{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_22080/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_22080","id":"gutenberg_22080","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/22080","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Short Stories","Children's Anthologies","Heroes -- Juvenile literature"],"text":"Produced by Chris Curnow, Thomas Strong, Fox in the Stars\nand the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at\nhttp://www.pgdp.net\n\n\n\n\n\n{Transcriber's Note: Obvious mis-spellings and printing errors have been\n corrected. Table of Contents, List of Illustrations and page numbers,\n each of which is not included in the original, are supplied.\n Illustration captions marked with deg. are supplied. All other\n inconsistencies are as in the original.}\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nTrue Stories of Wonderful Deeds\n\n PICTURES AND STORIES FOR\n LITTLE FOLK\n\n [Illustration]\n\n CHICAGO\n\n M.A. DONOHUE & COMPANY.\n\n 407-429 DEARBORN STREET.\n\n\n\n\n TABLE OF CONTENTS\n\n PAGE\n\n THE ROYAL OAK 2\n\n BONNIE PRINCE CHARLIE 5\n\n NELSON AND HARDY 7\n\n WATT AND THE KETTLE 9\n\n QUEEN VICTORIA AND HER SOLDIERS 11\n\n THE RELIEF OF LUCKNOW 13\n\n GRACE DARLING 15\n\n DAVID LIVINGSTONE 17\n\n THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO 19\n\n THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE 22\n\n THE CORONATION OF KING EDWARD VII 24\n\n WAR 26\n\n A BOY'S HEROIC DEEDS 28\n\n A CAT'S EXTRAORDINARY LEAP 31\n\n A BRAVE QUEEN 33\n\n KING ALFRED AND THE CAKES 36\n\n NOT ANGLES, BUT ANGELS 38\n\n HEREWARD THE WAKE 40\n\n CANUTE 42\n\n THE BRAVE MEN OF CALAIS 44\n\n WAT TYLER 47\n\n BRUCE AND THE SPIDER 50\n\n RICHARD AND BLONDEL 53\n\n THE WHITE SHIP 55\n\n JOAN OF ARC 57\n\n AFLOAT WITH A TIGER 59\n\n QUEEN MARGARET AND THE ROBBERS 63\n\n WILLIAM CAXTON 67\n\n SIR PHILIP SIDNEY 69\n\n THE \"REVENGE\" 73\n\n THE PILGRIM FATHERS 75\n\n GUY FAWKES 77\n\n CROMWELL AND HIS IRONSIDES 79\n\n THE SPANISH ARMADA 81\n\n THE DEFENCE OF LATHOM HOUSE 84\n\n THE OUTLAWED ARCHERS 86\n\n ELIZABETH AND RALEIGH 88\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n PAGE\n\nKING CHARLES IN HIDING 1\n\nKING CHARLES IN THE OAK 4\n\nPRINCE CHARLES AT THE BATTLE OF CULLODEN 6\n\nNELSON ON THE \"VICTORY\" AT TRAFALGAR 8\n\nWATCHING THE BOILING KETTLE 10\n\nQUEEN VICTORIA VISITS HER WOUNDED SOLDIERS 12\n\nTHE HIGHLANDERS ENTERING LUCKNOW 14\n\nGRACE DARLING ROWS OUT TO THE WRECK 16\n\nTHE MEETING OF STANLEY AND LIVINGSTONE 18\n\nBRITISH SOLDIERS AT THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO 20\n\nTHE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE 21\n\nAFTERMATH OF BATTLE deg. 23\n\nKING EDWARD VII AND QUEEN ALEXANDRIA 25\n\nSPYING ON INDIANS deg. 27\n\nSAVED FROM THE FLOOD 28\n\nQUEEN BOADICEA 32\n\nQUEEN BOADICEA AND HER SOLDIERS 35\n\nKING ALFRED FORGETS THE CAKES 37\n\nTHE ENGLISH PRISONERS AT ROME 39\n\nHEREWARD AND HIS MEN ATTACK THE NORMANS 41\n\nCANUTE ORDERS THE TIDE TO STOP 43\n\nQUEEN PHILLIPA PLEADS FOR THE MEN OF CALAIS 45\n\nTHE MEN OF CALAIS ARE SPARED deg. 46\n\nWAT TYLER deg. 47\n\nYOUNG KING RICHARD QUELLS THE REBELLION 49\n\nBRUCE WATCHING THE SPIDER 51\n\nRICHARD LION HEART FIGHTING IN THE HOLY LAND 52\n\nBLONDEL SINGS BENEATH RICHARD'S WINDOW 54\n\nPRINCE WILLIAM RETURNS TO SAVE HIS SISTER 56\n\nJOAN AT THE HEAD OF THE ARMY 58\n\nAFLOAT WITH A TIGER deg. 60\n\nTHE ROBBERS DISCOVER QUEEN MARGARET AND THE PRINCE 64\n\nTHE ROBBER BRINGS HELP TO QUEEN MARGARET 66\n\nCAXTON IN HIS PRINTING SHOP 68\n\nSIR PHILIP SIDNEY deg. 69\n\nMARTYRED FOR PRAYING deg. 70\n\nSIR PHILIP SIDNEY AND THE DYING SOLDIER 72\n\nDEATH OF SIR RICHARD GRENVILLE deg. 74\n\nTHE PILGRIM FATHERS ENTERING THE NEW WORLD 76\n\nTHE ARREST OF GUY FAWKES 78\n\nCROMWELL LEADS HIS IRONSIDES TO BATTLE 80\n\nDRAKE IS TOLD THAT THE ARMADA IS APPROACHING 82\n\nTHE LITTLE \"REVENGE\" FIGHTS FIFTY SPANISH GALLEONS 83\n\nTHE COUNTESS RECEIVES THE BANNERS 85\n\nCLOUDSEY SHOOTS AN APPLE FROM THE HEAD OF HIS SON deg. 87\n\nRALEIGH SPREADS HIS CLOAK BEFORE ELIZABETH 89\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: King Charles in Hiding]\n\n\n\n\n=The Royal Oak=\n\n\nThere is in Shropshire a fine oak-tree which the country people there\ncall the \"Royal Oak\". They say it is the great-grandson, or perhaps the\ngreat-great-grandson of another fine old oak, which more than two\nhundred years ago stood on the same spot, and served once as a shelter\nto an English king. This king was Charles II, the son of the unlucky\nCharles I who had his head cut off by his subjects because he was a weak\nand selfish ruler.\n\nOn the very day on which that unhappy king lost his head, the Parliament\npassed a law forbidding anyone to make his son, Prince Charles of Wales,\nor any other person, king of England. But the Scottish people did not\nobey this law. They persuaded the young prince to sign a paper, solemnly\npromising to rule the country as they wished; then they crowned him\nking. As soon as the Parliament heard of this they sent Cromwell and his\nIronsides against the newly-crowned king and his followers, and after\nseveral battles the Scottish army was at last broken up and scattered at\nWorcester.\n\nCharles fled and hid in a wood, where some poor wood-cutters took care\nof him and helped him. He put on some of their clothes, cut his hair\nshort, and stained his face and hands brown so that he might appear to\nbe a sunburnt workman like them. But it was some time before he could\nescape from the wood, for Cromwell's soldiers were searching it in the\nhope of finding some of the king's men. One day, Charles and two of his\nfriends had to climb into the tall oak to avoid being caught. They had\nwith them some food, which proved very useful, for they were obliged to\nstay in their strange hiding-place for a whole day. The top of the\noak-tree had been cut off some few years before this time, and this had\nmade the lower branches grow thick and bushy, so that people walking\nbelow could not easily see through them. It was a fortunate thing for\nCharles, for while he was in the tree, he heard the soldiers beating the\nboughs and bushes in the wood as they searched here and there, and even\ncaught glimpses of them through the leaves as they rode about below.\n\nWhen they had gone, without even glancing up into the tall oak-tree, he\ncame down, and rode away from the wood on an old mill-horse, with his\nfriends the wood-cutters walking beside him to take care of him as best\nthey could. The saddle was a poor one, and the horse's pace jolted\nCharles so much, that at last he cried out that he had never seen so bad\na steed. At this the owner of the horse jestingly told him that he\nshould not find fault with the poor animal, which had never before\ncarried the weight of three kingdoms upon its back. He meant, of course,\nthat Charles was king of the three kingdoms of England, and Scotland,\nand Ireland.\n\nCarried by the old horse, and helped by the poor wood-cutters, Charles\nat last reached the house of a friend. Here he hid for a time, and then\nwent on to try and escape from the country. This time, so that he might\nnot be discovered, he was dressed as a servant, and rode on horseback,\nwith a lady sitting on a cushion behind him, as was then the fashion.\nAfter several more dangers he managed to get on board a ship and sailed\naway to France.\n\n[Illustration: KING CHARLES IN THE OAK]\n\n\n\n\n=Bonnie Prince Charlie=\n\n\nPrince Charlie was the grandson of King James II, who was driven away\nfrom the throne of England because he was a selfish man and a bad ruler.\nThe young prince tried to win the crown back again. He came over to\nScotland from France, with only seven followers; but soon a great many\nof the Scots joined him, for he was so gay, and handsome, and friendly,\nthat all who saw him loved him. They called him \"Bonnie Prince Charlie\".\nBut though the prince and his followers were very brave, they had no\nchance against the well-trained soldiers of King George of England. They\nwon a few victories; then they were thoroughly beaten in the battle of\nCulloden. Thousands of brave Scots were slain, and the prince had to fly\nfor his life.\n\nAfter this, for many weeks, he hid among the moors and mountains from\nthe English soldiers who were trying to find him. He lived in small\nhuts, or in caves, and many times had nothing but the wild berries from\nthe woods to eat. Once he stayed for three weeks with a band of robbers,\nwho were very kind to him; and though the king offered a large sum of\nmoney to anyone who would give him up, not one of his poor friends was\nfalse to him.\n\nAt last, a young and beautiful Scottish lady, named Flora MacDonald,\nhelped him to escape. She gave him woman's clothes, and pretended that\nhe was her servant, called Betty Burke. Then she took him with her away\nfrom the place where the soldiers were searching, and after a time he\nreached the sea, and got safely away to France.\n\n[Illustration: PRINCE CHARLIE AT THE BATTLE OF CULLODEN]\n\n\n\n\n=Nelson and Hardy=\n\n\nLord Nelson was one of the greatest seamen that ever lived. He commanded\nthe British fleet at the battle of Trafalgar, when the navies of France\nand Spain were beaten, and England was saved from a great danger. He did\nnot look like a famous admiral on board his ship, the _Victory_, that\nday. He was a small man, and his clothes were shabby. He had lost one\narm and one eye in battle; but with the eye which remained he could see\nmore than most men with two, and his brain was busy planning the course\nof the coming fight. Just before it began, he went over his ship, giving\norders to the crew, and cheering them with kind words, which touched the\nhearts of the rough men, who loved their leader and were proud of him.\n\"England expects every man to do his duty\" was the last message he sent\nthem. Every man did his duty nobly that day, though the battle was\nfierce and long; but it was the last fight of the brave commander. He\nwas shot in the back as he walked the deck with his friend Captain\nHardy, and was carried below.\n\nHe lay dying for several hours, but, in spite of his great pain, his one\nthought was of the battle. \"How goes the day with us?\" he asked of\nHardy; and when told that many of the enemies' ships were taken, he\ncried eagerly, \"I am glad. Whip them, Hardy, as they have never been\nwhipped before.\" Later, when his friend came to tell him that the\nvictory was won, Nelson pressed his hand. \"Good-bye, Hardy!\" said he, \"I\nhave done my duty, and I thank God for it.\" These were the last words of\none of England's bravest sons.\n\n[Illustration: NELSON ON THE \"VICTORY\" AT TRAFALGAR]\n\n\n\n\n=Watt and the Kettle=\n\n\nThere was once a little Scotch boy named James Watt. He was not a strong\nchild, and could not always run and play with other boys, but had often\nto amuse himself at home. One holiday afternoon little James amused\nhimself in this way. He held a saucer over the stream of steam which\ncame from the spout of a boiling kettle, and as he watched he saw little\ndrops of water forming on the saucer. He thought this was very strange,\nand wondered why it happened, for he did not know that steam is just\nwater changed in form by the heat, and that as soon as it touches\nsomething cold it turns again into water. He asked his aunt to explain\nit, but she only told him not to waste his time. If she could have\nforeseen the work which her nephew would do when he became a man, she\nwould not have thought he was wasting his time.\n\nWhen James Watt grew up, he was as much interested in steam and its\nwonderful power, as he had been as a boy. He was sure it could be made\nof great service to men. It was already used for driving engines, but\nthe engines were not good, and it cost much money to work them. Watt\nthought they could be improved, but it was long before he found out the\nway to do this. Often, he sat by the fire watching the lid of the kettle\nas it was made to dance by the steam, and thinking of many plans; and at\nlast a happy thought came to him. His plan enabled great improvements to\nbe made in the working of engines, and now steam drives our trains and\nships, our mills and factories, and is one of our most useful servants.\n\n[Illustration: WATCHING THE BOILING KETTLE]\n\n\n\n\n=Queen Victoria and her Soldiers=\n\n\nQueen Victoria was always proud of her brave soldiers. In time of war,\nshe gave orders that news of them was to be sent to her every day, and\nwhen the generals returned home, they were commanded to visit her, and\nto tell her of the bravery of the troops.\n\nDuring the long war with the Russians in the Crimea, the British\nsoldiers suffered greatly from the freezing winds, and rain, and snow,\nof that cold land. When Queen Victoria heard of this, she and her\nchildren worked with their own hands to make warm clothing for them. A\ngreat many of the wounded and sick men were sent home in ships, to be\nnursed in the English hospitals, and the Queen paid several visits to\nthe poor fellows as they lay there. Moving from one bed to another, she\ncheered them with hopeful words, and listened gladly to their stories of\nthe battles in which they had fought. When she saw that the hospitals\nwere crowded, and not very comfortable, she told Parliament that better\nones ought to be provided, and after a time this was done, and the fine\nhospital of Netley was built, of which the Queen laid the first stone.\n\nOnce, Queen Victoria herself gave medals to some wounded and disabled\nsoldiers who had fought very bravely. Some of these men could not raise\ntheir arms to salute their queen; some could not walk, but had to be\nwheeled in chairs to her side; but all were proud to receive their\nmedals of honour from her hands.\n\n\"Noble fellows,\" she wrote of them afterwards, \"I feel as if they were\nmy own children.\"\n\n[Illustration: QUEEN VICTORIA VISITS HER WOUNDED SOLDIERS]\n\n\n\n\n=The Relief of Lucknow=\n\n\nDuring the time of the terrible Indian Mutiny, when most of the native\ntroops rose against their British rulers, and vowed to kill every white\nperson in the land, many cruel deeds were done. A great number of white\npeople were slain before the British troops could come to their rescue,\nbut in some places they managed to hold out until help reached them.\nThis was the case in the city of Lucknow, where the British governor\nwith a small body of troops, and a great many women and children, took\nrefuge in the Government House from a vast host of rebels who came to\nattack them. Many of the brave defenders were killed by the shot and\nshell of the enemy. Many others, and especially the little children,\nfell sick and died, for the heat was very great, and there was no good\nwater to be had. Then, after many days, a small body of white soldiers\nfought their way into the city, and brought help and hope to the rest of\nthe party. They were only just in time. Had they come a few days later\nthey would have found the Government House a heap of ruins, and their\nfriends dead, for the rebels were making a mine under the building and\nmeant to blow it up with gunpowder. But alas! the newcomers were not\nstrong enough to fight their way out of Lucknow with a crowd of helpless\nwomen and children and sick folk, so they, too were now shut in. For two\nmonths longer they held out. Then at last, when they had almost lost\nhope, the great Sir Colin Campbell with his brave Highlanders and other\nsoldiers defeated the rebels, and brought the band of sick, starving,\nand weary people safely away.\n\n[Illustration: THE HIGHLANDERS ENTERING LUCKNOW]\n\n\n\n\n=Grace Darling=\n\n\nOn a small rocky island, off the north coast of England, there is a\nlighthouse. A man named William Darling was once keeper of this\nlighthouse, and his daughter Grace lived with him. Every day Grace\nDarling helped her father to trim the lamps, so that at night they might\nshine brightly, and warn sailors to steer their ships away from the\ndangerous rocks, upon which they would have been dashed to pieces.\n\nOne stormy night Grace woke with the sound of screams in her ears. The\nscreams came from the sea, so she knew that some ship must be in\ndistress. She roused her father, but they could see nothing in the\ndarkness. When daylight came, they found that a ship had been wrecked\nupon the rocks some way off, and a few people were clinging to the\nmasts. Grace wished to go at once in a boat to save them; but at first\nher father hung back, for the wind and sea were wild, and he feared\nthat the small boat would be overturned by the great waves. Then Grace\nran to the boat, and seized an oar, for she could not bear to let the\npoor men die without trying to save them; and the father could not let\nhis brave, daughter go alone, so he followed, and they rowed off.\n\nIt was hard work pulling against the strong sea, and several times the\nsmall boat was almost sunk. But at last it reached the wreck, and\nWilliam Darling managed to land upon the rock, and with great care and\nskill helped the half-frozen people into the small boat. Then they were\ntaken to the lighthouse, where Grace warmed and fed them, until the\nstorm ceased, and they could return to their homes.\n\n[Illustration: GRACE DARLING ROWS OUT TO THE WRECK]\n\n\n\n\n=David Livingstone=\n\n\nAt one time many people believed that the middle of Africa was a sandy\ndesert, where nothing could live but camels and ostriches. But they were\nmistaken. The great traveller, David Livingstone, journeyed into this\nunknown country, and he found that it was not a desert but a beautiful\nland, where many tribes of black people dwelt. He also saw that these\npeople were often seized by strangers, and taken away to be sold as\nslaves. This sight filled him with sadness, and he made up his mind to\nput a stop to this cruel traffic. He worked hard, tracing the courses of\nthe rivers, finding the best tracts of land, and teaching the natives.\nThen he urged his countrymen to send others after him to settle in this\nfair country, to help the natives to learn useful trades, and to drive\naway the slave-merchants.\n\nFor some years he was quite alone, with his black servants, in the midst\nof this wild land. His friends grew anxious, and sent Mr. Stanley,\nanother great traveller, to look for him. Stanley marched for nearly a\nyear before he found Livingstone. The old explorer was white and worn\nwith sickness and hardship, and he was overjoyed to clasp once more the\nhand of a white man, and to hear again the English tongue. But he would\nnot return to England. He said his work was not yet done, and he set out\nonce more on his travels. It was his last journey. One morning his\nservants found him dead upon his bed. Since that time much has been done\nto make Central Africa a prosperous land. Other white men have followed\nwhere Livingstone led, and wherever they have settled, the wicked\nslave-trade has been stopped.\n\n[Illustration: THE MEETING OF STANLEY AND LIVINGSTONE]\n\n\n\n\n=The Battle of Waterloo=\n\n\nFields of waving corn, green woods, fruitful orchards, a pretty\nfarmhouse and a few cottages--such was the plain of Waterloo. And there,\non a summer Sunday, nearly a hundred years ago, was fought a famous\nbattle, in which the British troops under the Duke of Wellington beat\nthe French army, and broke the power of the great Napoleon for ever.\n\n\"We have them,\" cried Napoleon as he saw the British drawn up before\nhim. He thought it would be easy to destroy this army, so much smaller\nthan his own, before their friends the Prussians, who were on the way to\nhelp them, came up. But he was mistaken. Wellington had placed his\nfoot-soldiers in squares, and though the French horsemen, then the\nfinest soldiers in the world, charged again and again, these little\nclumps of brave men stood fast. On his favourite horse \"Copenhagen\",\nWellington rode to and fro cheering his men. \"Stand firm, my lads,\"\ncried he. \"What will they say to this in England?\"\n\nNot till evening, when the Prussians came, would he allow them to charge\nthe French in their turn. Then, waving his cocked hat over his head, he\ngave the order, \"The whole line will advance\", and the impatient troops\ndashed forward. The French bravely tried to stand against this terrific\ncharge, but they were beaten back, and the battle of Waterloo was ended.\n\nSixty thousand men lay dead or wounded under the fruit-trees, and among\nthe trampled corn and grass at the end of that terrible day.\n\n[Illustration: BRITISH SOLDIERS AT THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO]\n\n[Illustration: THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE]\n\n\n\n\n=The Charge of the Light Brigade=\n\n\nForward the Light!\n\nSuch was the order given during a great battle to the leader of a band\nof six hundred British soldiers. Forward! And there in front was a line\nof cannon ready to shoot them down as they came, while on the hills on\neither side of the valley were the guns and riflemen of the Russians.\n\n\"Surely someone has blundered! My men are sent to certain death,\"\nthought the leader of the Light Brigade.\n\n\"Forward! Attack!\"\n\nThe order was repeated, and with the obedience of well-trained soldiers\nthe Brigade started.\n\n \"Theirs not to make reply,\n Theirs not to reason why,\n Theirs but to do and die:\n Into the valley of Death\n Rode the six hundred.\"\n\nOn every side thundered the enemy's guns, and shot and shell fell thick\nand fast, but on through all rode the brave horsemen, on till they\nreached the cannon at the end of the valley. The smoke of the enemy's\nfire closed round and hid them from their watching comrades, but now and\nagain the scarlet lines could be seen cutting down those who tried to\nstop their charge.\n\n \"Flashed all their sabres bare,\n Flashed as they turned in air,\n Sabring the gunners there,\n Charging an army, while\n All the world wonder'd.\"\n\n[Illustration: AFTERMATH OF BATTLE deg.]\n\nAnd then only, when the strange order had been obeyed, when their duty\nhad been nobly done in the face of death, did the Light Brigade--all\nthat was left of it--turn to ride back. Alas! there were not then six\nhundred. Barely two hundred brave men, wounded, and blackened by smoke\nand powder, reached the British camp. The rest of the noble band lay\ndead or dying in the valley of Death.\n\n \"When can their glory fade?\n O the wild charge they made!\n All the world wonder'd.\n Honour the charge they made!\n Honour the Light Brigade,\n Noble six hundred!\"\n\n\n\n\n=The Coronation of King Edward VII=\n\n\nNever had a country a more popular king than King Edward VII, nor a more\ngracious queen than Queen Alexandra, and never was a happier day for the\nEnglish people than that on which King Edward was crowned. A few days\nbefore the date fixed for the Coronation the king suddenly became ill,\nand a great gloom fell over the country, for it was feared that he might\nnever be crowned. But though his illness was severe he soon began to get\nbetter, and when he was out of danger the hearts of his subjects were\nfilled with joy and thankfulness. Guns were fired, church-bells pealed,\nand glad shouts and cheers rang out from the happy crowds which lined\nthe streets of London, through which the king and queen, in the midst of\ntheir gay procession, drove to Westminster Abbey.\n\nInside the gray old Abbey was one of the most brilliant gatherings the\nworld has ever seen. Princes and princesses from other lands were there,\nin their robes of state; peers and peeresses, in velvet, and ermine, and\nglittering diamonds; grave statesmen; and soldiers in their gay\nuniforms.\n\nIt was a grand and solemn scene when, before them all, the aged\nArchbishop of Canterbury drew near to the King, and with trembling hands\nplaced the crown upon his head.\n\n\"The Lord give you a fruitful country, and healthful seasons, victorious\nfleets and armies, and a quiet Empire.\" These are the words that the old\nman said when he had crowned the king, and each one of us will pray that\nall these blessings may indeed rest upon King Edward VII, and the great\nEmpire over which he rules.\n\n[Illustration: KING EDWARD VII AND QUEEN ALEXANDRA]\n\n\n\n\n=WAR.=\n\n\n Over the broad, fair valley,\n Filling the heart with fear,\n Comes the sound of tramping horses,\n And the news of danger near.\n\n 'Tis the enemy approaching,\n One can hear the muffled drum,\n And the marching of the soldiers,\n As on and on they come.\n\n Soon the air is rent in sunder,\n Bullets flying sharp and fast,\n Many stout hearts fail and tremble,\n Every moment seems their last.\n\n On the ground lie dead and dying,\n Young and old alike must fall;\n None to come and aid the sufferer,\n Fight they must for freedom's call.\n\n Many are the anxious loved ones\n Praying for the war to cease,\n Waiting for the right to conquer,\n Bringing freedom, rest, and peace.\n\n E.S.\n\n[Illustration: SPYING ON INDIANS deg.]\n\n\n\n\nA BOY'S HEROIC DEEDS.\n\n\nMay 31st, 1889, is a day that will long be remembered with horror by the\npeople in the beautiful valley of the Conemaugh, in Pennsylvania. On\nthat date occurred the terrible disaster which is known to the world and\nwill be named in history as the \"Johnstown Flood.\"\n\n[Illustration: SAVED FROM THE FLOOD.]\n\nFor many days previous to that date it had been raining hard, and great\nfloods extended over a vast region of country in Pennsylvania, New York\nand the District of Columbia. Never before had there been such a fall of\nrain in that region within the memory of the oldest inhabitant. The\nwaters in the river and creeks of that beautiful valley rose rapidly and\noverflowed their banks, while the people looked on in wonder, but\nseemingly not in fear. Suddenly there appeared to their wondering gaze a\ngreat bay horse galloping at break-neck speed and bearing a rider who\nwaved his hands to them and cried: \"South Fork dam will burst. To the\nhills for your lives.\" Only a few heeded his words of warning, while\nmany mocked and jeered. On dashed the rider to warn still others of the\nimpending danger, and, alas, to be himself and horse dashed to death by\nthe massive timbers of a falling bridge. South Fork dam did break, and\nthe mighty waters of Conemaugh Lake were hurled with resistless force\nupon the doomed people of that beautiful valley. The terrible details of\nthe appalling disaster would fill several volumes larger than this. On\nrushed the mighty waters, sweeping onward in their flood dwellings,\nchurches and buildings of every description, whether of wood, brick or\nstone, until Johnstown was reached and destroyed. The town was literally\nlifted from its foundations. Thousands of men, women and children were\ncaught up and swirled away in the pitiless flood, and their agonizing\nbut vain appeals for help could be heard amidst the mighty roar of the\nwaters. Many acts of heroism were performed by brave men and women--yes,\nand boys--in rescuing victims of the flood. Only one of them concerns us\nhere. Charles Hepenthal, a schoolboy, seventeen years of age, who was on\nhis way to Bellefonte from his home at East Liberty, Pa., on the evening\nof the flood, stood quietly among the passengers on the express train,\nas they crowded to view the terrible havoc done by the flood. As the\nflood reached the train, at Sang Hollow, a small frame house came\npitching down the mad tide, an eddy floated it in, near to the train, so\nclose that the wailing cries of an infant were heard, piercing their way\nthrough the roar. Charles Hepenthal's heart was touched and his courage\nwas equal to the emergency. He determined to rescue that little wailing\nwaif from a watery grave. Strong men urged him to desist, insisting that\nhe would only sacrifice his own life for nothing--that it was impossible\nfor any one to survive in the surging waters. But the boy was resolved.\nHe cut the bell cord from the cars, tied it fast to his body, and out\ninto the whirling gulf he went; he gained the house, secured the infant\nand returned through the maddened waters with the rescued babe in his\narms. A shout went up from the passengers on the train. \"Wait!\" he\ncried; \"there is still another in the house, I must save her!\" and,\nseizing a plank to use as a support, he plunged again into the surging\nwaters. Ah! his struggle this time was harder, for his precious load was\nheavy. In the floating house on his first visit he found a little girl,\napparently ten years old, disrobed and kneeling beside her bed, on which\nlay the screaming infant, praying to her Father in heaven to save her\nand her baby brother from the fury of the flood. \"God has heard my\nprayer,\" she cried, as Charles entered the door. \"Oh, save the baby,\nquick,\" and then fainted away on the floor. When Charles had landed the\nbabe in safety and returned again for the girl, he found her still\nunconscious on the floor, and the water was fast flowing in at the door.\nIn another minute she would have been drowned. But the brave boy's manly\narms were soon around her, and with his precious load the young hero\nfought his way back to land and was given three times three cheers and a\n\"tiger\" by the passengers of the day express.\n\n\n\n\nA CAT'S EXTRAORDINARY LEAP.\n\n\nIn the latter part of 1880, at a time when the Washington monument had\nreached a height of 160 feet, an adventurous and patriotic cat ascended\nthe interior of the shaft by means of the ropes and tubing. When the\nworkmen arrived at the upper landing the next morning, and began to\nprepare for the day's work, pussy took fright and, springing to the\nouter edge, took a \"header\" of 160 feet to the hard earth below. In the\ndescent which was watched closely by two score of men, the cat spread\nherself out like a flying squirrel and alighted on all fours. After\nturning over on the ground a few times in a dazed manner, she prepared\nto leave the grounds and had gotten almost beyond the shadow of the\nmonument, when a dog belonging to one of the workmen pounced upon her\nand killed her, she, of course, not being in her best running trim,\nafter performing such an extraordinary feat. One of the men procured the\nbody of the dead feline, smoothed out her silky coat, and turned the\nremains over to a representative of the Smithsonian Institution, who\nmounted the skin and placed it under a glass case. The label on the case\ntells this wonderful story in a few words: \"This cat on September 23,\n1880, jumped from the top of Washington's monument and lived.\"\n\n[Illustration: Queen Boadicea]\n\n\n\n\n=A Brave Queen=\n\n\nLong ago, when this country was a wild land, there lived a beautiful and\nbrave queen named Boadicea.\n\nHer husband, the king, was dead, but she had two daughters whom she\nloved very much.\n\nBoadicea was queen of a part of Britain. There were no large towns in\nher land, but there were forests of fine trees, and fields of corn, and\nwide stretches of grass-land where many cattle and sheep roamed and fed.\n\nHer people were called Iceni. They were tall and strong, with blue eyes\nand yellow hair. The men were brave fighters and good hunters. They\nhunted the bears and wolves which lived in the forests, and they fought\nthe foes of their beautiful queen.\n\nThey made spears to fight with, and strange carts called war-chariots to\nfight in. These chariots were drawn by swift horses, and, upon the\nwheels, long sharp knives were fixed. The Iceni drove the chariots very\nfast among their foes, and the knives cut down and killed many of them.\n\nThe Romans from over the sea were the most dangerous enemies of Boadicea\nand her people.\n\nIn those days the Romans were the best fighters, and the strongest and\nwisest people in the world. They came in ships to Britain. They had been\ntold that it was a good country, and they hoped to take it for\nthemselves. Some of them came to Boadicea's land, and took a part of it\nand of her riches. And when she tried to stop them from doing this, they\nseized her and the two princesses and beat them cruelly.\n\nThis wicked act made the Iceni very angry. From all parts of the land,\nfierce fighting-men came marching in haste to avenge themselves on their\nenemies, bringing with them their spears and their war-chariots. When\nall were gathered together, they fell upon the Romans.\n\nThere were so many of them, and they were so fierce, that the Romans\ncould not stand against them. Thousands were killed, and the rest ran\naway to their ships.\n\nBut there were many more Romans in other parts of Britain, and when\nthese heard how their friends had been beaten, they came marching in\nhaste to punish the Iceni.\n\nThe Iceni did their best to get ready to defend themselves, but many of\ntheir brave men had been slain and others were wounded and weary, so\nthey could not hope again to win a victory over their strong foes.\nBefore the battle, Queen Boadicea, with her fair hair waving in the\nwind, stood before her soldiers and spoke to them. She told them of the\nwrong which the Romans had done, and begged them to fight bravely for\ntheir country. Then she got into her chariot, and with her daughters\nlying at her feet, drove to and fro, so that all might see them.\n\nAnd the soldiers shouted, and promised to fight to the end for their\nbrave queen.\n\nThey did fight long and bravely, until most of them were killed, but\ntheir foes were too strong for them. When Queen Boadicea saw that her\nbrave soldiers were beaten, she drank some poison which killed her. She\nthought it better to die than to be again taken prisoner by the cruel\nRomans.\n\n[Illustration: QUEEN BOADICEA AND HER SOLDIERS]\n\n\n\n\n=King Alfred and the Cakes=\n\n\nOnce, when good King Alfred of England was forced to flee from his\nstrong foes the Danes, he hid himself in a wood. In this wood, there was\na small cottage, and Alfred asked the woman who lived there if he might\ngo in and rest.\n\nNow the woman did not know the king, but she saw that he was an English\nsoldier, and that he was very tired, so she let him come in and sit in\nher kitchen.\n\nUpon the hearth before the fire, some cakes were baking, and the woman\ntold the stranger that if he watched them, and took care that they did\nnot burn, she would give him some supper. Then she went away to do her\nwork.\n\nAt first, King Alfred watched the cakes carefully; when they were well\ncooked on one side he turned the other to the fire. But, after a time,\nhe began to think of his country, and of his poor people, and then he\nforgot his task.\n\nWhen the woman came back, the cakes were black and burnt. \"You are an\nidle fellow,\" cried she angrily. \"You would be quite ready to eat the\ncakes, but you will not take the trouble to watch them.\"\n\nWhile she was loudly scolding, her husband came home. He knew King\nAlfred. \"Hush, wife!\" cried he. \"It is our noble lord the king!\"\n\nWhen the woman heard this, she was much afraid, and she begged Alfred to\nforgive her.\n\nThe king smiled, and said: \"I will gladly forgive you for your scolding,\ngood wife, if you will forgive me for spoiling your supper.\"\n\n[Illustration: KING ALFRED FORGETS THE CAKES]\n\n\n\n\n=Not Angles, but Angels=\n\n\nIn old days the people of England were not all free, as they are now.\nSometimes young men, and women, and little children were sold as slaves,\nand had to work hard for their masters.\n\nMany of these slaves were sent to Rome, for the Romans thought the tall,\nfair Angles very beautiful, and liked to have them as their servants.\n\nOnce, a wise and good preacher, named Gregory, was walking through the\nmarket-place in Rome, when he saw a group of slaves standing there,\nwaiting to be bought. Among these slaves were some pretty boys with long\nyellow hair, and blue eyes, and white skin. This was a strange sight to\nGregory, for most of the people in his land had dark hair, and brown\nskin.\n\n\"Who are these boys?\" asked he of a man who was standing by.\n\n\"They are Angles from over the sea,\" replied the man.\n\n\"Surely not Angles, but Angels,\" said the preacher, looking kindly into\nthe boys' faces. \"Do they come from England?\"\n\n\"From heathen England, where men do not know the true God,\" said the\nman.\n\n\"Some day they shall be taught to know God, and then indeed they shall\nbe angels,\" said Gregory.\n\nNow Gregory did not go away and forget this. When he became a great man\nand Bishop of Rome, he sent a good preacher, named Augustine, to\nEngland, to preach to the people there, and to teach them to be\nChristians.\n\n[Illustration: THE ENGLISH PRISONERS AT ROME]\n\n\n\n\n=Hereward the Wake=\n\n\nWhen William of Normandy came over the sea, and took the crown of\nEngland, many English people would not call him king. The young lord\nHereward was one of these. He and his men made for themselves a \"Camp of\nRefuge\" among the reeds and rushes on the marshes. All day they lay\nthere, hidden from view by the mists which rose from the watery ground,\nand at night they came out, and attacked the Normans in their tents, and\nburned their towns.\n\nHereward was called \"the Wake\" because he was so watchful and wide-awake\nthat the Normans could not catch him. They were always trying to find\nhim, but they did not know the safe paths over the marshes which he and\nhis men used, and when they tried to cross, they sank with their horses\nin the soft muddy ground, and had to turn back.\n\nBut at last a false friend of the English showed them the way to the\n\"Camp of Refuge\", and then Hereward had to flee to save his life. He\nwent with a few friends to the sea-shore, and there he found some\nfishermen who were going to sell fish to the Norman guards in an English\ntown.\n\nThe fishermen took Hereward and his men into their boats, and covered\nthem with straw; then they set sail. The Norman guards bought the fish\nas usual, and had it served for dinner. While they were eating it, the\nEnglish soldiers came quietly from the boats, and killed most of them\nbefore they could get their swords to defend themselves. When the\nEnglish people in the place saw this, they gladly joined Hereward and\nmade him master of their town.\n\n[Illustration: HEREWARD AND HIS MEN ATTACK THE NORMANS]\n\n\n\n\n=Canute=\n\n\nThere was once a king of England, named Canute, who was a brave and\nclever man. But he had many lords in his court who were very foolish.\nThey feared their master, and wished to please him, and because they\nknew that he was somewhat vain of his strength and cleverness, they\nthought he would like to be told that he was great, and wise, and\npowerful.\n\nSo they praised him every day, and told him that all he did and all he\nsaid was good. They said he was the greatest king on earth, and there\nwas nothing in the world too hard for him to do if he chose. At last\nKing Canute tired of their vain words.\n\nOne day, as he walked with his lords on the sea-shore, one of them told\nhim that even the waves would obey him.\n\n\"Bring a chair,\" said Canute, \"and place it close to the water.\"\n\nThe chair was brought, and set upon the sand, and the king sat down and\nspoke to the waves.\n\n\"I command you to come no farther,\" cried he.\n\nBut the waves came on and on, until they wetted Canute's feet, and\nsplashed his chair.\n\nThen the king rose and went to his lords, who were standing a little way\noff, staring at their master, and talking in low tones about his strange\nconduct.\n\n\"Learn from this to keep your tongues from idle praise,\" said he\nsternly. \"No king is great and powerful but God. He only can say to the\nsea: 'Thus far shalt thou come, and no farther.'\"\n\n[Illustration: CANUTE ORDERS THE TIDE TO STOP]\n\n\n\n\n=The Brave Men of Calais=\n\n\nMany years ago, King Edward III of England took the town of Calais from\nthe French king. He could not take it by force, for the walls were very\nstrong, but he succeeded by another plan. He placed his soldiers all\nround the walls, and would let no one go into the town to take food to\nthe people. Inside the walls, the people waited bravely, but at last all\ntheir food was eaten, and then they knew that if they tried to hold the\ntown any longer they would starve.\n\nSo the governor sent word to King Edward that he would give up the city,\nand begged him to have mercy on the people.\n\nBut Edward was angry. \"Tell your masters,\" said he to the messenger,\n\"that I will not spare the people unless six of the chief men come out\nto me, with their feet bare, and ropes around their necks.\"\n\nAt this sad news, the poor starving people cried aloud. But soon six\nbrave men were found who were ready to die for their countrymen, and,\nwith their feet bare and ropes around their necks, they went out to the\nplace where King Edward was waiting, with Queen Philippa and the English\nnobles.\n\n\"Great king!\" said the men, \"we bring you the keys of our town, and we\npray you to have mercy on us.\"\n\nBut the king would not listen. \"Take them away and cut off their heads,\"\nhe cried angrily. And when his nobles begged him to spare such brave\nenemies he would not listen to them.\n\n[Illustration: QUEEN PHILIPPA PLEADS FOR THE MEN OF CALAIS]\n\nThen Queen Philippa, whose heart was filled with pity for the poor men,\nfell upon her knees.\n\n\"My lord,\" she cried, \"if you love me, give me the lives of these men.\"\n\nKing Edward could not bear to see his beautiful queen in tears upon the\nground, so he raised her, saying: \"Lady, I wish you had not been here,\nfor I cannot say you nay. Take the men, they are yours.\"\n\nThen Queen Philippa joyfully led the brave men away, and gave them food\nand clothes, and sent them back to their friends. So they, and all the\npeople of Calais, were saved.\n\n[Illustration: THE MEN OF CALAIS ARE SPARED deg.]\n\n[Illustration: WAT TYLER deg.]\n\n\n\n\n=Wat Tyler=\n\n\nIn our days, all people in our land, except prisoners, are free to go\nwhere they will, and to do what work they please. In olden times it was\nnot so. Then, the poorer people were treated like slaves by the nobles;\nthey had to work hard for their masters, and they were not allowed to\nmove from one place to another without asking leave.\n\nThis was hard, and it made the people very angry. In the days of the\nboy-king Richard II, a great many workmen made up their minds to obey\nthe nobles no longer. They banded themselves together in a large army,\nchose a man named Wat Tyler for their leader, and marched to London.\n\nThe Mayor of London tried to stop them, by pulling up the drawbridge\nwhich crossed the river Thames, but they forced him by threats to let it\ndown again. Then they rushed through the streets of London, frightening\nall the people they met by their wild looks and cries. They broke open\nthe prisons, and set the prisoners free, and burned the palaces of the\nnobles, but they killed no man and robbed none.\n\nThe nobles were much alarmed. With young King Richard at their head,\nthey rode out to meet this army, and to ask the people what they wanted.\n\n\"We want to be free, and we want our children to be free after us,\" said\nWat Tyler.\n\n\"I promise you that you shall have your wish, if you will return quietly\nto your homes,\" said the king.\n\nAt this, the people shouted with joy, and all might have been well; but\nthe mayor, seeing Wat Tyler raise his hand, and fearing that he was\ngoing to strike the king, drew his sword, and killed the leader of the\npeople.\n\nThen the joyful shouts changed to cries and growls of anger. Arms were\nraised, and the crowd began to press forward. In a minute the little\nband of nobles would have been attacked, but the boy-king saw the\ndanger. Boldly riding to meet the angry people, he put himself at their\nhead. \"What need ye, my masters?\" cried he. \"I am your captain and your\nking. Follow me.\"\n\nThe crowd stopped, surprised by this bold act; the loud cries ceased,\nand swords and staves were lowered. These rough men did not wish to harm\ntheir young sovereign, but to free him from the nobles who gave him evil\ncounsel. They were greatly pleased to find him upon their side, and,\nwith perfect trust and loyalty, they followed where he led; and so for a\ntime the danger was past.\n\n[Illustration: YOUNG KING RICHARD QUELLS THE REBELLION]\n\n\n\n\n=Bruce and the Spider=\n\n\nRobert Bruce, King of Scotland, sad and weary, lay upon the floor of a\nlonely cave among the hills. His mind was full of anxious thoughts, for\nhe was hiding from the English soldiers, who sought to take him--alive\nor dead--to their king. The brave Scots had lost many battles, and Bruce\nbegan to fear that he would never make his dear country free.\n\n\"I will give up trying,\" said he.\n\nJust then a spider, hanging from the roof of the cave, by a long thread,\nswung before the king's eyes, and he left his gloomy thoughts to see\nwhat the little creature would do.\n\nThe spider began to climb its thread slowly, pulling itself up little by\nlittle; but it had gone only a short way, when it slipped and fell to\nthe end once more.\n\nAgain and again it started to climb, and again and again it slipped\nback, until it had fallen six times.\n\n\"Surely the silly little creature will now give up trying to climb so\nfine a thread,\" thought Bruce. But the spider did no such thing. It\nstarted on its upward journey yet a seventh time, and this time it did\nnot fall. Up it went, inch by inch, higher and higher, until at last it\nreached the roof, and was safely at home.\n\n\"Bravo!\" cried the king. \"The spider has taught me a lesson. I too will\ntry until I win.\"\n\nBruce kept his word. He led his brave men to battle, again and again,\nuntil at last the English were driven back to their own land, and\nScotland was free.\n\n[Illustration: BRUCE WATCHING THE SPIDER]\n\n[Illustration: RICHARD LION HEART FIGHTING IN THE HOLY LAND]\n\n\n\n\n=Richard and Blondel=\n\n\nIn a gloomy prison, in a foreign land, lay Richard I, King of England.\nHe had been with some other kings to a great war in the Holy Land, where\nhe had won battles, and taken cities, and gained much honour. Men called\nhim Richard Lion-heart, because he was as brave as a lion in fighting,\nand his soldiers loved him and would follow him into any danger. One\nstrong city, called Acre, held out for nearly two years against the\narmies of the other kings, but when Richard arrived it gave way almost\nat once.\n\nBecause of his bravery, and his many victories, all men praised King\nRichard, and this made some of the other kings hate him, for they were\njealous that he should have more honour than they. When he was on his\nway back to England, one of these envious men seized him secretly, and\nthrew him into prison.\n\nAnd now poor Richard could fight no more, nor could he see the blue sky,\nand the green fields which he loved. One day, as he sat sad and lonely\nin his prison, he heard a voice singing, beneath the window. He started.\n\"Surely,\" said he, \"that is the voice of my old friend Blondel, and that\nis the song we used to sing together.\" When the song was ended, the king\nsang it again in a low voice. Then there was a joyful cry from the man\noutside, and Richard knew that it was indeed his friend.\n\nBlondel had journeyed many days seeking his lost master. Now he hastened\nto England, and told the people where to find their king, and very soon\nRichard was set free, and went back to his own land.\n\n[Illustration: BLONDEL SINGS BENEATH RICHARD'S WINDOW]\n\n\n\n\n=The White Ship=\n\n\nThe night was dark, and a stormy wind was blowing, when the _White Ship_\nset sail from the shore of France. Prince William of England and his\nsister and their young friends were going back to their own land, after\na visit to the French king.\n\nThe English king, Henry I, with his courtiers, had sailed earlier, and\nhad now almost reached home. But the prince would not go with them, he\nwished to make merry before starting.\n\nThere had been eating, and drinking, and dancing, and singing on board\nthe _White Ship_, and everyone was merry.\n\nBut the sailors had drunk so much wine that they could not see to steer\naright. Soon there was a crash, and the ship trembled. It had struck a\nrock, and was sinking.\n\nThen the sounds of merriment were changed to cries of fear. \"Save us!\"\nshrieked the terrified people. \"Save the prince,\" cried the captain,\n\"the rest of us must die!\" There was only one small boat on the ship,\nand Prince William was put into this, and rowed away. But he had not\ngone far, when he heard his sister crying to him to save her.\n\n\"Go back!\" shouted he. The boat was rowed back, but when it came near\nthe ship, so many people jumped into it, that it was overturned and all\nin it were drowned.\n\nSoon the _White Ship_ sank also, and of all the gay company upon it only\none man was saved.\n\nWhen King Henry heard that his only son was dead, he was very sorrowful,\nand it is said that no man ever again saw a smile upon his face.\n\n[Illustration: PRINCE WILLIAM RETURNS TO SAVE HIS SISTER]\n\n\n\n\n=Joan of Arc=\n\n\nIn a village in the green country of France, there once lived a girl\nnamed Joan. She spent her days in sewing and spinning, and in minding\nher father's sheep.\n\nAt that time there was a sad war in France, and the English had won many\nbattles. Joan was grieved to hear of the trouble of her country. She\nthought of it night and day, and one night she dreamt that an angel\ncame, and told her to go and help the French prince.\n\nWhen Joan told her friends of this dream, they laughed at her.\n\n\"How can a poor girl help the prince?\" asked they.\n\n\"I do not know,\" replied Joan; \"but I must go, for God has sent me.\" So\nshe went to the prince, and said: \"Sir, my name is Joan. God has sent me\nto help you to win the crown of France.\"\n\nThey gave Joan a suit of white armour, and a white horse, and set her at\nthe head of the army. She led the soldiers to fight, and the rough men\nthought she was an angel, and fought so bravely that they won many\nbattles.\n\nThen the prince was crowned King of France.\n\nWhen this was done, Joan felt that her work was over. \"I would that I\nmight go and keep sheep once more with my sisters and my brothers; they\nwould be so glad to see me,\" pleaded she. But the king would not let her\ngo. So Joan stayed; but her time of victory was past. Soon, she was\ntaken prisoner by the English, and cruelly burned to death. She died as\nbravely as she had lived, and her name will never be forgotten.\n\n[Illustration: JOAN AT THE HEAD OF THE ARMY]\n\n\n\n\nAFLOAT WITH A TIGER.\n\n\nA traveler in faraway India relates the following thrilling adventure\nwith a tiger: From the heavy rain which falls upon Indian mountains the\nlow-lying country is liable to such sudden floods that every year many\nbeasts, and even human beings, are drowned ere they can make their\nescape to the higher grounds. On one occasion a terrible flood came up\nso suddenly that I had to spend a day and night in an open canoe in\nconsequence, during which time I had good opportunities of seeing the\ngood and bad effects produced by them. I lived at the time in a mat\nhouse, situated upon a hill which I supposed was quite above high-water\nmark, but an old Mahometan gentleman having told me that, when he was a\nlittle boy, he recollected the water once rising higher than the hill, I\ntook the precaution of keeping a canoe in a small ditch close at hand.\n\nThe rainy season began, and daily the river rose higher. One morning we\nnoticed that the mountain tops were covered with heavy banks of dark\nclouds, though no rain fell out on the plain where we were; but we\nnoticed many animals, a leopard among others, sneak out of the high\ngrass and make for hilly ground. The most curious thing, however, was\nthe smart manner in which rats and even grasshoppers came scampering\naway from the threatening danger. These latter came in such crowds\ntoward my bungalow that not only the fowls about the premises had a good\nfeed on them, but kites and crows began to swoop down in such numbers\nthat the air was filled with their cries and the noise of their rushing\nwings.\n\n[Illustration: AFLOAT WITH A TIGER deg.]\n\nWhile watching the immense destruction of these insects we were\nstartled by the outbreak of the thunderstorm high up on the mountains,\nbut far above the peals of thunder rose the terrible sound of rushing\nwater. Animals now came tearing out of the lowlands too terrified to\nnotice whither they went, so that I stood ready, gun in hand, in case\nany of the dangerous kind should try to seek an asylum on my particular\nhill; but with the exception of a huge wild boar, who had to be shot as\nhe charged up the slope, all took refuge elsewhere.\n\nSoon the water burst through the river bank, spreading over the country,\nsweeping down the tall grass jungle and surging and roaring round our\nhill. Packing all that was valuable in small parcels, we gathered them\nin a heap, hoping that the flood would subside ere it reached the\nbuilding. All round about large trees, uprooted by the terrible force of\nthe deluge, were swept along, several animals vainly trying to keep a\nfooting among their roots and branches. At last the water reached the\nsteps of the house; so, pulling our boat close up, we stepped in with\nwhat we could save and hung to the wooden posts of the building, vainly\ntrusting that the worst had come; but it was not so, for we soon had to\nleave go the post and pass the boat's rope round a tree. The water then\nrushed in, the house toppled over, and it and its contents were swept\naway by the flood.\n\nIn a short time the tree began to shake and bend, so we knew that it was\nbeing uprooted; therefore, letting go the rope, we launched forth upon\nthe seething waste of waters and were whirled away. Onward we rushed\nthrough masses of logs, branches, the remains of houses, and such like\nwreck, having to be very careful that our frail vessel did not get upset\nor crushed. Twice we made for the tops of hills that showed themselves\nabove water, but on approaching them we found that they had been taken\npossession of by wild animals.\n\nHere a tiger crouched on a branch of a tree, seemingly too much alarmed\nat his perilous position to molest the half-dozen deer that crowded\ntimidly together right underneath his perch. Up above him the smaller\nbranches were stocked with monkeys, who looked very disconsolate at\ntheir enforced imprisonment. As we swept past, the tiger raised his\nhead, gave a deep growl and showed his teeth, then crouched down again\nas if fully aware of his helplessness, and we had too much to think of\nourselves to interfere with him.\n\nGaining the open country, the scene was one of desolation; but the\ncurrent was not so strong, so we turned round, seeing the flood was\ngoing down, and by nightfall we had got back to where the house had\nstood. Every vestige of the once pretty homestead had disappeared, with\nsheep and cattle, though the fowls had managed to find a roost on the\ntopmost branches of some orange trees, which alone remained to mark the\nspot.\n\nAs the moon rose, the mountaineers came down from the villages, and,\nembarking on rafts and in canoes, went round the different hills,\nshooting and spearing the animals that had swum there; and truly the\nsight of such a hunting scene was an exciting one. Here a stout stag,\ndefending himself with his antlers as best he might against the\nspearsmen, kept up a gallant fight till death.\n\nThe tiger we had seen in the morning took to swimming, and on being\nwounded with a spear turned on the nearest canoe, upsetting the hunters\ninto the water, where a desperate encounter took place; but he was\neventually dispatched by a blow from an ax--not, however, before he had\nclawed some of his pursuers most severely.\n\nAt daylight the water had entirely gone down, and a thick, muddy deposit\ncovered all the lowland, while an immense number of snakes, scorpions,\nand other unpleasant creatures lay dead in all directions, upon which\nand the drowned animals vultures, crows and kites were feeding.\n\n\n\n\n=Queen Margaret and the Robbers.=\n\n\nThere were once two kings of England at the same time. One was Henry VI.\nHe was the rightful king, but a very weak and feeble man, and quite\nunfit to rule his kingdom.\n\nThe other was young Edward, Duke of York, called Edward IV. He was made\nking by some of the nobles, who grew weary of Henry and his foolish\ndeeds.\n\nA number of the English people were faithful to King Henry, but many\nothers went over to King Edward's side, and there were quarrels between\nthe two parties, which ended in a war. This war was called the War of\nthe Roses, because the followers of Henry wore a red rose as their\nbadge, and Edward's friends wore a white one.\n\nIn one battle, fought at Hexham, the White Roses beat the Red ones, and\nKing Henry was taken prisoner and sent to the Tower of London. His wife,\nQueen Margaret, with her little son, Prince Edward, escaped after the\nbattle, and hid themselves in a wild forest. As they wandered among the\ntrees, seeking some place where they might be safe from their enemies,\nthey met a band of robbers. These rough men took away the queen's money\nand her jewels, tearing her necklace from her neck, and her rings from\nher fingers. Then they began to dispute as to who should have most of\nthe stolen goods. And while they quarrelled, Queen Margaret took her\nlittle boy by the hand and ran away to a thick part of the wood. There\nthey stayed until the angry voices of the robbers could no longer be\nheard, and then, in the growing darkness, they came stealthily from\ntheir hiding-place. They wandered on, knowing not where to go, hoping\nmuch to meet some of their friends, and fearing still more to be found\nby their enemies, the soldiers of the White Rose. But, alas! they saw no\nkind face, and night came on. Then, as they crept fearfully from tree to\ntree, they met another robber.\n\n[Illustration: THE ROBBERS DISCOVER QUEEN MARGARET AND THE PRINCE]\n\nThe poor queen was much afraid that this robber, who looked very fierce,\nwould kill her and the prince, because she had no riches left to give\nhim. In despair she threw herself upon her knees before him, and said:\n\"My friend, this is the son of your king. I give him into your care.\"\n\nThe robber was much surprised to see the queen and the prince alone,\nwith their clothes torn and stained, and their faces white from hunger\nand fatigue. But he was a kindhearted man, although his looks were\nrough, and before he became a robber he had been a follower of King\nHenry, so he was quite willing to do his best for the little prince. He\ntook the boy in his arms, and led the way to a cave in the forest, where\nhe lived with his wife. And in this poor shelter, the queen and her son\nstayed for two days, listening to every sound, and fearing that their\nenemies would find them. On the third day, however, the friendly robber\nmet some of the lords of the Red Rose in the forest, and led them to the\ncave. The queen and prince were overjoyed to see their friends, and soon\nthey escaped with them to a place of safety.\n\nTheir hiding-place has been called \"Queen Margaret's Cave\" ever since\nthat time. If you go to Hexham Forest, you will be able to see it.\n\n[Illustration: The Robber brings help to Queen Margaret]\n\n\n\n\n=William Caxton=\n\n\nIn old days, books were not printed as they are now; they were written\nby hand. This took a long time to do, so there were not many books, and\nthey were so dear that only the rich could buy them.\n\nBut after a time, some clever men made a machine, called a\nprinting-press, which could print letters.\n\nAbout that time, an Englishman, named William Caxton, lived in Holland,\nand copied books for a great lady. He says his hand grew tired with\nwriting, and his eyes became dim with much looking on white paper. So he\nlearned how to print, and had a printing-press made for himself, which\nhe brought to England. He set it up in a little shop in London, and then\nhe began to print books. He printed books of all sorts--tales, and\npoetry, and history, and prayers, and sermons. In the time which it had\nformerly taken him to write one book, he could now print thousands.\n\nAll sorts of people crowded to his shop to see Caxton's wonderful press;\nsometimes the king went with his nobles. Many of them took written books\nwith them, which they wished to have put into print. Some people asked\nCaxton to use in his books the most curious words he could find; others\nwished him to print only old and homely words. Caxton liked best the\ncommon, simple words which men used daily in their speech.\n\nCaxton did a very good thing when he brought the printing-press to\nEngland, for, after that, books became much cheaper, so that many people\ncould buy them, and learning spread in the land.\n\n[Illustration: CAXTON IN HIS PRINTING SHOP]\n\n\n\n\n=Sir Philip Sidney=\n\n\nWhen Elizabeth was Queen of England it was a time of great deeds and\ngreat men. The queen was brave and clever herself, so she liked to have\nbrave and clever people around her. Great soldiers, and writers, and\nstatesmen went to her court; and when brave seamen came back from their\nvoyages to unknown lands far away, they were invited by the queen to\nvisit her, and tell her of all the strange places and people they had\nseen. In this Elizabeth was wise, for men did their best to show\nthemselves worthy of her favours.\n\nAmong all the great men at court, none was more beloved than Sir Philip\nSidney. He was called \"the darling of the court\".\n\n[Illustration: SIR PHILIP SIDNEY deg.]\n\nAt that time, there was much trouble and many wars in some other\ncountries, where people were fighting for the right to worship God in\ntheir own way. Philip Sidney heard of these things when he was a boy in\nhis father's house, and his heart was stirred with pity. Later, when he\nwas in France, a great number of people were cruelly killed because they\nwould not pray in the way which the king ordered. Sidney never forgot\nthe dreadful sights and sounds of that sad time, and when Queen\nElizabeth sent an army to help the people of Holland, who were fighting\nfor their freedom, he asked for leave to go with it. This was granted to\nhim, and he was made one of the leaders.\n\n[Illustration: MARTYRED FOR PRAYING deg.]\n\nBut alas! he went out to die. In one battle, a small band of the English\nbravely attacked a large army of their enemies. The horse which Sidney\nwas riding was killed under him, and as he mounted another, he was shot\nin the leg, and his thigh-bone was broken. The horse took fright and\ngalloped away from the fight, but its wounded and bleeding rider held\nto his seat, and when he reached a place of safety was lifted from his\nhorse, and gently laid upon the ground. He was faint from loss of blood,\nand in great pain, and his throat was parched with thirst.\n\n\"Bring me water,\" said he to a friend.\n\nThis was not easy to do, for there was not a stream near at hand, and in\norder to get to one it would be necessary to pass where the shot from\nthe enemy's cannons was falling fast. But his friend was brave and went\nthrough the danger. Then he found some water, and brought it to him.\nSidney eagerly held out his hand for the cup, and as he was preparing to\ndrink, another poor wounded soldier was carried past. This man was\ndying; he could not speak, but he looked with longing eyes at the water.\nSir Philip saw the look, and taking the cup from his own lips, passed it\nto the soldier, saying: \"Thy need is greater than mine.\" The poor man\nquenched his thirst, and blessed him as he died.\n\nSir Philip lived on for a few weeks, growing weaker every day, but he\nnever came back to his own land, and the many friends who loved him.\n\nSidney was great in many ways; very fair to see, very wise and good, and\nvery clever and witty. He was one of the bravest fighters, one of the\nfinest poets, and one of the best gentlemen who ever lived. He will\nalways be remembered for his brave deeds, and his wise sayings, but most\nof all do men bless his name for this act of kindness to his poor dying\ncomrade.\n\n[Illustration: SIR PHILIP SIDNEY AND THE DYING SOLDIER]\n\n\n\n\n=The \"Revenge\"=\n\n\nIn the days of Queen Elizabeth, English sailors first began to find\ntheir way across the seas to new lands, from which they brought home\nmany strange, and rich, and beautiful things. The Spaniards sailed\nacross the seas too, to fetch gold and silver from the mines in Mexico,\nwhich belonged to the King of Spain. Sometimes the English ships met the\nSpanish ones, and robbed them of their gold, for it was thought quite\nright and fair in those days to take every chance of doing harm to the\nenemies of England. Of course the Spaniards hated the English for this,\nand whenever they met English ships which were weaker than theirs they\nattacked them, and robbed them, killing the sailors, or taking them\nprisoners.\n\nOnce, a small ship, called the _Revenge_, was sailing home to England,\nwhen it met with fifty great Spanish vessels. The captain of the\n_Revenge_ was Sir Richard Grenville, and he had a great many sick men on\nboard. There was no time to escape from the Spanish ships, which soon\nsurrounded the little _Revenge_. So there were only two courses which\nSir Richard could take. One was to give up his ship to the Spaniards;\nthe other was to fight with them till his men were all killed, or his\nship sank.\n\nSome of the sailors wished him to take the first course, but the others,\nand all the sick men, said: \"Nay, let us fall into the hands of God, and\nnot into the hands of Spain.\" This they said because they thought it\nbetter to die, than to be made prisoners by the cruel Spaniards.\n\nSir Richard made up his mind to fight. It was after noon when the\nfiring began, and all night long, until daylight came, the little\nEnglish ship kept the fifty Spanish vessels at bay. Then it was found\nthat all the powder was gone, and all the English were dead or dying.\nAnd then only was the flag of the _Revenge_ pulled down, to show that\nshe surrendered to her enemies.\n\nThe brave Sir Richard was taken on board a Spanish ship, where he soon\ndied of his wounds.\n\nThese were his last words: \"Here die I, Richard Grenville, with a joyful\nand quiet mind, for I have ended my life as a good soldier ought. I have\nfought for my country and my queen, for honour, and for God.\"\n\n[Illustration: DEATH OF SIR RICHARD GRENVILLE deg.]\n\n\n\n\n=The Pilgrim Fathers=\n\n\nThere was a time when the people of England were not allowed to pray to\nGod in the way they thought right, but were punished if they did not\nworship as the king ordered. This was very hard, and when James I was\nking, a little band of brave people, who found that they could not obey\nthe king, left their country to make a new home across the sea, where\nthey could be free. They are called the \"Pilgrim Fathers\".\n\nA hundred people--men, women, and children--set sail in a little ship\ncalled the _Mayflower_ for the new world which a great explorer called\nColumbus had discovered away in the west, and which we now call America.\nThey had a long and stormy voyage, but at last, in mid-winter, they\nlanded on the shores of North America, and set up their huts.\n\nAt first they had much trouble, for the ground was frozen and barren.\nThey suffered from hunger and sickness, and the wild Indians who lived\nin that land came down upon them and tried to drive them away. But the\nPilgrim Fathers did not lose courage. They were free, and they worked\nhard, and waited in patience for brighter days. By and by other ships\nfrom England brought food to keep them alive, and more people to help\nthem. Then they made friends with the Indians, and when spring came they\nplanted seeds and grew crops for themselves.\n\nAfter a time many other Englishmen, who wished to be free, followed the\nPilgrim Fathers, and settled in America. They founded the colonies of\nNew England, which are now a part of the United States.\n\n[Illustration: THE PILGRIM FATHERS ENTERING THE NEW WORLD]\n\n\n\n\n=Guy Fawkes=\n\n\nIn the time of James I, many of the English people were very hardly\ntreated because of their religion. At last they could bear the ill-usage\nno longer, and they thought of a plan to get rid of the king and queen\nand their eldest son.\n\nMany barrels of gunpowder were secretly put into a cellar under the\nParliament House, where James was to meet his lords and commons on\nNovember 5; and a man named Guy Fawkes was hired to set fire to it at\nthe right time, and so to blow up the hall above, and all in it.\n\nAll was ready, when one of the plotters remembered that a friend of his\nwould be at the meeting next day. As he did not wish him to be killed,\nhe sent him a letter, without signing his name, saying: \"Do not go to\nthe House, for there shall be a sudden blow to many, and they shall not\nsee who hurts them\".\n\nThe lord who received this letter took it to the King's Council, and\nwhen King James saw it, he guessed what the \"sudden blow\" would be. Men\nwere sent to search the cellars, and there, on the very night before the\ndeed was to be done, Guy Fawkes was found waiting till the time should\ncome to set fire to the powder. He was cruelly tortured to make him tell\nall he knew, but he was a brave man, and he died without betraying his\nfriends.\n\nSince that time, every year, on the 5th of November, bonfires have been\nlighted in many places in England, and \"guys\" burned, to remind people\nhow an English king was once saved from a great danger.\n\n[Illustration: THE ARREST OF GUY FAWKES]\n\n\n\n\n=Cromwell and his Ironsides=\n\n\nWhen Charles I came to the throne of England, it was soon seen that he\nwas as bad a king as his father James I had been.\n\nHe did not care at all for the good of his country and his people, but\nthought only of his own pleasure. He took away men's money and lands,\nand if they offended him he took their lives too.\n\nEnglishmen would not bear this unjust treatment for long, and soon a war\nbegan between the king and the people, who were determined to be free.\n\nAt first the king and his men were victorious everywhere, for they were\nall used to horses and arms, and fought so well and so bravely that the\npeople could not stand against them. But at last a great leader arose\namong the people. This leader, who was called Oliver Cromwell, was a\nrough man, but he was just, good, and honest.\n\nHe saw at once that the people would never gain the victory over the\nbrave gentlemen-soldiers of King Charles, unless they had obedient and\nwell-trained men to fight for them. So he chose a band of plain,\nhard-working men who feared God, and loved duty and right, and he spent\nall his money in fitting them with arms and horses, and in training them\nsternly, until they became the finest soldiers the world has ever known.\nCromwell called his men his \"lovely company\", and others called them\n\"Ironsides\", for they were strong and firm as iron, and were never\nbeaten. It was these brave, sober, obedient soldiers who at last\ndefeated the king's army, and won freedom for the people of England.\n\n[Illustration: CROMWELL LEADS HIS IRONSIDES TO BATTLE]\n\n\n\n\n=The Spanish Armada=\n\n\nThe Armada was a great fleet which the King of Spain sent to attack\nEngland, in the days of Queen Elizabeth. There were more than a hundred\nships, so large and high that they looked like towers on the sea; and\nthey came sailing along arranged in the shape of a big half-moon.\n\nThe great English admiral, Sir Francis Drake, was playing at bowls when\nmessengers came hurrying to tell him that the Armada was approaching. He\nquietly finished his game, and then set sail to fight the Spaniards. His\nfleet was not so large as the Armada, and the ships were small, but they\nwere light and fast. They met the Armada in the English Channel, and\nsailed round it, attacking any ship that dropped out of line, and\nspeeding away before the clumsy Spanish vessels could seize them. In\nthis way they did much harm to the enemy. Then, one night, when it was\ndark, and the Spanish vessels were lying quietly at anchor, Admiral\nDrake sent eight blazing fire-ships into their midst. In great fear, the\nSpaniards cut their anchor-ropes, and sailed out to the open sea, and\nthe English ships followed, firing upon them as they fled. For two days\nthe English chased the flying Spaniards. Then their powder and shot\nfailed, and a storm arose; so they had to go back. The Armada sailed on,\nhoping to escape, but the wild tempest tossed many of the great vessels\non the rocks and cliffs of the coast, and dashed them to pieces. Only a\nfew, broken and battered, with starving and weary men on board, ever\nreached Spain again. And so England was saved.\n\n[Illustration: DRAKE IS TOLD THAT THE ARMADA IS APPROACHING]\n\n[Illustration: THE LITTLE \"REVENGE\" FIGHTS FIFTY SPANISH GALLEONS]\n\n\n\n\n=The Defence of Lathom House=\n\n\nLathom House is an old English castle. When the war broke out between\nKing Charles I and his people, the Earl of Derby, who was the master of\nthis castle, went away to fight for the king. He left the Countess at\nhome with her children, with a small band of armed men to guard her and\nthe castle. One day an army of the people's soldiers came to the castle,\nand the leader of the army sent word to the Countess that she must give\nup the castle at once.\n\nBut the Countess was a brave woman. She replied that she would rather\nset fire to the castle, and die with her children in the flames, than\ngive it up to the king's enemies.\n\nThen began a fight which lasted many weeks. The large army outside the\nwalls did their best to break a way in, but the small company inside\ndefended the castle bravely. At last the leader of the besiegers brought\na strong new gun, and it was soon seen that this would break down the\nwalls. Then one night the Countess sent out a party of brave men, who\nseized the new gun and brought it into the castle, and so the worst\ndanger was over. Soon afterwards Prince Rupert, one of the king's\ngenerals, came with an army to help the Countess, and Lathom House was\nsaved.\n\nThe prince drove away the soldiers of the people, and took from them\ntwenty-two banners, which he sent as a present to the Countess, to show\nhow much he admired her bravery.\n\n[Illustration: THE COUNTESS RECEIVES THE BANNERS]\n\n\n\n\nTHE OUTLAWED ARCHERS.\n\n\nMany years ago there dwelt in the forest of Inglewood, in the North\ncountry, three yeomen, who had been outlawed for killing the king's\ndeer. They were all famous archers, and defying every attempt to arrest\nthem, they lived a free life in the green wood. But finally growing\ntired of this dangerous life, they went to the king to sue for pardon.\nIt happened that the king's archers were exhibiting their skill by\nshooting at marks, which none of them missed. But one of the outlawed\narchers, named Cloudesly, made light of their skill, and told the king\nthat he could do better than any of his archers had done. \"To prove the\ntruth of my claim,\" he said, \"I will take my son, who is only seven\nyears old and is dear to me, and I will tie him to a stake, and lay an\napple on his head, and go six score paces from him, and with a broad\narrow I will cleave the apple in two.\"\n\n\"Now listen,\" said the king, \"and do as you say; but if you touch his\nhead, or his dress, you shall be hanged all three.\"\n\n\"I will not go back on my word,\" said Cloudesly; and driving a stake\ninto the ground, he bound thereto his little son, and placed an apple on\nhis head. All being ready he bent his bow, the arrow flew from the\nstring, the apple was cleft in twain, and the child was unhurt. The king\nthereupon pardoned the three outlaws and received them into his\nservice.\n\n[Illustration: CLOUDSEY SHOOTS AN APPLE FROM THE HEAD OF HIS SON deg.]\n\n\n\n\n=Elizabeth and Raleigh=\n\n\nSir Walter Raleigh was a favourite courtier of Queen Elizabeth. An old\nstory tells us of the way he won her favour.\n\nOne day, as the queen and her ladies were out walking, dressed in fine\nrobes of silk and lace, they came to a miry puddle in the road. The\nqueen stopped in dismay, for she did not like getting her feet wet and\ndirty. As she was thinking how best to step through the mud, a young man\nin a rich suit came along the road.\n\nDirectly he saw the queen, young Raleigh, for it was he, sprang forward,\nand, taking off his velvet cloak, spread it over the mud for her to walk\nupon.\n\nElizabeth was much pleased; she rewarded Raleigh with a post in the\npalace. There, one day, he wrote upon a window which he knew the queen\nwould pass: \"Fain would I climb, but that I fear to fall\". When\nElizabeth saw this, she added these words: \"If thy heart fail thee,\nclimb not at all\". However, Raleigh did climb very soon to a high place,\nfor he was clever and brave as well as polite, and he served the queen\nin many ways.\n\nIt is said that his ships first brought potatoes and tobacco to England\nfrom America, and that he was the first man in this country to smoke.\nOne day, a servant brought a jug of ale into the room where Raleigh was\nsitting and smoking. The man was much alarmed to see smoke coming from\nhis master's mouth, and he quickly emptied the jug of ale over Raleigh's\nhead, to put out the fire which he thought was burning within him.\n\n[Illustration: RALEIGH SPREADS HIS CLOAK BEFORE ELIZABETH]","title":"True Stories of Wonderful Deeds: Pictures and Stories for Little Folk","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":13851}