A new book review has been posted about G.A. Henty's In The Heart of The Rockies. This Henty book tells of the adventures of sixteen-year-old Tom Wade as he explores the Rockies of North America. This is another great historical/geographical novel by the prince of storytellers. To read the book review by Brandon Smith, you can click here.

Joshua Titus

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You might have guessed that a lot has been going on here at BTB-HQ. And that would be a good guess. Most of May we were on the road hopping conferences and events. (I think we covered at least 6 states in May.)

A big project has been preparing for the upcoming Reformation 500 event which is to be held in Boston July 1-4. As I have been studying historical characters, one of the things I have been reading about has been pre-modern etiquette. Modern Americans lack appropriate etiquette, and so I have found it fascinating to see how truly gallant Americans once were.

One of my favorite reads for the year was Martine's Hand-Book of Etiquette and Guide to True Politeness. This is a great book and has shown me so many areas where I could definitely add some refinement.

Martine has some very good quotes in his book dealing with the art of gentlemanliness.

Gentility is neither in birth, manner, nor fashion--but in the mind. A high since of honor--a determination never to take mean advantage of another--an adherence to truth, delicacy, and politeness toward those whom you may have dealings--are the essential and distinguishable characteristics of a gentlemen.

If you have a friend that will reprove your faults and foibles, consider you enjoy a blessing, which the king upon the throne cannot have.

In private, watch your thoughts; in your family, watch your temper; in society, watch your tongue.

This is an absolute must read for anyone who wishes to be a "decent chap or lass". Joshua Titus

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The song Minstrel Boy is an "emotionally stirring and inspirational song" that was first written by Thomas Moore at the beginning of the 19th century and was set to the old Irish tune The Moreen. Moore wrote the song in honor of three friends who had fought in the 1798 "Irish Rebellion." According to one source, "One died in prison, another was wounded, and a third captured and hung." This is what inspired him to write The Minstrel Boy.

Originally the song was only two verses. The first verse is about the "Minstrel Boy"/Balladeer who goes forth to the battle and his resolve to guard the "Land of Song" (Ireland). The second verse speaks of his death at the hands of the foe while tearing the cords from his harp, saying, "No chains shall sully thee, thou soul of love and bravery! Thy songs were writ for the pure and free, they shall never sound in slavery!" This was heroism at its best.

The song became a national favorite among the Scots and the Irish during the War Between the States. During this time, an unknown soldier added another verse which speaks of the day when the Minstrel Boy shall return and when "all the bitterness of man must cease, and every battle must be ended."

The tune of Minstrel boy is probably best known for its role in the film The Man Who Would Be King, which starred Sir Sean Connery. The film was based on a book of the same title, which was written by Rudyard Kipling. In the film, director John Huston chose to switch out the classic words of The Minstrel Boy and inserted the words from the hymn The Son of God Goes Forth To War to the same tune. The hymn was written by Reginald Heber and actually fits the film's underlying theme much better than the original words from The Minstrel Boy. Some have said that the words from the hymn don't fit the tune to Minstrel Boy very well, but when sung properly, they match up quite nicely.

One of the best versions of The Minstrel Boy is sung by Charlie Zahm "Americas Foremost Balladeer." He has recorded a number of albums, a number of them with beautiful versions of this mournful ballad. Recently while performing at the SAICFF he sang the version sung by Connery in The Man who Would be King. It really was great to hear Son of God sung to Minstrel Boy, once again.

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The Son of God goes forth to war,
A kingly crown to gain;
His blood-red banner streams afar:
Who follows in His train?
Who best can drink his cup of woe,
Triumphant over pain,
Who patient bears his cross below,
He follows in His train.

The martyr first, whose eagle eye
Could pierce beyond the grave,
Who saw his Master in the sky,
And called on Him to save;
Like Him, with pardon on his tongue
In midst of mortal pain,
He prayed for them that did the wrong:
Who follows in his train?

A glorious band, the chosen few
On whom the Spirit came,
Twelve valiant saints, their hope they knew,
And mocked the cross and flame:
They met the tyrant's brandished steel,
The lion's gory mane;
They bowed their necks the death to feel:
Who follows in their train?

A noble army, men and boys,
The matron and the maid,
Around the Saviour's throne rejoice,
In robes of light arrayed:
They climbed the steep ascent of heav'n
Through peril, toil and pain:
O God, to us may grace be giv'n
To follow in their train.

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It seems to me that Ballantyne made the heroe of the story, young Will Wallace very similar to the real Will Wallace of Scotland.

Ballantyne's hero is well over six feet, has tremendous strength, bears the same name as the Scotch leader, and in the beginning of the story, is a trooper in the king's service.

Unlike the real Wallace, who was executed in his mid-twenties, Ballantyne's heroe lives to a "ripe old age" and has plenty of children and grand children.

In G. A. Henty's book, In Freedom's Cause, the heroe of the story has a comrade in the real William Wallace.

Both books are great historical novels from two of the best Christian authors of all-time!

Thank you for your comment, Brandon. I always did find the parallels between Wallace and Wallace to be very telling as to RMB's love of history.

I do think that Ballantyne based the hero of his story off of the true William Wallace. It definitely would have been the sort of thing for Ballantyne to do: Tipping his hat to the real "braveheart" while enhancing him with a more reformed worldview and setting him in a more recent age.

I always was glad that Will (in the book) lived to a "ripe old age" as you say. Its a much happier thing to do then having your entrails cut out in the prime of life.

We definitely can benefit from the example of both Wallaces. -JT

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The Henty show has returned. This afternoon, at 5 p.m. central, I will once again have the privilege to go on the radio with Mr. Bill Potter and Mr. Adam McManus of KSLR to talk about the book The Dragon and the Raven, by G.A. Henty. This is part of a series of "G. A. Henty" interviews that I have been doing over the course of the lest year with a number of friends.

The Dragon and The Raven takes place in the late 9th century and follows the adventures of a young man, Edmund, who is fighting under King Alfred "The Great" for the freedom of England from the Danish invaders. This book covers almost 15 years of wars under Alfred. In my opinion this is one of Henty's best out-lined books.

This is a really fun book that touches on the life of Alfred, the marauding Danes, and the early history of England. Henty does a great job as usual. This is also a good book for anyone who is interested in early British history.

-JT

P.S. If your not in the San Antonio area you can listen live here.

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Huzzah! A new book review has been posted on The Norsemen in The West. In this story Ballantyne paints a very interesting description of what The Vikings may have experienced during their first years in "Vinland." To read the book review by Dakota Grady you can click here.

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Those of you who read the BTB blog have probably noticed that I tend to enjoy writing about freedom, bravery, independence, etc,. About a month ago, I wrote a little piece about the importance of not being wimps and saps and rather fighting for "victory or death!"

On the 15th of this month, I had the privilege of attending the San Antonio Tea Party. The event was held right in front of the Alamo, and I am proud to say that more than 16,000 loyal Texans came out to stand against the monster that our political system has become. The Phillips family arrived at noon and stayed 'til long past 9:00pm. From the time we arrived tol the moment we left the Alamo, we were surrounded by thousands of Texans. It was great to see so many people looking to our constitutional heritage and our states' rights, whether they fully understood the Biblical-Christian implications or not, and thinking about the role of just government.

One of the gents putting the event on was Mr. Glen Beck of Fox News. My perspective differs from Mr. Beck's on multiple points, but I was thankful for the honest historical view of the Alamo and its defenders which was evident during his Television show live in front of the Alamo. It's not often that you catch the media being honest about history.

This was all great, but, for me, the climax of the day was at about 8 p.m. when my dad had the opportunity to speak to the thousands gathered in the square. After all of the good ideas and "fight for freedom" sound bites which were thrown around during the course of the day, it was very helpful to hear everything explained in terms of our duty as Christians.

I think this was a pivotal message for the events that day.

A very important point that I took away from the rally was that true Texan-Christians can't just scream against "tyrannical government," though we must speak out against it. True Texan-Christians need to look to the biblical roots of our state government.

If you haven't watched the four minute video clip of Dad's message at the Alamo, you can watch it now. (You can also download the entire talk free off of Behemoth.com.)

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Tomorrow, April 24, is R. M. Ballantyne's 184th birthday. He has been called the "rip-roaringest, globe-trekkingest, Christian boys adventure writer of the 19th century."

...he was perhaps the most influential writer of boys' literature from his generation. He was also a devout Christian of the Scottish Covenanter kind, and a globe-trekking adventurer whose sturdy prose earned him the moniker "Ballantyne the Brave" from none other than Robert Louis Stevenson.

He, self-consciously, wrote Christian tales of bravery, resourcefulness, and fearless exploration. He inspired hundreds of thousands of boys to embrace the call of manhood to its fullest, noblest capacity. And, even more important than the excitement and intrigue of his stories, Ballantyne's heart for evangelizing and discipling young men shines brightly as his books powerfully reveal that the sole safeguard against evil is the redemptive love of God. He said:

...In all my writings I have always tried -- how far successfully I know not -- to advance the cause of Truth and Right and to induce my readers to put their trust in the love of God our Saviour, for this life as well as the life to come. --R.M. Ballantyne, from Personal Reminiscences in Book-Making

One of my favorite things about Ballantyne is his fearlessness as regards manhood. II love this quote:

If there is any boy or man who loves to be melancholy and morose, and who cannot enter into the regions of fun, let me seriously advise him to shut my book and put it away. It was not meant for him.

Not that Ballantyne is telling people not to read his books. Rather, he is just saying 'be prepared for what I have to say about sappy blokes.'

Manliness. A good thing to remember every once in a while since we live in this culture of effeminate men. (Ballantyne surely would have called them "saps," "whimps," and anything else that would have come to mind.)

So, if you don't have the entire Ballantyne collection (And your not afraid to read what he's got to say) I would say GET IT NOW. Vision Forum is holding a 50% savings on the Ballantyne series. To find out more about boys & girls literature sales read here.

-JT

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