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diff --git a/43646.txt b/43646.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 2c2c47c..0000000 --- a/43646.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5889 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Female Warriors, Vol. I (of 2), by Ellen C. Clayton - -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: Female Warriors, Vol. I (of 2) - Memorials of Female Valour and Heroism, from the - Mythological Ages to the Present Era. - -Author: Ellen C. Clayton - -Release Date: September 5, 2013 [EBook #43646] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FEMALE WARRIORS, VOL. I (OF 2) *** - - - - -Produced by Chris Curnow and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - - -FEMALE WARRIORS. - - - - -FEMALE WARRIORS. - -MEMORIALS OF - -_FEMALE VALOUR AND HEROISM, FROM THE MYTHOLOGICAL AGES TO THE PRESENT -ERA._ - -BY ELLEN C. CLAYTON (_MRS. NEEDHAM_), - -AUTHOR OF "QUEENS OF SONG," "ENGLISH FEMALE ARTISTS," ETC. - - -IN TWO VOLUMES. - -VOL. I. - - - LONDON: - TINSLEY BROTHERS, 8, CATHERINE STREET, STRAND. - 1879. - [_All Rights Reserved._] - - - - - PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND CO., - 10, LITTLE QUEEN STREET, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS. - - - - - THIS SHORT RECORD IS - Dedicated, - - IN TOKEN OF AFFECTION AND ESTEEM, - - TO - MADAME RONNIGER. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - Page - CHAPTER I. - - Mythology--Warlike Goddesses--The Amazons--The Sarmatians--The - Machlyes and Auses--The Zaveces--More Modern Tribes of Amazons - in Asia and Africa 1 - - - CHAPTER II. - - Semiramis, Queen of Assyria--Harpalyce, daughter of Lycurgus, - King of Thrace--Atalanta (Argonautic Expedition)--Camilla, Queen - of the Volscians--Tomyris, Queen of the Massagetae--Telesilla the - Poetess--The Two Artemisias (I. and II.) Queens of Caria--Mania, - Governess of AEolia--Cratesipolis of Sicyon--Arsinoe, Queen of - Egypt 24 - - - CHAPTER III. - - Hypsicrates, Queen of Mithridates the Great--Cleopatra--Candace, - Queen of Ethiopia--Boadicea and her Daughters--Ancient British, - Caledonian, and German Female Warriors--Combats of Roman - Ladies--Nero's Amazons--Victoria, Empress of the West--Zenobia, - Queen of the East--Empress Hunila, and other Gothic Amazons--Mavia, - Queen of Pharan--Pharandsem, Queen of Armenia 47 - - - CHAPTER IV. - - THE ARABS. - - Henda, Wife of Abu Sofian, an Arab Chief--Forka, an Arabian - Lady--Woman of Yemaumah--Arab and Greek Heroines at the Siege - of Damascus--Khaullah--Prefect of Tripoli's Daughter--Ayesha, - Widow of the Prophet--Cahina the Sorceress, Queen of the - Berbers--Saidet, Queen of Persia--Turkhan-Khatun, Sultana of - Kharezme--Hadee'yah, title of a Maiden who precedes the Bedouin - Arabs in battle at the present day 75 - - - CHAPTER V. - - Libyssa and Valasca, Queens of Bohemia--Wanda, Queen of - Poland--Moors in Spain--Women of Tudmir--Female Knights of - Tortosa--Alleged Origin of the word "Infantry"--Queen - Carcas--Elfrida, Daughter of Alfred the Great--Igor, Grand - Duchess of Russia--Richilda, Countess of Hainault 90 - - - CHAPTER VI. - - THE CRUSADES--French, German, and Genoese Amazons--Eleonora - of Aquitaine--Matilda of Boulogne--Empress Maud--Aldrude, - Countess of Bertinoro--Empress Constantia--Nichola de Camville - (Barons' Wars)--Blanche of Castille, Queen-Regent of - France--Women of Culm--Blanch de Rossi--Black Agnes, Countess - of March--Countess de Montfort--Julia du Guesclin--Jane de - Belleville, Lady of Clisson--Marzia--Margaret, Queen of Denmark, - Norway and Sweden, the Semiramis of the North--Fair Maiden - Lilliard (Chevy Chase)--Lady Pelham--Philippa, Queen of Denmark 102 - - - CHAPTER VII. - - Jeanne d'Arc, the Maid of Orleans.--Margaret de Attendoli, - Sister of Sforza--Bona Lombardi and Onorata Rodiana, Female - Condottieri--Marulla (Turks in Europe)--Margaret of - Anjou--Jeanne Hachette--Dona Aldonza de Castillo, and Dona - Maria Sarmiento (Civil Wars in Castile)--Isabel the - Catholic--Caterina Sforza 134 - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - Maria d'Estrada, and other Spanish Women serving under the - command of Cortez--Catalina de Erauso, the Monja Alferez - (Nun-Lieutenant)--Dona Maria Pacheco (Confederacy of the - Holy Junta in Castile)--Eleonora of Toledo, Grand Duchess - of Tuscany--Turks in Hungary--Courage of a Jewess at - Buda--Bravery of the Women of Temesvar, Erlau, Valpon, Agria, - and Szigeth in Hungary, and of Famagosta in Cyprus--Louise - Labe--Mary of Hungary--Granu Weal--FEMALE WARRIORS OF THE - REFORMATION--Kenan Simonz Hasselaar--Women of Alkmaar--Mary, - Queen of Scots--Magdalaine de Saint-Nectaire--Constance de - Cezelli--Christine de Lalaing, Princess d'Espinoy--Queen - Elizabeth--English and Scottish Heroines--Barbara of Ernecourt - (Thirty Years' War)--Christina of Sweden 164 - - - CHAPTER IX. - - THE AMAZONS IN SOUTH AMERICA 198 - - - CHAPTER X. - - Lady Offaley (IRISH REBELLION, 1641)--Lady Arundell--Lady - Bankes--Countess of Derby (CIVIL WARS IN ENGLAND)--Helena - Zrinyi, Wife of Tekeli, the Hungarian Patriot--Incident at - the Coronation of William and Mary--Lady Newcombe (James II. - in Ireland)--Madame de Vercheres--Mademoiselle de la Charce 208 - - - - -LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL AUTHORITIES CONSULTED. - - - Beloe's Herodotus. - Booth's Diodorus Siculus. - Hearne's Justin. - Murphy's Tacitus. - Suetonius (Bohn's Classical Library). - Abbe Guyon. Histoire des Amazones. Paris, 1740. - Rollin. Histoire Ancienne. - Grote. History of Greece. - Gibbon. Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. - Mills. History of Mohammedism. - Neale. Islamism: its Rise and Progress. - Miss Strickland. Queens of England and Scotland. - Mrs. Matthew Hall. Queens of England before the Conquest. - Mrs. Forbes Bush. Queens of France. - Michaud. Histoire des Croisades. - Lingard. History of England. - Sir J. Mackintosh. History of England. - Tytler. History of Scotland; and Worthies of Scotland. - Wolfgang Menzel. History of Germany (Mrs. Geo. Horrocks). - Kelly. History of Russia. - Coxe. House of Austria. - Motley. Rise of the Dutch Republic. - Berriat St. Prix. Jeanne d'Arc. Paris, 1817. - Lebrun des Charmettes. Hist. de Jeanne d'Arc. Paris, 1817. - Jollois. Hist. Abregee de la Vie et Exploits de Jeanne d'Arc. - Paris, 1821. - Prescott. Conquest of Mexico. - Ralegh's Guiana. With Introduction and Notes, by Sir Robert Schomburgh - (Hackluyt Society). - Life of Mrs. Christian Davies, _alias_ Mother Ross. London, 1741 - (Defoe). - Lamartine. Hist. of the Girondists. (Capt. Rafter) - Sir John Carr. Tour through Spain. - Maria Graham. Journal of a Voyage to Brazil, etc. - Garibaldi. An Autobiography. Edited by Alexandre Dumas. - Scenes of the Civil War in Hungary, with the Personal Adventures of - an Austrian Officer. London, 1850. - Ferishta. History of Mahommedan India (Jo. Briggs). 1828. - Ferishta. History of the Dekkan, and History of Bengal (J. Scott). - 1794. - Gladwin. History of Hindostan. - Francklin. History of Shah Aulum, Emperor of Hindostan. - Private Life of an Eastern King. - Nolan. Illustrated History of British India. - Bruce's Travels. - Winwood Reade. Savage Africa. 1864. - Duncan. Travels in Dahomey. 1847. - Captain Burton. Mission to Dahome. 1864. - Matilda Betham. Cyclopaedia of Female Biography. - Mrs. Ellet. Women Artists. - Fullom. History of Woman. - Mrs. Hale. Woman's Record. - Mrs. Starling. Noble Deeds of Woman. - Watson. Heroic Women of History. Philadelphia. 1852. - Wilson's Wonderful Characters. 1821. - Kirby's Wonderful and Eccentric Museum. 1820. - Annual Register. - Notes and Queries. - Illustrated London News. Galignani. - Edinburgh Annual Register. - Biographie Universelle. - Etc. etc. - -[Illustration] - - - -FEMALE WARRIORS. - - - - -I. - - Mythology.--Warlike Goddesses.--The Amazons.--The Sarmatians.--The - Machlyes and Auses.--The Zaveces.--More Modern Tribes of Amazons - in Asia and Africa. - - -WERE it not for fear of Mrs. Grundy, whose awful visage is to the -modern Briton what the Gorgon's head was to the ancient Greek, it might -be said that Popular Prejudice is the deaf, deformed sister of Justice. -Popular Prejudice makes up her mind on certain subjects, and is grandly -unconscious of any fault within herself; ignorant that she is deaf, and -that she is morally blind, although able to see every petty object that -passes within her range. Popular Prejudice, like her stately cousin, -Mrs. Grundy, arranges fixed rules of etiquette, of conduct, even of -feeling, and never pardons the slightest infringement of the lines -she marks out. A man may lay down his life for "an idea," but if it -be outside the ramparts of Popular Prejudice, he does so as a rebel, -maybe a fool. A man may have high aspirations, but if by the breadth -of a hair's line they run not parallel with the views of Popular -Prejudice, let him be anathema maranatha, let him be bound in chains, -away with him to outer darkness, to the company of the few who share -his--"crotchets." - -Whisper it not in Gath that a woman should dare ever to transgress -the lines laid down by Popular Prejudice. A woman is a subordinate -accident in Creation, quite an afterthought, a supplementary notion, a -postscript, though Humour might laughingly say, much like the famous -postscript to a lady's letter. Man (though he is permitted to include -in his superb all-comprehensive identity, Woman) is big, strong, noble, -intellectual: a Being. Woman is small, weak, seldom noble, and ought -not to be conscious of the significance of the word Intellectual. - -The exception is supposed to prove the rule. A woman may be forgiven -for defying Popular Prejudice, if she is very pretty, very silly, and -very wicked. Popular Prejudice has the natural instinct of yielding to -any little weakness that may be imagined to flatter a Man. But Popular -Prejudice is superbly angry with a woman who is perhaps not pretty, -yet ventures to claim good sense and personal will, and who may be -innately good. Popular Prejudice is the fast friend of lean-faced Envy; -and woe betide the woman (or even the man) who would presume to sit -down at the board of these allies uninvited. - -Popular Prejudice, having decided that woman is a poor, weak creature, -credulous, easily influenced, holds that she is of necessity timid; -that if she were allowed as much as a voice in the government of her -native country, she would stand appalled if war were even hinted at. -If it be proved by hard facts that woman is not a poor, weak creature, -then she must be reprimanded as being masculine. To brand a woman -as being masculine, is supposed to be quite sufficient to drive her -cowering back to her 'broidery-frame and her lute. - -Popular Prejudice abhors hard facts, and rarely reads history. Yet -nobody can deny that facts are stubborn things, or that the world -rolls calmly round even when wars, rumours of wars, revolutions, and -counter-revolutions, are raging in every quarter and sub-division of -its surface. - -War is, undoubtedly, a horrid alternative to the average woman, and -she shrinks from it--as the average man shrinks. But, walking down the -serried ranks of history, we find strange records of feminine bravery; -as we might discover singular instances of masculine cowardice, if we -searched far enough. - -As argumentation is unpleasant and unprofitable, be it counted only -idle pastime gathering a handful of memories from the playground of -history. - -Opinion among the ancients on all subjects was as fairly divided as it -has been among moderns. Naturally, however, in that uncivilised stage -of the world's development, men and women inclined more towards brute -force than they now do. Plato, the Athenian philosopher, lamented -that the lives of women should be wasted in domestic, and sometimes -servile, duties; arguing that if the girls were trained like the boys, -in athletic sports and warlike exercises, and were taught to endure -fatigue, they would soon cease to be the weaker sex, and could not only -fight as well as their lords and masters, but might take the command of -armies and fleets. - -But though the counsels of the great Athenian were followed in many -things, they were entirely declined on this question. His countrymen, -even in cases of the direst necessity, were loth to swell their ranks -with female recruits; and it was only during the degenerate days of -the Empire that Rome publicly authorised the combats of women in the -amphitheatre. - -Very few people deny that woman did, occasionally, fight in olden -times. All nations, from the rudest barbarians to those most advanced -in civilisation, hold this belief. An old Chinese tradition says that -but for the wisdom of certain mandarins in days gone by, the weaker sex -might possibly be now the stronger in the Celestial Empire. Once upon -a time, so the story runs, the Chinese women, discontented with the -unequal share accorded to them in the government, rose in rebellion. -The revolt so very nearly became a revolution that the Emperor and -his ministers, to prevent a recurrence of the danger, decreed that -henceforth the feet of girls throughout China should be bandaged in -such a way as to put it out of their power ever again to take the field -as warriors. And thus, says the fable, originated the famous Golden -Lilies. - -The ancients were all familiar with the idea of women sometimes -exchanging the spindle and distaff for the spear and shield. Not only -did they believe their goddesses to take part occasionally in the -battles of mortals, but the supreme direction of military affairs was -assigned to a female, as Goddess of War; and this deity, combining -wisdom and courage, frequently proved more than a match for the brutal -if not blundering God of Battles. "Which, indeed," observes Pope, "is -no more than just, since wisdom is generally averse to entering into -warlike contests at all; yet when engaged, it is likely to triumph -over brute force, and to bear off the laurels of the day." No general -amongst the ancients would have dared to enter an enemy's country, -besiege a city, or risk an engagement without first sacrificing to the -Goddess of War. - -All nations alike held the same belief. The Egyptians offered -sacrifices to Neith, the Goddess of War, Philosophy, and Wisdom, to -whom lions were subject, and whose fitting emblem was the vulture. The -Greeks and Romans adored Minerva, the Thunderer's armour-clad daughter: -and Bellona, sister, or perhaps wife of Mars, whose chariot she was -said to drive through the din and tumult of the fight, lashing the -foaming horses with a bloody scourge. And Victoria, whose name denotes -her office, was so greatly honoured both in Greece and Rome, that -Hiero, King of Syracuse, to flatter the Romans, once sent them an idol -figure of this goddess, three hundred and twenty pounds in weight, made -of solid gold; while the Egyptians, who worshipped her under the name -of Naphte, represented her in the form of an eagle, because that bird -is the strongest of aerial warriors, and invariably victorious over -all the feathered race. The Brahmins, who claim an antiquity as great -as, or greater than, Egypt, worshipped, and still worship, Durga, or -Katyayini, whose ten arms and hands, each of which grasps a warlike -weapon or emblem, prove how formidable a foe she is believed to have -been. Our ancient British forefathers prayed to Andate, or Andraste, -Goddess of Victory, and called upon her in their hour of need. The -northern races, Goths, Vandals, Germans, who over-ran Europe during the -decline of the Roman Empire, assigned a somewhat analogous place in -their mythology to the Valkyrias, or Disas-- - - "Those dread maids, whose hideous yell - Maddens the battle's bloody swell." - -These beautiful women were believed to take a leading part in every -battle fought on earth. Mounted on swift steeds, armed with helmets and -mail, drawn swords in their hands, they rode wildly over the field to -select those heroes destined by Odin for the slaughter, and lead them -to Valhalla, the Paradise of the Brave. - -Nor is the belief in warlike goddesses confined to the Old World. When -Cortez entered Mexico, he found the subjects of Montezuma worshipping, -amongst other deities, all more or less repulsive to the eye, a horrid -basalt monster named Teoyamiqui, Goddess of War. She was supposed to be -wife of the equally terrible Huitzilopochtli, or Tlacahuepancuexcotzin, -the Mexican Mars. Like the Valkyrias, her chief duty was to conduct -those warriors who fell in defence of the gods to the house of the Sun, -the Elysium or Valhalla of the Mexicans, where she transformed them -into humming-birds. - -The present age is a decidedly sceptical one. - -It is the fashion nowadays to sneer at the traditions venerated by our -grandfathers. Those chapters in the world's history which have not -been _proved_ by _facts_, have passed, in the opinion of many well -educated people, into the category of fable and nursery-rhyme. The -early histories of Greece and Rome, and of our own country too, are -now taken, if taken at all, _cum grano salis_. King Arthur, Hengist -and Horsa, and many another hero of whom we were once so proud, have -been cast, by most matter-of-fact writers, on the same dusty shelf -with Achilles and Hector, Romulus and Remus, side by side with Jupiter -and Mercury, Jack the Giant-Killer and Blue Beard. Scarcely anybody in -our days is so credulous as to believe that the Amazons ever existed. -"Amongst barbarous nations," observes Gibbon, "women have often -combated by the side of their husbands; but it is almost impossible -that a society of Amazons could have existed in the old or new world." -His opinion has been endorsed by most subsequent writers, some of whom -are even more positive in their expressions of incredulity. - -Ancient writers are divided on the question. Strabo denies that there -ever was or could have been such a community, and adds, to believe in -their existence we must suppose "in those days the women were men and -the men women." Plutarch, more moderate, half believes they did exist, -but doubts most of their marvellous achievements, which, he thinks, -"clearly resemble fable and fiction." Amongst those who speak for the -defence, Herodotus, Diodorus Siculus, Justin, and Quintus Curtius stand -prominently forward. - -Their origin, as related by Justin, though curious, is far from being -impossible or even improbable in the remote days when they lived. -Some years previous to the reign of Ninus, king of Assyria, two young -princes of the Scythian blood-royal, Hylinos and Scolopitos, being -driven from their native country by a faction of the nobility, induced -several hundred young men and women to emigrate with them. After a -toilsome march through barren wilds they settled at last in Cappadocia, -on the rugged banks of the Thermodon. This little river, which now -bears the name of Termeh or Karmili, falls into the Black Sea, between -Trebisond and Sinope. - -For a number of years, the new-comers carried on a species of border -warfare with the natives of the Themiscyrean plains--stealing their -cattle, tearing up their corn, destroying their homes by fire and -sword. At last the aborigines surprised and massacred the male -settlers, by means of an ambush. The wives of the latter, having now -no one to whom they could look for protection, armed themselves and -expelled the foe from their territory. - -From this time they laid aside all thoughts of marriage, "calling it -slavery and not matrimony." And, to enforce this law, it is said, they -murdered a few men who had escaped the fury of the natives in the -general massacre. The Amazons were thenceforth forbidden even to speak -to men, save during certain days in the year. At the appointed time, -throwing aside their military character, they visited the surrounding -nations, and were permitted, by special treaties, to depart again -unmolested. Justin says they strangled all their male children directly -they were born; Diodorus, that they distorted their limbs; while -Philastratus and others affirm that they sent them back, uninjured, to -the fathers. - -The girls were bred, like their mothers, "not in idleness, nor -spinning, but in exercises of war, such as hunting and riding." In -early childhood the right breast was burnt off, that they might, when -grown up, be more easily able to bend the bow and hurl the dart. -From whence, some say, they derived the name of Amazon, which is -formed of two Greek words, signifying "wanting a breast." Bryant, -the antiquarian, rejects this theory, and suggests, though with less -probability, that the name comes from Zon, the Sun, which was the -national object of worship. - -The bow was their favourite weapon, and from constant practice they -acquired such proficiency as to equal, if not surpass the Scythians and -Parthians, who were the most skilful archers of ancient times. With the -Greeks and Romans it was not uncommon to speak of a very superior bow -or quiver as "Amazonian." - -The nation soon became formidable, and in due time grew famous -throughout the world. At one time the dominion of the Amazons extended -over the entire of Asia Minor and Ionia, besides a great part of Italy. -So renowned did they at last become, that Jobates, king of Lycia, -commanded Bellerophon to effect their subjugation, feeling certain that -the hero would never return; great indeed was his astonishment to see -the redoubtable conqueror of the Chimera return victorious, and he no -longer hesitated to confess the divine origin of the hero. It is said -that Cadmus, the founder of Thebes, was married to an Amazon named -Sphynx when he carried letters from Egypt to Greece, about 1550 B.C. - -Lampedo and Marpesia were the first Amazon queens whose names became -known beyond their own dominions. To give greater _eclat_ to their -numerous victories, they claimed to be daughters of the God Mars--a -common expedient in the olden times. Taking it in turn to defend the -frontier and invade foreign countries, they speedily conquered Iberia -(Georgia), Colchis (Mingrelia), Albania, the Tauric Chersonese (the -Crimea), and a great part of Asia. - -To commemorate the achievements of Queen Marpesia during her passage -over the craggy and snow-capped Caucasus, when every peak, every ridge -was bravely defended by hordes of desperate mountaineers, the name of -Mount Marpesia was bestowed upon one of the loftiest rocks. - -It was Marpesia who founded Themiscyra, the capital of the Amazons, on -the banks of the Thermodon. She adorned this city with many stately -buildings, conspicuous amongst which was the royal palace. Many cities -in Asia Minor owed their origin to the same queen--amongst others, -Ephesus, Thyatira, Smyrna, and Magnesia. - -On the death of Marpesia, who was surrounded by the barbarians during -an expedition into Asia, and, together with her entire army, put to -the sword, Orithya, Orseria, or Sinope, and her sister Antiope, or -Hippolyte, ascended the throne. Orithya, the most famous of all the -Amazon queens, inherited the beauty, together with the military skill -of her mother, Marpesia. Under her rule the nation became so renowned, -that Eurystheus, fancying he had at last found a task beyond the powers -of Hercules, commanded the hero, as his ninth labour, to bring him the -girdle of the Amazon queen. The hero succeeded, however. - -Hercules, accompanied by Theseus, Castor and Pollux, and most of the -young princes of Greece, sailed to the Euxine with a fleet of nine -ships, landed at the mouth of the Thermodon, during the temporary -absence of Orithya with the best part of the army, and gained an -easy victory over Antiope, whose sister Menalippe he made prisoner; -restoring her to liberty in exchange for a suit of the royal armour, -including, of course, the girdle. - -Historians differ as to the expedition of Theseus. Some say he took -away Hippolyte or Antiope, at the same time that Hercules captured her -sister; others, however, relate that he undertook a separate voyage -many years after that of Hercules, and carried Antiope to Greece, where -he made her his queen. Plutarch, in his life of Theseus, gives many -details of this latter expedition. - -When Orithya heard of the invasion, and of the part which the Athenian -prince had acted in it, she vowed not to rest till she was revenged. -Calling her subjects together, she soon found herself at the head of -many thousand warriors. At her entreaty, Sagillus, king of Scythia, -furnished a squadron of horse, commanded by his nephew, Panasagorus. -Passing through Colchis, over Mount Caucasus, and crossing an arm of -the Cimmerian Bosphorus, which, tradition says, was frozen, the Amazons -marched victoriously through Taurica, Thrace, Thessaly, Macedonia, -Attica, and entered the city of Athens. A hard-fought battle in the -streets--described in detail by old Plutarch--ended by the total rout -of the Amazons, who were compelled to take refuge in the camp of the -Scythians--the latter, in consequence of a quarrel, having taken no -part in the engagement. - -The fate of Orithya is unknown, and historians differ as to that of -Antiope. Some say she fell in the battle by the hand of an Amazon, -while fighting in the Athenian ranks, side by side with Theseus; but -according to others, it was her mediation which brought about a treaty -of peace some four months later. - -Theseus and the Amazon queen had a son named Hippolytus, or Demophoon, -who afterwards ascended the throne of Athens. - -That the Amazons survived this defeat is evident, since, years after -this, we find the Phrygians imploring aid of Priam, king of Troy, -against Myrene, queen of the Amazons. Little is known about this war, -save that the queen lost her life, and was succeeded by the beautiful -Penthesilea, who not only made peace with Priam, but led a chosen -band of Amazons to the assistance of Troy when it was besieged by -the Greeks. She arrived shortly after the death of Hector, and, some -declare, seemed, in the eyes of the old king, destined to take the -place of the deceased hero. New life was infused into the dejected -Trojans. But, alas! their joy was short-lived. The morning after her -arrival Penthesilea fell by the hand of the invincible Achilles, who, -struck by her exquisite beauty, repented too late of what he had done. -The sarcastic Thersites jeered and derided, as usual, till the hero, -in a fury, turned on the sneering old wretch and slew him. Diomedes, -enraged at the death of his mocking old comrade, dragged the corpse of -the Amazon queen from the camp, and flung it into the Scamander. - -Pliny ascribes the invention of the battle-axe to this queen. - -After the death of Penthesilea we learn nothing of the Amazons until -the days of Alexander the Great. When that conqueror arrived at -Zadracarta, the capital of Hyrcania, about the year B.C. 330, he -is said to have been visited by an Amazon queen named Minithya, or -Thalestris, who--like another Queen of Sheba--having heard of his -mighty achievements, travelled through many lands to see him, followed -by an army of female warriors. After staying thirteen days she returned -home, greatly disappointed with the personal appearance of the -Macedonian king, who, contrary to her expectations, proved, 'tis said, -to be a little man. - -This is the last we ever hear of the great female nation. Some Roman -authors affirm that the Amazons, in alliance with the Albanians, -fought most valiantly in a battle against Pompey the Great, B.C. 66. -But the only ground for this assertion consisted in the fact that some -painted shields and buskins were found on the battle-field. - -If we may believe Herodotus, the Sauromatae, or Sarmatians, in Scythia, -were descended from the Amazons. This historian relates how, after a -victory gained by the Greeks over the Amazons near the Thermodon, the -victors distributed their prisoners into three ships, and set sail for -Greece. Once upon the open sea, the captives rose upon their guards -and put them to death. Being totally ignorant of navigation and the -management of sails, oars, or rudder, they resigned themselves to the -mercy of winds and waves. They were carried to the Palus Maeotis (the -Sea of Azof), where the liberated Amazons resumed their arms, sprang -on shore, and meeting a stud of horses, mounted them, and commenced -plundering the natives. - -The people, ignorant alike of the dress, the language, or the country -of the invaders, supposed them to be a body of young men. A sanguinary -battle, however, led to mutual explanations. The Amazons consented -to accept an equal number of young Scythians as husbands; but afraid -that their habits would never assimilate with those of the mothers -and sisters of their husbands,--for the Scythian women, so far from -going to battle, passed their days in the wagons--resolved to seek -out some desert land where they would be free to follow their own -manners and customs. Crossing the Tanais (the Don), they travelled six -days' journey east and north, and set up their homes in an uninhabited -country. The nation increased greatly in the course of two or three -centuries, and, even in the days of Herodotus, retained the habits of -their progenitors. The women pursued the chase on horseback, sometimes -with, sometimes without their husbands, and, dressed like men, they -fought in battle. - -No maiden was permitted to marry till she had first killed an enemy; -"it sometimes, therefore, happens," quaintly adds the historian, "that -many women die single at an advanced age." Hippocrates says they were -condemned to single-blessedness till they had slain at least _three_ -enemies. - -Yet, in spite of this, there was only one Sarmatian queen who became -famous for her deeds on the battle-field. This was Amagia, whose -husband, King Medosac, having given himself up to indolence and -luxury, permitted the affairs of the nation to fall into disorder. At -last Amagia took the reins of government into her own hands, received -ambassadors, took the command of the army, went in person to reinforce -the frontiers with troops, and not only repelled several invasions but -even made some incursions into foreign countries to assist such of her -allies as were in peril. Very soon she became an important personage, -and was more than once chosen as mediatrix by the various petty -monarchs of the Chersonese. - -As a ruler, Queen Amagia had not her equal in those days throughout -Scythia. Her judgments were sound; and both as a general and as -a governor, she was respected by all. Her justice was severe and -unbending, and untempered with mercy. - - * * * * * - -The African Amazons, who are said to have existed for some centuries -prior to those of Thermodon, were not, like the latter, a community -of women only, but the men were kept in close subjection to their -better-halves, by whom they were treated as women are usually treated -in barbarous countries. While the women conducted the government or -fought with their neighbours, the men staid at home, attending to the -household duties. They were not permitted, under any circumstances, to -serve as soldiers or hold any public office. The girls were not allowed -to marry till they had served a certain number of years in the army; -and, like the Asiatic Amazons, one breast was burnt off. - -This nation, Diodorus tells us, originally dwelt on a large island -called Hesperia, on the western coast of Africa. This isle, which, -the historian says, abounded "with all sorts of fruit trees," is -supposed to have been one of the Canaries. The climate was then, as -now, delicious, the soil more than ordinarily fertile, and the natives -possessed "many herds of cattle and flocks of sheep and goats." - -The Amazons, more warlike than their neighbours, speedily conquered -the entire island; and, crossing into Africa, subdued great part of -Numidia and founded a large city named Chersonesus, in the Tritonis -Morass. This gigantic fen was situated near the Atlantic Ocean, under -the shadow of the lofty Mount Atlas. - -When Queen Merina ascended the throne, she determined to accomplish -mightier deeds than her ancestors. Assembling an army of thirty -thousand foot and two thousand horse, dressed in coats of mail made -from the skins of large serpents, she passed into Africa, conquered -the Atlantides, the Gorgons, and many another nation, and formed an -alliance with Orus, King of Egypt, the son of Isis. After making war -successfully on the Arabians she conquered Syria and Cilicia, and the -tribes around Mount Taurus, who, says Diodorus, "were both men of -strong bodies and stout hearts"; marched through Phrygia, and passed -along the shores of the Mediterranean, founding several cities, one -of which she named after herself, and the others after her principal -captains. Crossing to the Greek Archipelago, where she conquered -Lesbos and other isles, Merina founded the city of Mitylene, and named -it after her sister, who accompanied the expedition. - -Shortly after the return of the Amazons to Africa, Mompsus, a refugee -from the court of Lycurgus, king of Thrace, and Sipylus, a banished -Scythian, invaded the dominions of Merina. The queen was slain in the -first battle, together with many thousand Amazons; and the rest of her -subjects, after bravely contending in several engagements with the -invaders, retired, it is said, into Lybia. - -We also read that Egee, another queen of the African Amazons, also -raised a large army, with which she invaded Asia. Being opposed by -Laomedon, King of Troy (who was afterwards conquered by Hercules), she -defeated his troops in several actions, and took a quantity of valuable -plunder. While re-passing the sea a storm arose, and Egee perished with -her entire army. - -The nation was finally extirpated by Hercules when he undertook his -journey into Africa, and erected the famous Pillars. - - * * * * * - -Herodotus mentions two Libyan tribes, the Machlyes and Auses, dwelling -on the shores of Lake Tritonis, who trained their girls to the use of -arms. Once a year, at the festival of Minerva, their patron-goddess, -the maidens of each tribe formed themselves into two hostile armies, -and attacked each other before the temple with sticks and stones, -contending for the victory with the most desperate valour. On the -conclusion of this _sham_ fight, the most beautiful of the survivors -was presented with a magnificent suit of armour and a sword, and, -amidst the noisiest acclamations from the spectators, escorted in a -chariot triumphantly round the lake. - -The Zaveces, another African tribe mentioned by the same historian, -employed their wives and daughters to drive their war-chariots on the -day of battle, thus placing them in the front of the battle. - - * * * * * - -From what certain modern travellers have reported, it would seem that -even as lately as the eighteenth century the legend of the Amazons -still held its ground in various parts of Asia and Africa. Father -Archangel Lamberti, a Neapolitan monk, who travelled through Mingrelia -in the seventeenth century, was told that a warlike and ruthless -nation, amongst whom were several female warriors, dwelt somewhere in -the neighbourhood of the Caucasus. They were often at war with the -Calmuc Tartars and the various tribes living near them. Lamberti was -even shown some suits of armour taken from the corpses of these warlike -women, together with their bows and arrows and brass-spangled buskins. - -The Chevalier Chardin (a Huguenot jeweller, knighted by Charles II. of -England), in travelling through Persia, between 1663 and 1680, was told -that a powerful nation of Amazons dwelt to the north of the kingdom -of Caket. The monarchs of the latter country, which was situated in -the neighbourhood of the Caucasus, subjected these Amazons for a -time, though they afterwards regained their liberty. The people of -the Caucasus, and the Calmucs were always at war with these Amazons, -and never sought to make peace or form any treaties, for they knew -the warlike women had neither religion, laws, nor honour. Sir John, -however, adds that he never met with anybody who had been in their -country. - -Juan de los Sanctos, an early Portuguese traveller, in speaking of a -kingdom named Damut, in Ethiopia, mentions a numerous tribe entirely -composed of women, who had adopted (or perhaps retained) the habits of -the ancient Amazons. The exercise of arms and the pastime of the chase -were their principal occupations in times of peace, but their chief -business and pleasure was war. They burnt off the right breast as soon -as the girls were old enough to bear it; and, as a rule, they passed -their lives in a state of celibacy, the queen setting a rigid example. -Those who married did not rear their male children, but sent them back -to the fathers. The neighbouring sovereigns esteemed themselves only -too fortunate when they could secure the alliance of this people; and -so far from seeking to destroy them, more than once aided them when -they were attacked by others. This tribe was finally subjugated, says -the Portuguese friar, by the successors of Prester John, the kings of -Abyssinia. - -[Illustration] - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -II. - - Semiramis, Queen of Assyria--Harpalyce, daughter of Lycurgus, - King of Thrace--Atalanta (Argonautic Expedition)--Camilla, Queen - of the Volscians--Tomyris, Queen of the Massagetae--Telesilla the - Poetess--The Two Artemisias (I. and II.) Queens of Caria--Mania, - Governess of AEolia--Cratesipolis of Sicyon--Arsinoe, Queen of - Egypt. - - -SEMIRAMIS is the earliest female warrior of whose existence there -is any certainty. But even her history is intermingled with much of -fable and idle tradition. The exact period at which she reigned has -never been positively determined. The following dates, assigned to her -reign by various historians, ancient and modern, as compared by the -antiquarian Bryant, show the diversity of opinion amongst chronologists -upon the subject. - - B.C. - According to Syncellus, she lived 2177 - Petavius makes the time 2060 - Helvicus 2248 - Eusebius 1984 - Mr. Jackson 1964 - Archbishop Usher 1215 - Philo Biblius Sanchoniathan (apud Euseb.) 1200 - Herodotus (about) 713 - -"What credit," indignantly asked the learned Bryant, "can be given to -the history of a person, the time of whose life cannot be ascertained -within 1535 years?" - -The early life of this famous woman is enveloped in one of those -mythological legends in which the ancients loved to shroud the origin -of their heroes and heroines. According to tradition she was the -natural daughter of Derceto, a Philistine goddess, and while yet a -babe, was left to perish by her cruel mother in a wood near Ascalon, -in Syria. But, as Romulus and Remus were suckled by a wolf, so doves -came and fed the future queen. The birds were observed and followed by -the neighbouring peasants; and Simma, or Sisona, chief shepherd of the -Assyrian king, having no children of his own, adopted the babe, and -gave her the name of Semiramis, a Syrian word signifying doves, or -pigeons. - -At the early age of thirteen or fourteen, Semiramis was married to -Menon, one of the principal officers of the king, who saw her at the -hut of Sisona while inspecting the royal flocks. Captivated by her -surpassing beauty and charming conversation, Menon induced her to -return with him to Nineveh, the capital. For some months she was kept -a close prisoner in her husband's palace; but her influence soon ruled -paramount, and all restraints were removed. Two or three years passed -thus, during which time Semiramis bore her husband two sons, Hypates -and Hydaspes. - -When Ninus invaded Media, Semiramis, who only waited for some -opportunity to distinguish herself, insisted upon accompanying -her husband, who, as one of the principal courtiers, held an -important command in the invading army. The campaign was at first an -uninterrupted series of successes. One city fell after another before -the Assyrian hosts. But the army was suddenly checked in its onward -career of victory before the impregnable walls of Bactria. The city was -defended with such obstinate bravery that Ninus at last resolved to -retreat. But Semiramis presented herself before the assembled council -of war, proposed an assault on the citadel, and offered to lead, in -person, the storming party. - -When the decisive moment arrived, Semiramis proved herself fully equal -to the emergency. Amidst vollies of arrows and showers of stones, -before which the bravest men turned pale, she led the forlorn hope to -the foot of the citadel. Animating all by her courage, shaming cowards -by the thought that a young and lovely woman was sharing, nay, braving, -the same dangers as themselves, the intrepid heroine rushed up the -scaling ladder, and was the first to reach the battlements. A struggle -ensued, short, but fierce, and in a few moments the golden standard of -Assyria floated from the walls. The capital of Media had fallen. - -The king, violently smitten with love for the brave girl, earnestly -besought her husband to give her up. He even offered his own royal -sister, Sosana, in exchange. But promises and threats were alike -vain; and Ninus, in a fury, cast Menon into prison. Here, after being -deprived of sight, the wretched husband terminated his existence with -his own hands. - -Ninus married the young widow; and after their return to Nineveh, she -bore him a son called Ninyas. - -'Tis said Ninus paid very dear for his marriage. Semiramis, by her -profuse liberality, soon attached the leading courtiers to her -interest. She then solicited the king, with great importunity, to place -the supreme power in her hands for five days. Ninus at last yielded to -her entreaties; and, as his reward, was cast into prison, and put to -death,--either immediately, or after languishing some years. - -To cover the meanness of her origin, and to immortalise her name, -Semiramis now applied her mind to great enterprises. If she did not, as -some suppose, found Babylon the Great, she adorned it with beautiful -and imposing edifices, and made it worthy to be called "the Golden -City." - -Not satisfied with the vast empire left by Ninus, she enlarged it by -successive conquests. Great part of Ethiopia succumbed to her power; -and during her stay in this country she consulted the Oracle of -Jupiter-Ammon as to how long she had to live. The answer was, that she -should not die until conspired against by her son; and that, after her -death, part of Asia would pay her divine honours. - -Her last and most famous expedition was the war with India. For this -campaign she raised an army of more than ordinary dimensions. Ctesias -puts down the number at three million foot, fifty thousand horse, -and war-chariots in proportion; but this is, no doubt, a slight -exaggeration. The chief strength of the Indians lay in their countless -myriads of elephants. Semiramis, unable to procure these animals in -sufficient numbers, caused several thousand camels to be accoutred like -elephants. - -Shahbrohates, King of India, on receiving intelligence of her hostile -approach, sent ambassadors to inquire her motive for invading his -dominions. She returned a haughty answer; and, on reaching the Indus, -she erected a bridge of boats and attempted to cross. The passage was -disputed, and although the Indians at last retreated, the victory was -more disastrous to the Assyrians than many a defeat. - -But Semiramis, carried away by the blind infatuation which guided all -her movements in this war, marched into the heart of the country. The -king, who fled deceitfully to bring about a second engagement further -from the river, faced about, and the two armies again closed in deadly -combat. The counterfeit elephants could not long sustain the attack -of the genuine animals, who, crushing every obstacle under foot, soon -scattered the Assyrian army. Semiramis performed prodigies of bravery -to rally her broken forces, and fought with as little regard for her -own safety as though she had been the meanest soldier in the army. -Shahbrohates, perceiving the queen engaged in the thick of the fight, -rode forward and twice wounded her. The rout soon became general, -and the royal heroine, convinced at last that nothing further could -be done, gave the rein to her horse, whose swiftness soon placed her -beyond the reach of the enemy. - -On reaching the Indus a scene of the most terrible disorder ensued. In -the wild terror which possessed the minds of all, officers and soldiers -crowded together on to the bridge, without the slightest regard for -rank or discipline. Thousands were trampled under foot, crushed to -death, or flung into the river. When Semiramis and all who could save -themselves had crossed over, the bridge was destroyed. The Indian king, -in obedience to an oracle, ordered his troops not to cross the river in -pursuit. - -Semiramis was the only sovereign amongst the ancients, except Alexander -the Great, who ever carried a war beyond the Indus. - -Some time after her return to Babylon, the queen discovered that her -son, Ninyas, was conspiring against her. Remembering now the oracle -of Jupiter-Ammon, and believing that her last days were approaching, -Semiramis voluntarily abdicated the throne. Some chroniclers give a -different version of the story, relating that the queen was slain -by her son, and this latter account, though disbelieved by most -historians, is the popular story. - -Semiramis lived sixty-two years, out of which she reigned forty-two. -It is said the Athenians afterwards worshipped her under the form of a -dove. - - * * * * * - -The early lives of Harpalyce and Atalanta, the first known female -warriors who were natives of Greece, resemble in some respects that -of Semiramis. It appears to have been a favourite custom, during the -primitive ages, to have children nursed by birds or beasts. Harpalyce, -daughter of Harpalycus, or Lycurgus, king of the Amymnaeans, in Thrace, -having lost her mother during infancy, was fed with the milk of cows -and horses. Her father trained her in every manly and warlike exercise, -riding, racing, hurling the dart, using the bow and arrow. By-and-by -she became a mighty huntress; and soon the opportunity came for her to -prove herself a brave soldier and a skilful commander. The Getes, or -Myrmidones of Thessaly invaded the dominions of King Lycurgus, defeated -his best troops and made him prisoner. Directly Harpalyce learned this -news she hastily called together an army, placed herself at its head, -and falling on the foe, put them to flight and rescued her father. - -Lycurgus endeavoured to cure the Thracians of their drunken habits, -and caused all the vines in his dominions to be rooted up, whereby he -brought about a general insurrection, and was compelled to fly for -safety to the isle of Naxos, where he went mad and committed suicide. -Harpalyce turned brigand and haunted the forests of Thrace. She was -so swift of foot that the fleetest horses could not overtake her once -she began running. At last, however, she fell into a snare set by some -shepherds, who put the royal bandit to death. - -Atalanta, too, was likewise bereft of a mother's care. Her father, -Jasus or Jasion, unwilling to rear the babe, yet not sufficiently -inhuman to see her slaughtered before his eyes, left her to her fate on -Mount Parthenius, the highest mountain in Peloponnesus. Close by was -the cave of an old she-bear who had been robbed of her cubs. In place -of devouring the babe, the savage brute adopted it, and brought up the -girl as her own daughter. Orson-like, the girl learned many of the -habits of her shaggy nurse. But, she also, through constant exercise, -acquired marvellous dexterity in using the bow and arrow; and with this -weapon she once slew the Centaurs Rhoecus and Hylaeus. - -Atalanta was one of those brave warriors who sailed in the Argonautic -expedition, B.C. 1263; and throughout the voyage she earned the praises -of her comrades by her bravery and military skill. After her return to -Greece she assisted in the chase of the Calydonian boar, a savage brute -of monster size who was ravaging AEtolia. She was the first to wound -this beast; hence Meleager awarded her the first prize. His uncles, -jealous of the honour thus conferred upon a woman, endeavoured to -wrest the trophies from her, and in the scuffle which ensued, Meleager -unfortunately slew both his uncles. - -This heroine must not be confounded with another Atalanta, daughter of -Schoenus, King of Scyrus, famous for her marvellous skill in running, -and for the stratagem of the three golden apples by which she was at -last defeated. - -It would seem that no Grecian or Trojan heroines distinguished -themselves during the siege of Troy; though it is not unlikely that -many of the Greek soldiers were secretly accompanied by their wives. -When AEneas landed in Italy, a few years after the fall of Troy, he -found, amongst the sovereigns confederated against him, Camilla, the -Amazon queen of the Volscians, renowned for her high courage, her -beauty, and her swiftness in running. Virgil says that she outstripped -the winds in speed, and could have skimmed over the topmost stalks of -standing corn, or along the surface of the ocean, without leaving a -trace of her footsteps. - -From childhood she was dedicated by her father, King Metabus, to the -service of Diana, and trained in martial exercises. She grew so fond -of the chase, that even after the death of her father, she preferred -leading the semi-barbarous life of a wild huntress to the prospect of -domestic happiness as the wife of a Tuscan noble. - -She joined Turnus, King of the Rutulians, with a squadron of horse and -a body of foot, equipped in bronze armour. Followed by her retinue of -warlike maidens, she bore a prominent part in a battle fought near the -walls of Latium. But after spreading death and terror on every side, -she was herself slain by a Tuscan chief. - -Virgil's description of her death is one of the most beautiful passages -in the AEneid. - - * * * * * - -Cyrus, one of the greatest conquerors the world has ever seen, some -say met his first and last defeat at the hands of a female general. -Many historians describe him as dying peaceably in his bed, surrounded -by his family; but others relate that, still thirsting for fresh -conquests, he cast his eyes, in an unlucky moment, on the land of the -Massagetae, a warlike people governed by Queen Tomyris, a widow, and a -woman possessing both courage and energy. Her country extended beyond -the broad stream of the Araxes, to the Caucasus. The Massagetae were a -savage, hardy race, resembling the Scythians in their mode of life. -Agriculture was neglected, and they subsisted entirely upon their -cattle and the fish supplied by the Araxes. Though they had nothing to -lose by a change, this nation was devotedly attached to its freedom; -suffering death rather than the loss of liberty, and resolutely -opposing every invader. - -It was against this indomitable race that Cyrus marched, at the head -of two hundred thousand men, B.C. 529. By means of a stratagem he -was at first successful. Knowing the Massagetae to be ignorant of -Persian delicacies and the flavour of wine, he spread out a banquet, -accompanied with flowing goblets of wine; and, leaving a few hundreds -of his worst soldiers to guard the camp, retired to some distance. -When the Massagetae, commanded by Spargapises, nephew of Tomyris, had -taken the camp, they feasted and drank, till, overcome by drunkenness -and sleep, they afforded an easy victory to Cyrus. The greater number, -including Spargapises, were made prisoners, or slain. - -However, so far from despairing, Tomyris collected the rest of her -forces, and having led the Persians into a narrow pass, attacked them -with such fury that they were all slain, together with the king. Justin -says "there was not one man left to carry the news home;" but as the -news _did_ somehow find its way home, that fact is doubtful. - -The body of Cyrus was discovered after considerable search. Tomyris -ordered the head to be cut off and flung into a vessel full of human -blood. - -"Satisfy thyself now with blood," cried she, exulting over her dead -foe, "which thou didst always thirst after, yet could never satisfy thy -appetite." - - * * * * * - -A few years prior to the invasion of Greece by Xerxes, Cleomenes, King -of Lacedaemon, who arrogated to his state the first rank in Greece, went -to war with the people of Argos. Having learned from an oracle that -he would be victorious, the Spartan king without loss of time invaded -the Argeian territories, and routed the enemy in a sanguinary battle -at Sepeia. Those Argives who escaped death on the battle-field took -refuge in a grove sacred to Argus, their hero; where, however, they -were surrounded and burnt alive by the enemy. Upwards of six thousand, -the flower and strength of Argos, perished that day. Cleomenes marched -direct to the city, which, decimated, almost depopulated though it was, -made a gallant defence. - -There dwelt in the city a beautiful girl named Telesilla, famous -throughout the land as a lyric poetess. Inspired by patriotism, she -addressed the Argive women and incited them to defend their homes. -The call was responded to with enthusiasm. Armed with weapons from -the temples, or from private dwellings, the women of Argos, headed by -Telesilla, ascended the walls, and compensated by their courage for the -dearth of male warriors. - -The Spartans were repulsed; and Cleomenes, afraid of being reproached, -even if successful, with fighting against helpless women and timid -girls, commanded a retreat. - -Demeratus, Cleomenes' partner in the throne, is said by some historians -to have accompanied this expedition; and they relate that whilst -Cleomenes was besieging the walls, Demeratus attacked the Pamphyliacum, -or Citadel, whence he was driven with great loss by Telesilla and her -companions. This, however, is acknowledged to be mere tradition, -for Herodotus says that the two kings, having quarrelled some years -previously, never engaged together in the same war. - -Grote, for an even better reason, disbelieves the entire story, which, -he says, "is probably a myth, generated by the desire to embody in -detail the dictum of the oracle a little before, about 'the female -conquering the male.'" Without for a moment denying that the Argeian -women could or would have achieved the great deeds ascribed to them, -he doubts their having done so, because, says he, the siege never took -place at all. - -Great honours, so runs the legend, were paid to Telesilla and her brave -companions, many of whom fell in the conflict. A statue of the poetess -was erected by the grateful citizens and placed in the Temple of Venus. - - * * * * * - -The terrible danger of the Persian invasion caused all the internal -wranglings and disputes of the Greeks to be hushed for a time. In the -year B.C. 480, the Great King declared war on the (temporarily) united -states of Greece, and sailed thither with a gigantic and overwhelming -army and navy. Amongst the tributary sovereigns who followed him in -this expedition was Artemisia, Queen of Caria. She was daughter of -King Lygdamis, and her husband, the late king, having died while her -son was a minor, Artemisia conducted, _pro. tem._, the government of -Halicarnassus, Cos, Nisiras, and Calydne. Though she brought only five -ships to the Greek war, they were almost the lightest and best equipped -of any in the fleet. - -Herodotus says that amongst all the Persian commanders, naval or -military, there was not one who gave the king such good advice as this -heroine; but King Xerxes was not at that time wise enough to profit -by her counsels. She was the only one who had the courage to raise -her voice against the proposed sea-fight at Salamis, which Xerxes was -resolved to risk. - -As the Carian queen foretold, the Persians were defeated. Yet, though -she openly disapproved of the battle, Artemisia behaved most gallantly -throughout. The Athenians, indignant that a woman should dare to -appear in arms against them, offered ten thousand drachmas for her -capture, alive or dead. The way she escaped displayed great presence -of mind, though it also showed how unscrupulous she was in the choice -of stratagems. Closely pursued by an Athenian ship (commanded by -Aminias of Pallene, the brother of AEschylus), escape seemed impossible. -But with her customary decision of mind, the queen hung out Grecian -colours, and turned her arms against a Persian vessel. This cost her -no feelings of regret, for on board the ship was Damasithymus, King of -Calynda, with whom she had some private quarrel. Her pursuers, seeing -her send a Persian ship to the bottom of the sea, concluded that she -belonged to their navy, and so gave up the pursuit. - -Xerxes, from an elevated post on shore, saw the disgraceful flight of -his own navy, together with the bravery of Artemisia. When he could -no longer doubt that it was she who performed such gallant deeds, he -exclaimed, in astonishment, that the men had behaved like women, while -the women had displayed the courage of men. - -Like most warlike leaders, Artemisia was not at all scrupulous as to -the means employed, provided the end answered her expectations. Wishing -to possess herself of Latmus, a small city which lay temptingly near to -Halicarnassus, she placed her troops in ambush, and under pretence of -celebrating the feast of Cybele in a wood consecrated to that goddess, -she repaired thither with a grand procession, accompanied by drums and -trumpets. The people of Latmus ran out in crowds to witness the show, -while Artemisia's troops took possession of the city. - -The ultimate fate of Artemisia proves how true it is that "love rules -the court, the camp, the grove." She fell violently in love with a -native of Abydos, a young man named Dardanus; but her passion was not -reciprocated. To punish his disdain, she first put out his eyes, and -then took the noted "Lover's Leap" from the promontory Leucas--now -Santa Maura. - - * * * * * - -Artemisia II., who lived more then one hundred and thirty years after -the former heroine, has frequently been confounded with her, as both -were queens of Caria. The second of that name was daughter of King -Hecatomus, and is principally famous for the honours which she paid to -the memory of her husband, Mausolus, to whom she erected a magnificent -tomb at Halicarnassus, which monument was afterwards reckoned as one of -the Seven Wonders of the World. - -Most writers represent Artemisia as plunged in tears during her -widowhood; but there are some who, on the contrary, declare that she -made some important conquests at that time. Vitruvius relates that the -Rhodians, indignant that a woman should reign over Caria, despatched a -fleet to Halicarnassus to dethrone Artemisia. The queen commanded the -citizens to appear on the walls directly the Rhodians came in sight, -and to express, by shouts and clapping of hands, their readiness to -surrender. The enemy, falling into the trap, disembarked, and went with -all haste to the city, leaving their ships without even one man to -guard them. - -Artemisia came out with her squadron from the little port, entered -the great harbour, and seized the Rhodian vessels. Putting her own -men on board she sailed to Rhodes, where the people, seeing their own -ships return adorned with laurel-wreaths, received them with every -demonstration of joy. No resistance was offered to the landing; and -Artemisia seized the city, putting to death the leaders of the people. - -She caused a trophy to be erected, and set up two statues--one -representing the city of Rhodes, and the other an image of herself, -branding the former figure with a red-hot iron. Vitruvius says the -Rhodians were forbidden by their religion to destroy this memorial; so -they surrounded it by a lofty building which concealed it from view. - -Her death, which took place the same year (B.C. 351) probably -reinstated the Rhodians in their liberty. - -During the reign of Artaxerxes Nmenon, King of Persia, and brother -of Cyrus the younger, the province of AEolia was governed--under the -authority of Pharnabasus, satrap of Asia Minor--by Zenis the Dardanian. -When the latter died, Mania, his widow, went to Pharnabasus with -magnificent presents, leading a body of troops, and begged of him not -to deprive her of the government. Pharnabasus allowed her to retain the -province, and he had no reason to regret it. Mania acquitted herself -with all the prudence and energy which could have been expected from -the most experienced ruler. In addition to the customary tributes, she -added magnificent presents; and when Pharnabasus visited her province, -she entertained him with greater splendour than any of the other -governors throughout Asia Minor. She followed him in all his military -campaigns, and was of great assistance not only with her troops, but by -her advice. She was a regular attendant at all his councils, and her -suggestions contributed to the success of more than one enterprise. The -satrap knew how to estimate her merit; and the Governess of AEolia was -treated with greater distinction than any of her fellow-governors. - -Her army was in better condition than that of any neighbouring -province; she even maintained a body of Greek soldiers in her pay. Not -content with the cities committed to her care, she made new conquests; -amongst others, Larissa, Amaxita, and Colona, which belonged to the -Mysians and Pisidians. In every war she took the command in person, and -from her war-chariot decreed rewards and punishments. - -The only enemies she possessed were in her own family circle. Midias, -her son-in-law, thinking it a reproach on him that a woman should -command where he was subordinate, strangled her and her son, B.C. 399, -and seized two fortresses in which she had secured her treasures. The -other cities of AEolia at once declared against him; and he did not very -long enjoy the fruits of his crime. Dercyllidas, commander of the Greek -forces in Asia, arrived at this juncture. All the fortresses in the -province surrendered, either voluntarily or by compulsion; and Midias -was deprived of the possessions for which he had stained his hands in -the blood of his relatives. - - * * * * * - -Cratesipolis was the wife of Alexander, the son of one of Alexander the -Great's captains. - -On the sudden death of Alexander the Great, his posthumous son and his -half-brother were placed on the throne, under the regency of Perdiccas, -the most talented of Alexander's captains. However, the generals -soon began to quarrel among themselves; two years later, Perdiccas -was assassinated, and the regency conferred on Antipater, governor -of Macedonia and Greece. The latter, on his death-bed, bestowed the -office of regent and the government of the provinces on Polysperchon, -the eldest survivor of all the captains who had followed Alexander to -India. Cassander, the son of Antipater, indignant at being set aside, -went to war with the new regent. - -Alexander, the son of Polysperchon, was possessed of great military -talent, and his father confided to him the defence of Peloponnesus. -Cassander, knowing the abilities of Alexander, offered him the -government of Peloponnesus, and the command of the troops stationed -there if he would join the faction of the malcontents. The offer was -accepted; Alexander established his head quarters at Sicyon. At the -head of his troops he gained several victories. Cratesipolis, his -wife, was the idol of the soldiers. They regarded her, and justly, as -a woman who possessed the spirit of a hero and the talents of a great -general. She interested herself in all their affairs--appeased all -their differences, and did not disdain to think of their wants and -their pleasures. She consoled those who were sad, relieved those who -were in want, and strove to make all happy. Frequently she accompanied -Alexander in his expeditions, and was as much respected by the officers -as beloved by the privates. - -Alexander held his governorship for only a few months. The citizens -of Sicyon, furious, and groaning under the yoke imposed upon them, -conspired against their rulers. The governor was slain by Alexion and -some companions who pretended to be Alexander's friends. The soldiers, -who were setting out on an expedition, seized with terror when they saw -their leader fall, fled in all directions. - -Cratesipolis gave way neither to grief nor despair. Rallying the -broken forces, she assumed the command, and soon restored order and -discipline. The Sicyonians, who never suspected that a woman could -take the command of the army, rose in rebellion, and barred the city -gates. Cratesipolis, enraged as much at the insult as at the treachery -with which they had slain her husband, laid siege to Sicyon, routed -the insurgents in a hotly-contested battle, and took the city by storm -(B.C. 317), when, by her command, thirty of the ringleaders were -crucified. - -Having assuaged her thirst for revenge, Cratesipolis entered Sicyon -in triumph, and assumed the government. Appeasing all the troubles -caused by the rebellion, she ruled with such wisdom and prudence as -to excite the admiration of all. To the last she kept up a large -and well-disciplined army, always ready at a moment's notice to set -forth on an expedition. The soldiers, whose love and reverence had -been increased by the courage with which she had acted during the -insurrection, would, any of them, have gladly sacrificed his own life -to save hers. - - * * * * * - -Arsinoe, Queen of Egypt, was the wife of Ptolemy Philopater. She was -a brave as well as prudent woman, and accompanied her husband when he -invaded Syria, B.C. 217. In the battle of Raphia she rode up and down -through the ranks, exhorting the soldiers to behave manfully during the -fight. She remained beside her husband during the heat of the action; -and by her presence she greatly contributed to the victory gained by -the Egyptians. - -[Illustration] - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -III. - - Hypsicrates, Queen of Mithridates the Great--Cleopatra--Candace, - Queen of Ethiopia--Boadicea and her Daughters--Ancient - British, Caledonian, and German Female Warriors--Combats - of Roman Ladies--Nero's Amazons--Victoria, Empress of the - West--Zenobia, Queen of the East--Empress Hunila, and other Gothic - Amazons--Mavia, Queen of Pharan--Pharandsem, Queen of Armenia. - - -PONTUS, in Cappadocia, the _ci-devant_ home of the Amazons, passed through -many changes and vicissitudes as time rolled on. Under Cyrus and his -successors, Cappadocia was divided into two distinct provinces, whose -governors made themselves finally independent of Persia, and ruled -as kings till the days of Alexander. After the death of the great -Macedonian, Pontus was not long regaining its independence: increasing -rapidly in power and extent till the days of Mithridates the Great, who -made it one of the chief empires of the East. - -This ambitious monarch, believing himself a second Alexander, cared -for nothing but war; and through his bravery and his obstinacy, he -contrived to make himself one of the most formidable rivals Rome -ever had to cope with. Hypsicrates was his favourite wife--like most -Oriental monarchs, he had more than one; and in respect of personal -courage, she was worthy to be the companion of the royal tiger. They -were romantically attached to one another; Mithridates, ruthless -towards others, was loving and tender to his favourite sultana. She -accompanied him in many of his perilous expeditions, and fought by -his side in more than one battle. For this reason, her name, properly -Hypsicratia, was changed to Hypsicrates; thus altering it from feminine -to masculine, on account of her manly courage. Besides being valiant, -she was exceedingly beautiful and highly accomplished, as a queen -should be. - -After the defeat of Mithridates by Lucullus, the gourmand, on the -plains of Cabirae, B.C. 71, the unfortunate monarch sent a messenger -to the ladies of his court, enjoining them to die by their own hands -rather than fall alive into those of the Romans. All obeyed save -Hypsicrates. Though she feared death as little as any among them, yet -could she not bear even this temporary separation from her lord. -Mounting a swift steed, she overtook the king, after encountering and -surmounting innumerable difficulties; and by her presence and counsel -she restored to him his former energy and strength of mind. - -Five years later (B.C. 66), Mithridates fought a battle with Pompey the -Great on the banks of the Euphrates. Hypsicrates appeared in the dress -of a Persian soldier, and, mounted on a charger, fought beside the -king so long as the action lasted. However, the battle was not of long -duration. The barbarians were afraid to await the shock of the iron -legions, and fled in wild terror. The Romans ruthlessly slaughtered the -fugitives; ten thousand were slain on the field, and the camp fell into -the hands of the victors. - -Mithridates and his brave queen, placing themselves at the head of -eight hundred chosen horsemen, cut their way, sword in hand, through -the ranks of the foe. But the eight hundred quickly dispersed, and -left the king with only three followers, one of whom was Hypsicrates. -She attended him during his flight, grooming his horse, and enduring -great hardships through fatigue and want of food. At last they reached -a fortress, where lay the royal treasures. Here Mithridates gave to -each a dose of strong poison to be taken in case of dire necessity. -But whether Hypsicrates finally swallowed the fatal potion, or by what -death she passed from the world, historians have not told us. - - * * * * * - -Cleopatra, the beautiful and ambitious queen of Egypt, was at all -times desirous to acquire renown as a great warrior. But she possessed -neither the courage nor the prudence necessary for those who seek the -laurel-wreath. She was too fond of her ease to take the command of an -expedition, unless the occasion was one which rendered her presence -absolutely necessary. - -She first appeared as a warrior in the year B.C. 48, when her brother -Ptolemy deprived her of her share in the throne. She withdrew to Syria, -raised troops there, and re-entered Egypt at the head of her forces -shortly after the battle of Pharsalia. Pompey, routed by Caesar, fled -to Egypt, where he was assassinated by order of the king. Scarcely -had he breathed his last, when Caesar landed. He assumed the right to -arbitrate between Ptolemy and Cleopatra. The former refused to accept -him as referee, and for several weeks the great Caesar had to contend -with the soldiers of the king as well as with the infuriated citizens -of Alexandria. However, the war was soon terminated by the defeat and -death of Ptolemy; and the crown was bestowed upon Cleopatra. - -After the assassination of Julius Caesar, Cleopatra declared for the -Triumvirs, Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus. She prepared a powerful -fleet, designing to take the command, and sail to the assistance of -Caesar's avengers. Violent storms prevented the squadron from setting -out; but some time subsequently the queen sailed with a well-equipped -fleet to join the Triumvirs. Again she was frustrated by the elements. -A terrible storm arose, wrecked many vessels, threw the queen on a bed -of sickness, and compelled the fleet to put back to Alexandria. - -This love of warlike display finally caused her ruin and that of -Antony. Against the advice of the most practised Roman officers, she -insisted upon taking an active part in the war against Octavius. Before -the decisive battle of Actium, Antony was counselled not to hazard a -sea-fight; but the haughty Egyptian queen, like Xerxes of old, insisted -upon it. So her advice was followed in preference to that of old and -experienced generals. - -The battle was fought on the 2nd September, B.C. 31, at the mouth -of the Ambracian Gulf, within sight of the opposing land armies who -were encamped on each shore anxiously watching the struggle. A more -magnificent sight could not have been seen than the fleet of Antony; -and the most splendid object in it was the galley of Cleopatra, blazing -with gilding and bright colours, its sails of purple, flags and -streamers floating in the wind. Victory inclined to neither side till -the flight of the Egyptian queen. Terrified by the horrid din of the -fight, though in no personal danger, she fled from the scene of action, -her example being followed by nearly all the Egyptian fleet, which -numbered sixty ships. Antony, when he saw the queen's galley take to -flight, forgot everything but her, and precipitately followed. And thus -he yielded to Caesar not merely the victory, but the Sovereignty of the -World. - - * * * * * - -About the time that Cleopatra sat on the throne of Egypt, the -neighbouring kingdom of Ethiopia was ruled over by another warlike -queen, Candace, whose kingdom comprised that part of the Nile valley, -which, under the name of Meroee, contained numberless towns and cities -in a high state of civilization. Very little is known concerning this -queen, save what we glean from Strabo. The year before the battle of -Actium, Candace invaded Egypt, and compelled the Roman garrisons of -Syene, Elephantine, and Philae to surrender. Caius Petronius, Roman -prefect of Egypt, marched against the Ethiopians, and routed Candace -near Pselcha, after which the victor ravaged great part of Ethiopia. - -When Petronius left the country, Candace attacked the garrison he had -left in Premnis. But directly the prefect heard of this he returned -hastily to Meroee, again defeated the Ethiopians, and imposed a heavy -tribute on the kingdom. Candace sent an embassy to Octavius, who was -then at Samos, suing for peace. The dictator not only granted her -prayer, but remitted the tribute levied by Petronius. - - * * * * * - -The next female sovereign who defied Rome on the battle-field was -of a very different stamp from Cleopatra, or even Candace. This was -Boadicea, the "British Warrior Queen," the story of whose wrongs and -bravery was for centuries a favourite subject with poets. Her name, -which has been variously written Boadicea, Boudicea, Bonduca, Vonduca, -Voadicea, or Woda, signified "the Woman of the Sword," and in the -ancient British or Welsh language is equivalent to Victoria. She was -the daughter of Cadalla, King of the Brigantes; and, through her -mother, Europeia, daughter of Evanus, King of Scotland, she claimed -descent from the kings of Troy and the Ptolemies of Egypt. - -Boadicea's career was a sad and a stormy one from first to last. -At an early age she was compelled by her step-mother, the wicked, -ambitious, Cartismandua, to marry Arviragus, son of that queen by her -first husband, King Cymbeline. Arviragus was King of the Iceni, who -possessed a great part of Essex, Norfolk, and Cambridgeshire. They are -said by Tacitus to have been a rich and powerful nation. After the -queen had presented her lord with a son and two daughters, the Emperor -Claudius came to Britain. Arviragus, having suffered several defeats, -was compelled to divorce Boadicea, and marry Gwenissa, the emperor's -daughter. A general insurrection of the Britons was the result; and the -natives, led at first by the famous Caractacus, brother of Boadicea, -and ultimately joined by Arviragus himself, were defeated again and -again by the Romans. Weary at last of the never-ending struggle, -Arviragus and Boadicea accepted very humiliating terms from Vespasian, -and were permitted to retain their dominions. - -Towards the close of his life Arviragus appears, for some unexplained -reason, to have changed his name to Prasutagus. Dreading the rapacity -of the Romans, he thought to secure their protection for Boadicea and -her two daughters (her son died long before), by making the emperor -Nero joint-heir to his dominions. He died A.D. 61. Scarcely had he -ceased to breathe, when Catus, the Roman procurator, who commanded -in the absence of Suetonius Paulinus, Governor of Britain, annexed -the country of the Iceni, seized the personal effects of the deceased -monarch, treated all his relations as prisoners of war, despoiled -the wealthier Iceni, imposed heavy taxes upon the poor, and demanded -from Boadicea the payment of large sums which her father, Cadalla, -had bestowed upon the Romans. Unable to pay, the queen was publicly -whipped, and her daughters were treated even more shamefully. - -Burning for revenge, Boadicea raised the standard of revolt. She was -soon joined by patriots from all parts of Britain. Eighty thousand men, -headed by the queen, rushed down like wild beasts on the colonies of -Camulodunum (Malden), Colchester, and Verulam (St. Alban's), putting to -death, in the first-named city, with every torture they could devise, -more than seventy thousand persons of every age and sex. - -Shortly after the destruction of Camulodunum, Boadicea was joined by -her brother Corbred, king of Scots. Together they marched to the attack -on Colchester. Petilius Cerialis, the conqueror of Batavia, marched out -from Verulam at the head of the ninth legion to oppose the victorious -Britons. He had lately received from Germany reinforcements, amounting -to eight auxiliary cohorts of one thousand horse. A furious battle -ensued, resulting in the total defeat of the Romans. Upwards of six -thousand Romans and three thousand confederate Britons (their allies) -were slain. - -Petilius fled with his broken cohorts--for, it is said, not even -one foot-soldier escaped the carnage--to his entrenched camp. Catus -Decianus, the procurator, was severely wounded in the engagement, and, -struck with terror, he continued his precipitate flight over sea into -Gaul. - -Suetonius Paulinus, absent at the time on that expedition which -concluded with the massacre of the Druids in Mona (the Isle of -Anglesea), hastened back to South Britain. With ten thousand men, he -entered London; but, despite the prayers of the people, he deserted it -at once, and encamped at a short distance north of the city. Scarcely -had he departed, when Boadicea marched directly on London, captured it -after a slight resistance, and put the inhabitants to the sword. - -For some time Suetonius was afraid to venture on a battle against -a victorious queen commanding a force so immeasurably superior to -his own, amounting, according to Tacitus, to one hundred thousand, -while Dio Cassius raises the number as high as two hundred and thirty -thousand; while the Romans could muster scarcely ten thousand. At last -an engagement took place on a wild spot, guarded in the rear by a dense -forest. - -Before the battle, Boadicea passed up and down in her chariot, -exhorting the warriors to avenge her wrongs and those of her daughters. -Dio Cassius has described the British Queen, as she appeared on that -memorable day. She was a woman of lofty stature, with a noble, severe -expression, and a dazzlingly fair complexion, remarkable even amongst -the British women, who were famous for the whiteness of their skin. Her -long yellow hair, floating in the wind, reached almost to the ground. -She wore a tunic of various colours, hanging in folds, and over this -was a shorter one, confined at the waist by a chain of gold. Round -her alabaster neck was a magnificent "torques," or collar of twisted -gold-wire. Her hands and arms were uncovered, save for the rings and -bracelets which adorned them. A large British mantle surmounted, but -did not conceal the rest of her attire. - -Suetonius on his side used all his powers of oratory to excite the -Romans to do their best, telling them to "despise the savage uproar, -the shouts and yells of undisciplined barbarians," amongst whom, he -said, "the women out-numbered the men." - -The battle was long and obstinately contested; but the steady order of -the iron legions triumphed over the savage onslaught of the Britons. -The latter were routed with terrible slaughter, leaving, Tacitus says, -upwards of eighty thousand dead on the field. The Romans lost only five -hundred. "The glory won on this day," adds Tacitus, "was equal to that -of the most renowned victories of the ancient Romans." - -The exact scene of this engagement has been variously placed by -different writers. Some decide that Battle-Bridge, King's Cross, marks -the spot; while by others it has been settled as identical with the -ancient camp called Ambresbury Banks, near Epping. Some even place it -at Winchester. - -Boadicea, rather than let herself be taken alive, put an end to her own -existence by poison. She was afterwards interred with due honours by -her faithful adherents. - -The two daughters of Boadicea, completely armed, fought most valiantly -in the battle; and even during the rout of their countrymen they strove -wildly for victory. At last they were made prisoners, and brought into -the presence of Suetonius, who expressed deep sympathy for them, and -spoke with indignation of their oppressors. - -The elder princess, by the intervention of Suetonius, was married, some -months later, to Marius, also styled Westmer, son of Arviragus and -Gwenissa. This prince was acknowledged by the Romans as King of the -Iceni, over whom he ruled for many years. His son Coel was the father -of Lucius, the first Christian king of Britain. Boadicea, the younger -daughter, inherited not only her mother's name, but her bold, dauntless -spirit, and her relentless hatred of the Romans. Marius, fearing her -influence over the Iceni, banished her from his court. She raised a -formidable army of Brigantes and Picts, and sailed to Galloway, which -was occupied by the Romans. Marching in the dead of the night, she fell -on the encampment of the foe and slew several hundred men. The entire -Roman army would probably have been put to the sword had not Petilius, -the general, ordered his men to light torches. The Britons were driven -off, and next morning Boadicea was attacked and defeated in her own -camp. - -Next day Boadicea marched to Epiake, the Roman head-quarters in that -district, and setting it on fire, destroyed the garrison. Shortly after -this she was captured in an ambuscade. It is said by some that the -young princess, expecting a horrible death, followed the example of her -mother, and took poison. Others, however, declare that she was brought -alive into the presence of the Roman commander, who interrogated her -respecting the object of her invasion, when Boadicea, making a spirited -answer, was slain by his guards. - -The bravery of Boadicea and her daughters was not so strange in those -days as it might now be. The British and Caledonian women were, as a -rule, brave and warlike, and invariably followed their husbands to -battle. More than five thousand women enlisted under the banners of -Boadicea, and fought, many of them, as bravely as the men. Women, -even far advanced in years, marched with their male relations to the -defence of king or country; and those who did not fight hand to hand -with the foe, peppered him well from a distance with volleys of stones. -To render themselves competent to share the perils and dangers of the -battle-field, the women, in times of peace, practised the use of arms, -and inured themselves to fatigue and hardship; as Holinshed says, -"never refusing to undergo any labour or fatigue assigned them by their -leader." - -The women of Caledonia were equally warlike. In a curious old book of -engravings published in London during the last century, entitled a -"Collection of Dresses of Different Nations, Ancient and Modern," there -are three plates, one of which represents a Caledonian woman, after De -Brii, dressed in a short garment, and armed with masculine weapons; -the other two represent the wife and daughter of a Pict. The woman -Pict is entirely naked, and is tattooed and painted with stars, rays, -and various similar devices. In one hand she grasps a lance and in the -other two darts. The girl differs from the mother only in being painted -with divers floral ornaments in lieu of the astronomical adornments. - -The Gallic and German women also, joined frequently in the battles -between rival tribes. Philostratus, probably for this reason, speaks -of Amazons living on the shores of the Danube; and in Lucius Flaccus -we also read of German Amazons. The Allemanni, the Marcomanni, the -Quadi, and the other warlike tribes who dwelt beyond the Rhine were -always accompanied by their wives and daughters whenever they set out -on an expedition. During the battle, such of the women as took no share -in the action, stood on the outskirts, cheering and encouraging the -warriors. More than once a beaten army of Germans was stopped in its -flight by the women, and obliged, through very shame, to turn again and -confront the enemy. If their side was defeated the German women almost -invariably committed suicide on the corpses of their friends. During -the wars of Marcus Aurelius with the Marcomanni and Quadi, several -women were found amongst the slain, many clad in armour. - -Under the patronage of the emperors the combats of Roman matrons in -the amphitheatre afforded intense gratification to a pleasure-seeking -public. Juvenal, the satirist, regards these female duels from a -ludicrous point of view. "What a fine business it would be," he says, -"for a man to cry out at an auction of his wife's equipment, 'Who bids -up for my wife's boots? Who'll give most for her corslet, helmet, and -gauntlet?'" - -The Romans, however, often tried to raise amateur corps of female -warriors, in imitation of the ancient Amazons, whose warlike deeds were -much admired in the imperial city. Suetonius tells us that Nero, when -he learned the news of Galba's revolt, dressed up the women of his -seraglio as Amazons, arming them with battle-axes and small bucklers, -and intending to march at their head against the rebels. - - * * * * * - -In the third century the Roman empire was in a state of dire confusion. -So many governors of provinces and commanders of legions had assumed -the purple, with more or less success, in various parts of the world, -that at last the Emperor, who was recognised by the senate at Rome, -though nominally sovereign of the universe, was, in fact, very little -more than ruler of Italy. One of the first to dispute the imperial -dignity in Europe was Posthumus, commander of the legions in Gaul. He -so far acquired the affections of his soldiers that they proclaimed him -Emperor of the West, A.D., 257. His dominion, the capital of which was -Cologne, extended over Gaul, Spain, and Britain. - -There dwelt in Cologne a noble Roman lady named Victoria. Some say -she was the sister of Posthumus. Be that as it may, she persuaded the -emperor to raise her son, Victorinus, to the throne, as his colleague; -and when Posthumus was murdered by the soldiers, three years later, -Victorinus remained sole emperor of the West. He was a brave soldier -and an able general, and reigned over Gaul for about a year longer, -when he was slain by the troops, A.D. 269. His eldest son, named after -himself, was now proclaimed emperor; but in a few days he, too, fell a -victim to the fury of the legions. - -An ordinary mind would have sunk beneath this double misfortune; but -the "Heroine of the West" was cast in a very different mould from -most women. Exceedingly ambitious, she possessed both the courage and -the ability to carry out her schemes. Even when her son was living, -she held the reins of government. So great was her influence over the -legions, they obeyed her behests in everything without a murmur. She -passed much of her time amongst them, and received thence the title of -Mater Castrorum,--"Mother of the Camp." When her son became emperor, -she, as his mother, received the title of Augusta. - -Victoria bestowed the vacant throne first on Marius, a distinguished -general, who was slain in a few days, and next on Tetricus, the chief -noble in Aquitaine, a distant relative of her own. During his absence -in Spain she continued to govern the Gallic provinces. Placing herself -at the head of the troops, she maintained the authority she had seized -against all the armies sent from Rome. Even during the early days of -Aurelian's reign, she opposed the imperial forces with the same bold -and undaunted spirit, and with equal success. - -Very soon Tetricus grew weary of being subordinate to Victoria. The -empress, stung by his ingratitude, would have hurled him from the -throne to which she had raised him; but Tetricus took care to prevent -this by causing Victoria to be poisoned, A.D. 269, a few months after -his own accession. - - * * * * * - -Since the days of Semiramis no female ruler in ancient times attained -so high a pinnacle of greatness throughout the East as Zenobia. For -more than five years, unaided, she set the Roman emperors at defiance, -defeated their armies, and laughed equally at their threats and their -underhand machinations. - -Septimia Zenobia was an Arab princess, and while some writers assert -that she was a Jewess, the heroine herself claimed descent, through her -father Amru, from the Ptolemies of Egypt. Truly she was as beautiful as -any Egyptian queen--even the handsome Cleopatra. By some writers she -has been cited as the loveliest woman of her age. An olive complexion, -pearly teeth, large, brilliant, black eyes, which sparkled alternately -with the fire of the heroine and the sweetness of the loving wife--such -were the charms of her face. Her voice was rich and musical. She was -conversant with Greek, Latin, Syriac, and Egyptian; and compiled for -her own reading an epitome of Homer. Her tutor in philosophy was the -famous Greek, Cassius Longinus. - -Zenobia was a widow, and the mother of a son, Vhaballathus, when -she wedded Odenathus, Prince of Palmyra. The latter, however, was a -widower, and also the father of a son--Ouarodes, or Herod, a weak and -effeminate youth. - -Septimius Odenathus, who raised himself by his own genius and the -fortune of war, to the sovereignty of the East, was, like his wife, an -Arab. He was chief prince of the wild Saracen tribes who dwelt in the -Syrian deserts, on the shores of the Euphrates. Odenathus early learned -the rudiments of war in the exciting chase of wild beasts--a pastime -which, to the last, he never wearied of, and in which he was joined -with equal ardour by Zenobia. Together the royal pair, during the -intervals of peace, hunted lions, panthers, or bears, through the woods -and deserts of Syria. - -When the emperor Valerian was captured and flayed alive by Sapor, King -of Persia, A.D. 260, Odenathus marched, at the head of an Arab host, -against the Persians, defeated them near Antioch, compelled them to -retreat, beat them again on the banks of the Euphrates, and finally -drove them across the river; capturing, in the first battle, the -greater part of the wives and treasures of Sapor. - -Zenobia accompanied her husband in this, as in all his subsequent -expeditions, and bravely seconded his efforts. She proved herself as -good a soldier as any, and endured, with the utmost fortitude, the -same hardships as the meanest there. Disdaining the use of a covered -carriage, she frequently marched several miles at the head of the -troops. - -Pursued closely by Odenathus and Zenobia, Sapor fled through -Mesopotamia, suffering many defeats, losing towns and cities, and at -last took refuge in Ctesiphon, his capital, where the victors besieged -him for some months. - -The Roman senate recognised the deeds of Odenathus by granting him -the title of Augustus, A.D. 263. In the following year the royal pair -undertook a second expedition against Sapor. New triumphs were added -to the glories of the last campaign. The Persian king was once more -forced to take refuge in Ctesiphon, which would no doubt have fallen -had not the incursion of a horde of Scythian Goths into Syria compelled -Odenathus to raise the siege. - -Surrounding nations soon learned to respect the brave prince of Palmyra -and his no less warlike consort. Even Sapor, humiliated though he had -been, was glad, not merely to make peace, but to join in close alliance -with his conquerors, who were threatened by the underhand machinations -of the contemptible emperor Gallienus. But the brilliant career of -Odenathus was unexpectedly brought to a close by the hand of his -nephew, who, believing himself insulted by the monarch, assassinated -him, together with his son Herod, at a banquet in the city of Emesa, -A.D. 267. - -The murderer gained nothing but the empty pleasure of revenge. Scarcely -had he assumed the title of Augustus ere he was sacrificed by the royal -widow to the memory of her husband, though some historians have accused -her of being an accomplice in the double murder. Zenobia was proclaimed -queen; and, passing over Timolaus and Herennius, her sons by Odenathus, -she arrayed Vhaballathus in the purple, and showed him to the troops as -their emperor. - -With the death of Odenathus ceased that authority granted him as a -personal favour by the emperor and senate of Rome; and Gallienus -despatched an army to dethrone Zenobia. But the queen soon compelled -the Roman general to retreat into Europe with the loss of both army and -reputation. Zenobia governed the East for more than five years; and -by successive conquests she extended her dominions from the Euphrates -to the Mediterranean and the borders of Bithynia; and added, besides, -the land of the Ptolemies. Her power became so great that the warlike -Claudius II., who succeeded Gallienus, was satisfied that while he was -occupied in the defence of Italy from the Goths and Germans, Zenobia -should assert the dignity of the Roman power in the East. - -Palmyra, the capital of the warrior queen, almost rivalled the -Eternal City in the magnificence of its temples, its mansions, its -public monuments, and the luxury of its citizens. It became the great -centre of commerce between Europe and India, and its merchants grew -wealthy through the trade of East and West. Arcades of lofty palms -shadowed its streets of marble palaces; purling fountains, fed by icy -springs, rendered it a perfect Elysium in the midst of burning arid -sands. Schools, museums, libraries, fostered by the care of Zenobia, -encouraged and aided the arts and literature. - -At last the stern, the inflexible Aurelian ascended the throne of the -Caesars. Firmly resolved to rid the empire of every usurper, great or -small, he began by re-conquering Gaul and making prisoner the Western -usurper, Tetricus. He then passed into Asia, A.D. 272, when his -presence alone was sufficient to bring back Bithynia to its allegiance. -Of course Zenobia did not indolently permit an invader to approach -within a hundred miles of her capital without taking measures to arrest -his progress. She marched with all her forces to oppose him; but was -signally defeated in two battles, the first near Antioch, the second -near Emesa. In both engagements the queen animated the soldiers by her -presence, though the actual command devolved on Zabdas, the conqueror -of Egypt. The latter, Zenobia's principal general, has been by many -supposed to have been Zabba, the queen's sister; this, however, is mere -surmise. - -After the second defeat, Zenobia was unable to raise a third army. She -retired within the walls of her capital, prepared to make a gallant -defence, and boldly declared that her reign and her life should end -together. - -Aurelian arrived before Palmyra, after a toilsome march over the sandy -desert which separated the city from Antioch. His proposals being -rejected with scorn, he was obliged to begin the siege; and, while -superintending the operations, he was wounded by a dart. - -"The Roman people," he wrote in a letter, "speak with contempt of the -war which I am waging against a woman. They are ignorant both of the -character and of the power of Zenobia. It is impossible to enumerate -her warlike preparations of stones, of arrows, and of every species of -missile weapons. Every part of the walls is provided with two or three -balistae, and artificial fires are thrown from her military engines. The -fear of punishment has armed her with a desperate courage." - -Zenobia was at first supported in her determined resistance by the hope -that the Roman army, having no means of getting provisions, would soon -be compelled to retreat, and also by the expectation that Persia would -come to her aid. Disappointed in both calculations, she mounted her -swiftest dromedary and fled towards the Euphrates. But the Roman light -cavalry pursued, and soon overtook the queen, who was brought back -prisoner. Palmyra surrendered almost immediately after, and was treated -with unexpected clemency by the victor. - -The courage of Zenobia entirely deserted her when she heard the angry -cries of the soldiers, who clamoured for her immediate execution. She -threw the entire guilt of her obstinate resistance upon her friends and -counsellors, and the celebrated Longinus, amongst others, fell a victim -to the emperor's rage. - -Vhaballathus, the only surviving son of Zenobia, withdrew into Armenia, -where he ruled over a small principality granted him by Aurelian. - -When the emperor returned to Rome, in the following year (A.D. 274), -he celebrated, after the manner of Roman conquerors, a magnificent -triumph in honour of his many victories over the Goths, the Alemanni, -Tetricus, and Zenobia. Elephants, royal tigers, panthers, bears, -armed gladiators, military standards, and war-chariots passed in -succession. But the great object of attention was the Eastern queen, -who, completely laden with golden fetters, a gold chain, supported by -a slave, round her neck, her limbs bending beneath the weight of the -jewels with which she was decked, was compelled to precede, on foot, -the triumphal car in which, not many months previously, she had hoped -to enter the gates of Rome as a conqueror. - -After the conclusion of his triumph, Aurelian presented Zenobia with -an elegant villa at Tibur (or Tivoli), about twenty miles from the -capital; and here she passed the rest of her days as a Roman matron. -She died about the year 300. Her daughters married into wealthy and -noble families; some say, indeed, that Aurelian espoused one of them; -and the family was not extinct even in the fifth century. Baronius -supposes Zenobius, Bishop of Florence, in the days of Saint Ambrose, to -have been one of the great queen's descendants. - -Amongst the numberless captives--Sarmatians, Alemanni, Goths, Vandals, -Gauls, Franks, Dacians, Syrians, Arabs, Egyptians--who unwillingly -graced the triumph of Aurelian, were ten Gothic women, captured in a -battle between the Goths and Romans when the emperor was driving the -barbarians out of Italy. Each party was distinguished in the procession -by its own, or by some fancy name; these Gothic females were designated -"Amazons." Besides these prisoners, many Gothic women and girls, in -male attire, had been found dead on the field of battle. - -Hunila, or Hunilda, one of these Gothic women, was afterwards married -to Bonosus, a wealthy and influential Roman general, Governor of -Rhaetia. She was admired and distinguished amongst her new friends -for her beauty, wit, and virtue. But the _ci-devant_ Amazon kept -up communications with her own countrymen; and Bonosus, promised -assistance by his wife's relations, assumed the purple. For a few -months his authority extended over Gaul, Spain and Britain; but at last -he was conquered by the Emperor Probus. To avoid falling into the hands -of the victor, he put an end to his own life by hanging; whereupon some -wit, alluding to his favourite vice (for Bonosus, they say, could drink -as much as ten strong men) remarked that "there hung a bottle, not a -man." - -Probus spared the life of Hunila, and granted her an annual pension for -the rest of her days; he permitted her sons to enjoy their paternal -estate. - - * * * * * - -Mavia, Queen of Pharan, another of those troublesome women who defied -the Roman emperors, was by birth a Roman, and by education a Christian. -When very young she was carried away by a troop of Arabs, who brought -her to their prince, Obedien, King of Pharan. The latter, who was -himself a Christian, charmed by the beauty of his captive, made her his -wife. At his death Mavia became sole ruler of Pharan. Placing herself -at the head of a numerous army, A.D. 373, she invaded Palestine, and -advancing as far as Phoenicia, defeated the forces of the emperors -Valentinian, Valens, and Gratian in a series of battles extending over -some months. The Roman governor of Phoenicia, unable to make head -against the invader, was compelled to seek assistance of the general -commanding the Eastern emperor's forces. The latter came speedily -to his aid, and after bragging much and loudly of what he would do, -engaged in battle with Mavia. He was signally beaten, his army cut to -pieces, and he had to fly ignominiously. - -After this victory the Queen of Pharan gained many another battle, -and she proved herself so dangerous an opponent that the Romans were -compelled to sue for peace. Peace was at last concluded, on the -condition (dictated by Mavia) that the anchorite Moses should be sent -as bishop to Pharan. Having thus destroyed idolatry in Pharan, the -queen remained for the rest of her days in friendly relationship with -the Romans, to one of whom, Count Victor, she gave her daughter in -marriage. - - * * * * * - -Towards the close of the fourth century, one of the Sapors, King of -Persia, invaded Armenia, which for many years previously had maintained -its independence. He was resolutely opposed by King Tiranus and his -wife Pharandsem, or Olympias; but after valiantly defending his throne -for nearly four years, Tiranus was deserted by his nobles and compelled -to surrender. - -Armenia was once more reduced into a Persian province, and divided -between two of Sapor's favourites. The city of Artogerassa was the only -stronghold which still dared to resist the Persians. It was defended -by Pharandsem. The Persians were surprised and routed under the walls -by a bold and concerted sortie of the besieged; but the former were -constantly reinforced, while the latter steadily diminished in numbers, -through famine and disease, rather than by the weapons of the foe. -After a siege of fourteen months the city was compelled to surrender. -Pharandsem, with her own hand, flung open the gates, when she was -seized by the victors, and, by order of Sapor, impaled. - -[Illustration] - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -IV. - - THE ARABS--Henda, Wife of Abu Sofian, an Arab Chief--Forka, - an Arabian Lady--Women of Yemaumah--Arab and Greek heroines - at the Siege of Damascus--Khaullah--Prefect of Tripoli's - Daughter--Ayesha, Widow of the Prophet--Cahina the Sorceress, - Queen of the Berbers--Saidet, Queen of Persia--Turkhan-Khatun, - Sultana of Kharezme--Hadee'yah a Maiden who precedes the Bedouin - Arabs in Battle. - - -THE ARABS, even in "the days of their ignorance," were always a brave, -warlike people. Their liberty, almost the only wealth they possessed, -was jealously guarded with such courage and determination, that -the greatest nations of antiquity were unable to subdue them. With -the preaching of Mohammed began the glorious days of Arabia. Their -semi-obscurity as a nation, hitherto, had been due solely to the want -of some common bond of union, some link to bind together the princes -of the various tribes. But when there was one leader to rally round, -one faith to propagate, one Paradise for those who fell in conquering -the heathen, the wild children of the Desert proved that they could -conquer foreign countries as well as defend their native sands. During -the early days of Islamism, a vast number of women, many belonging to -the highest rank, followed their relatives to battle, and fought for or -against the Koran as bravely as the men--nay, more than once it was the -valour of the Arab women that retrieved the fortunes of the day. - -The Prophet had many obstacles to overcome before converting the -great majority of his countrymen to the new faith. Scarcely had he -promulgated his new doctrines, and gathered round him a few faithful -adherents, when the neighbouring chiefs rose up, sword in hand, to -stifle the new movement, ere it attained more dangerous dimensions. -His principal opponent during the first few years of the Hegira was -Abu Sofian, chief of the Koreishites, who were, to a man, idolators. -The first military exploit of the Islamites was despoiling a wealthy -caravan, led by that great chieftain, in the valley of Bedar. Abu -Sofian, with three thousand soldiers, avenged this insult on Mount -Ohud, where the Prophet, who had only nine hundred and fifty men, -was defeated and wounded; barely escaping with his life. In this -action, fought in the third year of the Hegira (A.D. 611), Henda, the -wife of Abu Sofian, commanded the reserve of the Koreishites. She was -accompanied by fifteen other women, of high rank. By exhortation and -singing they animated the men to fight well. Indeed, the ultimate -success of Abu Sofian was due, in a great measure, to their presence. - -Another of Mohammed's early opponents was Forka, an Arab lady -possessing a castle and immense wealth. She was a kind of feudal -peeress, and retained a body of soldiers to defend her domain. For -some years she defied the Islamites; but at last Zeid, one of the -principal Moslem leaders, was despatched to seize her castle. Forka -defended herself for some time with obstinacy and resolution; but, -after a troublesome and lengthy siege, the fortress was taken by storm, -and Forka was slain, together with the best part of the garrison. Her -daughter, with all her wealth, became the prey of the victors. - -The rapid success of Mohammed induced many Arabs to take up the -prophetic office on their own account; imitators arose in various parts -of Arabia, sometimes achieving a temporary success almost rivalling -that of Mohammed. The most successful was named Mosseylemah, whose -head-quarters were the city and suburbs of Yemaumah. During the -life-time of Mohammed, little notice was taken of this rival by the -"true believers;" but after the death of _the_ Prophet, A.D. 632, the -Caliph Abubeker despatched Khaled, "the Sword of God," with a large -force to capture Yemaumah. Mosseylemah and nearly all his followers -were slain in a fierce action fought near the city. Mujaia, one of the -impostor's principal officers, who had been made prisoner before the -battle, wishing to save his fellow-citizens from total extermination, -told Khaled that the city was still crowded with brave warriors ready -to shed the last drop of blood in defence of their homes; and he -recommended the Arab general to open negotiations at once. Leaving the -latter to consider his advice, Mujaia found means to communicate with -the inhabitants, whom he sent word to arm all the women and girls in -helmets and mail, and to distribute them, armed with spears and swords, -on the walls. - -Khaled perceiving the ramparts bristling with arms, began to fear that -an assault on a stronghold so well defended might become an enterprise -of some magnitude. So--though contrary to his pet war-cry, "No quarter -given, and none received,"--the ruthless Islamite thought it best to -accept a capitulation on comparatively mild terms. - -On entering Yemaumah, Khaled soon saw the deception practised upon him. -But, with a generosity of which he was not often guilty, he permitted -the people to enjoy the benefits of the treaty. - -During the siege of Damascus by Khaled, A.D. 633, several instances -occurred of female heroism, both on the side of the Arabs and that of -the Greeks. One day the governor of Damascus marched out to dislodge -the besiegers; the latter, pretending to fly, led the Greeks to a -considerable distance from the city. Then turning upon the foe, they -assailed him on every side. Seffwaun the Salmian, a distinguished -Moslem chief, seeing a Greek officer conspicuous for the splendour of -his armour, knocked him down with a blow of his mace. He was about to -strip the fallen chief, when he found himself fiercely attacked by the -widow, who had accompanied her husband into battle, and whose death -she now prepared to avenge. Seffwaun, wishing to avoid the dishonor -of shedding the blood of a woman, contrived by dexterous manipulation -of his sword to frighten his frail antagonist without wounding her or -being himself wounded. She was soon compelled to retire for safety -behind the swords and spears of her friends. - -Another day some Arab women were captured by the Greeks during one of -the skirmishes. While the Greeks were carousing in their tents, a girl -named Khaullah, one of the prisoners, urged her sisters in captivity to -arm themselves with tent-poles, and brain anybody who approached them. -She set the example by shattering the skull of a Greek soldier who was -so imprudent as to venture within reach of her arm. A general conflict -ensued; ending by Khaled and several Arab horsemen coming to the rescue -and carrying off the Islamite damsels. - -Either this heroine, or another of the same name afterwards turned the -fortunes of the day in the battle of Yermouks, which decided the fate -of Syria. The Arabs, far out-numbered by the Greeks, fled to their -tents, and refused to stir, despite the alternate taunts or encouraging -words of the women. The latter at last, in despair, armed themselves, -and withstood the foe till night closed in to end the combat. Next day, -led by Khaullah, sister of one of their principal commanders, the women -again marched to the attack. In leading the van, Khaullah was struck -down by a Greek; but Wafeira, her principal female friend, ran to her -aid and cut off the soldier's head. The Arabs, shamed into their former -courage by the noble conduct of the women, attacked the Christians with -such fury that the latter were speedily routed, with a loss, it is -said, of one hundred and fifty thousand slain and about fifty thousand -made prisoners. - -Khaullah, the leading heroine of this fight, was afterwards married to -the ill-starred Caliph Ali. - -In the year 647, Abdallah, the Moslem governor of Alexandria, crossed -the Libyan Desert and appeared before the walls of Tripoli, at that -time the most important city on the Coast of Barbary. After surprising -and cutting to pieces several thousand Greeks who were marching to -reinforce the garrison, the Arabs, frustrated in an attempt to storm -the massive fortifications, prepared to lay formal siege. The city was -strengthened very soon by Gregorius, the Greek prefect, who arrived -at the head of one hundred and twenty thousand men. He rejected -indignantly the option of the Koran or tribute. For several days both -armies engaged in deadly combat, from dawn till the hour of noon, when, -from fatigue and thirst caused by the blazing sun, they were compelled -to seek shelter and refreshment. - -The daughter of Gregorius, a young girl of great beauty, fought by her -father's side throughout every engagement. She had been trained from -early youth to excel in warlike exercises; and by the splendour of her -arms and apparel she was conspicuous amidst the dust and confusion -of the fight. Gregorius, to excite his soldiers to deeds of bravery, -offered her hand and one hundred thousand pieces of gold to the man who -brought him the head of Abdallah, the Moslem general. When the Arabs -heard this they compelled their leader to withdraw from the field. - -The Moslems, discouraged by the absence of their chief, were rapidly -giving way; but the counsels of Zobeir, a brave Arab warrior, turned -the fortunes of the day. - -"Retort on the infidels," cried he, "their ungenerous attempts. -Proclaim throughout the ranks that the head of Gregorius will be repaid -with his captive daughter, and the equal sum of one hundred thousand -pieces of gold." - -This was accordingly proclaimed. At the same time Zobeir resorted to -a stratagem which took the Greeks completely by surprise, and gained -an easy victory for the Arabs. The contending armies having, as usual, -separated after the engagement, were retiring to their respective -camps overcome by fatigue, when the two Moslem chiefs, who had placed -themselves in ambush with fresh troops, rushed out upon the exhausted -Greeks and routed them with fearful slaughter. The prefect himself was -slain by the hand of Zobeir; his daughter, while seeking revenge or -death in the thick of the fight, was surrounded and captured. - - * * * * * - -Ayesha, daughter of Caliph Abubeker, was the favourite wife of the -Prophet. After the death of her husband she lived in retirement, for -twenty years, at Medina. But she possessed a restless, ambitious -spirit, and had no inclination for a life of repose and obscurity. -After the sudden murder of Caliph Othman, in 654, when Ali was -elected, she refused to acknowledge the latter, and declared her belief -that he had a share in the murder of his predecessor. The nation, -divided into opposing factions, was soon plunged into civil war. The -malcontents, headed by Ayesha, assembled in thousands at Mecca, and -marched thence to Bassorah, where they expected to find warm support. - -Arrived before Bassorah they were astounded to find the gates shut -against them. Ayesha, mounted on a camel, advanced to the walls and -harangued those assembled on the battlements. But she was old and -crabbed, with sharp features and a shrill voice--rendered even more -shrill by the rapidity with which she spoke,--so the people only -laughed at her. The louder they laughed, the shriller her accents grew. -They reproached her for riding forth, bare-faced, to foment dissension -among the Faithful; and they jeered at her followers for bringing their -old grandmother in place of their young and handsome wives. - -However, a number of the citizens were secretly in favour of the -malcontents; and the friends of Ayesha seized the palace one dark -night, bastinadoed the governor, plucked out his beard, and sent him -back to his master. Great, however, was the dismay of Ayesha when the -Caliph encamped one morning before Bassorah; but, resolved not to give -way, she rejected the proposals of Ali, and plunged both armies into -a fierce engagement before very well knowing what she was about. But -terrified at the horrors of war, to which until this day she was almost -a stranger, the old woman besought Kaub, who led her camel, to throw -himself between the combatants. In trying to obey her command he was -slain. - -The large white camel of Ayesha soon became the rallying-point of the -insurgents, around which the fury of the battle concentrated. The -reins were held alternately by the Modian Arabs, who chanted pieces of -poetry; and it is said that out of the tribe of Benni Beiauziah alone -not less than _two hundred and eighty_ lost a hand on this occasion. -The howdah, pierced all over with arrows, had something the appearance -of a porcupine or a giant pincushion. - -After the battle had raged for several hours, the Caliph, seeing -plainly that it would go on so long as the camel remained alive, -ordered his chiefs to direct all their efforts towards cutting down the -beast. First one leg was cut off; but the camel maintained its erect -position. Another leg was cut off; yet the animal remained immovable. -For a moment the soldiers of Ali thought the camel was a sorcerer or a -genie. But a third leg was cut off, and the camel sank to the ground. - -The battle soon ended; all resistance ceased when the insurgents knew -that their leader was taken. Ali treated his prisoner with that true -chivalry which had already sprung up amongst the Arabs. He sent her -home to Medina, escorted by female attendants disguised as soldiers, -and while he lived she was not permitted to meddle in politics. After -the murder of Ali she resumed her former position. Many years after, -when Moawyah wished to make the Caliphate hereditary in his family, he -purchased the influence of Ayesha by the gift of a pair of bracelets -valued at one hundred and fifty thousand dinars, or nearly seventy -thousand pounds. - -The "Battle of the Camel," as it is generally styled by Oriental -historians, was fought in December, A.D. 656, (A.H. 36.) - - * * * * * - -During the reign of Caliph Abdul-Malek the Islamites in northern Africa -found a most formidable opponent in Cahina the sorceress, Queen of the -Berbers. Under the lead of this pseudo-prophetess, the original natives -of Barbary made a determined stand for many years against the Koran. - -Cahina directed her followers to lay waste the lands that lay between -Egypt and her dominions, telling them that it was the fruitfulness of -those districts which caused the Arab invasions. Her commands were only -too faithfully executed. Cities, towns, and villages were destroyed; -fields desolated, trees cut down, and the entire face of the land -changed from a beautiful garden planted with waving palms and lovely -flowers, into an arid waste with scarcely a tree or blade of grass to -be seen. - -But this scheme ultimately proved the ruin of Cahina. The natives -of the ruined districts joyfully welcomed the Moslems on their next -invasion. Cahina again took the field with all her forces; but her -ranks this time were thinned by desertion. She was speedily defeated -and made prisoner with her principal advisers. Rejecting the proposals -of the Arab general--the Koran or tribute--her head was cut off, put in -a camphor-scented casket of great price, and sent to the Caliph. - - * * * * * - -Although Persia was one of the earliest conquests effected by the -followers of Islam, scarcely two centuries had elapsed before it was -divided into a number of independent states, ruled by Arab, Turkish, -or Persian princes. Towards the close of the tenth century, Queen -Seidet, widow of one of these independent monarchs, governed the state -as regent for her son, who was a minor. She ruled with so much wisdom, -and under her guidance the kingdom flourished so greatly, that she had -every reason to be offended when her son, grown old enough to take the -reins of government, appointed Avicenna, the family physician, to be -his Grand Vizier, and committed everything into his hands. Avicenna -treated the queen with so little respect that the latter retired from -court, raised troops, and marched against her son, whose forces she -easily routed. Not wishing, however, to deprive him of the throne, she -merely acted as his chief adviser, and aided him with salutary counsels -so long as she lived. - -Sultan Mahmoud, founder of the Gaznevide dynasty, held Seidet in the -deepest respect. While she lived he refrained from attacking her son's -dominions; but after her death he annexed them without scruple. - - * * * * * - -In these days few persons, save students of Oriental history, have -even so much as heard of Kharezme, in Tartary; yet in the eleventh -and twelfth centuries it was considered by surrounding nations as the -most powerful state in Asia, and its court the most magnificent. At -the beginning of the thirteenth century, it was actually, although not -nominally, governed by Turkhan Khatun, mother of the reigning Sultan. -In those days the Mongols, under the irresistible Jenghiz Khan, were -advancing with rapid strides towards Europe. It was not long before -they besieged the capital of Kharezme. The city held out for twelve -months against the Mongol hordes commanded by the three sons of -Jenghiz Khan. The inhabitants, male and female, made a defence worthy -of their ancient fame. Even the women aided in the numberless sorties -made from the city. But at last, despite their bravery, the place -was taken by storm. Men and women alike fought hand to hand with the -Mongols, and retired from street to street, till scarcely any remained -alive. - -According to the lowest computation more than one hundred thousand -Kharezmians were slain during the siege. The valour displayed by the -women became so famous throughout Asia, that many Oriental historians, -by way of accounting for it, gravely assert that the people of Kharezme -were descended from the Amazons. - - * * * * * - -Mr. Palgrave, who travelled through Arabia in 1862-3, says that it is -customary amongst the Bedouin Arabs, when they go into battle, to have -their army preceded by a maiden of good family, styled a Hadee'yah, -who rides on a camel into the midst of the fight, encouraging the men -to fight bravely by reciting pieces of extempore poetry, satirical or -heroic, as best suits the occasion. Very frequently the Hadee'yah is -slain. Such was the fate of a brave girl, noted for her eloquence and -gigantic stature, who led on the Amjan Bedouins at Koweyt rather more -than twenty years ago, against Abd-Allah, heir to the throne of Nejed. -This "Arabian Bellona" was slain by the lance of a Nejdean warrior, and -her death is said to have been the principal cause of the final rout of -the Amjan army. - -[Illustration] - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -V. - - Libyssa and Valasca, Queens of Bohemia--Wanda, Queen of - Poland--Moors in Spain--Women of Tudmir--Female Knights - of Tortosa--Alleged Origin of the word "Infantry"--Queen - Carcas--Elfrida, Daughter of Alfred the Great--Igor, Grand Duchess - of Russia--Richilda, Countess of Hainault. - - -EUROPE, during the two or three centuries after the downfall of the -Roman Empire, bears a strong resemblance to Greece during the heroic -age. In the Nibelungen, the Iliad of those days, we read of godlike -heroes, Herculean warriors, giant princes, and Amazon queens. That was -an age when might constituted right, when rulers led their own armies -in the field, where the lead was given to the strongest or the most -daring. - -The Salique law seems in those days to have been very generally -disregarded--if indeed it had been introduced as yet; for we read of -more than one queen who ruled alone over the more or less barbarous -kingdoms of Europe. AEneas Sylvius narrates how a warlike queen named -Libyssa ascended the throne of Bohemia on the death of her father, -King Crocus. Her husband, Przemislas, whom she espoused in 632, -being originally only a peasant, was probably a humble, weak-minded -individual, ruled by his wife; for the queen proceeded to enrol the -greater number of her female subjects into a species of militia. They -were trained, like the Amazons, to the use of arms and to ride on -horseback. After the death of Libyssa, the narrator further says that -the principal favourite of the queen, Valasca, with the assistance of -the female troops, seized the throne, and held it until her death, -which occurred seven years later. Resolved to form a nation of Amazons, -Valasca passed a law that all male children should have their right -eyes put out and their thumbs cut off, to keep them from using bow and -arrows. And this barbarous order was rigorously enforced while Valasca -lived, the men not daring to raise any complaint. The demise of this -Amazon-queen soon restored everything to its natural order. - - * * * * * - -Wanda, the first Queen-Regnant of Poland, was unanimously elected by -the people on the death of her father, Cracus, about the year 700. She -was a talented woman, and esteemed herself fully capable of conducting -the government without the assistance of a husband. To the numerous -offers of marriage she received, a refusal was the invariable answer. -At last Rudiger, a German prince, hoping to bring about a happy union -by force of arms, invaded Poland with a great army. - -Wanda raised troops, and advanced to meet the invaders. When the -opposing armies came in sight, Rudiger, believing that his warlike -preparations must needs have terrified the queen, besought her to -accept him, and thus save the lives of their soldiers. Wanda answered -that no man should ever share her throne, because he would love her -kingdom better than herself. When this spirited answer was spread -amongst Rudiger's officers, they refused to fight against so heroic a -queen. Surrounding the prince, they endeavoured to dissuade him from -risking a battle; but finding their remonstrances vain, they refused to -second his efforts, and Rudiger, in despair, flung himself on his sword. - -Wanda returned in triumph to Cracow. She never received another -proposal of marriage. - - * * * * * - -In the year 711 the Moors, commanded by Tarik, crossed the Straits of -Gibraltar and invaded Spain. Even after the defeat and death of their -king, the Goths disputed every foot of ground before giving way to the -Infidels. The latter, impeded at every step, were glad to grant peace -on almost any terms. One of the principal Gothic leaders was Theodomir, -or Tudmir Ben Gobdas, a Spanish noble belonging to one of the most -honourable families in the land. He possessed large estates in the -South, and his authority over them was so great that not only was the -district named after him, the Land of Tudmir, but he was styled King. -Having been totally routed in a battle, when the greater number of his -soldiers were slain, he escaped to the fortified citadel of Tudmir, -where he was soon besieged by the Moors. - -Finding his position grow daily more and more untenable, Theodomir -resorted to an expedient, already practised by the people of Yemaumah -when besieged by Khaled. He commanded all the women to put on male -attire, to tie their hair under their chin (to imitate long beards), -and to appear, armed with bows and arrows, lances, swords, and shields, -on the towers and battlements, in sight of the Moors. He himself, with -his few remaining soldiers, stood in front, to conceal as much as -possible these feminine guards. - -The Moors, overrating the strength of the garrison, offered Theodomir -advantageous terms, which he accepted. Although they afterwards -discovered the fraud, the Infidels scrupulously observed the treaty. - -The women of Tortosa distinguished themselves so highly in some -skirmishes with the Moors, that a military Order of Knighthood was -conferred upon them. - -The word "Infantry" is said to owe its origin to one of the Spanish -Infantas, who, hearing that her father had been defeated by the Moors, -raised a body of foot-soldiers, and placing herself at their head, -defeated the infidels. In memory of her bravery, foot-soldiers were -henceforth styled Infantry. - - * * * * * - -The Moors never could obtain a footing north of the Pyrenees; yet, -despite the invariable want of success attending their attempts, -they made constant incursions into France, besieging towns, burning -villages, and ravaging the open country. Amongst other cities besieged -by them was Carcassonne, situated on the banks of the river Aude, -governed in those days by queen Carcas, famous for her military -prowess. When Charlemagne, a few years previously, besieged the city, -it was defended so courageously that he permitted the queen to retain -the sovereignty. - -The Saracens, ridiculing the notion of a female warrior, declared that, -in place of fighting, she ought to be spinning. This contemptuous -speech, spoken immediately under the city walls, was overheard by queen -Carcas. Arming herself with a lance, to which, as if it had been a -distaff, she attached a quantity of hemp, she set the hemp on fire, -and rushed into the midst of the Saracens, who fled, terrified, in all -directions. - -The shield and lance of queen Carcas may yet be seen at Carcassonne. -Over the city gate there is an effigy of the royal heroine, with the -inscription "Carcas sum." - - * * * * * - -While the South of Europe was overrun by the Saracens, England, -Ireland, and Scotland were harassed by the terrible Danes, who for -several centuries kept these islands in constant terror. The most -powerful opponent of the Danes in England was, as everyone knows, King -Alfred the Great. During the latter years of his reign, the land was -tolerably secure from invasion; but after his death the Vikings and -their wild followers came swarming over the country again, burning, -plundering, massacring, just as they had done before Alfred drove -them away. Elfrida, the eldest daughter of King Alfred, inherited all -her father's courage and warlike spirit, and, like him, proved an -implacable foe to the Danes. She was married early to Ethelred, Earl -of Mercia; and on his death the government of the province devolved -upon the widow. And nobly did she fulfil her trust. Mercia was greatly -harassed by the Danes--as, indeed, was the entire country in those -days. The Welsh joined in alliance with the invaders, and would have -marched to their aid but for the promptitude of Elfrida, who entered -Wales, 916, at the head of an army, and took Brecknock by storm, -capturing therein Queen Anghared and many of her attendants. The "Lady -of Mercia" had another motive in this invasion, which rendered Wales -tributary to the Saxons; and this motive was the desire to avenge the -death of the good Abbot Egbert, whom the Welsh had slain. - -King Owen fled to Derby, where he was kindly received by the Danes. -When Elfrida learned this she marched thither, and captured the city -"before Lammas," 918. So reckless was she of her own safety on this -memorable day, that it had almost proved to be her last. Pressing -at the head of her troops through the narrow gateway where a vast -multitude of Danes barred the way, many of her principal officers were -struck down, and four of her guards were slain by the hand of the Welsh -king. Gwynne, lord of Ely, and steward of Elfrida, perceiving the -danger of the princess, set the gates on fire, and rushed furiously -upon the Welsh and Danes, who gave way before his onslaught. - -Owen, unable to escape, preferred to fall by his own hand than yield -himself prisoner to a woman. - -Two years later, in 920, Elfrida recaptured Leicester and York from the -Danes; and besides repairing the fortifications of the former city, -encompassed it with a massive wall of such strength that Matthew Paris -styles it _indissoluble_. - -Shortly after this, and before the war was over, Elfrida died at -Tamworth, in Staffordshire, leaving an unmarried daughter named -Elswina. She was buried at Gloucester, in the porch of St. Peter's -monastery, a building erected at her own expense. - -This heroine has been praised by all the old historians for her -prudence, courage, and talent for governing. Ingulphus says that -considering the great actions of her life, the cities she built, the -castles she fortified, and the armies she raised, Elfrida "might have -been thought a man." She was generally styled queen by the Mercians, -who regarded themselves as her subjects. - - * * * * * - -According to tradition it was the same wild Vikings, the terror of our -land, who founded the mighty Russian empire; and their successors, -the Grand Dukes and Czars, have ever since retained that thirst for -conquest which distinguished the roving Normans. The Grand Duke Igor -was one of the first among the successors of Rurik who caused the -Russian standard to be feared by surrounding states. After subduing -most of the neighbouring towns, his victorious career was suddenly -brought to a close in 945, during an expedition against the Drevlians, -by whom he was surrounded, and put to the sword with all his troops. - -Igor was succeeded by his son Sviatoslaf, the first Christian sovereign -of Russia. The prince being too young to conduct the government, his -mother, Olga, undertook the regency. The Drevlians, fancying the royal -widow would be easily intimidated, sent to demand her in marriage for -their prince. But Olga, after causing their ambassadors to be slain -(by various quaint stratagems which Nestor has preserved) called out -her troops, placed herself at their head, and marched against the -Drevlians, taking her son with her to teach him the art of war. After -destroying all the towns and villages of the enemy, she laid siege -to Karosten, their capital, which was built entirely of wood--the -very name signifying "wall of bark." Finding the city too strong and -too well defended, she made proposals of peace to the inhabitants, -declaring that she would be satisfied with three sparrows and a pigeon -from each house, as tribute. The people joyfully complied, and sent -the birds to the Russian camp. Olga caused the birds to be let loose, -with lighted torches tied to their tails; they, of course, flew back -to their nests in the house-eaves of Karosten. The town was soon in -a blaze from end to end. The terrified inhabitants, flying to escape -the flames, were met by the swords and lances of the Russians. The -Drevlian prince and his court perished in the massacre, as indeed, did -nearly every one in the city, save the dregs of the population. - -Having glutted her thirst for revenge, Olga made a progress through -Russia, taking Sviatoslaf with her. Towns and villages arose at her -command, taxation was regulated on a better footing; and by various -measures highly beneficial to the prosperity of the country, the -Grand Duchess proved herself a most able ruler. In 955 she went to -Constantinople to be baptised a Christian, and in the course of a -few years the Greek faith spread through the land, and paganism was -abolished. - -When Sviatoslaf grew old enough to rule his own dominions, Olga -resigned the reins of government. She lived in retirement for several -years, and died in 968 at an advanced age. - - * * * * * - -In the Middle Ages, chemistry and mathematics were things known to few -people except the monks; any man who studied the sciences was styled -an alchemist, and suspected of being in league with the Evil One. When -it was a woman who gave herself up to learned studies, the people -could scarcely be withheld from tearing "the sorceress" to pieces. -Occasionally, however, despite what the world said, noble ladies, -especially on the Continent, did apply their minds to what in those -days went by the name of the Black Art. Amongst these was Richilda, -Countess of Hainault, who married Baldwin the Good, eldest son of -Baldwin, Marquis of Flanders, one of whose daughters, Matilda, became -the wife of William the Conqueror, and another of Tosti Godwinsson, son -of the powerful Earl Godwin. The fame of Richilda as a wicked sorceress -caused her to be anything but a favourite in the country; and when her -husband died, Robert le Frison, Count of Friesland, and brother of the -deceased, endeavoured to wrest Flanders from her young son Arnulf, or -Arnoul, who was little more than a boy. William the Conqueror espoused -the cause of Richilda, and sent over Fitz-Osbern, Earl of Hereford, -the tyrant of the Welsh, to her aid. The Countess also implored the -assistance of her liege lord, the king of France. - -A battle took place on St. Peter's Day, 1071, at Bavinchorum, near -Cassel; Richilda and Fitz-Osbern commanded their troops in person. The -left wing of the foe was routed, and Robert le Frison made prisoner and -sent to St. Omer. But this success was counterbalanced by the death of -Fitz-Osbern and young Arnoul. Richilda's forces fled in confusion, and -the heroine was made prisoner. - -An exchange was effected, by which Richilda and the Frison regained -their liberty. The countess immediately set about raising fresh troops -to avenge the death of her boy. The contending armies met again; -this time at Broqueroi, near Mons, where the troops of Richilda were -routed with so terrible a slaughter that the scene of the conflict was -afterwards known under the name of "the Hedges of Death." All hope now -fled the breast of Richilda. Escaping from the field, she took refuge -in a convent, where the rest of her days were passed under the severest -penances--to atone, as folks said, for her past dealings with the -Prince of Darkness. - -[Illustration] - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -VI. - - The Crusades--French, German, and Genoese Amazons--Eleonora of - Aquitaine--Matilda of Boulogne--Empress Maud--Aldrude, Countess - of Bertinoro--Empress Constantia--Nichola de Camville (Barons' - Wars)--Blanche of Castille, Queen-Regent of France--Women of - Culm--Blanche de Rossi--Black Agnes, Countess of March--Countess - de Montfort--Julia du Guesclin--Jane de Belleville, Lady of - Clisson--Marzia--Margaret, Queen of Denmark, Norway, and - Sweden, the Semiramis of the North--Fair Maiden Lilliard (Chevy - Chase)--Lady Pelham--Philippa, Queen of Denmark. - - -IT would be difficult at the present day to appreciate the wild -enthusiasm spread throughout Europe by the preaching of Peter the -Hermit. Thousands from all classes--kings, princes, nobles, priests, -peasants, beggars, all alike impelled by the same blind impulse, many -amongst them scarcely knowing where they were going or for what they -went to fight,--hastened to take up arms against the Infidel. The -enthusiasm was not, as it would probably in our days, confined to one, -nor even to three or four nations. "There were men," says Robert of -Gloucester:-- - - "Of Normandy, of Denmark, of Norway, of Bretagne, - Of Wales, and of Ireland, of Gascony, of Spain, - Of Provence, of Saxony, and of Allemayne, - Of Scotland, and of Greece, of Rome and Aquitaine." - -Ay, and women too. The first Crusading armies which set out in the -spring of 1096, commanded by Peter the Hermit, Gaultier-sans-Avoir, and -other leaders of less reputation, comprised nearly as many women as -men. Even where they did not contend hand to hand with the Saracens, -these heroines cheered the warriors by marching with them in the ranks, -by carrying food and ammunition to the battle-field, by speaking with -enthusiasm of the cause for which they had armed. It was, indeed, -owing as much to the courage and endurance of the women, who suffered -without a murmur the miseries of cold, hunger, and want of clothing, -as to their own indomitable bravery that the Templars owed the capture -of Antioch. William of Tyre, speaking of the grand review held before -Nice in 1099, says that exclusive of the cavalry, who, to the number of -one hundred thousand were well armed in helmets and mail, there were -found six hundred thousand Crusaders of both sexes, many of them little -children. - -When the second Crusade was preached, many ladies, especially in France -and Germany, formed themselves into squadrons and regiments of Amazons, -and assumed the arms and armour of the Templars. The commander of the -German Amazons, who, says Michaud, was more admired for her dress -than her courage, received the title of the "Golden Footed Dame," or -the "Lady with the Golden Legs," on account of her magnificent gilded -buskins and spurs. She enrolled her troop under the banner of the -emperor Conrad, who started for the East 1147. The French Amazons were -commanded by their queen, Eleonora of Aquitaine (afterwards wife of -Henry II. of England). Forming themselves into a squadron of light -cavalry, they went through a regular course of military training, and, -by constant exercise, they acquired tolerable proficiency in the use of -arms. - -Mezerai, speaking of these "squadrons of females," declares that by -their valour they "rendered credible all that has been said of the -prowess of the Amazons;" but, certes, those who followed King Louis -to the Holy Land rendered themselves more notable for rashness and -folly than manly courage. They set out in the year 1147, with the bold -determination to share all the fatigues and brave all the dangers -incident to a crusade; but their first essay in the presence of the -enemy proved sufficient to put an end to their gallant resolutions and -cover their leader with ridicule. The corps of Amazons, escorted by a -band of sterner warriors commanded by a distinguished knight, had been -sent on in advance, with strict orders from the king to encamp on the -heights of Laodicea, and there await his arrival. They reached the spot -as the sun was setting, and the black, dreary rocks appeared to the -romantic, but inexperienced eye of Eleonora, an exceedingly uninviting -situation for a resting place. With the haughty imperiousness of her -nature, she insisted on turning aside to a beautiful valley watered -by cool streams, and overshadowed by lofty palms, where, despite the -warnings and expostulations of the brave captain who led her escort, -she encamped. - -In this charming but unprotected dale they were soon attacked by a -party of Saracens. King Louis arrived barely in time to save the corps -of Amazons from capture. Compelled to hazard an engagement under -peculiarly disadvantageous circumstances against an enemy who received -reinforcements from moment to moment, Louis was so near being made -prisoner as to be obliged to seek refuge in a tree. The Christians were -victorious, but it was with heavy losses. Eleonora and her followers -retired to the court of her cousin Raymond, Prince of Antioch, and -there passed the rest of the season. - -While the Crusades lasted, ladies continued to accompany husbands -and lovers to the East. In the arsenal of the palace at Genoa there -are, or were some few years since, several light cuirasses, made for -a band of Genoese ladies, who, towards the close of the thirteenth -century, wished to join in a crusade against the Turks. However, by the -entreaties of Pope Boniface VIII., who wrote an autograph letter for -the purpose, they were persuaded to relinquish their design. - -Pierre Gentien, an old French poet, who flourished at the latter end of -the thirteenth century, has left a species of epic in rhyme, wherein -he describes a tournament held by certain noble dames who were about -departing with the knights beyond the seas. In this poem the author, -describing how the combatants, to acquire proficiency in the use of -arms, disputed the prize of valour with all the courage and enthusiasm -of the knights of those days, takes the opportunity to name forty or -fifty, the most beautiful ladies of their time. His poem has been -therefore admired rather as being a memoir of the old French families -than for the excellence of the poetry. - - * * * * * - -The somewhat ridiculous termination to her first essay in presence of -the foe did not entirely quench the military ardour of Eleonora of -Aquitaine. After she had been for some years the wife of king Henry -II., she stirred up her sons, Richard and John, to rebellion against -their father; and went so far as to appear in masculine attire, at the -head of their forces in Aquitaine. And thus clad, she was made prisoner. - -When Prince Arthur was prosecuting his claims on the English crown, -Philip Augustus, the French king, sent him with a military retinue into -Normandy, then in the hands of the English. The French barons laid -siege to Mirebeau, a fortified town near Poitiers. It was defended for -King John by Eleonora, who, though she had then attained the age of -four-score, was as active as ever, and had only just returned from a -journey into Spain--a matter of some difficulty in those days. When the -French had captured the town, the veteran Amazon threw herself into a -strong tower which served as a sort of citadel; and here she held out -bravely till the arrival of John with reinforcements, on the night -between July 31st and August 1, 1202; when the besiegers were compelled -to surrender. - - * * * * * - -During the wars between the Empress Maud and Stephen, the latter was -ably seconded by his queen, Matilda of Boulogne. For the first five -years of his usurpation, the king was disturbed only by the revolt of -Baldwin, Earl of Exeter, and the invasion of David, King of Scotland. -Matilda showed herself to be an able politician and a brave soldier. -In June, 1137, she laid siege to Dover Castle, which had been seized by -the rebels, and, at the same time, sent orders to her Boulogne subjects -to blockade the fortress by sea. - -In July, 1139, the empress, escorted by her brother Robert, Earl of -Gloucester, landed in England. After several battles, of which little -is known, she defeated and captured King Stephen near Lincoln, 1141. -The empress was at once proclaimed queen of England, and after sending -Stephen in irons to Bristol, she entered London. Matilda made humble -suit for the liberty of her lord, and offered, in his name, to resign -all claim to the crown; but the empress refused, save on the petitioner -also surrendering her inheritance of Boulogne. The queen refused; -and with the assistance of William of Ypres, Stephen's talented but -unpopular minister, she raised the standard of the king in Surrey and -Kent, where a large party were in favour of the royal captive. - -"In the pages of superficially-written histories," remarks Miss -Strickland, "much is said of the prowess and military skill displayed -by Prince Eustace at this period; but Eustace was scarcely seven years -old at the time when these efforts were made for the deliverance of his -royal sire; therefore it is plain to those who reflect on the evidence -of dates, that it was the high-minded and prudent queen, his mother, -who avoided all Amazonian display by acting under the name of her son." - -The empress, being warned that the Londoners, weary of her insolence, -had a mind to serve her as she had served Stephen, fled from the city -by night, and laid siege to Winchester Castle. The men of London and -Kent, headed by Matilda, Eustace, and William of Ypres, were soon at -the city gates, and Maud was closely invested for several days in -her palace. To escape the horrors of a city in flames, the empress -feigned herself dead, and her body was conveyed to Gloucester. Robert, -her brother, was made prisoner, and his liberty was purchased by the -release of Stephen. - -From this time the fortunes of the empress rapidly declined. She was so -closely invested in Oxford during the inclement weather of 1142, that -she was compelled to dress herself and her attendants in white, which, -as the ground was covered with snow, more readily escaped observation, -and so steal away from the town. The war continued to rage with the -utmost fury for the next five years; but Maud, weary at last of the -miserable struggle, returned to Normandy in 1147. - -Queen Matilda died at Henningham Castle, in Essex, on May 3rd, 1151, a -little more than three years before her husband. The empress outlived -both her rivals, and died abroad, September 10th, 1167. - - * * * * * - -The famous contest between the Guelfs and the Ghibelines, which for -nearly three hundred years devastated Italy, broke out early in the -twelfth century. The struggle was at first hardly more than a feud -between two powerful families; but it soon developed into an obstinate -war between two political parties--the Guelfs, who formed the papal and -Italian party, and the Ghibelines, who favoured the German Emperors. - -One of the leading events of this war was the siege of Ancona, in 1172, -by the Archbishop of Mentz, Frederic Barbarossa's deputy in Italy, -backed by all the power of Ghibeline Tuscany. The citizens, reduced -to the direst extremities, applied for aid to William degli Adelardi, -a noble and influential citizen of Ferrara, and to the Countess de -Bertinoro. Aldrude, the countess, who belonged to the illustrious -house of Frangipani, has been immortalized by the Italian writers of -those days, on account of her personal beauty, her generosity, and the -magnificence of her court, which was the favourite resort of Italian -chivalry, poetry, and art. She was married young to the Count de -Bertinoro, who died, and left her a widow in the bloom of youth. - -The Countess and Adelardi, with their combined forces, hastened to -the relief of the beleaguered city, near which they arrived at sunset. -Having pitched their camp on a hill overlooking the Ghibeline tents, -the soldiers were assembled, and harangued with exciting speeches, -which they received with loud applause, mingled with the clashing of -arms. However, they gained a bloodless victory. The besiegers, alarmed -at the strength of the foe, struck their tents, and retired under cover -of night. - -The famished Anconians, relieved from the presence of the imperial -army, received a fresh stock of provisions. They came out to thank the -countess and her ally, and offered them magnificent presents. - -On her homeward march, the countess fell in with a party of retreating -Ghibelines. Numerous skirmishes took place, in which the troops of -Aldrude were uniformly victorious. - -The date of this heroine's death is unknown. - - * * * * * - -The designs of the Hohenstaufen on the throne of Sicily drew their -attention for a time from Lombardy. Henry VI., who ascended the -imperial throne of Germany on the death of his father, Frederick -Barbarossa, established a claim on the crown of the Two Sicilies in -right of his wife, the daughter of King Roger. Constantia became the -rightful queen of Sicily on the death of William the Good in 1189; -but the throne was usurped by Tancred, her natural brother. Henry -invaded the Neapolitan states in 1191; but though successful at first, -a terrible mortality in his camp compelled him to raise the siege of -Naples and retire from the country. - -After the death of Tancred, his widow resigned all claim to the crown; -stipulating that her infant son, William, should be left in possession -of Tarentum. But the cruel and perfidious emperor, who had failed in -all his attempts on Naples and Sicily during the life-time of the king, -cast the boy into prison, after putting out his eyes, imprisoned the -queen and the princesses in a convent, and carried the royal treasures -to Germany. - -When the emperor returned to his own land, Naples and Sicily rose -against his tyranny. Hastening back with a mighty army, Henry defeated -the rebels, and commanded that the leaders should suffer the most -excruciating tortures. Constantia, shocked at his barbarity, quarrelled -with her husband, cast off her allegiance, and stirred up the Sicilians -to a fresh rebellion. Thousands flocked to her standard, and the -empress, at this time fifty years old, led them against the German -troops. Henry, who had sent away most of his soldiers to the Holy -Land, was defeated, and compelled to submit to the terms dictated by -Constantia. - -The emperor died at Messina in 1197, shortly after the conclusion of -the treaty, and his wife has been accused of administering poison, -to rid her people of a cruel and vindictive tyrant. After his death, -Constantia lived peacefully in Sicily as regent of the island and -guardian of her infant son, the Emperor Frederick II. She died three -years later, in the year 1200. - - * * * * * - -Returning to England, we find Dame Nichola de Camville, a noted heroine -of those days, personally engaged on the royal side during the Barons' -wars. Nichola de Hara, widow of Gerard, Lord Camville was co-sheriff -for the county of Lincolnshire. She held the Castle of Lincoln for King -John against Gilbert de Gaunt, who had captured the city; and after the -death of John she defended it for his son, Henry III. Shortly after the -death of King John, the Count de la Perche, a French knight commanding -the Confederate Barons, marched to Lincoln at the head of six hundred -knights and twenty thousand soldiers, and besieged the castle. It was -defended by Dame Nichola till the arrival of the Earl of Pembroke in -May, 1217, when the battle, afterwards known as "Lincoln Fair," quelled -for a time the rebellion of the English barons, and established Henry -III. on the throne. - -Turn which way we will, we see nothing but civil wars and struggles -for supremacy between crowned heads and nobles. Crossing to France, -some nine or ten years later, we find the great vassals of the throne -conspiring to deprive Queen Blanche of the regency. However, Blanche -of Castille was not a woman easily intimidated. At the head of a large -army, she went with the young king (her son) to Brittany, the seat of -the conspiracy. The malcontent nobles, not being prepared to meet the -royal forces in the field, submitted for a time. - -In the following year, 1227, the royal troops defeated and captured -Raymond, Count of Toulouse, leader of the Albigeois, and the queen -treated her noble captive so harshly that the French lords again took -up arms, led by the Duke of Brittany. Despite the severity of the -winter, the queen-regent and her son marched into Brittany; and after -surmounting terrible obstacles from the cold, and from the snow and -ice, which stopped both roads and rivers, laid siege to the stronghold -of Bellesme. This fortress which from the thickness of its walls, was -supposed to be impregnable, had a garrison of Bretons, supported by a -body of English auxiliaries. The besieged were in hopes that the royal -army, horribly decimated by the severe weather, would be compelled -soon to retire. But the queen was not the one to yield when she had -once resolved on anything. To preserve her soldiers, hundreds of -whom perished from the bitter cold, she caused immense fires to be -kept constantly blazing, and offered high rewards to all who brought -wood into camp. To encourage the men she slept in the open air by the -bivouac fires, conversed with the troops, and encouraged officers and -privates alike by her affability and condescension. - -Queen Blanche pressed the siege with unyielding determination. After -two assaults had been made the great tower was dismantled, and the -garrison surrendered. The Duke of Brittany was made prisoner, though, -through motives of policy, he was speedily set at liberty. The queen -next took Nantes and Acenis; and the revolt was brought to a close in -1230 by the surrender of the Count de Marche. - -From the courage and military tact displayed by the queen during the -siege of Bellesmes, she received the complimentary title of "the Great -Captain." - -The regency of Blanche ended in 1235, and Louis IX. took the government -into his own hands; but she again took up the regency in 1248, when her -son set forth on his crusade. She died in 1252, before St. Louis came -home from his ill-starred expedition. - -So deep was the respect entertained for the memory of Blanche of -Castille, that many of the queen-dowagers of France assumed the surname -of Blanche, as the Roman emperors took the title of Augustus. - -Until the thirteenth century, Prussia was inhabited by heathen -barbarians. In 1226, Conrad of Masovia gave the Teutonic Knights a -strip of land on the Vistula, that they might protect Poland from the -Prussian savages. For more than half a century the knights carried on -a war of extermination against the natives; again and again were the -Prussian tribes vanquished, again and again they rebelled. In 1240 a -general insurrection of greater magnitude burst forth, and nearly all -the knights were massacred. Those who escaped--principally the Knights -of the Cross--took refuge in the castles of Thorn, Reden, and Culm, -where they were soon beleaguered by the Prussians. The knights in -Culm were induced by a stratagem to come out, when they fell into an -ambuscade, and were all slain. The city would have fallen had not the -women closed the gates, clad themselves in mail, and mounted the walls -with spears in their hands. The Prussians, deceived by this stratagem, -withdrew their forces, believing that Culm was still strongly -garrisoned by sturdy knights. - -Prussia was at last converted to Christianity, and adopted the manners -and customs of Germany, of which it is now the leading State. - -The contests between the Guelfs and Ghibelines proved fatal to Italian -liberty. Might became right, tyrants arose on every side, and either -by open force or by fraud, possessed themselves of the sovereign power -in some one of the Lombardian cities and the adjacent territories. -The various military leaders, whether Italians or Germans, were mere -freebooters, accountable to no one for their acts, permitting the -utmost license to themselves and their followers. One of the most -infamous of these mercenaries was Acciolin, who was not a brutal and -rapacious robber, but a man of refined cruelty. His favourite mode of -torture was to fasten his prisoners to half-putrified corpses, and -leave the living and the dead to rot away together. - -In 1253, this fiend in human shape captured Bassano by storm, after a -tiresome siege. The garrison was commanded by John Baptista de Porta, -who was either governor or lord of the place. Blanche de Rossi, his -wife, a native of Padua, put on armour, mounted the ramparts, and -fought by the side of her husband. When the town fell the governor -was slain, and Blanche, after making a desperate resistance, was made -prisoner and led in triumph before Acciolin. Directly the villain set -eyes upon his beautiful captive, he was seized with a violent passion -for her; and to escape him, she sprang, clad as she was in armour, -through a window. But in place of death, she only met with a sprained -shoulder. Directly she recovered from her swoon the tyrant sent for -her again, and finding his renewed protestations were repulsed with -loathing, he obtained by force what was denied to his prayers. Blanche -then withdrew to the place where her husband's body had been thrown, -and flinging herself into the open grave, was crushed to death by the -falling earth and stones. - -In the year 1333, King Edward III., espousing the cause of Edward -Baliol, invaded Scotland. The battle of Hallidon Hill, July 29th, in -which the Regent Douglas was defeated, placed Baliol on the throne; -and Edward, carried away by his ambitious designs upon the French -throne, left his army in charge of the Earls of Arundel and Salisbury, -and returned to England. Montague, Earl of Salisbury, laid siege to -the castle of Dunbar, a place of great importance, esteemed as the -key of Scotland, on the south-east border. It had been fortified -very recently; and in the absence of the Earl of March, was defended -by the countess, who, from the dark colour of her complexion, was -popularly styled "Black Agnes." She was the daughter of Randolph, Earl -of Moray, and inherited from her father a fierce, intrepid spirit. -During the five months' siege she performed all the duties of a bold -and skilful commander, and the garrison had the utmost confidence in -her abilities. Constantly on the ramparts, she derided the English with -biting sarcasms. When the battering-engines hurled stones against the -walls, she scornfully told one of her female attendants to wipe off the -dust with her handkerchief. - -The Earl of Salisbury knew well the kind of foe he had to deal with. -One day he was superintending the siege operations, when an arrow from -the castle whizzed past and struck a knight who stood by, piercing -through his chain-mail haubergeon, and killing him on the spot. - -"There comes one of my lady's tire-pins," exclaimed the Earl. "Agnes's -love-shafts go straight to the heart!" - -A monster called the "sow," a huge engine covered with hides, somewhat -resembling the testudo of the Romans, was at last rolled to the foot -of the walls. When the countess saw this ponderous machine coming, she -cried in a loud, mocking voice:-- - -"Montague, beware! your sow shall soon cast her pigs!" - -She quickly verified her words by hurling an immense piece of rock upon -the "sow," crushing both it and its occupants to pieces. - -Salisbury finding he could not succeed by fair means, bribed the -gate-keeper to leave the gates open on the following night. The porter -disclosed this to the countess, who directed him to keep to his bargain -and say nothing about it. The Earl, who commanded the party that were -to seize the castle, rode through the darkness at the head of his -soldiers, found the gates open according to agreement, and was about -to enter, when one of his men, John Copeland, passed in front of him. -The portcullis was suddenly dropped; Copeland, mistaken for his master, -remained a prisoner. The Earl was saved by his men, who dragged him -back just in time. Agnes, from a high turret, saw that the general had -escaped. - -"Farewell, Montague!" she cried. "I intended that you should have -supped with us to-night, and assisted in defending the fortress against -the English." - -Salisbury, despairing of being able to take the place, either by -treachery or by storm, turned the siege into a blockade, closely -investing the castle by sea and land, and tried to starve the garrison -out into a surrender. Alexander Ramsay, hearing of the extremities to -which Black Agnes was reduced, embarked with a party of forty resolute -men, eluded the vigilance of the English, and entered the castle, under -cover of night, by a postern next the sea. Sallying out again, they -attacked and dispersed the advanced guard of the besiegers. Salisbury, -disheartened by so many reverses, withdrew his forces, after having -remained before Dunbar for nineteen weeks. - -About this time the duchy of Brittany was the subject of contention -between two rivals, John, Count de Montfort, son of the late duke, and -Charles of Blois, who had married the duke's granddaughter. Philip de -Valois, King of France, decided the dispute in favour of Charles, and -despatched a large army to establish him in the capital. Edward III., -of England, at once declared for the Count de Montfort, as an enemy to -the house of Valois, which he--King Edward--wished to drive from the -throne of France. - -The count was betrayed into the hands of his rival by some malcontent -nobles. But Jane, the brave countess, sustained his sinking fortunes -"with the courage of a man and the heart of a lion." Directly the -news of her husband's capture arrived at Rennes, where she resided, -the countess assembled the citizens, showed them her infant son, and -entreated them not to desert the last male heir of their ancient dukes. -Her eloquence, beauty, and courage produced a magical effect. The -people swore to defend her and her son to the last extremity. - -The countess next visited all the strongholds throughout Brittany, and -excited the people to resist the French, and to adopt the requisite -measures of defence. Then, sending her boy to England, she shut herself -up in Hennebonne, and there awaited the reinforcements promised by King -Edward. - -Charles of Blois entered Brittany, captured Rennes, and despatched -a force, commanded by Prince Louis of Spain, to besiege Hennebonne. -The garrison, animated by the presence of the valiant countess, made -a resolute defence. Jane herself performed prodigies of valour. -Clad in armour from head to foot, she stood foremost in the breach, -sustaining every attack of the foe with the utmost _sang froid_, or ran -from post to post, according as the troops required encouragement or -reinforcement. - -One day the besiegers, engaged in an attack on the town, left their -camp totally unprotected. The countess, perceiving their neglect, -sallied forth by a postern-gate at the head of five hundred picked -men, set fire to the enemy's baggage and magazines, and created such -universal alarm that the besiegers gave over their assault on the town -to intercept her return. Jane, seeing that her retreat was cut off that -way, galloped towards Arrai, where she arrived in safety. In five days -she returned, cut her way through the camp of Charles, and re-entered -the town. By this time, however, the breaches in the walls had grown -so numerous that the place was deemed untenable. The bishop of Leon, -despite the entreaties, the prayers of Jane, resolved to capitulate, -and opened negotiations with the enemy. Jane mounted the highest turret -and turned her eyes towards the sea, with a last hope of seeing her -deliverers. She descried some small specks far away in the distance. -Rushing down into the street, she cried, with transports of joy:-- - -"Succours! Succours! The English succours! No capitulation!" - -The English fleet soon entered the harbour, and a small but valiant -body of English, headed by the chivalrous Sir Walter Manny, cast -themselves into the town. The negotiations were at once broken off, -and the besiegers, balked of their prey, renewed the attack with more -determined vigour than ever. - -Sir Walter and his companions were at dinner with the countess when -a huge mass of stone crashed through the roof of an adjoining house, -terrifying the ladies assembled in the castle hall. Starting from his -seat, Sir Walter vowed to destroy the terrible engine which had thrown -this missile. In a few moments the English sallied forth, hewed the -monster catapult in pieces, burned the sow, and threw the enemy's camp -into confusion. The foe, recovering from their first astonishment, -tried to surround the returning warriors; but the English knights stood -their ground till the archers and men-at-arms had re-crossed the -ditch. Then driving back their assailants they crossed the draw-bridge, -and were received with acclamations by the townspeople, while the -countess herself "came down from the castle to meet them, and with a -most cheerful countenance kissed Sir Walter and all his companions, one -after another, like a noble and valiant dame." - -Prince Louis abandoned his camp the same evening, and retired to that -of Prince Charles before the Castle of Arrai. - -Charles, though unsuccessful in his attack on Hennebonne, soon became -master of nearly the whole of Brittany. During the truce between -England and France, the Countess de Montfort came to London, and asked -King Edward to grant her further assistance. He commanded Robert of -Artois to return with her, accompanied by a strong force, to Brittany. -They encountered the French fleet near Guernsey; and during the -engagement Jane displayed her accustomed bravery. The contending fleets -were at last separated by a storm, and the English sailed to Brittany, -took Vannes by storm, and massacred, not only the garrison, but even -the townspeople. The French soon recaptured the town, when Robert of -Artois was slain. - -Edward III. landed in Brittany in 1345, with twelve thousand men, but -was not at first very successful. In June he was obliged to conclude -a short truce with France, during which the Count de Montfort was set -at liberty; but he died of a fever on Sept. 20th, when his son John -was proclaimed duke. At the end of July, 1346, the English invaded -Normandy. The Countess de Montfort, assisted by an English force under -Sir Thomas Dagworth, defeated Charles of Blois, who was made prisoner. - -Charles was set free in May, 1360, when peace was concluded between -France and England. The treaty, though it did not interfere with -Brittany, brought about an arrangement some months later, by which the -duchy was divided between the rival claimants. - -But Charles broke faith, and renewed hostilities with the assistance -of France. The struggle was at last decided in favour of the Count de -Montfort, by the death of Charles and his son John, both of whom were -slain in the battle of Arrai, gained by the English, September 20th, -1364, the same day of the month on which his rival died. - -The French heroine of this war was Julia du Guesclin, sister of the -great Constable. When the English invaded Brittany to support the Count -de Montfort, Julia, who was living with her sisters in a convent, was -obliged to take refuge in the fortress of Pontsorel, which was soon -besieged by the English. The garrison was small and the besiegers -were many, but Julia, with a courage worthy of her brother Bertrand, -persuaded the French not to surrender. Clad in a coat of mail (one -of her brother's) she stood on the ramparts and hurled back all who -attempted to scale the walls. Animated by her courage, the French -made so sturdy a defence that the English were compelled to retire, -discomfited. Julia then commanded the garrison to throw open the gates -and pursue the foe. The retreating army, confronted unexpectedly by a -strong force commanded by the Constable himself, who was returning to -Pontsorel, and surrounded on all sides, were nearly all slain, while -their commander was made prisoner. - -When the war was over, Julia returned to her convent, where she passed -the rest of her days. - - * * * * * - -Another heroine of this war was Jane de Belleville. Her husband, -Oliver, Lord of Clisson, was accused of holding secret intelligence -with the English; and in 1343 Philip de Valois, without waiting -till the evidence should be well substantiated, caused him to be -decapitated. The widow, burning for revenge, sold her jewels, and with -the proceeds equipped three vessels. After sending her son, a lad of -twelve, to England, to ensure his safety, Jane cruised about the coast -of Normandy, attacking every French ship which came in her way, and -ravaging the country for a mile or so inland. This female corsair was -frequently seen, with a sword in one hand and a torch in the other, -amidst the smoking ruins of a castle, or the smouldering heaps of a -destroyed village, directing with inhuman exultation the ferocious -cruelties suggested by her thirst for vengeance. - - * * * * * - -While King Edward and Philip de Valois were devastating France in their -contests for the crown, the Romagna was the scene of a fierce struggle -between the Pope, the Visconti, and the various nobles and cities of -Italy. After having lost a great part of his territories, Innocent II. -reconquered the States of the Church by means of the Cardinal Legate -Egidius Albornez. But the Papal governors were so tyrannical that the -nobles of the Romagna, with few exceptions, fought desperately to -maintain their independence. Francesco d'Ordelaffi, lord of Forli, was -the last to give way. He was ably seconded in his brave resistance -by Marzia, his wife, a member of the house of Ubaldini. While he was -defending Forli he entrusted the town of Cesena to his wife; and in -the beginning of 1357 the husband and wife separated. Marzia took up -her station in Cesena, with a garrison of two hundred knights and an -equal number of common soldiers. She was accompanied by her son and -daughter, and by Sgariglino de Petragudula, the wise counsellor of the -Ordelaffi family. - -The town was soon invested by a force ten times as numerous as the -garrison. At the end of April some terrified burgesses opened the gates -of the lower town. But Marzia, recollecting the words of her husband, -who declared that unless the Pope offered him honourable terms he would -sustain a siege in every one of his castles, that when they were all -taken he would defend Forli, the walls, the streets, his own palace, -even to the last tower of his palace, before surrendering his rights, -retreated to the upper town with those soldiers and townspeople who -remained faithful. Sgariglino having proved to be a traitor, she caused -him to be executed; his reeking head was flung from the battlements -amongst the besiegers. - -Marzia took upon herself all the duties of governor and military -commander. She wore her helmet and cuirass day and night, and scarcely -closed her eyes at all. At last she was compelled to retire into the -citadel with four hundred soldiers and citizens who swore to stand by -her to the death. But the citadel, undermined by the Papal engineers, -almost hung in the air. Marzia's father, permitted by the legate, -entered Cesena and besought her to surrender. Her answer was firm and -simple. Her husband gave her a duty to perform, and she must obey -implicitly. - -At last the people began to murmur. Marzia was compelled to surrender. -She conducted the negotiations herself; and so skilfully did she -manage, that the Legate, afraid of driving her to despair, consented -that her soldiers should return home unmolested, with their arms and -accoutrements. On the 21st of June she opened the gate of the citadel. - -She had disdained to make terms for herself, so the legate cast Marzia -and her children into prison. - -It is curious to note that there are now no remains of Cesena to -commemorate the heroic valour of Marzia. - - * * * * * - -The illustrious northern heroine, Margaret, whose military achievements -gained for her the title of "Semiramis of the North," was daughter of -Waldemar, King of Denmark, and was born at Copenhagen in 1353. On the -death of her father, Margaret, through her exceeding popularity with -the people, succeeded in placing Olaus, her son, on the throne. Haquin, -King of Norway, Margaret's husband, died in 1380, and Olaus in 1387. -The election of a female sovereign was not yet authorised by custom; -but Margaret's superior talents, her beauty, and her profuse liberality -prevailed, and she was chosen Queen of Denmark, and, soon after, she -was elected Queen of Norway. - -By taking advantage of the internal dissensions in the kingdom of -Sweden, Margaret gained over a faction of the nobility, who offered her -the crown. She marched into Sweden with a large army, and after a war -of seven years defeated and captured King Albert at Falkoeping. She -kept him a prisoner seven years longer, at the expiration of which he -resigned all claim to the Swedish crown. - -To effect a permanent union of the three Scandinavian crowns, Queen -Margaret concluded the famous Union of Calmar, 1397. She restored -tranquillity at home, and was successful against all her enemies -abroad; but her latter years were disturbed by the ingratitude of Eric, -whom she had chosen as her successor. She died in 1412. - - * * * * * - -According to Border tradition, a Scottish maiden named Lilliard -fought at the battle of Otterburn ("Chevy Chase") on the 19th of -August, 1388, and displayed the same style of valour attributed to the -gallant Witherington, who fell in the same battle. It is said that the -following inscription was, till within a few years ago, to be seen on -her tombstone:-- - - "Fair Maiden Lilliard lies under this stane, - Little was her stature, but great was her fame, - On the English lads she laid many thumps, - And when her legs were off, she fought upon her stumps." - -One of the most faithful adherents of Henry Bolingbroke in his days of -adversity was Sir John de Pelham, who had been squire to old John of -Gaunt. When Lancaster was banished by king Richard, Pelham followed -him abroad, leaving Pevensey castle in charge of his wife, Lady Joan. -Sir John was one of the fifteen lances who disembarked at Ravenspur, -in July, 1399, with Henry; and on the 4th of the same month, while -he was sharing the fatigues and perils of what seemed then a rash -enterprise, the partizans of Richard II. laid siege to Pevensey castle. -Lady Joan, a noble and spirited woman, took upon herself the conduct -of the defence, and directed all the efforts of the garrison with such -prudence and decision that the besiegers were forced to retire. - -When the Duke of Lancaster ascended the throne as Henry IV., he -remembered the services of his faithful adherents. Sir John de Pelham -was created a Knight of the Bath, and appointed royal sword-bearer, -treasurer-at-war, and chief butler to the king. The king further -displayed his confidence in Sir John by sending James I. of Scotland -as a prisoner to Pevensey castle. The courage of Lady Joan was also -publicly recognised and applauded. - - * * * * * - -Eric, Margaret's successor on the Scandinavian throne, proved to be a -very inferior ruler to his illustrious aunt. Nearly all his reign was -taken up with an inglorious war for the Duchy of Schleswig. The quarrel -was decided in favour of Denmark by the Emperor Sigismund; but the -Count of Holstein refused to accept the imperial decree, and the war -waxed fiercer every day. The Hanseatic League, whose fleet then ruled -the Baltic, joined the alliance against Denmark; and in 1428 a powerful -armament, commanded by Count Gerard of Holstein, invested Copenhagen. -The city would doubtless have fallen but for the courage of Eric's -queen, Philippa, who was the daughter of Henry IV. of England. Throwing -herself into the city, the queen, by her exhortations and example, -inspired the garrison with such enthusiasm and patriotic fervour, that -the foe were compelled to retire discomfited. - -Elated by her success, Philippa now resolved to carry the war into -the enemy's country. So, while Eric was endeavouring to gather -reinforcements of men and money in Sweden, the queen, with a fleet -of seventy-five sail, invested Stralsund. But this time fortune was -against the heroine. The Danish navy was almost entirely destroyed in a -great sea-fight. Eric, without reflecting that he had himself suffered -many a worse defeat, flew into a rage when he heard of this disaster; -and carried away by his blind fury, he even struck the queen. The -high-spirited Philippa, unable to forgive this brutality, retired to a -convent, where she died shortly after. - -[Illustration] - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -VII. - - Jeanne d'Arc, the Maid of Orleans--Margaret de Attendoli, Sister - of the great Sforza--Bona Lombardi and Onerata Rodiana, Female - Condottieri--Marulla (Turks in Europe)--Margaret of Anjou--Jeanne - Hachette--Dona Aldonza de Castillo, and Dona Maria Sarmiento - (Civil Wars in Castile)--Isabel the Catholic--Caterina Sforza. - - -AT the beginning of the fifteenth century there dwelt in the little -village of Domremy, on the banks of the Meuse, Jacques d'Arc, or Darc, -a peasant, and Isabeau Romie, his wife. Though comparatively poor, they -had the respect of their neighbours as being a hard-working, honest -couple. They had three sons and two daughters, all of whom were bred, -like their parents, to humble occupations. Joan, Jeanne, or Jehanne was -born, according to different writers, in 1402, 1410, or 1412. She was -exceedingly beautiful, with fine expressive features, and jet black -hair. She was about the middle height, with a delicately moulded frame. -Her education was the same as that of most peasant-girls, French or -English, in those days--spinning, sewing, and repeating her Paternoster -and Ave Maria. From her infancy Jeanne was employed in various duties, -the chief of which was driving the cattle to and from pasture. She was -of a religious, imaginative disposition, and as early as her thirteenth -year began to indulge those superstitious reveries which afterwards -made her famous. Although her gentleness caused her to be universally -beloved, she shunned girls of her own age, and took but little interest -in the amusements of others. While her young friends were playing under -the "Fairies' Tree" near the fountain of Domremy, Jeanne was dancing -and singing by herself in pious fervour, or weaving garlands for the -Holy Virgin in the small chapel of Notre Dame de Bellemont. - -The villagers of Domremy were, without exception, staunch Royalists, -while those of the neighbouring hamlet were zealous Burgundians. A very -bitter hostility prevailed between the rival parties. On one occasion -a band of troopers invaded Domremy and drove all the people from their -homes. The family of Jeanne found shelter for a few days at an inn; -whence arose the mistake of the English chroniclers, who state that -the maiden was in early life an innkeeper's servant. - -For a quarter of a century, France had been torn by civil war, and -the death of Charles VI. in 1422 plunged the country into hopeless -confusion and anarchy. According to the Treaty of Troyes (concluded in -1420), Henry VI. of England was proclaimed King of France, which his -uncle, the Duke of Bedford, governed as regent. Queen Isabella and the -Duke of Burgundy joined England; and the Dauphin, abandoned by his own -mother, had a very small party indeed. The English army was commanded -by several brave and talented warriors--the Earls of Salisbury, -Somerset, Warwick, Suffolk, Shrewsbury, Arundel, and many gallant -knights. - -The Dauphin, at the age of nineteen, was crowned at Poitiers, as -Charles VII. On the 12th of October, 1428, the Earl of Salisbury laid -siege to Orleans, the last stronghold of any importance held by the -Royalists. It was bravely defended by Glaucour, Lahyre, and Dunois. -Repeated messages were sent to the king imploring assistance. The city -was naturally strong, and well-garrisoned, but the English commenced an -elaborate system of counter-fortification, and cut off the supplies of -the besieged. - -Jeanne d'Arc watched with eager anxiety the siege of Orleans. Even -as a child she had learned to detest the English; and now she felt -herself commanded, by frequent visions and supernatural admonitions, -to undertake the deliverance of her king and country. Believing -firmly that Heaven destined her to save France, she refused more -than one advantageous offer of marriage. In February, 1429, being -then, according to the most reliable authorities, barely eighteen, -she was commanded by a vision of Our Lady to raise the siege of -Orleans, and afterwards conduct Charles to Rheims to be crowned in -state. She presented herself before Robert de Baudricourt, governor -of Vaucoulour, a town situated a few miles from Domremy, and related -her mission. Believing her to be insane, the governor twice sent -her away, threatening the second time to box her ears; but when she -returned a third time he thought it best to send her with letters of -recommendation to the Dauphin, at Chinon, in Touraine. - -The fame of Jeanne d'Arc preceded her; and the king awaited with -impatience the arrival of his extraordinary visitor. Although Charles -disguised himself and mixed with his courtiers, Jeanne singled him out -at once, and addressed him as king of France. - -After being subjected to the most severe examination during three -weeks, by divines, counsellors of parliament and learned men, the -king was satisfied that her story was true, and consented to accept -her aid. She was furnished with a suit of armour, and armed with a -sword marked on the blade with five crosses, taken by her directions -from the tomb of an old warrior in the church of St. Catherine at -Fierbois. In company with several nobles she was sent to the camp at -Blois, thirty-five miles from Orleans. Her presence produced the most -miraculous effect upon the drooping spirits of the soldiers. The French -generals resolved now to make some great effort for the relief of -Orleans; and ten thousand men, commanded by St. Severre, Lahyre, and -the veteran Dunois were despatched to its aid. Most of the soldiers -retreated in dismay when they saw the strong towers of the besiegers, -but La Pucelle, followed by a small party, forced her way through the -English camp, and entered Orleans on the 29th of April, 1429. She was -clad in armour and mounted on a snow-white horse; her head was bare, -and the long raven tresses, parted across her forehead, were tied at -the back with ribbon. In her right hand she grasped a lance; by her -side hung the consecrated sword and a small battle-axe. - -On the 4th of May a sortie was made against the English bastille -of St. Loup, but the French were driven back with great slaughter. -Jeanne, hearing the noise of the fight, mounted her horse and galloped -to the spot, when she rode into the midst of the battle. The French, -re-animated by her presence, again charged the English, drove them -back, and captured the bastille. - -After this first success the rest was comparatively easy. On the 6th -and 7th the remaining bastilles on the south bank of the Loire were -carried by storm. The most important, that at the head of the bridge, -defended by Sir William Gladsdale with five thousand picked men, -yielded after an attack of fourteen hours. During the attack on this -tower, Jeanne, having placed a ladder against the walls, was attempting -to scale the battlements, when she was struck in the neck by an arrow. -She plucked out the weapon immediately, but the loss of blood compelled -her to leave the field. However, when she heard that her absence -dispirited the soldiers, she insisted upon returning to the scene of -action. - -The Earl of Salisbury died during the siege; and the Earl of Suffolk, -who succeeded to the command, raised the siege on the 8th of May, and -beat a hasty retreat. - -Jeanne d'Arc, the "Heaven-sent Maid," had now fully entered upon her -extraordinary career of victory. The universal belief in her elevated -mission--as much amongst the English as the French--produced marvellous -results. Resolute and chivalrous, pious and gentle, she won the hearts -of all,--even the roughest and most sceptical veterans. However, it was -only in matters of moral discipline that she was implicitly obeyed; -oaths or foul language were severely censured when they reached her -ears. She compelled the entire army, generals and soldiers alike, -to attend regularly at confession; and at every halt she ordered an -altar to be established and the Holy Sacrament administered. But the -generals, while they skilfully employed her to animate the soldiers, -did not implicitly follow her counsels in military matters. - -Her tactics were very simple. "I used," she said, "to say to them 'go -boldly in among the English,' and then I used to go boldly in myself." -Her duties were chiefly confined to bearing at the head of the army -the consecrated sword and the sacred banner--the latter made of white -satin, semee with fleurs-de-lis, with the words "Jesus Maria," and a -representation of Our Saviour in his glory embroidered on its surface. -Her conduct was never stained by unfeminine cruelty. It appears from -the documents relative to her trial, that, although she was herself -wounded many a time, she never shed the blood of anyone. Some French -historians, however, aver that she did sometimes, when hard pressed, -use the consecrated sword as a weapon of offence. - -When the Earl of Suffolk retired from before Orleans he established -his head-quarters at Mehun-sur-Loire, and afterwards at Jargeau. -Jeanne hastened to Tours, where Charles was residing with his court, -and urged him at once to go to Rheims to be crowned. The royal -advisers, however, were afraid to venture on such a step when Rheims -itself, together with all the intermediate towns, was still held by -the English. The French next attacked the towns in possession of the -English on the banks of the Loire. During the assault on Jargeau, which -was taken by storm, La Pucelle, leading on the French, was seen on the -highest step of one of the scaling-ladders, waving her banner over her -head. A stone from the English engines struck her so violent a blow on -the head, that her helmet was shattered, and she fell heavily to the -foot of the wall. Rising on the instant, she cried:-- - -"Amis, amis! sus, sus! Notre Seigneur a condamne les Anglais. Ils sont -a nous. Bon courage!" - -The Earl of Suffolk was made prisoner during the assault. - -Beaugency and Mehun capitulated shortly after the fall of Jargeau; and -the English, commanded by Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, the "English -Achilles," retreated towards Paris. They were pursued and overtaken in -April, 1429, at Patai, by the Maid of Orleans. Sir John Fastolfe, one -of the bravest knights of his day (whatever Shakespeare may declare to -the contrary), advised Talbot to continue his retreat with all speed; -but the Earl scorned to fly before his enemies, even though, as on this -occasion, they were twice as numerous as his own men. The English, -struck with a superstitious dread of La Pucelle, fled, after making -little resistance; and Talbot, after losing twelve hundred men, was -captured. Eight hundred English were slain in the pursuit. Sir John -Fastolfe, with a prudence long stigmatised as rank cowardice, continued -his retreat to Paris, where he arrived safely without the loss of a man. - -Jeanne now insisted that the royal coronation should be no longer -delayed. Every obstacle vanished at her approach. Troyes, Chalons, and -other cities in rapid succession opened their gates; the people of -Rheims expelled the English garrison, and Charles entered in triumph, -July 16th, 1429. The consecration took place next day in the cathedral. -The Maid stood by the side of Charles, clad in armour; and, taking the -office of High Constable, held the sword over the king's head. - -Her mission being now concluded, Jeanne d'Arc entreated the king's -permission to "return to her father and mother, to keep her flocks -and herds as before, and do all things as she was wont to do;" but -her presence was considered so necessary to animate the troops, that -she was prevailed upon to stay. In September, Jeanne was wounded in -an unsuccessful attack on Paris, when she requested, a second time, -to be allowed to retire from the war. But she was again overruled. -In December, a patent of nobility was conferred upon her; she was -first styled Dalis, then Dulis, and finally Dy Lys. Her coat of arms -contained two golden lilies and a sword, pointing upwards, bearing a -crown. She obtained for the villages of Domremy and Greux an exemption -from taxation, which they enjoyed until the equalisation of public -imposts in 1789. - -In the spring of 1429, the Duke of Burgundy besieged Compiegne. Jeanne -d'Arc threw herself into the town on the 21st of May. Believing that -her presence now would work the same miracles as of old, she insisted, -the evening of her arrival, that the garrison should make a sortie. -After some hard fighting the French took to flight. Jeanne took the -command of the rear-guard, and tried to rally her countrymen. A -Burgundian archer pulled her from her horse; and while lying on the -ground she was obliged to surrender to Lyonnel, the Bastard of Vendome. -There is good reason for supposing that Guillaume de Flavy, governor of -the fortress, envious of her military renown, betrayed Jeanne into the -hands of her enemies. - -The English purchased Jeanne from the Duke of Burgundy for ten thousand -livres; and Henry VI. also settled an annuity of three hundred francs -upon her captor. Through many weary months the Maid of Orleans dragged -out a miserable existence in a dungeon. In place of being treated as -a prisoner of war, she was handed over to ecclesiastical justice, -charged with heresy and blasphemy. At the instigation of several -Frenchmen a process was instituted by the Bishop of Beauvais, in whose -diocese she had been captured. The process lasted three months and had -sixteen sittings. Jeanne denied resolutely the accusations of sorcery -and witchcraft, and named St. Michael, St. Margaret, and St. Catherine -as the bearers of the heavenly messages. - -The Bishop's Court, representing the Church and the University of -Paris, condemned Jeanne d'Arc as a sorceress and a heretic. Charles -VII. made little or no efforts to save her; and after four months' -imprisonment, the innocent enthusiast was sentenced to be burned alive -at Rouen. She was cut off from the Church, and delivered to the secular -judges. - -On the 24th of May, 1431, she was carried to the stake, which had -been erected in the Vieux Marche of Rouen. At sight of the pile her -courage deserted her. She submitted to the Church, and confessed that -her visions were the work of Satan. Her punishment was commuted to -imprisonment for life, but it was not considered expedient to let her -live; so she was condemned as a relapsed heretic, and dragged to the -stake, May 30th. She was dressed in female attire; and on her head was -a mitre, covered with the words "Apostate," "Relapse," "Idolatre," -"Heretique." - -She met her fate this time with terrible calmness. While they were -putting the cap on her head, she said to one of the Dominican friars -who stood by her side:-- - -"Maitre, par la grace de Dieu, je serai ce soir en paradis." - -Falling on her knees, she prayed fervently for a few moments, not for -herself only, but for the ungrateful king who had so cruelly deserted -her. The judges, even the stern Bishop of Beauvais, were moved to -tears. She was burned by a slow fire, and the pile was so high that her -agony lasted for a considerable time. Her ashes were gathered together -and flung into the Seine. - -There is a legend that, as she expired, a white dove rose from the -flames. Another tradition says that after her ashes were removed, the -heart was found entire. - -The Rouen theatre now occupies that part of the public square on which -the stake was erected. It was remarked as a curious coincidence that -when Soumet's tragedy of "Jeanne d'Arc" was performed at Rouen, in -the autumn of 1865, the last act, which represents the death of the -Maid, was played on the identical spot where the real tragedy had been -enacted in 1431. - -Jeanne's father died of grief at her cruel fate; her mother survived -for many years, supported by a pension from the city of Orleans. In -1436 an impostor started up, who pretended to be the Maid of Orleans, -giving a plausible account of her escape. She was for sometime -successful, being acknowledged, even by the brothers, as the heroine -herself. Within the last few years this idea of Jeanne's escape -has been revived. Many French writers assert that there is ample -documentary evidence to prove that the Maid of Orleans lived to be -comfortably married, while another girl took her place at the stake. -This notion is gaining ground, both in France and England. - -Among all the divines who condemned Jeanne, there was only one -Englishman--the Bishop of Winchester, Cardinal Beaufort. - -In 1450 and 1451 measures were taken to revise the process of -condemnation. In 1456 a court, presided over by the Archbishop of -Rheims and the Bishops of Paris and Coutance, decided that Jeanne d'Arc -was entirely innocent, and declared her to have been falsely condemned. - -The citizens of Orleans celebrate the annual Festival of Jeanne d'Arc -on the 8th of May; the villagers of Domremy hold an annual fete on the -6th of January, the birth-day of the heroine. It is said that the girls -of the village have so much military _esprit_ that they will hardly -deign to look upon a lover who has not served some years in the wars. - -The memory of Jeanne d'Arc has been preserved in France by several -monuments. Louis XI. erected a figure of the heroine in front of her -father's house; and in September, 1820, another memorial was raised -in Domremy, with Jeanne's bust carved in marble. In the market-place -of Rouen stands another figure of the Maid. In front of the Marie -of Orleans is a statue, modelled by the Princess Marie, daughter -of the Citizen King. In April, 1855, a colossal equestrian figure -was uncovered in one of the public squares of Orleans, on the exact -spot where she animated the French soldiers to attack the foe. It -was remarked as a sign of the times that not only the English flag, -but also the Turkish crescent stood out prominently from amongst the -numberless standards which surrounded the monument. - -It has lately been proposed by the Bishop of Orleans, the Cardinal -Archbishop of Rouen, and others, to add Jeanne d'Arc to the calendar of -French saints. Shakespeare may thus prove once more a prophet; he has -put into the mouth of King Charles, the words:-- - - "No longer on Saint Denis will we cry, - But Joan la Pucelle shall be France's saint." - -During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries Italy was terribly -harassed by bands of mercenary soldiers, who sought service in every -war, and fought neither through patriotism nor for the love of glory, -but merely for pay and the opportunity of plunder. These bands, who -counted their numbers by hundreds or thousands, according to the -reputation of the Condottiere (leader) under whom they fought, offered -their services to the prince or city that paid them best, without -regard to law or justice. Many of the Condottieri, such as the Count -of Werner, Montreal, Bracchia de Montone, and Francesco Sforza, became -famous throughout Italy, not only as able generals, but sometimes even -as skilful statesmen; yet, mostly they were ignorant, brutal men, with -nothing to recommend them beyond reckless bravery. - -Sforza had a sister named Margaret de Attendoli, who shared his warlike -spirit and enterprising courage. The family was of humble origin, but -through the military genius of Francesco it rose, by rapid strides, -to the highest rank and eminence. Before he assumed the sovereignty -of Milan, Sforza was grand-constable of Naples; and in this capacity -he was sent to meet the Count de la Marche, the betrothed husband of -the Neapolitan queen. The count, dreading the power of Sforza, caused -him to be cast into prison, with many of his relations. Sforza's -sister was at Tricario with her husband, Michael de Cotignola, when -the intelligence of Francesco's arrest reached her. The relatives -speedily assembled an army, Margaret took the command, and a revolt -began. According as the Count de la Marche grew more brutal towards -his queen and more despotic to her subjects, the insurrection became -more general; and at last Count Jaques was besieged in his castle. The -besiegers demanded that Sforza should be set at liberty, and that the -count should be content with the title of lieutenant-general of the -kingdom; but he, knowing the value of his prisoner as a hostage, sent -threatening messages to Margaret, demanding that Tricario should be -given up, unless she would wish to be the cause of her brother's death. -Margaret, indignant at the proposal, took the bold step of imprisoning -the deputies, whose families, alarmed for their safety, importuned the -count night and day, till he consented to set Sforza at liberty, and -reinstate him in all his honours. - - * * * * * - -Female Condottieri were by no means uncommon in those days; and some -of the women acquired celebrity, even beyond the Italian borders, for -their prowess and military skill. The story of one of these female -soldiers is interesting. - -About the year 1432, Captain Brunoro, a Parmesan gentleman by birth, -and a Condottiere by profession, was appointed by Piccinio, the -Milanese general (who had just driven the Venetians from Vatellina), -to maintain a camp in Morbego, as a central position whence he could -command the conquered territory. While thus employed, he occupied his -leisure time with hunting, and various open air amusements. One day, -being tired, he stopped to rest in a sylvan grove, where some peasants -were celebrating a rustic festival. Doubtless there were many pretty -faces there; but one amongst them struck him more than all the rest. -He entered into conversation with this pretty girl, who charmed and -surprised him by her lively, spirited answers. - -On his return home he learned that the pretty peasant was quite a -celebrity in the neighbourhood. Her name was Bona Lombardi (or, as some -give it, Longobarba), and she was born in 1417, in the little village -of Sacco, in Vatellina. She was the only daughter of humble people, of -whom little is known except that her father, Gabriel Lombardi, was a -private soldier in one of the Italian armies, and died while Bona was -a child. Her mother did not long survive; and the little girl was left -to the care of her uncle, a poor priest, and her aunt, an industrious -countrywoman. - -Captain Brunoro remained in Morbego during the summer, and had thus -frequent opportunities for meeting with Bona Lombardi. At last he -decided that she was the woman of all others to make him happy, and -they were married. The marriage was kept secret for some time; but to -avoid even a temporary separation, Bona dressed herself in the costume -of a Condottiere, and accompanied her husband in all his expeditions. - -Like all Condottieri Brunoro was obliged to adopt various masters; -and thus he very often found himself opposed to one of his former -employers. Once he made an enemy of Alexander, King of Naples, who -took him prisoner by means of an ambuscade, and cast him into prison. -He would probably have ended his days in a Neapolitan dungeon, but for -the untiring efforts of his wife. Money, entreaties, threats, all were -employed; till at last she procured his release. - -Bona learned the art of war to perfection. Her courage and military -skill were so highly esteemed by the Venetians that they confided to -her and her husband the defence of Negropont, against the Turks, who -in those days were dreaded by the Christians as much as the Goths and -Vandals were in ancient times. More than once she displayed valour and -prudence of a superior order. During the Milanese war, the Venetians -having been repulsed in an attack upon the Castle of Provoze, in -Brescia, Brunoro was captured. Bona arrived soon after with a small -body of fresh troops. Rallying the discomfited Venetians, she led -them in person to a second assault on the castle. This time they were -successful, and Bona had the pleasure of releasing her husband with the -rest of the prisoners. - -Brunoro died in 1468, and Bona Lombardi, declaring that she could not -survive her husband, built a tomb for the reception of their mutual -remains. When it was finished, she sank into a state of languor, from -which she never recovered. - - * * * * * - -Onerata Rodiana, another female Condottieri, was, in addition, a -celebrated painter. She was born, in the early part of the fifteenth -century, at Castelleone, and while yet a girl her reputation as a -painter became so great that the Marquis Gabrinio, tyrant of Cremona, -engaged her to decorate his palace. - -One day, while thus occupied, a dissipated courtier, who happened to -see her painting the walls of a room, attempted to take liberties. A -struggle ensued, which was terminated by Onerata drawing a stiletto -and stabbing her antagonist. She then fled from the palace, disguised -herself in male attire, and quitted the city. Meeting with the band of -Oldrado Sampuynano, the Condottiere, she enlisted under his banner. - -The marquis was furious when he discovered the flight of his -court-painter, and he despatched soldiers in pursuit. Soon relenting, -however, he issued a proclamation, in which he promised full pardon -on condition that Onerata would return to her professional labours. -But she preferred the life of a soldier, so she remained with her new -comrades. By her courage she soon rose to the post of captain; and for -thirty years she led the roving life of a free-lance, painting and -fighting alternately. When Castelleone, her native town, was besieged -by the Venetians in 1472, she hastened with her band to its assistance. -She was victorious; but during the action she fell, mortally wounded. - - * * * * * - -In those days the Grecian isles were a constant subject of contention -between Venice and the Turks. The latter, growing stronger every -day, soon made their name the terror of southern Europe. A few years -after the fall of Constantinople (captured by Mohammed II. in 1453), -the Ottomans besieged Coccino, capital of the isle of Lemnos, in the -AEgean Sea. The city was defended with the most obstinate bravery by -the inhabitants, men and women. Amongst the bravest of the women was -Marulla, a beautiful, noble-looking creature, barely in her twentieth -year. Her father, Demetrius, slew such numbers of the Turks that the -gateway was half-blocked up with turbaned corpses. At last, pierced -with myriad wounds, he fell on the bodies of his foes. Marulla, flying -to her father's rescue, was wounded by the same blow which proved fatal -to him; but so far from giving way to useless lamentations, she seized -his sword, sprang from the walls, and fiercely attacked the Turks. -Her fellow-citizens, inspired by her fire, drove the Turks away with -terrific slaughter, and compelled them to take refuge in their ships. - -When the Venetian admiral arrived next day with the fleet, in place -of a beleagured town he beheld the citizens in their holiday attire, -headed by the magistrates in their robes of state, marching in -procession to meet him, conducting the heroine Marulla, their deliverer. - -To reward her bravery, the Venetian commander ordered each of his -soldiers to give her a present, and he promised that she should be -adopted by the Republic. He offered her the hand of any one of his -captains that she might prefer. But Marulla replied that "it was not -by chance that she should choose a husband; for the virtues of a camp -would not make a good master of a family; and the hazard would be too -great." - -When the Venetian senate received the news of Marulla's bravery, they -decreed that various privileges and exemptions from taxes should be -settled upon her and her children for evermore. - - * * * * * - -Henry VI., after losing the crown of France through a female warrior, -very nearly saved the crown of England through another; and, what -is more remarkable, both were Frenchwomen. But the high-spirited, -fierce Margaret of Anjou, though fully as brave, was very different -from the peaceful, the angelic Maid of Orleans. However, had the king -possessed half the spirit of his wife, the Wars of the Roses might have -terminated very differently. When the feeble, almost imbecile king, -wishing for peace at any price, publicly acknowledged the Duke of York -as heir-apparent to the throne, Margaret refused her consent, and the -war was renewed. Henry was made prisoner in the battle of Northampton; -but the queen assembled a formidable army at York, where she awaited -her rival. - -On the last day of the year 1460, the battle of Wakefield was fought. -Within half-an-hour of the onset, nearly three thousand Yorkists lay -dead on the field. This battle, in which Margaret is said to have taken -an active part, terminated in a complete victory for the House of -Lancaster. The Duke of York, covered with wounds, fell into the hands -of the victors. His dying moments were embittered by the taunts of his -captors; and afterwards, it is said, his head was cut off by order of -the queen, crowned with a paper crown, and placed on one of the gates -of York. - -The next year, 1461, Margaret defeated the Earl of Warwick in the -second battle of St. Alban's, and recovered the king, who was now -merely a passive agent in the hands of friends or foes. She advanced -to London; but Edward, Earl of March, son of the Duke of York, having -gained a victory at Hereford almost the same day as the battle of St. -Alban's, obliged her to retreat towards the north. He then entered -London, where a few days later, March 4th, 1461, he was proclaimed King -of England, as Edward IV. - -Margaret soon increased her army to sixty thousand men, and Edward -was obliged to hasten to the north. At Pontefract he passed in review -nearly forty-nine thousand men. The armies met at Towton, in Yorkshire, -March 29th, 1461. This was the bloodiest battle fought during the war. -No quarter was given or expected on either side. The Lancastrians, -routed with fearful slaughter, were intercepted in their flight by -the river; and the pursuit of the Yorkists was unrelenting. The slain -amounted to thirty or forty thousand. Henry VI. and his brave queen -fled to Scotland. - -After vainly soliciting aid from the Scottish court, Margaret went over -to France, and by promising to give up Calais, obtained ten thousand -men. With these she landed in Scotland, where she was speedily joined -by many of her partisans, and also by a band of freebooters. With these -she entered England, and advanced to Hexham, where she was totally -defeated, May 15th, 1464, by Lord Neville. - -The unhappy queen, compelled to fly with her son, with difficulty -reached the coast, after suffering indignities at the hands of the wild -freebooters who infested the kingdom, and sailed for Flanders. The -rebellion of Warwick the King-Maker, in 1470, restored Henry VI., for -a few short months, to the throne. Edward IV. fled to the Continent; -Margaret and her son landed at Weymouth on the very day (April 14th, -1471) that the Earl of Warwick was defeated at Barnet. - -When Margaret heard the news of her champion's defeat her courage -seemed at first to forsake her. She took refuge with her son in the -sanctuary of Beaulieu, in Hampshire. But her undaunted spirit once -more led her to the field. She re-assembled her partisans and marched -to Tewkesbury, where she was encountered by King Edward on the 4th -of May, 1471. The total defeat of the Lancastrians was the result, -and Margaret, with her son, was made prisoner. The latter was cruelly -murdered, and Margaret was placed in the Tower of London. - -After remaining a prisoner for nearly four years, Queen Margaret was -ransomed by Louis XI. for fifty thousand crowns. She died in 1482, "the -most unfortunate Queen, wife, and mother," says Voltaire, "in Europe." - - * * * * * - -Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, one of the greatest warriors of -the Middle Ages, was brother-in-law to Edward IV., whom he assisted, -in 1471, with men and arms; the English King promising, in return, to -aid Charles against his great enemy, Louis XI. The French King was -terribly afraid of the Duke; and had not the latter been so rash and -the former so crafty, King Louis might have lost his crown. In 1472 -Charles crossed the Somme at the head of eighty thousand men, and -after capturing Nesle, where he massacred the people and burned the -town, he laid siege, in June, to the town of Beauvais, in Picardy. The -inhabitants were devoted to Louis XI., and, besides, they knew from the -fate of Nesle, where the blood flowed "ankle-deep" in the street, what -they might expect in the event of capture. So the defence was as stout -as the attack was fierce. - -There dwelt in Beauvais a girl named Jeanne Fourquet, born November -14th, 1454, the daughter of an officer in the king's guards. She -was adopted, after her father's death, by a lady named Laisne. From -childhood Jeanne had taken a great interest in tales of warlike -valour; she always revered Jeanne d'Arc as a saint. She now displayed -her military tendencies in such a way as to save her native town and -immortalise her name. Arming herself with a _hachette_, or small axe, -she placed herself at the head of a band of women, and led them to the -ramparts, where they occupied themselves loading the cannon, pouring -hot water, boiling oil, or molten lead on the heads of the besiegers, -supplying the archers with arrows, or performing any other service -their strength would allow. - -The Burgundians at last planted their ladders, and commenced scaling -the ramparts; but the first man who planted the flag of Charles was -hurled from the battlements by Jeanne Fourquet, who snatched the -standard from his hands, and waved it over her head. This deed so -animated the defenders of Beauvais, that they gallantly repulsed every -assault. After a fierce contest of nine hours, the besieged were -reinforced by the garrison of Noyen, and on the two following days by -troops and provisions from Amiens, Genlis, and Paris. - -Charles battered the walls with heavy guns for nearly a month, and -almost destroyed the town with fire-balls. Finding his troops still -held at bay, he ordered a general assault on the 10th July, at seven -in the morning. The attack was fierce, but the defence was resolute. -The women, still led by Jeanne, displayed the same courage as before. -Thrice the Burgundians scaled the walls, and planted their flag on the -battlements; thrice they were repulsed with terrible losses. After the -assault had lasted four hours, the Burgundians saw their efforts were -fruitless, and sounded a retreat. During the night of the 22nd they -broke up their camp, and marched away towards Normandy. - -Jeanne Fourquet deposited the flag she had taken in one of the churches -of Beauvais--doubtless that of the Jacobins, where it was preserved for -many years. It may now be seen at the Hotel de Ville. Louis XI. granted -to her the privilege of bearing this standard at the head of the French -army. Some years after this great event, Jeanne married Collin Pillon, -when, not only was she herself exempted from taxation, but the same -immunity was granted to her descendants. - -It is neither by the name of Fourquet nor Pillon that the heroine is -famous. The weapon with which she was armed gave her a more illustrious -surname; and since that valiant deed, for which her countrymen must -ever remember her with gratitude, she has been known as Jeanne Hachette. - -Her portrait may still be seen at Beauvais; and in commemoration of -her bravery, the anniversary of July 10th is celebrated by an annual -procession, in which the women march before the men. - -Napoleon III., when President of the French Republic, inaugurated a -statue of Jeanne Hachette at Beauvais. - - * * * * * - -During the civil wars which agitated Castile towards the close of the -century, the fortress of Toro was, by a curious coincidence, twice -defended by female commanders, the wives of two brothers opposed to -one another in politics. In 1475 it was held for Isabel the Catholic -by Dona Aldonza de Castillo, wife of the Alcayde, Don Rodrigo de -Ulloa, governor of the fortress. After the retreat of Ferdinand, -husband of Isabel, she was compelled to surrender. In the following -year the fortress was defended against the troops of Ferdinand and -Isabel by Dona Maria Sarmiento, wife of Don Juan de Ulloa. All hopes -of assistance having been dispelled, she obtained honourable terms of -capitulation. - - * * * * * - -The same year, 1476, Isabel the Catholic having received intelligence -that the Portuguese meditated invading her dominions, resolved to -superintend in person the defence of the frontiers. Despite the -remonstrances of her council, she set out for Estramadura in the -summer of 1477, and, after capturing several fortresses, and placing -strong garrisons in Badajoz, Ciudad Rodrigo, and other frontier towns, -established her head-quarters at Seville. - -Queen Isabel again displayed her wish to be a warrior during the -contest between Ferdinand and the Moors. In 1487 and 1489 she -encouraged the Spanish soldiers by her presence in the camp. In 1491 -Ferdinand commenced the siege of Granada. Isabel arrived towards the -close of May. Attired in a magnificent suit of armour, and mounted on a -richly caparisoned horse, she rode through the ranks, greeted on all -sides with joyful acclamations. - -Wishing to obtain a nearer view of the renowned red towers of the -Alhambra, the queen rode forward on the 18th June, escorted by the -entire Spanish cavalry, to the village of La Zubia, situated at a short -distance from Granada. But her curiosity was very near being the cause -of her capture. A large body of Moorish troops sallied out from Granada -and attacked the body-guard of the queen. Matters were growing serious, -when the Marquis de Cadix came to the rescue with twelve hundred -lances, and put the Moors to flight. - -During the conflict Isabel did not display exactly the courage of a -heroine. Struck with abject terror, she remained on her knees all the -time, praying earnestly; and made a vow that if she escaped she would -erect a monastery on the spot. - - * * * * * - -Most of the great Sforza's immediate descendants were more or less -distinguished for military talents. Caterina, or Catherine, the natural -daughter of Galeas Sforza, was remarkable for valour, military skill, -and also for her personal beauty. She was the wife of Jerome Ricario, -Prince of Forli; and some time after their marriage he was assassinated -by Francis Del Orsa, who had revolted against him. Caterina and her -children fell into the hands of the assassin, but she soon escaped to -Rimini, which still remained faithful. She defended the town, in 1466, -with such determination that the besiegers, to frighten her into a -surrender, threatened to put her children to death. - -Caterina was at last restored to sovereign power, and married John de' -Medici, a man of noble family, though not very distinguished for genius -or bravery. In 1500 she defended Forli against the talented Caesar -Borgia; being compelled to surrender, she was imprisoned in the castle -of San Angelo, at Rome. Soon, however, she was restored to liberty; but -her dominions were never given back to her. She died shortly after her -release. - -[Illustration] - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -VIII. - - Maria d'Estrada, and other Spanish Women serving - under Cortez--Catalina de Erauso, the Monja Alferez - (Nun-Lieutenant)--Dona Maria Pacheco (Confederacy of the Holy - Junta)--Eleonora of Toledo, Grand-Duchess of Tuscany--TURKS IN - HUNGARY--Courage of a Jewess at Buda--Bravery of the Women of - Temesvar, Erlau, Valpon, Agria, and Szigeth in Hungary and of - Famagosta in Cyprus--Louise Labe--Mary of Hungary--Granu Weal--THE - REFORMATION--Kenan Simonz Hasselaar--Women of Alkmaar--Mary, - Queen of Scots--Magdalaine de Saint-Nectaire--Constance de - Cezelli--Christine de Lalaing, Princess d'Espinoy--Queen - Elizabeth--English and Scottish Border Heroines--Barbara of - Ernecourt (Thirty Years' War)--Christina of Sweden. - - -THE discovery of America opened up a new field of enterprise for those -brave, reckless, ne'er-do-weel soldiers of fortune by whom the Old -World was overrun. Adventurers sailed from various ports of Europe, -under the command of audacious leaders, such as Balboa and Pizarro, -whose daring spirit and enterprising disposition gave them authority -over their companions. Numbers of women, imbibing the spirit of the -times, accompanied those bands of adventurers--sometimes disguised in -male attire, but more frequently in the garments of their own sex. - -When Cortez sailed from Cuba, in 1518, on that voyage which terminated -in the conquest of Mexico, he was followed by six hundred soldiers, -many of whom were accompanied by their wives. These Castilian dames, -preferring to endure the hardships of a campaign than be separated from -their husbands, and probably feeling curious to see for themselves -those marvels of the New World about which all Europe was talking, in -no way disgraced the name of Spaniard by any feminine timidity. In the -camp before Mexico, which Cortez was besieging, 1521, it was their -fortitude which kept up the spirit of the soldiers, who, repulsed in -several assaults on the city, and suffering from famine, had become -gloomy and despondent. Several examples have been preserved of the -bravery displayed by these Spanish wives. One of them would frequently -mount guard to relieve her tired husband; another, seeing the Spaniards -repulsed in an attack, hastily donned a soldier's _escaupil_, snatched -up a sword and lance, rallied the retreating Christians and led them -once more against the Mexicans. - -Cortez had requested the women to remain behind, at Tlascala, but they -proudly answered him that "It was the duty of Castilian wives not to -abandon their husbands in danger, but to share it with them--and die -with them if necessary." - -The name of one of these female warriors was Maria d'Estrada, who -fought by the side of her husband through every campaign, displaying -the same courage as her companions in arms. - -Another Spanish-American heroine was Catalina de Erauso, the "Monja -Alferez," or Nun-Lieutenant. Her life was the most romantic that could -be imagined. She has written her own history in pure and classic -Spanish, displaying as much literary ability in its composition as, -in her warlike career, she had shown heroic valor, mixed with savage -cruelty. - -She was born in 1592, daughter of a Spanish hidalgo of St. Sebastian, -Don Miguel de Erauso, an officer in the royal army, and, after the -fashion of those days, was destined for the Church. So, at the early -age of four, she was sent to the Dominican convent, the prioress of -which was her aunt. Here she remained till her fifteenth year; but -during all these years she acquired so inveterate a dislike for the -cloister that she contrived to make her escape from the convent, -shortly before the day on which she was to take the veil. She hid in a -chestnut grove for three days, cut her hair short, made her petticoats -into male attire, and then started on her travels. - -She passed through various romantic adventures in Spain, acting in the -different capacities of page, clerk, and servant. Thus disguised, she -joined an expedition to South America, where she became a soldier. At -different times she assumed one name or another; but that under which -she was best known, and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, was -Alonzo Dias. Under this alias she was the victor in several skirmishes. -So clear was her judgment that her opinion was frequently asked by the -generals at their councils of war. - -During the intervals of military duty, Catalina gambled, drank, robbed, -assassinated, cursed and swore, and behaved altogether very like an -Alsatian bully. She chose for her associates the most desperate and -reprobate characters, and seemed to take a fiendish delight in outdoing -them. Sometimes she would pay attentions to a simple girl, and when the -wedding-day was fixed she would disappear. - -One night, in a gambling-house in Chili, she quarrelled with, and -stabbed a gentleman of great importance in the city. The relatives -made the place so hot for Catalina, that she was compelled to make her -escape across the Andes, into another province. Her lawlessness once -brought her under the hands of the hangman; and a reprieve arrived -just as, with the noose round her neck, she was about to be launched -into eternity. She wandered over every part of Spanish America, taking -up, at random, the profession of soldier, sailor, or even lawyer. - -The discovery of her sex was brought about by a curious accident. Her -violent deeds having again provoked the guardians of the law, she was -compelled to fly for refuge for sanctuary to a church at Guamango, in -Peru. The bishop, a pious man, tried to convert the young criminal, -animadverting on the wicked life the latter had been leading, and -exhorting her to repentance. The stubborn heart of Catalina, inured to -every kind of reproach and harsh language, was touched by the kindness -with which the bishop spoke. For a few moments she maintained a dogged -silence; then, falling on her knees and bursting into tears:-- - -"Father," she sobbed. "I am a woman!" - -She then told the astounded prelate her extraordinary story. He pitied -the unhappy young woman, and by his influence she was pardoned and -permitted to return to Spain. She arrived at Cadiz in 1624, whither -her fame had preceded her. During her journey through Spain and Italy -the streets were crowded by wondering spectators. Pope Urban VIII. -allowed her to retain her masculine costume for the rest of her days. -It is not known in what year she died; according to an old manuscript -preserved in a convent at Vera Cruz, she devoted her latter years to -trade, and assumed the name of Antonio de Erauso. Her portrait was -taken at Seville by Pacheco, a Spanish painter. - - * * * * * - -During the early years of the Emperor Charles V.'s reign, the nobles of -Castile formed a confederacy called the Holy Junta, and took up arms -to recover their traditional rights and privileges. John de Padilla, -a young noble, was at the head of this insurrection; but it was his -wife, Dona Maria Pacheco, who really conducted the confederacy. She -was highly gifted and extremely ambitious, though, like most ambitious -people, not at all scrupulous as to the means employed, so long as the -event turned out according to her wishes. - -The Junta soon began to languish for want of money, so Dona Maria -persuaded the people to strip the cathedral at Toledo of its plate and -jewellery. In 1521 Padilla was captured, and sentenced to death. He -wrote to his wife, telling her not to grieve, but rather to consider -his death as his deliverance from a weary life. But his capture proved -fatal to the confederacy. Toledo, the head-quarters of the rebels, -was soon invested by the king's troops. Dona Maria used every means -to secure her position. She even wrote to the French general on the -Spanish frontier, inviting him to invade Navarre. By keeping the death -of Padilla fresh in the minds of the citizens, she incited them to make -a resolute defence. Sorties attended with varied success were made, -sometimes daily, from the garrison. - -At last the canons of the cathedral, whom she had offended, worked -on the minds of the ignorant, credulous multitude, telling them that -Maria's influence over them was due entirely to witchcraft. The loss of -three hundred men in a desperate sortie so humbled the citizens that -they drove Maria into the Alcazar, and opened the gates to Charles's -troops. - -Maria defended herself four months longer in the citadel. But at last, -reduced to the utmost extremities, she fled into Portugal, where many -of her relatives and friends resided, and there passed the remainder of -her days in great poverty. - - * * * * * - -Eleonora of Toledo, the first Grand-Duchess of Tuscany, was a woman -possessing great courage and a powerful, ambitious intellect. In 1543 -she married Cosmo de'Medici, Duke of Florence. Eleonora took an active -part in the wars between her husband and his hereditary enemies, the -Strozzi; and in the bloody and terrible battles fought during the -struggle, she never left him. Her courage aided greatly to turn the -fortune of war. One day, while riding out with an escort of fifteen -horsemen, she encountered Philip Strozzi, commander of her husband's -enemies, reconnoitring the Florentine camp. Although he had a guard of -forty-five men, Eleonora, with her accustomed bravery, attacked him, -slew nearly all his men, and took himself prisoner. Philip, knowing -that he could not expect quarter--which had never been granted to -prisoners on either side during the war--committed suicide sooner than -perish ignominiously on the scaffold. Eleonora was so shocked that she -prevailed on her husband to spare the lives of his prisoners henceforth. - -Eleonora also took a leading part in the war between Charles V. and -Francis I. Together with her husband she was actively engaged in the -storming of Sienna. She urged Cosmo to have himself crowned king; but -he was unable to carry out her project. Pope Pius V. at length changed -his title from Duke of Florence to Grand-Duke of Tuscany. - -Eleonora's ambition being now satisfied, she gave up the rest of her -life to the encouragement of the fine arts, national education, and -founding charitable institutions. The date of her death is unknown. - - * * * * * - -Under Solyman the Magnificent, the Turks conquered the greater part of -Hungary; whose king, Louis II., was routed and slain in the disastrous -battle of Mohacz, 1526. And during the next hundred and fifty years -Hungary was the scene of endless strife between the Crescent and the -Cross. For a long time victory inclined to the side of the infidels. -Women, as usual, took a prominent share in the terrible scenes of -bloodshed and carnage. Wherever there was a town to be defended, women -immediately took up arms and aided the men to keep off the common enemy. - -This female courage showed itself on both sides during these dreary -wars. In 1529, during the absence of Solyman, the Christians laid siege -to Buda, the capital of Hungary. One day, having overpowered the Turks, -they were rushing into the town, when a Jewess tearing a strip of rag -from her gown, lighted it, and fired off an immense cannon which the -Ottomans in their flight had overlooked. It caused such havoc amongst -the Hungarians that they were paralyzed with terror--thus gaining time -for the Janizaries to rally; and the result was the final repulse of -the Christians. - -Tradition declares that Solyman, when he heard of this courageous act, -ordered the Jewess's gown to be girt with a circle of pure silver. - -In 1552 Solyman besieged Temesvar, which was defended by the brave -Lasonczy. The wife of the latter led an army to the relief of her -husband, and attacked the Turkish camp, but she was soon defeated. -The revolt of the German garrison soon after compelled Lasonczy to -surrender. - -The town of Erlau, besieged at the same time, withstood gallantly -the repeated assaults of a numerous army. Its fortifications were of -the poorest description, and the garrison small, but the valour, the -patriotism of the townspeople supplied every deficiency. Old men and -young girls, sword and spear in hand, aided in the defence. One woman -was fighting beside her husband when he fell, pierced by a Turkish -bullet. Her mother, who was also assisting to defend the wall, now -wished to remove the body, and suggested that they should devote -themselves to seeing it honourably interred. But the young widow -refused to leave the scene of action. - -"May God," she cried, "never suffer the earth to cover my husband's -corpse, till his death has been amply avenged. This is the hour of -battle, not a time for funeral and for tears." - -She seized the shield and sword of her dead husband, and rushing upon -the Turks, refused to leave the breach, till by the slaughter of three -infidels she had satisfied her thirst for revenge. Then she raised the -corpse of her lord, and bore it to the principal church in the town, -where she paid to it the last honours with great splendour. - -When the Turks were besieging Alba, several women, whose husbands had -been slain, volunteered to defend the walls. The Turks were amazed at -the cool bravery with which these female warriors defended the various -posts assigned to them. For several hours they held a bastion, the -possession of which was deemed highly important by both Turks and -Christians. Every Turk who endeavoured to scale the bastion had his -head struck with a scythe. - -For more than three months, thanks to the valour of the women, the town -of Valpon set the Mussulman power at defiance, backed though the latter -was by all the appliances of war. - -The same resistance met them at Agria, not far from Valpon, where the -wives and daughters of the citizens carried oil, pitch, boiling water, -molten lead, etc., to pour on the heads of the Turks. One woman was -struck down by a cannon ball just as she was about to hurl a big stone -on the skulls of the infidels. Her daughter, seeing her fall, was -filled with the thirst for revenge. Rushing to the breach, she fought -with the desperate bravery of a lioness deprived of her cubs, slaying -and wounding on all sides. At last she was herself slain. One of the -citizens fighting on the ramparts observed his son-in-law struck dead -by a musket-ball. Turning to his wife, he asked her to carry away the -corpse and render to it the last offices. - -"There is another duty more pressing," replied she. "That of defending -our religion and our country comes before love. To them I will give the -last drop of my blood." - -During the siege of Szigeth, in 1566, which cost the Turks twenty -thousand men, orders were given one day for a general assault. A -Hungarian officer, wishing to save his wife from falling into the hands -of the infidels, took the cruel resolution of putting her to death. But -his young wife, less attached to her life than to her husband, declared -that she would accompany him to battle, there to receive death or -glory. Dressing herself in a suit of his clothes, she armed herself and -went with him to the field. No one displayed greater courage than she -did. Without once quitting her husband, she slew every Turk who came -within reach of her sword. She continued to fight with the same ardour -till the close of the engagement, and wherever she was seen a Turkish -corpse remained to mark her presence. At last her husband was slain, -and she herself, severely wounded by the Turkish arrows, lay on her -husband's breast. After receiving the last sacrament, she expired in -great agony. - - * * * * * - -During the siege of Famagosta, in Cyprus, by Mustapha Pacha, in 1571, -the noblest Cypriote dames, undismayed by the iron fire of the Turkish -batteries, aided to defend the city. Not only did they carry round -food and ammunition to the soldiers, but, during the assault, they -rolled huge stones on the heads of the Turks assembled in the ditch -below or climbing to the attack. - - * * * * * - -In the annals of French poetry few names stand higher than that of -Louise Labe, _La Belle Cordiere_. She was born at Lyons in 1526 or -1527. Nature was lavish in her gifts; to personal beauty and an -exquisite voice, were added talents for literature and music. Her -education included music, languages, riding, and military exercises. -The last named acquirement excited in the mind of Louise a wish to -enter the army. At the age of sixteen she served, under the name of -Captain Loys, in the campaign of 1542, which ended in the siege of -Perpignan. Some say she followed her father, others her lover to the -field; but whatever was the cause of her presence in camp, she earned -great praises for her courage. But the French were obliged to raise the -siege; and Louise Labe, after sharing in the fetes and tournaments held -by the Dauphin, gave up the military profession, henceforth devoting -her time to music and poetry. - -She married Ennemond Perrin, a wealthy rope-maker, and thus acquired -the opportunity to follow her literary inclinations. She possessed a -valuable library of books in Greek, Latin, Spanish, and Italian, which -languages she knew perfectly. Her spacious and tastefully laid-out -gardens became the resort of nobles, poets, savants, wits, artists, -musicians, and men of genius of every kind; and at these re-unions the -musical skill of _La Belle Cordiere_ showed to advantage. She excited -at the same time the admiration of the poets and the envy of the -ladies. The street in Lyons where she lived was christened after her. -She died in 1566, one year after her husband, who had left her sole -heir to his large property. - -Her chief works were an "Epistle to Clemence de Bourges," the "Debat -de la Folie et de l'Amour," a drama in prose, three elegies, and -twenty-four sonnets. The first edition of her writings appeared in 1555. - - * * * * * - -Mary of Hungary, wife of the unfortunate Louis II., who was slain in -the battle of Mohacz, was celebrated throughout continental Europe for -her military prowess and her love of field-sports. From the latter -she acquired the soubriquet of Diana, while from her habit of mixing -with the soldiers she was styled (like the Empress Victoria) "Mother -of the Camp." She was the daughter of Philip I. of Spain, and handsome -even for a Spanish princess, majestic in her carriage, yet affable and -charming in her manners. Her brother, the Emperor Charles V., had so -high an opinion of her political abilities that he entrusted to her -charge the government of the Netherlands; and her court soon became -famous for the magnificence of its tournaments and spectacles. - -Mary commanded during several expeditions against the troops of France; -and during the various battles and skirmishes which ensued, she would -frequently march on foot, or ride with the soldiers to encourage them -by her presence. In 1553, when Charles V. was besieging Metz, which was -defended by the Duke of Guise, Mary caused a diversion, by invading -Picardy, to prevent Henry II. from succouring the besieged. By this -raid she caused terrible havoc, destroying seven or eight hundred -villages, and burning Folembrai, a favourite palace of Francis I. - -Henry II., in retaliation, burned some of the most populous towns in -the Netherlands, together with the royal palace of Bains, which was one -of the architectural wonders of the age. Mary vowed that France should -repent this deed. She kept her word; and more than once her conduct -savoured of gross cruelty. Henry directed his soldiers to try their -utmost to make Mary a prisoner; for, said he, he would like to try -whether she would retain, in captivity, her haughty, courageous spirit. - -Mary resigned the government of the Netherlands in 1555, and returned -to Spain, where she died three years afterwards. - -Graine-ni-Mhaile, Granu Weal, or Grace O'Malley, a famous Irish heroine -who lived during the latter half of the sixteenth century, was daughter -of Owen O'Malley, a noted chief who commanded a small navy. He used -to make voyages from port to port, partly for commerce, but more -especially for piracy. During childhood, Grace frequently accompanied -her father on his expeditions. After his death, her brother being a -minor, she took command of the galleys, and made several voyages. Her -chief rendezvous was at Clare island, off the coast of Mayo, where she -kept her larger vessels moored. Here, too, she had a fortress. Her -smaller ships she kept at Carrigahooly Castle, which was her favourite -residence, and chief stronghold. - -Her piracies at length became so frequent and so daring that a reward -of five hundred pounds was offered by the English Government for her -apprehension. Troops were sent from Galway to Carrigahooly; but after -a siege of more than a fortnight, they were compelled to retire. The -people of Connaught relate numerous adventures and extraordinary -actions performed on the high seas by Granu Weal. - -Her first husband was O'Flaherty, chief of West Connaught. After his -death she married Sir Richard Burke, and became reconciled to the -English. After her second marriage, she frequently assisted the -English with her troops in Connaught; for which Queen Elizabeth wrote -her an autograph letter, thanking her and inviting her on a visit to -the court, at London. Graine-ni-Mhaile, with several galleys, sailed -to London in 1575. She was received with great distinction by the -queen, who offered to make her visitor a countess; but Grace declined -this honour, and answered with much spirit, that both of them being -princesses, they were equal in rank, and could not therefore confer -titles or honours upon each other. But, she said, her majesty might -confer any rank she pleased on young Burke (son of Grace), who was -born on board ship during the voyage to England; named from this -circumstance, Tioboid-na-Lung, signifying Theobald of the Ships. Queen -Elizabeth, it is said, knighted him under the title of Sir Theobald -Burke; he was afterwards created Viscount of Mayo by Charles I. - -On her voyage home Granu Weal landed at Howth for provisions. She was -greatly surprised to find the gates of the castle closed, because -the family were at dinner. Indignant at this dereliction from Irish -hospitality, Granu seized a little boy whom she found playing with -an attendant near the sea-shore. Finding that he was the infant heir -of Howth, she brought him to Connaught: refusing to restore him till -Lord Howth had entered into an agreement that his gates should never -again be closed during dinner. The abduction of the infant heir of St. -Lawrence forms the subject of a painting at Howth Castle. - -Grace O'Malley was buried in a monastery which she had herself endowed, -on Clare island. There are yet some remains of her monument to be -seen there. Her name has always been familiar in the mouths of Irish -peasants; and she is still sung as a heroine in various ballads, -English and Irish. - - * * * * * - -During the fiercely contested wars brought about by the efforts of -the Roman Catholic princes to stop the Reformation, women, as usual, -took their share of the dangers and privations endured by all for the -sake of their faith. They displayed as much courage and fortitude as -the men, whether, as the wives and daughters of citizens they aided to -defend their homes, or whether as princesses they boldly headed their -troops in defence of their religion and their dominions. - -Kenan Simonsz Hasselaar was heroine of the famous siege of Haarlem. -The revolting cruelty of Spain in her first efforts to stamp out the -rebellion in the Netherlands, only stimulated the Dutch to bolder -and more desperate efforts for freedom. Haarlem was one of the most -important cities; and the Spaniards, resolved to capture it at any -price, despatched twelve thousand men, commanded by Frederic of Toledo, -to besiege the city in December, 1572. On the 12th, during a severe -frost, the place was invested. Bravely did the inhabitants, both -soldiers and citizens, resist the Spaniards. Women cheerfully shared in -all the toils and dangers, the manifold privations of the defence. - -Kenan Simonsz Hasselaar, a widow about fifty years old, of a noble -family, raised a troop of three hundred women for the defence of the -walls. At the head of her corps she was constantly seen pressing -forward to attack the Spaniards, or aiding in the erection of new -defences. Even the besiegers, who were repulsed with great slaughter in -several assaults, could not help admiring the courage of this Amazon -band. - -Holland still holds the name of Kenan Hasselaar very dear. One of the -ships launched from the government dock-yards every year receives her -name. A huge painting suspended in the hall of the Haarlem Stadthuis -transmits her glorious deeds to posterity; and her portrait hangs in -the Treasure Chamber of the Municipality, amongst the commanders of St. -John, the relics of the Spanish wars, the town insignia, and the other -precious nick-nacks and antiquities collected together, accumulated by -generations of thrifty and patriotic burghers. - -The women of Alkmaar (which was besieged by Don Frederic immediately -after the fall of Haarlem) displayed the same courage. During the -general assault made by the Spaniards on the 18th September, 1573, -the women aided the soldiers by hurling down fragments of stones and -red-hot iron, and pouring boiling oil, molten pitch, rosin, and lead on -the besiegers, of whom a terrible carnage was made. - - * * * * * - -Mary Queen of Scots, the unfortunate rival of Elizabeth, was a -high-spirited, courageous woman, possessing great talents for ruling; -and had she lived before the Reformation, she might possibly have -been more successful than her ancestors, most of whom came to an -untimely end. But the bitter hostility of John Knox was too powerful -for the queen, though for some years she contrived to keep her throne. -In 1565, shortly before her ill-starred marriage with Darnley, the -Congregational citizens of Edinburgh, stirred up to rebellion by the -secret machinations of the queen's "base brother, Moray," turned out in -hostile array, and encamped at St. Leonard's Crags. Mary, undismayed by -the fierce looks and big words of these staunch Protestants, rode to -meet them at the head of a mere handful of troops. The rebel leaders -fled, and the rest, under promise of pardon, returned to their homes. - -In July of the same year the queen wedded Darnley. This was the -signal for an open insurrection on the part of the Scottish nobles. -Again Queen Mary showed herself a worthy descendant of the Stuarts. -"She acted in this emergency," remarks Miss Strickland, "with energy -and spirit indicative of the confidence inspired by her popularity, -and showed herself no whit behind the most distinguished of her -predecessors in courage and ability." At the head of five thousand men -she left Edinburgh, August 26th, together with her husband, the lords -of the council, and her ladies-in-waiting. She was attired in a scarlet -and gold-embroidered riding-habit, which, it was said, covered a light -suit of armour, while her hood and veil were understood to conceal a -steel casque. Pistols hung at her saddle-bow. Darnley, with a vanity -inherent in his nature, wore a gorgeous suit of gilded armour. - -On the 29th the queen reached Glasgow; and next day the rebels -retreated from Paisley towards Hamilton. The queen set out in pursuit. -The confederate lords, disappointed in their expectations of a general -Protestant rising, were obliged to retreat from place to place before -the queen and her army. The bravery and endurance of Mary gained the -love and respect of many amongst her subjects. - -Mary returned to Edinburgh for a short time; and on the 8th of October -she marched again, this time at the head of eighteen thousand men, to -renew the war. The rebel lords, terrified at the approach of their -royal mistress, fled across the English border, and took refuge in -Carlisle. - -Queen Mary had no further opportunity of displaying her courage till -after the murder of Darnley, in 1567, when the base conduct of Bothwell -and the consequent insurrection of nearly all the Scottish nobles -forced her once more to take the field in person. When the opposing -armies met, June 14th, at Carberry Hill, she rode with her followers -to the field, though neither she nor they had broken their fast that -morning. - -After this followed the captivity of Mary in Loch-Leven Castle. In 1568 -she made her escape, and assisted by a few friends, made a last effort -to recover her throne. The Earl of Murray (regent during the minority -of king James), with a large army intercepted the queen's march at -Langside, two miles from Glasgow. - -It is not quite clear whether Mary took an active part in the battle -of Langside, which for ever crushed her hopes. Brantome declares "the -Queen-mother of France assured him that Mary mounted her good hackney -and rode into the battle like another Zenobia, to encourage her troops -to advance, and would fain have led them to the charge in person. But -she found them all quarrelling among themselves, and insensible to her -eloquence, and more inclined to exchange blows with each other than to -attack the rebel host." - -According to the popular tradition, however, it was beneath the -spreading boughs of a hawthorn, which is still known as "the Queen's -thorn," halfway up the green hill behind Castlemilk, that the -unfortunate sovereign stood and watched the battle, surrounded by her -ladies and a few devoted adherents. Legend also points out another -"Queen's thorn" on the hill behind the ruins of Cathcart Castle. -According to a local history, Lord Livingstone, at the head of "the -bairns of Falkirk," rode with the queen to the battle-field, and -afterwards aided her to escape; and this would seem to corroborate what -Brantome has said. - - * * * * * - -Amongst those heroines who distinguished themselves during the -religious wars in France, was Magdalaine de Saint-Nectaire,--also -called Se' nectaire, or Sennetaire. She was a staunch Protestant, and -after the death of her husband, Gui di Saint Exuperi, she retired to -her chateau at Miremont, in Limousin, armed sixty of her retainers, -and commenced a series of raids against the Roman Catholics. In -1575, during the reign of the weak and frivolous Henry III., Montal, -Lieutenant du Roi, in Limousin, whose soldiers had often been defeated -by Magdalaine, resolved to besiege the heroine in her chateau. With -fifteen hundred foot and two hundred horse he arrived before the gates. -Magdalaine made a sally, and cut to pieces a detachment of fifty men; -but on her return she found that the chateau had been captured. She -gallopped to Turene, a neighbouring town, to gather reinforcements, -returning thence with four companies of mounted arquebusiers. Montal -awaited her in a defile of the mountains; but he was vanquished and -mortally wounded. His soldiers, discouraged by the fall of their -leader, withdrew the same evening to a neighbouring castle, where -Montal died four days later. - -The year of this heroine's death is not recorded. - - * * * * * - -Another heroine of these wars was Constance de Cezelli, a loyal -supporter of Henry IV. When that monarch, after his accession to the -throne, was struggling for supremacy with the League, the troops of -the latter, in 1590, besieged the town of Leucates, in Languedoc. -It was defended by the Huguenots, under the command of M. de Barri, -governor of the place. The latter was captured by means of a pretended -conference; but he contrived to write to his wife, Constance de -Cezelli, bidding her to take the command and defend the town so long as -there was any hope of success. Constance, according to his commands, -maintained order in Leucates, and encouraged the soldiers by frequently -appearing on the walls with a pike in her hand. When the Leaguers -discovered who it was that commanded the garrison they thought to -frighten her into a surrender by threatening to put her husband to -death if she did not give up the town. She possessed much private -property, which she offered as ransom for her husband; but she declared -that she could never purchase his life by an act of treason. - -M. de Barri was put to the torture, for the besiegers thought that -he would command his wife to open the gates. But he braved all their -menaces, and when they were compelled, soon after, to raise the siege -the governor of Leucates was strangled. - -Although Constance was overwhelmed with grief and horror, she would not -allow the soldiers to avenge the death of M. de Barri on some Roman -Catholic prisoners. - -Henry IV. sent Constance de Cezelli a commission appointing her -governor of Leucates, with a reversion in favour of her son. She held -this office for twenty-seven years, and proved herself thoroughly -competent for the duties of governor. - - * * * * * - -On the 26th July, 1581, the United Netherlands declared their -independence, and invited the Duke of Anjou to rule over them. But, -although the prince entered the country with five thousand horse and -twelve thousand foot, the military genius of Alexander Farnese, the -Spanish governor, together with the vacillating conduct of the Dutch -themselves, frustrated all his efforts, and he was compelled to disband -his forces and leave the country. The greater number of his soldiers -joined the standard of the Prince d'Espinoy, governor of Tournai. - -Alexander Farnese laid siege, on the 1st of October, to the important -city of Tournai. In the absence of the Prince d'Espinoy, the Princess, -Christine de Lalaing, took the command, and conducted the defence in -a manner worthy of her distinguished relatives Count Horn and Admiral -de Montmorency. The Prince of Parma summoned Tournai to surrender, -but Christine gave him a defiant refusal, and set so courageous -an example to the soldiers that they made a resolute defence. The -princess superintended all the defences in person, and directed all the -officers. She appeared daily on the walls; and in one of the assaults -was wounded in the arm, though, despite this, she refused to retire -till the Spaniards had been repulsed. - -After a siege of two months' duration, it became impossible to hold the -place any longer. The walls were gradually undermined from without, -and the fidelity of the garrison was tampered with by Father Gery, a -Dominican friar. The Protestants in the city, not knowing what moment -an insurrection would break out amongst the Catholic inhabitants, -insisted upon surrendering the place. Christine finding herself -deserted by both Protestants and Catholics, obtained honourable terms, -and left the city with all the honours of war, carrying all her -personal property with her. Farnese, moreover, accepted one hundred -thousand crowns in place of sacking the city. - -As the princess passed through the gates she was received with an -outburst of applause from the Spanish army, with whom she had acquired -a high reputation through her courage. Parma entered the city on -November 30th. - -In September, 1863, a statue was raised to Christine de Lalaing in the -city, which, nearly three centuries before, she had so nobly defended. - - * * * * * - -In 1588 a panic flew from one end of England to the other on the -threatened invasion of the Spanish Armada. As it was supposed that -the invaders would attempt to sail up the Thames, several thousand -volunteers were assembled at Tilbury, under command of the Earl of -Leicester. "Vnto the sayd army," says Richard Hackluyt, "came in proper -person, the Queen's most roiall Maiestie, representing Tomyris, that -Scythian princesse, or rather diuine Pallas her selfe." - -On the 8th of August, Queen Elizabeth, mounted on a white charger, a -marshal's _baton_ grasped in her hand, rode through the camp, where -she was received with enthusiastic acclamations by both volunteers -and regulars drawn up on a hill near Tilbury church. Forbidding any -of her retinue to follow her, she was attended only by the Earls of -Ormonde and Leicester, the latter bearing before her the Sword of -State. She was also followed by a page, who had the honour of carrying -her "white-plumed regal helmet." The queen's costume was a mixture of -the military uniform and the fashionable ladies' attire of the period. -Beneath a corslet of polished steel descended "a farthingale of such -monstrous amplitude, that," observes Miss Strickland, "it is wonderful -how her high-mettled war-horse submitted to carry a lady encumbered -with a gabardine of so strange a fashion." - -Riding bare-headed through the ranks, she addressed the warriors in an -oration well calculated to inspire them with enthusiasm. It concluded -amidst vociferous and long continued cheering. - -After the dispersion of the Invincible Armada, Elizabeth celebrated a -triumph, in imitation of the ancient Romans. She rode in a triumphal -chariot from her palace to St. Paul's cathedral, where the "enseignes -and colours of ye vanquished Spaniards," were displayed to the -delighted gaze of the citizens. - - * * * * * - -During the Border Wars between England and Scotland women had frequent -opportunities of local distinction. Holinshed, speaking of a skirmish -which took place at Naworth, in 1570, between Lord Hursden and Leonard -Dacres, says the latter had in his army "many desperate women, who -there gave the adventure of their lives, and fought right stoutly." - - * * * * * - -The Duchy of Lorraine, or Lothringen, was, for many centuries, a -subject of contention between France and Germany. It was for a -long time a fief of the German empire; but from the middle of the -sixteenth century, the royal family of France became connected with -its rulers, and assumed thenceforth a right to interfere in its -internal arrangements. During the Thirty Years' War the French drove -Duke Charles from his throne, on account of his close connection with -Austria. - -It was during this war that Madame St. Balmont, who has been styled a -second Joan of Arc, performed the gallant deeds for which she became -so famous. Barbara of Ernecourt, was born in 1609, at the Castle of -Neuville, situated between Verdun and Bar. She belonged to a good -family in Lorraine, and from her earliest childhood she trained herself -in military exercises and the use of arms. Her chief delight was -hunting, and every kind of field sport, which the Abbe Arnould remarks, -"is a kind of war." One day when she was engaging in her favourite -pastime, she met with the Count de St. Belmont, and, being mutually -charmed, they married shortly after. - -Barbara was scarcely more than a girl when she married, and at this -time her face was excessively pretty, though it was afterwards spoiled -by the small pox--when, so far from being made unhappy by the loss of -her beauty, "she was as pleased," says the Abbe Arnould, "to be marked -with it as other women are afflicted on a similar occasion, and said -that it would enable her to look more like a man." Her figure, however, -was small and clumsily made; but she was robust, and able to bear a -considerable amount of fatigue without being overcome by it. - -When the French invaded Lorraine, the Count de St. Belmont, who had -always occupied a high place in the estimation of the duke, now -actively employed himself resisting the invaders, while Barbara -remained as custodian of his castle and estates. Unfortunately, the -duke's high opinion of M. de St. Belmont's military talents led the -latter into a serious dilemma; for, being given the command of a -fortress, he felt himself bound in honour to defend it for several -days against the French. In those days there was, it would seem, a -rigid code of the military law--doubtless first introduced through -humane feelings--by which officers in charge of strongholds refusing -to surrender, after all hope of success was gone, were to be punished -in the most degrading manner. When this feeble stronghold was taken, -the French leaders seriously debated the expediency of hanging their -antagonist. - -Meanwhile the countess, having been contemptuously treated by a cavalry -officer who had taken up his abode on one of her husband's estates, -despatched a cartel, signed "Le Chevalier de St. Belmont," purporting -to be written by her husband's brother. They crossed swords, and -Barbara almost immediately disarmed her opponent; then, picking up his -sword and handing it to him with a gracious smile, she said:-- - -"You thought, sir, I make no doubt, that you were fighting with Le -Chevalier de St. Belmont; it is, however Madame de St. Belmont of that -name who returns you your sword, and begs you in future to pay more -regard to the requests of ladies." - -The officer, not caring to show his face in the vicinity, disappeared -immediately and was never heard of again. - -Barbara's reputation was considerably raised by this duel; several -gentlemen in the neighbourhood took refuge in the village and put -themselves under her orders. At their head she made frequent raids -into those parts of the country occupied by the French. She was always -victorious, and almost invariably brought home some trophies in arms -or baggage, for, in addition to courage, she possessed great prudence -and foresight. - -The Peace of Westphalia, in 1648, put an end to the Thirty Years' War, -and settled, for a time, the affairs of Lorraine. Barbara laid down -the sword and took up the pen, which she wielded quite as skilfully. -Her first work, "Les Jumeaux Martyrs," appeared in 1651; other works -of equal merit followed. After the death of her husband she gave -herself up entirely to religion, to which she had always been devotedly -attached, and retired into a convent. She died before taking the veil, -May 22nd, 1660, at the age of fifty-one. - -Although there was none of that unfeminine coarseness which so often -attaches to women who pass the greater part of their lives in camps, -Barbara was always more at her ease in male society than in that of -her own sex, in which she felt embarrassed, awkward. While her courage -rendered her famous throughout France and Germany, her charity and the -zeal which she displayed in the service of the poor, rendered Madame de -St. Belmont respected and beloved by persons of every rank who dwelt in -the neighbourhood. - - * * * * * - -Christina of Sweden, daughter of Gustavus Adolphus, the great -Protestant hero of the Thirty Years' War, inherited her father's native -love for battles, soldiers, even the smell of powder--all, in fact, -that pertains to a warrior's life. When she was about two years old, -her father took her to Calmar. The governor did not know whether to -give the customary salute, afraid lest the child might be frightened -by the noise of the cannon. But Gustavus, whom he consulted, replied, -after a moment's hesitation:-- - -"Fire! The girl is the daughter of a soldier, and should be accustomed -to it early." - -The salute was therefore given. Christina clapped her hands in delight. - -"More! More!" she cried. - -Pleased to see her evident predilection for the taste of gunpowder, -Gustavus Adolphus took his daughter, soon after, to see a grand review. -She displayed even greater delight than before, and Gustavus said, with -a smile:-- - -"Very well; you shall go, I am resolved, where you shall have enough of -this." - -However, the early death of Gustavus Adolphus hindered him from ever -fulfilling this promise; and Christina, in her memoirs, regrets that -she was not permitted to learn the art of war under so illustrious a -master. - -In 1647, at the age of twenty-nine, Christina resigned the crown of -Sweden. Passing through Denmark and Germany, she proceeded to Belgium; -and from Innspruck she went to Rome, which she entered in state, -attired in the costume of an Amazon, and mounted on a war-horse. - -[Illustration] - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -IX. - -THE AMAZONS IN SOUTH AMERICA. - - -DOWN from the lofty Andes rolls the majestic Amazon, the largest river -in the world. From its sources to the Atlantic the length is upwards of -four thousand miles. The banks are clothed with immense impenetrable -forests of pine, cedar, red-wood, holly, and cinnamon, affording a -haunt to savage jaguars, bears, leopards, tigers, wild boars, and a -great variety of venemous serpents; and abounding, too, in birds of the -most beautiful plumage, and apes of the most fantastic appearance. The -waters swarm with alligators, turtles, and almost every description of -fish. The shores and islands were formerly peopled by numerous tribes -of Indians, who have either become extinct or retired further up the -mountains. - -This majestic river was first explored in 1540-41, by Francisco -Orellana, a Spanish adventurer. Gonzalo Pizarro, brother of the Marquis -of Pizarro, started with Orellana from Zumaque, where they met by -accident. Together they descended the river Coca in search of the -wondrous El Dorado, which, they had been told, was situated on the -banks of a great river into which the Coca flowed. During the voyage -they met with innumerable difficulties, and suffered great hardships, -especially from the want of provisions. Several of their followers -fell ill; and at last Pizarro constructed a brigantine, and embarked -his invalids on board, with two hundred thousand livres in gold. He -gave Orellana the command, and remained behind with the rest of the -adventurers; desiring Orellana, if successful, to return with supplies. -The latter, having entered at last a broad river, whose shores were so -distant from each other that the waters seemed like those of an inland -sea, was certain he had almost reached El Dorado. On the last day of -December, 1540, he resolved not to turn back; so, letting himself go -with the current, he abandoned his comrades under Pizarro to their fate. - -At the mouth of the Nayho, Orellana was cautioned by an old Indian -chief to beware of the warlike women. At the River Canuriz, between the -mouth of the Xingu and the Rio Negro, he encountered a hostile tribe -of Indians who opposed his landing. Blows were exchanged; several fell -on each side. Amongst the slain were several women, who had fought -quite as bravely as the men. Orellana was, of course, the victor, and -lived to carry home to Europe an account (improved and embellished) of -a nation of Amazons who lived in South America, and made war on the -Indians. - -Thenceforth a legend existed among the European adventurers that -a nation of female warriors dwelt somewhere on the South American -continent. The river, hitherto called the Maranon, from its first -discoverer, was re-christened as the Amazons' river; and a large tract -of country, with indefinable limits, was set down in the maps under the -somewhat vague denomination of Amazonia. - -Whether the natives first told the Europeans, or whether the latter, -with a view to increase the wonders of the New World, invented the -story and told it to the natives, none can tell; but even before the -voyage of Orellana, a tradition existed amongst both natives and -colonists that a nation of armed women dwelt somewhere in America. -Christopher Columbus was told that the small island of Mandanino, or -Matinino (Montserrat), was inhabited solely by female warriors. - -Since the days of Orellana, there have been found plenty of travellers -to confirm the story and add their testimony to its truth. Hernando de -Ribeira, a follower of Cabega de Vega, the Conquistador of Paraguay, -asserted in 1545 that he had been told of a nation of Amazons who lived -on the western shore of a large lake poetically termed "The Mansion of -the Sun," because that orb sinks into its waters every evening. Father -d'Acugna, in his "Discovery of the River Amazon," declares that the -various tribes of Indians (amongst others, the Toupinambous) dwelling -around the Amazon, assured him again and again that a republic of -female warriors did exist in that region; several chiefs said they -themselves had been in the country of the Amazons on a visit. If, says -d'Acugna, the tradition is not true, it is certainly the greatest of -all the fables invented about the New World. The Indians all believed -that the Amazons possessed vast treasures, sufficient to enrich many -kingdoms; but no one dared to attack so warlike a nation, to whom -liberty was dearer than all the riches in the world, and who knew how -to send their poisoned shafts straight to the heart. D'Acugna fixes the -residence of the Amazons on the banks of the Canuriz, on lofty, almost -inaccessible mountains. - -"When their neighbours visit them," he says, "at a time appointed by -themselves, they receive them with bows and arrows in their hands, -which they exercise as if about to engage with enemies. But knowing -the object of their visitors, they lay these weapons down, and welcome -as their guests the strangers, who remain with them a few days." - -Andre Thevet, in his work "Les Singularites de la France Antarctique," -Paris, 1558, makes the arrival of the Amazons' guests the subject of a -pictorial illustration. - -In 1595, Sir Walter Raleigh, wishing to make a fortune in a hurry, -undertook an expedition to Guiana to seek for the golden city of Manoa. -Most probably he had read Thevet's work, an English translation of -which, by Bynneman, appeared in 1568; and he made the most careful -enquiries after the Amazons. But, like his predecessors, he was doomed -to disappointment. - -"I made inqvirie," says he (in his book 'The Discourie of the Large, -Rich, and Bewtifvl Empire of Gviana') "amongst the most ancient and -best traueled of the _Orenoqveponi_, and I had knowledge of all the -riuers betweene _Orenoqve_ and _Amazones_, and was uery desirovs to -vnderstand the trvth of the warlike women, bicavce of some it is -beleeved, of others not; though I digresse from my pvrpose, yet I will -set doune what hath been deliuered to me for troth of those women, and -I spake with a _Casiqve_, or lord of the people, that told me he had -been in the riuer, and beyond it also, the nations of those women are -on the sovth side of the riuer in a prouince of _Topago_, and their -chiefest strength and retraicts are in the Islands scitvate on the -sovth side of the entrance, some sixty leagves within the movth of the -said riuer." - -After entering into some details about the reception of their guests in -the month of April, when, he says, "this one moneth they feast, davnce, -and drinke," he gives an account of the treatment of children, which -bears a suspicious resemblance to the stories related of the ancient -Amazons. He further tells us the South American Amazons were "said to -be very crvell and bloodthirsty, especially to svch as offer to inuade -their territories." - -In 1599 an abridged Latin translation of Raleigh's work appeared at -Nuremberg, at the cost of Levinus Hulsius, geographer and collector. -It was illustrated by five coloured plates; the third representing -the joyful reception of the Amazons' visitors, and their subsequent -amusements; the fourth showing the treatment bestowed on prisoners of -war, who are seen hung up by the heels to trees, where they serve as -targets for the skill of their captors, while their ultimate fate is -hinted by the figures of several Amazons preparing huge fires. - -At the close of the seventeenth century, Father Cyprian Baraza, a -Jesuit missionary who went among the South American Indians, gave -an account of some Amazonian tribes who dwelt to the west of the -Paraquay, in 12 deg. south latitude. M. de Condamine, who read a "Relation -abregee d'un Voyage," etc., before the Academie des Sciences in 1745, -brought forward several testimonies to the existence of the Amazons, -whom he described as a society of independent women, who were visited -by the sterner sex during the month of April only. Amongst other -authorities he mentions Don Francisco Diego Portales, and Don Francisco -Torralva, two Spanish governors of Venezuela, who agreed in declaring -that a tribe of female warriors lived in the interior of Guiana. - -Thirty years later he was supported by a Portuguese astronomer, Don -Ribeiro de Sampeio ("Diario da Viegem, no anno de 1774 et 1775") who, -however, spoke only by hearsay. Gili, the missionary, was told by -an Indian of the Quaqua tribe that the Aikeambenanos ("women living -alone") dwelt on the banks of the Cuchinero, which falls into the -Orinoco opposite the island of Taran, between Cayeara and Alta Gracia. - -Count Pagan, in his "Relation de la Riviere des Amazones," after -testifying to the existence of the nation, observes, in his florid -style "Que l'Asie ne se vante plus de ses comptes veritables ou -fabuleuses des Amazones. L'Amerique ne lui cede point cet avantage.... -Et que le fleuve de Thermodoon ne soit plus enfle de la gloire de ces -conquerantes les guerrieres." - -The Abbe Guyon, in his "Histoire des Amazons," Paris, 1740, expresses -great faith in the story of these South American dames; and suggests -that they were colonised by the African Amazons, who might, he -suggests, have passed from the Old to the New World by the now -submerged isle of Atlantis. But his testimony is of little value, as it -evidently rests almost entirely upon D'Acugna's report. - -Even within the last twenty or thirty years, many Indian tribes have -expressed their belief in the existence of the Amazons. Those who dwell -on the Essequibo, the Rupunni, and the lower Corentyn, gravely assured -Sir Robert Schomburgh, in 1844, that separate tribes of women still -lived on the upper part of the Corentyn, in a country called Marawonne; -and the narrators went so much into detail that Sir Robert and his -companions were almost inclined to believe them. The natives further -told them that when they had journeyed some distance above the great -cataracts of the Corentyn, at a point where two gigantic rocks (named -by the Indians Pioomoco and Surama) rose from either shore, they would -be in the country of the Woruisamocos, or Amazons. - -Sir Robert, while travelling over the vast savannahs, frequently came -upon heaps of broken pottery, which the Macusion Indians said were -relics of the Woruisamocos, who had formerly dwelt there. The Caribs -were especially persistent in declaring that an Amazonian republic -still existed in the centre of Guiana "in those districts which no -European had ever visited." - -The explorers of the river Amazon were formerly stopped by the great -cataracts on the Rio Trombetas, and in many instances they were -murdered by ferocious Indians who inhabit the upper branches. Naturally -those parts of the river which remained unexplored were supposed to be -the land of the "bellicose dames." In 1842-44 M. Montravel, commander -of the French war-ship "La Boulonnaise," surveyed the Amazon from -the sea as high up as the Rio Negro, and heard the same tale in the -region of the Rio Trombetas. Thus, from the west as well as from the -north, Europeans heard of a nation of Amazons dwelling in the central -districts of Guiana. - -Humboldt believed to a certain extent in the tradition. His idea -was that women, in various parts of South America, have now and -then wearied of the degrading condition in which they are held, -and occasionally united themselves into bands, as fugitive negroes -sometimes do, and that the necessity of preserving their independence -has made them warriors. - -Southey, in his "History of Brazil," makes a very trite observation -concerning the female warriors of the New World. "Had we never," says -he, "heard of the Amazons of antiquity, I should, without hesitation, -believe in those of America. Their existence is not the less likely for -this reason, and yet it must be admitted that the probable truth is -made to appear suspicious by its resemblance to a known fable." - -[Illustration] - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -X. - - Lady Offaley (Irish Rebellion, 1641)--Lady Arundell--Lady - Bankes--Countess of Derby (Civil Wars in England)--Helena Zrinyi, - Wife of Tekeli--Incident at the Coronation of William and - Mary--Mademoiselle de la Charce. - - -"THERE are three sorts of things in the world," says the Abbe Brotier, -"that know no kind of restraint, and are governed by passion and -brutality--family quarrels, religious disputes, and civil wars." The -truth of these words is undeniable, more especially as the last is -very frequently brought about by its forerunners. The war between -Charles I. and the Parliament was prosecuted on both sides with so much -bitterness, that, in certain instances, the conduct of the officers and -generals savoured more of private feud than public zeal. - -The Irish Rebellion of 1641 was one of many unfortunate occurrences -which precipitated the revolution at home, for not only did the -Republican party take advantage of the King's difficulties to increase -its own power, but the Irish rebels envenomed the bitterness between -King and Commons by declaring that they were empowered, by Royal -Commission, to defend his Majesty's prerogatives against a Puritanical, -levelling Government. - -The Irish rebels stormed many a castle belonging to English nobles or -gentry. Amongst others, they beleaguered, in April, 1642, the Castle of -Geashill, in King's County, the residence of Lettice Digby, Baroness -of Offaley. This lady, though upwards of sixty years old, and a widow, -retained all the fire and energy of youth. She closed the gates, -and made a most resolute defence, refusing to hear any proposal for -surrender, for the castle, being defended on all sides by bogs and -woods, was very difficult of access. She was at last relieved by the -approach of Viscount Lisle and Sir Charles Coote with one hundred and -twenty foot and three hundred horse. The castle having been provisioned -and supplied with ammunition, Lady Offaley chose to remain there for a -time; but being again menaced by the rebels, she was relieved by Sir -Richard Grenville, in October of the same year, when she retired to -her mansion at Coles Hill, in Warwickshire, where she died, December -the 1st, 1658. - - * * * * * - -On the 25th of August, 1642, King Charles raised his standard at -Nottingham. He was at once joined by thousands of Cavaliers; amongst -others, by the Earl of Arundell, one of his most staunch adherents. -The latter made himself so troublesome to the Parliament that they -determined to seize Wardour Castle, his mansion. In 1643, they sent -orders to Sir Edward Hungerford, commander-in-chief of their forces in -Wiltshire, to accomplish this design. He arrived before the castle on -the 2nd of May, and as Lord Arundell was absent, the Puritans expected -an easy conquest. But Lady Blanche, who had been left in charge, was -well supplied with provisions and ammunition: and although the garrison -consisted of barely twenty-five fighting men, she resolved to make a -brave defence. - -Sir Edward Hungerford, on the arrival of Colonel Strode with -reinforcements, summoned the castle to surrender, pretending that it -contained men and arms, money, and plate which he was ordered, by a -warrant from Parliament, to seize. Lady Arundell declined to comply -with his demands. Sir Edward immediately ordered up his heavy guns, -and commenced a bombardment which lasted from Wednesday the 3rd to the -following Monday. The besiegers, moreover, ran two mines under the -walls, and so terrific was the explosion that the fortress was shaken -to its foundations. - -During the siege, Sir Edward offered again and again to grant quarter -to the ladies and children if the castle would surrender; but Lady -Arundell and the other ladies rejected the proposal with disdain. The -latter, too, together with the women-servants, aided in the defence in -various ways; they loaded the muskets, and carried round refreshments -to their gallant defenders. - -According as the garrison, exhausted by the continued struggle, relaxed -in its efforts, the Parliamentary soldiers redoubled their attacks. -They applied petards to the garden-door, they flung balls of wild-fire -through the dismantled windows, causing much damage to the apartments -in the castle, destroying valuable pictures, rich carvings, statuettes, -costly vases, chairs and couches, mirrors, and various works of almost -priceless worth. - -After the siege had lasted nine days, Lady Arundell, finding the castle -was no longer tenable, demanded a parley. Articles of surrender were -drawn up, by which it was stipulated, firstly, that the garrison and -all the inmates of the castle should be granted quarter; secondly, -that the ladies and servants should have all their wearing apparel, -and that sixty serving-men, chosen by the ladies themselves, should -be permitted to attend them wherever they might please to retire; -thirdly, that the furniture of the castle was to be saved from plunder -or destruction. - -The Puritans violated, without scruple, the treaty, destroyed or -mutilated everything of value in the castle, and left with the inmates -nothing but the clothes they wore. Lady Arundell, with the women and -children, was carried prisoner to Shaftesbury. Thither, too, five -van-loads of costly furniture were borne in triumph as the spoils of -the vanquished. - -The loss to Lord Arundell by the devastation and plunder of Wardour -Castle was estimated at one hundred thousand pounds. - -The Parliament, thinking their prisoners were insecure at Shaftesbury, -wished to remove them to Bath. But the town was infected with small-pox -and plague; and Lady Arundell refused so stubbornly to consent, that -her captors left her where she was, but took her children to Dorchester. - -Lady Arundell survived the siege only five years; and at her death, she -was buried, with her husband, in the chapel of Wardour Castle. - - * * * * * - -In point of heroic valour, Lady Arundell was outdone by Lady Mary -Bankes, wife of Sir John Bankes, Lord Chief Justice of the Common -Pleas. In August, 1643, Parliament despatched Sir William Earle with -a strong force to reduce Corfe Castle, the family residence of Sir -John, in the Isle of Purbeck. Thinking to gain possession by stratagem, -Sir William sent a party of forty sailors to demand four field-pieces -which were in the castle. Lady Bankes, suspecting their real object, -went to the gate, and requested the sailors to show their warrant. They -produced one, signed by several Parliamentary Commissioners. Thereupon -Lady Bankes retired into the castle; and although there were only five -men within the walls, they mounted the field-pieces with the assistance -of the female servants, and having loaded one of them, fired it off, -and drove the sailors away. - -Sir William Earle now tried to starve the castle into a surrender. -Lady Bankes affected a wish to treat for the surrender of the guns; -but her real object was, that the besiegers, relaxing in their careful -blockade, would give greater facilities for introducing fresh supplies -to the garrison. The event justified her hopes. She also obtained the -help of Captain Lawrence, commanding a company of Royalists. - -The Puritans, about six hundred in number, assaulted the castle, and -endeavoured to carry it by a _coup de main_. But the brave little -garrison, sallying forth, drove away the besiegers and brought back -nine oxen. Again the besiegers tried to take the castle by storm. -Dividing their forces, one party attacked the middle ward, which was -defended by Captain Lawrence and his company, while the other division -assaulted the upper ward, held by Lady Bankes with her daughters, her -female servants, and five soldiers, who hurled down huge stones and -red-hot coals on the heads of the storming party. At last, after losing -one hundred men in the assault, the Parliamentary forces retreated from -before Corfe Castle. The blockade had lasted, altogether, six weeks. - -Lady Bankes lived to see the Restoration, and died in April, 1661. -She was interred in the south aisle of Rislipp church. The following -inscription was placed upon her monument by her eldest son:-- - - "To the memory of - -"The Lady Mary Bankes, the only daughter of Rafe Hawtrey, of Rislipp, -in the County of Middlesex, Esquire, the wife and widow of the -Honourable Sir John Bankes, Knight, late Lord Chief Justice of his -late Majesty's Court of Common Pleas, and of the Privy Council to his -late Majesty King Charles the First, of blessed memory; who, having -had the honour to have borne, with a constancy and courage above her -sex, a noble proportion of the late calamity, and the happiness to have -outlived them so far as to have seen the restitution of the government, -with great peace of mind laid down her most desired life the 19th day -of April, 1661. Sir Ralphe Bankes, her son and heir, hath dedicated -this. She left four sonnes--first, Sir Ralphe; second, Jerome; -third, Charles; fourth, William (since dead, without issue); and six -daughters." - - * * * * * - -The Earl of Derby was one of the most prominent Cavalier leaders. In -1643, while awaiting a siege at Lathom House, Lancashire, his family -mansion, the earl received intelligence that Parliament had despatched -troops to annex his miniature kingdom, the Isle of Man. Wishing to -preserve the island as a final retreat for his royal master, in case of -misfortune overtaking him, he left Lathom House in charge of Charlotte, -his countess, and set off to the Isle of Man. - -On the 27th of May, 1643, Mr. Holland, governor of Manchester, -despatched a messenger to Lathom, commanding Lady Derby either to -subscribe to the propositions of Parliament or surrender the mansion. -She refused compliance with either alternative; and for nearly a year -contrived, though closely blockaded, to keep the enemy from coming to -open hostilities. At last, on the 24th of February, 1644, Parliament -despatched three colonels to Lathom House. Before their arrival, the -countess hastened to lay in provisions and ammunition, and to arm a -sufficient number of retainers to serve as a garrison. - -The countess determined not to surrender on any terms, and rejected -every proposal. "Though a woman," said she, "and a stranger divorced -from her friends and robbed of her estates, she was ready to receive -their utmost violence, trusting in God for protection and deliverance." - -Hostilities having commenced, the Parliamentary army pushed the siege -with great vigour. The countess conducted the defence in person; but, -though she took the office of commander, she was not unmindful of the -spiritual welfare of her people. She was present four times a day at -public prayer, attended by her little daughters, Catherine and Mary. - -A few days after the opening of the siege, Sir Thomas Fairfax, the -Parliamentary general, received a letter from the Earl of Derby, in -which the latter, dreading the extremes to which his wife and children -might be reduced, requested for them a free pass through the camp of -the besiegers. When this was communicated to the countess, she thanked -Sir Thomas for his courtesy in forwarding the missive; but replied -that "she would willingly submit to her lord's commands, and therefore -willed the general to treat with her; but till she was assured that -such was his lordship's pleasure, she would neither yield up the house -nor desert it herself, but wait for the event according to the will of -God." - -She forwarded a similar message to her husband at Chester. - -On the 25th of April, Colonel Rigby despatched a peremptory message, -demanding the surrender of Lathom House immediately. The countess -refused: and the siege was prosecuted with renewed vigour; while the -garrison, animated by the presence of Lady Derby, continued to defend -the house with unabated courage. At last, on the 23rd of May, they -learnt, to their inexpressible relief, that Prince Rupert and the Earl -of Derby were in Cheshire, marching to their aid. - -When the Puritans heard of the approach of Prince Rupert, they -retreated to Bolton. On the 29th, Prince Rupert "not only relieved, but -revenged the most noble lady, his cousin," leaving one thousand five -hundred of the besiegers dead on the field, and taking seven hundred -prisoners. The next day he presented the countess with twenty-two of -those standards which, three days previously, had been proudly waving -before Lathom House. - -The countess and her children accompanied the earl to the Isle of Man, -leaving the mansion in charge of Colonel Rawstone. The latter defended -it till the following December, when the decline of the Royal cause -obliged him to open negotiations with Fairfax. Before they were brought -to a satisfactory conclusion, the house was treacherously surrendered -by an Irish soldier. - -The earl and countess, in the midst of their devoted adherents in the -Isle of Man, defied the threats of Parliament. The earl was one of -the first to join the standard of Charles II. in 1651. Captured on the -borders of Cheshire, he was carried to his own town of Bolton-le-Moors, -where he was beheaded, October 15th. Misfortune never comes -unaccompanied. The bereaved countess was betrayed, with her children, -by a false friend, and thrown into prison. She regained her liberty at -the Restoration; and for the rest of her life dwelt, with her remaining -children, at Knowsley, near Lathom, where she died in 1663. - - * * * * * - -Although the Turks were expelled from Hungary in the sixteenth century, -they by no means gave up their ambitious designs on that country. -Taking advantage of the cruelty and oppression exercised by Austria -towards the Hungarians, they secretly stirred up the nobles to revolt -against their harsh masters. In 1678, an able leader was found in -Emeric Tekeli, or Tokolyi, who, weary of vainly soliciting the Emperor -Leopold to restore his paternal estates, resolved to take them for -himself, together with the crown of Hungary. Setting up his standard -in Transylvania, he was soon joined by thousands of malcontents. Day -by day the revolt gathered strength; and had not the Emperor resorted -to the arts of cunning and bribery, it is probable the rebellion would -have terminated in a revolution. - -Tekeli was husband of Helena, widow of Francis Ragotsky (who died in -1667), and daughter of Peter, Count Zrinyi, Ban of Croatia, who, with -others, lost his head in 1671 for conspiring against Leopold. Helena -was as brave as she was beautiful. By her first husband she had two -sons, of whom the eldest, Francis, afterwards took a conspicuous part -in the affairs of Hungary. - -Tekeli commenced the war in 1678, and in 1682 he entered Buda in -triumph, where he was inaugurated Prince of Upper Hungary by the nobles -and the Turkish Bashaw. In the following year, the Turks, following -up these successes, advanced to Vienna, which would have fallen, but -for John Sobiesky and his Poles. Leopold took care to foment the -growing jealousies between Tekeli and the Turks; and on the failure -of the Hungarian leader in an attack on Cassau, the Bashaw of Great -Waradin sent the hero in chains to Constantinople. He was released -the following year; but during his imprisonment the Turks were driven -from Hungary and the rebellion crushed. Helena continued to defend the -rock-fortress of Mongatz (or Munkacs) with great courage for two years -after the arrest of her husband; but in 1688 she was overpowered by -superior numbers, and reduced to capitulate and throw herself with her -sons under the protection of the Emperor. - -Helena was thrown into a convent, while her children were educated -under the auspices of Leopold. After a time she was exchanged for -an Austrian general, and permitted to join her husband in Turkey. -The Sultan, Mustapha, conferred upon Tekeli, Widdin, and some other -districts, as a sort of feudal sovereignty; but he was afterwards -neglected by the Turkish government, and compelled to start as a -vintner in Constantinople, where he died in 1705, in his fiftieth year. -Helena, after sharing the misfortunes and vicissitudes of his life, -died two years before him, in 1703. - - * * * * * - -A somewhat ludicrous affair happened at the coronation of William and -Mary, April 23rd, 1689. The champion of England, according to custom, -entered Westminster Hall, and throwing down his mailed glove, gave -the customary challenge to any one who should dare to dispute their -Majesty's claim to the crown. An old woman came in on crutches (which -she left behind her), snatched up the gauntlet, laid her own glove in -its place, and made off as fast as she could, before any one was able -to stop her. In the glove was found a challenge for the champion to -meet her the following day in Hyde Park. This matter occasioned much -merriment at the lower end of the hall. - -Next day an old woman, similarly dressed, was seen waiting at the -appointed ground, and was conjectured by those who saw her, to be -a soldier in disguise. The champion, however, wisely declining -any warlike contest with one of the fair sex, refused to keep the -appointment. - - * * * * * - -Madlle. de la Tour du Pin Gouvernail, better known as Madlle. de -la Charce, heroine of the war between Louis Quatorze and the Duke -of Savoy, was the daughter of Pierre de la Tour du Pin, Marquis de -la Charce, lieutenant-general of the king's armies. In 1692 the -Piedmontese invaded Dauphine. Madlle. de la Charce, arming the -villagers on her estates, placed herself at their head, and harassed -the enemy in the mountains; her mother, meanwhile, addressed the people -in the plains, exhorting them to remain faithful. The sister of Madlle. -de la Charce caused the cables of the enemy's vessels to be cut. This -brave family contributed so greatly towards driving the Duke of Savoy -from Dauphine, that Louis XIV. granted Philis a pension, the same as he -would have given to a brave general, and allowed her to place her sword -and armour in the treasury of St. Denis. - -Madlle. de la Charce was fond of literature, and composed some very -pretty verses. An anonymous work appeared in 1731, under the title -of "Memoires de Madlle. de la Charce." This little romance, says -Langlet-Dufresnoy, is well written, and contains many historical -anecdotes connected with the reign of the Grand-Monarque. - - - END OF VOL. I. - - - PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND CO. - 10 LITTLE QUEEN STREET, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS. - - - - -TINSLEY BROTHERS' NEW NOVELS. - - -A new Story of Modern Society, by the Author of "Jennie of 'The -Prince's,'" - -GREAT GRENFELL GARDENS: - -A Story of Modern Society. - -By B. H. BUXTON, - -Author of "Nell--On and Off the Stage," "Jennie of 'The Prince's,'" -"Fetterless," "Won," etc. 3 Vols. - - -By the Author of "Denis Donne." - -A LONDON SEASON. - -By ANNIE THOMAS (Mrs. PENDER CUDLIP). Author of "Called to Account," -"Sir Victor's Choice," etc. 3 Vols. - - -By the Author of "An Innocent Sinner." - -OUR BOHEMIA. - -By MABEL COLLINS, Author of "An Innocent Sinner," "In this World," etc. -3 Vols. - -"You shall see great difference betwixt our Bohemia and your -Sicilia."--_Winter's Tale._ - - -MOLLY CAREW: a New Novel. - -By E. OWENS BLACKBURNE, - -Author of "A Woman Scorned," "Dean Swift's Ghost," "Philosopher Push," -"The Quest of the Heir," etc. 3 Vols. - - -By the author of "The Hazelhurst Mystery." - -RUTH EVERINGHAM. - -By JESSIE SALE LLOYD, - -Author of "The Hazelhurst Mystery," etc. 3 Vols. - - -By the Author of "Woman and Her Master." - -THE FREEMASON'S DAUGHTER: - -A New Novel. - -By J. F. SMITH, - -Author of "Minnigrey," "Woman and Her Master," "Stanfield Hall," etc. 3 -Vols. - - -By the Author of "Estella." - -MARGARET DUNBAR. - -By ANNABEL GRAY, - -Author of "Estella," etc. 3 Vols. - - -GRACE. - -By HENRY TURNER. - -2 Vols. - - -THE BACHELOR: - -An Original Novel. - -By ARTHUR MONTAGU BROOKFIELD. - -2 Vols. - -"Equal in power to anything that many of our well-known and -best-established authors have written."--_Bells Weekly Messenger._ - - -PAOLO GIANINI: - -A new Novel. - -By PERICLES TZIKOS. - -3 Vols. - -"Is an interesting and promising romance."--_Athenaeum._ - -"We can recommend it cordially to those who like a novel which treats -of scenes and persons removed from the commonplace class of incidents -and personages which form the stock of most English stories of the -day."--_Morning Post._ - - - TINSLEY BROTHERS, 8, CATHERINE ST., STRAND. - - * * * * * - -Transcriber's Notes: - -Obvious punctuation errors repaired. - -Page xi, "Dona" changed to "Dona" (Dona Maria Pacheco) - -Page xiv, "theGirondists" changed to "the Girondists" (of the -Girondists) - -Page xv, "SavageAfria" changed to "Savage Africa" (Savage Africa) - -Page xvi, "Ec." changed to "Etc." (Etc. etc.) - -Page 13, "vogage" changed to "voyage" (a separate voyage) - -Page 26, word "of" added to text original read (one the principal -officers) - -Page 26, "paramont" changed to "paramount" (soon ruled paramount) - -Page 34, "a" changed to "at" (at the hands of) - -Page 34, "like" changed to "life" (their mode of life) - -Page 54, "siezed" changed to "seized" (Iceni, seized all his) - -Page 68, "ursurper" changed to "usurper" (usurper, Tetricus) - -Page 87, "twelth" changed to "twelfth" (eleventh and twelfth centuries) - -Page 95, "massacreing" changed to "massacring" (burning, plundering, -massacring) - -Page 96, "Efrilda" changed to "Elfrida" (Elfrida recaptured Leicester) - -Page 97, "Elfleda" changed to "Elfrida" (Elfrida died at Tamworth) - -Page 97, "Elfleda" changed to "Elfrida" (Elfrida "might have been) - -Page 126, "heorine" changed to "heroine" (Another heroine of this war) - -Page 147, "Mairie" changed to "Marie" (the Marie of Orleans) - -Page 155, "though" changed to "through" (England through another) - -Page 171, "activly" changed to "actively" (was actively engaged in) - -Page 173, "corse" changed to "corpse" (my husband's corpse, till) - -Page 186, "surrrounded" changed to "surrounded" (surrounded by her -ladies) - -Page 191, "addresed" changed to "addressed" (addressed the warriors) - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Female Warriors, Vol. I (of 2), by Ellen C. 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