest, and freest, and happiest government on earth, must make us seem to them as no better than the vilest traitors and rebels; which cannot otherwise than prove another very great provocation. And again, after having been first settled in this country by them, as they will have it, and afterwards, so long and liberally a.s.sisted with their best blood and treasure, in hope that some day or other we should be of service to them; that now, at the very time when, by our immense population, we were just arrived to the so long desired point, to swell their wealth and spread their commerce and arms over the world, we should separate from them, blast all their fond hopes, and throw them back to the former level; this, I say, you will certainly allow, must be a very severe provocation.

Now, sir, putting all these provocations together, and also taking poor human nature into the account, is it to be wondered at, that the British should be so much more angry, and consequently more violent than we?

S. Why, certainly, general Marion, you have always a very fine knack of setting off your arguments. But still, sir, I can't see things in that light. For a man, sir, to go and trump up a pack of claims against me, and all of them because I can't credit him in the abominable extent he wishes, to fall upon me and kill and murder me, as the British and tories have done with us, and we not stop them by revenge! why, my G.o.d! sir, it will never do. For, at this rate, whom shall we have living in all this country, in a little time, but the British, and their friends the tories and negroes?

M. My brave captain let me tell you again, I am as anxious to stop them as you can possibly wish me to be; but I am for doing it in what I think the right way. I mean the way of policy and humanity.

S. Policy, sir! can there be policy in letting our best men be murdered by these savages! I'm sure general Washington did not think so.

For, though I am no man of learning myself, yet I have been told by those that are, that, on its being threatened by general Gage to hang an American soldier, he instantly wrote him word, that if he dared to do such a thing, the life of a British soldier should pay for it.

And, it is well known, that he kept the British army and nation too, in a fright for three months together, with the halter constantly around the neck of captain Asgil, expecting every day to be hung for the murder of captain Huddy.

M. True; general Washington did act so. And it was policy to act against a foreign enemy. But our standing with the tories is quite a different case, and requires a very different course.

The tories are our countrymen, a part of our own population and strength, so that every man of them that is killed, is a man forever lost to ourselves. Now, since the British have put them up to murder us, if we go, out of revenge, to murder them again, why, in the course of a little time our population will be so cut up, as to allow the British ministry, with ease, to take our country, and make slaves of us all; which is just what lord North desires.

S. Yes, I dare say it is. But I hope he'll be disappointed yet.

M. No doubt of it, sir; if we shall be wise and magnanimous enough to follow the true policy, which is no other than HUMANITY to these deluded people, the tories; and to this we have every inducement that generous spirits could desire. The tories and ourselves are brothers; many of us went to the same school together; and a thousand times have ate and drank in each other's houses. And as to the quarrel in which we are now unfortunately engaged, though not the most, still we are much in fault.

We made no allowances for those follies of theirs which led to it.

They thought -- First, That we were too nearly allied to England to go to war with her; this was a weakness, but there was something amiable in it.

-- Secondly, They thought the British were much too warlike and powerful to be resisted by us: this was an error, but it was learned in the nursery.

-- Thirdly, They wished to keep in with the British, merely that they might save their property; this was altogether from fear, and therefore claimed some commiseration. But no!

we could not grant one grain of indulgence to any of their mistakes.

We would have it, they all proceeded from the vilest of motives.

We called them traitors, and cowards, and scoundrels; and loaded them with a thousand indignities besides. Well, the consequences were, as might have been expected from human weakness and pa.s.sion.

Wrought to desperation, and caring not what they did, they have gone and joined our enemies, and many valuable lives have been lost on both sides. Surely 'tis high time now that we should set about doing something to end it.

S. Well! let them set about ending it themselves. They were the first to begin it.