{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_25652/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_25652","id":"gutenberg_25652","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25652","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Biographies","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Heroes"],"text":"E-text prepared by Mark C. Orton and the Project Gutenberg Online\nDistributed Proofreading Team (https://www.pgdp.net)\n\n\n\nNote: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this\n file which includes the original illustrations.\n See 25652-h.htm or 25652-h.zip:\n (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/5/6/5/25652/25652-h/25652-h.htm)\n or\n (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/5/6/5/25652/25652-h.zip)\n\n\n\n\n\nA TREASURY OF HEROES AND HEROINES\n\nA Record of High Endeavour and Strange Adventure\nfrom 500 B.C. to 1920 A.D.\n\nby\n\nCLAYTON EDWARDS\nAuthor of \"The Story of Evangeline\"\n\nIllustrated in Colour by Florence Choate and Elizabeth Curtis\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: JEANNE D'ARC DREW THE ARROW FROM HER BREAST WITH THE\nCOURAGE OF A VETERAN--_See page 100_]\n\n\n\nCupples and Leon Company\nNew York\n\nCopyright, 1920, by Frederick A. Stokes Company\n\nAll rights reserved. No part of this\nwork may be reproduced without the\nwritten permission of the publishers\n\nPrinted in the United States of America\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\nIt would be pleasant indeed to gather the characters of this book\ntogether and listen to the conversation of wholly different but\ninterested couples--for this is a book of contrasts and has been\nwritten as such. Lives of the most dramatic and adventurous quality\nhave been gathered from all corners of the earth, and from every age in\nhistory, in such a way that they may cover the widest possible variety\nof human experience.\n\nThe publishers believe that such a book would not be complete without\nsome characters that are no less real because they have lived only in\nthe minds of men. No explanation is needed for semi-historical\ncharacters like King Arthur, Robin Hood and William Tell, while Don\nQuixote, the Prince of Madness, and Rip Van Winkle, the Prince of\nLaziness, have been included, not because they were essentially heroic\nin themselves (although Don Quixote might well have claimed the laurel)\nbut because they became heroes in the opinion of others through the\nvery qualities that brought about their downfall. As involuntary\nheroes, they furnish a pleasant contrast to the more serious, actual\nand transcendental figures of saints, martyrs, warriors, discoverers\nand statesmen with which these pages are filled; they enrich the\n\"Treasury,\" widen its range of colors and perform the necessary\nfunction of court jesters in the Hall of Fame.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\nHEROES OF REALITY\n\nCHAPTER PAGE\n\n I BUDDHA 1\n\n II JULIUS CAESAR 12\n\n III SAINT PATRICK 26\n\n IV KING ARTHUR OF BRITAIN 33\n\n V MOHAMMED 42\n\n VI ALFRED THE GREAT 52\n\n VII ROBIN HOOD 65\n\n VIII SAINT ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY 72\n\n IX DANTE 80\n\n X ROBERT BRUCE 89\n\n XI JEANNE D'ARC 100\n\n XII CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 114\n\n XIII WILLIAM THE SILENT 127\n\n XIV QUEEN ELIZABETH OF ENGLAND 137\n\n XV SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 146\n\n XVI HENRY HUDSON 156\n\n XVII PETER THE GREAT 165\n\n XVIII GEORGE WASHINGTON 172\n\n XIX JOHN PAUL JONES 187\n\n XX MOLLY PITCHER 196\n\n XXI NAPOLEON BONAPARTE 201\n\n XXII GIUSEPPE GARIBALDI 216\n\n XXIII ABRAHAM LINCOLN 223\n\n XXIV GRACE DARLING 236\n\n XXV FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE 241\n\n XXVI FATHER DAMIEN 248\n\n XXVII CATHERINE BRESHKOVSKY 254\n\nXXVIII THEODORE ROOSEVELT 262\n\n XXIX EDITH CAVELL 272\n\n XXX KING ALBERT OF BELGIUM 278\n\n XXXI MARIA BOTCHKAREVA 286\n\n\nHEROES OF FICTION\n\n XXXII WILLIAM TELL 297\n\nXXXIII DON QUIXOTE 304\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n\"Jeanne d'Arc drew the arrow from her breast with the\n courage of a veteran\" _Frontispiece_\n\n FACING PAGE\n\n\"King Arthur grasped the magic sword that none but the bravest\n might hold\" 36\n\n\"Robin Hood's band made merry by killing the King's deer\" 68\n\n\"'I have not yet begun to fight,' shouted Paul Jones\" 188\n\n\"The cannon balls fired by Molly Pitcher fell squarely in the\n British lines\" 196\n\n\"Don Quixote suffered nobody to draw water from the well\" 276\n\n\n\n\nA TREASURY OF HEROES AND HEROINES\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I\n\nBUDDHA\n\n\nAbout five hundred years before the birth of Christ a mighty king\nreigned in India over the land of the Sakyas, from which the snowy tops\nof the Himalaya Mountains could be seen. His name was Suddhodana and he\nhad two wives called Maya and Pajapati; but for a long time they bore\nhim no children, and the King despaired of having an heir to his\nthrone. Then Queen Maya bore a son and after he was born, the legends\ntell us, she had a dream in which she saw a great multitude of people\nbowing to her in worship. Wise men were summoned to interpret the\ndream, and they told her that the King's son, so golden in color and so\nwell formed, was destined for greatness as surely as rivers ran to the\nsea--that he would become either a mighty conqueror who would subdue\nall the people of the earth, or a holy saint, a \"Buddha\" (the word for\none enlightened) who would have more power over the minds of men than\nthe mightiest conqueror could gain over their bodies.\n\nAll this was confirmed in the minds of the wise men on account of the\nwonderful portents that took place at the birth of the child: flowers\nbloomed in barren places and springs gushed from dry rock on the day\nwhen the Prince was born. He was named by the King, \"Siddartha,\"--a\nword meaning one who always succeeds in what he undertakes--and because\nof the portents at his birth the King himself bowed down to his own son\nand did him homage.\n\nNow the King desired greatly that the first of the two prophecies\nshould come to pass. He wished the Prince to be a conqueror, not a\nBuddha, and extend the power of the Sakyas by the sword through every\npart of the world. And he did everything in his power to bring this end\nabout and to weaken the possibility that his son should ever be a holy\nman.\n\nWhen the child was still very young a further prophecy was made to the\nKing--namely that the Prince would only become a Buddha after he had\nseen four common sights which for him would be four omens--an old man,\na sick man, a dead man and a holy man in the yellow robe of a beggar.\nThen and then only, said the prophecy, the Prince would leave his\ncountry; furthermore, if he remained at home for a certain length of\ntime he would never leave at all, but would turn all his attention to\nthe art of war, and his armies would sweep over the face of the earth\nlike a devouring flame.\n\nThe King summoned his counsellors. He commanded them to make sure that\nno sick men or old men, no funeral escorts or beggars should ever be\nallowed on the streets of the city when the Prince was passing. All\nugly sights were to be kept from him; he was to be surrounded with such\npleasures and such beauties that he would never desire to leave his\nhome; he was to know nothing of the meaning of death; poverty was to be\nhidden; suffering and sorrow of all sorts were to be concealed in his\npresence. In these ways, thought the King, any desire to be a priest\nwould be stifled in the Prince, and he would at last become a mighty\nconqueror as the prophecy had foretold.\n\nIn pleasure and luxury, surrounded by beautiful attendants, fed on the\nmost delicious viands, hearing no sounds save music, laughter and the\nvoices of delight, Prince Siddartha passed his boyhood. The King\nallowed him to study under wise men (who taught him only the most\ncarefully prepared lessons), and it was notable that he easily learned\nall that was imparted to him and in a short time appeared to be wiser\nthan his instructors. It was notable too that he possessed\nextraordinary skill at arms, for the King sent to him also the keenest\narchers and the mightiest swordsmen in his dominions, to teach him the\nart of war. These men whispered to each other that no more terrible\nwarrior had ever been born than Siddartha, who soon was more than a\nmatch for the best of them and whose strength in comparison with theirs\nwas as three to one.\n\nWhen a young man the Prince was married to his cousin Yasodhara. His\nmother had died in his earliest childhood, but that sad event took\nplace too early for him to remember. Now he was happy in the possession\nof the most beautiful wife in all his father's dominions, for Yasodhara\nhad been chosen for him on account of her great loveliness as well as\nfor her sunny and gracious nature. Truly in all the history of the\nworld no son of fortune had more in the way of love, treasure, beauty,\nand all things that make for happiness than the blessed Prince\nSiddartha!\n\nUp to his twenty-ninth year no sorrowful sight had come before his\neyes, and he knew nothing of Death, Sickness or Old Age. Then, however,\nhe stepped into his chariot one day to visit the pleasure grounds of\nthe city, and on his way thither an old man ran across the street and\nfell in front of the horses and barely escaped death. Siddartha was\nstartled at the sunken eyes, the wrinkled yellow cheeks and the gray\nlocks of an old man, and turning to his attendant asked him what\nterrible misfortune had brought such a fate upon a fellow creature. And\nthe attendant, inspired, we are told, by Heavenly spirits, said to the\nPrince that what he had seen was nothing but old age and the lot of all\nmen--a lot to which he himself and the Prince with him must surely come\nin time.\n\nSadly the Prince rode back to the Palace with his appetite for pleasure\nspoiled for the day, and when his father heard what had taken place he\nwas greatly alarmed, for the first of the omens had now been fulfilled.\n\nIt was not long before Siddartha looked also on Sickness. Try as he\nmight the King could not keep sorrowful sights from the eyes of his son\nany longer. One day as the Prince went out behind his splendid horses,\na man, writhing in the agony of disease, lay by the roadside, and the\nPrince was told that he suffered from some complaint of the body such\nas all men are heir to. And again he returned to the Palace more sad at\nheart than on the occasion when he had seen Old Age.\n\nWhen the Prince next went to drive in his chariot another terrible\nsight met his eyes. He beheld a still form carried upon a bier and\nasked his companion what it might be. He was told that he was now in\nthe presence of Death, who came at last for all men, cutting them off\nfrom their friends and relatives and bearing them away, none knew\nwhither. And the Prince returned to the Palace in deeper sadness than\never. Of what worth were all the joys that surrounded him if they were\nto be taken from him after he had learned to love them, and how might a\nman take pleasure in Love and Life if these were to be snatched away as\nsoon as he had grown to realize their full value? The Prince could no\nlonger take delight in the pleasures that surrounded him, or even in\nthe love of his wife, who was about to bear him a child. And he was\nsick at heart with the fear that he would lose the things that he\nloved.\n\nWhen the King heard that three of the four omens had been fulfilled, he\ntrembled with apprehension and stationed guards at all the city gates\nto intercept the Prince should he fly from home; for now that the\nprophecy had so far been fulfilled the King was sure it would soon be\ncompleted. Nevertheless he sent his soldiers to scour the streets for\nbeggars and holy men and drive them away from the city.\n\nOnly a few days afterward, the Prince again went forth in his chariot\njust as a beggar in yellow robes approached the walls. There was an\nexpression of great peace upon the beggar's countenance, and he seemed\nfar happier than the Prince himself. Siddartha asked the attendant who\nthe man might be and what he did, and he received the reply that the\nstranger was a priest and sought happiness through giving up all the\njoys of the earth and begging his bread from door to door--and it\nseemed to the Prince as though a great light had suddenly burst through\nthe clouds of his unhappiness, and he knew that he too must give up his\npalace and his pleasures, his wife and his future child and fare forth\nas a priest. Surely, thought the Prince, all the things that he enjoyed\nwere no better than wraiths of mist that rose from the river in the\nmorning, since like the mist they were forever changing, and must\nsurely be terminated in sickness, old age or death itself; and he\nresolved to search for things more lasting than the happiness and\npleasure of his youth.\n\nHe also resolved to leave his kingdom and become a beggar in a foreign\nland, attempting to find through fasting and contemplation the truth\nthat must lie behind the changing forms of life, for he knew well that\nthere must be some deep cause for all the things that he had witnessed\nand some impelling force behind the universe. Otherwise the whole earth\nand all that was in it and all things that breathed upon its bosom\nwould be idle and wicked delusions. And the Prince knew too that in him\nlay the power to discover the truth if he should search for it\ndiligently and give his whole heart and mind to this one purpose.\n\nJust then a messenger came to him telling him that his wife had borne\nhim a son. On hearing this the Prince cried out that he wished it were\notherwise, for his new-born son would be a hindrance to his design and\nan added bond that he must tear from his heart before he could go away.\n\nThat night, however, when all lay sleeping the Prince and one faithful\nservant made their way secretly from the Palace. It had strangely come\nto pass, perchance through the work of spirits, that all the guards at\nthe Palace and the city gates were asleep, and the two went forth\nunhindered, riding on horse-back; and they spurred their horses to the\nutmost so when the morning came they would be far away. Then the Prince\ngave his attendant, who was named Channa, all the money and jewels that\nhe possessed and told him to return to the Palace and tell the King\nthat he, the Prince, had gone forth in search of enlightenment and\nwould some day become a Buddha.\n\nWhen Channa departed, the Prince gave his fine clothes to a beggar who\nwas passing and took in return the beggar's faded yellow robe, and he,\nwho had been used to all the luxuries of the Court, went from door to\ndoor begging his food and eating the bitter bread of poverty.\n\nHe crossed the river called the Ganges and came at last to a city named\nRajagha. And here he soon attracted attention because his appearance\nand mien were so noble that even his coarse clothes and his new way of\nlife could not disguise him. He called himself a prince no longer, but\ninstead took the name of Gotama, this being one of the names of the\nfamily from which he sprang.\n\nIn course of time the King of the new country where the Prince was\nbegging his bread and meditating on Life and Death desired to see the\nholy man of whom he had heard much talk, and he offered the Prince\nlands and riches. But the Prince told him that he had already laid\naside far greater riches than these, and that nothing in life mattered\nto him except his quest for the truth, which one day he would surely\nfind. And the King, whose name was Bimbasara, asked him when he had\nfound the truth to return and teach it to the people of his\ncountry--and this the Prince promised to do.\n\nFor a long time the Prince lived in a cave not far from Rajagha and\nstudied the faith of India as it was then taught, but his studies\nbrought him no nearer to gaining the truth. So he went into the\nwilderness, where, he believed, fasting and meditation might bring him\nthe things he sought.\n\nHe traveled southward for many miles and entered the very heart of the\ngreat Indian jungle, teeming with poisonous snakes and filled with\nsavage beasts. Here he prayed and fasted, seeking enlightenment; and he\ncarried out his fasts with such severity that he nearly died as a\nresult of them.\n\nWhile in the jungle the Prince met five other holy men who were so much\nimpressed with his fasts and his thoughtful demeanor that they became\nhis disciples. But when he ceased to fast because he did not come any\nnearer the truth by going hungry, these disciples left him, believing\nthat he had strayed from the path of the truth and never would gain the\nenlightenment he sought.\n\nAfter several years the Prince left the jungle and commenced traveling\nthrough the country, begging his food wherever he happened to be. And\nnow he was close to gaining the vision that he so greatly desired, for\nwithout his knowledge his years of thought and of self-denial had borne\ntheir fruit.\n\nOne day, bitterly discouraged, and heartsick with his many failures and\ntemptations, he seated himself beneath a peepul tree with the firm\nresolve that he would not stir from the spot until he gained the truth\nthat he sought. And while he sat there, the legends tell us, he was\nassailed by all the powers of darkness and evil, and devils crowded\nupon him so thickly that they darkened the sky and threw all Nature\ninto convulsions in which the earth shook and the air was filled with\nthunder. All night the Prince sat motionless and all through the night\nthe evil forces strove to turn him from the truth that they knew he was\nabout to achieve. In the morning they departed, and the Prince as he\nsat, saw flowers spring up and blossom all around him with miraculous\nswiftness. The air seemed purer than ever before, the sun was\nwonderfully bright and a peaceful serenity seemed to enfold the entire\nearth. And when night came and the stars awoke, the truth for which the\nPrince had been seeking flowed into his soul. He had indeed become a\nBuddha.\n\nGone were the temptations and the sorrows in a divine peace--a peace\nthat became the reward of all disciples of the religion that he\nfounded. This peace was called by him Nirvana and his disciples say he\nis the only man who attained it in his lifetime, for Nirvana is\nsupposed to come only to the spirits of the dead, who have purified\nthemselves not in one life, but in many. In Buddha's belief (for as\nBuddha we shall now know him), human beings live many times and receive\nthe reward or the punishment of past existences in those that follow.\nThis belief is known as \"the transmigration of souls.\" It is the\nfoundation of the faith of Buddha which is believed in to-day by\nmillions of persons in India and China, as well as in other countries.\n\nIn the truth that Buddha had acquired he learned many things. Chief of\nthem, as he believed, are four great facts of life and nature from\nwhich the soul cannot escape--that there will always be sorrow and\nsuffering in the world; that these are caused by clinging to things\nthat are always changing or dying; that the only way to obtain peace is\nto renounce these things and care for them no longer; and that the only\nway to live is to walk in the paths of righteousness, honesty, virtue,\nand to believe in the Buddhist faith.\n\nBuddha also believed that animals have souls just as men do, and that\nby some good action these animal souls become the souls of men. Then\nthe souls go through many existences. If they are righteous they\napproach the peace of Nirvana, which is attainable only when they are\nentirely purified; if they are unrighteous they are cast down again\ninto lower forms of life and once more have to struggle upward toward\nthe truth. There is no escape from the consequences of sin in the\nBuddhist faith. Just so certainly as a man sins he will be punished for\nit--if not in this life in the next one--and if his sin is sufficiently\ndeadly he will lose again the form of a man and return to the shape of\na snake or a lizard to expiate his wickedness through countless\ngenerations.\n\nHeaven and Hell have a place in the belief of Buddha also. They are\ndifferent from the Heaven and Hell that Christians know because in the\nBuddhist religion they are only temporary abodes for the spirit between\nits many existences on earth.\n\nWhen his new faith had come to him, Buddha left the jungle to preach it\nto mankind. On his way he met the five disciples that had deserted him\nand he told them that the truth had indeed come to him and that he was\nnow a Buddha. After they heard him preach they were converted, and\nafter three months the number of Buddha's disciples had increased to\nsixty, who, like himself, gave all their worldly possessions to assume\nthe garments of beggars and ask for their bread from door to door.\n\nBuddha then told his disciples that they must go in different\ndirections and teach all that desired to learn. He himself went back to\nRajagha where King Bimbasara, who desired to know the truth, was\nliving. And he preached to King Bimbasara and converted him, and the\nKing presented Buddha with a bamboo grove in which he might hold his\nassemblies and preach to the many thousands that now came to hear his\nsermons.\n\nThe fame of Buddha's teachings soon reached his native city and his\nfather, the old King Suddhodana, yearned to see the son who might have\nbeen a great conqueror but who had chosen to be one of the most\nenlightened teachers that the world has ever seen. So he sent a retinue\nto greet Buddha and ask him to return to his native city. One thousand\nmen went forth upon this errand, but none returned, for all were\nconverted by Buddha and remained to listen to his teachings and then to\nspread the faith themselves. Then King Suddhodana sent another\nthousand, and these too remained with Buddha. At last, however, he sent\none messenger, the same Channa who had accompanied the Prince when he\nleft the city, and the faithful Channa bore the message to Buddha.\n\nBuddha decided to visit his father and see his family once more, for he\ndesired to bring the faith to the land of the Sakyas. With thousands of\nhis followers accompanying him he went to the royal city and met his\nfather without the walls. And the father's heart was heavy to see how\nthe son had changed, for Buddha was no longer young, strong and\nhandsome, but wrinkled and emaciated, with gray hair and a bent figure\nfrom the hardships he had endured in many years of wandering and\npreaching.\n\nBuddha would not enter the city of his countrymen but preached in a\nbanyan grove without the walls. And when he preached he converted many\nof his former friends and relatives. His wife whom he had deserted and\nwho had grieved for him ever since, gained happiness once more, for she\ntoo, became converted to the Buddhist faith, and entered the Buddhist\nsisterhood, becoming a nun. Even the King himself was finally converted\nby Buddha's teaching, and we are told that he too entered the faith and\nbecame a disciple. The son that Buddha had only seen once when a day\nold became a disciple also, and, when he had mastered the teachings of\nBuddhism, was made a monk in the Buddhist order.\n\nBuddha lived to be eighty years old and all the rest of his life was\nspent in traveling through the world and preaching the faith wherever\nhe went. The land that he visited most frequently lay on both sides of\nthe river Ganges and for thousands of years has been called the\nBuddhist Holy Land. Wise men of all ages have believed in the faith as\nhe taught it, and even to-day and in modern European nations there are\nthose that profess to be of the Buddhist faith.\n\nThe order of monks that was founded by Buddha is the oldest existing\nreligious order in the world. For nearly two thousand five hundred\nyears these monks have practised renunciation and high thinking and\nhave worn the yellow robes of the holy man and the beggar.\n\nMany tales and legends sprang up concerning Buddha even in his\nlifetime. In fact it is only through legends that we know he was ever a\nPrince at all. He had a marvelous faculty for controlling the anger of\nwild beasts and once tamed an elephant that had killed many people,\nsimply by speaking to it in a quiet tone, at which the great animal,\nwhich had been raging through the streets of Rajagha, followed him like\na dog. A tale of his great wisdom that is still told by his disciples,\nis of a woman who had lost her child through Death and who came before\nBuddha maddened with grief, begging him to bring the child back to life\nor at least to provide some comfort from the sorrow that tortured her.\nAnd Buddha told her to get mustard seed from a house that Death had\nnever visited and when she had done so to bring it to him and he would\nbring the child back to life.\n\nThe poor woman went from door to door asking if Death had visited\nthere, and in every home the answer was \"yes!\" Nowhere could she find a\nhouse that was free from the blight of Death. Then the woman saw that\nthe only happiness lay in renouncing the ties that bound her to other\nhuman beings and in seeking the peace of Nirvana, for Buddha had taken\nthis way of teaching her that Death is the common lot of all; and she\nentered the Buddhist sisterhood and found there the happiness that she\nsought.\n\nBuddha was supposed to have lived many times and there are many tales\nof his deeds in previous lives. Some of them tell of happenings when he\nwas an animal and how he finally acquired the human form. Others tell\nof his good deeds when his spirit had entered the human body but was\nnot yet ennobled sufficiently to become a Buddha.\n\nThere are hundreds of such tales in the Buddhist faith. Some deal with\nBuddha himself; some with his disciples. In all the stories, however,\nthe virtue of self-sacrifice and of renunciation is strongly painted.\nIt is the cornerstone of the Buddhist religion.\n\nWhen Buddha grew very old he called his disciples around him and\nenjoined them to preach the faith after he had passed away for he knew\nthat at last the hand of Death was near. He died in a little town in\nthe depths of the jungle, and heavenly music sounded and the trees\nburst into blossom as his spirit passed away. He was given a funeral\nwith all the honor due to a mighty king and after his body was burned,\neight cities requested a share of his ashes. These were placed in eight\ngreat tombs, and the ruins can be seen to the present day.\n\nAfter the death of Buddha the religion that he preached rapidly spread\nthrough Asia. To-day it is taught in very different forms in different\ncountries, and the Buddhism of Thibet in China has many elaborate\nceremonies attached to it that the Buddhism of India lacks completely.\nUnlike most of the great religions of the world, Buddhism has never\nbeen spread by the sword, but has crept into the minds of men through\nits own power. And everywhere it is granted that Buddha was a great man\nand a great teacher, and that many of the principles he taught are\nsecond only to those included in the Christian faith.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II\n\nJULIUS CAESAR\n\n\nOnce in a great while a man is born with such a temper of brain and\nwill that he seems like a bright star among other men and can do things\neasily that are impossible for others to accomplish. One hundred years\nbefore the birth of Christ such a man was born in the city of Rome. His\nname was Julius Caesar and he came from a long line of Roman noblemen\nwhich ran back so far into history that it not only reached beyond the\nbeginning of Rome itself, but was believed to have sprung from the\ngoddess, Venus. Caesar's father died when he was little more than a boy\nand his mother was partly responsible for the greatness that he later\nmaintained, for she strove constantly to develop in him those qualities\nof mind and character that were an inheritance from his family,\nalthough they were brought to far greater light in Caesar himself.\nLittle is known of Caesar's boyhood. It is probable that it was not very\ndifferent from that of other young Romans who belonged to the nobility,\nor, as it was then called, the patrician class. He had a tutor named\nGnipho who was not a Roman by birth, but a Gaul--that is a man who came\nfrom one of the less civilized tribes that lived to the north of Italy\nin the country that is now called modern France--and received from him\nthe usual education.\n\nApparently Caesar was not a prodigy when a young man, and there seemed\nlittle to distinguish him from any other young nobleman who went about\nthe city in dandified apparel with hair oiled and perfumed,--but Caesar\nhad quietly made up his mind to be the first man in Rome and to surpass\nall others in greatness. Occasionally he showed this resolution. And\nonce on his birthday, when passing the statue of the great conqueror,\nAlexander, he wept because he had reached an age when Alexander had\nconquered the entire world, while he, Caesar, as yet had done nothing.\n\nRome, in Caesar's boyhood, was embroiled in civil war, and the leaders\nof the Roman armies were constantly fighting among themselves. There\nhad been a great public man named Marius who championed the rights of\nthe common people, or the plebeians, and who was greatly loved by the\nmore humble men of Rome, but Marius had been overthrown by a fierce,\ncruel nobleman named Sulla, who made himself the head of the Roman\nState and slew every one who stood in his way.\n\nHere appeared the first sign that Caesar possessed the qualities of\ngreatness--for while still a young man, he dared to defy the terrible\nSulla. Caesar had just married Cornelia, the daughter of Cinna, and was\nordered by Sulla to divorce her. But he resolutely refused to allow the\nword of the dictator to come between him and his wife, and was obliged\nto leave Rome by night to escape Sulla's vengeance. He fled into\nSamnium, but was followed there by Sulla's soldiers, taken prisoner and\nbrought back to Rome. And Sulla would certainly have put him to death\nif some powerful men had not interceded for him and asked for his life.\n\"I will grant this boon,\" said Sulla, with a glance that made them\nquail, \"but take heed for this young man who wears his belt so\nloosely,\" meaning that he saw in Caesar dangerous qualities that might\none day threaten the elaborate machine of Roman government.\n\nAs all young Romans were obliged to serve in the army, and as Caesar was\nnot safe in Rome where Sulla at any time might send assassins to murder\nhim, he went to the far east where a Roman army was waging war against\na king named Mithridates. At the siege of a town called Mytelene Caesar\nso distinguished himself for bravery that he won the civic crown, for\nsaving the life of a fellow soldier in the face of the enemy.\n\nWhen Sulla died, Caesar returned to Rome, and became one of the leaders\nof the party that had been against Sulla and his government. And Caesar\ndid everything that he could think of to win power for himself and\ndamage Sulla's adherents. He became an orator and a lawyer and\nprosecuted certain men who had misused the money of the people. But\nalthough it was clearly proved by Caesar that these men were no better\nthan common thieves, the Roman senators and judges were so corrupt that\nit was impossible for Caesar to have them punished as they deserved.\n\nCaesar was not discouraged, however. He believed that if he had been a\nbetter orator the men would have been brought to justice in spite of\nall the obstacles that stood in his path; so, on the advice of a friend\nnamed Cicero, who was the greatest orator in the world at that time, he\nstarted on a journey to Rhodes to study rhetoric under a great teacher\nof that art named Appollonius Molo.\n\nTravel from Rome was as dangerous as going to war, for there were\nbandits everywhere and the seas swarmed with pirates. And when Caesar\ntook ship to go to Rhodes, the pirates swarmed about his vessel and\ntook him prisoner. Because he was a nobleman and an important person\nthe pirates did not put him to death but demanded ransom for him. They\ntold Caesar the sum of money they had asked and he agreed to obtain it\nfor them, and haughtily told them that he was even greater than they\nhad supposed and worth three times the money they had demanded. So the\npirates trebled the amount called for, and told Caesar that if they did\nnot receive it he would be put to a cruel death, but he waited\nunconcernedly; and while in the hands of the pirates he treated them\nalmost as companions and shared in their games and exercises.\n\nAt times he even read to them poems and compositions of his own. But\nthe pirates did not understand the highflown Roman phrases and did not\ngive Caesar the applause that he believed his work had merited.\n\n\"By the Gods,\" he said laughing, \"you are ignorant barbarians, unfit to\nlive. When I am freed you had best look to yourselves, for I shall\nreturn and nail you to the cross.\"\n\nThe pirates were angered by these words, but they did not slay their\nbold-tongued captive on account of the money they expected, and when\nCaesar's ransom came he was set free. But, true to his word, the first\nthing he did when set ashore was to gather some men and ships and\npursue them. Setting upon them with the swiftness of lightning he\nkilled a great number and took many prisoners. And the pirates then\nfound to their cost that he was a man of his word, for Caesar had every\nprisoner crucified, as he had warned them he would do.\n\nHe then continued his journey to Rhodes as if nothing had happened and\nstudied rhetoric under Molo; and so apt a pupil was he that in a very\nshort time he became an orator second only to Cicero himself.\n\nRome was in great turmoil and confusion at this time, and the vice of\nthe men that ruled had weakened her power. There was a great revolt of\nslaves not only at Rome but throughout Italy, and the slaves formed\ninto an army strong enough to defeat the Roman legions.\n\nThe slaves barred the roads from Rome, captured their former masters\nand made them fight as gladiators in the arena. They set towns afire,\nkilled women and children, plundered, murdered and cruelly ravaged the\ncountry, until they were defeated in battle by two military leaders who\nwere sent against them--a rich man named Crassus, who was one of the\nmost powerful men in Rome, and a soldier named Pompey, who was\nconsidered by the Romans to be one of the greatest generals that their\ncity had ever seen.\n\nWhile these things were being accomplished Caesar had finished his\ncourse in rhetoric and returned to Rome, and made his plans to win a\nglory greater than that of Pompey and Crassus, who were high in public\nfavor through their victory over the slaves.\n\nTo succeed in Rome without money was impossible in those days, for\nlarge sums had to be expended in bribery and in gaining the favor of\nthe idle and dissolute Roman people, who refused to work but demanded\nto be amused at the expense of others, and would always follow the man\nwho treated them with the greatest display of liberality. So Caesar\nborrowed huge sums of money which he planned to repay from the sums he\ncould gain when once he was elected to public offices. It is not to be\nthought that Caesar always was honest and just, and it has already been\nshown that sometimes he was heartless and cruel--but in his favor it\nmust be said that he never wantonly injured anybody, as so many others\ndid in the cruel times in which he lived--and that in all things,\nexcept where his own power and future were concerned, he was merciful\nand temperate.\n\nCaesar became an official known as quaestor, going to Spain in charge of\ncertain affairs pertaining to Roman government, and later on he was\nmade a curule aedile.\n\nIn this office his generosity delighted the people. Caesar, with\nborrowed riches, made a lavish display to ensure future political favor\nat their hands, and was more magnificent than any of the aediles who had\npreceded him. At one time he displayed in the arena three hundred and\ntwenty pairs of gladiators who fought with swords and spears and with\nthe net and trident,--and he would have brought in a greater number had\nnot the Senate feared to allow so many armed men in Rome at one time.\nBut Caesar did something else that delighted the people even more than\nthe show of the gladiators. One morning they beheld the statues of\nMarius, that had been overthrown by Sulla, set up once more in their\nold places, bright with gold and ornaments. Marius had been the\npeople's idol, and Caesar by this bold stroke gained much of the\npopularity that had formerly been attached to that beloved leader.\n\nAnother office that Caesar attempted to win was that of Pontifex\nMaximus--that is, the High Priest and leader in all of the religious\nceremonies of the Romans, an office with great power and prestige and\nthe stepping stone to greater things by far.\n\nCaesar staked everything on winning this office and he increased his\ndebts, which were already enormous, amounting to hundreds of thousands\nof dollars in our money, to bribe and flatter and make sure of enough\nvotes to win the election. He was so deeply in debt, he told his\nmother, that in case he did not win the office he would be obliged to\nleave Rome, never to return. But luck was on his side and he succeeded,\nmaking his term as Pontifex Maximus notable by revising the Roman\ncalendar so thoroughly that, with only slight changes, it is used\nto-day.\n\nLater on he was made Praetor, and by means of these various offices he\nsucceeded in becoming one of the leading men in Rome--although his\ngreatness was not yet as bright as that of Pompey, who had, as he said,\nonly to stamp his foot to fill Italy with soldiers.\n\nThen there befell in Rome what was known as the conspiracy of Catiline,\nin which Caesar had a narrow escape from the intrigue and malice of the\nnoblemen who hated him because he was a foe of Sulla's and a champion\nof the people. Catiline was a nobleman of violent temper and bad\nreputation. With many companions he strove to win public office in\nRome, and plotted, if unsuccessful, to raise an army, set fire to the\ncity and place his party in power by rioting and violence. And under\nCatiline's government Caesar, who probably knew nothing of the affair,\nwas to be elected to public office in the new government.\n\nThe conspiracy was discovered, chiefly through the vigilance of Cicero,\nwho was Consul at the time. Catiline had fled from Rome and was raising\nan army, but a number of the other plotters were arrested. The noblemen\nwho hated Caesar did everything in their power to have his name included\nin the list of the conspirators, but Cicero resolutely refused to\nbelieve that Caesar had been in league with them and would not press the\ncharges against him. Through the gifted oratory of Cicero, however, a\nsentence of death was brought against all the prisoners, who were\npromptly put to death in Cicero's presence.\n\nCaesar's wife, Cornelia, had died sometime before these events took\nplace, and Caesar had then married a relative of Pompey. At the festival\nof Bona Dea, where only women were admitted, and which was held at\nCaesar's house because he was Pontifex Maximus, a great scandal took\nplace owing to the fact that a young man, dressed in woman's clothes\nwas discovered hiding in the house while the festival was going on.\nThis bade fair to injure Caesar's name in the city, and partly on this\naccount he divorced his wife, Pompeia, saying that while nothing evil\nhad been proved against her, yet Caesar's wife must be above even the\nbreath of suspicion.\n\nAfter this Caesar went to Spain to govern that land for the Romans.\nWhile there he had much military experience that helped him to become\none of the mightiest generals the world has ever seen, and in his\nstruggles against the wild, hill tribes he laid the seeds of success\nfor his later wars in Gaul,--wars in which he was to carry the Roman\neagles into lands that had only been known by hearsay and legend.\n\nWhen Caesar returned from Spain he did his utmost to cement the bonds of\nfriendship between himself and Pompey and Crassus--with Pompey, because\nhe was the greatest man in Rome and because Caesar hoped to rise through\nhis patronage,--with Crassus because he was possessed of fabulous\nriches, that Caesar would have great need of in fulfilling his ambitious\ndesigns. To strengthen his friendship with Pompey he forced his own\ndaughter to marry him. The alliance of these three men is called the\nFirst Triumvirate.\n\nCaesar was eager at this time to be elected Consul, an office that would\ngive him great power in the Roman state, and with his usual success and\nsome luck he succeeded in doing so. With him was elected another Consul\nnamed Bibulus, who was put into office by the noblemen to check Caesar\nand limit his ambitious designs, which included doing all that he could\nto better the condition of the common people. But Caesar soon had the\nupper hand in all the affairs of the consulship, so that the people\nsaid jokingly that the two consuls for the year were Julius and Caesar,\ninstead of Caesar and Bibulus.\n\nAmong other things that Caesar accomplished was the passing of a land\nlaw that provided land for all of Pompey's old soldiers, and was also\ndesigned to give land to the people at Rome who were without occupation\nand often on the verge of starvation. Naturally this law made Caesar\neven more popular with Pompey, as for the people they cheered him\nlustily and said among themselves that this Julius Caesar was certainly\na most noble and generous leader. Had he not been the follower of\nMarius and replaced his statues which were overthrown by tyranny? Had\nhe not provided games the like of which the people had never seen\nbefore? And now, by his land law, had he not shown that he was devoted\nto the poor, ready at all times to fight their battles and to provide\ngenerously for them?\n\nSuch were the means by which Caesar endeared himself to the Romans. And\nnow was to come the opportunity by which at a single leap he placed\nhimself above all others. The province of Gaul which lay to the\nnorthwest of Italy, and included most of what is now modern France, was\nan extremely rich and fertile country, occupied by wild tribes that\nwere hardly friendly to the Romans. Through his political power, and\nmuch scheming, Caesar had himself made governor of all Gaul for five\nyears. It was the opportunity of a lifetime, for he could not only make\nhimself famous as a conqueror by subduing the Gaulish tribes, but could\nraise an enormous army, devoted to his interests, by which he could\ntake by force the entire control of the Roman State as Sulla had done\nbefore him.\n\nNaturally Caesar did not voice these designs, but he entertained them\njust the same, and began a series of wars in Gaul in which over a\nmillion of his enemies are said to have perished on the battlefield.\n\nWhen Caesar entered upon his duties in governing Gaul, certain tribes\ncame to him with complaints of a people called the Helvetii, who were\nleaving their own country, or what is now Switzerland, to enter upon\nthe more fertile and less mountainous lands of their neighbors. Caesar\nmustered his soldiers and marched against the Helvetii, meeting them at\na place called Bibracte. Here he showed how skilfully he could direct\nthe Roman legions, for in a comparatively short battle the Helvetii\nwere entirely overthrown, and a terrible slaughter followed. Caesar\nhimself, in writing of this battle, says that out of three hundred and\nsixty-eight thousand men, women and children, who composed the tribe of\nthe Helvetii, only one hundred and ten thousand were left after the\nbattle. The poor beaten remnant of the tribe he ordered at once to\nretrace their steps into Switzerland and to enter Gaul no more.\n\nHis success in dealing with the Helvetii turned the eyes of all Gaul\nupon the conqueror. Many tribes then asked his aid against Ariovistus,\na German chief who came from across the river Rhine and with his yellow\nhaired followers, clad in the skins of animals, was plundering the\nGaulish province. Caesar, with the quickness that always won him success\nin battle, advanced against Ariovistus and completely defeated him,\ndriving his men in confusion back across the Rhine to the lands they\nhad come from.\n\nIn the following spring there was great danger that all Gaul would\nrevolt to free itself from the control of the Romans. Of all the tribes\nthat were opposed to him, Caesar considered that the Belgae, the people\nwho lived in what is now Belgium, were the bravest and the most\ndangerous enemies against whom he must fight. So he marched against\nthem and placed his legions behind strong fortifications until he could\ngain a favorable moment to come forth and attack them. The Belgae tried\nall sorts of tricks and ruses to draw Caesar from his position, but they\ndid not succeed in doing this. Then, perhaps because they had not\nsufficient food, they commenced a retreat back to their own country,\nfrom which they had issued to attack Caesar. On their heels rode the\nRoman cavalry, who harassed them constantly, darting in and killing\nstragglers and attacking the rear guard whenever the opportunity\noffered.\n\nOne night, however, when the Romans were about to encamp in some wooded\ncountry on the River Sambre, three tribes of the Belgae fell upon them\nin a surprise attack that came so swiftly and so violently that the\nRoman legions were almost routed. Caesar's force was not wholly composed\nof Romans, and all the soldiers under his command except the Romans\nfled pell mell from the field, but the Roman soldiers, in spite of\neverything, stood firm, displaying the marvelous discipline that had\nconquered the world, and soon had victory in their grasp. But the Roman\nsoldiers were seldom merciful and scarcely a foeman escaped the\nslaughter that followed.\n\nThat winter Caesar returned to northern Italy, leaving his legions in\nGaul under the command of his lieutenants. In his winter retreat he\nenjoyed himself and spent enormous sums of money, listening eagerly to\nnews of everything that had taken place in Rome since his departure.\n\nIn the following spring his friend and political partner, Crassus, was\nkilled while engaging in battle with the Parthians in the east, leaving\nPompey and Caesar the only two men of first importance in Roman affairs.\nIn that year also the Roman Senate prolonged Caesar's rule of Gaul for\nfive years more.\n\nWhen spring came Caesar led his legions from their winter encampments to\nbattle against their enemies once more, and this time the victims of\nhis skill were two German tribes who had again crossed over the Rhine\nto invade Gaul.\n\nCaesar routed them and chased them back across the Rhine, building a\nbridge to pursue them into Germany. Then he came back to Gaul,\ndestroying his bridge behind him; and made his plans to invade the\nisland of Britain, which is now England, Scotland and Wales. In Britain\nthere lived tribes that were considered to hold the last extremity of\nthe earth. Beyond them was nothing except mystery and darkness.\n\nBoats were built by the Roman soldiers, who had been trained by Caesar\nto turn their hand to any kind of labor, and the Roman army rowed\nacross the English channel to the island where the warlike Britons\nawaited their coming. The Romans sprang from their boats into water up\nto their necks and waded ashore to battle, killing and capturing a\nlarge number of Britons, many of whom Caesar took back with him into\nGaul to adorn his triumphal entry into Rome when his term as governor\nof Gaul had come to an end.\n\nThe Roman Senate was astonished at Caesar's success and all Rome rang\nwith his fame. The island of Britain was held to be the last extreme\nthat Roman arms could reach, and hitherto had been nothing but a place\nof fables and wild sea tales, and the Senate declared a thanksgiving in\nCaesar's honor that was to last twenty days.\n\nThat winter Caesar again returned to northern Italy, leaving his army\nunder the command of his lieutenants, for, possessed of a great\nambition to become the ruler of Rome, he desired to learn everything\nthat was taking place there. His absence was taken by the Gauls as a\nsign that his power was weakening, and they considered that they had a\nsplendid chance to revolt successfully and throw off the Roman power.\nAnd among them there sprang up a leader named Vercingetorix, who in his\nway was almost as great a genius as Caesar himself, possessed of\nboundless courage and hardihood.\n\nA revolt in Gaul at that time would endanger all Caesar's chances for\nsuccess in Rome. Should his army be overcome he would have no means of\nenforcing his power there, and a defeat would utterly destroy the\nprestige that he had built up among the Romans at the cost of so much\nmoney and labor. So Caesar hurried across the Alps and after maneuvering\nhis legions in a manner that showed to the world he was a genius in the\nart of war, he succeeded in surrounding the greater part of the forces\nof Vercingetorix.\n\nTo save his comrades Vercingetorix gave in to Caesar, and galloped out\nof his stronghold to give up his sword. He laid his arms at Caesar's\nfeet and surrendered himself as a captive. Caesar kept him as a prisoner\nfor a number of years, after which time he was taken to Rome and forced\nto walk in the triumph of the conqueror. Then he suffered the fate of\nthe captives of Rome. He was shut up in a dungeon and strangled, and\nhis body was thrown upon one of the refuse heaps of the mighty city.\n\nContinued success in Gaul had by this time made Caesar's name so great\nin Rome that the Senate had grown to fear him. Pompey too was jealous\nof his growing power, and Caesar was finally ordered by the Senate to\ndisband his army. The two officers of the people, called the tribunes,\nwhose names were Antony and Cassius, vetoed this act on the part of the\nSenate, and were hunted from Rome and fled to Caesar's camp for refuge.\n\nThen the Senate, wildly afraid that Caesar would return at the head of\nhis troops and become a tyrant like Sulla, declared war against Caesar\nand put in Pompey's hands the task of humbling his former friend. Caesar\nhad no intention of disbanding his troops. His soldiers loved him\ndeeply and would follow wherever he led them. And Caesar exhorted his\nmen to stand by him, promising them honor and riches if he should\nsucceed in overcoming his enemies at Rome, and the men with wild cheers\nswore that they would follow him to the death.\n\nAt the head of a powerful and well disciplined army that was devoted to\nhim, Caesar advanced on Rome. When he came to a stream called the\nRubicon, which marked the limit of his power as governor of Gaul, he\nhesitated for a brief time, as there was still time for him to draw\nback from his tremendous venture had he seen fit to do so--but at\nlength he plunged into the stream with the remark, \"The die is cast,\"\nand advanced upon the city that he intended to win for himself.\n\nPompey had been through an exceedingly hard time in getting soldiers to\nfollow his banner, for the reputation of Caesar was very formidable and\nhis army even more so. Finding that it was impossible to make a stand\nagainst Caesar in Italy, Pompey fled across the Mediterranean Sea,\nleaving Caesar the master of Rome and Italy as well. Caesar, however, was\nnot in the habit of leaving an enemy to fly unmolested. He pursued\nPompey to Thessaly and there fought a battle against him in which\nPompey was utterly defeated and his soldiers scattered and routed.\nPompey fled to Egypt, where Caesar followed him--and the first thing\nthat was brought to Caesar when he arrived was Pompey's head. The once\ngreat Roman had been treacherously murdered by the Egyptians, who\nbelieved that in so doing they would curry favor with Caesar.\n\nIn Egypt there was a beautiful queen named Cleopatra, who used all her\ngreat art to force Caesar to fall in love with her. She believed that\nwhen he loved her he would place her firmly on the Egyptian throne and\nsend the Roman soldiers against her enemies. So completely did she\nsucceed that Caesar, who never had been averse to the charms of\nbeautiful women, remained at her court for a considerable time and led\nhis armies against a king named Pharnaces at Cleopatra's bidding. After\nthis he returned to Rome, where he was made dictator, with absolute\npower, and was as great as Sulla had ever been.\n\nBut there were still a number of Romans who refused to submit to his\npower, and Caesar was compelled to go once more to Africa to vanquish\nPompey's friends, Scipio and Cato, who were raising a new army against\nhim. With his usual military genius, he overthrew them easily and\nreturned again to Rome.\n\nNothing in Roman history equalled his welcome there. He was received as\na returning king and the honors that were heaped upon him were greater\nthan had been given to any other Roman in all the long centuries that\nRome had been a city. He was called \"Father of His Country\" and had a\nbodyguard of Roman noblemen to accompany him wherever he went. His\nperson was considered sacred, and the month of Quintilis was called\nafter his name, July, for Julius, the name it has borne from that far\ntime to the present day.\n\nNow, in his hour of triumph and greatness, Caesar showed himself of far\ndifferent mettle from any Roman who had previously gained power over\nthe state. He did not mar his success by murdering his enemies as Sulla\nhad done, but rather sought to be the friend of all, and busied himself\nwith good deeds and public works that would benefit the people. And\nwhile a royal crown was offered to him many times,--notably by the same\nMarc Antony who had fled to his camp as a fugitive when the Senate rose\nagainst his power--Caesar refused to accept it, believing that he could\ngovern wisely and temperately without the name of King, which was\nbitter in the ears of all true Romans.\n\nHowever, his kindness did not save him, and his glory was short lived.\nCertain Romans considered that their state had fallen under the power\nof a tyrant, and believed that Rome could be brought back to its former\nfreedom by Caesar's death. A conspiracy was hatched against him among\nthe senators, and one of its leaders was a man named Brutus, to whom\nCaesar had shown every kindness. Brutus, with his comrade, Cassius, and\nsome sixty others held secret meetings at night in which they discussed\nthe best way to murder Caesar, and it was finally decided that they\nwould fall upon him with swords and daggers when he entered the Senate\nHouse.\n\nIn connection with this evil plot a strange thing happened. Caesar was\napproached by an old man who claimed to be a prophet or a soothsayer.\nThis man warned him that on a certain day, which began what was called\nthe Ides of March, he must not stir out of his house or evil would come\nto him. Caesar laughed at this prediction, but on the night before this\nvery day, his wife, Calpurnia, had an evil dream in which she beheld\nspecters walking in the streets of Rome; and she begged Caesar as he\nloved her to remain at home. Caesar was about to give in to her request\nwhen Brutus called at his house to take him to the Senate, and, knowing\nof the conspiracy, of which he was one of the leaders, Brutus ridiculed\nCaesar for being frightened by the dream of his wife and persuaded him\nto go, although Calpurnia wept bitterly when he departed, believing\nthat she would never see him again.\n\nOn the way to the Senate Caesar passed the soothsayer, and remembering\nhis prediction called out to him that the Ides of March were come.\n\n\"Aye, Caesar,\" replied the strange old man, \"but not yet past.\" And\nCaesar entered the Senate.\n\nAs he took his place he was surrounded by the conspirators who crowded\nabout him with their weapons ready to hand under their cloaks and\nrobes, and while one of their number presented a petition to Caesar, and\ndrew his cloak aside, Casca, another conspirator, stabbed him from\nbehind. Then, as Caesar turned and grasped Casca's arm, the whole\nmurderous pack of them set upon him, crowding and jostling each other\nto drive their weapons into his body. And when Caesar saw the hand of\nBrutus, his best friend, treacherously raised against him, he drew his\ncloak over his face so that he might keep his dignity in the agony of\ndeath, and exclaiming \"You, too, Brutus?\" fell at the base of Pompey's\nstatue, which was stained with the life blood of the man who had\nconquered him.\n\nSo died Julius Caesar, whose name is even brighter after two thousand\nyears than it was in the time when he lived. As to the conspirators\nthey profited nothing by their deed, for the Romans, inspired by an\noration made at Caesar's bier by Marc Antony, set fire to their\ndwellings and drove them from the city. Within three years not one of\nthem remained alive. Rome soon proved that she could not live without a\nmaster, and the power that Caesar had won passed into other hands that\nwere not so great or worthy as his own.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III\n\nSAINT PATRICK\n\n\nNo saint's name is more familiar than holy Saint Patrick's. Legends\nhave sprung up around it as thick as the grass of Ireland from which he\nis believed to have chased the serpents into the sea--but in all the\ncalendar hardly a saint is known less about than this marvelous man,\nwho carried the Christian religion to every corner of the emerald\nisland.\n\nSaint Patrick was not a native of Ireland--he was born, perhaps in 373\nA.D., in the little town of Banavem Taberniae, a Roman town in ancient\nScotland not far from the modern city of Glasgow. Rome had ruled the\nworld for hundreds of years and the swords of her soldiers had been\nuplifted in every known land. Hence it was that Saint Patrick came into\nthe world as a future citizen of Rome and the son of a wealthy and\nrespected Roman colonist. His father was named Calpornius and was a\ndeacon of the Christian church in the town where he lived, and the\nmother of the future saint was also a devout Christian, the niece of\nthe renowned Bishop Martin of the city of Tours in France.\n\nCalpornius and his wife were so ardent in religion that they spent day\nand night in teaching their son the story of the gospel and the psalms.\nThey desired first of all that he should be a good Christian and a\nbearer of the faith--but they wearied the growing boy with long hours\nof study and monotonous recitals of religious hymns and proverbs when\nhe was eager to be ranging the hills or playing with his fellows. At\nthat time he had no particular desire to be a priest, and, like most\nboys, was far more interested in the stories of heroes than the stories\nof saints, preferring to hear of the wild Scottish chiefs and the Roman\nGenerals with whom they had engaged in bitter warfare.\n\nHe thirsted for adventure, and adventure was to come to him. Those were\nwild days, and law only reached as far as it could be upheld by the\nsword and the arrow. Pirates harried the seas and from the north the\ngalleys of the sea robbers were soon to range southward in search of\nlands where plunder was to be found and men and women to be carried\ninto slavery.\n\nOne night, when a gale was blowing from the northeast, St. Patrick, we\nare told, sat with some friends in the glowing light of a great peat\nfire, where they warmed themselves at the same time that they told\nstories of adventure and sang Scottish songs as wild and melancholy as\nthe wind that was scouring the hills. Saint Patrick was now a lad of\nsixteen, with well knit limbs and a powerful body that made him appear\nolder than he really was, and at the same time gave promise of greater\nstrength to come. He listened keenly to the singing, but at the same\ntime gave ear to sounds that he heard without the hut, for the rough\nvoices of men speaking an unknown tongue seemed to be mingling with the\nnoise of the storm. At last he sprang up with a shout of warning, a\nshout that was answered by a battle cry from without. A pirate galley\nhad made its way to the shore and the crew were engaged on a raid to\ncapture slaves. Some of Saint Patrick's companions were clubbed or cut\ndown where they sat, but he was thrown and strongly bound, dragged\nroughly to the shore and tossed on board the robber craft that quickly\nmade its way to sea in spite of the tremendous surf that broke over the\nbacks of the oarsmen.\n\nFor several days they fought the sea and at last came to the coast of\nnorthern Ireland, where Saint Patrick was sold as a slave to an Irish\nchief named Miliuc. It is probable that the pirates gained a rich\nreward for the clean-limbed boy, whose strength and ability were\nevident to all who saw him. When the bargain was finished they boarded\ntheir vessel and sailed away, leaving the luckless boy in the hands of\nhis new master.\n\nAnd straightway there commenced for Saint Patrick a bitterly hard life,\nfor little kindness was wasted on those who were sold into bondage, and\nslaves were compelled to labor terribly with aching muscles and empty\nbellies, beaten and cuffed at the whim of their master--who had a\nperfect right to slay them if he so desired Hunger, blows and fatigue\nwere Saint Patrick's portion and were added to the homesickness of a\nyoung man torn from affectionate parents.\n\nAnd then Saint Patrick found consolation in the religious teachings\nthat had been drummed into his unwilling ears, and in the midst of his\nsuffering he turned to his faith for comfort. He remembered the psalms\nthat had been taught by his father and mother and said them repeatedly,\nand he even forbore at times to eat his meagre rations, thinking that\nby fasting he might prove worthy in the eyes of the Lord.\n\nAnd one night he had a dream in which he heard a voice, which said to\nhim: \"Fast no more, but fly, for a vessel now awaits you to carry you\naway from your bondage. Truly you shall behold your parents again and\nonce more be free and happy.\"\n\nSaint Patrick woke in amazement after this dream, but he was so certain\nthat the voice which spoke to him was real that he did not hesitate to\nobey it. Watching his opportunity he slipped away from the chief who\nhad held him for six years in bitter servitude, and walking and running\nby turns he made his way southward in search of the vessel that he knew\nmust be awaiting him.\n\nHe did not concern himself about the path, for he felt that Heaven\nwould guide him; and indeed after he had marched for two hundred miles,\nhe came to the coast, and just as he had dreamed a vessel lay at anchor\nnear the shore and some of the sailors were standing on the beach.\n\nSaint Patrick ran up to them and implored the captain to carry him away\nfrom Ireland back to his own country. His wild appearance startled the\nmaster of the vessel, but after considerable doubt the captain\nconsented, and Saint Patrick boarded the ship where he was to work his\npassage across the channel.\n\nThey set sail at once and bent their backs to the oars, for in those\ndays ships were moved over the water by rowers as well as by sails; and\nafter three days they came not to Scotland, but the shore of France,\nlanding in a wild and desolate region where no human habitation was to\nbe seen. Their provision had run low and they were in danger of dying\nof hunger, when the captain, who had closely watched Saint Patrick\nduring the voyage and observed his piety, asked him to pray to the\nChristian god to bring them food, for the captain himself was not a\nChristian and believed that his own prayers would be worthless on this\naccount. And Saint Patrick knelt and prayed, and before he had risen to\nhis feet again a wild boar ran from the thicket and then another and\nstill a third, all of which were promptly slain and the meat roasted on\nsticks.\n\nThen Saint Patrick bade farewell to his shipmates, and made his way to\nthe city of Tours, where to his joy he met Bishop Martin, who was his\nown great uncle. And he stayed at the home of the Bishop for four\nyears.\n\nAfter this time he tried again to reach Scotland, to which he was drawn\nevery hour by ties of blood and affection; and at last he embarked on a\nvessel bound to a port very near his own native town. He found his\nfather and mother still living and they rejoiced mightily to see him,\nfor to them he was as one who had returned from the dead. In place of\nthe boy they had lost there appeared a tall and finely built man with a\nface hardened by toil but made noble by thought and suffering. And they\nhad a feast to celebrate his return and wept for joy because they had\ntheir son again.\n\nBut the dreams that Saint Patrick had experienced in Ireland once more\ncame to him, and in his sleep he heard the Heavenly voice telling him\nthat he had been rescued from slavery for no mean or ordinary purpose,\nbut must go again into Ireland as a priest, and teach the Christian\nreligion to the savage Irish clans. So Saint Patrick knew that he must\nreturn to Ireland, and, bidding his parents farewell, he departed to\nbecome a priest in preparation for the labor that lay before him.\n\nHe studied to such purpose that he became a Bishop, celebrated for his\nlearning and famous among the clergymen; and when this was accomplished\nhe set sail once more for Ireland with a retinue of priests and\nclergymen accompanying him. But although he was going to a savage land\nwhere he had already experienced much bitterness and sorrow, he went\nunarmed, and among his entire company there was not so much as a single\nsword or lance.\n\nHe came to a place called Strangford Lough and there landed with his\nband of missionaries. The Irish fled at his approach, for they feared\nthat the tall man who bore the cross was the leader of an invading\narmy, and also that he possessed the arts of magic by which he would do\ninjury to them.\n\nMany of the Irish believed in the religion of the Druids--a strange\nfaith that brought in the magic arts and endeavored to teach above all\nother things that a man's soul when he dies enters another human body.\nThis belief was widely established throughout the world, and it is true\nthat many persons beside the Druids believed in it; but the Druids had\nother beliefs that were cruel and dangerous. They were said to perform\nhuman sacrifices and their priests to practise black magic. These\npriests wore about their necks the \"serpent's egg,\" a ball formed of\nthe spittle of many poisonous snakes; they knew many strange things\nabout animals and plants and held the oak tree to be sacred. For this\nreason they worshipped in oaken groves, and considered the mistletoe\nthat grew around oak trees to have divine powers. It was cut by\nwhite-robed priests with golden knives in an impressive ceremony.\n\nIt can readily be seen that such people, who believed in such a faith,\nwould not easily become Christians. Their priests were clever and knew\nhow to place the stamp of fear and wonder on their minds. And--in\ncompany with all other people in those days--the Irish distrusted\noutsiders and were far more ready to believe them coming in treachery\nthan in friendship.\n\nWhen Saint Patrick and his followers set foot in Ireland it was the\ntime of a great religious festival in which no lights were allowed to\nbe lit or fires to be kindled for several days. Saint Patrick knew\nthis, for he was well versed in the religious customs of the Irish, and\nhe knew, too, that the penalty for disobeying the priestly order was a\nterrible death.\n\nNone the less, and in spite of being unarmed, he ordered his followers\nto build an enormous fire that could be seen for miles. When the great\nlogs and the faggots were piled together Saint Patrick kindled the pile\nwith his own hands and the flames shot high in the air, throwing\nstrange shadows on the trees and causing the Irish to cry out in fear\nand astonishment. The Druid priests were greatly angered and perturbed\nat what Saint Patrick had done, and they went at once to the King, who\nwas named Laoghaire MacNeill, telling him that the foreign band had\ndesecrated the Druid faith and must be punished with death. Then the\nKing told the priests to go and fetch Saint Patrick and bring him to\njudgment, but the priests feared the fire that had been kindled,\nthinking that it had magic powers. So they went as far as they dared\nand called out to Saint Patrick, summoning him to appear before the\njudges of the land.\n\nPromptly and with fearless demeanor, Saint Patrick joined the priests\nand was taken before the King. And when the King demanded of him how he\nhad dared to disobey the laws of the country and profane its religion,\nSaint Patrick answered that he did so because the light of the\nChristian faith was infinitely brighter than the light of any fire that\nhe or any one else had power to kindle; and that the fire he had built\nwas merely a sign to call the Irish to the worship of the true God.\nThen he preached, and his words were so wise and spoken with such\nweight of eloquence that many that heard him became Christians on the\nspot, and the work of converting Ireland was soon well under way.\n\nThere were many of the Irish that loved Saint Patrick, but he had many\nbitter enemies. On one occasion a powerful Irishman, who was enraged at\nthe Saint for having taken a stone sacred to the Druids for a Christian\naltar, vowed that he must die. So he lay in wait in a patch of woods\nnear a road over which he knew Saint Patrick would pass, with a sharp\njavelin to pierce his heart.\n\nSaint Patrick had an Irish boy for his servant and this boy knew of the\nthreat and the place and was greatly afraid for the life of his beloved\nmaster. But he knew, too, that it would be useless to ask Saint Patrick\nto go by another road, for fear was unknown to him. So the boy\npretended to be weary and asked Saint Patrick to take the reins of the\nhorse that they were driving; and the brave lad seated himself in his\nmaster's place. They came to the wood; there was a sudden stirring of\nthe bushes and the hiss of a javelin which imbedded itself in the boy's\nheart, killing him instantly. The assassin had taken his master for the\nordinary driver and Saint Patrick's life was saved.\n\nArdently the Saint set to work to bring about the conversion of the\nIrish, and he did his work so well that when he became an old man there\nwere no heathen left in Ireland, and his name was loved and venerated\nfrom one end of the island to the other. And the legends grew up so\nquickly about him that it is hard to separate the true from the false.\n\nHe had written a famous hymn which was called \"the breastplate,\" being\nas he said the best and strongest armor he or any other Christian could\nbear, since it was a confession of his faith in the Christian religion.\nOn many occasions, when men sought his life, it is said he chanted this\nhymn and they let him pass.\n\nSaint Patrick is said to have driven all the snakes out of Ireland into\nthe sea--and it is notable that there are no snakes there to-day. And\nthe other marvelous things he is believed to have accomplished are\nmanifold. He died at a ripe old age and from the day of his death to\nthe present one no man has been more revered in the land where he\nlabored,--for the name of Saint Patrick is in every Irish heart and\nSaint Patrick's Day is celebrated by Irishmen in every part of the\nworld.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV\n\nKING ARTHUR OF BRITAIN\n\n\nMore than fourteen centuries ago there lived in the Island of Britain a\nvery wise king named Uther Pendragon. And at his court there dwelt an\nenchanter of great art whose name was Merlin. Now Merlin, among his\nother arts, had the power of seeing into the future, and what he could\nnot prevent he could often foretell; and looking forward with this art\nof his, Merlin saw that after the death of King Uther there would be\nwar and confusion in Britain; and the only one who could save the land\nwould be the King's son, Arthur. But Merlin knew that the King would\nnot live very long, and that Arthur was too weak to govern as a\nchild--nay more, that unless Arthur were concealed he would be murdered\nby the noblemen that sought to obtain the kingdom. So he told this to\nKing Uther, and they agreed to hide the child and have him reared in\nsecret. And for this purpose they gave him to a nobleman named Sir\nHector de Bonmaison, who was possessed of a good heart, telling him\nthat the child, though of noble blood, was no better than a waif whose\nparents were both dead.\n\nEverything that Merlin foresaw then came to pass. King Uther Pendragon\ndied, and war and confusion seized Britain. For eighteen years there\nwas no peace or safety in the land, and at the end of this time the\npeople were weary of bloodshed and sought a King who should govern them\nwith a strong hand.\n\nMerlin was known to be the wisest man in the entire land, if not in all\nthe world, and the Archbishop of Canterbury came to him and sought\nadvice concerning a worthy King for Britain. And Merlin, thinking of\nArthur, prepared by enchantment a test whereby the rightful King of\nBritain should be known. In front of the cathedral there appeared a\ngreat block of marble with an anvil upon it, and into the anvil was\nthrust a great, bright sword that shone full as brilliantly as the\nstars themselves; and on the handle of the sword was a legend saying\nthat whosoever could draw the sword from the anvil was the rightful\nKing of Britain.\n\nA mighty tournament was then proclaimed, and after the tournament all\nthe nobles were to attempt to draw out the sword from the anvil. All\nthe great men in the land were to be present and the one who drew the\nsword was to be proclaimed as King.\n\nSir Hector de Bonmaison went to the tournament, and with him went his\nrightful son, Sir Kay, and the boy, Arthur. Sir Kay was a powerful\nknight famous in war and he intended to win the tournament for the\ncredit of his house. And it seemed as if he would indeed succeed, for\nwith his sword he struck down all that were opposed to him--until the\nsword snapped and left him without a weapon.\n\nThen Sir Kay called Arthur to his side and bade the boy get him another\nsword, and quickly. And Arthur, who knew nothing about the sword in\nfront of the cathedral, except that he had seen it there, ran to that\nspot and sprang upon the marble block--and when he pulled upon the haft\nof the sword it came forth from the iron block into his hand as easily\nas though it had been thrust into a pat of butter, and with it he ran\nto Sir Kay.\n\nBut Sir Kay when he saw it looked strangely upon Arthur and bade the\nlad say straightway where he had obtained it; and when Sir Kay heard\nhow Arthur had pulled it from the anvil he fought no more, for an evil\nscheme had come into his mind,--and going to his father, he said that\nhe himself had drawn the sword from the anvil and so must be the\nrightful King of Britain.\n\nMarveling greatly, Sir Hector with Arthur and Sir Kay went to the\ncathedral and Sir Kay tried to thrust the sword back into the metal,\nbut could not do it. Then Arthur took the sword and thrust it in as\neasily as though the iron were soft earth, and for all his efforts Sir\nKay could not draw it forth again. But Arthur drew it forth and thrust\nit back--and then did so once more--and at this Sir Hector knew that\nthe child whom he had reared was no other than the son of King Uther\nPendragon, and kneeling at Arthur's feet, both he and Sir Kay offered\nhim their homage.\n\nAnd then all the nobles and the kings and the great men in the land\ngathered about the cathedral and tried one after one to draw the sword.\nAnd none could stir it. But Arthur drew the sword so easily that he\nneeded but to lay one hand upon the hilt to have it come into his\ngrasp--and after much amazement and doubt and further trials the people\nof Britain proclaimed Arthur as their King.\n\nIt was soon seen that this lad who had been reared in obscurity and was\nhitherto unknown, was to be a greater King than even his father had\nbeen before him. For Arthur quelled the wars that had been ravaging the\ncountry and brought justice and peace to all the land; and those that\nrose against him he punished with a hand of iron. But all the people\nloved the young King, who was knightly and chivalrous, and the fame of\nhis deeds rang through his dominions. For in all Britain there was no\nknight better than he with sword and lance,--no surer horseman or\nbolder warrior than the King himself. And for a time he conducted\nhimself according to the fashion of noble knights and rode abroad\ncombatting evil and conquering all those who sought to oppose him.\n\nEverywhere that Arthur went the enchanter Merlin watched over him, and\non more than one occasion Merlin saved his life. And the wise old man\nwith his enchanter's art looked into the future and saw where Arthur\nwould gain the strength and power that has made his name live down to\nthe present day,--aye, and that will make it shine long after those who\nread this book are laid away in their own tombs and forgotten!\n\nMerlin knew that in a certain lake that lay in a land of enchantment in\nArthur's dominions, there was a marvelous sword called \"Excalibur,\"\npossessed of such great power that all those who fought against it must\nfall,--while in the scabbard of the sword there rested the healing\nvirtue that nobody who wore it could ever be wounded or lose any blood\nin battle.\n\nMany knights had tried to gain this sword, but a terrible fate had\nbefallen them without exception,--for nobody could claim it who was not\ntrue at heart, and who knew not the meaning of the word fear. The sword\nitself was held in a mighty arm that uplifted itself from the center of\nthe lake, and this arm was clothed in the purest white, marvelous to\nlook upon.\n\nMerlin took Arthur to the edge of the lake, and the King beheld the\ngreat arm holding the sword above the water; and when he saw it he was\npossessed of the desire to have it for his own, for the blade gleamed\nlike the sunlight, the handle was bright with the purest gold and\njewels, and there seemed to be a greater strength and a luster in it\nthan the work of mortal hands could bring about.\n\nWhile the King with Merlin stood at the edge of the lake and wondered\nhow it would be possible to obtain the sword, all of a sudden a barge\nappeared in the shape of a beautiful white swan. In it stood a radiant\nlady, clad all in green with white pearls in her hair and pearls like\ndrops of weeping mist all over her garments--which themselves appeared\nlike woven and intermingled rushes. The boat made its way through the\nwater without motive power, until it grated gently on the sands where\nArthur and Merlin were standing. And the lady spoke to Arthur and told\nhim that she was no other than the Lady of the Lake and that the sword,\nExcalibur, should be his own. And Arthur stepped into the boat, which\npromptly left the shore and glided straight as an arrow to the place\nwhere the sword appeared.\n\nAlthough the King had never felt fear in his life, he felt a wonder\napproaching to fear at the mystic, white hand that grasped the handle\nof Excalibur so firmly; but leaning from the boat he took the sword,\nand the hand at once disappeared in the waters of the lake. And due to\nMerlin's gifts of magic, Arthur himself was able to look into the\nfuture at that time and see one thing--namely, that when his reign was\nover and he himself sore wounded and near to death, he must return\nExcalibur to the hand that gave it to him, casting it back into the\nlake before he died.\n\nWith Excalibur at his side, Arthur was invincible in war and he struck\ndown all that opposed him--but he was so chivalrous that he never used\nthe sword except against the wicked, and from that time on forbore to\ndo any battle in the way of sport, but fought only against his enemies.\n\n[Illustration: KING ARTHUR GRASPED THE MAGIC SWORD THAT NONE BUT THE\nBRAVEST MIGHT HOLD]\n\nKing Arthur had beheld a lady named Guinevere at Cameliard, and was\nsmitten with love for her and desired to make her his bride. But first\nof all he wished to be near her, and he asked Merlin to furnish him\nwith some disguise by which he could accomplish this without her\nknowledge.\n\nMerlin agreed and gave Arthur a cap on which he had cast a spell. For\nwhen Arthur put it on he appeared to be no longer a king, but a simple\ngardener's boy. On pain of discovery, however, he must always wear the\ncap, for when he took it off he showed himself once more as Arthur the\nKing.\n\nSo Arthur went to Cameliard disguised as a gardener's boy, and he\nsought work in the castle grounds where he might often behold the Lady\nGuinevere. And for some days he worked in the gardens while she walked\nthere and looked upon her to his heart's content--and every time he saw\nher she seemed to be more beautiful than before.\n\nOne morning, however, while he was bathing at the fountain with his cap\nlaid aside, the Lady Guinevere looked out of the window and saw him.\nShe did not know he was the King, she only knew that a very handsome\nknight was bathing at her fountain,--but in a trice the King put on his\ncap again and became the gardener's boy, who said that none had been\nthere save himself.\n\nAt last, however, Arthur was discovered by Guinevere, although even\nthen she knew not that he was the King; and after this had happened he\nwent forth on a quest in her behalf and overcame four knights whom he\nsent to her as his captives, with orders to serve her and do what she\ndesired.\n\nThese knights were well known to Arthur and were his friends; but like\nGuinevere they had not known him, because he kept down the visor of his\nhelmet when he did battle with them. And they returned and told\nGuinevere that they were conquered by an unknown knight who had ordered\nthem to come to her and do her bidding.\n\nGuinevere was guarded in the castle of Cameliard by a knight named Sir\nMordaunt of North Umber who was greatly desirous of wedding her. And at\nlast he kept her a close prisoner and with six companions mounted guard\nbefore the castle proclaiming that unless some champions came forward\nin her behalf he would marry her against her will.\n\nAt this Guinevere was greatly distressed, for she had grown to love the\nunknown knight that she had seen in the garden, and she asked the four\nthat were in her charge to go forth and do battle with the knights that\nguarded her. But they would not, although they were bound to do her\nword, because they were angered that she should demand this of them\nwhen she knew that they were only four against seven. When Arthur\nreturned, however, he placed himself at their head and they charged the\nseven knights so fiercely that three were slain in their onslaught and\nthe others fled. And shortly after this Guinevere was brought to Arthur\nfor marriage, and he disclosed his state as King, and their nuptials\nwere celebrated with gorgeous pomp and ceremony.\n\nMerlin told Arthur to ask from Guinevere's father, whose name was\nLeodegrance and who was himself a king, a marvelous round table that he\npossessed. This table had magic powers, said Merlin, and Arthur would\nadd greatly to the strength of his kingdom by possessing it. The table\nhad many marvelous properties,--and the chairs that went with it were\nequally marvelous. The names of those who should sit in them appeared\nin letters of gold when such knights approached, and disappeared again\nwhen they rose to depart. There was also a seat richer than the rest\nfor the King himself--and another chair, wonderfully carven and wrought\nwith gems, that was called the \"Seat Perilous,\" where even Arthur might\nnot sit--for that chair was reserved for the knight who should look\nupon the \"Holy Grail,\" a vessel containing the blood of Christ that had\nbeen taken to Heaven on his death. It could only be beheld by the\npurest knight that went in quest of it, which Arthur could not do,\nbecause he must rule his kingdom.\n\nThen Arthur gathered all the best knights in the realm about him and\nthey were called \"the Knights of the Round Table\" and they bound\nthemselves by vows to noble deeds and gallant conduct, to redress\nwrongs, to think no evil or allow it to appear in any guise at the\nRound Table. And through the deeds of his knights of the Round Table\nArthur's name became even greater in his kingdom than it had ever been\nbefore.\n\nBut little by little doubt and suspicion began to appear among Arthur's\nknights, and these were fostered by the evil plots of Arthur's nephew,\nModred. Above all, Modred hated a knight named Sir Lancelot, who, with\nthe exception of the King, was the bravest knight in Britain. Sir\nLancelot was loved by Queen Guinevere, and loved her in return. And\nthrough Modred's schemes it befell that fighting commenced between\nLancelot and other knights of the Round Table, in which many were\nslain. And then the whole kingdom of Britain was torn apart and\nArthur's former glory was lost; and at last the unhappy King even found\nhimself at war with his former friend, Sir Lancelot himself, who had\nstolen the love of the Queen.\n\nAfter bitter fighting Sir Lancelot went back to his own country of\nBrittany, taking Queen Guinevere with him, beyond the sea, and Arthur\npursued him there. And while Arthur was laying siege to Sir Lancelot's\ncastle, the false knight Modred rose against Arthur in his own country,\nhatching a rebellion against the King, so Arthur had to give up the\nsiege of Lancelot's castle and return to Britain to fight against the\ntraitors that had risen from the ranks of his own subjects.\n\nThis was the last war that Arthur ever engaged in. Merlin had foretold\nthat when the seats at the Round Table had all been filled, Arthur's\nkingdom must gradually decline. The seats had been filled long since,\nand the decline had come about through the distrust and the evil deeds\nof Arthur's own knights. And now he must fight a number of them both in\nthe ranks of Lancelot and under the banner of Modred.\n\nIn a battle with Modred's forces King Arthur's army fought so fiercely\nthat when dusk fell almost all the men on both sides who had engaged in\nthat fight were slain, and none were left but the leaders of the\nopposing forces. And Arthur engaged in personal combat with Modred just\nas the sun was going down. Now Arthur had long since lost the scabbard\nof his sword, Excalibur, so it was possible to wound or slay him in\nbattle, although he that stood up against the stroke of that sword must\nalso be slain. And this very thing came to pass in Arthur's battle with\nModred. For as Arthur ran him through, Modred struck him so terrible a\nblow on the head that his helmet was cut in two and the sword sank deep\nin his skull.\n\nGrievously wounded, Arthur was carried from the field by one of his few\nremaining knights, named Sir Bedivere; and Arthur, seeing that he must\ndie, gave to Sir Bedivere the sword, Excalibur, telling him to throw it\nin the lake.\n\nWhen Sir Bedivere approached the shore of the mysterious lake, which\nlay not far from the spot where Arthur had been wounded, his heart\nmisgave him at throwing away so beautiful and magical a sword.\nTherefore he hid the sword in the rushes and returned to the dying\nKing, telling him that he had done as was commanded. But Arthur did not\nbelieve him, and asked him what he had seen when Excalibur sank beneath\nthe waves. And Bedivere told him that he had seen nothing except the\nrippling of the water under the wind and the rustle of the reeds at the\nmargin of the lake. And Arthur told Sir Bedivere to return and do as he\nhad been commanded, for the King knew well that he had been deceived.\n\nOnce again Sir Bedivere returned to the lake and once again he came\nback to Arthur with a lying tale that he had obeyed the King's\ncommands. Then Arthur in high anger commanded him to deceive a dying\nman no longer and Sir Bedivere at last went back and threw Excalibur\ninto the lake.\n\nAs Excalibur hurtled through the air and approached the water a great\nhand arose from the depths and caught it by the hilt, waved it thrice\nin the air and vanished beneath the waves, and Sir Bedivere returned to\nArthur and told him what he had seen.\n\nThen Arthur knew that Sir Bedivere had indeed spoken the truth, and the\ndying King put one more command upon him--namely to bear him to the\nshore of the lake where he had thrown Excalibur.\n\nAs they approached the shore a barge was seen cleaving the water\nwithout visible motive power, and on the barge which was draped all in\nblack were four damsels who wept bitterly. When the prow of the barge\nreached the shore, Arthur commanded Sir Bedivere to lay him on it--and\nat once it moved out into the mists of the lake with the black robed\nfigures bending over the King. And Arthur called out to Sir Bedivere in\nfarewell, telling him that he was going to Avalon either to die or to\nbe healed of his grievous wound, and he asked Sir Bedivere to pray for\nhis immortal soul.\n\nFrom that day Arthur was not seen again, although many believed that he\nwould come back and rescue his countrymen when dangers beset them; and\nto-day the legends of Arthur leave it doubtful if he will return or\nnot. But the great King as well as the realm that he ruled over have\nbeen lost forever in the mists of time. And the story of Arthur is\nended.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V\n\nMOHAMMED\n\n\nThe Arabs are a dark skinned people that live near or on the great\ndeserts of Arabia, one of the hottest and most desolate regions of the\nworld. They have lived there for thousands of years in roving tribes\nand many of their traits and manners have come from their association\nwith the desert, and the hardships that they have been obliged to\nundergo in making their journeys upon its fiery sands.\n\nThousands of years ago the Arabs had a religion that was not entirely\ndifferent from that of the Jews. As the years passed, however, they\nbegan to turn away from the old beliefs and to worship stone idols.\nThese idols were set up in their principal cities and villages, notably\nin the city of Mecca, where there also remained a temple, built in the\ntime of the older religion, that the Arabs still held to be sacred.\n\nAs the Arabian tribes were very different from each other in many ways,\nit was only natural that their religion should grow different also.\nSome men worshipped the fire and some worshipped the stars. Some became\nJews or Christians. For the most part, however, they worshipped stone\nimages and many wise men preached and labored among them in vain to\nbring back the old religion of their fathers.\n\nSuch was the state of affairs when a child was born in the city of\nMecca who was destined to become one of the greatest prophets of the\nworld, and draw all the Arabs into a single religion that would spread\nas far as Spain and India. This child was named Mohammed, and he was\nborn five hundred and seventy years after the death of Christ. His\nfather, Abdallah, died soon after he was born, and Mohammed's mother,\naccording to custom, gave the baby into the charge of a nurse who might\nrear him in the free, open air of the desert where Arabs believed that\nchildren became strong and vigorous.\n\nMohammed was strong in many ways, but had one great physical failing:\nhe was often seized with fits of a kind that nowadays would be ascribed\nto the disease called epilepsy. In those days, however, these fits were\nthought to be the work of devils who entered into and possessed the\nbody. When he was six years old his mother died and he was brought up\nby his grandfather, Abd al-Muttalib, a poor man, but one who was\ngreatly respected by everybody that knew him.\n\nAbd al-Muttalib put him to work. When he grew old enough, he watched\nthe flocks of the people of Mecca, and gained a meager livelihood by\ndoing this. He had no schooling, but once or twice had the opportunity\nto travel, when he went with his uncle to southern Arabia and to Syria,\nwhere he saw people different from those of Mecca and learned of many\ndifferent forms of religion.\n\nWhen Mohammed was twenty-five years old there befell a change in his\nfortunes. In this year he entered the service of a rich widow, whose\nname was Kadijah, and went with her to the great fairs and bazaars on\nwhich journeys, perhaps, he acted as her camel driver. Kadijah soon\nfell in love with the young man of bright, piercing eyes and thoughtful\ndemeanor, and one day she drew Mohammed aside and told him that she\nloved him, offering to become his wife and to give him her hand in\nmarriage. By marrying Kadijah Mohammed became rich. He managed his\nwife's affairs at Mecca with great success, and became greatly\nrespected there as a man of business. He and Kadijah had six children,\nfour girls and two boys, but both of the boys died in their infancy.\n\nBut Mohammed was soon marked as being different from other men. He\nspent a great deal of his time in religious contemplation and would go\noff by himself into the solitude of the mountains, to think and ponder\nwithout interruption.\n\nWhen he was forty years old he went one day to a mountain called Hira\nwhich was not far from Mecca. And here a trance came upon him and in\nthe night he believed that he saw the angel Gabriel. The angel was\nsurrounded by a flaming aureole and in his hand he held a scroll of\nfire from which he commanded Mohammed to read. Now Mohammed knew not\nhow to read or write, but to his amazement he found that the words on\nthe scroll were quite plain to him, and he read a wonderful message\nthat proclaimed the glory and the greatness of God, whom he called\nAllah.\n\nMohammed was frightened by what he had seen; he thought that perhaps\nthe form of the angel had been taken by some evil spirit to lead him on\nto his undoing. But at last he had another vision in which Gabriel came\nto him again and called upon him to arise and preach the word of Allah\nthroughout the land and bring back to the Arabs the faith of their\nfathers and the worship of a single god. And then for the first time\nMohammed believed his visions and thought himself God's Prophet, and he\ncalled the new faith that he was to teach the faith of _Islam_, which\nmeans righteousness.\n\nMohammed went back to Kadijah and told her what he had seen. He said he\nwas chosen by Allah to spread his faith over the land, and he himself\nwas a prophet greater than any other in the world. Kadijah was a true\nand faithful wife and loved Mohammed better than herself. She believed\nthat he spoke the truth, and looked upon him as some one who through\nGod's means had become more than a man.\n\nAt first Mohammed did not try to preach his new faith to the people of\nMecca, but contented himself with teaching the word of Allah to his\nnearest relatives. Most of them believed in him, but one of his uncles\ncalled him a fool and would have nothing to do with the new religion.\n\nAfter four years of teaching Mohammed had only converted to the new\nbelief forty people, who were mostly men of low degree or slaves. He\nthen thought that Allah called upon him to go forth publicly and preach\nhis new belief to the entire world. And soon afterward Mohammed could\nhave been seen in the market place preaching the word of Allah.\n\nThe faith that Mohammed taught was very much like the faith that we\nourselves believe in. That is, it was much more like the religion of\nChrist than the worship of idols or the belief of the Romans and Greeks\nin gods and goddesses, or the worship of fire or the stars. Mohammed\npreached that there was one God only, and that this God was greater\nthan all things. If you died and had led a righteous life you went to\nParadise; if you had been wicked you went to the lower regions to\nundergo eternal punishment. And there were a great many things in\nMohammed's religion that any one would do well to follow, for he\npreached that God was merciful and his people on earth must be merciful\nalso, that cleanliness was next to Godliness and that all his followers\nmust wash themselves before they prayed.\n\nIn many ways, however, the Mohammedan faith was not so pure as the\nChristian faith, for the Heaven that Mohammed believed in was a place\nof feasting and merriment, but little else, and Mohammed also believed\nthat it was right to teach his religion by the sword. In this, however,\nMohammed's followers became more zealous than he had ever thought of\nbeing, and we must remember also that Christians of those days did not\nhesitate to use the sword, themselves.\n\nTo spread the faith Mohammed set about preparing a great book which was\nto be the bible of those who believed in his religion. This book was\ncalled the Koran. Because Mohammed could not write and still produced\nthis marvelous book, which contained the word of Allah, he claimed that\nhe was divinely inspired. It is thought, however, that he was helped in\npreparing the Koran by one of his disciples who could read and write.\n\nWhen Mohammed prepared the Koran there was no paper, and writing\nmaterials were far removed from the Arabs who made little use of them.\nSo Mohammed was compelled, as we are told, to write the Koran on any\nmaterial that came to hand. He wrote it on pieces of stone and strips\nof leather, and on dried palm leaves,--and some of the verses were even\nwritten on the bleached shoulder blades of sheep. Anything that could\nhold a mark was used by him as writing material, and the verses were\nlater collected and made into a book by his disciples.\n\nWhen Mohammed commenced to preach before the people, the citizens of\nMecca looked on him as a madman. They did not molest him, however,\nbecause they held him to be a worthless dreamer who could do no harm to\nanybody. But as weeks went by, and the number of those who became\nconverted to his faith grew larger, the wise men who still believed in\nthe great stone idols named Hubal and Uzza began to grow afraid.\n\nThey were too cowardly to molest Mohammed, because he was a rich man\nand was protected by his uncle who had much influence among them,--but\nthey vented their spite on the humbler people who followed him and who\nwere unable to protect themselves. So it came to pass that the poor men\nwho were Mohammedans, particularly the slaves, were made to suffer\ndreadful tortures. They were scourged with whips and placed all day in\nthe burning sunshine without a drop of water for their thirst. At last,\nhowever, the people of Mecca became bold enough to go to Mohammed's\nuncle and tell him that Mohammed must cease preaching against their\nidols. Mohammed, however, indignantly refused, and went on preaching,\nand his uncle continued to protect him.\n\nAt last Mohammed's enemies became so afraid of the success he was\ngaining that they decided they must have his life at all costs, and a\nplot was hatched against him. He was saved by being warned of this and\nhidden away, but at last he and all his relatives who believed in his\nteachings, as most of them did, were driven from Mecca and were made\noutlaws.\n\nHis uncle's influence was so strong, however, that after Mohammed had\nlived in the mountains for three years, he and his relatives were\nallowed to return to Mecca. But a great misfortune fell upon him, for\nhis faithful wife Kadijah, whom he had loved deeply, and who was the\nfirst person to believe in him as a prophet, died, and left him\ninconsolable. His uncle also died, and Mohammed lost his protection.\n\nWithout the influence of his uncle Mecca again became too dangerous for\nMohammed to remain in. When he tried to preach he was pelted with\nstones and mud and mocked on every side. He was consoled, however, by a\ndream in which he thought that he was preaching to certain spirits\nwhose bodies were made of fire and who were known to the Meccans as\n_Djinns_. And these spirits listened attentively to what Mohammed said\nand did him reverence.\n\nBecause he had converted a number of men from the nearby town of\nYathrib, Mohammed decided that a better opportunity was given him to\nteach his faith there than in Mecca itself, and in the year 622 A.D.,\nhe and his followers fled to Yathrib and were made welcome. This flight\nwas called the \"Hegira,\" and the date of it is very important to the\nMohammedans, for their calendar dates from it, and for them is\npractically the beginning of time.\n\nIn Yathrib the faith of Mohammed spread quickly and he received\nattention and reverence wherever he went. And when he had a large\nfollowing he desired to put up a house of prayer, or a temple which he\ncalled a mosque. This was done, but the first Mohammedan mosque was a\nvery simple affair indeed and the roof was supported by trees that were\nnot removed from the earth where they had been growing.\n\nAnd then for the first time began to be heard the call that to-day\nrings through so large a part of Asia and Africa, when the muezin, or\ncrier, summons Mohammed's followers to prayer five times a day. They\nmust all face toward Mecca as they pray, for that is the sacred city;\nand Mohammed so considered it because of the mysterious temple or\nKaabah that was in it, and because, before the days of the idolaters,\nthis temple had been connected with the religion of Abraham. And every\nmorning since that time up to the present day, Mohammedans have been\nsummoned to prayer with the following words:\n\n\"God is great; there is no god but the Lord. Mohammed is the Apostle of\nGod. Come unto prayer! Come unto salvation! God is great. There is no\ngod but the Lord.\"\n\nAnother change was effected by Mohammed. Since Yathrib had been the\nfirst place to take him in and receive his religion, its name was\nchanged to Medinat al Nahib, the city of the prophet, to do the place\nhonor. And in Medinah, as it was later called, Mohammed spent the rest\nof his life.\n\nIt was not long before word came to Mecca that the man whom they had\ndriven out had become powerful and mighty in a city not far off and\nthat he was considered greater than a king among the disciples that\nfollowed him. Then the Meccans were again afraid, for they feared that\nsome day Mohammed would appear with an army before their walls and\nrevenge himself for the injuries that they had worked upon him. So,\nwhen a frightened messenger brought word to the Meccans that a number\nof Mohammed's followers were plundering the Meccan caravans, the people\nof Mecca raised an army to raze Medinah to the ground and put an end\nfor all time to the man that had so troubled their affairs.\n\nMohammed, however, had already designed to march against Mecca and had\nraised an army for that purpose. And he came upon the Meccan soldiers\nat a place called Badrh. There were a great many more Meccans than\nMohammedans, and should have won the day, for the odds against Mohammed\nand his followers were huge, but Mohammed had the advantage that every\none of his soldiers was glad to die for his leader and his army had the\nfierce, fanatical zeal which religion inspires in eastern people.\n\nIt was a wild fight, for the battle was fought in a furious storm of\nrain and wind that beat like whips upon the faces of the soldiers as\nthey dashed against each other. It was desperate, too, and lasted\nnearly all day--and it was one of the important battles of the world,\nalthough the numbers engaged in it were not large. At first the fray\nwent badly for the Mohammedans, for the enemy with their superior\nnumbers forced them back. Everywhere Mohammed himself might have been\nseen, encouraging his followers and urging them to greater efforts.\nThen, when it seemed as if his forces were breaking and that nothing\ncould be done to hold them together any longer, he stooped to the\nground and picking up a handful of gravel, hurled it against his foes.\n\n\"May confusion seize them,\" he cried loudly, and at that the\nMohammedans in the vicinity who had seen the act, rushed so furiously\nupon the Meccans that they recoiled. That was all that was needed. The\nentire Mohammedan army charged, shouting the names of Allah and\nMohammed, and the battle was won. Many horses and camels and much\nvaluable plunder were captured, and word was sent back to Medinah that\na great victory had been gained.\n\nThe Meccans swore vengeance and in due time another army was advancing\nagainst Mohammed. He was engaged in prayer when the word was brought to\nhim that the Meccans were coming and at once he summoned his followers\nand exhorted them to do their utmost and to die in defense of the\nfaith.\n\nWith his army at his heels Mohammed went forth from Medinah and pitched\nhis camp near Mount Uhud, only a bowshot away from his enemies. As soon\nas it was dawn both sides were drawn up ready for battle--and then the\nMeccans saw a sight that had never before taken place on any\nbattlefield--for at the call of the Muezin, which took place as though\nthe Mohammedans were at home, the entire army bowed down in prayer.\n\nAt first the fight went well for the Mohammedans, but when a group of\narchers left their post to engage in the pursuit of the defeated\nMeccans this gave some of the enemy's cavalry a chance to surround or\noutflank Mohammed's soldiers. The Meccans rallied and attacked him in\nfront and the rear at the same time, and the day was lost. However, the\nMeccans were too exhausted to pursue his men for a time and they\nbelieved that Mohammed himself had been slain, which was the first of\ntheir desires. So they returned to Mecca.\n\nFor about two years there was little fighting, and then the Meccans\nplanned an attack against Medinah, and advanced upon it with a large\narmy. And now Mohammed showed great military skill, for he conceived a\nplan that had never been known to the Arabians and that is still\nemployed in modern warfare,--namely that of fighting from the\nprotection of trenches. With the hostile army almost upon them the\nMohammedans worked furiously digging a deep ditch around the city, and\nso well did the ditch answer their purpose that the Meccans could\naccomplish nothing against them, but were obliged at last to turn tail\nand retreat to their own city.\n\nIn this siege there was a Jewish tribe in Medinah that had been\ntreacherous to the Mohammedans, deserting them in their hour of need,\nand going over to the enemy. This caused Mohammed great difficulty and\nmight easily have brought about his defeat. So, when the fight was\nover, he took a large number of soldiers and advanced against this\ntribe which had taken refuge in a stronghold in the mountains. When\nthey saw the numbers that were against them a great fear came upon them\nand they surrendered to the Prophet without a fight, throwing\nthemselves upon his mercy. They found, however, that from that mercy\nthey could expect nothing, for all the men were put to death, and the\nwomen and children were sold into slavery.\n\nWarfare between the Mohammedans and the Meccans continued in scattered\noutbursts until at last when both sides were weary of the struggle a\ntreaty was made, and the Mohammedans were to be allowed to make a three\nday pilgrimage to Mecca to worship at the Kaabah or holy temple which\nwas a part of Mohammed's religion.\n\nThis was considered by Mohammed as a great triumph for his cause.\nDetermined now to spread his faith to the uttermost ends of the earth,\nhe sent messengers to the rulers of all the civilized kingdoms that he\nknew. One went to Heraclius, Emperor of the Romans, who was in Syria at\nthe time; one to the Roman Governor of Egypt, one to the King of\nAbyssinia and one to each of the provinces of Gassan and Yamam that\nwere also under Roman control.\n\nThen a ten year peace was agreed upon between the Meccans and the\nMohammedans. This, however, was not kept long, for the Meccans killed\nsome of Mohammed's followers. In fear for what they had done, they sent\na deputation to request that he overlook what had taken place and allow\nthe peace to continue as before, but Mohammed would give them no\npromises, and told his followers that the death of those who were slain\nby the Meccans would be amply avenged. With great secrecy he prepared\nan army and went forth once more against the city with which he had\nbeen engaged in warfare for so many years.\n\nSo swift was Mohammed's advance and so secret had his plans been kept\nthat the Meccans knew nothing of his approach until they saw the\ncamp-fires of his mighty army shining about their walls. They had no\nway of resisting his force for they had been surprised, and even if\nthey could have prepared against him, their numbers were now far\ninferior to his own. And then came the greatest triumph of Mohammed's\nentire life, for the Meccans surrendered without conditions and\npromised to embrace the Mohammedan faith.\n\nWith ropes and axes Mohammed's followers tore the stone idols of Mecca\nfrom their pedestals and hewed them to pieces, while the Meccans\nsorrowfully beheld the destruction. And from that day to the present\nthere has resounded over the city of Mecca five times each day the cry\nof \"Allah Hu Akbar\"--God is great, and the rest of the ritual calling\nthe people to prayer.\n\nSoon after this one desert tribe after another came under Mohammed's\npower, and finally all of Arabia had acknowledged him as God's prophet.\nHe was planning to extend his religion still farther when a misfortune\nfell upon him that probably caused his death. With one of his followers\nhe had partaken of a dish that had been prepared for him by a Jewish\ngirl who hated him and all of his sect. The food was poisoned, and\nwhile Mohammed discovered it at once and ate but a single mouthful, the\npoison remained in his body.\n\nFeeling that he was about to die he summoned his followers and preached\nto them a last sermon in which he exhorted them to obey all the rules\nof his religion, to treat their slaves and animals kindly and to beware\nof the works of the devils that were leagued against them. Not a great\nwhile after this the Prophet fell ill of a fever, and at last died, to\nthe great grief of those disciples who had known and loved him.\nAlthough he had always given his wealth to the poor so that he lived as\nmeanly as the humblest of his followers--for this was one of the first\nthings that he preached,--he was worshipped as being divine and had\nmore than the homage of a mighty king. In the hands of his fanatical\nfollowers the scimitar became the symbol of the Mohammedan faith and\nhundreds of thousands were conquered and made to acknowledge its power.\nTo-day Mohammedanism is still one of the great religions of the world,\nand the name of the Prophet still sounds from thousands of mosques,\nwhen the muezin calls the people to prayer with the same words that\nwere used while Mohammed was living.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI\n\nALFRED THE GREAT\n\n\nMore than a thousand years ago England was composed of a number of\nsmall kingdoms, which were as separate and distinct as the nations of\nthe world are to-day. They were either making war upon each other, or\nlooking on at the wars of their neighbors; and it seemed impossible,\nand nobody ever dreamed at that time, that England and Scotland and\nWales would be united into one great state.\n\nAmong these people were the yellow-haired Saxons, who had entered\nEngland as invaders and driven the Celts to the westward. The Saxons\nbrought with them the ideas that they practised in the region north of\nGaul, whence they came. They refused to live in walled towns, and tore\ndown or abandoned the buildings left by the Romans, erecting their own\nmud huts outside the ramparts. Their homes were rude indeed, and they\nhad few comforts and luxuries. Glass was unknown to them, and the cold\nrain and wind swept through their dwellings. They had no books in their\nown tongue, and got all their learning from a few scholars and priests.\nBut in spite of all these drawbacks they were a brave and hardy people,\nlacking only a great leader to become a nation whose influence would be\nfelt throughout the world.\n\nFor a time, however, no such leader appeared; and it seemed as if they\nmust be swept away entirely by a new enemy that came upon them from the\nnorth--a people called respectively the Danes, the Northmen and the\nVikings, who lived on the shores of the creeks and fiords of what is\nnow Denmark and the Scandinavian peninsula--a wild and hardy race of\nsailors, who loved fighting and gained their livelihood by piracy,\nsweeping forth in their open boats upon unprotected shores and burning\nand plundering wherever they went.\n\nThe Northmen, who were great seamen, speedily found out that because\nthe British Isles were divided into numerous small nations, there would\nbe no concerted resistance when they came to plunder; and forthwith the\npeople in the English kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia beheld to their\ndismay a number of strange, piratical craft upon the shores. The prows\nof the boats were shaped like dragons' heads, and round shields ran\nalong the gunwales beside the rowers. From these boats came pouring out\na wild horde of gigantic and bloodthirsty men, heavily armed, ravens'\nwings attached to their helmets and long hair streaming over their\narmor. The Saxons quickly learned that it was well to flee when these\nmen appeared. Otherwise they would be mercilessly slain. Even the women\nand little children were not spared, for the Northmen used to make a\nsport of butchery. And when they fought with the English armies they\nwere nearly always victorious, for they were trained soldiers\naccustomed constantly to war, with better weapons and better armor than\nthe English.\n\nSuch was the state of affairs in England when Ethelwulf reigned over\nthe kingdom of Wessex. Ethelwulf was an easy going king who loved\nprayer better than fighting, but was forced again and again to defend\nhis kingdom from the Northmen. He had a wife named Osburgha, and five\nsons who were called Ethelstane, Ethelbald, Ethelbert, Ethelred and\nAlfred. The two oldest of these, Ethelstane and Ethelbald, aided their\nfather in defending the country, while the others were trained in\nhunting and warlike exercises with the same purpose in view,--but\nAlfred, when only five years old, was sent by King Ethelwulf upon a\npilgrimage to the holy city of Rome, to receive there the blessing of\nPope Leo the Fourth, who was head of the Christian Church and a ruler\nfar mightier than any other in the world.\n\nIt is not to be thought that so young a child was sent alone on such a\njourney which would require months to finish and on which many dangers\nwould have to be encountered. With Alfred were many soldiers and\nretainers, and also a famous churchman called Bishop Swithin who later\nbecame a saint. The object of this journey was to have the Pope's\nblessing brought back to England by Alfred, and to show the Pope by\nsending a Royal Prince so far for such a purpose what devout Christians\nthe people of Wessex were.\n\nEthelwulf himself had desired to go to Rome, but the danger from the\nDanes was too great and too near at hand. However, after some months he\nbelieved he could safely join Alfred, who, although so young, could\nnever forget the marvels that he beheld in the Holy City. Ethelwulf\nalso desired to seek a wife in France, for Alfred's mother, Osburgha,\nhad died since her son departed for Rome.\n\nIn due time Ethelwulf and Alfred came back from Rome to Wessex where\ngreat troubles awaited them. Ethelstane had died and, during\nEthelwulf's absence, Ethelbald had revolted and was trying to take the\nkingdom away from his own father by force of arms. A number of nobles\nhad joined Ethelbald because they believed that he was the better\nsoldier and would protect them more sturdily against the Northmen. The\npeople were also enraged against Ethelwulf, because, when crossing\nFrance, he had married a French Princess named Judith, who was only\nfourteen years old; and had caused her to be proclaimed Queen, which\nwas against the laws of the Saxons.\n\nTrue to his peaceful nature Ethelwulf refused to fight against\nEthelbald. He said that he would never draw sword against his own flesh\nand blood no matter what wrong had been done to him--moreover that it\nbehooved the English to draw their swords against their common enemy,\nthe Northmen, rather than to wrangle among themselves when the invader\nmight appear upon their shores at any moment. And Ethelwulf agreed to\ndivide his kingdom with his son, to whom he gave the more important and\nvaluable part, and spent the rest of his life in following the church\nand its doings--still a king in name to be sure, but with little of the\nkingly power remaining in his hands.\n\nThe baseness of his son in turning against him, however, broke the\nheart of the old king. And Ethelwulf soon died, leaving the small part\nof his kingdom which he had continued to rule to his son, Ethelbert.\nLike his father, this prince was of a peaceful disposition, and did\nlittle to stop the raids of the Northmen, never appearing himself\nagainst his enemies, but spending his time in prayer and divine\nworship. Nor was his disposition changed when the base Ethelbald died\nand the entire kingdom was reunited. The Danes once made a bold raid\nagainst the city of Winchester, burning a large part of it and escaping\nwith much plunder--but before they were able to return to their boats\nthey were cut off by a force of English men-at-arms and archers led by\nthe aldermen of Hampshire and Berkshire, and almost all of the invaders\nwere slain. Even in this grave conflict, King Ethelbert was not\npresent, and the victory of the English was not due to their King.\n\nAlfred, however, who was now eleven years old, gave signs that if ever\nhe gained the throne of Wessex his enemies would have good reason to\nfear him. Although a young boy he used to love to go on foot in the\ndark forest to hunt the fierce wild boars that lived there--a dangerous\nsport even for a grown man. He also gave every promise that some day he\nmight be a great ruler and bring the people of England to peace and\nsafety, for not only was he bold and proficient in arms and manly\nexercises, but a diligent scholar, who spent a great part of his time\nin acquiring wisdom. And of all his brothers Alfred loved Prince\nEthelred best, and when he grew older the two brothers fought side by\nside against the Danes.\n\nWhen Alfred was nineteen the Danes raided England again, but did not\nenter the kingdom of Wessex. And there was so weak a bond between the\nsmall English kingdoms that none of the untroubled states felt it their\npart to go and help their neighbors. After this the Danes invaded East\nAnglia and captured the king of that country, whose name was Edmund.\nThey offered to spare his life if he would give up Christianity and\nbelieve in their own gods whose names were Odin and Thor. He refused\nand they beheaded him. Later the head was found watched over by a wolf\nand all the people believed that it had been preserved by a miracle. So\nEdmund became a Saint, and many churches throughout England were built\nin his honor.\n\nThen the Danes raided Wessex and terrible trouble began. Ethelred was\nnow king, and Alfred was old enough to go to the wars and take command\nof an army. So he and his brother went forth against the Danes together\nat the head of every available fighting man who could be mustered to\nbear a spear. The Danes had rowed up the River Thames and captured the\ntown of Reading. Ethelred and Alfred attempted to recapture it from\nthem, but pouring out of the gates of the town they routed the English\nforces. They then marched along the banks of the Thames where they had\nan idea of settling and holding the land.\n\nThe King and Alfred worked desperately to collect their scattered\nsoldiers and lead them again to the combat. At last they gathered a\nsufficient number and moved against the Danes on Berkshire Downs.\n\nThey were advancing to the attack when the Danes poured down the\nhillside toward them. King Ethelred was at prayers and refused to fight\nuntil he had finished--but Alfred, seeing that the English would be\ndefeated if they did not attack at once, took command of the entire\narmy and charged fiercely against the Danes, himself in the foremost\nrank, a target for the arrows and spears of all his enemies. So fierce\nwas his onslaught and such was the enthusiasm of the soldiers whom he\nled that, although the Danes outnumbered the English, the pirates were\nput to flight with terrible slaughter. A Danish king and five earls\nwere killed in this fierce conflict, in memory of which the people of\nBerkshire cut into the white chalk of the downs the giant figure of a\nhorse--a figure that can be seen at the present day in honor of the\nvictory of more than a thousand years ago.\n\nThe Danes, however, though checked, were not sufficiently weakened by\nthis fight to give up thoughts of capturing Wessex, and soon were\nharrying and plundering again. In another battle with them King\nEthelred received his death blow, and upon his death, Alfred, who was\nstill a very young man, became king.\n\nIt was a sad entry into the powers of kingship. Practically all of\nEngland except Wessex was at the mercy of the Danes, who came so fast\nand in so many different directions, that when the King had started\nagainst one hostile band he would get word of others who had landed and\nperhaps were burning and plundering the very country he had just left.\n\nAlfred was as shrewd as he was brave, and he knew that if his people\ncould not have a respite from wars and a chance to organize themselves,\nthey must end by submitting wholly to the Northmen, so he offered the\nDanes a large sum of money to leave Wessex in peace for four years.\n\nThis was accepted by the sea-robbers. They believed that they could\nfind rich booty elsewhere and return to Wessex when they chose. And\nwith the English gold in their pouches they sailed from Alfred's\ndominions.\n\nNow the young King had not bought the Danes off because he was too\ncowardly to fight with them further--rather did he plan to strengthen\nhis nation for future fighting, and the Danes were highly foolish to\naccept his terms. No sooner were their sails out of sight than Alfred\ncommenced to build a navy so that he would be able to meet them equally\nwhen they next came against him, and he studied the Danish craft to\nserve as models for the English boats.\n\nThe galleys of the Northmen were pointed at both ends and could be\nrowed in either direction. There were generally from fifteen to thirty\nrowers on either side, and the boats also carried a number of extra\nsoldiers. They were provided also with square sails pitched about\namidships and were steered by a large paddle. These boats were\nexcellent in creeks and rivers, but owing to their low bulwarks were\nsomewhat unseaworthy, and it was necessary for the Danes to cross the\nsea and the English Channel in fair weather.\n\nFor four years the Danes left Alfred alone, but after the time agreed\nupon had expired they sent a powerful army into Wessex. Alfred at once\nmarched against them and came upon them in Wareham, where he was able\nto surround them in their camp and starve them until they cried for\npeace. He then made a treaty with them agreeing to allow them to pass\nunmolested back to their ships in return for which they were to trouble\nhis kingdom no more.\n\nThe Danes, however, like most barbarians, were extremely treacherous.\nThey pretended to fall in with Alfred's plans but in the night, when\nthe English had relaxed their vigilance, they stole past his army and\nfortified themselves in a strong position, preparing for a siege of\nmany months. At this all the English thanes and lords became\ndiscouraged. They came to King Alfred and told him that they could not\nfight any longer. It would be better, they declared, to submit to the\ninvaders rather than to undergo the ceaseless war and bloodshed that\ntortured their land. And Alfred, as he listened to them, knew that\nevery word of what they said was the truth.\n\nBut the stout-hearted king had no intention of submitting to the Danes.\nWhen his nobles were through speaking, Alfred cried: \"As long as there\nis a single man who can wield a sword, I will fight on. Nay, I will\nfight alone with none to help me, sooner than surrender my kingdom to\nthe barbarians.\"\n\nAt this a lad who was at the gathering drew his sword and shouted: \"And\nI will follow you, my King, wherever you lead me.\" And the nobles\nreturned to Alfred's side, and took heart to continue the unequal war.\n\nAt the head of his army Alfred pursued the Danes to Exeter and laid\nsiege to it. And now it was manifest that he had shown great wisdom in\nbuilding a fleet, for the English ships prevented reenforcements from\njoining the Danes, who finally were forced to surrender and were driven\nfrom the country. And many pirate ships were sunk by Alfred's vessels.\n\nIn the winter, however, the Danes came again in such numbers that the\nEnglish could not withstand them. The coast swarmed with the pirate\ngalleys and bands of marauders entered Wessex, plundering and burning\nin every direction. Alfred knew that for the time being further\nresistance against them was hopeless, and with his wife and only a\nhandful of faithful followers he fled into the marshes of Athelney\nwhere he remained in the strictest hiding. To all intents and purposes\nEngland had become a Danish country and even the English nobles did not\nknow what had become of their King.\n\nWhile in hiding Alfred had numerous strange adventures which are told\nin various old chronicles and legends. On one occasion, when caught in\na snowstorm, he sought shelter in the hut of a swineherd who knew him,\nbut who was so faithful to him that even his wife was not taken into\nthe secret. Alfred, who was poorly dressed, was given the task of\nwatching some loaves of bread which were baking at the hearth, but,\ntroubled with gloomy thoughts, did not give as strict an eye to them as\nhe should have done, but suffered them to burn. When the swineherd's\nwife came back and found the burning bread, she rated the king soundly\nfor his carelessness.\n\n\"Idle lout,\" she cried, \"thou couldst not keep an eye to the bread\nalthough thou wouldst be glad to fill thy belly with it. Play another\ntrick of the kind and I will thwack thee on the snout.\"\n\nThe king said nothing, but in better days when he had regained his\nkingdom, he is said to have presented the honest couple with a fine\nhouse and land as a reward for their hospitality, if not for their\npoliteness.\n\nWhile in hiding Alfred was constantly planning how it would be possible\nto vanquish the Danes, and another story tells how he disguised himself\nas a musician and boldly entered the Danish lines, to learn for himself\nhow great their numbers might be. Here he wandered from one camp-fire\nto another, harping and singing, all the while keeping his eyes and\nears open and escaping at last with information that would ensure his\nvictory when the cold weather departed.\n\nIn the spring the King came forth from his hiding-place and sent forth\nmessengers with a proclamation to the Saxons that they were to join him\nat a place he gave them word of, for once again they would fight to\nfree their country from the foreign yoke.\n\nThe place where he commanded them to meet him was by a rock in the\nmidst of a forest which was known as \"Egbert's Stone.\" Here the thanes\nassembled with their forces, and great was their rejoicing when they\nbeheld Alfred again, for they believed that he had been killed or had\nfled to France or Italy. With drawn swords they swore undying devotion\nand fealty to him and shouted for him to lead them as speedily as\npossible against the Danes.\n\nIn spite of their patriotism, Alfred's army was far smaller than that\nof the Danes, and he knew that to succeed he must surprise them. The\nDanes were at a place called Ethandune, and Alfred came upon them by\nnight marches and by passing so far as possible through little\nfrequented paths. When the sea-robbers finally saw the army of the\nSaxons they could hardly stir for amazement, for they had believed\nthemselves absolute masters of all England and were bringing their\nwomen and children from the north. But here were the Saxons and their\nKing, fully armed, their banners flaming in the sunlight.\n\nThe battle raged all day, and in it lay the fate of England. If the\nDanes won, the last chance of the Saxons under Alfred would have\ndeparted and the country must necessarily become like the other\ncountries of the far north. At nightfall, however, the pirates gave way\nand for protection fled into a fortress on Bratton Hill, where the\nSaxons surrounded them and besieged them. The Northmen at last ran out\nof food and were forced to surrender.\n\nThe result of this battle was a treaty between Alfred and the Danes.\nThe Danish king, Guthrum, desired to settle in England, where he had\nlived for many months; and he sent messengers to Alfred, offering to be\nbaptized as a Christian, promising never again to bear arms against the\npeople of Wessex. Alfred accepted the Danish proposal gladly, for his\npeople were weary to death of war and hardship, and needed peace to\ntill their lands. So Alfred, while he probably could have conquered all\nEngland, left the Danes in the part that had been most thoroughly\nconquered by them, calling it the Danelaw, and gave the Danes\npermission to live there unmolested, providing they promised to disturb\nhis kingdom no further. The pact held good, and although at times it\nwas broken, in general it was adhered to for many years. Saxons and\nDanes intermingled and married into the families of their enemies, and\nfrom them a new people gradually came into being.\n\nAs soon as peace was assured Alfred provided against future attacks on\nthe part of the Northmen by ordering all the forts and strongholds\nthroughout the kingdom of Wessex to be rebuilt and put into good order.\nHe knew that the Danes could not be trusted and feared that at any time\nnew galleys might be seen bearing down upon the English coast. So he\norganized his army into several parts and thought out a system by means\nof which soldiers might always be on guard duty to withstand an\ninvasion, while the rest of the people were peacefully tilling the\nsoil.\n\nHe also framed a code of laws. In the war and confusion into which his\ncountry had been thrown, the laws had fallen into a sorry state and\nwere frequently disobeyed. In his code Alfred did not introduce new\nlaws, which his people disliked, but rather arranged and put in order\nthe laws then existing, and his dominions soon became so orderly and so\nfree from robbers that it is doubtful if all our police could do better\nto-day. Also the King found that the law had been hindered and impeded\nby many corrupt and worthless judges, some of whom knew nothing\nwhatever about the duties of their office--and these he warned to study\nand acquaint themselves with what a judge must know or renounce their\npositions in law altogether.\n\nThen the Danes came again. They landed with a large army and tried to\ntake Rochester Castle. Alfred hastened to the relief of this fortress,\nwhich was a most important one, and drove them away, pressing them so\nhard that they scrambled on to their vessels and set sail for the open\nsea.\n\nHowever, the Danes did not go back to their native land, but landed in\nEssex, where they were joined by their countrymen in the Danelaw, who\nthus broke the word that they had pledged to Alfred. The new Danish\narmy was much larger than Alfred's and at first was victorious,--but\nthe entire navy of Wessex came to the rescue of the English and\nvanquished sixteen Danish ships in a tremendous sea fight. The war then\nraged with varying fortunes until Alfred signed another agreement with\nGuthrum, and laid siege to London which had been taken by the Danes.\n\nIn due time London fell. Its capture gave Alfred a tremendous advantage\nover his enemies. He had the city strongly fortified and it stood as a\nbarrier to Danish vessels that strove to work their way up the River\nThames. Moreover it became one of the world's great trading centers,\nand merchants from all quarters of the earth visited it.\n\nWhen the Danes were finally defeated, Alfred, according to his custom,\nlost no time in building up his kingdom. First of all he commenced to\nrebuild the monasteries and abbeys which had been destroyed by the\ninvaders. The first one that he founded was at Athelney in\nSomersetshire, in the midst of the marshes where he had fled for refuge\nwhen the Danes overran his country. He also founded a number of other\nmonasteries and abbeys, among them the abbey of Shaftesbury, making his\ndaughter, Ethelgeda, the abbess.\n\nAlfred loved books and learning, and had made his chief aim in life to\nacquire wisdom. He knew that if his people were to become really great\nthey must labor in the arts and letters and acquire knowledge from\nbooks. Practically all the books of that time were written in Latin\nwhich few could read, so Alfred set himself about the task of making\ntranslations of the best and most valuable books of his day. The\ntranslation was done either under his direct care, or by his own hand,\nand the boon to his people was greater than can be told. Alfred ordered\nthe famous Anglo-Saxon Chronicle to be written, which was designed by\nhim to treasure up for future the historical happenings of his own\ntime.\n\nTo make the most of his time, the King divided the day into three\nperiods of eight hours each. In the first of these he labored for the\nChurch; in the second for his kingdom, and the third was devoted to\nrest and recreation. But although he labored hard and gained much by\nperforming these good and wise deeds, Alfred had not yet heard the last\nof his old enemies the Danes, who were to trouble him almost to the end\nof his life. After the defeats they had suffered at his hands they had\nturned toward Europe and followed there their usual course, killing and\nplundering and bearing the women and children into slavery. At last,\nhowever, they were defeated in battle by the Emperor of Germany and\nthey turned once more to England, where they hoped the heroic king had\nrelaxed his vigilance. Under the great viking, Hastings, a large force\nof them landed in Kent, and prepared to ravage the country.\n\nAlfred sent his eldest son, named Edward, to keep close watch upon\ntheir movements, ordering him, however, not to engage them in battle\nuntil he himself should arrive with the bulk of the army. When he was\non the march and when the Danes knew that a large force was advancing\nagainst them, they tried once more their old trick of pretending\nfriendship in order to throw their enemies off their guard. Hastings\nsent to Alfred professions of friendship, and to show his apparent good\nfaith sent with the messengers his two sons, requesting that they be\nbaptized as Christians. Alfred received the two Danish princes with\ngreat joy. After they were baptized he welcomed them to a feast and\nsent them to their father with many costly presents.\n\nThe Danish plan succeeded, for by their professions of friendship the\nEnglish relaxed their watchfulness and gave their enemies an\nopportunity to plunder and ravage the country and maneuver themselves\ninto a position favorable to withstand either siege or battle. And\nPrince Edward sent word to his father that the Danes were doing these\nthings and that he was unable to withstand them. Then Alfred at the\nhead of his army joined his son and came up with the Danes at a place\ncalled Farnham in Surrey. There he met them in battle and the bravery\nof Prince Edward was largely responsible for the victory that followed.\nThe Danes were utterly routed and many of their galleys fell into the\nhands of the English, with many women and children. And among these\nprisoners were the wife of Hastings and his two sons, who had so\nrecently been baptized. And when Alfred learned who they were he sent\nthem back to Hastings in spite of his treachery, and, not content with\ndoing this, loaded them down with more presents for the Danish king.\n\nThe work of defeating the Danes was not yet finished, for they were in\nmany different strongholds which must all be captured before the\ncountry could be wholly rid of them. But after several campaigns Alfred\nsaw if he could obstruct the river Lea near London he would strand\ntheir ships and be able to attack them at his pleasure.\n\nThe King accomplished his ingenious design by digging a number of\nditches that soon drained the water from the river into another\nchannel. And when the Danes beheld that their ships would soon be\nuseless to them, they took to flight, pursued by Alfred's soldiers.\nHastings then sought to go back to the Danish women and children on the\nfew boats that were left to him, and finally sailed away for good and\nall with only a small part of the vast force with which he had\nattempted to conquer England. And Alfred saw how mistaken he had been\nto show any kindness to Hastings' force, and had some Danish prisoners\nhanged as a lesson to the freebooters.\n\nFor four years thereafter Alfred was able to lead a peaceful life and\ncontinue the good works that were to change history and make England a\nnation in other things than mere force of arms. All his life, however,\nthe King had suffered from a disease that afflicted him sorely, and it\nwas only his great spirit that had enabled him to continue so arduously\nin the wars and labors that had made him greater than all others. In\nthe year 901 or close to that time he died, and was succeeded by his\nson, Edward, who bravely defended his country against any further\nattacks by the Danes, becoming after his father, one of England's\ngreatest kings, known as Edward the Elder.\n\nOne thousand years after Alfred's death a great festival was held in\nhis honor in the city of Winchester which he had defended against the\nDanes and where he was buried. His statue stands there to-day, watching\nover and guarding the great nation that would not be in the world at\nall if his hand and heart had failed it.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII\n\nROBIN HOOD\n\n\nWhen the wicked John tried to sway England many honest men turned\noutlaws rather than obey or suffer his evil rule. For John and his\nnoblemen tortured and oppressed the poor, driving them from house and\nhearth to make a hunting ground, and taxing them so heavily that they\nfrequently starved to death. Forests were plentiful in England in those\ndays, but John often tore down houses of his subjects to make the\nforests even greater so that he might have more sport in hunting the\ndeer and the boar that ran wild there. And while he did not scruple to\ntake the peasants' lands for such a purpose, it was a terrible crime\nfor a peasant to shoot the deer that often fed upon his crops. Even\nwere he starving, he might not slay a deer in his own yard. And if he\nso transgressed he was punished with the most inhuman cruelty.\n\nNow, as has been said, many men were too high-spirited to suffer the\ninjustice that John laid upon them. They fled into the forests instead\nand formed armed bands, setting upon travelers and robbing them of\ntheir goods; and they lived by shooting the King's deer and whatever\ngame they could catch and kill.\n\nAmong these men was an outlaw called Robin Hood, whose fame was known\nthrough the length and breadth of England. Although many men at-arms\nhad pursued him, they never could catch him, and his daring surpassed\nbelief. He surrounded himself with the bravest and boldest young men in\nall England, and if he encountered any stout-hearted man among those\nwhom he robbed, or even among those that the Sheriff sent to pursue\nhim, that man was often added to his band of outlaws.\n\nRobin Hood became an outlaw through no fault of his own, but through\nthe common injustice of the day. When he was a very young man he was\njourneying to the town of Nottingham, where the Sheriff had prepared a\nbout in archery and had promised a butt of ale to whatever man should\ndraw the best bow and shoot the most skilful arrow.\n\nAs Robin Hood was passing through the forest on his way to Nottingham,\nhe met a group of the King's foresters, who were there to see that\nnobody transgressed the laws; and they made fun of his beardless face\nand boyish figure--still more of the bow he carried, since they knew he\nwas on his way to shoot at Nottingham and they did not believe that\nsuch a youth could ever hope to gain the prize.\n\nAfter bearing their jests for a time Robin became angry, and challenged\nany one of them to test his skill with the bow. They replied that he\ndid but boast, for they had no target. And then, looking down the\nglade, Robin espied a herd of the King's deer a great distance away and\nhe cried:\n\n\"Look you, now, if you think that I am no archer, I shall slay the\nnoblest of that herd at a single shot, and I'll wager twenty marks upon\nit into the bargain!\"\n\n\"Done!\" cried one of the foresters. Whereupon Robin laid an arrow to\nhis bow and shot so cleverly that the deer lay dead in its tracks.\n\nThe foresters were greatly angered that he had succeeded, and not only\nrefused to pay him, but when he set forth again one of them sprang to\nhis feet and sent an arrow after him. Whereupon Robin turned like a\nflash and made even a better shot than his first one--for the fellow\nwho had loosed his bow upon him lay dead on the greensward with an\narrow in his heart.\n\nThe King's foresters could not be slain with impunity in those days and\nRobin was made an outlaw--not only because he had slain his man, but\nbecause he had killed the King's deer; and in such a way it came to\npass that he gathered a band of followers about him in Sherwood Forest\nand his fame as an outlaw soon became known throughout the land.\n\nBut although Robin Hood was a robber, the common people soon learned to\nlove him, for no poor man was ever the poorer on account of his\noutlawry--rather were the countryfolk in the neighborhood of Sherwood\nForest better off than before, because he made it a point of honor to\nrob the rich only to bestow large gifts upon the poor--and many a\npresent of food and gold was brought by him to the starving serfs and\nhumble people in the neighborhood.\n\nNow the Sheriff of Nottingham was eager for the King's favor and the\ndeeds of Robin Hood were soon brought to his notice. He sought more\nthan once to capture the bold outlaw, but always failed, and he was so\nclumsy and so cowardly that Robin Hood became emboldened to defy him\nopenly, and enter the town of Nottingham under his very eyes. On one\noccasion an outlaw who had been taken by the Sheriff was rescued by\nRobin from a formidable array of men-at-arms just as the hangman was\nabout to string him up on the gallows.\n\nThere are so many tales about Robin Hood that it would be impossible to\ntell them all here, and one or two will have to suffice, to show what\nmanner of life he led and what sort of men his followers were. One of\nthese was called \"Little John,\" because he was seven feet tall and\nbroad to match, and in all England there could scarce be found his\nequal with the cudgel. Another was a great, brawny priest or friar, who\nloved his wine better than prayers, and believed a pasty made of the\nKing's deer was better for the heart than any amount of fasting. This\njovial priest was named Friar Tuck and took upon himself the task of\nlooking after the spiritual welfare of Robin's band--which he\naccomplished more by a free use of his cudgel on the heads of the\noffenders than by prayer or divine exhortation. But of all the men in\nthe band, Will Scarlet was the strongest.\n\n[Illustration: ROBIN HOOD'S BAND MADE MERRY BY KILLING THE KING'S DEER]\n\nWill Scarlet came among Robin's outlaws in a curious manner. One day\nwhen Robin and Little John were strolling through the woods, they saw a\nstranger sauntering down a road and he was clad in the most brilliant\nmanner imaginable in rosy scarlet from head to heel. He seemed a very\nladylike kind of person and carried in his hand a rose of which he\nsmelled now and then as he walked along, and he sang a little song that\nsounded for all the world as though it were being sung by a girl in her\nteens. And Robin's gorge rose at the sight of him for he hated\nunmanliness and thought that this gaily clad ladylike fellow who seemed\nto turn his nose up at the ground he walked upon must be a courtier or\nsome nobleman that had never done an honest day's work or robbery in\nhis life.\n\n\"When he comes nearer,\" said Robin to Little John, \"I'll show him that\nthere be some honest folk abroad who are not afraid to earn their\nliving, for by my faith I'll take his purse and use the gold therein to\nfar better advantage than he could do.\" So, when the young man\napproached, Robin stepped out into the path to meet him with his trusty\ncudgel in his hand.\n\nThe young man, however, seemed in no way to be afraid of the bold and\nresolute outlaw who stood in front of him, and when Robin demanded his\npurse he smiled and said it would be better to fight for that article\nand the better man should have it. Whereupon he went to the side of the\nroad, still humming his snatch of a tune, and to the amazement of Robin\nand Little John, laid hold of a young oak tree and tore it up by the\nroots, with apparently but little exertion of his strength. Then,\ntrimming off the branches, he stood on guard.\n\nRobin was warned by this exhibition of power and approached him warily,\nbut the stranger struck with such force that nobody could stand up to\nhim, and although Robin put up a long and furious fight his guard was\nat last beaten down and he was knocked senseless on the ground.\n\nWith an aching head, but with admiration of the strange young man in\nhis heart, Robin asked him to join his band, promising him food, booty\nand good Lincoln green to wear; and the stranger, after learning who\nRobin was, disclosed himself as no other than Robin's own nephew, Will\nScarlet, whom the outlaw had not seen since he was a baby. Delighted at\nthe meeting, Will Scarlet, Little John and Robin Hood made haste to\njoin the rest of the band beneath the greenwood tree, where a feast was\nset forth and good brown ale poured out in honor of the newcomer.\n\nOn another occasion Robin and his band married two lovers who had been\nforced to part because the maiden's father had determined that she was\nto become the bride of a wicked but wealthy old nobleman. The outlaws\nsurrounded the chapel in which the wedding was to take place and when\nthe ceremony was begun Robin stepped between the bride and groom and\ndeclared that the ceremony could not continue. When the wedding guests\nlearned that it was indeed Robin Hood that stood before them, they were\ngreatly frightened, and the outlaws with drawn weapons made their\nappearance among them. Friar Tuck himself finished the wedding--only\nthis time a different groom was substituted and one more after the\nmaiden's heart, for they gave her the man she loved.\n\nThere are many tales about the English King Richard, the Lion Hearted,\nand none is more interesting than that of his meeting with Robin Hood\nin Sherwood Forest. King Richard was the brother of the base-hearted\nJohn--who tried to steal the throne from him when he was imprisoned on\nthe continent after the Crusades. But Richard won back his kingdom and\npardoned his brother, and later on John regained the English throne.\n\nRichard traveled a great deal in England, and in the course of his\njourneying came to Nottingham, which was near the woodland retreat of\nRobin Hood. Now although Robin Hood was an outlaw and had transgressed\nthe King's laws, Richard held something approaching admiration for him,\nbecause Robin's adventures greatly resembled his own, when he had been\nwandering as a knight errant, without a kingdom. So Richard told the\nSheriff of Nottingham that he himself would do what the Sheriff had so\noften tried to do and always failed in--namely drive Robin Hood's band\naway from the woods. And with some followers he disguised himself as a\nmonk and started across the forest, hoping that Robin Hood and his\noutlaws would fall on him and attempt to rob him.\n\nThis is just what happened. The outlaws fell on Richard and took him\nprisoner, and after taking his purse they led him to their secluded\nhiding-place and set before him a feast of meat and wine, a custom of\ntheirs whenever they robbed a worthy monk or priest, to remove some of\nthe sting from the consciousness of his loss.\n\n\"I have heard,\" said the supposed monk, after he had eaten and drunk\nhis fill, \"that you have good archers in your band. I fain would see\nsome of them at work.\"\n\nIn answer Robin Hood called for his men to set up a mark, telling them\nthat they must shoot to good purpose, for he that missed, were it only\nby a hair, should be knocked down by Will Scarlet.\n\nOne after one of the outlaws shot, and they all struck the mark. But\nwhen Robin himself shot something happened that his band had never\nbefore seen, for a gust of wind blew his arrow aside, and he himself,\nwho was the finest bowman in England, had missed the target. With\nshouts of delight the outlaws called upon their leader to pay the\npenalty. Robin disliked to do this, for he was the leader of the others\nand did not think it good for discipline that his men should behold\ntheir leader undergo such an indignity; however, he ended the matter by\nasking the monk, who was Richard, to administer his punishment himself,\nsince he could take from a member of the church what he could not take\nfrom one of his own band. Richard consented gladly. He always had loved\nsuch adventures,--and the strength of his arm was twice that of Will\nScarlet's,--for the English King was the strongest man in all\nChristendom, if not in the entire world. Rising to his feet he drew\nback his heavy fist and gave Robin so terrible a buffet that it hurled\nhim senseless on the ground, doubly stunned from the force with which\nhe had hit the earth.\n\nThe outlaws were amazed when they saw what had befallen their\nleader--still more so when a band of the King's horsemen rode up and\nsurrounded them, and called the monk who had so lately been feasting\nwith them, \"Your Majesty.\" Then Richard took off his monk's dress and\nappeared in his own royal garments; he gave the outlaws a free pardon\non condition that they serve with him thenceforward and be archers in\nhis army, for he ever had liked brave men, and he knew that these would\nlay down their lives to serve him, even if they did cut purses and rob\npriests in the seclusion of the woods.\n\nIn Richard's service many adventures befell Robin Hood even greater\nthan what had befallen to him in Sherwood forest. He returned to his\nold haunts, however, and again became an outlaw when King Richard died\nand the wicked John came to the throne once more.\n\nOne day Robin Hood was stricken with a fever and he went to a woman who\nlived nearby to be bled, which he believed would lessen his pain and\ncure his sickness. But this woman was an enemy of Robin's, although he\nknew it not; and she rejoiced at her chance to do him evil. So she\nopened a vein in his arm and gave him a drink that threw him into a\ndeep slumber--and when he awoke he saw that he had lost so much blood\nthat he had not long to live.\n\nWith the last of his strength the dying outlaw blew his horn that\ncalled his followers around him, and as they supported him he asked for\nhis bow and an arrow, saying that where the arrow fell he desired to be\nburied. Bending the bow with the last of his power, he let loose the\narrow which flew out of the window and struck the ground beside a\nlittle path at the edge of the greenwood. And here was laid to rest the\nbravest heart that England had known for many a day, and one whose fame\nhas lived to the present time. For if we should tell you all of the\nadventures of Robin, there would be no room left for any other tales,\nso our counsel is to find the books about him and read these adventures\nfor yourselves.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII\n\nSAINT ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY\n\n\nMore than seven hundred years ago there was born at Presburg in\nHungary, a royal princess, who became one of the most pious women that\nthe world has ever seen and whose good deeds have lived until the\npresent day. This woman was christened Elizabeth. She was the daughter\nof King Andrew the Second of Hungary and of Gertrude, formerly a\nprincess in Dalmatia; and soothsayers and prophets at the time of her\nbirth foretold her coming greatness.\n\nElizabeth was born in 1207--a century when religion was more simple\nthan it is to-day and when people believed that miracles were still\nbeing performed. It was a time, too, when a fiery passion for religion\nruled the world. Soldiers were intent on crusades into the Holy Land to\ncapture the city of Jerusalem and to rescue the tomb of the Savior from\nthe hands of the heathen, and fanatical bands called \"flagellants\" were\nsoon to appear throughout Europe--men and women who scourged each other\nwith whips in public places until they fell down fainting from pain and\nexhaustion, believing that this practice was welcome in the eyes of the\nLord and would assure them a place in Paradise.\n\nIt was a time when unquestioning faith held the minds and beliefs of\nmen. Nothing seemed too marvelous to be accomplished through Divine\nmeans. When a great poet of whom we shall tell you later, wrote about\nHell, Heaven and Purgatory, his neighbors all believed that he had\nreally visited those places and seen all the wonders that he described.\nSo when soothsayers and astrologers foretold that the infant Elizabeth\nwas to become one of the Saints of Heaven, as the legends tell us they\npredicted, people marveled, but believed, for it did not seem strange\nfor Angels and Saints to appear to the eyes of mortal men.\n\nIt was customary in those days for children of high rank to be\nbetrothed almost before they had quitted the cradle, and when Elizabeth\nwas four years old she was engaged to be married to the eldest son of\nthe Landgrave of Thuringia--a boy named Herman who was about ten years\nolder than herself. And it was also customary at that time for the\nfuture bride to be brought up in the house of her intended husband, so\na number of lords and ladies came from Thuringia to fetch the Princess\nElizabeth away.\n\nShe returned with them in great splendor, and many wagons and strong\nhorses were needed to carry back to Thuringia all the costly things\nthat went with her, for she was provided with every comfort and luxury\nthen known. We are told that her dresses were all of the most costly\nsilks adorned with precious stones, that her cradle, which was of\nsilver, accompanied her to the house of the future bridegroom, that\neven her bath was of silver and so heavy that it was all that her\nhandmaidens could do to carry it, and a large sum of money was allotted\nas her bridal portion or dowry.\n\nElizabeth was too young to remain homesick for any length of time after\nshe left her parents, and she was kindly received in her new family.\nThe Landgrave himself, Herman the First, was a kind-hearted man as well\nas a noble and distinguished ruler, and his second son, Ludwig, had\nqualities of greatness that gave every promise for the country if it\nshould ever come under his direction. But the other children of the\nLandgrave, the princes named Conrad and Heinrich, were of different\ncalibre from their brother Ludwig, and so was the girl, Agnes, who was\nabout Elizabeth's own age. Herman, the eldest son, soon died, and\nElizabeth was then betrothed to Ludwig.\n\nWhen she was little more than a baby Elizabeth began to show signs of\nthe religious fervor that was to shape her entire life. She prayed\nfrequently and always tried to bring the forms of religious worship\ninto the games that she played with her companions. She spent long\nhours at prayer and frequently arose to pray at night, and whenever she\nhad the opportunity she practiced self-denial that was believed to be\nacceptable in the eyes of Heaven by withdrawing herself from some\npleasure that she was taking part in, or abstaining when at table from\nsome dainty that she loved.\n\nThree years after Elizabeth had gone to live in Thuringia something\nhappened that deepened her spiritual ardor, for her mother, Gertrude,\nwas murdered in the absence of the King, and Andrew himself had to\nengage in war to put down the rebellion that had arisen in his country.\nThis was a great sorrow to the little girl, although she remembered her\nmother only dimly, and it resulted in her saying more frequent prayers\nand giving more thought to her religion than before.\n\nMany stories are told us of Elizabeth's piety. On one occasion, when\nshe was dressed in her finest garments she beheld a crucifix supporting\na life-size image of the Savior, and with an outburst of tears she\nthrew herself on the ground at the foot of the crucifix, declaring that\nshe could not bear to wear fine raiment and jewels, while her Lord was\ncrowned with thorns. She did many other things of the same sort, and at\nlast reaped the displeasure of the Landgrave's wife, Sophia, and of the\ncourtiers and menials of the royal castle,--for Elizabeth's gentleness\nand piety were a constant reproach to the more worldly persons that\nsurrounded her.\n\nWhen Elizabeth was ten years old there took place another of the\ncrusades in which knights, nobles and common peasants set forth for the\nHoly Land to make war against the heathen; and Elizabeth's father, the\nKing of Hungary, left his dominions to engage in the holy war. There\nwas grave doubt if he would ever return, and it seemed too as if his\nthrone might be wrested from him by rebellion in his absence; so many\nof the noblemen and statesmen of Thuringia believed that the marriage\nof Ludwig with Elizabeth would be unwise, since there might be no\nbenefit to be reaped from it on behalf of the State. The Landgravine\nSophia, we are told, was inclined to agree with them--all the more so\nbecause the kind ruler, Herman, had lately died and Ludwig was now on\nthe throne of Thuringia, and could marry some great princess whose\ncountry was not in the danger of civil war.\n\nIt is not known if the stories of the ill-treatment that was then\nvisited on the helpless little Elizabeth are true or not, but many\nwriters have told us that Sophia was determined by harshness and\nunkindness to force Elizabeth to enter a convent so that her son would\nbe free to marry elsewhere. At all events, Ludwig heard of the plans to\nbreak off his engagement, and angrily refused to listen to them,\ndeclaring that he loved Elizabeth dearly and would marry her in spite\nof every person and relative in his dominions. And when Elizabeth was\nfourteen years old, she was married with great magnificence to Ludwig,\nwho was as handsome as he was honorable, and made a fitting husband for\nthe beautiful young girl who had already become famous for her great\npiety and her charitable deeds.\n\nThe marriage was ideally happy, for the young couple was passionately\nattached, and Ludwig encouraged his wife in her pious and kindly\nundertakings. He understood her so well and gave her such hearty\nsupport in her dealings with the poor and her gifts of food, money and\nclothing, that after his death he was often referred to as Saint\nLudwig, just as his wife was called Saint Elizabeth.\n\nLudwig, however, did not like to see his wife go poorly dressed, and\nshe wore splendid raiment to please him. Moreover, he disapproved of\nher giving so much time and effort to her charity and her prayers that\nshe taxed her strength. She had to desist from many of her\nundertakings, or perform them without his knowledge, when he feared\nthat her severe fasts and her long prayers were wearing out her health;\nand Elizabeth would steal from her chamber to pray when she thought him\nasleep, and would wear a coarse sackcloth skirt beneath the silks that\npleased him.\n\nOne time, when Ludwig was climbing the steep path to the castle of the\nWartburg where he held his court, he met Elizabeth, who was carrying in\nher dress loaves of bread for the poor people in the nearby village of\nMarburg. Elizabeth always tried to perform her charity secretly, for\nshe believed that it would lose its value if it were widely known--and\nmoreover she feared that her husband would not approve of her taking a\nheavy burden down the steep path into the village. When he stopped her\nand gaily asked her what she had in her apron, she opened it shyly,\nexpecting him to blame her when he saw its contents--but how great was\nher amazement as well as his when there tumbled forth upon the ground a\nprofusion of the sweetest smelling roses of all colors, which had\nmiraculously taken the place of the provisions that Elizabeth had\ncarried!\n\nThat was only the first of a series of miracles that those who\nworshipped her memory have accredited to her lifetime, and Ludwig,\nastonished and awed by what had taken place, is said to have erected a\nmonument at the spot where the beautiful roses appeared.\n\nElizabeth pitied the sick and tended them with the utmost kindness--and\nshe was particularly kind to the wretched sufferers from the dreadful\ndisease of leprosy. From earliest times the leper was an outcast from\nhis fellow men. They fled at his approach, and he was obliged to warn\nthem of his coming by outcry, or by use of a clapper or bell. But\nElizabeth went to the lepers without fear and fed and comforted them,\nand even bathed their sores and bandaged them with her own hands.\n\nAt last her father, King Andrew, returned from the crusade, and on his\nway back to his own dominions stopped in Thuringia to see his daughter.\nBy this time Elizabeth had refused to wear her splendid garments any\nlonger and had parted with all except her simplest dresses; and Ludwig\nfeared that her father the King might blame him for not maintaining\nElizabeth in the state that was her due as a royal princess, so he\ninquired of Elizabeth if she had any fine dress to wear when greeting\nher father. She replied that she had none, but that by grace of God\nsome way would be found out of the difficulty; and when she put on the\nonly dress that was left to her it suddenly changed by a miracle into a\ngown so beautiful and lustrous that its like had never been seen\nbefore, and King Andrew rejoiced in the appearance of his daughter when\nshe came before him.\n\nBy this time Elizabeth had two children, and the Landgrave was\nrejoiced. He was a powerful and a wise ruler, and while he was\nperfectly just, he punished evil-doers with a hand of iron. On one\noccasion he was called away from home to give aid to the Emperor\nFrederick the Second in putting down a revolt in his dominions; and\nElizabeth ruled over Thuringia until his return.\n\nFamine and pestilence wasted the country, and the gentle lady was\nsorely beset to give aid to her suffering people. She spent so much on\ncharity that she nearly emptied the treasury, and even sold the robes\nof state and the official ornaments to feed the poor. When Ludwig\nreturned he found his coffers nearly empty--but the money had been\nwisely used, for Elizabeth had saved the lives of many of his subjects.\n\nThen another crusade took place and the brave Ludwig planned to join it\nand do his share in driving the heathen Saracens away from the tomb of\nChrist. With bitterness and sorrow he said farewell to his wife whom he\nloved above all things, and kissed his children for the last time. For\nwhen he was waiting at Otranto to embark for the far east, a terrible\npestilence broke out among the crusaders and Ludwig sickened and died.\n\nWord of his death was brought to Elizabeth, who had just given birth to\nher third child. And when she heard of it she wept bitterly, crying out\nthat now the world was dead to her indeed, and she never could know joy\nagain, since her dear lord was taken from her.\n\nFor a time she ruled over Thuringia, but she was hated in the court on\naccount of her piety, and according to many stories of her life, the\ndead Landgrave's brothers, Conrad and Heinrich, conspired against her.\nAt all events, her life was most unhappy, and in the dead of winter she\nquitted the court and went to live in the village, earning her daily\nbread by spinning for her living, and eating barely enough to keep\nalive. And all the villagers whom she had treated kindly, now that they\nfound her alone and poor and out of favor at court, would do nothing\nfor her, and she was laughed at and insulted on the streets.\n\nBut in this time she was sustained by divine means, for she began to\nhave visions of Heavenly things and beheld angels, and once, so she\ndeclares, she saw the face of the Savior himself, who looked down on\nher and comforted her.\n\nAt last Elizabeth went to live with her uncle, the Bishop of Bamberg,\nwho treated her with the utmost kindness. She had been obliged to send\nher children away in the bitter winter that she had been through, and\nsoon she was obliged to leave the Bishop's protection, for he desired\nher to marry again, and this she refused to do. She went to live in a\ncottage and took with her two of her former waiting women who\naccompanied her all through the hardships she had suffered, and she\nbusied herself with caring for the sick and giving alms from the small\namount of money that was allowed for her support.\n\nAt this time Elizabeth came under the influence of a priest and a\nreligious enthusiast called Master Conrad, previously known to her, who\nwas an ardent, though a narrow-minded believer in the Catholic faith;\nand Conrad encouraged her in the severe rites of self-denial that she\npractised. At times he punished her with the lash and at last he\nbrought her completely under the domination of his will. But she\nyielded so readily to all penances and voluntary inflictions of\nsufferings that even this fanatical zealot was compelled to restrain\nher, for Elizabeth desired constantly to do more than he suggested or\nwished. At last, with her two waiting women, Elizabeth became a member\nof the Third Order of Saint Francis, renounced her family and children,\nand spent all her time in caring for the sick and visiting the\nafflicted.\n\nShe ate almost nothing, and her strength soon gave way under the\nprivations that she endured. Although she was only twenty-four years\nold, she had suffered so greatly that her vitality was sapped and she\nhad not long to live. She died on November 19, 1231, and Master Conrad\nhimself soon followed her to the grave.\n\nElizabeth had not wasted herself in vain, in spite of the fanatical\nzeal of her belief and the needless sufferings that she inflicted upon\nherself. For years she had cared for nine hundred poor folk every day,\nand she had founded a hospital of twenty-eight beds that she visited\ndaily. She had encouraged her husband in kindness and generous\ngovernment, and she saved countless lives in the winter when she\nherself sat on the throne of Thuringia.\n\nAfter her death the zealous Conrad set about collecting proofs of the\nmiracles that had happened in connection with her, to submit them to\nthe Pope, who might declare her to be a Saint. Further proofs were\nforthcoming even after she had died, for when pilgrims visited her tomb\nmany of them were marvelously cured of the sicknesses from which they\nhad been suffering. Her brother-in-law, Conrad, repenting of his former\ntreatment of her, built a splendid church in her honor, and her bones\nwere laid in their last resting-place a few years after her death. In\nthe meantime the Pope examined all the proofs of her piety and\nholiness, as well as of the cures that had been effected at her tomb,\nand at last Elizabeth was made a Saint, and became known as Saint\nElizabeth of Hungary. For centuries pilgrims have worshipped at her\nshrine, and the church that was built in her memory still stands as a\nmonument of the wonderful life of this holy woman who lived and died\nthe better part of a thousand years ago.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX\n\nDANTE\n\n\nIn the year 1265 there was born in the city of Florence in Italy a man\nwho was destined to become one of the four greatest poets that the\nworld has ever produced. This man was Dante, the son of Alighiero, a\nFlorentine who was popular and well known as a man of affairs.\n\nWhen Dante was born Italy was very different from what it is to-day,\nfor instead of being formed of a single nation, or even of a number of\nsmaller ones, the cities themselves were nations and made their own\nlaws. These cities, moreover, were constantly at war with one another,\nand fighting was the order of the day. Even within the cities there\nwere often bloody frays and brawls between the supporters of one or\nanother noble family. These brawls sometimes became so extensive that\nthey grew into civil war, and penetrated beyond the limits of the\ncities in which they were hatched. Such was the state of affairs in\nDante's time, and it is important to remember this, because the\nquarrels of these different factions had a great effect upon his life.\n\nParticularly long and bloody in Florence and other cities had been the\nstrife between two families and factions who called themselves\nrespectively the Guelfs and the Ghibellines. Dante's father belonged to\nthe Guelf party and the boy was brought up with the idea that he must\nalways serve the Guelfs, and support them in all their quarrels. The\nGuelfs, moreover, were high in the affairs of Florence and had overcome\ntheir opponents there. And for this reason those who belonged to the\nGuelf cause had the chance to rise in the affairs of the city.\n\nSo Dante's boyhood was not spent like that of some other poets, in the\nmidst of books alone, or in the quiet seclusion of school and college.\nHe was thrown neck and heels into the midst of the fiery Italian\npolitics of an age when one could poniard his enemy on the streets and\ngo unpunished, providing he had power or influence. And it is probable\nthat he saw many wild doings. He was, however, of studious habits and\nloved reading more than the air he breathed. And while little is known\nof his boyhood years, it is certain that he mastered then and in his\nearly manhood many of the best books that had been written since the\nbeginning of the world. Moreover, as Dante later said, he had taught\nhimself \"the art of bringing words into verse\"--an art that he mastered\nso thoroughly that his name was to live forever.\n\nWhen Dante was still a young boy there befell something that proved to\nbe the most wonderful happening in his entire life. This was nothing\nelse than meeting a little girl named Beatrice Portinari. Although\nBeatrice was only a child, and Dante himself hardly ten years old, he\nfelt a love for her that lasted from that minute until the day of his\ndeath and that inspired him to write the great poem that made his name\nfamous throughout the world.\n\nA festival was given by the family of the Portinari which was a noble\none and possessed such wealth that its members afterward became bankers\nfor King Edward the Third of England. Among the guests was the boy,\nDante, and he beheld Beatrice there as a beautiful little girl. How\nstrangely he was affected by the sight of her he told in later years,\nand his words have been translated and quoted as follows: \"Her dress,\non that day,\" said Dante, \"was of a most noble color,--a subdued and\ngoodly crimson, girdled and adorned in such sort as best suited her\nvery tender age. At that moment, I say most truly, that the spirit of\nlife, which hath its dwelling in the secretest chamber of the heart,\nbegan to tremble so violently that the least pulses of my body shook\ntherewith. From that time Love ruled my soul.\"\n\nDante did not speak to Beatrice on that occasion,--in fact, he saw her,\nor addressed her, only two or three times in his entire life. But from\nthe day when she first appeared to him in her crimson dress, he sought\nto perform some deed that would make him worthy of her love, and the\nresult was the great poem in which he placed her name beside his own.\n\nIn spite of his love, Dante did not become an idle dreamer, but\ndeveloped into an active and studious young man, ready to take up the\nsword to defend his city whenever it might call on him to do so. And\nwhen he was twenty-four years old he put on his armor and went forth to\nbattle against the citizens of Arezzo, a town where the Ghibellines\nwere powerful and had been acting in a hostile manner toward the\nGuelfs, who controlled Florence.\n\nWar was not so serious an affair then as it is now, and everyone\nengaged in it. Moreover, the towns that warred against each other were\nso near that it was sometimes an easy matter to go forth and fight on\none day and be back in your own home on the day following. Everyone was\nexpected to bear arms for his city, and going to war was held to be a\nmatter of course; but in spite of these things Dante gained great\npraise for the way in which he conducted himself in the war with\nArezzo, perhaps because he was braver than the rest, or perhaps because\na poet is not generally considered to be as warlike as other men.\n\nAfter the fighting had ended, Dante returned to Florence and prepared\nto take his part in city politics. Before he could accomplish anything\nit was necessary for him to go on record that he belonged to one of the\ngreat guilds into which all the citizens at that time were divided, and\nwhich controlled all the different branches of business and\nmanufacturing, and all the sciences. So Dante entered the guild of the\nDoctors and Apothecaries--not because he knew anything about their\nprofessions--that was not necessary--but to give himself an apparent\nvocation when he came to assume some one of the city offices.\n\nBy this time Dante's great intellect and scholarly attainments had made\nhim well known in Florence, although he was only a young man. He was\nhigh in the esteem of many learned men and had a great many poets and\nartists for his friends. Among them were the artist named Giotto and\nthe poet called Guido Cavalcante. So well did he appear in their eyes\nand to the men of the city of Florence who ran its affairs that in the\nyear 1300 Dante was made one of the Priors of Florence, that is, one of\nthe chief rulers of the city.\n\nIt was not to be thought that a man could gain such a position in those\nturbulent times without making many enemies, and as Dante belonged to\nthe controlling faction, others who were not in power planned his\noverthrow and that of his fellow rulers. Dante himself, however,\ndisliked this civil strife and did all in his power to bring the\nopposing factions together. But his enemies got the upper hand, and he\nwas finally driven from the city in exile.\n\nAnother sorrow had befallen him. Beatrice, whom he still continued to\nlove ardently (although he had married a good woman named Gemma Donati\nand had three children) had died some years before, leaving him nothing\nbut her memory. But Dante's love for Beatrice had not interfered in his\nrelations with his wife. It was not an earthly love. He had not wanted\nBeatrice as his wife, but rather as an ideal that he could worship. And\nafter her death he became both gloomy and unhappy.\n\nHis exile, moreover, was a bitter blow to Dante, for he had loved\nFlorence dearly and could not imagine making his home elsewhere. With\nbitterness in his heart he wandered from city to city, and then he set\nout in earnest to write the great poem which is called the _Divine\nComedy_. Dante had already written a number of beautiful poems, but\nthey were more in the style of other Italian and Latin poetry. What he\nnow planned was entirely new and so daring that it had never been\nthought of since the beginning of the world.\n\nHe planned in this poem to describe a journey into the nethermost\nregions of Hell, then into Purgatory and finally into Heaven, where\nBeatrice should be his guide and conduct him to the throne of God\nHimself.\n\nSuch a poem, as we have said, had never been written or even wildly\nimagined, but Dante's imagination was so vivid that it seemed as if he\nreally had beheld the scenes that he described. And he told the story\nof the poem as though the adventures in it were real and had happened\ndirectly to himself.\n\nHell, according to Dante's belief, and that of the religion of his day,\nwas a gigantic funnel-shaped gulf directly beneath the city of\nJerusalem, shaped into nine vast circles or pits with a common center\nthat reached down to the center of the earth like a circular flight of\nstairs. In the lowest pit of all Satan himself was to be found, ruling\nhis kingdom. On the other side of the earth was a wide sea, from which\narose a mighty mountain called the Mount of Purgatory--the place where\nthe souls of human beings did penance for their sins until they were\nfit to enter Heaven. Heaven itself was composed of nine transparent and\nrevolving spheres that enclosed the earth, and in which were fastened\nthe sun, the moon and the stars. The motion of these heavenly bodies as\nthey rose and set above the earth's horizon was believed by Dante to be\ndue to the turning of the spheres, which were moved by the hand of God.\n\nIt was in accordance with this idea of Heaven and Hell that Dante began\nhis poem.\n\nOne day, he said, when he was lonely and sad in spirit, he found\nhimself standing in the midst of a deep forest that was so gloomy, wild\nand savage that no mortal eyes had ever seen its equal--and even to\nthink of it afterward caused him a bitterness not far from that of\ndeath itself.\n\nAs he stood there he was aware of a presence close by, the stately\nfigure of a man, who proved to be the great Roman poet, Vergil,--and\nVergil told him that Divine Will had ordered him to guide Dante through\nHell and as far as the gates of Paradise.\n\nHe made clear to Dante that this journey was the part of a Heavenly\norder and had been decreed by Heaven itself, and Dante, in great fear\nat what he was about to see, was led by Vergil through the forest until\nhe came to the mouth of a black cavern. Carven on the rock above it was\na verse that told Dante that here was the entrance to the lower\nworld,--the gateway to Hell. And the verse concluded with the grim\nwords--\"_All Hope Abandon, Ye Who Enter Here_.\"\n\nSighs, groans, lamentations and terrible voices were heard from the\ndepths below as they passed through this evil doorway, and now they\nwere in a region of murky gloom, where no ray of sunlight ever had\nentered. All around them were the spirits of the dead. They came\nflocking to the Acheron or River of Death, where the ferryman named\nCharon, with eyes like flaming wheels, bore them across. When Charon\nsaw a living man among the dead he sternly ordered Dante to return\nwhence he had come. Vergil interceded for him, and they passed on.\n\nAfter they had crossed the River of Death they entered the first circle\nof Hell, where those who had the misfortune to die without being\nbaptized, or who had believed in some other religion than Christianity,\nmust spend the rest of time. Here were a number of noble spirits from\nthe days of Rome and Greece, including many of the poets,\nmathematicians and astronomers of olden days. Dante would gladly have\nremained with them, for they were not unhappy and spent their time in\nlearned discourse and scholarly friendship, but Vergil urged him\nonward.\n\nDeeper and deeper they descended. They passed through great spaces\nwhere mighty winds swept before them the souls of the dead, whirling\nthem around forever without rest; through regions of chill rain and\nsleet, where the spirits of those who had been gluttonous in their\nlifetime were perpetually torn into pieces by a three-headed dog called\nCerberus. And after many awful scenes that Dante could hardly bear to\nwitness, he saw in front of him the towers of the dreadful city of Dis,\nor Satan, in which the spirits of the damned underwent punishments that\nwere worse than any he had witnessed thus far.\n\nGuarding the walls were the three Furies of the Greek legends. When\nthey beheld Dante they howled for the Gorgon, Medusa, with the snaky\nlocks to come quickly and turn him into stone--a fate that must befall\nall men that gazed upon her face. But Vergil bade Dante hide his eyes,\nand to be sure that he might be saved he covered them with his own\nhand.\n\nThey entered the city--and there and from that time on the punishments\nbecame so fearful that we shall not describe them here.\n\nIn their journey they had constantly to be on their guard against the\nmonsters of Hell that strove to arrest their progress. And in passing\nby a lake of burning pitch, in which tortured souls were burning, the\ndemons that guarded them rushed at Dante and pursued him, eager to hurl\nhim into the lake to lose his life and the hope of Heaven at one and\nthe same time.\n\nLower and lower they descended, passing from one horror to another\nstill more terrible, until they came to the nethermost pit of all,\nwhere Vergil told Dante that now he would need all his courage to\nsustain him, for he had come at last to the abode of Satan. This was a\nregion of eternal ice and a bitter wind blew on them, so cold and\ndreadful that Dante was half dead from it and it seemed that his numbed\nsenses could not support life any longer. The wind, he saw, was caused\nby the bat-like wings of Satan himself--a gigantic and hairy monster,\nwith only the upper half of his body protruding from the icy pit in\nwhich he stood. He had three heads, one red, one green and one white\nand yellow; and in his three mouths he munched the three greatest\ntraitors of all time--Judas Iscariot, Brutus and Cassius.\n\nWhen Dante was about to swoon from the terrible sight, Vergil watched\nhis opportunity, and as the great wings of Satan rose he sprang beneath\nthem, with Dante following him. Grasping the hairy side of the monster,\nthey commenced to descend still lower. And soon, to Dante's amazement,\ntheir downward path became an upward one, for Satan's waist was at the\ncenter of the earth and after they had passed it they must climb\ninstead of descend.\n\nUp and up they went, toiling with the greatest difficulty, passing\nthrough a chimney-like passageway that led for an incredible distance\nto the open air above; and when they arrived beneath the blue sky they\nwere at the base of the Mountain of Purgatory, where men's spirits that\nwere not doomed to Hell must purify themselves before they could hope\nto enter the Heaven that lay above them.\n\nAfter the soot of Hell was washed from Dante's countenance he began\nwith Vergil to ascend the mountain. They passed countless spirits all\nengaged in severe tasks, to cleanse themselves of sin before they could\nhope to attain the wonderful regions above; but these spirits were\nalmost happy, although many of them were undergoing pain and suffering,\nfor their trouble was not endless as was the case with the spirits of\nHell, and they would certainly find happiness at last.\n\nWhen they came to the summit of the mountain a wall of fire lay between\nthem and Paradise. Through this they passed, and once on the other side\nDante lost sight of Vergil, who could accompany him no further.\n\nDante was then greeted by his long lost Beatrice, now a radiant spirit,\nwho had been chosen by divine will to show him the glories of Heaven.\nAnd with Beatrice guiding him, Dante passed upward through the crystal\nspheres, once getting a glimpse of the earth in his heavenly progress\nas it lay beneath him shining in the light of the sun. At last Dante\nhad ascended to so great a height in Heaven that he beheld God\nHimself--but what he saw was so wonderful that it was impossible for\nhim to write about it, and in this way his wonderful poem came to an\nend.\n\nAfter completing the Inferno Dante went to Paris, where he met a great\nmany scholars and wise men, who treated him with the utmost respect,\nbut all the time he desired to be in his native city of Florence. When\nHenry of Luxembourg planned to lay siege to it, Dante encouraged him,\nhoping that he might enter with the conquerors and that his enemies\nmight be overthrown. The siege took place, but it was unsuccessful, and\nthe poet was compelled to wander far and wide among strangers for the\nrest of his life. As he lacked money, he had to take many humble\noffices to earn his bread, and more than once had to undergo the\nindignity of sitting among the jesters and buffoons at some great house\nthat had honored him with its favor.\n\nAt last, weary of life and sick at heart, Dante went to Ravenna, where\nhis genius was honored more worthily. His name had now penetrated\nthroughout the greater part of the civilized world and he was known as\none of the greatest geniuses that had ever lived. Many people believed\nthat Dante had actually beheld the scenes that he described. When they\nmet him on the streets they would draw aside to let him pass, thinking\nhim a man whose destiny was different from their own, and they would\nwhisper to each other that he was the man who had descended into Hell\nand come forth again alive and had looked with his own eyes at the\nhorrors of the Infernal Regions.\n\nNo doubt the fame and the almost frightened homage that he received\nwere pleasing to the sad soul of Dante, but he always remembered that\nhe was still an outcast from his native city. Florence stubbornly\nrefused to remove her ban and when Dante died he was buried at Ravenna.\nThere his body still lies, with a Latin inscription on his tombstone\nthat tells the world of the ingratitude of the city of Florence to her\ngreatest son, who is also the greatest poet that Italy has ever seen.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X\n\nROBERT BRUCE\n\n\nIf you ask a Scot who is the greatest man that ever lived he will\nprobably say Robert Bruce. It does not matter that Robert Bruce died\nsix hundred years ago--his name is as bright in Scotland as though he\nhad lived yesterday. Songs and stories are told about him there and\nevery school boy hears of him as soon as he is old enough to listen to\nthe tales of his country.\n\nThe reason for this is that Robert Bruce made the Scots free from the\nrule of England, which country they used to hate. Also because he was a\ngreat warrior, so strong in body and with such courage that it was\nalmost impossible for any foe to stand against him.\n\nWhen Edward the First ruled over England he extended his power over the\nfree land of Scotland, where the race and the speech were different\nfrom those of the English. A dispute had arisen among the Scottish\nchiefs as to who was to succeed to the Scottish throne. Many claimants\ncame forward, and as a result of this the chieftains were embroiled\namong themselves, giving Edward a chance to seize their country which\nhe was not slow to take.\n\nSo great had been the jealousy among the Scots that many joined\nEdward's army to fight against their fellow countrymen. Among them was\na young nobleman named Robert Bruce, whose grandfather had himself been\none of the claimants to the Scottish throne.\n\nIt was not a noble deed on the part of Robert Bruce to serve under the\nEnglish banner. Indeed, in his younger years he does not seem to have\nbeen a hero at all. While the great Scottish chief, Wallace, was waging\nbitter war against King Edward, Bruce was content to rest under\nEdward's protection,--even after Wallace was captured and put to a\ncruel death in Berwick castle, where he was beheaded at Edward's order.\n\nAt last, however, Bruce began to show that he intended to become a\nchampion of the Scottish cause. He did not do this all at once, and, in\nfact, he acted treacherously both to the Scots and to the English--for\nhe renounced his fealty to Edward on two separate occasions, and each\ntime was won back to him and received gifts and forgiveness from him.\nAt last, however, Bruce was obliged to fly for his life from the\nEnglish court and trust his fortunes to the Scottish cause.\n\nHe had been betrayed to Edward by a nobleman called Lord Comyn, and he\nnow determined that Comyn must be slain. He sent his two brothers as\nmessengers to Comyn, asking this lord to accompany them to a church in\nDumfries, where Bruce was waiting for him at the altar. When Comyn\napproached, Bruce told him that his treachery was discovered. \"Be\nassured you shall have your reward,\" he cried loudly, and drawing his\ndagger he plunged it in Comyn's breast.\n\nMurder was little thought of in those days, but murder in a church,\nbefore the altar itself and under the very eyes of the priests who were\nengaged in their religious offices, was a crime that made the whole\ncivilized world ring with horror. And it blackened the name of Robert\nBruce with a stain that has lasted to this day, in spite of his great\nglory.\n\nBruce, however, had been greatly provoked to this bloody deed, and was\nnow to prove himself a true champion of the Scottish people. He sought\nsafety in flight for a time, and at last rallied the Scots about him at\nLochmaven Castle, from which place he told them that he would make\nhimself King over all Scotland and liberate the land from the English\nyoke. With his vassals and retainers about him, he issued proclamations\nfor all who would fight against England to join his banner, and at\nScone he had placed on his head the Scottish crown.\n\nWhen King Edward heard of what Bruce had done--how he had murdered\nComyn and been crowned king and was inciting all of Scotland to rise\nagainst the English rule, he fell in such a rage that he could hardly\nspeak for anger, and swore a great oath that the rest of his life\nshould be devoted to punishing Bruce for his crimes. A strong English\narmy was promptly raised and sent against the new Scottish King.\n\nThe English soldiers under the Earl of Pembroke fell on the Scots at\nnight in the woods at a place called Methven, when the followers of\nBruce believed themselves to be safe from attack, and had taken off\ntheir armor. As the English with shouts and battle cries attacked the\nunguarded Scots, Bruce leaped to his horse and with his great\ntwo-handed sword drove his enemies before him like chaff. But while the\nEnglish recoiled before the blows of his powerful arm, they succeeded\nin routing his followers. A large number of Bruce's friends and\nretainers were captured, and he himself only escaped by killing with\nhis own hand three men who laid hold of his equipment and were trying\nto drag him from his horse. For the time being the Scots were\nthoroughly defeated, and were obliged to take shelter wherever they\ncould find it.\n\nWith his army scattered and only about five hundred followers remaining\nfaithful to him, Bruce fled into the mountain forests of Athole. His\ntroubles had only begun, for many fierce Scottish noblemen themselves\nwere his bitter enemies on account of wars between the different\nScottish clans, and particularly because of the foul murder of Lord\nComyn.\n\nThen began a period of wandering and suffering for Bruce and his\nfollowers. They made their way across the mountains to Aberdeen, where\ntheir wives joined them, preferring to be hunted outlaws with their\nhusbands rather than to remain in safety away from them. And finally\nthe little band of ragged highlanders came to Argyl, where they were\nconfronted in battle by a Scottish chief called John of Lorn.\n\nBruce's men were in poor condition on account of the hardships they had\nundergone and were also outnumbered by their enemies. The result of the\nbattle was a second defeat for Bruce, who now must hide more closely\nthan ever, as his enemies were hunting for him everywhere.\n\nOnce more his wife had to part from him, for his state was now so\ndangerous and the hardships he endured so great that no woman could\nwithstand them. And the lords who remained in his company had likewise\nto say farewell to their wives and children. No spot in Scotland was\nsafe for them. Nowhere could Bruce rest his head and be sure that his\nenemies would not attack him before morning. English soldiers and Scots\nwho had become their allies were looking for him everywhere. Moreover,\nthose Scots who fell into the hands of the enemy could not hope for\nmercy. If they were men of low degree and with no title of nobility\nthey were hanged. If they were of noble birth, they suffered the more\naristocratic fate of beheading.\n\nStill further misfortunes were to follow Bruce. The Pope could not\nforget his desecration of the church and passed on him what is known to\nall followers of the Catholic faith as the sentence of excommunication.\nThis was a terrible punishment, for it meant that so far as the power\nof the Church went--and that power was absolute in those far\ndays--Bruce could never be received in Heaven or even have the\nprivilege of repenting for his sins. He was cast out of the Church into\nthe outer darkness, and the hands of every priest and of all righteous\nmen were turned against him.\n\nHe was obliged to flee to a little island off the coast of Ireland,\nwhere with a few followers he had a comparatively safe hiding place,\nalthough the ships of King Edward were hunting for him high and low. In\nthe meantime his Queen and her ladies, whom he believed he had sent to\na safe refuge in a stronghold called Kildrummy Castle, were captured by\nthe English and kept in close confinement, being made to undergo many\nindignities because Bruce himself had succeeded in eluding vengeance.\n\nBut all the time he lay in concealment Bruce considered how he could go\nback to Scotland, whose shores he could see from his hiding place, and\nhe and his followers were constantly making desperate plans to return.\nChief among them was one James Douglas, who was a brave and noble\nwarrior, second only to Bruce himself in the strength of his arm and no\nway inferior to him in the quality of his courage. After many a talk\nwith Douglas and the rest of his followers as to what would be best for\nthem in their extremity, Bruce decided to send a trusty messenger in a\nsmall boat to the Scottish shore to learn if there was any discontent\nunder the British rule, and if the time for a second uprising had not\nperhaps arrived. For Bruce knew he had many friends, if he could only\nreach them and gather them to his side.\n\nThe messenger who made this dangerous journey was to signal to Bruce if\nit was safe for him to return by lighting a beacon fire on the headland\nthat was most visible from the Island of Arran where Bruce was then\nhiding. If Bruce saw the fire on the following night he and his\nfollowers were to embark at once for Scotland. There they would be met\nby friends and their further course made clear to them.\n\nHow great was Bruce's joy when the night fell to see the beacon fire\nspring up on the distant headland! With a high heart he and his\nfollowers embarked and pulled strongly at the oars. They believed that\nScotland would be theirs again.\n\nBut when Bruce and his small band of followers arrived on the mainland\nthey found the messenger awaiting them. It seemed that some ill chance\nhad befallen, for the beacon had been kindled by accident and for some\nother purpose than to call Bruce from his hiding place. So far from\nbeing prepared for his invasion, Scotland seemed more dangerous than\never for him. Two of his brothers had been captured by the English and\nboth had been beheaded. Bruce learned also that the Queen and her\nladies whom he believed to be safe in Kildrummy Castle had fallen into\nEnglish hands and were pent in dungeons like wild beasts.\n\nDiscretion told the little band of adventurers to return to their\nisland retreat, but after consulting together over their bitter\nfortunes, they decided to make a bold stroke for success and die if it\ndid not succeed. An English garrison lay at Turnberry Castle not far\noff, and had been divided in two parts, one being billeted in a nearby\nvillage, while the other occupied the castle itself. It was decided to\nattack the English soldiers who were in the village and not to leave a\nman of them alive.\n\nSilently Bruce and his men stole up to the little town. As the\nfrightened English came running half clad into the streets they were\nmet by the swords and axes of the Scots. Few escaped the grim vengeance\nof that attack, and Bruce retaliated heavily for the injuries the\nEnglish had worked on his wife and his kinsmen in his absence.\n\nThe Scots, however, did not rally to Bruce's standard as quickly as he\nhoped, and he was once more compelled to take shelter in the mountains.\nTo escape the enemies who fell on his little band in far superior\nnumbers and with better arms and equipment he was obliged to flee as\nswiftly as possible. His enemies, however, had tracked Bruce himself by\na bloodhound, and it seemed impossible for him to escape the unerring\nscent of this terrible animal, which picked up his trail from among\nthose of his followers. At last, with a few men, he separated entirely\nfrom his soldiers, telling them of a rendezvous where they were to meet\nhim in case he should escape.\n\nBruce avoided the bloodhound by wading through a running stream, and\nthen had adventures which have become the subject of legends in his\ncountry. At one time he was ambushed and attacked by three traitors of\nhis own force, who hoped to make their fortunes by bringing his head to\nthe English. Instead of this they dug their own graves, for Bruce slew\nall three with his own hand. On another occasion he took refuge with a\nsingle companion in a deserted house where three more enemies\nendeavored to kill him as he slept. Bruce had a companion at his side,\nbut both were worn out by the hardships they had undergone and were\nfast asleep as the ruffians with drawn swords and daggers stole upon\nthem.\n\nThe good angel of Scotland made one of them tread too heavily. All at\nonce Bruce awoke and leaped to his feet with his mighty two-handed\nsword in his grasp. His companion was slain, but alone Bruce struck\ndown and killed the three murderers that had set upon him.\n\nThere are many stories about Bruce while he lay hiding in the mountain\nfastnesses of Scotland. We are told that on the day following his\nvictory over the three would-be assassins he went to the house of an\nold woman and asked for something to eat. And when he begged for food\nshe replied that she would give it to him willingly for the sake of one\nwanderer that she loved; and Bruce inquired of her who that might be.\n\n\"No other than King Robert himself,\" she responded. \"He is hunted now\nand without friends, but the time will come when he shall rule all\nScotland.\" \"Know, then, woman,\" said Bruce, overjoyed at this evidence\nof devotion that had followed him in his trouble, \"that I am he of whom\nyou speak and have returned for no other purpose than to resume my\ncrown and throne.\"\n\nWhen the old woman recovered from her amazement she did him reverence\nas the rightful King of Scotland and called in her three strong sons to\nwait on him and join the ranks of his soldiers.\n\nBruce slowly collected the men that had remained faithful to him, and\nat Loudon Hill in May he and his followers met an English army. The\nEnglish leader, whose name was De Valence, had done everything in his\npower to make Bruce come forth from his mountain retreat and do battle\nwith the English, for he believed that on open ground he could defeat\nthe Scots decisively and do away with the long chase of Bruce that was\nwearying himself and his followers. So De Valence sent Bruce a letter\nin which he called him a base coward for refusing to meet him in\nbattle, and challenged Bruce to stand up to him as a soldier at Loudon\non the tenth of May. Stung with anger, Bruce accepted the challenge and\nthe crafty English leader rejoiced because his enemy had delivered\nhimself into his hands.\n\nBruce, however, had no intention of being defeated. He arrived on the\nappointed spot several days before the English and studied his ground\nwith the eye of a trained general. He knew the route that must be taken\nby the English and so arranged his forces that it would be impossible\nfor his enemies to outflank him, entrenching himself behind marshes and\nditches that the English could not pass.\n\nOn the appointed day he saw the gay banners and shining armor of his\nenemies. They approached recklessly and hurled themselves against his\nline in a headlong charge. But the Scots held firm. Again and again the\nEnglish sought to break the Scottish ranks or to take them on the\nflank, but to no avail. And then when their ranks showed signs of\nwavering, Bruce himself gave the signal for the charge. With a shout\nhis men rushed forward and the English were routed. Victory had crowned\nthe arms of a tattered and ragged band of outlaws who fought with\nEnglish halters around their necks.\n\nThen a terrible calamity befell the English and turned the scale still\nfurther in favor of Bruce. Old King Edward, embittered because his\ncherished schemes regarding Scotland had failed, died, and with his\nlast breath he asked his son, the Prince of Wales, to see his bones\nwere carried in their coffin at the head of the English army invading\nScotland.\n\nThe Prince of Wales who succeeded him was called Edward the Second and\nwas a hollow echo of his father's greatness. While Edward had been the\nfinest general of his time either in England or in Europe, the new king\nknew little of military art and was idle and of a pleasure loving\nnature. He knew nothing of generalship and cared less, being content to\nleave the leading of his armies in the field to the nobles who served\nhim.\n\nAt once it was seen that the death of the strong King Edward the First\nwas a great stroke of good fortune for his equally strong opponent. In\nthe two years that followed King Edward's death nearly the whole\ncountry of Scotland rose against the English and threw off the foreign\nyoke, acclaiming Bruce as their rightful king. Border warfare was\nconstant and raids and skirmishes were carried on both by the Scots and\nthe English, with varying success on either side.\n\nIn these raids, sieges and forays one of Bruce's followers particularly\ndistinguished himself. This was James Douglas, who had shared all his\nleader's hardships.\n\nWhile most of Scotland was now under Bruce's banner, the English still\nheld many important strongholds which were thorns in the side of Bruce\nand his followers. Chief among these fortresses were those of Stirling\nand Berwick.\n\nRealizing that the overthrow of these strong fortresses was necessary\nto the success of the Scottish cause, King Robert in the autumn of 1313\nsent his brother, Edward Bruce, to lay siege to Stirling Castle. So\nwell did the Scots succeed and so ruthlessly did they beset the strong\nwalls of Stirling that at last the English commander, one Sir Philip\nMowbray, agreed to surrender, providing the besieged soldiers were not\nrelieved by the English before the twenty-fourth of June of the\nfollowing year. This was a strange agreement and showed that the old\nlaws of chivalry which bound all noblemen to certain forms of warfare\nand certain conditions of fighting were still in operation.\n\nBut the English had no intention of allowing Stirling Castle to fall\ninto the hands of the Scots and before the stipulated date a strong\narmy advanced into Scotland, led by King Edward the Second in person.\nIt numbered, we are told, about one hundred thousand men, while the\ntotal number that Bruce was able to muster was thirty thousand, so that\nhis force of seasoned veterans was compelled to fight at odds of more\nthan three to one.\n\nBruce sent out scouts to keep close watch of all the English movements,\nand on the twenty-second of June they brought him word that the English\nwere advancing on Stirling Castle by way of a place called Falkirk.\n\nThis information enabled Bruce to know exactly how his enemies must\ntravel, for to reach Stirling after passing Falkirk they would have to\ncross a stream called Bannock Burn, and Bruce was thoroughly acquainted\nwith the country in the vicinity of this stream.\n\nHe assembled his army on its bank and strengthened his position with\nhundreds of pits in which sharp stakes were planted to trip and impale\nthe English cavalry. When these pits were prepared they were covered up\nagain with turf in such a way that they were practically invisible.\nBruce also took his position at a ford in the river, knowing that his\nflanks would be protected by deep water and high banks so that the\nenemy could not get around him.\n\nWhen his men had taken their positions he spoke to them. He told them\nthat the hour had come when they were to make Scotland free or die as\nthey faced the foe. If the men did not like his conditions, he\ncontinued, they were free to depart before the battle began.\n\nBut the Scots stood firm. Although they had an idea of the odds against\nwhich they must fight, their confidence in their leader was so great\nthat they had no doubt in their minds that victory would be theirs.\nBehind their rude fortifications, with sharpened pikes and swords, they\nawaited grimly the coming of Edward's horsemen.\n\nThe battle opened in a curious manner. While Sir Thomas Randolph, one\nof Bruce's kinsmen, was fighting with a body of English cavalry that\nsought to outflank Bruce and make its way to Stirling Castle, Bruce\nhimself engaged in single combat with an English knight named Sir Henry\nde Bohun. This knight had recognized Bruce as the latter rode up and\ndown in front of the line of Scottish warriors and spurring his horse\nwith lance in rest he charged at the Scotch King. Bruce was only\nmounted on a small pony, while the Englishman rode a heavy charger--but\nwhen the knight was upon him, Bruce, by a deft twist of the bridle,\navoided the deadly lance, and in another second had driven his battle\naxe through the skull of his enemy with so mighty a blow that the\nhandle broke in his hand.\n\nA great cheer rose from the Scottish ranks as they beheld this deed,\nand with the greatest bravery they routed the English as they charged.\nThe English had not reckoned on such stubborn resistance from a force\nfar inferior to their own, both in size and equipment, and as the day\nwas waning they withdrew in good order, planning to hold a council of\nwar and gain the battle on the following day.\n\nEarly in the morning the Scots were in position, and with a great rush\nof horses and men the English surged upon them. It was to no avail.\nAgain and again the flower of the English nobility charged the squares\nof Scottish infantry and were driven back in confusion.\n\nAt last the English lines wavered and with a deafening cheer the Scots\nrushed upon them. Pell mell the English retreated and the battle was\nwon. It is said that thirty thousand Englishmen were slain in this\nencounter--a number equal to the total number of the Scottish army.\n\nThe victory that Bruce won at the battle of Bannockburn changed the\nentire course of English history. Instead of being a hunted fugitive he\nwas now acknowledged as king and openly received the fealty of his\nsubjects. The English strongholds in Scotland were overthrown, and\nScotland became a kingdom in fact as well as in name. Moreover, Bruce's\nwife and daughter, who had been imprisoned in England, were set at\nliberty. Fighting was not yet over, however, and border warfare for a\ntime continued with varying success on either side. Edward Bruce, the\nbrother of King Robert, was killed when fighting in Ireland.\n\nIn 1328 a treaty was signed with England in which the English\nrecognized that Scotland was now fairly entitled to her independence\nand that Bruce was her rightful ruler.\n\nBut the great king was not to enjoy for long the fruits of his victory.\nHis hardships in the wilderness when flying from his enemies, and his\ngreat suffering and lack of food when he fled in the Scotch heather\nlike a hunted animal, had made him fall prey to a terrible malady--the\ndisease of leprosy. So great was the love in which the Scots held him\nthat even this did not make them shun him with the fear that is shown\ntoward ordinary sufferers from this disease. Surrounded by friends,\nBruce gradually wasted away and died in 1329. His noble follower,\nDouglas, who had won the name from the English of \"the black Douglas,\"\ntook the heart of the dead king and placed it in a silver box, planning\nto carry it to Jerusalem. But Douglas himself did not live to place it\nthere, for he was killed in a battle with the Moors.\n\nIn all history there have been great soldiers and chiefs of Scottish\nbirth. How great the Scots are as soldiers has been shown in the recent\nwar, where they rendered the most distinguished service for Great\nBritain, fighting under the British flag, their former quarrels with\nEngland reconciled, if not forgotten. But of all none was more glorious\nthan Robert Bruce, and his name is a household word to-day through the\nwhole of Scotland.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI\n\nJEANNE D'ARC\n\n\nIn northern France the river Meuse runs through broad meadowlands,\nwhere the sun shines dimly for many months each year, and cold, rolling\nmists sweep down upon the earth in winter, coating each twig with\nsilver. There, in the little village of Domremy, in the year 1412, was\nborn a girl named Jeanne d'Arc, whose father, Jacques d'Arc, was a\nsimple peasant.\n\nWhen Jeanne d'Arc was born life was hard and dangerous in Domremy. The\nvillagers were hard put to it to protect themselves against fierce\nknights and noblemen who rode at the head of marauding bands to steal\nand plunder at will. The peasants had to look on sadly, with no hope of\nredress, when brutal men at arms drove off their sheep, or tossed the\ntorch into their cottages--and as there was little to choose between\nfriend and foe, the villagers stood guard in the tower of a nearby\nmonastery, and gave the alarm when any soldiers approached the town.\n\nDomremy, however, was no worse off in these respects than other towns\nand villages in that far time. And it must not be thought that the\nvillage folk were wholly without pleasures. Roses grew along the walls\nof their cottages, wine flowed from their vineyards, and there were\nvillage festivals and dances in which they loved to take part. Although\nthey could not read or write, their priests instructed them in the\nhistory of the Church and its mighty power, and in the lives of the\nSaints and Martyrs and their teachings--how those that obeyed the\nChurch and its priests were blessed, while those that broke its laws\nmust surely enter the dismal fires of Hell. There were also bands of\nplayers who acted the religious stories taught by the priests in so\nvivid a manner that the peasants were thrilled and delighted; and while\ntheir cottages were bare and poor, their church was glorious with gold,\nrich with embroidery and bright with candle light that gleamed upon the\ncarven, painted figures of the Saints that they adored.\n\nIt had been prophesied in France that from a forest near Domremy there\nwould come a maid who would deliver the country from the perils that\nbeset it--and when Jeanne d'Arc was a little girl the times seemed ripe\nindeed for the appearance of such deliverer. A great war had been\nraging between France and England; the English had captured many French\ntowns and laid claim to the crown itself; the French King, Charles the\nSixth, was quite mad; his Queen had leagued herself with the enemies of\nFrance, and her son, Prince Charles, who was called the Dauphin, had\nbeen compelled to flee to escape the English and the Burgundians.\n\nPerhaps Jeanne d'Arc had heard the prophesy about the maid,--certainly\nshe had listened to many beautiful tales about the lives of the Saints.\nIn those days the Saints were believed to take sides in war with the\ncountries that were dearest to them. The English believed in St.\nGeorge, who slew the dragon; but the patron Saint of France was the\nArchangel Michael. He was portrayed in the churches as a knight in\nshining armor with a crown above his helmet, and sometimes he bore\nscales in which he weighed the souls of men. Jeanne had listened to\nmany stories about him, and to tales of other Saints as well--legends\nof St. Margaret, whose soul escaped from her persecutors in the shape\nof a white dove, and stories of the gracious St. Catherine, who died by\nthe sword because she was a Christian.\n\nThese tales made a great impression upon her--all the more because she\ndid not know one letter of the alphabet from another. She was a serious\nchild, with something about her that marked her as being different from\nthe other children of the village, and as she grew older she grew apart\nfrom them and did not share their games and dances. Often, when her\nfather believed her to be tending his sheep, she was kneeling at\nprayer. Her girl friends, Mengette and Hauviette, urged her to share\ntheir pleasures and to give less heed to the dreams that seemed to hold\nher in their spell, but Jeanne persisted in her way of life, and gained\na reputation for piety that passed beyond her village into the\nneighboring countryside.\n\nWhen a mere child, something happened to Jeanne that was destined to\nshake the entire Kingdom of France. When she listened to the church\nbells as they rang out over the meadows, she believed that she heard\nheavenly voices calling her name. She was only thirteen years old when\nshe began hearing them and they seemed to come from the direction of\nthe church that was near her cottage. The first time was at noon and a\nbright light appeared to her, while a grave, sweet voice said, \"I come\nfrom Heaven to help you to lead a pure and holy life. Be good,\nJeannette, and God will aid you.\" Badly frightened, she ran into the\ncottage and said nothing of what had happened; but a few days later the\nsame voice called out to her again. In amazement she knew it to be the\nvoice of an angel--and then--Saint Michael himself appeared to her in\nthe light!\n\nFrom that time on the visions and the voices came more frequently. And\nit seemed to Jeanne that not only St. Michael came, but St. Margaret\nand St. Catherine appeared to her also, coming with a bright light, and\nspeaking with sweet and musical words. And they were so real that she\nbelieved she had actually touched their garments and tasted the sweet\nscents their robes emitted.\n\nThey began to urge her to take a strange course of action far removed\nfrom her birth and station and marvelous to think of, telling her that\nshe must alter her way of life, put on armor and become a captain in\nthe wars, for she was chosen by the King of Heaven to save France from\nits enemies. And they called her \"Daughter of God.\" But Jeanne was\nfilled with fear and grave misgiving, for how was she, a poor,\nunlettered girl and the daughter of peasants, to lead armies and wield\nthe sword of war?\n\nIn the meantime the mad Charles the Sixth died and left his throne to\nbe fought for by the Dauphin, who was destined to be Charles the\nSeventh--but this prince found his dominions so harried by war, so\ndivided against themselves, and his path beset by so many enemies that\nhe was unable to go to the city of Rheims, where all French kings must\nbe anointed with sacred oil before they could be considered as the\nrightful sovereigns of France. His failure to do this gave added power\nto the English and better reason for them to claim the French crown for\ntheir young King, Henry the Sixth, whose armies had joined the Duke of\nBurgundy. And it became more plain each day that France would be ruled\nby whichever king was the first to be crowned at Rheims.\n\nIn the meantime the heavenly voices that spoke to Jeanne grew more and\nmore insistent, telling her that she must go forth to the wars and lead\nthe Dauphin Charles to the Cathedral at Rheims to be crowned and\nanointed. And at last she could no longer disobey, but prepared to\nfulfil the strange destiny that they pointed out to her.\n\nClad in her poor best dress, Jeanne visited a garrison of French\nsoldiers, and told their captain that Heaven had called on her to lead\nthe French to victory and see that the Dauphin Charles was duly crowned\nat Rheims. For a week she remained, imploring the captain to listen to\nher, but gaining nothing but insults and mockery that drove her at last\nto return to her home. But the Archangel Michael and Saint Catherine\nand Saint Margaret continued to appear to her, and she had no choice\nexcept to listen to their words.\n\nAgain she went to the French stronghold and told the captain, whose\nname was Robert de Baudricourt, that if the Dauphin Charles would give\nher men at arms she would deliver the city of Orleans, which was being\nbesieged by the English, and drive the English enemy from their\nstrongholds in all France. And this time the captain gave heed to her\nand wrote to the French Court, telling the Dauphin of what she had\nsaid; and after many days of weary waiting he received a reply ordering\nthat Jeanne be taken to Chinon where the Dauphin was awaiting her.\n\nThis was not accomplished all at once, and Jeanne had to answer many\ntedious and wearisome questions; for wise men and clergymen from all\nover the land desired to know if she were inspired by angels or devils,\nand they feared that the visions she had seen might be the work of\nSatan himself. But they decided at last that there was great virtue in\nwhat she had beheld and that perhaps after all she was to be the\ndeliverer of France that prophets had told of. And they decided that,\nas travel was dangerous and there were many rough characters on the\nroad, Jeanne should go to the French Court dressed as a boy, and a\njerkin, a doublet, hose and gaiters were given to her.\n\nAttired in these garments and accompanied by men at arms Jeanne set\nforth on her journey, and traveled for more than seventy leagues\nthrough a hostile country with enemies on every hand. At length she\ncame to Chinon and sent the Dauphin a letter, telling him that she was\nsent by God to crown him as King of France.\n\nCharles was suspicious of Jeanne and desired to see for himself if she\nwas inspired by angels; and when he summoned her to the Court he\nprepared a trick to deceive her. He had one of his courtiers wear the\nroyal robes and seat himself on the throne, while the Dauphin,\ndisguised in humble garments, stood quietly in the group of courtiers\nand servants that crowded the room.\n\nWhen Jeanne entered she stopped for a minute and glanced about her.\nThen, instead of going to the throne where the supposed Prince was\nsitting, she went straight to Charles where he stood among his\ncourtiers, and falling on her knees before him she told him that the\nKing of Heaven had called upon her to deliver the city of Orleans from\nthe hands of the English and to take him to Rheims to be crowned.\n\nAll who beheld this were amazed, for Jeanne had never seen Charles\nbefore,--nor had she so much as looked upon his portrait--and Charles\nand his noblemen believed that this was indeed a sign that Jeanne was\nguided by heavenly powers.\n\nBefore they went any further, however, they put her to further tests\nand she was questioned again by learned doctors and ministers.\nMessengers were even sent to the village of Domremy to learn about her\nearly life. They asked her to give signs and to perform miracles--but\nJeanne told them that it was not in her power to do these things. Her\ndeeds, she declared, should answer for themselves and before the walls\nof Orleans all should receive the sign that they required in the rout\nof the English army. And she begged them to make haste and let her go\nthere, for the English were battering at the walls and the besieged\ngarrison was suffering.\n\nIn Tours Jeanne was fitted out with plain white armor and received a\nsword that was believed to have belonged to the great Charles Martel,\nwho had saved France and all Christendom from the invader several\nhundred years before her time. She also had a banner painted for her,\nsnowy white, with fleur de lis upon it and a picture of God holding up\nthe world, with angels on each side. And then, in company with skilled\ncaptains and men of war, and with her two brothers, Jean and Pierre,\nriding behind her, Jeanne went to the city of Blois, where the army to\nrelieve Orleans was awaiting her arrival.\n\nWith priests marching at the head of the column, chanting in Latin,\naccompanied by captains decked in all the panoply of war, and followed\nby men at arms, Jeanne left Blois for Orleans. She was in command of a\nconvoy of supplies and provisions and the larger part of her army was\nto come up later. There were two roads to Orleans, which was built on\nthe margin of the river Loire--one road leading directly past the\nEnglish camp, the other running down to the river, where entrance to\nthe town was to be gained only by bridges and boats.\n\nJeanne had desired to march directly past the English, and so strike\nfear into their hearts, but her captains deemed that the other road was\nthe safer and without her knowledge guided her upon it, so that when\nshe beheld Orleans the river was between. And she spoke bitterly to the\ncaptains for deceiving her.\n\n\"In God's name,\" she cried in anger, \"you deceive yourselves, not me,\nfor I bring you more certain aid than ever before was brought to a town\nor city. It is the aid of the King of Heaven,\" and in truth the way\nthat the captains had chosen in their timidity was more dangerous and\nuncertain than the one that Jeanne had chosen.\n\nThe English, however, were so negligent, that they allowed the entire\narmy to enter the city in safety, and the people of Orleans rejoiced\nbeyond words when Jeanne in her shining armor appeared within the\nramparts of the beleaguered town. They beat upon the door of the house\nwhere she was lodged and clamored to see her, and they crowded so\nclosely about her as she rode through the streets that a torch set fire\nto her white standard, and the Maid, wheeling her horse, was obliged to\nput it out with her own hands.\n\nOn the following day Jeanne sent two heralds with a letter to the\nEnglish leaders, bidding them to depart and save their lives while\nthere was time, for otherwise the French would fall upon them and slay\nthem all--but the English laughed greatly at the letter pretending to\nscorn it and really believing it to be the work of a witch who was led\nby evil spirits; and they answered her with vile taunts and insults,\nand one of their captains named Glasdale shook his fist in her\ndirection and shouted in a voice that reached her ears: \"Witch, if ever\nwe lay our hands upon you, you shall be burned alive.\"\n\nNone the less the English were more frightened by the sight of this\nyoung girl in white armor than they cared to admit, for they believed\nthey were now fighting the powers of darkness; and in this way Jeanne's\npresence did the French army more good than the thousands of soldiers\nshe brought with her.\n\nIt came to pass that soon after Jeanne's arrival in the city, although\nshe was now considered the real leader of the French rather than the\ncaptains, an attack was made by the French against one of the English\nforts that rose without the city walls. And things went badly for the\nFrench, for the English repulsed them with great slaughter.\n\nJeanne had not been told of the attack and was asleep at the time it\ntook place, but the Saints that watched over her appeared to her in a\ndream and told her that she must rise instantly and go forth against\nthe English; and when she rose she heard the hearty shouts of the\nEnglish soldiers and the screams of the French who were being\nslaughtered.\n\nShe put on her armor as quickly as possible and galloped to the scene\nof the fight with her white standard in her hand. The French were in\nfull flight when she appeared, but their courage returned when they saw\nher and they ran to gather around her banner. She cried out to them\nthat they must return to the charge and take the English fort, and\nalthough the English hurled great stones upon them and fired with\ncrossbows and cannon, the French soldiers swarmed over the English\nramparts and gained the victory. And through the fight the Maid stood\nunmoved beneath the hail of missiles that the English showered down\nupon her followers, and she led the attack in person when the French\nclimbed over the walls.\n\nThis was only the commencement of the fighting, for the French with\nJeanne to lead them, now commenced a determined series of attacks\nagainst the English forts that lay about the city. And everywhere\nJeanne and her white standard were in the front rank of the battle, and\nshe risked her life a thousand times each day.\n\nAt last the French attacked one of the strongest of all the English\nforts, the bastille of Les Tourelles. Before the fight began Jeanne\ntold the men-at-arms who were detailed to accompany her on the field to\nstay particularly close to her that day--\"For,\" said she, \"I have much\nwork to do, and blood will flow from my body--above the breast.\"\n\nAs the French approached the stronghold they were met with showers of\nstones and arrows. The English crossbowmen did deadly work and the\nEnglish cannon fired stone balls into the ranks of the French soldiers.\nThe French brought scaling ladders to mount the walls, but above them\nthe English stood ready with boiling pitch and melted lead to hurl into\nthe faces of those who succeeded in mounting.\n\nIn spite of all these dangers Jeanne was constantly close to the\nEnglish walls and her white standard always rose where the fighting was\nhottest. When a scaling ladder was placed against the wall she was the\nfirst to mount and was half way to the top when an English crossbowman,\ntaking careful aim, fired an arrow with such force that it pierced\nright through her steel coat of mail and stood out behind her shoulder.\nHer grip relaxed from the ladder and she fell.\n\nA mighty cheer went up from the English who believed that in drawing\nthe blood of the witch they had drawn her power too. And for a time it\nseemed as if this really were so, for Jeanne's wound was very painful\nand she seemed no longer a warrior, but a pitiful little girl, overcome\nwith tears and faintness. At last, however, when her steel shirt had\nbeen removed, she grasped the arrow with her own hands and drew it from\nthe wound. And after this she rose and insisted on donning her armor\nonce more.\n\nThe French had seen her fall and their courage had left them, and they\nwere in full retreat when Jeanne returned to the battle.\n\n\"In God's name,\" she cried, riding toward them, \"forward once more. Do\nnot fly when the place is almost ours. One more brave charge and I\npromise you shall succeed.\"\n\nThe English were still rejoicing at what they had accomplished when to\ntheir dismay the French trumpets blew the charge again and they beheld\nthe Maid with her white standard directly beneath their walls. And they\nconsidered that her return to the fight was nothing less than magical\nand fear gripped their hearts. Then the French swarmed up the scaling\nladders like monkeys, leaped over the ramparts, and a horrible din\narose from the interior of the fort, where, amid oaths and outcries and\nthe clangor and crash of axes and meeting shields, the English were\nsavagely slaughtered.\n\nGlasdale, the same leader who had threatened Jeanne from the English\ncamp, was guarding the retreat of his men as they ran across a bridge\nover the Loire, but the French brought up and set fire to an old barge\npiled high with straw, tar, sulphur and all kinds of inflammable\nmaterial, and the only escape for the English lay directly through the\nflames.\n\nJeanne, on seeing this, was smitten with great pity for her enemies.\n\n\"Yield, Glasdale, yield!\" she cried. \"Thou hast called me witch, thou\nhast basely insulted me, but I have great pity on your soul.\"\n\nBut the brave English captain refused to give in and continued to guard\nthe escape of his comrades. When all had passed through the smoke and\nflame he tried himself to rush across--but the planks were now eaten\nthrough with fire and would not hold him. With a crash of breaking\ntimbers he plunged into the river beneath, where the weight of his\narmor pulled him down and he was drowned.\n\nWith the capture of this English stronghold the siege of Orleans came\nto an end. The English saw that they were beaten and that their months\nof fighting to gain the city had availed them nothing. On the following\nday the French beheld them marching away in good order, and Jeanne\ncried out for joy.\n\n\"Let them go,\" she said to her captains who wished to pursue them. \"It\nis Sunday and God does not will that you shall fight to-day, but you\nshall have them another time.\" And the French held a solemn mass in\nthanksgiving for their victory.\n\nJeanne had made good her word and Orleans was saved. And now the Maid\nreturned to Tours to meet the Dauphin, who had been so faint hearted\nthat he stayed out of harm's way while a girl had gone forth and fought\nhis battles for him. But he was very glad to see the Maid and he gave\nher a royal welcome and Jeanne told him that no time was to be lost but\nthat he must come to Rheims and be crowned.\n\nAt last the tardy prince yielded to her request, and Jeanne with the\narmy set forth once more to capture the towns that still were held by\nthe English--and with the Maid at the head of the French army the towns\nof Jargeau, Meuny and Beaugency were soon taken. The English were so\nfrightened by the marvelous feats performed by Jeanne that it was not\nlong before their entire army was in full retreat toward the city of\nParis. But Jeanne pursued them and defeated them in the battle of\nPathay, where the mighty English leader, Talbot, was taken prisoner.\n\nAnd then Jeanne took matters into her own hands, for Charles continued\nto delay. She issued a proclamation to the people to come to Rheims to\nthe King's Coronation, and she left the Court again to join the army,\nwhere Charles was compelled to follow her. And at last through the\nefforts of this simple peasant girl, the sluggard Charles was crowned\nwith divine pomp and glory in the Rheims cathedral, and Jeanne in her\nwhite armor and with her white banner floating over her stood beside\nhim all through the ceremony. The holy oil was poured on his head and\nall the people shouted in rejoicing, because they now had a king.\n\nAmong the spectators was Jeanne's father who had journeyed to Rheims to\nsee his famous daughter. All the old man's expenses were paid by the\nKing, and when it was time for him to depart he was given a horse to\ncarry him back to his native village.\n\nJeanne now desired to besiege and capture Paris which was held by\nCharles' enemies, but since he had been crowned he was reluctant to\nmake any further effort to secure his kingdom. Paris was besieged, to\nbe sure, but only half-heartedly, for the King did not send up the\nnecessary reinforcements, and the siege was unsuccessful.\n\nThen came months when Jeanne was forced to wait at Court, where the\nlaggard King did nothing whatever, quite content with what had already\nbeen accomplished in his behalf. It is true that he gave Jeanne many\npresents, among other things a mantle of cloth of gold; and that many\nsick persons believed her to be a saint and came to touch her, in order\nto be cured of illness and suffering. But when Jeanne was asked to lay\nher hands upon some sufferer and cure him, she replied that his own\ntouch would be as healing as her own, for that no extraordinary power\nlay in her.\n\nThe English and the Burgundians sought to retrieve their fortunes by\ncapturing Compiegne, a town that was important in its relation to Paris\nand as large and strong as Orleans itself. Word of this was brought to\nJeanne, and she learned also that her enemies had already appeared\nbefore the city walls.\n\nWith her usual swift decision she went to help the beleaguered\ngarrison. She arrived before the city by secret forest paths and\nsucceeded in gaining an entrance to it. And one morning with about five\nhundred followers she rode through the city gates to do battle with the\nbesiegers. Her force drove the Burgundians before them like chaff, and\nthe attack would have been wholly successful if a company of English\nmen at arms had not come up at the gallop and attacked the French from\nthe flank and from the rear.\n\nAll of the French fled except a small band in the immediate vicinity of\nthe Maid. They were driven back into the town with the English and\nBurgundians so close on their heels that the archers on the walls of\nthe town could not shoot for fear of wounding their own comrades. Then\nthe drawbridge was raised to keep the English from forcing an\nentrance--and Jeanne and her few followers were surrounded by the\nenemy. The Maid was dressed in a scarlet and gold cloak which covered\nher armor, and more attention was drawn to her than usual on account of\nthe richness of her apparel. A Burgundian archer laid hands on her and\ndragged her from her horse. She was a prisoner.\n\nA great shout of triumph went up from the Burgundians when they saw\nthat it was indeed Jeanne the Maid whom they had taken, and she was\nbrought before the Duke of Burgundy, who, with great joy, sent many\nletters abroad informing the heads of the Church and the English of his\ngood fortune.\n\nThe English were determined to get Jeanne in their power, for they had\nplanned a cruel death for her. The Holy Inquisition likewise demanded\nher \"to receive justice at the hands of the Church.\"\n\nAnd now must be recorded the black and shameful fact that Charles made\nno effort to ransom Jeanne or do anything to relieve her misfortune, as\nmight well have been possible, for the French held important English\nprisoners. And not content with leaving her to die, he proceeded to\nslight the name of the girl that had won him his throne. For in\nofficial accounts of how he had been crowned he made no reference to\nJeanne at all. Orleans was won \"by the grace of God.\" His enemies were\nrouted \"by the will of Providence.\" Of Jeanne and her efforts in his\nbehalf he said not one single word.\n\nJeanne was sent from castle to castle and confined in one prison after\nanother. On one occasion she was jailed in a high tower and she tried\nto escape by leaping from a window more than sixty feet above the\nground, only to be picked up insensible and bleeding as she lay at the\nfoot of the castle wall.\n\nThen her worst enemy appeared before her. This was Pierre Cauchon, the\nBishop of Beauvais. He persuaded the English to buy her from her\ncaptors so that they might try her and punish her, and the sum of six\nthousand francs was paid by them as blood money.\n\nJeanne was then taken to the town of Rouen and imprisoned in a grim and\nancient castle, which was already centuries old. Not content with\nlodging her in a damp cell, the English placed fetters on her leg and\nchained her to a great log so that she must needs drag the chain about\nwhenever she moved. And instead of allowing her women to be her\nattendants, her only jailers were rough men at arms, who were\nconstantly with her.\n\nTo try this simple girl came the greatest dignitaries of the realm--men\naged in experience and the law, grave doctors and wise bishops, all\nwith the single purpose of accomplishing her death. With every\nadvantage on their side they did not even allow a counsel for their\nprisoner, and when they saw that in spite of this she might be able\nskilfully to defend herself, they had her answers set aside as being of\nno importance and having no bearing on the trial. And they were right,\nfor nothing that Jeanne said could possibly affect an issue where the\nstake and the executioner were already decided upon. And when some of\nthe spectators showed signs of pity for her youth and innocence they\nhad the trial continued secretly in her cell.\n\nThey played with her as a cat plays with a mouse and tortured her in\nmind as well as in body. And under the guise of compassion they\npretended to spare her life, only in the end to tell her that the stake\nhad been made ready and that she must come at once to the market place\nto be burned.\n\nOn the thirtieth of May, 1431, Jeanne was taken from her cell by two\npriests and escorted by men at arms to the market place of Rouen, where\nthree scaffolds had been prepared. On one sat the priests who had been\nher judges, on another Jeanne must stand and hear a sermon before she\ndied, and on the third was a grim stake with fagots piled high for her\nburning, and at the top of the stake was nailed a placard that bore\nthese words:\n\n\"_Jeanne, who hath caused herself to be called the maid, a liar,\npernicious, deceiver of the people, soothsayer, superstitious, a\nblasphemer against God, presumptuous, miscreant, boaster, idolatress,\ncruel, dissolute, an invoker of devils, apostate, schismatic and\nheretic._\"\n\nThen, with the learned doctors and churchmen drinking in the words, a\nsermon was read for the benefit of her soul. After it was ended the\nBishop of Beauvais read the sentence which concluded by abandoning her\nto the arm of the law, for the Church itself could not pronounce\nsentence of death, but must leave that to the civil magistrates.\nNeither could the clergymen behold the infliction of the sentence, and\nthey all came down from their seats and left the market place. What\nfollowed was supposed to be too dreadful for them to see.\n\nSo Jeanne was burned, and even in her death there took place something\napproaching a miracle, for when the fire was extinguished her brave\nheart was found intact among the embers, and the frightened English\nthrew it into the river.\n\nBut the end did not come here. The enemies of Jeanne were so afraid of\nher power that they followed her with persecution after she was dead\nand made various attempts to darken her reputation, and give her memory\nan evil name. But they defeated their own ends, for twenty-five years\nlater another trial was held in which the Maid was pronounced to be\ninnocent. And nearly five hundred years later, in 1909, Pope Leo the\nThirteenth took the first step toward making her a Saint by pronouncing\nher \"venerable.\" Her canonization followed in 1920.\n\nThe marvels wrought by Jeanne still continue,--for without her there\nmight be a different France from that which we know to-day. In Domremy\nthe house of Jacques d'Arc still stands, much the same, in many ways,\nas it was when she beheld her visions there. In addition a splendid\nchurch has been built to her memory not far from the village she loved.\nAnd her name and fame grow greater as time passes.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII\n\nCHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS\n\n\nIn the year 1447, or about that time, there was born in the city of\nGenoa in Italy a boy named Christopher Columbus. He was the son of a\nwool weaver named Domenico Columbus, and spent his early boyhood in the\ndark and busy weaver's quarter of Genoa, always within hearing of the\nsound of the loom. His father was an industrious and hard-working man,\nand designed that Christopher should become a wool weaver like himself.\nIt was a good business, he thought, and all his sons might enter it\nwith credit and profit; and though they must work hard, they would have\nan honest business and an occupation for their lives.\n\nBut Christopher was an adventurous boy and preferred the crowded harbor\nand the busy docks of Genoa to the stuffy weaving room. In his spare\ntime he was constantly beside the water, talking with the sailors from\nall parts of the earth and hearing wonderful tales of adventure that\nstirred his blood. The sea was a dangerous place in those days, for not\nonly were the ships small and badly built so that they could only with\nthe greatest difficulty weather the gales that beat in vain against the\nsteel sides of our great ships to-day, but there were many outlaws and\npirates who followed the sea and made every voyage a peril. There were\ndark-skinned Moslems or Moors who would swoop in their swift boats upon\nChristian craft to kill or capture all on board, selling their\nprisoners into the horrible slavery of the Far East. There were also\nfearful tales of serpents and dragons that lived in the far waters of\nthe \"Sea of Darkness,\" for so the Atlantic Ocean was known among the\nseafaring men of Italy, Spain and Portugal, and stories galore of gold\nand undiscovered land. And many of the more adventurous youths of those\ndays became sailors to see with their own eyes the marvels that the\nmariners would describe, while splicing rope upon the docks.\n\nWhen ten years old, however, Christopher was made to work in the wool\nshop and became his father's apprentice, with little free time from the\nloom to go about his own affairs. It is thought that he did not take\nkindly to this business and he may have run away, for a few years later\nwe hear rumors of him in the University of Pavia, where, although a lad\nin his teens, he was greatly interested in the studies of geography and\nastronomy. He had already learned all that was then known about the\nscience of navigation and the use of the few rude instruments with\nwhich mariners determined their position on the sea. He had also\nmastered the science of making maps and was so skilful at drawing them\nthat he could earn his living by this means. He had taken his first\ntrips as a sailor and visited many ports in the immediate vicinity of\nGenoa and perhaps he had gone even farther, for the love of adventure\nand of a wandering life were in his blood.\n\nWhen a very young man the wanderings of Columbus brought him to\nPortugal, where he lived for a time, at Lisbon, with his brother\nBartholomew, who already had made his home there and was drawing maps\nfor a living. The Portuguese were the best sailors of Europe and the\nboldest explorers. Perhaps that was the reason why Columbus went to\nPortugal to live. But another story, later told by his son, says that\nhe was attacked by pirates when in command of a vessel not far from the\nPortuguese coast, and saved his life by swimming to the shore.\n\nWhile Columbus was drawing maps in Lisbon, he used to go to a church\nthat was visited by a beautiful girl called the Lady Philippa, the\ncousin to no less a person than the Archbishop of Lisbon himself.\nColumbus fell in love with her and attended the church whenever he\nbelieved that it would be possible to see her there. She, in turn,\nbegan to look with kindness upon him and at last Columbus and the Lady\nPhilippa were married and the marriage proved to be a very happy one.\n\nPhilippa's grandfather had himself been a bold sailor and an\nadventurous explorer and discovered the Madeira Islands, where his\ngranddaughter owned some property. As she did not like the idea of\nhaving her husband work constantly making maps, the young couple went\nto live on the Madeira Islands at a place called Porto Santo, where\nPhilippa's brother was Governor.\n\nPorto Santo was on the edge of the Sea of Darkness and was full of the\nmost terrible and mysterious tales concerning it. While a few learned\nmen of the time began to think that the world was round, most of the\nsailors and even the scholars thought that it was flat and that by\nsailing westward on the Atlantic you would eventually fall off of the\nrim of the world. The west was also thought to be inhabited by fearful\nmonsters. Sea serpents were there, of a size so great that they could\neasily crush a sailing vessel in their jaws; there were dragons and\ngiant devil fish; in one place there was a burning belt, where the air\nwas like molten flame and the sea a mass of fire; in another there\nlived evil spirits and demons, and a fate worse than death would befall\nany sailor that ventured there. If you sailed to the south, so the\nmariners believed, you would come to a land where the air was too hot\nto support life, while if you sailed to the north you would arrive at a\nclime so frigid that you would certainly freeze to death. The sailors\nbelieved these things because the air grew warmer as they ventured down\nthe coast of Africa toward the equator, and colder when they sailed\npast England and the Scandinavian peninsula to the chill seas that\nborder on the Arctic Circle.\n\nWhile Columbus lived at Porto Santo, however, he heard other tales that\ninterested him greatly and made him believe that the world was round\nand that all the legends of the Sea of Darkness were idle fancies--or\nat least that it would be possible to sail across this sea and come to\nthe wonderful countries of India and China and Japan.\n\nFor the Governor of Porto Santo had told him of strange things that had\nbeen washed on shore when the wind had blown for many days from the\nwest--of a cane so thick through that it would hold a gallon of wine,\nof a piece of wood carved in a manner that never had been seen\nbefore,--and once of a canoe, which had been made by hollowing out a\ngiant tree, in which were the dead bodies of two strange men such as\nthe European world had never seen,--yellow in color with flat, broad\nfaces.\n\nColumbus thought greatly about these things and studied again what\nlittle was known of the world's geography; and he became convinced that\nby sailing to the westward he would reach Japan and China, and\ndetermined to set out upon this marvelous and brave adventure.\n\nFirst he went to the King of Portugal in whose dominions he had made\nhis home, and asked the King for ships and men to undertake a trip that\nwould make Portugal the richest and most powerful kingdom in the entire\nworld,--for once the new lands were discovered, said Columbus, there\nwould be gold for all and land a plenty,--to say nothing of the\nopportunity for carrying the religion of the Holy Catholic Church into\nfar lands and saving the souls of the heathen.\n\nThe King of Portugal was greatly interested in Columbus' words, but he\nthought that Columbus was too greedy in what he demanded for himself,\nfor the ambitious sailor desired a tenth part of all the profits that\nwould be gained by his voyaging and wanted also to be considered as\nKing in the countries that he would discover. Therefore, without saying\nanything about it to Columbus, the King of Portugal tried to cheat him\nout of the fruits of his great idea by secretly sending a sailing\nvessel with another captain on a voyage to that part of the ocean where\nColumbus thought that China and Japan could be found.\n\nThis boat sailed into the west for many days, but encountered terrible\ngales and turned back; and the captain, to save his face among the\nmariners, exaggerated the difficulties that he had encountered,\ndeclaring that it was idle nonsense to think that anything could be\ngained by sailing westward.\n\nColumbus soon heard how the King had deceived him and determined to\nleave Portugal forever. In addition to the deceit that had been\npractised upon him in which others had so basely tried to rob him of\nthe rewards of his great design, a far greater sorrow had come into his\nlife by the death of his good wife, whom he had loved tenderly. So,\nwith his little son, Diego, Columbus went to Spain, thinking that\nperhaps the Spanish King and Queen would listen to him, and give him\nships and money to carry out his plan.\n\nThe King and Queen of Spain, or rather the rulers of the two related\nkingdoms of Castile and Aragon, were named Ferdinand and Isabella. A\nterrible war was going on between these Spanish kingdoms and the Moors,\nwho had overrun Spain hundreds of years before. Queen Isabella,\nhowever, was deeply interested in the words of Columbus,--particularly\nbecause she was a devout Catholic, and desired to spread the Catholic\nreligion in the Far East. She told Columbus that she was too busily\nengaged in fighting the Moors to help him then and that he must wait\nuntil the wars were finished when, she assured him, he should have the\nmoney and ships he needed to carry out his design for the glory of\nSpain and the Catholic faith.\n\nBut the war against the Moors lasted for years, and Columbus, vainly\nwaiting at Court, seemed no nearer to getting the ships and crews that\nhe so ardently desired than when in Portugal being cheated by the\nPortuguese King. He had no money, and in following the Court it was\nhard for him to earn anything to pay for his needs. His garments became\nworn and tattered,--so much so that he became known as \"the man with\nthe cloak full of holes.\" At one time he went into the army and battled\nagainst the Moors, but as he received no pay, he was compelled at last\nto take up his map drawing once again to earn enough money for food and\nclothing. Disappointed and discouraged he sent his brother Bartholomew\nto the Court of the King of England, but the ship was robbed by pirates\nand Bartholomew was obliged to return.\n\nAfter compelling Columbus to wait for seven long years, the King and\nQueen of Spain went back on their word and refused to have anything to\ndo with his adventure. Scientists had ridiculed it and told them that\nthey might just as well cast their gold into the sea as to give it to\nColumbus. So the unhappy Columbus was compelled to leave Court, his\nhopes extinguished and plunged into the lowest depths of despair.\n\nWith him was his son who was now old enough to accompany him in his\nwanderings. Together they passed a monastery called La Rabida where\nColumbus paused to beg a mouthful of bread and a drink of water for his\nboy,--and here there came an absolute change in his fortunes, for here\nthere dwelt a friar who had formerly been confessor to Queen Isabella\nwith whom he still had a great deal of influence; and after going over\nColumbus' plans with a shipbuilder named Martin Pinzon and an\nastronomer named Hernandez, the good friar promised to ask the Queen to\ngrant Columbus' request. At all speed he went to the Spanish Court and\nbrought back word that Columbus was to receive another interview with\nthe Queen, with the additional good news that he was to be of good\nheart in the meantime, for his request was to be granted. And Queen\nIsabella also sent Columbus a sum of money with which to buy decent\nraiment and pay his expenses in coming back to the Court.\n\nIn this way it befell that, after weary years of waiting, the great\nidea of Columbus was finally received, and he was allowed to set out on\nhis wonderful voyage; and he was so sure of success that he almost\nseemed to see the new lands that lay thousands of miles across the Sea\nof Darkness.\n\nColumbus went back to Court and made certain demands of King Ferdinand\nand Queen Isabella that they finally consented to--namely that he was\nto be the \"Admiral of the Ocean Sea\"--for so he called the\nAtlantic--and should rule over all new lands that he discovered. One\ntenth of all future profits from these lands were to be his, and he\nalone should have the right to settle trade disputes that might arise.\nIn addition to these things he was to receive one-eighth of the profit\nof his first voyage, as he was willing, and in fact his agreement with\nthe Queen demanded, that he should pay one-eighth of the expenses of\nthe venture.\n\nOnce the consent of the King and Queen had been given and the money\nprovided, Columbus set about collecting his vessels and their crews.\nThis last, however, was a difficult undertaking, for so many and\nterrible were the stories about the Sea of Darkness and the monsters\nthat lived near the far edge of the world that the boldest mariners\nrefused to venture with him on such an errand, and finally his crew was\ngathered by proclaiming in the jails that any criminal who accompanied\nhim was to receive full pardon on his return to Spain--a means that\nfilled his ships with the most worthless and evil men.\n\nThree ships were provided. They were called the _Santa Maria_, the\n_Pinta_ and the _Nina_,--the last of which was so small that it seemed\nin size little more than a modern life boat as it only had room for\neighteen men. The _Pinta_ carried twenty-seven men and was under the\ncommand of the same Martin Pinzon who had aided Columbus in gaining the\near of Queen Isabella--a man whom Columbus trusted completely, but who\nwas to betray that trust long before Columbus returned from his\nperilous voyage. The _Santa Maria_ was the largest of the three ships,\nand held fifty-seven men. This was Columbus' flagship.\n\nAt a seaport called Palos these vessels were made ready for their\nvoyage and on the Third of August, 1492, they might have been seen with\nthe sunlight gleaming on their white sails, on which were painted the\nhuge red Crosses of the Catholic faith, as they made their way into the\nopen sea and bore to the westward under a favoring breeze. They stopped\nat the Canary Islands, where food and water were taken aboard, and\nthen, leaving behind them the entire civilized world, they sailed\nboldly out into the Sea of Darkness toward that far region where not\nonly the Unknown but all the fears that superstitious seamen could\ninvent awaited them.\n\nIt was not long before Columbus saw that among his crew of desperate\nruffians and jailbirds there were many who would betray him on the\nfirst opportunity. On the way to the Canaries and while stopping there,\nthe rudder of the _Pinta_ was twice broken; and now that the open sea\nwas reached and they were sailing into the far west, the helmsmen tried\nto alter the course of the vessels so that they might not go any\nfurther. When Columbus slept, the men at the tillers of all three ships\nwould steer into the northeast instead of the west, so that the\nvessels, unperceived, might turn upon their own course and eventually\nreturn to the Canary Islands and to Spain. But Columbus was too shrewd\na sailor to be tricked by any such clumsy means and placed the few men\nthat he could trust in charge of the helm. Fortunately for his design a\nbreeze came from the eastward and bore them rapidly along their course.\nColumbus, moreover, did not let the men know how far they had sailed,\nbut every day gave out a distance far less than what had actually been\ncompleted, so that his sailors might think themselves nearer to Spain\nthan was the reality.\n\nOn the Thirteenth of September, however, something took place that\ncaused even Columbus' bold heart to beat quicker with fear, for the\ncompass, that infallible instrument of direction, which was trusted by\nthe mariners of those days even more than it is in the present time,\nbegan to veer around from the north and no longer pointed steadily to\nthe pole. Only a few of Columbus' men were aware of this, and Columbus\nstrengthened their resolution by telling them that it was not the\ncompass which was at fault,--but rather the Pole Star that was\nchanging, so that the compass still pointed truly--and on and on they\nsailed into the west.\n\nAs days and weeks went by a great fear gripped the hearts of the\nsailors. Never had any men been so far from shore as they. Day after\nday they saw nothing but roaring waves and the empty sky. They believed\nthat even if they turned their vessels about it would be almost\nimpossible for them to return, and anger and bitterness arose in their\nhearts against their brave leader whose strong will and steady hand\nforced them to continue the perilous voyage.\n\nAt last, however, they began to see signs of land that cheered them\ngreatly. Terns and sea gulls appeared about their vessel, diving for\nthe scraps of food that they tossed overboard. One day some little\nbirds that came from the land rested in their rigging and sang. With\ntheir hearts high they watched for land, but it did not appear. On and\non they sailed and still nothing was to be seen but the wide sky and\nthe watery horizon. But more signs of land soon appeared. A branch from\na wild rose bush floated past. Weeds were seen in the water. A careful\nlookout was kept and a large reward was promised to that sailor who\nmight first see land.\n\nOn the night of October eleventh, Columbus believed that he saw a light\ndirectly in front of his vessel. It moved, glimmered, and disappeared,\nonly to appear again a moment later. Some of the lookouts also thought\nthat they had seen it, and the watch for land became keener than ever.\nAt about two in the morning the cry of land was raised. One of the\nsailors had seen a sandbar and a low line of land. At once the vessels\nanchored, and with beating hearts the sailors waited for the morning\nthat was to be fraught with such tremendous adventures.\n\nSure enough the rising sun disclosed green hills from which the breeze\nbrought a most delicious perfume and where, as they drew closer, the\nbirds could be heard singing. And on the shore a crowd of savages was\ngazing with astonishment upon the mysterious ships that floated with\nsails furled on the smooth waters of the bay. Hardly able to speak for\nexcitement and joy the sailors leaped into their rowboats. First of all\nwas Columbus, richly appareled, with the banner of Spain in his hand.\nAnd as the prow of his boat grounded in the sand he sprang ashore and\ntook possession of the land in the name of King Ferdinand and Queen\nIsabella, unfurling the gorgeous banner to the breeze. Then he and his\nmen kneeled and said a prayer of thankfulness, and they also planted in\nthe earth a great wooden cross, to show that the new land had come\nunder the power of the Christian Church.\n\nThe natives, who had gazed with wonder upon these actions, now\napproached timidly but with every sign of friendship, offering Columbus\ngifts of flowers and fruits and gay colored parrots, and lances tipped\nwith bone and feather belts. They seemed to have no difficulty in\nunderstanding the sign language that the Spaniards used to make their\nwants understood, and they worshipped the newcomers as though they were\nmore than human, and indeed their simple minds were convinced that\nthese gorgeous strangers in velvet and armor were no less than\nsuperhuman beings.\n\nBy the sign language the savages made Columbus understand that there\nwere other lands not far off, and he believed that he had arrived at\nIndia and could sail in the course of a few days to the rich countries\nof China and Japan. And he called the natives \"Indians,\" as a token of\nhis belief--a name that they and all the other natives of the American\ncontinent have borne to the present time. To his dying day Columbus\nbelieved that he had reached India and the Far East. How great would\nhave been his astonishment had he known that another ocean nearly twice\nas broad as the one that he had crossed, lay between him and the\nOrient, and that he had come upon an entirely New World where no\ncivilized men had ever set foot before!\n\nColumbus named the island that he first set foot upon San Salvador.\nAfter he had remained there for some time he gathered his crews and set\nsail once more to discover other lands. He came to the island of Cuba\nand he discovered Haiti, but he thought that these were islands or part\nof the mainland of Japan, China or India, and so reported them in his\nwritings. And now came his first bitter taste of the treachery that was\nto wreck his fortunes, for Martin Pinzon in command of the _Pinta_\ndeserted him to search for gold, sailing away in the _Pinta_ to cruise\nwhere he pleased.\n\nThen, through the carelessness of a helmsman, the _Santa Maria_ was\nwrecked upon a reef,--and Columbus was left with only the _Nina_, which\ncould carry at most eighteen men, to bear the news of his great\ndiscovery back across the ocean to the Kingdom of Spain. A native king,\nhowever, came to his aid and with his tribe helped Columbus to save\neverything that was aboard the _Santa Maria_, and trusting in his\nkindness Columbus decided to found a colony where the greater part of\nhis followers could remain, while he with a few men sailed back to\nSpain in the _Nina_ to carry the word of what had been accomplished.\n\nThis was done and Columbus founded his colony after building a fort\nfrom the timbers of the _Santa Maria_; and he cautioned his men to\ntreat the natives kindly and to respect in every way their rights and\ntheir property. Then, with a few men, he boarded the _Nina_ and set\nsail for Spain.\n\nOn his way he encountered the treacherous Martin Pinzon in the _Pinta_,\nand the voyage across the ocean recommenced. It was a terrible voyage,\nfor a hurricane fell upon the tiny vessels and they were almost\ndestroyed. The seas, said Columbus, ran first in one direction and then\nin another, and at times completely submerged his ships. Convinced that\nhe was going to be drowned and that the news of his discovery would die\nwith him, he placed an account of it in a water-tight keg which he\ntossed overboard with his own hands, preparing another one which he\nleft upon the deck of the vessel to be floated off when it sank beneath\nthe waves.\n\nIn the nick of time, however, the waves moderated, and after a weary\nvoyage and many adventures Columbus dropped anchor in the harbor at\nPalos from which he had sailed months before. He then sent word to\nFerdinand and Isabella of his discovery, and was received with the\nutmost pomp and ceremony. The King and Queen were overjoyed at his\nachievement and granted him honors which hitherto had never been\nallowed to any of their subjects. Columbus sat with them enthroned\nbeneath a canopy of cloth of gold and he rode at the side of the King\nin a triumphal procession. He gave the King and Queen who had so\ngreatly befriended him many gay-colored parrots and rich fruits and\nspices that he had brought with him from the west, and he showed\nIsabella a number of the Indians whom he had brought back across the\nsea. His fame quickly penetrated beyond Spain and the entire Christian\nworld rang with the deeds he had accomplished and the wonders he had\nseen. And Columbus' triumph was in no way marred by the treachery of\nMartin Pinzon who once again had sought to betray his master and\nleader. For when the vessels reached Spain, Pinzon had hastened to send\nto the Queen word of their arrival and had represented the discovery as\nthe result of his own courage and sagacity. He was, however, coldly\nreceived, and shortly afterward died beneath a cloud of disgrace that\nhe richly deserved.\n\nThen Queen Isabella bade Columbus prepare for another voyage to the\nwest and add to his discoveries,--particularly to find gold that the\nKingdom of Spain was in great need of. This time it was not difficult\nto raise a crew, and soon Columbus once more set sail into the west\nwith many vessels under his command.\n\nWhen he arrived at the spot where his colony had been founded he\nlearned that terrible things had happened in his absence. The Spaniards\nhad abused the unsuspecting natives until these had risen in revolt and\nattacked the fort, and of all the Spaniards that Columbus had left\nbehind not a single man remained alive.\n\nAnd this was only the beginning of the trouble that was to pursue\nColumbus until the end of his life. Quarreling and strife broke out\namong the men that were under him. When he sent a part of his fleet\nback to Spain his enemies and those who were jealous of his greatness\nhastened to spread evil reports about him that came to the ears of the\nKing and Queen. Still, however, they continued to trust him, and when\nColumbus returned they sent him forth on a third voyage in which he was\nto bend all his efforts to find the mainland of Asia, which he believed\nlay only a short distance beyond the colony that he had founded.\n\nOn this voyage, however, strife broke out to such an extent among his\nfollowers and so many and so lawless were their ill deeds in their\ncommander's absence--for the need of further discovery had forced\nColumbus to leave the governing of the colony in the hands of others\nthan himself--that the King and Queen finally sent out a man named\nBobadilla to succeed Columbus and take over his powers.\n\nBobadilla hated Columbus and forced upon him an indignity that it is\npitiful to think of,--for the discoverer of the New World and the\nAdmiral of the Ocean Sea was compelled to return to Spain wearing\nchains that had been locked upon his wrists at Bobadilla's orders.\n\nWhen the Captain of the vessel that bore Columbus homeward was about to\nremove the fetters, Columbus haughtily refused to take them off, saying\nthat he would not part with them until he had knelt in chains before\nhis sovereigns and given them this proof of the ingratitude with which\nthey had treated him. And Columbus at last came before Queen Isabella,\nill in body and broken in mind from the hardships and indignities that\nhe suffered.\n\nWhen the Queen saw how her commands had been twisted and the shame that\nhad come upon the man who had served her so splendidly, she wept and\nasked his forgiveness,--and Columbus wept also at the memory of what he\nhad suffered.\n\nUnhappily the full measure of Columbus' misfortune was yet to come.\nQueen Isabella died, and Ferdinand, who, at the best, had been no more\nthan lukewarm toward the achievements of the great sailor, refused to\ntake any further interest in Columbus or what might become of him. The\npension that Columbus had earned was never given to him, nor did he get\nthe share in the profits of his venture that rightfully should have\nbeen his. So ill that he could not walk, he entreated Ferdinand at\nleast to pay his sailors for their last voyage,--but this was never\ndone. Deserted, old and broken-hearted, Columbus, who had aged before\nhis time as a result of his hard life, died in 1506 in a room where he\nhad hung his chains as a sign of the ingratitude of his sovereign. He\nknew, however, that he had accomplished something that would make his\nname immortal and he died with this consolation. He did not know,\nhowever, that he had done something far mightier than his original\ndesign of crossing the Atlantic Ocean to Asia--namely that he had\ndiscovered a New World that was to give birth to a great nation,\ngreater one thousandfold than the Spain that he had served.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII\n\nWILLIAM THE SILENT\n\n\nIn the year 1560 two horsemen were riding in the Forest of Vincennes in\nFrance, followed by a splendid retinue. It could be seen from their\ncostume and bearing that they were officials of high rank and large\nfollowing--and indeed they were no less personages than Henry the\nSecond, the King of France, and a Prince from the Netherlands named\nWilliam of Orange, a powerfully built young man of commanding\nappearance and great nobility of demeanor.\n\nThe Netherlands which were ruled by the King of Spain, had been at war\nwith France and William had been sent to the French court as a hostage\nwhile peace was being arranged. He was brave, generous, handsome and\nwealthy, and gained the respect and liking of all that knew him,\nwherever he happened to be. But his heart was as heavy as lead while\nthe French King was talking to him, for Henry the Second was telling\nhim of a secret scheme by which all people in the Netherlands who did\nnot believe in the Catholic religion were to be wiped out by fire and\nsword.\n\n\"Everything has been arranged,\" said Henry triumphantly, \"and the King\nof Spain has agreed with me to carry out the affair in the Low\nCountries as shall be done in France. The ancient edicts are to be\nbrought forth again. The Holy Inquisition is to be revived in its\ngreatest severity, and before long there will be no place in Spain,\nFrance or the Low Countries where a heretic may lay his head in\nsafety.\"\n\nNow Henry of France was very foolish when he spoke this way to Prince\nWilliam of Orange. He believed that because the Prince had been\ncommander of the army of King Philip of Spain that he was in the\ncomplete confidence of the Spanish King--but this was not the case.\nAlthough William had been brought up in the Catholic faith he was a\nProtestant at heart, and came from a Protestant family. He had only\nturned to the Catholic religion because it had been necessary for him\nto be of that faith to become the ruler of the Principality of\nOrange,--and even if his own father and mother had not been\nProtestants, William would never have consented to the hanging and\nburning of innocent people because they happened to believe in a\nreligion that was slightly different from his own. His blood ran cold\nwith horror when he heard what the King of France and the King of Spain\nwere planning--but in spite of what he heard he had presence of mind\nenough to listen quietly without showing any sign of the rebellion and\nanger that were in his heart. He knew that he could aid the Protestants\nand the Netherlands far more if the powerful monarchs who were in\nleague against them did not realize that they would have him to reckon\nwith as one of their enemies, but from that time on Prince William\ndetermined not to rest until the last Spanish soldier had been driven\nfrom his country and the people were allowed to worship God in their\nown way.\n\nStill William said nothing. He pretended to be greatly interested in\nthe measures that he had learned of and expressed no disapproval of\ntheir severity. The King of France never learned what an error he had\nmade. But William, from his attitude on this matter and the way that he\nconducted himself, gained the nickname of \"William the Silent\" which\nclung to him throughout his life and has been attached to him in\nhistory ever since.\n\nWilliam was well liked in the Netherlands or the \"Low Countries\" as\nthey were then called. He was the son of a nobleman, Count William of\nNassau, and succeeded to the principality of Orange on the death of his\ncousin Rene of Nassau who was killed in battle. Rene was an ardent\nCatholic, and stipulated that to gain the principality William would\nhave to be brought up in the Catholic faith. So young William went to\nthe Court of Charles the Fifth, Emperor of Spain and Germany, and\nbecame a page in Charles' establishment in the city of Brussels.\n\nWhen a youth of eighteen William married a girl of high birth named\nAnne of Edgemont and lived happily with her until he went to the wars\nwith the Spanish army. He did not like military life, but none the less\nhe did so well that before he was twenty-one he was made a General. His\nrecord was creditable to the utmost, but through all his life William\nnever showed any great military ability. He was slow to come to\ndecisions and too deliberate to make a military leader of the highest\norder.\n\nWhen William returned to the Netherlands after his sojourn in the\nFrench court he was made Governor of the principalities of Zeeland,\nUtrecht and Holland. And here, in his efforts to help the Protestants\nfrom the harsh decrees that were being carried out against them, he\nfirst came in collision with the cruel and cold-blooded Philip of\nSpain.\n\nPhilip believed in the instrument of justice called the Holy\nInquisition and for years this had been in operation in his own kingdom\nof Spain. It was a body of Priests and wise men who judged and\ncondemned all persons who were accused of heresy, as any difference\nfrom the Catholic religion was called. The punishments dealt out by the\nHoly Inquisition were most severe and brought great suffering. For the\nInquisition employed the most inhuman tortures, not only for those who\nwere convicted of guilt, but also for unfortunate people who were\naccused, maintaining that under torture nobody could refrain from\ntelling the truth, nor conceal any wickedness that he had ever\ncommitted. As a result of this, confessions were often wrung from\ninnocent people, who could not support the agony of torture, preferring\nto be punished for crimes they had not committed than to bear it. And\nthis punishment was almost invariably to be hanged or burned alive at\nthe stake.\n\nAt the time when William was put in control of the three small states\nthat we have spoken of, Philip had left the Low Countries for Spain,\nand had placed the government of his dominions in the Netherlands in\nthe hands of his half sister, Margaret the Duchess of Parma, and under\nher rule the cruel measures enacted by Philip against the Protestants\nwere ruthlessly carried out.\n\nAs Governor under Philip, William was expected to apply these measures\nhimself, and on one occasion was ordered to put to death certain people\nwho were accused of heresy. Being unwilling to do this he sent them\nprivate warning, suffering them to escape before his men came to arrest\nthem; and from this time on he followed a course of action that soon\nbrought him into disfavor with the Duchess of Parma who suspected him\nof treachery and wrote to the King of Spain accusing William of many\ncrimes.\n\nGreater and greater grew the unrest and dissatisfaction throughout the\nNetherlands. And one curious sign of this was in the formation of a\nsociety of noblemen who called themselves \"The Beggars.\" This\norganization had come about in the following manner. Three hundred or\nmore noblemen had presented to Margaret a request that the Inquisition\nbe abolished and the edicts against the Protestants revoked. Some of\nher advisors laughed at the request of the Flemish nobles, referring to\nthem scornfully as \"beggars,\" and the term came to their ears. At once\nthey took the word for their watch cry and dressed themselves in the\ncostume of beggars with wallets and begging bowls, declaring that they\nwould not resume their ordinary dress until their requests had been\ngranted. And this organization did a great deal to fan the opposition\nto Spain, which was increasing every day throughout the Netherlands,\ninto a flame of rebellion.\n\nAnother disturbance soon took place that made the King of Spain more\nbitterly angry against the Low Countries than any other thing that\ncould have happened. A storm against the Catholic faith swept through\nthe country and churches were sacked and the holy images destroyed in\nevery province. Mobs marched through the streets attired in the sacred\nvestments of the priests that they had torn from the altar. Stained\nglass windows were broken with stones; entire churches were ransacked\nand plundered of everything of value that they contained. The people at\nlast had turned in revolt, and \"the image breaking\" as this rioting was\ncalled, was the first sign of it. And then, or shortly after, William\nthe Silent became a Protestant.\n\nFrightened by the signs of revolt Margaret pretended to consent to the\nwishes of the nobles and stated that the Inquisition should be\nabolished in the Netherlands and the edicts against the Protestant\nreligion revoked. And she sent a secret letter to the King of Spain,\ninforming him of what she had done.\n\nPhilip was determined on the most bitter vengeance, but until he could\nbring a powerful army into the Low Countries it suited him to have his\nsubjects there believe that he had actually consented to their demands.\nSo he pretended to agree to what Margaret had granted, and all through\nthe Low Countries the bells rang and the bonfires burned in rejoicing\nthat freedom from persecution had at last been gained.\n\nBut Philip had put a nobleman named the Duke of Alva in charge of the\narmy that was to subdue the Netherlands, and could not have chosen a\nbetter or surer man to carry out his dark ends. The Duke of Alva was a\nmonster of cruelty, implacable as iron, and possessed of a skill in\nwarfare that few could equal. He had been ordered to seize William of\nOrange as well as other leaders and bring them to instant execution,\nand then so to punish the Netherlands that not a trace of the recent\nrioting or rebellion should remain.\n\nThe Netherlands were not then in a position to offer a strong\nresistance to such a highly organized, well trained army as the Duke of\nAlva's, but secret preparations were going through the country for a\ngreat struggle of which the recent rioting was only the smallest\nbeginning. The Duke of Alva, proud soldier that he was, did not\nestimate the strength of the Lowlanders at its proper value. He boasted\nthat he had tamed men of iron in his time and could easily tame the men\nof butter who were now opposed to him. And his first act was to carry\nout King Philip's demands against the noblemen who were chiefly\nimplicated in the recent uprisings.\n\nThese were the Counts Egmont and Horn and rightly or wrongly William of\nOrange. William himself had been shrewd enough to fly to Germany. He\nknew Philip and he urged Counts Egmont and Horn to fly with him. But\nthey, foolishly feeling secure in their own country, decided to remain\nwhere they were.\n\nFor a very brief time they thought they had decided rightly, for the\nDuke of Alva was courteous to them. He invited them to his house to\ndinner and made them his guests--but while they were eating his bread\nand drinking his wine, an armed guard surrounded his house and the two\nunfortunate nobles were arrested by the treacherous Spaniard and\npromptly thrown into prison. They never regained their liberty. After\nbeing held as captives for the better part of a year they met their\nfate courageously on the public scaffold where so many of the bravest\nand best heads of the Netherlands were falling by the Duke of Alva's\norders.\n\nA reign of terror then swept over the Netherlands that has had\npractically no equal in history. Alva was relentless as flint in every\ndealing with the people under his charge. To meet the numerous trials\nthat were necessary under his regime he appointed what was called the\nCouncil of Troubles--a name that was quickly changed by the people\nthemselves to the Council of Blood, for it never acquitted, never\nshowed mercy. Prisoners were led before it and condemned in batches of\na hundred or more at a time, and sometimes prisoners were delivered to\nthe executioners without even the poor formality of a trial that this\ncouncil afforded.\n\nNor was this all--for to fill his coffers the Duke of Alva established\na system of taxation that if carried out would reduce to beggary every\nman, woman and child in the Low Countries.\n\nWilliam the Silent was not idle in Germany, where he had fled on the\ncoming of this Spanish tyrant; he was engaged in raising money and\nenlisting the sympathy of German princes in the cause of his oppressed\npeople. Aided by his brother Louis, who was a fine soldier, he worked\nday and night to raise an army to march against the Spaniards, and at\nlast was able to send his forces into the Netherlands, while he himself\nremained with a small reserve ready to support them when necessary.\n\nBut although William's brother and the other leaders of his new army\nwere fine soldiers, they failed against the brilliant military genius\nof the Duke of Alva. At first they seemed partly successful and won a\nminor victory at a place called Heiliger Lee,--but then the Duke of\nAlva himself marched against them at the head of a splendid army, and\nwiped out the forces of his adversary at Jemmingen, killing the wounded\nand taking no prisoners, but exterminating his foes wherever he met\nthem. And among the dead was William's youngest brother, Adolphus, who\nhad distinguished himself for his bravery.\n\nThen William had to raise another force to supplant the one that had\njust been destroyed. The German princes were discouraged by his failure\nand were reluctant about giving their aid; and in his distress he\nturned to Queen Elizabeth of England, who sympathized with his cause,\nbut could not do anything for him at that time.\n\nAt last, however, William succeeded in gathering another army that was\neven larger than the first one, and placing himself at its head he\nentered the Netherlands. He was, however, in great straits, for his\nsoldiers were only German mercenaries and William lacked money to pay\nthem. The Duke of Alva knew this and refused to fight, but constantly\nretreated, knowing well that mutiny would soon break out in William's\nforces and weaken him far more than any battle. And this proved to be\nthe case. Serious trouble broke out among the German soldiers, and\nWilliam at last had to disband the army and take refuge in France\nwithout money, credit or prestige. He had sold all his personal\npossessions to support the army and all was lost.\n\nWhere he had once been one of the richest noblemen in Europe, he was\nnow so poor that he hardly knew where the next day's dinner was to come\nfrom. Alva had confiscated all his Netherland estates, and William had\ngone heavily into debt to raise his armies. Failure and poverty stared\nhim in the face, and other misfortunes followed him. His first wife had\ndied several years before, and his second wife, a German princess, now\nwent insane.\n\nCrushed on land, there was yet the possibility for William to do\nsomething for his oppressed country by attacking his enemies on the\nsea. It was not long before privateers in his name were harrying the\nSpanish vessels and swooping down upon the ports held by the Spaniards.\nThese daring seamen took their name from the society that had been\nformed years before called the \"Beggars.\" And William's sailors now\ncalled themselves \"The Beggars of the Sea.\"\n\nThey found help and protection in the English ports, for Queen\nElizabeth hated the Duke of Alva, and while not willing just then to go\nto war openly with Spain, she did all in her power to give assistance\nto Spain's enemies. She allowed the Beggars to obtain men and supplies\nfrom England, and did not hesitate to give them ammunition when they\nrequired it.\n\nThen a first success came to William's cause like a faint ray of\nsunlight through heavy clouds, for the Beggars of the Sea captured the\nfortified town of Brill. And almost immediately after, encouraged by\nthis initial success, the whole of the Netherlands which had been\ngroaning under the Spanish rule rose in rebellion and claimed as their\nrightful ruler the Prince of Orange. Almost in a night the cities rose\nand cast off their Spanish yoke, and all through the Low Countries the\nflag of the Prince of Orange was uplifted.\n\nAlva sent his troops to lay siege to the towns and recapture them, and\nthere followed one of the most terrible periods of warfare that the\nworld has ever known--certainly the most terrible that ever engulfed\nBelgium until the World War of our own day.\n\nAnd now for the first time since his former defeat, the Prince of\nOrange was able to raise troops to fight once more against the\nSpaniards. He sent repeated appeals to the cities of the Low Countries,\nand prepared an army of some twenty thousand German mercenaries that\nwas to be further strengthened by a French force under the French\nAdmiral Coligny. William counted on Coligny's aid to defeat Alva, for\nColigny was an ardent Protestant and had many men at his command.\n\nBut there befell another check to William's fortunes, and one that was\nalmost fatal to his plans, for under the wicked Catherine de Medici the\nFrench Catholics in two days massacred almost every Protestant in\nFrance in a slaughter that was called the Massacre of St. Bartholomew.\nAdmiral Coligny was among the victims, and all hope of support from\nthat quarter was at an end.\n\nLouis, the brother of William, was being besieged by the Duke of Alva\nin the city of Mons, and William marched to the relief of the town. He\ndid not strike promptly enough, however, and was routed by a strategem\non the part of the Spaniards. In the night a considerable force of the\nSpanish soldiers stole up to William's camp and fell upon his army,\ntaking it completely by surprise. William himself barely escaped with\nhis life, being awakened by a pet dog in the nick of time, and when the\nSpaniards were almost in his tent. Leaping to his horse, he galloped\nmadly from the burning camp and escaped, but his army was cut to\npieces. Then Alva continued the siege of Mons until Louis had to\nsurrender. The Spaniards, however, for some strange reason allowed\nLouis to evacuate the town without interference and Louis fled to\nDillenburg in Germany, the home of the Nassau family. But in spite of\nthis new defeat and disappointment, the Lowland cities continued their\nresistance, and nowhere was this stronger than in the province of\nHolland.\n\nThe sieges that followed were among the most terrible in history for\nthe beleaguered towns knew well they could expect no mercy if they were\nconquered, and held out to the last breath. Their inhabitants ate\nhorses, dogs, old shoes--anything to fill their stomachs and stay the\ninroads of starvation. Plague broke out among them and in the Spanish\nforces as well. When the Spaniards captured a town they left not one\nstone upon another, and the burghers who had opposed them were\nmassacred to a man.\n\nBut the Duke of Alva was growing old and suffering from ill health. The\nuniversal hatred in which he was held weighed on his spirit. He had\nwritten several times asking his recall from the Netherlands, and at\nlast King Philip consented to his request and sent out a Governor named\nRequesens to take his place. All the Netherlands went wild with joy\nwhen the news spread that Alva was leaving and bells were rung and\nbonfires lit as for some national holiday.\n\nIn the meantime William had made his headquarters in the province of\nHolland and was conducting the war against the Spaniards from that\npoint. The Spaniards were besieging the city of Leyden, which it was\nnecessary for them to capture, but the Netherlanders cut the dykes that\nrestrained the ocean and let the sea sweep over the land, for Leyden\nwas reduced to starvation, and every day people were dying by hundreds\nwithin its walls. The rescuers sailed up to the town in ships as the\nSpaniards fled, bringing bread to the famished people.\n\nWilliam was now the ruler of Holland and had triumphed over the\nSpaniards. The war dragged after these terrible sieges and both sides\nwould gladly have seen it ended; but the Lowlanders were in no temper\nto accept half measures. And in the Union of Utrecht, in which a number\nof the Lowland provinces united against Philip, an important step was\ntaken toward throwing off the Spanish yoke.\n\nWilliam's life was in great danger, for King Philip had offered a\nreward of twenty-five thousand crowns in gold to any assassin who\nshould strike him down. And although he was under fifty, he appeared\nlike an old man, so great were the troubles with which he had been\nbeset in the course of his life. He was the constant target for the\nbullet or the dagger of the assassin, and many dogged his tracks as a\nresult of the Spanish proclamation against him.\n\nThe end that might have been expected came in the spring of 1584.\nAlready William had once been severely wounded by a would-be murderer,\nand he was now to receive his death blow. A young man, who claimed to\nbe a Protestant orphaned in the religious persecutions, sought aid from\nWilliam's secretary, and William himself ordered that twelve crowns be\ngiven him. With this money the perfidious assassin bought firearms and\nammunition, and gaining entrance to William's home fired three shots\ninto his body. A few minutes later the \"father of his country\" lay\ndead.\n\nThe work that William had done was far reaching and had a permanent\neffect on the fortunes of his country. And to-day a song that was sung\nat the time in his honor is still the national anthem of the Kingdom of\nHolland. He was a man of a great heart and a great character; and his\nfame has lived and grown more lustrous up to the present day.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV\n\nQUEEN ELIZABETH OF ENGLAND\n\n\nWe will now tell the story of a young girl who became the most famous\nQueen that the world has ever known and laid the real foundations for\nthe modern greatness of the English nation. The name of this girl was\nElizabeth, and the time in which she lived has since been called the\nElizabethan Era. For England at that time was rich in the bravest\nsoldiers, the most daring sailors and the greatest men of genius, and\nElizabeth knew well how to surround herself with these men and use\ntheir great talents to benefit her country.\n\nElizabeth was the daughter of King Henry the Eighth, and his wife, Anne\nBoleyn. Her childhood was far from being a happy one, for Henry was a\ncruel tyrant and showed harshness to the princess in many ways. When\nElizabeth was only three years old her mother was imprisoned in the\nTower of London and then beheaded at King Henry's order, and her own\nright to succeed him on the throne of England was taken away from her.\nThen she was sent into the country to be brought up by servants and\nattendants, and seldom was allowed at the Royal Court.\n\nKing Henry married a lady named Catherine Parr and Elizabeth became a\nfavorite with her step-mother. For the first time in her life she\nreceived a little affection and kindness. Catherine saw that she had\nthe attention she needed and brought her back to Court, but although\nshe was still only a child something she said or did once more awakened\nher father's anger, and Elizabeth was sent away in disgrace and not\npermitted to return until after his death.\n\nA son had been born to Henry the Eighth by another wife named Jane\nSeymour; and this boy, who was christened Edward, succeeded his father\non the throne of England. Elizabeth, who was noted for her demure\nbearing, was then thirteen years old and became a great favorite with\nher brother, the boy king, who called her \"sweet sister Temperance,\"\nand gave many signs of his regard for her. But Edward the Sixth did not\nlive very long. He had a serious disease that wasted him away, and\nElizabeth's half sister named Mary, became Queen.\n\nNow Mary was an ardent Catholic, and desired that all England should\ncome under the power of the Catholic Church. To bring this about she\npersecuted the Protestants in her kingdom mercilessly until anybody who\nprofessed to the Protestant faith was in danger of being burned at the\nstake. Mary, moreover, had married the dismal Spanish King, Philip the\nSecond, who tried to have her treat her subjects as he had done with\nthe people of the Low Countries, until through the efforts of William\nthe Silent, they won their freedom. And Mary was surrounded with\nadvisors who were even more fanatical and cruel than the Queen herself.\n\nOne of Mary's first acts when she became Queen was to send for her\nsister Elizabeth and command her to become a Catholic. Elizabeth had\nbeen brought up as a Protestant and believed in the Protestant\nreligion, but to save her life she decided to pretend to obey her\nsister's order and to adopt the outward forms of the Catholic faith.\nAnd then more trouble befell Elizabeth, for due to her sister's harsh\nrule which had won her the name of \"Bloody Mary,\" a revolt broke out\namong a number of the English people to place Elizabeth upon the\nthrone. For the Protestants had not been deceived by Elizabeth's\npretended conversion. They knew that she was Protestant at heart, and\nthat if she were only Queen the cruel persecutions would straightway be\nended. And a young man named Wyatt began a rebellion in Elizabeth's\nname that was only put down after severe rioting.\n\nWyatt was captured and stated that the Princess Elizabeth had known of\nthe plot; and Elizabeth was summoned to Mary to explain the accusations\nagainst her and prove if possible that she had no share in the\nundertaking. Elizabeth was very much frightened, and in fact she had\nevery reason to be. She dressed herself all in white as a symbol of her\ninnocence and went through the streets of London on her way to the\nQueen; and the people gazed at her sadly and shook their heads, for\nthey were afraid that she was going to her death. Mary, who was\ninfluenced by her advisers, refused to see her sister and would not\nlisten to her assurances of innocence, and finally an armed guard came\nbefore Elizabeth and told her that she must go at once to the Tower of\nLondon, where she was to be held a prisoner.\n\nThe Tower of London, which is standing to-day, is a gloomy fortress\nthat was built in the time of William the Conqueror, and since that\ntime had been the scene of many tragedies and executions, for the most\ndangerous political prisoners were confined there. Elizabeth's own\nmother had been put to death within its solid walls, and Elizabeth had\nevery reason to fear that a similar fate was intended for her by her\nsister Mary. Guarded by soldiers, the Princess was taken on a boat down\nthe Thames River; but instead of stopping at the usual entrance to the\nTower, the boat drew towards a portal known as \"Traitor's Gate,\" where\nmany of the worst prisoners entered, only to meet the axe of the\nexecutioner.\n\n\"I am no traitor,\" Elizabeth cried out angrily when she saw where she\nwas, \"I will not pass in by way of the gate of Traitors.\"\n\nAnd when she was sternly told that she must obey, she added:\n\n\"Here lands as true an English subject as ever set foot on these\nstairs!\"\n\nThat she was near death she knew very well; and whenever she heard any\nunusual bustle or stir in the prison courtyard, she tried anxiously to\nsee what was going on there, for she feared that they might be building\na scaffold for her execution. And her fears were only too well founded,\nfor the Queen's advisors hated Elizabeth and did not think that\nCatholic rule in England was safe as long as the Princess was alive.\nThis, rather than the charge of treason that had been trumped up\nagainst her, was the real reason for her imprisonment.\n\nOn one occasion, we are told, Mary fell ill; and her counselors took\nthe opportunity to have Elizabeth put to death. A warrant for her\nexecution was prepared, and an order was sent to the keeper of the\nTower to carry out the punishment at once.\n\n\"Where is the Queen's signature?\" demanded that official.\n\n\"The Queen is too ill to sign it, but it is sent in her name,\" was the\nreply.\n\n\"Then I will wait until she is well enough to send her order in\nperson,\" said the keeper,--and Elizabeth's life was saved. For Mary was\nfurious when she learned how her counselors had tried to take the law\ninto their own hands, and in spite of their remonstrances Elizabeth was\nsoon afterward taken from the Tower and set at liberty.\n\nQueen Mary died in 1558, when Elizabeth was twenty-five years old, and\nas it was known that Elizabeth would now come to the throne, there was\ngreat rejoicing throughout England. Bonfires blazed and bells were\nrung; and in joy at the accession of Elizabeth the people forgot to\nmourn for the dead Queen, whose gloomy reign and religious cruelties\nhad caused her to be feared and hated everywhere.\n\nFrom the first day of her reign Queen Elizabeth showed that she was a\nProtestant at heart and she put an immediate end to religious\npersecution. But Elizabeth was too shrewd to take any steps that would\ncause the Catholics to hate her. She wanted the love and respect of her\nentire people, and always shaped her course in such a way that she\ncould gain the good will of the greatest number of her subjects.\n\nElizabeth hated war and carried on her rule in such a way that she\ncould avoid it as far as possible. She encouraged trade and commerce\nand learning and the sciences, and had in her possession long lists of\nher subjects who had shown great ability, either as soldiers or\nsailors, or in the fields of art and scholarship. As she rewarded such\nmen richly, the ambition of all Englishmen was to make themselves\nworthy of being placed on one of these lists.\n\nAs a result of this policy, which was almost unparalleled in the\nhistory of the world, England began steadily to forge ahead in the\noccupations of peace, and a number of great and illustrious men sprang\ninto fame. The poet Shakespeare commenced to write his immortal plays,\nand Spenser and Bacon both made deathless contributions to English\nliterature. The great explorers, Martin Frobisher and Sir Francis\nDrake, brought back from their voyages priceless knowledge of\ngeography, and many treasures and discoveries to enrich England. The\nEnglish statesmen Cecil and Walsingham followed a shrewd and\nfar-sighted policy, allowing England to grow strong through the wars of\nother nations without engaging in them herself, and put a stop to the\nformer extravagant proceedings in which the public money had been\nwasted.\n\nBut in spite of her desire to keep out of war, many troubles beset\nElizabeth. In Scotland there was a young queen called Mary Queen of\nScots, Elizabeth's cousin, who claimed the throne of England in\naddition to her own. Mary had always been the center of trouble and\nturmoil and had frequently been embroiled with England; and being a\nCatholic there were many among Elizabeth's subjects who would have been\nrejoiced to see her on the throne in place of Elizabeth. On one\noccasion, however, when Mary had been engaged in civil war in Scotland,\nshe was compelled to fly across the Scottish border and throw herself\non the protection of the English Queen.\n\nElizabeth did not dare leave Mary at liberty in England, for she feared\nthe plots that might arise as a result, so Mary was promptly put in\nprison and kept there for eighteen years, with considerable pomp and\nstate as befitted her high birth, but a captive for all that and one\nthat was closely watched.\n\nHolding Mary a prisoner was, however, a very foolish thing for\nElizabeth to do, for at once the Scottish Queen became the subject of\nconspiracies among the English Catholics. Many of these were detected,\nand Elizabeth's statesmen urged the Queen to sign Mary's death warrant\nand put an end once and for all to the cause for internal trouble in\nEngland that would continue as long as Mary lived. But Elizabeth was\nmost unwilling to take the life of her own cousin, who had come to\nEngland of her own accord for safety, and she continued to keep Mary\nunder lock and key.\n\nAt last, however, a plot was discovered in which Mary was not only to\nbe rescued, but placed on the throne of England; and the plot went so\nfar as to plan the murder of Queen Elizabeth. And there was evidence\nthat Mary had actually shared in this conspiracy and to some extent had\ndirected it from her prison. The Scottish Queen was taken to\nFotheringay Castle, where she was tried for high treason and sentenced\nto death, and Elizabeth very reluctantly signed the warrant. So Mary\nwas beheaded, going to her death with a dignity and firmness that have\nadded to her fame throughout the centuries.\n\nThese internal troubles were not the only ones that Elizabeth had to\ncontend with. Philip of Spain had tried to marry her after the death of\nher sister, because he wanted to continue to influence English\npolitics. Elizabeth had refused him and the King of Spain had long been\nher enemy, and was seeking to bring England back under the Catholic\nrule. Although outwardly professing friendship, Philip was preparing\nfor war with England. And his ships captured English vessels on the\nhigh seas and their crews were sent to torture or death because they\nwere Protestants. England did not sit meekly by and watch these\ndepredations on her seamen. English sailors were as good as any, and\noften captured Spanish ships in their turn; and Spanish gold frequently\nfound its way to the English treasury, instead of into the coffers of\nPhilip.\n\nEngland was poor, and had not then come to her full power as a great\nnation, and Elizabeth did not feel able openly to go to war with Spain,\nmuch as she desired to do so. But while she would not give orders for\nher sailors to attack Spanish ships, she was not a little pleased to\nhave her share of the Spanish gold. Chief among her sailors who brought\nhome treasure in this way were Sir John Hawkins and Sir Francis Drake.\nThe last of these was a great friend of Elizabeth's on account of his\nbold deeds and his great discoveries, and much more is told of him in\nanother chapter of this book. For he not only took many rich ships from\nSpain, but sailed around the world, bringing back with him great\nknowledge and gold and gems of priceless value. And although Elizabeth\nhad warned Drake to \"see that he did no harm to her good friend, Philip\nof Spain,\" she rewarded him richly for his deeds.\n\nThe death of Mary Queen of Scots had greatly angered Philip, and the\ndeeds of the English buccaneers filled him with rage. He labored for\nyears collecting a great fleet to invade England, and crowded the decks\nof his vessels with soldiers. This fleet was called _The Invincible\nArmada_ and set sail for England in 1588.\n\nElizabeth rallied her countrymen, and with the utmost coolness and\nbravery made her preparations for defense. Every Englishman who could\nwield a sword was called to the defense of his country. Boys of\neighteen were enlisted and men of sixty once more became men at arms.\nFor Elizabeth knew that if Philip ever gained a foothold in England,\nthe same terrible scenes would be enacted there that had taken place in\nthe Low Countries.\n\nBut the Spanish army never landed in England. When its sails appeared,\nand it seemed as though it must overwhelm the small English fleet that\nwas opposed to it, Queen Elizabeth on horseback rode among her\nsoldiers, encouraging and cheering them, and urging them to fight to\ntheir last drop of blood in defense of their country. But the English\nfleet, under Sir Francis Drake, put the Spanish ships to flight and\nsunk a great number of them. And a gale of wind did the rest, wrecking\nthe unwieldy Spanish boats and drowning thousands of Spanish soldiers\nand sailors.\n\nElizabeth's courage and the loyalty with which she had been served by\nher brave subjects had saved England, and never since that time, with\nthe exception of a raid by the American sailor, Paul Jones, have\nBritish shores been reached by a foreign foeman. The English nation was\nchanging in Elizabeth's reign more than in any former period, and many\nblessings were being given to the Queen's subjects that they had never\nhitherto known. Her reign saw the last vestige of bondage and servitude\ndie out; and men were now allowed to practise the Protestant religion\nwithout the constant fear of death. They became, moreover, used to a\nbetter manner of living and enjoyed luxuries that their fathers had\nnever known. Of course, from our standards their lives would have\nseemed poor and rough, but none the less they were a distinct advance\nover all that had gone before.\n\nThe brilliant court kept by Elizabeth was surpassed by no other in all\nEurope, and the magnificence of her dress had never been equaled. In\nthis respect the Queen resembled her father, Henry the Eighth, who\nalways had loved display. She had a thousand gowns of silk and rich\nmaterials, all richly decorated with gold and precious stones. Her hair\nwas bright with gold and gems and in her Palace gold and rare jewels\nwere seen on every side.\n\nThe Queen was very fond of traveling in state through England, and on\nher way would arrange to visit different noblemen in their castles,\nwhere they had to provide for her entertainment. These trips were\ncalled her \"Progresses.\" And the noblemen selected to entertain her\nconsidered themselves unlucky enough, for they had to go to enormous\nexpense to satisfy her whims, and were never sure of her\ngratitude,--while on the other hand, they were always certain to hear\nfrom her if anything displeased her. The most costly banquets, the\nrichest wines, the most brilliant pageants, the most extravagant\nnovelties and flatteries were expected, if not demanded, by the Queen\nin the course of these entertainments.\n\nAmong her courtiers Queen Elizabeth had many favorites and perhaps the\nworthiest of them was Sir Walter Raleigh. This gentleman was famous for\nhis courtly speech and gentle manners--things that delighted the\nQueen--as well as for the richness of his apparel. On one occasion in\nthe course of a trip the Queen had to cross a muddy place in the road\nand hesitated before soiling her delicate slippers, but Sir Walter\nRaleigh slipped off the rich blue velvet cloak that he wore and cast it\nin the mud in front of the Queen for her to walk upon. He well knew\nthat she would return the value of the cloak twenty times over in the\nbenefits she would confer on him, and this proved to be the case.\n\nSir Walter Raleigh was an explorer as well as a courtier, and had been\ninterested in the establishing of a colony in the New World, calling\nthe lands there \"Virginia\" in honor of the virgin Queen--a name that\nhas lasted to the present day. And from Virginia the potato and tobacco\nwere first brought into England--and Sir Walter Raleigh used to smoke\ntobacco in a silver pipe, sometimes in the Queen's presence.\n\nThe Queen had other favorites beside Sir Walter Raleigh, and chief of\nthese was the Earl of Leicester. It was believed for a time that she\nwould marry him--but this did not come to pass. Another of her\nfavorites was the Earl of Essex, a self-willed and spoiled young man,\nwho frequently had difficulties with the Queen. On one occasion he\nrudely turned his back on her, and Elizabeth retorted by boxing his\nears. Almost always after these affairs Essex left or was sent from\nCourt, but ultimately was pardoned and returned. The Earl of Essex was\nput in command of troops in Ireland, and word of his mismanagement was\nsoon brought to Elizabeth. When he was recalled and punished he\nbelieved that a great wrong had been put upon him and engaged in a\nconspiracy against the Queen. For this he was imprisoned in the Tower\nand beheaded.\n\nElizabeth reigned over England until she was seventy years old. As she\ngrew older she was troubled with ill-health, but her indomitable spirit\nnever failed her. She continued to ride until she had to be lifted to\nher horse, and she ruled with a firm hand long after her health had\nfailed and she had grown ill and feeble.\n\nBut the end of her life was not happy. The throngs of courtiers who had\noffered her the flattery and homage that were so dear to her, found\nsome excuse or other to go elsewhere and to bow themselves before the\nfeet of James of Scotland, the son of the unfortunate Mary Queen of\nScots, for James was now the recognized heir to the English throne. One\nafter one Elizabeth's followers deserted her and at times she was found\nalone and in tears by the few faithful attendants that remained. She\ncould, of course, command attendance, but not the love that she had\nformerly known--for there was now little to be gained from serving her,\nand she had, moreover, been made unpopular by the execution of the Earl\nof Essex, who was loved by the common people.\n\nElizabeth died in her sleep in 1603, passing away without pain. And we\nare told that when her coffin was borne to Westminster Abbey, where she\nwas buried, that all the former love of her subjects returned and she\nwas mourned as no sovereign has been mourned before or since her time.\nAnd this was only fitting, for in spite of her many faults, her like\nhas seldom been seen upon a throne or in the course of history.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV\n\nSIR FRANCIS DRAKE\n\n\nProbably the greatest hero in all Great Britain's naval history is Sir\nFrancis Drake, who carried England's flag to the uttermost corners of\nthe earth and made it glorious when Queen Elizabeth was on the English\nthrone.\n\nDrake was the oldest of a family of twelve sons and was born in\nDevonshire in 1539. He was an active and adventurous boy, fond of all\nathletic games and early showing a taste for the sea that seemed to run\nin his family, for his father had served in the navy in the time of\nHenry the Eighth, and his cousin, Sir John Hawkins, was sailing to the\ncoast of Guinea to bring back slaves.\n\nThe talent that Drake had for the sea was soon observed by the\nkeen-eyed Hawkins, and before long Drake became his apprentice, and\nquickly learned the ins and outs of seamanship. He rapidly made a name\nfor himself as a brave and skilful sailor, and before long accompanied\nHawkins on his trips to Guinea after negro slaves--trips in which Drake\nwas always in the fore when any adventure of a particularly dangerous\nnature was undertaken. The slave trade was a perfectly honorable\ncalling in those days, and Drake succeeded in it beyond his hopes,\namassing much money with which he helped his younger brothers and did\nmany kindnesses for his family.\n\nBut the slave trade itself soon grew too small to satisfy Hawkins, who\nsought a field for broader adventures. All the western ocean lay open\nto him, and mustering a squadron he offered Drake the command of one of\nthe vessels, which were to go to the West Indies and engage in trading\nor fighting with the Spaniards, who had at that time almost a monopoly\nof the waters where Columbus had sailed some seventy years before.\nSpain and England were not openly at war when Hawkins was planning this\nvoyage, but in unknown waters all law stopped; and it was not\ninfrequent for Spanish and English vessels to fall afoul of each other\nwith little or nothing said about it afterward in the Courts or\nEmbassies. Queen Elizabeth hated the Spaniards and was glad to do them\nall the mischief she could, but she did not dare to go to war with them\nat that time or to give too open encouragement to her sea captains.\nThey knew, none the less, that the sight of Spanish gold under English\nhatches was pleasant to good Queen Bess, and likely to result in honor,\nwealth and preferment for themselves.\n\nIt was on Drake's first expedition to the West Indies that he conceived\na hatred for the Spaniards that was to last all his life as the result\nof the black treachery they played on Hawkins. After cruising along the\nwestern coast of what is now Florida, and being unable to find a proper\nharbor there, Hawkins set sail for Mexico and dropped anchor at a\nSpanish port in that country. While he was riding at anchor a large\nfleet of Spanish vessels arrived, and finding the English in possession\nand holding a strong position, agreed to let them sail away unmolested.\nLater, however, when the English had consented to these terms and after\nthe Spanish Admiral had entertained the English officers in his own\ncabin, the Spaniards treacherously attacked the English, killing a\nnumber that had gone ashore before they could regain their boats and\nengaging in a sea fight with Hawkins' squadron, in which the English\nlost all but two of their ships, the _Judith_, Drake's vessel, and the\n_Minion_, on which Hawkins happened to be when the fight commenced.\nThese two ships escaped and made their way back to England separately,\nDrake vowing vengeance against the Spaniards. And indeed they had made\na dangerous enemy in this bold sailor, who very shortly paid them in\nfull for the base treatment they had given him.\n\nAs soon as he was in England Drake commenced fitting out two vessels as\nraiders for the purpose of harrying Spanish ships in the waters of the\nWest Indies, and if possible to capture the Spanish holdings on land\nand place them beneath the English flag. Particularly did he desire to\nget his fingers into the rich heaps of gold that were conveyed by great\nSpanish ships or galleons back from the New World to the treasury of\nKing Philip.\n\nWith these ends in view, Drake landed his men secretly on the coast of\nCentral America near the present location of the Panama Canal; and by a\nbold surprise attack captured the Spanish town named Nombre de Dios. He\nwas finally compelled to abandon the town, because he was greatly\noutnumbered by the Spaniards, who, through a mishap in his plans, were\nenabled to collect their forces and advance against him, but Drake made\ngood this check by another daring plan that was skilfully executed, and\nthat caused great discomfiture to the Spanish officials.\n\nThis was nothing less than to ambush and attack the Spanish treasure\ntrains that carried gold and jewels across the Isthmus of\nPanama,--riches wrung from the natives by Spanish greed. Leaving a\nsmall number of men in charge of his ships, Drake advanced into the\nwild and tropical country of Central America along the route that the\ntreasure trains traveled. When the tinkling of the bells on the\nharnesses of the pack animals warned him of the approach of the\nSpaniards who guarded the treasure, Drake concealed his men at the side\nof the road, and rushing forward with a shout, attacked and captured\nthe train almost before the astonished Spaniards knew that there was an\nenemy in the vicinity. Rich stores of gold and jewels were found in the\nmule packs,--more, in fact, than the English men could carry back with\nthem, and with cheers and rejoicing, the little band of adventurers\nmade their way back to the harbor where they had left their ships.\n\nWhen they reached it, however, no ships were to be seen. They feared\nthat the Spaniards had captured or destroyed their vessels and that\nthey were marooned in a hostile and dangerous country. But Drake, with\nhis characteristic boldness, formed a plan that delivered them from\ntheir difficulty. From the logs on the shore he ordered his men to\nbuild a raft, and with their hatchets they hewed out oars. A sail was\ncontrived from a large biscuit sack, and with a few of his best men\nDrake put to sea on this strange craft, searching for his ships. The\nraft had been built so hurriedly that at times he was up to his waist\nin water, but he was rewarded at last by finding his two vessels safe\nand sound in a little cove where they had been taken to avoid some\nSpanish warships that were in the neighborhood.\n\nReturning to his men at the helm of his own vessel, the treasure was\nsoon aboard, and with a large cargo of gold, silver and sparkling\njewels Drake headed for England, where a rousing welcome was given him.\nElizabeth, however, did not dare openly to approve of an act that\nsecretly brought her the utmost satisfaction. For the time at any rate\nDrake got little thanks for his exploits--and there was even talk of\nreturning the captured treasure to the Spaniards.\n\nDrake then engaged in a war in Ireland, where he proved himself almost\nas good a soldier as he was a sailor; but even while enjoying his\ncongenial occupation of fighting he longed to set forth on another\ngreat adventure, the idea of which had come to him while in the Central\nAmerican jungle from which he had first set eyes on the far-off waters\nof the Pacific Ocean.\n\nThis idea was to carry the English flag through the Strait of Magellan\nand bear the colors of Queen Bess to waters where they had never been\nseen before. Up to that time only the Spanish had rounded South America\nand brought their civilization to its northwestern shores, and the new\nventure, if successful, would mean much to England. But Drake feared\nthat the Queen would not approve of the idea, and for a time cherished\nit only in his own mind, waiting a more favorable opportunity to lay it\nbefore the Queen.\n\nIn the meantime he fell in with an English army officer named Thomas\nDoughty, who became his close friend. Doughty was greatly interested in\nDrake's idea of sailing the Pacific, and promised to get Sir\nChristopher Hatton, one of Elizabeth's most influential advisors, to\nintercede for Drake with the Queen. Hatton talked with Drake and\ncordially approved the plan; and in a short time, in command of a\nsquadron of five tight little vessels Drake sailed westward, while the\ntrumpets blared and the cannon boomed in his honor.\n\nDrake himself was in command of a little ship which he called the\n_Golden Hind_, and Doughty was his second in command over the entire\nsquadron. The ships were admirably fitted out for those times, with\nevery necessity and every comfort and luxury. Drake and his officers\ndined from silver dishes on the choicest food and wines. His stores\nincluded materials for trading with the natives, as well as all the\nscientific instruments then applied to the art of navigation.\n\nAfter sinking some unimportant Spanish ships, the English squadron\ncaptured a large Portuguese galleon, from which they took a valuable\ntreasure. The Portuguese had been unfriendly to the English on more\nthan one occasion, and this was Drake's way of informing them that such\nhad been the case. And after a long voyage he came to the mouth of the\nRiver de la Plata in South America, dropping anchor at the entrance to\nthat great stream. Fires blazed on the shore and weird figures were\nseen dancing around the flames. They were the savage natives, praying\nto their heathen gods for the shipwreck of Drake's party, for they\nbelieved that by their prayers and fires a host of devils would alight\nupon the English vessels and destroy them. Drake himself was too eager\nto continue his voyage to think of landing, and pointed his prows\nsouthward, bound for the Strait of Magellan.\n\nAfter a battle with the gigantic and savage Patagonians, in which Drake\nsaved his men from massacre by his usual quick decision and energy, he\ncontinued his voyage until trouble that had developed in his crew\ncompelled him to take action against his friend and lieutenant,\nDoughty. It seems that even before they sailed from England, Doughty\nhad become jealous of Drake and had commenced to work for his undoing.\nAnd now proofs were only too evident that he had tried to provoke a\nmutiny in the crew.\n\nHe was called before a court consisting of Drake's officers and was\nfound guilty. And then Drake, in spite of his grief that he had been\ndeceived by his most trusted friend, decided that stern measures were\nnecessary to preserve his authority over the men. He told Doughty that\nhe had but one course to take and that was to punish him for his crime.\nBut he gave him the choice of three fates,--to be executed then and\nthere, or put ashore to fend for himself among the savages, or to be\ncast in chains into the hold of the ship and tried by his peers on the\nreturn to England.\n\nThe unhappy Doughty asked time to think over what he should choose, and\nthis was granted. On the following morning he was taken before Drake\nand with courageous mien declared that he preferred to be executed\nrather than be left among the savages or taken home as a prisoner. And\nin a few hours and before the entire company Doughty met his fate, but\nhe did not place his head upon the block until he had sat at dinner\nwith Drake himself and shared communion with him. And after this Drake\ncontinued his voyage, until he found himself at the southernmost part\nof South America.\n\nBeating his way through the dangerous Strait of Magellan, Drake tried\nto sail northward, but was driven back by severe gales and contrary\nwinds until it seemed as though the spirit of the new ocean had arisen\nin wrath, forbidding his further progress. He was even driven south of\nthe strait to Cape Horn, where he landed and looked from the\nsouthernmost pinnacle of the cape to the mysterious southern sea,\ndeclaring triumphantly that he had been farther south than any man in\nthe world and had placed his foot on the extreme of the new continent.\nThen all at once the weather changed and Drake sailed rapidly up the\ncoast.\n\nBy this time only one ship remained to him, for storms had scattered\nhis squadron and he had destroyed one of his own ships, thinking he had\ntoo many to hold together. Another basely deserted him in the Strait\nand sailed back to England. In the _Golden Hind_, however, he himself\nmet all obstacles and continued his voyage where no English keel had\never cut water before.\n\nComing to the northern part of South America, Drake was given word by\nthe natives that a Spanish galleon with a cargo of treasure lay near at\nhand, and swooping down on the great vessel before the Spaniards were\naware of his presence he captured it and transferred the treasure to\nthe _Golden Hind_. He then got news of a second galleon which he\npursued, and when he boarded her discovered that she too bore rich bars\nof gold and silver destined for the treasure house of the King of\nSpain. He had now accomplished his purpose and sailed in the Pacific.\nHe had beneath his hatches a treasure that would have gladdened the\nheart of Midas--a harvest of the yellowest gold and whitest silver--of\nsparkling gems, rich silks and spices, and many costly curios that he\nhad gathered in his voyage. He believed, however, that the Spaniards\nwould be watching the Strait and Cape Horn to intercept him, and\nplanned to try to find a passage around the northern part of the\ncontinent. In sailing north he dropped anchor at a harbor not far from\nthe Golden Gate, and here he had his first experience with North\nAmerican Indians.\n\nHe found these savages very different from the treacherous natives of\nSouth America. They greeted him with the utmost ceremony, treating him\nas a god and bringing him a profusion of gifts of various kinds. With\nIndian guides, the English hunted and slew the deer with which the\nregion abounded and shared the wigwams of the redskins in ceremonial\ngatherings. When they finally took their departure the savages made\nbitter lamentation and stood on the hilltops waving their farewells\nuntil the sails of Drake's little ship had sunk beneath the horizon.\n\nDrake had now altered his plan of sailing north and had conceived the\nbolder project of sailing directly across the Pacific Ocean to the Far\nEast, from which he could proceed to the Cape of Good Hope and skirt\nthe Coast of Africa. So he resolutely turned his prow into an unknown\nsea, and after sixty-eight days sighted land.\n\nAgain the savages crowded around his ship in their canoes, but they\nwere far different from the Indians of California. These men were naked\nwith blackened teeth and sullen looks. Finding the ship not to their\nliking, they loosed a shower of stones, to which Drake responded by\nfiring one of his cannon, which frightened them until they fell out of\ntheir canoes into the water, and remained there until the _Golden Hind_\nhad sailed away.\n\nDrake stopped at many islands and traded with the natives he met there.\nHe visited the Philippines and an island called Terenate, where he\nreceived a native king who called on him with the utmost pomp and\nceremony. This potentate was surrounded with grave old men with white\nbeards, who believed in the Mohammedan religion, and they welcomed\nDrake as though he himself were a mighty king.\n\nAt the court of the King of Terenate Drake discovered a Chinaman, who\nprofessed to be of royal blood, and gave him a courteous invitation to\nvisit the Emperor of China. But Drake was eager to get home and\ncontinued his voyage as quickly as possible. He stopped at Java, and\nthen made for the Cape of Good Hope--which his followers declared was\nthe fairest and most goodly cape in all the world, and the most welcome\nto set eyes on. Rounding the Cape, he directed his course for Sierra\nLeone and the Coast of Guinea, and, coming into waters that he knew, he\ncontinued northward until the shores of England were sighted from his\nmasthead. And at last he dropped anchor triumphantly in Plymouth harbor\nafter a voyage that had lasted three years.\n\nHe had suffered from tempest, battle and shipwreck, and on one occasion\nhad run his vessel on the rocks while in Asiatic waters. He had taken a\nprincely fortune from the Spaniards and engaged in fierce combats with\nthem. He had accomplished more as a geographer and navigator than any\nEnglishman up to his time, and had taken the English flag where it had\nnever been seen before. And as a result of these exploits all England\nrang with his fame, songs were composed in his honor and he was\nconsidered to be more than human by many people who held that only by\nmagic could he have accomplished a voyage so miraculous.\n\nElizabeth did not receive him with open favor at first; but her heart\nwas high within her at Drake's success. At last she informed him that\nit was her pleasure to dine with him on the _Golden Hind_, which you\nmay be sure was scoured and garnished for the occasion as never before.\nIn the ship's cabin Elizabeth and her courtiers feasted with Drake and\nhis officers, and at the end of the dinner she asked the Captain for\nhis sword--a sword that she herself had presented to him before his\ndeparture for the west, and tapping him with it on the shoulder as he\nknelt before her, she knighted him, and left his ship, while Drake\nhimself remained on board to rejoice at the honor that had been\nbestowed on him.\n\nThe dauntless skipper had returned in the nick of time to be of further\nservice to his country, for England at last went openly to war with\nSpain, and Drake was put in command of a fleet to harry Spanish\ncommerce. There were rumors of a great fleet that was being gathered by\nKing Philip to invade England, but Drake met them more than half way\nand sailing into Spanish harbors inflicted such a blow on King Philip's\nnavy that it took more than a year for him to get his ships again in\nsuch a condition that he could sail against English shores. As we have\nalready told you in the last chapter, the King of Spain did at last\nsend a mighty fleet of more than one hundred and fifty great galleons\nto invade England and conquer the country. It was the proudest array of\nships that the world had ever seen up to that time, with Spain's\ngreatest sailors and generals in command and a force of veteran\nsoldiers aboard that was thought to be irresistible.\n\nDrake was at a game of bowls with Sir Walter Raleigh and Martin\nFrobisher when word was brought to him that the Spanish fleet had been\nsighted. The others quickly left their sport and were hurrying toward\nthe harbor when Drake called after them and brought them back.\n\n\"There's plenty of time to finish the game and beat the Spaniards\nafterward,\" he said, laughing.\n\nHe was as good as his word, and as one of the chief commanders of the\nEnglish navy, he did more than any other man to humble Spain's great\nfleet and weaken her power on the sea. While the great Spanish galleons\nwere huddled in confusion the swift English vessels bore down on them\nand raked them from stem to stern with musketry and cannon fire,\nsinking a great many vessels and throwing the entire fleet into\nhopeless disorder. The English also deftly maneuvered so that the\nSpaniards would be driven upon dangerous reefs, and shipwreck complete\nthe havoc in the ranks of the hostile _Armada_. Drake's fire ships,\nlike roaring furnaces, bore down on the Spaniards under full sail, and\nthe light of the flames was reflected against the clouds as the\ngalleons blew up and burned.\n\nA terrible gale completed what the English began and the Spanish ships\ndrove on the rocks by scores, where their crews were dashed to pieces\nor were killed or captured after making their way to shore. Spain's\ndream of conquering England was at an end and Spain's supremacy upon\nthe seas was ended also in favor of her younger rival.\n\nThis was the crowning point of Drake's career and greatness. He was,\nmost naturally, a national figure, the darling of the people and the\ncourt. Later he engaged in further voyages, but did not meet with his\nearlier success, and in 1596 he died at sea not very far from the scene\nof his first victories and the location of the modern Panama Canal. He\nwas buried with high honors, and his coffin was lowered into the sea\ndraped in the English flag, while English guns thundered a salute in\nhonor of the great naval hero.\n\nAll England mourned when they heard of his fate, and the _Golden Hind_\nwas ordered by the Queen to be preserved with scrupulous care in memory\nof the marvelous journey it had made. When it, too, grew old and had to\nbe broken up, a chair was made from its planks and sent to Oxford\nUniversity, where it can be seen to the present day as a memorial of\nDrake's mighty achievements,--feats that stand in a class by\nthemselves, and that will be hard to duplicate to the end of time.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI\n\nHENRY HUDSON\n\n\nWhen James the First was King of England, and four years after the\ndeath of the great Queen Elizabeth, there existed an English and\nRussian trading company of wealthy merchants which was known as the\nMuscovy Company--an association of great influence that desired to\nextend its commerce to far-off China, whose wealth in those days was\nconsidered to be fabulous. All the maritime nations of Europe desired\nto gain the China trade and to bring to their own ports the rich silks\nand spices of the Orient. All of them were seeking for some quick and\neasy route for sailing vessels from Europe to China, and fortunate\nindeed would be that nation whose sailors first discovered such a\npassage! Therefore, in the year 1607, the Muscovy Company tried to find\nsome sea captain who would undertake a voyage of discovery to find a\nquicker way to the Far East than around the Cape of Good Hope in\nsouthern Africa.\n\nNow at that very time there chanced to be living a mariner named Henry\nHudson, who commanded a small coasting vessel which was anchored near\nthe mouth of the River Thames. He heard of the offer made by the\nMuscovy Company and offered his services. And partly because the\nmerchants believed him to be a capable seaman and partly because no\nother sailor volunteered for this dangerous mission, Henry Hudson was\ngiven command of the little ship called the _Hopewell_, and with a\nsmall crew set out to find the way to China by the northeast, hoping to\nskirt the northern shore of Russia and then sail south into Oriental\nseas along the Asiatic coast.\n\nNobody knows to-day who Hudson was or what his life had been up to the\ntime when he entered the service of the Muscovy Company. Over three\nhundred years ago he suddenly appeared as a brave and capable sailor\nand explorer, only to disappear in the great bay in northern Canada\nthat now bears his name, when he was deserted and left to certain death\nby a mutinous and cowardly crew. We do not know what he looked like,\nfor no portrait of him has been preserved; we do not know who were the\nmembers of his family, for no records of them have been kept. All we\nknow is that this master mariner sailed farther north than any sailor\nof his day--farther north, indeed, than any sailor who succeeded him\nfor nearly three hundred years--and what is still more important, that\nhe explored the great river now called the Hudson, on whose shore\nstands one of the mightiest cities of the world.\n\nThe _Hopewell_ was a little ship, about the size of the smallest\nfishing vessels of to-day; and had been used many years before by\nanother great explorer and a friend of Sir Francis Drake's named Martin\nFrobisher. That Hudson was able in this tiny craft to penetrate farther\ninto the arctic wilderness than the great square-rigged ships and the\nstrongly built steamers of the nineteenth century, is almost beyond\nbelief. But the fact that he did so is not to be doubted, and the\nresults of his voyages into those icy and deserted seas bore almost as\ngreat fruit as though he had discovered the passage to China that he\nhoped for.\n\nFirst Hudson sailed north and then east, to the coast of what is now\ncalled Spitzbergen, after which he sailed along the shore of Greenland\nto the north. He tried to round the northern end of Greenland, but the\ngreat ice floes blocked his progress. Everywhere were icebergs and\ncliffs of solid ice, grinding against each other with a wicked roar on\nthe great seas, and always was there fog born of the ice, or heavy\ngales that tossed the little _Hopewell_ like a feather. After trying\nfor many days to sail where no ship has ever sailed, Hudson finally\ngave up the attempt, and, bitterly disappointed, turned his prow toward\nEngland, where he reported to the Muscovy Company that great numbers of\nwhales sported in the icy waters near Spitzbergen--a report that\nafterward resulted in the great whale fisheries of that locality and\nuntold wealth for the ships and companies that pursued them. But Hudson\nhad done more than he realized. Not only had he reached a latitude of\neighty-one degrees, fifty minutes, north, but he brought back important\ninformation that there was no hope of reaching Asia in the direction he\nhad followed.\n\nThe merchants of the Muscovy Company were disappointed, but they still\nbelieved that the passage to China could be found, and in 1608 Hudson\nset sail again, determined this time to find the great waterway that\nwould make his name and fortune. But again he was doomed to failure and\nreturned with even less to show than on the previous voyage. He did,\nhowever, bring back a curious tale that added to the superstitious sea\nlore of those times, for two of his sailors one morning when looking\nover the side of the vessel beheld what they declared was a\nmermaid--with a white skin and a tail like a mackerel, long, black\nhair, and a back and breast like a woman's. For a long time, these\nmendacious mariners insisted, the mermaid (who is believed to have been\na seal) swam beside the vessel looking earnestly into their eyes, but\nat last a sea overturned her and she dove deep and disappeared from\nview.\n\nWhen Hudson returned again with nothing to show for his bravery and\ndaring, the Muscovy Company was not willing to fit him out for a third\nvoyage. The fame of his exploits, however, had traveled throughout\nEurope, and he was summoned to Holland by a group of wealthy merchants\nwho asked him to try once more in any direction he saw fit, and in the\ninterests of the Dutch East India Company.\n\nThis time Hudson was to succeed, although in a way that he little\ndreamed of--and certainly a way that was far removed from the discovery\nof a sea route to China. In a little vessel called the _Half Moon_, and\nwith a crew of about a score of Englishmen and Hollanders, he set sail\non April 5, 1609, with high hopes that at last he would find the\npassage he had so long and patiently sought for.\n\nAt first it looked as though he was doomed once more to failure. After\ncruising for a month he found himself in the icy reaches of Barents\nSea, and then the _Half Moon_ was caught in the ice and only saved from\nbeing crushed to splinters by a favorable breeze that sprang up just as\nthe jaws of the ice floes were closing on the little vessel. So far\nHudson had accomplished nothing, and his crew was dissatisfied and\nrebellious. They were unwilling to continue the voyage in the north and\ndesired a quick return to Holland. But Hudson knew that if he put back\nwith another failure to his credit, his reputation would be lost\nforever and he would never get another opportunity to engage in\nexploration; so, to pacify the crew, and at the same time to accomplish\nsomething that might meet with favor in the eyes of his patrons, he\nsuggested that they sail for North America and try to discover the\npassage through a waterway that lay to the north of the British\npossessions in Virginia.\n\nWhen the _Half Moon_ was being buffeted by a gale off the coast of\nNewfoundland the foremast was carried away, and Hudson sailed southwest\nalong the coast of Nova Scotia, anchoring at last in what is now known\nas the mouth of the Kennebec River in Maine.\n\nHere his men landed and sought a mast for the ship in the virgin forest\nthat ran down to the edge of the salt water. Here too they met their\nfirst Indians, and treated them with suspicion and distrust. Hudson\nhimself met the natives kindly and always established good relations\nwith them, but his ignorant crew, particularly his mate, whose name was\nJuet, believed that the natives were only waiting to do them some\nviolence and treachery, and with this in mind the sailors drove the\nIndians into the forest and plundered their wigwams, taking whatever\nwas valuable back to the _Half Moon_. Hudson could do little or nothing\nto prevent them, for at this time the ill feeling of his men had grown\nto such an extent that he was only nominally in command and had little\nor no control over his lawless followers.\n\nWith a new mast in place the _Half Moon_ set sail from the Penobscot\nand bore away to the south, passing Cape Cod which had been discovered\na short time before by Bartholomew Gosnold, and continuing on a\nsouthern course until it reached a point beyond Chesapeake Bay. Then\nHudson turned his prow north once more and entered the bay itself,\nthinking that it might possibly be the entrance to the passage that he\nsought; but finding it too shallow for convenient navigation he turned\nnorth again and sailed up the Jersey coast, coming at last to the mouth\nof a great harbor, which he thought, for a brief time only, might be on\nthe way to China and the east.\n\nHe found himself, however, in one of the most wonderful waterways of\nthe entire world. There were many tribes of Indians around the shores\nand these paddled out in their canoes with offerings of wampum and\ngreen tobacco in return for which they received bits of glass and iron\nhoes and hatchets. They were filled with amazement at the appearance\nand clothes of the white men and it was only after overcoming great\nfear that they dared to approach the _Half Moon_ at all.\n\nBut the suspicion and doubt of Hudson's crew, particularly of the surly\nJuet, again made itself manifest, and after many of the party had\nlanded some outrage must have been committed, for the Indians made an\nattack on the _Half Moon_ with bows and arrows, killing one of the\ncrew. The sailors built a barricade above the bulwarks to protect the\nmen from further encounters, and Hudson proceeded up the harbor. He\nlanded at the lower point of Manhattan Island and made a ceremonial\nvisit to the Indians, who were doubtless of a different tribe from\nthose that attacked him, for in that day there were many nations in the\nvicinity of Manhattan, some fierce and warlike and others peace-loving\nand friendly.\n\nAfter exchanging gifts with the Indians and plying them with drink\nwhose unaccustomed sensations filled them with fear, amazement and joy,\nHudson continued his voyage up the noble river, anchoring at frequent\nintervals. More trouble soon occurred between his crew and the savages,\nfor Juet the mate shot and killed an Indian who was attempting to steal\nsome trifle from the cabin of the _Half Moon_. There followed a fight\nin which no less than twelve Indians were killed by Hudson's men; the\nredskins were getting their first taste of white man's rule, and coming\nwith gifts they were met with gunfire. What was more natural than for\none of the ignorant savages to steal some of the amazing trifles that\nwere displayed in the _Half Moon's_ cabin? Death was certainly an\nunjust penalty.\n\nUp the river for one hundred and fifty miles Hudson steered his course,\ntrading with the natives as soon as he was removed from the scenes of\nthe recent outrage. His writings show no surprise or delight at the\nwonderful scenery and the virgin forests and the giant river that he\nbeheld, but is a record of soundings with an occasional remark that the\ntrees would make good timbers for vessels and casks. Rich furs, green\ntobacco and long strings of gay and polished shells called wampum were\ngladly exchanged by the Indians for bits of colored glass, beads,\nhatchets and knives, commencing a trade that was later extensively\ncarried on in the north by the Hudson Bay Trading Company, and at the\nmouth of the river by the Dutch settlers.\n\nAt last the water became too shoal for further exploration and Hudson\nreturned downstream. It was time to conclude his voyage and he\nconsulted his men. They were greatly averse to returning to Holland,\nfearing without doubt that he would report their open mutiny and\nrebellious conduct as soon as they arrived. Hudson feared for his life,\nand indeed his fears were well founded; but with considerable\nastuteness he proposed that they return not to Holland but Ireland--a\nsuggestion that was eagerly hailed by the crew. They set sail from\nManhattan in October, and on November 7 arrived at Dartmouth, England,\nwhere Hudson had taken his vessel either through accident or design.\n\nHe sent word of his arrival to the Dutch East India Company and\nreceived an order to proceed to Holland without delay--but when he was\nabout to set sail the English forbade him to do so and he was ordered\nhenceforth to serve his own country and not to give help to a foreign\npower.\n\nAlready, though he had little idea of it, he had accomplished more than\nenough to rank him as the foremost explorer of his time, and his name\nwas assured of immortality. He had opened up to the advances of the\nDutch settlers a country enormously rich in natural resources and laid\nthe primary foundation of perhaps the world's most wonderful city. He\nhad established a \"farthest north\" that has only been equaled by modern\nexplorers, and his voyages near Spitzbergen had resulted in profitable\nfisheries.\n\nBut Hudson was not yet satisfied, and indeed his recent voyage had\nimpelled the English to equip him again for further explorations. They\ngave him a little vessel of some fifty-five tons named the _Discovery_\nand a mixed crew of Englishmen and Dutchmen, with whom he put forth\nonce more in 1610 to see if an opening into southern seas could be\nfound by means of the waterways discovered by the explorer, Davis.\n\nAmong these sailors, to Hudson's cost, was his former surly mate, Juet,\nand a young ne'er-do-well named Henry Greene, who had been cast off by\nhis family for his evil ways and his dissolute living. Hudson had\nbefriended this young man and had offered him a refuge in his own\nhouse--and now, to keep him out of mischief, took him along as a member\nof his crew. With the explorer also was a boy, John Hudson, who was\nundoubtedly his son and who had served under him as cabin boy on\nprevious voyages.\n\nThat Hudson, for all his great qualities, was not a leader of men like\nthe American Paul Jones, who could make convicts and prisoners of war\nserve him in battle against his enemies; and that he had always\ncontrolled his crew with a loose hand seems amply borne out by the\nevents that took place on this voyage, which was destined to prove his\nlast. Almost before he had quitted the river Thames he commenced to\nhave trouble with his crew, sending one unruly member ashore before he\nwas out of sight of land.\n\nHe turned his prow toward Iceland where he caught a great many fish and\nwild fowl and where he and his followers saw Mount Hecla, the volcano,\npouring flame upon the snows. He then set sail for Greenland, rounded\nCape Desolation and after a long and wearisome voyage found himself at\nlast in the great body of water in northern Canada that is now called\nHudson Bay. This he thought might be at last the long sought passage,\nfor the great waterway ran toward the south. And Hudson, sailing\nonward, found himself at last in its southernmost part--a pocket now\ncalled James Bay. Storms were frequent and heavy fogs rolled upon him\nincessantly. On one occasion he anchored in a gale and lay buffeting\nenormous seas for eight long days. When he tried to hoist anchor\nagainst the wishes of the crew a great wave broke directly over the\nbow, breaking upon the deck with such force that all the men were swept\nfrom their feet and several were injured. The anchor was lost and only\nthe quickness of the carpenter saved the cable, which he cut with an ax\nas it was running over the side. Staggering in the heavy sea the\n_Discovery_ sailed northward, for Hudson had at last become convinced\nthat no passage led to the orient through Hudson Bay.\n\nIce retarded them and they were compelled to seek winter quarters.\nTheir provisions were nearly gone and all that saved their lives was\nskill in hunting whereby they secured several hundred white partridges,\nor ptarmigan. Discontent and mutiny were breaking out among the members\nof the crew, and the ringleader against Hudson was young Henry Greene\nwhom he had befriended and fed at his own table. A house was built for\nwinter quarters, but it was badly constructed and the biting Arctic\nblast swept through it, chilling to the bone the bodies that were\nweakened with hunger. In the spring, when the mariners were able once\nagain to resume the voyage, they were at death's door from starvation.\n\nWhat little food was left was distributed by Hudson, and, we are told,\nhe wept as he doled it out. Disappointed in his hopes of a successful\nvoyage, weakened with hunger and with a crew in almost open mutiny, it\nis not to be wondered at if he spoke harshly at times to his men and\nadded to the grudge they harbored against him. The most assiduous of\nall in their efforts to do him injury was Henry Greene, his former\nbeneficiary.\n\nA plot was conceived to put Hudson and all the sick members of the crew\nin the shallop or small boat that the _Discoverer_ carried and turn\nthem adrift, and all the details of this were worked out by Greene and\nsome other leading spirits among the mutineers. Hudson was seized and\nbound; the sick were told to get up from their bunks and take their\nplaces in the shallop. Even the boy, John Hudson, was placed there\nalso,--and the carpenter, who preferred to face death with his master\nrather than remain with the mutineers, was put aboard as well. Then the\npainter was cut, and without food, clothing or provisions, Hudson and\nhis companions floated away amid the ice fields. They were never seen\nagain.\n\nThe mutineers sailed homeward and secured some provisions at islands on\nthe way where they found fish and wild fowl. It is a satisfaction to\nknow that they were attacked by the natives and that Greene and several\nothers were killed. The survivors, after a terrible voyage, reached\nIreland and then made their way to England. Although they were\nquestioned closely regarding Hudson's fate, little or no punishment was\nvisited on them and some of them even took part in later expeditions.\nAnd so perished by base treachery one of the bravest and most brilliant\nsailors that the world has ever seen, for Hudson died either in the\nmelancholy reaches of Hudson Bay or on some bleak shore where he was\ncast away. But though he died miserably he still lives, for his\nachievements are immortal.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII\n\nPETER THE GREAT\n\n\nAt a time when the famous House of Romanoff had only recently come into\npower in Russia, a prince was born in the Kremlin Palace at Moscow who\nwas destined to become the greatest ruler that the Russian people have\never known. The name of this prince was Peter and he was the son of the\nCzar Alexis.\n\nAlexis was a kind-hearted man, but preferred to leave the arduous\nduties of governing the Russian State to his advisors. As he was easily\ninfluenced by any favorite who happened to gain his ear the Government\nwas badly run and the condition of the people was deplorable indeed.\nWhen the Empress, or Czarina, had borne her husband two sons and a\ndaughter she died, and Alexis married a second wife named Natalia\nNaryshkin, who became the mother of the infant Peter in 1672.\n\nWe are told that there were great festivities at Peter's christening.\nMost of the great nobles of Russia were present and there was feasting\nand merrymaking. The guests wondered at the great confections of candy\nand spice that had been made for the celebration--life-size swans all\nof sugar that looked so natural it seemed as though they could swim in\nthe sea of wine that flowed there, and fortresses of sweetmeats made to\nresemble the buildings of Moscow.\n\nThere are many stories, too, of the pomp and luxury in which the future\nCzar was brought up. Peter had his own apartments and his own train of\nattendants, and he was waited on by a band of dwarfs who were selected\nfor this purpose. When he was three years old the Czar gave him a royal\ncarriage of tiny size drawn by four ponies, and sitting therein, driven\nand accompanied by his dwarfs, the little Prince would appear in the\npublic streets whenever a royal ceremony took place.\n\nHis father died when Peter was four years old and was succeeded on the\nthrone by Feodor, who was Peter's half brother. This prince was not\nfitted to rule. He was sickly in body and weak in intellect, as indeed\nwere both of the Czar's sons by his first marriage. And the new Czar\nspent a large part of his time in bed while his sister Sophia, who was\nshrewder than himself, was the actual ruler of Russia.\n\nSophia had planned to make herself Empress by the cleverest plotting\nand intrigue. She nursed Feodor in his illnesses and so endeared\nherself to him that he allowed her to do whatever she desired. Among\nthe nobility she gained a number of friends by gifts, smiles and\nflattery, and she paid particular attention to winning over a body of\nsoldiers that formed the Imperial Guard, and were called the Streltsi,\ntrying to enlist them in her cause by every means in her power.\n\nSophia, it may be said, was base-hearted and treacherous. She did not\nwish her father to marry again for she feared there would be more\nchildren, and she desired to come to power after his death by managing\nthe affairs of her two weak brothers. Feodor, as we have seen, was a\nhopeless invalid; and the other son, Ivan, was weak-minded, almost an\nidiot, manifestly incapable of ever coming to the throne.\n\nBut Peter, the son of the second marriage, was a strong and promising\nchild, handsome in body and powerful in mind. He was the hope of the\nRussian State, and gave every indication that he would some day become\na ruler worthy of his people. And while he was still a young boy the\nsickly Feodor died and Peter became the Czar much sooner than was\nexpected.\n\nSophia was most unwilling to have Peter reign. She knew that under such\na ruler as he promised to become there would be small chance of her\nkeeping her power. So, when Feodor died, she planned a revolt by\nspreading falsehoods among the nobles and the Imperial Guard to the\neffect that Peter's mother had planned to place her son on the throne\nby any means whatever and had murdered the idiot Prince Ivan so that\nPeter might rule unquestioned.\n\nAt this a mob made its way to the Kremlin, determined to take and slay\nboth Peter and his mother, and foremost among the infuriated people\nwere the soldiers of the Imperial Guard who were influenced by Sophia.\nThe former Czarina with Peter in her arms was compelled to flee for\nrefuge to a monastery where the soldiers followed her as far as the\naltar itself, but feared to use their swords in the house of God.\n\nSo many of the nobles, however, supported Peter and his mother, that\nSophia could not work her wicked will upon them, and at last it was\nagreed that both Peter and Ivan should reign jointly as Czars, while\nSophia herself was to be Regent, with all the power in her hands until\nthey should come of age.\n\nSophia then worked out another plot by which she hoped that Peter would\nnever really rule. She planned to weaken him in body and will until he\nshould be unfit for his high duties. She took away his instructors and\nsurrounded him with a group of boys to whom she gave every luxury and\nevery opportunity for vice and idleness. They did as they liked from\nmorning to night and no restraint of any kind or description was placed\nupon them. Sophia hoped that they would all become worthless and\nvicious and that Peter would do the same. Perhaps, she thought, he\nmight even weaken himself by drinking bouts and riotous orgies so that\nhe would not even live to claim the actual power of the throne.\n\nIt was in the company of these boys, however, that Peter gave the first\nsigns that he was not only bright and capable but possessed the\nqualities of real greatness. Instead of doing nothing, as Sophia had\nwickedly hoped, he soon became a natural leader among his companions.\nAlthough he had no instructors he kept up his studies and made his\nfellows do likewise, and he organized the group of boys into a military\ncompany which he drilled with the greatest care, teaching them tactics\nand the theories of soldiering, which he obtained from the officers of\nthe army, and organizing a military school of such excellence that it\ncontinued on a practical basis long after he became Czar.\n\nThe constant efforts of the young Prince to improve himself, his zeal,\nenergy and ability soon attracted the attention of the Russian\nnoblemen, who said to themselves that here was a ruler worth having.\nMany of them had been Sophia's friends, but now they began to turn\ntoward Peter, and Sophia soon saw that the design she had entertained\nwas a two-edged one, and that she had only injured herself.\n\nPeter now was a youth of eighteen, and had a strong party of noblemen\nready to support him in his claims to power. His friends and counselors\ndesired that he marry, and soon the Princess Eudoxia Lopukhin became\nhis bride. Sophia, of course, had been unwilling that the marriage take\nplace, but she couldn't prevent it; and from that time onward her power\ngrew less each day.\n\nThe young Prince continued to show every indication of his energy and\nability. He worked in the shipyards to learn ship building, and he\nstudied military tactics at every opportunity. He had a company of\nsoldiers formed, who dressed in European uniform instead of in the\nAsiatic garb of Russia. He himself had drilled as a private in this\ncompany. He was fond of taking long trips for military purposes as well\nas for shipbuilding, and continued to do so after his marriage.\n\nAt about this time Russia engaged in an unsuccessful war in the Crimea.\nThe Russian General, Golitzyn, claimed that he had accomplished wonders\nand ought to be decorated, but Peter's knowledge of military matters\nhad made him thoroughly disgusted with the campaign. He refused to sign\nthe order for the General's medals, and showed that he knew the war had\nbeen a failure and had failed through faulty strategy and bad\nleadership.\n\nThen there took place another plot to assassinate Peter, and once again\nSophia's friends, the Imperial Guard, were in the foreground. Some of\nthe soldiers, however, were faithful to the young Czar and warned him\nin time to fly for his life, and once again he and his mother took\nrefuge in the monastery that had sheltered him when he was an infant.\n\nNoblemen hastened to the place to assure Peter that they were loyal to\nhim and devoted to his interests. And while still in the monastery\nPeter accused Sophia of having planned the deed. The Imperial Guard at\nlast went over to him and the ringleaders of the plot were disclosed\nand executed. General Golitzyn, who had already been in disfavor on\naccount of his operations in the Crimea, was banished to the desolate\nreaches of Siberia, and the evil-hearted Sophia was placed in a convent\nfor the good of her soul, where she remained until her dying day.\n\nAfter this Peter took on himself the full power of the Czar and began\nthe great reforms that have made his name famous and were still working\nin Russia when the World War commenced in 1914. He ordered that\nmechanics and craftsmen from all parts of Europe be brought into Russia\nto show the Russian people improved methods of trade, building and\nmanufacture. He made it easy to buy the merchandise of other countries,\nso the Russians might learn how to make such things themselves, and he\ntraveled widely in his great Empire supervising industry and\nintroducing new methods. He turned his attention to the Army and had it\nwell and efficiently drilled and dressed in the style of the armies of\nEngland and France and other great western nations. He took long\nvoyages on the sea to learn the craft of sailoring, and made plans for\nvarious ports and shipping centers in his country. And for his own\namusement the Czar was passionately fond of working with his own hands\nand making various things that can be seen to the present day.\n\nWhen Peter was twenty-two his mother died, and soon after this time he\nceased to live with his wife, who entered a convent. He had never cared\nfor her, although she had loved him passionately; and his treatment of\nher was harsh to say the least. In one way Peter's early training had\ndone its work and Sophia had molded his character for the worse. He was\nreckless and dissolute, a heavy drinker and fond of wild orgies that\nlasted long after daybreak. Unusually strong himself these excesses did\nnot injure his health to any great extent, but it was hard for those\nwho had to drink with him, for the Czar expected them to go about their\naffairs the next day as though they had spent the night in restful\nsleep instead of some wild revel, and it is said that he had no use for\na man who would not join in the revels or who allowed himself to be\naffected by them on the following day.\n\nWhen still a young man there was another attempt to murder him, and to\nplace Sophia on the throne, but the plot was discovered and all the\nconspirators were put to death, some of them with barbarous cruelties.\n\nIn 1695 the Russians went to war against the Turks and the wild\nTartars. The war is not an important one in its bearing on history, but\nPeter won fame through all civilized Europe for the skill with which he\nhandled his army and the way in which he conducted the siege of a town\ncalled Azov.\n\nHe then made up his mind to go to western Europe and visit the great\nnations he had always admired. He went in great state and pretended\nthat he was bound on a diplomatic mission, but it is thought that the\nreal reason for the trip was his desire to see new forms and methods in\nthe mechanical arts. He visited what is now modern Germany and went to\nHolland, where for a time he worked in one of the shipyards as a common\ncarpenter, dressed in a workman's clothes. He was keenly interested in\neverything, and one of his biographers tells us that he even learned\ndentistry and practiced his skill on the servants that accompanied him.\n\nPeter went to England and was surprised and delighted to see the fine\nmetal coins that were used in that nation, as the Russian money was\nprinted on small bits of leather, and on his return he introduced metal\nmoney into Russia. He also visited Vienna and Paris, and traveled in\ndisguise as much as possible.\n\nWhile away on this trip another revolt broke out against him, and Peter\nwas obliged to hurry home on account of it. The conspirators were\ntreated with the utmost severity and were tortured and killed. There\nare many ugly stories about the way that Peter behaved in regard to his\nenemies, although it is true that they had given him ample provocation,\nand it is said that when he was under the influence of drink he put to\ndeath a number of conspirators with his own hand.\n\nPeter, with his great love of shipbuilding, was always planning to\nestablish a Russian navy and build new seaports. To assure himself\ncontrol of the Russian seacoast of the Baltic sea he went to war with\nCharles the Tenth of Sweden, and finally built the city of Saint\nPetersburg that was named in his honor--a name that was changed to\nPetrograd at the beginning of the World War. The war went against Peter\nat first, but he trained his soldiers until they could achieve future\nvictory, and when the Swedes invaded Russia they found Peter more than\nready for them. With the efficient army that he had built up the Swedes\nwere badly beaten at the battle of Pultowa and were compelled to\nwithdraw from Russia, after sustaining terrible losses.\n\nIt is not on account of his wars, however, but his reforms, that the\nname of Peter the Great is so well known to-day. He was constantly\nchanging and improving the order of things in his country. He went so\nfar as to require that the Russian civilians abandon the Asiatic dress\nof their forefathers and cut their beards, and he, more than any other\nman, transformed Russia from an eastern into a western nation.\n\nPeter had divorced his wife after the revolt which took place when he\nwas visiting other nations, as he believed, or wished to believe, that\nshe had a share in the plot, and he now married a beautiful woman of\nlow degree named Catherine who was called Catherine the First. He had\none son by his first wife, who was named Alexis, but the Prince had\nalways given him serious trouble and finally tried to hatch a revolt\nagainst his own father. For this Alexis was tried and condemned to\ndeath, but he fell ill and died before the sentence could be\npronounced, asking and receiving forgiveness from Peter on his\ndeathbed.\n\nPeter himself died in 1725 after a sudden illness. His funeral was so\nelaborate that it was six weeks before the ceremonies were concluded,\nfor he had won a place in the hearts of the Russians that he never\nlost. He was beyond any doubt the greatest and most famous of the\nRussian Czars, and he left Russia in a far better position than when he\ncame to the throne. In addition to introducing all kinds of mechanical\nreform he won a seaboard on the Baltic and Black seas which Russia had\nnever before possessed; he built great cities and established many\npolitical reforms which were the beginning of the modern Russian\nnation. He had trained an efficient army and was the father of the\nRussian navy. While possessed of many faults and of a savage, ruthless\nnature, the elements of greatness and of heroism were strong within\nhim.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII\n\nGEORGE WASHINGTON\n\n\nEver since the Declaration of Independence George Washington has been\nthe greatest figure in the history of the United States of America, and\nit is certain that he will continue to be so for hundreds of years to\ncome. In all history there is no parallel to the dignity, the majesty,\nthe mightiness of his achievement, and no other man who has built a\nmonument of greatness so enduring as his.\n\nHe was born in Virginia in 1732, on the 22d of February. His father was\nAugustine Washington and his mother was a second wife named Mary Ball.\nThe Washingtons were prominent and influential people in Virginia and\nhad lived there for many years.\n\nIn spite of this not a great deal is known about Augustine Washington,\nalthough it is certain that he was an upright and honorable gentleman,\nbut George's mother was famous for her good sense as well as her\nbeauty. Her family was a large one; there had been children by the\nfirst wife also, and as Augustine Washington died when George was a\nlittle boy, she was forced to rear this family without a husband's\nhelp.\n\nPerhaps the responsibility that fell on George after his father's death\nmay have helped to develop his character. At all events there are many\nstories about his boyhood in which he seems far older than his years.\nLetters and history both tell us of his thoughtfulness, his methodical\nhabits and his great physical strength. Before he was in his teens he\nhad become the acknowledged leader of the boys in his neighborhood, and\nhe was fond of engaging with them in various athletic games. He also\nformed a military company of the little negroes on the family estate,\nand drilled them keenly, actually making something like a military show\nwith the barefooted, ragged pickaninnies, with their rolling eyes and\nwoolly heads. Like all other young Virginians he was accustomed to\nriding from his infancy, and before he was ten years old there were few\nhorses that he could not bridle and master.\n\nBut we cannot go into stories of George's boyhood, of the time when he\ncut down the cherry tree and faced his father's wrath rather than tell\na lie, or the time when he accidentally killed a high spirited horse\nwhen breaking it to the bridle. He finished his schooling when he was\nsixteen years old, and would have gone into the British navy if his\nmother had consented. She did not, however, so George studied\nsurveying; and was soon earning considerable sums from this occupation.\n\nHe made an excellent surveyor, and his skilful work and unusual\ncharacter soon attracted general attention. He was well versed in\nmilitary tactics also, and was made a Major in the Virginia militia\nbefore he was twenty. This gave added zest for his military studies and\nhe set to work to learn strategy under a fierce old Dutch army officer\nnamed Jacob Van Braam. Together they studied maps and fought out\nbattles with pins and bits of wood until far into the night. George was\nalso busied with the care of the Washington estate at Mount Vernon,\nwhich was left to him on the death of his half brother, Lawrence\nWashington in 1752. Mount Vernon carried with it about five hundred\nslaves and dependents, and the young man had his time fully occupied in\nriding over its broad acres and managing its affairs.\n\nWhen George was twenty-one years old a difficult task was assigned to\nhim that not only proved that he had really entered the estate of\nmanhood, but also that he was trusted beyond his years. Governor\nDinwiddie of Virginia sent him on a dangerous trip into the wilderness\nto warn off the French from English ground and to gain the friendship\nof the wild Indians that lived there. The race for land between the\nFrench and English settlers was growing keener and more bitter every\nday, and both countries claimed the land that lay between the Allegheny\nand the Mississippi rivers. Finally the Governor of Virginia picked\nyoung Washington to go to Venango and warn the French that they were\ntrespassing,--and also to make ceremonial visits to the Indians to\nensure their friendship to the English in case of war with the French.\n\nTo succeed would require shrewdness, good sense, courage and physical\nstrength--for a long journey through virgin forests would have to be\nmade and many dangers encountered. Washington took with him a guide and\npioneer named Christopher Gist, and Jacob Van Braam went also to act as\ninterpreter.\n\nThe journey over six hundred miles of desolate wilderness, across\nswollen streams, through forest, swamp and over rugged mountain, was\nperformed so speedily that it would be hard for strong men to duplicate\nit to-day, traveling over good roads. Washington sat beside the council\nfires of the Indians, and delivered the Governor's message to the\nFrench. He also noted the best points for fortifications against the\nencroaching French, and reported them on his return. The journey had\nbeen a complete success and since others had tried it and failed,\nWashington's fame was established throughout Virginia.\n\nThe French had received him with sly courtesy and sought to ply his\ncompany with wine and brandy rather than to come to any agreement with\nhim. It was plain that they meant mischief, and Governor Dinwiddie\ndecided to send a force of soldiers to build a fort at the juncture\nbetween the Allegheny and the Monongahela rivers, one of the places\nthat Washington had noted down for its good strategic qualities.\nColonel Joshua Fry was placed in command of about three hundred troops,\nand Washington was sent with him as his lieutenant.\n\nOn the march Colonel Fry died, and Washington was left in sole command\nof the troops. Spies and Indian scouts in the employ of the French had\nreported the expedition and the French had promptly marched against the\nVirginian soldiers with greatly superior numbers. Washington got news\nof this act on their part, and hastily threw up fortifications on a\nplain called Great Meadows. He called this stronghold Fort Necessity.\nThe French soon came up and surrounded the fort, and the bark of the\nrifles reechoed through the woods and from the hills.\n\nWashington and his men fought with the utmost bravery, but when he saw\nthat the struggle was hopeless and that they would all be killed or\ncaptured if the fight continued, he made terms with the French,\nallowing his men to retire with all their arms and equipment, on\ncondition that they did not make any further attempt to occupy the\ncountry for a stipulated time. The French success was not the fault of\nWashington who displayed great coolness and secured the maximum\nadvantage for himself and his men. He was warmly commended by the\nGovernor for his action in this fight and had a higher reputation than\never among all who knew the circumstances.\n\nSoon after this Washington engaged in another expedition that was far\nmore disastrous. The English Government put Major General Edward\nBraddock in command of a force of English regular soldiers to gain\ncontrol of the disputed Ohio Valley, and Washington was appointed as\naide on General Braddock's staff.\n\nBraddock in his way was a good soldier, a hard bitten, dyed in the\nwool, regular army officer with a great contempt for the Virginia\nmilitia, and an over confident belief that the British soldier was\ninvincible. He believed absolutely that the methods of war that were\nused on European battlefields would overwhelm anything in America, and\nhe liked to see his redcoats with their boots polished and their\nbuttons furbished, marching in solid platoon formation, turning and\nwheeling with the mathematical regularity of a machine. His men were\ndrilled and disciplined until they were automatons, for Braddock was a\nmartinet. Their ranks ran true, their equipment was in the pink of\nsoldierly condition; the sunlight glittered from their bayonets, you\ncould see your face in their leather accouterments, and Braddock\nproudly marched them into the American woods as though they were\nparading on the Strand in London. When Washington warned him of the\ndangers of ambush, urging that an advance guard and scouts be thrown\nout, Braddock turned scornfully away, believing that a volley or two\nfrom his brave regulars would soon drive off any foes that might fall\nupon him, and he said bluntly that when he desired advice from his\nsubordinates he would ask for it.\n\nAs his men were marching in close formation, their red coats blazing\nagainst the dark green of the forest, shifting figures were seen in the\ntrees ahead, a French officer suddenly appeared cheering them on to the\nattack, and with shouts and yells an unseen enemy shot down the\nBritishers from the protection of fallen trees, from behind rocks and\nstumps, and from the concealment of forest branches.\n\nThe redcoats fell by scores and were thrown into hopeless confusion.\nThey were not used to fighting a hidden foe, and were appalled by the\ndeath in their midst as well as by the wild cries and war whoops that\nechoed from the forest. Braddock, waving his sword, ordered his\nplatoons to wheel and advance in solid formation into the woods--and\nthe platoons were wiped out like sheep in a slaughter pit as they tried\nto obey the hopeless order. But the despised Virginia militia,\nexperienced in Indian fighting, spread out in open order at the head of\nthe column and kept the enemy in check, while Braddock with hopeless\nbravery attempted to rally his men. It was in vain. The dismal cries\nand yells continued. The bullets sang overhead like a swarm of wasps,\nBritish officers dropped at the shots of invisible sharpshooters, who\npicked them off easily on account of their conspicuous uniforms.\nBraddock himself, as brave a man as ever lived, had four horses killed\nunder him and then received a mortal wound. Washington, whose advice\nhad been laughed at, took command of the Virginians and covered the\nheadlong rout of the British regulars, who threw away their rifles and\nran blindly into the woods. How Washington escaped alive is nothing\nless than a miracle. Like Braddock, he had several horses killed under\nhim, and four bullets pierced his uniform. He seemed everywhere at once\nand showed the most conspicuous bravery, but all he could do was to\nsave the lives of the flying Britishers. With whoops of victory the\nIndians scalped the wounded, dressed themselves in the red coats of the\nslain and showed their hideous painted faces beneath the cocked hats of\nBritish officers. And the French, who held the fort that Braddock had\nintended to capture, fired their cannon in rejoicing at a victory that\nforever killed the prestige of British arms in the New World. For\nhitherto the British soldier had been thought invincible, and this\nexhibition of crass stupidity and bungling gave the colonials a\ndifferent opinion of British arms. The British were brave it is true,\nbut they could not adjust themselves to meet the enemy on their own\nground,--and in all history the Briton has shown himself clumsy in the\nguerilla warfare of the type that won the Revolution for the Americans.\n\nA few years after this tragic affair Washington married Martha Parke\nCustis, a young widow with two children. Washington's love affair with\nMartha Custis was not the first in his life. He had paid attention to\nother young beauties and had shown himself a true Virginian in his\nhearty appreciation of the ladies.\n\nWith his marriage there commenced the home life at Mount Vernon that\nhas become so famous in history, and the hospitality for which George\nand Martha Washington have ever been famous. Washington was fond of the\ngood things of life, and his great house at Mount Vernon was filled\nwith visitors, with whom he hunted and passed his leisure hours in many\ndelightful ways. But his eye for business was no less keen on account\nof his pleasures, and eventually he came to be looked on as the leading\nman in the affairs of the colony. His commanding appearance, his\nwonderful self-control and his military prestige, coupled with the\ndignity and gravity of his manner, made him as prominent among men as\nhe had been among boys.\n\nThe attitude toward \"provincials\" that brought about Braddock's fatal\nerror because he could not listen to advice, was destined now to bring\nto England the loss of her valuable colonies in America. The English\nlooked down on the Americans and patronized them because they did not\nunderstand them. They regarded the American Colonies too much in the\nlight of a supply house to enrich the Crown and the Mother Country, and\ntoo little as the home of a brave and self-reliant people who came of\nthe most sterling English stock themselves. The colonists bitterly\nresented the unjust laws that compelled them to ship their produce to\nBritish ports and to engage in no form of industry that might cripple\nBritish enterprise. And when the British Government imposed taxes on\nthe colonists that were not imposed on British subjects in England,\nindignation rose to white heat, and riots and hot speeches broke out\neverywhere, particularly in New England.\n\nThe \"stamp act,\" which compelled the colonists to transact all their\nlegal business on paper bearing the stamp of the British Government,\nand sold only by British agents, awoke the wrath of Virginia as well as\nof New England. The cry of \"no taxation without representation\" rang\nfrom Georgia to Massachusetts. The oratory of Patrick Henry added fuel\nto the righteous indignation in every American's breast, and when the\nBritish in response to public feeling removed all unwarranted taxes\nexcept one--the tax on tea, a party of young men dressed as Indians\nsacked the cargo of a British vessel in Boston, and poured the chests\nof tea into the harbor.\n\nParliament retaliated. Penalties were imposed on Massachusetts. The\nVirginian House of Burgesses was forbidden to meet by the King's order,\nand meeting in spite of this order it called for a General Congress of\nall the Colonies to decide what measures were to be taken to defend the\nrights of the American provinces.\n\nWashington, as one of Virginia's leading men, naturally was among those\nwho represented the colony at this congress, which met in Carpenter's\nHall in Philadelphia. He was listened to with respect and attention,\nand was considered to have the sanest viewpoint and the widest fund of\ninformation of any delegate there. The question of armed revolt against\nEngland was still in the background, but Washington was in favor of a\nresort to arms only after all other measures had failed and as a last\nresort. He was ready and willing to fight if fighting must come,\nhowever, and we have his statement when he heard of how the people of\nBoston were laboring under unjust British measures, \"I will raise a\nthousand men,\" said Washington, \"subsist them at my own expense and\nmarch with them, at their head, for the relief of Boston.\"\n\nAt last it was seen that no other way to escape slavery existed than to\nfight. And Washington was one of the first to devote his life and\nfortune to the Revolutionary cause.\n\nWhen the American Congress met on June 15, 1775, Washington was chosen\nas Commander in Chief of the new continental army. The flame of\nrevolution had run through the colonies. The British had killed and\nbeen killed by militiamen at Lexington, and had fallen back before the\nhail of lead from the squirrel rifles of angry farmers at the bridge at\nConcord. From stonewalls, fences, trees and haylofts, the Americans had\npicked off the British redcoats as they retreated back to Boston, and\nhad proved themselves to be foemen that could not be despised. The\nbattles of Bunker Hill and Dorchester Heights followed. Bloody war was\nbegun.\n\nNo better man for command of the American army could possibly have been\nchosen than Washington, and very probably no other could have brought\nthe revolution to a successful end. His firm and great nature were\nknown to all, and with this he possessed great military skill and a\nthorough knowledge of the country where he would have to fight.\n\nBut his heart may well have sunk when he took command, for no worse\nscene of confusion and inefficiency can be imagined than that of the\nAmerican army when it was first mustered together. Washington, on July\n3rd, 1775, took command at Cambridge, Massachusetts, of about sixteen\nthousand raw recruits, badly fed, badly quartered, with no uniforms to\nspeak of, little equipment and a rebellious disregard of all discipline\nthat was increased by the fact that they were fighting against the\nunjust discipline of the British Government. The American forces had no\norganization, and the work fell upon Washington, as Commander in Chief,\nnot only of fighting an enemy far superior in numbers and composed of\nwell-disciplined and well-equipped veterans, but of organizing his own\narmy almost in the course of battle, and manufacturing the material for\nvictory after the gage had been cast and the conflict entered.\n\nBut the resolute will and the firm hand brought order out of chaos, and\nthe British were astonished to see the effectiveness of the rough and\nready troops that opposed them. The city of Boston was besieged so\nfirmly that the British at last decided to evacuate the town, sailing\naway in their warships, headed for New York. Washington by forced\nmarches attempted to reach that city first and foil their attempt to\nland there, but the American army was not large enough for this design,\nand American and British forces faced each other on Long Island where a\nbattle was fought near the present site of Brooklyn on August 27th,\n1776. The country was now prepared for a grim struggle and the temper\nof the revolutionists was shown by the glorious Declaration of\nIndependence which was made on July 4th of that year.\n\nBut spirit and determination are not proof against cold steel and solid\nranks of veteran soldiers, and Washington's little army was beaten by\nthe British in the Battle of Long Island, sustaining heavy losses in\ndead and wounded. The Americans retreated and then halted and when\nnight fell only a short distance separated the two armies. The\nsituation of the Americans was critical in the extreme, and it was\nabsolutely necessary to cross the East River before the sadly harried\nand beaten ranks of the patriot army were attacked again by the\nvictorious Britishers. Almost within the sound of the voices of the\nenemy Washington succeeded in drawing away his army and carrying them\nin boats to New York City, without a single foe suspecting his design.\n\nThe British followed and there was fighting on Manhattan Island. Slowly\nthe little force of patriots was driven back, now sadly decreased in\nnumbers, for the ending of enlistments as well as defeat were playing\nhavoc with Washington's forces. In November he was obliged to cross the\nHudson River and retreat into New Jersey with only six thousand men\nleft to him, and still later with a force still smaller and the British\nclose on his heels, he crossed the Delaware River and sought refuge in\nPennsylvania. By this time the British had gained such successes and\nthe Americans had undergone so many reverses and privations that it\nseemed as if no power on earth could bring victory to the American\narms.\n\nThe British found they could not cross into Pennsylvania, for\nWashington had taken care to remove all the boats to the other side of\nthe Delaware River. They temporarily gave over the pursuit of the\nAmericans, whom they thought were hopelessly beaten, and went into\nwinter quarters, where they enjoyed themselves immensely and kept an\neasy and a comfortable camp.\n\nBut Washington was already planning a raid against the German\nmercenaries called Hessians who were stationed in the town of Trenton.\nHe planned to return across the Delaware and fall upon the Hessians by\nnight in a surprise attack. He tried to secure the cooperation of\nGeneral Gates, one of his subordinates, but Gates feigned sickness and\nwent to Philadelphia to attempt Washington's overthrow on the day\nbefore Washington's attack was to be launched. Disaffection among his\ngenerals was now added to Washington's other troubles, and Gates, in\njealousy, was planning to go before Congress and secure an independent\ncommand for himself.\n\nOn Christmas night, 1776, the little American army embarked on its\nperilous venture, and prepared to cross the Delaware River which was\nnow so full of floating ice as to make the passage of boats dangerous\nin the extreme. It was black as pitch and a high wind blew, as the\nAmerican soldiers with aching backs toiled at the oars and the poles\nand so cold that men froze to death. Hours were consumed in the\npassage, and by the time the Americans were in position to attack, day\nwas breaking.\n\nNevertheless the project seemed likely to succeed. The Hessians were\noff their guard and were sleeping soundly. Scattered shots rang out and\nwere succeeded by the rattle of musketry as the Americans, yelling like\nIndians charged upon the silent town. The Hessian bugles blew \"to arms\"\nand the dazed soldiers rushed out of their billets, but instead of\nrallying and fighting Washington they fled toward Princeton, leaving\nmore than a thousand prisoners in Washington's hands, as well as large\nnumbers of killed and wounded.\n\nLord Cornwallis was hurriedly sent to oppose Washington, and went to\nbed at Trenton within sight of the American camp fires. The British\ngeneral was confident of success and boasted that he would certainly\n\"bag the fox in the morning.\" That night, however, Washington silently\nwithdrew his army as he had done on Long Island and in a series of\nbrilliant maneuvers defeated the British again not far from Princeton.\nHis skill and generalship were so great that with a half starved and\ndiscouraged remnant of a defeated army he twice defeated the flower of\nthe British force, and brought new hope and strength to the struggling\ncolonies. He had done more than this, for his military success was now\nclosely watched in Europe. And Cornwallis was soon so hard pressed that\nhe withdrew his troops to New York and in the end the Americans once\nmore had complete control of the state of New Jersey.\n\nIn the year 1778, and largely due to the great qualities of Benjamin\nFranklin, who was one of America's commissioners in France, a treaty\nwas signed with the French providing that if France went to war with\nEngland, there should be an alliance between the French and American\nGovernments, and neither should cease fighting without the permission\nof the other--moreover that both were to continue the struggle until\nthe independence of the United States of America was gained.\n\nThis treaty was not only due to Washington's successes but to a victory\nwon by General Gates against General Burgoyne, who, after the battle of\nSaratoga, was forced to withdraw his army from the conflict and place\nhimself and his officers on parole to bear arms no more against\nAmerica. But there followed a renewal of the bitterness of defeat, for\nthe Americans were beaten at Brandywine, the British took Philadelphia,\nand another reverse befell the American arms at Germantown. It seemed\nthat in spite of the former American successes and the French treaty,\nthe British would be victorious after all, for the winter had been a\nterrible one, and the worn American army was almost destitute of food\nand clothing.\n\nWashington had camped at a place called Valley Forge which has since\nbecome symbolic of hardship and suffering. It is said that detachments\nof American soldiers could be traced by the blood in the snow from\ntheir wounded and bare feet, for there were no shoes to clothe them\nwith and there was very little food or fuel. And in addition to the\nphysical hardship and the gloom of failure, Washington had to contend\nwith a conspiracy that was directed against him by some of his most\ntrusted officers, who desired to place General Gates in supreme command\nof the American Army. This conspiracy was called the Conway Cabal,\nbecause the chief plotter was an Irishman named General Thomas Conway.\nBut the result of this base attempt was added power and glory for\nWashington, for Congress was fortunately unaffected by the\nrepresentations that were made.\n\nIn the following year, 1778, in spite of that terrible winter, the\nfighting opened with the Americans in better condition than previously\nand with their numbers strengthened with new recruits that Congress had\nsecured for them. The American cause had also been strengthened by the\nvoluntary services of a number of foreign officers, who energetically\ndrilled the American recruits and taught the revolutionary army the\nscience of war as it was fought by the greatest military countries.\nAmong these men was the Marquis de Lafayette, a gallant young French\nnobleman, and also Baron de Kalb and Von Steuben.\n\nWashington gradually drew nearer to New York, from which he had been\ndriven so soon after the Battle of Long Island, and that winter he\ncamped in the highlands of the Hudson and established his troops so as\nto defend New England from any offensive campaign the British might\nmake, and for a year he contented himself with playing a waiting game,\nkeeping a firm grip on the Hudson Highlands and strengthening his army\nas greatly as possible.\n\nVictory now was near, for the French came actively into the war to the\nsuccor of the Americans. The French King, Louis the Sixteenth, sent\nCount Rochambeau to command an expedition in America, and the year 1781\nsaw the trained and seasoned soldiers of France fighting side by side\nwith the American troops. In this year too a great advantage was given\nto Washington's troops by the fact that a large French fleet under the\nCount de Grasse compelled the British vessels to keep to the ports,\nwhile Washington with the French laid siege to Yorktown, which was held\nby Lord Cornwallis. Washington himself fired the first cannon as the\nsiege began, and a whirlwind of iron and red hot shot was poured upon\nthe British works and shipping from French and American guns. The\nBritish resisted stubbornly, but they were cut off and their position\nwas hopeless. And on October Nineteenth, with the American and French\ntroops drawn up to receive them, the British marched out and\nsurrendered.\n\nThis was really the end of the war. The news that Cornwallis and at\nleast sixteen thousand men had been captured was received with wild\nrejoicing all through the former colonies, and with amazement and gloom\nin England, where it was plainly seen that the valuable colonies were\nlost forever. In the month of November, 1783, the British left New York\nnever to return, after the signing of the peace treaty at Paris in\nJanuary of the same year. The war was over, the patriots had conquered,\nand a new and mighty nation was in its infancy.\n\nAt this time it would without doubt have been easy for Washington to\nmake himself the head of the new country, and even to have become its\nKing and permanent ruler. The army worshipped the ground he walked on,\nand he actually received a letter from one of his officers in which it\nwas suggested that he be named as King of the new state. But Washington\nwith his characteristic greatness refused to advance his own fortunes\nat the expense of the liberty of his countrymen, and he wrote an angry\nletter indignantly rejecting any such title or position, declaring that\nnothing in his long and trying service had justified his fellows in\nregarding him as an ambitious self-seeker.\n\nHis work was done, or so he considered it, and he proposed to return to\nprivate life. And in Fraunces' Tavern in New York the great commander\nbade farewell to the officers who had so gallantly served him and had\nbeen his brothers in arms on so many hard fought fields.\n\nIt is said that on this occasion Washington's customary self-control\nalmost deserted him, as he spoke his words of parting to his fellow\nofficers. \"With a heart full of love and gratitude,\" said he, \"I now\ntake leave of you, most devoutly wishing that your latter days may be\nas prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and\nhonorable. I cannot come to each of you to take my leave,\" he\ncontinued, \"but shall be obliged if each of you will come and take me\nby the hand.\"\n\nBut Washington's work was not over. He had counseled all the Governors\nof the separate States to form a Federal Government as quickly as\npossible, and while he had resigned as head of the army, he continued,\nas a private citizen, to watch public matters with the utmost care and\nattention. In 1787 Washington presided over the famous convention which\nmet in Philadelphia to draft the Constitution of the United States, and\nlargely in accordance with his ideas, which strongly influenced the\nminds of all those present, the Government of the United States was\nformed. The perfection of the form of government, as entered into by so\nmany separate and widely different States, seemed to Washington, as he\nafterward said in a letter to Lafayette, \"little short of a miracle.\"\n\nIt remained for the new country to choose its first President.\nWashington was elected without a dissenting voice, and took the reins\nof government into his hands on April 30, 1789. He did not desire the\nPresidency, and would have greatly preferred to remain quietly at Mount\nVernon, \"an honest man on his own farm,\" engaged in his private\naffairs. But he felt that it was his duty to answer so spontaneous and\ngeneral a call from his fellow citizens, and in the office of chief\nexecutive he showed the same firm and wise spirit that had\ndistinguished him as commander of the army. His Cabinet contained the\nmost famous and brilliant men of the day, and the people throughout the\ncountry felt themselves safe with such a president at the helm.\n\nWhen his administration ended he was called upon to take a second term,\nand in this he had great difficulty in keeping the new republic out of\nthe turmoil of European politics. France had by this time thrown off\nher rulers, organized a revolution and gone to war with England; and\nWashington was called on from every part of the country to go to the\naid of his former ally against the former foe. He saw, however, that\nwar at that time would be fatal for America, and might well result in\nthe loss of all that had been gained in the bitter years of the\nRevolution. He firmly refused to enter the war although his decision\ncost him much of his popularity. A commercial treaty was then entered\nupon with England.\n\nWhile Washington was President, the states of Kentucky and Tennessee\nwere added to the original thirteen that formed the Union, and many\nimportant financial and legal matters were concluded. With a sure hand\nthe great patriot guided the new country through the dangers that beset\nit and at times threatened to swallow it whole, and in the year 1797 he\nturned over to John Adams who was to succeed him in the presidential\nchair a welded nation, destined for a mighty future.\n\nFor the next three years Washington's life at Mount Vernon was quiet\nand happy, and he busied himself in the affairs of his estate and in\nthe dignified hospitality for which he and Martha Washington were so\njustly renowned. On December 12, 1799, after a horseback ride through\nthe snow, he became ill with laryngitis and two days later he breathed\nhis last.\n\nThroughout the United States he was mourned as a father,--indeed he had\nalready gained the title of \"the father of his country.\" And it was by\nthe father of a famous general who was destined to lead the southern\ncause in the Civil War some sixty years later that Washington was said\nto be \"first in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his\ncountrymen,\" a phrase that has since become familiar to hundreds of\nmillions of people throughout the world, and has so aptly described\nAmerica's mightiest son.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX\n\nJOHN PAUL JONES\n\n\nFor those of you who have had opportunity to see the mighty fleet of\nsteel battleships and destroyers that compose the navy of the United\nStates, it is hard to remember that this fleet was born in the shape of\na few wooden sailing ships. And it is almost equally hard to believe\nthat Paul Jones, who commanded one of the first American war vessels,\nand became the greatest naval hero that this country has ever known,\nwas the son of a poor, Scotch gardener, who worked for a country squire\nin Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland.\n\nIn 1747 Paul Jones was born, but his name was then John Paul. His\nuncle, like his father, was a gardener, and worked on the estate of the\nEarl of Selkirk on St. Mary's Isle, where John Paul used to visit him\nand go fishing in small boats that he obtained from a little seaport\nnear at hand. Many sailors came to this port, and they made friends\nwith the alert boy who was always asking them questions about ships and\nseamanship; and the result of their friendship was that at a very early\nage John Paul was a handy sailor and determined to follow a seafaring\nlife.\n\nWhether or no he ran away from school is not known. At any rate, when\nhe was only twelve years old, he became the apprentice of a merchant\nwho did a considerable trade with Virginia, and he actually sailed for\nthat colony, where his brother had preceded him and was living the life\nof a Southern planter. John Paul stayed with his brother at\nFredericksburg for a time, but when he was nineteen years old he sailed\nfor Jamaica as first mate of a vessel engaged in the slave trade, which\nwas then very active,--for a great deal of money was to be gained from\nselling the African negroes to Southern planters, and slaves were\nconstantly being taken from their native country and carried to America\nto work beneath the lash.\n\nBut this clean-cut young sailor did not like the slave trade, and after\ntwo years, disgusted with the sordid traffic, he left his vessel in\nJamaica and became a passenger on a brigantine that was sailing for\nScotland, in fact, for his home town. On his way home, by a strange\nchance, both the captain and mate died, and as an expert navigator was\nneeded, John Paul guided the ship into port. When this fact was made\nknown to her owners they paid their debt by taking him into their\nemploy, and on the next voyage to Jamaica the ship sailed under John\nPaul's command.\n\nThen there occurred to the young Scotch sailing master a series of\nmisfortunes that changed the course of his career and was indirectly\nresponsible for his casting his lot with the future republic of the\nUnited States. To maintain discipline aboard his vessel it became\nnecessary for him to have the ship's carpenter flogged. Many weeks\nlater this man died, and his friends unjustly attributed his death to\nthe flogging he had received, and laid it to the captain's door. John\nPaul was able to prove that he was not to blame in the affair, but in\nthe meantime he had quitted his vessel and found it hard to get another\none. As soon as he finally obtained a new vessel, a mutiny took place\nwhen his ship was in the West Indies, and John Paul, in his efforts to\nquell the mutineers, was assaulted and obliged to kill one of them with\nhis sword in defending himself. Fearing, perhaps, that this second\nmishap on the heels of the first might make things go hard with him\nwhen he was brought to trial, he fled from the West Indies and for a\ntime disappeared completely.\n\nHe was next heard from in the American Colonies, bearing the name of\nJohn Paul Jones. When the American Revolution took place, he hastened\nto offer his services to the Government of the United States, and the\nNaval Committee of Congress called on him for information and advice.\nWhen a few vessels were gathered together and a list of naval officers\nprepared, Paul Jones obtained his commission as Senior Lieutenant on\nthe flagship of the tiny fleet, which was named _Alfred_. And when the\ncommander in chief came over the side, Paul Jones with his own hands\nhoisted the American flag for the first time over an American man of\nwar. The flag was very different from the modern stars and stripes; it\nwas of yellow silk, in the center of which was a pine tree with a\nrattlesnake coiled at its roots, and the motto: \"_don't tread on me_.\"\n\nAfter the Americans made an attack on New Providence where several\nboats were captured, Paul Jones was promoted to the rank of Captain as\na reward for his excellent services and given command of the\n_Providence_, on whose quarter deck he sailed for the West Indies to\nprey upon British shipping. His knowledge of the waters was so thorough\nand his skill as a naval officer of such high quality that in\nforty-seven days he captured no less than sixteen vessels.\n\nCongress was delighted at his exploits. In reward he was given the\ncommand of his old ship, the _Alfred_, and in her he sailed northward\nalong the coast of Nova Scotia until he entered the Gut of Canso. In\nthe neighborhood of this deep strait that runs between Nova Scotia\nproper and the Island of Cape Breton, Paul Jones captured twelve\nfishing vessels. Having placed prize crews on his new ships he\ntriumphantly returned to the United States.\n\nHis fame now was widely established among the revolting colonies. By\norder of Congress he was transferred to the sloop, _Ranger_, with\norders to cruise about the coast of England and destroy shipping. Paul\nJones planned to do more than this; he intended actually to attack\nEnglish seaports and burn the shipping in the harbors, feeling\nconvinced that he could inflict greater losses on the enemy in this\nmanner. And as he had enjoyed the honor of raising the American flag\nfor the first time over an American war vessel, he now had the added\nhonor of being the first naval officer to sail under the stars and\nstripes, which flew for the first time in naval history above the\n_Ranger_.\n\nAfter visiting France, where he delivered messages from the American\nGovernment to the American Commissioners in Paris, one of whom was\nBenjamin Franklin, Paul Jones decided to attack the town of Whitehaven,\nwhich had been well known to him as a boy. In the depth of night the\n_Ranger_ stole into the entrance of the harbor and dropped anchor. Then\ntwo boats put off from her with muffled oars, Paul Jones in command of\none and his lieutenant, whose name was Wallingford, in charge of the\nother.\n\nJones ordered Wallingford to set fire to the shipping on the north side\nof the town, while he himself with his men should advance upon the\nnearby fort and spike the guns. As the fort was an old one and had a\nsmall garrison, the intrepid commander had but little trouble in\ncapturing it, particularly as none of the British dreamed of a raid and\nsmall wonder, for their shores had been safe from the invader since the\ntime of William the Conqueror.\n\nThe garrison was completely surprised and gave in without a struggle.\nJones and his followers quickly spiked the guns of the fort and taking\ntheir prisoners with them hastened back to the boats. When they arrived\na great disappointment confronted them, for Lieutenant Wallingford had\nfailed to fire the shipping as ordered. He gave the excuse that the\nlanterns that had been brought with them for the purpose had been blown\nout by the wind, but he had made no attempt to secure firebrands from\nany other quarter. So Jones himself with some of his followers took\nlive coals from a nearby house and with the aid of a tar barrel\nsucceeded in setting fire to one of the ships that was tied to the\nwharf.\n\nBy this time it was early morning. Ordering his little band back into\ntheir boats, Jones himself with drawn pistol stood off the curious and\nfrightened throng of people that had gathered around him. When the\nflames arose to such an extent that it had become impossible to save\nthe ill-fated ship, and not till then, did the plucky commander seek\nrefuge. As he rowed away with his men the British rushed to the forts\nto seek vengeance, where they found that the guns were spiked, and by\nthe time they had unearthed one or two old cannon the Americans were\nwell out of harm's way.\n\nAll England rang with the story, and the rage and consternation of the\nBritish people is hard to describe. After having held themselves safe\nfrom invasion for hundreds of years and boasting proudly that they\ngoverned every sea, they liked it but ill that their peace should be\ndisturbed by a nation which was considered by them to be no more than\nan insignificant group of revolting farmers. And the moral effect of\nthe bold raid by Jones exceeded by far any material advantage that he\ngained.\n\nWhile England was still buzzing like a hornet's nest as a result of\nthis exploit, Jones performed another deed that was even bolder than\nthe attack on Whitehaven. This was no less than a raid on the estate of\nthe Earl of Selkirk, where his uncle had worked as a gardener, and\nwhere Jones himself had spent a part of his boyhood. His purpose was to\ncarry off the Earl as a prisoner of war, and, holding him as a hostage,\nto effect the exchange of certain American prisoners who were being\ncruelly treated in British prisons. But ill luck still pursued him.\nUpon arriving at the Earl's estate he found that Selkirk himself was\naway from home and that his mission was fruitless. On the insistence of\nhis men he took the silver plate that belonged to the Earl, but touched\nnothing else on the estate. When the plate came up for sale and the\nsailors were to receive their share of the prize money Jones bought the\nplate himself and returned it to the Earl with a courteous letter,\nexplaining that only the exigencies of war and similar conduct of the\nBritish on American territory had compelled him to take such a course.\n\nWith the captured plate safe in his vessel, Paul Jones then attacked\nthe twenty-gun British sloop of war, _Drake_, and after a severe combat\nsucceeded in making her his prize. With the British cruisers in search\nof him everywhere he took the captured vessel into the French harbor of\nBrest, where he underwent heartbreaking delays in obtaining money to\npay his men. Then the _Ranger_ was taken from him, as the French\nGovernment and the American Commissioners in Paris desired him to be\nplaced in command of a French vessel.\n\nAt last Paul Jones was given charge of an old merchantman named _Duras_\nwhose name he was allowed to change to suit his own pleasure. In\ndeference to Benjamin Franklin who had always been his close friend\nJones called his new craft the _Bonhomme Richard_, in honor of Benjamin\nFranklin's famous nickname of \"Poor Richard.\" The _Bonhomme Richard_\nwas refitted and made to approach a ship of war as closely as possible,\nand in August, 1779, Jones sailed in her on what was destined to be his\nmost famous cruise.\n\nThe French had placed some other ships at his disposal to the extent\nthat they were to accompany the _Bonhomme Richard_, but were\nindependent of her command, being under French naval officers. This\npeculiar state of affairs greatly reduced the efficiency of the little\nsquadron, whose vessels were the _Pallas_, the _Vengeance_, the _Cerf_\nand the _Alliance_.\n\nThe crew of the _Bonhomme Richard_, which was the only American vessel\nof the little fleet,--and the only one that accomplished any signal\nsuccess--was composed of such a motley assortment of the offscourings\nof the dockyards that even Jones' stout heart sank when he saw his men\nassembled together. Among the men that were supposed to be sailors were\nmany French peasants who had never even seen a vessel and English\nprisoners that he had to keep in order by the armed force of his more\nloyal men. The fact that he was able to mold this variegated mass of\nundisciplined humanity into a staunch crew capable of winning one of\nthe most famous naval battles of history is a proof of his genius for\nleadership.\n\nThe lack of unity in command soon began to show the inevitable ill\nresults. The _Cerf_ became separated from the squadron and returned to\nFrance. The _Alliance_, under the infamous Captain Landais, who had\nbeen dishonorably discharged from the French navy, refused to cooperate\nwith Jones and soon disappeared on some unknown errand.\n\nAs the remaining three vessels were cruising near Flamborough Head,\nthey sighted a large convoy of British merchant vessels which were\nguarded by two warships--the _Serapis_, a frigate with nearly twice the\nnumber of guns as the _Bonhomme Richard_, and the _Countess of\nScarborough_ which was also a large war vessel. They sighted the convoy\nwell on in the afternoon and closed with it at about sunset. People on\nshore who had recognized the fact that Jones' ships were a hostile\nsquadron crowded the heights to see the sea fight which they knew was\nnot far off.\n\nAs the sun was going down the _Serapis_ approached the _Bonhomme\nRichard_ and hailed her with the cry, \"What ship is that?\"\n\n\"I don't hear you,\" answered Jones, who was maneuvering his vessel so\nas to rake the decks of his opponent with his opening broadside, and\nwhen the _Serapis_ hailed again the _Bonhomme Richard_ opened fire with\nall the guns she could bring to bear upon her.\n\nIt was a severe blow, but the _Serapis_ was not slow in responding. And\nalmost at the first broadside from the English the American ship was\nseverely crippled. Two of the old cannon of the _Bonhomme Richard_ had\nexploded at the first shot, killing and wounding many and tearing a\nlarge hole in the hull of the ship. But although he was in a serious\npredicament Jones continued to fight with vigor. Broadside after\nbroadside was poured in and both vessels sailed slowly abreast of each\nother enveloped in a cloud of dense white smoke that hid the scene from\nthe wondering folk on shore.\n\nThe best chance for the weaker vessel was to close with its opponent\nand Jones maneuvered until he had an opportunity to make the _Bonhomme\nRichard_ fast to the _Serapis_. The jibboom of the Britisher had swung\nover the deck of the _Richard_ and Jones with his own hands made it\nfast to the mizzenmast of his ship. The two ships were now locked in a\ndeath grip, and so close that when the guns were loaded the cannoneers\nhad to lean into the ports of the enemy vessel to drive the ramrods\nhome.\n\nThe big British frigate had the advantage. With heavier batteries than\nthe American ship she was able to silence Jones' guns one after one.\nSeveral attempts were made by Jones to board his enemy but without\nsuccess. He was a beaten man. As his batteries were put out of\ncommission, the men came to the main deck and manned the remaining\nguns, or formed boarding parties there. From the tops of the _Bonhomme\nRichard_ a continuous and accurate fire was poured on the decks of the\n_Serapis_ and many a British sailor lost his life as a result of the\naccuracy of the French sharpshooters who were engaged there.\n\nBy this time the desperate conditions below decks on the _Bonhomme\nRichard_ were almost indescribable. Water was pouring into the hold.\nGreat breaches were made in the hull and the ship was several times set\non fire. But Jones fought on. One of his petty officers, thinking him\ndead, raised a cry for quarter, which was heard on the British ship.\n\n\"Have you surrendered?\" called Captain Pearson, the British commander.\n\nJones had knocked down the quartermaster with the butt of his pistol\nand climbed into the rigging of his ship so the British and his own men\ncould hear his answer more clearly:\n\n\"I have not yet begun to fight,\" he shouted, and a cheer broke out on\nthe deck of the American.\n\n[Illustration: \"I HAVE NOT YET BEGUN TO FIGHT,\" SHOUTED PAUL JONES]\n\nJust then the _Alliance_ under Captain Landais came up, and Jones\nbelieved that the battle was won. But the _Alliance_ instead of firing\non the _Serapis_ discharged a broadside at the _Bonhomme Richard_. In\nspite of shouts and warnings, Landais continued his dastardly work and\nmany Americans and Frenchmen were killed or wounded by his fire. Then\nhis craft sailed away and was seen no more until after the battle.\n\nIt was now known aboard the _Serapis_ what a desperate state of affairs\nexisted on Jones' ship, and the English believed that a few more\nbroadsides would bring them victory. But their hopes were suddenly\ndashed. An American sailor had crawled along the yardarm of the\n_Richard_ to the mast of the _Serapis_ and had dropped a hand grenade.\nThe grenade plunged through a hatchway and fell upon some loose powder\nand a row of charges for the cannon that had been placed on deck. The\nroar of a terrific explosion followed, and Englishmen, screaming for\nquarter, could be seen running through the smoke and flame of their own\nvessel with every vestige of clothing burned from their bodies. The\nbattle was won by the Americans.\n\nCaptain Pearson walked aft and struck his colors. American officers\nboarded the _Serapis_, and Pearson and his lieutenants were ordered to\nreport to Jones on the _Bonhomme Richard_. There Captain Pearson\nsurrendered his sword and was placed in confinement by Jones.\n\nThe _Bonhomme Richard_ had been so severely damaged in the fight that\nshe was in a sinking condition and it was plain to see that she would\nnot remain above the waves much longer. So, transferring every man to\nthe _Serapis_, Jones sailed for a Dutch port, accompanied by his other\nvessels. The _Countess of Scarborough_ had been captured after about an\nhour's fight, and Jones had more than five hundred British prisoners in\nhis charge, including two captains and a number of lesser officers.\n\nAlthough many difficulties and dangers still beset him, Jones' fame was\nnow assured. England and France rang with his victory, and while the\nEnglish drew cartoons of him as a bloody pirate, strutting on a quarter\ndeck that was lined with the bodies of his victims, the French king,\nLouis the Sixteenth, presented him with a gold mounted sword and the\ncross of the Order of Military Merit. Congress passed a resolution\ncommending him for his gallantry and he received a complimentary letter\nfrom General Washington.\n\nWhen the war with England ended and the United States had secured their\nindependence, Paul Jones entered the service of the Russian Empire\nunder Catherine the Great with the rank of Rear Admiral. He gave the\nnew country of his adoption the greatest service in their war with the\nTurks, many of whose vessels Jones sunk or destroyed. But he was\ndisgusted with Russian intrigue, resigned his commission and returned\nto Paris.\n\nAll this time he had remained an American citizen. He considered this\nthe greatest honor of any that had come to him--that he could call\nhimself a citizen of the Republic for which he had fought so often and\nso well against such great odds. But his health had been failing him\nand he died in Paris on July 18, 1792. He was given a public funeral by\nthe French National Assembly.\n\nFor a long time his body remained in France. At length, however, its\nresting place was discovered by General Horace Porter, U.S.A., and all\nthat remained of Paul Jones was brought back in state to America on a\ngreat steel ship the like of which he had never seen. He was given a\nnational funeral at Annapolis and his body was entombed in the\nbeautiful Chapel of the Naval Academy, which institution Jones himself\nhad urged Congress to found. It is a fitting resting place for\nAmerica's greatest naval hero,--for while we have many distinguished\nand noble sailors, there is no name that has the ring of Paul Jones.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XX\n\nMOLLY PITCHER\n\n\nIn the days of the American Revolution a young woman lived as a servant\nin Carlisle, Pennsylvania, with the family of General Irving, a retired\nBritish officer, who had fought in the French and Indian War and had\nseen a great deal of service. This young woman was named Molly Ludwig\nHays, and was the wife of a barber who had been well known in the\nvillage. He had won her hand with difficulty for Molly was a belle\nthroughout the countryside. She was not only handsome, but as strong as\na man, able to carry a heavy meal-sack on her shoulder; and one of the\nhardest workers that the town knew. She washed and scrubbed and scoured\nand baked from morning till night, and seemed to revel in the hard work\nthat gave the needed exercise to her strong muscles.\n\nThroughout her life Molly Hays had admired soldiers, and more than once\nshe expressed herself in no undecided terms to the effect that she\nwished she were a man so that she could bear arms and wear a uniform,\nand be a soldier herself.\n\nWhen she was still a very young woman the American Revolution for\nfreedom from Great Britain broke out. All the country was aflame, and\nrang with the stories of what happened at Lexington and Bunker Hill.\nMan after man from the village took his powder horn and musket and went\noff to enlist for the war, and Molly grew more and more restless as she\nsaw them go.\n\nAt last her husband came to her, somewhat sheepishly, for he disliked\nto tell her the intention he had in his heart; but at length he made\nher understand that just because he was married was no reason why he\nshould remain at home with the women; and he, too, intended to enlist\nthat very day.\n\nMolly consented with the utmost enthusiasm. She told him that she would\nbe proud to be the wife of a soldier, since she could not be one\nherself, and bade him farewell with the admonishment to do his part\nbravely and to bear himself like the man she knew him to be. And she\nstood at the door of their home waving good-by to him with a cheerful\nface that gave no hint of her aching heart.\n\nWhen her husband had departed Molly returned to the Irving household\nwhere she worked as well as she had before her marriage, trying to find\nrelief in the heavy labor from the pain of having lost her husband and\nthe aching desire to go and do her part beside him even though she were\na woman. Fate, thought Molly, had made a sad mistake, in making her a\nwoman, for she knew that in spite of her petticoats she could soldier\nas well as the men,--and if she had only been a man she believed she\ncould have risen to an important position in the army.\n\nThe tide of the struggle wavered and battles with the red coats were\nfought and won. It was hard to get the newspapers in those times and\nnews of the armies and their doings was often weeks behind the actual\nevents. Molly hoped and waited, but for weeks at a time she went\nwithout word from her husband and did not know whether he were alive or\ndead.\n\nOne day a messenger called for her at the Irving household. He had a\nletter from John Hays for Molly, and it not only told her that he was\nalive and well, but was in camp not far off from her former home in\nTrenton, New Jersey, where her aged parents were still living. The\nletter ended by telling her to come to Trenton and live with her\nparents, for he would be able without doubt to get leave from his\ncommand and see her often.\n\nSoon the war itself was being fought in the neighborhood of her home.\nThe Americans attacked the British near Princeton killing and capturing\na large number. Then Washington with his small force withdrew from that\nregion before reenforcements could be brought against him.\n\nAnd now Molly found that there was something that she could do--namely,\ngo and care for the wounded who were still lying where they had fallen\non the field of battle. The British General Cornwallis and his men were\napproaching, but that did not worry her a whit, and she went to and fro\nupon the battlefield carrying water for parched throats and binding\nwounds until the British soldiers were actually upon her.\n\nThen Molly saw a cannon pointed in the direction of the British, and to\nher surprise it was loaded and there was a fuse still smoldering and\nlying near at hand. She studied the cannon carefully and it seemed to\nbe aimed right at a group of the enemy that was approaching. The brave\ngirl dropped the pail of water that she had been carrying, picked up\nthe fuse and applied it to the touch hole. With a loud roar the charge\nwas fired and the cannon leaped backward on its wheels.\n\nAt this the British halted in amazement. They had believed that the\nAmericans were far away, and here this gun gave warning that they were\nstill near at hand, or at any rate had left a strong rear guard with\nartillery to delay them in their pursuit. Hastily they crossed over the\nfield and surrounded the gun which was deserted. Molly had left and had\ntaken with her a wounded American soldier whom she carried on her\nshoulder.\n\n[Illustration: THE CANNON BALLS FIRED BY MOLLY PITCHER FELL SQUARELY IN\nTHE BRITISH LINES]\n\nThe British had seen her go, but it had not occurred to them that a\nwoman had fired the shot that caused so much disturbance among them and\naided the retreating Americans so greatly by delaying their pursuers.\nIf they had realized that Molly herself was the cannoneer, she would\nhave had but little chance of mercy at their hands, and would at once\nhave faced a firing squad or been hung to the nearest tree. As it was\nthey thought she was only some country girl who had perhaps lost some\nrelative in the recent battle and was carrying his dead body back to\nher home. And so they paid no attention to her.\n\nMolly, however, by firing this shot had materially aided General\nWashington, for any delay of the British, even a slight one, gave a\ngreat advantage to the Americans who were hurrying from superior\nnumbers to put themselves in a good tactical position as soon as they\ncould.\n\nOn a hot day of July in the following summer it chanced that\nWashington's forces were again not far away from Molly's home, and she\ntook a difficult journey on the chance of seeing her husband. Her first\nstep in soldiering had been taken when she fired the cannon at the\nBritish in the preceding year. A far greater adventure lay before her,\nfor she fell in with the American soldiers just as they commenced the\nsevere battle of Monmouth.\n\nThis battle had considerable importance, as a comparatively large\nnumber of troops were engaged in it. General Washington was in command\nof the Americans and the English were led by Sir Henry Clinton. The\nEnglish had been retreating from Philadelphia, across New Jersey,\nfollowed by Washington, and the American general had decided to launch\nan attack on the left wing of the retreating forces and General Lee was\nordered by Washington to attack the English on the flank and hold them\nin battle until he himself could come up with the bulk of the American\nArmy.\n\nGeneral Lee, however, proved to be a poor man for this task and his\nindecision and semi-cowardice left Washington exposed to the brunt of\nthe enemy's attack before he was prepared to meet it and against the\nintentions of the American commander. The situation was saved by\nGeneral Greene, who saw what had happened, changed his own plans and\ndiverted the attack of the British to his own position from which he\npoured in a heavy artillery fire that caused them terrible losses.\n\nJohn Hays was one of the cannoneers of Greene's artillery and he worked\nall day loading and firing his piece. It was a terribly hot day and\nmany men in both the British and the American armies fell exhausted and\neven died from the heat of the sun.\n\nAll this time Molly Hays had been caring for the wounded and carrying\nwater to the thirsty gunners, using for the purpose the bucket that was\nattached to her husband's cannon for cleaning purposes. Tirelessly she\ncontinued her efforts to care for the wounded and comfort the fighting\nsoldiers, heedless of the bullets that came her way or of the general\nturmoil of battle. As the day wore on the men would greet her coming\nwith: \"Here comes Molly with her pitcher!\" And gradually this was\nchanged to \"Here comes Molly Pitcher.\" And this was the name that\nhistory has adopted in regard to the brave woman for whom it was so\nused.\n\nAt last John Hays succumbed to the heat and fell unconscious beside his\ngun. The sun had proved too much for him.\n\nMolly stopped carrying water to care for her husband. She bathed his\nhead and moved him into the shade, returning to her duties just in time\nto hear General Knox give orders that the cannon be removed, because he\nhad no other gunner cool enough and skilful enough to work it in its\npresent exposed position. At this Molly sprang forward crying out:\n\n\"Leave the gun where it is. I can fire it. I am a gunner's wife and\nknow how to load and fire a cannon. I'll take the place that my brave\nhusband has left!\" And running to the gun Molly commenced to load and\nfire so determinedly and skilfully that a gasp of amazement ran through\nthe men that saw her.\n\nFor many weary hours she toiled at the gun, until the British were\ndriven back and the battle was claimed as an American victory. And then\nthe young woman found herself the darling of all the soldiers in the\narmy, for word of her actions ran like wildfire through the ranks and\ncheers reechoed wherever she went. Before she left her cannon General\nGreene himself came over to where she stood and grasping her hand\nthanked her in the name of the American Army.\n\nThis was not all the triumph she received, however, for word was soon\nbrought to her that General Washington himself wished to see her. She\nwas in her ragged grimy clothes in which she had fought and succored\nthe wounded through the whole of that hot day, and she now put on a\nsoldier's coat in which to meet the General.\n\nWashington praised her highly and before a large number of his officers\nand men, and more cheering reechoed through the ranks when he gave her\nthe brevet rank of Captain in the American Army.\n\nAnd not only the Americans did her honor, but the French as well, for\nthe Marquis de Lafayette with his own hand presented her with a purse\nof golden crowns.\n\nIn this strange way Molly Hays' desire to be a soldier came true, and\nthe name of Molly Pitcher, as she was ever after called, became one of\nthe great names of American History.\n\nAfter the war was ended she lived with her husband until he died, and\nlater she married again. But in her whole life the battle of Monmouth\nstood out as the great day on which she realized her ambition and\nhelped the American forces in battle.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI\n\nNAPOLEON BONAPARTE\n\n\nThere are only two names in history that are as great as conquerors and\nstatesmen as that of Julius Caesar of whom you have read in the present\nbook. One of these two men was Alexander the Great, who lived hundreds\nof years before the birth of Christ; the other was Napoleon Buonaparte,\nlater called Bonaparte and then Napoleon, who lived and died a hundred\nyears ago.\n\nGreater than Caesar, greater than Alexander is the name of Napoleon.\nWhile Caesar was of noble birth and had all the advantages of position\nand authority in his favor, and while Alexander was a king and born to\nrule, Napoleon Buonaparte sprang from the humblest beginnings and had\nnothing to help him make his way except his own genius. While Alexander\nwas little but a wonderful soldier, Napoleon Buonaparte was both a\nmighty soldier and a great statesman, and not only did he place himself\nupon a throne, but he made all the members of his family kings and\nprinces.\n\nHe was born on the island of Corsica in 1769, and was the fourth child\nand the youngest son of Charles Buonaparte who lived in the town of\nAjaccio and was as poor as his neighbors, which, as he lived in\nCorsica, means that he was very poor indeed. Charles Buonaparte was an\nardent Corsican patriot and often plotted how Corsica could win her\nfreedom from France, but nevertheless he held a French office and was\nwilling to send his sons to French schools.\n\nIt was not long before Napoleon showed his family that he had the\nstubborn nature and iron will that would make him a great soldier.\nBefore he was ten years old he dominated his brothers and sisters and\nmade them do as he said. He was afraid of nothing, and showed himself a\nnatural leader among the children with whom he lived. As soon as he was\nold enough to talk he desired to be a soldier, and when he was ten\nyears old he was taken by his father to a military school in France.\n\nFor five years Napoleon remained at this school at Brienne mastering\nthe military art. As he was gloomy and silent and did not make friends\neasily, he was the butt of ridicule and bore ill natured jokes from the\nother young students there, but in spite of this, all were a little\nafraid of him and did not dare to provoke him too far.\n\nWhen Napoleon was sixteen years old, his military education was\nconsidered to be finished and he was given the commission of a second\nlieutenant in an artillery regiment. In all these years he had only\nseen his father once. But Charles Buonaparte either had realized the\ngreatness of his own son, or had one of those flashes of prophesy that\nsometimes come to dying men, for on his deathbed he cried out, asking\nfor the son, Napoleon, whose sword, he said, was to shake the earth and\nwho was to make himself the master of all Europe.\n\nIt was not many years after the young officer had joined his regiment\nthat he had a chance to distinguish himself. This was at the siege of a\ntown called Toulon. All France was in upheaval at that time, for the\npeople had revolted against their rulers and had overthrown their king\nand their nobility. Their king, Louis the Sixteenth perished on the\npublic scaffold under the knife of the guillotine, and the French\nrevolutionists had carried on such a reign of terror that all Europe\nwas in turmoil and the hand of almost every other nation in the world\nwas against the French. Even a number of the French themselves were\nopposed to their own government and had placed the town of Toulon at\nthe disposal of the English and their allies.\n\nIt was this town that the French army was endeavoring to take, and a\nlong and unsuccessful siege had been carried on, for Toulon was\nstrongly defended. Until Napoleon Buonaparte came, the French\naccomplished little. But Napoleon soon changed the look of the siege.\nYoung as he was he had command of all the artillery that was being used\nagainst the town, and his military genius soon made itself felt, for he\ngave his orders with lightning rapidity and saw that they were carried\nout with a skill that amazed the other officers. Due to his efforts and\nthe skilful arrangement of the cannon at his disposal, the most\nimportant strong points of the town fell into French hands, the British\nfleet, which was cooperating with the besieged, was driven off, and\nToulon was captured.\n\nBut this piece of work did not bring Napoleon any immediate or great\nreward; in fact it was not long before he was out of favor with the\nRevolutionary Government and his commission as an officer taken from\nhim. He had formed a friendship with the brother of Robespierre, a\nrevolutionary leader who came under the displeasure of the Republic.\nAnd when Napoleon was offered a command of infantry, he refused to\naccept it, and thus found himself outside the profession that he had\nchosen.\n\nHowever, his skill at Toulon was soon to give him the opportunity he\nsought, for one of the members of the Revolutionary Government had\nnoticed his ability and resolved to call upon him in a time of need.\nThis time soon came, for rioting and bloodshed broke out in Paris, and\nthe people sought to overthrow the Government. Then Napoleon was called\non to protect the Palace of the Tuileries where the offices of the\nFrench Government were located.\n\nHere Napoleon showed the stuff he was made of. Although he was given\nthe appointment late in the day, the next morning saw cannon trained on\nall the avenues approaching the Tuileries, and the cannoneers standing\nlike statues with lighted matches ready to fire upon the slightest\nprovocation. When the Parisian mob armed with clubs, pistols and old\nmuskets advanced to storm the palace Napoleon waited until some shots\nhad been fired and then gave a sharp command. With a roar of cannon a\nstorm of death swept down the avenues, and the people scattered like\nchaff, leaving many dead and wounded behind them.\n\nThe Government had been saved due to the prompt action of the young\nartillery officer and was properly grateful. Napoleon was given an\nimportant command. He received a general's rank and was put in charge\nof the Army of the Interior. It was at this time that he met a\nbeautiful widow named Josephine de Beauharnais with whom he promptly\nfell in love. Through Barras, the official who had brought him into\nprominence, the match was arranged and Napoleon was married to\nJosephine.\n\nBut the young officer had already started upon his career of greatness,\nand did not have much time to celebrate his nuptials. While on leave\nand even when engaged in other duties he had found opportunity to study\nthe situation in Italy, where many forces hostile to the French\nRepublic were gathered. He had even formed a plan by which the French\ncould invade Italy, and it was now suggested to the Directors of the\nFrench Government that he himself be allowed to put this plan into\nexecution. They consented, and hurrying to the south of France only two\ndays after his wedding, Napoleon took charge of a French army of about\nfifty thousand ragged and ill-fed soldiers. His men had not been paid\nfor months and there was practically no discipline among them. They\nwere sick and discouraged, worn out with fighting the battles of the\nRevolutionary party without reward. But when Napoleon appeared among\nthem, their spirits rose as though by magic, for the young commander\nknew how to appeal to their imagination and to awaken their fighting\ninstinct.\n\n\"Soldiers,\" he said to them, \"you are half starved and half naked: the\ngovernment owes you much, but can do nothing for you. I am about to\nlead you into the most fertile valleys of the world; there you will\nfind flourishing cities and teeming provinces; there you will reap\nhonor, glory and riches. Soldiers of the Army of Italy, will you lack\ncourage?\"\n\nIn Italy were the Austrians and the Sardinians against whom Napoleon\nwas to fight. He did not attempt to cross the Alps, as the great\ngeneral Hannibal had done in ancient times; instead of this he skirted\nthe Alps and fell upon the enemy so rapidly that they were not prepared\nto meet him. With a series of brilliant marches and maneuvers he\ndivided the forces of his enemy and compelled the Sardinians to sign an\narmistice, although the French Government had given him no authority to\ntake so much power into his own hands. He then drove back the Austrians\nand defeated them in the battle of Lodi, where he carried a standard\nwith his own hands and rallied his troops in the face of a withering\nfire.\n\nThe Austrians were completely defeated and numbered their dead by\nthousands. And so delighted were the French soldiers by their success\nthat they gave to the name of their young commander the title of \"the\nlittle corporal.\"\n\nNapoleon, however, did not let the grass grow under his heels, for in\nwar he believed that victory almost always came to the commander who\nstruck first. Time was everything, he declared, and advancing swiftly\nhe laid siege to the town of Mantua, defeated several armies that were\nsent to relieve it and brought all Italy under his control.\n\nAnd now the Directors of the French Government learned that the young\ngeneral they had placed in command of the Army of Italy was made of\nvery different material from the average general who obeyed their\norders. Napoleon treated them haughtily, and made demands rather than\nrequests from them. He had already exceeded his powers many times and\nhad treated with the rulers and the commanders of the enemies he had\nbeaten as though he himself were the ruler of France. Indeed his\nsoldiers talked frequently of making him such and declared that they\nwould rather have a general like Napoleon as their king and be his\nsubjects, than to be governed by a group of civilian clerks who knew\nnothing of war and had to rely on others to carry out their wishes. It\nmay be sure that Napoleon did not discourage this feeling among his\nsoldiers, for he designed to make himself the ruler of France. The time\nhad not yet come, however, for him to reveal his intentions openly,\nalthough it is true they were but thinly disguised.\n\nAfter he had negotiated with Austria for peace and arranged the\narmistice with Sardinia, Napoleon returned to Paris, carrying with him\nmany priceless paintings and works of art taken from the states that he\nhad conquered. These were placed in the galleries of the Louvre in\nParis, which at once became the most wonderful picture galleries in the\nworld.\n\nBut the Directors of the French Government were afraid of the young\nconqueror who was acclaimed by the people wherever he went, and\ndesiring to get rid of him they readily gave their consent to a plan\nthat Napoleon himself suggested. This was that since France was still\nat war with England and not strong enough to invade that country,\nNapoleon should strike at her by taking an army to conquer Egypt, and\nthus do injury to England's trade with her eastern possessions in\nIndia, by opening a road to invade that far country which was the\nsource of England's power.\n\nPreparations for the expedition were conducted with great secrecy in\nToulon, the same town that he had captured a few years before, and in\nMay, 1798, Napoleon set sail with a large fleet that contained about\nthirty-five thousand of his best soldiers and his most clever and\ntrustworthy officers.\n\nOn landing in Egypt he lost no time, but quickly captured Alexandria\nand marched into the desert.\n\nThe Mamelukes who fought against Napoleon, although undisciplined and\nsavage, were nevertheless brave fighters. Their cavalry was far famed\nfor its bravery and skill at horsemanship, as well as for rich\ntrappings and costly equipment.\n\nBravely the Mamelukes charged against the French, and time after time\nthey recoiled from the squares of glittering bayonets on which riders\nand horses were impaled. But at last they weakened, and the French\ncharged in their turn and from an unexpected quarter. The battle was\nover. Napoleon's keen eye had seen that the artillery of the Mamelukes\nhad no wheels and was moved with difficulty and he arranged his men\naccordingly.\n\nBut while Napoleon succeeded on land he had been cut off from returning\nto France, for the English admiral, Lord Nelson, had defeated the\nFrench fleet. Napoleon fought and won battles against the Turks, but\nhis force was too small and the odds against him were too great for him\nto succeed in an Eastern campaign, cut off as he was by the English.\nAnd while he was in this difficult situation word was brought to him\nthat war had broken out again in Italy and all his work there had been\nundone. It was imperative, if he wished to hold his power in France,\nthat he should make his way to Paris without delay.\n\nSo Napoleon left his men in the charge of one of his generals, and with\nonly a few followers embarked at Alexandria. His ship eluded the\nEnglish fleet which was cruising the Mediterranean Sea, and he made his\nway to Paris with all speed.\n\nFrance at this time was governed by a Directory and a Council of Five\nHundred. This was one of the forms of revolutionary government that had\nbeen adopted after the French had dethroned and slain their king.\n\nNapoleon believed that the time had come for him to seize the chief\nposition in the French Government, but he did not dare as yet openly to\nhave himself proclaimed as King. With his brother Lucien, and his\nadvisor Talleyrand--although Napoleon did not accept advice as a rule,\nbut was guided by his own bold, brilliant ideas,--he overthrew the\nCouncil of Five Hundred and abolished the Directory. Then he\nestablished what was called the Provisional Government which was headed\nby a group of three men who were called Consuls. Naturally Napoleon was\nthe first and most important of these, and took care to see that the\nbulk of the power wielded by the consuls should remain in his hands.\nClever, bold and brilliant, stopping at nothing, with the solid backing\nof the army and a brain greater than any that has been known on this\nearth in hundreds of years, it seemed as though this superman could\naccomplish anything he desired.\n\nAfter he had attained his ends in Paris he went again into the field to\nmeet his enemies. There was no immediate fear that France would be\ninvaded, for while the Austrians had won victories in Italy and freed\nthat country from French control, for which they substituted their own,\na French general named Massena had won a victory in Switzerland that\nhad shaken the grip of his enemies. It was necessary, however, that\nItaly be invaded a second time. And this time Napoleon made his plans\nto cross the Alps as Hannibal had done two thousand years before.\n\nWith his supplies on pack mules, with cannon wheels carried by his\nsoldiers and the men themselves drawing the cannon on rude sleds\nimprovised from tree trunks, the indomitable commander crossed the\nmighty mountain range that stood in his way, and suddenly appeared on\nthe Italian plains in a part of the country where the Austrians had not\ndreamed that he would arrive. Before they were able to collect and\nrearrange their forces, Napoleon struck and defeated them in the battle\nof Marengo, where his men fought against odds of three to one. Other\nbattles followed, and French generals invaded Austria. There remained\nnothing for the Austrians to do but sue for peace. England soon\nfollowed her example and France was at peace with the world.\n\nThen Napoleon busied himself with internal matters and set about\nreorganizing the French Government and framing a code of laws that\nmight be used thereafter by the country that he had made his own. This\nwas called the \"Code Napoleon\" and it is largely used to-day in France,\nfor Napoleon's genius as a lawmaker and a ruler was almost as great as\nhis power of generalship. He did not know such a word as failure but\nsucceeded in everything he put his hand to. While whole libraries have\nbeen written about him there seem to be three main reasons for his\ngigantic successes. The first is that he was a natural genius, with far\nsuperior mental power to any other man of his time; the second is that\nhe had wonderful ability to work hard, and the third is that he knew\nhow to draw to himself the loyalty and affection of the ablest men of\nhis day and make their achievements further stepping stones to his own\nsuccesses. He had studied his trade of soldiering since he was old\nenough to talk. He had worked at it constantly and toiled so\nincessantly that he seldom slept more than three or four hours a night.\nMoreover, in the troubled times in which Napoleon appeared on the\ninternational stage, France was ripe for just such leadership and\nindomitable will power as he was able to supply. Fortune favored his\nefforts as much as he favored himself.\n\nThe peace that had come to Europe did not last long. In the treaties\nthat had been framed Napoleon had taken care to include affairs that\nwould furnish him with new excuses to make war whenever he desired. And\nnow he went to war again with England and made plans for invading that\ncountry, which he hated above all others.\n\nHe had become so powerful by this time that he desired to wear the\ncrown of France. Accordingly he made arrangements for a brilliant\ncoronation and invited Pope Pius the Eighth to place the crown upon his\nhead. As there was still much hatred in France of the word King,\nNapoleon decided to assume the title of Emperor.\n\nOn December 2, 1804, before a most brilliant assembly of people,\nNapoleon and Josephine were crowned. When the Pope approached to place\nthe crown on Napoleon's head he rose quickly, took the crown from the\nPope's hand and placed it on his head himself, while a gasp of\nastonishment ran through the audience. He then removed it and placed it\non the head of Josephine who sat on the throne beside him.\n\nAs the crown touched Napoleon's brow Paris reechoed to the thunder of\nguns and to deafening cheers and cries of \"Long live the Emperor!\" Grim\nold soldiers, who had followed him in many bitter campaigns, embraced\neach other and got drunk in the wineshops. There was a wild time of\nrevel and celebration. The French people forgot the Revolution in which\nthousands had died just to prevent the rule of kings. They thought of\nnothing but their new ruler who had made France the mistress of the\nworld and was to lead his armies to even greater victories. And it\nseemed that Napoleon would need more victories to keep his power.\nThrough the tireless efforts of the English statesman, Pitt, Russia and\nAustria had joined England against him. Other countries were secretly\nin league with these allies, and war was again to shake the entire\nworld.\n\nAs we have said Napoleon had planned to invade England and so certain\nwas he of success that he had a monument erected celebrating the future\ninvasion. But to secure the results and to transport his army safely\ninto England it was necessary for Napoleon to have mastery of the\nEnglish Channel, which was controlled by British warships under Lord\nNelson, who, as you remember, had cut off and defeated Napoleon at sea\nwhen he was engaged in the invasion of Egypt. And while arrangements\nwere completed for carrying a large French army from Boulogne to the\nEnglish shores, a mishap befell Napoleon that forever prevented him\nfrom realizing his dream of British invasion. The French fleet under\nAdmiral Villeneuve met Lord Nelson off Trafalgar and was utterly\ndefeated. Napoleon's chance to invade England was gone forever.\n\nWith his genius, however, for changing failure into success Napoleon\nhad already turned his designs elsewhere. With the splendid army with\nwhich he contemplated the humiliation of England, he now marched\nagainst Austria.\n\nAfter defeating the Austrians in several engagements Napoleon met the\ncombined Russian and Austrian forces at Austerlitz on the anniversary\nof the day on which he had been crowned as Emperor. And Fortune, which\nhad crowned him then in Paris, now crowned his genius on the\nbattlefield by the greatest of all his victories. After prodigious\nslaughter the Russians and Austrians were completely routed, losing\nthousands of prisoners. The treaty of Pressburg followed, in which the\nAustrian Emperor, Francis the First, was compelled to give up large\nslices of territory to France, and the Russians as quickly as possible\nwithdrew into their own country.\n\nBut this was only the beginning of the wars that Napoleon\nthence-forward was engaged in. The kingdom of Prussia declared war\nagainst France, and Napoleon marched against the Prussians and defeated\nthem at the battle of Jena.\n\nRussia, however, was ready to make peace with France, for after Jena\nNapoleon turned his attention to the Russians and defeated them at\nFriedland. Then the Czar of Russia and Napoleon met on a raft which was\nanchored in the middle of the river Niemen and swore eternal\nfriendship.\n\nThis was called the Treaty of Tilsit. As England was now the only great\nnation that continued to be the enemy of France, Napoleon had made\narrangements in this treaty that were designed to cripple England's\ntrade and do as much damage to her as was possible. Moreover, the\nconqueror had decided that henceforth there were to be no neutral\nnations. Either the other countries must aid him in his trade war\nagainst England and in other ways should he desire, or take the\nconsequences of braving his anger. With this policy in his mind\nPortugal was invaded and the royal family was driven from the country\nto South America where they sought refuge in the country of Brazil.\nSpain had sided with France against Portugal, but Napoleon then\nhumiliated and dominated Spain. He used a far greater number of men\nthan was necessary for his Portuguese invasion, and turned them against\nthe Spaniards, many of whose most important forts had been taken by the\nFrench soldiers through treachery as well as by stratagem. When the\nconquest of Spain was ended Napoleon placed his brother, Joseph, on the\nSpanish throne.\n\nAustria, however, was preparing for another struggle against Napoleon.\nThough continually defeated by the French, the Austrians lost no chance\nof turning on them or taking any opportunity that might bring success\nagainst the victorious soldiers of Napoleon. But this only brought upon\nthe Austrians the further defeat of Wagram and the loss of additional\nterritory to Napoleon.\n\nBut now fortune began to go against the brilliant soldier who had\nseldom lost a battle and practically never had been defeated. The\nRussians did not like the alliance with France that had been imposed\nupon them at Tilsit and in spite of the Czar's vows of friendship were\nready to turn against Napoleon on the first opportunity. In fact the\nCzar had become directly angered at Napoleon for the following reason.\n\nAlthough Napoleon had made himself Emperor there was no heir to the\nFrench throne. As it seemed that Josephine would remain childless,\nNapoleon conceived the plan of divorcing her and marrying some high\nborn lady whose alliance with him would strengthen the bonds between\nher country and that of the French. He had negotiated with the Russian\nCzar for the hand of a Russian princess, but before the arrangements\nhad been completed he married an Austrian duchess named Marie Louise.\n\nThis turned Russia into the scale against Napoleon, who had already\ndealt with the Russians in a high handed manner. So the Czar entered\ninto a close alliance with England against the conqueror.\n\nThen Napoleon made the greatest mistake of all his brilliant career.\nWith all Europe in unrest against him, he nevertheless conceived the\nplan of invading Russia and raised a great army for this purpose.\nRussia was and is one of the most difficult countries in all Europe in\nwhich to carry on a military invasion. The country is so cold and\nbarren and the distances are so great that any invading army has great\ndifficulty in transporting its supplies and marching the required\ndistances. Napoleon had almost always relied for his supplies on the\ncountries he had conquered and believed that it was always possible for\nlarge armies to subsist on forage and the supplies of the conquered\ninhabitants. To a large extent he used this policy in his invasion of\nRussia and it brought about his downfall. With an army of four hundred\nthousand men he entered Russia and advanced into the interior. The\nRussians constantly retreated before him and laid waste everything in\nhis path. Towns were burned, crops were destroyed and cattle were\ndriven away, as Napoleon led his forces toward the ancient and historic\ncity of Moscow.\n\nWhen the French had advanced a long distance into Russia, the Russian\ngeneral named Kutusoff offered them battle in a place called Borodino.\nIt was a stubborn and bloody conflict, and more lives were lost both by\nthe Russians and by the French than in any previous battle Napoleon had\nengaged in. The Russians then continued to retreat and Napoleon entered\nMoscow on the Fourteenth of September, 1812.\n\nHere the French believed that they would find respite from the\nhardships that they had encountered, and sufficient food and grain to\nfeed their army. But their hopes were short lived, and in Moscow a\ngreat disaster befell them. Flames broke out in the city on the first\nnight of their occupation, and were extinguished with difficulty. On\nthe next night fires were kindled by hidden Russians in a hundred\ndifferent places, and at last the city was a sea of flames in which no\nman could live. Napoleon had gained nothing by his invasion except to\nconquer a devastated country, and now, with winter coming on, he was\ncompelled to retreat again toward the Russian frontier.\n\nThe plight of the French army had become fearful. Without food and with\ninsufficient clothing they were compelled to face the rigors of a\nRussian winter. As they retreated the Russians followed them and bands\nof wild Cossacks harassed their rear and their flanks, cutting off and\nkilling any stragglers. Even the Russian peasants took part in the\npursuit, and slew the exhausted French with their flails and cudgels.\nThousands of soldiers froze to death. In crossing the Beresina River\nthousands more drowned. When they approached the frontier Napoleon left\nthe pitiful remnant of his shattered army to Marshal Ney, one of the\nbravest of his generals, while he himself in a swift sleigh hastened to\nParis to raise another army before all Europe knew of what had\nhappened--for as soon as they did know they would take up arms against\nhim, thinking that in his weakened condition they could overthrow his\npower. Of the four hundred thousand that entered Russia only twenty\nthousand returned. More than a third of a million brave men had left\ntheir bones on the chill snows and iron earth of the land they sought\nto humble.\n\nUprisings, alliances and campaigns by the hitherto beaten nations\nfollowed. Napoleon won the battle of Lutzen, but the English Duke of\nWellington defeated the French at Vittoria. At last in the great battle\nof Leipzig in October, 1813, the French were routed.\n\nIn the following year the Allies made ready to crush Napoleon. He was\nnow on the defensive with enemies hemming him in on every side, and\nalthough he fought a brilliant campaign it was hopeless. On April 11,\n1814, Napoleon was compelled to resign the crown, and obliged to go\ninto exile; and the island of Elba in the Mediterranean Sea was chosen\nas the place for him to end his days.\n\nFor the last time before his exile, Napoleon addressed his soldiers in\nfarewell, and the tears ran down the rough cheeks of the veterans as\nthey bade good-by to the man who had so often led them to victory. And\nthen Napoleon passed through southern France on his way to Elba amid\nthe hisses and execrations of his people, who had already forgotten the\nvictories he had won for France and thought now only of their misery\nand the dear ones they had lost on the barren snow fields of Russia.\n\nInstead of Napoleon the brother of the former king, Louis the\nSixteenth, was placed on the throne of France--an old, fat, wheezy man\nof no particular ability. It seemed as if the great conqueror were\ndowned at last.\n\nBut Napoleon intended differently. As he stayed at Elba surrounded by a\nlittle court and with the title of Emperor which the Allies had allowed\nhim to keep, he kept looking toward the coast of France and plotting\nhow to return. It is more than probable that his life was in danger at\nElba. At all events he found the life intolerable, and desired once\nagain to play the leading part in European affairs.\n\nIn the meantime the French people grew weary of fat old Louis the\nEighteenth, whose name of \"Louis Dix Huit\" was changed by the French as\na joke into \"Louis Des Huitres,\" or Louis of the Oysters, so fond was\nthe old gourmand of his shellfish. They began to sigh for Napoleon and\nlook forward to the spring when they hoped he might be able to escape\nfrom his island of confinement and rejoin his soldiers in Paris. And\nthis very thing soon happened.\n\nNapoleon made a successful plan to escape from Elba and was concealed\non a ship bound for France. And on the short trip back to the French\ncoast he gave a striking example of his remarkable coolness and the\ncertainty in which he held his future fortune. A passing vessel hailed\nhis ship, asking, among other things, what was the latest news of the\nEmperor. Napoleon, who was too far off to be recognized, laughingly\ntook the speaking trumpet from the captain's hand and shouted back:\n\"The Emperor is very well.\" And both vessels passed on their way.\n\nLanding with a few followers near Cannes in southern France, Napoleon\nhastened northward with the small army that he had been allowed to keep\nat Elba. An army had been sent against him by the French, but Napoleon\nhad no intention of fighting it. Instead he advanced alone upon his\nformer soldiers, many of whom recognized him and rejoiced at a sight of\ntheir former leader. When he drew near Napoleon threw back his coat and\nshouted that if any man desired to kill his Emperor now was his\nopportunity. Instead of killing him the soldiers crowded around him\nwith cries of joy. The whole army went over to his cause, and Marshal\nNey, who had been sent against him and who had sworn that he would\nbring Napoleon back in an iron cage, could not withstand the sight of\nhis old general and threw his lot once more with the Imperial eagles.\nWith a force that increased at every mile Napoleon marched toward\nParis, while Louis the Eighteenth hastily gathered up his luggage and\nfled into Belgium.\n\nAs soon as the Allies learned of Napoleon's escape they hastened to\nmake war against him. But Napoleon did not wait for them. With a\nsplendid army at his heels he marched to the north to meet his foes.\n\nFate was too strong for him, however. On June 16th, 1815, he fought the\nbattle of Ligny in which he defeated the Prussians, but two days later\nhe engaged in one of the most famous struggles of all history--the\nbattle of Waterloo.\n\nHere Napoleon was pitted against the English under Lord Wellington and\nthe Prussians under Blucher. All day the struggle went on with success\nin the balance and time after time it seemed as if nothing could save\nthe English army from the furious charges of Napoleon's cuirassiers and\nheavy dragoons. Blucher had been separated from Wellington before the\nbattle opened, and due to muddy roads he was late in arriving with the\nreenforcements that were necessary for an English victory. When he did\nappear, however, the battle was won for the Allies. The French broke\nand scattered in headlong rout and were followed throughout the night\nby the ruthless Prussians, who cut them down without mercy. The\nsplendid army that Napoleon had gathered was no more.\n\nNapoleon fled to Paris and from there to Rochefort in southern France,\nwhere he was ordered to leave the country without delay. Now that he\nwas defeated the French were unwilling to harbor him, for they knew\nthat his presence meant continued war with the victorious Allies. At\nlast Napoleon surrendered himself to the commander of the British\nwarship _Bellerophon_, and was taken to England as a prisoner. The\nEnglish did not even allow him to land. He was transferred to another\nvessel and carried to a lonely and rocky island in the south Atlantic\ncalled St. Helena. Here, with a few of his followers who remained\nfaithful to him in his misfortune, the great Emperor fretted away the\nremainder of his life. On May 5, 1821, just as the sunset gun was\nfired, he breathed his last.\n\nHe was buried in St. Helena, but his body was later claimed by the\nFrench Government and now rests in state in Paris in a wonderful\nsarcophagus of red marble beneath the dome of the Hotel Des Invalides.\nIn recesses of this building are also the tombs of Marshal Ney and the\nother great generals who had best served their Emperor in his lifetime.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXII\n\nGIUSEPPE GARIBALDI\n\n\nIf George Washington was the father of his country, certainly Giuseppe\nGaribaldi could be called the father of Italian liberty, for this one\npatriot, almost single handed, fomented and carried on the revolution\nthat resulted in the birth of the Italian nation as it stands to-day.\n\nGiuseppe Garibaldi was born in the year 1807, in the town of Nice, and\nwas the son of a sailor and sea captain named Domenico Garibaldi. It is\nprobable that almost before he could walk Giuseppe was familiar with\nthe deck of his father's vessel, and it is certain that when a very\nyoung boy he showed an aptitude and desire for a seafaring life.\n\nHis father, however, did not wish his son to be a sea captain like\nhimself, but desired him to lead some life ashore, where, he thought,\nthe boy's chances of advancement would be better. This plan, however,\ndid not appeal to Giuseppe. The call of the sea was in him and he\ndetermined to be a sailor like his father. When still a young boy, with\none or two companions, he stole a fishing boat and put to sea in the\nMediterranean, sailing to the Eastward. His father soon gave chase,\nhowever, with a faster boat, and caught the would be mariner off the\ncoast of Monaco, returning with him to Nice. The boy's cruise itself\nwas ended, but this incident convinced the father that his son was\nintended for the sea, and in a few months Giuseppe shipped as a cabin\nboy and before long was making long voyages.\n\nHe quickly showed that seafaring was his natural calling, for before he\nwas twenty-four years old he had become the master of a vessel, showing\nat an early age a capacity for responsibility and an ability to command\nother men that marked him head and shoulders above his companions.\n\nBut while engaged upon his voyages Garibaldi was thinking a great deal\nabout the unfortunate condition of Italy and the unhappiness of his\ncountrymen, for at that time the Italians did not form one nation as\nthey do to-day, but were grouped in a number of petty states that\nfrequently warred against each other and were themselves surrounded by\nmore powerful enemies. The idea of making Italy one nation had not then\noccurred to the bulk of the people, but there was a band of secret\nrevolutionists who were working for \"Young Italy\" and Garibaldi, who\nwas known to be in favor of a united Italy, soon met some of the\nmembers of this organization.\n\nThe young skipper promptly became fired with the desire to aid the work\nof the revolutionists and went to Marseilles where he talked with the\nfamous patriot, Mazzini, also a young man, who had been active in\nrevolutionary circles and was the chief organizer of the league called\nYoung Italy. Mazzini's aim was to put an end to all the existing\nItalian governments and form an Italian republic that should extend\nfrom Sicily to the Alps. For his revolutionary activities he had been\nbanished from his native country, and was carrying on his work to the\nbest of his ability in Marseilles.\n\nMazzini gave Garibaldi a cordial greeting, and enlisted his aid in the\nwork of the revolutionists. They were planning a war against the King\nof Sardinia whose name was Charles Albert, and while the patriots\ninvaded Savoy Garibaldi's mission was to go to Genoa and hatch a\nrevolution in the fleet, where, it was thought, there were many sailors\nwho would gladly fall in with the aims of Young Italy and lend their\naid in overthrowing the existing governments.\n\nThe plot failed and Garibaldi was left stranded at Genoa, hunted by the\nsoldiers and certain to meet death in case he was captured. He\ndisguised himself in the dress of a peasant and escaped to France,\nwhere a newspaper informed him that he had been named as an outcast\nfrom his native country, and had been sentenced to death. There was\nnothing further for him to do at that time except to carry on his\ncalling of sea captain under an assumed name, and it was not long\nbefore he had shipped as a common seaman on a vessel sailing for South\nAmerica, where for two years, nothing further was heard of him. But his\nardent nature found play in the new country to which he had come, and\nwhen the Province of Rio Grande rose in revolution against the rule of\nthe Brazilians, Garibaldi joined the rebels and made preparations to\nfight in the revolutionary cause.\n\nHe secured a little fishing vessel, and with a few companions began to\ncruise as a privateer in the insurgent cause, going through many sea\nfights and many hardships and adventures in the behalf of the\nrevolutionists. Finally he was shipwrecked and only saved his life by\nhis great skill at swimming, most of his companions drowning in the\nsurf where he was powerless to help them. The revolutionists gave him\nanother ship and he soon sailed away for further encounters with the\nenemy.\n\nWhile in the port of Laguna a new adventure befell him, for there he\nbeheld the woman who was to become his wife. Her name was Anita\nRiberas, and according to the South American custom her father had\narranged a marriage for her with a man she did not love. When she met\nGaribaldi she was struck with his fine and commanding appearance, and\nhe on his part instantly fell in love with her, for she was a woman of\ngreat beauty and a keen and spirited mind. The result of this meeting\nwas that Anita eloped with Garibaldi, sailing away with him on his\nvessel and marrying him a few days later when another port was reached.\n\nAnita not only was on board Garibaldi's vessel in a number of sea\nfights but actually took part in them. On one occasion, we are told,\nshe was knocked down by a gust of wind made by a cannon ball as it\nwhizzed across the deck, but picking herself up continued to fight by\nthe side of the men.\n\nGaribaldi then organized a band of guerilla cavalry and his bride,\ndressed in man's clothes, rode by his side. It was while her husband\nwas a captain of guerillas that she bore him a son, and on many weary\njourneys the baby was carried in a sort of net cradle slung from her\nsaddle. Garibaldi was now fighting for the freedom of Uruguay.\n\nIt was at this time that Garibaldi formed the band of revolutionaries\ncalled the Italian Legion. They chose for their colors a flag on which\na volcano was painted with fire spouting from the crater against a\nbackground of black. And Garibaldi at the head of his Italians was a\nskilful and famous soldier, known everywhere in Uruguay and even in\nforeign countries.\n\nIn the year 1848 the whole of Northern Italy rose in arms against the\nAustrians, and the King of Sardinia, Charles Albert, was now fighting\nin a cause that seemed just to Garibaldi, who desired of all things to\nsee the foreign control of great nations taken away from his country.\nAt once he decided to enter the war and sailed for Italy with the\nmembers of his legion. He chose for an emblem this time the colors that\nhave since become the flag of Italy, a flag of red, white and green\narranged like the French tricolor.\n\nHe received a cold welcome from the King of Sardinia, for Charles\nAlbert could not forgive his former revolutionary activities. But the\nKing soon had reason to hate him even more than hitherto, for when,\nwith the Pope, he made peace with Austria after his forces had been\ndefeated, Garibaldi refused to recognize the compact and with a small\nband of insurgents continued the fight, until he fell ill with fever\nand was compelled to give up the struggle and allow his soldiers to\nreturn to their homes.\n\nHe was determined, however, that Italy should never again recognize\nAustrian rule, and as soon as he had recovered from the fever, he began\nwhat was called the \"People's War.\" Numbers of Italians flocked to his\nstandard, and his cause was soon strengthened by an uprising in Rome,\nin which the Pope himself was driven from office, and a minister named\nRossi was murdered.\n\nGaribaldi had hastened to Rome to be present at the declaration of the\nRoman Republic, of which Mazzini was to be President. As the Austrian\nand French forces were pursuing him he organized a stubborn resistance,\nand furious fighting took place in the outskirts of the city and in the\nstreets themselves. Soon it was evident that the revolutionists must\ngive in and the city be taken. The only hope for the Republicans lay in\ntheir escaping to the mountains. The city surrendered finally without\nGaribaldi's consent, and with his band of red shirted followers he fled\ninto the country just as the French soldiers were pouring through the\ngates. His wife, dressed as a man, accompanied him.\n\nThen commenced a campaign filled with most bitter hardships and\ndifficulties. At the beginning of his flight he had only five thousand\nmen and these were quickly decreased in numbers by the hardships they\nwere compelled to undergo, and by many desertions that took place as a\nresult. But Garibaldi persevered, until he saw that it was useless to\nthink of any further resistance at that time, and he then planned a\nflight to the coast. Fully fifty thousand well armed and organized men\nwere in pursuit of him, and their ranks were added to daily by\ndeserters from his own small force. At last all but two hundred\nsurrendered, and these, with Garibaldi at their head seized a number of\nfishing vessels and put to sea, hoping to reach the friendly city of\nVenice.\n\nBut the enemy's vessels were watching the coast, and soon a large fleet\nwas in hot pursuit. Some of Garibaldi's vessels were captured and sunk\nand the rest were compelled to land to escape the pursuing ships.\n\nAll this time his faithful wife, Anita, had accompanied him--but the\nhardships they had undergone had proved too much for her; she had\nfallen ill and now it was seen that she had only a few hours to live.\nWith soldiers of the enemy following him, and with his dying wife in\nhis arms, Garibaldi hid among the sand dunes of the coast and at last\ncarried his wife into a deserted cottage where she promptly breathed\nher last.\n\nWith the soldiers at his heels Garibaldi could not even wait to see her\nburied. He took to the hills once more, and after a terrible journey of\nforty days, in which he was obliged to travel in disguise, he escaped\non a fishing boat, and after being turned away from several ports where\nhis presence was unwelcome, made his way to America. This time he went\nto New York, and for a time earned his daily bread as a ship chandler\non Staten Island.\n\nThen he returned to his old trade of sea captain and sailed for China\nin command of a vessel called the _Carmen_. He then returned to Europe,\nand as the hatreds of the revolution had now largely blown over he was\nable to go to Nice and see his children. The search for him had waned.\nItaly seemed hopelessly under the yoke of her enemies, and Garibaldi\nsettled down to private life on the Island of Caprera, where he lived\nsimply as a farmer.\n\nHe was only too ready, however, to respond if another demand should\ncome for him to carry arms in behalf of United Italy, and through the\nskill of the statesman, Cavour, such a demand did come in the year\n1859. Cavour, by clever diplomacy, had brought on a war between the\nAustrians and the French and with the aid of the powerful nation of\nFrance the Italians were victorious at the battles of Magenta and\nSolferino.\n\nBut while France was willing to fight the Austrians, the French were\nunwilling to have Italy at their doors as a united nation, and a peace\nwas agreed upon between the two great powers in which Italian liberty\nwas ignored. All the work of Garibaldi seemed to have been useless. All\nof his great sacrifices were apparently thrown away by the statesmen\nand diplomats who were forced to accede to the French and Austrian\nterms.\n\nBut the peace of Villafranca, as this agreement was called, was only\nthe beginning of Garibaldi's greatness. He hastened to Genoa, where,\nwith one thousand and seventy followers, he seized two steamers and\nembarked for Sicily. Sicily had revolted on hearing of the peace terms\nand Garibaldi had been invited to go there and aid the revolution.\n\nAfter a voyage of six days he landed at Marsala where a tremendous\nwelcome was given to him. The Neapolitan fleet was not far off, but\nthey did not dare to open fire on the little band of revolutionists on\naccount of British warships nearby, as Great Britain was known to favor\nthe revolutionary cause.\n\nWith Garibaldi at the head of an indomitable little army, the\nNeapolitan soldiers were put to flight at the battle of Calatafimi and\nGaribaldi advanced upon the city of Palermo. After heavy fighting the\ncity was taken, and afterward at the head of about two thousand men,\nGaribaldi routed an army more than three times the size of his own. All\nSicily was soon in Garibaldi's possession, and now, with a considerable\narmy at his back, he crossed over to the Italian mainland and advanced\nnorthward, with his enemies fleeing before him. Finally he captured the\ncity of Naples and his work was completed.\n\nWithout any hesitation Garibaldi turned over his conquests to King\nVictor Emmanuel of Sardinia, who, after Garibaldi's successes, had\nmarched against Naples and was now in control of a large part of the\nItalian peninsula. After refusing many rewards Garibaldi retired again\nto the island of Caprera, but in 1862 he raised a volunteer army and\nmarched against Rome in an attempt to overthrow the power of the Pope\nwhich he believed must be destroyed before Italy could ever become a\nunited nation.\n\nKing Victor Emmanuel did not feel that he could allow this expedition\nof Garibaldi's, and sent his own army against him. Garibaldi was\ndefeated and he himself was taken prisoner, but after a short\nconfinement he was pardoned and set at liberty.\n\nIn 1866 he started another revolution but was again defeated and again\ncaptured. Once more, however, he was pardoned and allowed to go back to\nCaprera, where he was guarded by a warship to prevent any further\nactivity on his part. Three years later he offered his services to the\nFrench Republic and was made a deputy of that famous body, the French\nVersailles Assembly. He then entered the Italian Parliament, and for\nhis great patriotic services was given a pension for life. In later\nlife he married again but the marriage was not a happy one and was\nannulled after a number of years, when Garibaldi again took a wife, a\npeasant woman named Francesca.\n\nHe died in 1882, at Caprera, one of the most famous of all Italians,\nand the one to whom modern Italy owes more than to any other man. Had\nit not been for Garibaldi's great endurance under the most terrible\nhardships and privations, and his resolute determination to free his\ncountry, there might well be no modern Italy as these pages are\nwritten.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIII\n\nABRAHAM LINCOLN\n\n\nThe story of Abraham Lincoln should bring more inspiration to you than\nthat of any other man or woman who is mentioned in this book. For\nLincoln not only had a great mind, a great and forceful personality,\nbut a great and kindly heart, filled with charity for all. He was,\nmoreover, a man of the people. Whatever he gained in life, he gained by\nhis own efforts. Washington created the United States, but Lincoln\ncarried them through the most difficult crisis of their history--and it\nis more than probable that without him there would be no United States\nto-day.\n\nHe was born in 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky, on the Twelfth of\nFebruary, and was the son of Thomas Lincoln, a carpenter. Thomas\nLincoln was a good natured but shiftless man who never did any more\nwork than was absolutely necessary to keep his family from starving. He\nhad pioneer blood in his veins, as, indeed, all Lincoln's ancestors\nhad, from the time when they first came to America in 1637; and this\nfact kept them pushing continually to the westward and taking up new\nlands in unbroken country as opportunity offered. Thomas Lincoln's\nwife, Nancy, was made of better stuff than her easy going husband, and\nit is probably from her that the boy Abraham inherited the character\nthat was to make his name the greatest in his country, if not in the\nentire world.\n\nAs a boy Abraham had little or no chance to go to school, but he was so\nindustrious and eager to learn that he borrowed every book that he\ncould lay his hand on, and in this way he obtained a thorough knowledge\nof the bible and of Shakespeare as well as of a few other classics,\nwhich included AEsop's fables, Robinson Crusoe, a history of Washington\nand the Pilgrim's Progress.\n\nWhen Abraham was eight years old, his father moved to Indiana, and\nthere the first great sorrow of his life befell the little boy. His\nmother died of a fever that appeared among the settlers, leaving\nAbraham and his sister Sarah, a little girl of eleven, to do the\nhousework and the heavy chores of a backwoods farm. The following year\nThomas Lincoln went away to Kentucky to marry again, and he brought\nback with him a big hearted woman named Sally Johnson, who had three\nchildren by a former marriage.\n\nThis marriage by Thomas Lincoln was the best thing that could have\nhappened for his two motherless children. Sally Johnson was able to\ngive them better care and more comforts than they had ever known. She\ninspired their father also to work more regularly and to put a door on\nthe cabin in which they lived. Abraham helped his father in clearing\nthe land and hewing the trees. He was big and strong for his age, and\nwas constantly swinging an ax or guiding a plow.\n\nAll the time when not engaged in these active forms of labor, Abraham\nwas reading and studying, by candle light or by firelight, chalking up\nsums of arithmetic on a board or the back of a shovel when he lacked\npaper to write them on, and striving in every way to gain for himself\nan education. Owing to the remote region where he lived and the\nconstant moves that were made by his family, he had less than a year's\nschooling in the entire course of his life,--but his eagerness to learn\ncounterbalanced this disadvantage and when he reached young manhood he\nknew as much as many who had been to the finest schools in the country\nfrom their earliest years and without interruption.\n\nWhen he was twenty-one years old his father moved again. This time\nThomas Lincoln settled in Illinois, and Abraham worked without pay for\na year, helping him to clear his property and settle his land. Then, as\nwas the custom in those days, he left home to seek his fortune\nelsewhere.\n\nBy this time he had grown into a tall and powerful man who was able\nwith great ease to outstrip all others in running or jumping, swinging\nan ax or carrying heavy weights. His strength, in fact, was as famous\nthroughout the country side as was his good nature and kindness, for he\nwas always ready to give his neighbors a hand when they needed help and\nto do them a good turn when the chance came his way. Everybody liked\nhim and he was welcome wherever he went.\n\nWith two relatives Lincoln built a flatboat and started down the river\nfor New Orleans on a trading venture. He had been south once before,\nwhen he traveled more than a thousand miles on a flatboat selling\ngroceries to the plantations of Mississippi, and these two trips\nenabled him to see what slavery was like. He saw negroes being placed\non the auction block and knocked down to the highest bidder, separated\nforever from their wives and families. He saw them toiling in the\nfields and triced up under the lash. It was then, without doubt, that\nhe formed the opinions that directed his policy from the White House in\nlater years when he was President.\n\nOn returning to his home Lincoln had his first taste of military\nservice. A war had broken out with the Black Hawk Indians, and\nvolunteers were called for to drive them out of the country. Lincoln\nwas one of the first to offer his services, and although still very\nyoung, every man in the neighborhood urged that he be made the captain\nof the military company in which they were to serve. It was a sign of\nthe esteem in which the ungainly young man was held that those older\nthan himself should unanimously propose him for their leader.\n\nBefore this time Lincoln, young as he was, had announced his candidacy\nfor the Legislature of Illinois. The County of Sangamon, where he\nlived, was entitled to four representatives. He had informed the\nresidents that he was a candidate by a characteristic letter which was\nprinted in the county newspapers and has been quoted in Lincoln's\nbiographies.\n\n\"Every man is said to have his peculiar ambition,\" he wrote. \"Whether\nit be true or not, I can say, for one, that I have no other so great as\nbeing truly esteemed by my fellow men by rendering myself worthy of\ntheir esteem. How far I shall succeed in gratifying this ambition is\nyet to be developed. I am young and unknown to many of you. I was born,\nand have ever remained, in the most humble walks of life. I have no\nwealthy or popular relations or friends to recommend me. My case is\nthrown exclusively upon the independent voters of the county; and if\nelected they will have conferred a favor upon me for which I shall be\nunremitting in my labors to compensate. But if the good people in their\nwisdom see fit to keep me in the background I have been too familiar\nwith disappointments to be very much chagrined.\"\n\nBut when the Indian war broke out Lincoln sacrificed his chances of\nbeing elected, preferring to fight for his country in such fighting as\ncame his way, and the victory was won by his opponents.\n\nOn his return after a bloodless campaign, he started a grocery store in\nthe town of New Salem, Illinois, but the venture was destined to be an\nunlucky one. The town dwindled in size; the store finally failed; his\npartner ran away and then died, leaving Lincoln to shoulder all the\nburden of the debt. Although he had no money and could earn but little,\nhe paid this debt to the last penny and with proper interest, but the\nburden saddened his young manhood and put him in poverty and\ndifficulties from which he did not free himself for a number of years.\n\nIn the year 1834, Lincoln ran once more for the State Legislature, and\nthis time, as no obstacles beyond the ordinary came his way, he was\nelected. This marked the turning point in his career, for he had now\nembarked on the course that was to end with his election to the\nPresidency. He was sent back to the Legislature in 1836 and again in\n1838 and 1840; and his policy was marked by broad views and great\nliberality. As a matter of fact, he was one of the first champions of\nwoman's suffrage, for in preparing his platform he said that he was for\nallowing all whites to vote who bore the burdens of the Government,\nincluding the women.\n\nWhile in the Legislature Lincoln had the courage to voice a protest\nagainst slavery, and at that time the feeling ran so strongly against\n\"abolitionists,\" as the would-be liberators of slaves were called, that\nhe could only get one man beside himself to sign this protest. In it he\nstated that slavery in itself was evil and unjust, but that the efforts\nof the abolitionists only served to add to its horrors. By this\nstatement Lincoln ran grave danger of being ruined in his political\ncareer, and only his high moral courage impelled him to make it.\n\nIn 1839 the State Capitol of Illinois was moved to Springfield and\nLincoln decided to live in the same town. While he had been serving his\ncountry in the Legislature he had also been studying law--a pursuit\nthat he commenced when he owned the unlucky general grocery store at\nNew Salem. Now he hung up his shingle as a lawyer, going into\npartnership with John T. Stuart who was prominent in Lincoln's own\npolitical party, whose members were called Whigs. Before very long he\nhad a good practice.\n\nHere Lincoln engaged to fight a duel, showing at once his courage and\nthe keen sense of humor that he possessed. Some women friends of his\nhad sent to the newspapers a series of humorous letters criticizing one\nJames Shields, an Irishman, who was engaged in tax collecting. These\nletters were signed by the name of \"Aunt Rebecca,\" and to help the\nladies Lincoln had written the first letter as a model. When Shields\nstarted inquiries, Lincoln took the entire responsibility. Shields\nbelonged to the opposite political party and challenged Lincoln to a\nduel. As the challenged, Lincoln was allowed to chose the weapons. He\ndecided on broadswords of the largest possible size. A plank was to be\nplaced between the duelists, and neither allowed to cross it. On either\nside of the plank lines were drawn at the length of the broadsword and\nthree feet extra,--and if the duelist stepped back across this line he\nlost the fight.\n\nThese terms had a large element of the ridiculous about them. The\nmeeting came to pass but the duel never was fought, for Lincoln and his\nadversary were reconciled before the swords were drawn. Soon after this\nLincoln married Mary Todd, a Kentucky girl who had been one of the\noriginators of the letters that brought about this duel.\n\nA few years later, in 1846, Lincoln was elected to Congress. In his\nfirst term in the House of Representatives he did nothing to\ndistinguish himself, but kept his eyes and ears open and used the term\nmore as an instructive course in some university of politics than\nanything else, although he took care not to neglect the work of his\nconstituents. In fact there is, or was at that time a general idea that\nit was impossible to distinguish oneself in a first term to Congress.\nThere was too much to learn, too many duties to perform, too slight an\nacquaintance with fellow members.\n\nLincoln, however, quickly became known in Washington and was liked\nwherever he went. He had a gift for story telling that he frequently\nmade use of, either to amuse his hearers or to take the bitterness out\nof some political argument.\n\nWhile in Washington as a congressman, he made his first actual effort\ntoward the abolition of slavery by drawing up a bill for the freeing of\nslaves in the District of Columbia and paying their owners a good price\nfrom the coffers of the Government. This bill had many supporters, but\nit was obstructed and never came to a vote. It showed, however, as his\nearlier and courageous protest showed, the thoughts that were in\nLincoln's heart about this great national evil, and that he could be\nrelied on to do all that lay in his power to end it.\n\nAfter Lincoln's term in Congress was over he returned to Springfield,\nwhere, for a number of years, he quietly practised law without thinking\nof returning to office. He did desire to be Governor of the Territory\nof Oregon and was offered this position, but gave it up because his\nwife refused to live so far away. It is just as well that he did so,\nfor who knows if his great powers would ever have been recognized if he\nhad taken this appointment and lived in even more of a wilderness than\nwhere his forefathers had cleared the land and made their homes?\n\nThe war against slavery was gaining headway, and every year the feeling\nbecame more intense over the fact that certain States were allowed to\nhold men in bondage and buy and sell them like animals. Whenever a new\nterritory was acquired by the Union a dispute arose as to whether it\nwas to be a slave or a free territory, and this discussion was opened\nup with bitterness in 1854 when Lincoln's great rival, Senator Douglas,\noffered a bill to bring about territorial government in Nebraska.\n\nOn account of this struggle Lincoln came once more into the public eye.\nDouglas had believed that by working to repeal a measure known as the\nMissouri Compromise, thereby throwing open to slavery a large amount of\nterritory that had been closed against it, he would stand an excellent\nchance of being elected President of the United States. The struggle\nbetween the slave and the free factions of the country had now taken on\nnational importance of the first order, and caused the readjustment of\nthe political parties. The Democratic party now became the champion of\nslavery, while the Whig party, and those Democrats who desired slaves\nto be free, were merged in the Republican party to which Lincoln\nbelonged.\n\nIn the State Convention in Illinois, where the Republican party was\nformed, Lincoln made a wonderful speech, of which only the memory\nremains. The stenographers and reporters who were supposed to take it\ndown became so enthralled by the words of the great leader that they\nforgot to make note of those words, and Lincoln, who spoke with few\nnotes, could not remember afterward what he had said. How marvelous the\nspeech must have been is to be seen from the fact that even without\nwritten reports its fame traveled through the United States, and those\nthat heard it never forgot the majesty and power of Lincoln's oratory.\n\nLincoln was not yet well enough known, to be considered as a candidate\nfor the Presidency, but he did receive some support from his party as\nRepublican nominee for Vice President. In the meantime, and even before\nthis speech had been made, Douglas had realized the strength of his new\nopponent, and sought to silence Lincoln until after the election.\nLincoln and Douglas met in joint debate, and the result of the contest\nmade history. Hoping to entrap Lincoln, Douglas asked him a number of\nquestions, thinking that Lincoln might answer in such a way that his\nreply would be unpopular to the people of the South. In return Lincoln\nasked Douglas such a carefully thought out question that in answering\nit Douglas was compelled either to deny his former words or make\nhimself unpopular with the Democratic party. And as a result of this\nDouglas was greatly weakened for the presidency in the campaign of\n1860.\n\nLincoln's brilliant speeches and his former political record, his\nreputation for honesty and kindness, and his known firmness against the\nissue of slavery were doing their work, although he himself did not\ndream that he might gain the presidency that Douglas had aspired to. He\ncontinued to make speeches in 1859 and followed Douglas about, speaking\nagainst his policy. In May, 1860, the Republicans of the State of\nIllinois declared Lincoln to be their choice for President without a\ndissenting vote.\n\nThe Republican National Convention for that year, held in Chicago, was\na memorable meeting. The two names that stood out above all others were\nthose of William H. Seward and Abraham Lincoln. Several ballots were\ntaken amid scenes of great excitement, and at last the name of Lincoln\nwas given to the country as the Republican candidate for President.\n\nAnd the campaign itself was the most memorable presidential campaign in\nthe history of this country. In all there were four candidates. The\nDemocratic party was split into two wings, one of which, with Douglas\nfor its choice, claimed that it did not pretend to decide whether\nslavery was right or wrong; the other with Breckenridge was directly in\nfavor of slavery and sought to extend it and to add new States to the\nslave list. There was also the Constitutionalist Union party in which\nslavery was not an issue at all or anything else, for that\nmatter--while the Republican party, with Lincoln at its head, was\ndirectly opposed to slavery and had come out as its open and declared\nenemy.\n\nOn the night of the election, which fell on the Sixth of November,\nLincoln heard news by electric telegram of his overwhelming victory.\nHis speeches and his strong personality had won the day. He was chosen\nas President at a time when the most difficult and arduous duties since\nthe time of Washington awaited the head of the nation.\n\nThroughout the South, bitterness had been growing more and more marked\neach day. The South had declared that it would never bear the rule of a\nRepublican President and an opponent of slavery. And after the Southern\nStates knew that Lincoln was to be their leader, one after another\nwithdrew its congressmen and senators from Washington, and passed what\nthey called \"ordinances of secession,\" which meant that they no longer\nconsidered themselves a part of the United States. More than this took\nplace, for one after one the army officers in charge of the Southern\nforts and arsenals went over to the side of the South, allowing the\nmost important military strongholds and vast amounts of military stores\nto fall into their hands, and President Buchanan, who was Lincoln's\npredecessor, and in sympathy with the South himself, did nothing to\nprevent these outrages against the Government he had sworn to uphold.\n\nIn the meantime Lincoln had performed his first official act which\nwould have indicated, if other things had not amply done so, his coming\ngreatness. This was his choice of a Cabinet. Believing that he must not\nonly surround himself with the strongest men he could find, but the\nones that the people placed most reliance in, he appointed to the\nCabinet all the other Republicans whose names had been mentioned for\nPresident at the Republican convention in June. William H. Seward was\nhis Secretary of State and the other cabinet officials included Salmon\nP. Chase of Ohio, who was Secretary of the Treasury, Simon Cameron of\nPennsylvania, and later Edwin M. Stanton as Secretary of War.\n\nThe difficulties and dangers of his position now beset him. On his way\nto his inauguration he was warned that in Baltimore there had been\ndiscovered a plot against his life, and so serious did this plot appear\nthat he had to go through secretly on another train than the one on\nwhich he was expected. In his inaugural address, assuming the duties of\nPresident, Lincoln denied the right of any State to secede from the\nUnion, and this was taken by those States that already had seceded and\nin fact by the entire South as little less than a declaration of war\nagainst them.\n\nAll through the South preparations for war were carried on as quickly\nas possible. And in less than six weeks after Lincoln had taken over\nthe duties of his office, the Civil War was opened by the Confederates,\nwho turned their guns against Fort Sumter, which was held by the Union\ncommander, Major Anderson.\n\nFrom that time on the story of Lincoln's life is almost the same as\nthat of the great Civil War, in which as President he decided most of\nthe momentous questions that came before the nation, and bore upon his\nshoulders a weight even greater than what had been carried by\nWashington when the United States was born.\n\nIn the first part of the war the South won many victories. They\ndefeated the Union forces at Bull Run and Fredericksburg, and with\nsmaller forces and these divided were able to fight what amounted to a\ndrawn battle at Antietam. They defeated General Hooker at\nChancellorsville, and it began to look as if the South, under the\nbrilliant General, Robert E. Lee, had more than a chance of gaining\nwhat they desired, and winning independence from the Federal\nGovernment. General after general was placed in command of the Union\nforces and proved inadequate to the gigantic task that had to be\nfulfilled. And Lincoln, in addition to his other duties, had to study\nand master the art of war, so that he could intelligently understand\nthe military situations that came to him for final decision. No greater\ntribute can be made to the power of his brain than to say that after he\nhad followed his military studies this lawyer and backwoodsman was\nconsidered among the best strategists in the country.\n\nIt was shortly after the battle of Antietam that President Lincoln\ndecided to issue his famous proclamation giving freedom to all the\nslaves in the United States. He decided to do this because it was a war\nmeasure and the South had been able to obtain much military aid from\nthe slaves who were in their possession. Also it won the North to a\nmore whole-hearted prosecution of the war, since by far the greater\npart of the North desired the immediate freedom of the slaves. This\nproclamation was called the \"Proclamation of Emancipation,\" and under\nit all men in the United States really became free and equal, for the\nfirst time in American History.\n\nAt last Lincoln had realized his lifelong desire to right the wrong of\nslavery, and throughout the world this act added greatly to his fame.\nBy the black race he was looked upon as a second Savior and whenever he\nwas seen by a group of negroes they raised the echoes with their shouts\nof enthusiasm and jubilee.\n\nAnother great deed was done by Lincoln and one that was to have an\nimmediate effect upon the course of the war. This was the appointment\nof General Ulysses S. Grant to the position of Commander in Chief of\nthe Union forces. General Grant, like Lincoln, came from obscure\nbeginnings. He had volunteered his services at the beginning of the\nwar, and had won his way upward through sheer merit. On the Fourth of\nJuly, 1863, he had captured the Southern city of Vicksburg, while\nGeneral Meade in the same year beat the Confederates decisively on the\nfield of Gettysburg which was the greatest battle of the war and marked\nits turning point.\n\nIt was after Gettysburg that President Lincoln made the memorable\naddress upon the field of victory that has gone down into history as\none of the finest speeches ever made and has been placed above the\nportals of one of England's greatest colleges as an example of the\npurest example of English speech that has ever been uttered.\n\n\"Fourscore and seven years ago,\" said Lincoln, \"our fathers brought\nforth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and\ndedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.\n\n\"Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation\nor any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are\nmet on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a\nportion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave\ntheir lives that the nation might live. It is altogether fitting and\nproper that we should do this.\n\n\"But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate--we cannot consecrate--we\ncannot hallow--this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who\nstruggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or\ndetract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here,\nbut it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living,\nrather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who\nfought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be\nhere dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these\nhonored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they\ngave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve\nthat these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under\nGod, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the\npeople, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the\nearth.\"\n\nThe turning point of the war had been reached; the victory of the\nNorthern forces was now assured. On the Ninth of April, 1865, General\nLee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House and the war was\nbrought to an end.\n\nIn the meantime Lincoln had been reelected President by an overwhelming\nmajority. He now had before him the difficult task of reconstruction,\nand of bringing together the warring factions that so nearly had torn\nour nation in two halves forever.\n\nHis kindliness, his personal bravery which made him regardless of all\nrisks and repeated threats of assassination, his infinite tact,\nresourcefulness and good humor, coupled with the weightier abilities as\na ruler and a statesman, have made his name most justly the most famous\nin our history with the possible exception of George Washington's.\nThere is an infinite fund of anecdotes concerning him and what he did\nin the dark days through which he piloted the country. Lincoln was\nalways gentle when there was the least excuse for gentleness, and he\npardoned so many military offenders who had been under sentence of\ndeath that the Union Generals complained that he was weakening their\ndiscipline. Yet this gentleness on his part was never confounded with\nweakness. No more terrible contestant could have appeared against the\nrebellious South than the quiet, gaunt backwoodsman who had placed\nhimself in the President's chair by reason of his character alone.\n\nOn April 14, 1865, when attending a performance at Ford's Theater in\nWashington, President Lincoln was murdered. His assassin was John\nWilkes Booth, brother of the famous actor, Edwin Booth, who was in no\nway implicated with the terrible deed perpetrated by one that bore his\nname. Wilkes Booth was a rabid Southerner and believed that since the\nNorth had conquered, vengeance was necessary. He did not see, as many\nof the defeated Southerners saw clearly, that with the war once ended\nLincoln, with his infinite tolerance and patience, was the best friend\nthat the South could possibly have.\n\nBooth forced an entrance into the box where the President was seated\nand walking up to him shot him in the head with a pistol. He then\nvaulted over the rail and with the shout of \"sic semper tyrannis\" ran\nfrom the stage in spite of the fact that he had broken his leg in his\nfall from the box, and succeeded in escaping from the theater. The\nunconscious President was tenderly lifted and carried across the street\nto a house that was opposite the theater. Here at seven o'clock on the\nfollowing morning he passed away.\n\nThat Lincoln was one of the greatest men of all time and belongs to\neternity, was realized then, but is still more deeply realized now. His\nwonderful name has become a household word, not only in the United\nStates but everywhere. And as the mist of the confusing events that\nsurrounded him is clearing away in the light of history, his form is\nbecoming mightier and more venerable every day.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIV\n\nGRACE DARLING\n\n\nThe coast of Northumberland in England is rocky and severe with lofty\nflint-ledged cliffs where great waves thunder, hurling the white foam\nhigh into the air. It is a coast that is feared by vessels and many\nwrecks have taken place there. As is usual in such a locality it is the\nhome of brave fishermen and daring boatmen who have many thrilling\nrescues to remember and many stormy encounters with the utmost fury of\nthe sea. But of all the tales of daring that are talked of by the\nfisher folk, the bravest of all was performed by a girl whose name was\nGrace Darling,--a name that now is known not only in the places where\nshe lived but all over the world.\n\nGrace Horsley Darling was the daughter of a lighthouse keeper named\nWilliam Darling, who tended a light on one of the Farne Islands as his\nfather had done before him. Grace, who was the seventh of nine\nchildren, was born in 1815, in Bamborough, and when she was a little\ngirl of eleven years her father was given charge of the new light on\nLongstone Rock, which was one of a series of dangerous reefs where no\nvessel ever built could live when a gale was blowing.\n\nThe highest part of Longstone Rock was only four feet above the surface\nof the sea, and near at hand were twenty-three other reefs or islands,\nbetween which the ocean tides ran in curious currents and eddys, and\nwhere the great rollers came racing in with a tremendous roaring to\nburst upon the base of the lighthouse and throw the spray high above\nthe light itself. It was a wild spot, even in calm weather, but when a\nstorm blew it became terrible. Then all communication with the mainland\nwas cut off, and for days at a time the only news that the outside\nworld had from the lonely lighthouse keeper was the yellow beam of the\nlantern that shone from the top of the tower across the desolate\nexpanse of ugly rocks and roaring waters, where any ship that chanced\nto be entrapped was caught in the grip of strange currents and pounded\ninto matchwood by the breakers.\n\nGrace did not find the life at the lighthouse unpleasant. Her father\nwas an intelligent and kind-hearted man who gave an eye to her\neducation himself, and taught her how to read and write. He was also\nconsidered the best boatman on the whole Northumberland coast--the\nbravest and most skilful, and it was partly due to his reputation in\nthese respects that he was made the keeper of the new light on the\nLongstone with a large increase in pay and a comfortable home for his\nfamily--for the interior of the lighthouse held several large and\npleasant rooms where the Darlings lived. All of his elder children had\ngone off to make their living, and William Darling lived with his wife\nand his daughter Grace, who spent her time in reading, helping her\nmother with the housework, and, when it was calm, wandering over the\nrocks observing the gulls, the sea weeds and the strange sea creatures\nthat the ocean brought to the surface or that crawled and swam among\nthe more sheltered rock pools.\n\nBut the confinement of the life in the lighthouse was not good for the\ngrowing girl, and Grace never was strong and robust as would be\nexpected from the daughter of fishermen. Nor was she handsome. But she\npossessed a kindly and winning nature, and, as will be seen, the\nability to rise to heights of greatness when necessity called on her to\ndo so.\n\nWhen Grace was a young woman of twenty-three a terrible storm burst\nsuddenly upon the coast and in the twinkling of an eye the reefs about\nthe lighthouse were a sea of churning foam, while the great waves\nracing in from the ocean thundered so mightily at its base that it\nseemed as though they must tear it from its foundations and sweep it\naway.\n\nA short time before this gale broke, the steamer _Forfarshire_ had\nsailed from Hull for Dundee in Scotland. She was commanded by a captain\nnamed John Humble and had aboard all told about sixty-three persons,\nincluding the passengers and crew. She was a fine new steamer, well and\nstrongly built, but she had put to sea with her boilers in poor\ncondition, and it had been intended to give them a thorough overhauling\nin Dundee.\n\nWhen the steamer was off Flamborough Head the boilers commenced to\nleak, and the ship's fires were extinguished. They were rekindled and\nthe leak repaired, but just as the _Forfarshire_ was off the Farne\nIslands the gale broke with great fury. While pitching in the heavy\nseas the boilers leaked terribly, the fires were again put out and the\nship became unmanageable. Sails were hoisted, but were torn to ribbons\nby the wind. With no propelling power the _Forfarshire_ rolled helpless\nin the trough of the sea, and was swiftly borne toward the rocks. Fog\nand rain made it impossible for the sailors to see until they were in\nthe teeth of the breakers, and then the beam of the lighthouse showed\nthem the wild rocks only a short distance away.\n\nNothing could save them from destruction. With a crash the steamer\ndrove on the Harcars rocks and remained there, the seas breaking\ncompletely over it. Some of the crew launched a boat and escaped,\ndeserting their captain, the passengers and the ship. The rest clung to\nwhat supports they could find and held on expecting instant death.\n\nA wave, larger than the rest, picked up the _Forfarshire_ bodily and\ndrove it down again upon the rocks, breaking it in two. The after half\nof the vessel was swept away by the seas with many passengers and the\ncaptain and his wife. All were lost. On the forward part of the ship\nabout twelve wretched persons remained in most desperate plight, the\nseas breaking over them and threatening to engulf the remaining portion\nof the vessel.\n\nWhen day broke the wreck could be seen from the mainland, but the\nmisery of the unfortunate persons who survived was even more plain to\nWilliam Darling and his family. Grace begged her father to launch a\nboat and go to their assistance, but Darling, brave sailor as he was,\nknew that there was little or no chance of his ever reaching the doomed\nship, and shook his head. Then Grace began to plead with her father,\ntelling him it would be better for him to lose his life than to pass by\npeople in such distress, and that she herself would go with him and\nbear a hand at the oars. Darling was no coward, and the prayers and\nentreaties of his daughter won the day. He decided to risk launching a\nboat from the lighthouse.\n\nWith Mrs. Darling to help them in launching their boat, Grace and her\nfather put forth from the lighthouse, running their boat into the sea\nin the lee of the rocks, and pulling strongly for the wreck. Father and\ndaughter both labored at the oars, unable to speak on account of the\nroar of the sea and wind, and blinded by the spray that whirled over\nthem. Their boat was tossed like a shuttlecock in the great waves, and\nthey knew that unless the shipwrecked persons could aid them it would\nbe impossible to return to the lighthouse. They must succeed or die,\nand their chance of success was small.\n\nLittle by little they drew near the wreck. By this time the tide had\nebbed sufficiently for the survivors to leave the ship and stand on the\nslippery rocks, but already some of them had succumbed and the rest\nwould certainly be washed away and drowned at returning high water. As\nthe rescuers drew near the reef, Darling leaped ashore, and Grace kept\nthe frail rowboat from dashing itself to pieces against the rocks.\n\nThen followed the difficult task of getting the survivors into the\nboat. One after one waded out as far as he dared and was pulled over\nthe gunwale. When the last person was aboard Darling clambered back,\nand with new hands at the oars the boat was rowed back to the\nlighthouse--a trip that required great strength and much time for the\ncurrent was against them. And when the light was reached, the\nshipwrecked people were soon made comfortable and cared for by Grace\nand Mrs. Darling, and nine lives were thus saved by the determination\nof a single girl.\n\nIn the meantime, and after the gale had abated considerably, a boat\nfull of fishermen put out from the shore at a place called North\nSunderland and after nearly being swamped in the high seas succeeded in\ndrawing near the wreck. They saw there was no living thing left aboard,\nand not daring to return to the mainland in the sea then running\nsucceeded in reaching the lighthouse. Among them was Grace's brother,\nBrooks Darling, and the heroism of his achievement and that of the\nother fishermen was only exceeded by the marvelous feat of the girl\nherself and of her father. In the course of a few days the fishermen\nsucceeded in returning to the shore, taking with them the news.\n\nAll England rang with the fame of Grace's exploit, and letters and\ngifts poured in from every side. Scores of people visited the\nlighthouse. Grace was feted and admired, and a public subscription in\nher benefit resulted in a gift of seven hundred pounds, or about\nthirty-five hundred dollars of our money. She also received four\nmedals, and a large sum of money in private gifts.\n\nGrace and her family took their new prominence with great good sense\nand modesty, and disliked the publicity which came to them. They were\nastonished at the commotion their exploit had caused, for to them it\nappeared little more than a part of the day's work that duty required\nthem to perform.\n\nBut Grace did not live long after her exploit. Her confined life at the\nlighthouse and the exposure she underwent there resulted in the disease\nof consumption from which she rapidly wasted away. In spite of the best\nmedical aid she steadily drooped, and two years after she had done her\nbrave deed she died in the town of Bamborough where she had been born.\n\nAgain a subscription was collected and a monument was erected in her\nhonor. Her father and mother lived to a ripe old age, reaping benefits\nfrom the money that Grace had left them. Perhaps some of their\ndescendants are still tending the light at the present day, but at all\nevents the name of the Darlings has been made immortal by the bravery\nof this girl.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXV\n\nFLORENCE NIGHTINGALE\n\n\nThe Red Cross Nurse has become a heroic figure in the world to-day and\nhas saved lives by hundreds of thousands in every quarter of the globe;\nshe has labored under fire on the battlefield and in the reek of\npestilence in the rear; her form is as familiar in war as that of the\nsoldier, and her name betokens every charity and kindness--but of all\nthe heroic women who ever bore their healing art into the dark places\nand black hours of history, no name stands out with the luster of\nFlorence Nightingale.\n\nShe was born in 1822 in the city of Florence in Italy, and was named\nafter the place where she first drew breath. Her father was William\nNightingale, an English gentleman, and her elder sister, Parthenope,\nalso took her name from the place where she was born, for Parthenope is\nthe ancient term for Naples.\n\nThe Nightingale family did not remain long in Italy, and soon after the\nbirth of his youngest child William Nightingale, with his wife and two\nlittle daughters, returned to England where the two girls spent their\nchildhood in a rambling old house in Derbyshire with many traditions\nand stories attached to it. Here Florence conceived a love for nursing\nand used to tend sick animals in the neighborhood and when she grew\nolder, to sit up with and cheer the sick among the cottagers. There\nwere not many people, even among those who were far older than herself,\nwho could minister to the sick with her kindness and skill, and her\nfame soon was general through the neighborhood. Poor men used to come\nhat in hand to the old house requesting that Miss Florence spend a few\nhours with a sick wife or a young mother, and the Nightingales were\nkind enough and sensible enough to allow their daughter to do the work\nfor which she had so evident an inclination.\n\nThere were no trained nurses in those days, and the general business of\nnursing as a profession was considered almost disreputable. Sick people\nwere expected to be cared for by their relatives; hospitals were\ninefficient and badly run, and the comforts of the modern sickroom were\nunknown. As Florence grew older she thought a great deal about these\nthings, and finally decided that she would do something which at that\ntime was regarded almost as strange as if she had declared her\nintention of visiting the North Pole--she said she was going to become\na professional trained nurse, and went abroad to study nursing on the\nContinent which was far ahead of England in such matters.\n\nIn a European hospital that was more in accord with the standards we\nknow to-day and where comfort, skill and cleanliness went hand in hand,\nFlorence Nightingale nursed the sick and acquired a mastery of the\nprofession as it was then understood. It was so unusual for a woman of\nrefinement to enter such a calling that she had become known in many\nplaces simply because she had decided to become a nurse; and after she\nreturned to England she was at once offered the position of\nSuperintendent at a Home for Sick Governesses in London.\n\nThis home, like many another benevolent institution in those times, was\nbadly administered. As it constantly showed a deficit, its friends had\nbecome discouraged in supporting it, and the subscriptions on which it\nlived had been falling off. The ladies who were compelled to remain\nthere did not receive the care that they should have had, and were\nunhappy and dispirited. This was the state of affairs when Florence\nNightingale became the Superintendent of the Home.\n\nIn a very short time the Home was completely changed. Miss Nightingale\nhad personally visited the former subscribers, and secured once more\ntheir help and patronage. She had changed the system on which the Home\nhad been run to such an extent that it served as a model for\ninstitutions of its kind, and where the unfortunate women that lived\nthere had been on the verge of actual physical suffering, they were now\nwell cared for and contented.\n\nThen war broke out between England, France and Turkey on the one side\nand Russia on the other,--a war that was brought about among other\nreasons by the desire of the Russian Czar to seize and hold the port of\nConstantinople. Great Britain and France supported the Turks and active\nfighting commenced. The theater of war soon shifted to the Crimean\nPeninsula where the British and French laid siege to the town of\nSebastopol which was Russia's most important fortress and chief base of\nsupplies. Before the walls of Sebastopol there took place severe\nfighting, which continued until bitter winter rendered further\ncampaigning impossible.\n\nWhile the war was going on thousands of sick and wounded British\nsoldiers were pouring into the base hospitals at Scutari, where no\nprovision for their care had been made. With the constant flood of\nwounded men, and men who were dying of dysentery and cholera, with no\nmedical supplies and little food, with no nurses and only a few\ndoctors, the condition of the British wounded soon became terrible\nbeyond description. As there were no field dressing stations they had\nto be carried for days with their wounds undressed before they reached\nthe hospital, and when they arrived it was often some time before the\nharassed doctors could care for them. They were brought in with their\nuniforms covered with filth and blood, and were laid in long rows on\nthe floors of the hospital where few cots were to be found. Vermin\ncrawled over the floors, over the walls and over the bodies of the\nhelpless men. Rats gnawed the fingers of the wounded who were too weak\nto drive them away. There were no conveniences of any kind and many men\ndied of exhaustion because no food adequate for the sick could be\nprepared. All the food, we are told, consisted of beef and vegetables\nboiled together in one huge caldron, into which new supplies were\nthrown indiscriminately as fast as they were delivered. The bread was\nmoldy and the beef too tough even for well men to eat.\n\nOwing to the efforts of a war correspondent of the London _Times_, the\npeople at home were soon informed of the state of affairs in the\nCrimea, and gifts and supplies poured in profusely. But owing to the\ninefficiency and red tape of the War Department, the supplies were not\ndelivered, but lay rotting in warehouses and in the holds of vessels\nwhile men died for the want of them. On one occasion, we are told, a\nconsignment of shoes for the soldiers turned out to be in women's\nsizes. Improper inspections resulted in high profits, for the army\ncontractors made uniforms out of shoddy and leather accouterments from\npaper, filled the cores of hay bales with kale stocks and cheated the\nGovernment right and left without forbearance or conscience.\n\nThen the newspapers began calling for English women to go to the Crimea\nand care for the sick, and Florence Nightingale heard the call. She\nwrote a letter to Sydney Herbert who was Minister of War, volunteering\nto organize a body of nurses and go out to the Crimea to care for the\nwounded.\n\nRight then a curious thing happened. The War Department had already\ndecided that Miss Nightingale was the one person who could take charge\nof the reorganization of the hospitals in the Crimea, and had written a\nletter requesting her services. Offer and request crossed each other in\nthe mails. On the following day her appointment was officially\nannounced, and she was overwhelmed with proffers of assistance from all\nsides.\n\nA large number of patriotic women volunteered to aid her, but only a\nvery few possessed the necessary qualifications for such a task. Of all\nthat offered to go Miss Nightingale was only able to accept thirty that\nshe considered would be capable of performing the severe tasks that lay\nahead, for she knew only too well the grim welcome she would receive at\nthe Crimea.\n\nWithout farewells, quietly and at night, seen off only by a few\nintimate relatives, the little group of nurses started on their\nmission--the first one where women were to care for the soldiers who\nhad fallen in war.\n\nThey crossed the English Channel and arrived at Boulogne in France on\nthe following morning, where they were given a rousing greeting by the\nvoluble French fish-wives, who had heard of their mission and who\ncrowded around them to get a sight of the angels of mercy. From there\nthey made their way to the seat of the war, and Miss Nightingale looked\nfor the first time on the hospital where she was so soon to acquire\nimmortal fame.\n\nIt may well be thought that her heart sank when she saw the enormity of\nthe task that lay before her, for she had been sent to bring order from\nchaos, plenty from want, comfort from torture and cleanliness from\nwholesale filth. She had to contend not only with these awful\nconditions, but with the dislike and distrust of the medical officers\nwith whom she was to work, who resented the fact that a woman had been\nsent out to reorganize what they considered a part of their department,\nand who doubted, because she was a woman, that she would be capable of\ndoing so efficiently.\n\nAnd when she arrived there was no time to spend in preliminary\nplanning, for active fighting had been going on at the front and the\nwounded from recent battles were pouring in, adding to the confusion\nthat already existed. They were laid groaning in hallways and on the\nbare ground until such time as the doctors could look after them.\n\nThen Florence Nightingale, hardly taking breath, plunged into the task\nthat awaited her and sent her nurses to the quarters where they were\nmost needed. With their own hands these brave Englishwomen scrubbed the\nreeking floors and supervised the work of the orderlies. They visited\nthe quartermasters and obtained the supplies that had been tied up\nthrough faulty administration and through army red tape, and in a short\ntime they had established a diet kitchen where several hundred sick and\nwounded men could have the food they required, food that would save\ntheir lives.\n\nThe death rate, we are told, before this woman nurse and her little\ncompany arrived at the hospital was sixty percent of all the cases that\nwere treated there--and after she had effected the changes that she saw\nwere necessary, the death rate was only one percent--a fact in itself\nthat speaks more loudly than any words for her efficiency and her\nbravery.\n\nAt times this indomitable woman was on her feet for twenty hours out of\nthe twenty-four, supervising, directing, taking the last message of\nsome dying soldier for his family, feeding another who was too weak to\nfeed himself. The doctors who had been her opponents soon looked up to\nher and became her devoted friends, and the men who had been through\nsuch terrible sufferings thought she was indeed an angel from heaven,\nand, as she passed down the long wards would furtively kiss her shadow\nas it fell across their blankets. Many a time she took charge of cases\nthat had been given up by the doctors, who turned their attention\nalways to those whom they believed had a fighting chance for life, and\nshe nursed them back to life with a patience and a tenderness that the\ndoctors could not spare.\n\nFrom the ships and warehouses there commenced to appear the comforts\nthat sick men demanded--sheets and nightgowns, socks and pillows; in\nthe place of the nauseous beef stew, the wounded began to get broths\nand jellies. Should they die they were sure of a woman's hand and a\nkindly ministration at the last, for Florence Nightingale had resolved\nthat no man should die unattended in her hospital. And the wonders she\nperformed were heard of back in England, where her name became\nnational.\n\nShe had gone to Scutari in 1854. In May, 1855, she visited other\nhospitals that were nearer the seat of war and went into the trenches\nthemselves before Sebastopol. One of her biographers tells us that when\nshe entered the trenches she was warned by a sentinel to go no further,\nbecause the enemy had the place under close watch and would certainly\nopen fire when they beheld a group of people at that particular point.\n\n\"My good young man,\" replied Miss Nightingale, \"more dead and wounded\nhave passed through my hands than I hope you will ever see on the\nbattlefield during the whole of your military career; believe me, I\nhave no fear of death.\"\n\nThen she fell ill with Crimean fever, and through the army the news was\nreceived with more consternation than a severe defeat. Men broke down\nand cried like children when they heard that Miss Nightingale lay at\nthe point of death, and the Commander in Chief, Lord Raglan, rode\nthrough sleet and mud for hours to visit her personally. She did not\ndie, however, but recovered to take up again her duties as chief nurse\nand organizer.\n\nWhen the war was ended Miss Nightingale remained at the Crimea until\nthe last soldiers were sent home, and then, and not till then, she\nfollowed them. After most of the men had left and only a few remained\nshe still worked faithfully to serve them, establishing \"reading huts\"\nand places of recreation such as the Red Cross and the Y.M.C.A.\nestablished in France and Belgium in the course of the World War some\nsixty years later.\n\nAs a matter of fact the work performed by Miss Nightingale was\nindirectly responsible for the birth of the Red Cross which was\norganized in Switzerland some four years after she had finished her\nwork at the Crimea, and certainly no name in the Red Cross, in spite of\nthe host of noble men and women who have served there, has ever equaled\nthe glory of her own.\n\nShe returned to England quietly as she had left, although a British\nGovernment placed a battleship at her service--and she lived in England\nengaged in useful and philanthropic work for a great many years. With a\nfund of about $250,000 she founded the Nightingale Home for the proper\ntraining of nurses, a fund that she could have doubled or trebled had\nshe so desired, or if the needs of the home had required it. In the\nfollowing years she was frequently consulted on hospital organization\nin the armies not only of Great Britain but of Continental nations as\nwell. She died in 1910, one of the great figures among the heroines of\nhistory.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVI\n\nFATHER DAMIEN\n\n\nMany are the stories of brave doctors and ministers who have sacrificed\nthemselves in times of pestilence and plague, caring for the sick,\nallowing experiments to be performed on their own bodies, and giving\ntheir lives without fear in the hope of saving invalids and sufferers;\nbut no story is more thrilling than that of the Belgian priest named\nFather Damien.\n\nFather Damien's real name was Joseph de Veuster, and he was born in the\nyear 1840, in the little village of Tremeloo in Belgium, not far from\nthe city of Louvain that became famous in the World War when the\nGermans sacked it, burned its university and murdered its inhabitants.\n\nA strong religious impulse ruled the de Veuster family, and out of\nthree children two were destined for a religious life. As a matter of\nfact all three finally entered the service of the Church--a girl named\nPauline who entered a convent and two brothers, Auguste and Joseph, who\nbecame respectively Father Pamphile and Father Damien.\n\nOriginally the parents of these three children had decided that Auguste\nwas to become a priest and Joseph was to enter business and be a\nmerchant, but it could easily be seen the priesthood was also the life\nfor Joseph, who had a serious and contemplative nature even when very\nyoung, and spent much of his time in prayer and meditation. On one\noccasion, when only four years old, Joseph had been found on his knees\nbefore the altar of the church when it was supposed that he had\nwandered away from home and been lost in the woods or the fields about\nthe town, and when still a young boy he was fond of taking long walks\nby himself in the fields and of herding sheep until he became known as\n\"the little shepherd.\"\n\nWhen Joseph was eighteen his sister Pauline left home to enter the\nconvent, and even before that time his brother had gone to Paris to\nstudy at the home of the Picpus Fathers. Joseph himself, in accordance\nwith his parents' design that he was to become a business man, went to\na town in France called Braine le Comte to learn the rudiments of a\ncommercial career and to study the French language. But while he had\ngone there willingly, he felt the desire for a religious life more and\nmore strongly, until he finally told his parents that he desired to be\na priest. It was not difficult for him to obtain their consent and\nJoseph went to Paris to study at the same school that his brother had\nattended.\n\nIn Paris Joseph served as a novice and when this term was ended he went\nto Louvain where his brother was already a priest in holy orders,\nhaving adopted the name of Father Pamphile. Joseph himself planned to\ntake the name of Father Damien.\n\nFor some time Joseph lived with his brother in Louvain where he\ncontinued his studies, but he was not yet ordained as a priest when an\nevent took place that changed the whole course of his life and was\ndestined in the end to make his name famous throughout the civilized\nworld.\n\nThe Picpus Fathers, like many other Catholic brothers, were great\nmissionaries, carrying on this service in what were then called the\nSandwich Islands, now better known as the Hawaiian Islands, under the\nGovernment of the United States. At that time, however, the islands\nformed an independent state under a native king and there was a great\ndeal to be done by the missionaries that went there.\n\nFather Pamphile received orders to go to the Sandwich Islands and\nengage in missionary work. He was delighted, for this work appealed to\nhim and he felt that he could serve his Church better in that far\ncountry than by remaining in Louvain where he had his parish. After his\npassage had been engaged, however, Father Pamphile was smitten with an\nattack of typhus fever, and found himself unable to answer the call to\nforeign service when the time came.\n\nNow Joseph was even more ardent than his brother, and he burned to\nanswer this call himself, although he was not yet a priest. He asked\nFather Pamphile, however, if it would be his pleasure for him to take\nhis place and engage in the missionary work that had been intended for\nthe elder brother; and Father Pamphile was only too glad to have Joseph\nperform the task that his illness had rendered him unable to perform\nhimself. So Joseph wrote to his superiors, volunteering to go to the\nSandwich Islands in place of Father Pamphile, and soon a letter was\nreceived consenting to the new arrangement. Wild with delight he told\nhis brother of what had taken place and at once commenced making his\npreparations for the voyage.\n\nThe islands to which Father Damien was bound are of the greatest\ntropical beauty, and the natives have become known all over the world\nfor their strange customs, their unusual music and their skill in\nswimming the deep blue waters that surround the land where they live.\nAt that time, however, they were suffering from the ravages of the most\nterrible disease, perhaps, in the entire world,--certainly the one most\nfeared from the times of the Bible down to the present day. This was\nthe disease of leprosy.\n\nLeprosy was not a native disease in the Hawaiian Islands originally,\nbut had been carried there by merchants or voyagers from the Far East\nwhere was its home, but it spread so rapidly among the natives that\nbefore long it seemed as if the Hawaiian Islands themselves had been\nthe cradle of this terrible scourge. This was due, we are told, to the\nhospitable habits of the islanders, who lived closely together, and to\ntheir kindness in persisting in keeping with them those members of\ntheir families who had already fallen its victims. At about the time\nthat Father Damien reached the islands, however, the Government had\ntaken the matter in hand, and all the lepers that could be found were\ntorn from their families and carried to a lonely island named Molokai.\nHere they were outcasts, deserted by their friends and relatives,\nliving in wretchedness and desolation and, in that time, provided only\nwith the barest necessities of life.\n\nAfter a voyage of five months, in which his ship contended with many\ngales and much rough weather, Father Damien arrived in the Sandwich\nIslands and was at once made a full priest and given a parish in a wild\npart of the country--a parish so large that it took him days to go from\none end of it to the other. He worked hard and soon became well known\namong the natives under his care, and to his fellow churchmen as a man\nof great earnestness and much physical strength.\n\nOne day Father Damien happened to be at a meeting of churchmen which\nwas being addressed by the Bishop who said that he deeply regretted\nthat he could spare no priest to send to the Island of Molokai to the\nunfortunate lepers, who seemed to be cast off there forsaken of God and\nman alike and whose condition was wretched beyond belief. But Father\nDamien at once arose and pointed out to the Bishop that a priest\n_could_ be spared for such service, for one of the newcomers to the\nislands could take charge of his own parish, while he himself, he said,\nwould go to Molokai and spend his life in caring for the lepers, whose\ncondition made his heart bleed whenever he thought of them.\n\nIt can be imagined that a gasp of astonishment and admiration went\nthrough the assemblage that heard this courageous offer, for the man\nwho volunteered for such service was going to living death--to a place\nof horror and human suffering where life appeared in its most hideous\nform, and where disease wrote its imprint on the human body with such a\nterrible flourish that the very sight of Father Damien's future\ncompanions was enough to strike fear to the heart's core. But Father\nDamien thought little of all this; he knew that he could do much good\namong the lepers, and he made the offer in simple sincerity without a\nthought of himself or of the dangers that he would encounter.\n\nIt is needless to say that it was accepted. On the spot Bishop Maigret\nassigned to Father Damien the island of Molokai for a parish, and the\nbrave priest left on the next boat, not even having time to take with\nhim a change of linen or the simplest necessities of life.\n\nIt may be thought that Father Damien's heart sank when he reached the\nisland. A high and gloomy cliff of rock towered above the settlement of\nthe lepers, and he found them living in the rudest of huts, dying from\nvice as well as from disease. Water was difficult to obtain and there\nwere none of the conveniences and few of the necessities of life.\nMoreover, in that settlement, which was one that had lost all hope, the\nonly law that was known was the law of despair, and those that lived\nthere tried to forget their unhappy lot in wild orgies and revels,\ndrinking a fiery spirit they distilled themselves called \"Ki\" which was\nmade from the root of a plant that grew in profusion on the island,\nfighting and gambling as they chose, and dying like dogs with none to\ncare for them, and with little hope for even a decent burial.\n\nHere in this hell hole Father Damien was left to his own devices and\nsurrounded by the misshapen and hideous creatures for whose lives he\nhad sacrificed his own. Bishop Maigret accompanied him to Molokai, and\ntold the lepers he had brought them a new Father, who loved them so\nmuch that he was willing to live with them and become one of them. Then\nthe good bishop went back to Honolulu, and Father Damien set himself\nabout the task that he had made his entire life work.\n\nAs he could not sleep in the huts of the lepers, the brave priest made\nhis lodging on the ground beneath a pandanus tree, and calling his new\nparishioners together he preached to them with brave and comforting\nwords, telling them that they must not despair, but make the most of\ntheir lives as they were, and that he would help them to build better\nhouses and bring to them the comforts that they needed. And at once he\nbusied himself getting building materials from the Government, with\nwhich trim cottages were built, and water pipes, through which he had\nfresh water piped down to the settlement from a cold spring above the\ncliff. He built a chapel and a dispensary, and not content with this he\nbandaged the sores of the lepers with his own hands, and washed their\nwounds. Through his efforts a hospital was finally provided and a\ndoctor came to Molokai, and following his example sisters of mercy and\nbrave missionaries came there to work, but for a long time Father\nDamien was alone with his charges, performing rough tasks with none to\naid him, except the aid that he obtained from the lepers themselves.\n\nIt cannot be thought that a man who performed such services could\nforever escape contracting the disease, and after Father Damien had\nbeen ten years on Molokai he found himself a victim of the scourge\nagainst which he had so bravely and successfully contended. A visit to\nthe resident doctor confirmed the worst of his fears, and after that\nwhen speaking to his congregation he used the words \"we lepers,\"\ntelling them that he himself had received the cross from which they\nsuffered, and henceforth was one of them in something more than name.\n\nAlthough he was now an invalid, he did not fail to perform his priestly\nduties until the end, but he never told his family in Belgium of the\nmisfortune that had befallen him. They learned it eventually from\nothers, and the shock of the discovery hastened his mother's death.\n\nAfter fifteen years' service among the lepers Father Damien died of the\ndisease, leaving behind him a name for pure self-sacrifice that has not\nbeen surpassed since the beginning of the Christian era. He had lived\nto see the leper colony grow from a ribald, obscene settlement to an\norderly hospital where as much as was possible was done for the\nsufferers that were compelled to remain there. And he had the\nsatisfaction of knowing that others would carry on efficiently the work\nthat he had begun.\n\nBut in spite of all his bravery and his self-sacrifice this heroic\npriest was not without his traducers. A short time after his death a\ncertain missionary named Dr. Hyde made scurrilous charges against him\nwhich were answered by that great writer, Robert Louis Stevenson, in a\nletter that has become one of the classics of English literature, and\nin which it was predicted that Father Damien would be made a saint by\nthe Church of Rome, as he is indeed a saint in the bravery and purity\nof his life and his deeds.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVII\n\nCATHERINE BRESHKOVSKY\n\n\nIn the year 1844 in Russia was born one of the most remarkable women of\nmodern times. Her full name is Ekaterina Constantinovna\nBreshko-Breshkovskaya, but in America she is called Catherine\nBreshkovsky, and as such she will be known in these pages. Both her\nfather and her mother were of noble birth, and when she was a little\ngirl her father had a large estate on which hundreds of serfs were held\nin bondage.\n\nWhile the negroes in the United States were kept in slavery, the\npeasants in Russia were in almost as bad a plight. They lived on the\nestates of the great nobles and formed a part of the nobles' property.\nToiling from dawn until far into the night with frequent floggings and\nbrowbeatings from their masters they bore the burdens of the Russian\ngovernment that gave them nothing in return. While the noblemen feasted\non the fruits of the peasants' toil, the peasants themselves starved to\ndeath. When war came it was the peasants who furnished the armies while\nthe nobles themselves seldom went to the front but remained behind the\nlines in safety.\n\nWhen Catherine was a little girl she saw many instances of injustice\nand oppression, although the serfs on her father's estate were treated\nfar better than many others. She did not know why she herself had fine\nclothes and delicate food, when the children of her father's servants\nwere ragged and dirty, and often had just enough to eat to keep them\nfrom starving. She used to ask her parents what was the reason that\nthey had no work to perform, while others had to get up when the stars\nwere still shining and labor until long after the sun had set at night.\nAnd why the ones who did not work were so much better off than the\nothers who did. And before she was eight years old, she had formed the\nhabit of giving away her own possessions to the children of the serfs,\nwho never had the pretty things with which she was surfeited.\n\nBefore she was nine, Catherine, we are told, had read a long history of\nRussia in nine large volumes, and when she was a girl of sixteen she\nhad made an especial study of the French Revolution and the causes that\nled up to it.\n\nThe Crimean war came, and soldiers went to the front in large numbers.\nThey were all taken from the families of the serfs, and while a certain\nnumber of the noblemen went to the war as officers of the Russian army,\nmany others stayed at home safely, not being compelled to fight for\ntheir country as the peasants were. And the injustice of the system was\nvery evident to the young girl, who even then was forming the idea of\ndevoting her life to aiding the suffering and oppressed people who\nsurrounded her.\n\nAbout the time that the Civil War began in the United States a great\nchange came over the peasantry in Russia, but it was a change that\nseemed to do them little good. The Russian Czar issued a proclamation\nin 1861 in which he declared that all serfs in his dominions were at\nliberty, and if they chose could leave the estates of their former\nmasters and seek work where they wished.\n\nBut the serfs were worse off than ever before, because in the\nproclamation nothing was said about the land on which they had been\nliving and which belonged to the nobles. They knew no trade except that\nof tilling the soil, and now that they were no longer the property of\nthe nobles, their land was taken away from them and they had no means\nby which they could earn a living. Then terrible scenes commenced to be\nenacted. The serfs were ruthlessly driven from their homes and when\nthey sought to remain were beaten in great numbers, being flogged so\nseverely with the knout that many of them died as a result. Most of\nthem were densely ignorant, and reading and writing were far beyond\ntheir knowledge. They could not understand why the land on which they\nhad always lived and worked was taken from them, and why they were now\ndenied even the bitter bread that they had formerly been able to earn.\n\nAmong the Russian nobility, however, were many high minded young men\nand women, who like Catherine felt the injustice of the serfs' hard lot\nand desired to help them. These young people formed into philanthropic\nbands, and went into the villages to teach the serfs, help them with\ntheir labor, minister to them in sickness and to make their condition\nbetter in every way possible. Thousands of boys and girls of gentle\nbirth flocked to the Russian Universities and from there went to\nbefriend the serfs. Throughout the younger generation a different\nfeeling existed toward the common people than ever before in Russian\nhistory.\n\nCatherine's father himself was liberal in his views and had already\ndone what he could to alleviate the sufferings of his former bondsmen.\nWhen Catherine came to him and told him that she did not think that she\ncould endure living in idleness any longer, but desired to support\nherself, he consented, and the girl who all her life had been used to\nthe greatest luxuries went away to become a governess in the house of a\nnobleman, where she could live honestly by the fruits of her own labor.\n\nHer father did not long consent to this, however, and helped her to\nopen a boarding house for girls, where she taught school until she was\ntwenty-five years old when she was married. Her husband was a young\nnobleman who sympathized with her liberal ideas, and himself had done a\ngreat deal to better the condition of the Russian people. He helped his\nwife work for the peasants and began a cooperative banking scheme by\nwhich they might benefit.\n\nBut Catherine grew more and more discontented with the terrible\nconditions that surrounded her on every side. She happened to go to the\ncity of Kiev to visit her sister and she took her meals at a student's\nboarding house. She heard a great deal of discussion of the condition\nof Russia there and saw a great many young students who were interested\nin public affairs. And one day she held a secret meeting of students in\nher room to talk over what more could be done to make Russia a better\nplace to live in.\n\nWhile the younger generation had been striving in every way possible to\nhelp the serfs, the Russian Government did all in its power to hinder\nthem. This government was then an absolute autocracy, which means that\nit was under the complete control of one ruler and a few advisors. The\nCzar of Russia knew that when his people grew better educated and more\nenlightened his own power would grow less, so he did all that he could\nto keep them in the state of darkness and ignorance in which they had\nlanguished for centuries. When young noblemen and girls sought to teach\nor help the peasants, they met with obstacles on every side, and many\nof them were treated with great severity by the officers of the Czar.\nThis naturally angered them, and they began to form plans to overthrow\nthe Czar's power, since they saw that any real progress would be\nimpossible so long as the regime that then existed remained in force.\nIn short they became revolutionists; and Catherine herself was well on\nthe road to becoming one.\n\nWhen Catherine came home from Kiev she and her husband conducted a\nseries of meetings in which they made speeches to the peasants and\nlabored harder than ever to improve their condition, but this soon\nbrought them under the eye of the Czar's spies, and they were warned\nthat they had better discontinue their efforts and let the peasants\ntake care of themselves. And this was the final event that determined\nCatherine to become a revolutionist and bend all her energies to\noverthrowing the Czar's government.\n\nShe talked it over with her husband and asked him if he were ready to\nthrow in his lot with those who sought to change the government, saying\nthat she herself had resolved to do so. It meant suffering, poverty,\nhardships and very probably prison or death. Her husband was unwilling\nto take the risk and they parted forever. Soon after this Catherine had\na son, and on account of the life that she had chosen was obliged to\nleave him with friends. It was a bitter moment for her when she gave\nhim up, but it only strengthened her in her purpose.\n\nMany revolutionists were at work in Russia at that time, and were\nscattered all through the country in various disguises. They were sent\nfrom various revolutionary centers to preach revolution to the peasants\nand to kindle the flames of revolt against the Czar. Others did social\nwork, and sought to educate the peasants to the point where they would\nhave sufficient knowledge to understand the revolutionary doctrines\nwhen they heard them--and it was in this form of work that Catherine\nfirst engaged.\n\nAt last, however, she entered into the more active work of the\nrevolutionists, and in person commenced to spread revolutionary ideas\namong the common people. With two companions disguised as peasants, and\nin peasant garb herself, carrying a pack crammed with revolutionary\npamphlets and literature, Catherine made her way to a little village,\nwhere she took a small hut and pretended to be a woman who dyed\nclothes. As soon as she grew to know the peasants she commenced to\npreach to them and to incite them to revolution. She told them that the\nCzar was an evil ruler, and that he and his nobles had always fattened\nthemselves at the peasants' expense; that the Russian people would\nalways be poor and miserable so long as the Czar remained in power;\nthat they had a right to the land that was taken from them, and were no\nbetter than slaves who dared not call their souls their own--and\nfurthermore that their only salvation lay in rising throughout Russia,\noverthrowing the Czar and establishing a government where all men\nshould be free and equal, and where every man would have a right to\nearn his daily bread.\n\nWhen the peasants in one village failed to respond Catherine and her\ncomrades moved on to another town, and little by little they brought\nthe doctrines of revolution to the mass of ignorant people, who were\nlooking for some means to better themselves and realize a little of the\nhappiness of life.\n\nThe life of a traveling preacher of this sort was filled with hardship.\nCatherine, who had been used to every luxury, was forced to eat the\ncoarsest food and often to go hungry. She had to sleep in houses that\nwere filled with dirt and vermin. Her audiences were stupid in the\nextreme, and were often as afraid of the revolutionists as they were of\nthe Cossacks and the Czar's officials. Moreover there was always the\ndanger of arrest and imprisonment, followed by exile to Siberia, or\ndeath on the gallows.\n\nOne day in the town of Zlatopol, where Catherine was carrying on her\nrevolutionary work, a police officer stopped her and demanded her\npassport. This passport was forged and when she showed it he suspected\nher. Then, when he commenced to treat her with the indignities to which\nthe peasants were accustomed she resented it, disclosing the fact that\nshe was from the upper classes. Her pack was torn open and the\nrevolutionary pamphlets were found. The case against her was complete.\n\nShe was hurried to prison and thrown into a foul dungeon, where the\nfilth and suffering forced on her were indescribable. And here she was\nkept for long, weary months until her case should come to trial.\n\nIt was in this prison that she first learned the secret code that\nprisoners in Russia used to communicate with one another. One day, as\nshe lay on the bundle of rags that formed her couch, she heard a faint\ntapping on an iron pipe that ran through her cell. She responded, and\non the pipe tapped out the alphabet, one tap standing for \"a\", two for\n\"b\" and so on. From this laborous method she learned another code which\nwas the one generally in use among the imprisoned revolutionists; and\nshe spent long hours communicating with friends in different parts of\nthe prison who were in solitary confinement like herself, and whom she\nhad never seen.\n\nAt last Catherine was brought up for trial and was sentenced to exile\nin Siberia. Because she told her judges that she refused to acknowledge\nthe authority of the Czar she was given an extra sentence of five years\nat hard labor in the mines. She had already been in prison several\nyears awaiting trial--and out of three hundred who had been imprisoned\nin the same jail more than one hundred had died or become insane.\n\nCatherine then commenced a weary two months journey into Siberia, where\nshe was first to go to prison and later remain as an exile. The\nprisoners traveled in covered wagons, that jolted and bumped endlessly\nover the rough roads, and at night they were thrown into roadside\njails, filthy beyond description. For eight long weeks this journey\ncontinued until Catherine reached the prison at Kara.\n\nHere she was not compelled to work after all, but was forced to eat the\nvilest food and wear out her soul in idleness, with no occupation\nexcept to witness the sufferings of her companions. When her prison\nterm was ended she was taken to a little town called Barguzon near the\nArctic Circle, where the thermometer often dropped to fifty below zero,\nand here she was kept under close guard for many years.\n\nWords cannot describe the misery of the Siberian exiles as Catherine\nsaw them--men, women and children, sick and forlorn, compelled to march\nfor miles over the bleak countryside, surrounded by brutal guards who\nprodded them on with their bayonets. After she had been for some time\nat Barguzon she tried to escape with three men who were also political\nexiles, and sought to gain the Pacific coast a thousand miles away,\nwhere she hoped she might take ship for America. She was pursued and\nrecaptured, and given another term in the prison at Kara on account of\nher attempt to escape.\n\nCatherine was a young woman when she went into exile; she remained\nuntil she was old and her hairs were gray before her term of punishment\nended. She had been in exile more than twenty years and in all that\ntime she had not seen one of her relatives or heard the voice of a\nfriend. At last she was set free.\n\nWhen she arrived at her former home she spent several months in making\nvisits to relatives, and once again entered the work of the\nrevolutionists. She was now famous in their circles and known to great\nnumbers of peasants who loved her dearly and called her \"Grandmother.\"\nShe had many narrow escapes from the police, but her friends always\nsucceeded in concealing her.\n\nOn one occasion she was hiding in a house, while the police officers\nsearched for her. It was the cook's day off, and Catherine, in the\ncook's dress, was stirring the soup at the stove while the police\nofficers ranged the house to discover her.\n\nIn 1904 she came to the United States to do what she could to spread\nthe work of the revolution by gaining money from Russians in America.\nShe received a cordial reception and made many friends among the\nAmericans, some of them being the most prominent men and women in the\ncountry. The Russians themselves received her most enthusiastically\nwherever she went, and she returned with $10,000 for the Cause.\n\nThrough the double dealing of one of her supposed friends, Catherine\nwas arrested again in 1908 and sent once more to Siberia. She remained\nthere until after the outbreak of the World War, while the Germans\noverran Belgium and Russia in turn. She remained, in fact, until the\nrevolution for which she had labored for so many years at last took\nplace, and the Czar was overthrown. Then she was invited to return by\nthe Government of Kerensky, who came into power when the Czar fell.\n\nHer return from Siberia with the other political exiles was like a\ntriumphal ovation. At every stop the train made crowds thronged about\nher carriage, cheering and shouting for \"the little grandmother of the\nRussian Revolution,\" as she was called on account of her many years of\nlabor for the cause. On her arrival in Moscow she was placed in the\nCzar's former coach of state, and was driven in triumph through the\ncity to the assembly of the people called the Douma, which was then\nsitting. At Petrograd she was given a sumptuous apartment in the Czar's\nformer palace. Everywhere her name was on the lips of thousands, and\neverywhere she received cheers, kisses and handclasps. It may almost\nhave been worth the suffering she went through to receive a triumph so\ngenerous as that afforded her by the Russian people, who realized that\nshe had been one of the chief leaders of the revolutionary movement and\nthat her heart was bound up in its ultimate triumph.\n\nBut the revolution did not succeed, and it was not long before Russia\nwas once more in the grip of a force even more deadly than that of the\nformer Czar. The Bolshevists soon organized and drove Kerensky from\npower, and anarchy ruled throughout Russia. Catherine Breshkovsky was\ndeclared a public enemy by the Government of Lenine and Trotsky. She\nwas in danger of her life if captured, as the Bolshevists were talking\nof putting her to death. After an unsuccessful attempt to organize\nresistance to the new government, Catherine was hidden by friends while\nthe Bolshevists sought her, and after traveling for six hundred miles\non horseback reached Vladivostok, where she found a steamer ready to\ntake her to America. Here she was again welcomed cordially and made\nmuch of on every side, and here too she made many speeches against the\nBolshevist government. Although she is over seventy-five years old she\ndeclares that she will still aid Russia to gain the freedom and peace\nit craves and if given an opportunity she will no doubt take part in\nthe future development of her country.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVIII\n\nTHEODORE ROOSEVELT\n\n\nAmong the great men who have been President of the United States,\nTheodore Roosevelt holds a unique position. Although he had no great\ntrial to undergo in the term of his office--no trial similar to what\nWashington and Lincoln were forced to endure,--he endeared himself to\nhis fellow countrymen almost equally with these two for his splendid\nAmericanism, his vitality, his kindness and the force of his\npersonality. After his term of office ended and when he was a simple\ncitizen once more, the bare word of Roosevelt's opinion had more\ninfluence on the country than the utterance of any public man who still\nheld office. For the power of Roosevelt as a man and an American was\ngreater than any other in the nation.\n\nRoosevelt was born in New York City, as his fathers had been before him\nfor six generations. He was the son of Theodore Roosevelt, a glass\nmanufacturer, and of a southern girl named Martha Bulloch, who came\nfrom Georgia. Both his father and mother were unusual people, and of a\nquality to have a son whose greatness might be of the first\nmagnitude--but until Roosevelt had graduated from college, he showed no\nsigns that he was different from other boys.\n\nHe did not even seem to have been given the same chance for success\nthat is granted to other boys, for from his infancy his health was\nfeeble, he was undersized, and nervous, and suffered so greatly from\nasthma and other troubles that he was not able to attend school\nregularly.\n\nWhen he was still a small boy, however, he made a resolution to gain\nthe bodily strength that he needed and set about conquering the\nweaknesses that handicapped him. He secured a set of boxing gloves from\nhis father, and with great determination went to work to learn how to\ndefend himself from the other boys in his neighborhood, who were prone\nto annoy him because he was an easy victim. He became fond of athletics\nof all kinds and was intensely interested in naturalism intending at\none time to make science his life work; and he drilled himself in doing\nthe things that were difficult for him to do, until, though naturally\nsomewhat timid or shy, he did not know the meaning of the word fear,\nand has been looked on as a prodigy of courage, both physical and\nmoral.\n\nRoosevelt was popular in Harvard University, and gained a number of\nsteadfast friends who stood by him throughout his life. He received his\ndegree of Bachelor of Arts in 1880, and soon after married a girl named\nAlice Lee. After a brief trip to Europe, where he climbed the\nMatterhorn in Switzerland, he settled down to the study of law in\nColumbia University, and at the same time learned its more practical\nside in the downtown law offices of a relative.\n\nBut Roosevelt had not yet found himself. He had no love for the law,\nand cast about for some career in which his natural energy could show\nitself to better advantage. He no longer desired to be a naturalist,\nfor the scientific side of that profession was too sedentary for him.\nHe had wished to be an author, and for some time had been working on \"A\nHistory of the War of 1812,\" which was published soon after he left\nHarvard. But in politics he found the career he was seeking, and soon\nbecame influential in the Republican Club of the assembly district to\nwhich he belonged, where, in spite of the fact that he was considered a\n\"silk stocking\" because he was a gentleman, he gained the liking of the\npolitical bosses and was elected to the State Assembly.\n\nThe slightly-built young man wearing glasses and with the reputation of\na college dude was not taken seriously in the Assembly at first, but it\nwas not long before he had become one of its leaders and a man of\nnational reputation.\n\nHe won fame in his first term by rising one day and demanding that a\ncertain judge be impeached. He was received with ridicule and laughter,\nand was warned not to injure the party, or to make \"loose charges\" that\nmight cause trouble. He stood alone, a young and inexperienced man,\nagainst the combined weight of machine politics in the state, and it\nwas practically certain that his own political future was dead as a\nresult of his act. But in spite of this Roosevelt demanded once more\nthat the judge be impeached and kept up his demand until he was\nsupported by certain newspapers. At last his action resulted in a\nstatewide cry for the impeachment of the judge, and the Assembly, which\ncould not afford to ignore the letters and newspaper articles which\ncame pouring in, was compelled to give in and do as Roosevelt had\ndemanded.\n\nAt another time he was attacked by a bully and ex-prize fighter who was\nhired by some of his enemies to teach him the rewards to be won from\n\"meddling.\" The result was unexpected. The bully went sprawling,\nknocked down by a well directed blow from the undersized, bespectacled\nyoung assemblyman--and some of the gang that attempted to bring aid to\nthe fallen also found themselves upon the floor. Roosevelt, flashing\nhis teeth in characteristic manner, told the little knot of his enemies\nwho had gathered to witness the affair that he was much obliged to\nthem,--that he hadn't enjoyed himself so much since he had been in the\nAssembly!\n\nA terrible and bitter sorrow ended Roosevelt's political career for the\ntime being. His mother, to whom he was devotedly attached, died in\n1884, and only twelve hours after this his wife, who had just borne him\na daughter, died also. Roosevelt's father had already passed away, and\nthis double tragedy was too much for him. He quitted politics and\nbought a ranch in Dakota, where he hoped to find forgetfulness from\nsorrow, and in a short time he was leading the wild life of a cowboy,\nroping steers and riding horseback from the first break of dawn until\nfar after dark.\n\nFor two years Roosevelt remained in his ranch on the Little Missouri\nRiver, hunting, cow punching and engaging, heart and soul, in the free\nand strenuous life of the West. He did some writing, but believed that\nhis political career was ended for good and all, and he believed too\nthat he had become a Westerner and should remain one. But he had not\nbeen forgotten in the East, and before he was thirty years old he\nreturned to New York by invitation to run on the Republican ticket for\nMayor.\n\nHe was badly beaten and for a time retired again from politics,\ntraveling in Europe. In London he married again, this time a girl whom\nhe had known from his early boyhood, named Edith Kermit Carow.\n\nRoosevelt was not long out of public life. Two years after he had been\nbeaten as Mayor he was appointed on the Civil Service Commission and\nworked hard and with great ability for six years. Then he was made\nPresident of the Police Board of New York City, where he found a fight\nto his liking. The New York police were notoriously corrupt, and\nRoosevelt entered with all his might into the task of reorganizing and\ncleaning up his department. He was thoroughly successful and not only\nleft a more efficient and cleaner police, but added to the national\nreputation that he had already acquired.\n\nBefore his term as President of the Police Board had ended, he was\noffered the position of Assistant Secretary of the Navy by President\nMcKinley, and accepted with alacrity. Roosevelt had always been a\nstaunch advocate of national preparedness for war, and was delighted to\nhave the opportunity of aiding this cause himself. He did what he could\nfor the navy and it was due to him, more than to any other man, that\nAdmiral Dewey was so well supplied with fuel and munitions when war\nbroke out with Spain that he was able to attack the Spanish fleet in\nManilla Bay without delay.\n\nBut Roosevelt was not content with working at a desk when his country\nwas at war. He recruited a regiment of cavalry called the \"Rough\nRiders\" and made up largely from the cowboys and westerners he had\nknown in Dakota, although it included men from all parts of the United\nStates. This regiment was placed under the command of Roosevelt's\nfriend, Colonel Leonard Wood, and Roosevelt himself received the\nappointment of Lieutenant Colonel. He could have had the command of the\nregiment but did not think that he knew enough about army\nadministration, and it was due to Roosevelt that Leonard Wood received\nthe Colonelcy.\n\nThe Rough Riders were sent promptly to Cuba, and when Col. Wood was\npromoted to the rank of Brigadier General, Roosevelt took charge of the\nregiment and personally led it into action at San Juan Hill, where he\nfought with the utmost gallantry. As his men charged up the hill,\nRoosevelt's horse was killed under him, and with drawn sword he led his\nmen on foot, the most conspicuous target to be seen, far ahead of his\nmen, yelling and cheering them on until they swarmed over the hilltop\nand the Spaniards were driven from the field.\n\nWhen the war ended Roosevelt returned to New York in a blaze of glory.\nThe Republicans took advantage of his popularity and nominated him for\nGovernor of New York. He was elected by a large majority, and began at\nAlbany once more the work of reform that he had carried on so\ncourageously as a Member of the Assembly and on the Civil Service and\nPolice Commissions.\n\nIt was necessary for Roosevelt to gain the good will of the party\nleaders, for without the support of the Republican machine he could\naccomplish little at Albany. His administration was fearless and at the\nsame time tactful, and he soon had a reputation for being the leading\nfigure in progressive American politics. But he was feared and\ndistrusted by many of the machine politicians, who were compelled to\nrecognize his ability and look on him in the light of a possible\nPresident of the United States, so when Roosevelt's second term as\nGovernor ended, strong efforts were made to force on him the office of\nVice President, by which his enemies hoped he would be safely put out\nof the way for four years at least, and that his political career might\nbe ended for good and all.\n\nIn addition to the efforts of his enemies to gain this position for\nhim, Roosevelt's admirers throughout the country joined the demand,\nthinking that the position was both an honor and a step forward. And\nthe demand was so strong that Roosevelt could not refuse, but accepted\nthe nomination to the huge delight of those who were afraid of him.\n\nRoosevelt and McKinley were elected to office in 1900. Roosevelt had\nthrown himself into the campaign with characteristic energy, and had\ntraveled north and south and east and west almost as many miles as\nwould girdle the globe, while his eyeglasses and teeth were seen and\nhis fiery speeches heard by millions of Americans. It is said that on\nthis trip Roosevelt made nearly seven hundred speeches. The result was\nplain. The election was a Republican landslide, and in March, 1901,\nRoosevelt entered his new duties.\n\nFate was against the men who had wanted him shelved, for in September\nof the year when he entered office, the martyr, McKinley, was laid low\nby the bullet of a red anarchist, and Roosevelt was called upon to take\nup the reins of government. He was in the Adirondack Mountains at the\ntime of the assassination, and he made his way to Buffalo as speedily\nas possible, taking a dangerous drive in the dark over a mountain road\nat a full gallop.\n\nThe eyes of the nation were now centered on this comparatively young\nman, who was called to the post of Chief Executive in so trying a\nmanner. And Roosevelt's first public act was such as to inspire the\nutmost confidence in him, for he declared that he would follow out the\nMcKinley policies and retain the McKinley Cabinet. Throughout his term\nhe strove conscientiously to keep the letter of his promise, although\nit was inevitable that with his own powerful character the trend of the\nadministration must be changed.\n\n\"His conduct of domestic as well as foreign affairs,\" says Herman\nHagedorn, \"was fearless and vigorous. He saw clearly that the question\nof most vital importance before the country was the control and strict\nregulation of the great corporations. In the famous Northern Securities\nmerger he presented a test case to the Supreme Court which ultimately\nopened the way for the prosecution of the other great corporations\nwhich had violated the Sherman Anti-trust Law. His fight against the\nconservative forces of both parties on this question, and kindred\nmatters of railroad regulation, was intensely bitter and extended\nthroughout his period of office.\n\n\"His dealings with labor were equally far sighted and firm. He favored\ncombinations of labor as he favored combinations of capital, but stood\nas firmly against lawlessness on the part of laboring men as he stood\nagainst it on the part of capitalists.\n\n\"'At last,' said one of the 'labor men' at a luncheon one day, 'there\nis a hearing for us fellows.'\n\n\"'Yes,' cried the President emphatically. 'The White House door, while\nI am here, shall swing open as easily for the labor man as for the\ncapitalist _and no easier_.'\"\n\nOne of Roosevelt's greatest pieces of diplomacy that was kept secret at\nthe time, and is such a striking example of his complete and utter\nfearlessness is his dealing with the German Kaiser in 1901, when\nGermany broke off diplomatic relations with Venezuela, and prepared to\noccupy Venezuelan territory by force of arms. Roosevelt called the\nGerman Ambassador to the White House; he told him that unless the\nKaiser arbitrated the matter with Venezuela, the American fleet under\nAdmiral Dewey would be sent to Venezuelan waters to prevent any\nhostilities that the Germans might undertake; he stated this as a fact,\nhe said, not as a threat, and he gave the German Government a week to\naccede to his request.\n\nAs the week passed without word from Germany, Roosevelt told the\nAmbassador that in view of the Kaiser's silence, the American fleet\nwould sail a day earlier than had been planned, and as promptly as\ncables could do the work, Germany gave in and consented to arbitration.\nRoosevelt's prompt action in this matter and the courageous stand he\ntook with the Berlin government undoubtedly prevented war, which might,\nwhen started, very easily have embroiled the world.\n\nThe power of America, Roosevelt believed, was the strongest influence\nagainst war. When he was conscious of a \"veiled truculence\" in the\nJapanese diplomatic communications, the American battle fleet was\nordered to make a cruise around the world, ostensibly for training, but\nreally to show the world, and particularly the Asiatics, that the\nUnited States had ample means to enforce its rights in all waters and\non every sea.\n\n\"Every particle of trouble with the Japanese Government and the\nJapanese press,\" says Roosevelt in a letter, \"stopped like magic as\nsoon as they found that our fleet had actually sailed and was obviously\nin good trim. As I told Von Tirpitz (the German admiral), I thought it\na good thing that the Japanese should know there were fleets of the\nwhite races which were totally different from the fleet of poor\nRojestvensky.\"\n\nBut Roosevelt was not a lover of war in spite of the warlike stand he\ntook on several occasions. And his efforts in bringing about peace\nbetween Japan and Russia resulted in the award to him of the Nobel\nPeace Prize of $40,000.\n\nThe constructive work he accomplished while in office is too great to\nbe even sketched in these brief pages. It was in Roosevelt's term,\nhowever, that the famous Panama Canal was begun and pushed toward\ncompletion.\n\nWhen his administration had ended and he was a private citizen once\nmore, Roosevelt started on his famous hunting trip to the jungles of\nAfrica, where he indulged to the full his love of excitement and his\ninterest in natural history. He killed lion, hippopotamus and elephant,\ntracking his game on foot and having several narrow escapes from death\nby infuriated and wounded wild beasts. He then toured Europe on a trip\nthe like of which has not fallen to the lot of any other living man,\nfor he was feted and cheered like a monarch wherever he went, and\nreceived honors that never before in the history of the world had been\naccorded to a man in private life.\n\nRoosevelt returned to America more honored and loved than any other man\nin its wide boundaries, and with his usual energy he plunged once more\ninto the political fight. He had everything to lose and nothing to\ngain, but entered the struggle with a spirit of heroism and patriotic\nduty that all men must respect, whatever they think of his political\nideas. When the time came again for the Presidential struggle,\nRoosevelt, who disliked the way things had been going since his term of\noffice, once more became a candidate, and as he was repudiated by the\nRepublicans he formed a party of his own which he called the\nProgressive Party and ran for President against Taft and Woodrow\nWilson.\n\nWilson had the solid Democratic vote behind him, and while the total of\nthe votes he received made him a minority president, he was able\nnevertheless to win on account of the friction between Roosevelt and\nTaft. And Roosevelt now retired to his home on Sagamore Hill, Long\nIsland, where although he was a private citizen again, his voice was\nconstantly heard throughout the country, with more influence on public\naffairs than any other force outside the Administration.\n\nWhen time for the next election came, the Republicans nominated Hughes\nand Roosevelt retired from the race to aid the fight against Wilson,\nwho was nevertheless reelected. In spite of his political defeat these\nyears may well be considered as among the greatest in Roosevelt's life.\nMore than any other man he stood for true Americanism, and showed a\nbewildered country the straight path toward the light of patriotism. He\nwas among the first to condemn the German outrages, to silence the\nvoices of supine pacifists and plead for action on the part of the\nAmerican Government. He was the staunchest advocate of national\npreparedness, and we may say that the military training camps that gave\nAmerica officers for the war were fathered by Roosevelt as well as by\nhis friend and comrade in arms, General Wood, who was sponsor of \"The\nPlattsburg Idea.\"\n\nBefore this, however, Roosevelt's restless spirit took him again into\nthe wilderness, and with a body of chosen companions he had explored\nthe Brazilian jungles and penetrated wilds where no white man had ever\nset foot before. In this journey, however, Roosevelt fell ill to a\nsevere attack of tropical fever that even his robust frame and vigorous\nconstitution could not shake off. He was now a sick man and growing\nold, but his bodily weakness did not hinder his strong voice that was\nso bravely uplifted in behalf of the best ideals of his country.\n\nWhen the war broke out with Germany Roosevelt wished to go. He offered\nto raise and train a force for service on European battlefields, just\nas he had done in the Spanish war, nineteen years before. His offer was\nrefused, and, bitterly disappointed, Roosevelt was compelled to stay at\nhome and watch other men fight--a fact that is thought to have hastened\nhis death. He had hoped that his might be the lot of dying on the field\nof battle. But as he could not do this, he did the next best thing--he\nsent his four sons to represent him.\n\nAs all four were among the first to volunteer it can hardly be said,\nhowever, that Roosevelt sent them. None the less the training they had\nreceived at his hands is doubtless partly responsible for their\nsplendid service and the fact that all strove for and obtained\npositions with combat troops.\n\nOn January 6, 1919, Theodore Roosevelt died in his sleep, a prey to the\nfever that he had contracted in South America and to inflammatory\nrheumatism with other complications. His death caused mourning all over\nthe United States and brought a personal sense of loss to the heart of\nevery true American. Like Lincoln, Roosevelt is a man of the ages, and\nhis name has been made immortal. And his last message, which he read\nonly the night before he died, to the members of the American Defense\nSociety, is symbolic and typical of Roosevelt the man.\n\n\"We have room but for one flag,\" he said, \"the American flag--we have\nroom but for one loyalty and that is loyalty to the American people.\"\n\nSo spoke Theodore Roosevelt a few hours before he died, and his words\nsum up the work of his great life.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIX\n\nEDITH CAVELL\n\n\nAs the name of Florence Nightingale became world famous at the close of\nthe Crimean War more than sixty years ago, the name of another English\nnurse who suffered martyrdom in the World War will go down into history\nwith the lustre of glory and self-sacrifice surrounding it. That name\nis Edith Cavell.\n\nEdith Cavell was born at Swardeston in Norwich, England, in 1873. Her\nfather was an English minister of the old school who was rector of a\nsingle parish in Norwich for more than half a century. Edith and her\nsister were brought up in strict conformance with church ideas and were\ntaught the value of leading useful lives and the glory of\nself-sacrifice. As was customary at the time when she was a young girl\nshe received her education on the continent, attending school in the\ncity of Brussels in Belgium. She then returned to her home and remained\nthere until, when twenty-one years old and resolved to give her life to\nsome useful and benevolent occupation, she decided to become a trained\nnurse and went to London to study that calling.\n\nShe studied at the London Hospital--a place, we are told, where the\nhardest and most difficult conditions prevailed, and where the nurses\nwere worked to the limit of their strength. She also held the position\nof a nurse in two other hospitals--the Shoreditch Infirmary in Hoxton,\nand the St. Pancras Infirmary; and she gained a reputation both for\nhard work and efficiency, while her patients often spoke of her\ngentleness and her kindness. Not content with forgetting a patient when\ndischarged from the hospital, Edith Cavell often followed him to his\nhome and continued there the lighter nursing that would assure his\nconvalescence. Her regular duties were severe enough but she used a\nlarge part of her scanty leisure for such purposes as these.\n\nIn 1906 Edith Cavell left the English hospitals, where she had made a\nreputation for herself, and went back to Brussels, where she took a\nposition as matron in a Medical and Surgical Home. Nursing in Brussels\nhad been conducted hitherto by Roman Catholic Sisters of Mercy, and at\nfirst they were inclined to look upon Miss Cavell as an untrained\noutsider, but her tact, efficiency and skill soon won the hearts of\nthese good women, who afforded her every courtesy and entered into\ncordial cooperation with her.\n\nHer home succeeded so well that three years after its commencement,\nMiss Cavell started also a training school for nurses. She was popular\neverywhere in the Belgian capital, and although Protestant, she gained\nthe praise of the Roman Catholic priests for the generous and unselfish\nwork that she performed.\n\nWhen the war broke out Miss Cavell was on a vacation with her mother.\nEvery year she returned twice to England to visit her family. Her\nfather had died by this time, but her mother was close to her heart and\nshe saw her as often as she could.\n\n\"I may be looked on as an old maid,\" she is reported as saying, \"but\nwith my work and my mother I am a very happy one, and desire nothing\nmore as long as I have these two.\"\n\nWhen war was declared Miss Cavell lost no time in hurrying back to\nBrussels, believing that her duty called her there. She wrote a letter\ncommenting on the German army when it swept through Belgium--and in it\nshe voiced her pity for the tired, footsore German soldiers,--who were\nlater to slay her. Brussels became a part of the German Empire and a\ntyrannical governor came there to establish his headquarters, issuing\nproclamations threatening the Belgians with death for minor offenses,\nand filling Brussels with spies and intrigue. Miss Cavell desired to\ncontinue her hospital work and went to the Governor, Von Bissing, to\nget permission to do so. He granted it, for the quiet English nurse\nmade an impression upon him. We are told that the arrogant German\nformed a high opinion of her--so much so that he secretly determined to\nkeep her under the strictest supervision!\n\nFrom that time on spies dogged her tracks. She cared for the wounded\nGerman soldiers and nursed a number of German officers, as well as the\nBelgians who were in her care, but this made no difference to the\nauthorities. They were determined to detect her in some crime and\npunish her. It was not fitting, they thought, that an enemy should be\nengaged in works of mercy, even though they themselves might benefit\nthereby. And soon spies began to come to the Governor with tales and\nfabrications of the crimes that she had been committing in their eyes.\nThey bore witness that she had given an overcoat to a Frenchman who was\ncold and hungry--and the Frenchman later escaped over the Dutch\nfrontier. Once she gave a glass of water to a Belgian soldier. She had\ngiven money to poor people, perhaps to soldiers. But the main reason\nthat the Germans hated her was because she was held in great affection\nby the people of Brussels.\n\nOn the night of August fifth, 1915, we are told, Miss Cavell was tying\nup the wounds of a wounded German soldier, when a group of armed men\nentered the room and their leader told her roughly that she was under\narrest. A blow was the only response when she tried to expostulate. She\nwas taken to prison and placed in solitary confinement. Her arrest was\nshrouded with the most careful secrecy, for the Germans did not want to\nhave the representatives of neutral governments, such as the United\nStates, know of the affair or of what they proposed to do.\n\nBut word of her plight did reach England through a traveler, and at\nonce the British Government requested the American Ambassador, Dr.\nPage, to get what information he could from Brand Whitlock, the\nAmerican Minister in Belgium. He went at once to the German\nauthorities, but they evaded his questions and waited ten days before\ngiving him a reply. Then the Germans sent him a statement declaring\nthat Edith Cavell herself had admitted giving money to English and\nBelgian soldiers and furnishing them with guides to help them to the\nDutch frontier, whence they might escape into Holland and return to\nEngland.\n\nThis was the German statement. If what they said were true, there was\nstill no cause for killing the unfortunate woman in their power, for\nshe was not accused at any time of having been a spy. But they had\nplanned to try her for her life, and Mr. Whitlock soon guessed this, in\nspite of the fact that the Germans kept their preparations from him so\nfar as possible.\n\nAn American lawyer, Mr. de Leval, was requested by Mr. Whitlock to take\nMiss Cavell's case and do whatever was possible in her behalf. He was\nnot allowed to see the prisoner--and was not even allowed to look at\nthe documents in the case until the trial began. Another lawyer, who\nwas a Belgian, suddenly appeared and told the Americans that there was\nnot the least cause for them to worry as Miss Cavell was sure to\nreceive only just treatment. He also promised to let them know when the\ntrial was to take place, and that he would keep them informed of all\nthe developments in the case. All these promises were broken. It is\ntrue that he sent a note a few days before the trial telling Mr.\nWhitlock that the case was about to come to court, but that is all that\nhe told them. He never informed them that the death sentence had been\nimposed. He never came to see them afterward. And when they sought him\nfor an explanation and for assistance, he had disappeared.\n\nMiss Cavell was kept in solitary confinement for two months and then\nwas tried with a number of other persons who were accused of crimes\nagainst the German Government. It was only from a private source that\nMr. de Leval learned that the trial was under way, and that the death\nsentence had been given. Miss Cavell herself, we are told, was calm,\ndignified and brave at the trial and faced her accusers heroically. She\nwas dressed in her nurse's uniform and wore the badge of the Red Cross.\n\nWhen Mr. Whitlock learned that she had been tried and sentenced to\ndeath he did everything possible to secure her pardon, or at least a\nmoderation of the punishment. He wrote to Baron Von der Lancken,\npointing out in a clear and decisive manner that Miss Cavell had served\nthe Germans by caring for their wounded, and that the death sentence\nhad never before been inflicted for the crime of which she was accused.\nHe also wrote a note to the Baron which is as follows:\n\n \"My dear Baron:\n\n \"I am too ill to present my request to you in person, but I appeal\n to your generosity of heart to support it and save this unfortunate\n woman from death. Have pity on her.\n\n \"BRAND WHITLOCK.\"\n\nAll through the day the American Legation sent message after message to\nthe German authorities asking for information. They received none. At\n6:20 in the evening they were told by a subordinate that the sentence\nhad not been given--only to learn later that it had indeed been\ndeclared, and that Miss Cavell would face a firing squad at two o'clock\nthe following morning. Mr. Whitlock then urged Baron Von der Lancken to\nappeal to Gen. Von Bissing to mitigate the sentence, and at eleven in\nthe evening he was told that Von Bissing refused to do anything to save\nMiss Cavell's life.\n\nAt the same time that the Governor denied this appeal, Edith Cavell was\nallowed to see a British chaplain. She told him that she was not in the\nleast afraid of death and willingly gave her life for her country. Her\nwords resembled those of Florence Nightingale that have been quoted\nelsewhere in this book. Death, she said, was well known to her, and she\nhad seen it so often that it was not strange or fearful to her.\n\nEarly in the morning with her eyes bandaged Miss Cavell was led out to\nface the rifles of the Huns. She wore an English flag over her bosom.\nOnly Germans were witnesses of the execution, but the German chaplain\nwho attended said that she died like a heroine.\n\nWhen her death became known, the entire civilized world was shocked and\nhorrified. In England this murder did more to stimulate recruiting than\nanything else up to that time. All day long lines of men waited to sign\nthe papers of enlistment, and in Miss Cavell's home town every eligible\nman was sworn into the army.\n\nA bitter denunciation of the German act was made by Sir Edward Grey.\nThe Germans themselves had only a poor excuse for what they had done.\nIn brief the case against the German authorities is as follows: they\nhad not previously inflicted the death penalty for the offense of which\nMiss Cavell was accused; they had kept her in solitary confinement and\nprevented her from consulting an advocate up to the time of her trial;\nshe was tried with great haste and with great secrecy, and after the\ntrial the sentence was carried out far more speedily than usual.\nMoreover they had deceived Mr. Whitlock and the other members of the\nAmerican Legation, and had done so deliberately. After the execution\nthey refused to return the body.\n\nBut the name of Edith Cavell has become one of the world's great names\nand her fame grows brighter as time passes. In the hospital where she\nwas in training for her high calling a fitting memorial to her is being\nprepared--it is the Edith Cavell Home to be a permanent part of the\nLondon Hospital where she served her difficult apprenticeship. But her\nchief memorial is in the hearts and minds of the British nation.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXX\n\nKING ALBERT OF BELGIUM\n\n\nThe greatness of kings is not always proportionate to the size of the\nkingdoms they rule, and their fame does not run in accord with the\nbreadth of their dominions, or the number of subjects who serve them.\nThis has been proved many times in history,--but never more\nconclusively than in the little kingdom of Belgium, whose present\nruler, Albert the First, has already won glory equal to that of any\nhero-king of any age.\n\nUntil he was a young man it was never expected that Albert would ever\nbe King, for he was the younger son of the younger brother of King\nLeopold the Second. Much would have to take place before he could win\nthe throne, and Albert, in consequence, was not trained for the severe\nduties of a ruler. But in the end this worked good rather than harm,\nfor Albert received so thorough a military education that by practical\nadvice and prompt action he was able to save his country in the\nterrible ordeal through which it passed. And as he had expected to be\nno more than one of the King's subjects, he had learned the ways of the\npeople more intimately than he could have done if he had always been\nhemmed in with the restrictions of royalty.\n\nWhen Albert was seventeen years old, his brother Baldwin died, and it\nwas then seen that he might indeed become King, for Leopold had no\ndirect male heirs. But this was not yet sure, for under certain\nconditions the King had the right to appoint his successor, and he did\nnot decide to make Albert the heir to the throne until the Prince\nmarried and had two sons who would ensure the permanence of the royal\nBelgian family.\n\nAlbert was born in 1875 on the Eighth of April. His father was Count\nPhilippe of Flanders who was Leopold's youngest brother. As a boy the\nyoung prince received an education such as would be given to any\ncultivated well bred gentleman, but as it was customary for younger\nsons of princes to enter the army particular attention was paid, as we\nhave said, to his military training.\n\nThe young prince attended military school, was drilled as a common\nsoldier and gradually worked his way up through the different grades to\nthe rank of Major. He was intensely interested in the profession of\narms and gave more than the required zeal and attention to its pursuit,\nfollowing his training in a regiment of Grenadiers, and instructed by\nthe most experienced officers.\n\nAlbert was not only studious, but fond of all sorts of athletic sports\nand exercises. He frequently visited the Tyrol for mountain climbing,\nand later tried his skill on the most rugged Alps. He was fond of\nshooting and shot well; he was an excellent horseman and his tall\nfigure was frequently to be seen astride his hunter, which he managed\nwith great skill.\n\nThe possibility that he might become King had effected a change in the\nyoung man's character, who became more reserved and serious, ardently\ndevoted to his studies and eager to find out as much as possible about\nthe lives of the people that one day he was to rule. He often lectured\non military topics. He visited the mines and viewed the working\nconditions of the men that toiled incessantly underground. He watched\nthe fishermen at work and even accompanied them on their trips; he\nworked in machine-shops and ran locomotives himself. To learn the\nsecrets of modern shipping he visited foreign countries and traveled in\ndisguise as a reporter of a newspaper, paying calls on various\nshipyards and taking notes on what he saw there.\n\nIn the year of the war between America and Spain, 1898, Albert came to\nthe United States and saw President McKinley, and in his travels\nthrough our great country he paid a visit to the great financier James\nJ. Hill with whom he talked about the problems that confronted Belgium\nand from whom he doubtless received valuable advice. He was much\nimpressed by his visit to America, and often talked about it afterward,\nand thought out means by which the modern improvements he saw in\nAmerica might be applied to the people of Belgium.\n\nAll this time, however, the Prince remained unmarried, and King\nLeopold, who was growing old, was worried about the succession to the\nthrone. Finally he decided that as long as Albert was without issue he\nmust choose a different heir which was a royal privilege in such a\ncontingency, and his choice fell upon the Duc de Vendome, who had\nmarried Albert's sister.\n\nBut Albert, who had given no signs of attraction toward any one of the\nvarious beautiful ladies he might have married, was soon to fall in\nlove and make a marriage that would gladden the heart of old King\nLeopold, and please the Belgian people.\n\nAmong other things that he had studied in his young manhood was the\nscience of medicine, and a year after he came to America he went to\nGermany to see the clinic of a Bavarian duke named Charles Theodore,\nwhose skill as an occulist had made him famous throughout Europe.\nAlbert visited this Duke and was presented to his daughters, with one\nof whom, the Duchess Elizabeth, he promptly fell in love. The passion\nwas mutual, and as the match was a good one from all points of view the\nyoung couple were married in Munich on October 2, 1900, where a\ncelebration was held in honor of the event. When the newly wedded\ncouple returned to Belgium no one less than King Leopold was waiting at\nthe railroad station to receive them and offer his congratulations.\nLeopold was now more predisposed in favor of Albert, and when a son was\nborn he was delighted. On the birth of a second son, the King made a\nspeech in which he publicly confirmed Albert's claim to the throne, and\npublic attention was now focussed on the Prince who was to be King.\n\nAlbert had no intention of meddling with political affairs until he\nactually should become the ruler of Belgium, and he gave scant\nencouragement to those who sought to sound him and find out what his\nfuture policies would be. While he surveyed all public affairs with a\nkeen eye and attentive mind, he kept the public from knowing what he\nthought of them, and his mind seemed now as much of a mystery as his\npersonality had seemed obscure before it had been known that he was to\ncome to the throne.\n\nAlbert was greatly interested in the Belgian colony in Africa and asked\npermission from King Leopold to visit it and make a tour of inspection.\nThe King was unwilling to have the heir to the throne take so long and\npresumably so dangerous a journey, but at last he consented and Albert\ndeparted for Africa and the Congo, where he spent three arduous months\nin which time, it is said, he walked more than fifteen hundred miles.\nThe colonists took a great liking to the tall, reserved young man who\nstudied all their interests and doings with such careful attention, and\nthe impression that Albert made upon this part of his future kingdom\nwas more than favorable.\n\nHe had not been at home long before King Leopold died, and on the 23rd\nof December, 1909, Albert came into his capital as King of the\nBelgians. After taking the oath to guard the constitution and preserve\nthe territory of the Belgian nation, he made a carefully prepared and\nwell thought out speech, in which he declared that the Belgian monarch\nmust always obey the laws of the country and preserve the law with the\nutmost respect and care. And the first public appearance of Albert as\nKing added to the good impression with which he was regarded\neverywhere.\n\nHis liberty and privacy were now over, and he was absorbed with the\naffairs of his country. He had become so interested in the Congo colony\nthat he gave a great deal of his own money to better conditions there\nand to further medical research. The Queen was busy also. With her\nmedical skill she visited the various hospitals and engaged in many\ncharitable enterprises that endeared her to the hearts of the common\npeople. It seemed that she could not do enough to relieve the\nsufferings of others, and the humblest of her subjects came to look on\nher as a member of their family, and almost literally worshipped the\nground she walked on.\n\nThe threat of war was still far off, but Albert, who was greatly\nconcerned over the state of the Belgian army, did all he could to\nincrease its efficiency. He was not only concerned with the military\npreparedness of Belgium, but observed that the Germans seemed to be\ntaking a firmer and firmer grip on his country. German merchants and\nbusiness men swarmed in Brussels, and it was not hard to see too that\nGerman military experts were studying the topography of Belgium and\nsending reports back to the Fatherland.\n\nThe position of Belgium was peculiar in many ways. Not only did it lie\nas a little and weak nation between the great armed powers of France\nand Germany, exposed to the advance of an invading army in case of war,\nsince it was the most convenient way from one country to the other, but\nits position on the coast made it a favorable vantage ground from which\nGermany might launch an attack on England. This geographical situation\nof Belgium has caused it throughout history to be the scene of some of\nthe greatest battles that have ever been fought, and has gained for it\nthe name of \"the cockpit of Europe.\"\n\nEven for its size, Belgium was in a woeful state of military\nunpreparedness for war, because it was supposed to be exempt from\nconflict through an agreement of the great powers. All the great\nnations of Europe had decided that it was safer and better to make\nBelgium neutral ground, and one and all they had promised to protect\nthe neutrality of this little state with force of arms if necessary.\nThis, as we have said, had given the Belgians a feeling of security.\nThey believed that even if war broke out, Belgium would not be forced\ninto the conflict, but sinister signs of danger, like the distant\nwarnings of a hurricane, gradually obtruded themselves before King\nAlbert's clear sighted vision. He received letters, not from one but\nfrom many sources, warning him that the Germans had decided in secret\ncouncil to send their invading armies across Belgium in case of war\nwith France, and he had seen only too clearly that German spies and\nmilitary experts were mapping out the country for their own secret\nends. So Albert struggled to increase the army and secured the passage\nof a favorable bill in October, 1913.\n\nBut the iron forces of Germany were forged and ready; the uniforms and\nequipment of her invading hordes were packed away in her storehouses\nand arsenals. Only the stroke of a pen was needed to loose the blind\nforces and mighty armaments of a war greater than any that history has\nknown. King Albert's efforts in behalf of the Belgian army were too\nlate, although he did not know it at the time.\n\nIn the summer of 1914, Albert went to Switzerland on a vacation, but\nhis fear that Germany was preparing for speedy war forced him to return\nto Belgium in the middle of his holiday. And events soon proved that he\nwas justified. War leaped up over night like a devouring flame, and\nimmediately the German Government sent to Belgium a threat which\ndeclared that it was the purpose of the German High Command to move\nGerman troops across Belgium, and that the Belgians would resist at\ntheir own peril.\n\nMany a ruler would have acceded to the terms that Germany gave. If a\nsmall boy is confronted by a trained pugilist of great weight and\ngigantic stature, surely none can blame the boy for consenting to the\npugilist's demands. None could have blamed King Albert if he had\nyielded to such force and accepted the tyrant's terms. But the King\ndetermined to defend his country to the last drop of Belgian blood, not\nsparing his own, and the Belgians sent the following reply back to the\nGerman war lords:\n\n\"The German ultimatum has caused the Belgian Government deep and\npainful astonishment, and Belgium refuses to believe that her\nindependence could only be preserved at the cost of violating her\nneutrality.\"\n\nAnd Albert grimly added to some of his followers, \"Germany appears to\nbelieve that Belgium is a road, not a country.\"\n\nThe German armies entered Belgium, and soon the roar of the guns was\nheard almost from one end of the little nation to the other. King\nAlbert at once put on his uniform and took to the field with the\nBelgian army. The Germans laid siege to the Belgian fortress of Liege,\nexpecting to overpower it easily. They advanced against it in mass\nformation, only to be met with such a hail of machine gun fire that\nthey numbered their dead by thousands. The little Kingdom of Belgium\nhad thrust a stick between the cogs of the great German war machine,\nand by doing so saved the world from a German victory. By delaying the\nGermans at Liege they allowed the French the vital time to organize\ntheir army and mobilize on the frontier, and by the splendid and\nstubborn resistance that the Germans encountered in Belgium the English\ntoo were given a breathing space. On the breast of this weak nation\nfell the whole weight of the mailed fist, and while the result was\ninevitable the burden was bravely supported.\n\nLiege fell at last, and the Germans moved onward, in spite of attacks\nby the Belgians that temporarily halted them. With their great 42\ncentimeter howitzers the Germans pulverized the forts that held out\nagainst them and soon compelled King Albert to shift the seat of\nBelgian Government to Antwerp. Albert himself, however, stayed in the\nfield with his army and when it fell back he was among the brave men\nthat covered the retreat. He seemed to be everywhere that he was\nneeded, and often in the front line the Belgian soldiers would be\ncheered by the sight of their King loading and firing a rifle by their\nside, in the place of some wounded comrade.\n\nThe King combined shrewdness with bravery. He ordered Brussels not to\nresist the German horde, but he fought to the knife wherever resistance\nwould be effective. While the British were yet far away and the French\nwere unable to help, Belgium alone held the enemy in check, and Belgium\nwas animated more by the spirit of their King than by any other cause.\nIt has been said in turn that each one of the Allied Nations won the\nwar. And this is true of them all. Without the aid of the British navy,\nthe bravery of the French army, the fresh strength that America lent to\nthe fight, the Germans must have conquered. But it is practically\ncertain that they would have won if Belgium had not withstood them.\nWith their forces once in Paris and the French and British forces\nseparated no human power could have triumphed against the Kaiser--and\nit remained for little Belgium to delay him to such an extent that\nJoffre was able at last to beat the Germans at the Marne and save the\nworld.\n\nThen the Germans turned their guns against the city of Antwerp and soon\nthe giant shells from the monster howitzers were picking up whole\nbuildings in the force of their blast and scattering bricks and timbers\nbroadcast in crashing explosions. Queen Elizabeth had remained with the\nKing, serving as a nurse in the hospitals and doing what she could to\nrelieve the suffering of her people, but when it was seen that Antwerp\nmust fall she decided to take her children to a place of safety. King\nAlbert's eldest son served as a private with a Belgian regiment, but\nhis brother and little sister were too young for any service and were\ntaken to England by the Queen. She refused to remain, however, but\nreturned to the stricken country to take her place with the remainder\nof her subjects who had not yet received the yoke of German slavery.\n\nAlbert refused to allow his army to be driven from Belgian territory.\n\"It would be better to die here,\" he declared, \"than in a foreign\nland.\" And always he was with the army, directing its strategy or\nwielding a weapon himself. \"My place is with my brave soldiers,\" he\ndeclared.\n\nAll through the sinister days of the war the King's spirit did not\nweaken. When the Germans were pushing on again toward Paris in the\nspring of 1918, he kept his head cool and his heart composed. Then the\ngray lines broke, and the tide turned. The Allied Armies swept onward\nand the Germans retreated pell mell to save themselves from utter ruin.\nBack from the ruined villages and the oppressed and tortured\ncountryside the German hordes retreated, and King Albert and Queen\nElizabeth triumphantly took possession once more. Their children had\nreturned and the royal family had passed the last year of the war\nwithin sound of the guns on the Nieuport front. Their hour of triumph\nwas now come and they entered Brussels after four years of exile.\n\nTheir entry was planned to be as glorious and beautiful as possible and\nit is needless to say with what rejoicing they were received. Allied\ntroops marched past in review, and the King and Queen were accompanied\nby the most famous generals of the Allied armies. The soldiers of the\nBelgian army were crowned with flowers when reviewed by the King that\nso bravely led them.\n\nPeace terms were drawn up and the Germans compelled to repay the\nBelgians to the last penny for the havoc and vandalism they had\nwrought. And it is a kind of poetic justice that Albert was reigning,\nwhile the Kaiser fled from his own country to cling to the skirts of\nanother weak little power that he would surely have violated as\nremorselessly as he violated Belgium if it had chanced to stand in his\nway.\n\nIn 1919, twenty-one years after his first trip to this country, King\nAlbert with Queen Elizabeth came to the United States again. They\nreceived a warm welcome from one end of the country to the other and\nthe good wishes of all Americans have gone back with them to the\nwrecked and devastated land that they are striving to restore. Whether\nKing Albert will perform as great work in reconstruction as he has\nalready performed as a soldier and a King the future will decide, but\nhe has already gained an immortal place in the history of the world.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXI\n\nMARIA BOTCHKAREVA\n\n\nNot since the time of Molly Pitcher has there been a woman soldier so\nfamous in her own country as a Russian girl named Maria Botchkareva,\nwho fought beside the men in the Russian army in the World War and\nafterward became the commander of a battalion of women soldiers, who\ncalled themselves the \"Battalion of Death.\" It is only because the\nWorld War was so huge that the name of this girl is not known\neverywhere. Not only did she make as good a soldier as a man, but she\nwas decorated for bravery. She carried to safety out of No Man's Land\non her own back nearly a hundred wounded Russians, while the shells\nburst and the bullets flew around her, and in the course of the war she\nwas wounded four times.\n\nMaria Botchkareva, who is still living, was born in 1889, the daughter\nof a Russian fisherman, who was originally a serf. He was too poor to\nbuy a wagon to market his fish, and was compelled to sell them at less\nthan the market price to traveling pedlers. Her mother did manual labor\nfor twelve hours a day to earn five cents. Starvation was constantly at\nthe door, and the father was of a surly and cruel disposition, and\nfrequently beat his wife and his little children.\n\nWhen quite a young girl Maria became a servant in the family of a\nRussian army officer, and when still young she married a soldier named\nAfanasi Botchkarev, who gave her her present name. He beat her so often\nand treated her so brutally when he was drunk that she tried to drown\nherself, but was saved because some workmen had seen her plight.\nShortly afterward she ran away from Botchkarev and worked her way to\nthe town of Irkutsk in Siberia.\n\nThere she underwent many adventures. Her great strength enabled her to\nwork as a man in a gang of laborers who were paving the courtyard of\nIrkutsk prison with asphalt, and she continued this work for a year,\nuntil she became ill and forced to go to a hospital.\n\nWar broke out between Russian and Germany. It was the beginning of the\ngreat war that was to shake the entire world, and echoes and rumors of\nterrible events were not long in reaching even so remote a town as\nIrkutsk. Soldiers commenced to go away to the front and stories of\ndefeats and victories were in the air. And although Maria, unlike\nJeanne d'Arc, never heard the voices of the Saints, still a voice\nwithin her called on her to go to war to save her country.\n\nBut how was a woman to go to war? If it had been difficult in the\nremote past when Jeanne d'Arc was alive, how much more was success\nbeyond her grasp in a country controlled by modern law and the\nregulations of a well organized national army. But Maria dressed\nherself in man's clothes and made her way back to her home, beating her\nway with difficulty on trains that were crowded with soldiers, and\ntaking over two months to accomplish the difficult journey from\nSiberia.\n\nWhen she arrived at her native village she found that her worthless\nhusband had been drafted into the army, taken to the front and was\nlisted as \"missing.\" Nobody knew if he were alive or dead.\n\nHer father and mother were glad to see Maria, but exclaimed in horror\nand surprise when she told them that she intended to be a soldier.\n\n\"You are crazy,\" they shouted at her. \"Women do not go to war! Stay at\nhome with us, for we are old and need your help.\" But in spite of their\nentreaties she was obdurate, and going to a clerk in the 25th Reserve\nBattalion which was quartered there, she declared to him her purpose of\nenlisting and of fighting in the trenches.\n\nLaughter greeted her on every side. A grinning adjutant took her to the\nColonel, who received her kindly, his astonishment only equalled by his\nadmiration for her patriotism.\n\n\"But women do not go to war, my dear,\" he ejaculated when Maria told\nhim her decision.\n\n\"Nevertheless I intend to go and I desire you to enlist me,\" the brave\ngirl answered.\n\nThe Colonel could not disobey regulations and enlist a woman in the\narmy, but a telegram was sent to the Czar himself, and in a short time\nan answer was received from the Czar's official headquarters,\nannouncing that Maria Botchkareva was entitled to become a soldier in\nthe Russian army.\n\nSo Maria put on her uniform and was nicknamed \"Yashka,\" a name that\nsoon was known throughout her regiment. Dressed in a man's clothes and\nbearing arms like a man, she went through the regular drill and fatigue\nand in a very short time became proficient in handling a rifle which\nincreased the respect in which her comrades held her. They had\nridiculed her at first, and made life a burden to her with insults and\npractical jokes, but she bore these things stolidly and at last won\ntheir respect and affection.\n\nThe regiment entrained for the front and Yashka went with it. A Russian\ngeneral heard of the presence of a girl soldier in its ranks and\nangrily ordered that she be taken from the line and sent to the\nrear--but Yashka was clever enough to point out that her enlistment had\nbeen received by the Czar himself and so superseded the order of the\nGeneral, who wished to send her home from whence she had come.\n\nThe regiment went into the trenches, and Maria, for the first time,\nheard the roar of the cannon and the whistling of the shells. Her\ncomrades had jokingly told her that she would run when the first shot\nwas fired, but she minded the bombardment no more than any one else.\nThe Germans threw over large quantities of their favorite weapon, gas,\nand the trenches and the hollows in the ground were filled with the\nnoxious vapors that it was death to breathe, but the Russians put on\ntheir gas masks and still went forward.\n\nThen, after serving in the line for some time, the girl soldier had her\nfirst experience in more active warfare, for her company was ordered\nover the top to capture the German sector opposite them, and with fixed\nbayonets the men moved forward under a heavy fire from the batteries of\ntheir own artillery. It was a severe attack, bravely delivered, but\ndoomed to failure because the barbed wire entanglements of the enemy\nhad not been destroyed by the Russian shells. Men dropped by the score,\nand when the company was finally compelled to retreat there were only\nseventy left out of two hundred and fifty that had begun the advance.\nMaria was one of the survivors, her woman's heart torn with pity at the\ncries of the wounded who had been left dying in No Man's Land. Crawling\nback from the shelter of the Russian trenches, she dragged a wounded\nsoldier to safety and returned for another. All night she toiled\nbringing them in until more than fifty owed their lives to her. For\nthis she was recommended for a decoration for bravery, but never\nreceived it. Later, however, she won her badge of courage for more work\nof the same sort performed under heavy fire and in the face of the\ngreatest obstacles.\n\nThen her own turn came. She was wounded and sent to the rear as a\ncasualty. When her wound was healed she returned to the front, only to\nsustain further wounds and win another decoration. On one occasion she\nwas captured by the Germans, but an attack freed her from their hands\nafter she had been a prisoner for a little over eight hours.\n\nIn all the fighting that she had experienced this girl personally did\nher share, handling a rifle with skill and on several occasions using\nthe bayonet with as much strength as a man. Her fame by this time had\npenetrated beyond her own regiment. The name of Yashka was known\nthroughout the Russian army, and numbers of curious soldiers crowded\naround her when she happened to go to some part of the field where she\nhad not previously been seen.\n\nThen began the terrible Russian revolution--a revolution more dreadful\nthan the French Terror in 1793. The Czar was deposed, and word of this\nwas not long in reaching the front line, where groups of rejoicing\nsoldiers hastened to form councils and committees regardless of the\ndiscipline that alone could hold them together to an extent to present\na solid front to the enemy.\n\nThe Germans ceased firing when they learned the cause of the Russians'\ncelebrations, and at once commenced to fraternize with the men they had\nso recently been fighting, telling the Russians that they desired peace\nand that the war now would soon be over. Vodka and beer were passed\nfrom side to side, and German and Russian soldiers strolled about in No\nMan's Land without a shot being fired. Nor was this all. A pilgrimage\nof inflammatory speakers and demagogues commenced to visit the ranks of\nthe Russians, inciting them to revolt against all authority and to\ndrive away their officers. The heads of the soldiers were turned, and\ngood and bad, brave men and cowards, joined in the confusion that was\nincreasing day by day, and the ruin that was sweeping over Russia's\nfortunes.\n\nThe simple heart and mind of Yashka, however, proved to be more astute\nand better versed in the conduct of war than most of the Russians. She\nsaw what disorder was doing to the army, and worn out in spirit as well\nas in body, sought leave to return from a war where there was no\nfighting to her own home.\n\nBut finally the idea came to her to form a battalion of women soldiers\nand shame the men into returning to the front, from which they had been\ndeserting in large numbers. She thought that if the soldiers saw\nRussian women in the ranks, doing battle with the enemy and proving\nthemselves braver than the men themselves, perhaps they would be shamed\ninto renewing the combat; that if women advanced in the front rank, the\nmen would follow and the war would be resumed. Yashka knew too well\nthat there could be no real peace so long as the Germans remained on\nRussian soil; and that further war was the only way to drive them out\nof Russia.\n\nFired with her idea she went to the leading powers of the Russian\nGovernment and asked permission to form a battalion of women soldiers,\nwho were to make every sacrifice, visit the most dangerous parts of the\nbattle front, and unhesitatingly be killed in order that the men might\nfollow them into battle. The Government leaders, including Kerensky,\napproved of the idea; and Maria commenced to make speeches, calling on\nthe women to enlist beneath her standard in the \"Battalion of Death,\"\nas her new organization was to be named.\n\nThe response was instantaneous. So many women offered to enlist that\nshe had difficulty in accepting all of them, and she resolutely weeded\nout those that seemed unfit, enacting a strict and severe discipline,\nmore rigorous, in fact, than any that had been undergone by the male\nsoldiers. With rifles supplied by the Government, and with men acting\nas drill sergeants, she trained her girls until they were well versed\nin the elements of soldiering, and after they had become proficient in\nthe use of the rifle she prepared to entrain for the front, this time\nan officer with a thousand or more soldiers under her command.\n\nBut her system of training and the severe penalties she exacted from\nher soldiers brought her into opposition to the Russian Government,\nwhich, fatuously believing that rule by the people could be carried\ninto war, insisted on her forming committees in her command and\nallowing her soldiers a share in the administration of the battalion.\nThis she refused to do, declaring that she would resign her commission\nfirst and disband her battalion. If men were difficult to control at\nthe front under the committee system, how much more would this be the\ncase with girls, unused to discipline and more prone by nature than the\nmen to give way to the difficulties and the temptations of war!\n\nAfter several stormy interviews with the army chiefs and with Kerensky\nhimself, Yashka was allowed to have her own way, and in direct command\nof her own battalion she set out for the front line. Already the\nBattalion of Death had had a beneficial effect upon the soldiers at the\nfront, and she believed that when once her women went into action the\nmen would follow without question.\n\nWhen the Battalion of Death was actually in the front line Yashka saw\nvery quickly, however, that things were far worse than she had\nimagined, for in the time that she had been recruiting and training her\nnew force, the army had undergone complete demoralization. There was\nnow open friendship between the Russians and the Germans in many\nquarters of the front, and fighting was unheard of, the soldiers'\ncommittees refusing to give their consent to any proposal of that sort.\nIt was in the midst of such a situation that Yashka and her women\nreached the line.\n\nThe Bolsheviki, as the revolutionists were called, had gained almost\ncomplete control over the soldiers, and under their influence the army\nhad become a savage mob. Only a few loyal men remained. Soon after\nYashka's arrival the officers attempted to put her plan into operation\nand launch an attack against the Germans, but the soldiers refused to\nobey and the battalion of women moved out almost unsupported against\nthe enemy, who promptly opened a heavy fire. Their example was tardily\nfollowed by the men and a general attack was delivered on a wide\nportion of the line. After a severe fight, the women soldiers captured\nthe German trenches that lay in front of them, but only to be\nconfronted with a new and terrible difficulty,--for the supports that\nthey had relied upon refused to march any further, declaring that they\nwould defend what they had already gained from the enemy but that under\nno circumstance would they attack again. This made it necessary for the\nBattalion of Death to make a headlong retreat, for while they waited\nfor support they had nearly been surrounded by the Germans.\n\nThen the army, incited by the Bolshevist agitators, became completely\nunmanageable. When Yashka herself opened fire on some Germans who were\nwalking openly through No Man's Land, the Russians on her flanks turned\ntheir machine guns against the women and prepared to mow them down. The\nusefulness of the Battalion was at an end and the lives of the girls\nwere in danger from the Russian soldiers. It became necessary to take\nthem to the rear. Even there, however, when quartered in reserve\nbarracks, they were not safe from interference. With vile threats and\ntaunts deserters and Bolshevists crowded about their quarters and were\nfinally driven away by a volley fired by the girls from the windows of\ntheir barracks.\n\nKnowing that this action would result in an attack by the Russians,\nYashka hastily assembled her Battalion and marched them away with all\ntheir equipment, taking concealment in a nearby wood from which the\ngirls were hurried to the rear and discharged in a score of stations,\nmaking their way to their homes as best they might. Revolution now had\nthe upper hand, the army was completely destroyed by the revolutionary\ndoctrine and there was no longer any use in continuing the Battalion,\nwhich had become a center for the attacks of friends and foes alike.\n\nYashka herself returned to Petrograd where she was arrested by the\nBolsheviki, but, after a searching examination, she was allowed to\nproceed to her home. She determined, however, to use all her remaining\nenergy in helping the few loyal Russians who were grouped under a\ngeneral named Kornilov and were now at open war with the Bolsheviki,\nso, after procuring a disguise, she made her way through the Bolshevik\nlines to the loyal forces. Kornilov desired her to return with word\nfrom him for the loyalists who were hiding in many places in Russia,\nbut in trying to cross the lines again Yashka found herself entrapped\nby her enemies. Throwing off her disguise she boldly disclosed herself\nto them, saying she was on her way to undergo treatment at a hospital\nfor a severe wound she had received while in the Russian army.\n\nAnd then this courageous girl underwent dangers far more deadly than\nany she had suffered at the front. She was tried by the Bolsheviki and\nsentenced to be shot, although she had destroyed all the evidence of\nher relations with Kornilov, and her foes knew nothing more about her\nthan that she had been commander of the woman's battalion. This alone,\nhowever, was crime enough in their eyes to warrant her instant\nexecution, and with part of her clothing taken from her she stood in\nline with twenty Russian officers to receive her death blow. It\nhappened, however, that on the Bolshevik committee that was present to\nwitness the execution was one of the men who had served beside her in\nthe trenches, and he recognized his old comrade.\n\n\"Are you Yashka?\" he asked. When she replied in the affirmative he\npulled her from the line and took her place in the squad of the\ncondemned, saying that they would have to shoot him before they could\nshoot Yashka whom he knew and loved. After a stormy argument a reprieve\nwas shown to the executioners and Yashka was allowed to be taken from\nthe field of death and returned to prison.\n\nThrough the intercession of friends she was sent to Moscow, and there,\nafter further imprisonment, was set at liberty. She had witnessed\nenough of the Bolshevist horrors to be even a more bitter enemy of\ntheir regime than she had been before. She determined to fly from\nRussia and gain aid from the Allies to carry on a war against them and\nthe Germans alike, and with this end in view was secretly carried\naboard the American steamer _Sheridan_ and brought to the United\nStates. Here, for the time being, her career ends. It will remain for\nthe future to show if she takes further part in the affairs of her\ncountry for which she so bravely fought, bled and suffered,--but\nwhether circumstances allow her to do so or not, she has carved her\nname in lasting letters on the tablets of modern history.\n\n\n\n\nHEROES OF FICTION\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXII\n\nWILLIAM TELL\n\n\nMany hundreds of years ago, at the end of the Thirteenth Century to be\nexact, in the country that is now Switzerland, there lived a Swiss\nhunter and herdsman named William Tell. He lived in the little town of\nBurglen among the mountains, and with him lived his wife and his two\nsons, who, when this story opens, were about ten and twelve years old.\nWilliam Tell was so strong that his name was known far and wide; he was\nso skilful a hunter that nothing seemed ever to escape his keen arrow\nwhen once it was on the wing; he was so venturesome a mountain climber\nthat the steepest precipice was not too dangerous for him; and with all\nthese great abilities he had a kindly disposition and was liked as well\nas admired by his neighbors.\n\nWilliam Tell had won more than one prize at the fairs and competitions\nthat were sometimes held near his town; on one occasion he had shot a\nsmall bird on the wing with his sure arrow, for the bullseye of the\ntarget had seemed too large for him. And so it came to pass that when\nhis neighbors revolted from the foreign yoke that Austria had thrown\nover Switzerland Tell was one of the first to be called on by the\npatriots who desired to free their country.\n\nSwitzerland was not a single country in those days, but was divided\ninto the three cantons or districts of Schwyz (from which it takes its\npresent name) Uri and Unterwalden. The Austrians had nominally governed\nthe country for a long time without any dissent on the part of the\nSwiss people, for the Austrian ruler, named Adolph, had treated them\nextremely well and allowed them to keep their ancestral rights and\ncustoms.\n\nThen, however, the Hapsburg Emperor, Albrecht, came to the throne; and\ndiscontent and misery were soon apparent in the Swiss cantons. For the\nnew monarch did not follow the policy of the former king, but sent\ncruel governors to rule over the honest Swiss, with secret orders to\noppress them in many ways until their love of liberty, for which they\nhad always been famous, might be destroyed.\n\nAll the time that these changes were taking place, William Tell went\nquietly about his affairs. He looked after his herds and hunted in the\nmountains, while his wife, Hedwig, saw to his house and brought up his\ntwo boys, William and Walter. He had everything to make him happy--a\nclean and well ordered home on the side of the mountain, a devoted\nwife, two manly boys, and a herd of cattle that included the most\nbeautiful cow for miles around. This cow was named Hifeli, and wore a\nsweet toned bell about her neck.\n\nDriving a cow over the mountain paths was a difficult and dangerous\nundertaking, and one that Tell had never entrusted to either of his\nchildren, but as his son William seemed to be able and venturesome he\nwas allowed one day as a great pleasure to drive Hifeli and her calf up\nto the mountain pasture. The way led along the side of a cliff, and in\none place it was so narrow that only a few inches separated those on\nthe path from a terrific gulf so deep that the clouds sometimes hid the\ntrees below it.\n\nWhile the boy was driving Hifeli over this place, with a sudden rush a\nfierce eagle swooped down to attack the calf, beating the air with its\nwings to drive the calf to the edge of the precipice,--and although the\nlad struck at the bird of prey with his mountain staff until the air\nwas filled with feathers it was to no avail. The calf plunged over the\nledge and was dashed to death on the rocks beneath, where the eagle\ndescended and promptly reappeared flying heavily away, bearing the dead\nbody of the calf in its claws. But this was not all the trouble that\nyoung Tell was to undergo, for the cow lurched toward the edge of the\nprecipice and sought some way to descend to the spot where she believed\nthe body of her calf had fallen, and try as he would young Tell could\nnot get her away from the spot or drive her back to her stall.\n\nSo he tied Hifeli to a tree and went in search of his father to whom he\ntold the misfortune that had befallen him. Whereupon father and son\nwent in search of the eagle and the elder Tell slew it with an arrow\nfrom his crossbow. And on this trip he taught his son to show no fear\nof the high precipices they had to skirt or of the gulfs that had to be\ncrossed by fallen trees. And from that time on he instructed his son to\navoid the least sign of fear which later saved both their lives in a\ncurious manner.\n\nThere was nothing that Tell hated more than the Austrian rule under the\ntyrannical governors who were sent to oppress the Swiss, and he engaged\nin opposing them first of all.\n\nOne of the Swiss named Wolfshot had treacherously deserted his\ncountrymen and joined the Austrian cause, for which he was rewarded by\nthe Emperor and given a position under the Austrian Governor. In this\nposition he did all that he could to annoy his neighbors and frequently\ninsulted the Swiss women.\n\nOn one occasion Wolfshot tried to make love to the wife of a Swiss\npeasant named Baumgarten who was an honest as well as a brave man. She\nran to her husband for protection and Baumgarten in great anger went to\nthe room where Wolfshot was staying and slew him with an ax. Then,\ntaking horse, he fled for his life pursued by the Austrian guards.\n\nBaumgarten came to the shores of Lake Zurich and would have crossed the\nlake to safety, but a terrible wind called the Fohn was blowing and the\nwaves of the lake rolled so high that escape by water seemed\nimpossible. The horsemen were close at Baumgarten's heels, and he\nbegged the ferryman to take him across the water in spite of the\ndanger, but to no avail. The ferryman replied that he would not venture\nout on the lake in that storm to save the life of any one, for it was\nimpossible for any boat to live in the sea that was raging there. But\nWilliam Tell was present, and seeing that Baumgarten would soon be\ncaptured by the Austrians he ran with him to the ferryboat and pushed\noff just as the Austrians rode up to the shore. The boat was tossed\nabout like a cork, but still it lived under the powerful strokes of\nTell, who was skilful above all others with the oar; and the Austrians\nwere forced to go back to their castle without their prisoner, bitterly\nangry at Tell for having helped the fugitive to escape them.\n\nThis was soon brought to the ears of the new Governor named Gessler who\ndetermined that he would entrap Tell into committing some other act by\nwhich he could be imprisoned and put to death. To accomplish this\npurpose Gessler conceived the design of placing a cap with the royal\narms of Austria upon it in the midst of the public square of the town\nof Altdorf, where Tell frequently came, and of ordering all people to\nbow before it as if this cap were the Emperor of Austria himself.\n\nGreat was the anger felt by the Swiss when they heard of this infamous\ndesign on Gessler's part--but how much more when the cap was actually\ntaken to the public square by a force of heavily armed soldiers and a\nproclamation was read ordering all who saw it to salute it on pain of\nwhatever penalty the Governor saw fit to impose!\n\nNow Tell happened to be in Altdorf at this very time with his little\nson William; and in order to avoid saluting this hated emblem, he left\ntown earlier than he had planned and by a street where he thought he\nwould not see the cap or encounter any of the Austrians who had come to\nAltdorf to see that the Governor's order was enforced. As luck would\nhave it, however, Tell walked right into the square where the cap had\nbeen placed and came right upon it before he noticed it. And several\nAustrian men at arms stood near it.\n\nWithout a word, leading his little son by the hand, Tell strode past\nthe cap without bowing his head--and was at once stopped by the\nsoldiers who told him he was under arrest for defying the Governor's\norder and made ready to take him before Gessler for trial. But Gessler\nhimself had seen all this and was so eager to punish Tell that he did\nnot wait for the soldiers to come to him, but with his servants and\nretainers hastened out into the square.\n\nGessler knew Tell by sight and spoke to him by name.\n\n\"What does this mean, Tell?\" he demanded. \"Have you not heard that this\ncap represents the Emperor and is to be saluted by all that pass it?\"\n\n\"Aye, your Lordship,\" answered Tell.\n\n\"And so you propose to add defiance of my person to your other crime?\"\nsaid the Governor. \"I have you in my power now and you shall pay a dear\npenalty. All the more dearly shall you pay because you go about the\nstreets armed with your crossbow at your side.\"\n\n\"My bow is used for hunting, your Lordship,\" said Tell proudly, \"a\nright that all free men possess and have possessed from the very\nearliest times.\"\n\n\"I'll curb your right and your talk of freedom,\" said Gessler fiercely.\n\"Yonder is your son. Now harken to your punishment. Take your bow and\nshoot an apple from the child's head.\"\n\nNow the Governor never thought that Tell could hit so difficult a mark,\nand Tell himself, good shot as he was, quailed at shooting at so small\na target, when the slightest slip would cause him to kill his beloved\nson. And he begged the Governor to take his property if he would or to\ndo what he chose to his person, but to spare an innocent boy who had\ndone no harm or wrong of any kind.\n\nGessler, however, was inexorable, and he mocked Tell with the utmost\ncruelty, telling him that such a mark should be easy for one whose fame\nas a bowman had traveled through all Switzerland, as Tell's had done.\n\n\"And mark well my words,\" said Gessler. \"See that you hit the apple,\nfor if you miss it, even by a hair's breadth, then you shall die and\nthe boy with you.\"\n\nA groan went through the crowd that had assembled as Gessler spoke\nthese words. But young William himself was not afraid and went bravely\nto the tree where he was to stand and with his own hand put the apple\non his head.\n\n\"Shoot, father, why do you hesitate?\" he cried. \"Well do I know that\nyou will hit the apple.\"\n\nWith a shudder Tell took his crossbow and drew two arrows from his\nquiver. Then holding his breath he aimed at the living mark.\n\nThe bowstring twanged. The arrow, like a flash of lightning, split the\napple in two halves and imbedded itself in the tree trunk. Tell had\ntriumphed and the deed was accomplished. Turning to Gessler and taking\nhis boy by the hand Tell asked leave to go his way, now that his order\nhad been obeyed.\n\nBut Gessler was determined to slay Tell and was only seeking some\npretext for getting him into his power.\n\n\"Not so fast,\" said the crafty governor, while he eyed the bow with\nwhich Tell had so bravely performed the cruel operation. \"Tell me, my\nshrewd archer, who does not hesitate to aim at his own flesh and blood,\nwhy did you draw two arrows from your quiver instead of one?\"\n\nTell drew himself to his full height and, captive as he was, the\nGovernor quailed beneath his glance.\n\n\"The second arrow was for _you_ in case I had struck my son!\" said Tell\nfiercely. \"If so much as a drop of his blood had been drawn, my second\nbolt would have been lodged in your false heart.\"\n\n\"Bind him!\" shouted Gessler, overjoyed that Tell had delivered himself\ninto his hands. \"In my own castle it shall be decided what sort of\ndeath and torture he shall suffer.\" And with Tell led between two\nhorsemen the Governor's retinue went to the shore of the lake to cross\nto the castle where he made his home.\n\nWhen the boat was well out in the lake, however, the same terrible wind\nthat so often blew upon its waters arose with the swiftness of a\nthunderclap and threatened to overwhelm them all. Tell lay bound in the\nboat, calmly watching what he could see of the storm, when one of the\nGovernor's servants told him that Tell himself was the most skilful\nboatman in that part of the country and the only one who could save\nthem from the waves that threatened each minute to swamp them.\n\nAt this Tell's bonds were cut and he was ordered by the Governor to\ntake his place at the helm and guide the boat to shore, and Gessler\nadded that if he brought it safely in it would serve to lessen the\npunishment that he planned to inflict upon him.\n\nTell did as he was ordered and took the tiller. And by his skilful\nguidance the craft gradually drew near to shore.\n\nBut Tell had planned shrewdly as he guided the boat and he gradually\ndrew it toward a ledge of rock that was greatly feared by all the\nboatmen of the lake. When the boat was directly beneath the rock Tell\nwaited until a wave flung the boat on high and seizing his crossbow and\narrows he sprang from the gunwale, landed on the rock and disappeared\ninto the forest.\n\nGessler was enraged at Tell's escape, but he and his party had all they\ncould do to save their lives from the fury of the lake. At last, more\nby luck than skill, they drew the craft into smoother waters and he and\nhis retinue were saved.\n\nTell, however, had formed a stern purpose while fleeing through the\nforest. He knew that his own life and that of his son and perhaps of\nhis entire family would be lost if Gessler lived, for the Governor\nwould certainly send soldiers to take and slay him. So Tell resolved to\nslay the governor with the same crossbow with which he had shot the\napple from his son's head.\n\nHe waited in the woods on the edge of a ravine through which Gessler\nmust pass on the way to his castle at Kussnacht, for no other way led\nthere; and when the Governor's escort finally appeared, Tell aimed his\nbow, the arrow hissed from the string and imbedded itself squarely in\nGessler's heart. The deed was accomplished surely and with skill, and\nthe Swiss would suffer no more from the heavy hand of the tyrant\nGessler.\n\nThis act rang through Switzerland, and everywhere people were soon in\nrevolt against the power of Austria. And the ultimate result of the\naction of William Tell was in the end the freedom of the Swiss people\nfrom the oppression of Austria. And throughout Switzerland the name of\nWilliam Tell is revered to this day and there are statues in his honor,\nwhile many a legend has been born in his name and many a great writer\nhas celebrated his deeds.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIII\n\nDON QUIXOTE\n\n\nIn the year 1605 a Spanish author named Cervantes wrote the story of a\nlean and elderly gentleman named Don Quixote who had the strangest\nattack of madness in the world. For this Don Quixote, who lived in La\nMancha in Spain, lost his mind through reading books of chivalry, and\nhe so stuffed his poor weak brain with preposterous tales of knights\nand giants that at last he thought he must take horse and armor and\nride through Spain righting wrongs and doing battle with all that\nopposed him.\n\nNow this fancy of Don Quixote's was just as ridiculous as it would be\nto-day to go in search of Indians upon the streets of New York or other\nAmerican cities,--for at the time when he lived there were no knights,\nnor had there been any for a great many years. The people were honest\npeasants and burghers who made their living much in the fashion that we\ndo to-day, and had forgotten all about the idle tales of dragons and of\nknights that rode armed through the forests. But none the less Don\nQuixote had so addled his mind with stories of bygone times that he\nmust needs become a knight without any delay.\n\nIn the attic of his house he found an old suit of rusty armor that had\nbelonged to his grandfather, and he scoured this until it shone like\nsilver. He found a helmet too, and as only part of it remained he\nrepaired it with strips of pasteboard. Then he took an old and worn out\nhorse whose ribs stuck out from his hide and who was more used to\nhauling vegetables than to warlike adventures, and he called the horse\nby the high sounding name of \"Rocinante,\" and really believed that the\nsenile old animal was a greater charger than Bucephalus, the famous\nhorse that bore the conqueror, Alexander.\n\nWith his armor, a sword, a lance and a horse, all that remained for Don\nQuixote was to have a fair lady to do bold deeds for, whose colors he\ncould wear on his lance when going into battle. A peasant girl lived\nnear his house whose name was Aldonca Lorenso, a fat girl of squat\nfigure and broad shoulders who smelled of onions, strong enough to\ncarry a sack of potatoes on her head. And Don Quixote decided that she\nmust be his lady fair, and he called her by the high sounding name of\nDulcinea del Toboso, ready to uphold the marvelous beauty that he alone\nbelieved that she possessed, by doing battle with any man in Spain who\nshould deny it.\n\nEarly one morning in the hottest part of the summer Don Quixote arose,\nput on his armor, took his shield and lance and saddled Rocinante.\nThen, climbing into the saddle as nimbly as his old and rheumatic\njoints would allow, he rode forth in quest of adventures. After riding\nall day, he approached an inn that his disordered brain transformed\nbefore his eyes into a castle of goodly size, and riding up to the inn\ndoor he spoke to two peasant girls who were sitting there, calling them\ngreat ladies and saying that he would do all that they should ask of\nhim and protect them with his weapons.\n\nThe girls could not understand his talk, and viewing his strange\nappearance had all that they could do to withhold their laughter, but\nseeing that he looked tired and worn they asked if he would like\nsomething to eat, and on his assenting they took him into the inn and\nspread supper before him. Don Quixote took off his armor, but he could\nnot get off his helmet which he had tied firmly on his neck with green\nribbons, and sooner than cut these he left his helmet on, so that it\nwas necessary for one of the girls to feed him with a spoon, and to\ngive him wine by pouring it into his mouth through a hollow cane that\nthe innkeeper prepared for this strange purpose.\n\nAfter supper Don Quixote decided that he must mount guard over his suit\nof armor, spending the small hours in prayer and vigilance, in order to\nbecome a knight, and putting it by the well in the courtyard of the\ninn, he stood beside it, leaning on his sword. This caused great\ninconvenience to all the guests and servants at the inn, for so\nfiercely did he guard it that he allowed nobody to draw water from the\nwell and knocked down a peasant who approached with pails, threatening\nto slay him. Whereupon the peasant's comrades, standing at a safe\ndistance, pelted Don Quixote with stones.\n\n[Illustration: DON QUIXOTE SUFFERED NOBODY TO DRAW WATER FROM THE WELL]\n\nAll this did not please the innkeeper, and he thought of some way to\nquiet the madman. At last he came up to Don Quixote and told him that\nhe would now make him a knight--a ceremony that the poor crazy\ngentleman believed he must go through before he had any right to wander\nabout the country righting the wrongs of the people. And as Don Quixote\ntook the innkeeper for a great nobleman, he only felt pleased and\nflattered at the offer and prepared to accept it without delay.\n\nThen the innkeeper took Don Quixote into the barn, a small boy brought\na candle and the two girls who had fed Don Quixote came in giggling to\nsee the ceremony. And the innkeeper pretended to read something from\nhis day book, in which he kept accounts of hay and grain; and bidding\nDon Quixote to kneel struck him a resounding smack with the flat of the\nsword between the shoulder blades. Then one of the girls, still\ngiggling, tied the sword about Don Quixote's middle, and said to him:\n\"Good sir, may you be a fortunate knight and meet success in all your\nadventures.\" And in this way the ceremony of knighting the poor man was\nconcluded.\n\nNearly bursting with joy Don Quixote rode away from the inn--where he\nhad neglected to pay for his board and lodging. And on his way an\nactual adventure did befall him for he came upon a sturdy peasant\nbeating a boy who was tied to a tree.\n\nWith a loud voice Don Quixote bade him desist at once and on seeing the\nstrange armed figure with sword and lance that threatened him, the man\nstood gaping with amazement. He explained that he was beating his boy\nfor laziness, but the boy complained that his master had not paid him\nthe wages due him.\n\n\"Pay them at once,\" thundered Don Quixote. \"Woe betide the man who does\nnot give heed to my orders.\" Without further parley he rode off,\nwhereupon the man tied the boy again to the tree and gave him so severe\na beating that he left him for dead. And in this way Don Quixote\nrighted the first wrong that he encountered.\n\nHaving no money or clean clothes he returned home to get these things,\nand when he sallied forth a second time he took with him a simple\ncountry fellow named Sancho Panza, who was so very stupid that he did\nnot understand his master's madness at all but really believed a number\nof the wild tales that Don Quixote told him, notably one about an\nisland of which Don Quixote planned to make him governor. And with\nSancho following at his heels on a donkey Don Quixote commenced riding\nup and down the countryside looking for adventures.\n\nIn the course of their travels many adventures befell them, for the\ndisordered brain of the old knight errant transformed the happenings of\nevery day life into the scenes that he had read of in his wild romances\nof chivalry. One day, as he and Sancho Panza were riding along the\nroad, talking of the island that Sancho was to govern when Don Quixote\nshould have won it by the power of his sword, they came upon thirty or\nforty old-fashioned windmills that were flourishing their sail-clad\nwooden arms with every breeze that blew.\n\n\"By my faith!\" exclaimed Don Quixote, \"here are a group of giants that\nI mean to destroy, and with the money we gain from them we will start\non our great fortunes, for I certainly shall kill them all and give you\nsome of the gold in payment for your services.\"\n\n\"Where are the giants?\" asked the puzzled Sancho Panza in amazement.\n\n\"There, straight ahead of us, brandishing their arms in anger,\" shouted\nDon Quixote. \"Let us attack them instantly.\"\n\n\"But, Master,\" cried Sancho Panza, \"those are not giants but windmills\nthat turn their arms with the breeze. Have a care how you approach them\nor they will unhorse you.\"\n\n\"They are giants,\" insisted Don Quixote. \"If you are afraid, go home\nand I will battle with them alone.\"\n\nAnd driving home his spurs into the bony flanks of Rocinante he charged\nthe windmills so furiously that his lance was shivered in the arms of\nthe first of them and he and his horse after being hurled in the air\nwere thrown stunned and bruised upon the ground.\n\nSancho Panza hurried to help the poor mad knight who could not move, so\ngreat had been the force with which he had fallen, and coming to\nhimself Don Quixote sat up and seeing the windmills declared that an\nenchanter had put a spell on the giants and changed them into that\nform,--but nevertheless, he continued, the enchanter's wiles would\nprove to be weak against his own stout will and strong right arm and he\nwould triumph over his enemies.\n\nSoon after that they came upon a company consisting of two friars of\nthe order of St. Benedict and a coach and retinue that was taking a\nlady to the City of Seville, and seeing them Don Quixote declared that\nthe friars were enchanters who were carrying the lady off against her\nwill. Setting his lance in rest he galloped against them with such\nforce that if the one that met his charge had not thrown himself to the\nground he would certainly have been killed, while the other, seeing how\nhis companion had fared, took to his heels as fast as possible.\n\nSancho Panza, when he saw the friar lying on the road, ran up to him\nand soon would have stripped him of his clothes but some of the\nservants hastened up and demanded what he was doing.\n\n\"These clothes belong to me by right of conquest,\" said Sancho. \"My\nmaster has overthrown in fair combat him that owned them.\"\n\nThe servants, knowing nothing of the laws of chivalry, fell on Sancho\nwith their cudgels, belabored him lustily and plucked his beard out in\nhandfuls, leaving the unfortunate fellow lying on the ground in far\nworse plight than the friar.\n\nIn the meantime Don Quixote was talking to the lady in the coach to\nwhom he swore eternal devotion. He told her that since he had rescued\nher from the enchanters she must return to the town of Toboso and tell\nthe lady Dulcinea what he had done and the glorious feat of arms he had\nperformed in Dulcinea's name. But at this a Biscayan Squire rode up and\ntold Don Quixote to leave at once or he would soon be unable to perform\nany more glorious feats because he would promptly be slain.\n\nAnd a combat began between Don Quixote and the Biscayan that nearly\nended in the death of the latter, for in spite of the carriage cushion\nthat the squire used as a shield, Don Quixote struck him such a\ntremendous blow that he fell from his horse and lay as dead on the\nground. But the crazy knight had not come unharmed from the fight, for\npart of his ear was cut away by the sword of the Biscayan. And telling\nthe astonished lady to take the Biscayan with her to Toboso, Don\nQuixote remounted and rode away with Sancho Panza.\n\nFor the cure of his ear Don Quixote had in mind a wonderful balsam made\nof wine, oil, rosemary and salt, and he talked much with Sancho about\nthe marvelous properties of this nauseous compound. On the way to an\ninn, however, he had another fight, this time with some carriers he\npassed in the course of his journey, and both he and Sancho were well\nbeaten again.\n\nAs the poor knight could not move after his last battle Sancho threw\nhim across the back of Rocinante and led the horse until they came to\nan inn, where the innkeeper's wife, being kind hearted, dressed Don\nQuixote's wounds and put him to bed. And here Don Quixote tried his\nwonderful balsam and Sancho also, and both of them were made ill by the\nhorrible dose that rudely greeted their stomachs.\n\nWhen they came to leave the inn they had no money to pay the reckoning.\nDon Quixote mounted Rocinante and rode away, but Sancho was held by the\ninnkeeper for payment. And calling a number of rude fellows the\ninnkeeper took his revenge upon the crazy knight by the mistreatment of\nSancho Panza who was tossed in a blanket until the company could toss\nhim no more for weariness and the laughter that his absurd plight awoke\nin them.\n\nAfter this Don Quixote had many ridiculous adventures. Among them was\nan attack he made upon an inoffensive barber who happened to be\ncarrying a brass basin for his trade that Don Quixote believed to be an\nenchanted helmet. After capturing the basin Don Quixote proceeded to\nwear it in place of his steel casque. He called it Mambrino's Helmet,\nand his appearance in ancient armor with a basin on his head made him\nappear madder than ever.\n\nOne day he chanced to meet a group of Spanish convicts who had been\nconvicted for their crimes and were being taken to the galleys as a\npunishment. After questioning them and learning that they were being\nled away against their will Don Quixote fell on the guards who were\nescorting them and attacked them so fiercely that he put them to flight\nand set free the convicts. These, however, returned his kindness by a\nshower of stones. They then fell upon him and stripped him of much of\nhis clothing, leaving, however, the armor which was of no use to them,\nand so they left him.\n\nNow the curate and the barber of the town where Don Quixote lived were\nmuch concerned on account of the madness of their old friend, for they\nloved Don Quixote for his high spirit and his gentle ways when the most\nviolent fits of madness were not upon him. And so they set forth to try\nand entice him to return to his home again where they hoped that\ndoctors could cure him of his delusions.\n\nTo accomplish their ends they engaged the services of a young lady of\ngreat beauty who represented to Don Quixote that she was a princess\ndespoiled of her kingdom, and that he must rescue her lands from the\npower of a great and sour-faced giant that held them.\n\nThe curate and the barber had disguised themselves before they met Don\nQuixote so that he might not recognize them and guess their design.\nThey found him half stripped of his clothing and doing penance for the\nbeautiful Dulcinea in his shirt and drawers. He was engaged in a\nuseless fast in the wilderness where he cut many ridiculous capers and\nwas almost starved into the bargain. Sancho, he had sent away with a\nletter to Dulcinea, but Sancho returned with the curate and the barber\nand the young lady and together they tricked the mad knight into\nreturning in the direction of his native village.\n\nOn their way, however, they stopped at an inn where yet another\nadventure was to befall Don Quixote, for dreaming of the giant from\nwhom he was to rescue the lady's kingdom he attacked with his sword two\nwine skins that were in his room and flooded his apartment with red\nwine.\n\nBefore he could be taken home, however, his madness broke out on him so\nviolently that still another scheme had to be employed. His friends,\ndisguised, crept into his chamber and tied him hand and foot. Then the\npoor knight was placed in a wooden cage and borne home behind two oxen.\n\nOf the many adventures that Don Quixote encountered, how he broke away\nfrom home once more and how his Squire Sancho actually did become the\nruler of an island for a brief period, it is impossible to write here.\nBut the name of Don Quixote, through the marvelous writer who created\nthis character, has become known throughout the world, and stands\nto-day as the symbol for high ideals and self-sacrifice that are\ncarried to the point of madness and utter folly.\n\nCervantes had still another design in creating Don Quixote than to make\nan amusing story, for he intended to bring into ridicule and disrepute\nthe old-fashioned stories of chivalry with which Spain was filled at\nthe time he lived. And he succeeded so well that since his day not\nanother one has been written.","title":"A Treasury of Heroes and Heroines: A Record of High Endeavour and Strange Adventure from 500 B.C. to 1920 A.D.","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":115429}