The Choir Invisible

"There was another soldier among them named Aaron Reynolds. He had had a

quarrel some days before with Colonel Patterson and there was bad blood

between them. During the retreat, he was galloping toward the ford. The

Indians were close behind. But as he ran, he came upon Colonel Patterson,

who had been wounded and, now exhausted, had fallen behind his comrades.

Reynolds sprang from his horse, helped the officer to mount, saw him escape,

and took his poor chance on foot. For this he fell into the hands of the

Indians.

"That is the kind of men of whom that little army of a hundred and

eighty-two was made up--the oak forest of Kentucky.

"And yet, when they had reached the river in this pursuit and some twenty of

the officers had come out before the ranks to hold a council of war and the

wisest and the oldest were urging caution or delay, one of

them--McGary--suddenly waved his hat in the air, spurred his horse into the

river, and shouted: "'Let all who are not cowards follow me!' "They all followed; and then followed also the shame of defeat, the awful

massacre, the sorrow that lasts among us still, and the loss to Kentucky of

many a gallant young life that had helped to shape her destiny in the

nation.

"Some day perhaps some historian will write it down that the Kentuckians

followed McGary because no man among them could endure such a taunt. Do not

believe him. No man among them even thought of the taunt: it had no meaning.

They followed him because they were too loyal to desert him and those who

went with him in his folly. Your fathers always stood together and fought

together as one man, or Kentucky would never have been conquered; and in no

battle of all the many that they ever fought did they ever leave a comrade

to perish because he had made a mistake or was in the wrong.

"This, then, is your lesson from the battle of Blue Licks: Never go into a

battle merely to show that you are not a coward: that of itself shows what a

coward you are.

"Do not misunderstand me! whether you be men or women, you will never do

anything in the world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the

mind--next to honor. It is your king. But the king must always have a good

cause. Many a good king has perished in a bad one; and this noblest virtue

of courage has perhaps ruined more of us than any other that we possess. You

know what character the old kings used always to have at their courts. I

have told you a great deal about him. It was the Fool. Do you know what

personage it is that Courage, the King, is so apt to have in the Court of

the Mind? It is the Fool also. Lay these words away; you will understand

them better when you are older and you will need to understand them very

well. Then also you will know what I mean when I say to you this morning

that the battle of the Blue Licks was the work of the Fool, jesting with the

King."