go "where the bullets sing hardest, where the fire fulminates". Moreover he states he cannot not go there, there is an inner compulsion to follow the road marked by his forefathers. Such is the power of the poem it has been accused of rank militarism and glorifying of war, perhaps not without reason. But it is also a fine description of the ideals and mentality of the time: it was acceptable to the Swedes to recruit even fifteen-year olds to war and such tasks were glorified in society. The boy states that his father's road "always led to honor", and that he "gladly suffered cold, hunger and his wounds", the epitome of military resilience. It gives us a flashback to the way of thinking of the past military ideals. Whether any soldier gladly suffers cold, hunger and wounds is another matter: this is what was expected of them. That even a young boy unquestioningly chooses that road tells us perhaps the lack of avenues available in that society: the shame of "eating stranger's bread" i.e. being subject to charity, can only be wiped out by following in his father's footsteps and dying, at least fighting, for his country. He says:"I'm a hero's son, I shall not go to waste." So, even a poor military orphan boy can achieve transcendence and honor, when officers – at least some of them – totally lose their honor. The concept of military honor is strong in Tales of Ensign Ståhl, but it is often found in surprising persons, often persons of lower rank, such as the disabled (mentally retarded) Sven Dufva, or in unarmed governor, or in munitions provider Lotta Svärd. As such, this was important to the development of the national feeling, for the common people were seen as worthy, sometimes even worthier than the upper class. The personage of Lotta Svärd and the Soldier boy poem, when composed to music, were later taken up by defence organisations as their symbols. Among the most famous characters is the simple but heroic rotesoldat Sven Dufva. The organisations Lotta Svärd and the Swedish Women's Voluntary Defence Organization ("Lottorna") were named after the character in the poem of the same name. From its publication to the mid-twentieth Century, The Tales of Ensign Stål was staple reading in both Finnish and Swedish schools. It shaped the later image of the war and of some of its real-life