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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Ten Girls from History, by Kate Dickinson
+Sweetser, Illustrated by G. A. W.
+
+
+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: Ten Girls from History
+
+
+Author: Kate Dickinson Sweetser
+
+
+
+Release Date: May 13, 2010  [eBook #32363]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TEN GIRLS FROM HISTORY***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Emmy, D Alexander, and the Project Gutenberg Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net)
+
+
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original illustrations.
+      See 32363-h.htm or 32363-h.zip:
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/32363/32363-h/32363-h.htm)
+      or
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/32363/32363-h.zip)
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+      Characters immediately following a carat are superscripted.
+      Multiple superscritped characters are preceded by a caret
+      and enclosed in curly brackets. (Examples: Y^r, w^{ch}.)
+
+
+
+
+
+TEN GIRLS FROM HISTORY
+
+by
+
+KATE DICKINSON SWEETSER
+
+Author of "Ten Boys from History," "Ten
+Girls from Dickens," "Boys and Girls
+from Thackeray," "Boys and Girls
+from George Eliot."
+
+
+[Illustration: JOAN OF ARC]
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+New York
+Duffield & Company
+1912
+
+Copyright, 1912, by
+Duffield & Co.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+                                                              PAGE
+
+  JEANNE D'ARC: THE MAID OF FRANCE                               11
+
+  VICTORIA: A GIRL QUEEN OF ENGLAND                              41
+
+  SALLY WISTER: A GIRL OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION                69
+
+  COFACHIQUI: AN INDIAN PRINCESS OF HISTORIC LEGEND              89
+
+  JENNY LIND: THE SWEDISH NIGHTINGALE                           109
+
+  ELIZA LUCAS: A GIRL PLANTER OF THE 15TH CENTURY               123
+
+  LADY JANE GREY: THE NINE DAYS QUEEN                           147
+
+  "GENTLE ANNIE": A DAUGHTER OF THE REGIMENT                    181
+
+  MADELEINE DE VERCHÈRES: THE HEROINE OF CASTLE DANGEROUS       193
+
+  ADRIENNE DE LAFAYETTE: A YOUNG PATRIOT'S WIFE                 267
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+                                           PAGE
+
+      JEANNE D'ARC                 _Frontispiece_
+
+      COFACHIQUI                             90
+
+      LADY JANE GREY                        148
+
+      MADELEINE DE VERCHÈRES                194
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+As in the Ten Boys from History, so in this companion volume, the plan
+has been to call attention to the lives of girls who achieved some
+noteworthy success during youth, and in whose character courage was the
+dominant trait.
+
+Many authorities have been consulted in the re-telling of these stories,
+and in their presentation more attention has been paid to accuracy of
+historic fact than to the weaving of interesting romances, in the hope
+that this volume may be used as an introduction to the more detailed
+historical documents from which its sketches are taken.
+
+                                                  K. D. S.
+
+
+
+
+
+TEN GIRLS FROM HISTORY
+
+
+
+
+JEANNE D'ARC:
+
+The Maid of France
+
+
+THE peaceful little French village of Domrémy lies in the valley of the
+river Meuse, at the south of the duchy of Bar, and there five hundred
+years ago was born the wonderful "Maid of France," as she was called;
+she who at an age when other girls were entirely occupied with simple
+diversions or matters of household importance was dreaming great dreams,
+planning that vast military campaign which was to enroll her among the
+idols of the French nation as well as among heroes of history.
+
+On the parish register of an old chapel in the village of her birth can
+still be seen the record of the baptism of Jeanette or Jeanne d'Arc, on
+the sixth of January, 1412, and although her father, Jacques d'Arc, was
+a man of considerable wealth and importance in the small community of
+Domrémy, yet even so neither he nor any of the nine god-parents of the
+child--a number befitting her father's social position--could forecast
+that the child, then being christened, was so to serve her country, her
+king, and her God, that through her heroic deeds alone the name of
+Jacques d'Arc and of little Domrémy were to attain a world-wide fame.
+
+At the time of Jeanne's birth the Hundred Years' War between England and
+France was nearing its end. Victorious England was in possession of
+practically all of France north of the river Loire, while France,
+defeated and broken in spirit, had completely lost confidence in her own
+power of conquest and Charles, the Dauphin, rightful heir to the throne
+of France, had been obliged to flee for his life to the provinces south
+of the Loire. This was the result of opposition to his claim on the part
+of his mother, Isabeau, who had always hated the Dauphin, and who, in
+her Treaty of Troyes, set aside her son's rights to the throne, and
+married his sister Catherine to the King of England, thus securing to
+their children that succession to the throne which was the lawful right
+of the Dauphin.
+
+France was indeed in the throes of a great crisis, and every remote
+duchy or tiny village heard rumours of the vast struggle going on in
+their well loved land, but still the party who were loyal to the Dauphin
+looked confidently for the day when he should be crowned at Rheims,
+where French kings for a thousand years had taken oath, although still
+the opposing party was growing in power and possessions.
+
+Quiet little Domrémy lying folded in the embrace of its peaceful valley
+was thrilled by the tales of chance pilgrims passing through the
+village, who, stopping for a drink of water or a bite of food, would
+recount to eager listeners the current saying that, "France, lost by a
+woman,--and that woman, Isabeau, mother of the Dauphin,--should be saved
+by a maid who would come with arms and armour from an ancient wood."
+
+Now, towering high above little Domrémy stretches a great forest called
+the Ancient Wood, and to the village folk there was in all France no
+other Ancient Wood than this, and so when they heard the travellers'
+tales they whispered to one another in hushed voices and with
+awe-stricken faces that the Wonderful Maid of Prophecy was to come from
+their own midst, but who was she, where was she, and to whom would she
+reveal herself?
+
+Many of these queries came to the ears of children busy near their
+elders, while they spun and talked, and as Jeanne d'Arc, now grown into
+a bright intelligent young girl, listened to the prophecy and the
+questions, all else became of no importance except the plight of France
+and the restoring of the Dauphin to his rightful inheritance. But to her
+elders or companions she gave no evidence of this absorption, seeming
+entirely occupied with her out of door tasks such as tending her
+father's sheep, helping to harvest grain, or to plough the fields, or at
+other times with her mother indoors, weaving and spinning,--for there
+was plenty of work in both house and field to keep all the children
+busy.
+
+In leisure hours Jeanne played and danced and sang as merrily as the
+other children, who gathered often around the big oak tree in the
+Ancient Wood, called the "Fairies' Tree," which was the subject of many
+a song and legend. But although she was as merry and light-hearted as
+her other friends, yet she was more truly pious, for she loved to go to
+mass and to hear the church bells echo through the quiet valley, and
+often when her comrades were frolicking around the "Fairies' Tree" she
+would steal off to place an offering on the altar of Our Lady of
+Domrémy. And too, her piety took a practical form as well, and when in
+later years every act of hers was treasured up and repeated, those who
+had known her in her early girlhood had many tales to tell of her sweet
+help in times of sickness. It is said she was so gentle that birds ate
+from her hand, and so brave that not the smallest animal was lost when
+she guarded the flock.
+
+"Her mother taught her all her store of learning; the Creed and Ave and
+Pater Noster, spinning and sewing and household craft, while wood and
+meadow, forest flowers and rushes by the river, bells summoning the soul
+to think of God and the beloved saints from their altars, all had a
+message for that responsive heart."
+
+She herself has said, "I learned well to believe, and have been brought
+up well and duly to do what a good child ought to do."
+
+And too, her spirit responded throbbingly to the beauty and the mystery
+and the wonder of that life which is unseen, as well as to all tales of
+heroic deeds, and as she brooded on the sorrows of the Dauphin and of
+her beloved France, her nature became more and more quick to receive
+impressions which had no place in her routine of life, even though at
+that time with great practical bravery she was helping the villagers
+resist the invasions of bands of marauders. Then came a day when her
+life was for ever set apart from her companions. With them she had been
+running races in the meadow on this side of the Ancient Wood.
+Fleet-footed and victorious, she flung herself down to rest a moment
+when a boy's voice whispered in her ear, "Go home. Your mother wants
+you."
+
+True to her habit of obedience, Jeanne rose at once, and leaving the
+merry company walked back through the valley to her home. But it was no
+command from her mother which had come to her, and no boy's voice that
+had spoken. In these simple words she tells the story: She says, "I was
+thirteen at that time. It was mid-day in the Summer, when I heard the
+Voice first. It was a Voice from God for my help and guidance and that
+first time I heard it I was much afraid. I heard it to the right toward
+the Church. It seemed to come from lips I should reverence."
+
+Then with solemn awe she told of the great Vision which suddenly shone
+before her while an unearthly light flamed all around her, and in its
+dazzling radiance she saw St. Michael, Captain of the Hosts of Heaven
+and many lesser angels. So overwhelming was the Vision and the radiance,
+that she stood transfixed, lifting adoring eyes. Having been taught that
+the true office of St. Michael was to bring holy counsel and revelations
+to men, she listened submissively to his words. She was to be good and
+obedient, to go often to Church, and to be guided in all her future acts
+by the advice of St. Margaret and St. Catherine who had been chosen to
+be her counsellors. Then before the Vision faded, came a message so
+tremendous in its command, of such vast responsibility that it is small
+wonder if the little peasant maid lifted imploring hands, crying out for
+deliverance from this duty, until at last, white and spent, she sank on
+her knees with clasped hands, praying that this might not come to be
+true--that it might not be she who had been chosen by God to go to the
+help of the Dauphin--to lead the armies of France to victory.
+
+And yet even as she prayed she knew that it _was_ true,--that God had
+chosen her for a great work, that it was she, the peasant of Domrémy,
+who alone could restore her country and her king to their former
+greatness--and that she would carry out the divine command.
+
+For nearly four long years after Jeanne first saw her Vision, she
+remained at home, and was as lovable, helpful and more truly pious than
+ever. Often St. Margaret and St. Catherine appeared to her, and ever
+they commanded her to fulfil her great destiny as the Maid who was to
+save France, and ever her conviction that she was to carry out their
+commands grew within her, as she heard the voice more and more clearly,
+crying, "You must go, Jeanne the Maid; daughter of God, you must go!"
+
+At that time the enemy was closing in on all the French strongholds;
+even the inhabitants of little Domrémy, began to tremble at the repeated
+invasions of marauding soldiers, and the time had come to declare war
+against a foe which threatened to so completely wipe out France's
+heritage of honour.
+
+Jeanne had heard the Voice. She was now aflame with desire to obey its
+summons to duty, and to achieve this she knew that three things must be
+accomplished. First of all she must go to Robert de Baudricourt, a
+Captain of the King at Vaucouleurs, and ask him for an escort to take
+her to the Dauphin, then she must lead the Dauphin to his crowning at
+Rheims. A strange idea to be conceived by a young peasant girl, still in
+her early teens, and it is not to be wondered that in the fulfilment of
+such a destiny, Jeanne's sincerity of purpose was both sneered at and
+discredited by unbelievers in her heavenly vision.
+
+By the help of a cousin, Durand Laxart, she was able to obtain audience
+with Robert Baudricourt; in the presence of one of his knights, Bertrand
+de Poulengy, who was completely won by this girl, so tall and beautiful
+and stately in her youthful beauty, as, pale with emotion, she went
+swiftly up to Baudricourt, saying:
+
+"I have come to you in behalf of my Lord, in order that you shall bid
+the Dauphin stand firm and not risk battle with his enemies, for my Lord
+himself shall give him succour before Mid-Lent," and she added, "The
+Kingdom does not belong to the Dauphin, but to my Lord who wishes him to
+be made King. In spite of his enemies he must reign, and _I_ shall lead
+him to his consecration."
+
+Strange words these, to fall from the lips of a young girl. For a moment
+Baudricourt sat staring at her, wide-eyed, then he asked:
+
+"Who is your Lord?"
+
+"He is the King of Heaven."
+
+This was too much for the rough, practical minded Captain. The walls of
+the castle rang with his shouts of laughter, and turning to Durand
+Laxart, who by this time was crimson with shame for his kinswoman,
+Baudricourt with a gesture of dismissal said, "The girl is foolish. Box
+her ears and take her home to her father," and there was nothing left
+for Jeanne to do but to go back to Domrémy until occasion should favour
+her destiny.
+
+In July the valley was again menaced by the Burgundians, and the people
+of Domrémy fled for a refuge to a neighbouring city, while in their own
+little town there was a veritable reign of terror, and news came that
+the English were also besieging the strong old town of Orléans, which
+had always been called the "key to the Loire." If this city should fall,
+only by a miracle could France be saved, and Jeanne's Voices became more
+and more insistent. She must go at once. She must raise the siege of
+Orléans, but how?
+
+Again through the aid of Durand Laxart she obtained a second interview
+with the rough Captain of Vaucouleurs.
+
+Her assertion was as preposterous as before, but this time Baudricourt
+did not laugh, there was something haunting, powerful, in the girl's
+mystical manner, and in her dignity of bearing, which puzzled the gruff
+Captain, and made him listen, but as he offered her no help, the
+interview was fruitless, and she was obliged to return again to the
+Laxarts' home, near Vaucouleurs, where while she waited she gave what
+help she could in the household, but also went often to church, and
+often partook of the Sacrament, praying for help in her mission. Whoever
+knew her loved her, and her popularity was so widespread that the people
+of Vaucouleurs, with a growing belief in her ability to accomplish what
+no one else could for their beloved country, decided to themselves fit
+her out for her expedition to the Dauphin, and two knights, De Metz and
+Poulengy, who had become deeply attached to Jeanne, vowed to go wherever
+she might lead them.
+
+It was not safe for her to travel in a woman's clothes, so she was
+provided by the people's gifts, with a close-fitting vest, trunk and
+hose of black, a short dark grey cloak and a black cap, and her hair was
+cut after the fashion of men's wearing. Sixteen francs bought a horse
+for her, and the only bit of her old life she carried with her was a
+gold ring which her mother and father had given her.
+
+Before starting, Baudricourt's permission had to be obtained, and again
+Jeanne went to him; this time crying out:
+
+"In God's name, you are too slow for me, for this day the gentle Dauphin
+has had near Orléans a great loss, and he will suffer greater if you do
+not send me soon!"
+
+As before, Baudricourt listened to her, and enjoyed watching the play of
+emotions on her changeful face, but he said nothing either to encourage
+or to hinder her, and Jeanne knew that without further consent from him
+she must now go on her journey.
+
+At once she wrote a letter of farewell to her parents asking their
+forgiveness for doing what she knew would be against their wishes, and
+telling of the reality of her divine mission as it was revealed to her.
+She received no answer to this, but there was no attempt made to hinder
+her, and all preparations having been made, on the evening of the
+twenty-third of February, before a great crowd of spectators who had
+gathered to see her leave Vaucouleurs, the slender, calm figure in the
+page's suit stood ready to leave behind all a young girl should have of
+loving protection, for the sake of what she conceived to be a sacred
+mission.
+
+With her men around her, she mounted her horse, and as she halted for a
+moment before starting,--seeing her dignity and graceful bearing, her
+men were filled with pride in her,--even Baudricourt himself came down
+from the castle, and made the men take an oath to guard her with their
+own lives, then gave her a sword and a letter to the Dauphin.
+
+While they stood there ready to start, a man asked Jeanne:
+
+"How can you hope to make such a journey, and escape the enemy?"
+
+Quick and clear Jeanne's answer rang out, "If the enemy are on my road,
+I have God with me, who knows how to prepare the way to the Lord
+Dauphin. I was born to do this."
+
+Then with a swift signal, the solemn little cavalcade rode out into the
+night, while eyes were strained to see the last of the brave Maid, who
+conceived it her consecrated duty to go to the aid of the Dauphin, and
+her well loved land.
+
+On their way towards Chinon where the weak little Dauphin was holding
+his court, rode Jeanne and her six men, and a dangerous way it was,
+lying through a country over-run with marauding English and Burgundian
+warriors, and Jeanne's men were uneasy at escorting so young and fair a
+maid under such dangerous conditions, but Jeanne herself was unconcerned
+and fearless as they rode on into the valley of the Loire, noting on
+every side the devastation done by war and pillage. For greater safety
+they rode mostly by night, often travelling thirty miles in twenty-four
+hours,--a pretty severe test of the endurance of a girl of seventeen,
+unaccustomed to riding or of leading men-at-arms, but her courage and
+enthusiasm never flagged. With their horses' feet wrapped in cloths to
+deaden the clatter of hoofs, they went on their way as swiftly as was
+possible, and day by day the men's devotion to this Maid who was their
+leader grew deeper, as they saw the purity of her character and the
+nobility of her purpose.
+
+When they drew near Chinon, Jeanne's men spoke to one another doubtfully
+of what kind of a reception they would have. Reaching Auxerre they
+rested for a while, then travelled on to Gien, and as they journeyed, a
+report went ahead of them, that a young peasant girl called "The Maid"
+was on her way, so she said, to raise the siege of Orléans and to lead
+the Dauphin to his crowning at Rheims. Even to Orléans the report
+spread, and the inhabitants of that besieged city, now despairing of
+deliverance, felt a thrill of hope on hearing the report.
+
+Meanwhile Jeanne and her escort of six valiant men had halted near
+Chinon, while Jeanne wrote and despatched a letter to the Dauphin, in
+which she said that they had ridden one hundred and fifty leagues to
+bring him good news, and begged permission to enter his province. Then
+the next morning they rode into "the little town of great renown," as
+Chinon was called, and Jeanne remained at the Inn until the Dauphin
+should decide to receive her.
+
+Now Yolande, the King's mother-in-law, was much interested in what she
+had heard of Jeanne, the Maid, and she so influenced the Dauphin, that
+De Metz and Poulengy were allowed to have audience with him, and told
+what a fine and noble character Jeanne was, and what a beautiful spirit
+animated her slender frame, and begged him to see and trust her, saying
+that she was surely sent to save France. Their plea made a great
+impression on the Dauphin, as was evident two hours later when he sent a
+number of clergymen to cross-question her on her so-called divine
+mission, and through all the tiresome examination Jeanne bore herself
+with proud dignity and answered so clearly and so well that they could
+only entertain a profound respect for the girl whom they had expected to
+scorn. The result of this examination was that by order of the King,
+Jeanne was moved from the Inn to a wing of the Castle, and there the
+girl-soldier was treated with every respect by the courtiers, who were
+all charmed by her frank simplicity and sweetness of manner. But the
+King had not yet consented to give her an audience, and two weary weeks
+dragged away in the most tedious of all things,--awaiting the Dauphin's
+pleasure,--and Jeanne chafed at the delay.
+
+At last one happy day she was led into the great vaulted audience
+chamber of the Castle, where torches flared, and the deep murmur of
+voices together with the sea of eager upturned faces, might have made a
+less self-contained person than the Maid confused and timid. But not so
+with Jeanne, for her thoughts were solely on that mission which she had
+travelled so far to accomplish. Her page's suit was in sharp contrast to
+the brilliant court costumes worn by the ladies of the Court, but of
+that she was unconscious, and advanced calmly through the long line of
+torch bearers to within a few feet of the throne,--gave a bewildered
+glance at the figure seated before her, in the velvet robes of
+royalty--then turned away, and with a cry of joy threw herself at the
+feet of a very quietly dressed young man who stood among the ranks of
+courtiers, exclaiming, "God of his grace give you long life, O dear and
+gentle Dauphin."
+
+Quickly the courtier answered, "You mistake, my child. I am not the
+King. There he is," pointing to the throne.
+
+There was a stir and murmur in the crowd, but the Maid did not rise. She
+simply looked into his face again, saying:
+
+"No, gracious liege, _you_ are he, and no other," adding with a simple
+earnestness, "I am Jeanne, the Maid, sent to you from God to give
+succour to the kingdom, and to you. The King of Heaven sends you word by
+me that you shall be anointed and crowned in the town of Rheims, and you
+shall be lieutenant of the King of Heaven, who is the King of France."
+
+Charles the Dauphin, who in the disguise of a courtier, had attempted to
+outwit the peasant girl by placing another on his throne, stood dumb
+with wonder at this revelation of her clear vision, and with a touch of
+awe, he raised her, and drew her away from the crowd that he might
+confer with her alone, while all tendency to jest at the expense of the
+Maid and her mission died away, and the crowd were silent with wonder at
+the bearing of this peasant girl who said she had come to save France.
+
+No one ever knew what passed between Jeanne and the Dauphin during that
+interview, but it is said that he demanded a further proof of her
+inspired mission, and in reply she told him the substance of a prayer he
+had offered one morning--a prayer known to God alone--and so impressed
+by this proof of a more than mortal vision was he, that he at once led
+her again down the long audience hall, through the lines of torch
+bearers and courtiers, then bending low, kissed her hand, and with
+gracious words sent her away under a strong escort of his own guard of
+honour, having given his promise to further the cause to which Jeanne
+had dedicated her life. And just here let us glance for a moment at the
+character of Charles the Dauphin, for whom the girl of Domrémy was
+sacrificing so much.
+
+At best he was the poor imitation of a King. Being the son of a mad
+father and a weak mother he inherited such tendencies as made him
+utterly unfit to cope with the perils of the time, or to give to the
+Maid who had come to his relief such assistance as he should have given.
+
+"Never did a King lose his kingdom so gaily," said one of his soldiers,
+and although he was momentarily roused by the Maid's noble courage and
+purpose, yet he still found it far easier to loiter through days of ease
+in his château, than with prompt resolution to turn to the task in hand.
+
+Had Charles the Dauphin been the man that Jeanne d'Arc would have had
+him be, the history of the Maid of France would have been a different
+one. But even his thrill at being aided to claim his throne, was not
+strong enough to fire him with the proper spirit, and he continued to
+waste long days in idle ease, while Jeanne was fretting her heart out
+waiting for him to decide to let her start to raise the siege of
+Orléans. But delay she must, and she whiled away the tedious days by
+practising with crossbow and sword in the meadows near Chinon, and
+although she refused to wear a woman's dress until she had accomplished
+her mission, yet she was both graceful and beautiful in her knight's
+costume, which she now wore in place of the simple page's suit in which
+she had ridden to Chinon, and many admiring eyes watched her as she rode
+up and down in the green meadows, alert and graceful in every movement.
+And although he was wasting precious moments in deciding whether to
+allow her to raise the siege of Orléans or not, the Dauphin spoke often
+and intimately with her, as with a friend to whom he was deeply
+attached, and Jeanne was treated with all possible deference both by
+those of high and low degree. The young Duc d'Alençon, a noble and loyal
+courtier, was so deeply won by her sweetness and charm that his wife
+invited her to spend a few days at their home, the Abbey of St. Florent
+les-Saumur, while waiting for the decision of the Dauphin. That little
+visit was a bright spot in the long dark story of the Maid's fulfilment
+of her mission, for there, with those whose every word and act spoke of
+kindred ideals and lofty aims, the Maid unbent to the level of care-free
+normal girlhood, and ever after that there was a close comradeship
+between the Duc and Jeanne.
+
+At last the Dauphin came to a decision. To Poitiers, Jeanne must go, and
+there be examined by the French Parliament, and by the most learned men
+in the kingdom, to prove that she was capable of achieving that which
+she wished to attempt. When Jeanne heard this she cried out impatiently,
+"To Poitiers? In God's name I know I shall have my hands full, but the
+saints will aid me. Let us be off!" which showed that the Maid, for all
+her saintliness had also a very normal human degree of impatience to do
+as she had planned, and who can blame her?
+
+To Poitiers she went, and there as everywhere the people loved her for
+her goodness, her enthusiasm for the rescue of France, and for her
+unassuming piety. For long weary weeks, she was cross-examined by the
+cleverest men who could be found for the task, but ever her keen wit was
+able to bring her safely through the quagmires and pitfalls they laid
+for her to fall into; then at last it was announced that "in
+consideration of the great necessity and peril of Orléans, the King
+would make use of her help, and she should go in honourable fashion to
+the aid of Orléans."
+
+So back again to Chinon went Jeanne, overflowing with eagerness and
+hope, looking, it is said, like a handsome, enthusiastic boy in her
+page's suit, full of the joy of living, happy in the thought of hard
+work ahead, then on at last she went, with her escort of both soldiers
+and cavalry officers, to the accomplishing of her second duty. By the
+King's orders she was dressed this time in a suit of fine steel armour
+which was well suited to the lithe grace of her slim young figure, and
+over her armour she wore a "hûque" as the slashed coats worn by knights
+were called. She had her pick of a horse from the royal stables, and
+even he was decked with a steel headpiece and a high peaked saddle.
+Jeanne, de Metz and Bertrand de Poulengy, her faithful followers, were
+also fitted with special armour, which was very costly and handsome.
+
+The sword Jeanne carried was one which had been found under the altar of
+the church of St. Catherine of Fierbois, around which many legends of
+miracles clustered, but to Jeanne it was at best only a weapon, and she
+said she should never make use of it. Her great white standard was the
+thing she loved, and even when she was in the thick of the battle, she
+always carried it, with its painted figure of God throned on clouds
+holding the world in his hands, while kneeling angels on either side
+presented lilies, and above were the words, "Jhesus, Maria." On the
+other side of the banner was a shield with the arms of France, supported
+by two angels. She had also a smaller banner with a white dove on azure
+ground, holding in his beak a scroll with the words, "In the name of the
+King of Heaven."
+
+With her great white banner floating high in the carrying wind, her
+sword scabbard of cloth-of-gold, glittering in the sunlight, and the
+armour of her men-at-arms gleaming in its new splendour, the Maid set
+out for Orléans, preceded by a company of priests singing the _Veni
+Creator_ as they marched.
+
+Jeanne's plan of entry into Orléans was a very simple one. She desired
+to march right in under the great forts defending the besieged city, to
+flout the enemy, and cheer the desperate citizens by her daring. But the
+captains of her army, although they had sworn to obey her every command,
+were seasoned veterans in the art of war, and had no intention of
+carrying out any plan of campaign laid out by a girl of seventeen, so
+they wilfully disregarded her plan, and by so doing delayed their entry
+into the city for weary hours, and in the end were obliged to enter in
+the very way planned by their young Commander. When at last, at night,
+attended by troops of torch bearers, Jeanne went into Orléans sitting
+proudly erect on her great white horse, and the people of the city saw
+first the Maid who had come to their relief, they could but wonder at
+sight of her girlish figure, in its shining armour, and the radiant
+young face carried inspiration and comfort to their wearied hearts. So
+eager were they to touch her or her horse that in crowding near, a torch
+touched her banner, and set it on fire, but wheeling around lightly, she
+crushed out the flame, as though she had long been an expert in such
+deeds. Then she and her company went to the Cathedral of St. Croix to
+return thanks for having entered the city, and afterwards were lodged
+for the night at the house of the Duc's treasurer, where Jeanne shared
+the room of her host's nine-year-old daughter and slept as sweetly and
+soundly as the child herself.
+
+Then followed fifteen days of hard fighting, for the enemy manfully
+resisted the onslaught of Jeanne's army, but at last, the English,
+vanquished, were obliged to retreat, telling marvellous tales of the
+Maid who was less than an angel, more than a soldier, and only a girl
+who had done this thing.
+
+The attack on the city had begun at six in the morning and lasted for
+thirteen hours, and was indeed a marvellous assault on both sides. A
+hundred times the English mounted the walls, and a hundred times were
+thrown back into the moat, and the Maid with her floating banner, was
+everywhere at once, encouraging her men with the ringing cry, "Fear not.
+The place is yours!" Then she received a wound in her shoulder above the
+breast, and at the first flash of severe pain, like any other girl, she
+shivered with fear, and hot tears came, while they carried her off the
+field and dressed the wound. After that she was obliged to entrust her
+standard to a faithful man, but she still inspired and comforted her
+army from the position to which she had been carried, and as the sounds
+of battle deepened, above the tumult rang out her clear voice of ringing
+command,--then came victory and the retreat of the enemy. Orléans was
+delivered from the hands of the English. France still held "the key to
+the Loire," and the Maid of France had gained one of the fifteen battles
+of the world.
+
+The bells of Orléans rang out victoriously, while all the citizens in
+all the churches chanted _Te Deums_ and sang praises of the wonderful
+Maid who had saved France.
+
+In all the records of history no other girl ever reached such a height
+of glory as did Jeanne that day, and yet instead of revelling in the
+praise showered on her, and in her popularity, when the battle was over,
+she went to bed and to sleep like a tired child, and when the people saw
+how exhausted she was, they stood guard over the house where she slept,
+and would allow no traffic to disturb her rest. And from that day to
+this, the eighth of May has ever been "Jeanne d'Arc's Day" in Orléans.
+
+Jeanne had now fulfilled her second task. She had raised the siege of
+Orléans. Now for the third. Forward to the Dauphin's crowning at
+Rheims,--forward to the anointing of the rightful Sovereign of
+France!--that was her one thought and cry. But the Dauphin himself was
+in no such hurry to save his kingdom, now that the distress of the
+moment had been allayed. However, he met the Maid at Tours soon
+afterwards, and not only sang her praises for what she had done, but
+also acting on an impulse, his eyes lit with sudden fire, suddenly rose,
+and raising his sword aloft, brought it down slowly on Jeanne's
+shoulder, saying, that in so doing he joined her, her family, her kin
+and her descendants to the nobility of France, adding "Rise, Jeanne
+d'Arc, now and henceforth surnamed DU LIS, in grateful acknowledgment of
+the good blow you have struck for the lilies of France, and they and the
+royal crown and your own victorious sword shall be grouped in your
+escutcheon, and be and remain the symbol of your high nobility for
+ever."
+
+Great indeed was this honour, with all that it meant to the family of
+Jeanne, and she received it with fitting appreciation, but it was not
+what she craved; yet still the King loitered and lingered in his
+château, giving heed to the arguments of his counsellors,--who for
+reasons of their own, desired to thwart the plans of the Maid--rather
+than to her whose Voices told her that the Dauphin should set out at
+once for Rheims, while the French army was still hot with the enthusiasm
+of victory. At last seeing it was useless to wait any longer, Jeanne and
+her men were obliged to press on without any definite news of when or
+where they would be joined by the Dauphin, and three days later, after
+raising the siege of Orléans, her army took Jargeau, a town twelve miles
+from Orléans, and then marched back to Orléans to be received as
+conquering heroes.
+
+D'Alençon was given six casks of wine, the Maid four, and the town
+council ordered a robe and hûque for Jeanne of green and crimson, the
+Orléans colours. Her hûque was of green satin, and embroidered with the
+Orléans emblem,--the nettle,--and doubtless this offering was acceptable
+to the girl who with all her qualities of generalship never lost her
+feminine liking for pretty clothes.
+
+By the taking of Jargeau the southern sweep of the Loire for fifty miles
+was wiped clear of English fortresses, but the enemy still held
+Beaugency and Meung, a few miles downstream, and to their capture Jeanne
+and her forces now set out. Then with a still greater prize in view,
+they marched on towards Pâtay, a town between Meung and Rouvray, where
+they found the forces of the English massed, in consequence of which
+Jeanne called together her men for a council of war.
+
+"What is to be done now?" asked d'Alençon, with deep concern.
+
+"Have all of you good spurs?" she cried.
+
+"How is that? Shall we run away?"
+
+"Nay, in the name of God--after them! It is the English who will not
+defend themselves and shall be beaten. You must have good spurs to
+follow them. Our victory is certain," she exclaimed and added with that
+quick vision which was always the inspiration of her forces, "The gentle
+King shall have to-day the greatest victory he has ever had!"
+
+And true indeed was her prediction, for the battle of Pâtay was a great
+victory, and set the seal of assurance on the work commenced at Orléans.
+The English rout was complete. Their leaders fled and four thousand men
+were either killed or captured, and as in every battle, Jeanne's
+flaming courage and enthusiasm spurred her men on to victory, even
+though because of a wound in her foot she was not able to lead her
+forces, with her great white banner floating before them as usual. But
+she was none the less the inspiration of the day, and was also able to
+show a woman's tender pity and care for those of the enemy who were
+wounded and in their need of loving ministration turned to the gentle
+girl as to an angel sent from heaven.
+
+News of the French victories flew like wildfire over all the country.
+Three fortified towns taken, a great army of the enemy disorganised and
+put to flight, the whole country almost to the gates of Paris cleared of
+the enemy in a single brilliant week's campaign, and all through the
+commands, the inspiration, the invincible courage, the Vision of a
+slender slip of a girl! It seemed incredible except to those who had
+been with her through so many crucial tests, who had proved the fibre of
+her mental, physical and spiritual force, and reverenced her as one
+truly inspired by God's own voice.
+
+After the capture of Pâtay back again to Orléans went the victorious
+army, and there were no bounds now to the enthusiasm expressed for the
+Maid who had done such marvellous things. It was supposed that the
+Dauphin would surely meet the victors at Orléans, but he was enjoying
+himself elsewhere, and Jeanne, cruelly impatient, set off to meet him at
+St. Bênoit, on the Loire, where again she begged him to help in the
+great work on hand, and again was met with cold inaction, but
+notwithstanding this, the Maid with her dauntless purpose left the
+Court, still repeating, "By my staff, I _will_ lead the gentle King
+Charles and his company safely, and he shall be consecrated at Rheims!"
+showing that all the human weakness, which she could not have failed to
+see in the Dauphin, did not deter her in the accomplishing of a purpose
+which she felt she owed to France.
+
+Across the Loire went the Maid and her men, and then as if impelled by
+some impulse, on the twenty-ninth of June, the Dauphin suddenly followed
+her on to Champagne. To Trôyes went the army now, headed by no less
+formidable personage than the King-to-be and the Maid, and to one homage
+was paid because of his royal lineage, and to the other honour because
+of her marvellous achievements and gracious personality. Never once did
+Jeanne's martial spirit fail, or her belief in her vision weaken: even
+the Dauphin was a better and stronger man while under the spell of her
+wonder-working personality, and ever his reverence for her grew, seeing
+her exquisite personal purity, although surrounded by men and under
+circumstances which made purity difficult; and her great piety, her more
+than human achievement and her flaming spirit, gave him food for as much
+serious thought as he ever devoted to anything.
+
+"Work, and God will work," was Jeanne's motto, and faithfully did she
+live it out, working for the King as he never would have done either for
+himself or for anyone else, and on the morning of Saturday, July
+sixteenth, the Maid and the Dauphin together rode into the city of
+Jeanne's vision.
+
+At nine o'clock in the morning, on Sunday, July seventeenth, the great
+cathedral of Rheims was filled to its doors for the crowning of the
+King. The deep-toned organ and a great choir filled the Cathedral with
+music as the Abbot entered, carrying a vial of sacred oil for the
+anointing; then came the Archbishop and his canons, followed by five
+great lords, stately figures indeed, each carrying his banner, and each
+riding a richly caparisoned horse. Down the length of the aisle made for
+them, to the choir they rode, then as the Archbishop dismissed them,
+each made a deep bow till the plumes of his hat touched his horse's
+neck, and then each wheeling his steed around, they passed out as they
+had come.
+
+There was a deep hush through all the vast Cathedral, one could have
+heard a dropped pin in all that surging mass of people, then came the
+peals of four silver trumpets. Jeanne, the Maid of France, and Charles
+the Dauphin, stood framed in the pointed archway of the great west door.
+Slowly they advanced up the long aisle, the organ pealing its welcome,
+the people shouting their applause, and behind the two figures came a
+stately array of royal personages and church dignitaries, and then,
+standing before the altar, the solemn Coronation ceremony began, while
+beside the King, during the long prayers and anthems and sermons, stood
+Jeanne, with her beloved standard in her hand. The King took the oath,
+was anointed with the sacred oil, then came the bearer of the crown, and
+kneeling, offered it. For one moment the King hesitated,--was it because
+of a thought of his unworthiness, or because of the great
+responsibilities wearing it would impose? At all events, hesitate he
+did, then he caught Jeanne's eyes, beaming with all the pride and joy of
+her inspired nature, and Charles took up the crown and placed it on his
+head, while choir and organ and people made the vast building resound
+and echo with music and with shouts. Jeanne alone stood as though
+transfixed, then sinking on her knees she said:
+
+"Now, oh, gentle King, now, is accomplished the will of God, who decreed
+that I should raise the siege of Orléans, and bring you to the city of
+Rheims for your consecration, thereby showing that you are the true
+King, and that to you the realm of France should belong."
+
+And at sight of her, so young and human in her beauty, so inspired in
+that which she had done, many wept for very enthusiasm, and all hearts
+honoured her.
+
+With gracious words the King lifted her up, and there before that vast
+assemblage of nobles he made her the equal of a count in rank, appointed
+a household and officers for her according to her dignity, and begged
+her to name some wish which he could fulfil.
+
+Jeanne was on her knees again in a moment at his words, "You have saved
+the throne, ask what you will."
+
+With sweet simplicity she pleaded, "Oh, gentle King, I ask only that the
+taxes of Domrémy, now so impoverished by war, be remitted."
+
+On hearing her request, the King seemed momentarily bewildered by so
+great unselfishness, then he exclaimed:
+
+"She has won a kingdom, and crowned a King, and all she asks and all she
+will take, is this poor grace, and even this is for others. And it is
+well. Her act being proportioned to the dignity of one who carries in
+her head and heart riches which outvalue any King could give and though
+he gave his all. She shall have her way. Now therefore it is decreed
+that from this day, Domrémy, natal village of Jeanne d'Arc, Deliverer of
+France, called the Maid of Orléans, is freed from all taxation for
+ever."
+
+At this the silver horns blew a long blast, and from that day, for three
+hundred and sixty years was the little village of Jeanne's birth without
+taxation, because of her deeds of valour.
+
+On went the ceremony to an imposing finish, when the procession with
+Jeanne and the King at its head marched out of the Cathedral with all
+possible pomp and solemnity, and the great day on which Jeanne had
+fulfilled the third and greatest of those achievements to which her
+voices had called her, was over. She had led the King to his
+crowning,--and as the people of Rheims gazed on her in her silver mail,
+glittering as if in a more than earthly light, carrying the white
+standard embellished with the emblems of her belief, it seemed as though
+the Maid in her purity, and her consecration to France was set apart
+from all other human beings, not less for what she was, than for what
+she had done--and never was warrior or woman more fitly reverenced.
+
+Jeanne, the peasant maid of Domrémy, led by her vision, had marshalled
+her forces like a seasoned veteran, and with them had raised the siege
+of Orléans,--had led the King to his crowning, and yet instead of
+longing for more conquests, still further glory, in a later conversation
+with a faithful friend, she only exclaimed:
+
+"Ah, if it might but please God to let me put off this steel raiment,
+and go back to my father and my mother, and tend my sheep again with my
+sisters and brothers who would be so glad to see me!"
+
+Only that, poor child, but it could not be. Never again was she to go
+back to her simple life, but it is said that old Jacques d'Arc and
+Durand Laxart came to Rheims to gladden the Maid's heart with a sight of
+their familiar faces, and to see for themselves this child of Jacques's
+who had won so great renown.
+
+And at that time also, two of her brothers are known to have been in the
+army, of which she must needs be still the head, as the King gave a
+shameful example of never commanding it in person. Seeing that she must
+still be Commander-in-chief; immediately after the Coronation, Jeanne
+called a council of war, and made a stirring appeal for an immediate
+march on Paris. This was resisted with most strenuous and wily arguments
+for delay, to all of which the Maid cried impatiently, "We have but to
+march--on the instant--and the English strongholds, as you call them,
+along the way are ours. Paris is ours. France is ours. Give the word,
+Oh, my King, command your servant!"
+
+Even in the face of her ringing appeal there was more arguing and more
+resisting, but finally, thrilled by Jeanne's final plea the King rose
+and drawing his sword, took it by the blade and strode up to Jeanne,
+delivering the hilt into her hand, saying:
+
+"There, the King surrenders. Carry it to Paris!" And to Paris Jeanne
+might go, but the tide of success had turned, and although on the
+fourteenth day of August the French army marched into Compiègne and
+hauled down the English flag, and on the twenty-sixth camped under the
+very walls of Paris, yet now the King hung back and was afraid to give
+his consent to storming the city. Seven long days were wasted, giving
+the enemy time to make ready to defend their strongholds, and to plan
+their campaign. Then the French army was allowed to attack, and Jeanne
+and her men worked and fought like heroes, and Jeanne was everywhere at
+once, in the lead, as usual with her standard floating high, even while
+smoke enveloped the army in dense clouds, and missiles fell like rain.
+She was hurt, but refused to retire, and the battle-light flamed in her
+eyes as her warrior-spirit thrilled to the deeds of the moment.
+
+"I will take Paris now or never!" she cried, and at last she had to be
+carried away by force, still insisting that the city would be theirs in
+the morning, which would have been so, but for the treachery of him for
+whom Jeanne had given her young strength in such consecrated service.
+The Maid was defeated by her own King, who because of political reasons
+declared the campaign ended, and made a truce with the English in which
+he agreed to leave Paris unmolested and go back again to the Loire.
+
+History offers no more pathetic and yet inspiring sight than Jeanne,
+broken by the terrible news, still sure that victory would be hers if
+but allowed to follow her voices--yet checkmated by the royal pawn whose
+pleasure it was to disband the noble army of heroes who had fought so
+nobly for the cause of France.
+
+When Jeanne saw the strength of the Dauphin's purpose, she hung up her
+armour and begged the King to now dismiss her from the army, and allow
+her to go home, but this he refused to do. The truce he had made did not
+embrace all France, and he would have need of her inspiring presence and
+her valuable counsel--in truth it seemed that he and his chief
+counsellors were afraid of allowing her out of their sight, for fear of
+what she might achieve without their knowledge.
+
+For some eight months longer, in accord with his desire, Jeanne, still
+sure of her divine mission to work for France, loyally drifted from
+place to place with the King and his counsellors, heart-sick and
+homesick, occupying her many leisure hours with planning vast imaginary
+sieges and campaigns.
+
+At last, on the twenty-fourth of May, 1430, with a handful of men, she
+was allowed to throw herself into Compiègne, which was being besieged by
+the Burgundians, and there after bravely fighting and rallying her men
+for a third attack, the English came up behind and fell upon their rear,
+and the fleeing men streamed into the boulevard, while last of all came
+the Maid, doing deeds of valour beyond the nature of woman, so it is
+said, and for the last time, as never again should Jeanne bear arms. Her
+men had fled. She was separated from her people; and surrounded, but
+still defiant, was seized by her cape, dragged from her horse, and borne
+away a prisoner, while after her followed the victors, roaring their mad
+joy over the capture of such a prize.
+
+Like wildfire the awful tidings spread. The Maid of Orléans taken by the
+English? Jeanne a prisoner? Could such things be?
+
+Alas, yes. The Maid who had delivered France was in the hands of the
+enemy, because, at the climax of her victory, when all France was in her
+grip, the chance had been lost by the folly of that King whom she had
+led to his crowning.
+
+After six months of captivity she was sold, yes sold, for ten thousand
+crowns, that royal Maid--sold to John of Luxembourg, the only bidder for
+her noble self. Truth which is sometimes stranger than fiction, offers
+no parallel to this. Not a single effort was put forth by the King, or
+his counsellors, or by any loyal Frenchman to rescue or to ransom
+Jeanne. No trouble was taken to redeem the girl who, foe and friend
+alike agreed, had saved the day for France, and who was the greatest
+soldier of them all, when she was allowed to have her way.
+
+Ten thousand crowns was the price of Jeanne's brave spirit, and her
+purchaser doubtless meant to hold on to her until he could make money on
+his prisoner, but, oh the shame, the infamy of it, Charles, the King of
+France,--led to his crowning day by a Maid's own hand,--offered not one
+sou for her ransoming!
+
+To linger on this part of Jeanne's life is torture to others, as it was
+to her. In December she was carried to Rouen, the headquarters of the
+English army, heavily fettered; was flung into a gloomy prison, from
+which she attempted escape, but vainly, and finally was tried as a
+sorceress and a heretic, and never a sound of help or deliverance from
+the King or the nation.
+
+Her trial was long, and she was exposed to every form of brutality,
+thinly veiled under the guise of justice. Day after day her simple heart
+was tortured by the questions of learned men, whose aim was to make her
+condemn herself, but this they could never do, for every probing
+resulted in the same calm statements. Finally one was sent to draw from
+her under the seal of the confessional, her sacred confidences, which
+were then rudely desecrated. She was found guilty of sacrilege,
+profanation, disobedience to the church, pride and idolatry, and her
+heavenly visions were said to be illusions of the devil. She was then
+tortured by a series of ignominies, insults, threats, and promises
+until, bewildered and half crazed by confinement, in agony of mind and
+body, she blindly assented to everything they asked her, was sentenced
+to perpetual imprisonment, and forced to put on a woman's dress which
+she had repeatedly declared she would never do so long as she was thrown
+entirely in the company of men. But she was forced to obey the bidding
+of her persecutors, and then followed such degradation and insults as
+are almost beyond belief, and then, oh the shame of it, she was
+condemned to die by burning, on the tenth of May, 1431! Though worn with
+suffering and sorrow, she faced this crowning injustice with the
+dauntless courage which had ever been hers on the field of battle, and
+died with the Cross held high before her eyes and the name of Jesus on
+her lips.
+
+The peasant girl of Domrémy, the warrior of Orléans, the King's saviour
+at Rheims, the martyr whose death left a great ineffaceable stain on the
+honour both of France and of England, twenty-five years later was
+cleared of all the charges under which she was put to death, and in our
+own time has been canonised by a tardy act of the church of Rome, and
+to-day Jeanne d'Arc, Maid of France, nay, Maid of the World stands out
+on the pages of history as one inspired by God, and God alone. To her
+remains, as Kossuth has said, "the unique distinction of having been the
+only person of either sex who ever held supreme command of the military
+forces of a nation at the age of seventeen."
+
+
+
+
+VICTORIA:
+
+A Girl Queen of England
+
+
+IN the early years of the nineteenth century, frequenters of that part
+of London near the beautiful Kensington Palace and the still more
+beautiful gardens bearing its name, used to enjoy almost daily glimpses
+of a round-faced, red-cheeked child whose blue eyes were so bright with
+health and happiness that it was a pleasure to watch her.
+
+Sometimes the little girl was seen accompanied by a party of older
+persons, and riding a donkey with a gay harness of blue ribbons, and it
+was noticeable that she always had a merry greeting for those who spoke
+to her in passing. At other times she would be walking, with her hand
+holding tight the hand of a little playmate, or on other days she was
+wheeled in a small carriage over the gravel walks of the shady Gardens,
+followed by an older girl who would sometimes stop the carriage and let
+a stranger kiss the blue-eyed occupant of the carriage. On pleasant days
+this same little girl could frequently be seen in a simple white dress
+and big shade hat, watering the plants in the beds of Kensington Palace,
+and the blue-eyed child was no other than the Princess Victoria
+Alexandrina, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, the child who was
+one day to become Queen of England.
+
+In fancying one's self a Queen-to-be, there is never any place given to
+the prosaic duties of ordinary life, but Princess Victoria's child-life
+at Kensington was a very simple one such as any little girl with a
+sensible mother might have had.
+
+At eight o'clock daily the Duchess had breakfast, and the Princess had
+hers at the same time, at a small table near her mother, then came an
+hour's drive or walk, and from ten to twelve lessons with the Duchess
+herself, after which Victoria amused herself in the suite of rooms which
+extended around the two sides of the palace, where she kept most of her
+toys. Then after a plain dinner came lessons again until four o'clock,
+after which came another walk or donkey ride in the Gardens, a simple
+supper, a romp with her nurse, whose name being Brock, Victoria called
+her "dear Boppy." In fact, so secluded a life did the young Princess
+lead that, except for those glimpses of her in the Gardens, she was
+almost unknown to all but intimate family friends; and King George the
+Fourth, called by Victoria her "Uncle King," sometimes expressed his
+displeasure that the child was not allowed to be present more often at
+his court. But the Duchess had her own ideas about that matter, and as
+they were not at all flattering to the court manners and customs of the
+day, she wisely continued to keep her little girl out of such an
+atmosphere, though in fear lest the King should carry out his threat of
+taking the child away from her, to bring her up in gloomy Windsor
+Castle, unless she was allowed to go there more often,--which threat his
+kingly power would allow him to carry out, if he so chose. But
+fortunately he never did as he threatened, and Victoria remained at
+Kensington with her mother, where with her half-sister and brother, the
+Princess Féodore and Prince Charles of Leiningen, the four formed a
+family group so loyal and so loving that nothing ever loosened the bond
+between them.
+
+Although Victoria knew herself to be a Royal Highness, she was yet
+ignorant that some day she would be ruler of Great Britain, and she
+continued to do simple things as unconsciously as other girls might with
+a far different future. She was very enthusiastic over anything which
+took her fancy, and one day at a milliner's saw a hat which was exactly
+what she wanted. With eager enthusiasm she waited until it was trimmed,
+and then exclaimed, "Oh, I will take it with me!" and was soon seen
+hurrying towards Kensington with the precious hat in her hand. And this
+was a real flesh and blood Princess, heir to the throne of England!
+
+The monotony of life at Kensington was broken by frequent trips to
+various parts of England, and visits to friends and relations, but the
+Duchess felt her responsibility to the English people in bringing up the
+future Queen, so keenly that she never took the risk of a trip to the
+continent with Victoria, because of the long journey and the change of
+climate. But the Princess thoroughly enjoyed what visits she did make,
+and evidently was an attractive guest, even as a child, for when she and
+her mother visited King George, her grandmother wrote to the Duchess:
+"The little monkey must have pleased and amused his Majesty. She is such
+a pretty, clever child!"
+
+At another time when visiting at Wentworth House, Yorkshire, Victoria
+amused herself by running around the big garden with its tangle of
+shrubberies. One wet morning when the ground was very slippery, she
+ventured to run down a treacherous bit of ground from the terrace, and
+the gardener, who did not know who she was then, called out, "Be
+careful, Miss, it's slape!" a Yorkshire word for slippery. But the
+Princess had no intention of being stopped, so she merely turned her
+head as she ran, and asked, "What's slape?" As she spoke, her feet flew
+from under her and she came down with a thud. The gardener as he helped
+her to her feet said, "_That's slape_, Miss!"
+
+At another time she rebelled against the hours of practise insisted on
+by her music teacher, who stood her ground firmly, saying that there was
+no royal road to art, that only by conscientious and continued practise
+could she become a musician, whereupon with a gleam of mischief in her
+blue eyes, Victoria jumped up, closed the piano, locked it, put the key
+in her pocket and remarked to the surprised teacher, "Now you see there
+_is_ a royal way of becoming mistress of the piano!" This incident shows
+that she was by no means the young prig painted by so many historians,
+but a girl full of fire and spirit, merry, unaffected and with a keen
+delight in all sorts of girlish amusements and pranks.
+
+At that time the education of young ladies was more superficial than
+that of poorer girls, but the future Queen was given a solid foundation
+of the heavier branches of learning, such as Latin, which she hated,
+history, law, politics and the British Constitution, and, too, she had
+many lighter studies, modern languages, painting and music, becoming a
+charming singer under the famous teacher-master, Lablache. She also
+danced well, rode well and excelled at archery. One day when she had
+been reading about Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi and how she
+proudly presented her sons to the much-bejewelled Roman matron, saying,
+"These are my jewels," the quick-witted Princess added, "She should have
+said, 'My Cornelians!'"
+
+As a young girl Victoria was very pretty, then she went through a period
+of homeliness, at which time a children's ball was given at Windsor
+Castle by King George in honour of a little visitor, Donna Maria II da
+Gloria, the child-Queen of Portugal, who was extremely pretty and very
+handsomely dressed, with a ribbon and glittering Order over her
+shoulder, making little Victoria, in her simple dress and with her less
+brilliant appearance, look quite plain and unattractive--and not only
+was Donna Maria seated at the King's right hand, but he seemed greatly
+amused by her conversation. Then the dancing began, and Donna Maria did
+not show up so finely, for she was an awkward dancer and fell, hurting
+herself so severely that she refused to dance again, and left the
+ballroom, while Victoria, who was as light as thistle-down on her feet,
+is said to have remarked gaily as she danced on: "Well, if I'm not so
+handsome and grand and smartly dressed as that Maria, I'm less awkward.
+I was able to keep my head and not lose my feet!"
+
+With each year Victoria grew more attractive looking, and one night she
+stood before her glass scanning herself critically, while her eyes shone
+and her heart beat fast with excitement, for she was going to her first
+Drawing-room, and was thrilled at the idea.
+
+Having arrived at Windsor Castle with her mother and a number of ladies
+and gentlemen in State carriages, escorted by a party of Life Guards,
+Victoria stood at the left of her aunt, the queen, in a maze of delight,
+watching the gay Court pageant, quite unconscious that she herself was a
+centre of attraction, with her fair skin, her big blue eyes, and her air
+of healthy, happy girlhood. Her dress was of simple white tulle, but
+there was no more conspicuous figure in all that royal assemblage, than
+the young Princess.
+
+Like King George, when William IV succeeded to the throne, he was
+jealous of any honours paid to the young Princess or her mother, and
+even objected to their little journeys, calling them, with a sneer,
+"Royal Progresses," and forbade the salutes given to the vessel which
+carried them back and forth from the Isle of Wight, to which petty
+jealousies the Duchess paid no heed, but continued to bring up her
+daughter as she thought fit; persevering in the "Progresses" which so
+annoyed the King, and all of his objections failed to make the Princess
+less than an object of intense interest and devotion to those people who
+would one day be her subjects.
+
+Although she was still unconscious of the part she was to play in the
+history of the nation, the day was coming when she could no longer be
+kept ignorant of it. A bill was before Parliament called the Regency
+Bill, which named the Duchess of Kent as regent if the King should die
+before Victoria came of age, and she heard much conversation about the
+bill. The Duchess felt that the time had now come to tell her of the
+position which was to be hers in the future of England, and finally
+after a long talk with Baroness Lehzen, Victoria's old governess, the
+way of telling her was decided upon.
+
+On the following day, when the Princess was busily reading a book of
+history, the Baroness slipped a genealogical table on the page which
+Victoria was reading. She glanced at the slip of paper with an
+exclamation of surprise, then read it carefully and looking up, said
+with a startled expression, "Why, I never saw that before!"
+
+"It was not thought necessary that you should," replied the governess,
+and then there was a long silence. Then, after examining the paper
+again, the Princess glanced up and said with quaint solemnity, "I see I
+am nearer the throne than I supposed," adding, "Now many a child would
+boast, not knowing the difficulty. There is much splendour, but there is
+also much responsibility." Then placing her little hand in that of the
+Baroness, she said:
+
+"_Oh, I will be good!_ I understand now why you urged me so much to
+learn even Latin. You told me it was the foundation of English grammar,
+and all the elegant expressions, and I learned it as you wished it, but
+I understand all better now."
+
+Then pressing the Baroness's hand again and looking solemnly into her
+eyes, she repeated, "I will be good!" and the Baroness felt a moisture
+rise in her eyes at the thought of what life might bring to challenge
+that vow.
+
+The Princess was grave for a time after that day, then she grew
+accustomed to the new thought of her coming queendom, and was once more
+her gay, happy self, and there were three functions soon afterwards at
+which she appeared in all the joy of conscious power and happy girlhood.
+
+On her thirteenth birthday the King and Queen gave a great ball in her
+honour, when she out-danced all the other girls, not because of her
+superior rank, but because of her grace and charm of manner. After the
+ball came a drawing-room when again the Princess had a glorious time,
+and another glimpse of her is at the Ascot races, when an American poet
+was thrilled to see her, with the Queen, leaning over the railing of the
+King's stand, both listening to a ballad-singer with as keen interest as
+though they had been simple country folk instead of royalty, and he
+remarked that the Princess was far better looking than most of her
+photographs pictured her.
+
+Nearer and nearer to the throne came the young girl, and yet even when
+she was nearly seventeen she was still in the habit of living as quietly
+as she had in childhood, and it is told how at a formal reception given
+in her honour, followed by a dinner and a grand ball which she opened
+with Lord Exeter, after that first dance she left the ballroom to
+retire, as the Duchess thought she had had quite enough excitement for
+one day. That statement will seem incredible to a girl of to-day, but it
+is an historical fact.
+
+On the twenty-fourth of May, 1837, Princess Victoria came of age
+according to the laws of England, and the joyous events of the day began
+very early in the morning, for when dawn was just breaking in the east,
+she was roused by the sound of music under her window. Jumping up, now
+quite awake, she peered through the blinds and saw a band playing
+merrily, and realised why they were there. Rushing into her mother's
+room she shook her out of a sound sleep, and pulled her into her room,
+where together they sat behind the closed blinds and applauded the
+serenaders. It did not take Victoria long to dress that morning. She was
+full of excitement, for by breakfast time messages of congratulations
+and presents had begun to pour in, and with shining eyes she exclaimed,
+"To think of all England celebrating a holiday just for me!" when she
+heard that Parliament was not in session, nor boys in school, all in her
+honour. And at night there was a great illumination of the city and a
+grand State Ball at the Palace of St. James--quite enough tribute to
+turn the head of any girl of eighteen,--but Victoria, even then in the
+midst of her enjoyment, seemed to feel the responsibility more than the
+flattery, and that night gave an appealing look of shy objection when on
+entering the ballroom she was obliged by court etiquette to enter before
+her mother, thus emphasising for the first time her superior rank.
+
+Not long after this, one night through the vast audience rooms of gloomy
+Windsor Castle went the solemn word, "The King is dead!" and in the same
+breath, even the most loyal ministers of Church and State, who had known
+only too well the weaknesses of the sovereign who would reign no more,
+whispered softly, "Long live the Queen!"
+
+Then there was a flurry of preparation. The Archbishop of Canterbury and
+the Lord Chamberlain made ready to leave the place of mourning as fast
+as horses could carry them.
+
+Arriving at Kensington Palace in the early dawn, they found the palace
+inmates sleeping quietly. It took an endless time, so it seemed, to
+arouse even the porter at the gate, but at last he appeared, rubbing
+sleepy eyes and grumbling at having been disturbed. At the entrance to
+the court-yard came another delay, but finally they were admitted to the
+Palace, were shown to a room, and waited until their patience was
+exhausted, and they rang a bell so insistently that finally another
+drowsy servant answered. They then requested that the Princess Victoria
+should be roused at once and told that they desired an immediate
+audience on most important business. The sleepy servant disappeared and
+still there were more delays, more waiting. Then the Princess' special
+maid appeared, saying with irritating calm that her royal mistress was
+in such a sweet sleep that she could not venture to disturb her. The
+Archbishop's command was not one to be set aside, "We are come on
+business of State TO THE QUEEN," he said, "Even her sleep must give
+way." To the QUEEN! Ah, then it had come! With flying feet the maid
+rushed into the room where the Princess had gone to sleep so peacefully
+a few hours since, and roused her with the cry, "They have come to make
+you Queen. Oh, be quick!"
+
+Half asleep--entirely dazed for the moment, then clear-eyed, Victoria
+sprang up, with only one thought, "I must not delay them any longer,"
+and rushed into the presence of the waiting dignitaries with only a
+bed-gown thrown over her night-dress, her feet in slippers and her long
+brown hair flying over her shoulders!
+
+As in a dream she heard the words, "Your Majesty," and received the
+first kiss of homage on her trembling hand, then with sweet pleading
+grace she spoke her first words as Queen of England, looking into the
+kind eyes of the Archbishop, "I beg your Grace to pray for me," she
+said, with utter simplicity and sincere desire, and raising his hand in
+benediction, the Archbishop's voice asked a blessing on the fair young
+sovereign of so great a land.
+
+The hours following that first knowledge of her new dignity were
+overwhelmingly full of strange experiences for Victoria, but among them
+all she found time to go to her desk and write a letter to Queen
+Adelaide, expressing sympathy for her in her sorrow, and begging her to
+remain as long as she felt inclined at Windsor. Giving the letter to her
+mother, the Duchess noted that the name on it was to "Her Majesty, the
+Queen." With a smile she said, "My dear, you forget who is the Queen of
+England now. The King's widow is only Queen Dowager."
+
+To which Victoria replied quickly, "I know that, but _I_ will not be the
+first person to remind her of it!"
+
+How many girls would have been as thoughtful as that, I wonder?
+
+In a few hours she was obliged to meet many high officials, and even had
+to read her first speech from a throne which was hastily erected for the
+occasion. Then while the great bell of St. Paul's was tolling for the
+dead King, the young monarch, dressed very simply in mourning, which
+brought out in bold relief her clear fresh complexion, took an oath "for
+the security of the Church of Scotland," and received the oath of
+allegiance first from her royal uncles, the Dukes of Cumberland and
+Sussex, whom she kissed as affectionately and impulsively as if she
+were still the little Princess. Following them came a great number of
+notable men to kneel before her and kiss her hand, among them the Duke
+of Wellington and the Premier, Lord Melbourne. To each she showed the
+same degree of winning courtesy, and only for a brief moment seemed
+disconcerted by the new and dazzling ceremony in her honour as Queen of
+the realm.
+
+Evidently since the day when she had first learned that she was some day
+to be a Queen, she had been studying how to proceed when the momentous
+hour should come, for now she thought to do all those things which would
+have scarcely been expected of an older and experienced statesman. She
+even sent for Lord Albemarle, it is said, and after reminding him that
+according to law and precedent she must be proclaimed the next morning
+from a certain window of St. James Palace, asked him to provide a
+fitting conveyance and escort for her. Then, bowing graciously to right
+and left, including all the Princes, Archbishops and Cabinet Ministers
+present, in her gracious salutation, she left the room alone, as she had
+entered it.
+
+What sort of a night's rest the young Queen had that night can well be
+imagined. Surely her maiden dreams must have been disturbed by many
+thoughts which forced her to put aside those personal fancies which
+yesterday she had been justified in harbouring!
+
+The next day she went in state to St. James Palace, escorted by a number
+of great lords and ladies, and a squadron of the Life Guards and
+"Blues," and was formally proclaimed Queen of Great Britain from the
+window of the Presence Chamber. She wore a black silk dress and a little
+black chip bonnet, and we are told that as she stood there in her simple
+costume, with her smooth brown hair as plain as her dress, the tears
+ran down her cheeks when she was proclaimed to the people as their
+sovereign. Then when the band played the National Anthem in her honour,
+she bowed and smiled at the swaying mass of people below looking with
+eager interest and affection at their "Little Queen," then retired until
+noon, when she held a meeting of her chief counsellors, at which she
+presided with as much grace and ease as if she had been doing that sort
+of thing all her life, to the intense surprise and admiration of the
+great men who composed it. At one o'clock, the Council being over, she
+went back to Kensington and remained there quietly until after the
+funeral of the late King; and Council and populace were loud in their
+praise of this young girl, who, having been brought up in the utmost
+seclusion, yet now came out into the lime-light of public attention, and
+behaved with the dignity and discretion of an aged monarch.
+
+King William having been properly and pompously buried, the young Queen
+took up her new position as ruler of the realm, and her royal household
+was a very exceptional and magnificent one, because of the rank and
+character of those "ladies in waiting" as they were called, who composed
+it.
+
+The young Queen and her household remained at Kensington until
+midsummer, when they moved to Buckingham Palace, and soon after this
+Victoria was obliged to go through a great parade and ceremony to
+dissolve Parliament. We are told that "the weather was fine and the
+whole route from Buckingham Palace to Parliament House was lined with
+shouting, cheering people, as the magnificent procession and the
+brilliant young Queen passed slowly along." A London journal of the day
+gives this account of the ceremony: "At ten minutes to three precisely,
+Her Majesty, preceded by the heralds and attended by the great officers
+of state, entered the House--all the peers and peeresses, who had risen
+at the flourish of the trumpets, remaining standing. Her Majesty was
+attired in a splendid white satin robe, with the ribbon of the Order
+crossing her shoulder, and a magnificent tiara of diamonds on her head.
+She also wore a necklace and a stomacher of large and costly
+brilliants."
+
+Having ascended the throne, the royal mantle of crimson velvet was
+placed on Her Majesty's shoulders by the lords-in-waiting, and she
+carried herself with the air of having been born to such ceremonies, yet
+it was evident that she was much affected by the ordeal, and for a
+moment was so absorbed in her own conspicuous position as to forget to
+notice that the peers and peeresses with her were still standing. In a
+low voice, Lord Melbourne, who was standing beside her, reminded her of
+this, and with a gracious smile and inclination of her head, she said
+quietly, "My Lords, be seated," whereupon they and their wives and
+daughters sat. The incident had brought the Queen back to herself, and
+she was now so self-possessed that when the time came to read her
+speech, although she did it with quiet modesty, her voice was so clear
+that it rang through all the corners of the great room, and everyone
+could hear her words. A great statesman from America, Charles Sumner,
+who was present, was so astonished and delighted with Victoria's manner,
+that he wrote to a friend, "Her voice is sweet and finely modulated, and
+she pronounced every word with distinctly a fine regard for its meaning.
+I think I never heard anything better read in my life, and I could but
+respond to Lord Fitz-William's remark when the ceremony was over, 'How
+beautifully she performs!'" As days went on, this and other golden
+opinions were universally echoed about the eighteen-year-old Queen, who
+was not only strong of character, but possessed of personal charm, being
+then, we are told, short in height, but well formed, with hair the
+darkest shade of flaxen, with expressive blue eyes, and a complexion as
+fair and delicate as a rose leaf, while her expression was one of
+peculiar sweetness.
+
+In her honour there was a grand new throne erected at Buckingham Palace,
+a gorgeous affair of crimson velvet, gold lace, gold fringe and ropes
+and tassels. Merrily the young Queen tried it, and with a gay laugh
+exclaimed, "It is quite perfect! I never sat on a more comfortable
+throne in my life!"
+
+One of the things which Victoria most enjoyed was dealing with cases
+where stern military discipline should have been used, as in the case of
+a court martial which was presented to her by the Duke of Wellington to
+be signed. With eyes full of tears she asked, "Have you nothing to say
+in behalf of this man?"
+
+"Nothing. He has deserted three times," replied the Duke.
+
+"Oh, your Grace, think again!" exclaimed Victoria.
+
+"Well, your Majesty," replied the Iron Man, "he certainly is a bad
+soldier, but there was somebody who spoke as to his good character. He
+may be a good fellow in civil life."
+
+"Oh, thank you," exclaimed the Queen, and dashed off the word "Pardoned"
+to the lawful parchment and wrote under it her signature.
+
+So many cases of this clemency of hers came to the notice of Parliament,
+that finally they arranged matters so that this fatal signing business
+could be done by royal commission, "To relieve her Majesty of painful
+duty," they said, but really because they could not trust her soft
+heart to deal with cases where military discipline should not be
+interfered with.
+
+In Victoria's childhood, when her father, the Duke of Kent, died, he
+left very heavy debts, which the Duchess had endeavoured in every way to
+pay. This Victoria knew, and almost immediately after she became Queen,
+in all the whirl and splendour of her new life she sent for her Prime
+Minister and told him that she wished to settle the remaining debts
+standing in her father's name, saying, "I _must_ do it. I consider it a
+sacred duty," and of course it was done. The Queen also sent some
+valuable pieces of plate to the largest creditors in token of her
+gratitude, and the young girl's earnestness and directness in thus
+carrying out her mother's chief desire, brought tears, it is said, to
+the eyes of Lord Melbourne, and made his feelings for the young Queen
+ever afterwards that of deepest chivalry. In fact all England was
+possessed of the wildest kind of enthusiasm for their new ruler, and one
+can imagine that in her youth and dignity of office she seemed to young
+men and maidens to be a heroine of fairy-tale made flesh and blood,
+while it was said that if necessity had arisen five hundred thousand
+brave Irishmen would arise to defend the life, the honour and the person
+of the beloved young lady on the throne of England.
+
+In August Victoria took possession of Windsor Castle, which soon became
+anything but a gloomy place, with the gay company that filled its every
+room, and to whom the young royal housekeeper showed its beauties and
+comforts with as great satisfaction as if it had been a simple little
+house of her own on a plain English street.
+
+When at Windsor, Brighton was an easy journey, and there the young Queen
+had a triumphal progress, her carriage passing under numberless arches,
+and between ranks and ranks of school children who strewed flowers
+before her and sang songs in her honour. Some months later, in London,
+she dined in state with the Lord Mayor, and as her carriage passed
+through the streets of the city on its way to Guildhall, a vast crowd
+lining the pavements riveted their gaze on the very youthful-looking
+Queen. She wore a wrap of swan's down which made a soft frame for the
+fair sweet face on which was the rose bloom of girlhood, while in her
+eyes beamed health and happiness.
+
+That was a gorgeous ceremony which she attended at Guildhall. At Temple
+Bar she was met by the Lord Mayor himself who handed her the keys of the
+city, and also a sword, which she at once returned to his keeping. Then
+a little farther on, the Blue-Coat Boys of Christ's College gave an
+address of congratulation, saying how glad they were to have a woman
+rule over them, and then they sang the National Anthem, with rousing
+spirit, and the royal party proceeded to Guildhall, where in the
+gorgeous drawing-room the address of the city officials was read. Then
+Victoria performed a memorable act: she knighted Sheriff Montefiore, the
+first man of his race to receive such an honour from a British
+sovereign, and thereby not only reflected honour on the noble man she
+knighted, but on her own daring and just spirit. This ceremony over,
+they passed into the great hall, which had been wonderfully decorated
+and furnished for the occasion, and is said to have looked like
+fairyland with its glittering lights hanging from the roof, reflecting
+brilliancy over the gorgeous court dresses and superb jewels which made
+up the dazzling scene. When Victoria entered, a great chorus rang out in
+a song of praise to their Queen. Then she was led to a table on a
+platform at the end of the room, where she was served with a dinner as
+costly as could be procured to tempt her fancy, receiving the homage of
+city officials as she dined. The feast over, a person called the Common
+Crier strode into the middle of the hall and solemnly proclaimed, "The
+Right Honourable the Lord Mayor gives the health of our Most Gracious
+Sovereign, Queen Victoria!" Of course this was drunk amid a chorus of
+shouts which made the great hall ring to the roof. Victoria rose and
+bowed her thanks, and then the Common Crier announced, "Her Majesty's
+Toast, 'The Lord Mayor and prosperity to the city of London!'" This
+toast, it is said, the Queen responded to by drinking it in sherry one
+hundred and twenty years old, kept for some wonderful occasion such as
+this.
+
+That year, Victoria's first as a Queen, she celebrated Christmas at
+Windsor Castle, and it would have been a very unnatural thing indeed if
+the girl had not exulted with joy over the wonderful presents which
+poured in on her from every side, and yet she kept through this, as in
+all the honours paid to her, her simple-hearted manner and was entirely
+unspoiled by what might easily have turned the head of an older and
+wiser monarch.
+
+And now comes the greatest of all the great events in which the young
+Queen is the central figure--her Coronation. It is true that she had
+already been Queen for a whole year, but such was royal etiquette that
+the time had just arrived for the wonderful ceremonies which would mark
+her official taking of the Crown.
+
+June the twenty-eighth was the day, and the year 1838, and Victoria was
+nineteen years old. They came beforehand, the old courtiers, and
+explained to her the coming pageant, and how after kneeling to her they
+were all required to rise and kiss her on the left cheek. Gravely she
+listened and thought this over, thought not only of the salutes of the
+grave Archbishops, but of the kisses of those other younger peers, of
+whom there were six hundred, and then she issued a proclamation excusing
+them from this duty, so all but the Dukes of Cambridge and Sussex, who
+could kiss her rosy cheek by special privilege of kinship, would have to
+be content with pressing a salute on her hand!
+
+As for the Coronation, it was one of the most wonderful in history, for
+all England wished to look with proud eyes on the crowning of this young
+girl who even in one year had proved herself to be capable of
+understanding the intricate doings of statescraft, and days before the
+ceremonies were to begin, people poured in from all parts of the United
+Kingdom to see the glittering spectacle and to prove their loyalty to
+her who was their sovereign.
+
+The great procession started from Buckingham Palace about ten o'clock in
+the morning, and the first state carriages held the Duchess of Kent and
+her attendants, then came the grand state coach, imposing in its
+gorgeous array of gilding and glass, drawn by eight cream-coloured
+horses from the royal stables, with white flowing manes and tails. In
+the coach of state sat Her Majesty, and there was tremendous applause
+all along the line as soon as the bright girlish face beaming its
+welcome to her people, was seen. On reaching Westminster Abbey, the
+gorgeous scene might have startled or confused her, if she had not
+rehearsed beforehand as thoroughly as though it were a play in which she
+were to take part.
+
+On each side of the nave were galleries erected for the spectators,
+which had been covered with crimson cloth fringed with gold, and under
+them were lines of very martial looking footguards. The stone floor was
+covered with crimson and purple cloth, while immediately under the
+central tower of the Abbey, inside the choir, five steps from the
+floor, was a platform covered with cloth of gold on which stood the
+golden "Chair of Homage." In the chancel, near the altar, stood the
+quaint old chair in which all the sovereigns since Edward the Confessor
+had been crowned. The tiers of galleries upholstered in crimson cloth
+and old tapestries, were occupied by Members of Parliament and foreign
+Ambassadors, while in the organ loft sat a large choir dressed in white,
+and players on instruments dressed in scarlet, while high above them
+were a score of trumpeters; all of which produced a brilliant effect
+that was heightened by the music pealing through the vast Abbey over the
+heads of the throng.
+
+Long before the arrival of the royal party the Abbey was crowded to its
+doors with foreign Ambassadors and Princes in their gorgeous costumes,
+and most gorgeous of all were the Lord Mayor and Prince Esterhazy, who
+was costumed like a glittering shower of jewels from head to toe, while
+hundreds of pretty women were there in every kind of elaborate evening
+dress, although it was only eleven o'clock in the morning. It took both
+time and thought to place all the royal personages so that none would be
+offended, and every peer and peeress would be seated so as to have a
+good view of that part of the minster in which the Coronation was to
+take place.
+
+The grand procession passed slowly up the long aisle, with its
+dignitaries of Church and State, and all its pomp and glitter of jewels
+and gorgeous costumes. Then came the Queen. She wore a royal robe of
+crimson velvet, trimmed with ermine and gold lace, and on her head was a
+circlet of gold. Her tremendously long train was borne by eight young
+court ladies, and never did she look quite so girlish and slight and
+young as she did in that great procession of older dignitaries. As she
+entered the Abbey the choir began the National Anthem, which could
+scarcely be heard because of the mighty cheers which burst from the
+general assembly, echoing through the dome and arched recesses of the
+vast building. Slowly the Queen moved toward the altar, sweetly the
+choir boys chanted _Vivat Victoria Regina!_ while moving quietly to a
+chair placed between the "chair of homage" and the altar, Victoria knelt
+in prayer for a moment, then rose, and the Primate announced in a loud
+voice, "I here present unto you Queen Victoria, the undoubted Queen of
+this realm, wherefore all of you are come this day to do your homage.
+Are you willing to do the same?"
+
+Then the people all shouted, "God save Queen Victoria!" which
+"recognition," as it was called, was repeated many times and answered
+each time by the beating of drums and the sounding of trumpets.
+Throughout all this the Queen stood, turning towards the side from which
+the recognition came, and then followed a great number of curious old
+rites and ceremonies which always go with a Coronation, even though many
+of them have entirely lost their meaning through the lapse of time.
+There were prayers and the Litany and a sermon, and then the
+administration of the oath of office, and after a long questioning by
+the Archbishop, Her Majesty was led to the altar, where, kneeling with
+her hand on the Gospels in the Great Bible, she said in clear, solemn
+tones which could be heard all through the Abbey:
+
+"The things which I have herebefore promised I will perform and keep. So
+help me God."
+
+She then kissed the book and continued to kneel while the choir sang a
+hymn, then while she sat in St. Edward's chair, a rich cloth of gold was
+held over her head and the Archbishop anointed her with oil in the form
+of a cross, after which came still more forms and ceremonies, the
+presentation of swords and spurs, the investing her with the Imperial
+robe, the sceptre and the ring, the consecration and blessing of the new
+crown, which had been made especially for her, and at last the crowning.
+The moment this was over all the peers and peeresses, who had held their
+coronets in their hands during the ceremonies, placed them on their
+heads, and shouted, "God save the Queen!" The trumpets and drums sounded
+again, while outside in the sunlight, guns fired by signal boomed their
+salute to the new sovereign, who was led to the chair of homage to
+receive the salutation of Church and State. First in line came the
+dignitaries of the Church, who knelt and kissed her hand, then the Dukes
+of Cambridge and Sussex, who, taking off their coronets and touching
+them to the crown (a pretty ceremony that!), solemnly pledged their
+loyalty, and kissed their niece on the left cheek. Then, according to
+her decree, the other dukes and peers, even the Duke of Wellington, who
+knelt before her, had only the honour of kissing the small white hand.
+
+Last of all came an old and feeble peer who found such difficulty in
+mounting the steps that he stumbled at the top and fell to the bottom,
+rolling all the way back to the floor, where he lay, hopelessly
+entangled in his robes. Impulsively the Queen rose from her throne as if
+it were but a chair and stretched out her hands to help him, but the old
+peer had risen by that time, and was trying his best to raise his
+coronet to touch the crown, but failed because of the trembling of his
+hand, and the Queen with ready tact held out her hand for him to kiss
+without the form of touching her crown. It was a pretty incident,
+proving the entire unconsciousness of self which the young Queen showed
+all through the imposing ceremonies. And they were not yet over. There
+was yet the Sacrament to be administered to the Queen, who knelt,
+uncrowned, to receive it; then came a recrowning, a re-enthronement,
+more music and then the welcome release of the benediction. Passing into
+King Edward's chapel, the queen changed the imperial for the royal robe
+of purple velvet and went out of the Abbey wearing the crown and
+carrying her sceptre in her right hand, and drove home through a surging
+mass of shouting, cheering subjects and sight-seers, who noticed that
+she looked exhausted, and that she frequently put her hand to her head,
+as if wearing a crown were not at all a comfortable thing.
+
+The gates of the palace were reached at last, the long, vast, tiresome
+ceremonial was at an end. The home door swung open to receive her, and
+out dashed her pet spaniel, barking a joyous welcome as he always did
+when she had been away a long time. A girlish smile broke over
+Victoria's face, for so many hours moulded into a maturer expression of
+sovereignty, and crying, "There, Dash!" she unceremoniously ran in,
+flung off her crown and royal robe and sceptre and ran upstairs to give
+the dog his daily bath!
+
+At that time Carlyle said of her: "Poor little Queen! She is at an age
+when a girl can scarcely be trusted to choose a bonnet for herself, yet
+a task is thrust upon her from which an archangel might shrink."
+
+True indeed, but her Majesty, Queen Victoria, even at the moment of
+doffing her crown to give her dog a bath, could with equal grace and
+capability have answered a summons to discuss grave national issues, and
+would have shown both good judgment and wisdom in the discussion. A
+wonderful little woman she was, young for her task, but old for her age,
+and as we see her standing in the famous portrait painted in her
+coronation robes we see all that is fairest and noblest in both girl and
+Queen. She stands there as though mounting the steps to her throne, her
+head slightly turned, looking back over her shoulder, and we feel the
+buoyancy of her youth and the dignity of her purity, a far more royal
+robe than the one of velvet and ermine which is over her shoulders, and
+we know that she is already worthy of the homage so universally paid
+her, this girl Queen of England awaiting what the future may bring.
+
+
+
+
+SALLY WISTER:
+
+A Girl of the American Revolution
+
+
+WINSOME SALLY WISTER! What a pretty picture she makes against the sombre
+background of the Revolutionary times in which she lived,--with her
+piquant face and merry eyes half hidden under her demure Quaker bonnet,
+and her snowy kerchief crossed so smoothly over her tempestuous young
+heart!
+
+To one of the finest old families in Philadelphia Sally belonged. Her
+father, Daniel Wister, was the only son of John Wister, a prosperous
+wine merchant, and Sally was born at her grandfather's city home, which
+stands on what is now Market Street, Philadelphia, spending her summers
+at his country house in Germantown, which charming old homestead is
+still shown as a landmark of the place.
+
+In winter Sally was a pupil in the girls' school kept by a famous
+Quaker, Anthony Benezet, where there were gathered the daughters of many
+"first" families of the vicinity, and it was there that the intimacy
+began between Sally and her life-long friend Deborah Norris, who too was
+a Quaker girl. The group of girls with whom Sally and "Debby" Norris
+were intimate were all between fourteen and sixteen years old, and
+formed a "Social Circle" which was very exclusive indeed, but to which a
+few boys were occasionally admitted. The boys, however, seem to have
+made themselves disliked, perhaps by teasing, after the manner of boys
+of to-day, for in the summer of 1776 while the girls were all at their
+summer homes, one of them wrote to Sally, in the quaint old-fashioned
+way, making use of many capital letters, "I shall be glad when we get
+together again; us Girls, I mean, for as to the Boys, I fancy we must
+Give them up. Willingly I shall, nor have I the most distant desire of
+being with them again. I think we pass our time more agreeably without
+than with them." A clear declaration of independence, that--but it was
+modified later as letters to Sally show, and one feels glad that such a
+firm stand in an unworthy cause was open to amendment!
+
+At noon on a hot sunny day in 1776, Monday the eighth of July, Sally and
+Debby Norris were sitting in the cool shade of the big maples in the
+garden of Debby's home, which adjoined the State House. For a while they
+sewed and chatted and teased one another as girls will, then Sally held
+up a silencing finger, "Shhh!" she whispered. "That is surely a drum and
+fife."
+
+Debby, who was listening too, nodded, "I remember now I heard Mr.
+Hancock tell Mother that the Declaration of Independence was to be
+proclaimed in public from the State House at noon to-day. Come, perhaps
+we can hear some of it."
+
+Sally was already half way across the lawn; Debby followed and they
+climbed from a wheel-barrow up to the top of a wall looking down at the
+State House yard, and had a fine view of the whole scene. Only a
+small-sized crowd of citizens was there, for the most conservative
+Philadelphians purposely did not go to hear it read, while those members
+of Congress whom the girls could see, looked anxious and ill at ease.
+Silently Sally and Debby listened while John Nixon read the mighty
+phrases of the Declaration and, only half understanding what they
+heard, they joined in the burst of applause following the last words,
+"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the
+protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our
+lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honour."
+
+Then as the crowd began to disperse, the girls climbed down and went
+back to the cool garden, ignorant of the fact that in later years they
+would have no more valued memory than that of the hot noon-day of July
+7, 1776, when they saw and heard the Declaration of Independence read.
+
+That was only one of the exciting events of those stirring days in which
+Sally was living, for Philadelphia was then a war centre, and little
+else was talked about except the movements of the armies and the battles
+being fought. After the battle of Brandywine, when General Washington
+made a brave fight to save Philadelphia, but was defeated by the British
+general, Lord Howe, Sally Wister's father, feeling sure that the British
+would now occupy Philadelphia, thought the time had come to send his
+family out of the city. He at once despatched them to the Foulke farm,
+on the Wissahickon creek, among the hills of Gwynedd, some fifteen miles
+away from the storm centre of the city. The owner of the farm, Hannah
+Foulke, was a relation by marriage of the Wisters, and evidently gave up
+half of her home to them, retaining the other half for her own use, and
+there the two families lived harmoniously during the following nine
+months.
+
+But to Mistress Sally the change of residence and the separation from
+all her friends was not a happy one, and to while away some of its
+lonely hours she began a series of letters in the form of a diary, for
+Debby Norris's benefit, and that journal tells us much about the
+happenings of that memorable epoch in American history, from a young
+girl's point of view. Soon after the arrival of the Wisters at the farm
+the peaceful quiet of the place was broken up, for the sights and sounds
+of war began to be heard even in that remote location, as both armies
+were marching towards Philadelphia. In the first letter to Debby Sally
+informs us that on the 24th of September, two Virginia officers stopped
+at the house, and informed them that the British army had crossed the
+Schuylkill, and later another person called and said that General
+Washington and Army were near Potsgrove, and Sally writes to Debby:
+
+"Well, thee may be sure we were sufficiently scared; however, the road
+was very still till evening. About seven o'clock we heard a great noise.
+To the door we all went. A large number of waggons with about three
+hundred of the Philadelphia Militia. They begged for drink and several
+pushed into the house. One of those that entered was a little tipsy and
+had a mind to be saucy. I then thought it time for me to retreat, so
+figure me (mightily scared,) running in at one door and out another, all
+in a shake with fear, but after a while seeing the officers appeared
+gentlemanly and the soldiers civil, I call'd reason to my aid. My fears
+were in some measure dispell'd, tho' my teeth rattled and my hand shook
+like an aspen leaf. They did not offer to take their quarters with us,
+so with many blessings and as many adieus they marched off. I have
+given thee the most material occurrences of yesterday faithfully."
+
+The next day she and "chicken hearted" Liddy, as Sally called her
+sister, were very much scared by a false report that the dreaded
+Hessians, who comprised a large part of the British army, were
+approaching, had "actually turned into our lane," writes Sally, and she
+adds "Well, the fright went off," but hearing that the forces were
+momentarily drawing nearer, she remarks, "I expect soon to be in the
+midst of one army or t'other." Then while looking for some great
+happening, she had another fright, for a party of Virginia light horse
+rode up to the door, and mistaking the red and blue of their uniforms
+for the British colours, she fled to the shelter of the house, with, as
+she says, "wings tack'd to my feet."
+
+An interval of several weeks then passed, in which nothing of any great
+moment happened, as she explains in the brief notes in her diary. Then
+comes a stirring day to chronicle for Debby's benefit. In the morning
+she hears "the greatest drumming, fifing and rattling of waggons that
+ever was heard" and goes a short distance to see the American army as it
+marches to take a position nearer the city. On that same day comes
+General Smallwood, commander of the Maryland troops, with his officers,
+and a large guard of soldiers to the farm, and asks to be allowed to
+make it his headquarters. Permission having been given by Hannah Foulke,
+one of the officers wrote over the door:
+
+          "Smallwood's Quarters"
+
+to secure the house from straggling soldiers, and then the regiment rode
+away, leaving a flutter of excitement in the hearts of the girls, at the
+thought of having such a novel experience as a house full of soldiers.
+With delightful candour Sally tells us that she and her sister and
+cousins at once "put on their best dresses" and "put their lips in order
+for conquest," and then awaited the evening with what patience they
+could summon. At last the general and his staff and soldiers arrived,
+when at once the yard and house were in confusion, and glittered with
+military equipments. A Dr. Gould who was at that time staying with the
+Wisters, being a friend of General Smallwood's, presented him and his
+officers ceremoniously to the family of which they were to be a part,
+and there is no doubt that from soldier to General all looked with
+covert or open admiration on pretty, saucy Sally, who despite her fear
+of the military, showed great courage, not to say pleasure, in their
+near presence!
+
+At once she looked them over, man by man, with a critical eye, and
+passed judgment on them in her diary, relating, that to her surprise,
+they seem "very peaceable sort of men," and adds, "they eat like other
+folks, talk like them, and behave themselves with elegance, so I will
+not be afraid of them, no I won't," and winds up her letter with,
+"Adieu. I am going to my chamber to dream, I suppose of bayonets and
+swords, sashes, guns and epaulets."
+
+On the following day, she writes to Debby, "I dare say thee is impatient
+to know my sentiments of the officers, so while Somnus embraces them and
+the house is still, take their characters according to their rank," and
+then gives a vivid pen picture of each one of the officers, her
+trenchant description showing her to be no respecter of persons. Major
+William Truman Stoddard, a nephew of the General, and not much older
+than Sally herself, she at first describes as appearing "cross and
+reserved," but her opinion of the young officer materially changes. On
+the second day of their acquaintance she writes, "Well, here comes the
+glory, the Major, so bashful, so famous; I at first thought him cross
+and proud, but I was mistaken. He cannot be extolled for graces of
+person, but for those of the mind he may be justly celebrated." On the
+third day, "the Major is very reserv'd, nothing but 'Good morning' or
+'your servant,' madam," and she adds that she has heard that he is worth
+a fortune of thirty thousand pounds, but is so bashful that he can
+hardly look at the ladies, after which information she roguishly
+remarks in an aside, "Excuse me, good sir, I really thought you were not
+clever; if 'tis bashfulness only, we will drive that away!"
+
+At the end of several days, Sally seems to be much interested in the
+Major, but to have made little headway in getting acquainted with him,
+and the only entry concerning him is "The Gen'l still here. The Major
+still bashful."
+
+Then on a Sunday evening when she was playing with her little brother,
+the Major drew up a chair and began to play with the child too, and
+Sally says, "One word brought us together and we chatted the greatest
+part of the evening." This seems to have broken the ice between them
+completely and two days later while Liddy and Sally were reading she
+tells us that, "The Major was holding a candle for the Gen'l who was
+reading a newspaper. He looked at us, turned away his eyes, looked
+again, put the candlestick down, up he jumped, out of the door he went."
+But presently he returned and seated himself on the table begging them
+for a song, which Liddy said Sally could give, and they laughed and
+talked for an hour and Sally found him "very clever, amiable and
+polite." In the same letter Sally exclaimed, "Oh, Debby, I have a
+thousand things to tell thee. I shall give thee so droll an account of
+my adventures that thee will smile. 'No occasion of that, Sally,'
+methinks I hear thee say, 'for thee tells me every trifle.' But child,
+thee is mistaken, for I have not told thee half the civil things that
+are said of us SWEET creatures at General Smallwood's Quarters!" Sly
+little Mistress Sally!
+
+On the next day, "A polite 'Good morning' from the Major. More sociable
+than ever. No wonder, a stoic could not resist such affable damsels as
+we are!"--Conceited little monkey--Again, "the Major and I had a little
+chat to ourselves this evening. No harm, I assure thee. He and I are
+friends."
+
+That letter also recounts the coming of Colonel Guest, who at once fell
+a victim to the charms of Liddy, in telling which to Debby, Sally
+remarks, "When will Sally's admirers appear? Ah! that indeed. Why, Sally
+has not charms sufficient to pierce the heart of a soldier. But still I
+won't despair. Who knows what mischief I may yet do?"--Ah, yes, little
+coquette, who knows?
+
+Two days later, she writes, "Liddy, Betsey, Stoddard and myself, seated
+by the fire chatted away an hour in lively conversation. I can't pretend
+to write all he said, but he shone in every subject we talked of," and
+again, "As often as I go to the door, so often have I seen the Major. We
+chat passingly, as 'A fine day, Miss Sally,' Yes, very fine, Major.
+
+"Another very charming conversation with the young Marylander, He has by
+his unexceptionable deportment engaged my esteem."--Lucky Major!
+
+All too soon for the girls at the farm came a command from head-quarters
+that the Army was to march on to Whitemarsh, and the soldiers' two weeks
+of playtime was over. On the day before the leave-taking, Liddy, Betsey
+and Sally, the latter dressed in a white muslin gown, a big bonnet, and
+long gloves, started down the garden path to take a walk. On the porch
+stood two officers watching the retreating figures. One was the Major of
+Sally's fancy, the other a Major Leatherberry, of whom she tersely says,
+"He is a sensible fellow who will not swing for want of a tongue!"
+
+In describing the incident, Sally says, "As we left the house, I
+naturally looked back (of course you did, little coquette) when behold,
+the two majors came fast after us, and begged leave to attend us. No
+fear of a refusal!" she adds, and together the four young people rambled
+through the woodland, flaming with autumn tints, by the bank of the
+overflowing Wissahickon, and Sally says that they shortened the way with
+lively conversation, and that nothing happened that was not entirely
+consistent with the strictest rules of politeness and decorum, but tells
+of pouting when Major Stoddard tried to console her for tearing her
+muslin petticoat, and of flouting Major Leatherberry, when noticing the
+locket against her white throat, he gallantly quoted:
+
+          "On her white neck a sparkling cross she wore,
+           That Jews might kiss or infidels adore,"
+
+but remarks that as a whole the little excursion was full of delights
+for each one of the party, and it was the last good time they had
+together for several weeks, as the farewell came on the next day. Sally
+and the Major seem to have felt the parting keenly, and Sally
+acknowledges to Debby, "I am sorry, for when you have been with
+agreeable people, 'tis impossible not to feel regret when they bid you
+adieu, perhaps forever. When they leave us we shall be immurred in
+solitude," adding tersely, "The Major looks dull."--Poor Major!
+
+Later she adds, "It seems strange not to see our house as it used to be.
+We are very still. No rattling of waggons, glittering of musquets. The
+beating of the distant drum is all we hear."
+
+The journal records no other item of special interest for several weeks,
+except the arrival of two Virginia officers, which somewhat cheers
+Sally, although she describes them in none too glowing terms. She says,
+"Warring, an insignificant piece enough. Lee sings prettily and talks a
+great deal--how good turkey hash and fry'd hominy is!--A pretty
+discourse to entertain ladies! Nothing lowers a man more in my
+estimation than talking of eating. Lee and Warring are proficient in
+this science. Enough of them!"
+
+On the 5th of December, Sally has forgotten all trifling details in a
+new excitement. She writes, "Oh gracious, Debby, I am all alive with
+fear. The English have come out to attack (we imagine) our army. They
+are on Chestnut Hill, our army three miles this side. What will become
+of us, only six miles distant?
+
+"We are in hourly expectation of an engagement. I fear we shall be in
+the midst of it. Heaven defend us from so dreadful a sight. The battle
+of Germantown, and the horrors of that day are recent in my mind. It
+will be sufficiently dreadful if we are only in hearing of the firing,
+to think how many of our fellow creatures are plung'd into the boundless
+ocean of eternity, few of them prepared to meet their fate. But they are
+summoned before an all merciful Judge from whom they have a great deal
+to hope." (Dear little Sally, you are not so frivolous, after all!)
+
+Two days later Major Stoddard appeared unexpectedly, to Sally's
+unconcealed joy. He was looking thin and sick, and was taken care of by
+Mrs. Foulke, but said if he heard firing, he should go with the troops,
+sick or well, which Sally calls "heroic," and at once, fearing he may
+flee hastily, says, "I dressed myself, silk and cotton gown. It is made
+without an apron. I feel quite awkwardish and prefer the girlish
+dresses."
+
+The Major improved so rapidly that on the following day he drank tea
+with the Wisters, and Sally and he had a little private chat, when he
+promised if there should be a battle to come back with a full account
+of it. Later in the afternoon firing was distinctly heard, and it was
+supposed that the opposing armies had begun an engagement. This was
+Howe's famous demonstration against Washington's position at Whitemarsh,
+and a general battle was expected by everyone, but nothing occurred
+except several severe skirmishes. However, at the sound of platoon
+firing, the Major ordered his horse saddled, and if the firing had not
+decreased, could not have been dissuaded from going, though still far
+from strong, and Sally shows great pride in his bravery, as she calls
+it.
+
+The next day's entry tells Debby, "Rejoice with us, my dear. The British
+have returned to the city--charming news this!" They reached
+Philadelphia on that evening, plundering farms on their way, as they
+marched in. Sally devoutly adds, "May we ever be thankful to the
+Almighty Disposer of events for his care and protection of us while
+surrounded with dangers.
+
+"Major went to the army. Nothing for him to do so he returned."
+
+On the following day she writes, "Our Army moved, as we thought to go
+into Winter quarters, but we hear there is a party of the enemy gone
+over the Schuylkill, so our Army went to look at them.
+
+"I observed to Stoddard: 'So you are going, to leave us to the English.'
+
+"'Yes, ha, ha, ha! Leave _you_ to the English!'" was his answer, and the
+glance that accompanied it spoke volumes.
+
+At noon he was gone again, leaving Sally pining for new fields to
+conquer. She did not have to wait long as there were already at the farm
+two officers, whom she now deigns to notice, and describes as "A Captain
+Lipscomb and a Mr. Tilly;" the latter she calls, "a wild noisy mortal
+who appears bashful with girls," and she adds, "We dissipated the
+Major's bashfulness, but I doubt we have not so good a subject now. He
+keeps me in perpetual humour but the creature has not addressed one
+civil thing to me since he came." An incentive to exert all her charms
+and force a victory, Mistress Sally!
+
+It was now nearly the Christmas season, and Stoddard was again at the
+farm, for a brief visit, when an amusing incident took place. Sally was
+sitting in her aunt's parlour with the other girls, darning an apron
+when Major Stoddard joined them, and began to compliment her on her
+skill, with the needle.
+
+"Well, Miss Sally, what would you do if the British were to come here?"
+he asked.
+
+"Do!" exclaimed Sally, "be frightened just to death!"
+
+He laughed and said he would escape their rage by getting behind the
+figure of a British grenadier which was upstairs. "Of all things I would
+like to frighten Tilly with it," he said. "Pray, ladies, let's fix it in
+his chamber to-night."
+
+"If thee will take all of the blame we will assist thee," said wary
+Sally.
+
+"That I will," he replied, and then they made their plan to stand the
+life-size figure of the grenadier which was of a most martial
+appearance, at the door which opened into the road (the house had four
+rooms on a floor with a wide entry running through), with another figure
+which would add to the deceit. One of the servants was to stand behind
+them, others to serve as occasion offered.
+
+"After half an hour's converse," Sally says, "in which we raised our
+expectations to the highest pitch, we parted." On that evening this is
+what happened, according to Sally's chronicle. She says:--"In the
+beginning of the event I went to Liddy and begged her to secure the
+swords and pistols which were in their parlour. The Marylander, hearing
+our voices joined us. I told him of our proposal. He approved of it and
+Liddy went in and brought her apron full of swords and pistols.
+
+"When this was done Stoddard joined the officers. We girls went and
+stood at the first landing of the stairs. The gentlemen were very merry
+and chatting on public affairs when a negro opened the door, candle in
+his hand, and said, 'There's somebody at the door that wishes to see
+you.'
+
+"'Who, all of us?' said Tilly.
+
+"'Yes, sir,' answered the boy.
+
+"They all rose, the Major, as he afterwards said, almost dying with
+laughter, and walked into the entry. Tilly first, in full expectation of
+news.
+
+"The first object that struck his view was a British soldier. In a
+moment his ears were saluted with, 'Is there any rebel officer here?' in
+a thundering voice.
+
+"Not waiting for a second word, Tilly darted like lightning out at the
+front door, through the yard, bolted o'er the fence. Swamps, fences,
+thorn-hedges and ploughed fields no way impeded his retreat. He was soon
+out of hearing.
+
+"The woods echoed with, 'Which way did he go? Stop him! Surround the
+house!' Lipscomb had his hand on the latch, intending to attempt his
+escape. Stoddard, acquainted him with the deceit.
+
+"'Major Stoddard,' said I, 'Go call Tilly back. He will lose
+himself,--indeed he will.' Every word interrupted with a Ha! Ha!
+
+"At last he rose and went to the door and what a loud voice could avail
+in bringing him back, he tried.
+
+"Figure to thyself this Tilly, of a snowy evening, no hat, shoes down at
+the heel, hair unty'd, flying across meadows, creeks and mud holes.
+Flying from what? Why, a bit of painted wood.
+
+"After a while our bursts of laughter being less frequent yet by no
+means subsided; in full assembly of girls and officers, Tilly entered.
+
+"The greatest part of my responsibility turned to pity. Inexpressible
+confusion had taken entire possession of his countenance, his fine hair
+hanging dishevelled down his shoulders, all splashed with mud, yet his
+fright, confusion and race had not divested him of his beauty. He smiles
+as he trips up the steps, briskly walked five or six steps, then stopped
+and took a general survey of us all.
+
+"'Where have you been, Mr. Tilly?' asked one officer. (We girls were
+silent.)
+
+"'I really imagined,' said Stoddard, 'that you were gone for your
+pistols. I follow'd you to prevent danger,' an excessive laugh at each
+question, which it was impossible to restrain.
+
+"'Pray, where are your pistols, Tilly?'
+
+"He broke his silence by the following expression, 'You may all go to
+the devil!'" In recording this, Sally somewhat shocked says, "I never
+heard him utter an indecent expression before."
+
+"At last his good nature gained a complete ascendance over his anger,
+and he joined heartily in the laugh. Stoddard caught hold of his coat.
+'Come, look at what you ran from,' he exclaimed, and dragged him to the
+door.
+
+"Tilly gave it a look, said it was very natural, and by the singularity
+of his expression gave fresh cause for diversion. We all retired,--for
+to rest our faces,--if I may say so.
+
+"Well, certainly these military folk will laugh all night. Such
+screaming I never did hear. Adieu to-night."
+
+Such incidents as that did good service in giving a touch of humour to
+the soldiers' duller duties when in camp, and the vivid picture of Tilly
+and the grenadier comes down to us through the years as a refreshing
+incident of Revolutionary days.
+
+On the next day Sally writes, "I am afraid they will yet carry the joke
+too far. Tilly certainly possesses an uncommon share of good nature or
+he could not tolerate these frequent teasings." Then she adds what is
+most important of all,--
+
+"Ah, Deborah, the Major is going to leave us entirely, just going. I
+will see him first."
+
+And on the next day, "He has gone. I saw him pass the bridge. The woods
+hindered us from following him farther. I seem to fancy he will return
+in the evening."
+
+But he never did, and it is left to our imagining how much of her heart
+the gallant young officer took away with him. Whether much or little,
+there was no evidence of her loss of spirits, and other admirers came
+and went, in quick succession and apparently entirely engaged her
+attention.
+
+On the 20th of December, she writes, "General Washington's army have
+gone into winter quarters at Valley Forge.
+
+"We shall not see so many of the military now. We shall be very intimate
+with solitude. I am afraid stupidity will be a frequent guest," and
+again, "A dull round of the same thing. I shall hang up my pen till
+something happens worth relating."
+
+There being such a lack of diversion at the farm, Sally gladly went to
+spend a week with her friend Polly Fishbourn at Whitemarsh, where she
+had an opportunity to climb the barren hills and from their tops saw an
+extended view of the surrounding country. She says, "The traces of the
+Army which encamped on these hills are very visible,--ragged huts,
+imitations of chimneys, and many other ruinous objects which plainly
+showed that they had been there."
+
+Again back at the farm she had long weeks without any other real
+adventures,--a real one where Sally was concerned, being always one with
+an officer in the foreground, but when June came again there arrived at
+the farm the Virginian captain, Dandridge, who seems to have effectually
+displaced Major Stoddard in the fickle little lady's graces, and she
+described him in glowing terms to Debby, giving very diverting accounts
+of the spicy conversations they had together, for Captain Dandridge was
+famous at repartee, and Sally never at a loss for words to answer back.
+In fact there is no more charming bit of writing in the journal than the
+account of her intimacy with the Captain whom she speaks of as the
+"handsomest man in existence."
+
+In one of Sally's conversations with Dandridge, an interesting light is
+thrown on the attitude of the Wisters in the struggle for independence.
+As Quakers, they professed to be in a neutral position, taking a firm
+stand against war, and preferring not to be drawn into discussions on
+political questions, which is shown by Sally's account of an evening
+when some officers having taken tea in the Wister parlour, she says,
+"the conversation turned on politicks, a subject to avoid. I gave Betsey
+a hint," she adds; "I rose, she followed, and we went out of the room."
+But although theoretically opposed to war, the Wisters, like a majority
+of the Quakers, were at heart friends of liberty. There is no doubt that
+Sally's sympathy was with the American cause, she was quick to deny
+Dandridge's accusation that she was a Tory.
+
+All too soon, Captain Dandridge, like the other officers, rode away from
+the farm after a gallant leave-taking, but Sally's thoughts were soon
+otherwise engrossed. She wrote, "We have had strange reports about the
+British being about to leave Philadelphia. I can't believe it."
+
+And on the following day, "We have heard an astonishing piece of
+news--that the English have entirely left the city. It is almost
+impossible! Stay--I shall hear further," and then on the next, "A light
+horseman has just confirmed the above intelligence! This is _charmante_!
+They decamped yesterday. He (the horseman) was in Philadelphia. It is
+true! They have gone! Past a doubt. I can't help forbear exclaiming to
+the girls, 'Now are you sure the news is true? Now are you _sure_ they
+have gone?'
+
+"'Yes, yes, yes!' they all cry, 'and may they never, never return!'
+
+"Dr. Gould came here to-night. Our army are about six miles off, on their
+march to the Jerseys."
+
+On the next day she adds, "The army began their march at six this
+morning. Our brave, our heroic General Washington was escorted by fifty
+of the Life Guards with drawn swords. Each day he acquires an addition
+to his goodness."
+
+A fine tribute, indeed, to the moving spirit of American Independence,
+and with it let us close Sally Wister's journal, sure that with the
+retreat of the British from Philadelphia, she will soon be able to
+return to the friends from whom she has had such a long separation, and
+so will have no further need to record happenings at the farm as she has
+been doing so faithfully, but can presently relate them not to Debby
+alone, but to the whole "Social Circle," and we may be sure from what
+we know of Mistress Sally that her stories will lose no spice in the
+telling.
+
+If there are those who are reluctant to part with pretty Sally, let them
+turn to the little journal and read it in its spicy entirety for
+themselves, and it were well also after reading this chronicle of a girl
+of the Revolution, to turn to the pages of history and paint in more
+accurate detail the background of our vivid picture of Sally, for only a
+short distance from the farm, across the hills of Gwynedd, the greatest
+actors in the Revolutionary drama were playing their parts--Washington,
+Lafayette, Wayne, Steuben, Greene, and many others--playing the hero's
+part at the battle of Germantown, at the battle of Burgoyne, in the
+skirmishes before Washington's encampment at Whitemarsh, suffering
+silently in a winter at Valley Forge.
+
+Turn to the pages of history for the sombre background and glance once
+again at the piquant face and merry eyes of Sally Wister, half hidden
+under her demure Quaker bonnet, with her snowy kerchief crossed so
+smoothly over her tempestuous young heart, as she looked when soldiers
+and officers fell under the charm of her bewitching personality!
+
+
+
+
+COFACHIQUI:
+
+An Indian Princess of Historic Legend
+
+
+IT was a day in late April. In the flourishing Indian town of Yupaha, a
+town lying on the east bank of the Savannah River, in what is now the
+State of South Carolina, an unusual commotion was evident. An Indian on
+the river bank had noticed with his far-seeing eyes a strange sight on
+the opposite side of the river. The sunshine was flashing on glinting
+brass and steel implements upheld by a host of strange foreigners who
+were massed near the river, some on foot and others mounted on such
+animals as the Indian had never before seen. What was to be the next
+move of these strangers? Were they planning to cross the river and
+invade the Red Man's stronghold? Quickly the Indian called around him
+the principal men of the village, sent a message also to the young and
+beautiful princess who had recently been made Queen of the province of
+Cofachiqui and of many neighbouring provinces. This princess was so just
+and loyal and honest in dealing with her people that they loved her as
+though she had been a wise man instead of a young girl. Now she was
+quickly told of the strange spectacle across the water and came herself
+to view it. Then her councillors gathered around her to receive her
+commands, and several Indians hurrying to the river, hastily embarked in
+their canoes, the rhythmic sound of their paddles echoing on the still
+air.
+
+Meanwhile on the bank toward which they steered their canoes, there was
+an air of expectancy as the canoes came nearer, were grounded, as six
+stalwart Indian chiefs filed up the bank from the river, and stood
+before the foreigners, who were no other than Hernandez de Soto, the
+Spanish general, and his band of adventurers. The chiefs made three
+profound bows, one toward the East, to the Sun, one toward the West, to
+the moon, and one to De Soto himself. Then their spokesman asked:
+
+"Do you wish peace or war?"
+
+"Peace," answered De Soto promptly. "We ask only permission to pass
+through your province, transportation across the river, food while we
+are in your territory and the treatment of friends, not foes."
+
+Gravely the Indian listened, gravely he answered. Peace, he said, could
+be assured, but for the other requests there must be time given to make
+answer. Cofachiqui, queen of the province bearing her name, must be
+consulted. Of food there was a scant supply because of a pestilence
+which had recently ravaged their land causing many natives to go into
+the forests, and preventing them from planting their fields as usual,
+but if the strangers would await Cofachiqui's response to their demands
+with what patience they could command, that patience would surely be
+rewarded.
+
+The Indian ceased speaking and bowed. Gravely his companions also bowed.
+The interview was over. With silent sinuous strides the chiefs retraced
+their steps to the river, and entered their canoes which soon shot
+through the water, homeward bound, watched by the eager eyes of the
+waiting Spaniards.
+
+[Illustration: COFACHIQUI, THE INDIAN PRINCESS]
+
+Now although De Soto had shown surprise at the news that the ruler of
+the neighbouring province was a young princess, the surprise was not
+genuine. Some months earlier in the season, while encamped in what is
+now the State of Florida, an Indian had been captured and brought into
+the Spanish camp. This youth had told thrilling tales to the Spaniards
+of the fascinating young Queen Cofachiqui and he related to a breathless
+audience how all the neighbouring chiefs paid tribute to her as to a
+great ruler, and sent her presents of magnificent clothing and
+provisions and gold. At the mention of gold which was the ruling passion
+of De Soto and his followers, they plied the young Indian with further
+questions, and he, hoping for release as the price of his information,
+told in detail of the wonderful yellow metal which was found in such
+quantities in the province of Cofachiqui and neighbouring territories
+and how it was melted and refined, and as the Spaniards listened, they
+exchanged glances of joy that at last after all their weary wanderings,
+they were to find the long-looked-for treasure. At once they broke camp,
+robbing and plundering the Indians, without whose kindness and
+hospitality during the long Winter months they would have fared badly,
+but of that they were careless, and in every possible way drained the
+stores of the savages who had befriended them, in fitting themselves out
+for their expedition northward.
+
+Then for long weeks they pressed onward through the trackless forest
+with no chart or compass, except such general directions as they
+received from the young Indian, to guide them, and as they travelled
+they left behind them a trail of theft and barbarous cruelty and murder
+in return for the kindness of the simple-minded natives whom they
+encountered in their march.
+
+At last in late April they found themselves in the territory governed by
+Cofachiqui, the fair young girl who was ruler of many provinces and
+possessor of much gold, and their hopes of conquest were high. So, in
+accord with a hastily-laid plan, they massed themselves on the east
+bank of the river, with the sunlight glinting through the great forest
+trees behind them, shining on their weapons and armour, and thus they
+received the visit of the Indians from the town of Yupaha, capital of
+Cofachiqui.
+
+The interview was over--the Spaniards watched the chiefs as they
+disembarked on the opposite shore, saw a great crowd of natives gather
+around them, engaging in eager conversation, saw canoes being again made
+ready for use, one more showily ornamented than the others being filled
+with cushions and mats, over which a canopy was hastily raised. The eyes
+of the Spaniards were strained to lose no detail of the Indians'
+preparations as four strong young braves came in sight, carrying a
+palanquin down to the river edge, from which a young woman alighted, and
+gracefully stepped into the gaudily decked canoe.
+
+"The Princess! It can be no other!" exclaimed an excited and susceptible
+dragoon, and all eyes were at once centred on the slight, lithe figure
+seated now in the canoe. She was followed by eight Indian women, who
+also seated themselves in the boat with their Queen and took up the
+paddles, making the little craft cut swiftly through the water by the
+power of their deft strokes, while the men followed in another canoe.
+
+The shore was reached. Gracefully, quietly the princess stepped from her
+barge, and ascended the bank, her women following in an impressive
+procession, until they stood before the army of expectant Spaniards. De
+Soto, after one glance into the lustrous dark eyes of the girlish
+princess, rose and placed the throne chair by his own side, and with a
+swift and gracious acknowledgment of his courtesy, the princess took it,
+and began to speak rapidly in a low melodious voice.
+
+"My chiefs tell me you ask for provisions and shelter while passing
+through my provinces," she said.
+
+De Soto asked his interpreter what her words meant and inclined his head
+in affirmation, while his soldiers watched the mobile face of the
+princess, fascinated by her beauty, as she spoke again.
+
+"We give you and your men a hearty welcome and will protect your
+interests as if they were our own while you remain with us," she said.
+"But for provisions, my chiefs told you of the pestilence which has so
+ravaged our land that the fields have not been planted as usual, but I
+have two storehouses filled with grain which I have collected for the
+relief of those whom the pestilence has spared, one of those shall be at
+your service, sir. As to your accommodation," this with a graceful wave
+of her hand as though including De Soto in all that she possessed, "half
+of my own house is at your disposal, and your men may make themselves at
+home in as many of the buildings in the village as are necessary, for
+barracks."
+
+Watching De Soto's face, and fancying she saw disapproval there, the
+princess hastily added, "But if that is not satisfactory to you, oh,
+sir, I and my people can retire to a neighbouring village, leaving you
+in possession of my own."
+
+Her winning hospitality was not to be resisted. A grave and courtly
+smile flitted over De Soto's face and he hastily reassured her that this
+would not be necessary, then asked if she could provide them with a
+means of transportation across the river. To this Cofachiqui replied,
+"That has already been attended to, and to-morrow morning rafts and
+canoes will be in readiness for your use."
+
+While she was speaking, De Soto had fallen under the spell of her
+musical voice and personal charm and when she finished he rose, and
+bending over her hand, kissed it in true cavalier fashion, assuring her
+of his loyalty and good faith, as well as those of his sovereign, and
+although the vow was as insincere as it was effective, it gave great joy
+to simple-minded, big-hearted Cofachiqui, who believed that these
+foreigners were as trustworthy as she was, and were hereafter to be her
+friends and allies.
+
+Slowly she unwound a long string of pearls as large as hazelnuts that
+were wound three times around her graceful throat and fell in a long
+strand to her waist, and handing them to De Soto's interpreter, she
+asked him to present them to his commander whose eyes gleamed at sight
+of the magnificent jewels, although he shook his head saying gallantly,
+"But Madame, they will be doubly precious if given by your own hand."
+
+The princess flashed an arch glance at the handsome Spanish general, but
+showed her reluctance, replying that such an act would lay her open to
+the charge of immodesty. This being repeated to De Soto by his
+interpreter, he answered firmly and chivalrously,
+
+"More indeed than the pearls themselves would I value the favour of
+receiving them from her hand, and in acting so she would not go against
+modesty, for we are treating of peace and friendship, of all things the
+most important, most serious between strange people."
+
+Having heard this apparent declaration of amity the princess allowed
+herself to be persuaded, then rose, and with her own hands placed the
+string of costly pearls around the neck of De Soto. He too stood, and
+taking from his hand a valuable ring, set with a large ruby, which he
+had doubtless pillaged from the Peruvians, he begged Cofachiqui to
+accept it.
+
+Won by his magnetism and courtly manner the heart of the princess beat
+fast, and with evident pleasure she accepted the ring and placed it on
+her finger. Then with a bewitching smile to De Soto, and another to his
+men, she turned and retraced her steps to the river, and followed as
+before by her attendants, she again entered the canoe which under the
+impelling strokes of the sturdy Indian women, shot homeward, leaving the
+ranks of the Spanish army quite demoralised by such a vision of youth
+and beauty, as well as charmed by a strength of character which made
+them call the princess then and ever afterwards _La Sanora_, or the lady
+of Cofachiqui, and both then and ever after did she deserve the title,
+for no truer-hearted, kindlier-mannered aristocrat ever made and kept
+covenant of faith with a treacherous foe, than did she, this sweet
+princess of a barbarian race.
+
+So much in love with her already were the susceptible Spaniards that
+they awaited the morrow with extreme impatience and could only while
+away the hours with tales of her perfections told to the master of camp
+and the remainder of the army, but just arrived from the interior.
+
+At the appointed hour of the next day came the promised rafts and canoes
+to transport them, and soon De Soto and his cavaliers found themselves
+in the most beautiful spot, and among the most hospitable Indians they
+had ever yet encountered. They were peaceable and affable in manner and
+almost as white as the Spaniards themselves, and so intelligent that it
+was possible to gain much valuable information from them concerning the
+region and its products. As for the lovely princess herself, daily the
+strangers became more astonished at her soundness of judgment, and
+practical grasp of affairs, which would easily have challenged many a
+white man's mental capacity.
+
+With eager desire to make her guests as comfortable as possible, and
+also with a touch of personal interest in the handsome cavaliers,
+Cofachiqui ordered wigwams to be put up for the soldiers under the
+shading mulberry trees, placed houses at the disposal of the officers
+and made everything bend to the comfort of the Spaniards to such a
+degree that the delighted army approached their general with a petition
+to make a permanent settlement there. But De Soto was a man of one
+controlling passion and was impervious to all pleas, reiterating these
+words, "Our quest is for gold, not for comfort or for courtesy. We must
+press on."
+
+A man of few words but of inflexible purpose, the soldiers knew only too
+well the uselessness of entreating him further and putting aside their
+emotional appreciation of Cofachiqui's kindness, even while accepting
+all that she gave them, set to work and secretly discovered the burial
+place of her people, and robbed it not only of figures of babies and
+birds made of iridescent shells, but also of three hundred and fifty
+weight of pearls. Then, fired with the lust of possession, and having
+found out that Cofachiqui's widowed mother, who lived in retirement
+forty miles down the river, was the owner of many fine pearls, De Soto
+at once began to plan to get her in his power. Of this he gave no hint
+to the princess, but pretended, in his long daily conversations with
+her, that he was her loyal friend, and his only aim was peace so long as
+he and his men should be in her territory. At the same time he suggested
+casually to Cofachiqui, who was still somewhat under the spell of his
+magnetic personality, (although now not altogether unconscious of the
+selfish deeds done to her people in his name) that perhaps her mother
+would enjoy coming up to Yupaha to meet his people who were unlike any
+she had ever known, also to see the wonderful animals they rode,--for
+the fine horses of the Spanish cavalrymen were the greatest admiration
+of the Indians. To his suggestion Cofachiqui gave a pleasant assent, and
+at once De Soto's message was conveyed to the Queen's mother by a young
+Indian who had been brought up as the elder woman's own son. But the
+Queen's mother had lived longer, and had a broader knowledge of the
+world and of the treachery of the white man than had her daughter, and
+instead of accepting the invitation in the spirit in which it was
+apparently given, she sent a sharp reproof to Cofachiqui for having
+allowed strangers about whom she knew nothing to invade her capital.
+
+The news was duly brought to De Soto, who set his firm lips more firmly
+still, and then ordered one of his officers, Juan de Anasco, to take
+with him thirty men and start at once for the dwelling-place of the
+Queen's mother, and force her not only to see them, but also to return
+with them to the camp. On hearing this, the princess argued with him as
+to the uselessness of the expedition. "My mother," she said, "is of a
+firm will and tenacious purpose. Had she been willing to see you, she
+would have come at once. Do not urge her."
+
+But De Soto spoke in a tone of firm command, telling her that she must
+supply a guide for the expedition, and with no further sign of
+reluctance Cofachiqui again commissioned the young Indian, of whom her
+mother was so fond, to lead the strangers forth, hoping that the lad's
+coming would make a stronger appeal to her mother than all the force
+that could be used.
+
+When the young fellow stood equipped for the journey, receiving his
+instructions from Cofachiqui, he was so strikingly handsome, both in
+face and stalwart figure, that even the Spaniards could not but note it.
+On his back was strung a magnificent bow as tall as he, and a quiver
+full of arrows, his mantle was of finest softest deerskin and on his
+head was set a coronet of rare feathers.
+
+That evening the party set out, and on the following day when the sun
+was high, stopped to rest under a spreading clump of trees, and as the
+Spaniards lounged in the refreshingly cool spot, the young guide sat
+apart, not entering into the gaiety of his comrades, but with his head
+bent in his hands, in apparently deep and melancholy reverie. Then
+rousing with a start, he threw himself down beside the others and began
+to show them the arrows with which his quiver was filled, and the
+Spaniards examined them with eager interest and surprise, for they were
+gems of carving and of polish, and each one was different from the
+other. While the soldiers' attention was thus centred, the young Indian
+gave a quick glance at them, then suddenly he drew out a dagger-edged
+flint head, plunged it into his throat and fell at their feet. With
+cries of horror they bent over him, but it was too late. The cut had
+severed an artery and life was already gone from the noble form.
+
+Only too well the young man had known when he started out on this second
+expedition that the queen's mother whom he so dearly loved, would never
+be willing to have any acquaintance with these strangers, for she
+distrusted them. On the other hand he had received a command from his
+much revered princess to conduct the Spaniards to her mother's home, and
+if need be to bring her to Yupaha by force. He dared not disobey, but
+his heart was heavy at the thought. He was unwilling to so treat one who
+had always been kind to him and he had taken his own life rather than be
+disloyal. Where in the annals of history can be found a greater proof of
+devotion than this?
+
+The tragedy brought great consternation to the Spaniards, for without
+the youth it was impossible to go on to their destination unless some of
+the other Indians in their party would volunteer to conduct them, but
+they all swore they did not know where the queen's mother lived, and for
+some hours the Spaniards still rested in the heart of the forest,
+talking over their plans. Meanwhile Cofachiqui, alone with her people
+for the first time since the coming of the strangers, had called
+together her chiefs, and was with them discussing matters of importance
+to all her subjects. One old chief spoke bitterly of the expressed
+desire of the cavaliers for conquest, for gold, and warned his princess
+that she was in danger of disaster if she harboured the intruders any
+longer, but Cofachiqui answered with flashing eyes:
+
+"You ask me to betray those who have given me loyalty and trust? You
+call these strangers unworthy of confidence because they demand the
+presence of my mother? How do we know what the white man's code of
+honour about such matters is? To the very end I shall keep my covenant
+of good faith with them and you as my people will do as I command!" Her
+firmness was so evident, and so did she hold her people's hearts in her
+keeping that the old chiefs never again mentioned that which was making
+more than one in the community uneasy, but they were no less troubled
+because Cofachiqui showed no concern about the matter.
+
+Their conference over, the Spaniards had decided to press on without a
+guide, and for two days wandered aimlessly through jungles and swamps in
+excessive heat and discomfort, then, exhausted by disappointment and by
+the weight of their heavy armour, they returned to the camp in no happy
+frame of mind, carrying with them the sad news of the young guide's
+death, upon the reason for which Cofachiqui pondered long and deeply.
+
+Once decided on a course of action, De Soto was not a man to be balked,
+and when several days later an Indian secretly came to him with an offer
+to personally conduct him to the home of the queen's mother, the offer
+was gladly accepted and a second expedition set out. But the lady in
+question was a person of determination too, and hearing of the approach
+of the party, doubtless from one of Cofachiqui's chiefs, she quietly
+fled to some more sheltered spot, and after six days of wandering in
+search of her, the party returned to camp in disgust and never again
+attempted to visit her.
+
+Even when apparently absorbed with other things, De Soto's whole mind
+was centred on planning how to discover the gold which he had been told
+could be found in such large quantities in the territory belonging to
+the princess. Always a diplomat, he spoke carelessly of the pearls which
+she had given him, asked whether she also owned any yellow and white
+metals similar to the rings and other ornaments he showed her. As always
+when she talked with him Cofachiqui's eyes sparkled, and her whole
+nature seemed to go out to him in confidence and interest.
+
+"Indeed, yes," she made answer through her interpreter, "on my land
+there is an abundance of metals, both white and yellow."
+
+De Soto's eyes gleamed at the statement. Then she summoned an Indian,
+and directed him to go at once and bring to her specimens of both kinds
+of metals. With ill-concealed impatience De Soto waited for the
+messenger's return, and almost snatched the small lumps from his hands,
+as the messenger brought them to the princess. With radiant joy she
+handed them to De Soto, glad to give another proof of her friendship.
+One look was enough, the yellow metal was only copper, the shining white
+specimen was a worthless kind of quartz!
+
+Glancing at De Soto with eyes full of pride in the products of her
+realm, Cofachiqui's expression changed to one of surprise and fear, for
+on the face before her she saw such rage and hatred that she knew
+something dangerous had happened; and trembled lest revenge should be
+visited on her guiltless people. In a gently soothing voice she hastily
+said, pointing with a graceful wave of her hands to a spot in the
+distance, "Yonder is the burial place of our village warriors. There you
+will find our pearls. Take what you wish, and if you wish more, not far
+from here there is a village which was the home of my forefathers. Its
+temple is larger than this. You will find there so many pearls that even
+if you loaded all your horses with them, and yourselves with as much as
+you could carry you would not come to the end of them. Many years have
+my people been collecting and storing pearls. Take all and if you still
+want more, we can get even more for you from the fishing place of my
+people."
+
+What an offer! It could be no other than evidence of a heart's real
+devotion, or of deep rooted fear, when an Indian princess offers to rob
+the burial place,--the treasure house of her ancestors!
+
+While Cofachiqui, with appealing eyes, made the offer as a substitute
+for what De Soto had evidently been disappointed in finding, the
+Spaniard's hopes revived, and with a quick reassuring gesture he took
+and kissed the hand of the princess in his most courtly manner, which
+courtesy she received with proud dignity, and gave no further evidence
+that her heart had ever been touched by the fascinating general.
+
+De Soto lost no time in accepting the offer made by Cofachiqui, and two
+days later, with a large number of his officers, and escorted by some of
+the household of the princess, who made no promise which she did not
+carry out to the full, De Soto visited the temple of which she had
+spoken. During the three mile trip, they passed through such wonderfully
+fertile country, saw such luxuriant vegetation, picked so much luscious
+fruit hanging in profusion from the fruit trees on the way, that the
+cavaliers felt this to be truly the promised land and again begged their
+commanding general to make a settlement here, but he only responded by
+silence and by marching on. At last the temple was reached. Impressively
+the Indians threw back the massive doors and on the threshold the
+Spaniards stood, spell-bound by the beauty and the majesty of what they
+saw, so the historian of the party tells us.
+
+Twelve gigantic wooden statues confronted them, counterfeiting life with
+such ferocity of expression and such audacity, of posture, as could not
+but awe them. Six stood on one side and six on the other side of the
+door, as if to guard it, and to forbid anyone to enter. Those next the
+door were giants about twelve feet high, the others diminished in size
+by regular gradation. Each pair held a different kind of weapon and
+stood in attitude to use it.
+
+Passing between the lines of monsters, the foreigners entered a great
+room. Overhead were rows of lustrous shells such as covered the roof,
+and strands of pearls interspersed with strings of bright feathers all
+seemed to be floating in the air in a bewildering tapestry. Along the
+upper sides of the four walls ran two rows of statues, figures of men
+and women in natural size, each placed on a separate pedestal. The men
+held various weapons, and each weapon was ornamented with a string of
+pearls. The burial chests were placed on benches around the four sides
+of the room, and in the centre, on the floor were also rows of caskets
+placed one on top of the other. All the caskets were filled with pearls,
+and the pearls were distributed according to size, the largest in the
+large caskets, the smaller seed pearls in the smallest caskets. In all
+there was such a quantity of pearls that the Spaniards confessed to the
+truth of the statement of Cofachiqui, that if they loaded themselves
+with as many as they could carry, and loaded their three hundred horses
+with them, too, there would still be hundreds of bushels left. And, too,
+there were in the room great heaps of handsome deerskins dyed in
+different colours, and skins of other animals. Opening out of this great
+room were eight small rooms filled with all sorts of weapons. In the
+last room were mats of cane so finely woven that few of the Spanish
+crossbowmen could have put a bolt through them.
+
+The Spaniards were greatly elated with the discovery of such a store of
+treasure, and it is said that De Soto dipped his joined hands, made into
+a receptacle for the purpose, into the piles of pearls, and gave
+handfuls to each cavalier, saying that they were to make rosaries of, to
+say prayers on for their sins. For some strange reason, however, most of
+the jewels were left undisturbed, perhaps in the same way that fortunes
+are left in a bank, to be drawn on at will. Sure we are, from the true
+account of the historian, that the Spaniards were fully aware of the
+value of the pearls given to them by Cofachiqui, and sure it is also
+that De Soto must have exulted with a passion of triumph at being the
+lawful owner of such treasures. But his desire for gold, his greed for
+gain, was insatiable. Having examined his newly acquired store house of
+possessions he eagerly inquired of the Indians if they knew of any
+still richer land farther west. This question gave Cofachiqui's chiefs
+the chance they had been hoping for to rid themselves of him whom they
+now knew as a treacherous guest, and they hastily assured De Soto that
+farther on to the north was a more powerful chief ruling over a far
+richer country, called Chiaha. The news delighted De Soto and he
+determined to march on at once. In vain his men pleaded to remain where
+they had found such treasure, had been shown such kindness--his reply
+was that there were not enough provisions in the province to support
+their army much longer, and that by continuing their march they might be
+repaid by finding the longed-for gold. But he added, cannily, should
+their quest be unsuccessful they could return, by which time the Indians
+would have replanted their fields and there would be abundance of food.
+As usual, he had his way, and the tidings were brought to the princess
+that the foreigners were to take up their march for Chiaha, on the
+fourth of May. Doubtless she was not sorry, for during the latter part
+of their stay, their treachery and cruelty had been so evident, that
+whatever feeling of comradeship with them she had before felt, must have
+been rudely dissipated, and seeing evidence of her changed sentiments De
+Soto was so uneasy lest like her mother she should flee from him, that
+he appointed a guard who kept watch over her by day and by night, so she
+could not by any possibility escape. To the cavalier who was appointed
+to this task, no menial labour could have been more humiliating, and he
+accepted it under protest, but the lady of Cofachiqui over whom he was
+obliged to keep guard showed no signs of being disturbed at her
+position, but with proud and haughty glances went calmly about her daily
+tasks as though it was a common thing for her to have a keeper. Then
+came the day of De Soto's leave-taking, and masking her joy at the
+event, Cofachiqui stood proudly to receive his farewell, with as much
+grace and dignity as on the day when she had received him and his men.
+But suddenly her eyes flashed with anger, her throat parched with
+humiliation, a frenzy of proud horror and rebellion filled her--she
+heard the man who had before kissed her hand so chivalrously, who had so
+fascinated her, give the stern command that she, _La Sanora_, Queen of
+the realm, was to accompany the Spaniards on foot with her retinue of
+women attendants!
+
+"_And what is this for?_" she flung out the question with an imperious
+challenge, but De Soto vouchsafed no answer, and the army took up its
+march with the little band of Indian women safely guarded at the rear.
+Cofachiqui soon found out why she had been carried on the expedition,
+for De Soto obliged her to make use of her influence in controlling the
+Indians along his line of march, so that his army not only was not
+attacked, on account of the protecting presence of the gracious ruler
+for whom her people had such a deep affection, but also at her command
+they supplied De Soto with guides, as well as with men to carry baggage
+and provisions, while travelling through her territory.
+
+For a week, another and still a third, Cofachiqui was dragged in the
+vanguard of the Spanish army, a prisoner, and with the passing of each
+day in captivity to these traitorous white men on whom she had formerly
+looked with such reverence, her heart grew faint with apprehension, deep
+shadows came beneath her lustrous eyes, and there was never a sound of
+her silvery laughter as of old.
+
+But these were the only visible signs of the effect of her subjection.
+To the Spaniards she was still courageous, calm and dignified, whatever
+she may have felt.
+
+Then came a wild night of storm in the forest, torrents of rain and
+mighty wind that roared and thundered through the great trees, shaking
+them as if they had been saplings. While the tempest was at its height
+Cofachiqui, by a signal known only to her tribe, summoned one of her
+faithful women to her side,--by signs told her what she had to
+tell,--then the woman crept stealthily back to her forest bed, and there
+was no sound in the encampment but the roar of the wind and rain.
+
+The next day dawned cloudless, and at an early hour all the Spaniards
+were busily at work, repairing the severe damage done by the storm. In
+replacing a tent a woman's deft hand was needed, and Cofachiqui's name
+echoed through the forest. No answer came, and an impatient cavalier
+himself ran to summon her. At the door of her tent he stood as if turned
+to marble. Cofachiqui was not there! Not a bead, an ornament, an article
+of clothing, was to be found! No, nor the casket of wonderful pearls
+entrusted to her care by De Soto. _La Sanora_, queen of many provinces,
+lady of the land she had ruled over so wisely and so well, had fled, and
+all her women with her!
+
+Never again, despite De Soto's frenzied and persistent search, despite
+the added efforts of the united Spanish army, did they discover any
+trace of the brave, beautiful young girl who had received such
+treacherous treatment in return for her gracious hospitality.
+
+Clever Cofachiqui! Where she fled, or how she fled, or when she fled,
+will always be a mystery, but her name has come down to us on the pages
+of historic legend, not as fairy-tale but as fact, and she stands with
+the lime-light of ages thrown on her clear-cut character as a girl
+sweet, brave and loyal--the most precious relic bequeathed to the New
+World by De Soto and his cavaliers.
+
+
+
+
+JENNY LIND:
+
+The Swedish Nightingale
+
+
+IN the City of Stockholm there is one street leading up to the Church of
+St. Jacob, on which in years gone by there was a constant succession of
+pedestrians and vehicles. In fact in 1830, it was one of the most lively
+streets in the city, and often a passer would stop to look up at a
+window where every day a little girl sat, holding a big cat decorated
+with a blue ribbon. To this pet the child sang constantly, sang bits of
+operas or popular airs which she had heard, and the childish voice was
+so clear and sweet and true even in very high notes, that it attracted
+quite a crowd of listeners, and it became a regular habit with many
+persons to pause for a moment and listen to the song poured out for the
+benefit of pussy with the blue bow!
+
+Among those who saw the pretty picture and heard the song was the maid
+of a Mademoiselle Lundberg, a dancer at the Royal Opera House. She was
+told such an ecstatic story of the child's beautiful voice, that she
+became deeply interested, and having found out that the little singer's
+name was Jenny Lind wrote a note asking the child's mother, Fru Lind, to
+bring Jenny to her home that she might hear her sing.
+
+Fru Lind acceded to the request and when she took Jenny to pay the
+promised visit, and the child's voice had been tried, Mademoiselle
+Lundberg clasped her hands in rapture, exclaiming:
+
+"She is a genius. You must have her educated for the stage."
+
+The words meant nothing to Jenny, but they struck terror to the heart of
+the mother, to whose old-fashioned notions the stage was another name
+for ruin. In vain the actress pleaded that it would be a sin to allow
+such talent to be wasted,--still Fru Lind shook her head, and the
+actress diplomatically argued no more, but by eager questions learned
+the history of Jenny's family.
+
+Being the wife of an amiable and good-natured man who was unable to
+support his family, Fru Lind was obliged to keep a small school in
+Stockholm to eke out expenses, and as she had not time to take care of
+Jenny as well as teach, the child had for three years been boarded out
+with a church organist's family not far from the city, but had finally
+been brought back, to become a pupil in her mother's school, being cared
+for mainly by her grandmother, to whom Jenny was devotedly attached. All
+this Mademoiselle Lundberg learned from answers to her questions, and
+seeing her keen interest, the mother continued her narrative, "It was my
+mother who first noticed Jenny's voice," she said. "Some street
+musicians had been playing in front of the house and the child must have
+heard them and listened closely, for as soon as they were gone, she went
+to the piano and played and sang the air she had heard. My mother in the
+next room, hearing the music, thought Jenny's half sister was at the
+piano, and called out, 'Amalia, is that you?' Jenny, evidently fearing
+she had done something to be punished for, crept under the piano, where
+my mother found her and pulling her out, exclaimed, 'Why, child, was
+that _you_?'" Jenny said that it was, and as soon as Fru Lind came in,
+the grandmother gleefully told her daughter the incident, adding, "Mark
+my words, that child will bring you help," and the mother, struggling
+so hard to make ends meet, devoutly hoped that the prediction might come
+true.
+
+Soon after that as her school did not pay, Fru Lind became a governess,
+and the grandmother went to the Widows' Home, taking Jenny with her. The
+child, who was too young to realise what such a step meant, was as happy
+as could be there; as she said afterwards, "I sang with every step I
+took, and with every jump my feet made," and when she was not jumping or
+stepping, she sat in the window singing to her big pet pussy cat. All
+this the mother told Mademoiselle Lundberg, who again begged that Jenny
+at least be taught to sing correctly, to which Fru Lind agreed, and the
+actress at once wrote a letter of introduction to Herr Croelius, the
+court Secretary, and singing master at the Royal Theatre, and gave it to
+Fru Lind. Off went mother and daughter to present it, but when they
+reached the Opera House and were about to mount its steps, Fru Lind
+shook her head, and turned back--she could not launch her child on any
+such career.
+
+But here Jenny became insistent, for from all the conversation she had
+heard between her mother and the actress, she had gathered that mounting
+those steps would mean something new and interesting, and at last she
+had her way. They sought and found the studio of Croelius, and Jenny
+sang for him a bit from one of Winter's operas, and the teacher, deeply
+moved by the purity and strength of the child's voice, at once set a
+date for her first lesson with him.
+
+After only a few lessons, Croelius became so proud of his pupil that he
+took her to sing for Count Pücke, manager of the Court Theatre, hoping
+that this powerful man might be so impressed with the child's voice that
+he would do something to push her forward quickly into public notice.
+One can picture the interview between Count Pücke, businesslike and
+abrupt, and little Jenny, then plainly dressed and awkward, far from
+pretty, and too bashful even to lift her eyes to meet the keen glance of
+the Count. Looking coldly from her to Croelius, the Count asked:
+
+"How old is she?"
+
+"Nine years old," answered Croelius.
+
+"Nine!" echoed the Count. "Why, this is not a nursery. It is the king's
+theatre."
+
+Then with another glance at Jenny he asked coldly, "What should we do
+with such an ugly creature? See what feet she has, and then her face!
+She will never be presentable. Certainly we can't take such a
+scarecrow."
+
+Croelius, indignant at such brutality, put a protecting arm around the
+girl and said proudly, "If you will not take her, I, poor as I am, will
+myself have her educated for the stage," and turning, was about to leave
+the room when the Count commanded him to remain and let him hear what
+the child could do.
+
+Trembling with fear of the result, Jenny sang the simplest song she
+knew, and when she finished the Count was silent, for the lovely quality
+of the voice he had just heard, had deeply moved him. Rising, he shook
+hands with both teacher and pupil, and as quick in his generosity as in
+his brusqueness, he at once announced that she was to be admitted into
+the theatrical school connected with the Royal Theatre, and to be placed
+under the special instruction of the operatic director, Herr Berg, and
+his assistant, the Swedish composer, Lindblad.
+
+Small wonder that Jenny left the building in a flutter of excitement, or
+that Croelius was as beaming now as he had been depressed before, and he
+lost no time in seeing that his little pupil was placed according to
+the instructions of the great Count Pücke.
+
+It was the custom of the Royal Theatre to board its pupils out, and as
+Jenny's mother was no longer a governess and had returned to Stockholm,
+the girl lived at home, together with several other pupils of the Royal
+Theatre, and for two years worked so hard and accomplished such wonders
+in the development of her voice that she became known as a musical
+prodigy.
+
+During the year she entered the Royal Theatre she acted in a play called
+"The Polish Mine," and the next year in another, and the press spoke of
+her acting as showing fire and feeling far beyond her years. She also
+sang in concerts, in that way helping to pay for her board and clothes.
+
+At the theatre she was taught all branches necessary to her profession,
+and not only did she have an exquisite voice, but whatever rôle she
+undertook was conceived with bold originality of style. Then when a
+golden future of triumph seemed stretching out before her, came a
+crushing disaster. All of a sudden her glorious voice was gone!
+
+Whatever may have been the cause, the fact remained, and Jenny at twelve
+showed her fineness of character by the way she faced the cruel
+disappointment, and continued with her instrumental work, and with such
+exercises as were fitted to the remnant of voice she still possessed.
+Faithfully, persistently, she worked for four long years, only hoping
+now for smaller rewards instead of the great operatic triumph which had
+been her earlier ambition, trying to achieve results as conscientiously
+as before.
+
+Herr Berg was supervising a grand concert to be given at the Court
+Theatre, and was in a dilemma. The fourth act of _Robert le Diable_ was
+to be given, but all his singers refused to take the part of Alice,
+because it included only one solo. The Herr Direktor was distracted, but
+finally thought of his unlucky pupil, Jenny Lind, whose voice could be
+trusted in such a minor part, and calling her to his room, he offered
+her the part. Without demur she accepted it, and practised feverishly,
+but on the night of the performance she was so nervous for fear her
+voice would fail, that those near the stage could see her slender form
+tremble with fright and excitement. Perhaps the tension and the passion
+with which she was labouring wrought the miracle. At all events, she
+sang the aria of her part with such wonderful beauty and richness of
+tone that the audience were beside themselves with admiration. Jenny's
+voice had come out fuller, finer than ever! The recently despised young
+singer became instantly the heroine of the hour, while Herr Berg,
+watching behind the scenes, was spell-bound with surprise and joy.
+
+The next day he called her to his room and offered her the rôle of
+Agatha in Weber's _Der Freischutz_.
+
+Ever since Jenny first began to study and to hear operatic music, this
+rôle had been in secret her highest ambition, and one can picture her
+standing before the Direktor, her blue eyes flashing with excitement,
+her mobile face expressing a dozen varying degrees of joy while her
+slender girlish figure looked almost too slight for the task, as she
+joyfully accepted the responsibility.
+
+At once she began rehearsing, and one day when she put forth every
+effort to express emotion in the way her dramatic teacher wished, the
+effort was met with silence.
+
+"Am I then so incapable," she thought. Then glancing at her teacher she
+saw tears in the eyes of the older woman, who exclaimed:
+
+"My child, I have nothing to teach you--do as nature tells you,"--and
+Jenny knew that her supreme effort had not been wasted.
+
+It is said that she studied the part of Agatha with all the intensity of
+her enthusiastic nature and at the last rehearsal sang with such intense
+feeling and fire that the orchestra, to a man, laid down their
+instruments and applauded loudly. The next day, before the performance,
+she was very nervous and worried, but the moment she appeared on the
+stage every bit of apprehension vanished, and as Fredrika Bremer said,
+"She was fresh, bright and serene as a morning in May, peculiarly
+graceful and lovely in her whole appearance. She seemed to move, speak
+and sing without effort or art. Her singing was distinguished especially
+by its purity and the power of soul which seemed to swell in her tones."
+Jenny herself said afterwards, "I got up that morning one creature. I
+went to bed another creature. I had found my power."
+
+During her entire after life she kept that anniversary, the seventh of
+March, in grateful remembrance of her triumph, as a sort of second
+birthday.
+
+For the next year and a half she worked indefatigably, and her success
+as an operatic singer seemed assured; she became the star of the
+Stockholm opera, as well as the most popular singer in Sweden, and was
+called the "Swedish Nightingale."
+
+After singing without rest for months, she was able to take a short
+holiday in the summer of 1839, and Fru Lind, who accompanied her, wrote
+back to her husband, "Our Jenny recruits herself daily, now in the
+hay-stacks, now on the sea, or in the swing, in perfect tranquillity,
+while the town people are said to be longing for her concert, and
+greatly wondering when it will come off. Once or twice she has been
+singing the divine air of Isabella from _Robert le Diable_. Nearly
+everybody was crying. One lady actually went into hysterics from sheer
+rapture. Yes, she captivates all, all! It is a great happiness to be a
+mother under such conditions!"
+
+Poor Fru Lind was at last receiving her compensation for the hardships
+of her life!
+
+But Jenny's trials were not yet over. Her voice, though pure and clear,
+was wanting in flexibility, and she could not easily hold a tone or sing
+even a slight cadence. These defects she worked constantly to overcome,
+but saw that she was not thrilling her audiences as before, and yet she
+was conscious of possessing a God-given power of which she must make the
+most. She felt sure that she needed teaching of a kind not to be gained
+in Sweden. In Paris was Manuel Garcia, the greatest singing teacher in
+the world, and to him she felt she must now go. But this could only be
+achieved by her own effort, as the trip and the teaching would
+necessitate spending a large sum of money.
+
+At once, before her star had grown any less dim, the plucky girl
+persuaded her father to go with her on a concert tour of cities in
+Norway and Sweden. By this she earned the necessary amount, but the trip
+was very exhausting, including as it did, so much travelling, in all
+kinds of weather, and after singing twenty-three times in _Lucia_,
+fourteen times in _Robert le Diable_, nine times in _Freischutz_, seven
+times in _Norma_, not to mention other plays and concerts, also
+appearing for the four hundred and forty-seventh time at the Royal
+Theatre, where she had first played in the _Polish Mine_, as a child of
+ten, she was pretty well tired out. Two weeks later, however, she went
+to Paris and called on the great singing teacher, Signor Garcia. The
+opera she sang was _Lucia_, and she broke down before she was half way
+through the part, to her intense mortification. The great teacher,
+approaching the trembling girl, put a hand on her shoulder, saying
+brusquely, "It would be useless to teach you, Mademoiselle. You have no
+voice left. You are worn out. I advise you not to sing a note for six
+months. At the end of that time come to me and I will see what I can do
+for you."
+
+Poor Jenny! The words were a death knell to her, and she said afterwards
+that what she suffered in that moment was beyond all the other agony of
+her life.
+
+But it was not like her to give way even under such a blow as this.
+Leaving the great teacher she went to a quiet spot and spent the six
+months of enforced rest studying French, and at the end of the time went
+back to Garcia, who to her unspeakable relief said at once, "It is
+better, far better! I have now something to work on. I will give you two
+lessons a week!"
+
+In rapture Jenny flew home that day, and in the following months
+practised scales and exercises, four hours daily, gaining a great deal
+from Garcia's method, but always conscious that her real power came from
+another source, as she said years later, "The greater part of what I can
+do in my art, I have myself acquired by incredible labour, in spite of
+astonishing difficulties. By Garcia alone have I been taught some few
+important things. God had so plainly written within me what I had to
+study; my ideal was and is so high that I could find no mortal who could
+in the least degree satisfy my demands. Therefore I sing after no one's
+methods, only as far as I am able, after that of the birds, for their
+Master was the only one who came up to my demands for truth, clearness,
+and expression."
+
+After a year under Garcia's tuition, Jenny went back to the Stockholm
+Theatre, where she met Myerbeer, the composer, who at once declared her
+voice was "one of the finest pearls in the world's chaplet of song," and
+immediately arranged to hear her under conditions which would put her
+voice to a severe test. He arranged a full orchestral rehearsal and
+Jenny sang in the salon of the Grand Opera, the three great scenes from
+_Robert le Diable_, _Norma_ and _Der Freischutz_ so successfully that
+the young singer returned to her native city a new creature, at last
+assured of her genius and of her ability to use it rightly, and thrilled
+with joy at the knowledge of her power.
+
+At her first appearance in _Robert le Diable_, the welcome was almost a
+frenzy of enthusiasm as her clear rich voice rang out. At once she
+received an offer from a Danish manager, but dreaded to accept it,
+saying, "Everybody in my native land is so kind. I fear if I made my
+appearance in Copenhagen, I should be hissed. I dare not venture it."
+
+Her objection, however, was overruled. She went to Copenhagen and sang
+Alice in _Robert le Diable_ so marvellously that the whole city was in a
+state of rapture, and it is said the youthful, fresh voice forced itself
+into every heart. At a later concert she sang Swedish songs and in her
+manner of singing them there was something so peculiar, so bewitching
+that the audience were swayed by intense emotion, the young singer was
+at once so feminine and so great a genius. The Danish students for the
+first time in their history, gave a serenade in her honour, torches
+blazed around the villa where the serenade was sung, and Jenny responded
+to it by singing some of her Swedish songs, for which she was famous,
+then, overcome with emotion, she hurried to a dark room where no one
+could see the tears with which her eyes were filled, and exclaimed
+modestly, "Yes, yes, I will exert myself. I will endeavour. I will be
+better qualified than I now am when I again come to Copenhagen!"
+
+The wonderful courage and perseverance of Jenny's girlhood in the face
+of almost insuperable obstacles was now rewarded. She was the great
+artist of Sweden, never again to be taken from the pedestal on which she
+was placed by an adoring public, both for her wonderful singing and for
+her lovely character.
+
+Once on a disengaged night, she gave a benefit performance for
+unfortunate children, and when informed of the large sum raised by it,
+exclaimed, "How beautiful that I can sing so!" She felt that both the
+voice and the money which poured in now in a golden flood, were
+God-given responsibilities which she assumed with all the earnestness of
+her sweet, religious nature, and her first pleasure was to buy a little
+home in the country for her mother and father.
+
+As we leave her on the threshold of mature womanhood, serene in her
+poise of body and spirit, with a noble purpose and a wonderful gift, we
+can but feel that Jenny Lind, the girl, was responsible for the
+marvellous achievements of the great artist of later years, who believed
+as she said, that "to develop every talent, however small, and use it to
+the fullest extent possible, is the duty of every human being. Indolence
+makes thousands of mediocre lives."
+
+The verses written of her by Topelius of Finland sum up the feeling of
+those who knew her in her girlhood:
+
+          "I saw thee once, so young and fair
+          In thy sweet spring-tide, long ago,
+          A myrtle wreath was in thy hair
+          And at thy breast a rose did blow.
+
+          "Poor was thy purse, yet gold thy gift,
+          All music's golden boons were thine,
+          And yet, through all the wealth of art
+          It was thy soul which sang to mine.
+
+          "Yea, sang as no one else has sung
+          So subtly skilled, so simply good,
+          So brilliant! yet as pure and true
+          As birds that warble in the wood."
+
+
+
+
+ELIZA LUCAS:
+
+A Girl Planter of the 15th Century
+
+
+IN our day any young woman who shows keen interest in civic,
+agricultural, or social reforms is loudly applauded and spoken of as a
+New Woman, a product of the twentieth century, but there is a small
+volume of letters written by a girl of two centuries ago, which
+disproves this, and it is worthy of perusal and applause because of what
+she accomplished for what was then the province of South Carolina, while
+she was still in her teens.
+
+Lieutenant-Colonel Lucas, an officer in the English army stationed at
+the West Indian island of Antigua, left the island in 1638 for South
+Carolina, taking with him his delicate wife, in search of a climate
+which would be of benefit to her, and with them went their two
+daughters, Polly and Eliza, who up to that time had been in London with
+a family friend, Mrs. Boddicott, being educated, only returning to the
+island for their vacations. Their brothers, Tom and George, were also in
+London at school, where they remained while Colonel and Mrs. Lucas with
+the two girls went to the new locality. So delighted with it was the
+Colonel that he at once bought land, laid out plantations and was hoping
+to settle down and begin experiments in planting crops in the strange
+soil and climate, when war broke out between England and Spain and the
+Colonel received orders to hasten back to his West Indian post, leaving
+his family alone in their new home. Mrs. Lucas was entirely too frail to
+burden with plantation cares, so in his hurried leave-taking the Colonel
+entrusted all his affairs to Eliza, in whose practical common sense and
+business ability he seems to have placed implicit reliance, and the
+trust was well merited.
+
+Eliza was only sixteen years old then, but she seems to have assumed the
+unusual amount of responsibility so unexpectedly thrust upon her with
+calm assurance that she could carry it, and we find her general manager
+of the home and the plantation when the series of letters begin which
+gives such a vivid glimpse of life at that time, and also some idea of
+the character of the girl on whose slender shoulders rested such a heavy
+burden.
+
+First, let us look for a moment at the background to our picture. The
+Lucas plantation was on the Wappoo, a salt creek connecting the Ashley
+river with another creek and separated from the ocean only by two long
+sandy islands. Although that part of the country was very flat, it was
+extremely pretty, and being on a salt creek, sheltered from the north
+winds, the climate was very mild. Trees grew to a great size, land was
+very fertile, all growth hardy and luxuriant, and it was no wonder that
+even in his short stay Colonel Lucas had become deeply interested in
+discovering what crops could be most profitably raised there for export.
+At that time rice was the one agricultural product, the others being
+lumber, skins and naval stores.
+
+Eliza, inheriting her father's love of farming, and having heard many
+conversations on the subject, determined secretly after her father had
+gone, to try some experiments herself and became much interested in
+trying to raise indigo and ginger, with what results her letters
+disclose. Little farmer that she was, her love of agriculture and of
+nature then and always amounted to almost a passion, as it is easy to
+see. Separated as she was from all her old friends, letters were a vital
+medium of expressing to them what her new life held of work and play,
+and the fragments which we can reprint here give a clear idea, not only
+of the times in which she lived, but of Mistress Eliza herself.
+
+To her brother George she writes, telling of the new country and life in
+this fashion:--
+
+          I am now set down my Dear Brother to obey your
+          commands, and give you a short discription of the
+          part of the world which I now inhabit. So.
+          Carolina then, is a large and Extensive Country
+          near the Sea. Most of the settled parts of it is
+          upon a flat--the soil near Charles Town Sandy, but
+          farther distant clay and swamp land. It abounds
+          with fine navigable rivers and great quantities of
+          fine timber. The country at great distance, that
+          is to say about a hundred or a hundred and fifty
+          miles from Charles Town, very hilly. The soil in
+          general very fertile, and there is very few
+          European or American fruits or grain but what grow
+          here. The country abounds with wild fowl, Venison
+          and fish, Beaf, veal and mutton are here in much
+          greater perfection than in the Islands, tho' not
+          equal to that in England--but their pork exceeds
+          the wild, and indeed all the poultry is exceeding
+          good, and peaches, Nectrins and mellons of all
+          sorts extremely good, fine and in profusion, and
+          their Oranges exceed any I ever tasted in the West
+          Indies or from Spain or Portugal.
+
+          The people in general--hospitable and honest, and
+          the better sort and to these a polite gentile
+          behaviour. The poorer sort are the most indolent
+          people in the world or they could never be
+          wretched in so plentiful a country as this. The
+          winters here are very fine and pleasant, but four
+          months in the year is extremely disagreeable,
+          excessive hot, much thunder and lightening and
+          muskatoes and sand flies in abundance.
+
+          C^s Town, the Metropolis is a neat, pretty
+          place. The streets and houses regularly built, the
+          ladies and gentlemen gay in their dress, upon the
+          whole you will find as many agreeable people of
+          both sexes for the size of the place as almost
+          anywhere. St. Phillips church in C^s Town is a
+          very elegant one, and much frequented and the
+          generality of people of a religious turn of mind.
+
+          I began in haste and have observed no method or I
+          should have told you before I came to summer, that
+          we have a charming spring in this country,
+          especially for those who travel through the
+          country, for the scent of the young mirtle and
+          yellow Jessamin with Which the woods abound is
+          delightful. . . .
+
+                                Yours most affectionately,
+                                                  E. LUCAS.
+
+With its quaint wording and abbreviations and an occasional slip in
+spelling, how fragrant the whole letter is of out door life, how
+intelligent its every phrase is, and how well the little farmer knows
+her subjects!
+
+Again to Mrs. Boddicott she wrote:
+
+          _Dear Madam_:--
+
+          I flatter myself it will be a satisfaction to you
+          to hear that I like this part of the world, as my
+          lott has fallen here, which I really do. I prefer
+          England to it 'tis true, but I think Carolina
+          greatly preferable to the West Indies, and was my
+          Papa here I should be very happy. We have a very
+          good acquaintance from whom we have received much
+          friendship and Civility. . . .
+
+          My Papa and Mama's great indulgence to mee leaves
+          it to mee to chuse our place of residence either
+          in town or country, but I think it more prudent as
+          well as most agreeable to my Mama and selfe to be
+          in the Country during my father's absence. Wee are
+          17 mile by land, and 6 by water from Charles Town
+          where wee have about 6 agreeable families around
+          us with whom wee live in great harmony. I have a
+          little library well furnished (for My Papa has
+          left mee most of his books) in w^{ch} I spend part
+          of my time. My Musick and the Garden w^{ch} I am
+          very fond of take up the rest that is not imployed
+          in business, of w^{ch} my father has left mee a
+          pretty good share, and indeed 'Twas unavoidable,
+          as my Mama's bad state of health prevents her
+          going thro' any fatigue.
+
+          I have the business of 3 plantations to transact,
+          w^{ch} requires much writing and more business and
+          fatigue of other sorts than you can imagine, but
+          lest you should imagine it too burthensome to a
+          girl at my early time of life, give mee leave to
+          assure you I think myself happy that I can be
+          useful to so good a father. By rising very early I
+          find I can go through with much business, but lest
+          you should think I shall be quite moaped with this
+          way of life, I am to inform you there is two
+          worthy Ladies in C^{rs} Town, Mrs. Pinckney and
+          Mrs. Cleland who are partial enough to mee to wish
+          to have mee with them, and insist upon my making
+          their houses my home when in Town, and press mee
+          to relax a little much oftner than 'tis in my
+          power to accept of their obliging intreaties, but
+          I am sometimes with one or the other for three
+          weeks or a monthe at a time, and then enjoy all
+          the pleasures C^{rs} Town affords. But nothing
+          gives mee more than subscribing myself
+
+                                D^r Madam
+                                        Y^r most affectionet
+                                           and most obliged
+                                           hum^{ble} Ser^{vt}
+                                                  ELIZA LUCAS.
+
+          Pray remember me in
+          the best manner to my
+          worthy friend M^r Boddicott.
+          To my good friend Mrs. Boddicott.
+                  May ye 2^{ond}.
+
+What greater proof is needed that Eliza's plantation life was no easy
+matter than "I have the business of three plantations to transact,
+w^{ch} requires much writing and more business and fatigue of other
+sorts than you can imagine." Then comes the other side of the picture.
+"I am sometimes with one or the other (Mrs. Pinckney or Mrs. Leland) for
+three weeks or a month at a time and then enjoy all the pleasures C^{rs}
+Town affords." Truly a versatile young person, this Eliza of long ago!
+
+That her planting was no holiday business is shown by a memorandum of
+July 1739:
+
+          "I wrote my father a very long letter on his
+          plantation affairs . . . on the pains I had taken to
+          bring the Indigo, Ginger, Cotton, Lucern, and
+          Cassada to perfection, and had greater hopes from
+          the Indigo--if I could have the seed earlier the
+          next year from the West Indies,--than any of ye
+          rest of y^e things I had tryd, . . . also concerning
+          pitch and tarr and lime and other plantation
+          affairs."
+
+As has been said before, Eliza's ambition was to follow out her father's
+plan, to discover some crop which could be raised successfully as a
+staple export, and the determination and perseverance with which she set
+out to accomplish the task, shows that she was made of no ordinary
+stuff, even at sixteen, when the majority of girls were occupied with
+far different activity and diversions. Indigo seems to have been the
+crop most likely to succeed, and to that Eliza turned her attention with
+the intensity of purpose which marked all her actions. It was no easy
+achievement to cultivate indigo, as it required very careful preparation
+of the soil, much attention during its growth, and a long and critical
+process to prepare it for the market. After a series of experiments, she
+reported to her father:
+
+          I wrote you in a former letter we had a fine crop
+          of Indigo seed upon the ground and since informed
+          you the frost took it before it was dry. I picked
+          out the best of it and had it planted but there is
+          not more than a hundred bushes of it come up,
+          w^{ch} proves the more unlucky, as you have sent a
+          man to make it. I make no doubt Indigo will prove
+          a very valueable commodity in time, if we could
+          have the seed from the east Indies time enough to
+          plant the latter end of March, that the seed might
+          be dry enough to gather before our frost. I am
+          sorry we lost this season we can do nothing
+          towards it now but make the works ready for next
+          year.
+
+          The death of my Grandmamma was as you imagine very
+          shocking and grevious to my Mama, but I hope the
+          consideration of the miserys that attend so
+          advanced an age will help time to wear it off. I
+          am very much obliged to you for the present you
+          were so good to send me of the fifty pound bill of
+          Exchange w^{ch} I duely received. Mama tenders you
+          her affections and polly joyns in duty with
+
+          My dear Papa
+                    Your ob^t and ever Devoted Daughter,
+                                               _E. Lucas_.
+
+In the following letters we find her showing a lively interest in all
+that concerns her father, her brothers, her "cousens" and neighbours,
+and also a normally healthy liking for amusement, linked with her
+passionate love of nature and a milder interest in pretty clothes--and a
+still milder form of interest in love affairs!
+
+Hard indeed it is in this day of quick delivery to realize the
+inconveniences of daily life in Eliza's time, and it evokes a smile to
+hear that if she or one of the family had neuralgia, it was necessary to
+write an account of the symptoms to Mrs. Boddicott in November, followed
+by a letter of thanks to her for her promptness, because of which "the
+meddicines will arrive by May, and tis allways worse in hott weather!"
+Think of waiting six months for a dose of medicine!
+
+Eliza has already mentioned two neighbours of whom she had become very
+fond, and between her and Miss Pinckney's niece, a Miss Bartlett, who
+lived with Mrs. Pinckney either in her home in Charles Town, or at their
+country seat five miles out of town, a flourishing correspondence sprang
+up, and the following are some of Eliza's letters to her friend:
+
+
+                                        Jan^r 14th, 1741/2.
+
+          _Dear Miss Bartlett:_:--
+
+          'Tis with pleasure I commence a Correspondence
+          w^{ch} you promise to continue tho' I fear I shall
+          often want matter to soport an Epistolary
+          Intercourse in this solotary retirement--;
+          however, you shall see my inclination, for rather
+          than not scribble, you shall know both my waking
+          and sleeping dreams, as well as how the spring
+          comes on, when the trees bud, and inanimate nature
+          grows gay to chear the rational mind with delight;
+          and devout gratitude to the great Author of all;
+          when my little darling that sweet harmonist the
+          mocking bird, begins to sing.
+
+          Our best respects wait on Col^l. Pinckney and
+          lady, and believe me to be dear Miss Bartlett
+
+                                Your most obed^t Serv^t
+                                                  E. LUCAS.
+
+Again she writes in a tone of quaint sarcasm:
+
+          _Dear Miss Bartlett_:--
+
+          An old lady in our Neighbourhood is often
+          querreling with me for rising so early as 5
+          o'Clock in the morning, and is in great pain for
+          me least it should spoil my marriage, for she says
+          it will make me look old long before I am so; in
+          this however I believe she is mistaken, for what
+          ever contributes to health and pleasure of mind
+          must also contribute to good looks; but admitting
+          what she says, I reason with her thus. If I should
+          look older by this practise, I really am so; for
+          the longer time we are awake the longer time we
+          live, sleep is so much the Emblem of death, that I
+          think it may be rather called breathing than
+          living, thus then I have the advantage of the
+          sleepers in point of long life, so I beg you will
+          not be frighted by such sort of apprehensions as
+          those suggested above and for fear of y^r pretty
+          face give up y^r late pious resolution of early
+          rising.
+
+          My Mama joins with me in comp^{ts}. to M^r and
+          M^{rs} Pinckney. I send herewith Col^l Pinckney's
+          books, and shall be much obliged to him for
+          Virgil's books, notwithstanding this same old
+          Gentlewoman, (who I think too has a great
+          friendship for me) has a great spite at my books,
+          and had like to have thrown a vol^m of my
+          Plutarcks lives into the fire the other day, she
+          is sadly afraid she says I shall read myself
+          mad. . . .
+
+Again in this strain, on the 6th of February, 1741, she writes, showing
+that although she would have taken a girlish pleasure in amusement, her
+sense of duty was too keen to allow her to leave the plantation very
+often:
+
+          TO THE HONOURABLE C. PINCKNEY, ESQ.
+
+                                         Feb^r 6th, 1741.
+
+          _Sir_:--I received yesterday the favour of your
+          advice as a phisician and want no arguments to
+          convince me I should be much better for both my
+          good friends company, a much pleasanter
+          Prescription yours is, I am sure, than Doc^t
+          Mead's w^{ch} I have just received. To follow my
+          inclination at this time, I must endeavor to
+          forget I have a Sister to instruct, and a parcel
+          of little Negroes whom I have undertaken to teach
+          to read, and instead of writing an answer bring it
+          My self, and indeed gratitude as well as
+          inclination obliges me to wait on M^{rs} Pinckney
+          as soon as I can, but it will not be in my power
+          til a month or two hence. Mama payes her comp^{ts}
+          to Mrs Pinckney, and hopes she will excuse her
+          waiting on her at this time, but will not fail to
+          do it very soon.
+
+          I am a very Dunce, for I have not acquired y^e
+          writing short hand yet with any degree of
+          swiftness--but I am not always one for I give a
+          very good proof of the brightness of my Genius
+          when I can distinguish well enough to subscribe my
+          self with great esteem.
+
+                                     Sir
+                      Your most obe^d humble Serv^t
+                                          ELIZA LUCAS.
+
+And again:
+
+          Why my dear Miss Bartlett, will you so often
+          repeat y^r desire to know how I trifle away my
+          time in our retirement in my father's absence;
+          could it afford you advantage or pleasure I would
+          not have hesitated, but as you can expect neither
+          from it I would have been excused; however, to
+          show you my readiness in obeying y^r commands,
+          here it is.
+
+          In gen^l then I rise at five o'Clock in the
+          morning, read till seven--then take a walk in the
+          garden or fields, see that the Servants are at
+          their respective business, then breakfast. The
+          first hour after breakfast is spent in musick, the
+          next is constantly employed in recolecting
+          something I have learned, lest for want of
+          practise it should be quite lost, such as french
+          and shorthand. After that, I devote the rest of
+          the time till I dress for dinner, to our little
+          polly, and two black girls who I teach to read,
+          and if I have my papa's approbation (my mama's I
+          have got) I intend for school mistress's for the
+          rest of the Negroe children. Another scheme you
+          see, but to proceed, the first hour after dinner,
+          as the first after breakfast, at musick, the rest
+          of the afternoon in needle work till candle light,
+          and from that time to bed time read or write.
+          Mondays my musick Master is here. Tuesday my
+          friend M^{rs} Chardon (about 3 miles distant) and
+          I are constantly engaged to each other, she at our
+          house one Tuesday I at hers the next, and this is
+          one of y^e happiest days I spend at Wappoo.
+          Thursday the whole day except what the necessary
+          affairs of the family take up, is spent in
+          writing, either on the business of the plantations
+          or on letters to my friends. Every other Friday,
+          if no company, we go a vizeting, so that I go
+          abroad once a week and no oftener.
+
+          Now you may form some judgment of what time I can
+          have to work my lappets. I own I never go to them
+          with a quite easy conscience as I know my father
+          has an avertion to my employing my time in that
+          boreing work, but they are begun, and must be
+          finished, I hate to undertake anything and not go
+          thro' with it, but by way of relaxation from the
+          other, I have begun a piece of work of a quicker
+          sort, w^{ch} requires neither eyes nor genius, at
+          least not very good ones. Would you ever guess it
+          to be a shrimp nett? for so it is.
+
+          O! I had like to forgot the last thing I have done
+          a great while. I have planted a large figg
+          orchard, with design to dry them, and export them.
+          I have reckoned my expense and the profits to
+          arise from those figgs, but was I to tell you how
+          great an Estate I am to make this way, and how
+          'tis to be laid out, you would think me far gone
+          in romance. Y^r good Uncle I know has long thought
+          I have a fertile brain at scheming, I only confirm
+          him in his opinion; but I own I love the vegitable
+          world extreamly. I think it an innocent and useful
+          amusement, and pray tell him if he laughs much at
+          my projects, I never intend to have any hand in a
+          silver mine, and he will understand as well as
+          you, what I mean! Our best respects wait on him,
+          and Mrs. Pinckney.
+
+          If my eyes dont deceive me, you in y^r last talk
+          of coming very soon by water, to see how my oaks
+          grow, is it really so, or only one of your unripe
+          schemes. While 'tis in y^r head put it speedily
+          into execution.
+
+Lappets were fashionable parts of the headdresses worn at that time even
+by young girls, and one can read between her words that Eliza would have
+enjoyed giving more time to the feminine diversion of embroidery or fine
+sewing, much in vogue in that day, had her father approved of it. Then
+with a quick change of mood she shows her real interest in planting a
+"figg" orchard!--oh, many-sided Eliza!
+
+There are numerous letters too long to include in this sketch, which
+show the girl's religious, artistic and philosophical tendencies, and
+through them all we feel the quiet poise of a mind at rest, of a spirit
+in true harmony with the simplest pleasures of a simple life; and that
+nature was always her first love, is shown by this letter:
+
+          Wont you laugh at me if I tell you I am so busy in
+          providing for Posterity I hardly allow myself time
+          to Eat or sleep and can but just snatch a minute
+          to write to you and a friend or two more.
+
+          I am making a large plantation of oaks w^{ch} I
+          look upon as my own property, whether my father
+          gives me the land or not, and therefore I design
+          many years hence when oaks are more valuable than
+          they are now, w^{ch} you know they will be when we
+          come to build fleets, I intend I say, 2 thirds of
+          the produce of my oaks for charrity, (I'll let you
+          know my scheme another time) and the other 3^d
+          for those that shall have the trouble of puting my
+          design in Execution; I suppose according to custom
+          you will show this to y^r Uncle and Aunt. 'She
+          is a good girl' says M^{rs} Pinckney, 'she is
+          never Idle and always means well'--'tell the
+          little Visionary,' says your Uncle, 'come to town
+          and partake of some of the amusements suitable to
+          her time of life,' pray tell him I think these so,
+          and what he may now think whims and projects may
+          turn out well by and by--out of many surely one
+          may hitt.
+
+          I promised to tell you when the mocking-bird began
+          to sing, the little warbler has done wonders; the
+          first time he opened his soft pipe this spring he
+          inspired me with the spirrit of Rymeing and
+          produced the 3 following lines while I was laceing
+          my Stays.
+
+          Sing on thou charming mimick of the feather kind
+          And let the rational a lesson learn from these
+          To mimick (not defects) but harmony.
+
+          If you let any mortal besides yourself see this
+          exquisite piece of poetry, you shall never have a
+          line more than this specimen, and how great will
+          be your loss you who have seen the above may judge
+          as well as
+
+                                Y^r most obed^t Serv^t
+                                             ELIZA LUCAS.
+
+Was there ever a more charming example of girlish enthusiasm combined
+with executive ability, and artistic feeling than this?
+
+That life at Wappoo was not entirely without its diversions is shown by
+a casual mention of a "festal day" spent at Drayton Hall, a beautiful
+home on the bank of the Ashley river. One familiar with those early
+times in the southern provinces can fancy Mistress Eliza setting out for
+her great day, perhaps going by water in a long canoe, formed by
+hollowing out a great cypress tree thirty or forty feet long, which made
+a boat, with room in it for twelve passengers, and was rowed by six or
+eight negroes who sang in unison as they paddled their skiff down the
+river. Eliza and her Mama were landed at the foot of the rolling lawn,
+leading up to the mansion where the reception was being held. Or if they
+travelled by the road, it was probably in the four-wheeled chaise which
+Mrs. Lucas had imported from England the year before. And when they
+joined the gay company gathered in the great house, doubtless the
+ladies, old and young, wore costumes made of brocade, taffety or
+lustering, the materials of the time, and worn over enormous hoops, with
+cloaks made of colours to harmonise with the gowns beneath them--while
+the men were indeed a great sight in their square cut coats, long
+waistcoats, powdered hair, breeches and buckled shoes! A festal day
+indeed, doubtless, with a most elaborate feast washed down with
+draughts of fine old vintages, and followed by the scraping of fiddlers
+making ready for the dance, enjoyed not only by guests, but also in the
+servants' quarters where the negroes were as fleet-footed as mistress or
+guest.
+
+On her return to Wappoo Eliza feels the reaction, as we see in a letter
+she wrote to Mrs. Pinckney. She says:
+
+          "At my return hither everything appeared gloomy
+          and lonesome, I began to consider what attraction
+          there was in this place that used so agreeably to
+          soothe my pensive humour, and made me indifferent
+          to everything the gay world could boast; but I
+          found the change not in the place but in myself,
+          and it doubtless proceeded from that giddy gaiety,
+          and want of reflection which I contracted when in
+          town; and I was forced to consult Mr. Locke over
+          and over, to see wherein personal Identity
+          consisted, and if I was the very same Selfe."
+
+Somewhat cheered by the reading of Locke she returns to her usual
+routine of life and writes to Miss Bartlett:
+
+          "I have got no further than the first vol^m of
+          Virgil but was most agreeably disappointed to find
+          myself instructed in agriculture as well as
+          entertained by his charming penn, for I am
+          persuaded 'tho he wrote for Italy it will in many
+          Instances suit Carolina. I had never perused those
+          books before, and imagined I should immediately
+          enter upon battles, storms and tempests, that put
+          mee in a maze, and make mee shudder while I read.
+          But the calm and pleasing diction of pastoral and
+          gardening agreeably presented themselves not
+          unsuitably to this charming season of the year,
+          with w^{ch} I am so much delighted that had I butt
+          the fine soft Language of our Poet to paint it
+          properly, I should give you but little respite
+          'till you came into the country, and attended to
+          the beauties of pure Nature unassisted by Art."
+
+A little later comes this letter, giving a clear idea of the breadth of
+the girl's scheme of social service as well as her thoughtfulness and
+individuality:
+
+          _Dear Miss Bartlett:_--
+
+          After a pleasant passage of about an hour we
+          arrived safe at home as I hope you and Mrs.
+          Pinckney did at Belmont; but this place appeared
+          much less agreeable than when I left it, having
+          lost the company that then enlivened it, the Scene
+          is indeed much changed, for instead of the Easy
+          and agreeable conversation of our Friends, I am
+          engaged with the rudiments of the law, to w^{ch} I
+          am yet but a stranger.
+
+          However I hope in a short time with the help of
+          Dictionary's french and English, we shall be
+          better friends; nor shall I grudge a little pains
+          and application, if that will make me useful to
+          any of my poor Neighbors, we have Some in this
+          Neighbourhood, who have a little Land a few Slaves
+          and Cattle to give their children, that never
+          think of making a will 'till they come upon a sick
+          bed, and find it too Expensive to send to town for
+          a Lawyer.
+
+          If you will not laugh too immoderately at mee I'll
+          Trust you with a Secrett. I have made two wills
+          already! I know I have done no harm, for I con'd
+          my lesson very perfect, and know how to convey by
+          will, Estates, Real and Personal, and never
+          forgett in its proper place, him and his heirs
+          forever, no that 'tis to be signed by three
+          witnesses, in presence of one another; bu^t the
+          most comfortable rememberance of all is that
+          Doct^r Wood says, the Law makes great allowance
+          for Last Wills and Testaments, presuming the
+          Testator could not have Council learned in the
+          Law. But after all what can I do if a poor
+          Creature lies a-dying, and their family takes it
+          into their head that I can serve them. I can't
+          refuse; but when they are well, and able to employ
+          a Lawyer, I always shall.
+
+          A widow hereabouts with a pretty little fortune,
+          teazed me intolerable to draw her a marriage
+          settlement, but it was out of my depth and I
+          absolutely refused it, so she got an abler hand to
+          do it, indeed she could afford it, but I could not
+          gett off from being one of the Trustees to her
+          Settlement and an old gentleman the other.
+
+          I shall begin to think myself an old woman before
+          I am well a young one, having these weighty
+          affairs upon my hands.
+
+From this solemn epistle it is amusing to turn for a moment to Colonel
+Lucas's matrimonial plan for his daughter. In those days girls were
+married at a very early age, and it is small wonder that Colonel Lucas
+spent much thought on the problem of finding a suitable lover for his
+favourite daughter, before he broached the subject to her, for marriages
+were generally arranged by a girl's parents in those days. And that
+Eliza might have some choice in the matter Colonel Lucas picked out two
+suitors and wrote to her about them. How she felt on the subject the
+following letter shows: She says:
+
+          _Honoured Sir:_--
+
+          Your letter by way of Philadelphia w^{ch} I duly
+          received, was an additional proof of that paternal
+          tenderness w^{ch} I have always Experienced from
+          the most Indulgent of Parents from my Cradle to
+          the present time, and the subject of it is of the
+          utmost importance to my peace and happiness.
+
+          As you propose Mr. L. to me I am sorry I can't
+          have Sentiments favourable enough to him to take
+          time to think on the Subject, as your Indulgence
+          to me will ever add weight to the duty that
+          obliges me to consult what pleases you, for so
+          much Generosity on your part claims all my
+          Obediance. But as I know 'tis my Happiness you
+          consult, I must beg the favour of you to pay my
+          compliments to the old Gentleman for his
+          Generosity and favourable Sentiments of me, and
+          let him know my thoughts on the affair in such
+          civil terms as you know much better than any I can
+          dictate; and beg leave to say to you that the
+          riches of Chili and Peru put together if he had
+          them, could not purchase a sufficient Esteem for
+          him to make him my husband.
+
+          As to the other gentleman you mention, Mr. W., you
+          know Sir I have so slight a knowledge of him I can
+          form no judgment, and a Case of such consequence
+          requires the nicest distinction of humours and
+          Sentiments.
+
+          But give me leave to assure you my dear Sir that a
+          single life is my only Choice;--and if it were
+          not, as I am yet but eighteen hope you will put
+          aside the thoughts of my marrying yet these two or
+          three years at least. . . .
+
+          I truely am
+
+            D^r Sir Your most dutiful & affect Daughter
+                                                 E. LUCAS.
+
+As no further reference to the rejected lovers is made, it seems that
+the Colonel was too fond of his daughter to press a matter evidently so
+against her wishes, and she was allowed to remain heart-whole until the
+man of her choice came to satisfy her dreams.
+
+Meanwhile she was as busy as usual. Polly was now at school in Charles
+Town, which added to Eliza's home duties and she was also full of
+anxiety because of an invasion of Spaniards in the vicinity, which
+caused all the planters to fear that their negroes might be carried off,
+as they had been before. There was also cause for anxiety over the
+dangerous sickness of the elder brother, George, who was in the army,
+stationed too at Antigua, while the younger boy, Tom, who was still in
+London, was so frail that the physicians refused to allow him to take a
+trip either to Antigua, or to his mother and sisters in Carolina, all of
+which worries wore on the tender-hearted sister.
+
+Meanwhile, Eliza's cares on the plantations grew constantly more
+engrossing, as her crops of indigo grew larger and more difficult to
+handle. So well satisfied was her father that this plant could be made a
+staple export, that he sent to Eliza an "Indigo Maker," named Cromwell,
+from the island of Monserrat, where indigo was a famous product. This
+man understood the processes, and built brick vats in which the leaves
+had to lie for a certain length of time. He apparently knew his
+business, but watching him closely Eliza saw he was not getting the
+right result, and told him so. This was due to the climate, he asserted,
+and saying no more, the girl gave her undivided attention to
+experimenting with different processes, and found out not only that he
+was wrong, but where his mistake lay. Calling him to her, she dismissed
+him, and in his place put his brother, who for a short time was more
+successful.
+
+In her public-spirited way, Eliza gave up one whole year's crop to
+making seed, for she had great difficulty in getting it from the East
+Indies in time for the crops to ripen before a frost. This home-grown
+seed she presented to those planters who were interested in raising
+indigo, and it was a generous gift, for the seed was by no means cheap.
+By the gift many planters were induced to try the new seed and at that
+time Eliza wrote to her father:
+
+          "Out of a small patch of Indigo growing at Wappoo
+          (which Mama made a present to Mr. P.) the brother
+          of Nicholas Cromwell besides saving a quantity of
+          Seed, made us 17 pounds of very good Indigo, so
+          different from N C's, that we are convinced he was
+          a mere bungler at it. Mr. Deveaux has made some
+          likewise, and the people in gen^l very sanguine
+          about it. Mr. P. sent to England by the last man
+          of warr 6 pounds to try how t'is approved of
+          there. If it is I hope we shall have a bounty from
+          home, we have already a bounty of 5^s currancy
+          from this province upon it. We please ourselves
+          with the prospect of exporting in a few years a
+          good quantity from hence, and supplying our Mother
+          Country with a manifacture for w^{ch} she has so
+          great a demand, and which she is now supplyd with
+          from the French Collonys, and many thousand pounds
+          per annum thereby lost to the nation, when she
+          might as well be supplyd here, if the matter was
+          applyd to in earnest."
+
+After this there are several letters from Governor Lucas, showing how
+earnestly he wished to have the raising of indigo a success, and he
+suggested that the brick vats may have been the cause of the failure,
+and advised trying wood, but the truth of the trouble lay in the fact
+that the two overseers sent by the Governor had been traitors, who
+purposely achieved poor results, so that the American product should not
+compete with that exported from their native island of Monserrat. When
+Eliza discovered this her father at once sent a negro from one of the
+French islands to replace them, and from that time the results were
+steadily satisfactory. Soon enough indigo was raised to make it worth
+while to export to England, and the English at once offered a bounty of
+sixpence a pound. It is said that as long as this was paid, the planters
+doubled their capital every three or four years, and in order to
+commemorate the source of their wealth they formed what was at first
+merely a social club, called the "Winyah Indigo Club," but later
+established the first free school in the province outside of Charles
+Town, a school which, handsomely endowed and supported, continued a
+useful existence down to 1865.
+
+Indigo continued to be a chief staple of the country for more than
+thirty years, history tells us, and after the Revolution it was again
+cultivated, but the loss of the British bounty, the rivalry of the East
+Indies with their cheaper labour and the easier cultivation of cotton,
+all contributed to its abandonment about the end of the century.
+However, just before the Revolution, the annual export amounted to the
+enormous quantity of one million, one hundred and seven thousand, six
+hundred and sixty pounds, and all this revenue to the province of
+Carolina, and its added benefits to all classes of citizens, was the
+direct result of the perseverance and intelligence of Eliza Lucas, the
+girl planter of the eighteenth century. Let the girls of our day look to
+their laurels if they wish to be enrolled in the same class with this
+indomitable little maid of South Carolina!
+
+
+
+
+LADY JANE GREY:
+
+The Nine Days Queen
+
+
+IN all England there was no more picturesquely beautiful estate than
+that at Bradgate in Leicestershire, belonging to Henry, Marquis of
+Dorset, the father of Lady Jane Grey. There Lady Jane was born in 1537,
+in the great brick house on a hill, called Bradgate Manor, which
+overlooked acres of rolling lawns, long stretches of woodland and
+extensive gardens, making a vast playground, and one which might well
+have contented a less resourceful person than Lady Jane.
+
+As it was, she was utterly unlike her two sisters, Mary and Katherine,
+being a precocious child, fonder of books than of play, and doubtless
+was less rugged in after years than if she had romped through meadow and
+marsh as they did, or waded in the clear brook that babbled its way
+through the woodland depths of Bradgate forests. Instead, while the
+other girls ran races, or played some boisterous game of childhood, we
+have glimpses of demure little Jane, even then as pretty as a doll in
+her quaint dress, fashioned on the model of that worn by her own mother,
+either sitting quietly in the house, so absorbed in her book that friend
+or foe might have approached unnoticed, or on the velvety lawn
+surrounding the Manor House, intent on some dry treatise, far above the
+understanding of an ordinary child, looking up now and then to glance
+off at the wonderful view spread out below her--a view so extensive that
+it overlooked seven counties of England.
+
+There, at beautiful Bradgate, Lady Jane spent the first seven years of
+her life, busy with the endless resources at her command, and studying
+with her sisters under the instruction of the Reverend Mr. Harding, who
+was the chaplain of Bradgate--after the custom of those days--and it was
+he who laid the firm foundation of that devotion to the Protestant
+religion which was so strongly marked in Lady Jane's after life.
+
+Until Jane was seven years old she did not accompany her parents on
+their many visits to relatives of noble blood, or when they went to
+Court, for she was considered too small for that until she was eight
+years old, when she was occasionally taken with her family to London or
+elsewhere. Lady Frances Dorset, Jane's mother, was a niece of King Henry
+the Eighth, and so the Dorsets belonged to the brilliantly extravagant
+court circle of the famously extravagant Henry, and in her ninth year
+Lady Jane began to visit frequently her royal great-uncle, who was said
+to be as fond of children as he was of pastry, and doubtless enjoyed
+having Jane, an exceptionally bright, pretty girl, to divert his
+thoughts when the pains in his gouty limbs were unusually severe. And
+Queen Katherine, too, was a deeply affectionate aunt, and as soon as it
+was allowed, kept Jane constantly with her, directing the child's
+studies herself, and giving her the freedom of the Queen's own private
+apartments, where keen-eyed, quick-witted little Jane must have seen and
+heard much by which a more stupid child would not have benefited, but
+which Jane stored up for future reference,--especially the discussions
+between the Queen and those learned theologians with whom she so often
+talked, and many a scene of which Lady Jane was witness has been
+recorded in history.
+
+[Illustration: LADY JANE GREY]
+
+The Queen frequently disputed with the King on religious matters, and
+one day when he was especially out of humour, she remonstrated with him
+about a proclamation forbidding the use of a translation of the Bible.
+This made him very angry, and as soon as the Queen left the room,
+Gardiner, one of the King's councillors who was no friend of the Queen,
+fanned the King's anger into such a fury by his remarks against her, and
+by complimenting the King on his wisdom, that susceptible King Henry
+allowed himself to draw up an accusation against Queen Katherine, which
+would lead to her being beheaded--as two of his queens had been before.
+The document having been drawn up, all preparations for carrying out its
+directions were made, when one of the King's councillors dropped it, and
+an attendant of Queen Katherine fortunately picked it up, and took it at
+once to the Queen. One glance showed the danger she was in, and she fell
+into such convulsions of fright that her shrieks reached the private
+room of the King, whose heart softened at the sound, and also at the
+realisation that no one would ever care for him with the tenderness and
+tact of Katherine. Calling his attendants, he was carried to Katherine,
+who revived at once, and received him graciously, showing no fear of
+him, which was a great point in her favour, and the next morning, having
+thought out her plan of action, she visited the King's room, taking her
+sister and Lady Jane Grey with her. The King received them pleasantly,
+but soon brought up the religious discussion of the previous day. This
+time, however, Katherine was ready for him, and with a sweet smile and
+downcast eyes, as before her lord and master, she acknowledged that she
+"being only a woman" was of course not so well versed in such matters as
+His Majesty, that thereafter she would learn of him! This delighted the
+King so much that when Katherine added the confession that she had many
+times argued with him simply to pass away the weary hours of his pain
+more quickly, he exclaimed, "And is it so, sweetheart? Then we are
+perfect friends!" and kissing her, bade her depart, and for the moment
+the Queen knew that her head was safe. But the next day when she and
+Lady Jane Grey and several others were in the garden with the King, the
+Lord-chancellor with forty of the King's guards came to arrest Her
+Majesty, and not having been told that Henry's mood had changed was
+naturally much astonished at Henry's exclamation, "Beast! fool!
+knave--avaunt from my presence!"--in fact so discomforted was the
+Lord-chancellor that tender-hearted Katherine begged that he be excused,
+as she deemed "his fault was occasioned by a mistake," and so charming
+was she as she pleaded, that her husband showed his admiration for her.
+
+"Ah, poor soul," said Henry, "thou little knowest, Kate, how evil he
+deserveth this grace at thy hands!" and then he lavished a profusion of
+caresses on her, when she at last dared to draw a long breath, knowing
+only too well from what she had been delivered.
+
+This was only one of the experiences which Lady Jane, still a mere
+child, saw and lived through with her beloved Queen Katherine.
+
+On the 27th of January, 1547, Lady Jane's life completely changed. King
+Henry the Eighth died, and his will made Jane heir to the throne after
+his daughters Mary and Elizabeth, and from having been before merely the
+attractive great-niece of the King and eldest daughter of the Marquis of
+Dorset, she suddenly became a prominent factor in the political
+intrigues of the day, almost as important in the matter of succession as
+either Mary or Elizabeth, for Mary, on account of her religion, could
+easily be set aside by a faction with a powerful leader, and Elizabeth
+also, because of the question as to whether she was the legitimate
+daughter of the King.
+
+This being so, almost before the King was buried, poor little Lady Jane
+became a puppet in the hands of unscrupulous statesmen, whose only
+thought was their own advancement, and so began the series of events
+which was to end in that hideous tragedy of which one of the noblest
+girls of history was the victim.
+
+Soon after the death of King Henry, it occurred to Sir Thomas Seymour,
+the Lord Admiral, that it would be a wise move to obtain the
+guardianship of so valuable a personage as Lady Jane Grey, and he at
+once sent a messenger to ask the Marquis of Dorset for the transfer of
+the girl to his care, sending word that this would be a great chance for
+Lady Jane, who being, so said Seymour, "the handsomest lady in England,"
+could then doubtless be married to the young King Edward Sixth, through
+the Admiral's influence. This suggestion naturally pleased the ambitious
+parents of Lady Jane, and she was sent to Seymour Place--Thomas
+Seymour's London residence, which was presided over by his mother, the
+Dowager Lady Seymour, and we cannot doubt that Lady Jane enjoyed leaving
+quiet Bradgate, where she had been since the death of her uncle, King
+Henry, and where she was a victim of extraordinary severity from her
+parents, even in that age when children were often so severely
+disciplined.
+
+Not alone did she go to Seymour Place, but with a governess, and a
+number of waiting women, as befitted her rank, and was received with due
+courtesy. But though it seemed such a diplomatic move to allow her this
+chance to make a brilliant match, it was really most unfortunate, for
+Edward Seymour, the Duke of Somerset, who was Protector of the realm
+and brother of the admiral, had determined that if another plan then on
+foot for the marriage of King Edward, should fail, then should Edward
+marry Somerset's youngest daughter--and when he found that his brother
+had conceived the same plan, with Lady Jane Grey for its central figure,
+and actually had her in his own house in pursuance of that plan, he was
+very angry and determined to spoil his brother's scheme if possible.
+
+At this time, the Duke of Northumberland, a powerful and unpopular
+nobleman who had won many victories by land and sea, had come to be
+Somerset's greatest rival in the affection of King Edward. This same
+powerful Duke of Northumberland knowing that young Edward had not long
+to live, and that he was devoted to the Protestant faith, also that he
+knew the Princess Mary's deep interest in the Catholic religion,
+determined to so influence the young King that he would break his
+father's will, and leave the crown to Lady Jane Grey. He also determined
+that, during the time necessary to ripen his scheme, he would marry his
+son, Guilford Dudley, to Lady Jane Grey, in which event he would be the
+father to a Queen of England, and if she did as he wished, to a Prince
+Consort as well, which would exactly suit his ambition. So in different
+ways the tangled threads of cruel circumstance were fast winding around
+an innocent young victim, who was ignorant of them all as yet.
+
+Several months after the death of King Henry, Thomas Seymour, whose ward
+Lady Jane Grey now was, won the Dowager Queen Katherine's
+affections--having been her lover before she married King Henry--and
+they were privately wedded, after which Lady Jane Grey went to live with
+them at Hanworth, in Middlesex, and it was her great joy to be once more
+with the friend whom she so dearly loved, and to resume lessons under
+her care. Princess Elizabeth was living there too, and the contrast
+between these two young women was indeed striking. Both were fond of
+books and were staunch Protestants and both were very young, Elizabeth
+being then sixteen, and Jane four years younger, but while Elizabeth was
+bold and free in her behaviour, Jane was the exact reverse, being so
+modestly reserved in manner and pure in thought that she won golden
+praise from all who knew her well.
+
+In a short time Katherine died, Lady Jane having been with her through
+hours and days entirely too sad for such a young girl to have witnessed,
+but as Katherine clung to Jane, the loving girl gave no heed to her own
+grief or pain. The loss of his wife seemed a terrible blow to Thomas
+Seymour who at once decided to break up his household, and to send Lady
+Jane back to her father, but suddenly reconsidering, he wrote, begging
+that after all he might keep her with him, saying, "My lady, my mother
+shall and will, I doubt not, be as dear unto her as though she were her
+own daughter, and for my own part, I shall continue her half-father, or
+more. . . ."
+
+But the Marquis was unwilling to agree to this proposition, and Lady
+Jane who was now extremely pretty, went with her parents to Dorset
+House, their London residence. Here Seymour visited the Marquis and
+urged that Lady Jane be left in his care, repeating that he would try to
+make a brilliant marriage for her with the King, but when he found that
+her father would not consent, he made a practical offer of two thousand
+pounds, five hundred of it to be paid at once, for which sum he was
+again to become Jane's guardian. At that time, the Dorsets, never
+wealthy, were deeply in debt, and this amount of money would do much to
+mend their affairs, so the offer was accepted. But at the same time the
+Marquis wrote to the Duke of Somerset and spoke of some negotiations he
+was conducting for the marriage of Lady Jane with Somerset's eldest son,
+showing that he felt it wise to have more than one string to his bow,
+and in some way to marry Lady Jane to his own advantage. Dear little
+Lady Jane, fate surely did its worst for you, and never a nobler soul
+was born than you--poor little nine days Queen!
+
+But to go on with our story. As a result of fierce quarrels between the
+Admiral and his brother, the Lord Protector, Somerset caused the arrest
+of the Admiral, who was imprisoned and died on the scaffold, a victim of
+his brother's treachery. At that time, Lady Jane was still at Seymour
+Place, but at the arrest of Seymour, returned to Bradgate, but her
+parents' ambition for her had not been quenched and at once they began
+to have her cultivated to occupy the high position which they were
+determined she should some day fill. From that time her education was
+entrusted to the celebrated Aylmer, who was not only famous for his
+learning, but in close touch with the master minds of the century, and
+through him Jane became acquainted with several of the most learned men
+of the day. She was soon a fine scholar in science, Greek, Hebrew, and
+Latin, as well as various modern languages, and praise of her keen young
+mind and brilliant conversation was expressed by all who talked with
+her.
+
+Late in the autumn of 1549, six months after Lady Jane had returned to
+Bradgate, the celebrated scholar, Roger Ascham, in passing through the
+neighbourhood, being an acquaintance of the Dorsets, stopped to call at
+the Manor House, but met all the family except Lady Jane, going to the
+hunt. After a brief chat with them he inquired for Lady Jane, and being
+told that she was at home, asked if he might pay his respects to her,
+which request being readily granted, he went on to the house. Standing
+outside the open casement of Lady Jane's own sitting-room for a moment,
+he watched her as she sat in the window seat, so deeply engaged with her
+book that he could look over her shoulder unnoticed and to his
+astonishment saw that she was reading the _Phaedon_ of Plato in Greek!
+
+He spoke, and Jane looked up. At once he asked her why she relinquished
+such pastime as was then going on in the park for the sake of study?
+
+With a smile Jane answered, "I think all their sport in the park is but
+a shadow to the pleasure I find in Plato!"
+
+Interested and delighted, Ascham pursued the subject. "And how attained
+you," he asked, "to this true knowledge of pleasure? And what did
+chiefly allure you to it, seeing that few women and not many men have
+arrived at it?"
+
+"I will tell you," replied Lady Jane. "And tell you a truth which
+perchance you may marvel at. One of the greatest benefits that God ever
+gave me is that He sent me, with sharp severe parents, so gentle a
+schoolmaster (Aylmer). When I am in presence of either father or mother,
+whether I speak, keep silent, sit, stand or go, or drink, be merry or
+sad, be sewing, playing or dancing or doing anything else, I must do it
+as it were in such measure weight and number, even as perfectly as God
+made the earth, or else I am so sharply taunted, so cruelly threatened,
+yea, presently sometimes with pinches, nips and bobs, and other things
+(which T will not name for the honour I bear them), that I think myself
+in Hell 'till the time comes when I must go with Mr. Alymer who teacheth
+me so gently, so pleasantly, that I think nothing of all the time whilst
+I am with him, and when I am called from him I fall to weeping because
+whatever I do else but learning is full of great trouble, fear and
+wholesome misliking unto me."
+
+Poor lonely little fourteen-year-old Lady Jane, what a clear light this
+throws on the treatment her parents gave the responsive, sensitive
+child, and how it shows up the mental forcing process of that day! Down
+through the ages comes to us this picture of a sweet young girl sitting
+alone poring over a Greek classic--thankful for that resource which
+saved her for the moment from reproaches and taunts, "nips, bobs and
+pinches."
+
+From that time Roger Ascham was one of Lady Jane's closest friends, and
+doubtless the comradeship was a real stimulus to the brilliant girl, as
+letters from her to him show.
+
+On October the eleventh, in 1551, Lady Jane's father was raised to the
+peerage, which gave to him and his wife the new titles of the Duke and
+Duchess of Suffolk. The family now went to London, to occupy Sheen
+Abbey, and Lady Jane was presented at Court, taking her first prominent
+part in Court festivities, when she attended the entry into London of
+the Scottish Queen Regent, Mary of Guise, who had come on a visit to
+King Edward.
+
+When King Edward and Mary met first at Westminster Palace, Mary rode in
+her chariot from the city to Whitehall, and with her rode many noble
+ladies, among them Lady Jane, to whom the brilliant pageant must have
+been a great diversion, after the seclusion of Bradgate.
+
+Lady Jane took part too in all the other festivities connected with this
+state visit of the Scottish Queen, but when that was over went back to
+quiet Bradgate and her studies again, and remained there until the
+middle of November, when she went with her family to Tylsey, an estate
+belonging to her father's young cousins and wards, the Willoughbys. From
+there the Greys went to pay one of their many visits to Princess Mary
+at her town house, and that they were in high favour then is shown by an
+old account book of Princess Mary's in which is set down these items:
+
+"Given to my cousin Frances a rosary of black and white mounted in gold.
+To my cousin, Jane Grey, a necklace of gold, set with pearls and small
+rubies."
+
+In return Jane gave Mary a pair of gloves!
+
+Although the other members of her family left London for Tylsey during
+the following week, Lady Jane evidently remained with the Princess until
+the 16th of December, when she too returned to Tylsey, where the whole
+party had a merry Christmas. The house was thrown open to all such of
+the country gentry as cared to accept its hospitality, and those who
+accepted were royally entertained, as a company of players came from
+London for the occasion, also a wonderful boy who is said to have sung
+like a nightingale; also a tumbler, a juggler, and another band of
+players who acted several pieces, with great applause. Open house was
+kept until the 20th of January when the party broke up and went on to
+make another visit, returning to Tylsey for another week, all of which
+journeying about must have been too hard for delicate Lady Jane, as
+travelling was not the easy matter that it is in our day, and in
+February we hear that she had had a dangerous sickness but had fully
+recovered.
+
+Some months later we find her making another visit to Princess Mary at
+Newhall, Mary's country seat. Giving presents being one of Mary's strong
+points, she presented Lady Jane with a very handsome new gown, and with
+delicious Puritan simplicity Jane asked Mary what she was to do with it.
+"Marry," exclaimed the Princess, "wear it, to be sure!"
+
+Another incident of that visit of Lady Jane's at Newhall shows how much
+at variance the two cousins were on vital issues. Lady Wharton, a
+devout Catholic, crossing the chapel with Lady Jane when service was not
+being said, made her obeisance to the Host as they passed the altar.
+Lady Jane, looking up, asked if "the Princess were present in the
+chapel?" Lady Wharton answered that she was not.
+
+"Then why do you curtsey?" demanded Jane.
+
+"I curtsey to Him who made me," replied Lady Wharton.
+
+"Nay," retorted Lady Jane, "but did not the baker make him?" which
+remark shows a depth of thought and a cleverness of retort rarely found
+in one so young, and the remark being repeated to the Princess Mary, to
+whom it was a sacrilege, she was never again as fond of Lady Jane as
+before--but it seems doubtful whether her affection for the staunch
+little Puritan could ever have been more than skin-deep at any time.
+
+Lady Jane was now sixteen years old and truly one of the most beautiful
+young women in all England, with a type of beauty somewhat rare in that
+age, as it was connected with the most exquisite loveliness of
+character, and she was very popular throughout England.
+
+At that time, the young King was rapidly nearing his end, and the Duke
+of Northumberland, whose city home was directly opposite the residence
+of the Duke of Suffolk, realising this, saw that the time had come to
+carry out his daring scheme of snatching the crown away from the
+Princess Mary, whose it would lawfully be on the death of Edward, and to
+gain it for his own family by marrying his son, Lord Guilford Dudley, to
+Lady Jane Grey. It was not customary in those days for parents to
+consult a child in regard to a matrimonial project, and probably this
+scheme was entirely arranged by the Dukes of Suffolk and
+Northumberland. Nor does history give any evidence that Lady Jane loved
+the tall handsome youth chosen for her, but she made no objection to the
+marriage,--and so prospered one part of Northumberland's plan.
+
+For the other part, Edward was in such a feeble state of mind and body
+that he was completely dominated by Northumberland, who diplomatically
+forced the dying man to do his bidding, but carefully concealed his
+intentions in regard to the crown from Lady Jane, whose proud and
+innocent nature he knew would revolt from such treachery to her cousin,
+and so he did his work in secret. If only his popularity and talent had
+equalled his ambition, he might have carried out his plans, for the
+cause of the Reformation, for which Lady Jane stood, was dear to a large
+part of the people, and she herself was beloved everywhere.
+
+The marriage of Lady Jane and Guilford Dudley took place in the last
+week in May at Durham House, London, and the young King was so much
+pleased with the match that he ordered the master of the wardrobe to
+give the bride much wedding finery as well as many jewels, and the
+wedding was exceptionally magnificent in every detail. We are told that
+Lady Jane's headdress on the morning of her marriage was of green velvet
+set round with precious stones. She wore a gown of cloth of gold, and a
+mantle of silver tissue, and her hair hung down her back, combed and
+plaited in a curious fashion of her own devising. She was led to the
+altar by two handsome pages with bride lace and rosemary tied to their
+sleeves, and sixteen young girls dressed in pure white preceded her to
+the altar, while a profusion of flowers were scattered along the bridal
+route; the church bells rang, and the poor received beef, bread and ale
+enough for a three days' feast.
+
+Especially beaming and resplendent at the ceremony were Northumberland
+and his family, but almost as soon as it was over the bride's life seems
+to have begun to be unhappy, for she says, "The Duchess of
+Northumberland disregarded the promise she had made at our betrothal,
+that I might live at home with my mother, but, my husband being present
+observed to the Duke of Northumberland, that 'I ought not to leave her
+house, for when it pleased God to call King Edward to his mercy, I ought
+to hold myself in readiness, as I might be required to go to the Tower,
+since his Majesty had made me heir to his dominions.'" Poor little Jane
+adds, "These words told me offhanded and without preparation agitated my
+soul within me." On further thought she decided that the statement was
+hasty, and not important enough to keep her from her mother. The
+Duchess, however, became so enraged that the young bride dared not
+disobey her, but remained with her four or five days, then obtained
+leave to go to Chelsea House, a country seat of the Dudleys', which Jane
+reached just before falling into an acute sickness from which she barely
+escaped with her life, and where she was evidently without her husband.
+
+Northumberland, meanwhile, was indifferent as to where his new
+daughter-in-law resided,--she was his son's wife, which was all he
+wanted for the present. He saw that the young King was at the point of
+death, and his immediate efforts must be turned in another direction. So
+artfully did he lay before the sick monarch all the reasons for setting
+aside the claims of Mary and Elizabeth, that Edward was induced to
+sketch with his feeble hand a will, setting aside the rights of Mary and
+Elizabeth and leaving the succession to Lady Jane Grey.
+
+Of course there were some who refused to sign this will at all, and
+others--among them Archbishop Cranmer--who for a long time refused, but
+finally yielded on the urgent petition of the King, who was now as eager
+as even Northumberland could wish.
+
+Then on the 6th of July, 1553, King Edward died, and the tragedy of Lady
+Jane's life began in earnest. No sooner was his death a fact than
+Northumberland, concealing this, sent a crafty letter to the Princess
+Mary saying that her brother was at the point of death, and wished to
+see her. He did so knowing that Mary would hasten to London, and was
+prepared to seize her on the road to the city, and take her a prisoner
+to the Tower, while Lady Jane should be proclaimed Queen. As he had
+supposed, Mary hurried towards the city, but being met on the way and
+warned of the plot against her, instantly left the London road and
+galloped towards her own Manor House of Kenninghall, which she reached
+after a hard two days' trip, and found that the report of the King's
+death was true, whereupon she at once sent to the Council a confirmation
+of her own right to the throne, and so Northumberland's first move in
+his game of chance was blocked.
+
+Lady Jane meanwhile remained at Chelsea until Northumberland's daughter
+arrived to escort her to Sion House, where she was to appear before the
+Council in order to hear what the King had ordained for her. One can
+imagine the flutter of heart with which Jane made ready for the journey,
+and her still greater excitement when on her arrival the noblemen
+present began to make her complimentary speeches, bending the knee
+before her, "their example," says Lady Jane in her own account of the
+scene, "being followed by several noble ladies, all of which ceremony
+made me blush. My distress was still further increased when my mother
+and mother-in-law entered and paid me the same homage."
+
+Poor little Queen-to-be, this was her first intimation of the plan for
+her future greatness, and on discovering it, and hearing that for her
+sake the rights of her cousins were to be set aside, Lady Jane firmly
+refused to accept the crown. Northumberland, who had expected this
+refusal, then insisted that the crown was rightfully hers and her father
+begged her to take it. To these appeals the young husband added his, and
+Jane says: "On hearing all this I remained stunned and out of myself. I
+call on those present to bear witness, who saw me fall to the ground,
+weeping piteously, and dolefully lamenting not only my own insufficiency,
+but the death of the King. I swooned indeed . . . but when brought to
+myself, I raised myself on my knees and prayed to God that if to succeed
+to the throne was my duty and my right, that He would aid me to govern
+the Realm to His Glory. The following day, as everyone knows, I was
+conducted to the Tower."
+
+According to the state ceremonials governing such matters, the custom
+had always been for a new sovereign to spend the first few days of a
+reign at the Tower, and Lady Jane proceeded at once to Westminster by
+water, and from there by the state barge to the Tower, and this
+description of the scene has been preserved in a letter written on the
+10th of July by an Italian nobleman. He says:
+
+"I saw Donna Jana Groia walking in a grand procession to the Tower. She
+is now called Queen, but is not popular, for the hearts of the people
+are with Mary. This Jane is very short and thin, but prettily shaped and
+graceful. She has small features and a well-made nose, the mouth
+flexible and the lips red. The eyebrows are arched and darker than her
+hair which is nearly red. Her eyes are sparkling and a sort of light
+hazel often noticed with red hair. I stood so long near Her Grace that
+I noticed her colour was good, but freckled. When she smiled, she showed
+her teeth, which are large and sharp. In all a gracious and animated
+person. She wore a dress of green velvet stamped with gold and with
+large sleeves. Her headdress was a coif with many jewels. She walked
+under a canopy, her mother carrying her train and her husband walking by
+her, dressed all in white and gold, a very tall strong boy with light
+hair, who paid her much attention. The new Queen was mounted on very
+high heels to make her look much taller. Many ladies followed, with
+noblemen, but this lady is very much of a heretic and has never heard
+mass, and some very great people did not come into the procession for
+that reason."
+
+At the Tower Queen Jane was properly received by its Lieutenant and
+Deputy Lieutenant, and walked in procession from the landing-place to
+the Great Hall, a crowd of spectators lining the way and kneeling as the
+new Queen passed, and so began the great drama of which Jane was the
+central figure.
+
+As soon as the new Queen entered the royal apartments at the Tower, the
+heralds trumpeted, and a few minutes later four of them read her
+proclamation, which was an unfortunate, dull, long-winded document,
+dealing with the claims of Elizabeth and Mary in such a brutal way as
+might well have offended them and the Catholic party as well, and
+although Lady Jane was innocent of the document, nevertheless it bore
+her signature, and so for that as for the many other deeds done in her
+name, the fair young victim was obliged to pay the bitter penalty.
+
+While the young Queen was occupied with her first state duties in the
+Tower, Mary and her following were busy inciting the people to remain
+loyal to the rightful heir. In several counties the great mass of
+citizens detested the Duke of Northumberland and knew that Lady Jane
+would be a tool in his hands, so when Mary announced that as Queen she
+would make no change in the religion or laws of the land, they at once
+pledged themselves to support her cause.
+
+On the twelfth of July, Jane's second day in the Tower, there were
+delivered to her unwilling Majesty, besides the Crown jewels, a curious
+collection of miscellaneous articles of jewellery, the contents of
+various boxes and baskets found at the Jewel House in the Tower, which
+had belonged to Henry's six queens. By this time Jane's loneliness and
+anxiety over a situation which she knew to be dangerous, had brought on
+an attack of sickness, and she must have been wretched in mind and body,
+yet being still little more than a child, she must have had some small
+degree of pleasure in examining her new treasures, which included among
+the many articles:
+
+"A fish of gold, being a toothpick.
+
+"One dewberry of gold. A like pendant having one great and three little
+pearls. A tablet of gold with one white sapphire and one blue one. A
+pair of beads of white porcelain with eight gauds of gold and a tassel
+of Venice gold. Buttons of gold with crimson work. A pair of bracelets
+of flagon pattern. Thirty turquoises of little worth. Thirteen small
+diamonds set in collets of gold, etc. etc.," through a long list.
+
+There is also an inventory of the personal belongings of Lady Jane at
+this time, which gives a good idea of the contents of her wardrobe. The
+following are only a few of its details:
+
+"Item, a hat of purple velvet embroidered with many pearls.
+
+"Item, a muffler of purple velvet embroidered with pearls of damask gold
+garnished with small stones of sundry sorts and tied with white satin.
+
+"Item, a muffler of sable skin with a head of gold, with four clasps set
+with five pearls, four turquoises, six rubies, two diamonds and five
+pearls, the four feet of the sable being of gold set with turquoises and
+the head having a tongue made of a ruby.
+
+"Item, Eighteen buttons of rubies.
+
+"Item, Three pairs of gold garters having buckles and pendants of gold.
+
+"Item, Three shirts, one of velvet, the other of black silk embroidered
+with gold, the third of gold stitched with silver and red silk," etc.,
+etc., etc.
+
+From even these bits of the inventory it is evident that the Lady Jane
+was not lacking in goods and chattels, but they gave her little comfort,
+poor child, with her swift approaching destiny!
+
+On that same night of the twelfth of July, there were taken to the Tower
+a large number of fire-arms and a quantity of ammunition as well as an
+army of soldiers who were ready to march against Mary's followers. And
+the preparations were made just in time, for on the very next day came
+news that the rival Queen was at Kenninghall and that her loyal subjects
+were hurrying from all parts of the kingdom to support her cause. In
+fact the inmates of the Tower at once discovered that throughout the
+kingdom the people were against Queen Jane and for Queen Mary, and a sad
+discovery it was!
+
+At once the Council was called together, and a proposal was made that
+the Duke of Suffolk should take command of troops to quell the
+insurrection, but Jane was insistent that she could not be left in the
+Tower without her father for protection, and as his health was not
+good, it was finally decided that the Duke of Northumberland himself
+should go out to resist the rival forces. But before the Duke went, he
+gave Her Majesty into the charge of the Council, and swore with a big
+oath that when he returned "Mary should no longer be in England, for he
+would take care to drive her into France."
+
+Then with a passionate embrace of his son, Guilford, Northumberland went
+to finish his preparations for the resisting of Mary's claim, and on
+Friday, the fourteenth, he and his followers rode proudly forth with a
+train of guns, and six hundred men, some of them the greatest in the
+land. As they passed through the city, they could not but notice the
+sullenness and lack of enthusiasm in the great crowds everywhere
+gathered to watch them pass, and grew more and more fearful of the
+probable defeat of the Duke's project.
+
+Meanwhile Queen Jane, in the Tower, passed the weary hours as best she
+could, and executed several minor duties of her royal office, but grew
+hourly more depressed with a nameless dread, and at evening came the
+news of a great rising in favour of Queen Mary. Still worse tidings came
+on Saturday, the sixth day of Jane's disastrous reign. Queen Mary had
+already been proclaimed at Framlington and Norwich, and Northumberland
+had sent to London for fresh troops, and was speeding as fast as horse
+could gallop towards Cambridge, which he reached at midnight, but in
+vain! Jane's cause collapsed so completely and so rapidly everywhere
+that even such precautions as had been taken for the defence of her
+party ended by serving her rivals, and the miserable Duke returned to
+the Tower and its comparative safety, a prisoner, in a pathetic plight
+brought about by his own wretched ambition.
+
+On the seventh day of Queen Jane's reign, throughout the length and
+breadth of England there were again risings for Queen Mary. In all the
+streets there were cheering and rioting, and bonfires were lighted,
+around which crowds of rough men and women circled, shouting, "Queen
+Mary! Queen Mary!" while in the churches the rival queens and rival
+creeds were the one subject of discourse.
+
+On the eighth day of Jane's reign there was a violent scene in the early
+morning between her mother and mother-in-law concerning the kingship of
+Guilford, as Jane's husband. Poor Jane cried herself sick over the
+distasteful affair, and tried to calm and reason with the two
+disputants, looking more dead than alive as she did so. By this time as
+a result of suspense and discouraging news all the occupants of the
+Tower were at sixes and sevens, and the general feeling was that a worse
+situation was still to come. Again bad news, the peasants,
+notwithstanding the threats of their lords, had refused to take up arms
+against Mary, and were drawing very near London; also all over the
+country the nobility were arming, and marching in the defence of the
+rightful queen's person and title, while poor Queen Jane's name was now
+only spoken to be scoffed at.
+
+On Tuesday, the eighteenth, it was evident to all that the tragi-comedy
+was drawing to a close. Of all Queen Jane's Council only two men,
+Archbishop Cranmer and her own father, remained true to her--all the
+others having decided to save their own heads by betraying the cause of
+that girl to whom nine days before they had pledged undying loyalty. On
+Wednesday, the nineteenth, the short reign ended. "Jane the Queen"
+became "_Jana non Regina_," and although that morning there was a slight
+flicker of interest shown in her cause, yet the conspirators against
+her, that evening proclaimed Mary queen in Cheapside, at the very hour
+at which only nine days before Jane's accession had been proclaimed!
+
+The people now realised that they had nothing to fear from Jane or her
+Council, whose power was broken, and at once gave public vent to their
+enthusiasm for Mary, indulging in one of those attacks of frenzied
+excitement which sometimes seizes a nation,--and everywhere there were
+merry-makings and rejoicings for her Catholic Majesty--except within the
+Tower, where the stillness of death reigned.
+
+Northumberland's plan had failed, and of those councillors who had
+pledged their support to Jane's cause, but one remained loyal besides
+her own father!
+
+Archbishop Cranmer was the last of Jane's Council then living in the
+Tower to leave it, and the leave-taking was a sad one on both sides, for
+it left Lady Jane alone to meet the sad events then coming thick and
+fast, with what courage she could summon.
+
+Presently a messenger came to Suffolk, from Baynard's Castle, to tell
+him that the nobles gathered together there required him to deliver up
+the Tower and go to the Castle to sign Mary's proclamation, and without
+a moment's hesitation the wretched man gave up the unequal struggle, and
+did as he was commanded. Then he returned to the Tower to tell Jane that
+her queenship was a thing of the past, although there was little need to
+report so evident a fact.
+
+With nervous excitement he rushed into the Council chamber, where he
+found Jane alone, seated in forlorn dejection under the canopy of State.
+
+"Come down from that, my child," he said. "That is no place for you,"
+and then more gently than he had ever spoken to her before, he told her
+all. For a moment there was silence while daughter and father stood
+clasped in each other's arms in the deserted hall, through the open
+windows of which could be heard, borne on the summer air, shouts of
+"Long live Queen Mary!" There was a long silence, then Jane looked up
+into her father's eyes and there was a gleam of hope in her own as she
+asked, wistfully, "Can I go home?"
+
+Poor little victim of the plots of over-ambitious men, never was a more
+sublimely pathetic sentence uttered, and oh, the world of longing in
+that simple, never-to-be-gratified request!
+
+No sooner had Queen Mary's proclamation been heralded, than everything
+was changed for Lady Jane, who was even deserted by her mother and the
+Duchess of Northumberland. A few hours before, the Tower guards and
+officials had treated her with extreme deference, but now showed a
+marked degree of scorn for her whose sovereignty had come to an end. The
+tears of her women, their whispered talk, the ominous silence of the
+palace, broken only by the distant shouts of the revellers, all combined
+to add to the poor girl's misery, and it would not be strange if on that
+evening of July 19th, when she was removed from the State apartments, to
+another Tower, and declared a prisoner, she had felt that the calmness
+even of despair was preferable to the atmosphere of uncertainty of the
+last few days of her struggle for a crown.
+
+In her new quarters she was allowed several attendants of good birth, as
+well as two serving maids and a lad, and though a prisoner, she was not
+in solitude nor in discomfort of any kind, being allowed to walk daily
+in the Queen's gardens, and "on the hill without the Tower
+precincts"--her meals were those of a most luxurious captivity, and it
+must be clearly understood that she was never formally arrested. She was
+simply detained at the Tower, to prevent a repetition of the project to
+place her on the throne. During the nine days' reign, Guilford, her
+husband, seems to have sulked because she had refused to make him King,
+or else Northumberland had advised him to keep out of the way, that he
+might not be included in any blame for the usurpation of the crown.
+However that may have been, we hear nothing of him until after Mary's
+proclamation, when he too was imprisoned, but not in that part of the
+Tower with Lady Jane.
+
+Even in her secluded apartment, Jane must have heard some gossip of the
+great outer world in which she no longer played a part, and doubtless
+knew that Princess Elizabeth had joined her sister Mary, and was to ride
+into London with her, showing that whatever difference of opinion she
+had on other matters, she wished the nation to know that she upheld
+Mary's succession to the throne. And too, Jane must have heard of the
+flaunting decorations of the city to celebrate the royal entrance, and
+of the wild enthusiasm everywhere shown for Queen Mary.
+
+But harder still to bear must have been the visit of the Constable of
+the Tower, who on the first of August visited the prisoners, and read
+the solemn indictment against them in the Queen's name, charging Lady
+Jane and Guilford Dudley, her husband, of treason for having seized the
+Tower, for having sought to depose their rightful sovereign, Queen Mary,
+and for having proclaimed Jane Dudley, Queen of England. For those
+charges was Lady Jane to be brought to trial, and yet, not for one of
+them could she be held responsible.
+
+This was on the first of August, and two days later at twilight the
+booming of cannon, the flare of lights, the tramp of ambassadors and
+sentinels coming and going, told the State prisoners in the Tower of the
+arrival of Queen Mary and the Princess Elizabeth, and leaden-hearted
+Lady Jane from her windows doubtless watched the gay scene, noting how
+many of those now paying homage to their new Queen had only nine days
+before sworn loyalty to her.
+
+The Queen and Elizabeth had come for the Protestant State funeral
+service of King Edward, which took place on the 8th of August, and there
+was also a service according to the ritual of the Church of Rome
+celebrated at Mary's command, in the Royal Chapel of the Tower, where
+Mary had now taken up her residence. One of her first acts as Queen was
+to free a number of prisoners in the Tower, but she never lifted a
+finger to the liberation of Lady Jane, her kinswoman.
+
+On the eighteenth of August, the Duke of Northumberland was tried for
+treason, and throughout his trial acted in the basest manner possible;
+then seeing that whatever he might say would not save him, he confessed
+his crime and begged the pardon of the judges, showing one spark of
+manhood when he asserted that whatever might be his own deserts, Lady
+Jane not only had not wished the crown, but was forced to accept it. For
+himself he only asked the death usually accorded noblemen, and some
+degree of favour for his children. On hearing that Northumberland had
+been condemned, the people showed great joy, as they felt it was a just
+desert for his treason, and their sentiment was clearly shown by the
+crowds lining the street when he was taken from the court to his prison
+in the Tower. On the next day he received news of his intended execution
+which was carried out on the 22nd of August.
+
+Meanwhile Lady Jane and her husband were still prisoners, and Jane's
+conduct will forever place her name among the heroes and martyrs of the
+Reformation, so calm and courageous was she during every circumstance
+of her confinement, never uttering a word of complaint, but seeming
+wholly concerned for the sufferings of her father and husband, and
+though she must have indeed had bitter thoughts, yet she never voiced
+them, but was always calm and sweet.
+
+Through the whole month of August there were memorable struggles between
+the Catholics and Protestants, each struggling for supremacy, and at
+last all doubt was at an end. Queen Mary was determined to distinguish
+herself as a persecutor of the Protestants.
+
+During the last week of August she was busily preparing for her
+coronation, which was to be celebrated on the first day of October, and
+was marked with the usual pomp and splendour of such pageants, and still
+sweet Lady Jane was in prison, separated from her husband and from her
+friends. A few days after Mary's queendom was officially confirmed her
+first Parliament was opened, and one of its first acts was to pass a
+bill of attainder upon Lady Jane Grey and her husband,--and so destiny
+swept the innocent usurper with its swift current.
+
+The trial on a charge of high treason took place at the Guildhall on
+November 13th. In all the year England has no sadder month than
+November, by reason of its dull skies and heavy fogs, and in a mood not
+unlike the sombre day, Lady Jane and Lord Guilford were led out from the
+place where they had been for so long imprisoned. They were surrounded
+by a guard of four hundred soldiers, and there was great noise and
+confusion along their line of march, but Lady Jane was calmness
+personified, both then and through the whole trial.
+
+She pleaded guilty of the charge against her, poor innocent little
+Queen, and presently her sentence was pronounced. She was to be burned
+alive on Tower Hill, or beheaded, at the Queen's pleasure.
+
+Notwithstanding their desire to have Mary for queen, in place of Jane,
+the people on hearing this terrible sentence, burst forth in groans, and
+many sobbed and bewailed her fate to such a degree that Jane turned, and
+said calmly to them:
+
+"Oh, faithful companions of my sorrows, why do you thus afflict me with
+your plaints. Are we not born into life to suffer adversity and even
+disgrace if necessary? When has the time been that the innocent were not
+exposed to violence and oppression?" and from the example of her brave
+cheerfulness, they ceased their moaning.
+
+At that time it was generally supposed that Queen Mary would pardon Lady
+Jane and Lord Guilford, and there is no doubt that this was her
+intention then, and she ordered gentle treatment of them both, which
+must have made their hearts beat high with hope of some time being free.
+From the day of the trial Queen Mary showed an intense desire to win
+Jane over to the Catholic faith, and sent a devout Catholic priest to
+visit her in the Tower, with this in view; but it was utterly useless to
+attempt to turn the firm little Protestant from her belief, even though
+the change might have saved her head.
+
+While Lady Jane was resisting the attempts to change her creed, Queen
+Mary was deciding to make sure of a Catholic succession to the throne,
+and presently announced her engagement to Philip of Spain, the son of
+the Emperor Charles, which engagement when made public produced marked
+discontent through the whole country, for it was feared that with a
+Spanish prince for the husband of their Queen, England would become
+merely a vassal to Spain, and both Protestants and Catholics were
+firmly opposed to the match.
+
+Again a chance for Lady Jane's cause! In less than a week Queen Mary's
+court were alarmed by the news that the Duke of Suffolk with his two
+brothers, had again organised a rebellion in several counties for the
+restoration of Lady Jane to the throne. There were also at that time two
+other insurrections in the kingdom, aiming at one end--the prevention of
+the Queen's marriage; but of the three the most dangerous was that of
+the Duke of Suffolk, and he knew that even if it should succeed, Lady
+Jane would never accept the throne unless forced. A more fool-hardy
+course he could not have pursued, but passing through Leicestershire, he
+proclaimed Lady Jane Queen in every town through which he passed, and
+seemed to sincerely believe that the people who such a short time before
+had stood for the arrest and the uncrowning of his daughter, would now
+stand in solid support of her claim.
+
+With all the conflicts and intrigues of all the three insurrections
+there was the noise of battle throughout the country, but every one of
+them ended in defeat, and only one came anywhere near to victory, that,
+the one in favour of the crowning of Lady Jane Grey. And because of
+this, Mary the Queen felt that Jane was too dangerous a menace to the
+safety of the nation, and to her own sovereignty, to remain alive, and
+so the moment had come when Jane, so young and so full of the joy of
+living, must reap what others had sown.
+
+On the eighth of February, the news was carried to the prisoner. She
+received her doom with dry-eyed dignity, but pleaded for mercy for her
+husband, who she said was innocent, and had only obeyed his father in
+all things, but the plea was disregarded and when the news was taken to
+Guilford, unlike Lady Jane he thought only of himself, and wept and
+begged and prayed for forgiveness,--but in vain!
+
+It was originally intended that Jane and Guilford should be executed
+together on Tower Hill, but this was not carried out, probably because
+Lady Jane, being of blood royal, could be executed inside the precincts
+of the Tower, where two queens of Henry the Eighth had been beheaded,
+while Guilford, being of plebeian origin, was obliged to perish outside
+the Tower walls.
+
+While awaiting the fatal day, Jane occupied herself in writing a letter
+to her father, in which she held him responsible for her death, and then
+probably spent Sunday the 10th of February, in prayer and meditation,
+and on the following day she wrote a beautiful letter to her sister
+Katherine, of whose terrible grief on her account she had been told. The
+letter was written on the blank leaves of a Greek testament, which has
+fortunately been preserved, and can be seen to-day in the British
+Museum.
+
+Lord Guilford Dudley begged for an interview with his wife before their
+death, but this Lady Jane declined, saying that it would unnerve them
+both for the supreme moment, although she sent a message to her husband,
+and on the day of the execution, at the time when he was to pass her
+window on his way to the scaffold, she stood and waved her hand to him,
+as he passed, in the strength of his youth and manhood, to the horrible
+grave dug for him by his own father's hand, facing death bravely at the
+end.
+
+Then a ghastly accident occurred. Either by accident or by design, Jane
+caught a glimpse of her husband's body as it was being carried from the
+scaffold to the Tower for burial, and for a time it seemed as if her
+frail young frame could not resist the strain of that agony of sorrow
+and fear which overcame her; but at last Lady Jane was on her way to
+meet her doom.
+
+The bells of the churches tolled as the dread procession wound its way
+slowly to the foot of the scaffold, and the young prisoner was dressed
+as on the day of her trial, in a black cloth dress edged with black
+velvet, a Marie Stuart cap of black velvet on her head, with a veil of
+black cloth hanging to her waist and a white wimple concealing her
+throat, her sleeves edged with lawn, neatly plaited around her wrists.
+
+Before ascending the steps leading to the scaffold the Lady Jane bade
+farewell to her sobbing ladies, then mounting, advanced to the edge of
+the platform and spoke in a clear sweet voice, of her innocence of
+treason, and begging them to bear witness that she died a true Christian
+woman. Then after a pause, and wiping her eyes, she added, "Now, good
+people, Jane Dudley bids you all a long farewell. And may the Almighty
+preserve you from ever meeting the terrible death which awaits her in a
+few minutes."
+
+At these words, seeing the towering figure of the executioner in his
+scarlet robe, she threw herself into the arms of her old nurse, who was
+by her side, and sobbed and shivered with terror. Then growing calmer
+she knelt while a psalm was said and prayer offered, then she said
+farewell to those who had been with her to the end, and gave her prayer
+book as a memento to one who had asked this favour.
+
+The supreme moment had come. Unloosening her gown without the aid of her
+attendants, who were overcome with emotion, she cast aside the
+handkerchief with which she was expected to bandage her eyes, and then
+with a swift glance at the executioner, she said simply:
+
+"I pray you despatch me quickly," then kneeling down she asked, "Will
+you take it off before I lay me down?"
+
+Without any apparent emotion Lady Jane then tied the handkerchief over
+her eyes. She was now blindfolded and, trying to feel for the block,
+asked, "What shall I do? Where is it?"
+
+A person near her, on the scaffold, guided her to the block, and she
+instantly laid her head upon it, rested in silence for a moment, then
+exclaimed:
+
+"Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit," and a moment later the agony
+was over.
+
+The noblest, most courageous girl who was ever the victim of relentless
+ambition, was gone, sacrificed to a game of chance in which she was the
+royal pawn! History offers no sadder, no more thrilling story than that
+of Lady Jane, the girl of seventeen, who was a "Nine Days Queen!"
+
+
+
+
+GENTLE ANNIE:
+
+A Daughter of the Regiment
+
+
+FORT SUMTER had been fired on!
+
+The whole country was in a state of flaming excitement. Up to that time
+there had been a division of sentiment in the North, and many thought
+that by patient effort the seceding States could be brought back into
+the Union--that there would never be any serious fighting--but now all
+that was changed.
+
+In a measure the Northerners were unprepared for war, and the regular
+army was then very small, but one month after the inauguration of
+President Lincoln he issued a call for seventy-five thousand volunteers
+for three months' service only, and the war between North and South
+began in earnest.
+
+In every part of the country there was one absorbing topic of
+conversation, while men were being hastily gathered into companies,
+officers were forming their regiments to march to the scene of conflict,
+women were hurriedly joining hospital brigades, and the government was
+rushing the purchase and manufacture of ammunition and weapons, and
+collecting an adequate supply of horses and army-wagons, camp equipments
+and provisions and uniforms for the soldiers.
+
+In every State there was an individual flurry of preparation while men
+and women made ready to leave homes and families, for the sake of their
+country. When the first enlistment took place, Annie Etheredge, a young
+woman whose childhood and early girlhood had been passed in Wisconsin,
+was in Detroit visiting some friends, and the set of young women with
+whom she associated became so filled with the enthusiasm of war that
+nineteen of them offered themselves to go as nurses with the Second
+Michigan volunteers under Colonel Richardson. This offer was accepted
+and all bade brave farewells to their families and friends, and set out
+with the regiment, to help and to heal wherever opportunity offered. But
+theirs were hands and hearts not accustomed to such work, and at the end
+of a few months, eighteen of them returned to their homes, having been
+unable to bear the sights and service of the battlefield. But it was not
+so with Annie Etheredge. Her brave spirit and heroic character never
+gave way under the most severe strain, and as we follow her through
+those sombre days, we give thanks for such a pure, strong example of
+what a woman, however young, may be. To Tennessee went Annie with her
+regiment, and was transferred to Michigan, where she had many friends
+and was with that regiment in every battle in which they took part.
+
+It took very little time to discover the value of her services and
+General Berry, who for a long time commanded the brigade to which
+Annie's regiment was attached, soon declared that the young woman was as
+self-possessed under a hot fire of shot and shell as he was himself--and
+that was a good deal for the gallant commander to acknowledge of one of
+the opposite sex!
+
+Annie was provided with a fine horse, a side-saddle, and saddle bags, as
+well as two pistols which she carried in her holster, but never used,
+and so fitted out she rode fearlessly to the front in the skirmish of
+Blackburn's Ford and in the first battle of Bull Run. Her keen eye was
+always quick to discover where there was need of assistance, and she
+would gallop to a wounded soldier who was too severely hurt to go to the
+rear, dismount, and regardless of the fire of shot and shell often
+whizzing around her, would skilfully bind up his wounds, give him water
+or a necessary stimulant, say a cheery word,--then gallop on to her next
+patient. So tender and soothing a nurse was she that the soldiers called
+her "Gentle Annie," and many an eye watched with eager affection as the
+horse carrying her girlish figure came in sight following the troops.
+
+In the second battle of Bull Run, on the 29th of August, 1861, Annie was
+standing on a part of the battle-field where there was a rocky ledge,
+under the protection of which some wounded soldiers had crawled. Seeing
+this, Annie lingered behind the troops, helped several other injured men
+to the same retreat, and was soon busy dressing their wounds. One of the
+fellows was a fine looking boy whose lips were parched and his eyes
+brilliant with fever. She gave him a refreshing drink, then bound up his
+wounds, receiving in return a bright glance of gratitude and a faint
+"God's blessing on you," just as the rebel battery literally tore him to
+pieces under her very hands, while at the same moment she saw the enemy,
+almost within touch, and she was obliged to make a hasty flight or she
+too would have been killed.
+
+On another part of that bloody battle-field of Bull Run, tireless in her
+activity, although sick at heart from the ghastly sights and sounds of
+the day, she was kneeling beside a soldier and tenderly binding up his
+wounds, when she heard a gruff voice repeating her name, and looking up,
+to her astonishment saw brave General Kearney, checking his horse by her
+side, watching her with genuine admiration in his eyes. "That's right,"
+he exclaimed. "I am glad to see you here, helping those poor fellows,
+and when this is over, I will have you made a regimental sergeant,"
+which meant that she would receive a sergeant's pay and rations, but as
+the gallant General was killed two days later at Chantilly, Annie never
+received the appointment. But she continued her care of the sick and
+wounded in the same quiet manner which characterised all her actions.
+When she was not busy on the field or in hospital or transport duty she
+superintended the cooking at headquarters, and when the brigade moved,
+she would mount her horse, and march with the ambulance and the
+surgeons, ready to serve where she was most needed, or if on the
+battle-field when night fell she wrapped herself in her soldier's
+blanket and slept under the protecting sky with the hardihood of a true
+soldier.
+
+At Chancellorsville, on the 2nd of May, 1863, the men of the Third Corps
+were in extreme danger because of a panic by which the Eleventh Corps
+was broken up; and one company of the Third Michigan and also one of the
+sharp-shooters were detailed as skirmishers. Annie was advised of her
+danger in remaining with the regiment, but refused to go to the rear,
+and instead took the lead, but met her Colonel and he peremptorily
+commanded her to go back, saying the enemy was very near, and he was
+every moment expecting an attack. Reluctant to obey, Annie turned and
+rode along the front of a line of shallow trenches filled with Union
+men. Then rising in her saddle she called out, "Boys, do your duty and
+whip the rebels!"
+
+The men's heads rose above the edge of the trench and they cheered her,
+crying, "Hurrah for Annie! Bully for you!" which shout unfortunately
+showed their position to the enemy, who at once fired a volley of shots
+in the direction of the cheering. Annie rode to the end of the rear of
+the line, then turned to look back, and as she did so, an officer
+quickly pushed his horse between her and a large tree by which she was
+standing, so that he might be sheltered behind her. She was staring at
+him in astonishment at such an unchivalrous act, when a second volley
+was fired; a ball whizzed past her, and the officer fell heavily against
+her, then lifeless to the ground. At the same moment another ball grazed
+Annie's hand (this was the only wound she received during the whole
+war), cut through her dress, and slightly wounded her horse, who was so
+frenzied by the pain that he set off on a run through the woods,
+plunging in and out among the trees so rapidly that Annie was afraid of
+being brushed from her saddle by the branches, or of having her brains
+dashed out by being thrown against a tree trunk. Raising herself on her
+saddle with a violent effort she crouched on her knees and clung to the
+pommel and awaited what might come, but by a lucky chance, the
+frightened animal dashed out of the woods and into the midst of the
+Eleventh Corps, who stopped the runaway and gave a rousing cheer for
+plucky Annie. Her regiment was by this time quite a distance away, and
+Annie wanted to see and speak with General Berry, who was the commander
+of her division, but was told by an aide that he was not there. "He _is_
+here," replied Annie, "and I must see him." The aide turned his horse
+and rode up to the General, who was near by, and told him that a woman
+was coming up, who insisted on seeing him.
+
+"It is Annie," said General Berry. "Let her come, let her come. I would
+risk my life for Annie any time!" As Annie approached from one side a
+prisoner was brought up on the other, and after some words with him, and
+receiving his sword, the General sent him to the rear, and after
+greeting Annie cordially he gave the prisoner into her charge,
+directing him to walk by her horse. This was Annie's last interview with
+the brave General, for he was killed early the next morning in the
+desperate fight for possession of the plank road, in the woods not far
+from the hospital, leading past the Chancellor House.
+
+During the same battle Annie found an artillery man so badly wounded
+that he could not move. The batteries had no surgeons of their own, and
+despite his entreaties the infantry surgeons with their hands full in
+caring for their own wounded men, had refused to assist him. Annie,
+after binding up the poor man's wounds, insisted on having him cared
+for, and a year later she received the following letter:
+
+
+                      WASHINGTON, D. C., Jan. 14, 1864.
+
+          _Annie_:--_Dearest Friend_:--I am not long for
+          this world, and I wish to thank you for your
+          kindness ere I go.
+
+          You were the only one who was ever kind to me
+          since I entered the Army. At Chancellorsville, I
+          was shot through the body, the ball entering my
+          side and coming out through the shoulder. I was
+          also hit in the arm, and was carried to the
+          hospital in the woods where I lay for hours and
+          not a surgeon would touch me when you came along
+          and gave me water and bound up my wounds. Please
+          accept my heartfelt gratitude; and may God bless
+          you and protect you from all dangers; may you be
+          eminently successful in your present pursuit. I
+          enclose a flower, a present from a sainted mother;
+          it is the only gift I have to send you. Had I a
+          picture, I would send you one. I know nothing of
+          your history, but I hope you always have and
+          always may be happy, and since I will be unable to
+          see you in this world, I hope I may meet you in
+          the better world where there is no war. May God
+          bless you, both now and forever, is the wish of
+          your grateful friend.
+
+Such rewards for loving service must have been very grateful to one of
+Annie's sensitive nature, and she continued to toil on in the spirit of
+love and heroism through the battle of Gettysburg, and the engagements
+of Grant's closing campaign, where her gentleness and courage were
+favourite themes of the soldiers, who could scarcely bear to have her
+out of their sight when they were sick or wounded.
+
+At the battle of the Wilderness, when the fighting was fiercest and the
+balls were raining like hailstones, the Fifth Michigan, to which Annie
+was now attached, together with other troops, were surrounded and nearly
+cut off by the rebels and as the line of battle swung round, the rebels
+at once took the places vacated by the Union men. Annie was at that
+moment speaking to a little drummer boy when a bullet pierced his heart,
+and he fell against Annie, dead. For the first and only time during the
+war she was overcome by a panic of terror and laying the dead boy on the
+ground, she ran like a hunted deer towards what she took to be the Union
+troops, to find to her horror she was mistaken. It was the rebel forces,
+but, too late to retrace her steps she dashed ahead, cutting her swift
+way through the enemy's line, and though shots whistled after her, she
+escaped in safety.
+
+With every month of service, Annie's patriotism grew stronger and her
+desire to serve the cause for which the Union was fighting, keener.
+During the battle of Spotsylvania she met a number of soldiers
+retreating, and when imploring them to turn back had no effect, she
+offered to lead them herself, and shamed into doing their duty, by a
+woman's courage, they turned, and led by the dauntless girl, went back
+into the thick of the fight, under heavy fire from the enemy. Never did
+Annie bear the regimental colours or flourish sword or flag, as has been
+asserted; she simply inspired men to deeds of valour or to the doing of
+their simple duty by her own contagious example of unwavering
+patriotism.
+
+When the enemy was attacked by the Second Corps, as they were at Deep
+Bottom, Annie became separated from her regiment, and with her usual
+attendant--the surgeon's orderly, who carried the medicine chest, went
+in search of the troops, but before she realised it, found herself
+beyond the line of the Union pickets. An officer at once told her she
+must turn back, that the enemy was near, and almost before the words
+were spoken, the rebel skirmishers suddenly appeared, and as suddenly
+the officer struck spurs into his horse and fled, Annie and the orderly
+following as fast as they could, until they reached the Union lines. As
+the rebels had hoped to surprise the Union troops they did not fire lest
+they should give an alarm, which is probably the reason why Annie
+escaped uninjured, and in this as in many other cases it seemed as if
+the loving thoughts and prayers of those to whom she had been mother,
+sister and friend in hours of blackest despair protected the brave girl
+from harm.
+
+So strong was the confidence of the soldiers in Annie's ability to shape
+even circumstances to her will, that this confidence amounted almost to
+a superstition, and whenever a battle was to be fought, were uneasy as
+to results, also as to the care of the wounded unless she was at hand,
+and there was never a more fitting tribute paid to man or woman, old or
+young, than that paid to Annie by the brilliant General Birney. After
+watching her closely and observing her invaluable service and dauntless
+courage one day at twilight he gathered together his troops, and amid
+shouts of appreciative applause presented her with the glittering
+Kearney Cross, a token of noble self-sacrifice and heroic service
+rendered to the Union army, and it is pleasant to picture the brave girl
+as she received the reward of her faithful service, with that modest
+diffidence which is so charming in a woman, but with shining eyes and
+cheeks flushed with appreciation of the token that her work had not been
+in vain.
+
+Many verses have been written in honour of Annie, and this fragment of
+one of them seems a fitting tribute to the pure, sweet, patriotic
+Daughter of the Regiment.
+
+
+To Miss Anna Etheredge.
+
+(THE HEROINE OF THE WAR.)
+
+          Hail dauntless maid! whose shadowy form,
+          Borne like a sunbeam on the air,
+          Swept by amid the battle storm,
+          Cheering the helpless sufferers there,
+          Amid the cannon's smoke and flame,
+          The earthquake sound of shot and shell,
+          Winning by deeds of love, a name
+          Immortal as the brave who fell.
+
+          Hail angel! whose diviner spell
+          Charmed dying heroes with her prayer,
+          Staunching their wounds amid the knell
+          Of death, destruction and despair.
+          Thy name by memory shall be wreathed
+          Round many desolate hearts in prayer;
+          By orphan lips it shall be breathed,
+          And float in songs upon the air.
+
+
+
+
+MADELEINE DE VERCHÈRES:
+
+The Heroine of Castle Dangerous
+
+
+IT was the twenty-second of October. Hills until recently tapestried,
+and valleys which had been flaming with the glory of autumn were now
+putting on the more sombre garb of early winter, though still the soft
+haze of fall hung over fields and forests in the small Canadian colony,
+on the bank of the St. Lawrence River, twenty miles below Montreal, a
+settlement commanded by the French officer Seignieur de Verchères.
+
+Peace and quiet reigned throughout the small community on that October
+morning, while all its inhabitants except the very young or the infirm
+were busy harvesting.
+
+Because of its location in a direct route between the hunting ground of
+the Iroquois Indians and Montreal, the fort protecting the settlement
+was known as the "Castle Dangerous" of Canada. At night all the farmers
+and other settlers of the community left their log cabins and gathered
+in the fort for protection, then went out in the morning, with hoe in
+one hand and gun in the other, to till the fields, leaving the women and
+children safe inside the fort, which stood in an exposed position beyond
+the homes of the settlers. Outside the fort stood a strong block house
+connected with it by a covered passage, and both were surrounded by a
+palisaded wall. Fort and blockhouse and wall were necessary protections
+in those days when English, French and Indians were at war in the
+Canadian provinces in the name of Church or King, or for personal
+betterment, and when the Indians were resisting with powerful
+determination the religion and customs which the white men were trying
+to thrust upon them, and attempting to prevent the aliens from securing
+the rich supplies of skins which were annually brought down the Ottawa
+river by fur-traders from the frozen North.
+
+It was indeed a time of warfare in Canada--that latter part of the
+seventeenth century, when Frontenac was governor of the French
+possessions, and two nations were striving so bitterly for supremacy. At
+that time the river Ottawa, as Parkman, the historian, tells us, "was
+the main artery of Canada, and to stop it was--to stop the flow of her
+life blood."
+
+The Iroquois, a powerful and cunning tribe of Indians who were a menace
+to all foreigners, knew this, and their constant effort was to close it
+so completely that the annual supply of beaver skins would be prevented
+from passing, and the French colony thus be obliged to live on credit.
+It was the habit of the Iroquois to spend the latter part of the winter,
+hunting in the forests between the Ottawa and the upper St. Lawrence,
+and when the ice broke up to move in large bands to the banks of the
+Ottawa and lie in ambush to waylay the canoes of the fur-traders with
+their cargoes of skins. On the other hand, it was the constant effort of
+Frontenac and his men to keep the river open, an almost impossible task.
+Many conflicts great and small took place, with various results, but in
+spite of every effort on the part of the French, the Iroquois blockade
+was maintained for more than two years.
+
+[Illustration: MADELEINE DE VERCHÈRES]
+
+The brunt of the war was felt in the country above Montreal, which was
+easily accessible to the Indians, but it was a time of grave menace also
+to all the colonists, and the children of the Seignieur de Verchères
+had been taught from their earliest childhood to handle firearms easily
+and skilfully, and had been told so many blood-curdling tales of the
+treachery and cruelty of the Iroquois, and of the heroic deeds done by
+their countrymen in defending forts and homes, that each young heart
+thrilled with the hope that they too might some day perform a deed of
+valour. And their chance was nearer than they dreamed on that October
+morning when the little settlement lay serene in its quiet security,
+giving no heed to invasion or to foe, when everyone in the settlement
+was at work in the fields except two soldiers, the two young sons of the
+Seignieur, an old man of eighty, and a number of women and children.
+
+The Seignieur was at that time on duty at Quebec, his wife was also away
+on a visit to Montreal, and their daughter, Madeleine, a girl of
+fourteen, was in command of both fort and home--not very difficult
+offices to fill, so thought her parents in leaving, as there had been no
+attacks for some time, and we can picture Madeleine, tall and slender,
+with a wealth of golden-brown hair falling over her low brow, her eyes
+dancing with merriment as she received her list of household duties from
+her mother, and her commands concerning the fort from her father, sure
+that the hours and days of the golden autumn would bring her no graver
+responsibilities than she had carried before.
+
+Her morning duties in the home despatched, she sauntered down to the
+river boat-landing, taking with her a hired man named Laviolette. She
+was expecting some friends from Montreal and for a long time she stood
+on the bank of the sparkling river, shading her eyes from the glare of
+the sun, watching eagerly in hopes of seeing the boatload coming. It was
+not in sight, and she chatted with Laviolette and watched the movements
+of some near-by fishing craft for a moment. Suddenly she turned, stood
+still, and held up a silencing finger to the garrulous Laviolette, who
+was spinning a sea yarn of his boyhood. She had heard an ominous sound
+in the direction of the field where the settlers were at work.
+
+"Run, Laviolette, to the top of the hill and see what it is," she said,
+without serious apprehension. The man, quick to do her bidding, ran to a
+point of vantage, stood beside her again, and what was it he said?
+
+"Shots! Run, Mademoiselle, _run_!" he cried, "here come the Iroquois!"
+
+The warning was too late. As Madeleine turned she found herself within
+gun range of forty or fifty of the dreaded Indians! Like a bit of
+thistle-down blown by the wind, she ran toward the fort, her brown hair
+flying in the breeze, commending herself as she ran, so she herself
+afterwards told, to the Holy Virgin, the Iroquois in hot pursuit, but
+not one of them fleet-footed enough to catch the fleeing maiden.
+Disconcerted, they stood still, seeing that pursuit was fruitless, and,
+standing, fired at her, the bullets whistling about her ears, while her
+heart beat so fast with fright that it seemed she could not take another
+step. But still she was fleeing, fleeing. She was at the gate at last,
+she cried loudly, "To arms! To arms!" praying that someone within would
+hear her and come to the rescue, but she prayed in vain. The two
+soldiers who were in the fort were so terror stricken that they ran to
+the blockhouse and hid, and only one answered Madeleine's call. To add
+to her horror, outside the gate were two women huddled, moaning for
+their husbands who had just been killed before their eyes. There was no
+time for quiet thought, but in Madeleine's veins flowed the blood of
+warriors. In a brave voice she called, "Go in, and cease your crying!"
+and pushing the women inside the gate, closed it, as she did so, trying
+to think how she was to save the other defenceless ones of whom in her
+father's absence she was the guardian. With flying feet she inspected
+the fort and wall, and to her dismay found that in several places the
+defences were so insecure that the enemy could easily push through. The
+weak spots must be barricaded at once. With peremptory orders Madeleine
+set her few helpers to work, and herself fetched wood for her purpose,
+helping place it with her quick strong hands. That done, she went into
+the blockhouse where all the ammunition was kept, and there crouching in
+a corner she found the two soldiers, one with a lighted match in his
+hand.
+
+"What are you going to do with that?" she asked.
+
+Too frightened to lie, he answered, "Light the powder and blow us all
+up."
+
+Madeleine flashed a glance of contempt at him. "You are a miserable
+coward!" she said. "Go out of this place. _I_ am commander of the fort,"
+and there was that in her voice which made the men obey. Then throwing
+off her bonnet, putting on a more masculine hat, and taking up a gun, in
+the use of which she was unusually skilful, she gave a command to her
+two brothers, who were awaiting her orders. "Let us fight to the death,"
+she said. "We are fighting for our country and our religion. Remember
+our father has taught you that gentlemen are born to shed their blood
+for the service of God and the King."
+
+The boys were only ten and twelve years old, but they had received the
+same early training as Madeleine, and in their veins too ran the blood
+of those who conquer. The stirring words roused their courage, and like
+old seasoned warriors they took up arms, and with what ability they
+possessed began at once to fire through the loopholes of the blockhouse
+on the Iroquois, who, having no idea how many soldiers were inside
+defending the garrison, were overcome with fear, and giving up their
+attack on the fort, began to chase the people in a neighbouring field,
+and killed all whom they could catch. Madeleine was now so thoroughly
+filled with the spirit of war that she at once ordered a cannon to be
+fired, partly to keep the enemy from a further assault, and also as a
+signal to some of the soldiers who were at a distance, hunting. And all
+this time within the fort there was the shrill sound of the women and
+children wailing and screaming. Madeleine, on guard at a loophole, gave
+a stern order, "Be quiet, or your screams will encourage the enemy!"
+Then with far sighted eyes she saw a canoe gliding up to the
+landing-place, the one that she had been looking for in that care-free
+hour which now seemed years ago; the canoe in which was her friend who
+was trying to reach the fort with his family. Knowing how near the
+Indians were, Madeleine was terrified lest the visitors should be killed
+before her eyes, and she begged the soldiers to go to their aid, but
+they were not brave enough to do it. She must go herself. With a hasty
+command to Laviolette to keep watch at the gate while she was gone, she
+ran out alone down to the landing-place. She afterwards said, "I thought
+that the savages would suppose it to be a ruse to draw them towards the
+fort, in order to make a rush upon them. They did suppose so, and thus I
+was able to save my friends, the Fontaine family. When they were landed
+I made them all march up to the fort before me in full sight of the
+enemy. We put so bold a face on that they thought they had more to fear
+than we had." Thus the settlers and their plucky young escort gained the
+shelter of the fort, and Madeleine, quite encouraged by this addition to
+the number of her forces, at once ordered that whenever an Indian came
+in sight, he should at once be fired on, which order was faithfully
+obeyed, and in watching and firing, the hours of the long day wore away.
+
+After sunset a fierce northeast wind came up, accompanied with a flurry
+of snow and hail, and as the little band in the fort heard the howling
+of the wind they looked at one another with pale and terrified faces,
+fearing that the Iroquois, who were still lurking near, would be able,
+under cover of the noise and darkness of the storm, to climb into the
+fort, and all would be lost. Whitest of all was Madeleine, the young
+commander, but she gathered her troop of six persons around her, and
+said stoutly, "God has saved us to-day from the hands of our enemies,
+but we must take care not to fall into their snares to-night. As for me,
+I want you to see that I am not afraid. I will take care of the fort
+with an old man of eighty and another who never fired a gun, and you,
+Pierre Fontaine, with the two soldiers, will go to the blockhouse with
+the women and children because that is the strongest place, and if I am
+taken, don't surrender, even if I am cut to pieces and burned before
+your eyes. The enemy cannot hurt you in the blockhouse if you make the
+least show of fight."
+
+Then placing her two brothers on two of the bastions or look-outs of the
+fort, and the old man of eighty on the third, she herself took the
+fourth watch, and all through the endless hours of that night while the
+wind howled and the storm beat against the wall, the cries of "ALL'S
+WELL!" were repeated from the blockhouse to the fort, and from the fort
+to the blockhouse. One would have thought the place was filled with
+soldiers, and the Indians were completely deceived, as they confessed
+afterwards to a Frenchman to whom they then told their plan of capturing
+the fort in the night, a plan which had failed because the place had
+been so well guarded!--and two young boys, a very old man and a young
+girl had accomplished this!
+
+About one o'clock in the morning the soldier who had been put on watch
+at the gate called out, "Mademoiselle, I hear something," and hurrying
+to him Madeleine, by the aid of the snow light, was able to see a small
+number of cattle huddled close to the fort. Telling this to her
+companions they instantly cried, "Let them in," but Madeleine shook her
+head, answering emphatically, "God forbid! You don't know all the tricks
+of the savages. They are no doubt following the cattle, covered with
+skins of beasts so as to get into the fort, if we are simple enough to
+open the gate for them."
+
+But later, after having taken every precaution for safety, besides
+placing the boys ready with their guns cocked in case of surprise,
+Madeleine allowed the gate to be opened and the cattle filed in safely
+and alone.
+
+At last the weary night of suspense was over, and as daylight dawned,
+the situation began to look brighter. Everyone took fresh courage except
+Madame Fontaine, who begged her husband to carry her to another and
+safer fort. He replied, "I will never abandon this fort while
+Mademoiselle Madeleine is here."
+
+At this loyal answer Madeleine gave him a swift glance of appreciation,
+and cried, "I will never abandon it. I would _die_ rather than give it
+up to the enemy. It is of the greatest importance that they should not
+get hold of any French fort, because they would think they could get
+others and grow more bold and presumptuous than ever!"
+
+Then with another quick nod of thanks and of understanding off went the
+young commander again to her post on the look-out, and then back to the
+blockhouse, where she said words of ringing encouragement to the weary
+band huddled there together, and it was twenty-four hours later before
+she went into her father's house either for refreshment or rest,
+although sadly in need of both, but was always on guard to cheer her
+discouraged flock.
+
+When forty-eight hours had passed in this way, rest became imperative
+even for Madeleine's strong, young frame, and she allowed herself to
+doze at a table, folding her arms on it, so that with her gun lying
+across her arms and her head on her gun she was ready at a word of alarm
+to spring up, weapon in hand, and face the enemy. It was a terrible
+situation, that of the little band within the fort, for they knew of no
+way to send word to friends of their plight, and if the outer world had
+no news of the situation, from whence could help come? This thought was
+constantly in the minds of the exhausted band, waiting, watching and
+hoping against hope for some one to come to their rescue. Had they but
+known that even while they were waiting, some of the farmers who when at
+work in the field had escaped the Indians, were now making their way to
+Montreal, their anxiety would have been greatly lessened, but they did
+not know, and the fort was constantly attacked by the enemy, who when
+not besieging it were crouching near, waiting for a chance to make a
+successful attack. Very early on the dawn of the seventh day of their
+vigil, Madeleine's younger brother, who was on watch on the side of the
+fort which faced the river, heard the sound of distant voices and the
+splashing of oars in the water.
+
+"Who goes there?" he called out bravely, but with a shivering fear that
+it might be additional forces of the enemy. At the sound of his cry
+Madeleine, dozing by the table, roused and ran to his side with a
+question on her lips which did not need to be framed.
+
+"A voice from the river," he whispered, but as he spoke came the louder
+sound of near-by footsteps and voices, and fleet-footed Madeleine ran to
+the bastion to see whether it was friend or foe arriving.
+
+"Who are you?" the clear voice of the intrepid young commander rang out,
+and instantly came the answer:
+
+"We are Frenchmen. It is La Monnerie, who comes to bring you help, and
+with him are forty men."
+
+Relief was at hand! Turning, Madeleine gave a command to a soldier to
+stand on guard, then, "Quick, open the gate," she said, and her command
+was obeyed. The gate, closely guarded, was opened, and out went
+Madeleine to meet those who had come to the rescue.
+
+As Monsieur Monnerie caught sight of the slight girlish figure his eyes
+were full of wonder. Then she stood before him, drew herself up to her
+full height, and solemnly saluted, saying, "Monsieur, I surrender my
+arms to you."
+
+The gallant Frenchman retorted chivalrously, "Mademoiselle, they are in
+good hands," and then the pride of the brave girl broke bounds, and with
+shining eyes she exclaimed, "Better than you know. Come and see for
+yourself!" and fairly pulled him into the fort, where he made a thorough
+inspection, and his admiration increased momentarily as he saw what this
+slip of a girl had been able to accomplish. Everything was in order, a
+sentinel was on each bastion, the enemy had been held at bay--what man
+could have done better work? Nay, who could have more nobly defended the
+garrison?
+
+With the light of intense admiration in his eyes La Monnerie paid
+tribute to Madeleine's good judgment, bold tactics and ready wit which
+had saved the situation, and for very embarrassment at his praise, a
+deep flush crimsoned the girl's cheeks, as with a shy glance of
+appreciation, she thanked him, adding quietly, "It is time to relieve
+the guard, Monsieur. We have not been off our bastions for a week!"
+
+Among all the incidents handed down concerning that troublous time in
+the Canadian provinces, none is so worthy of lingering over as this
+noble defence of Castle Dangerous, by the daughter of its commander, and
+sweet and strong, the influence of Madeleine de Verchères comes down to
+inspire and thrill the hearts of girls of all countries and ages by the
+deed she did in the name of her country and her King.
+
+
+
+
+ADRIENNE DE LAFAYETTE:
+
+A Young Patriot's Wife
+
+
+MADAME DE LAFAYETTE! How stately the title sounds, and how slender and
+girlish the little bride looks in her wedding finery, her dark eyes
+large with excitement, and a soft flush on her delicate cheeks as she
+gazes admiringly into the eyes of her "Big boy with the red hair," as
+the young Marquis de Lafayette was called by his intimate friends.
+
+Having seen the young bride and groom, for Lafayette was only nineteen,
+while pretty Adrienne, his wife, was just fourteen, let us turn back the
+pages of history for a moment and see what led up to this remarkably
+youthful marriage.
+
+To begin with, in the days of the reign of Louis XVI and the beautiful
+young queen, Marie Antoinette, there was no more palatial residence in
+all Paris than that which in 1711 came into the possession of the Duc de
+Noailles and was thereafter called the Hôtel de Noailles.
+
+The finest artists of the day had re-decorated its stately rooms for the
+Duc; its walls were hung with costly silk, its picture gallery was
+famous even in a city rich in art treasures, even its stables were
+fabulously large and far-famed. All that could minister to the joy of
+life was to be found in the Hôtel de Noailles in those happy days before
+the clouds hanging low over France broke in a storm of disaster. Later
+in 1768, Madame D'Ayen,--wife of the Duc de Noailles, who was also the
+Duc D'Ayen,--mistress of the beautiful home, was leading a happy life
+there with her four daughters, to whose education and care she devoted
+most of her time.
+
+It was the early afternoon of a day in spring. At three o'clock Madame
+D'Ayen had dined with her children in the huge dining-room hung with
+dull tapestries and family portraits, then with cheery laughter the
+girls had run ahead of Madame to her bedroom, which was very large and
+hung with crimson satin damask embroidered in gold, on which the sun
+cast a cheerful glow. Louise and Adrienne, the two older girls,--Louise
+only a year the elder,--handed their mother her knitting, her books and
+her snuff, and then seated themselves, while the younger children
+disputed as to which one should have the coveted place nearest Madame.
+Comfortably settled at last, the older girls busy with their sewing,
+Madame told them the story from the Old Testament of Joseph and his coat
+of many colours. When she finished Louise asked question after question,
+which her mother patiently answered, but Adrienne drank in the story
+told in her mother's vivacious way, in silence. Begged for just one more
+story, Madame then told an amusing experience of her convent days, on
+which both of the girls offered so many comments that at last Madame
+rose, saying rather impatiently:
+
+"You speak in a forward and disobedient manner, such as other girls of
+your age would never show to their parent."
+
+Louise looked her mortification, but Adrienne said quietly, "That may
+be, Madame, because you allow us to argue and reason with you as other
+mothers do not, but you will see that at fifteen we shall be more
+obedient than other children," and the girl's prediction was true.
+
+Every month of the year was a pleasure to the happy children at the
+Hôtel de Noailles, but to both vivacious Louise and quiet Adrienne
+summer was the crowning joy of their year, for then they were always
+taken to visit their grandfather, the Maréchal de Noailles, who
+cheerfully gave himself up to making the visit as gay for the children
+as possible. He played games with them in the house, delightful games
+such as they never played at home, and better yet, planned wonderful
+picnics for them, when with other cousins, and a governess in charge of
+the cavalcade, they rode on donkeys to the appointed spot. The
+governess, it is said, was a tiny person, blonde, pinched, and touchy,
+and very punctilious in the performance of her duties. Once mounted on
+her donkey, however, she entirely lost her dignity and appeared so
+wild-eyed, scared, and stiff that one could not look at her without
+feeling an irresistible desire to smile, which made her angry, though
+what angered her most was the peals of laughter when she tumbled off her
+donkey, as she seldom failed to do on an excursion. She usually fell on
+the grass and the pace of her donkey was not rapid, so she was never
+hurt, and the frolicsome children filed by her, for if one of them tried
+to help her up, as Adrienne always wanted to do, a scolding was the
+reward.
+
+In sharp contrast to the happy summer visits were those paid every
+autumn to the home of Madame D'Ayen's father, who lived at Fresnes. He
+was old and deaf and wished the children to be so repressed, that had
+Madame D'Ayen not made the visits as short as she could there would
+doubtless have been some disastrous outbreak in their ranks.
+
+For the other months of the year, life at the Hôtel de Noailles was a
+charmed existence for the children, especially for nature-loving
+Adrienne, who spent most of her time in the beautiful garden surrounding
+the house,--a garden celebrated throughout Paris for its marvellously
+kept flower beds, separated by winding, box-bordered paths. A flight of
+steps led from the house into this enchanting spot, and on either side
+three rows of great trees shed their long shadow over the near-by walks,
+while from the foot of the garden could be seen the wonderful panorama
+of the Tuileries. The garden was indeed an enchanted land, and the
+children played all sorts of games in its perfumed, wooded depths, only
+pausing when their mother passed through the garden, when with cries of
+joy they would cling to her skirts and tell her eager stories of their
+doings. And so, in happy play, in hours of education by her mother's
+side, in busy days of learning all the useful arts, seldom taught in
+those days to children of such high social rank, Adrienne grew to be
+fourteen years old. She was a reserved, well-informed, shy girl with
+great beautiful brown eyes, which grew large and dark when she was
+pleased with anything, and her finely chiselled features were those of a
+born aristocrat, while her good disposition was clearly visible in her
+expression, which was one of winning charm.
+
+At that time in France it was customary for parents to receive proposals
+of marriage for their daughters at a very early age, sometimes even
+before the proposition had any meaning to the girl herself, and so it
+happened that before Adrienne D'Ayen was twelve years old, the guardian
+of the young Marquis de Lafayette had begged Madame D'Ayen to give her
+daughter in marriage to his ward, who was but seventeen, and often was
+one of the merry party of young people who frequented the Hôtel de
+Noailles,--in fact Adrienne felt for him the real affection which she
+might have given to a brother.
+
+The family of the young Marquis was one of the oldest and most famous in
+France, famous for "bravery in battle, wisdom in counsel, and those
+principles of justice and right which they ever practised." Young
+Lafayette had been left an orphan when he was eleven years old, also the
+possessor of an enormous fortune, at that time, of course, in the care
+of his guardian. He had been a delicate child, and not especially
+bright, but always filled with a keen desire for liberty of thought and
+action, and when he became old enough to choose between the only two
+careers open to one of his rank, he chose to be a soldier rather than a
+courtier, as life at the Court did not appeal to one of his temperament.
+Notwithstanding this, being a good looking, wealthy young man, he was
+always welcome at Court and made the object of marked attentions by the
+young Queen and her companions. Such was the young Marquis, who for
+reasons diplomatic and political his guardian wished to marry to a
+daughter of Madame D'Ayen, but Madame objected, saying that she feared
+his large fortune, in the hands of one so headstrong as the young
+Lafayette, might not make for his own and her daughter's happiness.
+However, her family and friends begged her not to make the mistake of
+refusing an alliance with a family of such distinction as the
+Lafayettes, and finally, although this was as yet unknown to the girl
+whose future it was to so closely touch, Madame withdrew her objections,
+and so was decided the fate of little Adrienne D'Ayen, whose name was to
+be in consequence linked thereafter with great events in history.
+
+Two years later, in the spring of 1777, the Hôtel de Noailles was in a
+bustle of gay preparations. Louise D'Ayen, now fifteen years old, had
+just become the bride of the Marquis de Montagu, and no sooner were the
+festivities over, than Madame D'Ayen called Adrienne to her room, and
+told her of the accepted proposal of M. de Lafayette for her hand. She
+added, "In accepting this honour for you, my Adrienne, I have made the
+stipulation that you and your husband are to remain here with me for the
+present, as you are but children yet, that I may still influence your
+education and religious experience. This proposal was made two years
+ago, before the education of M. Lafayette was completed, but now that it
+is accomplished, and you are fourteen years old, you are to become the
+affianced bride of the young Marquis."
+
+No well-brought-up French girl would have thought of resisting her
+mother's decree, although her would-be husband was not to her liking,
+but in this case the idea was altogether to Adrienne's own choice, and
+her brown eyes grew dark with joy, and she clasped her hands,
+exclaiming, "Oh, quel bonheur! Quel bonheur!" then escaped to her own
+room to think about this wonderful fairy story happening which had come
+to her.
+
+Though she and the young Marquis had been constantly thrown together
+before this, one can well imagine the degree of shyness which overcame
+the young girl on their first meeting after the betrothal had been
+announced. The world was in a dazzling array of spring beauty, so says
+the historian,--the tender almonds were budding with softest green, the
+daffodils and tulips were breaking into rare blooms, the world waking
+from its winter sleep. All seemed to smile on the young lovers who
+walked as in a dream-world through the flower-bordered paths and spoke
+together of that future which they were to share.
+
+But such a tête-à-tête did not occur again, for after that the little
+bride-to-be was kept busy with her studies until the time came for a
+flurry of preparation just before the marriage day, and it is
+interesting to read the description of a wedding in those days of long
+ago, in a country where the customs have ever been so different from
+those of our own.
+
+It is said that there were interviews with solemn lawyers who brought
+huge parchments on which were recorded the estates and incomes of the
+two young people, but of far greater interest to the bride was the
+wonderful trousseau for which family treasures were brought to light,
+rare laces were bleached, jewels were re-set and filmy gossamer muslins
+were made up into bewitching finery for the pretty wearer; as well as
+dresses for more formal occasions made with festoons of fairy-like
+silver roses, panels of jewelled arabesques, cascades of lace lighter
+and more frail than a spider's web, masses of shimmering satins and
+velvets fashioned with heavy court trains, which when tried on the
+slender girlish figure seemed as if she were but "dressing up" as girls
+will often do for their own amusing. Then, too, there were priceless
+jewels to be laid against the white neck, slipped on the slender
+fingers, to marvel at their beauty and glitter, and to wonder if they
+could really and truly be her own!
+
+But even the sparkling gems, the elaborate trousseau, and all the
+ceremony and flattery surrounding a girl who was making such a brilliant
+marriage, failed to turn the head or spoil the simple taste of little
+Adrienne. Even in her gayest moods--and like other girls, she had
+them--Adrienne was never frivolous, and though possessed of plenty of
+wit and spirit, was deeply religious and at heart unselfish and noble.
+
+Monsieur and Madame de Lafayette! What magic there was in the new title.
+How proudly the young couple, scarcely more than children yet, but now
+husband and wife, bore themselves, as they returned from the church to
+the Hôtel de Noailles, to take up their residence there, according to
+the promise made to Madame D'Ayen before she would consent to the
+marriage. They would have preferred a home of their own, but when
+shortly after their marriage Lafayette's regiment was ordered to Metz,
+and broken-hearted little Adrienne was left behind, she found it very
+comforting to be where she could child-wise sob out her loneliness on
+the shoulder of her sympathetic mother. Poor little Adrienne,--well it
+was that you could not see into the future with its many harder
+separations!
+
+With the return of Lafayette the pretty bride began to lead a life much
+gayer than any she had ever led before, for she and her young husband,
+because they belonged to two such famous families, became now a part of
+the gay little set ruled by the caprices of Queen Marie Antoinette. That
+first winter after their marriage the young couple went constantly to
+balls and late suppers, to the opera and the play,--were in fact in a
+constant whirl of amusement, which had the charm of novelty to them
+both, and Lafayette, who had always, even as a boy, been a favourite at
+Court, was still popular and still called "The big boy with the red
+hair." He was always awkward, and conspicuous for his height, as well as
+his clumsiness, and danced as badly as Adrienne did well, which
+mortified him greatly, having discovered which, Queen Marie Antoinette
+would often in a spirit of mischief order him to appear on the floor,
+and then tease him mercilessly about his awkwardness. He was different
+too in many ways from the courtiers with whom he was thrown, and his
+dominant passion even then, at nineteen, was the ambition of a true
+patriot, only waiting to be turned into its fitting channel.
+
+Both he and Adrienne enjoyed the gaiety and lack of responsibility of
+those first months of their married life, but more than the frivolity,
+Adrienne enjoyed sitting at home with her husband and friends while
+they discussed great national affairs, and later she loved best to slip
+upstairs and care for the little daughter who came to be her especial
+joy,--and so, absorbed in a variety of interests, the first two years of
+Madame Adrienne's married life slipped away, and at sixteen we find her
+as pretty and as slender as ever, but with a deeper tenderness and
+gravity in her brown eyes.
+
+At the Court of Versailles an honoured guest from the American Colonies
+was being entertained,--a homely, unpolished, reserved man, named
+Benjamin Franklin. He was a man with a mission: America must be a free
+country, and France must help her in the struggle, not only with men,
+but with money. This was the burden of his plea and it thrilled all
+Paris. The plain brusque American became the fad of the hour. Shops
+displayed canes, scarfs, hats--even a stove "à la Franklin," and he bore
+away with him not only an immense gift, but also a large loan, neither
+of which impoverished France could afford to give.
+
+Foremost among those whom he inflamed in the cause of liberty was young
+Lafayette, and Adrienne noted with keen alarm his growing indifference
+to all other topics except that one which was absorbing his interest,
+and although she said nothing to him about her fear, she went at once to
+each member of his family with the same plea, "Persuade him not to go!
+Tell him his duty is here! I would die if I were left alone after we
+have been so happy together!" But even as she pleaded, the passion to go
+to America was taking a firmer hold daily on the young enthusiast. His
+family forbade it, but in secret he made his plans--in secret carried
+them out to the last moment, when going to London for a couple of days,
+he sent back a letter to his father-in-law, telling of his intentions.
+M. de Noailles read it, sent at once for his wife, and after a brief
+and agitated conference Adrienne was called. Eagerly impatient to know
+why she had been summoned, she stood before her parents, so young and
+frail that the mother's heart rebelled at having to tell her the cruel
+news. She could not do it. Without a word she handed her the letter and
+turned away that Adrienne might not see her sorrowful expression. Then
+turning back again she said hastily, "It is an utterly absurd, selfish
+scheme, my dear. I will see that it is not carried out."
+
+Then she stood amazed. What had come over Adrienne? She held herself
+erect, her eyes were dry, and she said proudly: "If my husband feels
+that way, it is right and best for him to go to America, and we must do
+all we can to make the parting easy for him. It is he who is going to
+leave those who are dearest to him, for the sake of a noble cause."
+
+Brave girl! Not once after that did she allow her own feelings to check
+the ardour of Lafayette's patriotism, not once did she stay her hand in
+her careful preparation for his departure, although every article laid
+aside for his use was moistened by her unseen tears, while he was busy
+with the interesting and enormously expensive work of chartering and
+fitting up a ship, which Adrienne named _The Victory_, in which he was
+to make his trip across the ocean.
+
+The preparations were completed and the day had come for his going.
+Slight, beautiful; too proud to show her emotion, thinking more of him
+than of herself, Adrienne, not yet eighteen years old, bade her husband
+farewell--saw him embark for a strange land, for the sake of a cause as
+dangerous as it was alluring to the young patriot, and went back to her
+quiet routine of home duties and regular occupations without one
+murmur.
+
+To her family and her friends she showed little of what she felt,
+although many a night she did not even lie down, but sat at her desk,
+pouring out her heart to the dear one tossing on a perilous sea, in
+letters which though daily sent, never reached the young adventurer, so
+we must needs imagine her transports of loneliness--her passion of
+affection, written to ease and comfort and in a measure to fit her to
+take up the next day's duties calmly.
+
+Lafayette's letters to her had a better fate than hers to him, and one
+day when she least expected it, a precious packet lay in Adrienne's
+hands. Wild with excitement at sight of the familiar writing, she held
+it for a long time unopened, then fled to the solitude of her own room
+to read its contents with no eye watching her joy.
+
+The letter was full of tender interest in her health, and of repetitions
+of undying affection which warmed the heart so starved for them. Written
+on board _The Victory_, May 30, 1777, it said: "I ought to have landed
+by this time, but the winds have been most provokingly contrary. When I
+am once more on shore I shall learn many interesting things concerning
+the new country I am seeking. Do not fancy that I shall incur any real
+danger by the occupations I am undertaking. The service will be very
+different from the one I must have performed if I had been, for example,
+a colonel in the French army. My attendance will only be required in the
+council. To prove that I do not wish to deceive you, I will acknowledge
+that we are at this moment exposed to some danger from the risk of being
+attacked by English vessels, and that my ship is not of sufficient force
+for defence. But when I have once landed I shall be in perfect safety. I
+will not write you a journal of my voyage. Days succeed each other, and
+what is worse, resemble each other. Always sky, always water, and the
+next day a repetition of the same thing. We have seen to-day several
+kinds of birds which announce that we are not very far from shore."
+
+Fifteen days later there was a second letter, and then they arrived with
+some degree of regularity to cheer lonely little Adrienne, watching,
+waiting, and living on their coming. It was a time fraught with vital
+issues in the American Colonies. Though to Lafayette there was somewhat
+of disillusion in finding the American troops not like the dashing,
+brilliantly uniformed ones of his own country, but merely a great army
+of undisciplined, half-ragged soldiers, united only in the flaming
+desire to acquire liberty for their beloved land at all hazards, yet
+soon the young foreigner lost sight of all but their patriotism, and his
+letters show how he too had become heart and soul inflamed by the same
+spirit. Only fragments of the letters can be given here, but one can
+picture the young wife, with her baby in her arms, in the home of her
+childhood, devouring with breathless interest the story of her
+adventurer in a strange land. On June 15th Lafayette writes:
+
+"I have arrived, my dearest love, in perfect health at the house of an
+American officer. I am going this evening to Charlestown. . . . The
+campaign is opened, but there is very little fighting. . . . The manners
+in this part of the world are very simple, polite and worthy in every
+respect of the country in which the noble name of liberty is constantly
+repeated. . . . Adieu, my love. From Charlestown I shall repair by land
+to Philadelphia to rejoin the army. Is it not true that you will always
+love me?"
+
+A few days later he writes from Charlestown:
+
+"I landed, after having sailed for several days along a coast swarming
+with hostile vessels. On my arrival here everyone told me that my ship
+must undoubtedly be taken, because two English frigates had blockaded
+the harbour. I even sent, both by land and sea, orders to the Captain to
+put the men on shore and burn the vessel. Well, by an extraordinary
+stroke of good luck a sudden gale of wind having blown away the frigates
+for a short time the vessel arrived at noonday without having
+encountered friend or foe. At Charlestown, I have met with General Howe,
+a general officer now engaged in service. The Governor of the State is
+expected this evening from the country. I can only feel gratitude for
+the reception I have met with, although I have not thought it best yet
+to enter into any details respecting my future prospects and
+arrangements. I wish to see the Congress first. There are some French
+and American vessels at present here which are to sail out of the
+harbour in company to-morrow morning. . . . I shall distribute my letters
+along the different ships in case any accident should happen to either
+one of them. . . .
+
+"I shall now speak to you, my love, about the country and its
+inhabitants, who are as agreeable as my enthusiasm had led me to
+imagine. Simplicity of manner, kindness of heart, love of country and of
+liberty and a delightful state of equality are met with universally. . . .
+Charlestown is one of the finest cities I have ever seen. The American
+women are very pretty and have great simplicity of character, and the
+extreme neatness of their appearance is truly delightful; cleanliness is
+everywhere even more studiously attended to here than in England. What
+gives me most pleasure is to see how completely the citizens are
+brethren of one family. In America there are no poor and none even that
+can be called peasants. Each citizen has some property and all citizens
+have the same right as the richest individual."
+
+After protestations of deep devotion and loneliness the letter ends
+with:
+
+"The night is far advanced, the heat intense, and I am devoured with
+gnats, but the best of countries have their inconveniences. Adieu, my
+love, adieu."
+
+A very good picture that of customs and habits which would have been to
+the lasting advantage of America to continue!
+
+The letters of Lafayette grew more and more homesick and Adrienne's
+feelings were like a harp with its strings attuned to respond to his
+every emotion.
+
+From Petersburg, Va., on July 17, 1777, he writes:
+
+"I have received no news of you, and my impatience to hear from you
+cannot be compared to any other earthly feeling. . . . You must have
+learned the particulars of the commencement of my journey. You know that
+I set out in a brilliant manner in a carriage, and I must now tell you
+that we are all on horseback, having broken the carriage after my usual
+praiseworthy custom, and I hope soon to write you that we have arrived
+at Philadelphia on foot! . . ."
+
+A few days later he says:
+
+"I am each day more miserable, from having quitted you, my dearest
+love. . . . I would give at this moment half of my existence for the
+pleasure of embracing you again, and telling you with my own lips how I
+love you. . . . Oh, if you knew how I sigh to see you, how I suffer at
+being separated from you and all that my heart has been called on to
+endure, you would think me somewhat worthy of your love."
+
+Poor, lonely, young couple--each was suffering in a different way from
+the separation, but Adrienne's misery was the hardest to bear, for not
+only had she lost the little daughter who had been her greatest comfort
+since the departure of her husband for America, but she now had a shock,
+for in her husband's letter of the 12th of September, after the battle
+of Brandywine, he wrote:
+
+"Our Americans after having stood their ground for some time ended at
+last by being routed; whilst endeavouring to rally them, the English
+honoured me with a musket ball, which slightly wounded me in the leg,
+but it is a trifle, and I have escaped with the obligation of lying on
+my back for some time, which puts me much out of humour. I hope that you
+will feel no anxiety, this event ought, on the contrary, rather to
+reassure you, since I am incapacitated from appearing on the field for
+some time. I have resolved to take good care of myself, be convinced of
+this, my dearest love."
+
+Notwithstanding the cheerful tenor of this letter, Adrienne was not able
+to eat or sleep after its arrival, until in a second letter he again
+assured her of the slightness of his injury, and added:
+
+"I must now give you your lesson as the wife of an American
+general-officer. They will say to you, 'They have been beaten.' You must
+answer, 'That is true, but when two armies of equal numbers meet in the
+field, old soldiers have naturally the advantage over new ones. They
+have had besides, the pleasure of killing a great many of the enemy;
+many more than they have lost.' They will afterward say, 'All that is
+very well, but Philadelphia is taken, the Capital of America, the
+rampart of Liberty!' You must politely answer, 'You are all great
+fools.' Philadelphia is a poor forlorn town, exposed on every side,
+whose harbour is already closed, although the residence of Congress lent
+it some degree of celebrity. This is the famous city which, it may be
+added, we will soon make them yield to us! If they continue to
+persecute you with questions you may send them about their business in
+terms which the Vicomte de Noailles will teach you, for I cannot lose
+time in talking to my friends of politics."
+
+Thrilling indeed were those days of 1777 after the battle of Brandywine,
+for the Americans struggling so valiantly for the liberty they were so
+determined to secure, and valiant was young Lafayette in upholding that
+Cause which he had so bravely espoused. A letter from General Greene to
+General Washington in which he speaks glowingly about the young
+Frenchman would have filled Adrienne's heart to overflowing with pride,
+could she but have read it, for it was full of descriptions of her
+husband's bravery even before he had recovered from the wound received
+at the battle of Brandywine, and General Greene adds:
+
+"The Marquis Lafayette is determined to be in the way of danger." But
+Lafayette's own account of his doings, both to General Washington, with
+whom he was on the most intimate and affectionate terms, and to his
+wife, were always most modest and self-depreciatory. But because of
+Lafayette's illustrious connections, the loyalty he showed for the cause
+of American liberty, and also because of the marked discretion and good
+sense he had shown on several critical occasions, Washington recommended
+to Congress that the young Frenchman receive command of a division in
+the Continental army, which suggestion was carried out on the 27th of
+November, 1777, and of course Lafayette's ardour for the Cause he was
+supporting flamed higher than before, on receiving this honour.
+
+Soon, in accordance with General Washington's plan, it was decided that
+the American army was to encamp for the winter at Valley Forge, and of
+the dreary march there, uncheered by any great triumph, and when most of
+the soldiers were suffering from both cold and hunger, and the still
+drearier arrival and terrible subsequent privations and hardships, the
+pages of history have made us too well acquainted to need to dwell on
+them here.
+
+During that hard winter, there were those in command who were jealous of
+the intimacy between Washington and the young Marquis who attempted to
+break it up by offering Lafayette the command of an expedition into
+Canada, which it was thought his military ambition would tempt him to
+accept. It did, and in consequence he hastened to the headquarters of
+General Gates at Yorktown to receive further orders, where he found the
+General dining, surrounded by such evidences of luxury and high living
+as were never seen at Valley Forge, and when he proposed the toast, "The
+Commander-in-chief of the American Armies," to his surprise the toast
+was received without a cheer, which was his first intimation that there
+was any feeling in the American ranks hostile in the slightest degree to
+General Washington.
+
+Almost at once he set out to undertake the commission given him, and not
+until it had proved a disastrous failure did he discover that it had
+been given without the sanction or even the knowledge of Washington. He
+wrote a letter of profound regret and humiliation to his
+Commander-in-chief, laying the whole matter before him, saying that he
+felt utterly distressed about the matter, to which Washington replied in
+a fatherly and calm letter, assuring the young Marquis of his continued
+esteem, and gladly then Lafayette hastened back to Valley Forge, to
+again enjoy the companionship of his Commander-in-chief, to be inspired
+by his fatherly counsel.
+
+But of what Lafayette was exposed to, of privation or of struggle, at
+that time Adrienne knew little, for he always wrote cheerfully to her,
+dwelling at length on any bit of brightness of which he could speak.
+
+After having returned to Valley Forge he writes:
+
+"My presence is more necessary to the American cause than you can
+possibly conceive. Many foreigners have endeavoured by every sort of
+artifice to make me discontented with this revolution and with him who
+is their chief. They have spread as loudly as they could the report that
+I was quitting the Continent. The English have proclaimed also loudly
+the same intention on my side. I cannot in justice appear to justify the
+malice of these people. If I were to depart many Frenchmen who are
+useful here would follow my example. General Washington would feel very
+unhappy if I were to speak of quitting him. His confidence in me is
+greater than I dare acknowledge, on account of my youth. In the place he
+occupies he is likely to be surrounded by flatterers or by secret
+enemies, he finds in me a sincere friend in whose bosom he may always
+confide his secret thoughts and who will always speak the truth. . . ."
+Again he says, "Several general officers have brought their wives to the
+camp. I envy them--not their wives--the happiness they enjoy in being
+able to see them. General Washington has also resolved to send for his
+wife. As to the English, they have received a re-inforcement of three
+hundred young ladies from New York!" Then with boyish simplicity he
+adds, "Do you not think that at my return we shall be old enough to
+establish ourselves in our own house, live there happily together and
+receive our friends?" and the letter concludes, "Adieu, my love. I only
+wish this project could be executed on this present day."
+
+While Lafayette was living through all sorts of thrilling experiences
+and receiving still higher promotion as a reward for his brilliant
+military exploits, across the sea had come the disquieting rumour to
+Madame D'Ayen of his death, and the mother-heart stood still with fear
+that it should reach the brave wife, already saddened enough by the
+suspense of her loneliness, and now the mother of another little
+daughter who needed all the happy smiles that Adrienne could give. With
+great haste and diplomacy Madame D'Ayen urged Adrienne to visit her
+grandfather at Fresnes, and unsuspecting Adrienne welcomed the
+suggestion of a change of scene, as her heart-hunger for the "big boy"
+over the water was daily growing more insistent. She returned in better
+health and spirits, but as the rumour had not yet been discredited,
+Madame D'Ayen insisted on another visit to the country, and never did
+Adrienne know of the report which would have almost killed her, until a
+glad unexpected day, when, without any warning to expect him, Adrienne
+found herself again in the arms of her husband. Lafayette had been
+overcome with homesickness at a time when affairs looked bright enough
+for the American army to risk his absence, and he had impulsively taken
+the first steamer sailing for France and home. Then and only then did
+Adrienne hear of the rumour which had caused her mother such
+disquietude, and then for the first time Madame D'Ayen had the
+opportunity for which she had longed, to learn the details of that
+alliance between France and America, in which she was profoundly
+interested and in the making of which Lafayette had played such a
+prominent part. There was indeed much to talk about after the long
+separation, and Lafayette felt that he could not have Adrienne and the
+little daughter whom he had not seen before, out of his sight even for a
+moment. Adrienne would have been quite happy, had not a dark disquietude
+troubled even her nights, for Lafayette had come but to go again, and
+if the first parting had been hard, this was doubly so, for she knew now
+how devotedly she loved him, and that the changes made in him in his two
+years of adventure and real privation, had only given her affection a
+stronger desire for his presence and protection. But with characteristic
+courage she made no plea that he should stay, but showed a keen bright
+interest in all the news which came from America, and Lafayette remained
+with her until after the birth of his son, who was christened George
+Washington Lafayette. Soon after this event, Adrienne was obliged once
+again to say farewell to her husband, and as before, she held herself in
+proud courage, a courage which a woman twice her age might have been
+proud to show, offering no word which might sadden his going, but
+spurred him on with the dauntless spirit of the woman who inspires a man
+to be his best self.
+
+Three long years now went by and Adrienne alone bore the anxiety and
+responsibility of her baby boy's alarming sickness, at the same time
+constantly kept on the rack of suspense by newspaper accounts of the
+dangerous campaigns in which Lafayette was playing a prominent part. But
+she remained outwardly calm and courageous, and even made herself enter
+a little into Court festivities, that she might brighten the lives of
+her mother and the children who looked to her for their sunshine.
+
+Days, weeks and months went by, and then there came a grand fête at the
+Hôtel de Ville, to celebrate the birth of the Dauphin, and despite her
+heavy heart Adrienne went to it, looking very pretty in her stately
+Court gown of stiff brocade, which threw into sharp contrast her girlish
+figure and face. Trying not to put a damper on the party, she was
+chatting as gaily as possible with a courtier who was her devoted
+admirer, when a message was brought to her. There was a general stir of
+excited interest around her. What was it they said? Adrienne could
+scarcely credit the news. The Virginia campaign brought to a successful
+end? The Marquis de Lafayette at home? Cornwallis surrendered? Lafayette
+_at home_, and waiting for her? Even the Queen was wildly excited by the
+good news, and being fond of both Adrienne and Lafayette, she rushed to
+the dazed girl's side, exclaiming impatiently, "Rouse, dear, rouse; make
+haste, or," this laughingly, "your red-headed boy may have sailed again
+for his beloved land of freedom!" Still Adrienne made no movement, and
+Marie Antoinette took her by the arm, saying, "I see I must personally
+conduct you to your own happiness. Come, my own carriage waits!"
+
+By this time Adrienne's heart had responded to the bewildering news, and
+bending over the Queen's hand she would have thanked her for her favour,
+but Marie Antoinette was young and romantic, and pushed aside the
+ceremonious thanks, to impel the still dazed Adrienne into the carriage.
+
+The Queen's carriage! The Queen herself! was whispered on every side at
+the unwonted sight of royalty driving so unceremoniously through the Rue
+Saint Honoré, but the Queen paid no heed to the fact that she was doing
+something unusual, and Adrienne saw nothing--heard nothing--she only
+kept repeating, "The campaign is over--Cornwallis has surrendered. He is
+back!"
+
+The massive gates of the courtyard of the Hôtel de Noailles swung open
+to admit the carriage. Marie Antoinette only waited to murmur an
+exclamation of congratulation, to press a hasty kiss on Adrienne's
+cheek, then drove away, while Adrienne, her great brown eyes lustrous
+with excitement and joy, her cheeks flaming with such crimson as had
+not flushed them for weary months, ran up the steps between the rows of
+stiff lackeys, ran so fast that she tripped on her absurdly ceremonious
+dress of brocade, tripped and tripped again, and then with a cry of joy
+ran into the arms of her beloved boy with the red hair!
+
+Brave little Adrienne--the pages of history are filled with the noble
+deeds of that husband who so early in life took up the cause of American
+liberty, and so valiantly fought for it, but who dares say that your
+name too should not be honoured with his, by every true American,
+because of your loving thoughts, your prayers and hopes which, winging
+their way across the ocean, inspired the young French patriot to all
+that was finest in his achievement!
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+Repeated chaper titles were removed.
+
+Varied hyphenation was retained.
+
+Obvious punctuation errors were corrected.
+
+Page 18, "whereever" changed to "wherever" (vowed to go wherever)
+
+Page 23, "seige" changed to "siege" (siege of Orléans)
+
+Page 71, "Gwenynedd" changed to "Gwynedd" (Gwynedd, some fifteen)
+
+Page 86, "Gwenyedd" changed to "Gwynedd" (the hills of Gwynedd)
+
+Page 117, word "be" added to text (would be useless to teach)
+
+Page 187, "Spottsylvania" changed to "Spotsylvania" (the battle of
+Spotsylvania)
+
+Page 193, "VERCHERES" changed to "VERCHÈRES" (MADELEINE DE VERCHÈRES)
+
+Page 222, "divison" changed to "division" (a division in the
+continental)
+
+
+
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+<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, Ten Girls from History, by Kate Dickinson
+Sweetser, Illustrated by G. A. W.</h1>
+<pre>
+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 <a href = "http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre>
+<p>Title: Ten Girls from History</p>
+<p>Author: Kate Dickinson Sweetser</p>
+<p>Release Date: May 13, 2010  [eBook #32363]</p>
+<p>Language: English</p>
+<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p>
+<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TEN GIRLS FROM HISTORY***</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>E-text prepared by Emmy, D Alexander,<br />
+    and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br />
+    (http://www.pgdp.net)</h3>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 318px;">
+<img src="images/icover.jpg" width="318" height="500" alt="Title" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 342px;"><a name="frontis" id="frontis"></a>
+<img src="images/i001.jpg" width="342" height="500" alt="JOAN OF ARC" title="" />
+<span class="caption">JOAN OF ARC</span>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h1>TEN GIRLS <i>from</i><br />HISTORY</h1>
+
+<h3>BY</h3>
+<h2>Kate Dickinson Sweetser</h2>
+
+<div class='center'>
+<i>Author of "Ten Boys from History," "Ten<br />
+Girls from Dickens," "Boys and Girls<br />
+from Thackeray," "Boys and Girls<br />
+from George Eliot."</i>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+NEW YORK<br />
+DUFFIELD &amp; COMPANY<br />
+1912<br />
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<div class='copyright'>
+<span class="smcap">Copyright, 1912, by</span><br />
+DUFFIELD &amp; CO.<br />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+
+
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents">
+<tr><td align='left'>&nbsp;</td><td align='right'><small>PAGE</small></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Jeanne d'Arc: The Maid of France</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_11">11</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Victoria: A Girl Queen of England</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_43">41</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Sally Wister: A Girl of the American Revolution</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_69">69</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Cofachiqui: An Indian Princess of Historic Legend</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_89">89</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Jenny Lind: The Swedish Nightingale</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_109">109</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Eliza Lucas: A Girl Planter of the 15th Century</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_123">123</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Lady Jane Grey: The Nine Days Queen</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_147">147</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">"Gentle Annie": A Daughter of the Regiment</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_181">181</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Madeleine de Verch&egrave;res: The Heroine of Castle Dangerous</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_193">193</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Adrienne de Lafayette: A Young Patriot's Wife</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_207"><ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads '267'">207</ins></a></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+
+
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Illustrations">
+<tr><td align='left'>&nbsp;</td><td align='right'><small>PAGE</small></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Jeanne d'Arc</span></td><td align='right'><i><a href="#frontis">Frontispiece</a></i></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Cofachiqui</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_90">90</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Lady Jane Grey</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_148">148</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Madeleine de Verch&egrave;res</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_194">194</a></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>PREFACE</h2>
+
+
+<p>As in the Ten Boys from History, so in this companion
+volume, the plan has been to call attention to the lives of
+girls who achieved some noteworthy success during youth,
+and in whose character courage was the dominant trait.</p>
+
+<p>Many authorities have been consulted in the re-telling
+of these stories, and in their presentation more attention has
+been paid to accuracy of historic fact than to the weaving
+of interesting romances, in the hope that this volume may be
+used as an introduction to the more detailed historical documents
+from which its sketches are taken.</p>
+
+<div class='sig'>
+K. D. S.<br />
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span></p>
+<h2>TEN GIRLS FROM HISTORY</h2>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>JEANNE D'ARC:</h2>
+
+<h3>The Maid of France</h3>
+
+
+<div class='cap'>THE peaceful little French village of Domr&eacute;my lies
+in the valley of the river Meuse, at the south of
+the duchy of Bar, and there five hundred years
+ago was born the wonderful "Maid of France,"
+as she was called; she who at an age when other girls were
+entirely occupied with simple diversions or matters of household
+importance was dreaming great dreams, planning that
+vast military campaign which was to enroll her among the
+idols of the French nation as well as among heroes of history.</div>
+
+<p>On the parish register of an old chapel in the village
+of her birth can still be seen the record of the baptism of
+Jeanette or Jeanne d'Arc, on the sixth of January, 1412, and
+although her father, Jacques d'Arc, was a man of considerable
+wealth and importance in the small community of Domr&eacute;my,
+yet even so neither he nor any of the nine god-parents
+of the child&mdash;a number befitting her father's social position&mdash;could
+forecast that the child, then being christened, was
+so to serve her country, her king, and her God, that through
+her heroic deeds alone the name of Jacques d'Arc and of
+little Domr&eacute;my were to attain a world-wide fame.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>At the time of Jeanne's birth the Hundred Years' War
+between England and France was nearing its end. Victorious
+England was in possession of practically all of
+France north of the river Loire, while France, defeated and
+broken in spirit, had completely lost confidence in her own
+power of conquest and Charles, the Dauphin, rightful heir
+to the throne of France, had been obliged to flee for his life
+to the provinces south of the Loire. This was the result
+of opposition to his claim on the part of his mother, Isabeau,
+who had always hated the Dauphin, and who, in her
+Treaty of Troyes, set aside her son's rights to the throne,
+and married his sister Catherine to the King of England,
+thus securing to their children that succession to the throne
+which was the lawful right of the Dauphin.</p>
+
+<p>France was indeed in the throes of a great crisis, and
+every remote duchy or tiny village heard rumours of the
+vast struggle going on in their well loved land, but still the
+party who were loyal to the Dauphin looked confidently
+for the day when he should be crowned at Rheims, where
+French kings for a thousand years had taken oath, although
+still the opposing party was growing in power and possessions.</p>
+
+<p>Quiet little Domr&eacute;my lying folded in the embrace of
+its peaceful valley was thrilled by the tales of chance pilgrims
+passing through the village, who, stopping for a drink
+of water or a bite of food, would recount to eager listeners
+the current saying that, "France, lost by a woman,&mdash;and
+that woman, Isabeau, mother of the Dauphin,&mdash;should be
+saved by a maid who would come with arms and armour
+from an ancient wood."</p>
+
+<p>Now, towering high above little Domr&eacute;my stretches a
+great forest called the Ancient Wood, and to the village folk
+there was in all France no other Ancient Wood than this,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span>
+and so when they heard the travellers' tales they whispered
+to one another in hushed voices and with awe-stricken faces
+that the Wonderful Maid of Prophecy was to come from
+their own midst, but who was she, where was she, and to
+whom would she reveal herself?</p>
+
+<p>Many of these queries came to the ears of children
+busy near their elders, while they spun and talked, and as
+Jeanne d'Arc, now grown into a bright intelligent young
+girl, listened to the prophecy and the questions, all else became
+of no importance except the plight of France and the
+restoring of the Dauphin to his rightful inheritance. But to
+her elders or companions she gave no evidence of this absorption,
+seeming entirely occupied with her out of door
+tasks such as tending her father's sheep, helping to harvest
+grain, or to plough the fields, or at other times with
+her mother indoors, weaving and spinning,&mdash;for there was
+plenty of work in both house and field to keep all the children
+busy.</p>
+
+<p>In leisure hours Jeanne played and danced and sang
+as merrily as the other children, who gathered often around
+the big oak tree in the Ancient Wood, called the "Fairies'
+Tree," which was the subject of many a song and legend.
+But although she was as merry and light-hearted as her
+other friends, yet she was more truly pious, for she loved
+to go to mass and to hear the church bells echo through the
+quiet valley, and often when her comrades were frolicking
+around the "Fairies' Tree" she would steal off to place an
+offering on the altar of Our Lady of Domr&eacute;my. And too,
+her piety took a practical form as well, and when in later
+years every act of hers was treasured up and repeated, those
+who had known her in her early girlhood had many tales
+to tell of her sweet help in times of sickness. It is said
+she was so gentle that birds ate from her hand, and so brave<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span>
+that not the smallest animal was lost when she guarded the
+flock.</p>
+
+<p>"Her mother taught her all her store of learning; the
+Creed and Ave and Pater Noster, spinning and sewing and
+household craft, while wood and meadow, forest flowers and
+rushes by the river, bells summoning the soul to think of
+God and the beloved saints from their altars, all had a message
+for that responsive heart."</p>
+
+<p>She herself has said, "I learned well to believe, and
+have been brought up well and duly to do what a good
+child ought to do."</p>
+
+<p>And too, her spirit responded throbbingly to the beauty
+and the mystery and the wonder of that life which is unseen,
+as well as to all tales of heroic deeds, and as she brooded
+on the sorrows of the Dauphin and of her beloved France,
+her nature became more and more quick to receive impressions
+which had no place in her routine of life, even though
+at that time with great practical bravery she was helping
+the villagers resist the invasions of bands of marauders.
+Then came a day when her life was for ever set apart from
+her companions. With them she had been running races in
+the meadow on this side of the Ancient Wood. Fleet-footed
+and victorious, she flung herself down to rest a moment
+when a boy's voice whispered in her ear, "Go home.
+Your mother wants you."</p>
+
+<p>True to her habit of obedience, Jeanne rose at once,
+and leaving the merry company walked back through the
+valley to her home. But it was no command from her
+mother which had come to her, and no boy's voice that had
+spoken. In these simple words she tells the story: She
+says, "I was thirteen at that time. It was mid-day in the
+Summer, when I heard the Voice first. It was a Voice from
+God for my help and guidance and that first time I heard<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span>
+it I was much afraid. I heard it to the right toward the
+Church. It seemed to come from lips I should reverence."</p>
+
+<p>Then with solemn awe she told of the great Vision
+which suddenly shone before her while an unearthly light
+flamed all around her, and in its dazzling radiance she saw
+St. Michael, Captain of the Hosts of Heaven and many
+lesser angels. So overwhelming was the Vision and the
+radiance, that she stood transfixed, lifting adoring eyes.
+Having been taught that the true office of St. Michael was
+to bring holy counsel and revelations to men, she listened
+submissively to his words. She was to be good and
+obedient, to go often to Church, and to be guided in all her
+future acts by the advice of St. Margaret and St. Catherine
+who had been chosen to be her counsellors. Then before
+the Vision faded, came a message so tremendous in its command,
+of such vast responsibility that it is small wonder if
+the little peasant maid lifted imploring hands, crying out
+for deliverance from this duty, until at last, white and spent,
+she sank on her knees with clasped hands, praying that this
+might not come to be true&mdash;that it might not be she who
+had been chosen by God to go to the help of the Dauphin&mdash;to
+lead the armies of France to victory.</p>
+
+<p>And yet even as she prayed she knew that it <i>was</i> true,&mdash;that
+God had chosen her for a great work, that it was she,
+the peasant of Domr&eacute;my, who alone could restore her country
+and her king to their former greatness&mdash;and that she
+would carry out the divine command.</p>
+
+<p>For nearly four long years after Jeanne first saw her
+Vision, she remained at home, and was as lovable, helpful
+and more truly pious than ever. Often St. Margaret and
+St. Catherine appeared to her, and ever they commanded
+her to fulfil her great destiny as the Maid who was to
+save France, and ever her conviction that she was to carry<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span>
+out their commands grew within her, as she heard the voice
+more and more clearly, crying, "You must go, Jeanne the
+Maid; daughter of God, you must go!"</p>
+
+<p>At that time the enemy was closing in on all the French
+strongholds; even the inhabitants of little Domr&eacute;my, began
+to tremble at the repeated invasions of marauding soldiers,
+and the time had come to declare war against a foe which
+threatened to so completely wipe out France's heritage of
+honour.</p>
+
+<p>Jeanne had heard the Voice. She was now aflame
+with desire to obey its summons to duty, and to achieve
+this she knew that three things must be accomplished.
+First of all she must go to Robert de Baudricourt, a Captain
+of the King at Vaucouleurs, and ask him for an escort
+to take her to the Dauphin, then she must lead the Dauphin
+to his crowning at Rheims. A strange idea to be conceived
+by a young peasant girl, still in her early teens, and it is
+not to be wondered that in the fulfilment of such a destiny,
+Jeanne's sincerity of purpose was both sneered at and
+discredited by unbelievers in her heavenly vision.</p>
+
+<p>By the help of a cousin, Durand Laxart, she was able
+to obtain audience with Robert Baudricourt; in the presence
+of one of his knights, Bertrand de Poulengy, who was completely
+won by this girl, so tall and beautiful and stately in
+her youthful beauty, as, pale with emotion, she went swiftly
+up to Baudricourt, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"I have come to you in behalf of my Lord, in order
+that you shall bid the Dauphin stand firm and not risk
+battle with his enemies, for my Lord himself shall give
+him succour before Mid-Lent," and she added, "The Kingdom
+does not belong to the Dauphin, but to my Lord who
+wishes him to be made King. In spite of his enemies he
+must reign, and <i>I</i> shall lead him to his consecration."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Strange words these, to fall from the lips of a young
+girl. For a moment Baudricourt sat staring at her, wide-eyed,
+then he asked:</p>
+
+<p>"Who is your Lord?"</p>
+
+<p>"He is the King of Heaven."</p>
+
+<p>This was too much for the rough, practical minded
+Captain. The walls of the castle rang with his shouts of
+laughter, and turning to Durand Laxart, who by this time
+was crimson with shame for his kinswoman, Baudricourt
+with a gesture of dismissal said, "The girl is foolish. Box
+her ears and take her home to her father," and there was
+nothing left for Jeanne to do but to go back to Domr&eacute;my until
+occasion should favour her destiny.</p>
+
+<p>In July the valley was again menaced by the Burgundians,
+and the people of Domr&eacute;my fled for a refuge to a
+neighbouring city, while in their own little town there was
+a veritable reign of terror, and news came that the English
+were also besieging the strong old town of Orl&eacute;ans,
+which had always been called the "key to the Loire." If
+this city should fall, only by a miracle could France be
+saved, and Jeanne's Voices became more and more insistent.
+She must go at once. She must raise the siege of Orl&eacute;ans,
+but how?</p>
+
+<p>Again through the aid of Durand Laxart she obtained
+a second interview with the rough Captain of Vaucouleurs.</p>
+
+<p>Her assertion was as preposterous as before, but this
+time Baudricourt did not laugh, there was something haunting,
+powerful, in the girl's mystical manner, and in her dignity
+of bearing, which puzzled the gruff Captain, and made
+him listen, but as he offered her no help, the interview was
+fruitless, and she was obliged to return again to the Laxarts'
+home, near Vaucouleurs, where while she waited she gave
+what help she could in the household, but also went<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span>
+often to church, and often partook of the Sacrament, praying
+for help in her mission. Whoever knew her loved her,
+and her popularity was so widespread that the people of
+Vaucouleurs, with a growing belief in her ability to accomplish
+what no one else could for their beloved country,
+decided to themselves fit her out for her expedition to the
+Dauphin, and two knights, De Metz and Poulengy, who
+had become deeply attached to Jeanne, vowed to go <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'whereever'">wherever</ins>
+she might lead them.</p>
+
+<p>It was not safe for her to travel in a woman's clothes,
+so she was provided by the people's gifts, with a close-fitting
+vest, trunk and hose of black, a short dark grey cloak
+and a black cap, and her hair was cut after the fashion of
+men's wearing. Sixteen francs bought a horse for her,
+and the only bit of her old life she carried with her was a
+gold ring which her mother and father had given her.</p>
+
+<p>Before starting, Baudricourt's permission had to be
+obtained, and again Jeanne went to him; this time crying
+out:</p>
+
+<p>"In God's name, you are too slow for me, for this day
+the gentle Dauphin has had near Orl&eacute;ans a great loss, and
+he will suffer greater if you do not send me soon!"</p>
+
+<p>As before, Baudricourt listened to her, and enjoyed
+watching the play of emotions on her changeful face, but
+he said nothing either to encourage or to hinder her, and
+Jeanne knew that without further consent from him she
+must now go on her journey.</p>
+
+<p>At once she wrote a letter of farewell to her parents
+asking their forgiveness for doing what she knew would be
+against their wishes, and telling of the reality of her divine
+mission as it was revealed to her. She received no answer
+to this, but there was no attempt made to hinder her, and
+all preparations having been made, on the evening of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span>
+twenty-third of February, before a great crowd of spectators
+who had gathered to see her leave Vaucouleurs, the
+slender, calm figure in the page's suit stood ready to leave
+behind all a young girl should have of loving protection,
+for the sake of what she conceived to be a sacred mission.</p>
+
+<p>With her men around her, she mounted her horse, and
+as she halted for a moment before starting,&mdash;seeing her
+dignity and graceful bearing, her men were filled with
+pride in her,&mdash;even Baudricourt himself came down from
+the castle, and made the men take an oath to guard her
+with their own lives, then gave her a sword and a letter
+to the Dauphin.</p>
+
+<p>While they stood there ready to start, a man asked
+Jeanne:</p>
+
+<p>"How can you hope to make such a journey, and
+escape the enemy?"</p>
+
+<p>Quick and clear Jeanne's answer rang out, "If the
+enemy are on my road, I have God with me, who knows
+how to prepare the way to the Lord Dauphin. I was born
+to do this."</p>
+
+<p>Then with a swift signal, the solemn little cavalcade
+rode out into the night, while eyes were strained to see the
+last of the brave Maid, who conceived it her consecrated
+duty to go to the aid of the Dauphin, and her well loved
+land.</p>
+
+<p>On their way towards Chinon where the weak little
+Dauphin was holding his court, rode Jeanne and her six
+men, and a dangerous way it was, lying through a country
+over-run with marauding English and Burgundian warriors,
+and Jeanne's men were uneasy at escorting so young
+and fair a maid under such dangerous conditions, but
+Jeanne herself was unconcerned and fearless as they rode
+on into the valley of the Loire, noting on every side the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span>
+devastation done by war and pillage. For greater safety
+they rode mostly by night, often travelling thirty miles in
+twenty-four hours,&mdash;a pretty severe test of the endurance
+of a girl of seventeen, unaccustomed to riding or of leading
+men-at-arms, but her courage and enthusiasm never flagged.
+With their horses' feet wrapped in cloths to deaden the
+clatter of hoofs, they went on their way as swiftly as was
+possible, and day by day the men's devotion to this Maid
+who was their leader grew deeper, as they saw the purity
+of her character and the nobility of her purpose.</p>
+
+<p>When they drew near Chinon, Jeanne's men spoke to
+one another doubtfully of what kind of a reception they
+would have. Reaching Auxerre they rested for a while,
+then travelled on to Gien, and as they journeyed, a report
+went ahead of them, that a young peasant girl called "The
+Maid" was on her way, so she said, to raise the siege of
+Orl&eacute;ans and to lead the Dauphin to his crowning at Rheims.
+Even to Orl&eacute;ans the report spread, and the inhabitants of
+that besieged city, now despairing of deliverance, felt a
+thrill of hope on hearing the report.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile Jeanne and her escort of six valiant men
+had halted near Chinon, while Jeanne wrote and despatched
+a letter to the Dauphin, in which she said that they had
+ridden one hundred and fifty leagues to bring him good
+news, and begged permission to enter his province. Then
+the next morning they rode into "the little town of great
+renown," as Chinon was called, and Jeanne remained at the
+Inn until the Dauphin should decide to receive her.</p>
+
+<p>Now Yolande, the King's mother-in-law, was much interested
+in what she had heard of Jeanne, the Maid, and
+she so influenced the Dauphin, that De Metz and Poulengy
+were allowed to have audience with him, and told what a
+fine and noble character Jeanne was, and what a beautiful<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span>
+spirit animated her slender frame, and begged him to see
+and trust her, saying that she was surely sent to save France.
+Their plea made a great impression on the Dauphin, as
+was evident two hours later when he sent a number of
+clergymen to cross-question her on her so-called divine mission,
+and through all the tiresome examination Jeanne bore
+herself with proud dignity and answered so clearly and so
+well that they could only entertain a profound respect for
+the girl whom they had expected to scorn. The result of
+this examination was that by order of the King, Jeanne was
+moved from the Inn to a wing of the Castle, and there the
+girl-soldier was treated with every respect by the courtiers,
+who were all charmed by her frank simplicity and sweetness
+of manner. But the King had not yet consented to
+give her an audience, and two weary weeks dragged away
+in the most tedious of all things,&mdash;awaiting the Dauphin's
+pleasure,&mdash;and Jeanne chafed at the delay.</p>
+
+<p>At last one happy day she was led into the great vaulted
+audience chamber of the Castle, where torches flared,
+and the deep murmur of voices together with the sea of
+eager upturned faces, might have made a less self-contained
+person than the Maid confused and timid. But not so with
+Jeanne, for her thoughts were solely on that mission which
+she had travelled so far to accomplish. Her page's suit
+was in sharp contrast to the brilliant court costumes worn
+by the ladies of the Court, but of that she was unconscious,
+and advanced calmly through the long line of torch bearers
+to within a few feet of the throne,&mdash;gave a bewildered
+glance at the figure seated before her, in the velvet robes
+of royalty&mdash;then turned away, and with a cry of joy threw
+herself at the feet of a very quietly dressed young man who
+stood among the ranks of courtiers, exclaiming, "God of
+his grace give you long life, O dear and gentle Dauphin."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Quickly the courtier answered, "You mistake, my
+child. I am not the King. There he is," pointing to the
+throne.</p>
+
+<p>There was a stir and murmur in the crowd, but the
+Maid did not rise. She simply looked into his face again,
+saying:</p>
+
+<p>"No, gracious liege, <i>you</i> are he, and no other," adding
+with a simple earnestness, "I am Jeanne, the Maid, sent
+to you from God to give succour to the kingdom, and to you.
+The King of Heaven sends you word by me that you shall
+be anointed and crowned in the town of Rheims, and you
+shall be lieutenant of the King of Heaven, who is the King
+of France."</p>
+
+<p>Charles the Dauphin, who in the disguise of a courtier,
+had attempted to outwit the peasant girl by placing another
+on his throne, stood dumb with wonder at this revelation
+of her clear vision, and with a touch of awe, he raised her,
+and drew her away from the crowd that he might confer
+with her alone, while all tendency to jest at the expense of
+the Maid and her mission died away, and the crowd were
+silent with wonder at the bearing of this peasant girl who
+said she had come to save France.</p>
+
+<p>No one ever knew what passed between Jeanne and
+the Dauphin during that interview, but it is said that he
+demanded a further proof of her inspired mission, and in
+reply she told him the substance of a prayer he had offered
+one morning&mdash;a prayer known to God alone&mdash;and so impressed by
+this proof of a more than mortal vision was he,
+that he at once led her again down the long audience hall,
+through the lines of torch bearers and courtiers, then bending
+low, kissed her hand, and with gracious words sent her
+away under a strong escort of his own guard of honour, having
+given his promise to further the cause to which Jeanne<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span>
+had dedicated her life. And just here let us glance for a
+moment at the character of Charles the Dauphin, for whom
+the girl of Domr&eacute;my was sacrificing so much.</p>
+
+<p>At best he was the poor imitation of a King. Being the
+son of a mad father and a weak mother he inherited such
+tendencies as made him utterly unfit to cope with the
+perils of the time, or to give to the Maid who had come to
+his relief such assistance as he should have given.</p>
+
+<p>"Never did a King lose his kingdom so gaily," said
+one of his soldiers, and although he was momentarily
+roused by the Maid's noble courage and purpose, yet he
+still found it far easier to loiter through days of ease in his
+ch&acirc;teau, than with prompt resolution to turn to the task in
+hand.</p>
+
+<p>Had Charles the Dauphin been the man that Jeanne
+d'Arc would have had him be, the history of the Maid of
+France would have been a different one. But even his
+thrill at being aided to claim his throne, was not strong
+enough to fire him with the proper spirit, and he continued
+to waste long days in idle ease, while Jeanne was fretting
+her heart out waiting for him to decide to let her start to
+raise the <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'seige'">siege</ins>  of Orl&eacute;ans. But delay she must, and she
+whiled away the tedious days by practising with crossbow
+and sword in the meadows near Chinon, and although she refused
+to wear a woman's dress until she had accomplished
+her mission, yet she was both graceful and beautiful in her
+knight's costume, which she now wore in place of the simple
+page's suit in which she had ridden to Chinon, and many
+admiring eyes watched her as she rode up and down in the
+green meadows, alert and graceful in every movement.
+And although he was wasting precious moments in deciding
+whether to allow her to raise the siege of Orl&eacute;ans or
+not, the Dauphin spoke often and intimately with her, as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span>
+with a friend to whom he was deeply attached, and Jeanne
+was treated with all possible deference both by those of
+high and low degree. The young Duc d'Alen&ccedil;on, a
+noble and loyal courtier, was so deeply won by her sweetness
+and charm that his wife invited her to spend a few
+days at their home, the Abbey of St. Florent les-Saumur,
+while waiting for the decision of the Dauphin. That little
+visit was a bright spot in the long dark story of the Maid's
+fulfilment of her mission, for there, with those whose every
+word and act spoke of kindred ideals and lofty aims, the
+Maid unbent to the level of care-free normal girlhood, and
+ever after that there was a close comradeship between the
+Duc and Jeanne.</p>
+
+<p>At last the Dauphin came to a decision. To Poitiers,
+Jeanne must go, and there be examined by the French
+Parliament, and by the most learned men in the kingdom,
+to prove that she was capable of achieving that which she
+wished to attempt. When Jeanne heard this she cried out
+impatiently, "To Poitiers? In God's name I know I shall
+have my hands full, but the saints will aid me. Let us be
+off!" which showed that the Maid, for all her saintliness
+had also a very normal human degree of impatience to do
+as she had planned, and who can blame her?</p>
+
+<p>To Poitiers she went, and there as everywhere the
+people loved her for her goodness, her enthusiasm for the
+rescue of France, and for her unassuming piety. For long
+weary weeks, she was cross-examined by the cleverest men
+who could be found for the task, but ever her keen wit
+was able to bring her safely through the quagmires and pitfalls
+they laid for her to fall into; then at last it was announced
+that "in consideration of the great necessity and
+peril of Orl&eacute;ans, the King would make use of her help, and
+she should go in honourable fashion to the aid of Orl&eacute;ans."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>So back again to Chinon went Jeanne, overflowing
+with eagerness and hope, looking, it is said, like a handsome,
+enthusiastic boy in her page's suit, full of the joy of living,
+happy in the thought of hard work ahead, then on at last
+she went, with her escort of both soldiers and cavalry
+officers, to the accomplishing of her second duty. By the
+King's orders she was dressed this time in a suit of fine steel
+armour which was well suited to the lithe grace of her
+slim young figure, and over her armour she wore a "h&ucirc;que"
+as the slashed coats worn by knights were called. She
+had her pick of a horse from the royal stables, and even
+he was decked with a steel headpiece and a high
+peaked saddle. Jeanne, de Metz and Bertrand de
+Poulengy, her faithful followers, were also fitted with
+special armour, which was very costly and handsome.</p>
+
+<p>The sword Jeanne carried was one which had been
+found under the altar of the church of St. Catherine of
+Fierbois, around which many legends of miracles clustered,
+but to Jeanne it was at best only a weapon, and she said she
+should never make use of it. Her great white standard was
+the thing she loved, and even when she was in the thick of
+the battle, she always carried it, with its painted figure of
+God throned on clouds holding the world in his hands,
+while kneeling angels on either side presented lilies, and
+above were the words, "Jhesus, Maria." On the other side
+of the banner was a shield with the arms of France, supported
+by two angels. She had also a smaller banner with
+a white dove on azure ground, holding in his beak a scroll
+with the words, "In the name of the King of Heaven."</p>
+
+<p>With her great white banner floating high in the carrying
+wind, her sword scabbard of cloth-of-gold, glittering in
+the sunlight, and the armour of her men-at-arms gleaming in
+its new splendour, the Maid set out for Orl&eacute;ans, preceded<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span>
+by a company of priests singing the <i>Veni Creator</i> as they
+marched.</p>
+
+<p>Jeanne's plan of entry into Orl&eacute;ans was a very simple
+one. She desired to march right in under the great forts
+defending the besieged city, to flout the enemy, and cheer
+the desperate citizens by her daring. But the captains of
+her army, although they had sworn to obey her every command,
+were seasoned veterans in the art of war, and had no
+intention of carrying out any plan of campaign laid out by
+a girl of seventeen, so they wilfully disregarded her plan,
+and by so doing delayed their entry into the city for weary
+hours, and in the end were obliged to enter in the very way
+planned by their young Commander. When at last, at
+night, attended by troops of torch bearers, Jeanne went into
+Orl&eacute;ans sitting proudly erect on her great white horse, and
+the people of the city saw first the Maid who had come to
+their relief, they could but wonder at sight of her girlish
+figure, in its shining armour, and the radiant young face
+carried inspiration and comfort to their wearied hearts.
+So eager were they to touch her or her horse that in crowding
+near, a torch touched her banner, and set it on fire, but
+wheeling around lightly, she crushed out the flame, as
+though she had long been an expert in such deeds. Then
+she and her company went to the Cathedral of St. Croix to
+return thanks for having entered the city, and afterwards
+were lodged for the night at the house of the Duc's treasurer,
+where Jeanne shared the room of her host's nine-year-old
+daughter and slept as sweetly and soundly as the child herself.</p>
+
+<p>Then followed fifteen days of hard fighting, for the
+enemy manfully resisted the onslaught of Jeanne's army,
+but at last, the English, vanquished, were obliged to retreat,
+telling marvellous tales of the Maid who was less than an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span>
+angel, more than a soldier, and only a girl who had done this
+thing.</p>
+
+<p>The attack on the city had begun at six in the morning
+and lasted for thirteen hours, and was indeed a marvellous
+assault on both sides. A hundred times the English
+mounted the walls, and a hundred times were thrown back
+into the moat, and the Maid with her floating banner, was
+everywhere at once, encouraging her men with the ringing
+cry, "Fear not. The place is yours!" Then she received
+a wound in her shoulder above the breast, and at the first
+flash of severe pain, like any other girl, she shivered with
+fear, and hot tears came, while they carried her off the field
+and dressed the wound. After that she was obliged to entrust
+her standard to a faithful man, but she still inspired
+and comforted her army from the position to which she
+had been carried, and as the sounds of battle deepened,
+above the tumult rang out her clear voice of ringing command,&mdash;then
+came victory and the retreat of the enemy.
+Orl&eacute;ans was delivered from the hands of the English.
+France still held "the key to the Loire," and the Maid of
+France had gained one of the fifteen battles of the world.</p>
+
+<p>The bells of Orl&eacute;ans rang out victoriously, while all
+the citizens in all the churches chanted <i>Te Deums</i> and sang
+praises of the wonderful Maid who had saved France.</p>
+
+<p>In all the records of history no other girl ever reached
+such a height of glory as did Jeanne that day, and yet instead
+of revelling in the praise showered on her, and in her
+popularity, when the battle was over, she went to bed and
+to sleep like a tired child, and when the people saw how
+exhausted she was, they stood guard over the house where
+she slept, and would allow no traffic to disturb her rest.
+And from that day to this, the eighth of May has ever been
+"Jeanne d'Arc's Day" in Orl&eacute;ans.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Jeanne had now fulfilled her second task. She had raised
+the siege of Orl&eacute;ans. Now for the third. Forward to the
+Dauphin's crowning at Rheims,&mdash;forward to the anointing
+of the rightful Sovereign of France!&mdash;that was her one
+thought and cry. But the Dauphin himself was in no such
+hurry to save his kingdom, now that the distress of the
+moment had been allayed. However, he met the Maid at
+Tours soon afterwards, and not only sang her praises for
+what she had done, but also acting on an impulse, his
+eyes lit with sudden fire, suddenly rose, and raising his
+sword aloft, brought it down slowly on Jeanne's shoulder,
+saying, that in so doing he joined her, her family, her kin
+and her descendants to the nobility of France, adding "Rise,
+Jeanne d'Arc, now and henceforth surnamed <span class="smcap">du lis</span>, in
+grateful acknowledgment of the good blow you have struck
+for the lilies of France, and they and the royal crown and
+your own victorious sword shall be grouped in your
+escutcheon, and be and remain the symbol of your high
+nobility for ever."</p>
+
+<p>Great indeed was this honour, with all that it meant to
+the family of Jeanne, and she received it with fitting appreciation,
+but it was not what she craved; yet still the
+King loitered and lingered in his ch&acirc;teau, giving heed to
+the arguments of his counsellors,&mdash;who for reasons of their
+own, desired to thwart the plans of the Maid&mdash;rather than
+to her whose Voices told her that the Dauphin should set
+out at once for Rheims, while the French army was still
+hot with the enthusiasm of victory. At last seeing it was
+useless to wait any longer, Jeanne and her men were obliged
+to press on without any definite news of when or where they
+would be joined by the Dauphin, and three days later, after
+raising the siege of Orl&eacute;ans, her army took Jargeau,
+a town twelve miles from Orl&eacute;ans, and then marched<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span>
+back to Orl&eacute;ans to be received as conquering heroes.</p>
+
+<p>D'Alen&ccedil;on was given six casks of wine, the Maid four,
+and the town council ordered a robe and h&ucirc;que for Jeanne
+of green and crimson, the Orl&eacute;ans colours. Her h&ucirc;que
+was of green satin, and embroidered with the Orl&eacute;ans
+emblem,&mdash;the nettle,&mdash;and doubtless this offering was acceptable
+to the girl who with all her qualities of generalship
+never lost her feminine liking for pretty clothes.</p>
+
+<p>By the taking of Jargeau the southern sweep of the
+Loire for fifty miles was wiped clear of English fortresses,
+but the enemy still held Beaugency and Meung, a few miles
+downstream, and to their capture Jeanne and her forces
+now set out. Then with a still greater prize in view, they
+marched on towards P&acirc;tay, a town between Meung and
+Rouvray, where they found the forces of the English
+massed, in consequence of which Jeanne called together her
+men for a council of war.</p>
+
+<p>"What is to be done now?" asked d'Alen&ccedil;on, with
+deep concern.</p>
+
+<p>"Have all of you good spurs?" she cried.</p>
+
+<p>"How is that? Shall we run away?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nay, in the name of God&mdash;after them! It is the English
+who will not defend themselves and shall be beaten.
+You must have good spurs to follow them. Our victory
+is certain," she exclaimed and added with that quick vision
+which was always the inspiration of her forces, "The
+gentle King shall have to-day the greatest victory he has ever
+had!"</p>
+
+<p>And true indeed was her prediction, for the battle of
+P&acirc;tay was a great victory, and set the seal of assurance on
+the work commenced at Orl&eacute;ans. The English rout was
+complete. Their leaders fled and four thousand men were
+either killed or captured, and as in every battle, Jeanne's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span>
+flaming courage and enthusiasm spurred her men on to victory,
+even though because of a wound in her foot she was
+not able to lead her forces, with her great white banner
+floating before them as usual. But she was none the less
+the inspiration of the day, and was also able to show a
+woman's tender pity and care for those of the enemy who
+were wounded and in their need of loving ministration
+turned to the gentle girl as to an angel sent from heaven.</p>
+
+<p>News of the French victories flew like wildfire over
+all the country. Three fortified towns taken, a great army
+of the enemy disorganised and put to flight, the whole
+country almost to the gates of Paris cleared of the enemy in a
+single brilliant week's campaign, and all through the commands,
+the inspiration, the invincible courage, the Vision
+of a slender slip of a girl! It seemed incredible except
+to those who had been with her through so many crucial
+tests, who had proved the fibre of her mental, physical and
+spiritual force, and reverenced her as one truly inspired by
+God's own voice.</p>
+
+<p>After the capture of P&acirc;tay back again to Orl&eacute;ans went
+the victorious army, and there were no bounds now to the
+enthusiasm expressed for the Maid who had done such
+marvellous things. It was supposed that the Dauphin
+would surely meet the victors at Orl&eacute;ans, but he was enjoying
+himself elsewhere, and Jeanne, cruelly impatient, set
+off to meet him at St. B&ecirc;noit, on the Loire, where again she
+begged him to help in the great work on hand, and again
+was met with cold inaction, but notwithstanding this, the
+Maid with her dauntless purpose left the Court, still repeating,
+"By my staff, I <i>will</i> lead the gentle King Charles and
+his company safely, and he shall be consecrated at Rheims!"
+showing that all the human weakness, which she could not
+have failed to see in the Dauphin, did not deter her in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span>
+accomplishing of a purpose which she felt she owed to
+France.</p>
+
+<p>Across the Loire went the Maid and her men, and then
+as if impelled by some impulse, on the twenty-ninth of June,
+the Dauphin suddenly followed her on to Champagne. To
+Tr&ocirc;yes went the army now, headed by no less formidable
+personage than the King-to-be and the Maid, and to one
+homage was paid because of his royal lineage, and to the
+other honour because of her marvellous achievements and
+gracious personality. Never once did Jeanne's martial spirit
+fail, or her belief in her vision weaken: even the Dauphin
+was a better and stronger man while under the spell of her
+wonder-working personality, and ever his reverence for her
+grew, seeing her exquisite personal purity, although surrounded
+by men and under circumstances which made
+purity difficult; and her great piety, her more than human
+achievement and her flaming spirit, gave him food for as
+much serious thought as he ever devoted to anything.</p>
+
+<p>"Work, and God will work," was Jeanne's motto, and
+faithfully did she live it out, working for the King as he
+never would have done either for himself or for anyone
+else, and on the morning of Saturday, July sixteenth, the
+Maid and the Dauphin together rode into the city of
+Jeanne's vision.</p>
+
+<p>At nine o'clock in the morning, on Sunday, July seventeenth,
+the great cathedral of Rheims was filled to its doors
+for the crowning of the King. The deep-toned organ and a
+great choir filled the Cathedral with music as the Abbot
+entered, carrying a vial of sacred oil for the anointing;
+then came the Archbishop and his canons, followed by five
+great lords, stately figures indeed, each carrying his banner,
+and each riding a richly caparisoned horse. Down the
+length of the aisle made for them, to the choir they rode,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span>
+then as the Archbishop dismissed them, each made a deep
+bow till the plumes of his hat touched his horse's neck, and
+then each wheeling his steed around, they passed out as they
+had come.</p>
+
+<p>There was a deep hush through all the vast Cathedral,
+one could have heard a dropped pin in all that surging mass
+of people, then came the peals of four silver trumpets.
+Jeanne, the Maid of France, and Charles the Dauphin,
+stood framed in the pointed archway of the great west door.
+Slowly they advanced up the long aisle, the organ pealing
+its welcome, the people shouting their applause, and behind
+the two figures came a stately array of royal personages
+and church dignitaries, and then, standing before the
+altar, the solemn Coronation ceremony began, while
+beside the King, during the long prayers and anthems and
+sermons, stood Jeanne, with her beloved standard in her
+hand. The King took the oath, was anointed with the
+sacred oil, then came the bearer of the crown, and
+kneeling, offered it. For one moment the King hesitated,&mdash;was
+it because of a thought of his unworthiness, or because
+of the great responsibilities wearing it would
+impose? At all events, hesitate he did, then he caught
+Jeanne's eyes, beaming with all the pride and joy of her
+inspired nature, and Charles took up the crown and
+placed it on his head, while choir and organ and people
+made the vast building resound and echo with music and
+with shouts. Jeanne alone stood as though transfixed, then
+sinking on her knees she said:</p>
+
+<p>"Now, oh, gentle King, now, is accomplished the will
+of God, who decreed that I should raise the siege of
+Orl&eacute;ans, and bring you to the city of Rheims for your consecration,
+thereby showing that you are the true King, and
+that to you the realm of France should belong."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>And at sight of her, so young and human in her beauty,
+so inspired in that which she had done, many wept for very
+enthusiasm, and all hearts honoured her.</p>
+
+<p>With gracious words the King lifted her up, and there
+before that vast assemblage of nobles he made her the equal
+of a count in rank, appointed a household and officers for
+her according to her dignity, and begged her to name some
+wish which he could fulfil.</p>
+
+<p>Jeanne was on her knees again in a moment at his
+words, "You have saved the throne, ask what you will."</p>
+
+<p>With sweet simplicity she pleaded, "Oh, gentle
+King, I ask only that the taxes of Domr&eacute;my, now so impoverished
+by war, be remitted."</p>
+
+<p>On hearing her request, the King seemed momentarily
+bewildered by so great unselfishness, then he exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"She has won a kingdom, and crowned a King, and all
+she asks and all she will take, is this poor grace, and even
+this is for others. And it is well. Her act being proportioned
+to the dignity of one who carries in her head and
+heart riches which outvalue any King could give and
+though he gave his all. She shall have her way. Now
+therefore it is decreed that from this day, Domr&eacute;my, natal
+village of Jeanne d'Arc, Deliverer of France, called the
+Maid of Orl&eacute;ans, is freed from all taxation for ever."</p>
+
+<p>At this the silver horns blew a long blast, and from that
+day, for three hundred and sixty years was the little village
+of Jeanne's birth without taxation, because of her deeds of
+valour.</p>
+
+<p>On went the ceremony to an imposing finish, when
+the procession with Jeanne and the King at its head
+marched out of the Cathedral with all possible pomp and
+solemnity, and the great day on which Jeanne had fulfilled
+the third and greatest of those achievements to which her<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span>
+voices had called her, was over. She had led the King to
+his crowning,&mdash;and as the people of Rheims gazed on her
+in her silver mail, glittering as if in a more than earthly
+light, carrying the white standard embellished with the
+emblems of her belief, it seemed as though the Maid in her
+purity, and her consecration to France was set apart from
+all other human beings, not less for what she was, than for
+what she had done&mdash;and never was warrior or woman more
+fitly reverenced.</p>
+
+<p>Jeanne, the peasant maid of Domr&eacute;my, led by her
+vision, had marshalled her forces like a seasoned veteran,
+and with them had raised the siege of Orl&eacute;ans,&mdash;had led
+the King to his crowning, and yet instead of longing for
+more conquests, still further glory, in a later conversation
+with a faithful friend, she only exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, if it might but please God to let me put off this
+steel raiment, and go back to my father and my mother,
+and tend my sheep again with my sisters and brothers who
+would be so glad to see me!"</p>
+
+<p>Only that, poor child, but it could not be. Never
+again was she to go back to her simple life, but it is said
+that old Jacques d'Arc and Durand Laxart came to Rheims
+to gladden the Maid's heart with a sight of their familiar
+faces, and to see for themselves this child of Jacques's who
+had won so great renown.</p>
+
+<p>And at that time also, two of her brothers are known
+to have been in the army, of which she must needs be still
+the head, as the King gave a shameful example of never
+commanding it in person. Seeing that she must still be
+Commander-in-chief; immediately after the Coronation,
+Jeanne called a council of war, and made a stirring appeal
+for an immediate march on Paris. This was resisted with
+most strenuous and wily arguments for delay, to all of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span>
+which the Maid cried impatiently, "We have but to march&mdash;on
+the instant&mdash;and the English strongholds, as you call
+them, along the way are ours. Paris is ours. France is
+ours. Give the word, Oh, my King, command your servant!"</p>
+
+<p>Even in the face of her ringing appeal there was more
+arguing and more resisting, but finally, thrilled by Jeanne's
+final plea the King rose and drawing his sword, took it by
+the blade and strode up to Jeanne, delivering the hilt into
+her hand, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"There, the King surrenders. Carry it to Paris!"
+And to Paris Jeanne might go, but the tide of success had
+turned, and although on the fourteenth day of August the
+French army marched into Compi&egrave;gne and hauled down the
+English flag, and on the twenty-sixth camped under the very
+walls of Paris, yet now the King hung back and was afraid
+to give his consent to storming the city. Seven long days
+were wasted, giving the enemy time to make ready to defend
+their strongholds, and to plan their campaign. Then
+the French army was allowed to attack, and Jeanne and her
+men worked and fought like heroes, and Jeanne was everywhere
+at once, in the lead, as usual with her standard floating
+high, even while smoke enveloped the army in dense
+clouds, and missiles fell like rain. She was hurt, but refused
+to retire, and the battle-light flamed in her eyes as her
+warrior-spirit thrilled to the deeds of the moment.</p>
+
+<p>"I will take Paris now or never!" she cried, and at last
+she had to be carried away by force, still insisting that the
+city would be theirs in the morning, which would have been
+so, but for the treachery of him for whom Jeanne had given
+her young strength in such consecrated service. The Maid
+was defeated by her own King, who because of political
+reasons declared the campaign ended, and made a truce with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>
+the English in which he agreed to leave Paris unmolested
+and go back again to the Loire.</p>
+
+<p>History offers no more pathetic and yet inspiring sight
+than Jeanne, broken by the terrible news, still sure that victory
+would be hers if but allowed to follow her voices&mdash;yet
+checkmated by the royal pawn whose pleasure it was to
+disband the noble army of heroes who had fought so nobly
+for the cause of France.</p>
+
+<p>When Jeanne saw the strength of the Dauphin's purpose,
+she hung up her armour and begged the King to now
+dismiss her from the army, and allow her to go home,
+but this he refused to do. The truce he had made did not
+embrace all France, and he would have need of her inspiring
+presence and her valuable counsel&mdash;in truth it seemed
+that he and his chief counsellors were afraid of allowing
+her out of their sight, for fear of what she might achieve
+without their knowledge.</p>
+
+<p>For some eight months longer, in accord with his desire,
+Jeanne, still sure of her divine mission to work for France,
+loyally drifted from place to place with the King and his
+counsellors, heart-sick and homesick, occupying her many
+leisure hours with planning vast imaginary sieges and campaigns.</p>
+
+<p>At last, on the twenty-fourth of May, 1430, with a
+handful of men, she was allowed to throw herself into
+Compi&egrave;gne, which was being besieged by the Burgundians,
+and there after bravely fighting and rallying her men for a
+third attack, the English came up behind and fell upon their
+rear, and the fleeing men streamed into the boulevard, while
+last of all came the Maid, doing deeds of valour beyond the
+nature of woman, so it is said, and for the last time, as
+never again should Jeanne bear arms. Her men had fled.
+She was separated from her people; and surrounded, but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span>
+still defiant, was seized by her cape, dragged from her
+horse, and borne away a prisoner, while after her followed
+the victors, roaring their mad joy over the capture of such
+a prize.</p>
+
+<p>Like wildfire the awful tidings spread. The Maid of
+Orl&eacute;ans taken by the English? Jeanne a prisoner? Could
+such things be?</p>
+
+<p>Alas, yes. The Maid who had delivered France was
+in the hands of the enemy, because, at the climax of her victory,
+when all France was in her grip, the chance had been
+lost by the folly of that King whom she had led to his
+crowning.</p>
+
+<p>After six months of captivity she was sold, yes sold,
+for ten thousand crowns, that royal Maid&mdash;sold to John
+of Luxembourg, the only bidder for her noble self. Truth
+which is sometimes stranger than fiction, offers no parallel
+to this. Not a single effort was put forth by the King, or
+his counsellors, or by any loyal Frenchman to rescue or to
+ransom Jeanne. No trouble was taken to redeem the girl
+who, foe and friend alike agreed, had saved the day for
+France, and who was the greatest soldier of them all, when
+she was allowed to have her way.</p>
+
+<p>Ten thousand crowns was the price of Jeanne's brave
+spirit, and her purchaser doubtless meant to hold on to her
+until he could make money on his prisoner, but, oh the
+shame, the infamy of it, Charles, the King of France,&mdash;led
+to his crowning day by a Maid's own hand,&mdash;offered not one
+sou for her ransoming!</p>
+
+<p>To linger on this part of Jeanne's life is torture
+to others, as it was to her. In December she was carried to
+Rouen, the headquarters of the English army, heavily fettered;
+was flung into a gloomy prison, from which she attempted
+escape, but vainly, and finally was tried as a sorceress<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span>
+and a heretic, and never a sound of help or deliverance
+from the King or the nation.</p>
+
+<p>Her trial was long, and she was exposed to every form
+of brutality, thinly veiled under the guise of justice. Day
+after day her simple heart was tortured by the questions of
+learned men, whose aim was to make her condemn herself,
+but this they could never do, for every probing resulted in
+the same calm statements. Finally one was sent to draw
+from her under the seal of the confessional, her sacred confidences,
+which were then rudely desecrated. She was
+found guilty of sacrilege, profanation, disobedience to the
+church, pride and idolatry, and her heavenly visions were
+said to be illusions of the devil. She was then tortured
+by a series of ignominies, insults, threats, and promises until,
+bewildered and half crazed by confinement, in agony
+of mind and body, she blindly assented to everything
+they asked her, was sentenced to perpetual imprisonment,
+and forced to put on a woman's dress which she had repeatedly
+declared she would never do so long as she was
+thrown entirely in the company of men. But she was
+forced to obey the bidding of her persecutors, and then followed
+such degradation and insults as are almost beyond
+belief, and then, oh the shame of it, she was condemned to
+die by burning, on the tenth of May, 1431! Though worn
+with suffering and sorrow, she faced this crowning injustice
+with the dauntless courage which had ever been hers on the
+field of battle, and died with the Cross held high before
+her eyes and the name of Jesus on her lips.</p>
+
+<p>The peasant girl of Domr&eacute;my, the warrior of Orl&eacute;ans,
+the King's saviour at Rheims, the martyr whose death left
+a great ineffaceable stain on the honour both of France
+and of England, twenty-five years later was cleared of
+all the charges under which she was put to death, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span>
+in our own time has been canonised by a tardy act of the
+church of Rome, and to-day Jeanne d'Arc, Maid of France,
+nay, Maid of the World stands out on the pages of history
+as one inspired by God, and God alone. To her remains,
+as Kossuth has said, "the unique distinction of having been
+the only person of either sex who ever held supreme command
+of the military forces of a nation at the age of seventeen."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span></p>
+<h2>VICTORIA:</h2>
+
+<h3>A Girl Queen of England</h3>
+
+
+<div class='cap'>IN the early years of the nineteenth century, frequenters
+of that part of London near the beautiful Kensington
+Palace and the still more beautiful gardens bearing
+its name, used to enjoy almost daily glimpses of a
+round-faced, red-cheeked child whose blue eyes were so
+bright with health and happiness that it was a pleasure to
+watch her.</div>
+
+<p>Sometimes the little girl was seen accompanied by a
+party of older persons, and riding a donkey with a gay harness
+of blue ribbons, and it was noticeable that she always
+had a merry greeting for those who spoke to her in passing.
+At other times she would be walking, with her hand
+holding tight the hand of a little playmate, or on other
+days she was wheeled in a small carriage over the gravel
+walks of the shady Gardens, followed by an older girl
+who would sometimes stop the carriage and let a stranger
+kiss the blue-eyed occupant of the carriage. On pleasant
+days this same little girl could frequently be seen in a
+simple white dress and big shade hat, watering the plants in
+the beds of Kensington Palace, and the blue-eyed child was
+no other than the Princess Victoria Alexandrina, daughter
+of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, the child who was one
+day to become Queen of England.</p>
+
+<p>In fancying one's self a Queen-to-be, there is never
+any place given to the prosaic duties of ordinary life, but
+Princess Victoria's child-life at Kensington was a very<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span>
+simple one such as any little girl with a sensible mother
+might have had.</p>
+
+<p>At eight o'clock daily the Duchess had breakfast, and
+the Princess had hers at the same time, at a small table near
+her mother, then came an hour's drive or walk, and from
+ten to twelve lessons with the Duchess herself, after which
+Victoria amused herself in the suite of rooms which extended
+around the two sides of the palace, where she kept
+most of her toys. Then after a plain dinner came lessons
+again until four o'clock, after which came another walk
+or donkey ride in the Gardens, a simple supper, a romp
+with her nurse, whose name being Brock, Victoria called her
+"dear Boppy." In fact, so secluded a life did the young
+Princess lead that, except for those glimpses of her in the
+Gardens, she was almost unknown to all but intimate family
+friends; and King George the Fourth, called by Victoria
+her "Uncle King," sometimes expressed his displeasure that
+the child was not allowed to be present more often at his
+court. But the Duchess had her own ideas about that matter,
+and as they were not at all flattering to the court manners
+and customs of the day, she wisely continued to keep
+her little girl out of such an atmosphere, though in fear
+lest the King should carry out his threat of taking the child
+away from her, to bring her up in gloomy Windsor
+Castle, unless she was allowed to go there more often,&mdash;which
+threat his kingly power would allow him to carry
+out, if he so chose. But fortunately he never did as he
+threatened, and Victoria remained at Kensington with
+her mother, where with her half-sister and brother, the
+Princess F&eacute;odore and Prince Charles of Leiningen, the four
+formed a family group so loyal and so loving that nothing
+ever loosened the bond between them.</p>
+
+<p>Although Victoria knew herself to be a Royal Highness,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span>
+she was yet ignorant that some day she would be ruler
+of Great Britain, and she continued to do simple things as
+unconsciously as other girls might with a far different future.
+She was very enthusiastic over anything which took
+her fancy, and one day at a milliner's saw a hat which was
+exactly what she wanted. With eager enthusiasm she
+waited until it was trimmed, and then exclaimed, "Oh, I
+will take it with me!" and was soon seen hurrying towards
+Kensington with the precious hat in her hand. And this
+was a real flesh and blood Princess, heir to the throne of
+England!</p>
+
+<p>The monotony of life at Kensington was broken by
+frequent trips to various parts of England, and visits to
+friends and relations, but the Duchess felt her responsibility
+to the English people in bringing up the future Queen, so
+keenly that she never took the risk of a trip to the continent
+with Victoria, because of the long journey and the
+change of climate. But the Princess thoroughly enjoyed
+what visits she did make, and evidently was an attractive
+guest, even as a child, for when she and her mother visited
+King George, her grandmother wrote to the Duchess:
+"The little monkey must have pleased and amused his
+Majesty. She is such a pretty, clever child!"</p>
+
+<p>At another time when visiting at Wentworth House,
+Yorkshire, Victoria amused herself by running around the
+big garden with its tangle of shrubberies. One wet morning
+when the ground was very slippery, she ventured to
+run down a treacherous bit of ground from the terrace, and
+the gardener, who did not know who she was then, called
+out, "Be careful, Miss, it's slape!" a Yorkshire word for
+slippery. But the Princess had no intention of being
+stopped, so she merely turned her head as she ran, and
+asked, "What's slape?" As she spoke, her feet flew from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span>
+under her and she came down with a thud. The gardener
+as he helped her to her feet said, "<i>That's slape</i>, Miss!"</p>
+
+<p>At another time she rebelled against the hours of practise
+insisted on by her music teacher, who stood her ground
+firmly, saying that there was no royal road to art, that only
+by conscientious and continued practise could she become
+a musician, whereupon with a gleam of mischief in her
+blue eyes, Victoria jumped up, closed the piano, locked
+it, put the key in her pocket and remarked to the surprised
+teacher, "Now you see there <i>is</i> a royal way of becoming
+mistress of the piano!" This incident shows that she was
+by no means the young prig painted by so many historians,
+but a girl full of fire and spirit, merry, unaffected and with
+a keen delight in all sorts of girlish amusements and pranks.</p>
+
+<p>At that time the education of young ladies was more
+superficial than that of poorer girls, but the future Queen
+was given a solid foundation of the heavier branches of
+learning, such as Latin, which she hated, history, law, politics
+and the British Constitution, and, too, she had many
+lighter studies, modern languages, painting and music, becoming
+a charming singer under the famous teacher-master,
+Lablache. She also danced well, rode well and excelled at
+archery. One day when she had been reading about
+Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi and how she proudly
+presented her sons to the much-bejewelled Roman matron,
+saying, "These are my jewels," the quick-witted Princess
+added, "She should have said, 'My Cornelians!'"</p>
+
+<p>As a young girl Victoria was very pretty, then she went
+through a period of homeliness, at which time a children's
+ball was given at Windsor Castle by King George in honour
+of a little visitor, Donna Maria II da Gloria, the child-Queen
+of Portugal, who was extremely pretty and very
+handsomely dressed, with a ribbon and glittering Order<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>
+over her shoulder, making little Victoria, in her simple
+dress and with her less brilliant appearance, look quite
+plain and unattractive&mdash;and not only was Donna Maria
+seated at the King's right hand, but he seemed greatly
+amused by her conversation. Then the dancing began,
+and Donna Maria did not show up so finely, for she was
+an awkward dancer and fell, hurting herself so severely
+that she refused to dance again, and left the ballroom,
+while Victoria, who was as light as thistle-down on her feet,
+is said to have remarked gaily as she danced on: "Well,
+if I'm not so handsome and grand and smartly dressed as
+that Maria, I'm less awkward. I was able to keep my
+head and not lose my feet!"</p>
+
+<p>With each year Victoria grew more attractive looking,
+and one night she stood before her glass scanning herself
+critically, while her eyes shone and her heart beat fast
+with excitement, for she was going to her first Drawing-room,
+and was thrilled at the idea.</p>
+
+<p>Having arrived at Windsor Castle with her mother
+and a number of ladies and gentlemen in State carriages,
+escorted by a party of Life Guards, Victoria stood at the
+left of her aunt, the queen, in a maze of delight, watching
+the gay Court pageant, quite unconscious that she herself
+was a centre of attraction, with her fair skin, her big blue
+eyes, and her air of healthy, happy girlhood. Her dress
+was of simple white tulle, but there was no more conspicuous
+figure in all that royal assemblage, than the young
+Princess.</p>
+
+<p>Like King George, when William IV succeeded to
+the throne, he was jealous of any honours paid to the young
+Princess or her mother, and even objected to their little
+journeys, calling them, with a sneer, "Royal Progresses,"
+and forbade the salutes given to the vessel which carried<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span>
+them back and forth from the Isle of Wight, to which petty
+jealousies the Duchess paid no heed, but continued to bring
+up her daughter as she thought fit; persevering in the
+"Progresses" which so annoyed the King, and all of his
+objections failed to make the Princess less than an object of
+intense interest and devotion to those people who would one
+day be her subjects.</p>
+
+<p>Although she was still unconscious of the part she was
+to play in the history of the nation, the day was coming
+when she could no longer be kept ignorant of it. A bill
+was before Parliament called the Regency Bill, which
+named the Duchess of Kent as regent if the King should
+die before Victoria came of age, and she heard much
+conversation about the bill. The Duchess felt that the time
+had now come to tell her of the position which was to be
+hers in the future of England, and finally after a long talk
+with Baroness Lehzen, Victoria's old governess, the way of
+telling her was decided upon.</p>
+
+<p>On the following day, when the Princess was busily
+reading a book of history, the Baroness slipped a genealogical
+table on the page which Victoria was reading. She
+glanced at the slip of paper with an exclamation of surprise,
+then read it carefully and looking up, said with a
+startled expression, "Why, I never saw that before!"</p>
+
+<p>"It was not thought necessary that you should," replied
+the governess, and then there was a long silence.
+Then, after examining the paper again, the Princess glanced
+up and said with quaint solemnity, "I see I am nearer the
+throne than I supposed," adding, "Now many a child
+would boast, not knowing the difficulty. There is much
+splendour, but there is also much responsibility." Then
+placing her little hand in that of the Baroness, she said:</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Oh, I will be good!</i> I understand now why you<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span>
+urged me so much to learn even Latin. You told me it
+was the foundation of English grammar, and all the elegant
+expressions, and I learned it as you wished it, but I understand
+all better now."</p>
+
+<p>Then pressing the Baroness's hand again and looking
+solemnly into her eyes, she repeated, "I will be good!"
+and the Baroness felt a moisture rise in her eyes at the
+thought of what life might bring to challenge that vow.</p>
+
+<p>The Princess was grave for a time after that day, then
+she grew accustomed to the new thought of her coming
+queendom, and was once more her gay, happy self, and
+there were three functions soon afterwards at which she
+appeared in all the joy of conscious power and happy
+girlhood.</p>
+
+<p>On her thirteenth birthday the King and Queen gave
+a great ball in her honour, when she out-danced all the
+other girls, not because of her superior rank, but because
+of her grace and charm of manner. After the ball
+came a drawing-room when again the Princess had a glorious
+time, and another glimpse of her is at the Ascot races,
+when an American poet was thrilled to see her, with the
+Queen, leaning over the railing of the King's stand, both
+listening to a ballad-singer with as keen interest as though
+they had been simple country folk instead of royalty, and
+he remarked that the Princess was far better looking than
+most of her photographs pictured her.</p>
+
+<p>Nearer and nearer to the throne came the young girl,
+and yet even when she was nearly seventeen she was still
+in the habit of living as quietly as she had in childhood,
+and it is told how at a formal reception given in her honour,
+followed by a dinner and a grand ball which she opened
+with Lord Exeter, after that first dance she left the ballroom
+to retire, as the Duchess thought she had had quite<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span>
+enough excitement for one day. That statement will seem
+incredible to a girl of to-day, but it is an historical fact.</p>
+
+<p>On the twenty-fourth of May, 1837, Princess Victoria
+came of age according to the laws of England, and
+the joyous events of the day began very early in
+the morning, for when dawn was just breaking in the
+east, she was roused by the sound of music under her window.
+Jumping up, now quite awake, she peered through
+the blinds and saw a band playing merrily, and realised
+why they were there. Rushing into her mother's room she
+shook her out of a sound sleep, and pulled her into her
+room, where together they sat behind the closed blinds
+and applauded the serenaders. It did not take Victoria
+long to dress that morning. She was full of excitement,
+for by breakfast time messages of congratulations and presents
+had begun to pour in, and with shining eyes she exclaimed,
+"To think of all England celebrating a holiday
+just for me!" when she heard that Parliament was not in
+session, nor boys in school, all in her honour. And at night
+there was a great illumination of the city and a grand
+State Ball at the Palace of St. James&mdash;quite enough tribute
+to turn the head of any girl of eighteen,&mdash;but Victoria,
+even then in the midst of her enjoyment, seemed to feel the
+responsibility more than the flattery, and that night gave
+an appealing look of shy objection when on entering the
+ballroom she was obliged by court etiquette to enter before
+her mother, thus emphasising for the first time her
+superior rank.</p>
+
+<p>Not long after this, one night through the vast
+audience rooms of gloomy Windsor Castle went the solemn
+word, "The King is dead!" and in the same breath, even
+the most loyal ministers of Church and State, who had
+known only too well the weaknesses of the sovereign who<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span>
+would reign no more, whispered softly, "Long live the
+Queen!"</p>
+
+<p>Then there was a flurry of preparation. The Archbishop
+of Canterbury and the Lord Chamberlain made
+ready to leave the place of mourning as fast as horses could
+carry them.</p>
+
+<p>Arriving at Kensington Palace in the early dawn, they
+found the palace inmates sleeping quietly. It took an endless
+time, so it seemed, to arouse even the porter at the
+gate, but at last he appeared, rubbing sleepy eyes and
+grumbling at having been disturbed. At the entrance to
+the court-yard came another delay, but finally they were
+admitted to the Palace, were shown to a room, and waited
+until their patience was exhausted, and they rang a bell
+so insistently that finally another drowsy servant answered.
+They then requested that the Princess Victoria should be
+roused at once and told that they desired an immediate
+audience on most important business. The sleepy servant
+disappeared and still there were more delays, more waiting.
+Then the Princess' special maid appeared, saying
+with irritating calm that her royal mistress was in such
+a sweet sleep that she could not venture to disturb her.
+The Archbishop's command was not one to be set aside,
+"We are come on business of State <span class="smcap">to the Queen</span>," he said,
+"Even her sleep must give way." To the <span class="smcap">Queen</span>! Ah,
+then it had come! With flying feet the maid rushed into
+the room where the Princess had gone to sleep so peacefully
+a few hours since, and roused her with the cry, "They
+have come to make you Queen. Oh, be quick!"</p>
+
+<p>Half asleep&mdash;entirely dazed for the moment, then
+clear-eyed, Victoria sprang up, with only one thought, "I
+must not delay them any longer," and rushed into the
+presence of the waiting dignitaries with only a bed-gown<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span>
+thrown over her night-dress, her feet in slippers and her
+long brown hair flying over her shoulders!</p>
+
+<p>As in a dream she heard the words, "Your Majesty,"
+and received the first kiss of homage on her trembling hand,
+then with sweet pleading grace she spoke her first words as
+Queen of England, looking into the kind eyes of the Archbishop,
+"I beg your Grace to pray for me," she said, with
+utter simplicity and sincere desire, and raising his hand in
+benediction, the Archbishop's voice asked a blessing on the
+fair young sovereign of so great a land.</p>
+
+<p>The hours following that first knowledge of her new
+dignity were overwhelmingly full of strange experiences for
+Victoria, but among them all she found time to go to her
+desk and write a letter to Queen Adelaide, expressing sympathy
+for her in her sorrow, and begging her to remain
+as long as she felt inclined at Windsor. Giving the letter
+to her mother, the Duchess noted that the name on it was
+to "Her Majesty, the Queen." With a smile she said,
+"My dear, you forget who is the Queen of England now.
+The King's widow is only Queen Dowager."</p>
+
+<p>To which Victoria replied quickly, "I know that, but
+<i>I</i> will not be the first person to remind her of it!"</p>
+
+<p>How many girls would have been as thoughtful as
+that, I wonder?</p>
+
+<p>In a few hours she was obliged to meet many high
+officials, and even had to read her first speech from a throne
+which was hastily erected for the occasion. Then while
+the great bell of St. Paul's was tolling for the dead King, the
+young monarch, dressed very simply in mourning, which
+brought out in bold relief her clear fresh complexion, took
+an oath "for the security of the Church of Scotland," and
+received the oath of allegiance first from her royal uncles,
+the Dukes of Cumberland and Sussex, whom she kissed as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span>
+affectionately and impulsively as if she were still the little
+Princess. Following them came a great number of notable
+men to kneel before her and kiss her hand, among them the
+Duke of Wellington and the Premier, Lord Melbourne.
+To each she showed the same degree of winning courtesy,
+and only for a brief moment seemed disconcerted by the
+new and dazzling ceremony in her honour as Queen of
+the realm.</p>
+
+<p>Evidently since the day when she had first learned that
+she was some day to be a Queen, she had been studying how
+to proceed when the momentous hour should come, for now
+she thought to do all those things which would have
+scarcely been expected of an older and experienced statesman.
+She even sent for Lord Albemarle, it is said, and
+after reminding him that according to law and precedent
+she must be proclaimed the next morning from a certain
+window of St. James Palace, asked him to provide a fitting
+conveyance and escort for her. Then, bowing graciously
+to right and left, including all the Princes, Archbishops
+and Cabinet Ministers present, in her gracious salutation,
+she left the room alone, as she had entered it.</p>
+
+<p>What sort of a night's rest the young Queen had that
+night can well be imagined. Surely her maiden dreams
+must have been disturbed by many thoughts which forced
+her to put aside those personal fancies which yesterday she
+had been justified in harbouring!</p>
+
+<p>The next day she went in state to St. James Palace,
+escorted by a number of great lords and ladies, and a
+squadron of the Life Guards and "Blues," and was formally
+proclaimed Queen of Great Britain from the window
+of the Presence Chamber. She wore a black silk dress
+and a little black chip bonnet, and we are told that as she
+stood there in her simple costume, with her smooth brown<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span>
+hair as plain as her dress, the tears ran down her cheeks
+when she was proclaimed to the people as their sovereign.
+Then when the band played the National Anthem in her
+honour, she bowed and smiled at the swaying mass of
+people below looking with eager interest and affection at
+their "Little Queen," then retired until noon, when she
+held a meeting of her chief counsellors, at which she presided
+with as much grace and ease as if she had been doing
+that sort of thing all her life, to the intense surprise and
+admiration of the great men who composed it. At one
+o'clock, the Council being over, she went back to Kensington
+and remained there quietly until after the funeral of
+the late King; and Council and populace were loud in their
+praise of this young girl, who, having been brought up
+in the utmost seclusion, yet now came out into the lime-light
+of public attention, and behaved with the dignity and
+discretion of an aged monarch.</p>
+
+<p>King William having been properly and pompously
+buried, the young Queen took up her new position as ruler
+of the realm, and her royal household was a very exceptional
+and magnificent one, because of the rank and character
+of those "ladies in waiting" as they were called, who
+composed it.</p>
+
+<p>The young Queen and her household remained at Kensington
+until midsummer, when they moved to Buckingham
+Palace, and soon after this Victoria was obliged to go
+through a great parade and ceremony to dissolve Parliament.
+We are told that "the weather was fine and the
+whole route from Buckingham Palace to Parliament House
+was lined with shouting, cheering people, as the magnificent
+procession and the brilliant young Queen passed slowly
+along." A London journal of the day gives this account of
+the ceremony: "At ten minutes to three precisely, Her<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span>
+Majesty, preceded by the heralds and attended by the great
+officers of state, entered the House&mdash;all the peers and peeresses,
+who had risen at the flourish of the trumpets, remaining
+standing. Her Majesty was attired in a splendid white
+satin robe, with the ribbon of the Order crossing her
+shoulder, and a magnificent tiara of diamonds on her head.
+She also wore a necklace and a stomacher of large and
+costly brilliants."</p>
+
+<p>Having ascended the throne, the royal mantle of crimson
+velvet was placed on Her Majesty's shoulders by the
+lords-in-waiting, and she carried herself with the air of
+having been born to such ceremonies, yet it was evident
+that she was much affected by the ordeal, and for a moment
+was so absorbed in her own conspicuous position as
+to forget to notice that the peers and peeresses with her
+were still standing. In a low voice, Lord Melbourne, who
+was standing beside her, reminded her of this, and with a
+gracious smile and inclination of her head, she said quietly,
+"My Lords, be seated," whereupon they and their wives
+and daughters sat. The incident had brought the Queen
+back to herself, and she was now so self-possessed that when
+the time came to read her speech, although she did it with
+quiet modesty, her voice was so clear that it rang through
+all the corners of the great room, and everyone could hear
+her words. A great statesman from America, Charles
+Sumner, who was present, was so astonished and delighted
+with Victoria's manner, that he wrote to a friend, "Her
+voice is sweet and finely modulated, and she pronounced
+every word with distinctly a fine regard for its meaning.
+I think I never heard anything better read in my life, and
+I could but respond to Lord Fitz-William's remark when
+the ceremony was over, 'How beautifully she performs!'"
+As days went on, this and other golden opinions<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span>
+were universally echoed about the eighteen-year-old Queen,
+who was not only strong of character, but possessed of personal
+charm, being then, we are told, short in height, but
+well formed, with hair the darkest shade of flaxen, with expressive
+blue eyes, and a complexion as fair and delicate as
+a rose leaf, while her expression was one of peculiar sweetness.</p>
+
+<p>In her honour there was a grand new throne erected
+at Buckingham Palace, a gorgeous affair of crimson velvet,
+gold lace, gold fringe and ropes and tassels. Merrily the
+young Queen tried it, and with a gay laugh exclaimed, "It
+is quite perfect! I never sat on a more comfortable throne
+in my life!"</p>
+
+<p>One of the things which Victoria most enjoyed was
+dealing with cases where stern military discipline should
+have been used, as in the case of a court martial which was
+presented to her by the Duke of Wellington to be signed.
+With eyes full of tears she asked, "Have you nothing to
+say in behalf of this man?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing. He has deserted three times," replied the
+Duke.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, your Grace, think again!" exclaimed Victoria.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, your Majesty," replied the Iron Man, "he
+certainly is a bad soldier, but there was somebody who
+spoke as to his good character. He may be a good fellow
+in civil life."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, thank you," exclaimed the Queen, and dashed
+off the word "Pardoned" to the lawful parchment and
+wrote under it her signature.</p>
+
+<p>So many cases of this clemency of hers came to the
+notice of Parliament, that finally they arranged matters so
+that this fatal signing business could be done by royal commission,
+"To relieve her Majesty of painful duty," they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span>
+said, but really because they could not trust her soft heart
+to deal with cases where military discipline should not be
+interfered with.</p>
+
+<p>In Victoria's childhood, when her father, the Duke of
+Kent, died, he left very heavy debts, which the Duchess had
+endeavoured in every way to pay. This Victoria knew, and
+almost immediately after she became Queen, in all the whirl
+and splendour of her new life she sent for her Prime Minister
+and told him that she wished to settle the remaining
+debts standing in her father's name, saying, "I <i>must</i> do it.
+I consider it a sacred duty," and of course it was done.
+The Queen also sent some valuable pieces of plate to the
+largest creditors in token of her gratitude, and the young
+girl's earnestness and directness in thus carrying out her
+mother's chief desire, brought tears, it is said, to the eyes of
+Lord Melbourne, and made his feelings for the young
+Queen ever afterwards that of deepest chivalry. In fact
+all England was possessed of the wildest kind of enthusiasm
+for their new ruler, and one can imagine that in her youth
+and dignity of office she seemed to young men and maidens
+to be a heroine of fairy-tale made flesh and blood, while it
+was said that if necessity had arisen five hundred thousand
+brave Irishmen would arise to defend the life, the honour
+and the person of the beloved young lady on the throne of
+England.</p>
+
+<p>In August Victoria took possession of Windsor Castle,
+which soon became anything but a gloomy place, with the
+gay company that filled its every room, and to whom the
+young royal housekeeper showed its beauties and comforts
+with as great satisfaction as if it had been a simple little
+house of her own on a plain English street.</p>
+
+<p>When at Windsor, Brighton was an easy journey, and
+there the young Queen had a triumphal progress, her carriage<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>
+passing under numberless arches, and between ranks
+and ranks of school children who strewed flowers before
+her and sang songs in her honour. Some months later, in
+London, she dined in state with the Lord Mayor, and
+as her carriage passed through the streets of the city on its
+way to Guildhall, a vast crowd lining the pavements riveted
+their gaze on the very youthful-looking Queen. She wore
+a wrap of swan's down which made a soft frame for the
+fair sweet face on which was the rose bloom of girlhood,
+while in her eyes beamed health and happiness.</p>
+
+<p>That was a gorgeous ceremony which she attended
+at Guildhall. At Temple Bar she was met by the Lord
+Mayor himself who handed her the keys of the city, and
+also a sword, which she at once returned to his keeping.
+Then a little farther on, the Blue-Coat Boys of Christ's College
+gave an address of congratulation, saying how glad
+they were to have a woman rule over them, and then they
+sang the National Anthem, with rousing spirit, and the
+royal party proceeded to Guildhall, where in the gorgeous
+drawing-room the address of the city officials was read.
+Then Victoria performed a memorable act: she knighted
+Sheriff Montefiore, the first man of his race to receive such
+an honour from a British sovereign, and thereby not only
+reflected honour on the noble man she knighted, but on
+her own daring and just spirit. This ceremony over, they
+passed into the great hall, which had been wonderfully
+decorated and furnished for the occasion, and is said to have
+looked like fairyland with its glittering lights hanging from
+the roof, reflecting brilliancy over the gorgeous court
+dresses and superb jewels which made up the dazzling
+scene. When Victoria entered, a great chorus rang out in
+a song of praise to their Queen. Then she was led to a table
+on a platform at the end of the room, where she was served<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span>
+with a dinner as costly as could be procured to tempt her
+fancy, receiving the homage of city officials as she dined.
+The feast over, a person called the Common Crier strode
+into the middle of the hall and solemnly proclaimed,
+"The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor gives the health
+of our Most Gracious Sovereign, Queen Victoria!" Of
+course this was drunk amid a chorus of shouts which made
+the great hall ring to the roof. Victoria rose and bowed
+her thanks, and then the Common Crier announced, "Her
+Majesty's Toast, 'The Lord Mayor and prosperity to the
+city of London!'" This toast, it is said, the Queen responded
+to by drinking it in sherry one hundred and twenty
+years old, kept for some wonderful occasion such as this.</p>
+
+<p>That year, Victoria's first as a Queen, she celebrated
+Christmas at Windsor Castle, and it would have been a very
+unnatural thing indeed if the girl had not exulted with
+joy over the wonderful presents which poured in on her
+from every side, and yet she kept through this, as in all the
+honours paid to her, her simple-hearted manner and was
+entirely unspoiled by what might easily have turned the
+head of an older and wiser monarch.</p>
+
+<p>And now comes the greatest of all the great events in
+which the young Queen is the central figure&mdash;her Coronation.
+It is true that she had already been Queen for a whole
+year, but such was royal etiquette that the time had just
+arrived for the wonderful ceremonies which would mark
+her official taking of the Crown.</p>
+
+<p>June the twenty-eighth was the day, and the year 1838,
+and Victoria was nineteen years old. They came beforehand,
+the old courtiers, and explained to her the coming
+pageant, and how after kneeling to her they were all required
+to rise and kiss her on the left cheek. Gravely she
+listened and thought this over, thought not only of the salutes<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span>
+of the grave Archbishops, but of the kisses of those
+other younger peers, of whom there were six hundred, and
+then she issued a proclamation excusing them from this
+duty, so all but the Dukes of Cambridge and Sussex, who
+could kiss her rosy cheek by special privilege of kinship,
+would have to be content with pressing a salute on her hand!</p>
+
+<p>As for the Coronation, it was one of the most wonderful
+in history, for all England wished to look with proud
+eyes on the crowning of this young girl who even in one
+year had proved herself to be capable of understanding the
+intricate doings of statescraft, and days before the ceremonies
+were to begin, people poured in from all parts of the
+United Kingdom to see the glittering spectacle and to prove
+their loyalty to her who was their sovereign.</p>
+
+<p>The great procession started from Buckingham Palace
+about ten o'clock in the morning, and the first state carriages
+held the Duchess of Kent and her attendants, then came the
+grand state coach, imposing in its gorgeous array of gilding
+and glass, drawn by eight cream-coloured horses from the
+royal stables, with white flowing manes and tails. In the
+coach of state sat Her Majesty, and there was tremendous
+applause all along the line as soon as the bright girlish face
+beaming its welcome to her people, was seen. On reaching
+Westminster Abbey, the gorgeous scene might have startled
+or confused her, if she had not rehearsed beforehand as
+thoroughly as though it were a play in which she were
+to take part.</p>
+
+<p>On each side of the nave were galleries erected for the
+spectators, which had been covered with crimson cloth
+fringed with gold, and under them were lines of very martial
+looking footguards. The stone floor was covered with crimson
+and purple cloth, while immediately under the central
+tower of the Abbey, inside the choir, five steps from the floor,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span>
+was a platform covered with cloth of gold on which stood
+the golden "Chair of Homage." In the chancel, near the
+altar, stood the quaint old chair in which all the sovereigns
+since Edward the Confessor had been crowned. The tiers
+of galleries upholstered in crimson cloth and old tapestries,
+were occupied by Members of Parliament and foreign Ambassadors,
+while in the organ loft sat a large choir dressed
+in white, and players on instruments dressed in scarlet, while
+high above them were a score of trumpeters; all of which
+produced a brilliant effect that was heightened by the music
+pealing through the vast Abbey over the heads of the
+throng.</p>
+
+<p>Long before the arrival of the royal party the Abbey
+was crowded to its doors with foreign Ambassadors and
+Princes in their gorgeous costumes, and most gorgeous of all
+were the Lord Mayor and Prince Esterhazy, who was costumed
+like a glittering shower of jewels from head to toe,
+while hundreds of pretty women were there in every kind
+of elaborate evening dress, although it was only eleven
+o'clock in the morning. It took both time and thought
+to place all the royal personages so that none would be offended,
+and every peer and peeress would be seated so as
+to have a good view of that part of the minster in which the
+Coronation was to take place.</p>
+
+<p>The grand procession passed slowly up the long aisle,
+with its dignitaries of Church and State, and all its pomp
+and glitter of jewels and gorgeous costumes. Then came the
+Queen. She wore a royal robe of crimson velvet, trimmed
+with ermine and gold lace, and on her head was a circlet
+of gold. Her tremendously long train was borne by
+eight young court ladies, and never did she look quite so girlish
+and slight and young as she did in that great procession of
+older dignitaries. As she entered the Abbey the choir began<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span>
+the National Anthem, which could scarcely be heard
+because of the mighty cheers which burst from the general
+assembly, echoing through the dome and arched recesses
+of the vast building. Slowly the Queen moved toward the
+altar, sweetly the choir boys chanted <i>Vivat Victoria Regina!</i>
+while moving quietly to a chair placed between the "chair
+of homage" and the altar, Victoria knelt in prayer for a
+moment, then rose, and the Primate announced in a loud
+voice, "I here present unto you Queen Victoria, the undoubted
+Queen of this realm, wherefore all of you are come
+this day to do your homage. Are you willing to do the
+same?"</p>
+
+<p>Then the people all shouted, "God save Queen Victoria!"
+which "recognition," as it was called, was repeated
+many times and answered each time by the beating of drums
+and the sounding of trumpets. Throughout all this the
+Queen stood, turning towards the side from which the
+recognition came, and then followed a great number of
+curious old rites and ceremonies which always go with a
+Coronation, even though many of them have entirely lost
+their meaning through the lapse of time. There were
+prayers and the Litany and a sermon, and then the administration
+of the oath of office, and after a long questioning by
+the Archbishop, Her Majesty was led to the altar, where,
+kneeling with her hand on the Gospels in the Great Bible,
+she said in clear, solemn tones which could be heard all
+through the Abbey:</p>
+
+<p>"The things which I have herebefore promised I will
+perform and keep. So help me God."</p>
+
+<p>She then kissed the book and continued to kneel while
+the choir sang a hymn, then while she sat in St. Edward's
+chair, a rich cloth of gold was held over her head and the
+Archbishop anointed her with oil in the form of a cross,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span>
+after which came still more forms and ceremonies, the
+presentation of swords and spurs, the investing her with the
+Imperial robe, the sceptre and the ring, the consecration and
+blessing of the new crown, which had been made especially
+for her, and at last the crowning. The moment this was
+over all the peers and peeresses, who had held their coronets
+in their hands during the ceremonies, placed them on their
+heads, and shouted, "God save the Queen!" The trumpets
+and drums sounded again, while outside in the sunlight,
+guns fired by signal boomed their salute to the new
+sovereign, who was led to the chair of homage to receive
+the salutation of Church and State. First in line came the
+dignitaries of the Church, who knelt and kissed her hand,
+then the Dukes of Cambridge and Sussex, who, taking off
+their coronets and touching them to the crown (a pretty
+ceremony that!), solemnly pledged their loyalty, and kissed
+their niece on the left cheek. Then, according to her decree,
+the other dukes and peers, even the Duke of Wellington,
+who knelt before her, had only the honour of kissing the
+small white hand.</p>
+
+<p>Last of all came an old and feeble peer who found such
+difficulty in mounting the steps that he stumbled at the top
+and fell to the bottom, rolling all the way back to the floor,
+where he lay, hopelessly entangled in his robes. Impulsively
+the Queen rose from her throne as if it were but a chair and
+stretched out her hands to help him, but the old peer had
+risen by that time, and was trying his best to raise his coronet
+to touch the crown, but failed because of the trembling of
+his hand, and the Queen with ready tact held out her hand
+for him to kiss without the form of touching her crown. It
+was a pretty incident, proving the entire unconsciousness
+of self which the young Queen showed all through the imposing
+ceremonies. And they were not yet over. There<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>
+was yet the Sacrament to be administered to the Queen, who
+knelt, uncrowned, to receive it; then came a recrowning, a
+re-enthronement, more music and then the welcome release
+of the benediction. Passing into King Edward's chapel, the
+queen changed the imperial for the royal robe of purple
+velvet and went out of the Abbey wearing the crown and
+carrying her sceptre in her right hand, and drove home
+through a surging mass of shouting, cheering subjects and
+sight-seers, who noticed that she looked exhausted, and that
+she frequently put her hand to her head, as if wearing a
+crown were not at all a comfortable thing.</p>
+
+<p>The gates of the palace were reached at last, the long,
+vast, tiresome ceremonial was at an end. The home door
+swung open to receive her, and out dashed her pet spaniel,
+barking a joyous welcome as he always did when she had
+been away a long time. A girlish smile broke over Victoria's
+face, for so many hours moulded into a maturer expression
+of sovereignty, and crying, "There, Dash!" she
+unceremoniously ran in, flung off her crown and royal robe
+and sceptre and ran upstairs to give the dog his daily bath!</p>
+
+<p>At that time Carlyle said of her: "Poor little Queen!
+She is at an age when a girl can scarcely be trusted to
+choose a bonnet for herself, yet a task is thrust upon her
+from which an archangel might shrink."</p>
+
+<p>True indeed, but her Majesty, Queen Victoria, even
+at the moment of doffing her crown to give her dog a bath,
+could with equal grace and capability have answered a
+summons to discuss grave national issues, and would have
+shown both good judgment and wisdom in the discussion.
+A wonderful little woman she was, young for her task, but
+old for her age, and as we see her standing in the famous
+portrait painted in her coronation robes we see all that is
+fairest and noblest in both girl and Queen. She stands<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span>
+there as though mounting the steps to her throne, her head
+slightly turned, looking back over her shoulder, and we feel
+the buoyancy of her youth and the dignity of her purity,
+a far more royal robe than the one of velvet and ermine
+which is over her shoulders, and we know that she is already
+worthy of the homage so universally paid her, this girl
+Queen of England awaiting what the future may bring.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span></p>
+<h2>SALLY WISTER:</h2>
+
+<h3>A Girl of the American Revolution</h3>
+
+
+<div class='cap'>WINSOME SALLY WISTER! What a pretty
+picture she makes against the sombre background
+of the Revolutionary times in which
+she lived,&mdash;with her piquant face and merry
+eyes half hidden under her demure Quaker bonnet, and her
+snowy kerchief crossed so smoothly over her tempestuous
+young heart!</div>
+
+<p>To one of the finest old families in Philadelphia Sally
+belonged. Her father, Daniel Wister, was the only son
+of John Wister, a prosperous wine merchant, and Sally was
+born at her grandfather's city home, which stands on what
+is now Market Street, Philadelphia, spending her summers
+at his country house in Germantown, which charming old
+homestead is still shown as a landmark of the place.</p>
+
+<p>In winter Sally was a pupil in the girls' school kept
+by a famous Quaker, Anthony Benezet, where there
+were gathered the daughters of many "first" families of
+the vicinity, and it was there that the intimacy began between
+Sally and her life-long friend Deborah Norris, who
+too was a Quaker girl. The group of girls with whom
+Sally and "Debby" Norris were intimate were all between
+fourteen and sixteen years old, and formed a "Social
+Circle" which was very exclusive indeed, but to which a
+few boys were occasionally admitted. The boys, however,
+seem to have made themselves disliked, perhaps by teasing,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span>
+after the manner of boys of to-day, for in the summer of
+1776 while the girls were all at their summer homes, one of
+them wrote to Sally, in the quaint old-fashioned way, making
+use of many capital letters, "I shall be glad when we
+get together again; us Girls, I mean, for as to the Boys,
+I fancy we must Give them up. Willingly I shall, nor have
+I the most distant desire of being with them again. I
+think we pass our time more agreeably without than with
+them." A clear declaration of independence, that&mdash;but it
+was modified later as letters to Sally show, and one feels
+glad that such a firm stand in an unworthy cause was open
+to amendment!</p>
+
+<p>At noon on a hot sunny day in 1776, Monday the
+eighth of July, Sally and Debby Norris were sitting in the
+cool shade of the big maples in the garden of Debby's home,
+which adjoined the State House. For a while they sewed
+and chatted and teased one another as girls will, then Sally
+held up a silencing finger, "Shhh!" she whispered.
+"That is surely a drum and fife."</p>
+
+<p>Debby, who was listening too, nodded, "I remember
+now I heard Mr. Hancock tell Mother that the Declaration
+of Independence was to be proclaimed in public from the
+State House at noon to-day. Come, perhaps we can hear
+some of it."</p>
+
+<p>Sally was already half way across the lawn; Debby
+followed and they climbed from a wheel-barrow up to the
+top of a wall looking down at the State House yard, and
+had a fine view of the whole scene. Only a small-sized
+crowd of citizens was there, for the most conservative Philadelphians
+purposely did not go to hear it read, while
+those members of Congress whom the girls could see, looked
+anxious and ill at ease. Silently Sally and Debby listened
+while John Nixon read the mighty phrases of the Declaration<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span>
+and, only half understanding what they heard, they
+joined in the burst of applause following the last words,
+"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance
+on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually
+pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred
+honour."</p>
+
+<p>Then as the crowd began to disperse, the girls climbed
+down and went back to the cool garden, ignorant of the
+fact that in later years they would have no more valued
+memory than that of the hot noon-day of July 7, 1776, when
+they saw and heard the Declaration of Independence read.</p>
+
+<p>That was only one of the exciting events of those stirring
+days in which Sally was living, for Philadelphia was
+then a war centre, and little else was talked about except
+the movements of the armies and the battles being fought.
+After the battle of Brandywine, when General Washington
+made a brave fight to save Philadelphia, but was
+defeated by the British general, Lord Howe, Sally Wister's
+father, feeling sure that the British would now occupy
+Philadelphia, thought the time had come to send his
+family out of the city. He at once despatched them to the
+Foulke farm, on the Wissahickon creek, among the hills
+of <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'Gwenynedd'">Gwynedd</ins>, some fifteen miles away from the storm
+centre of the city. The owner of the farm, Hannah Foulke,
+was a relation by marriage of the Wisters, and evidently
+gave up half of her home to them, retaining the other half
+for her own use, and there the two families lived harmoniously
+during the following nine months.</p>
+
+<p>But to Mistress Sally the change of residence and the
+separation from all her friends was not a happy one, and
+to while away some of its lonely hours she began a series of
+letters in the form of a diary, for Debby Norris's benefit,
+and that journal tells us much about the happenings of that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span>
+memorable epoch in American history, from a young girl's
+point of view. Soon after the arrival of the Wisters at the
+farm the peaceful quiet of the place was broken up, for
+the sights and sounds of war began to be heard even in that
+remote location, as both armies were marching towards
+Philadelphia. In the first letter to Debby Sally informs
+us that on the 24th of September, two Virginia officers
+stopped at the house, and informed them that the British
+army had crossed the Schuylkill, and later another person
+called and said that General Washington and Army were
+near Potsgrove, and Sally writes to Debby:</p>
+
+<p>"Well, thee may be sure we were sufficiently scared;
+however, the road was very still till evening. About
+seven o'clock we heard a great noise. To the door
+we all went. A large number of waggons with about
+three hundred of the Philadelphia Militia. They begged
+for drink and several pushed into the house. One of
+those that entered was a little tipsy and had a mind to be
+saucy. I then thought it time for me to retreat, so figure
+me (mightily scared,) running in at one door and out another,
+all in a shake with fear, but after a while seeing the
+officers appeared gentlemanly and the soldiers civil, I call'd
+reason to my aid. My fears were in some measure dispell'd,
+tho' my teeth rattled and my hand shook like an
+aspen leaf. They did not offer to take their quarters with
+us, so with many blessings and as many adieus they marched
+off. "I have given thee the most material occurrences of
+yesterday faithfully."</p>
+
+<p>The next day she and "chicken hearted" Liddy, as
+Sally called her sister, were very much scared by a false
+report that the dreaded Hessians, who comprised a large
+part of the British army, were approaching, had "actually
+turned into our lane," writes Sally, and she adds<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span>
+"Well, the fright went off," but hearing that the forces
+were momentarily drawing nearer, she remarks, "I expect
+soon to be in the midst of one army or t'other." Then while
+looking for some great happening, she had another fright,
+for a party of Virginia light horse rode up to the door, and
+mistaking the red and blue of their uniforms for the British
+colours, she fled to the shelter of the house, with, as she
+says, "wings tack'd to my feet."</p>
+
+<p>An interval of several weeks then passed, in which
+nothing of any great moment happened, as she explains in
+the brief notes in her diary. Then comes a stirring day to
+chronicle for Debby's benefit. In the morning she hears
+"the greatest drumming, fifing and rattling of waggons
+that ever was heard" and goes a short distance to see the
+American army as it marches to take a position nearer the
+city. On that same day comes General Smallwood, commander
+of the Maryland troops, with his officers, and a large
+guard of soldiers to the farm, and asks to be allowed to make
+it his headquarters. Permission having been given by Hannah
+Foulke, one of the officers wrote over the door:</p>
+
+<div class="center">"Smallwood's Quarters"</div>
+
+<div class='unindent'>to secure the house from straggling soldiers, and then the
+regiment rode away, leaving a flutter of excitement in the
+hearts of the girls, at the thought of having such a novel experience
+as a house full of soldiers. With delightful candour
+Sally tells us that she and her sister and cousins at once
+"put on their best dresses" and "put their lips in order for
+conquest," and then awaited the evening with what patience
+they could summon. At last the general and his staff
+and soldiers arrived, when at once the yard and house
+were in confusion, and glittered with military equipments.
+A Dr. Gould who was at that time staying with the Wisters,
+being a friend of General Smallwood's, presented him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span>
+and his officers ceremoniously to the family of which they
+were to be a part, and there is no doubt that from soldier
+to General all looked with covert or open admiration on
+pretty, saucy Sally, who despite her fear of the military,
+showed great courage, not to say pleasure, in their near presence!</div>
+
+<p>At once she looked them over, man by man, with a
+critical eye, and passed judgment on them in her diary,
+relating, that to her surprise, they seem "very peaceable
+sort of men," and adds, "they eat like other folks, talk like
+them, and behave themselves with elegance, so I will not
+be afraid of them, no I won't," and winds up her letter with,
+"Adieu. I am going to my chamber to dream, I suppose
+of bayonets and swords, sashes, guns and epaulets."</p>
+
+<p>On the following day, she writes to Debby, "I dare
+say thee is impatient to know my sentiments of the officers,
+so while Somnus embraces them and the house is still, take
+their characters according to their rank," and then gives a
+vivid pen picture of each one of the officers, her trenchant
+description showing her to be no respecter of persons.
+Major William Truman Stoddard, a nephew of the General,
+and not much older than Sally herself, she at first describes
+as appearing "cross and reserved," but her opinion of the
+young officer materially changes. On the second day of
+their acquaintance she writes, "Well, here comes the glory,
+the Major, so bashful, so famous; I at first thought him cross
+and proud, but I was mistaken. He cannot be extolled for
+graces of person, but for those of the mind he may be justly
+celebrated." On the third day, "the Major is very reserv'd,
+nothing but 'Good morning' or 'your servant,'
+madam," and she adds that she has heard that he is worth
+a fortune of thirty thousand pounds, but is so bashful that
+he can hardly look at the ladies, after which information<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span>
+she roguishly remarks in an aside, "Excuse me, good sir,
+I really thought you were not clever; if 'tis bashfulness
+only, we will drive that away!"</p>
+
+<p>At the end of several days, Sally seems to be much interested
+in the Major, but to have made little headway in
+getting acquainted with him, and the only entry concerning
+him is "The Gen'l still here. The Major still bashful."</p>
+
+<p>Then on a Sunday evening when she was playing with
+her little brother, the Major drew up a chair and began
+to play with the child too, and Sally says, "One word
+brought us together and we chatted the greatest part of the
+evening." This seems to have broken the ice between them
+completely and two days later while Liddy and Sally were
+reading she tells us that, "The Major was holding a candle
+for the Gen'l who was reading a newspaper. He looked
+at us, turned away his eyes, looked again, put the candlestick
+down, up he jumped, out of the door he went." But presently
+he returned and seated himself on the table begging
+them for a song, which Liddy said Sally could give, and
+they laughed and talked for an hour and Sally found
+him "very clever, amiable and polite." In the same letter
+Sally exclaimed, "Oh, Debby, I have a thousand things to
+tell thee. I shall give thee so droll an account of my
+adventures that thee will smile. 'No occasion of that,
+Sally,' methinks I hear thee say, 'for thee tells me every
+trifle.' But child, thee is mistaken, for I have not told
+thee half the civil things that are said of us <span class="smcap">sweet</span> creatures
+at General Smallwood's Quarters!" Sly little Mistress
+Sally!</p>
+
+<p>On the next day, "A polite 'Good morning' from the
+Major. More sociable than ever. No wonder, a stoic
+could not resist such affable damsels as we are!"&mdash;Conceited
+little monkey&mdash;Again, "the Major and I had a little<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span>
+chat to ourselves this evening. No harm, I assure thee. He
+and I are friends."</p>
+
+<p>That letter also recounts the coming of Colonel Guest,
+who at once fell a victim to the charms of Liddy, in telling
+which to Debby, Sally remarks, "When will Sally's admirers
+appear? Ah! that indeed. Why, Sally has not
+charms sufficient to pierce the heart of a soldier. But still
+I won't despair. Who knows what mischief I may yet
+do?"&mdash;Ah, yes, little coquette, who knows?</p>
+
+<p>Two days later, she writes, "Liddy, Betsey, Stoddard
+and myself, seated by the fire chatted away an hour in lively
+conversation. I can't pretend to write all he said, but he
+shone in every subject we talked of," and again, "As often
+as I go to the door, so often have I seen the Major. We
+chat passingly, as 'A fine day, Miss Sally,' Yes, very fine,
+Major.</p>
+
+<p>Another very charming conversation with the young
+Marylander, He has by his unexceptionable deportment
+engaged my esteem."&mdash;Lucky Major!</p>
+
+<p>All too soon for the girls at the farm came a command
+from head-quarters that the Army was to march on to
+Whitemarsh, and the soldiers' two weeks of playtime was
+over. On the day before the leave-taking, Liddy, Betsey
+and Sally, the latter dressed in a white muslin gown,
+a big bonnet, and long gloves, started down the garden
+path to take a walk. On the porch stood two officers
+watching the retreating figures. One was the Major of
+Sally's fancy, the other a Major Leatherberry, of whom she
+tersely says, "He is a sensible fellow who will not swing
+for want of a tongue!"</p>
+
+<p>In describing the incident, Sally says, "As we left the
+house, I naturally looked back (of course you did, little
+coquette) when behold, the two majors came fast after us,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span>
+and begged leave to attend us. No fear of a refusal!" she
+adds, and together the four young people rambled through
+the woodland, flaming with autumn tints, by the bank of the
+overflowing Wissahickon, and Sally says that they shortened
+the way with lively conversation, and that nothing happened
+that was not entirely consistent with the strictest rules
+of politeness and decorum, but tells of pouting when Major
+Stoddard tried to console her for tearing her muslin petticoat,
+and of flouting Major Leatherberry, when noticing the
+locket against her white throat, he gallantly quoted:</p>
+
+<div class='poem'>
+"On her white neck a sparkling cross she wore,<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">That Jews might kiss or infidels adore,"</span><br />
+</div>
+
+<div class='unindent'>but remarks that as a whole the little excursion was full of
+delights for each one of the party, and it was the last good
+time they had together for several weeks, as the farewell
+came on the next day. Sally and the Major seem to have
+felt the parting keenly, and Sally acknowledges to Debby,
+"I am sorry, for when you have been with agreeable people,
+'tis impossible not to feel regret when they bid you adieu,
+perhaps forever. When they leave us we shall be immurred
+in solitude," adding tersely, "The Major looks
+dull."&mdash;Poor Major!</div>
+
+<p>Later she adds, "It seems strange not to see our house
+as it used to be. We are very still. No rattling of waggons,
+glittering of musquets. The beating of the distant drum
+is all we hear."</p>
+
+<p>The journal records no other item of special interest
+for several weeks, except the arrival of two Virginia
+officers, which somewhat cheers Sally, although she describes
+them in none too glowing terms. She says, "Warring,
+an insignificant piece enough. Lee sings prettily and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span>
+talks a great deal&mdash;how good turkey hash and fry'd hominy
+is!&mdash;A pretty discourse to entertain ladies! Nothing lowers
+a man more in my estimation than talking of eating. Lee
+and Warring are proficient in this science. Enough of
+them!"</p>
+
+<p>On the 5th of December, Sally has forgotten all trifling
+details in a new excitement. She writes, "Oh gracious,
+Debby, I am all alive with fear. The English have come
+out to attack (we imagine) our army. They are on Chestnut
+Hill, our army three miles this side. What will become
+of us, only six miles distant?</p>
+
+<p>"We are in hourly expectation of an engagement. I
+fear we shall be in the midst of it. Heaven defend us from
+so dreadful a sight. The battle of Germantown, and
+the horrors of that day are recent in my mind. It will
+be sufficiently dreadful if we are only in hearing of
+the firing, to think how many of our fellow creatures are
+plung'd into the boundless ocean of eternity, few of them
+prepared to meet their fate. But they are summoned before
+an all merciful Judge from whom they have a great
+deal to hope." (Dear little Sally, you are not so frivolous,
+after all!)</p>
+
+<p>Two days later Major Stoddard appeared unexpectedly,
+to Sally's unconcealed joy. He was looking thin
+and sick, and was taken care of by Mrs. Foulke, but said if
+he heard firing, he should go with the troops, sick or well,
+which Sally calls "heroic," and at once, fearing he may
+flee hastily, says, "I dressed myself, silk and cotton gown.
+It is made without an apron. I feel quite awkwardish and
+prefer the girlish dresses."</p>
+
+<p>The Major improved so rapidly that on the following
+day he drank tea with the Wisters, and Sally and he had a
+little private chat, when he promised if there should be a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span>
+battle to come back with a full account of it. Later in the
+afternoon firing was distinctly heard, and it was supposed
+that the opposing armies had begun an engagement. This
+was Howe's famous demonstration against Washington's
+position at Whitemarsh, and a general battle was expected
+by everyone, but nothing occurred except several severe
+skirmishes. However, at the sound of platoon firing, the
+Major ordered his horse saddled, and if the firing had not
+decreased, could not have been dissuaded from going,
+though still far from strong, and Sally shows great pride
+in his bravery, as she calls it.</p>
+
+<p>The next day's entry tells Debby, "Rejoice with us,
+my dear. The British have returned to the city&mdash;charming
+news this!" They reached Philadelphia on that evening,
+plundering farms on their way, as they marched in.
+Sally devoutly adds, "May we ever be thankful to the
+Almighty Disposer of events for his care and protection of
+us while surrounded with dangers.</p>
+
+<p>"Major went to the army. Nothing for him to do so
+he returned."</p>
+
+<p>On the following day she writes, "Our Army moved,
+as we thought to go into Winter quarters, but we hear there
+is a party of the enemy gone over the Schuylkill, so our
+Army went to look at them.</p>
+
+<p>"I observed to Stoddard: 'So you are going, to leave us
+to the English.'</p>
+
+<p>"'Yes, ha, ha, ha! Leave <i>you</i> to the English!'" was
+his answer, and the glance that accompanied it spoke volumes.</p>
+
+<p>At noon he was gone again, leaving Sally pining for
+new fields to conquer. She did not have to wait long as
+there were already at the farm two officers, whom she now
+deigns to notice, and describes as "A Captain Lipscomb and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span>
+a Mr. Tilly;" the latter she calls, "a wild noisy mortal who
+appears bashful with girls," and she adds, "We dissipated
+the Major's bashfulness, but I doubt we have not so good
+a subject now. He keeps me in perpetual humour but
+the creature has not addressed one civil thing to me since he
+came." An incentive to exert all her charms and force a
+victory, Mistress Sally!</p>
+
+<p>It was now nearly the Christmas season, and Stoddard
+was again at the farm, for a brief visit, when an amusing
+incident took place. Sally was sitting in her aunt's parlour
+with the other girls, darning an apron when Major Stoddard
+joined them, and began to compliment her on her skill,
+with the needle.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Miss Sally, what would you do if the British
+were to come here?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Do!" exclaimed Sally, "be frightened just to
+death!"</p>
+
+<p>He laughed and said he would escape their rage by
+getting behind the figure of a British grenadier which was
+upstairs. "Of all things I would like to frighten Tilly
+with it," he said. "Pray, ladies, let's fix it in his chamber
+to-night."</p>
+
+<p>"If thee will take all of the blame we will assist thee,"
+said wary Sally.</p>
+
+<p>"That I will," he replied, and then they made their
+plan to stand the life-size figure of the grenadier which was
+of a most martial appearance, at the door which opened into
+the road (the house had four rooms on a floor with a wide
+entry running through), with another figure which would
+add to the deceit. One of the servants was to stand behind
+them, others to serve as occasion offered.</p>
+
+<p>"After half an hour's converse," Sally says, "in which
+we raised our expectations to the highest pitch, we parted."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span>
+On that evening this is what happened, according to Sally's
+chronicle. She says:&mdash;"In the beginning of the event I
+went to Liddy and begged her to secure the swords and
+pistols which were in their parlour. The Marylander,
+hearing our voices joined us. I told him of our proposal.
+He approved of it and Liddy went in and brought her
+apron full of swords and pistols.</p>
+
+<p>"When this was done Stoddard joined the officers.
+We girls went and stood at the first landing of the stairs.
+The gentlemen were very merry and chatting on public
+affairs when a negro opened the door, candle in his hand,
+and said, 'There's somebody at the door that wishes to see
+you.'</p>
+
+<p>"'Who, all of us?' said Tilly.</p>
+
+<p>"'Yes, sir,' answered the boy.</p>
+
+<p>"They all rose, the Major, as he afterwards said, almost
+dying with laughter, and walked into the entry. Tilly
+first, in full expectation of news.</p>
+
+<p>"The first object that struck his view was a British
+soldier. In a moment his ears were saluted with, 'Is there
+any rebel officer here?' in a thundering voice.</p>
+
+<p>"Not waiting for a second word, Tilly darted like
+lightning out at the front door, through the yard, bolted o'er
+the fence. Swamps, fences, thorn-hedges and ploughed
+fields no way impeded his retreat. He was soon out of
+hearing.</p>
+
+<p>"The woods echoed with, 'Which way did he go?
+Stop him! Surround the house!' Lipscomb had his hand
+on the latch, intending to attempt his escape. Stoddard,
+acquainted him with the deceit.</p>
+
+<p>"'Major Stoddard,' said I, 'Go call Tilly back. He
+will lose himself,&mdash;indeed he will.' Every word interrupted
+with a Ha! Ha!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"At last he rose and went to the door and what a loud
+voice could avail in bringing him back, he tried.</p>
+
+<p>"Figure to thyself this Tilly, of a snowy evening, no
+hat, shoes down at the heel, hair unty'd, flying across
+meadows, creeks and mud holes. Flying from what?
+Why, a bit of painted wood.</p>
+
+<p>"After a while our bursts of laughter being less frequent
+yet by no means subsided; in full assembly of girls
+and officers, Tilly entered.</p>
+
+<p>"The greatest part of my responsibility turned to pity.
+Inexpressible confusion had taken entire possession of his
+countenance, his fine hair hanging dishevelled down his
+shoulders, all splashed with mud, yet his fright, confusion
+and race had not divested him of his beauty. He smiles
+as he trips up the steps, briskly walked five or six steps,
+then stopped and took a general survey of us all.</p>
+
+<p>"'Where have you been, Mr. Tilly?' asked one officer.
+(We girls were silent.)</p>
+
+<p>"'I really imagined,' said Stoddard, 'that you were
+gone for your pistols. I follow'd you to prevent danger,'
+an excessive laugh at each question, which it was impossible
+to restrain.</p>
+
+<p>"'Pray, where are your pistols, Tilly?'</p>
+
+<p>"He broke his silence by the following expression,
+'You may all go to the devil!'" In recording this, Sally
+somewhat shocked says, "I never heard him utter an indecent
+expression before."</p>
+
+<p>"At last his good nature gained a complete ascendance
+over his anger, and he joined heartily in the laugh. Stoddard
+caught hold of his coat. 'Come, look at what you
+ran from,' he exclaimed, and dragged him to the door.</p>
+
+<p>"Tilly gave it a look, said it was very natural, and by the
+singularity of his expression gave fresh cause for diversion.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span>
+We all retired,&mdash;for to rest our faces,&mdash;if I may say so.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, certainly these military folk will laugh all
+night. Such screaming I never did hear. Adieu to-night."</p>
+
+<p>Such incidents as that did good service in giving a
+touch of humour to the soldiers' duller duties when in camp,
+and the vivid picture of Tilly and the grenadier comes
+down to us through the years as a refreshing incident of
+Revolutionary days.</p>
+
+<p>On the next day Sally writes, "I am afraid they will
+yet carry the joke too far. Tilly certainly possesses an uncommon
+share of good nature or he could not tolerate these
+frequent teasings." Then she adds what is most important
+of all,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, Deborah, the Major is going to leave us entirely,
+just going. I will see him first."</p>
+
+<p>And on the next day, "He has gone. I saw him pass
+the bridge. The woods hindered us from following him
+farther. I seem to fancy he will return in the evening."</p>
+
+<p>But he never did, and it is left to our imagining how
+much of her heart the gallant young officer took away with
+him. Whether much or little, there was no evidence of her
+loss of spirits, and other admirers came and went, in quick
+succession and apparently entirely engaged her attention.</p>
+
+<p>On the 20th of December, she writes, "General Washington's
+army have gone into winter quarters at Valley Forge.</p>
+
+<p>We shall not see so many of the military now. We
+shall be very intimate with solitude. I am afraid stupidity
+will be a frequent guest," and again, "A dull round of the
+same thing. I shall hang up my pen till something happens
+worth relating."</p>
+
+<p>There being such a lack of diversion at the farm,
+Sally gladly went to spend a week with her friend Polly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span>
+Fishbourn at Whitemarsh, where she had an opportunity
+to climb the barren hills and from their tops saw an extended
+view of the surrounding country. She says, "The
+traces of the Army which encamped on these hills are very
+visible,&mdash;ragged huts, imitations of chimneys, and many
+other ruinous objects which plainly showed that they had
+been there."</p>
+
+<p>Again back at the farm she had long weeks without
+any other real adventures,&mdash;a real one where Sally was concerned,
+being always one with an officer in the foreground,
+but when June came again there arrived at the farm the Virginian
+captain, Dandridge, who seems to have effectually
+displaced Major Stoddard in the fickle little lady's graces,
+and she described him in glowing terms to Debby, giving
+very diverting accounts of the spicy conversations they had
+together, for Captain Dandridge was famous at repartee, and
+Sally never at a loss for words to answer back. In fact
+there is no more charming bit of writing in the journal than
+the account of her intimacy with the Captain whom she
+speaks of as the "handsomest man in existence."</p>
+
+<p>In one of Sally's conversations with Dandridge, an interesting
+light is thrown on the attitude of the Wisters in the
+struggle for independence. As Quakers, they professed to
+be in a neutral position, taking a firm stand against war, and
+preferring not to be drawn into discussions on political
+questions, which is shown by Sally's account of an evening
+when some officers having taken tea in the Wister parlour,
+she says, "the conversation turned on politicks, a subject to
+avoid. I gave Betsey a hint," she adds; "I rose, she followed,
+and we went out of the room." But although theoretically
+opposed to war, the Wisters, like a majority of
+the Quakers, were at heart friends of liberty. There is no
+doubt that Sally's sympathy was with the American cause,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span>
+she was quick to deny Dandridge's accusation that she was a
+Tory.</p>
+
+<p>All too soon, Captain Dandridge, like the other officers,
+rode away from the farm after a gallant leave-taking, but
+Sally's thoughts were soon otherwise engrossed. She
+wrote, "We have had strange reports about the British
+being about to leave Philadelphia. I can't believe it."</p>
+
+<p>And on the following day, "We have heard an astonishing
+piece of news&mdash;that the English have entirely left
+the city. It is almost impossible! Stay&mdash;I shall hear
+further," and then on the next, "A light horseman has
+just confirmed the above intelligence! This is <i>charmante!</i>
+They decamped yesterday. He (the horseman) was in
+Philadelphia. It is true! They have gone! Past a doubt.
+I can't help forbear exclaiming to the girls, 'Now are you
+sure the news is true? Now are you <i>sure</i> they have gone?'</p>
+
+<p>"'Yes, yes, yes!' they all cry, 'and may they never,
+never return!'</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Gould came here to-night. Our army are about
+six miles off, on their march to the Jerseys."</p>
+
+<p>On the next day she adds, "The army began their
+march at six this morning. Our brave, our heroic General
+Washington was escorted by fifty of the Life Guards with
+drawn swords. Each day he acquires an addition to his
+goodness."</p>
+
+<p>A fine tribute, indeed, to the moving spirit of American
+Independence, and with it let us close Sally Wister's
+journal, sure that with the retreat of the British from
+Philadelphia, she will soon be able to return to the friends
+from whom she has had such a long separation, and so will
+have no further need to record happenings at the farm as
+she has been doing so faithfully, but can presently relate
+them not to Debby alone, but to the whole "Social Circle,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span>
+and we may be sure from what we know of Mistress Sally
+that her stories will lose no spice in the telling.</p>
+
+<p>If there are those who are reluctant to part with pretty
+Sally, let them turn to the little journal and read it in its
+spicy entirety for themselves, and it were well also after
+reading this chronicle of a girl of the Revolution, to turn
+to the pages of history and paint in more accurate detail
+the background of our vivid picture of Sally, for only a
+short distance from the farm, across the hills of <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'Gwenyedd'">Gwynedd</ins>,
+the greatest actors in the Revolutionary drama were playing
+their parts&mdash;Washington, Lafayette, Wayne, Steuben,
+Greene, and many others&mdash;playing the hero's part at the
+battle of Germantown, at the battle of Burgoyne, in the
+skirmishes before Washington's encampment at Whitemarsh,
+suffering silently in a winter at Valley Forge.</p>
+
+<p>Turn to the pages of history for the sombre background
+and glance once again at the piquant face and merry
+eyes of Sally Wister, half hidden under her demure
+Quaker bonnet, with her snowy kerchief crossed so smoothly
+over her tempestuous young heart, as she looked when
+soldiers and officers fell under the charm of her bewitching
+personality!</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span></p>
+<h2>COFACHIQUI:</h2>
+
+<h3>An Indian Princess of Historic Legend</h3>
+
+
+<div class='cap'>IT was a day in late April. In the flourishing Indian
+town of Yupaha, a town lying on the east bank of the
+Savannah River, in what is now the State of South
+Carolina, an unusual commotion was evident. An Indian
+on the river bank had noticed with his far-seeing eyes a
+strange sight on the opposite side of the river. The sunshine
+was flashing on glinting brass and steel implements
+upheld by a host of strange foreigners who were massed
+near the river, some on foot and others mounted on such
+animals as the Indian had never before seen. What was
+to be the next move of these strangers? Were they planning
+to cross the river and invade the Red Man's stronghold?
+Quickly the Indian called around him the principal men
+of the village, sent a message also to the young and beautiful
+princess who had recently been made Queen of the province
+of Cofachiqui and of many neighbouring provinces. This
+princess was so just and loyal and honest in dealing with
+her people that they loved her as though she had been a
+wise man instead of a young girl. Now she was quickly
+told of the strange spectacle across the water and came herself
+to view it. Then her councillors gathered around her
+to receive her commands, and several Indians hurrying to
+the river, hastily embarked in their canoes, the rhythmic
+sound of their paddles echoing on the still air.</div>
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 360px;">
+<img src="images/i003.jpg" width="360" height="500" alt="COFACHIQUI, THE INDIAN PRINCESS" title="" />
+<span class="caption">COFACHIQUI, THE INDIAN PRINCESS</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Meanwhile on the bank toward which they steered
+their canoes, there was an air of expectancy as the canoes<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span>
+came nearer, were grounded, as six stalwart Indian chiefs
+filed up the bank from the river, and stood before the
+foreigners, who were no other than Hernandez de Soto, the
+Spanish general, and his band of adventurers. The chiefs
+made three profound bows, one toward the East, to the
+Sun, one toward the West, to the moon, and one to De Soto
+himself. Then their spokesman asked:</p>
+
+<p>"Do you wish peace or war?"</p>
+
+<p>"Peace," answered De Soto promptly. "We ask only
+permission to pass through your province, transportation
+across the river, food while we are in your territory and
+the treatment of friends, not foes."</p>
+
+<p>Gravely the Indian listened, gravely he answered.
+Peace, he said, could be assured, but for the other requests
+there must be time given to make answer. Cofachiqui,
+queen of the province bearing her name, must be consulted.
+Of food there was a scant supply because of a pestilence
+which had recently ravaged their land causing many natives
+to go into the forests, and preventing them from planting
+their fields as usual, but if the strangers would await
+Cofachiqui's response to their demands with what patience
+they could command, that patience would surely be rewarded.</p>
+
+<p>The Indian ceased speaking and bowed. Gravely his
+companions also bowed. The interview was over. With
+silent sinuous strides the chiefs retraced their steps to the
+river, and entered their canoes which soon shot through the
+water, homeward bound, watched by the eager eyes of the
+waiting Spaniards.</p>
+
+
+<p>Now although De Soto had shown surprise at the news
+that the ruler of the neighbouring province was a young
+princess, the surprise was not genuine. Some months
+earlier in the season, while encamped in what is now the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span>
+State of Florida, an Indian had been captured and brought
+into the Spanish camp. This youth had told thrilling tales
+to the Spaniards of the fascinating young Queen Cofachiqui
+and he related to a breathless audience how all the neighbouring
+chiefs paid tribute to her as to a great ruler, and
+sent her presents of magnificent clothing and provisions and
+gold. At the mention of gold which was the ruling passion
+of De Soto and his followers, they plied the young Indian
+with further questions, and he, hoping for release as the
+price of his information, told in detail of the wonderful
+yellow metal which was found in such quantities in the
+province of Cofachiqui and neighbouring territories and
+how it was melted and refined, and as the Spaniards listened,
+they exchanged glances of joy that at last after all
+their weary wanderings, they were to find the long-looked-for
+treasure. At once they broke camp, robbing and plundering
+the Indians, without whose kindness and hospitality
+during the long Winter months they would have fared
+badly, but of that they were careless, and in every possible
+way drained the stores of the savages who had befriended
+them, in fitting themselves out for their expedition
+northward.</p>
+
+<p>Then for long weeks they pressed onward through the
+trackless forest with no chart or compass, except such general
+directions as they received from the young Indian, to
+guide them, and as they travelled they left behind them a
+trail of theft and barbarous cruelty and murder in return
+for the kindness of the simple-minded natives whom they
+encountered in their march.</p>
+
+<p>At last in late April they found themselves in the
+territory governed by Cofachiqui, the fair young girl who
+was ruler of many provinces and possessor of much gold,
+and their hopes of conquest were high. So, in accord with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span>
+a hastily-laid plan, they massed themselves on the east bank
+of the river, with the sunlight glinting through the great
+forest trees behind them, shining on their weapons and
+armour, and thus they received the visit of the Indians from
+the town of Yupaha, capital of Cofachiqui.</p>
+
+<p>The interview was over&mdash;the Spaniards watched the
+chiefs as they disembarked on the opposite shore, saw a
+great crowd of natives gather around them, engaging in
+eager conversation, saw canoes being again made ready for
+use, one more showily ornamented than the others being
+filled with cushions and mats, over which a canopy was
+hastily raised. The eyes of the Spaniards were strained to
+lose no detail of the Indians' preparations as four strong
+young braves came in sight, carrying a palanquin down to
+the river edge, from which a young woman alighted, and
+gracefully stepped into the gaudily decked canoe.</p>
+
+<p>"The Princess! It can be no other!" exclaimed an
+excited and susceptible dragoon, and all eyes were at once
+centred on the slight, lithe figure seated now in the canoe.
+She was followed by eight Indian women, who also seated
+themselves in the boat with their Queen and took up the
+paddles, making the little craft cut swiftly through the
+water by the power of their deft strokes, while the men
+followed in another canoe.</p>
+
+<p>The shore was reached. Gracefully, quietly the
+princess stepped from her barge, and ascended the bank,
+her women following in an impressive procession, until
+they stood before the army of expectant Spaniards. De
+Soto, after one glance into the lustrous dark eyes of the
+girlish princess, rose and placed the throne chair by
+his own side, and with a swift and gracious acknowledgment
+of his courtesy, the princess took it, and began to
+speak rapidly in a low melodious voice.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"My chiefs tell me you ask for provisions and shelter
+while passing through my provinces," she said.</p>
+
+<p>De Soto asked his interpreter what her words meant
+and inclined his head in affirmation, while his soldiers
+watched the mobile face of the princess, fascinated by her
+beauty, as she spoke again.</p>
+
+<p>"We give you and your men a hearty welcome and
+will protect your interests as if they were our own while
+you remain with us," she said. "But for provisions, my
+chiefs told you of the pestilence which has so ravaged our
+land that the fields have not been planted as usual, but I
+have two storehouses filled with grain which I have collected
+for the relief of those whom the pestilence has spared,
+one of those shall be at your service, sir. As to your accommodation,"
+this with a graceful wave of her hand as
+though including De Soto in all that she possessed, "half
+of my own house is at your disposal, and your men may
+make themselves at home in as many of the buildings in the
+village as are necessary, for barracks."</p>
+
+<p>Watching De Soto's face, and fancying she saw disapproval
+there, the princess hastily added, "But if that is
+not satisfactory to you, oh, sir, I and my people can retire
+to a neighbouring village, leaving you in possession of my
+own."</p>
+
+<p>Her winning hospitality was not to be resisted. A
+grave and courtly smile flitted over De Soto's face and he
+hastily reassured her that this would not be necessary, then
+asked if she could provide them with a means of transportation
+across the river. To this Cofachiqui replied, "That
+has already been attended to, and to-morrow morning rafts
+and canoes will be in readiness for your use."</p>
+
+<p>While she was speaking, De Soto had fallen under the
+spell of her musical voice and personal charm and when<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span>
+she finished he rose, and bending over her hand, kissed it
+in true cavalier fashion, assuring her of his loyalty and
+good faith, as well as those of his sovereign, and although
+the vow was as insincere as it was effective, it gave great
+joy to simple-minded, big-hearted Cofachiqui, who believed
+that these foreigners were as trustworthy as she was, and
+were hereafter to be her friends and allies.</p>
+
+<p>Slowly she unwound a long string of pearls as large
+as hazelnuts that were wound three times around her graceful
+throat and fell in a long strand to her waist, and handing
+them to De Soto's interpreter, she asked him to present
+them to his commander whose eyes gleamed at sight of the
+magnificent jewels, although he shook his head saying gallantly,
+"But Madame, they will be doubly precious if
+given by your own hand."</p>
+
+<p>The princess flashed an arch glance at the handsome
+Spanish general, but showed her reluctance, replying that
+such an act would lay her open to the charge of immodesty.
+This being repeated to De Soto by his interpreter, he answered
+firmly and chivalrously,</p>
+
+<p>"More indeed than the pearls themselves would I
+value the favour of receiving them from her hand, and in
+acting so she would not go against modesty, for we are
+treating of peace and friendship, of all things the most important,
+most serious between strange people."</p>
+
+<p>Having heard this apparent declaration of amity the
+princess allowed herself to be persuaded, then rose, and
+with her own hands placed the string of costly pearls around
+the neck of De Soto. He too stood, and taking from his
+hand a valuable ring, set with a large ruby, which he had
+doubtless pillaged from the Peruvians, he begged Cofachiqui
+to accept it.</p>
+
+<p>Won by his magnetism and courtly manner the heart<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span>
+of the princess beat fast, and with evident pleasure she
+accepted the ring and placed it on her finger. Then with
+a bewitching smile to De Soto, and another to his men, she
+turned and retraced her steps to the river, and followed
+as before by her attendants, she again entered the canoe
+which under the impelling strokes of the sturdy Indian
+women, shot homeward, leaving the ranks of the Spanish
+army quite demoralised by such a vision of youth and beauty,
+as well as charmed by a strength of character which made
+them call the princess then and ever afterwards <i>La Sanora</i>,
+or the lady of Cofachiqui, and both then and ever after
+did she deserve the title, for no truer-hearted, kindlier-mannered
+aristocrat ever made and kept covenant of faith with
+a treacherous foe, than did she, this sweet princess of a
+barbarian race.</p>
+
+<p>So much in love with her already were the susceptible
+Spaniards that they awaited the morrow with extreme impatience
+and could only while away the hours with tales of
+her perfections told to the master of camp and the remainder
+of the army, but just arrived from the interior.</p>
+
+<p>At the appointed hour of the next day came the promised
+rafts and canoes to transport them, and soon De
+Soto and his cavaliers found themselves in the most beautiful
+spot, and among the most hospitable Indians they had
+ever yet encountered. They were peaceable and affable
+in manner and almost as white as the Spaniards themselves,
+and so intelligent that it was possible to gain much valuable
+information from them concerning the region and its products.
+As for the lovely princess herself, daily the strangers
+became more astonished at her soundness of judgment,
+and practical grasp of affairs, which would easily have
+challenged many a white man's mental capacity.</p>
+
+<p>With eager desire to make her guests as comfortable<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span>
+as possible, and also with a touch of personal interest in
+the handsome cavaliers, Cofachiqui ordered wigwams to be
+put up for the soldiers under the shading mulberry trees,
+placed houses at the disposal of the officers and made
+everything bend to the comfort of the Spaniards to such
+a degree that the delighted army approached their general
+with a petition to make a permanent settlement there. But
+De Soto was a man of one controlling passion and was impervious
+to all pleas, reiterating these words, "Our quest
+is for gold, not for comfort or for courtesy. We must press
+on."</p>
+
+<p>A man of few words but of inflexible purpose, the
+soldiers knew only too well the uselessness of entreating him
+further and putting aside their emotional appreciation of
+Cofachiqui's kindness, even while accepting all that she
+gave them, set to work and secretly discovered the burial
+place of her people, and robbed it not only of figures of
+babies and birds made of iridescent shells, but also of three
+hundred and fifty weight of pearls. Then, fired with the
+lust of possession, and having found out that Cofachiqui's
+widowed mother, who lived in retirement forty miles down
+the river, was the owner of many fine pearls, De Soto
+at once began to plan to get her in his power. Of this
+he gave no hint to the princess, but pretended, in his
+long daily conversations with her, that he was her loyal
+friend, and his only aim was peace so long as he and his
+men should be in her territory. At the same time he suggested
+casually to Cofachiqui, who was still somewhat under
+the spell of his magnetic personality, (although now not
+altogether unconscious of the selfish deeds done to her
+people in his name) that perhaps her mother would enjoy
+coming up to Yupaha to meet his people who were unlike
+any she had ever known, also to see the wonderful animals<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span>
+they rode,&mdash;for the fine horses of the Spanish cavalrymen
+were the greatest admiration of the Indians. To his
+suggestion Cofachiqui gave a pleasant assent, and at once
+De Soto's message was conveyed to the Queen's mother by
+a young Indian who had been brought up as the elder
+woman's own son. But the Queen's mother had lived
+longer, and had a broader knowledge of the world and of
+the treachery of the white man than had her daughter, and
+instead of accepting the invitation in the spirit in which
+it was apparently given, she sent a sharp reproof to
+Cofachiqui for having allowed strangers about whom she
+knew nothing to invade her capital.</p>
+
+<p>The news was duly brought to De Soto, who set his
+firm lips more firmly still, and then ordered one of his
+officers, Juan de Anasco, to take with him thirty men and
+start at once for the dwelling-place of the Queen's mother,
+and force her not only to see them, but also to return with
+them to the camp. On hearing this, the princess argued
+with him as to the uselessness of the expedition. "My
+mother," she said, "is of a firm will and tenacious purpose.
+Had she been willing to see you, she would have
+come at once. Do not urge her."</p>
+
+<p>But De Soto spoke in a tone of firm command, telling
+her that she must supply a guide for the expedition, and
+with no further sign of reluctance Cofachiqui again commissioned
+the young Indian, of whom her mother was so
+fond, to lead the strangers forth, hoping that the lad's coming
+would make a stronger appeal to her mother than all
+the force that could be used.</p>
+
+<p>When the young fellow stood equipped for the journey,
+receiving his instructions from Cofachiqui, he was so
+strikingly handsome, both in face and stalwart figure, that
+even the Spaniards could not but note it. On his back was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span>
+strung a magnificent bow as tall as he, and a quiver full of
+arrows, his mantle was of finest softest deerskin and on his
+head was set a coronet of rare feathers.</p>
+
+<p>That evening the party set out, and on the following
+day when the sun was high, stopped to rest under a
+spreading clump of trees, and as the Spaniards lounged
+in the refreshingly cool spot, the young guide sat apart,
+not entering into the gaiety of his comrades, but with his
+head bent in his hands, in apparently deep and melancholy
+reverie. Then rousing with a start, he threw himself down
+beside the others and began to show them the arrows with
+which his quiver was filled, and the Spaniards examined
+them with eager interest and surprise, for they were gems
+of carving and of polish, and each one was different from
+the other. While the soldiers' attention was thus centred,
+the young Indian gave a quick glance at them, then suddenly
+he drew out a dagger-edged flint head, plunged it
+into his throat and fell at their feet. With cries of horror
+they bent over him, but it was too late. The cut had
+severed an artery and life was already gone from the noble
+form.</p>
+
+<p>Only too well the young man had known when he
+started out on this second expedition that the queen's mother
+whom he so dearly loved, would never be willing to have any
+acquaintance with these strangers, for she distrusted them.
+On the other hand he had received a command from his
+much revered princess to conduct the Spaniards to her
+mother's home, and if need be to bring her to Yupaha by
+force. He dared not disobey, but his heart was heavy at
+the thought. He was unwilling to so treat one who had always
+been kind to him and he had taken his own life rather
+than be disloyal. Where in the annals of history can be
+found a greater proof of devotion than this?<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The tragedy brought great consternation to the Spaniards,
+for without the youth it was impossible to go on to
+their destination unless some of the other Indians in their
+party would volunteer to conduct them, but they all swore
+they did not know where the queen's mother lived, and for
+some hours the Spaniards still rested in the heart of the forest,
+talking over their plans. Meanwhile Cofachiqui, alone
+with her people for the first time since the coming of the
+strangers, had called together her chiefs, and was with
+them discussing matters of importance to all her subjects.
+One old chief spoke bitterly of the expressed desire of the
+cavaliers for conquest, for gold, and warned his princess
+that she was in danger of disaster if she harboured the
+intruders any longer, but Cofachiqui answered with flashing
+eyes:</p>
+
+<p>"You ask me to betray those who have given me
+loyalty and trust? You call these strangers unworthy of
+confidence because they demand the presence of my mother?
+How do we know what the white man's code of honour
+about such matters is? To the very end I shall keep my
+covenant of good faith with them and you as my people will
+do as I command!" Her firmness was so evident, and so
+did she hold her people's hearts in her keeping that the
+old chiefs never again mentioned that which was making
+more than one in the community uneasy, but they were no
+less troubled because Cofachiqui showed no concern about
+the matter.</p>
+
+<p>Their conference over, the Spaniards had decided to
+press on without a guide, and for two days wandered aimlessly
+through jungles and swamps in excessive heat and
+discomfort, then, exhausted by disappointment and by the
+weight of their heavy armour, they returned to the camp in
+no happy frame of mind, carrying with them the sad news<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span>
+of the young guide's death, upon the reason for which
+Cofachiqui pondered long and deeply.</p>
+
+<p>Once decided on a course of action, De Soto was not
+a man to be balked, and when several days later an Indian
+secretly came to him with an offer to personally conduct
+him to the home of the queen's mother, the offer was gladly
+accepted and a second expedition set out. But the lady in
+question was a person of determination too, and hearing of
+the approach of the party, doubtless from one of Cofachiqui's
+chiefs, she quietly fled to some more sheltered spot,
+and after six days of wandering in search of her, the party
+returned to camp in disgust and never again attempted to
+visit her.</p>
+
+<p>Even when apparently absorbed with other things,
+De Soto's whole mind was centred on planning how to
+discover the gold which he had been told could be found
+in such large quantities in the territory belonging to the
+princess. Always a diplomat, he spoke carelessly of the
+pearls which she had given him, asked whether she also
+owned any yellow and white metals similar to the rings
+and other ornaments he showed her. As always when she
+talked with him Cofachiqui's eyes sparkled, and her whole
+nature seemed to go out to him in confidence and interest.</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed, yes," she made answer through her interpreter,
+"on my land there is an abundance of metals, both
+white and yellow."</p>
+
+<p>De Soto's eyes gleamed at the statement. Then she
+summoned an Indian, and directed him to go at once
+and bring to her specimens of both kinds of metals. With
+ill-concealed impatience De Soto waited for the messenger's
+return, and almost snatched the small lumps from his hands,
+as the messenger brought them to the princess. With
+radiant joy she handed them to De Soto, glad to give another<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span>
+proof of her friendship. One look was enough, the
+yellow metal was only copper, the shining white specimen
+was a worthless kind of quartz!</p>
+
+<p>Glancing at De Soto with eyes full of pride in the
+products of her realm, Cofachiqui's expression changed to
+one of surprise and fear, for on the face before her she saw
+such rage and hatred that she knew something dangerous
+had happened; and trembled lest revenge should be visited
+on her guiltless people. In a gently soothing voice she
+hastily said, pointing with a graceful wave of her hands
+to a spot in the distance, "Yonder is the burial place of our
+village warriors. There you will find our pearls. Take
+what you wish, and if you wish more, not far from here
+there is a village which was the home of my forefathers.
+Its temple is larger than this. You will find there so many
+pearls that even if you loaded all your horses with them,
+and yourselves with as much as you could carry you would
+not come to the end of them. Many years have my people
+been collecting and storing pearls. Take all and if you
+still want more, we can get even more for you from the
+fishing place of my people."</p>
+
+<p>What an offer! It could be no other than evidence
+of a heart's real devotion, or of deep rooted fear, when an
+Indian princess offers to rob the burial place,&mdash;the treasure
+house of her ancestors!</p>
+
+<p>While Cofachiqui, with appealing eyes, made the offer
+as a substitute for what De Soto had evidently been disappointed
+in finding, the Spaniard's hopes revived, and
+with a quick reassuring gesture he took and kissed the hand
+of the princess in his most courtly manner, which courtesy
+she received with proud dignity, and gave no further evidence
+that her heart had ever been touched by the fascinating
+general.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>De Soto lost no time in accepting the offer made by
+Cofachiqui, and two days later, with a large number of
+his officers, and escorted by some of the household of the
+princess, who made no promise which she did not carry
+out to the full, De Soto visited the temple of which she had
+spoken. During the three mile trip, they passed through
+such wonderfully fertile country, saw such luxuriant vegetation,
+picked so much luscious fruit hanging in profusion
+from the fruit trees on the way, that the cavaliers felt this
+to be truly the promised land and again begged their commanding
+general to make a settlement here, but he only
+responded by silence and by marching on. At last the
+temple was reached. Impressively the Indians threw back
+the massive doors and on the threshold the Spaniards stood,
+spell-bound by the beauty and the majesty of what they saw,
+so the historian of the party tells us.</p>
+
+<p>Twelve gigantic wooden statues confronted them,
+counterfeiting life with such ferocity of expression and
+such audacity, of posture, as could not but awe them. Six
+stood on one side and six on the other side of the door, as
+if to guard it, and to forbid anyone to enter. Those next
+the door were giants about twelve feet high, the others
+diminished in size by regular gradation. Each pair held a
+different kind of weapon and stood in attitude to use it.</p>
+
+<p>Passing between the lines of monsters, the foreigners entered
+a great room. Overhead were rows of lustrous shells
+such as covered the roof, and strands of pearls interspersed
+with strings of bright feathers all seemed to be floating in
+the air in a bewildering tapestry. Along the upper sides
+of the four walls ran two rows of statues, figures of men
+and women in natural size, each placed on a separate
+pedestal. The men held various weapons, and each
+weapon was ornamented with a string of pearls. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span>
+burial chests were placed on benches around the four sides
+of the room, and in the centre, on the floor were also rows
+of caskets placed one on top of the other. All the caskets
+were filled with pearls, and the pearls were distributed according
+to size, the largest in the large caskets, the smaller
+seed pearls in the smallest caskets. In all there was such a
+quantity of pearls that the Spaniards confessed to the truth
+of the statement of Cofachiqui, that if they loaded themselves
+with as many as they could carry, and loaded their
+three hundred horses with them, too, there would still be
+hundreds of bushels left. And, too, there were in the
+room great heaps of handsome deerskins dyed in different
+colours, and skins of other animals. Opening out of this
+great room were eight small rooms filled with all sorts of
+weapons. In the last room were mats of cane so finely
+woven that few of the Spanish crossbowmen could have
+put a bolt through them.</p>
+
+<p>The Spaniards were greatly elated with the discovery
+of such a store of treasure, and it is said that De Soto
+dipped his joined hands, made into a receptacle for the
+purpose, into the piles of pearls, and gave handfuls to each
+cavalier, saying that they were to make rosaries of, to say
+prayers on for their sins. For some strange reason, however,
+most of the jewels were left undisturbed, perhaps in
+the same way that fortunes are left in a bank, to be drawn
+on at will. Sure we are, from the true account of the historian,
+that the Spaniards were fully aware of the value
+of the pearls given to them by Cofachiqui, and sure it is
+also that De Soto must have exulted with a passion of
+triumph at being the lawful owner of such treasures.
+But his desire for gold, his greed for gain, was insatiable.
+Having examined his newly acquired store house of possessions
+he eagerly inquired of the Indians if they knew of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span>
+any still richer land farther west. This question gave
+Cofachiqui's chiefs the chance they had been hoping for
+to rid themselves of him whom they now knew as a
+treacherous guest, and they hastily assured De Soto that
+farther on to the north was a more powerful chief ruling
+over a far richer country, called Chiaha. The news delighted
+De Soto and he determined to march on at once.
+In vain his men pleaded to remain where they had found
+such treasure, had been shown such kindness&mdash;his reply was
+that there were not enough provisions in the province to
+support their army much longer, and that by continuing
+their march they might be repaid by finding the longed-for
+gold. But he added, cannily, should their quest be unsuccessful
+they could return, by which time the Indians
+would have replanted their fields and there would be
+abundance of food. As usual, he had his way, and the tidings
+were brought to the princess that the foreigners were
+to take up their march for Chiaha, on the fourth of May.
+Doubtless she was not sorry, for during the latter part of
+their stay, their treachery and cruelty had been so evident,
+that whatever feeling of comradeship with them she had
+before felt, must have been rudely dissipated, and seeing
+evidence of her changed sentiments De Soto was so uneasy
+lest like her mother she should flee from him, that he
+appointed a guard who kept watch over her by day and
+by night, so she could not by any possibility escape. To
+the cavalier who was appointed to this task, no menial
+labour could have been more humiliating, and he accepted
+it under protest, but the lady of Cofachiqui over whom he
+was obliged to keep guard showed no signs of being disturbed
+at her position, but with proud and haughty glances
+went calmly about her daily tasks as though it was a common
+thing for her to have a keeper. Then came the day<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span>
+of De Soto's leave-taking, and masking her joy at the event,
+Cofachiqui stood proudly to receive his farewell, with as
+much grace and dignity as on the day when she had received
+him and his men. But suddenly her eyes flashed with
+anger, her throat parched with humiliation, a frenzy of
+proud horror and rebellion filled her&mdash;she heard the man
+who had before kissed her hand so chivalrously, who had
+so fascinated her, give the stern command that she, <i>La
+Sanora</i>, Queen of the realm, was to accompany the
+Spaniards on foot with her retinue of women attendants!</p>
+
+<p>"<i>And what is this for?</i>" she flung out the question
+with an imperious challenge, but De Soto vouchsafed no
+answer, and the army took up its march with the little band
+of Indian women safely guarded at the rear. Cofachiqui
+soon found out why she had been carried on the expedition,
+for De Soto obliged her to make use of her influence
+in controlling the Indians along his line of march, so that
+his army not only was not attacked, on account of the protecting
+presence of the gracious ruler for whom her people
+had such a deep affection, but also at her command they
+supplied De Soto with guides, as well as with men to carry
+baggage and provisions, while travelling through her territory.</p>
+
+<p>For a week, another and still a third, Cofachiqui was
+dragged in the vanguard of the Spanish army, a prisoner,
+and with the passing of each day in captivity to these
+traitorous white men on whom she had formerly looked
+with such reverence, her heart grew faint with apprehension,
+deep shadows came beneath her lustrous eyes, and
+there was never a sound of her silvery laughter as of old.</p>
+
+<p>But these were the only visible signs of the effect of
+her subjection. To the Spaniards she was still courageous,
+calm and dignified, whatever she may have felt.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Then came a wild night of storm in the forest, torrents
+of rain and mighty wind that roared and thundered
+through the great trees, shaking them as if they had been
+saplings. While the tempest was at its height Cofachiqui,
+by a signal known only to her tribe, summoned one of her
+faithful women to her side,&mdash;by signs told her what she had
+to tell,&mdash;then the woman crept stealthily back to her forest
+bed, and there was no sound in the encampment but the roar
+of the wind and rain.</p>
+
+<p>The next day dawned cloudless, and at an early hour
+all the Spaniards were busily at work, repairing the severe
+damage done by the storm. In replacing a tent a woman's
+deft hand was needed, and Cofachiqui's name echoed
+through the forest. No answer came, and an impatient
+cavalier himself ran to summon her. At the door of her
+tent he stood as if turned to marble. Cofachiqui was not
+there! Not a bead, an ornament, an article of clothing,
+was to be found! No, nor the casket of wonderful pearls
+entrusted to her care by De Soto. <i>La Sanora</i>, queen of
+many provinces, lady of the land she had ruled over so
+wisely and so well, had fled, and all her women with her!</p>
+
+<p>Never again, despite De Soto's frenzied and persistent
+search, despite the added efforts of the united Spanish
+army, did they discover any trace of the brave, beautiful
+young girl who had received such treacherous treatment
+in return for her gracious hospitality.</p>
+
+<p>Clever Cofachiqui! Where she fled, or how she fled,
+or when she fled, will always be a mystery, but her name has
+come down to us on the pages of historic legend, not as fairy-tale
+but as fact, and she stands with the lime-light of ages
+thrown on her clear-cut character as a girl sweet, brave and
+loyal&mdash;the most precious relic bequeathed to the New
+World by De Soto and his cavaliers.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span></p>
+<h2>JENNY LIND:</h2>
+
+<h3>The Swedish Nightingale</h3>
+
+
+<div class='cap'>IN the City of Stockholm there is one street leading
+up to the Church of St. Jacob, on which in years gone
+by there was a constant succession of pedestrians and
+vehicles. In fact in 1830, it was one of the most lively
+streets in the city, and often a passer would stop to look
+up at a window where every day a little girl sat, holding
+a big cat decorated with a blue ribbon. To this pet
+the child sang constantly, sang bits of operas or popular
+airs which she had heard, and the childish voice was so
+clear and sweet and true even in very high notes, that it attracted
+quite a crowd of listeners, and it became a regular
+habit with many persons to pause for a moment and listen to
+the song poured out for the benefit of pussy with the blue
+bow!</div>
+
+<p>Among those who saw the pretty picture and heard
+the song was the maid of a Mademoiselle Lundberg, a
+dancer at the Royal Opera House. She was told such an
+ecstatic story of the child's beautiful voice, that she became
+deeply interested, and having found out that the little
+singer's name was Jenny Lind wrote a note asking the
+child's mother, Fru Lind, to bring Jenny to her home that
+she might hear her sing.</p>
+
+<p>Fru Lind acceded to the request and when she took
+Jenny to pay the promised visit, and the child's voice had
+been tried, Mademoiselle Lundberg clasped her hands in
+rapture, exclaiming:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"She is a genius. You must have her educated
+for the stage."</p>
+
+<p>The words meant nothing to Jenny, but they struck
+terror to the heart of the mother, to whose old-fashioned
+notions the stage was another name for ruin. In vain the
+actress pleaded that it would be a sin to allow such talent
+to be wasted,&mdash;still Fru Lind shook her head, and the actress
+diplomatically argued no more, but by eager questions
+learned the history of Jenny's family.</p>
+
+<p>Being the wife of an amiable and good-natured man
+who was unable to support his family, Fru Lind was
+obliged to keep a small school in Stockholm to eke out expenses,
+and as she had not time to take care of Jenny as well
+as teach, the child had for three years been boarded out with
+a church organist's family not far from the city, but had
+finally been brought back, to become a pupil in her mother's
+school, being cared for mainly by her grandmother, to
+whom Jenny was devotedly attached. All this Mademoiselle
+Lundberg learned from answers to her questions, and
+seeing her keen interest, the mother continued her narrative,
+"It was my mother who first noticed Jenny's voice,"
+she said. "Some street musicians had been playing in
+front of the house and the child must have heard them and
+listened closely, for as soon as they were gone, she went to
+the piano and played and sang the air she had heard. My
+mother in the next room, hearing the music, thought
+Jenny's half sister was at the piano, and called out, 'Amalia,
+is that you?' Jenny, evidently fearing she had done something
+to be punished for, crept under the piano, where
+my mother found her and pulling her out, exclaimed,
+'Why, child, was that <i>you?</i>'" Jenny said that it was, and as
+soon as Fru Lind came in, the grandmother gleefully told
+her daughter the incident, adding, "Mark my words, that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span>
+child will bring you help," and the mother, struggling so
+hard to make ends meet, devoutly hoped that the prediction
+might come true.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after that as her school did not pay, Fru Lind
+became a governess, and the grandmother went to the
+Widows' Home, taking Jenny with her. The child, who
+was too young to realise what such a step meant, was as
+happy as could be there; as she said afterwards, "I
+sang with every step I took, and with every jump my feet
+made," and when she was not jumping or stepping, she sat
+in the window singing to her big pet pussy cat. All this
+the mother told Mademoiselle Lundberg, who again begged
+that Jenny at least be taught to sing correctly, to which
+Fru Lind agreed, and the actress at once wrote a letter of
+introduction to Herr Croelius, the court Secretary, and singing
+master at the Royal Theatre, and gave it to Fru Lind.
+Off went mother and daughter to present it, but when
+they reached the Opera House and were about to mount its
+steps, Fru Lind shook her head, and turned back&mdash;she could
+not launch her child on any such career.</p>
+
+<p>But here Jenny became insistent, for from all the conversation
+she had heard between her mother and the actress,
+she had gathered that mounting those steps would
+mean something new and interesting, and at last she had
+her way. They sought and found the studio of Croelius,
+and Jenny sang for him a bit from one of Winter's operas,
+and the teacher, deeply moved by the purity and strength
+of the child's voice, at once set a date for her first lesson
+with him.</p>
+
+<p>After only a few lessons, Croelius became so proud
+of his pupil that he took her to sing for Count P&uuml;cke, manager
+of the Court Theatre, hoping that this powerful man
+might be so impressed with the child's voice that he would<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span>
+do something to push her forward quickly into public notice.
+One can picture the interview between Count P&uuml;cke,
+businesslike and abrupt, and little Jenny, then plainly
+dressed and awkward, far from pretty, and too bashful even
+to lift her eyes to meet the keen glance of the Count. Looking
+coldly from her to Croelius, the Count asked:</p>
+
+<p>"How old is she?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nine years old," answered Croelius.</p>
+
+<p>"Nine!" echoed the Count. "Why, this is not a
+nursery. It is the king's theatre."</p>
+
+<p>Then with another glance at Jenny he asked coldly,
+"What should we do with such an ugly creature? See what
+feet she has, and then her face! She will never be presentable.
+Certainly we can't take such a scarecrow."</p>
+
+<p>Croelius, indignant at such brutality, put a protecting
+arm around the girl and said proudly, "If you will not
+take her, I, poor as I am, will myself have her educated
+for the stage," and turning, was about to leave the room
+when the Count commanded him to remain and let him
+hear what the child could do.</p>
+
+<p>Trembling with fear of the result, Jenny sang the
+simplest song she knew, and when she finished the Count
+was silent, for the lovely quality of the voice he had just
+heard, had deeply moved him. Rising, he shook hands
+with both teacher and pupil, and as quick in his generosity
+as in his brusqueness, he at once announced that she was to
+be admitted into the theatrical school connected with the
+Royal Theatre, and to be placed under the special instruction
+of the operatic director, Herr Berg, and his assistant,
+the Swedish composer, Lindblad.</p>
+
+<p>Small wonder that Jenny left the building in a flutter
+of excitement, or that Croelius was as beaming now as he
+had been depressed before, and he lost no time in seeing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>
+that his little pupil was placed according to the instructions
+of the great Count P&uuml;cke.</p>
+
+<p>It was the custom of the Royal Theatre to board its
+pupils out, and as Jenny's mother was no longer a governess
+and had returned to Stockholm, the girl lived at
+home, together with several other pupils of the Royal
+Theatre, and for two years worked so hard and accomplished
+such wonders in the development of her voice that
+she became known as a musical prodigy.</p>
+
+<p>During the year she entered the Royal Theatre she
+acted in a play called "The Polish Mine," and the next
+year in another, and the press spoke of her acting as showing
+fire and feeling far beyond her years. She also sang
+in concerts, in that way helping to pay for her board and
+clothes.</p>
+
+<p>At the theatre she was taught all branches necessary
+to her profession, and not only did she have an exquisite
+voice, but whatever r&ocirc;le she undertook was conceived with
+bold originality of style. Then when a golden future of
+triumph seemed stretching out before her, came a crushing
+disaster. All of a sudden her glorious voice was gone!</p>
+
+<p>Whatever may have been the cause, the fact remained,
+and Jenny at twelve showed her fineness of character by
+the way she faced the cruel disappointment, and continued
+with her instrumental work, and with such exercises as
+were fitted to the remnant of voice she still possessed.
+Faithfully, persistently, she worked for four long years,
+only hoping now for smaller rewards instead of the great
+operatic triumph which had been her earlier ambition, trying
+to achieve results as conscientiously as before.</p>
+
+<p>Herr Berg was supervising a grand concert to be given
+at the Court Theatre, and was in a dilemma. The fourth
+act of <i>Robert le Diable</i> was to be given, but all his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span>
+singers refused to take the part of Alice, because it included
+only one solo. The Herr Direktor was distracted,
+but finally thought of his unlucky pupil, Jenny Lind, whose
+voice could be trusted in such a minor part, and calling her
+to his room, he offered her the part. Without demur she accepted
+it, and practised feverishly, but on the night of the
+performance she was so nervous for fear her voice would
+fail, that those near the stage could see her slender
+form tremble with fright and excitement. Perhaps the
+tension and the passion with which she was labouring
+wrought the miracle. At all events, she sang the aria of
+her part with such wonderful beauty and richness of tone
+that the audience were beside themselves with admiration.
+Jenny's voice had come out fuller, finer than ever! The
+recently despised young singer became instantly the heroine
+of the hour, while Herr Berg, watching behind the scenes,
+was spell-bound with surprise and joy.</p>
+
+<p>The next day he called her to his room and offered
+her the r&ocirc;le of Agatha in Weber's <i>Der Freischutz</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Ever since Jenny first began to study and to hear
+operatic music, this r&ocirc;le had been in secret her highest ambition,
+and one can picture her standing before the Direktor,
+her blue eyes flashing with excitement, her mobile face expressing
+a dozen varying degrees of joy while her slender
+girlish figure looked almost too slight for the task, as she
+joyfully accepted the responsibility.</p>
+
+<p>At once she began rehearsing, and one day when she
+put forth every effort to express emotion in the way her
+dramatic teacher wished, the effort was met with silence.</p>
+
+<p>"Am I then so incapable," she thought. Then glancing
+at her teacher she saw tears in the eyes of the older
+woman, who exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"My child, I have nothing to teach you&mdash;do as nature<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span>
+tells you,"&mdash;and Jenny knew that her supreme effort had
+not been wasted.</p>
+
+<p>It is said that she studied the part of Agatha with all
+the intensity of her enthusiastic nature and at the last rehearsal
+sang with such intense feeling and fire that the orchestra,
+to a man, laid down their instruments and applauded
+loudly. The next day, before the performance, she
+was very nervous and worried, but the moment she appeared
+on the stage every bit of apprehension vanished, and
+as Fredrika Bremer said, "She was fresh, bright and
+serene as a morning in May, peculiarly graceful and lovely
+in her whole appearance. She seemed to move, speak and
+sing without effort or art. Her singing was distinguished
+especially by its purity and the power of soul which seemed
+to swell in her tones." Jenny herself said afterwards, "I
+got up that morning one creature. I went to bed another
+creature. I had found my power."</p>
+
+<p>During her entire after life she kept that anniversary,
+the seventh of March, in grateful remembrance of her
+triumph, as a sort of second birthday.</p>
+
+<p>For the next year and a half she worked indefatigably,
+and her success as an operatic singer seemed assured;
+she became the star of the Stockholm opera, as well as the
+most popular singer in Sweden, and was called the "Swedish
+Nightingale."</p>
+
+<p>After singing without rest for months, she was able to
+take a short holiday in the summer of 1839, and Fru Lind,
+who accompanied her, wrote back to her husband, "Our
+Jenny recruits herself daily, now in the hay-stacks, now on
+the sea, or in the swing, in perfect tranquillity, while the
+town people are said to be longing for her concert, and
+greatly wondering when it will come off. Once or twice
+she has been singing the divine air of Isabella from <i>Robert<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span>
+le Diable</i>. Nearly everybody was crying. One lady actually
+went into hysterics from sheer rapture. Yes, she
+captivates all, all! It is a great happiness to be a mother
+under such conditions!"</p>
+
+<p>Poor Fru Lind was at last receiving her compensation
+for the hardships of her life!</p>
+
+<p>But Jenny's trials were not yet over. Her voice,
+though pure and clear, was wanting in flexibility, and she
+could not easily hold a tone or sing even a slight cadence.
+These defects she worked constantly to overcome, but saw
+that she was not thrilling her audiences as before, and yet
+she was conscious of possessing a God-given power of which
+she must make the most. She felt sure that she needed
+teaching of a kind not to be gained in Sweden. In Paris
+was Manuel Garcia, the greatest singing teacher in the
+world, and to him she felt she must now go. But this
+could only be achieved by her own effort, as the trip and
+the teaching would necessitate spending a large sum of
+money.</p>
+
+<p>At once, before her star had grown any less dim, the
+plucky girl persuaded her father to go with her on a concert
+tour of cities in Norway and Sweden. By this she
+earned the necessary amount, but the trip was very exhausting,
+including as it did, so much travelling, in all kinds of
+weather, and after singing twenty-three times in <i>Lucia</i>,
+fourteen times in <i>Robert le Diable</i>, nine times in <i>Freischutz</i>,
+seven times in <i>Norma</i>, not to mention other plays and concerts,
+also appearing for the four hundred and forty-seventh
+time at the Royal Theatre, where she had first
+played in the <i>Polish Mine</i>, as a child of ten, she was pretty
+well tired out. Two weeks later, however, she went to
+Paris and called on the great singing teacher, Signor
+Garcia. The opera she sang was <i>Lucia</i>, and she broke<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span>
+down before she was half way through the part, to her intense
+mortification. The great teacher, approaching the
+trembling girl, put a hand on her shoulder, saying brusquely,
+"It would <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original missing this word">be</ins> useless to teach you, Mademoiselle. You
+have no voice left. You are worn out. I advise you
+not to sing a note for six months. At the end of that time
+come to me and I will see what I can do for you."</p>
+
+<p>Poor Jenny! The words were a death knell to her,
+and she said afterwards that what she suffered in that moment
+was beyond all the other agony of her life.</p>
+
+<p>But it was not like her to give way even under such
+a blow as this. Leaving the great teacher she went to a
+quiet spot and spent the six months of enforced rest studying
+French, and at the end of the time went back to Garcia,
+who to her unspeakable relief said at once, "It is better,
+far better! I have now something to work on. I will
+give you two lessons a week!"</p>
+
+<p>In rapture Jenny flew home that day, and in the following
+months practised scales and exercises, four hours daily,
+gaining a great deal from Garcia's method, but always conscious
+that her real power came from another source, as
+she said years later, "The greater part of what I can do
+in my art, I have myself acquired by incredible labour,
+in spite of astonishing difficulties. By Garcia alone have
+I been taught some few important things. God had so
+plainly written within me what I had to study; my ideal
+was and is so high that I could find no mortal who could in
+the least degree satisfy my demands. Therefore I sing
+after no one's methods, only as far as I am able, after that
+of the birds, for their Master was the only one who came
+up to my demands for truth, clearness, and expression."</p>
+
+<p>After a year under Garcia's tuition, Jenny went back
+to the Stockholm Theatre, where she met Myerbeer, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span>
+composer, who at once declared her voice was "one of the
+finest pearls in the world's chaplet of song," and immediately
+arranged to hear her under conditions which
+would put her voice to a severe test. He arranged a full
+orchestral rehearsal and Jenny sang in the salon of the
+Grand Opera, the three great scenes from <i>Robert le Diable</i>,
+<i>Norma</i> and <i>Der Freischutz</i> so successfully that the young
+singer returned to her native city a new creature, at last
+assured of her genius and of her ability to use it rightly,
+and thrilled with joy at the knowledge of her power.</p>
+
+<p>At her first appearance in <i>Robert le Diable</i>, the welcome
+was almost a frenzy of enthusiasm as her clear rich
+voice rang out. At once she received an offer from a
+Danish manager, but dreaded to accept it, saying, "Everybody
+in my native land is so kind. I fear if I made my appearance
+in Copenhagen, I should be hissed. I dare not
+venture it."</p>
+
+<p>Her objection, however, was overruled. She went
+to Copenhagen and sang Alice in <i>Robert le Diable</i> so
+marvellously that the whole city was in a state of rapture,
+and it is said the youthful, fresh voice forced itself
+into every heart. At a later concert she sang Swedish songs
+and in her manner of singing them there was something so
+peculiar, so bewitching that the audience were swayed by
+intense emotion, the young singer was at once so feminine
+and so great a genius. The Danish students for the first
+time in their history, gave a serenade in her honour, torches
+blazed around the villa where the serenade was sung, and
+Jenny responded to it by singing some of her Swedish
+songs, for which she was famous, then, overcome with emotion,
+she hurried to a dark room where no one could see
+the tears with which her eyes were filled, and exclaimed
+modestly, "Yes, yes, I will exert myself. I will endeavour.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span>
+I will be better qualified than I now am when I again come
+to Copenhagen!"</p>
+
+<p>The wonderful courage and perseverance of Jenny's
+girlhood in the face of almost insuperable obstacles was
+now rewarded. She was the great artist of Sweden, never
+again to be taken from the pedestal on which she was placed
+by an adoring public, both for her wonderful singing and
+for her lovely character.</p>
+
+<p>Once on a disengaged night, she gave a benefit performance
+for unfortunate children, and when informed of
+the large sum raised by it, exclaimed, "How beautiful that
+I can sing so!" She felt that both the voice and the money
+which poured in now in a golden flood, were God-given
+responsibilities which she assumed with all the earnestness
+of her sweet, religious nature, and her first pleasure was to
+buy a little home in the country for her mother and father.</p>
+
+<p>As we leave her on the threshold of mature womanhood,
+serene in her poise of body and spirit, with a noble
+purpose and a wonderful gift, we can but feel that Jenny
+Lind, the girl, was responsible for the marvellous achievements
+of the great artist of later years, who believed as she
+said, that "to develop every talent, however small, and use
+it to the fullest extent possible, is the duty of every human
+being. Indolence makes thousands of mediocre lives."</p>
+
+<p>The verses written of her by Topelius of Finland sum
+up the feeling of those who knew her in her girlhood:</p>
+
+<div class='poem'>
+"I saw thee once, so young and fair<br />
+In thy sweet spring-tide, long ago,<br />
+A myrtle wreath was in thy hair<br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span>And at thy breast a rose did blow.<br />
+<br />
+"Poor was thy purse, yet gold thy gift,<br />
+All music's golden boons were thine,<br />
+And yet, through all the wealth of art<br />
+It was thy soul which sang to mine.<br />
+<br />
+"Yea, sang as no one else has sung<br />
+So subtly skilled, so simply good,<br />
+So brilliant! yet as pure and true<br />
+As birds that warble in the wood."<br />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span></p>
+<h2>ELIZA LUCAS:</h2>
+
+<h3>A Girl Planter of the 15th Century</h3>
+
+
+<div class='cap'>IN our day any young woman who shows keen interest
+in civic, agricultural, or social reforms is loudly applauded
+and spoken of as a New Woman, a product of
+the twentieth century, but there is a small volume of
+letters written by a girl of two centuries ago, which disproves
+this, and it is worthy of perusal and applause because
+of what she accomplished for what was then the
+province of South Carolina, while she was still in her teens.</div>
+
+<p>Lieutenant-Colonel Lucas, an officer in the English
+army stationed at the West Indian island of Antigua, left
+the island in 1638 for South Carolina, taking with him his
+delicate wife, in search of a climate which would be of
+benefit to her, and with them went their two daughters,
+Polly and Eliza, who up to that time had been in London
+with a family friend, Mrs. Boddicott, being educated, only
+returning to the island for their vacations. Their brothers,
+Tom and George, were also in London at school, where they
+remained while Colonel and Mrs. Lucas with the two girls
+went to the new locality. So delighted with it was the
+Colonel that he at once bought land, laid out plantations
+and was hoping to settle down and begin experiments in
+planting crops in the strange soil and climate, when war
+broke out between England and Spain and the Colonel received
+orders to hasten back to his West Indian post, leaving
+his family alone in their new home. Mrs. Lucas was
+entirely too frail to burden with plantation cares, so in his
+hurried leave-taking the Colonel entrusted all his affairs<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span>
+to Eliza, in whose practical common sense and business
+ability he seems to have placed implicit reliance, and the
+trust was well merited.</p>
+
+<p>Eliza was only sixteen years old then, but she seems
+to have assumed the unusual amount of responsibility so
+unexpectedly thrust upon her with calm assurance that she
+could carry it, and we find her general manager of the
+home and the plantation when the series of letters begin
+which gives such a vivid glimpse of life at that time, and
+also some idea of the character of the girl on whose slender
+shoulders rested such a heavy burden.</p>
+
+<p>First, let us look for a moment at the background to
+our picture. The Lucas plantation was on the Wappoo,
+a salt creek connecting the Ashley river with another creek
+and separated from the ocean only by two long sandy islands.
+Although that part of the country was very flat,
+it was extremely pretty, and being on a salt creek, sheltered
+from the north winds, the climate was very mild. Trees
+grew to a great size, land was very fertile, all growth
+hardy and luxuriant, and it was no wonder that even in his
+short stay Colonel Lucas had become deeply interested in
+discovering what crops could be most profitably raised there
+for export. At that time rice was the one agricultural product,
+the others being lumber, skins and naval stores.</p>
+
+<p>Eliza, inheriting her father's love of farming, and having
+heard many conversations on the subject, determined
+secretly after her father had gone, to try some experiments
+herself and became much interested in trying to raise indigo
+and ginger, with what results her letters disclose. Little
+farmer that she was, her love of agriculture and of nature
+then and always amounted to almost a passion, as it is easy
+to see. Separated as she was from all her old friends, letters
+were a vital medium of expressing to them what her new<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span>
+life held of work and play, and the fragments which we can
+reprint here give a clear idea, not only of the times in which
+she lived, but of Mistress Eliza herself.</p>
+
+<p>To her brother George she writes, telling of the new
+country and life in this fashion:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>I am now set down my Dear Brother to obey your
+commands, and give you a short discription of the part of
+the world which I now inhabit. So. Carolina then, is a
+large and Extensive Country near the Sea. Most of the
+settled parts of it is upon a flat&mdash;the soil near Charles
+Town Sandy, but farther distant clay and swamp land. It
+abounds with fine navigable rivers and great quantities of
+fine timber. The country at great distance, that is to say
+about a hundred or a hundred and fifty miles from Charles
+Town, very hilly. The soil in general very fertile, and
+there is very few European or American fruits or grain
+but what grow here. The country abounds with wild fowl,
+Venison and fish, Beaf, veal and mutton are here in much
+greater perfection than in the Islands, tho' not equal to that
+in England&mdash;but their pork exceeds the wild, and indeed
+all the poultry is exceeding good, and peaches, Nectrins
+and mellons of all sorts extremely good, fine and in profusion,
+and their Oranges exceed any I ever tasted in the
+West Indies or from Spain or Portugal.</p>
+
+<p>The people in general&mdash;hospitable and honest, and
+the better sort and to these a polite gentile behaviour. The
+poorer sort are the most indolent people in the world or
+they could never be wretched in so plentiful a country as
+this. The winters here are very fine and pleasant, but four
+months in the year is extremely disagreeable, excessive hot,
+much thunder and lightening and muskatoes and sand flies
+in abundance.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>C<sup>s</sup> Town, the Metropolis is a neat, pretty place. The
+streets and houses regularly built, the ladies and gentlemen
+gay in their dress, upon the whole you will find as many
+agreeable people of both sexes for the size of the place as
+almost anywhere. St. Phillips church in C<sup>s</sup> Town is a very
+elegant one, and much frequented and the generality of
+people of a religious turn of mind.</p>
+
+<p>I began in haste and have observed no method or I
+should have told you before I came to summer, that we have
+a charming spring in this country, especially for those who
+travel through the country, for the scent of the young mirtle
+and yellow Jessamin with Which the woods abound is delightful.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.</p>
+
+<div class='sig'>
+<span style="margin-right: 4em;">Yours most affectionately,</span><br />
+<span class="smcap">E. Lucas</span>.<br />
+</div></div>
+
+<p>With its quaint wording and abbreviations and an occasional
+slip in spelling, how fragrant the whole letter is of
+out door life, how intelligent its every phrase is, and
+how well the little farmer knows her subjects!</p>
+
+<p>Again to Mrs. Boddicott she wrote:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<i>Dear Madam:</i>&mdash;<br />
+
+
+<p>I flatter myself it will be a satisfaction to you to hear
+that I like this part of the world, as my lott has fallen here,
+which I really do. I prefer England to it 'tis true, but I
+think Carolina greatly preferable to the West Indies, and
+was my Papa here I should be very happy. We have a
+very good acquaintance from whom we have received much
+friendship and Civility.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.</p>
+
+<p>My Papa and Mama's great indulgence to mee leaves
+it to mee to chuse our place of residence either in town or
+country, but I think it more prudent as well as most agreeable<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span>
+to my Mama and selfe to be in the Country during my
+father's absence. Wee are 17 mile by land, and 6 by water
+from Charles Town where wee have about 6 agreeable
+families around us with whom wee live in great harmony.
+I have a little library well furnished (for My Papa has left
+mee most of his books) in w<sup>ch</sup> I spend part of my time. My
+Musick and the Garden w<sup>ch</sup> I am very fond of take up the
+rest that is not imployed in business, of w<sup>ch</sup> my father has
+left mee a pretty good share, and indeed 'Twas unavoidable,
+as my Mama's bad state of health prevents her going thro'
+any fatigue.</p>
+
+<p>I have the business of 3 plantations to transact, w<sup>ch</sup> requires
+much writing and more business and fatigue of other
+sorts than you can imagine, but lest you should imagine
+it too burthensome to a girl at my early time of life, give
+mee leave to assure you I think myself happy that I can be
+useful to so good a father. By rising very early I find I can
+go through with much business, but lest you should think
+I shall be quite moaped with this way of life, I am to inform
+you there is two worthy Ladies in C<sup>rs</sup> Town, Mrs.
+Pinckney and Mrs. Cleland who are partial enough to mee
+to wish to have mee with them, and insist upon my making
+their houses my home when in Town, and press mee to relax
+a little much oftner than 'tis in my power to accept of their
+obliging intreaties, but I am sometimes with one or the other
+for three weeks or a monthe at a time, and then enjoy all
+the pleasures C<sup>rs</sup> Town affords. But nothing gives mee
+more than subscribing myself</p>
+
+<div class='sig'>
+<span style="margin-right: 6em;">D<sup>r</sup> Madam</span><br />
+Y<sup>r</sup> most affectionet<br />
+and most obliged<br />
+<span style="margin-right: 1.5em;">hum<sup>ble</sup> Ser<sup>vt</sup></span><br />
+<span class="smcap">Eliza Lucas</span>.<br /></div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span></p>
+
+<div>
+Pray remember me in<br />
+the best manner to my<br />
+worthy friend M<sup>r</sup> Boddicott.<br />
+To my good friend Mrs. Boddicott.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">May ye 2<sup>ond</sup>.</span><br />
+</div></div>
+
+<p>What greater proof is needed that Eliza's plantation life
+was no easy matter than "I have the business of three plantations
+to transact, w<sup>ch</sup> requires much writing and more business
+and fatigue of other sorts than you can imagine." Then
+comes the other side of the picture. "I am sometimes with
+one or the other (Mrs. Pinckney or Mrs. Leland) for three
+weeks or a month at a time and then enjoy all the pleasures
+C<sup>rs</sup> Town affords." Truly a versatile young person, this
+Eliza of long ago!</p>
+
+<p>That her planting was no holiday business is shown
+by a memorandum of July 1739:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"I wrote my father a very long letter on his plantation
+affairs .&nbsp;.&nbsp;. on the pains I had taken to bring the Indigo,
+Ginger, Cotton, Lucern, and Cassada to perfection,
+and had greater hopes from the Indigo&mdash;if I could have the
+seed earlier the next year from the West Indies,&mdash;than any
+of ye rest of y<sup>e</sup> things I had tryd, .&nbsp;.&nbsp;. also concerning
+pitch and tarr and lime and other plantation affairs."</p></div>
+
+<p>As has been said before, Eliza's ambition was to follow
+out her father's plan, to discover some crop which could
+be raised successfully as a staple export, and the determination
+and perseverance with which she set out to accomplish
+the task, shows that she was made of no ordinary stuff, even
+at sixteen, when the majority of girls were occupied with
+far different activity and diversions. Indigo seems to have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span>
+been the crop most likely to succeed, and to that Eliza turned
+her attention with the intensity of purpose which marked all
+her actions. It was no easy achievement to cultivate indigo,
+as it required very careful preparation of the soil, much attention
+during its growth, and a long and critical process to
+prepare it for the market. After a series of experiments,
+she reported to her father:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>I wrote you in a former letter we had a fine crop of
+Indigo seed upon the ground and since informed you the
+frost took it before it was dry. I picked out the best of it
+and had it planted but there is not more than a hundred
+bushes of it come up, w<sup>ch</sup> proves the more unlucky, as you
+have sent a man to make it. I make no doubt Indigo will
+prove a very valueable commodity in time, if we could have
+the seed from the east Indies time enough to plant the
+latter end of March, that the seed might be dry enough to
+gather before our frost. I am sorry we lost this season we
+can do nothing towards it now but make the works ready for
+next year.</p>
+
+<p>The death of my Grandmamma was as you imagine
+very shocking and grevious to my Mama, but I hope the
+consideration of the miserys that attend so advanced an age
+will help time to wear it off. I am very much obliged to
+you for the present you were so good to send me of the fifty
+pound bill of Exchange w<sup>ch</sup> I duely received. Mama tenders
+you her affections and polly joyns in duty with</p>
+<p>My dear Papa</p>
+<div class='sig'>
+<span style="margin-right: 4em;">Your ob<sup>t</sup> and ever Devoted Daughter,</span><br />
+<i>E. Lucas</i>.<br />
+</div></div>
+
+<p>In the following letters we find her showing a lively<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span>
+interest in all that concerns her father, her brothers, her
+"cousens" and neighbours, and also a normally healthy liking
+for amusement, linked with her passionate love of nature
+and a milder interest in pretty clothes&mdash;and a still milder
+form of interest in love affairs!</p>
+
+<p>Hard indeed it is in this day of quick delivery to realize
+the inconveniences of daily life in Eliza's time, and it
+evokes a smile to hear that if she or one of the family had
+neuralgia, it was necessary to write an account of the symptoms
+to Mrs. Boddicott in November, followed by a letter
+of thanks to her for her promptness, because of which "the
+meddicines will arrive by May, and tis allways worse in hott
+weather!" Think of waiting six months for a dose of medicine!</p>
+
+<p>Eliza has already mentioned two neighbours of whom
+she had become very fond, and between her and Miss Pinckney's
+niece, a Miss Bartlett, who lived with Mrs. Pinckney
+either in her home in Charles Town, or at their country seat
+five miles out of town, a flourishing correspondence sprang
+up, and the following are some of Eliza's letters to her
+friend:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><div class='right'>
+Jan<sup>r</sup> 14th, 1741/2.<br />
+</div>
+
+<i>Dear Miss Bartlett::</i>&mdash;
+
+<p>'Tis with pleasure I commence a Correspondence w<sup>ch</sup>
+you promise to continue tho' I fear I shall often want matter
+to soport an Epistolary Intercourse in this solotary retirement&mdash;;
+however, you shall see my inclination, for rather
+than not scribble, you shall know both my waking and sleeping
+dreams, as well as how the spring comes on, when the
+trees bud, and inanimate nature grows gay to chear the rational
+mind with delight; and devout gratitude to the great<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span>
+Author of all; when my little darling that sweet harmonist
+the mocking bird, begins to sing.</p>
+
+<p>Our best respects wait on Col<sup>l</sup>. Pinckney and lady, and
+believe me to be dear Miss Bartlett</p>
+
+<div class='sig'>
+<span style="margin-right: 4em;">Your most obed<sup>t</sup> Serv<sup>t</sup></span><br />
+<span class="smcap">E. Lucas</span>.<br />
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Again she writes in a tone of quaint sarcasm:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Dear Miss Bartlett:</i>&mdash;
+
+<p>An old lady in our Neighbourhood is often querreling
+with me for rising so early as 5 o'Clock in the morning, and
+is in great pain for me least it should spoil my marriage,
+for she says it will make me look old long before I am so;
+in this however I believe she is mistaken, for what ever
+contributes to health and pleasure of mind must also contribute
+to good looks; but admitting what she says, I reason
+with her thus. If I should look older by this practise, I
+really am so; for the longer time we are awake the longer
+time we live, sleep is so much the Emblem of death, that
+I think it may be rather called breathing than living, thus
+then I have the advantage of the sleepers in point of long
+life, so I beg you will not be frighted by such sort of apprehensions
+as those suggested above and for fear of y<sup>r</sup> pretty
+face give up y<sup>r</sup> late pious resolution of early rising.</p>
+
+<p>My Mama joins with me in comp<sup>ts</sup>. to M<sup>r</sup> and M<sup>rs</sup>
+Pinckney. I send herewith Col<sup>l</sup> Pinckney's books, and shall
+be much obliged to him for Virgil's books, notwithstanding
+this same old Gentlewoman, (who I think too has a great
+friendship for me) has a great spite at my books, and had
+like to have thrown a vol<sup>m</sup> of my Plutarcks lives into the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span>
+fire the other day, she is sadly afraid she says I shall read
+myself mad.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.</p></div>
+
+<p>Again in this strain, on the 6th of February, 1741,
+she writes, showing that although she would have taken a
+girlish pleasure in amusement, her sense of duty was too
+keen to allow her to leave the plantation very often:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<span class="smcap">To the Honourable C. Pinckney</span>, ESQ.<br />
+<div class='right'>Feb<sup>r</sup> 6th, 1741.<br />
+</div>
+
+<p><i>Sir:</i>&mdash;I received yesterday the favour of your advice
+as a phisician and want no arguments to convince me I
+should be much better for both my good friends company,
+a much pleasanter Prescription yours is, I am sure, than
+Doc<sup>t</sup> Mead's w<sup>ch</sup> I have just received. To follow my inclination
+at this time, I must endeavor to forget I have a
+Sister to instruct, and a parcel of little Negroes whom I
+have undertaken to teach to read, and instead of writing an
+answer bring it My self, and indeed gratitude as well as
+inclination obliges me to wait on M<sup>rs</sup> Pinckney as soon as I
+can, but it will not be in my power til a month or two hence.
+Mama payes her comp<sup>ts</sup> to Mrs Pinckney, and hopes she will
+excuse her waiting on her at this time, but will not fail to do
+it very soon.</p>
+
+<p>I am a very Dunce, for I have not acquired y<sup>e</sup> writing
+short hand yet with any degree of swiftness&mdash;but I am not
+always one for I give a very good proof of the brightness
+of my Genius when I can distinguish well enough to subscribe
+my self with great esteem.</p>
+
+<div class='sig'>
+<span style="margin-right: 8em;">Sir</span><br />
+<span style="margin-right: 4em;">Your most obe<sup>d</sup> humble Serv<sup>t</sup></span><br />
+<span class="smcap">Eliza Lucas</span>.<br />
+</div></div>
+
+<p>And again:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>Why my dear Miss Bartlett, will you so often repeat
+y<sup>r</sup> desire to know how I trifle away my time in our retirement
+in my father's absence; could it afford you advantage
+or pleasure I would not have hesitated, but as you can expect
+neither from it I would have been excused; however, to
+show you my readiness in obeying y<sup>r</sup> commands, here it is.</p>
+
+<p>In gen<sup>l</sup> then I rise at five o'Clock in the morning, read
+till seven&mdash;then take a walk in the garden or fields, see that
+the Servants are at their respective business, then breakfast.
+The first hour after breakfast is spent in musick, the next
+is constantly employed in recolecting something I have
+learned, lest for want of practise it should be quite lost,
+such as french and shorthand. After that, I devote the rest
+of the time till I dress for dinner, to our little polly, and two
+black girls who I teach to read, and if I have my papa's
+approbation (my mama's I have got) I intend for school
+mistress's for the rest of the Negroe children. Another
+scheme you see, but to proceed, the first hour after dinner,
+as the first after breakfast, at musick, the rest of the afternoon
+in needle work till candle light, and from that time
+to bed time read or write. Mondays my musick Master
+is here. Tuesday my friend M<sup>rs</sup> Chardon (about 3 miles
+distant) and I are constantly engaged to each other, she at
+our house one Tuesday I at hers the next, and this is one of
+y<sup>e</sup> happiest days I spend at Wappoo. Thursday the whole
+day except what the necessary affairs of the family take up,
+is spent in writing, either on the business of the plantations
+or on letters to my friends. Every other Friday, if no company,
+we go a vizeting, so that I go abroad once a week and
+no oftener.</p>
+
+<p>Now you may form some judgment of what time I
+can have to work my lappets. I own I never go to them
+with a quite easy conscience as I know my father has an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span>
+avertion to my employing my time in that boreing work, but
+they are begun, and must be finished, I hate to undertake
+anything and not go thro' with it, but by way of relaxation
+from the other, I have begun a piece of work of a quicker
+sort, w<sup>ch</sup> requires neither eyes nor genius, at least not very
+good ones. Would you ever guess it to be a shrimp nett? for
+so it is.</p>
+
+<p>O! I had like to forgot the last thing I have done a
+great while. I have planted a large figg orchard, with design
+to dry them, and export them. I have reckoned my expense
+and the profits to arise from those figgs, but was I
+to tell you how great an Estate I am to make this way, and
+how 'tis to be laid out, you would think me far gone in romance.
+Y<sup>r</sup> good Uncle I know has long thought I have a
+fertile brain at scheming, I only confirm him in his opinion;
+but I own I love the vegitable world extreamly. I think it
+an innocent and useful amusement, and pray tell him if he
+laughs much at my projects, I never intend to have any hand
+in a silver mine, and he will understand as well as you, what
+I mean! Our best respects wait on him, and Mrs. Pinckney.</p>
+
+<p>If my eyes dont deceive me, you in y<sup>r</sup> last talk of coming
+very soon by water, to see how my oaks grow, is it really
+so, or only one of your unripe schemes. While 'tis in y<sup>r</sup>
+head put it speedily into execution.</p></div>
+
+<p>Lappets were fashionable parts of the headdresses worn
+at that time even by young girls, and one can read between
+her words that Eliza would have enjoyed giving more time
+to the feminine diversion of embroidery or fine sewing,
+much in vogue in that day, had her father approved of it.
+Then with a quick change of mood she shows her real interest
+in planting a "figg" orchard!&mdash;oh, many-sided Eliza!</p>
+
+<p>There are numerous letters too long to include in this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span>
+sketch, which show the girl's religious, artistic and philosophical
+tendencies, and through them all we feel the quiet
+poise of a mind at rest, of a spirit in true harmony with the
+simplest pleasures of a simple life; and that nature was
+always her first love, is shown by this letter:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>Wont you laugh at me if I tell you I am so busy in providing
+for Posterity I hardly allow myself time to Eat or
+sleep and can but just snatch a minute to write to you and
+a friend or two more.</p>
+
+<p>I am making a large plantation of oaks w<sup>ch</sup> I look upon
+as my own property, whether my father gives me the land
+or not, and therefore I design many years hence when oaks
+are more valuable than they are now, w<sup>ch</sup> you know they
+will be when we come to build fleets, I intend I say, 2 thirds
+of the produce of my oaks for charrity, (I'll let you know
+my scheme another time) and the other 3<sup>d</sup> for those that
+shall have the trouble of puting my design in Execution;
+I suppose according to custom you will show this to y<sup>r</sup> Uncle
+and Aunt. 'She is a good girl' says M<sup>rs</sup> Pinckney, 'she
+is never Idle and always means well'&mdash;'tell the little Visionary,'
+says your Uncle, 'come to town and partake of
+some of the amusements suitable to her time of life,' pray
+tell him I think these so, and what he may now think whims
+and projects may turn out well by and by&mdash;out of many
+surely one may hitt.</p>
+
+<p>I promised to tell you when the mocking-bird began to
+sing, the little warbler has done wonders; the first time he
+opened his soft pipe this spring he inspired me with the
+spirrit of Rymeing and produced the 3 following lines while
+I was laceing my Stays.</p>
+
+<div class='poem2'>
+Sing on thou charming mimick of the feather kind<br />
+And let the rational a lesson learn from these<br />
+To mimick (not defects) but harmony.<br />
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>If you let any mortal besides yourself see this exquisite
+piece of poetry, you shall never have a line more than this
+specimen, and how great will be your loss you who have seen
+the above may judge as well as</p>
+
+<div class='sig'>
+<span style="margin-right: 4em;">Y<sup>r</sup> most obed<sup>t</sup> Serv<sup>t</sup></span><br />
+<span class="smcap">Eliza Lucas</span>.<br />
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Was there ever a more charming example of girlish
+enthusiasm combined with executive ability, and artistic
+feeling than this?</p>
+
+<p>That life at Wappoo was not entirely without its diversions
+is shown by a casual mention of a "festal day"
+spent at Drayton Hall, a beautiful home on the bank of the
+Ashley river. One familiar with those early times in the
+southern provinces can fancy Mistress Eliza setting out for
+her great day, perhaps going by water in a long canoe,
+formed by hollowing out a great cypress tree thirty or forty
+feet long, which made a boat, with room in it for twelve
+passengers, and was rowed by six or eight negroes who sang
+in unison as they paddled their skiff down the river.
+Eliza and her Mama were landed at the foot of the rolling
+lawn, leading up to the mansion where the reception was
+being held. Or if they travelled by the road, it was probably
+in the four-wheeled chaise which Mrs. Lucas had imported
+from England the year before. And when they
+joined the gay company gathered in the great house, doubtless
+the ladies, old and young, wore costumes made of brocade,
+taffety or lustering, the materials of the time, and worn
+over enormous hoops, with cloaks made of colours to harmonise
+with the gowns beneath them&mdash;while the men were
+indeed a great sight in their square cut coats, long waistcoats,
+powdered hair, breeches and buckled shoes! A festal
+day indeed, doubtless, with a most elaborate feast washed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span>
+down with draughts of fine old vintages, and followed by
+the scraping of fiddlers making ready for the dance, enjoyed
+not only by guests, but also in the servants' quarters
+where the negroes were as fleet-footed as mistress or guest.</p>
+
+<p>On her return to Wappoo Eliza feels the reaction, as we
+see in a letter she wrote to Mrs. Pinckney. She says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"At my return hither everything appeared gloomy and
+lonesome, I began to consider what attraction there was in
+this place that used so agreeably to soothe my pensive humour,
+and made me indifferent to everything the gay world
+could boast; but I found the change not in the place but in
+myself, and it doubtless proceeded from that giddy gaiety,
+and want of reflection which I contracted when in town; and
+I was forced to consult Mr. Locke over and over, to see
+wherein personal Identity consisted, and if I was the very
+same Selfe."</p></div>
+
+<p>Somewhat cheered by the reading of Locke she returns
+to her usual routine of life and writes to Miss Bartlett:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"I have got no further than the first vol<sup>m</sup> of Virgil but
+was most agreeably disappointed to find myself instructed
+in agriculture as well as entertained by his charming penn,
+for I am persuaded 'tho he wrote for Italy it will in many
+Instances suit Carolina. I had never perused those books
+before, and imagined I should immediately enter upon
+battles, storms and tempests, that put mee in a maze, and
+make mee shudder while I read. But the calm and pleasing
+diction of pastoral and gardening agreeably presented
+themselves not unsuitably to this charming season of the
+year, with w<sup>ch</sup> I am so much delighted that had I butt the
+fine soft Language of our Poet to paint it properly, I should<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span>
+give you but little respite 'till you came into the country,
+and attended to the beauties of pure Nature unassisted by
+Art."</p></div>
+
+<p>A little later comes this letter, giving a clear idea of
+the breadth of the girl's scheme of social service as well as
+her thoughtfulness and individuality:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<i>Dear Miss Bartlett:</i>&mdash;<br />
+
+
+<p>After a pleasant passage of about an hour we arrived
+safe at home as I hope you and Mrs. Pinckney did at Belmont;
+but this place appeared much less agreeable than
+when I left it, having lost the company that then enlivened
+it, the Scene is indeed much changed, for instead of the Easy
+and agreeable conversation of our Friends, I am engaged
+with the rudiments of the law, to w<sup>ch</sup> I am yet but a stranger.</p>
+
+<p>However I hope in a short time with the help of Dictionary's
+french and English, we shall be better friends;
+nor shall I grudge a little pains and application, if that
+will make me useful to any of my poor Neighbors, we have
+Some in this Neighbourhood, who have a little Land a few
+Slaves and Cattle to give their children, that never think of
+making a will 'till they come upon a sick bed, and find it
+too Expensive to send to town for a Lawyer.</p>
+
+<p>If you will not laugh too immoderately at mee I'll
+Trust you with a Secrett. I have made two wills already!
+I know I have done no harm, for I con'd my lesson very
+perfect, and know how to convey by will, Estates, Real and
+Personal, and never forgett in its proper place, him and his
+heirs forever, no that 'tis to be signed by three witnesses, in
+presence of one another; bu<sup>t</sup> the most comfortable rememberance
+of all is that Doct<sup>r</sup> Wood says, the Law makes great
+allowance for Last Wills and Testaments, presuming the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span>
+Testator could not have Council learned in the Law. But
+after all what can I do if a poor Creature lies a-dying, and
+their family takes it into their head that I can serve them. I
+can't refuse; but when they are well, and able to employ a
+Lawyer, I always shall.</p>
+
+<p>A widow hereabouts with a pretty little fortune, teazed
+me intolerable to draw her a marriage settlement, but it was
+out of my depth and I absolutely refused it, so she got an
+abler hand to do it, indeed she could afford it, but I could
+not gett off from being one of the Trustees to her Settlement
+and an old gentleman the other.</p>
+
+<p>I shall begin to think myself an old woman before I am
+well a young one, having these weighty affairs upon my
+hands.</p></div>
+
+<p>From this solemn epistle it is amusing to turn for a
+moment to Colonel Lucas's matrimonial plan for his daughter.
+In those days girls were married at a very early age,
+and it is small wonder that Colonel Lucas spent much
+thought on the problem of finding a suitable lover for his
+favourite daughter, before he broached the subject to her, for
+marriages were generally arranged by a girl's parents in
+those days. And that Eliza might have some choice in the
+matter Colonel Lucas picked out two suitors and wrote to
+her about them. How she felt on the subject the following
+letter shows: She says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Honoured Sir:</i>&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>Your letter by way of Philadelphia w<sup>ch</sup> I duly received,
+was an additional proof of that paternal tenderness w<sup>ch</sup> I
+have always Experienced from the most Indulgent of Parents
+from my Cradle to the present time, and the subject of
+it is of the utmost importance to my peace and happiness.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>As you propose Mr. L. to me I am sorry I can't have
+Sentiments favourable enough to him to take time to think
+on the Subject, as your Indulgence to me will ever add
+weight to the duty that obliges me to consult what pleases
+you, for so much Generosity on your part claims all my
+Obediance. But as I know 'tis my Happiness you consult,
+I must beg the favour of you to pay my compliments to
+the old Gentleman for his Generosity and favourable Sentiments
+of me, and let him know my thoughts on the affair in
+such civil terms as you know much better than any I can
+dictate; and beg leave to say to you that the riches of Chili
+and Peru put together if he had them, could not purchase a
+sufficient Esteem for him to make him my husband.</p>
+
+<p>As to the other gentleman you mention, Mr. W., you
+know Sir I have so slight a knowledge of him I can form
+no judgment, and a Case of such consequence requires the
+nicest distinction of humours and Sentiments.</p>
+
+<p>But give me leave to assure you my dear Sir that a
+single life is my only Choice;&mdash;and if it were not, as I am
+yet but eighteen hope you will put aside the thoughts of my
+marrying yet these two or three years at least.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.</p>
+
+<p>I truely am</p>
+
+<div class='sig'>
+<span style="margin-right: 4em;">D<sup>r</sup> Sir Your most dutiful &amp; affect Daughter</span><br />
+<span class="smcap">E. Lucas</span>.<br />
+</div></div>
+
+<p>As no further reference to the rejected lovers is made,
+it seems that the Colonel was too fond of his daughter to
+press a matter evidently so against her wishes, and she was
+allowed to remain heart-whole until the man of her choice
+came to satisfy her dreams.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile she was as busy as usual. Polly was now at
+school in Charles Town, which added to Eliza's home duties
+and she was also full of anxiety because of an invasion of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span>
+Spaniards in the vicinity, which caused all the planters to
+fear that their negroes might be carried off, as they had been
+before. There was also cause for anxiety over the dangerous
+sickness of the elder brother, George, who was in the
+army, stationed too at Antigua, while the younger boy, Tom,
+who was still in London, was so frail that the physicians refused
+to allow him to take a trip either to Antigua, or to his
+mother and sisters in Carolina, all of which worries wore
+on the tender-hearted sister.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, Eliza's cares on the plantations grew constantly
+more engrossing, as her crops of indigo grew larger
+and more difficult to handle. So well satisfied was her
+father that this plant could be made a staple export, that
+he sent to Eliza an "Indigo Maker," named Cromwell,
+from the island of Monserrat, where indigo was a
+famous product. This man understood the processes, and
+built brick vats in which the leaves had to lie for a certain
+length of time. He apparently knew his business, but
+watching him closely Eliza saw he was not getting the
+right result, and told him so. This was due to the
+climate, he asserted, and saying no more, the girl gave
+her undivided attention to experimenting with different
+processes, and found out not only that he was wrong, but
+where his mistake lay. Calling him to her, she dismissed
+him, and in his place put his brother, who for a short time
+was more successful.</p>
+
+<p>In her public-spirited way, Eliza gave up one whole
+year's crop to making seed, for she had great difficulty in
+getting it from the East Indies in time for the crops to ripen
+before a frost. This home-grown seed she presented to
+those planters who were interested in raising indigo, and it
+was a generous gift, for the seed was by no means
+cheap. By the gift many planters were induced to try<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span>
+the new seed and at that time Eliza wrote to her father:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Out of a small patch of Indigo growing at Wappoo
+(which Mama made a present to Mr. P.) the brother of
+Nicholas Cromwell besides saving a quantity of Seed, made
+us 17 pounds of very good Indigo, so different from N C's,
+that we are convinced he was a mere bungler at it. Mr.
+Deveaux has made some likewise, and the people in gen<sup>l</sup>
+very sanguine about it. Mr. P. sent to England by the last
+man of warr 6 pounds to try how t'is approved of there.
+If it is I hope we shall have a bounty from home, we have
+already a bounty of 5<sup>s</sup> currancy from this province upon it.
+We please ourselves with the prospect of exporting in a few
+years a good quantity from hence, and supplying our Mother
+Country with a manifacture for w<sup>ch</sup> she has so great a demand,
+and which she is now supplyd with from the French
+Collonys, and many thousand pounds per annum thereby lost
+to the nation, when she might as well be supplyd here, if
+the matter was applyd to in earnest."</p></div>
+
+<p>After this there are several letters from Governor Lucas,
+showing how earnestly he wished to have the raising
+of indigo a success, and he suggested that the brick vats may
+have been the cause of the failure, and advised trying wood,
+but the truth of the trouble lay in the fact that the two overseers
+sent by the Governor had been traitors, who purposely
+achieved poor results, so that the American product should
+not compete with that exported from their native island of
+Monserrat. When Eliza discovered this her father at once
+sent a negro from one of the French islands to replace them,
+and from that time the results were steadily satisfactory.
+Soon enough indigo was raised to make it worth
+while to export to England, and the English at once offered<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span>
+a bounty of sixpence a pound. It is said that as long as this
+was paid, the planters doubled their capital every three or
+four years, and in order to commemorate the source of their
+wealth they formed what was at first merely a social club,
+called the "Winyah Indigo Club," but later established the
+first free school in the province outside of Charles Town, a
+school which, handsomely endowed and supported, continued
+a useful existence down to 1865.</p>
+
+<p>Indigo continued to be a chief staple of the country
+for more than thirty years, history tells us, and after
+the Revolution it was again cultivated, but the loss of
+the British bounty, the rivalry of the East Indies with their
+cheaper labour and the easier cultivation of cotton, all contributed
+to its abandonment about the end of the century.
+However, just before the Revolution, the annual export
+amounted to the enormous quantity of one million, one hundred
+and seven thousand, six hundred and sixty pounds, and
+all this revenue to the province of Carolina, and its added
+benefits to all classes of citizens, was the direct result of the
+perseverance and intelligence of Eliza Lucas, the girl
+planter of the eighteenth century. Let the girls of our day
+look to their laurels if they wish to be enrolled in the
+same class with this indomitable little maid of South Carolina!</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span></p>
+<h2>LADY JANE GREY:</h2>
+
+<h3>The Nine Days Queen</h3>
+
+
+<div class='cap'>IN all England there was no more picturesquely beautiful
+estate than that at Bradgate in Leicestershire, belonging
+to Henry, Marquis of Dorset, the father of
+Lady Jane Grey. There Lady Jane was born in
+1537, in the great brick house on a hill, called Bradgate
+Manor, which overlooked acres of rolling lawns, long
+stretches of woodland and extensive gardens, making a vast
+playground, and one which might well have contented a
+less resourceful person than Lady Jane.</div>
+
+<p>As it was, she was utterly unlike her two sisters, Mary
+and Katherine, being a precocious child, fonder of books
+than of play, and doubtless was less rugged in after years
+than if she had romped through meadow and marsh as they
+did, or waded in the clear brook that babbled its way
+through the woodland depths of Bradgate forests. Instead,
+while the other girls ran races, or played some boisterous
+game of childhood, we have glimpses of demure
+little Jane, even then as pretty as a doll in her quaint dress,
+fashioned on the model of that worn by her own mother,
+either sitting quietly in the house, so absorbed in her book
+that friend or foe might have approached unnoticed, or on
+the velvety lawn surrounding the Manor House, intent on
+some dry treatise, far above the understanding of an ordinary
+child, looking up now and then to glance off at the
+wonderful view spread out below her&mdash;a view so extensive
+that it overlooked seven counties of England.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figright" style="width: 330px;">
+<img src="images/i004.jpg" width="330" height="500" alt="LADY JANE GREY" title="" />
+<span class="caption">LADY JANE GREY</span>
+</div>
+<p>There, at beautiful Bradgate, Lady Jane spent the first
+seven years of her life, busy with the endless resources at
+her command, and studying with her sisters under the instruction
+of the Reverend Mr. Harding, who was the chaplain
+of Bradgate&mdash;after the custom of those days&mdash;and it
+was he who laid the firm foundation of that devotion to the
+Protestant religion which was so strongly marked in Lady
+Jane's after life.</p>
+
+<p>Until Jane was seven years old she did not accompany
+her parents on their many visits to relatives of noble blood,
+or when they went to Court, for she was considered too
+small for that until she was eight years old, when she was
+occasionally taken with her family to London or elsewhere.
+Lady Frances Dorset, Jane's mother, was a niece of King
+Henry the Eighth, and so the Dorsets belonged to the brilliantly
+extravagant court circle of the famously extravagant
+Henry, and in her ninth year Lady Jane began to visit frequently
+her royal great-uncle, who was said to be as fond
+of children as he was of pastry, and doubtless enjoyed
+having Jane, an exceptionally bright, pretty girl, to divert
+his thoughts when the pains in his gouty limbs were unusually
+severe. And Queen Katherine, too, was a deeply
+affectionate aunt, and as soon as it was allowed, kept Jane
+constantly with her, directing the child's studies herself,
+and giving her the freedom of the Queen's own private
+apartments, where keen-eyed, quick-witted little Jane must
+have seen and heard much by which a more stupid child
+would not have benefited, but which Jane stored up for future
+reference,&mdash;especially the discussions between the
+Queen and those learned theologians with whom she so often
+talked, and many a scene of which Lady Jane was witness
+has been recorded in history.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>The Queen frequently disputed with the King on religious<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span>
+matters, and one day when he was especially out of
+humour, she remonstrated with him about a proclamation
+forbidding the use of a translation of the Bible. This
+made him very angry, and as soon as the Queen left the
+room, Gardiner, one of the King's councillors who was no
+friend of the Queen, fanned the King's anger into such a
+fury by his remarks against her, and by complimenting the
+King on his wisdom, that susceptible King Henry allowed
+himself to draw up an accusation against Queen Katherine,
+which would lead to her being beheaded&mdash;as two of his
+queens had been before. The document having been
+drawn up, all preparations for carrying out its directions
+were made, when one of the King's councillors dropped
+it, and an attendant of Queen Katherine fortunately
+picked it up, and took it at once to the Queen. One glance
+showed the danger she was in, and she fell into such
+convulsions of fright that her shrieks reached the private
+room of the King, whose heart softened at the sound, and
+also at the realisation that no one would ever care for him
+with the tenderness and tact of Katherine. Calling his attendants,
+he was carried to Katherine, who revived at once,
+and received him graciously, showing no fear of him, which
+was a great point in her favour, and the next morning, having
+thought out her plan of action, she visited the King's
+room, taking her sister and Lady Jane Grey with her. The
+King received them pleasantly, but soon brought up the religious
+discussion of the previous day. This time, however,
+Katherine was ready for him, and with a sweet smile
+and downcast eyes, as before her lord and master, she acknowledged
+that she "being only a woman" was of course
+not so well versed in such matters as His Majesty, that
+thereafter she would learn of him! This delighted the
+King so much that when Katherine added the confession<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span>
+that she had many times argued with him simply to pass
+away the weary hours of his pain more quickly, he exclaimed,
+"And is it so, sweetheart? Then we are perfect
+friends!" and kissing her, bade her depart, and for the moment
+the Queen knew that her head was safe. But the next
+day when she and Lady Jane Grey and several others were
+in the garden with the King, the Lord-chancellor with forty
+of the King's guards came to arrest Her Majesty, and not
+having been told that Henry's mood had changed was naturally
+much astonished at Henry's exclamation, "Beast!
+fool! knave&mdash;avaunt from my presence!"&mdash;in fact so discomforted
+was the Lord-chancellor that tender-hearted
+Katherine begged that he be excused, as she deemed "his
+fault was occasioned by a mistake," and so charming was she
+as she pleaded, that her husband showed his admiration for
+her.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, poor soul," said Henry, "thou little knowest,
+Kate, how evil he deserveth this grace at thy hands!" and
+then he lavished a profusion of caresses on her, when she
+at last dared to draw a long breath, knowing only too well
+from what she had been delivered.</p>
+
+<p>This was only one of the experiences which Lady Jane,
+still a mere child, saw and lived through with her beloved
+Queen Katherine.</p>
+
+<p>On the 27th of January, 1547, Lady Jane's life completely
+changed. King Henry the Eighth died, and his
+will made Jane heir to the throne after his daughters Mary
+and Elizabeth, and from having been before merely the attractive
+great-niece of the King and eldest daughter of the
+Marquis of Dorset, she suddenly became a prominent factor
+in the political intrigues of the day, almost as important
+in the matter of succession as either Mary or Elizabeth, for
+Mary, on account of her religion, could easily be set aside<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span>
+by a faction with a powerful leader, and Elizabeth also, because
+of the question as to whether she was the legitimate
+daughter of the King.</p>
+
+<p>This being so, almost before the King was buried, poor
+little Lady Jane became a puppet in the hands of unscrupulous
+statesmen, whose only thought was their own
+advancement, and so began the series of events which was
+to end in that hideous tragedy of which one of the noblest
+girls of history was the victim.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after the death of King Henry, it occurred to
+Sir Thomas Seymour, the Lord Admiral, that it would be
+a wise move to obtain the guardianship of so valuable a
+personage as Lady Jane Grey, and he at once sent a messenger
+to ask the Marquis of Dorset for the transfer of the
+girl to his care, sending word that this would be a great
+chance for Lady Jane, who being, so said Seymour, "the
+handsomest lady in England," could then doubtless be married
+to the young King Edward Sixth, through the Admiral's
+influence. This suggestion naturally pleased the
+ambitious parents of Lady Jane, and she was sent to Seymour
+Place&mdash;Thomas Seymour's London residence, which
+was presided over by his mother, the Dowager Lady Seymour,
+and we cannot doubt that Lady Jane enjoyed leaving
+quiet Bradgate, where she had been since the death of her
+uncle, King Henry, and where she was a victim of extraordinary
+severity from her parents, even in that age
+when children were often so severely disciplined.</p>
+
+<p>Not alone did she go to Seymour Place, but with a
+governess, and a number of waiting women, as befitted her
+rank, and was received with due courtesy. But though
+it seemed such a diplomatic move to allow her this chance
+to make a brilliant match, it was really most unfortunate,
+for Edward Seymour, the Duke of Somerset, who was Protector<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span>
+of the realm and brother of the admiral, had determined
+that if another plan then on foot for the marriage
+of King Edward, should fail, then should Edward marry
+Somerset's youngest daughter&mdash;and when he found that his
+brother had conceived the same plan, with Lady Jane Grey
+for its central figure, and actually had her in his own house
+in pursuance of that plan, he was very angry and determined
+to spoil his brother's scheme if possible.</p>
+
+<p>At this time, the Duke of Northumberland, a powerful
+and unpopular nobleman who had won many victories
+by land and sea, had come to be Somerset's greatest
+rival in the affection of King Edward. This same powerful
+Duke of Northumberland knowing that young Edward
+had not long to live, and that he was devoted to the Protestant
+faith, also that he knew the Princess Mary's deep
+interest in the Catholic religion, determined to so influence
+the young King that he would break his father's will,
+and leave the crown to Lady Jane Grey. He also determined
+that, during the time necessary to ripen his scheme,
+he would marry his son, Guilford Dudley, to Lady Jane
+Grey, in which event he would be the father to a Queen
+of England, and if she did as he wished, to a Prince Consort
+as well, which would exactly suit his ambition. So
+in different ways the tangled threads of cruel circumstance
+were fast winding around an innocent young victim, who
+was ignorant of them all as yet.</p>
+
+<p>Several months after the death of King Henry, Thomas
+Seymour, whose ward Lady Jane Grey now was, won
+the Dowager Queen Katherine's affections&mdash;having been
+her lover before she married King Henry&mdash;and they
+were privately wedded, after which Lady Jane Grey
+went to live with them at Hanworth, in Middlesex, and it
+was her great joy to be once more with the friend whom<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span>
+she so dearly loved, and to resume lessons under her
+care. Princess Elizabeth was living there too, and the
+contrast between these two young women was indeed
+striking. Both were fond of books and were staunch Protestants
+and both were very young, Elizabeth being then sixteen,
+and Jane four years younger, but while Elizabeth was
+bold and free in her behaviour, Jane was the exact reverse,
+being so modestly reserved in manner and pure in thought
+that she won golden praise from all who knew her well.</p>
+
+<p>In a short time Katherine died, Lady Jane having
+been with her through hours and days entirely too sad for
+such a young girl to have witnessed, but as Katherine clung
+to Jane, the loving girl gave no heed to her own grief or
+pain. The loss of his wife seemed a terrible blow to
+Thomas Seymour who at once decided to break up his
+household, and to send Lady Jane back to her father, but
+suddenly reconsidering, he wrote, begging that after all
+he might keep her with him, saying, "My lady, my mother
+shall and will, I doubt not, be as dear unto her as though
+she were her own daughter, and for my own part, I shall
+continue her half-father, or more.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;."</p>
+
+<p>But the Marquis was unwilling to agree to this proposition,
+and Lady Jane who was now extremely pretty, went
+with her parents to Dorset House, their London residence.
+Here Seymour visited the Marquis and urged that Lady
+Jane be left in his care, repeating that he would try to make
+a brilliant marriage for her with the King, but when he
+found that her father would not consent, he made a practical
+offer of two thousand pounds, five hundred of it to
+be paid at once, for which sum he was again to become
+Jane's guardian. At that time, the Dorsets, never wealthy,
+were deeply in debt, and this amount of money would
+do much to mend their affairs, so the offer was accepted.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span>
+But at the same time the Marquis wrote to the
+Duke of Somerset and spoke of some negotiations he was
+conducting for the marriage of Lady Jane with Somerset's
+eldest son, showing that he felt it wise to have more than
+one string to his bow, and in some way to marry Lady Jane
+to his own advantage. Dear little Lady Jane, fate surely
+did its worst for you, and never a nobler soul was born than
+you&mdash;poor little nine days Queen!</p>
+
+<p>But to go on with our story. As a result of fierce
+quarrels between the Admiral and his brother, the Lord
+Protector, Somerset caused the arrest of the Admiral, who
+was imprisoned and died on the scaffold, a victim of his
+brother's treachery. At that time, Lady Jane was still at
+Seymour Place, but at the arrest of Seymour, returned to
+Bradgate, but her parents' ambition for her had not been
+quenched and at once they began to have her cultivated to
+occupy the high position which they were determined she
+should some day fill. From that time her education was
+entrusted to the celebrated Aylmer, who was not only famous
+for his learning, but in close touch with the master minds of
+the century, and through him Jane became acquainted with
+several of the most learned men of the day. She was soon a
+fine scholar in science, Greek, Hebrew, and Latin, as well as
+various modern languages, and praise of her keen young
+mind and brilliant conversation was expressed by all who
+talked with her.</p>
+
+<p>Late in the autumn of 1549, six months after Lady Jane
+had returned to Bradgate, the celebrated scholar, Roger
+Ascham, in passing through the neighbourhood, being an
+acquaintance of the Dorsets, stopped to call at the Manor
+House, but met all the family except Lady Jane, going to
+the hunt. After a brief chat with them he inquired for
+Lady Jane, and being told that she was at home, asked if<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span>
+he might pay his respects to her, which request being readily
+granted, he went on to the house. Standing outside the open
+casement of Lady Jane's own sitting-room for a moment, he
+watched her as she sat in the window seat, so deeply engaged
+with her book that he could look over her shoulder
+unnoticed and to his astonishment saw that she was reading
+the <i>Phaedon</i> of Plato in Greek!</p>
+
+<p>He spoke, and Jane looked up. At once he asked her
+why she relinquished such pastime as was then going on
+in the park for the sake of study?</p>
+
+<p>With a smile Jane answered, "I think all their sport
+in the park is but a shadow to the pleasure I find in Plato!"</p>
+
+<p>Interested and delighted, Ascham pursued the subject.
+"And how attained you," he asked, "to this true knowledge
+of pleasure? And what did chiefly allure you to it, seeing
+that few women and not many men have arrived at it?"</p>
+
+<p>"I will tell you," replied Lady Jane. "And tell you
+a truth which perchance you may marvel at. One of the
+greatest benefits that God ever gave me is that He sent me,
+with sharp severe parents, so gentle a schoolmaster (Aylmer).
+When I am in presence of either father or mother,
+whether I speak, keep silent, sit, stand or go, or drink, be
+merry or sad, be sewing, playing or dancing or doing anything
+else, I must do it as it were in such measure weight
+and number, even as perfectly as God made the earth, or
+else I am so sharply taunted, so cruelly threatened, yea,
+presently sometimes with pinches, nips and bobs, and
+other things (which T will not name for the honour I bear
+them), that I think myself in Hell 'till the time comes when
+I must go with Mr. Alymer who teacheth me so gently, so
+pleasantly, that I think nothing of all the time whilst I
+am with him, and when I am called from him I fall to
+weeping because whatever I do else but learning is full of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span>
+great trouble, fear and wholesome misliking unto me."</p>
+
+<p>Poor lonely little fourteen-year-old Lady Jane, what
+a clear light this throws on the treatment her parents gave
+the responsive, sensitive child, and how it shows up the
+mental forcing process of that day! Down through the
+ages comes to us this picture of a sweet young girl sitting
+alone poring over a Greek classic&mdash;thankful for that resource
+which saved her for the moment from reproaches
+and taunts, "nips, bobs and pinches."</p>
+
+<p>From that time Roger Ascham was one of Lady Jane's
+closest friends, and doubtless the comradeship was a real
+stimulus to the brilliant girl, as letters from her to him
+show.</p>
+
+<p>On October the eleventh, in 1551, Lady Jane's father
+was raised to the peerage, which gave to him and his wife
+the new titles of the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk. The
+family now went to London, to occupy Sheen Abbey, and
+Lady Jane was presented at Court, taking her first prominent
+part in Court festivities, when she attended the entry
+into London of the Scottish Queen Regent, Mary of Guise,
+who had come on a visit to King Edward.</p>
+
+<p>When King Edward and Mary met first at Westminster
+Palace, Mary rode in her chariot from the city to Whitehall,
+and with her rode many noble ladies, among them
+Lady Jane, to whom the brilliant pageant must have been
+a great diversion, after the seclusion of Bradgate.</p>
+
+<p>Lady Jane took part too in all the other festivities connected
+with this state visit of the Scottish Queen, but when
+that was over went back to quiet Bradgate and her studies
+again, and remained there until the middle of November,
+when she went with her family to Tylsey, an estate belonging
+to her father's young cousins and wards, the Willoughbys.
+From there the Greys went to pay one of their many<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span>
+visits to Princess Mary at her town house, and that they were
+in high favour then is shown by an old account book of
+Princess Mary's in which is set down these items:</p>
+
+<p>"Given to my cousin Frances a rosary of black and
+white mounted in gold. To my cousin, Jane Grey, a necklace
+of gold, set with pearls and small rubies."</p>
+
+<p>In return Jane gave Mary a pair of gloves!</p>
+
+<p>Although the other members of her family left London
+for Tylsey during the following week, Lady Jane evidently
+remained with the Princess until the 16th of December,
+when she too returned to Tylsey, where the whole party had
+a merry Christmas. The house was thrown open to all such
+of the country gentry as cared to accept its hospitality, and
+those who accepted were royally entertained, as a company
+of players came from London for the occasion, also a wonderful
+boy who is said to have sung like a nightingale; also
+a tumbler, a juggler, and another band of players who acted
+several pieces, with great applause. Open house was kept
+until the 20th of January when the party broke up and went
+on to make another visit, returning to Tylsey for another
+week, all of which journeying about must have been too
+hard for delicate Lady Jane, as travelling was not the easy
+matter that it is in our day, and in February we hear that she
+had had a dangerous sickness but had fully recovered.</p>
+
+<p>Some months later we find her making another visit
+to Princess Mary at Newhall, Mary's country seat. Giving
+presents being one of Mary's strong points, she presented
+Lady Jane with a very handsome new gown, and with delicious
+Puritan simplicity Jane asked Mary what she was
+to do with it. "Marry," exclaimed the Princess, "wear it,
+to be sure!"</p>
+
+<p>Another incident of that visit of Lady Jane's at Newhall
+shows how much at variance the two cousins were on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span>
+vital issues. Lady Wharton, a devout Catholic, crossing the
+chapel with Lady Jane when service was not being said,
+made her obeisance to the Host as they passed the altar.
+Lady Jane, looking up, asked if "the Princess were present
+in the chapel?" Lady Wharton answered that she was
+not.</p>
+
+<p>"Then why do you curtsey?" demanded Jane.</p>
+
+<p>"I curtsey to Him who made me," replied Lady Wharton.</p>
+
+<p>"Nay," retorted Lady Jane, "but did not the baker
+make him?" which remark shows a depth of thought and a
+cleverness of retort rarely found in one so young, and the
+remark being repeated to the Princess Mary, to whom it
+was a sacrilege, she was never again as fond of Lady Jane
+as before&mdash;but it seems doubtful whether her affection for
+the staunch little Puritan could ever have been more than
+skin-deep at any time.</p>
+
+<p>Lady Jane was now sixteen years old and truly one of
+the most beautiful young women in all England, with a type
+of beauty somewhat rare in that age, as it was connected
+with the most exquisite loveliness of character, and she was
+very popular throughout England.</p>
+
+<p>At that time, the young King was rapidly nearing his
+end, and the Duke of Northumberland, whose city home
+was directly opposite the residence of the Duke of Suffolk,
+realising this, saw that the time had come to carry
+out his daring scheme of snatching the crown away
+from the Princess Mary, whose it would lawfully be on the
+death of Edward, and to gain it for his own family by marrying
+his son, Lord Guilford Dudley, to Lady Jane Grey.
+It was not customary in those days for parents to consult
+a child in regard to a matrimonial project, and probably
+this scheme was entirely arranged by the Dukes of Suffolk<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span>
+and Northumberland. Nor does history give any evidence
+that Lady Jane loved the tall handsome youth chosen for
+her, but she made no objection to the marriage,&mdash;and so
+prospered one part of Northumberland's plan.</p>
+
+<p>For the other part, Edward was in such a feeble state
+of mind and body that he was completely dominated by
+Northumberland, who diplomatically forced the dying man
+to do his bidding, but carefully concealed his intentions in
+regard to the crown from Lady Jane, whose proud and innocent
+nature he knew would revolt from such treachery
+to her cousin, and so he did his work in secret. If only
+his popularity and talent had equalled his ambition, he
+might have carried out his plans, for the cause of the Reformation,
+for which Lady Jane stood, was dear to a large part
+of the people, and she herself was beloved everywhere.</p>
+
+<p>The marriage of Lady Jane and Guilford Dudley took
+place in the last week in May at Durham House, London,
+and the young King was so much pleased with the match
+that he ordered the master of the wardrobe to give the bride
+much wedding finery as well as many jewels, and the wedding
+was exceptionally magnificent in every detail. We are
+told that Lady Jane's headdress on the morning of her marriage
+was of green velvet set round with precious stones. She
+wore a gown of cloth of gold, and a mantle of silver tissue,
+and her hair hung down her back, combed and plaited in
+a curious fashion of her own devising. She was led to the
+altar by two handsome pages with bride lace and rosemary
+tied to their sleeves, and sixteen young girls dressed in pure
+white preceded her to the altar, while a profusion of flowers
+were scattered along the bridal route; the church bells
+rang, and the poor received beef, bread and ale enough for
+a three days' feast.</p>
+
+<p>Especially beaming and resplendent at the ceremony<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span>
+were Northumberland and his family, but almost as soon as
+it was over the bride's life seems to have begun to be
+unhappy, for she says, "The Duchess of Northumberland
+disregarded the promise she had made at our betrothal,
+that I might live at home with my mother, but, my husband
+being present observed to the Duke of Northumberland,
+that 'I ought not to leave her house, for when it pleased
+God to call King Edward to his mercy, I ought to hold
+myself in readiness, as I might be required to go to the
+Tower, since his Majesty had made me heir to his dominions.'"
+Poor little Jane adds, "These words told me offhanded
+and without preparation agitated my soul within
+me." On further thought she decided that the statement
+was hasty, and not important enough to keep her from her
+mother. The Duchess, however, became so enraged that
+the young bride dared not disobey her, but remained
+with her four or five days, then obtained leave to go to
+Chelsea House, a country seat of the Dudleys', which Jane
+reached just before falling into an acute sickness from which
+she barely escaped with her life, and where she was evidently
+without her husband.</p>
+
+<p>Northumberland, meanwhile, was indifferent as to
+where his new daughter-in-law resided,&mdash;she was his
+son's wife, which was all he wanted for the present. He
+saw that the young King was at the point of death, and
+his immediate efforts must be turned in another direction.
+So artfully did he lay before the sick monarch all the
+reasons for setting aside the claims of Mary and Elizabeth,
+that Edward was induced to sketch with his feeble hand
+a will, setting aside the rights of Mary and Elizabeth and
+leaving the succession to Lady Jane Grey.</p>
+
+<p>Of course there were some who refused to sign this
+will at all, and others&mdash;among them Archbishop Cranmer&mdash;who<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span>
+for a long time refused, but finally yielded on the urgent
+petition of the King, who was now as eager as even
+Northumberland could wish.</p>
+
+<p>Then on the 6th of July, 1553, King Edward died, and
+the tragedy of Lady Jane's life began in earnest. No
+sooner was his death a fact than Northumberland, concealing
+this, sent a crafty letter to the Princess Mary saying that
+her brother was at the point of death, and wished to see her.
+He did so knowing that Mary would hasten to London, and
+was prepared to seize her on the road to the city, and take
+her a prisoner to the Tower, while Lady Jane should be
+proclaimed Queen. As he had supposed, Mary hurried towards
+the city, but being met on the way and warned of the
+plot against her, instantly left the London road and galloped
+towards her own Manor House of Kenninghall,
+which she reached after a hard two days' trip, and found
+that the report of the King's death was true, whereupon she
+at once sent to the Council a confirmation of her own right
+to the throne, and so Northumberland's first move in his
+game of chance was blocked.</p>
+
+<p>Lady Jane meanwhile remained at Chelsea until
+Northumberland's daughter arrived to escort her to Sion
+House, where she was to appear before the Council in order
+to hear what the King had ordained for her. One can
+imagine the flutter of heart with which Jane made
+ready for the journey, and her still greater excitement when
+on her arrival the noblemen present began to make her
+complimentary speeches, bending the knee before her,
+"their example," says Lady Jane in her own account of
+the scene, "being followed by several noble ladies, all of
+which ceremony made me blush. My distress was still
+further increased when my mother and mother-in-law entered
+and paid me the same homage."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Poor little Queen-to-be, this was her first intimation
+of the plan for her future greatness, and on discovering
+it, and hearing that for her sake the rights of her cousins
+were to be set aside, Lady Jane firmly refused to accept the
+crown. Northumberland, who had expected this refusal,
+then insisted that the crown was rightfully hers and her
+father begged her to take it. To these appeals the
+young husband added his, and Jane says: "On hearing all
+this I remained stunned and out of myself. I call on those
+present to bear witness, who saw me fall to the ground,
+weeping piteously, and dolefully lamenting not only my own
+insufficiency, but the death of the King. I swooned indeed .&nbsp;.&nbsp;.
+but when brought to myself, I raised myself
+on my knees and prayed to God that if to succeed to
+the throne was my duty and my right, that He would aid
+me to govern the Realm to His Glory. The following
+day, as everyone knows, I was conducted to the Tower."</p>
+
+<p>According to the state ceremonials governing such matters,
+the custom had always been for a new sovereign to
+spend the first few days of a reign at the Tower, and Lady
+Jane proceeded at once to Westminster by water, and from
+there by the state barge to the Tower, and this description
+of the scene has been preserved in a letter written on the
+10th of July by an Italian nobleman. He says:</p>
+
+<p>"I saw Donna Jana Groia walking in a grand procession
+to the Tower. She is now called Queen, but is
+not popular, for the hearts of the people are with Mary.
+This Jane is very short and thin, but prettily shaped
+and graceful. She has small features and a well-made
+nose, the mouth flexible and the lips red. The
+eyebrows are arched and darker than her hair which
+is nearly red. Her eyes are sparkling and a sort of light
+hazel often noticed with red hair. I stood so long<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span>
+near Her Grace that I noticed her colour was good, but
+freckled. When she smiled, she showed her teeth, which
+are large and sharp. In all a gracious and animated person.
+She wore a dress of green velvet stamped with gold
+and with large sleeves. Her headdress was a coif with
+many jewels. She walked under a canopy, her mother
+carrying her train and her husband walking by her, dressed
+all in white and gold, a very tall strong boy with light hair,
+who paid her much attention. The new Queen was
+mounted on very high heels to make her look much taller.
+Many ladies followed, with noblemen, but this lady is very
+much of a heretic and has never heard mass, and some very
+great people did not come into the procession for that reason."</p>
+
+<p>At the Tower Queen Jane was properly received by
+its Lieutenant and Deputy Lieutenant, and walked in procession
+from the landing-place to the Great Hall, a crowd
+of spectators lining the way and kneeling as the new Queen
+passed, and so began the great drama of which Jane was the
+central figure.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as the new Queen entered the royal apartments
+at the Tower, the heralds trumpeted, and a few minutes
+later four of them read her proclamation, which was an
+unfortunate, dull, long-winded document, dealing with
+the claims of Elizabeth and Mary in such a brutal way as
+might well have offended them and the Catholic party as
+well, and although Lady Jane was innocent of the document,
+nevertheless it bore her signature, and so for that as
+for the many other deeds done in her name, the fair young
+victim was obliged to pay the bitter penalty.</p>
+
+<p>While the young Queen was occupied with her first
+state duties in the Tower, Mary and her following were
+busy inciting the people to remain loyal to the rightful heir.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span>
+In several counties the great mass of citizens detested the
+Duke of Northumberland and knew that Lady Jane would
+be a tool in his hands, so when Mary announced that as
+Queen she would make no change in the religion or laws of
+the land, they at once pledged themselves to support her
+cause.</p>
+
+<p>On the twelfth of July, Jane's second day in the Tower,
+there were delivered to her unwilling Majesty, besides the
+Crown jewels, a curious collection of miscellaneous articles
+of jewellery, the contents of various boxes and baskets found
+at the Jewel House in the Tower, which had belonged to
+Henry's six queens. By this time Jane's loneliness and
+anxiety over a situation which she knew to be dangerous,
+had brought on an attack of sickness, and she must have
+been wretched in mind and body, yet being still little more
+than a child, she must have had some small degree of pleasure
+in examining her new treasures, which included among
+the many articles:</p>
+
+<p>"A fish of gold, being a toothpick.</p>
+
+<p>"One dewberry of gold. A like pendant having one
+great and three little pearls. A tablet of gold with one
+white sapphire and one blue one. A pair of beads of
+white porcelain with eight gauds of gold and a tassel of
+Venice gold. Buttons of gold with crimson work. A pair
+of bracelets of flagon pattern. Thirty turquoises of little
+worth. Thirteen small diamonds set in collets of gold,
+etc. etc.," through a long list.</p>
+
+<p>There is also an inventory of the personal belongings
+of Lady Jane at this time, which gives a good idea of the
+contents of her wardrobe. The following are only a few
+of its details:</p>
+
+<p>"Item, a hat of purple velvet embroidered with many
+pearls.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Item, a muffler of purple velvet embroidered with
+pearls of damask gold garnished with small stones of sundry
+sorts and tied with white satin.</p>
+
+<p>"Item, a muffler of sable skin with a head of gold, with
+four clasps set with five pearls, four turquoises, six rubies,
+two diamonds and five pearls, the four feet of the sable
+being of gold set with turquoises and the head having a
+tongue made of a ruby.</p>
+
+<p>"Item, Eighteen buttons of rubies.</p>
+
+<p>"Item, Three pairs of gold garters having buckles and
+pendants of gold.</p>
+
+<p>"Item, Three shirts, one of velvet, the other of black
+silk embroidered with gold, the third of gold stitched with
+silver and red silk," etc., etc., etc.</p>
+
+<p>From even these bits of the inventory it is evident that
+the Lady Jane was not lacking in goods and chattels, but
+they gave her little comfort, poor child, with her swift approaching
+destiny!</p>
+
+<p>On that same night of the twelfth of July, there were
+taken to the Tower a large number of fire-arms and a
+quantity of ammunition as well as an army of soldiers who
+were ready to march against Mary's followers. And the
+preparations were made just in time, for on the very next
+day came news that the rival Queen was at Kenninghall
+and that her loyal subjects were hurrying from all parts of
+the kingdom to support her cause. In fact the inmates of
+the Tower at once discovered that throughout the kingdom
+the people were against Queen Jane and for Queen Mary,
+and a sad discovery it was!</p>
+
+<p>At once the Council was called together, and a proposal
+was made that the Duke of Suffolk should take command
+of troops to quell the insurrection, but Jane was insistent
+that she could not be left in the Tower without her<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span>
+father for protection, and as his health was not good, it was
+finally decided that the Duke of Northumberland himself
+should go out to resist the rival forces. But before the
+Duke went, he gave Her Majesty into the charge of the
+Council, and swore with a big oath that when he returned
+"Mary should no longer be in England, for he would take
+care to drive her into France."</p>
+
+<p>Then with a passionate embrace of his son, Guilford,
+Northumberland went to finish his preparations for the resisting
+of Mary's claim, and on Friday, the fourteenth, he
+and his followers rode proudly forth with a train of guns,
+and six hundred men, some of them the greatest in the
+land. As they passed through the city, they could not but
+notice the sullenness and lack of enthusiasm in the great
+crowds everywhere gathered to watch them pass, and grew
+more and more fearful of the probable defeat of the Duke's
+project.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile Queen Jane, in the Tower, passed the
+weary hours as best she could, and executed several minor
+duties of her royal office, but grew hourly more depressed
+with a nameless dread, and at evening came the news of
+a great rising in favour of Queen Mary. Still worse tidings
+came on Saturday, the sixth day of Jane's disastrous reign.
+Queen Mary had already been proclaimed at Framlington
+and Norwich, and Northumberland had sent to London
+for fresh troops, and was speeding as fast as horse could
+gallop towards Cambridge, which he reached at midnight,
+but in vain! Jane's cause collapsed so completely and so
+rapidly everywhere that even such precautions as had been
+taken for the defence of her party ended by serving her
+rivals, and the miserable Duke returned to the Tower and
+its comparative safety, a prisoner, in a pathetic plight
+brought about by his own wretched ambition.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>On the seventh day of Queen Jane's reign, throughout
+the length and breadth of England there were again risings
+for Queen Mary. In all the streets there were cheering and
+rioting, and bonfires were lighted, around which crowds
+of rough men and women circled, shouting, "Queen Mary!
+Queen Mary!" while in the churches the rival queens and
+rival creeds were the one subject of discourse.</p>
+
+<p>On the eighth day of Jane's reign there was a violent
+scene in the early morning between her mother and mother-in-law
+concerning the kingship of Guilford, as Jane's husband.
+Poor Jane cried herself sick over the distasteful
+affair, and tried to calm and reason with the two disputants,
+looking more dead than alive as she did so. By this time
+as a result of suspense and discouraging news all the occupants
+of the Tower were at sixes and sevens, and the general
+feeling was that a worse situation was still to come.
+Again bad news, the peasants, notwithstanding the threats
+of their lords, had refused to take up arms against Mary,
+and were drawing very near London; also all over the
+country the nobility were arming, and marching in the defence
+of the rightful queen's person and title, while poor
+Queen Jane's name was now only spoken to be scoffed at.</p>
+
+<p>On Tuesday, the eighteenth, it was evident to all that
+the tragi-comedy was drawing to a close. Of all Queen
+Jane's Council only two men, Archbishop Cranmer and her
+own father, remained true to her&mdash;all the others having
+decided to save their own heads by betraying the cause of
+that girl to whom nine days before they had pledged undying
+loyalty. On Wednesday, the nineteenth, the short
+reign ended. "Jane the Queen" became "<i>Jana non
+Regina</i>," and although that morning there was a slight
+flicker of interest shown in her cause, yet the conspirators
+against her, that evening proclaimed Mary queen in Cheapside,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span>
+at the very hour at which only nine days before Jane's
+accession had been proclaimed!</p>
+
+<p>The people now realised that they had nothing to fear
+from Jane or her Council, whose power was broken, and
+at once gave public vent to their enthusiasm for Mary, indulging
+in one of those attacks of frenzied excitement which
+sometimes seizes a nation,&mdash;and everywhere there were
+merry-makings and rejoicings for her Catholic Majesty&mdash;except
+within the Tower, where the stillness of death
+reigned.</p>
+
+<p>Northumberland's plan had failed, and of those
+councillors who had pledged their support to Jane's cause,
+but one remained loyal besides her own father!</p>
+
+<p>Archbishop Cranmer was the last of Jane's Council
+then living in the Tower to leave it, and the leave-taking
+was a sad one on both sides, for it left Lady Jane alone to
+meet the sad events then coming thick and fast, with what
+courage she could summon.</p>
+
+<p>Presently a messenger came to Suffolk, from Baynard's
+Castle, to tell him that the nobles gathered together there
+required him to deliver up the Tower and go to the Castle
+to sign Mary's proclamation, and without a moment's hesitation
+the wretched man gave up the unequal struggle, and
+did as he was commanded. Then he returned to the Tower
+to tell Jane that her queenship was a thing of the past, although
+there was little need to report so evident a fact.</p>
+
+<p>With nervous excitement he rushed into the Council
+chamber, where he found Jane alone, seated in forlorn dejection
+under the canopy of State.</p>
+
+<p>"Come down from that, my child," he said. "That
+is no place for you," and then more gently than he had ever
+spoken to her before, he told her all. For a moment there
+was silence while daughter and father stood clasped in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span>
+each other's arms in the deserted hall, through the open
+windows of which could be heard, borne on the summer
+air, shouts of "Long live Queen Mary!" There was a
+long silence, then Jane looked up into her father's eyes
+and there was a gleam of hope in her own as she asked,
+wistfully, "Can I go home?"</p>
+
+<p>Poor little victim of the plots of over-ambitious men,
+never was a more sublimely pathetic sentence uttered, and
+oh, the world of longing in that simple, never-to-be-gratified
+request!</p>
+
+<p>No sooner had Queen Mary's proclamation been
+heralded, than everything was changed for Lady Jane, who
+was even deserted by her mother and the Duchess of
+Northumberland. A few hours before, the Tower guards
+and officials had treated her with extreme deference, but
+now showed a marked degree of scorn for her whose
+sovereignty had come to an end. The tears of her women,
+their whispered talk, the ominous silence of the palace,
+broken only by the distant shouts of the revellers, all combined
+to add to the poor girl's misery, and it would not be
+strange if on that evening of July 19th, when she was removed
+from the State apartments, to another Tower, and declared
+a prisoner, she had felt that the calmness even of
+despair was preferable to the atmosphere of uncertainty
+of the last few days of her struggle for a crown.</p>
+
+<p>In her new quarters she was allowed several attendants
+of good birth, as well as two serving maids and a lad, and
+though a prisoner, she was not in solitude nor in discomfort
+of any kind, being allowed to walk daily in the Queen's
+gardens, and "on the hill without the Tower precincts"&mdash;her
+meals were those of a most luxurious captivity, and it
+must be clearly understood that she was never formally
+arrested. She was simply detained at the Tower, to prevent<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span>
+a repetition of the project to place her on the throne.
+During the nine days' reign, Guilford, her husband, seems
+to have sulked because she had refused to make him King,
+or else Northumberland had advised him to keep out of the
+way, that he might not be included in any blame for the
+usurpation of the crown. However that may have been,
+we hear nothing of him until after Mary's proclamation,
+when he too was imprisoned, but not in that part of the
+Tower with Lady Jane.</p>
+
+<p>Even in her secluded apartment, Jane must have heard
+some gossip of the great outer world in which she no longer
+played a part, and doubtless knew that Princess Elizabeth
+had joined her sister Mary, and was to ride into London
+with her, showing that whatever difference of opinion she
+had on other matters, she wished the nation to know that
+she upheld Mary's succession to the throne. And too, Jane
+must have heard of the flaunting decorations of the city
+to celebrate the royal entrance, and of the wild enthusiasm
+everywhere shown for Queen Mary.</p>
+
+<p>But harder still to bear must have been the visit of the
+Constable of the Tower, who on the first of August visited
+the prisoners, and read the solemn indictment against them
+in the Queen's name, charging Lady Jane and Guilford
+Dudley, her husband, of treason for having seized the
+Tower, for having sought to depose their rightful sovereign,
+Queen Mary, and for having proclaimed Jane Dudley,
+Queen of England. For those charges was Lady Jane to
+be brought to trial, and yet, not for one of them could she
+be held responsible.</p>
+
+<p>This was on the first of August, and two days later
+at twilight the booming of cannon, the flare of lights, the
+tramp of ambassadors and sentinels coming and going, told
+the State prisoners in the Tower of the arrival of Queen<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span>
+Mary and the Princess Elizabeth, and leaden-hearted Lady
+Jane from her windows doubtless watched the gay scene,
+noting how many of those now paying homage to their new
+Queen had only nine days before sworn loyalty to her.</p>
+
+<p>The Queen and Elizabeth had come for the Protestant
+State funeral service of King Edward, which took place on
+the 8th of August, and there was also a service according
+to the ritual of the Church of Rome celebrated at Mary's
+command, in the Royal Chapel of the Tower, where Mary
+had now taken up her residence. One of her first acts as
+Queen was to free a number of prisoners in the Tower, but
+she never lifted a finger to the liberation of Lady Jane,
+her kinswoman.</p>
+
+<p>On the eighteenth of August, the Duke of Northumberland
+was tried for treason, and throughout his trial acted
+in the basest manner possible; then seeing that whatever he
+might say would not save him, he confessed his crime and
+begged the pardon of the judges, showing one spark of
+manhood when he asserted that whatever might be his
+own deserts, Lady Jane not only had not wished the crown,
+but was forced to accept it. For himself he only asked
+the death usually accorded noblemen, and some degree of
+favour for his children. On hearing that Northumberland
+had been condemned, the people showed great joy, as they
+felt it was a just desert for his treason, and their sentiment
+was clearly shown by the crowds lining the street when he
+was taken from the court to his prison in the Tower. On
+the next day he received news of his intended execution
+which was carried out on the 22nd of August.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile Lady Jane and her husband were still
+prisoners, and Jane's conduct will forever place her
+name among the heroes and martyrs of the Reformation,
+so calm and courageous was she during every circumstance<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span>
+of her confinement, never uttering a word of complaint, but
+seeming wholly concerned for the sufferings of her father
+and husband, and though she must have indeed had bitter
+thoughts, yet she never voiced them, but was always calm
+and sweet.</p>
+
+<p>Through the whole month of August there were memorable
+struggles between the Catholics and Protestants,
+each struggling for supremacy, and at last all doubt was at
+an end. Queen Mary was determined to distinguish herself
+as a persecutor of the Protestants.</p>
+
+<p>During the last week of August she was busily preparing
+for her coronation, which was to be celebrated on
+the first day of October, and was marked with the usual
+pomp and splendour of such pageants, and still sweet Lady
+Jane was in prison, separated from her husband and from
+her friends. A few days after Mary's queendom was
+officially confirmed her first Parliament was opened, and
+one of its first acts was to pass a bill of attainder upon Lady
+Jane Grey and her husband,&mdash;and so destiny swept the innocent
+usurper with its swift current.</p>
+
+<p>The trial on a charge of high treason took place at
+the Guildhall on November 13th. In all the year England
+has no sadder month than November, by reason of its dull
+skies and heavy fogs, and in a mood not unlike the sombre
+day, Lady Jane and Lord Guilford were led out from the
+place where they had been for so long imprisoned. They
+were surrounded by a guard of four hundred soldiers, and
+there was great noise and confusion along their line of
+march, but Lady Jane was calmness personified, both then
+and through the whole trial.</p>
+
+<p>She pleaded guilty of the charge against her, poor innocent
+little Queen, and presently her sentence was pronounced.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span>
+She was to be burned alive on Tower Hill, or
+beheaded, at the Queen's pleasure.</p>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding their desire to have Mary for queen,
+in place of Jane, the people on hearing this terrible sentence,
+burst forth in groans, and many sobbed and bewailed
+her fate to such a degree that Jane turned, and said calmly
+to them:</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, faithful companions of my sorrows, why do you
+thus afflict me with your plaints. Are we not born into life
+to suffer adversity and even disgrace if necessary? When
+has the time been that the innocent were not exposed to
+violence and oppression?" and from the example of her
+brave cheerfulness, they ceased their moaning.</p>
+
+<p>At that time it was generally supposed that Queen
+Mary would pardon Lady Jane and Lord Guilford, and
+there is no doubt that this was her intention then, and she
+ordered gentle treatment of them both, which must have
+made their hearts beat high with hope of some time being
+free. From the day of the trial Queen Mary showed an
+intense desire to win Jane over to the Catholic faith, and
+sent a devout Catholic priest to visit her in the Tower, with
+this in view; but it was utterly useless to attempt to turn
+the firm little Protestant from her belief, even though the
+change might have saved her head.</p>
+
+<p>While Lady Jane was resisting the attempts to change
+her creed, Queen Mary was deciding to make sure of a
+Catholic succession to the throne, and presently announced
+her engagement to Philip of Spain, the son of the Emperor
+Charles, which engagement when made public produced
+marked discontent through the whole country, for it was
+feared that with a Spanish prince for the husband of their
+Queen, England would become merely a vassal to Spain,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span>
+and both Protestants and Catholics were firmly opposed to
+the match.</p>
+
+<p>Again a chance for Lady Jane's cause! In less than
+a week Queen Mary's court were alarmed by the news that
+the Duke of Suffolk with his two brothers, had again organised
+a rebellion in several counties for the restoration
+of Lady Jane to the throne. There were also at that time
+two other insurrections in the kingdom, aiming at one end&mdash;the
+prevention of the Queen's marriage; but of the three
+the most dangerous was that of the Duke of Suffolk, and
+he knew that even if it should succeed, Lady Jane would
+never accept the throne unless forced. A more fool-hardy
+course he could not have pursued, but passing through
+Leicestershire, he proclaimed Lady Jane Queen in every
+town through which he passed, and seemed to sincerely
+believe that the people who such a short time before had
+stood for the arrest and the uncrowning of his daughter,
+would now stand in solid support of her claim.</p>
+
+<p>With all the conflicts and intrigues of all the three
+insurrections there was the noise of battle throughout the
+country, but every one of them ended in defeat, and only
+one came anywhere near to victory, that, the one in favour
+of the crowning of Lady Jane Grey. And because of this,
+Mary the Queen felt that Jane was too dangerous a menace
+to the safety of the nation, and to her own sovereignty, to
+remain alive, and so the moment had come when Jane, so
+young and so full of the joy of living, must reap what
+others had sown.</p>
+
+<p>On the eighth of February, the news was carried to
+the prisoner. She received her doom with dry-eyed
+dignity, but pleaded for mercy for her husband, who she
+said was innocent, and had only obeyed his father in all
+things, but the plea was disregarded and when the news was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span>
+taken to Guilford, unlike Lady Jane he thought only of
+himself, and wept and begged and prayed for forgiveness,&mdash;but
+in vain!</p>
+
+<p>It was originally intended that Jane and Guilford
+should be executed together on Tower Hill, but this was
+not carried out, probably because Lady Jane, being of
+blood royal, could be executed inside the precincts of the
+Tower, where two queens of Henry the Eighth had been
+beheaded, while Guilford, being of plebeian origin, was
+obliged to perish outside the Tower walls.</p>
+
+<p>While awaiting the fatal day, Jane occupied herself
+in writing a letter to her father, in which she held him responsible
+for her death, and then probably spent Sunday
+the 10th of February, in prayer and meditation, and on
+the following day she wrote a beautiful letter to her sister
+Katherine, of whose terrible grief on her account she had
+been told. The letter was written on the blank leaves of a
+Greek testament, which has fortunately been preserved, and
+can be seen to-day in the British Museum.</p>
+
+<p>Lord Guilford Dudley begged for an interview with
+his wife before their death, but this Lady Jane declined,
+saying that it would unnerve them both for the supreme
+moment, although she sent a message to her husband, and on
+the day of the execution, at the time when he was to pass
+her window on his way to the scaffold, she stood and waved
+her hand to him, as he passed, in the strength of his
+youth and manhood, to the horrible grave dug for him by
+his own father's hand, facing death bravely at the end.</p>
+
+<p>Then a ghastly accident occurred. Either by accident
+or by design, Jane caught a glimpse of her husband's body
+as it was being carried from the scaffold to the Tower for
+burial, and for a time it seemed as if her frail young frame
+could not resist the strain of that agony of sorrow and fear<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span>
+which overcame her; but at last Lady Jane was on her way
+to meet her doom.</p>
+
+<p>The bells of the churches tolled as the dread procession
+wound its way slowly to the foot of the scaffold, and
+the young prisoner was dressed as on the day of her trial,
+in a black cloth dress edged with black velvet, a Marie
+Stuart cap of black velvet on her head, with a veil of black
+cloth hanging to her waist and a white wimple concealing
+her throat, her sleeves edged with lawn, neatly plaited
+around her wrists.</p>
+
+<p>Before ascending the steps leading to the scaffold the
+Lady Jane bade farewell to her sobbing ladies, then mounting,
+advanced to the edge of the platform and spoke in a
+clear sweet voice, of her innocence of treason, and begging
+them to bear witness that she died a true Christian woman.
+Then after a pause, and wiping her eyes, she added, "Now,
+good people, Jane Dudley bids you all a long farewell.
+And may the Almighty preserve you from ever meeting
+the terrible death which awaits her in a few minutes."</p>
+
+<p>At these words, seeing the towering figure of the executioner
+in his scarlet robe, she threw herself into the arms
+of her old nurse, who was by her side, and sobbed and
+shivered with terror. Then growing calmer she knelt
+while a psalm was said and prayer offered, then she said
+farewell to those who had been with her to the end, and
+gave her prayer book as a memento to one who had asked
+this favour.</p>
+
+<p>The supreme moment had come. Unloosening her
+gown without the aid of her attendants, who were overcome
+with emotion, she cast aside the handkerchief with which
+she was expected to bandage her eyes, and then with a swift
+glance at the executioner, she said simply:</p>
+
+<p>"I pray you despatch me quickly," then kneeling down<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span>
+she asked, "Will you take it off before I lay me down?"</p>
+
+<p>Without any apparent emotion Lady Jane then tied
+the handkerchief over her eyes. She was now blindfolded
+and, trying to feel for the block, asked, "What shall I do?
+Where is it?"</p>
+
+<p>A person near her, on the scaffold, guided her to the
+block, and she instantly laid her head upon it, rested in
+silence for a moment, then exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit," and a
+moment later the agony was over.</p>
+
+<p>The noblest, most courageous girl who was ever the
+victim of relentless ambition, was gone, sacrificed to a game
+of chance in which she was the royal pawn! History offers
+no sadder, no more thrilling story than that of Lady Jane,
+the girl of seventeen, who was a "Nine Days Queen!"</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span></p>
+<h2>GENTLE ANNIE:</h2>
+
+<h3>A Daughter of the Regiment</h3>
+
+
+<div class='cap'>FORT SUMTER had been fired on!</div>
+
+<p>The whole country was in a state of flaming excitement.
+Up to that time there had been a division
+of sentiment in the North, and many thought
+that by patient effort the seceding States could be brought
+back into the Union&mdash;that there would never be any serious
+fighting&mdash;but now all that was changed.</p>
+
+<p>In a measure the Northerners were unprepared for
+war, and the regular army was then very small, but one
+month after the inauguration of President Lincoln he issued
+a call for seventy-five thousand volunteers for three
+months' service only, and the war between North and South
+began in earnest.</p>
+
+<p>In every part of the country there was one absorbing
+topic of conversation, while men were being hastily
+gathered into companies, officers were forming their regiments
+to march to the scene of conflict, women were hurriedly
+joining hospital brigades, and the government was
+rushing the purchase and manufacture of ammunition and
+weapons, and collecting an adequate supply of horses and
+army-wagons, camp equipments and provisions and uniforms
+for the soldiers.</p>
+
+<p>In every State there was an individual flurry of preparation
+while men and women made ready to leave homes
+and families, for the sake of their country. When the first<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span>
+enlistment took place, Annie Etheredge, a young woman
+whose childhood and early girlhood had been passed in
+Wisconsin, was in Detroit visiting some friends, and the
+set of young women with whom she associated became so
+filled with the enthusiasm of war that nineteen of them
+offered themselves to go as nurses with the Second Michigan
+volunteers under Colonel Richardson. This offer was accepted
+and all bade brave farewells to their families and
+friends, and set out with the regiment, to help and to heal
+wherever opportunity offered. But theirs were hands and
+hearts not accustomed to such work, and at the end of a
+few months, eighteen of them returned to their homes,
+having been unable to bear the sights and service of the
+battlefield. But it was not so with Annie Etheredge. Her
+brave spirit and heroic character never gave way under
+the most severe strain, and as we follow her through
+those sombre days, we give thanks for such a pure, strong
+example of what a woman, however young, may be. To
+Tennessee went Annie with her regiment, and was transferred
+to Michigan, where she had many friends and was
+with that regiment in every battle in which they took part.</p>
+
+<p>It took very little time to discover the value of her
+services and General Berry, who for a long time commanded
+the brigade to which Annie's regiment was attached, soon
+declared that the young woman was as self-possessed under a
+hot fire of shot and shell as he was himself&mdash;and that was
+a good deal for the gallant commander to acknowledge of
+one of the opposite sex!</p>
+
+<p>Annie was provided with a fine horse, a side-saddle,
+and saddle bags, as well as two pistols which she carried in
+her holster, but never used, and so fitted out she rode fearlessly
+to the front in the skirmish of Blackburn's Ford and in
+the first battle of Bull Run. Her keen eye was always quick<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span>
+to discover where there was need of assistance, and she
+would gallop to a wounded soldier who was too severely
+hurt to go to the rear, dismount, and regardless of the fire
+of shot and shell often whizzing around her, would skilfully
+bind up his wounds, give him water or a necessary
+stimulant, say a cheery word,&mdash;then gallop on to her next
+patient. So tender and soothing a nurse was she that the
+soldiers called her "Gentle Annie," and many an eye
+watched with eager affection as the horse carrying her
+girlish figure came in sight following the troops.</p>
+
+<p>In the second battle of Bull Run, on the 29th of August,
+1861, Annie was standing on a part of the battle-field
+where there was a rocky ledge, under the protection of
+which some wounded soldiers had crawled. Seeing this,
+Annie lingered behind the troops, helped several other
+injured men to the same retreat, and was soon busy dressing
+their wounds. One of the fellows was a fine looking boy
+whose lips were parched and his eyes brilliant with fever.
+She gave him a refreshing drink, then bound up his wounds,
+receiving in return a bright glance of gratitude and a
+faint "God's blessing on you," just as the rebel battery
+literally tore him to pieces under her very hands, while
+at the same moment she saw the enemy, almost within
+touch, and she was obliged to make a hasty flight or she too
+would have been killed.</p>
+
+<p>On another part of that bloody battle-field of Bull Run,
+tireless in her activity, although sick at heart from the
+ghastly sights and sounds of the day, she was kneeling beside
+a soldier and tenderly binding up his wounds, when
+she heard a gruff voice repeating her name, and looking
+up, to her astonishment saw brave General Kearney, checking
+his horse by her side, watching her with genuine admiration
+in his eyes. "That's right," he exclaimed. "I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span>
+am glad to see you here, helping those poor fellows, and
+when this is over, I will have you made a regimental sergeant,"
+which meant that she would receive a sergeant's pay
+and rations, but as the gallant General was killed two days
+later at Chantilly, Annie never received the appointment.
+But she continued her care of the sick and wounded in the
+same quiet manner which characterised all her actions.
+When she was not busy on the field or in hospital or transport
+duty she superintended the cooking at headquarters,
+and when the brigade moved, she would mount her horse,
+and march with the ambulance and the surgeons, ready to
+serve where she was most needed, or if on the battle-field
+when night fell she wrapped herself in her soldier's blanket
+and slept under the protecting sky with the hardihood of a
+true soldier.</p>
+
+<p>At Chancellorsville, on the 2nd of May, 1863, the men
+of the Third Corps were in extreme danger because of a
+panic by which the Eleventh Corps was broken up; and
+one company of the Third Michigan and also one of the
+sharp-shooters were detailed as skirmishers. Annie was
+advised of her danger in remaining with the regiment, but
+refused to go to the rear, and instead took the lead, but
+met her Colonel and he peremptorily commanded her to
+go back, saying the enemy was very near, and he was every
+moment expecting an attack. Reluctant to obey, Annie
+turned and rode along the front of a line of shallow trenches
+filled with Union men. Then rising in her saddle she
+called out, "Boys, do your duty and whip the rebels!"</p>
+
+<p>The men's heads rose above the edge of the trench and
+they cheered her, crying, "Hurrah for Annie! Bully for
+you!" which shout unfortunately showed their position to
+the enemy, who at once fired a volley of shots in the direction
+of the cheering. Annie rode to the end of the rear of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span>
+the line, then turned to look back, and as she did so, an
+officer quickly pushed his horse between her and a large
+tree by which she was standing, so that he might be
+sheltered behind her. She was staring at him in astonishment
+at such an unchivalrous act, when a second volley was
+fired; a ball whizzed past her, and the officer fell heavily
+against her, then lifeless to the ground. At the same
+moment another ball grazed Annie's hand (this was
+the only wound she received during the whole war), cut
+through her dress, and slightly wounded her horse, who was
+so frenzied by the pain that he set off on a run through the
+woods, plunging in and out among the trees so rapidly that
+Annie was afraid of being brushed from her saddle by the
+branches, or of having her brains dashed out by being
+thrown against a tree trunk. Raising herself on her saddle
+with a violent effort she crouched on her knees and clung
+to the pommel and awaited what might come, but by a lucky
+chance, the frightened animal dashed out of the woods and
+into the midst of the Eleventh Corps, who stopped the runaway
+and gave a rousing cheer for plucky Annie. Her
+regiment was by this time quite a distance away, and Annie
+wanted to see and speak with General Berry, who was the
+commander of her division, but was told by an aide that
+he was not there. "He <i>is</i> here," replied Annie, "and I
+must see him." The aide turned his horse and rode up
+to the General, who was near by, and told him that a woman
+was coming up, who insisted on seeing him.</p>
+
+<p>"It is Annie," said General Berry. "Let her come, let
+her come. I would risk my life for Annie any time!" As
+Annie approached from one side a prisoner was brought up
+on the other, and after some words with him, and receiving
+his sword, the General sent him to the rear, and after greeting
+Annie cordially he gave the prisoner into her charge,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span>
+directing him to walk by her horse. This was Annie's last
+interview with the brave General, for he was killed early
+the next morning in the desperate fight for possession of the
+plank road, in the woods not far from the hospital, leading
+past the Chancellor House.</p>
+
+<p>During the same battle Annie found an artillery man
+so badly wounded that he could not move. The batteries
+had no surgeons of their own, and despite his entreaties the
+infantry surgeons with their hands full in caring for their
+own wounded men, had refused to assist him. Annie, after
+binding up the poor man's wounds, insisted on having him
+cared for, and a year later she received the following letter:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><div class='right'>
+
+<span class="smcap">Washington, D. C.</span>, Jan. 14, 1864.<br />
+</div>
+
+<p><i>Annie:</i>&mdash;<i>Dearest Friend:</i>&mdash;I am not long for this
+world, and I wish to thank you for your kindness ere I go.</p>
+
+<p>You were the only one who was ever kind to me since
+I entered the Army. At Chancellorsville, I was shot
+through the body, the ball entering my side and coming out
+through the shoulder. I was also hit in the arm, and was
+carried to the hospital in the woods where I lay for hours
+and not a surgeon would touch me when you came along
+and gave me water and bound up my wounds. Please accept
+my heartfelt gratitude; and may God bless you and protect
+you from all dangers; may you be eminently successful
+in your present pursuit. I enclose a flower, a present from
+a sainted mother; it is the only gift I have to send you. Had
+I a picture, I would send you one. I know nothing of your
+history, but I hope you always have and always may be
+happy, and since I will be unable to see you in this world,
+I hope I may meet you in the better world where there is no
+war. May God bless you, both now and forever, is the
+wish of your grateful friend.</p></div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Such rewards for loving service must have been very
+grateful to one of Annie's sensitive nature, and she continued
+to toil on in the spirit of love and heroism through
+the battle of Gettysburg, and the engagements of Grant's
+closing campaign, where her gentleness and courage were
+favourite themes of the soldiers, who could scarcely bear to
+have her out of their sight when they were sick or wounded.</p>
+
+<p>At the battle of the Wilderness, when the fighting was
+fiercest and the balls were raining like hailstones, the Fifth
+Michigan, to which Annie was now attached, together with
+other troops, were surrounded and nearly cut off by the
+rebels and as the line of battle swung round, the rebels at
+once took the places vacated by the Union men. Annie was
+at that moment speaking to a little drummer boy when a
+bullet pierced his heart, and he fell against Annie, dead.
+For the first and only time during the war she was overcome
+by a panic of terror and laying the dead boy on the
+ground, she ran like a hunted deer towards what she took
+to be the Union troops, to find to her horror she was mistaken.
+It was the rebel forces, but, too late to retrace her
+steps she dashed ahead, cutting her swift way through the
+enemy's line, and though shots whistled after her, she escaped
+in safety.</p>
+
+<p>With every month of service, Annie's patriotism grew
+stronger and her desire to serve the cause for which the
+Union was fighting, keener. During the battle of <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'Spottsylvania'">Spotsylvania</ins>
+she met a number of soldiers retreating, and when
+imploring them to turn back had no effect, she offered to
+lead them herself, and shamed into doing their duty, by a
+woman's courage, they turned, and led by the dauntless girl,
+went back into the thick of the fight, under heavy fire
+from the enemy. Never did Annie bear the regimental
+colours or flourish sword or flag, as has been asserted; she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span>
+simply inspired men to deeds of valour or to the doing of
+their simple duty by her own contagious example of unwavering
+patriotism.</p>
+
+<p>When the enemy was attacked by the Second Corps, as
+they were at Deep Bottom, Annie became separated from
+her regiment, and with her usual attendant&mdash;the surgeon's
+orderly, who carried the medicine chest, went in
+search of the troops, but before she realised it, found herself
+beyond the line of the Union pickets. An officer at
+once told her she must turn back, that the enemy was near,
+and almost before the words were spoken, the rebel skirmishers
+suddenly appeared, and as suddenly the officer
+struck spurs into his horse and fled, Annie and the orderly
+following as fast as they could, until they reached the
+Union lines. As the rebels had hoped to surprise the
+Union troops they did not fire lest they should give an
+alarm, which is probably the reason why Annie escaped
+uninjured, and in this as in many other cases it seemed as
+if the loving thoughts and prayers of those to whom she had
+been mother, sister and friend in hours of blackest despair
+protected the brave girl from harm.</p>
+
+<p>So strong was the confidence of the soldiers in Annie's
+ability to shape even circumstances to her will, that this confidence
+amounted almost to a superstition, and whenever a
+battle was to be fought, were uneasy as to results, also
+as to the care of the wounded unless she was at hand, and
+there was never a more fitting tribute paid to man or
+woman, old or young, than that paid to Annie by the
+brilliant General Birney. After watching her closely
+and observing her invaluable service and dauntless courage
+one day at twilight he gathered together his troops, and amid
+shouts of appreciative applause presented her with the
+glittering Kearney Cross, a token of noble self-sacrifice and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span>
+heroic service rendered to the Union army, and it is pleasant
+to picture the brave girl as she received the reward of
+her faithful service, with that modest diffidence which is so
+charming in a woman, but with shining eyes and cheeks
+flushed with appreciation of the token that her work had not
+been in vain.</p>
+
+<p>Many verses have been written in honour of Annie,
+and this fragment of one of them seems a fitting tribute to
+the pure, sweet, patriotic Daughter of the Regiment.</p>
+
+
+<div class='center'><br />To Miss Anna Etheredge.<br />
+
+(<small>THE HEROINE OF THE WAR.</small>)</div>
+
+<div class='poem'>
+Hail dauntless maid! whose shadowy form,<br />
+Borne like a sunbeam on the air,<br />
+Swept by amid the battle storm,<br />
+Cheering the helpless sufferers there,<br />
+Amid the cannon's smoke and flame,<br />
+The earthquake sound of shot and shell,<br />
+Winning by deeds of love, a name<br />
+Immortal as the brave who fell.<br />
+<br />
+Hail angel! whose diviner spell<br />
+Charmed dying heroes with her prayer,<br />
+Staunching their wounds amid the knell<br />
+Of death, destruction and despair.<br />
+Thy name by memory shall be wreathed<br />
+Round many desolate hearts in prayer;<br />
+By orphan lips it shall be breathed,<br />
+And float in songs upon the air.<br />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span></p>
+<h2>MADELEINE DE <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'VERCHERES'">VERCH&Egrave;RES</ins>:</h2>
+
+<h3>The Heroine of Castle Dangerous</h3>
+
+
+<div class='cap'>IT was the twenty-second of October. Hills until recently
+tapestried, and valleys which had been flaming
+with the glory of autumn were now putting on the
+more sombre garb of early winter, though still the
+soft haze of fall hung over fields and forests in the small
+Canadian colony, on the bank of the St. Lawrence River,
+twenty miles below Montreal, a settlement commanded by
+the French officer Seignieur de Verch&egrave;res.</div>
+
+<p>Peace and quiet reigned throughout the small community
+on that October morning, while all its inhabitants
+except the very young or the infirm were busy harvesting.</p>
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 356px;">
+<img src="images/i005.jpg" width="356" height="500" alt="MADELEINE DE VERCH&Egrave;RES" title="" />
+<span class="caption">MADELEINE DE VERCH&Egrave;RES</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Because of its location in a direct route between the
+hunting ground of the Iroquois Indians and Montreal, the
+fort protecting the settlement was known as the "Castle
+Dangerous" of Canada. At night all the farmers and
+other settlers of the community left their log cabins and
+gathered in the fort for protection, then went out in the
+morning, with hoe in one hand and gun in the other, to till
+the fields, leaving the women and children safe inside the
+fort, which stood in an exposed position beyond the homes
+of the settlers. Outside the fort stood a strong block
+house connected with it by a covered passage, and both were
+surrounded by a palisaded wall. Fort and blockhouse and
+wall were necessary protections in those days when English,
+French and Indians were at war in the Canadian<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span>
+provinces in the name of Church or King, or for personal
+betterment, and when the Indians were resisting
+with powerful determination the religion and customs which
+the white men were trying to thrust upon them, and attempting
+to prevent the aliens from securing the rich supplies
+of skins which were annually brought down the Ottawa
+river by fur-traders from the frozen North.</p>
+
+<p>It was indeed a time of warfare in Canada&mdash;that latter
+part of the seventeenth century, when Frontenac was
+governor of the French possessions, and two nations were
+striving so bitterly for supremacy. At that time the river
+Ottawa, as Parkman, the historian, tells us, "was the main
+artery of Canada, and to stop it was&mdash;to stop the flow of her
+life blood."</p>
+
+<p>The Iroquois, a powerful and cunning tribe of Indians
+who were a menace to all foreigners, knew this, and their
+constant effort was to close it so completely that the annual
+supply of beaver skins would be prevented from passing,
+and the French colony thus be obliged to live on credit. It
+was the habit of the Iroquois to spend the latter part of the
+winter, hunting in the forests between the Ottawa and the
+upper St. Lawrence, and when the ice broke up to move in
+large bands to the banks of the Ottawa and lie in ambush
+to waylay the canoes of the fur-traders with their cargoes of
+skins. On the other hand, it was the constant effort of
+Frontenac and his men to keep the river open, an almost
+impossible task. Many conflicts great and small took place,
+with various results, but in spite of every effort on the part
+of the French, the Iroquois blockade was maintained for
+more than two years.</p>
+
+
+<p>The brunt of the war was felt in the country above
+Montreal, which was easily accessible to the Indians, but
+it was a time of grave menace also to all the colonists,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span>
+and the children of the Seignieur de Verch&egrave;res had been
+taught from their earliest childhood to handle firearms
+easily and skilfully, and had been told so many blood-curdling
+tales of the treachery and cruelty of the Iroquois, and
+of the heroic deeds done by their countrymen in defending
+forts and homes, that each young heart thrilled with the
+hope that they too might some day perform a deed of valour.
+And their chance was nearer than they dreamed on that
+October morning when the little settlement lay serene in its
+quiet security, giving no heed to invasion or to foe, when
+everyone in the settlement was at work in the fields except
+two soldiers, the two young sons of the Seignieur, an old
+man of eighty, and a number of women and children.</p>
+
+<p>The Seignieur was at that time on duty at Quebec, his
+wife was also away on a visit to Montreal, and their
+daughter, Madeleine, a girl of fourteen, was in command
+of both fort and home&mdash;not very difficult offices to fill, so
+thought her parents in leaving, as there had been no attacks
+for some time, and we can picture Madeleine, tall and
+slender, with a wealth of golden-brown hair falling over her
+low brow, her eyes dancing with merriment as she received
+her list of household duties from her mother, and her commands
+concerning the fort from her father, sure that the
+hours and days of the golden autumn would bring her no
+graver responsibilities than she had carried before.</p>
+
+<p>Her morning duties in the home despatched, she sauntered
+down to the river boat-landing, taking with her a
+hired man named Laviolette. She was expecting some
+friends from Montreal and for a long time she stood on
+the bank of the sparkling river, shading her eyes from the
+glare of the sun, watching eagerly in hopes of seeing the
+boatload coming. It was not in sight, and she chatted
+with Laviolette and watched the movements of some<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span>
+near-by fishing craft for a moment. Suddenly she turned,
+stood still, and held up a silencing finger to the garrulous
+Laviolette, who was spinning a sea yarn of his boyhood.
+She had heard an ominous sound in the direction of the field
+where the settlers were at work.</p>
+
+<p>"Run, Laviolette, to the top of the hill and see what
+it is," she said, without serious apprehension. The man,
+quick to do her bidding, ran to a point of vantage, stood
+beside her again, and what was it he said?</p>
+
+<p>"Shots! Run, Mademoiselle, <i>run!</i>" he cried, "here
+come the Iroquois!"</p>
+
+<p>The warning was too late. As Madeleine turned she
+found herself within gun range of forty or fifty of the
+dreaded Indians! Like a bit of thistle-down blown by the
+wind, she ran toward the fort, her brown hair flying in the
+breeze, commending herself as she ran, so she herself afterwards
+told, to the Holy Virgin, the Iroquois in hot pursuit,
+but not one of them fleet-footed enough to catch
+the fleeing maiden. Disconcerted, they stood still, seeing
+that pursuit was fruitless, and, standing, fired at her,
+the bullets whistling about her ears, while her heart beat so
+fast with fright that it seemed she could not take another
+step. But still she was fleeing, fleeing. She was at the gate
+at last, she cried loudly, "To arms! To arms!" praying
+that someone within would hear her and come to the rescue,
+but she prayed in vain. The two soldiers who were in the
+fort were so terror stricken that they ran to the blockhouse
+and hid, and only one answered Madeleine's call. To add
+to her horror, outside the gate were two women huddled,
+moaning for their husbands who had just been killed before
+their eyes. There was no time for quiet thought, but
+in Madeleine's veins flowed the blood of warriors. In a
+brave voice she called, "Go in, and cease your crying!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span>
+and pushing the women inside the gate, closed it, as she did
+so, trying to think how she was to save the other defenceless
+ones of whom in her father's absence she was the guardian.
+With flying feet she inspected the fort and wall, and to her
+dismay found that in several places the defences were so
+insecure that the enemy could easily push through. The
+weak spots must be barricaded at once. With peremptory
+orders Madeleine set her few helpers to work, and herself
+fetched wood for her purpose, helping place it with her
+quick strong hands. That done, she went into the blockhouse
+where all the ammunition was kept, and there crouching
+in a corner she found the two soldiers, one with a
+lighted match in his hand.</p>
+
+<p>"What are you going to do with that?" she asked.</p>
+
+<p>Too frightened to lie, he answered, "Light the powder
+and blow us all up."</p>
+
+<p>Madeleine flashed a glance of contempt at him. "You
+are a miserable coward!" she said. "Go out of this place.
+<i>I</i> am commander of the fort," and there was that in her
+voice which made the men obey. Then throwing off her
+bonnet, putting on a more masculine hat, and taking up a
+gun, in the use of which she was unusually skilful, she
+gave a command to her two brothers, who were awaiting her
+orders. "Let us fight to the death," she said. "We are
+fighting for our country and our religion. Remember our
+father has taught you that gentlemen are born to shed their
+blood for the service of God and the King."</p>
+
+<p>The boys were only ten and twelve years old, but they
+had received the same early training as Madeleine, and in
+their veins too ran the blood of those who conquer. The
+stirring words roused their courage, and like old seasoned
+warriors they took up arms, and with what ability they possessed
+began at once to fire through the loopholes of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span>
+blockhouse on the Iroquois, who, having no idea how many
+soldiers were inside defending the garrison, were overcome
+with fear, and giving up their attack on the fort, began to
+chase the people in a neighbouring field, and killed all
+whom they could catch. Madeleine was now so thoroughly
+filled with the spirit of war that she at once ordered a cannon
+to be fired, partly to keep the enemy from a further assault,
+and also as a signal to some of the soldiers who were
+at a distance, hunting. And all this time within the fort
+there was the shrill sound of the women and children wailing
+and screaming. Madeleine, on guard at a loophole,
+gave a stern order, "Be quiet, or your screams will encourage
+the enemy!" Then with far sighted eyes she saw a
+canoe gliding up to the landing-place, the one that she had
+been looking for in that care-free hour which now seemed
+years ago; the canoe in which was her friend who was
+trying to reach the fort with his family. Knowing how
+near the Indians were, Madeleine was terrified lest the
+visitors should be killed before her eyes, and she begged
+the soldiers to go to their aid, but they were not brave
+enough to do it. She must go herself. With a hasty command
+to Laviolette to keep watch at the gate while she
+was gone, she ran out alone down to the landing-place.
+She afterwards said, "I thought that the savages would
+suppose it to be a ruse to draw them towards the fort, in
+order to make a rush upon them. They did suppose so,
+and thus I was able to save my friends, the Fontaine family.
+When they were landed I made them all march up to the
+fort before me in full sight of the enemy. We put so bold
+a face on that they thought they had more to fear than we
+had." Thus the settlers and their plucky young escort
+gained the shelter of the fort, and Madeleine, quite encouraged
+by this addition to the number of her forces, at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span>
+once ordered that whenever an Indian came in sight,
+he should at once be fired on, which order was faithfully
+obeyed, and in watching and firing, the hours of the long
+day wore away.</p>
+
+<p>After sunset a fierce northeast wind came up, accompanied
+with a flurry of snow and hail, and as the little band
+in the fort heard the howling of the wind they looked at
+one another with pale and terrified faces, fearing that the
+Iroquois, who were still lurking near, would be able, under
+cover of the noise and darkness of the storm, to climb into
+the fort, and all would be lost. Whitest of all was
+Madeleine, the young commander, but she gathered her
+troop of six persons around her, and said stoutly, "God
+has saved us to-day from the hands of our enemies, but
+we must take care not to fall into their snares to-night.
+As for me, I want you to see that I am not afraid. I
+will take care of the fort with an old man of eighty and
+another who never fired a gun, and you, Pierre Fontaine,
+with the two soldiers, will go to the blockhouse with the
+women and children because that is the strongest place, and
+if I am taken, don't surrender, even if I am cut to pieces
+and burned before your eyes. The enemy cannot hurt you in
+the blockhouse if you make the least show of fight."</p>
+
+<p>Then placing her two brothers on two of the bastions
+or look-outs of the fort, and the old man of eighty on the
+third, she herself took the fourth watch, and all through
+the endless hours of that night while the wind howled and
+the storm beat against the wall, the cries of "<span class="smcap">ALL'S WELL!</span>"
+were repeated from the blockhouse to the fort, and from
+the fort to the blockhouse. One would have thought the
+place was filled with soldiers, and the Indians were completely
+deceived, as they confessed afterwards to a Frenchman
+to whom they then told their plan of capturing the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span>
+fort in the night, a plan which had failed because the place
+had been so well guarded!&mdash;and two young boys, a very old
+man and a young girl had accomplished this!</p>
+
+<p>About one o'clock in the morning the soldier who had
+been put on watch at the gate called out, "Mademoiselle, I
+hear something," and hurrying to him Madeleine, by the
+aid of the snow light, was able to see a small number of
+cattle huddled close to the fort. Telling this to her companions
+they instantly cried, "Let them in," but
+Madeleine shook her head, answering emphatically, "God
+forbid! You don't know all the tricks of the savages.
+They are no doubt following the cattle, covered with skins
+of beasts so as to get into the fort, if we are simple enough
+to open the gate for them."</p>
+
+<p>But later, after having taken every precaution for
+safety, besides placing the boys ready with their guns cocked
+in case of surprise, Madeleine allowed the gate to be opened
+and the cattle filed in safely and alone.</p>
+
+<p>At last the weary night of suspense was over, and as
+daylight dawned, the situation began to look brighter.
+Everyone took fresh courage except Madame Fontaine, who
+begged her husband to carry her to another and safer fort.
+He replied, "I will never abandon this fort while
+Mademoiselle Madeleine is here."</p>
+
+<p>At this loyal answer Madeleine gave him a swift glance
+of appreciation, and cried, "I will never abandon it. I
+would <i>die</i> rather than give it up to the enemy. It is of the
+greatest importance that they should not get hold of any
+French fort, because they would think they could get others
+and grow more bold and presumptuous than ever!"</p>
+
+<p>Then with another quick nod of thanks and of understanding
+off went the young commander again to her post
+on the look-out, and then back to the blockhouse, where she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span>
+said words of ringing encouragement to the weary band
+huddled there together, and it was twenty-four hours later
+before she went into her father's house either for refreshment
+or rest, although sadly in need of both, but was always
+on guard to cheer her discouraged flock.</p>
+
+<p>When forty-eight hours had passed in this way, rest
+became imperative even for Madeleine's strong, young
+frame, and she allowed herself to doze at a table, folding
+her arms on it, so that with her gun lying across
+her arms and her head on her gun she was ready at a word
+of alarm to spring up, weapon in hand, and face the enemy.
+It was a terrible situation, that of the little band within the
+fort, for they knew of no way to send word to friends of
+their plight, and if the outer world had no news of the
+situation, from whence could help come? This thought
+was constantly in the minds of the exhausted band, waiting,
+watching and hoping against hope for some one to come to
+their rescue. Had they but known that even while they
+were waiting, some of the farmers who when at work in the
+field had escaped the Indians, were now making their way
+to Montreal, their anxiety would have been greatly lessened,
+but they did not know, and the fort was constantly attacked
+by the enemy, who when not besieging it were crouching
+near, waiting for a chance to make a successful attack. Very
+early on the dawn of the seventh day of their vigil,
+Madeleine's younger brother, who was on watch on the
+side of the fort which faced the river, heard the sound
+of distant voices and the splashing of oars in the water.</p>
+
+<p>"Who goes there?" he called out bravely, but with a
+shivering fear that it might be additional forces of the
+enemy. At the sound of his cry Madeleine, dozing by the
+table, roused and ran to his side with a question on her lips
+which did not need to be framed.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"A voice from the river," he whispered, but as he
+spoke came the louder sound of near-by footsteps and voices,
+and fleet-footed Madeleine ran to the bastion to see whether
+it was friend or foe arriving.</p>
+
+<p>"Who are you?" the clear voice of the intrepid young
+commander rang out, and instantly came the answer:</p>
+
+<p>"We are Frenchmen. It is La Monnerie, who comes
+to bring you help, and with him are forty men."</p>
+
+<p>Relief was at hand! Turning, Madeleine gave a command
+to a soldier to stand on guard, then, "Quick, open the
+gate," she said, and her command was obeyed. The gate,
+closely guarded, was opened, and out went Madeleine to
+meet those who had come to the rescue.</p>
+
+<p>As Monsieur Monnerie caught sight of the slight girlish
+figure his eyes were full of wonder. Then she stood before
+him, drew herself up to her full height, and solemnly
+saluted, saying, "Monsieur, I surrender my arms to you."</p>
+
+<p>The gallant Frenchman retorted chivalrously, "Mademoiselle,
+they are in good hands," and then the pride of
+the brave girl broke bounds, and with shining eyes she exclaimed,
+"Better than you know. Come and see for yourself!"
+and fairly pulled him into the fort, where he made
+a thorough inspection, and his admiration increased momentarily
+as he saw what this slip of a girl had been able to
+accomplish. Everything was in order, a sentinel was on
+each bastion, the enemy had been held at bay&mdash;what man
+could have done better work? Nay, who could have more
+nobly defended the garrison?</p>
+
+<p>With the light of intense admiration in his eyes La
+Monnerie paid tribute to Madeleine's good judgment, bold
+tactics and ready wit which had saved the situation, and
+for very embarrassment at his praise, a deep flush crimsoned
+the girl's cheeks, as with a shy glance of appreciation, she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span>
+thanked him, adding quietly, "It is time to relieve the
+guard, Monsieur. We have not been off our bastions for
+a week!"</p>
+
+<p>Among all the incidents handed down concerning that
+troublous time in the Canadian provinces, none is so worthy
+of lingering over as this noble defence of Castle Dangerous,
+by the daughter of its commander, and sweet and strong, the
+influence of Madeleine de Verch&egrave;res comes down to inspire
+and thrill the hearts of girls of all countries and ages by the
+deed she did in the name of her country and her King.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span></p>
+<h2>ADRIENNE DE LAFAYETTE:</h2>
+
+<h3>A Young Patriot's Wife</h3>
+
+
+<div class='cap'>MADAME DE LAFAYETTE! How stately the
+title sounds, and how slender and girlish the
+little bride looks in her wedding finery, her dark
+eyes large with excitement, and a soft flush on
+her delicate cheeks as she gazes admiringly into the eyes
+of her "Big boy with the red hair," as the young Marquis
+de Lafayette was called by his intimate friends.</div>
+
+<p>Having seen the young bride and groom, for Lafayette
+was only nineteen, while pretty Adrienne, his wife, was just
+fourteen, let us turn back the pages of history for a moment
+and see what led up to this remarkably youthful
+marriage.</p>
+
+<p>To begin with, in the days of the reign of Louis XVI
+and the beautiful young queen, Marie Antoinette, there
+was no more palatial residence in all Paris than that which
+in 1711 came into the possession of the Duc de Noailles and
+was thereafter called the H&ocirc;tel de Noailles.</p>
+
+<p>The finest artists of the day had re-decorated its stately
+rooms for the Duc; its walls were hung with costly silk, its
+picture gallery was famous even in a city rich in art treasures,
+even its stables were fabulously large and far-famed.
+All that could minister to the joy of life was to be found in
+the H&ocirc;tel de Noailles in those happy days before the clouds
+hanging low over France broke in a storm of disaster.
+Later in 1768, Madame D'Ayen,&mdash;wife of the Duc de
+Noailles, who was also the Duc D'Ayen,&mdash;mistress of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span>
+beautiful home, was leading a happy life there with her
+four daughters, to whose education and care she devoted
+most of her time.</p>
+
+<p>It was the early afternoon of a day in spring. At
+three o'clock Madame D'Ayen had dined with her children
+in the huge dining-room hung with dull tapestries and
+family portraits, then with cheery laughter the girls had run
+ahead of Madame to her bedroom, which was very large
+and hung with crimson satin damask embroidered in gold,
+on which the sun cast a cheerful glow. Louise and
+Adrienne, the two older girls,&mdash;Louise only a year the
+elder,&mdash;handed their mother her knitting, her books and her
+snuff, and then seated themselves, while the younger children
+disputed as to which one should have the coveted place nearest
+Madame. Comfortably settled at last, the older girls
+busy with their sewing, Madame told them the story from
+the Old Testament of Joseph and his coat of many colours.
+When she finished Louise asked question after question,
+which her mother patiently answered, but Adrienne drank
+in the story told in her mother's vivacious way, in silence.
+Begged for just one more story, Madame then told an amusing
+experience of her convent days, on which both of the
+girls offered so many comments that at last Madame rose,
+saying rather impatiently:</p>
+
+<p>"You speak in a forward and disobedient manner, such
+as other girls of your age would never show to their parent."</p>
+
+<p>Louise looked her mortification, but Adrienne said
+quietly, "That may be, Madame, because you allow us to
+argue and reason with you as other mothers do not, but you
+will see that at fifteen we shall be more obedient than other
+children," and the girl's prediction was true.</p>
+
+<p>Every month of the year was a pleasure to the happy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span>
+children at the H&ocirc;tel de Noailles, but to both vivacious
+Louise and quiet Adrienne summer was the crowning joy
+of their year, for then they were always taken to visit their
+grandfather, the Mar&eacute;chal de Noailles, who cheerfully gave
+himself up to making the visit as gay for the children
+as possible. He played games with them in the house,
+delightful games such as they never played at home, and
+better yet, planned wonderful picnics for them, when with
+other cousins, and a governess in charge of the cavalcade,
+they rode on donkeys to the appointed spot. The
+governess, it is said, was a tiny person, blonde, pinched,
+and touchy, and very punctilious in the performance of her
+duties. Once mounted on her donkey, however, she entirely
+lost her dignity and appeared so wild-eyed, scared,
+and stiff that one could not look at her without feeling an
+irresistible desire to smile, which made her angry, though
+what angered her most was the peals of laughter when she
+tumbled off her donkey, as she seldom failed to do on
+an excursion. She usually fell on the grass and the pace
+of her donkey was not rapid, so she was never hurt, and the
+frolicsome children filed by her, for if one of them tried
+to help her up, as Adrienne always wanted to do, a scolding
+was the reward.</p>
+
+<p>In sharp contrast to the happy summer visits were
+those paid every autumn to the home of Madame D'Ayen's
+father, who lived at Fresnes. He was old and deaf and
+wished the children to be so repressed, that had Madame
+D'Ayen not made the visits as short as she could there would
+doubtless have been some disastrous outbreak in their ranks.</p>
+
+<p>For the other months of the year, life at the H&ocirc;tel de
+Noailles was a charmed existence for the children, especially
+for nature-loving Adrienne, who spent most of her time in
+the beautiful garden surrounding the house,&mdash;a garden<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span>
+celebrated throughout Paris for its marvellously kept flower
+beds, separated by winding, box-bordered paths. A flight
+of steps led from the house into this enchanting spot, and on
+either side three rows of great trees shed their long shadow
+over the near-by walks, while from the foot of the garden
+could be seen the wonderful panorama of the Tuileries.
+The garden was indeed an enchanted land, and the children
+played all sorts of games in its perfumed, wooded depths,
+only pausing when their mother passed through the garden,
+when with cries of joy they would cling to her skirts and
+tell her eager stories of their doings. And so, in happy
+play, in hours of education by her mother's side, in busy
+days of learning all the useful arts, seldom taught in those
+days to children of such high social rank, Adrienne grew
+to be fourteen years old. She was a reserved, well-informed,
+shy girl with great beautiful brown eyes, which
+grew large and dark when she was pleased with anything,
+and her finely chiselled features were those of a born
+aristocrat, while her good disposition was clearly visible in
+her expression, which was one of winning charm.</p>
+
+<p>At that time in France it was customary for parents
+to receive proposals of marriage for their daughters at a
+very early age, sometimes even before the proposition had
+any meaning to the girl herself, and so it happened that before
+Adrienne D'Ayen was twelve years old, the guardian
+of the young Marquis de Lafayette had begged Madame
+D'Ayen to give her daughter in marriage to his ward, who
+was but seventeen, and often was one of the merry party
+of young people who frequented the H&ocirc;tel de Noailles,&mdash;in
+fact Adrienne felt for him the real affection which she
+might have given to a brother.</p>
+
+<p>The family of the young Marquis was one of the oldest
+and most famous in France, famous for "bravery in battle,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span>
+wisdom in counsel, and those principles of justice and
+right which they ever practised." Young Lafayette had
+been left an orphan when he was eleven years old, also
+the possessor of an enormous fortune, at that time, of course,
+in the care of his guardian. He had been a delicate child,
+and not especially bright, but always filled with a keen desire
+for liberty of thought and action, and when he became
+old enough to choose between the only two careers
+open to one of his rank, he chose to be a soldier rather
+than a courtier, as life at the Court did not appeal to
+one of his temperament. Notwithstanding this, being a
+good looking, wealthy young man, he was always welcome
+at Court and made the object of marked attentions by
+the young Queen and her companions. Such was the
+young Marquis, who for reasons diplomatic and political
+his guardian wished to marry to a daughter of Madame
+D'Ayen, but Madame objected, saying that she feared his
+large fortune, in the hands of one so headstrong as the
+young Lafayette, might not make for his own and her
+daughter's happiness. However, her family and friends
+begged her not to make the mistake of refusing an alliance
+with a family of such distinction as the Lafayettes, and
+finally, although this was as yet unknown to the girl whose
+future it was to so closely touch, Madame withdrew her
+objections, and so was decided the fate of little Adrienne
+D'Ayen, whose name was to be in consequence linked
+thereafter with great events in history.</p>
+
+<p>Two years later, in the spring of 1777, the H&ocirc;tel de
+Noailles was in a bustle of gay preparations. Louise
+D'Ayen, now fifteen years old, had just become the bride of
+the Marquis de Montagu, and no sooner were the festivities
+over, than Madame D'Ayen called Adrienne to her room,
+and told her of the accepted proposal of M. de Lafayette<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span>
+for her hand. She added, "In accepting this
+honour for you, my Adrienne, I have made the stipulation
+that you and your husband are to remain here with me for
+the present, as you are but children yet, that I may still influence
+your education and religious experience. This
+proposal was made two years ago, before the education of
+M. Lafayette was completed, but now that it is accomplished,
+and you are fourteen years old, you are to become
+the affianced bride of the young Marquis."</p>
+
+<p>No well-brought-up French girl would have thought
+of resisting her mother's decree, although her would-be
+husband was not to her liking, but in this case the idea was
+altogether to Adrienne's own choice, and her brown eyes
+grew dark with joy, and she clasped her hands, exclaiming,
+"Oh, quel bonheur! Quel bonheur!" then escaped to her
+own room to think about this wonderful fairy story happening
+which had come to her.</p>
+
+<p>Though she and the young Marquis had been constantly
+thrown together before this, one can well imagine
+the degree of shyness which overcame the young girl on
+their first meeting after the betrothal had been announced.
+The world was in a dazzling array of spring beauty, so
+says the historian,&mdash;the tender almonds were budding with
+softest green, the daffodils and tulips were breaking into
+rare blooms, the world waking from its winter sleep. All
+seemed to smile on the young lovers who walked as in a
+dream-world through the flower-bordered paths and spoke
+together of that future which they were to share.</p>
+
+<p>But such a t&ecirc;te-&agrave;-t&ecirc;te did not occur again, for after that
+the little bride-to-be was kept busy with her studies until
+the time came for a flurry of preparation just before the
+marriage day, and it is interesting to read the description
+of a wedding in those days of long ago, in a country where<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span>
+the customs have ever been so different from those of our
+own.</p>
+
+<p>It is said that there were interviews with solemn
+lawyers who brought huge parchments on which were recorded
+the estates and incomes of the two young people,
+but of far greater interest to the bride was the wonderful
+trousseau for which family treasures were brought to light,
+rare laces were bleached, jewels were re-set and filmy
+gossamer muslins were made up into bewitching finery for
+the pretty wearer; as well as dresses for more formal occasions
+made with festoons of fairy-like silver roses, panels
+of jewelled arabesques, cascades of lace lighter and more
+frail than a spider's web, masses of shimmering satins and
+velvets fashioned with heavy court trains, which when tried
+on the slender girlish figure seemed as if she were but
+"dressing up" as girls will often do for their own amusing.
+Then, too, there were priceless jewels to be laid against the
+white neck, slipped on the slender fingers, to marvel at their
+beauty and glitter, and to wonder if they could really and
+truly be her own!</p>
+
+<p>But even the sparkling gems, the elaborate trousseau,
+and all the ceremony and flattery surrounding a girl who
+was making such a brilliant marriage, failed to turn the
+head or spoil the simple taste of little Adrienne. Even in
+her gayest moods&mdash;and like other girls, she had them&mdash;Adrienne
+was never frivolous, and though possessed of
+plenty of wit and spirit, was deeply religious and at heart unselfish
+and noble.</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur and Madame de Lafayette! What magic
+there was in the new title. How proudly the young couple,
+scarcely more than children yet, but now husband and wife,
+bore themselves, as they returned from the church to the
+H&ocirc;tel de Noailles, to take up their residence there, according<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span>
+to the promise made to Madame D'Ayen before she
+would consent to the marriage. They would have
+preferred a home of their own, but when shortly after their
+marriage Lafayette's regiment was ordered to Metz, and
+broken-hearted little Adrienne was left behind, she found
+it very comforting to be where she could child-wise sob out
+her loneliness on the shoulder of her sympathetic mother.
+Poor little Adrienne,&mdash;well it was that you could not see
+into the future with its many harder separations!</p>
+
+<p>With the return of Lafayette the pretty bride began to
+lead a life much gayer than any she had ever led before,
+for she and her young husband, because they belonged
+to two such famous families, became now a part of the gay
+little set ruled by the caprices of Queen Marie Antoinette.
+That first winter after their marriage the young couple
+went constantly to balls and late suppers, to the opera and
+the play,&mdash;were in fact in a constant whirl of amusement,
+which had the charm of novelty to them both, and
+Lafayette, who had always, even as a boy, been a favourite
+at Court, was still popular and still called "The big boy
+with the red hair." He was always awkward, and conspicuous
+for his height, as well as his clumsiness, and danced
+as badly as Adrienne did well, which mortified him greatly,
+having discovered which, Queen Marie Antoinette would
+often in a spirit of mischief order him to appear on the
+floor, and then tease him mercilessly about his awkwardness.
+He was different too in many ways from the courtiers
+with whom he was thrown, and his dominant passion even
+then, at nineteen, was the ambition of a true patriot, only
+waiting to be turned into its fitting channel.</p>
+
+<p>Both he and Adrienne enjoyed the gaiety and lack of
+responsibility of those first months of their married life,
+but more than the frivolity, Adrienne enjoyed sitting at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span>
+home with her husband and friends while they discussed
+great national affairs, and later she loved best to slip upstairs
+and care for the little daughter who came to be her
+especial joy,&mdash;and so, absorbed in a variety of interests, the
+first two years of Madame Adrienne's married life slipped
+away, and at sixteen we find her as pretty and as slender as
+ever, but with a deeper tenderness and gravity in her brown
+eyes.</p>
+
+<p>At the Court of Versailles an honoured guest from the
+American Colonies was being entertained,&mdash;a homely, unpolished,
+reserved man, named Benjamin Franklin. He
+was a man with a mission: America must be a free country,
+and France must help her in the struggle, not only with
+men, but with money. This was the burden of his plea and
+it thrilled all Paris. The plain brusque American became
+the fad of the hour. Shops displayed canes, scarfs, hats&mdash;even
+a stove "&agrave; la Franklin," and he bore away with him not
+only an immense gift, but also a large loan, neither of which
+impoverished France could afford to give.</p>
+
+<p>Foremost among those whom he inflamed in the cause
+of liberty was young Lafayette, and Adrienne noted with
+keen alarm his growing indifference to all other topics except
+that one which was absorbing his interest, and although
+she said nothing to him about her fear, she went at once to
+each member of his family with the same plea, "Persuade
+him not to go! Tell him his duty is here! I would die if
+I were left alone after we have been so happy together!"
+But even as she pleaded, the passion to go to America was
+taking a firmer hold daily on the young enthusiast. His
+family forbade it, but in secret he made his plans&mdash;in secret
+carried them out to the last moment, when going to London
+for a couple of days, he sent back a letter to his father-in-law,
+telling of his intentions. M. de Noailles read it, sent<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span>
+at once for his wife, and after a brief and agitated conference
+Adrienne was called. Eagerly impatient to know why
+she had been summoned, she stood before her parents, so
+young and frail that the mother's heart rebelled at having to
+tell her the cruel news. She could not do it. Without a
+word she handed her the letter and turned away that
+Adrienne might not see her sorrowful expression. Then
+turning back again she said hastily, "It is an utterly absurd,
+selfish scheme, my dear. I will see that it is not carried out."</p>
+
+<p>Then she stood amazed. What had come over Adrienne?
+She held herself erect, her eyes were dry, and she
+said proudly: "If my husband feels that way, it is right
+and best for him to go to America, and we must do all we
+can to make the parting easy for him. It is he who is going
+to leave those who are dearest to him, for the sake of a
+noble cause."</p>
+
+<p>Brave girl! Not once after that did she allow her own
+feelings to check the ardour of Lafayette's patriotism, not
+once did she stay her hand in her careful preparation for his
+departure, although every article laid aside for his use was
+moistened by her unseen tears, while he was busy with the
+interesting and enormously expensive work of chartering
+and fitting up a ship, which Adrienne named <i>The Victory</i>,
+in which he was to make his trip across the ocean.</p>
+
+<p>The preparations were completed and the day had
+come for his going. Slight, beautiful; too proud to show
+her emotion, thinking more of him than of herself, Adrienne,
+not yet eighteen years old, bade her husband farewell&mdash;saw
+him embark for a strange land, for the sake of
+a cause as dangerous as it was alluring to the young patriot,
+and went back to her quiet routine of home duties and
+regular occupations without one murmur.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>To her family and her friends she showed little of
+what she felt, although many a night she did not even lie
+down, but sat at her desk, pouring out her heart to the dear
+one tossing on a perilous sea, in letters which though daily
+sent, never reached the young adventurer, so we must needs
+imagine her transports of loneliness&mdash;her passion of affection,
+written to ease and comfort and in a measure to fit her
+to take up the next day's duties calmly.</p>
+
+<p>Lafayette's letters to her had a better fate than hers to
+him, and one day when she least expected it, a precious
+packet lay in Adrienne's hands. Wild with excitement at
+sight of the familiar writing, she held it for a long time unopened,
+then fled to the solitude of her own room to read
+its contents with no eye watching her joy.</p>
+
+<p>The letter was full of tender interest in her health, and
+of repetitions of undying affection which warmed the heart
+so starved for them. Written on board <i>The Victory</i>, May
+30, 1777, it said: "I ought to have landed by this time, but
+the winds have been most provokingly contrary. When I
+am once more on shore I shall learn many interesting things
+concerning the new country I am seeking. Do not fancy
+that I shall incur any real danger by the occupations I am
+undertaking. The service will be very different from the
+one I must have performed if I had been, for example, a
+colonel in the French army. My attendance will only be
+required in the council. To prove that I do not wish to
+deceive you, I will acknowledge that we are at this moment
+exposed to some danger from the risk of being attacked
+by English vessels, and that my ship is not of sufficient
+force for defence. But when I have once landed I
+shall be in perfect safety. I will not write you a journal
+of my voyage. Days succeed each other, and what is
+worse, resemble each other. Always sky, always water,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span>
+and the next day a repetition of the same thing. We have
+seen to-day several kinds of birds which announce that we
+are not very far from shore."</p>
+
+<p>Fifteen days later there was a second letter, and then
+they arrived with some degree of regularity to cheer lonely
+little Adrienne, watching, waiting, and living on their
+coming. It was a time fraught with vital issues in the
+American Colonies. Though to Lafayette there was
+somewhat of disillusion in finding the American troops not
+like the dashing, brilliantly uniformed ones of his own
+country, but merely a great army of undisciplined, half-ragged
+soldiers, united only in the flaming desire to acquire
+liberty for their beloved land at all hazards, yet soon the
+young foreigner lost sight of all but their patriotism, and
+his letters show how he too had become heart and soul inflamed
+by the same spirit. Only fragments of the letters
+can be given here, but one can picture the young wife, with
+her baby in her arms, in the home of her childhood, devouring
+with breathless interest the story of her adventurer
+in a strange land. On June 15th Lafayette writes:</p>
+
+<p>"I have arrived, my dearest love, in perfect health at
+the house of an American officer. I am going this evening
+to Charlestown.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;. The campaign is opened, but
+there is very little fighting.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;. The manners in this
+part of the world are very simple, polite and worthy in
+every respect of the country in which the noble name of
+liberty is constantly repeated.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;. Adieu, my love.
+From Charlestown I shall repair by land to Philadelphia
+to rejoin the army. Is it not true that you will always love
+me?"</p>
+
+<p>A few days later he writes from Charlestown:</p>
+
+<p>"I landed, after having sailed for several days along
+a coast swarming with hostile vessels. On my arrival here<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span>
+everyone told me that my ship must undoubtedly be taken,
+because two English frigates had blockaded the harbour.
+I even sent, both by land and sea, orders to the Captain to
+put the men on shore and burn the vessel. Well, by an
+extraordinary stroke of good luck a sudden gale of wind
+having blown away the frigates for a short time the vessel
+arrived at noonday without having encountered friend or
+foe. At Charlestown, I have met with General Howe, a
+general officer now engaged in service. The Governor of
+the State is expected this evening from the country. I can
+only feel gratitude for the reception I have met with, although
+I have not thought it best yet to enter into any details
+respecting my future prospects and arrangements. I
+wish to see the Congress first. There are some French and
+American vessels at present here which are to sail out of
+the harbour in company to-morrow morning.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;. I
+shall distribute my letters along the different ships in case
+any accident should happen to either one of them.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.</p>
+
+<p>I shall now speak to you, my love, about the country
+and its inhabitants, who are as agreeable as my enthusiasm
+had led me to imagine. Simplicity of manner, kindness of
+heart, love of country and of liberty and a delightful state
+of equality are met with universally.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;. Charlestown
+is one of the finest cities I have ever seen. The
+American women are very pretty and have great simplicity
+of character, and the extreme neatness of their appearance is
+truly delightful; cleanliness is everywhere even more studiously
+attended to here than in England. What gives me
+most pleasure is to see how completely the citizens are
+brethren of one family. In America there are no poor and
+none even that can be called peasants. Each citizen
+has some property and all citizens have the same right as
+the richest individual."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>After protestations of deep devotion and loneliness the
+letter ends with:</p>
+
+<p>"The night is far advanced, the heat intense, and I am
+devoured with gnats, but the best of countries have their
+inconveniences. Adieu, my love, adieu."</p>
+
+<p>A very good picture that of customs and habits which
+would have been to the lasting advantage of America to
+continue!</p>
+
+<p>The letters of Lafayette grew more and more homesick
+and Adrienne's feelings were like a harp with its
+strings attuned to respond to his every emotion.</p>
+
+<p>From Petersburg, Va., on July 17, 1777, he writes:</p>
+
+<p>"I have received no news of you, and my impatience
+to hear from you cannot be compared to any other earthly
+feeling.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;. You must have learned the particulars of
+the commencement of my journey. You know that I set
+out in a brilliant manner in a carriage, and I must now
+tell you that we are all on horseback, having broken the
+carriage after my usual praiseworthy custom, and I hope
+soon to write you that we have arrived at Philadelphia on
+foot!&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;."</p>
+
+<p>A few days later he says:</p>
+
+<p>"I am each day more miserable, from having quitted
+you, my dearest love.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;. I would give at this moment
+half of my existence for the pleasure of embracing
+you again, and telling you with my own lips how I love
+you.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;. Oh, if you knew how I sigh to see you, how
+I suffer at being separated from you and all that my heart
+has been called on to endure, you would think me somewhat
+worthy of your love."</p>
+
+<p>Poor, lonely, young couple&mdash;each was suffering in a
+different way from the separation, but Adrienne's misery
+was the hardest to bear, for not only had she lost the little<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span>
+daughter who had been her greatest comfort since the departure
+of her husband for America, but she now had a
+shock, for in her husband's letter of the 12th of September,
+after the battle of Brandywine, he wrote:</p>
+
+<p>"Our Americans after having stood their ground for
+some time ended at last by being routed; whilst endeavouring
+to rally them, the English honoured me with a musket
+ball, which slightly wounded me in the leg, but it is a
+trifle, and I have escaped with the obligation of lying on
+my back for some time, which puts me much out of humour.
+I hope that you will feel no anxiety, this event ought, on
+the contrary, rather to reassure you, since I am incapacitated
+from appearing on the field for some time. I have resolved
+to take good care of myself, be convinced of this, my dearest
+love."</p>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding the cheerful tenor of this letter,
+Adrienne was not able to eat or sleep after its arrival, until
+in a second letter he again assured her of the slightness of
+his injury, and added:</p>
+
+<p>"I must now give you your lesson as the wife of an
+American general-officer. They will say to you, 'They
+have been beaten.' You must answer, 'That is true, but
+when two armies of equal numbers meet in the field, old
+soldiers have naturally the advantage over new ones. They
+have had besides, the pleasure of killing a great many of
+the enemy; many more than they have lost.' They will
+afterward say, 'All that is very well, but Philadelphia is
+taken, the Capital of America, the rampart of Liberty!'
+You must politely answer, 'You are all great fools.' Philadelphia
+is a poor forlorn town, exposed on every side,
+whose harbour is already closed, although the residence of
+Congress lent it some degree of celebrity. This is the
+famous city which, it may be added, we will soon make them<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span>
+yield to us! If they continue to persecute you with questions
+you may send them about their business in terms which the
+Vicomte de Noailles will teach you, for I cannot lose
+time in talking to my friends of politics."</p>
+
+<p>Thrilling indeed were those days of 1777 after the
+battle of Brandywine, for the Americans struggling so valiantly
+for the liberty they were so determined to secure, and
+valiant was young Lafayette in upholding that Cause which
+he had so bravely espoused. A letter from General Greene
+to General Washington in which he speaks glowingly about
+the young Frenchman would have filled Adrienne's heart
+to overflowing with pride, could she but have read it, for
+it was full of descriptions of her husband's bravery even
+before he had recovered from the wound received at the
+battle of Brandywine, and General Greene adds:</p>
+
+<p>"The Marquis Lafayette is determined to be in the
+way of danger." But Lafayette's own account of his
+doings, both to General Washington, with whom he was
+on the most intimate and affectionate terms, and to his wife,
+were always most modest and self-depreciatory. But because
+of Lafayette's illustrious connections, the loyalty he
+showed for the cause of American liberty, and also because
+of the marked discretion and good sense he had shown on
+several critical occasions, Washington recommended to
+Congress that the young Frenchman receive command of
+a <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'divison'">division</ins> in the Continental army, which suggestion was
+carried out on the 27th of November, 1777, and of course
+Lafayette's ardour for the Cause he was supporting flamed
+higher than before, on receiving this honour.</p>
+
+<p>Soon, in accordance with General Washington's plan,
+it was decided that the American army was to encamp for
+the winter at Valley Forge, and of the dreary march there,
+uncheered by any great triumph, and when most of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span>
+soldiers were suffering from both cold and hunger, and the
+still drearier arrival and terrible subsequent privations and
+hardships, the pages of history have made us too well acquainted
+to need to dwell on them here.</p>
+
+<p>During that hard winter, there were those in command
+who were jealous of the intimacy between Washington
+and the young Marquis who attempted to break it up
+by offering Lafayette the command of an expedition into
+Canada, which it was thought his military ambition would
+tempt him to accept. It did, and in consequence he hastened
+to the headquarters of General Gates at Yorktown
+to receive further orders, where he found the General dining,
+surrounded by such evidences of luxury and high
+living as were never seen at Valley Forge, and when he
+proposed the toast, "The Commander-in-chief of the American
+Armies," to his surprise the toast was received without
+a cheer, which was his first intimation that there was
+any feeling in the American ranks hostile in the slightest
+degree to General Washington.</p>
+
+<p>Almost at once he set out to undertake the commission
+given him, and not until it had proved a disastrous failure
+did he discover that it had been given without the sanction
+or even the knowledge of Washington. He wrote a letter
+of profound regret and humiliation to his Commander-in-chief,
+laying the whole matter before him, saying that he
+felt utterly distressed about the matter, to which Washington
+replied in a fatherly and calm letter, assuring the young
+Marquis of his continued esteem, and gladly then Lafayette
+hastened back to Valley Forge, to again enjoy the companionship
+of his Commander-in-chief, to be inspired by his
+fatherly counsel.</p>
+
+<p>But of what Lafayette was exposed to, of privation or
+of struggle, at that time Adrienne knew little, for he always<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span>
+wrote cheerfully to her, dwelling at length on any bit
+of brightness of which he could speak.</p>
+
+<p>After having returned to Valley Forge he writes:</p>
+
+<p>"My presence is more necessary to the American
+cause than you can possibly conceive. Many foreigners
+have endeavoured by every sort of artifice to make me discontented
+with this revolution and with him who is their
+chief. They have spread as loudly as they could the report
+that I was quitting the Continent. The English have
+proclaimed also loudly the same intention on my side. I
+cannot in justice appear to justify the malice of these people.
+If I were to depart many Frenchmen who are useful here
+would follow my example. General Washington would
+feel very unhappy if I were to speak of quitting him. His
+confidence in me is greater than I dare acknowledge, on account
+of my youth. In the place he occupies he is likely
+to be surrounded by flatterers or by secret enemies, he finds
+in me a sincere friend in whose bosom he may always confide
+his secret thoughts and who will always speak the
+truth.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;." Again he says, "Several general officers
+have brought their wives to the camp. I envy them&mdash;not
+their wives&mdash;the happiness they enjoy in being able to see
+them. General Washington has also resolved to send for
+his wife. As to the English, they have received a re-inforcement
+of three hundred young ladies from New York!"
+Then with boyish simplicity he adds, "Do you not think
+that at my return we shall be old enough to establish ourselves
+in our own house, live there happily together and
+receive our friends?" and the letter concludes, "Adieu,
+my love. I only wish this project could be executed on
+this present day."</p>
+
+<p>While Lafayette was living through all sorts of thrilling
+experiences and receiving still higher promotion as a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span>
+reward for his brilliant military exploits, across the sea had
+come the disquieting rumour to Madame D'Ayen of his
+death, and the mother-heart stood still with fear that it
+should reach the brave wife, already saddened enough by
+the suspense of her loneliness, and now the mother of another
+little daughter who needed all the happy smiles that
+Adrienne could give. With great haste and diplomacy
+Madame D'Ayen urged Adrienne to visit her grandfather
+at Fresnes, and unsuspecting Adrienne welcomed the suggestion
+of a change of scene, as her heart-hunger for the
+"big boy" over the water was daily growing more insistent.
+She returned in better health and spirits, but as the rumour
+had not yet been discredited, Madame D'Ayen insisted on
+another visit to the country, and never did Adrienne know
+of the report which would have almost killed her, until a
+glad unexpected day, when, without any warning to expect
+him, Adrienne found herself again in the arms of her husband.
+Lafayette had been overcome with homesickness at
+a time when affairs looked bright enough for the American
+army to risk his absence, and he had impulsively taken the
+first steamer sailing for France and home. Then and only
+then did Adrienne hear of the rumour which had caused
+her mother such disquietude, and then for the first time
+Madame D'Ayen had the opportunity for which she had
+longed, to learn the details of that alliance between France
+and America, in which she was profoundly interested and
+in the making of which Lafayette had played such a
+prominent part. There was indeed much to talk about
+after the long separation, and Lafayette felt that he could
+not have Adrienne and the little daughter whom he had
+not seen before, out of his sight even for a moment.
+Adrienne would have been quite happy, had not a dark disquietude
+troubled even her nights, for Lafayette had come<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span>
+but to go again, and if the first parting had been hard, this
+was doubly so, for she knew now how devotedly she loved
+him, and that the changes made in him in his two years
+of adventure and real privation, had only given her affection
+a stronger desire for his presence and protection. But
+with characteristic courage she made no plea that he should
+stay, but showed a keen bright interest in all the news which
+came from America, and Lafayette remained with her until
+after the birth of his son, who was christened George
+Washington Lafayette. Soon after this event, Adrienne was
+obliged once again to say farewell to her husband,
+and as before, she held herself in proud courage,
+a courage which a woman twice her age might have been
+proud to show, offering no word which might sadden his
+going, but spurred him on with the dauntless spirit of the
+woman who inspires a man to be his best self.</p>
+
+<p>Three long years now went by and Adrienne alone bore
+the anxiety and responsibility of her baby boy's alarming
+sickness, at the same time constantly kept on the rack of
+suspense by newspaper accounts of the dangerous campaigns
+in which Lafayette was playing a prominent part.
+But she remained outwardly calm and courageous, and even
+made herself enter a little into Court festivities, that she
+might brighten the lives of her mother and the children
+who looked to her for their sunshine.</p>
+
+<p>Days, weeks and months went by, and then there came
+a grand f&ecirc;te at the H&ocirc;tel de Ville, to celebrate the birth of
+the Dauphin, and despite her heavy heart Adrienne went
+to it, looking very pretty in her stately Court gown of stiff
+brocade, which threw into sharp contrast her girlish figure
+and face. Trying not to put a damper on the party, she
+was chatting as gaily as possible with a courtier who was
+her devoted admirer, when a message was brought to her.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span>
+There was a general stir of excited interest around her.
+What was it they said? Adrienne could scarcely credit the
+news. The Virginia campaign brought to a successful
+end? The Marquis de Lafayette at home? Cornwallis
+surrendered? Lafayette <i>at home</i>, and waiting for her?
+Even the Queen was wildly excited by the good news, and
+being fond of both Adrienne and Lafayette, she rushed to
+the dazed girl's side, exclaiming impatiently, "Rouse, dear,
+rouse; make haste, or," this laughingly, "your red-headed
+boy may have sailed again for his beloved land of
+freedom!" Still Adrienne made no movement, and Marie
+Antoinette took her by the arm, saying, "I see I must personally
+conduct you to your own happiness. Come, my
+own carriage waits!"</p>
+
+<p>By this time Adrienne's heart had responded to the
+bewildering news, and bending over the Queen's hand she
+would have thanked her for her favour, but Marie Antoinette
+was young and romantic, and pushed aside the
+ceremonious thanks, to impel the still dazed Adrienne into
+the carriage.</p>
+
+<p>The Queen's carriage! The Queen herself! was
+whispered on every side at the unwonted sight of royalty
+driving so unceremoniously through the Rue Saint Honor&eacute;,
+but the Queen paid no heed to the fact that she was doing
+something unusual, and Adrienne saw nothing&mdash;heard nothing&mdash;she
+only kept repeating, "The campaign is over&mdash;Cornwallis
+has surrendered. He is back!"</p>
+
+<p>The massive gates of the courtyard of the H&ocirc;tel de
+Noailles swung open to admit the carriage. Marie Antoinette
+only waited to murmur an exclamation of congratulation,
+to press a hasty kiss on Adrienne's cheek, then
+drove away, while Adrienne, her great brown eyes lustrous
+with excitement and joy, her cheeks flaming with such<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span>
+crimson as had not flushed them for weary months, ran up
+the steps between the rows of stiff lackeys, ran so fast that
+she tripped on her absurdly ceremonious dress of brocade,
+tripped and tripped again, and then with a cry of joy ran
+into the arms of her beloved boy with the red hair!</p>
+
+<p>Brave little Adrienne&mdash;the pages of history are filled
+with the noble deeds of that husband who so early in life
+took up the cause of American liberty, and so valiantly
+fought for it, but who dares say that your name too should
+not be honoured with his, by every true American, because
+of your loving thoughts, your prayers and hopes which,
+winging their way across the ocean, inspired the young
+French patriot to all that was finest in his achievement!</p>
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<div class='tnote'><h3>Transcriber's Note:</h3>
+<p>Repeated chapter titles were removed.</p>
+<p>Varied hyphenation was retained.</p>
+<p>Obvious punctuation errors were corrected.</p>
+
+<p>The remaining corrections made are indicated by dotted lines
+under the corrections. Scroll the mouse over the word and the
+original text will <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'apprear'">appear</ins>.</p></div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr class="full" />
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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Ten Girls from History, by Kate Dickinson
+Sweetser, Illustrated by G. A. W.
+
+
+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: Ten Girls from History
+
+
+Author: Kate Dickinson Sweetser
+
+
+
+Release Date: May 13, 2010  [eBook #32363]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TEN GIRLS FROM HISTORY***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Emmy, D Alexander, and the Project Gutenberg Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net)
+
+
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original illustrations.
+      See 32363-h.htm or 32363-h.zip:
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/32363/32363-h/32363-h.htm)
+      or
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/32363/32363-h.zip)
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+      Characters immediately following a carat are superscripted.
+      Multiple superscritped characters are preceded by a caret
+      and enclosed in curly brackets. (Examples: Y^r, w^{ch}.)
+
+
+
+
+
+TEN GIRLS FROM HISTORY
+
+by
+
+KATE DICKINSON SWEETSER
+
+Author of "Ten Boys from History," "Ten
+Girls from Dickens," "Boys and Girls
+from Thackeray," "Boys and Girls
+from George Eliot."
+
+
+[Illustration: JOAN OF ARC]
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+New York
+Duffield & Company
+1912
+
+Copyright, 1912, by
+Duffield & Co.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+                                                              PAGE
+
+  JEANNE D'ARC: THE MAID OF FRANCE                               11
+
+  VICTORIA: A GIRL QUEEN OF ENGLAND                              41
+
+  SALLY WISTER: A GIRL OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION                69
+
+  COFACHIQUI: AN INDIAN PRINCESS OF HISTORIC LEGEND              89
+
+  JENNY LIND: THE SWEDISH NIGHTINGALE                           109
+
+  ELIZA LUCAS: A GIRL PLANTER OF THE 15TH CENTURY               123
+
+  LADY JANE GREY: THE NINE DAYS QUEEN                           147
+
+  "GENTLE ANNIE": A DAUGHTER OF THE REGIMENT                    181
+
+  MADELEINE DE VERCHERES: THE HEROINE OF CASTLE DANGEROUS       193
+
+  ADRIENNE DE LAFAYETTE: A YOUNG PATRIOT'S WIFE                 267
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+                                           PAGE
+
+      JEANNE D'ARC                 _Frontispiece_
+
+      COFACHIQUI                             90
+
+      LADY JANE GREY                        148
+
+      MADELEINE DE VERCHERES                194
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+As in the Ten Boys from History, so in this companion volume, the plan
+has been to call attention to the lives of girls who achieved some
+noteworthy success during youth, and in whose character courage was the
+dominant trait.
+
+Many authorities have been consulted in the re-telling of these stories,
+and in their presentation more attention has been paid to accuracy of
+historic fact than to the weaving of interesting romances, in the hope
+that this volume may be used as an introduction to the more detailed
+historical documents from which its sketches are taken.
+
+                                                  K. D. S.
+
+
+
+
+
+TEN GIRLS FROM HISTORY
+
+
+
+
+JEANNE D'ARC:
+
+The Maid of France
+
+
+THE peaceful little French village of Domremy lies in the valley of the
+river Meuse, at the south of the duchy of Bar, and there five hundred
+years ago was born the wonderful "Maid of France," as she was called;
+she who at an age when other girls were entirely occupied with simple
+diversions or matters of household importance was dreaming great dreams,
+planning that vast military campaign which was to enroll her among the
+idols of the French nation as well as among heroes of history.
+
+On the parish register of an old chapel in the village of her birth can
+still be seen the record of the baptism of Jeanette or Jeanne d'Arc, on
+the sixth of January, 1412, and although her father, Jacques d'Arc, was
+a man of considerable wealth and importance in the small community of
+Domremy, yet even so neither he nor any of the nine god-parents of the
+child--a number befitting her father's social position--could forecast
+that the child, then being christened, was so to serve her country, her
+king, and her God, that through her heroic deeds alone the name of
+Jacques d'Arc and of little Domremy were to attain a world-wide fame.
+
+At the time of Jeanne's birth the Hundred Years' War between England and
+France was nearing its end. Victorious England was in possession of
+practically all of France north of the river Loire, while France,
+defeated and broken in spirit, had completely lost confidence in her own
+power of conquest and Charles, the Dauphin, rightful heir to the throne
+of France, had been obliged to flee for his life to the provinces south
+of the Loire. This was the result of opposition to his claim on the part
+of his mother, Isabeau, who had always hated the Dauphin, and who, in
+her Treaty of Troyes, set aside her son's rights to the throne, and
+married his sister Catherine to the King of England, thus securing to
+their children that succession to the throne which was the lawful right
+of the Dauphin.
+
+France was indeed in the throes of a great crisis, and every remote
+duchy or tiny village heard rumours of the vast struggle going on in
+their well loved land, but still the party who were loyal to the Dauphin
+looked confidently for the day when he should be crowned at Rheims,
+where French kings for a thousand years had taken oath, although still
+the opposing party was growing in power and possessions.
+
+Quiet little Domremy lying folded in the embrace of its peaceful valley
+was thrilled by the tales of chance pilgrims passing through the
+village, who, stopping for a drink of water or a bite of food, would
+recount to eager listeners the current saying that, "France, lost by a
+woman,--and that woman, Isabeau, mother of the Dauphin,--should be saved
+by a maid who would come with arms and armour from an ancient wood."
+
+Now, towering high above little Domremy stretches a great forest called
+the Ancient Wood, and to the village folk there was in all France no
+other Ancient Wood than this, and so when they heard the travellers'
+tales they whispered to one another in hushed voices and with
+awe-stricken faces that the Wonderful Maid of Prophecy was to come from
+their own midst, but who was she, where was she, and to whom would she
+reveal herself?
+
+Many of these queries came to the ears of children busy near their
+elders, while they spun and talked, and as Jeanne d'Arc, now grown into
+a bright intelligent young girl, listened to the prophecy and the
+questions, all else became of no importance except the plight of France
+and the restoring of the Dauphin to his rightful inheritance. But to her
+elders or companions she gave no evidence of this absorption, seeming
+entirely occupied with her out of door tasks such as tending her
+father's sheep, helping to harvest grain, or to plough the fields, or at
+other times with her mother indoors, weaving and spinning,--for there
+was plenty of work in both house and field to keep all the children
+busy.
+
+In leisure hours Jeanne played and danced and sang as merrily as the
+other children, who gathered often around the big oak tree in the
+Ancient Wood, called the "Fairies' Tree," which was the subject of many
+a song and legend. But although she was as merry and light-hearted as
+her other friends, yet she was more truly pious, for she loved to go to
+mass and to hear the church bells echo through the quiet valley, and
+often when her comrades were frolicking around the "Fairies' Tree" she
+would steal off to place an offering on the altar of Our Lady of
+Domremy. And too, her piety took a practical form as well, and when in
+later years every act of hers was treasured up and repeated, those who
+had known her in her early girlhood had many tales to tell of her sweet
+help in times of sickness. It is said she was so gentle that birds ate
+from her hand, and so brave that not the smallest animal was lost when
+she guarded the flock.
+
+"Her mother taught her all her store of learning; the Creed and Ave and
+Pater Noster, spinning and sewing and household craft, while wood and
+meadow, forest flowers and rushes by the river, bells summoning the soul
+to think of God and the beloved saints from their altars, all had a
+message for that responsive heart."
+
+She herself has said, "I learned well to believe, and have been brought
+up well and duly to do what a good child ought to do."
+
+And too, her spirit responded throbbingly to the beauty and the mystery
+and the wonder of that life which is unseen, as well as to all tales of
+heroic deeds, and as she brooded on the sorrows of the Dauphin and of
+her beloved France, her nature became more and more quick to receive
+impressions which had no place in her routine of life, even though at
+that time with great practical bravery she was helping the villagers
+resist the invasions of bands of marauders. Then came a day when her
+life was for ever set apart from her companions. With them she had been
+running races in the meadow on this side of the Ancient Wood.
+Fleet-footed and victorious, she flung herself down to rest a moment
+when a boy's voice whispered in her ear, "Go home. Your mother wants
+you."
+
+True to her habit of obedience, Jeanne rose at once, and leaving the
+merry company walked back through the valley to her home. But it was no
+command from her mother which had come to her, and no boy's voice that
+had spoken. In these simple words she tells the story: She says, "I was
+thirteen at that time. It was mid-day in the Summer, when I heard the
+Voice first. It was a Voice from God for my help and guidance and that
+first time I heard it I was much afraid. I heard it to the right toward
+the Church. It seemed to come from lips I should reverence."
+
+Then with solemn awe she told of the great Vision which suddenly shone
+before her while an unearthly light flamed all around her, and in its
+dazzling radiance she saw St. Michael, Captain of the Hosts of Heaven
+and many lesser angels. So overwhelming was the Vision and the radiance,
+that she stood transfixed, lifting adoring eyes. Having been taught that
+the true office of St. Michael was to bring holy counsel and revelations
+to men, she listened submissively to his words. She was to be good and
+obedient, to go often to Church, and to be guided in all her future acts
+by the advice of St. Margaret and St. Catherine who had been chosen to
+be her counsellors. Then before the Vision faded, came a message so
+tremendous in its command, of such vast responsibility that it is small
+wonder if the little peasant maid lifted imploring hands, crying out for
+deliverance from this duty, until at last, white and spent, she sank on
+her knees with clasped hands, praying that this might not come to be
+true--that it might not be she who had been chosen by God to go to the
+help of the Dauphin--to lead the armies of France to victory.
+
+And yet even as she prayed she knew that it _was_ true,--that God had
+chosen her for a great work, that it was she, the peasant of Domremy,
+who alone could restore her country and her king to their former
+greatness--and that she would carry out the divine command.
+
+For nearly four long years after Jeanne first saw her Vision, she
+remained at home, and was as lovable, helpful and more truly pious than
+ever. Often St. Margaret and St. Catherine appeared to her, and ever
+they commanded her to fulfil her great destiny as the Maid who was to
+save France, and ever her conviction that she was to carry out their
+commands grew within her, as she heard the voice more and more clearly,
+crying, "You must go, Jeanne the Maid; daughter of God, you must go!"
+
+At that time the enemy was closing in on all the French strongholds;
+even the inhabitants of little Domremy, began to tremble at the repeated
+invasions of marauding soldiers, and the time had come to declare war
+against a foe which threatened to so completely wipe out France's
+heritage of honour.
+
+Jeanne had heard the Voice. She was now aflame with desire to obey its
+summons to duty, and to achieve this she knew that three things must be
+accomplished. First of all she must go to Robert de Baudricourt, a
+Captain of the King at Vaucouleurs, and ask him for an escort to take
+her to the Dauphin, then she must lead the Dauphin to his crowning at
+Rheims. A strange idea to be conceived by a young peasant girl, still in
+her early teens, and it is not to be wondered that in the fulfilment of
+such a destiny, Jeanne's sincerity of purpose was both sneered at and
+discredited by unbelievers in her heavenly vision.
+
+By the help of a cousin, Durand Laxart, she was able to obtain audience
+with Robert Baudricourt; in the presence of one of his knights, Bertrand
+de Poulengy, who was completely won by this girl, so tall and beautiful
+and stately in her youthful beauty, as, pale with emotion, she went
+swiftly up to Baudricourt, saying:
+
+"I have come to you in behalf of my Lord, in order that you shall bid
+the Dauphin stand firm and not risk battle with his enemies, for my Lord
+himself shall give him succour before Mid-Lent," and she added, "The
+Kingdom does not belong to the Dauphin, but to my Lord who wishes him to
+be made King. In spite of his enemies he must reign, and _I_ shall lead
+him to his consecration."
+
+Strange words these, to fall from the lips of a young girl. For a moment
+Baudricourt sat staring at her, wide-eyed, then he asked:
+
+"Who is your Lord?"
+
+"He is the King of Heaven."
+
+This was too much for the rough, practical minded Captain. The walls of
+the castle rang with his shouts of laughter, and turning to Durand
+Laxart, who by this time was crimson with shame for his kinswoman,
+Baudricourt with a gesture of dismissal said, "The girl is foolish. Box
+her ears and take her home to her father," and there was nothing left
+for Jeanne to do but to go back to Domremy until occasion should favour
+her destiny.
+
+In July the valley was again menaced by the Burgundians, and the people
+of Domremy fled for a refuge to a neighbouring city, while in their own
+little town there was a veritable reign of terror, and news came that
+the English were also besieging the strong old town of Orleans, which
+had always been called the "key to the Loire." If this city should fall,
+only by a miracle could France be saved, and Jeanne's Voices became more
+and more insistent. She must go at once. She must raise the siege of
+Orleans, but how?
+
+Again through the aid of Durand Laxart she obtained a second interview
+with the rough Captain of Vaucouleurs.
+
+Her assertion was as preposterous as before, but this time Baudricourt
+did not laugh, there was something haunting, powerful, in the girl's
+mystical manner, and in her dignity of bearing, which puzzled the gruff
+Captain, and made him listen, but as he offered her no help, the
+interview was fruitless, and she was obliged to return again to the
+Laxarts' home, near Vaucouleurs, where while she waited she gave what
+help she could in the household, but also went often to church, and
+often partook of the Sacrament, praying for help in her mission. Whoever
+knew her loved her, and her popularity was so widespread that the people
+of Vaucouleurs, with a growing belief in her ability to accomplish what
+no one else could for their beloved country, decided to themselves fit
+her out for her expedition to the Dauphin, and two knights, De Metz and
+Poulengy, who had become deeply attached to Jeanne, vowed to go wherever
+she might lead them.
+
+It was not safe for her to travel in a woman's clothes, so she was
+provided by the people's gifts, with a close-fitting vest, trunk and
+hose of black, a short dark grey cloak and a black cap, and her hair was
+cut after the fashion of men's wearing. Sixteen francs bought a horse
+for her, and the only bit of her old life she carried with her was a
+gold ring which her mother and father had given her.
+
+Before starting, Baudricourt's permission had to be obtained, and again
+Jeanne went to him; this time crying out:
+
+"In God's name, you are too slow for me, for this day the gentle Dauphin
+has had near Orleans a great loss, and he will suffer greater if you do
+not send me soon!"
+
+As before, Baudricourt listened to her, and enjoyed watching the play of
+emotions on her changeful face, but he said nothing either to encourage
+or to hinder her, and Jeanne knew that without further consent from him
+she must now go on her journey.
+
+At once she wrote a letter of farewell to her parents asking their
+forgiveness for doing what she knew would be against their wishes, and
+telling of the reality of her divine mission as it was revealed to her.
+She received no answer to this, but there was no attempt made to hinder
+her, and all preparations having been made, on the evening of the
+twenty-third of February, before a great crowd of spectators who had
+gathered to see her leave Vaucouleurs, the slender, calm figure in the
+page's suit stood ready to leave behind all a young girl should have of
+loving protection, for the sake of what she conceived to be a sacred
+mission.
+
+With her men around her, she mounted her horse, and as she halted for a
+moment before starting,--seeing her dignity and graceful bearing, her
+men were filled with pride in her,--even Baudricourt himself came down
+from the castle, and made the men take an oath to guard her with their
+own lives, then gave her a sword and a letter to the Dauphin.
+
+While they stood there ready to start, a man asked Jeanne:
+
+"How can you hope to make such a journey, and escape the enemy?"
+
+Quick and clear Jeanne's answer rang out, "If the enemy are on my road,
+I have God with me, who knows how to prepare the way to the Lord
+Dauphin. I was born to do this."
+
+Then with a swift signal, the solemn little cavalcade rode out into the
+night, while eyes were strained to see the last of the brave Maid, who
+conceived it her consecrated duty to go to the aid of the Dauphin, and
+her well loved land.
+
+On their way towards Chinon where the weak little Dauphin was holding
+his court, rode Jeanne and her six men, and a dangerous way it was,
+lying through a country over-run with marauding English and Burgundian
+warriors, and Jeanne's men were uneasy at escorting so young and fair a
+maid under such dangerous conditions, but Jeanne herself was unconcerned
+and fearless as they rode on into the valley of the Loire, noting on
+every side the devastation done by war and pillage. For greater safety
+they rode mostly by night, often travelling thirty miles in twenty-four
+hours,--a pretty severe test of the endurance of a girl of seventeen,
+unaccustomed to riding or of leading men-at-arms, but her courage and
+enthusiasm never flagged. With their horses' feet wrapped in cloths to
+deaden the clatter of hoofs, they went on their way as swiftly as was
+possible, and day by day the men's devotion to this Maid who was their
+leader grew deeper, as they saw the purity of her character and the
+nobility of her purpose.
+
+When they drew near Chinon, Jeanne's men spoke to one another doubtfully
+of what kind of a reception they would have. Reaching Auxerre they
+rested for a while, then travelled on to Gien, and as they journeyed, a
+report went ahead of them, that a young peasant girl called "The Maid"
+was on her way, so she said, to raise the siege of Orleans and to lead
+the Dauphin to his crowning at Rheims. Even to Orleans the report
+spread, and the inhabitants of that besieged city, now despairing of
+deliverance, felt a thrill of hope on hearing the report.
+
+Meanwhile Jeanne and her escort of six valiant men had halted near
+Chinon, while Jeanne wrote and despatched a letter to the Dauphin, in
+which she said that they had ridden one hundred and fifty leagues to
+bring him good news, and begged permission to enter his province. Then
+the next morning they rode into "the little town of great renown," as
+Chinon was called, and Jeanne remained at the Inn until the Dauphin
+should decide to receive her.
+
+Now Yolande, the King's mother-in-law, was much interested in what she
+had heard of Jeanne, the Maid, and she so influenced the Dauphin, that
+De Metz and Poulengy were allowed to have audience with him, and told
+what a fine and noble character Jeanne was, and what a beautiful spirit
+animated her slender frame, and begged him to see and trust her, saying
+that she was surely sent to save France. Their plea made a great
+impression on the Dauphin, as was evident two hours later when he sent a
+number of clergymen to cross-question her on her so-called divine
+mission, and through all the tiresome examination Jeanne bore herself
+with proud dignity and answered so clearly and so well that they could
+only entertain a profound respect for the girl whom they had expected to
+scorn. The result of this examination was that by order of the King,
+Jeanne was moved from the Inn to a wing of the Castle, and there the
+girl-soldier was treated with every respect by the courtiers, who were
+all charmed by her frank simplicity and sweetness of manner. But the
+King had not yet consented to give her an audience, and two weary weeks
+dragged away in the most tedious of all things,--awaiting the Dauphin's
+pleasure,--and Jeanne chafed at the delay.
+
+At last one happy day she was led into the great vaulted audience
+chamber of the Castle, where torches flared, and the deep murmur of
+voices together with the sea of eager upturned faces, might have made a
+less self-contained person than the Maid confused and timid. But not so
+with Jeanne, for her thoughts were solely on that mission which she had
+travelled so far to accomplish. Her page's suit was in sharp contrast to
+the brilliant court costumes worn by the ladies of the Court, but of
+that she was unconscious, and advanced calmly through the long line of
+torch bearers to within a few feet of the throne,--gave a bewildered
+glance at the figure seated before her, in the velvet robes of
+royalty--then turned away, and with a cry of joy threw herself at the
+feet of a very quietly dressed young man who stood among the ranks of
+courtiers, exclaiming, "God of his grace give you long life, O dear and
+gentle Dauphin."
+
+Quickly the courtier answered, "You mistake, my child. I am not the
+King. There he is," pointing to the throne.
+
+There was a stir and murmur in the crowd, but the Maid did not rise. She
+simply looked into his face again, saying:
+
+"No, gracious liege, _you_ are he, and no other," adding with a simple
+earnestness, "I am Jeanne, the Maid, sent to you from God to give
+succour to the kingdom, and to you. The King of Heaven sends you word by
+me that you shall be anointed and crowned in the town of Rheims, and you
+shall be lieutenant of the King of Heaven, who is the King of France."
+
+Charles the Dauphin, who in the disguise of a courtier, had attempted to
+outwit the peasant girl by placing another on his throne, stood dumb
+with wonder at this revelation of her clear vision, and with a touch of
+awe, he raised her, and drew her away from the crowd that he might
+confer with her alone, while all tendency to jest at the expense of the
+Maid and her mission died away, and the crowd were silent with wonder at
+the bearing of this peasant girl who said she had come to save France.
+
+No one ever knew what passed between Jeanne and the Dauphin during that
+interview, but it is said that he demanded a further proof of her
+inspired mission, and in reply she told him the substance of a prayer he
+had offered one morning--a prayer known to God alone--and so impressed
+by this proof of a more than mortal vision was he, that he at once led
+her again down the long audience hall, through the lines of torch
+bearers and courtiers, then bending low, kissed her hand, and with
+gracious words sent her away under a strong escort of his own guard of
+honour, having given his promise to further the cause to which Jeanne
+had dedicated her life. And just here let us glance for a moment at the
+character of Charles the Dauphin, for whom the girl of Domremy was
+sacrificing so much.
+
+At best he was the poor imitation of a King. Being the son of a mad
+father and a weak mother he inherited such tendencies as made him
+utterly unfit to cope with the perils of the time, or to give to the
+Maid who had come to his relief such assistance as he should have given.
+
+"Never did a King lose his kingdom so gaily," said one of his soldiers,
+and although he was momentarily roused by the Maid's noble courage and
+purpose, yet he still found it far easier to loiter through days of ease
+in his chateau, than with prompt resolution to turn to the task in hand.
+
+Had Charles the Dauphin been the man that Jeanne d'Arc would have had
+him be, the history of the Maid of France would have been a different
+one. But even his thrill at being aided to claim his throne, was not
+strong enough to fire him with the proper spirit, and he continued to
+waste long days in idle ease, while Jeanne was fretting her heart out
+waiting for him to decide to let her start to raise the siege of
+Orleans. But delay she must, and she whiled away the tedious days by
+practising with crossbow and sword in the meadows near Chinon, and
+although she refused to wear a woman's dress until she had accomplished
+her mission, yet she was both graceful and beautiful in her knight's
+costume, which she now wore in place of the simple page's suit in which
+she had ridden to Chinon, and many admiring eyes watched her as she rode
+up and down in the green meadows, alert and graceful in every movement.
+And although he was wasting precious moments in deciding whether to
+allow her to raise the siege of Orleans or not, the Dauphin spoke often
+and intimately with her, as with a friend to whom he was deeply
+attached, and Jeanne was treated with all possible deference both by
+those of high and low degree. The young Duc d'Alencon, a noble and loyal
+courtier, was so deeply won by her sweetness and charm that his wife
+invited her to spend a few days at their home, the Abbey of St. Florent
+les-Saumur, while waiting for the decision of the Dauphin. That little
+visit was a bright spot in the long dark story of the Maid's fulfilment
+of her mission, for there, with those whose every word and act spoke of
+kindred ideals and lofty aims, the Maid unbent to the level of care-free
+normal girlhood, and ever after that there was a close comradeship
+between the Duc and Jeanne.
+
+At last the Dauphin came to a decision. To Poitiers, Jeanne must go, and
+there be examined by the French Parliament, and by the most learned men
+in the kingdom, to prove that she was capable of achieving that which
+she wished to attempt. When Jeanne heard this she cried out impatiently,
+"To Poitiers? In God's name I know I shall have my hands full, but the
+saints will aid me. Let us be off!" which showed that the Maid, for all
+her saintliness had also a very normal human degree of impatience to do
+as she had planned, and who can blame her?
+
+To Poitiers she went, and there as everywhere the people loved her for
+her goodness, her enthusiasm for the rescue of France, and for her
+unassuming piety. For long weary weeks, she was cross-examined by the
+cleverest men who could be found for the task, but ever her keen wit was
+able to bring her safely through the quagmires and pitfalls they laid
+for her to fall into; then at last it was announced that "in
+consideration of the great necessity and peril of Orleans, the King
+would make use of her help, and she should go in honourable fashion to
+the aid of Orleans."
+
+So back again to Chinon went Jeanne, overflowing with eagerness and
+hope, looking, it is said, like a handsome, enthusiastic boy in her
+page's suit, full of the joy of living, happy in the thought of hard
+work ahead, then on at last she went, with her escort of both soldiers
+and cavalry officers, to the accomplishing of her second duty. By the
+King's orders she was dressed this time in a suit of fine steel armour
+which was well suited to the lithe grace of her slim young figure, and
+over her armour she wore a "huque" as the slashed coats worn by knights
+were called. She had her pick of a horse from the royal stables, and
+even he was decked with a steel headpiece and a high peaked saddle.
+Jeanne, de Metz and Bertrand de Poulengy, her faithful followers, were
+also fitted with special armour, which was very costly and handsome.
+
+The sword Jeanne carried was one which had been found under the altar of
+the church of St. Catherine of Fierbois, around which many legends of
+miracles clustered, but to Jeanne it was at best only a weapon, and she
+said she should never make use of it. Her great white standard was the
+thing she loved, and even when she was in the thick of the battle, she
+always carried it, with its painted figure of God throned on clouds
+holding the world in his hands, while kneeling angels on either side
+presented lilies, and above were the words, "Jhesus, Maria." On the
+other side of the banner was a shield with the arms of France, supported
+by two angels. She had also a smaller banner with a white dove on azure
+ground, holding in his beak a scroll with the words, "In the name of the
+King of Heaven."
+
+With her great white banner floating high in the carrying wind, her
+sword scabbard of cloth-of-gold, glittering in the sunlight, and the
+armour of her men-at-arms gleaming in its new splendour, the Maid set
+out for Orleans, preceded by a company of priests singing the _Veni
+Creator_ as they marched.
+
+Jeanne's plan of entry into Orleans was a very simple one. She desired
+to march right in under the great forts defending the besieged city, to
+flout the enemy, and cheer the desperate citizens by her daring. But the
+captains of her army, although they had sworn to obey her every command,
+were seasoned veterans in the art of war, and had no intention of
+carrying out any plan of campaign laid out by a girl of seventeen, so
+they wilfully disregarded her plan, and by so doing delayed their entry
+into the city for weary hours, and in the end were obliged to enter in
+the very way planned by their young Commander. When at last, at night,
+attended by troops of torch bearers, Jeanne went into Orleans sitting
+proudly erect on her great white horse, and the people of the city saw
+first the Maid who had come to their relief, they could but wonder at
+sight of her girlish figure, in its shining armour, and the radiant
+young face carried inspiration and comfort to their wearied hearts. So
+eager were they to touch her or her horse that in crowding near, a torch
+touched her banner, and set it on fire, but wheeling around lightly, she
+crushed out the flame, as though she had long been an expert in such
+deeds. Then she and her company went to the Cathedral of St. Croix to
+return thanks for having entered the city, and afterwards were lodged
+for the night at the house of the Duc's treasurer, where Jeanne shared
+the room of her host's nine-year-old daughter and slept as sweetly and
+soundly as the child herself.
+
+Then followed fifteen days of hard fighting, for the enemy manfully
+resisted the onslaught of Jeanne's army, but at last, the English,
+vanquished, were obliged to retreat, telling marvellous tales of the
+Maid who was less than an angel, more than a soldier, and only a girl
+who had done this thing.
+
+The attack on the city had begun at six in the morning and lasted for
+thirteen hours, and was indeed a marvellous assault on both sides. A
+hundred times the English mounted the walls, and a hundred times were
+thrown back into the moat, and the Maid with her floating banner, was
+everywhere at once, encouraging her men with the ringing cry, "Fear not.
+The place is yours!" Then she received a wound in her shoulder above the
+breast, and at the first flash of severe pain, like any other girl, she
+shivered with fear, and hot tears came, while they carried her off the
+field and dressed the wound. After that she was obliged to entrust her
+standard to a faithful man, but she still inspired and comforted her
+army from the position to which she had been carried, and as the sounds
+of battle deepened, above the tumult rang out her clear voice of ringing
+command,--then came victory and the retreat of the enemy. Orleans was
+delivered from the hands of the English. France still held "the key to
+the Loire," and the Maid of France had gained one of the fifteen battles
+of the world.
+
+The bells of Orleans rang out victoriously, while all the citizens in
+all the churches chanted _Te Deums_ and sang praises of the wonderful
+Maid who had saved France.
+
+In all the records of history no other girl ever reached such a height
+of glory as did Jeanne that day, and yet instead of revelling in the
+praise showered on her, and in her popularity, when the battle was over,
+she went to bed and to sleep like a tired child, and when the people saw
+how exhausted she was, they stood guard over the house where she slept,
+and would allow no traffic to disturb her rest. And from that day to
+this, the eighth of May has ever been "Jeanne d'Arc's Day" in Orleans.
+
+Jeanne had now fulfilled her second task. She had raised the siege of
+Orleans. Now for the third. Forward to the Dauphin's crowning at
+Rheims,--forward to the anointing of the rightful Sovereign of
+France!--that was her one thought and cry. But the Dauphin himself was
+in no such hurry to save his kingdom, now that the distress of the
+moment had been allayed. However, he met the Maid at Tours soon
+afterwards, and not only sang her praises for what she had done, but
+also acting on an impulse, his eyes lit with sudden fire, suddenly rose,
+and raising his sword aloft, brought it down slowly on Jeanne's
+shoulder, saying, that in so doing he joined her, her family, her kin
+and her descendants to the nobility of France, adding "Rise, Jeanne
+d'Arc, now and henceforth surnamed DU LIS, in grateful acknowledgment of
+the good blow you have struck for the lilies of France, and they and the
+royal crown and your own victorious sword shall be grouped in your
+escutcheon, and be and remain the symbol of your high nobility for
+ever."
+
+Great indeed was this honour, with all that it meant to the family of
+Jeanne, and she received it with fitting appreciation, but it was not
+what she craved; yet still the King loitered and lingered in his
+chateau, giving heed to the arguments of his counsellors,--who for
+reasons of their own, desired to thwart the plans of the Maid--rather
+than to her whose Voices told her that the Dauphin should set out at
+once for Rheims, while the French army was still hot with the enthusiasm
+of victory. At last seeing it was useless to wait any longer, Jeanne and
+her men were obliged to press on without any definite news of when or
+where they would be joined by the Dauphin, and three days later, after
+raising the siege of Orleans, her army took Jargeau, a town twelve miles
+from Orleans, and then marched back to Orleans to be received as
+conquering heroes.
+
+D'Alencon was given six casks of wine, the Maid four, and the town
+council ordered a robe and huque for Jeanne of green and crimson, the
+Orleans colours. Her huque was of green satin, and embroidered with the
+Orleans emblem,--the nettle,--and doubtless this offering was acceptable
+to the girl who with all her qualities of generalship never lost her
+feminine liking for pretty clothes.
+
+By the taking of Jargeau the southern sweep of the Loire for fifty miles
+was wiped clear of English fortresses, but the enemy still held
+Beaugency and Meung, a few miles downstream, and to their capture Jeanne
+and her forces now set out. Then with a still greater prize in view,
+they marched on towards Patay, a town between Meung and Rouvray, where
+they found the forces of the English massed, in consequence of which
+Jeanne called together her men for a council of war.
+
+"What is to be done now?" asked d'Alencon, with deep concern.
+
+"Have all of you good spurs?" she cried.
+
+"How is that? Shall we run away?"
+
+"Nay, in the name of God--after them! It is the English who will not
+defend themselves and shall be beaten. You must have good spurs to
+follow them. Our victory is certain," she exclaimed and added with that
+quick vision which was always the inspiration of her forces, "The gentle
+King shall have to-day the greatest victory he has ever had!"
+
+And true indeed was her prediction, for the battle of Patay was a great
+victory, and set the seal of assurance on the work commenced at Orleans.
+The English rout was complete. Their leaders fled and four thousand men
+were either killed or captured, and as in every battle, Jeanne's
+flaming courage and enthusiasm spurred her men on to victory, even
+though because of a wound in her foot she was not able to lead her
+forces, with her great white banner floating before them as usual. But
+she was none the less the inspiration of the day, and was also able to
+show a woman's tender pity and care for those of the enemy who were
+wounded and in their need of loving ministration turned to the gentle
+girl as to an angel sent from heaven.
+
+News of the French victories flew like wildfire over all the country.
+Three fortified towns taken, a great army of the enemy disorganised and
+put to flight, the whole country almost to the gates of Paris cleared of
+the enemy in a single brilliant week's campaign, and all through the
+commands, the inspiration, the invincible courage, the Vision of a
+slender slip of a girl! It seemed incredible except to those who had
+been with her through so many crucial tests, who had proved the fibre of
+her mental, physical and spiritual force, and reverenced her as one
+truly inspired by God's own voice.
+
+After the capture of Patay back again to Orleans went the victorious
+army, and there were no bounds now to the enthusiasm expressed for the
+Maid who had done such marvellous things. It was supposed that the
+Dauphin would surely meet the victors at Orleans, but he was enjoying
+himself elsewhere, and Jeanne, cruelly impatient, set off to meet him at
+St. Benoit, on the Loire, where again she begged him to help in the
+great work on hand, and again was met with cold inaction, but
+notwithstanding this, the Maid with her dauntless purpose left the
+Court, still repeating, "By my staff, I _will_ lead the gentle King
+Charles and his company safely, and he shall be consecrated at Rheims!"
+showing that all the human weakness, which she could not have failed to
+see in the Dauphin, did not deter her in the accomplishing of a purpose
+which she felt she owed to France.
+
+Across the Loire went the Maid and her men, and then as if impelled by
+some impulse, on the twenty-ninth of June, the Dauphin suddenly followed
+her on to Champagne. To Troyes went the army now, headed by no less
+formidable personage than the King-to-be and the Maid, and to one homage
+was paid because of his royal lineage, and to the other honour because
+of her marvellous achievements and gracious personality. Never once did
+Jeanne's martial spirit fail, or her belief in her vision weaken: even
+the Dauphin was a better and stronger man while under the spell of her
+wonder-working personality, and ever his reverence for her grew, seeing
+her exquisite personal purity, although surrounded by men and under
+circumstances which made purity difficult; and her great piety, her more
+than human achievement and her flaming spirit, gave him food for as much
+serious thought as he ever devoted to anything.
+
+"Work, and God will work," was Jeanne's motto, and faithfully did she
+live it out, working for the King as he never would have done either for
+himself or for anyone else, and on the morning of Saturday, July
+sixteenth, the Maid and the Dauphin together rode into the city of
+Jeanne's vision.
+
+At nine o'clock in the morning, on Sunday, July seventeenth, the great
+cathedral of Rheims was filled to its doors for the crowning of the
+King. The deep-toned organ and a great choir filled the Cathedral with
+music as the Abbot entered, carrying a vial of sacred oil for the
+anointing; then came the Archbishop and his canons, followed by five
+great lords, stately figures indeed, each carrying his banner, and each
+riding a richly caparisoned horse. Down the length of the aisle made for
+them, to the choir they rode, then as the Archbishop dismissed them,
+each made a deep bow till the plumes of his hat touched his horse's
+neck, and then each wheeling his steed around, they passed out as they
+had come.
+
+There was a deep hush through all the vast Cathedral, one could have
+heard a dropped pin in all that surging mass of people, then came the
+peals of four silver trumpets. Jeanne, the Maid of France, and Charles
+the Dauphin, stood framed in the pointed archway of the great west door.
+Slowly they advanced up the long aisle, the organ pealing its welcome,
+the people shouting their applause, and behind the two figures came a
+stately array of royal personages and church dignitaries, and then,
+standing before the altar, the solemn Coronation ceremony began, while
+beside the King, during the long prayers and anthems and sermons, stood
+Jeanne, with her beloved standard in her hand. The King took the oath,
+was anointed with the sacred oil, then came the bearer of the crown, and
+kneeling, offered it. For one moment the King hesitated,--was it because
+of a thought of his unworthiness, or because of the great
+responsibilities wearing it would impose? At all events, hesitate he
+did, then he caught Jeanne's eyes, beaming with all the pride and joy of
+her inspired nature, and Charles took up the crown and placed it on his
+head, while choir and organ and people made the vast building resound
+and echo with music and with shouts. Jeanne alone stood as though
+transfixed, then sinking on her knees she said:
+
+"Now, oh, gentle King, now, is accomplished the will of God, who decreed
+that I should raise the siege of Orleans, and bring you to the city of
+Rheims for your consecration, thereby showing that you are the true
+King, and that to you the realm of France should belong."
+
+And at sight of her, so young and human in her beauty, so inspired in
+that which she had done, many wept for very enthusiasm, and all hearts
+honoured her.
+
+With gracious words the King lifted her up, and there before that vast
+assemblage of nobles he made her the equal of a count in rank, appointed
+a household and officers for her according to her dignity, and begged
+her to name some wish which he could fulfil.
+
+Jeanne was on her knees again in a moment at his words, "You have saved
+the throne, ask what you will."
+
+With sweet simplicity she pleaded, "Oh, gentle King, I ask only that the
+taxes of Domremy, now so impoverished by war, be remitted."
+
+On hearing her request, the King seemed momentarily bewildered by so
+great unselfishness, then he exclaimed:
+
+"She has won a kingdom, and crowned a King, and all she asks and all she
+will take, is this poor grace, and even this is for others. And it is
+well. Her act being proportioned to the dignity of one who carries in
+her head and heart riches which outvalue any King could give and though
+he gave his all. She shall have her way. Now therefore it is decreed
+that from this day, Domremy, natal village of Jeanne d'Arc, Deliverer of
+France, called the Maid of Orleans, is freed from all taxation for
+ever."
+
+At this the silver horns blew a long blast, and from that day, for three
+hundred and sixty years was the little village of Jeanne's birth without
+taxation, because of her deeds of valour.
+
+On went the ceremony to an imposing finish, when the procession with
+Jeanne and the King at its head marched out of the Cathedral with all
+possible pomp and solemnity, and the great day on which Jeanne had
+fulfilled the third and greatest of those achievements to which her
+voices had called her, was over. She had led the King to his
+crowning,--and as the people of Rheims gazed on her in her silver mail,
+glittering as if in a more than earthly light, carrying the white
+standard embellished with the emblems of her belief, it seemed as though
+the Maid in her purity, and her consecration to France was set apart
+from all other human beings, not less for what she was, than for what
+she had done--and never was warrior or woman more fitly reverenced.
+
+Jeanne, the peasant maid of Domremy, led by her vision, had marshalled
+her forces like a seasoned veteran, and with them had raised the siege
+of Orleans,--had led the King to his crowning, and yet instead of
+longing for more conquests, still further glory, in a later conversation
+with a faithful friend, she only exclaimed:
+
+"Ah, if it might but please God to let me put off this steel raiment,
+and go back to my father and my mother, and tend my sheep again with my
+sisters and brothers who would be so glad to see me!"
+
+Only that, poor child, but it could not be. Never again was she to go
+back to her simple life, but it is said that old Jacques d'Arc and
+Durand Laxart came to Rheims to gladden the Maid's heart with a sight of
+their familiar faces, and to see for themselves this child of Jacques's
+who had won so great renown.
+
+And at that time also, two of her brothers are known to have been in the
+army, of which she must needs be still the head, as the King gave a
+shameful example of never commanding it in person. Seeing that she must
+still be Commander-in-chief; immediately after the Coronation, Jeanne
+called a council of war, and made a stirring appeal for an immediate
+march on Paris. This was resisted with most strenuous and wily arguments
+for delay, to all of which the Maid cried impatiently, "We have but to
+march--on the instant--and the English strongholds, as you call them,
+along the way are ours. Paris is ours. France is ours. Give the word,
+Oh, my King, command your servant!"
+
+Even in the face of her ringing appeal there was more arguing and more
+resisting, but finally, thrilled by Jeanne's final plea the King rose
+and drawing his sword, took it by the blade and strode up to Jeanne,
+delivering the hilt into her hand, saying:
+
+"There, the King surrenders. Carry it to Paris!" And to Paris Jeanne
+might go, but the tide of success had turned, and although on the
+fourteenth day of August the French army marched into Compiegne and
+hauled down the English flag, and on the twenty-sixth camped under the
+very walls of Paris, yet now the King hung back and was afraid to give
+his consent to storming the city. Seven long days were wasted, giving
+the enemy time to make ready to defend their strongholds, and to plan
+their campaign. Then the French army was allowed to attack, and Jeanne
+and her men worked and fought like heroes, and Jeanne was everywhere at
+once, in the lead, as usual with her standard floating high, even while
+smoke enveloped the army in dense clouds, and missiles fell like rain.
+She was hurt, but refused to retire, and the battle-light flamed in her
+eyes as her warrior-spirit thrilled to the deeds of the moment.
+
+"I will take Paris now or never!" she cried, and at last she had to be
+carried away by force, still insisting that the city would be theirs in
+the morning, which would have been so, but for the treachery of him for
+whom Jeanne had given her young strength in such consecrated service.
+The Maid was defeated by her own King, who because of political reasons
+declared the campaign ended, and made a truce with the English in which
+he agreed to leave Paris unmolested and go back again to the Loire.
+
+History offers no more pathetic and yet inspiring sight than Jeanne,
+broken by the terrible news, still sure that victory would be hers if
+but allowed to follow her voices--yet checkmated by the royal pawn whose
+pleasure it was to disband the noble army of heroes who had fought so
+nobly for the cause of France.
+
+When Jeanne saw the strength of the Dauphin's purpose, she hung up her
+armour and begged the King to now dismiss her from the army, and allow
+her to go home, but this he refused to do. The truce he had made did not
+embrace all France, and he would have need of her inspiring presence and
+her valuable counsel--in truth it seemed that he and his chief
+counsellors were afraid of allowing her out of their sight, for fear of
+what she might achieve without their knowledge.
+
+For some eight months longer, in accord with his desire, Jeanne, still
+sure of her divine mission to work for France, loyally drifted from
+place to place with the King and his counsellors, heart-sick and
+homesick, occupying her many leisure hours with planning vast imaginary
+sieges and campaigns.
+
+At last, on the twenty-fourth of May, 1430, with a handful of men, she
+was allowed to throw herself into Compiegne, which was being besieged by
+the Burgundians, and there after bravely fighting and rallying her men
+for a third attack, the English came up behind and fell upon their rear,
+and the fleeing men streamed into the boulevard, while last of all came
+the Maid, doing deeds of valour beyond the nature of woman, so it is
+said, and for the last time, as never again should Jeanne bear arms. Her
+men had fled. She was separated from her people; and surrounded, but
+still defiant, was seized by her cape, dragged from her horse, and borne
+away a prisoner, while after her followed the victors, roaring their mad
+joy over the capture of such a prize.
+
+Like wildfire the awful tidings spread. The Maid of Orleans taken by the
+English? Jeanne a prisoner? Could such things be?
+
+Alas, yes. The Maid who had delivered France was in the hands of the
+enemy, because, at the climax of her victory, when all France was in her
+grip, the chance had been lost by the folly of that King whom she had
+led to his crowning.
+
+After six months of captivity she was sold, yes sold, for ten thousand
+crowns, that royal Maid--sold to John of Luxembourg, the only bidder for
+her noble self. Truth which is sometimes stranger than fiction, offers
+no parallel to this. Not a single effort was put forth by the King, or
+his counsellors, or by any loyal Frenchman to rescue or to ransom
+Jeanne. No trouble was taken to redeem the girl who, foe and friend
+alike agreed, had saved the day for France, and who was the greatest
+soldier of them all, when she was allowed to have her way.
+
+Ten thousand crowns was the price of Jeanne's brave spirit, and her
+purchaser doubtless meant to hold on to her until he could make money on
+his prisoner, but, oh the shame, the infamy of it, Charles, the King of
+France,--led to his crowning day by a Maid's own hand,--offered not one
+sou for her ransoming!
+
+To linger on this part of Jeanne's life is torture to others, as it was
+to her. In December she was carried to Rouen, the headquarters of the
+English army, heavily fettered; was flung into a gloomy prison, from
+which she attempted escape, but vainly, and finally was tried as a
+sorceress and a heretic, and never a sound of help or deliverance from
+the King or the nation.
+
+Her trial was long, and she was exposed to every form of brutality,
+thinly veiled under the guise of justice. Day after day her simple heart
+was tortured by the questions of learned men, whose aim was to make her
+condemn herself, but this they could never do, for every probing
+resulted in the same calm statements. Finally one was sent to draw from
+her under the seal of the confessional, her sacred confidences, which
+were then rudely desecrated. She was found guilty of sacrilege,
+profanation, disobedience to the church, pride and idolatry, and her
+heavenly visions were said to be illusions of the devil. She was then
+tortured by a series of ignominies, insults, threats, and promises
+until, bewildered and half crazed by confinement, in agony of mind and
+body, she blindly assented to everything they asked her, was sentenced
+to perpetual imprisonment, and forced to put on a woman's dress which
+she had repeatedly declared she would never do so long as she was thrown
+entirely in the company of men. But she was forced to obey the bidding
+of her persecutors, and then followed such degradation and insults as
+are almost beyond belief, and then, oh the shame of it, she was
+condemned to die by burning, on the tenth of May, 1431! Though worn with
+suffering and sorrow, she faced this crowning injustice with the
+dauntless courage which had ever been hers on the field of battle, and
+died with the Cross held high before her eyes and the name of Jesus on
+her lips.
+
+The peasant girl of Domremy, the warrior of Orleans, the King's saviour
+at Rheims, the martyr whose death left a great ineffaceable stain on the
+honour both of France and of England, twenty-five years later was
+cleared of all the charges under which she was put to death, and in our
+own time has been canonised by a tardy act of the church of Rome, and
+to-day Jeanne d'Arc, Maid of France, nay, Maid of the World stands out
+on the pages of history as one inspired by God, and God alone. To her
+remains, as Kossuth has said, "the unique distinction of having been the
+only person of either sex who ever held supreme command of the military
+forces of a nation at the age of seventeen."
+
+
+
+
+VICTORIA:
+
+A Girl Queen of England
+
+
+IN the early years of the nineteenth century, frequenters of that part
+of London near the beautiful Kensington Palace and the still more
+beautiful gardens bearing its name, used to enjoy almost daily glimpses
+of a round-faced, red-cheeked child whose blue eyes were so bright with
+health and happiness that it was a pleasure to watch her.
+
+Sometimes the little girl was seen accompanied by a party of older
+persons, and riding a donkey with a gay harness of blue ribbons, and it
+was noticeable that she always had a merry greeting for those who spoke
+to her in passing. At other times she would be walking, with her hand
+holding tight the hand of a little playmate, or on other days she was
+wheeled in a small carriage over the gravel walks of the shady Gardens,
+followed by an older girl who would sometimes stop the carriage and let
+a stranger kiss the blue-eyed occupant of the carriage. On pleasant days
+this same little girl could frequently be seen in a simple white dress
+and big shade hat, watering the plants in the beds of Kensington Palace,
+and the blue-eyed child was no other than the Princess Victoria
+Alexandrina, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, the child who was
+one day to become Queen of England.
+
+In fancying one's self a Queen-to-be, there is never any place given to
+the prosaic duties of ordinary life, but Princess Victoria's child-life
+at Kensington was a very simple one such as any little girl with a
+sensible mother might have had.
+
+At eight o'clock daily the Duchess had breakfast, and the Princess had
+hers at the same time, at a small table near her mother, then came an
+hour's drive or walk, and from ten to twelve lessons with the Duchess
+herself, after which Victoria amused herself in the suite of rooms which
+extended around the two sides of the palace, where she kept most of her
+toys. Then after a plain dinner came lessons again until four o'clock,
+after which came another walk or donkey ride in the Gardens, a simple
+supper, a romp with her nurse, whose name being Brock, Victoria called
+her "dear Boppy." In fact, so secluded a life did the young Princess
+lead that, except for those glimpses of her in the Gardens, she was
+almost unknown to all but intimate family friends; and King George the
+Fourth, called by Victoria her "Uncle King," sometimes expressed his
+displeasure that the child was not allowed to be present more often at
+his court. But the Duchess had her own ideas about that matter, and as
+they were not at all flattering to the court manners and customs of the
+day, she wisely continued to keep her little girl out of such an
+atmosphere, though in fear lest the King should carry out his threat of
+taking the child away from her, to bring her up in gloomy Windsor
+Castle, unless she was allowed to go there more often,--which threat his
+kingly power would allow him to carry out, if he so chose. But
+fortunately he never did as he threatened, and Victoria remained at
+Kensington with her mother, where with her half-sister and brother, the
+Princess Feodore and Prince Charles of Leiningen, the four formed a
+family group so loyal and so loving that nothing ever loosened the bond
+between them.
+
+Although Victoria knew herself to be a Royal Highness, she was yet
+ignorant that some day she would be ruler of Great Britain, and she
+continued to do simple things as unconsciously as other girls might with
+a far different future. She was very enthusiastic over anything which
+took her fancy, and one day at a milliner's saw a hat which was exactly
+what she wanted. With eager enthusiasm she waited until it was trimmed,
+and then exclaimed, "Oh, I will take it with me!" and was soon seen
+hurrying towards Kensington with the precious hat in her hand. And this
+was a real flesh and blood Princess, heir to the throne of England!
+
+The monotony of life at Kensington was broken by frequent trips to
+various parts of England, and visits to friends and relations, but the
+Duchess felt her responsibility to the English people in bringing up the
+future Queen, so keenly that she never took the risk of a trip to the
+continent with Victoria, because of the long journey and the change of
+climate. But the Princess thoroughly enjoyed what visits she did make,
+and evidently was an attractive guest, even as a child, for when she and
+her mother visited King George, her grandmother wrote to the Duchess:
+"The little monkey must have pleased and amused his Majesty. She is such
+a pretty, clever child!"
+
+At another time when visiting at Wentworth House, Yorkshire, Victoria
+amused herself by running around the big garden with its tangle of
+shrubberies. One wet morning when the ground was very slippery, she
+ventured to run down a treacherous bit of ground from the terrace, and
+the gardener, who did not know who she was then, called out, "Be
+careful, Miss, it's slape!" a Yorkshire word for slippery. But the
+Princess had no intention of being stopped, so she merely turned her
+head as she ran, and asked, "What's slape?" As she spoke, her feet flew
+from under her and she came down with a thud. The gardener as he helped
+her to her feet said, "_That's slape_, Miss!"
+
+At another time she rebelled against the hours of practise insisted on
+by her music teacher, who stood her ground firmly, saying that there was
+no royal road to art, that only by conscientious and continued practise
+could she become a musician, whereupon with a gleam of mischief in her
+blue eyes, Victoria jumped up, closed the piano, locked it, put the key
+in her pocket and remarked to the surprised teacher, "Now you see there
+_is_ a royal way of becoming mistress of the piano!" This incident shows
+that she was by no means the young prig painted by so many historians,
+but a girl full of fire and spirit, merry, unaffected and with a keen
+delight in all sorts of girlish amusements and pranks.
+
+At that time the education of young ladies was more superficial than
+that of poorer girls, but the future Queen was given a solid foundation
+of the heavier branches of learning, such as Latin, which she hated,
+history, law, politics and the British Constitution, and, too, she had
+many lighter studies, modern languages, painting and music, becoming a
+charming singer under the famous teacher-master, Lablache. She also
+danced well, rode well and excelled at archery. One day when she had
+been reading about Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi and how she
+proudly presented her sons to the much-bejewelled Roman matron, saying,
+"These are my jewels," the quick-witted Princess added, "She should have
+said, 'My Cornelians!'"
+
+As a young girl Victoria was very pretty, then she went through a period
+of homeliness, at which time a children's ball was given at Windsor
+Castle by King George in honour of a little visitor, Donna Maria II da
+Gloria, the child-Queen of Portugal, who was extremely pretty and very
+handsomely dressed, with a ribbon and glittering Order over her
+shoulder, making little Victoria, in her simple dress and with her less
+brilliant appearance, look quite plain and unattractive--and not only
+was Donna Maria seated at the King's right hand, but he seemed greatly
+amused by her conversation. Then the dancing began, and Donna Maria did
+not show up so finely, for she was an awkward dancer and fell, hurting
+herself so severely that she refused to dance again, and left the
+ballroom, while Victoria, who was as light as thistle-down on her feet,
+is said to have remarked gaily as she danced on: "Well, if I'm not so
+handsome and grand and smartly dressed as that Maria, I'm less awkward.
+I was able to keep my head and not lose my feet!"
+
+With each year Victoria grew more attractive looking, and one night she
+stood before her glass scanning herself critically, while her eyes shone
+and her heart beat fast with excitement, for she was going to her first
+Drawing-room, and was thrilled at the idea.
+
+Having arrived at Windsor Castle with her mother and a number of ladies
+and gentlemen in State carriages, escorted by a party of Life Guards,
+Victoria stood at the left of her aunt, the queen, in a maze of delight,
+watching the gay Court pageant, quite unconscious that she herself was a
+centre of attraction, with her fair skin, her big blue eyes, and her air
+of healthy, happy girlhood. Her dress was of simple white tulle, but
+there was no more conspicuous figure in all that royal assemblage, than
+the young Princess.
+
+Like King George, when William IV succeeded to the throne, he was
+jealous of any honours paid to the young Princess or her mother, and
+even objected to their little journeys, calling them, with a sneer,
+"Royal Progresses," and forbade the salutes given to the vessel which
+carried them back and forth from the Isle of Wight, to which petty
+jealousies the Duchess paid no heed, but continued to bring up her
+daughter as she thought fit; persevering in the "Progresses" which so
+annoyed the King, and all of his objections failed to make the Princess
+less than an object of intense interest and devotion to those people who
+would one day be her subjects.
+
+Although she was still unconscious of the part she was to play in the
+history of the nation, the day was coming when she could no longer be
+kept ignorant of it. A bill was before Parliament called the Regency
+Bill, which named the Duchess of Kent as regent if the King should die
+before Victoria came of age, and she heard much conversation about the
+bill. The Duchess felt that the time had now come to tell her of the
+position which was to be hers in the future of England, and finally
+after a long talk with Baroness Lehzen, Victoria's old governess, the
+way of telling her was decided upon.
+
+On the following day, when the Princess was busily reading a book of
+history, the Baroness slipped a genealogical table on the page which
+Victoria was reading. She glanced at the slip of paper with an
+exclamation of surprise, then read it carefully and looking up, said
+with a startled expression, "Why, I never saw that before!"
+
+"It was not thought necessary that you should," replied the governess,
+and then there was a long silence. Then, after examining the paper
+again, the Princess glanced up and said with quaint solemnity, "I see I
+am nearer the throne than I supposed," adding, "Now many a child would
+boast, not knowing the difficulty. There is much splendour, but there is
+also much responsibility." Then placing her little hand in that of the
+Baroness, she said:
+
+"_Oh, I will be good!_ I understand now why you urged me so much to
+learn even Latin. You told me it was the foundation of English grammar,
+and all the elegant expressions, and I learned it as you wished it, but
+I understand all better now."
+
+Then pressing the Baroness's hand again and looking solemnly into her
+eyes, she repeated, "I will be good!" and the Baroness felt a moisture
+rise in her eyes at the thought of what life might bring to challenge
+that vow.
+
+The Princess was grave for a time after that day, then she grew
+accustomed to the new thought of her coming queendom, and was once more
+her gay, happy self, and there were three functions soon afterwards at
+which she appeared in all the joy of conscious power and happy girlhood.
+
+On her thirteenth birthday the King and Queen gave a great ball in her
+honour, when she out-danced all the other girls, not because of her
+superior rank, but because of her grace and charm of manner. After the
+ball came a drawing-room when again the Princess had a glorious time,
+and another glimpse of her is at the Ascot races, when an American poet
+was thrilled to see her, with the Queen, leaning over the railing of the
+King's stand, both listening to a ballad-singer with as keen interest as
+though they had been simple country folk instead of royalty, and he
+remarked that the Princess was far better looking than most of her
+photographs pictured her.
+
+Nearer and nearer to the throne came the young girl, and yet even when
+she was nearly seventeen she was still in the habit of living as quietly
+as she had in childhood, and it is told how at a formal reception given
+in her honour, followed by a dinner and a grand ball which she opened
+with Lord Exeter, after that first dance she left the ballroom to
+retire, as the Duchess thought she had had quite enough excitement for
+one day. That statement will seem incredible to a girl of to-day, but it
+is an historical fact.
+
+On the twenty-fourth of May, 1837, Princess Victoria came of age
+according to the laws of England, and the joyous events of the day began
+very early in the morning, for when dawn was just breaking in the east,
+she was roused by the sound of music under her window. Jumping up, now
+quite awake, she peered through the blinds and saw a band playing
+merrily, and realised why they were there. Rushing into her mother's
+room she shook her out of a sound sleep, and pulled her into her room,
+where together they sat behind the closed blinds and applauded the
+serenaders. It did not take Victoria long to dress that morning. She was
+full of excitement, for by breakfast time messages of congratulations
+and presents had begun to pour in, and with shining eyes she exclaimed,
+"To think of all England celebrating a holiday just for me!" when she
+heard that Parliament was not in session, nor boys in school, all in her
+honour. And at night there was a great illumination of the city and a
+grand State Ball at the Palace of St. James--quite enough tribute to
+turn the head of any girl of eighteen,--but Victoria, even then in the
+midst of her enjoyment, seemed to feel the responsibility more than the
+flattery, and that night gave an appealing look of shy objection when on
+entering the ballroom she was obliged by court etiquette to enter before
+her mother, thus emphasising for the first time her superior rank.
+
+Not long after this, one night through the vast audience rooms of gloomy
+Windsor Castle went the solemn word, "The King is dead!" and in the same
+breath, even the most loyal ministers of Church and State, who had known
+only too well the weaknesses of the sovereign who would reign no more,
+whispered softly, "Long live the Queen!"
+
+Then there was a flurry of preparation. The Archbishop of Canterbury and
+the Lord Chamberlain made ready to leave the place of mourning as fast
+as horses could carry them.
+
+Arriving at Kensington Palace in the early dawn, they found the palace
+inmates sleeping quietly. It took an endless time, so it seemed, to
+arouse even the porter at the gate, but at last he appeared, rubbing
+sleepy eyes and grumbling at having been disturbed. At the entrance to
+the court-yard came another delay, but finally they were admitted to the
+Palace, were shown to a room, and waited until their patience was
+exhausted, and they rang a bell so insistently that finally another
+drowsy servant answered. They then requested that the Princess Victoria
+should be roused at once and told that they desired an immediate
+audience on most important business. The sleepy servant disappeared and
+still there were more delays, more waiting. Then the Princess' special
+maid appeared, saying with irritating calm that her royal mistress was
+in such a sweet sleep that she could not venture to disturb her. The
+Archbishop's command was not one to be set aside, "We are come on
+business of State TO THE QUEEN," he said, "Even her sleep must give
+way." To the QUEEN! Ah, then it had come! With flying feet the maid
+rushed into the room where the Princess had gone to sleep so peacefully
+a few hours since, and roused her with the cry, "They have come to make
+you Queen. Oh, be quick!"
+
+Half asleep--entirely dazed for the moment, then clear-eyed, Victoria
+sprang up, with only one thought, "I must not delay them any longer,"
+and rushed into the presence of the waiting dignitaries with only a
+bed-gown thrown over her night-dress, her feet in slippers and her long
+brown hair flying over her shoulders!
+
+As in a dream she heard the words, "Your Majesty," and received the
+first kiss of homage on her trembling hand, then with sweet pleading
+grace she spoke her first words as Queen of England, looking into the
+kind eyes of the Archbishop, "I beg your Grace to pray for me," she
+said, with utter simplicity and sincere desire, and raising his hand in
+benediction, the Archbishop's voice asked a blessing on the fair young
+sovereign of so great a land.
+
+The hours following that first knowledge of her new dignity were
+overwhelmingly full of strange experiences for Victoria, but among them
+all she found time to go to her desk and write a letter to Queen
+Adelaide, expressing sympathy for her in her sorrow, and begging her to
+remain as long as she felt inclined at Windsor. Giving the letter to her
+mother, the Duchess noted that the name on it was to "Her Majesty, the
+Queen." With a smile she said, "My dear, you forget who is the Queen of
+England now. The King's widow is only Queen Dowager."
+
+To which Victoria replied quickly, "I know that, but _I_ will not be the
+first person to remind her of it!"
+
+How many girls would have been as thoughtful as that, I wonder?
+
+In a few hours she was obliged to meet many high officials, and even had
+to read her first speech from a throne which was hastily erected for the
+occasion. Then while the great bell of St. Paul's was tolling for the
+dead King, the young monarch, dressed very simply in mourning, which
+brought out in bold relief her clear fresh complexion, took an oath "for
+the security of the Church of Scotland," and received the oath of
+allegiance first from her royal uncles, the Dukes of Cumberland and
+Sussex, whom she kissed as affectionately and impulsively as if she
+were still the little Princess. Following them came a great number of
+notable men to kneel before her and kiss her hand, among them the Duke
+of Wellington and the Premier, Lord Melbourne. To each she showed the
+same degree of winning courtesy, and only for a brief moment seemed
+disconcerted by the new and dazzling ceremony in her honour as Queen of
+the realm.
+
+Evidently since the day when she had first learned that she was some day
+to be a Queen, she had been studying how to proceed when the momentous
+hour should come, for now she thought to do all those things which would
+have scarcely been expected of an older and experienced statesman. She
+even sent for Lord Albemarle, it is said, and after reminding him that
+according to law and precedent she must be proclaimed the next morning
+from a certain window of St. James Palace, asked him to provide a
+fitting conveyance and escort for her. Then, bowing graciously to right
+and left, including all the Princes, Archbishops and Cabinet Ministers
+present, in her gracious salutation, she left the room alone, as she had
+entered it.
+
+What sort of a night's rest the young Queen had that night can well be
+imagined. Surely her maiden dreams must have been disturbed by many
+thoughts which forced her to put aside those personal fancies which
+yesterday she had been justified in harbouring!
+
+The next day she went in state to St. James Palace, escorted by a number
+of great lords and ladies, and a squadron of the Life Guards and
+"Blues," and was formally proclaimed Queen of Great Britain from the
+window of the Presence Chamber. She wore a black silk dress and a little
+black chip bonnet, and we are told that as she stood there in her simple
+costume, with her smooth brown hair as plain as her dress, the tears
+ran down her cheeks when she was proclaimed to the people as their
+sovereign. Then when the band played the National Anthem in her honour,
+she bowed and smiled at the swaying mass of people below looking with
+eager interest and affection at their "Little Queen," then retired until
+noon, when she held a meeting of her chief counsellors, at which she
+presided with as much grace and ease as if she had been doing that sort
+of thing all her life, to the intense surprise and admiration of the
+great men who composed it. At one o'clock, the Council being over, she
+went back to Kensington and remained there quietly until after the
+funeral of the late King; and Council and populace were loud in their
+praise of this young girl, who, having been brought up in the utmost
+seclusion, yet now came out into the lime-light of public attention, and
+behaved with the dignity and discretion of an aged monarch.
+
+King William having been properly and pompously buried, the young Queen
+took up her new position as ruler of the realm, and her royal household
+was a very exceptional and magnificent one, because of the rank and
+character of those "ladies in waiting" as they were called, who composed
+it.
+
+The young Queen and her household remained at Kensington until
+midsummer, when they moved to Buckingham Palace, and soon after this
+Victoria was obliged to go through a great parade and ceremony to
+dissolve Parliament. We are told that "the weather was fine and the
+whole route from Buckingham Palace to Parliament House was lined with
+shouting, cheering people, as the magnificent procession and the
+brilliant young Queen passed slowly along." A London journal of the day
+gives this account of the ceremony: "At ten minutes to three precisely,
+Her Majesty, preceded by the heralds and attended by the great officers
+of state, entered the House--all the peers and peeresses, who had risen
+at the flourish of the trumpets, remaining standing. Her Majesty was
+attired in a splendid white satin robe, with the ribbon of the Order
+crossing her shoulder, and a magnificent tiara of diamonds on her head.
+She also wore a necklace and a stomacher of large and costly
+brilliants."
+
+Having ascended the throne, the royal mantle of crimson velvet was
+placed on Her Majesty's shoulders by the lords-in-waiting, and she
+carried herself with the air of having been born to such ceremonies, yet
+it was evident that she was much affected by the ordeal, and for a
+moment was so absorbed in her own conspicuous position as to forget to
+notice that the peers and peeresses with her were still standing. In a
+low voice, Lord Melbourne, who was standing beside her, reminded her of
+this, and with a gracious smile and inclination of her head, she said
+quietly, "My Lords, be seated," whereupon they and their wives and
+daughters sat. The incident had brought the Queen back to herself, and
+she was now so self-possessed that when the time came to read her
+speech, although she did it with quiet modesty, her voice was so clear
+that it rang through all the corners of the great room, and everyone
+could hear her words. A great statesman from America, Charles Sumner,
+who was present, was so astonished and delighted with Victoria's manner,
+that he wrote to a friend, "Her voice is sweet and finely modulated, and
+she pronounced every word with distinctly a fine regard for its meaning.
+I think I never heard anything better read in my life, and I could but
+respond to Lord Fitz-William's remark when the ceremony was over, 'How
+beautifully she performs!'" As days went on, this and other golden
+opinions were universally echoed about the eighteen-year-old Queen, who
+was not only strong of character, but possessed of personal charm, being
+then, we are told, short in height, but well formed, with hair the
+darkest shade of flaxen, with expressive blue eyes, and a complexion as
+fair and delicate as a rose leaf, while her expression was one of
+peculiar sweetness.
+
+In her honour there was a grand new throne erected at Buckingham Palace,
+a gorgeous affair of crimson velvet, gold lace, gold fringe and ropes
+and tassels. Merrily the young Queen tried it, and with a gay laugh
+exclaimed, "It is quite perfect! I never sat on a more comfortable
+throne in my life!"
+
+One of the things which Victoria most enjoyed was dealing with cases
+where stern military discipline should have been used, as in the case of
+a court martial which was presented to her by the Duke of Wellington to
+be signed. With eyes full of tears she asked, "Have you nothing to say
+in behalf of this man?"
+
+"Nothing. He has deserted three times," replied the Duke.
+
+"Oh, your Grace, think again!" exclaimed Victoria.
+
+"Well, your Majesty," replied the Iron Man, "he certainly is a bad
+soldier, but there was somebody who spoke as to his good character. He
+may be a good fellow in civil life."
+
+"Oh, thank you," exclaimed the Queen, and dashed off the word "Pardoned"
+to the lawful parchment and wrote under it her signature.
+
+So many cases of this clemency of hers came to the notice of Parliament,
+that finally they arranged matters so that this fatal signing business
+could be done by royal commission, "To relieve her Majesty of painful
+duty," they said, but really because they could not trust her soft
+heart to deal with cases where military discipline should not be
+interfered with.
+
+In Victoria's childhood, when her father, the Duke of Kent, died, he
+left very heavy debts, which the Duchess had endeavoured in every way to
+pay. This Victoria knew, and almost immediately after she became Queen,
+in all the whirl and splendour of her new life she sent for her Prime
+Minister and told him that she wished to settle the remaining debts
+standing in her father's name, saying, "I _must_ do it. I consider it a
+sacred duty," and of course it was done. The Queen also sent some
+valuable pieces of plate to the largest creditors in token of her
+gratitude, and the young girl's earnestness and directness in thus
+carrying out her mother's chief desire, brought tears, it is said, to
+the eyes of Lord Melbourne, and made his feelings for the young Queen
+ever afterwards that of deepest chivalry. In fact all England was
+possessed of the wildest kind of enthusiasm for their new ruler, and one
+can imagine that in her youth and dignity of office she seemed to young
+men and maidens to be a heroine of fairy-tale made flesh and blood,
+while it was said that if necessity had arisen five hundred thousand
+brave Irishmen would arise to defend the life, the honour and the person
+of the beloved young lady on the throne of England.
+
+In August Victoria took possession of Windsor Castle, which soon became
+anything but a gloomy place, with the gay company that filled its every
+room, and to whom the young royal housekeeper showed its beauties and
+comforts with as great satisfaction as if it had been a simple little
+house of her own on a plain English street.
+
+When at Windsor, Brighton was an easy journey, and there the young Queen
+had a triumphal progress, her carriage passing under numberless arches,
+and between ranks and ranks of school children who strewed flowers
+before her and sang songs in her honour. Some months later, in London,
+she dined in state with the Lord Mayor, and as her carriage passed
+through the streets of the city on its way to Guildhall, a vast crowd
+lining the pavements riveted their gaze on the very youthful-looking
+Queen. She wore a wrap of swan's down which made a soft frame for the
+fair sweet face on which was the rose bloom of girlhood, while in her
+eyes beamed health and happiness.
+
+That was a gorgeous ceremony which she attended at Guildhall. At Temple
+Bar she was met by the Lord Mayor himself who handed her the keys of the
+city, and also a sword, which she at once returned to his keeping. Then
+a little farther on, the Blue-Coat Boys of Christ's College gave an
+address of congratulation, saying how glad they were to have a woman
+rule over them, and then they sang the National Anthem, with rousing
+spirit, and the royal party proceeded to Guildhall, where in the
+gorgeous drawing-room the address of the city officials was read. Then
+Victoria performed a memorable act: she knighted Sheriff Montefiore, the
+first man of his race to receive such an honour from a British
+sovereign, and thereby not only reflected honour on the noble man she
+knighted, but on her own daring and just spirit. This ceremony over,
+they passed into the great hall, which had been wonderfully decorated
+and furnished for the occasion, and is said to have looked like
+fairyland with its glittering lights hanging from the roof, reflecting
+brilliancy over the gorgeous court dresses and superb jewels which made
+up the dazzling scene. When Victoria entered, a great chorus rang out in
+a song of praise to their Queen. Then she was led to a table on a
+platform at the end of the room, where she was served with a dinner as
+costly as could be procured to tempt her fancy, receiving the homage of
+city officials as she dined. The feast over, a person called the Common
+Crier strode into the middle of the hall and solemnly proclaimed, "The
+Right Honourable the Lord Mayor gives the health of our Most Gracious
+Sovereign, Queen Victoria!" Of course this was drunk amid a chorus of
+shouts which made the great hall ring to the roof. Victoria rose and
+bowed her thanks, and then the Common Crier announced, "Her Majesty's
+Toast, 'The Lord Mayor and prosperity to the city of London!'" This
+toast, it is said, the Queen responded to by drinking it in sherry one
+hundred and twenty years old, kept for some wonderful occasion such as
+this.
+
+That year, Victoria's first as a Queen, she celebrated Christmas at
+Windsor Castle, and it would have been a very unnatural thing indeed if
+the girl had not exulted with joy over the wonderful presents which
+poured in on her from every side, and yet she kept through this, as in
+all the honours paid to her, her simple-hearted manner and was entirely
+unspoiled by what might easily have turned the head of an older and
+wiser monarch.
+
+And now comes the greatest of all the great events in which the young
+Queen is the central figure--her Coronation. It is true that she had
+already been Queen for a whole year, but such was royal etiquette that
+the time had just arrived for the wonderful ceremonies which would mark
+her official taking of the Crown.
+
+June the twenty-eighth was the day, and the year 1838, and Victoria was
+nineteen years old. They came beforehand, the old courtiers, and
+explained to her the coming pageant, and how after kneeling to her they
+were all required to rise and kiss her on the left cheek. Gravely she
+listened and thought this over, thought not only of the salutes of the
+grave Archbishops, but of the kisses of those other younger peers, of
+whom there were six hundred, and then she issued a proclamation excusing
+them from this duty, so all but the Dukes of Cambridge and Sussex, who
+could kiss her rosy cheek by special privilege of kinship, would have to
+be content with pressing a salute on her hand!
+
+As for the Coronation, it was one of the most wonderful in history, for
+all England wished to look with proud eyes on the crowning of this young
+girl who even in one year had proved herself to be capable of
+understanding the intricate doings of statescraft, and days before the
+ceremonies were to begin, people poured in from all parts of the United
+Kingdom to see the glittering spectacle and to prove their loyalty to
+her who was their sovereign.
+
+The great procession started from Buckingham Palace about ten o'clock in
+the morning, and the first state carriages held the Duchess of Kent and
+her attendants, then came the grand state coach, imposing in its
+gorgeous array of gilding and glass, drawn by eight cream-coloured
+horses from the royal stables, with white flowing manes and tails. In
+the coach of state sat Her Majesty, and there was tremendous applause
+all along the line as soon as the bright girlish face beaming its
+welcome to her people, was seen. On reaching Westminster Abbey, the
+gorgeous scene might have startled or confused her, if she had not
+rehearsed beforehand as thoroughly as though it were a play in which she
+were to take part.
+
+On each side of the nave were galleries erected for the spectators,
+which had been covered with crimson cloth fringed with gold, and under
+them were lines of very martial looking footguards. The stone floor was
+covered with crimson and purple cloth, while immediately under the
+central tower of the Abbey, inside the choir, five steps from the
+floor, was a platform covered with cloth of gold on which stood the
+golden "Chair of Homage." In the chancel, near the altar, stood the
+quaint old chair in which all the sovereigns since Edward the Confessor
+had been crowned. The tiers of galleries upholstered in crimson cloth
+and old tapestries, were occupied by Members of Parliament and foreign
+Ambassadors, while in the organ loft sat a large choir dressed in white,
+and players on instruments dressed in scarlet, while high above them
+were a score of trumpeters; all of which produced a brilliant effect
+that was heightened by the music pealing through the vast Abbey over the
+heads of the throng.
+
+Long before the arrival of the royal party the Abbey was crowded to its
+doors with foreign Ambassadors and Princes in their gorgeous costumes,
+and most gorgeous of all were the Lord Mayor and Prince Esterhazy, who
+was costumed like a glittering shower of jewels from head to toe, while
+hundreds of pretty women were there in every kind of elaborate evening
+dress, although it was only eleven o'clock in the morning. It took both
+time and thought to place all the royal personages so that none would be
+offended, and every peer and peeress would be seated so as to have a
+good view of that part of the minster in which the Coronation was to
+take place.
+
+The grand procession passed slowly up the long aisle, with its
+dignitaries of Church and State, and all its pomp and glitter of jewels
+and gorgeous costumes. Then came the Queen. She wore a royal robe of
+crimson velvet, trimmed with ermine and gold lace, and on her head was a
+circlet of gold. Her tremendously long train was borne by eight young
+court ladies, and never did she look quite so girlish and slight and
+young as she did in that great procession of older dignitaries. As she
+entered the Abbey the choir began the National Anthem, which could
+scarcely be heard because of the mighty cheers which burst from the
+general assembly, echoing through the dome and arched recesses of the
+vast building. Slowly the Queen moved toward the altar, sweetly the
+choir boys chanted _Vivat Victoria Regina!_ while moving quietly to a
+chair placed between the "chair of homage" and the altar, Victoria knelt
+in prayer for a moment, then rose, and the Primate announced in a loud
+voice, "I here present unto you Queen Victoria, the undoubted Queen of
+this realm, wherefore all of you are come this day to do your homage.
+Are you willing to do the same?"
+
+Then the people all shouted, "God save Queen Victoria!" which
+"recognition," as it was called, was repeated many times and answered
+each time by the beating of drums and the sounding of trumpets.
+Throughout all this the Queen stood, turning towards the side from which
+the recognition came, and then followed a great number of curious old
+rites and ceremonies which always go with a Coronation, even though many
+of them have entirely lost their meaning through the lapse of time.
+There were prayers and the Litany and a sermon, and then the
+administration of the oath of office, and after a long questioning by
+the Archbishop, Her Majesty was led to the altar, where, kneeling with
+her hand on the Gospels in the Great Bible, she said in clear, solemn
+tones which could be heard all through the Abbey:
+
+"The things which I have herebefore promised I will perform and keep. So
+help me God."
+
+She then kissed the book and continued to kneel while the choir sang a
+hymn, then while she sat in St. Edward's chair, a rich cloth of gold was
+held over her head and the Archbishop anointed her with oil in the form
+of a cross, after which came still more forms and ceremonies, the
+presentation of swords and spurs, the investing her with the Imperial
+robe, the sceptre and the ring, the consecration and blessing of the new
+crown, which had been made especially for her, and at last the crowning.
+The moment this was over all the peers and peeresses, who had held their
+coronets in their hands during the ceremonies, placed them on their
+heads, and shouted, "God save the Queen!" The trumpets and drums sounded
+again, while outside in the sunlight, guns fired by signal boomed their
+salute to the new sovereign, who was led to the chair of homage to
+receive the salutation of Church and State. First in line came the
+dignitaries of the Church, who knelt and kissed her hand, then the Dukes
+of Cambridge and Sussex, who, taking off their coronets and touching
+them to the crown (a pretty ceremony that!), solemnly pledged their
+loyalty, and kissed their niece on the left cheek. Then, according to
+her decree, the other dukes and peers, even the Duke of Wellington, who
+knelt before her, had only the honour of kissing the small white hand.
+
+Last of all came an old and feeble peer who found such difficulty in
+mounting the steps that he stumbled at the top and fell to the bottom,
+rolling all the way back to the floor, where he lay, hopelessly
+entangled in his robes. Impulsively the Queen rose from her throne as if
+it were but a chair and stretched out her hands to help him, but the old
+peer had risen by that time, and was trying his best to raise his
+coronet to touch the crown, but failed because of the trembling of his
+hand, and the Queen with ready tact held out her hand for him to kiss
+without the form of touching her crown. It was a pretty incident,
+proving the entire unconsciousness of self which the young Queen showed
+all through the imposing ceremonies. And they were not yet over. There
+was yet the Sacrament to be administered to the Queen, who knelt,
+uncrowned, to receive it; then came a recrowning, a re-enthronement,
+more music and then the welcome release of the benediction. Passing into
+King Edward's chapel, the queen changed the imperial for the royal robe
+of purple velvet and went out of the Abbey wearing the crown and
+carrying her sceptre in her right hand, and drove home through a surging
+mass of shouting, cheering subjects and sight-seers, who noticed that
+she looked exhausted, and that she frequently put her hand to her head,
+as if wearing a crown were not at all a comfortable thing.
+
+The gates of the palace were reached at last, the long, vast, tiresome
+ceremonial was at an end. The home door swung open to receive her, and
+out dashed her pet spaniel, barking a joyous welcome as he always did
+when she had been away a long time. A girlish smile broke over
+Victoria's face, for so many hours moulded into a maturer expression of
+sovereignty, and crying, "There, Dash!" she unceremoniously ran in,
+flung off her crown and royal robe and sceptre and ran upstairs to give
+the dog his daily bath!
+
+At that time Carlyle said of her: "Poor little Queen! She is at an age
+when a girl can scarcely be trusted to choose a bonnet for herself, yet
+a task is thrust upon her from which an archangel might shrink."
+
+True indeed, but her Majesty, Queen Victoria, even at the moment of
+doffing her crown to give her dog a bath, could with equal grace and
+capability have answered a summons to discuss grave national issues, and
+would have shown both good judgment and wisdom in the discussion. A
+wonderful little woman she was, young for her task, but old for her age,
+and as we see her standing in the famous portrait painted in her
+coronation robes we see all that is fairest and noblest in both girl and
+Queen. She stands there as though mounting the steps to her throne, her
+head slightly turned, looking back over her shoulder, and we feel the
+buoyancy of her youth and the dignity of her purity, a far more royal
+robe than the one of velvet and ermine which is over her shoulders, and
+we know that she is already worthy of the homage so universally paid
+her, this girl Queen of England awaiting what the future may bring.
+
+
+
+
+SALLY WISTER:
+
+A Girl of the American Revolution
+
+
+WINSOME SALLY WISTER! What a pretty picture she makes against the sombre
+background of the Revolutionary times in which she lived,--with her
+piquant face and merry eyes half hidden under her demure Quaker bonnet,
+and her snowy kerchief crossed so smoothly over her tempestuous young
+heart!
+
+To one of the finest old families in Philadelphia Sally belonged. Her
+father, Daniel Wister, was the only son of John Wister, a prosperous
+wine merchant, and Sally was born at her grandfather's city home, which
+stands on what is now Market Street, Philadelphia, spending her summers
+at his country house in Germantown, which charming old homestead is
+still shown as a landmark of the place.
+
+In winter Sally was a pupil in the girls' school kept by a famous
+Quaker, Anthony Benezet, where there were gathered the daughters of many
+"first" families of the vicinity, and it was there that the intimacy
+began between Sally and her life-long friend Deborah Norris, who too was
+a Quaker girl. The group of girls with whom Sally and "Debby" Norris
+were intimate were all between fourteen and sixteen years old, and
+formed a "Social Circle" which was very exclusive indeed, but to which a
+few boys were occasionally admitted. The boys, however, seem to have
+made themselves disliked, perhaps by teasing, after the manner of boys
+of to-day, for in the summer of 1776 while the girls were all at their
+summer homes, one of them wrote to Sally, in the quaint old-fashioned
+way, making use of many capital letters, "I shall be glad when we get
+together again; us Girls, I mean, for as to the Boys, I fancy we must
+Give them up. Willingly I shall, nor have I the most distant desire of
+being with them again. I think we pass our time more agreeably without
+than with them." A clear declaration of independence, that--but it was
+modified later as letters to Sally show, and one feels glad that such a
+firm stand in an unworthy cause was open to amendment!
+
+At noon on a hot sunny day in 1776, Monday the eighth of July, Sally and
+Debby Norris were sitting in the cool shade of the big maples in the
+garden of Debby's home, which adjoined the State House. For a while they
+sewed and chatted and teased one another as girls will, then Sally held
+up a silencing finger, "Shhh!" she whispered. "That is surely a drum and
+fife."
+
+Debby, who was listening too, nodded, "I remember now I heard Mr.
+Hancock tell Mother that the Declaration of Independence was to be
+proclaimed in public from the State House at noon to-day. Come, perhaps
+we can hear some of it."
+
+Sally was already half way across the lawn; Debby followed and they
+climbed from a wheel-barrow up to the top of a wall looking down at the
+State House yard, and had a fine view of the whole scene. Only a
+small-sized crowd of citizens was there, for the most conservative
+Philadelphians purposely did not go to hear it read, while those members
+of Congress whom the girls could see, looked anxious and ill at ease.
+Silently Sally and Debby listened while John Nixon read the mighty
+phrases of the Declaration and, only half understanding what they
+heard, they joined in the burst of applause following the last words,
+"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the
+protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our
+lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honour."
+
+Then as the crowd began to disperse, the girls climbed down and went
+back to the cool garden, ignorant of the fact that in later years they
+would have no more valued memory than that of the hot noon-day of July
+7, 1776, when they saw and heard the Declaration of Independence read.
+
+That was only one of the exciting events of those stirring days in which
+Sally was living, for Philadelphia was then a war centre, and little
+else was talked about except the movements of the armies and the battles
+being fought. After the battle of Brandywine, when General Washington
+made a brave fight to save Philadelphia, but was defeated by the British
+general, Lord Howe, Sally Wister's father, feeling sure that the British
+would now occupy Philadelphia, thought the time had come to send his
+family out of the city. He at once despatched them to the Foulke farm,
+on the Wissahickon creek, among the hills of Gwynedd, some fifteen miles
+away from the storm centre of the city. The owner of the farm, Hannah
+Foulke, was a relation by marriage of the Wisters, and evidently gave up
+half of her home to them, retaining the other half for her own use, and
+there the two families lived harmoniously during the following nine
+months.
+
+But to Mistress Sally the change of residence and the separation from
+all her friends was not a happy one, and to while away some of its
+lonely hours she began a series of letters in the form of a diary, for
+Debby Norris's benefit, and that journal tells us much about the
+happenings of that memorable epoch in American history, from a young
+girl's point of view. Soon after the arrival of the Wisters at the farm
+the peaceful quiet of the place was broken up, for the sights and sounds
+of war began to be heard even in that remote location, as both armies
+were marching towards Philadelphia. In the first letter to Debby Sally
+informs us that on the 24th of September, two Virginia officers stopped
+at the house, and informed them that the British army had crossed the
+Schuylkill, and later another person called and said that General
+Washington and Army were near Potsgrove, and Sally writes to Debby:
+
+"Well, thee may be sure we were sufficiently scared; however, the road
+was very still till evening. About seven o'clock we heard a great noise.
+To the door we all went. A large number of waggons with about three
+hundred of the Philadelphia Militia. They begged for drink and several
+pushed into the house. One of those that entered was a little tipsy and
+had a mind to be saucy. I then thought it time for me to retreat, so
+figure me (mightily scared,) running in at one door and out another, all
+in a shake with fear, but after a while seeing the officers appeared
+gentlemanly and the soldiers civil, I call'd reason to my aid. My fears
+were in some measure dispell'd, tho' my teeth rattled and my hand shook
+like an aspen leaf. They did not offer to take their quarters with us,
+so with many blessings and as many adieus they marched off. I have
+given thee the most material occurrences of yesterday faithfully."
+
+The next day she and "chicken hearted" Liddy, as Sally called her
+sister, were very much scared by a false report that the dreaded
+Hessians, who comprised a large part of the British army, were
+approaching, had "actually turned into our lane," writes Sally, and she
+adds "Well, the fright went off," but hearing that the forces were
+momentarily drawing nearer, she remarks, "I expect soon to be in the
+midst of one army or t'other." Then while looking for some great
+happening, she had another fright, for a party of Virginia light horse
+rode up to the door, and mistaking the red and blue of their uniforms
+for the British colours, she fled to the shelter of the house, with, as
+she says, "wings tack'd to my feet."
+
+An interval of several weeks then passed, in which nothing of any great
+moment happened, as she explains in the brief notes in her diary. Then
+comes a stirring day to chronicle for Debby's benefit. In the morning
+she hears "the greatest drumming, fifing and rattling of waggons that
+ever was heard" and goes a short distance to see the American army as it
+marches to take a position nearer the city. On that same day comes
+General Smallwood, commander of the Maryland troops, with his officers,
+and a large guard of soldiers to the farm, and asks to be allowed to
+make it his headquarters. Permission having been given by Hannah Foulke,
+one of the officers wrote over the door:
+
+          "Smallwood's Quarters"
+
+to secure the house from straggling soldiers, and then the regiment rode
+away, leaving a flutter of excitement in the hearts of the girls, at the
+thought of having such a novel experience as a house full of soldiers.
+With delightful candour Sally tells us that she and her sister and
+cousins at once "put on their best dresses" and "put their lips in order
+for conquest," and then awaited the evening with what patience they
+could summon. At last the general and his staff and soldiers arrived,
+when at once the yard and house were in confusion, and glittered with
+military equipments. A Dr. Gould who was at that time staying with the
+Wisters, being a friend of General Smallwood's, presented him and his
+officers ceremoniously to the family of which they were to be a part,
+and there is no doubt that from soldier to General all looked with
+covert or open admiration on pretty, saucy Sally, who despite her fear
+of the military, showed great courage, not to say pleasure, in their
+near presence!
+
+At once she looked them over, man by man, with a critical eye, and
+passed judgment on them in her diary, relating, that to her surprise,
+they seem "very peaceable sort of men," and adds, "they eat like other
+folks, talk like them, and behave themselves with elegance, so I will
+not be afraid of them, no I won't," and winds up her letter with,
+"Adieu. I am going to my chamber to dream, I suppose of bayonets and
+swords, sashes, guns and epaulets."
+
+On the following day, she writes to Debby, "I dare say thee is impatient
+to know my sentiments of the officers, so while Somnus embraces them and
+the house is still, take their characters according to their rank," and
+then gives a vivid pen picture of each one of the officers, her
+trenchant description showing her to be no respecter of persons. Major
+William Truman Stoddard, a nephew of the General, and not much older
+than Sally herself, she at first describes as appearing "cross and
+reserved," but her opinion of the young officer materially changes. On
+the second day of their acquaintance she writes, "Well, here comes the
+glory, the Major, so bashful, so famous; I at first thought him cross
+and proud, but I was mistaken. He cannot be extolled for graces of
+person, but for those of the mind he may be justly celebrated." On the
+third day, "the Major is very reserv'd, nothing but 'Good morning' or
+'your servant,' madam," and she adds that she has heard that he is worth
+a fortune of thirty thousand pounds, but is so bashful that he can
+hardly look at the ladies, after which information she roguishly
+remarks in an aside, "Excuse me, good sir, I really thought you were not
+clever; if 'tis bashfulness only, we will drive that away!"
+
+At the end of several days, Sally seems to be much interested in the
+Major, but to have made little headway in getting acquainted with him,
+and the only entry concerning him is "The Gen'l still here. The Major
+still bashful."
+
+Then on a Sunday evening when she was playing with her little brother,
+the Major drew up a chair and began to play with the child too, and
+Sally says, "One word brought us together and we chatted the greatest
+part of the evening." This seems to have broken the ice between them
+completely and two days later while Liddy and Sally were reading she
+tells us that, "The Major was holding a candle for the Gen'l who was
+reading a newspaper. He looked at us, turned away his eyes, looked
+again, put the candlestick down, up he jumped, out of the door he went."
+But presently he returned and seated himself on the table begging them
+for a song, which Liddy said Sally could give, and they laughed and
+talked for an hour and Sally found him "very clever, amiable and
+polite." In the same letter Sally exclaimed, "Oh, Debby, I have a
+thousand things to tell thee. I shall give thee so droll an account of
+my adventures that thee will smile. 'No occasion of that, Sally,'
+methinks I hear thee say, 'for thee tells me every trifle.' But child,
+thee is mistaken, for I have not told thee half the civil things that
+are said of us SWEET creatures at General Smallwood's Quarters!" Sly
+little Mistress Sally!
+
+On the next day, "A polite 'Good morning' from the Major. More sociable
+than ever. No wonder, a stoic could not resist such affable damsels as
+we are!"--Conceited little monkey--Again, "the Major and I had a little
+chat to ourselves this evening. No harm, I assure thee. He and I are
+friends."
+
+That letter also recounts the coming of Colonel Guest, who at once fell
+a victim to the charms of Liddy, in telling which to Debby, Sally
+remarks, "When will Sally's admirers appear? Ah! that indeed. Why, Sally
+has not charms sufficient to pierce the heart of a soldier. But still I
+won't despair. Who knows what mischief I may yet do?"--Ah, yes, little
+coquette, who knows?
+
+Two days later, she writes, "Liddy, Betsey, Stoddard and myself, seated
+by the fire chatted away an hour in lively conversation. I can't pretend
+to write all he said, but he shone in every subject we talked of," and
+again, "As often as I go to the door, so often have I seen the Major. We
+chat passingly, as 'A fine day, Miss Sally,' Yes, very fine, Major.
+
+"Another very charming conversation with the young Marylander, He has by
+his unexceptionable deportment engaged my esteem."--Lucky Major!
+
+All too soon for the girls at the farm came a command from head-quarters
+that the Army was to march on to Whitemarsh, and the soldiers' two weeks
+of playtime was over. On the day before the leave-taking, Liddy, Betsey
+and Sally, the latter dressed in a white muslin gown, a big bonnet, and
+long gloves, started down the garden path to take a walk. On the porch
+stood two officers watching the retreating figures. One was the Major of
+Sally's fancy, the other a Major Leatherberry, of whom she tersely says,
+"He is a sensible fellow who will not swing for want of a tongue!"
+
+In describing the incident, Sally says, "As we left the house, I
+naturally looked back (of course you did, little coquette) when behold,
+the two majors came fast after us, and begged leave to attend us. No
+fear of a refusal!" she adds, and together the four young people rambled
+through the woodland, flaming with autumn tints, by the bank of the
+overflowing Wissahickon, and Sally says that they shortened the way with
+lively conversation, and that nothing happened that was not entirely
+consistent with the strictest rules of politeness and decorum, but tells
+of pouting when Major Stoddard tried to console her for tearing her
+muslin petticoat, and of flouting Major Leatherberry, when noticing the
+locket against her white throat, he gallantly quoted:
+
+          "On her white neck a sparkling cross she wore,
+           That Jews might kiss or infidels adore,"
+
+but remarks that as a whole the little excursion was full of delights
+for each one of the party, and it was the last good time they had
+together for several weeks, as the farewell came on the next day. Sally
+and the Major seem to have felt the parting keenly, and Sally
+acknowledges to Debby, "I am sorry, for when you have been with
+agreeable people, 'tis impossible not to feel regret when they bid you
+adieu, perhaps forever. When they leave us we shall be immurred in
+solitude," adding tersely, "The Major looks dull."--Poor Major!
+
+Later she adds, "It seems strange not to see our house as it used to be.
+We are very still. No rattling of waggons, glittering of musquets. The
+beating of the distant drum is all we hear."
+
+The journal records no other item of special interest for several weeks,
+except the arrival of two Virginia officers, which somewhat cheers
+Sally, although she describes them in none too glowing terms. She says,
+"Warring, an insignificant piece enough. Lee sings prettily and talks a
+great deal--how good turkey hash and fry'd hominy is!--A pretty
+discourse to entertain ladies! Nothing lowers a man more in my
+estimation than talking of eating. Lee and Warring are proficient in
+this science. Enough of them!"
+
+On the 5th of December, Sally has forgotten all trifling details in a
+new excitement. She writes, "Oh gracious, Debby, I am all alive with
+fear. The English have come out to attack (we imagine) our army. They
+are on Chestnut Hill, our army three miles this side. What will become
+of us, only six miles distant?
+
+"We are in hourly expectation of an engagement. I fear we shall be in
+the midst of it. Heaven defend us from so dreadful a sight. The battle
+of Germantown, and the horrors of that day are recent in my mind. It
+will be sufficiently dreadful if we are only in hearing of the firing,
+to think how many of our fellow creatures are plung'd into the boundless
+ocean of eternity, few of them prepared to meet their fate. But they are
+summoned before an all merciful Judge from whom they have a great deal
+to hope." (Dear little Sally, you are not so frivolous, after all!)
+
+Two days later Major Stoddard appeared unexpectedly, to Sally's
+unconcealed joy. He was looking thin and sick, and was taken care of by
+Mrs. Foulke, but said if he heard firing, he should go with the troops,
+sick or well, which Sally calls "heroic," and at once, fearing he may
+flee hastily, says, "I dressed myself, silk and cotton gown. It is made
+without an apron. I feel quite awkwardish and prefer the girlish
+dresses."
+
+The Major improved so rapidly that on the following day he drank tea
+with the Wisters, and Sally and he had a little private chat, when he
+promised if there should be a battle to come back with a full account
+of it. Later in the afternoon firing was distinctly heard, and it was
+supposed that the opposing armies had begun an engagement. This was
+Howe's famous demonstration against Washington's position at Whitemarsh,
+and a general battle was expected by everyone, but nothing occurred
+except several severe skirmishes. However, at the sound of platoon
+firing, the Major ordered his horse saddled, and if the firing had not
+decreased, could not have been dissuaded from going, though still far
+from strong, and Sally shows great pride in his bravery, as she calls
+it.
+
+The next day's entry tells Debby, "Rejoice with us, my dear. The British
+have returned to the city--charming news this!" They reached
+Philadelphia on that evening, plundering farms on their way, as they
+marched in. Sally devoutly adds, "May we ever be thankful to the
+Almighty Disposer of events for his care and protection of us while
+surrounded with dangers.
+
+"Major went to the army. Nothing for him to do so he returned."
+
+On the following day she writes, "Our Army moved, as we thought to go
+into Winter quarters, but we hear there is a party of the enemy gone
+over the Schuylkill, so our Army went to look at them.
+
+"I observed to Stoddard: 'So you are going, to leave us to the English.'
+
+"'Yes, ha, ha, ha! Leave _you_ to the English!'" was his answer, and the
+glance that accompanied it spoke volumes.
+
+At noon he was gone again, leaving Sally pining for new fields to
+conquer. She did not have to wait long as there were already at the farm
+two officers, whom she now deigns to notice, and describes as "A Captain
+Lipscomb and a Mr. Tilly;" the latter she calls, "a wild noisy mortal
+who appears bashful with girls," and she adds, "We dissipated the
+Major's bashfulness, but I doubt we have not so good a subject now. He
+keeps me in perpetual humour but the creature has not addressed one
+civil thing to me since he came." An incentive to exert all her charms
+and force a victory, Mistress Sally!
+
+It was now nearly the Christmas season, and Stoddard was again at the
+farm, for a brief visit, when an amusing incident took place. Sally was
+sitting in her aunt's parlour with the other girls, darning an apron
+when Major Stoddard joined them, and began to compliment her on her
+skill, with the needle.
+
+"Well, Miss Sally, what would you do if the British were to come here?"
+he asked.
+
+"Do!" exclaimed Sally, "be frightened just to death!"
+
+He laughed and said he would escape their rage by getting behind the
+figure of a British grenadier which was upstairs. "Of all things I would
+like to frighten Tilly with it," he said. "Pray, ladies, let's fix it in
+his chamber to-night."
+
+"If thee will take all of the blame we will assist thee," said wary
+Sally.
+
+"That I will," he replied, and then they made their plan to stand the
+life-size figure of the grenadier which was of a most martial
+appearance, at the door which opened into the road (the house had four
+rooms on a floor with a wide entry running through), with another figure
+which would add to the deceit. One of the servants was to stand behind
+them, others to serve as occasion offered.
+
+"After half an hour's converse," Sally says, "in which we raised our
+expectations to the highest pitch, we parted." On that evening this is
+what happened, according to Sally's chronicle. She says:--"In the
+beginning of the event I went to Liddy and begged her to secure the
+swords and pistols which were in their parlour. The Marylander, hearing
+our voices joined us. I told him of our proposal. He approved of it and
+Liddy went in and brought her apron full of swords and pistols.
+
+"When this was done Stoddard joined the officers. We girls went and
+stood at the first landing of the stairs. The gentlemen were very merry
+and chatting on public affairs when a negro opened the door, candle in
+his hand, and said, 'There's somebody at the door that wishes to see
+you.'
+
+"'Who, all of us?' said Tilly.
+
+"'Yes, sir,' answered the boy.
+
+"They all rose, the Major, as he afterwards said, almost dying with
+laughter, and walked into the entry. Tilly first, in full expectation of
+news.
+
+"The first object that struck his view was a British soldier. In a
+moment his ears were saluted with, 'Is there any rebel officer here?' in
+a thundering voice.
+
+"Not waiting for a second word, Tilly darted like lightning out at the
+front door, through the yard, bolted o'er the fence. Swamps, fences,
+thorn-hedges and ploughed fields no way impeded his retreat. He was soon
+out of hearing.
+
+"The woods echoed with, 'Which way did he go? Stop him! Surround the
+house!' Lipscomb had his hand on the latch, intending to attempt his
+escape. Stoddard, acquainted him with the deceit.
+
+"'Major Stoddard,' said I, 'Go call Tilly back. He will lose
+himself,--indeed he will.' Every word interrupted with a Ha! Ha!
+
+"At last he rose and went to the door and what a loud voice could avail
+in bringing him back, he tried.
+
+"Figure to thyself this Tilly, of a snowy evening, no hat, shoes down at
+the heel, hair unty'd, flying across meadows, creeks and mud holes.
+Flying from what? Why, a bit of painted wood.
+
+"After a while our bursts of laughter being less frequent yet by no
+means subsided; in full assembly of girls and officers, Tilly entered.
+
+"The greatest part of my responsibility turned to pity. Inexpressible
+confusion had taken entire possession of his countenance, his fine hair
+hanging dishevelled down his shoulders, all splashed with mud, yet his
+fright, confusion and race had not divested him of his beauty. He smiles
+as he trips up the steps, briskly walked five or six steps, then stopped
+and took a general survey of us all.
+
+"'Where have you been, Mr. Tilly?' asked one officer. (We girls were
+silent.)
+
+"'I really imagined,' said Stoddard, 'that you were gone for your
+pistols. I follow'd you to prevent danger,' an excessive laugh at each
+question, which it was impossible to restrain.
+
+"'Pray, where are your pistols, Tilly?'
+
+"He broke his silence by the following expression, 'You may all go to
+the devil!'" In recording this, Sally somewhat shocked says, "I never
+heard him utter an indecent expression before."
+
+"At last his good nature gained a complete ascendance over his anger,
+and he joined heartily in the laugh. Stoddard caught hold of his coat.
+'Come, look at what you ran from,' he exclaimed, and dragged him to the
+door.
+
+"Tilly gave it a look, said it was very natural, and by the singularity
+of his expression gave fresh cause for diversion. We all retired,--for
+to rest our faces,--if I may say so.
+
+"Well, certainly these military folk will laugh all night. Such
+screaming I never did hear. Adieu to-night."
+
+Such incidents as that did good service in giving a touch of humour to
+the soldiers' duller duties when in camp, and the vivid picture of Tilly
+and the grenadier comes down to us through the years as a refreshing
+incident of Revolutionary days.
+
+On the next day Sally writes, "I am afraid they will yet carry the joke
+too far. Tilly certainly possesses an uncommon share of good nature or
+he could not tolerate these frequent teasings." Then she adds what is
+most important of all,--
+
+"Ah, Deborah, the Major is going to leave us entirely, just going. I
+will see him first."
+
+And on the next day, "He has gone. I saw him pass the bridge. The woods
+hindered us from following him farther. I seem to fancy he will return
+in the evening."
+
+But he never did, and it is left to our imagining how much of her heart
+the gallant young officer took away with him. Whether much or little,
+there was no evidence of her loss of spirits, and other admirers came
+and went, in quick succession and apparently entirely engaged her
+attention.
+
+On the 20th of December, she writes, "General Washington's army have
+gone into winter quarters at Valley Forge.
+
+"We shall not see so many of the military now. We shall be very intimate
+with solitude. I am afraid stupidity will be a frequent guest," and
+again, "A dull round of the same thing. I shall hang up my pen till
+something happens worth relating."
+
+There being such a lack of diversion at the farm, Sally gladly went to
+spend a week with her friend Polly Fishbourn at Whitemarsh, where she
+had an opportunity to climb the barren hills and from their tops saw an
+extended view of the surrounding country. She says, "The traces of the
+Army which encamped on these hills are very visible,--ragged huts,
+imitations of chimneys, and many other ruinous objects which plainly
+showed that they had been there."
+
+Again back at the farm she had long weeks without any other real
+adventures,--a real one where Sally was concerned, being always one with
+an officer in the foreground, but when June came again there arrived at
+the farm the Virginian captain, Dandridge, who seems to have effectually
+displaced Major Stoddard in the fickle little lady's graces, and she
+described him in glowing terms to Debby, giving very diverting accounts
+of the spicy conversations they had together, for Captain Dandridge was
+famous at repartee, and Sally never at a loss for words to answer back.
+In fact there is no more charming bit of writing in the journal than the
+account of her intimacy with the Captain whom she speaks of as the
+"handsomest man in existence."
+
+In one of Sally's conversations with Dandridge, an interesting light is
+thrown on the attitude of the Wisters in the struggle for independence.
+As Quakers, they professed to be in a neutral position, taking a firm
+stand against war, and preferring not to be drawn into discussions on
+political questions, which is shown by Sally's account of an evening
+when some officers having taken tea in the Wister parlour, she says,
+"the conversation turned on politicks, a subject to avoid. I gave Betsey
+a hint," she adds; "I rose, she followed, and we went out of the room."
+But although theoretically opposed to war, the Wisters, like a majority
+of the Quakers, were at heart friends of liberty. There is no doubt that
+Sally's sympathy was with the American cause, she was quick to deny
+Dandridge's accusation that she was a Tory.
+
+All too soon, Captain Dandridge, like the other officers, rode away from
+the farm after a gallant leave-taking, but Sally's thoughts were soon
+otherwise engrossed. She wrote, "We have had strange reports about the
+British being about to leave Philadelphia. I can't believe it."
+
+And on the following day, "We have heard an astonishing piece of
+news--that the English have entirely left the city. It is almost
+impossible! Stay--I shall hear further," and then on the next, "A light
+horseman has just confirmed the above intelligence! This is _charmante_!
+They decamped yesterday. He (the horseman) was in Philadelphia. It is
+true! They have gone! Past a doubt. I can't help forbear exclaiming to
+the girls, 'Now are you sure the news is true? Now are you _sure_ they
+have gone?'
+
+"'Yes, yes, yes!' they all cry, 'and may they never, never return!'
+
+"Dr. Gould came here to-night. Our army are about six miles off, on their
+march to the Jerseys."
+
+On the next day she adds, "The army began their march at six this
+morning. Our brave, our heroic General Washington was escorted by fifty
+of the Life Guards with drawn swords. Each day he acquires an addition
+to his goodness."
+
+A fine tribute, indeed, to the moving spirit of American Independence,
+and with it let us close Sally Wister's journal, sure that with the
+retreat of the British from Philadelphia, she will soon be able to
+return to the friends from whom she has had such a long separation, and
+so will have no further need to record happenings at the farm as she has
+been doing so faithfully, but can presently relate them not to Debby
+alone, but to the whole "Social Circle," and we may be sure from what
+we know of Mistress Sally that her stories will lose no spice in the
+telling.
+
+If there are those who are reluctant to part with pretty Sally, let them
+turn to the little journal and read it in its spicy entirety for
+themselves, and it were well also after reading this chronicle of a girl
+of the Revolution, to turn to the pages of history and paint in more
+accurate detail the background of our vivid picture of Sally, for only a
+short distance from the farm, across the hills of Gwynedd, the greatest
+actors in the Revolutionary drama were playing their parts--Washington,
+Lafayette, Wayne, Steuben, Greene, and many others--playing the hero's
+part at the battle of Germantown, at the battle of Burgoyne, in the
+skirmishes before Washington's encampment at Whitemarsh, suffering
+silently in a winter at Valley Forge.
+
+Turn to the pages of history for the sombre background and glance once
+again at the piquant face and merry eyes of Sally Wister, half hidden
+under her demure Quaker bonnet, with her snowy kerchief crossed so
+smoothly over her tempestuous young heart, as she looked when soldiers
+and officers fell under the charm of her bewitching personality!
+
+
+
+
+COFACHIQUI:
+
+An Indian Princess of Historic Legend
+
+
+IT was a day in late April. In the flourishing Indian town of Yupaha, a
+town lying on the east bank of the Savannah River, in what is now the
+State of South Carolina, an unusual commotion was evident. An Indian on
+the river bank had noticed with his far-seeing eyes a strange sight on
+the opposite side of the river. The sunshine was flashing on glinting
+brass and steel implements upheld by a host of strange foreigners who
+were massed near the river, some on foot and others mounted on such
+animals as the Indian had never before seen. What was to be the next
+move of these strangers? Were they planning to cross the river and
+invade the Red Man's stronghold? Quickly the Indian called around him
+the principal men of the village, sent a message also to the young and
+beautiful princess who had recently been made Queen of the province of
+Cofachiqui and of many neighbouring provinces. This princess was so just
+and loyal and honest in dealing with her people that they loved her as
+though she had been a wise man instead of a young girl. Now she was
+quickly told of the strange spectacle across the water and came herself
+to view it. Then her councillors gathered around her to receive her
+commands, and several Indians hurrying to the river, hastily embarked in
+their canoes, the rhythmic sound of their paddles echoing on the still
+air.
+
+Meanwhile on the bank toward which they steered their canoes, there was
+an air of expectancy as the canoes came nearer, were grounded, as six
+stalwart Indian chiefs filed up the bank from the river, and stood
+before the foreigners, who were no other than Hernandez de Soto, the
+Spanish general, and his band of adventurers. The chiefs made three
+profound bows, one toward the East, to the Sun, one toward the West, to
+the moon, and one to De Soto himself. Then their spokesman asked:
+
+"Do you wish peace or war?"
+
+"Peace," answered De Soto promptly. "We ask only permission to pass
+through your province, transportation across the river, food while we
+are in your territory and the treatment of friends, not foes."
+
+Gravely the Indian listened, gravely he answered. Peace, he said, could
+be assured, but for the other requests there must be time given to make
+answer. Cofachiqui, queen of the province bearing her name, must be
+consulted. Of food there was a scant supply because of a pestilence
+which had recently ravaged their land causing many natives to go into
+the forests, and preventing them from planting their fields as usual,
+but if the strangers would await Cofachiqui's response to their demands
+with what patience they could command, that patience would surely be
+rewarded.
+
+The Indian ceased speaking and bowed. Gravely his companions also bowed.
+The interview was over. With silent sinuous strides the chiefs retraced
+their steps to the river, and entered their canoes which soon shot
+through the water, homeward bound, watched by the eager eyes of the
+waiting Spaniards.
+
+[Illustration: COFACHIQUI, THE INDIAN PRINCESS]
+
+Now although De Soto had shown surprise at the news that the ruler of
+the neighbouring province was a young princess, the surprise was not
+genuine. Some months earlier in the season, while encamped in what is
+now the State of Florida, an Indian had been captured and brought into
+the Spanish camp. This youth had told thrilling tales to the Spaniards
+of the fascinating young Queen Cofachiqui and he related to a breathless
+audience how all the neighbouring chiefs paid tribute to her as to a
+great ruler, and sent her presents of magnificent clothing and
+provisions and gold. At the mention of gold which was the ruling passion
+of De Soto and his followers, they plied the young Indian with further
+questions, and he, hoping for release as the price of his information,
+told in detail of the wonderful yellow metal which was found in such
+quantities in the province of Cofachiqui and neighbouring territories
+and how it was melted and refined, and as the Spaniards listened, they
+exchanged glances of joy that at last after all their weary wanderings,
+they were to find the long-looked-for treasure. At once they broke camp,
+robbing and plundering the Indians, without whose kindness and
+hospitality during the long Winter months they would have fared badly,
+but of that they were careless, and in every possible way drained the
+stores of the savages who had befriended them, in fitting themselves out
+for their expedition northward.
+
+Then for long weeks they pressed onward through the trackless forest
+with no chart or compass, except such general directions as they
+received from the young Indian, to guide them, and as they travelled
+they left behind them a trail of theft and barbarous cruelty and murder
+in return for the kindness of the simple-minded natives whom they
+encountered in their march.
+
+At last in late April they found themselves in the territory governed by
+Cofachiqui, the fair young girl who was ruler of many provinces and
+possessor of much gold, and their hopes of conquest were high. So, in
+accord with a hastily-laid plan, they massed themselves on the east
+bank of the river, with the sunlight glinting through the great forest
+trees behind them, shining on their weapons and armour, and thus they
+received the visit of the Indians from the town of Yupaha, capital of
+Cofachiqui.
+
+The interview was over--the Spaniards watched the chiefs as they
+disembarked on the opposite shore, saw a great crowd of natives gather
+around them, engaging in eager conversation, saw canoes being again made
+ready for use, one more showily ornamented than the others being filled
+with cushions and mats, over which a canopy was hastily raised. The eyes
+of the Spaniards were strained to lose no detail of the Indians'
+preparations as four strong young braves came in sight, carrying a
+palanquin down to the river edge, from which a young woman alighted, and
+gracefully stepped into the gaudily decked canoe.
+
+"The Princess! It can be no other!" exclaimed an excited and susceptible
+dragoon, and all eyes were at once centred on the slight, lithe figure
+seated now in the canoe. She was followed by eight Indian women, who
+also seated themselves in the boat with their Queen and took up the
+paddles, making the little craft cut swiftly through the water by the
+power of their deft strokes, while the men followed in another canoe.
+
+The shore was reached. Gracefully, quietly the princess stepped from her
+barge, and ascended the bank, her women following in an impressive
+procession, until they stood before the army of expectant Spaniards. De
+Soto, after one glance into the lustrous dark eyes of the girlish
+princess, rose and placed the throne chair by his own side, and with a
+swift and gracious acknowledgment of his courtesy, the princess took it,
+and began to speak rapidly in a low melodious voice.
+
+"My chiefs tell me you ask for provisions and shelter while passing
+through my provinces," she said.
+
+De Soto asked his interpreter what her words meant and inclined his head
+in affirmation, while his soldiers watched the mobile face of the
+princess, fascinated by her beauty, as she spoke again.
+
+"We give you and your men a hearty welcome and will protect your
+interests as if they were our own while you remain with us," she said.
+"But for provisions, my chiefs told you of the pestilence which has so
+ravaged our land that the fields have not been planted as usual, but I
+have two storehouses filled with grain which I have collected for the
+relief of those whom the pestilence has spared, one of those shall be at
+your service, sir. As to your accommodation," this with a graceful wave
+of her hand as though including De Soto in all that she possessed, "half
+of my own house is at your disposal, and your men may make themselves at
+home in as many of the buildings in the village as are necessary, for
+barracks."
+
+Watching De Soto's face, and fancying she saw disapproval there, the
+princess hastily added, "But if that is not satisfactory to you, oh,
+sir, I and my people can retire to a neighbouring village, leaving you
+in possession of my own."
+
+Her winning hospitality was not to be resisted. A grave and courtly
+smile flitted over De Soto's face and he hastily reassured her that this
+would not be necessary, then asked if she could provide them with a
+means of transportation across the river. To this Cofachiqui replied,
+"That has already been attended to, and to-morrow morning rafts and
+canoes will be in readiness for your use."
+
+While she was speaking, De Soto had fallen under the spell of her
+musical voice and personal charm and when she finished he rose, and
+bending over her hand, kissed it in true cavalier fashion, assuring her
+of his loyalty and good faith, as well as those of his sovereign, and
+although the vow was as insincere as it was effective, it gave great joy
+to simple-minded, big-hearted Cofachiqui, who believed that these
+foreigners were as trustworthy as she was, and were hereafter to be her
+friends and allies.
+
+Slowly she unwound a long string of pearls as large as hazelnuts that
+were wound three times around her graceful throat and fell in a long
+strand to her waist, and handing them to De Soto's interpreter, she
+asked him to present them to his commander whose eyes gleamed at sight
+of the magnificent jewels, although he shook his head saying gallantly,
+"But Madame, they will be doubly precious if given by your own hand."
+
+The princess flashed an arch glance at the handsome Spanish general, but
+showed her reluctance, replying that such an act would lay her open to
+the charge of immodesty. This being repeated to De Soto by his
+interpreter, he answered firmly and chivalrously,
+
+"More indeed than the pearls themselves would I value the favour of
+receiving them from her hand, and in acting so she would not go against
+modesty, for we are treating of peace and friendship, of all things the
+most important, most serious between strange people."
+
+Having heard this apparent declaration of amity the princess allowed
+herself to be persuaded, then rose, and with her own hands placed the
+string of costly pearls around the neck of De Soto. He too stood, and
+taking from his hand a valuable ring, set with a large ruby, which he
+had doubtless pillaged from the Peruvians, he begged Cofachiqui to
+accept it.
+
+Won by his magnetism and courtly manner the heart of the princess beat
+fast, and with evident pleasure she accepted the ring and placed it on
+her finger. Then with a bewitching smile to De Soto, and another to his
+men, she turned and retraced her steps to the river, and followed as
+before by her attendants, she again entered the canoe which under the
+impelling strokes of the sturdy Indian women, shot homeward, leaving the
+ranks of the Spanish army quite demoralised by such a vision of youth
+and beauty, as well as charmed by a strength of character which made
+them call the princess then and ever afterwards _La Sanora_, or the lady
+of Cofachiqui, and both then and ever after did she deserve the title,
+for no truer-hearted, kindlier-mannered aristocrat ever made and kept
+covenant of faith with a treacherous foe, than did she, this sweet
+princess of a barbarian race.
+
+So much in love with her already were the susceptible Spaniards that
+they awaited the morrow with extreme impatience and could only while
+away the hours with tales of her perfections told to the master of camp
+and the remainder of the army, but just arrived from the interior.
+
+At the appointed hour of the next day came the promised rafts and canoes
+to transport them, and soon De Soto and his cavaliers found themselves
+in the most beautiful spot, and among the most hospitable Indians they
+had ever yet encountered. They were peaceable and affable in manner and
+almost as white as the Spaniards themselves, and so intelligent that it
+was possible to gain much valuable information from them concerning the
+region and its products. As for the lovely princess herself, daily the
+strangers became more astonished at her soundness of judgment, and
+practical grasp of affairs, which would easily have challenged many a
+white man's mental capacity.
+
+With eager desire to make her guests as comfortable as possible, and
+also with a touch of personal interest in the handsome cavaliers,
+Cofachiqui ordered wigwams to be put up for the soldiers under the
+shading mulberry trees, placed houses at the disposal of the officers
+and made everything bend to the comfort of the Spaniards to such a
+degree that the delighted army approached their general with a petition
+to make a permanent settlement there. But De Soto was a man of one
+controlling passion and was impervious to all pleas, reiterating these
+words, "Our quest is for gold, not for comfort or for courtesy. We must
+press on."
+
+A man of few words but of inflexible purpose, the soldiers knew only too
+well the uselessness of entreating him further and putting aside their
+emotional appreciation of Cofachiqui's kindness, even while accepting
+all that she gave them, set to work and secretly discovered the burial
+place of her people, and robbed it not only of figures of babies and
+birds made of iridescent shells, but also of three hundred and fifty
+weight of pearls. Then, fired with the lust of possession, and having
+found out that Cofachiqui's widowed mother, who lived in retirement
+forty miles down the river, was the owner of many fine pearls, De Soto
+at once began to plan to get her in his power. Of this he gave no hint
+to the princess, but pretended, in his long daily conversations with
+her, that he was her loyal friend, and his only aim was peace so long as
+he and his men should be in her territory. At the same time he suggested
+casually to Cofachiqui, who was still somewhat under the spell of his
+magnetic personality, (although now not altogether unconscious of the
+selfish deeds done to her people in his name) that perhaps her mother
+would enjoy coming up to Yupaha to meet his people who were unlike any
+she had ever known, also to see the wonderful animals they rode,--for
+the fine horses of the Spanish cavalrymen were the greatest admiration
+of the Indians. To his suggestion Cofachiqui gave a pleasant assent, and
+at once De Soto's message was conveyed to the Queen's mother by a young
+Indian who had been brought up as the elder woman's own son. But the
+Queen's mother had lived longer, and had a broader knowledge of the
+world and of the treachery of the white man than had her daughter, and
+instead of accepting the invitation in the spirit in which it was
+apparently given, she sent a sharp reproof to Cofachiqui for having
+allowed strangers about whom she knew nothing to invade her capital.
+
+The news was duly brought to De Soto, who set his firm lips more firmly
+still, and then ordered one of his officers, Juan de Anasco, to take
+with him thirty men and start at once for the dwelling-place of the
+Queen's mother, and force her not only to see them, but also to return
+with them to the camp. On hearing this, the princess argued with him as
+to the uselessness of the expedition. "My mother," she said, "is of a
+firm will and tenacious purpose. Had she been willing to see you, she
+would have come at once. Do not urge her."
+
+But De Soto spoke in a tone of firm command, telling her that she must
+supply a guide for the expedition, and with no further sign of
+reluctance Cofachiqui again commissioned the young Indian, of whom her
+mother was so fond, to lead the strangers forth, hoping that the lad's
+coming would make a stronger appeal to her mother than all the force
+that could be used.
+
+When the young fellow stood equipped for the journey, receiving his
+instructions from Cofachiqui, he was so strikingly handsome, both in
+face and stalwart figure, that even the Spaniards could not but note it.
+On his back was strung a magnificent bow as tall as he, and a quiver
+full of arrows, his mantle was of finest softest deerskin and on his
+head was set a coronet of rare feathers.
+
+That evening the party set out, and on the following day when the sun
+was high, stopped to rest under a spreading clump of trees, and as the
+Spaniards lounged in the refreshingly cool spot, the young guide sat
+apart, not entering into the gaiety of his comrades, but with his head
+bent in his hands, in apparently deep and melancholy reverie. Then
+rousing with a start, he threw himself down beside the others and began
+to show them the arrows with which his quiver was filled, and the
+Spaniards examined them with eager interest and surprise, for they were
+gems of carving and of polish, and each one was different from the
+other. While the soldiers' attention was thus centred, the young Indian
+gave a quick glance at them, then suddenly he drew out a dagger-edged
+flint head, plunged it into his throat and fell at their feet. With
+cries of horror they bent over him, but it was too late. The cut had
+severed an artery and life was already gone from the noble form.
+
+Only too well the young man had known when he started out on this second
+expedition that the queen's mother whom he so dearly loved, would never
+be willing to have any acquaintance with these strangers, for she
+distrusted them. On the other hand he had received a command from his
+much revered princess to conduct the Spaniards to her mother's home, and
+if need be to bring her to Yupaha by force. He dared not disobey, but
+his heart was heavy at the thought. He was unwilling to so treat one who
+had always been kind to him and he had taken his own life rather than be
+disloyal. Where in the annals of history can be found a greater proof of
+devotion than this?
+
+The tragedy brought great consternation to the Spaniards, for without
+the youth it was impossible to go on to their destination unless some of
+the other Indians in their party would volunteer to conduct them, but
+they all swore they did not know where the queen's mother lived, and for
+some hours the Spaniards still rested in the heart of the forest,
+talking over their plans. Meanwhile Cofachiqui, alone with her people
+for the first time since the coming of the strangers, had called
+together her chiefs, and was with them discussing matters of importance
+to all her subjects. One old chief spoke bitterly of the expressed
+desire of the cavaliers for conquest, for gold, and warned his princess
+that she was in danger of disaster if she harboured the intruders any
+longer, but Cofachiqui answered with flashing eyes:
+
+"You ask me to betray those who have given me loyalty and trust? You
+call these strangers unworthy of confidence because they demand the
+presence of my mother? How do we know what the white man's code of
+honour about such matters is? To the very end I shall keep my covenant
+of good faith with them and you as my people will do as I command!" Her
+firmness was so evident, and so did she hold her people's hearts in her
+keeping that the old chiefs never again mentioned that which was making
+more than one in the community uneasy, but they were no less troubled
+because Cofachiqui showed no concern about the matter.
+
+Their conference over, the Spaniards had decided to press on without a
+guide, and for two days wandered aimlessly through jungles and swamps in
+excessive heat and discomfort, then, exhausted by disappointment and by
+the weight of their heavy armour, they returned to the camp in no happy
+frame of mind, carrying with them the sad news of the young guide's
+death, upon the reason for which Cofachiqui pondered long and deeply.
+
+Once decided on a course of action, De Soto was not a man to be balked,
+and when several days later an Indian secretly came to him with an offer
+to personally conduct him to the home of the queen's mother, the offer
+was gladly accepted and a second expedition set out. But the lady in
+question was a person of determination too, and hearing of the approach
+of the party, doubtless from one of Cofachiqui's chiefs, she quietly
+fled to some more sheltered spot, and after six days of wandering in
+search of her, the party returned to camp in disgust and never again
+attempted to visit her.
+
+Even when apparently absorbed with other things, De Soto's whole mind
+was centred on planning how to discover the gold which he had been told
+could be found in such large quantities in the territory belonging to
+the princess. Always a diplomat, he spoke carelessly of the pearls which
+she had given him, asked whether she also owned any yellow and white
+metals similar to the rings and other ornaments he showed her. As always
+when she talked with him Cofachiqui's eyes sparkled, and her whole
+nature seemed to go out to him in confidence and interest.
+
+"Indeed, yes," she made answer through her interpreter, "on my land
+there is an abundance of metals, both white and yellow."
+
+De Soto's eyes gleamed at the statement. Then she summoned an Indian,
+and directed him to go at once and bring to her specimens of both kinds
+of metals. With ill-concealed impatience De Soto waited for the
+messenger's return, and almost snatched the small lumps from his hands,
+as the messenger brought them to the princess. With radiant joy she
+handed them to De Soto, glad to give another proof of her friendship.
+One look was enough, the yellow metal was only copper, the shining white
+specimen was a worthless kind of quartz!
+
+Glancing at De Soto with eyes full of pride in the products of her
+realm, Cofachiqui's expression changed to one of surprise and fear, for
+on the face before her she saw such rage and hatred that she knew
+something dangerous had happened; and trembled lest revenge should be
+visited on her guiltless people. In a gently soothing voice she hastily
+said, pointing with a graceful wave of her hands to a spot in the
+distance, "Yonder is the burial place of our village warriors. There you
+will find our pearls. Take what you wish, and if you wish more, not far
+from here there is a village which was the home of my forefathers. Its
+temple is larger than this. You will find there so many pearls that even
+if you loaded all your horses with them, and yourselves with as much as
+you could carry you would not come to the end of them. Many years have
+my people been collecting and storing pearls. Take all and if you still
+want more, we can get even more for you from the fishing place of my
+people."
+
+What an offer! It could be no other than evidence of a heart's real
+devotion, or of deep rooted fear, when an Indian princess offers to rob
+the burial place,--the treasure house of her ancestors!
+
+While Cofachiqui, with appealing eyes, made the offer as a substitute
+for what De Soto had evidently been disappointed in finding, the
+Spaniard's hopes revived, and with a quick reassuring gesture he took
+and kissed the hand of the princess in his most courtly manner, which
+courtesy she received with proud dignity, and gave no further evidence
+that her heart had ever been touched by the fascinating general.
+
+De Soto lost no time in accepting the offer made by Cofachiqui, and two
+days later, with a large number of his officers, and escorted by some of
+the household of the princess, who made no promise which she did not
+carry out to the full, De Soto visited the temple of which she had
+spoken. During the three mile trip, they passed through such wonderfully
+fertile country, saw such luxuriant vegetation, picked so much luscious
+fruit hanging in profusion from the fruit trees on the way, that the
+cavaliers felt this to be truly the promised land and again begged their
+commanding general to make a settlement here, but he only responded by
+silence and by marching on. At last the temple was reached. Impressively
+the Indians threw back the massive doors and on the threshold the
+Spaniards stood, spell-bound by the beauty and the majesty of what they
+saw, so the historian of the party tells us.
+
+Twelve gigantic wooden statues confronted them, counterfeiting life with
+such ferocity of expression and such audacity, of posture, as could not
+but awe them. Six stood on one side and six on the other side of the
+door, as if to guard it, and to forbid anyone to enter. Those next the
+door were giants about twelve feet high, the others diminished in size
+by regular gradation. Each pair held a different kind of weapon and
+stood in attitude to use it.
+
+Passing between the lines of monsters, the foreigners entered a great
+room. Overhead were rows of lustrous shells such as covered the roof,
+and strands of pearls interspersed with strings of bright feathers all
+seemed to be floating in the air in a bewildering tapestry. Along the
+upper sides of the four walls ran two rows of statues, figures of men
+and women in natural size, each placed on a separate pedestal. The men
+held various weapons, and each weapon was ornamented with a string of
+pearls. The burial chests were placed on benches around the four sides
+of the room, and in the centre, on the floor were also rows of caskets
+placed one on top of the other. All the caskets were filled with pearls,
+and the pearls were distributed according to size, the largest in the
+large caskets, the smaller seed pearls in the smallest caskets. In all
+there was such a quantity of pearls that the Spaniards confessed to the
+truth of the statement of Cofachiqui, that if they loaded themselves
+with as many as they could carry, and loaded their three hundred horses
+with them, too, there would still be hundreds of bushels left. And, too,
+there were in the room great heaps of handsome deerskins dyed in
+different colours, and skins of other animals. Opening out of this great
+room were eight small rooms filled with all sorts of weapons. In the
+last room were mats of cane so finely woven that few of the Spanish
+crossbowmen could have put a bolt through them.
+
+The Spaniards were greatly elated with the discovery of such a store of
+treasure, and it is said that De Soto dipped his joined hands, made into
+a receptacle for the purpose, into the piles of pearls, and gave
+handfuls to each cavalier, saying that they were to make rosaries of, to
+say prayers on for their sins. For some strange reason, however, most of
+the jewels were left undisturbed, perhaps in the same way that fortunes
+are left in a bank, to be drawn on at will. Sure we are, from the true
+account of the historian, that the Spaniards were fully aware of the
+value of the pearls given to them by Cofachiqui, and sure it is also
+that De Soto must have exulted with a passion of triumph at being the
+lawful owner of such treasures. But his desire for gold, his greed for
+gain, was insatiable. Having examined his newly acquired store house of
+possessions he eagerly inquired of the Indians if they knew of any
+still richer land farther west. This question gave Cofachiqui's chiefs
+the chance they had been hoping for to rid themselves of him whom they
+now knew as a treacherous guest, and they hastily assured De Soto that
+farther on to the north was a more powerful chief ruling over a far
+richer country, called Chiaha. The news delighted De Soto and he
+determined to march on at once. In vain his men pleaded to remain where
+they had found such treasure, had been shown such kindness--his reply
+was that there were not enough provisions in the province to support
+their army much longer, and that by continuing their march they might be
+repaid by finding the longed-for gold. But he added, cannily, should
+their quest be unsuccessful they could return, by which time the Indians
+would have replanted their fields and there would be abundance of food.
+As usual, he had his way, and the tidings were brought to the princess
+that the foreigners were to take up their march for Chiaha, on the
+fourth of May. Doubtless she was not sorry, for during the latter part
+of their stay, their treachery and cruelty had been so evident, that
+whatever feeling of comradeship with them she had before felt, must have
+been rudely dissipated, and seeing evidence of her changed sentiments De
+Soto was so uneasy lest like her mother she should flee from him, that
+he appointed a guard who kept watch over her by day and by night, so she
+could not by any possibility escape. To the cavalier who was appointed
+to this task, no menial labour could have been more humiliating, and he
+accepted it under protest, but the lady of Cofachiqui over whom he was
+obliged to keep guard showed no signs of being disturbed at her
+position, but with proud and haughty glances went calmly about her daily
+tasks as though it was a common thing for her to have a keeper. Then
+came the day of De Soto's leave-taking, and masking her joy at the
+event, Cofachiqui stood proudly to receive his farewell, with as much
+grace and dignity as on the day when she had received him and his men.
+But suddenly her eyes flashed with anger, her throat parched with
+humiliation, a frenzy of proud horror and rebellion filled her--she
+heard the man who had before kissed her hand so chivalrously, who had so
+fascinated her, give the stern command that she, _La Sanora_, Queen of
+the realm, was to accompany the Spaniards on foot with her retinue of
+women attendants!
+
+"_And what is this for?_" she flung out the question with an imperious
+challenge, but De Soto vouchsafed no answer, and the army took up its
+march with the little band of Indian women safely guarded at the rear.
+Cofachiqui soon found out why she had been carried on the expedition,
+for De Soto obliged her to make use of her influence in controlling the
+Indians along his line of march, so that his army not only was not
+attacked, on account of the protecting presence of the gracious ruler
+for whom her people had such a deep affection, but also at her command
+they supplied De Soto with guides, as well as with men to carry baggage
+and provisions, while travelling through her territory.
+
+For a week, another and still a third, Cofachiqui was dragged in the
+vanguard of the Spanish army, a prisoner, and with the passing of each
+day in captivity to these traitorous white men on whom she had formerly
+looked with such reverence, her heart grew faint with apprehension, deep
+shadows came beneath her lustrous eyes, and there was never a sound of
+her silvery laughter as of old.
+
+But these were the only visible signs of the effect of her subjection.
+To the Spaniards she was still courageous, calm and dignified, whatever
+she may have felt.
+
+Then came a wild night of storm in the forest, torrents of rain and
+mighty wind that roared and thundered through the great trees, shaking
+them as if they had been saplings. While the tempest was at its height
+Cofachiqui, by a signal known only to her tribe, summoned one of her
+faithful women to her side,--by signs told her what she had to
+tell,--then the woman crept stealthily back to her forest bed, and there
+was no sound in the encampment but the roar of the wind and rain.
+
+The next day dawned cloudless, and at an early hour all the Spaniards
+were busily at work, repairing the severe damage done by the storm. In
+replacing a tent a woman's deft hand was needed, and Cofachiqui's name
+echoed through the forest. No answer came, and an impatient cavalier
+himself ran to summon her. At the door of her tent he stood as if turned
+to marble. Cofachiqui was not there! Not a bead, an ornament, an article
+of clothing, was to be found! No, nor the casket of wonderful pearls
+entrusted to her care by De Soto. _La Sanora_, queen of many provinces,
+lady of the land she had ruled over so wisely and so well, had fled, and
+all her women with her!
+
+Never again, despite De Soto's frenzied and persistent search, despite
+the added efforts of the united Spanish army, did they discover any
+trace of the brave, beautiful young girl who had received such
+treacherous treatment in return for her gracious hospitality.
+
+Clever Cofachiqui! Where she fled, or how she fled, or when she fled,
+will always be a mystery, but her name has come down to us on the pages
+of historic legend, not as fairy-tale but as fact, and she stands with
+the lime-light of ages thrown on her clear-cut character as a girl
+sweet, brave and loyal--the most precious relic bequeathed to the New
+World by De Soto and his cavaliers.
+
+
+
+
+JENNY LIND:
+
+The Swedish Nightingale
+
+
+IN the City of Stockholm there is one street leading up to the Church of
+St. Jacob, on which in years gone by there was a constant succession of
+pedestrians and vehicles. In fact in 1830, it was one of the most lively
+streets in the city, and often a passer would stop to look up at a
+window where every day a little girl sat, holding a big cat decorated
+with a blue ribbon. To this pet the child sang constantly, sang bits of
+operas or popular airs which she had heard, and the childish voice was
+so clear and sweet and true even in very high notes, that it attracted
+quite a crowd of listeners, and it became a regular habit with many
+persons to pause for a moment and listen to the song poured out for the
+benefit of pussy with the blue bow!
+
+Among those who saw the pretty picture and heard the song was the maid
+of a Mademoiselle Lundberg, a dancer at the Royal Opera House. She was
+told such an ecstatic story of the child's beautiful voice, that she
+became deeply interested, and having found out that the little singer's
+name was Jenny Lind wrote a note asking the child's mother, Fru Lind, to
+bring Jenny to her home that she might hear her sing.
+
+Fru Lind acceded to the request and when she took Jenny to pay the
+promised visit, and the child's voice had been tried, Mademoiselle
+Lundberg clasped her hands in rapture, exclaiming:
+
+"She is a genius. You must have her educated for the stage."
+
+The words meant nothing to Jenny, but they struck terror to the heart of
+the mother, to whose old-fashioned notions the stage was another name
+for ruin. In vain the actress pleaded that it would be a sin to allow
+such talent to be wasted,--still Fru Lind shook her head, and the
+actress diplomatically argued no more, but by eager questions learned
+the history of Jenny's family.
+
+Being the wife of an amiable and good-natured man who was unable to
+support his family, Fru Lind was obliged to keep a small school in
+Stockholm to eke out expenses, and as she had not time to take care of
+Jenny as well as teach, the child had for three years been boarded out
+with a church organist's family not far from the city, but had finally
+been brought back, to become a pupil in her mother's school, being cared
+for mainly by her grandmother, to whom Jenny was devotedly attached. All
+this Mademoiselle Lundberg learned from answers to her questions, and
+seeing her keen interest, the mother continued her narrative, "It was my
+mother who first noticed Jenny's voice," she said. "Some street
+musicians had been playing in front of the house and the child must have
+heard them and listened closely, for as soon as they were gone, she went
+to the piano and played and sang the air she had heard. My mother in the
+next room, hearing the music, thought Jenny's half sister was at the
+piano, and called out, 'Amalia, is that you?' Jenny, evidently fearing
+she had done something to be punished for, crept under the piano, where
+my mother found her and pulling her out, exclaimed, 'Why, child, was
+that _you_?'" Jenny said that it was, and as soon as Fru Lind came in,
+the grandmother gleefully told her daughter the incident, adding, "Mark
+my words, that child will bring you help," and the mother, struggling
+so hard to make ends meet, devoutly hoped that the prediction might come
+true.
+
+Soon after that as her school did not pay, Fru Lind became a governess,
+and the grandmother went to the Widows' Home, taking Jenny with her. The
+child, who was too young to realise what such a step meant, was as happy
+as could be there; as she said afterwards, "I sang with every step I
+took, and with every jump my feet made," and when she was not jumping or
+stepping, she sat in the window singing to her big pet pussy cat. All
+this the mother told Mademoiselle Lundberg, who again begged that Jenny
+at least be taught to sing correctly, to which Fru Lind agreed, and the
+actress at once wrote a letter of introduction to Herr Croelius, the
+court Secretary, and singing master at the Royal Theatre, and gave it to
+Fru Lind. Off went mother and daughter to present it, but when they
+reached the Opera House and were about to mount its steps, Fru Lind
+shook her head, and turned back--she could not launch her child on any
+such career.
+
+But here Jenny became insistent, for from all the conversation she had
+heard between her mother and the actress, she had gathered that mounting
+those steps would mean something new and interesting, and at last she
+had her way. They sought and found the studio of Croelius, and Jenny
+sang for him a bit from one of Winter's operas, and the teacher, deeply
+moved by the purity and strength of the child's voice, at once set a
+date for her first lesson with him.
+
+After only a few lessons, Croelius became so proud of his pupil that he
+took her to sing for Count Puecke, manager of the Court Theatre, hoping
+that this powerful man might be so impressed with the child's voice that
+he would do something to push her forward quickly into public notice.
+One can picture the interview between Count Puecke, businesslike and
+abrupt, and little Jenny, then plainly dressed and awkward, far from
+pretty, and too bashful even to lift her eyes to meet the keen glance of
+the Count. Looking coldly from her to Croelius, the Count asked:
+
+"How old is she?"
+
+"Nine years old," answered Croelius.
+
+"Nine!" echoed the Count. "Why, this is not a nursery. It is the king's
+theatre."
+
+Then with another glance at Jenny he asked coldly, "What should we do
+with such an ugly creature? See what feet she has, and then her face!
+She will never be presentable. Certainly we can't take such a
+scarecrow."
+
+Croelius, indignant at such brutality, put a protecting arm around the
+girl and said proudly, "If you will not take her, I, poor as I am, will
+myself have her educated for the stage," and turning, was about to leave
+the room when the Count commanded him to remain and let him hear what
+the child could do.
+
+Trembling with fear of the result, Jenny sang the simplest song she
+knew, and when she finished the Count was silent, for the lovely quality
+of the voice he had just heard, had deeply moved him. Rising, he shook
+hands with both teacher and pupil, and as quick in his generosity as in
+his brusqueness, he at once announced that she was to be admitted into
+the theatrical school connected with the Royal Theatre, and to be placed
+under the special instruction of the operatic director, Herr Berg, and
+his assistant, the Swedish composer, Lindblad.
+
+Small wonder that Jenny left the building in a flutter of excitement, or
+that Croelius was as beaming now as he had been depressed before, and he
+lost no time in seeing that his little pupil was placed according to
+the instructions of the great Count Puecke.
+
+It was the custom of the Royal Theatre to board its pupils out, and as
+Jenny's mother was no longer a governess and had returned to Stockholm,
+the girl lived at home, together with several other pupils of the Royal
+Theatre, and for two years worked so hard and accomplished such wonders
+in the development of her voice that she became known as a musical
+prodigy.
+
+During the year she entered the Royal Theatre she acted in a play called
+"The Polish Mine," and the next year in another, and the press spoke of
+her acting as showing fire and feeling far beyond her years. She also
+sang in concerts, in that way helping to pay for her board and clothes.
+
+At the theatre she was taught all branches necessary to her profession,
+and not only did she have an exquisite voice, but whatever role she
+undertook was conceived with bold originality of style. Then when a
+golden future of triumph seemed stretching out before her, came a
+crushing disaster. All of a sudden her glorious voice was gone!
+
+Whatever may have been the cause, the fact remained, and Jenny at twelve
+showed her fineness of character by the way she faced the cruel
+disappointment, and continued with her instrumental work, and with such
+exercises as were fitted to the remnant of voice she still possessed.
+Faithfully, persistently, she worked for four long years, only hoping
+now for smaller rewards instead of the great operatic triumph which had
+been her earlier ambition, trying to achieve results as conscientiously
+as before.
+
+Herr Berg was supervising a grand concert to be given at the Court
+Theatre, and was in a dilemma. The fourth act of _Robert le Diable_ was
+to be given, but all his singers refused to take the part of Alice,
+because it included only one solo. The Herr Direktor was distracted, but
+finally thought of his unlucky pupil, Jenny Lind, whose voice could be
+trusted in such a minor part, and calling her to his room, he offered
+her the part. Without demur she accepted it, and practised feverishly,
+but on the night of the performance she was so nervous for fear her
+voice would fail, that those near the stage could see her slender form
+tremble with fright and excitement. Perhaps the tension and the passion
+with which she was labouring wrought the miracle. At all events, she
+sang the aria of her part with such wonderful beauty and richness of
+tone that the audience were beside themselves with admiration. Jenny's
+voice had come out fuller, finer than ever! The recently despised young
+singer became instantly the heroine of the hour, while Herr Berg,
+watching behind the scenes, was spell-bound with surprise and joy.
+
+The next day he called her to his room and offered her the role of
+Agatha in Weber's _Der Freischutz_.
+
+Ever since Jenny first began to study and to hear operatic music, this
+role had been in secret her highest ambition, and one can picture her
+standing before the Direktor, her blue eyes flashing with excitement,
+her mobile face expressing a dozen varying degrees of joy while her
+slender girlish figure looked almost too slight for the task, as she
+joyfully accepted the responsibility.
+
+At once she began rehearsing, and one day when she put forth every
+effort to express emotion in the way her dramatic teacher wished, the
+effort was met with silence.
+
+"Am I then so incapable," she thought. Then glancing at her teacher she
+saw tears in the eyes of the older woman, who exclaimed:
+
+"My child, I have nothing to teach you--do as nature tells you,"--and
+Jenny knew that her supreme effort had not been wasted.
+
+It is said that she studied the part of Agatha with all the intensity of
+her enthusiastic nature and at the last rehearsal sang with such intense
+feeling and fire that the orchestra, to a man, laid down their
+instruments and applauded loudly. The next day, before the performance,
+she was very nervous and worried, but the moment she appeared on the
+stage every bit of apprehension vanished, and as Fredrika Bremer said,
+"She was fresh, bright and serene as a morning in May, peculiarly
+graceful and lovely in her whole appearance. She seemed to move, speak
+and sing without effort or art. Her singing was distinguished especially
+by its purity and the power of soul which seemed to swell in her tones."
+Jenny herself said afterwards, "I got up that morning one creature. I
+went to bed another creature. I had found my power."
+
+During her entire after life she kept that anniversary, the seventh of
+March, in grateful remembrance of her triumph, as a sort of second
+birthday.
+
+For the next year and a half she worked indefatigably, and her success
+as an operatic singer seemed assured; she became the star of the
+Stockholm opera, as well as the most popular singer in Sweden, and was
+called the "Swedish Nightingale."
+
+After singing without rest for months, she was able to take a short
+holiday in the summer of 1839, and Fru Lind, who accompanied her, wrote
+back to her husband, "Our Jenny recruits herself daily, now in the
+hay-stacks, now on the sea, or in the swing, in perfect tranquillity,
+while the town people are said to be longing for her concert, and
+greatly wondering when it will come off. Once or twice she has been
+singing the divine air of Isabella from _Robert le Diable_. Nearly
+everybody was crying. One lady actually went into hysterics from sheer
+rapture. Yes, she captivates all, all! It is a great happiness to be a
+mother under such conditions!"
+
+Poor Fru Lind was at last receiving her compensation for the hardships
+of her life!
+
+But Jenny's trials were not yet over. Her voice, though pure and clear,
+was wanting in flexibility, and she could not easily hold a tone or sing
+even a slight cadence. These defects she worked constantly to overcome,
+but saw that she was not thrilling her audiences as before, and yet she
+was conscious of possessing a God-given power of which she must make the
+most. She felt sure that she needed teaching of a kind not to be gained
+in Sweden. In Paris was Manuel Garcia, the greatest singing teacher in
+the world, and to him she felt she must now go. But this could only be
+achieved by her own effort, as the trip and the teaching would
+necessitate spending a large sum of money.
+
+At once, before her star had grown any less dim, the plucky girl
+persuaded her father to go with her on a concert tour of cities in
+Norway and Sweden. By this she earned the necessary amount, but the trip
+was very exhausting, including as it did, so much travelling, in all
+kinds of weather, and after singing twenty-three times in _Lucia_,
+fourteen times in _Robert le Diable_, nine times in _Freischutz_, seven
+times in _Norma_, not to mention other plays and concerts, also
+appearing for the four hundred and forty-seventh time at the Royal
+Theatre, where she had first played in the _Polish Mine_, as a child of
+ten, she was pretty well tired out. Two weeks later, however, she went
+to Paris and called on the great singing teacher, Signor Garcia. The
+opera she sang was _Lucia_, and she broke down before she was half way
+through the part, to her intense mortification. The great teacher,
+approaching the trembling girl, put a hand on her shoulder, saying
+brusquely, "It would be useless to teach you, Mademoiselle. You have no
+voice left. You are worn out. I advise you not to sing a note for six
+months. At the end of that time come to me and I will see what I can do
+for you."
+
+Poor Jenny! The words were a death knell to her, and she said afterwards
+that what she suffered in that moment was beyond all the other agony of
+her life.
+
+But it was not like her to give way even under such a blow as this.
+Leaving the great teacher she went to a quiet spot and spent the six
+months of enforced rest studying French, and at the end of the time went
+back to Garcia, who to her unspeakable relief said at once, "It is
+better, far better! I have now something to work on. I will give you two
+lessons a week!"
+
+In rapture Jenny flew home that day, and in the following months
+practised scales and exercises, four hours daily, gaining a great deal
+from Garcia's method, but always conscious that her real power came from
+another source, as she said years later, "The greater part of what I can
+do in my art, I have myself acquired by incredible labour, in spite of
+astonishing difficulties. By Garcia alone have I been taught some few
+important things. God had so plainly written within me what I had to
+study; my ideal was and is so high that I could find no mortal who could
+in the least degree satisfy my demands. Therefore I sing after no one's
+methods, only as far as I am able, after that of the birds, for their
+Master was the only one who came up to my demands for truth, clearness,
+and expression."
+
+After a year under Garcia's tuition, Jenny went back to the Stockholm
+Theatre, where she met Myerbeer, the composer, who at once declared her
+voice was "one of the finest pearls in the world's chaplet of song," and
+immediately arranged to hear her under conditions which would put her
+voice to a severe test. He arranged a full orchestral rehearsal and
+Jenny sang in the salon of the Grand Opera, the three great scenes from
+_Robert le Diable_, _Norma_ and _Der Freischutz_ so successfully that
+the young singer returned to her native city a new creature, at last
+assured of her genius and of her ability to use it rightly, and thrilled
+with joy at the knowledge of her power.
+
+At her first appearance in _Robert le Diable_, the welcome was almost a
+frenzy of enthusiasm as her clear rich voice rang out. At once she
+received an offer from a Danish manager, but dreaded to accept it,
+saying, "Everybody in my native land is so kind. I fear if I made my
+appearance in Copenhagen, I should be hissed. I dare not venture it."
+
+Her objection, however, was overruled. She went to Copenhagen and sang
+Alice in _Robert le Diable_ so marvellously that the whole city was in a
+state of rapture, and it is said the youthful, fresh voice forced itself
+into every heart. At a later concert she sang Swedish songs and in her
+manner of singing them there was something so peculiar, so bewitching
+that the audience were swayed by intense emotion, the young singer was
+at once so feminine and so great a genius. The Danish students for the
+first time in their history, gave a serenade in her honour, torches
+blazed around the villa where the serenade was sung, and Jenny responded
+to it by singing some of her Swedish songs, for which she was famous,
+then, overcome with emotion, she hurried to a dark room where no one
+could see the tears with which her eyes were filled, and exclaimed
+modestly, "Yes, yes, I will exert myself. I will endeavour. I will be
+better qualified than I now am when I again come to Copenhagen!"
+
+The wonderful courage and perseverance of Jenny's girlhood in the face
+of almost insuperable obstacles was now rewarded. She was the great
+artist of Sweden, never again to be taken from the pedestal on which she
+was placed by an adoring public, both for her wonderful singing and for
+her lovely character.
+
+Once on a disengaged night, she gave a benefit performance for
+unfortunate children, and when informed of the large sum raised by it,
+exclaimed, "How beautiful that I can sing so!" She felt that both the
+voice and the money which poured in now in a golden flood, were
+God-given responsibilities which she assumed with all the earnestness of
+her sweet, religious nature, and her first pleasure was to buy a little
+home in the country for her mother and father.
+
+As we leave her on the threshold of mature womanhood, serene in her
+poise of body and spirit, with a noble purpose and a wonderful gift, we
+can but feel that Jenny Lind, the girl, was responsible for the
+marvellous achievements of the great artist of later years, who believed
+as she said, that "to develop every talent, however small, and use it to
+the fullest extent possible, is the duty of every human being. Indolence
+makes thousands of mediocre lives."
+
+The verses written of her by Topelius of Finland sum up the feeling of
+those who knew her in her girlhood:
+
+          "I saw thee once, so young and fair
+          In thy sweet spring-tide, long ago,
+          A myrtle wreath was in thy hair
+          And at thy breast a rose did blow.
+
+          "Poor was thy purse, yet gold thy gift,
+          All music's golden boons were thine,
+          And yet, through all the wealth of art
+          It was thy soul which sang to mine.
+
+          "Yea, sang as no one else has sung
+          So subtly skilled, so simply good,
+          So brilliant! yet as pure and true
+          As birds that warble in the wood."
+
+
+
+
+ELIZA LUCAS:
+
+A Girl Planter of the 15th Century
+
+
+IN our day any young woman who shows keen interest in civic,
+agricultural, or social reforms is loudly applauded and spoken of as a
+New Woman, a product of the twentieth century, but there is a small
+volume of letters written by a girl of two centuries ago, which
+disproves this, and it is worthy of perusal and applause because of what
+she accomplished for what was then the province of South Carolina, while
+she was still in her teens.
+
+Lieutenant-Colonel Lucas, an officer in the English army stationed at
+the West Indian island of Antigua, left the island in 1638 for South
+Carolina, taking with him his delicate wife, in search of a climate
+which would be of benefit to her, and with them went their two
+daughters, Polly and Eliza, who up to that time had been in London with
+a family friend, Mrs. Boddicott, being educated, only returning to the
+island for their vacations. Their brothers, Tom and George, were also in
+London at school, where they remained while Colonel and Mrs. Lucas with
+the two girls went to the new locality. So delighted with it was the
+Colonel that he at once bought land, laid out plantations and was hoping
+to settle down and begin experiments in planting crops in the strange
+soil and climate, when war broke out between England and Spain and the
+Colonel received orders to hasten back to his West Indian post, leaving
+his family alone in their new home. Mrs. Lucas was entirely too frail to
+burden with plantation cares, so in his hurried leave-taking the Colonel
+entrusted all his affairs to Eliza, in whose practical common sense and
+business ability he seems to have placed implicit reliance, and the
+trust was well merited.
+
+Eliza was only sixteen years old then, but she seems to have assumed the
+unusual amount of responsibility so unexpectedly thrust upon her with
+calm assurance that she could carry it, and we find her general manager
+of the home and the plantation when the series of letters begin which
+gives such a vivid glimpse of life at that time, and also some idea of
+the character of the girl on whose slender shoulders rested such a heavy
+burden.
+
+First, let us look for a moment at the background to our picture. The
+Lucas plantation was on the Wappoo, a salt creek connecting the Ashley
+river with another creek and separated from the ocean only by two long
+sandy islands. Although that part of the country was very flat, it was
+extremely pretty, and being on a salt creek, sheltered from the north
+winds, the climate was very mild. Trees grew to a great size, land was
+very fertile, all growth hardy and luxuriant, and it was no wonder that
+even in his short stay Colonel Lucas had become deeply interested in
+discovering what crops could be most profitably raised there for export.
+At that time rice was the one agricultural product, the others being
+lumber, skins and naval stores.
+
+Eliza, inheriting her father's love of farming, and having heard many
+conversations on the subject, determined secretly after her father had
+gone, to try some experiments herself and became much interested in
+trying to raise indigo and ginger, with what results her letters
+disclose. Little farmer that she was, her love of agriculture and of
+nature then and always amounted to almost a passion, as it is easy to
+see. Separated as she was from all her old friends, letters were a vital
+medium of expressing to them what her new life held of work and play,
+and the fragments which we can reprint here give a clear idea, not only
+of the times in which she lived, but of Mistress Eliza herself.
+
+To her brother George she writes, telling of the new country and life in
+this fashion:--
+
+          I am now set down my Dear Brother to obey your
+          commands, and give you a short discription of the
+          part of the world which I now inhabit. So.
+          Carolina then, is a large and Extensive Country
+          near the Sea. Most of the settled parts of it is
+          upon a flat--the soil near Charles Town Sandy, but
+          farther distant clay and swamp land. It abounds
+          with fine navigable rivers and great quantities of
+          fine timber. The country at great distance, that
+          is to say about a hundred or a hundred and fifty
+          miles from Charles Town, very hilly. The soil in
+          general very fertile, and there is very few
+          European or American fruits or grain but what grow
+          here. The country abounds with wild fowl, Venison
+          and fish, Beaf, veal and mutton are here in much
+          greater perfection than in the Islands, tho' not
+          equal to that in England--but their pork exceeds
+          the wild, and indeed all the poultry is exceeding
+          good, and peaches, Nectrins and mellons of all
+          sorts extremely good, fine and in profusion, and
+          their Oranges exceed any I ever tasted in the West
+          Indies or from Spain or Portugal.
+
+          The people in general--hospitable and honest, and
+          the better sort and to these a polite gentile
+          behaviour. The poorer sort are the most indolent
+          people in the world or they could never be
+          wretched in so plentiful a country as this. The
+          winters here are very fine and pleasant, but four
+          months in the year is extremely disagreeable,
+          excessive hot, much thunder and lightening and
+          muskatoes and sand flies in abundance.
+
+          C^s Town, the Metropolis is a neat, pretty
+          place. The streets and houses regularly built, the
+          ladies and gentlemen gay in their dress, upon the
+          whole you will find as many agreeable people of
+          both sexes for the size of the place as almost
+          anywhere. St. Phillips church in C^s Town is a
+          very elegant one, and much frequented and the
+          generality of people of a religious turn of mind.
+
+          I began in haste and have observed no method or I
+          should have told you before I came to summer, that
+          we have a charming spring in this country,
+          especially for those who travel through the
+          country, for the scent of the young mirtle and
+          yellow Jessamin with Which the woods abound is
+          delightful. . . .
+
+                                Yours most affectionately,
+                                                  E. LUCAS.
+
+With its quaint wording and abbreviations and an occasional slip in
+spelling, how fragrant the whole letter is of out door life, how
+intelligent its every phrase is, and how well the little farmer knows
+her subjects!
+
+Again to Mrs. Boddicott she wrote:
+
+          _Dear Madam_:--
+
+          I flatter myself it will be a satisfaction to you
+          to hear that I like this part of the world, as my
+          lott has fallen here, which I really do. I prefer
+          England to it 'tis true, but I think Carolina
+          greatly preferable to the West Indies, and was my
+          Papa here I should be very happy. We have a very
+          good acquaintance from whom we have received much
+          friendship and Civility. . . .
+
+          My Papa and Mama's great indulgence to mee leaves
+          it to mee to chuse our place of residence either
+          in town or country, but I think it more prudent as
+          well as most agreeable to my Mama and selfe to be
+          in the Country during my father's absence. Wee are
+          17 mile by land, and 6 by water from Charles Town
+          where wee have about 6 agreeable families around
+          us with whom wee live in great harmony. I have a
+          little library well furnished (for My Papa has
+          left mee most of his books) in w^{ch} I spend part
+          of my time. My Musick and the Garden w^{ch} I am
+          very fond of take up the rest that is not imployed
+          in business, of w^{ch} my father has left mee a
+          pretty good share, and indeed 'Twas unavoidable,
+          as my Mama's bad state of health prevents her
+          going thro' any fatigue.
+
+          I have the business of 3 plantations to transact,
+          w^{ch} requires much writing and more business and
+          fatigue of other sorts than you can imagine, but
+          lest you should imagine it too burthensome to a
+          girl at my early time of life, give mee leave to
+          assure you I think myself happy that I can be
+          useful to so good a father. By rising very early I
+          find I can go through with much business, but lest
+          you should think I shall be quite moaped with this
+          way of life, I am to inform you there is two
+          worthy Ladies in C^{rs} Town, Mrs. Pinckney and
+          Mrs. Cleland who are partial enough to mee to wish
+          to have mee with them, and insist upon my making
+          their houses my home when in Town, and press mee
+          to relax a little much oftner than 'tis in my
+          power to accept of their obliging intreaties, but
+          I am sometimes with one or the other for three
+          weeks or a monthe at a time, and then enjoy all
+          the pleasures C^{rs} Town affords. But nothing
+          gives mee more than subscribing myself
+
+                                D^r Madam
+                                        Y^r most affectionet
+                                           and most obliged
+                                           hum^{ble} Ser^{vt}
+                                                  ELIZA LUCAS.
+
+          Pray remember me in
+          the best manner to my
+          worthy friend M^r Boddicott.
+          To my good friend Mrs. Boddicott.
+                  May ye 2^{ond}.
+
+What greater proof is needed that Eliza's plantation life was no easy
+matter than "I have the business of three plantations to transact,
+w^{ch} requires much writing and more business and fatigue of other
+sorts than you can imagine." Then comes the other side of the picture.
+"I am sometimes with one or the other (Mrs. Pinckney or Mrs. Leland) for
+three weeks or a month at a time and then enjoy all the pleasures C^{rs}
+Town affords." Truly a versatile young person, this Eliza of long ago!
+
+That her planting was no holiday business is shown by a memorandum of
+July 1739:
+
+          "I wrote my father a very long letter on his
+          plantation affairs . . . on the pains I had taken to
+          bring the Indigo, Ginger, Cotton, Lucern, and
+          Cassada to perfection, and had greater hopes from
+          the Indigo--if I could have the seed earlier the
+          next year from the West Indies,--than any of ye
+          rest of y^e things I had tryd, . . . also concerning
+          pitch and tarr and lime and other plantation
+          affairs."
+
+As has been said before, Eliza's ambition was to follow out her father's
+plan, to discover some crop which could be raised successfully as a
+staple export, and the determination and perseverance with which she set
+out to accomplish the task, shows that she was made of no ordinary
+stuff, even at sixteen, when the majority of girls were occupied with
+far different activity and diversions. Indigo seems to have been the
+crop most likely to succeed, and to that Eliza turned her attention with
+the intensity of purpose which marked all her actions. It was no easy
+achievement to cultivate indigo, as it required very careful preparation
+of the soil, much attention during its growth, and a long and critical
+process to prepare it for the market. After a series of experiments, she
+reported to her father:
+
+          I wrote you in a former letter we had a fine crop
+          of Indigo seed upon the ground and since informed
+          you the frost took it before it was dry. I picked
+          out the best of it and had it planted but there is
+          not more than a hundred bushes of it come up,
+          w^{ch} proves the more unlucky, as you have sent a
+          man to make it. I make no doubt Indigo will prove
+          a very valueable commodity in time, if we could
+          have the seed from the east Indies time enough to
+          plant the latter end of March, that the seed might
+          be dry enough to gather before our frost. I am
+          sorry we lost this season we can do nothing
+          towards it now but make the works ready for next
+          year.
+
+          The death of my Grandmamma was as you imagine very
+          shocking and grevious to my Mama, but I hope the
+          consideration of the miserys that attend so
+          advanced an age will help time to wear it off. I
+          am very much obliged to you for the present you
+          were so good to send me of the fifty pound bill of
+          Exchange w^{ch} I duely received. Mama tenders you
+          her affections and polly joyns in duty with
+
+          My dear Papa
+                    Your ob^t and ever Devoted Daughter,
+                                               _E. Lucas_.
+
+In the following letters we find her showing a lively interest in all
+that concerns her father, her brothers, her "cousens" and neighbours,
+and also a normally healthy liking for amusement, linked with her
+passionate love of nature and a milder interest in pretty clothes--and a
+still milder form of interest in love affairs!
+
+Hard indeed it is in this day of quick delivery to realize the
+inconveniences of daily life in Eliza's time, and it evokes a smile to
+hear that if she or one of the family had neuralgia, it was necessary to
+write an account of the symptoms to Mrs. Boddicott in November, followed
+by a letter of thanks to her for her promptness, because of which "the
+meddicines will arrive by May, and tis allways worse in hott weather!"
+Think of waiting six months for a dose of medicine!
+
+Eliza has already mentioned two neighbours of whom she had become very
+fond, and between her and Miss Pinckney's niece, a Miss Bartlett, who
+lived with Mrs. Pinckney either in her home in Charles Town, or at their
+country seat five miles out of town, a flourishing correspondence sprang
+up, and the following are some of Eliza's letters to her friend:
+
+
+                                        Jan^r 14th, 1741/2.
+
+          _Dear Miss Bartlett:_:--
+
+          'Tis with pleasure I commence a Correspondence
+          w^{ch} you promise to continue tho' I fear I shall
+          often want matter to soport an Epistolary
+          Intercourse in this solotary retirement--;
+          however, you shall see my inclination, for rather
+          than not scribble, you shall know both my waking
+          and sleeping dreams, as well as how the spring
+          comes on, when the trees bud, and inanimate nature
+          grows gay to chear the rational mind with delight;
+          and devout gratitude to the great Author of all;
+          when my little darling that sweet harmonist the
+          mocking bird, begins to sing.
+
+          Our best respects wait on Col^l. Pinckney and
+          lady, and believe me to be dear Miss Bartlett
+
+                                Your most obed^t Serv^t
+                                                  E. LUCAS.
+
+Again she writes in a tone of quaint sarcasm:
+
+          _Dear Miss Bartlett_:--
+
+          An old lady in our Neighbourhood is often
+          querreling with me for rising so early as 5
+          o'Clock in the morning, and is in great pain for
+          me least it should spoil my marriage, for she says
+          it will make me look old long before I am so; in
+          this however I believe she is mistaken, for what
+          ever contributes to health and pleasure of mind
+          must also contribute to good looks; but admitting
+          what she says, I reason with her thus. If I should
+          look older by this practise, I really am so; for
+          the longer time we are awake the longer time we
+          live, sleep is so much the Emblem of death, that I
+          think it may be rather called breathing than
+          living, thus then I have the advantage of the
+          sleepers in point of long life, so I beg you will
+          not be frighted by such sort of apprehensions as
+          those suggested above and for fear of y^r pretty
+          face give up y^r late pious resolution of early
+          rising.
+
+          My Mama joins with me in comp^{ts}. to M^r and
+          M^{rs} Pinckney. I send herewith Col^l Pinckney's
+          books, and shall be much obliged to him for
+          Virgil's books, notwithstanding this same old
+          Gentlewoman, (who I think too has a great
+          friendship for me) has a great spite at my books,
+          and had like to have thrown a vol^m of my
+          Plutarcks lives into the fire the other day, she
+          is sadly afraid she says I shall read myself
+          mad. . . .
+
+Again in this strain, on the 6th of February, 1741, she writes, showing
+that although she would have taken a girlish pleasure in amusement, her
+sense of duty was too keen to allow her to leave the plantation very
+often:
+
+          TO THE HONOURABLE C. PINCKNEY, ESQ.
+
+                                         Feb^r 6th, 1741.
+
+          _Sir_:--I received yesterday the favour of your
+          advice as a phisician and want no arguments to
+          convince me I should be much better for both my
+          good friends company, a much pleasanter
+          Prescription yours is, I am sure, than Doc^t
+          Mead's w^{ch} I have just received. To follow my
+          inclination at this time, I must endeavor to
+          forget I have a Sister to instruct, and a parcel
+          of little Negroes whom I have undertaken to teach
+          to read, and instead of writing an answer bring it
+          My self, and indeed gratitude as well as
+          inclination obliges me to wait on M^{rs} Pinckney
+          as soon as I can, but it will not be in my power
+          til a month or two hence. Mama payes her comp^{ts}
+          to Mrs Pinckney, and hopes she will excuse her
+          waiting on her at this time, but will not fail to
+          do it very soon.
+
+          I am a very Dunce, for I have not acquired y^e
+          writing short hand yet with any degree of
+          swiftness--but I am not always one for I give a
+          very good proof of the brightness of my Genius
+          when I can distinguish well enough to subscribe my
+          self with great esteem.
+
+                                     Sir
+                      Your most obe^d humble Serv^t
+                                          ELIZA LUCAS.
+
+And again:
+
+          Why my dear Miss Bartlett, will you so often
+          repeat y^r desire to know how I trifle away my
+          time in our retirement in my father's absence;
+          could it afford you advantage or pleasure I would
+          not have hesitated, but as you can expect neither
+          from it I would have been excused; however, to
+          show you my readiness in obeying y^r commands,
+          here it is.
+
+          In gen^l then I rise at five o'Clock in the
+          morning, read till seven--then take a walk in the
+          garden or fields, see that the Servants are at
+          their respective business, then breakfast. The
+          first hour after breakfast is spent in musick, the
+          next is constantly employed in recolecting
+          something I have learned, lest for want of
+          practise it should be quite lost, such as french
+          and shorthand. After that, I devote the rest of
+          the time till I dress for dinner, to our little
+          polly, and two black girls who I teach to read,
+          and if I have my papa's approbation (my mama's I
+          have got) I intend for school mistress's for the
+          rest of the Negroe children. Another scheme you
+          see, but to proceed, the first hour after dinner,
+          as the first after breakfast, at musick, the rest
+          of the afternoon in needle work till candle light,
+          and from that time to bed time read or write.
+          Mondays my musick Master is here. Tuesday my
+          friend M^{rs} Chardon (about 3 miles distant) and
+          I are constantly engaged to each other, she at our
+          house one Tuesday I at hers the next, and this is
+          one of y^e happiest days I spend at Wappoo.
+          Thursday the whole day except what the necessary
+          affairs of the family take up, is spent in
+          writing, either on the business of the plantations
+          or on letters to my friends. Every other Friday,
+          if no company, we go a vizeting, so that I go
+          abroad once a week and no oftener.
+
+          Now you may form some judgment of what time I can
+          have to work my lappets. I own I never go to them
+          with a quite easy conscience as I know my father
+          has an avertion to my employing my time in that
+          boreing work, but they are begun, and must be
+          finished, I hate to undertake anything and not go
+          thro' with it, but by way of relaxation from the
+          other, I have begun a piece of work of a quicker
+          sort, w^{ch} requires neither eyes nor genius, at
+          least not very good ones. Would you ever guess it
+          to be a shrimp nett? for so it is.
+
+          O! I had like to forgot the last thing I have done
+          a great while. I have planted a large figg
+          orchard, with design to dry them, and export them.
+          I have reckoned my expense and the profits to
+          arise from those figgs, but was I to tell you how
+          great an Estate I am to make this way, and how
+          'tis to be laid out, you would think me far gone
+          in romance. Y^r good Uncle I know has long thought
+          I have a fertile brain at scheming, I only confirm
+          him in his opinion; but I own I love the vegitable
+          world extreamly. I think it an innocent and useful
+          amusement, and pray tell him if he laughs much at
+          my projects, I never intend to have any hand in a
+          silver mine, and he will understand as well as
+          you, what I mean! Our best respects wait on him,
+          and Mrs. Pinckney.
+
+          If my eyes dont deceive me, you in y^r last talk
+          of coming very soon by water, to see how my oaks
+          grow, is it really so, or only one of your unripe
+          schemes. While 'tis in y^r head put it speedily
+          into execution.
+
+Lappets were fashionable parts of the headdresses worn at that time even
+by young girls, and one can read between her words that Eliza would have
+enjoyed giving more time to the feminine diversion of embroidery or fine
+sewing, much in vogue in that day, had her father approved of it. Then
+with a quick change of mood she shows her real interest in planting a
+"figg" orchard!--oh, many-sided Eliza!
+
+There are numerous letters too long to include in this sketch, which
+show the girl's religious, artistic and philosophical tendencies, and
+through them all we feel the quiet poise of a mind at rest, of a spirit
+in true harmony with the simplest pleasures of a simple life; and that
+nature was always her first love, is shown by this letter:
+
+          Wont you laugh at me if I tell you I am so busy in
+          providing for Posterity I hardly allow myself time
+          to Eat or sleep and can but just snatch a minute
+          to write to you and a friend or two more.
+
+          I am making a large plantation of oaks w^{ch} I
+          look upon as my own property, whether my father
+          gives me the land or not, and therefore I design
+          many years hence when oaks are more valuable than
+          they are now, w^{ch} you know they will be when we
+          come to build fleets, I intend I say, 2 thirds of
+          the produce of my oaks for charrity, (I'll let you
+          know my scheme another time) and the other 3^d
+          for those that shall have the trouble of puting my
+          design in Execution; I suppose according to custom
+          you will show this to y^r Uncle and Aunt. 'She
+          is a good girl' says M^{rs} Pinckney, 'she is
+          never Idle and always means well'--'tell the
+          little Visionary,' says your Uncle, 'come to town
+          and partake of some of the amusements suitable to
+          her time of life,' pray tell him I think these so,
+          and what he may now think whims and projects may
+          turn out well by and by--out of many surely one
+          may hitt.
+
+          I promised to tell you when the mocking-bird began
+          to sing, the little warbler has done wonders; the
+          first time he opened his soft pipe this spring he
+          inspired me with the spirrit of Rymeing and
+          produced the 3 following lines while I was laceing
+          my Stays.
+
+          Sing on thou charming mimick of the feather kind
+          And let the rational a lesson learn from these
+          To mimick (not defects) but harmony.
+
+          If you let any mortal besides yourself see this
+          exquisite piece of poetry, you shall never have a
+          line more than this specimen, and how great will
+          be your loss you who have seen the above may judge
+          as well as
+
+                                Y^r most obed^t Serv^t
+                                             ELIZA LUCAS.
+
+Was there ever a more charming example of girlish enthusiasm combined
+with executive ability, and artistic feeling than this?
+
+That life at Wappoo was not entirely without its diversions is shown by
+a casual mention of a "festal day" spent at Drayton Hall, a beautiful
+home on the bank of the Ashley river. One familiar with those early
+times in the southern provinces can fancy Mistress Eliza setting out for
+her great day, perhaps going by water in a long canoe, formed by
+hollowing out a great cypress tree thirty or forty feet long, which made
+a boat, with room in it for twelve passengers, and was rowed by six or
+eight negroes who sang in unison as they paddled their skiff down the
+river. Eliza and her Mama were landed at the foot of the rolling lawn,
+leading up to the mansion where the reception was being held. Or if they
+travelled by the road, it was probably in the four-wheeled chaise which
+Mrs. Lucas had imported from England the year before. And when they
+joined the gay company gathered in the great house, doubtless the
+ladies, old and young, wore costumes made of brocade, taffety or
+lustering, the materials of the time, and worn over enormous hoops, with
+cloaks made of colours to harmonise with the gowns beneath them--while
+the men were indeed a great sight in their square cut coats, long
+waistcoats, powdered hair, breeches and buckled shoes! A festal day
+indeed, doubtless, with a most elaborate feast washed down with
+draughts of fine old vintages, and followed by the scraping of fiddlers
+making ready for the dance, enjoyed not only by guests, but also in the
+servants' quarters where the negroes were as fleet-footed as mistress or
+guest.
+
+On her return to Wappoo Eliza feels the reaction, as we see in a letter
+she wrote to Mrs. Pinckney. She says:
+
+          "At my return hither everything appeared gloomy
+          and lonesome, I began to consider what attraction
+          there was in this place that used so agreeably to
+          soothe my pensive humour, and made me indifferent
+          to everything the gay world could boast; but I
+          found the change not in the place but in myself,
+          and it doubtless proceeded from that giddy gaiety,
+          and want of reflection which I contracted when in
+          town; and I was forced to consult Mr. Locke over
+          and over, to see wherein personal Identity
+          consisted, and if I was the very same Selfe."
+
+Somewhat cheered by the reading of Locke she returns to her usual
+routine of life and writes to Miss Bartlett:
+
+          "I have got no further than the first vol^m of
+          Virgil but was most agreeably disappointed to find
+          myself instructed in agriculture as well as
+          entertained by his charming penn, for I am
+          persuaded 'tho he wrote for Italy it will in many
+          Instances suit Carolina. I had never perused those
+          books before, and imagined I should immediately
+          enter upon battles, storms and tempests, that put
+          mee in a maze, and make mee shudder while I read.
+          But the calm and pleasing diction of pastoral and
+          gardening agreeably presented themselves not
+          unsuitably to this charming season of the year,
+          with w^{ch} I am so much delighted that had I butt
+          the fine soft Language of our Poet to paint it
+          properly, I should give you but little respite
+          'till you came into the country, and attended to
+          the beauties of pure Nature unassisted by Art."
+
+A little later comes this letter, giving a clear idea of the breadth of
+the girl's scheme of social service as well as her thoughtfulness and
+individuality:
+
+          _Dear Miss Bartlett:_--
+
+          After a pleasant passage of about an hour we
+          arrived safe at home as I hope you and Mrs.
+          Pinckney did at Belmont; but this place appeared
+          much less agreeable than when I left it, having
+          lost the company that then enlivened it, the Scene
+          is indeed much changed, for instead of the Easy
+          and agreeable conversation of our Friends, I am
+          engaged with the rudiments of the law, to w^{ch} I
+          am yet but a stranger.
+
+          However I hope in a short time with the help of
+          Dictionary's french and English, we shall be
+          better friends; nor shall I grudge a little pains
+          and application, if that will make me useful to
+          any of my poor Neighbors, we have Some in this
+          Neighbourhood, who have a little Land a few Slaves
+          and Cattle to give their children, that never
+          think of making a will 'till they come upon a sick
+          bed, and find it too Expensive to send to town for
+          a Lawyer.
+
+          If you will not laugh too immoderately at mee I'll
+          Trust you with a Secrett. I have made two wills
+          already! I know I have done no harm, for I con'd
+          my lesson very perfect, and know how to convey by
+          will, Estates, Real and Personal, and never
+          forgett in its proper place, him and his heirs
+          forever, no that 'tis to be signed by three
+          witnesses, in presence of one another; bu^t the
+          most comfortable rememberance of all is that
+          Doct^r Wood says, the Law makes great allowance
+          for Last Wills and Testaments, presuming the
+          Testator could not have Council learned in the
+          Law. But after all what can I do if a poor
+          Creature lies a-dying, and their family takes it
+          into their head that I can serve them. I can't
+          refuse; but when they are well, and able to employ
+          a Lawyer, I always shall.
+
+          A widow hereabouts with a pretty little fortune,
+          teazed me intolerable to draw her a marriage
+          settlement, but it was out of my depth and I
+          absolutely refused it, so she got an abler hand to
+          do it, indeed she could afford it, but I could not
+          gett off from being one of the Trustees to her
+          Settlement and an old gentleman the other.
+
+          I shall begin to think myself an old woman before
+          I am well a young one, having these weighty
+          affairs upon my hands.
+
+From this solemn epistle it is amusing to turn for a moment to Colonel
+Lucas's matrimonial plan for his daughter. In those days girls were
+married at a very early age, and it is small wonder that Colonel Lucas
+spent much thought on the problem of finding a suitable lover for his
+favourite daughter, before he broached the subject to her, for marriages
+were generally arranged by a girl's parents in those days. And that
+Eliza might have some choice in the matter Colonel Lucas picked out two
+suitors and wrote to her about them. How she felt on the subject the
+following letter shows: She says:
+
+          _Honoured Sir:_--
+
+          Your letter by way of Philadelphia w^{ch} I duly
+          received, was an additional proof of that paternal
+          tenderness w^{ch} I have always Experienced from
+          the most Indulgent of Parents from my Cradle to
+          the present time, and the subject of it is of the
+          utmost importance to my peace and happiness.
+
+          As you propose Mr. L. to me I am sorry I can't
+          have Sentiments favourable enough to him to take
+          time to think on the Subject, as your Indulgence
+          to me will ever add weight to the duty that
+          obliges me to consult what pleases you, for so
+          much Generosity on your part claims all my
+          Obediance. But as I know 'tis my Happiness you
+          consult, I must beg the favour of you to pay my
+          compliments to the old Gentleman for his
+          Generosity and favourable Sentiments of me, and
+          let him know my thoughts on the affair in such
+          civil terms as you know much better than any I can
+          dictate; and beg leave to say to you that the
+          riches of Chili and Peru put together if he had
+          them, could not purchase a sufficient Esteem for
+          him to make him my husband.
+
+          As to the other gentleman you mention, Mr. W., you
+          know Sir I have so slight a knowledge of him I can
+          form no judgment, and a Case of such consequence
+          requires the nicest distinction of humours and
+          Sentiments.
+
+          But give me leave to assure you my dear Sir that a
+          single life is my only Choice;--and if it were
+          not, as I am yet but eighteen hope you will put
+          aside the thoughts of my marrying yet these two or
+          three years at least. . . .
+
+          I truely am
+
+            D^r Sir Your most dutiful & affect Daughter
+                                                 E. LUCAS.
+
+As no further reference to the rejected lovers is made, it seems that
+the Colonel was too fond of his daughter to press a matter evidently so
+against her wishes, and she was allowed to remain heart-whole until the
+man of her choice came to satisfy her dreams.
+
+Meanwhile she was as busy as usual. Polly was now at school in Charles
+Town, which added to Eliza's home duties and she was also full of
+anxiety because of an invasion of Spaniards in the vicinity, which
+caused all the planters to fear that their negroes might be carried off,
+as they had been before. There was also cause for anxiety over the
+dangerous sickness of the elder brother, George, who was in the army,
+stationed too at Antigua, while the younger boy, Tom, who was still in
+London, was so frail that the physicians refused to allow him to take a
+trip either to Antigua, or to his mother and sisters in Carolina, all of
+which worries wore on the tender-hearted sister.
+
+Meanwhile, Eliza's cares on the plantations grew constantly more
+engrossing, as her crops of indigo grew larger and more difficult to
+handle. So well satisfied was her father that this plant could be made a
+staple export, that he sent to Eliza an "Indigo Maker," named Cromwell,
+from the island of Monserrat, where indigo was a famous product. This
+man understood the processes, and built brick vats in which the leaves
+had to lie for a certain length of time. He apparently knew his
+business, but watching him closely Eliza saw he was not getting the
+right result, and told him so. This was due to the climate, he asserted,
+and saying no more, the girl gave her undivided attention to
+experimenting with different processes, and found out not only that he
+was wrong, but where his mistake lay. Calling him to her, she dismissed
+him, and in his place put his brother, who for a short time was more
+successful.
+
+In her public-spirited way, Eliza gave up one whole year's crop to
+making seed, for she had great difficulty in getting it from the East
+Indies in time for the crops to ripen before a frost. This home-grown
+seed she presented to those planters who were interested in raising
+indigo, and it was a generous gift, for the seed was by no means cheap.
+By the gift many planters were induced to try the new seed and at that
+time Eliza wrote to her father:
+
+          "Out of a small patch of Indigo growing at Wappoo
+          (which Mama made a present to Mr. P.) the brother
+          of Nicholas Cromwell besides saving a quantity of
+          Seed, made us 17 pounds of very good Indigo, so
+          different from N C's, that we are convinced he was
+          a mere bungler at it. Mr. Deveaux has made some
+          likewise, and the people in gen^l very sanguine
+          about it. Mr. P. sent to England by the last man
+          of warr 6 pounds to try how t'is approved of
+          there. If it is I hope we shall have a bounty from
+          home, we have already a bounty of 5^s currancy
+          from this province upon it. We please ourselves
+          with the prospect of exporting in a few years a
+          good quantity from hence, and supplying our Mother
+          Country with a manifacture for w^{ch} she has so
+          great a demand, and which she is now supplyd with
+          from the French Collonys, and many thousand pounds
+          per annum thereby lost to the nation, when she
+          might as well be supplyd here, if the matter was
+          applyd to in earnest."
+
+After this there are several letters from Governor Lucas, showing how
+earnestly he wished to have the raising of indigo a success, and he
+suggested that the brick vats may have been the cause of the failure,
+and advised trying wood, but the truth of the trouble lay in the fact
+that the two overseers sent by the Governor had been traitors, who
+purposely achieved poor results, so that the American product should not
+compete with that exported from their native island of Monserrat. When
+Eliza discovered this her father at once sent a negro from one of the
+French islands to replace them, and from that time the results were
+steadily satisfactory. Soon enough indigo was raised to make it worth
+while to export to England, and the English at once offered a bounty of
+sixpence a pound. It is said that as long as this was paid, the planters
+doubled their capital every three or four years, and in order to
+commemorate the source of their wealth they formed what was at first
+merely a social club, called the "Winyah Indigo Club," but later
+established the first free school in the province outside of Charles
+Town, a school which, handsomely endowed and supported, continued a
+useful existence down to 1865.
+
+Indigo continued to be a chief staple of the country for more than
+thirty years, history tells us, and after the Revolution it was again
+cultivated, but the loss of the British bounty, the rivalry of the East
+Indies with their cheaper labour and the easier cultivation of cotton,
+all contributed to its abandonment about the end of the century.
+However, just before the Revolution, the annual export amounted to the
+enormous quantity of one million, one hundred and seven thousand, six
+hundred and sixty pounds, and all this revenue to the province of
+Carolina, and its added benefits to all classes of citizens, was the
+direct result of the perseverance and intelligence of Eliza Lucas, the
+girl planter of the eighteenth century. Let the girls of our day look to
+their laurels if they wish to be enrolled in the same class with this
+indomitable little maid of South Carolina!
+
+
+
+
+LADY JANE GREY:
+
+The Nine Days Queen
+
+
+IN all England there was no more picturesquely beautiful estate than
+that at Bradgate in Leicestershire, belonging to Henry, Marquis of
+Dorset, the father of Lady Jane Grey. There Lady Jane was born in 1537,
+in the great brick house on a hill, called Bradgate Manor, which
+overlooked acres of rolling lawns, long stretches of woodland and
+extensive gardens, making a vast playground, and one which might well
+have contented a less resourceful person than Lady Jane.
+
+As it was, she was utterly unlike her two sisters, Mary and Katherine,
+being a precocious child, fonder of books than of play, and doubtless
+was less rugged in after years than if she had romped through meadow and
+marsh as they did, or waded in the clear brook that babbled its way
+through the woodland depths of Bradgate forests. Instead, while the
+other girls ran races, or played some boisterous game of childhood, we
+have glimpses of demure little Jane, even then as pretty as a doll in
+her quaint dress, fashioned on the model of that worn by her own mother,
+either sitting quietly in the house, so absorbed in her book that friend
+or foe might have approached unnoticed, or on the velvety lawn
+surrounding the Manor House, intent on some dry treatise, far above the
+understanding of an ordinary child, looking up now and then to glance
+off at the wonderful view spread out below her--a view so extensive that
+it overlooked seven counties of England.
+
+There, at beautiful Bradgate, Lady Jane spent the first seven years of
+her life, busy with the endless resources at her command, and studying
+with her sisters under the instruction of the Reverend Mr. Harding, who
+was the chaplain of Bradgate--after the custom of those days--and it was
+he who laid the firm foundation of that devotion to the Protestant
+religion which was so strongly marked in Lady Jane's after life.
+
+Until Jane was seven years old she did not accompany her parents on
+their many visits to relatives of noble blood, or when they went to
+Court, for she was considered too small for that until she was eight
+years old, when she was occasionally taken with her family to London or
+elsewhere. Lady Frances Dorset, Jane's mother, was a niece of King Henry
+the Eighth, and so the Dorsets belonged to the brilliantly extravagant
+court circle of the famously extravagant Henry, and in her ninth year
+Lady Jane began to visit frequently her royal great-uncle, who was said
+to be as fond of children as he was of pastry, and doubtless enjoyed
+having Jane, an exceptionally bright, pretty girl, to divert his
+thoughts when the pains in his gouty limbs were unusually severe. And
+Queen Katherine, too, was a deeply affectionate aunt, and as soon as it
+was allowed, kept Jane constantly with her, directing the child's
+studies herself, and giving her the freedom of the Queen's own private
+apartments, where keen-eyed, quick-witted little Jane must have seen and
+heard much by which a more stupid child would not have benefited, but
+which Jane stored up for future reference,--especially the discussions
+between the Queen and those learned theologians with whom she so often
+talked, and many a scene of which Lady Jane was witness has been
+recorded in history.
+
+[Illustration: LADY JANE GREY]
+
+The Queen frequently disputed with the King on religious matters, and
+one day when he was especially out of humour, she remonstrated with him
+about a proclamation forbidding the use of a translation of the Bible.
+This made him very angry, and as soon as the Queen left the room,
+Gardiner, one of the King's councillors who was no friend of the Queen,
+fanned the King's anger into such a fury by his remarks against her, and
+by complimenting the King on his wisdom, that susceptible King Henry
+allowed himself to draw up an accusation against Queen Katherine, which
+would lead to her being beheaded--as two of his queens had been before.
+The document having been drawn up, all preparations for carrying out its
+directions were made, when one of the King's councillors dropped it, and
+an attendant of Queen Katherine fortunately picked it up, and took it at
+once to the Queen. One glance showed the danger she was in, and she fell
+into such convulsions of fright that her shrieks reached the private
+room of the King, whose heart softened at the sound, and also at the
+realisation that no one would ever care for him with the tenderness and
+tact of Katherine. Calling his attendants, he was carried to Katherine,
+who revived at once, and received him graciously, showing no fear of
+him, which was a great point in her favour, and the next morning, having
+thought out her plan of action, she visited the King's room, taking her
+sister and Lady Jane Grey with her. The King received them pleasantly,
+but soon brought up the religious discussion of the previous day. This
+time, however, Katherine was ready for him, and with a sweet smile and
+downcast eyes, as before her lord and master, she acknowledged that she
+"being only a woman" was of course not so well versed in such matters as
+His Majesty, that thereafter she would learn of him! This delighted the
+King so much that when Katherine added the confession that she had many
+times argued with him simply to pass away the weary hours of his pain
+more quickly, he exclaimed, "And is it so, sweetheart? Then we are
+perfect friends!" and kissing her, bade her depart, and for the moment
+the Queen knew that her head was safe. But the next day when she and
+Lady Jane Grey and several others were in the garden with the King, the
+Lord-chancellor with forty of the King's guards came to arrest Her
+Majesty, and not having been told that Henry's mood had changed was
+naturally much astonished at Henry's exclamation, "Beast! fool!
+knave--avaunt from my presence!"--in fact so discomforted was the
+Lord-chancellor that tender-hearted Katherine begged that he be excused,
+as she deemed "his fault was occasioned by a mistake," and so charming
+was she as she pleaded, that her husband showed his admiration for her.
+
+"Ah, poor soul," said Henry, "thou little knowest, Kate, how evil he
+deserveth this grace at thy hands!" and then he lavished a profusion of
+caresses on her, when she at last dared to draw a long breath, knowing
+only too well from what she had been delivered.
+
+This was only one of the experiences which Lady Jane, still a mere
+child, saw and lived through with her beloved Queen Katherine.
+
+On the 27th of January, 1547, Lady Jane's life completely changed. King
+Henry the Eighth died, and his will made Jane heir to the throne after
+his daughters Mary and Elizabeth, and from having been before merely the
+attractive great-niece of the King and eldest daughter of the Marquis of
+Dorset, she suddenly became a prominent factor in the political
+intrigues of the day, almost as important in the matter of succession as
+either Mary or Elizabeth, for Mary, on account of her religion, could
+easily be set aside by a faction with a powerful leader, and Elizabeth
+also, because of the question as to whether she was the legitimate
+daughter of the King.
+
+This being so, almost before the King was buried, poor little Lady Jane
+became a puppet in the hands of unscrupulous statesmen, whose only
+thought was their own advancement, and so began the series of events
+which was to end in that hideous tragedy of which one of the noblest
+girls of history was the victim.
+
+Soon after the death of King Henry, it occurred to Sir Thomas Seymour,
+the Lord Admiral, that it would be a wise move to obtain the
+guardianship of so valuable a personage as Lady Jane Grey, and he at
+once sent a messenger to ask the Marquis of Dorset for the transfer of
+the girl to his care, sending word that this would be a great chance for
+Lady Jane, who being, so said Seymour, "the handsomest lady in England,"
+could then doubtless be married to the young King Edward Sixth, through
+the Admiral's influence. This suggestion naturally pleased the ambitious
+parents of Lady Jane, and she was sent to Seymour Place--Thomas
+Seymour's London residence, which was presided over by his mother, the
+Dowager Lady Seymour, and we cannot doubt that Lady Jane enjoyed leaving
+quiet Bradgate, where she had been since the death of her uncle, King
+Henry, and where she was a victim of extraordinary severity from her
+parents, even in that age when children were often so severely
+disciplined.
+
+Not alone did she go to Seymour Place, but with a governess, and a
+number of waiting women, as befitted her rank, and was received with due
+courtesy. But though it seemed such a diplomatic move to allow her this
+chance to make a brilliant match, it was really most unfortunate, for
+Edward Seymour, the Duke of Somerset, who was Protector of the realm
+and brother of the admiral, had determined that if another plan then on
+foot for the marriage of King Edward, should fail, then should Edward
+marry Somerset's youngest daughter--and when he found that his brother
+had conceived the same plan, with Lady Jane Grey for its central figure,
+and actually had her in his own house in pursuance of that plan, he was
+very angry and determined to spoil his brother's scheme if possible.
+
+At this time, the Duke of Northumberland, a powerful and unpopular
+nobleman who had won many victories by land and sea, had come to be
+Somerset's greatest rival in the affection of King Edward. This same
+powerful Duke of Northumberland knowing that young Edward had not long
+to live, and that he was devoted to the Protestant faith, also that he
+knew the Princess Mary's deep interest in the Catholic religion,
+determined to so influence the young King that he would break his
+father's will, and leave the crown to Lady Jane Grey. He also determined
+that, during the time necessary to ripen his scheme, he would marry his
+son, Guilford Dudley, to Lady Jane Grey, in which event he would be the
+father to a Queen of England, and if she did as he wished, to a Prince
+Consort as well, which would exactly suit his ambition. So in different
+ways the tangled threads of cruel circumstance were fast winding around
+an innocent young victim, who was ignorant of them all as yet.
+
+Several months after the death of King Henry, Thomas Seymour, whose ward
+Lady Jane Grey now was, won the Dowager Queen Katherine's
+affections--having been her lover before she married King Henry--and
+they were privately wedded, after which Lady Jane Grey went to live with
+them at Hanworth, in Middlesex, and it was her great joy to be once more
+with the friend whom she so dearly loved, and to resume lessons under
+her care. Princess Elizabeth was living there too, and the contrast
+between these two young women was indeed striking. Both were fond of
+books and were staunch Protestants and both were very young, Elizabeth
+being then sixteen, and Jane four years younger, but while Elizabeth was
+bold and free in her behaviour, Jane was the exact reverse, being so
+modestly reserved in manner and pure in thought that she won golden
+praise from all who knew her well.
+
+In a short time Katherine died, Lady Jane having been with her through
+hours and days entirely too sad for such a young girl to have witnessed,
+but as Katherine clung to Jane, the loving girl gave no heed to her own
+grief or pain. The loss of his wife seemed a terrible blow to Thomas
+Seymour who at once decided to break up his household, and to send Lady
+Jane back to her father, but suddenly reconsidering, he wrote, begging
+that after all he might keep her with him, saying, "My lady, my mother
+shall and will, I doubt not, be as dear unto her as though she were her
+own daughter, and for my own part, I shall continue her half-father, or
+more. . . ."
+
+But the Marquis was unwilling to agree to this proposition, and Lady
+Jane who was now extremely pretty, went with her parents to Dorset
+House, their London residence. Here Seymour visited the Marquis and
+urged that Lady Jane be left in his care, repeating that he would try to
+make a brilliant marriage for her with the King, but when he found that
+her father would not consent, he made a practical offer of two thousand
+pounds, five hundred of it to be paid at once, for which sum he was
+again to become Jane's guardian. At that time, the Dorsets, never
+wealthy, were deeply in debt, and this amount of money would do much to
+mend their affairs, so the offer was accepted. But at the same time the
+Marquis wrote to the Duke of Somerset and spoke of some negotiations he
+was conducting for the marriage of Lady Jane with Somerset's eldest son,
+showing that he felt it wise to have more than one string to his bow,
+and in some way to marry Lady Jane to his own advantage. Dear little
+Lady Jane, fate surely did its worst for you, and never a nobler soul
+was born than you--poor little nine days Queen!
+
+But to go on with our story. As a result of fierce quarrels between the
+Admiral and his brother, the Lord Protector, Somerset caused the arrest
+of the Admiral, who was imprisoned and died on the scaffold, a victim of
+his brother's treachery. At that time, Lady Jane was still at Seymour
+Place, but at the arrest of Seymour, returned to Bradgate, but her
+parents' ambition for her had not been quenched and at once they began
+to have her cultivated to occupy the high position which they were
+determined she should some day fill. From that time her education was
+entrusted to the celebrated Aylmer, who was not only famous for his
+learning, but in close touch with the master minds of the century, and
+through him Jane became acquainted with several of the most learned men
+of the day. She was soon a fine scholar in science, Greek, Hebrew, and
+Latin, as well as various modern languages, and praise of her keen young
+mind and brilliant conversation was expressed by all who talked with
+her.
+
+Late in the autumn of 1549, six months after Lady Jane had returned to
+Bradgate, the celebrated scholar, Roger Ascham, in passing through the
+neighbourhood, being an acquaintance of the Dorsets, stopped to call at
+the Manor House, but met all the family except Lady Jane, going to the
+hunt. After a brief chat with them he inquired for Lady Jane, and being
+told that she was at home, asked if he might pay his respects to her,
+which request being readily granted, he went on to the house. Standing
+outside the open casement of Lady Jane's own sitting-room for a moment,
+he watched her as she sat in the window seat, so deeply engaged with her
+book that he could look over her shoulder unnoticed and to his
+astonishment saw that she was reading the _Phaedon_ of Plato in Greek!
+
+He spoke, and Jane looked up. At once he asked her why she relinquished
+such pastime as was then going on in the park for the sake of study?
+
+With a smile Jane answered, "I think all their sport in the park is but
+a shadow to the pleasure I find in Plato!"
+
+Interested and delighted, Ascham pursued the subject. "And how attained
+you," he asked, "to this true knowledge of pleasure? And what did
+chiefly allure you to it, seeing that few women and not many men have
+arrived at it?"
+
+"I will tell you," replied Lady Jane. "And tell you a truth which
+perchance you may marvel at. One of the greatest benefits that God ever
+gave me is that He sent me, with sharp severe parents, so gentle a
+schoolmaster (Aylmer). When I am in presence of either father or mother,
+whether I speak, keep silent, sit, stand or go, or drink, be merry or
+sad, be sewing, playing or dancing or doing anything else, I must do it
+as it were in such measure weight and number, even as perfectly as God
+made the earth, or else I am so sharply taunted, so cruelly threatened,
+yea, presently sometimes with pinches, nips and bobs, and other things
+(which T will not name for the honour I bear them), that I think myself
+in Hell 'till the time comes when I must go with Mr. Alymer who teacheth
+me so gently, so pleasantly, that I think nothing of all the time whilst
+I am with him, and when I am called from him I fall to weeping because
+whatever I do else but learning is full of great trouble, fear and
+wholesome misliking unto me."
+
+Poor lonely little fourteen-year-old Lady Jane, what a clear light this
+throws on the treatment her parents gave the responsive, sensitive
+child, and how it shows up the mental forcing process of that day! Down
+through the ages comes to us this picture of a sweet young girl sitting
+alone poring over a Greek classic--thankful for that resource which
+saved her for the moment from reproaches and taunts, "nips, bobs and
+pinches."
+
+From that time Roger Ascham was one of Lady Jane's closest friends, and
+doubtless the comradeship was a real stimulus to the brilliant girl, as
+letters from her to him show.
+
+On October the eleventh, in 1551, Lady Jane's father was raised to the
+peerage, which gave to him and his wife the new titles of the Duke and
+Duchess of Suffolk. The family now went to London, to occupy Sheen
+Abbey, and Lady Jane was presented at Court, taking her first prominent
+part in Court festivities, when she attended the entry into London of
+the Scottish Queen Regent, Mary of Guise, who had come on a visit to
+King Edward.
+
+When King Edward and Mary met first at Westminster Palace, Mary rode in
+her chariot from the city to Whitehall, and with her rode many noble
+ladies, among them Lady Jane, to whom the brilliant pageant must have
+been a great diversion, after the seclusion of Bradgate.
+
+Lady Jane took part too in all the other festivities connected with this
+state visit of the Scottish Queen, but when that was over went back to
+quiet Bradgate and her studies again, and remained there until the
+middle of November, when she went with her family to Tylsey, an estate
+belonging to her father's young cousins and wards, the Willoughbys. From
+there the Greys went to pay one of their many visits to Princess Mary
+at her town house, and that they were in high favour then is shown by an
+old account book of Princess Mary's in which is set down these items:
+
+"Given to my cousin Frances a rosary of black and white mounted in gold.
+To my cousin, Jane Grey, a necklace of gold, set with pearls and small
+rubies."
+
+In return Jane gave Mary a pair of gloves!
+
+Although the other members of her family left London for Tylsey during
+the following week, Lady Jane evidently remained with the Princess until
+the 16th of December, when she too returned to Tylsey, where the whole
+party had a merry Christmas. The house was thrown open to all such of
+the country gentry as cared to accept its hospitality, and those who
+accepted were royally entertained, as a company of players came from
+London for the occasion, also a wonderful boy who is said to have sung
+like a nightingale; also a tumbler, a juggler, and another band of
+players who acted several pieces, with great applause. Open house was
+kept until the 20th of January when the party broke up and went on to
+make another visit, returning to Tylsey for another week, all of which
+journeying about must have been too hard for delicate Lady Jane, as
+travelling was not the easy matter that it is in our day, and in
+February we hear that she had had a dangerous sickness but had fully
+recovered.
+
+Some months later we find her making another visit to Princess Mary at
+Newhall, Mary's country seat. Giving presents being one of Mary's strong
+points, she presented Lady Jane with a very handsome new gown, and with
+delicious Puritan simplicity Jane asked Mary what she was to do with it.
+"Marry," exclaimed the Princess, "wear it, to be sure!"
+
+Another incident of that visit of Lady Jane's at Newhall shows how much
+at variance the two cousins were on vital issues. Lady Wharton, a
+devout Catholic, crossing the chapel with Lady Jane when service was not
+being said, made her obeisance to the Host as they passed the altar.
+Lady Jane, looking up, asked if "the Princess were present in the
+chapel?" Lady Wharton answered that she was not.
+
+"Then why do you curtsey?" demanded Jane.
+
+"I curtsey to Him who made me," replied Lady Wharton.
+
+"Nay," retorted Lady Jane, "but did not the baker make him?" which
+remark shows a depth of thought and a cleverness of retort rarely found
+in one so young, and the remark being repeated to the Princess Mary, to
+whom it was a sacrilege, she was never again as fond of Lady Jane as
+before--but it seems doubtful whether her affection for the staunch
+little Puritan could ever have been more than skin-deep at any time.
+
+Lady Jane was now sixteen years old and truly one of the most beautiful
+young women in all England, with a type of beauty somewhat rare in that
+age, as it was connected with the most exquisite loveliness of
+character, and she was very popular throughout England.
+
+At that time, the young King was rapidly nearing his end, and the Duke
+of Northumberland, whose city home was directly opposite the residence
+of the Duke of Suffolk, realising this, saw that the time had come to
+carry out his daring scheme of snatching the crown away from the
+Princess Mary, whose it would lawfully be on the death of Edward, and to
+gain it for his own family by marrying his son, Lord Guilford Dudley, to
+Lady Jane Grey. It was not customary in those days for parents to
+consult a child in regard to a matrimonial project, and probably this
+scheme was entirely arranged by the Dukes of Suffolk and
+Northumberland. Nor does history give any evidence that Lady Jane loved
+the tall handsome youth chosen for her, but she made no objection to the
+marriage,--and so prospered one part of Northumberland's plan.
+
+For the other part, Edward was in such a feeble state of mind and body
+that he was completely dominated by Northumberland, who diplomatically
+forced the dying man to do his bidding, but carefully concealed his
+intentions in regard to the crown from Lady Jane, whose proud and
+innocent nature he knew would revolt from such treachery to her cousin,
+and so he did his work in secret. If only his popularity and talent had
+equalled his ambition, he might have carried out his plans, for the
+cause of the Reformation, for which Lady Jane stood, was dear to a large
+part of the people, and she herself was beloved everywhere.
+
+The marriage of Lady Jane and Guilford Dudley took place in the last
+week in May at Durham House, London, and the young King was so much
+pleased with the match that he ordered the master of the wardrobe to
+give the bride much wedding finery as well as many jewels, and the
+wedding was exceptionally magnificent in every detail. We are told that
+Lady Jane's headdress on the morning of her marriage was of green velvet
+set round with precious stones. She wore a gown of cloth of gold, and a
+mantle of silver tissue, and her hair hung down her back, combed and
+plaited in a curious fashion of her own devising. She was led to the
+altar by two handsome pages with bride lace and rosemary tied to their
+sleeves, and sixteen young girls dressed in pure white preceded her to
+the altar, while a profusion of flowers were scattered along the bridal
+route; the church bells rang, and the poor received beef, bread and ale
+enough for a three days' feast.
+
+Especially beaming and resplendent at the ceremony were Northumberland
+and his family, but almost as soon as it was over the bride's life seems
+to have begun to be unhappy, for she says, "The Duchess of
+Northumberland disregarded the promise she had made at our betrothal,
+that I might live at home with my mother, but, my husband being present
+observed to the Duke of Northumberland, that 'I ought not to leave her
+house, for when it pleased God to call King Edward to his mercy, I ought
+to hold myself in readiness, as I might be required to go to the Tower,
+since his Majesty had made me heir to his dominions.'" Poor little Jane
+adds, "These words told me offhanded and without preparation agitated my
+soul within me." On further thought she decided that the statement was
+hasty, and not important enough to keep her from her mother. The
+Duchess, however, became so enraged that the young bride dared not
+disobey her, but remained with her four or five days, then obtained
+leave to go to Chelsea House, a country seat of the Dudleys', which Jane
+reached just before falling into an acute sickness from which she barely
+escaped with her life, and where she was evidently without her husband.
+
+Northumberland, meanwhile, was indifferent as to where his new
+daughter-in-law resided,--she was his son's wife, which was all he
+wanted for the present. He saw that the young King was at the point of
+death, and his immediate efforts must be turned in another direction. So
+artfully did he lay before the sick monarch all the reasons for setting
+aside the claims of Mary and Elizabeth, that Edward was induced to
+sketch with his feeble hand a will, setting aside the rights of Mary and
+Elizabeth and leaving the succession to Lady Jane Grey.
+
+Of course there were some who refused to sign this will at all, and
+others--among them Archbishop Cranmer--who for a long time refused, but
+finally yielded on the urgent petition of the King, who was now as eager
+as even Northumberland could wish.
+
+Then on the 6th of July, 1553, King Edward died, and the tragedy of Lady
+Jane's life began in earnest. No sooner was his death a fact than
+Northumberland, concealing this, sent a crafty letter to the Princess
+Mary saying that her brother was at the point of death, and wished to
+see her. He did so knowing that Mary would hasten to London, and was
+prepared to seize her on the road to the city, and take her a prisoner
+to the Tower, while Lady Jane should be proclaimed Queen. As he had
+supposed, Mary hurried towards the city, but being met on the way and
+warned of the plot against her, instantly left the London road and
+galloped towards her own Manor House of Kenninghall, which she reached
+after a hard two days' trip, and found that the report of the King's
+death was true, whereupon she at once sent to the Council a confirmation
+of her own right to the throne, and so Northumberland's first move in
+his game of chance was blocked.
+
+Lady Jane meanwhile remained at Chelsea until Northumberland's daughter
+arrived to escort her to Sion House, where she was to appear before the
+Council in order to hear what the King had ordained for her. One can
+imagine the flutter of heart with which Jane made ready for the journey,
+and her still greater excitement when on her arrival the noblemen
+present began to make her complimentary speeches, bending the knee
+before her, "their example," says Lady Jane in her own account of the
+scene, "being followed by several noble ladies, all of which ceremony
+made me blush. My distress was still further increased when my mother
+and mother-in-law entered and paid me the same homage."
+
+Poor little Queen-to-be, this was her first intimation of the plan for
+her future greatness, and on discovering it, and hearing that for her
+sake the rights of her cousins were to be set aside, Lady Jane firmly
+refused to accept the crown. Northumberland, who had expected this
+refusal, then insisted that the crown was rightfully hers and her father
+begged her to take it. To these appeals the young husband added his, and
+Jane says: "On hearing all this I remained stunned and out of myself. I
+call on those present to bear witness, who saw me fall to the ground,
+weeping piteously, and dolefully lamenting not only my own insufficiency,
+but the death of the King. I swooned indeed . . . but when brought to
+myself, I raised myself on my knees and prayed to God that if to succeed
+to the throne was my duty and my right, that He would aid me to govern
+the Realm to His Glory. The following day, as everyone knows, I was
+conducted to the Tower."
+
+According to the state ceremonials governing such matters, the custom
+had always been for a new sovereign to spend the first few days of a
+reign at the Tower, and Lady Jane proceeded at once to Westminster by
+water, and from there by the state barge to the Tower, and this
+description of the scene has been preserved in a letter written on the
+10th of July by an Italian nobleman. He says:
+
+"I saw Donna Jana Groia walking in a grand procession to the Tower. She
+is now called Queen, but is not popular, for the hearts of the people
+are with Mary. This Jane is very short and thin, but prettily shaped and
+graceful. She has small features and a well-made nose, the mouth
+flexible and the lips red. The eyebrows are arched and darker than her
+hair which is nearly red. Her eyes are sparkling and a sort of light
+hazel often noticed with red hair. I stood so long near Her Grace that
+I noticed her colour was good, but freckled. When she smiled, she showed
+her teeth, which are large and sharp. In all a gracious and animated
+person. She wore a dress of green velvet stamped with gold and with
+large sleeves. Her headdress was a coif with many jewels. She walked
+under a canopy, her mother carrying her train and her husband walking by
+her, dressed all in white and gold, a very tall strong boy with light
+hair, who paid her much attention. The new Queen was mounted on very
+high heels to make her look much taller. Many ladies followed, with
+noblemen, but this lady is very much of a heretic and has never heard
+mass, and some very great people did not come into the procession for
+that reason."
+
+At the Tower Queen Jane was properly received by its Lieutenant and
+Deputy Lieutenant, and walked in procession from the landing-place to
+the Great Hall, a crowd of spectators lining the way and kneeling as the
+new Queen passed, and so began the great drama of which Jane was the
+central figure.
+
+As soon as the new Queen entered the royal apartments at the Tower, the
+heralds trumpeted, and a few minutes later four of them read her
+proclamation, which was an unfortunate, dull, long-winded document,
+dealing with the claims of Elizabeth and Mary in such a brutal way as
+might well have offended them and the Catholic party as well, and
+although Lady Jane was innocent of the document, nevertheless it bore
+her signature, and so for that as for the many other deeds done in her
+name, the fair young victim was obliged to pay the bitter penalty.
+
+While the young Queen was occupied with her first state duties in the
+Tower, Mary and her following were busy inciting the people to remain
+loyal to the rightful heir. In several counties the great mass of
+citizens detested the Duke of Northumberland and knew that Lady Jane
+would be a tool in his hands, so when Mary announced that as Queen she
+would make no change in the religion or laws of the land, they at once
+pledged themselves to support her cause.
+
+On the twelfth of July, Jane's second day in the Tower, there were
+delivered to her unwilling Majesty, besides the Crown jewels, a curious
+collection of miscellaneous articles of jewellery, the contents of
+various boxes and baskets found at the Jewel House in the Tower, which
+had belonged to Henry's six queens. By this time Jane's loneliness and
+anxiety over a situation which she knew to be dangerous, had brought on
+an attack of sickness, and she must have been wretched in mind and body,
+yet being still little more than a child, she must have had some small
+degree of pleasure in examining her new treasures, which included among
+the many articles:
+
+"A fish of gold, being a toothpick.
+
+"One dewberry of gold. A like pendant having one great and three little
+pearls. A tablet of gold with one white sapphire and one blue one. A
+pair of beads of white porcelain with eight gauds of gold and a tassel
+of Venice gold. Buttons of gold with crimson work. A pair of bracelets
+of flagon pattern. Thirty turquoises of little worth. Thirteen small
+diamonds set in collets of gold, etc. etc.," through a long list.
+
+There is also an inventory of the personal belongings of Lady Jane at
+this time, which gives a good idea of the contents of her wardrobe. The
+following are only a few of its details:
+
+"Item, a hat of purple velvet embroidered with many pearls.
+
+"Item, a muffler of purple velvet embroidered with pearls of damask gold
+garnished with small stones of sundry sorts and tied with white satin.
+
+"Item, a muffler of sable skin with a head of gold, with four clasps set
+with five pearls, four turquoises, six rubies, two diamonds and five
+pearls, the four feet of the sable being of gold set with turquoises and
+the head having a tongue made of a ruby.
+
+"Item, Eighteen buttons of rubies.
+
+"Item, Three pairs of gold garters having buckles and pendants of gold.
+
+"Item, Three shirts, one of velvet, the other of black silk embroidered
+with gold, the third of gold stitched with silver and red silk," etc.,
+etc., etc.
+
+From even these bits of the inventory it is evident that the Lady Jane
+was not lacking in goods and chattels, but they gave her little comfort,
+poor child, with her swift approaching destiny!
+
+On that same night of the twelfth of July, there were taken to the Tower
+a large number of fire-arms and a quantity of ammunition as well as an
+army of soldiers who were ready to march against Mary's followers. And
+the preparations were made just in time, for on the very next day came
+news that the rival Queen was at Kenninghall and that her loyal subjects
+were hurrying from all parts of the kingdom to support her cause. In
+fact the inmates of the Tower at once discovered that throughout the
+kingdom the people were against Queen Jane and for Queen Mary, and a sad
+discovery it was!
+
+At once the Council was called together, and a proposal was made that
+the Duke of Suffolk should take command of troops to quell the
+insurrection, but Jane was insistent that she could not be left in the
+Tower without her father for protection, and as his health was not
+good, it was finally decided that the Duke of Northumberland himself
+should go out to resist the rival forces. But before the Duke went, he
+gave Her Majesty into the charge of the Council, and swore with a big
+oath that when he returned "Mary should no longer be in England, for he
+would take care to drive her into France."
+
+Then with a passionate embrace of his son, Guilford, Northumberland went
+to finish his preparations for the resisting of Mary's claim, and on
+Friday, the fourteenth, he and his followers rode proudly forth with a
+train of guns, and six hundred men, some of them the greatest in the
+land. As they passed through the city, they could not but notice the
+sullenness and lack of enthusiasm in the great crowds everywhere
+gathered to watch them pass, and grew more and more fearful of the
+probable defeat of the Duke's project.
+
+Meanwhile Queen Jane, in the Tower, passed the weary hours as best she
+could, and executed several minor duties of her royal office, but grew
+hourly more depressed with a nameless dread, and at evening came the
+news of a great rising in favour of Queen Mary. Still worse tidings came
+on Saturday, the sixth day of Jane's disastrous reign. Queen Mary had
+already been proclaimed at Framlington and Norwich, and Northumberland
+had sent to London for fresh troops, and was speeding as fast as horse
+could gallop towards Cambridge, which he reached at midnight, but in
+vain! Jane's cause collapsed so completely and so rapidly everywhere
+that even such precautions as had been taken for the defence of her
+party ended by serving her rivals, and the miserable Duke returned to
+the Tower and its comparative safety, a prisoner, in a pathetic plight
+brought about by his own wretched ambition.
+
+On the seventh day of Queen Jane's reign, throughout the length and
+breadth of England there were again risings for Queen Mary. In all the
+streets there were cheering and rioting, and bonfires were lighted,
+around which crowds of rough men and women circled, shouting, "Queen
+Mary! Queen Mary!" while in the churches the rival queens and rival
+creeds were the one subject of discourse.
+
+On the eighth day of Jane's reign there was a violent scene in the early
+morning between her mother and mother-in-law concerning the kingship of
+Guilford, as Jane's husband. Poor Jane cried herself sick over the
+distasteful affair, and tried to calm and reason with the two
+disputants, looking more dead than alive as she did so. By this time as
+a result of suspense and discouraging news all the occupants of the
+Tower were at sixes and sevens, and the general feeling was that a worse
+situation was still to come. Again bad news, the peasants,
+notwithstanding the threats of their lords, had refused to take up arms
+against Mary, and were drawing very near London; also all over the
+country the nobility were arming, and marching in the defence of the
+rightful queen's person and title, while poor Queen Jane's name was now
+only spoken to be scoffed at.
+
+On Tuesday, the eighteenth, it was evident to all that the tragi-comedy
+was drawing to a close. Of all Queen Jane's Council only two men,
+Archbishop Cranmer and her own father, remained true to her--all the
+others having decided to save their own heads by betraying the cause of
+that girl to whom nine days before they had pledged undying loyalty. On
+Wednesday, the nineteenth, the short reign ended. "Jane the Queen"
+became "_Jana non Regina_," and although that morning there was a slight
+flicker of interest shown in her cause, yet the conspirators against
+her, that evening proclaimed Mary queen in Cheapside, at the very hour
+at which only nine days before Jane's accession had been proclaimed!
+
+The people now realised that they had nothing to fear from Jane or her
+Council, whose power was broken, and at once gave public vent to their
+enthusiasm for Mary, indulging in one of those attacks of frenzied
+excitement which sometimes seizes a nation,--and everywhere there were
+merry-makings and rejoicings for her Catholic Majesty--except within the
+Tower, where the stillness of death reigned.
+
+Northumberland's plan had failed, and of those councillors who had
+pledged their support to Jane's cause, but one remained loyal besides
+her own father!
+
+Archbishop Cranmer was the last of Jane's Council then living in the
+Tower to leave it, and the leave-taking was a sad one on both sides, for
+it left Lady Jane alone to meet the sad events then coming thick and
+fast, with what courage she could summon.
+
+Presently a messenger came to Suffolk, from Baynard's Castle, to tell
+him that the nobles gathered together there required him to deliver up
+the Tower and go to the Castle to sign Mary's proclamation, and without
+a moment's hesitation the wretched man gave up the unequal struggle, and
+did as he was commanded. Then he returned to the Tower to tell Jane that
+her queenship was a thing of the past, although there was little need to
+report so evident a fact.
+
+With nervous excitement he rushed into the Council chamber, where he
+found Jane alone, seated in forlorn dejection under the canopy of State.
+
+"Come down from that, my child," he said. "That is no place for you,"
+and then more gently than he had ever spoken to her before, he told her
+all. For a moment there was silence while daughter and father stood
+clasped in each other's arms in the deserted hall, through the open
+windows of which could be heard, borne on the summer air, shouts of
+"Long live Queen Mary!" There was a long silence, then Jane looked up
+into her father's eyes and there was a gleam of hope in her own as she
+asked, wistfully, "Can I go home?"
+
+Poor little victim of the plots of over-ambitious men, never was a more
+sublimely pathetic sentence uttered, and oh, the world of longing in
+that simple, never-to-be-gratified request!
+
+No sooner had Queen Mary's proclamation been heralded, than everything
+was changed for Lady Jane, who was even deserted by her mother and the
+Duchess of Northumberland. A few hours before, the Tower guards and
+officials had treated her with extreme deference, but now showed a
+marked degree of scorn for her whose sovereignty had come to an end. The
+tears of her women, their whispered talk, the ominous silence of the
+palace, broken only by the distant shouts of the revellers, all combined
+to add to the poor girl's misery, and it would not be strange if on that
+evening of July 19th, when she was removed from the State apartments, to
+another Tower, and declared a prisoner, she had felt that the calmness
+even of despair was preferable to the atmosphere of uncertainty of the
+last few days of her struggle for a crown.
+
+In her new quarters she was allowed several attendants of good birth, as
+well as two serving maids and a lad, and though a prisoner, she was not
+in solitude nor in discomfort of any kind, being allowed to walk daily
+in the Queen's gardens, and "on the hill without the Tower
+precincts"--her meals were those of a most luxurious captivity, and it
+must be clearly understood that she was never formally arrested. She was
+simply detained at the Tower, to prevent a repetition of the project to
+place her on the throne. During the nine days' reign, Guilford, her
+husband, seems to have sulked because she had refused to make him King,
+or else Northumberland had advised him to keep out of the way, that he
+might not be included in any blame for the usurpation of the crown.
+However that may have been, we hear nothing of him until after Mary's
+proclamation, when he too was imprisoned, but not in that part of the
+Tower with Lady Jane.
+
+Even in her secluded apartment, Jane must have heard some gossip of the
+great outer world in which she no longer played a part, and doubtless
+knew that Princess Elizabeth had joined her sister Mary, and was to ride
+into London with her, showing that whatever difference of opinion she
+had on other matters, she wished the nation to know that she upheld
+Mary's succession to the throne. And too, Jane must have heard of the
+flaunting decorations of the city to celebrate the royal entrance, and
+of the wild enthusiasm everywhere shown for Queen Mary.
+
+But harder still to bear must have been the visit of the Constable of
+the Tower, who on the first of August visited the prisoners, and read
+the solemn indictment against them in the Queen's name, charging Lady
+Jane and Guilford Dudley, her husband, of treason for having seized the
+Tower, for having sought to depose their rightful sovereign, Queen Mary,
+and for having proclaimed Jane Dudley, Queen of England. For those
+charges was Lady Jane to be brought to trial, and yet, not for one of
+them could she be held responsible.
+
+This was on the first of August, and two days later at twilight the
+booming of cannon, the flare of lights, the tramp of ambassadors and
+sentinels coming and going, told the State prisoners in the Tower of the
+arrival of Queen Mary and the Princess Elizabeth, and leaden-hearted
+Lady Jane from her windows doubtless watched the gay scene, noting how
+many of those now paying homage to their new Queen had only nine days
+before sworn loyalty to her.
+
+The Queen and Elizabeth had come for the Protestant State funeral
+service of King Edward, which took place on the 8th of August, and there
+was also a service according to the ritual of the Church of Rome
+celebrated at Mary's command, in the Royal Chapel of the Tower, where
+Mary had now taken up her residence. One of her first acts as Queen was
+to free a number of prisoners in the Tower, but she never lifted a
+finger to the liberation of Lady Jane, her kinswoman.
+
+On the eighteenth of August, the Duke of Northumberland was tried for
+treason, and throughout his trial acted in the basest manner possible;
+then seeing that whatever he might say would not save him, he confessed
+his crime and begged the pardon of the judges, showing one spark of
+manhood when he asserted that whatever might be his own deserts, Lady
+Jane not only had not wished the crown, but was forced to accept it. For
+himself he only asked the death usually accorded noblemen, and some
+degree of favour for his children. On hearing that Northumberland had
+been condemned, the people showed great joy, as they felt it was a just
+desert for his treason, and their sentiment was clearly shown by the
+crowds lining the street when he was taken from the court to his prison
+in the Tower. On the next day he received news of his intended execution
+which was carried out on the 22nd of August.
+
+Meanwhile Lady Jane and her husband were still prisoners, and Jane's
+conduct will forever place her name among the heroes and martyrs of the
+Reformation, so calm and courageous was she during every circumstance
+of her confinement, never uttering a word of complaint, but seeming
+wholly concerned for the sufferings of her father and husband, and
+though she must have indeed had bitter thoughts, yet she never voiced
+them, but was always calm and sweet.
+
+Through the whole month of August there were memorable struggles between
+the Catholics and Protestants, each struggling for supremacy, and at
+last all doubt was at an end. Queen Mary was determined to distinguish
+herself as a persecutor of the Protestants.
+
+During the last week of August she was busily preparing for her
+coronation, which was to be celebrated on the first day of October, and
+was marked with the usual pomp and splendour of such pageants, and still
+sweet Lady Jane was in prison, separated from her husband and from her
+friends. A few days after Mary's queendom was officially confirmed her
+first Parliament was opened, and one of its first acts was to pass a
+bill of attainder upon Lady Jane Grey and her husband,--and so destiny
+swept the innocent usurper with its swift current.
+
+The trial on a charge of high treason took place at the Guildhall on
+November 13th. In all the year England has no sadder month than
+November, by reason of its dull skies and heavy fogs, and in a mood not
+unlike the sombre day, Lady Jane and Lord Guilford were led out from the
+place where they had been for so long imprisoned. They were surrounded
+by a guard of four hundred soldiers, and there was great noise and
+confusion along their line of march, but Lady Jane was calmness
+personified, both then and through the whole trial.
+
+She pleaded guilty of the charge against her, poor innocent little
+Queen, and presently her sentence was pronounced. She was to be burned
+alive on Tower Hill, or beheaded, at the Queen's pleasure.
+
+Notwithstanding their desire to have Mary for queen, in place of Jane,
+the people on hearing this terrible sentence, burst forth in groans, and
+many sobbed and bewailed her fate to such a degree that Jane turned, and
+said calmly to them:
+
+"Oh, faithful companions of my sorrows, why do you thus afflict me with
+your plaints. Are we not born into life to suffer adversity and even
+disgrace if necessary? When has the time been that the innocent were not
+exposed to violence and oppression?" and from the example of her brave
+cheerfulness, they ceased their moaning.
+
+At that time it was generally supposed that Queen Mary would pardon Lady
+Jane and Lord Guilford, and there is no doubt that this was her
+intention then, and she ordered gentle treatment of them both, which
+must have made their hearts beat high with hope of some time being free.
+From the day of the trial Queen Mary showed an intense desire to win
+Jane over to the Catholic faith, and sent a devout Catholic priest to
+visit her in the Tower, with this in view; but it was utterly useless to
+attempt to turn the firm little Protestant from her belief, even though
+the change might have saved her head.
+
+While Lady Jane was resisting the attempts to change her creed, Queen
+Mary was deciding to make sure of a Catholic succession to the throne,
+and presently announced her engagement to Philip of Spain, the son of
+the Emperor Charles, which engagement when made public produced marked
+discontent through the whole country, for it was feared that with a
+Spanish prince for the husband of their Queen, England would become
+merely a vassal to Spain, and both Protestants and Catholics were
+firmly opposed to the match.
+
+Again a chance for Lady Jane's cause! In less than a week Queen Mary's
+court were alarmed by the news that the Duke of Suffolk with his two
+brothers, had again organised a rebellion in several counties for the
+restoration of Lady Jane to the throne. There were also at that time two
+other insurrections in the kingdom, aiming at one end--the prevention of
+the Queen's marriage; but of the three the most dangerous was that of
+the Duke of Suffolk, and he knew that even if it should succeed, Lady
+Jane would never accept the throne unless forced. A more fool-hardy
+course he could not have pursued, but passing through Leicestershire, he
+proclaimed Lady Jane Queen in every town through which he passed, and
+seemed to sincerely believe that the people who such a short time before
+had stood for the arrest and the uncrowning of his daughter, would now
+stand in solid support of her claim.
+
+With all the conflicts and intrigues of all the three insurrections
+there was the noise of battle throughout the country, but every one of
+them ended in defeat, and only one came anywhere near to victory, that,
+the one in favour of the crowning of Lady Jane Grey. And because of
+this, Mary the Queen felt that Jane was too dangerous a menace to the
+safety of the nation, and to her own sovereignty, to remain alive, and
+so the moment had come when Jane, so young and so full of the joy of
+living, must reap what others had sown.
+
+On the eighth of February, the news was carried to the prisoner. She
+received her doom with dry-eyed dignity, but pleaded for mercy for her
+husband, who she said was innocent, and had only obeyed his father in
+all things, but the plea was disregarded and when the news was taken to
+Guilford, unlike Lady Jane he thought only of himself, and wept and
+begged and prayed for forgiveness,--but in vain!
+
+It was originally intended that Jane and Guilford should be executed
+together on Tower Hill, but this was not carried out, probably because
+Lady Jane, being of blood royal, could be executed inside the precincts
+of the Tower, where two queens of Henry the Eighth had been beheaded,
+while Guilford, being of plebeian origin, was obliged to perish outside
+the Tower walls.
+
+While awaiting the fatal day, Jane occupied herself in writing a letter
+to her father, in which she held him responsible for her death, and then
+probably spent Sunday the 10th of February, in prayer and meditation,
+and on the following day she wrote a beautiful letter to her sister
+Katherine, of whose terrible grief on her account she had been told. The
+letter was written on the blank leaves of a Greek testament, which has
+fortunately been preserved, and can be seen to-day in the British
+Museum.
+
+Lord Guilford Dudley begged for an interview with his wife before their
+death, but this Lady Jane declined, saying that it would unnerve them
+both for the supreme moment, although she sent a message to her husband,
+and on the day of the execution, at the time when he was to pass her
+window on his way to the scaffold, she stood and waved her hand to him,
+as he passed, in the strength of his youth and manhood, to the horrible
+grave dug for him by his own father's hand, facing death bravely at the
+end.
+
+Then a ghastly accident occurred. Either by accident or by design, Jane
+caught a glimpse of her husband's body as it was being carried from the
+scaffold to the Tower for burial, and for a time it seemed as if her
+frail young frame could not resist the strain of that agony of sorrow
+and fear which overcame her; but at last Lady Jane was on her way to
+meet her doom.
+
+The bells of the churches tolled as the dread procession wound its way
+slowly to the foot of the scaffold, and the young prisoner was dressed
+as on the day of her trial, in a black cloth dress edged with black
+velvet, a Marie Stuart cap of black velvet on her head, with a veil of
+black cloth hanging to her waist and a white wimple concealing her
+throat, her sleeves edged with lawn, neatly plaited around her wrists.
+
+Before ascending the steps leading to the scaffold the Lady Jane bade
+farewell to her sobbing ladies, then mounting, advanced to the edge of
+the platform and spoke in a clear sweet voice, of her innocence of
+treason, and begging them to bear witness that she died a true Christian
+woman. Then after a pause, and wiping her eyes, she added, "Now, good
+people, Jane Dudley bids you all a long farewell. And may the Almighty
+preserve you from ever meeting the terrible death which awaits her in a
+few minutes."
+
+At these words, seeing the towering figure of the executioner in his
+scarlet robe, she threw herself into the arms of her old nurse, who was
+by her side, and sobbed and shivered with terror. Then growing calmer
+she knelt while a psalm was said and prayer offered, then she said
+farewell to those who had been with her to the end, and gave her prayer
+book as a memento to one who had asked this favour.
+
+The supreme moment had come. Unloosening her gown without the aid of her
+attendants, who were overcome with emotion, she cast aside the
+handkerchief with which she was expected to bandage her eyes, and then
+with a swift glance at the executioner, she said simply:
+
+"I pray you despatch me quickly," then kneeling down she asked, "Will
+you take it off before I lay me down?"
+
+Without any apparent emotion Lady Jane then tied the handkerchief over
+her eyes. She was now blindfolded and, trying to feel for the block,
+asked, "What shall I do? Where is it?"
+
+A person near her, on the scaffold, guided her to the block, and she
+instantly laid her head upon it, rested in silence for a moment, then
+exclaimed:
+
+"Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit," and a moment later the agony
+was over.
+
+The noblest, most courageous girl who was ever the victim of relentless
+ambition, was gone, sacrificed to a game of chance in which she was the
+royal pawn! History offers no sadder, no more thrilling story than that
+of Lady Jane, the girl of seventeen, who was a "Nine Days Queen!"
+
+
+
+
+GENTLE ANNIE:
+
+A Daughter of the Regiment
+
+
+FORT SUMTER had been fired on!
+
+The whole country was in a state of flaming excitement. Up to that time
+there had been a division of sentiment in the North, and many thought
+that by patient effort the seceding States could be brought back into
+the Union--that there would never be any serious fighting--but now all
+that was changed.
+
+In a measure the Northerners were unprepared for war, and the regular
+army was then very small, but one month after the inauguration of
+President Lincoln he issued a call for seventy-five thousand volunteers
+for three months' service only, and the war between North and South
+began in earnest.
+
+In every part of the country there was one absorbing topic of
+conversation, while men were being hastily gathered into companies,
+officers were forming their regiments to march to the scene of conflict,
+women were hurriedly joining hospital brigades, and the government was
+rushing the purchase and manufacture of ammunition and weapons, and
+collecting an adequate supply of horses and army-wagons, camp equipments
+and provisions and uniforms for the soldiers.
+
+In every State there was an individual flurry of preparation while men
+and women made ready to leave homes and families, for the sake of their
+country. When the first enlistment took place, Annie Etheredge, a young
+woman whose childhood and early girlhood had been passed in Wisconsin,
+was in Detroit visiting some friends, and the set of young women with
+whom she associated became so filled with the enthusiasm of war that
+nineteen of them offered themselves to go as nurses with the Second
+Michigan volunteers under Colonel Richardson. This offer was accepted
+and all bade brave farewells to their families and friends, and set out
+with the regiment, to help and to heal wherever opportunity offered. But
+theirs were hands and hearts not accustomed to such work, and at the end
+of a few months, eighteen of them returned to their homes, having been
+unable to bear the sights and service of the battlefield. But it was not
+so with Annie Etheredge. Her brave spirit and heroic character never
+gave way under the most severe strain, and as we follow her through
+those sombre days, we give thanks for such a pure, strong example of
+what a woman, however young, may be. To Tennessee went Annie with her
+regiment, and was transferred to Michigan, where she had many friends
+and was with that regiment in every battle in which they took part.
+
+It took very little time to discover the value of her services and
+General Berry, who for a long time commanded the brigade to which
+Annie's regiment was attached, soon declared that the young woman was as
+self-possessed under a hot fire of shot and shell as he was himself--and
+that was a good deal for the gallant commander to acknowledge of one of
+the opposite sex!
+
+Annie was provided with a fine horse, a side-saddle, and saddle bags, as
+well as two pistols which she carried in her holster, but never used,
+and so fitted out she rode fearlessly to the front in the skirmish of
+Blackburn's Ford and in the first battle of Bull Run. Her keen eye was
+always quick to discover where there was need of assistance, and she
+would gallop to a wounded soldier who was too severely hurt to go to the
+rear, dismount, and regardless of the fire of shot and shell often
+whizzing around her, would skilfully bind up his wounds, give him water
+or a necessary stimulant, say a cheery word,--then gallop on to her next
+patient. So tender and soothing a nurse was she that the soldiers called
+her "Gentle Annie," and many an eye watched with eager affection as the
+horse carrying her girlish figure came in sight following the troops.
+
+In the second battle of Bull Run, on the 29th of August, 1861, Annie was
+standing on a part of the battle-field where there was a rocky ledge,
+under the protection of which some wounded soldiers had crawled. Seeing
+this, Annie lingered behind the troops, helped several other injured men
+to the same retreat, and was soon busy dressing their wounds. One of the
+fellows was a fine looking boy whose lips were parched and his eyes
+brilliant with fever. She gave him a refreshing drink, then bound up his
+wounds, receiving in return a bright glance of gratitude and a faint
+"God's blessing on you," just as the rebel battery literally tore him to
+pieces under her very hands, while at the same moment she saw the enemy,
+almost within touch, and she was obliged to make a hasty flight or she
+too would have been killed.
+
+On another part of that bloody battle-field of Bull Run, tireless in her
+activity, although sick at heart from the ghastly sights and sounds of
+the day, she was kneeling beside a soldier and tenderly binding up his
+wounds, when she heard a gruff voice repeating her name, and looking up,
+to her astonishment saw brave General Kearney, checking his horse by her
+side, watching her with genuine admiration in his eyes. "That's right,"
+he exclaimed. "I am glad to see you here, helping those poor fellows,
+and when this is over, I will have you made a regimental sergeant,"
+which meant that she would receive a sergeant's pay and rations, but as
+the gallant General was killed two days later at Chantilly, Annie never
+received the appointment. But she continued her care of the sick and
+wounded in the same quiet manner which characterised all her actions.
+When she was not busy on the field or in hospital or transport duty she
+superintended the cooking at headquarters, and when the brigade moved,
+she would mount her horse, and march with the ambulance and the
+surgeons, ready to serve where she was most needed, or if on the
+battle-field when night fell she wrapped herself in her soldier's
+blanket and slept under the protecting sky with the hardihood of a true
+soldier.
+
+At Chancellorsville, on the 2nd of May, 1863, the men of the Third Corps
+were in extreme danger because of a panic by which the Eleventh Corps
+was broken up; and one company of the Third Michigan and also one of the
+sharp-shooters were detailed as skirmishers. Annie was advised of her
+danger in remaining with the regiment, but refused to go to the rear,
+and instead took the lead, but met her Colonel and he peremptorily
+commanded her to go back, saying the enemy was very near, and he was
+every moment expecting an attack. Reluctant to obey, Annie turned and
+rode along the front of a line of shallow trenches filled with Union
+men. Then rising in her saddle she called out, "Boys, do your duty and
+whip the rebels!"
+
+The men's heads rose above the edge of the trench and they cheered her,
+crying, "Hurrah for Annie! Bully for you!" which shout unfortunately
+showed their position to the enemy, who at once fired a volley of shots
+in the direction of the cheering. Annie rode to the end of the rear of
+the line, then turned to look back, and as she did so, an officer
+quickly pushed his horse between her and a large tree by which she was
+standing, so that he might be sheltered behind her. She was staring at
+him in astonishment at such an unchivalrous act, when a second volley
+was fired; a ball whizzed past her, and the officer fell heavily against
+her, then lifeless to the ground. At the same moment another ball grazed
+Annie's hand (this was the only wound she received during the whole
+war), cut through her dress, and slightly wounded her horse, who was so
+frenzied by the pain that he set off on a run through the woods,
+plunging in and out among the trees so rapidly that Annie was afraid of
+being brushed from her saddle by the branches, or of having her brains
+dashed out by being thrown against a tree trunk. Raising herself on her
+saddle with a violent effort she crouched on her knees and clung to the
+pommel and awaited what might come, but by a lucky chance, the
+frightened animal dashed out of the woods and into the midst of the
+Eleventh Corps, who stopped the runaway and gave a rousing cheer for
+plucky Annie. Her regiment was by this time quite a distance away, and
+Annie wanted to see and speak with General Berry, who was the commander
+of her division, but was told by an aide that he was not there. "He _is_
+here," replied Annie, "and I must see him." The aide turned his horse
+and rode up to the General, who was near by, and told him that a woman
+was coming up, who insisted on seeing him.
+
+"It is Annie," said General Berry. "Let her come, let her come. I would
+risk my life for Annie any time!" As Annie approached from one side a
+prisoner was brought up on the other, and after some words with him, and
+receiving his sword, the General sent him to the rear, and after
+greeting Annie cordially he gave the prisoner into her charge,
+directing him to walk by her horse. This was Annie's last interview with
+the brave General, for he was killed early the next morning in the
+desperate fight for possession of the plank road, in the woods not far
+from the hospital, leading past the Chancellor House.
+
+During the same battle Annie found an artillery man so badly wounded
+that he could not move. The batteries had no surgeons of their own, and
+despite his entreaties the infantry surgeons with their hands full in
+caring for their own wounded men, had refused to assist him. Annie,
+after binding up the poor man's wounds, insisted on having him cared
+for, and a year later she received the following letter:
+
+
+                      WASHINGTON, D. C., Jan. 14, 1864.
+
+          _Annie_:--_Dearest Friend_:--I am not long for
+          this world, and I wish to thank you for your
+          kindness ere I go.
+
+          You were the only one who was ever kind to me
+          since I entered the Army. At Chancellorsville, I
+          was shot through the body, the ball entering my
+          side and coming out through the shoulder. I was
+          also hit in the arm, and was carried to the
+          hospital in the woods where I lay for hours and
+          not a surgeon would touch me when you came along
+          and gave me water and bound up my wounds. Please
+          accept my heartfelt gratitude; and may God bless
+          you and protect you from all dangers; may you be
+          eminently successful in your present pursuit. I
+          enclose a flower, a present from a sainted mother;
+          it is the only gift I have to send you. Had I a
+          picture, I would send you one. I know nothing of
+          your history, but I hope you always have and
+          always may be happy, and since I will be unable to
+          see you in this world, I hope I may meet you in
+          the better world where there is no war. May God
+          bless you, both now and forever, is the wish of
+          your grateful friend.
+
+Such rewards for loving service must have been very grateful to one of
+Annie's sensitive nature, and she continued to toil on in the spirit of
+love and heroism through the battle of Gettysburg, and the engagements
+of Grant's closing campaign, where her gentleness and courage were
+favourite themes of the soldiers, who could scarcely bear to have her
+out of their sight when they were sick or wounded.
+
+At the battle of the Wilderness, when the fighting was fiercest and the
+balls were raining like hailstones, the Fifth Michigan, to which Annie
+was now attached, together with other troops, were surrounded and nearly
+cut off by the rebels and as the line of battle swung round, the rebels
+at once took the places vacated by the Union men. Annie was at that
+moment speaking to a little drummer boy when a bullet pierced his heart,
+and he fell against Annie, dead. For the first and only time during the
+war she was overcome by a panic of terror and laying the dead boy on the
+ground, she ran like a hunted deer towards what she took to be the Union
+troops, to find to her horror she was mistaken. It was the rebel forces,
+but, too late to retrace her steps she dashed ahead, cutting her swift
+way through the enemy's line, and though shots whistled after her, she
+escaped in safety.
+
+With every month of service, Annie's patriotism grew stronger and her
+desire to serve the cause for which the Union was fighting, keener.
+During the battle of Spotsylvania she met a number of soldiers
+retreating, and when imploring them to turn back had no effect, she
+offered to lead them herself, and shamed into doing their duty, by a
+woman's courage, they turned, and led by the dauntless girl, went back
+into the thick of the fight, under heavy fire from the enemy. Never did
+Annie bear the regimental colours or flourish sword or flag, as has been
+asserted; she simply inspired men to deeds of valour or to the doing of
+their simple duty by her own contagious example of unwavering
+patriotism.
+
+When the enemy was attacked by the Second Corps, as they were at Deep
+Bottom, Annie became separated from her regiment, and with her usual
+attendant--the surgeon's orderly, who carried the medicine chest, went
+in search of the troops, but before she realised it, found herself
+beyond the line of the Union pickets. An officer at once told her she
+must turn back, that the enemy was near, and almost before the words
+were spoken, the rebel skirmishers suddenly appeared, and as suddenly
+the officer struck spurs into his horse and fled, Annie and the orderly
+following as fast as they could, until they reached the Union lines. As
+the rebels had hoped to surprise the Union troops they did not fire lest
+they should give an alarm, which is probably the reason why Annie
+escaped uninjured, and in this as in many other cases it seemed as if
+the loving thoughts and prayers of those to whom she had been mother,
+sister and friend in hours of blackest despair protected the brave girl
+from harm.
+
+So strong was the confidence of the soldiers in Annie's ability to shape
+even circumstances to her will, that this confidence amounted almost to
+a superstition, and whenever a battle was to be fought, were uneasy as
+to results, also as to the care of the wounded unless she was at hand,
+and there was never a more fitting tribute paid to man or woman, old or
+young, than that paid to Annie by the brilliant General Birney. After
+watching her closely and observing her invaluable service and dauntless
+courage one day at twilight he gathered together his troops, and amid
+shouts of appreciative applause presented her with the glittering
+Kearney Cross, a token of noble self-sacrifice and heroic service
+rendered to the Union army, and it is pleasant to picture the brave girl
+as she received the reward of her faithful service, with that modest
+diffidence which is so charming in a woman, but with shining eyes and
+cheeks flushed with appreciation of the token that her work had not been
+in vain.
+
+Many verses have been written in honour of Annie, and this fragment of
+one of them seems a fitting tribute to the pure, sweet, patriotic
+Daughter of the Regiment.
+
+
+To Miss Anna Etheredge.
+
+(THE HEROINE OF THE WAR.)
+
+          Hail dauntless maid! whose shadowy form,
+          Borne like a sunbeam on the air,
+          Swept by amid the battle storm,
+          Cheering the helpless sufferers there,
+          Amid the cannon's smoke and flame,
+          The earthquake sound of shot and shell,
+          Winning by deeds of love, a name
+          Immortal as the brave who fell.
+
+          Hail angel! whose diviner spell
+          Charmed dying heroes with her prayer,
+          Staunching their wounds amid the knell
+          Of death, destruction and despair.
+          Thy name by memory shall be wreathed
+          Round many desolate hearts in prayer;
+          By orphan lips it shall be breathed,
+          And float in songs upon the air.
+
+
+
+
+MADELEINE DE VERCHERES:
+
+The Heroine of Castle Dangerous
+
+
+IT was the twenty-second of October. Hills until recently tapestried,
+and valleys which had been flaming with the glory of autumn were now
+putting on the more sombre garb of early winter, though still the soft
+haze of fall hung over fields and forests in the small Canadian colony,
+on the bank of the St. Lawrence River, twenty miles below Montreal, a
+settlement commanded by the French officer Seignieur de Vercheres.
+
+Peace and quiet reigned throughout the small community on that October
+morning, while all its inhabitants except the very young or the infirm
+were busy harvesting.
+
+Because of its location in a direct route between the hunting ground of
+the Iroquois Indians and Montreal, the fort protecting the settlement
+was known as the "Castle Dangerous" of Canada. At night all the farmers
+and other settlers of the community left their log cabins and gathered
+in the fort for protection, then went out in the morning, with hoe in
+one hand and gun in the other, to till the fields, leaving the women and
+children safe inside the fort, which stood in an exposed position beyond
+the homes of the settlers. Outside the fort stood a strong block house
+connected with it by a covered passage, and both were surrounded by a
+palisaded wall. Fort and blockhouse and wall were necessary protections
+in those days when English, French and Indians were at war in the
+Canadian provinces in the name of Church or King, or for personal
+betterment, and when the Indians were resisting with powerful
+determination the religion and customs which the white men were trying
+to thrust upon them, and attempting to prevent the aliens from securing
+the rich supplies of skins which were annually brought down the Ottawa
+river by fur-traders from the frozen North.
+
+It was indeed a time of warfare in Canada--that latter part of the
+seventeenth century, when Frontenac was governor of the French
+possessions, and two nations were striving so bitterly for supremacy. At
+that time the river Ottawa, as Parkman, the historian, tells us, "was
+the main artery of Canada, and to stop it was--to stop the flow of her
+life blood."
+
+The Iroquois, a powerful and cunning tribe of Indians who were a menace
+to all foreigners, knew this, and their constant effort was to close it
+so completely that the annual supply of beaver skins would be prevented
+from passing, and the French colony thus be obliged to live on credit.
+It was the habit of the Iroquois to spend the latter part of the winter,
+hunting in the forests between the Ottawa and the upper St. Lawrence,
+and when the ice broke up to move in large bands to the banks of the
+Ottawa and lie in ambush to waylay the canoes of the fur-traders with
+their cargoes of skins. On the other hand, it was the constant effort of
+Frontenac and his men to keep the river open, an almost impossible task.
+Many conflicts great and small took place, with various results, but in
+spite of every effort on the part of the French, the Iroquois blockade
+was maintained for more than two years.
+
+[Illustration: MADELEINE DE VERCHERES]
+
+The brunt of the war was felt in the country above Montreal, which was
+easily accessible to the Indians, but it was a time of grave menace also
+to all the colonists, and the children of the Seignieur de Vercheres
+had been taught from their earliest childhood to handle firearms easily
+and skilfully, and had been told so many blood-curdling tales of the
+treachery and cruelty of the Iroquois, and of the heroic deeds done by
+their countrymen in defending forts and homes, that each young heart
+thrilled with the hope that they too might some day perform a deed of
+valour. And their chance was nearer than they dreamed on that October
+morning when the little settlement lay serene in its quiet security,
+giving no heed to invasion or to foe, when everyone in the settlement
+was at work in the fields except two soldiers, the two young sons of the
+Seignieur, an old man of eighty, and a number of women and children.
+
+The Seignieur was at that time on duty at Quebec, his wife was also away
+on a visit to Montreal, and their daughter, Madeleine, a girl of
+fourteen, was in command of both fort and home--not very difficult
+offices to fill, so thought her parents in leaving, as there had been no
+attacks for some time, and we can picture Madeleine, tall and slender,
+with a wealth of golden-brown hair falling over her low brow, her eyes
+dancing with merriment as she received her list of household duties from
+her mother, and her commands concerning the fort from her father, sure
+that the hours and days of the golden autumn would bring her no graver
+responsibilities than she had carried before.
+
+Her morning duties in the home despatched, she sauntered down to the
+river boat-landing, taking with her a hired man named Laviolette. She
+was expecting some friends from Montreal and for a long time she stood
+on the bank of the sparkling river, shading her eyes from the glare of
+the sun, watching eagerly in hopes of seeing the boatload coming. It was
+not in sight, and she chatted with Laviolette and watched the movements
+of some near-by fishing craft for a moment. Suddenly she turned, stood
+still, and held up a silencing finger to the garrulous Laviolette, who
+was spinning a sea yarn of his boyhood. She had heard an ominous sound
+in the direction of the field where the settlers were at work.
+
+"Run, Laviolette, to the top of the hill and see what it is," she said,
+without serious apprehension. The man, quick to do her bidding, ran to a
+point of vantage, stood beside her again, and what was it he said?
+
+"Shots! Run, Mademoiselle, _run_!" he cried, "here come the Iroquois!"
+
+The warning was too late. As Madeleine turned she found herself within
+gun range of forty or fifty of the dreaded Indians! Like a bit of
+thistle-down blown by the wind, she ran toward the fort, her brown hair
+flying in the breeze, commending herself as she ran, so she herself
+afterwards told, to the Holy Virgin, the Iroquois in hot pursuit, but
+not one of them fleet-footed enough to catch the fleeing maiden.
+Disconcerted, they stood still, seeing that pursuit was fruitless, and,
+standing, fired at her, the bullets whistling about her ears, while her
+heart beat so fast with fright that it seemed she could not take another
+step. But still she was fleeing, fleeing. She was at the gate at last,
+she cried loudly, "To arms! To arms!" praying that someone within would
+hear her and come to the rescue, but she prayed in vain. The two
+soldiers who were in the fort were so terror stricken that they ran to
+the blockhouse and hid, and only one answered Madeleine's call. To add
+to her horror, outside the gate were two women huddled, moaning for
+their husbands who had just been killed before their eyes. There was no
+time for quiet thought, but in Madeleine's veins flowed the blood of
+warriors. In a brave voice she called, "Go in, and cease your crying!"
+and pushing the women inside the gate, closed it, as she did so, trying
+to think how she was to save the other defenceless ones of whom in her
+father's absence she was the guardian. With flying feet she inspected
+the fort and wall, and to her dismay found that in several places the
+defences were so insecure that the enemy could easily push through. The
+weak spots must be barricaded at once. With peremptory orders Madeleine
+set her few helpers to work, and herself fetched wood for her purpose,
+helping place it with her quick strong hands. That done, she went into
+the blockhouse where all the ammunition was kept, and there crouching in
+a corner she found the two soldiers, one with a lighted match in his
+hand.
+
+"What are you going to do with that?" she asked.
+
+Too frightened to lie, he answered, "Light the powder and blow us all
+up."
+
+Madeleine flashed a glance of contempt at him. "You are a miserable
+coward!" she said. "Go out of this place. _I_ am commander of the fort,"
+and there was that in her voice which made the men obey. Then throwing
+off her bonnet, putting on a more masculine hat, and taking up a gun, in
+the use of which she was unusually skilful, she gave a command to her
+two brothers, who were awaiting her orders. "Let us fight to the death,"
+she said. "We are fighting for our country and our religion. Remember
+our father has taught you that gentlemen are born to shed their blood
+for the service of God and the King."
+
+The boys were only ten and twelve years old, but they had received the
+same early training as Madeleine, and in their veins too ran the blood
+of those who conquer. The stirring words roused their courage, and like
+old seasoned warriors they took up arms, and with what ability they
+possessed began at once to fire through the loopholes of the blockhouse
+on the Iroquois, who, having no idea how many soldiers were inside
+defending the garrison, were overcome with fear, and giving up their
+attack on the fort, began to chase the people in a neighbouring field,
+and killed all whom they could catch. Madeleine was now so thoroughly
+filled with the spirit of war that she at once ordered a cannon to be
+fired, partly to keep the enemy from a further assault, and also as a
+signal to some of the soldiers who were at a distance, hunting. And all
+this time within the fort there was the shrill sound of the women and
+children wailing and screaming. Madeleine, on guard at a loophole, gave
+a stern order, "Be quiet, or your screams will encourage the enemy!"
+Then with far sighted eyes she saw a canoe gliding up to the
+landing-place, the one that she had been looking for in that care-free
+hour which now seemed years ago; the canoe in which was her friend who
+was trying to reach the fort with his family. Knowing how near the
+Indians were, Madeleine was terrified lest the visitors should be killed
+before her eyes, and she begged the soldiers to go to their aid, but
+they were not brave enough to do it. She must go herself. With a hasty
+command to Laviolette to keep watch at the gate while she was gone, she
+ran out alone down to the landing-place. She afterwards said, "I thought
+that the savages would suppose it to be a ruse to draw them towards the
+fort, in order to make a rush upon them. They did suppose so, and thus I
+was able to save my friends, the Fontaine family. When they were landed
+I made them all march up to the fort before me in full sight of the
+enemy. We put so bold a face on that they thought they had more to fear
+than we had." Thus the settlers and their plucky young escort gained the
+shelter of the fort, and Madeleine, quite encouraged by this addition to
+the number of her forces, at once ordered that whenever an Indian came
+in sight, he should at once be fired on, which order was faithfully
+obeyed, and in watching and firing, the hours of the long day wore away.
+
+After sunset a fierce northeast wind came up, accompanied with a flurry
+of snow and hail, and as the little band in the fort heard the howling
+of the wind they looked at one another with pale and terrified faces,
+fearing that the Iroquois, who were still lurking near, would be able,
+under cover of the noise and darkness of the storm, to climb into the
+fort, and all would be lost. Whitest of all was Madeleine, the young
+commander, but she gathered her troop of six persons around her, and
+said stoutly, "God has saved us to-day from the hands of our enemies,
+but we must take care not to fall into their snares to-night. As for me,
+I want you to see that I am not afraid. I will take care of the fort
+with an old man of eighty and another who never fired a gun, and you,
+Pierre Fontaine, with the two soldiers, will go to the blockhouse with
+the women and children because that is the strongest place, and if I am
+taken, don't surrender, even if I am cut to pieces and burned before
+your eyes. The enemy cannot hurt you in the blockhouse if you make the
+least show of fight."
+
+Then placing her two brothers on two of the bastions or look-outs of the
+fort, and the old man of eighty on the third, she herself took the
+fourth watch, and all through the endless hours of that night while the
+wind howled and the storm beat against the wall, the cries of "ALL'S
+WELL!" were repeated from the blockhouse to the fort, and from the fort
+to the blockhouse. One would have thought the place was filled with
+soldiers, and the Indians were completely deceived, as they confessed
+afterwards to a Frenchman to whom they then told their plan of capturing
+the fort in the night, a plan which had failed because the place had
+been so well guarded!--and two young boys, a very old man and a young
+girl had accomplished this!
+
+About one o'clock in the morning the soldier who had been put on watch
+at the gate called out, "Mademoiselle, I hear something," and hurrying
+to him Madeleine, by the aid of the snow light, was able to see a small
+number of cattle huddled close to the fort. Telling this to her
+companions they instantly cried, "Let them in," but Madeleine shook her
+head, answering emphatically, "God forbid! You don't know all the tricks
+of the savages. They are no doubt following the cattle, covered with
+skins of beasts so as to get into the fort, if we are simple enough to
+open the gate for them."
+
+But later, after having taken every precaution for safety, besides
+placing the boys ready with their guns cocked in case of surprise,
+Madeleine allowed the gate to be opened and the cattle filed in safely
+and alone.
+
+At last the weary night of suspense was over, and as daylight dawned,
+the situation began to look brighter. Everyone took fresh courage except
+Madame Fontaine, who begged her husband to carry her to another and
+safer fort. He replied, "I will never abandon this fort while
+Mademoiselle Madeleine is here."
+
+At this loyal answer Madeleine gave him a swift glance of appreciation,
+and cried, "I will never abandon it. I would _die_ rather than give it
+up to the enemy. It is of the greatest importance that they should not
+get hold of any French fort, because they would think they could get
+others and grow more bold and presumptuous than ever!"
+
+Then with another quick nod of thanks and of understanding off went the
+young commander again to her post on the look-out, and then back to the
+blockhouse, where she said words of ringing encouragement to the weary
+band huddled there together, and it was twenty-four hours later before
+she went into her father's house either for refreshment or rest,
+although sadly in need of both, but was always on guard to cheer her
+discouraged flock.
+
+When forty-eight hours had passed in this way, rest became imperative
+even for Madeleine's strong, young frame, and she allowed herself to
+doze at a table, folding her arms on it, so that with her gun lying
+across her arms and her head on her gun she was ready at a word of alarm
+to spring up, weapon in hand, and face the enemy. It was a terrible
+situation, that of the little band within the fort, for they knew of no
+way to send word to friends of their plight, and if the outer world had
+no news of the situation, from whence could help come? This thought was
+constantly in the minds of the exhausted band, waiting, watching and
+hoping against hope for some one to come to their rescue. Had they but
+known that even while they were waiting, some of the farmers who when at
+work in the field had escaped the Indians, were now making their way to
+Montreal, their anxiety would have been greatly lessened, but they did
+not know, and the fort was constantly attacked by the enemy, who when
+not besieging it were crouching near, waiting for a chance to make a
+successful attack. Very early on the dawn of the seventh day of their
+vigil, Madeleine's younger brother, who was on watch on the side of the
+fort which faced the river, heard the sound of distant voices and the
+splashing of oars in the water.
+
+"Who goes there?" he called out bravely, but with a shivering fear that
+it might be additional forces of the enemy. At the sound of his cry
+Madeleine, dozing by the table, roused and ran to his side with a
+question on her lips which did not need to be framed.
+
+"A voice from the river," he whispered, but as he spoke came the louder
+sound of near-by footsteps and voices, and fleet-footed Madeleine ran to
+the bastion to see whether it was friend or foe arriving.
+
+"Who are you?" the clear voice of the intrepid young commander rang out,
+and instantly came the answer:
+
+"We are Frenchmen. It is La Monnerie, who comes to bring you help, and
+with him are forty men."
+
+Relief was at hand! Turning, Madeleine gave a command to a soldier to
+stand on guard, then, "Quick, open the gate," she said, and her command
+was obeyed. The gate, closely guarded, was opened, and out went
+Madeleine to meet those who had come to the rescue.
+
+As Monsieur Monnerie caught sight of the slight girlish figure his eyes
+were full of wonder. Then she stood before him, drew herself up to her
+full height, and solemnly saluted, saying, "Monsieur, I surrender my
+arms to you."
+
+The gallant Frenchman retorted chivalrously, "Mademoiselle, they are in
+good hands," and then the pride of the brave girl broke bounds, and with
+shining eyes she exclaimed, "Better than you know. Come and see for
+yourself!" and fairly pulled him into the fort, where he made a thorough
+inspection, and his admiration increased momentarily as he saw what this
+slip of a girl had been able to accomplish. Everything was in order, a
+sentinel was on each bastion, the enemy had been held at bay--what man
+could have done better work? Nay, who could have more nobly defended the
+garrison?
+
+With the light of intense admiration in his eyes La Monnerie paid
+tribute to Madeleine's good judgment, bold tactics and ready wit which
+had saved the situation, and for very embarrassment at his praise, a
+deep flush crimsoned the girl's cheeks, as with a shy glance of
+appreciation, she thanked him, adding quietly, "It is time to relieve
+the guard, Monsieur. We have not been off our bastions for a week!"
+
+Among all the incidents handed down concerning that troublous time in
+the Canadian provinces, none is so worthy of lingering over as this
+noble defence of Castle Dangerous, by the daughter of its commander, and
+sweet and strong, the influence of Madeleine de Vercheres comes down to
+inspire and thrill the hearts of girls of all countries and ages by the
+deed she did in the name of her country and her King.
+
+
+
+
+ADRIENNE DE LAFAYETTE:
+
+A Young Patriot's Wife
+
+
+MADAME DE LAFAYETTE! How stately the title sounds, and how slender and
+girlish the little bride looks in her wedding finery, her dark eyes
+large with excitement, and a soft flush on her delicate cheeks as she
+gazes admiringly into the eyes of her "Big boy with the red hair," as
+the young Marquis de Lafayette was called by his intimate friends.
+
+Having seen the young bride and groom, for Lafayette was only nineteen,
+while pretty Adrienne, his wife, was just fourteen, let us turn back the
+pages of history for a moment and see what led up to this remarkably
+youthful marriage.
+
+To begin with, in the days of the reign of Louis XVI and the beautiful
+young queen, Marie Antoinette, there was no more palatial residence in
+all Paris than that which in 1711 came into the possession of the Duc de
+Noailles and was thereafter called the Hotel de Noailles.
+
+The finest artists of the day had re-decorated its stately rooms for the
+Duc; its walls were hung with costly silk, its picture gallery was
+famous even in a city rich in art treasures, even its stables were
+fabulously large and far-famed. All that could minister to the joy of
+life was to be found in the Hotel de Noailles in those happy days before
+the clouds hanging low over France broke in a storm of disaster. Later
+in 1768, Madame D'Ayen,--wife of the Duc de Noailles, who was also the
+Duc D'Ayen,--mistress of the beautiful home, was leading a happy life
+there with her four daughters, to whose education and care she devoted
+most of her time.
+
+It was the early afternoon of a day in spring. At three o'clock Madame
+D'Ayen had dined with her children in the huge dining-room hung with
+dull tapestries and family portraits, then with cheery laughter the
+girls had run ahead of Madame to her bedroom, which was very large and
+hung with crimson satin damask embroidered in gold, on which the sun
+cast a cheerful glow. Louise and Adrienne, the two older girls,--Louise
+only a year the elder,--handed their mother her knitting, her books and
+her snuff, and then seated themselves, while the younger children
+disputed as to which one should have the coveted place nearest Madame.
+Comfortably settled at last, the older girls busy with their sewing,
+Madame told them the story from the Old Testament of Joseph and his coat
+of many colours. When she finished Louise asked question after question,
+which her mother patiently answered, but Adrienne drank in the story
+told in her mother's vivacious way, in silence. Begged for just one more
+story, Madame then told an amusing experience of her convent days, on
+which both of the girls offered so many comments that at last Madame
+rose, saying rather impatiently:
+
+"You speak in a forward and disobedient manner, such as other girls of
+your age would never show to their parent."
+
+Louise looked her mortification, but Adrienne said quietly, "That may
+be, Madame, because you allow us to argue and reason with you as other
+mothers do not, but you will see that at fifteen we shall be more
+obedient than other children," and the girl's prediction was true.
+
+Every month of the year was a pleasure to the happy children at the
+Hotel de Noailles, but to both vivacious Louise and quiet Adrienne
+summer was the crowning joy of their year, for then they were always
+taken to visit their grandfather, the Marechal de Noailles, who
+cheerfully gave himself up to making the visit as gay for the children
+as possible. He played games with them in the house, delightful games
+such as they never played at home, and better yet, planned wonderful
+picnics for them, when with other cousins, and a governess in charge of
+the cavalcade, they rode on donkeys to the appointed spot. The
+governess, it is said, was a tiny person, blonde, pinched, and touchy,
+and very punctilious in the performance of her duties. Once mounted on
+her donkey, however, she entirely lost her dignity and appeared so
+wild-eyed, scared, and stiff that one could not look at her without
+feeling an irresistible desire to smile, which made her angry, though
+what angered her most was the peals of laughter when she tumbled off her
+donkey, as she seldom failed to do on an excursion. She usually fell on
+the grass and the pace of her donkey was not rapid, so she was never
+hurt, and the frolicsome children filed by her, for if one of them tried
+to help her up, as Adrienne always wanted to do, a scolding was the
+reward.
+
+In sharp contrast to the happy summer visits were those paid every
+autumn to the home of Madame D'Ayen's father, who lived at Fresnes. He
+was old and deaf and wished the children to be so repressed, that had
+Madame D'Ayen not made the visits as short as she could there would
+doubtless have been some disastrous outbreak in their ranks.
+
+For the other months of the year, life at the Hotel de Noailles was a
+charmed existence for the children, especially for nature-loving
+Adrienne, who spent most of her time in the beautiful garden surrounding
+the house,--a garden celebrated throughout Paris for its marvellously
+kept flower beds, separated by winding, box-bordered paths. A flight of
+steps led from the house into this enchanting spot, and on either side
+three rows of great trees shed their long shadow over the near-by walks,
+while from the foot of the garden could be seen the wonderful panorama
+of the Tuileries. The garden was indeed an enchanted land, and the
+children played all sorts of games in its perfumed, wooded depths, only
+pausing when their mother passed through the garden, when with cries of
+joy they would cling to her skirts and tell her eager stories of their
+doings. And so, in happy play, in hours of education by her mother's
+side, in busy days of learning all the useful arts, seldom taught in
+those days to children of such high social rank, Adrienne grew to be
+fourteen years old. She was a reserved, well-informed, shy girl with
+great beautiful brown eyes, which grew large and dark when she was
+pleased with anything, and her finely chiselled features were those of a
+born aristocrat, while her good disposition was clearly visible in her
+expression, which was one of winning charm.
+
+At that time in France it was customary for parents to receive proposals
+of marriage for their daughters at a very early age, sometimes even
+before the proposition had any meaning to the girl herself, and so it
+happened that before Adrienne D'Ayen was twelve years old, the guardian
+of the young Marquis de Lafayette had begged Madame D'Ayen to give her
+daughter in marriage to his ward, who was but seventeen, and often was
+one of the merry party of young people who frequented the Hotel de
+Noailles,--in fact Adrienne felt for him the real affection which she
+might have given to a brother.
+
+The family of the young Marquis was one of the oldest and most famous in
+France, famous for "bravery in battle, wisdom in counsel, and those
+principles of justice and right which they ever practised." Young
+Lafayette had been left an orphan when he was eleven years old, also the
+possessor of an enormous fortune, at that time, of course, in the care
+of his guardian. He had been a delicate child, and not especially
+bright, but always filled with a keen desire for liberty of thought and
+action, and when he became old enough to choose between the only two
+careers open to one of his rank, he chose to be a soldier rather than a
+courtier, as life at the Court did not appeal to one of his temperament.
+Notwithstanding this, being a good looking, wealthy young man, he was
+always welcome at Court and made the object of marked attentions by the
+young Queen and her companions. Such was the young Marquis, who for
+reasons diplomatic and political his guardian wished to marry to a
+daughter of Madame D'Ayen, but Madame objected, saying that she feared
+his large fortune, in the hands of one so headstrong as the young
+Lafayette, might not make for his own and her daughter's happiness.
+However, her family and friends begged her not to make the mistake of
+refusing an alliance with a family of such distinction as the
+Lafayettes, and finally, although this was as yet unknown to the girl
+whose future it was to so closely touch, Madame withdrew her objections,
+and so was decided the fate of little Adrienne D'Ayen, whose name was to
+be in consequence linked thereafter with great events in history.
+
+Two years later, in the spring of 1777, the Hotel de Noailles was in a
+bustle of gay preparations. Louise D'Ayen, now fifteen years old, had
+just become the bride of the Marquis de Montagu, and no sooner were the
+festivities over, than Madame D'Ayen called Adrienne to her room, and
+told her of the accepted proposal of M. de Lafayette for her hand. She
+added, "In accepting this honour for you, my Adrienne, I have made the
+stipulation that you and your husband are to remain here with me for the
+present, as you are but children yet, that I may still influence your
+education and religious experience. This proposal was made two years
+ago, before the education of M. Lafayette was completed, but now that it
+is accomplished, and you are fourteen years old, you are to become the
+affianced bride of the young Marquis."
+
+No well-brought-up French girl would have thought of resisting her
+mother's decree, although her would-be husband was not to her liking,
+but in this case the idea was altogether to Adrienne's own choice, and
+her brown eyes grew dark with joy, and she clasped her hands,
+exclaiming, "Oh, quel bonheur! Quel bonheur!" then escaped to her own
+room to think about this wonderful fairy story happening which had come
+to her.
+
+Though she and the young Marquis had been constantly thrown together
+before this, one can well imagine the degree of shyness which overcame
+the young girl on their first meeting after the betrothal had been
+announced. The world was in a dazzling array of spring beauty, so says
+the historian,--the tender almonds were budding with softest green, the
+daffodils and tulips were breaking into rare blooms, the world waking
+from its winter sleep. All seemed to smile on the young lovers who
+walked as in a dream-world through the flower-bordered paths and spoke
+together of that future which they were to share.
+
+But such a tete-a-tete did not occur again, for after that the little
+bride-to-be was kept busy with her studies until the time came for a
+flurry of preparation just before the marriage day, and it is
+interesting to read the description of a wedding in those days of long
+ago, in a country where the customs have ever been so different from
+those of our own.
+
+It is said that there were interviews with solemn lawyers who brought
+huge parchments on which were recorded the estates and incomes of the
+two young people, but of far greater interest to the bride was the
+wonderful trousseau for which family treasures were brought to light,
+rare laces were bleached, jewels were re-set and filmy gossamer muslins
+were made up into bewitching finery for the pretty wearer; as well as
+dresses for more formal occasions made with festoons of fairy-like
+silver roses, panels of jewelled arabesques, cascades of lace lighter
+and more frail than a spider's web, masses of shimmering satins and
+velvets fashioned with heavy court trains, which when tried on the
+slender girlish figure seemed as if she were but "dressing up" as girls
+will often do for their own amusing. Then, too, there were priceless
+jewels to be laid against the white neck, slipped on the slender
+fingers, to marvel at their beauty and glitter, and to wonder if they
+could really and truly be her own!
+
+But even the sparkling gems, the elaborate trousseau, and all the
+ceremony and flattery surrounding a girl who was making such a brilliant
+marriage, failed to turn the head or spoil the simple taste of little
+Adrienne. Even in her gayest moods--and like other girls, she had
+them--Adrienne was never frivolous, and though possessed of plenty of
+wit and spirit, was deeply religious and at heart unselfish and noble.
+
+Monsieur and Madame de Lafayette! What magic there was in the new title.
+How proudly the young couple, scarcely more than children yet, but now
+husband and wife, bore themselves, as they returned from the church to
+the Hotel de Noailles, to take up their residence there, according to
+the promise made to Madame D'Ayen before she would consent to the
+marriage. They would have preferred a home of their own, but when
+shortly after their marriage Lafayette's regiment was ordered to Metz,
+and broken-hearted little Adrienne was left behind, she found it very
+comforting to be where she could child-wise sob out her loneliness on
+the shoulder of her sympathetic mother. Poor little Adrienne,--well it
+was that you could not see into the future with its many harder
+separations!
+
+With the return of Lafayette the pretty bride began to lead a life much
+gayer than any she had ever led before, for she and her young husband,
+because they belonged to two such famous families, became now a part of
+the gay little set ruled by the caprices of Queen Marie Antoinette. That
+first winter after their marriage the young couple went constantly to
+balls and late suppers, to the opera and the play,--were in fact in a
+constant whirl of amusement, which had the charm of novelty to them
+both, and Lafayette, who had always, even as a boy, been a favourite at
+Court, was still popular and still called "The big boy with the red
+hair." He was always awkward, and conspicuous for his height, as well as
+his clumsiness, and danced as badly as Adrienne did well, which
+mortified him greatly, having discovered which, Queen Marie Antoinette
+would often in a spirit of mischief order him to appear on the floor,
+and then tease him mercilessly about his awkwardness. He was different
+too in many ways from the courtiers with whom he was thrown, and his
+dominant passion even then, at nineteen, was the ambition of a true
+patriot, only waiting to be turned into its fitting channel.
+
+Both he and Adrienne enjoyed the gaiety and lack of responsibility of
+those first months of their married life, but more than the frivolity,
+Adrienne enjoyed sitting at home with her husband and friends while
+they discussed great national affairs, and later she loved best to slip
+upstairs and care for the little daughter who came to be her especial
+joy,--and so, absorbed in a variety of interests, the first two years of
+Madame Adrienne's married life slipped away, and at sixteen we find her
+as pretty and as slender as ever, but with a deeper tenderness and
+gravity in her brown eyes.
+
+At the Court of Versailles an honoured guest from the American Colonies
+was being entertained,--a homely, unpolished, reserved man, named
+Benjamin Franklin. He was a man with a mission: America must be a free
+country, and France must help her in the struggle, not only with men,
+but with money. This was the burden of his plea and it thrilled all
+Paris. The plain brusque American became the fad of the hour. Shops
+displayed canes, scarfs, hats--even a stove "a la Franklin," and he bore
+away with him not only an immense gift, but also a large loan, neither
+of which impoverished France could afford to give.
+
+Foremost among those whom he inflamed in the cause of liberty was young
+Lafayette, and Adrienne noted with keen alarm his growing indifference
+to all other topics except that one which was absorbing his interest,
+and although she said nothing to him about her fear, she went at once to
+each member of his family with the same plea, "Persuade him not to go!
+Tell him his duty is here! I would die if I were left alone after we
+have been so happy together!" But even as she pleaded, the passion to go
+to America was taking a firmer hold daily on the young enthusiast. His
+family forbade it, but in secret he made his plans--in secret carried
+them out to the last moment, when going to London for a couple of days,
+he sent back a letter to his father-in-law, telling of his intentions.
+M. de Noailles read it, sent at once for his wife, and after a brief
+and agitated conference Adrienne was called. Eagerly impatient to know
+why she had been summoned, she stood before her parents, so young and
+frail that the mother's heart rebelled at having to tell her the cruel
+news. She could not do it. Without a word she handed her the letter and
+turned away that Adrienne might not see her sorrowful expression. Then
+turning back again she said hastily, "It is an utterly absurd, selfish
+scheme, my dear. I will see that it is not carried out."
+
+Then she stood amazed. What had come over Adrienne? She held herself
+erect, her eyes were dry, and she said proudly: "If my husband feels
+that way, it is right and best for him to go to America, and we must do
+all we can to make the parting easy for him. It is he who is going to
+leave those who are dearest to him, for the sake of a noble cause."
+
+Brave girl! Not once after that did she allow her own feelings to check
+the ardour of Lafayette's patriotism, not once did she stay her hand in
+her careful preparation for his departure, although every article laid
+aside for his use was moistened by her unseen tears, while he was busy
+with the interesting and enormously expensive work of chartering and
+fitting up a ship, which Adrienne named _The Victory_, in which he was
+to make his trip across the ocean.
+
+The preparations were completed and the day had come for his going.
+Slight, beautiful; too proud to show her emotion, thinking more of him
+than of herself, Adrienne, not yet eighteen years old, bade her husband
+farewell--saw him embark for a strange land, for the sake of a cause as
+dangerous as it was alluring to the young patriot, and went back to her
+quiet routine of home duties and regular occupations without one
+murmur.
+
+To her family and her friends she showed little of what she felt,
+although many a night she did not even lie down, but sat at her desk,
+pouring out her heart to the dear one tossing on a perilous sea, in
+letters which though daily sent, never reached the young adventurer, so
+we must needs imagine her transports of loneliness--her passion of
+affection, written to ease and comfort and in a measure to fit her to
+take up the next day's duties calmly.
+
+Lafayette's letters to her had a better fate than hers to him, and one
+day when she least expected it, a precious packet lay in Adrienne's
+hands. Wild with excitement at sight of the familiar writing, she held
+it for a long time unopened, then fled to the solitude of her own room
+to read its contents with no eye watching her joy.
+
+The letter was full of tender interest in her health, and of repetitions
+of undying affection which warmed the heart so starved for them. Written
+on board _The Victory_, May 30, 1777, it said: "I ought to have landed
+by this time, but the winds have been most provokingly contrary. When I
+am once more on shore I shall learn many interesting things concerning
+the new country I am seeking. Do not fancy that I shall incur any real
+danger by the occupations I am undertaking. The service will be very
+different from the one I must have performed if I had been, for example,
+a colonel in the French army. My attendance will only be required in the
+council. To prove that I do not wish to deceive you, I will acknowledge
+that we are at this moment exposed to some danger from the risk of being
+attacked by English vessels, and that my ship is not of sufficient force
+for defence. But when I have once landed I shall be in perfect safety. I
+will not write you a journal of my voyage. Days succeed each other, and
+what is worse, resemble each other. Always sky, always water, and the
+next day a repetition of the same thing. We have seen to-day several
+kinds of birds which announce that we are not very far from shore."
+
+Fifteen days later there was a second letter, and then they arrived with
+some degree of regularity to cheer lonely little Adrienne, watching,
+waiting, and living on their coming. It was a time fraught with vital
+issues in the American Colonies. Though to Lafayette there was somewhat
+of disillusion in finding the American troops not like the dashing,
+brilliantly uniformed ones of his own country, but merely a great army
+of undisciplined, half-ragged soldiers, united only in the flaming
+desire to acquire liberty for their beloved land at all hazards, yet
+soon the young foreigner lost sight of all but their patriotism, and his
+letters show how he too had become heart and soul inflamed by the same
+spirit. Only fragments of the letters can be given here, but one can
+picture the young wife, with her baby in her arms, in the home of her
+childhood, devouring with breathless interest the story of her
+adventurer in a strange land. On June 15th Lafayette writes:
+
+"I have arrived, my dearest love, in perfect health at the house of an
+American officer. I am going this evening to Charlestown. . . . The
+campaign is opened, but there is very little fighting. . . . The manners
+in this part of the world are very simple, polite and worthy in every
+respect of the country in which the noble name of liberty is constantly
+repeated. . . . Adieu, my love. From Charlestown I shall repair by land
+to Philadelphia to rejoin the army. Is it not true that you will always
+love me?"
+
+A few days later he writes from Charlestown:
+
+"I landed, after having sailed for several days along a coast swarming
+with hostile vessels. On my arrival here everyone told me that my ship
+must undoubtedly be taken, because two English frigates had blockaded
+the harbour. I even sent, both by land and sea, orders to the Captain to
+put the men on shore and burn the vessel. Well, by an extraordinary
+stroke of good luck a sudden gale of wind having blown away the frigates
+for a short time the vessel arrived at noonday without having
+encountered friend or foe. At Charlestown, I have met with General Howe,
+a general officer now engaged in service. The Governor of the State is
+expected this evening from the country. I can only feel gratitude for
+the reception I have met with, although I have not thought it best yet
+to enter into any details respecting my future prospects and
+arrangements. I wish to see the Congress first. There are some French
+and American vessels at present here which are to sail out of the
+harbour in company to-morrow morning. . . . I shall distribute my letters
+along the different ships in case any accident should happen to either
+one of them. . . .
+
+"I shall now speak to you, my love, about the country and its
+inhabitants, who are as agreeable as my enthusiasm had led me to
+imagine. Simplicity of manner, kindness of heart, love of country and of
+liberty and a delightful state of equality are met with universally. . . .
+Charlestown is one of the finest cities I have ever seen. The American
+women are very pretty and have great simplicity of character, and the
+extreme neatness of their appearance is truly delightful; cleanliness is
+everywhere even more studiously attended to here than in England. What
+gives me most pleasure is to see how completely the citizens are
+brethren of one family. In America there are no poor and none even that
+can be called peasants. Each citizen has some property and all citizens
+have the same right as the richest individual."
+
+After protestations of deep devotion and loneliness the letter ends
+with:
+
+"The night is far advanced, the heat intense, and I am devoured with
+gnats, but the best of countries have their inconveniences. Adieu, my
+love, adieu."
+
+A very good picture that of customs and habits which would have been to
+the lasting advantage of America to continue!
+
+The letters of Lafayette grew more and more homesick and Adrienne's
+feelings were like a harp with its strings attuned to respond to his
+every emotion.
+
+From Petersburg, Va., on July 17, 1777, he writes:
+
+"I have received no news of you, and my impatience to hear from you
+cannot be compared to any other earthly feeling. . . . You must have
+learned the particulars of the commencement of my journey. You know that
+I set out in a brilliant manner in a carriage, and I must now tell you
+that we are all on horseback, having broken the carriage after my usual
+praiseworthy custom, and I hope soon to write you that we have arrived
+at Philadelphia on foot! . . ."
+
+A few days later he says:
+
+"I am each day more miserable, from having quitted you, my dearest
+love. . . . I would give at this moment half of my existence for the
+pleasure of embracing you again, and telling you with my own lips how I
+love you. . . . Oh, if you knew how I sigh to see you, how I suffer at
+being separated from you and all that my heart has been called on to
+endure, you would think me somewhat worthy of your love."
+
+Poor, lonely, young couple--each was suffering in a different way from
+the separation, but Adrienne's misery was the hardest to bear, for not
+only had she lost the little daughter who had been her greatest comfort
+since the departure of her husband for America, but she now had a shock,
+for in her husband's letter of the 12th of September, after the battle
+of Brandywine, he wrote:
+
+"Our Americans after having stood their ground for some time ended at
+last by being routed; whilst endeavouring to rally them, the English
+honoured me with a musket ball, which slightly wounded me in the leg,
+but it is a trifle, and I have escaped with the obligation of lying on
+my back for some time, which puts me much out of humour. I hope that you
+will feel no anxiety, this event ought, on the contrary, rather to
+reassure you, since I am incapacitated from appearing on the field for
+some time. I have resolved to take good care of myself, be convinced of
+this, my dearest love."
+
+Notwithstanding the cheerful tenor of this letter, Adrienne was not able
+to eat or sleep after its arrival, until in a second letter he again
+assured her of the slightness of his injury, and added:
+
+"I must now give you your lesson as the wife of an American
+general-officer. They will say to you, 'They have been beaten.' You must
+answer, 'That is true, but when two armies of equal numbers meet in the
+field, old soldiers have naturally the advantage over new ones. They
+have had besides, the pleasure of killing a great many of the enemy;
+many more than they have lost.' They will afterward say, 'All that is
+very well, but Philadelphia is taken, the Capital of America, the
+rampart of Liberty!' You must politely answer, 'You are all great
+fools.' Philadelphia is a poor forlorn town, exposed on every side,
+whose harbour is already closed, although the residence of Congress lent
+it some degree of celebrity. This is the famous city which, it may be
+added, we will soon make them yield to us! If they continue to
+persecute you with questions you may send them about their business in
+terms which the Vicomte de Noailles will teach you, for I cannot lose
+time in talking to my friends of politics."
+
+Thrilling indeed were those days of 1777 after the battle of Brandywine,
+for the Americans struggling so valiantly for the liberty they were so
+determined to secure, and valiant was young Lafayette in upholding that
+Cause which he had so bravely espoused. A letter from General Greene to
+General Washington in which he speaks glowingly about the young
+Frenchman would have filled Adrienne's heart to overflowing with pride,
+could she but have read it, for it was full of descriptions of her
+husband's bravery even before he had recovered from the wound received
+at the battle of Brandywine, and General Greene adds:
+
+"The Marquis Lafayette is determined to be in the way of danger." But
+Lafayette's own account of his doings, both to General Washington, with
+whom he was on the most intimate and affectionate terms, and to his
+wife, were always most modest and self-depreciatory. But because of
+Lafayette's illustrious connections, the loyalty he showed for the cause
+of American liberty, and also because of the marked discretion and good
+sense he had shown on several critical occasions, Washington recommended
+to Congress that the young Frenchman receive command of a division in
+the Continental army, which suggestion was carried out on the 27th of
+November, 1777, and of course Lafayette's ardour for the Cause he was
+supporting flamed higher than before, on receiving this honour.
+
+Soon, in accordance with General Washington's plan, it was decided that
+the American army was to encamp for the winter at Valley Forge, and of
+the dreary march there, uncheered by any great triumph, and when most of
+the soldiers were suffering from both cold and hunger, and the still
+drearier arrival and terrible subsequent privations and hardships, the
+pages of history have made us too well acquainted to need to dwell on
+them here.
+
+During that hard winter, there were those in command who were jealous of
+the intimacy between Washington and the young Marquis who attempted to
+break it up by offering Lafayette the command of an expedition into
+Canada, which it was thought his military ambition would tempt him to
+accept. It did, and in consequence he hastened to the headquarters of
+General Gates at Yorktown to receive further orders, where he found the
+General dining, surrounded by such evidences of luxury and high living
+as were never seen at Valley Forge, and when he proposed the toast, "The
+Commander-in-chief of the American Armies," to his surprise the toast
+was received without a cheer, which was his first intimation that there
+was any feeling in the American ranks hostile in the slightest degree to
+General Washington.
+
+Almost at once he set out to undertake the commission given him, and not
+until it had proved a disastrous failure did he discover that it had
+been given without the sanction or even the knowledge of Washington. He
+wrote a letter of profound regret and humiliation to his
+Commander-in-chief, laying the whole matter before him, saying that he
+felt utterly distressed about the matter, to which Washington replied in
+a fatherly and calm letter, assuring the young Marquis of his continued
+esteem, and gladly then Lafayette hastened back to Valley Forge, to
+again enjoy the companionship of his Commander-in-chief, to be inspired
+by his fatherly counsel.
+
+But of what Lafayette was exposed to, of privation or of struggle, at
+that time Adrienne knew little, for he always wrote cheerfully to her,
+dwelling at length on any bit of brightness of which he could speak.
+
+After having returned to Valley Forge he writes:
+
+"My presence is more necessary to the American cause than you can
+possibly conceive. Many foreigners have endeavoured by every sort of
+artifice to make me discontented with this revolution and with him who
+is their chief. They have spread as loudly as they could the report that
+I was quitting the Continent. The English have proclaimed also loudly
+the same intention on my side. I cannot in justice appear to justify the
+malice of these people. If I were to depart many Frenchmen who are
+useful here would follow my example. General Washington would feel very
+unhappy if I were to speak of quitting him. His confidence in me is
+greater than I dare acknowledge, on account of my youth. In the place he
+occupies he is likely to be surrounded by flatterers or by secret
+enemies, he finds in me a sincere friend in whose bosom he may always
+confide his secret thoughts and who will always speak the truth. . . ."
+Again he says, "Several general officers have brought their wives to the
+camp. I envy them--not their wives--the happiness they enjoy in being
+able to see them. General Washington has also resolved to send for his
+wife. As to the English, they have received a re-inforcement of three
+hundred young ladies from New York!" Then with boyish simplicity he
+adds, "Do you not think that at my return we shall be old enough to
+establish ourselves in our own house, live there happily together and
+receive our friends?" and the letter concludes, "Adieu, my love. I only
+wish this project could be executed on this present day."
+
+While Lafayette was living through all sorts of thrilling experiences
+and receiving still higher promotion as a reward for his brilliant
+military exploits, across the sea had come the disquieting rumour to
+Madame D'Ayen of his death, and the mother-heart stood still with fear
+that it should reach the brave wife, already saddened enough by the
+suspense of her loneliness, and now the mother of another little
+daughter who needed all the happy smiles that Adrienne could give. With
+great haste and diplomacy Madame D'Ayen urged Adrienne to visit her
+grandfather at Fresnes, and unsuspecting Adrienne welcomed the
+suggestion of a change of scene, as her heart-hunger for the "big boy"
+over the water was daily growing more insistent. She returned in better
+health and spirits, but as the rumour had not yet been discredited,
+Madame D'Ayen insisted on another visit to the country, and never did
+Adrienne know of the report which would have almost killed her, until a
+glad unexpected day, when, without any warning to expect him, Adrienne
+found herself again in the arms of her husband. Lafayette had been
+overcome with homesickness at a time when affairs looked bright enough
+for the American army to risk his absence, and he had impulsively taken
+the first steamer sailing for France and home. Then and only then did
+Adrienne hear of the rumour which had caused her mother such
+disquietude, and then for the first time Madame D'Ayen had the
+opportunity for which she had longed, to learn the details of that
+alliance between France and America, in which she was profoundly
+interested and in the making of which Lafayette had played such a
+prominent part. There was indeed much to talk about after the long
+separation, and Lafayette felt that he could not have Adrienne and the
+little daughter whom he had not seen before, out of his sight even for a
+moment. Adrienne would have been quite happy, had not a dark disquietude
+troubled even her nights, for Lafayette had come but to go again, and
+if the first parting had been hard, this was doubly so, for she knew now
+how devotedly she loved him, and that the changes made in him in his two
+years of adventure and real privation, had only given her affection a
+stronger desire for his presence and protection. But with characteristic
+courage she made no plea that he should stay, but showed a keen bright
+interest in all the news which came from America, and Lafayette remained
+with her until after the birth of his son, who was christened George
+Washington Lafayette. Soon after this event, Adrienne was obliged once
+again to say farewell to her husband, and as before, she held herself in
+proud courage, a courage which a woman twice her age might have been
+proud to show, offering no word which might sadden his going, but
+spurred him on with the dauntless spirit of the woman who inspires a man
+to be his best self.
+
+Three long years now went by and Adrienne alone bore the anxiety and
+responsibility of her baby boy's alarming sickness, at the same time
+constantly kept on the rack of suspense by newspaper accounts of the
+dangerous campaigns in which Lafayette was playing a prominent part. But
+she remained outwardly calm and courageous, and even made herself enter
+a little into Court festivities, that she might brighten the lives of
+her mother and the children who looked to her for their sunshine.
+
+Days, weeks and months went by, and then there came a grand fete at the
+Hotel de Ville, to celebrate the birth of the Dauphin, and despite her
+heavy heart Adrienne went to it, looking very pretty in her stately
+Court gown of stiff brocade, which threw into sharp contrast her girlish
+figure and face. Trying not to put a damper on the party, she was
+chatting as gaily as possible with a courtier who was her devoted
+admirer, when a message was brought to her. There was a general stir of
+excited interest around her. What was it they said? Adrienne could
+scarcely credit the news. The Virginia campaign brought to a successful
+end? The Marquis de Lafayette at home? Cornwallis surrendered? Lafayette
+_at home_, and waiting for her? Even the Queen was wildly excited by the
+good news, and being fond of both Adrienne and Lafayette, she rushed to
+the dazed girl's side, exclaiming impatiently, "Rouse, dear, rouse; make
+haste, or," this laughingly, "your red-headed boy may have sailed again
+for his beloved land of freedom!" Still Adrienne made no movement, and
+Marie Antoinette took her by the arm, saying, "I see I must personally
+conduct you to your own happiness. Come, my own carriage waits!"
+
+By this time Adrienne's heart had responded to the bewildering news, and
+bending over the Queen's hand she would have thanked her for her favour,
+but Marie Antoinette was young and romantic, and pushed aside the
+ceremonious thanks, to impel the still dazed Adrienne into the carriage.
+
+The Queen's carriage! The Queen herself! was whispered on every side at
+the unwonted sight of royalty driving so unceremoniously through the Rue
+Saint Honore, but the Queen paid no heed to the fact that she was doing
+something unusual, and Adrienne saw nothing--heard nothing--she only
+kept repeating, "The campaign is over--Cornwallis has surrendered. He is
+back!"
+
+The massive gates of the courtyard of the Hotel de Noailles swung open
+to admit the carriage. Marie Antoinette only waited to murmur an
+exclamation of congratulation, to press a hasty kiss on Adrienne's
+cheek, then drove away, while Adrienne, her great brown eyes lustrous
+with excitement and joy, her cheeks flaming with such crimson as had
+not flushed them for weary months, ran up the steps between the rows of
+stiff lackeys, ran so fast that she tripped on her absurdly ceremonious
+dress of brocade, tripped and tripped again, and then with a cry of joy
+ran into the arms of her beloved boy with the red hair!
+
+Brave little Adrienne--the pages of history are filled with the noble
+deeds of that husband who so early in life took up the cause of American
+liberty, and so valiantly fought for it, but who dares say that your
+name too should not be honoured with his, by every true American,
+because of your loving thoughts, your prayers and hopes which, winging
+their way across the ocean, inspired the young French patriot to all
+that was finest in his achievement!
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+Repeated chaper titles were removed.
+
+Varied hyphenation was retained.
+
+Obvious punctuation errors were corrected.
+
+Page 18, "whereever" changed to "wherever" (vowed to go wherever)
+
+Page 23, "seige" changed to "siege" (siege of Orleans)
+
+Page 71, "Gwenynedd" changed to "Gwynedd" (Gwynedd, some fifteen)
+
+Page 86, "Gwenyedd" changed to "Gwynedd" (the hills of Gwynedd)
+
+Page 117, word "be" added to text (would be useless to teach)
+
+Page 187, "Spottsylvania" changed to "Spotsylvania" (the battle of
+Spotsylvania)
+
+Page 193, "VERCHERES" changed to "VERCHERES" (MADELEINE DE VERCHERES)
+
+Page 222, "divison" changed to "division" (a division in the
+continental)
+
+
+
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