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diff --git a/25652.txt b/25652.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..06587e4 --- /dev/null +++ b/25652.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11887 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, A Treasury of Heroes and Heroines, by Clayton +Edwards, Illustrated by Florence Choate and Elizabeth Curtis + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: A Treasury of Heroes and Heroines + A Record of High Endeavour and Strange Adventure from 500 B.C. to 1920 A.D. + + +Author: Clayton Edwards + + + +Release Date: May 30, 2008 [eBook #25652] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A TREASURY OF HEROES AND +HEROINES*** + + +E-text prepared by Mark C. Orton and the Project Gutenberg Online +Distributed Proofreading Team (https://www.pgdp.net) + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 25652-h.htm or 25652-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/5/6/5/25652/25652-h/25652-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/5/6/5/25652/25652-h.zip) + + + + + +A TREASURY OF HEROES AND HEROINES + +A Record of High Endeavour and Strange Adventure +from 500 B.C. to 1920 A.D. + +by + +CLAYTON EDWARDS +Author of "The Story of Evangeline" + +Illustrated in Colour by Florence Choate and Elizabeth Curtis + + + + + + + +[Illustration: JEANNE D'ARC DREW THE ARROW FROM HER BREAST WITH THE +COURAGE OF A VETERAN--_See page 100_] + + + +Cupples and Leon Company +New York + +Copyright, 1920, by Frederick A. Stokes Company + +All rights reserved. No part of this +work may be reproduced without the +written permission of the publishers + +Printed in the United States of America + + + + +PREFACE + + +It would be pleasant indeed to gather the characters of this book +together and listen to the conversation of wholly different but +interested couples--for this is a book of contrasts and has been +written as such. Lives of the most dramatic and adventurous quality +have been gathered from all corners of the earth, and from every age in +history, in such a way that they may cover the widest possible variety +of human experience. + +The publishers believe that such a book would not be complete without +some characters that are no less real because they have lived only in +the minds of men. No explanation is needed for semi-historical +characters like King Arthur, Robin Hood and William Tell, while Don +Quixote, the Prince of Madness, and Rip Van Winkle, the Prince of +Laziness, have been included, not because they were essentially heroic +in themselves (although Don Quixote might well have claimed the laurel) +but because they became heroes in the opinion of others through the +very qualities that brought about their downfall. As involuntary +heroes, they furnish a pleasant contrast to the more serious, actual +and transcendental figures of saints, martyrs, warriors, discoverers +and statesmen with which these pages are filled; they enrich the +"Treasury," widen its range of colors and perform the necessary +function of court jesters in the Hall of Fame. + + + + +CONTENTS + + +HEROES OF REALITY + +CHAPTER PAGE + + I BUDDHA 1 + + II JULIUS CAESAR 12 + + III SAINT PATRICK 26 + + IV KING ARTHUR OF BRITAIN 33 + + V MOHAMMED 42 + + VI ALFRED THE GREAT 52 + + VII ROBIN HOOD 65 + + VIII SAINT ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY 72 + + IX DANTE 80 + + X ROBERT BRUCE 89 + + XI JEANNE D'ARC 100 + + XII CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 114 + + XIII WILLIAM THE SILENT 127 + + XIV QUEEN ELIZABETH OF ENGLAND 137 + + XV SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 146 + + XVI HENRY HUDSON 156 + + XVII PETER THE GREAT 165 + + XVIII GEORGE WASHINGTON 172 + + XIX JOHN PAUL JONES 187 + + XX MOLLY PITCHER 196 + + XXI NAPOLEON BONAPARTE 201 + + XXII GIUSEPPE GARIBALDI 216 + + XXIII ABRAHAM LINCOLN 223 + + XXIV GRACE DARLING 236 + + XXV FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE 241 + + XXVI FATHER DAMIEN 248 + + XXVII CATHERINE BRESHKOVSKY 254 + +XXVIII THEODORE ROOSEVELT 262 + + XXIX EDITH CAVELL 272 + + XXX KING ALBERT OF BELGIUM 278 + + XXXI MARIA BOTCHKAREVA 286 + + +HEROES OF FICTION + + XXXII WILLIAM TELL 297 + +XXXIII DON QUIXOTE 304 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + +"Jeanne d'Arc drew the arrow from her breast with the + courage of a veteran" _Frontispiece_ + + FACING PAGE + +"King Arthur grasped the magic sword that none but the bravest + might hold" 36 + +"Robin Hood's band made merry by killing the King's deer" 68 + +"'I have not yet begun to fight,' shouted Paul Jones" 188 + +"The cannon balls fired by Molly Pitcher fell squarely in the + British lines" 196 + +"Don Quixote suffered nobody to draw water from the well" 276 + + + + +A TREASURY OF HEROES AND HEROINES + + + + +CHAPTER I + +BUDDHA + + +About five hundred years before the birth of Christ a mighty king +reigned in India over the land of the Sakyas, from which the snowy tops +of the Himalaya Mountains could be seen. His name was Suddhodana and he +had two wives called Maya and Pajapati; but for a long time they bore +him no children, and the King despaired of having an heir to his +throne. Then Queen Maya bore a son and after he was born, the legends +tell us, she had a dream in which she saw a great multitude of people +bowing to her in worship. Wise men were summoned to interpret the +dream, and they told her that the King's son, so golden in color and so +well formed, was destined for greatness as surely as rivers ran to the +sea--that he would become either a mighty conqueror who would subdue +all the people of the earth, or a holy saint, a "Buddha" (the word for +one enlightened) who would have more power over the minds of men than +the mightiest conqueror could gain over their bodies. + +All this was confirmed in the minds of the wise men on account of the +wonderful portents that took place at the birth of the child: flowers +bloomed in barren places and springs gushed from dry rock on the day +when the Prince was born. He was named by the King, "Siddartha,"--a +word meaning one who always succeeds in what he undertakes--and because +of the portents at his birth the King himself bowed down to his own son +and did him homage. + +Now the King desired greatly that the first of the two prophecies +should come to pass. He wished the Prince to be a conqueror, not a +Buddha, and extend the power of the Sakyas by the sword through every +part of the world. And he did everything in his power to bring this end +about and to weaken the possibility that his son should ever be a holy +man. + +When the child was still very young a further prophecy was made to the +King--namely that the Prince would only become a Buddha after he had +seen four common sights which for him would be four omens--an old man, +a sick man, a dead man and a holy man in the yellow robe of a beggar. +Then and then only, said the prophecy, the Prince would leave his +country; furthermore, if he remained at home for a certain length of +time he would never leave at all, but would turn all his attention to +the art of war, and his armies would sweep over the face of the earth +like a devouring flame. + +The King summoned his counsellors. He commanded them to make sure that +no sick men or old men, no funeral escorts or beggars should ever be +allowed on the streets of the city when the Prince was passing. All +ugly sights were to be kept from him; he was to be surrounded with such +pleasures and such beauties that he would never desire to leave his +home; he was to know nothing of the meaning of death; poverty was to be +hidden; suffering and sorrow of all sorts were to be concealed in his +presence. In these ways, thought the King, any desire to be a priest +would be stifled in the Prince, and he would at last become a mighty +conqueror as the prophecy had foretold. + +In pleasure and luxury, surrounded by beautiful attendants, fed on the +most delicious viands, hearing no sounds save music, laughter and the +voices of delight, Prince Siddartha passed his boyhood. The King +allowed him to study under wise men (who taught him only the most +carefully prepared lessons), and it was notable that he easily learned +all that was imparted to him and in a short time appeared to be wiser +than his instructors. It was notable too that he possessed +extraordinary skill at arms, for the King sent to him also the keenest +archers and the mightiest swordsmen in his dominions, to teach him the +art of war. These men whispered to each other that no more terrible +warrior had ever been born than Siddartha, who soon was more than a +match for the best of them and whose strength in comparison with theirs +was as three to one. + +When a young man the Prince was married to his cousin Yasodhara. His +mother had died in his earliest childhood, but that sad event took +place too early for him to remember. Now he was happy in the possession +of the most beautiful wife in all his father's dominions, for Yasodhara +had been chosen for him on account of her great loveliness as well as +for her sunny and gracious nature. Truly in all the history of the +world no son of fortune had more in the way of love, treasure, beauty, +and all things that make for happiness than the blessed Prince +Siddartha! + +Up to his twenty-ninth year no sorrowful sight had come before his +eyes, and he knew nothing of Death, Sickness or Old Age. Then, however, +he stepped into his chariot one day to visit the pleasure grounds of +the city, and on his way thither an old man ran across the street and +fell in front of the horses and barely escaped death. Siddartha was +startled at the sunken eyes, the wrinkled yellow cheeks and the gray +locks of an old man, and turning to his attendant asked him what +terrible misfortune had brought such a fate upon a fellow creature. And +the attendant, inspired, we are told, by Heavenly spirits, said to the +Prince that what he had seen was nothing but old age and the lot of all +men--a lot to which he himself and the Prince with him must surely come +in time. + +Sadly the Prince rode back to the Palace with his appetite for pleasure +spoiled for the day, and when his father heard what had taken place he +was greatly alarmed, for the first of the omens had now been fulfilled. + +It was not long before Siddartha looked also on Sickness. Try as he +might the King could not keep sorrowful sights from the eyes of his son +any longer. One day as the Prince went out behind his splendid horses, +a man, writhing in the agony of disease, lay by the roadside, and the +Prince was told that he suffered from some complaint of the body such +as all men are heir to. And again he returned to the Palace more sad at +heart than on the occasion when he had seen Old Age. + +When the Prince next went to drive in his chariot another terrible +sight met his eyes. He beheld a still form carried upon a bier and +asked his companion what it might be. He was told that he was now in +the presence of Death, who came at last for all men, cutting them off +from their friends and relatives and bearing them away, none knew +whither. And the Prince returned to the Palace in deeper sadness than +ever. Of what worth were all the joys that surrounded him if they were +to be taken from him after he had learned to love them, and how might a +man take pleasure in Love and Life if these were to be snatched away as +soon as he had grown to realize their full value? The Prince could no +longer take delight in the pleasures that surrounded him, or even in +the love of his wife, who was about to bear him a child. And he was +sick at heart with the fear that he would lose the things that he +loved. + +When the King heard that three of the four omens had been fulfilled, he +trembled with apprehension and stationed guards at all the city gates +to intercept the Prince should he fly from home; for now that the +prophecy had so far been fulfilled the King was sure it would soon be +completed. Nevertheless he sent his soldiers to scour the streets for +beggars and holy men and drive them away from the city. + +Only a few days afterward, the Prince again went forth in his chariot +just as a beggar in yellow robes approached the walls. There was an +expression of great peace upon the beggar's countenance, and he seemed +far happier than the Prince himself. Siddartha asked the attendant who +the man might be and what he did, and he received the reply that the +stranger was a priest and sought happiness through giving up all the +joys of the earth and begging his bread from door to door--and it +seemed to the Prince as though a great light had suddenly burst through +the clouds of his unhappiness, and he knew that he too must give up his +palace and his pleasures, his wife and his future child and fare forth +as a priest. Surely, thought the Prince, all the things that he enjoyed +were no better than wraiths of mist that rose from the river in the +morning, since like the mist they were forever changing, and must +surely be terminated in sickness, old age or death itself; and he +resolved to search for things more lasting than the happiness and +pleasure of his youth. + +He also resolved to leave his kingdom and become a beggar in a foreign +land, attempting to find through fasting and contemplation the truth +that must lie behind the changing forms of life, for he knew well that +there must be some deep cause for all the things that he had witnessed +and some impelling force behind the universe. Otherwise the whole earth +and all that was in it and all things that breathed upon its bosom +would be idle and wicked delusions. And the Prince knew too that in him +lay the power to discover the truth if he should search for it +diligently and give his whole heart and mind to this one purpose. + +Just then a messenger came to him telling him that his wife had borne +him a son. On hearing this the Prince cried out that he wished it were +otherwise, for his new-born son would be a hindrance to his design and +an added bond that he must tear from his heart before he could go away. + +That night, however, when all lay sleeping the Prince and one faithful +servant made their way secretly from the Palace. It had strangely come +to pass, perchance through the work of spirits, that all the guards at +the Palace and the city gates were asleep, and the two went forth +unhindered, riding on horse-back; and they spurred their horses to the +utmost so when the morning came they would be far away. Then the Prince +gave his attendant, who was named Channa, all the money and jewels that +he possessed and told him to return to the Palace and tell the King +that he, the Prince, had gone forth in search of enlightenment and +would some day become a Buddha. + +When Channa departed, the Prince gave his fine clothes to a beggar who +was passing and took in return the beggar's faded yellow robe, and he, +who had been used to all the luxuries of the Court, went from door to +door begging his food and eating the bitter bread of poverty. + +He crossed the river called the Ganges and came at last to a city named +Rajagha. And here he soon attracted attention because his appearance +and mien were so noble that even his coarse clothes and his new way of +life could not disguise him. He called himself a prince no longer, but +instead took the name of Gotama, this being one of the names of the +family from which he sprang. + +In course of time the King of the new country where the Prince was +begging his bread and meditating on Life and Death desired to see the +holy man of whom he had heard much talk, and he offered the Prince +lands and riches. But the Prince told him that he had already laid +aside far greater riches than these, and that nothing in life mattered +to him except his quest for the truth, which one day he would surely +find. And the King, whose name was Bimbasara, asked him when he had +found the truth to return and teach it to the people of his +country--and this the Prince promised to do. + +For a long time the Prince lived in a cave not far from Rajagha and +studied the faith of India as it was then taught, but his studies +brought him no nearer to gaining the truth. So he went into the +wilderness, where, he believed, fasting and meditation might bring him +the things he sought. + +He traveled southward for many miles and entered the very heart of the +great Indian jungle, teeming with poisonous snakes and filled with +savage beasts. Here he prayed and fasted, seeking enlightenment; and he +carried out his fasts with such severity that he nearly died as a +result of them. + +While in the jungle the Prince met five other holy men who were so much +impressed with his fasts and his thoughtful demeanor that they became +his disciples. But when he ceased to fast because he did not come any +nearer the truth by going hungry, these disciples left him, believing +that he had strayed from the path of the truth and never would gain the +enlightenment he sought. + +After several years the Prince left the jungle and commenced traveling +through the country, begging his food wherever he happened to be. And +now he was close to gaining the vision that he so greatly desired, for +without his knowledge his years of thought and of self-denial had borne +their fruit. + +One day, bitterly discouraged, and heartsick with his many failures and +temptations, he seated himself beneath a peepul tree with the firm +resolve that he would not stir from the spot until he gained the truth +that he sought. And while he sat there, the legends tell us, he was +assailed by all the powers of darkness and evil, and devils crowded +upon him so thickly that they darkened the sky and threw all Nature +into convulsions in which the earth shook and the air was filled with +thunder. All night the Prince sat motionless and all through the night +the evil forces strove to turn him from the truth that they knew he was +about to achieve. In the morning they departed, and the Prince as he +sat, saw flowers spring up and blossom all around him with miraculous +swiftness. The air seemed purer than ever before, the sun was +wonderfully bright and a peaceful serenity seemed to enfold the entire +earth. And when night came and the stars awoke, the truth for which the +Prince had been seeking flowed into his soul. He had indeed become a +Buddha. + +Gone were the temptations and the sorrows in a divine peace--a peace +that became the reward of all disciples of the religion that he +founded. This peace was called by him Nirvana and his disciples say he +is the only man who attained it in his lifetime, for Nirvana is +supposed to come only to the spirits of the dead, who have purified +themselves not in one life, but in many. In Buddha's belief (for as +Buddha we shall now know him), human beings live many times and receive +the reward or the punishment of past existences in those that follow. +This belief is known as "the transmigration of souls." It is the +foundation of the faith of Buddha which is believed in to-day by +millions of persons in India and China, as well as in other countries. + +In the truth that Buddha had acquired he learned many things. Chief of +them, as he believed, are four great facts of life and nature from +which the soul cannot escape--that there will always be sorrow and +suffering in the world; that these are caused by clinging to things +that are always changing or dying; that the only way to obtain peace is +to renounce these things and care for them no longer; and that the only +way to live is to walk in the paths of righteousness, honesty, virtue, +and to believe in the Buddhist faith. + +Buddha also believed that animals have souls just as men do, and that +by some good action these animal souls become the souls of men. Then +the souls go through many existences. If they are righteous they +approach the peace of Nirvana, which is attainable only when they are +entirely purified; if they are unrighteous they are cast down again +into lower forms of life and once more have to struggle upward toward +the truth. There is no escape from the consequences of sin in the +Buddhist faith. Just so certainly as a man sins he will be punished for +it--if not in this life in the next one--and if his sin is sufficiently +deadly he will lose again the form of a man and return to the shape of +a snake or a lizard to expiate his wickedness through countless +generations. + +Heaven and Hell have a place in the belief of Buddha also. They are +different from the Heaven and Hell that Christians know because in the +Buddhist religion they are only temporary abodes for the spirit between +its many existences on earth. + +When his new faith had come to him, Buddha left the jungle to preach it +to mankind. On his way he met the five disciples that had deserted him +and he told them that the truth had indeed come to him and that he was +now a Buddha. After they heard him preach they were converted, and +after three months the number of Buddha's disciples had increased to +sixty, who, like himself, gave all their worldly possessions to assume +the garments of beggars and ask for their bread from door to door. + +Buddha then told his disciples that they must go in different +directions and teach all that desired to learn. He himself went back to +Rajagha where King Bimbasara, who desired to know the truth, was +living. And he preached to King Bimbasara and converted him, and the +King presented Buddha with a bamboo grove in which he might hold his +assemblies and preach to the many thousands that now came to hear his +sermons. + +The fame of Buddha's teachings soon reached his native city and his +father, the old King Suddhodana, yearned to see the son who might have +been a great conqueror but who had chosen to be one of the most +enlightened teachers that the world has ever seen. So he sent a retinue +to greet Buddha and ask him to return to his native city. One thousand +men went forth upon this errand, but none returned, for all were +converted by Buddha and remained to listen to his teachings and then to +spread the faith themselves. Then King Suddhodana sent another +thousand, and these too remained with Buddha. At last, however, he sent +one messenger, the same Channa who had accompanied the Prince when he +left the city, and the faithful Channa bore the message to Buddha. + +Buddha decided to visit his father and see his family once more, for he +desired to bring the faith to the land of the Sakyas. With thousands of +his followers accompanying him he went to the royal city and met his +father without the walls. And the father's heart was heavy to see how +the son had changed, for Buddha was no longer young, strong and +handsome, but wrinkled and emaciated, with gray hair and a bent figure +from the hardships he had endured in many years of wandering and +preaching. + +Buddha would not enter the city of his countrymen but preached in a +banyan grove without the walls. And when he preached he converted many +of his former friends and relatives. His wife whom he had deserted and +who had grieved for him ever since, gained happiness once more, for she +too, became converted to the Buddhist faith, and entered the Buddhist +sisterhood, becoming a nun. Even the King himself was finally converted +by Buddha's teaching, and we are told that he too entered the faith and +became a disciple. The son that Buddha had only seen once when a day +old became a disciple also, and, when he had mastered the teachings of +Buddhism, was made a monk in the Buddhist order. + +Buddha lived to be eighty years old and all the rest of his life was +spent in traveling through the world and preaching the faith wherever +he went. The land that he visited most frequently lay on both sides of +the river Ganges and for thousands of years has been called the +Buddhist Holy Land. Wise men of all ages have believed in the faith as +he taught it, and even to-day and in modern European nations there are +those that profess to be of the Buddhist faith. + +The order of monks that was founded by Buddha is the oldest existing +religious order in the world. For nearly two thousand five hundred +years these monks have practised renunciation and high thinking and +have worn the yellow robes of the holy man and the beggar. + +Many tales and legends sprang up concerning Buddha even in his +lifetime. In fact it is only through legends that we know he was ever a +Prince at all. He had a marvelous faculty for controlling the anger of +wild beasts and once tamed an elephant that had killed many people, +simply by speaking to it in a quiet tone, at which the great animal, +which had been raging through the streets of Rajagha, followed him like +a dog. A tale of his great wisdom that is still told by his disciples, +is of a woman who had lost her child through Death and who came before +Buddha maddened with grief, begging him to bring the child back to life +or at least to provide some comfort from the sorrow that tortured her. +And Buddha told her to get mustard seed from a house that Death had +never visited and when she had done so to bring it to him and he would +bring the child back to life. + +The poor woman went from door to door asking if Death had visited +there, and in every home the answer was "yes!" Nowhere could she find a +house that was free from the blight of Death. Then the woman saw that +the only happiness lay in renouncing the ties that bound her to other +human beings and in seeking the peace of Nirvana, for Buddha had taken +this way of teaching her that Death is the common lot of all; and she +entered the Buddhist sisterhood and found there the happiness that she +sought. + +Buddha was supposed to have lived many times and there are many tales +of his deeds in previous lives. Some of them tell of happenings when he +was an animal and how he finally acquired the human form. Others tell +of his good deeds when his spirit had entered the human body but was +not yet ennobled sufficiently to become a Buddha. + +There are hundreds of such tales in the Buddhist faith. Some deal with +Buddha himself; some with his disciples. In all the stories, however, +the virtue of self-sacrifice and of renunciation is strongly painted. +It is the cornerstone of the Buddhist religion. + +When Buddha grew very old he called his disciples around him and +enjoined them to preach the faith after he had passed away for he knew +that at last the hand of Death was near. He died in a little town in +the depths of the jungle, and heavenly music sounded and the trees +burst into blossom as his spirit passed away. He was given a funeral +with all the honor due to a mighty king and after his body was burned, +eight cities requested a share of his ashes. These were placed in eight +great tombs, and the ruins can be seen to the present day. + +After the death of Buddha the religion that he preached rapidly spread +through Asia. To-day it is taught in very different forms in different +countries, and the Buddhism of Thibet in China has many elaborate +ceremonies attached to it that the Buddhism of India lacks completely. +Unlike most of the great religions of the world, Buddhism has never +been spread by the sword, but has crept into the minds of men through +its own power. And everywhere it is granted that Buddha was a great man +and a great teacher, and that many of the principles he taught are +second only to those included in the Christian faith. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +JULIUS CAESAR + + +Once in a great while a man is born with such a temper of brain and +will that he seems like a bright star among other men and can do things +easily that are impossible for others to accomplish. One hundred years +before the birth of Christ such a man was born in the city of Rome. His +name was Julius Caesar and he came from a long line of Roman noblemen +which ran back so far into history that it not only reached beyond the +beginning of Rome itself, but was believed to have sprung from the +goddess, Venus. Caesar's father died when he was little more than a boy +and his mother was partly responsible for the greatness that he later +maintained, for she strove constantly to develop in him those qualities +of mind and character that were an inheritance from his family, +although they were brought to far greater light in Caesar himself. +Little is known of Caesar's boyhood. It is probable that it was not very +different from that of other young Romans who belonged to the nobility, +or, as it was then called, the patrician class. He had a tutor named +Gnipho who was not a Roman by birth, but a Gaul--that is a man who came +from one of the less civilized tribes that lived to the north of Italy +in the country that is now called modern France--and received from him +the usual education. + +Apparently Caesar was not a prodigy when a young man, and there seemed +little to distinguish him from any other young nobleman who went about +the city in dandified apparel with hair oiled and perfumed,--but Caesar +had quietly made up his mind to be the first man in Rome and to surpass +all others in greatness. Occasionally he showed this resolution. And +once on his birthday, when passing the statue of the great conqueror, +Alexander, he wept because he had reached an age when Alexander had +conquered the entire world, while he, Caesar, as yet had done nothing. + +Rome, in Caesar's boyhood, was embroiled in civil war, and the leaders +of the Roman armies were constantly fighting among themselves. There +had been a great public man named Marius who championed the rights of +the common people, or the plebeians, and who was greatly loved by the +more humble men of Rome, but Marius had been overthrown by a fierce, +cruel nobleman named Sulla, who made himself the head of the Roman +State and slew every one who stood in his way. + +Here appeared the first sign that Caesar possessed the qualities of +greatness--for while still a young man, he dared to defy the terrible +Sulla. Caesar had just married Cornelia, the daughter of Cinna, and was +ordered by Sulla to divorce her. But he resolutely refused to allow the +word of the dictator to come between him and his wife, and was obliged +to leave Rome by night to escape Sulla's vengeance. He fled into +Samnium, but was followed there by Sulla's soldiers, taken prisoner and +brought back to Rome. And Sulla would certainly have put him to death +if some powerful men had not interceded for him and asked for his life. +"I will grant this boon," said Sulla, with a glance that made them +quail, "but take heed for this young man who wears his belt so +loosely," meaning that he saw in Caesar dangerous qualities that might +one day threaten the elaborate machine of Roman government. + +As all young Romans were obliged to serve in the army, and as Caesar was +not safe in Rome where Sulla at any time might send assassins to murder +him, he went to the far east where a Roman army was waging war against +a king named Mithridates. At the siege of a town called Mytelene Caesar +so distinguished himself for bravery that he won the civic crown, for +saving the life of a fellow soldier in the face of the enemy. + +When Sulla died, Caesar returned to Rome, and became one of the leaders +of the party that had been against Sulla and his government. And Caesar +did everything that he could think of to win power for himself and +damage Sulla's adherents. He became an orator and a lawyer and +prosecuted certain men who had misused the money of the people. But +although it was clearly proved by Caesar that these men were no better +than common thieves, the Roman senators and judges were so corrupt that +it was impossible for Caesar to have them punished as they deserved. + +Caesar was not discouraged, however. He believed that if he had been a +better orator the men would have been brought to justice in spite of +all the obstacles that stood in his path; so, on the advice of a friend +named Cicero, who was the greatest orator in the world at that time, he +started on a journey to Rhodes to study rhetoric under a great teacher +of that art named Appollonius Molo. + +Travel from Rome was as dangerous as going to war, for there were +bandits everywhere and the seas swarmed with pirates. And when Caesar +took ship to go to Rhodes, the pirates swarmed about his vessel and +took him prisoner. Because he was a nobleman and an important person +the pirates did not put him to death but demanded ransom for him. They +told Caesar the sum of money they had asked and he agreed to obtain it +for them, and haughtily told them that he was even greater than they +had supposed and worth three times the money they had demanded. So the +pirates trebled the amount called for, and told Caesar that if they did +not receive it he would be put to a cruel death, but he waited +unconcernedly; and while in the hands of the pirates he treated them +almost as companions and shared in their games and exercises. + +At times he even read to them poems and compositions of his own. But +the pirates did not understand the highflown Roman phrases and did not +give Caesar the applause that he believed his work had merited. + +"By the Gods," he said laughing, "you are ignorant barbarians, unfit to +live. When I am freed you had best look to yourselves, for I shall +return and nail you to the cross." + +The pirates were angered by these words, but they did not slay their +bold-tongued captive on account of the money they expected, and when +Caesar's ransom came he was set free. But, true to his word, the first +thing he did when set ashore was to gather some men and ships and +pursue them. Setting upon them with the swiftness of lightning he +killed a great number and took many prisoners. And the pirates then +found to their cost that he was a man of his word, for Caesar had every +prisoner crucified, as he had warned them he would do. + +He then continued his journey to Rhodes as if nothing had happened and +studied rhetoric under Molo; and so apt a pupil was he that in a very +short time he became an orator second only to Cicero himself. + +Rome was in great turmoil and confusion at this time, and the vice of +the men that ruled had weakened her power. There was a great revolt of +slaves not only at Rome but throughout Italy, and the slaves formed +into an army strong enough to defeat the Roman legions. + +The slaves barred the roads from Rome, captured their former masters +and made them fight as gladiators in the arena. They set towns afire, +killed women and children, plundered, murdered and cruelly ravaged the +country, until they were defeated in battle by two military leaders who +were sent against them--a rich man named Crassus, who was one of the +most powerful men in Rome, and a soldier named Pompey, who was +considered by the Romans to be one of the greatest generals that their +city had ever seen. + +While these things were being accomplished Caesar had finished his +course in rhetoric and returned to Rome, and made his plans to win a +glory greater than that of Pompey and Crassus, who were high in public +favor through their victory over the slaves. + +To succeed in Rome without money was impossible in those days, for +large sums had to be expended in bribery and in gaining the favor of +the idle and dissolute Roman people, who refused to work but demanded +to be amused at the expense of others, and would always follow the man +who treated them with the greatest display of liberality. So Caesar +borrowed huge sums of money which he planned to repay from the sums he +could gain when once he was elected to public offices. It is not to be +thought that Caesar always was honest and just, and it has already been +shown that sometimes he was heartless and cruel--but in his favor it +must be said that he never wantonly injured anybody, as so many others +did in the cruel times in which he lived--and that in all things, +except where his own power and future were concerned, he was merciful +and temperate. + +Caesar became an official known as quaestor, going to Spain in charge of +certain affairs pertaining to Roman government, and later on he was +made a curule aedile. + +In this office his generosity delighted the people. Caesar, with +borrowed riches, made a lavish display to ensure future political favor +at their hands, and was more magnificent than any of the aediles who had +preceded him. At one time he displayed in the arena three hundred and +twenty pairs of gladiators who fought with swords and spears and with +the net and trident,--and he would have brought in a greater number had +not the Senate feared to allow so many armed men in Rome at one time. +But Caesar did something else that delighted the people even more than +the show of the gladiators. One morning they beheld the statues of +Marius, that had been overthrown by Sulla, set up once more in their +old places, bright with gold and ornaments. Marius had been the +people's idol, and Caesar by this bold stroke gained much of the +popularity that had formerly been attached to that beloved leader. + +Another office that Caesar attempted to win was that of Pontifex +Maximus--that is, the High Priest and leader in all of the religious +ceremonies of the Romans, an office with great power and prestige and +the stepping stone to greater things by far. + +Caesar staked everything on winning this office and he increased his +debts, which were already enormous, amounting to hundreds of thousands +of dollars in our money, to bribe and flatter and make sure of enough +votes to win the election. He was so deeply in debt, he told his +mother, that in case he did not win the office he would be obliged to +leave Rome, never to return. But luck was on his side and he succeeded, +making his term as Pontifex Maximus notable by revising the Roman +calendar so thoroughly that, with only slight changes, it is used +to-day. + +Later on he was made Praetor, and by means of these various offices he +succeeded in becoming one of the leading men in Rome--although his +greatness was not yet as bright as that of Pompey, who had, as he said, +only to stamp his foot to fill Italy with soldiers. + +Then there befell in Rome what was known as the conspiracy of Catiline, +in which Caesar had a narrow escape from the intrigue and malice of the +noblemen who hated him because he was a foe of Sulla's and a champion +of the people. Catiline was a nobleman of violent temper and bad +reputation. With many companions he strove to win public office in +Rome, and plotted, if unsuccessful, to raise an army, set fire to the +city and place his party in power by rioting and violence. And under +Catiline's government Caesar, who probably knew nothing of the affair, +was to be elected to public office in the new government. + +The conspiracy was discovered, chiefly through the vigilance of Cicero, +who was Consul at the time. Catiline had fled from Rome and was raising +an army, but a number of the other plotters were arrested. The noblemen +who hated Caesar did everything in their power to have his name included +in the list of the conspirators, but Cicero resolutely refused to +believe that Caesar had been in league with them and would not press the +charges against him. Through the gifted oratory of Cicero, however, a +sentence of death was brought against all the prisoners, who were +promptly put to death in Cicero's presence. + +Caesar's wife, Cornelia, had died sometime before these events took +place, and Caesar had then married a relative of Pompey. At the festival +of Bona Dea, where only women were admitted, and which was held at +Caesar's house because he was Pontifex Maximus, a great scandal took +place owing to the fact that a young man, dressed in woman's clothes +was discovered hiding in the house while the festival was going on. +This bade fair to injure Caesar's name in the city, and partly on this +account he divorced his wife, Pompeia, saying that while nothing evil +had been proved against her, yet Caesar's wife must be above even the +breath of suspicion. + +After this Caesar went to Spain to govern that land for the Romans. +While there he had much military experience that helped him to become +one of the mightiest generals the world has ever seen, and in his +struggles against the wild, hill tribes he laid the seeds of success +for his later wars in Gaul,--wars in which he was to carry the Roman +eagles into lands that had only been known by hearsay and legend. + +When Caesar returned from Spain he did his utmost to cement the bonds of +friendship between himself and Pompey and Crassus--with Pompey, because +he was the greatest man in Rome and because Caesar hoped to rise through +his patronage,--with Crassus because he was possessed of fabulous +riches, that Caesar would have great need of in fulfilling his ambitious +designs. To strengthen his friendship with Pompey he forced his own +daughter to marry him. The alliance of these three men is called the +First Triumvirate. + +Caesar was eager at this time to be elected Consul, an office that would +give him great power in the Roman state, and with his usual success and +some luck he succeeded in doing so. With him was elected another Consul +named Bibulus, who was put into office by the noblemen to check Caesar +and limit his ambitious designs, which included doing all that he could +to better the condition of the common people. But Caesar soon had the +upper hand in all the affairs of the consulship, so that the people +said jokingly that the two consuls for the year were Julius and Caesar, +instead of Caesar and Bibulus. + +Among other things that Caesar accomplished was the passing of a land +law that provided land for all of Pompey's old soldiers, and was also +designed to give land to the people at Rome who were without occupation +and often on the verge of starvation. Naturally this law made Caesar +even more popular with Pompey, as for the people they cheered him +lustily and said among themselves that this Julius Caesar was certainly +a most noble and generous leader. Had he not been the follower of +Marius and replaced his statues which were overthrown by tyranny? Had +he not provided games the like of which the people had never seen +before? And now, by his land law, had he not shown that he was devoted +to the poor, ready at all times to fight their battles and to provide +generously for them? + +Such were the means by which Caesar endeared himself to the Romans. And +now was to come the opportunity by which at a single leap he placed +himself above all others. The province of Gaul which lay to the +northwest of Italy, and included most of what is now modern France, was +an extremely rich and fertile country, occupied by wild tribes that +were hardly friendly to the Romans. Through his political power, and +much scheming, Caesar had himself made governor of all Gaul for five +years. It was the opportunity of a lifetime, for he could not only make +himself famous as a conqueror by subduing the Gaulish tribes, but could +raise an enormous army, devoted to his interests, by which he could +take by force the entire control of the Roman State as Sulla had done +before him. + +Naturally Caesar did not voice these designs, but he entertained them +just the same, and began a series of wars in Gaul in which over a +million of his enemies are said to have perished on the battlefield. + +When Caesar entered upon his duties in governing Gaul, certain tribes +came to him with complaints of a people called the Helvetii, who were +leaving their own country, or what is now Switzerland, to enter upon +the more fertile and less mountainous lands of their neighbors. Caesar +mustered his soldiers and marched against the Helvetii, meeting them at +a place called Bibracte. Here he showed how skilfully he could direct +the Roman legions, for in a comparatively short battle the Helvetii +were entirely overthrown, and a terrible slaughter followed. Caesar +himself, in writing of this battle, says that out of three hundred and +sixty-eight thousand men, women and children, who composed the tribe of +the Helvetii, only one hundred and ten thousand were left after the +battle. The poor beaten remnant of the tribe he ordered at once to +retrace their steps into Switzerland and to enter Gaul no more. + +His success in dealing with the Helvetii turned the eyes of all Gaul +upon the conqueror. Many tribes then asked his aid against Ariovistus, +a German chief who came from across the river Rhine and with his yellow +haired followers, clad in the skins of animals, was plundering the +Gaulish province. Caesar, with the quickness that always won him success +in battle, advanced against Ariovistus and completely defeated him, +driving his men in confusion back across the Rhine to the lands they +had come from. + +In the following spring there was great danger that all Gaul would +revolt to free itself from the control of the Romans. Of all the tribes +that were opposed to him, Caesar considered that the Belgae, the people +who lived in what is now Belgium, were the bravest and the most +dangerous enemies against whom he must fight. So he marched against +them and placed his legions behind strong fortifications until he could +gain a favorable moment to come forth and attack them. The Belgae tried +all sorts of tricks and ruses to draw Caesar from his position, but they +did not succeed in doing this. Then, perhaps because they had not +sufficient food, they commenced a retreat back to their own country, +from which they had issued to attack Caesar. On their heels rode the +Roman cavalry, who harassed them constantly, darting in and killing +stragglers and attacking the rear guard whenever the opportunity +offered. + +One night, however, when the Romans were about to encamp in some wooded +country on the River Sambre, three tribes of the Belgae fell upon them +in a surprise attack that came so swiftly and so violently that the +Roman legions were almost routed. Caesar's force was not wholly composed +of Romans, and all the soldiers under his command except the Romans +fled pell mell from the field, but the Roman soldiers, in spite of +everything, stood firm, displaying the marvelous discipline that had +conquered the world, and soon had victory in their grasp. But the Roman +soldiers were seldom merciful and scarcely a foeman escaped the +slaughter that followed. + +That winter Caesar returned to northern Italy, leaving his legions in +Gaul under the command of his lieutenants. In his winter retreat he +enjoyed himself and spent enormous sums of money, listening eagerly to +news of everything that had taken place in Rome since his departure. + +In the following spring his friend and political partner, Crassus, was +killed while engaging in battle with the Parthians in the east, leaving +Pompey and Caesar the only two men of first importance in Roman affairs. +In that year also the Roman Senate prolonged Caesar's rule of Gaul for +five years more. + +When spring came Caesar led his legions from their winter encampments to +battle against their enemies once more, and this time the victims of +his skill were two German tribes who had again crossed over the Rhine +to invade Gaul. + +Caesar routed them and chased them back across the Rhine, building a +bridge to pursue them into Germany. Then he came back to Gaul, +destroying his bridge behind him; and made his plans to invade the +island of Britain, which is now England, Scotland and Wales. In Britain +there lived tribes that were considered to hold the last extremity of +the earth. Beyond them was nothing except mystery and darkness. + +Boats were built by the Roman soldiers, who had been trained by Caesar +to turn their hand to any kind of labor, and the Roman army rowed +across the English channel to the island where the warlike Britons +awaited their coming. The Romans sprang from their boats into water up +to their necks and waded ashore to battle, killing and capturing a +large number of Britons, many of whom Caesar took back with him into +Gaul to adorn his triumphal entry into Rome when his term as governor +of Gaul had come to an end. + +The Roman Senate was astonished at Caesar's success and all Rome rang +with his fame. The island of Britain was held to be the last extreme +that Roman arms could reach, and hitherto had been nothing but a place +of fables and wild sea tales, and the Senate declared a thanksgiving in +Caesar's honor that was to last twenty days. + +That winter Caesar again returned to northern Italy, leaving his army +under the command of his lieutenants, for, possessed of a great +ambition to become the ruler of Rome, he desired to learn everything +that was taking place there. His absence was taken by the Gauls as a +sign that his power was weakening, and they considered that they had a +splendid chance to revolt successfully and throw off the Roman power. +And among them there sprang up a leader named Vercingetorix, who in his +way was almost as great a genius as Caesar himself, possessed of +boundless courage and hardihood. + +A revolt in Gaul at that time would endanger all Caesar's chances for +success in Rome. Should his army be overcome he would have no means of +enforcing his power there, and a defeat would utterly destroy the +prestige that he had built up among the Romans at the cost of so much +money and labor. So Caesar hurried across the Alps and after maneuvering +his legions in a manner that showed to the world he was a genius in the +art of war, he succeeded in surrounding the greater part of the forces +of Vercingetorix. + +To save his comrades Vercingetorix gave in to Caesar, and galloped out +of his stronghold to give up his sword. He laid his arms at Caesar's +feet and surrendered himself as a captive. Caesar kept him as a prisoner +for a number of years, after which time he was taken to Rome and forced +to walk in the triumph of the conqueror. Then he suffered the fate of +the captives of Rome. He was shut up in a dungeon and strangled, and +his body was thrown upon one of the refuse heaps of the mighty city. + +Continued success in Gaul had by this time made Caesar's name so great +in Rome that the Senate had grown to fear him. Pompey too was jealous +of his growing power, and Caesar was finally ordered by the Senate to +disband his army. The two officers of the people, called the tribunes, +whose names were Antony and Cassius, vetoed this act on the part of the +Senate, and were hunted from Rome and fled to Caesar's camp for refuge. + +Then the Senate, wildly afraid that Caesar would return at the head of +his troops and become a tyrant like Sulla, declared war against Caesar +and put in Pompey's hands the task of humbling his former friend. Caesar +had no intention of disbanding his troops. His soldiers loved him +deeply and would follow wherever he led them. And Caesar exhorted his +men to stand by him, promising them honor and riches if he should +succeed in overcoming his enemies at Rome, and the men with wild cheers +swore that they would follow him to the death. + +At the head of a powerful and well disciplined army that was devoted to +him, Caesar advanced on Rome. When he came to a stream called the +Rubicon, which marked the limit of his power as governor of Gaul, he +hesitated for a brief time, as there was still time for him to draw +back from his tremendous venture had he seen fit to do so--but at +length he plunged into the stream with the remark, "The die is cast," +and advanced upon the city that he intended to win for himself. + +Pompey had been through an exceedingly hard time in getting soldiers to +follow his banner, for the reputation of Caesar was very formidable and +his army even more so. Finding that it was impossible to make a stand +against Caesar in Italy, Pompey fled across the Mediterranean Sea, +leaving Caesar the master of Rome and Italy as well. Caesar, however, was +not in the habit of leaving an enemy to fly unmolested. He pursued +Pompey to Thessaly and there fought a battle against him in which +Pompey was utterly defeated and his soldiers scattered and routed. +Pompey fled to Egypt, where Caesar followed him--and the first thing +that was brought to Caesar when he arrived was Pompey's head. The once +great Roman had been treacherously murdered by the Egyptians, who +believed that in so doing they would curry favor with Caesar. + +In Egypt there was a beautiful queen named Cleopatra, who used all her +great art to force Caesar to fall in love with her. She believed that +when he loved her he would place her firmly on the Egyptian throne and +send the Roman soldiers against her enemies. So completely did she +succeed that Caesar, who never had been averse to the charms of +beautiful women, remained at her court for a considerable time and led +his armies against a king named Pharnaces at Cleopatra's bidding. After +this he returned to Rome, where he was made dictator, with absolute +power, and was as great as Sulla had ever been. + +But there were still a number of Romans who refused to submit to his +power, and Caesar was compelled to go once more to Africa to vanquish +Pompey's friends, Scipio and Cato, who were raising a new army against +him. With his usual military genius, he overthrew them easily and +returned again to Rome. + +Nothing in Roman history equalled his welcome there. He was received as +a returning king and the honors that were heaped upon him were greater +than had been given to any other Roman in all the long centuries that +Rome had been a city. He was called "Father of His Country" and had a +bodyguard of Roman noblemen to accompany him wherever he went. His +person was considered sacred, and the month of Quintilis was called +after his name, July, for Julius, the name it has borne from that far +time to the present day. + +Now, in his hour of triumph and greatness, Caesar showed himself of far +different mettle from any Roman who had previously gained power over +the state. He did not mar his success by murdering his enemies as Sulla +had done, but rather sought to be the friend of all, and busied himself +with good deeds and public works that would benefit the people. And +while a royal crown was offered to him many times,--notably by the same +Marc Antony who had fled to his camp as a fugitive when the Senate rose +against his power--Caesar refused to accept it, believing that he could +govern wisely and temperately without the name of King, which was +bitter in the ears of all true Romans. + +However, his kindness did not save him, and his glory was short lived. +Certain Romans considered that their state had fallen under the power +of a tyrant, and believed that Rome could be brought back to its former +freedom by Caesar's death. A conspiracy was hatched against him among +the senators, and one of its leaders was a man named Brutus, to whom +Caesar had shown every kindness. Brutus, with his comrade, Cassius, and +some sixty others held secret meetings at night in which they discussed +the best way to murder Caesar, and it was finally decided that they +would fall upon him with swords and daggers when he entered the Senate +House. + +In connection with this evil plot a strange thing happened. Caesar was +approached by an old man who claimed to be a prophet or a soothsayer. +This man warned him that on a certain day, which began what was called +the Ides of March, he must not stir out of his house or evil would come +to him. Caesar laughed at this prediction, but on the night before this +very day, his wife, Calpurnia, had an evil dream in which she beheld +specters walking in the streets of Rome; and she begged Caesar as he +loved her to remain at home. Caesar was about to give in to her request +when Brutus called at his house to take him to the Senate, and, knowing +of the conspiracy, of which he was one of the leaders, Brutus ridiculed +Caesar for being frightened by the dream of his wife and persuaded him +to go, although Calpurnia wept bitterly when he departed, believing +that she would never see him again. + +On the way to the Senate Caesar passed the soothsayer, and remembering +his prediction called out to him that the Ides of March were come. + +"Aye, Caesar," replied the strange old man, "but not yet past." And +Caesar entered the Senate. + +As he took his place he was surrounded by the conspirators who crowded +about him with their weapons ready to hand under their cloaks and +robes, and while one of their number presented a petition to Caesar, and +drew his cloak aside, Casca, another conspirator, stabbed him from +behind. Then, as Caesar turned and grasped Casca's arm, the whole +murderous pack of them set upon him, crowding and jostling each other +to drive their weapons into his body. And when Caesar saw the hand of +Brutus, his best friend, treacherously raised against him, he drew his +cloak over his face so that he might keep his dignity in the agony of +death, and exclaiming "You, too, Brutus?" fell at the base of Pompey's +statue, which was stained with the life blood of the man who had +conquered him. + +So died Julius Caesar, whose name is even brighter after two thousand +years than it was in the time when he lived. As to the conspirators +they profited nothing by their deed, for the Romans, inspired by an +oration made at Caesar's bier by Marc Antony, set fire to their +dwellings and drove them from the city. Within three years not one of +them remained alive. Rome soon proved that she could not live without a +master, and the power that Caesar had won passed into other hands that +were not so great or worthy as his own. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +SAINT PATRICK + + +No saint's name is more familiar than holy Saint Patrick's. Legends +have sprung up around it as thick as the grass of Ireland from which he +is believed to have chased the serpents into the sea--but in all the +calendar hardly a saint is known less about than this marvelous man, +who carried the Christian religion to every corner of the emerald +island. + +Saint Patrick was not a native of Ireland--he was born, perhaps in 373 +A.D., in the little town of Banavem Taberniae, a Roman town in ancient +Scotland not far from the modern city of Glasgow. Rome had ruled the +world for hundreds of years and the swords of her soldiers had been +uplifted in every known land. Hence it was that Saint Patrick came into +the world as a future citizen of Rome and the son of a wealthy and +respected Roman colonist. His father was named Calpornius and was a +deacon of the Christian church in the town where he lived, and the +mother of the future saint was also a devout Christian, the niece of +the renowned Bishop Martin of the city of Tours in France. + +Calpornius and his wife were so ardent in religion that they spent day +and night in teaching their son the story of the gospel and the psalms. +They desired first of all that he should be a good Christian and a +bearer of the faith--but they wearied the growing boy with long hours +of study and monotonous recitals of religious hymns and proverbs when +he was eager to be ranging the hills or playing with his fellows. At +that time he had no particular desire to be a priest, and, like most +boys, was far more interested in the stories of heroes than the stories +of saints, preferring to hear of the wild Scottish chiefs and the Roman +Generals with whom they had engaged in bitter warfare. + +He thirsted for adventure, and adventure was to come to him. Those were +wild days, and law only reached as far as it could be upheld by the +sword and the arrow. Pirates harried the seas and from the north the +galleys of the sea robbers were soon to range southward in search of +lands where plunder was to be found and men and women to be carried +into slavery. + +One night, when a gale was blowing from the northeast, St. Patrick, we +are told, sat with some friends in the glowing light of a great peat +fire, where they warmed themselves at the same time that they told +stories of adventure and sang Scottish songs as wild and melancholy as +the wind that was scouring the hills. Saint Patrick was now a lad of +sixteen, with well knit limbs and a powerful body that made him appear +older than he really was, and at the same time gave promise of greater +strength to come. He listened keenly to the singing, but at the same +time gave ear to sounds that he heard without the hut, for the rough +voices of men speaking an unknown tongue seemed to be mingling with the +noise of the storm. At last he sprang up with a shout of warning, a +shout that was answered by a battle cry from without. A pirate galley +had made its way to the shore and the crew were engaged on a raid to +capture slaves. Some of Saint Patrick's companions were clubbed or cut +down where they sat, but he was thrown and strongly bound, dragged +roughly to the shore and tossed on board the robber craft that quickly +made its way to sea in spite of the tremendous surf that broke over the +backs of the oarsmen. + +For several days they fought the sea and at last came to the coast of +northern Ireland, where Saint Patrick was sold as a slave to an Irish +chief named Miliuc. It is probable that the pirates gained a rich +reward for the clean-limbed boy, whose strength and ability were +evident to all who saw him. When the bargain was finished they boarded +their vessel and sailed away, leaving the luckless boy in the hands of +his new master. + +And straightway there commenced for Saint Patrick a bitterly hard life, +for little kindness was wasted on those who were sold into bondage, and +slaves were compelled to labor terribly with aching muscles and empty +bellies, beaten and cuffed at the whim of their master--who had a +perfect right to slay them if he so desired Hunger, blows and fatigue +were Saint Patrick's portion and were added to the homesickness of a +young man torn from affectionate parents. + +And then Saint Patrick found consolation in the religious teachings +that had been drummed into his unwilling ears, and in the midst of his +suffering he turned to his faith for comfort. He remembered the psalms +that had been taught by his father and mother and said them repeatedly, +and he even forbore at times to eat his meagre rations, thinking that +by fasting he might prove worthy in the eyes of the Lord. + +And one night he had a dream in which he heard a voice, which said to +him: "Fast no more, but fly, for a vessel now awaits you to carry you +away from your bondage. Truly you shall behold your parents again and +once more be free and happy." + +Saint Patrick woke in amazement after this dream, but he was so certain +that the voice which spoke to him was real that he did not hesitate to +obey it. Watching his opportunity he slipped away from the chief who +had held him for six years in bitter servitude, and walking and running +by turns he made his way southward in search of the vessel that he knew +must be awaiting him. + +He did not concern himself about the path, for he felt that Heaven +would guide him; and indeed after he had marched for two hundred miles, +he came to the coast, and just as he had dreamed a vessel lay at anchor +near the shore and some of the sailors were standing on the beach. + +Saint Patrick ran up to them and implored the captain to carry him away +from Ireland back to his own country. His wild appearance startled the +master of the vessel, but after considerable doubt the captain +consented, and Saint Patrick boarded the ship where he was to work his +passage across the channel. + +They set sail at once and bent their backs to the oars, for in those +days ships were moved over the water by rowers as well as by sails; and +after three days they came not to Scotland, but the shore of France, +landing in a wild and desolate region where no human habitation was to +be seen. Their provision had run low and they were in danger of dying +of hunger, when the captain, who had closely watched Saint Patrick +during the voyage and observed his piety, asked him to pray to the +Christian god to bring them food, for the captain himself was not a +Christian and believed that his own prayers would be worthless on this +account. And Saint Patrick knelt and prayed, and before he had risen to +his feet again a wild boar ran from the thicket and then another and +still a third, all of which were promptly slain and the meat roasted on +sticks. + +Then Saint Patrick bade farewell to his shipmates, and made his way to +the city of Tours, where to his joy he met Bishop Martin, who was his +own great uncle. And he stayed at the home of the Bishop for four +years. + +After this time he tried again to reach Scotland, to which he was drawn +every hour by ties of blood and affection; and at last he embarked on a +vessel bound to a port very near his own native town. He found his +father and mother still living and they rejoiced mightily to see him, +for to them he was as one who had returned from the dead. In place of +the boy they had lost there appeared a tall and finely built man with a +face hardened by toil but made noble by thought and suffering. And they +had a feast to celebrate his return and wept for joy because they had +their son again. + +But the dreams that Saint Patrick had experienced in Ireland once more +came to him, and in his sleep he heard the Heavenly voice telling him +that he had been rescued from slavery for no mean or ordinary purpose, +but must go again into Ireland as a priest, and teach the Christian +religion to the savage Irish clans. So Saint Patrick knew that he must +return to Ireland, and, bidding his parents farewell, he departed to +become a priest in preparation for the labor that lay before him. + +He studied to such purpose that he became a Bishop, celebrated for his +learning and famous among the clergymen; and when this was accomplished +he set sail once more for Ireland with a retinue of priests and +clergymen accompanying him. But although he was going to a savage land +where he had already experienced much bitterness and sorrow, he went +unarmed, and among his entire company there was not so much as a single +sword or lance. + +He came to a place called Strangford Lough and there landed with his +band of missionaries. The Irish fled at his approach, for they feared +that the tall man who bore the cross was the leader of an invading +army, and also that he possessed the arts of magic by which he would do +injury to them. + +Many of the Irish believed in the religion of the Druids--a strange +faith that brought in the magic arts and endeavored to teach above all +other things that a man's soul when he dies enters another human body. +This belief was widely established throughout the world, and it is true +that many persons beside the Druids believed in it; but the Druids had +other beliefs that were cruel and dangerous. They were said to perform +human sacrifices and their priests to practise black magic. These +priests wore about their necks the "serpent's egg," a ball formed of +the spittle of many poisonous snakes; they knew many strange things +about animals and plants and held the oak tree to be sacred. For this +reason they worshipped in oaken groves, and considered the mistletoe +that grew around oak trees to have divine powers. It was cut by +white-robed priests with golden knives in an impressive ceremony. + +It can readily be seen that such people, who believed in such a faith, +would not easily become Christians. Their priests were clever and knew +how to place the stamp of fear and wonder on their minds. And--in +company with all other people in those days--the Irish distrusted +outsiders and were far more ready to believe them coming in treachery +than in friendship. + +When Saint Patrick and his followers set foot in Ireland it was the +time of a great religious festival in which no lights were allowed to +be lit or fires to be kindled for several days. Saint Patrick knew +this, for he was well versed in the religious customs of the Irish, and +he knew, too, that the penalty for disobeying the priestly order was a +terrible death. + +None the less, and in spite of being unarmed, he ordered his followers +to build an enormous fire that could be seen for miles. When the great +logs and the faggots were piled together Saint Patrick kindled the pile +with his own hands and the flames shot high in the air, throwing +strange shadows on the trees and causing the Irish to cry out in fear +and astonishment. The Druid priests were greatly angered and perturbed +at what Saint Patrick had done, and they went at once to the King, who +was named Laoghaire MacNeill, telling him that the foreign band had +desecrated the Druid faith and must be punished with death. Then the +King told the priests to go and fetch Saint Patrick and bring him to +judgment, but the priests feared the fire that had been kindled, +thinking that it had magic powers. So they went as far as they dared +and called out to Saint Patrick, summoning him to appear before the +judges of the land. + +Promptly and with fearless demeanor, Saint Patrick joined the priests +and was taken before the King. And when the King demanded of him how he +had dared to disobey the laws of the country and profane its religion, +Saint Patrick answered that he did so because the light of the +Christian faith was infinitely brighter than the light of any fire that +he or any one else had power to kindle; and that the fire he had built +was merely a sign to call the Irish to the worship of the true God. +Then he preached, and his words were so wise and spoken with such +weight of eloquence that many that heard him became Christians on the +spot, and the work of converting Ireland was soon well under way. + +There were many of the Irish that loved Saint Patrick, but he had many +bitter enemies. On one occasion a powerful Irishman, who was enraged at +the Saint for having taken a stone sacred to the Druids for a Christian +altar, vowed that he must die. So he lay in wait in a patch of woods +near a road over which he knew Saint Patrick would pass, with a sharp +javelin to pierce his heart. + +Saint Patrick had an Irish boy for his servant and this boy knew of the +threat and the place and was greatly afraid for the life of his beloved +master. But he knew, too, that it would be useless to ask Saint Patrick +to go by another road, for fear was unknown to him. So the boy +pretended to be weary and asked Saint Patrick to take the reins of the +horse that they were driving; and the brave lad seated himself in his +master's place. They came to the wood; there was a sudden stirring of +the bushes and the hiss of a javelin which imbedded itself in the boy's +heart, killing him instantly. The assassin had taken his master for the +ordinary driver and Saint Patrick's life was saved. + +Ardently the Saint set to work to bring about the conversion of the +Irish, and he did his work so well that when he became an old man there +were no heathen left in Ireland, and his name was loved and venerated +from one end of the island to the other. And the legends grew up so +quickly about him that it is hard to separate the true from the false. + +He had written a famous hymn which was called "the breastplate," being +as he said the best and strongest armor he or any other Christian could +bear, since it was a confession of his faith in the Christian religion. +On many occasions, when men sought his life, it is said he chanted this +hymn and they let him pass. + +Saint Patrick is said to have driven all the snakes out of Ireland into +the sea--and it is notable that there are no snakes there to-day. And +the other marvelous things he is believed to have accomplished are +manifold. He died at a ripe old age and from the day of his death to +the present one no man has been more revered in the land where he +labored,--for the name of Saint Patrick is in every Irish heart and +Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated by Irishmen in every part of the +world. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +KING ARTHUR OF BRITAIN + + +More than fourteen centuries ago there lived in the Island of Britain a +very wise king named Uther Pendragon. And at his court there dwelt an +enchanter of great art whose name was Merlin. Now Merlin, among his +other arts, had the power of seeing into the future, and what he could +not prevent he could often foretell; and looking forward with this art +of his, Merlin saw that after the death of King Uther there would be +war and confusion in Britain; and the only one who could save the land +would be the King's son, Arthur. But Merlin knew that the King would +not live very long, and that Arthur was too weak to govern as a +child--nay more, that unless Arthur were concealed he would be murdered +by the noblemen that sought to obtain the kingdom. So he told this to +King Uther, and they agreed to hide the child and have him reared in +secret. And for this purpose they gave him to a nobleman named Sir +Hector de Bonmaison, who was possessed of a good heart, telling him +that the child, though of noble blood, was no better than a waif whose +parents were both dead. + +Everything that Merlin foresaw then came to pass. King Uther Pendragon +died, and war and confusion seized Britain. For eighteen years there +was no peace or safety in the land, and at the end of this time the +people were weary of bloodshed and sought a King who should govern them +with a strong hand. + +Merlin was known to be the wisest man in the entire land, if not in all +the world, and the Archbishop of Canterbury came to him and sought +advice concerning a worthy King for Britain. And Merlin, thinking of +Arthur, prepared by enchantment a test whereby the rightful King of +Britain should be known. In front of the cathedral there appeared a +great block of marble with an anvil upon it, and into the anvil was +thrust a great, bright sword that shone full as brilliantly as the +stars themselves; and on the handle of the sword was a legend saying +that whosoever could draw the sword from the anvil was the rightful +King of Britain. + +A mighty tournament was then proclaimed, and after the tournament all +the nobles were to attempt to draw out the sword from the anvil. All +the great men in the land were to be present and the one who drew the +sword was to be proclaimed as King. + +Sir Hector de Bonmaison went to the tournament, and with him went his +rightful son, Sir Kay, and the boy, Arthur. Sir Kay was a powerful +knight famous in war and he intended to win the tournament for the +credit of his house. And it seemed as if he would indeed succeed, for +with his sword he struck down all that were opposed to him--until the +sword snapped and left him without a weapon. + +Then Sir Kay called Arthur to his side and bade the boy get him another +sword, and quickly. And Arthur, who knew nothing about the sword in +front of the cathedral, except that he had seen it there, ran to that +spot and sprang upon the marble block--and when he pulled upon the haft +of the sword it came forth from the iron block into his hand as easily +as though it had been thrust into a pat of butter, and with it he ran +to Sir Kay. + +But Sir Kay when he saw it looked strangely upon Arthur and bade the +lad say straightway where he had obtained it; and when Sir Kay heard +how Arthur had pulled it from the anvil he fought no more, for an evil +scheme had come into his mind,--and going to his father, he said that +he himself had drawn the sword from the anvil and so must be the +rightful King of Britain. + +Marveling greatly, Sir Hector with Arthur and Sir Kay went to the +cathedral and Sir Kay tried to thrust the sword back into the metal, +but could not do it. Then Arthur took the sword and thrust it in as +easily as though the iron were soft earth, and for all his efforts Sir +Kay could not draw it forth again. But Arthur drew it forth and thrust +it back--and then did so once more--and at this Sir Hector knew that +the child whom he had reared was no other than the son of King Uther +Pendragon, and kneeling at Arthur's feet, both he and Sir Kay offered +him their homage. + +And then all the nobles and the kings and the great men in the land +gathered about the cathedral and tried one after one to draw the sword. +And none could stir it. But Arthur drew the sword so easily that he +needed but to lay one hand upon the hilt to have it come into his +grasp--and after much amazement and doubt and further trials the people +of Britain proclaimed Arthur as their King. + +It was soon seen that this lad who had been reared in obscurity and was +hitherto unknown, was to be a greater King than even his father had +been before him. For Arthur quelled the wars that had been ravaging the +country and brought justice and peace to all the land; and those that +rose against him he punished with a hand of iron. But all the people +loved the young King, who was knightly and chivalrous, and the fame of +his deeds rang through his dominions. For in all Britain there was no +knight better than he with sword and lance,--no surer horseman or +bolder warrior than the King himself. And for a time he conducted +himself according to the fashion of noble knights and rode abroad +combatting evil and conquering all those who sought to oppose him. + +Everywhere that Arthur went the enchanter Merlin watched over him, and +on more than one occasion Merlin saved his life. And the wise old man +with his enchanter's art looked into the future and saw where Arthur +would gain the strength and power that has made his name live down to +the present day,--aye, and that will make it shine long after those who +read this book are laid away in their own tombs and forgotten! + +Merlin knew that in a certain lake that lay in a land of enchantment in +Arthur's dominions, there was a marvelous sword called "Excalibur," +possessed of such great power that all those who fought against it must +fall,--while in the scabbard of the sword there rested the healing +virtue that nobody who wore it could ever be wounded or lose any blood +in battle. + +Many knights had tried to gain this sword, but a terrible fate had +befallen them without exception,--for nobody could claim it who was not +true at heart, and who knew not the meaning of the word fear. The sword +itself was held in a mighty arm that uplifted itself from the center of +the lake, and this arm was clothed in the purest white, marvelous to +look upon. + +Merlin took Arthur to the edge of the lake, and the King beheld the +great arm holding the sword above the water; and when he saw it he was +possessed of the desire to have it for his own, for the blade gleamed +like the sunlight, the handle was bright with the purest gold and +jewels, and there seemed to be a greater strength and a luster in it +than the work of mortal hands could bring about. + +While the King with Merlin stood at the edge of the lake and wondered +how it would be possible to obtain the sword, all of a sudden a barge +appeared in the shape of a beautiful white swan. In it stood a radiant +lady, clad all in green with white pearls in her hair and pearls like +drops of weeping mist all over her garments--which themselves appeared +like woven and intermingled rushes. The boat made its way through the +water without motive power, until it grated gently on the sands where +Arthur and Merlin were standing. And the lady spoke to Arthur and told +him that she was no other than the Lady of the Lake and that the sword, +Excalibur, should be his own. And Arthur stepped into the boat, which +promptly left the shore and glided straight as an arrow to the place +where the sword appeared. + +Although the King had never felt fear in his life, he felt a wonder +approaching to fear at the mystic, white hand that grasped the handle +of Excalibur so firmly; but leaning from the boat he took the sword, +and the hand at once disappeared in the waters of the lake. And due to +Merlin's gifts of magic, Arthur himself was able to look into the +future at that time and see one thing--namely, that when his reign was +over and he himself sore wounded and near to death, he must return +Excalibur to the hand that gave it to him, casting it back into the +lake before he died. + +With Excalibur at his side, Arthur was invincible in war and he struck +down all that opposed him--but he was so chivalrous that he never used +the sword except against the wicked, and from that time on forbore to +do any battle in the way of sport, but fought only against his enemies. + +[Illustration: KING ARTHUR GRASPED THE MAGIC SWORD THAT NONE BUT THE +BRAVEST MIGHT HOLD] + +King Arthur had beheld a lady named Guinevere at Cameliard, and was +smitten with love for her and desired to make her his bride. But first +of all he wished to be near her, and he asked Merlin to furnish him +with some disguise by which he could accomplish this without her +knowledge. + +Merlin agreed and gave Arthur a cap on which he had cast a spell. For +when Arthur put it on he appeared to be no longer a king, but a simple +gardener's boy. On pain of discovery, however, he must always wear the +cap, for when he took it off he showed himself once more as Arthur the +King. + +So Arthur went to Cameliard disguised as a gardener's boy, and he +sought work in the castle grounds where he might often behold the Lady +Guinevere. And for some days he worked in the gardens while she walked +there and looked upon her to his heart's content--and every time he saw +her she seemed to be more beautiful than before. + +One morning, however, while he was bathing at the fountain with his cap +laid aside, the Lady Guinevere looked out of the window and saw him. +She did not know he was the King, she only knew that a very handsome +knight was bathing at her fountain,--but in a trice the King put on his +cap again and became the gardener's boy, who said that none had been +there save himself. + +At last, however, Arthur was discovered by Guinevere, although even +then she knew not that he was the King; and after this had happened he +went forth on a quest in her behalf and overcame four knights whom he +sent to her as his captives, with orders to serve her and do what she +desired. + +These knights were well known to Arthur and were his friends; but like +Guinevere they had not known him, because he kept down the visor of his +helmet when he did battle with them. And they returned and told +Guinevere that they were conquered by an unknown knight who had ordered +them to come to her and do her bidding. + +Guinevere was guarded in the castle of Cameliard by a knight named Sir +Mordaunt of North Umber who was greatly desirous of wedding her. And at +last he kept her a close prisoner and with six companions mounted guard +before the castle proclaiming that unless some champions came forward +in her behalf he would marry her against her will. + +At this Guinevere was greatly distressed, for she had grown to love the +unknown knight that she had seen in the garden, and she asked the four +that were in her charge to go forth and do battle with the knights that +guarded her. But they would not, although they were bound to do her +word, because they were angered that she should demand this of them +when she knew that they were only four against seven. When Arthur +returned, however, he placed himself at their head and they charged the +seven knights so fiercely that three were slain in their onslaught and +the others fled. And shortly after this Guinevere was brought to Arthur +for marriage, and he disclosed his state as King, and their nuptials +were celebrated with gorgeous pomp and ceremony. + +Merlin told Arthur to ask from Guinevere's father, whose name was +Leodegrance and who was himself a king, a marvelous round table that he +possessed. This table had magic powers, said Merlin, and Arthur would +add greatly to the strength of his kingdom by possessing it. The table +had many marvelous properties,--and the chairs that went with it were +equally marvelous. The names of those who should sit in them appeared +in letters of gold when such knights approached, and disappeared again +when they rose to depart. There was also a seat richer than the rest +for the King himself--and another chair, wonderfully carven and wrought +with gems, that was called the "Seat Perilous," where even Arthur might +not sit--for that chair was reserved for the knight who should look +upon the "Holy Grail," a vessel containing the blood of Christ that had +been taken to Heaven on his death. It could only be beheld by the +purest knight that went in quest of it, which Arthur could not do, +because he must rule his kingdom. + +Then Arthur gathered all the best knights in the realm about him and +they were called "the Knights of the Round Table" and they bound +themselves by vows to noble deeds and gallant conduct, to redress +wrongs, to think no evil or allow it to appear in any guise at the +Round Table. And through the deeds of his knights of the Round Table +Arthur's name became even greater in his kingdom than it had ever been +before. + +But little by little doubt and suspicion began to appear among Arthur's +knights, and these were fostered by the evil plots of Arthur's nephew, +Modred. Above all, Modred hated a knight named Sir Lancelot, who, with +the exception of the King, was the bravest knight in Britain. Sir +Lancelot was loved by Queen Guinevere, and loved her in return. And +through Modred's schemes it befell that fighting commenced between +Lancelot and other knights of the Round Table, in which many were +slain. And then the whole kingdom of Britain was torn apart and +Arthur's former glory was lost; and at last the unhappy King even found +himself at war with his former friend, Sir Lancelot himself, who had +stolen the love of the Queen. + +After bitter fighting Sir Lancelot went back to his own country of +Brittany, taking Queen Guinevere with him, beyond the sea, and Arthur +pursued him there. And while Arthur was laying siege to Sir Lancelot's +castle, the false knight Modred rose against Arthur in his own country, +hatching a rebellion against the King, so Arthur had to give up the +siege of Lancelot's castle and return to Britain to fight against the +traitors that had risen from the ranks of his own subjects. + +This was the last war that Arthur ever engaged in. Merlin had foretold +that when the seats at the Round Table had all been filled, Arthur's +kingdom must gradually decline. The seats had been filled long since, +and the decline had come about through the distrust and the evil deeds +of Arthur's own knights. And now he must fight a number of them both in +the ranks of Lancelot and under the banner of Modred. + +In a battle with Modred's forces King Arthur's army fought so fiercely +that when dusk fell almost all the men on both sides who had engaged in +that fight were slain, and none were left but the leaders of the +opposing forces. And Arthur engaged in personal combat with Modred just +as the sun was going down. Now Arthur had long since lost the scabbard +of his sword, Excalibur, so it was possible to wound or slay him in +battle, although he that stood up against the stroke of that sword must +also be slain. And this very thing came to pass in Arthur's battle with +Modred. For as Arthur ran him through, Modred struck him so terrible a +blow on the head that his helmet was cut in two and the sword sank deep +in his skull. + +Grievously wounded, Arthur was carried from the field by one of his few +remaining knights, named Sir Bedivere; and Arthur, seeing that he must +die, gave to Sir Bedivere the sword, Excalibur, telling him to throw it +in the lake. + +When Sir Bedivere approached the shore of the mysterious lake, which +lay not far from the spot where Arthur had been wounded, his heart +misgave him at throwing away so beautiful and magical a sword. +Therefore he hid the sword in the rushes and returned to the dying +King, telling him that he had done as was commanded. But Arthur did not +believe him, and asked him what he had seen when Excalibur sank beneath +the waves. And Bedivere told him that he had seen nothing except the +rippling of the water under the wind and the rustle of the reeds at the +margin of the lake. And Arthur told Sir Bedivere to return and do as he +had been commanded, for the King knew well that he had been deceived. + +Once again Sir Bedivere returned to the lake and once again he came +back to Arthur with a lying tale that he had obeyed the King's +commands. Then Arthur in high anger commanded him to deceive a dying +man no longer and Sir Bedivere at last went back and threw Excalibur +into the lake. + +As Excalibur hurtled through the air and approached the water a great +hand arose from the depths and caught it by the hilt, waved it thrice +in the air and vanished beneath the waves, and Sir Bedivere returned to +Arthur and told him what he had seen. + +Then Arthur knew that Sir Bedivere had indeed spoken the truth, and the +dying King put one more command upon him--namely to bear him to the +shore of the lake where he had thrown Excalibur. + +As they approached the shore a barge was seen cleaving the water +without visible motive power, and on the barge which was draped all in +black were four damsels who wept bitterly. When the prow of the barge +reached the shore, Arthur commanded Sir Bedivere to lay him on it--and +at once it moved out into the mists of the lake with the black robed +figures bending over the King. And Arthur called out to Sir Bedivere in +farewell, telling him that he was going to Avalon either to die or to +be healed of his grievous wound, and he asked Sir Bedivere to pray for +his immortal soul. + +From that day Arthur was not seen again, although many believed that he +would come back and rescue his countrymen when dangers beset them; and +to-day the legends of Arthur leave it doubtful if he will return or +not. But the great King as well as the realm that he ruled over have +been lost forever in the mists of time. And the story of Arthur is +ended. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +MOHAMMED + + +The Arabs are a dark skinned people that live near or on the great +deserts of Arabia, one of the hottest and most desolate regions of the +world. They have lived there for thousands of years in roving tribes +and many of their traits and manners have come from their association +with the desert, and the hardships that they have been obliged to +undergo in making their journeys upon its fiery sands. + +Thousands of years ago the Arabs had a religion that was not entirely +different from that of the Jews. As the years passed, however, they +began to turn away from the old beliefs and to worship stone idols. +These idols were set up in their principal cities and villages, notably +in the city of Mecca, where there also remained a temple, built in the +time of the older religion, that the Arabs still held to be sacred. + +As the Arabian tribes were very different from each other in many ways, +it was only natural that their religion should grow different also. +Some men worshipped the fire and some worshipped the stars. Some became +Jews or Christians. For the most part, however, they worshipped stone +images and many wise men preached and labored among them in vain to +bring back the old religion of their fathers. + +Such was the state of affairs when a child was born in the city of +Mecca who was destined to become one of the greatest prophets of the +world, and draw all the Arabs into a single religion that would spread +as far as Spain and India. This child was named Mohammed, and he was +born five hundred and seventy years after the death of Christ. His +father, Abdallah, died soon after he was born, and Mohammed's mother, +according to custom, gave the baby into the charge of a nurse who might +rear him in the free, open air of the desert where Arabs believed that +children became strong and vigorous. + +Mohammed was strong in many ways, but had one great physical failing: +he was often seized with fits of a kind that nowadays would be ascribed +to the disease called epilepsy. In those days, however, these fits were +thought to be the work of devils who entered into and possessed the +body. When he was six years old his mother died and he was brought up +by his grandfather, Abd al-Muttalib, a poor man, but one who was +greatly respected by everybody that knew him. + +Abd al-Muttalib put him to work. When he grew old enough, he watched +the flocks of the people of Mecca, and gained a meager livelihood by +doing this. He had no schooling, but once or twice had the opportunity +to travel, when he went with his uncle to southern Arabia and to Syria, +where he saw people different from those of Mecca and learned of many +different forms of religion. + +When Mohammed was twenty-five years old there befell a change in his +fortunes. In this year he entered the service of a rich widow, whose +name was Kadijah, and went with her to the great fairs and bazaars on +which journeys, perhaps, he acted as her camel driver. Kadijah soon +fell in love with the young man of bright, piercing eyes and thoughtful +demeanor, and one day she drew Mohammed aside and told him that she +loved him, offering to become his wife and to give him her hand in +marriage. By marrying Kadijah Mohammed became rich. He managed his +wife's affairs at Mecca with great success, and became greatly +respected there as a man of business. He and Kadijah had six children, +four girls and two boys, but both of the boys died in their infancy. + +But Mohammed was soon marked as being different from other men. He +spent a great deal of his time in religious contemplation and would go +off by himself into the solitude of the mountains, to think and ponder +without interruption. + +When he was forty years old he went one day to a mountain called Hira +which was not far from Mecca. And here a trance came upon him and in +the night he believed that he saw the angel Gabriel. The angel was +surrounded by a flaming aureole and in his hand he held a scroll of +fire from which he commanded Mohammed to read. Now Mohammed knew not +how to read or write, but to his amazement he found that the words on +the scroll were quite plain to him, and he read a wonderful message +that proclaimed the glory and the greatness of God, whom he called +Allah. + +Mohammed was frightened by what he had seen; he thought that perhaps +the form of the angel had been taken by some evil spirit to lead him on +to his undoing. But at last he had another vision in which Gabriel came +to him again and called upon him to arise and preach the word of Allah +throughout the land and bring back to the Arabs the faith of their +fathers and the worship of a single god. And then for the first time +Mohammed believed his visions and thought himself God's Prophet, and he +called the new faith that he was to teach the faith of _Islam_, which +means righteousness. + +Mohammed went back to Kadijah and told her what he had seen. He said he +was chosen by Allah to spread his faith over the land, and he himself +was a prophet greater than any other in the world. Kadijah was a true +and faithful wife and loved Mohammed better than herself. She believed +that he spoke the truth, and looked upon him as some one who through +God's means had become more than a man. + +At first Mohammed did not try to preach his new faith to the people of +Mecca, but contented himself with teaching the word of Allah to his +nearest relatives. Most of them believed in him, but one of his uncles +called him a fool and would have nothing to do with the new religion. + +After four years of teaching Mohammed had only converted to the new +belief forty people, who were mostly men of low degree or slaves. He +then thought that Allah called upon him to go forth publicly and preach +his new belief to the entire world. And soon afterward Mohammed could +have been seen in the market place preaching the word of Allah. + +The faith that Mohammed taught was very much like the faith that we +ourselves believe in. That is, it was much more like the religion of +Christ than the worship of idols or the belief of the Romans and Greeks +in gods and goddesses, or the worship of fire or the stars. Mohammed +preached that there was one God only, and that this God was greater +than all things. If you died and had led a righteous life you went to +Paradise; if you had been wicked you went to the lower regions to +undergo eternal punishment. And there were a great many things in +Mohammed's religion that any one would do well to follow, for he +preached that God was merciful and his people on earth must be merciful +also, that cleanliness was next to Godliness and that all his followers +must wash themselves before they prayed. + +In many ways, however, the Mohammedan faith was not so pure as the +Christian faith, for the Heaven that Mohammed believed in was a place +of feasting and merriment, but little else, and Mohammed also believed +that it was right to teach his religion by the sword. In this, however, +Mohammed's followers became more zealous than he had ever thought of +being, and we must remember also that Christians of those days did not +hesitate to use the sword, themselves. + +To spread the faith Mohammed set about preparing a great book which was +to be the bible of those who believed in his religion. This book was +called the Koran. Because Mohammed could not write and still produced +this marvelous book, which contained the word of Allah, he claimed that +he was divinely inspired. It is thought, however, that he was helped in +preparing the Koran by one of his disciples who could read and write. + +When Mohammed prepared the Koran there was no paper, and writing +materials were far removed from the Arabs who made little use of them. +So Mohammed was compelled, as we are told, to write the Koran on any +material that came to hand. He wrote it on pieces of stone and strips +of leather, and on dried palm leaves,--and some of the verses were even +written on the bleached shoulder blades of sheep. Anything that could +hold a mark was used by him as writing material, and the verses were +later collected and made into a book by his disciples. + +When Mohammed commenced to preach before the people, the citizens of +Mecca looked on him as a madman. They did not molest him, however, +because they held him to be a worthless dreamer who could do no harm to +anybody. But as weeks went by, and the number of those who became +converted to his faith grew larger, the wise men who still believed in +the great stone idols named Hubal and Uzza began to grow afraid. + +They were too cowardly to molest Mohammed, because he was a rich man +and was protected by his uncle who had much influence among them,--but +they vented their spite on the humbler people who followed him and who +were unable to protect themselves. So it came to pass that the poor men +who were Mohammedans, particularly the slaves, were made to suffer +dreadful tortures. They were scourged with whips and placed all day in +the burning sunshine without a drop of water for their thirst. At last, +however, the people of Mecca became bold enough to go to Mohammed's +uncle and tell him that Mohammed must cease preaching against their +idols. Mohammed, however, indignantly refused, and went on preaching, +and his uncle continued to protect him. + +At last Mohammed's enemies became so afraid of the success he was +gaining that they decided they must have his life at all costs, and a +plot was hatched against him. He was saved by being warned of this and +hidden away, but at last he and all his relatives who believed in his +teachings, as most of them did, were driven from Mecca and were made +outlaws. + +His uncle's influence was so strong, however, that after Mohammed had +lived in the mountains for three years, he and his relatives were +allowed to return to Mecca. But a great misfortune fell upon him, for +his faithful wife Kadijah, whom he had loved deeply, and who was the +first person to believe in him as a prophet, died, and left him +inconsolable. His uncle also died, and Mohammed lost his protection. + +Without the influence of his uncle Mecca again became too dangerous for +Mohammed to remain in. When he tried to preach he was pelted with +stones and mud and mocked on every side. He was consoled, however, by a +dream in which he thought that he was preaching to certain spirits +whose bodies were made of fire and who were known to the Meccans as +_Djinns_. And these spirits listened attentively to what Mohammed said +and did him reverence. + +Because he had converted a number of men from the nearby town of +Yathrib, Mohammed decided that a better opportunity was given him to +teach his faith there than in Mecca itself, and in the year 622 A.D., +he and his followers fled to Yathrib and were made welcome. This flight +was called the "Hegira," and the date of it is very important to the +Mohammedans, for their calendar dates from it, and for them is +practically the beginning of time. + +In Yathrib the faith of Mohammed spread quickly and he received +attention and reverence wherever he went. And when he had a large +following he desired to put up a house of prayer, or a temple which he +called a mosque. This was done, but the first Mohammedan mosque was a +very simple affair indeed and the roof was supported by trees that were +not removed from the earth where they had been growing. + +And then for the first time began to be heard the call that to-day +rings through so large a part of Asia and Africa, when the muezin, or +crier, summons Mohammed's followers to prayer five times a day. They +must all face toward Mecca as they pray, for that is the sacred city; +and Mohammed so considered it because of the mysterious temple or +Kaabah that was in it, and because, before the days of the idolaters, +this temple had been connected with the religion of Abraham. And every +morning since that time up to the present day, Mohammedans have been +summoned to prayer with the following words: + +"God is great; there is no god but the Lord. Mohammed is the Apostle of +God. Come unto prayer! Come unto salvation! God is great. There is no +god but the Lord." + +Another change was effected by Mohammed. Since Yathrib had been the +first place to take him in and receive his religion, its name was +changed to Medinat al Nahib, the city of the prophet, to do the place +honor. And in Medinah, as it was later called, Mohammed spent the rest +of his life. + +It was not long before word came to Mecca that the man whom they had +driven out had become powerful and mighty in a city not far off and +that he was considered greater than a king among the disciples that +followed him. Then the Meccans were again afraid, for they feared that +some day Mohammed would appear with an army before their walls and +revenge himself for the injuries that they had worked upon him. So, +when a frightened messenger brought word to the Meccans that a number +of Mohammed's followers were plundering the Meccan caravans, the people +of Mecca raised an army to raze Medinah to the ground and put an end +for all time to the man that had so troubled their affairs. + +Mohammed, however, had already designed to march against Mecca and had +raised an army for that purpose. And he came upon the Meccan soldiers +at a place called Badrh. There were a great many more Meccans than +Mohammedans, and should have won the day, for the odds against Mohammed +and his followers were huge, but Mohammed had the advantage that every +one of his soldiers was glad to die for his leader and his army had the +fierce, fanatical zeal which religion inspires in eastern people. + +It was a wild fight, for the battle was fought in a furious storm of +rain and wind that beat like whips upon the faces of the soldiers as +they dashed against each other. It was desperate, too, and lasted +nearly all day--and it was one of the important battles of the world, +although the numbers engaged in it were not large. At first the fray +went badly for the Mohammedans, for the enemy with their superior +numbers forced them back. Everywhere Mohammed himself might have been +seen, encouraging his followers and urging them to greater efforts. +Then, when it seemed as if his forces were breaking and that nothing +could be done to hold them together any longer, he stooped to the +ground and picking up a handful of gravel, hurled it against his foes. + +"May confusion seize them," he cried loudly, and at that the +Mohammedans in the vicinity who had seen the act, rushed so furiously +upon the Meccans that they recoiled. That was all that was needed. The +entire Mohammedan army charged, shouting the names of Allah and +Mohammed, and the battle was won. Many horses and camels and much +valuable plunder were captured, and word was sent back to Medinah that +a great victory had been gained. + +The Meccans swore vengeance and in due time another army was advancing +against Mohammed. He was engaged in prayer when the word was brought to +him that the Meccans were coming and at once he summoned his followers +and exhorted them to do their utmost and to die in defense of the +faith. + +With his army at his heels Mohammed went forth from Medinah and pitched +his camp near Mount Uhud, only a bowshot away from his enemies. As soon +as it was dawn both sides were drawn up ready for battle--and then the +Meccans saw a sight that had never before taken place on any +battlefield--for at the call of the Muezin, which took place as though +the Mohammedans were at home, the entire army bowed down in prayer. + +At first the fight went well for the Mohammedans, but when a group of +archers left their post to engage in the pursuit of the defeated +Meccans this gave some of the enemy's cavalry a chance to surround or +outflank Mohammed's soldiers. The Meccans rallied and attacked him in +front and the rear at the same time, and the day was lost. However, the +Meccans were too exhausted to pursue his men for a time and they +believed that Mohammed himself had been slain, which was the first of +their desires. So they returned to Mecca. + +For about two years there was little fighting, and then the Meccans +planned an attack against Medinah, and advanced upon it with a large +army. And now Mohammed showed great military skill, for he conceived a +plan that had never been known to the Arabians and that is still +employed in modern warfare,--namely that of fighting from the +protection of trenches. With the hostile army almost upon them the +Mohammedans worked furiously digging a deep ditch around the city, and +so well did the ditch answer their purpose that the Meccans could +accomplish nothing against them, but were obliged at last to turn tail +and retreat to their own city. + +In this siege there was a Jewish tribe in Medinah that had been +treacherous to the Mohammedans, deserting them in their hour of need, +and going over to the enemy. This caused Mohammed great difficulty and +might easily have brought about his defeat. So, when the fight was +over, he took a large number of soldiers and advanced against this +tribe which had taken refuge in a stronghold in the mountains. When +they saw the numbers that were against them a great fear came upon them +and they surrendered to the Prophet without a fight, throwing +themselves upon his mercy. They found, however, that from that mercy +they could expect nothing, for all the men were put to death, and the +women and children were sold into slavery. + +Warfare between the Mohammedans and the Meccans continued in scattered +outbursts until at last when both sides were weary of the struggle a +treaty was made, and the Mohammedans were to be allowed to make a three +day pilgrimage to Mecca to worship at the Kaabah or holy temple which +was a part of Mohammed's religion. + +This was considered by Mohammed as a great triumph for his cause. +Determined now to spread his faith to the uttermost ends of the earth, +he sent messengers to the rulers of all the civilized kingdoms that he +knew. One went to Heraclius, Emperor of the Romans, who was in Syria at +the time; one to the Roman Governor of Egypt, one to the King of +Abyssinia and one to each of the provinces of Gassan and Yamam that +were also under Roman control. + +Then a ten year peace was agreed upon between the Meccans and the +Mohammedans. This, however, was not kept long, for the Meccans killed +some of Mohammed's followers. In fear for what they had done, they sent +a deputation to request that he overlook what had taken place and allow +the peace to continue as before, but Mohammed would give them no +promises, and told his followers that the death of those who were slain +by the Meccans would be amply avenged. With great secrecy he prepared +an army and went forth once more against the city with which he had +been engaged in warfare for so many years. + +So swift was Mohammed's advance and so secret had his plans been kept +that the Meccans knew nothing of his approach until they saw the +camp-fires of his mighty army shining about their walls. They had no +way of resisting his force for they had been surprised, and even if +they could have prepared against him, their numbers were now far +inferior to his own. And then came the greatest triumph of Mohammed's +entire life, for the Meccans surrendered without conditions and +promised to embrace the Mohammedan faith. + +With ropes and axes Mohammed's followers tore the stone idols of Mecca +from their pedestals and hewed them to pieces, while the Meccans +sorrowfully beheld the destruction. And from that day to the present +there has resounded over the city of Mecca five times each day the cry +of "Allah Hu Akbar"--God is great, and the rest of the ritual calling +the people to prayer. + +Soon after this one desert tribe after another came under Mohammed's +power, and finally all of Arabia had acknowledged him as God's prophet. +He was planning to extend his religion still farther when a misfortune +fell upon him that probably caused his death. With one of his followers +he had partaken of a dish that had been prepared for him by a Jewish +girl who hated him and all of his sect. The food was poisoned, and +while Mohammed discovered it at once and ate but a single mouthful, the +poison remained in his body. + +Feeling that he was about to die he summoned his followers and preached +to them a last sermon in which he exhorted them to obey all the rules +of his religion, to treat their slaves and animals kindly and to beware +of the works of the devils that were leagued against them. Not a great +while after this the Prophet fell ill of a fever, and at last died, to +the great grief of those disciples who had known and loved him. +Although he had always given his wealth to the poor so that he lived as +meanly as the humblest of his followers--for this was one of the first +things that he preached,--he was worshipped as being divine and had +more than the homage of a mighty king. In the hands of his fanatical +followers the scimitar became the symbol of the Mohammedan faith and +hundreds of thousands were conquered and made to acknowledge its power. +To-day Mohammedanism is still one of the great religions of the world, +and the name of the Prophet still sounds from thousands of mosques, +when the muezin calls the people to prayer with the same words that +were used while Mohammed was living. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +ALFRED THE GREAT + + +More than a thousand years ago England was composed of a number of +small kingdoms, which were as separate and distinct as the nations of +the world are to-day. They were either making war upon each other, or +looking on at the wars of their neighbors; and it seemed impossible, +and nobody ever dreamed at that time, that England and Scotland and +Wales would be united into one great state. + +Among these people were the yellow-haired Saxons, who had entered +England as invaders and driven the Celts to the westward. The Saxons +brought with them the ideas that they practised in the region north of +Gaul, whence they came. They refused to live in walled towns, and tore +down or abandoned the buildings left by the Romans, erecting their own +mud huts outside the ramparts. Their homes were rude indeed, and they +had few comforts and luxuries. Glass was unknown to them, and the cold +rain and wind swept through their dwellings. They had no books in their +own tongue, and got all their learning from a few scholars and priests. +But in spite of all these drawbacks they were a brave and hardy people, +lacking only a great leader to become a nation whose influence would be +felt throughout the world. + +For a time, however, no such leader appeared; and it seemed as if they +must be swept away entirely by a new enemy that came upon them from the +north--a people called respectively the Danes, the Northmen and the +Vikings, who lived on the shores of the creeks and fiords of what is +now Denmark and the Scandinavian peninsula--a wild and hardy race of +sailors, who loved fighting and gained their livelihood by piracy, +sweeping forth in their open boats upon unprotected shores and burning +and plundering wherever they went. + +The Northmen, who were great seamen, speedily found out that because +the British Isles were divided into numerous small nations, there would +be no concerted resistance when they came to plunder; and forthwith the +people in the English kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia beheld to their +dismay a number of strange, piratical craft upon the shores. The prows +of the boats were shaped like dragons' heads, and round shields ran +along the gunwales beside the rowers. From these boats came pouring out +a wild horde of gigantic and bloodthirsty men, heavily armed, ravens' +wings attached to their helmets and long hair streaming over their +armor. The Saxons quickly learned that it was well to flee when these +men appeared. Otherwise they would be mercilessly slain. Even the women +and little children were not spared, for the Northmen used to make a +sport of butchery. And when they fought with the English armies they +were nearly always victorious, for they were trained soldiers +accustomed constantly to war, with better weapons and better armor than +the English. + +Such was the state of affairs in England when Ethelwulf reigned over +the kingdom of Wessex. Ethelwulf was an easy going king who loved +prayer better than fighting, but was forced again and again to defend +his kingdom from the Northmen. He had a wife named Osburgha, and five +sons who were called Ethelstane, Ethelbald, Ethelbert, Ethelred and +Alfred. The two oldest of these, Ethelstane and Ethelbald, aided their +father in defending the country, while the others were trained in +hunting and warlike exercises with the same purpose in view,--but +Alfred, when only five years old, was sent by King Ethelwulf upon a +pilgrimage to the holy city of Rome, to receive there the blessing of +Pope Leo the Fourth, who was head of the Christian Church and a ruler +far mightier than any other in the world. + +It is not to be thought that so young a child was sent alone on such a +journey which would require months to finish and on which many dangers +would have to be encountered. With Alfred were many soldiers and +retainers, and also a famous churchman called Bishop Swithin who later +became a saint. The object of this journey was to have the Pope's +blessing brought back to England by Alfred, and to show the Pope by +sending a Royal Prince so far for such a purpose what devout Christians +the people of Wessex were. + +Ethelwulf himself had desired to go to Rome, but the danger from the +Danes was too great and too near at hand. However, after some months he +believed he could safely join Alfred, who, although so young, could +never forget the marvels that he beheld in the Holy City. Ethelwulf +also desired to seek a wife in France, for Alfred's mother, Osburgha, +had died since her son departed for Rome. + +In due time Ethelwulf and Alfred came back from Rome to Wessex where +great troubles awaited them. Ethelstane had died and, during +Ethelwulf's absence, Ethelbald had revolted and was trying to take the +kingdom away from his own father by force of arms. A number of nobles +had joined Ethelbald because they believed that he was the better +soldier and would protect them more sturdily against the Northmen. The +people were also enraged against Ethelwulf, because, when crossing +France, he had married a French Princess named Judith, who was only +fourteen years old; and had caused her to be proclaimed Queen, which +was against the laws of the Saxons. + +True to his peaceful nature Ethelwulf refused to fight against +Ethelbald. He said that he would never draw sword against his own flesh +and blood no matter what wrong had been done to him--moreover that it +behooved the English to draw their swords against their common enemy, +the Northmen, rather than to wrangle among themselves when the invader +might appear upon their shores at any moment. And Ethelwulf agreed to +divide his kingdom with his son, to whom he gave the more important and +valuable part, and spent the rest of his life in following the church +and its doings--still a king in name to be sure, but with little of the +kingly power remaining in his hands. + +The baseness of his son in turning against him, however, broke the +heart of the old king. And Ethelwulf soon died, leaving the small part +of his kingdom which he had continued to rule to his son, Ethelbert. +Like his father, this prince was of a peaceful disposition, and did +little to stop the raids of the Northmen, never appearing himself +against his enemies, but spending his time in prayer and divine +worship. Nor was his disposition changed when the base Ethelbald died +and the entire kingdom was reunited. The Danes once made a bold raid +against the city of Winchester, burning a large part of it and escaping +with much plunder--but before they were able to return to their boats +they were cut off by a force of English men-at-arms and archers led by +the aldermen of Hampshire and Berkshire, and almost all of the invaders +were slain. Even in this grave conflict, King Ethelbert was not +present, and the victory of the English was not due to their King. + +Alfred, however, who was now eleven years old, gave signs that if ever +he gained the throne of Wessex his enemies would have good reason to +fear him. Although a young boy he used to love to go on foot in the +dark forest to hunt the fierce wild boars that lived there--a dangerous +sport even for a grown man. He also gave every promise that some day he +might be a great ruler and bring the people of England to peace and +safety, for not only was he bold and proficient in arms and manly +exercises, but a diligent scholar, who spent a great part of his time +in acquiring wisdom. And of all his brothers Alfred loved Prince +Ethelred best, and when he grew older the two brothers fought side by +side against the Danes. + +When Alfred was nineteen the Danes raided England again, but did not +enter the kingdom of Wessex. And there was so weak a bond between the +small English kingdoms that none of the untroubled states felt it their +part to go and help their neighbors. After this the Danes invaded East +Anglia and captured the king of that country, whose name was Edmund. +They offered to spare his life if he would give up Christianity and +believe in their own gods whose names were Odin and Thor. He refused +and they beheaded him. Later the head was found watched over by a wolf +and all the people believed that it had been preserved by a miracle. So +Edmund became a Saint, and many churches throughout England were built +in his honor. + +Then the Danes raided Wessex and terrible trouble began. Ethelred was +now king, and Alfred was old enough to go to the wars and take command +of an army. So he and his brother went forth against the Danes together +at the head of every available fighting man who could be mustered to +bear a spear. The Danes had rowed up the River Thames and captured the +town of Reading. Ethelred and Alfred attempted to recapture it from +them, but pouring out of the gates of the town they routed the English +forces. They then marched along the banks of the Thames where they had +an idea of settling and holding the land. + +The King and Alfred worked desperately to collect their scattered +soldiers and lead them again to the combat. At last they gathered a +sufficient number and moved against the Danes on Berkshire Downs. + +They were advancing to the attack when the Danes poured down the +hillside toward them. King Ethelred was at prayers and refused to fight +until he had finished--but Alfred, seeing that the English would be +defeated if they did not attack at once, took command of the entire +army and charged fiercely against the Danes, himself in the foremost +rank, a target for the arrows and spears of all his enemies. So fierce +was his onslaught and such was the enthusiasm of the soldiers whom he +led that, although the Danes outnumbered the English, the pirates were +put to flight with terrible slaughter. A Danish king and five earls +were killed in this fierce conflict, in memory of which the people of +Berkshire cut into the white chalk of the downs the giant figure of a +horse--a figure that can be seen at the present day in honor of the +victory of more than a thousand years ago. + +The Danes, however, though checked, were not sufficiently weakened by +this fight to give up thoughts of capturing Wessex, and soon were +harrying and plundering again. In another battle with them King +Ethelred received his death blow, and upon his death, Alfred, who was +still a very young man, became king. + +It was a sad entry into the powers of kingship. Practically all of +England except Wessex was at the mercy of the Danes, who came so fast +and in so many different directions, that when the King had started +against one hostile band he would get word of others who had landed and +perhaps were burning and plundering the very country he had just left. + +Alfred was as shrewd as he was brave, and he knew that if his people +could not have a respite from wars and a chance to organize themselves, +they must end by submitting wholly to the Northmen, so he offered the +Danes a large sum of money to leave Wessex in peace for four years. + +This was accepted by the sea-robbers. They believed that they could +find rich booty elsewhere and return to Wessex when they chose. And +with the English gold in their pouches they sailed from Alfred's +dominions. + +Now the young King had not bought the Danes off because he was too +cowardly to fight with them further--rather did he plan to strengthen +his nation for future fighting, and the Danes were highly foolish to +accept his terms. No sooner were their sails out of sight than Alfred +commenced to build a navy so that he would be able to meet them equally +when they next came against him, and he studied the Danish craft to +serve as models for the English boats. + +The galleys of the Northmen were pointed at both ends and could be +rowed in either direction. There were generally from fifteen to thirty +rowers on either side, and the boats also carried a number of extra +soldiers. They were provided also with square sails pitched about +amidships and were steered by a large paddle. These boats were +excellent in creeks and rivers, but owing to their low bulwarks were +somewhat unseaworthy, and it was necessary for the Danes to cross the +sea and the English Channel in fair weather. + +For four years the Danes left Alfred alone, but after the time agreed +upon had expired they sent a powerful army into Wessex. Alfred at once +marched against them and came upon them in Wareham, where he was able +to surround them in their camp and starve them until they cried for +peace. He then made a treaty with them agreeing to allow them to pass +unmolested back to their ships in return for which they were to trouble +his kingdom no more. + +The Danes, however, like most barbarians, were extremely treacherous. +They pretended to fall in with Alfred's plans but in the night, when +the English had relaxed their vigilance, they stole past his army and +fortified themselves in a strong position, preparing for a siege of +many months. At this all the English thanes and lords became +discouraged. They came to King Alfred and told him that they could not +fight any longer. It would be better, they declared, to submit to the +invaders rather than to undergo the ceaseless war and bloodshed that +tortured their land. And Alfred, as he listened to them, knew that +every word of what they said was the truth. + +But the stout-hearted king had no intention of submitting to the Danes. +When his nobles were through speaking, Alfred cried: "As long as there +is a single man who can wield a sword, I will fight on. Nay, I will +fight alone with none to help me, sooner than surrender my kingdom to +the barbarians." + +At this a lad who was at the gathering drew his sword and shouted: "And +I will follow you, my King, wherever you lead me." And the nobles +returned to Alfred's side, and took heart to continue the unequal war. + +At the head of his army Alfred pursued the Danes to Exeter and laid +siege to it. And now it was manifest that he had shown great wisdom in +building a fleet, for the English ships prevented reenforcements from +joining the Danes, who finally were forced to surrender and were driven +from the country. And many pirate ships were sunk by Alfred's vessels. + +In the winter, however, the Danes came again in such numbers that the +English could not withstand them. The coast swarmed with the pirate +galleys and bands of marauders entered Wessex, plundering and burning +in every direction. Alfred knew that for the time being further +resistance against them was hopeless, and with his wife and only a +handful of faithful followers he fled into the marshes of Athelney +where he remained in the strictest hiding. To all intents and purposes +England had become a Danish country and even the English nobles did not +know what had become of their King. + +While in hiding Alfred had numerous strange adventures which are told +in various old chronicles and legends. On one occasion, when caught in +a snowstorm, he sought shelter in the hut of a swineherd who knew him, +but who was so faithful to him that even his wife was not taken into +the secret. Alfred, who was poorly dressed, was given the task of +watching some loaves of bread which were baking at the hearth, but, +troubled with gloomy thoughts, did not give as strict an eye to them as +he should have done, but suffered them to burn. When the swineherd's +wife came back and found the burning bread, she rated the king soundly +for his carelessness. + +"Idle lout," she cried, "thou couldst not keep an eye to the bread +although thou wouldst be glad to fill thy belly with it. Play another +trick of the kind and I will thwack thee on the snout." + +The king said nothing, but in better days when he had regained his +kingdom, he is said to have presented the honest couple with a fine +house and land as a reward for their hospitality, if not for their +politeness. + +While in hiding Alfred was constantly planning how it would be possible +to vanquish the Danes, and another story tells how he disguised himself +as a musician and boldly entered the Danish lines, to learn for himself +how great their numbers might be. Here he wandered from one camp-fire +to another, harping and singing, all the while keeping his eyes and +ears open and escaping at last with information that would ensure his +victory when the cold weather departed. + +In the spring the King came forth from his hiding-place and sent forth +messengers with a proclamation to the Saxons that they were to join him +at a place he gave them word of, for once again they would fight to +free their country from the foreign yoke. + +The place where he commanded them to meet him was by a rock in the +midst of a forest which was known as "Egbert's Stone." Here the thanes +assembled with their forces, and great was their rejoicing when they +beheld Alfred again, for they believed that he had been killed or had +fled to France or Italy. With drawn swords they swore undying devotion +and fealty to him and shouted for him to lead them as speedily as +possible against the Danes. + +In spite of their patriotism, Alfred's army was far smaller than that +of the Danes, and he knew that to succeed he must surprise them. The +Danes were at a place called Ethandune, and Alfred came upon them by +night marches and by passing so far as possible through little +frequented paths. When the sea-robbers finally saw the army of the +Saxons they could hardly stir for amazement, for they had believed +themselves absolute masters of all England and were bringing their +women and children from the north. But here were the Saxons and their +King, fully armed, their banners flaming in the sunlight. + +The battle raged all day, and in it lay the fate of England. If the +Danes won, the last chance of the Saxons under Alfred would have +departed and the country must necessarily become like the other +countries of the far north. At nightfall, however, the pirates gave way +and for protection fled into a fortress on Bratton Hill, where the +Saxons surrounded them and besieged them. The Northmen at last ran out +of food and were forced to surrender. + +The result of this battle was a treaty between Alfred and the Danes. +The Danish king, Guthrum, desired to settle in England, where he had +lived for many months; and he sent messengers to Alfred, offering to be +baptized as a Christian, promising never again to bear arms against the +people of Wessex. Alfred accepted the Danish proposal gladly, for his +people were weary to death of war and hardship, and needed peace to +till their lands. So Alfred, while he probably could have conquered all +England, left the Danes in the part that had been most thoroughly +conquered by them, calling it the Danelaw, and gave the Danes +permission to live there unmolested, providing they promised to disturb +his kingdom no further. The pact held good, and although at times it +was broken, in general it was adhered to for many years. Saxons and +Danes intermingled and married into the families of their enemies, and +from them a new people gradually came into being. + +As soon as peace was assured Alfred provided against future attacks on +the part of the Northmen by ordering all the forts and strongholds +throughout the kingdom of Wessex to be rebuilt and put into good order. +He knew that the Danes could not be trusted and feared that at any time +new galleys might be seen bearing down upon the English coast. So he +organized his army into several parts and thought out a system by means +of which soldiers might always be on guard duty to withstand an +invasion, while the rest of the people were peacefully tilling the +soil. + +He also framed a code of laws. In the war and confusion into which his +country had been thrown, the laws had fallen into a sorry state and +were frequently disobeyed. In his code Alfred did not introduce new +laws, which his people disliked, but rather arranged and put in order +the laws then existing, and his dominions soon became so orderly and so +free from robbers that it is doubtful if all our police could do better +to-day. Also the King found that the law had been hindered and impeded +by many corrupt and worthless judges, some of whom knew nothing +whatever about the duties of their office--and these he warned to study +and acquaint themselves with what a judge must know or renounce their +positions in law altogether. + +Then the Danes came again. They landed with a large army and tried to +take Rochester Castle. Alfred hastened to the relief of this fortress, +which was a most important one, and drove them away, pressing them so +hard that they scrambled on to their vessels and set sail for the open +sea. + +However, the Danes did not go back to their native land, but landed in +Essex, where they were joined by their countrymen in the Danelaw, who +thus broke the word that they had pledged to Alfred. The new Danish +army was much larger than Alfred's and at first was victorious,--but +the entire navy of Wessex came to the rescue of the English and +vanquished sixteen Danish ships in a tremendous sea fight. The war then +raged with varying fortunes until Alfred signed another agreement with +Guthrum, and laid siege to London which had been taken by the Danes. + +In due time London fell. Its capture gave Alfred a tremendous advantage +over his enemies. He had the city strongly fortified and it stood as a +barrier to Danish vessels that strove to work their way up the River +Thames. Moreover it became one of the world's great trading centers, +and merchants from all quarters of the earth visited it. + +When the Danes were finally defeated, Alfred, according to his custom, +lost no time in building up his kingdom. First of all he commenced to +rebuild the monasteries and abbeys which had been destroyed by the +invaders. The first one that he founded was at Athelney in +Somersetshire, in the midst of the marshes where he had fled for refuge +when the Danes overran his country. He also founded a number of other +monasteries and abbeys, among them the abbey of Shaftesbury, making his +daughter, Ethelgeda, the abbess. + +Alfred loved books and learning, and had made his chief aim in life to +acquire wisdom. He knew that if his people were to become really great +they must labor in the arts and letters and acquire knowledge from +books. Practically all the books of that time were written in Latin +which few could read, so Alfred set himself about the task of making +translations of the best and most valuable books of his day. The +translation was done either under his direct care, or by his own hand, +and the boon to his people was greater than can be told. Alfred ordered +the famous Anglo-Saxon Chronicle to be written, which was designed by +him to treasure up for future the historical happenings of his own +time. + +To make the most of his time, the King divided the day into three +periods of eight hours each. In the first of these he labored for the +Church; in the second for his kingdom, and the third was devoted to +rest and recreation. But although he labored hard and gained much by +performing these good and wise deeds, Alfred had not yet heard the last +of his old enemies the Danes, who were to trouble him almost to the end +of his life. After the defeats they had suffered at his hands they had +turned toward Europe and followed there their usual course, killing and +plundering and bearing the women and children into slavery. At last, +however, they were defeated in battle by the Emperor of Germany and +they turned once more to England, where they hoped the heroic king had +relaxed his vigilance. Under the great viking, Hastings, a large force +of them landed in Kent, and prepared to ravage the country. + +Alfred sent his eldest son, named Edward, to keep close watch upon +their movements, ordering him, however, not to engage them in battle +until he himself should arrive with the bulk of the army. When he was +on the march and when the Danes knew that a large force was advancing +against them, they tried once more their old trick of pretending +friendship in order to throw their enemies off their guard. Hastings +sent to Alfred professions of friendship, and to show his apparent good +faith sent with the messengers his two sons, requesting that they be +baptized as Christians. Alfred received the two Danish princes with +great joy. After they were baptized he welcomed them to a feast and +sent them to their father with many costly presents. + +The Danish plan succeeded, for by their professions of friendship the +English relaxed their watchfulness and gave their enemies an +opportunity to plunder and ravage the country and maneuver themselves +into a position favorable to withstand either siege or battle. And +Prince Edward sent word to his father that the Danes were doing these +things and that he was unable to withstand them. Then Alfred at the +head of his army joined his son and came up with the Danes at a place +called Farnham in Surrey. There he met them in battle and the bravery +of Prince Edward was largely responsible for the victory that followed. +The Danes were utterly routed and many of their galleys fell into the +hands of the English, with many women and children. And among these +prisoners were the wife of Hastings and his two sons, who had so +recently been baptized. And when Alfred learned who they were he sent +them back to Hastings in spite of his treachery, and, not content with +doing this, loaded them down with more presents for the Danish king. + +The work of defeating the Danes was not yet finished, for they were in +many different strongholds which must all be captured before the +country could be wholly rid of them. But after several campaigns Alfred +saw if he could obstruct the river Lea near London he would strand +their ships and be able to attack them at his pleasure. + +The King accomplished his ingenious design by digging a number of +ditches that soon drained the water from the river into another +channel. And when the Danes beheld that their ships would soon be +useless to them, they took to flight, pursued by Alfred's soldiers. +Hastings then sought to go back to the Danish women and children on the +few boats that were left to him, and finally sailed away for good and +all with only a small part of the vast force with which he had +attempted to conquer England. And Alfred saw how mistaken he had been +to show any kindness to Hastings' force, and had some Danish prisoners +hanged as a lesson to the freebooters. + +For four years thereafter Alfred was able to lead a peaceful life and +continue the good works that were to change history and make England a +nation in other things than mere force of arms. All his life, however, +the King had suffered from a disease that afflicted him sorely, and it +was only his great spirit that had enabled him to continue so arduously +in the wars and labors that had made him greater than all others. In +the year 901 or close to that time he died, and was succeeded by his +son, Edward, who bravely defended his country against any further +attacks by the Danes, becoming after his father, one of England's +greatest kings, known as Edward the Elder. + +One thousand years after Alfred's death a great festival was held in +his honor in the city of Winchester which he had defended against the +Danes and where he was buried. His statue stands there to-day, watching +over and guarding the great nation that would not be in the world at +all if his hand and heart had failed it. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +ROBIN HOOD + + +When the wicked John tried to sway England many honest men turned +outlaws rather than obey or suffer his evil rule. For John and his +noblemen tortured and oppressed the poor, driving them from house and +hearth to make a hunting ground, and taxing them so heavily that they +frequently starved to death. Forests were plentiful in England in those +days, but John often tore down houses of his subjects to make the +forests even greater so that he might have more sport in hunting the +deer and the boar that ran wild there. And while he did not scruple to +take the peasants' lands for such a purpose, it was a terrible crime +for a peasant to shoot the deer that often fed upon his crops. Even +were he starving, he might not slay a deer in his own yard. And if he +so transgressed he was punished with the most inhuman cruelty. + +Now, as has been said, many men were too high-spirited to suffer the +injustice that John laid upon them. They fled into the forests instead +and formed armed bands, setting upon travelers and robbing them of +their goods; and they lived by shooting the King's deer and whatever +game they could catch and kill. + +Among these men was an outlaw called Robin Hood, whose fame was known +through the length and breadth of England. Although many men at-arms +had pursued him, they never could catch him, and his daring surpassed +belief. He surrounded himself with the bravest and boldest young men in +all England, and if he encountered any stout-hearted man among those +whom he robbed, or even among those that the Sheriff sent to pursue +him, that man was often added to his band of outlaws. + +Robin Hood became an outlaw through no fault of his own, but through +the common injustice of the day. When he was a very young man he was +journeying to the town of Nottingham, where the Sheriff had prepared a +bout in archery and had promised a butt of ale to whatever man should +draw the best bow and shoot the most skilful arrow. + +As Robin Hood was passing through the forest on his way to Nottingham, +he met a group of the King's foresters, who were there to see that +nobody transgressed the laws; and they made fun of his beardless face +and boyish figure--still more of the bow he carried, since they knew he +was on his way to shoot at Nottingham and they did not believe that +such a youth could ever hope to gain the prize. + +After bearing their jests for a time Robin became angry, and challenged +any one of them to test his skill with the bow. They replied that he +did but boast, for they had no target. And then, looking down the +glade, Robin espied a herd of the King's deer a great distance away and +he cried: + +"Look you, now, if you think that I am no archer, I shall slay the +noblest of that herd at a single shot, and I'll wager twenty marks upon +it into the bargain!" + +"Done!" cried one of the foresters. Whereupon Robin laid an arrow to +his bow and shot so cleverly that the deer lay dead in its tracks. + +The foresters were greatly angered that he had succeeded, and not only +refused to pay him, but when he set forth again one of them sprang to +his feet and sent an arrow after him. Whereupon Robin turned like a +flash and made even a better shot than his first one--for the fellow +who had loosed his bow upon him lay dead on the greensward with an +arrow in his heart. + +The King's foresters could not be slain with impunity in those days and +Robin was made an outlaw--not only because he had slain his man, but +because he had killed the King's deer; and in such a way it came to +pass that he gathered a band of followers about him in Sherwood Forest +and his fame as an outlaw soon became known throughout the land. + +But although Robin Hood was a robber, the common people soon learned to +love him, for no poor man was ever the poorer on account of his +outlawry--rather were the countryfolk in the neighborhood of Sherwood +Forest better off than before, because he made it a point of honor to +rob the rich only to bestow large gifts upon the poor--and many a +present of food and gold was brought by him to the starving serfs and +humble people in the neighborhood. + +Now the Sheriff of Nottingham was eager for the King's favor and the +deeds of Robin Hood were soon brought to his notice. He sought more +than once to capture the bold outlaw, but always failed, and he was so +clumsy and so cowardly that Robin Hood became emboldened to defy him +openly, and enter the town of Nottingham under his very eyes. On one +occasion an outlaw who had been taken by the Sheriff was rescued by +Robin from a formidable array of men-at-arms just as the hangman was +about to string him up on the gallows. + +There are so many tales about Robin Hood that it would be impossible to +tell them all here, and one or two will have to suffice, to show what +manner of life he led and what sort of men his followers were. One of +these was called "Little John," because he was seven feet tall and +broad to match, and in all England there could scarce be found his +equal with the cudgel. Another was a great, brawny priest or friar, who +loved his wine better than prayers, and believed a pasty made of the +King's deer was better for the heart than any amount of fasting. This +jovial priest was named Friar Tuck and took upon himself the task of +looking after the spiritual welfare of Robin's band--which he +accomplished more by a free use of his cudgel on the heads of the +offenders than by prayer or divine exhortation. But of all the men in +the band, Will Scarlet was the strongest. + +[Illustration: ROBIN HOOD'S BAND MADE MERRY BY KILLING THE KING'S DEER] + +Will Scarlet came among Robin's outlaws in a curious manner. One day +when Robin and Little John were strolling through the woods, they saw a +stranger sauntering down a road and he was clad in the most brilliant +manner imaginable in rosy scarlet from head to heel. He seemed a very +ladylike kind of person and carried in his hand a rose of which he +smelled now and then as he walked along, and he sang a little song that +sounded for all the world as though it were being sung by a girl in her +teens. And Robin's gorge rose at the sight of him for he hated +unmanliness and thought that this gaily clad ladylike fellow who seemed +to turn his nose up at the ground he walked upon must be a courtier or +some nobleman that had never done an honest day's work or robbery in +his life. + +"When he comes nearer," said Robin to Little John, "I'll show him that +there be some honest folk abroad who are not afraid to earn their +living, for by my faith I'll take his purse and use the gold therein to +far better advantage than he could do." So, when the young man +approached, Robin stepped out into the path to meet him with his trusty +cudgel in his hand. + +The young man, however, seemed in no way to be afraid of the bold and +resolute outlaw who stood in front of him, and when Robin demanded his +purse he smiled and said it would be better to fight for that article +and the better man should have it. Whereupon he went to the side of the +road, still humming his snatch of a tune, and to the amazement of Robin +and Little John, laid hold of a young oak tree and tore it up by the +roots, with apparently but little exertion of his strength. Then, +trimming off the branches, he stood on guard. + +Robin was warned by this exhibition of power and approached him warily, +but the stranger struck with such force that nobody could stand up to +him, and although Robin put up a long and furious fight his guard was +at last beaten down and he was knocked senseless on the ground. + +With an aching head, but with admiration of the strange young man in +his heart, Robin asked him to join his band, promising him food, booty +and good Lincoln green to wear; and the stranger, after learning who +Robin was, disclosed himself as no other than Robin's own nephew, Will +Scarlet, whom the outlaw had not seen since he was a baby. Delighted at +the meeting, Will Scarlet, Little John and Robin Hood made haste to +join the rest of the band beneath the greenwood tree, where a feast was +set forth and good brown ale poured out in honor of the newcomer. + +On another occasion Robin and his band married two lovers who had been +forced to part because the maiden's father had determined that she was +to become the bride of a wicked but wealthy old nobleman. The outlaws +surrounded the chapel in which the wedding was to take place and when +the ceremony was begun Robin stepped between the bride and groom and +declared that the ceremony could not continue. When the wedding guests +learned that it was indeed Robin Hood that stood before them, they were +greatly frightened, and the outlaws with drawn weapons made their +appearance among them. Friar Tuck himself finished the wedding--only +this time a different groom was substituted and one more after the +maiden's heart, for they gave her the man she loved. + +There are many tales about the English King Richard, the Lion Hearted, +and none is more interesting than that of his meeting with Robin Hood +in Sherwood Forest. King Richard was the brother of the base-hearted +John--who tried to steal the throne from him when he was imprisoned on +the continent after the Crusades. But Richard won back his kingdom and +pardoned his brother, and later on John regained the English throne. + +Richard traveled a great deal in England, and in the course of his +journeying came to Nottingham, which was near the woodland retreat of +Robin Hood. Now although Robin Hood was an outlaw and had transgressed +the King's laws, Richard held something approaching admiration for him, +because Robin's adventures greatly resembled his own, when he had been +wandering as a knight errant, without a kingdom. So Richard told the +Sheriff of Nottingham that he himself would do what the Sheriff had so +often tried to do and always failed in--namely drive Robin Hood's band +away from the woods. And with some followers he disguised himself as a +monk and started across the forest, hoping that Robin Hood and his +outlaws would fall on him and attempt to rob him. + +This is just what happened. The outlaws fell on Richard and took him +prisoner, and after taking his purse they led him to their secluded +hiding-place and set before him a feast of meat and wine, a custom of +theirs whenever they robbed a worthy monk or priest, to remove some of +the sting from the consciousness of his loss. + +"I have heard," said the supposed monk, after he had eaten and drunk +his fill, "that you have good archers in your band. I fain would see +some of them at work." + +In answer Robin Hood called for his men to set up a mark, telling them +that they must shoot to good purpose, for he that missed, were it only +by a hair, should be knocked down by Will Scarlet. + +One after one of the outlaws shot, and they all struck the mark. But +when Robin himself shot something happened that his band had never +before seen, for a gust of wind blew his arrow aside, and he himself, +who was the finest bowman in England, had missed the target. With +shouts of delight the outlaws called upon their leader to pay the +penalty. Robin disliked to do this, for he was the leader of the others +and did not think it good for discipline that his men should behold +their leader undergo such an indignity; however, he ended the matter by +asking the monk, who was Richard, to administer his punishment himself, +since he could take from a member of the church what he could not take +from one of his own band. Richard consented gladly. He always had loved +such adventures,--and the strength of his arm was twice that of Will +Scarlet's,--for the English King was the strongest man in all +Christendom, if not in the entire world. Rising to his feet he drew +back his heavy fist and gave Robin so terrible a buffet that it hurled +him senseless on the ground, doubly stunned from the force with which +he had hit the earth. + +The outlaws were amazed when they saw what had befallen their +leader--still more so when a band of the King's horsemen rode up and +surrounded them, and called the monk who had so lately been feasting +with them, "Your Majesty." Then Richard took off his monk's dress and +appeared in his own royal garments; he gave the outlaws a free pardon +on condition that they serve with him thenceforward and be archers in +his army, for he ever had liked brave men, and he knew that these would +lay down their lives to serve him, even if they did cut purses and rob +priests in the seclusion of the woods. + +In Richard's service many adventures befell Robin Hood even greater +than what had befallen to him in Sherwood forest. He returned to his +old haunts, however, and again became an outlaw when King Richard died +and the wicked John came to the throne once more. + +One day Robin Hood was stricken with a fever and he went to a woman who +lived nearby to be bled, which he believed would lessen his pain and +cure his sickness. But this woman was an enemy of Robin's, although he +knew it not; and she rejoiced at her chance to do him evil. So she +opened a vein in his arm and gave him a drink that threw him into a +deep slumber--and when he awoke he saw that he had lost so much blood +that he had not long to live. + +With the last of his strength the dying outlaw blew his horn that +called his followers around him, and as they supported him he asked for +his bow and an arrow, saying that where the arrow fell he desired to be +buried. Bending the bow with the last of his power, he let loose the +arrow which flew out of the window and struck the ground beside a +little path at the edge of the greenwood. And here was laid to rest the +bravest heart that England had known for many a day, and one whose fame +has lived to the present time. For if we should tell you all of the +adventures of Robin, there would be no room left for any other tales, +so our counsel is to find the books about him and read these adventures +for yourselves. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +SAINT ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY + + +More than seven hundred years ago there was born at Presburg in +Hungary, a royal princess, who became one of the most pious women that +the world has ever seen and whose good deeds have lived until the +present day. This woman was christened Elizabeth. She was the daughter +of King Andrew the Second of Hungary and of Gertrude, formerly a +princess in Dalmatia; and soothsayers and prophets at the time of her +birth foretold her coming greatness. + +Elizabeth was born in 1207--a century when religion was more simple +than it is to-day and when people believed that miracles were still +being performed. It was a time, too, when a fiery passion for religion +ruled the world. Soldiers were intent on crusades into the Holy Land to +capture the city of Jerusalem and to rescue the tomb of the Savior from +the hands of the heathen, and fanatical bands called "flagellants" were +soon to appear throughout Europe--men and women who scourged each other +with whips in public places until they fell down fainting from pain and +exhaustion, believing that this practice was welcome in the eyes of the +Lord and would assure them a place in Paradise. + +It was a time when unquestioning faith held the minds and beliefs of +men. Nothing seemed too marvelous to be accomplished through Divine +means. When a great poet of whom we shall tell you later, wrote about +Hell, Heaven and Purgatory, his neighbors all believed that he had +really visited those places and seen all the wonders that he described. +So when soothsayers and astrologers foretold that the infant Elizabeth +was to become one of the Saints of Heaven, as the legends tell us they +predicted, people marveled, but believed, for it did not seem strange +for Angels and Saints to appear to the eyes of mortal men. + +It was customary in those days for children of high rank to be +betrothed almost before they had quitted the cradle, and when Elizabeth +was four years old she was engaged to be married to the eldest son of +the Landgrave of Thuringia--a boy named Herman who was about ten years +older than herself. And it was also customary at that time for the +future bride to be brought up in the house of her intended husband, so +a number of lords and ladies came from Thuringia to fetch the Princess +Elizabeth away. + +She returned with them in great splendor, and many wagons and strong +horses were needed to carry back to Thuringia all the costly things +that went with her, for she was provided with every comfort and luxury +then known. We are told that her dresses were all of the most costly +silks adorned with precious stones, that her cradle, which was of +silver, accompanied her to the house of the future bridegroom, that +even her bath was of silver and so heavy that it was all that her +handmaidens could do to carry it, and a large sum of money was allotted +as her bridal portion or dowry. + +Elizabeth was too young to remain homesick for any length of time after +she left her parents, and she was kindly received in her new family. +The Landgrave himself, Herman the First, was a kind-hearted man as well +as a noble and distinguished ruler, and his second son, Ludwig, had +qualities of greatness that gave every promise for the country if it +should ever come under his direction. But the other children of the +Landgrave, the princes named Conrad and Heinrich, were of different +calibre from their brother Ludwig, and so was the girl, Agnes, who was +about Elizabeth's own age. Herman, the eldest son, soon died, and +Elizabeth was then betrothed to Ludwig. + +When she was little more than a baby Elizabeth began to show signs of +the religious fervor that was to shape her entire life. She prayed +frequently and always tried to bring the forms of religious worship +into the games that she played with her companions. She spent long +hours at prayer and frequently arose to pray at night, and whenever she +had the opportunity she practiced self-denial that was believed to be +acceptable in the eyes of Heaven by withdrawing herself from some +pleasure that she was taking part in, or abstaining when at table from +some dainty that she loved. + +Three years after Elizabeth had gone to live in Thuringia something +happened that deepened her spiritual ardor, for her mother, Gertrude, +was murdered in the absence of the King, and Andrew himself had to +engage in war to put down the rebellion that had arisen in his country. +This was a great sorrow to the little girl, although she remembered her +mother only dimly, and it resulted in her saying more frequent prayers +and giving more thought to her religion than before. + +Many stories are told us of Elizabeth's piety. On one occasion, when +she was dressed in her finest garments she beheld a crucifix supporting +a life-size image of the Savior, and with an outburst of tears she +threw herself on the ground at the foot of the crucifix, declaring that +she could not bear to wear fine raiment and jewels, while her Lord was +crowned with thorns. She did many other things of the same sort, and at +last reaped the displeasure of the Landgrave's wife, Sophia, and of the +courtiers and menials of the royal castle,--for Elizabeth's gentleness +and piety were a constant reproach to the more worldly persons that +surrounded her. + +When Elizabeth was ten years old there took place another of the +crusades in which knights, nobles and common peasants set forth for the +Holy Land to make war against the heathen; and Elizabeth's father, the +King of Hungary, left his dominions to engage in the holy war. There +was grave doubt if he would ever return, and it seemed too as if his +throne might be wrested from him by rebellion in his absence; so many +of the noblemen and statesmen of Thuringia believed that the marriage +of Ludwig with Elizabeth would be unwise, since there might be no +benefit to be reaped from it on behalf of the State. The Landgravine +Sophia, we are told, was inclined to agree with them--all the more so +because the kind ruler, Herman, had lately died and Ludwig was now on +the throne of Thuringia, and could marry some great princess whose +country was not in the danger of civil war. + +It is not known if the stories of the ill-treatment that was then +visited on the helpless little Elizabeth are true or not, but many +writers have told us that Sophia was determined by harshness and +unkindness to force Elizabeth to enter a convent so that her son would +be free to marry elsewhere. At all events, Ludwig heard of the plans to +break off his engagement, and angrily refused to listen to them, +declaring that he loved Elizabeth dearly and would marry her in spite +of every person and relative in his dominions. And when Elizabeth was +fourteen years old, she was married with great magnificence to Ludwig, +who was as handsome as he was honorable, and made a fitting husband for +the beautiful young girl who had already become famous for her great +piety and her charitable deeds. + +The marriage was ideally happy, for the young couple was passionately +attached, and Ludwig encouraged his wife in her pious and kindly +undertakings. He understood her so well and gave her such hearty +support in her dealings with the poor and her gifts of food, money and +clothing, that after his death he was often referred to as Saint +Ludwig, just as his wife was called Saint Elizabeth. + +Ludwig, however, did not like to see his wife go poorly dressed, and +she wore splendid raiment to please him. Moreover, he disapproved of +her giving so much time and effort to her charity and her prayers that +she taxed her strength. She had to desist from many of her +undertakings, or perform them without his knowledge, when he feared +that her severe fasts and her long prayers were wearing out her health; +and Elizabeth would steal from her chamber to pray when she thought him +asleep, and would wear a coarse sackcloth skirt beneath the silks that +pleased him. + +One time, when Ludwig was climbing the steep path to the castle of the +Wartburg where he held his court, he met Elizabeth, who was carrying in +her dress loaves of bread for the poor people in the nearby village of +Marburg. Elizabeth always tried to perform her charity secretly, for +she believed that it would lose its value if it were widely known--and +moreover she feared that her husband would not approve of her taking a +heavy burden down the steep path into the village. When he stopped her +and gaily asked her what she had in her apron, she opened it shyly, +expecting him to blame her when he saw its contents--but how great was +her amazement as well as his when there tumbled forth upon the ground a +profusion of the sweetest smelling roses of all colors, which had +miraculously taken the place of the provisions that Elizabeth had +carried! + +That was only the first of a series of miracles that those who +worshipped her memory have accredited to her lifetime, and Ludwig, +astonished and awed by what had taken place, is said to have erected a +monument at the spot where the beautiful roses appeared. + +Elizabeth pitied the sick and tended them with the utmost kindness--and +she was particularly kind to the wretched sufferers from the dreadful +disease of leprosy. From earliest times the leper was an outcast from +his fellow men. They fled at his approach, and he was obliged to warn +them of his coming by outcry, or by use of a clapper or bell. But +Elizabeth went to the lepers without fear and fed and comforted them, +and even bathed their sores and bandaged them with her own hands. + +At last her father, King Andrew, returned from the crusade, and on his +way back to his own dominions stopped in Thuringia to see his daughter. +By this time Elizabeth had refused to wear her splendid garments any +longer and had parted with all except her simplest dresses; and Ludwig +feared that her father the King might blame him for not maintaining +Elizabeth in the state that was her due as a royal princess, so he +inquired of Elizabeth if she had any fine dress to wear when greeting +her father. She replied that she had none, but that by grace of God +some way would be found out of the difficulty; and when she put on the +only dress that was left to her it suddenly changed by a miracle into a +gown so beautiful and lustrous that its like had never been seen +before, and King Andrew rejoiced in the appearance of his daughter when +she came before him. + +By this time Elizabeth had two children, and the Landgrave was +rejoiced. He was a powerful and a wise ruler, and while he was +perfectly just, he punished evil-doers with a hand of iron. On one +occasion he was called away from home to give aid to the Emperor +Frederick the Second in putting down a revolt in his dominions; and +Elizabeth ruled over Thuringia until his return. + +Famine and pestilence wasted the country, and the gentle lady was +sorely beset to give aid to her suffering people. She spent so much on +charity that she nearly emptied the treasury, and even sold the robes +of state and the official ornaments to feed the poor. When Ludwig +returned he found his coffers nearly empty--but the money had been +wisely used, for Elizabeth had saved the lives of many of his subjects. + +Then another crusade took place and the brave Ludwig planned to join it +and do his share in driving the heathen Saracens away from the tomb of +Christ. With bitterness and sorrow he said farewell to his wife whom he +loved above all things, and kissed his children for the last time. For +when he was waiting at Otranto to embark for the far east, a terrible +pestilence broke out among the crusaders and Ludwig sickened and died. + +Word of his death was brought to Elizabeth, who had just given birth to +her third child. And when she heard of it she wept bitterly, crying out +that now the world was dead to her indeed, and she never could know joy +again, since her dear lord was taken from her. + +For a time she ruled over Thuringia, but she was hated in the court on +account of her piety, and according to many stories of her life, the +dead Landgrave's brothers, Conrad and Heinrich, conspired against her. +At all events, her life was most unhappy, and in the dead of winter she +quitted the court and went to live in the village, earning her daily +bread by spinning for her living, and eating barely enough to keep +alive. And all the villagers whom she had treated kindly, now that they +found her alone and poor and out of favor at court, would do nothing +for her, and she was laughed at and insulted on the streets. + +But in this time she was sustained by divine means, for she began to +have visions of Heavenly things and beheld angels, and once, so she +declares, she saw the face of the Savior himself, who looked down on +her and comforted her. + +At last Elizabeth went to live with her uncle, the Bishop of Bamberg, +who treated her with the utmost kindness. She had been obliged to send +her children away in the bitter winter that she had been through, and +soon she was obliged to leave the Bishop's protection, for he desired +her to marry again, and this she refused to do. She went to live in a +cottage and took with her two of her former waiting women who +accompanied her all through the hardships she had suffered, and she +busied herself with caring for the sick and giving alms from the small +amount of money that was allowed for her support. + +At this time Elizabeth came under the influence of a priest and a +religious enthusiast called Master Conrad, previously known to her, who +was an ardent, though a narrow-minded believer in the Catholic faith; +and Conrad encouraged her in the severe rites of self-denial that she +practised. At times he punished her with the lash and at last he +brought her completely under the domination of his will. But she +yielded so readily to all penances and voluntary inflictions of +sufferings that even this fanatical zealot was compelled to restrain +her, for Elizabeth desired constantly to do more than he suggested or +wished. At last, with her two waiting women, Elizabeth became a member +of the Third Order of Saint Francis, renounced her family and children, +and spent all her time in caring for the sick and visiting the +afflicted. + +She ate almost nothing, and her strength soon gave way under the +privations that she endured. Although she was only twenty-four years +old, she had suffered so greatly that her vitality was sapped and she +had not long to live. She died on November 19, 1231, and Master Conrad +himself soon followed her to the grave. + +Elizabeth had not wasted herself in vain, in spite of the fanatical +zeal of her belief and the needless sufferings that she inflicted upon +herself. For years she had cared for nine hundred poor folk every day, +and she had founded a hospital of twenty-eight beds that she visited +daily. She had encouraged her husband in kindness and generous +government, and she saved countless lives in the winter when she +herself sat on the throne of Thuringia. + +After her death the zealous Conrad set about collecting proofs of the +miracles that had happened in connection with her, to submit them to +the Pope, who might declare her to be a Saint. Further proofs were +forthcoming even after she had died, for when pilgrims visited her tomb +many of them were marvelously cured of the sicknesses from which they +had been suffering. Her brother-in-law, Conrad, repenting of his former +treatment of her, built a splendid church in her honor, and her bones +were laid in their last resting-place a few years after her death. In +the meantime the Pope examined all the proofs of her piety and +holiness, as well as of the cures that had been effected at her tomb, +and at last Elizabeth was made a Saint, and became known as Saint +Elizabeth of Hungary. For centuries pilgrims have worshipped at her +shrine, and the church that was built in her memory still stands as a +monument of the wonderful life of this holy woman who lived and died +the better part of a thousand years ago. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +DANTE + + +In the year 1265 there was born in the city of Florence in Italy a man +who was destined to become one of the four greatest poets that the +world has ever produced. This man was Dante, the son of Alighiero, a +Florentine who was popular and well known as a man of affairs. + +When Dante was born Italy was very different from what it is to-day, +for instead of being formed of a single nation, or even of a number of +smaller ones, the cities themselves were nations and made their own +laws. These cities, moreover, were constantly at war with one another, +and fighting was the order of the day. Even within the cities there +were often bloody frays and brawls between the supporters of one or +another noble family. These brawls sometimes became so extensive that +they grew into civil war, and penetrated beyond the limits of the +cities in which they were hatched. Such was the state of affairs in +Dante's time, and it is important to remember this, because the +quarrels of these different factions had a great effect upon his life. + +Particularly long and bloody in Florence and other cities had been the +strife between two families and factions who called themselves +respectively the Guelfs and the Ghibellines. Dante's father belonged to +the Guelf party and the boy was brought up with the idea that he must +always serve the Guelfs, and support them in all their quarrels. The +Guelfs, moreover, were high in the affairs of Florence and had overcome +their opponents there. And for this reason those who belonged to the +Guelf cause had the chance to rise in the affairs of the city. + +So Dante's boyhood was not spent like that of some other poets, in the +midst of books alone, or in the quiet seclusion of school and college. +He was thrown neck and heels into the midst of the fiery Italian +politics of an age when one could poniard his enemy on the streets and +go unpunished, providing he had power or influence. And it is probable +that he saw many wild doings. He was, however, of studious habits and +loved reading more than the air he breathed. And while little is known +of his boyhood years, it is certain that he mastered then and in his +early manhood many of the best books that had been written since the +beginning of the world. Moreover, as Dante later said, he had taught +himself "the art of bringing words into verse"--an art that he mastered +so thoroughly that his name was to live forever. + +When Dante was still a young boy there befell something that proved to +be the most wonderful happening in his entire life. This was nothing +else than meeting a little girl named Beatrice Portinari. Although +Beatrice was only a child, and Dante himself hardly ten years old, he +felt a love for her that lasted from that minute until the day of his +death and that inspired him to write the great poem that made his name +famous throughout the world. + +A festival was given by the family of the Portinari which was a noble +one and possessed such wealth that its members afterward became bankers +for King Edward the Third of England. Among the guests was the boy, +Dante, and he beheld Beatrice there as a beautiful little girl. How +strangely he was affected by the sight of her he told in later years, +and his words have been translated and quoted as follows: "Her dress, +on that day," said Dante, "was of a most noble color,--a subdued and +goodly crimson, girdled and adorned in such sort as best suited her +very tender age. At that moment, I say most truly, that the spirit of +life, which hath its dwelling in the secretest chamber of the heart, +began to tremble so violently that the least pulses of my body shook +therewith. From that time Love ruled my soul." + +Dante did not speak to Beatrice on that occasion,--in fact, he saw her, +or addressed her, only two or three times in his entire life. But from +the day when she first appeared to him in her crimson dress, he sought +to perform some deed that would make him worthy of her love, and the +result was the great poem in which he placed her name beside his own. + +In spite of his love, Dante did not become an idle dreamer, but +developed into an active and studious young man, ready to take up the +sword to defend his city whenever it might call on him to do so. And +when he was twenty-four years old he put on his armor and went forth to +battle against the citizens of Arezzo, a town where the Ghibellines +were powerful and had been acting in a hostile manner toward the +Guelfs, who controlled Florence. + +War was not so serious an affair then as it is now, and everyone +engaged in it. Moreover, the towns that warred against each other were +so near that it was sometimes an easy matter to go forth and fight on +one day and be back in your own home on the day following. Everyone was +expected to bear arms for his city, and going to war was held to be a +matter of course; but in spite of these things Dante gained great +praise for the way in which he conducted himself in the war with +Arezzo, perhaps because he was braver than the rest, or perhaps because +a poet is not generally considered to be as warlike as other men. + +After the fighting had ended, Dante returned to Florence and prepared +to take his part in city politics. Before he could accomplish anything +it was necessary for him to go on record that he belonged to one of the +great guilds into which all the citizens at that time were divided, and +which controlled all the different branches of business and +manufacturing, and all the sciences. So Dante entered the guild of the +Doctors and Apothecaries--not because he knew anything about their +professions--that was not necessary--but to give himself an apparent +vocation when he came to assume some one of the city offices. + +By this time Dante's great intellect and scholarly attainments had made +him well known in Florence, although he was only a young man. He was +high in the esteem of many learned men and had a great many poets and +artists for his friends. Among them were the artist named Giotto and +the poet called Guido Cavalcante. So well did he appear in their eyes +and to the men of the city of Florence who ran its affairs that in the +year 1300 Dante was made one of the Priors of Florence, that is, one of +the chief rulers of the city. + +It was not to be thought that a man could gain such a position in those +turbulent times without making many enemies, and as Dante belonged to +the controlling faction, others who were not in power planned his +overthrow and that of his fellow rulers. Dante himself, however, +disliked this civil strife and did all in his power to bring the +opposing factions together. But his enemies got the upper hand, and he +was finally driven from the city in exile. + +Another sorrow had befallen him. Beatrice, whom he still continued to +love ardently (although he had married a good woman named Gemma Donati +and had three children) had died some years before, leaving him nothing +but her memory. But Dante's love for Beatrice had not interfered in his +relations with his wife. It was not an earthly love. He had not wanted +Beatrice as his wife, but rather as an ideal that he could worship. And +after her death he became both gloomy and unhappy. + +His exile, moreover, was a bitter blow to Dante, for he had loved +Florence dearly and could not imagine making his home elsewhere. With +bitterness in his heart he wandered from city to city, and then he set +out in earnest to write the great poem which is called the _Divine +Comedy_. Dante had already written a number of beautiful poems, but +they were more in the style of other Italian and Latin poetry. What he +now planned was entirely new and so daring that it had never been +thought of since the beginning of the world. + +He planned in this poem to describe a journey into the nethermost +regions of Hell, then into Purgatory and finally into Heaven, where +Beatrice should be his guide and conduct him to the throne of God +Himself. + +Such a poem, as we have said, had never been written or even wildly +imagined, but Dante's imagination was so vivid that it seemed as if he +really had beheld the scenes that he described. And he told the story +of the poem as though the adventures in it were real and had happened +directly to himself. + +Hell, according to Dante's belief, and that of the religion of his day, +was a gigantic funnel-shaped gulf directly beneath the city of +Jerusalem, shaped into nine vast circles or pits with a common center +that reached down to the center of the earth like a circular flight of +stairs. In the lowest pit of all Satan himself was to be found, ruling +his kingdom. On the other side of the earth was a wide sea, from which +arose a mighty mountain called the Mount of Purgatory--the place where +the souls of human beings did penance for their sins until they were +fit to enter Heaven. Heaven itself was composed of nine transparent and +revolving spheres that enclosed the earth, and in which were fastened +the sun, the moon and the stars. The motion of these heavenly bodies as +they rose and set above the earth's horizon was believed by Dante to be +due to the turning of the spheres, which were moved by the hand of God. + +It was in accordance with this idea of Heaven and Hell that Dante began +his poem. + +One day, he said, when he was lonely and sad in spirit, he found +himself standing in the midst of a deep forest that was so gloomy, wild +and savage that no mortal eyes had ever seen its equal--and even to +think of it afterward caused him a bitterness not far from that of +death itself. + +As he stood there he was aware of a presence close by, the stately +figure of a man, who proved to be the great Roman poet, Vergil,--and +Vergil told him that Divine Will had ordered him to guide Dante through +Hell and as far as the gates of Paradise. + +He made clear to Dante that this journey was the part of a Heavenly +order and had been decreed by Heaven itself, and Dante, in great fear +at what he was about to see, was led by Vergil through the forest until +he came to the mouth of a black cavern. Carven on the rock above it was +a verse that told Dante that here was the entrance to the lower +world,--the gateway to Hell. And the verse concluded with the grim +words--"_All Hope Abandon, Ye Who Enter Here_." + +Sighs, groans, lamentations and terrible voices were heard from the +depths below as they passed through this evil doorway, and now they +were in a region of murky gloom, where no ray of sunlight ever had +entered. All around them were the spirits of the dead. They came +flocking to the Acheron or River of Death, where the ferryman named +Charon, with eyes like flaming wheels, bore them across. When Charon +saw a living man among the dead he sternly ordered Dante to return +whence he had come. Vergil interceded for him, and they passed on. + +After they had crossed the River of Death they entered the first circle +of Hell, where those who had the misfortune to die without being +baptized, or who had believed in some other religion than Christianity, +must spend the rest of time. Here were a number of noble spirits from +the days of Rome and Greece, including many of the poets, +mathematicians and astronomers of olden days. Dante would gladly have +remained with them, for they were not unhappy and spent their time in +learned discourse and scholarly friendship, but Vergil urged him +onward. + +Deeper and deeper they descended. They passed through great spaces +where mighty winds swept before them the souls of the dead, whirling +them around forever without rest; through regions of chill rain and +sleet, where the spirits of those who had been gluttonous in their +lifetime were perpetually torn into pieces by a three-headed dog called +Cerberus. And after many awful scenes that Dante could hardly bear to +witness, he saw in front of him the towers of the dreadful city of Dis, +or Satan, in which the spirits of the damned underwent punishments that +were worse than any he had witnessed thus far. + +Guarding the walls were the three Furies of the Greek legends. When +they beheld Dante they howled for the Gorgon, Medusa, with the snaky +locks to come quickly and turn him into stone--a fate that must befall +all men that gazed upon her face. But Vergil bade Dante hide his eyes, +and to be sure that he might be saved he covered them with his own +hand. + +They entered the city--and there and from that time on the punishments +became so fearful that we shall not describe them here. + +In their journey they had constantly to be on their guard against the +monsters of Hell that strove to arrest their progress. And in passing +by a lake of burning pitch, in which tortured souls were burning, the +demons that guarded them rushed at Dante and pursued him, eager to hurl +him into the lake to lose his life and the hope of Heaven at one and +the same time. + +Lower and lower they descended, passing from one horror to another +still more terrible, until they came to the nethermost pit of all, +where Vergil told Dante that now he would need all his courage to +sustain him, for he had come at last to the abode of Satan. This was a +region of eternal ice and a bitter wind blew on them, so cold and +dreadful that Dante was half dead from it and it seemed that his numbed +senses could not support life any longer. The wind, he saw, was caused +by the bat-like wings of Satan himself--a gigantic and hairy monster, +with only the upper half of his body protruding from the icy pit in +which he stood. He had three heads, one red, one green and one white +and yellow; and in his three mouths he munched the three greatest +traitors of all time--Judas Iscariot, Brutus and Cassius. + +When Dante was about to swoon from the terrible sight, Vergil watched +his opportunity, and as the great wings of Satan rose he sprang beneath +them, with Dante following him. Grasping the hairy side of the monster, +they commenced to descend still lower. And soon, to Dante's amazement, +their downward path became an upward one, for Satan's waist was at the +center of the earth and after they had passed it they must climb +instead of descend. + +Up and up they went, toiling with the greatest difficulty, passing +through a chimney-like passageway that led for an incredible distance +to the open air above; and when they arrived beneath the blue sky they +were at the base of the Mountain of Purgatory, where men's spirits that +were not doomed to Hell must purify themselves before they could hope +to enter the Heaven that lay above them. + +After the soot of Hell was washed from Dante's countenance he began +with Vergil to ascend the mountain. They passed countless spirits all +engaged in severe tasks, to cleanse themselves of sin before they could +hope to attain the wonderful regions above; but these spirits were +almost happy, although many of them were undergoing pain and suffering, +for their trouble was not endless as was the case with the spirits of +Hell, and they would certainly find happiness at last. + +When they came to the summit of the mountain a wall of fire lay between +them and Paradise. Through this they passed, and once on the other side +Dante lost sight of Vergil, who could accompany him no further. + +Dante was then greeted by his long lost Beatrice, now a radiant spirit, +who had been chosen by divine will to show him the glories of Heaven. +And with Beatrice guiding him, Dante passed upward through the crystal +spheres, once getting a glimpse of the earth in his heavenly progress +as it lay beneath him shining in the light of the sun. At last Dante +had ascended to so great a height in Heaven that he beheld God +Himself--but what he saw was so wonderful that it was impossible for +him to write about it, and in this way his wonderful poem came to an +end. + +After completing the Inferno Dante went to Paris, where he met a great +many scholars and wise men, who treated him with the utmost respect, +but all the time he desired to be in his native city of Florence. When +Henry of Luxembourg planned to lay siege to it, Dante encouraged him, +hoping that he might enter with the conquerors and that his enemies +might be overthrown. The siege took place, but it was unsuccessful, and +the poet was compelled to wander far and wide among strangers for the +rest of his life. As he lacked money, he had to take many humble +offices to earn his bread, and more than once had to undergo the +indignity of sitting among the jesters and buffoons at some great house +that had honored him with its favor. + +At last, weary of life and sick at heart, Dante went to Ravenna, where +his genius was honored more worthily. His name had now penetrated +throughout the greater part of the civilized world and he was known as +one of the greatest geniuses that had ever lived. Many people believed +that Dante had actually beheld the scenes that he described. When they +met him on the streets they would draw aside to let him pass, thinking +him a man whose destiny was different from their own, and they would +whisper to each other that he was the man who had descended into Hell +and come forth again alive and had looked with his own eyes at the +horrors of the Infernal Regions. + +No doubt the fame and the almost frightened homage that he received +were pleasing to the sad soul of Dante, but he always remembered that +he was still an outcast from his native city. Florence stubbornly +refused to remove her ban and when Dante died he was buried at Ravenna. +There his body still lies, with a Latin inscription on his tombstone +that tells the world of the ingratitude of the city of Florence to her +greatest son, who is also the greatest poet that Italy has ever seen. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +ROBERT BRUCE + + +If you ask a Scot who is the greatest man that ever lived he will +probably say Robert Bruce. It does not matter that Robert Bruce died +six hundred years ago--his name is as bright in Scotland as though he +had lived yesterday. Songs and stories are told about him there and +every school boy hears of him as soon as he is old enough to listen to +the tales of his country. + +The reason for this is that Robert Bruce made the Scots free from the +rule of England, which country they used to hate. Also because he was a +great warrior, so strong in body and with such courage that it was +almost impossible for any foe to stand against him. + +When Edward the First ruled over England he extended his power over the +free land of Scotland, where the race and the speech were different +from those of the English. A dispute had arisen among the Scottish +chiefs as to who was to succeed to the Scottish throne. Many claimants +came forward, and as a result of this the chieftains were embroiled +among themselves, giving Edward a chance to seize their country which +he was not slow to take. + +So great had been the jealousy among the Scots that many joined +Edward's army to fight against their fellow countrymen. Among them was +a young nobleman named Robert Bruce, whose grandfather had himself been +one of the claimants to the Scottish throne. + +It was not a noble deed on the part of Robert Bruce to serve under the +English banner. Indeed, in his younger years he does not seem to have +been a hero at all. While the great Scottish chief, Wallace, was waging +bitter war against King Edward, Bruce was content to rest under +Edward's protection,--even after Wallace was captured and put to a +cruel death in Berwick castle, where he was beheaded at Edward's order. + +At last, however, Bruce began to show that he intended to become a +champion of the Scottish cause. He did not do this all at once, and, in +fact, he acted treacherously both to the Scots and to the English--for +he renounced his fealty to Edward on two separate occasions, and each +time was won back to him and received gifts and forgiveness from him. +At last, however, Bruce was obliged to fly for his life from the +English court and trust his fortunes to the Scottish cause. + +He had been betrayed to Edward by a nobleman called Lord Comyn, and he +now determined that Comyn must be slain. He sent his two brothers as +messengers to Comyn, asking this lord to accompany them to a church in +Dumfries, where Bruce was waiting for him at the altar. When Comyn +approached, Bruce told him that his treachery was discovered. "Be +assured you shall have your reward," he cried loudly, and drawing his +dagger he plunged it in Comyn's breast. + +Murder was little thought of in those days, but murder in a church, +before the altar itself and under the very eyes of the priests who were +engaged in their religious offices, was a crime that made the whole +civilized world ring with horror. And it blackened the name of Robert +Bruce with a stain that has lasted to this day, in spite of his great +glory. + +Bruce, however, had been greatly provoked to this bloody deed, and was +now to prove himself a true champion of the Scottish people. He sought +safety in flight for a time, and at last rallied the Scots about him at +Lochmaven Castle, from which place he told them that he would make +himself King over all Scotland and liberate the land from the English +yoke. With his vassals and retainers about him, he issued proclamations +for all who would fight against England to join his banner, and at +Scone he had placed on his head the Scottish crown. + +When King Edward heard of what Bruce had done--how he had murdered +Comyn and been crowned king and was inciting all of Scotland to rise +against the English rule, he fell in such a rage that he could hardly +speak for anger, and swore a great oath that the rest of his life +should be devoted to punishing Bruce for his crimes. A strong English +army was promptly raised and sent against the new Scottish King. + +The English soldiers under the Earl of Pembroke fell on the Scots at +night in the woods at a place called Methven, when the followers of +Bruce believed themselves to be safe from attack, and had taken off +their armor. As the English with shouts and battle cries attacked the +unguarded Scots, Bruce leaped to his horse and with his great +two-handed sword drove his enemies before him like chaff. But while the +English recoiled before the blows of his powerful arm, they succeeded +in routing his followers. A large number of Bruce's friends and +retainers were captured, and he himself only escaped by killing with +his own hand three men who laid hold of his equipment and were trying +to drag him from his horse. For the time being the Scots were +thoroughly defeated, and were obliged to take shelter wherever they +could find it. + +With his army scattered and only about five hundred followers remaining +faithful to him, Bruce fled into the mountain forests of Athole. His +troubles had only begun, for many fierce Scottish noblemen themselves +were his bitter enemies on account of wars between the different +Scottish clans, and particularly because of the foul murder of Lord +Comyn. + +Then began a period of wandering and suffering for Bruce and his +followers. They made their way across the mountains to Aberdeen, where +their wives joined them, preferring to be hunted outlaws with their +husbands rather than to remain in safety away from them. And finally +the little band of ragged highlanders came to Argyl, where they were +confronted in battle by a Scottish chief called John of Lorn. + +Bruce's men were in poor condition on account of the hardships they had +undergone and were also outnumbered by their enemies. The result of the +battle was a second defeat for Bruce, who now must hide more closely +than ever, as his enemies were hunting for him everywhere. + +Once more his wife had to part from him, for his state was now so +dangerous and the hardships he endured so great that no woman could +withstand them. And the lords who remained in his company had likewise +to say farewell to their wives and children. No spot in Scotland was +safe for them. Nowhere could Bruce rest his head and be sure that his +enemies would not attack him before morning. English soldiers and Scots +who had become their allies were looking for him everywhere. Moreover, +those Scots who fell into the hands of the enemy could not hope for +mercy. If they were men of low degree and with no title of nobility +they were hanged. If they were of noble birth, they suffered the more +aristocratic fate of beheading. + +Still further misfortunes were to follow Bruce. The Pope could not +forget his desecration of the church and passed on him what is known to +all followers of the Catholic faith as the sentence of excommunication. +This was a terrible punishment, for it meant that so far as the power +of the Church went--and that power was absolute in those far +days--Bruce could never be received in Heaven or even have the +privilege of repenting for his sins. He was cast out of the Church into +the outer darkness, and the hands of every priest and of all righteous +men were turned against him. + +He was obliged to flee to a little island off the coast of Ireland, +where with a few followers he had a comparatively safe hiding place, +although the ships of King Edward were hunting for him high and low. In +the meantime his Queen and her ladies, whom he believed he had sent to +a safe refuge in a stronghold called Kildrummy Castle, were captured by +the English and kept in close confinement, being made to undergo many +indignities because Bruce himself had succeeded in eluding vengeance. + +But all the time he lay in concealment Bruce considered how he could go +back to Scotland, whose shores he could see from his hiding place, and +he and his followers were constantly making desperate plans to return. +Chief among them was one James Douglas, who was a brave and noble +warrior, second only to Bruce himself in the strength of his arm and no +way inferior to him in the quality of his courage. After many a talk +with Douglas and the rest of his followers as to what would be best for +them in their extremity, Bruce decided to send a trusty messenger in a +small boat to the Scottish shore to learn if there was any discontent +under the British rule, and if the time for a second uprising had not +perhaps arrived. For Bruce knew he had many friends, if he could only +reach them and gather them to his side. + +The messenger who made this dangerous journey was to signal to Bruce if +it was safe for him to return by lighting a beacon fire on the headland +that was most visible from the Island of Arran where Bruce was then +hiding. If Bruce saw the fire on the following night he and his +followers were to embark at once for Scotland. There they would be met +by friends and their further course made clear to them. + +How great was Bruce's joy when the night fell to see the beacon fire +spring up on the distant headland! With a high heart he and his +followers embarked and pulled strongly at the oars. They believed that +Scotland would be theirs again. + +But when Bruce and his small band of followers arrived on the mainland +they found the messenger awaiting them. It seemed that some ill chance +had befallen, for the beacon had been kindled by accident and for some +other purpose than to call Bruce from his hiding place. So far from +being prepared for his invasion, Scotland seemed more dangerous than +ever for him. Two of his brothers had been captured by the English and +both had been beheaded. Bruce learned also that the Queen and her +ladies whom he believed to be safe in Kildrummy Castle had fallen into +English hands and were pent in dungeons like wild beasts. + +Discretion told the little band of adventurers to return to their +island retreat, but after consulting together over their bitter +fortunes, they decided to make a bold stroke for success and die if it +did not succeed. An English garrison lay at Turnberry Castle not far +off, and had been divided in two parts, one being billeted in a nearby +village, while the other occupied the castle itself. It was decided to +attack the English soldiers who were in the village and not to leave a +man of them alive. + +Silently Bruce and his men stole up to the little town. As the +frightened English came running half clad into the streets they were +met by the swords and axes of the Scots. Few escaped the grim vengeance +of that attack, and Bruce retaliated heavily for the injuries the +English had worked on his wife and his kinsmen in his absence. + +The Scots, however, did not rally to Bruce's standard as quickly as he +hoped, and he was once more compelled to take shelter in the mountains. +To escape the enemies who fell on his little band in far superior +numbers and with better arms and equipment he was obliged to flee as +swiftly as possible. His enemies, however, had tracked Bruce himself by +a bloodhound, and it seemed impossible for him to escape the unerring +scent of this terrible animal, which picked up his trail from among +those of his followers. At last, with a few men, he separated entirely +from his soldiers, telling them of a rendezvous where they were to meet +him in case he should escape. + +Bruce avoided the bloodhound by wading through a running stream, and +then had adventures which have become the subject of legends in his +country. At one time he was ambushed and attacked by three traitors of +his own force, who hoped to make their fortunes by bringing his head to +the English. Instead of this they dug their own graves, for Bruce slew +all three with his own hand. On another occasion he took refuge with a +single companion in a deserted house where three more enemies +endeavored to kill him as he slept. Bruce had a companion at his side, +but both were worn out by the hardships they had undergone and were +fast asleep as the ruffians with drawn swords and daggers stole upon +them. + +The good angel of Scotland made one of them tread too heavily. All at +once Bruce awoke and leaped to his feet with his mighty two-handed +sword in his grasp. His companion was slain, but alone Bruce struck +down and killed the three murderers that had set upon him. + +There are many stories about Bruce while he lay hiding in the mountain +fastnesses of Scotland. We are told that on the day following his +victory over the three would-be assassins he went to the house of an +old woman and asked for something to eat. And when he begged for food +she replied that she would give it to him willingly for the sake of one +wanderer that she loved; and Bruce inquired of her who that might be. + +"No other than King Robert himself," she responded. "He is hunted now +and without friends, but the time will come when he shall rule all +Scotland." "Know, then, woman," said Bruce, overjoyed at this evidence +of devotion that had followed him in his trouble, "that I am he of whom +you speak and have returned for no other purpose than to resume my +crown and throne." + +When the old woman recovered from her amazement she did him reverence +as the rightful King of Scotland and called in her three strong sons to +wait on him and join the ranks of his soldiers. + +Bruce slowly collected the men that had remained faithful to him, and +at Loudon Hill in May he and his followers met an English army. The +English leader, whose name was De Valence, had done everything in his +power to make Bruce come forth from his mountain retreat and do battle +with the English, for he believed that on open ground he could defeat +the Scots decisively and do away with the long chase of Bruce that was +wearying himself and his followers. So De Valence sent Bruce a letter +in which he called him a base coward for refusing to meet him in +battle, and challenged Bruce to stand up to him as a soldier at Loudon +on the tenth of May. Stung with anger, Bruce accepted the challenge and +the crafty English leader rejoiced because his enemy had delivered +himself into his hands. + +Bruce, however, had no intention of being defeated. He arrived on the +appointed spot several days before the English and studied his ground +with the eye of a trained general. He knew the route that must be taken +by the English and so arranged his forces that it would be impossible +for his enemies to outflank him, entrenching himself behind marshes and +ditches that the English could not pass. + +On the appointed day he saw the gay banners and shining armor of his +enemies. They approached recklessly and hurled themselves against his +line in a headlong charge. But the Scots held firm. Again and again the +English sought to break the Scottish ranks or to take them on the +flank, but to no avail. And then when their ranks showed signs of +wavering, Bruce himself gave the signal for the charge. With a shout +his men rushed forward and the English were routed. Victory had crowned +the arms of a tattered and ragged band of outlaws who fought with +English halters around their necks. + +Then a terrible calamity befell the English and turned the scale still +further in favor of Bruce. Old King Edward, embittered because his +cherished schemes regarding Scotland had failed, died, and with his +last breath he asked his son, the Prince of Wales, to see his bones +were carried in their coffin at the head of the English army invading +Scotland. + +The Prince of Wales who succeeded him was called Edward the Second and +was a hollow echo of his father's greatness. While Edward had been the +finest general of his time either in England or in Europe, the new king +knew little of military art and was idle and of a pleasure loving +nature. He knew nothing of generalship and cared less, being content to +leave the leading of his armies in the field to the nobles who served +him. + +At once it was seen that the death of the strong King Edward the First +was a great stroke of good fortune for his equally strong opponent. In +the two years that followed King Edward's death nearly the whole +country of Scotland rose against the English and threw off the foreign +yoke, acclaiming Bruce as their rightful king. Border warfare was +constant and raids and skirmishes were carried on both by the Scots and +the English, with varying success on either side. + +In these raids, sieges and forays one of Bruce's followers particularly +distinguished himself. This was James Douglas, who had shared all his +leader's hardships. + +While most of Scotland was now under Bruce's banner, the English still +held many important strongholds which were thorns in the side of Bruce +and his followers. Chief among these fortresses were those of Stirling +and Berwick. + +Realizing that the overthrow of these strong fortresses was necessary +to the success of the Scottish cause, King Robert in the autumn of 1313 +sent his brother, Edward Bruce, to lay siege to Stirling Castle. So +well did the Scots succeed and so ruthlessly did they beset the strong +walls of Stirling that at last the English commander, one Sir Philip +Mowbray, agreed to surrender, providing the besieged soldiers were not +relieved by the English before the twenty-fourth of June of the +following year. This was a strange agreement and showed that the old +laws of chivalry which bound all noblemen to certain forms of warfare +and certain conditions of fighting were still in operation. + +But the English had no intention of allowing Stirling Castle to fall +into the hands of the Scots and before the stipulated date a strong +army advanced into Scotland, led by King Edward the Second in person. +It numbered, we are told, about one hundred thousand men, while the +total number that Bruce was able to muster was thirty thousand, so that +his force of seasoned veterans was compelled to fight at odds of more +than three to one. + +Bruce sent out scouts to keep close watch of all the English movements, +and on the twenty-second of June they brought him word that the English +were advancing on Stirling Castle by way of a place called Falkirk. + +This information enabled Bruce to know exactly how his enemies must +travel, for to reach Stirling after passing Falkirk they would have to +cross a stream called Bannock Burn, and Bruce was thoroughly acquainted +with the country in the vicinity of this stream. + +He assembled his army on its bank and strengthened his position with +hundreds of pits in which sharp stakes were planted to trip and impale +the English cavalry. When these pits were prepared they were covered up +again with turf in such a way that they were practically invisible. +Bruce also took his position at a ford in the river, knowing that his +flanks would be protected by deep water and high banks so that the +enemy could not get around him. + +When his men had taken their positions he spoke to them. He told them +that the hour had come when they were to make Scotland free or die as +they faced the foe. If the men did not like his conditions, he +continued, they were free to depart before the battle began. + +But the Scots stood firm. Although they had an idea of the odds against +which they must fight, their confidence in their leader was so great +that they had no doubt in their minds that victory would be theirs. +Behind their rude fortifications, with sharpened pikes and swords, they +awaited grimly the coming of Edward's horsemen. + +The battle opened in a curious manner. While Sir Thomas Randolph, one +of Bruce's kinsmen, was fighting with a body of English cavalry that +sought to outflank Bruce and make its way to Stirling Castle, Bruce +himself engaged in single combat with an English knight named Sir Henry +de Bohun. This knight had recognized Bruce as the latter rode up and +down in front of the line of Scottish warriors and spurring his horse +with lance in rest he charged at the Scotch King. Bruce was only +mounted on a small pony, while the Englishman rode a heavy charger--but +when the knight was upon him, Bruce, by a deft twist of the bridle, +avoided the deadly lance, and in another second had driven his battle +axe through the skull of his enemy with so mighty a blow that the +handle broke in his hand. + +A great cheer rose from the Scottish ranks as they beheld this deed, +and with the greatest bravery they routed the English as they charged. +The English had not reckoned on such stubborn resistance from a force +far inferior to their own, both in size and equipment, and as the day +was waning they withdrew in good order, planning to hold a council of +war and gain the battle on the following day. + +Early in the morning the Scots were in position, and with a great rush +of horses and men the English surged upon them. It was to no avail. +Again and again the flower of the English nobility charged the squares +of Scottish infantry and were driven back in confusion. + +At last the English lines wavered and with a deafening cheer the Scots +rushed upon them. Pell mell the English retreated and the battle was +won. It is said that thirty thousand Englishmen were slain in this +encounter--a number equal to the total number of the Scottish army. + +The victory that Bruce won at the battle of Bannockburn changed the +entire course of English history. Instead of being a hunted fugitive he +was now acknowledged as king and openly received the fealty of his +subjects. The English strongholds in Scotland were overthrown, and +Scotland became a kingdom in fact as well as in name. Moreover, Bruce's +wife and daughter, who had been imprisoned in England, were set at +liberty. Fighting was not yet over, however, and border warfare for a +time continued with varying success on either side. Edward Bruce, the +brother of King Robert, was killed when fighting in Ireland. + +In 1328 a treaty was signed with England in which the English +recognized that Scotland was now fairly entitled to her independence +and that Bruce was her rightful ruler. + +But the great king was not to enjoy for long the fruits of his victory. +His hardships in the wilderness when flying from his enemies, and his +great suffering and lack of food when he fled in the Scotch heather +like a hunted animal, had made him fall prey to a terrible malady--the +disease of leprosy. So great was the love in which the Scots held him +that even this did not make them shun him with the fear that is shown +toward ordinary sufferers from this disease. Surrounded by friends, +Bruce gradually wasted away and died in 1329. His noble follower, +Douglas, who had won the name from the English of "the black Douglas," +took the heart of the dead king and placed it in a silver box, planning +to carry it to Jerusalem. But Douglas himself did not live to place it +there, for he was killed in a battle with the Moors. + +In all history there have been great soldiers and chiefs of Scottish +birth. How great the Scots are as soldiers has been shown in the recent +war, where they rendered the most distinguished service for Great +Britain, fighting under the British flag, their former quarrels with +England reconciled, if not forgotten. But of all none was more glorious +than Robert Bruce, and his name is a household word to-day through the +whole of Scotland. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +JEANNE D'ARC + + +In northern France the river Meuse runs through broad meadowlands, +where the sun shines dimly for many months each year, and cold, rolling +mists sweep down upon the earth in winter, coating each twig with +silver. There, in the little village of Domremy, in the year 1412, was +born a girl named Jeanne d'Arc, whose father, Jacques d'Arc, was a +simple peasant. + +When Jeanne d'Arc was born life was hard and dangerous in Domremy. The +villagers were hard put to it to protect themselves against fierce +knights and noblemen who rode at the head of marauding bands to steal +and plunder at will. The peasants had to look on sadly, with no hope of +redress, when brutal men at arms drove off their sheep, or tossed the +torch into their cottages--and as there was little to choose between +friend and foe, the villagers stood guard in the tower of a nearby +monastery, and gave the alarm when any soldiers approached the town. + +Domremy, however, was no worse off in these respects than other towns +and villages in that far time. And it must not be thought that the +village folk were wholly without pleasures. Roses grew along the walls +of their cottages, wine flowed from their vineyards, and there were +village festivals and dances in which they loved to take part. Although +they could not read or write, their priests instructed them in the +history of the Church and its mighty power, and in the lives of the +Saints and Martyrs and their teachings--how those that obeyed the +Church and its priests were blessed, while those that broke its laws +must surely enter the dismal fires of Hell. There were also bands of +players who acted the religious stories taught by the priests in so +vivid a manner that the peasants were thrilled and delighted; and while +their cottages were bare and poor, their church was glorious with gold, +rich with embroidery and bright with candle light that gleamed upon the +carven, painted figures of the Saints that they adored. + +It had been prophesied in France that from a forest near Domremy there +would come a maid who would deliver the country from the perils that +beset it--and when Jeanne d'Arc was a little girl the times seemed ripe +indeed for the appearance of such deliverer. A great war had been +raging between France and England; the English had captured many French +towns and laid claim to the crown itself; the French King, Charles the +Sixth, was quite mad; his Queen had leagued herself with the enemies of +France, and her son, Prince Charles, who was called the Dauphin, had +been compelled to flee to escape the English and the Burgundians. + +Perhaps Jeanne d'Arc had heard the prophesy about the maid,--certainly +she had listened to many beautiful tales about the lives of the Saints. +In those days the Saints were believed to take sides in war with the +countries that were dearest to them. The English believed in St. +George, who slew the dragon; but the patron Saint of France was the +Archangel Michael. He was portrayed in the churches as a knight in +shining armor with a crown above his helmet, and sometimes he bore +scales in which he weighed the souls of men. Jeanne had listened to +many stories about him, and to tales of other Saints as well--legends +of St. Margaret, whose soul escaped from her persecutors in the shape +of a white dove, and stories of the gracious St. Catherine, who died by +the sword because she was a Christian. + +These tales made a great impression upon her--all the more because she +did not know one letter of the alphabet from another. She was a serious +child, with something about her that marked her as being different from +the other children of the village, and as she grew older she grew apart +from them and did not share their games and dances. Often, when her +father believed her to be tending his sheep, she was kneeling at +prayer. Her girl friends, Mengette and Hauviette, urged her to share +their pleasures and to give less heed to the dreams that seemed to hold +her in their spell, but Jeanne persisted in her way of life, and gained +a reputation for piety that passed beyond her village into the +neighboring countryside. + +When a mere child, something happened to Jeanne that was destined to +shake the entire Kingdom of France. When she listened to the church +bells as they rang out over the meadows, she believed that she heard +heavenly voices calling her name. She was only thirteen years old when +she began hearing them and they seemed to come from the direction of +the church that was near her cottage. The first time was at noon and a +bright light appeared to her, while a grave, sweet voice said, "I come +from Heaven to help you to lead a pure and holy life. Be good, +Jeannette, and God will aid you." Badly frightened, she ran into the +cottage and said nothing of what had happened; but a few days later the +same voice called out to her again. In amazement she knew it to be the +voice of an angel--and then--Saint Michael himself appeared to her in +the light! + +From that time on the visions and the voices came more frequently. And +it seemed to Jeanne that not only St. Michael came, but St. Margaret +and St. Catherine appeared to her also, coming with a bright light, and +speaking with sweet and musical words. And they were so real that she +believed she had actually touched their garments and tasted the sweet +scents their robes emitted. + +They began to urge her to take a strange course of action far removed +from her birth and station and marvelous to think of, telling her that +she must alter her way of life, put on armor and become a captain in +the wars, for she was chosen by the King of Heaven to save France from +its enemies. And they called her "Daughter of God." But Jeanne was +filled with fear and grave misgiving, for how was she, a poor, +unlettered girl and the daughter of peasants, to lead armies and wield +the sword of war? + +In the meantime the mad Charles the Sixth died and left his throne to +be fought for by the Dauphin, who was destined to be Charles the +Seventh--but this prince found his dominions so harried by war, so +divided against themselves, and his path beset by so many enemies that +he was unable to go to the city of Rheims, where all French kings must +be anointed with sacred oil before they could be considered as the +rightful sovereigns of France. His failure to do this gave added power +to the English and better reason for them to claim the French crown for +their young King, Henry the Sixth, whose armies had joined the Duke of +Burgundy. And it became more plain each day that France would be ruled +by whichever king was the first to be crowned at Rheims. + +In the meantime the heavenly voices that spoke to Jeanne grew more and +more insistent, telling her that she must go forth to the wars and lead +the Dauphin Charles to the Cathedral at Rheims to be crowned and +anointed. And at last she could no longer disobey, but prepared to +fulfil the strange destiny that they pointed out to her. + +Clad in her poor best dress, Jeanne visited a garrison of French +soldiers, and told their captain that Heaven had called on her to lead +the French to victory and see that the Dauphin Charles was duly crowned +at Rheims. For a week she remained, imploring the captain to listen to +her, but gaining nothing but insults and mockery that drove her at last +to return to her home. But the Archangel Michael and Saint Catherine +and Saint Margaret continued to appear to her, and she had no choice +except to listen to their words. + +Again she went to the French stronghold and told the captain, whose +name was Robert de Baudricourt, that if the Dauphin Charles would give +her men at arms she would deliver the city of Orleans, which was being +besieged by the English, and drive the English enemy from their +strongholds in all France. And this time the captain gave heed to her +and wrote to the French Court, telling the Dauphin of what she had +said; and after many days of weary waiting he received a reply ordering +that Jeanne be taken to Chinon where the Dauphin was awaiting her. + +This was not accomplished all at once, and Jeanne had to answer many +tedious and wearisome questions; for wise men and clergymen from all +over the land desired to know if she were inspired by angels or devils, +and they feared that the visions she had seen might be the work of +Satan himself. But they decided at last that there was great virtue in +what she had beheld and that perhaps after all she was to be the +deliverer of France that prophets had told of. And they decided that, +as travel was dangerous and there were many rough characters on the +road, Jeanne should go to the French Court dressed as a boy, and a +jerkin, a doublet, hose and gaiters were given to her. + +Attired in these garments and accompanied by men at arms Jeanne set +forth on her journey, and traveled for more than seventy leagues +through a hostile country with enemies on every hand. At length she +came to Chinon and sent the Dauphin a letter, telling him that she was +sent by God to crown him as King of France. + +Charles was suspicious of Jeanne and desired to see for himself if she +was inspired by angels; and when he summoned her to the Court he +prepared a trick to deceive her. He had one of his courtiers wear the +royal robes and seat himself on the throne, while the Dauphin, +disguised in humble garments, stood quietly in the group of courtiers +and servants that crowded the room. + +When Jeanne entered she stopped for a minute and glanced about her. +Then, instead of going to the throne where the supposed Prince was +sitting, she went straight to Charles where he stood among his +courtiers, and falling on her knees before him she told him that the +King of Heaven had called upon her to deliver the city of Orleans from +the hands of the English and to take him to Rheims to be crowned. + +All who beheld this were amazed, for Jeanne had never seen Charles +before,--nor had she so much as looked upon his portrait--and Charles +and his noblemen believed that this was indeed a sign that Jeanne was +guided by heavenly powers. + +Before they went any further, however, they put her to further tests +and she was questioned again by learned doctors and ministers. +Messengers were even sent to the village of Domremy to learn about her +early life. They asked her to give signs and to perform miracles--but +Jeanne told them that it was not in her power to do these things. Her +deeds, she declared, should answer for themselves and before the walls +of Orleans all should receive the sign that they required in the rout +of the English army. And she begged them to make haste and let her go +there, for the English were battering at the walls and the besieged +garrison was suffering. + +In Tours Jeanne was fitted out with plain white armor and received a +sword that was believed to have belonged to the great Charles Martel, +who had saved France and all Christendom from the invader several +hundred years before her time. She also had a banner painted for her, +snowy white, with fleur de lis upon it and a picture of God holding up +the world, with angels on each side. And then, in company with skilled +captains and men of war, and with her two brothers, Jean and Pierre, +riding behind her, Jeanne went to the city of Blois, where the army to +relieve Orleans was awaiting her arrival. + +With priests marching at the head of the column, chanting in Latin, +accompanied by captains decked in all the panoply of war, and followed +by men at arms, Jeanne left Blois for Orleans. She was in command of a +convoy of supplies and provisions and the larger part of her army was +to come up later. There were two roads to Orleans, which was built on +the margin of the river Loire--one road leading directly past the +English camp, the other running down to the river, where entrance to +the town was to be gained only by bridges and boats. + +Jeanne had desired to march directly past the English, and so strike +fear into their hearts, but her captains deemed that the other road was +the safer and without her knowledge guided her upon it, so that when +she beheld Orleans the river was between. And she spoke bitterly to the +captains for deceiving her. + +"In God's name," she cried in anger, "you deceive yourselves, not me, +for I bring you more certain aid than ever before was brought to a town +or city. It is the aid of the King of Heaven," and in truth the way +that the captains had chosen in their timidity was more dangerous and +uncertain than the one that Jeanne had chosen. + +The English, however, were so negligent, that they allowed the entire +army to enter the city in safety, and the people of Orleans rejoiced +beyond words when Jeanne in her shining armor appeared within the +ramparts of the beleaguered town. They beat upon the door of the house +where she was lodged and clamored to see her, and they crowded so +closely about her as she rode through the streets that a torch set fire +to her white standard, and the Maid, wheeling her horse, was obliged to +put it out with her own hands. + +On the following day Jeanne sent two heralds with a letter to the +English leaders, bidding them to depart and save their lives while +there was time, for otherwise the French would fall upon them and slay +them all--but the English laughed greatly at the letter pretending to +scorn it and really believing it to be the work of a witch who was led +by evil spirits; and they answered her with vile taunts and insults, +and one of their captains named Glasdale shook his fist in her +direction and shouted in a voice that reached her ears: "Witch, if ever +we lay our hands upon you, you shall be burned alive." + +None the less the English were more frightened by the sight of this +young girl in white armor than they cared to admit, for they believed +they were now fighting the powers of darkness; and in this way Jeanne's +presence did the French army more good than the thousands of soldiers +she brought with her. + +It came to pass that soon after Jeanne's arrival in the city, although +she was now considered the real leader of the French rather than the +captains, an attack was made by the French against one of the English +forts that rose without the city walls. And things went badly for the +French, for the English repulsed them with great slaughter. + +Jeanne had not been told of the attack and was asleep at the time it +took place, but the Saints that watched over her appeared to her in a +dream and told her that she must rise instantly and go forth against +the English; and when she rose she heard the hearty shouts of the +English soldiers and the screams of the French who were being +slaughtered. + +She put on her armor as quickly as possible and galloped to the scene +of the fight with her white standard in her hand. The French were in +full flight when she appeared, but their courage returned when they saw +her and they ran to gather around her banner. She cried out to them +that they must return to the charge and take the English fort, and +although the English hurled great stones upon them and fired with +crossbows and cannon, the French soldiers swarmed over the English +ramparts and gained the victory. And through the fight the Maid stood +unmoved beneath the hail of missiles that the English showered down +upon her followers, and she led the attack in person when the French +climbed over the walls. + +This was only the commencement of the fighting, for the French with +Jeanne to lead them, now commenced a determined series of attacks +against the English forts that lay about the city. And everywhere +Jeanne and her white standard were in the front rank of the battle, and +she risked her life a thousand times each day. + +At last the French attacked one of the strongest of all the English +forts, the bastille of Les Tourelles. Before the fight began Jeanne +told the men-at-arms who were detailed to accompany her on the field to +stay particularly close to her that day--"For," said she, "I have much +work to do, and blood will flow from my body--above the breast." + +As the French approached the stronghold they were met with showers of +stones and arrows. The English crossbowmen did deadly work and the +English cannon fired stone balls into the ranks of the French soldiers. +The French brought scaling ladders to mount the walls, but above them +the English stood ready with boiling pitch and melted lead to hurl into +the faces of those who succeeded in mounting. + +In spite of all these dangers Jeanne was constantly close to the +English walls and her white standard always rose where the fighting was +hottest. When a scaling ladder was placed against the wall she was the +first to mount and was half way to the top when an English crossbowman, +taking careful aim, fired an arrow with such force that it pierced +right through her steel coat of mail and stood out behind her shoulder. +Her grip relaxed from the ladder and she fell. + +A mighty cheer went up from the English who believed that in drawing +the blood of the witch they had drawn her power too. And for a time it +seemed as if this really were so, for Jeanne's wound was very painful +and she seemed no longer a warrior, but a pitiful little girl, overcome +with tears and faintness. At last, however, when her steel shirt had +been removed, she grasped the arrow with her own hands and drew it from +the wound. And after this she rose and insisted on donning her armor +once more. + +The French had seen her fall and their courage had left them, and they +were in full retreat when Jeanne returned to the battle. + +"In God's name," she cried, riding toward them, "forward once more. Do +not fly when the place is almost ours. One more brave charge and I +promise you shall succeed." + +The English were still rejoicing at what they had accomplished when to +their dismay the French trumpets blew the charge again and they beheld +the Maid with her white standard directly beneath their walls. And they +considered that her return to the fight was nothing less than magical +and fear gripped their hearts. Then the French swarmed up the scaling +ladders like monkeys, leaped over the ramparts, and a horrible din +arose from the interior of the fort, where, amid oaths and outcries and +the clangor and crash of axes and meeting shields, the English were +savagely slaughtered. + +Glasdale, the same leader who had threatened Jeanne from the English +camp, was guarding the retreat of his men as they ran across a bridge +over the Loire, but the French brought up and set fire to an old barge +piled high with straw, tar, sulphur and all kinds of inflammable +material, and the only escape for the English lay directly through the +flames. + +Jeanne, on seeing this, was smitten with great pity for her enemies. + +"Yield, Glasdale, yield!" she cried. "Thou hast called me witch, thou +hast basely insulted me, but I have great pity on your soul." + +But the brave English captain refused to give in and continued to guard +the escape of his comrades. When all had passed through the smoke and +flame he tried himself to rush across--but the planks were now eaten +through with fire and would not hold him. With a crash of breaking +timbers he plunged into the river beneath, where the weight of his +armor pulled him down and he was drowned. + +With the capture of this English stronghold the siege of Orleans came +to an end. The English saw that they were beaten and that their months +of fighting to gain the city had availed them nothing. On the following +day the French beheld them marching away in good order, and Jeanne +cried out for joy. + +"Let them go," she said to her captains who wished to pursue them. "It +is Sunday and God does not will that you shall fight to-day, but you +shall have them another time." And the French held a solemn mass in +thanksgiving for their victory. + +Jeanne had made good her word and Orleans was saved. And now the Maid +returned to Tours to meet the Dauphin, who had been so faint hearted +that he stayed out of harm's way while a girl had gone forth and fought +his battles for him. But he was very glad to see the Maid and he gave +her a royal welcome and Jeanne told him that no time was to be lost but +that he must come to Rheims and be crowned. + +At last the tardy prince yielded to her request, and Jeanne with the +army set forth once more to capture the towns that still were held by +the English--and with the Maid at the head of the French army the towns +of Jargeau, Meuny and Beaugency were soon taken. The English were so +frightened by the marvelous feats performed by Jeanne that it was not +long before their entire army was in full retreat toward the city of +Paris. But Jeanne pursued them and defeated them in the battle of +Pathay, where the mighty English leader, Talbot, was taken prisoner. + +And then Jeanne took matters into her own hands, for Charles continued +to delay. She issued a proclamation to the people to come to Rheims to +the King's Coronation, and she left the Court again to join the army, +where Charles was compelled to follow her. And at last through the +efforts of this simple peasant girl, the sluggard Charles was crowned +with divine pomp and glory in the Rheims cathedral, and Jeanne in her +white armor and with her white banner floating over her stood beside +him all through the ceremony. The holy oil was poured on his head and +all the people shouted in rejoicing, because they now had a king. + +Among the spectators was Jeanne's father who had journeyed to Rheims to +see his famous daughter. All the old man's expenses were paid by the +King, and when it was time for him to depart he was given a horse to +carry him back to his native village. + +Jeanne now desired to besiege and capture Paris which was held by +Charles' enemies, but since he had been crowned he was reluctant to +make any further effort to secure his kingdom. Paris was besieged, to +be sure, but only half-heartedly, for the King did not send up the +necessary reinforcements, and the siege was unsuccessful. + +Then came months when Jeanne was forced to wait at Court, where the +laggard King did nothing whatever, quite content with what had already +been accomplished in his behalf. It is true that he gave Jeanne many +presents, among other things a mantle of cloth of gold; and that many +sick persons believed her to be a saint and came to touch her, in order +to be cured of illness and suffering. But when Jeanne was asked to lay +her hands upon some sufferer and cure him, she replied that his own +touch would be as healing as her own, for that no extraordinary power +lay in her. + +The English and the Burgundians sought to retrieve their fortunes by +capturing Compiegne, a town that was important in its relation to Paris +and as large and strong as Orleans itself. Word of this was brought to +Jeanne, and she learned also that her enemies had already appeared +before the city walls. + +With her usual swift decision she went to help the beleaguered +garrison. She arrived before the city by secret forest paths and +succeeded in gaining an entrance to it. And one morning with about five +hundred followers she rode through the city gates to do battle with the +besiegers. Her force drove the Burgundians before them like chaff, and +the attack would have been wholly successful if a company of English +men at arms had not come up at the gallop and attacked the French from +the flank and from the rear. + +All of the French fled except a small band in the immediate vicinity of +the Maid. They were driven back into the town with the English and +Burgundians so close on their heels that the archers on the walls of +the town could not shoot for fear of wounding their own comrades. Then +the drawbridge was raised to keep the English from forcing an +entrance--and Jeanne and her few followers were surrounded by the +enemy. The Maid was dressed in a scarlet and gold cloak which covered +her armor, and more attention was drawn to her than usual on account of +the richness of her apparel. A Burgundian archer laid hands on her and +dragged her from her horse. She was a prisoner. + +A great shout of triumph went up from the Burgundians when they saw +that it was indeed Jeanne the Maid whom they had taken, and she was +brought before the Duke of Burgundy, who, with great joy, sent many +letters abroad informing the heads of the Church and the English of his +good fortune. + +The English were determined to get Jeanne in their power, for they had +planned a cruel death for her. The Holy Inquisition likewise demanded +her "to receive justice at the hands of the Church." + +And now must be recorded the black and shameful fact that Charles made +no effort to ransom Jeanne or do anything to relieve her misfortune, as +might well have been possible, for the French held important English +prisoners. And not content with leaving her to die, he proceeded to +slight the name of the girl that had won him his throne. For in +official accounts of how he had been crowned he made no reference to +Jeanne at all. Orleans was won "by the grace of God." His enemies were +routed "by the will of Providence." Of Jeanne and her efforts in his +behalf he said not one single word. + +Jeanne was sent from castle to castle and confined in one prison after +another. On one occasion she was jailed in a high tower and she tried +to escape by leaping from a window more than sixty feet above the +ground, only to be picked up insensible and bleeding as she lay at the +foot of the castle wall. + +Then her worst enemy appeared before her. This was Pierre Cauchon, the +Bishop of Beauvais. He persuaded the English to buy her from her +captors so that they might try her and punish her, and the sum of six +thousand francs was paid by them as blood money. + +Jeanne was then taken to the town of Rouen and imprisoned in a grim and +ancient castle, which was already centuries old. Not content with +lodging her in a damp cell, the English placed fetters on her leg and +chained her to a great log so that she must needs drag the chain about +whenever she moved. And instead of allowing her women to be her +attendants, her only jailers were rough men at arms, who were +constantly with her. + +To try this simple girl came the greatest dignitaries of the realm--men +aged in experience and the law, grave doctors and wise bishops, all +with the single purpose of accomplishing her death. With every +advantage on their side they did not even allow a counsel for their +prisoner, and when they saw that in spite of this she might be able +skilfully to defend herself, they had her answers set aside as being of +no importance and having no bearing on the trial. And they were right, +for nothing that Jeanne said could possibly affect an issue where the +stake and the executioner were already decided upon. And when some of +the spectators showed signs of pity for her youth and innocence they +had the trial continued secretly in her cell. + +They played with her as a cat plays with a mouse and tortured her in +mind as well as in body. And under the guise of compassion they +pretended to spare her life, only in the end to tell her that the stake +had been made ready and that she must come at once to the market place +to be burned. + +On the thirtieth of May, 1431, Jeanne was taken from her cell by two +priests and escorted by men at arms to the market place of Rouen, where +three scaffolds had been prepared. On one sat the priests who had been +her judges, on another Jeanne must stand and hear a sermon before she +died, and on the third was a grim stake with fagots piled high for her +burning, and at the top of the stake was nailed a placard that bore +these words: + +"_Jeanne, who hath caused herself to be called the maid, a liar, +pernicious, deceiver of the people, soothsayer, superstitious, a +blasphemer against God, presumptuous, miscreant, boaster, idolatress, +cruel, dissolute, an invoker of devils, apostate, schismatic and +heretic._" + +Then, with the learned doctors and churchmen drinking in the words, a +sermon was read for the benefit of her soul. After it was ended the +Bishop of Beauvais read the sentence which concluded by abandoning her +to the arm of the law, for the Church itself could not pronounce +sentence of death, but must leave that to the civil magistrates. +Neither could the clergymen behold the infliction of the sentence, and +they all came down from their seats and left the market place. What +followed was supposed to be too dreadful for them to see. + +So Jeanne was burned, and even in her death there took place something +approaching a miracle, for when the fire was extinguished her brave +heart was found intact among the embers, and the frightened English +threw it into the river. + +But the end did not come here. The enemies of Jeanne were so afraid of +her power that they followed her with persecution after she was dead +and made various attempts to darken her reputation, and give her memory +an evil name. But they defeated their own ends, for twenty-five years +later another trial was held in which the Maid was pronounced to be +innocent. And nearly five hundred years later, in 1909, Pope Leo the +Thirteenth took the first step toward making her a Saint by pronouncing +her "venerable." Her canonization followed in 1920. + +The marvels wrought by Jeanne still continue,--for without her there +might be a different France from that which we know to-day. In Domremy +the house of Jacques d'Arc still stands, much the same, in many ways, +as it was when she beheld her visions there. In addition a splendid +church has been built to her memory not far from the village she loved. +And her name and fame grow greater as time passes. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS + + +In the year 1447, or about that time, there was born in the city of +Genoa in Italy a boy named Christopher Columbus. He was the son of a +wool weaver named Domenico Columbus, and spent his early boyhood in the +dark and busy weaver's quarter of Genoa, always within hearing of the +sound of the loom. His father was an industrious and hard-working man, +and designed that Christopher should become a wool weaver like himself. +It was a good business, he thought, and all his sons might enter it +with credit and profit; and though they must work hard, they would have +an honest business and an occupation for their lives. + +But Christopher was an adventurous boy and preferred the crowded harbor +and the busy docks of Genoa to the stuffy weaving room. In his spare +time he was constantly beside the water, talking with the sailors from +all parts of the earth and hearing wonderful tales of adventure that +stirred his blood. The sea was a dangerous place in those days, for not +only were the ships small and badly built so that they could only with +the greatest difficulty weather the gales that beat in vain against the +steel sides of our great ships to-day, but there were many outlaws and +pirates who followed the sea and made every voyage a peril. There were +dark-skinned Moslems or Moors who would swoop in their swift boats upon +Christian craft to kill or capture all on board, selling their +prisoners into the horrible slavery of the Far East. There were also +fearful tales of serpents and dragons that lived in the far waters of +the "Sea of Darkness," for so the Atlantic Ocean was known among the +seafaring men of Italy, Spain and Portugal, and stories galore of gold +and undiscovered land. And many of the more adventurous youths of those +days became sailors to see with their own eyes the marvels that the +mariners would describe, while splicing rope upon the docks. + +When ten years old, however, Christopher was made to work in the wool +shop and became his father's apprentice, with little free time from the +loom to go about his own affairs. It is thought that he did not take +kindly to this business and he may have run away, for a few years later +we hear rumors of him in the University of Pavia, where, although a lad +in his teens, he was greatly interested in the studies of geography and +astronomy. He had already learned all that was then known about the +science of navigation and the use of the few rude instruments with +which mariners determined their position on the sea. He had also +mastered the science of making maps and was so skilful at drawing them +that he could earn his living by this means. He had taken his first +trips as a sailor and visited many ports in the immediate vicinity of +Genoa and perhaps he had gone even farther, for the love of adventure +and of a wandering life were in his blood. + +When a very young man the wanderings of Columbus brought him to +Portugal, where he lived for a time, at Lisbon, with his brother +Bartholomew, who already had made his home there and was drawing maps +for a living. The Portuguese were the best sailors of Europe and the +boldest explorers. Perhaps that was the reason why Columbus went to +Portugal to live. But another story, later told by his son, says that +he was attacked by pirates when in command of a vessel not far from the +Portuguese coast, and saved his life by swimming to the shore. + +While Columbus was drawing maps in Lisbon, he used to go to a church +that was visited by a beautiful girl called the Lady Philippa, the +cousin to no less a person than the Archbishop of Lisbon himself. +Columbus fell in love with her and attended the church whenever he +believed that it would be possible to see her there. She, in turn, +began to look with kindness upon him and at last Columbus and the Lady +Philippa were married and the marriage proved to be a very happy one. + +Philippa's grandfather had himself been a bold sailor and an +adventurous explorer and discovered the Madeira Islands, where his +granddaughter owned some property. As she did not like the idea of +having her husband work constantly making maps, the young couple went +to live on the Madeira Islands at a place called Porto Santo, where +Philippa's brother was Governor. + +Porto Santo was on the edge of the Sea of Darkness and was full of the +most terrible and mysterious tales concerning it. While a few learned +men of the time began to think that the world was round, most of the +sailors and even the scholars thought that it was flat and that by +sailing westward on the Atlantic you would eventually fall off of the +rim of the world. The west was also thought to be inhabited by fearful +monsters. Sea serpents were there, of a size so great that they could +easily crush a sailing vessel in their jaws; there were dragons and +giant devil fish; in one place there was a burning belt, where the air +was like molten flame and the sea a mass of fire; in another there +lived evil spirits and demons, and a fate worse than death would befall +any sailor that ventured there. If you sailed to the south, so the +mariners believed, you would come to a land where the air was too hot +to support life, while if you sailed to the north you would arrive at a +clime so frigid that you would certainly freeze to death. The sailors +believed these things because the air grew warmer as they ventured down +the coast of Africa toward the equator, and colder when they sailed +past England and the Scandinavian peninsula to the chill seas that +border on the Arctic Circle. + +While Columbus lived at Porto Santo, however, he heard other tales that +interested him greatly and made him believe that the world was round +and that all the legends of the Sea of Darkness were idle fancies--or +at least that it would be possible to sail across this sea and come to +the wonderful countries of India and China and Japan. + +For the Governor of Porto Santo had told him of strange things that had +been washed on shore when the wind had blown for many days from the +west--of a cane so thick through that it would hold a gallon of wine, +of a piece of wood carved in a manner that never had been seen +before,--and once of a canoe, which had been made by hollowing out a +giant tree, in which were the dead bodies of two strange men such as +the European world had never seen,--yellow in color with flat, broad +faces. + +Columbus thought greatly about these things and studied again what +little was known of the world's geography; and he became convinced that +by sailing to the westward he would reach Japan and China, and +determined to set out upon this marvelous and brave adventure. + +First he went to the King of Portugal in whose dominions he had made +his home, and asked the King for ships and men to undertake a trip that +would make Portugal the richest and most powerful kingdom in the entire +world,--for once the new lands were discovered, said Columbus, there +would be gold for all and land a plenty,--to say nothing of the +opportunity for carrying the religion of the Holy Catholic Church into +far lands and saving the souls of the heathen. + +The King of Portugal was greatly interested in Columbus' words, but he +thought that Columbus was too greedy in what he demanded for himself, +for the ambitious sailor desired a tenth part of all the profits that +would be gained by his voyaging and wanted also to be considered as +King in the countries that he would discover. Therefore, without saying +anything about it to Columbus, the King of Portugal tried to cheat him +out of the fruits of his great idea by secretly sending a sailing +vessel with another captain on a voyage to that part of the ocean where +Columbus thought that China and Japan could be found. + +This boat sailed into the west for many days, but encountered terrible +gales and turned back; and the captain, to save his face among the +mariners, exaggerated the difficulties that he had encountered, +declaring that it was idle nonsense to think that anything could be +gained by sailing westward. + +Columbus soon heard how the King had deceived him and determined to +leave Portugal forever. In addition to the deceit that had been +practised upon him in which others had so basely tried to rob him of +the rewards of his great design, a far greater sorrow had come into his +life by the death of his good wife, whom he had loved tenderly. So, +with his little son, Diego, Columbus went to Spain, thinking that +perhaps the Spanish King and Queen would listen to him, and give him +ships and money to carry out his plan. + +The King and Queen of Spain, or rather the rulers of the two related +kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, were named Ferdinand and Isabella. A +terrible war was going on between these Spanish kingdoms and the Moors, +who had overrun Spain hundreds of years before. Queen Isabella, +however, was deeply interested in the words of Columbus,--particularly +because she was a devout Catholic, and desired to spread the Catholic +religion in the Far East. She told Columbus that she was too busily +engaged in fighting the Moors to help him then and that he must wait +until the wars were finished when, she assured him, he should have the +money and ships he needed to carry out his design for the glory of +Spain and the Catholic faith. + +But the war against the Moors lasted for years, and Columbus, vainly +waiting at Court, seemed no nearer to getting the ships and crews that +he so ardently desired than when in Portugal being cheated by the +Portuguese King. He had no money, and in following the Court it was +hard for him to earn anything to pay for his needs. His garments became +worn and tattered,--so much so that he became known as "the man with +the cloak full of holes." At one time he went into the army and battled +against the Moors, but as he received no pay, he was compelled at last +to take up his map drawing once again to earn enough money for food and +clothing. Disappointed and discouraged he sent his brother Bartholomew +to the Court of the King of England, but the ship was robbed by pirates +and Bartholomew was obliged to return. + +After compelling Columbus to wait for seven long years, the King and +Queen of Spain went back on their word and refused to have anything to +do with his adventure. Scientists had ridiculed it and told them that +they might just as well cast their gold into the sea as to give it to +Columbus. So the unhappy Columbus was compelled to leave Court, his +hopes extinguished and plunged into the lowest depths of despair. + +With him was his son who was now old enough to accompany him in his +wanderings. Together they passed a monastery called La Rabida where +Columbus paused to beg a mouthful of bread and a drink of water for his +boy,--and here there came an absolute change in his fortunes, for here +there dwelt a friar who had formerly been confessor to Queen Isabella +with whom he still had a great deal of influence; and after going over +Columbus' plans with a shipbuilder named Martin Pinzon and an +astronomer named Hernandez, the good friar promised to ask the Queen to +grant Columbus' request. At all speed he went to the Spanish Court and +brought back word that Columbus was to receive another interview with +the Queen, with the additional good news that he was to be of good +heart in the meantime, for his request was to be granted. And Queen +Isabella also sent Columbus a sum of money with which to buy decent +raiment and pay his expenses in coming back to the Court. + +In this way it befell that, after weary years of waiting, the great +idea of Columbus was finally received, and he was allowed to set out on +his wonderful voyage; and he was so sure of success that he almost +seemed to see the new lands that lay thousands of miles across the Sea +of Darkness. + +Columbus went back to Court and made certain demands of King Ferdinand +and Queen Isabella that they finally consented to--namely that he was +to be the "Admiral of the Ocean Sea"--for so he called the +Atlantic--and should rule over all new lands that he discovered. One +tenth of all future profits from these lands were to be his, and he +alone should have the right to settle trade disputes that might arise. +In addition to these things he was to receive one-eighth of the profit +of his first voyage, as he was willing, and in fact his agreement with +the Queen demanded, that he should pay one-eighth of the expenses of +the venture. + +Once the consent of the King and Queen had been given and the money +provided, Columbus set about collecting his vessels and their crews. +This last, however, was a difficult undertaking, for so many and +terrible were the stories about the Sea of Darkness and the monsters +that lived near the far edge of the world that the boldest mariners +refused to venture with him on such an errand, and finally his crew was +gathered by proclaiming in the jails that any criminal who accompanied +him was to receive full pardon on his return to Spain--a means that +filled his ships with the most worthless and evil men. + +Three ships were provided. They were called the _Santa Maria_, the +_Pinta_ and the _Nina_,--the last of which was so small that it seemed +in size little more than a modern life boat as it only had room for +eighteen men. The _Pinta_ carried twenty-seven men and was under the +command of the same Martin Pinzon who had aided Columbus in gaining the +ear of Queen Isabella--a man whom Columbus trusted completely, but who +was to betray that trust long before Columbus returned from his +perilous voyage. The _Santa Maria_ was the largest of the three ships, +and held fifty-seven men. This was Columbus' flagship. + +At a seaport called Palos these vessels were made ready for their +voyage and on the Third of August, 1492, they might have been seen with +the sunlight gleaming on their white sails, on which were painted the +huge red Crosses of the Catholic faith, as they made their way into the +open sea and bore to the westward under a favoring breeze. They stopped +at the Canary Islands, where food and water were taken aboard, and +then, leaving behind them the entire civilized world, they sailed +boldly out into the Sea of Darkness toward that far region where not +only the Unknown but all the fears that superstitious seamen could +invent awaited them. + +It was not long before Columbus saw that among his crew of desperate +ruffians and jailbirds there were many who would betray him on the +first opportunity. On the way to the Canaries and while stopping there, +the rudder of the _Pinta_ was twice broken; and now that the open sea +was reached and they were sailing into the far west, the helmsmen tried +to alter the course of the vessels so that they might not go any +further. When Columbus slept, the men at the tillers of all three ships +would steer into the northeast instead of the west, so that the +vessels, unperceived, might turn upon their own course and eventually +return to the Canary Islands and to Spain. But Columbus was too shrewd +a sailor to be tricked by any such clumsy means and placed the few men +that he could trust in charge of the helm. Fortunately for his design a +breeze came from the eastward and bore them rapidly along their course. +Columbus, moreover, did not let the men know how far they had sailed, +but every day gave out a distance far less than what had actually been +completed, so that his sailors might think themselves nearer to Spain +than was the reality. + +On the Thirteenth of September, however, something took place that +caused even Columbus' bold heart to beat quicker with fear, for the +compass, that infallible instrument of direction, which was trusted by +the mariners of those days even more than it is in the present time, +began to veer around from the north and no longer pointed steadily to +the pole. Only a few of Columbus' men were aware of this, and Columbus +strengthened their resolution by telling them that it was not the +compass which was at fault,--but rather the Pole Star that was +changing, so that the compass still pointed truly--and on and on they +sailed into the west. + +As days and weeks went by a great fear gripped the hearts of the +sailors. Never had any men been so far from shore as they. Day after +day they saw nothing but roaring waves and the empty sky. They believed +that even if they turned their vessels about it would be almost +impossible for them to return, and anger and bitterness arose in their +hearts against their brave leader whose strong will and steady hand +forced them to continue the perilous voyage. + +At last, however, they began to see signs of land that cheered them +greatly. Terns and sea gulls appeared about their vessel, diving for +the scraps of food that they tossed overboard. One day some little +birds that came from the land rested in their rigging and sang. With +their hearts high they watched for land, but it did not appear. On and +on they sailed and still nothing was to be seen but the wide sky and +the watery horizon. But more signs of land soon appeared. A branch from +a wild rose bush floated past. Weeds were seen in the water. A careful +lookout was kept and a large reward was promised to that sailor who +might first see land. + +On the night of October eleventh, Columbus believed that he saw a light +directly in front of his vessel. It moved, glimmered, and disappeared, +only to appear again a moment later. Some of the lookouts also thought +that they had seen it, and the watch for land became keener than ever. +At about two in the morning the cry of land was raised. One of the +sailors had seen a sandbar and a low line of land. At once the vessels +anchored, and with beating hearts the sailors waited for the morning +that was to be fraught with such tremendous adventures. + +Sure enough the rising sun disclosed green hills from which the breeze +brought a most delicious perfume and where, as they drew closer, the +birds could be heard singing. And on the shore a crowd of savages was +gazing with astonishment upon the mysterious ships that floated with +sails furled on the smooth waters of the bay. Hardly able to speak for +excitement and joy the sailors leaped into their rowboats. First of all +was Columbus, richly appareled, with the banner of Spain in his hand. +And as the prow of his boat grounded in the sand he sprang ashore and +took possession of the land in the name of King Ferdinand and Queen +Isabella, unfurling the gorgeous banner to the breeze. Then he and his +men kneeled and said a prayer of thankfulness, and they also planted in +the earth a great wooden cross, to show that the new land had come +under the power of the Christian Church. + +The natives, who had gazed with wonder upon these actions, now +approached timidly but with every sign of friendship, offering Columbus +gifts of flowers and fruits and gay colored parrots, and lances tipped +with bone and feather belts. They seemed to have no difficulty in +understanding the sign language that the Spaniards used to make their +wants understood, and they worshipped the newcomers as though they were +more than human, and indeed their simple minds were convinced that +these gorgeous strangers in velvet and armor were no less than +superhuman beings. + +By the sign language the savages made Columbus understand that there +were other lands not far off, and he believed that he had arrived at +India and could sail in the course of a few days to the rich countries +of China and Japan. And he called the natives "Indians," as a token of +his belief--a name that they and all the other natives of the American +continent have borne to the present time. To his dying day Columbus +believed that he had reached India and the Far East. How great would +have been his astonishment had he known that another ocean nearly twice +as broad as the one that he had crossed, lay between him and the +Orient, and that he had come upon an entirely New World where no +civilized men had ever set foot before! + +Columbus named the island that he first set foot upon San Salvador. +After he had remained there for some time he gathered his crews and set +sail once more to discover other lands. He came to the island of Cuba +and he discovered Haiti, but he thought that these were islands or part +of the mainland of Japan, China or India, and so reported them in his +writings. And now came his first bitter taste of the treachery that was +to wreck his fortunes, for Martin Pinzon in command of the _Pinta_ +deserted him to search for gold, sailing away in the _Pinta_ to cruise +where he pleased. + +Then, through the carelessness of a helmsman, the _Santa Maria_ was +wrecked upon a reef,--and Columbus was left with only the _Nina_, which +could carry at most eighteen men, to bear the news of his great +discovery back across the ocean to the Kingdom of Spain. A native king, +however, came to his aid and with his tribe helped Columbus to save +everything that was aboard the _Santa Maria_, and trusting in his +kindness Columbus decided to found a colony where the greater part of +his followers could remain, while he with a few men sailed back to +Spain in the _Nina_ to carry the word of what had been accomplished. + +This was done and Columbus founded his colony after building a fort +from the timbers of the _Santa Maria_; and he cautioned his men to +treat the natives kindly and to respect in every way their rights and +their property. Then, with a few men, he boarded the _Nina_ and set +sail for Spain. + +On his way he encountered the treacherous Martin Pinzon in the _Pinta_, +and the voyage across the ocean recommenced. It was a terrible voyage, +for a hurricane fell upon the tiny vessels and they were almost +destroyed. The seas, said Columbus, ran first in one direction and then +in another, and at times completely submerged his ships. Convinced that +he was going to be drowned and that the news of his discovery would die +with him, he placed an account of it in a water-tight keg which he +tossed overboard with his own hands, preparing another one which he +left upon the deck of the vessel to be floated off when it sank beneath +the waves. + +In the nick of time, however, the waves moderated, and after a weary +voyage and many adventures Columbus dropped anchor in the harbor at +Palos from which he had sailed months before. He then sent word to +Ferdinand and Isabella of his discovery, and was received with the +utmost pomp and ceremony. The King and Queen were overjoyed at his +achievement and granted him honors which hitherto had never been +allowed to any of their subjects. Columbus sat with them enthroned +beneath a canopy of cloth of gold and he rode at the side of the King +in a triumphal procession. He gave the King and Queen who had so +greatly befriended him many gay-colored parrots and rich fruits and +spices that he had brought with him from the west, and he showed +Isabella a number of the Indians whom he had brought back across the +sea. His fame quickly penetrated beyond Spain and the entire Christian +world rang with the deeds he had accomplished and the wonders he had +seen. And Columbus' triumph was in no way marred by the treachery of +Martin Pinzon who once again had sought to betray his master and +leader. For when the vessels reached Spain, Pinzon had hastened to send +to the Queen word of their arrival and had represented the discovery as +the result of his own courage and sagacity. He was, however, coldly +received, and shortly afterward died beneath a cloud of disgrace that +he richly deserved. + +Then Queen Isabella bade Columbus prepare for another voyage to the +west and add to his discoveries,--particularly to find gold that the +Kingdom of Spain was in great need of. This time it was not difficult +to raise a crew, and soon Columbus once more set sail into the west +with many vessels under his command. + +When he arrived at the spot where his colony had been founded he +learned that terrible things had happened in his absence. The Spaniards +had abused the unsuspecting natives until these had risen in revolt and +attacked the fort, and of all the Spaniards that Columbus had left +behind not a single man remained alive. + +And this was only the beginning of the trouble that was to pursue +Columbus until the end of his life. Quarreling and strife broke out +among the men that were under him. When he sent a part of his fleet +back to Spain his enemies and those who were jealous of his greatness +hastened to spread evil reports about him that came to the ears of the +King and Queen. Still, however, they continued to trust him, and when +Columbus returned they sent him forth on a third voyage in which he was +to bend all his efforts to find the mainland of Asia, which he believed +lay only a short distance beyond the colony that he had founded. + +On this voyage, however, strife broke out to such an extent among his +followers and so many and so lawless were their ill deeds in their +commander's absence--for the need of further discovery had forced +Columbus to leave the governing of the colony in the hands of others +than himself--that the King and Queen finally sent out a man named +Bobadilla to succeed Columbus and take over his powers. + +Bobadilla hated Columbus and forced upon him an indignity that it is +pitiful to think of,--for the discoverer of the New World and the +Admiral of the Ocean Sea was compelled to return to Spain wearing +chains that had been locked upon his wrists at Bobadilla's orders. + +When the Captain of the vessel that bore Columbus homeward was about to +remove the fetters, Columbus haughtily refused to take them off, saying +that he would not part with them until he had knelt in chains before +his sovereigns and given them this proof of the ingratitude with which +they had treated him. And Columbus at last came before Queen Isabella, +ill in body and broken in mind from the hardships and indignities that +he suffered. + +When the Queen saw how her commands had been twisted and the shame that +had come upon the man who had served her so splendidly, she wept and +asked his forgiveness,--and Columbus wept also at the memory of what he +had suffered. + +Unhappily the full measure of Columbus' misfortune was yet to come. +Queen Isabella died, and Ferdinand, who, at the best, had been no more +than lukewarm toward the achievements of the great sailor, refused to +take any further interest in Columbus or what might become of him. The +pension that Columbus had earned was never given to him, nor did he get +the share in the profits of his venture that rightfully should have +been his. So ill that he could not walk, he entreated Ferdinand at +least to pay his sailors for their last voyage,--but this was never +done. Deserted, old and broken-hearted, Columbus, who had aged before +his time as a result of his hard life, died in 1506 in a room where he +had hung his chains as a sign of the ingratitude of his sovereign. He +knew, however, that he had accomplished something that would make his +name immortal and he died with this consolation. He did not know, +however, that he had done something far mightier than his original +design of crossing the Atlantic Ocean to Asia--namely that he had +discovered a New World that was to give birth to a great nation, +greater one thousandfold than the Spain that he had served. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +WILLIAM THE SILENT + + +In the year 1560 two horsemen were riding in the Forest of Vincennes in +France, followed by a splendid retinue. It could be seen from their +costume and bearing that they were officials of high rank and large +following--and indeed they were no less personages than Henry the +Second, the King of France, and a Prince from the Netherlands named +William of Orange, a powerfully built young man of commanding +appearance and great nobility of demeanor. + +The Netherlands which were ruled by the King of Spain, had been at war +with France and William had been sent to the French court as a hostage +while peace was being arranged. He was brave, generous, handsome and +wealthy, and gained the respect and liking of all that knew him, +wherever he happened to be. But his heart was as heavy as lead while +the French King was talking to him, for Henry the Second was telling +him of a secret scheme by which all people in the Netherlands who did +not believe in the Catholic religion were to be wiped out by fire and +sword. + +"Everything has been arranged," said Henry triumphantly, "and the King +of Spain has agreed with me to carry out the affair in the Low +Countries as shall be done in France. The ancient edicts are to be +brought forth again. The Holy Inquisition is to be revived in its +greatest severity, and before long there will be no place in Spain, +France or the Low Countries where a heretic may lay his head in +safety." + +Now Henry of France was very foolish when he spoke this way to Prince +William of Orange. He believed that because the Prince had been +commander of the army of King Philip of Spain that he was in the +complete confidence of the Spanish King--but this was not the case. +Although William had been brought up in the Catholic faith he was a +Protestant at heart, and came from a Protestant family. He had only +turned to the Catholic religion because it had been necessary for him +to be of that faith to become the ruler of the Principality of +Orange,--and even if his own father and mother had not been +Protestants, William would never have consented to the hanging and +burning of innocent people because they happened to believe in a +religion that was slightly different from his own. His blood ran cold +with horror when he heard what the King of France and the King of Spain +were planning--but in spite of what he heard he had presence of mind +enough to listen quietly without showing any sign of the rebellion and +anger that were in his heart. He knew that he could aid the Protestants +and the Netherlands far more if the powerful monarchs who were in +league against them did not realize that they would have him to reckon +with as one of their enemies, but from that time on Prince William +determined not to rest until the last Spanish soldier had been driven +from his country and the people were allowed to worship God in their +own way. + +Still William said nothing. He pretended to be greatly interested in +the measures that he had learned of and expressed no disapproval of +their severity. The King of France never learned what an error he had +made. But William, from his attitude on this matter and the way that he +conducted himself, gained the nickname of "William the Silent" which +clung to him throughout his life and has been attached to him in +history ever since. + +William was well liked in the Netherlands or the "Low Countries" as +they were then called. He was the son of a nobleman, Count William of +Nassau, and succeeded to the principality of Orange on the death of his +cousin Rene of Nassau who was killed in battle. Rene was an ardent +Catholic, and stipulated that to gain the principality William would +have to be brought up in the Catholic faith. So young William went to +the Court of Charles the Fifth, Emperor of Spain and Germany, and +became a page in Charles' establishment in the city of Brussels. + +When a youth of eighteen William married a girl of high birth named +Anne of Edgemont and lived happily with her until he went to the wars +with the Spanish army. He did not like military life, but none the less +he did so well that before he was twenty-one he was made a General. His +record was creditable to the utmost, but through all his life William +never showed any great military ability. He was slow to come to +decisions and too deliberate to make a military leader of the highest +order. + +When William returned to the Netherlands after his sojourn in the +French court he was made Governor of the principalities of Zeeland, +Utrecht and Holland. And here, in his efforts to help the Protestants +from the harsh decrees that were being carried out against them, he +first came in collision with the cruel and cold-blooded Philip of +Spain. + +Philip believed in the instrument of justice called the Holy +Inquisition and for years this had been in operation in his own kingdom +of Spain. It was a body of Priests and wise men who judged and +condemned all persons who were accused of heresy, as any difference +from the Catholic religion was called. The punishments dealt out by the +Holy Inquisition were most severe and brought great suffering. For the +Inquisition employed the most inhuman tortures, not only for those who +were convicted of guilt, but also for unfortunate people who were +accused, maintaining that under torture nobody could refrain from +telling the truth, nor conceal any wickedness that he had ever +committed. As a result of this, confessions were often wrung from +innocent people, who could not support the agony of torture, preferring +to be punished for crimes they had not committed than to bear it. And +this punishment was almost invariably to be hanged or burned alive at +the stake. + +At the time when William was put in control of the three small states +that we have spoken of, Philip had left the Low Countries for Spain, +and had placed the government of his dominions in the Netherlands in +the hands of his half sister, Margaret the Duchess of Parma, and under +her rule the cruel measures enacted by Philip against the Protestants +were ruthlessly carried out. + +As Governor under Philip, William was expected to apply these measures +himself, and on one occasion was ordered to put to death certain people +who were accused of heresy. Being unwilling to do this he sent them +private warning, suffering them to escape before his men came to arrest +them; and from this time on he followed a course of action that soon +brought him into disfavor with the Duchess of Parma who suspected him +of treachery and wrote to the King of Spain accusing William of many +crimes. + +Greater and greater grew the unrest and dissatisfaction throughout the +Netherlands. And one curious sign of this was in the formation of a +society of noblemen who called themselves "The Beggars." This +organization had come about in the following manner. Three hundred or +more noblemen had presented to Margaret a request that the Inquisition +be abolished and the edicts against the Protestants revoked. Some of +her advisors laughed at the request of the Flemish nobles, referring to +them scornfully as "beggars," and the term came to their ears. At once +they took the word for their watch cry and dressed themselves in the +costume of beggars with wallets and begging bowls, declaring that they +would not resume their ordinary dress until their requests had been +granted. And this organization did a great deal to fan the opposition +to Spain, which was increasing every day throughout the Netherlands, +into a flame of rebellion. + +Another disturbance soon took place that made the King of Spain more +bitterly angry against the Low Countries than any other thing that +could have happened. A storm against the Catholic faith swept through +the country and churches were sacked and the holy images destroyed in +every province. Mobs marched through the streets attired in the sacred +vestments of the priests that they had torn from the altar. Stained +glass windows were broken with stones; entire churches were ransacked +and plundered of everything of value that they contained. The people at +last had turned in revolt, and "the image breaking" as this rioting was +called, was the first sign of it. And then, or shortly after, William +the Silent became a Protestant. + +Frightened by the signs of revolt Margaret pretended to consent to the +wishes of the nobles and stated that the Inquisition should be +abolished in the Netherlands and the edicts against the Protestant +religion revoked. And she sent a secret letter to the King of Spain, +informing him of what she had done. + +Philip was determined on the most bitter vengeance, but until he could +bring a powerful army into the Low Countries it suited him to have his +subjects there believe that he had actually consented to their demands. +So he pretended to agree to what Margaret had granted, and all through +the Low Countries the bells rang and the bonfires burned in rejoicing +that freedom from persecution had at last been gained. + +But Philip had put a nobleman named the Duke of Alva in charge of the +army that was to subdue the Netherlands, and could not have chosen a +better or surer man to carry out his dark ends. The Duke of Alva was a +monster of cruelty, implacable as iron, and possessed of a skill in +warfare that few could equal. He had been ordered to seize William of +Orange as well as other leaders and bring them to instant execution, +and then so to punish the Netherlands that not a trace of the recent +rioting or rebellion should remain. + +The Netherlands were not then in a position to offer a strong +resistance to such a highly organized, well trained army as the Duke of +Alva's, but secret preparations were going through the country for a +great struggle of which the recent rioting was only the smallest +beginning. The Duke of Alva, proud soldier that he was, did not +estimate the strength of the Lowlanders at its proper value. He boasted +that he had tamed men of iron in his time and could easily tame the men +of butter who were now opposed to him. And his first act was to carry +out King Philip's demands against the noblemen who were chiefly +implicated in the recent uprisings. + +These were the Counts Egmont and Horn and rightly or wrongly William of +Orange. William himself had been shrewd enough to fly to Germany. He +knew Philip and he urged Counts Egmont and Horn to fly with him. But +they, foolishly feeling secure in their own country, decided to remain +where they were. + +For a very brief time they thought they had decided rightly, for the +Duke of Alva was courteous to them. He invited them to his house to +dinner and made them his guests--but while they were eating his bread +and drinking his wine, an armed guard surrounded his house and the two +unfortunate nobles were arrested by the treacherous Spaniard and +promptly thrown into prison. They never regained their liberty. After +being held as captives for the better part of a year they met their +fate courageously on the public scaffold where so many of the bravest +and best heads of the Netherlands were falling by the Duke of Alva's +orders. + +A reign of terror then swept over the Netherlands that has had +practically no equal in history. Alva was relentless as flint in every +dealing with the people under his charge. To meet the numerous trials +that were necessary under his regime he appointed what was called the +Council of Troubles--a name that was quickly changed by the people +themselves to the Council of Blood, for it never acquitted, never +showed mercy. Prisoners were led before it and condemned in batches of +a hundred or more at a time, and sometimes prisoners were delivered to +the executioners without even the poor formality of a trial that this +council afforded. + +Nor was this all--for to fill his coffers the Duke of Alva established +a system of taxation that if carried out would reduce to beggary every +man, woman and child in the Low Countries. + +William the Silent was not idle in Germany, where he had fled on the +coming of this Spanish tyrant; he was engaged in raising money and +enlisting the sympathy of German princes in the cause of his oppressed +people. Aided by his brother Louis, who was a fine soldier, he worked +day and night to raise an army to march against the Spaniards, and at +last was able to send his forces into the Netherlands, while he himself +remained with a small reserve ready to support them when necessary. + +But although William's brother and the other leaders of his new army +were fine soldiers, they failed against the brilliant military genius +of the Duke of Alva. At first they seemed partly successful and won a +minor victory at a place called Heiliger Lee,--but then the Duke of +Alva himself marched against them at the head of a splendid army, and +wiped out the forces of his adversary at Jemmingen, killing the wounded +and taking no prisoners, but exterminating his foes wherever he met +them. And among the dead was William's youngest brother, Adolphus, who +had distinguished himself for his bravery. + +Then William had to raise another force to supplant the one that had +just been destroyed. The German princes were discouraged by his failure +and were reluctant about giving their aid; and in his distress he +turned to Queen Elizabeth of England, who sympathized with his cause, +but could not do anything for him at that time. + +At last, however, William succeeded in gathering another army that was +even larger than the first one, and placing himself at its head he +entered the Netherlands. He was, however, in great straits, for his +soldiers were only German mercenaries and William lacked money to pay +them. The Duke of Alva knew this and refused to fight, but constantly +retreated, knowing well that mutiny would soon break out in William's +forces and weaken him far more than any battle. And this proved to be +the case. Serious trouble broke out among the German soldiers, and +William at last had to disband the army and take refuge in France +without money, credit or prestige. He had sold all his personal +possessions to support the army and all was lost. + +Where he had once been one of the richest noblemen in Europe, he was +now so poor that he hardly knew where the next day's dinner was to come +from. Alva had confiscated all his Netherland estates, and William had +gone heavily into debt to raise his armies. Failure and poverty stared +him in the face, and other misfortunes followed him. His first wife had +died several years before, and his second wife, a German princess, now +went insane. + +Crushed on land, there was yet the possibility for William to do +something for his oppressed country by attacking his enemies on the +sea. It was not long before privateers in his name were harrying the +Spanish vessels and swooping down upon the ports held by the Spaniards. +These daring seamen took their name from the society that had been +formed years before called the "Beggars." And William's sailors now +called themselves "The Beggars of the Sea." + +They found help and protection in the English ports, for Queen +Elizabeth hated the Duke of Alva, and while not willing just then to go +to war openly with Spain, she did all in her power to give assistance +to Spain's enemies. She allowed the Beggars to obtain men and supplies +from England, and did not hesitate to give them ammunition when they +required it. + +Then a first success came to William's cause like a faint ray of +sunlight through heavy clouds, for the Beggars of the Sea captured the +fortified town of Brill. And almost immediately after, encouraged by +this initial success, the whole of the Netherlands which had been +groaning under the Spanish rule rose in rebellion and claimed as their +rightful ruler the Prince of Orange. Almost in a night the cities rose +and cast off their Spanish yoke, and all through the Low Countries the +flag of the Prince of Orange was uplifted. + +Alva sent his troops to lay siege to the towns and recapture them, and +there followed one of the most terrible periods of warfare that the +world has ever known--certainly the most terrible that ever engulfed +Belgium until the World War of our own day. + +And now for the first time since his former defeat, the Prince of +Orange was able to raise troops to fight once more against the +Spaniards. He sent repeated appeals to the cities of the Low Countries, +and prepared an army of some twenty thousand German mercenaries that +was to be further strengthened by a French force under the French +Admiral Coligny. William counted on Coligny's aid to defeat Alva, for +Coligny was an ardent Protestant and had many men at his command. + +But there befell another check to William's fortunes, and one that was +almost fatal to his plans, for under the wicked Catherine de Medici the +French Catholics in two days massacred almost every Protestant in +France in a slaughter that was called the Massacre of St. Bartholomew. +Admiral Coligny was among the victims, and all hope of support from +that quarter was at an end. + +Louis, the brother of William, was being besieged by the Duke of Alva +in the city of Mons, and William marched to the relief of the town. He +did not strike promptly enough, however, and was routed by a strategem +on the part of the Spaniards. In the night a considerable force of the +Spanish soldiers stole up to William's camp and fell upon his army, +taking it completely by surprise. William himself barely escaped with +his life, being awakened by a pet dog in the nick of time, and when the +Spaniards were almost in his tent. Leaping to his horse, he galloped +madly from the burning camp and escaped, but his army was cut to +pieces. Then Alva continued the siege of Mons until Louis had to +surrender. The Spaniards, however, for some strange reason allowed +Louis to evacuate the town without interference and Louis fled to +Dillenburg in Germany, the home of the Nassau family. But in spite of +this new defeat and disappointment, the Lowland cities continued their +resistance, and nowhere was this stronger than in the province of +Holland. + +The sieges that followed were among the most terrible in history for +the beleaguered towns knew well they could expect no mercy if they were +conquered, and held out to the last breath. Their inhabitants ate +horses, dogs, old shoes--anything to fill their stomachs and stay the +inroads of starvation. Plague broke out among them and in the Spanish +forces as well. When the Spaniards captured a town they left not one +stone upon another, and the burghers who had opposed them were +massacred to a man. + +But the Duke of Alva was growing old and suffering from ill health. The +universal hatred in which he was held weighed on his spirit. He had +written several times asking his recall from the Netherlands, and at +last King Philip consented to his request and sent out a Governor named +Requesens to take his place. All the Netherlands went wild with joy +when the news spread that Alva was leaving and bells were rung and +bonfires lit as for some national holiday. + +In the meantime William had made his headquarters in the province of +Holland and was conducting the war against the Spaniards from that +point. The Spaniards were besieging the city of Leyden, which it was +necessary for them to capture, but the Netherlanders cut the dykes that +restrained the ocean and let the sea sweep over the land, for Leyden +was reduced to starvation, and every day people were dying by hundreds +within its walls. The rescuers sailed up to the town in ships as the +Spaniards fled, bringing bread to the famished people. + +William was now the ruler of Holland and had triumphed over the +Spaniards. The war dragged after these terrible sieges and both sides +would gladly have seen it ended; but the Lowlanders were in no temper +to accept half measures. And in the Union of Utrecht, in which a number +of the Lowland provinces united against Philip, an important step was +taken toward throwing off the Spanish yoke. + +William's life was in great danger, for King Philip had offered a +reward of twenty-five thousand crowns in gold to any assassin who +should strike him down. And although he was under fifty, he appeared +like an old man, so great were the troubles with which he had been +beset in the course of his life. He was the constant target for the +bullet or the dagger of the assassin, and many dogged his tracks as a +result of the Spanish proclamation against him. + +The end that might have been expected came in the spring of 1584. +Already William had once been severely wounded by a would-be murderer, +and he was now to receive his death blow. A young man, who claimed to +be a Protestant orphaned in the religious persecutions, sought aid from +William's secretary, and William himself ordered that twelve crowns be +given him. With this money the perfidious assassin bought firearms and +ammunition, and gaining entrance to William's home fired three shots +into his body. A few minutes later the "father of his country" lay +dead. + +The work that William had done was far reaching and had a permanent +effect on the fortunes of his country. And to-day a song that was sung +at the time in his honor is still the national anthem of the Kingdom of +Holland. He was a man of a great heart and a great character; and his +fame has lived and grown more lustrous up to the present day. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +QUEEN ELIZABETH OF ENGLAND + + +We will now tell the story of a young girl who became the most famous +Queen that the world has ever known and laid the real foundations for +the modern greatness of the English nation. The name of this girl was +Elizabeth, and the time in which she lived has since been called the +Elizabethan Era. For England at that time was rich in the bravest +soldiers, the most daring sailors and the greatest men of genius, and +Elizabeth knew well how to surround herself with these men and use +their great talents to benefit her country. + +Elizabeth was the daughter of King Henry the Eighth, and his wife, Anne +Boleyn. Her childhood was far from being a happy one, for Henry was a +cruel tyrant and showed harshness to the princess in many ways. When +Elizabeth was only three years old her mother was imprisoned in the +Tower of London and then beheaded at King Henry's order, and her own +right to succeed him on the throne of England was taken away from her. +Then she was sent into the country to be brought up by servants and +attendants, and seldom was allowed at the Royal Court. + +King Henry married a lady named Catherine Parr and Elizabeth became a +favorite with her step-mother. For the first time in her life she +received a little affection and kindness. Catherine saw that she had +the attention she needed and brought her back to Court, but although +she was still only a child something she said or did once more awakened +her father's anger, and Elizabeth was sent away in disgrace and not +permitted to return until after his death. + +A son had been born to Henry the Eighth by another wife named Jane +Seymour; and this boy, who was christened Edward, succeeded his father +on the throne of England. Elizabeth, who was noted for her demure +bearing, was then thirteen years old and became a great favorite with +her brother, the boy king, who called her "sweet sister Temperance," +and gave many signs of his regard for her. But Edward the Sixth did not +live very long. He had a serious disease that wasted him away, and +Elizabeth's half sister named Mary, became Queen. + +Now Mary was an ardent Catholic, and desired that all England should +come under the power of the Catholic Church. To bring this about she +persecuted the Protestants in her kingdom mercilessly until anybody who +professed to the Protestant faith was in danger of being burned at the +stake. Mary, moreover, had married the dismal Spanish King, Philip the +Second, who tried to have her treat her subjects as he had done with +the people of the Low Countries, until through the efforts of William +the Silent, they won their freedom. And Mary was surrounded with +advisors who were even more fanatical and cruel than the Queen herself. + +One of Mary's first acts when she became Queen was to send for her +sister Elizabeth and command her to become a Catholic. Elizabeth had +been brought up as a Protestant and believed in the Protestant +religion, but to save her life she decided to pretend to obey her +sister's order and to adopt the outward forms of the Catholic faith. +And then more trouble befell Elizabeth, for due to her sister's harsh +rule which had won her the name of "Bloody Mary," a revolt broke out +among a number of the English people to place Elizabeth upon the +throne. For the Protestants had not been deceived by Elizabeth's +pretended conversion. They knew that she was Protestant at heart, and +that if she were only Queen the cruel persecutions would straightway be +ended. And a young man named Wyatt began a rebellion in Elizabeth's +name that was only put down after severe rioting. + +Wyatt was captured and stated that the Princess Elizabeth had known of +the plot; and Elizabeth was summoned to Mary to explain the accusations +against her and prove if possible that she had no share in the +undertaking. Elizabeth was very much frightened, and in fact she had +every reason to be. She dressed herself all in white as a symbol of her +innocence and went through the streets of London on her way to the +Queen; and the people gazed at her sadly and shook their heads, for +they were afraid that she was going to her death. Mary, who was +influenced by her advisers, refused to see her sister and would not +listen to her assurances of innocence, and finally an armed guard came +before Elizabeth and told her that she must go at once to the Tower of +London, where she was to be held a prisoner. + +The Tower of London, which is standing to-day, is a gloomy fortress +that was built in the time of William the Conqueror, and since that +time had been the scene of many tragedies and executions, for the most +dangerous political prisoners were confined there. Elizabeth's own +mother had been put to death within its solid walls, and Elizabeth had +every reason to fear that a similar fate was intended for her by her +sister Mary. Guarded by soldiers, the Princess was taken on a boat down +the Thames River; but instead of stopping at the usual entrance to the +Tower, the boat drew towards a portal known as "Traitor's Gate," where +many of the worst prisoners entered, only to meet the axe of the +executioner. + +"I am no traitor," Elizabeth cried out angrily when she saw where she +was, "I will not pass in by way of the gate of Traitors." + +And when she was sternly told that she must obey, she added: + +"Here lands as true an English subject as ever set foot on these +stairs!" + +That she was near death she knew very well; and whenever she heard any +unusual bustle or stir in the prison courtyard, she tried anxiously to +see what was going on there, for she feared that they might be building +a scaffold for her execution. And her fears were only too well founded, +for the Queen's advisors hated Elizabeth and did not think that +Catholic rule in England was safe as long as the Princess was alive. +This, rather than the charge of treason that had been trumped up +against her, was the real reason for her imprisonment. + +On one occasion, we are told, Mary fell ill; and her counselors took +the opportunity to have Elizabeth put to death. A warrant for her +execution was prepared, and an order was sent to the keeper of the +Tower to carry out the punishment at once. + +"Where is the Queen's signature?" demanded that official. + +"The Queen is too ill to sign it, but it is sent in her name," was the +reply. + +"Then I will wait until she is well enough to send her order in +person," said the keeper,--and Elizabeth's life was saved. For Mary was +furious when she learned how her counselors had tried to take the law +into their own hands, and in spite of their remonstrances Elizabeth was +soon afterward taken from the Tower and set at liberty. + +Queen Mary died in 1558, when Elizabeth was twenty-five years old, and +as it was known that Elizabeth would now come to the throne, there was +great rejoicing throughout England. Bonfires blazed and bells were +rung; and in joy at the accession of Elizabeth the people forgot to +mourn for the dead Queen, whose gloomy reign and religious cruelties +had caused her to be feared and hated everywhere. + +From the first day of her reign Queen Elizabeth showed that she was a +Protestant at heart and she put an immediate end to religious +persecution. But Elizabeth was too shrewd to take any steps that would +cause the Catholics to hate her. She wanted the love and respect of her +entire people, and always shaped her course in such a way that she +could gain the good will of the greatest number of her subjects. + +Elizabeth hated war and carried on her rule in such a way that she +could avoid it as far as possible. She encouraged trade and commerce +and learning and the sciences, and had in her possession long lists of +her subjects who had shown great ability, either as soldiers or +sailors, or in the fields of art and scholarship. As she rewarded such +men richly, the ambition of all Englishmen was to make themselves +worthy of being placed on one of these lists. + +As a result of this policy, which was almost unparalleled in the +history of the world, England began steadily to forge ahead in the +occupations of peace, and a number of great and illustrious men sprang +into fame. The poet Shakespeare commenced to write his immortal plays, +and Spenser and Bacon both made deathless contributions to English +literature. The great explorers, Martin Frobisher and Sir Francis +Drake, brought back from their voyages priceless knowledge of +geography, and many treasures and discoveries to enrich England. The +English statesmen Cecil and Walsingham followed a shrewd and +far-sighted policy, allowing England to grow strong through the wars of +other nations without engaging in them herself, and put a stop to the +former extravagant proceedings in which the public money had been +wasted. + +But in spite of her desire to keep out of war, many troubles beset +Elizabeth. In Scotland there was a young queen called Mary Queen of +Scots, Elizabeth's cousin, who claimed the throne of England in +addition to her own. Mary had always been the center of trouble and +turmoil and had frequently been embroiled with England; and being a +Catholic there were many among Elizabeth's subjects who would have been +rejoiced to see her on the throne in place of Elizabeth. On one +occasion, however, when Mary had been engaged in civil war in Scotland, +she was compelled to fly across the Scottish border and throw herself +on the protection of the English Queen. + +Elizabeth did not dare leave Mary at liberty in England, for she feared +the plots that might arise as a result, so Mary was promptly put in +prison and kept there for eighteen years, with considerable pomp and +state as befitted her high birth, but a captive for all that and one +that was closely watched. + +Holding Mary a prisoner was, however, a very foolish thing for +Elizabeth to do, for at once the Scottish Queen became the subject of +conspiracies among the English Catholics. Many of these were detected, +and Elizabeth's statesmen urged the Queen to sign Mary's death warrant +and put an end once and for all to the cause for internal trouble in +England that would continue as long as Mary lived. But Elizabeth was +most unwilling to take the life of her own cousin, who had come to +England of her own accord for safety, and she continued to keep Mary +under lock and key. + +At last, however, a plot was discovered in which Mary was not only to +be rescued, but placed on the throne of England; and the plot went so +far as to plan the murder of Queen Elizabeth. And there was evidence +that Mary had actually shared in this conspiracy and to some extent had +directed it from her prison. The Scottish Queen was taken to +Fotheringay Castle, where she was tried for high treason and sentenced +to death, and Elizabeth very reluctantly signed the warrant. So Mary +was beheaded, going to her death with a dignity and firmness that have +added to her fame throughout the centuries. + +These internal troubles were not the only ones that Elizabeth had to +contend with. Philip of Spain had tried to marry her after the death of +her sister, because he wanted to continue to influence English +politics. Elizabeth had refused him and the King of Spain had long been +her enemy, and was seeking to bring England back under the Catholic +rule. Although outwardly professing friendship, Philip was preparing +for war with England. And his ships captured English vessels on the +high seas and their crews were sent to torture or death because they +were Protestants. England did not sit meekly by and watch these +depredations on her seamen. English sailors were as good as any, and +often captured Spanish ships in their turn; and Spanish gold frequently +found its way to the English treasury, instead of into the coffers of +Philip. + +England was poor, and had not then come to her full power as a great +nation, and Elizabeth did not feel able openly to go to war with Spain, +much as she desired to do so. But while she would not give orders for +her sailors to attack Spanish ships, she was not a little pleased to +have her share of the Spanish gold. Chief among her sailors who brought +home treasure in this way were Sir John Hawkins and Sir Francis Drake. +The last of these was a great friend of Elizabeth's on account of his +bold deeds and his great discoveries, and much more is told of him in +another chapter of this book. For he not only took many rich ships from +Spain, but sailed around the world, bringing back with him great +knowledge and gold and gems of priceless value. And although Elizabeth +had warned Drake to "see that he did no harm to her good friend, Philip +of Spain," she rewarded him richly for his deeds. + +The death of Mary Queen of Scots had greatly angered Philip, and the +deeds of the English buccaneers filled him with rage. He labored for +years collecting a great fleet to invade England, and crowded the decks +of his vessels with soldiers. This fleet was called _The Invincible +Armada_ and set sail for England in 1588. + +Elizabeth rallied her countrymen, and with the utmost coolness and +bravery made her preparations for defense. Every Englishman who could +wield a sword was called to the defense of his country. Boys of +eighteen were enlisted and men of sixty once more became men at arms. +For Elizabeth knew that if Philip ever gained a foothold in England, +the same terrible scenes would be enacted there that had taken place in +the Low Countries. + +But the Spanish army never landed in England. When its sails appeared, +and it seemed as though it must overwhelm the small English fleet that +was opposed to it, Queen Elizabeth on horseback rode among her +soldiers, encouraging and cheering them, and urging them to fight to +their last drop of blood in defense of their country. But the English +fleet, under Sir Francis Drake, put the Spanish ships to flight and +sunk a great number of them. And a gale of wind did the rest, wrecking +the unwieldy Spanish boats and drowning thousands of Spanish soldiers +and sailors. + +Elizabeth's courage and the loyalty with which she had been served by +her brave subjects had saved England, and never since that time, with +the exception of a raid by the American sailor, Paul Jones, have +British shores been reached by a foreign foeman. The English nation was +changing in Elizabeth's reign more than in any former period, and many +blessings were being given to the Queen's subjects that they had never +hitherto known. Her reign saw the last vestige of bondage and servitude +die out; and men were now allowed to practise the Protestant religion +without the constant fear of death. They became, moreover, used to a +better manner of living and enjoyed luxuries that their fathers had +never known. Of course, from our standards their lives would have +seemed poor and rough, but none the less they were a distinct advance +over all that had gone before. + +The brilliant court kept by Elizabeth was surpassed by no other in all +Europe, and the magnificence of her dress had never been equaled. In +this respect the Queen resembled her father, Henry the Eighth, who +always had loved display. She had a thousand gowns of silk and rich +materials, all richly decorated with gold and precious stones. Her hair +was bright with gold and gems and in her Palace gold and rare jewels +were seen on every side. + +The Queen was very fond of traveling in state through England, and on +her way would arrange to visit different noblemen in their castles, +where they had to provide for her entertainment. These trips were +called her "Progresses." And the noblemen selected to entertain her +considered themselves unlucky enough, for they had to go to enormous +expense to satisfy her whims, and were never sure of her +gratitude,--while on the other hand, they were always certain to hear +from her if anything displeased her. The most costly banquets, the +richest wines, the most brilliant pageants, the most extravagant +novelties and flatteries were expected, if not demanded, by the Queen +in the course of these entertainments. + +Among her courtiers Queen Elizabeth had many favorites and perhaps the +worthiest of them was Sir Walter Raleigh. This gentleman was famous for +his courtly speech and gentle manners--things that delighted the +Queen--as well as for the richness of his apparel. On one occasion in +the course of a trip the Queen had to cross a muddy place in the road +and hesitated before soiling her delicate slippers, but Sir Walter +Raleigh slipped off the rich blue velvet cloak that he wore and cast it +in the mud in front of the Queen for her to walk upon. He well knew +that she would return the value of the cloak twenty times over in the +benefits she would confer on him, and this proved to be the case. + +Sir Walter Raleigh was an explorer as well as a courtier, and had been +interested in the establishing of a colony in the New World, calling +the lands there "Virginia" in honor of the virgin Queen--a name that +has lasted to the present day. And from Virginia the potato and tobacco +were first brought into England--and Sir Walter Raleigh used to smoke +tobacco in a silver pipe, sometimes in the Queen's presence. + +The Queen had other favorites beside Sir Walter Raleigh, and chief of +these was the Earl of Leicester. It was believed for a time that she +would marry him--but this did not come to pass. Another of her +favorites was the Earl of Essex, a self-willed and spoiled young man, +who frequently had difficulties with the Queen. On one occasion he +rudely turned his back on her, and Elizabeth retorted by boxing his +ears. Almost always after these affairs Essex left or was sent from +Court, but ultimately was pardoned and returned. The Earl of Essex was +put in command of troops in Ireland, and word of his mismanagement was +soon brought to Elizabeth. When he was recalled and punished he +believed that a great wrong had been put upon him and engaged in a +conspiracy against the Queen. For this he was imprisoned in the Tower +and beheaded. + +Elizabeth reigned over England until she was seventy years old. As she +grew older she was troubled with ill-health, but her indomitable spirit +never failed her. She continued to ride until she had to be lifted to +her horse, and she ruled with a firm hand long after her health had +failed and she had grown ill and feeble. + +But the end of her life was not happy. The throngs of courtiers who had +offered her the flattery and homage that were so dear to her, found +some excuse or other to go elsewhere and to bow themselves before the +feet of James of Scotland, the son of the unfortunate Mary Queen of +Scots, for James was now the recognized heir to the English throne. One +after one Elizabeth's followers deserted her and at times she was found +alone and in tears by the few faithful attendants that remained. She +could, of course, command attendance, but not the love that she had +formerly known--for there was now little to be gained from serving her, +and she had, moreover, been made unpopular by the execution of the Earl +of Essex, who was loved by the common people. + +Elizabeth died in her sleep in 1603, passing away without pain. And we +are told that when her coffin was borne to Westminster Abbey, where she +was buried, that all the former love of her subjects returned and she +was mourned as no sovereign has been mourned before or since her time. +And this was only fitting, for in spite of her many faults, her like +has seldom been seen upon a throne or in the course of history. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +SIR FRANCIS DRAKE + + +Probably the greatest hero in all Great Britain's naval history is Sir +Francis Drake, who carried England's flag to the uttermost corners of +the earth and made it glorious when Queen Elizabeth was on the English +throne. + +Drake was the oldest of a family of twelve sons and was born in +Devonshire in 1539. He was an active and adventurous boy, fond of all +athletic games and early showing a taste for the sea that seemed to run +in his family, for his father had served in the navy in the time of +Henry the Eighth, and his cousin, Sir John Hawkins, was sailing to the +coast of Guinea to bring back slaves. + +The talent that Drake had for the sea was soon observed by the +keen-eyed Hawkins, and before long Drake became his apprentice, and +quickly learned the ins and outs of seamanship. He rapidly made a name +for himself as a brave and skilful sailor, and before long accompanied +Hawkins on his trips to Guinea after negro slaves--trips in which Drake +was always in the fore when any adventure of a particularly dangerous +nature was undertaken. The slave trade was a perfectly honorable +calling in those days, and Drake succeeded in it beyond his hopes, +amassing much money with which he helped his younger brothers and did +many kindnesses for his family. + +But the slave trade itself soon grew too small to satisfy Hawkins, who +sought a field for broader adventures. All the western ocean lay open +to him, and mustering a squadron he offered Drake the command of one of +the vessels, which were to go to the West Indies and engage in trading +or fighting with the Spaniards, who had at that time almost a monopoly +of the waters where Columbus had sailed some seventy years before. +Spain and England were not openly at war when Hawkins was planning this +voyage, but in unknown waters all law stopped; and it was not +infrequent for Spanish and English vessels to fall afoul of each other +with little or nothing said about it afterward in the Courts or +Embassies. Queen Elizabeth hated the Spaniards and was glad to do them +all the mischief she could, but she did not dare to go to war with them +at that time or to give too open encouragement to her sea captains. +They knew, none the less, that the sight of Spanish gold under English +hatches was pleasant to good Queen Bess, and likely to result in honor, +wealth and preferment for themselves. + +It was on Drake's first expedition to the West Indies that he conceived +a hatred for the Spaniards that was to last all his life as the result +of the black treachery they played on Hawkins. After cruising along the +western coast of what is now Florida, and being unable to find a proper +harbor there, Hawkins set sail for Mexico and dropped anchor at a +Spanish port in that country. While he was riding at anchor a large +fleet of Spanish vessels arrived, and finding the English in possession +and holding a strong position, agreed to let them sail away unmolested. +Later, however, when the English had consented to these terms and after +the Spanish Admiral had entertained the English officers in his own +cabin, the Spaniards treacherously attacked the English, killing a +number that had gone ashore before they could regain their boats and +engaging in a sea fight with Hawkins' squadron, in which the English +lost all but two of their ships, the _Judith_, Drake's vessel, and the +_Minion_, on which Hawkins happened to be when the fight commenced. +These two ships escaped and made their way back to England separately, +Drake vowing vengeance against the Spaniards. And indeed they had made +a dangerous enemy in this bold sailor, who very shortly paid them in +full for the base treatment they had given him. + +As soon as he was in England Drake commenced fitting out two vessels as +raiders for the purpose of harrying Spanish ships in the waters of the +West Indies, and if possible to capture the Spanish holdings on land +and place them beneath the English flag. Particularly did he desire to +get his fingers into the rich heaps of gold that were conveyed by great +Spanish ships or galleons back from the New World to the treasury of +King Philip. + +With these ends in view, Drake landed his men secretly on the coast of +Central America near the present location of the Panama Canal; and by a +bold surprise attack captured the Spanish town named Nombre de Dios. He +was finally compelled to abandon the town, because he was greatly +outnumbered by the Spaniards, who, through a mishap in his plans, were +enabled to collect their forces and advance against him, but Drake made +good this check by another daring plan that was skilfully executed, and +that caused great discomfiture to the Spanish officials. + +This was nothing less than to ambush and attack the Spanish treasure +trains that carried gold and jewels across the Isthmus of +Panama,--riches wrung from the natives by Spanish greed. Leaving a +small number of men in charge of his ships, Drake advanced into the +wild and tropical country of Central America along the route that the +treasure trains traveled. When the tinkling of the bells on the +harnesses of the pack animals warned him of the approach of the +Spaniards who guarded the treasure, Drake concealed his men at the side +of the road, and rushing forward with a shout, attacked and captured +the train almost before the astonished Spaniards knew that there was an +enemy in the vicinity. Rich stores of gold and jewels were found in the +mule packs,--more, in fact, than the English men could carry back with +them, and with cheers and rejoicing, the little band of adventurers +made their way back to the harbor where they had left their ships. + +When they reached it, however, no ships were to be seen. They feared +that the Spaniards had captured or destroyed their vessels and that +they were marooned in a hostile and dangerous country. But Drake, with +his characteristic boldness, formed a plan that delivered them from +their difficulty. From the logs on the shore he ordered his men to +build a raft, and with their hatchets they hewed out oars. A sail was +contrived from a large biscuit sack, and with a few of his best men +Drake put to sea on this strange craft, searching for his ships. The +raft had been built so hurriedly that at times he was up to his waist +in water, but he was rewarded at last by finding his two vessels safe +and sound in a little cove where they had been taken to avoid some +Spanish warships that were in the neighborhood. + +Returning to his men at the helm of his own vessel, the treasure was +soon aboard, and with a large cargo of gold, silver and sparkling +jewels Drake headed for England, where a rousing welcome was given him. +Elizabeth, however, did not dare openly to approve of an act that +secretly brought her the utmost satisfaction. For the time at any rate +Drake got little thanks for his exploits--and there was even talk of +returning the captured treasure to the Spaniards. + +Drake then engaged in a war in Ireland, where he proved himself almost +as good a soldier as he was a sailor; but even while enjoying his +congenial occupation of fighting he longed to set forth on another +great adventure, the idea of which had come to him while in the Central +American jungle from which he had first set eyes on the far-off waters +of the Pacific Ocean. + +This idea was to carry the English flag through the Strait of Magellan +and bear the colors of Queen Bess to waters where they had never been +seen before. Up to that time only the Spanish had rounded South America +and brought their civilization to its northwestern shores, and the new +venture, if successful, would mean much to England. But Drake feared +that the Queen would not approve of the idea, and for a time cherished +it only in his own mind, waiting a more favorable opportunity to lay it +before the Queen. + +In the meantime he fell in with an English army officer named Thomas +Doughty, who became his close friend. Doughty was greatly interested in +Drake's idea of sailing the Pacific, and promised to get Sir +Christopher Hatton, one of Elizabeth's most influential advisors, to +intercede for Drake with the Queen. Hatton talked with Drake and +cordially approved the plan; and in a short time, in command of a +squadron of five tight little vessels Drake sailed westward, while the +trumpets blared and the cannon boomed in his honor. + +Drake himself was in command of a little ship which he called the +_Golden Hind_, and Doughty was his second in command over the entire +squadron. The ships were admirably fitted out for those times, with +every necessity and every comfort and luxury. Drake and his officers +dined from silver dishes on the choicest food and wines. His stores +included materials for trading with the natives, as well as all the +scientific instruments then applied to the art of navigation. + +After sinking some unimportant Spanish ships, the English squadron +captured a large Portuguese galleon, from which they took a valuable +treasure. The Portuguese had been unfriendly to the English on more +than one occasion, and this was Drake's way of informing them that such +had been the case. And after a long voyage he came to the mouth of the +River de la Plata in South America, dropping anchor at the entrance to +that great stream. Fires blazed on the shore and weird figures were +seen dancing around the flames. They were the savage natives, praying +to their heathen gods for the shipwreck of Drake's party, for they +believed that by their prayers and fires a host of devils would alight +upon the English vessels and destroy them. Drake himself was too eager +to continue his voyage to think of landing, and pointed his prows +southward, bound for the Strait of Magellan. + +After a battle with the gigantic and savage Patagonians, in which Drake +saved his men from massacre by his usual quick decision and energy, he +continued his voyage until trouble that had developed in his crew +compelled him to take action against his friend and lieutenant, +Doughty. It seems that even before they sailed from England, Doughty +had become jealous of Drake and had commenced to work for his undoing. +And now proofs were only too evident that he had tried to provoke a +mutiny in the crew. + +He was called before a court consisting of Drake's officers and was +found guilty. And then Drake, in spite of his grief that he had been +deceived by his most trusted friend, decided that stern measures were +necessary to preserve his authority over the men. He told Doughty that +he had but one course to take and that was to punish him for his crime. +But he gave him the choice of three fates,--to be executed then and +there, or put ashore to fend for himself among the savages, or to be +cast in chains into the hold of the ship and tried by his peers on the +return to England. + +The unhappy Doughty asked time to think over what he should choose, and +this was granted. On the following morning he was taken before Drake +and with courageous mien declared that he preferred to be executed +rather than be left among the savages or taken home as a prisoner. And +in a few hours and before the entire company Doughty met his fate, but +he did not place his head upon the block until he had sat at dinner +with Drake himself and shared communion with him. And after this Drake +continued his voyage, until he found himself at the southernmost part +of South America. + +Beating his way through the dangerous Strait of Magellan, Drake tried +to sail northward, but was driven back by severe gales and contrary +winds until it seemed as though the spirit of the new ocean had arisen +in wrath, forbidding his further progress. He was even driven south of +the strait to Cape Horn, where he landed and looked from the +southernmost pinnacle of the cape to the mysterious southern sea, +declaring triumphantly that he had been farther south than any man in +the world and had placed his foot on the extreme of the new continent. +Then all at once the weather changed and Drake sailed rapidly up the +coast. + +By this time only one ship remained to him, for storms had scattered +his squadron and he had destroyed one of his own ships, thinking he had +too many to hold together. Another basely deserted him in the Strait +and sailed back to England. In the _Golden Hind_, however, he himself +met all obstacles and continued his voyage where no English keel had +ever cut water before. + +Coming to the northern part of South America, Drake was given word by +the natives that a Spanish galleon with a cargo of treasure lay near at +hand, and swooping down on the great vessel before the Spaniards were +aware of his presence he captured it and transferred the treasure to +the _Golden Hind_. He then got news of a second galleon which he +pursued, and when he boarded her discovered that she too bore rich bars +of gold and silver destined for the treasure house of the King of +Spain. He had now accomplished his purpose and sailed in the Pacific. +He had beneath his hatches a treasure that would have gladdened the +heart of Midas--a harvest of the yellowest gold and whitest silver--of +sparkling gems, rich silks and spices, and many costly curios that he +had gathered in his voyage. He believed, however, that the Spaniards +would be watching the Strait and Cape Horn to intercept him, and +planned to try to find a passage around the northern part of the +continent. In sailing north he dropped anchor at a harbor not far from +the Golden Gate, and here he had his first experience with North +American Indians. + +He found these savages very different from the treacherous natives of +South America. They greeted him with the utmost ceremony, treating him +as a god and bringing him a profusion of gifts of various kinds. With +Indian guides, the English hunted and slew the deer with which the +region abounded and shared the wigwams of the redskins in ceremonial +gatherings. When they finally took their departure the savages made +bitter lamentation and stood on the hilltops waving their farewells +until the sails of Drake's little ship had sunk beneath the horizon. + +Drake had now altered his plan of sailing north and had conceived the +bolder project of sailing directly across the Pacific Ocean to the Far +East, from which he could proceed to the Cape of Good Hope and skirt +the Coast of Africa. So he resolutely turned his prow into an unknown +sea, and after sixty-eight days sighted land. + +Again the savages crowded around his ship in their canoes, but they +were far different from the Indians of California. These men were naked +with blackened teeth and sullen looks. Finding the ship not to their +liking, they loosed a shower of stones, to which Drake responded by +firing one of his cannon, which frightened them until they fell out of +their canoes into the water, and remained there until the _Golden Hind_ +had sailed away. + +Drake stopped at many islands and traded with the natives he met there. +He visited the Philippines and an island called Terenate, where he +received a native king who called on him with the utmost pomp and +ceremony. This potentate was surrounded with grave old men with white +beards, who believed in the Mohammedan religion, and they welcomed +Drake as though he himself were a mighty king. + +At the court of the King of Terenate Drake discovered a Chinaman, who +professed to be of royal blood, and gave him a courteous invitation to +visit the Emperor of China. But Drake was eager to get home and +continued his voyage as quickly as possible. He stopped at Java, and +then made for the Cape of Good Hope--which his followers declared was +the fairest and most goodly cape in all the world, and the most welcome +to set eyes on. Rounding the Cape, he directed his course for Sierra +Leone and the Coast of Guinea, and, coming into waters that he knew, he +continued northward until the shores of England were sighted from his +masthead. And at last he dropped anchor triumphantly in Plymouth harbor +after a voyage that had lasted three years. + +He had suffered from tempest, battle and shipwreck, and on one occasion +had run his vessel on the rocks while in Asiatic waters. He had taken a +princely fortune from the Spaniards and engaged in fierce combats with +them. He had accomplished more as a geographer and navigator than any +Englishman up to his time, and had taken the English flag where it had +never been seen before. And as a result of these exploits all England +rang with his fame, songs were composed in his honor and he was +considered to be more than human by many people who held that only by +magic could he have accomplished a voyage so miraculous. + +Elizabeth did not receive him with open favor at first; but her heart +was high within her at Drake's success. At last she informed him that +it was her pleasure to dine with him on the _Golden Hind_, which you +may be sure was scoured and garnished for the occasion as never before. +In the ship's cabin Elizabeth and her courtiers feasted with Drake and +his officers, and at the end of the dinner she asked the Captain for +his sword--a sword that she herself had presented to him before his +departure for the west, and tapping him with it on the shoulder as he +knelt before her, she knighted him, and left his ship, while Drake +himself remained on board to rejoice at the honor that had been +bestowed on him. + +The dauntless skipper had returned in the nick of time to be of further +service to his country, for England at last went openly to war with +Spain, and Drake was put in command of a fleet to harry Spanish +commerce. There were rumors of a great fleet that was being gathered by +King Philip to invade England, but Drake met them more than half way +and sailing into Spanish harbors inflicted such a blow on King Philip's +navy that it took more than a year for him to get his ships again in +such a condition that he could sail against English shores. As we have +already told you in the last chapter, the King of Spain did at last +send a mighty fleet of more than one hundred and fifty great galleons +to invade England and conquer the country. It was the proudest array of +ships that the world had ever seen up to that time, with Spain's +greatest sailors and generals in command and a force of veteran +soldiers aboard that was thought to be irresistible. + +Drake was at a game of bowls with Sir Walter Raleigh and Martin +Frobisher when word was brought to him that the Spanish fleet had been +sighted. The others quickly left their sport and were hurrying toward +the harbor when Drake called after them and brought them back. + +"There's plenty of time to finish the game and beat the Spaniards +afterward," he said, laughing. + +He was as good as his word, and as one of the chief commanders of the +English navy, he did more than any other man to humble Spain's great +fleet and weaken her power on the sea. While the great Spanish galleons +were huddled in confusion the swift English vessels bore down on them +and raked them from stem to stern with musketry and cannon fire, +sinking a great many vessels and throwing the entire fleet into +hopeless disorder. The English also deftly maneuvered so that the +Spaniards would be driven upon dangerous reefs, and shipwreck complete +the havoc in the ranks of the hostile _Armada_. Drake's fire ships, +like roaring furnaces, bore down on the Spaniards under full sail, and +the light of the flames was reflected against the clouds as the +galleons blew up and burned. + +A terrible gale completed what the English began and the Spanish ships +drove on the rocks by scores, where their crews were dashed to pieces +or were killed or captured after making their way to shore. Spain's +dream of conquering England was at an end and Spain's supremacy upon +the seas was ended also in favor of her younger rival. + +This was the crowning point of Drake's career and greatness. He was, +most naturally, a national figure, the darling of the people and the +court. Later he engaged in further voyages, but did not meet with his +earlier success, and in 1596 he died at sea not very far from the scene +of his first victories and the location of the modern Panama Canal. He +was buried with high honors, and his coffin was lowered into the sea +draped in the English flag, while English guns thundered a salute in +honor of the great naval hero. + +All England mourned when they heard of his fate, and the _Golden Hind_ +was ordered by the Queen to be preserved with scrupulous care in memory +of the marvelous journey it had made. When it, too, grew old and had to +be broken up, a chair was made from its planks and sent to Oxford +University, where it can be seen to the present day as a memorial of +Drake's mighty achievements,--feats that stand in a class by +themselves, and that will be hard to duplicate to the end of time. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +HENRY HUDSON + + +When James the First was King of England, and four years after the +death of the great Queen Elizabeth, there existed an English and +Russian trading company of wealthy merchants which was known as the +Muscovy Company--an association of great influence that desired to +extend its commerce to far-off China, whose wealth in those days was +considered to be fabulous. All the maritime nations of Europe desired +to gain the China trade and to bring to their own ports the rich silks +and spices of the Orient. All of them were seeking for some quick and +easy route for sailing vessels from Europe to China, and fortunate +indeed would be that nation whose sailors first discovered such a +passage! Therefore, in the year 1607, the Muscovy Company tried to find +some sea captain who would undertake a voyage of discovery to find a +quicker way to the Far East than around the Cape of Good Hope in +southern Africa. + +Now at that very time there chanced to be living a mariner named Henry +Hudson, who commanded a small coasting vessel which was anchored near +the mouth of the River Thames. He heard of the offer made by the +Muscovy Company and offered his services. And partly because the +merchants believed him to be a capable seaman and partly because no +other sailor volunteered for this dangerous mission, Henry Hudson was +given command of the little ship called the _Hopewell_, and with a +small crew set out to find the way to China by the northeast, hoping to +skirt the northern shore of Russia and then sail south into Oriental +seas along the Asiatic coast. + +Nobody knows to-day who Hudson was or what his life had been up to the +time when he entered the service of the Muscovy Company. Over three +hundred years ago he suddenly appeared as a brave and capable sailor +and explorer, only to disappear in the great bay in northern Canada +that now bears his name, when he was deserted and left to certain death +by a mutinous and cowardly crew. We do not know what he looked like, +for no portrait of him has been preserved; we do not know who were the +members of his family, for no records of them have been kept. All we +know is that this master mariner sailed farther north than any sailor +of his day--farther north, indeed, than any sailor who succeeded him +for nearly three hundred years--and what is still more important, that +he explored the great river now called the Hudson, on whose shore +stands one of the mightiest cities of the world. + +The _Hopewell_ was a little ship, about the size of the smallest +fishing vessels of to-day; and had been used many years before by +another great explorer and a friend of Sir Francis Drake's named Martin +Frobisher. That Hudson was able in this tiny craft to penetrate farther +into the arctic wilderness than the great square-rigged ships and the +strongly built steamers of the nineteenth century, is almost beyond +belief. But the fact that he did so is not to be doubted, and the +results of his voyages into those icy and deserted seas bore almost as +great fruit as though he had discovered the passage to China that he +hoped for. + +First Hudson sailed north and then east, to the coast of what is now +called Spitzbergen, after which he sailed along the shore of Greenland +to the north. He tried to round the northern end of Greenland, but the +great ice floes blocked his progress. Everywhere were icebergs and +cliffs of solid ice, grinding against each other with a wicked roar on +the great seas, and always was there fog born of the ice, or heavy +gales that tossed the little _Hopewell_ like a feather. After trying +for many days to sail where no ship has ever sailed, Hudson finally +gave up the attempt, and, bitterly disappointed, turned his prow toward +England, where he reported to the Muscovy Company that great numbers of +whales sported in the icy waters near Spitzbergen--a report that +afterward resulted in the great whale fisheries of that locality and +untold wealth for the ships and companies that pursued them. But Hudson +had done more than he realized. Not only had he reached a latitude of +eighty-one degrees, fifty minutes, north, but he brought back important +information that there was no hope of reaching Asia in the direction he +had followed. + +The merchants of the Muscovy Company were disappointed, but they still +believed that the passage to China could be found, and in 1608 Hudson +set sail again, determined this time to find the great waterway that +would make his name and fortune. But again he was doomed to failure and +returned with even less to show than on the previous voyage. He did, +however, bring back a curious tale that added to the superstitious sea +lore of those times, for two of his sailors one morning when looking +over the side of the vessel beheld what they declared was a +mermaid--with a white skin and a tail like a mackerel, long, black +hair, and a back and breast like a woman's. For a long time, these +mendacious mariners insisted, the mermaid (who is believed to have been +a seal) swam beside the vessel looking earnestly into their eyes, but +at last a sea overturned her and she dove deep and disappeared from +view. + +When Hudson returned again with nothing to show for his bravery and +daring, the Muscovy Company was not willing to fit him out for a third +voyage. The fame of his exploits, however, had traveled throughout +Europe, and he was summoned to Holland by a group of wealthy merchants +who asked him to try once more in any direction he saw fit, and in the +interests of the Dutch East India Company. + +This time Hudson was to succeed, although in a way that he little +dreamed of--and certainly a way that was far removed from the discovery +of a sea route to China. In a little vessel called the _Half Moon_, and +with a crew of about a score of Englishmen and Hollanders, he set sail +on April 5, 1609, with high hopes that at last he would find the +passage he had so long and patiently sought for. + +At first it looked as though he was doomed once more to failure. After +cruising for a month he found himself in the icy reaches of Barents +Sea, and then the _Half Moon_ was caught in the ice and only saved from +being crushed to splinters by a favorable breeze that sprang up just as +the jaws of the ice floes were closing on the little vessel. So far +Hudson had accomplished nothing, and his crew was dissatisfied and +rebellious. They were unwilling to continue the voyage in the north and +desired a quick return to Holland. But Hudson knew that if he put back +with another failure to his credit, his reputation would be lost +forever and he would never get another opportunity to engage in +exploration; so, to pacify the crew, and at the same time to accomplish +something that might meet with favor in the eyes of his patrons, he +suggested that they sail for North America and try to discover the +passage through a waterway that lay to the north of the British +possessions in Virginia. + +When the _Half Moon_ was being buffeted by a gale off the coast of +Newfoundland the foremast was carried away, and Hudson sailed southwest +along the coast of Nova Scotia, anchoring at last in what is now known +as the mouth of the Kennebec River in Maine. + +Here his men landed and sought a mast for the ship in the virgin forest +that ran down to the edge of the salt water. Here too they met their +first Indians, and treated them with suspicion and distrust. Hudson +himself met the natives kindly and always established good relations +with them, but his ignorant crew, particularly his mate, whose name was +Juet, believed that the natives were only waiting to do them some +violence and treachery, and with this in mind the sailors drove the +Indians into the forest and plundered their wigwams, taking whatever +was valuable back to the _Half Moon_. Hudson could do little or nothing +to prevent them, for at this time the ill feeling of his men had grown +to such an extent that he was only nominally in command and had little +or no control over his lawless followers. + +With a new mast in place the _Half Moon_ set sail from the Penobscot +and bore away to the south, passing Cape Cod which had been discovered +a short time before by Bartholomew Gosnold, and continuing on a +southern course until it reached a point beyond Chesapeake Bay. Then +Hudson turned his prow north once more and entered the bay itself, +thinking that it might possibly be the entrance to the passage that he +sought; but finding it too shallow for convenient navigation he turned +north again and sailed up the Jersey coast, coming at last to the mouth +of a great harbor, which he thought, for a brief time only, might be on +the way to China and the east. + +He found himself, however, in one of the most wonderful waterways of +the entire world. There were many tribes of Indians around the shores +and these paddled out in their canoes with offerings of wampum and +green tobacco in return for which they received bits of glass and iron +hoes and hatchets. They were filled with amazement at the appearance +and clothes of the white men and it was only after overcoming great +fear that they dared to approach the _Half Moon_ at all. + +But the suspicion and doubt of Hudson's crew, particularly of the surly +Juet, again made itself manifest, and after many of the party had +landed some outrage must have been committed, for the Indians made an +attack on the _Half Moon_ with bows and arrows, killing one of the +crew. The sailors built a barricade above the bulwarks to protect the +men from further encounters, and Hudson proceeded up the harbor. He +landed at the lower point of Manhattan Island and made a ceremonial +visit to the Indians, who were doubtless of a different tribe from +those that attacked him, for in that day there were many nations in the +vicinity of Manhattan, some fierce and warlike and others peace-loving +and friendly. + +After exchanging gifts with the Indians and plying them with drink +whose unaccustomed sensations filled them with fear, amazement and joy, +Hudson continued his voyage up the noble river, anchoring at frequent +intervals. More trouble soon occurred between his crew and the savages, +for Juet the mate shot and killed an Indian who was attempting to steal +some trifle from the cabin of the _Half Moon_. There followed a fight +in which no less than twelve Indians were killed by Hudson's men; the +redskins were getting their first taste of white man's rule, and coming +with gifts they were met with gunfire. What was more natural than for +one of the ignorant savages to steal some of the amazing trifles that +were displayed in the _Half Moon's_ cabin? Death was certainly an +unjust penalty. + +Up the river for one hundred and fifty miles Hudson steered his course, +trading with the natives as soon as he was removed from the scenes of +the recent outrage. His writings show no surprise or delight at the +wonderful scenery and the virgin forests and the giant river that he +beheld, but is a record of soundings with an occasional remark that the +trees would make good timbers for vessels and casks. Rich furs, green +tobacco and long strings of gay and polished shells called wampum were +gladly exchanged by the Indians for bits of colored glass, beads, +hatchets and knives, commencing a trade that was later extensively +carried on in the north by the Hudson Bay Trading Company, and at the +mouth of the river by the Dutch settlers. + +At last the water became too shoal for further exploration and Hudson +returned downstream. It was time to conclude his voyage and he +consulted his men. They were greatly averse to returning to Holland, +fearing without doubt that he would report their open mutiny and +rebellious conduct as soon as they arrived. Hudson feared for his life, +and indeed his fears were well founded; but with considerable +astuteness he proposed that they return not to Holland but Ireland--a +suggestion that was eagerly hailed by the crew. They set sail from +Manhattan in October, and on November 7 arrived at Dartmouth, England, +where Hudson had taken his vessel either through accident or design. + +He sent word of his arrival to the Dutch East India Company and +received an order to proceed to Holland without delay--but when he was +about to set sail the English forbade him to do so and he was ordered +henceforth to serve his own country and not to give help to a foreign +power. + +Already, though he had little idea of it, he had accomplished more than +enough to rank him as the foremost explorer of his time, and his name +was assured of immortality. He had opened up to the advances of the +Dutch settlers a country enormously rich in natural resources and laid +the primary foundation of perhaps the world's most wonderful city. He +had established a "farthest north" that has only been equaled by modern +explorers, and his voyages near Spitzbergen had resulted in profitable +fisheries. + +But Hudson was not yet satisfied, and indeed his recent voyage had +impelled the English to equip him again for further explorations. They +gave him a little vessel of some fifty-five tons named the _Discovery_ +and a mixed crew of Englishmen and Dutchmen, with whom he put forth +once more in 1610 to see if an opening into southern seas could be +found by means of the waterways discovered by the explorer, Davis. + +Among these sailors, to Hudson's cost, was his former surly mate, Juet, +and a young ne'er-do-well named Henry Greene, who had been cast off by +his family for his evil ways and his dissolute living. Hudson had +befriended this young man and had offered him a refuge in his own +house--and now, to keep him out of mischief, took him along as a member +of his crew. With the explorer also was a boy, John Hudson, who was +undoubtedly his son and who had served under him as cabin boy on +previous voyages. + +That Hudson, for all his great qualities, was not a leader of men like +the American Paul Jones, who could make convicts and prisoners of war +serve him in battle against his enemies; and that he had always +controlled his crew with a loose hand seems amply borne out by the +events that took place on this voyage, which was destined to prove his +last. Almost before he had quitted the river Thames he commenced to +have trouble with his crew, sending one unruly member ashore before he +was out of sight of land. + +He turned his prow toward Iceland where he caught a great many fish and +wild fowl and where he and his followers saw Mount Hecla, the volcano, +pouring flame upon the snows. He then set sail for Greenland, rounded +Cape Desolation and after a long and wearisome voyage found himself at +last in the great body of water in northern Canada that is now called +Hudson Bay. This he thought might be at last the long sought passage, +for the great waterway ran toward the south. And Hudson, sailing +onward, found himself at last in its southernmost part--a pocket now +called James Bay. Storms were frequent and heavy fogs rolled upon him +incessantly. On one occasion he anchored in a gale and lay buffeting +enormous seas for eight long days. When he tried to hoist anchor +against the wishes of the crew a great wave broke directly over the +bow, breaking upon the deck with such force that all the men were swept +from their feet and several were injured. The anchor was lost and only +the quickness of the carpenter saved the cable, which he cut with an ax +as it was running over the side. Staggering in the heavy sea the +_Discovery_ sailed northward, for Hudson had at last become convinced +that no passage led to the orient through Hudson Bay. + +Ice retarded them and they were compelled to seek winter quarters. +Their provisions were nearly gone and all that saved their lives was +skill in hunting whereby they secured several hundred white partridges, +or ptarmigan. Discontent and mutiny were breaking out among the members +of the crew, and the ringleader against Hudson was young Henry Greene +whom he had befriended and fed at his own table. A house was built for +winter quarters, but it was badly constructed and the biting Arctic +blast swept through it, chilling to the bone the bodies that were +weakened with hunger. In the spring, when the mariners were able once +again to resume the voyage, they were at death's door from starvation. + +What little food was left was distributed by Hudson, and, we are told, +he wept as he doled it out. Disappointed in his hopes of a successful +voyage, weakened with hunger and with a crew in almost open mutiny, it +is not to be wondered at if he spoke harshly at times to his men and +added to the grudge they harbored against him. The most assiduous of +all in their efforts to do him injury was Henry Greene, his former +beneficiary. + +A plot was conceived to put Hudson and all the sick members of the crew +in the shallop or small boat that the _Discoverer_ carried and turn +them adrift, and all the details of this were worked out by Greene and +some other leading spirits among the mutineers. Hudson was seized and +bound; the sick were told to get up from their bunks and take their +places in the shallop. Even the boy, John Hudson, was placed there +also,--and the carpenter, who preferred to face death with his master +rather than remain with the mutineers, was put aboard as well. Then the +painter was cut, and without food, clothing or provisions, Hudson and +his companions floated away amid the ice fields. They were never seen +again. + +The mutineers sailed homeward and secured some provisions at islands on +the way where they found fish and wild fowl. It is a satisfaction to +know that they were attacked by the natives and that Greene and several +others were killed. The survivors, after a terrible voyage, reached +Ireland and then made their way to England. Although they were +questioned closely regarding Hudson's fate, little or no punishment was +visited on them and some of them even took part in later expeditions. +And so perished by base treachery one of the bravest and most brilliant +sailors that the world has ever seen, for Hudson died either in the +melancholy reaches of Hudson Bay or on some bleak shore where he was +cast away. But though he died miserably he still lives, for his +achievements are immortal. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +PETER THE GREAT + + +At a time when the famous House of Romanoff had only recently come into +power in Russia, a prince was born in the Kremlin Palace at Moscow who +was destined to become the greatest ruler that the Russian people have +ever known. The name of this prince was Peter and he was the son of the +Czar Alexis. + +Alexis was a kind-hearted man, but preferred to leave the arduous +duties of governing the Russian State to his advisors. As he was easily +influenced by any favorite who happened to gain his ear the Government +was badly run and the condition of the people was deplorable indeed. +When the Empress, or Czarina, had borne her husband two sons and a +daughter she died, and Alexis married a second wife named Natalia +Naryshkin, who became the mother of the infant Peter in 1672. + +We are told that there were great festivities at Peter's christening. +Most of the great nobles of Russia were present and there was feasting +and merrymaking. The guests wondered at the great confections of candy +and spice that had been made for the celebration--life-size swans all +of sugar that looked so natural it seemed as though they could swim in +the sea of wine that flowed there, and fortresses of sweetmeats made to +resemble the buildings of Moscow. + +There are many stories, too, of the pomp and luxury in which the future +Czar was brought up. Peter had his own apartments and his own train of +attendants, and he was waited on by a band of dwarfs who were selected +for this purpose. When he was three years old the Czar gave him a royal +carriage of tiny size drawn by four ponies, and sitting therein, driven +and accompanied by his dwarfs, the little Prince would appear in the +public streets whenever a royal ceremony took place. + +His father died when Peter was four years old and was succeeded on the +throne by Feodor, who was Peter's half brother. This prince was not +fitted to rule. He was sickly in body and weak in intellect, as indeed +were both of the Czar's sons by his first marriage. And the new Czar +spent a large part of his time in bed while his sister Sophia, who was +shrewder than himself, was the actual ruler of Russia. + +Sophia had planned to make herself Empress by the cleverest plotting +and intrigue. She nursed Feodor in his illnesses and so endeared +herself to him that he allowed her to do whatever she desired. Among +the nobility she gained a number of friends by gifts, smiles and +flattery, and she paid particular attention to winning over a body of +soldiers that formed the Imperial Guard, and were called the Streltsi, +trying to enlist them in her cause by every means in her power. + +Sophia, it may be said, was base-hearted and treacherous. She did not +wish her father to marry again for she feared there would be more +children, and she desired to come to power after his death by managing +the affairs of her two weak brothers. Feodor, as we have seen, was a +hopeless invalid; and the other son, Ivan, was weak-minded, almost an +idiot, manifestly incapable of ever coming to the throne. + +But Peter, the son of the second marriage, was a strong and promising +child, handsome in body and powerful in mind. He was the hope of the +Russian State, and gave every indication that he would some day become +a ruler worthy of his people. And while he was still a young boy the +sickly Feodor died and Peter became the Czar much sooner than was +expected. + +Sophia was most unwilling to have Peter reign. She knew that under such +a ruler as he promised to become there would be small chance of her +keeping her power. So, when Feodor died, she planned a revolt by +spreading falsehoods among the nobles and the Imperial Guard to the +effect that Peter's mother had planned to place her son on the throne +by any means whatever and had murdered the idiot Prince Ivan so that +Peter might rule unquestioned. + +At this a mob made its way to the Kremlin, determined to take and slay +both Peter and his mother, and foremost among the infuriated people +were the soldiers of the Imperial Guard who were influenced by Sophia. +The former Czarina with Peter in her arms was compelled to flee for +refuge to a monastery where the soldiers followed her as far as the +altar itself, but feared to use their swords in the house of God. + +So many of the nobles, however, supported Peter and his mother, that +Sophia could not work her wicked will upon them, and at last it was +agreed that both Peter and Ivan should reign jointly as Czars, while +Sophia herself was to be Regent, with all the power in her hands until +they should come of age. + +Sophia then worked out another plot by which she hoped that Peter would +never really rule. She planned to weaken him in body and will until he +should be unfit for his high duties. She took away his instructors and +surrounded him with a group of boys to whom she gave every luxury and +every opportunity for vice and idleness. They did as they liked from +morning to night and no restraint of any kind or description was placed +upon them. Sophia hoped that they would all become worthless and +vicious and that Peter would do the same. Perhaps, she thought, he +might even weaken himself by drinking bouts and riotous orgies so that +he would not even live to claim the actual power of the throne. + +It was in the company of these boys, however, that Peter gave the first +signs that he was not only bright and capable but possessed the +qualities of real greatness. Instead of doing nothing, as Sophia had +wickedly hoped, he soon became a natural leader among his companions. +Although he had no instructors he kept up his studies and made his +fellows do likewise, and he organized the group of boys into a military +company which he drilled with the greatest care, teaching them tactics +and the theories of soldiering, which he obtained from the officers of +the army, and organizing a military school of such excellence that it +continued on a practical basis long after he became Czar. + +The constant efforts of the young Prince to improve himself, his zeal, +energy and ability soon attracted the attention of the Russian +noblemen, who said to themselves that here was a ruler worth having. +Many of them had been Sophia's friends, but now they began to turn +toward Peter, and Sophia soon saw that the design she had entertained +was a two-edged one, and that she had only injured herself. + +Peter now was a youth of eighteen, and had a strong party of noblemen +ready to support him in his claims to power. His friends and counselors +desired that he marry, and soon the Princess Eudoxia Lopukhin became +his bride. Sophia, of course, had been unwilling that the marriage take +place, but she couldn't prevent it; and from that time onward her power +grew less each day. + +The young Prince continued to show every indication of his energy and +ability. He worked in the shipyards to learn ship building, and he +studied military tactics at every opportunity. He had a company of +soldiers formed, who dressed in European uniform instead of in the +Asiatic garb of Russia. He himself had drilled as a private in this +company. He was fond of taking long trips for military purposes as well +as for shipbuilding, and continued to do so after his marriage. + +At about this time Russia engaged in an unsuccessful war in the Crimea. +The Russian General, Golitzyn, claimed that he had accomplished wonders +and ought to be decorated, but Peter's knowledge of military matters +had made him thoroughly disgusted with the campaign. He refused to sign +the order for the General's medals, and showed that he knew the war had +been a failure and had failed through faulty strategy and bad +leadership. + +Then there took place another plot to assassinate Peter, and once again +Sophia's friends, the Imperial Guard, were in the foreground. Some of +the soldiers, however, were faithful to the young Czar and warned him +in time to fly for his life, and once again he and his mother took +refuge in the monastery that had sheltered him when he was an infant. + +Noblemen hastened to the place to assure Peter that they were loyal to +him and devoted to his interests. And while still in the monastery +Peter accused Sophia of having planned the deed. The Imperial Guard at +last went over to him and the ringleaders of the plot were disclosed +and executed. General Golitzyn, who had already been in disfavor on +account of his operations in the Crimea, was banished to the desolate +reaches of Siberia, and the evil-hearted Sophia was placed in a convent +for the good of her soul, where she remained until her dying day. + +After this Peter took on himself the full power of the Czar and began +the great reforms that have made his name famous and were still working +in Russia when the World War commenced in 1914. He ordered that +mechanics and craftsmen from all parts of Europe be brought into Russia +to show the Russian people improved methods of trade, building and +manufacture. He made it easy to buy the merchandise of other countries, +so the Russians might learn how to make such things themselves, and he +traveled widely in his great Empire supervising industry and +introducing new methods. He turned his attention to the Army and had it +well and efficiently drilled and dressed in the style of the armies of +England and France and other great western nations. He took long +voyages on the sea to learn the craft of sailoring, and made plans for +various ports and shipping centers in his country. And for his own +amusement the Czar was passionately fond of working with his own hands +and making various things that can be seen to the present day. + +When Peter was twenty-two his mother died, and soon after this time he +ceased to live with his wife, who entered a convent. He had never cared +for her, although she had loved him passionately; and his treatment of +her was harsh to say the least. In one way Peter's early training had +done its work and Sophia had molded his character for the worse. He was +reckless and dissolute, a heavy drinker and fond of wild orgies that +lasted long after daybreak. Unusually strong himself these excesses did +not injure his health to any great extent, but it was hard for those +who had to drink with him, for the Czar expected them to go about their +affairs the next day as though they had spent the night in restful +sleep instead of some wild revel, and it is said that he had no use for +a man who would not join in the revels or who allowed himself to be +affected by them on the following day. + +When still a young man there was another attempt to murder him, and to +place Sophia on the throne, but the plot was discovered and all the +conspirators were put to death, some of them with barbarous cruelties. + +In 1695 the Russians went to war against the Turks and the wild +Tartars. The war is not an important one in its bearing on history, but +Peter won fame through all civilized Europe for the skill with which he +handled his army and the way in which he conducted the siege of a town +called Azov. + +He then made up his mind to go to western Europe and visit the great +nations he had always admired. He went in great state and pretended +that he was bound on a diplomatic mission, but it is thought that the +real reason for the trip was his desire to see new forms and methods in +the mechanical arts. He visited what is now modern Germany and went to +Holland, where for a time he worked in one of the shipyards as a common +carpenter, dressed in a workman's clothes. He was keenly interested in +everything, and one of his biographers tells us that he even learned +dentistry and practiced his skill on the servants that accompanied him. + +Peter went to England and was surprised and delighted to see the fine +metal coins that were used in that nation, as the Russian money was +printed on small bits of leather, and on his return he introduced metal +money into Russia. He also visited Vienna and Paris, and traveled in +disguise as much as possible. + +While away on this trip another revolt broke out against him, and Peter +was obliged to hurry home on account of it. The conspirators were +treated with the utmost severity and were tortured and killed. There +are many ugly stories about the way that Peter behaved in regard to his +enemies, although it is true that they had given him ample provocation, +and it is said that when he was under the influence of drink he put to +death a number of conspirators with his own hand. + +Peter, with his great love of shipbuilding, was always planning to +establish a Russian navy and build new seaports. To assure himself +control of the Russian seacoast of the Baltic sea he went to war with +Charles the Tenth of Sweden, and finally built the city of Saint +Petersburg that was named in his honor--a name that was changed to +Petrograd at the beginning of the World War. The war went against Peter +at first, but he trained his soldiers until they could achieve future +victory, and when the Swedes invaded Russia they found Peter more than +ready for them. With the efficient army that he had built up the Swedes +were badly beaten at the battle of Pultowa and were compelled to +withdraw from Russia, after sustaining terrible losses. + +It is not on account of his wars, however, but his reforms, that the +name of Peter the Great is so well known to-day. He was constantly +changing and improving the order of things in his country. He went so +far as to require that the Russian civilians abandon the Asiatic dress +of their forefathers and cut their beards, and he, more than any other +man, transformed Russia from an eastern into a western nation. + +Peter had divorced his wife after the revolt which took place when he +was visiting other nations, as he believed, or wished to believe, that +she had a share in the plot, and he now married a beautiful woman of +low degree named Catherine who was called Catherine the First. He had +one son by his first wife, who was named Alexis, but the Prince had +always given him serious trouble and finally tried to hatch a revolt +against his own father. For this Alexis was tried and condemned to +death, but he fell ill and died before the sentence could be +pronounced, asking and receiving forgiveness from Peter on his +deathbed. + +Peter himself died in 1725 after a sudden illness. His funeral was so +elaborate that it was six weeks before the ceremonies were concluded, +for he had won a place in the hearts of the Russians that he never +lost. He was beyond any doubt the greatest and most famous of the +Russian Czars, and he left Russia in a far better position than when he +came to the throne. In addition to introducing all kinds of mechanical +reform he won a seaboard on the Baltic and Black seas which Russia had +never before possessed; he built great cities and established many +political reforms which were the beginning of the modern Russian +nation. He had trained an efficient army and was the father of the +Russian navy. While possessed of many faults and of a savage, ruthless +nature, the elements of greatness and of heroism were strong within +him. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +GEORGE WASHINGTON + + +Ever since the Declaration of Independence George Washington has been +the greatest figure in the history of the United States of America, and +it is certain that he will continue to be so for hundreds of years to +come. In all history there is no parallel to the dignity, the majesty, +the mightiness of his achievement, and no other man who has built a +monument of greatness so enduring as his. + +He was born in Virginia in 1732, on the 22d of February. His father was +Augustine Washington and his mother was a second wife named Mary Ball. +The Washingtons were prominent and influential people in Virginia and +had lived there for many years. + +In spite of this not a great deal is known about Augustine Washington, +although it is certain that he was an upright and honorable gentleman, +but George's mother was famous for her good sense as well as her +beauty. Her family was a large one; there had been children by the +first wife also, and as Augustine Washington died when George was a +little boy, she was forced to rear this family without a husband's +help. + +Perhaps the responsibility that fell on George after his father's death +may have helped to develop his character. At all events there are many +stories about his boyhood in which he seems far older than his years. +Letters and history both tell us of his thoughtfulness, his methodical +habits and his great physical strength. Before he was in his teens he +had become the acknowledged leader of the boys in his neighborhood, and +he was fond of engaging with them in various athletic games. He also +formed a military company of the little negroes on the family estate, +and drilled them keenly, actually making something like a military show +with the barefooted, ragged pickaninnies, with their rolling eyes and +woolly heads. Like all other young Virginians he was accustomed to +riding from his infancy, and before he was ten years old there were few +horses that he could not bridle and master. + +But we cannot go into stories of George's boyhood, of the time when he +cut down the cherry tree and faced his father's wrath rather than tell +a lie, or the time when he accidentally killed a high spirited horse +when breaking it to the bridle. He finished his schooling when he was +sixteen years old, and would have gone into the British navy if his +mother had consented. She did not, however, so George studied +surveying; and was soon earning considerable sums from this occupation. + +He made an excellent surveyor, and his skilful work and unusual +character soon attracted general attention. He was well versed in +military tactics also, and was made a Major in the Virginia militia +before he was twenty. This gave added zest for his military studies and +he set to work to learn strategy under a fierce old Dutch army officer +named Jacob Van Braam. Together they studied maps and fought out +battles with pins and bits of wood until far into the night. George was +also busied with the care of the Washington estate at Mount Vernon, +which was left to him on the death of his half brother, Lawrence +Washington in 1752. Mount Vernon carried with it about five hundred +slaves and dependents, and the young man had his time fully occupied in +riding over its broad acres and managing its affairs. + +When George was twenty-one years old a difficult task was assigned to +him that not only proved that he had really entered the estate of +manhood, but also that he was trusted beyond his years. Governor +Dinwiddie of Virginia sent him on a dangerous trip into the wilderness +to warn off the French from English ground and to gain the friendship +of the wild Indians that lived there. The race for land between the +French and English settlers was growing keener and more bitter every +day, and both countries claimed the land that lay between the Allegheny +and the Mississippi rivers. Finally the Governor of Virginia picked +young Washington to go to Venango and warn the French that they were +trespassing,--and also to make ceremonial visits to the Indians to +ensure their friendship to the English in case of war with the French. + +To succeed would require shrewdness, good sense, courage and physical +strength--for a long journey through virgin forests would have to be +made and many dangers encountered. Washington took with him a guide and +pioneer named Christopher Gist, and Jacob Van Braam went also to act as +interpreter. + +The journey over six hundred miles of desolate wilderness, across +swollen streams, through forest, swamp and over rugged mountain, was +performed so speedily that it would be hard for strong men to duplicate +it to-day, traveling over good roads. Washington sat beside the council +fires of the Indians, and delivered the Governor's message to the +French. He also noted the best points for fortifications against the +encroaching French, and reported them on his return. The journey had +been a complete success and since others had tried it and failed, +Washington's fame was established throughout Virginia. + +The French had received him with sly courtesy and sought to ply his +company with wine and brandy rather than to come to any agreement with +him. It was plain that they meant mischief, and Governor Dinwiddie +decided to send a force of soldiers to build a fort at the juncture +between the Allegheny and the Monongahela rivers, one of the places +that Washington had noted down for its good strategic qualities. +Colonel Joshua Fry was placed in command of about three hundred troops, +and Washington was sent with him as his lieutenant. + +On the march Colonel Fry died, and Washington was left in sole command +of the troops. Spies and Indian scouts in the employ of the French had +reported the expedition and the French had promptly marched against the +Virginian soldiers with greatly superior numbers. Washington got news +of this act on their part, and hastily threw up fortifications on a +plain called Great Meadows. He called this stronghold Fort Necessity. +The French soon came up and surrounded the fort, and the bark of the +rifles reechoed through the woods and from the hills. + +Washington and his men fought with the utmost bravery, but when he saw +that the struggle was hopeless and that they would all be killed or +captured if the fight continued, he made terms with the French, +allowing his men to retire with all their arms and equipment, on +condition that they did not make any further attempt to occupy the +country for a stipulated time. The French success was not the fault of +Washington who displayed great coolness and secured the maximum +advantage for himself and his men. He was warmly commended by the +Governor for his action in this fight and had a higher reputation than +ever among all who knew the circumstances. + +Soon after this Washington engaged in another expedition that was far +more disastrous. The English Government put Major General Edward +Braddock in command of a force of English regular soldiers to gain +control of the disputed Ohio Valley, and Washington was appointed as +aide on General Braddock's staff. + +Braddock in his way was a good soldier, a hard bitten, dyed in the +wool, regular army officer with a great contempt for the Virginia +militia, and an over confident belief that the British soldier was +invincible. He believed absolutely that the methods of war that were +used on European battlefields would overwhelm anything in America, and +he liked to see his redcoats with their boots polished and their +buttons furbished, marching in solid platoon formation, turning and +wheeling with the mathematical regularity of a machine. His men were +drilled and disciplined until they were automatons, for Braddock was a +martinet. Their ranks ran true, their equipment was in the pink of +soldierly condition; the sunlight glittered from their bayonets, you +could see your face in their leather accouterments, and Braddock +proudly marched them into the American woods as though they were +parading on the Strand in London. When Washington warned him of the +dangers of ambush, urging that an advance guard and scouts be thrown +out, Braddock turned scornfully away, believing that a volley or two +from his brave regulars would soon drive off any foes that might fall +upon him, and he said bluntly that when he desired advice from his +subordinates he would ask for it. + +As his men were marching in close formation, their red coats blazing +against the dark green of the forest, shifting figures were seen in the +trees ahead, a French officer suddenly appeared cheering them on to the +attack, and with shouts and yells an unseen enemy shot down the +Britishers from the protection of fallen trees, from behind rocks and +stumps, and from the concealment of forest branches. + +The redcoats fell by scores and were thrown into hopeless confusion. +They were not used to fighting a hidden foe, and were appalled by the +death in their midst as well as by the wild cries and war whoops that +echoed from the forest. Braddock, waving his sword, ordered his +platoons to wheel and advance in solid formation into the woods--and +the platoons were wiped out like sheep in a slaughter pit as they tried +to obey the hopeless order. But the despised Virginia militia, +experienced in Indian fighting, spread out in open order at the head of +the column and kept the enemy in check, while Braddock with hopeless +bravery attempted to rally his men. It was in vain. The dismal cries +and yells continued. The bullets sang overhead like a swarm of wasps, +British officers dropped at the shots of invisible sharpshooters, who +picked them off easily on account of their conspicuous uniforms. +Braddock himself, as brave a man as ever lived, had four horses killed +under him and then received a mortal wound. Washington, whose advice +had been laughed at, took command of the Virginians and covered the +headlong rout of the British regulars, who threw away their rifles and +ran blindly into the woods. How Washington escaped alive is nothing +less than a miracle. Like Braddock, he had several horses killed under +him, and four bullets pierced his uniform. He seemed everywhere at once +and showed the most conspicuous bravery, but all he could do was to +save the lives of the flying Britishers. With whoops of victory the +Indians scalped the wounded, dressed themselves in the red coats of the +slain and showed their hideous painted faces beneath the cocked hats of +British officers. And the French, who held the fort that Braddock had +intended to capture, fired their cannon in rejoicing at a victory that +forever killed the prestige of British arms in the New World. For +hitherto the British soldier had been thought invincible, and this +exhibition of crass stupidity and bungling gave the colonials a +different opinion of British arms. The British were brave it is true, +but they could not adjust themselves to meet the enemy on their own +ground,--and in all history the Briton has shown himself clumsy in the +guerilla warfare of the type that won the Revolution for the Americans. + +A few years after this tragic affair Washington married Martha Parke +Custis, a young widow with two children. Washington's love affair with +Martha Custis was not the first in his life. He had paid attention to +other young beauties and had shown himself a true Virginian in his +hearty appreciation of the ladies. + +With his marriage there commenced the home life at Mount Vernon that +has become so famous in history, and the hospitality for which George +and Martha Washington have ever been famous. Washington was fond of the +good things of life, and his great house at Mount Vernon was filled +with visitors, with whom he hunted and passed his leisure hours in many +delightful ways. But his eye for business was no less keen on account +of his pleasures, and eventually he came to be looked on as the leading +man in the affairs of the colony. His commanding appearance, his +wonderful self-control and his military prestige, coupled with the +dignity and gravity of his manner, made him as prominent among men as +he had been among boys. + +The attitude toward "provincials" that brought about Braddock's fatal +error because he could not listen to advice, was destined now to bring +to England the loss of her valuable colonies in America. The English +looked down on the Americans and patronized them because they did not +understand them. They regarded the American Colonies too much in the +light of a supply house to enrich the Crown and the Mother Country, and +too little as the home of a brave and self-reliant people who came of +the most sterling English stock themselves. The colonists bitterly +resented the unjust laws that compelled them to ship their produce to +British ports and to engage in no form of industry that might cripple +British enterprise. And when the British Government imposed taxes on +the colonists that were not imposed on British subjects in England, +indignation rose to white heat, and riots and hot speeches broke out +everywhere, particularly in New England. + +The "stamp act," which compelled the colonists to transact all their +legal business on paper bearing the stamp of the British Government, +and sold only by British agents, awoke the wrath of Virginia as well as +of New England. The cry of "no taxation without representation" rang +from Georgia to Massachusetts. The oratory of Patrick Henry added fuel +to the righteous indignation in every American's breast, and when the +British in response to public feeling removed all unwarranted taxes +except one--the tax on tea, a party of young men dressed as Indians +sacked the cargo of a British vessel in Boston, and poured the chests +of tea into the harbor. + +Parliament retaliated. Penalties were imposed on Massachusetts. The +Virginian House of Burgesses was forbidden to meet by the King's order, +and meeting in spite of this order it called for a General Congress of +all the Colonies to decide what measures were to be taken to defend the +rights of the American provinces. + +Washington, as one of Virginia's leading men, naturally was among those +who represented the colony at this congress, which met in Carpenter's +Hall in Philadelphia. He was listened to with respect and attention, +and was considered to have the sanest viewpoint and the widest fund of +information of any delegate there. The question of armed revolt against +England was still in the background, but Washington was in favor of a +resort to arms only after all other measures had failed and as a last +resort. He was ready and willing to fight if fighting must come, +however, and we have his statement when he heard of how the people of +Boston were laboring under unjust British measures, "I will raise a +thousand men," said Washington, "subsist them at my own expense and +march with them, at their head, for the relief of Boston." + +At last it was seen that no other way to escape slavery existed than to +fight. And Washington was one of the first to devote his life and +fortune to the Revolutionary cause. + +When the American Congress met on June 15, 1775, Washington was chosen +as Commander in Chief of the new continental army. The flame of +revolution had run through the colonies. The British had killed and +been killed by militiamen at Lexington, and had fallen back before the +hail of lead from the squirrel rifles of angry farmers at the bridge at +Concord. From stonewalls, fences, trees and haylofts, the Americans had +picked off the British redcoats as they retreated back to Boston, and +had proved themselves to be foemen that could not be despised. The +battles of Bunker Hill and Dorchester Heights followed. Bloody war was +begun. + +No better man for command of the American army could possibly have been +chosen than Washington, and very probably no other could have brought +the revolution to a successful end. His firm and great nature were +known to all, and with this he possessed great military skill and a +thorough knowledge of the country where he would have to fight. + +But his heart may well have sunk when he took command, for no worse +scene of confusion and inefficiency can be imagined than that of the +American army when it was first mustered together. Washington, on July +3rd, 1775, took command at Cambridge, Massachusetts, of about sixteen +thousand raw recruits, badly fed, badly quartered, with no uniforms to +speak of, little equipment and a rebellious disregard of all discipline +that was increased by the fact that they were fighting against the +unjust discipline of the British Government. The American forces had no +organization, and the work fell upon Washington, as Commander in Chief, +not only of fighting an enemy far superior in numbers and composed of +well-disciplined and well-equipped veterans, but of organizing his own +army almost in the course of battle, and manufacturing the material for +victory after the gage had been cast and the conflict entered. + +But the resolute will and the firm hand brought order out of chaos, and +the British were astonished to see the effectiveness of the rough and +ready troops that opposed them. The city of Boston was besieged so +firmly that the British at last decided to evacuate the town, sailing +away in their warships, headed for New York. Washington by forced +marches attempted to reach that city first and foil their attempt to +land there, but the American army was not large enough for this design, +and American and British forces faced each other on Long Island where a +battle was fought near the present site of Brooklyn on August 27th, +1776. The country was now prepared for a grim struggle and the temper +of the revolutionists was shown by the glorious Declaration of +Independence which was made on July 4th of that year. + +But spirit and determination are not proof against cold steel and solid +ranks of veteran soldiers, and Washington's little army was beaten by +the British in the Battle of Long Island, sustaining heavy losses in +dead and wounded. The Americans retreated and then halted and when +night fell only a short distance separated the two armies. The +situation of the Americans was critical in the extreme, and it was +absolutely necessary to cross the East River before the sadly harried +and beaten ranks of the patriot army were attacked again by the +victorious Britishers. Almost within the sound of the voices of the +enemy Washington succeeded in drawing away his army and carrying them +in boats to New York City, without a single foe suspecting his design. + +The British followed and there was fighting on Manhattan Island. Slowly +the little force of patriots was driven back, now sadly decreased in +numbers, for the ending of enlistments as well as defeat were playing +havoc with Washington's forces. In November he was obliged to cross the +Hudson River and retreat into New Jersey with only six thousand men +left to him, and still later with a force still smaller and the British +close on his heels, he crossed the Delaware River and sought refuge in +Pennsylvania. By this time the British had gained such successes and +the Americans had undergone so many reverses and privations that it +seemed as if no power on earth could bring victory to the American +arms. + +The British found they could not cross into Pennsylvania, for +Washington had taken care to remove all the boats to the other side of +the Delaware River. They temporarily gave over the pursuit of the +Americans, whom they thought were hopelessly beaten, and went into +winter quarters, where they enjoyed themselves immensely and kept an +easy and a comfortable camp. + +But Washington was already planning a raid against the German +mercenaries called Hessians who were stationed in the town of Trenton. +He planned to return across the Delaware and fall upon the Hessians by +night in a surprise attack. He tried to secure the cooperation of +General Gates, one of his subordinates, but Gates feigned sickness and +went to Philadelphia to attempt Washington's overthrow on the day +before Washington's attack was to be launched. Disaffection among his +generals was now added to Washington's other troubles, and Gates, in +jealousy, was planning to go before Congress and secure an independent +command for himself. + +On Christmas night, 1776, the little American army embarked on its +perilous venture, and prepared to cross the Delaware River which was +now so full of floating ice as to make the passage of boats dangerous +in the extreme. It was black as pitch and a high wind blew, as the +American soldiers with aching backs toiled at the oars and the poles +and so cold that men froze to death. Hours were consumed in the +passage, and by the time the Americans were in position to attack, day +was breaking. + +Nevertheless the project seemed likely to succeed. The Hessians were +off their guard and were sleeping soundly. Scattered shots rang out and +were succeeded by the rattle of musketry as the Americans, yelling like +Indians charged upon the silent town. The Hessian bugles blew "to arms" +and the dazed soldiers rushed out of their billets, but instead of +rallying and fighting Washington they fled toward Princeton, leaving +more than a thousand prisoners in Washington's hands, as well as large +numbers of killed and wounded. + +Lord Cornwallis was hurriedly sent to oppose Washington, and went to +bed at Trenton within sight of the American camp fires. The British +general was confident of success and boasted that he would certainly +"bag the fox in the morning." That night, however, Washington silently +withdrew his army as he had done on Long Island and in a series of +brilliant maneuvers defeated the British again not far from Princeton. +His skill and generalship were so great that with a half starved and +discouraged remnant of a defeated army he twice defeated the flower of +the British force, and brought new hope and strength to the struggling +colonies. He had done more than this, for his military success was now +closely watched in Europe. And Cornwallis was soon so hard pressed that +he withdrew his troops to New York and in the end the Americans once +more had complete control of the state of New Jersey. + +In the year 1778, and largely due to the great qualities of Benjamin +Franklin, who was one of America's commissioners in France, a treaty +was signed with the French providing that if France went to war with +England, there should be an alliance between the French and American +Governments, and neither should cease fighting without the permission +of the other--moreover that both were to continue the struggle until +the independence of the United States of America was gained. + +This treaty was not only due to Washington's successes but to a victory +won by General Gates against General Burgoyne, who, after the battle of +Saratoga, was forced to withdraw his army from the conflict and place +himself and his officers on parole to bear arms no more against +America. But there followed a renewal of the bitterness of defeat, for +the Americans were beaten at Brandywine, the British took Philadelphia, +and another reverse befell the American arms at Germantown. It seemed +that in spite of the former American successes and the French treaty, +the British would be victorious after all, for the winter had been a +terrible one, and the worn American army was almost destitute of food +and clothing. + +Washington had camped at a place called Valley Forge which has since +become symbolic of hardship and suffering. It is said that detachments +of American soldiers could be traced by the blood in the snow from +their wounded and bare feet, for there were no shoes to clothe them +with and there was very little food or fuel. And in addition to the +physical hardship and the gloom of failure, Washington had to contend +with a conspiracy that was directed against him by some of his most +trusted officers, who desired to place General Gates in supreme command +of the American Army. This conspiracy was called the Conway Cabal, +because the chief plotter was an Irishman named General Thomas Conway. +But the result of this base attempt was added power and glory for +Washington, for Congress was fortunately unaffected by the +representations that were made. + +In the following year, 1778, in spite of that terrible winter, the +fighting opened with the Americans in better condition than previously +and with their numbers strengthened with new recruits that Congress had +secured for them. The American cause had also been strengthened by the +voluntary services of a number of foreign officers, who energetically +drilled the American recruits and taught the revolutionary army the +science of war as it was fought by the greatest military countries. +Among these men was the Marquis de Lafayette, a gallant young French +nobleman, and also Baron de Kalb and Von Steuben. + +Washington gradually drew nearer to New York, from which he had been +driven so soon after the Battle of Long Island, and that winter he +camped in the highlands of the Hudson and established his troops so as +to defend New England from any offensive campaign the British might +make, and for a year he contented himself with playing a waiting game, +keeping a firm grip on the Hudson Highlands and strengthening his army +as greatly as possible. + +Victory now was near, for the French came actively into the war to the +succor of the Americans. The French King, Louis the Sixteenth, sent +Count Rochambeau to command an expedition in America, and the year 1781 +saw the trained and seasoned soldiers of France fighting side by side +with the American troops. In this year too a great advantage was given +to Washington's troops by the fact that a large French fleet under the +Count de Grasse compelled the British vessels to keep to the ports, +while Washington with the French laid siege to Yorktown, which was held +by Lord Cornwallis. Washington himself fired the first cannon as the +siege began, and a whirlwind of iron and red hot shot was poured upon +the British works and shipping from French and American guns. The +British resisted stubbornly, but they were cut off and their position +was hopeless. And on October Nineteenth, with the American and French +troops drawn up to receive them, the British marched out and +surrendered. + +This was really the end of the war. The news that Cornwallis and at +least sixteen thousand men had been captured was received with wild +rejoicing all through the former colonies, and with amazement and gloom +in England, where it was plainly seen that the valuable colonies were +lost forever. In the month of November, 1783, the British left New York +never to return, after the signing of the peace treaty at Paris in +January of the same year. The war was over, the patriots had conquered, +and a new and mighty nation was in its infancy. + +At this time it would without doubt have been easy for Washington to +make himself the head of the new country, and even to have become its +King and permanent ruler. The army worshipped the ground he walked on, +and he actually received a letter from one of his officers in which it +was suggested that he be named as King of the new state. But Washington +with his characteristic greatness refused to advance his own fortunes +at the expense of the liberty of his countrymen, and he wrote an angry +letter indignantly rejecting any such title or position, declaring that +nothing in his long and trying service had justified his fellows in +regarding him as an ambitious self-seeker. + +His work was done, or so he considered it, and he proposed to return to +private life. And in Fraunces' Tavern in New York the great commander +bade farewell to the officers who had so gallantly served him and had +been his brothers in arms on so many hard fought fields. + +It is said that on this occasion Washington's customary self-control +almost deserted him, as he spoke his words of parting to his fellow +officers. "With a heart full of love and gratitude," said he, "I now +take leave of you, most devoutly wishing that your latter days may be +as prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and +honorable. I cannot come to each of you to take my leave," he +continued, "but shall be obliged if each of you will come and take me +by the hand." + +But Washington's work was not over. He had counseled all the Governors +of the separate States to form a Federal Government as quickly as +possible, and while he had resigned as head of the army, he continued, +as a private citizen, to watch public matters with the utmost care and +attention. In 1787 Washington presided over the famous convention which +met in Philadelphia to draft the Constitution of the United States, and +largely in accordance with his ideas, which strongly influenced the +minds of all those present, the Government of the United States was +formed. The perfection of the form of government, as entered into by so +many separate and widely different States, seemed to Washington, as he +afterward said in a letter to Lafayette, "little short of a miracle." + +It remained for the new country to choose its first President. +Washington was elected without a dissenting voice, and took the reins +of government into his hands on April 30, 1789. He did not desire the +Presidency, and would have greatly preferred to remain quietly at Mount +Vernon, "an honest man on his own farm," engaged in his private +affairs. But he felt that it was his duty to answer so spontaneous and +general a call from his fellow citizens, and in the office of chief +executive he showed the same firm and wise spirit that had +distinguished him as commander of the army. His Cabinet contained the +most famous and brilliant men of the day, and the people throughout the +country felt themselves safe with such a president at the helm. + +When his administration ended he was called upon to take a second term, +and in this he had great difficulty in keeping the new republic out of +the turmoil of European politics. France had by this time thrown off +her rulers, organized a revolution and gone to war with England; and +Washington was called on from every part of the country to go to the +aid of his former ally against the former foe. He saw, however, that +war at that time would be fatal for America, and might well result in +the loss of all that had been gained in the bitter years of the +Revolution. He firmly refused to enter the war although his decision +cost him much of his popularity. A commercial treaty was then entered +upon with England. + +While Washington was President, the states of Kentucky and Tennessee +were added to the original thirteen that formed the Union, and many +important financial and legal matters were concluded. With a sure hand +the great patriot guided the new country through the dangers that beset +it and at times threatened to swallow it whole, and in the year 1797 he +turned over to John Adams who was to succeed him in the presidential +chair a welded nation, destined for a mighty future. + +For the next three years Washington's life at Mount Vernon was quiet +and happy, and he busied himself in the affairs of his estate and in +the dignified hospitality for which he and Martha Washington were so +justly renowned. On December 12, 1799, after a horseback ride through +the snow, he became ill with laryngitis and two days later he breathed +his last. + +Throughout the United States he was mourned as a father,--indeed he had +already gained the title of "the father of his country." And it was by +the father of a famous general who was destined to lead the southern +cause in the Civil War some sixty years later that Washington was said +to be "first in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his +countrymen," a phrase that has since become familiar to hundreds of +millions of people throughout the world, and has so aptly described +America's mightiest son. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +JOHN PAUL JONES + + +For those of you who have had opportunity to see the mighty fleet of +steel battleships and destroyers that compose the navy of the United +States, it is hard to remember that this fleet was born in the shape of +a few wooden sailing ships. And it is almost equally hard to believe +that Paul Jones, who commanded one of the first American war vessels, +and became the greatest naval hero that this country has ever known, +was the son of a poor, Scotch gardener, who worked for a country squire +in Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. + +In 1747 Paul Jones was born, but his name was then John Paul. His +uncle, like his father, was a gardener, and worked on the estate of the +Earl of Selkirk on St. Mary's Isle, where John Paul used to visit him +and go fishing in small boats that he obtained from a little seaport +near at hand. Many sailors came to this port, and they made friends +with the alert boy who was always asking them questions about ships and +seamanship; and the result of their friendship was that at a very early +age John Paul was a handy sailor and determined to follow a seafaring +life. + +Whether or no he ran away from school is not known. At any rate, when +he was only twelve years old, he became the apprentice of a merchant +who did a considerable trade with Virginia, and he actually sailed for +that colony, where his brother had preceded him and was living the life +of a Southern planter. John Paul stayed with his brother at +Fredericksburg for a time, but when he was nineteen years old he sailed +for Jamaica as first mate of a vessel engaged in the slave trade, which +was then very active,--for a great deal of money was to be gained from +selling the African negroes to Southern planters, and slaves were +constantly being taken from their native country and carried to America +to work beneath the lash. + +But this clean-cut young sailor did not like the slave trade, and after +two years, disgusted with the sordid traffic, he left his vessel in +Jamaica and became a passenger on a brigantine that was sailing for +Scotland, in fact, for his home town. On his way home, by a strange +chance, both the captain and mate died, and as an expert navigator was +needed, John Paul guided the ship into port. When this fact was made +known to her owners they paid their debt by taking him into their +employ, and on the next voyage to Jamaica the ship sailed under John +Paul's command. + +Then there occurred to the young Scotch sailing master a series of +misfortunes that changed the course of his career and was indirectly +responsible for his casting his lot with the future republic of the +United States. To maintain discipline aboard his vessel it became +necessary for him to have the ship's carpenter flogged. Many weeks +later this man died, and his friends unjustly attributed his death to +the flogging he had received, and laid it to the captain's door. John +Paul was able to prove that he was not to blame in the affair, but in +the meantime he had quitted his vessel and found it hard to get another +one. As soon as he finally obtained a new vessel, a mutiny took place +when his ship was in the West Indies, and John Paul, in his efforts to +quell the mutineers, was assaulted and obliged to kill one of them with +his sword in defending himself. Fearing, perhaps, that this second +mishap on the heels of the first might make things go hard with him +when he was brought to trial, he fled from the West Indies and for a +time disappeared completely. + +He was next heard from in the American Colonies, bearing the name of +John Paul Jones. When the American Revolution took place, he hastened +to offer his services to the Government of the United States, and the +Naval Committee of Congress called on him for information and advice. +When a few vessels were gathered together and a list of naval officers +prepared, Paul Jones obtained his commission as Senior Lieutenant on +the flagship of the tiny fleet, which was named _Alfred_. And when the +commander in chief came over the side, Paul Jones with his own hands +hoisted the American flag for the first time over an American man of +war. The flag was very different from the modern stars and stripes; it +was of yellow silk, in the center of which was a pine tree with a +rattlesnake coiled at its roots, and the motto: "_don't tread on me_." + +After the Americans made an attack on New Providence where several +boats were captured, Paul Jones was promoted to the rank of Captain as +a reward for his excellent services and given command of the +_Providence_, on whose quarter deck he sailed for the West Indies to +prey upon British shipping. His knowledge of the waters was so thorough +and his skill as a naval officer of such high quality that in +forty-seven days he captured no less than sixteen vessels. + +Congress was delighted at his exploits. In reward he was given the +command of his old ship, the _Alfred_, and in her he sailed northward +along the coast of Nova Scotia until he entered the Gut of Canso. In +the neighborhood of this deep strait that runs between Nova Scotia +proper and the Island of Cape Breton, Paul Jones captured twelve +fishing vessels. Having placed prize crews on his new ships he +triumphantly returned to the United States. + +His fame now was widely established among the revolting colonies. By +order of Congress he was transferred to the sloop, _Ranger_, with +orders to cruise about the coast of England and destroy shipping. Paul +Jones planned to do more than this; he intended actually to attack +English seaports and burn the shipping in the harbors, feeling +convinced that he could inflict greater losses on the enemy in this +manner. And as he had enjoyed the honor of raising the American flag +for the first time over an American war vessel, he now had the added +honor of being the first naval officer to sail under the stars and +stripes, which flew for the first time in naval history above the +_Ranger_. + +After visiting France, where he delivered messages from the American +Government to the American Commissioners in Paris, one of whom was +Benjamin Franklin, Paul Jones decided to attack the town of Whitehaven, +which had been well known to him as a boy. In the depth of night the +_Ranger_ stole into the entrance of the harbor and dropped anchor. Then +two boats put off from her with muffled oars, Paul Jones in command of +one and his lieutenant, whose name was Wallingford, in charge of the +other. + +Jones ordered Wallingford to set fire to the shipping on the north side +of the town, while he himself with his men should advance upon the +nearby fort and spike the guns. As the fort was an old one and had a +small garrison, the intrepid commander had but little trouble in +capturing it, particularly as none of the British dreamed of a raid and +small wonder, for their shores had been safe from the invader since the +time of William the Conqueror. + +The garrison was completely surprised and gave in without a struggle. +Jones and his followers quickly spiked the guns of the fort and taking +their prisoners with them hastened back to the boats. When they arrived +a great disappointment confronted them, for Lieutenant Wallingford had +failed to fire the shipping as ordered. He gave the excuse that the +lanterns that had been brought with them for the purpose had been blown +out by the wind, but he had made no attempt to secure firebrands from +any other quarter. So Jones himself with some of his followers took +live coals from a nearby house and with the aid of a tar barrel +succeeded in setting fire to one of the ships that was tied to the +wharf. + +By this time it was early morning. Ordering his little band back into +their boats, Jones himself with drawn pistol stood off the curious and +frightened throng of people that had gathered around him. When the +flames arose to such an extent that it had become impossible to save +the ill-fated ship, and not till then, did the plucky commander seek +refuge. As he rowed away with his men the British rushed to the forts +to seek vengeance, where they found that the guns were spiked, and by +the time they had unearthed one or two old cannon the Americans were +well out of harm's way. + +All England rang with the story, and the rage and consternation of the +British people is hard to describe. After having held themselves safe +from invasion for hundreds of years and boasting proudly that they +governed every sea, they liked it but ill that their peace should be +disturbed by a nation which was considered by them to be no more than +an insignificant group of revolting farmers. And the moral effect of +the bold raid by Jones exceeded by far any material advantage that he +gained. + +While England was still buzzing like a hornet's nest as a result of +this exploit, Jones performed another deed that was even bolder than +the attack on Whitehaven. This was no less than a raid on the estate of +the Earl of Selkirk, where his uncle had worked as a gardener, and +where Jones himself had spent a part of his boyhood. His purpose was to +carry off the Earl as a prisoner of war, and, holding him as a hostage, +to effect the exchange of certain American prisoners who were being +cruelly treated in British prisons. But ill luck still pursued him. +Upon arriving at the Earl's estate he found that Selkirk himself was +away from home and that his mission was fruitless. On the insistence of +his men he took the silver plate that belonged to the Earl, but touched +nothing else on the estate. When the plate came up for sale and the +sailors were to receive their share of the prize money Jones bought the +plate himself and returned it to the Earl with a courteous letter, +explaining that only the exigencies of war and similar conduct of the +British on American territory had compelled him to take such a course. + +With the captured plate safe in his vessel, Paul Jones then attacked +the twenty-gun British sloop of war, _Drake_, and after a severe combat +succeeded in making her his prize. With the British cruisers in search +of him everywhere he took the captured vessel into the French harbor of +Brest, where he underwent heartbreaking delays in obtaining money to +pay his men. Then the _Ranger_ was taken from him, as the French +Government and the American Commissioners in Paris desired him to be +placed in command of a French vessel. + +At last Paul Jones was given charge of an old merchantman named _Duras_ +whose name he was allowed to change to suit his own pleasure. In +deference to Benjamin Franklin who had always been his close friend +Jones called his new craft the _Bonhomme Richard_, in honor of Benjamin +Franklin's famous nickname of "Poor Richard." The _Bonhomme Richard_ +was refitted and made to approach a ship of war as closely as possible, +and in August, 1779, Jones sailed in her on what was destined to be his +most famous cruise. + +The French had placed some other ships at his disposal to the extent +that they were to accompany the _Bonhomme Richard_, but were +independent of her command, being under French naval officers. This +peculiar state of affairs greatly reduced the efficiency of the little +squadron, whose vessels were the _Pallas_, the _Vengeance_, the _Cerf_ +and the _Alliance_. + +The crew of the _Bonhomme Richard_, which was the only American vessel +of the little fleet,--and the only one that accomplished any signal +success--was composed of such a motley assortment of the offscourings +of the dockyards that even Jones' stout heart sank when he saw his men +assembled together. Among the men that were supposed to be sailors were +many French peasants who had never even seen a vessel and English +prisoners that he had to keep in order by the armed force of his more +loyal men. The fact that he was able to mold this variegated mass of +undisciplined humanity into a staunch crew capable of winning one of +the most famous naval battles of history is a proof of his genius for +leadership. + +The lack of unity in command soon began to show the inevitable ill +results. The _Cerf_ became separated from the squadron and returned to +France. The _Alliance_, under the infamous Captain Landais, who had +been dishonorably discharged from the French navy, refused to cooperate +with Jones and soon disappeared on some unknown errand. + +As the remaining three vessels were cruising near Flamborough Head, +they sighted a large convoy of British merchant vessels which were +guarded by two warships--the _Serapis_, a frigate with nearly twice the +number of guns as the _Bonhomme Richard_, and the _Countess of +Scarborough_ which was also a large war vessel. They sighted the convoy +well on in the afternoon and closed with it at about sunset. People on +shore who had recognized the fact that Jones' ships were a hostile +squadron crowded the heights to see the sea fight which they knew was +not far off. + +As the sun was going down the _Serapis_ approached the _Bonhomme +Richard_ and hailed her with the cry, "What ship is that?" + +"I don't hear you," answered Jones, who was maneuvering his vessel so +as to rake the decks of his opponent with his opening broadside, and +when the _Serapis_ hailed again the _Bonhomme Richard_ opened fire with +all the guns she could bring to bear upon her. + +It was a severe blow, but the _Serapis_ was not slow in responding. And +almost at the first broadside from the English the American ship was +severely crippled. Two of the old cannon of the _Bonhomme Richard_ had +exploded at the first shot, killing and wounding many and tearing a +large hole in the hull of the ship. But although he was in a serious +predicament Jones continued to fight with vigor. Broadside after +broadside was poured in and both vessels sailed slowly abreast of each +other enveloped in a cloud of dense white smoke that hid the scene from +the wondering folk on shore. + +The best chance for the weaker vessel was to close with its opponent +and Jones maneuvered until he had an opportunity to make the _Bonhomme +Richard_ fast to the _Serapis_. The jibboom of the Britisher had swung +over the deck of the _Richard_ and Jones with his own hands made it +fast to the mizzenmast of his ship. The two ships were now locked in a +death grip, and so close that when the guns were loaded the cannoneers +had to lean into the ports of the enemy vessel to drive the ramrods +home. + +The big British frigate had the advantage. With heavier batteries than +the American ship she was able to silence Jones' guns one after one. +Several attempts were made by Jones to board his enemy but without +success. He was a beaten man. As his batteries were put out of +commission, the men came to the main deck and manned the remaining +guns, or formed boarding parties there. From the tops of the _Bonhomme +Richard_ a continuous and accurate fire was poured on the decks of the +_Serapis_ and many a British sailor lost his life as a result of the +accuracy of the French sharpshooters who were engaged there. + +By this time the desperate conditions below decks on the _Bonhomme +Richard_ were almost indescribable. Water was pouring into the hold. +Great breaches were made in the hull and the ship was several times set +on fire. But Jones fought on. One of his petty officers, thinking him +dead, raised a cry for quarter, which was heard on the British ship. + +"Have you surrendered?" called Captain Pearson, the British commander. + +Jones had knocked down the quartermaster with the butt of his pistol +and climbed into the rigging of his ship so the British and his own men +could hear his answer more clearly: + +"I have not yet begun to fight," he shouted, and a cheer broke out on +the deck of the American. + +[Illustration: "I HAVE NOT YET BEGUN TO FIGHT," SHOUTED PAUL JONES] + +Just then the _Alliance_ under Captain Landais came up, and Jones +believed that the battle was won. But the _Alliance_ instead of firing +on the _Serapis_ discharged a broadside at the _Bonhomme Richard_. In +spite of shouts and warnings, Landais continued his dastardly work and +many Americans and Frenchmen were killed or wounded by his fire. Then +his craft sailed away and was seen no more until after the battle. + +It was now known aboard the _Serapis_ what a desperate state of affairs +existed on Jones' ship, and the English believed that a few more +broadsides would bring them victory. But their hopes were suddenly +dashed. An American sailor had crawled along the yardarm of the +_Richard_ to the mast of the _Serapis_ and had dropped a hand grenade. +The grenade plunged through a hatchway and fell upon some loose powder +and a row of charges for the cannon that had been placed on deck. The +roar of a terrific explosion followed, and Englishmen, screaming for +quarter, could be seen running through the smoke and flame of their own +vessel with every vestige of clothing burned from their bodies. The +battle was won by the Americans. + +Captain Pearson walked aft and struck his colors. American officers +boarded the _Serapis_, and Pearson and his lieutenants were ordered to +report to Jones on the _Bonhomme Richard_. There Captain Pearson +surrendered his sword and was placed in confinement by Jones. + +The _Bonhomme Richard_ had been so severely damaged in the fight that +she was in a sinking condition and it was plain to see that she would +not remain above the waves much longer. So, transferring every man to +the _Serapis_, Jones sailed for a Dutch port, accompanied by his other +vessels. The _Countess of Scarborough_ had been captured after about an +hour's fight, and Jones had more than five hundred British prisoners in +his charge, including two captains and a number of lesser officers. + +Although many difficulties and dangers still beset him, Jones' fame was +now assured. England and France rang with his victory, and while the +English drew cartoons of him as a bloody pirate, strutting on a quarter +deck that was lined with the bodies of his victims, the French king, +Louis the Sixteenth, presented him with a gold mounted sword and the +cross of the Order of Military Merit. Congress passed a resolution +commending him for his gallantry and he received a complimentary letter +from General Washington. + +When the war with England ended and the United States had secured their +independence, Paul Jones entered the service of the Russian Empire +under Catherine the Great with the rank of Rear Admiral. He gave the +new country of his adoption the greatest service in their war with the +Turks, many of whose vessels Jones sunk or destroyed. But he was +disgusted with Russian intrigue, resigned his commission and returned +to Paris. + +All this time he had remained an American citizen. He considered this +the greatest honor of any that had come to him--that he could call +himself a citizen of the Republic for which he had fought so often and +so well against such great odds. But his health had been failing him +and he died in Paris on July 18, 1792. He was given a public funeral by +the French National Assembly. + +For a long time his body remained in France. At length, however, its +resting place was discovered by General Horace Porter, U.S.A., and all +that remained of Paul Jones was brought back in state to America on a +great steel ship the like of which he had never seen. He was given a +national funeral at Annapolis and his body was entombed in the +beautiful Chapel of the Naval Academy, which institution Jones himself +had urged Congress to found. It is a fitting resting place for +America's greatest naval hero,--for while we have many distinguished +and noble sailors, there is no name that has the ring of Paul Jones. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +MOLLY PITCHER + + +In the days of the American Revolution a young woman lived as a servant +in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, with the family of General Irving, a retired +British officer, who had fought in the French and Indian War and had +seen a great deal of service. This young woman was named Molly Ludwig +Hays, and was the wife of a barber who had been well known in the +village. He had won her hand with difficulty for Molly was a belle +throughout the countryside. She was not only handsome, but as strong as +a man, able to carry a heavy meal-sack on her shoulder; and one of the +hardest workers that the town knew. She washed and scrubbed and scoured +and baked from morning till night, and seemed to revel in the hard work +that gave the needed exercise to her strong muscles. + +Throughout her life Molly Hays had admired soldiers, and more than once +she expressed herself in no undecided terms to the effect that she +wished she were a man so that she could bear arms and wear a uniform, +and be a soldier herself. + +When she was still a very young woman the American Revolution for +freedom from Great Britain broke out. All the country was aflame, and +rang with the stories of what happened at Lexington and Bunker Hill. +Man after man from the village took his powder horn and musket and went +off to enlist for the war, and Molly grew more and more restless as she +saw them go. + +At last her husband came to her, somewhat sheepishly, for he disliked +to tell her the intention he had in his heart; but at length he made +her understand that just because he was married was no reason why he +should remain at home with the women; and he, too, intended to enlist +that very day. + +Molly consented with the utmost enthusiasm. She told him that she would +be proud to be the wife of a soldier, since she could not be one +herself, and bade him farewell with the admonishment to do his part +bravely and to bear himself like the man she knew him to be. And she +stood at the door of their home waving good-by to him with a cheerful +face that gave no hint of her aching heart. + +When her husband had departed Molly returned to the Irving household +where she worked as well as she had before her marriage, trying to find +relief in the heavy labor from the pain of having lost her husband and +the aching desire to go and do her part beside him even though she were +a woman. Fate, thought Molly, had made a sad mistake, in making her a +woman, for she knew that in spite of her petticoats she could soldier +as well as the men,--and if she had only been a man she believed she +could have risen to an important position in the army. + +The tide of the struggle wavered and battles with the red coats were +fought and won. It was hard to get the newspapers in those times and +news of the armies and their doings was often weeks behind the actual +events. Molly hoped and waited, but for weeks at a time she went +without word from her husband and did not know whether he were alive or +dead. + +One day a messenger called for her at the Irving household. He had a +letter from John Hays for Molly, and it not only told her that he was +alive and well, but was in camp not far off from her former home in +Trenton, New Jersey, where her aged parents were still living. The +letter ended by telling her to come to Trenton and live with her +parents, for he would be able without doubt to get leave from his +command and see her often. + +Soon the war itself was being fought in the neighborhood of her home. +The Americans attacked the British near Princeton killing and capturing +a large number. Then Washington with his small force withdrew from that +region before reenforcements could be brought against him. + +And now Molly found that there was something that she could do--namely, +go and care for the wounded who were still lying where they had fallen +on the field of battle. The British General Cornwallis and his men were +approaching, but that did not worry her a whit, and she went to and fro +upon the battlefield carrying water for parched throats and binding +wounds until the British soldiers were actually upon her. + +Then Molly saw a cannon pointed in the direction of the British, and to +her surprise it was loaded and there was a fuse still smoldering and +lying near at hand. She studied the cannon carefully and it seemed to +be aimed right at a group of the enemy that was approaching. The brave +girl dropped the pail of water that she had been carrying, picked up +the fuse and applied it to the touch hole. With a loud roar the charge +was fired and the cannon leaped backward on its wheels. + +At this the British halted in amazement. They had believed that the +Americans were far away, and here this gun gave warning that they were +still near at hand, or at any rate had left a strong rear guard with +artillery to delay them in their pursuit. Hastily they crossed over the +field and surrounded the gun which was deserted. Molly had left and had +taken with her a wounded American soldier whom she carried on her +shoulder. + +[Illustration: THE CANNON BALLS FIRED BY MOLLY PITCHER FELL SQUARELY IN +THE BRITISH LINES] + +The British had seen her go, but it had not occurred to them that a +woman had fired the shot that caused so much disturbance among them and +aided the retreating Americans so greatly by delaying their pursuers. +If they had realized that Molly herself was the cannoneer, she would +have had but little chance of mercy at their hands, and would at once +have faced a firing squad or been hung to the nearest tree. As it was +they thought she was only some country girl who had perhaps lost some +relative in the recent battle and was carrying his dead body back to +her home. And so they paid no attention to her. + +Molly, however, by firing this shot had materially aided General +Washington, for any delay of the British, even a slight one, gave a +great advantage to the Americans who were hurrying from superior +numbers to put themselves in a good tactical position as soon as they +could. + +On a hot day of July in the following summer it chanced that +Washington's forces were again not far away from Molly's home, and she +took a difficult journey on the chance of seeing her husband. Her first +step in soldiering had been taken when she fired the cannon at the +British in the preceding year. A far greater adventure lay before her, +for she fell in with the American soldiers just as they commenced the +severe battle of Monmouth. + +This battle had considerable importance, as a comparatively large +number of troops were engaged in it. General Washington was in command +of the Americans and the English were led by Sir Henry Clinton. The +English had been retreating from Philadelphia, across New Jersey, +followed by Washington, and the American general had decided to launch +an attack on the left wing of the retreating forces and General Lee was +ordered by Washington to attack the English on the flank and hold them +in battle until he himself could come up with the bulk of the American +Army. + +General Lee, however, proved to be a poor man for this task and his +indecision and semi-cowardice left Washington exposed to the brunt of +the enemy's attack before he was prepared to meet it and against the +intentions of the American commander. The situation was saved by +General Greene, who saw what had happened, changed his own plans and +diverted the attack of the British to his own position from which he +poured in a heavy artillery fire that caused them terrible losses. + +John Hays was one of the cannoneers of Greene's artillery and he worked +all day loading and firing his piece. It was a terribly hot day and +many men in both the British and the American armies fell exhausted and +even died from the heat of the sun. + +All this time Molly Hays had been caring for the wounded and carrying +water to the thirsty gunners, using for the purpose the bucket that was +attached to her husband's cannon for cleaning purposes. Tirelessly she +continued her efforts to care for the wounded and comfort the fighting +soldiers, heedless of the bullets that came her way or of the general +turmoil of battle. As the day wore on the men would greet her coming +with: "Here comes Molly with her pitcher!" And gradually this was +changed to "Here comes Molly Pitcher." And this was the name that +history has adopted in regard to the brave woman for whom it was so +used. + +At last John Hays succumbed to the heat and fell unconscious beside his +gun. The sun had proved too much for him. + +Molly stopped carrying water to care for her husband. She bathed his +head and moved him into the shade, returning to her duties just in time +to hear General Knox give orders that the cannon be removed, because he +had no other gunner cool enough and skilful enough to work it in its +present exposed position. At this Molly sprang forward crying out: + +"Leave the gun where it is. I can fire it. I am a gunner's wife and +know how to load and fire a cannon. I'll take the place that my brave +husband has left!" And running to the gun Molly commenced to load and +fire so determinedly and skilfully that a gasp of amazement ran through +the men that saw her. + +For many weary hours she toiled at the gun, until the British were +driven back and the battle was claimed as an American victory. And then +the young woman found herself the darling of all the soldiers in the +army, for word of her actions ran like wildfire through the ranks and +cheers reechoed wherever she went. Before she left her cannon General +Greene himself came over to where she stood and grasping her hand +thanked her in the name of the American Army. + +This was not all the triumph she received, however, for word was soon +brought to her that General Washington himself wished to see her. She +was in her ragged grimy clothes in which she had fought and succored +the wounded through the whole of that hot day, and she now put on a +soldier's coat in which to meet the General. + +Washington praised her highly and before a large number of his officers +and men, and more cheering reechoed through the ranks when he gave her +the brevet rank of Captain in the American Army. + +And not only the Americans did her honor, but the French as well, for +the Marquis de Lafayette with his own hand presented her with a purse +of golden crowns. + +In this strange way Molly Hays' desire to be a soldier came true, and +the name of Molly Pitcher, as she was ever after called, became one of +the great names of American History. + +After the war was ended she lived with her husband until he died, and +later she married again. But in her whole life the battle of Monmouth +stood out as the great day on which she realized her ambition and +helped the American forces in battle. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +NAPOLEON BONAPARTE + + +There are only two names in history that are as great as conquerors and +statesmen as that of Julius Caesar of whom you have read in the present +book. One of these two men was Alexander the Great, who lived hundreds +of years before the birth of Christ; the other was Napoleon Buonaparte, +later called Bonaparte and then Napoleon, who lived and died a hundred +years ago. + +Greater than Caesar, greater than Alexander is the name of Napoleon. +While Caesar was of noble birth and had all the advantages of position +and authority in his favor, and while Alexander was a king and born to +rule, Napoleon Buonaparte sprang from the humblest beginnings and had +nothing to help him make his way except his own genius. While Alexander +was little but a wonderful soldier, Napoleon Buonaparte was both a +mighty soldier and a great statesman, and not only did he place himself +upon a throne, but he made all the members of his family kings and +princes. + +He was born on the island of Corsica in 1769, and was the fourth child +and the youngest son of Charles Buonaparte who lived in the town of +Ajaccio and was as poor as his neighbors, which, as he lived in +Corsica, means that he was very poor indeed. Charles Buonaparte was an +ardent Corsican patriot and often plotted how Corsica could win her +freedom from France, but nevertheless he held a French office and was +willing to send his sons to French schools. + +It was not long before Napoleon showed his family that he had the +stubborn nature and iron will that would make him a great soldier. +Before he was ten years old he dominated his brothers and sisters and +made them do as he said. He was afraid of nothing, and showed himself a +natural leader among the children with whom he lived. As soon as he was +old enough to talk he desired to be a soldier, and when he was ten +years old he was taken by his father to a military school in France. + +For five years Napoleon remained at this school at Brienne mastering +the military art. As he was gloomy and silent and did not make friends +easily, he was the butt of ridicule and bore ill natured jokes from the +other young students there, but in spite of this, all were a little +afraid of him and did not dare to provoke him too far. + +When Napoleon was sixteen years old, his military education was +considered to be finished and he was given the commission of a second +lieutenant in an artillery regiment. In all these years he had only +seen his father once. But Charles Buonaparte either had realized the +greatness of his own son, or had one of those flashes of prophesy that +sometimes come to dying men, for on his deathbed he cried out, asking +for the son, Napoleon, whose sword, he said, was to shake the earth and +who was to make himself the master of all Europe. + +It was not many years after the young officer had joined his regiment +that he had a chance to distinguish himself. This was at the siege of a +town called Toulon. All France was in upheaval at that time, for the +people had revolted against their rulers and had overthrown their king +and their nobility. Their king, Louis the Sixteenth perished on the +public scaffold under the knife of the guillotine, and the French +revolutionists had carried on such a reign of terror that all Europe +was in turmoil and the hand of almost every other nation in the world +was against the French. Even a number of the French themselves were +opposed to their own government and had placed the town of Toulon at +the disposal of the English and their allies. + +It was this town that the French army was endeavoring to take, and a +long and unsuccessful siege had been carried on, for Toulon was +strongly defended. Until Napoleon Buonaparte came, the French +accomplished little. But Napoleon soon changed the look of the siege. +Young as he was he had command of all the artillery that was being used +against the town, and his military genius soon made itself felt, for he +gave his orders with lightning rapidity and saw that they were carried +out with a skill that amazed the other officers. Due to his efforts and +the skilful arrangement of the cannon at his disposal, the most +important strong points of the town fell into French hands, the British +fleet, which was cooperating with the besieged, was driven off, and +Toulon was captured. + +But this piece of work did not bring Napoleon any immediate or great +reward; in fact it was not long before he was out of favor with the +Revolutionary Government and his commission as an officer taken from +him. He had formed a friendship with the brother of Robespierre, a +revolutionary leader who came under the displeasure of the Republic. +And when Napoleon was offered a command of infantry, he refused to +accept it, and thus found himself outside the profession that he had +chosen. + +However, his skill at Toulon was soon to give him the opportunity he +sought, for one of the members of the Revolutionary Government had +noticed his ability and resolved to call upon him in a time of need. +This time soon came, for rioting and bloodshed broke out in Paris, and +the people sought to overthrow the Government. Then Napoleon was called +on to protect the Palace of the Tuileries where the offices of the +French Government were located. + +Here Napoleon showed the stuff he was made of. Although he was given +the appointment late in the day, the next morning saw cannon trained on +all the avenues approaching the Tuileries, and the cannoneers standing +like statues with lighted matches ready to fire upon the slightest +provocation. When the Parisian mob armed with clubs, pistols and old +muskets advanced to storm the palace Napoleon waited until some shots +had been fired and then gave a sharp command. With a roar of cannon a +storm of death swept down the avenues, and the people scattered like +chaff, leaving many dead and wounded behind them. + +The Government had been saved due to the prompt action of the young +artillery officer and was properly grateful. Napoleon was given an +important command. He received a general's rank and was put in charge +of the Army of the Interior. It was at this time that he met a +beautiful widow named Josephine de Beauharnais with whom he promptly +fell in love. Through Barras, the official who had brought him into +prominence, the match was arranged and Napoleon was married to +Josephine. + +But the young officer had already started upon his career of greatness, +and did not have much time to celebrate his nuptials. While on leave +and even when engaged in other duties he had found opportunity to study +the situation in Italy, where many forces hostile to the French +Republic were gathered. He had even formed a plan by which the French +could invade Italy, and it was now suggested to the Directors of the +French Government that he himself be allowed to put this plan into +execution. They consented, and hurrying to the south of France only two +days after his wedding, Napoleon took charge of a French army of about +fifty thousand ragged and ill-fed soldiers. His men had not been paid +for months and there was practically no discipline among them. They +were sick and discouraged, worn out with fighting the battles of the +Revolutionary party without reward. But when Napoleon appeared among +them, their spirits rose as though by magic, for the young commander +knew how to appeal to their imagination and to awaken their fighting +instinct. + +"Soldiers," he said to them, "you are half starved and half naked: the +government owes you much, but can do nothing for you. I am about to +lead you into the most fertile valleys of the world; there you will +find flourishing cities and teeming provinces; there you will reap +honor, glory and riches. Soldiers of the Army of Italy, will you lack +courage?" + +In Italy were the Austrians and the Sardinians against whom Napoleon +was to fight. He did not attempt to cross the Alps, as the great +general Hannibal had done in ancient times; instead of this he skirted +the Alps and fell upon the enemy so rapidly that they were not prepared +to meet him. With a series of brilliant marches and maneuvers he +divided the forces of his enemy and compelled the Sardinians to sign an +armistice, although the French Government had given him no authority to +take so much power into his own hands. He then drove back the Austrians +and defeated them in the battle of Lodi, where he carried a standard +with his own hands and rallied his troops in the face of a withering +fire. + +The Austrians were completely defeated and numbered their dead by +thousands. And so delighted were the French soldiers by their success +that they gave to the name of their young commander the title of "the +little corporal." + +Napoleon, however, did not let the grass grow under his heels, for in +war he believed that victory almost always came to the commander who +struck first. Time was everything, he declared, and advancing swiftly +he laid siege to the town of Mantua, defeated several armies that were +sent to relieve it and brought all Italy under his control. + +And now the Directors of the French Government learned that the young +general they had placed in command of the Army of Italy was made of +very different material from the average general who obeyed their +orders. Napoleon treated them haughtily, and made demands rather than +requests from them. He had already exceeded his powers many times and +had treated with the rulers and the commanders of the enemies he had +beaten as though he himself were the ruler of France. Indeed his +soldiers talked frequently of making him such and declared that they +would rather have a general like Napoleon as their king and be his +subjects, than to be governed by a group of civilian clerks who knew +nothing of war and had to rely on others to carry out their wishes. It +may be sure that Napoleon did not discourage this feeling among his +soldiers, for he designed to make himself the ruler of France. The time +had not yet come, however, for him to reveal his intentions openly, +although it is true they were but thinly disguised. + +After he had negotiated with Austria for peace and arranged the +armistice with Sardinia, Napoleon returned to Paris, carrying with him +many priceless paintings and works of art taken from the states that he +had conquered. These were placed in the galleries of the Louvre in +Paris, which at once became the most wonderful picture galleries in the +world. + +But the Directors of the French Government were afraid of the young +conqueror who was acclaimed by the people wherever he went, and +desiring to get rid of him they readily gave their consent to a plan +that Napoleon himself suggested. This was that since France was still +at war with England and not strong enough to invade that country, +Napoleon should strike at her by taking an army to conquer Egypt, and +thus do injury to England's trade with her eastern possessions in +India, by opening a road to invade that far country which was the +source of England's power. + +Preparations for the expedition were conducted with great secrecy in +Toulon, the same town that he had captured a few years before, and in +May, 1798, Napoleon set sail with a large fleet that contained about +thirty-five thousand of his best soldiers and his most clever and +trustworthy officers. + +On landing in Egypt he lost no time, but quickly captured Alexandria +and marched into the desert. + +The Mamelukes who fought against Napoleon, although undisciplined and +savage, were nevertheless brave fighters. Their cavalry was far famed +for its bravery and skill at horsemanship, as well as for rich +trappings and costly equipment. + +Bravely the Mamelukes charged against the French, and time after time +they recoiled from the squares of glittering bayonets on which riders +and horses were impaled. But at last they weakened, and the French +charged in their turn and from an unexpected quarter. The battle was +over. Napoleon's keen eye had seen that the artillery of the Mamelukes +had no wheels and was moved with difficulty and he arranged his men +accordingly. + +But while Napoleon succeeded on land he had been cut off from returning +to France, for the English admiral, Lord Nelson, had defeated the +French fleet. Napoleon fought and won battles against the Turks, but +his force was too small and the odds against him were too great for him +to succeed in an Eastern campaign, cut off as he was by the English. +And while he was in this difficult situation word was brought to him +that war had broken out again in Italy and all his work there had been +undone. It was imperative, if he wished to hold his power in France, +that he should make his way to Paris without delay. + +So Napoleon left his men in the charge of one of his generals, and with +only a few followers embarked at Alexandria. His ship eluded the +English fleet which was cruising the Mediterranean Sea, and he made his +way to Paris with all speed. + +France at this time was governed by a Directory and a Council of Five +Hundred. This was one of the forms of revolutionary government that had +been adopted after the French had dethroned and slain their king. + +Napoleon believed that the time had come for him to seize the chief +position in the French Government, but he did not dare as yet openly to +have himself proclaimed as King. With his brother Lucien, and his +advisor Talleyrand--although Napoleon did not accept advice as a rule, +but was guided by his own bold, brilliant ideas,--he overthrew the +Council of Five Hundred and abolished the Directory. Then he +established what was called the Provisional Government which was headed +by a group of three men who were called Consuls. Naturally Napoleon was +the first and most important of these, and took care to see that the +bulk of the power wielded by the consuls should remain in his hands. +Clever, bold and brilliant, stopping at nothing, with the solid backing +of the army and a brain greater than any that has been known on this +earth in hundreds of years, it seemed as though this superman could +accomplish anything he desired. + +After he had attained his ends in Paris he went again into the field to +meet his enemies. There was no immediate fear that France would be +invaded, for while the Austrians had won victories in Italy and freed +that country from French control, for which they substituted their own, +a French general named Massena had won a victory in Switzerland that +had shaken the grip of his enemies. It was necessary, however, that +Italy be invaded a second time. And this time Napoleon made his plans +to cross the Alps as Hannibal had done two thousand years before. + +With his supplies on pack mules, with cannon wheels carried by his +soldiers and the men themselves drawing the cannon on rude sleds +improvised from tree trunks, the indomitable commander crossed the +mighty mountain range that stood in his way, and suddenly appeared on +the Italian plains in a part of the country where the Austrians had not +dreamed that he would arrive. Before they were able to collect and +rearrange their forces, Napoleon struck and defeated them in the battle +of Marengo, where his men fought against odds of three to one. Other +battles followed, and French generals invaded Austria. There remained +nothing for the Austrians to do but sue for peace. England soon +followed her example and France was at peace with the world. + +Then Napoleon busied himself with internal matters and set about +reorganizing the French Government and framing a code of laws that +might be used thereafter by the country that he had made his own. This +was called the "Code Napoleon" and it is largely used to-day in France, +for Napoleon's genius as a lawmaker and a ruler was almost as great as +his power of generalship. He did not know such a word as failure but +succeeded in everything he put his hand to. While whole libraries have +been written about him there seem to be three main reasons for his +gigantic successes. The first is that he was a natural genius, with far +superior mental power to any other man of his time; the second is that +he had wonderful ability to work hard, and the third is that he knew +how to draw to himself the loyalty and affection of the ablest men of +his day and make their achievements further stepping stones to his own +successes. He had studied his trade of soldiering since he was old +enough to talk. He had worked at it constantly and toiled so +incessantly that he seldom slept more than three or four hours a night. +Moreover, in the troubled times in which Napoleon appeared on the +international stage, France was ripe for just such leadership and +indomitable will power as he was able to supply. Fortune favored his +efforts as much as he favored himself. + +The peace that had come to Europe did not last long. In the treaties +that had been framed Napoleon had taken care to include affairs that +would furnish him with new excuses to make war whenever he desired. And +now he went to war again with England and made plans for invading that +country, which he hated above all others. + +He had become so powerful by this time that he desired to wear the +crown of France. Accordingly he made arrangements for a brilliant +coronation and invited Pope Pius the Eighth to place the crown upon his +head. As there was still much hatred in France of the word King, +Napoleon decided to assume the title of Emperor. + +On December 2, 1804, before a most brilliant assembly of people, +Napoleon and Josephine were crowned. When the Pope approached to place +the crown on Napoleon's head he rose quickly, took the crown from the +Pope's hand and placed it on his head himself, while a gasp of +astonishment ran through the audience. He then removed it and placed it +on the head of Josephine who sat on the throne beside him. + +As the crown touched Napoleon's brow Paris reechoed to the thunder of +guns and to deafening cheers and cries of "Long live the Emperor!" Grim +old soldiers, who had followed him in many bitter campaigns, embraced +each other and got drunk in the wineshops. There was a wild time of +revel and celebration. The French people forgot the Revolution in which +thousands had died just to prevent the rule of kings. They thought of +nothing but their new ruler who had made France the mistress of the +world and was to lead his armies to even greater victories. And it +seemed that Napoleon would need more victories to keep his power. +Through the tireless efforts of the English statesman, Pitt, Russia and +Austria had joined England against him. Other countries were secretly +in league with these allies, and war was again to shake the entire +world. + +As we have said Napoleon had planned to invade England and so certain +was he of success that he had a monument erected celebrating the future +invasion. But to secure the results and to transport his army safely +into England it was necessary for Napoleon to have mastery of the +English Channel, which was controlled by British warships under Lord +Nelson, who, as you remember, had cut off and defeated Napoleon at sea +when he was engaged in the invasion of Egypt. And while arrangements +were completed for carrying a large French army from Boulogne to the +English shores, a mishap befell Napoleon that forever prevented him +from realizing his dream of British invasion. The French fleet under +Admiral Villeneuve met Lord Nelson off Trafalgar and was utterly +defeated. Napoleon's chance to invade England was gone forever. + +With his genius, however, for changing failure into success Napoleon +had already turned his designs elsewhere. With the splendid army with +which he contemplated the humiliation of England, he now marched +against Austria. + +After defeating the Austrians in several engagements Napoleon met the +combined Russian and Austrian forces at Austerlitz on the anniversary +of the day on which he had been crowned as Emperor. And Fortune, which +had crowned him then in Paris, now crowned his genius on the +battlefield by the greatest of all his victories. After prodigious +slaughter the Russians and Austrians were completely routed, losing +thousands of prisoners. The treaty of Pressburg followed, in which the +Austrian Emperor, Francis the First, was compelled to give up large +slices of territory to France, and the Russians as quickly as possible +withdrew into their own country. + +But this was only the beginning of the wars that Napoleon +thence-forward was engaged in. The kingdom of Prussia declared war +against France, and Napoleon marched against the Prussians and defeated +them at the battle of Jena. + +Russia, however, was ready to make peace with France, for after Jena +Napoleon turned his attention to the Russians and defeated them at +Friedland. Then the Czar of Russia and Napoleon met on a raft which was +anchored in the middle of the river Niemen and swore eternal +friendship. + +This was called the Treaty of Tilsit. As England was now the only great +nation that continued to be the enemy of France, Napoleon had made +arrangements in this treaty that were designed to cripple England's +trade and do as much damage to her as was possible. Moreover, the +conqueror had decided that henceforth there were to be no neutral +nations. Either the other countries must aid him in his trade war +against England and in other ways should he desire, or take the +consequences of braving his anger. With this policy in his mind +Portugal was invaded and the royal family was driven from the country +to South America where they sought refuge in the country of Brazil. +Spain had sided with France against Portugal, but Napoleon then +humiliated and dominated Spain. He used a far greater number of men +than was necessary for his Portuguese invasion, and turned them against +the Spaniards, many of whose most important forts had been taken by the +French soldiers through treachery as well as by stratagem. When the +conquest of Spain was ended Napoleon placed his brother, Joseph, on the +Spanish throne. + +Austria, however, was preparing for another struggle against Napoleon. +Though continually defeated by the French, the Austrians lost no chance +of turning on them or taking any opportunity that might bring success +against the victorious soldiers of Napoleon. But this only brought upon +the Austrians the further defeat of Wagram and the loss of additional +territory to Napoleon. + +But now fortune began to go against the brilliant soldier who had +seldom lost a battle and practically never had been defeated. The +Russians did not like the alliance with France that had been imposed +upon them at Tilsit and in spite of the Czar's vows of friendship were +ready to turn against Napoleon on the first opportunity. In fact the +Czar had become directly angered at Napoleon for the following reason. + +Although Napoleon had made himself Emperor there was no heir to the +French throne. As it seemed that Josephine would remain childless, +Napoleon conceived the plan of divorcing her and marrying some high +born lady whose alliance with him would strengthen the bonds between +her country and that of the French. He had negotiated with the Russian +Czar for the hand of a Russian princess, but before the arrangements +had been completed he married an Austrian duchess named Marie Louise. + +This turned Russia into the scale against Napoleon, who had already +dealt with the Russians in a high handed manner. So the Czar entered +into a close alliance with England against the conqueror. + +Then Napoleon made the greatest mistake of all his brilliant career. +With all Europe in unrest against him, he nevertheless conceived the +plan of invading Russia and raised a great army for this purpose. +Russia was and is one of the most difficult countries in all Europe in +which to carry on a military invasion. The country is so cold and +barren and the distances are so great that any invading army has great +difficulty in transporting its supplies and marching the required +distances. Napoleon had almost always relied for his supplies on the +countries he had conquered and believed that it was always possible for +large armies to subsist on forage and the supplies of the conquered +inhabitants. To a large extent he used this policy in his invasion of +Russia and it brought about his downfall. With an army of four hundred +thousand men he entered Russia and advanced into the interior. The +Russians constantly retreated before him and laid waste everything in +his path. Towns were burned, crops were destroyed and cattle were +driven away, as Napoleon led his forces toward the ancient and historic +city of Moscow. + +When the French had advanced a long distance into Russia, the Russian +general named Kutusoff offered them battle in a place called Borodino. +It was a stubborn and bloody conflict, and more lives were lost both by +the Russians and by the French than in any previous battle Napoleon had +engaged in. The Russians then continued to retreat and Napoleon entered +Moscow on the Fourteenth of September, 1812. + +Here the French believed that they would find respite from the +hardships that they had encountered, and sufficient food and grain to +feed their army. But their hopes were short lived, and in Moscow a +great disaster befell them. Flames broke out in the city on the first +night of their occupation, and were extinguished with difficulty. On +the next night fires were kindled by hidden Russians in a hundred +different places, and at last the city was a sea of flames in which no +man could live. Napoleon had gained nothing by his invasion except to +conquer a devastated country, and now, with winter coming on, he was +compelled to retreat again toward the Russian frontier. + +The plight of the French army had become fearful. Without food and with +insufficient clothing they were compelled to face the rigors of a +Russian winter. As they retreated the Russians followed them and bands +of wild Cossacks harassed their rear and their flanks, cutting off and +killing any stragglers. Even the Russian peasants took part in the +pursuit, and slew the exhausted French with their flails and cudgels. +Thousands of soldiers froze to death. In crossing the Beresina River +thousands more drowned. When they approached the frontier Napoleon left +the pitiful remnant of his shattered army to Marshal Ney, one of the +bravest of his generals, while he himself in a swift sleigh hastened to +Paris to raise another army before all Europe knew of what had +happened--for as soon as they did know they would take up arms against +him, thinking that in his weakened condition they could overthrow his +power. Of the four hundred thousand that entered Russia only twenty +thousand returned. More than a third of a million brave men had left +their bones on the chill snows and iron earth of the land they sought +to humble. + +Uprisings, alliances and campaigns by the hitherto beaten nations +followed. Napoleon won the battle of Lutzen, but the English Duke of +Wellington defeated the French at Vittoria. At last in the great battle +of Leipzig in October, 1813, the French were routed. + +In the following year the Allies made ready to crush Napoleon. He was +now on the defensive with enemies hemming him in on every side, and +although he fought a brilliant campaign it was hopeless. On April 11, +1814, Napoleon was compelled to resign the crown, and obliged to go +into exile; and the island of Elba in the Mediterranean Sea was chosen +as the place for him to end his days. + +For the last time before his exile, Napoleon addressed his soldiers in +farewell, and the tears ran down the rough cheeks of the veterans as +they bade good-by to the man who had so often led them to victory. And +then Napoleon passed through southern France on his way to Elba amid +the hisses and execrations of his people, who had already forgotten the +victories he had won for France and thought now only of their misery +and the dear ones they had lost on the barren snow fields of Russia. + +Instead of Napoleon the brother of the former king, Louis the +Sixteenth, was placed on the throne of France--an old, fat, wheezy man +of no particular ability. It seemed as if the great conqueror were +downed at last. + +But Napoleon intended differently. As he stayed at Elba surrounded by a +little court and with the title of Emperor which the Allies had allowed +him to keep, he kept looking toward the coast of France and plotting +how to return. It is more than probable that his life was in danger at +Elba. At all events he found the life intolerable, and desired once +again to play the leading part in European affairs. + +In the meantime the French people grew weary of fat old Louis the +Eighteenth, whose name of "Louis Dix Huit" was changed by the French as +a joke into "Louis Des Huitres," or Louis of the Oysters, so fond was +the old gourmand of his shellfish. They began to sigh for Napoleon and +look forward to the spring when they hoped he might be able to escape +from his island of confinement and rejoin his soldiers in Paris. And +this very thing soon happened. + +Napoleon made a successful plan to escape from Elba and was concealed +on a ship bound for France. And on the short trip back to the French +coast he gave a striking example of his remarkable coolness and the +certainty in which he held his future fortune. A passing vessel hailed +his ship, asking, among other things, what was the latest news of the +Emperor. Napoleon, who was too far off to be recognized, laughingly +took the speaking trumpet from the captain's hand and shouted back: +"The Emperor is very well." And both vessels passed on their way. + +Landing with a few followers near Cannes in southern France, Napoleon +hastened northward with the small army that he had been allowed to keep +at Elba. An army had been sent against him by the French, but Napoleon +had no intention of fighting it. Instead he advanced alone upon his +former soldiers, many of whom recognized him and rejoiced at a sight of +their former leader. When he drew near Napoleon threw back his coat and +shouted that if any man desired to kill his Emperor now was his +opportunity. Instead of killing him the soldiers crowded around him +with cries of joy. The whole army went over to his cause, and Marshal +Ney, who had been sent against him and who had sworn that he would +bring Napoleon back in an iron cage, could not withstand the sight of +his old general and threw his lot once more with the Imperial eagles. +With a force that increased at every mile Napoleon marched toward +Paris, while Louis the Eighteenth hastily gathered up his luggage and +fled into Belgium. + +As soon as the Allies learned of Napoleon's escape they hastened to +make war against him. But Napoleon did not wait for them. With a +splendid army at his heels he marched to the north to meet his foes. + +Fate was too strong for him, however. On June 16th, 1815, he fought the +battle of Ligny in which he defeated the Prussians, but two days later +he engaged in one of the most famous struggles of all history--the +battle of Waterloo. + +Here Napoleon was pitted against the English under Lord Wellington and +the Prussians under Blucher. All day the struggle went on with success +in the balance and time after time it seemed as if nothing could save +the English army from the furious charges of Napoleon's cuirassiers and +heavy dragoons. Blucher had been separated from Wellington before the +battle opened, and due to muddy roads he was late in arriving with the +reenforcements that were necessary for an English victory. When he did +appear, however, the battle was won for the Allies. The French broke +and scattered in headlong rout and were followed throughout the night +by the ruthless Prussians, who cut them down without mercy. The +splendid army that Napoleon had gathered was no more. + +Napoleon fled to Paris and from there to Rochefort in southern France, +where he was ordered to leave the country without delay. Now that he +was defeated the French were unwilling to harbor him, for they knew +that his presence meant continued war with the victorious Allies. At +last Napoleon surrendered himself to the commander of the British +warship _Bellerophon_, and was taken to England as a prisoner. The +English did not even allow him to land. He was transferred to another +vessel and carried to a lonely and rocky island in the south Atlantic +called St. Helena. Here, with a few of his followers who remained +faithful to him in his misfortune, the great Emperor fretted away the +remainder of his life. On May 5, 1821, just as the sunset gun was +fired, he breathed his last. + +He was buried in St. Helena, but his body was later claimed by the +French Government and now rests in state in Paris in a wonderful +sarcophagus of red marble beneath the dome of the Hotel Des Invalides. +In recesses of this building are also the tombs of Marshal Ney and the +other great generals who had best served their Emperor in his lifetime. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +GIUSEPPE GARIBALDI + + +If George Washington was the father of his country, certainly Giuseppe +Garibaldi could be called the father of Italian liberty, for this one +patriot, almost single handed, fomented and carried on the revolution +that resulted in the birth of the Italian nation as it stands to-day. + +Giuseppe Garibaldi was born in the year 1807, in the town of Nice, and +was the son of a sailor and sea captain named Domenico Garibaldi. It is +probable that almost before he could walk Giuseppe was familiar with +the deck of his father's vessel, and it is certain that when a very +young boy he showed an aptitude and desire for a seafaring life. + +His father, however, did not wish his son to be a sea captain like +himself, but desired him to lead some life ashore, where, he thought, +the boy's chances of advancement would be better. This plan, however, +did not appeal to Giuseppe. The call of the sea was in him and he +determined to be a sailor like his father. When still a young boy, with +one or two companions, he stole a fishing boat and put to sea in the +Mediterranean, sailing to the Eastward. His father soon gave chase, +however, with a faster boat, and caught the would be mariner off the +coast of Monaco, returning with him to Nice. The boy's cruise itself +was ended, but this incident convinced the father that his son was +intended for the sea, and in a few months Giuseppe shipped as a cabin +boy and before long was making long voyages. + +He quickly showed that seafaring was his natural calling, for before he +was twenty-four years old he had become the master of a vessel, showing +at an early age a capacity for responsibility and an ability to command +other men that marked him head and shoulders above his companions. + +But while engaged upon his voyages Garibaldi was thinking a great deal +about the unfortunate condition of Italy and the unhappiness of his +countrymen, for at that time the Italians did not form one nation as +they do to-day, but were grouped in a number of petty states that +frequently warred against each other and were themselves surrounded by +more powerful enemies. The idea of making Italy one nation had not then +occurred to the bulk of the people, but there was a band of secret +revolutionists who were working for "Young Italy" and Garibaldi, who +was known to be in favor of a united Italy, soon met some of the +members of this organization. + +The young skipper promptly became fired with the desire to aid the work +of the revolutionists and went to Marseilles where he talked with the +famous patriot, Mazzini, also a young man, who had been active in +revolutionary circles and was the chief organizer of the league called +Young Italy. Mazzini's aim was to put an end to all the existing +Italian governments and form an Italian republic that should extend +from Sicily to the Alps. For his revolutionary activities he had been +banished from his native country, and was carrying on his work to the +best of his ability in Marseilles. + +Mazzini gave Garibaldi a cordial greeting, and enlisted his aid in the +work of the revolutionists. They were planning a war against the King +of Sardinia whose name was Charles Albert, and while the patriots +invaded Savoy Garibaldi's mission was to go to Genoa and hatch a +revolution in the fleet, where, it was thought, there were many sailors +who would gladly fall in with the aims of Young Italy and lend their +aid in overthrowing the existing governments. + +The plot failed and Garibaldi was left stranded at Genoa, hunted by the +soldiers and certain to meet death in case he was captured. He +disguised himself in the dress of a peasant and escaped to France, +where a newspaper informed him that he had been named as an outcast +from his native country, and had been sentenced to death. There was +nothing further for him to do at that time except to carry on his +calling of sea captain under an assumed name, and it was not long +before he had shipped as a common seaman on a vessel sailing for South +America, where for two years, nothing further was heard of him. But his +ardent nature found play in the new country to which he had come, and +when the Province of Rio Grande rose in revolution against the rule of +the Brazilians, Garibaldi joined the rebels and made preparations to +fight in the revolutionary cause. + +He secured a little fishing vessel, and with a few companions began to +cruise as a privateer in the insurgent cause, going through many sea +fights and many hardships and adventures in the behalf of the +revolutionists. Finally he was shipwrecked and only saved his life by +his great skill at swimming, most of his companions drowning in the +surf where he was powerless to help them. The revolutionists gave him +another ship and he soon sailed away for further encounters with the +enemy. + +While in the port of Laguna a new adventure befell him, for there he +beheld the woman who was to become his wife. Her name was Anita +Riberas, and according to the South American custom her father had +arranged a marriage for her with a man she did not love. When she met +Garibaldi she was struck with his fine and commanding appearance, and +he on his part instantly fell in love with her, for she was a woman of +great beauty and a keen and spirited mind. The result of this meeting +was that Anita eloped with Garibaldi, sailing away with him on his +vessel and marrying him a few days later when another port was reached. + +Anita not only was on board Garibaldi's vessel in a number of sea +fights but actually took part in them. On one occasion, we are told, +she was knocked down by a gust of wind made by a cannon ball as it +whizzed across the deck, but picking herself up continued to fight by +the side of the men. + +Garibaldi then organized a band of guerilla cavalry and his bride, +dressed in man's clothes, rode by his side. It was while her husband +was a captain of guerillas that she bore him a son, and on many weary +journeys the baby was carried in a sort of net cradle slung from her +saddle. Garibaldi was now fighting for the freedom of Uruguay. + +It was at this time that Garibaldi formed the band of revolutionaries +called the Italian Legion. They chose for their colors a flag on which +a volcano was painted with fire spouting from the crater against a +background of black. And Garibaldi at the head of his Italians was a +skilful and famous soldier, known everywhere in Uruguay and even in +foreign countries. + +In the year 1848 the whole of Northern Italy rose in arms against the +Austrians, and the King of Sardinia, Charles Albert, was now fighting +in a cause that seemed just to Garibaldi, who desired of all things to +see the foreign control of great nations taken away from his country. +At once he decided to enter the war and sailed for Italy with the +members of his legion. He chose for an emblem this time the colors that +have since become the flag of Italy, a flag of red, white and green +arranged like the French tricolor. + +He received a cold welcome from the King of Sardinia, for Charles +Albert could not forgive his former revolutionary activities. But the +King soon had reason to hate him even more than hitherto, for when, +with the Pope, he made peace with Austria after his forces had been +defeated, Garibaldi refused to recognize the compact and with a small +band of insurgents continued the fight, until he fell ill with fever +and was compelled to give up the struggle and allow his soldiers to +return to their homes. + +He was determined, however, that Italy should never again recognize +Austrian rule, and as soon as he had recovered from the fever, he began +what was called the "People's War." Numbers of Italians flocked to his +standard, and his cause was soon strengthened by an uprising in Rome, +in which the Pope himself was driven from office, and a minister named +Rossi was murdered. + +Garibaldi had hastened to Rome to be present at the declaration of the +Roman Republic, of which Mazzini was to be President. As the Austrian +and French forces were pursuing him he organized a stubborn resistance, +and furious fighting took place in the outskirts of the city and in the +streets themselves. Soon it was evident that the revolutionists must +give in and the city be taken. The only hope for the Republicans lay in +their escaping to the mountains. The city surrendered finally without +Garibaldi's consent, and with his band of red shirted followers he fled +into the country just as the French soldiers were pouring through the +gates. His wife, dressed as a man, accompanied him. + +Then commenced a campaign filled with most bitter hardships and +difficulties. At the beginning of his flight he had only five thousand +men and these were quickly decreased in numbers by the hardships they +were compelled to undergo, and by many desertions that took place as a +result. But Garibaldi persevered, until he saw that it was useless to +think of any further resistance at that time, and he then planned a +flight to the coast. Fully fifty thousand well armed and organized men +were in pursuit of him, and their ranks were added to daily by +deserters from his own small force. At last all but two hundred +surrendered, and these, with Garibaldi at their head seized a number of +fishing vessels and put to sea, hoping to reach the friendly city of +Venice. + +But the enemy's vessels were watching the coast, and soon a large fleet +was in hot pursuit. Some of Garibaldi's vessels were captured and sunk +and the rest were compelled to land to escape the pursuing ships. + +All this time his faithful wife, Anita, had accompanied him--but the +hardships they had undergone had proved too much for her; she had +fallen ill and now it was seen that she had only a few hours to live. +With soldiers of the enemy following him, and with his dying wife in +his arms, Garibaldi hid among the sand dunes of the coast and at last +carried his wife into a deserted cottage where she promptly breathed +her last. + +With the soldiers at his heels Garibaldi could not even wait to see her +buried. He took to the hills once more, and after a terrible journey of +forty days, in which he was obliged to travel in disguise, he escaped +on a fishing boat, and after being turned away from several ports where +his presence was unwelcome, made his way to America. This time he went +to New York, and for a time earned his daily bread as a ship chandler +on Staten Island. + +Then he returned to his old trade of sea captain and sailed for China +in command of a vessel called the _Carmen_. He then returned to Europe, +and as the hatreds of the revolution had now largely blown over he was +able to go to Nice and see his children. The search for him had waned. +Italy seemed hopelessly under the yoke of her enemies, and Garibaldi +settled down to private life on the Island of Caprera, where he lived +simply as a farmer. + +He was only too ready, however, to respond if another demand should +come for him to carry arms in behalf of United Italy, and through the +skill of the statesman, Cavour, such a demand did come in the year +1859. Cavour, by clever diplomacy, had brought on a war between the +Austrians and the French and with the aid of the powerful nation of +France the Italians were victorious at the battles of Magenta and +Solferino. + +But while France was willing to fight the Austrians, the French were +unwilling to have Italy at their doors as a united nation, and a peace +was agreed upon between the two great powers in which Italian liberty +was ignored. All the work of Garibaldi seemed to have been useless. All +of his great sacrifices were apparently thrown away by the statesmen +and diplomats who were forced to accede to the French and Austrian +terms. + +But the peace of Villafranca, as this agreement was called, was only +the beginning of Garibaldi's greatness. He hastened to Genoa, where, +with one thousand and seventy followers, he seized two steamers and +embarked for Sicily. Sicily had revolted on hearing of the peace terms +and Garibaldi had been invited to go there and aid the revolution. + +After a voyage of six days he landed at Marsala where a tremendous +welcome was given to him. The Neapolitan fleet was not far off, but +they did not dare to open fire on the little band of revolutionists on +account of British warships nearby, as Great Britain was known to favor +the revolutionary cause. + +With Garibaldi at the head of an indomitable little army, the +Neapolitan soldiers were put to flight at the battle of Calatafimi and +Garibaldi advanced upon the city of Palermo. After heavy fighting the +city was taken, and afterward at the head of about two thousand men, +Garibaldi routed an army more than three times the size of his own. All +Sicily was soon in Garibaldi's possession, and now, with a considerable +army at his back, he crossed over to the Italian mainland and advanced +northward, with his enemies fleeing before him. Finally he captured the +city of Naples and his work was completed. + +Without any hesitation Garibaldi turned over his conquests to King +Victor Emmanuel of Sardinia, who, after Garibaldi's successes, had +marched against Naples and was now in control of a large part of the +Italian peninsula. After refusing many rewards Garibaldi retired again +to the island of Caprera, but in 1862 he raised a volunteer army and +marched against Rome in an attempt to overthrow the power of the Pope +which he believed must be destroyed before Italy could ever become a +united nation. + +King Victor Emmanuel did not feel that he could allow this expedition +of Garibaldi's, and sent his own army against him. Garibaldi was +defeated and he himself was taken prisoner, but after a short +confinement he was pardoned and set at liberty. + +In 1866 he started another revolution but was again defeated and again +captured. Once more, however, he was pardoned and allowed to go back to +Caprera, where he was guarded by a warship to prevent any further +activity on his part. Three years later he offered his services to the +French Republic and was made a deputy of that famous body, the French +Versailles Assembly. He then entered the Italian Parliament, and for +his great patriotic services was given a pension for life. In later +life he married again but the marriage was not a happy one and was +annulled after a number of years, when Garibaldi again took a wife, a +peasant woman named Francesca. + +He died in 1882, at Caprera, one of the most famous of all Italians, +and the one to whom modern Italy owes more than to any other man. Had +it not been for Garibaldi's great endurance under the most terrible +hardships and privations, and his resolute determination to free his +country, there might well be no modern Italy as these pages are +written. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN + + +The story of Abraham Lincoln should bring more inspiration to you than +that of any other man or woman who is mentioned in this book. For +Lincoln not only had a great mind, a great and forceful personality, +but a great and kindly heart, filled with charity for all. He was, +moreover, a man of the people. Whatever he gained in life, he gained by +his own efforts. Washington created the United States, but Lincoln +carried them through the most difficult crisis of their history--and it +is more than probable that without him there would be no United States +to-day. + +He was born in 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky, on the Twelfth of +February, and was the son of Thomas Lincoln, a carpenter. Thomas +Lincoln was a good natured but shiftless man who never did any more +work than was absolutely necessary to keep his family from starving. He +had pioneer blood in his veins, as, indeed, all Lincoln's ancestors +had, from the time when they first came to America in 1637; and this +fact kept them pushing continually to the westward and taking up new +lands in unbroken country as opportunity offered. Thomas Lincoln's +wife, Nancy, was made of better stuff than her easy going husband, and +it is probably from her that the boy Abraham inherited the character +that was to make his name the greatest in his country, if not in the +entire world. + +As a boy Abraham had little or no chance to go to school, but he was so +industrious and eager to learn that he borrowed every book that he +could lay his hand on, and in this way he obtained a thorough knowledge +of the bible and of Shakespeare as well as of a few other classics, +which included AEsop's fables, Robinson Crusoe, a history of Washington +and the Pilgrim's Progress. + +When Abraham was eight years old, his father moved to Indiana, and +there the first great sorrow of his life befell the little boy. His +mother died of a fever that appeared among the settlers, leaving +Abraham and his sister Sarah, a little girl of eleven, to do the +housework and the heavy chores of a backwoods farm. The following year +Thomas Lincoln went away to Kentucky to marry again, and he brought +back with him a big hearted woman named Sally Johnson, who had three +children by a former marriage. + +This marriage by Thomas Lincoln was the best thing that could have +happened for his two motherless children. Sally Johnson was able to +give them better care and more comforts than they had ever known. She +inspired their father also to work more regularly and to put a door on +the cabin in which they lived. Abraham helped his father in clearing +the land and hewing the trees. He was big and strong for his age, and +was constantly swinging an ax or guiding a plow. + +All the time when not engaged in these active forms of labor, Abraham +was reading and studying, by candle light or by firelight, chalking up +sums of arithmetic on a board or the back of a shovel when he lacked +paper to write them on, and striving in every way to gain for himself +an education. Owing to the remote region where he lived and the +constant moves that were made by his family, he had less than a year's +schooling in the entire course of his life,--but his eagerness to learn +counterbalanced this disadvantage and when he reached young manhood he +knew as much as many who had been to the finest schools in the country +from their earliest years and without interruption. + +When he was twenty-one years old his father moved again. This time +Thomas Lincoln settled in Illinois, and Abraham worked without pay for +a year, helping him to clear his property and settle his land. Then, as +was the custom in those days, he left home to seek his fortune +elsewhere. + +By this time he had grown into a tall and powerful man who was able +with great ease to outstrip all others in running or jumping, swinging +an ax or carrying heavy weights. His strength, in fact, was as famous +throughout the country side as was his good nature and kindness, for he +was always ready to give his neighbors a hand when they needed help and +to do them a good turn when the chance came his way. Everybody liked +him and he was welcome wherever he went. + +With two relatives Lincoln built a flatboat and started down the river +for New Orleans on a trading venture. He had been south once before, +when he traveled more than a thousand miles on a flatboat selling +groceries to the plantations of Mississippi, and these two trips +enabled him to see what slavery was like. He saw negroes being placed +on the auction block and knocked down to the highest bidder, separated +forever from their wives and families. He saw them toiling in the +fields and triced up under the lash. It was then, without doubt, that +he formed the opinions that directed his policy from the White House in +later years when he was President. + +On returning to his home Lincoln had his first taste of military +service. A war had broken out with the Black Hawk Indians, and +volunteers were called for to drive them out of the country. Lincoln +was one of the first to offer his services, and although still very +young, every man in the neighborhood urged that he be made the captain +of the military company in which they were to serve. It was a sign of +the esteem in which the ungainly young man was held that those older +than himself should unanimously propose him for their leader. + +Before this time Lincoln, young as he was, had announced his candidacy +for the Legislature of Illinois. The County of Sangamon, where he +lived, was entitled to four representatives. He had informed the +residents that he was a candidate by a characteristic letter which was +printed in the county newspapers and has been quoted in Lincoln's +biographies. + +"Every man is said to have his peculiar ambition," he wrote. "Whether +it be true or not, I can say, for one, that I have no other so great as +being truly esteemed by my fellow men by rendering myself worthy of +their esteem. How far I shall succeed in gratifying this ambition is +yet to be developed. I am young and unknown to many of you. I was born, +and have ever remained, in the most humble walks of life. I have no +wealthy or popular relations or friends to recommend me. My case is +thrown exclusively upon the independent voters of the county; and if +elected they will have conferred a favor upon me for which I shall be +unremitting in my labors to compensate. But if the good people in their +wisdom see fit to keep me in the background I have been too familiar +with disappointments to be very much chagrined." + +But when the Indian war broke out Lincoln sacrificed his chances of +being elected, preferring to fight for his country in such fighting as +came his way, and the victory was won by his opponents. + +On his return after a bloodless campaign, he started a grocery store in +the town of New Salem, Illinois, but the venture was destined to be an +unlucky one. The town dwindled in size; the store finally failed; his +partner ran away and then died, leaving Lincoln to shoulder all the +burden of the debt. Although he had no money and could earn but little, +he paid this debt to the last penny and with proper interest, but the +burden saddened his young manhood and put him in poverty and +difficulties from which he did not free himself for a number of years. + +In the year 1834, Lincoln ran once more for the State Legislature, and +this time, as no obstacles beyond the ordinary came his way, he was +elected. This marked the turning point in his career, for he had now +embarked on the course that was to end with his election to the +Presidency. He was sent back to the Legislature in 1836 and again in +1838 and 1840; and his policy was marked by broad views and great +liberality. As a matter of fact, he was one of the first champions of +woman's suffrage, for in preparing his platform he said that he was for +allowing all whites to vote who bore the burdens of the Government, +including the women. + +While in the Legislature Lincoln had the courage to voice a protest +against slavery, and at that time the feeling ran so strongly against +"abolitionists," as the would-be liberators of slaves were called, that +he could only get one man beside himself to sign this protest. In it he +stated that slavery in itself was evil and unjust, but that the efforts +of the abolitionists only served to add to its horrors. By this +statement Lincoln ran grave danger of being ruined in his political +career, and only his high moral courage impelled him to make it. + +In 1839 the State Capitol of Illinois was moved to Springfield and +Lincoln decided to live in the same town. While he had been serving his +country in the Legislature he had also been studying law--a pursuit +that he commenced when he owned the unlucky general grocery store at +New Salem. Now he hung up his shingle as a lawyer, going into +partnership with John T. Stuart who was prominent in Lincoln's own +political party, whose members were called Whigs. Before very long he +had a good practice. + +Here Lincoln engaged to fight a duel, showing at once his courage and +the keen sense of humor that he possessed. Some women friends of his +had sent to the newspapers a series of humorous letters criticizing one +James Shields, an Irishman, who was engaged in tax collecting. These +letters were signed by the name of "Aunt Rebecca," and to help the +ladies Lincoln had written the first letter as a model. When Shields +started inquiries, Lincoln took the entire responsibility. Shields +belonged to the opposite political party and challenged Lincoln to a +duel. As the challenged, Lincoln was allowed to chose the weapons. He +decided on broadswords of the largest possible size. A plank was to be +placed between the duelists, and neither allowed to cross it. On either +side of the plank lines were drawn at the length of the broadsword and +three feet extra,--and if the duelist stepped back across this line he +lost the fight. + +These terms had a large element of the ridiculous about them. The +meeting came to pass but the duel never was fought, for Lincoln and his +adversary were reconciled before the swords were drawn. Soon after this +Lincoln married Mary Todd, a Kentucky girl who had been one of the +originators of the letters that brought about this duel. + +A few years later, in 1846, Lincoln was elected to Congress. In his +first term in the House of Representatives he did nothing to +distinguish himself, but kept his eyes and ears open and used the term +more as an instructive course in some university of politics than +anything else, although he took care not to neglect the work of his +constituents. In fact there is, or was at that time a general idea that +it was impossible to distinguish oneself in a first term to Congress. +There was too much to learn, too many duties to perform, too slight an +acquaintance with fellow members. + +Lincoln, however, quickly became known in Washington and was liked +wherever he went. He had a gift for story telling that he frequently +made use of, either to amuse his hearers or to take the bitterness out +of some political argument. + +While in Washington as a congressman, he made his first actual effort +toward the abolition of slavery by drawing up a bill for the freeing of +slaves in the District of Columbia and paying their owners a good price +from the coffers of the Government. This bill had many supporters, but +it was obstructed and never came to a vote. It showed, however, as his +earlier and courageous protest showed, the thoughts that were in +Lincoln's heart about this great national evil, and that he could be +relied on to do all that lay in his power to end it. + +After Lincoln's term in Congress was over he returned to Springfield, +where, for a number of years, he quietly practised law without thinking +of returning to office. He did desire to be Governor of the Territory +of Oregon and was offered this position, but gave it up because his +wife refused to live so far away. It is just as well that he did so, +for who knows if his great powers would ever have been recognized if he +had taken this appointment and lived in even more of a wilderness than +where his forefathers had cleared the land and made their homes? + +The war against slavery was gaining headway, and every year the feeling +became more intense over the fact that certain States were allowed to +hold men in bondage and buy and sell them like animals. Whenever a new +territory was acquired by the Union a dispute arose as to whether it +was to be a slave or a free territory, and this discussion was opened +up with bitterness in 1854 when Lincoln's great rival, Senator Douglas, +offered a bill to bring about territorial government in Nebraska. + +On account of this struggle Lincoln came once more into the public eye. +Douglas had believed that by working to repeal a measure known as the +Missouri Compromise, thereby throwing open to slavery a large amount of +territory that had been closed against it, he would stand an excellent +chance of being elected President of the United States. The struggle +between the slave and the free factions of the country had now taken on +national importance of the first order, and caused the readjustment of +the political parties. The Democratic party now became the champion of +slavery, while the Whig party, and those Democrats who desired slaves +to be free, were merged in the Republican party to which Lincoln +belonged. + +In the State Convention in Illinois, where the Republican party was +formed, Lincoln made a wonderful speech, of which only the memory +remains. The stenographers and reporters who were supposed to take it +down became so enthralled by the words of the great leader that they +forgot to make note of those words, and Lincoln, who spoke with few +notes, could not remember afterward what he had said. How marvelous the +speech must have been is to be seen from the fact that even without +written reports its fame traveled through the United States, and those +that heard it never forgot the majesty and power of Lincoln's oratory. + +Lincoln was not yet well enough known, to be considered as a candidate +for the Presidency, but he did receive some support from his party as +Republican nominee for Vice President. In the meantime, and even before +this speech had been made, Douglas had realized the strength of his new +opponent, and sought to silence Lincoln until after the election. +Lincoln and Douglas met in joint debate, and the result of the contest +made history. Hoping to entrap Lincoln, Douglas asked him a number of +questions, thinking that Lincoln might answer in such a way that his +reply would be unpopular to the people of the South. In return Lincoln +asked Douglas such a carefully thought out question that in answering +it Douglas was compelled either to deny his former words or make +himself unpopular with the Democratic party. And as a result of this +Douglas was greatly weakened for the presidency in the campaign of +1860. + +Lincoln's brilliant speeches and his former political record, his +reputation for honesty and kindness, and his known firmness against the +issue of slavery were doing their work, although he himself did not +dream that he might gain the presidency that Douglas had aspired to. He +continued to make speeches in 1859 and followed Douglas about, speaking +against his policy. In May, 1860, the Republicans of the State of +Illinois declared Lincoln to be their choice for President without a +dissenting vote. + +The Republican National Convention for that year, held in Chicago, was +a memorable meeting. The two names that stood out above all others were +those of William H. Seward and Abraham Lincoln. Several ballots were +taken amid scenes of great excitement, and at last the name of Lincoln +was given to the country as the Republican candidate for President. + +And the campaign itself was the most memorable presidential campaign in +the history of this country. In all there were four candidates. The +Democratic party was split into two wings, one of which, with Douglas +for its choice, claimed that it did not pretend to decide whether +slavery was right or wrong; the other with Breckenridge was directly in +favor of slavery and sought to extend it and to add new States to the +slave list. There was also the Constitutionalist Union party in which +slavery was not an issue at all or anything else, for that +matter--while the Republican party, with Lincoln at its head, was +directly opposed to slavery and had come out as its open and declared +enemy. + +On the night of the election, which fell on the Sixth of November, +Lincoln heard news by electric telegram of his overwhelming victory. +His speeches and his strong personality had won the day. He was chosen +as President at a time when the most difficult and arduous duties since +the time of Washington awaited the head of the nation. + +Throughout the South, bitterness had been growing more and more marked +each day. The South had declared that it would never bear the rule of a +Republican President and an opponent of slavery. And after the Southern +States knew that Lincoln was to be their leader, one after another +withdrew its congressmen and senators from Washington, and passed what +they called "ordinances of secession," which meant that they no longer +considered themselves a part of the United States. More than this took +place, for one after one the army officers in charge of the Southern +forts and arsenals went over to the side of the South, allowing the +most important military strongholds and vast amounts of military stores +to fall into their hands, and President Buchanan, who was Lincoln's +predecessor, and in sympathy with the South himself, did nothing to +prevent these outrages against the Government he had sworn to uphold. + +In the meantime Lincoln had performed his first official act which +would have indicated, if other things had not amply done so, his coming +greatness. This was his choice of a Cabinet. Believing that he must not +only surround himself with the strongest men he could find, but the +ones that the people placed most reliance in, he appointed to the +Cabinet all the other Republicans whose names had been mentioned for +President at the Republican convention in June. William H. Seward was +his Secretary of State and the other cabinet officials included Salmon +P. Chase of Ohio, who was Secretary of the Treasury, Simon Cameron of +Pennsylvania, and later Edwin M. Stanton as Secretary of War. + +The difficulties and dangers of his position now beset him. On his way +to his inauguration he was warned that in Baltimore there had been +discovered a plot against his life, and so serious did this plot appear +that he had to go through secretly on another train than the one on +which he was expected. In his inaugural address, assuming the duties of +President, Lincoln denied the right of any State to secede from the +Union, and this was taken by those States that already had seceded and +in fact by the entire South as little less than a declaration of war +against them. + +All through the South preparations for war were carried on as quickly +as possible. And in less than six weeks after Lincoln had taken over +the duties of his office, the Civil War was opened by the Confederates, +who turned their guns against Fort Sumter, which was held by the Union +commander, Major Anderson. + +From that time on the story of Lincoln's life is almost the same as +that of the great Civil War, in which as President he decided most of +the momentous questions that came before the nation, and bore upon his +shoulders a weight even greater than what had been carried by +Washington when the United States was born. + +In the first part of the war the South won many victories. They +defeated the Union forces at Bull Run and Fredericksburg, and with +smaller forces and these divided were able to fight what amounted to a +drawn battle at Antietam. They defeated General Hooker at +Chancellorsville, and it began to look as if the South, under the +brilliant General, Robert E. Lee, had more than a chance of gaining +what they desired, and winning independence from the Federal +Government. General after general was placed in command of the Union +forces and proved inadequate to the gigantic task that had to be +fulfilled. And Lincoln, in addition to his other duties, had to study +and master the art of war, so that he could intelligently understand +the military situations that came to him for final decision. No greater +tribute can be made to the power of his brain than to say that after he +had followed his military studies this lawyer and backwoodsman was +considered among the best strategists in the country. + +It was shortly after the battle of Antietam that President Lincoln +decided to issue his famous proclamation giving freedom to all the +slaves in the United States. He decided to do this because it was a war +measure and the South had been able to obtain much military aid from +the slaves who were in their possession. Also it won the North to a +more whole-hearted prosecution of the war, since by far the greater +part of the North desired the immediate freedom of the slaves. This +proclamation was called the "Proclamation of Emancipation," and under +it all men in the United States really became free and equal, for the +first time in American History. + +At last Lincoln had realized his lifelong desire to right the wrong of +slavery, and throughout the world this act added greatly to his fame. +By the black race he was looked upon as a second Savior and whenever he +was seen by a group of negroes they raised the echoes with their shouts +of enthusiasm and jubilee. + +Another great deed was done by Lincoln and one that was to have an +immediate effect upon the course of the war. This was the appointment +of General Ulysses S. Grant to the position of Commander in Chief of +the Union forces. General Grant, like Lincoln, came from obscure +beginnings. He had volunteered his services at the beginning of the +war, and had won his way upward through sheer merit. On the Fourth of +July, 1863, he had captured the Southern city of Vicksburg, while +General Meade in the same year beat the Confederates decisively on the +field of Gettysburg which was the greatest battle of the war and marked +its turning point. + +It was after Gettysburg that President Lincoln made the memorable +address upon the field of victory that has gone down into history as +one of the finest speeches ever made and has been placed above the +portals of one of England's greatest colleges as an example of the +purest example of English speech that has ever been uttered. + +"Fourscore and seven years ago," said Lincoln, "our fathers brought +forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and +dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. + +"Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation +or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are +met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a +portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave +their lives that the nation might live. It is altogether fitting and +proper that we should do this. + +"But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate--we cannot consecrate--we +cannot hallow--this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who +struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or +detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, +but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, +rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who +fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be +here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these +honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they +gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve +that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under +God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the +people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the +earth." + +The turning point of the war had been reached; the victory of the +Northern forces was now assured. On the Ninth of April, 1865, General +Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House and the war was +brought to an end. + +In the meantime Lincoln had been reelected President by an overwhelming +majority. He now had before him the difficult task of reconstruction, +and of bringing together the warring factions that so nearly had torn +our nation in two halves forever. + +His kindliness, his personal bravery which made him regardless of all +risks and repeated threats of assassination, his infinite tact, +resourcefulness and good humor, coupled with the weightier abilities as +a ruler and a statesman, have made his name most justly the most famous +in our history with the possible exception of George Washington's. +There is an infinite fund of anecdotes concerning him and what he did +in the dark days through which he piloted the country. Lincoln was +always gentle when there was the least excuse for gentleness, and he +pardoned so many military offenders who had been under sentence of +death that the Union Generals complained that he was weakening their +discipline. Yet this gentleness on his part was never confounded with +weakness. No more terrible contestant could have appeared against the +rebellious South than the quiet, gaunt backwoodsman who had placed +himself in the President's chair by reason of his character alone. + +On April 14, 1865, when attending a performance at Ford's Theater in +Washington, President Lincoln was murdered. His assassin was John +Wilkes Booth, brother of the famous actor, Edwin Booth, who was in no +way implicated with the terrible deed perpetrated by one that bore his +name. Wilkes Booth was a rabid Southerner and believed that since the +North had conquered, vengeance was necessary. He did not see, as many +of the defeated Southerners saw clearly, that with the war once ended +Lincoln, with his infinite tolerance and patience, was the best friend +that the South could possibly have. + +Booth forced an entrance into the box where the President was seated +and walking up to him shot him in the head with a pistol. He then +vaulted over the rail and with the shout of "sic semper tyrannis" ran +from the stage in spite of the fact that he had broken his leg in his +fall from the box, and succeeded in escaping from the theater. The +unconscious President was tenderly lifted and carried across the street +to a house that was opposite the theater. Here at seven o'clock on the +following morning he passed away. + +That Lincoln was one of the greatest men of all time and belongs to +eternity, was realized then, but is still more deeply realized now. His +wonderful name has become a household word, not only in the United +States but everywhere. And as the mist of the confusing events that +surrounded him is clearing away in the light of history, his form is +becoming mightier and more venerable every day. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +GRACE DARLING + + +The coast of Northumberland in England is rocky and severe with lofty +flint-ledged cliffs where great waves thunder, hurling the white foam +high into the air. It is a coast that is feared by vessels and many +wrecks have taken place there. As is usual in such a locality it is the +home of brave fishermen and daring boatmen who have many thrilling +rescues to remember and many stormy encounters with the utmost fury of +the sea. But of all the tales of daring that are talked of by the +fisher folk, the bravest of all was performed by a girl whose name was +Grace Darling,--a name that now is known not only in the places where +she lived but all over the world. + +Grace Horsley Darling was the daughter of a lighthouse keeper named +William Darling, who tended a light on one of the Farne Islands as his +father had done before him. Grace, who was the seventh of nine +children, was born in 1815, in Bamborough, and when she was a little +girl of eleven years her father was given charge of the new light on +Longstone Rock, which was one of a series of dangerous reefs where no +vessel ever built could live when a gale was blowing. + +The highest part of Longstone Rock was only four feet above the surface +of the sea, and near at hand were twenty-three other reefs or islands, +between which the ocean tides ran in curious currents and eddys, and +where the great rollers came racing in with a tremendous roaring to +burst upon the base of the lighthouse and throw the spray high above +the light itself. It was a wild spot, even in calm weather, but when a +storm blew it became terrible. Then all communication with the mainland +was cut off, and for days at a time the only news that the outside +world had from the lonely lighthouse keeper was the yellow beam of the +lantern that shone from the top of the tower across the desolate +expanse of ugly rocks and roaring waters, where any ship that chanced +to be entrapped was caught in the grip of strange currents and pounded +into matchwood by the breakers. + +Grace did not find the life at the lighthouse unpleasant. Her father +was an intelligent and kind-hearted man who gave an eye to her +education himself, and taught her how to read and write. He was also +considered the best boatman on the whole Northumberland coast--the +bravest and most skilful, and it was partly due to his reputation in +these respects that he was made the keeper of the new light on the +Longstone with a large increase in pay and a comfortable home for his +family--for the interior of the lighthouse held several large and +pleasant rooms where the Darlings lived. All of his elder children had +gone off to make their living, and William Darling lived with his wife +and his daughter Grace, who spent her time in reading, helping her +mother with the housework, and, when it was calm, wandering over the +rocks observing the gulls, the sea weeds and the strange sea creatures +that the ocean brought to the surface or that crawled and swam among +the more sheltered rock pools. + +But the confinement of the life in the lighthouse was not good for the +growing girl, and Grace never was strong and robust as would be +expected from the daughter of fishermen. Nor was she handsome. But she +possessed a kindly and winning nature, and, as will be seen, the +ability to rise to heights of greatness when necessity called on her to +do so. + +When Grace was a young woman of twenty-three a terrible storm burst +suddenly upon the coast and in the twinkling of an eye the reefs about +the lighthouse were a sea of churning foam, while the great waves +racing in from the ocean thundered so mightily at its base that it +seemed as though they must tear it from its foundations and sweep it +away. + +A short time before this gale broke, the steamer _Forfarshire_ had +sailed from Hull for Dundee in Scotland. She was commanded by a captain +named John Humble and had aboard all told about sixty-three persons, +including the passengers and crew. She was a fine new steamer, well and +strongly built, but she had put to sea with her boilers in poor +condition, and it had been intended to give them a thorough overhauling +in Dundee. + +When the steamer was off Flamborough Head the boilers commenced to +leak, and the ship's fires were extinguished. They were rekindled and +the leak repaired, but just as the _Forfarshire_ was off the Farne +Islands the gale broke with great fury. While pitching in the heavy +seas the boilers leaked terribly, the fires were again put out and the +ship became unmanageable. Sails were hoisted, but were torn to ribbons +by the wind. With no propelling power the _Forfarshire_ rolled helpless +in the trough of the sea, and was swiftly borne toward the rocks. Fog +and rain made it impossible for the sailors to see until they were in +the teeth of the breakers, and then the beam of the lighthouse showed +them the wild rocks only a short distance away. + +Nothing could save them from destruction. With a crash the steamer +drove on the Harcars rocks and remained there, the seas breaking +completely over it. Some of the crew launched a boat and escaped, +deserting their captain, the passengers and the ship. The rest clung to +what supports they could find and held on expecting instant death. + +A wave, larger than the rest, picked up the _Forfarshire_ bodily and +drove it down again upon the rocks, breaking it in two. The after half +of the vessel was swept away by the seas with many passengers and the +captain and his wife. All were lost. On the forward part of the ship +about twelve wretched persons remained in most desperate plight, the +seas breaking over them and threatening to engulf the remaining portion +of the vessel. + +When day broke the wreck could be seen from the mainland, but the +misery of the unfortunate persons who survived was even more plain to +William Darling and his family. Grace begged her father to launch a +boat and go to their assistance, but Darling, brave sailor as he was, +knew that there was little or no chance of his ever reaching the doomed +ship, and shook his head. Then Grace began to plead with her father, +telling him it would be better for him to lose his life than to pass by +people in such distress, and that she herself would go with him and +bear a hand at the oars. Darling was no coward, and the prayers and +entreaties of his daughter won the day. He decided to risk launching a +boat from the lighthouse. + +With Mrs. Darling to help them in launching their boat, Grace and her +father put forth from the lighthouse, running their boat into the sea +in the lee of the rocks, and pulling strongly for the wreck. Father and +daughter both labored at the oars, unable to speak on account of the +roar of the sea and wind, and blinded by the spray that whirled over +them. Their boat was tossed like a shuttlecock in the great waves, and +they knew that unless the shipwrecked persons could aid them it would +be impossible to return to the lighthouse. They must succeed or die, +and their chance of success was small. + +Little by little they drew near the wreck. By this time the tide had +ebbed sufficiently for the survivors to leave the ship and stand on the +slippery rocks, but already some of them had succumbed and the rest +would certainly be washed away and drowned at returning high water. As +the rescuers drew near the reef, Darling leaped ashore, and Grace kept +the frail rowboat from dashing itself to pieces against the rocks. + +Then followed the difficult task of getting the survivors into the +boat. One after one waded out as far as he dared and was pulled over +the gunwale. When the last person was aboard Darling clambered back, +and with new hands at the oars the boat was rowed back to the +lighthouse--a trip that required great strength and much time for the +current was against them. And when the light was reached, the +shipwrecked people were soon made comfortable and cared for by Grace +and Mrs. Darling, and nine lives were thus saved by the determination +of a single girl. + +In the meantime, and after the gale had abated considerably, a boat +full of fishermen put out from the shore at a place called North +Sunderland and after nearly being swamped in the high seas succeeded in +drawing near the wreck. They saw there was no living thing left aboard, +and not daring to return to the mainland in the sea then running +succeeded in reaching the lighthouse. Among them was Grace's brother, +Brooks Darling, and the heroism of his achievement and that of the +other fishermen was only exceeded by the marvelous feat of the girl +herself and of her father. In the course of a few days the fishermen +succeeded in returning to the shore, taking with them the news. + +All England rang with the fame of Grace's exploit, and letters and +gifts poured in from every side. Scores of people visited the +lighthouse. Grace was feted and admired, and a public subscription in +her benefit resulted in a gift of seven hundred pounds, or about +thirty-five hundred dollars of our money. She also received four +medals, and a large sum of money in private gifts. + +Grace and her family took their new prominence with great good sense +and modesty, and disliked the publicity which came to them. They were +astonished at the commotion their exploit had caused, for to them it +appeared little more than a part of the day's work that duty required +them to perform. + +But Grace did not live long after her exploit. Her confined life at the +lighthouse and the exposure she underwent there resulted in the disease +of consumption from which she rapidly wasted away. In spite of the best +medical aid she steadily drooped, and two years after she had done her +brave deed she died in the town of Bamborough where she had been born. + +Again a subscription was collected and a monument was erected in her +honor. Her father and mother lived to a ripe old age, reaping benefits +from the money that Grace had left them. Perhaps some of their +descendants are still tending the light at the present day, but at all +events the name of the Darlings has been made immortal by the bravery +of this girl. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE + + +The Red Cross Nurse has become a heroic figure in the world to-day and +has saved lives by hundreds of thousands in every quarter of the globe; +she has labored under fire on the battlefield and in the reek of +pestilence in the rear; her form is as familiar in war as that of the +soldier, and her name betokens every charity and kindness--but of all +the heroic women who ever bore their healing art into the dark places +and black hours of history, no name stands out with the luster of +Florence Nightingale. + +She was born in 1822 in the city of Florence in Italy, and was named +after the place where she first drew breath. Her father was William +Nightingale, an English gentleman, and her elder sister, Parthenope, +also took her name from the place where she was born, for Parthenope is +the ancient term for Naples. + +The Nightingale family did not remain long in Italy, and soon after the +birth of his youngest child William Nightingale, with his wife and two +little daughters, returned to England where the two girls spent their +childhood in a rambling old house in Derbyshire with many traditions +and stories attached to it. Here Florence conceived a love for nursing +and used to tend sick animals in the neighborhood and when she grew +older, to sit up with and cheer the sick among the cottagers. There +were not many people, even among those who were far older than herself, +who could minister to the sick with her kindness and skill, and her +fame soon was general through the neighborhood. Poor men used to come +hat in hand to the old house requesting that Miss Florence spend a few +hours with a sick wife or a young mother, and the Nightingales were +kind enough and sensible enough to allow their daughter to do the work +for which she had so evident an inclination. + +There were no trained nurses in those days, and the general business of +nursing as a profession was considered almost disreputable. Sick people +were expected to be cared for by their relatives; hospitals were +inefficient and badly run, and the comforts of the modern sickroom were +unknown. As Florence grew older she thought a great deal about these +things, and finally decided that she would do something which at that +time was regarded almost as strange as if she had declared her +intention of visiting the North Pole--she said she was going to become +a professional trained nurse, and went abroad to study nursing on the +Continent which was far ahead of England in such matters. + +In a European hospital that was more in accord with the standards we +know to-day and where comfort, skill and cleanliness went hand in hand, +Florence Nightingale nursed the sick and acquired a mastery of the +profession as it was then understood. It was so unusual for a woman of +refinement to enter such a calling that she had become known in many +places simply because she had decided to become a nurse; and after she +returned to England she was at once offered the position of +Superintendent at a Home for Sick Governesses in London. + +This home, like many another benevolent institution in those times, was +badly administered. As it constantly showed a deficit, its friends had +become discouraged in supporting it, and the subscriptions on which it +lived had been falling off. The ladies who were compelled to remain +there did not receive the care that they should have had, and were +unhappy and dispirited. This was the state of affairs when Florence +Nightingale became the Superintendent of the Home. + +In a very short time the Home was completely changed. Miss Nightingale +had personally visited the former subscribers, and secured once more +their help and patronage. She had changed the system on which the Home +had been run to such an extent that it served as a model for +institutions of its kind, and where the unfortunate women that lived +there had been on the verge of actual physical suffering, they were now +well cared for and contented. + +Then war broke out between England, France and Turkey on the one side +and Russia on the other,--a war that was brought about among other +reasons by the desire of the Russian Czar to seize and hold the port of +Constantinople. Great Britain and France supported the Turks and active +fighting commenced. The theater of war soon shifted to the Crimean +Peninsula where the British and French laid siege to the town of +Sebastopol which was Russia's most important fortress and chief base of +supplies. Before the walls of Sebastopol there took place severe +fighting, which continued until bitter winter rendered further +campaigning impossible. + +While the war was going on thousands of sick and wounded British +soldiers were pouring into the base hospitals at Scutari, where no +provision for their care had been made. With the constant flood of +wounded men, and men who were dying of dysentery and cholera, with no +medical supplies and little food, with no nurses and only a few +doctors, the condition of the British wounded soon became terrible +beyond description. As there were no field dressing stations they had +to be carried for days with their wounds undressed before they reached +the hospital, and when they arrived it was often some time before the +harassed doctors could care for them. They were brought in with their +uniforms covered with filth and blood, and were laid in long rows on +the floors of the hospital where few cots were to be found. Vermin +crawled over the floors, over the walls and over the bodies of the +helpless men. Rats gnawed the fingers of the wounded who were too weak +to drive them away. There were no conveniences of any kind and many men +died of exhaustion because no food adequate for the sick could be +prepared. All the food, we are told, consisted of beef and vegetables +boiled together in one huge caldron, into which new supplies were +thrown indiscriminately as fast as they were delivered. The bread was +moldy and the beef too tough even for well men to eat. + +Owing to the efforts of a war correspondent of the London _Times_, the +people at home were soon informed of the state of affairs in the +Crimea, and gifts and supplies poured in profusely. But owing to the +inefficiency and red tape of the War Department, the supplies were not +delivered, but lay rotting in warehouses and in the holds of vessels +while men died for the want of them. On one occasion, we are told, a +consignment of shoes for the soldiers turned out to be in women's +sizes. Improper inspections resulted in high profits, for the army +contractors made uniforms out of shoddy and leather accouterments from +paper, filled the cores of hay bales with kale stocks and cheated the +Government right and left without forbearance or conscience. + +Then the newspapers began calling for English women to go to the Crimea +and care for the sick, and Florence Nightingale heard the call. She +wrote a letter to Sydney Herbert who was Minister of War, volunteering +to organize a body of nurses and go out to the Crimea to care for the +wounded. + +Right then a curious thing happened. The War Department had already +decided that Miss Nightingale was the one person who could take charge +of the reorganization of the hospitals in the Crimea, and had written a +letter requesting her services. Offer and request crossed each other in +the mails. On the following day her appointment was officially +announced, and she was overwhelmed with proffers of assistance from all +sides. + +A large number of patriotic women volunteered to aid her, but only a +very few possessed the necessary qualifications for such a task. Of all +that offered to go Miss Nightingale was only able to accept thirty that +she considered would be capable of performing the severe tasks that lay +ahead, for she knew only too well the grim welcome she would receive at +the Crimea. + +Without farewells, quietly and at night, seen off only by a few +intimate relatives, the little group of nurses started on their +mission--the first one where women were to care for the soldiers who +had fallen in war. + +They crossed the English Channel and arrived at Boulogne in France on +the following morning, where they were given a rousing greeting by the +voluble French fish-wives, who had heard of their mission and who +crowded around them to get a sight of the angels of mercy. From there +they made their way to the seat of the war, and Miss Nightingale looked +for the first time on the hospital where she was so soon to acquire +immortal fame. + +It may well be thought that her heart sank when she saw the enormity of +the task that lay before her, for she had been sent to bring order from +chaos, plenty from want, comfort from torture and cleanliness from +wholesale filth. She had to contend not only with these awful +conditions, but with the dislike and distrust of the medical officers +with whom she was to work, who resented the fact that a woman had been +sent out to reorganize what they considered a part of their department, +and who doubted, because she was a woman, that she would be capable of +doing so efficiently. + +And when she arrived there was no time to spend in preliminary +planning, for active fighting had been going on at the front and the +wounded from recent battles were pouring in, adding to the confusion +that already existed. They were laid groaning in hallways and on the +bare ground until such time as the doctors could look after them. + +Then Florence Nightingale, hardly taking breath, plunged into the task +that awaited her and sent her nurses to the quarters where they were +most needed. With their own hands these brave Englishwomen scrubbed the +reeking floors and supervised the work of the orderlies. They visited +the quartermasters and obtained the supplies that had been tied up +through faulty administration and through army red tape, and in a short +time they had established a diet kitchen where several hundred sick and +wounded men could have the food they required, food that would save +their lives. + +The death rate, we are told, before this woman nurse and her little +company arrived at the hospital was sixty percent of all the cases that +were treated there--and after she had effected the changes that she saw +were necessary, the death rate was only one percent--a fact in itself +that speaks more loudly than any words for her efficiency and her +bravery. + +At times this indomitable woman was on her feet for twenty hours out of +the twenty-four, supervising, directing, taking the last message of +some dying soldier for his family, feeding another who was too weak to +feed himself. The doctors who had been her opponents soon looked up to +her and became her devoted friends, and the men who had been through +such terrible sufferings thought she was indeed an angel from heaven, +and, as she passed down the long wards would furtively kiss her shadow +as it fell across their blankets. Many a time she took charge of cases +that had been given up by the doctors, who turned their attention +always to those whom they believed had a fighting chance for life, and +she nursed them back to life with a patience and a tenderness that the +doctors could not spare. + +From the ships and warehouses there commenced to appear the comforts +that sick men demanded--sheets and nightgowns, socks and pillows; in +the place of the nauseous beef stew, the wounded began to get broths +and jellies. Should they die they were sure of a woman's hand and a +kindly ministration at the last, for Florence Nightingale had resolved +that no man should die unattended in her hospital. And the wonders she +performed were heard of back in England, where her name became +national. + +She had gone to Scutari in 1854. In May, 1855, she visited other +hospitals that were nearer the seat of war and went into the trenches +themselves before Sebastopol. One of her biographers tells us that when +she entered the trenches she was warned by a sentinel to go no further, +because the enemy had the place under close watch and would certainly +open fire when they beheld a group of people at that particular point. + +"My good young man," replied Miss Nightingale, "more dead and wounded +have passed through my hands than I hope you will ever see on the +battlefield during the whole of your military career; believe me, I +have no fear of death." + +Then she fell ill with Crimean fever, and through the army the news was +received with more consternation than a severe defeat. Men broke down +and cried like children when they heard that Miss Nightingale lay at +the point of death, and the Commander in Chief, Lord Raglan, rode +through sleet and mud for hours to visit her personally. She did not +die, however, but recovered to take up again her duties as chief nurse +and organizer. + +When the war was ended Miss Nightingale remained at the Crimea until +the last soldiers were sent home, and then, and not till then, she +followed them. After most of the men had left and only a few remained +she still worked faithfully to serve them, establishing "reading huts" +and places of recreation such as the Red Cross and the Y.M.C.A. +established in France and Belgium in the course of the World War some +sixty years later. + +As a matter of fact the work performed by Miss Nightingale was +indirectly responsible for the birth of the Red Cross which was +organized in Switzerland some four years after she had finished her +work at the Crimea, and certainly no name in the Red Cross, in spite of +the host of noble men and women who have served there, has ever equaled +the glory of her own. + +She returned to England quietly as she had left, although a British +Government placed a battleship at her service--and she lived in England +engaged in useful and philanthropic work for a great many years. With a +fund of about $250,000 she founded the Nightingale Home for the proper +training of nurses, a fund that she could have doubled or trebled had +she so desired, or if the needs of the home had required it. In the +following years she was frequently consulted on hospital organization +in the armies not only of Great Britain but of Continental nations as +well. She died in 1910, one of the great figures among the heroines of +history. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +FATHER DAMIEN + + +Many are the stories of brave doctors and ministers who have sacrificed +themselves in times of pestilence and plague, caring for the sick, +allowing experiments to be performed on their own bodies, and giving +their lives without fear in the hope of saving invalids and sufferers; +but no story is more thrilling than that of the Belgian priest named +Father Damien. + +Father Damien's real name was Joseph de Veuster, and he was born in the +year 1840, in the little village of Tremeloo in Belgium, not far from +the city of Louvain that became famous in the World War when the +Germans sacked it, burned its university and murdered its inhabitants. + +A strong religious impulse ruled the de Veuster family, and out of +three children two were destined for a religious life. As a matter of +fact all three finally entered the service of the Church--a girl named +Pauline who entered a convent and two brothers, Auguste and Joseph, who +became respectively Father Pamphile and Father Damien. + +Originally the parents of these three children had decided that Auguste +was to become a priest and Joseph was to enter business and be a +merchant, but it could easily be seen the priesthood was also the life +for Joseph, who had a serious and contemplative nature even when very +young, and spent much of his time in prayer and meditation. On one +occasion, when only four years old, Joseph had been found on his knees +before the altar of the church when it was supposed that he had +wandered away from home and been lost in the woods or the fields about +the town, and when still a young boy he was fond of taking long walks +by himself in the fields and of herding sheep until he became known as +"the little shepherd." + +When Joseph was eighteen his sister Pauline left home to enter the +convent, and even before that time his brother had gone to Paris to +study at the home of the Picpus Fathers. Joseph himself, in accordance +with his parents' design that he was to become a business man, went to +a town in France called Braine le Comte to learn the rudiments of a +commercial career and to study the French language. But while he had +gone there willingly, he felt the desire for a religious life more and +more strongly, until he finally told his parents that he desired to be +a priest. It was not difficult for him to obtain their consent and +Joseph went to Paris to study at the same school that his brother had +attended. + +In Paris Joseph served as a novice and when this term was ended he went +to Louvain where his brother was already a priest in holy orders, +having adopted the name of Father Pamphile. Joseph himself planned to +take the name of Father Damien. + +For some time Joseph lived with his brother in Louvain where he +continued his studies, but he was not yet ordained as a priest when an +event took place that changed the whole course of his life and was +destined in the end to make his name famous throughout the civilized +world. + +The Picpus Fathers, like many other Catholic brothers, were great +missionaries, carrying on this service in what were then called the +Sandwich Islands, now better known as the Hawaiian Islands, under the +Government of the United States. At that time, however, the islands +formed an independent state under a native king and there was a great +deal to be done by the missionaries that went there. + +Father Pamphile received orders to go to the Sandwich Islands and +engage in missionary work. He was delighted, for this work appealed to +him and he felt that he could serve his Church better in that far +country than by remaining in Louvain where he had his parish. After his +passage had been engaged, however, Father Pamphile was smitten with an +attack of typhus fever, and found himself unable to answer the call to +foreign service when the time came. + +Now Joseph was even more ardent than his brother, and he burned to +answer this call himself, although he was not yet a priest. He asked +Father Pamphile, however, if it would be his pleasure for him to take +his place and engage in the missionary work that had been intended for +the elder brother; and Father Pamphile was only too glad to have Joseph +perform the task that his illness had rendered him unable to perform +himself. So Joseph wrote to his superiors, volunteering to go to the +Sandwich Islands in place of Father Pamphile, and soon a letter was +received consenting to the new arrangement. Wild with delight he told +his brother of what had taken place and at once commenced making his +preparations for the voyage. + +The islands to which Father Damien was bound are of the greatest +tropical beauty, and the natives have become known all over the world +for their strange customs, their unusual music and their skill in +swimming the deep blue waters that surround the land where they live. +At that time, however, they were suffering from the ravages of the most +terrible disease, perhaps, in the entire world,--certainly the one most +feared from the times of the Bible down to the present day. This was +the disease of leprosy. + +Leprosy was not a native disease in the Hawaiian Islands originally, +but had been carried there by merchants or voyagers from the Far East +where was its home, but it spread so rapidly among the natives that +before long it seemed as if the Hawaiian Islands themselves had been +the cradle of this terrible scourge. This was due, we are told, to the +hospitable habits of the islanders, who lived closely together, and to +their kindness in persisting in keeping with them those members of +their families who had already fallen its victims. At about the time +that Father Damien reached the islands, however, the Government had +taken the matter in hand, and all the lepers that could be found were +torn from their families and carried to a lonely island named Molokai. +Here they were outcasts, deserted by their friends and relatives, +living in wretchedness and desolation and, in that time, provided only +with the barest necessities of life. + +After a voyage of five months, in which his ship contended with many +gales and much rough weather, Father Damien arrived in the Sandwich +Islands and was at once made a full priest and given a parish in a wild +part of the country--a parish so large that it took him days to go from +one end of it to the other. He worked hard and soon became well known +among the natives under his care, and to his fellow churchmen as a man +of great earnestness and much physical strength. + +One day Father Damien happened to be at a meeting of churchmen which +was being addressed by the Bishop who said that he deeply regretted +that he could spare no priest to send to the Island of Molokai to the +unfortunate lepers, who seemed to be cast off there forsaken of God and +man alike and whose condition was wretched beyond belief. But Father +Damien at once arose and pointed out to the Bishop that a priest +_could_ be spared for such service, for one of the newcomers to the +islands could take charge of his own parish, while he himself, he said, +would go to Molokai and spend his life in caring for the lepers, whose +condition made his heart bleed whenever he thought of them. + +It can be imagined that a gasp of astonishment and admiration went +through the assemblage that heard this courageous offer, for the man +who volunteered for such service was going to living death--to a place +of horror and human suffering where life appeared in its most hideous +form, and where disease wrote its imprint on the human body with such a +terrible flourish that the very sight of Father Damien's future +companions was enough to strike fear to the heart's core. But Father +Damien thought little of all this; he knew that he could do much good +among the lepers, and he made the offer in simple sincerity without a +thought of himself or of the dangers that he would encounter. + +It is needless to say that it was accepted. On the spot Bishop Maigret +assigned to Father Damien the island of Molokai for a parish, and the +brave priest left on the next boat, not even having time to take with +him a change of linen or the simplest necessities of life. + +It may be thought that Father Damien's heart sank when he reached the +island. A high and gloomy cliff of rock towered above the settlement of +the lepers, and he found them living in the rudest of huts, dying from +vice as well as from disease. Water was difficult to obtain and there +were none of the conveniences and few of the necessities of life. +Moreover, in that settlement, which was one that had lost all hope, the +only law that was known was the law of despair, and those that lived +there tried to forget their unhappy lot in wild orgies and revels, +drinking a fiery spirit they distilled themselves called "Ki" which was +made from the root of a plant that grew in profusion on the island, +fighting and gambling as they chose, and dying like dogs with none to +care for them, and with little hope for even a decent burial. + +Here in this hell hole Father Damien was left to his own devices and +surrounded by the misshapen and hideous creatures for whose lives he +had sacrificed his own. Bishop Maigret accompanied him to Molokai, and +told the lepers he had brought them a new Father, who loved them so +much that he was willing to live with them and become one of them. Then +the good bishop went back to Honolulu, and Father Damien set himself +about the task that he had made his entire life work. + +As he could not sleep in the huts of the lepers, the brave priest made +his lodging on the ground beneath a pandanus tree, and calling his new +parishioners together he preached to them with brave and comforting +words, telling them that they must not despair, but make the most of +their lives as they were, and that he would help them to build better +houses and bring to them the comforts that they needed. And at once he +busied himself getting building materials from the Government, with +which trim cottages were built, and water pipes, through which he had +fresh water piped down to the settlement from a cold spring above the +cliff. He built a chapel and a dispensary, and not content with this he +bandaged the sores of the lepers with his own hands, and washed their +wounds. Through his efforts a hospital was finally provided and a +doctor came to Molokai, and following his example sisters of mercy and +brave missionaries came there to work, but for a long time Father +Damien was alone with his charges, performing rough tasks with none to +aid him, except the aid that he obtained from the lepers themselves. + +It cannot be thought that a man who performed such services could +forever escape contracting the disease, and after Father Damien had +been ten years on Molokai he found himself a victim of the scourge +against which he had so bravely and successfully contended. A visit to +the resident doctor confirmed the worst of his fears, and after that +when speaking to his congregation he used the words "we lepers," +telling them that he himself had received the cross from which they +suffered, and henceforth was one of them in something more than name. + +Although he was now an invalid, he did not fail to perform his priestly +duties until the end, but he never told his family in Belgium of the +misfortune that had befallen him. They learned it eventually from +others, and the shock of the discovery hastened his mother's death. + +After fifteen years' service among the lepers Father Damien died of the +disease, leaving behind him a name for pure self-sacrifice that has not +been surpassed since the beginning of the Christian era. He had lived +to see the leper colony grow from a ribald, obscene settlement to an +orderly hospital where as much as was possible was done for the +sufferers that were compelled to remain there. And he had the +satisfaction of knowing that others would carry on efficiently the work +that he had begun. + +But in spite of all his bravery and his self-sacrifice this heroic +priest was not without his traducers. A short time after his death a +certain missionary named Dr. Hyde made scurrilous charges against him +which were answered by that great writer, Robert Louis Stevenson, in a +letter that has become one of the classics of English literature, and +in which it was predicted that Father Damien would be made a saint by +the Church of Rome, as he is indeed a saint in the bravery and purity +of his life and his deeds. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +CATHERINE BRESHKOVSKY + + +In the year 1844 in Russia was born one of the most remarkable women of +modern times. Her full name is Ekaterina Constantinovna +Breshko-Breshkovskaya, but in America she is called Catherine +Breshkovsky, and as such she will be known in these pages. Both her +father and her mother were of noble birth, and when she was a little +girl her father had a large estate on which hundreds of serfs were held +in bondage. + +While the negroes in the United States were kept in slavery, the +peasants in Russia were in almost as bad a plight. They lived on the +estates of the great nobles and formed a part of the nobles' property. +Toiling from dawn until far into the night with frequent floggings and +browbeatings from their masters they bore the burdens of the Russian +government that gave them nothing in return. While the noblemen feasted +on the fruits of the peasants' toil, the peasants themselves starved to +death. When war came it was the peasants who furnished the armies while +the nobles themselves seldom went to the front but remained behind the +lines in safety. + +When Catherine was a little girl she saw many instances of injustice +and oppression, although the serfs on her father's estate were treated +far better than many others. She did not know why she herself had fine +clothes and delicate food, when the children of her father's servants +were ragged and dirty, and often had just enough to eat to keep them +from starving. She used to ask her parents what was the reason that +they had no work to perform, while others had to get up when the stars +were still shining and labor until long after the sun had set at night. +And why the ones who did not work were so much better off than the +others who did. And before she was eight years old, she had formed the +habit of giving away her own possessions to the children of the serfs, +who never had the pretty things with which she was surfeited. + +Before she was nine, Catherine, we are told, had read a long history of +Russia in nine large volumes, and when she was a girl of sixteen she +had made an especial study of the French Revolution and the causes that +led up to it. + +The Crimean war came, and soldiers went to the front in large numbers. +They were all taken from the families of the serfs, and while a certain +number of the noblemen went to the war as officers of the Russian army, +many others stayed at home safely, not being compelled to fight for +their country as the peasants were. And the injustice of the system was +very evident to the young girl, who even then was forming the idea of +devoting her life to aiding the suffering and oppressed people who +surrounded her. + +About the time that the Civil War began in the United States a great +change came over the peasantry in Russia, but it was a change that +seemed to do them little good. The Russian Czar issued a proclamation +in 1861 in which he declared that all serfs in his dominions were at +liberty, and if they chose could leave the estates of their former +masters and seek work where they wished. + +But the serfs were worse off than ever before, because in the +proclamation nothing was said about the land on which they had been +living and which belonged to the nobles. They knew no trade except that +of tilling the soil, and now that they were no longer the property of +the nobles, their land was taken away from them and they had no means +by which they could earn a living. Then terrible scenes commenced to be +enacted. The serfs were ruthlessly driven from their homes and when +they sought to remain were beaten in great numbers, being flogged so +severely with the knout that many of them died as a result. Most of +them were densely ignorant, and reading and writing were far beyond +their knowledge. They could not understand why the land on which they +had always lived and worked was taken from them, and why they were now +denied even the bitter bread that they had formerly been able to earn. + +Among the Russian nobility, however, were many high minded young men +and women, who like Catherine felt the injustice of the serfs' hard lot +and desired to help them. These young people formed into philanthropic +bands, and went into the villages to teach the serfs, help them with +their labor, minister to them in sickness and to make their condition +better in every way possible. Thousands of boys and girls of gentle +birth flocked to the Russian Universities and from there went to +befriend the serfs. Throughout the younger generation a different +feeling existed toward the common people than ever before in Russian +history. + +Catherine's father himself was liberal in his views and had already +done what he could to alleviate the sufferings of his former bondsmen. +When Catherine came to him and told him that she did not think that she +could endure living in idleness any longer, but desired to support +herself, he consented, and the girl who all her life had been used to +the greatest luxuries went away to become a governess in the house of a +nobleman, where she could live honestly by the fruits of her own labor. + +Her father did not long consent to this, however, and helped her to +open a boarding house for girls, where she taught school until she was +twenty-five years old when she was married. Her husband was a young +nobleman who sympathized with her liberal ideas, and himself had done a +great deal to better the condition of the Russian people. He helped his +wife work for the peasants and began a cooperative banking scheme by +which they might benefit. + +But Catherine grew more and more discontented with the terrible +conditions that surrounded her on every side. She happened to go to the +city of Kiev to visit her sister and she took her meals at a student's +boarding house. She heard a great deal of discussion of the condition +of Russia there and saw a great many young students who were interested +in public affairs. And one day she held a secret meeting of students in +her room to talk over what more could be done to make Russia a better +place to live in. + +While the younger generation had been striving in every way possible to +help the serfs, the Russian Government did all in its power to hinder +them. This government was then an absolute autocracy, which means that +it was under the complete control of one ruler and a few advisors. The +Czar of Russia knew that when his people grew better educated and more +enlightened his own power would grow less, so he did all that he could +to keep them in the state of darkness and ignorance in which they had +languished for centuries. When young noblemen and girls sought to teach +or help the peasants, they met with obstacles on every side, and many +of them were treated with great severity by the officers of the Czar. +This naturally angered them, and they began to form plans to overthrow +the Czar's power, since they saw that any real progress would be +impossible so long as the regime that then existed remained in force. +In short they became revolutionists; and Catherine herself was well on +the road to becoming one. + +When Catherine came home from Kiev she and her husband conducted a +series of meetings in which they made speeches to the peasants and +labored harder than ever to improve their condition, but this soon +brought them under the eye of the Czar's spies, and they were warned +that they had better discontinue their efforts and let the peasants +take care of themselves. And this was the final event that determined +Catherine to become a revolutionist and bend all her energies to +overthrowing the Czar's government. + +She talked it over with her husband and asked him if he were ready to +throw in his lot with those who sought to change the government, saying +that she herself had resolved to do so. It meant suffering, poverty, +hardships and very probably prison or death. Her husband was unwilling +to take the risk and they parted forever. Soon after this Catherine had +a son, and on account of the life that she had chosen was obliged to +leave him with friends. It was a bitter moment for her when she gave +him up, but it only strengthened her in her purpose. + +Many revolutionists were at work in Russia at that time, and were +scattered all through the country in various disguises. They were sent +from various revolutionary centers to preach revolution to the peasants +and to kindle the flames of revolt against the Czar. Others did social +work, and sought to educate the peasants to the point where they would +have sufficient knowledge to understand the revolutionary doctrines +when they heard them--and it was in this form of work that Catherine +first engaged. + +At last, however, she entered into the more active work of the +revolutionists, and in person commenced to spread revolutionary ideas +among the common people. With two companions disguised as peasants, and +in peasant garb herself, carrying a pack crammed with revolutionary +pamphlets and literature, Catherine made her way to a little village, +where she took a small hut and pretended to be a woman who dyed +clothes. As soon as she grew to know the peasants she commenced to +preach to them and to incite them to revolution. She told them that the +Czar was an evil ruler, and that he and his nobles had always fattened +themselves at the peasants' expense; that the Russian people would +always be poor and miserable so long as the Czar remained in power; +that they had a right to the land that was taken from them, and were no +better than slaves who dared not call their souls their own--and +furthermore that their only salvation lay in rising throughout Russia, +overthrowing the Czar and establishing a government where all men +should be free and equal, and where every man would have a right to +earn his daily bread. + +When the peasants in one village failed to respond Catherine and her +comrades moved on to another town, and little by little they brought +the doctrines of revolution to the mass of ignorant people, who were +looking for some means to better themselves and realize a little of the +happiness of life. + +The life of a traveling preacher of this sort was filled with hardship. +Catherine, who had been used to every luxury, was forced to eat the +coarsest food and often to go hungry. She had to sleep in houses that +were filled with dirt and vermin. Her audiences were stupid in the +extreme, and were often as afraid of the revolutionists as they were of +the Cossacks and the Czar's officials. Moreover there was always the +danger of arrest and imprisonment, followed by exile to Siberia, or +death on the gallows. + +One day in the town of Zlatopol, where Catherine was carrying on her +revolutionary work, a police officer stopped her and demanded her +passport. This passport was forged and when she showed it he suspected +her. Then, when he commenced to treat her with the indignities to which +the peasants were accustomed she resented it, disclosing the fact that +she was from the upper classes. Her pack was torn open and the +revolutionary pamphlets were found. The case against her was complete. + +She was hurried to prison and thrown into a foul dungeon, where the +filth and suffering forced on her were indescribable. And here she was +kept for long, weary months until her case should come to trial. + +It was in this prison that she first learned the secret code that +prisoners in Russia used to communicate with one another. One day, as +she lay on the bundle of rags that formed her couch, she heard a faint +tapping on an iron pipe that ran through her cell. She responded, and +on the pipe tapped out the alphabet, one tap standing for "a", two for +"b" and so on. From this laborous method she learned another code which +was the one generally in use among the imprisoned revolutionists; and +she spent long hours communicating with friends in different parts of +the prison who were in solitary confinement like herself, and whom she +had never seen. + +At last Catherine was brought up for trial and was sentenced to exile +in Siberia. Because she told her judges that she refused to acknowledge +the authority of the Czar she was given an extra sentence of five years +at hard labor in the mines. She had already been in prison several +years awaiting trial--and out of three hundred who had been imprisoned +in the same jail more than one hundred had died or become insane. + +Catherine then commenced a weary two months journey into Siberia, where +she was first to go to prison and later remain as an exile. The +prisoners traveled in covered wagons, that jolted and bumped endlessly +over the rough roads, and at night they were thrown into roadside +jails, filthy beyond description. For eight long weeks this journey +continued until Catherine reached the prison at Kara. + +Here she was not compelled to work after all, but was forced to eat the +vilest food and wear out her soul in idleness, with no occupation +except to witness the sufferings of her companions. When her prison +term was ended she was taken to a little town called Barguzon near the +Arctic Circle, where the thermometer often dropped to fifty below zero, +and here she was kept under close guard for many years. + +Words cannot describe the misery of the Siberian exiles as Catherine +saw them--men, women and children, sick and forlorn, compelled to march +for miles over the bleak countryside, surrounded by brutal guards who +prodded them on with their bayonets. After she had been for some time +at Barguzon she tried to escape with three men who were also political +exiles, and sought to gain the Pacific coast a thousand miles away, +where she hoped she might take ship for America. She was pursued and +recaptured, and given another term in the prison at Kara on account of +her attempt to escape. + +Catherine was a young woman when she went into exile; she remained +until she was old and her hairs were gray before her term of punishment +ended. She had been in exile more than twenty years and in all that +time she had not seen one of her relatives or heard the voice of a +friend. At last she was set free. + +When she arrived at her former home she spent several months in making +visits to relatives, and once again entered the work of the +revolutionists. She was now famous in their circles and known to great +numbers of peasants who loved her dearly and called her "Grandmother." +She had many narrow escapes from the police, but her friends always +succeeded in concealing her. + +On one occasion she was hiding in a house, while the police officers +searched for her. It was the cook's day off, and Catherine, in the +cook's dress, was stirring the soup at the stove while the police +officers ranged the house to discover her. + +In 1904 she came to the United States to do what she could to spread +the work of the revolution by gaining money from Russians in America. +She received a cordial reception and made many friends among the +Americans, some of them being the most prominent men and women in the +country. The Russians themselves received her most enthusiastically +wherever she went, and she returned with $10,000 for the Cause. + +Through the double dealing of one of her supposed friends, Catherine +was arrested again in 1908 and sent once more to Siberia. She remained +there until after the outbreak of the World War, while the Germans +overran Belgium and Russia in turn. She remained, in fact, until the +revolution for which she had labored for so many years at last took +place, and the Czar was overthrown. Then she was invited to return by +the Government of Kerensky, who came into power when the Czar fell. + +Her return from Siberia with the other political exiles was like a +triumphal ovation. At every stop the train made crowds thronged about +her carriage, cheering and shouting for "the little grandmother of the +Russian Revolution," as she was called on account of her many years of +labor for the cause. On her arrival in Moscow she was placed in the +Czar's former coach of state, and was driven in triumph through the +city to the assembly of the people called the Douma, which was then +sitting. At Petrograd she was given a sumptuous apartment in the Czar's +former palace. Everywhere her name was on the lips of thousands, and +everywhere she received cheers, kisses and handclasps. It may almost +have been worth the suffering she went through to receive a triumph so +generous as that afforded her by the Russian people, who realized that +she had been one of the chief leaders of the revolutionary movement and +that her heart was bound up in its ultimate triumph. + +But the revolution did not succeed, and it was not long before Russia +was once more in the grip of a force even more deadly than that of the +former Czar. The Bolshevists soon organized and drove Kerensky from +power, and anarchy ruled throughout Russia. Catherine Breshkovsky was +declared a public enemy by the Government of Lenine and Trotsky. She +was in danger of her life if captured, as the Bolshevists were talking +of putting her to death. After an unsuccessful attempt to organize +resistance to the new government, Catherine was hidden by friends while +the Bolshevists sought her, and after traveling for six hundred miles +on horseback reached Vladivostok, where she found a steamer ready to +take her to America. Here she was again welcomed cordially and made +much of on every side, and here too she made many speeches against the +Bolshevist government. Although she is over seventy-five years old she +declares that she will still aid Russia to gain the freedom and peace +it craves and if given an opportunity she will no doubt take part in +the future development of her country. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +THEODORE ROOSEVELT + + +Among the great men who have been President of the United States, +Theodore Roosevelt holds a unique position. Although he had no great +trial to undergo in the term of his office--no trial similar to what +Washington and Lincoln were forced to endure,--he endeared himself to +his fellow countrymen almost equally with these two for his splendid +Americanism, his vitality, his kindness and the force of his +personality. After his term of office ended and when he was a simple +citizen once more, the bare word of Roosevelt's opinion had more +influence on the country than the utterance of any public man who still +held office. For the power of Roosevelt as a man and an American was +greater than any other in the nation. + +Roosevelt was born in New York City, as his fathers had been before him +for six generations. He was the son of Theodore Roosevelt, a glass +manufacturer, and of a southern girl named Martha Bulloch, who came +from Georgia. Both his father and mother were unusual people, and of a +quality to have a son whose greatness might be of the first +magnitude--but until Roosevelt had graduated from college, he showed no +signs that he was different from other boys. + +He did not even seem to have been given the same chance for success +that is granted to other boys, for from his infancy his health was +feeble, he was undersized, and nervous, and suffered so greatly from +asthma and other troubles that he was not able to attend school +regularly. + +When he was still a small boy, however, he made a resolution to gain +the bodily strength that he needed and set about conquering the +weaknesses that handicapped him. He secured a set of boxing gloves from +his father, and with great determination went to work to learn how to +defend himself from the other boys in his neighborhood, who were prone +to annoy him because he was an easy victim. He became fond of athletics +of all kinds and was intensely interested in naturalism intending at +one time to make science his life work; and he drilled himself in doing +the things that were difficult for him to do, until, though naturally +somewhat timid or shy, he did not know the meaning of the word fear, +and has been looked on as a prodigy of courage, both physical and +moral. + +Roosevelt was popular in Harvard University, and gained a number of +steadfast friends who stood by him throughout his life. He received his +degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1880, and soon after married a girl named +Alice Lee. After a brief trip to Europe, where he climbed the +Matterhorn in Switzerland, he settled down to the study of law in +Columbia University, and at the same time learned its more practical +side in the downtown law offices of a relative. + +But Roosevelt had not yet found himself. He had no love for the law, +and cast about for some career in which his natural energy could show +itself to better advantage. He no longer desired to be a naturalist, +for the scientific side of that profession was too sedentary for him. +He had wished to be an author, and for some time had been working on "A +History of the War of 1812," which was published soon after he left +Harvard. But in politics he found the career he was seeking, and soon +became influential in the Republican Club of the assembly district to +which he belonged, where, in spite of the fact that he was considered a +"silk stocking" because he was a gentleman, he gained the liking of the +political bosses and was elected to the State Assembly. + +The slightly-built young man wearing glasses and with the reputation of +a college dude was not taken seriously in the Assembly at first, but it +was not long before he had become one of its leaders and a man of +national reputation. + +He won fame in his first term by rising one day and demanding that a +certain judge be impeached. He was received with ridicule and laughter, +and was warned not to injure the party, or to make "loose charges" that +might cause trouble. He stood alone, a young and inexperienced man, +against the combined weight of machine politics in the state, and it +was practically certain that his own political future was dead as a +result of his act. But in spite of this Roosevelt demanded once more +that the judge be impeached and kept up his demand until he was +supported by certain newspapers. At last his action resulted in a +statewide cry for the impeachment of the judge, and the Assembly, which +could not afford to ignore the letters and newspaper articles which +came pouring in, was compelled to give in and do as Roosevelt had +demanded. + +At another time he was attacked by a bully and ex-prize fighter who was +hired by some of his enemies to teach him the rewards to be won from +"meddling." The result was unexpected. The bully went sprawling, +knocked down by a well directed blow from the undersized, bespectacled +young assemblyman--and some of the gang that attempted to bring aid to +the fallen also found themselves upon the floor. Roosevelt, flashing +his teeth in characteristic manner, told the little knot of his enemies +who had gathered to witness the affair that he was much obliged to +them,--that he hadn't enjoyed himself so much since he had been in the +Assembly! + +A terrible and bitter sorrow ended Roosevelt's political career for the +time being. His mother, to whom he was devotedly attached, died in +1884, and only twelve hours after this his wife, who had just borne him +a daughter, died also. Roosevelt's father had already passed away, and +this double tragedy was too much for him. He quitted politics and +bought a ranch in Dakota, where he hoped to find forgetfulness from +sorrow, and in a short time he was leading the wild life of a cowboy, +roping steers and riding horseback from the first break of dawn until +far after dark. + +For two years Roosevelt remained in his ranch on the Little Missouri +River, hunting, cow punching and engaging, heart and soul, in the free +and strenuous life of the West. He did some writing, but believed that +his political career was ended for good and all, and he believed too +that he had become a Westerner and should remain one. But he had not +been forgotten in the East, and before he was thirty years old he +returned to New York by invitation to run on the Republican ticket for +Mayor. + +He was badly beaten and for a time retired again from politics, +traveling in Europe. In London he married again, this time a girl whom +he had known from his early boyhood, named Edith Kermit Carow. + +Roosevelt was not long out of public life. Two years after he had been +beaten as Mayor he was appointed on the Civil Service Commission and +worked hard and with great ability for six years. Then he was made +President of the Police Board of New York City, where he found a fight +to his liking. The New York police were notoriously corrupt, and +Roosevelt entered with all his might into the task of reorganizing and +cleaning up his department. He was thoroughly successful and not only +left a more efficient and cleaner police, but added to the national +reputation that he had already acquired. + +Before his term as President of the Police Board had ended, he was +offered the position of Assistant Secretary of the Navy by President +McKinley, and accepted with alacrity. Roosevelt had always been a +staunch advocate of national preparedness for war, and was delighted to +have the opportunity of aiding this cause himself. He did what he could +for the navy and it was due to him, more than to any other man, that +Admiral Dewey was so well supplied with fuel and munitions when war +broke out with Spain that he was able to attack the Spanish fleet in +Manilla Bay without delay. + +But Roosevelt was not content with working at a desk when his country +was at war. He recruited a regiment of cavalry called the "Rough +Riders" and made up largely from the cowboys and westerners he had +known in Dakota, although it included men from all parts of the United +States. This regiment was placed under the command of Roosevelt's +friend, Colonel Leonard Wood, and Roosevelt himself received the +appointment of Lieutenant Colonel. He could have had the command of the +regiment but did not think that he knew enough about army +administration, and it was due to Roosevelt that Leonard Wood received +the Colonelcy. + +The Rough Riders were sent promptly to Cuba, and when Col. Wood was +promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, Roosevelt took charge of the +regiment and personally led it into action at San Juan Hill, where he +fought with the utmost gallantry. As his men charged up the hill, +Roosevelt's horse was killed under him, and with drawn sword he led his +men on foot, the most conspicuous target to be seen, far ahead of his +men, yelling and cheering them on until they swarmed over the hilltop +and the Spaniards were driven from the field. + +When the war ended Roosevelt returned to New York in a blaze of glory. +The Republicans took advantage of his popularity and nominated him for +Governor of New York. He was elected by a large majority, and began at +Albany once more the work of reform that he had carried on so +courageously as a Member of the Assembly and on the Civil Service and +Police Commissions. + +It was necessary for Roosevelt to gain the good will of the party +leaders, for without the support of the Republican machine he could +accomplish little at Albany. His administration was fearless and at the +same time tactful, and he soon had a reputation for being the leading +figure in progressive American politics. But he was feared and +distrusted by many of the machine politicians, who were compelled to +recognize his ability and look on him in the light of a possible +President of the United States, so when Roosevelt's second term as +Governor ended, strong efforts were made to force on him the office of +Vice President, by which his enemies hoped he would be safely put out +of the way for four years at least, and that his political career might +be ended for good and all. + +In addition to the efforts of his enemies to gain this position for +him, Roosevelt's admirers throughout the country joined the demand, +thinking that the position was both an honor and a step forward. And +the demand was so strong that Roosevelt could not refuse, but accepted +the nomination to the huge delight of those who were afraid of him. + +Roosevelt and McKinley were elected to office in 1900. Roosevelt had +thrown himself into the campaign with characteristic energy, and had +traveled north and south and east and west almost as many miles as +would girdle the globe, while his eyeglasses and teeth were seen and +his fiery speeches heard by millions of Americans. It is said that on +this trip Roosevelt made nearly seven hundred speeches. The result was +plain. The election was a Republican landslide, and in March, 1901, +Roosevelt entered his new duties. + +Fate was against the men who had wanted him shelved, for in September +of the year when he entered office, the martyr, McKinley, was laid low +by the bullet of a red anarchist, and Roosevelt was called upon to take +up the reins of government. He was in the Adirondack Mountains at the +time of the assassination, and he made his way to Buffalo as speedily +as possible, taking a dangerous drive in the dark over a mountain road +at a full gallop. + +The eyes of the nation were now centered on this comparatively young +man, who was called to the post of Chief Executive in so trying a +manner. And Roosevelt's first public act was such as to inspire the +utmost confidence in him, for he declared that he would follow out the +McKinley policies and retain the McKinley Cabinet. Throughout his term +he strove conscientiously to keep the letter of his promise, although +it was inevitable that with his own powerful character the trend of the +administration must be changed. + +"His conduct of domestic as well as foreign affairs," says Herman +Hagedorn, "was fearless and vigorous. He saw clearly that the question +of most vital importance before the country was the control and strict +regulation of the great corporations. In the famous Northern Securities +merger he presented a test case to the Supreme Court which ultimately +opened the way for the prosecution of the other great corporations +which had violated the Sherman Anti-trust Law. His fight against the +conservative forces of both parties on this question, and kindred +matters of railroad regulation, was intensely bitter and extended +throughout his period of office. + +"His dealings with labor were equally far sighted and firm. He favored +combinations of labor as he favored combinations of capital, but stood +as firmly against lawlessness on the part of laboring men as he stood +against it on the part of capitalists. + +"'At last,' said one of the 'labor men' at a luncheon one day, 'there +is a hearing for us fellows.' + +"'Yes,' cried the President emphatically. 'The White House door, while +I am here, shall swing open as easily for the labor man as for the +capitalist _and no easier_.'" + +One of Roosevelt's greatest pieces of diplomacy that was kept secret at +the time, and is such a striking example of his complete and utter +fearlessness is his dealing with the German Kaiser in 1901, when +Germany broke off diplomatic relations with Venezuela, and prepared to +occupy Venezuelan territory by force of arms. Roosevelt called the +German Ambassador to the White House; he told him that unless the +Kaiser arbitrated the matter with Venezuela, the American fleet under +Admiral Dewey would be sent to Venezuelan waters to prevent any +hostilities that the Germans might undertake; he stated this as a fact, +he said, not as a threat, and he gave the German Government a week to +accede to his request. + +As the week passed without word from Germany, Roosevelt told the +Ambassador that in view of the Kaiser's silence, the American fleet +would sail a day earlier than had been planned, and as promptly as +cables could do the work, Germany gave in and consented to arbitration. +Roosevelt's prompt action in this matter and the courageous stand he +took with the Berlin government undoubtedly prevented war, which might, +when started, very easily have embroiled the world. + +The power of America, Roosevelt believed, was the strongest influence +against war. When he was conscious of a "veiled truculence" in the +Japanese diplomatic communications, the American battle fleet was +ordered to make a cruise around the world, ostensibly for training, but +really to show the world, and particularly the Asiatics, that the +United States had ample means to enforce its rights in all waters and +on every sea. + +"Every particle of trouble with the Japanese Government and the +Japanese press," says Roosevelt in a letter, "stopped like magic as +soon as they found that our fleet had actually sailed and was obviously +in good trim. As I told Von Tirpitz (the German admiral), I thought it +a good thing that the Japanese should know there were fleets of the +white races which were totally different from the fleet of poor +Rojestvensky." + +But Roosevelt was not a lover of war in spite of the warlike stand he +took on several occasions. And his efforts in bringing about peace +between Japan and Russia resulted in the award to him of the Nobel +Peace Prize of $40,000. + +The constructive work he accomplished while in office is too great to +be even sketched in these brief pages. It was in Roosevelt's term, +however, that the famous Panama Canal was begun and pushed toward +completion. + +When his administration had ended and he was a private citizen once +more, Roosevelt started on his famous hunting trip to the jungles of +Africa, where he indulged to the full his love of excitement and his +interest in natural history. He killed lion, hippopotamus and elephant, +tracking his game on foot and having several narrow escapes from death +by infuriated and wounded wild beasts. He then toured Europe on a trip +the like of which has not fallen to the lot of any other living man, +for he was feted and cheered like a monarch wherever he went, and +received honors that never before in the history of the world had been +accorded to a man in private life. + +Roosevelt returned to America more honored and loved than any other man +in its wide boundaries, and with his usual energy he plunged once more +into the political fight. He had everything to lose and nothing to +gain, but entered the struggle with a spirit of heroism and patriotic +duty that all men must respect, whatever they think of his political +ideas. When the time came again for the Presidential struggle, +Roosevelt, who disliked the way things had been going since his term of +office, once more became a candidate, and as he was repudiated by the +Republicans he formed a party of his own which he called the +Progressive Party and ran for President against Taft and Woodrow +Wilson. + +Wilson had the solid Democratic vote behind him, and while the total of +the votes he received made him a minority president, he was able +nevertheless to win on account of the friction between Roosevelt and +Taft. And Roosevelt now retired to his home on Sagamore Hill, Long +Island, where although he was a private citizen again, his voice was +constantly heard throughout the country, with more influence on public +affairs than any other force outside the Administration. + +When time for the next election came, the Republicans nominated Hughes +and Roosevelt retired from the race to aid the fight against Wilson, +who was nevertheless reelected. In spite of his political defeat these +years may well be considered as among the greatest in Roosevelt's life. +More than any other man he stood for true Americanism, and showed a +bewildered country the straight path toward the light of patriotism. He +was among the first to condemn the German outrages, to silence the +voices of supine pacifists and plead for action on the part of the +American Government. He was the staunchest advocate of national +preparedness, and we may say that the military training camps that gave +America officers for the war were fathered by Roosevelt as well as by +his friend and comrade in arms, General Wood, who was sponsor of "The +Plattsburg Idea." + +Before this, however, Roosevelt's restless spirit took him again into +the wilderness, and with a body of chosen companions he had explored +the Brazilian jungles and penetrated wilds where no white man had ever +set foot before. In this journey, however, Roosevelt fell ill to a +severe attack of tropical fever that even his robust frame and vigorous +constitution could not shake off. He was now a sick man and growing +old, but his bodily weakness did not hinder his strong voice that was +so bravely uplifted in behalf of the best ideals of his country. + +When the war broke out with Germany Roosevelt wished to go. He offered +to raise and train a force for service on European battlefields, just +as he had done in the Spanish war, nineteen years before. His offer was +refused, and, bitterly disappointed, Roosevelt was compelled to stay at +home and watch other men fight--a fact that is thought to have hastened +his death. He had hoped that his might be the lot of dying on the field +of battle. But as he could not do this, he did the next best thing--he +sent his four sons to represent him. + +As all four were among the first to volunteer it can hardly be said, +however, that Roosevelt sent them. None the less the training they had +received at his hands is doubtless partly responsible for their +splendid service and the fact that all strove for and obtained +positions with combat troops. + +On January 6, 1919, Theodore Roosevelt died in his sleep, a prey to the +fever that he had contracted in South America and to inflammatory +rheumatism with other complications. His death caused mourning all over +the United States and brought a personal sense of loss to the heart of +every true American. Like Lincoln, Roosevelt is a man of the ages, and +his name has been made immortal. And his last message, which he read +only the night before he died, to the members of the American Defense +Society, is symbolic and typical of Roosevelt the man. + +"We have room but for one flag," he said, "the American flag--we have +room but for one loyalty and that is loyalty to the American people." + +So spoke Theodore Roosevelt a few hours before he died, and his words +sum up the work of his great life. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +EDITH CAVELL + + +As the name of Florence Nightingale became world famous at the close of +the Crimean War more than sixty years ago, the name of another English +nurse who suffered martyrdom in the World War will go down into history +with the lustre of glory and self-sacrifice surrounding it. That name +is Edith Cavell. + +Edith Cavell was born at Swardeston in Norwich, England, in 1873. Her +father was an English minister of the old school who was rector of a +single parish in Norwich for more than half a century. Edith and her +sister were brought up in strict conformance with church ideas and were +taught the value of leading useful lives and the glory of +self-sacrifice. As was customary at the time when she was a young girl +she received her education on the continent, attending school in the +city of Brussels in Belgium. She then returned to her home and remained +there until, when twenty-one years old and resolved to give her life to +some useful and benevolent occupation, she decided to become a trained +nurse and went to London to study that calling. + +She studied at the London Hospital--a place, we are told, where the +hardest and most difficult conditions prevailed, and where the nurses +were worked to the limit of their strength. She also held the position +of a nurse in two other hospitals--the Shoreditch Infirmary in Hoxton, +and the St. Pancras Infirmary; and she gained a reputation both for +hard work and efficiency, while her patients often spoke of her +gentleness and her kindness. Not content with forgetting a patient when +discharged from the hospital, Edith Cavell often followed him to his +home and continued there the lighter nursing that would assure his +convalescence. Her regular duties were severe enough but she used a +large part of her scanty leisure for such purposes as these. + +In 1906 Edith Cavell left the English hospitals, where she had made a +reputation for herself, and went back to Brussels, where she took a +position as matron in a Medical and Surgical Home. Nursing in Brussels +had been conducted hitherto by Roman Catholic Sisters of Mercy, and at +first they were inclined to look upon Miss Cavell as an untrained +outsider, but her tact, efficiency and skill soon won the hearts of +these good women, who afforded her every courtesy and entered into +cordial cooperation with her. + +Her home succeeded so well that three years after its commencement, +Miss Cavell started also a training school for nurses. She was popular +everywhere in the Belgian capital, and although Protestant, she gained +the praise of the Roman Catholic priests for the generous and unselfish +work that she performed. + +When the war broke out Miss Cavell was on a vacation with her mother. +Every year she returned twice to England to visit her family. Her +father had died by this time, but her mother was close to her heart and +she saw her as often as she could. + +"I may be looked on as an old maid," she is reported as saying, "but +with my work and my mother I am a very happy one, and desire nothing +more as long as I have these two." + +When war was declared Miss Cavell lost no time in hurrying back to +Brussels, believing that her duty called her there. She wrote a letter +commenting on the German army when it swept through Belgium--and in it +she voiced her pity for the tired, footsore German soldiers,--who were +later to slay her. Brussels became a part of the German Empire and a +tyrannical governor came there to establish his headquarters, issuing +proclamations threatening the Belgians with death for minor offenses, +and filling Brussels with spies and intrigue. Miss Cavell desired to +continue her hospital work and went to the Governor, Von Bissing, to +get permission to do so. He granted it, for the quiet English nurse +made an impression upon him. We are told that the arrogant German +formed a high opinion of her--so much so that he secretly determined to +keep her under the strictest supervision! + +From that time on spies dogged her tracks. She cared for the wounded +German soldiers and nursed a number of German officers, as well as the +Belgians who were in her care, but this made no difference to the +authorities. They were determined to detect her in some crime and +punish her. It was not fitting, they thought, that an enemy should be +engaged in works of mercy, even though they themselves might benefit +thereby. And soon spies began to come to the Governor with tales and +fabrications of the crimes that she had been committing in their eyes. +They bore witness that she had given an overcoat to a Frenchman who was +cold and hungry--and the Frenchman later escaped over the Dutch +frontier. Once she gave a glass of water to a Belgian soldier. She had +given money to poor people, perhaps to soldiers. But the main reason +that the Germans hated her was because she was held in great affection +by the people of Brussels. + +On the night of August fifth, 1915, we are told, Miss Cavell was tying +up the wounds of a wounded German soldier, when a group of armed men +entered the room and their leader told her roughly that she was under +arrest. A blow was the only response when she tried to expostulate. She +was taken to prison and placed in solitary confinement. Her arrest was +shrouded with the most careful secrecy, for the Germans did not want to +have the representatives of neutral governments, such as the United +States, know of the affair or of what they proposed to do. + +But word of her plight did reach England through a traveler, and at +once the British Government requested the American Ambassador, Dr. +Page, to get what information he could from Brand Whitlock, the +American Minister in Belgium. He went at once to the German +authorities, but they evaded his questions and waited ten days before +giving him a reply. Then the Germans sent him a statement declaring +that Edith Cavell herself had admitted giving money to English and +Belgian soldiers and furnishing them with guides to help them to the +Dutch frontier, whence they might escape into Holland and return to +England. + +This was the German statement. If what they said were true, there was +still no cause for killing the unfortunate woman in their power, for +she was not accused at any time of having been a spy. But they had +planned to try her for her life, and Mr. Whitlock soon guessed this, in +spite of the fact that the Germans kept their preparations from him so +far as possible. + +An American lawyer, Mr. de Leval, was requested by Mr. Whitlock to take +Miss Cavell's case and do whatever was possible in her behalf. He was +not allowed to see the prisoner--and was not even allowed to look at +the documents in the case until the trial began. Another lawyer, who +was a Belgian, suddenly appeared and told the Americans that there was +not the least cause for them to worry as Miss Cavell was sure to +receive only just treatment. He also promised to let them know when the +trial was to take place, and that he would keep them informed of all +the developments in the case. All these promises were broken. It is +true that he sent a note a few days before the trial telling Mr. +Whitlock that the case was about to come to court, but that is all that +he told them. He never informed them that the death sentence had been +imposed. He never came to see them afterward. And when they sought him +for an explanation and for assistance, he had disappeared. + +Miss Cavell was kept in solitary confinement for two months and then +was tried with a number of other persons who were accused of crimes +against the German Government. It was only from a private source that +Mr. de Leval learned that the trial was under way, and that the death +sentence had been given. Miss Cavell herself, we are told, was calm, +dignified and brave at the trial and faced her accusers heroically. She +was dressed in her nurse's uniform and wore the badge of the Red Cross. + +When Mr. Whitlock learned that she had been tried and sentenced to +death he did everything possible to secure her pardon, or at least a +moderation of the punishment. He wrote to Baron Von der Lancken, +pointing out in a clear and decisive manner that Miss Cavell had served +the Germans by caring for their wounded, and that the death sentence +had never before been inflicted for the crime of which she was accused. +He also wrote a note to the Baron which is as follows: + + "My dear Baron: + + "I am too ill to present my request to you in person, but I appeal + to your generosity of heart to support it and save this unfortunate + woman from death. Have pity on her. + + "BRAND WHITLOCK." + +All through the day the American Legation sent message after message to +the German authorities asking for information. They received none. At +6:20 in the evening they were told by a subordinate that the sentence +had not been given--only to learn later that it had indeed been +declared, and that Miss Cavell would face a firing squad at two o'clock +the following morning. Mr. Whitlock then urged Baron Von der Lancken to +appeal to Gen. Von Bissing to mitigate the sentence, and at eleven in +the evening he was told that Von Bissing refused to do anything to save +Miss Cavell's life. + +At the same time that the Governor denied this appeal, Edith Cavell was +allowed to see a British chaplain. She told him that she was not in the +least afraid of death and willingly gave her life for her country. Her +words resembled those of Florence Nightingale that have been quoted +elsewhere in this book. Death, she said, was well known to her, and she +had seen it so often that it was not strange or fearful to her. + +Early in the morning with her eyes bandaged Miss Cavell was led out to +face the rifles of the Huns. She wore an English flag over her bosom. +Only Germans were witnesses of the execution, but the German chaplain +who attended said that she died like a heroine. + +When her death became known, the entire civilized world was shocked and +horrified. In England this murder did more to stimulate recruiting than +anything else up to that time. All day long lines of men waited to sign +the papers of enlistment, and in Miss Cavell's home town every eligible +man was sworn into the army. + +A bitter denunciation of the German act was made by Sir Edward Grey. +The Germans themselves had only a poor excuse for what they had done. +In brief the case against the German authorities is as follows: they +had not previously inflicted the death penalty for the offense of which +Miss Cavell was accused; they had kept her in solitary confinement and +prevented her from consulting an advocate up to the time of her trial; +she was tried with great haste and with great secrecy, and after the +trial the sentence was carried out far more speedily than usual. +Moreover they had deceived Mr. Whitlock and the other members of the +American Legation, and had done so deliberately. After the execution +they refused to return the body. + +But the name of Edith Cavell has become one of the world's great names +and her fame grows brighter as time passes. In the hospital where she +was in training for her high calling a fitting memorial to her is being +prepared--it is the Edith Cavell Home to be a permanent part of the +London Hospital where she served her difficult apprenticeship. But her +chief memorial is in the hearts and minds of the British nation. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX + +KING ALBERT OF BELGIUM + + +The greatness of kings is not always proportionate to the size of the +kingdoms they rule, and their fame does not run in accord with the +breadth of their dominions, or the number of subjects who serve them. +This has been proved many times in history,--but never more +conclusively than in the little kingdom of Belgium, whose present +ruler, Albert the First, has already won glory equal to that of any +hero-king of any age. + +Until he was a young man it was never expected that Albert would ever +be King, for he was the younger son of the younger brother of King +Leopold the Second. Much would have to take place before he could win +the throne, and Albert, in consequence, was not trained for the severe +duties of a ruler. But in the end this worked good rather than harm, +for Albert received so thorough a military education that by practical +advice and prompt action he was able to save his country in the +terrible ordeal through which it passed. And as he had expected to be +no more than one of the King's subjects, he had learned the ways of the +people more intimately than he could have done if he had always been +hemmed in with the restrictions of royalty. + +When Albert was seventeen years old, his brother Baldwin died, and it +was then seen that he might indeed become King, for Leopold had no +direct male heirs. But this was not yet sure, for under certain +conditions the King had the right to appoint his successor, and he did +not decide to make Albert the heir to the throne until the Prince +married and had two sons who would ensure the permanence of the royal +Belgian family. + +Albert was born in 1875 on the Eighth of April. His father was Count +Philippe of Flanders who was Leopold's youngest brother. As a boy the +young prince received an education such as would be given to any +cultivated well bred gentleman, but as it was customary for younger +sons of princes to enter the army particular attention was paid, as we +have said, to his military training. + +The young prince attended military school, was drilled as a common +soldier and gradually worked his way up through the different grades to +the rank of Major. He was intensely interested in the profession of +arms and gave more than the required zeal and attention to its pursuit, +following his training in a regiment of Grenadiers, and instructed by +the most experienced officers. + +Albert was not only studious, but fond of all sorts of athletic sports +and exercises. He frequently visited the Tyrol for mountain climbing, +and later tried his skill on the most rugged Alps. He was fond of +shooting and shot well; he was an excellent horseman and his tall +figure was frequently to be seen astride his hunter, which he managed +with great skill. + +The possibility that he might become King had effected a change in the +young man's character, who became more reserved and serious, ardently +devoted to his studies and eager to find out as much as possible about +the lives of the people that one day he was to rule. He often lectured +on military topics. He visited the mines and viewed the working +conditions of the men that toiled incessantly underground. He watched +the fishermen at work and even accompanied them on their trips; he +worked in machine-shops and ran locomotives himself. To learn the +secrets of modern shipping he visited foreign countries and traveled in +disguise as a reporter of a newspaper, paying calls on various +shipyards and taking notes on what he saw there. + +In the year of the war between America and Spain, 1898, Albert came to +the United States and saw President McKinley, and in his travels +through our great country he paid a visit to the great financier James +J. Hill with whom he talked about the problems that confronted Belgium +and from whom he doubtless received valuable advice. He was much +impressed by his visit to America, and often talked about it afterward, +and thought out means by which the modern improvements he saw in +America might be applied to the people of Belgium. + +All this time, however, the Prince remained unmarried, and King +Leopold, who was growing old, was worried about the succession to the +throne. Finally he decided that as long as Albert was without issue he +must choose a different heir which was a royal privilege in such a +contingency, and his choice fell upon the Duc de Vendome, who had +married Albert's sister. + +But Albert, who had given no signs of attraction toward any one of the +various beautiful ladies he might have married, was soon to fall in +love and make a marriage that would gladden the heart of old King +Leopold, and please the Belgian people. + +Among other things that he had studied in his young manhood was the +science of medicine, and a year after he came to America he went to +Germany to see the clinic of a Bavarian duke named Charles Theodore, +whose skill as an occulist had made him famous throughout Europe. +Albert visited this Duke and was presented to his daughters, with one +of whom, the Duchess Elizabeth, he promptly fell in love. The passion +was mutual, and as the match was a good one from all points of view the +young couple were married in Munich on October 2, 1900, where a +celebration was held in honor of the event. When the newly wedded +couple returned to Belgium no one less than King Leopold was waiting at +the railroad station to receive them and offer his congratulations. +Leopold was now more predisposed in favor of Albert, and when a son was +born he was delighted. On the birth of a second son, the King made a +speech in which he publicly confirmed Albert's claim to the throne, and +public attention was now focussed on the Prince who was to be King. + +Albert had no intention of meddling with political affairs until he +actually should become the ruler of Belgium, and he gave scant +encouragement to those who sought to sound him and find out what his +future policies would be. While he surveyed all public affairs with a +keen eye and attentive mind, he kept the public from knowing what he +thought of them, and his mind seemed now as much of a mystery as his +personality had seemed obscure before it had been known that he was to +come to the throne. + +Albert was greatly interested in the Belgian colony in Africa and asked +permission from King Leopold to visit it and make a tour of inspection. +The King was unwilling to have the heir to the throne take so long and +presumably so dangerous a journey, but at last he consented and Albert +departed for Africa and the Congo, where he spent three arduous months +in which time, it is said, he walked more than fifteen hundred miles. +The colonists took a great liking to the tall, reserved young man who +studied all their interests and doings with such careful attention, and +the impression that Albert made upon this part of his future kingdom +was more than favorable. + +He had not been at home long before King Leopold died, and on the 23rd +of December, 1909, Albert came into his capital as King of the +Belgians. After taking the oath to guard the constitution and preserve +the territory of the Belgian nation, he made a carefully prepared and +well thought out speech, in which he declared that the Belgian monarch +must always obey the laws of the country and preserve the law with the +utmost respect and care. And the first public appearance of Albert as +King added to the good impression with which he was regarded +everywhere. + +His liberty and privacy were now over, and he was absorbed with the +affairs of his country. He had become so interested in the Congo colony +that he gave a great deal of his own money to better conditions there +and to further medical research. The Queen was busy also. With her +medical skill she visited the various hospitals and engaged in many +charitable enterprises that endeared her to the hearts of the common +people. It seemed that she could not do enough to relieve the +sufferings of others, and the humblest of her subjects came to look on +her as a member of their family, and almost literally worshipped the +ground she walked on. + +The threat of war was still far off, but Albert, who was greatly +concerned over the state of the Belgian army, did all he could to +increase its efficiency. He was not only concerned with the military +preparedness of Belgium, but observed that the Germans seemed to be +taking a firmer and firmer grip on his country. German merchants and +business men swarmed in Brussels, and it was not hard to see too that +German military experts were studying the topography of Belgium and +sending reports back to the Fatherland. + +The position of Belgium was peculiar in many ways. Not only did it lie +as a little and weak nation between the great armed powers of France +and Germany, exposed to the advance of an invading army in case of war, +since it was the most convenient way from one country to the other, but +its position on the coast made it a favorable vantage ground from which +Germany might launch an attack on England. This geographical situation +of Belgium has caused it throughout history to be the scene of some of +the greatest battles that have ever been fought, and has gained for it +the name of "the cockpit of Europe." + +Even for its size, Belgium was in a woeful state of military +unpreparedness for war, because it was supposed to be exempt from +conflict through an agreement of the great powers. All the great +nations of Europe had decided that it was safer and better to make +Belgium neutral ground, and one and all they had promised to protect +the neutrality of this little state with force of arms if necessary. +This, as we have said, had given the Belgians a feeling of security. +They believed that even if war broke out, Belgium would not be forced +into the conflict, but sinister signs of danger, like the distant +warnings of a hurricane, gradually obtruded themselves before King +Albert's clear sighted vision. He received letters, not from one but +from many sources, warning him that the Germans had decided in secret +council to send their invading armies across Belgium in case of war +with France, and he had seen only too clearly that German spies and +military experts were mapping out the country for their own secret +ends. So Albert struggled to increase the army and secured the passage +of a favorable bill in October, 1913. + +But the iron forces of Germany were forged and ready; the uniforms and +equipment of her invading hordes were packed away in her storehouses +and arsenals. Only the stroke of a pen was needed to loose the blind +forces and mighty armaments of a war greater than any that history has +known. King Albert's efforts in behalf of the Belgian army were too +late, although he did not know it at the time. + +In the summer of 1914, Albert went to Switzerland on a vacation, but +his fear that Germany was preparing for speedy war forced him to return +to Belgium in the middle of his holiday. And events soon proved that he +was justified. War leaped up over night like a devouring flame, and +immediately the German Government sent to Belgium a threat which +declared that it was the purpose of the German High Command to move +German troops across Belgium, and that the Belgians would resist at +their own peril. + +Many a ruler would have acceded to the terms that Germany gave. If a +small boy is confronted by a trained pugilist of great weight and +gigantic stature, surely none can blame the boy for consenting to the +pugilist's demands. None could have blamed King Albert if he had +yielded to such force and accepted the tyrant's terms. But the King +determined to defend his country to the last drop of Belgian blood, not +sparing his own, and the Belgians sent the following reply back to the +German war lords: + +"The German ultimatum has caused the Belgian Government deep and +painful astonishment, and Belgium refuses to believe that her +independence could only be preserved at the cost of violating her +neutrality." + +And Albert grimly added to some of his followers, "Germany appears to +believe that Belgium is a road, not a country." + +The German armies entered Belgium, and soon the roar of the guns was +heard almost from one end of the little nation to the other. King +Albert at once put on his uniform and took to the field with the +Belgian army. The Germans laid siege to the Belgian fortress of Liege, +expecting to overpower it easily. They advanced against it in mass +formation, only to be met with such a hail of machine gun fire that +they numbered their dead by thousands. The little Kingdom of Belgium +had thrust a stick between the cogs of the great German war machine, +and by doing so saved the world from a German victory. By delaying the +Germans at Liege they allowed the French the vital time to organize +their army and mobilize on the frontier, and by the splendid and +stubborn resistance that the Germans encountered in Belgium the English +too were given a breathing space. On the breast of this weak nation +fell the whole weight of the mailed fist, and while the result was +inevitable the burden was bravely supported. + +Liege fell at last, and the Germans moved onward, in spite of attacks +by the Belgians that temporarily halted them. With their great 42 +centimeter howitzers the Germans pulverized the forts that held out +against them and soon compelled King Albert to shift the seat of +Belgian Government to Antwerp. Albert himself, however, stayed in the +field with his army and when it fell back he was among the brave men +that covered the retreat. He seemed to be everywhere that he was +needed, and often in the front line the Belgian soldiers would be +cheered by the sight of their King loading and firing a rifle by their +side, in the place of some wounded comrade. + +The King combined shrewdness with bravery. He ordered Brussels not to +resist the German horde, but he fought to the knife wherever resistance +would be effective. While the British were yet far away and the French +were unable to help, Belgium alone held the enemy in check, and Belgium +was animated more by the spirit of their King than by any other cause. +It has been said in turn that each one of the Allied Nations won the +war. And this is true of them all. Without the aid of the British navy, +the bravery of the French army, the fresh strength that America lent to +the fight, the Germans must have conquered. But it is practically +certain that they would have won if Belgium had not withstood them. +With their forces once in Paris and the French and British forces +separated no human power could have triumphed against the Kaiser--and +it remained for little Belgium to delay him to such an extent that +Joffre was able at last to beat the Germans at the Marne and save the +world. + +Then the Germans turned their guns against the city of Antwerp and soon +the giant shells from the monster howitzers were picking up whole +buildings in the force of their blast and scattering bricks and timbers +broadcast in crashing explosions. Queen Elizabeth had remained with the +King, serving as a nurse in the hospitals and doing what she could to +relieve the suffering of her people, but when it was seen that Antwerp +must fall she decided to take her children to a place of safety. King +Albert's eldest son served as a private with a Belgian regiment, but +his brother and little sister were too young for any service and were +taken to England by the Queen. She refused to remain, however, but +returned to the stricken country to take her place with the remainder +of her subjects who had not yet received the yoke of German slavery. + +Albert refused to allow his army to be driven from Belgian territory. +"It would be better to die here," he declared, "than in a foreign +land." And always he was with the army, directing its strategy or +wielding a weapon himself. "My place is with my brave soldiers," he +declared. + +All through the sinister days of the war the King's spirit did not +weaken. When the Germans were pushing on again toward Paris in the +spring of 1918, he kept his head cool and his heart composed. Then the +gray lines broke, and the tide turned. The Allied Armies swept onward +and the Germans retreated pell mell to save themselves from utter ruin. +Back from the ruined villages and the oppressed and tortured +countryside the German hordes retreated, and King Albert and Queen +Elizabeth triumphantly took possession once more. Their children had +returned and the royal family had passed the last year of the war +within sound of the guns on the Nieuport front. Their hour of triumph +was now come and they entered Brussels after four years of exile. + +Their entry was planned to be as glorious and beautiful as possible and +it is needless to say with what rejoicing they were received. Allied +troops marched past in review, and the King and Queen were accompanied +by the most famous generals of the Allied armies. The soldiers of the +Belgian army were crowned with flowers when reviewed by the King that +so bravely led them. + +Peace terms were drawn up and the Germans compelled to repay the +Belgians to the last penny for the havoc and vandalism they had +wrought. And it is a kind of poetic justice that Albert was reigning, +while the Kaiser fled from his own country to cling to the skirts of +another weak little power that he would surely have violated as +remorselessly as he violated Belgium if it had chanced to stand in his +way. + +In 1919, twenty-one years after his first trip to this country, King +Albert with Queen Elizabeth came to the United States again. They +received a warm welcome from one end of the country to the other and +the good wishes of all Americans have gone back with them to the +wrecked and devastated land that they are striving to restore. Whether +King Albert will perform as great work in reconstruction as he has +already performed as a soldier and a King the future will decide, but +he has already gained an immortal place in the history of the world. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI + +MARIA BOTCHKAREVA + + +Not since the time of Molly Pitcher has there been a woman soldier so +famous in her own country as a Russian girl named Maria Botchkareva, +who fought beside the men in the Russian army in the World War and +afterward became the commander of a battalion of women soldiers, who +called themselves the "Battalion of Death." It is only because the +World War was so huge that the name of this girl is not known +everywhere. Not only did she make as good a soldier as a man, but she +was decorated for bravery. She carried to safety out of No Man's Land +on her own back nearly a hundred wounded Russians, while the shells +burst and the bullets flew around her, and in the course of the war she +was wounded four times. + +Maria Botchkareva, who is still living, was born in 1889, the daughter +of a Russian fisherman, who was originally a serf. He was too poor to +buy a wagon to market his fish, and was compelled to sell them at less +than the market price to traveling pedlers. Her mother did manual labor +for twelve hours a day to earn five cents. Starvation was constantly at +the door, and the father was of a surly and cruel disposition, and +frequently beat his wife and his little children. + +When quite a young girl Maria became a servant in the family of a +Russian army officer, and when still young she married a soldier named +Afanasi Botchkarev, who gave her her present name. He beat her so often +and treated her so brutally when he was drunk that she tried to drown +herself, but was saved because some workmen had seen her plight. +Shortly afterward she ran away from Botchkarev and worked her way to +the town of Irkutsk in Siberia. + +There she underwent many adventures. Her great strength enabled her to +work as a man in a gang of laborers who were paving the courtyard of +Irkutsk prison with asphalt, and she continued this work for a year, +until she became ill and forced to go to a hospital. + +War broke out between Russian and Germany. It was the beginning of the +great war that was to shake the entire world, and echoes and rumors of +terrible events were not long in reaching even so remote a town as +Irkutsk. Soldiers commenced to go away to the front and stories of +defeats and victories were in the air. And although Maria, unlike +Jeanne d'Arc, never heard the voices of the Saints, still a voice +within her called on her to go to war to save her country. + +But how was a woman to go to war? If it had been difficult in the +remote past when Jeanne d'Arc was alive, how much more was success +beyond her grasp in a country controlled by modern law and the +regulations of a well organized national army. But Maria dressed +herself in man's clothes and made her way back to her home, beating her +way with difficulty on trains that were crowded with soldiers, and +taking over two months to accomplish the difficult journey from +Siberia. + +When she arrived at her native village she found that her worthless +husband had been drafted into the army, taken to the front and was +listed as "missing." Nobody knew if he were alive or dead. + +Her father and mother were glad to see Maria, but exclaimed in horror +and surprise when she told them that she intended to be a soldier. + +"You are crazy," they shouted at her. "Women do not go to war! Stay at +home with us, for we are old and need your help." But in spite of their +entreaties she was obdurate, and going to a clerk in the 25th Reserve +Battalion which was quartered there, she declared to him her purpose of +enlisting and of fighting in the trenches. + +Laughter greeted her on every side. A grinning adjutant took her to the +Colonel, who received her kindly, his astonishment only equalled by his +admiration for her patriotism. + +"But women do not go to war, my dear," he ejaculated when Maria told +him her decision. + +"Nevertheless I intend to go and I desire you to enlist me," the brave +girl answered. + +The Colonel could not disobey regulations and enlist a woman in the +army, but a telegram was sent to the Czar himself, and in a short time +an answer was received from the Czar's official headquarters, +announcing that Maria Botchkareva was entitled to become a soldier in +the Russian army. + +So Maria put on her uniform and was nicknamed "Yashka," a name that +soon was known throughout her regiment. Dressed in a man's clothes and +bearing arms like a man, she went through the regular drill and fatigue +and in a very short time became proficient in handling a rifle which +increased the respect in which her comrades held her. They had +ridiculed her at first, and made life a burden to her with insults and +practical jokes, but she bore these things stolidly and at last won +their respect and affection. + +The regiment entrained for the front and Yashka went with it. A Russian +general heard of the presence of a girl soldier in its ranks and +angrily ordered that she be taken from the line and sent to the +rear--but Yashka was clever enough to point out that her enlistment had +been received by the Czar himself and so superseded the order of the +General, who wished to send her home from whence she had come. + +The regiment went into the trenches, and Maria, for the first time, +heard the roar of the cannon and the whistling of the shells. Her +comrades had jokingly told her that she would run when the first shot +was fired, but she minded the bombardment no more than any one else. +The Germans threw over large quantities of their favorite weapon, gas, +and the trenches and the hollows in the ground were filled with the +noxious vapors that it was death to breathe, but the Russians put on +their gas masks and still went forward. + +Then, after serving in the line for some time, the girl soldier had her +first experience in more active warfare, for her company was ordered +over the top to capture the German sector opposite them, and with fixed +bayonets the men moved forward under a heavy fire from the batteries of +their own artillery. It was a severe attack, bravely delivered, but +doomed to failure because the barbed wire entanglements of the enemy +had not been destroyed by the Russian shells. Men dropped by the score, +and when the company was finally compelled to retreat there were only +seventy left out of two hundred and fifty that had begun the advance. +Maria was one of the survivors, her woman's heart torn with pity at the +cries of the wounded who had been left dying in No Man's Land. Crawling +back from the shelter of the Russian trenches, she dragged a wounded +soldier to safety and returned for another. All night she toiled +bringing them in until more than fifty owed their lives to her. For +this she was recommended for a decoration for bravery, but never +received it. Later, however, she won her badge of courage for more work +of the same sort performed under heavy fire and in the face of the +greatest obstacles. + +Then her own turn came. She was wounded and sent to the rear as a +casualty. When her wound was healed she returned to the front, only to +sustain further wounds and win another decoration. On one occasion she +was captured by the Germans, but an attack freed her from their hands +after she had been a prisoner for a little over eight hours. + +In all the fighting that she had experienced this girl personally did +her share, handling a rifle with skill and on several occasions using +the bayonet with as much strength as a man. Her fame by this time had +penetrated beyond her own regiment. The name of Yashka was known +throughout the Russian army, and numbers of curious soldiers crowded +around her when she happened to go to some part of the field where she +had not previously been seen. + +Then began the terrible Russian revolution--a revolution more dreadful +than the French Terror in 1793. The Czar was deposed, and word of this +was not long in reaching the front line, where groups of rejoicing +soldiers hastened to form councils and committees regardless of the +discipline that alone could hold them together to an extent to present +a solid front to the enemy. + +The Germans ceased firing when they learned the cause of the Russians' +celebrations, and at once commenced to fraternize with the men they had +so recently been fighting, telling the Russians that they desired peace +and that the war now would soon be over. Vodka and beer were passed +from side to side, and German and Russian soldiers strolled about in No +Man's Land without a shot being fired. Nor was this all. A pilgrimage +of inflammatory speakers and demagogues commenced to visit the ranks of +the Russians, inciting them to revolt against all authority and to +drive away their officers. The heads of the soldiers were turned, and +good and bad, brave men and cowards, joined in the confusion that was +increasing day by day, and the ruin that was sweeping over Russia's +fortunes. + +The simple heart and mind of Yashka, however, proved to be more astute +and better versed in the conduct of war than most of the Russians. She +saw what disorder was doing to the army, and worn out in spirit as well +as in body, sought leave to return from a war where there was no +fighting to her own home. + +But finally the idea came to her to form a battalion of women soldiers +and shame the men into returning to the front, from which they had been +deserting in large numbers. She thought that if the soldiers saw +Russian women in the ranks, doing battle with the enemy and proving +themselves braver than the men themselves, perhaps they would be shamed +into renewing the combat; that if women advanced in the front rank, the +men would follow and the war would be resumed. Yashka knew too well +that there could be no real peace so long as the Germans remained on +Russian soil; and that further war was the only way to drive them out +of Russia. + +Fired with her idea she went to the leading powers of the Russian +Government and asked permission to form a battalion of women soldiers, +who were to make every sacrifice, visit the most dangerous parts of the +battle front, and unhesitatingly be killed in order that the men might +follow them into battle. The Government leaders, including Kerensky, +approved of the idea; and Maria commenced to make speeches, calling on +the women to enlist beneath her standard in the "Battalion of Death," +as her new organization was to be named. + +The response was instantaneous. So many women offered to enlist that +she had difficulty in accepting all of them, and she resolutely weeded +out those that seemed unfit, enacting a strict and severe discipline, +more rigorous, in fact, than any that had been undergone by the male +soldiers. With rifles supplied by the Government, and with men acting +as drill sergeants, she trained her girls until they were well versed +in the elements of soldiering, and after they had become proficient in +the use of the rifle she prepared to entrain for the front, this time +an officer with a thousand or more soldiers under her command. + +But her system of training and the severe penalties she exacted from +her soldiers brought her into opposition to the Russian Government, +which, fatuously believing that rule by the people could be carried +into war, insisted on her forming committees in her command and +allowing her soldiers a share in the administration of the battalion. +This she refused to do, declaring that she would resign her commission +first and disband her battalion. If men were difficult to control at +the front under the committee system, how much more would this be the +case with girls, unused to discipline and more prone by nature than the +men to give way to the difficulties and the temptations of war! + +After several stormy interviews with the army chiefs and with Kerensky +himself, Yashka was allowed to have her own way, and in direct command +of her own battalion she set out for the front line. Already the +Battalion of Death had had a beneficial effect upon the soldiers at the +front, and she believed that when once her women went into action the +men would follow without question. + +When the Battalion of Death was actually in the front line Yashka saw +very quickly, however, that things were far worse than she had +imagined, for in the time that she had been recruiting and training her +new force, the army had undergone complete demoralization. There was +now open friendship between the Russians and the Germans in many +quarters of the front, and fighting was unheard of, the soldiers' +committees refusing to give their consent to any proposal of that sort. +It was in the midst of such a situation that Yashka and her women +reached the line. + +The Bolsheviki, as the revolutionists were called, had gained almost +complete control over the soldiers, and under their influence the army +had become a savage mob. Only a few loyal men remained. Soon after +Yashka's arrival the officers attempted to put her plan into operation +and launch an attack against the Germans, but the soldiers refused to +obey and the battalion of women moved out almost unsupported against +the enemy, who promptly opened a heavy fire. Their example was tardily +followed by the men and a general attack was delivered on a wide +portion of the line. After a severe fight, the women soldiers captured +the German trenches that lay in front of them, but only to be +confronted with a new and terrible difficulty,--for the supports that +they had relied upon refused to march any further, declaring that they +would defend what they had already gained from the enemy but that under +no circumstance would they attack again. This made it necessary for the +Battalion of Death to make a headlong retreat, for while they waited +for support they had nearly been surrounded by the Germans. + +Then the army, incited by the Bolshevist agitators, became completely +unmanageable. When Yashka herself opened fire on some Germans who were +walking openly through No Man's Land, the Russians on her flanks turned +their machine guns against the women and prepared to mow them down. The +usefulness of the Battalion was at an end and the lives of the girls +were in danger from the Russian soldiers. It became necessary to take +them to the rear. Even there, however, when quartered in reserve +barracks, they were not safe from interference. With vile threats and +taunts deserters and Bolshevists crowded about their quarters and were +finally driven away by a volley fired by the girls from the windows of +their barracks. + +Knowing that this action would result in an attack by the Russians, +Yashka hastily assembled her Battalion and marched them away with all +their equipment, taking concealment in a nearby wood from which the +girls were hurried to the rear and discharged in a score of stations, +making their way to their homes as best they might. Revolution now had +the upper hand, the army was completely destroyed by the revolutionary +doctrine and there was no longer any use in continuing the Battalion, +which had become a center for the attacks of friends and foes alike. + +Yashka herself returned to Petrograd where she was arrested by the +Bolsheviki, but, after a searching examination, she was allowed to +proceed to her home. She determined, however, to use all her remaining +energy in helping the few loyal Russians who were grouped under a +general named Kornilov and were now at open war with the Bolsheviki, +so, after procuring a disguise, she made her way through the Bolshevik +lines to the loyal forces. Kornilov desired her to return with word +from him for the loyalists who were hiding in many places in Russia, +but in trying to cross the lines again Yashka found herself entrapped +by her enemies. Throwing off her disguise she boldly disclosed herself +to them, saying she was on her way to undergo treatment at a hospital +for a severe wound she had received while in the Russian army. + +And then this courageous girl underwent dangers far more deadly than +any she had suffered at the front. She was tried by the Bolsheviki and +sentenced to be shot, although she had destroyed all the evidence of +her relations with Kornilov, and her foes knew nothing more about her +than that she had been commander of the woman's battalion. This alone, +however, was crime enough in their eyes to warrant her instant +execution, and with part of her clothing taken from her she stood in +line with twenty Russian officers to receive her death blow. It +happened, however, that on the Bolshevik committee that was present to +witness the execution was one of the men who had served beside her in +the trenches, and he recognized his old comrade. + +"Are you Yashka?" he asked. When she replied in the affirmative he +pulled her from the line and took her place in the squad of the +condemned, saying that they would have to shoot him before they could +shoot Yashka whom he knew and loved. After a stormy argument a reprieve +was shown to the executioners and Yashka was allowed to be taken from +the field of death and returned to prison. + +Through the intercession of friends she was sent to Moscow, and there, +after further imprisonment, was set at liberty. She had witnessed +enough of the Bolshevist horrors to be even a more bitter enemy of +their regime than she had been before. She determined to fly from +Russia and gain aid from the Allies to carry on a war against them and +the Germans alike, and with this end in view was secretly carried +aboard the American steamer _Sheridan_ and brought to the United +States. Here, for the time being, her career ends. It will remain for +the future to show if she takes further part in the affairs of her +country for which she so bravely fought, bled and suffered,--but +whether circumstances allow her to do so or not, she has carved her +name in lasting letters on the tablets of modern history. + + + + +HEROES OF FICTION + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII + +WILLIAM TELL + + +Many hundreds of years ago, at the end of the Thirteenth Century to be +exact, in the country that is now Switzerland, there lived a Swiss +hunter and herdsman named William Tell. He lived in the little town of +Burglen among the mountains, and with him lived his wife and his two +sons, who, when this story opens, were about ten and twelve years old. +William Tell was so strong that his name was known far and wide; he was +so skilful a hunter that nothing seemed ever to escape his keen arrow +when once it was on the wing; he was so venturesome a mountain climber +that the steepest precipice was not too dangerous for him; and with all +these great abilities he had a kindly disposition and was liked as well +as admired by his neighbors. + +William Tell had won more than one prize at the fairs and competitions +that were sometimes held near his town; on one occasion he had shot a +small bird on the wing with his sure arrow, for the bullseye of the +target had seemed too large for him. And so it came to pass that when +his neighbors revolted from the foreign yoke that Austria had thrown +over Switzerland Tell was one of the first to be called on by the +patriots who desired to free their country. + +Switzerland was not a single country in those days, but was divided +into the three cantons or districts of Schwyz (from which it takes its +present name) Uri and Unterwalden. The Austrians had nominally governed +the country for a long time without any dissent on the part of the +Swiss people, for the Austrian ruler, named Adolph, had treated them +extremely well and allowed them to keep their ancestral rights and +customs. + +Then, however, the Hapsburg Emperor, Albrecht, came to the throne; and +discontent and misery were soon apparent in the Swiss cantons. For the +new monarch did not follow the policy of the former king, but sent +cruel governors to rule over the honest Swiss, with secret orders to +oppress them in many ways until their love of liberty, for which they +had always been famous, might be destroyed. + +All the time that these changes were taking place, William Tell went +quietly about his affairs. He looked after his herds and hunted in the +mountains, while his wife, Hedwig, saw to his house and brought up his +two boys, William and Walter. He had everything to make him happy--a +clean and well ordered home on the side of the mountain, a devoted +wife, two manly boys, and a herd of cattle that included the most +beautiful cow for miles around. This cow was named Hifeli, and wore a +sweet toned bell about her neck. + +Driving a cow over the mountain paths was a difficult and dangerous +undertaking, and one that Tell had never entrusted to either of his +children, but as his son William seemed to be able and venturesome he +was allowed one day as a great pleasure to drive Hifeli and her calf up +to the mountain pasture. The way led along the side of a cliff, and in +one place it was so narrow that only a few inches separated those on +the path from a terrific gulf so deep that the clouds sometimes hid the +trees below it. + +While the boy was driving Hifeli over this place, with a sudden rush a +fierce eagle swooped down to attack the calf, beating the air with its +wings to drive the calf to the edge of the precipice,--and although the +lad struck at the bird of prey with his mountain staff until the air +was filled with feathers it was to no avail. The calf plunged over the +ledge and was dashed to death on the rocks beneath, where the eagle +descended and promptly reappeared flying heavily away, bearing the dead +body of the calf in its claws. But this was not all the trouble that +young Tell was to undergo, for the cow lurched toward the edge of the +precipice and sought some way to descend to the spot where she believed +the body of her calf had fallen, and try as he would young Tell could +not get her away from the spot or drive her back to her stall. + +So he tied Hifeli to a tree and went in search of his father to whom he +told the misfortune that had befallen him. Whereupon father and son +went in search of the eagle and the elder Tell slew it with an arrow +from his crossbow. And on this trip he taught his son to show no fear +of the high precipices they had to skirt or of the gulfs that had to be +crossed by fallen trees. And from that time on he instructed his son to +avoid the least sign of fear which later saved both their lives in a +curious manner. + +There was nothing that Tell hated more than the Austrian rule under the +tyrannical governors who were sent to oppress the Swiss, and he engaged +in opposing them first of all. + +One of the Swiss named Wolfshot had treacherously deserted his +countrymen and joined the Austrian cause, for which he was rewarded by +the Emperor and given a position under the Austrian Governor. In this +position he did all that he could to annoy his neighbors and frequently +insulted the Swiss women. + +On one occasion Wolfshot tried to make love to the wife of a Swiss +peasant named Baumgarten who was an honest as well as a brave man. She +ran to her husband for protection and Baumgarten in great anger went to +the room where Wolfshot was staying and slew him with an ax. Then, +taking horse, he fled for his life pursued by the Austrian guards. + +Baumgarten came to the shores of Lake Zurich and would have crossed the +lake to safety, but a terrible wind called the Fohn was blowing and the +waves of the lake rolled so high that escape by water seemed +impossible. The horsemen were close at Baumgarten's heels, and he +begged the ferryman to take him across the water in spite of the +danger, but to no avail. The ferryman replied that he would not venture +out on the lake in that storm to save the life of any one, for it was +impossible for any boat to live in the sea that was raging there. But +William Tell was present, and seeing that Baumgarten would soon be +captured by the Austrians he ran with him to the ferryboat and pushed +off just as the Austrians rode up to the shore. The boat was tossed +about like a cork, but still it lived under the powerful strokes of +Tell, who was skilful above all others with the oar; and the Austrians +were forced to go back to their castle without their prisoner, bitterly +angry at Tell for having helped the fugitive to escape them. + +This was soon brought to the ears of the new Governor named Gessler who +determined that he would entrap Tell into committing some other act by +which he could be imprisoned and put to death. To accomplish this +purpose Gessler conceived the design of placing a cap with the royal +arms of Austria upon it in the midst of the public square of the town +of Altdorf, where Tell frequently came, and of ordering all people to +bow before it as if this cap were the Emperor of Austria himself. + +Great was the anger felt by the Swiss when they heard of this infamous +design on Gessler's part--but how much more when the cap was actually +taken to the public square by a force of heavily armed soldiers and a +proclamation was read ordering all who saw it to salute it on pain of +whatever penalty the Governor saw fit to impose! + +Now Tell happened to be in Altdorf at this very time with his little +son William; and in order to avoid saluting this hated emblem, he left +town earlier than he had planned and by a street where he thought he +would not see the cap or encounter any of the Austrians who had come to +Altdorf to see that the Governor's order was enforced. As luck would +have it, however, Tell walked right into the square where the cap had +been placed and came right upon it before he noticed it. And several +Austrian men at arms stood near it. + +Without a word, leading his little son by the hand, Tell strode past +the cap without bowing his head--and was at once stopped by the +soldiers who told him he was under arrest for defying the Governor's +order and made ready to take him before Gessler for trial. But Gessler +himself had seen all this and was so eager to punish Tell that he did +not wait for the soldiers to come to him, but with his servants and +retainers hastened out into the square. + +Gessler knew Tell by sight and spoke to him by name. + +"What does this mean, Tell?" he demanded. "Have you not heard that this +cap represents the Emperor and is to be saluted by all that pass it?" + +"Aye, your Lordship," answered Tell. + +"And so you propose to add defiance of my person to your other crime?" +said the Governor. "I have you in my power now and you shall pay a dear +penalty. All the more dearly shall you pay because you go about the +streets armed with your crossbow at your side." + +"My bow is used for hunting, your Lordship," said Tell proudly, "a +right that all free men possess and have possessed from the very +earliest times." + +"I'll curb your right and your talk of freedom," said Gessler fiercely. +"Yonder is your son. Now harken to your punishment. Take your bow and +shoot an apple from the child's head." + +Now the Governor never thought that Tell could hit so difficult a mark, +and Tell himself, good shot as he was, quailed at shooting at so small +a target, when the slightest slip would cause him to kill his beloved +son. And he begged the Governor to take his property if he would or to +do what he chose to his person, but to spare an innocent boy who had +done no harm or wrong of any kind. + +Gessler, however, was inexorable, and he mocked Tell with the utmost +cruelty, telling him that such a mark should be easy for one whose fame +as a bowman had traveled through all Switzerland, as Tell's had done. + +"And mark well my words," said Gessler. "See that you hit the apple, +for if you miss it, even by a hair's breadth, then you shall die and +the boy with you." + +A groan went through the crowd that had assembled as Gessler spoke +these words. But young William himself was not afraid and went bravely +to the tree where he was to stand and with his own hand put the apple +on his head. + +"Shoot, father, why do you hesitate?" he cried. "Well do I know that +you will hit the apple." + +With a shudder Tell took his crossbow and drew two arrows from his +quiver. Then holding his breath he aimed at the living mark. + +The bowstring twanged. The arrow, like a flash of lightning, split the +apple in two halves and imbedded itself in the tree trunk. Tell had +triumphed and the deed was accomplished. Turning to Gessler and taking +his boy by the hand Tell asked leave to go his way, now that his order +had been obeyed. + +But Gessler was determined to slay Tell and was only seeking some +pretext for getting him into his power. + +"Not so fast," said the crafty governor, while he eyed the bow with +which Tell had so bravely performed the cruel operation. "Tell me, my +shrewd archer, who does not hesitate to aim at his own flesh and blood, +why did you draw two arrows from your quiver instead of one?" + +Tell drew himself to his full height and, captive as he was, the +Governor quailed beneath his glance. + +"The second arrow was for _you_ in case I had struck my son!" said Tell +fiercely. "If so much as a drop of his blood had been drawn, my second +bolt would have been lodged in your false heart." + +"Bind him!" shouted Gessler, overjoyed that Tell had delivered himself +into his hands. "In my own castle it shall be decided what sort of +death and torture he shall suffer." And with Tell led between two +horsemen the Governor's retinue went to the shore of the lake to cross +to the castle where he made his home. + +When the boat was well out in the lake, however, the same terrible wind +that so often blew upon its waters arose with the swiftness of a +thunderclap and threatened to overwhelm them all. Tell lay bound in the +boat, calmly watching what he could see of the storm, when one of the +Governor's servants told him that Tell himself was the most skilful +boatman in that part of the country and the only one who could save +them from the waves that threatened each minute to swamp them. + +At this Tell's bonds were cut and he was ordered by the Governor to +take his place at the helm and guide the boat to shore, and Gessler +added that if he brought it safely in it would serve to lessen the +punishment that he planned to inflict upon him. + +Tell did as he was ordered and took the tiller. And by his skilful +guidance the craft gradually drew near to shore. + +But Tell had planned shrewdly as he guided the boat and he gradually +drew it toward a ledge of rock that was greatly feared by all the +boatmen of the lake. When the boat was directly beneath the rock Tell +waited until a wave flung the boat on high and seizing his crossbow and +arrows he sprang from the gunwale, landed on the rock and disappeared +into the forest. + +Gessler was enraged at Tell's escape, but he and his party had all they +could do to save their lives from the fury of the lake. At last, more +by luck than skill, they drew the craft into smoother waters and he and +his retinue were saved. + +Tell, however, had formed a stern purpose while fleeing through the +forest. He knew that his own life and that of his son and perhaps of +his entire family would be lost if Gessler lived, for the Governor +would certainly send soldiers to take and slay him. So Tell resolved to +slay the governor with the same crossbow with which he had shot the +apple from his son's head. + +He waited in the woods on the edge of a ravine through which Gessler +must pass on the way to his castle at Kussnacht, for no other way led +there; and when the Governor's escort finally appeared, Tell aimed his +bow, the arrow hissed from the string and imbedded itself squarely in +Gessler's heart. The deed was accomplished surely and with skill, and +the Swiss would suffer no more from the heavy hand of the tyrant +Gessler. + +This act rang through Switzerland, and everywhere people were soon in +revolt against the power of Austria. And the ultimate result of the +action of William Tell was in the end the freedom of the Swiss people +from the oppression of Austria. And throughout Switzerland the name of +William Tell is revered to this day and there are statues in his honor, +while many a legend has been born in his name and many a great writer +has celebrated his deeds. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII + +DON QUIXOTE + + +In the year 1605 a Spanish author named Cervantes wrote the story of a +lean and elderly gentleman named Don Quixote who had the strangest +attack of madness in the world. For this Don Quixote, who lived in La +Mancha in Spain, lost his mind through reading books of chivalry, and +he so stuffed his poor weak brain with preposterous tales of knights +and giants that at last he thought he must take horse and armor and +ride through Spain righting wrongs and doing battle with all that +opposed him. + +Now this fancy of Don Quixote's was just as ridiculous as it would be +to-day to go in search of Indians upon the streets of New York or other +American cities,--for at the time when he lived there were no knights, +nor had there been any for a great many years. The people were honest +peasants and burghers who made their living much in the fashion that we +do to-day, and had forgotten all about the idle tales of dragons and of +knights that rode armed through the forests. But none the less Don +Quixote had so addled his mind with stories of bygone times that he +must needs become a knight without any delay. + +In the attic of his house he found an old suit of rusty armor that had +belonged to his grandfather, and he scoured this until it shone like +silver. He found a helmet too, and as only part of it remained he +repaired it with strips of pasteboard. Then he took an old and worn out +horse whose ribs stuck out from his hide and who was more used to +hauling vegetables than to warlike adventures, and he called the horse +by the high sounding name of "Rocinante," and really believed that the +senile old animal was a greater charger than Bucephalus, the famous +horse that bore the conqueror, Alexander. + +With his armor, a sword, a lance and a horse, all that remained for Don +Quixote was to have a fair lady to do bold deeds for, whose colors he +could wear on his lance when going into battle. A peasant girl lived +near his house whose name was Aldonca Lorenso, a fat girl of squat +figure and broad shoulders who smelled of onions, strong enough to +carry a sack of potatoes on her head. And Don Quixote decided that she +must be his lady fair, and he called her by the high sounding name of +Dulcinea del Toboso, ready to uphold the marvelous beauty that he alone +believed that she possessed, by doing battle with any man in Spain who +should deny it. + +Early one morning in the hottest part of the summer Don Quixote arose, +put on his armor, took his shield and lance and saddled Rocinante. +Then, climbing into the saddle as nimbly as his old and rheumatic +joints would allow, he rode forth in quest of adventures. After riding +all day, he approached an inn that his disordered brain transformed +before his eyes into a castle of goodly size, and riding up to the inn +door he spoke to two peasant girls who were sitting there, calling them +great ladies and saying that he would do all that they should ask of +him and protect them with his weapons. + +The girls could not understand his talk, and viewing his strange +appearance had all that they could do to withhold their laughter, but +seeing that he looked tired and worn they asked if he would like +something to eat, and on his assenting they took him into the inn and +spread supper before him. Don Quixote took off his armor, but he could +not get off his helmet which he had tied firmly on his neck with green +ribbons, and sooner than cut these he left his helmet on, so that it +was necessary for one of the girls to feed him with a spoon, and to +give him wine by pouring it into his mouth through a hollow cane that +the innkeeper prepared for this strange purpose. + +After supper Don Quixote decided that he must mount guard over his suit +of armor, spending the small hours in prayer and vigilance, in order to +become a knight, and putting it by the well in the courtyard of the +inn, he stood beside it, leaning on his sword. This caused great +inconvenience to all the guests and servants at the inn, for so +fiercely did he guard it that he allowed nobody to draw water from the +well and knocked down a peasant who approached with pails, threatening +to slay him. Whereupon the peasant's comrades, standing at a safe +distance, pelted Don Quixote with stones. + +[Illustration: DON QUIXOTE SUFFERED NOBODY TO DRAW WATER FROM THE WELL] + +All this did not please the innkeeper, and he thought of some way to +quiet the madman. At last he came up to Don Quixote and told him that +he would now make him a knight--a ceremony that the poor crazy +gentleman believed he must go through before he had any right to wander +about the country righting the wrongs of the people. And as Don Quixote +took the innkeeper for a great nobleman, he only felt pleased and +flattered at the offer and prepared to accept it without delay. + +Then the innkeeper took Don Quixote into the barn, a small boy brought +a candle and the two girls who had fed Don Quixote came in giggling to +see the ceremony. And the innkeeper pretended to read something from +his day book, in which he kept accounts of hay and grain; and bidding +Don Quixote to kneel struck him a resounding smack with the flat of the +sword between the shoulder blades. Then one of the girls, still +giggling, tied the sword about Don Quixote's middle, and said to him: +"Good sir, may you be a fortunate knight and meet success in all your +adventures." And in this way the ceremony of knighting the poor man was +concluded. + +Nearly bursting with joy Don Quixote rode away from the inn--where he +had neglected to pay for his board and lodging. And on his way an +actual adventure did befall him for he came upon a sturdy peasant +beating a boy who was tied to a tree. + +With a loud voice Don Quixote bade him desist at once and on seeing the +strange armed figure with sword and lance that threatened him, the man +stood gaping with amazement. He explained that he was beating his boy +for laziness, but the boy complained that his master had not paid him +the wages due him. + +"Pay them at once," thundered Don Quixote. "Woe betide the man who does +not give heed to my orders." Without further parley he rode off, +whereupon the man tied the boy again to the tree and gave him so severe +a beating that he left him for dead. And in this way Don Quixote +righted the first wrong that he encountered. + +Having no money or clean clothes he returned home to get these things, +and when he sallied forth a second time he took with him a simple +country fellow named Sancho Panza, who was so very stupid that he did +not understand his master's madness at all but really believed a number +of the wild tales that Don Quixote told him, notably one about an +island of which Don Quixote planned to make him governor. And with +Sancho following at his heels on a donkey Don Quixote commenced riding +up and down the countryside looking for adventures. + +In the course of their travels many adventures befell them, for the +disordered brain of the old knight errant transformed the happenings of +every day life into the scenes that he had read of in his wild romances +of chivalry. One day, as he and Sancho Panza were riding along the +road, talking of the island that Sancho was to govern when Don Quixote +should have won it by the power of his sword, they came upon thirty or +forty old-fashioned windmills that were flourishing their sail-clad +wooden arms with every breeze that blew. + +"By my faith!" exclaimed Don Quixote, "here are a group of giants that +I mean to destroy, and with the money we gain from them we will start +on our great fortunes, for I certainly shall kill them all and give you +some of the gold in payment for your services." + +"Where are the giants?" asked the puzzled Sancho Panza in amazement. + +"There, straight ahead of us, brandishing their arms in anger," shouted +Don Quixote. "Let us attack them instantly." + +"But, Master," cried Sancho Panza, "those are not giants but windmills +that turn their arms with the breeze. Have a care how you approach them +or they will unhorse you." + +"They are giants," insisted Don Quixote. "If you are afraid, go home +and I will battle with them alone." + +And driving home his spurs into the bony flanks of Rocinante he charged +the windmills so furiously that his lance was shivered in the arms of +the first of them and he and his horse after being hurled in the air +were thrown stunned and bruised upon the ground. + +Sancho Panza hurried to help the poor mad knight who could not move, so +great had been the force with which he had fallen, and coming to +himself Don Quixote sat up and seeing the windmills declared that an +enchanter had put a spell on the giants and changed them into that +form,--but nevertheless, he continued, the enchanter's wiles would +prove to be weak against his own stout will and strong right arm and he +would triumph over his enemies. + +Soon after that they came upon a company consisting of two friars of +the order of St. Benedict and a coach and retinue that was taking a +lady to the City of Seville, and seeing them Don Quixote declared that +the friars were enchanters who were carrying the lady off against her +will. Setting his lance in rest he galloped against them with such +force that if the one that met his charge had not thrown himself to the +ground he would certainly have been killed, while the other, seeing how +his companion had fared, took to his heels as fast as possible. + +Sancho Panza, when he saw the friar lying on the road, ran up to him +and soon would have stripped him of his clothes but some of the +servants hastened up and demanded what he was doing. + +"These clothes belong to me by right of conquest," said Sancho. "My +master has overthrown in fair combat him that owned them." + +The servants, knowing nothing of the laws of chivalry, fell on Sancho +with their cudgels, belabored him lustily and plucked his beard out in +handfuls, leaving the unfortunate fellow lying on the ground in far +worse plight than the friar. + +In the meantime Don Quixote was talking to the lady in the coach to +whom he swore eternal devotion. He told her that since he had rescued +her from the enchanters she must return to the town of Toboso and tell +the lady Dulcinea what he had done and the glorious feat of arms he had +performed in Dulcinea's name. But at this a Biscayan Squire rode up and +told Don Quixote to leave at once or he would soon be unable to perform +any more glorious feats because he would promptly be slain. + +And a combat began between Don Quixote and the Biscayan that nearly +ended in the death of the latter, for in spite of the carriage cushion +that the squire used as a shield, Don Quixote struck him such a +tremendous blow that he fell from his horse and lay as dead on the +ground. But the crazy knight had not come unharmed from the fight, for +part of his ear was cut away by the sword of the Biscayan. And telling +the astonished lady to take the Biscayan with her to Toboso, Don +Quixote remounted and rode away with Sancho Panza. + +For the cure of his ear Don Quixote had in mind a wonderful balsam made +of wine, oil, rosemary and salt, and he talked much with Sancho about +the marvelous properties of this nauseous compound. On the way to an +inn, however, he had another fight, this time with some carriers he +passed in the course of his journey, and both he and Sancho were well +beaten again. + +As the poor knight could not move after his last battle Sancho threw +him across the back of Rocinante and led the horse until they came to +an inn, where the innkeeper's wife, being kind hearted, dressed Don +Quixote's wounds and put him to bed. And here Don Quixote tried his +wonderful balsam and Sancho also, and both of them were made ill by the +horrible dose that rudely greeted their stomachs. + +When they came to leave the inn they had no money to pay the reckoning. +Don Quixote mounted Rocinante and rode away, but Sancho was held by the +innkeeper for payment. And calling a number of rude fellows the +innkeeper took his revenge upon the crazy knight by the mistreatment of +Sancho Panza who was tossed in a blanket until the company could toss +him no more for weariness and the laughter that his absurd plight awoke +in them. + +After this Don Quixote had many ridiculous adventures. Among them was +an attack he made upon an inoffensive barber who happened to be +carrying a brass basin for his trade that Don Quixote believed to be an +enchanted helmet. After capturing the basin Don Quixote proceeded to +wear it in place of his steel casque. He called it Mambrino's Helmet, +and his appearance in ancient armor with a basin on his head made him +appear madder than ever. + +One day he chanced to meet a group of Spanish convicts who had been +convicted for their crimes and were being taken to the galleys as a +punishment. After questioning them and learning that they were being +led away against their will Don Quixote fell on the guards who were +escorting them and attacked them so fiercely that he put them to flight +and set free the convicts. These, however, returned his kindness by a +shower of stones. They then fell upon him and stripped him of much of +his clothing, leaving, however, the armor which was of no use to them, +and so they left him. + +Now the curate and the barber of the town where Don Quixote lived were +much concerned on account of the madness of their old friend, for they +loved Don Quixote for his high spirit and his gentle ways when the most +violent fits of madness were not upon him. And so they set forth to try +and entice him to return to his home again where they hoped that +doctors could cure him of his delusions. + +To accomplish their ends they engaged the services of a young lady of +great beauty who represented to Don Quixote that she was a princess +despoiled of her kingdom, and that he must rescue her lands from the +power of a great and sour-faced giant that held them. + +The curate and the barber had disguised themselves before they met Don +Quixote so that he might not recognize them and guess their design. +They found him half stripped of his clothing and doing penance for the +beautiful Dulcinea in his shirt and drawers. He was engaged in a +useless fast in the wilderness where he cut many ridiculous capers and +was almost starved into the bargain. Sancho, he had sent away with a +letter to Dulcinea, but Sancho returned with the curate and the barber +and the young lady and together they tricked the mad knight into +returning in the direction of his native village. + +On their way, however, they stopped at an inn where yet another +adventure was to befall Don Quixote, for dreaming of the giant from +whom he was to rescue the lady's kingdom he attacked with his sword two +wine skins that were in his room and flooded his apartment with red +wine. + +Before he could be taken home, however, his madness broke out on him so +violently that still another scheme had to be employed. His friends, +disguised, crept into his chamber and tied him hand and foot. Then the +poor knight was placed in a wooden cage and borne home behind two oxen. + +Of the many adventures that Don Quixote encountered, how he broke away +from home once more and how his Squire Sancho actually did become the +ruler of an island for a brief period, it is impossible to write here. +But the name of Don Quixote, through the marvelous writer who created +this character, has become known throughout the world, and stands +to-day as the symbol for high ideals and self-sacrifice that are +carried to the point of madness and utter folly. + +Cervantes had still another design in creating Don Quixote than to make +an amusing story, for he intended to bring into ridicule and disrepute +the old-fashioned stories of chivalry with which Spain was filled at +the time he lived. And he succeeded so well that since his day not +another one has been written. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A TREASURY OF HEROES AND HEROINES*** + + +******* This file should be named 25652.txt or 25652.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/5/6/5/25652 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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