or at the head of an army in the
sight of his general, as upon a platform. He is often surprised between
the hedge and the ditch; he must run the hazard of his life against a
hen-roost; he must dislodge four rascally musketeers out of a barn; he
must pick out single from his party, as necessity arises, and meet
adventures alone."

Thus far Montaigne, in a characteristic essay on "Glory." Where death is
certain, as in the cases of Douglas or Greenville, it seems all one from
a personal point of view. The man who lost his life against a hen-roost
is in the same pickle with him who lost his life against a fortified
place of the first order. Whether he has missed a peerage or only the
corporal's stripes, it is all one if he has missed them and is quietly
in the grave. It was by a hazard that we learned the conduct of the four
marines of the _Wager_. There was no room for these brave fellows in the
boat, and they were left behind upon the island to a certain death. They
were soldiers, they said, and knew well enough it was their business to
die; and as their comrades pulled away, they stood upon the beach, gave
three cheers, and cried "God bless the king!" Now, one or two of those
who were in the boat escaped, against all likelihood, to tell the story.
That was a great thing for us; but surely it cannot, by any possible
twisting of human speech, be construed into anything great for the
marines. You may suppose, if you like, that they died hoping their
behaviour would not be forgotten; or you may suppose they thought
nothing on the subject, which is much more likely. What can be the
signification of the word "fame" to a private of marines, who cannot
read and knows nothing of past history beyond the reminiscences of his
grandmother? But whichever supposition you make, the fact is unchanged.
They died while the question still hung in the balance; and I suppose
their bones were already white, before the winds and the waves and the
humour of Indian chiefs and Spanish governors had decided whether they
were to be unknown and useless martyrs or honoured heroes. Indeed, I
believe this is the lesson: if it is for fame that men do brave actions,
they are only silly fellows after all.

It is at best but a pettifogging, pickthank business to decompose
actions into little personal motives, and explain heroism away. The
Abstract Bagman will grow like an Admiral at heart, not by ungrateful
carping, but in a heat of admiration. But there