The Works of Benjamin Franklin, Volume 4. Бенджамин Франклин
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in the use they made of arms, I cannot, I ought not, to forget the very different behaviour of brave men and true soldiers, of which this melancholy occasion has afforded us fresh instances. The Royal Highlanders have, in the course of this war, suffered as much as any other corps, and have frequently had their ranks thinned by an Indian enemy, yet they did not for this retain a brutal undistinguishing resentment against all Indians, friends as well as foes. But a company of them, happening to be here, when the one hundred and forty poor Indians above mentioned were thought in too much danger to stay longer in the province, cheerfully undertook to protect and escort them to New York, which they executed (as far as that Government would permit the Indians to come) with fidelity and honor; and their captain, Robinson, is justly applauded and honored by all sensible and good people, for the care, tenderness, and humanity, with which he treated those unhappy fugitives, during their march in this severe season.
General Gage, too, has approved of his officer’s conduct, and, as I hear, ordered him to remain with the Indians at Amboy, and continue his protection to them, till another body of the King’s forces could be sent to relieve his company, and escort their charge back in safety to Philadelphia, where his Excellency has had the goodness to direct those forces to remain for some time, under the orders of our governor, for the security of the Indians; the troops of this province being at present necessarily posted on the frontier. Such just and generous actions endear the military to the civil power, and impress the minds of all the discerning with a still greater respect for our national government. I shall conclude with observing, that cowards can handle arms, can strike where they are sure to meet with no return, can wound, mangle, and murder; but it belongs to brave men to spare and to protect; for, as the poet says,
“Mercy still sways the brave.”
CCLII: COOL THOUGHTS ON THE PRESENT SITUATION OF OUR PUBLIC AFFAIRS Ref. 008
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