The Berserker of the North, because he believed in the directing
power of the gods, knew no fear. Death or life--it was meted out
by a destiny that could not err. In song and story he has been one
of the most attractive figures of the past; far more attractive in
his savage virtues than the more sensuous heroes of Greece and
Rome. In this story he lives again in the American boy who has his
ancestor's inexplicable uplift of spirit in the presence of danger
and his implicit faith in "the God of battles and the beauty of
holiness." The ideal of Miles Morgan is such a man as Chinese
Gordon, who, not only in youth but all through life, had eyes for
"the vision splendid."
The ethical value of "A Messenger" may be summed up in the words
of the General: "There is nothing in Americanism to prevent either
inspiration or heroism."