soldier or naval officer perform to society; and it will be for you, my
lad, to decide as to which position you would rather fill."

"I never thought of that, captain," said one of the lads. "But I can see
clearly how it is. And yet I think those men who risk their lives for us in
war, deserve great honor. They leave their homes, and remain away,
sometimes for years, deprived of all the comforts and blessings that
civilians enjoy, suffering frequently great hardships, and risking their
lives to defend their country from her enemies."

"It is all as you say," replied Captain Bland; "and they do, indeed,
deserve great honor. Their calling is one that exposes them to imminent
peril, and requires them to make many sacrifices; and they encounter not
this peril and sacrifice for their own good, but for the good of others.
Their lives do not pass so evenly as do the lives of men who spend their
days in the peaceful pursuits of business, art, or literature; and we could
hardly wonder if they lost some of the gentler attributes of the human
heart. In some cases, this is so; but in very many cases the reverse is
true. We find the man who goes fearlessly into battle, and there, in
defence of his country, deals death and destruction unsparingly upon her
enemies, acting, when occasion offers, from the most humane sentiments, and
jeopardizing his life to save the life of a single individual. Let me
relate to you a true story in illustration of what I say.

"When the unhappy war that has been waged by our troops in Mexico broke
out, a lieutenant in the navy, who had a quiet berth at Washington, felt it
to be his duty to go to the scene of strife, and therefore asked to be
ordered to the Gulf of Mexico. His request was complied with, and he
received orders to go on board the steamer Mississippi, Commodore Perry,
then about to sail from Norfolk to Vera Cruz.