|
The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from A Footnote to History by Robert Louis Stevenson: between the hostile camps, exchanging gossip, spreading rumour, and
divulging to either army the secret councils of the other. This is
plainly no savage war; it has all the punctilio of the barbarian,
and all his parade; feasts precede battles, fine dresses and songs
decorate and enliven the field; and the young soldier comes to camp
burning (on the one hand) to distinguish himself by acts of valour,
and (on the other) to display his acquaintance with field
etiquette. Thus after Mataafa became involved in hostilities
against the Germans, and had another code to observe beside his
own, he was always asking his white advisers if "things were done
correctly." Let us try to be as wise as Mataafa, and to conceive
|
