MAGNIFICENT, BUT— FOOLISH.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXIII, Issue 8743, 17 December 1913, Page 6

MAGNIFICENT, BUT— FOOLISH.

'The " Spectator" takes the article almost line for line and dissects it in these terms: —Mr Erskine proceeds to point out .that the fact of a disastrous blunder scarcely bears in the public mind upon the incident of the charge of the Light Brigade, and the folly which led to the loss of the Royal George is an incident too small to be remembered. "Having made the error, they, all died bravely, and our memory passes easily over the lack of a virtue we, never did think much of, and dwells on the English virtues of courage and discipline." -We read this passage more than once to make out what, " virtue " Mr Erskine means that they lacked. We suppose he means wisdom. Perhaps he would say that our hesitation constitutes a case in point. Our author will' not be supposed to draw all his instances from the past. "Quite recently,: he ■ reminds' us,\ • and •," after full warning,. we ' drove a ship at top :speed:through a,field of icebergs." We made a •■'little, thing of. the want of intelligence displayed by those in' authority; indeed, the thought seemed to enhance our natural pride in the good behaviour •of a ' boatload of people. ■" When we .were thrilled to read how superbly those hundreds died, iii the great English way, a man pointed out that they did indeed die in the English way, and that our jpride was therefore. ill-tJnied ; that all that bravery was wasted; that the tragedy. was in the shipwreck of intelligence. That discouraging person was an Irishman."