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diff --git a/old/2004-09-bkgdd10.txt b/old/2004-09-bkgdd10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..73e35b4 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/2004-09-bkgdd10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10405 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Book of Golden Deeds, by Charlotte M. Yonge +#41 in our series by Charlotte M. Yonge + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: A Book of Golden Deeds + +Author: Charlotte M. Yonge + +Release Date: September, 2004 [EBook #6489] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on December 22, 2002] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII, with a few ISO-8859-1 characters + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A BOOK OF GOLDEN DEEDS *** + + + + +This Project Gutenberg Etext of 'A Book of Golden Deeds' +by Charlotte M Yonge was prepared by HanhVu capriccio_vn@yahoo.com +and Sandra Laythorpe menorot@menorot.com. + + + + + + +A BOOK OF GOLDEN DEEDS + +BY + +CHARLOTTE M YONGE + + + + + +CONTENTS + + + +What is a Golden Deed? +The Stories of Alcestis and Antigone +The Cup of Water +How One Man has saved a Host +The Pass of Thermopylae +The Rock of the Capitol +The Two Friends of Syracuse +The Devotion of the Decii +Regulus +The brave Brethren of Judah +The Chief of the Arverni +Withstanding the Monarch in his Wrath +The last Fight in the Coliseum +The Shepherd Girl of Nanterre +Leo the Slave +The Battle of the Blackwater +Guzman el Bueno +Faithful till Death +What is better than Slaying a Dragon +The Keys of Calais +The Battle of Sempach +The Constant Prince +The Carnival of Perth +The Crown of St. Stephen +George the Triller +Sir Thomas More's Daughter +Under Ivan the Terrible +Fort St. Elmo +The Voluntary Convict +The Housewives of Lowenburg +Fathers and Sons +The Soldiers in the Snow +Gunpowder Perils +Heroes of the Plague +The Second of September +The Vendeans + + + + +PREFACE + + + +As the most striking lines of poetry are the most hackneyed, because +they have grown to be the common inheritance of all the world, so many +of the most noble deeds that earth can show have become the best known, +and enjoyed their full meed of fame. Therefore it may be feared that +many of the events here detailed, or alluded to, may seem trite to those +in search of novelty; but it is not for such that the collection has +been made. It is rather intended as a treasury for young people, where +they may find minuter particulars than their abridged histories usually +afford of the soul-stirring deeds that give life and glory to the record +of events; and where also other like actions, out of their ordinary +course of reading, may be placed before them, in the trust that example +may inspire the spirit of heroism and self-devotion. For surely it must +be a wholesome contemplation to look on actions, the very essence of +which is such entire absorption in others that self is forgotten; the +object of which is not to win promotion, wealth, or success, but simple +duty, mercy, and loving-kindness. These are the actions wrought, 'hoping +for nothing again', but which most surely have their reward. + +The authorities have not been given, as for the most [Page] part the +narratives lie on the surface of history. For the description of the +Coliseum, I have, however, been indebted to the Abbé Gerbet's Rome +Chrétienne; for the Housewives of Lowenburg, and St. Stephen's Crown, to +Freytag's Sketches of German Life; and for the story of George the +Triller, to Mr. Mayhew's Germany. The Escape of Attalus is narrated +(from Gregory of Tours) in Thierry's 'Lettres sur l'Histoire de France;' +the Russian officer's adventures, and those of Prascovia Lopouloff +<http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/yonge/deeds/pardon.html>, the +true Elisabeth of Siberia, are from M. le Maistre; the shipwrecks +chiefly from Gilly's 'Shipwrecks of the British Navy;' the Jersey Powder +Magazine from the Annual Registrer, and that at Ciudad Rodrigo, from the +traditions of the 52nd Regiment. + +There is a cloud of doubt resting on a few of the tales, which it may be +honest to mention, though they were far too beautiful not to tell. These +are the details of the Gallic occupation of Rome, the Legend of St. +Genevieve, the Letter of Gertrude von der Wart, the stories of the Keys +of Calais, of the Dragon of Rhodes, and we fear we must add, both +Nelson's plan of the Battle of the Nile, and likewise the exact form of +the heroism of young Casabianca, of which no two accounts agree. But it +was not possible to give up such stories as these, and the thread of +truth there must be in them has developed into such a beautiful tissue, +that even if unsubstantial when tested, it is surely delightful to +contemplate. + +Some stories have been passed over as too devoid of foundation, in +especial that of young Henri, Duke of Nemours, who, at ten years old, +was said to have been hung up with his little brother of eight in one of +Louis XI's cages at Loches, with orders that two of the children's teeth +should daily be pulled out and brought to the king. The elder child was +said to have insisted on giving the whole supply of teeth, so as to save +his brother; but though they were certainly imprisoned after their +father's execution, they were released after Louis's death in a +condition which disproves this atrocity. + +The Indian mutiny might likewise have supplied glorious instances of +Christian self-devotion, but want of materials has compelled us to stop +short of recording those noble deeds by which delicate women and light- +hearted young soldiers showed, that in the hour of need there was not +wanting to them the highest and deepest 'spirit of self-sacrifice.' + +At some risk of prolixity, enough of the surrounding events has in +general been given to make the situation comprehensible, even without +knowledge of the general history. This has been done in the hope that +these extracts may serve as a mother's storehouse for reading aloud to +her boys, or that they may be found useful for short readings to the +intelligent, though uneducated classes. + +NOVEMBER 17, 1864. + + + + + +WHAT IS A GOLDEN DEED? + + + +We all of us enjoy a story of battle and adventure. Some of us delight +in the anxiety and excitement with which we watch the various strange +predicaments, hairbreadth escapes, and ingenious contrivances that are +presented to us; and the mere imaginary dread of the dangers thus +depicted, stirs our feelings and makes us feel eager and full of +suspense. + +This taste, though it is the first step above the dullness that cannot +be interested in anything beyond its own immediate world, nor care for +what it neither sees, touches, tastes, nor puts to any present use, is +still the lowest form that such a liking can take. It may be no better +than a love of reading about murders in the newspaper, just for the sake +of a sort of startled sensation; and it is a taste that becomes +unwholesome when it absolutely delights in dwelling on horrors and +cruelties for their own sake; or upon shifty, cunning, dishonest +stratagems and devices. To learn to take interest in what is evil is +always mischievous. + +But there is an element in many of such scenes of woe and violence that +may well account for our interest in them. It is that which makes the +eye gleam and the heart throb, and bears us through the details of +suffering, bloodshed, and even barbarity--feeling our spirits moved and +elevated by contemplating the courage and endurance that they have +called forth. Nay, such is the charm of brilliant valor, that we often +are tempted to forget the injustice of the cause that may have called +forth the actions that delight us. And this enthusiasm is often united +with the utmost tenderness of heart, the very appreciation of suffering +only quickening the sense of the heroism that risked the utmost, till +the young and ardent learn absolutely to look upon danger as an occasion +for evincing the highest qualities. + + +'O Life, without thy chequer'd scene +Of right and wrong, of weal and woe, +Success and failure, could a ground +For magnanimity be found?' + + +The true cause of such enjoyment is perhaps an inherent consciousness +that there is nothing so noble as forgetfulness of self. Therefore it is +that we are struck by hearing of the exposure of life and limb to the +utmost peril, in oblivion, or recklessness of personal safety, in +comparison with a higher object. + +That object is sometimes unworthy. In the lowest form of courage it is +only avoidance of disgrace; but even fear of shame is better than mere +love of bodily ease, and from that lowest motive the scale rises to the +most noble and precious actions of which human nature is capable--the +truly golden and priceless deeds that are the jewels of history, the +salt of life. + +And it is a chain of Golden Deeds that we seek to lay before our +readers; but, ere entering upon them, perhaps we had better clearly +understand what it is that to our mind constitutes a Golden Deed. + +It is not mere hardihood. There was plenty of hardihood in Pizarro when +he led his men through terrible hardships to attack the empire of Peru, +but he was actuated by mere greediness for gain, and all the perils he +so resolutely endured could not make his courage admirable. It was +nothing but insensibility to danger, when set against the wealth and +power that he coveted, and to which he sacrificed thousands of helpless +Peruvians. Daring for the sake of plunder has been found in every +robber, every pirate, and too often in all the lower grade of warriors, +from the savage plunderer of a besieged town up to the reckless monarch +making war to feed his own ambition. + +There is a courage that breaks out in bravado, the exuberance of high +spirits, delighting in defying peril for its own sake, not indeed +producing deeds which deserve to be called golden, but which, from their +heedless grace, their desperation, and absence of all base motives-- +except perhaps vanity have an undeniable charm about them, even when we +doubt the right of exposing a life in mere gaiety of heart. + +Such was the gallantry of the Spanish knight who, while Fernando and +Isabel lay before the Moorish city of Granada, galloped out of the camp, +in full view of besiegers and besieged, and fastened to the gate of the +city with his dagger a copy of the Ave Maria. It was a wildly brave +action, and yet not without service in showing the dauntless spirit of +the Christian army. But the same can hardly be said of the daring shown +by the Emperor Maximilian when he displayed himself to the citizens of +Ulm upon the topmost pinnacle of their cathedral spire; or of Alonso de +Ojeda, who figured in like manner upon the tower of the Spanish +cathedral. The same daring afterwards carried him in the track of +Columbus, and there he stained his name with the usual blots of rapacity +and cruelty. These deeds, if not tinsel, were little better than gold +leaf. + +A Golden Deed must be something more than mere display of fearlessness. +Grave and resolute fulfillment of duty is required to give it the true +weight. Such duty kept the sentinel at his post at the gate of Pompeii, +even when the stifling dust of ashes came thicker and thicker from the +volcano, and the liquid mud streamed down, and the people fled and +struggled on, and still the sentry stood at his post, unflinching, till +death had stiffened his limbs; and his bones, in their helmet and +breastplate, with the hand still raised to keep the suffocating dust +from mouth and nose, have remained even till our own times to show how a +Roman soldier did his duty. In like manner the last of the old Spanish +infantry originally formed by the Great Captain, Gonzalo de Cordova, +were all cut off, standing fast to a man, at the battle of Rocroy, in +1643, not one man breaking his rank. The whole regiment was found lying +in regular order upon the field of battle, with their colonel, the old +Count de Fuentes, at their head, expiring in a chair, in which he had +been carried, because he was too infirm to walk, to this his twentieth +battle. The conqueror, the high-spirited young Duke d'Enghien, +afterwards Prince of Condé, exclaimed, 'Were I not a victor, I should +have wished thus to die!' and preserved the chair among the relics of +the bravest of his own fellow countrymen. + +Such obedience at all costs and all risks is, however, the very essence +of a soldier's life. An army could not exist without it, a ship could +not sail without it, and millions upon millions of those whose 'bones +are dust and good swords are rust' have shown such resolution. It is the +solid material, but it has hardly the exceptional brightness, of a +Golden Deed. + +And yet perhaps it is one of the most remarkable characteristics of a +Golden Deed that the doer of it is certain to feel it merely a duty; 'I +have done that which it was my duty to do' is the natural answer of +those capable of such actions. They have been constrained to them by +duty, or by pity; have never even deemed it possible to act otherwise, +and did not once think of themselves in the matter at all. + +For the true metal of a Golden Deed is self-devotion. Selfishness is the +dross and alloy that gives the unsound ring to many an act that has been +called glorious. And, on the other hand, it is not only the valor, which +meets a thousand enemies upon the battlefield, or scales the walls in a +forlorn hope, that is of true gold. It may be, but often it is a mere +greed of fame, fear of shame, or lust of plunder. No, it is the spirit +that gives itself for others--the temper that for the sake of religion, +of country, of duty, of kindred, nay, of pity even to a stranger, will +dare all things, risk all things, endure all things, meet death in one +moment, or wear life away in slow, persevering tendance and suffering. + +Such a spirit was shown by Leaena, the Athenian woman at whose house the +overthrow of the tyranny of the Pisistratids was concerted, and who, +when seized and put to the torture that she might disclose the secrets +of the conspirators, fearing that the weakness of her frame might +overpower her resolution, actually bit off her tongue, that she might be +unable to betray the trust placed in her. The Athenians commemorated her +truly golden silence by raising in her honor the statue of a lioness +without a tongue, in allusion to her name, which signifies a lioness. + +Again, Rome had a tradition of a lady whose mother was in prison under +sentence of death by hunger, but who, at the peril of her own life, +visited her daily, and fed her from her own bosom, until even the stern +senate were moved with pity, and granted a pardon. The same story is +told of a Greek lady, called Euphrasia, who thus nourished her father; +and in Scotland, in 1401, when the unhappy heir of the kingdom, David, +Duke of Rothesay, had been thrown into the dungeon of Falkland Castle by +his barbarous uncle, the Duke of Albany, there to be starved to death, +his only helper was one poor peasant woman, who, undeterred by fear of +the savage men that guarded the castle, crept, at every safe +opportunity, to the grated window on a level with the ground, and +dropped cakes through it to the prisoner, while she allayed his thirst +from her own breast through a pipe. Alas! the visits were detected, and +the Christian prince had less mercy than the heathen senate. Another +woman, in 1450, when Sir Gilles of Brittany was savagely imprisoned and +starved in much the same manner by his brother, Duke François, sustained +him for several days by bringing wheat in her veil, and dropping it +through the grated window, and when poison had been used to hasten his +death, she brought a priest to the grating to enable him to make his +peace with Heaven. Tender pity made these women venture all things; and +surely their doings were full of the gold of love. + +So again two Swiss lads, whose father was dangerously ill, found that +they could by no means procure the needful medicine, except at a price +far beyond their means, and heard that an English traveler had offered a +large price for a pair of eaglets. The only eyrie was on a crag supposed +to be so inacessible, that no one ventured to attempt it, till these +boys, in their intense anxiety for their father, dared the fearful +danger, scaled the precipice, captured the birds, and safely conveyed +them to the traveler. Truly this was a deed of gold. + +Such was the action of the Russian servant whose master's carriage was +pursued by wolves, and who sprang out among the beasts, sacrificing his +own life willingly to slake their fury for a few minutes in order that +the horses might be untouched, and convey his master to a place of +safety. But his act of self-devotion has been so beautifully expanded in +the story of 'Eric's Grave', in 'Tales of Christian Heroism', that we +can only hint at it, as at that of the 'Helmsman of Lake Erie', who, +with the steamer on fire around him, held fast by the wheel in the very +jaws of the flame, so as to guide the vessel into harbour, and save the +many lives within her, at the cost of his own fearful agony, while +slowly scorched by the flames. + +Memorable, too, was the compassion that kept Dr. Thompson upon the +battlefield of the Alma, all alone throughout the night, striving to +alleviate the sufferings and attend to the wants, not of our own +wounded, but of the enemy, some of whom, if they were not sorely belied, +had been known to requite a friendly act of assistance with a pistol +shot. Thus to remain in the darkness, on a battlefield in an enemy's +country, among the enemy themselves, all for pity and mercy's sake, was +one of the noblest acts that history can show. Yet, it was paralleled in +the time of the Indian Mutiny, when every English man and woman was +flying from the rage of the Sepoys at Benares, and Dr. Hay alone +remained because he would not desert the patients in the hospital, whose +life depended on his care--many of them of those very native corps who +were advancing to massacre him. This was the Roman sentry's firmness, +more voluntary and more glorious. Nor may we pass by her to whom our +title page points as our living type of Golden Deeds--to her who first +showed how woman's ministrations of mercy may be carried on, not only +within the city, but on the borders of the camp itself--'the lady with +the lamp', whose health and strength were freely devoted to the holy +work of softening the after sufferings that render war so hideous; whose +very step and shadow carried gladness and healing to the sick soldier, +and who has opened a path of like shining light to many another woman +who only needed to be shown the way. Fitly, indeed, may the figure of +Florence Nightingale be shadowed forth at the opening of our roll of +Golden Deeds. + +Thanks be to God, there is enough of His own spirit of love abroad in +the earth to make Golden Deeds of no such rare occurrence, but that they +are of 'all time'. Even heathen days were not without them, and how much +more should they not abound after the words have been spoken, 'Greater +love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friend', +and after the one Great Deed has been wrought that has consecrated all +other deeds of self-sacrifice. Of martyrdoms we have scarcely spoken. +They were truly deeds of the purest gold; but they are too numerous to +be dwelt on here: and even as soldiers deem it each man's simple duty to +face death unhesitatingly, so the 'glorious army of martyrs' had, for +the most part, joined the Church with the expectation that they should +have to confess the faith, and confront the extremity of death and +torture for it. + +What have been here brought together are chiefly cases of self-devotion +that stand out remarkably, either from their hopelessness, their +courage, or their patience, varying with the character of their age; but +with that one essential distinction in all, that the dross of self was +cast away. + +Among these we cannot forbear mentioning the poor American soldier, who, +grievously wounded, had just been laid in the middle bed, by far the +most comfortable of the three tiers of berths in the ship's cabin in +which the wounded were to be conveyed to New York. Still thrilling with +the suffering of being carried from the field, and lifted to his place, +he saw a comrade in even worse plight brought in, and thinking of the +pain it must cost his fellow soldier to be raised to the bed above him, +he surprised his kind lady nurses (daily scatterers of Golden Deeds) by +saying, 'Put me up there, I reckon I'll bear hoisting better than he +will'. + +And, even as we write, we hear of an American Railway collision that +befell a train on the way to Elmira with prisoners. The engineer, whose +name was William Ingram, might have leapt off and saved himself before +the shock; but he remained in order to reverse the engine, though with +certain death staring him in the face. He was buried in the wreck of the +meeting train, and when found, his back was against the boiler he was +jammed in, unable to move, and actually being burnt to death; but even +in that extremity of anguish he called out to those who came round to +help him to keep away, as he expected the boiler would burst. They +disregarded the generous cry, and used every effort to extricate him, +but could not succeed until after his sufferings had ended in death. + +While men and women still exist who will thus suffer and thus die, +losing themselves in the thought of others, surely the many forms of woe +and misery with which this earth is spread do but give occasions of +working out some of the highest and best qualities of which mankind are +capable. And oh, young readers, if your hearts burn within you as you +read of these various forms of the truest and deepest glory, and you +long for time and place to act in the like devoted way, bethink +yourselves that the alloy of such actions is to be constantly worked +away in daily life; and that if ever it be your lot to do a Golden Deed, +it will probably be in unconsciousness that you are doing anything +extraordinary, and that the whole impulse will consist in the having +absolutely forgotten self. + + + + +THE STORIES OF ALCESTIS AND ANTIGONE + + + +It has been said, that even the heathens saw and knew the glory of self- +devotion; and the Greeks had two early instances so very beautiful that, +though they cannot in all particulars be true, they must not be passed +over. There must have been some foundation for them, though we cannot +now disentangle them from the fable that has adhered to them; and, at +any rate, the ancient Greeks believed them, and gathered strength and +nobleness from dwelling on such examples; since, as it has been truly +said, 'Every word, look or thought of sympathy with heroic action, helps +to make heroism'. Both tales were presented before them in their solemn +religious tragedies, and the noble poetry in which they were recounted +by the great Greek dramatists has been preserved to our time. + +Alcestis was the wife of Admetus, King of Pherae, who, according to the +legend, was assured that his life might be prolonged, provided father, +mother, or wife would die in his stead. It was Alcestis alone who was +willing freely to give her life to save that of her husband; and her +devotion is thus exquisitely described in the following translation, by +Professor Anstice, from the choric song in the tragedy by Euripides: + + +'Be patient, for thy tears are vain +They may not wake the dead again: +E'en heroes, of immortal sire +And mortal mother born, expire. + Oh, she was dear + While she linger'd here; +She is dear now she rests below, + And thou mayst boast + That the bride thou hast lost +Was the noblest earth can show. + +'We will not look on her burial sod + As the cell of sepulchral sleep, +It shall be as the shrine of a radiant god, +And the pilgrim shall visit that blest abode + To worship, and not to weep; +And as he turns his steps aside, + Thus shall he breathe his vow: +'Here sleeps a self-devoted bride, +Of old to save her lord she died. + She is a spirit now. + +Hail, bright and blest one! grant to me +The smiles of glad prosperity.' +Thus shall he own her name divine, +Thus bend him at Alcestis' shrine.' + + +The story, however, bore that Hercules, descending in the course of one +of his labors into the realms of the dead, rescued Alcestis, and brought +her back; and Euripides gives a scene in which the rough, jovial +Hercules insists on the sorrowful Admetus marrying again a lady of his +own choice, and gives the veiled Alcestis back to him as the new bride. +Later Greeks tried to explain the story by saying that Alcestis nursed +her husband through an infectious fever, caught it herself, and had been +supposed to be dead, when a skilful physician restored her; but this is +probably only one of the many reasonable versions they tried to give of +the old tales that were founded on the decay and revival of nature in +winter and spring, and with a presage running through them of sacrifice, +death, and resurrection. Our own poet Chaucer was a great admirer of +Alcestis, and improved upon the legend by turning her into his favorite +flower--- + + +'The daisie or els the eye of the daie, +The emprise and the floure of flouris all'. + + +Another Greek legend told of the maiden of Thebes, one of the most self- +devoted beings that could be conceived by a fancy untrained in the +knowledge of Divine Perfection. It cannot be known how much of her story +is true, but it was one that went deep into the hearts of Grecian men +and women, and encouraged them in some of their best feelings; and +assuredly the deeds imputed to her were golden. + +Antigone was the daughter of the old King Oedipus of Thebes. After a +time heavy troubles, the consequence of the sins of his youth, came upon +him, and he was driven away from his kingdom, and sent to wander forth a +blind old man, scorned and pointed at by all. Then it was that his +faithful daughter showed true affection for him. She might have remained +at Thebes with her brother Eteocles, who had been made king in her +father's room, but she chose instead to wander forth with the forlorn +old man, fallen from his kingly state, and absolutely begging his bread. +The great Athenian poet Sophocles began his tragedy of 'Oedipus +Coloneus' with showing the blind old king leaning on Antigone's arm, and +asking-- + + +'Tell me, thou daughter of a blind old man, +Antigone, to what land are we come, +Or to what city? Who the inhabitants +Who with a slender pittance will relieve +Even for a day the wandering Oedipus?' + POTTER. + + +The place to which they had come was in Attica, hear the city of +Colonus. It was a lovely grove-- + + +'All the haunts of Attic ground, +Where the matchless coursers bound, +Boast not, through their realms of bliss, +Other spot so fair as this. +Frequent down this greenwood dale +Mourns the warbling nightingale, +Nestling 'mid the thickest screen +Of the ivy's darksome green, +Or where each empurpled shoot +Drooping with its myriad fruit, +Curl'd in many a mazy twine, +Droops the never-trodden vine.' + ANSTICE. + + +This beautiful grove was sacred to the Eumenides, or avenging goddesses, +and it was therefore a sanctuary where no foot might tread; but near it +the exiled king was allowed to take up his abode, and was protected by +the great Athenian King, Theseus. There his other daughter, Ismene, +joined him, and, after a time, his elder son Polynices, arrived. + +Polynices had been expelled from Thebes by his brother Eteocles, and had +been wandering through Greece seeking aid to recover his rights. He had +collected an army, and was come to take leave of his father and sisters; +and at the same time to entreat his sisters to take care that, if he +should fall in the battle, they would prevent his corpse from being left +unburied; for the Greeks believed that till the funeral rites were +performed, the spirit went wandering restlessly up and down upon the +banks of a dark stream, unable to enter the home of the dead. Antigone +solemnly promised to him that he should not be left without these last +rites. Before long, old Oedipus was killed by lightning, and the two +sisters returned to Thebes. + +The united armies of the seven chiefs against Thebes came on, led by +Polynices. Eteocles sallied out to meet them, and there was a terrible +battle, ending in all the seven chiefs being slain, and the two +brothers, Eteocles and Polynices, were killed by one another in single +combat. Creon, the uncle, who thus became king, had always been on the +side of Eteocles, and therefore commanded that whilst this younger +brother was entombed with all due solemnities, the body of the elder +should be left upon the battlefield to be torn by dogs and vultures, and +that whosoever durst bury it should be treated as a rebel and a traitor +to the state. + +This was the time for the sister to remember her oath to her dead +brother. The more timid Ismene would have dissuaded her, but she +answered, + + +'To me no sufferings have that hideous form +Which can affright me from a glorious death'. + + +And she crept forth by night, amid all the horrors of the deserted field +of battles, and herself covered with loose earth the corpse of +Polynices. The barbarous uncle caused it to be taken up and again +exposed, and a watch was set at some little distance. Again Antigone + + +'Was seen, lamenting shrill with plaintive notes, +Like the poor bird that sees her lonely nest + Spoil'd of her young'. + + +Again she heaped dry dust with her own hands over the body, and poured +forth the libations of wine that formed an essential part of the +ceremony. She was seized by the guard, and led before Creon. She boldly +avowed her deed, and, in spite of the supplications of Ismene, she was +put to death, a sufferer for her noble and pious deeds; and with this +only comfort: + + + 'Glowing at my heart +I feel this hope, that to my father, dear +And dear to thee, my mother, dear to thee, +My brother, I shall go.' + POTTER. + + +Dim and beautiful indeed was the hope that upbore the grave and +beautiful Theban maiden; and we shall see her resolution equaled, though +hardly surpassed, by Christian Antigones of equal love and surer faith. + + + + +THE CUP OF WATER + + + +No touch in the history of the minstrel king David gives us a more warm +and personal feeling towards him than his longing for the water of the +well of Bethlehem. Standing as the incident does in the summary of the +characters of his mighty men, it is apt to appear to us as if it had +taken place in his latter days; but such is not the case, it befell +while he was still under thirty, in the time of his persecution by Saul. + +It was when the last attempt at reconciliation with the king had been +made, when the affectionate parting with the generous and faithful +Jonathan had taken place, when Saul was hunting him like a partridge on +the mountains on the one side, and the Philistines had nearly taken his +life on the other, that David, outlawed, yet loyal at the heart, sent +his aged parents to the land of Moab for refuge, and himself took up his +abode in the caves of the wild limestone hills that had become familiar +to him when he was a shepherd. Brave captain and Heaven-destined king as +he was, his name attracted around him a motley group of those that were +in distress, or in debt, or discontented, and among them were the +'mighty men' whose brave deeds won them the foremost parts in that army +with which David was to fulfill the ancient promises to his people. +There were his three nephews, Joab, the ferocious and imperious, the +chivalrous Abishai, and Asahel the fleet of foot; there was the warlike +Levite Benaiah, who slew lions and lionlike men, and others who, like +David himself, had done battle with the gigantic sons of Anak. Yet even +these valiant men, so wild and lawless, could be kept in check by the +voice of their young captain; and, outlaws as they were, they spoiled no +peaceful villages, they lifted not their hands against the persecuting +monarch, and the neighboring farms lost not one lamb through their +violence. Some at least listened to the song of their warlike minstrel: + + +'Come, ye children, and hearken to me, +I will teach you the fear of the Lord. +What man is he that lusteth to live, +And would fain see good days? +Let him refrain his tongue from evil +And his lips that they speak no guile, +Let him eschew evil and do good, +Let him seek peace and ensue it.' + + +With such strains as these, sung to his harp, the warrior gained the +hearts of his men to enthusiastic love, and gathered followers on all +sides, among them eleven fierce men of Gad, with faces like lions and +feet swift as roes, who swam the Jordan in time of flood, and fought +their way to him, putting all enemies in the valleys to flight. + +But the Eastern sun burnt on the bare rocks. A huge fissure, opening in +the mountain ridge, encumbered at the bottom with broken rocks, with +precipitous banks, scarcely affording a foothold for the wild goats--- +such is the spot where, upon a cleft on the steep precipice, still +remain the foundations of the 'hold', or tower, believed to have been +the David's retreat, and near at hand is the low-browed entrance of the +galleried cave alternating between narrow passages and spacious halls, +but all oppressively hot and close. Waste and wild, without a bush or a +tree, in the feverish atmosphere of Palestine, it was a desolate region, +and at length the wanderer's heart fainted in him, as he thought of his +own home, with its rich and lovely terraced slopes, green with wheat, +trellised with vines, and clouded with grey olive, and of the cool +cisterns of living water by the gate of which he loved to sing-- + + +'He shall feed me in a green pasture, +And lead me forth beside the waters of comfort'. + + +His parched longing lips gave utterance to the sigh, 'Oh that one would +give me to drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem that is by the +gate?' + +Three of his brave men, apparently Abishai, Benaiah, and Eleazar, heard +the wish. Between their mountain fastness and the dearly loved spring +lay the host of the Philistines; but their love for their leader feared +no enemies. It was not only water that he longed for, but the water from +the fountain which he had loved in his childhood. They descended from +their chasm, broke through the midst of the enemy's army, and drew the +water from the favorite spring, bearing it back, once again through the +foe, to the tower upon the rock! Deeply moved was their chief at this +act of self-devotion--so much moved that the water seemed to him to be +too sacred to be put to his own use. 'May God forbid it me that I should +do this thing. Shall I drink the blood of these men that have put their +lives in jeopardy, for with the jeopardy of their lives they brought +it?' And as a hallowed and precious gift, he poured out unto the Lord +the water obtained at the price of such peril to his followers. + +In later times we meet with another hero, who by his personal qualities +inspired something of the same enthusiastic attachment as did David, and +who met with an adventure somewhat similar, showing the like nobleness +of mind on the part of both leader and followers. + +It was Alexander of Macedon, whose character as a man, with all its dark +shades of violence, rage, and profanity, has a nobleness and sweetness +that win our hearts, while his greatness rests on a far broader basis +than that of his conquests, though they are unrivalled. No one else so +gained the love of the conquered, had such wide and comprehensive views +for the amelioration of the world, or rose so superior to the prejudice +of race; nor have any ten years left so lasting a trace upon the history +of the world as those of his career. + +It is not, however, of his victories that we are here to speak, but of +his return march from the banks of the Indus, in BC 326, when he had +newly recovered from the severe wound which he had received under the +fig tree, within the mud wall of the city of the Malli. This expedition +was as much the expedition of a discoverer as the journey of a +conqueror: and, at the mouth of the Indus, he sent his ships to survey +the coasts of the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf, while he himself +marched along the shore of the province, then called Gedrosia, and now +Mekhran. It was a most dismal tract. Above towered mountains of reddish- +brown bare stone, treeless and without verdure, the scanty grass +produced in the summer being burnt up long before September, the month +of his march; and all the slope below was equally desolate slopes of +gravel. The few inhabitants were called by the Greeks fish-eaters and +turtle-eaters, because there was apparently, nothing else to eat; and +their huts were built of turtle shells. + +The recollections connected with the region were dismal. Semiramis and +Cyrus were each said to have lost an army there through hunger and +thirst; and these foes, the most fatal foes of the invader, began to +attack the Greek host. Nothing but the discipline and all-pervading +influence of Alexander could have borne his army through. Speed was +their sole chance; and through the burning sun, over the arid rock, he +stimulated their steps with his own high spirit of unshrinking +endurance, till he had dragged them through one of the most rapid and +extraordinary marches of his wonderful career. His own share in their +privations was fully and freely taken; and once when, like the rest, he +was faint with heat and deadly thirst, a small quantity of water, won +with great fatigue and difficulty, was brought to him, he esteemed it +too precious to be applied to his own refreshment, but poured it forth +as a libation, lest, he said, his warriors should thirst the more when +they saw him drink alone; and, no doubt, too, because he felt the +exceeding value of that which was purchased by loyal love. +A like story is told of Rodolf of Hapsburgh, the founder of the +greatness of Austria, and one of the most open-hearted of men. A flagon +of water was brought to him when his army was suffering from severe +drought. 'I cannot,' he said, 'drink alone, nor can all share so small a +quantity. I do not thirst for myself, but for my whole army.' + +Yet there have been thirsty lips that have made a still more trying +renunciation. Our own Sir Philip Sidney, riding back, with the mortal +hurt in his broken thigh, from the fight at Zutphen, and giving the +draught from his own lips to the dying man whose necessities were +greater than his own, has long been our proverb for the giver of that +self-denying cup of water that shall by no means lose its reward. + +A tradition of an act of somewhat the same character survived in a +Slesvig family, now extinct. It was during the wars that ranged from +1652 to 1660, between Frederick III of Denmark and Charles Gustavus of +Sweden, that, after a battle, in which the victory had remained with the +Danes, a stout burgher of Flensborg was about to refresh himself, ere +retiring to have his wounds dressed, with a draught of beer from a +wooden bottle, when an imploring cry from a wounded Swede, lying on the +field, made him turn, and, with the very words of Sidney, 'Thy need is +greater than mine,' he knelt down by the fallen enemy, to pour the +liquor into his mouth. His requital was a pistol shot in the shoulder +from the treacherous Swede. 'Rascal,' he cried, 'I would have befriended +you, and you would murder me in return! Now I will punish you. I would +have given you the whole bottle; but now you shall have only half.' And +drinking off half himself, he gave the rest to the Swede. The king, +hearing the story, sent for the burgher, and asked him how he came to +spare the life of such a rascal. + +'Sire,' said the honest burgher, 'I could never kill a wounded enemy.' + +'Thou meritest to be a noble,' the king said, and created him one +immediately, giving him as armorial bearings a wooden bottle pierced +with an arrow! The family only lately became extinct in the person of an +old maiden lady. + + + + +HOW ONE MAN HAS SAVED A HOST + +B.C. 507 + + + +There have been times when the devotion of one man has been the saving +of an army. Such, according to old Roman story, was the feat of Horatius +Cocles. It was in the year B.C. 507, not long after the kings had been +expelled from Rome, when they were endeavoring to return by the aid of +the Etruscans. Lars Porsena, one of the great Etruscan chieftains, had +taken up the cause of the banished Tarquinius Superbus and his son +Sextus, and gathered all his forces together, to advance upon the city +of Rome. The great walls, of old Etrurian architecture, had probably +already risen round the growing town, and all the people came flocking +in from the country for shelter there; but the Tiber was the best +defense, and it was only crossed by one wooden bridge, and the farther +side of that was guarded by a fort, called the Janiculum. But the +vanguards of the overwhelming Etruscan army soon took the fort, and +then, in the gallant words of Lord Macaulay's ballad,-- + + +'Thus in all the Senate + There was no heart so bold +But sore it ached, and fast it beat, + When that ill news was told. +Forthwith uprose the Consul, + Up rose the Fathers all, +In haste they girded up their gowns, + And hied them to the wall. + +'They held a council standing + Before the River Gate: +Short time was there, ye well may guess, + For musing or debate. +Out spoke the Consul roundly, + 'The bridge must straight go down, +For, since Janiculum is lost, + Nought else can save the town.' + +'Just then a scout came flying, + All wild with haste and fear: +'To arms! To arms! Sir Consul, + Lars Porsena is here.' +On the low hills to westward + The Consul fixed his eye, +And saw the swarthy storm of dust + Rise fast along the sky. + +. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . + +'But the Consul's brow was sad, + And the Consul's speech was low, +And darkly looked he at the wall, + And darkly at the foe. +'Their van will be upon us + Before the bridge goes down; +And if they once may win the bridge + What hope to save the town?' + +'Then out spoke brave Horatius, + The Captain of the Gate, +'To every man upon this earth + Death cometh soon or late; +And how can man die better + Than facing fearful odds, +For the ashes of his fathers, + And the temples of his gods? + +'And for the tender mother + Who dandled him to rest, +And for the wife who nurses + His baby at her breast? +And for the holy maidens + Who feed the eternal flame, +To save them from false Sextus, + That wrought the deed of shame? + +'Hew down the bridge, Sir Consul, + With all the speed ye may, +I, with two more to help me, + Will hold the foe in play. +In yon strait path a thousand + May well be stopp'd by three: +Now who will stand on either hand, + And keep the bridge with me?' + +'Then out spake Spurius Lartius, + A Ramnian proud was he, +'Lo, I will stand at thy right hand, + And keep the bridge with thee.' +And out spake strong Herminius, + Of Titian blood was he, +'I will abide on thy left side, + And keep the bridge with thee.' + + +So forth went these three brave men, Horatius, the Consul's nephew, +Spurius Lartius, and Titus Herminius, to guard the bridge at the farther +end, while all the rest of the warriors were breaking down the timbers +behind them. + + +'And Fathers mixed with commons, + Seized hatchet, bar, and crow, +And smote upon the planks above, + And loosen'd them below. +'Meanwhile the Tuscan army, + Right glorious to behold, +Came flashing back the noonday light, +Rank behind rank, like surges bright, + Of a broad sea of gold. +Four hundred trumpets sounded + A peal of warlike glee, +As that great host, with measured tread, +And spears advanced, and ensigns spread, +Roll'd slowly towards the bridge's head, + Where stood the dauntless three. + +'The three stood calm and silent, + And look'd upon the foes, +And a great shout of laughter + From all the vanguard rose.' + + +They laughed to see three men standing to meet the whole army; but it +was so narrow a space, that no more than three enemies could attack them +at once, and it was not easy to match them. Foe after foe came forth +against them, and went down before their swords and spears, till at +last-- + + +'Was none that would be foremost + To lead such dire attack; +But those behind cried 'Forward!' + And those before cried 'Back!' + +. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . + + +However, the supports of the bridge had been destroyed. + + +'But meanwhile axe and lever + Have manfully been plied, +And now the bridge hangs tottering + Above the boiling tide. +'Come back, come back, Horatius!' + Loud cried the Fathers all; +'Back, Lartius! Back, Herminius! + Back, ere the ruin fall!' + +'Back darted Spurius Lartius, + Herminius darted back; +And as they passed, beneath their feet + They felt the timbers crack; +But when they turn'd their faces, + And on the farther shore +Saw brave Horatius stand alone, + They would have cross'd once more. + +'But with a crash like thunder + Fell every loosen'd beam, +And, like a dam, the mighty wreck + Lay right athwart the stream; +And a long shout of triumph + Rose from the walls of Rome, +As to the highest turret-tops + Was splashed the yellow foam.' + + +The one last champion, behind a rampart of dead enemies, remained till +the destruction was complete. + + +'Alone stood brave Horatius, + But constant still in mind, +Thrice thirty thousand foes before + And the broad flood behind.' + + +A dart had put out one eye, he was wounded in the thigh, and his work +was done. He turned round, and-- + + + 'Saw on Palatinus, + The white porch of his home, +And he spake to the noble river + That rolls by the walls of Rome: +'O Tiber! father Tiber! + To whom the Romans pray, +A Roman's life, a Roman's arms + Take thou in charge this day.' + + +And with this brief prayer he leapt into the foaming stream. Polybius +was told that he was there drowned; but Livy gives the version which the +ballad follows:-- + + +'But fiercely ran the current, + Swollen high by months of rain, +And fast his blood was flowing, + And he was sore in pain, +And heavy with his armor, + And spent with changing blows, +And oft they thought him sinking, + But still again he rose. + +'Never, I ween, did swimmer, + In such an evil case, +Struggle through such a raging flood + Safe to the landing place. +But his limbs were borne up bravely + By the brave heart within, +And our good father Tiber + Bare bravely up his chin. + +. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . + +'And now he feels the bottom, + Now on dry earth he stands, +Now round him throng the Fathers, + To press his gory hands. +And now with shouts and clapping, + And noise of weeping loud, +He enters through the River Gate, + Borne by the joyous crowd. + +'They gave him of the corn land, + That was of public right, +As much as two strong oxen + Could plough from morn to night. +And they made a molten image, + And set it up on high, +And there it stands unto this day, + To witness if I lie. + +'It stands in the Comitium, + Plain for all folk to see, +Horatius in his harness, + Halting upon his knee: +And underneath is written, + In letters all of gold, +How valiantly he kept the bridge + In the brave days of old.' + + +Never was more honorable surname than his, of Cocles, or the one-eyed; +and though his lameness prevented him from ever being a Consul, or +leading an army, he was so much beloved and honored by his fellow +citizens, that in the time of a famine each Roman, to the number of +300,000, brought him a day's food, lest he should suffer want. The +statue was shown even in the time of Pliny, 600 years afterwards, and +was probably only destroyed when Rome was sacked by the barbarians. + +Nor was the Roman bridge the only one that has been defended by one man +against a host. In our own country, Stamford Bridge was, in like manner, +guarded by a single brave Northman, after the battle fought A.D. 1066, +when Earl Tostig, the son of Godwin, had persuaded the gallant sea king, +Harald Hardrada, to come and invade England. The chosen English king, +Harold, had marched at full speed from Sussex to Yorkshire, and met the +invaders marching at their ease, without expecting any enemy, and +wearing no defensive armor, as they went forth to receive the keys of +the city of York. The battle was fought by the Norsemen in the full +certainty that it must be lost. The banner, 'Landwaster', was planted in +the midst; and the king, chanting his last song, like the minstrel +warrior he had always been, stood, with his bravest men, in a death ring +around it. There he died, and his choicest warriors with him; but many +more fled back towards the ships, rushing over the few planks that were +the only way across the River Ouse. And here stood their defender, alone +upon the bridge, keeping back the whole pursuing English army, who could +only attack him one at a time; until, with shame be it spoken, he died +by a cowardly blow by an enemy, who had crept down the bank of the +river, and under the bridge, through the openings between the timbers of +which he thrust up his spear, and thus was able to hurl the brave +Northman into the river, mortally wounded, but not till great numbers of +his countrymen had reached their ships, their lives saved by his +gallantry. + +In like manner, Robert Bruce, in the time of his wanderings, during the +year 1306, saved his whole band by his sole exertions. He had been +defeated by the forces of Edward I. at Methven, and had lost many of his +friends. His little army went wandering among the hills, sometimes +encamping in the woods, sometimes crossing the lakes in small boats. +Many ladies were among them, and their summer life had some wild charms +of romance; as the knightly huntsmen brought in the salmon, the roe, and +the deer that formed their food, and the ladies gathered the flowering +heather, over which soft skins were laid for their bedding. Sir James +Douglas was the most courtly and graceful knight of all the party, and +ever kept them enlivened by his gay temper and ready wit; and the king +himself cherished a few precious romances, which he used to read aloud +to his followers as they rested in their mountain home. + +But their bitter foe, the Lord of Lorn, was always in pursuit of them, +and, near the head of the Tay, he came upon the small army of 300 men +with 1000 Highlanders, armed with Lochaber axes, at a place which is +still called Dalry, or the King's Field. Many of the horses were killed +by the axes; and James Douglas and Gilbert de la Haye were both wounded. +All would have been slain or fallen into the hand of the enemy, if +Robert Bruce had not sent them all on before him, up a narrow, steep +path, and placed himself, with his armor and heavy horse, full in the +path, protecting the retreat with his single arm. It was true, that so +tall and powerful a man, sheathed in armor and on horseback, had a great +advantage against the wild Highlanders, who only wore a shirt and a +plaid, with a round target upon the arm; but they were lithe, active, +light-footed men, able to climb like goats on the crags around him, and +holding their lives as cheaply as he did. + +Lorn, watching him from a distance, was struck with amazement, and +exclaimed, 'Methinks, Marthokson, he resembles Gol Mak Morn protecting +his followers from Fingal;' thus comparing him to one the most brilliant +champions a Highland imagination could conceive. At last, three men, +named M'Androsser, rushed forward, resolved to free their chief from +this formidable enemy. There was a lake on one side, and a precipice on +the other, and the king had hardly space to manage his horse, when all +three sprang on him at once. One snatched his bridle, one caught him by +the stirrup and leg, and a third leaped from a rising ground and seated +himself behind him on his horse. The first lost his arm by one sweep of +the king's sword; the second was overthrown and trampled on; and the +last, by a desperate struggle, was dashed down, and his skull cleft by +the king's sword; but his dying grasp was so tight upon the plaid that +Bruce was forced to unclasp the brooch that secured it, and leave both +in the dead man's hold. It was long preserved by the Macdougals of Lorn, +as a trophy of the narrow escape of their enemy. + +Nor must we leave Robert the Bruce without mentioning that other Golden +Deed, more truly noble because more full of mercy; namely, his halting +his little army in full retreat in Ireland in the face of the English +host under Roger Mortimer, that proper care and attendance might be +given to one sick and suffering washerwoman and her new-born babe. Well +may his old Scotch rhyming chronicler remark:-- + + +'This was a full great courtesy +That swilk a king and so mighty, +Gert his men dwell on this manner, +But for a poor lavender.' + + +We have seen how the sturdy Roman fought for his city, the fierce +Northman died to guard his comrades' rush to their ships after the lost +battle, and how the mail-clad knightly Bruce periled himself to secure +the retreat of his friends. Here is one more instance, from far more +modern times, of a soldier, whose willing sacrifice of his own life was +the safety of a whole army. It was in the course of the long dismal +conflict between Frederick the Great of Prussia and Maria Theresa of +Austria, which was called the Seven Years' War. Louis XV. of France had +taken the part of Austria, and had sent an army into Germany in the +autumn of 1760. From this the Marquis de Castries had been dispatched, +with 25,000 men, towards Rheinberg, and had taken up a strong position +at Klostercamp. On the night of the 15th of October, a young officer, +called the Chevalier d'Assas, of the Auvergne regiment, was sent out to +reconnoitre, and advanced alone into a wood, at some little distance +from his men. Suddenly he found himself surrounded by a number of +soldiers, whose bayonets pricked his breast, and a voice whispered in +his ear, 'Make the slightest noise, and you are a dead man!' In one +moment he understood it all. The enemy were advancing, to surprise the +French army, and would be upon them when night was further advanced. +That moment decided his fate. He shouted, as loud as his voice would +carry the words, 'Here, Auvergne! Here are the enemy!' By the time the +cry reached the ears of his men, their captain was a senseless corpse; +but his death had saved the army; the surprise had failed, and the enemy +retreated. + +Louis XV was too mean-spirited and selfish to feel the beauty of this +brave action; but when, fourteen years later, Louis XVI came to the +throne, he decreed that a pension should be given to the family as long +as a male representative remained to bear the name of D'Assas. Poor +Louis XVI had not long the control of the treasure of France; but a +century of changes, wars, and revolutions has not blotted out the memory +of the self-devotion of the chevalier; for, among the new war-steamers +of the French fleet, there is one that bears the ever-honored name of +D'Assas. + + + + +THE PASS OF THERMOPYLAE + +B.C. 430 + + + +There was trembling in Greece. 'The Great King', as the Greeks called +the chief potentate of the East, whose domains stretched from the Indian +Caucasus to the Aegaeus, from the Caspian to the Red Sea, was +marshalling his forces against the little free states that nestled amid +the rocks and gulfs of the Eastern Mediterranean. Already had his might +devoured the cherished colonies of the Greeks on the eastern shore of +the Archipelago, and every traitor to home institutions found a ready +asylum at that despotic court, and tried to revenge his own wrongs by +whispering incitements to invasion. 'All people, nations, and +languages,' was the commencement of the decrees of that monarch's court; +and it was scarcely a vain boast, for his satraps ruled over subject +kingdoms, and among his tributary nations he counted the Chaldean, with +his learning and old civilization, the wise and steadfast Jew, the +skilful Phoenician, the learned Egyptian, the wild, free-booting Arab of +the desert, the dark-skinned Ethiopian, and over all these ruled the +keen-witted, active native Persian race, the conquerors of all the rest, +and led by a chosen band proudly called the Immortal. His many capitals-- +Babylon the great, Susa, Persepolis, and the like--were names of dreamy +splendor to the Greeks, described now and then by Ionians from Asia +Minor who had carried their tribute to the king's own feet, or by +courtier slaves who had escaped with difficulty from being all too +serviceable at the tyrannic court. And the lord of this enormous empire +was about to launch his countless host against the little cluster of +states, the whole of which together would hardly equal one province of +the huge Asiatic realm! Moreover, it was a war not only on the men but +on their gods. The Persians were zealous adorers of the sun and of fire, +they abhorred the idol worship of the Greeks, and defiled and plundered +every temple that fell in their way. Death and desolation were almost +the best that could be looked for at such hands--slavery and torture +from cruelly barbarous masters would only too surely be the lot of +numbers, should their land fall a prey to the conquerors. + +True it was that ten years back the former Great King had sent his best +troops to be signally defeated upon the coast of Attica; but the losses +at Marathon had but stimulated the Persian lust of conquest, and the new +King Xerxes was gathering together such myriads of men as should crush +down the Greeks and overrun their country by mere force of numbers. + +The muster place was at Sardis, and there Greek spies had seen the +multitudes assembling and the state and magnificence of the king's +attendants. Envoys had come from him to demand earth and water from each +state in Greece, as emblems that land and sea were his, but each state +was resolved to be free, and only Thessaly, that which lay first in his +path, consented to yield the token of subjugation. A council was held at +the Isthmus of Corinth, and attended by deputies from all the states of +Greece to consider of the best means of defense. The ships of the enemy +would coast round the shores of the Aegean sea, the land army would +cross the Hellespont on a bridge of boats lashed together, and march +southwards into Greece. The only hope of averting the danger lay in +defending such passages as, from the nature of the ground, were so +narrow that only a few persons could fight hand to hand at once, so that +courage would be of more avail than numbers. + +The first of all these passes was called Tempe, and a body of troops was +sent to guard it; but they found that this was useless and impossible, +and came back again. The next was at Thermopylae. Look in your map of +the Archipelago, or Aegean Sea, as it was then called, for the great +island of Negropont, or by its old name, Euboea. It looks like a piece +broken off from the coast, and to the north is shaped like the head of a +bird, with the beak running into a gulf, that would fit over it, upon +the main land, and between the island and the coast is an exceedingly +narrow strait. The Persian army would have to march round the edge of +the gulf. They could not cut straight across the country, because the +ridge of mountains called Ceta rose up and barred their way. Indeed, the +woods, rocks, and precipices came down so near the seashore, that in two +places there was only room for one single wheel track between the steeps +and the impassable morass that formed the border of the gulf on its +south side. These two very narrow places were called the gates of the +pass, and were about a mile apart. There was a little more width left in +the intervening space; but in this there were a number of springs of +warm mineral water, salt and sulphurous, which were used for the sick to +bathe in, and thus the place was called Thermopylae, or the Hot Gates. A +wall had once been built across the western-most of these narrow places, +when the Thessalians and Phocians, who lived on either side of it, had +been at war with one another; but it had been allowed to go to decay, +since the Phocians had found out that there was a very steep narrow +mountain path along the bed of a torrent, by which it was possible to +cross from one territory to the other without going round this marshy +coast road. + +This was, therefore, an excellent place to defend. The Greek ships were +all drawn up on the farther side of Euboea to prevent the Persian +vessels from getting into the strait and landing men beyond the pass, +and a division of the army was sent off to guard the Hot Gates. The +council at the Isthmus did not know of the mountain pathway, and thought +that all would be safe as long as the Persians were kept out of the +coast path. + +The troops sent for this purpose were from different cities, and +amounted to about 4,000, who were to keep the pass against two millions. +The leader of them was Leonidas, who had newly become one of the two +kings of Sparta, the city that above all in Greece trained its sons to +be hardy soldiers, dreading death infinitely less than shame. Leonidas +had already made up his mind that the expedition would probably be his +death, perhaps because a prophecy had been given at the Temple of Delphi +that Sparta should be saved by the death of one of her kings of the race +of Hercules. He was allowed by law to take with him 300 men, and these +he chose most carefully, not merely for their strength and courage, but +selecting those who had sons, so that no family might be altogether +destroyed. These Spartans, with their helots or slaves, made up his own +share of the numbers, but all the army was under his generalship. It is +even said that the 300 celebrated their own funeral rites before they +set out, lest they should be deprived of them by the enemy, since, as we +have already seen, it was the Greek belief that the spirits of the dead +found no rest till their obsequies had been performed. Such preparations +did not daunt the spirits of Leonidas and his men, and his wife, Gorgo, +who was not a woman to be faint-hearted or hold him back. Long before, +when she was a very little girl, a word of hers had saved her father +from listening to a traitorous message from the King of Persia; and +every Spartan lady was bred up to be able to say to those she best loved +that they must come home from battle 'with the shield or on it'--either +carrying it victoriously or borne upon it as a corpse. + +When Leonidas came to Thermopylae, the Phocians told him of the mountain +path through the chestnut woods of Mount Ceta, and begged to have the +privilege of guarding it on a spot high up on the mountain side, +assuring him that it was very hard to find at the other end, and that +there was every probability that the enemy would never discover it. He +consented, and encamping around the warm springs, caused the broken wall +to be repaired, and made ready to meet the foe. + +The Persian army were seen covering the whole country like locusts, and +the hearts of some of the southern Greeks in the pass began to sink. +Their homes in the Peloponnesus were comparatively secure--had they not +better fall back and reserve themselves to defend the Isthmus of +Corinth? But Leonidas, though Sparta was safe below the Isthmus, had no +intention of abandoning his northern allies, and kept the other +Peloponnesians to their posts, only sending messengers for further help. + +Presently a Persian on horseback rode up to reconnoitre the pass. He +could not see over the wall, but in front of it, and on the ramparts, he +saw the Spartans, some of them engaged in active sports, and others in +combing their long hair. He rode back to the king, and told him what he +had seen. Now, Xerxes had in his camp an exiled Spartan Prince, named +Demaratus, who had become a traitor to his country, and was serving as +counsellor to the enemy. Xerxes sent for him, and asked whether his +countrymen were mad to be thus employed instead of fleeing away; but +Demaratus made answer that a hard fight was no doubt in preparation, and +that it was the custom of the Spartans to array their hair with special +care when they were about to enter upon any great peril. Xerxes would, +however, not believe that so petty a force could intend to resist him, +and waited four days, probably expecting his fleet to assist him, but as +it did not appear, the attack was made. + +The Greeks, stronger men and more heavily armed, were far better able to +fight to advantage than the Persians, with their short spears and wicker +shields, and beat them off with great ease. It is said that Xerxes three +times leapt off his throne in despair at the sight of his troops being +driven backwards; and thus for two days it seemed as easy to force a way +through the Spartans as through the rocks themselves. Nay, how could +slavish troops, dragged from home to spread the victories of an +ambitious king, fight like freemen who felt that their strokes were to +defend their homes and children! + +But on that evening a wretched man, named Ephialtes, crept into the +Persian camp, and offered, for a great sum of money, to show the +mountain path that would enable the enemy to take the brave defenders in +the rear! A Persian general, named Hydarnes, was sent off at nightfall +with a detachment to secure this passage, and was guided through the +thick forests that clothed the hillside. In the stillness of the air, at +daybreak, the Phocian guards of the path were startled by the crackling +of the chestnut leaves under the tread of many feet. They started up, +but a shower of arrows was discharged on them, and forgetting all save +the present alarm, they fled to a higher part of the mountain, and the +enemy, without waiting to pursue them, began to descend. + +As day dawned, morning light showed the watchers of the Grecian camp +below a glittering and shimmering in the torrent bed where the shaggy +forests opened; but it was not the sparkle of water, but the shine of +gilded helmets and the gleaming of silvered spears! Moreover, a +Cimmerian crept over to the wall from the Persian camp with tidings that +the path had been betrayed, that the enemy were climbing it, and would +come down beyond the Eastern Gate. Still, the way was rugged and +circuitous, the Persians would hardly descend before midday, and there +was ample time for the Greeks to escape before they could be shut in by +the enemy. + +There was a short council held over the morning sacrifice. Megistias, +the seer, on inspecting the entrails of the slain victim, declared, as +well he might, that their appearance boded disaster. Him Leonidas +ordered to retire, but he refused, though he sent home his only son. +There was no disgrace to an ordinary tone of mind in leaving a post that +could not be held, and Leonidas recommended all the allied troops under +his command to march away while yet the way was open. As to himself and +his Spartans, they had made up their minds to die at their post, and +there could be no doubt that the example of such a resolution would do +more to save Greece than their best efforts could ever do if they were +careful to reserve themselves for another occasion. + +All the allies consented to retreat, except the eighty men who came from +Mycenae and the 700 Thespians, who declared that they would not desert +Leonidas. There were also 400 Thebans who remained; and thus the whole +number that stayed with Leonidas to confront two million of enemies were +fourteen hundred warriors, besides the helots or attendants on the 300 +Spartans, whose number is not known, but there was probably at least one +to each. Leonidas had two kinsmen in the camp, like himself, claiming +the blood of Hercules, and he tried to save them by giving them letters +and messages to Sparta; but one answered that 'he had come to fight, not +to carry letters'; and the other, that 'his deeds would tell all that +Sparta wished to know'. Another Spartan, named Dienices, when told that +the enemy's archers were so numerous that their arrows darkened the sun, +replied, 'So much the better, we shall fight in the shade.' Two of the +300 had been sent to a neighboring village, suffering severely from a +complaint in the eyes. One of them, called Eurytus, put on his armor, +and commanded his helot to lead him to his place in the ranks; the +other, called Aristodemus, was so overpowered with illness that he +allowed himself to be carried away with the retreating allies. It was +still early in the day when all were gone, and Leonidas gave the word to +his men to take their last meal. 'To-night,' he said, 'we shall sup with +Pluto.' + +Hitherto, he had stood on the defensive, and had husbanded the lives of +his men; but he now desired to make as great a slaughter as possible, so +as to inspire the enemy with dread of the Grecian name. He therefore +marched out beyond the wall, without waiting to be attacked, and the +battle began. The Persian captains went behind their wretched troops and +scourged them on to the fight with whips! Poor wretches, they were +driven on to be slaughtered, pierced with the Greek spears, hurled into +the sea, or trampled into the mud of the morass; but their inexhaustible +numbers told at length. The spears of the Greeks broke under hard +service, and their swords alone remained; they began to fall, and +Leonidas himself was among the first of the slain. Hotter than ever was +the fight over his corpse, and two Persian princes, brothers of Xerxes, +were there killed; but at length word was brought that Hydarnes was over +the pass, and that the few remaining men were thus enclosed on all +sides. The Spartans and Thespians made their way to a little hillock +within the wall, resolved to let this be the place of their last stand; +but the hearts of the Thebans failed them, and they came towards the +Persians holding out their hands in entreaty for mercy. Quarter was +given to them, but they were all branded with the king's mark as +untrustworthy deserters. The helots probably at this time escaped into +the mountains; while the small desperate band stood side by side on the +hill still fighting to the last, some with swords, others with daggers, +others even with their hands and teeth, till not one living man remained +amongst them when the sun went down. There was only a mound of slain, +bristled over with arrows. + +Twenty thousand Persians had died before that handful of men! Xerxes +asked Demaratus if there were many more at Sparta like these, and was +told there were 8,000. It must have been with a somewhat failing heart +that he invited his courtiers from the fleet to see what he had done to +the men who dared to oppose him! and showed them the head and arm of +Leonidas set up upon a cross; but he took care that all his own slain, +except 1,000, should first be put out of sight. The body of the brave +king was buried where he fell, as were those of the other dead. Much +envied were they by the unhappy Aristodemus, who found himself called by +no name but the 'Coward', and was shunned by all his fellow-citizens. No +one would give him fire or water, and after a year of misery, he +redeemed his honor by perishing in the forefront of the battle of +Plataea, which was the last blow that drove the Persians ingloriously +from Greece. + +The Greeks then united in doing honor to the brave warriors who, had +they been better supported, might have saved the whole country from +invasion. The poet Simonides wrote the inscriptions that were engraved +upon the pillars that were set up in the pass to commemorate this great +action. One was outside the wall, where most of the fighting had been. +It seems to have been in honor of the whole number who had for two days +resisted-- + + +'Here did four thousand men from Pelops' land +Against three hundred myriads bravely stand'. + + +In honor of the Spartans was another column-- + + +'Go, traveler, to Sparta tell +That here, obeying her, we fell'. + + +On the little hillock of the last resistance was placed the figure of a +stone lion, in memory of Leonidas, so fitly named the lion-like, and +Simonides, at his own expense, erected a pillar to his friend, the seer +Megistias-- + + +'The great Megistias' tomb you here may view, +Who slew the Medes, fresh from Spercheius fords; +Well the wise seer the coming death foreknew, +Yet scorn'd he to forsake his Spartan lords'. + + +The names of the 300 were likewise engraven on a pillar at Sparta. + +Lions, pillars, and inscriptions have all long since passed away, even +the very spot itself has changed; new soil has been formed, and there +are miles of solid ground between Mount Ceta and the gulf, so that the +Hot Gates no longer exist. But more enduring than stone or brass--nay, +than the very battlefield itself--has been the name of Leonidas. Two +thousand three hundred years have sped since he braced himself to perish +for his country's sake in that narrow, marshy coast road, under the brow +of the wooded crags, with the sea by his side. Since that time how many +hearts have glowed, how many arms have been nerved at the remembrance of +the Pass of Thermopylae, and the defeat that was worth so much more than +a victory! + + + + +THE ROCK OF THE CAPITOL + +B.C. 389 + + + +The city of Rome was gradually rising on the banks of the Tiber, and +every year was adding to its temples and public buildings. + +Every citizen loved his city and her greatness above all else. There was +as yet little wealth among them; the richest owned little more than a +few acres, which they cultivated themselves by the help of their +families, and sometimes of a few slaves, and the beautiful Campagna di +Roma, girt in by hills looking like amethysts in the distance, had not +then become almost uninhabitable from pestilential air, but was rich and +fertile, full of highly cultivated small farms, where corn was raised in +furrows made by a small hand plough, and herds of sheep, goats, and oxen +browsed in the pasture lands. The owners of these lands would on public +days take off their rude working dress and broad-brimmed straw hat, and +putting on the white toga with a purple hem, would enter the city, and +go to the valley called the Forum or Marketplace to give their votes for +the officers of state who were elected every year; especially the two +consuls, who were like kings all but the crown, wore purple togas richly +embroidered, sat on ivory chairs, and were followed by lictors carrying +an axe in a bundle of rods for the execution of justice. In their own +chamber sat the Senate, the great council composed of the patricians, or +citizens of highest birth, and of those who had formerly been consuls. +They decided on peace or war, and made the laws, and were the real +governors of the State, and their grave dignity made a great impression +on all who came near them. Above the buildings of the city rose steep +and high the Capitoline Hill, with the Temple of Jupiter on its summit, +and the strong wall in which was the chief stronghold and citadel of +Rome, the Capitol, the very centre of her strength and resolution. When +a war was decided on, every citizen capable of bearing arms was called +into the Forum, bringing his helmet, breast plate, short sword, and +heavy spear, and the officers called tribunes, chose out a sufficient +number, who were formed into bodies called legions, and marched to +battle under the command of one of the consuls. Many little States or +Italian tribes, who had nearly the same customs as Rome, surrounded the +Campagna, and so many disputes arose that every year, as soon as the +crops were saved, the armies marched out, the flocks were driven to +folds on the hills, the women and children were placed in the walled +cities, and a battle was fought, sometimes followed up by the siege of +the city of the defeated. The Romans did not always obtain the victory, +but there was a staunchness about them that was sure to prevail in the +long run; if beaten one year, they came back to the charge the next, and +thus they gradually mastered one of their neighbors after another, and +spread their dominion over the central part of Italy. + +They were well used to Italian and Etruscan ways of making war, but +after nearly 400 years of this kind of fighting, a stranger and wilder +enemy came upon them. These were the Gauls, a tall strong, brave people, +long limbed and red-haired, of the same race as the highlanders of +Scotland. They had gradually spread themselves over the middle of +Europe, and had for some generations past lived among the Alpine +mountains, whence they used to come down upon the rich plans of northern +Italy for forays, in which they slew and burnt, and drove off cattle, +and now and then, when a country was quite depopulated, would settle +themselves in it. And thus, the Gauls conquering from the north and the +Romans from the south, these two fierce nations at length came against +one another. + +The old Roman story is that it happened thus: The Gauls had an unusually +able leader, whom Latin historians call Brennus, but whose real name was +most likely Bran, and who is said to have come out of Britain. He had +brought a great host of Gauls to attack Clusium, a Tuscan city, and the +inhabitants sent to Rome to entreat succor. Three ambassadors, brothers +of the noble old family of Fabius, were sent from Rome to intercede for +the Clusians. They asked Brennus what harm the men of Clusium had done +the Gauls, that they thus made war on them, and, according to Plutarch's +account, Brennus made answer that the injury was that the Clusians +possessed land that the Gauls wanted, remarking that it was exactly the +way in which the Romans themselves treated their neighbors, adding, +however, that this was neither cruel nor unjust, but according-- + + + 'To the good old plan +That they should take who have the power +And they should keep who can.' + + +[Footnote: These lines of Wordsworth on Rob Roy's grave almost literally +translate the speech Plutarch gives the first Kelt of history, Brennus.] + +The Fabii, on receiving this answer, were so foolish as to transgress +the rule, owned by the savage Gauls, that an ambassador should neither +fight nor be fought with; they joined the Clusians, and one brother, +named Quintus, killed a remarkably large and tall Gallic chief in single +combat. Brennus was justly enraged, and sent messengers to Rome to +demand that the brothers should be given up to him for punishment. The +priests and many of the Senate held that the rash young men had deserved +death as covenant-breakers; but their father made strong interest for +them, and prevailed not only to have them spared, but even chosen as +tribunes to lead the legions in the war that was expected. [Footnote: +These events happened during an experiment made by the Romans of having +six military tribunes instead of two consuls.] Thus he persuaded the +whole nation to take on itself the guilt of his sons, a want of true +self-devotion uncommon among the old Romans, and which was severely +punished. + +The Gauls were much enraged, and hurried southwards, not waiting for +plunder by the way, but declaring that they were friends to every State +save Rome. The Romans on their side collected their troops in haste, but +with a lurking sense of having transgressed; and since they had gainsaid +the counsel of their priests, they durst not have recourse to the +sacrifices and ceremonies by which they usually sought to gain the favor +of their gods. Even among heathens, the saying has often been verified, +'a sinful heart makes failing hand', and the battle on the banks of the +River Allia, about eleven miles from Rome, was not so much a fight as a +rout. The Roman soldiers were ill drawn up, and were at once broken. +Some fled to Veii and other towns, many were drowned in crossing the +Tiber, and it was but a few who showed in Rome their shame-stricken +faces, and brought word that the Gauls were upon them. + +Had the Gauls been really in pursuit, the Roman name and nation would +have perished under their swords; but they spent three day in feasting +and sharing their plunder, and thus gave the Romans time to take +measures for the safety of such as could yet escape. There seems to have +been no notion of defending the city, the soldiers had been too much +dispersed; but all who still remained and could call up something of +their ordinary courage, carried all the provisions they could collect +into the stronghold of the Capitol, and resolved to hold out there till +the last, in hopes that the scattered army might muster again, or that +the Gauls might retreat, after having revenged themselves on the city. +Everyone who could not fight, took flight, taking with them all they +could carry, and among them went the white-clad troop of vestal virgins, +carrying with them their censer of fire, which was esteemed sacred, and +never allowed to be extinguished. A man named Albinus, who saw these +sacred women footsore, weary, and weighted down with the treasures of +their temple, removed his own family and goods from his cart and seated +them in it--an act of reverence for which he was much esteemed--and thus +they reached the city of Cumae. The only persons left in Rome outside +the Capitol were eighty of the oldest senators and some of the priests. +Some were too feeble to fly, and would not come into the Capitol to +consume the food that might maintain fighting men; but most of them were +filled with a deep, solemn thought that, by offering themselves to the +weapons of the barbarians, they might atone for the sin sanctioned by +the Republic, and that their death might be the saving of the nation. +This notion that the death of a ruler would expiate a country's guilt +was one of the strange presages abroad in the heathen world of that +which alone takes away the sin of all mankind. + +On came the Gauls at last. The gates stood open, the streets were +silent, the houses' low-browed doors showed no one in the paved courts. +No living man was to be seen, till at last, hurrying down the steep +empty streets, they reached the great open space of the Forum, and there +they stood still in amazement, for ranged along a gallery were a row of +ivory chairs, and in each chair sat the figure of a white-haired, white- +bearded man, with arms and legs bare, and robes either of snowy white, +white bordered with purple, or purple richly embroidered, ivory staves +in their hands, and majestic, unmoved countenances. So motionless were +they, that the Gauls stood still, not knowing whether they beheld men or +statues. A wondrous scene it must have been, as the brawny, red-haired +Gauls, with freckled visage, keen little eyes, long broad sword, and +wide plaid garment, fashioned into loose trousers, came curiously down +into the marketplace, one after another; and each stood silent and +transfixed at the spectacle of those grand figures, still unmoving, save +that their large full liquid dark eyes showed them to be living beings. +Surely these Gauls deemed themselves in the presence of that council of +kings who were sometimes supposed to govern Rome, nay, if they were not +before the gods themselves. At last, one Gaul, ruder, or more curious +than the rest, came up to one of the venerable figures, and, to make +proof whether he were flesh and blood, stroked his beard. Such an insult +from an uncouth barbarian was more than Roman blood could brook, and the +Gaul soon had his doubt satisfied by a sharp blow on the head from the +ivory staff. All reverence was dispelled by that stroke; it was at once +returned by a death thrust, and the fury of the savages wakening in +proportion to the awe that had at first struck them, they rushed on the +old senators, and slew each one in his curule chair. + +Then they dispersed through the city, burning, plundering, and +destroying. To take the Capitol they soon found to be beyond their +power, but they hoped to starve the defenders out; and in the meantime +they spent their time in pulling down the outer walls, and such houses +and temples as had resisted the fire, till the defenders of the Capitol +looked down from their height on nothing but desolate black burnt +ground, with a few heaps of ruins in the midst, and the barbarians +roaming about in it, and driving in the cattle that their foraging +parties collected from the country round. There was much earnest faith +in their own religion among the Romans: they took all this ruin as the +just reward of their shelter of the Fabii, and even in their extremity +were resolved not to transgress any sacred rule. Though food daily +became more scarce and starvation was fast approaching, not one of the +sacred geese that were kept in Juno's Temple was touched; and one Fabius +Dorso, who believed that the household gods of his family required +yearly a sacrifice on their own festival day on the Quirinal Hill, +arrayed himself in the white robes of a sacrificer, took his sacred +images in his arms, and went out of the Capitol, through the midst of +the enemy, through the ruins to the accustomed alter, and there +preformed the regular rites. The Gauls, seeing that it was a religious +ceremony, let him pass through them untouched, and he returned in +safety; but Brennus was resolved on completing his conquest, and while +half his forces went out to plunder, he remained with the other half, +watching the moment to effect an entrance into the Capitol; and how were +the defenders, worn out with hunger, to resist without relief from +without? And who was there to bring relief to them, who were themselves +the Roman State and government? + +Now there was a citizen, named Marcus Furius Camillus, who was, without +question, at that time, the first soldier of Rome, and had taken several +of the chief Italian cities, especially that of Veii, which had long +been a most dangerous enemy. But he was a proud, haughty man, and had +brought on himself much dislike; until, at last, a false accusation was +brought against him, that he had taken an unfair share of the plunder of +Veii. He was too proud to stand a trial; and leaving the city, was +immediately fined a considerable sum. He had taken up his abode at the +city of Ardea, and was there living when the plundering half of Brennus' +army was reported to be coming thither. Camillus immediately offered the +magistrates to undertake their defense; and getting together all the men +who could bear arms, he led them out, fell upon the Gauls as they all +lay asleep and unguarded in the dead of night, made a great slaughter of +them, and saved Ardea. All this was heard by the many Romans who had +been living dispersed since the rout of Allia; and they began to recover +heart and spirit, and to think that if Camillus would be their leader, +they might yet do something to redeem the honor of Rome, and save their +friends in the Capitol. An entreaty was sent to him to take the command +of them; but, like a proud, stern man as he was, he made answer, that he +was a mere exile, and could not take upon himself to lead Romans without +a decree from the Senate giving him authority. The Senate was--all that +remained of it--shut up in the Capitol; the Gauls were spread all round; +how was that decree to be obtained? + +A young man, named Pontius Cominius, undertook the desperate mission. He +put on a peasant dress, and hid some corks under it, supposing that he +should find no passage by the bridge over the Tiber. Traveling all day +on foot, he came at night to the bank, and saw the guard at the bridge; +then, having waited for darkness, he rolled his one thin light garment, +with the corks wrapped up in it, round his head, and trusted himself to +the stream of Father Tiber, like 'good Horatius' before him; and he was +safely borne along to the foot of the Capitoline Hill. He crept along, +avoiding every place where he saw lights or heard noise, till he came to +a rugged precipice, which he suspected would not be watched by the +enemy, who would suppose it too steep to be climbed from above or below. +But the resolute man did not fear the giddy dangerous ascent, even in +the darkness; he swung himself up by the stems and boughs of the vines +and climbing plants, his naked feet clung to the rocks and tufts of +grass, and at length he stood on the top of the rampart, calling out his +name to the soldiers who came in haste around him, not knowing whether +he were friend or foe. A joyful sound must his Latin speech have been to +the long-tried, half starved garrison, who had not seen a fresh face for +six long months! The few who represented the Senate and people of Rome +were hastily awakened from their sleep, and gathered together to hear +the tidings brought them at so much risk. Pontius told them of the +victory at Ardea, and that Camillus and the Romans collected at Veii +were only waiting to march to their succor till they should give him +lawful power to take the command. There was little debate. The vote was +passed at once to make Camillus Dictator, an office to which Romans were +elected upon great emergencies, and which gave them, for the time, +absolute kingly control; and then Pontius, bearing the appointment, set +off once again upon his mission, still under shelter of night, clambered +down the rock, and crossed the Gallic camp before the barbarians were +yet awake. + +There was hope in the little garrison; but danger was not over. The +sharp-eyed Gauls observed that the shrubs and creepers were broken, the +moss frayed, and fresh stones and earth rolled down at the crag of the +Capitol: they were sure that the rock had been climbed, and, therefore, +that it might be climbed again. Should they, who were used to the snowy +peaks, dark abysses, and huge glaciers of the Alps, be afraid to climb +where a soft dweller in a tame Italian town could venture a passage? +Brennus chose out the hardiest of his mountaineers, and directed them to +climb up in the dead of night, one by one, in perfect silence, and thus +to surprise the Romans, and complete the slaughter and victory, before +the forces assembling at Veii would come to their rescue. + +Silently the Gauls climbed, so stilly that not even a dog heard them; +and the sentinel nearest to the post, who had fallen into a dead sleep +of exhaustion from hunger, never awoke. But the fatal stillness was +suddenly broken by loud gabbling, cackling, and flapping of heavy wings. +The sacred geese of Juno, which had been so religiously spared in the +famine, were frightened by the rustling beneath, and proclaimed their +terror in their own noisy fashion. The first to take the alarm was +Marcus Manlius, who started forward just in time to meet the foremost +climbers as they set foot on the rampart. One, who raised an axe to +strike, lost his arm by one stroke of Manlius' short Roman sword; the +next was by main strength hurled backwards over the precipice, and +Manlius stood along on the top, for a few moments, ready to strike the +next who should struggle up. The whole of the garrison were in a few +moments on the alert, and the attack was entirely repulsed; the sleeping +sentry was cast headlong down the rock; and Manlius was brought, by each +grateful soldier, that which was then most valuable to all, a little +meal and a small measure of wine. Still, the condition of the Capitol +was lamentable; there was no certainty that Pontius had ever reached +Camillus in safety; and, indeed, the discovery of his path by the enemy +would rather have led to the supposition that he had been seized and +detected. The best hope lay in wearying out the besiegers; and there +seemed to be more chance of this since the Gauls often could be seen +from the heights, burying the corpses of their dead; their tall, bony +forms looked gaunt and drooping, and, here and there, unburied carcasses +lay amongst the ruins. Nor were the flocks and herds any longer driven +in from the country. Either all must have been exhausted, or else +Camillus and his friends must be near, and preventing their raids. At +any rate, it appeared as if the enemy was quite as ill off as to +provisions as the garrison, and in worse condition as to health. In +effect, this was the first example of the famous saying, that Rome +destroys her conquerors. In this state of things one of the Romans had a +dream that Jupiter, the special god of the Capitol, appeared to him, and +gave the strange advice that all the remaining flour should be baked, +and the loaves thrown down into the enemy's camp. Telling the dream, +which may, perhaps, have been the shaping of his own thoughts, that this +apparent waste would persuade the barbarians that the garrison could not +soon be starved out, this person obtained the consent of the rest of the +besieged. Some approved the stratagem, and no one chose to act contrary +to Jupiter's supposed advice; so the bread was baked, and tossed down by +the hungry men. + +After a time, there was a report from the outer guards that the Gallic +watch had been telling them that their leader would be willing to speak +with some of the Roman chiefs. Accordingly, Sulpitius, one of the +tribunes, went out, and had a conference with Brennus, who declared that +he would depart, provided the Romans would lay down a ransom, for their +Capital and their own lives, of a thousand pounds' weight of gold. To +this Sulpitius agreed, and returning to the Capitol, the gold was +collected from the treasury, and carried down to meet the Gauls, who +brought their own weights. The weights did not meet the amount of gold +ornaments that had been contributed for the purpose, and no doubt the +Gauls were resolved to have all that they beheld; for when Sulpitius was +about to try to arrange the balance, Brennus insultingly threw his sword +into his own scale, exclaiming, Voe victis! 'Woe to the conquered!' The +Roman was not yet fallen so low as not to remonstrate, and the dispute +was waxing sharp, when there was a confused outcry in the Gallic camp, a +shout from the heights of the Capitol, and into the midst of the open +space rode a band of Roman patricians and knights in armor, with the +Dictator Camillus at their head. + +He no sooner saw what was passing, than he commanded the treasure to be +taken back, and, turning to Brennus, said, 'It is with iron, not gold, +that the Romans guard their country.' + +Brennus declared that the treaty had been sworn to, and that it would be +a breach of faith to deprive him of the ransom; to which Camillus +replied, that he himself was Dictator, and no one had the power to make +a treaty in his absence. The dispute was so hot, that they drew their +swords against one another, and there was a skirmish among the ruins; +but the Gauls soon fell back, and retreated to their camp, when they saw +the main body of Camillus' army marching upon them. It was no less than +40,000 in number; and Brennus knew he could not withstand them with his +broken, sickly army. He drew off early the next morning: but was +followed by Camillus, and routed, with great slaughter, about eight +miles from Rome; and very few of the Gauls lived to return home, for +those who were not slain in battle were cut off in their flight by the +country people, whom they had plundered. + +In reward for their conduct on this occasion, Camillus was termed +Romulus, Father of his Country, and Second Founder of Rome; Marcus +Manlius received the honorable surname of Capitolinus; and even the +geese were honored by having a golden image raised to their honor in +Juno's temple, and a live goose was yearly carried in triumph, upon a +soft litter, in a golden cage, as long as any heathen festivals lasted. +The reward of Pontius Cominius does not appear; but surely he, and the +old senators who died for their country's sake, deserved to be for ever +remembered for their brave contempt of life when a service could be done +to the State. + +The truth of the whole narrative is greatly doubted, and it is suspected +that the Gallic conquest was more complete than the Romans ever chose to +avow. Their history is far from clear up to this very epoch, when it is +said that all their records were destroyed; but even when place and +period are misty, great names and the main outline of their actions loom +through the cloud, perhaps exaggerated, but still with some reality; and +if the magnificent romance of the sack of Rome be not fact, yet it is +certainly history, and well worthy of note and remembrance, as one of +the finest extant traditions of a whole chain of Golden Deeds. + + + + +THE TWO FRIENDS OF SYRACUSE + +B.C. 380 (CIRCA) + + + +Most of the best and noblest of the Greeks held what was called the +Pythagorean philosophy. This was one of the many systems framed by the +great men of heathenism, when by the feeble light of nature they were, +as St. Paul says, 'seeking after God, if haply they might feel after +Him', like men groping in the darkness. Pythagoras lived before the time +of history, and almost nothing is known about him, though his teaching +and his name were never lost. There is a belief that he had traveled in +the East, and in Egypt, and as he lived about the time of the dispersion +of the Israelites, it is possible that some of his purest and best +teaching might have been crumbs gathered from their fuller instruction +through the Law and the Prophets. One thing is plain, that even in +dealing with heathenism the Divine rule holds good, 'By their fruits ye +shall know them'. Golden Deeds are only to be found among men whose +belief is earnest and sincere, and in something really high and noble. +Where there was nothing worshiped but savage or impure power, and the +very form of adoration was cruel and unclean, as among the Canaanites +and Carthaginians, there we find no true self-devotion. The great deeds +of the heathen world were all done by early Greeks and Romans before yet +the last gleams of purer light had faded out of their belief, and while +their moral sense still nerved them to energy; or else by such later +Greeks as had embraced the deeper and more earnest yearnings of the +minds that had become a 'law unto themselves'. + +The Pythagoreans were bound together in a brotherhood, the members of +which had rules that are not now understood, but which linked them so as +to form a sort of club, with common religious observances and pursuits +of science, especially mathematics and music. And they were taught to +restrain their passions, especially that of anger, and to endure with +patience all kinds of suffering; believing that such self-restraint +brought them nearer to the gods, and that death would set them free from +the prison of the body. The souls of evil-doers would, they thought, +pass into the lower and more degraded animals, while those of good men +would be gradually purified, and rise to a higher existence. This, +though lamentably deficient, and false in some points, was a real +religion, inasmuch as it gave a rule of life, with a motive for striving +for wisdom and virtue. Two friends of this Pythagorean sect lived at +Syracuse, in the end of the fourth century before the Christian era. +Syracuse was a great Greek city, built in Sicily, and full of all kinds +of Greek art and learning; but it was a place of danger in their time, +for it had fallen under the tyranny of a man of strange and capricious +temper, though of great abilities, namely Dionysius. He is said to have +been originally only a clerk in a public office, but his talents raised +him to continually higher situations, and at length, in a great war with +the Carthaginians, who had many settlements in Sicily, he became general +of the army, and then found it easy to establish his power over the +city. + +This power was not according to the laws, for Syracuse, like most other +cities, ought to have been governed by a council of magistrates; but +Dionysius was an exceedingly able man, and made the city much more rich +and powerful, he defeated the Carthaginians, and rendered Syracuse by +far the chief city in the island, and he contrived to make everyone so +much afraid of him that no one durst attempt to overthrow his power. He +was a good scholar, and very fond of philosophy and poetry, and he +delighted to have learned men around him, and he had naturally a +generous spirit; but the sense that he was in a position that did not +belong to him, and that everyone hated him for assuming it, made him +very harsh and suspicious. It is of him that the story is told, that he +had a chamber hollowed in the rock near his state prison, and +constructed with galleries to conduct sounds like an ear, so that he +might overhear the conversation of his captives; and of him, too, is +told that famous anecdote which has become a proverb, that on hearing a +friend, named Damocles, express a wish to be in his situation for a +single day, he took him at his word, and Damocles found himself at a +banquet with everything that could delight his senses, delicious food, +costly wine, flowers, perfumes, music; but with a sword with the point +almost touching his head, and hanging by a single horsehair! This was to +show the condition in which a usurper lived! + +Thus Dionysius was in constant dread. He had a wide trench round his +bedroom, with a drawbridge that he drew up and put down with his own +hands; and he put one barber to death for boasting that he held a razor +to the tyrant's throat every morning. After this he made his young +daughters shave him; but by and by he would not trust them with a razor, +and caused them to singe of his beard with hot nutshells! He was said to +have put a man named Antiphon to death for answering him, when he asked +what was the best kind of brass, 'That of which the statues of Harmodius +and Aristogeiton were made.' These were the two Athenians who had killed +the sons of Pisistratus the tyrant, so that the jest was most offensive, +but its boldness might have gained forgiveness for it. One philosopher, +named Philoxenus, he sent to a dungeon for finding fault with his +poetry, but he afterwards composed another piece, which he thought so +superior, that he could not be content without sending for this adverse +critic to hear it. When he had finished reading it, he looked to +Philoxenus for a compliment; but the philosopher only turned round to +the guards, and said dryly, 'Carry me back to prison.' This time +Dionysius had the sense to laugh, and forgive his honesty. + +All these stories may not be true; but that they should have been +current in the ancient world shows what was the character of the man of +whom they were told, how stern and terrible was his anger, and how +easily it was incurred. Among those who came under it was a Pythagorean +called Pythias, who was sentenced to death, according to the usual fate +of those who fell under his suspicion. + +Pythias had lands and relations in Greece, and he entreated as a favor +to be allowed to return thither and arrange his affairs, engaging to +return within a specified time to suffer death. The tyrant laughed his +request to scorn. Once safe out of Sicily, who would answer for his +return? Pythias made reply that he had a friend, who would become +security for his return; and while Dionysius, the miserable man who +trusted nobody, was ready to scoff at his simplicity, another +Pythagorean, by name of Damon, came forward, and offered to become +surety for his friend, engaging, if Pythias did not return according to +promise, to suffer death in his stead. + +Dionysius, much astonished, consented to let Pythias go, marveling what +would be the issue of the affair. Time went on and Pythias did not +appear. The Syracusans watched Damon, but he showed no uneasiness. He +said he was secure of his friend's truth and honor, and that if any +accident had cause the delay of his return, he should rejoice in dying +to save the life of one so dear to him. + +Even to the last day Damon continued serene and content, however it +might fall out; nay even when the very hour drew nigh and still no +Pythias. His trust was so perfect, that he did not even grieve at having +to die for a faithless friend who had left him to the fate to which he +had unwarily pledged himself. It was not Pythias' own will, but the +winds and waves, so he still declared, when the decree was brought and +the instruments of death made ready. The hour had come, and a few +moments more would have ended Damon's life, when Pythias duly presented +himself, embraced his friend, and stood forward himself to receive his +sentence, calm, resolute, and rejoiced that he had come in time. + +Even the dim hope they owned of a future state was enough to make these +two brave men keep their word, and confront death for one another +without quailing. Dionysius looked on more struck than ever. He felt +that neither of such men must die. He reversed the sentence of Pythias, +and calling the two to his judgment seat, he entreated them to admit him +as a third in their friendship. Yet all the time he must have known it +was a mockery that he should ever be such as they were to each other--he +who had lost the very power of trusting, and constantly sacrificed +others to secure his own life, whilst they counted not their lives dear +to them in comparison with their truth to their word, and love to one +another. No wonder that Damon and Pythias have become such a byword that +they seem too well known to have their story told here, except that a +name in everyone's mouth sometimes seems to be mentioned by those who +have forgotten or never heard the tale attached to it. + + + + +THE DEVOTION OF THE DECII + +B.C. 339 + + + +The spirit of self-devotion is so beautiful and noble, that even when +the act is performed in obedience to the dictates of a false religion, +it is impossible not to be struck with admiration and almost reverence +for the unconscious type of the one great act that has hallowed every +other sacrifice. Thus it was that Codrus, the Athenian king, has ever +since been honored for the tradition that he gave his own life to secure +the safety of his people; and there is a touching story, with neither +name nor place, of a heathen monarch who was bidden by his priests to +appease the supposed wrath of his gods by the sacrifice of the being +dearest to him. His young son had been seized on as his most beloved, +when his wife rushed between and declared that her son must live, and +not by his death rob her of her right to fall, as her husband's dearest. +The priest looked at the father; the face that had been sternly composed +before was full of uncontrolled anguish as he sprang forward to save the +wife rather than the child. That impulse was an answer, like the +entreaty of the mother before Solomon; the priest struck the fatal blow +ere the king's hand could withhold him, and the mother died with a last +look of exceeding joy at her husband's love and her son's safety. Human +sacrifices are of course accursed, and even the better sort of heathens +viewed them with horror; but the voluntary confronting of death, even at +the call of a distorted presage of future atonement, required qualities +that were perhaps the highest that could be exercised among those who +were devoid of the light of truth. + +In the year 339 there was a remarkable instance of such devotion. The +Romans were at war with the Latins, a nation dwelling to the south of +them, and almost exactly resembling themselves in language, habits, +government, and fashions of fighting. Indeed the city of Rome itself was +but an offshoot from the old Latin kingdom; and there was not much +difference between the two nations even in courage and perseverance. The +two consuls of the year were Titus Manlius Torquatus and Publius Decius +Mus. They were both very distinguished men. Manlius was a patrician, or +one of the high ancient nobles of Rome, and had in early youth fought a +single combat with a gigantic Gaul, who offered himself, like Goliath, +as a champion of his tribe; had slain him, and taken from him a gold +torque, or collar, whence his surname Torquatus. Decius was a plebeian; +one of the free though not noble citizens who had votes, but only within +a few years had been capable of being chosen to the higher offices of +state, and who looked upon every election to the consulship as a +victory. Three years previously, when a tribune in command of a legion, +Decius had saved the consul, Cornelius Cossus, from a dangerous +situation, and enabled him to gain a great victory; and this exploit was +remembered, and led to the choice of this well-experienced soldier as +the colleague of Manlius. + +The two consuls both went out together in command of the forces, each +having a separate army, and intending to act in concert. They marched to +the beautiful country at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, which was then a +harmless mountain clothed with chestnut woods, with spaces opening +between, where farms and vineyards rejoiced in the sunshine and the +fresh breezes of the lovely blue bay that lay stretched beneath. Those +who climbed to the summit might indeed find beds of ashes and the jagged +edge of a huge basin or gulf; the houses and walls were built of dark- +red and black material that once had flowed from the crater in boiling +torrents: but these had long since cooled, and so long was it since a +column of smoke had been seen to rise from the mountain top, that it +only remained as a matter of tradition that this region was one of +mysterious fire, and that the dark cool lake Avernus, near the mountain +skirts, was the very entrance to the shadowy realms beneath, that were +supposed to be inhabited by the spirits of the dead. + +It might be that the neighborhood of this lake, with the dread +imaginations connected with it by pagan fancy, influenced even the stout +hearts of the consuls; for, the night after they came in sight of the +enemy, each dreamt the same dream, namely, that he beheld a mighty form +of gigantic height and stature, who told him 'that the victory was +decreed to that army of the two whose leader should devote himself to +the Dii Manes,' that is, to the deities who watched over the shades of +the dead. Probably these older Romans held the old Etruscan belief, +which took these 'gods beneath' to be winged beings, who bore away the +departing soul, weighted its merits and demerits, and placed it in a +region of peace or of woe, according to its deserts. This was part of +the grave and earnest faith that gave the earlier Romans such truth and +resolution; but latterly they so corrupted it with the Greek myths, +that, in after times, they did not even know who the gods of Decius +were. + +At daybreak the two consuls sought one another out, and told their +dreams; and they agreed that they would join their armies in one, Decius +leading the right and Manlius the left wing; and that whichever found +his troops giving way, should at once rush into the enemy's columns and +die, to secure the victory to his colleague. At the same time strict +commands were given that no Roman should come out of his rank to fight +in single combat with the enemy; a necessary regulation, as the Latins +were so like, in every respect, to the Romans, that there would have +been fatal confusion had there been any mingling together before the +battle. Just as this command had been given out, young Titus Manlius, +the son of the consul, met a Latin leader, who called him by name and +challenged him to fight hand to hand. The youth was emulous of the honor +his father had gained by his own combat at the same age with the Gaul, +but forgot both the present edict and that his father had scrupulously +asked permission before accepting the challenge. He at once came +forward, and after a brave conflict, slew his adversary, and taking his +armor, presented himself at his father's tent and laid the spoils at his +feet. + +But old Manlius turned aside sadly, and collected his troops to hear his +address to his son: 'You have transgressed,' he said, 'the discipline +which has been the support of the Roman people, and reduced me to the +hard necessity of either forgetting myself and mine, or else the regard +I owe to the general safety. Rome must not suffer by one fault. We must +expiate it ourselves. A sad example shall we be, but a wholesome one to +the Roman youth. For me, both the natural love of a father, and that +specimen thou hast given of thy valor move me exceedingly; but since +either the consular authority must be established by thy death, or +destroyed by thy impunity, I cannot think, if thou be a true Manlius, +that thou wilt be backward to repair the breach thou hast made in +military discipline by undergoing the just meed of thine offence. He +then placed the wreath of leaves, the reward of a victor, upon his son's +head, and gave the command to the lictor to bind the young man to a +stake, and strike off his head. The troops stood round as men stunned, +no one durst utter a word; the son submitted without one complaint, +since his death was for the good of Rome: and the father, trusting that +the doom of the Dii Manes was about to overtake him, beheld the brave +but rash young head fall, then watched the corpse covered with the +trophies won from the Latins, and made no hindrance to the glorious +obsequies with which the whole army honored this untimely death. Strict +discipline was indeed established, and no one again durst break his +rank; but the younger men greatly hated Manlius for his severity, and +gave him no credit for the agony he had concealed while giving up his +gallant son to the wellbeing of Rome. + +A few days after, the expected battle took place, and after some little +time the front rank of Decius' men began to fall back upon the line in +their rear. This was the token he had waited for. He called to Valerius, +the chief priest of Rome, to consecrate him, and was directed to put on +his chief robe of office, the beautiful toga proetexta, to cover his +head, and standing on his javelin, call aloud to the 'nine gods' to +accept his devotion, to save the Roman legions, and strike terror into +his enemies. This done, he commanded his lictors to carry word to his +colleague that the sacrifice was accomplished, and then girding his robe +round him in the manner adopted in sacrificing to the gods, he mounted +his white horse, and rushed like lightning into the thickest of the +Latins. At first they fell away on all sides as if some heavenly +apparition had come down on them; then, as some recognized him, they +closed in on him, and pierced his breast with their weapons; but even as +he fell the superstition that a devoted leader was sure to win the +field, came full on their minds, they broke and fled. Meanwhile the +message came to Manlius, and drew from him a burst of tears--tears that +he had not shed for his son--his hope of himself meeting the doom and +ending his sorrow was gone; but none the less he nerved himself to +complete the advantage gained by Decius' death. Only one wing of the +Latins had fled, the other fought long and bravely, and when at last it +was defeated, and cut down on the field of battle, both conqueror and +conquered declared that, if Manlius had been the leader of the Latins, +they would have had the victory. Manlius afterwards completely subdued +the Latins, who became incorporated with the Romans; but bravely as he +had borne up, his health gave way under his sorrow, and before the end +of the year he was unable to take the field. + +Forty-five years later, in the year 294, another Decius was consul. He +was the son of the first devoted Decius, and had shown himself worthy of +his name, both as a citizen and soldier. His first consulate had been in +conjunction with one of the most high-spirited and famous Roman nobles, +Quintus Fabius, surnamed Maximus, or the Greatest, and at three years' +end they were again chosen together, when the Romans had been brought +into considerable peril by an alliance between the Gauls and the +Samnites, their chief enemies in Italy. + +One being a patrician and the other a plebeian, there was every attempt +made at Rome to stir up jealousies and dissensions between them; but +both were much too noble and generous to be thus set one against the +other; and when Fabius found how serious was the state of affairs in +Etruria, he sent to Rome to entreat that Decius would come and act with +him. 'With him I shall never want forces, nor have too many enemies to +deal with.' + +The Gauls, since the time of Brennus, had so entirely settled in +northern Italy, that it had acquired the name of Cisalpine Gaul, and +they were as warlike as ever, while better armed and trained. The united +armies of Gauls, Samnites, and their allies, together, are said to have +amounted to 143,330 foot and 46,000 horse, and the Roman army consisted +of four legions, 24,000 in all, with an unspecified number of horse. The +place of battle was at Sentinum, and here for the first time the Gauls +brought armed chariots into use,--probably the wicker chariots, with +scythes in the midst of the clumsy wooden wheels, which were used by the +Kelts in Britain two centuries later. It was the first time the Romans +had encountered these barbarous vehicles; they were taken by surprise, +the horses started, and could not be brought back to the charge, and the +legions were mowed down like corn where the furious Gaul impelled his +scythe. Decius shouted in vain, and tried to gather his men and lead +them back; but the terror at this new mode of warfare had so mastered +them, that they paid no attention to his call. Then, half in policy, +half in superstition, he resolved to follow his father in his death. He +called the chief priest, Marcus Livius, and standing on his javelin, +went through the same formula of self-dedication, and in the like manner +threw himself, alone and unarmed, in the midst of the enemy, among whom +he soon fell, under many a savage stroke. The priest, himself a gallant +soldier, called to the troops that their victory was now secured, and +thoroughly believing him, they let him lead them back to the charge, and +routed the Gauls; whilst Fabius so well did his part against the other +nations, that the victory was complete, and 25,000 enemies were slain. +So covered was the body of Decius by the corpses of his enemies, that +all that day it could not be found; but on the next it was discovered, +and Fabius, with a full heart, pronounced the funeral oration of the +second Decius, who had willingly offered himself to turn the tide of +battle in favor of his country. It was the last of such acts of +dedication--the Romans became more learned and philosophical, and +perhaps more reasonable; and yet, mistaken as was the object, it seems a +falling off that, 200 years later, Cicero should not know who were the +'nine gods' of the Decii, and should regard their sacrifice as 'heroic +indeed, but unworthy of men of understanding'. + + + + +REGULUS + +B.C. 249 + + + +The first wars that the Romans engaged in beyond the bounds of Italy, +were with the Carthaginians. This race came from Tyre and Zidon; and +were descended from some of the Phoenicians, or Zidonians, who were such +dangerous foes, or more dangerous friends, to the Israelites. Carthage +had, as some say, been first founded by some of the Canaanites who fled +when Joshua conquered the Promised Land; and whether this were so or +not, the inhabitants were in all their ways the same as the Tyrians and +Zidonians, of whom so much is said in the prophecies of Isaiah and +Ezekiel. Like them, they worshipped Baal and Ashtoreth, and the +frightful Moloch, with foul and cruel rites; and, like them, they were +excellent sailors and great merchants trading with every known country, +and living in great riches and splendor at their grand city on the +southern shore of the Mediterranean. That they were a wicked and cruel +race is also certain; the Romans used to call deceit Punic faith, that +is, Phoenician faith, and though no doubt Roman writers show them up in +their worst colours, yet, after the time of Hiram, Solomon's ally at +Tyre, it is plain from Holy Scripture that their crimes were great. + +The first dispute between Rome and Carthage was about their possession +in the island of Sicily; and the war thus begun had lasted eight years +when it was resolved to send an army to fight the Carthaginians on their +own shores. The army and fleet were placed under the command of the two +consuls, Lucius Manlius and Marcus Attilius Regulus. On the way, there +was a great sea fight with the Carthaginian fleet, and this was the +first naval battle that the Romans ever gained. It made the way to +Africa free; but the soldiers, who had never been so far from home +before, murmured, for they expected to meet not only human enemies, but +monstrous serpents, lions, elephants, asses with horns, and dog-headed +monsters, to have a scorching sun overhead, and a noisome marsh under +their feet. However, Regulus sternly put a stop to all murmurs, by +making it known that disaffection would be punished by death, and the +army safely landed, and set up a fortification at Clypea, and plundered +the whole country round. Orders here came from Rome that Manlius should +return thither, but that Regulus should remain to carry on the war. This +was a great grief to him. He was a very poor man, with nothing of his +own but a little farm of seven acres, and the person whom he had +employed to cultivate it had died in his absence; a hired laborer had +undertaken the care of it, but had been unfaithful, and had run away +with his tools and his cattle; so that he was afraid that, unless he +could return quickly, his wife and children would starve. However, the +Senate engaged to provide for his family, and he remained, making +expeditions into the country round, in the course of which the Romans +really did fall in with a serpent as monstrous as their imagination had +depicted. It was said to be 120 feet long, and dwelt upon the banks of +the River Bagrada, where it used to devour the Roman soldiers as they +went to fetch water. It had such tough scales that they were obliged to +attack it with their engines meant for battering city walls, and only +succeeded with much difficulty in destroying it. + +The country was most beautiful, covered with fertile cornfields and full +of rich fruit trees, and all the rich Carthaginians had country houses +and gardens, which were made delicious with fountains, trees, and +flowers. The Roman soldiers, plain, hardy, fierce, and pitiless, did, it +must be feared, cruel damage among these peaceful scenes; they boasted +of having sacked 300 villages, and mercy was not yet known to them. The +Carthaginian army, though strong in horsemen and in elephants, kept upon +the hills and did nothing to save the country, and the wild desert +tribes of Numidians came rushing in to plunder what the Romans had left. +The Carthaginians sent to offer terms of peace; but Regulus, who had +become uplifted by his conquests, made such demands that the messengers +remonstrated. He answered, 'Men who are good for anything should either +conquer or submit to their betters;' and he sent them rudely away, like +a stern old Roman as he was. His merit was that he had no more mercy on +himself than on others. + +The Carthaginians were driven to extremity, and made horrible offerings +to Moloch, giving the little children of the noblest families to be +dropped into the fire between the brazen hands of his statue, and grown- +up people of the noblest families rushed in of their own accord, hoping +thus to propitiate their gods, and obtain safety for their country. +Their time was not yet fully come, and a respite was granted to them. +They had sent, in their distress, to hire soldiers in Greece, and among +these came a Spartan, named Xanthippus, who at once took the command, +and led the army out to battle, with a long line of elephants ranged in +front of them, and with clouds of horsemen hovering on the wings. The +Romans had not yet learnt the best mode of fighting with elephants, +namely, to leave lanes in their columns where these huge beasts might +advance harmlessly; instead of which, the ranks were thrust and trampled +down by the creatures' bulk, and they suffered a terrible defeat; +Regulus himself was seized by the horsemen, and dragged into Carthage, +where the victors feasted and rejoiced through half the night, and +testified their thanks to Moloch by offering in his fires the bravest of +their captives. + +Regulus himself was not, however, one of these victims. He was kept a +close prisoner for two years, pining and sickening in his loneliness, +while in the meantime the war continued, and at last a victory so +decisive was gained by the Romans, that the people of Carthage were +discouraged, and resolved to ask terms of peace. They thought that no +one would be so readily listened to at Rome as Regulus, and they +therefore sent him there with their envoys, having first made him swear +that he would come back to his prison if there should neither be peace +nor an exchange of prisoners. They little knew how much more a true- +hearted Roman cared for his city than for himself--for his word than for +his life. + +Worn and dejected, the captive warrior came to the outside of the gates +of his own city, and there paused, refusing to enter. 'I am no longer a +Roman citizen,' he said; 'I am but the barbarian's slave, and the Senate +may not give audience to strangers within the walls.' + +His wife Marcia ran out to greet him, with his two sons, but he did not +look up, and received their caresses as one beneath their notice, as a +mere slave, and he continued, in spite of all entreaty, to remain +outside the city, and would not even go to the little farm he had loved +so well. + +The Roman Senate, as he would not come in to them, came out to hold +their meeting in the Campagna. + +The ambassadors spoke first, then Regulus, standing up, said, as one +repeating a task, 'Conscript fathers, being a slave to the +Carthaginians, I come on the part of my masters to treat with you +concerning peace, and an exchange of prisoners.' He then turned to go +away with the ambassadors, as a stranger might not be present at the +deliberations of the Senate. His old friends pressed him to stay and +give his opinion as a senator who had twice been consul; but he refused +to degrade that dignity by claiming it, slave as he was. But, at the +command of his Carthaginian masters, he remained, though not taking his +seat. + +Then he spoke. He told the senators to persevere in the war. He said he +had seen the distress of Carthage, and that a peace would only be to her +advantage, not to that of Rome, and therefore he strongly advised that +the war should continue. Then, as to the exchange of prisoners, the +Carthaginian generals, who were in the hands of the Romans, were in full +health and strength, whilst he himself was too much broken down to be +fit for service again, and indeed he believed that his enemies had given +him a slow poison, and that he could not live long. Thus he insisted +that no exchange of prisoners should be made. + +It was wonderful, even to Romans, to hear a man thus pleading against +himself, and their chief priest came forward, and declared that, as his +oath had been wrested from him by force, he was not bound to return to +his captivity. But Regulus was too noble to listen to this for a moment. +'Have you resolved to dishonor me?' he said. 'I am not ignorant that +death and the extremest tortures are preparing for me; but what are +these to the shame of an infamous action, or the wounds of a guilty +mind? Slave as I am to Carthage, I have still the spirit of a Roman. I +have sworn to return. It is my duty to go; let the gods take care of the +rest.' + +The Senate decided to follow the advice of Regulus, though they bitterly +regretted his sacrifice. His wife wept and entreated in vain that they +would detain him; they could merely repeat their permission to him to +remain; but nothing could prevail with him to break his word, and he +turned back to the chains and death he expected so calmly as if he had +been returning to his home. This was in the year B.C. 249. + +'Let the gods take care of the rest,' said the Roman; the gods whom +alone he knew, and through whom he ignorantly worshipped the true God, +whose Light was shining out even in this heathen's truth and constancy. +How his trust was fulfilled is not known. The Senate, after the next +victory, gave two Carthaginian generals to his wife and sons to hold as +pledges for his good treatment; but when tidings arrived that Regulus +was dead, Marcia began to treat them both with savage cruelty, though +one of them assured her that he had been careful to have her husband +well used. Horrible stories were told that Regulus had been put out in +the sun with his eyelids cut off, rolled down a hill in a barrel with +spikes, killed by being constantly kept awake, or else crucified. Marcia +seems to have set about, and perhaps believed in these horrors, and +avenged them on her unhappy captives till one had died, and the Senate +sent for her sons and severely reprimanded them. They declared it was +their mother's doing, not theirs, and thenceforth were careful of the +comfort of the remaining prisoner. + +It may thus be hoped that the frightful tale of Regulus' sufferings was +but formed by report acting on the fancy of a vindictive woman, and that +Regulus was permitted to die in peace of the disease brought on far more +probably by the climate and imprisonment, than by the poison to which he +ascribed it. It is not the tortures he may have endured that make him +one of the noblest characters of history, but the resolution that would +neither let him save himself at the risk of his country's prosperity, +nor forfeit the word that he had pledged. + + + + +THE BRAVE BRETHREN OF JUDAH + +B.C. 180 + + + +It was about 180 years before the Christian era. The Jews had long since +come home from Babylon, and built up their city and Temple at Jerusalem. +But they were not free as they had been before. Their country belonged +to some greater power, they had a foreign governor over them, and had to +pay tribute to the king who was their master. + +At the time we are going to speak of, this king was Antiochus Epiphanes, +King of Syria. He was descended from one of those generals who, upon the +death of Alexander the Great, had shared the East between them, and he +reigned over all the country from the Mediterranean Sea even into Persia +and the borders of India. He spoke Greek, and believed in both the Greek +and Roman gods, for he had spent some time at Rome in his youth; but in +his Eastern kingdom he had learnt all the self-indulgent and violent +habits to which people in those hot countries are especially tempted. + +He was so fierce and passionate, that he was often called the 'Madman', +and he was very cruel to all who offended him. One of his greatest +desires was, that the Jews should leave their true faith in one God, and +do like the Greeks and Syrians, his other subjects, worship the same +idols, and hold drunken feasts in their honor. Sad to say, a great many +of the Jews had grown ashamed of their own true religion and the strict +ways of their law, and thought them old-fashioned. They joined in the +Greek sports, played games naked in the theatre, joined in riotous +processions, carrying ivy in honor of Bacchus, the god of wine, and +offered incense to the idols; and the worst of all these was the false +high priest, Menelaus, who led the King Antiochus into the Temple +itself, even into the Holy of Holies, and told him all that would most +desecrate it and grieve the Jews. So a little altar to the Roman god +Jupiter was set up on the top of the great brazen altar of burnt +offerings, a hog was offered up, and broth of its flesh sprinkled +everywhere in the Temple; then all the precious vessels were seized, the +shewbread table of gold, the candlesticks, and the whole treasury, and +carried away by the king; the walls were thrown down, and the place made +desolate. + +Some Jews were still faithful to their God, but they were horribly +punished and tortured to death before the eyes of the king; and when at +last he went away to his own country, taking with him the wicked high +priest Menelaus, he left behind him a governor and an army of soldiers +stationed in the tower of Acra, which overlooked the Temple hill, and +sent for an old man from Athens to teach the people the heathen rites +and ceremonies. Any person who observed the Sabbath day, or any other +ordinance of the law of Moses, was put to death in a most cruel manner; +all the books of the Old Testament Scripture that could be found were +either burnt or defiled, by having pictures of Greek gods painted upon +them; and the heathen priests went from place to place, with a little +brazen altar and image and a guard of soldiers, who were to kill every +person who refused to burn incense before the idol. It was the very +saddest time that the Jews had ever known, and there seemed no help near +or far off; they could have no hope, except in the promises that God +would never fail His people, or forsake His inheritance, and in the +prophecies that bad times should come, but good ones after them. + +The Greeks, in going through the towns to enforce the idol worship, came +to a little city called Modin, somewhere on the hills on the coast of +the Mediterranean Sea, not far from Joppa. There they sent out, as +usual, orders to all the men of the town to meet them in the +marketplace; but they were told beforehand, that the chief person in the +place was an old man named Mattathias, of a priestly family, and so much +respected, that all the other inhabitants of the place were sure to do +whatever he might lead them in. So the Greeks sent for him first of all, +and he came at their summons, a grand and noble old man, followed by his +five sons, Johanan, Simon, Judas, Jonathan, and Eleazar. The Greek +priest tried to talk him over. He told him that the high priest had +forsaken the Jewish superstition, that the Temple was in ruins, and that +resistance was in vain; and exhorted him to obtain gratitude and honor +for himself, by leading his countrymen in thus adoring the deities of +the king's choice, promising him rewards and treasures if he would +comply. + +But the old man spoke out with a loud and fearless voice: 'Though all +the nations that are under the king's dominion obey him, and fall away +every one from the religion of their fathers, and give consent to his +commandments; yet will I and my sons and my brethren walk in the +covenant of our fathers. God forbid that we should forsake the law and +the ordinances! We will not hearken to the king's words, to go from our +religion, either on the right hand or the left!' + +As he spoke, up came an apostate Jew to do sacrifice at the heathen +altar. Mattathias trembled at the sight, and his zeal broke forth. He +slew the offender, and his brave sons gathering round him, they attacked +the Syrian soldiers, killed the commissioner, and threw down the altar. +Then, as they knew that they could not there hold out against the king's +power, Mattathias proclaimed throughout the city: 'Whosoever is zealous +of the law, and maintaineth the covenant, let him follow me!' With that, +he and his five sons, with their families, left their houses and lands, +and drove their cattle with them up into the wild hills and caves, where +David had once made his home; and all the Jews who wished to be still +faithful, gathered around them, to worship God and keep His +commandments. + +There they were, a handful of brave men in the mountains, and all the +heathen world and apostate Jews against them. They used to come down +into the villages, remind the people of the law, promise their help, and +throw down any idol altars that they found, and the enemy never were +able to follow them into their rocky strongholds. But the old Mattathias +could not long bear the rude wild life in the cold mountains, and he +soon died. First he called all his five sons, and bade them to 'be +zealous for the law, and give their lives for the covenant of their +fathers'; and he reminded them of all the many brave men who had before +served God, and been aided in their extremity. He appointed his son +Judas, as the strongest and mightiest, to lead his brethren to battle, +and Simon, as the wisest, to be their counsellor; then he blessed them +and died; and his sons were able to bury him in the tomb of his fathers +at Modin. + +Judas was one of the bravest men who ever lived; never dreading the +numbers that came against him. He was surnamed Maccabeus, which some +people say meant the hammerer; but others think it was made up of the +first letters of the words he carried on his banner, which meant 'Who is +like unto Thee, among the gods, O Lord?' Altogether he had about six +thousand men round him when the Greek governor, Apollonius, came out to +fight with him. The Jews gained here their first victory, and Judas +killed Apollonius, took his sword, and fought all his other battles with +it. Next came a captain called Seron, who went out to the hills to lay +hold of the bold rebels that dared to rise against the King of Syria. +The place where Judas met him was one to make the Jews' hearts leap with +hope and trust. It was on the steep stony broken hillside of Beth-horon, +the very place where Joshua had conquered the five kings of the +Amorites, in the first battle on the coming in of the children of Israel +to Palestine. There was the rugged path where Joshua had stood and +called out to the sun to stand still in Gibeon, and the moon in the +valley of Ajalon. Miracles were over, and Judas looked for no wonder to +help him; but when he came up the mountain road from Joppa, his heart +was full of the same trust as Joshua's, and he won another great +victory. + +By this time King Antiochus began to think the rising of the Jews a +serious matter, but he could not come himself against them, because his +provinces in Armenia and Persia had refused their tribute, and he had to +go in person to reduce them. He appointed, however, a governor, named +Lysias, to chastise the Jews, giving him an army of 40,000 foot and 7000 +horse. Half of these Lysias sent on before him, with two captains, named +Nicanor and Gorgias, thinking that these would be more than enough to +hunt down and crush the little handful that were lurking in the hills. +And with them came a great number of slave merchants, who had bargained +with Nicanor that they should have ninety Jews for one talent, to sell +to the Greeks and Romans, by whom Jewish slaves were much esteemed. + +There was great terror in Palestine at these tidings, and many of the +weaker-minded fell away from Judas; but he called all the faithful +together at Mizpeh, the same place where, 1000 years before, Samuel had +collected the Israelites, and, after prayer and fasting, had sent them +forth to free their country from the Philistines. Shiloh, the sanctuary, +was then lying desolate, just as Jerusalem now lay in ruins; and yet +better times had come. But very mournful was that fast day at Mizpeh, as +the Jews looked along the hillside to their own holy mountain crowned by +no white marble and gold Temple flashing back the sunbeams, but only +with the tall castle of their enemies towering over the precipice. They +could not sacrifice, because a sacrifice could only be made at +Jerusalem, and the only book of the Scriptures that they had to read +from was painted over with the hateful idol figures of the Greeks. And +the huge army of enemies was ever coming nearer! The whole assembly +wept, and put on sackcloth and prayed aloud for help, and then there was +a loud sounding of trumpets, and Judas stood forth before them. And he +made the old proclamation that Moses had long ago decreed, that no one +should go out to battle who was building a house, or planting a +vineyard, or had just betrothed a wife, or who was fearful and faint- +hearted. All these were to go home again. Judas had 6,000 followers when +he made this proclamation. He had only 3,000 at the end of the day, and +they were but poorly armed. He told them of the former aid that had come +to their fathers in extremity, and made them bold with his noble words. +Then he gave them for their watchword 'the help of God', and divided the +leadership of the band between himself and his brothers, appointing +Eleazar, the youngest, to read the Holy Book. + +With these valiant men, Judas set up his camp; but tidings were soon +brought him that Gorgias, with 5000 foot and 1000 horse, had left the +main body to fall on his little camp by night. He therefore secretly +left the place in the twilight; so that when the enemy attacked his +camp, they found it deserted, and supposing them to be hid in the +mountains, proceeded hither in pursuit of them. + +But in the early morning Judas and his 3,000 men were all in battle +array in the plains, and marching full upon the enemy's camp with +trumpet sound, took them by surprise in the absence of Gorgias and his +choice troops, and utterly defeated and put them to flight, but without +pursuing them, since the fight with Gorgias and his 5,000 might be yet +to come. Even as Judas was reminding his men of this, Gorgias's troops +were seen looking down from the mountains where they had been wandering +all night; but seeing their own camp all smoke and flame, they turned +and fled away. Nine thousand of the invaders had been slain, and the +whole camp, full of arms and treasures, was in the hands of Judas, who +there rested for a Sabbath of glad thanksgiving, and the next day parted +the spoil, first putting out the share for the widows and orphans and +the wounded, and then dividing the rest among his warriors. As to the +slave merchants, they were all made prisoners, and instead of giving a +talent for ninety Jews, were sold themselves. + +The next year Lysias came himself, but was driven back and defeated at +Bethshur, four or five miles south of Bethlehem. And now came the +saddest, yet the greatest, day of Judas's life, when he ventured to go +back into the holy city and take possession of the Temple again. The +strong tower of Acra, which stood on a ridge of Mount Moriah looking +down on the Temple rock, was still held by the Syrians, and he had no +means of taking it; but he and his men loved the sanctuary too well to +keep away from it, and again they marched up the steps and slopes that +led up the holy hill. They went up to find the walls broken, the gates +burnt, the cloisters and priests' chambers pulled down, and the courts +thickly grown with grass and shrubs, the altar of their one true God +with the false idol Jupiter's altar in the middle of it. These warriors, +who had turned three armies to flight, could not bear the sight. They +fell down on their faces, threw dust on their heads, and wept aloud for +the desolation of their holy place. But in the midst Judas caused the +trumpets to sound an alarm. They were to do something besides grieving. +The bravest of them were set to keep watch and ward against the Syrians +in the tower, while he chose out the most faithful priests to cleanse +out the sanctuary, and renew all that could be renewed, making new holy +vessels from the spoil taken in Nicanor's camp, and setting the stones +of the profaned altar apart while a new one was raised. On the third +anniversary of the great profanation, the Temple was newly dedicated, +with songs and hymns of rejoicing, and a festival day was appointed, +which has been observed by the Jews ever since. The Temple rock and city +were again fortified so as to be able to hold out against their enemies, +and this year and the next were the most prosperous of the life of the +loyal-hearted Maccabee. + +The great enemy of the Jews, Antiochus Epiphanes, was in the meantime +dying in great agony in Persia, and his son Antiochus Eupator was set on +the throne by Lysias, who brought him with an enormous army to reduce +the rising in Judea. The fight was again at Bethshur, where Judas had +built a strong fort on a point of rock that guarded the road to Hebron. +Lysias tried to take this fort, and Judas came to the rescue with his +little army, to meet the far mightier Syrian force, which was made more +terrific by possessing thirty war elephants imported from the Indian +frontier. Each of these creatures carried a tower containing thirty-two +men armed with darts and javelins, and an Indian driver on his neck; and +they had 1000 foot and 500 horse attached to the special following of +the beast, who, gentle as he was by nature, often produced a fearful +effect on the enemy; not so much by his huge bulk as by the terror he +inspired among men, and far more among horses. The whole host was spread +over the mountains and the valleys so that it is said that their bright +armor and gold and silver shields made the mountains glisten like lamps +of fire. + +Still Judas pressed on to the attack, and his brother Eleazar, +perceiving that one of the elephants was more adorned than the rest, +thought it might be carrying the king, and devoted himself for his +country. He fought his way to the monster, crept under it, and stabbed +it from beneath, so that the mighty weight sank down on him and crushed +him to death in his fall. He gained a 'perpetual name' for valor and +self-devotion; but the king was not upon the elephant, and after a hard- +fought battle, Judas was obliged to draw off and leave Bethshur to be +taken by the enemy, and to shut himself up in Jerusalem. + +There, want of provisions had brought him to great distress, when +tidings came that another son of Antiochus Epiphanes had claimed the +throne, and Lysias made peace in haste with Judas, promising him full +liberty of worship, and left Palestine in peace. + +This did not, however, last long. Lysias and his young master were slain +by the new king, Demetrius, who again sent an army for the subjection of +Judas, and further appointed a high priest, named Alcimus, of the family +of Aaron, but inclined to favor the new heathen fashions. + +This was the most fatal thing that had happened to Judas. Though of the +priestly line, he was so much of a warrior, that he seems to have +thought it would be profane to offer sacrifice himself; and many of the +Jews were so glad of another high priest, that they let Alcimus into the +Temple, and Jerusalem was again lost to Judas. One more battle was won +by him at Beth-horon, and then finding how hard it was to make head +against the Syrians, he sent to ask the aid of the great Roman power. +But long before the answer could come, a huge Syrian army had marched in +on the Holy Land, 20,000 men, and Judas had again no more than 3000. +Some had gone over to Alcimus, some were offended at his seeking Roman +alliance, and when at Eleasah he came in sight of the host, his men's +hearts failed more than they ever had done before, and, out of the 3000 +at first collected, only 800 stood with him, and they would fain have +persuaded him to retreat. + +'God forbid that I should do this thing,' he said, 'and flee away from +them. If our time be come, let us die manfully for our brethren, and let +us not stain our honor.' + +Sore was the battle, as sore as that waged by the 800 at Thermopylae, +and the end was the same. Judas and his 800 were not driven from the +field, but lay dead upon it. But their work was done. What is called the +moral effect of such a defeat goes further than many a victory. Those +lives, sold so dearly, were the price of freedom for Judea. + +Judas's brothers Jonathan and Simon laid him in his father's tomb, and +then ended the work that he had begun; and when Simon died, the Jews, +once so trodden on, were the most prosperous race in the East. The +Temple was raised from its ruins, and the exploits of the Maccabees had +nerved the whole people to do or die in defense of the holy faith of +their fathers. + + + + +THE CHIEF OF THE ARVERNI + +B.C. 52 + + + +We have seen the Gauls in the heart of Rome, we have now to see them +showing the last courage of despair, defending their native lands +against the greatest of all the conquerors that Rome ever sent forth. + +These lands, where they had dwelt for so many years as justly to regard +them as their inheritance, were Gaul. There the Celtic race had had +their abode ever since history has spoken clearly, and had become, in +Gaul especially, slightly more civilized from intercourse with the Greek +colony at Massilia, or Marseilles. But they had become borderers upon +the Roman dominions, and there was little chance that they would not be +absorbed; the tribes of Provence, the first Roman province, were already +conquered, others were in alliance with Rome, and some had called in the +Romans to help them fight their battles. There is no occasion to +describe the seven years' war by which Julius Caesar added Gaul to the +provinces claimed by Rome, and when he visited Britain; such conquests +are far from being Golden Deeds, but are far worthier of the iron age. +It is the stand made by the losing party, and the true patriotism of one +young chieftain, that we would wish here to dwell upon. + +In the sixth year of the war the conquest seemed to have been made, and +the Roman legions were guarding the north and west, while Caesar himself +had crossed the Alps. Subjection pressed heavily on the Gauls, some of +their chiefs had been put to death, and the high spirit of the nation +was stirred. Meetings took place between the warriors of the various +tribes, and an oath was taken by those who inhabited the centre of the +country, that if they once revolted, they would stand by one another to +the last. These Gauls were probably not tall, bony giants, like the +pillagers of Rome; their appearance and character would be more like +that of the modern Welsh, or of their own French descendants, small, +alert, and dark-eyed, full of fire, but, though fierce at the first +onset, soon rebuffed, yet with much perseverance in the long run. Their +worship was conducted by Druids, like that of the Britons, and their +dress was of checked material, formed into a loose coat and wide +trousers. The superior chiefs, who had had any dealings with Rome, would +speak a little Latin, and have a few Roman weapons as great improvements +upon their own. Their fortifications were wonderfully strong. Trunks of +trees were laid on the ground at two feet apart, so that the depth of +the wall was their full length. Over these another tier of beams was +laid crosswise, and the space between was filled up with earth, and the +outside faced with large stones; the building of earth and stone was +carried up to some height, then came another tier of timbers, crossed as +before, and this was repeated again to a considerable height, the inner +ends of the beams being fastened to a planking within the wall, so that +the whole was of immense compactness. Fire could not damage the mineral +part of the construction, nor the battering ram hurt the wood, and the +Romans had been often placed in great difficulties by these rude but +admirable constructions, within which the Gauls placed their families +and cattle, building huts for present shelter. Of late, some attempts +had been made at copying the regular streets and houses built round +courts that were in use among the Romans, and Roman colonies had been +established in various places, where veteran soldiers had received +grants of land on condition of keeping the natives in check. A growing +taste for arts and civilization was leading to Romans of inferior +classes settling themselves in other Gallic cities. + +The first rising of the Gauls began by a quarrel at the city we now call +Orleans, ending in a massacre of all the Romans there. The tidings were +spread through all the country by loud shouts, repeated from one to the +other by men stationed on every hill, and thus, what had been done at +Orleans at sunrise was known by nine at night 160 miles off among the +mountains, which were then the homes of a tribe called by the Romans the +Arverni, who have left their name to the province of Auvergne. + +Here dwelt a young chieftain, probably really called Fearcuincedorigh, +or Man who is chief of a hundred heads, known to us by Caesar's version +of his name, as Vercingetorix, a high-spirited youth, who keenly felt +the servitude of his country, and who, on receiving these tidings, +instantly called on his friends to endeavor to shake off the yoke. His +uncle, who feared to provoke Roman vengeance, expelled him from the +chief city, Gergovia, the remains of which may be traced on the mountain +still called Gergoie, about six miles from Clermont; but he collected +all the younger and more high-spirited men, forced a way into the city, +and was proclaimed chief of his tribe. All the neighboring tribes joined +in the league against the common enemy, and tidings were brought to +Caesar that the whole country round the Loire was in a state of revolt. + +In the heart of winter he hurried back, and took the Gauls by surprise +by crossing the snows that lay thick on the wild waste of the Cebenna, +which the Arverni had always considered as their impenetrable barrier +throughout the winter. The towns quickly fell into his hands, and he was +rapidly recovering all he had lost, when Vercingetorix, collecting his +chief supporters, represented to them that their best hope would be in +burning all the inhabited places themselves and driving off all the +cattle, then lying in wait to cut off all the convoys of provisions that +should be sent to the enemy, and thus starving them into a retreat. He +said that burning houses were indeed a grievous sight, but it would be +more grievous to see their wives and children dragged into captivity. To +this all the allies agreed, and twenty towns in one district were burnt +in a single day; but when they came to the city of Avaricum, now called +Bourges, the tribe of Bituriges, to whom it belonged, entreated on their +knees not to be obliged to destroy the most beautiful city in the +country, representing that, as it had a river on one side, and a morass +everywhere else, except at a very narrow entrance, it might be easily +held out against the enemy, and to their entreaties Vercingetorix +yielded, though much against his own judgment. + +Caesar laid siege to the place, but his army suffered severely from cold +and hunger; they had no bread at all, and lived only on the cattle +driven in from distant villages, while Vercingetorix hovered round, +cutting off their supplies. They however labored diligently to raise a +mount against a wall of the town; but as fast as they worked, the higher +did the Gauls within raise the stages of their rampart, and for twenty- +five days there was a most brave defense; but at last the Romans made +their entrance, and slaughtered all they found there, except 800, who +escaped to the camp of Vercingetorix. He was not disconcerted by this +loss, which he had always expected, but sheltered and clothed the +fugitives, and raised a great body of archers and of horsemen, with whom +he returned to his own territory in Auvergne. There was much fighting +around the city of Gergovia; but at length, owing to the revolt of the +Aedui, another Gallic tribe, Caesar was forced to retreat over the +Loire; and the wild peaks of volcanic Auvergne were free again. + +But no gallant resolution could long prevail against the ever-advancing +power of Rome, and at length the Gauls were driven into their fortified +camp at Alesia, now called Alise [footnote: In Burgundy, between Semur +and Dijon.], a city standing on a high hill, with two rivers flowing +round its base, and a plain in front about three miles wide. Everywhere +else it was circled in by high hills, and here Caesar resolved to shut +these brave men in and bring them to bay. He caused his men to begin +that mighty system of earthworks by which the Romans carried on their +attacks, compassing their victim round on every side with a deadly +slowness and sureness, by those broad ditches and terraced ramparts that +everywhere mark where their foot of iron was trod. Eleven miles round +did this huge rampart extend, strengthened by three-and-twenty redoubts, +or places of defense, where a watch was continually kept. Before the +lines were complete, Vercingetorix brought out his cavalry, and gave +battle, at one time with a hope of success; but the enemy were too +strong for him, and his horsemen were driven into the camp. He then +resolved to send home all of these, since they could be of no use in the +camp, and had better escape before the ditch should have shut them in on +every side. He charged them to go to their several tribes and endeavor +to assemble all the fighting men to come to his rescue; for, if he were +not speedily succored, he and 80,000 of the bravest of the Gauls must +fall into the hands of the Romans, since he had only corn for thirty +days, even with the utmost saving. + +Having thus exhorted them, he took leave of them, and sent them away at +nine at night, so that they might escape in the dark where the Roman +trench had not yet extended. Then he distributed the cattle among his +men, but retained the corn himself, serving it out with the utmost +caution. The Romans outside fortified their camp with a double ditch, +one of them full of water, behind which was a bank twelve feet high, +with stakes forked like the horns of a stag. The space between the +ditches was filled with pits, and scattered with iron caltrops or hooked +spikes. All this was against the garrison, to prevent them from breaking +out; and outside the camp he made another line of ditches and ramparts +against the Gauls who might be coming to the rescue. + +The other tribes were not deaf to the summons of their friends, but +assembled in large numbers, and just as the besieged had exhausted their +provisions, an army was seen on the hills beyond the camp. Their +commander was Vergosillaunus (most probably Fearsaighan, the Man of the +Standard), a near kinsman of Vercingetorix; and all that bravery could +do, they did to break through the defenses of the camp from outside, +while within, Vercingetorix and his 80,000 tried to fill up the ditches, +and force their way out to meet their friends. But Caesar himself +commanded the Romans, who were confident in his fortunes, and raised a +shout of ecstasy wherever they beheld his thin, marked, eagle face and +purple robe, rushing on the enemy with a confidence of victory that did +in fact render them invincible. The Gauls gave way, lost seventy-four of +their standards, and Vergosillaunus himself was taken a prisoner; and as +for the brave garrison within Alesia, they were but like so many flies +struggling in vain within the enormous web that had been woven around +them. Hope was gone, but the chief of the Arverni could yet do one thing +for his countrymen--he could offer up himself in order to obtain better +terms for them. + +The next day he convened his companions in arms, and told them that he +had only fought for the freedom of their country, not to secure his +private interest; and that now, since yield they must, he freely offered +himself to become a victim for their safety, whether they should judge +it best for themselves to appease the anger of the conqueror by putting +him to death themselves, or whether they preferred giving him up alive. + +It was a piteous necessity to have to sacrifice their noblest and +bravest, who had led them so gallantly during the long war; but they had +little choice, and could only send messengers to the camp to offer to +yield Vercingetorix as the price of their safety. Caesar made it known +that he was willing to accept their submission, and drawing up his +troops in battle array, with the Eagle standards around him, he watched +the whole Gallic army march past him. First, Vercingetorix was placed as +a prisoner in his hands, and then each man lay down sword, javelin, or +bow and arrows, helmet, buckler and breastplate, in one mournful heap, +and proceeded on his way, scarcely thankful that the generosity of their +chieftain had purchased for them subjection rather than death. + +Vercingetorix himself had become the property of the great man from whom +alone we know of his deeds; who could perceive his generous spirit and +high qualities as a general, nay, who honored the self-devotion by which +he endeavored to save his countrymen. He remained in captivity--six long +years sped by--while Caesar passed the Rubicon, fought out his struggle +for power at Rome, and subdued Egypt, Pontus, and Northern Africa--and +all the time the brave Gaul remained closely watched and guarded, and +with no hope of seeing the jagged peaks and wild valleys of his own +beautiful Auvergne. For well did he, like every other marked foe of +Rome, know for what he was reserved, and no doubt he yielded himself in +the full expectation of that fate which many a man, as brave as he, had +escaped by self-destruction. + +The day came at last. In July, B.C. 45, the victorious Caesar had +leisure to celebrate his victories in four grand triumphs, all in one +month, and that in honor of the conquest of Gaul came the first. The +triumphal gate of Rome was thrown wide open, every house was decked with +hangings of silk and tapestry, the household images of every family, +dressed with fresh flowers, were placed in their porches, those of the +gods stood on the steps of the temples, and in marched the procession, +the magistrates first in their robes of office, and then the trumpeters. +Next came the tokens of the victory--figures of the supposed gods of the +two great rivers, Rhine and Rhone, and even of the captive Ocean, made +in gold, were carried along, with pictures framed in citron wood, +showing the scenes of victory--the wild waste of the Cevennes, the steep +peaks of Auvergne, the mighty camp of Alesia; nay, there too would be +the white cliffs of Dover, and the struggle with the Britons on the +beach. Models in wood and ivory showed the fortifications of Avaricum, +and of many another city; and here too were carried specimens of the +olives and vines, and other curious plants of the newly won land; here +was the breastplate of British pearls that Caesar dedicated to Venus. A +band of flute-players followed, and then came the white oxen that were +to be sacrificed, their horns gilded and flowers hung round them, the +sacrificing priests with wreathed heads marching with them. Specimens of +bears and wolves from the woods and mountains came next in order, and +after them waved for the last time the national ensigns of the many +tribes of Gaul. Once more Vercingetorix and Vergosillaunus saw their own +Arvernian standard, and marched behind it with the noblest of their +clan: once more they wore their native dress and well-tried armor. But +chains were on their hands and feet, and the men who had fought so long +and well for freedom, were the captive gazing-stock of Rome. Long, long +was the line of chained Gauls of every tribe, before the four white +horses appeared, all abreast, drawing the gilded car, in which stood a +slight form in a purple robe, with the bald head and narrow temples +encircled with a wreath of bay, the thin cheeks tinted with vermilion, +the eager aquiline face and narrow lips gravely composed to Roman +dignity, and the quick eye searching out what impression the display was +making on the people. Over his head a slave held a golden crown, but +whispered, 'Remember that thou too art a man.' And in following that old +custom, how little did the victor know that, bay-crowned like himself, +there followed close behind, in one of the chariots of the officers, the +man whose dagger-thrust would, two years later, be answered by his dying +word of reproach! The horsemen of the army followed, and then the +legions, every spear wreathed, every head crowned with bay, so that an +evergreen grove might have seemed marching through the Roman streets, +but for the war songs, and the wild jests, and ribald ballads that +custom allowed the soldiers to shout out, often in pretended mockery of +their own victorious general, the Imperator. + +The victor climbed the Capitol steps, and laid his wreath of bay on +Jupiter's knees, the white oxen were sacrificed, and the feast began by +torchlight. Where was the vanquished? He was led to the dark prison +vault in the side of Capitoline hill, and there one sharp sword-thrust +ended the gallant life and long captivity. + +It was no special cruelty in Julius Caesar. Every Roman triumph was +stained by the slaughter of the most distinguished captives, after the +degradation of walking in chains had been undergone. He had spirit to +appreciate Vercingetorix, but had not nobleness to spare him from the +ordinary fate. Yet we may doubt which, in true moral greatness, was the +superior in that hour of triumph, the conqueror who trod down all that +he might minister to his own glory, or the conquered, who, when no +resistance had availed, had voluntarily confronted shame and death in +hopes to win pardon and safety for his comrades. + + + + +WITHSTANDING THE MONARCH IN HIS WRATH + +A.D. 389 + + + +When a monarch's power is unchecked by his people, there is only One to +whom he believes himself accountable; and if he have forgotten the +dagger of Damocles, or if he be too high-spirited to regard it, then +that Higher One alone can restrain his actions. And there have been +times when princes have so broken the bounds of right, that no hope +remains of recalling them to their duty save by the voice of the +ministers of God upon Earth. But as these ministers bear no charmed +life, and are subjects themselves of the prince, such rebukes have been +given at the utmost risk of liberty and life. + +Thus it was that though Nathan, unharmed, showed David his sin, and +Elijah, the wondrous prophet of Gilead, was protected from Jezebel's +fury, when he denounced her and her husband Ahab for the idolatry of +Baal and the murder of Naboth; yet no Divine hand interposed to shield +Zachariah, the son of Jehoiada, the high priest, when he rebuked the +apostasy of his cousin, Jehoash, King of Judah, and was stoned to death +by the ungrateful king's command in that very temple court where +Jehoiada and his armed Levites had encountered the savage usurping +Athaliah, and won back the kingdom for the child Jehoash. And when 'in +the spirit and power of Elijah', St. John the Baptist denounced the sin +of Herod Antipas in marrying his brother Philip's wife, he bore the +consequences to the utmost, when thrown into prison and then beheaded to +gratify the rage of the vindictive woman. + +Since Scripture Saints in the age of miracles were not always shielded +from the wrath of kings, Christian bishops could expect no special +interposition in their favor, when they stood forth to stop the way of +the sovereign's passions, and to proclaim that the cause of mercy, +purity, and truth is the cause of God. + +The first of these Christian bishops was Ambrose, the sainted prelate of +Milan. It was indeed a Christian Emperor whom he opposed, no other than +the great Theodosius, but it was a new and unheard-of thing for any +voice to rebuke an Emperor of Rome, and Theodosius had proved himself a +man of violent passions. + +The fourth century was a time when races and all sorts of shows were the +fashion, nay, literally the rage; for furious quarrels used to arise +among the spectators who took the part of one or other of the +competitors, and would call themselves after their colours, the Blues or +the Greens. A favorite chariot driver, who had excelled in these races +at Thessalonica, was thrown into prison for some misdemeanor by +Botheric, the Governor of Illyria, and his absence so enraged the +Thessalonican mob, that they rose in tumult, and demanded his +restoration. On being refused, they threw such a hail of stones that the +governor himself and some of his officers were slain. + +Theodosius might well be displeased, but his rage passed all bounds. He +was at Milan at the time, and at first Ambrose so worked on his feelings +as to make him promise to temper justice with mercy; but afterwards +fresh accounts of the murder, together with the representations of his +courtier Rufinus, made him resolve not to relent, and he sent off +messengers commanding that there should be a general slaughter of all +the race-going Thessalonicans, since all were equally guilty of +Botheric's death. He took care that his horrible command should be kept +a secret from Ambrose, and the first that the Bishop heard of it was the +tidings that 7,000 persons had been killed in the theatre, in a massacre +lasting three hours! + +There was no saving these lives, but Ambrose felt it his duty to make +the Emperor feel his sin, in hopes of saving others. Besides, it was not +consistent with the honor of God to receive at his altar a man reeking +with innocent blood. The Bishop, however, took time to consider; he went +into the country for a few days, and thence wrote a letter to the +Emperor, telling him that thus stained with crime, he could not be +admitted to the Holy Communion, nor received into church. Still the +Emperor does not seem to have believed he could be really withstood by +any subject, and on Ambrose's return, he found the imperial procession, +lictors, guards, and all, escorting the Emperor as usual to the Basilica +or Justice Hall, that had been turned into a church. +Then to the door came the Bishop and stood in the way, forbidding the +entrance, and announcing that there, at least, sacrilege should not be +added to murder. + +'Nay,' said the Emperor, 'did not holy King David commit both murder and +adultery, yet was he not received again?' + +'If you have sinned like him, repent like him,' answered Ambrose. + +Theodosius turned away, troubled. He was great enough not to turn his +anger against the Bishop; he felt that he had sinned, and that the +chastisement was merited, and he went back to his palace weeping, and +there spent eight months, attending to his duties of state, but too +proud to go through the tokens of penitence that the discipline of the +Church had prescribed before a great sinner could be received back into +the congregation of the faithful. Easter was the usual time for +reconciling penitents, and Ambrose was not inclined to show any respect +of persons, or to excuse the Emperor from a penance he would have +imposed on any offender. However, Rufinus could not believe in such +disregard, and thought all would give way to the Emperor's will. +Christmas had come, but for one man at Milan there were no hymns, no +shouts of 'glad tidings!' no midnight festival, no rejoicing that 'to us +a Child is born; to us a Son is given'. The Basilica was thronged with +worshippers and rang with their Amens, resounding like thunder, and +their echoing song--the Te Deum--then their newest hymn of praise. But +the lord of all those multitudes was alone in his palace. He had not +shown good will to man; he had not learnt mercy and peace from the +Prince of Peace; and the door was shut upon him. He was a resolute +Spanish Roman, a well-tried soldier, a man advancing in years, but he +wept, and wept bitterly. Rufinus found him thus weeping. It must have +been strange to the courtier that his master did not send his lictors to +carry the offending bishop to a dungeon, and give all his court favor to +the heretics, like the last empress who had reigned at Milan. Nay, he +might even, like Julian the Apostate, have altogether renounced that +Christian faith which could humble an emperor below the poorest of his +subjects. + +But Rufinus contented himself with urging the Emperor not to remain at +home lamenting, but to endeavor again to obtain admission into the +church, assuring him that the Bishop would give way. Theodosius replied +that he did not expect it, but yielded to the persuasions, and Rufinus +hastened on before to warn the Bishop of his coming, and represented how +inexpedient it was to offend him. + +'I warn you,' replied Ambrose, 'that I shall oppose his entrance, but if +he chooses to turn his power into tyranny, I shall willingly let him +slay me.' + +The Emperor did not try to enter the church, but sought Ambrose in an +adjoining building, where he entreated to be absolved from his sin. + +'Beware,' returned the Bishop, 'of trampling on the laws of God.' +'I respect them,' said the Emperor, 'therefore I have not set foot in +the church, but I pray thee to deliver me from these bonds, and not to +close against me the door that the Lord hath opened to all who truly +repent.' + +'What repentance have you shown for such a sin?' asked Ambrose. + +'Appoint my penance,' said the Emperor, entirely subdued. + +And Ambrose caused him at once to sign a decree that thirty days should +always elapse between a sentence of death and its execution. After this, +Theodosius was allowed to come into the church, but only to the corner +he had shunned all these eight months, till the 'dull hard stone within +him' had 'melted', to the spot appointed for the penitents. There, +without his crown, his purple robe, and buskins, worked with golden +eagles, all laid aside, he lay prostrate on the stones, repeating the +verse, 'My soul cleaveth unto the dust; quicken me, O Lord, according to +thy word.' This was the place that penitents always occupied, and there +fasts and other discipline were also appointed. When the due course had +been gone through, probably at the next Easter, Ambrose, in his Master's +name, pronounced the forgiveness of Theodosius, and received him back to +the full privileges of a Christian. When we look at the course of many +another emperor, and see how easily, where the power was irresponsible, +justice became severity, and severity, bloodthirstiness, we see what +Ambrose dared to meet, and from what he spared Theodosius and all the +civilized world under his sway. Who can tell how many innocent lives +have been saved by that thirty days' respite? + +Pass over nearly 700 years, and again we find a church door barred +against a monarch. This time it is not under the bright Italian sky, but +under the grey fogs of the Baltic sea. It is not the stately marble +gateway of the Milanese Basilica, but the low-arched, rough stone portal +of the newly built cathedral of Roskilde, in Zealand, where, if a zigzag +surrounds the arch, it is a great effort of genius. The Danish king +Swend, the nephew of the well-known Knut, stands before it; a stern and +powerful man, fierce and passionate, and with many a Danish axe at his +command. Nay, only lately for a few rude jests, he caused some of his +chief jarls to be slain without a trial. Half the country is still +pagan, and though the king himself is baptized, there is no certainty +that, if the Christian faith do not suit his taste, he may not join the +heathen party and return to the worship of Thor and Tyr, where deeds of +blood would be not blameworthy, but a passport to the rude joys of +Valhall. Nevertheless there is a pastoral staff across the doorway, +barring the way of the king, and that staff is held against him by an +Englishman, William, Bishop of Roskilde, the missionary who had +converted a great part of Zealand, but who will not accept Christians +who have not laid aside their sins. + +He confronts the king who has never been opposed before. 'Go back,' he +says, 'nor dare approach the alter of God--thou who art not a king but a +murderer.' + +Some of the jarls seized their swords and axes, and were about to strike +the bishop away from the threshold, but he, without removing his staff, +bent his head, and bade them strike, saying he was ready to die in the +cause of God. But the king came to a better frame of mind, he called the +jarls away, and returning humbly to his palace, took off his royal +robes, and came again barefoot and in sackcloth to the church door, +where Bishop William met him, took him by the hand, gave him the kiss of +peace, and led him to the penitents' place. After three days he was +absolved, and for the rest of his life, the bishop and the king lived in +the closest friendship, so much so that William always prayed that even +in death he might not be divided from his friend. The prayer was +granted. The two died almost at the same time, and were buried together +in the cathedral at Roskilde, where the one had taught and other learnt +the great lesson of mercy. + + + + +THE LAST FIGHT IN THE COLISEUM + +A.D. 404 + + + +As the Romans grew prouder and more fond of pleasure, no one could hope +to please them who did not give them sports and entertainments. When any +person wished to be elected to any public office, it was a matter of +course that he should compliment his fellow citizens by exhibitions of +the kind they loved, and when the common people were discontented, their +cry was that they wanted panem ac Circenses, 'bread and sports', the +only things they cared for. In most places where there has been a large +Roman colony, remains can be seen of the amphitheatres, where the +citizens were wont to assemble for these diversions. Sometimes these are +stages of circular galleries of seats hewn out of the hillside, where +rows of spectators might sit one above the other, all looking down on a +broad, flat space in the centre, under their feet, where the +representations took place. Sometimes, when the country was flat, or it +was easier to build than to excavate, the amphitheatre was raised above +ground, rising up to a considerable height. + +The grandest and most renowned of all these amphitheatres is the +Coliseum at Rome. It was built by Vespasian and his son Titus, the +conquerors of Jerusalem, in a valley in the midst of the seven hills of +Rome. The captive Jews were forced to labour at it; and the materials, +granite outside, and softer travertine stone within, are so solid and so +admirably built, that still at the end of eighteen centuries it has +scarcely even become a ruin, but remains one of the greatest wonders of +Rome. + +Five acres of ground were enclosed within the oval of its outer wall, +which outside rises perpendicularly in tiers of arches one above the +other. Within, the galleries of seats projected forwards, each tier +coming out far beyond the one above it, so that between the lowest and +the outer wall there was room for a great space of chambers, passages, +and vaults around the central space, called the arena, from the arena, +or sand, with which it was strewn. + +When the Roman Emperors grew very vain and luxurious, they used to have +this sand made ornamental with metallic filings, vermilion, and even +powdered precious stones; but it was thought better taste to use the +scrapings of a soft white stone, which, when thickly strewn, made the +whole arena look as if covered with untrodden snow. Around the border of +this space flowed a stream of fresh water. Then came a straight wall, +rising to a considerable height, and surmounted by a broad platform, on +which stood a throne for the Emperor, curule chairs of ivory and gold +for the chief magistrates and senators, and seats for the vestal +virgins. Next above were galleries for the equestrian order, the great +mass of those who considered themselves as of gentle station, though not +of the highest rank; farther up, and therefore farther back, were the +galleries belonging to the freemen of Rome; and these were again +surmounted by another plain wall with a platform on the top, where were +places for the ladies, who were not (except the vestal virgins) allowed +to look on nearer, because of the unclothed state of some of the +performers in the arena. Between the ladies' boxes, benches were +squeezed in where the lowest people could seat themselves; and some of +these likewise found room in the two uppermost tiers of porticoes, where +sailors, mechanics, and persons in the service of the Coliseum had their +post. Altogether, when full, this huge building held no less than 87,000 +spectators. It had no roof; but when there was rain, or if the sun was +too hot, the sailors in the porticoes unfurled awnings that ran along +upon ropes, and formed a covering of silk and gold tissue over the +whole. Purple was the favorite color for this velamen, or veil; because, +when the sun shone through it, it cast such beautiful rosy tints on the +snowy arena and the white purple-edged togas of the Roman citizens. + +Long days were spent from morning till evening upon those galleries. The +multitude who poured in early would watch the great dignitaries arrive +and take their seats, greeting them either with shouts of applause or +hootings of dislike, according as they were favorites or otherwise; and +when the Emperor came in to take his place under his canopy, there was +one loud acclamation, 'Joy to thee, master of all, first of all, +happiest of all. Victory to thee for ever!' + +When the Emperor had seated himself and given the signal, the sports +began. Sometimes a rope-dancing elephant would begin the entertainment, +by mounting even to the summit of the building and descending by a cord. +Then a bear, dressed up as a Roman matron, would be carried along in a +chair between porters, as ladies were wont to go abroad, and another +bear, in a lawyer's robe, would stand on his hind legs and go through +the motions of pleading a case. Or a lion came forth with a jeweled +crown on his head, a diamond necklace round his neck, his mane plaited +with gold, and his claws gilded, and played a hundred pretty gentle +antics with a little hare that danced fearlessly within his grasp. Then +in would come twelve elephants, six males in togas, six females with the +veil and pallium; they took their places on couches around an ivory +table, dined with great decorum, playfully sprinkled a little rosewater +over the nearest spectators, and then received more guests of their +unwieldy kind, who arrived in ball dresses, scattered flowers, and +performed a dance. + +Sometimes water was let into the arena, a ship sailed in, and falling to +pieces in the midst, sent a crowd of strange animals swimming in all +directions. Sometimes the ground opened, and trees came growing up +through it, bearing golden fruit. Or the beautiful old tale of Orpheus +was acted; these trees would follow the harp and song of the musician; +but--to make the whole part complete--it was no mere play, but real +earnest, that the Orpheus of the piece fell a prey to live bears. + +For the Coliseum had not been built for such harmless spectacles as +those first described. The fierce Romans wanted to be excited and feel +themselves strongly stirred; and, presently, the doors of the pits and +dens round the arena were thrown open, and absolutely savage beasts were +let loose upon one another--rhinoceroses and tigers, bulls and lions, +leopards and wild boars--while the people watched with savage curiosity +to see the various kinds of attack and defense; or, if the animals were +cowed or sullen, their rage would be worked up--red would be shown to +the bulls, white to boars, red-hot goads would be driven into some, +whips would be lashed at others, till the work of slaughter was fairly +commenced, and gazed on with greedy eyes and ears delighted, instead of +horror-struck, by the roars and howls of the noble creatures whose +courage was thus misused. Sometimes indeed, when some especially strong +or ferocious animal had slain a whole heap of victims, the cries of the +people would decree that it should be turned loose in its native forest, +and, amid shouts of 'A triumph! a triumph!' the beast would prowl round +the arena, upon the carcasses of the slain victims. Almost incredible +numbers of animals were imported for these cruel sports, and the +governors of distant provinces made it a duty to collect troops of +lions, elephants, ostriches, leopards--the fiercer or the newer the +creature the better--to be thus tortured to frenzy, to make sport in the +amphitheatre. However, there was daintiness joined with cruelty: the +Romans did not like the smell of blood, though they enjoyed the sight of +it, and all the solid stonework was pierced with tubes, through which +was conducted the stream of spices and saffron, boiled in wine, that the +perfume might overpower the scent of slaughter below. + +Wild beasts tearing each other to pieces might, one would think, satisfy +any taste of horror; but the spectators needed even nobler game to be +set before their favorite monsters--men were brought forward to confront +them. Some of these were at first in full armor, and fought hard, +generally with success; and there was a revolving machine, something +like a squirrel's cage, in which the bear was always climbing after his +enemy, and then rolling over by his own weight. Or hunters came, almost +unarmed, and gaining the victory by swiftness and dexterity, throwing a +piece of cloth over a lion's head, or disconcerting him by putting their +fist down his throat. But it was not only skill, but death, that the +Romans loved to see; and condemned criminals and deserters were reserved +to feast the lions, and to entertain the populace with their various +kinds of death. Among these condemned was many a Christian martyr, who +witnessed a good confession before the savage-eyed multitude around the +arena, and 'met the lion's gory mane' with a calm resolution and hopeful +joy that the lookers-on could not understand. To see a Christian die, +with upward gaze and hymns of joy on his tongue, was the most strange +unaccountable sight the Coliseum could offer, and it was therefore the +choicest, and reserved for the last part of the spectacles in which the +brute creation had a part. + +The carcasses were dragged off with hooks, and bloodstained sand was +covered with a fresh clean layer, the perfume wafted in stronger clouds, +and a procession came forward--tall, well-made men, in the prime of +their strength. Some carried a sword and a lasso, others a trident and a +net; some were in light armor, others in the full heavy equipment of a +soldier; some on horseback, some in chariots, some on foot. They marched +in, and made their obeisance to the Emperor; and with one voice, their +greeting sounded through the building, Ave, Caesar, morituri te +salutant! 'Hail, Caesar, those about to die salute thee!' + +They were the gladiators--the swordsmen trained to fight to the death to +amuse the populace. They were usually slaves placed in schools of arms +under the care of a master; but sometimes persons would voluntarily hire +themselves out to fight by way of a profession: and both these, and such +slave gladiators as did not die in the arena, would sometimes retire, +and spend an old age of quiet; but there was little hope of this, for +the Romans were not apt to have mercy on the fallen. + +Fights of all sorts took place--the light-armed soldier and the netsman +--the lasso and the javelin--the two heavy-armed warriors--all +combinations of single combat, and sometimes a general melee. When a +gladiator wounded his adversary, he shouted to the spectators, Hoc +habet! 'He has it!' and looked up to know whether he should kill or +spare. If the people held up their thumbs, the conquered was left to +recover, if he could; if they turned them down, he was to die: and if he +showed any reluctance to present his throat for the deathblow, there was +a scornful shout, Recipe ferrum! 'Receive the steel!' Many of us must +have seen casts of the most touching statue of the wounded man, that +called forth the noble lines of indignant pity which, though so often +repeated, cannot be passed over here: + + + 'I see before me the Gladiator lie; + He leans upon his hand--his manly brow + Consents to death, but conquers agony. + And his droop'd head sinks gradually low, + And through his side the last drops, ebbing slow + From the red gash, fall heavy one by one, + Like the first of a thunder shower; and now + The arena swims around him--he is gone + Ere ceased the inhuman shout which hailed the wretch who won. + + 'He heard it, but he heeded no--this eyes + Were with his heart, and that was far away. + He reck'd not of the life he lost, nor prize, + But where his rude hut by the Danube lay, + There were his young barbarians all at play, + There was their Dacian mother--he their sire, + Butcher'd to make a Roman holiday. + All this rush'd with his blood--Shall he expire, + And unavenged? Arise ye Goths and glut your ire.' + + +Sacred vestals, tender mothers, fat, good-humored senators, all thought +it fair play, and were equally pitiless in the strange frenzy for +exciting scenes to which they gave themselves up, when they mounted the +stone stairs of the Coliseum. Privileged persons would even descend into +the arena, examine the death agonies, and taste the blood of some +specially brave victim ere the corpse was drawn forth at the death gate, +that the frightful game might continue undisturbed and unencumbered. +Gladiator shows were the great passion of Rome, and popular favor could +hardly be gained except by ministering to it. Even when the barbarians +were beginning to close in on the Empire, hosts of brave men were still +kept for this slavish mimic warfare--sport to the beholders, but sad +earnest to the actors. + +Christianity worked its way upwards, and at least was professed by the +Emperor on his throne. Persecution came to an end, and no more martyrs +fed the beasts in the Coliseum. The Christian emperors endeavored to +prevent any more shows where cruelty and death formed the chief interest +and no truly religious person could endure the spectacle; but custom and +love of excitement prevailed even against the Emperor. Mere tricks of +beasts, horse and chariot races, or bloodless contests, were tame and +dull, according to the diseased taste of Rome; it was thought weak and +sentimental to object to looking on at a death scene; the Emperors were +generally absent at Constantinople, and no one could get elected to any +office unless he treated the citizens to such a show as they best liked, +with a little bloodshed and death to stir their feelings; and thus it +went on for full a hundred years after Rome had, in name, become a +Christian city, and the same custom prevailed wherever there was an +amphitheatre and pleasure-loving people. + +Meantime the enemies of Rome were coming nearer and nearer, and Alaric, +the great chief of the Goths, led his forces into Italy, and threatened +the city itself. Honorius, the Emperor, was a cowardly, almost +idiotical, boy; but his brave general, Stilicho, assembled his forces, +met the Goths at Pollentia (about twenty-five miles from where Turin now +stands), and gave them a complete defeat on the Easter Day of the year +403. He pursued them into the mountains, and for that time saved Rome. +In the joy of the victory the Roman senate invited the conqueror and his +ward Honorius to enter the city in triumph, at the opening of the new +year, with the white steeds, purple robes, and vermilion cheeks with +which, of old, victorious generals were welcomed at Rome. The churches +were visited instead of the Temple of Jupiter, and there was no murder +of the captives; but Roman bloodthirstiness was not yet allayed, and, +after all the procession had been completed, the Coliseum shows +commenced, innocently at first, with races on foot, on horseback, and in +chariots; then followed a grand hunting of beasts turned loose in the +arena; and next a sword dance. But after the sword dance came the +arraying of swordsmen, with no blunted weapons, but with sharp spears +and swords--a gladiator combat in full earnest. The people, enchanted, +applauded with shouts of ecstasy this gratification of their savage +tastes. Suddenly, however, there was an interruption. A rude, roughly +robed man, bareheaded and barefooted, had sprung into the arena, and, +signing back the gladiators, began to call aloud upon the people to +cease from the shedding of innocent blood, and not to requite God's +mercy in turning away the sword of the enemy by encouraging murder. +Shouts, howls, cries, broke in upon his words; this was no place for +preachings--the old customs of Rome should be observed 'Back, old man!' +'On, gladiators!' The gladiators thrust aside the meddler, and rushed to +the attack. He still stood between, holding them apart, striving in vain +to be heard. 'Sedition! Sedition!' 'Down with him!' was the cry; and the +man in authority, Alypius, the prefect, himself added his voice. The +gladiators, enraged at interference with their vocation, cut him down. +Stones, or whatever came to hand, rained down upon him from the furious +people, and he perished in the midst of the arena! He lay dead, and then +came the feeling of what had been done. + +His dress showed that he was one of the hermits who vowed themselves to +a holy life of prayer and self-denial, and who were greatly reverenced, +even by the most thoughtless. The few who had previously seen him, told +that he had come from the wilds of Asia on pilgrimage, to visit the +shrines and keep his Christmas at Rome--they knew he was a holy man--no +more, and it is not even certain whether his name was Alymachus or +Telemachus. His spirit had been stirred by the sight of thousands +flocking to see men slaughter one another, and in his simple-hearted +zeal he had resolved to stop the cruelty or die. He had died, but not in +vain. His work was done. The shock of such a death before their eyes +turned the hearts of the people; they saw the wickedness and cruelty to +which they had blindly surrendered themselves; and from the day when the +hermit died in the Coliseum there was never another fight of the +Gladiators. Not merely at Rome, but in every province of the Empire, the +custom was utterly abolished; and one habitual crime at least was wiped +from the earth by the self-devotion of one humble, obscure, almost +nameless man. + + + + +THE SHEPHERD GIRL OF NANTERRE + +A.D. 438 + + + +Four hundred years of the Roman dominion had entirely tamed the once +wild and independent Gauls. Everywhere, except in the moorlands of +Brittany, they had become as much like Romans themselves as they could +accomplish; they had Latin names, spoke the Latin tongue, all their +personages of higher rank were enrolled as Roman citizens, their chief +cities were colonies where the laws were administered by magistrates in +the Roman fashion, and the houses, dress, and amusements were the same +as those of Italy. The greater part of the towns had been converted to +Christianity, though some Paganism still lurked in the more remote +villages and mountainous districts. + +It was upon these civilized Gauls that the terrible attacks came from +the wild nations who poured out of the centre and east of Europe. The +Franks came over the Rhine and its dependent rivers, and made furious +attacks upon the peaceful plains, where the Gauls had long lived in +security, and reports were everywhere heard of villages harried by wild +horsemen, with short double-headed battleaxes, and a horrible short +pike, covered with iron and with several large hooks, like a gigantic +artificial minnow, and like it fastened to a long rope, so that the prey +which it had grappled might be pulled up to the owner. Walled cities +usually stopped them, but every farm or villa outside was stripped of +its valuables, set on fire, the cattle driven off, and the more healthy +inhabitants seized for slaves. + +It was during this state of things that a girl was born to a wealthy +peasant at the village now called Nanterre, about two miles from +Lutetia, which was already a prosperous city, though not as yet so +entirely the capital as it was destined to become under the name of +Paris. She was christened by an old Gallic name, probably Gwenfrewi, or +White Stream, in Latin Genovefa, but she is best known by the late +French form of Genevieve. When she was about seven years old, two +celebrated bishops passed through the village, Germanus, of Auxerre, and +Lupus, of Troyes, who had been invited to Britain to dispute the false +doctrine of Pelagius. All the inhabitants flocked into the church to see +them, pray with them, and receive their blessing; and here the sweet +childish devotion of Genevieve so struck Germanus, that he called her to +him, talked to her, made her sit beside him at the feast, gave her his +special blessing, and presented her with a copper medal with a cross +engraven upon it. From that time the little maiden always deemed herself +especially consecrated to the service of Heaven, but she still remained +at home, daily keeping her father's sheep, and spinning their wool as +she sat under the trees watching them, but always with a heart full of +prayer. + +After this St. Germanus proceeded to Britain, and there encouraged his +converts to meet the heathen Picts at Maes Garmon, in Flintshire, where +the exulting shout of the white-robed catechumens turned to flight the +wild superstitious savages of the north,--and the Hallelujah victory was +gained without a drop of bloodshed. He never lost sight of Genevieve, +the little maid whom he had so early distinguished for her piety. + +After she lost her parents she went to live with her godmother, and +continued the same simple habits, leading a life of sincere devotion and +strict self-denial, constant prayer, and much charity to her poorer +neighbors. + +In the year 451 the whole of Gaul was in the most dreadful state of +terror at the advance of Attila, the savage chief of the Huns, who came +from the banks of the Danube with a host of savages of hideous features, +scarred and disfigured to render them more frightful. The old enemies, +the Goths and the Franks, seemed like friends compared with these +formidable beings whose cruelties were said to be intolerable, and of +whom every exaggerated story was told that could add to the horrors of +the miserable people who lay in their path. Tidings came that this +'Scourge of God', as Attila called himself, had passed the Rhine, +destroyed Tongres and Metz, and was in full march for Paris. The whole +country was in the utmost terror. Everyone seized their most valuable +possessions, and would have fled; but Genevieve placed herself on the +only bridge across the Seine, and argued with them, assuring them in a +strain that was afterwards thought of as prophetic, that, if they would +pray, repent, and defend instead of abandoning their homes, God would +protect them. They were at first almost ready to stone her for thus +withstanding their panic, but just then a priest arrived from Auxerre, +with a present for Genevieve from St. Germanus, and they were thus +reminded of the high estimation in which he held her; they became +ashamed of their violence, and she held them back to pray and to arm +themselves. In a few days they heard that Attila had paused to besiege +Orleans, and that Aetius, the Roman general, hurrying from Italy, had +united his troops with those of the Goths and Franks, and given Attila +so terrible a defeat at Chalons that the Huns were fairly driven out of +Gaul. And here it must be mentioned that when the next year, 452, Attila +with his murderous host came down into Italy, and after horrible +devastation of all the northern provinces, came to the gates of Rome, no +one dared to meet him but one venerable Bishop, Leo, the Pope, who, when +his flock were in transports of despair, went forth only accompanied by +one magistrate to meet the invader, and endeavor to turn his wrath side. +The savage Huns were struck with awe by the fearless majesty of the +unarmed old man. They conducted him safely to Attila, who listened to +him with respect, and promised not to lead his people into Rome, +provided a tribute should be paid to him. He then retreated, and, to the +joy of all Europe, died on his way back to his native dominions. + +But with the Huns the danger and suffering of Europe did not end. The +happy state described in the Prophets as 'dwelling safely, with none to +make them afraid', was utterly unknown in Europe throughout the long +break-up of the Roman Empire; and in a few more years the Franks were +overrunning the banks of the Seine, and actually venturing to lay siege +to the Roman walls of Paris itself. The fortifications were strong +enough, but hunger began to do the work of the besiegers, and the +garrison, unwarlike and untrained, began to despair. But Genevieve's +courage and trust never failed; and finding no warriors willing to run +the risk of going beyond the walls to obtain food for the women and +children who were perishing around them, this brave shepherdess embarked +alone in a little boat, and guiding it down the stream, landed beyond +the Frankish camp, and repairing to the different Gallic cities, she +implored them to send succor to the famished brethren. She obtained +complete success. Probably the Franks had no means of obstructing the +passage of the river, so that a convoy of boats could easily penetrate +into the town, and at any rate they looked upon Genevieve as something +sacred and inspired whom they durst not touch; probably as one of the +battle maids in whom their own myths taught them to believe. One account +indeed says that, instead of going alone to obtain help, Genevieve +placed herself at the head of a forage party, and that the mere sight of +her inspired bearing caused them to be allowed to enter and return in +safety; but the boat version seems the more probable, since a single +boat on a broad river would more easily elude the enemy than a troop of +Gauls pass through their army. + +But a city where all the valor resided in one woman could not long hold +out, and in another inroad, when Genevieve was absent, Paris was +actually seized by the Franks. Their leader, Hilperik, was absolutely +afraid of what the mysteriously brave maiden might do to him, and +commanded the gates of the city to be carefully guarded lest she should +enter; but Geneviere learnt that some of the chief citizens were +imprisoned, and that Hilperik intended their death, and nothing could +withhold her from making an effort in their behalf. The Franks had made +up their minds to settle, and not to destroy. They were not burning and +slaying indiscriminately, but while despising the Romans, as they called +the Gauls, for their cowardice, they were in awe of the superior +civilization and the knowledge of arts. The country people had free +access to the city, and Genevieve in her homely gown and veil passed by +Hilperik's guards without being suspected of being more than an ordinary +Gaulish village maid; and thus she fearlessly made her way, even to the +old Roman halls, where the long-haired Hilperik was holding his wild +carousal. Would that we knew more of that interview--one of the most +striking that ever took place! We can only picture to ourselves the +Roman tessellated pavement bestrewn with wine, bones, and fragments of +the barbarous revelry. There were untamed Franks, their sun-burnt hair +tied up in a knot at the top of their heads, and falling down like a +horse's tail, their faces close shaven, except two moustaches, and +dressed in tight leather garments, with swords at their wide belts. Some +slept, some feasted, some greased their long locks, some shouted out +their favorite war songs around the table which was covered with the +spoils of churches, and at their heads sat the wild, long-haired +chieftain, who was a few years later driven away by his own followers +for his excesses, the whole scene was all that was abhorrent to a pure, +devout, and faithful nature, most full of terror to a woman. Yet, there, +in her strength, stood the peasant maiden, her heart full of trust and +pity, her looks full of the power that is given by fearlessness of them +that can kill the body. What she said we do not know--we only know that +the barbarous Hilperik was overawed; he trembled before the +expostulations of the brave woman, and granted all she asked--the safety +of his prisoners, and mercy to the terrified inhabitants. No wonder that +the people of Paris have ever since looked back to Genevieve as their +protectress, and that in after ages she has grown to be the patron saint +of the city. + +She lived to see the son of Hilperik, Chlodweh, or, as he was more +commonly called, Clovis, marry a Christian wife, Clotilda, and after a +time became a Christian. She saw the foundation of the Cathedral of +Notre-Dame, and of the two famous churches of St. Denys and of St. +Martin of Tours, and gave her full share to the first efforts for +bringing the rude and bloodthirsty conquerors to some knowledge of +Christian faith, mercy, and purity. After a life of constant prayer and +charity she died, three months after King Clovis, in the year 512, the +eighty-ninth of her age. [Footnote: Perhaps the exploits of the Maid of +Orleans were the most like those of Genevieve, but they are not here +added to our collection of 'Golden Deeds,' because the Maid's belief +that she was directly inspired removes them from the ordinary class. +Alas! the English did not treat her as Hilperik treated Genevieve. + + + + +LEO THE SLAVE + +A.D. 533 + + + +The Franks had fully gained possession of all the north of Gaul, except +Brittany. Chlodweh had made them Christians in name, but they still +remained horribly savage--and the life of the Gauls under them was +wretched. The Burgundians and Visigoths who had peopled the southern and +eastern provinces were far from being equally violent. They had entered +on their settlements on friendly terms, and even showed considerable +respect for the Roman-Gallic senators, magistrates, and higher clergy, +who all remained unmolested in their dignities and riches. Thus it was +that Gregory, Bishop of Langres, was a man of high rank and +consideration in the Burgundian kingdom, whence the Christian Queen +Clotilda had come; and even after the Burgundians had been subdued by +the four sons of Chlodweh, he continued a rich and prosperous man. + +After one of the many quarrels and reconciliations between these fierce +brethren, there was an exchange of hostages for the observance of the +terms of the treaty. These were not taken from among the Franks, who +were too proud to submit to captivity, but from among the Gaulish +nobles, a much more convenient arrangement to the Frankish kings, who +cared for the life of a 'Roman' infinitely less than even for the life +of a Frank. Thus many young men of senatorial families were exchanged +between the domains of Theodrik to the south, and of Hildebert to the +northward, and quartered among Frankish chiefs, with whom at first they +had nothing more to endure than the discomfort of living as guests with +such rude and coarse barbarians. But ere long fresh quarrels broke out +between Theodrik and Hildebert, and the unfortunate hostages were at +once turned into slaves. Some of them ran away if they were near the +frontier, but Bishop Gregory was in the utmost anxiety about his young +nephew Attalus, who had been last heard of as being placed under the +charge of a Frank who lived between Treves and Metz. The Bishop sent +emissaries to make secret enquiries, and they brought word that the +unfortunate youth had indeed been reduced to slavery, and was made to +keep his master's herds of horses. Upon this the uncle again sent off +his messengers with presents for the ransom of Attalus, but the Frank +rejected them, saying, 'One of such high race can only be redeemed for +ten pounds' weight of gold.' + +This was beyond the Bishop's means, and while he was considering how to +raise the sum, the slaves were all lamenting for their young lord, to +whom they were much attached, till one of them, named Leo, the cook to +the household, came to the Bishop, saying to him, 'If thou wilt give me +leave to go, I will deliver him from captivity.' The Bishop replied that +he gave free permission, and the slave set off for Treves, and there +watched anxiously for an opportunity of gaining access to Attalus; but +though the poor young man--no longer daintily dressed, bathed, and +perfumed, but ragged and squalid--might be seen following his herds of +horses, he was too well watched for any communication to be held with +him. Then Leo went to a person, probably of Gallic birth, and said, +'Come with me to this barbarian's house, and there sell me for a slave. +Thou shalt have the money, I only ask thee to help me thus far.' + +Both repaired to the Frank's abode, the chief among a confused +collection of clay and timber huts intended for shelter during eating +and sleeping. The Frank looked at the slave, and asked him what he could +do. + +'I can dress whatever is eaten at lordly tables,' replied Leo. 'I am +afraid of no rival; I only tell thee the truth when I say that if thou +wouldst give a feast to the king, I would send it up in the neatest +manner.' + +'Ha!' said the barbarian, 'the Sun's day is coming--I shall invite my +kinsmen and friends. Cook me such a dinner as may amaze them, and make +then say, 'We saw nothing better in the king's house.' +'Let me have plenty of poultry, and I will do according to my master's +bidding,' returned Leo. + +Accordingly, he was purchased for twelve gold pieces, and on the Sunday +(as Bishop Gregory of Tours, who tells the story, explains that the +barbarians called the Lord's day) he produced a banquet after the most +approved Roman fashion, much to the surprise and delight of the Franks, +who had never tasted such delicacies before, and complimented their host +upon them all the evening. Leo gradually became a great favorite, and +was placed in authority over the other slaves, to whom he gave out their +daily portions of broth and meat; but from the first he had not shown +any recognition of Attalus, and had signed to him that they must be +strangers to one another. A whole year had passed away in this manner, +when one day Leo wandered, as if for pastime, into the plain where +Attalus was watching the horses, and sitting down on the ground at some +paces off, and with his back towards his young master, so that they +might not be seen together, he said, 'This is the time for thoughts of +home! When thou hast led the horses to the stable to-night, sleep not. +Be ready at the first call!' + +That day the Frank lord was entertaining a large number of guests, among +them his daughter's husband, a jovial young man, given to jesting. On +going to rest he fancied he should be thirsty at night and called Leo to +set a pitcher of hydromel by his bedside. As the slave was setting it +down, the Frank looked slyly from under his eyelids, and said in joke, +'Tell me, my father-in-law's trusty man, wilt not thou some night take +one of those horses, and run away to thine own home?' + +'Please God, it is what I mean to do this very night,' answered the +Gaul, so undauntedly that the Frank took it as a jest, and answered, 'I +shall look out that thou dost not carry off anything of mine,' and then +Leo left him, both laughing. + +All were soon asleep, and the cook crept out to the stable, where +Attalus usually slept among the horses. He was broad awake now, and +ready to saddle the two swiftest; but he had no weapon except a small +lance, so Leo boldly went back to his master's sleeping hut, and took +down his sword and shield, but not without awaking him enough to ask who +was moving. 'It is I--Leo,' was the answer, 'I have been to call Attalus +to take out the horses early. He sleeps as hard as a drunkard.' The +Frank went to sleep again, quite satisfied, and Leo, carrying out the +weapons, soon made Attalus feel like a free man and a noble once more. +They passed unseen out of the enclosure, mounted their horses, and rode +along the great Roman road from Treves as far as the Meuse, but they +found the bridge guarded, and were obliged to wait till night, when they +cast their horses loose and swam the river, supporting themselves on +boards that they found on the bank. They had as yet had no food since +the supper at their master's, and were thankful to find a plum tree in +the wood, with fruit, to refresh them in some degree, before they lay +down for the night. The next morning they went on in the direction of +Rheims, carefully listening whether there were any sounds behind, until, +on the broad hard-paved causeway, they actually heard the trampling of +horses. Happily a bush was near, behind which they crept, with their +naked swords before them, and here the riders actually halted for a few +moments to arrange their harness. Men and horses were both those they +feared, and they trembled at hearing one say, 'Woe is me that those +rogues have made off, and have not been caught! On my salvation, if I +catch them, I will have one hung and the other chopped into bits!' It +was no small comfort to hear the trot of the horses resumed, and soon +dying away in the distance. That same night the two faint, hungry, weary +travelers, footsore and exhausted, came stumbling into Rheims, looking +about for some person still awake to tell them the way to the house of +the Priest Paul, a friend of Attalus' uncle. They found it just as the +church bell was ringing for matins, a sound that must have seemed very +like home to these members of an episcopal household. They knocked, and +in the morning twilight met the Priest going to his earliest Sunday +morning service. + +Leo told his young master's name, and how they had escaped, and the +Priest's first exclamation was a strange one: 'My dream is true. This +very night I saw two doves, one white and one black, who came and +perched on my hand.' + +The good man was overjoyed, but he scrupled to give them any food, as it +was contrary to the Church's rules for the fast to be broken before +mass; but the travelers were half dead with hunger, and could only say, +'The good Lord pardon us, for, saving the respect due to His day, we +must eat something, since this is the forth day since we have touched +bread or meat.' The Priest upon this gave them some bread and wine, and +after hiding them carefully, went to church, hoping to avert suspicion; +but their master was already at Rheims, making strict search for them, +and learning that Paul the Priest was a friend of the Bishop of Langres, +he went to church, and there questioned him closely. But the Priest +succeeded in guarding his secret, and though he incurred much danger, as +the Salic law was very severe against concealers of runaway slaves, he +kept Attalus and Leo for two days till the search was blown over, and +their strength was restored, so that they could proceed to Langres. +There they were welcomed like men risen from the dead; the Bishop wept +on the neck of Attalus, and was ready to receive Leo as a slave no more, +but a friend and deliverer. + +A few days after Leo was solemnly led to the church. Every door was set +open as a sign that he might henceforth go whithersoever he would. +Bishop Gregorus took him by the hand, and, standing before the +Archdeacon, declared that for the sake of the good services rendered by +his slave, Leo, he set him free, and created him a Roman citizen. + +Then the Archdeacon read a writing of manumission. 'Whatever is done +according to the Roman law is irrevocable. According to the constitution +of the Emperor Constantine, of happy memory, and the edict that declares +that whosoever is manumitted in church, in the presence of the bishops, +priests, and deacons, shall become a Roman citizen under the protection +of the Church: from this day Leo becomes a member of the city, free to +go and come where he will as if he had been born of free parents. From +this day forward, he is exempt from all subjection of servitude, of all +duty of a freed-man, all bond of client-ship. He is and shall be free, +with full and entire freedom, and shall never cease to belong to the +body of Roman citizens.' + +At the same time Leo was endowed with lands, which raised him to the +rank of what the Franks called a Roman proprietor--the highest reward in +the Bishop's power for the faithful devotion that had incurred such +dangers in order to rescue the young Attalus from his miserable bondage. + +Somewhat of the same kind of faithfulness was shown early in the +nineteenth century by Ivan Simonoff, a soldier servant belonging to +Major Kascambo, an officer in the Russian army, who was made prisoner by +one of the wild tribes of the Caucasus. But though the soldier's +attachment to his master was quite as brave and disinterested as that of +the Gallic slave, yet he was far from being equally blameless in the +means he employed, and if his were a golden deed at all, it was mixed +with much of iron. + +Major Kascambo, with a guard of fifty Cossacks, was going to take the +command of the Russian outpost of Lars, one of the forts by which the +Russian Czars have slowly been carrying on the aggressive warfare that +has nearly absorbed into their vast dominions all the mountains between +the Caspian and Black seas. On his way he was set upon by seven hundred +horsemen of the savage and independent tribe of Tchetchenges. There was +a sharp fight, more than half his men were killed, and he with the rest +made a rampart of the carcasses of their horses, over which they were +about to fire their last shots, when the Tchetchenges made a Russian +deserter call out to the Cossacks that they would let them all escape +provided they would give up their officer. Kascambo on this came forward +and delivered himself into their hands; while the remainder of the +troops galloped off. His servant, Ivan, with a mule carrying his +baggage, had been hidden in a ravine, and now, instead of retreating +with the Cossacks, came to join his master. All the baggage was, +however, instantly seized and divided among the Tchetchenges; nothing +was left but a guitar, which they threw scornfully to the Major. He +would have let it lie, but Ivan picked it up, and insisted on keeping +it. 'Why be dispirited?' he said; 'the God of the Russians is great, it +is the interest of the robbers to save you, they will do you no harm.' + +Scouts brought word that the Russian outposts were alarmed, and that +troops were assembling to rescue the officer. Upon this the seven +hundred broke up into small parties, leaving only ten men on foot to +conduct the prisoners, whom they forced to take off their iron-shod +boots and walk barefoot over stones and thorns, till the Major was so +exhausted that they were obliged to drag him by cords fastened to his +belt. + +After a terrible journey, the prisoners were placed in a remote village, +where the Major had heavy chains fastened to his hands and feet, and +another to his neck, with a huge block of oak as a clog at the other +end; they half-starved him, and made him sleep on the bare ground of the +hut in which he lodged. The hut belonged to a huge, fierce old man of +sixty named Ibrahim, whose son had been killed in a skirmish with the +Russians. This man, together with his son's widow, were continually +trying to revenge themselves on their captive. The only person who +showed him any kindness was his little grandson, a child of seven years +old, called Mamet, who often caressed him, and brought him food by +stealth. Ivan was also in the same hut, but less heavily ironed than his +master, and able to attempt a few alleviations for his wretched +condition. An interpreter brought the Major a sheet of paper and a reed +pen, and commanded him to write to his friends that he might be ransomed +for 10,000 roubles, but that, if the whole sum were not paid, he would +be put to death. He obeyed, but he knew that his friends could not +possibly raise such a sum, and his only hope was in the government, +which had once ransomed a colonel who had fallen into the hands of the +same tribe. + +These Tchetchenges professed to be Mahometans, but their religion sat +very loose upon them, and they were utter barbarians. One piece of +respect they paid the Major's superior education was curious--they made +him judge in all the disputes that arose. The houses in the village were +hollowed out underground, and the walls only raised three or four feet, +and then covered by a flat roof, formed of beaten clay, where the +inhabitants spent much of their time. Kascambo was every now and then +brought, in all his chains, to the roof of the hut, which served as a +tribunal whence he was expected to dispense justice. For instance, a man +had commissioned his neighbour to pay five roubles to a person in +another valley, but the messenger's horse having died by the way, a +claim was set up to the roubles to make up for it. Both parties +collected all their friends, and a bloody quarrel was about to take +place, when they agreed to refer the question to the prisoner, who was +accordingly set upon his judgment seat. + +'Pray,' said he, 'if, instead of giving you five roubles, your comrade +had desired you to carry his greetings to his creditor, would not your +horse have died all the same?' + +'Most likely.' + +'Then what should you have done with the greetings? Should you have kept +them in compensation? My sentence is that you should give back the +roubles, and that your comrade gives you a greeting.' + +The whole assembly approved the decision, and the man only grumbled out, +as he gave back the money, 'I knew I should lose it, if that dog of a +Christian meddled with it.' + +All this respect, however, did not avail to procure any better usage for +the unfortunate judge, whose health was suffering severely under his +privations. Ivan, however, had recommended himself in the same way as +Leo, by his perfections as a cook, and moreover he was a capital +buffoon. His fetters were sometimes taken off that he might divert the +villagers by his dances and strange antics while his master played the +guitar. Sometimes they sang Russian songs together to the instrument, +and on these occasions the Major's hands were released that he might +play on it; but one day he was unfortunately heard playing in his chains +for his own amusement, and from that time he was never released from his +fetters. + +In the course of a year, three urgent letters had been sent; but no +notice was taken of them, and Ivan began to despair of aid from home, +and set himself to work. His first step was to profess himself a +Mahometan. He durst not tell his master till the deed was done, and then +Kascambo was infinitely shocked; but the act did not procure Ivan so +much freedom as he had hoped. He was, indeed, no longer in chains, but +he was evidently distrusted, and was so closely watched, that the only +way in which he could communicate with his master was when they were set +to sing together, when they chanted out question and answer in Russ, +unsuspected, to the tune of their national airs. He was taken on an +expedition against the Russians, and very nearly killed by the +suspicious Tchetchenges on one side, and by the Cossacks on the other, +as a deserter. He saved a young man of the tribe from drowning; but +though he thus earned the friendship of the family, the rest of the +villagers hated and dreaded him all the more, since he had not been able +to help proving himself a man of courage, instead of the feeble buffoon +he had tried to appear. + +Three months after this expedition, another took place; but Ivan was not +allowed even to know of it. He saw preparations making, but nothing was +said to him; only one morning he found the village entirely deserted by +all the young men, and as he wandered round it, the aged ones would not +speak to him. A child told him that his father had meant to kill him, +and on the roof of her house stood the sister of the man he had saved, +making signals of great terror, and pointing towards Russia. Home he +went and found that, besides old Ibrahim, his master was watched by a +warrior, who had been prevented by an intermitting fever from joining +the expedition. He was convinced that if the tribe returned +unsuccessful, the murder of both himself and his master was certain; but +he resolved not to fly alone, and as he busied himself in preparing the +meal, he sung the burden of a Russian ballad, intermingled with words of +encouragement for his master: + + +The time is come; + Hai Luli! +The time is come, + Hai Luli! +Our woe is at an end, + Hai Luli! +Or we die at once! + Hai Luli! +To-morrow, to-morrow, + Hai Luli! +We are off for a town, + Hai Luli! +For a fine, fine town, + Hai Luli! +But I name no names, + Hai Luli! +Courage, courage, master dear, + Hai Luli! +Never, never, despair, + Hai Luli! +For the God of the Russians is great, + Hai Luli! + + +Poor Kascambo, broken down, sick, and despairing, only muttered, 'Do as +you please, only hold your peace!' + +Ivan's cookery incited the additional guard to eat so much supper, that +he brought on a severe attack of his fever, and was obliged to go home; +but old Ibrahim, instead of going to bed, sat down on a log of wood +opposite the prisoner, and seemed resolved to watch him all night. The +woman and child went to bed in the inner room, and Ivan signed to his +master to take the guitar, and began to dance. The old man's axe was in +an open cupboard at the other end of the room, and after many gambols +and contortions, during which the Major could hardly control his fingers +to touch the strings, Ivan succeeded in laying his hands upon it, just +when the old man was bending over the fire to mend it. Then, as Ibrahim +desired that the music should cease, he cut him down with a single blow, +on his own hearth. And the daughter-in-law coming out to see what had +happened, he slew her with the same weapon. And then, alas! in spite of +the commands, entreaties, and cries of his master, he dashed into the +inner room, and killed the sleeping child, lest it should give the +alarm. Kascambo, utterly helpless to save, fell almost fainting upon the +bloody floor, and did not cease to reproach Ivan, who was searching the +old man's pockets for the key of the fetters, but it was not there, nor +anywhere else in the hut, and the irons were so heavy that escape was +impossible in them. Ivan at last knocked off the clog and the chains on +the wrist with the axe, but he could not break the chains round the +legs, and could only fasten them as close as he could to hinder them +clanking. Then securing all the provisions he could carry, and putting +his master into his military cloak, obtaining also a pistol and dagger, +they crept out, but not on the direct road. It was February, and the +ground was covered with snow. All night they walked easily, but at noon +the sun so softened it that they sank in at every step, and the Major's +chains rendered each motion terrible labour. It was only on the second +night that Ivan, with his axe, succeeded in breaking through the +fastenings, and by that time the Major's legs were so swollen and +stiffened that he could not move without extreme pain. However, he was +dragged on through the wild mountain paths, and then over the plains for +several days more, till they were on the confines of another tribe of +Tchetchenges, who were overawed by Russia, and in a sort of unwilling +alliance. Here, however, a sharp storm, and a fall into the water, +completely finished Kascambo's strength, and he sank down on the snow, +telling Ivan to go home and explain his fate, and give his last message +to his mother. + +'If you perish here,' said Ivan, 'trust me, neither your mother nor mine +will ever see me again.' + +He covered his master with his cloak, gave him the pistol, and walked on +to a hut, where he found a Tchetchenge man, and told him that here was a +means of obtaining two hundred roubles. He had only to shelter the major +as a guest for three days, whilst Ivan himself went on to Mosdok, to +procure the money, and bring back help for his master. The man was full +of suspicion, but Ivan prevailed, and Kascambo was carried into the +village nearly dying, and was very ill all the time of his servant's +absence. Ivan set off for the nearest Russian station, where he found +some of the Cossacks who had been present when the major was taken. All +eagerly subscribed to raise the two hundred roubles, but the Colonel +would not let Ivan go back alone, as he had engaged to do, and sent a +guard of Cossacks. This had nearly been fatal to the Major, for as soon +as his host saw the lances, he suspected treachery, and dragging his +poor sick guest to the roof of the house, he tied him up to a stake, and +stood over him with a pistol, shouting to Ivan, 'If you come nearer, I +shall blow his brains out, and I have fifty cartridges more for my +enemies, and the traitor who leads them.' + +'No traitor!' cried Ivan. 'Here are the roubles. I have kept my word!' + +'Let the Cossacks go back, or I shall fire.' + +Kascambo himself begged the officer to retire, and Ivan went back with +the detachment, and returned alone. Even then the suspicious host made +him count out the roubles at a hundred paces from the house, and at once +ordered him out of sight; but then went up to the roof, and asked the +Major's pardon for all this rough usage. + +'I shall only recollect that you were my host, and kept your word,' said +Kascambo. + +In a few hours more, Kascambo was in safety among his brother officers. +Ivan was made a non-commissioned officer, and some months after was seen +by the traveler who told the story, whistling the air of Hai Luli at his +former master's wedding feast. He was even then scarcely twenty years +old, and peculiarly quiet and soft in manners. + + + + +THE BATTLE OF THE BLACKWATER + +991 + + + +In the evil days of King Ethelred the Unready, when the teaching of good +King Alfred was fast fading away from the minds of his descendants, and +self-indulgence was ruining the bold and hardy habits of the English, +the fleet was allowed to fall into decay, and Danish ships again +ventured to appear on the English coasts. + +The first Northmen who had ravaged England came eager for blood and +plunder, and hating the sight of a Christian church as an insult to +their gods, Thor and Odin; but the lapse of a hundred years had in some +degree changed the temper of the North; and though almost every young +man thought it due to his fame to have sailed forth as a sea rover, yet +the attacks of these marauders might be bought off, and provided they +had treasure to show for their voyage, they were willing to spare the +lives and lands of the people of the coasts they visited. + +King Ethelred and his cowardly, selfish Court were well satisfied with +this expedient, and the tax called Danegeld was laid upon the people, in +order to raise a fund for buying off the enemy. But there were still in +England men of bolder and truer hearts, who held that bribery was false +policy, merely inviting the enemy to come again and again, and that the +only wise course would be in driving them back by English valor, and +keeping the fleet in a condition to repel the 'Long Serpent' ships +before the foe could set foot upon the coast. + +Among those who held this opinion was Brythnoth, Earl of Essex. He was +of partly Danish descent himself, but had become a thorough Englishman, +and had long and faithfully served the King and his father. He was a +friend to the clergy, a founder of churches and convents, and his manor +house of Hadleigh was a home of hospitality and charity. It would +probably be a sort of huge farmyard, full of great barn-like buildings +and sheds, all one story high; some of them serving for storehouses, and +others for living-rooms and places of entertainment for his numerous +servants and retainers, and for the guests of all degrees who gathered +round him as the chief dispenser of justice in his East-Saxon earldom. +When he heard the advice given and accepted that the Danes should be +bribed, instead of being fought with, he made up his mind that he, at +least, would try to raise up a nobler spirit, and, at the sacrifice of +his own life, would show the effect of making a manful stand against +them. + +He made his will, and placed it in the hands of the Archbishop of +Canterbury; and then, retiring to Hadleigh, he provided horses and arms, +and caused all the young men in his earldom to be trained in warlike +exercises, according to the good old English law, that every man should +be provided with weapons and know the use of them. + +The Danes sailed forth, in the year 991, with ninety-three vessels, the +terrible 'Long Serpents', carved with snakes' heads at the prow, and the +stern finished as the gilded tail of the reptile; and many a lesser +ship, meant for carrying plunder. The Sea King, Olaf (or Anlaff), was +the leader; and as tidings came that their sails had been seen upon the +North Sea, more earnest than ever rang out the petition in the Litany, +'From the fury of the Northmen, good Lord, deliver us'. + +Sandwich and Ipswich made no defense, and were plundered; and the fleet +then sailed into the mouth of the River Blackwater, as far as Maldon, +where the ravagers landed, and began to collect spoil. When, however, +they came back to their ships, they found that the tide would not yet +serve them to re-embark; and upon the farther bank of the river bristled +the spears of a body of warriors, drawn up in battle array, but in +numbers far inferior to their own. + +Anlaff sent a messenger, over the wooden bridge that crossed the river, +to the Earl, who, he understood, commanded this small army. The brave +old man, his grey hair hanging down beneath his helmet, stood, sword in +hand, at the head of his warriors. + +'Lord Earl,' said the messenger, 'I come to bid thee to yield to us thy +treasure, for thy safety. Buy off the fight, and we will ratify a peace +with gold.' + +'Hear, O thou sailor!' was Brythnoth's answer, 'the reply of this +people. Instead of Danegeld, thou shalt have from them the edge of the +sword, and the point of the spear. Here stands an English Earl, who will +defend his earldom and the lands of his King. Point and edge shall judge +between us.' + +Back went the Dane with his message to Anlaff, and the fight began +around the bridge, where the Danes long strove to force their way +across, but were always driven back by the gallant East-Saxons. The tide +had risen, and for some time the two armies only shot at one another +with bows and arrows; but when it ebbed, leaving the salt-marches dry, +the stout old Earl's love of fair play overpowered his prudence, and he +sent to offer the enemy a free passage, and an open field in which to +measure their strength. + +The numbers were too unequal; but the battle was long and bloody before +the English could be overpowered. Brythnoth slew one of the chief Danish +leaders with his own hand, but not without receiving a wound. He was +still able to fight on, though with ebbing strength and failing numbers. +His hand was pierced by a dart; but a young boy at his side instantly +withdrew it, and, launching it back again, slew the foe who had aimed +it. Another Dane, seeing the Earl faint and sinking, advanced to plunder +him of his ring and jeweled weapons; but he still had strength to lay +the spoiler low with his battleaxe. This was his last blow; he gathered +his strength for one last cheer to his brave men, and then, sinking on +the ground, he looked up to heaven, exclaiming: 'I thank thee, Lord of +nations, for all the joys I have known on earth. Now, O mild Creator! +have I the utmost need that Thou shouldst grant grace unto my soul, that +my spirit may speed to Thee with peace, O King of angels! to pass into +thy keeping. I sue to Thee that Thou suffer not the rebel spirits of +hell to vex my parting soul!' + +With these words he died; but an aged follower, of like spirit, stood +over his corpse, and exhorted his fellows. 'Our spirit shall be the +hardier, and our soul the greater, the fewer our numbers become!' he +cried. 'Here lies our chief, the brave, the good, the much-loved lord, +who has blessed us with many a gift. Old as I am, I will not yield, but +avenge his death, or lay me at his side. Shame befall him that thinks to +fly from such a field as this!' + +Nor did the English warriors fly. Night came down, at last, upon the +battlefield, and saved the lives of the few survivors; but they were +forced to leave the body of their lord, and the Danes bore away with +them his head as a trophy, and with it, alas! ten thousand pounds of +silver from the King, who, in his sluggishness and weakness had left +Brythnoth to fight and die unaided for the cause of the whole nation. +One of the retainers, a minstrel in the happy old days of Hadleigh, who +had done his part manfully in the battle, had heard these last goodly +sayings of his master, and, living on to peaceful days, loved to +rehearse them to the sound of his harp, and dwell on the glories of one +who could die, but not be defeated. + +Ere those better days had come, another faithful-hearted Englishman had +given his life for his people. In the year 1012, a huge army, called +from their leader, 'Thorkill's Host', were overrunning Kent, and +besieging Canterbury. The Archbishop Aelfeg was earnestly entreated to +leave the city while yet there was time to escape; but he replied, 'None +but a hireling would leave his flock in time of danger;' and he +supported the resolution of the inhabitants, so that they held out the +city for twenty days; and as the wild Danes had very little chance +against a well-walled town, they would probably have saved it, had not +the gates been secretly opened to them by the traitorous Abbot Aelfman, +whom Aelfeg had once himself saved, when accused of treason before the +King. + +The Danes slaughtered all whom they found in the streets, and the +Archbishop's friends tried to keep him in the church, lest he should run +upon his fate; but he broke from them, and, confronting the enemy, +cried: 'Spare the guiltless! Is there glory in shedding such blood? Turn +your wrath on me! It is I who have denounced your cruelty, have ransomed +and re-clad your captive.' The Danes seized upon him, and, after he had +seen his cathedral burnt and his clergy slain, they threw him into a +dungeon, whence he was told he could only come forth upon the payment of +a heavy ransom. + +His flock loved him, and would have striven to raise the sum; but, +miserably used as they were by the enemy, and stripped by the exactions +of the Danes, he would not consent that they should be asked for a +further contribution on his account. After seven months' patience in his +captivity, the Danish chiefs, who were then at Greenwich desired him to +be brought into their camp, where they had just been holding a great +feast. It was Easter Eve, and the quiet of that day of calm waiting was +disturbed with their songs, and shouts of drunken revelry, as the +chained Archbishop was led to the open space where the warriors sat and +lay amid the remains of their rude repast. The leader then told him that +they had agreed to let him off for his own share with a much smaller +payment than had been demanded, provided he would obtain a largesse for +them from the King, his master. + +'I am not the man,' he answered, 'to provide Christian flesh for Pagan +wolves;' and when again they repeated the demand, 'Gold I have none to +offer you, save the true wisdom of the knowledge of the living God.' And +he began, as he stood in the midst, to 'reason to them of righteousness, +temperance, and judgment to come.' + +They were mad with rage and drink. The old man's voice was drowned with +shouts of 'Gold, Bishop--give us gold!' The bones and cups that lay +around were hurled at him, and he fell to the ground, with the cry, 'O +Chief Shepherd, guard Thine own children!' As he partly raised himself, +axes were thrown at him; and, at last, a Dane, who had begun to love and +listen to him in his captivity, deemed it mercy to give him a deathblow +with an axe. The English maintained that Aelfeg had died to save his +flock from cruel extortion, and held him as a saint and martyr, keeping +his death day (the 19th of April) as a holiday; and when the Italian +Archbishop of Canterbury (Lanfranc) disputed his right to be so +esteemed, there was strong opposition and discontent. Indeed, our own +Prayer Book still retains his name, under the altered form of St. +Alphege; and surely no one better merits to be remembered, for having +loved his people far better than himself. + + + + +GUZMAN EL BUENO + +1293 + + + +In the early times of Spanish history, before the Moors had been +expelled from the peninsula, or the blight of Western gold had enervated +the nation, the old honor and loyalty of the Gothic race were high and +pure, fostered by constant combats with a generous enemy. The Spanish +Arabs were indeed the flower of the Mahometan races, endowed with the +vigor and honor of the desert tribes, yet capable of culture and +civilization, excelling all other nations of their time in science and +art, and almost the equals of their Christian foes in the attributes of +chivalry. Wars with them were a constant crusade, consecrated in the +minds of the Spaniards as being in the cause of religion, and yet in +some degree freed from savagery and cruelty by the respect exacted by +the honorable character of the enemy, and by the fact that the +civilization and learning of the Christian kingdoms were far more +derived from the Moors than from the kindred nations of Europe. + +By the close of the thirteenth century, the Christian kingdoms of +Castille and Aragon were descending from their mountain fastnesses, and +spreading over the lovely plains of the south, even to the Mediterranean +coast, as one beautiful Moorish city after another yielded to the +persevering advances of the children of the Goths; and in 1291 the +nephew of our own beloved Eleanor of Castille, Sancho V. called El +Bravo, ventured to invest the city of Tarifa. + +This was the western buttress of the gate of the Mediterranean, the base +of the northern Pillar of Hercules, and esteemed one of the gates of +Spain. By it five hundred years previously had the Moorish enemy first +entered Spain at the summons of Count Julian, under their leader Tarif- +abu-Zearah, whose name was bestowed upon it in remembrance of his +landing there. The form of the ground is said to be like a broken punch +bowl, with the broken part towards the sea. The Moors had fortified the +city with a surrounding wall and twenty-six towers, and had built a +castle with a lighthouse on a small adjacent island, called Isla Verde, +which they had connected with the city by a causeway. Their +fortifications, always admirable, have existed ever since, and in 1811, +another five hundred years after, were successfully defended against the +French by a small force of British troops under the command of Colonel +Hugh Gough, better known in his old age as the victor of Aliwal. The +walls were then unable to support the weight of artillery, for which of +course they had never been built, but were perfectly effective against +escalade. + +For six months King Sancho besieged Tarifa by land and sea, his fleet, +hired from the Genoese, lying in the waters where the battle of +Trafalgar was to be fought. The city at length yielded under stress of +famine, but the King feared that he had no resources to enable him to +keep it, and intended to dismantle and forsake it, when the Grand Master +of the military order of Calatrava offered to undertake the defense with +his knights for one year, hoping that some other noble would come +forward at the end of that time and take the charge upon himself. + +He was not mistaken. The noble who made himself responsible for this +post of danger was a Leonese knight of high distinction, by name Alonso +Perez de Guzman, already called El Bueno, or 'The Good', from the high +qualities he had manifested in the service of the late King, Don Alonso +VI, by whom he had always stood when the present King, Don Sancho, was +in rebellion. The offer was readily accepted, and the whole Guzman +family removed to Tarifa, with the exception of the eldest son, who was +in the train of the Infant Don Juan, the second son of the late King, +who had always taken part with his father against his brother, and on +Sancho's accession, continued his enmity, and fled to Portugal. + +The King of Portugal, however, being requested by Sancho not to permit +him to remain there, he proceeded to offer his services to the King of +Morocco, Yusuf-ben-Yacoub, for whom he undertook to recover Tarifa, if +5,000 horse were granted to him for the purpose. The force would have +been most disproportionate for the attack of such a city as Tarifa, but +Don Juan reckoned on means that he had already found efficacious; when +he had obtained the surrender of Zamora to his father by threatening to +put to death a child of the lady in command of the fortress. + +Therefore, after summoning Tarifa at the head of his 5,000 Moors, he led +forth before the gates the boy who had been confided to his care, and +declared that unless the city were yielded instantly, Guzman should +behold the death of his own son at his hand! Before, he had had to deal +with a weak woman on a question of divided allegiance. It was otherwise +here. The point was whether the city should be made over to the enemies +of the faith and country, whether the plighted word of a loyal knight +should be broken. The boy was held in the grasp of the cruel prince, +stretching out his hands and weeping as he saw his father upon the +walls. Don Alonso's eyes, we are told, filled with tears as he cast one +long, last look at his first-born, whom he might not save except at the +expense of his truth and honor. + +The struggle was bitter, but he broke forth at last in these words: 'I +did not beget a son to be made use of against my country, but that he +should serve her against her foes. Should Don Juan put him to death, he +will but confer honor on me, true life on my son, and on himself eternal +shame in this world and everlasting wrath after death. So far am I from +yielding this place or betraying my trust, that in case he should want a +weapon for his cruel purpose, there goes my knife!' + +He cast the knife in his belt over the walls, and returned to the Castle +where, commanding his countenance, he sat down to table with his wife. +Loud shouts of horror and dismay almost instantly called him forth +again. He was told that Don Juan had been seen to cut the boy's throat +in a transport of blind rage. 'I thought the enemy had broken in,' he +calmly said, and went back again. + +The Moors themselves were horrorstruck at the atrocity of their ally, +and as the siege was hopeless they gave it up; and Don Juan, afraid and +ashamed to return to Morocco, wandered to the Court of Granada. + +King Sancho was lying sick at Alcala de Henares when the tidings of the +price of Guzman's fidelity reached him. Touched to the depths of his +heart he wrote a letter to his faithful subject, comparing his sacrifice +to that of Abraham, confirming to him the surname of Good, lamenting his +own inability to come and offer his thanks and regrets, but entreating +Guzman's presence at Alcala. + +All the way thither, the people thronged to see the man true to his word +at such a fearful cost. The Court was sent out to meet him, and the +King, after embracing him, exclaimed, 'Here learn, ye knights, what are +exploits of virtue. Behold your model.' + +Lands and honors were heaped upon Alonso de Guzman, and they were not a +mockery of his loss, for he had other sons to inherit them. He was the +staunch friend of Sancho's widow and son in a long and perilous +minority, and died full of years and honors. The lands granted to him +were those of Medina Sidonia which lie between the Rivers Guadiana and +Guadalquivir, and they have ever since been held by his descendants, who +still bear the honored name of Guzman, witnessing that the man who gave +the life of his first-born rather than break his faith to the King has +left a posterity as noble and enduring as any family in Europe. + + + + +FAITHFUL TILL DEATH + +1308 + + + +One of the ladies most admired by the ancient Romans was Arria, the wife +of Caecina Paetus, a Roman who was condemned by the Emperor Claudius to +become his own executioner. Seeing him waver, his wife, who was resolved +to be with him in death as in life, took the dagger from his hand, +plunged it into her own breast, and with her last strength held it out +to him, gasping out, 'It is not painful, my Paetus.' + +Such was heathen faithfulness even to death; and where the teaching of +Christianity had not forbidden the taking away of life by one's own +hand, perhaps wifely love could not go higher. Yet Christian women have +endured a yet more fearful ordeal to their tender affection, watching, +supporting, and finding unfailing fortitude to uphold the sufferer in +agonies that must have rent their hearts. + +Natalia was the fair young wife of Adrian, an officer at Nicomedia, in +the guards of the Emperor Galerius Maximianus, and only about twenty- +eight years old. Natalia was a Christian, but her husband remained a +pagan, until, when he was charged with the execution of some martyrs, +their constancy, coupled with the testimony of his own wife's virtues, +triumphed over his unbelief, and he confessed himself likewise a +Christian. He was thrown into prison, and sentenced to death, but he +prevailed on his gaoler to permit him to leave the dungeon for a time, +that he might see his wife. The report came to Natalia that he was no +longer in prison, and she threw herself on the ground, lamenting aloud: +'Now will men point at me, and say, 'Behold the wife of the coward and +apostate, who, for fear of death, hath denied his God.' + +'Oh, thou noble and strong-hearted woman,' said Adrian's voice at the +door, 'I bless God that I am not unworthy of thee. Open the door that I +may bid thee farewell.' + +But this was not the last farewell, though he duly went back to the +prison; for when, the next day, he had been cruelly scourged and +tortured before the tribunal, Natalia, with her hair cut short, and +wearing the disguise of a youth, was there to tend and comfort him. She +took him in her arms saying, 'Oh, light of mine eyes, and husband of +mine heart, blessed art thou, who art chosen to suffer for Christ's +sake.' + +On the following day, the tyrant ordered that Adrian's limbs should be +one by one struck off on a blacksmith's anvil, and lastly his head. And +still it was his wife who held him and sustained him through all and, +ere the last stroke of the executioner, had received his last breath. +She took up one of the severed hands, kissed it, and placed it in her +bosom, and escaping to Byzantium, there spent her life in widowhood. + +Nor among these devoted wives should we pass by Gertrude, the wife of +Rudolf, Baron von der Wart, a Swabian nobleman, who was so ill-advised +as to join in a conspiracy of Johann of Hapsburg, in 1308, against the +Emperor, Albrecht I, the son of the great and good Rudolf of Hapsburg. + +This Johann was the son of the Emperor's brother Rudolf, a brave knight +who had died young, and Johann had been brought up by a Baron called +Walther von Eschenbach, until, at nineteen years old, he went to his +uncle to demand his father's inheritance. Albrecht was a rude and +uncouth man, and refused disdainfully the demand, whereupon the noblemen +of the disputed territory stirred up the young prince to form a plot +against him, all having evidently different views of the lengths to +which they would proceed. This was just at the time that the Swiss, +angry at the overweening and oppressive behaviour of Albrecht's +governors, were first taking up arms to maintain that they owed no duty +to him as Duke of Austria, but merely as Emperor of Germany. He set out +on his way to chastise them as rebels, taking with him a considerable +train, of whom his nephew Johann was one. At Baden, Johann, as a last +experiment, again applied for his inheritance, but by way of answer, +Albrecht held out a wreath of flowers, telling him they better became +his years than did the cares of government. He burst into tears, threw +the wreath upon the ground, and fed his mind upon the savage purpose of +letting his uncle find out what he was fit for. + +By and by, the party came to the banks of the Reuss, where there was no +bridge, and only one single boat to carry the whole across. The first to +cross were the Emperor with one attendant, besides his nephew and four +of the secret partisans of Johann. Albrecht's son Leopold was left to +follow with the rest of the suite, and the Emperor rode on towards the +hills of his home, towards the Castle of Hapsburg, where his father's +noble qualities had earned the reputation which was the cause of all the +greatness of the line. Suddenly his nephew rode up to him, and while one +of the conspirators seized the bridle of his horse, exclaimed, 'Will you +now restore my inheritance?' and wounded him in the neck. The attendant +fled; Der Wart, who had never thought murder was to be a part of the +scheme, stood aghast, but the other two fell on the unhappy Albrecht, +and each gave him a mortal wound, and then all five fled in different +directions. The whole horrible affair took place full in view of Leopold +and the army on the other side of the river, and when it became possible +for any of them to cross, they found that the Emperor had just expired, +with his head in the lap of a poor woman. + +The murderers escaped into the Swiss mountains, expecting shelter there; +but the stout, honest men of the cantons were resolved not to have any +connection with assassins, and refused to protect them. Johann himself, +after long and miserable wanderings in disguise, bitterly repented, +owned his crime to the Pope, and was received into a convent; Eschenbach +escaped, and lived fifteen years as a cowherd. The others all fell into +the hands of the sons and daughters of Albrecht, and woeful was the +revenge that was taken upon them, and upon their innocent families and +retainers. + +That Leopold, who had seen his father slain before his eyes, should have +been deeply incensed, was not wonderful, and his elder brother +Frederick, as Duke of Austria, was charged with the execution of +justice; but both brothers were horribly savage and violent in their +proceedings, and their sister Agnes surpassed them in her atrocious +thirst for vengeance. She was the wife of the King of Hungary, very +clever and discerning, and also supposed to be very religious, but all +better thoughts were swept away by her furious passion. She had nearly +strangled Eschenbach's infant son with her own bare hands, when he was +rescued from her by her own soldiers, and when she was watching the +beheading of sixty-three vassals of another of the murderers, she +repeatedly exclaimed, 'Now I bathe in May dew.' Once, indeed, she met +with a stern rebuke. A hermit, for whom she had offered to build a +convent, answered her, 'Woman, God is not served by shedding innocent +blood and by building convents out of the plunder of families, but by +compassion and forgiveness of injuries.' + +Rudolf von der Wart received the horrible sentence of being broken on +the wheel. On his trial the Emperor's attendant declared that Der Wart +had attacked Albert with his dagger, and the cry, 'How long will ye +suffer this carrion to sit on horseback?' but he persisted to the last +that he had been taken by surprise by the murder. However, there was no +mercy for him; and, by the express command of Queen Agnes, after he had +been bound upon one wheel, and his limbs broken by heavy blows from the +executioner, he was fastened to another wheel, which was set upon a +pole, where he was to linger out the remaining hours of his life. His +young wife, Gertrude, who had clung to him through all the trial, was +torn away and carried off to the Castle of Kyburg; but she made her +escape at dusk, and found her way, as night came on, to the spot where +her husband hung still living upon the wheel. That night of agony was +described in a letter ascribed to Gertrude herself. The guard left to +watch fled at her approach, and she prayed beneath the scaffold, and +then, heaping some heavy logs of wood together, was able to climb up +near enough to embrace him and stroke back the hair from his face, +whilst he entreated her to leave him, lest she should be found there, +and fall under the cruel revenge of the Queen, telling her that thus it +would be possible to increase his suffering. + +'I will die with you,' she said, 'tis for that I came, and no power +shall force me from you;' and she prayed for the one mercy she hoped +for, speedy death for her husband. + +In Mrs. Hemans' beautiful words-- + + +'And bid me not depart,' she cried, + 'My Rudolf, say not so; +This is no time to quit thy side, + Peace, peace, I cannot go! +Hath the world aught for me to fear + When death is on thy brow? +The world! what means it? Mine is here! + I will not leave thee now. +'I have been with thee in thine hour + Of glory and of bliss; +Doubt not its memory's living power + To strengthen me through this. +And thou, mine honor'd love and true, + Bear on, bear nobly on; +We have the blessed heaven in view, + Whose rest shall soon be won.' + + +When day began to break, the guard returned, and Gertrude took down her +stage of wood and continued kneeling at the foot of the pole. Crowds of +people came to look, among them the wife of one of the officials, whom +Gertrude implored to intercede that her husband's sufferings might be +ended; but though this might not be, some pitied her, and tried to give +her wine and confections, which she could not touch. The priest came and +exhorted Rudolf to confess the crime, but with a great effort he +repeated his former statement of innocence. + +A band of horsemen rode by. Among them was the young Prince Leopold and +his sister Agnes herself, clad as a knight. They were very angry at the +compassion shown by the crowd, and after frightfully harsh language +commanded that Gertrude should be dragged away; but one of the nobles +interceded for her, and when she had been carried away to a little +distance her entreaties were heard, and she was allowed to break away +and come back to her husband. The priest blessed Gertrude, gave her his +hand and said, 'Be faithful unto death, and God will give you the crown +of life,' and she was no further molested. + +Night came on, and with it a stormy wind, whose howling mingled with the +voice of her prayers, and whistled in the hair of the sufferer. One of +the guard brought her a cloak. She climbed on the wheel, and spread the +covering over her husband's limbs; then fetched some water in her shoe, +and moistened his lips with it, sustaining him above all with her +prayers, and exhortations to look to the joys beyond. He had ceased to +try to send her away, and thanked her for the comfort she gave him. And +still she watched when morning came again, and noon passed over her, and +it was verging to evening, when for the last time he moved his head; and +she raised herself so as to be close to him. With a smile, he murmured, +'Gertrude, this is faithfulness till death,' and died. She knelt down to +thank God for having enabled her to remain for that last breath-- + + +'While even as o'er a martyr's grave + She knelt on that sad spot, +And, weeping, blessed the God who gave + Strength to forsake it not!' + + +She found shelter in a convent at Basle, where she spent the rest of her +life in a quiet round of prayer and good works; till the time came when +her widowed heart should find its true rest for ever. + + + + +WHAT IS BETTER THAN SLAYING A DRAGON + +1332 + + + +The next story we have to tell is so strange and wild, that it would +seem better to befit the cloudy times when history had not yet been +disentangled from fable, than the comparatively clear light of the +fourteenth century. + +It took place in the island of Rhodes. This Greek isle had become the +home of the Knights of St. John, or Hospitaliers, an order of sworn +brethren who had arisen at the time of the Crusades. At first they had +been merely monks, who kept open house for the reception of the poor +penniless pilgrims who arrived at Jerusalem in need of shelter, and +often of nursing and healing. The good monks not only fed and housed +them, but did their best to cure the many diseases that they would catch +in the toilsome journey in that feverish climate; and thus it has come +to pass that the word hospitium, which in Latin only means an inn, has, +in modern languages, given birth, on the one hand, to hotel, or lodging +house, on the other, to hospital, or house of healing. The Hospital at +Jerusalem was called after St. John the Almoner, a charitable Bishop of +old, and the brethren were Hospitaliers. By and by, when the first +Crusade was over, and there was a great need of warriors to maintain the +Christian cause in Jerusalem, the Hospitaliers thought it a pity that so +many strong arms should be prevented from exerting themselves, by the +laws that forbade the clergy to do battle, and they obtained permission +from the Pope to become warriors as well as monks. They were thus all in +one--knights, priests, and nurses; their monasteries were both castles +and hospitals; and the sick pilgrim or wounded Crusader was sure of all +the best tendance and medical care that the times could afford, as well +as of all the ghostly comfort and counsel that he might need, and, if he +recovered, he was escorted safely down to the seashore by a party strong +enough to protect him from the hordes of robber Arabs. All this was for +charity's sake, and without reward. Surely the constitution of the Order +was as golden as its badge--the eight-pointed cross--which the brethren +wore round their neck. They wore it also in white over their shoulder +upon a black mantle. And the knights who had been admitted to the full +honors of the Order had a scarlet surcoat, likewise with the white +cross, over their armor. The whole brotherhood was under the command of +a Grand Master, who was elected in a chapter of all the knights, and to +whom all vowed to render implicit obedience. + +Good service in all their three capacities had been done by the Order as +long as the Crusaders were able to keep a footing in the Holy Land; but +they were driven back step by step, and at last, in 1291, their last +stronghold at Acre was taken, after much desperate fighting, and the +remnant of the Hospitaliers sailed away to the isle of Cyprus, where, +after a few years, they recruited their forces, and, in 1307, captured +the island of Rhodes, which had been a nest of Greek and Mahometan +pirates. Here they remained, hoping for a fresh Crusade to recover the +Holy Sepulcher, and in the meantime fulfilling their old mission as the +protectors and nurses of the weak. All the Mediterranean Sea was +infested by corsairs from the African coast and the Greek isles, and +these brave knights, becoming sailors as well as all they had been +before, placed their red flag with its white cross at the masthead of +many a gallant vessel that guarded the peaceful traveler, hunted down +the cruel pirate, and brought home his Christian slave, rescued from +laboring at the oar, to the Hospital for rest and tendance. Or their +treasures were used in redeeming the captives in the pirate cities. No +knight of St. John might offer any ransom for himself save his sword and +scarf; but for the redemption of their poor fellow Christians their +wealth was ready, and many a captive was released from toiling in +Algiers or Tripoli, or still worse, from rowing the pirate vessels, +chained to the oar, between the decks, and was restored to health and +returned to his friends, blessing the day he had been brought into the +curving harbour of Rhodes, with the fine fortified town of churches and +monasteries. + +Some eighteen years after the conquest of Rhodes, the whole island was +filled with dismay by the ravages of an enormous creature, living in a +morass at the foot of Mount St. Stephen, about two miles from the city +of Rhodes. Tradition calls it a dragon, and whether it were a crocodile +or a serpent is uncertain. There is reason to think that the monsters of +early creation were slow in becoming extinct, or it is not impossible +that either a crocodile or a python might have been brought over by +storms or currents from Africa, and have grown to a more formidable size +than usual in solitude among the marshes, while the island was changing +owners. The reptile, whatever it might be, was the object of extreme +dread; it devoured sheep and cattle, when they came down to the water, +and even young shepherd boys were missing. And the pilgrimage to the +Chapel of St. Stephen, on the hill above its lair, was especially a +service of danger, for pilgrims were believed to be snapped up by the +dragon before they could mount the hill. + +Several knights had gone out to attempt the destruction of the creature, +but not one had returned, and at last the Grand Master, Helion de +Villeneuve, forbade any further attacks to be made. The dragon is said +to have been covered with scales that were perfectly impenetrable either +to arrows or any cutting weapon; and the severe loss that encounters +with him had cost the Order, convinced the Grand Master that he must be +let alone. + +However, a young knight, named Dieudonne de Gozon, was by no means +willing to acquiesce in the decree; perhaps all the less because it came +after he had once gone out in quest of the monster, but had returned, by +his own confession, without striking a blow. He requested leave of +absence, and went home for a time to his father's castle of Gozon, in +Languedoc; and there he caused a model of the monster to be made. He had +observed that the scales did not protect the animal's belly, though it +was almost impossible to get a blow at it, owing to its tremendous +teeth, and the furious strokes of its length of tail. He therefore +caused this part of his model to be made hollow, and filled with food, +and obtaining two fierce young mastiffs, he trained them to fly at the +under side of the monster, while he mounted his warhorse, and endeavored +to accustom it likewise to attack the strange shape without swerving. + +When he thought the education of horse and dogs complete, he returned to +Rhodes; but fearing to be prevented from carrying out his design, he did +not land at the city, but on a remote part of the coast, whence he made +his way to the chapel of St. Stephen. There, after having recommended +himself to God, he left his two French squires, desiring them to return +home if he were slain, but to watch and come to him if he killed the +dragon, or were only hurt by it. He then rode down the hillside, and +towards the haunt of the dragon. It roused itself at his advance, and at +first he charged it with his lance, which was perfectly useless against +the scales. His horse was quick to perceive the difference between the +true and the false monster, and started back, so that he was forced to +leap to the ground; but the two dogs were more staunch, and sprang at +the animal, whilst their master struck at it with his sword, but still +without reaching a vulnerable part, and a blow from the tail had thrown +him down, and the dragon was turning upon him, when the movement left +the undefended belly exposed. Both mastiffs fastened on it at once, and +the knight, regaining his feet, thrust his sword into it. There was a +death grapple, and finally the servants, coming down the hill, found +their knight lying apparently dead under the carcass of the dragon. When +they had extricated him, taken off his helmet, and sprinkled him with +water, he recovered, and presently was led into the city amid the +ecstatic shouts of the whole populace, who conducted him in triumph to +the palace of the Grand Master. + +We have seen how Titus Manlius was requited by his father for his breach +of discipline. It was somewhat in the same manner that Helion de +Villeneuve received Dieudonne. We borrow Schiller's beautiful version of +the conversation that took place, as the young knight, pale, with his +black mantle rent, his shining armor dinted, his scarlet surcoat stained +with blood, came into the Knights' Great Hall. + + +'Severe and grave was the Master's brow, +Quoth he, 'A hero bold art thou, +By valor 't is that knights are known; +A valiant spirit hast thou shown; +But the first duty of a knight, +Now tell, who vows for CHRIST to fight +And bears the Cross on his coat of mail.' +The listeners all with fear grew pale, +While, bending lowly, spake the knight, + His cheeks with blushes burning, +'He who the Cross would bear aright + Obedience must be learning.' + + +Even after hearing the account of the conflict, the Grand Master did not +abate his displeasure. + + +'My son, the spoiler of the land +Lies slain by thy victorious hand +Thou art the people's god, but so +Thou art become thine Order's foe; +A deadlier foe thine heart has bred +Than this which by thy hand is dead, +That serpent still the heart defiling +To ruin and to strife beguiling, +It is that spirit rash and bold, + That scorns the bands of order; +Rages against them uncontrolled + Till earth is in disorder. + +'Courage by Saracens is shown, +Submission is the Christian's own; +And where our Saviour, high and holy, +Wandered a pilgrim poor and lowly +Upon that ground with mystery fraught, +The fathers of our Order taught +The duty hardest to fulfil +Is to give up your own self-will +Thou art elate with glory vain. + Away then from my sight! +Who can his Saviour's yoke disdain + Bears not his Cross aright.' + +'An angry cry burst from the crowd, +The hall rang with their tumult loud; +Each knightly brother prayed for grace. +The victor downward bent his face, +Aside his cloak in silence laid, +Kissed the Grand Master's hand, nor stayed. +The Master watched him from the hall, +Then summoned him with loving call, +'Come to embrace me, noble son, + Thine is the conquest of the soul; +Take up the Cross, now truly won, + By meekness and by self-control.' + + +The probation of Dieudonne is said to have been somewhat longer than the +poem represents, but after the claims of discipline had been +established, he became a great favorite with stern old Villeneuve, and +the dragon's head was set up over the gate of the city, where Thèvenot +professed to have seen it in the seventeenth century, and said that it +was larger than that of a horse, with a huge mouth and teeth and very +large eyes. The name of Rhodes is said to come from a Phoenician word, +meaning a serpent, and the Greeks called this isle of serpents, which is +all in favor of the truth of the story. But, on the other hand, such +traditions often are prompted by the sight of the fossil skeletons of +the dragons of the elder world, and are generally to be met with where +such minerals prevail as are found in the northern part of Rhodes. The +tale is disbelieved by many, but it is hard to suppose it an entire +invention, though the description of the monster may have been +exaggerated. + +Dieudonne de Gozon was elected to the Grand Mastership after the death +of Villeneuve, and is said to have voted for himself. If so, it seems as +if he might have had, in his earlier days, an overweening opinion of his +own abilities. However, he was an excellent Grand Master, a great +soldier, and much beloved by all the poor peasants of the island, to +whom he was exceedingly kind. He died in 1353, and his tomb is said to +have been the only inscribed with these words, 'Here lies the Dragon +Slayer.' + + + + +THE KEYS OF CALAIS + +1347 + + + +Nowhere does the continent of Europe approach Great Britain so closely +as at the straits of Dover, and when our sovereigns were full of the +vain hope of obtaining the crown of France, or at least of regaining the +great possessions that their forefathers has owned as French nobles, +there was no spot so coveted by them as the fortress of Calais, the +possession of which gave an entrance into France. + +Thus it was that when, in 1346, Edward III. had beaten Philippe VI. at +the battle of Crecy, the first use he made of his victory was to march +upon Calais, and lay siege to it. The walls were exceedingly strong and +solid, mighty defenses of masonry, of huge thickness and like rocks for +solidity, guarded it, and the king knew that it would be useless to +attempt a direct assault. Indeed, during all the Middle Ages, the modes +of protecting fortifications were far more efficient than the modes of +attacking them. The walls could be made enormously massive, the towers +raised to a great height, and the defenders so completely sheltered by +battlements that they could not easily be injured and could take aim +from the top of their turrets, or from their loophole windows. The gates +had absolute little castles of their own, a moat flowed round the walls +full of water, and only capable of being crossed by a drawbridge, behind +which the portcullis, a grating armed beneath with spikes, was always +ready to drop from the archway of the gate and close up the entrance. +The only chance of taking a fortress by direct attack was to fill up the +moat with earth and faggots, and then raise ladders against the walls; +or else to drive engines against the defenses, battering-rams which +struck them with heavy beams, mangonels which launched stones, sows +whose arched wooden backs protected troops of workmen who tried to +undermine the wall, and moving towers consisting of a succession of +stages or shelves, filled with soldiers, and with a bridge with iron +hooks, capable of being launched from the highest story to the top of +the battlements. The besieged could generally disconcert the battering- +ram by hanging beds or mattresses over the walls to receive the brunt of +the blow, the sows could be crushed with heavy stones, the towers burnt +by well-directed flaming missiles, the ladders overthrown, and in +general the besiegers suffered a great deal more damage than they could +inflict. Cannon had indeed just been brought into use at the battle of +Crecy, but they only consisted of iron bars fastened together with +hoops, and were as yet of little use, and thus there seemed to be little +danger to a well-guarded city from any enemy outside the walls. + +King Edward arrived before the place with all his victorious army early +in August, his good knights and squires arrayed in glittering steel +armor, covered with surcoats richly embroidered with their heraldic +bearings; his stout men-at-arms, each of whom was attended by three bold +followers; and his archers, with their crossbows to shoot bolts, and +longbows to shoot arrows of a yard long, so that it used to be said that +each went into battle with three men's lives under his girdle, namely, +the three arrows he kept there ready to his hand. With the King was his +son, Edward, Prince of Wales, who had just won the golden spurs of +knighthood so gallantly at Crecy, when only in his seventeenth year, and +likewise the famous Hainault knight, Sir Walter Mauny, and all that was +noblest and bravest in England. + +This whole glittering army, at their head the King's great royal +standard bearing the golden lilies of France quartered with the lions of +England, and each troop guided by the square banner, swallow-tailed +pennon or pointed pennoncel of their leader, came marching to the gates +of Calais, above which floated the blue standard of France with its +golden flowers, and with it the banner of the governor, Sir Jean de +Vienne. A herald, in a rich long robe embroidered with the arms of +England, rode up to the gate, a trumpet sounding before him, and called +upon Sir Jean de Vienne to give up the place to Edward, King of England, +and of France, as he claimed to be. Sir Jean made answer that he held +the town for Philippe, King of France, and that he would defend it to +the last; the herald rode back again and the English began the siege of +the city. + +At first they only encamped, and the people of Calais must have seen the +whole plain covered with the white canvas tents, marshalled round the +ensigns of the leaders, and here and there a more gorgeous one +displaying the colours of the owner. Still there was no attack upon the +walls. The warriors were to be seen walking about in the leathern suits +they wore under their armor; or if a party was to be seen with their +coats of mail on, helmet on head, and lance in hand, it was not against +Calais that they came; they rode out into the country, and by and by +might be seen driving back before them herds of cattle and flocks of +sheep or pigs that they had seized and taken away from the poor +peasants; and at night the sky would show red lights where farms and +homesteads had been set on fire. After a time, in front of the tents, +the English were to be seen hard at work with beams and boards, setting +up huts for themselves, and thatching them over with straw or broom. +These wooden houses were all ranged in regular streets, and there was a +marketplace in the midst, whither every Saturday came farmers and +butchers to sell corn and meat, and hay for the horses; and the English +merchants and Flemish weavers would come by sea and by land to bring +cloth, bread, weapons, and everything that could be needed to be sold in +this warlike market. + +The Governor, Sir Jean de Vienne, began to perceive that the King did +not mean to waste his men by making vain attacks on the strong walls of +Calais, but to shut up the entrance by land, and watch the coast by sea +so as to prevent any provisions from being taken in, and so to starve +him into surrendering. Sir Jean de Vienne, however, hoped that before he +should be entirely reduced by famine, the King of France would be able +to get together another army and come to his relief, and at any rate he +was determined to do his duty, and hold out for his master to the last. +But as food was already beginning to grow scarce, he was obliged to turn +out such persons as could not fight and had no stores of their own, and +so one Wednesday morning he caused all the poor to be brought together, +men, women, and children, and sent them all out of the town, to the +number of 1,700. It was probably the truest mercy, for he had no food to +give them, and they could only have starved miserably within the town, +or have hindered him from saving it for his sovereign; but to them it +was dreadful to be driven out of house and home, straight down upon the +enemy, and they went along weeping and wailing, till the English +soldiers met them and asked why they had come out. They answered that +they had been put out because they had nothing to eat, and their +sorrowful, famished looks gained pity for them. King Edward sent orders +that not only should they go safely through his camp, but that they +should all rest, and have the first hearty dinner that they had eaten +for many a day, and he sent every one a small sum of money before they +left the camp, so that many of them went on their way praying aloud for +the enemy who had been so kind to them. + +A great deal happened whilst King Edward kept watch in his wooden town +and the citizens of Calais guarded their walls. England was invaded by +King David II. of Scotland, with a great army, and the good Queen +Philippa, who was left to govern at home in the name of her little son +Lionel, assembled all the forces that were left at home, and crossed the +Straits of Dover, and a messenger brought King Edward letters from his +Queen to say that the Scots army had been entirely defeated at Nevil's +Cross, near Durham, and that their King was a prisoner, but that he had +been taken by a squire named John Copeland, who would not give him up to +her. + +King Edward sent letters to John Copeland to come to him at Calais, and +when the squire had made his journey, the King took him by the hand +saying, 'Ha! welcome, my squire, who by his valor has captured our +adversary the King of Scotland.' + +Copeland, falling on one knee, replied, 'If God, out of His great +kindness, has given me the King of Scotland, no one ought to be jealous +of it, for God can, when He pleases, send His grace to a poor squire as +well as to a great Lord. Sir, do not take it amiss if I did not +surrender him to the orders of my lady the Queen, for I hold my lands of +you, and my oath is to you, not to her.' + +The King was not displeased with his squire's sturdiness, but made him a +knight, gave him a pension of 500l. a year, and desired him to surrender +his prisoner to the Queen, as his own representative. This was +accordingly done, and King David was lodged in the Tower of London. Soon +after, three days before All Saint's Day, there was a large and gay +fleet to be seen crossing from the white cliffs of Dover, and the King, +his son, and his knights rode down to the landing place to welcome +plump, fair haired Queen Philippa, and all her train of ladies, who had +come in great numbers to visit their husbands, fathers, or brothers in +the wooden town. + +Then there was a great Court, and numerous feasts and dances, and the +knights and squires were constantly striving who could do the bravest +deed of prowess to please the ladies. The King of France had placed +numerous knights and men-at-arms in the neighboring towns and castles, +and there were constant fights whenever the English went out foraging, +and many bold deeds that were much admired were done. The great point +was to keep provisions out of the town, and there was much fighting +between the French who tried to bring in supplies, and the English who +intercepted them. Very little was brought in by land, and Sir Jean de +Vienne and his garrison would have been quite starved but for two +sailors of Abbeville, named Marant and Mestriel, who knew the coast +thoroughly, and often, in the dark autumn evenings, would guide in a +whole fleet of little boats, loaded with bread and meat for the starving +men within the city. They were often chased by King Edward's vessels, +and were sometimes very nearly taken, but they always managed to escape, +and thus they still enabled the garrison to hold out. + +So all the winter passed, Christmas was kept with brilliant feastings +and high merriment by the King and his Queen in their wooden palace +outside, and with lean cheeks and scanty fare by the besieged within. +Lent was strictly observed perforce by the besieged, and Easter brought +a betrothal in the English camp; a very unwilling one on the part of the +bridegroom, the young Count of Flanders, who loved the French much +better than the English, and had only been tormented into giving his +consent by his unruly vassals because they depended on the wool of +English sheep for their cloth works. So, though King Edward's daughter +Isabel was a beautiful fair-haired girl of fifteen, the young Count +would scarcely look at her; and in the last week before the marriage +day, while her robes and her jewels were being prepared, and her father +and mother were arranging the presents they should make to all their +Court on the wedding day, the bridegroom, when out hawking, gave his +attendants the slip, and galloped off to Paris, where he was welcomed by +King Philippe. + +This made Edward very wrathful, and more than ever determined to take +Calais. About Whitsuntide he completed a great wooden castle upon the +seashore, and placed in it numerous warlike engines, with forty men-at- +arms and 200 archers, who kept such a watch upon the harbour that not +even the two Abbeville sailors could enter it, without having their +boats crushed and sunk by the great stones that the mangonels launched +upon them. The townspeople began to feel what hunger really was, but +their spirits were kept up by the hope that their King was at last +collecting an army for their rescue. + +And Philippe did collect all his forces, a great and noble army, and +came one night to the hill of Sangate, just behind the English army, the +knights' armor glancing and their pennons flying in the moonlight, so as +to be a beautiful sight to the hungry garrison who could see the white +tents pitched upon the hillside. Still there were but two roads by which +the French could reach their friends in the town--one along the +seacoast, the other by a marshy road higher up the country, and there +was but one bridge by which the river could be crossed. The English +King's fleet could prevent any troops from passing along the coast road, +the Earl of Derby guarded the bridge, and there was a great tower, +strongly fortified, close upon Calais. There were a few skirmishes, but +the French King, finding it difficult to force his way to relieve the +town, sent a party of knights with a challenge to King Edward to come +out of his camp and do battle upon a fair field. + +To this Edward made answer, that he had been nearly a year before +Calais, and had spent large sums of money on the siege, and that he had +nearly become master of the place, so that he had no intention of coming +out only to gratify his adversary, who must try some other road if he +could not make his way in by that before him. + +Three days were spent in parleys, and then, without the slightest effort +to rescue the brave, patient men within the town, away went King +Philippe of France, with all his men, and the garrison saw the host that +had crowded the hill of Sangate melt away like a summer cloud. + +August had come again, and they had suffered privation for a whole year +for the sake of the King who deserted them at their utmost need. They +were in so grievous a state of hunger and distress that the hardiest +could endure no more, for ever since Whitsuntide no fresh provisions had +reached them. The Governor, therefore, went to the battlements and made +signs that he wished to hold a parley, and the King appointed Lord +Basset and Sir Walter Mauny to meet him, and appoint the terms of +surrender. + +The Governor owned that the garrison was reduced to the greatest +extremity of distress, and requested that the King would be contented +with obtaining the city and fortress, leaving the soldiers and +inhabitants to depart in peace. + +But Sir Walter Mauny was forced to make answer that the King, his lord, +was so much enraged at the delay and expense that Calais had cost him, +that he would only consent to receive the whole on unconditional terms, +leaving him free to slay, or to ransom, or make prisoners whomsoever he +pleased, and he was known to consider that there was a heavy reckoning +to pay, both for the trouble the siege had cost him and the damage the +Calesians had previously done to his ships. + +The brave answer was: 'These conditions are too hard for us. We are but +a small number of knights and squires, who have loyally served our lord +and master as you would have done, and have suffered much ill and +disquiet, but we will endure far more than any man has done in such a +post, before we consent that the smallest boy in the town shall fare +worse than ourselves. I therefore entreat you, for pity's sake, to +return to the King and beg him to have compassion, for I have such an +opinion of his gallantry that I think he will alter his mind.' + +The King's mind seemed, however, sternly made up; and all that Sir +Walter Mauny and the barons of the council could obtain from him was +that he would pardon the garrison and townsmen on condition that six of +the chief citizens should present themselves to him, coming forth with +bare feet and heads, with halters round their necks, carrying the keys +of the town, and becoming absolutely his own to punish for their +obstinacy as he should think fit. + +On hearing this reply, Sir Jean de Vienne begged Sir Walter Mauny to +wait till he could consult the citizens, and, repairing to the +marketplace, he caused a great bell to be rung, at sound of which all +the inhabitants came together in the town hall. When he told them of +these hard terms he could not refrain from weeping bitterly, and wailing +and lamentation arose all round him. Should all starve together, or +sacrifice their best and most honored after all suffering in common so +long? + +Then a voice was heard; it was that of the richest burgher in the town, +Eustache de St. Pierre. 'Messieurs high and low,' he said, 'it would be +a sad pity to suffer so many people to die through hunger, if it could +be prevented; and to hinder it would be meritorious in the eyes of our +Saviour. I have such faith and trust in finding grace before God, if I +die to save my townsmen, that I name myself as the first of the six.' + +As the burgher ceased, his fellow townsmen wept aloud, and many, amid +tears and groans, threw themselves at his feet in a transport of grief +and gratitude. Another citizen, very rich and respected, rose up and +said, 'I will be second to my comrade, Eustache.' His name was Jean +Daire. After him, Jacques Wissant, another very rich man, offered +himself as companion to these, who were both his cousins; and his +brother Pierre would not be left behind: and two more, unnamed, made up +this gallant band of men willing to offer their lives for the rescue of +their fellow townsmen. + +Sir Jean de Vienne mounted a little horse--for he had been wounded, and +was still lame--and came to the gate with them, followed by all the +people of the town, weeping and wailing, yet, for their own sakes and +their children's not daring to prevent the sacrifice. The gates were +opened, the governor and the six passed out, and the gates were again +shut behind them. Sir Jean then rode up to Sir Walter Mauny, and told +him how these burghers had voluntarily offered themselves, begging him +to do all in his power to save them; and Sir Walter promised with his +whole heart to plead their cause. De Vienne then went back into the +town, full of heaviness and anxiety; and the six citizens were led by +Sir Walter to the presence of the King, in his full Court. They all +knelt down, and the foremost said: 'Most gallant King, you see before +you six burghers of Calais, who have all been capital merchants, and who +bring you the keys of the castle and town. We yield ourselves to your +absolute will and pleasure, in order to save the remainder of the +inhabitants of Calais, who have suffered much distress and misery. +Condescend, therefore, out of your nobleness of mind, to have pity on +us.' + +Strong emotion was excited among all the barons and knights who stood +round, as they saw the resigned countenances, pale and thin with +patiently endured hunger, of these venerable men, offering themselves in +the cause of their fellow townsmen. Many tears of pity were shed; but +the King still showed himself implacable, and commanded that they should +be led away, and their heads stricken off. Sir Walter Mauny interceded +for them with all his might, even telling the King that such an +execution would tarnish his honor, and that reprisals would be made on +his own garrisons; and all the nobles joined in entreating pardon for +the citizens, but still without effect; and the headsman had been +actually sent for, when Queen Philippa, her eyes streaming with tears, +threw herself on her knees amongst the captives, and said, 'Ah, gentle +sir, since I have crossed the sea, with much danger, to see you, I have +never asked you one favor; now I beg as a boon to myself, for the sake +of the Son of the Blessed Mary, and for your love to me, that you will +be merciful to these men!' + +For some time the King looked at her in silence; then he exclaimed: +'Dame, dame, would that you had been anywhere than here! You have +entreated in such a manner that I cannot refuse you; I therefore give +these men to you, to do as you please with.' + +Joyfully did Queen Philippa conduct the six citizens to her own +apartments, where she made them welcome, sent them new garments, +entertained them with a plentiful dinner, and dismissed them each with a +gift of six nobles. After this, Sir Walter Mauny entered the city, and +took possession of it; retaining Sir Jean de Vienne and the other +knights and squires till they should ransom themselves, and sending out +the old French inhabitants; for the King was resolved to people the city +entirely of English, in order to gain a thoroughly strong hold of this +first step in France. + +The King and Queen took up their abode in the city; and the houses of +Jean Daire were, it appears, granted to the Queen--perhaps, because she +considered the man himself as her charge, and wished to secure them for +him--and her little daughter Margaret was, shortly after, born in one of +his houses. Eustache de St. Pierre was taken into high favor, and placed +in charge of the new citizens whom the King placed in the city. + +Indeed, as this story is told by no chronicler but Froissart, some have +doubted of it, and thought the violent resentment thus imputed to Edward +III inconsistent with his general character; but it is evident that the +men of Calais had given him strong provocation by attacks on his +shipping--piracies which are not easily forgiven--and that he considered +that he had a right to make an example of them. It is not unlikely that +he might, after all, have intended to forgive them, and have given the +Queen the grace of obtaining their pardon, so as to excuse himself from +the fulfillment of some over-hasty threat. But, however this may have +been, nothing can lessen the glory of the six grave and patient men who +went forth, by their own free will, to meet what might be a cruel and +disgraceful death, in order to obtain the safety of their fellow- +townsmen. + +Very recently, in the summer of 1864, an instance has occurred of self- +devotion worthy to be recorded with that of Eustache de St. Pierre. The +City of Palmyra, in Tennessee, one of the Southern States of America, +had been occupied by a Federal army. An officer of this army was +assassinated, and, on the cruel and mistaken system of taking reprisals, +the general arrested ten of the principal inhabitants, and condemned +them to be shot, as deeming the city responsible for the lives of his +officers. One of them was the highly respected father of a large family, +and could ill be spared. A young man, not related to him, upon this, +came forward and insisted on being taken in his stead, as a less +valuable life. And great as was the distress of his friend, this +generous substitution was carried out, and not only spared a father to +his children, but showed how the sharpest strokes of barbarity can still +elicit light from the dark stone--light that but for these blows might +have slept unseen. + + + + +THE BATTLE OF SEMPACH + +1397 + + + +Nothing in history has been more remarkable than the union of the +cantons and cities of the little republic of Switzerland. Of differing +races, languages, and, latterly, even religions--unlike in habits, +tastes, opinions and costumes--they have, however, been held together, +as it were, by pressure from without, and one spirit of patriotism has +kept the little mountain republic complete for five hundred years. + +Originally the lands were fiefs of the Holy Roman Empire, the city +municipalities owning the Emperor for their lord, and the great family +of Hapsburg, in whom the Empire became at length hereditary, was in +reality Swiss, the county that gave them title lying in the canton of +Aargau. Rodolf of Hapsburg was elected leader of the burghers of Zurich, +long before he was chosen to the Empire; and he continued a Swiss in +heart, retaining his mountaineer's open simplicity and honesty to the +end of his life. Privileges were granted by him to the cities and the +nobles, and the country was loyal and prosperous in his reign. + +His son Albert, the same who was slain by his nephew Johann, as before- +mentioned, permitted those tyrannies of his bailiffs which goaded the +Swiss to their celebrated revolt, and commenced the long series of wars +with the House of Hapsburgor, as it was now termed, of Austria--which +finally established their independence. + +On the one side, the Dukes of Austria and their ponderous German +chivalry wanted to reduce the cantons and cities to vassalage, not to +the Imperial Crown, a distant and scarcely felt obligation, but to the +Duchy of Austria; on the other, the hardy mountain peasants and stout +burghers well knew their true position, and were aware that to admit the +Austrian usurpation would expose their young men to be drawn upon for +the Duke's wars, cause their property to be subject to perpetual +rapacious exactions, and fill their hills with castles for ducal +bailiffs, who would be little better than licensed robbers. No wonder, +then, that the generations of William Tell and Arnold Melchthal +bequeathed a resolute purpose of resistance to their descendants. + +It was in 1397, ninety years since the first assertion of Swiss +independence, when Leopold the Handsome, Duke of Austria, a bold but +misproud and violent prince, involved himself in one of the constant +quarrels with the Swiss that were always arising on account of the +insulting exactions of toll and tribute in the Austrian border cities. A +sharp war broke out, and the Swiss city of Lucerne took the opportunity +of destroying the Austrian castle of Rothemburg, where the tolls had +been particularly vexatious, and of admitting to their league the cities +of Sempach and Richensee. + +Leopold and all the neighboring nobles united their forces. Hatred and +contempt of the Swiss, as low-born and presumptuous, spurred them on; +and twenty messengers reached the Duke in one day, with promises of +support, in his march against Sempach and Lucerne. He had sent a large +force in the direction of Zurich with Johann Bonstetten, and advanced +himself with 4,000 horse and 1,400 foot upon Sempach. Zurich undertook +its own defense, and the Forest cantons sent their brave peasants to the +support of Lucerne and Sempach, but only to the number of 1,300, who, on +the 9th of July, took post in the woods around the little lake of +Sempach. + +Meanwhile, Leopold's troops rode round the walls of the little city, +insulting the inhabitants, one holding up a halter, which he said was +for the chief magistrate; and another, pointing to the reckless waste +that his comrades were perpetrating on the fields, shouted, 'Send a +breakfast to the reapers.' The burgomaster pointed to the wood where his +allies lay hid, and answered, 'My masters of Lucerne and their friends +will bring it.' + +The story of that day was told by one of the burghers who fought in the +ranks of Lucerne, a shoemaker, named Albert Tchudi, who was both a brave +warrior and a master-singer; and as his ballad was translated by another +master-singer, Sir Walter Scott, and is the spirited record of an +eyewitness, we will quote from him some of his descriptions of the +battle and its golden deed. + +The Duke's wiser friends proposed to wait till he could be joined by +Bonstetten and the troops who had gone towards Zurich, and the Baron von +Hasenburg (i.e. hare-rock) strongly urged this prudent counsel; but-- + + +'O, Hare-Castle, thou heart of hare!' + Fierce Oxenstiern he cried, +'Shalt see then how the game will fare,' + The taunted knight replied.' + + +'This very noon,' said the younger knight to the Duke, 'we will deliver +up to you this handful of villains.' + + +'And thus they to each other said, + 'Yon handful down to hew +Will be no boastful tale to tell + The peasants are so few.' + + +Characteristically enough, the doughty cobbler describes how the first +execution that took place was the lopping off the long-peaked toes of +the boots that the gentlemen wore chained to their knees, and which +would have impeded them on foot; since it had been decided that the +horses were too much tired to be serviceable in the action. + + +'There was lacing then of helmets bright, + And closing ranks amain, +The peaks they hewed from their boot points + Might well nigh load a wain.' + + +They were drawn up in a solid compact body, presenting an unbroken line +of spears, projecting beyond the wall of gay shields and polished +impenetrable armor. + +The Swiss were not only few in number, but armor was scarce among them; +some had only boards fastened on their arms by way of shields, some had +halberts, which had been used by their fathers at the battle of +Morgarten, others two-handed swords and battleaxes. They drew themselves +up in the form of a wedge and + + +'The gallant Swiss confederates then + They prayed to God aloud, +And He displayed His rainbow fair, + Against a swarthy cloud.' + + +Then they rushed upon the serried spears, but in vain. 'The game was +nothing sweet.' + +The banner of Lucerne was in the utmost danger, the Landamman was slain, +and sixty of his men, and not an Austrian had been wounded. The flanks +of the Austrian host began to advance so as to enclose the small peasant +force, and involve it in irremediable destruction. A moment of dismay +and stillness ensued. Then Arnold von Winkelried of Unterwalden, with an +eagle glance saw the only means of saving his country, and, with the +decision of a man who dares by dying to do all things, shouted aloud: 'I +will open a passage.' + + +'I have a virtuous wife at home, + A wife and infant son: +I leave them to my country's care, + The field shall yet be won!' +He rushed against the Austrian band + In desperate career, +And with his body, breast, and hand, + Bore down each hostile spear; +Four lances splintered on his crest, + Six shivered in his side, +Still on the serried files he pressed, + He broke their ranks and died!' + + +The very weight of the desperate charge of this self-devoted man opened +a breach in the line of spears. In rushed the Swiss wedge, and the +weight of the nobles' armor and length of their spears was only +encumbering. They began to fall before the Swiss blows, and Duke Leopold +was urged to fly. 'I had rather die honorably than live with dishonor,' +he said. He saw his standard bearer struck to the ground, and seizing +his banner from his hand, waved it over his head, and threw himself +among the thickest of the foe. His corpse was found amid a heap of +slain, and no less then 2000 of his companions perished with him, of +whom a third are said to have been counts, barons and knights. + + +'Then lost was banner, spear and shield + At Sempach in the flight; +The cloister vaults at Konigsfeldt + Hold many an Austrian knight.' + + +The Swiss only lost 200; but, as they were spent with the excessive heat +of the July sun, they did not pursue their enemies. They gave thanks on +the battlefield to the God of victories, and the next day buried the +dead, carrying Duke Leopold and twenty-seven of his most illustrious +companions to the Abbey of Konigsfeldt, where they buried him in the old +tomb of his forefathers, the lords of Aargau, who had been laid there in +the good old times, before the house of Hapsburg had grown arrogant with +success. + +As to the master-singer, he tells us of himself that + + +'A merry man was he, I wot, + The night he made the lay, +Returning from the bloody spot, + Where God had judged the day.' + + +On every 9th of July subsequently, the people of the country have been +wont to assemble on the battlefield, around four stone crosses which +mark the spot. A priest from a pulpit in the open air gives a +thanksgiving sermon on the victory that ensured the freedom of +Switzerland, and another reads the narrative of the battle, and the roll +of the brave 200, who, after Winkelried's example, gave their lives in +the cause. All this is in the face of the mountains and the lake now +lying in summer stillness, and the harvest fields whose crops are secure +from marauders, and the congregation then proceed to the small chapel, +the walls of which are painted with the deed of Arnold von Winkelried, +and the other distinguished achievements of the confederates, and masses +are sung for the souls of those who were slain. No wonder that men thus +nurtured in the memory of such actions were, even to the fall of the +French monarchy, among the most trustworthy soldiery of Europe. + + + + +THE CONSTANT PRINCE + +1433 + + + +The illustrious days of Portugal were during the century and a half of +the dynasty termed the House of Aviz, because its founder, Dom Joao I. +had been grand master of the military order of Aviz. + +His right to the throne was questionable, or more truly null, and he had +only obtained the crown from the desire of the nation to be independent +of Castile, and by the assistance of our own John of Gaunt, whose +daughter, Philippa of Lancaster, became his wife, thus connecting the +glories of his line with our own house of Plantagenet. + +Philippa was greatly beloved in Portugal, and was a most noble-minded +woman, who infused her own spirit into her children. She had five sons, +and when they all had attained an age to be admitted to the order of +knighthood, their father proposed to give a grand tournament in which +they might evince their prowess. This, however, seemed but play to the +high-spirited youths, who had no doubt fed upon the story of the manner +in which their uncle, the Black Prince, whose name was borne by the +eldest, had won his spurs at Crecy. Their entreaty was, not to be +carpet--knights dubbed in time of peace, and King Joao on the other hand +objected to entering on a war merely for the sake of knighting his sons. +At last Dom Fernando, the youngest of the brothers, a lad of fourteen, +proposed that their knighthood should be earned by an expedition to take +Ceuta from the Moors. A war with the infidel never came amiss, and was +in fact regarded as a sacred duty; moreover, Ceuta was a nest of +corsairs who infested the whole Mediterranean coast. Up to the +nineteenth century the seaports along the African coast of the +Mediterranean were the hives of pirates, whose small rapid vessels were +the terror of every unarmed ship that sailed in those waters, and whose +descents upon the coasts of Spain, France, and Italy rendered life and +property constantly insecure. A regular system of kidnapping prevailed; +prisoners had their fixed price, and were carried off to labour in the +African dockyards, or to be chained to the benches of the Moorish ships +which their oars propelled, until either a ransom could be procured from +their friends, or they could be persuaded to become renegades, or death +put an end to their sufferings. A captivity among the Moors was by no +means an uncommon circumstance even in the lives of Englishmen down to +the eighteenth century, and pious persons frequently bequeathed sums of +money for the ransom of the poorer captives. + +Ceuta, perched upon the southern Pillar of Hercules, was one of the most +perilous of these dens of robbery, and to seize it might well appear a +worthy action, not only to the fiery princes, but to their cautious +father. He kept his designs absolutely secret, and contrived to obtain a +plan of the town by causing one of his vessels to put in there as in +quest of provisions, while, to cover his preparations for war, he sent a +public challenge to the Count of Holland, and a secret message at the +same time, with the assurance that it was only a blind. These +proceedings were certainly underhand, and partook of treachery; but they +were probably excused in the King's own mind by the notion, that no +faith was to be kept with unbelievers, and, moreover, such people as the +Ceutans were likely never to be wanting in the supply of pretexts for +attack. + +Just as all was ready, the plague broke out in Lisbon, and the Queen +fell sick of it. Her husband would not leave her, and just before her +death she sent for all her sons, and gave to each a sword, charging them +to defend the widow and orphan, and to fight against the infidel. In the +full freshness of their sorrow, the King and his sons set sail from the +Bay of Lagos, in the August of 1415, with 59 galleys, 33 ships of war, +and 120 transports; the largest fleet ever yet sent forth by the little +kingdom, and the first that had left a Peninsular port with the banners +and streamers of which the more northern armaments were so profuse. + +The governor of Ceuta, Zala ben Zala, was not unprepared for the attack, +and had collected 5,000 allies to resist the Christians; but a great +storm having dispersed the fleet on the first day of its appearance, he +thought the danger over, and dismissed his friends On the 14th August, +however, the whole fleet again appeared, and the King, in a little boat, +directed the landing of his men, led by his sons, the Infantes Duarte +and Henrique. The Moors gave way before them, and they entered the city +with 500 men, among the flying enemy, and there, after a period of much +danger, were joined by their brother Pedro. The three fought their way +to a mosque, where they defended themselves till the King with the rest +of his army made their way in. Zala ben Zala fled to the citadel, but, +after one assault, quitted it in the night. + +The Christian captives were released, the mosque purified and +consecrated as a cathedral, a bishop was appointed, and the King gave +the government of the place to Dom Pedro de Menezes, a knight of such +known fidelity that the King would not suffer him to take the oath of +allegiance. An attempt was made by the Moors four years later to recover +the place; but the Infantes Pedro and Henrique hurried from Portugal to +succor Menezes, and drove back the besiegers; whereupon the Moors +murdered their King, Abu Sayd, on whom they laid the blame of the +disaster. + +On the very day, eighteen years later, of the taking of Ceuta, King Joao +died of the plague at Lisbon, on the 14th of August, 1433. Duarte came +to the throne; and, a few months after, his young brother, Fernando, +persuaded him into fitting out another expedition to Africa, of which +Tangier should be the object. + +Duarte doubted of the justice of the war, and referred the question to +the Pope, who decided against it; but the answer came too late, the +preparations were made, and the Infantes Henrique and Fernando took the +command. Henrique was a most enlightened prince, a great mathematician +and naval discoverer, but he does not appear to have made good use of +his abilities on the present occasion; for, on arriving at Ceuta, and +reviewing the troops, they proved to have but 8,000, instead of 14,000, +as they had intended. Still they proceeded, Henrique by land and +Fernando by sea, and laid siege to Tangier, which was defended by their +old enemy, Zala ben Zala. Everything was against them; their scaling +ladders were too short to reach to the top of the walls, and the Moors +had time to collect in enormous numbers for the relief of the city, +under the command of the kings of Fez and Morocco. + +The little Christian army was caught as in a net, and, after a day's +hard fighting, saw the necessity of re-embarking. All was arranged for +this to be done at night; but a vile traitor, chaplain to the army, +passed over to the Moors, and revealed their intention. The beach was +guarded, and the retreat cut off. Another day of fighting passed, and at +night hunger reduced them to eating their horses. + +It was necessary to come to terms, and messengers were sent to treat +with the two kings. The only terms on which the army could be allowed to +depart were that one of the Infantes should remain as a hostage for the +delivery of Ceuta to the Moors. For this purpose Fernando offered +himself, though it was exceedingly doubtful whether Ceuta would be +restored; and the Spanish poet, Calderon, puts into his mouth a generous +message to his brother the King, that they both were Christian princes, +and that his liberty was not to be weighed in the scale with their +father's fairest conquest. + +Henrique was forced thus to leave his brave brother, and return with the +remnants of his army to Ceuta, where he fell sick with grief and +vexation. He sent the fleet home; but it met with a great storm, and +many vessels were driven on the coast of Andalusia, where, by orders of +the King, the battered sailors and defeated soldiers were most kindly +and generously treated. + +Dom Duarte, having in the meantime found out with how insufficient an +army his brothers had been sent forth, had equipped a fresh fleet, the +arrival of which at Ceuta cheered Henrique with hope of rescuing his +brother; but it was soon followed by express orders from the King that +Henrique should give up all such projects and return home. He was +obliged to comply, but, unable to look Duarte in the face, he retired to +his own estates at the Algarve. + +Duarte convoked the States-general of the kingdom, to consider whether +Ceuta should be yielded to purchase his brother's freedom. They decided +that the place was too important to be parted with, but undertook to +raise any sum of money for the ransom; and if this were not accepted, +proposed to ask the Pope to proclaim a crusade for his rescue. + +At first Fernando was treated well, and kept at Tangier as an honorable +prisoner; but disappointment enraged the Moors, and he was thrown into a +dungeon, starved, and maltreated. All this usage he endured with the +utmost calmness and resolution, and could by no means be threatened into +entreating for liberty to be won at the cost of the now Christian city +where his knighthood had been won. + +His brother Duarte meantime endeavored to raise the country for his +deliverance; but the plague was still desolating Portugal, so that it +was impossible to collect an army, and the infection at length seized on +the King himself, from a letter which he incautiously opened, and he +died, in his thirty-eighth year, in 1438, the sixth year of his reign +and the second of his brother's captivity. His successor, Affonso V., +was a child of six years old, and quarrels and disputes between the +Queen Mother and the Infante Dom Pedro rendered the chance of redeeming +the captivity of Fernando less and less. + +The King of Castille, and even the Moorish King of Granada, shocked at +his sufferings and touched by his constancy, proposed to unite their +forces against Tangier for his deliverance; but the effect of this was +that Zala ben Zala made him over to Muley Xeques, the King of Fez, by +whom he was thrown into a dungeon without light or air. After a time, he +was brought back to daylight, but only to toil among the other Christian +slaves, to whom he was a model of patience, resignation, and kindness. +Even his enemies became struck with admiration of his high qualities, +and the King of Fez declared that he even deserved to be a Mahometan! + +At last, in 1443, Fernando's captivity ended, but only by his death. +Muley Xeque caused a tall tower to be erected on his tomb, in memory of +the victory of Tangier; but in 1473, two sons of Muley being made +prisoners by the Portuguese, one was ransomed for the body of Dom +Fernando, who was then solemnly laid in the vaults of the beautiful +Abbey of Batalha on the field of Aljubarota, which had given his father +the throne. Universal honor attended the name of the Constant Prince, +the Portuguese Regulus; and seldom as the Spanish admire anything +Portuguese, a fine drama of the poet Calderon is founded upon that noble +spirit which preferred dreary captivity to the yielding up his father's +conquest to the enemies of his country and religion. Nor was this +constancy thrown away; Ceuta remained a Christian city. It was held by +Portugal till the house of Aviz was extinguished in Dom Sebastiao, and +since that time has belonged to the crown of Spain. + + + + +THE CARNIVAL OF PERTH + +1435 + + + +It was bedtime, and the old vaulted chambers of the Dominican monastery +at Perth echoed with sounds that would seem incongruous in such a home +of austerity, but that the disturbed state of Scotland rendered it the +habit of her kings to attach their palaces to convents, that they +themselves might benefit by the 'peace of the Church', which was in +general accorded to all sacred spots. + +Thus it was that Christmas and Carnival time of 1435-6 had been spent by +the Court in the cloisters of Perth, and the dance, the song, and the +tourney had strangely contrasted with the grave and self-denying habits +to which the Dominicans were devoted in their neighboring cells. The +festive season was nearly at an end, for it was the 20th of February; +but the evening had been more than usually gay, and had been spent in +games at chess, tables, or backgammon, reading romances of chivalry, +harping, and singing. King James himself, brave and handsome, and in the +prime of life, was the blithest of the whole joyous party. He was the +most accomplished man in his dominions; for though he had been basely +kept a prisoner at Windsor throughout his boyhood by Henry IV of +England, an education had been bestowed on him far above what he would +have otherwise obtained; and he was naturally a man of great ability, +refinement, and strength of character. Not only was he a perfect knight +on horseback, but in wrestling and running, throwing the hammer, and +'putting the stane', he had scarcely a rival, and he was skilled in all +the learned lore of the time, wrote poetry, composed music both sacred +and profane, and was a complete minstrel, able to sing beautifully and +to play on the harp and organ. His Queen, the beautiful Joan Beaufort, +had been the lady of his minstrelsy in the days of his captivity, ever +since he had watched her walking on the slopes of Windsor Park, and +wooed her in verses that are still preserved. They had now been eleven +years married, and their Court was one bright spot of civilization, +refinement, and grace, amid the savagery of Scotland. And now, after the +pleasant social evening, the Queen, with her long fair hair unbound, was +sitting under the hands of her tire-women, who were preparing her for +the nights rest; and the King, in his furred nightgown, was standing +before the bright fire on the hearth of the wide chimney, laughing and +talking with the attendant ladies. + +Yet dark hints had already been whispered, which might have cast a +shadow over that careless mirth. Always fierce and vindictive, the Scots +had been growing more and more lawless and savage ever since the +disputed succession of Bruce and Balliol had unsettled all royal +authority, and led to one perpetual war with the English. The twenty +years of James's captivity had been the worst of all--almost every noble +was a robber chief; Scottish Borderer preyed upon English Borderer, +Highlander upon Lowlander, knight upon traveler, everyone who had armor +upon him who had not; each clan was at deadly feud with its neighbour; +blood was shed like water from end to end of the miserable land, and the +higher the birth of the offender the greater the impunity he claimed. + +Indeed, James himself had been brought next to the throne by one of the +most savage and horrible murders ever perpetrated--that of his elder +brother, David, by his own uncle; and he himself had probably been only +saved from sharing the like fate by being sent out of the kingdom. His +earnest words on his return to take the rule of this unhappy realm were +these: 'Let God but grant me life, and there shall not be a spot in my +realm where the key shall not keep the castle, and the bracken bush the +cow, though I should lead the life of a dog to accomplish it.' + +This great purpose had been before James through the eleven years of his +reign, and he had worked it out resolutely. The lawless nobles would not +brook his ruling hand, and strong and bitter was the hatred that had +arisen against him. In many of his transactions he was far from +blameless: he was sometimes tempted to craft, sometimes to tyranny; but +his object was always a high and kingly one, though he was led by the +horrid wickedness of the men he had to deal with more than once to +forget that evil is not to be overcome with evil, but with good. In the +main, it was his high and uncompromising resolution to enforce the laws +upon high and low alike that led to the nobles' conspiracies against +him; though, if he had always been true to his purpose of swerving +neither to the right nor to the left, he might have avoided the last +fatal offence that armed the murderer against his life. + +The chief misdoers in the long period of anarchy had been his uncles and +cousins; nor was it till after his eldest uncle's death that his return +home had been possible. With a strong hand had he avenged upon the +princes and their followers the many miseries they had inflicted upon +his people; and in carrying out these measures he had seized upon the +great earldom of Strathern, which had descended to one of their party in +right of his wife, declaring that it could not be inherited by a female. +In this he appears to have acted unjustly, from the strong desire to +avail himself by any pretext of an opportunity of breaking the +overweening power of the great turbulent nobles; and, to make up for the +loss, he created the new earldom of Menteith, for the young Malise +Graham, the son of the dispossessed earl. But the proud and vindictive +Grahams were not thus to be pacified. Sir Robert Graham, the uncle of +the young earl, drew off into the Highlands, and there formed a +conspiracy among other discontented men who hated the resolute +government that repressed their violence. Men of princely blood joined +in the plot, and 300 Highland catherans were ready to accompany the +expedition that promised the delights of war and plunder. + +Even when the hard-worked King was setting forth to enjoy his holiday at +Perth, the traitors had fixed upon that spot as the place of his doom; +but the scheme was known to so many, that it could not be kept entirely +secret, and warnings began to gather round the King. When, on his way to +Perth, he was about to cross the Firth of Forth, the wild figure of a +Highland woman appeared at his bridle rein, and solemnly warned him +'that, if he crossed that water, he would never return alive'. He was +struck by the apparition, and bade one of his knights to enquire of her +what she meant; but the knight must have been a dullard or a traitor, +for he told the King that the woman was either mad or drunk, and no +notice was taken of her warning. + +There was likewise a saying abroad in Scotland, that the new year, 1436, +should see the death of a king; and this same carnival night, James, +while playing at chess with a young friend, whom he was wont to call the +king of love, laughingly observed that 'it must be you or I, since there +are but two kings in Scotland--therefore, look well to yourself'. + +Little did the blithe monarch guess that at that moment one of the +conspirators, touched by a moment's misgiving, was hovering round, +seeking in vain for an opportunity of giving him warning; that even then +his chamberlain and kinsman, Sir Robert Stewart, was enabling the +traitors to place boards across the moat for their passage, and to +remove the bolts and bars of all the doors in their way. And the +Highland woman was at the door, earnestly entreating to see the King, if +but for one moment! The message was even brought to him, but, alas! he +bade her wait till the morrow, and she turned away, declaring that she +should never more see his face! + +And now, as before said, the feast was over, and the King stood, gaily +chatting with his wife and her ladies, when the clang of arms was heard, +and the glare of torches in the court below flashed on the windows. The +ladies flew to secure the doors. Alas! the bolts and bars were gone! Too +late the warnings returned upon the King's mind, and he knew it was he +alone who was sought. He tried to escape by the windows, but here the +bars were but too firm. Then he seized the tongs, and tore up a board in +the floor, by which he let himself down into the vault below, just as +the murderers came rushing along the passage, slaying on their way a +page named Walter Straiton. + +There was no bar to the door. Yes, there was. Catherine Douglas, worthy +of her name, worthy of the cognizance of the bleeding heart, thrust her +arm through the empty staples to gain for her sovereign a few moments +more for escape and safety! But though true as steel, the brave arm was +not as strong. It was quickly broken. She was thrust fainting aside, and +the ruffians rushed in. Queen Joan stood in the midst of the room, with +her hair streaming round her, and her mantle thrown hastily on. Some of +the wretches even struck and wounded her, but Graham called them off, +and bade them search for the King. They sought him in vain in every +corner of the women's apartments, and dispersed through the other rooms +in search of their prey. The ladies began to hope that the citizens and +nobles in the town were coming to their help, and that the King might +have escaped through an opening that led from the vault into the tennis +court. Presently, however, the King called to them to draw him up again, +for he had not been able to get out of the vault, having a few days +before caused the hole to be bricked up, because his tennis balls used +to fly into it and be lost. In trying to draw him up by the sheets, +Elizabeth Douglas, another of the ladies, was actually pulled down into +the vault; the noise was heard by the assassins, who were still watching +outside, and they returned. + +There is no need to tell of the foul and cruel slaughter that ensued, +nor of the barbarous vengeance that visited it. Our tale is of golden, +not of brazen deeds; and if we have turned our eyes for a moment to the +Bloody Carnival of Perth, it is for the sake of the King, who was too +upright for his bloodthirsty subjects, and, above all, for that of the +noble-hearted lady whose frail arm was the guardian of her sovereign's +life in the extremity of peril. + +In like manner, on the dreadful 6th of October, 1787, when the +infuriated mob of Paris had been incited by the revolutionary leaders to +rush to Versailles in pursuit of the royal family, whose absence they +fancied deprived them of bread and liberty, a woman shared the honor of +saving her sovereign's life, at least for that time. + +The confusion of the day, with the multitude thronging the courts and +park of Versailles, uttering the most frightful threats and insults, had +been beyond all description; but there had been a pause at night, and at +two o'clock, poor Queen Marie Antoinette, spent with horror and fatigue, +at last went to bed, advising her ladies to do the same; but their +anxiety was too great, and they sat up at her door. At half-past four +they heard musket shots, and loud shouts, and while one awakened the +Queen, the other, Madame Auguier, flew towards the place whence the +noise came. As she opened the door, she found one of the royal +bodyguards, with his face covered with blood, holding his musket so as +to bar the door while the furious mob were striking at him. He turned to +the lady, and cried, 'Save the Queen, madame, they are come to murder +her!' Quick as lightning, Madame Auguier shut and bolted the door, +rushed to the Queen's bedside, and dragged her to the opposite door, +with a petticoat just thrown over her. Behold, the door was fastened on +the other side! The ladies knocked violently, the King's valet opened +it, and in a few minutes the whole family were in safety in the King's +apartments. M. de Miomandre, the brave guardsman, who used his musket to +guard the Queen's door instead of to defend himself, fell wounded; but +his comrade, M. de Repaire, at once took his place, and, according to +one account, was slain, and the next day his head, set upon a pike, was +borne before the carriage in which the royal family were escorted back +to Paris. + +M. de Miomandre, however, recovered from his wounds, and a few weeks +after, the Queen, hearing that his loyalty had made him a mark for the +hatred of the mob, sent for him to desire him to quit Paris. She said +that gold could not repay such a service as his had been, but she hoped +one day to be able to recompense him more as he deserved; meanwhile, she +hoped he would consider that as a sister might advance a timely sum to a +brother, so she might offer him enough to defray his expenses at Paris, +and to provide for his journey. In a private audience then he kissed her +hand, and those of the King and his saintly sister, Elizabeth, while the +Queen gratefully expressed her thanks, and the King stood by, with tears +in his eyes, but withheld by his awkward bashfulness from expressing the +feelings that overpowered him. + +Madame Auguier, and her sister, Madame Campan, continued with their +royal lady until the next stage in that miserable downfall of all that +was high and noble in unhappy France. She lived through the horrors of +the Revolution, and her daughter became the wife of Marshal Ney. + +Well it is that the darkening firmament does but show the stars, and +that when treason and murder surge round the fated chambers of royalty, +their foulness and violence do but enhance the loyal self-sacrifice of +such doorkeepers as Catherine Douglas, Madame Auguier, or M. de +Miomandre. + + +'Such deeds can woman's spirit do, +O Catherine Douglas, brave and true! +Let Scotland keep thy holy name +Still first upon her ranks of fame.' + + + + +THE CROWN OF ST. STEPHEN + +1440 + + + +Of all the possessions of the old kingdom of Hungary, none was more +valued than what was called the Crown of St. Stephen, so called from +one, which had, in the year 1000, been presented by Pope Sylvester II. +to Stephen, the second Christian Duke, and first King of Hungary. A +crown and a cross were given to him for his coronation, which took place +in the Church of the Holy Virgin, at Alba Regale, also called in German +Weissenburg, where thenceforth the Kings of Hungary were anointed to +begin their troubled reigns, and at the close of them were laid to rest +beneath the pavement, where most of them might have used the same +epitaph as the old Italian leader: 'He rests here, who never rested +before'. For it was a wild realm, bordered on all sides by foes, with +Poland, Bohemia, and Austria, ever casting greedy eyes upon it, and +afterwards with the Turk upon the southern border, while the Magyars, or +Hungarian nobles, themselves were a fierce and untameable race, bold and +generous, but brooking little control, claiming a voice in choosing +their own Sovereign, and to resist him, even by force of arms, if he +broke the laws. No prince had a right to their allegiance unless he had +been crowned with St. Stephen's Crown; but if he had once worn that +sacred circle, he thenceforth was held as the only lawful monarch, +unless he should flagrantly violate the Constitution. In 1076, another +crown had been given by the Greek Emperor to Geysa, King of Hungary, and +the sacred crown combined the two. It had the two arches of the Roman +crown, and the gold circlet of the Constantinopolitan; and the +difference of workmanship was evident. + +In the year 1439 died King Albert, who had been appointed King of +Hungary in right of his wife, Queen Elizabeth. He left a little daughter +only four years old, and as the Magyars had never been governed by a +female hand, they proposed to send and offer their crown, and the hand +of their young widowed Queen, to Wladislas, the King of Poland. But +Elizabeth had hopes of another child, and in case it should be a son, +she had no mind to give away its rights to its father's throne. How, +then, was she to help herself among the proud and determined nobles of +her Court? One thing was certain, that if once the Polish king were +crowned with St. Stephen's crown, it would be his own fault if he were +not King of Hungary as long as he lived; but if the crown were not to be +found, of course he could not receive it, and the fealty of the nobles +would not be pledged to him. + +The most trustworthy person she had about her was Helen Kottenner, the +lady who had the charge of her little daughter, Princess Elizabeth, and +to her she confided her desire that the crown might be secured, so as to +prevent the Polish party from getting access to it. Helen herself has +written down the history of these strange events, and of her own +struggles of mind, at the risk she ran, and the doubt whether good would +come of the intrigue; and there can be no doubt that, whether the +Queen's conduct were praiseworthy or not, Helen dared a great peril for +the sake purely of loyalty and fidelity. 'The Queen's commands', she +says, 'sorely troubled me; for it was a dangerous venture for me and my +little children, and I turned it over in my mind what I should do, for I +had no one to take counsel of but God alone; and I thought if I did it +not, and evil arose therefrom, I should be guilty before God and the +world. So I consented to risk my life on this difficult undertaking; but +desired to have someone to help me.' This was permitted; but the first +person to whom the Lady of Kottenner confided her intention, a Croat, +lost his color from alarm, looked like one half-dead, and went at once +in search of his horse. The next thing that was heard of him was that he +had had a bad fall from his horse, and had been obliged to return to +Croatia, and the Queen remained much alarmed at her plans being known to +one so faint-hearted. However, a more courageous confidant was +afterwards found in a Hungarian gentleman, whose name has become +illegible in Helen's old manuscript. + +The crown was in the vaults of the strong Castle of Plintenburg, also +called Vissegrad, which stands upon a bend of the Danube, about twelve +miles from the twin cities of Buda and Pesth. It was in a case within a +chest, sealed with many seals, and since the King's death, it had been +brought up by the nobles, who closely guarded both it and the Queen, +into her apartments, and there examined and replaced in the chest. The +next night, one of the Queen's ladies upset a wax taper, without being +aware of it, and before the fire was discovered, and put out, the corner +of the chest was singed, and a hole burnt in the blue velvet cushion +that lay on the top. Upon this, the lords had caused the chest to be +taken down again into the vault, and had fastened the doors with many +locks and with seals. The Castle had further been put into the charge of +Ladislas von Gara, the Queen's cousin, and Ban, or hereditary commander, +of the border troops, and he had given it over to a Burggraf, or +seneschal, who had placed his bed in the chamber where was the door +leading to the vaults. + +The Queen removed to Komorn, a castle higher up the Danube, in charge of +her faithful cousin, Count Ulric of Eily, taking with her her little +daughter Elizabeth, Helen Kottenner, and two other ladies. This was the +first stage on the journey to Presburg, where the nobles had wished to +lodge the Queen, and from thence she sent back Helen to bring the rest +of the maids of honor and her goods to join her at Komorn. It was early +spring, and snow was still on the ground, and the Lady of Kottenner and +her faithful nameless assistant travelled in a sledge; but two Hungarian +noblemen went with them, and they had to be most careful in concealing +their arrangements. Helen had with her the Queen's signet, and keys; and +her friend had a file in each shoe, and keys under his black velvet +dress. + +On arriving in the evening, they found that the Burggraf had fallen ill, +and could not sleep in the chamber leading to the vault, because it +belonged to the ladies' chambers, and that he had therefore put a cloth +over the padlock of the door and sealed it. There was a stove in the +room, and the maidens began to pack up their clothes there, an operation +that lasted till eight o'clock; while Helen's friend stood there, +talking and jesting with them, trying all the while to hide the files, +and contriving to say to Helen: 'Take care that we have a light.' So she +begged the old housekeeper to give her plenty of wax tapers, as she had +many prayers to say. At last everyone was gone to bed, and there only +remained in the room with Helen, an old woman, whom she had brought with +her, who knew no German, and was fast asleep. Then the accomplice came +back through the chapel, which opened into this same hall. He had on his +black velvet gown and felt shoes, and was followed by a servant, who, +Helen says, was bound to him by oath, and had the same Christian name as +himself, this being evidently an additional bond of fidelity. Helen, who +had received from the Queen all the keys to this outer room, let them +in, and, after the Burggraf's cloth and seal had been removed, they +unlocked the padlock, and the other two locks of the outer door of the +vault, and the two men descended into it. There were several other +doors, whose chains required to be filed through, and their seals and +locks broken, and to the ears of the waiting Helen the noise appeared +fatally loud. She says, 'I devoutly prayed to God and the Holy Virgin, +that they would support and help me; yet I was in greater anxiety for my +soul than for my life, and I prayed to God that He would be merciful to +my soul, and rather let me die at once there, than that anything should +happen against his will, or that should bring misfortune on my country +and people.' + +She fancied she heard a noise of armed men at the chapel door, but +finding nothing there, believed--not in her own nervous agitation, a +thing not yet invented--that it was a spirit, and returning to her +prayers, vowed, poor lady, to make a pilgrimage to St. Maria Zell, in +Styria, if the Holy Virgin's intercessions obtained their success, and +till the pilgrimage could be made, 'to forego every Saturday night my +feather bed!' After another false alarm at a supposed noise at the +maiden's door, she ventured into the vault to see how her companions +were getting on, when she found they had filed away all the locks, +except that of the case containing the crown, and this they were obliged +to burn, in spite of their apprehension that the smell and smoke might +be observed. They then shut up the chest, replaced the padlocks and +chains with those they had brought for the purpose, and renewed the +seals with the Queen's signet, which bearing the royal arms, would +baffle detection that the seals had been tampered with. They then took +the crown into the chapel, where they found a red velvet cushion, so +large that by taking out some of the stuffing a hiding place was made in +which the crown was deposited, and the cushion sewn up over it. + +By this time day was dawning, the maidens were dressing, and it was the +hour for setting off for Komorn. The old woman who had waited on them +came to the Lady of Kottenner to have her wages paid, and be dismissed +to Buda. While she was waiting, she began to remark on a strange thing +lying by the stove, which, to the Lady Helen's great dismay, she +perceived to be a bit of the case in which the crown was kept. She tried +to prevent the old woman from noticing it, pushed it into the hottest +part of the stove, and, by way of further precaution, took the old woman +away with her, on the plea of asking the Queen to make her a bedeswoman +at Vienna, and this was granted to her. + +When all was ready, the gentleman desired his servant to take the +cushion and put it into the sledge designed for himself and the Lady of +Kottenner. The man took it on his shoulders, hiding it under an old ox- +hide, with the tail hanging down, to the laughter of all beholders. +Helen further records the trying to get some breakfast in the +marketplace and finding nothing but herrings, also the going to mass, +and the care she took not to sit upon the holy crown, though she had to +sit on its cushion in the sledge. They dined at an inn, but took care to +keep the cushion in sight, and then in the dusk crossed the Danube on +the ice, which was becoming very thin, and halfway across it broke under +the maidens' carriage, so that Helen expected to be lost in the Danube, +crown and all. However, though many packages were lost under the ice, +her sledge got safe over, as well as all the ladies, some of whom she +took into her conveyance, and all safely arrived at the castle of Komorn +late in the evening. + +The very hour of their arrival a babe was born to the Queen, and to her +exceeding joy it was a son. Count von Eily, hearing 'that a king and +friend was born to him', had bonfires lighted, and a torchlight +procession on the ice that same night, and early in the morning came the +Archbishop of Gran to christen the child. The Queen wished her faithful +Helen to be godmother, but she refused in favor of some lady whose +family it was probably needful to propitiate. She took off the little +princess Elizabeth's mourning for her father and dressed her in red and +gold, all the maidens appeared in gay apparel, and there was great +rejoicing and thanksgiving when the babe was christened Ladislas, after +a sainted King of Hungary. + +The peril was, however, far from ended; for many of the Magyars had no +notion of accepting an infant for their king, and by Easter, the King of +Poland was advancing upon Buda, to claim the realm to which he had been +invited. No one had discovered the abstraction of the crown, and +Elizabeth's object was to take her child to Weissenburg, and there have +him crowned, so as to disconcert the Polish party. She had sent to Buda +for cloth of gold to make him a coronation dress, but it did not come in +time, and Helen therefore shut herself into the chapel at Komorn, and, +with doors fast bolted, cut up a rich and beautiful vestment of his +grandfather's, the emperor Sigismund, of red and gold, with silver +spots, and made it into a tiny coronation robe, with surplice and +humeral (or shoulder-piece), the stole and banner, the gloves and shoes. +The Queen was much alarmed by a report that the Polish party meant to +stop her on her way to Weissenburg; and if the baggage should be seized +and searched, the discovery of the crown might have fatal consequences. +Helen, on this, observed that the King was more important than the +crown, and that the best way would be to keep them together; so she +wrapped up the crown in a cloth, and hid it under the mattress of his +cradle, with a long spoon for mixing his pap upon the top, so, said the +Queen, he might take care of his crown himself. + +On Tuesday before Whit Sunday the party set out, escorted by Count +Ulric, and several other knights and nobles. After crossing the Danube +in a large boat, the Queen and her little girl were placed in a +carriage, or more probably a litter, the other ladies rode, and the +cradle and its precious contents were carried by four men; but this the +poor little Lassla, as Helen shortens his lengthy name, resented so +much, that he began to scream so loud that she was forced to dismount +and carry him in her arms, along a road rendered swampy by much rain. + +They found all the villages deserted by the peasants, who had fled into +the woods, and as most of their lords were of the other party, they +expected an attack, so the little king was put into the carriage with +his mother and sister, and the ladies formed a circle round it 'that if +anyone shot at the carriage we might receive the stroke'. When the +danger was over the child was taken out again, for he would be content +nowhere but in the arms of either his nurse or of faithful Helen, who +took turns to carry him on foot nearly all the way, sometimes in a high +wind which covered them with dust, sometimes in great heat, sometimes in +rain so heavy that Helen's fur pelisse, with which she covered his +cradle, had to be wrung out several times. They slept at an inn, round +which the gentlemen lighted a circle of fires, and kept watch all night. + +Weissenburg was loyal, five hundred armed gentlemen came out to meet +them, and on Whitsun Eve they entered the city, Helen carrying her +little king in her arms in the midst of a circle of these five hundred +holding their naked swords aloft. On Whit Sunday, Helen rose early, +bathed the little fellow, who was twelve weeks old that day, and dressed +him. He was then carried in her arms to the church, beside his mother. +According to the old Hungarian customs, the choir door was closed--the +burghers were within, and would not open till the new monarch should +have taken the great coronation oath to respect the Hungarian liberties +and laws. + +This oath was taken by the Queen in the name of her son, the doors were +opened, and all the train entered, the little princess being lifted up +to stand by the organ, lest she should be hurt in the throng. First +Helen held her charge up to be confirmed, and then she had to hold him +while he was knighted, with a richly adorned sword bearing the motto +'Indestructible', and by a stout Hungarian knight called Mikosch Weida, +who struck with such a goodwill that Helen felt the blow on her arm, and +the Queen cried out to him not to hurt the child. + +The Archbishop of Gran anointed the little creature, dressed him in the +red and gold robe, and put on his head the holy crown, and the people +admired to see how straight he held up his neck under it; indeed, they +admired the loudness and strength of his cries, when, as the good lady +records, 'the noble king had little pleasure in his coronation for he +wept aloud'. She had to hold him up for the rest of the service, while +Count Ulric of Eily held the crown over his head, and afterwards to seat +him in a chair in St. Peter's Church, and then he was carried home in +his cradle, with the count holding the crown over his head, and the +other regalia borne before him. + +And thus Ladislas became King of Hungary at twelve weeks old, and was +then carried off by his mother into Austria for safety. Whether this +secret robbery of the crown, and coronation by stealth, was wise or just +on the mother's part is a question not easy of answer--though of course +she deemed it her duty to do her utmost for her child's rights. Of Helen +Kottenner's deep fidelity and conscientious feeling there can be no +doubt, and her having acted with her eyes fully open to the risk she +ran, her trust in Heaven overcoming her fears and terrors, rendered her +truly a heroine. + +The crown has had many other adventures, and afterwards was kept in an +apartment of its own, in the castle of Ofen, with an antechamber guarded +by two grenadiers. The door was of iron, with three locks, and the crown +itself was contained in an iron chest with five seals. All this, +however, did not prevent it from being taken away and lost in the +Revolution of 1849. + + + + +GEORGE THE TRILLER + +1455 + + + + I. + +'Why, Lady dear, so sad of cheer? + Hast waked the livelong night?' +'My dreams foreshow my children's woe, + Ernst bold and Albrecht bright. + +'From the dark glades of forest shades + There rushed a raging boar, +Two sapling oaks with cruel strokes + His crooked tusks uptore.' + +'Ah, Lady dear, dismiss thy fear + Of phantoms haunting sleep!' +'The giant knight, Sir Konrad hight, + Hath vowed a vengeance deep. + +'My Lord, o'erbold, hath kept his gold, + And scornful answer spake: +'Kunz, wisdom learn, nor strive to burn + The fish within their lake.' + +'See, o'er the plain, with all his train, + My Lord to Leipzig riding; +Some danger near my children dear + My dream is sure betiding.' + +'The warder waits before the gates, + The castle rock is steep, +The massive walls protect the halls, + Thy children safely sleep.' + + + II. + +'T is night's full noon, fair shines the moon + On Altenburg's old halls, +The silver beams in tranquil streams + Rest on the ivied walls. + +Within their tower the midnight hour + Has wrapt the babes in sleep, +With unclosed eyes their mother lies + To listen and to weep. + +What sudden sound is stirring round? + What clang thrills on her ear? +Is it the breeze amid the trees + Re-echoing her fear? + +Swift from her bed, in sudden dread, + She to her lattice flies: +Oh! sight of woe, from far below + Behold a ladder rise: + +And from yon tower, her children's bower, + Lo! Giant Kunz descending! +Ernst, in his clasp of iron grasp, + His cries with hers is blending. + +'Oh! hear my prayer, my children spare, + The sum shall be restored; +Nay, twenty-fold returned the gold, + Thou know'st how true my Lord.' + +With mocking grace he bowed his face: + 'Lady, my greetings take; +Thy Lord may learn how I can burn + The fish within their lake.' + +Oh! double fright, a second knight + Upon the ladder frail, +And in his arm, with wild alarm, + A child uplifts his wail! + +Would she had wings! She wildly springs + To rouse her slumbering train; +Bolted without, her door so stout + Resists her efforts vain! + +No mortal ear her calls can hear, + The robbers laugh below; +Her God alone may hear her moan, + Or mark her hour of woe. + +A cry below, 'Oh! let me go, + I am no prince's brother; +Their playmate I--Oh! hear my cry + Restore me to my mother!' + +With anguish sore she shakes the door. + Once more Sir Kunz is rearing +His giant head. His errand sped + She sees him reappearing. + +Her second child in terror wild + Is struggling in his hold; +Entreaties vain she pours again, + Still laughs the robber bold. + +'I greet thee well, the Elector tell + How Kunz his counsel takes, +And let him learn that I can burn + The fish within their lakes.' + + + III. + +'Swift, swift, good steed, death's on thy speed, + Gain Isenburg ere morn; +Though far the way, there lodged our prey, + We laugh the Prince to scorn. + +'There Konrad's den and merry men + Will safely hold the boys-- +The Prince shall grieve long ere we leave + Our hold upon his joys. + +'But hark! but hark! how through the dark + The castle bell is tolling, +From tower and town o'er wood and down, + The like alarm notes rolling. + +'The peal rings out! echoes the shout! + All Saxony's astir; +Groom, turn aside, swift must we ride + Through the lone wood of fir.' + +Far on before, of men a score + Prince Ernst bore still sleeping; +Thundering as fast, Kunz came the last, + Carrying young Albrecht weeping. + +The clanging bell with distant swell + Dies on the morning air, +Bohemia's ground another bound + Will reach, and safety there. + +The morn's fresh beam lights a cool stream, + Charger and knight are weary, +He draws his rein, the child's sad plain + He meets with accents cheery. + +'Sir Konrad good, be mild of mood, + A fearsome giant thou! +For love of heaven, one drop be given + To cool my throbbing brow!' + +Kunz' savage heart feels pity's smart, + He soothes the worn-out child, +Bathes his hot cheeks, and bending seeks + For woodland berries wild. + +A deep-toned bark! A figure dark, + Smoke grimed and sun embrowned, +Comes through the wood in wondering mood, + And by his side a hound. + +'Oh, to my aid, I am betrayed, + The Elector's son forlorn, +From out my bed these men of dread + Have this night hither borne!' + +'Peace, if thou 'rt wise,' the false groom cries, + And aims a murderous blow; +His pole-axe long, his arm so strong, + Must lay young Albrecht low. + +See, turned aside, the weapon glide + The woodman's pole along, +To Albrecht's clasp his friendly grasp + Pledges redress from wrong. + +Loud the hound's note as at the throat + Of the false groom he flies; +Back at the sounds Sir Konrad bounds: + 'Off hands, base churl,' he cries. + +The robber lord with mighty sword, + Mailed limbs of giant strength-- +The woodman stout, all arms without, + Save his pole's timber length-- + +Unequal fight! Yet for the right + The woodman holds the field; +Now left, now right, repels the knight, + His pole full stoutly wields. + +His whistle clear rings full of cheer, + And lo! his comrades true, +All swarth and lusty, with fire poles trusty, + Burst on Sir Konrad's view. + +His horse's rein he grasps amain + Into his selle to spring, +His gold-spurred heel his stirrup's steel + Has caught, his weapons ring. + +His frightened steed with wildest speed + Careers with many a bound; +Sir Konrad's heel fast holds the steel, + His head is on the ground. + +The peasants round lift from the ground + His form in woeful plight, +To convent cell, for keeping well, + Bear back the robber knight. + +'Our dear young lord, what may afford + A charcoal-burners' store +We freely spread, milk, honey, bread, + Our heated kiln before!' + + + IV. + +Three mournful days the mother prays, + And weeps the children's fate; +The prince in vain has scoured the plain-- + A sound is at the gate. + +The mother hears, her head she rears, + She lifts her eager finger-- +'Rejoice, rejoice, 't is Albrecht's voice, + Open! Oh, wherefore linger?' + +See, cap in hand the woodman stand-- + Mother, no more of weeping-- +His hound well tried is at his side, + Before him Albrecht leaping, + +Cries, 'Father dear, my friend is here! + My mother! Oh, my mother! +The giant knight he put to flight, + The good dog tore the other.' + +Oh! who the joy that greets the boy, + Or who the thanks may tell, +Oh how they hail the woodman's tale, + How he had 'trilled him well!' + +[Footnote: Trillen, to shake; a word analogous to our rill, to shake the +voice in singing] + +'I trilled him well,' he still will tell + In homely phrase his story, +To those who sought to know how wrought + An unarmed hand such glory. + +That mother sad again is glad, + Her home no more bereft; +For news is brought Ernst may be sought + Within the Devil's Cleft. + +That cave within, these men of sin + Had learnt their leader's fall, +The prince to sell they proffered well + At price of grace to all. + +Another day and Earnest lay, + Safe on his mother's breast; +Thus to her sorrow a gladsome morrow + Had brought her joy and rest. + +The giant knight was judged aright, + Sentenced to death he lay; +The elector mild, since safe his child, + Sent forth the doom to stay. + +But all to late, and o'er the gate + Of Freiburg's council hall +Sir Konrad's head, with features dread, + The traitor's eyes appal. + +The scullion Hans who wrought their plans, + And oped the window grate, +Whose faith was sold for Konrad's gold, + He met a traitor's fate + + + V. + +Behold how gay the wood to-day, + The little church how fair, +What banners wave, what tap'stry brave + Covers its carvings rare! + +A goodly train--the parents twain, + And here the princess two, +Here with his pole, George, stout of soul, + And all his comrades true. + +High swells the chant, all jubilant, + And each boy bending low, +Humbly lays down the wrapping gown + He wore the night of woe. + +Beside them lay a smock of grey, + All grimed with blood and smoke; +A thankful sign to Heaven benign, + That spared the sapling oak. + +'What prize would'st hold, thou 'Triller bold', + Who trilled well for my son?' +'Leave to cut wood, my Lord, so good, + Near where the fight was won.' + +'Nay, Triller mine, the land be thine, + My trusty giant-killer, +A farm and house I and my spouse + Grant free to George the Triller!' + +Years hundred four, and half a score, + Those robes have held their place; +The Triller's deed has grateful meed + From Albrecht's royal race. + + +The child rescued by George the Triller's Golden Deed was the ancestor +of the late Prince Consort, and thus of our future line of kings. He was +the son of the Elector Friedrich the mild of Saxony, and of Margarethe +of Austria, whose dream presaged her children's danger. The Elector had +incurred the vengeance of the robber baron, Sir Konrad of Kauffingen, +who, from his huge stature, was known as the Giant Ritter, by refusing +to make up to him the sum of 4000 gulden which he had had to pay for his +ransom after being made prisoner in the Elector's service. In reply to +his threats, all the answer that the robber knight received was the +proverbial one, 'Do not try to burn the fish in the ponds, Kunz.' + +Stung by the irony, Kunz bribed the elector's scullion, by name Hans +Schwabe, to admit him and nine chosen comrades into the Castle of +Altenburg on the night of the 7th of July, 1455, when the Elector was to +be at Leipzig. Strange to say, this scullion was able to write, for a +letter is extant from him to Sir Konrad, engaging to open the window +immediately above the steep precipice, which on that side was deemed a +sufficient protection to the castle, and to fasten a rope ladder by +which to ascend the crags. This window can still be traced, though +thenceforth it was bricked up. It gave access to the children's +apartments, and on his way to them, the robber drew the bolt of their +mother's door, so that though, awakened by the noise, she rushed to her +window, she was a captive in her own apartment, and could not give the +alarm, nor do anything but join her vain entreaties to the cries of her +helpless children. It was the little son of the Count von Bardi whom +Wilhelm von Mosen brought down by mistake for young Albrecht, and Kunz, +while hurrying up to exchange the children, bade the rest of his band +hasten on to secure the elder prince without waiting for him. He +followed in a few seconds with Albrecht in his arms, and his servant +Schweinitz riding after him, but he never overtook the main body. Their +object was to reach Konrad's own Castle of Isenburg on the frontiers of +Bohemia, but they quickly heard the alarm bells ringing, and beheld +beacons lighted upon every hill. They were forced to betake themselves +to the forests, and about half-way, Prince Ernst's captors, not daring +to go any father, hid themselves and him in a cavern called the Devil's +Cleft on the right bank of the River Mulde. + +Kunz himself rode on till the sun had risen, and he was within so few +miles of his castle that the terror of his name was likely to be a +sufficient protection. Himself and his horse were, however, spent by the +wild midnight ride, and on the border of the wood of Eterlein, near the +monastery of Grunheim, he halted, and finding the poor child grievously +exhausted and feverish, he lifted him down, gave him water, and went +himself in search of wood strawberries for his refreshment, leaving the +two horses in the charge of Schweinitz. The servant dozed in his saddle, +and meanwhile the charcoal-burner, George Schmidt, attracted by the +sounds, came out of the wood, where all night he had been attending to +the kiln, hollowed in the earth, and heaped with earth and roots of +trees, where a continual charring of wood was going on. Little Albrecht +no sooner saw this man than he sprang to him, and telling his name and +rank, entreated to be rescued from these cruel men. The servant awaking, +leapt down and struck a deadly blow at the boy's head with his pole-ax, +but it was parried by the charcoal-burner, who interposing with one hand +the strong wooden pole he used for stirring his kiln, dragged the little +prince aside with the other, and at the same time set his great dog upon +the servant. Sir Konrad at once hurried back, but the valiant charcoal- +burner still held his ground, dangerous as the fight was between the +peasant unarmed except for the long pole, and the fully accoutered +knight of gigantic size and strength. However, a whistle from George +soon brought a gang of his comrades to his aid, and Kunz, finding +himself surrounded, tried to leap into his saddle, and break through the +throng by weight of man and horse, but his spur became entangled, the +horse ran away, and he was dragged along with his head on the ground +till he was taken up by the peasants and carried to the convent of +Grunheim, whence he was sent to Zwickau, and was thence transported +heavily ironed to Freiburg, where he was beheaded on the 14th of July, +only a week after his act of violence. The Elector, in his joy at the +recovery of even one child, was generous enough to send a pardon, but +the messenger reached Freiburg too late, and a stone in the marketplace +still marks the place of doom, while the grim effigy of Sir Konrad's +head grins over the door of the Rathhaus. It was a pity Friedrich's +mildness did not extend to sparing torture as well as death to his +treacherous scullion, but perhaps a servant's power of injuring his +master was thought a reason for surrounding such instances of betrayal +with special horrors. + +The party hidden in the Devil's Cleft overheard the peasants in the wood +talking of the fall of the giant of Kauffingen, and, becoming alarmed +for themselves, they sent to the Governor of the neighboring castle of +Hartenstein to offer to restore Prince Ernst, provided they were +promised a full pardon. The boy had been given up as dead, and intense +were the rejoicings of the parents at his restoration. The Devil's Cleft +changed its name to the Prince's Cleft, and the tree where Albrecht had +lain was called the Prince's Oak, and still remains as a witness to the +story, as do the moth-eaten garments of the princely children, and the +smock of the charcoal-burner, which they offered up in token of +thanksgiving at the little forest church of Ebendorff, near the scene of +the rescue. + +'I trillirt the knaves right well,' was honest George's way of telling +the story of his exploit, not only a brave one, but amounting even to +self-devotion when we remember that the robber baron was his near +neighbour, and a terror to all around. The word Triller took the place +of his surname, and when the sole reward he asked was leave freely to +cut wood in the forest, the Elector gave him a piece of land of his own +in the parish of Eversbach. In 1855 there was a grand celebration of the +rescue of the Saxon princes on the 9th of July, the four hundredth +anniversary, with a great procession of foresters and charcoal-burners +to the 'Triller's Brewery', which stands where George's hut and kiln +were once placed. Three of his descendants then figured in the +procession, but since that time all have died, and the family of the +Trillers is now extinct. + + + + +SIR THOMAS MORE'S DAUGHTER + +1535 + + + +We have seen how dim and doubtful was the belief that upbore the grave +and beautiful Antigone in her self-sacrifice; but there have been women +who have been as brave and devoted in their care of the mortal remains +of their friends--not from the heathen fancy that the weal of the dead +depended on such rites, but from their earnest love, and with a fuller +trust beyond. + +Such was the spirit of Beatrix, a noble maiden of Rome, who shared the +Christian faith of her two brothers, Simplicius and Faustinus, at the +end of the third century. For many years there had been no persecution, +and the Christians were living at peace, worshipping freely, and +venturing even to raise churches. Young people had grown up to whom the +being thrown to the lions, beheaded, or burnt for the faith's sake, was +but a story of the times gone by. But under the Emperor Diocletian all +was changed. The old heathen gods must be worshipped, incense must be +burnt to the statue of the Emperor, or torture and death were the +punishment. The two brothers Simplicius and Faustinus were thus asked to +deny their faith, and resolutely refused. They were cruelly tortured, +and at length beheaded, and their bodies thrown into the tawny waters of +the Tiber. Their sister Beatrix had taken refuge with a poor devout +Christian woman, named Lucina. But she did not desert her brothers in +death; she made her way in secret to the bank of the river, watching to +see whether the stream might bear down the corpses so dear to her. +Driven along, so as to rest upon the bank, she found them at last, and, +by the help of Lucina, she laid them in the grave in the cemetery called +Ad Ursum Pileatum. For seven months she remained in her shelter, but she +was at last denounced, and was brought before the tribunal, where she +made answer that nothing should induce her to adore gods made of wood +and stone. She was strangled in her prison, and her corpse being cast +out, was taken home by Lucina, and buried beside her brothers. It was, +indeed, a favorite charitable work of the Christian widows at Rome to +provide for the burial of the martyrs; and as for the most part they +were poor old obscure women, they could perform this good work with far +less notice than could persons of more mark. + +But nearer home, our own country shows a truly Christian Antigone, +resembling the Greek lady, both in her dutifulness to the living, and in +her tender care for the dead. This was Margaret, the favorite daughter +of sir Thomas More, the true-hearted, faithful statesman of King Henry +VIII. + +Margaret's home had been an exceedingly happy one. Her father, Sir +Thomas More, was a man of the utmost worth, and was both earnestly +religious and conscientious, and of a sweetness of manner and +playfulness of fancy that endeared him to everyone. He was one of the +most affectionate and dutiful of sons to his aged father, Sir John More; +and when the son was Lord Chancellor, while the father was only a judge, +Sir Thomas, on his way to his court, never failed to kneel down before +his father in public, and ask his blessing. Never was the old saying, +that a dutiful child had dutiful children, better exemplified than in +the More family. In the times when it was usual for parents to be very +stern with children, and keep them at a great distance, sometimes making +them stand in their presence, and striking them for any slight offence, +Sir Thomas More thought it his duty to be friendly and affectionate with +them, to talk to them, and to enter into their confidence; and he was +rewarded with their full love and duty. + +He had four children--Margaret, Elizabeth, Cicely, and John. His much- +loved wife died when they were all very young, and he thought it for +their good to marry a widow, Mrs. Alice Middleton, with one daughter +named Margaret, and he likewise adopted an orphan called Margaret Giggs. +With this household he lived in a beautiful large house at Chelsea, with +well-trimmed gardens sloping down to the Thames; and this was the resort +of the most learned and able men, both English and visitors from abroad, +who delighted in pacing the shady walks, listening to the wit and wisdom +of Sir Thomas, or conversing with the daughters, who had been highly +educated, and had much of their father's humor and sprightliness. Even +Henry VIII. himself, then one of the most brilliant and graceful +gentlemen of his time, would sometimes arrive in his royal barge, and +talk theology or astronomy with Sir Thomas; or, it might be, crack jests +with him and his daughters, or listen to the music in which all were +skilled, even Lady More having been persuaded in her old age to learn to +play on various instruments, including the flute. The daughters were +early given in marriage, and with their husbands, continued to live +under their father's roof. Margaret's husband was William Roper, a young +lawyer, of whom Sir Thomas was very fond, and his household at Chelsea +was thus a large and joyous family home of children and grandchildren, +delighting in the kind, bright smiles of the open face under the square +cap, that the great painter Holbein has sent down to us as a familiar +sight. + +But these glad days were not to last for ever. The trying times of the +reign of Henry VIII. were beginning, and the question had been stirred +whether the King's marriage with Katherine of Aragon had been a lawful +one. When Sir Thomas More found that the King was determined to take his +own course, and to divorce himself without permission from the Pope, it +was against his conscience to remain in office when acts were being done +which he could not think right or lawful. He therefore resigned his +office as Lord Chancellor, and, feeling himself free from the load and +temptation, his gay spirits rose higher than ever. His manner of +communicating the change to his wife, who had been very proud of his +state and dignity, was thus. At church, when the service was over, it +had always been the custom for one of his attendants to summon Lady More +by coming to her closet door, and saying, 'Madam, my lord is gone.' On +the day after his resignation, he himself stepped up, and with a low bow +said, 'Madam, my lord is gone,' for in good soothe he was no longer +Chancellor, but only plain Sir Thomas. + +He thoroughly enjoyed his leisure, but he was not long left in +tranquillity. When Anne Boleyn was crowned, he was invited to be +present, and twenty pounds were offered him to buy a suitably splendid +dress for the occasion; but his conscience would not allow him to accept +the invitation, though he well knew the terrible peril he ran by +offending the King and Queen. Thenceforth there was a determination to +ruin him. First, he was accused of taking bribes when administering +justice. It was said that a gilt cup had been given to him as a New +Year's gift, by one lady, and a pair of gloves filled with gold coins by +another; but it turned out, on examination, that he had drunk the wine +out of the cup, and accepted the gloves, because it was ill manners to +refuse a lady's gift, yet he had in both cases given back the gold. + +Next, a charge was brought that he had been leaguing with a half-crazy +woman called the Nun of Kent, who had said violent things about the +King. He was sent for to be examined by Henry and his Council, and this +he well knew was the interview on which his safety would turn, since the +accusation was a mere pretext, and the real purpose of the King was to +see whether he would go along with him in breaking away from Rome--a +proceeding that Sir Thomas, both as churchman and as lawyer, could not +think legal. Whether we agree or not in his views, it must always be +remembered that he ran into danger by speaking the truth, and doing what +he thought right. He really loved his master, and he knew the humor of +Henry VIII., and the temptation was sore; but when he came down from his +conference with the King in the Tower, and was rowed down the river to +Chelsea, he was so merry that William Roper, who had been waiting for +him in the boat, thought he must be safe, and said, as they landed and +walked up the garden-- + +'I trust, sir, all is well, since you are so merry?' + +'It is so, indeed, son, thank God!' + +'Are you then, sir, put out of the bill?' + +'Wouldest thou know, son why I am so joyful? In good faith I rejoice +that I have given the devil a foul fall; because I have with those lords +gone so far that without great shame I can never go back,' he answered, +meaning that he had been enabled to hold so firmly to his opinions, and +speak them out so boldly, that henceforth the temptation to dissemble +them and please the King would be much lessened. That he had held his +purpose in spite of the weakness of mortal nature, was true joy to him, +though he was so well aware of the consequences that when his daughter +Margaret came to him the next day with the glad tidings that the charge +against him had been given up, he calmly answered her, 'In faith, Meg, +what is put off is not given up.' + +One day, when he had asked Margaret how the world went with the new +Queen, and she replied, 'In faith, father, never better; there is +nothing else in the court but dancing and sporting,' he replied, with +sad foresight, 'Never better. Alas, Meg! it pitieth me to remember unto +what misery, poor soul, she will shortly come. These dances of hers will +prove such dances that she will spurn off our heads like footballs, but +it will not be long ere her head will take the same dance.' + +So entirely did he expect to be summoned by a pursuivant that he thought +it would lessen the fright of his family if a sham summons were brought. +So he caused a great knocking to be made while all were at dinner, and +the sham pursuivant went through all the forms of citing him, and the +whole household were in much alarm, till he explained the jest; but the +earnest came only a few days afterwards. On the 13th of April of 1534, +arrived the real pursuivant to summon him to Lambeth, there to take the +oath of supremacy, declaring that the King was the head of the Church of +England, and that the Pope had no authority there. He knew what the +refusal would bring on him. He went first to church, and then, not +trusting himself to be unmanned by his love for his children and +grandchildren, instead of letting them, as usual, come down to the water +side, with tender kisses and merry farewells, he shut the wicket gate of +the garden upon them all, and only allowed his son-in-law Roper to +accompany him, whispering into his ear, 'I thank our Lord, the field is +won.' + +Conscience had triumphed over affection, and he was thankful, though for +the last time he looked on the trees he had planted, and the happy home +he had loved. Before the council, he undertook to swear to some clauses +in the oath which were connected with the safety of the realm; but he +refused to take that part of the oath which related to the King's power +over the Church. It is said that the King would thus have been +satisfied, but that the Queen urged him further. At any rate, after +being four days under the charge of the Abbot of Westminister, Sir +Thomas was sent to the Tower of London. There his wife--a plain, dull +woman, utterly unable to understand the point of conscience--came and +scolded him for being so foolish as to lie there in a close, filthy +prison, and be shut up with rats and mice, instead of enjoying the favor +of the King. He heard all she had to say, and answered, 'I pray thee, +good Mrs. Alice, tell me one thing--is not this house as near heaven as +my own?' To which she had no better answer than 'Tilly vally, tilly +vally.' But, in spite of her folly, she loved him faithfully; and when +all his property was seized, she sold even her clothes to obtain +necessaries for him in prison. + +His chief comfort was, however, in visits and letters from his daughter +Margaret, who was fully able to enter into the spirit that preferred +death to transgression. He was tried in Westminster Hall, on the 1st of +July, and, as he had fully expected, sentenced to death. He was taken +back along the river to the Tower. On the wharf his loving Margaret was +waiting for her last look. She broke through the guard of soldiers with +bills and halberds, threw her arms round his neck, and kissed him, +unable to say any word but 'Oh, my father!--oh, my father!' He blessed +her, and told her that whatsoever she might suffer, it was not without +the will of God, and she must therefore be patient. After having once +parted with him, she suddenly turned back again, ran to him, and, +clinging round his neck, kissed him over and over again--a sight at +which the guards themselves wept. She never saw him again; but the night +before his execution he wrote to her a letter with a piece of charcoal, +with tender remembrances to all the family, and saying to her, 'I never +liked your manner better than when you kissed me last; for I am most +pleased when daughterly love and dear charity have no leisure to look to +worldly courtesy.' He likewise made it his especial request that she +might be permitted to be present at his burial. + +His hope was sure and steadfast, and his heart so firm that he did not +even cease from humorous sayings. When he mounted the crazy ladder of +the scaffold he said, 'Master Lieutenant, I pray you see me safe up; and +for my coming down let me shift for myself.' And he desired the +executioner to give him time to put his beard out of the way of the +stroke, 'since that had never offended his Highness'. + +His body was given to his family, and laid in the tomb he had already +prepared in Chelsea Church; but the head was set up on a pole on London +Bridge. The calm, sweet features were little changed, and the loving +daughter gathered courage as she looked up at them. How she contrived +the deed, is not known; but before many days had passed, the head was no +longer there, and Mrs. Roper was said to have taken it away. She was +sent for to the Council, and accused of the stealing of her father's +head. She shrank not from avowing that thus it had been, and that the +head was in her own possession. One story says that, as she was passing +under the bridge in a boat, she looked up, and said, 'That head has +often lain in my lap; I would that it would now fall into it.' And at +that moment it actually fell, and she received it. It is far more likely +that she went by design, at the same time as some faithful friend on the +bridge, who detached the precious head, and dropped it down to her in +her boat beneath. Be this as it may, she owned before the cruel-hearted +Council that she had taken away and cherished the head of the man whom +they had slain as a traitor. However, Henry VIII. was not a Creon, and +our Christian Antigone was dismissed unhurt by the Council, and allowed +to retain possession of her treasure. She caused it to be embalmed, kept +it with her wherever she went, and when, nine years afterwards, she died +(in the year 1544), it was laid in her coffin in the 'Roper aisle' of +St. Dunstan's Church, at Canterbury. + + + + +UNDER IVAN THE TERRIBLE + +1564. + + + +Prince Andrej Kourbsky was one of the chief boyards or nobles at the +Court of Ivan, the first Grand Prince of Muscovy who assumed the Eastern +title of Tzar, and who relieved Russia from the terrible invasions of +the Tatars. This wild race for nearly four hundred years had roamed over +the country, destroying and plundering all they met with, and blighting +all the attempts at civilization that had begun to be made in the +eleventh century. It was only when the Russians learnt the use of +firearms that these savages were in any degree repressed. In the year +1551 the city of Kazan, upon the River Kazanka, a tributary of the +Volga, was the last city that remained in the hands of the Tatars. It +was a rich and powerful place, a great centre of trade between Europe +and the East, but it was also a nest of robbers, who had frequently +broken faith with the Russians, and had lately expelled the Khan Schig +Alei for having endeavored to fulfill his engagements to them. The Tzar +Ivan Vassilovitch, then only twenty-two years of age, therefore marched +against the place, resolved at any cost to reduce it and free his +country from these inveterate foes. + +On his way he received tidings that the Crimean Tatars had come +plundering into Russia, probably thinking to attack Moscow, while Ivan +was besieging Kazan. He at once sent off the Prince Kourbsky with 15,000 +men, who met double that number of Tatars at Toula, and totally defeated +them, pursuing them to the River Chevorona, where, after a second +defeat, they abandoned a great number of Russian captives, and a great +many camels. Prince Kourbsky was wounded in the head and shoulder, but +was able to continue the campaign. + +Some of the boyards murmured at the war, and declared that their +strength and resources were exhausted. Upon this the Tzar desired that +two lists might be drawn up of the willing and unwilling warriors in his +camp. 'The first', he said, 'shall be as dear to me as my own children; +their needs shall be made known to me, and I will share all I have with +them. The others may stay at home; I want no cowards in my army.' No one +of course chose to be in the second list, and about this time was formed +the famous guard called the Strelitzes, a body of chosen warriors who +were always near the person of the Tzar. + +In the middle of August, 1552, Ivan encamped in the meadows on the banks +of the Volga, which spread like a brilliant green carpet around the hill +upon which stood the strongly fortified city of Kazan. The Tatars had no +fears. 'This is not the first time', they said, 'that we have seen the +Muscovites beneath our walls. Their fruitless attacks always end in +retreats, till we have learned to laugh them to scorn;' and when Ivan +sent them messengers with offers of peace, they replied, 'All is ready; +we only await your coming to begin the feast.' + +They did not know of the great change that the last half-century had +made in sieges. One of the Italian condottieri, or leaders of free +companies, had made his way to Moscow, and under his instructions, +Ivan's troops were for the first time to conduct a siege in the regular +modern manner, by digging trenches in the earth, and throwing up the +soil in front into a bank, behind which the cannon and gunners are +posted, with only small openings made through which to fire at some spot +in the enemy's walls. These trenches are constantly worked nearer and +nearer to the fortifications, till by the effect of the shot an opening +or breach must be made in the walls, and the soldiers can then climb up +upon scaling ladders or heaps of small faggots piled up to the height of +the opening. Sometimes, too, the besiegers burrow underground till they +are just below the wall, then fill the hole with gunpowder, and blow up +all above them; in short, instead of, as in former days, a well- +fortified city being almost impossible to take, except by starving out +the garrison, a siege is in these times almost equally sure to end in +favor of the besiegers. + +All through August and September the Russians made their approaches, +while the Tatars resisted them bravely, but often showing great +barbarity. Once when Ivan again sent a herald, accompanied by a number +of Tatar prisoners, to offer terms to Yediguer, the present Khan, the +defenders called out to their countrymen, 'You had better perish by our +pure hands than by those of the wretched Christians,' and shot a whole +flight of arrows at them. Moreover, every morning the magicians used to +come out at sunrise upon the walls, and their shrieks, contortions, and +waving of garments were believed, not only by the Tatars but by the +Russians, and by Andrej Kourbsky himself, to bring foul weather, which +greatly harassed the Russians. On this Ivan sent to Moscow for a sacred +cross that had been given to the Grand Prince Vladimir when he was +converted; the rivers were blessed, and their water sprinkled round the +camp, and the fair weather that ensued was supposed to be due to the +counteraction of the incantations of the magicians. These Tatars were +Mahometans, but they must have retained some of the wind-raising +enchantments of their Buddhist brethren in Asia. + +A great mine had been made under the gate of Arsk, and eleven barrels of +gunpowder placed in it. On the 30th of September it was blown up, and +the whole tower became a heap of ruins. For some minutes the +consternation of the besieged was such that there was a dead silence +like the stillness of the grave. The Russians rushed forward over the +opening, but the Tatars, recovering at the sight of them, fought +desperately, but could not prevent them from taking possession of the +tower at the gateway. Other mines were already prepared, and the Tzar +gave notice of a general assault for the next day, and recommended all +his warriors to purify their souls by repentance, confession, and +communion, in readiness for the deadly strife before them. In the +meantime, he sent Yediguer a last offer of mercy, but the brave Tatars +cried out, 'We will have no pardon! If the Russians have one tower, we +will build another; if they ruin our ramparts we will set up more. We +will be buried under the walls of Kazan, or else we will make him raise +the siege.' + +Early dawn began to break. The sky was clear and cloudless. The Tatars +were on their walls, the Russians in their trenches; the Imperial eagle +standard, which Ivan had lately assumed, floated in the morning wind. +The two armies were perfectly silent, save here and there the bray of a +single trumpet, or beat of a naker drum in one or the other, and the +continuous hum of the hymns and chants from the three Russian chapel- +tents. The archers held their arrows on the string, the gunners stood +with lighted matches. The copper-clad domes of the minarets began to +glow with the rising sunbeams; the muezzins were on the roofs about to +call the Moslemin to prayer; the deacon in the Tzar's chapel-tent was +reading the Gospel. 'There shall be one fold and one Shepherd.' At that +moment the sun's disk appeared above the eastern hills, and ere yet the +red orb had fully mounted above the horizon, there was a burst as it +were of tremendous thunderings, and the ground shook beneath the church. +The Tzar went to the entrance, and found the whole city hill so 'rolled +in sable smoke', that he could distinguish nothing, and, going back to +his place, desired that the service should continue. The deacon was in +the midst of the prayer for the establishment of the power of the Tzar +and the discomfiture of his enemies, when the crushing burst of another +explosion rushed upon their ears, and as it died away another voice +broke forth, the shout raised by every man in the Russian lines, 'God is +with us!' On then they marched towards the openings that the mines had +made, but there the dauntless garrison, in spite of the terror and +destruction caused by the two explosions, met them with unabated fury, +rolling beams or pouring boiling water upon them as they strove to climb +the breach, and fighting hand to hand with them if they mounted it. +However, by the time the Tzar had completed his devotions and mounted +his horse, his eagle could be seen above the smoke upon the citadel. + +Still the city had to be won, step by step, house by house, street by +street; and even while struggling onwards the Russians were tempted +aside by plunder among the rich stores of merchandise that were heaped +up in the warehouses of this the mart of the East. The Khan profited by +their lack of discipline, and forced them back to the walls; nay, they +would have absolutely been driven out at the great gate, but that they +beheld their young Tzar on horseback among his grey-haired councillors. +By the advice of these old men Ivan rode forward, and with his own hand +planted the sacred standard at the gates, thus forming a barrier that +the fugitives were ashamed to pass. At the same time he, with half his +choice cavalry, dismounted, and entered the town all fresh and vigorous, +their rich armor glittering with gold and silver, and plumes of various +colours streaming from their helmets in all the brilliancy of Eastern +taste. This reinforcement recalled the plunderers to their duty, and the +Tatars were driven back to the Khan's palace, whence, after an hour's +defense, they were forced to retreat. + +At a postern gate, Andrej Kourbsky and two hundred men met Yediguer and +10,000 Tatars, and cut off their retreat, enclosing them in the narrow +streets. They forced their Khan to take refuge in a tower, and made +signs as if to capitulate. 'Listen,' they said. 'As long as we had a +government, we were willing to die for our prince and country. Now Kazan +is yours, we deliver our Khan to you, alive and unhurt--lead him to the +Tzar. For our own part, we are coming down into the open field to drain +our last cup of life with you.' + +Yediguer and one old councillor were accordingly placed in the hands of +an officer, and then the desperate Tatars, climbing down the outside of +the walls, made for the Kazanka, where no troops, except the small body +under Andrej Kourbsky and his brother Romanus, were at leisure to pursue +them. The fighting was terrible, but the two princes kept them in view +until checked by a marsh which horses could not pass. The bold fugitives +took refuge in a forest, where, other Russian troops coming up, all were +surrounded and slain, since not a man of them would accept quarter. + +Yediguer was kindly treated by Ivan, and accompanying him to Moscow, +there became a Christian, and was baptized by the name of Simeon, in the +presence of the Tzar and his whole court, on the banks of the Moskwa. He +married a Russian lady, and his whole conduct proved that his conversion +was sincere. + +But this story has only been told at so much length to show what manner +of man Andrej Kourbsky was, and Ivan Vassilovitch had been, and how they +had once been brethren in arms; and perhaps it has been lingered over +from the melancholy interest there must always be in watching the fall +of a powerful nation, and the last struggles of gallant men. Ivan was +then a gallant, religious and highly gifted prince, generous and +merciful, and with every promise of a glorious reign, full of benefits +to his country. Alas! this part of his career was one glimpse of +brightness in the course of a long tempestuous day. His reign had begun +when he was but three years old. He had had a violent and cruel mother, +and had, after her death, been bred up by evil-minded courtiers, who +absolutely taught him cruel and dissolute amusements in order to prevent +him from attending to state affairs. For a time, the exhortations of the +good and fearless patriarch, and the influence of his gentle wife +Anastasia, had prevailed, and with great vigor and strong principle he +had shaken off all the evil habits of his boyhood, and begun, as it +seemed, an admirable reign. + +Too soon, a severe illness shook the balance of his mind, and this +was quickly followed by the death of the excellent Tzarina Anastasia. +Whether grief further unsettled him, or whether the loss of her gentle +influence left him a prey to his wicked councillors, from that time +forward his conduct was so wildly savage and barbarous as to win for him +the surname of the Terrible. Frantic actions, extravagant excesses, and +freaks of horrible cruelty looked like insanity; and yet, on the other +hand, he often showed himself a clear-headed and sagacious monarch, +anxious for the glory and improvement of his people. + +But he lived in continual suspicion, and dreaded every eminent man in +his dominions. Kourbsky whom he had once loved and trusted, and had +charged with the command of his army, as his most able boyard, fell +under his suspicion; and, with horror and indignation, learnt that the +Tzar was plotting against his life, and intended to have him put to +death. Kourbsky upon this explained to his wife that she must either +see him put to a shameful death, or let him leave her for ever. He gave +his blessing to his son, a boy of nine years old, and leaving his house +at night he scaled the wall of Moscow, and meeting his faithful servant, +Vasili Shibanoff, with two horses, he made his escape. This Vasili was +his stirrup-bearer, one of those serfs over whom the boyard on whose +land they were born possessed absolute power. That power was often +abused, but the instinctive faithfulness of the serf towards his master +could hardly be shaken, even by the most savage treatment, and a well- +treated serf viewed his master's family with enthusiastic love and +veneration. Vasili accompanied his master's flight through the birch +forests towards the Livonian frontier, the country where but lately +Kourbsky had been leading the Tzar's armies. On the way the prince's +horse became exhausted by his weight, and Vasili insisted on giving up +his own in its stead, though capture in the course of such desertion +would have been certain death. However, master and servant safely +arrived at Wolmar in Livonia, and there Andrej came to the determination +of renouncing the service of the ungrateful Ivan, and entering that of +the King of Poland. For this last step there was no excuse. Nothing can +justify a man in taking up arms against his country, but in the middle +Ages the tie of loyalty was rather to the man than to the state, and +Andrej Kourbsky seems to have deemed that his honor would be safe, +provided he sent a letter to his sovereign, explaining his grievance and +giving up his allegiance. The letter is said to have been full of grave +severity and deep, suppressed indignation, though temperate in tone; but +no one would consent to be the bearer of such a missive, since the cruel +tyrant's first fury was almost certain to fall on him who presented it. +Believing his master's honor at stake, Vasili offered himself to be the +bearer of the fatal letter, and Kourbsky accepted the offer, tendering +to him a sum of money, which the serf rejected, knowing that money would +soon be of little service to him, and seeking no reward for what he +deemed his duty to his lord. + +As Ivan's justice had turned into barbarity, so his religion had turned +into foolish fanatic observance. He had built a monastery near Moscow +for himself and three hundred chosen boyards, and every morning at three +or four o'clock he took his two sons into the belfry with him and +proceeded to strike the bells, the Russian mode of ringing them, till +all the brethren were assembled. This bell-sounding was his favorite +occupation, and in it he was engaged when Vasili arrived. The servant +awaited him in the vestibule, and delivered the letter with these words: +'From my master and thine exile, Prince Andrej Kourbsky.' + +Ivan answered by such a blow on the leg with his iron-tipped rod that +the blood poured from the wound; but Vasili neither started, cried out, +nor moved a feature. At once the Tzar bade him be seized and tortured, +to make him disclose whether his master had any partners in guilt, or if +any plans were matured. But no extremity of agony could extract aught +but praises of the prince, and assurances of his readiness to die for +him. From early morning till late at night the torturers worked, one +succeeding when another was tired out; but nothing could overcome his +constancy, and his last words were a prayer to implore his God to have +mercy on his master and forgive his desertion. + +His praise came even from the tyrant, who wrote to Kourbsky--'Let thy +servant Vaska [Footnote: the abbreviation of Vasili or Basil.] shame +thee. He preserved his truth to thee before the Tzar and the people. +Having given thee his word of faith, he kept it, even before the gates +of death.' + +After the flight of Kourbsky, the rage of Ivan continued to increase +with each year of his life. He had formed a sort of bodyguard of a +thousand ruffians, called the Oprichnina, who carried out his barbarous +commands, and committed an infinity of murders and robberies on their +own account. He was like a distorted caricature of Henry VIII, and, like +him, united violence and cruelty with great exactness about religious +worship, carrying his personal observances to the most fanatic +extravagance. + +In the vacancy of the Metropolitan See, he cast his eyes upon the +monastery in the little island of Solovsky, in the White Sea, where the +Prior, Feeleep Kolotchof, was noted for his holy life, and the good he +had done among the wild and miserable population of the island. He was +the son of a rich boyard, but had devoted himself from his youth to a +monastic life, and the fame of his exertions in behalf of the islanders +had led the Tzar to send him not only precious vessels for the use of +his church, but contributions to the stone churches, piers, and +hostelries that he raised for his people; for whom he had made roads, +drained marshes, introduced cattle, and made fisheries and salt pans, +changing the whole aspect of the place, and lessening even the +inclemency of the climate. + +On this good man the Tzar fixed his choice. He wrote to him to come to +Moscow to attend a synod, and on his arrival made him dine at the +palace, and informed him that he was to be chief pastor of the Russian +Church. Feeleep burst into tears, entreating permission to refuse, and +beseeching the Tzar not to trust 'so heavy a freight to such a feeble +bark'. Ivan held to his determination, and Feeleep then begged him at +least to dismiss the cruel Oprichnina. 'How can I bless you,' he said, +'while I see my country in mourning?' + +The Tzar replied by mentioning his suspicions of all around him, and +commanded Feeleep to be silent. He expected to be sent back to his +convent at once, but, instead of this, the Tzar commanded the clergy to +elect him Archbishop, and they all added their entreaties to him to +accept the office, and endeavor to soften the Tzar, who respected him; +and he yielded at last, saying, 'The will of the Tzar and the pastors of +the church must, then, be done.' + +At his consecration, he preached a sermon on the power of mildness, and +the superiority of the victories of love over the triumphs of war. It +awoke the better feelings of Ivan, and for months he abstained from any +deed of violence; his good days seemed to have returned and he lived in +intimate friendship with the good Archbishop. + +But after a time the sleeping lion began to waken. Ivan's suspicious +mind took up an idea that Feeleep had been incited by the nobles to +request the abolition of the Oprichnina, and that they were exciting a +revolt. The spies whom he sent into Moscow told him that wherever an +Oprichnik appeared, the people shrank away in silence, as, poor things! +they well might. He fancied this as a sign that conspiracies were +brewing, and all his atrocities began again. The tortures to which whole +families were put were most horrible; the Oprichniks went through the +streets with poignards and axes, seeking out their victims, and killing +from ten to twenty a day. The corpses lay in the streets, for no one +dared to leave his house to bury them. Feeleep vainly sent letters and +exhortations to the Tzar--they were unnoticed. The unhappy citizens came +to the Archbishop, entreating him to intercede for them, and he gave +them his promise that he would not spare his own blood to save theirs. + +One Sunday, as Feeleep was about to celebrate the Holy Communion, Ivan +came into the Cathedral with a troop of his satellites, like him, +fantastically dressed in black cassocks and high caps. He came towards +the Metropolitan, but Feeleep kept his eyes fixed on the picture of our +Lord, and never looked at him. Someone said, 'Holy Father, here is the +prince; give him your blessing.' + +'No,' said the Archbishop, 'I know not the Tzar in this strange +disguise--still less do I know him in his government. Oh, Prince! we are +here offering sacrifice to the Lord, and beneath the altar the blood of +guiltless Christians is flowing in torrents... You are indeed on the +throne, but there is One above all, our Judge and yours. How shall you +appear before his Judgment Seat?--stained with the blood of the +righteous, stunned with their shrieks, for the stones beneath your feet +cry out for vengeance to Heaven. Prince, I speak as shepherd of souls; I +fear God alone.' + +The Archbishop was within the golden gates, which, in Russian churches, +close in the sanctuary or chancel, and are only entered by the clergy. +He was thus out of reach of the cruel iron-tipped staff, which the Tzar +could only strike furiously on the pavement, crying out, 'Rash monk, I +have spared you too long. Henceforth I will be to you such as you +describe.' + +The murders went on in their full horrors; but, in spite of the threat, +the Archbishop remained unmolested, though broken-hearted at the +cruelties around him. At last, however, his resolute witness became more +than the tyrant would endure, and messengers were secretly sent to the +island of Solovsky, to endeavor to find some accusation against him. +They tampered with all the monks in the convent, to induce them to find +some fault in him, but each answered that he was a saint in every +thought, word, and deed; until at last Payssi, the prior who had +succeeded him, was induced, by the hope of a bishopric, to bear false +witness against him. + +He was cited before an assembly of bishops and boyards, presided over by +the Tzar, and there he patiently listened to the monstrous stories told +by Payssi. Instead of defending himself, he simply said, 'This seed will +not bring you a good harvest;' and, addressing himself to the Tzar, +said, 'Prince, you are mistaken if you think I fear death. Having +attained an advanced age, far from stormy passions and worldly +intrigues, I only desire to return my soul to the Most High, my +Sovereign Master and yours. Better to perish an innocent martyr, than as +Metropolitan to look on at the horrors and impieties of these wretched +times. Do what you will with me! Here are the pastoral staff, the white +mitre, and the mantle with which you invested me. And you, bishops, +archimandrites, abbots, servants of the altar, feed the flock of Christ +zealously, as preparing to give an account thereof, and fear the Judge +of Heaven more than the earthly judge.' + +He was then departing, when the Tzar recalled him, saying that he could +not be his own judge, and that he must await his sentence. In truth, +worse indignities were preparing for him. He was in the midst of the +Liturgy on the 8th of November, the Greek Michaelmas, when a boyard came +in with a troop of armed Oprichniks, who overawed the people, while the +boyard read a paper degrading the Metropolitan from his sacred office; +and then the ruffians, entering through the golden gates tore off his +mitre and robes, wrapped him in a mean gown, absolutely swept him out of +the church with brooms, and took him in a sledge to the Convent of the +Epiphany. The people ran after him, weeping bitterly, while the +venerable old man blessed them with uplifted hands, and, whenever he +could be heard, repeated his last injunction, 'Pray, pray to God.' + +Once again he was led before the Emperor, to hear the monstrous sentence +that for sorcery, and other heavy charges, he was to be imprisoned for +life. He said no reproachful word, only, for the last time, he besought +the Tzar to have pity on Russia, and to remember how his ancestors had +reigned, and the happy days of his youth. Ivan only commanded the +soldiers to take him away; and he was heavily ironed, and thrown into a +dungeon, whence he was afterwards transferred to a convent on the banks +of the Moskwa, where he was kept bare of almost all the necessaries of +life: and in a few days' time the head of Ivan Borissovitch Kolotchof, +the chief of his family, was sent to him, with the message, 'Here are +the remains of your dear kinsman, your sorcery could not save him!' +Feeleep calmly took the head in his arms, blessed it, and gave it back. + +The people of Moscow gathered round the convent, gazed at his cell, and +told each other stories of his good works, which they began to magnify +into miracles. Thereupon the Emperor sent him to another convent, at a +greater distance. Here he remained till the next year, 1569, when Maluta +Skouratof, a Tatar, noted as a favorite of the Tzar, and one of the +chief ministers of his cruelty, came into his cell, and demanded his +blessing for the Tzar. + +The Archbishop replied that blessings only await good men and good +works, adding tranquilly, 'I know what you are come for. I have long +looked for death. Let the Tzar's will be done.' The assassin then +smothered him, but pretended to the abbot that he had been stifled by +the heat of the cell. He was buried in haste behind the altar, but his +remains have since been removed to his own cathedral at Moscow, the +scene where he had freely offered his own life by confronting the tyrant +in the vain endeavor to save his people. + +Vain, too, was the reproof of the hermit, who shocked Ivan's scruples by +offering him a piece of raw flesh in the middle of Lent, and told him +that he was preying on the flesh and blood of his subjects. The crimes +of Ivan grew more and more terrible, and yet his acuteness was such that +they can hardly be inscribed to insanity. He caused the death of his own +son by a blow with that fatal staff of his; and a last, after a fever +varied by terrible delirium, in which alone his remorse manifested +itself, he died while setting up the pieces for a game at chess, on the +17th of March, 1584. + +This has been a horrible story, in reality infinitely more horrible than +we have made it; but there is this blessing among many others in +Christianity, that the blackest night makes its diamonds only show their +living luster more plainly: and surely even Ivan the Terrible, in spite +of himself, did something for the world in bringing out the faithful +fearlessness of Archbishop Feeleep, and the constancy of the stirrup- +bearer, Vasili. + + + + +FORT ST. ELMO + +1565 + + + +The white cross of the Order of St. John waved on the towers of Rhodes +for two hundred and fifty-five years. In 1552, after a desperate +resistance, the Turks, under their great Sultan, Solyman the +Magnificent, succeeded in driving the Knights Hospitaliers from their +beautiful home, and they were again cast upon the world. + +They were resolved, however, to continue their old work of protecting +the Mediterranean travelers, and thankfully accepted, as a gift from the +Emperor Charles V., the little islet of Malta as their new station. It +was a great contrast to their former home, being little more than a mere +rock rising steeply out of the sea, white, glaring and with very shallow +earth, unfit to bear corn, though it produced plenty of oranges, figs, +and melons--with little water, and no wood,--the buildings wretched, and +for the most part uninhabited, and the few people a miserable mongrel +set, part Arab, part Greek, part Sicilian, and constantly kept down by +the descents of the Moorish pirates, who used to land in the unprotected +bays, and carry off all the wretched beings they could catch, to sell +for slaves. It was a miserable exchange from fertile Rhodes, which was +nearly five times larger than this barren rock; but the Knights only +wanted a hospital, a fortress, and a harbour; and this last they found +in the deeply indented northern shore, while they made the first two. +Only a few years had passed before the dreary Citta Notabile had become +in truth a notable city, full of fine castle-like houses, infirmaries, +and noble churches, and fenced in with mighty wall and battlements-- +country houses were perched upon the rocks--the harbors were fortified, +and filled with vessels of war--and deep vaults were hollowed out in the +rock, in which corn was stored sufficient to supply the inhabitants for +many months. + +Everywhere that there was need was seen the red flag with the eight- +pointed cross. If there was an earthquake on the shores of Italy or +Sicily, there were the ships of St. John, bringing succor to the crushed +and ruined townspeople. In every battle with Turk or Moor, the Knights +were among the foremost; and, as ever before, their galleys were the aid +of the peaceful merchant, and the terror of the corsair. Indeed, they +were nearer Tunis, Tripoli, and Algiers, the great nests of these +Moorish pirates, and were better able to threaten them, and thwart their +cruel descents, than when so much farther eastward; and the Mahometan +power found them quite as obnoxious in Malta as in Rhodes. + +Solyman the Magnificent resolved, in his old age, to sweep these +obstinate Christians from the seas, and, only twelve years after the +siege of Rhodes, prepared an enormous armament, which he united with +those of the Barbary pirates, and placed under the command of Mustafa +and Piali, his two bravest pashas, and Dragut, a terrible Algerine +corsair, who had already made an attempt upon the island, but had been +repulsed by the good English knight, Sir Nicholas Upton. Without the +advice of this pirate the Sultan desired that nothing should be +undertaken. + +The Grand Master who had to meet this tremendous danger was Jean Parisot +de la Valette, a brave and resolute man, as noted for his piety and +tenderness to the sick in the infirmaries as for his unflinching +courage. When he learnt the intentions of the Sultan, he began by +collecting a Chapter of his Order, and, after laying his tidings before +them, said: 'A formidable army and a cloud of barbarians are about to +burst on this isle. Brethren, they are the enemies of Jesus Christ. The +question is the defense of the Faith, and whether the Gospel shall yield +to the Koran. God demands from us the life that we have already devoted +to Him by our profession. Happy they who in so good a cause shall first +consummate their sacrifice. But, that we may be worthy, my brethren, let +us hasten to the altar, there to renew our vows; and may to each one of +us be imparted, by the very Blood of the Saviour of mankind, and by +faithful participation in His Sacraments, that generous contempt of +death that can alone render us invincible.' + +With these words, he led the way to the church, and there was not an +individual knight who did not on that day confess and receive the Holy +Communion; after which they were as new men--all disputes, all +trivialities and follies were laid aside--and the whole community +awaited the siege like persons under a solemn dedication. + +The chief harbour of Malta is a deep bay, turned towards the north, and +divided into two lesser bays by a large tongue of rock, on the point of +which stood a strong castle, called Fort St. Elmo. The gulf to the +westward has a little island in it, and both gulf and islet are called +Marza Muscat. The gulf to the east, called the Grand Port, was again +divided by three fingers of rock projecting from the mainland, at right +angles to the tongue that bore Fort St. Elmo. Each finger was armed with +a strong talon--the Castle of La Sangle to the east, the Castle of St. +Angelo in the middle, and Fort Ricasoli to the west. Between St. Angelo +and La Sangle was the harbour where all the ships of war were shut up at +night by an immense chain; and behind was il Borgo, the chief +fortification in the island. Citta Notabile and Gozo were inland, and +their fate would depend upon that of the defenses of the harbor. To +defend all this, the Grand Master could only number 700 knights and +8,500 soldiers. He sent to summon home all those of the Order who were +dispersed in the different commanderies in France, Spain, and Germany, +and entreated aid from the Spanish king, Philip II., who wished to be +considered as the prime champion of Roman Catholic Christendom, and who +alone had the power of assisting him. The Duke of Alva, viceroy for +Philip in Sicily, made answer that he would endeavor to relieve the +Order, if they could hold out Fort St. Elmo till the fleet could be got +together; but that if this castle were once lost, it would be impossible +to bring them aid, and they must be left to their fate. + +The Grand Master divided the various posts to the knights according to +their countries. The Spaniards under the Commander De Guerras, Bailiff +of Negropont, had the Castle of St. Elmo; the French had Port de la +Sangle; the Germans, and the few English knights whom the Reformation +had left, were charged with the defense of the Port of the Borgo, which +served as headquarters, and the Commander Copier, with a body of troops, +was to remain outside the town and watch and harass the enemy. + +On the 18th of May, 1565, the Turkish fleet came in sight. It consisted +of 159 ships, rowed by Christian slaves between the decks, and carrying +30,000 Janissaries and Spahis, the terrible warriors to whom the Turks +owed most of their victories, and after them came, spreading for miles +over the blue waters, a multitude of ships of burthen bringing the +horses of the Spahis, and such heavy battering cannon as rendered the +dangers of a siege infinitely greater than in former days. These +Janissaries were a strange, distorted resemblance of the knights +themselves, for they were bound in a strict brotherhood of arms, and +were not married, so as to care for nothing but each other, the Sultan, +and the honor of their troop. They were not dull, apathetic Turks, but +chiefly natives of Circassia and Georgia, the land where the human race +is most beautiful and nobly formed. They were stolen from their homes, +or, too often, sold by their parents when too young to remember their +Christian baptism, and were bred up as Mahometans, with no home but +their corps, no kindred but their fellow soldiers. Their title, given by +the Sultan who first enrolled them, meant New Soldiers, their ensign was +a camp kettle, as that of their Pashas was one, two, or three horses' +tails, in honor of the old Kurdish chief, the founder of the Turkish +empire; but there was no homeliness in their appointments, their +weapons--scimitars, pistols, and carabines--were crusted with gold and +jewels; their head-dress, though made in imitation of a sleeve, was +gorgeous, and their garments were of the richest wool and silk, dyed +with the deep, exquisite colours of the East. Terrible warriors were +they, and almost equally dreaded were the Spahis, light horsemen from +Albania and the other Greek and Bulgarian provinces who had entered the +Turkish service, and were great plunderers, swift and cruel, glittering, +both man and horse, with the jewels they had gained in their forays. + +These were chiefly troops for the land attack, and they were set on +shore at Port St. Thomas, where the commanders, Mustafa and Piali, held +a council, to decide where they should first attack. Piali wished to +wait for Dragut, who was daily expected, but Mustafa was afraid of +losing time, and of being caught by the Spanish fleet, and insisted on +at once laying siege to Fort St. Elmo, which was, he thought, so small +that it could not hold out more than five or six days. + +Indeed, it could not hold above 300 men, but these were some of the +bravest of the knights, and as it was only attacked on the land side, +they were able to put off boats at night and communicate with the Grand +Master and their brethren in the Borgo. The Turks set up their +batteries, and fired their enormous cannon shot upon the fortifications. +One of their terrible pieces of ordnance carried stone balls of 160 lb., +and no wonder that stone and mortar gave way before it, and that a +breach was opened in a few days' time. That night, when, as usual, +boatloads of wounded men were transported across to the Borgo, the +Bailiff of Negropont sent the knight La Cerda to the Grand Master to +give an account of the state of things and ask for help. La Cerda spoke +strongly, and, before a great number of knights, declared that there was +no chance of so weak a place holding out for more than a week. + +'What has been lost,' said the Grand Master, 'since you cry out for +help?' + +'Sir,' replied La Cerda, 'the castle may be regarded as a patient in +extremity and devoid of strength, who can only be sustained by continual +remedies and constant succor.' + +'I will be doctor myself,' replied the Grand Master, 'and will bring +others with me who, if they cannot cure you of fear, will at least be +brave enough to prevent the infidels from seizing the fort.' + +The fact was, as he well knew, that the little fort could not hold out +long, and he grieved over the fate of his knights; but time was +everything, and the fate of the whole isle depended upon the white cross +being still on that point of land when the tardy Sicilian fleet should +set sail. He was one who would ask no one to run into perils that he +would not share, and he was bent on throwing himself into St. Elmo, and +being rather buried under the ruins than to leave the Mussulmans free a +moment sooner than could be helped to attack the Borgo and Castle of St. +Angelo. But the whole Chapter of Knights entreated him to abstain, and +so many volunteered for this desperate service, that the only difficulty +was to choose among them. Indeed, La Cerda had done the garrison +injustice; no one's heart was failing but his own; and the next day +there was a respite, for a cannon shot from St. Angelo falling into the +enemy's camp, shattered a stone, a splinter of which struck down the +Piali Pasha. He was thought dead, and the camp and fleet were in +confusion, which enabled the Grand Master to send off his nephew, the +Chevalier de la Valette Cornusson, to Messina to entreat the Viceroy of +Sicily to hasten to their relief; to give him a chart of the entrance of +the harbour, and a list of signals, and to desire in especial that two +ships belonging to the Order, and filled with the knights who had +hurried from distant lands too late for the beginning of the siege, +might come to him at once. To this the Viceroy returned a promise that +at latest the fleet should sail on the 15th of June, adding an +exhortation to him at all sacrifices to maintain St. Elmo. This reply +the Grand Master transmitted to the garrison, and it nerved them to +fight even with more patience and self-sacrifice. A desperate sally was +led by the Chevalier de Medran, who fought his way into the trenches +where the Turkish cannon were planted, and at first drove all before +him; but the Janissaries rallied and forced back the Christians out of +the trenches. Unfortunately there was a high wind, which drove the smoke +of the artillery down on the counter-scarp (the slope of masonry facing +the rampart), and while it was thus hidden from the Christians, the +Turks succeeded in effecting a lodgment there, fortifying themselves +with trees and sacks of earth and wool. When the smoke cleared off, the +knights were dismayed to see the horse-tail ensigns of the Janissaries +so near them, and cannon already prepared to batter the ravelin, or +outwork protecting the gateway. + +La Cerda proposed to blow this fortification up, and abandon it, but no +other knight would hear of deserting an inch of wall while it could yet +be held. + +But again the sea was specked with white sails from the south-east. Six +galleys came from Egypt, bearing 900 troops--Mameluke horsemen, troops +recruited much like the Janissaries and quite as formidable. These ships +were commanded by Ulucciali, an Italian, who had denied his faith and +become a Mahometan, and was thus regarded with especial horror by the +chivalry of Malta. And the swarm thickened for a few days more; like +white-winged and beautiful but venomous insects hovering round their +prey, the graceful Moorish galleys and galliots came up from the south, +bearing 600 dark-visaged, white-turbaned, lithe-limbed Moors from +Tripoli, under Dragut himself. The thunders of all the guns roaring +forth their salute of honor told the garrison that the most formidable +enemy of all had arrived. And now their little white rock was closed in +on every side, with nothing but its own firmness to be its aid. + +Dragut did not approve of having begun with attacking Fort St. Elmo; he +thought that the inland towns should have been first taken, and Mustafa +offered to discontinue the attack, but this the Corsair said could not +now be done with honor, and under him the attack went on more furiously +than ever. He planted a battery of four guns on the point guarding the +entrance of Marza Muscat, the other gulf, and the spot has ever since +been called Dragut's Point. Strange to say, the soldiers in the ravelin +fell asleep, and thus enabled the enemy to scramble up by climbing on +one another's shoulders and enter the place. As soon as the alarm was +given, the Bailiff of Negropont, with a number of knights, rushed into +the ravelin, and fought with the utmost desperation, but all in vain; +they never succeeded in dislodging the Turks, and had almost been +followed by them into the Fort itself. Only the utmost courage turned +back the enemy at last, and, it was believed, with a loss of 3,000. The +Order had twenty knights and a hundred soldiers killed, with many more +wounded. One knight named Abel de Bridiers, who was shot through the +body, refused to be assisted by his brethren, saying, 'Reckon me no more +among the living. You will be doing better by defending our brothers.' +He dragged himself away, and was found dead before the altar in the +Castle chapel. The other wounded were brought back to the Borgo in boats +at night, and La Cerda availed himself of a slight scratch to come with +them and remain, though the Bailiff of Negropont, a very old man, and +with a really severe wound, returned as soon as it had been dressed, +together with the reinforcements sent to supply the place of those who +had been slain. The Grand Master, on finding how small had been La +Cerda's hurt, put him in prison for several days; but he was afterwards +released, and met his death bravely on the ramparts of the Borgo. + +The 15th of June was passed. Nothing would make the Sicilian Viceroy +move, nor even let the warships of the Order sail with their own +knights, and the little fort that had been supposed unable to hold out a +week, had for full a month resisted every attack of the enemy. + +At last Dragut, though severely wounded while reconnoitring, set up a +battery on the hill of Calcara, so as to command the strait, and hinder +the succors from being sent across to the fort. The wounded were laid +down in the chapel and the vaults, and well it was for them that each +knight of the Order could be a surgeon and a nurse. One good swimmer +crossed under cover of darkness with their last messages, and La Valette +prepared five armed boats for their relief; but the enemy had fifteen +already in the bay, and communication was entirely cut off. It was the +night before the 23rd of June when these brave men knew their time was +come. All night they prayed, and prepared themselves to die by giving +one another the last rites of the Church, and at daylight each repaired +to his post, those who could not walk being carried in chairs, and sat +ghastly figures, sword in hand, on the brink of the breach, ready for +their last fight. + +By the middle of the day every Christian knight in St. Elmo had +died upon his post, and the little heap of ruins was in the hands of the +enemy. Dragut was dying of his wound, but just lived to hear that the +place was won, when it had cost the Sultan 8,000 men! Well might Mustafa +say, 'If the son has cost us so much, what will the father do?' + +It would be too long to tell the glorious story of the three months' +further siege of the Borgo. The patience and resolution of the knights +was unshaken, though daily there were tremendous battles, and week after +week passed by without the tardy relief from Spain. It is believed that +Philip II. thought that the Turks would exhaust themselves against the +Order, and forbade his Viceroy to hazard his fleet; but at last he was +shamed into permitting the armament to be fitted out. Two hundred +knights of St. John were waiting at Messina, in despair at being unable +to reach their brethren in their deadly strait, and constantly haunting +the Viceroy's palace, till he grew impatient, and declared they did not +treat him respectfully enough, nor call him 'Excellency'. + +'Senor,' said one of them, 'if you will only bring us in time to save +the Order, I will call you anything you please, excellency, highness, or +majesty itself.' + +At last, on the 1st of September, the fleet really set sail, but it +hovered cautiously about on the farther side of the island, and only +landed 6,000 men and then returned to Sicily. However, the tidings of +its approach had spread such a panic among the Turkish soldiers, who +were worn out and exhausted by their exertions, that they hastily raised +the siege, abandoned their heavy artillery, and, removing their garrison +from Fort St. Elmo, re-embarked in haste and confusion. No sooner, +however, was the Pasha in his ship than he became ashamed of his +precipitation, more especially when he learnt that the relief that had +put 16,000 men to flight consisted only of 6,000, and he resolved to +land and give battle; but his troops were angry and unwilling, and were +actually driven out of their ships by blows. + +In the meantime, the Grand Master had again placed a garrison in St. +Elmo, which the Turks had repaired and restored, and once more the cross +of St. John waved on the end of its tongue of land, to greet the Spanish +allies. A battle was fought with the newly arrived troops, in which the +Turks were defeated; they again took to their ships, and the Viceroy of +Sicily, from Syracuse, beheld their fleet in full sail for the East. + +Meantime, the gates of the Borgo were thrown open to receive the +brethren and friends who had been so long held back from coming to the +relief of the home of the Order. Four months' siege, by the heaviest +artillery in Europe, had shattered the walls and destroyed the streets, +till, to the eyes of the newcomers, the town looked like a place taken +by assault, and sacked by the enemy; and of the whole garrison, knights, +soldiers, and sailors altogether, only six hundred were left able to +bear arms, and they for the most part covered with wounds. The Grand +Master and his surviving knights could hardly be recognized, so pale and +altered were they by wounds and excessive fatigue; their hair, beards, +dress, and armor showing that for four full months they had hardly +undressed, or lain down unarmed. The newcomers could not restrain their +tears, but all together proceeded to the church to return thanks for the +conclusion of their perils and afflictions. Rejoicings extended all over +Europe, above all in Italy, Spain, and southern France, where the Order +of St. John was the sole protection against the descents of the Barbary +corsairs. The Pope sent La Valette a cardinal's hat, but he would not +accept it, as unsuited to his office; Philip II. presented him with a +jeweled sword and dagger. Some thousand unadorned swords a few months +sooner would have been a better testimony to his constancy, and that of +the brave men whose lives Spain had wasted by her cruel delays. + +The Borgo was thenceforth called Citta Vittoriosa; but La Valette +decided on building the chief town of the isle on the Peninsula of Fort +St. Elmo, and in this work he spent his latter days, till he was killed +by a sunstroke, while superintending the new works of the city which is +deservedly known by his name, as Valetta. + +The Order of St. John lost much of its character, and was finally swept +from Malta in the general confusion of the Revolutionary wars. The +British crosses now float in the harbour of Malta; but the steep white +rocks must ever bear the memory of the self-devoted endurance of the +beleaguered knights, and, foremost of all, of those who perished in St. +Elmo, in order that the signal banner might to the very last summon the +tardy Viceroy to their aid. + + + + +THE VOLUNTARY CONVICT + +1622 + + + +In the early summer of the year 1605, a coasting vessel was sailing +along the beautiful Gulf of Lyons, the wind blowing gently in the sails, +the blue Mediterranean lying glittering to the south, and the curved +line of the French shore rising in purple and green tints, dotted with +white towns and villages. Suddenly three light, white-sailed ships +appeared in the offing, and the captain's practiced eye detected that +the wings that bore them were those of a bird of prey. He knew them for +African brigantines, and though he made all sail, it was impossible to +run into a French port, as on, on they came, not entirely depending on +the wind, but, like steamers, impelled by unseen powers within them. +Alas! that power was not the force of innocent steam, but the arms of +Christian rowers chained to the oar. Sure as the pounce of a hawk upon a +partridge was the swoop of the corsairs upon the French vessel. A signal +to surrender followed, but the captain boldly refused, and armed his +crew, bidding them stand to their guns. But the fight was too unequal, +the brave little ship was disabled, the pirates boarded her, and, after +a sharp fight on deck, three of the crew lay dead, all the rest were +wounded, and the vessel was the prize of the pirates. The captain was at +once killed, in revenge for his resistance, and all the rest of the crew +and passengers were put in chains. Among these passengers was a young +priest named Vincent de Paul, the son of a farmer in Languedoc, who had +used his utmost endeavors to educate his son for the ministry, even +selling the oxen from the plough to provide for the college expenses. A +small legacy had just fallen to the young man, from a relation who had +died at Marseilles; he had been thither to receive it, and had been +persuaded by a friend to return home by sea. And this was the result of +the pleasant voyage. The legacy was the prey of the pirates, and +Vincent, severely wounded by an arrow, and heavily chained, lay half- +stifled in a corner of the hold of the ship, a captive probably for life +to the enemies of the faith. It was true that France had scandalized +Europe by making peace with the Dey of Tunis, but this was a trifle to +the corsairs; and when, after seven days' further cruising, they put +into the harbour of Tunis, they drew up an account of their capture, +calling it a Spanish vessel, to prevent the French Consul from claiming +the prisoners. + +The captives had the coarse blue and white garments of slaves given +them, and were walked five or six times through the narrow streets and +bazaars of Tunis, by way of exhibition. They were then brought back to +their ship, and the purchasers came thither to bargain for them. They +were examined at their meals, to see if they had good appetites; their +sides were felt like those of oxen; their teeth looked at like those of +horses; their wounds were searched, and they were made to run and walk +to show the play of their limbs. All this Vincent endured with patient +submission, constantly supported by the thought of Him who took upon Him +the form of a servant for our sakes; and he did his best, ill as he was, +to give his companions the same confidence. + +Weak and unwell, Vincent was sold cheap to a fisherman; but in his new +service it soon became apparent that the sea made him so ill as to be of +no use, so he was sold again to one of the Moorish physicians, the like +of whom may still be seen, smoking their pipes sleepily, under their +white turbans, cross-legged, among the drugs in their shop windows--- +these being small open spaces beneath the beautiful stone lacework of +the Moorish lattices. The physician was a great chemist and distiller, +and for four years had been seeking the philosopher's stone, which was +supposed to be the secret of making gold. He found his slave's learning +and intelligence so useful that he grew very fond of him, and tried hard +to persuade him to turn Mahometan, offering him not only liberty, but +the inheritance of all his wealth, and the secrets that he had +discovered. + +The Christian priest felt the temptation sufficiently to be always +grateful for the grace that had carried him through it. At the end of a +year, the old doctor died, and his nephew sold Vincent again. His next +master was a native of Nice, who had not held out against the temptation +to renounce his faith in order to avoid a life of slavery, but had +become a renegade, and had the charge of one of the farms of the Dey of +Tunis. The farm was on a hillside in an extremely hot and exposed +region, and Vincent suffered much from being there set to field labour, +but he endured all without a murmur. His master had three wives, and one +of them, who was of Turkish birth,, used often to come out and talk to +him, asking him many questions about his religion. Sometimes she asked +him to sing, and he would then chant the psalm of the captive Jews: 'By +the waters of Babylon we sat down and wept;' and others of the 'songs' +of his Zion. The woman at last told her husband that he must have been +wrong in forsaking a religion of which her slave had told her such +wonderful things. Her words had such an effect on the renegade that he +sought the slave, and in conversation with him soon came to a full sense +of his own miserable position as an apostate. A change of religion on +the part of a Mahometan is, however, always visited with death, both to +the convert and his instructor. An Algerine, who was discovered to have +become a Christian, was about this time said to have been walled up at +once in the fortifications he had been building; and the story has been +confirmed by the recent discovery, by the French engineers, of the +remains of a man within a huge block of clay, that had taken a perfect +cast of his Moorish features, and of the surface of his garments, and +even had his black hair adhering to it. Vincent's master, terrified at +such perils, resolved to make his escape in secret with his slave. It is +disappointing to hear nothing of the wife; and not to know whether she +would not or could not accompany them. All we know is, that master and +slave trusted themselves alone to a small bark, and, safely crossing the +Mediterranean, landed at Aigues Mortes, on the 28th of June, 1607; and +that the renegade at once abjured his false faith, and soon after +entered a brotherhood at Rome, whose office it was to wait on the sick +in hospitals. + +This part of Vincent de Paul's life has been told at length because it +shows from what the Knights of St. John strove to protect the +inhabitants of the coasts. We next find Vincent visiting at a hospital +at Paris, where he gave such exceeding comfort to the patients that all +with one voice declared him a messenger from heaven. + +He afterwards became a tutor in the family of the Count de Joigni, a +very excellent man, who was easily led by him to many good works. M. de +Joigni was inspector general of the 'Galeres', or Hulks, the ships in +the chief harbors of France, such as Brest and Marseilles, where the +convicts, closely chained, were kept to hard labour, and often made to +toil at the oar, like the slaves of the Africans. Going the round of +these prison ships, the horrible state of the convicts, their half-naked +misery, and still more their fiendish ferocity went to the heart of the +Count and of the Abbé de Paul; and, with full authority from the +inspector, the tutor worked among these wretched beings with such good +effect that on his doings being represented to the King, Louis XIII., he +was made almoner general to the galleys. + +While visiting those at Marseilles, he was much struck by the broken- +down looks and exceeding sorrowfulness of one of the convicts. He +entered into conversation with him, and, after many kind words, +persuaded him to tell his troubles. His sorrow was far less for his own +condition than for the misery to which his absence must needs reduce his +wife and children. And what was Vincent's reply to this? His action was +so striking that, though in itself it could hardly be safe to propose it +as an example, it must be mentioned as the very height of self- +sacrifice. + +He absolutely changed places with the convict. Probably some arrangement +was made with the immediate jailor of the gang, who, by the exchange of +the priest for the convict, could make up his full tale of men to show +when his numbers were counted. At any rate the prisoner went free, and +returned to his home, whilst Vincent wore a convict's chain, did a +convict's work, lived on convict's fare, and, what was worse, had only +convict society. He was soon sought out and released, but the hurts he +had received from the pressure of the chain lasted all his life. He +never spoke of the event; it was kept a strict secret; and once when he +had referred to it in a letter to a friend, he became so much afraid +that the story would become known that he sent to ask for the letter +back again. It was, however, not returned, and it makes the fact +certain. It would be a dangerous precedent if prison chaplains were to +change places with their charges; and, beautiful as was Vincent's +spirit, the act can hardly be justified; but it should also be +remembered that among the galleys of France there were then many who had +been condemned for resistance to the arbitrary will of Cardinal de +Richelieu, men not necessarily corrupt and degraded like the thieves and +murderers with whom they were associated. At any rate, M. de Joigni did +not displace the almoner, and Vincent worked on the consciences of the +convicts with infinitely more force for having been for a time one of +themselves. Many and many were won back to penitence, a hospital was +founded for them, better regulations established, and, for a time, both +prisons and galleys were wonderfully improved, although only for the +life-time of the good inspector and the saintly almoner. But who shall +say how many souls were saved in those years by these men who did what +they could? + +The rest of the life of Vincent de Paul would be too lengthy to tell +here, though acts of beneficence and self-devotion shine out in glory at +each step. The work by which he is chiefly remembered is his +establishment of the Order of Sisters of Charity, the excellent women +who have for two hundred years been the prime workers in every +charitable task in France, nursing the sick, teaching the young, tending +deserted children, ever to be found where there is distress or pain. + +But of these, and of his charities, we will not here speak, nor even of +his influence for good on the King and Queen themselves. The whole tenor +of his life was 'golden' in one sense, and if we told all his golden +deeds they would fill an entire book. So we will only wait to tell how +he showed his remembrance of what he had gone through in his African +captivity. The redemption of the prisoners there might have seemed his +first thought, but that he did so much in other quarters. At different +times, with the alms that he collected, and out of the revenues of his +benefices, he ransomed no less then twelve hundred slaves from their +captivity. At one time the French Consul at Tunis wrote to him that for +a certain sum a large number might be set free, and he raised enough to +release not only these, but seventy more, and he further wrought upon +the King to obtain the consent of the Dey of Tunis that a party of +Christian clergy should be permitted to reside in the consul's house, +and to minister to the souls and bodies of the Christian slaves, of whom +there were six thousand in Tunis alone, besides those in Algiers, +Tangier, and Tripoli! + +Permission was gained, and a mission of Lazarist brothers arrived. This, +too, was an order founded by Vincent, consisting of priestly nurses like +the Hospitaliers, though not like them warriors. They came in the midst +of a dreadful visitation of the plague, and nursed and tended the sick, +both Christians and Mahometans, with fearless devotion, day and night, +till they won the honor and love of the Moors themselves. + +The good Vincent de Paul died in the year 1660, but his brothers of St. +Lazarus, and sisters of charity still tread in the paths he marked out +for them, and his name scarcely needs the saintly epithet that his +church as affixed to it to stand among the most honorable of charitable +men. + +The cruel deeds of the African pirates were never wholly checked till +1816, when the united fleets of England and France destroyed the old den +of corsairs at Algiers, which has since become a French colony. + + + + +THE HOUSEWIVES OF LOWENBURG + +1631 + + + +Brave deeds have been done by the burgher dames of some of the German +cities collectively. Without being of the first class of Golden Deeds, +there is something in the exploit of the dames of Weinsberg so quaint +and so touching, that it cannot be omitted here. + +It was in the first commencement of the long contest known as the strife +between the Guelfs and Ghibellines--before even these had become the +party words for the Pope's and the Emperor's friends, and when they only +applied to the troops of Bavaria and of Swabia--that, in 1141, Wolf, +Duke of Bavaria, was besieged in his castle of Weinberg by Friedrich, +Duke of Swabia, brother to the reigning emperor, Konrad III. + +The siege lasted long, but Wolf was obliged at last to offer to +surrender; and the Emperor granted him permission to depart in safety. +But his wife did not trust to this fair offer. She had reason to believe +that Konrad had a peculiar enmity to her husband; and on his coming to +take possession of the castle, she sent to him to entreat him to give +her a safe conduct for herself and all the other women in the garrison, +that they might come out with as much of their valuables as they could +carry. + +This was freely granted, and presently the castle gates opened. From +beneath them came the ladies--but in strange guise. No gold nor jewels +were carried by them, but each one was bending under the weight of her +husband, whom she thus hoped to secure from the vengeance of the +Ghibellines. Konrad, who was really a generous and merciful man, is said +to have been affected to tears by this extraordinary performance; he +hastened to assure the ladies of the perfect safety of their lords, and +that the gentlemen might dismount at once, secure both of life and +freedom. He invited them all to a banquet, and made peace with the Duke +of Bavaria on terms much more favorable to the Guelfs than the rest of +his party had been willing to allow. The castle mount was thenceforth +called no longer the Vine Hill, but the Hill of Weibertreue, or woman's +fidelity. We will not invidiously translate it woman's truth, for there +was in the transaction something of a subterfuge; and it must be owned +that the ladies tried to the utmost the knightly respect for womankind. + +The good women of Lowenburg, who were but citizens' wives, seem to us +more worthy of admiration for constancy to their faith, shown at a time +when they had little to aid them. It was such constancy as makes +martyrs; and though the trial stopped short of this, there is something +in the homeliness of the whole scene, and the feminine form of passive +resistance, that makes us so much honor and admire the good women that +we cannot refrain from telling the story. + +It was in the year 1631, in the midst of the long Thirty Years' Was +between Roman Catholics and Protestants, which finally decided that each +state should have its own religion, Lowenburg, a city of Silesia, +originally Protestant, had passed into the hands of the Emperor's Roman +Catholic party. It was a fine old German city, standing amid woods and +meadows, fortified with strong walls surrounded by a moat, and with gate +towers to protect the entrance. + +In the centre was a large market-place, called the Ring, into which +looked the Council-house and fourteen inns, or places of traffic, for +the cloth that was woven in no less than 300 factories. The houses were +of stone, with gradually projecting stories to the number of four or +five, surmounted with pointed gables. The ground floors had once had +trellised porches, but these had been found inconvenient and were +removed, and the lower story consisted of a large hall, and strong +vault, with a spacious room behind it containing a baking-oven, and a +staircase leading to a wooden gallery, where the family used to dine. It +seems they slept in the room below, though they had upstairs a handsome +wainscoted apartment. + +Very rich and flourishing had the Lowenburgers always been, and their +walls were quite sufficient to turn back any robber barons, or even any +invading Poles; but things were different when firearms were in use, and +the bands of mercenary soldiers had succeeded the feudal army. They were +infinitely more formidable during the battle or siege from their +discipline, and yet more dreadful after it for their want of discipline. +The poor Lowneburgers had been greatly misused: their Lutheran pastors +had been expelled; all the superior citizens had either fled or been +imprisoned; 250 families spent the summer in the woods, and of those who +remained in the city, the men had for the most part outwardly conformed +to the Roman Catholic Church. Most of these were of course indifferent +at heart, and they had found places in the town council which had +formerly been filled by more respectable men. However, the wives had +almost all remained staunch to their Lutheran confession; they had +followed their pastors weeping to the gates of the city, loading them +with gifts, and they hastened at every opportunity to hear their +preachings, or obtain baptism for their children at the Lutheran +churches in the neighborhood. + +The person who had the upper hand in the Council was one Julius, who had +been a Franciscan friar, but was a desperate, unscrupulous fellow, not +at all like a monk. Finding that it was considered as a reproach that +the churches of Lowenburg were empty, he called the whole Council +together on the 9th of April, 1631, and informed them that the women +must be brought to conformity, or else there were towers and prisons for +them. The Burgomaster was ill in bed, but the Judge, one Elias Seiler, +spoke up at once. 'If we have been able to bring the men into the right +path, why should not we be able to deal with these little creatures?' + +Herr Mesnel, a cloth factor, who had been a widower six weeks, thought +it would be hard to manage, though he quite agreed to the expedient, +saying, 'It would be truly good if man and wife had one Creed and one +Paternoster; as concerns the Ten Commandments it is not so pressing.' (A +sentiment that he could hardly have wished to see put in practice.) + +Another councilor, called Schwob Franze, who had lost his wife a few +days before, seems to have had an eye to the future, for he said it +would be a pity to frighten away the many beautiful maidens and widows +there were among the Lutheran women; but on the whole the men without +wives were much bolder and more sanguine of success than the married +ones. And no one would undertake to deal with his own wife privately, so +it ended by a message being sent to the more distinguished ladies to +attend the Council. + +But presently up came tidings that not merely these few dames, whom they +might have hoped to overawe, were on their way, but that the Judge's +wife and the Burgomaster's were the first pair in a procession of full +500 housewives, who were walking sedately up the stairs to the Council +Hall below the chamber where the dignitaries were assembled. This was +not by any means what had been expected, and the message was sent down +that only the chief ladies should come up. 'No,' replied the Judge's +wife, 'we will not allow ourselves to be separated,' and to this they +were firm; they said, as one fared all should fare; and the Town Clerk, +going up and down with smooth words, received no better answer than this +from the Judge's wife, who, it must be confessed, was less ladylike in +language than resolute in faith. + +'Nay, nay, dear friend, do you think we are so simple as not to perceive +the trick by which you would force us poor women against our conscience +to change our faith? My husband and the priest have not been consorting +together all these days for nothing; they have been joined together +almost day and night; assuredly they have either boiled or baked a +devil, which they may eat up themselves. I shall not enter there! Where +I remain, my train and following will remain also! Women, is this your +will?' + +'Yea, yea, let it be so,' they said; 'we will all hold together as one +man.' + +His honor the Town Clerk was much affrighted, and went hastily back, +reporting that the Council was in no small danger, since each housewife +had her bunch of keys at her side! These keys were the badge of a wife's +dignity and authority, and moreover they were such ponderous articles +that they sometimes served as weapons. A Scottish virago has been know +to dash out the brains of a wounded enemy with her keys; and the +intelligence that the good dames had come so well furnished, filled the +Council with panic. Dr. Melchior Hubner, who had been a miller's man, +wished for a hundred musketeers to mow them down; but the Town Clerk +proposed that all the Council should creep quietly down the back stairs, +lock the doors on the refractory womankind, and make their escape. +This was effected as silently and quickly as possible, for the whole +Council 'could confess to a state of frightful terror.' Presently the +women peeped out, and saw the stairs bestrewn with hats, gloves, and +handkerchiefs; and perceiving how they had put all the wisdom and +authority of the town to the rout, there was great merriment among them, +though, finding themselves locked up, the more tenderhearted began to +pity their husbands and children. As for themselves, their maids and +children came round the Town Hall, to hand in provisions to them, and +all the men who were not of the Council were seeking the magistrates to +know what their wives had done to be thus locked up. + +The Judge sent to assemble the rest of the Council at his house; and +though only four came, the doorkeeper ran to the Town Hall, and called +out to his wife that the Council had reassembled, and they would soon be +let out. To which, however, that very shrewd dame, the Judge's wife, +answered with great composure, 'Yea, we willingly have patience, as we +are quite comfortable here; but tell them they ought to inform us why we +are summoned and confined without trial.' + +She well knew how much better off she was than her husband without her. +He paced about in great perturbation, and at last called for something +to eat. The maid served up a dish of crab, some white bread, and butter; +but, in his fury, he threw all the food about the room and out the +window, away from the poor children, who had had nothing to eat all day, +and at last he threw all the dishes and saucepans out of window. At last +the Town Clerk and two others were sent to do their best to persuade the +women that they had misunderstood--they were in no danger, and were only +invited to the preachings of Holy Week: and, as Master Daniel, the +joiner, added, 'It was only a friendly conference. It is not customary +with my masters and the very wise Council to hang a man before they have +caught him.' + +This opprobrious illustration raised a considerable clamor of abuse from +the ruder women; but the Judge's and Burgomaster's ladies silenced them, +and repeated their resolution never to give up their faith against their +conscience. Seeing that no impression was made on them, and that nobody +knew what to do without them at home, the magistracy decided that they +should be released, and they went quietly home; but the Judge Seiler, +either because he had been foremost in the business, or else perhaps +because of the devastation he had made at home among the pots and pans, +durst not meet his wife, but sneaked out of the town, and left her with +the house to herself. + +The priest now tried getting the three chief ladies alone together, and +most politely begged them to conform; but instead of arguing, they +simply answered; 'No; we were otherwise instructed by our parents and +former preachers.' + +Then he begged them at least to tell the other women that they had asked +for fourteen days for consideration. + +'No, dear sir,' they replied: 'we were not taught by our parents to tell +falsehoods, and we will not learn it from you.' + +Meanwhile Schwob Franze rushed to the Burgomaster's bedside, and begged +him, for Heaven's sake, to prevent the priest from meddling with the +women; for the whole bevy, hearing that their three leaders were called +before the priest, were collecting in the marketplace, keys, bundles, +and all; and the panic of the worthy magistrates was renewed. The +Burgomaster sent for the priest, and told him plainly, that if any harm +befel him from the women, the fault would be his own; and thereupon he +gave way, the ladies went quietly home, and their stout champions laid +aside their bundles and keys--not out of reach, however, in case of +another summons. + +However, the priest was obliged, next year, to leave Lowenburg in +disgrace, for he was a man of notoriously bad character; and Dr. +Melchior became a soldier, and was hanged at Prague. + +After all, such a confession as this is a mere trifle, not only compared +with martyrdoms of old, but with the constancy with which, after the +revocation of the Edict of Nantes, the Huguenots endured persecution--- +as, for instance, the large number of women who were imprisoned for +thirty-eight years at Aigues Mortes; or again, with the steady +resolution of the persecuted nuns of Port Royal against signing the +condemnation of the works of Jansen. Yet, in its own way, the feminine +resistance of these good citizens' wives, without being equally high- +toned, is worthy of record, and far too full of character to be passed +over. + + + + +FATHERS AND SONS + +219--1642--1798 + + + +One of the noblest characters in old Roman history is the first Scipio +Africanus, and his first appearance is in a most pleasing light, at the +battle of the River Ticinus, B.C. 219, when the Carthaginians, under +Hannibal, had just completed their wonderful march across the Alps, and +surprised the Romans in Italy itself. + +Young Scipio was then only seventeen years of age, and had gone to his +first battle under the eagles of his father, the Consul, Publius +Cornelius Scipio. It was an unfortunate battle; the Romans, when +exhausted by long resistance to the Spanish horse in Hannibal's army, +were taken in flank by the Numidian calvary, and entirely broken. The +Consul rode in front of the few equites he could keep together, striving +by voice and example to rally his forces, until he was pierced by one of +the long Numidian javelins, and fell senseless from his horse. The +Romans, thinking him dead, entirely gave way; but his young son would +not leave him, and, lifting him on his horse, succeeded in bringing him +safe into the camp, where he recovered, and his after days retrieved the +honor of the Roman arms. + +The story of a brave and devoted son comes to us to light up the sadness +of our civil wars between Cavaliers and Roundheads in the middle of the +seventeenth century. It was soon after King Charles had raised his +standard at Nottingham, and set forth on his march for London, that it +became evident that the Parliamentary army, under the Earl of Essex, +intended to intercept his march. The King himself was with the army, +with his two boys, Charles and James; but the General-in-chief was +Robert Bertie, Earl of Lindsay, a brave and experienced old soldier, +sixty years of age, godson to Queen Elizabeth, and to her two favorite +Earls, whose Christian name he bore. He had been in her Essex's +expedition to Cambridge, and had afterwards served in the Low Countries, +under Prince Maurice of Nassau; for the long Continental wars had +throughout King James' peaceful reign been treated by the English +nobility as schools of arms, and a few campaigns were considered as a +graceful finish to a gentleman's education. As soon as Lord Lindsay had +begun to fear that the disputes between the King and Parliament must end +in war, he had begun to exercise and train his tenantry in Lincolnshire +and Northamptonshire, of whom he had formed a regiment of infantry. With +him was his son Montagu Bertie, Lord Willoughby, a noble-looking man of +thirty-two, of whom it was said, that he was 'as excellent in reality as +others in pretence,' and that, thinking 'that the cross was an ornament +to the crown, and much more to the coronet, he satisfied not himself +with the mere exercise of virtue, but sublimated it, and made it grace.' +He had likewise seen some service against the Spaniards in the +Netherlands, and after his return had been made a captain in the +Lifeguards, and a Gentleman of the Bedchamber. Vandyke has left +portraits of the father and the son; the one a bald-headed, alert, +precise-looking old warrior, with the cuirass and gauntlets of elder +warfare; the other, the very model of a cavalier, tall, easy, and +graceful, with a gentle reflecting face, and wearing the long lovelocks +and deep point lace collar and cuffs characteristic of Queen Henrietta's +Court. Lindsay was called General-in-chief, but the King had imprudently +exempted the cavalry from his command, its general, Prince Rupert of the +Rhine, taking orders only from himself. Rupert was only three-and- +twenty, and his education in the wild school of the Thirty Years' War +had not taught him to lay aside his arrogance and opinionativeness; +indeed, he had shown great petulance at receiving orders from the King +through Lord Falkland. + +At eight o'clock, on the morning of the 23rd of October, King Charles +was riding along the ridge of Edgehill, and looking down into the Vale +of Red Horse, a fair meadow land, here and there broken by hedges and +copses. His troops were mustering around him, and in the valley he could +see with his telescope the various Parliamentary regiments, as they +poured out of the town of Keinton, and took up their positions in three +lines. 'I never saw the rebels in a body before,' he said, as he gazed +sadly at the subjects arrayed against him. 'I shall give them battle. +God, and the prayers of good men to Him, assist the justice of my +cause.' The whole of his forces, about 11,000 in number, were not +assembled till two o'clock in the afternoon, for the gentlemen who had +become officers found it no easy matter to call their farmers and +retainers together, and marshal them into any sort of order. But while +one troop after another came trampling, clanking, and shouting in, +trying to find and take their proper place, there were hot words round +the royal standard. + +Lord Lindsay, who was an old comrade of the Earl of Essex, the commander +of the rebel forces, knew that he would follow the tactics they had both +together studied in Holland, little thinking that one day they should be +arrayed one against the other in their own native England. He had a high +opinion of Essex's generalship, and insisted that the situation of the +Royal army required the utmost caution. Rupert, on the other hand, had +seen the swift fiery charges of the fierce troopers of the Thirty Years' +war, and was backed up by Patrick, Lord Ruthven, one of the many Scots +who had won honor under the great Swedish King, Gustavus Adolphus. A +sudden charge of the Royal horse would, Rupert argued, sweep the +Roundheads from the field, and the foot would have nothing to do but to +follow up the victory. The great portrait at Windsor shows us exactly +how the King must have stood, with his charger by his side, and his +grave, melancholy face, sad enough at having to fight at all with his +subjects, and never having seen a battle, entirely bewildered between +the ardent words of his spirited nephew and the grave replies of the +well-seasoned old Earl. At last, as time went on, and some decision was +necessary, the perplexed King, willing at least not to irritate Rupert, +desired that Ruthven should array the troops in the Swedish fashion. + +It was a greater affront to the General-in-chief than the king was +likely to understand, but it could not shake the old soldier's loyalty. +He gravely resigned the empty title of General, which only made +confusion worse confounded, and rode away to act as colonel of his own +Lincoln regiment, pitying his master's perplexity, and resolved that no +private pique should hinder him from doing his duty. His regiment was of +foot soldiers, and was just opposite to the standard of the Earl of +Essex. + +The church bell was ringing for afternoon service when the Royal forces +marched down the hill. The last hurried prayer before the charge was +stout old Sir Jacob Astley's, 'O Lord, Thou knowest how busy I must be +this day; if I forget Thee, do not Thou forget me;' then, rising, he +said, 'March on, boys.' And, amid prayer and exhortation, the other side +awaited the shock, as men whom a strong and deeply embittered sense of +wrong had roused to take up arms. Prince Rupert's charge was, however, +fully successful. No one even waited to cross swords with his troopers, +but all the Roundhead horse galloped headlong off the field, hotly +pursued by the Royalists. But the main body of the army stood firm, and +for some time the battle was nearly equal, until a large troop of the +enemy's cavalry who had been kept in reserve, wheeled round and fell +upon the Royal forces just when their scanty supply of ammunition was +exhausted. + +Step by step, however, they retreated bravely, and Rupert, who had +returned from his charge, sought in vain to collect his scattered +troopers, so as to fall again on the rebels; but some were plundering, +some chasing the enemy, and none could be got together. Lord Lindsay was +shot through the thigh bone, and fell. He was instantly surrounded by +the rebels on horseback; but his son, Lord Willoughby, seeing his +danger, flung himself alone among the enemy, and forcing his way +forward, raised his father in his arms thinking of nothing else, and +unheeding his own peril. The throng of enemy around called to him to +surrender, and, hastily giving up his sword, he carried the Earl into +the nearest shed, and laid him on a heap of straw, vainly striving to +staunch the blood. It was a bitterly cold night, and the frosty wind +came howling through the darkness. Far above, on the ridge of the hill, +the fires of the King's army shone with red light, and some way off on +the other side twinkled those of the Parliamentary forces. Glimmering +lanterns or torches moved about the battlefield, those of the savage +plunderers who crept about to despoil the dead. Whether the battle were +won or lost, the father and son knew not, and the guard who watched them +knew as little. Lord Lindsay himself murmured, 'If it please God I +should survive, I never will fight in the same field with boys again!'-- +no doubt deeming that young Rupert had wrought all the mischief. His +thoughts were all on the cause, his son's all on him; and piteous was +that night, as the blood continued to flow, and nothing availed to check +it, nor was any aid near to restore the old man's ebbing strength. + +Toward midnight the Earl's old comrade Essex had time to understand his +condition, and sent some officers to enquire for him, and promise speedy +surgical attendance. Lindsay was still full of spirit, and spoke to them +so strongly of their broken faith, and of the sin of disloyalty and +rebellion, that they slunk away one by one out of the hut, and dissuaded +Essex from coming himself to see his old friend, as he had intended. The +surgeon, however, arrived, but too late, Lindsay was already so much +exhausted by cold and loss of blood, that he died early in the morning +of the 24th, all his son's gallant devotion having failed to save him. + +The sorrowing son received an affectionate note the next day from the +King, full of regret for his father and esteem for himself. Charles made +every effort to obtain his exchange, but could not succeed for a whole +year. He was afterwards one of the four noblemen who, seven years later, +followed the King's white, silent, snowy funeral in the dismantled St. +George's Chapel; and from first to last he was one of the bravest, +purest, and most devoted of those who did honor to the Cavalier cause. + +We have still another brave son to describe, and for him we must return +away from these sad pages of our history, when we were a house divided +against itself, to one of the hours of our brightest glory, when the +cause we fought in was the cause of all the oppressed, and nearly alone +we upheld the rights of oppressed countries against the invader. And +thus it is that the battle of the Nile is one of the exploits to which +we look back with the greatest exultation, when we think of the triumph +of the British flag. + +Let us think of all that was at stake. Napoleon Bonaparte was climbing +to power in France, by directing her successful arms against the world. +He had beaten Germany and conquered Italy; he had threatened England, +and his dream was of the conquest of the East. Like another Alexander, +he hoped to subdue Asia, and overthrow the hated British power by +depriving it of India. Hitherto, his dreams had become earnest by the +force of his marvelous genius, and by the ardor which he breathed into +the whole French nation; and when he set sail from Toulon, with 40,000 +tried and victorious soldiers and a magnificent fleet, all were filled +with vague and unbounded expectations of almost fabulous glories. He +swept away as it were the degenerate Knights of St. john from their rock +of Malta, and sailed for Alexandria in Egypt, in the latter end of June, +1798. + +His intentions had not become known, and the English Mediterranean fleet +was watching the course of this great armament. Sir Horatio Nelson was +in pursuit, with the English vessels, and wrote to the First Lord of the +Admiralty: 'Be they bound to the Antipodes, your lordship may rely that +I will not lose a moment in bringing them to action.' + +Nelson had, however, not ships enough to be detached to reconnoitre, and +he actually overpassed the French, whom he guessed to be on the way to +Egypt; he arrived at the port of Alexandria on the 28th of June, and saw +its blue waters and flat coast lying still in their sunny torpor, as if +no enemy were on the seas. Back he went to Syracuse, but could learn no +more there; he obtained provisions with some difficulty, and then, in +great anxiety, sailed for Greece; where at last, on the 28th of July, he +learnt that the French fleet had been seen from Candia, steering to the +southeast, and about four weeks since. In fact, it had actually passed +by him in a thick haze, which concealed each fleet from the other, and +had arrived at Alexandria on the 1st of July, three days after he had +left it! + +Every sail was set for the south, and at four o'clock in the afternoon +of the 1st of August a very different sight was seen in Aboukir Bay, so +solitary a month ago. It was crowded with shipping. Great castle-like +men-of-war rose with all their proud calm dignity out of the water, +their dark port-holes opening in the white bands on their sides, and the +tricolored flag floating as their ensign. There were thirteen ships of +the line and four frigates, and, of these, three were 80-gun ships, and +one, towering high above the rest, with her three decks, was L'Orient, +of 120 guns. Look well at her, for there stands the hero for whose sake +we have chose this and no other of Nelson's glorious fights to place +among the setting of our Golden Deeds. There he is, a little cadet de +vaisseau, as the French call a midshipman, only ten years old, with a +heart swelling between awe and exultation at the prospect of his first +battle; but, fearless and glad, for is he not the son of the brave +Casabianca, the flag-captain? And is not this Admiral Brueys' own ship, +looking down in scorn on the fourteen little English ships, not one +carrying more than 74 guns, and one only 50? + +Why Napoleon had kept the fleet there was never known. In his usual mean +way of disavowing whatever turned out ill, he laid the blame upon +Admiral Brueys; but, though dead men could not tell tales, his papers +made it plain that the ships had remained in obedience to commands, +though they had not been able to enter the harbour of Alexandria. Large +rewards had been offered to any pilot who would take them in, but none +could be found who would venture to steer into that port a vessel +drawing more than twenty feet of water. They had, therefore, remained at +anchor outside, in Aboukir Bay, drawn up in a curve along the deepest of +the water, with no room to pass them at either end, so that the +commissary of the fleet reported that they could bid defiance to a force +more than double their number. The admiral believed that Nelson had not +ventured to attack him when they had passed by one another a month +before, and when the English fleet was signaled, he still supposed that +it was too late in the day for an attack to be made. + +Nelson had, however, no sooner learnt that the French were in sight than +he signaled from his ship, the Vanguard, that preparations for battle +should be made, and in the meantime summoned up his captains to receive +his orders during a hurried meal. He explained that, where there was +room for a large French ship to swing, there was room for a small +English one to anchor, and, therefore, he designed to bring his ships up +to the outer part of the French line, and station them close below their +adversary; a plan that he said Lord Hood had once designed, though he +had not carried it out. + +Captain Berry was delighted, and exclaimed, 'If we succeed, what will +the world say?' + +'There is no if in the case,' returned Nelson, 'that we shall succeed is +certain. Who may live to tell the tale is a very different question.' + +And when they rose and parted, he said, 'before this time to-morrow I +shall have gained a peerage or Westminster Abbey.' + +In the fleet went, through a fierce storm of shot and shell from a +French battery in an island in advance. Nelson's own ship, the Vanguard, +was the first to anchor within half-pistol-shot of the third French +ship, the Spartiate. The Vanguard had six colours flying, in any case +any should be shot away; and such was the fire that was directed on her, +that in a few minutes every man at the six guns in her forepart was +killed or wounded, and this happened three times. Nelson himself +received a wound in the head, which was thought at first to be mortal, +but which proved but slight. He would not allow the surgeon to leave the +sailors to attend to him till it came to his turn. + +Meantime his ships were doing their work gloriously. The Bellerophon +was, indeed, overpowered by L'Orient, 200 of her crew killed, and all +her masts and cables shot away, so that she drifted away as night came +on; but the Swiftsure came up in her place, and the Alexander and +Leander both poured in their shot. Admiral Brueys received three wounds, +but would not quit his post, and at length a fourth shot almost cut him +in two. He desired not to be carried below, but that he might die on +deck. + +About nine o'clock the ship took fire, and blazed up with fearful +brightness, lighting up the whole bay, and showing five French ships +with their colours hauled down, the others still fighting on. Nelson +himself rose and came on deck when this fearful glow came shining from +sea and sky into his cabin; and gave orders that the English boars +should immediately be put off for L'Orient, to save as many lives as +possible. + +The English sailors rowed up to the burning ship which they had lately +been attacking. The French officers listened to the offer of safety, and +called to the little favorite of the ship, the captain's son, to come +with them. 'No,' said the brave child, 'he was where his father had +stationed him, and bidden him not to move save at his call.' They told +him his father's voice would never call him again, for he lay senseless +and mortally wounded on the deck, and that the ship must blow up. 'No,' +said the brave child, 'he must obey his father.' The moment allowed no +delaythe boat put off. The flames showed all that passed in a quivering +flare more intense than daylight, and the little fellow was then seen on +the deck, leaning over the prostrate figure, and presently tying it to +one of the spars of the shivered masts. + +Just then a thundering explosion shook down to the very hold every ship +in the harbour, and burning fragments of L'Orient came falling far and +wide, plashing heavily into the water, in the dead, awful stillness that +followed the fearful sound. English boats were plying busily about, +picking up those who had leapt overboard in time. Some were dragged in +through the lower portholes of the English ships, and about seventy were +saved altogether. For one moment a boat's crew had a sight of a helpless +figure bound to a spar, and guided by a little childish swimmer, who +must have gone overboard with his precious freight just before the +explosion. They rowed after the brave little fellow, earnestly desiring +to save him; but in darkness, in smoke, in lurid uncertain light, amid +hosts of drowning wretches, they lost sight of him again. + + +The boy, oh where was he! + Ask of the winds that far around +With fragments strewed the sea; + With mast and helm, and pennant fair +That well had borne their part: + But the noblest thing that perished there +Was that young faithful heart! + + +By sunrise the victory was complete. Nay, as Nelson said, 'It was not a +victory, but a conquest.' Only four French ships escaped, and Napoleon +and his army were cut off from home. These are the glories of our navy, +gained by men with hearts as true and obedient as that of the brave +child they had tried in vain to save. Yet still, while giving the full +meed of thankful, sympathetic honor to our noble sailors, we cannot but +feel that the Golden Deed of Aboukir Bay fell to-- + +'That young faithful heart.' + + + + +THE SOLDIERS IN THE SNOW + +1672 + + + +Few generals had ever been more loved by their soldiers than the great +Viscount de Turenne, who was Marshal of France in the time of Louis XIV. +Troops are always proud of a leader who wins victories; but Turenne was +far more loved for his generous kindness than for his successes. If he +gained a battle, he always wrote in his despatches, 'We succeeded,' so +as to give the credit to the rest of the army; but if he were defeated, +he wrote, 'I lost,' so as to take all the blame upon himself. He always +shared as much as possible in every hardship suffered by his men, and +they trusted him entirely. In the year 1672, Turenne and his army were +sent to make war upon the Elector Frederick William of Brandenburg, in +Northern Germany. It was in the depth of winter, and the marches through +the heavy roads were very trying and wearisome; but the soldiers endured +all cheerfully for his sake. Once when they were wading though a deep +morass, some of the younger soldiers complained; but the elder ones +answered, 'Depend upon it, Turenne is more concerned than we are. At +this moment he is thinking how to deliver us. He watches for us while we +sleep. He is our father. It is plain that you are but young.' + +Another night, when he was going the round of the camp, he overheard +some of the younger men murmuring at the discomforts of the march; when +an old soldier, newly recovered from a severe wound, said: 'You do not +know our father. He would not have made us go through such fatigue, +unless he had some great end in view, which we cannot yet make out.' +Turenne always declared that nothing had ever given him more pleasure +than this conversation. + +There was a severe sickness among the troops, and he went about among +the sufferers, comforting them, and seeing that their wants were +supplied. When he passed by, the soldiers came out of their tents to +look at him, and say, 'Our father is in good health: we have nothing to +fear.' + +The army had to enter the principality of Halberstadt, the way to which +lay over ridges of high hills with narrow defiles between them. +Considerable time was required for the whole of the troops to march +through a single narrow outlet; and one very cold day, when such a +passage was taking place, the Marshal, quite spent with fatigue, sat +down under a bush to wait till all had marched by, and fell asleep. When +he awoke, it was snowing fast; but he found himself under a sort of tent +made of soldiers' cloaks, hung up upon the branches of trees planted in +the ground, and round it were standing, in the cold and snow, all +unsheltered, a party of soldiers. Turenne called out to them, to ask +what they were doing there. 'We are taking care of our father,' they +said; 'that is our chief concern.' The general, to keep up discipline, +seems to have scolded them a little for straggling from their regiment; +but he was much affected and gratified by this sight of their hearty +love for him. + +Still greater and more devoted love was shown by some German soldiers in +the terrible winter of 1812. It was when the Emperor Napoleon I. had +made his vain attempt to conquer Russia, and had been prevented from +spending the winter at Moscow by the great fire that consumed all the +city. He was obliged to retreat through the snow, with the Russian army +pursuing him, and his miserable troops suffering horrors beyond all +imagination. Among them were many Italians, Poles, and Germans, whom he +had obliged to become his allies; and the 'Golden Deed' of ten of these +German soldiers, the last remnant of those led from Hesse Darmstadt by +their gallant young Prince Emilius, is best told in Lord Houghton's +verses:-- + + +'From Hessen Darmstadt every step to Moskwa's blazing banks, +Was Prince Emilius found in flight before the foremost ranks; +And when upon the icy waste that host was backward cast, +On Beresina's bloody bridge his banner waved the last. + +'His valor shed victorious grace on all that dread retreat-- +That path across the wildering snow, athwart the blinding sleet; +And every follower of his sword could all endure and dare, +Becoming warriors, strong in hope, or stronger in despair. +'Now, day and dark, along the storm the demon Cossacks sweep-- +The hungriest must not look for food, the weariest must not sleep. +No rest but death for horse or man, whichever first shall tire; +They see the flames destroy, but ne'er may feel the saving fire. +'Thus never closed the bitter night, nor rose the salvage morn, +But from the gallant company some noble part was shorn; +And, sick at heart, the Prince resolved to keep his purposed way +With steadfast forward looks, nor count the losses of the day. + +'At length beside a black, burnt hut, an island of the snow, +Each head in frigid torpor bent toward the saddle bow; +They paused, and of that sturdy troop--that thousand banded men-- +At one unmeditated glance he numbered only ten! + +'Of all that high triumphant life that left his German home-- +Of all those hearts that beat beloved, or looked for love to come-- +This piteous remnant, hardly saved, his spirit overcame, +While memory raised each friendly face, recalled an ancient name. + +'These were his words, serene and firm, 'Dear brothers, it is best +That here, with perfect trust in Heaven, we give our bodies rest; +If we have borne, like faithful men, our part of toil and pain, +Where'er we wake, for Christ's good sake, we shall not sleep in vain.' + +'Some uttered, others looked assent--they had no heart to speak; +Dumb hands were pressed, the pallid lip approached the callous cheek. +They laid them side by side; and death to him at last did seem +To come attired in mazy robe of variegated dream. + +'Once more he floated on the breast of old familiar Rhine, +His mother's and one other smile above him seemed to shine; +A blessed dew of healing fell on every aching limb; +Till the stream broadened, and the air thickened, and all was dim. + +'Nature has bent to other laws if that tremendous night +Passed o'er his frame, exposed and worn, and left no deadly blight; +Then wonder not that when, refresh'd and warm, he woke at last, +There lay a boundless gulf of thought between him and the past. + +'Soon raising his astonished head, he found himself alone, +Sheltered beneath a genial heap of vestments not his own; +The light increased, the solemn truth revealing more and more, +The soldiers' corses, self-despoiled, closed up the narrow door. + +'That every hour, fulfilling good, miraculous succor came, +And Prince Emilius lived to give this worthy deed to fame. +O brave fidelity in death! O strength of loving will! +These are the holy balsam drops that woeful wars distil.' + + + + +GUNPOWDER PERILS + +1700 + + + +The wild history of Ireland contains many a frightful tale, but also +many an action of the noblest order; and the short sketch given by Maria +Edgeworth of her ancestry, presents such a chequerwork of the gold and +the lead that it is almost impossible to separate them. + +At the time of the great Irish rebellion of 1641 the head of the +Edgeworth family had left his English wife and her infant son at his +castle of Cranallagh in county Longford, thinking them safe there while +he joined the royal forces under the Earl of Ormond. In his absence, +however, the rebels attacked the castle at night, set fire to it, and +dragged the lady out absolutely naked. She hid herself under a furze +bush, and succeeded in escaping and reaching Dublin, whence she made her +way to her father's house in Derbyshire. Her little son was found by the +rebels lying in his cradle, and one of them actually seized the child by +the leg and was about to dash out his brains against the wall; but a +servant named Bryan Ferral, pretending to be even more ferocious, vowed +that a sudden death was too good for the little heretic, and that he +should be plunged up to the throat in a bog-hole and left for the crows +to pick out his eyes. He actually did place the poor child in the bog , +but only to save his life; he returned as soon as he could elude his +comrades, put the boy into a pannier below eggs and chickens, and thus +carried him straight though the rebel camp to his mother at Dublin. +Strange to say, these rebels, who thought being dashed against the wall +too good a fate for the infant, extinguished the flames of the castle +out of reverence for the picture of his grandmother, who had been a +Roman Catholic, and was painted on a panel with a cross on her bosom and +a rosary in her hand. + +John Edgeworth, the boy thus saved, married very young, and went with +his wife to see London after the Restoration. To pay their expenses they +mortgaged an estate and put the money in a stocking, which they kept on +the top of the bed; and when that store was used up, the young man +actually sold a house in Dublin to buy a high-crowned hat and feathers. +Still, reckless and improvident as they were, there was sound principle +within them, and though they were great favorites, and Charles II. +insisted on knighting the husband, their glimpse of the real evils and +temptations of his Court sufficed them, and in the full tide of flattery +and admiration the lady begged to return home, nor did she ever go back +to Court again. + +Her home was at Castle Lissard, in full view of which was a hillock +called Fairymount, or Firmont, from being supposed to be the haunt of +fairies. Lights, noises, and singing at night, clearly discerned from +the castle, caused much terror to Lady Edgeworth, though her descendants +affirm that they were fairies of the same genus as those who beset Sir +John Falstaff at Hearne's oak, and intended to frighten her into leaving +the place. However, though her nerves might be disturbed, her spirit was +not to be daunted; and, fairies or no fairies, she held her ground at +Castle Lissard, and there showed what manner of woman she was in a +veritable and most fearful peril. + +On some alarm which caused the gentlemen of the family to take down +their guns, she went to a dark loft at the top of the house to fetch +some powder from a barrel that was there kept in store, taking a young +maid-servant to carry the candle; which, as might be expected in an +Irish household of the seventeenth century, was devoid of any +candlestick. After taking the needful amount of gunpowder, Lady +Edgeworth locked the door, and was halfway downstairs when she missed +the candle, and asking the girl what she had done with it, received the +cool answer that 'she had left it sticking in the barrel of black salt'. +Lady Edgeworth bade her stand still, turned round, went back alone to +the loft where the tallow candle stood guttering and flaring planted in +the middle of the gunpowder, resolutely put an untrembling hand beneath +it, took it out so steadily that no spark fell, carried it down, and +when she came to the bottom of the stairs dropped on her knees, and +broke forth in a thanksgiving aloud for the safety of the household in +this frightful peril. This high-spirited lady lived to be ninety years +old, and left a numerous family. One grandson was the Abbe Edgeworth, +known in France as De Firmont, such being the alteration of Fairymount +on French lips. It was he who, at the peril of his own life, attended +Louis XVI. to the guillotine, and thus connected his name so closely +with the royal cause that when his cousin Richard Lovell Edgeworth, of +Edgeworths-town, visited France several years after, the presence of a +person so called was deemed perilous to the rising power of Napoleon. +This latter Mr. Edgeworth was the father of Maria, whose works we hope +are well known to our young readers. + +The good Chevalier Bayard was wont to mourn over the introduction of +firearms, as destructive of chivalry; and certainly the steel-clad +knight, with barbed steed, and sword and lance, has disappeared from the +battle-field; but his most essential qualities, truth, honor, +faithfulness, mercy, and self-devotion, have not disappeared with him, +nor can they as long as Christian men and women bear in mind that +'greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his +friend'. + +And that terrible compound, gunpowder, has been the occasion of many +another daring deed, requiring desperate resolution, to save others at +the expense of a death perhaps more frightful to the imagination than +any other. Listen to a story of the King's birthday in Jersey 'sixty +years since'--in 1804, when that 4th of June that Eton boys delight in, +was already in the forty-fourth year of its observance in honor of the +then reigning monarch, George III. + +All the forts in the island had done due honor to the birthday of His +Majesty, who was then just recovered from an attack of insanity. In each +the guns at noon-day thundered out their royal salute, the flashes had +answered one another, and the smoke had wreathed itself away over the +blue sea of Jersey. The new fort on the hill just above the town of St. +Heliers had contributed its share to the loyal thunders, and then it was +shut up, and the keys carried away by Captain Salmon, the artillery +officer on guard there, locking up therein 209 barrels of gunpowder, +with a large supply of bombshells, and every kind of ammunition such as +might well be needed in the Channel islands the year before Lord Nelson +had freed England from the chance of finding the whole French army on +our coast in the flat-bottomed boats that were waiting at Boulogne for +the dark night that never came. + +At six o'clock in the evening, Captain Salmon went to dine with the +other officers in St. Heliers and to drink the King's health, when the +soldiers on guard beheld a cloud of smoke curling out at the air-hole at +the end of the magazine. Shouting 'fire', they ran away to avoid an +explosion that would have shattered them to pieces, and might perhaps +endanger the entire town of St. Heliers. Happily their shout was heard +by a man of different mould. Lieutenant Lys, the signal officer, was in +the watch-house on the hill, and coming out he saw the smoke, and +perceived the danger. Two brothers, named Thomas and Edward Touzel, +carpenters, and the sons of an old widow, had come up to take down a +flagstaff that had been raised in honor of the day, and Mr. Lys ordered +them to hasten to the town to inform the commander-in-chief, and get the +keys from Captain Salmon. + +Thomas went, and endeavored to persuade his brother to accompany him +from the heart of the danger; but Edward replied that he must die some +day or other, and that he would do his best to save the magazine, and he +tried to stop some of the runaway soldiers to assist. One refused; but +another, William Ponteney, of the 3rd, replied that he was ready to die +with him, and they shook hands. + +Edward Touzel then, by the help of a wooden bar and an axe, broke open +the door of the fort, and making his way into it, saw the state of the +case, and shouted to Mr. Lys on the outside, 'the magazine is on fire, +it will blow up, we must lose our lives; but no matter, huzza for the +King! We must try and save it.' He then rushed into the flame, and +seizing the matches, which were almost burnt out (probably splinters of +wood tipped with brimstone), he threw them by armfuls to Mr. Lys and the +soldier Ponteney, who stood outside and received them. Mr. Lys saw a +cask of water near at hand; but there was nothing to carry the water in +but an earthen pitcher, his own hat and the soldier's. These, however, +they filled again and again, and handed to Touzel, who thus extinguished +all the fire he could see; but the smoke was so dense, that he worked in +horrible doubt and obscurity, almost suffocated, and with his face and +hands already scorched. The beams over his head were on fire, large +cases containing powder horns had already caught, and an open barrel of +gunpowder was close by, only awaiting the fall of a single brand to +burst into a fatal explosion. Touzel called out to entreat for some +drink to enable him to endure the stifling, and Mr. Lys handed him some +spirits-and-water, which he drank, and worked on; but by this time the +officers had heard the alarm, dispelled the panic among the soldiers, +and come to the rescue. The magazine was completely emptied, and the +last smoldering sparks extinguished; but the whole of the garrison and +citizens felt that they owed their lives to the three gallant men to +whose exertions alone under Providence, it was owing that succor did not +come too late. Most of all was honor due to Edward Touzel, who, as a +civilian, might have turned his back upon the peril without any blame; +nay, could even have pleaded Mr. Lys' message as a duty, but who had +instead rushed foremost into what he believe was certain death. + +A meeting was held in the church of St. Heliers to consider of a +testimonial of gratitude to these three brave men (it is to be hoped +that thankfulness to an overruling Providence was also manifested +there), when 500l. was voted to Mr. Lys, who was the father of a large +family; 300l. to Edward Touzel; and William Ponteney received, at his +own request, a life annuity of 20l. and a gold medal, as he declared +that he had rather continue to serve the King as a soldier than be +placed in any other course of life. + +In that same year (1804) the same daring endurance and heroism were +evinced by the officers of H.M.S. Hindostan, where, when on the way from +Gibraltar to join Nelson's fleet at Toulon, the cry of 'Fire!' was +heard, and dense smoke rose from the lower decks, so as to render it +nearly impossible to detect the situation of the fire. Again and again +Lieutenants Tailour and Banks descended, and fell down senseless from +the stifling smoke; then were carried on deck, recovered in the free +air, and returned to vain endeavor of clearing the powder-room. But no +man could long preserve his faculties in the poisonous atmosphere, and +the two lieutenants might be said to have many deaths from it. At last +the fire gained so much head, that it was impossible to save the vessel, +which had in the meantime been brought into the Bay of Rosas, and was +near enough to land to enable the crew to escape in boats, after having +endured the fire six hours. Nelson himself wrote: 'The preservation of +the crew seems little short of a miracle. I never read such a journal of +exertions in my life.' + +Eight years after, on the taking of Ciudad Rodrigo, in 1812, by the +British army under Wellington, Captain William Jones, of the 52nd +Regiment, having captured a French officer, employed his prisoner in +pointing out quarters for his men. The Frenchman could not speak +English, and Captain Jones--a fiery Welshman, whom it was the fashion in +the regiment to term 'Jack Jones'--knew no French; but dumb show +supplied the want of language, and some of the company were lodged in a +large store pointed out by the Frenchman, who then led the way to a +church, near which Lord Wellington and his staff were standing. But no +sooner had the guide stepped into the building than he started back, +crying, 'Sacre bleu!' and ran out in the utmost alarm. The Welsh +captain, however, went on, and perceived that the church had been used +as a powder-magazine by the French; barrels were standing round, samples +of their contents lay loosely scattered on the pavement, and in the +midst was a fire, probably lighted by some Portuguese soldiers. +Forthwith Captain Jones and the sergeant entered the church, took up the +burning embers brand by brand, bore them safe over the scattered powder, +and out of the church, and thus averted what might have been the most +terrific disaster that could have befallen our army. [Footnote: The +story has been told with some variation, as to whether it was the embers +or a barrel of powder that he and the sergeant removed. In the Record +of the 52d it is said to have been the latter; but the tradition the +author has received from officers of the regiment distinctly stated that +it was the burning brands, and that the scene was a reserve magazine-- +not, as in the brief mention in Sir William Napier's History, the great +magazine of the town.] + +Our next story of this kind relates to a French officer, Monsieur +Mathieu Martinel, adjutant of the 1st Cuirassiers. In 1820 there was a +fire in the barracks at Strasburg, and nine soldiers were lying sick and +helpless above a room containing a barrel of gunpowder and a thousand +cartridges. Everyone was escaping, but Martinel persuaded a few men to +return into the barracks with him, and hurried up the stairs through +smoke and flame that turned back his companions. He came alone to the +door of a room close to that which contained the powder, but found it +locked. Catching up a bench, he beat the door in, and was met by such a +burst of fire as had almost driven him away; but, just as he was about +to descend, he thought that, when the flames reached the powder, the +nine sick men must infallibly be blown up, and returning to the charge, +he dashed forward, with eyes shut, through the midst, and with face, +hands, hair, and clothes singed and burnt, he made his way to the +magazine, in time to tear away, and throw to a distance from the powder, +the mass of paper in which the cartridges were packed, which was just +about to ignite, and appearing at the window, with loud shouts for +water, thus showed the possibility of penetrating to the magazine, and +floods of water were at once directed to it, so as to drench the powder, +and thus save the men. + +This same Martinel had shortly before thrown himself into the River Ill, +without waiting to undress, to rescue a soldier who had fallen in, so +near a water mill, that there was hardly a chance of life for either. +Swimming straight towards the mill dam, Martinel grasped the post of the +sluice with one arm, and with the other tried to arrest the course of +the drowning man, who was borne by a rapid current towards the mill +wheel; and was already so far beneath the surface, that Martinel could +not reach him without letting go of the post. Grasping the inanimate +body, he actually allowed himself to be carried under the mill wheel, +without loosing his hold, and came up immediately after on the other +side, still able to bring the man to land, in time for his suspended +animation to be restored. + +Seventeen years afterwards, when the regiment was at Paris, there was, +on the night of the 14th of June, 1837, during the illuminations at the +wedding festival of the Duke and Duchess of Orleans, one of those +frightful crushes that sometimes occur in an ill-regulated crowd, when +there is some obstruction in the way, and there is nothing but a +horrible blind struggling and trampling, violent and fatal because of +its very helplessness and bewilderment. The crowd were trying to leave +the Champ de Mars, where great numbers had been witnessing some +magnificent fireworks, and had blocked up the passage leading out by the +Military College. A woman fell down in a fainting fit, others stumbled +over her, and thus formed an obstruction, which, being unknown to those +in the rear, did not prevent them from forcing forward the persons in +front, so that they too were pushed and trodden down into one frightful, +struggling, suffocating mass of living and dying men, women, and +children, increasing every moment. + +M. Martinel was passing, on his way to his quarters, when, hearing the +tumult, he ran to the gate from the other side, and meeting the crowd +tried by shouts and entreaties to persuade them to give back, but the +hindmost could not hear him, and the more frightened they grew, the more +they tried to hurry home, and so made the heap worse and worse, and in +the midst an illuminated yew-tree, in a pot, was upset, and further +barred the way. Martinel, with imminent danger to himself, dragged out +one or two persons; but finding his single efforts almost useless among +such numbers, he ran to the barracks, sounded to horse, and without +waiting till his men could be got together, hurried off again on foot, +with a few of his comrades, and dashed back into the crowd, struggling +as vehemently to penetrate to the scene of danger, as many would have +done to get away from it. + +Private Spenlee alone kept up with him, and, coming to the dreadful +heap, these two labored to free the passage, lift up the living, and +remove the dead. First he dragged out an old man in a fainting fit, then +a young soldier, next a boy, a woman, a little girl--he carried them to +freer air, and came back the next moment, though often so nearly pulled +down by the frantic struggles of the terrified stifled creatures, that +he was each moment in the utmost peril of being trampled to death. He +carried out nine persons one by one; Spenlee brought out a man and a +child; and his brother officers, coming up, took their share. One +lieutenant, with a girl in a swoon in his arms, caused a boy to be put +on his back, and under this double burthen was pushing against the crowd +for half and hour, till at length he fell, and was all but killed. + +A troop of cuirassiers had by this time mounted, and through the Champ +de Mars came slowly along, step by step, their horses moving as gently +and cautiously as if they knew their work. Everywhere, as they advanced, +little children were held up to them out of the throng to be saved, and +many of their chargers were loaded with the little creatures, perched +before and behind the kind soldiers. With wonderful patience and +forbearance, they managed to insert themselves and their horses, first +in single file, then two by two, then more abreast, like a wedge, into +the press, until at last they formed a wall, cutting off the crowd +behind from the mass in the gateway, and thus preventing the encumbrance +from increasing. The people came to their senses, and went off to other +gates, and the crowd diminishing, it became possible to lift up the many +unhappy creatures, who lay stifling or crushed in the heap. They were +carried into the barracks, the cuirassiers hurried to bring their +mattresses to lay them on in the hall, brought them water, linen, all +they could want, and were as tender to them as sisters of charity, till +they were taken to the hospitals or to their homes. Martinel, who was +the moving spirit in this gallant rescue, received in the following year +one of M. Monthyon's prizes for the greatest acts of virtue that could +be brought to light. + +Nor among the gallant actions of which powder has been the cause should +be omitted that of Lieutenant Willoughby, who, in the first dismay of +the mutiny in India, in 1858, blew up the great magazine at Delhi, with +all the ammunition that would have armed the sepoys even yet more +terribly against ourselves. The 'Golden Deed' was one of those capable +of no earthly meed, for it carried the brave young officer where alone +there is true reward; and all the Queen and country could do in his +honor was to pension his widowed mother, and lay up his name among those +that stir the heart with admiration and gratitude. + + + + +HEROES OF THE PLAGUE + +1576--1665--1721 + + + +When our Litany entreats that we may be delivered from 'plague, +pestilence, and famine', the first of these words bears a special +meaning, which came home with strong and painful force to European minds +at the time the Prayer Book was translated, and for the whole following +century. + +It refers to the deadly sickness emphatically called 'the plague', a +typhoid fever exceedingly violent and rapid, and accompanied with a +frightful swelling either under the arm or on the corresponding part of +the thigh. The East is the usual haunt of this fatal complaint, which +some suppose to be bred by the marshy, unwholesome state of Egypt after +the subsidence of the waters of the Nile, and which generally prevails +in Egypt and Syria until its course is checked either by the cold of +winter or the heat in summer. At times this disease has become unusually +malignant and infectious, and then has come beyond its usual boundaries +and made its way over all the West. These dreadful visitations were +rendered more frequent by total disregard of all precautions, and +ignorance of laws for preserving health. People crowded together in +towns without means of obtaining sufficient air or cleanliness, and thus +were sure to be unhealthy; and whenever war or famine had occasioned +more than usual poverty, some frightful epidemic was sure to follow in +its train, and sweep away the poor creatures whose frames were already +weakened by previous privation. And often this 'sore judgment' was that +emphatically called the plague; and especially during the sixteenth and +seventeenth centuries, a time when war had become far more cruel and +mischievous in the hands of hired regiments than ever it had been with a +feudal army, and when at the same time increasing trade was filling the +cities with more closely packed inhabitants, within fortifications that +would not allow the city to expand in proportion to its needs. It has +been only the establishment of the system of quarantine which has +succeeded in cutting off the course of infection by which the plague was +wont to set out on its frightful travels from land to land, from city to +city. + +The desolation of a plague-stricken city was a sort of horrible dream. +Every infected house was marked with a red cross, and carefully closed +against all persons, except those who were charged to drive carts +through the streets to collect the corpses, ringing a bell as they went. +These men were generally wretched beings, the lowest and most reckless +of the people, who undertook their frightful task for the sake of the +plunder of the desolate houses, and wound themselves up by intoxicating +drinks to endure the horrors. The bodies were thrown into large +trenches, without prayer or funeral rites, and these were hastily closed +up. Whole families died together, untended save by one another, with no +aid of a friendly hand to give drink or food; and, in the Roman Catholic +cities, the perishing without a priest to administer the last rites of +the Church was viewed as more dreadful than death itself. + +Such visitations as these did indeed prove whether the pastors of the +afflicted flock were shepherds or hirelings. So felt, in 1576, Cardinal +Carlo Borromeo, Archbishop of Milan, the worthiest of all the successors +of St. Ambrose, when he learnt at Lodi that the plague had made its +appearance in his city, where, remarkably enough, there had lately been +such licentious revelry that he had solemnly warned the people that, +unless they repented, they would certainly bring on themselves the wrath +of heaven. His council of clergy advised him to remain in some healthy +part of his diocese till the sickness should have spent itself, but he +replied that a Bishop, whose duty it is to give his life for his sheep, +could not rightly abandon them in time of peril. They owned that to +stand by them was the higher course. 'Well,' he said, 'is it not a +Bishop's duty to choose the higher course?' + +So back into the town of deadly sickness he went, leading the people to +repent, and watching over them in their sufferings, visiting the +hospitals, and, by his own example, encouraging his clergy in carrying +spiritual consolation to the dying. All the time the plague lasted, +which was four months, his exertions were fearless and unwearied, and +what was remarkable was, that of his whole household only two died, and +they were persons who had not been called to go about among the sick. +Indeed, some of the rich who had repaired to a villa, where they spent +their time in feasting and amusement in the luxurious Italian fashion, +were there followed by the pestilence, and all perished; their dainty +fare and the excess in which they indulged having no doubt been as bad a +preparation as the poverty of the starving people in the city. + +The strict and regular life of the Cardinal and his clergy, and their +home in the spacious palace, were, no doubt, under Providence, a +preservative; but, in the opinions of the time, there was little short +of a miracle in the safety of one who daily preached in the cathedral,-- +bent over the beds of the sick, giving them food and medicine, hearing +their confessions, and administering the last rites of the Church,--and +then braving the contagion after death, rather than let the corpses go +forth unblest to their common grave. Nay, so far was he from seeking to +save his own life, that, kneeling before the altar in the cathedral, he +solemnly offered himself, like Moses, as a sacrifice for his people. +But, like Moses, the sacrifice was passed by--'it cost more to redeem +their souls'--and Borromeo remained untouched, as did the twenty-eight +priests who voluntarily offered themselves to join in his labors. + +No wonder that the chief memories that haunt the glorious white marble +cathedral of Milan are those of St. Ambrose, who taught mercy to an +emperor, and of St. Carlo Borromeo, who practiced mercy on a people. + +It was a hundred years later that the greatest and last visitation of +the plague took place in London. Doubtless the scourge called forth--as +in Christian lands such judgments always do--many an act of true and +blessed self-devotion; but these are not recorded, save where they have +their reward: and the tale now to be told is of one of the small +villages to which the infection spread--namely, Eyam, in Derbyshire. + +This is a lovely place between Buxton and Chatsworth, perched high on a +hillside, and shut in by another higher mountain--extremely beautiful, +but exactly one of those that, for want of free air, always become the +especial prey of infection. At that time lead works were in operation in +the mountains, and the village was thickly inhabited. Great was the +dismay of the villagers when the family of a tailor, who had received +some patterns of cloth from London, showed symptoms of the plague in its +most virulent form, sickening and dying in one day. + +The rector of the parish, the Rev. William Mompesson, was still a young +man, and had been married only a few years. His wife, a beautiful young +woman, only twenty-seven years old, was exceedingly terrified at the +tidings from the village, and wept bitterly as she implored her husband +to take her, and her little George and Elizabeth, who were three and +fours years old, away to some place of safety. But Mr. Mompesson gravely +showed her that it was his duty not to forsake his flock in their hour +of need, and began at once to make arrangements for sending her and the +children away. She saw he was right in remaining, and ceased to urge him +to forsake his charge; but she insisted that if he ought not to desert +his flock, his wife ought not to leave him; and she wept and entreated +so earnestly, that he at length consented that she should be with him, +and that only the two little ones should be removed while yet there was +time. + +Their father and mother parted with the little ones as treasures that +they might never see again. At the same time Mr. Mompesson wrote to +London for the most approved medicines and prescriptions; and he +likewise sent a letter to the Earl of Devonshire, at Chatsworth, to +engage that his parishioners should exclude themselves from the whole +neighborhood, and thus confine the contagion within their own +boundaries, provided the Earl would undertake that food, medicines, and +other necessaries, should be placed at certain appointed spots, at +regular times, upon the hills around, where the Eyamites might come, +leave payment for them, and take them up, without holding any +communication with the bringers, except by letters, which could be +placed on a stone, and then fumigated, or passed through vinegar, before +they were touched with the hand. To this the Earl consented, and for +seven whole months the engagement was kept. + +Mr. Mompesson represented to his people that, with the plague once among +them, it would be so unlikely that they should not carry infection about +with them, that it would be selfish cruelty to other places to try to +escape amongst them, and thus spread the danger. So rocky and wild was +the ground around them, that, had they striven to escape, a regiment of +soldiers could not have prevented them. But of their own free will they +attended to their rector's remonstrance, and it was not known that one +parishoner of Eyam passed the boundary all that time, nor was there a +single case of plague in any of the villages around. + +The assembling of large congregations in churches had been thought to +increase the infection in London, and Mr. Mompesson, therefore, thought +it best to hold his services out-of-doors. In the middle of the village +is a dell, suddenly making a cleft in the mountain-side, only five yards +wide at the bottom, which is the pebble bed of a wintry torrent, but is +dry in the summer. On the side towards the village, the slope upwards +was of soft green turf, scattered with hazel, rowan, and alder bushes, +and full of singing birds. On the other side, the ascent was nearly +perpendicular, and composed of sharp rocks, partly adorned with bushes +and ivy, and here and there rising up in fantastic peaks and archways, +through which the sky could be seen from below. One of these rocks was +hollow, and could be entered from above--a natural gallery, leading to +an archway opening over the precipice; and this Mr. Mompesson chose for +his reading-desk and pulpit. The dell was so narrow, that his voice +could clearly be heard across it, and his congregation arranged +themselves upon the green slop opposite, seated or kneeling upon the +grass. + +On Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays arose the earnest voice of prayer +from that rocky glen, the people's response meeting the pastor's voice; +and twice on Sundays he preached to them the words of life and hope. It +was a dry, hot summer; fain would they have seen thunder and rain to +drive away their enemy; and seldom did weather break in on the +regularity of these service. But there was another service that the +rector had daily to perform; not in his churchyard--that would have +perpetuated the infection--but on a healthy hill above the village. +There he daily read of 'the Resurrection and the Life', and week by week +the company on the grassy slope grew fewer and scantier. His +congregation were passing from the dell to the healthy mound. + +Day and night the rector and his wife were among the sick, nursing, +feeding, and tending them with all that care and skill could do; but, in +spite of all their endeavors, only a fifth part of the whole of their +inhabitants lived to spend the last Sunday in Cucklet Church, as the +dell is still called. Mrs. Mompesson had persuaded her husband to have a +wound made in his leg, fancying that this would lessen the danger of +infection, and he yielded in order to satisfy her. His health endured +perfectly, but she began to waste under her constant exertions, and her +husband feared that he saw symptoms of consumption; but she was full of +delight at some appearances in his wound that made her imagine that it +had carried off the disease, and that his danger was over. + +A few days after, she sickened with symptoms of the plague, and her +frame was so weakened that she sank very quickly. She was often +delirious; but when she was too much exhausted to endure the exertion of +taking cordials, her husband entreated her to try for their children's +sake, she lifted herself up and made the endeavor. She lay peacefully, +saying, 'she was but looking for the good hour to come', and calmly +died, making the responses to her husband's prayers even to the last. +Her he buried in the churchyard, and fenced the grave in afterwards with +iron rails. There are two beautiful letters from him written on her +death--one to his little children, to be kept and read when they would +be old enough to understand it; the other to his patron, Sir George +Saville, afterwards Lord Halifax. 'My drooping spirits', he says, 'are +much refreshed with her joys, which I assure myself are unutterable.' He +wrote both these letters in the belief that he should soon follow her, +speaking of himself to Sir George as 'his dying chaplain', commending to +him his 'distressed orphans', and begging that a 'humble pious man' +might be chosen to succeed him in his parsonage. 'Sire, I thank God that +I am willing to shake hands in peace with all the world; and I have +comfortable assurance that He will accept me for the sake of His Son, +and I find God more good than ever I imagined, and wish that his +goodness were not so much abused and contemned', writes the widowed +pastor, left alone among his dying flock. And he concludes, 'and with +tears I entreat that when you are praying for fatherless and motherless +infants, you would then remember my two pretty babes'. + +These two letters were written on the last day of August and first of +September, 1666; but on the 20th of November, Mr. Mompesson was writing +to his uncle, in the lull after the storm. 'The condition of this place +hath been so dreadful, that I persuade myself it exceedeth all history +and example. I may truly say our town has become a Golgotha, a place of +skulls; and had there not been a small remnant of us left, we had been +as Sodom, and like unto Gomorrah. My ears never heard such doleful +lamentations, my nose never smelt such noisome smells, and my eyes never +beheld such ghastly spectacles. Here have been seventy-six families +visited within my parish, out of which died 259 persons.' + +However, since the 11th of October there had been no fresh cases, and he +was now burning all woolen cloths, lest the infection should linger in +them. He himself had never been touched by the complaint, nor had his +maid-servant; his man had had it but slightly. Mr. Mompesson lived many +more years, was offered the Deanery of Lincoln, but did not accept it, +and died in 1708. So virulent was the contagion that, ninety-one years +after, in 1757, when five laboring men, who were digging up land near +the plague- graves for a potato-garden, came upon what appeared to be +some linen, though they buried it again directly, they all sickened with +typhus fever, three of them died, and it was so infectious that no less +than seventy persons in the parish were carried off. + +The last of these remarkable visitations of the plague, properly so +called, was at Marseilles, in 1721. It was supposed to have been brought +by a vessel which sailed from Seyde, in the bay of Tunis, on the 31st of +January, 1720, which had a clean bill of health when it anchored off the +Chateau d'If, at Marseilles, on the 25th of May; but six of the crew +were found to have died on the voyage, and the persons who handled the +freight also died, though, it was said, without any symptoms of the +plague, and the first cases were supposed to be of the fevers caused by +excessive poverty and crowding. The unmistakable Oriental plague, +however, soon began to spread in the city among the poorer population, +and in truth the wars and heavy expenses of Louis XIV. had made poverty +in France more wretched than ever before, and the whole country was like +one deadly sore, festering, and by and by to come to a fearful crisis. +Precautions were taken, the infected families were removed to the +infirmaries and their houses walled up, but all this was done at night +in order not to excite alarm. The mystery, however, made things more +terrible to the imagination, and this was a period of the utmost +selfishness. All the richer inhabitants who had means of quitting the +city, and who were the very people who could have been useful there, +fled with one accord. Suddenly the lazaretto was left without +superintendents, the hospitals without stewards; the judges, public +officers, notaries, and most of the superior workmen in the most +necessary trades were all gone. Only the Provost and four municipal +officers remained, with 1,100 livres in their treasury, in the midst of +an entirely disorganized city, and an enormous population without work, +without restraint, without food, and a prey to the deadliest of +diseases. + +The Parliament which still survived in the ancient kingdom of Provence +signalized itself by retreating to a distance, and on the 31st of May +putting out a decree that nobody should pass a boundary line round +Marseilles on pain of death; but considering what people were trying to +escape from, and the utter overthrow of all rule and order, this penalty +was not likely to have much effect, and the plague was carried by the +fugitives to Arles, Aix, Toulon, and sixty-three lesser towns and +villages. What a contrast to Mr. Mompesson's moral influence! + +Horrible crimes were committed. Malefactors were released from the +prisons and convicts from the galleys, and employed for large payment to +collect the corpses and carry the sick to the infirmaries. Of course +they could only be wrought up to such work by intoxication and unlimited +opportunities of plunder, and their rude treatment both of the dead and +of the living sufferers added unspeakably to the general wretchedness. +To be carried to the infirmary was certain death,--no one lived in that +heap of contagion; and even this shelter was not always to be had,--some +of the streets were full of dying creatures who had been turned out of +their houses and could crawl no farther. + +What was done to alleviate all these horrors? It was in the minority of +Louis XV., and the Regent Duke of Orleans, easy, good-natured man that +he was, sent 22,000 marks to the relief of the city, all in silver, for +paper money was found to spread the infection more than anything else. +He also sent a great quantity of corn, and likewise doctors for the +sick, and troops to shut in the infected district. The Pope, Clement +XI., sent spiritual blessings to the sufferers, and, moreover, three +shiploads of wheat. The Regent's Prime Minister, the Abbe Dubois, the +shame of his Church and country, fancied that to send these supplies +cast a slight upon his administration, and desired his representative at +Rome to prevent the sailing of the ships, but his orders were not, for +very shame, carried out, and the vessels set out. On their way they were +seized by a Moorish corsair, who was more merciful than Dubois, for he +no sooner learnt their destination than he let them go unplundered. + +And in the midst of the misery there were bright lights 'running to and +fro among the stubble'. The Provost and his five remaining officers, and +a gentleman call Le Chevalier Rose, did their utmost in the bravest and +most unselfish way to help the sufferers, distribute food, provide +shelter, restrain the horrors perpetrated by the sick in their ravings, +and provide for the burial of the dead. And the clergy were all devoted +to the task of mercy. There was only one convent, that of St. Victor, +where the gates were closed against all comers in the hope of shutting +out infection. Every other monastic establishment freely devoted itself. +It was a time when party spirit ran high. The bishop, Henri Francois +Xavier de Belzunce, a nephew of the Duke de Lauzun, was a strong and +rigid Jesuit, and had joined so hotly in the persecution of the +Jansenists that he had forbidden the brotherhood called Oratorian +fathers to hear confessions, because he suspected them of a leaning to +Jansenist opinions; but he and they both alike worked earnestly in the +one cause of mercy. They were content to obey his prejudiced edict, +since he was in lawful authority, and threw themselves heartily into the +lower and more disdained services to the sick, as nurses and tenders of +the body alone, not of the soul, and in this work their whole community, +Superior and all, perished, almost without exception. Perhaps these men, +thus laying aside hurt feeling and sense of injustice, were the greatest +conquerors of all whose golden deeds we have described. + +Bishop Belzunce himself, however, stands as the prominent figure in the +memory of those dreadful five months. He was a man of commanding +stature, towering above all around him, and his fervent sermons, aided +by his example of severe and strict piety, and his great charities, had +greatly impressed the people. He now went about among the plague- +stricken, attending to their wants, both spiritual and temporal, and +sold or mortgaged all his property to obtain relief for them, and he +actually went himself in the tumbrils of corpses to give them the rites +of Christian burial. His doings closely resembled those of Cardinal +Borromeo, and like him he had recourse to constant preaching of +repentance, processions and assemblies for litanies in the church. It is +curiously characteristic that it was the English clergyman, who, equally +pious, and sensible that only the Almighty could remove the scourge, yet +deemed it right to take precautions against the effects of bringing a +large number of persons into one building. How Belzunce's clergy +seconded him may be gathered from the numbers who died of the disease. +Besides the Oratorians, there died eighteen Jesuits, twenty-six of the +order called Recollets, and forty-three Capuchins, all of whom had +freely given their lives in the endeavor to alleviate the general +suffering. In the four chief towns of Provence 80,000 died, and about +8,000 in the lesser places. The winter finally checked the destroyer, +and then, sad to say, it appeared how little effect the warning had had +on the survivors. Inheritances had fallen together into the hands of +persons who found themselves rich beyond their expectations, and in the +glee of having escaped the danger, forgot to be thankful, and spent +their wealth in revelry. Never had the cities of Provence been so full +of wild, questionable mirth as during the ensuing winter, and it was +remarked that the places which had suffered most severely were the most +given up to thoughtless gaiety, and even licentiousness. + +Good Bishop Belzunce did his best to protest against the wickedness +around him, and refused to leave his flock at Marseilles, when, four +years after, a far more distinguished see was offered to him. He died in +1755, in time to escape the sight of the retribution that was soon +worked out on the folly and vice of the unhappy country. + + + + +THE SECOND OF SEPTEMBER + +1792 + + + +The reign of the terrible Tzar was dreadful, but there was even a more +dreadful time, that which might be called the reign of the madness of +the people. The oppression and injustice that had for generations past +been worked out in France ended in the most fearful reaction that +history records, and the horrors that took place in the Revolution pass +all thought or description. Every institution that had been misused was +overthrown at one fell swoop, and the whole accumulated vengeance of +generations fell on the heads of the persons who occupied the positions +of the former oppressors. Many of these were as pure and guiltless as +their slaughterers were the reverse, but the heads of the Revolution +imagined that to obtain their ideal vision of perfect justice and +liberty, all the remnants of the former state of things must be swept +away, and the ferocious beings who carried out their decrees had become +absolutely frantic with delight in bloodshed. The nation seemed +delivered up to a delirium of murder. But as + + +'Even as earth's wild war cries heighten, +The cross upon the brow will brighten', + + +These times of surpassing horror were also times of surpassing devotion +and heroism. Without attempting to describe the various stages of the +Revolution, and the different committees that under different titles +carried on the work of destruction, we will mention some of the deeds +that shine out as we look into that abyss of horror, the Paris of 1792 +and the following years. + +Think of the Swiss Guards, who on the 10th of August, 1792, the +miserable day when the King, Queen, and children were made the captives +of the people, stood resolutely at their posts, till they were massacred +almost to a man. Well is their fidelity honored by the noble sculpture +near Lucerne, cut out in the living rock of their own Alps, and +representing a lion dying to defend the fleur-de-lis. + +A more dreadful day still was in preparation. The mob seemed to have +imagined that the King and nobility had some strange dreadful power, and +that unless they were all annihilated they would rise up and trample all +down before them, and those who had the direction of affairs profited by +this delusion to multiply executioners, and clear away all that they +supposed to stand in the way of the renewal of the nation. And the +attempts of the emigrant nobility and of the German princes to march to +the rescue of the royal family added to the fury of their cowardly +ferocity. The prisons of Paris were crowded to overflowing with +aristocrats, as it was the fashion to call the nobles and gentry, and +with the clergy who had refused their adhesion to the new state of +things. The whole number is reckoned at not less than 8,000. + +Among those at the Abbaye de St. Germain were M. Jacques Cazotte, an old +gentleman of seventy-three, who had been for many years in a government +office, and had written various poems. He was living in the country, in +Champagne, when on the 18th of August he was arrested. His daughter +Elizabeth, a lovely girl of twenty, would not leave him, and together +they were taken first to Epernay and then to Paris, where they were +thrown into the Abbaye, and found it crowded with prisoners. M. +Cazotte's bald forehead and grey looks gave him a patriarchal +appearance, and his talk, deeply and truly pious, was full of Scripture +language, as he strove to persuade his fellow captives to own the true +blessings of suffering. + +Here Elizabeth met the like-minded Marie de Sombreuil, who had clung to +her father, Charles Viscount de Sombreuil, the Governor of the +Invalides, or pensioners of the French army; and here, too, had Madame +de Fausse Lendry come with her old uncle the Abbé de Rastignac, who had +been for three months extremely ill, and was only just recovering when +dragged to the prison, and there placed in a room so crowded that it was +not possible to turn round, and the air in the end of August was +fearfully close and heated. Not once while there was the poor old man +able to sleep. His niece spent the nights in a room belonging to the +jailer, with the Princess de Tarente, and Mademoiselle de Sombreuil. + +On the 2nd of September these slaughter-houses were as full as they +could hold, and about a hundred ruffians, armed with axes and guns, were +sent round to all the jails to do the bloody work. It was a Sunday, and +some of the victims had tried to observe it religiously, though little +divining that, it was to be their last. They first took alarm on +perceiving that their jailer had removed his family, and then that he +sent up their dinner earlier than usual, and removed all the knives and +forks. By and by howls and shouts were heard, and the tocsin was heard, +ringing, alarm guns firing, and reports came in to the prisoners of the +Abbaye that the populace were breaking into the prisons. + +The clergy were all penned up together in the cloisters of the Abbaye, +whither they had been brought in carriages that morning. Among them was +the Abbé Sicard, an admirable priest who had spent his whole lifetime in +instructing the deaf and dumb in his own house, where-- + + + 'The cunning finger finely twined +The subtle thread that knitteth mind to mind; +There that strange bridge of signs was built where roll +The sunless waves that sever soul from soul, +And by the arch, no bigger than a hand, +Truth travell'd over to the silent land'. + + +He had been arrested, while teaching his pupils, on the 26th of August, +1792, and shut up among other clergy in the prison of the Mayoralty; but +the lads whom he had educated came in a body to ask leave to claim him +at the bar of the National Assembly. Massieu, his best scholar, had +drawn up a most touching address, saying, that in him the deaf and dumb +were deprived of their teacher, nurse, and father. 'It is he who has +taught us what we know, without him we should be as the beasts of the +field.' This petition, and the gestures of the poor silent beings, went +to the heart of the National Assembly. One young man, named Duhamel, +neither deaf nor dumb, from pure admiration of the good work, went and +offered to be imprisoned in the Abbé's place. There was great applause, +and a decree was passed that the cause of the arrest should be enquired +into, but this took no effect, and on that dreadful afternoon, M. Sicard +was put into one of a procession of carriages, which drove slowly +through the streets full of priests, who were reviled, pelted, and +wounded by the populace till they reached the Abbaye. + +In the turnkey's rooms sat a horrible committee, who acted as a sort of +tribunal, but very few of the priests reached it. They were for the most +part cut down as they stepped out into the throng in the court--- +consisting of red-capped ruffians, with their shirt sleeves turned up, +and still more fiendish women, who hounded them on to the butchery, and +brought them wine and food. Sicard and another priest contrived, while +their companions fell, to rush into the committee room, exclaiming, +'Messieurs, preserve an unfortunate!' + +'Go along!' they said, 'do you wish us to get ourselves massacred?' + +But one, recognizing him, was surprised, knowing that his life was to be +spared, and took him into the room, promising to save him as long as +possible. Here the two priests would have been safe but for a wretched +woman, who shrieked out to the murderers that they had been admitted, +and loud knocks and demands for them came from without. Sicard thought +all lost, and taking out his watch, begged one of the committee to give +it to the first deaf mute who should come and ask for him, sure that it +would be the faithful Massieu. At first the man replied that the danger +was not imminent enough; but on hearing a more furious noise at the +door, as if the mob were going to break in, he took the watch; and +Sicard, falling on his knees, commended his soul to God, and embraced +his brother priest. + +In rushed the assassins, they paused for a moment, unable to distinguish +the priests from the committee, but the two pikemen found them out, and +his companion was instantly murdered. The weapons were lifted against +Sicard, when a man pushed through the crowd, and throwing himself before +the pike, displayed his breast and cried, 'Behold the bosom through +which you must pass to reach that of this good citizen. You do not know +him. He is the Abbé Sicard, one of the most benevolent of men, the most +useful to his country, the father of the deaf and dumb!' + +The murderer dropped his pike; but Sicard, perceiving that it was the +populace who were the real dispensers of life or death, sprang to the +window, and shouted, 'Friends, behold an innocent man. Am I to die +without being heard?' + +'You were among the rest,' the mob shouted, 'therefore you are as bad as +the others.' + +But when he told his name, the cry changed. 'He is the father of the +deaf and dumb! he is too useful to perish; his life is spent in doing +good; he must be saved.' And the murderers behind took him up in their +arms, and carried him out into the court, where he was obliged to submit +to be embraced by the whole gang of ruffians, who wanted to carry him +home in triumph; but he did not choose to go without being legally +released, and returning into the committee room, he learnt for the first +time the name of his preserver, one Monnot, a watchmaker, who, though +knowing him only by character, and learning that he was among the clergy +who were being driven to the slaughter, had rushed in to save him. + +Sicard remained in the committee room while further horrors were +perpetrated all round, and at night was taken to the little room called +Le Violon, with two other prisoners. A horrible night ensued; the +murders on the outside varied with drinking and dancing; and at three +o'clock the murderers tried to break into Le Violon. There was a loft +far overhead, and the other two prisoners tried to persuade Sicard to +climb on their shoulders to reach it, saying that his life was more +useful than theirs. However, some fresh prey was brought in, which drew +off the attention of the murderers, and two days afterwards Sicard was +released to resume his life of charity. + +At the beginning of the night, all the ladies who had accompanied their +relatives were separated from them, and put into the women's room; but +when morning came they entreated earnestly to return to them, but +Mademoiselle de Fausse Lendry was assured that her uncle was safe, and +they were told soon after that all who remained were pardoned. About +twenty-two ladies were together, and were called to leave the prison, +but the two who went first were at once butchered, and the sentry called +out to the others, 'It is a snare, go back, do not show yourselves.' +They retreated; but Marie de Sombreuil had made her way to her father, +and when he was called down into the court, she came with him. She hung +round him, beseeching the murderers to have pity on his grey hairs, and +declaring that they must strike him only through her. One of the +ruffians, touched by her resolution, called out that they should be +allowed to pass if the girl would drink to the health of the nation. The +whole court was swimming with blood, and the glass he held out to her +was full of something red. Marie would not shudder. She drank, and with +the applause of the assassins ringing in her ears, she passed with her +father over the threshold of the fatal gates, into such freedom and +safety as Paris could then afford. Never again could she see a glass of +red wine without a shudder, and it was generally believed that it was +actually a glass of blood that she had swallowed, though she always +averred that this was an exaggeration, and that it had been only her +impression before tasting it that so horrible a draught was offered to +her. + +The tidings that Mademoiselle de Sombreuil had saved her father came to +encourage the rest of the ladies, and when calls were heard for +'Cazotte', Elizabeth flew out and joined her father, and in like manner +stood between him and the butchers, till her devotion made the crowd cry +'Pardon!' and one of the men employed about the prison opened a passage +for her, by which she, too, led her father away. + +Madame de Fausse Lendry was not so happy. Her uncle was killed early in +the day, before she was aware that he had been sent for, but she +survived to relate the history of that most horrible night and day. The +same work was going on at all the other prisons, and chief among the +victims of La Force was the beautiful Marie Louise of Savoy, the +Princess de Lamballe, and one of the most intimate friends of the Queen. +A young widow without children, she had been the ornament of the court, +and clever learned ladies thought her frivolous, but the depth of her +nature was shown in the time of trial. Her old father-in-law had taken +her abroad with him when the danger first became apparent, but as soon +as she saw that the Queen herself was aimed at, she went immediately +back to France to comfort her and share her fate. + +Since the terrible 10th of August, the friends had been separated, and +Madame de Lamballe had been in the prison of La Force. There, on the +evening of the 2nd of September, she was brought down to the tribunal, +and told to swear liberty, equality, and hatred to the King and Queen. + +'I will readily swear the two former. I cannot swear the latter. It is +not in my heart.' + +'Swear! If not, you are dead.' + +She raised her eyes, lifted her hands, and made a step to the door. +Murderers closed her in, and pike thrusts in a few moments were the last +'stage that carried from earth to heaven' the gentle woman, who had +loved her queenly friend to the death. Little mattered it to her that +her corpse was soon torn limb from limb, and that her fair ringlets were +floating round the pike on which her head was borne past her friend's +prison window. Little matters it now even to Marie Antoinette. The worst +that the murderers could do for such as these, could only work for them +a more exceeding weight of glory. + +M. Cazotte was imprisoned again on the 12th of September, and all his +daughter's efforts failed to save him. She was taken from him, and he +died on the guillotine, exclaiming, 'I die as I have lived, faithful to +my God and to my King.' And the same winter, M. de Sombreuil was also +imprisoned again. When he entered the prison with his daughter, all the +inmates rose to do her honor. In the ensuing June, after a mock trial, +her father and brother were put to death, and she remained for many +years alone with only the memory of her past days. + + + + +THE VENDEANS + +1793 + + + +While the greater part of France had been falling into habits of self- +indulgence, and from thence into infidelity and revolution, there was +one district where the people had not forgotten to fear God and honor +the King. + +This was in the tract surrounding the Loire, the south of which is now +called La Vendee, and was then termed the Bocage, or the Woodland. It is +full of low hills and narrow valleys, divided into small fields, +enclosed by high thick hedgerows; so that when viewed from the top of +one of the hills, the whole country appears perfectly green, excepting +near harvest-time, when small patches of golden corn catch the eye, or +where here and there a church tower peeps above the trees, in the midst +of the flat red-tiled roofs of the surrounding village. The roads are +deep lanes, often in the winter beds of streams, and in the summer +completely roofed by the thick foliage of the trees, whose branches meet +overhead. + +The gentry of La Vendee, instead of idling their time at Paris, lived on +their own estates in kindly intercourse with their neighbours, and +constantly helping and befriending their tenants, visiting them at their +farms, talking over their crops and cattle, giving them advice, and +inviting them on holidays to dance in the courts of their castles, and +themselves joining in their sports. The peasants were a hardworking, +sober, and pious people, devoutly attending their churches, reverencing +their clergy, and, as well they might, loving and honoring their good +landlords. + +But as the Revolution began to make its deadly progress at Paris, a +gloom spread over this happy country. The Paris mob, who could not bear +to see anyone higher in station than themselves, thirsted for noble +blood, and the gentry were driven from France, or else imprisoned and +put to death. An oath contrary to the laws of their Church was required +of the clergy, those who refused it were thrust out of their parishes, +and others placed in their room; and throughout France all the youths of +a certain age were forced to draw lots to decide who should serve in the +Republican army. + +This conscription filled up the measure. The Vendeans had grieved over +the flight of their landlords, they had sheltered and hidden their +priests, and heard their ministrations in secret; but when their young +men were to be carried way from them, and made the defenders and +instruments of those who were murdering their King, overthrowing their +Church, and ruining their country, they could endure it no longer, but +in the spring of 1793, soon after the execution of Louis XVI., a rising +took place in Anjou, at the village of St. Florent, headed by a peddler +named Cathelineau, and they drove back the Blues, as they called the +revolutionary soldiers, who had come to enforce the conscription. They +begged Monsieur de Bonchamp, a gentleman in the neighborhood, to take +the command; and, willing to devote himself to the cause of his King, he +complied, saying, as he did so, 'We must not aspire to earthly rewards; +such would be beneath the purity of our motives, the holiness of our +cause. We must not even aspire to glory, for a civil war affords none. +We shall see our castles fall, we shall be proscribed, slandered, +stripped of our possessions, perhaps put to death; but let us thank God +for giving us strength to do our duty to the end.' + +The next person on whom the peasants cast their eyes possessed as true +and strong a heart, though he was too young to count the cost of loyalty +with the same calm spirit of self-devotion. The Marquis de la +Rochejacquelein, one of the most excellent of the nobles of Poitou, had +already emigrated with his wife and all his family, excepting Henri, the +eldest son, who, though but eighteen years of age, had been placed in +the dangerous post of an officer in the Royal Guards. When Louis XVI. +had been obliged to dismiss these brave men, he had obtained a promise +from each officer that he would not leave France, but wait for some +chance of delivering that unhappy country. Henri had therefore remained +at Paris, until after the 10th of August, 1792, when the massacre at the +Tuileries took place, and the imprisonment of the royal family +commenced; and then every gentleman being in danger in the city, he had +come to his father's deserted castle of Durballiere in Poitou. + +He was nearly twenty, tall and slender, with fair hair, an oval face, +and blue eyes, very gentle, although full of animation. He was active +and dexterous in all manly sports, especially shooting and riding; he +was a man of few words; and his manners were so shy, modest, and +retiring, that his friends used to say he was more like an Englishman +than a Frenchman. + +Hearing that he was alone at Durballière, and knowing that as an officer +in the Guards, and also as being of the age liable to the conscription, +he was in danger from the Revolutionists in the neighboring towns, his +cousin, the Marquis de Lescure, sent to invite him to his strong castle +of Clisson, which was likewise situated in the Bocage. This castle +afforded a refuge to many others who were in danger--to nuns driven from +their convents, dispossessed clergy, and persons who dreaded to remain +at their homes, but who felt reassured under the shelter of the castle, +and by the character of its owner, a young man of six-and-twenty, who, +though of high and unshaken loyalty, had never concerned himself with +politics, but led a quiet and studious life, and was everywhere honored +and respected. + +The winter passed in great anxiety, and when in the spring the rising at +Anjou took place, and the new government summoned all who could bear +arms to assist in quelling it, a council was held among the party at +Clisson on the steps to be taken. Henri, as the youngest, spoke first, +saying he would rather perish than fight against the peasants; nor among +the whole assembly was there one person willing to take the safer but +meaner course of deserting the cause of their King and country. 'Yes,' +said the Duchess de Donnissan, mother to the young wife of the Marquis +de Lescure, 'I see you are all of the same opinion. Better death than +dishonor. I approve your courage. It is a settled thing:' and seating +herself in her armchair, she concluded, 'Well, then, we must die.' +For some little time all remained quiet at Clisson; but at length the +order for the conscription arrived, and a few days before the time +appointed for the lots to be drawn, a boy came to the castle bringing a +note to Henri from his aunt at St. Aubin. 'Monsieur Henri,' said the +boy, 'they say you are to draw for the conscription next Sunday; but may +not your tenants rise against it in the meantime? Come with me, sir, the +whole country is longing for you, and will obey you.' + +Henri instantly promised to come, but some of the ladies would have +persuaded him not to endanger himself--representing, too, that if he was +missing on the appointed day, M. de Lescure might be made responsible +for him. The Marquis, however, silenced them, saying to his cousin, 'You +are prompted by honor and duty to put yourself at the head of your +tenants. Follow out your plan, I am only grieved at not being able to go +with you; and certainly no fear of imprisonment will lead me to dissuade +you from doing your duty.' + +'Well, I will come and rescue you,' said Henri, embracing him, and his +eyes glancing with a noble soldier-like expression and an eagle look. + +As soon as the servants were gone to bed, he set out with a guide, with +a stick in his hand and a pair of pistols in his belt; and traveling +through the fields, over hedges and ditches, for fear of meeting with +the Blues, arrived at St. Aubin, and from thence went on to meet M. de +Bonchamp and his little army. But he found to his disappointment that +they had just been defeated, and the chieftains, believing that all was +lost, had dispersed their troops. He went to his own home, dispirited +and grieved; but no sooner did the men of St. Aubin learn the arrival of +their young lord, than they came trooping to the castle, entreating him +to place himself at their head. + +In the early morning, the castle court, the fields, the village, were +thronged with stout hardy farmers and laborers, in grey coats, with +broad flapping hats, and red woolen handkerchiefs round their necks. On +their shoulders were spits, scythes, and even sticks; happy was the man +who could bring an old fowling-piece, and still more rejoiced the owner +of some powder, intended for blasting some neighboring quarry. All had +bold true hearts, ready to suffer and to die in the cause of their +Church and of their young innocent imprisoned King. + +A mistrust of his own powers, a fear of ruining these brave men, crossed +the mind of the youth as he looked forth upon them, and he exclaimed, +'If my father was but here, you might trust to him. Yet by my courage I +will show myself worthy, and lead you. If I go forward, follow me: if I +draw back, kill me; if I am slain, avenge me!' They replied with shouts +of joy, and it was instantly resolved to march upon the next village, +which was occupied by the rebel troops. They gained a complete victory, +driving away the Blues, and taking two small pieces of cannon, and +immediately joined M. de Bonchamp and Cathelineau, who, encouraged by +their success, again gathered their troops and gained some further +advantages. + +In the meantime, the authorities had sent to Clisson and arrested M. de +Lescure, his wife, her parents, and some of their guests, who were +conducted to Bressuire, the nearest town, and there closely guarded. +There was great danger that the Republicans would revenge their losses +upon them, but the calm dignified deportment of M. de Lescure obliged +them to respect him so much that no injury was offered to him. At last +came the joyful news that the Royalist army was approaching. The +Republican soldiers immediately quitted the town, and the inhabitants +all came to ask the protection of the prisoners, desiring to send their +goods to Clisson for security, and thinking themselves guarded by the +presence of M. and Madame de Lescure. + +M. de Lescure and his cousin Bernard de Marigny mounted their horses and +rode out to meet their friends. In a quarter of an hour afterwards, +Madame de Lescure heard the shouts 'Long live the King!' and the next +minute, Henri de la Rochejacquelein hurried into the room, crying, 'I +have saved you.' The peasants marched in to the number of 20,000, and +spread themselves through the town, but in their victory they had gained +no taste for blood or plunder--they did not hurt a single inhabitant, +nor touch anything that was not their own. Madame de Lescure heard some +of them wishing for tobacco, and asked if there was none in the town. +'Oh yes, there is plenty to be sold, but we have no money;' and they +were very thankful to her for giving the small sum they required. +Monsieur de Donnissan saw two men disputing in the street, and one drew +his sword, when he interfered, saying, 'Our Lord prayed for His +murderers, and would one soldier of the Catholic army kill another?' The +two instantly embraced. + +Three times a day these peasant warriors knelt at their prayers, in the +churches if they were near them, if not, in the open field, and seldom +have ever been equaled the piety, the humility, the self-devotion alike +of chiefs and of followers. The frightful cruelties committed by the +enemy were returned by mercy; though such of them as fell into the hands +of the Republicans were shot without pity, yet their prisoners were +instantly set at liberty after being made to promise not to serve +against them again, and having their hair shaved off in order that they +might be recognized. + +Whenever an enterprise was resolved on, the curates gave notice to their +parishioners that the leaders would be at such a place at such a time, +upon which they crowded to the spot, and assembled around the white +standard of France with such weapons as they could muster. + +The clergy then heard them confess their sins, gave them absolution, and +blessed them; then, while they set forward, returned to the churches +where their wives and children were praying for their success. They did +not fight like regular soldiers, but, creeping through the hedgerows and +coppices, burst unexpectedly upon the Blues, who, entangled in the +hollow lanes, ignorant of the country, and amazed by the suddenness of +the attack, had little power to resist. The chieftains were always +foremost in danger; above all the eager young Henri, with his eye on the +white standard, and on the blue sky, and his hand making the sign of the +cross without which he never charged the enemy, dashed on first, +fearless of peril, regardless of his life, thinking only of his duty to +his king and the protection of his followers. + +It was calmness and resignation which chiefly distinguished M. de +Lescure, the Saint of Poitou, as the peasants called him from his great +piety, his even temper, and the kindness and the wonderful mercifulness +of his disposition. Though constantly at the head of his troops, leading +them into the most dangerous places, and never sparing himself, not one +man was slain by his hand, nor did he even permit a prisoner to receive +the least injury in his presence. When one of the Republicans once +presented his musket close to his breast, he quietly put it aside with +his hand, and only said, 'Take away the prisoner'. His calmness was +indeed well founded, and his trust never failed. Once when the little +army had received a considerable check, and his cousin M. de Marigny was +in despair, and throwing his pistols on the table, exclaimed, 'I fight +no longer', he took him by the arm, led him to the window, an pointing +to a troop of peasants kneeling at their evening prayers, he said, 'See +there a pledge of our hopes, and doubt no longer that we shall conquer +in our turn.' + +Their greatest victory was at Saumur, owing chiefly to the gallantry of +Henri, who threw his hat into the midst of the enemy, shouting to his +followers, 'Who will go and fetch it for me?' and rushing forward, drove +all before him, and made his way into the town on one side, while M. de +Lescure, together with Stofflet, a game-keeper, another of the chiefs, +made their entrance on the other side. M. de Lescure was wounded in the +arm, and on the sight of his blood the peasants gave back, and would +have fled had not Stofflet threatened to shoot the first who turned; and +in the meantime M. de Lescure, tying up his arm with a handkerchief, +declared it was nothing, and led them onwards. + +The city was entirely in their hands, and their thankful delight was +excessive; but they only displayed it by ringing the bells, singing the +Te Deum, and parading the streets. Henri was almost out of his senses +with exultation; but at last he fell into a reverie, as he stood, with +his arms folded, gazing on the mighty citadel which had yielded to +efforts such as theirs. His friends roused him from his dream by their +remarks, and he replied, 'I am reflecting on our success, and am +confounded'. + +They now resolved to elect a general-in-chief, and M. de Lescure was the +first to propose Cathelineau, the peddler, who had first come forward in +the cause. It was a wondrous thing when the nobles, the gentry, and +experienced officers who had served in the regular army, all willingly +placed themselves under the command of the simple untrained peasant, +without a thought of selfishness or of jealousy. Nor did Cathelineau +himself show any trace of pride, or lose his complete humility of mind +or manner; but by each word and deed he fully proved how wise had been +their judgment, and well earned the title given him by the peasants of +the 'Saint of Anjou'. + +It was now that their hopes were highest; they were more numerous and +better armed than they had ever been before, and they even talked of a +march to Paris to 'fetch their little king, and have him crowned at +Chollet', the chief town of La Vendee. But martyrdom, the highest glory +to be obtained on this earth, was already shedding its brightness round +these devoted men who were counted worthy to suffer, and it was in a +higher and purer world that they were to meet their royal child. + +Cathelineau turned towards Nantes, leaving Henri de la Rochejaquelein, +to his great vexation, to defend Saumur with a party of peasants. But he +found it impossible to prevent these poor men from returning to their +homes; they did not understand the importance of garrison duty, and +gradually departed, leaving their commander alone with a few officers, +with whom he used to go through the town at night, shouting out, 'Long +live the king!' at the places where there ought to have been sentinels. +At last, when his followers were reduced to eight, he left the town, +and, rejoicing to be once more in the open field, overtook his friends +at Angers, where they had just rescued a great number of clergy who had +been imprisoned there, and daily threatened with death. 'Do not thank +us,' said the peasants to the liberated priests; 'it is for you that we +fight. If we had not saved you, we should not have ventured to return +home. Since you are freed, we see plainly that the good God is on our +side.' + +But the tide was now about to turn. The Government in Paris sent a far +stronger force into the Bocage, and desolated it in a cruel manner. +Clisson was burnt to the ground with the very fireworks which had been +prepared for the christening of its master's eldest child, and which had +not been used because of the sorrowful days when she was born. M. de +Lescure had long expected its destruction, but had not chosen to remove +the furniture, lest he should discourage the peasants. His family were +with the army, where alone there was now any safety for the weak and +helpless. At Nantes the attack was unsuccessful, and Cathelineau himself +received a wound of which he died in a few days, rejoicing at having +been permitted to shed his blood in such a cause. + +The army, of which M. d'Elbee became the leader, now returned to Poitou, +and gained a great victory at Chatillon; but here many of them forgot +the mercy they had usually shown, and, enraged by the sight of their +burnt cottages, wasted fields, and murdered relatives, they fell upon +the prisoners and began to slaughter them. M. de Lescure, coming in +haste, called out to them to desist. 'No, no,' cried M. de Marigny; 'let +me slay these monsters who have burnt your castle.' 'Then, Marigny,' +said his cousin, 'you must fight with me. You are too cruel; you will +perish by the sword.' And he saved these unhappy men for the time; but +they were put to death on their way to their own army. + +The cruelties of the Republicans occasioned a proclamation on the part +of the Royalists that they would make reprisals; but they could never +bring themselves to act upon it. When M. de Lescure took Parthenay, he +said to the inhabitants, 'It is well for you that it is I who have taken +your town; for, according to our proclamation, I ought to burn it; but, +as you would think it an act of private revenge for the burning of +Clisson, I spare you'. + +Though occasional successes still maintained the hopes of the Vendeans, +misfortunes and defeats now became frequent; they were unable to save +their country from the devastations of the enemy, and disappointments +began to thin the numbers of the soldiers. Henri, while fighting in a +hollow road, was struck in the right hand by a ball, which broke his +thumb in three places. He continued to direct his men, but they were at +length driven back from their post. He was obliged to leave the army for +some days; and though he soon appeared again at the head of the men of +St. Aubin, he never recovered the use of his hand. + +Shortly after, both D'Elbee and Bonchamp were desperately wounded; and +M. de Lescure, while waving his followers on to attack a Republican +post, received a ball in the head. The enemy pressed on the broken and +defeated army with overwhelming force, and the few remaining chiefs +resolved to cross the Loire and take refuge in Brittany. It was much +against the opinion of M. de Lescure; but, in his feeble and suffering +state, he could not make himself heard, nor could Henri's +representations prevail; the peasants, in terror and dismay, were +hastening across as fast as they could obtain boats to carry them. The +enemy was near at hand, and Stofflet, Marigny, and the other chiefs were +only deliberating whether they should not kill the prisoners whom they +could not take with them, and, if set at liberty, would only add to the +numbers of their pursuers. The order for their death had been given; +but, before it could be executed, M. de Lescure had raised his head to +exclaim, 'It is too horrible!' and M. de Bonchamp at the same moment +said, almost with his last breath, 'Spare them!' The officers who stood +by rushed to the generals, crying out that Bonchamp commanded that they +should be pardoned. They were set at liberty; and thus the two Vendean +chiefs avenged their deaths by saving five thousand of their enemies! + +M. de Bonchamp expired immediately after; but M. de Lescure had still +much to suffer in the long and painful passage across the river, and +afterwards, while carried along the rough roads to Varades in an +armchair upon two pikes, his wife and her maid supporting his feet. The +Bretons received them kindly, and gave him a small room, where, the next +day, he sent for the rest of the council, telling them they ought to +choose a new general, since M. d'Elbee was missing. They answered that +he himself alone could be commander. 'Gentlemen,' he answered: 'I am +mortally wounded; and even if I am to live, which I do not expect, I +shall be long unfit to serve. The army must instantly have an active +chief, loved by all, known to the peasants, trusted by everyone. It is +the only way of saving us. M. de la Rochejaquelein alone is known to the +soldiers of all the divisions. M. de Donnissan, my father-in-law, does +not belong to this part of the country, and would not be as readily +followed. The choice I propose would encourage the soldiers; and I +entreat you to choose M. de la Rochejaquelein. As to me, if I live, you +know I shall not quarrel with Henri; I shall be his aide-de-camp.' + +His advice was readily followed, Henri was chosen; but when a second in +command was to be elected, he said no, he was second, for he should +always obey M. de Donnissan, and entreated that the honor might not be +given to him, saying that at twenty years of age he had neither weight +nor experience, that his valor led him to be first in battle, but in +council his youth prevented him from being attended to; and, indeed, +after giving his opinion, he usually fell asleep while others were +debating. He was, however, elected; and as soon as M. de Lescure heard +the shouts of joy with which the peasants received the intelligence, he +sent Madame de Lescure to bring him to his bedside. She found him hidden +in a corner, weeping bitterly; and when he came to his cousin, he +embraced him, saving earnestly, again and again, that he was not fit to +be general, he only knew how to fight, he was too young and could never +silence those who opposed his designs, and entreated him to take the +command as soon as he was cured. 'That I do not expect,' said M. de +Lescure; 'but if it should happen, I will be your aide-de-camp, and help +you to conquer the shyness which prevents your strength of character +from silencing the murmurers and the ambitious.' + +Henri accordingly took the command; but it was a melancholy office that +devolved upon him of dragging onward his broken and dejected peasants, +half-starved, half-clothed, and followed by a wretched train of women, +children, and wounded; a sad change from the bright hopes with which, +not six months before, he had been called to the head of his tenants. +Yet still his high courage gained some triumphs, which for a time +revived the spirits of his forces and restored their confidence. He was +active and undaunted, and it was about this time, when in pursuit of the +Blues, he was attacked by a foot soldier when alone in a narrow lane. +His right hand was useless, but he seized the man's collar with his +1eft, and held him fast, managing his horse with his legs till his men +came up. He would not allow them to kill the soldier, but set him free, +saying 'Return to the Republicans, and tell them that you were alone +with the general of the brigands, who had but one hand and no weapons, +yet you could not kill him'. Brigands was the name given by the +Republicans, the true robbers, to the Royalists, who, in fact, by this +time, owing to the wild life they had so long led, had acquired a +somewhat rude and savage appearance. They wore grey cloth coats and +trousers, broad hats, white sashes with knots of different colours to +mark the rank of the officers, and red woolen handkerchiefs. These were +made in the country, and were at first chiefly worn by Henri, who +usually had one round his neck, another round his waist, and a third to +support his wounded hand; but the other officers, having heard the Blues +cry out to aim at the red handkerchief, themselves adopted the same +badge, in order that he might be less conspicuous. + +In the meantime a few days' rest at Laval had at first so alleviated the +sufferings of M. de Lescure, that hopes were entertained of his +recovery; but he ventured on greater exertions of strength than he was +able to bear, and fever returned, which had weakened him greatly before +it became necessary to travel onwards. Early in the morning, a day or +two before their departure, he called to his wife, who was lying on a +mattress on the floor, and desired her to open the curtains, asking, as +she did so, if it was a clear day. 'Yes,' said she. 'Then,' he answered, +'I have a sort of veil before my eyes, I cannot see distinctly; I always +thought my wound was mortal, and now I no longer doubt. My dear, I must +leave you, that is my only regret, except that I could not restore my +king to the throne; I leave you in the midst of a civil war, that is +what afflicts me. Try to save yourself. Disguise yourself, and attempt +to reach England.' Then seeing her choked with tears, he continued: +'Yes, your grief alone makes me regret life; for my own part, I die +tranquil; I have indeed sinned, but I have always served God with piety; +I have fought, and I die for Him, and I hope in His mercy. I have often +seen death, and I do not fear it I go to heaven with a sure trust, I +grieve but for you; I hoped to have made you happy; if I ever have given +you any reason to complain, forgive me.' Finding her grief beyond all +consolation, he allowed her to call the surgeons, saying that it was +possible he might be mistaken. They gave some hope, which cheered her +spirits, though he still said he did not believe them. The next day they +left Laval; and on the way, while the carriage was stopping, a person +came to the door and read the details of the execution of Marie +Antoinette which Madame de Lescure had kept from his knowledge. It was a +great shock to him, for he had known the Queen personally, and +throughout the day he wearied himself with exclamations on the horrible +crime. That night at Ernee he received the Sacrament, and at the same +time became speechless, and could only lie holding his wife's hand and +looking sometimes at her, sometimes toward heaven. But the cruel enemy +were close behind, and there was no rest on earth even for the dying. +Madame de Lescure implored her friends to leave them behind; but they +told her she would be exposed to a frightful death, and that his body +would fall into the enemy's hands; and she was forced to consent to his +removal. Her mother and her other friends would not permit her to remain +in the carriage with him; she was placed on horseback and her maid and +the surgeon were with him. An hour after, on the 3rd of November, he +died, but his wife did not know her loss till the evening when they +arrived at Fongeres; for though the surgeon left the carriage on his +death, the maid, fearing the effect which the knowledge might have upon +her in the midst of her journey, remained for seven hours in the +carriage by his side, during two of which she was in a fainting fit. + +When Madame de Lescure and Henri de la Rochejaquelein met the next +morning, they sat for a quarter of an hour without speaking, and weeping +bitterly. At last she said 'You have lost your best friend,' and he +replied, 'Take my life, if it could restore him.' + + +Scarcely anything can be imagined more miserable than the condition of +the army, or more terrible than the situation of the young general, who +felt himself responsible for its safety, and was compelled daily to see +its sufferings and find his plans thwarted by the obstinacy and folly of +the other officers, crushed by an overwhelming force, knowing that there +was no quarter from which help could come, yet still struggling on in +fulfillment of his sad duty. The hopes and expectations which had filled +his heart a few months back had long passed away; nothing was around him +but misery, nothing before him but desolation; but still he never failed +in courage, in mildness, in confidence in Heaven. + +At Mans he met with a horrible defeat; at first, indeed, with a small +party he broke the columns of the enemy, but fresh men were constantly +brought up, and his peasants gave way and retreated, their officers +following them. He tried to lead them back through the hedges, and if he +had succeeded, would surely have gained the victory. Three times with +two other officers he dashed into the midst of the Blues; but the +broken, dispirited peasants would not follow him, not one would even +turn to fire a shot. At last, in leaping a hedge, his saddle turned, and +he fell, without indeed being hurt, but the sight of his fall added to +the terror of the miserable Vendeans. He struggled long and desperately +through the long night that followed to defend the gates of the town, +but with the light of morning the enemy perceived his weakness and +effected their entrance. His followers had in the meantime gradually +retired into the country beyond, but those who could not escape fell a +prey to the cruelty of the Republicans. 'I thought you had perished,' +said Madame de Lescure, when he overtook her. 'Would that I had,' was +his answer. + +He now resolved to cross the Loire, and return to his native Bocage, +where the well-known woods would afford a better protection to his +followers. It was at Craon, on their route to the river, that Madame de +Lescure saw him for the last time, as he rallied his men, who had been +terrified by a false alarm. + +She did not return to La Vendee, but, with her mother, was sheltered by +the peasants of Brittany throughout the winter and spring until they +found means to leave the country. + +The Vendeans reached the Loire at Ancenis, but they were only able to +find two small boats to carry them over. On the other side, however, +were four great ferry boats loaded with hay; and Henri, with Stofflet, +three other officers, and eighteen soldiers crossed the river in their +two boats, intending to take possession of them, send them back for the +rest of the army, and in the meantime protect the passage from the Blues +on the Vendean side. Unfortunately, however, he had scarcely crossed +before the pursuers came down upon his troops, drove them back from +Ancenis, and entirely prevented them from attempting the passage, while +at the same time Henri and his companions were attacked and forced from +the river by a body of Republicans on their side. A last resistance was +attempted by the retreating Vendeans at Savenay, where they fought nobly +but in vain; four thousand were shot on the field of battle, the chiefs +were made prisoners and carried to Nantes or Angers, where they were +guillotined, and a few who succeeded in escaping found shelter among the +Bretons, or one by one found their way back to La Vendee. M. de +Donnissan was amongst those who were guillotined, and M. d'Elbee, who +was seized shortly after, was shot with his wife. + +Henri, with his few companions, when driven from the banks of the Loire, +dismissed the eighteen soldiers, whose number would only have attracted +attention without being sufficient for protection; but the five chiefs +crossed the fields and wandered through the country without meeting a +single inhabitant--all the houses were burnt down, and the few remaining +peasants hidden in the woods. At last, after four-and-twenty hours, +walking, they came to an inhabited farm, where they lay down to sleep on +the straw. The next moment the farmer came to tell them the Blues were +coming; but they were so worn out with fatigue, that they would not +move. The Blues were happily, also, very tired, and, without making any +search, laid down on the other side of the heap of straw, and also fell +asleep. Before daylight the Vendeans rose and set out again, walking +miles and miles in the midst of desolation, until, after several days, +they came to Henri's own village of St. Aubin, where he sought out his +aunt, who was in concealment there, and remained with her for three +days, utterly overwhelmed with grief at his fatal separation from his +army, and only longing for an opportunity of giving his life in the good +cause. + +Beyond all his hopes, the peasants no sooner heard his name, than once +more they rallied round the white standard, as determined as ever not to +yield to the Revolutionary government; and the beginning of the year +1794 found him once more at the head of a considerable force, encamped +in the forests of Vesins, guarding the villages around from the +cruelties of the Blues. He was now doubly beloved and trusted by the +followers who had proved his worth, and who even yet looked forward to +triumphs beneath his brave guidance; but it was not so with him, he had +learnt the lesson of disappointment, and though always active and +cheerful, his mind was made up, and the only hope he cherished was of +meeting the death of a soldier. His headquarters were in the midst of a +forest, where one of the Republican officers, who was made prisoner, was +much surprised to find the much-dreaded chieftain of the Royalists +living in a hut formed of boughs of trees, dressed almost like a +peasant, and with his arm still in a sling. This person was shot, +because he was found to be commissioned to promise pardon to the +peasants, and afterwards to massacre them; but Henri had not learnt +cruelty from his persecutors, and his last words were of forgiveness. + +It was on Ash Wednesday that he had repulsed an attack of the enemy, and +had almost driven them out of the wood, when, perceiving two soldiers +hiding behind a hedge, he stopped, crying out, 'Surrender, I spare you.' +As he spoke one of them leveled his musket, fired, and stretched him +dead on the ground without a groan. Stofflet, coming up the next moment, +killed the murderer with one stroke of his sword; but the remaining +soldier was spared out of regard to the last words of the general. The +Vendeans wept bitterly, but there was no time to indulge their sorrow, +for the enemy were returning upon them; and, to save their chieftain's +corpse from insult, they hastily dug a grave, in which they placed both +bodies, and retreated as the Blues came up to occupy the ground. The +Republicans sought for the spot, but it was preserved from their +knowledge; and the high-spirited, pure-hearted Henri de la +Rochejaquelein sleeps beside his enemy in the midst of the woodlands +where be won for himself eternal honor. His name is still loved beyond +all others; the Vendeans seldom pronounce it without touching their +hats, and it is the highest glory of many a family that one of their +number has served under Monsieur Henri. + +Stofflet succeeded to the command, and carried on the war with great +skill and courage for another year, though with barbarities such as had +never been permitted by the gentle men; but his career was stained by +the death of Marigny, whom, by false accusations, he was induced to +sentence to be shot. Marigny showed great courage and resignation, +himself giving the word to fire--perhaps at that moment remembering the +warning of M. de Lescure. Stofflet repented bitterly, and never ceased +to lament his death. He was at length made prisoner, and shot, with his +last words declaring his devotion to his king and his faith. + +Thus ends the tale of the Vendean war, undertaken in the best of causes, +for the honor of God and His Church, and the rescue of one of the most +innocent of kings, by men whose saintly characters and dauntless courage +have seldom been surpassed by martyrs or heroes of any age. It closed +with blood, with fire, with miseries almost unequalled; yet who would +dare to say that the lives of Cathelineau, Bonchamp, Lescure, La +Rochejaquelein, with their hundreds of brave and pious followers, were +devoted in vain? Who could wish to see their brightness dimmed with +earthly rewards? + +And though the powers of evil were permitted to prevail on earth, yet +what could their utmost triumph effect against the faithful, but to make +for them, in the words of the child king for whom they fought, one of +those thorny paths that lead to glory! + + +THE END. + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's A Book of Golden Deeds, by Charlotte M. 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Yonge + +Release Date: September, 2004 [EBook #6489] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on December 22, 2002] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII, with a few ISO-8859-1 characters + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A BOOK OF GOLDEN DEEDS *** + + + + +This Project Gutenberg Etext of 'A Book of Golden Deeds' +by Charlotte M Yonge was prepared by HanhVu capriccio_vn@yahoo.com +and Sandra Laythorpe menorot@menorot.com. + +</PRE> + + + + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + + +<center><h1>A BOOK OF GOLDEN DEEDS</h1> +<h3>BY</h3> +<h2>CHARLOTTE M YONGE</h2></center> +<p> </p> + +<blockquote> +<h3>CONTENTS</h3> + +What is a Golden Deed?<br> +The Stories of Alcestis and Antigone<br> +The Cup of Water<br> +How one Man has saved a Host<br> +The Pass of Thermopylae<br> +The Rock of the Capitol<br> +The Two Friends of Syracuse<br> +The Devotion of the Decii<br> +Regulus<br> +The brave Brethren of Judah<br> +The Chief of the Arverni<br> +Withstanding the Monarch in his Wrath<br> +The last Fight in the Coliseum<br> +The Shepherd Girl of Nanterre<br> +Leo the Slave<br> +The Battle of the Blackwater<br> +Guzman el Bueno<br> +Faithful till Death<br> +What is better than Slaying a Dragon<br> +The Keys of Calais<br> +The Battle of Sempach<br> +The Constant Prince<br> +The Carnival of Perth<br> +The Crown of St. Stephen<br> +George the Triller<br> +Sir Thomas More's Daughter<br> +Under Ivan the Terrible<br> +Fort St. Elmo<br> +The Voluntary Convict<br> +The Housewives of Lowenburg<br> +Fathers and Sons<br> +The Soldiers in the Snow<br> +Gunpowder Perils<br> +Heroes of the Plague<br> +The Second of September<br> +The Vendeans<br> +</blockquote> + +<center><h3>PREFACE</h3></center> + +<p>As the most striking lines of poetry are the most hackneyed, because they +have grown to be the common inheritance of all the world, so many of the most +noble deeds that earth can show have become the best known, and enjoyed their +full meed of fame. Therefore it may be feared that many of the events here +detailed, or alluded to, may seem trite to those in search of novelty; but it is +not for such that the collection has been made. It is rather intended as a +treasury for young people, where they may find minuter particulars than their +abridged histories usually afford of the soul-stirring deeds that give life and +glory to the record of events; and where also other like actions, out of their +ordinary course of reading, may be placed before them, in the trust that example +may inspire the spirit of heroism and self-devotion. For surely it must be a +wholesome contemplation to look on actions, the very essence of which is such +entire absorption in others that self is forgotten; the object of which is not +to win promotion, wealth, or success, but simple duty, mercy, and +loving-kindness. These are the actions wrought, 'hoping for nothing again', but +which most surely have their reward.</p> +<p>The authorities have not been given, as for the most part the +narratives lie on the surface of history. For the description of the Coliseum, I +have, however, been indebted to the Abbé Gerbet's Rome Chrétienne; for the +Housewives of Lowenburg, and St. Stephen's Crown, to Freytag's Sketches of +German Life; and for the story of George the Triller, to Mr. Mayhew's Germany. +The Escape of Attalus is narrated (from Gregory of Tours) in Thierry's 'Lettres +sur l'Histoire de France;' the Russian officer's adventures, and those of +Prascovia Lopouloff +<http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/yonge/deeds/pardon.html>, the true +Elisabeth of Siberia, are from M. le Maistre; the shipwrecks chiefly from +Gilly's 'Shipwrecks of the British Navy;' the Jersey Powder Magazine from the +Annual Registrer, and that at Ciudad Rodrigo, from the traditions of the 52nd +Regiment.</p> +<p>There is a cloud of doubt resting on a few of the tales, which it may be +honest to mention, though they were far too beautiful not to tell. These are the +details of the Gallic occupation of Rome, the Legend of St. Genevieve, the +Letter of Gertrude von der Wart, the stories of the Keys of Calais, of the +Dragon of Rhodes, and we fear we must add, both Nelson's plan of the Battle of +the Nile, and likewise the exact form of the heroism of young Casabianca, of +which no two accounts agree. But it was not possible to give up such stories as +these, and the thread of truth there must be in them has developed into such a +beautiful tissue, that even if unsubstantial when tested, it is surely +delightful to contemplate.</p> +<p>Some stories have been passed over as too devoid of foundation, in especial +that of young Henri, Duke of Nemours, who, at ten years old, was said to have +been hung up with his little brother of eight in one of Louis XI's cages at +Loches, with orders that two of the children's teeth should daily be pulled out +and brought to the king. The elder child was said to have insisted on giving the +whole supply of teeth, so as to save his brother; but though they were certainly +imprisoned after their father's execution, they were released after Louis's +death in a condition which disproves this atrocity.</p> +<p>The Indian mutiny might likewise have supplied glorious instances of +Christian self-devotion, but want of materials has compelled us to stop short of +recording those noble deeds by which delicate women and light-hearted young +soldiers showed, that in the hour of need there was not wanting to them the +highest and deepest 'spirit of self-sacrifice.'</p> +<p>At some risk of prolixity, enough of the surrounding events has in general +been given to make the situation comprehensible, even without knowledge of the +general history. This has been done in the hope that these extracts may serve as +a mother's storehouse for reading aloud to her boys, or that they may be found +useful for short readings to the intelligent, though uneducated classes.</p> +<p>NOVEMBER 17, 1864.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>WHAT IS A GOLDEN DEED?</h3></center> + +<p>We all of us enjoy a story of battle and adventure. Some of us delight in the +anxiety and excitement with which we watch the various strange predicaments, +hairbreadth escapes, and ingenious contrivances that are presented to us; and +the mere imaginary dread of the dangers thus depicted, stirs our feelings and +makes us feel eager and full of suspense.</p> +<p>This taste, though it is the first step above the dullness that cannot be +interested in anything beyond its own immediate world, nor care for what it +neither sees, touches, tastes, nor puts to any present use, is still the lowest +form that such a liking can take. It may be no better than a love of reading +about murders in the newspaper, just for the sake of a sort of startled +sensation; and it is a taste that becomes unwholesome when it absolutely +delights in dwelling on horrors and cruelties for their own sake; or upon +shifty, cunning, dishonest stratagems and devices. To learn to take interest in +what is evil is always mischievous.</p> +<p>But there is an element in many of such scenes of woe and violence that may +well account for our interest in them. It is that which makes the eye gleam and +the heart throb, and bears us through the details of suffering, bloodshed, and +even barbarity--feeling our spirits moved and elevated by contemplating the +courage and endurance that they have called forth. Nay, such is the charm of +brilliant valor, that we often are tempted to forget the injustice of the cause +that may have called forth the actions that delight us. And this enthusiasm is +often united with the utmost tenderness of heart, the very appreciation of +suffering only quickening the sense of the heroism that risked the utmost, till +the young and ardent learn absolutely to look upon danger as an occasion for +evincing the highest qualities.</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'O Life, without thy chequer'd scene<br> +Of right and wrong, of weal and woe,<br> +Success and failure, could a ground<br> +For magnanimity be found?'</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>The true cause of such enjoyment is perhaps an inherent consciousness that +there is nothing so noble as forgetfulness of self. Therefore it is that we are +struck by hearing of the exposure of life and limb to the utmost peril, in +oblivion, or recklessness of personal safety, in comparison with a higher +object.</p> +<p>That object is sometimes unworthy. In the lowest form of courage it is only +avoidance of disgrace; but even fear of shame is better than mere love of bodily +ease, and from that lowest motive the scale rises to the most noble and precious +actions of which human nature is capable--the truly golden and priceless deeds +that are the jewels of history, the salt of life.</p> +<p>And it is a chain of Golden Deeds that we seek to lay before our readers; +but, ere entering upon them, perhaps we had better clearly understand what it is +that to our mind constitutes a Golden Deed.</p> +<p>It is not mere hardihood. There was plenty of hardihood in Pizarro when he +led his men through terrible hardships to attack the empire of Peru, but he was +actuated by mere greediness for gain, and all the perils he so resolutely +endured could not make his courage admirable. It was nothing but insensibility +to danger, when set against the wealth and power that he coveted, and to which +he sacrificed thousands of helpless Peruvians. Daring for the sake of plunder +has been found in every robber, every pirate, and too often in all the lower +grade of warriors, from the savage plunderer of a besieged town up to the +reckless monarch making war to feed his own ambition.</p> +<p>There is a courage that breaks out in bravado, the exuberance of high +spirits, delighting in defying peril for its own sake, not indeed producing +deeds which deserve to be called golden, but which, from their heedless grace, +their desperation, and absence of all base motives--except perhaps vanity have +an undeniable charm about them, even when we doubt the right of exposing a life +in mere gaiety of heart.</p> +<p>Such was the gallantry of the Spanish knight who, while Fernando and Isabel +lay before the Moorish city of Granada, galloped out of the camp, in full view +of besiegers and besieged, and fastened to the gate of the city with his dagger +a copy of the Ave Maria. It was a wildly brave action, and yet not without +service in showing the dauntless spirit of the Christian army. But the same can +hardly be said of the daring shown by the Emperor Maximilian when he displayed +himself to the citizens of Ulm upon the topmost pinnacle of their cathedral +spire; or of Alonso de Ojeda, who figured in like manner upon the tower of the +Spanish cathedral. The same daring afterwards carried him in the track of +Columbus, and there he stained his name with the usual blots of rapacity and +cruelty. These deeds, if not tinsel, were little better than gold leaf.</p> +<p>A Golden Deed must be something more than mere display of fearlessness. Grave +and resolute fulfillment of duty is required to give it the true weight. Such +duty kept the sentinel at his post at the gate of Pompeii, even when the +stifling dust of ashes came thicker and thicker from the volcano, and the liquid +mud streamed down, and the people fled and struggled on, and still the sentry +stood at his post, unflinching, till death had stiffened his limbs; and his +bones, in their helmet and breastplate, with the hand still raised to keep the +suffocating dust from mouth and nose, have remained even till our own times to +show how a Roman soldier did his duty. In like manner the last of the old +Spanish infantry originally formed by the Great Captain, Gonzalo de Cordova, +were all cut off, standing fast to a man, at the battle of Rocroy, in 1643, not +one man breaking his rank. The whole regiment was found lying in regular order +upon the field of battle, with their colonel, the old Count de Fuentes, at their +head, expiring in a chair, in which he had been carried, because he was too +infirm to walk, to this his twentieth battle. The conqueror, the high-spirited +young Duke d'Enghien, afterwards Prince of Condé, exclaimed, 'Were I not a +victor, I should have wished thus to die!' and preserved the chair among the +relics of the bravest of his own fellow countrymen.</p> +<p>Such obedience at all costs and all risks is, however, the very essence of a +soldier's life. An army could not exist without it, a ship could not sail +without it, and millions upon millions of those whose 'bones are dust and good +swords are rust' have shown such resolution. It is the solid material, but it +has hardly the exceptional brightness, of a Golden Deed.</p> +<p>And yet perhaps it is one of the most remarkable characteristics of a Golden +Deed that the doer of it is certain to feel it merely a duty; 'I have done that +which it was my duty to do' is the natural answer of those capable of such +actions. They have been constrained to them by duty, or by pity; have never even +deemed it possible to act otherwise, and did not once think of themselves in the +matter at all.</p> +<p>For the true metal of a Golden Deed is self-devotion. Selfishness is the +dross and alloy that gives the unsound ring to many an act that has been called +glorious. And, on the other hand, it is not only the valor, which meets a +thousand enemies upon the battlefield, or scales the walls in a forlorn hope, +that is of true gold. It may be, but often it is a mere greed of fame, fear of +shame, or lust of plunder. No, it is the spirit that gives itself for +others--the temper that for the sake of religion, of country, of duty, of +kindred, nay, of pity even to a stranger, will dare all things, risk all things, +endure all things, meet death in one moment, or wear life away in slow, +persevering tendance and suffering.</p> +<p>Such a spirit was shown by Leaena, the Athenian woman at whose house the +overthrow of the tyranny of the Pisistratids was concerted, and who, when seized +and put to the torture that she might disclose the secrets of the conspirators, +fearing that the weakness of her frame might overpower her resolution, actually +bit off her tongue, that she might be unable to betray the trust placed in her. +The Athenians commemorated her truly golden silence by raising in her honor the +statue of a lioness without a tongue, in allusion to her name, which signifies a +lioness.</p> +<p>Again, Rome had a tradition of a lady whose mother was in prison under +sentence of death by hunger, but who, at the peril of her own life, visited her +daily, and fed her from her own bosom, until even the stern senate were moved +with pity, and granted a pardon. The same story is told of a Greek lady, called +Euphrasia, who thus nourished her father; and in Scotland, in 1401, when the +unhappy heir of the kingdom, David, Duke of Rothesay, had been thrown into the +dungeon of Falkland Castle by his barbarous uncle, the Duke of Albany, there to +be starved to death, his only helper was one poor peasant woman, who, undeterred +by fear of the savage men that guarded the castle, crept, at every safe +opportunity, to the grated window on a level with the ground, and dropped cakes +through it to the prisoner, while she allayed his thirst from her own breast +through a pipe. Alas! the visits were detected, and the Christian prince had +less mercy than the heathen senate. Another woman, in 1450, when Sir Gilles of +Brittany was savagely imprisoned and starved in much the same manner by his +brother, Duke François, sustained him for several days by bringing wheat in her +veil, and dropping it through the grated window, and when poison had been used +to hasten his death, she brought a priest to the grating to enable him to make +his peace with Heaven. Tender pity made these women venture all things; and +surely their doings were full of the gold of love.</p> +<p>So again two Swiss lads, whose father was dangerously ill, found that they +could by no means procure the needful medicine, except at a price far beyond +their means, and heard that an English traveler had offered a large price for a +pair of eaglets. The only eyrie was on a crag supposed to be so inacessible, +that no one ventured to attempt it, till these boys, in their intense anxiety +for their father, dared the fearful danger, scaled the precipice, captured the +birds, and safely conveyed them to the traveler. Truly this was a deed of gold.</p> +<p>Such was the action of the Russian servant whose master's carriage was +pursued by wolves, and who sprang out among the beasts, sacrificing his own life +willingly to slake their fury for a few minutes in order that the horses might +be untouched, and convey his master to a place of safety. But his act of +self-devotion has been so beautifully expanded in the story of 'Eric's Grave', +in 'Tales of Christian Heroism', that we can only hint at it, as at that of the +'Helmsman of Lake Erie', who, with the steamer on fire around him, held fast by +the wheel in the very jaws of the flame, so as to guide the vessel into harbour, +and save the many lives within her, at the cost of his own fearful agony, while +slowly scorched by the flames.</p> +<p>Memorable, too, was the compassion that kept Dr. Thompson upon the +battlefield of the Alma, all alone throughout the night, striving to alleviate +the sufferings and attend to the wants, not of our own wounded, but of the +enemy, some of whom, if they were not sorely belied, had been known to requite a +friendly act of assistance with a pistol shot. Thus to remain in the darkness, +on a battlefield in an enemy's country, among the enemy themselves, all for pity +and mercy's sake, was one of the noblest acts that history can show. Yet, it was +paralleled in the time of the Indian Mutiny, when every English man and woman +was flying from the rage of the Sepoys at Benares, and Dr. Hay alone remained +because he would not desert the patients in the hospital, whose life depended on +his care--many of them of those very native corps who were advancing to massacre +him. This was the Roman sentry's firmness, more voluntary and more glorious. Nor +may we pass by her to whom our title page points as our living type of Golden +Deeds--to her who first showed how woman's ministrations of mercy may be carried +on, not only within the city, but on the borders of the camp itself--'the lady +with the lamp', whose health and strength were freely devoted to the holy work +of softening the after sufferings that render war so hideous; whose very step +and shadow carried gladness and healing to the sick soldier, and who has opened +a path of like shining light to many another woman who only needed to be shown +the way. Fitly, indeed, may the figure of Florence Nightingale be shadowed forth +at the opening of our roll of Golden Deeds.</p> +<p>Thanks be to God, there is enough of His own spirit of love abroad in the +earth to make Golden Deeds of no such rare occurrence, but that they are of 'all +time'. Even heathen days were not without them, and how much more should they +not abound after the words have been spoken, 'Greater love hath no man than +this, that he lay down his life for his friend', and after the one Great Deed +has been wrought that has consecrated all other deeds of self-sacrifice. Of +martyrdoms we have scarcely spoken. They were truly deeds of the purest gold; +but they are too numerous to be dwelt on here: and even as soldiers deem it each +man's simple duty to face death unhesitatingly, so the 'glorious army of +martyrs' had, for the most part, joined the Church with the expectation that +they should have to confess the faith, and confront the extremity of death and +torture for it.</p> +<p>What have been here brought together are chiefly cases of self-devotion that +stand out remarkably, either from their hopelessness, their courage, or their +patience, varying with the character of their age; but with that one essential +distinction in all, that the dross of self was cast away.</p> +<p>Among these we cannot forbear mentioning the poor American soldier, who, +grievously wounded, had just been laid in the middle bed, by far the most +comfortable of the three tiers of berths in the ship's cabin in which the +wounded were to be conveyed to New York. Still thrilling with the suffering of +being carried from the field, and lifted to his place, he saw a comrade in even +worse plight brought in, and thinking of the pain it must cost his fellow +soldier to be raised to the bed above him, he surprised his kind lady nurses +(daily scatterers of Golden Deeds) by saying, 'Put me up there, I reckon I'll +bear hoisting better than he will'.</p> +<p>And, even as we write, we hear of an American Railway collision that befell a +train on the way to Elmira with prisoners. The engineer, whose name was William +Ingram, might have leapt off and saved himself before the shock; but he remained +in order to reverse the engine, though with certain death staring him in the +face. He was buried in the wreck of the meeting train, and when found, his back +was against the boiler he was jammed in, unable to move, and actually being +burnt to death; but even in that extremity of anguish he called out to those who +came round to help him to keep away, as he expected the boiler would burst. They +disregarded the generous cry, and used every effort to extricate him, but could +not succeed until after his sufferings had ended in death.</p> +<p>While men and women still exist who will thus suffer and thus die, losing +themselves in the thought of others, surely the many forms of woe and misery +with which this earth is spread do but give occasions of working out some of the +highest and best qualities of which mankind are capable. And oh, young readers, +if your hearts burn within you as you read of these various forms of the truest +and deepest glory, and you long for time and place to act in the like devoted +way, bethink yourselves that the alloy of such actions is to be constantly +worked away in daily life; and that if ever it be your lot to do a Golden Deed, +it will probably be in unconsciousness that you are doing anything +extraordinary, and that the whole impulse will consist in the having absolutely +forgotten self.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>THE STORIES OF ALCESTIS AND ANTIGONE</h3></center> + +<p>It has been said, that even the heathens saw and knew the glory of +self-devotion; and the Greeks had two early instances so very beautiful that, +though they cannot in all particulars be true, they must not be passed over. +There must have been some foundation for them, though we cannot now disentangle +them from the fable that has adhered to them; and, at any rate, the ancient +Greeks believed them, and gathered strength and nobleness from dwelling on such +examples; since, as it has been truly said, 'Every word, look or thought of +sympathy with heroic action, helps to make heroism'. Both tales were presented +before them in their solemn religious tragedies, and the noble poetry in which +they were recounted by the great Greek dramatists has been preserved to our +time.</p> +<p>Alcestis was the wife of Admetus, King of Pherae, who, according to the +legend, was assured that his life might be prolonged, provided father, mother, +or wife would die in his stead. It was Alcestis alone who was willing freely to +give her life to save that of her husband; and her devotion is thus exquisitely +described in the following translation, by Professor Anstice, from the choric +song in the tragedy by Euripides:</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'Be patient, for thy tears are vain<br> +They may not wake the dead again:<br> +E'en heroes, of immortal sire<br> +And mortal mother born, expire.<br> +Oh, she was dear<br> +While she linger'd here;<br> +She is dear now she rests below,<br> +And thou mayst boast<br> +That the bride thou hast lost<br> +Was the noblest earth can show.<br> +'We will not look on her burial sod<br> +As the cell of sepulchral sleep,<br> +It shall be as the shrine of a radiant god,<br> +And the pilgrim shall visit that blest abode<br> +To worship, and not to weep;<br> +And as he turns his steps aside,<br> +Thus shall he breathe his vow:<br> +'Here sleeps a self-devoted bride,<br> +Of old to save her lord she died.<br> +She is a spirit now.<br> +Hail, bright and blest one! grant to me<br> +The smiles of glad prosperity.'<br> +Thus shall he own her name divine,<br> +Thus bend him at Alcestis' shrine.'</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>The story, however, bore that Hercules, descending in the course of one of +his labors into the realms of the dead, rescued Alcestis, and brought her back; +and Euripides gives a scene in which the rough, jovial Hercules insists on the +sorrowful Admetus marrying again a lady of his own choice, and gives the veiled +Alcestis back to him as the new bride. Later Greeks tried to explain the story +by saying that Alcestis nursed her husband through an infectious fever, caught +it herself, and had been supposed to be dead, when a skilful physician restored +her; but this is probably only one of the many reasonable versions they tried to +give of the old tales that were founded on the decay and revival of nature in +winter and spring, and with a presage running through them of sacrifice, death, +and resurrection. Our own poet Chaucer was a great admirer of Alcestis, and +improved upon the legend by turning her into his favorite flower---</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'The daisie or els the eye of the daie,<br> +The emprise and the floure of flouris all'.</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>Another Greek legend told of the maiden of Thebes, one of the most +self-devoted beings that could be conceived by a fancy untrained in the +knowledge of Divine Perfection. It cannot be known how much of her story is +true, but it was one that went deep into the hearts of Grecian men and women, +and encouraged them in some of their best feelings; and assuredly the deeds +imputed to her were golden.</p> +<p>Antigone was the daughter of the old King Oedipus of Thebes. After a time +heavy troubles, the consequence of the sins of his youth, came upon him, and he +was driven away from his kingdom, and sent to wander forth a blind old man, +scorned and pointed at by all. Then it was that his faithful daughter showed +true affection for him. She might have remained at Thebes with her brother +Eteocles, who had been made king in her father's room, but she chose instead to +wander forth with the forlorn old man, fallen from his kingly state, and +absolutely begging his bread. The great Athenian poet Sophocles began his +tragedy of 'Oedipus Coloneus' with showing the blind old king leaning on +Antigone's arm, and asking--</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'Tell me, thou daughter of a blind old man,<br> +Antigone, to what land are we come,<br> +Or to what city? Who the inhabitants<br> +Who with a slender pittance will relieve<br> +Even for a day the wandering Oedipus?'<br> +POTTER.</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>The place to which they had come was in Attica, hear the city of Colonus. It +was a lovely grove--</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'All the haunts of Attic ground,<br> +Where the matchless coursers bound,<br> +Boast not, through their realms of bliss,<br> +Other spot so fair as this.<br> +Frequent down this greenwood dale<br> +Mourns the warbling nightingale,<br> +Nestling 'mid the thickest screen<br> +Of the ivy's darksome green,<br> +Or where each empurpled shoot<br> +Drooping with its myriad fruit,<br> +Curl'd in many a mazy twine,<br> +Droops the never-trodden vine.'<br> +ANSTICE.</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>This beautiful grove was sacred to the Eumenides, or avenging goddesses, and +it was therefore a sanctuary where no foot might tread; but near it the exiled +king was allowed to take up his abode, and was protected by the great Athenian +King, Theseus. There his other daughter, Ismene, joined him, and, after a time, +his elder son Polynices, arrived.</p> +<p>Polynices had been expelled from Thebes by his brother Eteocles, and had been +wandering through Greece seeking aid to recover his rights. He had collected an +army, and was come to take leave of his father and sisters; and at the same time +to entreat his sisters to take care that, if he should fall in the battle, they +would prevent his corpse from being left unburied; for the Greeks believed that +till the funeral rites were performed, the spirit went wandering restlessly up +and down upon the banks of a dark stream, unable to enter the home of the dead. +Antigone solemnly promised to him that he should not be left without these last +rites. Before long, old Oedipus was killed by lightning, and the two sisters +returned to Thebes.</p> +<p>The united armies of the seven chiefs against Thebes came on, led by +Polynices. Eteocles sallied out to meet them, and there was a terrible battle, +ending in all the seven chiefs being slain, and the two brothers, Eteocles and +Polynices, were killed by one another in single combat. Creon, the uncle, who +thus became king, had always been on the side of Eteocles, and therefore +commanded that whilst this younger brother was entombed with all due +solemnities, the body of the elder should be left upon the battlefield to be +torn by dogs and vultures, and that whosoever durst bury it should be treated as +a rebel and a traitor to the state.</p> +<p>This was the time for the sister to remember her oath to her dead brother. +The more timid Ismene would have dissuaded her, but she answered,</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'To me no sufferings have that hideous form<br> +Which can affright me from a glorious death'.</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>And she crept forth by night, amid all the horrors of the deserted field of +battles, and herself covered with loose earth the corpse of Polynices. The +barbarous uncle caused it to be taken up and again exposed, and a watch was set +at some little distance. Again Antigone</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'Was seen, lamenting shrill with plaintive notes,<br> +Like the poor bird that sees her lonely nest<br> +Spoil'd of her young'.</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>Again she heaped dry dust with her own hands over the body, and poured forth +the libations of wine that formed an essential part of the ceremony. She was +seized by the guard, and led before Creon. She boldly avowed her deed, and, in +spite of the supplications of Ismene, she was put to death, a sufferer for her +noble and pious deeds; and with this only comfort:</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'Glowing at my heart<br> +I feel this hope, that to my father, dear<br> +And dear to thee, my mother, dear to thee,<br> +My brother, I shall go.'<br> +POTTER.</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>Dim and beautiful indeed was the hope that upbore the grave and beautiful +Theban maiden; and we shall see her resolution equaled, though hardly surpassed, +by Christian Antigones of equal love and surer faith.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>THE CUP OF WATER</h3></center> + +<p>No touch in the history of the minstrel king David gives us a more warm and +personal feeling towards him than his longing for the water of the well of +Bethlehem. Standing as the incident does in the summary of the characters of his +mighty men, it is apt to appear to us as if it had taken place in his latter +days; but such is not the case, it befell while he was still under thirty, in +the time of his persecution by Saul.</p> +<p>It was when the last attempt at reconciliation with the king had been made, +when the affectionate parting with the generous and faithful Jonathan had taken +place, when Saul was hunting him like a partridge on the mountains on the one +side, and the Philistines had nearly taken his life on the other, that David, +outlawed, yet loyal at the heart, sent his aged parents to the land of Moab for +refuge, and himself took up his abode in the caves of the wild limestone hills +that had become familiar to him when he was a shepherd. Brave captain and +Heaven-destined king as he was, his name attracted around him a motley group of +those that were in distress, or in debt, or discontented, and among them were +the 'mighty men' whose brave deeds won them the foremost parts in that army with +which David was to fulfill the ancient promises to his people. There were his +three nephews, Joab, the ferocious and imperious, the chivalrous Abishai, and +Asahel the fleet of foot; there was the warlike Levite Benaiah, who slew lions +and lionlike men, and others who, like David himself, had done battle with the +gigantic sons of Anak. Yet even these valiant men, so wild and lawless, could be +kept in check by the voice of their young captain; and, outlaws as they were, +they spoiled no peaceful villages, they lifted not their hands against the +persecuting monarch, and the neighboring farms lost not one lamb through their +violence. Some at least listened to the song of their warlike minstrel:</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'Come, ye children, and hearken to me,<br> +I will teach you the fear of the Lord.<br> +What man is he that lusteth to live,<br> +And would fain see good days?<br> +Let him refrain his tongue from evil<br> +And his lips that they speak no guile,<br> +Let him eschew evil and do good,<br> +Let him seek peace and ensue it.'</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>With such strains as these, sung to his harp, the warrior gained the hearts +of his men to enthusiastic love, and gathered followers on all sides, among them +eleven fierce men of Gad, with faces like lions and feet swift as roes, who swam +the Jordan in time of flood, and fought their way to him, putting all enemies in +the valleys to flight.</p> +<p>But the Eastern sun burnt on the bare rocks. A huge fissure, opening in the +mountain ridge, encumbered at the bottom with broken rocks, with precipitous +banks, scarcely affording a foothold for the wild goats--such is the spot where, +upon a cleft on the steep precipice, still remain the foundations of the 'hold', +or tower, believed to have been the David's retreat, and near at hand is the +low-browed entrance of the galleried cave alternating between narrow passages +and spacious halls, but all oppressively hot and close. Waste and wild, without +a bush or a tree, in the feverish atmosphere of Palestine, it was a desolate +region, and at length the wanderer's heart fainted in him, as he thought of his +own home, with its rich and lovely terraced slopes, green with wheat, trellised +with vines, and clouded with grey olive, and of the cool cisterns of living +water by the gate of which he loved to sing--</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'He shall feed me in a green pasture,<br> +And lead me forth beside the waters of comfort'.</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>His parched longing lips gave utterance to the sigh, 'Oh that one would give +me to drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate?'</p> +<p>Three of his brave men, apparently Abishai, Benaiah, and Eleazar, heard the +wish. Between their mountain fastness and the dearly loved spring lay the host +of the Philistines; but their love for their leader feared no enemies. It was +not only water that he longed for, but the water from the fountain which he had +loved in his childhood. They descended from their chasm, broke through the midst +of the enemy's army, and drew the water from the favorite spring, bearing it +back, once again through the foe, to the tower upon the rock! Deeply moved was +their chief at this act of self-devotion--so much moved that the water seemed to +him to be too sacred to be put to his own use. 'May God forbid it me that I +should do this thing. Shall I drink the blood of these men that have put their +lives in jeopardy, for with the jeopardy of their lives they brought it?' And as +a hallowed and precious gift, he poured out unto the Lord the water obtained at +the price of such peril to his followers.</p> +<p>In later times we meet with another hero, who by his personal qualities +inspired something of the same enthusiastic attachment as did David, and who met +with an adventure somewhat similar, showing the like nobleness of mind on the +part of both leader and followers.</p> +<p>It was Alexander of Macedon, whose character as a man, with all its dark +shades of violence, rage, and profanity, has a nobleness and sweetness that win +our hearts, while his greatness rests on a far broader basis than that of his +conquests, though they are unrivalled. No one else so gained the love of the +conquered, had such wide and comprehensive views for the amelioration of the +world, or rose so superior to the prejudice of race; nor have any ten years left +so lasting a trace upon the history of the world as those of his career.</p> +<p>It is not, however, of his victories that we are here to speak, but of his +return march from the banks of the Indus, in BC 326, when he had newly recovered +from the severe wound which he had received under the fig tree, within the mud +wall of the city of the Malli. This expedition was as much the expedition of a +discoverer as the journey of a conqueror: and, at the mouth of the Indus, he +sent his ships to survey the coasts of the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf, while +he himself marched along the shore of the province, then called Gedrosia, and +now Mekhran. It was a most dismal tract. Above towered mountains of +reddish-brown bare stone, treeless and without verdure, the scanty grass +produced in the summer being burnt up long before September, the month of his +march; and all the slope below was equally desolate slopes of gravel. The few +inhabitants were called by the Greeks fish-eaters and turtle-eaters, because +there was apparently, nothing else to eat; and their huts were built of turtle +shells.</p> +<p>The recollections connected with the region were dismal. Semiramis and Cyrus +were each said to have lost an army there through hunger and thirst; and these +foes, the most fatal foes of the invader, began to attack the Greek host. +Nothing but the discipline and all-pervading influence of Alexander could have +borne his army through. Speed was their sole chance; and through the burning +sun, over the arid rock, he stimulated their steps with his own high spirit of +unshrinking endurance, till he had dragged them through one of the most rapid +and extraordinary marches of his wonderful career. His own share in their +privations was fully and freely taken; and once when, like the rest, he was +faint with heat and deadly thirst, a small quantity of water, won with great +fatigue and difficulty, was brought to him, he esteemed it too precious to be +applied to his own refreshment, but poured it forth as a libation, lest, he +said, his warriors should thirst the more when they saw him drink alone; and, no +doubt, too, because he felt the exceeding value of that which was purchased by +loyal love.</p> +<p>A like story is told of Rodolf of Hapsburgh, the founder of the greatness of +Austria, and one of the most open-hearted of men. A flagon of water was brought +to him when his army was suffering from severe drought. 'I cannot,' he said, +'drink alone, nor can all share so small a quantity. I do not thirst for myself, +but for my whole army.'</p> +<p>Yet there have been thirsty lips that have made a still more trying +renunciation. Our own Sir Philip Sidney, riding back, with the mortal hurt in +his broken thigh, from the fight at Zutphen, and giving the draught from his own +lips to the dying man whose necessities were greater than his own, has long been +our proverb for the giver of that self-denying cup of water that shall by no +means lose its reward.</p> +<p>A tradition of an act of somewhat the same character survived in a Slesvig +family, now extinct. It was during the wars that ranged from 1652 to 1660, +between Frederick III of Denmark and Charles Gustavus of Sweden, that, after a +battle, in which the victory had remained with the Danes, a stout burgher of +Flensborg was about to refresh himself, ere retiring to have his wounds dressed, +with a draught of beer from a wooden bottle, when an imploring cry from a +wounded Swede, lying on the field, made him turn, and, with the very words of +Sidney, 'Thy need is greater than mine,' he knelt down by the fallen enemy, to +pour the liquor into his mouth. His requital was a pistol shot in the shoulder +from the treacherous Swede. 'Rascal,' he cried, 'I would have befriended you, +and you would murder me in return! Now I will punish you. I would have given you +the whole bottle; but now you shall have only half.' And drinking off half +himself, he gave the rest to the Swede. The king, hearing the story, sent for +the burgher, and asked him how he came to spare the life of such a rascal.</p> +<p>'Sire,' said the honest burgher, 'I could never kill a wounded enemy.'</p> +<p>'Thou meritest to be a noble,' the king said, and created him one +immediately, giving him as armorial bearings a wooden bottle pierced with an +arrow! The family only lately became extinct in the person of an old maiden +lady.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>HOW ONE MAN HAS SAVED A HOST<br> +B.C. 507</h3></center> + +<p>There have been times when the devotion of one man has been the saving of an +army. Such, according to old Roman story, was the feat of Horatius Cocles. It +was in the year B.C. 507, not long after the kings had been expelled from Rome, +when they were endeavoring to return by the aid of the Etruscans. Lars Porsena, +one of the great Etruscan chieftains, had taken up the cause of the banished +Tarquinius Superbus and his son Sextus, and gathered all his forces together, to +advance upon the city of Rome. The great walls, of old Etrurian architecture, +had probably already risen round the growing town, and all the people came +flocking in from the country for shelter there; but the Tiber was the best +defense, and it was only crossed by one wooden bridge, and the farther side of +that was guarded by a fort, called the Janiculum. But the vanguards of the +overwhelming Etruscan army soon took the fort, and then, in the gallant words of +Lord Macaulay's ballad,--</p> + +<blockquote> +'Thus in all the Senate<br> +There was no heart so bold<br> +But sore it ached, and fast it beat,<br> +When that ill news was told.<br> +Forthwith uprose the Consul,<br> +Up rose the Fathers all,<br> +In haste they girded up their gowns,<br> +And hied them to the wall.<br> +'They held a council standing<br> +Before the River Gate:<br> +Short time was there, ye well may guess,<br> +For musing or debate.<br> +Out spoke the Consul roundly,<br> +'The bridge must straight go down,<br> +For, since Janiculum is lost,<br> +Nought else can save the town.'<br> +'Just then a scout came flying,<br> +All wild with haste and fear:<br> +'To arms! To arms! Sir Consul,<br> +Lars Porsena is here.'<br> +On the low hills to westward<br> +The Consul fixed his eye,<br> +And saw the swarthy storm of dust<br> +Rise fast along the sky.<br> +. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .<br> +'But the Consul's brow was sad,<br> +And the Consul's speech was low,<br> +And darkly looked he at the wall,<br> +And darkly at the foe.<br> +'Their van will be upon us<br> +Before the bridge goes down;<br> +And if they once may win the bridge<br> +What hope to save the town?'<br> +'Then out spoke brave Horatius,<br> +The Captain of the Gate,<br> +'To every man upon this earth<br> +Death cometh soon or late;<br> +And how can man die better<br> +Than facing fearful odds,<br> +For the ashes of his fathers,<br> +And the temples of his gods?<br> +'And for the tender mother<br> +Who dandled him to rest,<br> +And for the wife who nurses<br> +His baby at her breast?<br> +And for the holy maidens<br> +Who feed the eternal flame,<br> +To save them from false Sextus,<br> +That wrought the deed of shame?<br> +'Hew down the bridge, Sir Consul,<br> +With all the speed ye may,<br> +I, with two more to help me,<br> +Will hold the foe in play.<br> +In yon strait path a thousand<br> +May well be stopp'd by three:<br> +Now who will stand on either hand,<br> +And keep the bridge with me?'<br> +'Then out spake Spurius Lartius,<br> +A Ramnian proud was he,<br> +'Lo, I will stand at thy right hand,<br> +And keep the bridge with thee.'<br> +And out spake strong Herminius,<br> +Of Titian blood was he,<br> +'I will abide on thy left side,<br> +And keep the bridge with thee.'<br> +</blockquote> + +<p>So forth went these three brave men, Horatius, the Consul's nephew, Spurius +Lartius, and Titus Herminius, to guard the bridge at the farther end, while all +the rest of the warriors were breaking down the timbers behind them.</p> + +<blockquote> +'And Fathers mixed with commons,<br> +Seized hatchet, bar, and crow,<br> +And smote upon the planks above,<br> +And loosen'd them below.<br> +'Meanwhile the Tuscan army,<br> +Right glorious to behold,<br> +Came flashing back the noonday light,<br> +Rank behind rank, like surges bright,<br> +Of a broad sea of gold.<br> +Four hundred trumpets sounded<br> +A peal of warlike glee,<br> +As that great host, with measured tread,<br> +And spears advanced, and ensigns spread,<br> +Roll'd slowly towards the bridge's head,<br> +Where stood the dauntless three.<br> +'The three stood calm and silent,<br> +And look'd upon the foes,<br> +And a great shout of laughter<br> +From all the vanguard rose.'<br> +</blockquote> + +<p>They laughed to see three men standing to meet the whole army; but it was so +narrow a space, that no more than three enemies could attack them at once, and +it was not easy to match them. Foe after foe came forth against them, and went +down before their swords and spears, till at last--</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'Was none that would be foremost<br> +To lead such dire attack;<br> +But those behind cried 'Forward!'<br> +And those before cried 'Back!'<br> +. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>However, the supports of the bridge had been destroyed.</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'But meanwhile axe and lever<br> +Have manfully been plied,<br> +And now the bridge hangs tottering<br> +Above the boiling tide.<br> +'Come back, come back, Horatius!'<br> +Loud cried the Fathers all;<br> +'Back, Lartius! Back, Herminius!<br> +Back, ere the ruin fall!'<br> +'Back darted Spurius Lartius,<br> +Herminius darted back;<br> +And as they passed, beneath their feet<br> +They felt the timbers crack;<br> +But when they turn'd their faces,<br> +And on the farther shore<br> +Saw brave Horatius stand alone,<br> +They would have cross'd once more.<br> +'But with a crash like thunder<br> +Fell every loosen'd beam,<br> +And, like a dam, the mighty wreck<br> +Lay right athwart the stream;<br> +And a long shout of triumph<br> +Rose from the walls of Rome,<br> +As to the highest turret-tops<br> +Was splashed the yellow foam.'</p> +</blockquote> + + +<p>The one last champion, behind a rampart of dead enemies, remained till the +destruction was complete.</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'Alone stood brave Horatius,<br> +But constant still in mind,<br> +Thrice thirty thousand foes before<br> +And the broad flood behind.'</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>A dart had put out one eye, he was wounded in the thigh, and his work was +done. He turned round, and--</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'Saw on Palatinus,<br> +The white porch of his home,<br> +And he spake to the noble river<br> +That rolls by the walls of Rome:<br> +'O Tiber! father Tiber!<br> +To whom the Romans pray,<br> +A Roman's life, a Roman's arms<br> +Take thou in charge this day.'</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>And with this brief prayer he leapt into the foaming stream. Polybius was +told that he was there drowned; but Livy gives the version which the ballad +follows:--</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'But fiercely ran the current,<br> +Swollen high by months of rain,<br> +And fast his blood was flowing,<br> +And he was sore in pain,<br> +And heavy with his armor,<br> +And spent with changing blows,<br> +And oft they thought him sinking,<br> +But still again he rose.<br> +'Never, I ween, did swimmer,<br> +In such an evil case,<br> +Struggle through such a raging flood<br> +Safe to the landing place.<br> +But his limbs were borne up bravely<br> +By the brave heart within,<br> +And our good father Tiber<br> +Bare bravely up his chin.<br> +. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .<br> +'And now he feels the bottom,<br> +Now on dry earth he stands,<br> +Now round him throng the Fathers,<br> +To press his gory hands.<br> +And now with shouts and clapping,<br> +And noise of weeping loud,<br> +He enters through the River Gate,<br> +Borne by the joyous crowd.<br> +'They gave him of the corn land,<br> +That was of public right,<br> +As much as two strong oxen<br> +Could plough from morn to night.<br> +And they made a molten image,<br> +And set it up on high,<br> +And there it stands unto this day,<br> +To witness if I lie.<br> +'It stands in the Comitium,<br> +Plain for all folk to see,<br> +Horatius in his harness,<br> +Halting upon his knee:<br> +And underneath is written,<br> +In letters all of gold,<br> +How valiantly he kept the bridge<br> +In the brave days of old.'</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>Never was more honorable surname than his, of Cocles, or the one-eyed; and +though his lameness prevented him from ever being a Consul, or leading an army, +he was so much beloved and honored by his fellow citizens, that in the time of a +famine each Roman, to the number of 300,000, brought him a day's food, lest he +should suffer want. The statue was shown even in the time of Pliny, 600 years +afterwards, and was probably only destroyed when Rome was sacked by the +barbarians.</p> +<p>Nor was the Roman bridge the only one that has been defended by one man +against a host. In our own country, Stamford Bridge was, in like manner, guarded +by a single brave Northman, after the battle fought A.D. 1066, when Earl Tostig, +the son of Godwin, had persuaded the gallant sea king, Harald Hardrada, to come +and invade England. The chosen English king, Harold, had marched at full speed +from Sussex to Yorkshire, and met the invaders marching at their ease, without +expecting any enemy, and wearing no defensive armor, as they went forth to +receive the keys of the city of York. The battle was fought by the Norsemen in +the full certainty that it must be lost. The banner, 'Landwaster', was planted +in the midst; and the king, chanting his last song, like the minstrel warrior he +had always been, stood, with his bravest men, in a death ring around it. There +he died, and his choicest warriors with him; but many more fled back towards the +ships, rushing over the few planks that were the only way across the River Ouse. +And here stood their defender, alone upon the bridge, keeping back the whole +pursuing English army, who could only attack him one at a time; until, with +shame be it spoken, he died by a cowardly blow by an enemy, who had crept down +the bank of the river, and under the bridge, through the openings between the +timbers of which he thrust up his spear, and thus was able to hurl the brave +Northman into the river, mortally wounded, but not till great numbers of his +countrymen had reached their ships, their lives saved by his gallantry.</p> +<p>In like manner, Robert Bruce, in the time of his wanderings, during the year +1306, saved his whole band by his sole exertions. He had been defeated by the +forces of Edward I. at Methven, and had lost many of his friends. His little +army went wandering among the hills, sometimes encamping in the woods, sometimes +crossing the lakes in small boats. Many ladies were among them, and their summer +life had some wild charms of romance; as the knightly huntsmen brought in the +salmon, the roe, and the deer that formed their food, and the ladies gathered +the flowering heather, over which soft skins were laid for their bedding. Sir +James Douglas was the most courtly and graceful knight of all the party, and +ever kept them enlivened by his gay temper and ready wit; and the king himself +cherished a few precious romances, which he used to read aloud to his followers +as they rested in their mountain home.</p> +<p>But their bitter foe, the Lord of Lorn, was always in pursuit of them, and, +near the head of the Tay, he came upon the small army of 300 men with 1000 +Highlanders, armed with Lochaber axes, at a place which is still called Dalry, +or the King's Field. Many of the horses were killed by the axes; and James +Douglas and Gilbert de la Haye were both wounded. All would have been slain or +fallen into the hand of the enemy, if Robert Bruce had not sent them all on +before him, up a narrow, steep path, and placed himself, with his armor and +heavy horse, full in the path, protecting the retreat with his single arm. It +was true, that so tall and powerful a man, sheathed in armor and on horseback, +had a great advantage against the wild Highlanders, who only wore a shirt and a +plaid, with a round target upon the arm; but they were lithe, active, +light-footed men, able to climb like goats on the crags around him, and holding +their lives as cheaply as he did.</p> +<p>Lorn, watching him from a distance, was struck with amazement, and exclaimed, +'Methinks, Marthokson, he resembles Gol Mak Morn protecting his followers from +Fingal;' thus comparing him to one the most brilliant champions a Highland +imagination could conceive. At last, three men, named M'Androsser, rushed +forward, resolved to free their chief from this formidable enemy. There was a +lake on one side, and a precipice on the other, and the king had hardly space to +manage his horse, when all three sprang on him at once. One snatched his bridle, +one caught him by the stirrup and leg, and a third leaped from a rising ground +and seated himself behind him on his horse. The first lost his arm by one sweep +of the king's sword; the second was overthrown and trampled on; and the last, by +a desperate struggle, was dashed down, and his skull cleft by the king's sword; +but his dying grasp was so tight upon the plaid that Bruce was forced to unclasp +the brooch that secured it, and leave both in the dead man's hold. It was long +preserved by the Macdougals of Lorn, as a trophy of the narrow escape of their +enemy.</p> +<p>Nor must we leave Robert the Bruce without mentioning that other Golden Deed, +more truly noble because more full of mercy; namely, his halting his little army +in full retreat in Ireland in the face of the English host under Roger Mortimer, +that proper care and attendance might be given to one sick and suffering +washerwoman and her new-born babe. Well may his old Scotch rhyming chronicler +remark:--</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'This was a full great courtesy<br> +That swilk a king and so mighty,<br> +Gert his men dwell on this manner,<br> +But for a poor lavender.'</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>We have seen how the sturdy Roman fought for his city, the fierce Northman +died to guard his comrades' rush to their ships after the lost battle, and how +the mail-clad knightly Bruce periled himself to secure the retreat of his +friends. Here is one more instance, from far more modern times, of a soldier, +whose willing sacrifice of his own life was the safety of a whole army. It was +in the course of the long dismal conflict between Frederick the Great of Prussia +and Maria Theresa of Austria, which was called the Seven Years' War. Louis XV. +of France had taken the part of Austria, and had sent an army into Germany in +the autumn of 1760. From this the Marquis de Castries had been dispatched, with +25,000 men, towards Rheinberg, and had taken up a strong position at +Klostercamp. On the night of the 15th of October, a young officer, called the +Chevalier d'Assas, of the Auvergne regiment, was sent out to reconnoitre, and +advanced alone into a wood, at some little distance from his men. Suddenly he +found himself surrounded by a number of soldiers, whose bayonets pricked his +breast, and a voice whispered in his ear, 'Make the slightest noise, and you are +a dead man!' In one moment he understood it all. The enemy were advancing, to +surprise the French army, and would be upon them when night was further +advanced. That moment decided his fate. He shouted, as loud as his voice would +carry the words, 'Here, Auvergne! Here are the enemy!' By the time the cry +reached the ears of his men, their captain was a senseless corpse; but his death +had saved the army; the surprise had failed, and the enemy retreated.</p> +<p>Louis XV was too mean-spirited and selfish to feel the beauty of this brave +action; but when, fourteen years later, Louis XVI came to the throne, he decreed +that a pension should be given to the family as long as a male representative +remained to bear the name of D'Assas. Poor Louis XVI had not long the control of +the treasure of France; but a century of changes, wars, and revolutions has not +blotted out the memory of the self-devotion of the chevalier; for, among the new +war-steamers of the French fleet, there is one that bears the ever-honored name +of D'Assas.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>THE PASS OF THERMOPYLAE<br> +B.C. 430</h3></center> + +<p>There was trembling in Greece. 'The Great King', as the Greeks called the +chief potentate of the East, whose domains stretched from the Indian Caucasus to +the Aegaeus, from the Caspian to the Red Sea, was marshalling his forces against +the little free states that nestled amid the rocks and gulfs of the Eastern +Mediterranean. Already had his might devoured the cherished colonies of the +Greeks on the eastern shore of the Archipelago, and every traitor to home +institutions found a ready asylum at that despotic court, and tried to revenge +his own wrongs by whispering incitements to invasion. 'All people, nations, and +languages,' was the commencement of the decrees of that monarch's court; and it +was scarcely a vain boast, for his satraps ruled over subject kingdoms, and +among his tributary nations he counted the Chaldean, with his learning and old +civilization, the wise and steadfast Jew, the skilful Phoenician, the learned +Egyptian, the wild, free-booting Arab of the desert, the dark-skinned Ethiopian, +and over all these ruled the keen-witted, active native Persian race, the +conquerors of all the rest, and led by a chosen band proudly called the +Immortal. His many capitals--Babylon the great, Susa, Persepolis, and the +like--were names of dreamy splendor to the Greeks, described now and then by +Ionians from Asia Minor who had carried their tribute to the king's own feet, or +by courtier slaves who had escaped with difficulty from being all too +serviceable at the tyrannic court. And the lord of this enormous empire was +about to launch his countless host against the little cluster of states, the +whole of which together would hardly equal one province of the huge Asiatic +realm! Moreover, it was a war not only on the men but on their gods. The +Persians were zealous adorers of the sun and of fire, they abhorred the idol +worship of the Greeks, and defiled and plundered every temple that fell in their +way. Death and desolation were almost the best that could be looked for at such +hands--slavery and torture from cruelly barbarous masters would only too surely +be the lot of numbers, should their land fall a prey to the conquerors.</p> +<p>True it was that ten years back the former Great King had sent his best +troops to be signally defeated upon the coast of Attica; but the losses at +Marathon had but stimulated the Persian lust of conquest, and the new King +Xerxes was gathering together such myriads of men as should crush down the +Greeks and overrun their country by mere force of numbers.</p> +<p>The muster place was at Sardis, and there Greek spies had seen the multitudes +assembling and the state and magnificence of the king's attendants. Envoys had +come from him to demand earth and water from each state in Greece, as emblems +that land and sea were his, but each state was resolved to be free, and only +Thessaly, that which lay first in his path, consented to yield the token of +subjugation. A council was held at the Isthmus of Corinth, and attended by +deputies from all the states of Greece to consider of the best means of defense. +The ships of the enemy would coast round the shores of the Aegean sea, the land +army would cross the Hellespont on a bridge of boats lashed together, and march +southwards into Greece. The only hope of averting the danger lay in defending +such passages as, from the nature of the ground, were so narrow that only a few +persons could fight hand to hand at once, so that courage would be of more avail +than numbers.</p> +<p>The first of all these passes was called Tempe, and a body of troops was sent +to guard it; but they found that this was useless and impossible, and came back +again. The next was at Thermopylae. Look in your map of the Archipelago, or +Aegean Sea, as it was then called, for the great island of Negropont, or by its +old name, Euboea. It looks like a piece broken off from the coast, and to the +north is shaped like the head of a bird, with the beak running into a gulf, that +would fit over it, upon the main land, and between the island and the coast is +an exceedingly narrow strait. The Persian army would have to march round the +edge of the gulf. They could not cut straight across the country, because the +ridge of mountains called Ceta rose up and barred their way. Indeed, the woods, +rocks, and precipices came down so near the seashore, that in two places there +was only room for one single wheel track between the steeps and the impassable +morass that formed the border of the gulf on its south side. These two very +narrow places were called the gates of the pass, and were about a mile apart. +There was a little more width left in the intervening space; but in this there +were a number of springs of warm mineral water, salt and sulphurous, which were +used for the sick to bathe in, and thus the place was called Thermopylae, or the +Hot Gates. A wall had once been built across the western-most of these narrow +places, when the Thessalians and Phocians, who lived on either side of it, had +been at war with one another; but it had been allowed to go to decay, since the +Phocians had found out that there was a very steep narrow mountain path along +the bed of a torrent, by which it was possible to cross from one territory to +the other without going round this marshy coast road.</p> +<p>This was, therefore, an excellent place to defend. The Greek ships were all +drawn up on the farther side of Euboea to prevent the Persian vessels from +getting into the strait and landing men beyond the pass, and a division of the +army was sent off to guard the Hot Gates. The council at the Isthmus did not +know of the mountain pathway, and thought that all would be safe as long as the +Persians were kept out of the coast path.</p> +<p>The troops sent for this purpose were from different cities, and amounted to +about 4,000, who were to keep the pass against two millions. The leader of them +was Leonidas, who had newly become one of the two kings of Sparta, the city that +above all in Greece trained its sons to be hardy soldiers, dreading death +infinitely less than shame. Leonidas had already made up his mind that the +expedition would probably be his death, perhaps because a prophecy had been +given at the Temple of Delphi that Sparta should be saved by the death of one of +her kings of the race of Hercules. He was allowed by law to take with him 300 +men, and these he chose most carefully, not merely for their strength and +courage, but selecting those who had sons, so that no family might be altogether +destroyed. These Spartans, with their helots or slaves, made up his own share of +the numbers, but all the army was under his generalship. It is even said that +the 300 celebrated their own funeral rites before they set out, lest they should +be deprived of them by the enemy, since, as we have already seen, it was the +Greek belief that the spirits of the dead found no rest till their obsequies had +been performed. Such preparations did not daunt the spirits of Leonidas and his +men, and his wife, Gorgo, who was not a woman to be faint-hearted or hold him +back. Long before, when she was a very little girl, a word of hers had saved her +father from listening to a traitorous message from the King of Persia; and every +Spartan lady was bred up to be able to say to those she best loved that they +must come home from battle 'with the shield or on it'--either carrying it +victoriously or borne upon it as a corpse.</p> +<p>When Leonidas came to Thermopylae, the Phocians told him of the mountain path +through the chestnut woods of Mount Ceta, and begged to have the privilege of +guarding it on a spot high up on the mountain side, assuring him that it was +very hard to find at the other end, and that there was every probability that +the enemy would never discover it. He consented, and encamping around the warm +springs, caused the broken wall to be repaired, and made ready to meet the foe.</p> +<p>The Persian army were seen covering the whole country like locusts, and the +hearts of some of the southern Greeks in the pass began to sink. Their homes in +the Peloponnesus were comparatively secure--had they not better fall back and +reserve themselves to defend the Isthmus of Corinth? But Leonidas, though Sparta +was safe below the Isthmus, had no intention of abandoning his northern allies, +and kept the other Peloponnesians to their posts, only sending messengers for +further help.</p> +<p>Presently a Persian on horseback rode up to reconnoitre the pass. He could +not see over the wall, but in front of it, and on the ramparts, he saw the +Spartans, some of them engaged in active sports, and others in combing their +long hair. He rode back to the king, and told him what he had seen. Now, Xerxes +had in his camp an exiled Spartan Prince, named Demaratus, who had become a +traitor to his country, and was serving as counsellor to the enemy. Xerxes sent +for him, and asked whether his countrymen were mad to be thus employed instead +of fleeing away; but Demaratus made answer that a hard fight was no doubt in +preparation, and that it was the custom of the Spartans to array their hair with +special care when they were about to enter upon any great peril. Xerxes would, +however, not believe that so petty a force could intend to resist him, and +waited four days, probably expecting his fleet to assist him, but as it did not +appear, the attack was made.</p> +<p>The Greeks, stronger men and more heavily armed, were far better able to +fight to advantage than the Persians, with their short spears and wicker +shields, and beat them off with great ease. It is said that Xerxes three times +leapt off his throne in despair at the sight of his troops being driven +backwards; and thus for two days it seemed as easy to force a way through the +Spartans as through the rocks themselves. Nay, how could slavish troops, dragged +from home to spread the victories of an ambitious king, fight like freemen who +felt that their strokes were to defend their homes and children!</p> +<p>But on that evening a wretched man, named Ephialtes, crept into the Persian +camp, and offered, for a great sum of money, to show the mountain path that +would enable the enemy to take the brave defenders in the rear! A Persian +general, named Hydarnes, was sent off at nightfall with a detachment to secure +this passage, and was guided through the thick forests that clothed the +hillside. In the stillness of the air, at daybreak, the Phocian guards of the +path were startled by the crackling of the chestnut leaves under the tread of +many feet. They started up, but a shower of arrows was discharged on them, and +forgetting all save the present alarm, they fled to a higher part of the +mountain, and the enemy, without waiting to pursue them, began to descend.</p> +<p>As day dawned, morning light showed the watchers of the Grecian camp below a +glittering and shimmering in the torrent bed where the shaggy forests opened; +but it was not the sparkle of water, but the shine of gilded helmets and the +gleaming of silvered spears! Moreover, a Cimmerian crept over to the wall from +the Persian camp with tidings that the path had been betrayed, that the enemy +were climbing it, and would come down beyond the Eastern Gate. Still, the way +was rugged and circuitous, the Persians would hardly descend before midday, and +there was ample time for the Greeks to escape before they could be shut in by +the enemy.</p> +<p>There was a short council held over the morning sacrifice. Megistias, the +seer, on inspecting the entrails of the slain victim, declared, as well he +might, that their appearance boded disaster. Him Leonidas ordered to retire, but +he refused, though he sent home his only son. There was no disgrace to an +ordinary tone of mind in leaving a post that could not be held, and Leonidas +recommended all the allied troops under his command to march away while yet the +way was open. As to himself and his Spartans, they had made up their minds to +die at their post, and there could be no doubt that the example of such a +resolution would do more to save Greece than their best efforts could ever do if +they were careful to reserve themselves for another occasion.</p> +<p>All the allies consented to retreat, except the eighty men who came from +Mycenae and the 700 Thespians, who declared that they would not desert Leonidas. +There were also 400 Thebans who remained; and thus the whole number that stayed +with Leonidas to confront two million of enemies were fourteen hundred warriors, +besides the helots or attendants on the 300 Spartans, whose number is not known, +but there was probably at least one to each. Leonidas had two kinsmen in the +camp, like himself, claiming the blood of Hercules, and he tried to save them by +giving them letters and messages to Sparta; but one answered that 'he had come +to fight, not to carry letters'; and the other, that 'his deeds would tell all +that Sparta wished to know'. Another Spartan, named Dienices, when told that the +enemy's archers were so numerous that their arrows darkened the sun, replied, +'So much the better, we shall fight in the shade.' Two of the 300 had been sent +to a neighboring village, suffering severely from a complaint in the eyes. One +of them, called Eurytus, put on his armor, and commanded his helot to lead him +to his place in the ranks; the other, called Aristodemus, was so overpowered +with illness that he allowed himself to be carried away with the retreating +allies. It was still early in the day when all were gone, and Leonidas gave the +word to his men to take their last meal. 'To-night,' he said, 'we shall sup with +Pluto.'</p> +<p>Hitherto, he had stood on the defensive, and had husbanded the lives of his +men; but he now desired to make as great a slaughter as possible, so as to +inspire the enemy with dread of the Grecian name. He therefore marched out +beyond the wall, without waiting to be attacked, and the battle began. The +Persian captains went behind their wretched troops and scourged them on to the +fight with whips! Poor wretches, they were driven on to be slaughtered, pierced +with the Greek spears, hurled into the sea, or trampled into the mud of the +morass; but their inexhaustible numbers told at length. The spears of the Greeks +broke under hard service, and their swords alone remained; they began to fall, +and Leonidas himself was among the first of the slain. Hotter than ever was the +fight over his corpse, and two Persian princes, brothers of Xerxes, were there +killed; but at length word was brought that Hydarnes was over the pass, and that +the few remaining men were thus enclosed on all sides. The Spartans and +Thespians made their way to a little hillock within the wall, resolved to let +this be the place of their last stand; but the hearts of the Thebans failed +them, and they came towards the Persians holding out their hands in entreaty for +mercy. Quarter was given to them, but they were all branded with the king's mark +as untrustworthy deserters. The helots probably at this time escaped into the +mountains; while the small desperate band stood side by side on the hill still +fighting to the last, some with swords, others with daggers, others even with +their hands and teeth, till not one living man remained amongst them when the +sun went down. There was only a mound of slain, bristled over with arrows.</p> +<p>Twenty thousand Persians had died before that handful of men! Xerxes asked +Demaratus if there were many more at Sparta like these, and was told there were +8,000. It must have been with a somewhat failing heart that he invited his +courtiers from the fleet to see what he had done to the men who dared to oppose +him! and showed them the head and arm of Leonidas set up upon a cross; but he +took care that all his own slain, except 1,000, should first be put out of +sight. The body of the brave king was buried where he fell, as were those of the +other dead. Much envied were they by the unhappy Aristodemus, who found himself +called by no name but the 'Coward', and was shunned by all his fellow-citizens. +No one would give him fire or water, and after a year of misery, he redeemed his +honor by perishing in the forefront of the battle of Plataea, which was the last +blow that drove the Persians ingloriously from Greece.</p> +<p>The Greeks then united in doing honor to the brave warriors who, had they +been better supported, might have saved the whole country from invasion. The +poet Simonides wrote the inscriptions that were engraved upon the pillars that +were set up in the pass to commemorate this great action. One was outside the +wall, where most of the fighting had been. It seems to have been in honor of the +whole number who had for two days resisted--</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'Here did four thousand men from Pelops' land<br> +Against three hundred myriads bravely stand'.</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>In honor of the Spartans was another column--</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'Go, traveler, to Sparta tell<br> +That here, obeying her, we fell'.</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>On the little hillock of the last resistance was placed the figure of a stone +lion, in memory of Leonidas, so fitly named the lion-like, and Simonides, at his +own expense, erected a pillar to his friend, the seer Megistias--</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'The great Megistias' tomb you here may view,<br> +Who slew the Medes, fresh from Spercheius fords;<br> +Well the wise seer the coming death foreknew,<br> +Yet scorn'd he to forsake his Spartan lords'.</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>The names of the 300 were likewise engraven on a pillar at Sparta.</p> +<p>Lions, pillars, and inscriptions have all long since passed away, even the +very spot itself has changed; new soil has been formed, and there are miles of +solid ground between Mount Ceta and the gulf, so that the Hot Gates no longer +exist. But more enduring than stone or brass--nay, than the very battlefield +itself--has been the name of Leonidas. Two thousand three hundred years have +sped since he braced himself to perish for his country's sake in that narrow, +marshy coast road, under the brow of the wooded crags, with the sea by his side. +Since that time how many hearts have glowed, how many arms have been nerved at +the remembrance of the Pass of Thermopylae, and the defeat that was worth so +much more than a victory!</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>THE ROCK OF THE CAPITOL<br> +B.C. 389</h3></center> + +<p>The city of Rome was gradually rising on the banks of the Tiber, and every +year was adding to its temples and public buildings.</p> +<p>Every citizen loved his city and her greatness above all else. There was as +yet little wealth among them; the richest owned little more than a few acres, +which they cultivated themselves by the help of their families, and sometimes of +a few slaves, and the beautiful Campagna di Roma, girt in by hills looking like +amethysts in the distance, had not then become almost uninhabitable from +pestilential air, but was rich and fertile, full of highly cultivated small +farms, where corn was raised in furrows made by a small hand plough, and herds +of sheep, goats, and oxen browsed in the pasture lands. The owners of these +lands would on public days take off their rude working dress and broad-brimmed +straw hat, and putting on the white toga with a purple hem, would enter the +city, and go to the valley called the Forum or Marketplace to give their votes +for the officers of state who were elected every year; especially the two +consuls, who were like kings all but the crown, wore purple togas richly +embroidered, sat on ivory chairs, and were followed by lictors carrying an axe +in a bundle of rods for the execution of justice. In their own chamber sat the +Senate, the great council composed of the patricians, or citizens of highest +birth, and of those who had formerly been consuls. They decided on peace or war, +and made the laws, and were the real governors of the State, and their grave +dignity made a great impression on all who came near them. Above the buildings +of the city rose steep and high the Capitoline Hill, with the Temple of Jupiter +on its summit, and the strong wall in which was the chief stronghold and citadel +of Rome, the Capitol, the very centre of her strength and resolution. When a war +was decided on, every citizen capable of bearing arms was called into the Forum, +bringing his helmet, breast plate, short sword, and heavy spear, and the +officers called tribunes, chose out a sufficient number, who were formed into +bodies called legions, and marched to battle under the command of one of the +consuls. Many little States or Italian tribes, who had nearly the same customs +as Rome, surrounded the Campagna, and so many disputes arose that every year, as +soon as the crops were saved, the armies marched out, the flocks were driven to +folds on the hills, the women and children were placed in the walled cities, and +a battle was fought, sometimes followed up by the siege of the city of the +defeated. The Romans did not always obtain the victory, but there was a +staunchness about them that was sure to prevail in the long run; if beaten one +year, they came back to the charge the next, and thus they gradually mastered +one of their neighbors after another, and spread their dominion over the central +part of Italy.</p> +<p>They were well used to Italian and Etruscan ways of making war, but after +nearly 400 years of this kind of fighting, a stranger and wilder enemy came upon +them. These were the Gauls, a tall strong, brave people, long limbed and +red-haired, of the same race as the highlanders of Scotland. They had gradually +spread themselves over the middle of Europe, and had for some generations past +lived among the Alpine mountains, whence they used to come down upon the rich +plans of northern Italy for forays, in which they slew and burnt, and drove off +cattle, and now and then, when a country was quite depopulated, would settle +themselves in it. And thus, the Gauls conquering from the north and the Romans +from the south, these two fierce nations at length came against one another.</p> +<p>The old Roman story is that it happened thus: The Gauls had an unusually able +leader, whom Latin historians call Brennus, but whose real name was most likely +Bran, and who is said to have come out of Britain. He had brought a great host +of Gauls to attack Clusium, a Tuscan city, and the inhabitants sent to Rome to +entreat succor. Three ambassadors, brothers of the noble old family of Fabius, +were sent from Rome to intercede for the Clusians. They asked Brennus what harm +the men of Clusium had done the Gauls, that they thus made war on them, and, +according to Plutarch's account, Brennus made answer that the injury was that +the Clusians possessed land that the Gauls wanted, remarking that it was exactly +the way in which the Romans themselves treated their neighbors, adding, however, +that this was neither cruel nor unjust, but according--</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'To the good old plan<br> +That they should take who have the power<br> +And they should keep who can.'</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>[Footnote: These lines of Wordsworth on Rob Roy's grave almost literally +translate the speech Plutarch gives the first Kelt of history, Brennus.]</p> +<p>The Fabii, on receiving this answer, were so foolish as to transgress the +rule, owned by the savage Gauls, that an ambassador should neither fight nor be +fought with; they joined the Clusians, and one brother, named Quintus, killed a +remarkably large and tall Gallic chief in single combat. Brennus was justly +enraged, and sent messengers to Rome to demand that the brothers should be given +up to him for punishment. The priests and many of the Senate held that the rash +young men had deserved death as covenant-breakers; but their father made strong +interest for them, and prevailed not only to have them spared, but even chosen +as tribunes to lead the legions in the war that was expected. [Footnote: These +events happened during an experiment made by the Romans of having six military +tribunes instead of two consuls.] Thus he persuaded the whole nation to take on +itself the guilt of his sons, a want of true self-devotion uncommon among the +old Romans, and which was severely punished.</p> +<p>The Gauls were much enraged, and hurried southwards, not waiting for plunder +by the way, but declaring that they were friends to every State save Rome. The +Romans on their side collected their troops in haste, but with a lurking sense +of having transgressed; and since they had gainsaid the counsel of their +priests, they durst not have recourse to the sacrifices and ceremonies by which +they usually sought to gain the favor of their gods. Even among heathens, the +saying has often been verified, 'a sinful heart makes failing hand', and the +battle on the banks of the River Allia, about eleven miles from Rome, was not so +much a fight as a rout. The Roman soldiers were ill drawn up, and were at once +broken. Some fled to Veii and other towns, many were drowned in crossing the +Tiber, and it was but a few who showed in Rome their shame-stricken faces, and +brought word that the Gauls were upon them.</p> +<p>Had the Gauls been really in pursuit, the Roman name and nation would have +perished under their swords; but they spent three day in feasting and sharing +their plunder, and thus gave the Romans time to take measures for the safety of +such as could yet escape. There seems to have been no notion of defending the +city, the soldiers had been too much dispersed; but all who still remained and +could call up something of their ordinary courage, carried all the provisions +they could collect into the stronghold of the Capitol, and resolved to hold out +there till the last, in hopes that the scattered army might muster again, or +that the Gauls might retreat, after having revenged themselves on the city. +Everyone who could not fight, took flight, taking with them all they could +carry, and among them went the white-clad troop of vestal virgins, carrying with +them their censer of fire, which was esteemed sacred, and never allowed to be +extinguished. A man named Albinus, who saw these sacred women footsore, weary, +and weighted down with the treasures of their temple, removed his own family and +goods from his cart and seated them in it--an act of reverence for which he was +much esteemed--and thus they reached the city of Cumae. The only persons left in +Rome outside the Capitol were eighty of the oldest senators and some of the +priests. Some were too feeble to fly, and would not come into the Capitol to +consume the food that might maintain fighting men; but most of them were filled +with a deep, solemn thought that, by offering themselves to the weapons of the +barbarians, they might atone for the sin sanctioned by the Republic, and that +their death might be the saving of the nation. This notion that the death of a +ruler would expiate a country's guilt was one of the strange presages abroad in +the heathen world of that which alone takes away the sin of all mankind.</p> +<p>On came the Gauls at last. The gates stood open, the streets were silent, the +houses' low-browed doors showed no one in the paved courts. No living man was to +be seen, till at last, hurrying down the steep empty streets, they reached the +great open space of the Forum, and there they stood still in amazement, for +ranged along a gallery were a row of ivory chairs, and in each chair sat the +figure of a white-haired, white-bearded man, with arms and legs bare, and robes +either of snowy white, white bordered with purple, or purple richly embroidered, +ivory staves in their hands, and majestic, unmoved countenances. So motionless +were they, that the Gauls stood still, not knowing whether they beheld men or +statues. A wondrous scene it must have been, as the brawny, red-haired Gauls, +with freckled visage, keen little eyes, long broad sword, and wide plaid +garment, fashioned into loose trousers, came curiously down into the +marketplace, one after another; and each stood silent and transfixed at the +spectacle of those grand figures, still unmoving, save that their large full +liquid dark eyes showed them to be living beings. Surely these Gauls deemed +themselves in the presence of that council of kings who were sometimes supposed +to govern Rome, nay, if they were not before the gods themselves. At last, one +Gaul, ruder, or more curious than the rest, came up to one of the venerable +figures, and, to make proof whether he were flesh and blood, stroked his beard. +Such an insult from an uncouth barbarian was more than Roman blood could brook, +and the Gaul soon had his doubt satisfied by a sharp blow on the head from the +ivory staff. All reverence was dispelled by that stroke; it was at once returned +by a death thrust, and the fury of the savages wakening in proportion to the awe +that had at first struck them, they rushed on the old senators, and slew each +one in his curule chair.</p> +<p>Then they dispersed through the city, burning, plundering, and destroying. To +take the Capitol they soon found to be beyond their power, but they hoped to +starve the defenders out; and in the meantime they spent their time in pulling +down the outer walls, and such houses and temples as had resisted the fire, till +the defenders of the Capitol looked down from their height on nothing but +desolate black burnt ground, with a few heaps of ruins in the midst, and the +barbarians roaming about in it, and driving in the cattle that their foraging +parties collected from the country round. There was much earnest faith in their +own religion among the Romans: they took all this ruin as the just reward of +their shelter of the Fabii, and even in their extremity were resolved not to +transgress any sacred rule. Though food daily became more scarce and starvation +was fast approaching, not one of the sacred geese that were kept in Juno's +Temple was touched; and one Fabius Dorso, who believed that the household gods +of his family required yearly a sacrifice on their own festival day on the +Quirinal Hill, arrayed himself in the white robes of a sacrificer, took his +sacred images in his arms, and went out of the Capitol, through the midst of the +enemy, through the ruins to the accustomed alter, and there preformed the +regular rites. The Gauls, seeing that it was a religious ceremony, let him pass +through them untouched, and he returned in safety; but Brennus was resolved on +completing his conquest, and while half his forces went out to plunder, he +remained with the other half, watching the moment to effect an entrance into the +Capitol; and how were the defenders, worn out with hunger, to resist without +relief from without? And who was there to bring relief to them, who were +themselves the Roman State and government?</p> +<p>Now there was a citizen, named Marcus Furius Camillus, who was, without +question, at that time, the first soldier of Rome, and had taken several of the +chief Italian cities, especially that of Veii, which had long been a most +dangerous enemy. But he was a proud, haughty man, and had brought on himself +much dislike; until, at last, a false accusation was brought against him, that +he had taken an unfair share of the plunder of Veii. He was too proud to stand a +trial; and leaving the city, was immediately fined a considerable sum. He had +taken up his abode at the city of Ardea, and was there living when the +plundering half of Brennus' army was reported to be coming thither. Camillus +immediately offered the magistrates to undertake their defense; and getting +together all the men who could bear arms, he led them out, fell upon the Gauls +as they all lay asleep and unguarded in the dead of night, made a great +slaughter of them, and saved Ardea. All this was heard by the many Romans who +had been living dispersed since the rout of Allia; and they began to recover +heart and spirit, and to think that if Camillus would be their leader, they +might yet do something to redeem the honor of Rome, and save their friends in +the Capitol. An entreaty was sent to him to take the command of them; but, like +a proud, stern man as he was, he made answer, that he was a mere exile, and +could not take upon himself to lead Romans without a decree from the Senate +giving him authority. The Senate was--all that remained of it--shut up in the +Capitol; the Gauls were spread all round; how was that decree to be obtained?</p> +<p>A young man, named Pontius Cominius, undertook the desperate mission. He put +on a peasant dress, and hid some corks under it, supposing that he should find +no passage by the bridge over the Tiber. Traveling all day on foot, he came at +night to the bank, and saw the guard at the bridge; then, having waited for +darkness, he rolled his one thin light garment, with the corks wrapped up in it, +round his head, and trusted himself to the stream of Father Tiber, like 'good +Horatius' before him; and he was safely borne along to the foot of the +Capitoline Hill. He crept along, avoiding every place where he saw lights or +heard noise, till he came to a rugged precipice, which he suspected would not be +watched by the enemy, who would suppose it too steep to be climbed from above or +below. But the resolute man did not fear the giddy dangerous ascent, even in the +darkness; he swung himself up by the stems and boughs of the vines and climbing +plants, his naked feet clung to the rocks and tufts of grass, and at length he +stood on the top of the rampart, calling out his name to the soldiers who came +in haste around him, not knowing whether he were friend or foe. A joyful sound +must his Latin speech have been to the long-tried, half starved garrison, who +had not seen a fresh face for six long months! The few who represented the +Senate and people of Rome were hastily awakened from their sleep, and gathered +together to hear the tidings brought them at so much risk. Pontius told them of +the victory at Ardea, and that Camillus and the Romans collected at Veii were +only waiting to march to their succor till they should give him lawful power to +take the command. There was little debate. The vote was passed at once to make +Camillus Dictator, an office to which Romans were elected upon great +emergencies, and which gave them, for the time, absolute kingly control; and +then Pontius, bearing the appointment, set off once again upon his mission, +still under shelter of night, clambered down the rock, and crossed the Gallic +camp before the barbarians were yet awake.</p> +<p>There was hope in the little garrison; but danger was not over. The +sharp-eyed Gauls observed that the shrubs and creepers were broken, the moss +frayed, and fresh stones and earth rolled down at the crag of the Capitol: they +were sure that the rock had been climbed, and, therefore, that it might be +climbed again. Should they, who were used to the snowy peaks, dark abysses, and +huge glaciers of the Alps, be afraid to climb where a soft dweller in a tame +Italian town could venture a passage? Brennus chose out the hardiest of his +mountaineers, and directed them to climb up in the dead of night, one by one, in +perfect silence, and thus to surprise the Romans, and complete the slaughter and +victory, before the forces assembling at Veii would come to their rescue.</p> +<p>Silently the Gauls climbed, so stilly that not even a dog heard them; and the +sentinel nearest to the post, who had fallen into a dead sleep of exhaustion +from hunger, never awoke. But the fatal stillness was suddenly broken by loud +gabbling, cackling, and flapping of heavy wings. The sacred geese of Juno, which +had been so religiously spared in the famine, were frightened by the rustling +beneath, and proclaimed their terror in their own noisy fashion. The first to +take the alarm was Marcus Manlius, who started forward just in time to meet the +foremost climbers as they set foot on the rampart. One, who raised an axe to +strike, lost his arm by one stroke of Manlius' short Roman sword; the next was +by main strength hurled backwards over the precipice, and Manlius stood along on +the top, for a few moments, ready to strike the next who should struggle up. The +whole of the garrison were in a few moments on the alert, and the attack was +entirely repulsed; the sleeping sentry was cast headlong down the rock; and +Manlius was brought, by each grateful soldier, that which was then most valuable +to all, a little meal and a small measure of wine. Still, the condition of the +Capitol was lamentable; there was no certainty that Pontius had ever reached +Camillus in safety; and, indeed, the discovery of his path by the enemy would +rather have led to the supposition that he had been seized and detected. The +best hope lay in wearying out the besiegers; and there seemed to be more chance +of this since the Gauls often could be seen from the heights, burying the +corpses of their dead; their tall, bony forms looked gaunt and drooping, and, +here and there, unburied carcasses lay amongst the ruins. Nor were the flocks +and herds any longer driven in from the country. Either all must have been +exhausted, or else Camillus and his friends must be near, and preventing their +raids. At any rate, it appeared as if the enemy was quite as ill off as to +provisions as the garrison, and in worse condition as to health. In effect, this +was the first example of the famous saying, that Rome destroys her conquerors. +In this state of things one of the Romans had a dream that Jupiter, the special +god of the Capitol, appeared to him, and gave the strange advice that all the +remaining flour should be baked, and the loaves thrown down into the enemy's +camp. Telling the dream, which may, perhaps, have been the shaping of his own +thoughts, that this apparent waste would persuade the barbarians that the +garrison could not soon be starved out, this person obtained the consent of the +rest of the besieged. Some approved the stratagem, and no one chose to act +contrary to Jupiter's supposed advice; so the bread was baked, and tossed down +by the hungry men.</p> +<p>After a time, there was a report from the outer guards that the Gallic watch +had been telling them that their leader would be willing to speak with some of +the Roman chiefs. Accordingly, Sulpitius, one of the tribunes, went out, and had +a conference with Brennus, who declared that he would depart, provided the +Romans would lay down a ransom, for their Capital and their own lives, of a +thousand pounds' weight of gold. To this Sulpitius agreed, and returning to the +Capitol, the gold was collected from the treasury, and carried down to meet the +Gauls, who brought their own weights. The weights did not meet the amount of +gold ornaments that had been contributed for the purpose, and no doubt the Gauls +were resolved to have all that they beheld; for when Sulpitius was about to try +to arrange the balance, Brennus insultingly threw his sword into his own scale, +exclaiming, Voe victis! 'Woe to the conquered!' The Roman was not yet fallen so +low as not to remonstrate, and the dispute was waxing sharp, when there was a +confused outcry in the Gallic camp, a shout from the heights of the Capitol, and +into the midst of the open space rode a band of Roman patricians and knights in +armor, with the Dictator Camillus at their head.</p> +<p>He no sooner saw what was passing, than he commanded the treasure to be taken +back, and, turning to Brennus, said, 'It is with iron, not gold, that the Romans +guard their country.'</p> +<p>Brennus declared that the treaty had been sworn to, and that it would be a +breach of faith to deprive him of the ransom; to which Camillus replied, that he +himself was Dictator, and no one had the power to make a treaty in his absence. +The dispute was so hot, that they drew their swords against one another, and +there was a skirmish among the ruins; but the Gauls soon fell back, and +retreated to their camp, when they saw the main body of Camillus' army marching +upon them. It was no less than 40,000 in number; and Brennus knew he could not +withstand them with his broken, sickly army. He drew off early the next morning: +but was followed by Camillus, and routed, with great slaughter, about eight +miles from Rome; and very few of the Gauls lived to return home, for those who +were not slain in battle were cut off in their flight by the country people, +whom they had plundered.</p> +<p>In reward for their conduct on this occasion, Camillus was termed Romulus, +Father of his Country, and Second Founder of Rome; Marcus Manlius received the +honorable surname of Capitolinus; and even the geese were honored by having a +golden image raised to their honor in Juno's temple, and a live goose was yearly +carried in triumph, upon a soft litter, in a golden cage, as long as any heathen +festivals lasted. The reward of Pontius Cominius does not appear; but surely he, +and the old senators who died for their country's sake, deserved to be for ever +remembered for their brave contempt of life when a service could be done to the +State.</p> +<p>The truth of the whole narrative is greatly doubted, and it is suspected that +the Gallic conquest was more complete than the Romans ever chose to avow. Their +history is far from clear up to this very epoch, when it is said that all their +records were destroyed; but even when place and period are misty, great names +and the main outline of their actions loom through the cloud, perhaps +exaggerated, but still with some reality; and if the magnificent romance of the +sack of Rome be not fact, yet it is certainly history, and well worthy of note +and remembrance, as one of the finest extant traditions of a whole chain of +Golden Deeds.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>THE TWO FRIENDS OF SYRACUSE<br> +B.C. 380 (CIRCA)</h3></center> + +<p>Most of the best and noblest of the Greeks held what was called the +Pythagorean philosophy. This was one of the many systems framed by the great men +of heathenism, when by the feeble light of nature they were, as St. Paul says, +'seeking after God, if haply they might feel after Him', like men groping in the +darkness. Pythagoras lived before the time of history, and almost nothing is +known about him, though his teaching and his name were never lost. There is a +belief that he had traveled in the East, and in Egypt, and as he lived about the +time of the dispersion of the Israelites, it is possible that some of his purest +and best teaching might have been crumbs gathered from their fuller instruction +through the Law and the Prophets. One thing is plain, that even in dealing with +heathenism the Divine rule holds good, 'By their fruits ye shall know them'. +Golden Deeds are only to be found among men whose belief is earnest and sincere, +and in something really high and noble. Where there was nothing worshiped but +savage or impure power, and the very form of adoration was cruel and unclean, as +among the Canaanites and Carthaginians, there we find no true self-devotion. The +great deeds of the heathen world were all done by early Greeks and Romans before +yet the last gleams of purer light had faded out of their belief, and while +their moral sense still nerved them to energy; or else by such later Greeks as +had embraced the deeper and more earnest yearnings of the minds that had become +a 'law unto themselves'.</p> +<p>The Pythagoreans were bound together in a brotherhood, the members of which +had rules that are not now understood, but which linked them so as to form a +sort of club, with common religious observances and pursuits of science, +especially mathematics and music. And they were taught to restrain their +passions, especially that of anger, and to endure with patience all kinds of +suffering; believing that such self-restraint brought them nearer to the gods, +and that death would set them free from the prison of the body. The souls of +evil-doers would, they thought, pass into the lower and more degraded animals, +while those of good men would be gradually purified, and rise to a higher +existence. This, though lamentably deficient, and false in some points, was a +real religion, inasmuch as it gave a rule of life, with a motive for striving +for wisdom and virtue. Two friends of this Pythagorean sect lived at Syracuse, +in the end of the fourth century before the Christian era. Syracuse was a great +Greek city, built in Sicily, and full of all kinds of Greek art and learning; +but it was a place of danger in their time, for it had fallen under the tyranny +of a man of strange and capricious temper, though of great abilities, namely +Dionysius. He is said to have been originally only a clerk in a public office, +but his talents raised him to continually higher situations, and at length, in a +great war with the Carthaginians, who had many settlements in Sicily, he became +general of the army, and then found it easy to establish his power over the +city.</p> +<p>This power was not according to the laws, for Syracuse, like most other +cities, ought to have been governed by a council of magistrates; but Dionysius +was an exceedingly able man, and made the city much more rich and powerful, he +defeated the Carthaginians, and rendered Syracuse by far the chief city in the +island, and he contrived to make everyone so much afraid of him that no one +durst attempt to overthrow his power. He was a good scholar, and very fond of +philosophy and poetry, and he delighted to have learned men around him, and he +had naturally a generous spirit; but the sense that he was in a position that +did not belong to him, and that everyone hated him for assuming it, made him +very harsh and suspicious. It is of him that the story is told, that he had a +chamber hollowed in the rock near his state prison, and constructed with +galleries to conduct sounds like an ear, so that he might overhear the +conversation of his captives; and of him, too, is told that famous anecdote +which has become a proverb, that on hearing a friend, named Damocles, express a +wish to be in his situation for a single day, he took him at his word, and +Damocles found himself at a banquet with everything that could delight his +senses, delicious food, costly wine, flowers, perfumes, music; but with a sword +with the point almost touching his head, and hanging by a single horsehair! This +was to show the condition in which a usurper lived!</p> +<p>Thus Dionysius was in constant dread. He had a wide trench round his bedroom, +with a drawbridge that he drew up and put down with his own hands; and he put +one barber to death for boasting that he held a razor to the tyrant's throat +every morning. After this he made his young daughters shave him; but by and by +he would not trust them with a razor, and caused them to singe of his beard with +hot nutshells! He was said to have put a man named Antiphon to death for +answering him, when he asked what was the best kind of brass, 'That of which the +statues of Harmodius and Aristogeiton were made.' These were the two Athenians +who had killed the sons of Pisistratus the tyrant, so that the jest was most +offensive, but its boldness might have gained forgiveness for it. One +philosopher, named Philoxenus, he sent to a dungeon for finding fault with his +poetry, but he afterwards composed another piece, which he thought so superior, +that he could not be content without sending for this adverse critic to hear it. +When he had finished reading it, he looked to Philoxenus for a compliment; but +the philosopher only turned round to the guards, and said dryly, 'Carry me back +to prison.' This time Dionysius had the sense to laugh, and forgive his honesty.</p> +<p>All these stories may not be true; but that they should have been current in +the ancient world shows what was the character of the man of whom they were +told, how stern and terrible was his anger, and how easily it was incurred. +Among those who came under it was a Pythagorean called Pythias, who was +sentenced to death, according to the usual fate of those who fell under his +suspicion.</p> +<p>Pythias had lands and relations in Greece, and he entreated as a favor to be +allowed to return thither and arrange his affairs, engaging to return within a +specified time to suffer death. The tyrant laughed his request to scorn. Once +safe out of Sicily, who would answer for his return? Pythias made reply that he +had a friend, who would become security for his return; and while Dionysius, the +miserable man who trusted nobody, was ready to scoff at his simplicity, another +Pythagorean, by name of Damon, came forward, and offered to become surety for +his friend, engaging, if Pythias did not return according to promise, to suffer +death in his stead.</p> +<p>Dionysius, much astonished, consented to let Pythias go, marveling what would +be the issue of the affair. Time went on and Pythias did not appear. The +Syracusans watched Damon, but he showed no uneasiness. He said he was secure of +his friend's truth and honor, and that if any accident had cause the delay of +his return, he should rejoice in dying to save the life of one so dear to him.</p> +<p>Even to the last day Damon continued serene and content, however it might +fall out; nay even when the very hour drew nigh and still no Pythias. His trust +was so perfect, that he did not even grieve at having to die for a faithless +friend who had left him to the fate to which he had unwarily pledged himself. It +was not Pythias' own will, but the winds and waves, so he still declared, when +the decree was brought and the instruments of death made ready. The hour had +come, and a few moments more would have ended Damon's life, when Pythias duly +presented himself, embraced his friend, and stood forward himself to receive his +sentence, calm, resolute, and rejoiced that he had come in time.</p> +<p>Even the dim hope they owned of a future state was enough to make these two +brave men keep their word, and confront death for one another without quailing. +Dionysius looked on more struck than ever. He felt that neither of such men must +die. He reversed the sentence of Pythias, and calling the two to his judgment +seat, he entreated them to admit him as a third in their friendship. Yet all the +time he must have known it was a mockery that he should ever be such as they +were to each other--he who had lost the very power of trusting, and constantly +sacrificed others to secure his own life, whilst they counted not their lives +dear to them in comparison with their truth to their word, and love to one +another. No wonder that Damon and Pythias have become such a byword that they +seem too well known to have their story told here, except that a name in +everyone's mouth sometimes seems to be mentioned by those who have forgotten or +never heard the tale attached to it.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>THE DEVOTION OF THE DECII<br> +B.C. 339</h3></center> + +<p>The spirit of self-devotion is so beautiful and noble, that even when the act +is performed in obedience to the dictates of a false religion, it is impossible +not to be struck with admiration and almost reverence for the unconscious type +of the one great act that has hallowed every other sacrifice. Thus it was that +Codrus, the Athenian king, has ever since been honored for the tradition that he +gave his own life to secure the safety of his people; and there is a touching +story, with neither name nor place, of a heathen monarch who was bidden by his +priests to appease the supposed wrath of his gods by the sacrifice of the being +dearest to him. His young son had been seized on as his most beloved, when his +wife rushed between and declared that her son must live, and not by his death +rob her of her right to fall, as her husband's dearest. The priest looked at the +father; the face that had been sternly composed before was full of uncontrolled +anguish as he sprang forward to save the wife rather than the child. That +impulse was an answer, like the entreaty of the mother before Solomon; the +priest struck the fatal blow ere the king's hand could withhold him, and the +mother died with a last look of exceeding joy at her husband's love and her +son's safety. Human sacrifices are of course accursed, and even the better sort +of heathens viewed them with horror; but the voluntary confronting of death, +even at the call of a distorted presage of future atonement, required qualities +that were perhaps the highest that could be exercised among those who were +devoid of the light of truth.</p> +<p>In the year 339 there was a remarkable instance of such devotion. The Romans +were at war with the Latins, a nation dwelling to the south of them, and almost +exactly resembling themselves in language, habits, government, and fashions of +fighting. Indeed the city of Rome itself was but an offshoot from the old Latin +kingdom; and there was not much difference between the two nations even in +courage and perseverance. The two consuls of the year were Titus Manlius +Torquatus and Publius Decius Mus. They were both very distinguished men. Manlius +was a patrician, or one of the high ancient nobles of Rome, and had in early +youth fought a single combat with a gigantic Gaul, who offered himself, like +Goliath, as a champion of his tribe; had slain him, and taken from him a gold +torque, or collar, whence his surname Torquatus. Decius was a plebeian; one of +the free though not noble citizens who had votes, but only within a few years +had been capable of being chosen to the higher offices of state, and who looked +upon every election to the consulship as a victory. Three years previously, when +a tribune in command of a legion, Decius had saved the consul, Cornelius Cossus, +from a dangerous situation, and enabled him to gain a great victory; and this +exploit was remembered, and led to the choice of this well-experienced soldier +as the colleague of Manlius.</p> +<p>The two consuls both went out together in command of the forces, each having +a separate army, and intending to act in concert. They marched to the beautiful +country at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, which was then a harmless mountain +clothed with chestnut woods, with spaces opening between, where farms and +vineyards rejoiced in the sunshine and the fresh breezes of the lovely blue bay +that lay stretched beneath. Those who climbed to the summit might indeed find +beds of ashes and the jagged edge of a huge basin or gulf; the houses and walls +were built of dark-red and black material that once had flowed from the crater +in boiling torrents: but these had long since cooled, and so long was it since a +column of smoke had been seen to rise from the mountain top, that it only +remained as a matter of tradition that this region was one of mysterious fire, +and that the dark cool lake Avernus, near the mountain skirts, was the very +entrance to the shadowy realms beneath, that were supposed to be inhabited by +the spirits of the dead.</p> +<p>It might be that the neighborhood of this lake, with the dread imaginations +connected with it by pagan fancy, influenced even the stout hearts of the +consuls; for, the night after they came in sight of the enemy, each dreamt the +same dream, namely, that he beheld a mighty form of gigantic height and stature, +who told him 'that the victory was decreed to that army of the two whose leader +should devote himself to the Dii Manes,' that is, to the deities who watched +over the shades of the dead. Probably these older Romans held the old Etruscan +belief, which took these 'gods beneath' to be winged beings, who bore away the +departing soul, weighted its merits and demerits, and placed it in a region of +peace or of woe, according to its deserts. This was part of the grave and +earnest faith that gave the earlier Romans such truth and resolution; but +latterly they so corrupted it with the Greek myths, that, in after times, they +did not even know who the gods of Decius were.</p> +<p>At daybreak the two consuls sought one another out, and told their dreams; +and they agreed that they would join their armies in one, Decius leading the +right and Manlius the left wing; and that whichever found his troops giving way, +should at once rush into the enemy's columns and die, to secure the victory to +his colleague. At the same time strict commands were given that no Roman should +come out of his rank to fight in single combat with the enemy; a necessary +regulation, as the Latins were so like, in every respect, to the Romans, that +there would have been fatal confusion had there been any mingling together +before the battle. Just as this command had been given out, young Titus Manlius, +the son of the consul, met a Latin leader, who called him by name and challenged +him to fight hand to hand. The youth was emulous of the honor his father had +gained by his own combat at the same age with the Gaul, but forgot both the +present edict and that his father had scrupulously asked permission before +accepting the challenge. He at once came forward, and after a brave conflict, +slew his adversary, and taking his armor, presented himself at his father's tent +and laid the spoils at his feet.</p> +<p>But old Manlius turned aside sadly, and collected his troops to hear his +address to his son: 'You have transgressed,' he said, 'the discipline which has +been the support of the Roman people, and reduced me to the hard necessity of +either forgetting myself and mine, or else the regard I owe to the general +safety. Rome must not suffer by one fault. We must expiate it ourselves. A sad +example shall we be, but a wholesome one to the Roman youth. For me, both the +natural love of a father, and that specimen thou hast given of thy valor move me +exceedingly; but since either the consular authority must be established by thy +death, or destroyed by thy impunity, I cannot think, if thou be a true Manlius, +that thou wilt be backward to repair the breach thou hast made in military +discipline by undergoing the just meed of thine offence. He then placed the +wreath of leaves, the reward of a victor, upon his son's head, and gave the +command to the lictor to bind the young man to a stake, and strike off his head. +The troops stood round as men stunned, no one durst utter a word; the son +submitted without one complaint, since his death was for the good of Rome: and +the father, trusting that the doom of the Dii Manes was about to overtake him, +beheld the brave but rash young head fall, then watched the corpse covered with +the trophies won from the Latins, and made no hindrance to the glorious +obsequies with which the whole army honored this untimely death. Strict +discipline was indeed established, and no one again durst break his rank; but +the younger men greatly hated Manlius for his severity, and gave him no credit +for the agony he had concealed while giving up his gallant son to the wellbeing +of Rome.</p> +<p>A few days after, the expected battle took place, and after some little time +the front rank of Decius' men began to fall back upon the line in their rear. +This was the token he had waited for. He called to Valerius, the chief priest of +Rome, to consecrate him, and was directed to put on his chief robe of office, +the beautiful toga proetexta, to cover his head, and standing on his javelin, +call aloud to the 'nine gods' to accept his devotion, to save the Roman legions, +and strike terror into his enemies. This done, he commanded his lictors to carry +word to his colleague that the sacrifice was accomplished, and then girding his +robe round him in the manner adopted in sacrificing to the gods, he mounted his +white horse, and rushed like lightning into the thickest of the Latins. At first +they fell away on all sides as if some heavenly apparition had come down on +them; then, as some recognized him, they closed in on him, and pierced his +breast with their weapons; but even as he fell the superstition that a devoted +leader was sure to win the field, came full on their minds, they broke and fled. +Meanwhile the message came to Manlius, and drew from him a burst of tears--tears +that he had not shed for his son--his hope of himself meeting the doom and +ending his sorrow was gone; but none the less he nerved himself to complete the +advantage gained by Decius' death. Only one wing of the Latins had fled, the +other fought long and bravely, and when at last it was defeated, and cut down on +the field of battle, both conqueror and conquered declared that, if Manlius had +been the leader of the Latins, they would have had the victory. Manlius +afterwards completely subdued the Latins, who became incorporated with the +Romans; but bravely as he had borne up, his health gave way under his sorrow, +and before the end of the year he was unable to take the field.</p> +<p>Forty-five years later, in the year 294, another Decius was consul. He was +the son of the first devoted Decius, and had shown himself worthy of his name, +both as a citizen and soldier. His first consulate had been in conjunction with +one of the most high-spirited and famous Roman nobles, Quintus Fabius, surnamed +Maximus, or the Greatest, and at three years' end they were again chosen +together, when the Romans had been brought into considerable peril by an +alliance between the Gauls and the Samnites, their chief enemies in Italy.</p> +<p>One being a patrician and the other a plebeian, there was every attempt made +at Rome to stir up jealousies and dissensions between them; but both were much +too noble and generous to be thus set one against the other; and when Fabius +found how serious was the state of affairs in Etruria, he sent to Rome to +entreat that Decius would come and act with him. 'With him I shall never want +forces, nor have too many enemies to deal with.'</p> +<p>The Gauls, since the time of Brennus, had so entirely settled in northern +Italy, that it had acquired the name of Cisalpine Gaul, and they were as warlike +as ever, while better armed and trained. The united armies of Gauls, Samnites, +and their allies, together, are said to have amounted to 143,330 foot and 46,000 +horse, and the Roman army consisted of four legions, 24,000 in all, with an +unspecified number of horse. The place of battle was at Sentinum, and here for +the first time the Gauls brought armed chariots into use,--probably the wicker +chariots, with scythes in the midst of the clumsy wooden wheels, which were used +by the Kelts in Britain two centuries later. It was the first time the Romans +had encountered these barbarous vehicles; they were taken by surprise, the +horses started, and could not be brought back to the charge, and the legions +were mowed down like corn where the furious Gaul impelled his scythe. Decius +shouted in vain, and tried to gather his men and lead them back; but the terror +at this new mode of warfare had so mastered them, that they paid no attention to +his call. Then, half in policy, half in superstition, he resolved to follow his +father in his death. He called the chief priest, Marcus Livius, and standing on +his javelin, went through the same formula of self-dedication, and in the like +manner threw himself, alone and unarmed, in the midst of the enemy, among whom +he soon fell, under many a savage stroke. The priest, himself a gallant soldier, +called to the troops that their victory was now secured, and thoroughly +believing him, they let him lead them back to the charge, and routed the Gauls; +whilst Fabius so well did his part against the other nations, that the victory +was complete, and 25,000 enemies were slain. So covered was the body of Decius +by the corpses of his enemies, that all that day it could not be found; but on +the next it was discovered, and Fabius, with a full heart, pronounced the +funeral oration of the second Decius, who had willingly offered himself to turn +the tide of battle in favor of his country. It was the last of such acts of +dedication--the Romans became more learned and philosophical, and perhaps more +reasonable; and yet, mistaken as was the object, it seems a falling off that, +200 years later, Cicero should not know who were the 'nine gods' of the Decii, +and should regard their sacrifice as 'heroic indeed, but unworthy of men of +understanding'.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>REGULUS<br> +B.C. 249</h3></center> + +<p>The first wars that the Romans engaged in beyond the bounds of Italy, were +with the Carthaginians. This race came from Tyre and Zidon; and were descended +from some of the Phoenicians, or Zidonians, who were such dangerous foes, or +more dangerous friends, to the Israelites. Carthage had, as some say, been first +founded by some of the Canaanites who fled when Joshua conquered the Promised +Land; and whether this were so or not, the inhabitants were in all their ways +the same as the Tyrians and Zidonians, of whom so much is said in the prophecies +of Isaiah and Ezekiel. Like them, they worshipped Baal and Ashtoreth, and the +frightful Moloch, with foul and cruel rites; and, like them, they were excellent +sailors and great merchants trading with every known country, and living in +great riches and splendor at their grand city on the southern shore of the +Mediterranean. That they were a wicked and cruel race is also certain; the +Romans used to call deceit Punic faith, that is, Phoenician faith, and though no +doubt Roman writers show them up in their worst colours, yet, after the time of +Hiram, Solomon's ally at Tyre, it is plain from Holy Scripture that their crimes +were great.</p> +<p>The first dispute between Rome and Carthage was about their possession in the +island of Sicily; and the war thus begun had lasted eight years when it was +resolved to send an army to fight the Carthaginians on their own shores. The +army and fleet were placed under the command of the two consuls, Lucius Manlius +and Marcus Attilius Regulus. On the way, there was a great sea fight with the +Carthaginian fleet, and this was the first naval battle that the Romans ever +gained. It made the way to Africa free; but the soldiers, who had never been so +far from home before, murmured, for they expected to meet not only human +enemies, but monstrous serpents, lions, elephants, asses with horns, and +dog-headed monsters, to have a scorching sun overhead, and a noisome marsh under +their feet. However, Regulus sternly put a stop to all murmurs, by making it +known that disaffection would be punished by death, and the army safely landed, +and set up a fortification at Clypea, and plundered the whole country round. +Orders here came from Rome that Manlius should return thither, but that Regulus +should remain to carry on the war. This was a great grief to him. He was a very +poor man, with nothing of his own but a little farm of seven acres, and the +person whom he had employed to cultivate it had died in his absence; a hired +laborer had undertaken the care of it, but had been unfaithful, and had run away +with his tools and his cattle; so that he was afraid that, unless he could +return quickly, his wife and children would starve. However, the Senate engaged +to provide for his family, and he remained, making expeditions into the country +round, in the course of which the Romans really did fall in with a serpent as +monstrous as their imagination had depicted. It was said to be 120 feet long, +and dwelt upon the banks of the River Bagrada, where it used to devour the Roman +soldiers as they went to fetch water. It had such tough scales that they were +obliged to attack it with their engines meant for battering city walls, and only +succeeded with much difficulty in destroying it.</p> +<p>The country was most beautiful, covered with fertile cornfields and full of +rich fruit trees, and all the rich Carthaginians had country houses and gardens, +which were made delicious with fountains, trees, and flowers. The Roman +soldiers, plain, hardy, fierce, and pitiless, did, it must be feared, cruel +damage among these peaceful scenes; they boasted of having sacked 300 villages, +and mercy was not yet known to them. The Carthaginian army, though strong in +horsemen and in elephants, kept upon the hills and did nothing to save the +country, and the wild desert tribes of Numidians came rushing in to plunder what +the Romans had left. The Carthaginians sent to offer terms of peace; but +Regulus, who had become uplifted by his conquests, made such demands that the +messengers remonstrated. He answered, 'Men who are good for anything should +either conquer or submit to their betters;' and he sent them rudely away, like a +stern old Roman as he was. His merit was that he had no more mercy on himself +than on others.</p> +<p>The Carthaginians were driven to extremity, and made horrible offerings to +Moloch, giving the little children of the noblest families to be dropped into +the fire between the brazen hands of his statue, and grown-up people of the +noblest families rushed in of their own accord, hoping thus to propitiate their +gods, and obtain safety for their country. Their time was not yet fully come, +and a respite was granted to them. They had sent, in their distress, to hire +soldiers in Greece, and among these came a Spartan, named Xanthippus, who at +once took the command, and led the army out to battle, with a long line of +elephants ranged in front of them, and with clouds of horsemen hovering on the +wings. The Romans had not yet learnt the best mode of fighting with elephants, +namely, to leave lanes in their columns where these huge beasts might advance +harmlessly; instead of which, the ranks were thrust and trampled down by the +creatures' bulk, and they suffered a terrible defeat; Regulus himself was seized +by the horsemen, and dragged into Carthage, where the victors feasted and +rejoiced through half the night, and testified their thanks to Moloch by +offering in his fires the bravest of their captives.</p> +<p>Regulus himself was not, however, one of these victims. He was kept a close +prisoner for two years, pining and sickening in his loneliness, while in the +meantime the war continued, and at last a victory so decisive was gained by the +Romans, that the people of Carthage were discouraged, and resolved to ask terms +of peace. They thought that no one would be so readily listened to at Rome as +Regulus, and they therefore sent him there with their envoys, having first made +him swear that he would come back to his prison if there should neither be peace +nor an exchange of prisoners. They little knew how much more a true-hearted +Roman cared for his city than for himself--for his word than for his life.</p> +<p>Worn and dejected, the captive warrior came to the outside of the gates of +his own city, and there paused, refusing to enter. 'I am no longer a Roman +citizen,' he said; 'I am but the barbarian's slave, and the Senate may not give +audience to strangers within the walls.'</p> +<p>His wife Marcia ran out to greet him, with his two sons, but he did not look +up, and received their caresses as one beneath their notice, as a mere slave, +and he continued, in spite of all entreaty, to remain outside the city, and +would not even go to the little farm he had loved so well.</p> +<p>The Roman Senate, as he would not come in to them, came out to hold their +meeting in the Campagna.</p> +<p>The ambassadors spoke first, then Regulus, standing up, said, as one +repeating a task, 'Conscript fathers, being a slave to the Carthaginians, I come +on the part of my masters to treat with you concerning peace, and an exchange of +prisoners.' He then turned to go away with the ambassadors, as a stranger might +not be present at the deliberations of the Senate. His old friends pressed him +to stay and give his opinion as a senator who had twice been consul; but he +refused to degrade that dignity by claiming it, slave as he was. But, at the +command of his Carthaginian masters, he remained, though not taking his seat.</p> +<p>Then he spoke. He told the senators to persevere in the war. He said he had +seen the distress of Carthage, and that a peace would only be to her advantage, +not to that of Rome, and therefore he strongly advised that the war should +continue. Then, as to the exchange of prisoners, the Carthaginian generals, who +were in the hands of the Romans, were in full health and strength, whilst he +himself was too much broken down to be fit for service again, and indeed he +believed that his enemies had given him a slow poison, and that he could not +live long. Thus he insisted that no exchange of prisoners should be made.</p> +<p>It was wonderful, even to Romans, to hear a man thus pleading against +himself, and their chief priest came forward, and declared that, as his oath had +been wrested from him by force, he was not bound to return to his captivity. But +Regulus was too noble to listen to this for a moment. 'Have you resolved to +dishonor me?' he said. 'I am not ignorant that death and the extremest tortures +are preparing for me; but what are these to the shame of an infamous action, or +the wounds of a guilty mind? Slave as I am to Carthage, I have still the spirit +of a Roman. I have sworn to return. It is my duty to go; let the gods take care +of the rest.'</p> +<p>The Senate decided to follow the advice of Regulus, though they bitterly +regretted his sacrifice. His wife wept and entreated in vain that they would +detain him; they could merely repeat their permission to him to remain; but +nothing could prevail with him to break his word, and he turned back to the +chains and death he expected so calmly as if he had been returning to his home. +This was in the year B.C. 249.</p> +<p>'Let the gods take care of the rest,' said the Roman; the gods whom alone he +knew, and through whom he ignorantly worshipped the true God, whose Light was +shining out even in this heathen's truth and constancy. How his trust was +fulfilled is not known. The Senate, after the next victory, gave two +Carthaginian generals to his wife and sons to hold as pledges for his good +treatment; but when tidings arrived that Regulus was dead, Marcia began to treat +them both with savage cruelty, though one of them assured her that he had been +careful to have her husband well used. Horrible stories were told that Regulus +had been put out in the sun with his eyelids cut off, rolled down a hill in a +barrel with spikes, killed by being constantly kept awake, or else crucified. +Marcia seems to have set about, and perhaps believed in these horrors, and +avenged them on her unhappy captives till one had died, and the Senate sent for +her sons and severely reprimanded them. They declared it was their mother's +doing, not theirs, and thenceforth were careful of the comfort of the remaining +prisoner.</p> +<p>It may thus be hoped that the frightful tale of Regulus' sufferings was but +formed by report acting on the fancy of a vindictive woman, and that Regulus was +permitted to die in peace of the disease brought on far more probably by the +climate and imprisonment, than by the poison to which he ascribed it. It is not +the tortures he may have endured that make him one of the noblest characters of +history, but the resolution that would neither let him save himself at the risk +of his country's prosperity, nor forfeit the word that he had pledged.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>THE BRAVE BRETHREN OF JUDAH<br> +B.C. 180</h3></center> + +<p>It was about 180 years before the Christian era. The Jews had long since come +home from Babylon, and built up their city and Temple at Jerusalem. But they +were not free as they had been before. Their country belonged to some greater +power, they had a foreign governor over them, and had to pay tribute to the king +who was their master.</p> +<p>At the time we are going to speak of, this king was Antiochus Epiphanes, King +of Syria. He was descended from one of those generals who, upon the death of +Alexander the Great, had shared the East between them, and he reigned over all +the country from the Mediterranean Sea even into Persia and the borders of +India. He spoke Greek, and believed in both the Greek and Roman gods, for he had +spent some time at Rome in his youth; but in his Eastern kingdom he had learnt +all the self-indulgent and violent habits to which people in those hot countries +are especially tempted.</p> +<p>He was so fierce and passionate, that he was often called the 'Madman', and +he was very cruel to all who offended him. One of his greatest desires was, that +the Jews should leave their true faith in one God, and do like the Greeks and +Syrians, his other subjects, worship the same idols, and hold drunken feasts in +their honor. Sad to say, a great many of the Jews had grown ashamed of their own +true religion and the strict ways of their law, and thought them old-fashioned. +They joined in the Greek sports, played games naked in the theatre, joined in +riotous processions, carrying ivy in honor of Bacchus, the god of wine, and +offered incense to the idols; and the worst of all these was the false high +priest, Menelaus, who led the King Antiochus into the Temple itself, even into +the Holy of Holies, and told him all that would most desecrate it and grieve the +Jews. So a little altar to the Roman god Jupiter was set up on the top of the +great brazen altar of burnt offerings, a hog was offered up, and broth of its +flesh sprinkled everywhere in the Temple; then all the precious vessels were +seized, the shewbread table of gold, the candlesticks, and the whole treasury, +and carried away by the king; the walls were thrown down, and the place made +desolate.</p> +<p>Some Jews were still faithful to their God, but they were horribly punished +and tortured to death before the eyes of the king; and when at last he went away +to his own country, taking with him the wicked high priest Menelaus, he left +behind him a governor and an army of soldiers stationed in the tower of Acra, +which overlooked the Temple hill, and sent for an old man from Athens to teach +the people the heathen rites and ceremonies. Any person who observed the Sabbath +day, or any other ordinance of the law of Moses, was put to death in a most +cruel manner; all the books of the Old Testament Scripture that could be found +were either burnt or defiled, by having pictures of Greek gods painted upon +them; and the heathen priests went from place to place, with a little brazen +altar and image and a guard of soldiers, who were to kill every person who +refused to burn incense before the idol. It was the very saddest time that the +Jews had ever known, and there seemed no help near or far off; they could have +no hope, except in the promises that God would never fail His people, or forsake +His inheritance, and in the prophecies that bad times should come, but good ones +after them.</p> +<p>The Greeks, in going through the towns to enforce the idol worship, came to a +little city called Modin, somewhere on the hills on the coast of the +Mediterranean Sea, not far from Joppa. There they sent out, as usual, orders to +all the men of the town to meet them in the marketplace; but they were told +beforehand, that the chief person in the place was an old man named Mattathias, +of a priestly family, and so much respected, that all the other inhabitants of +the place were sure to do whatever he might lead them in. So the Greeks sent for +him first of all, and he came at their summons, a grand and noble old man, +followed by his five sons, Johanan, Simon, Judas, Jonathan, and Eleazar. The +Greek priest tried to talk him over. He told him that the high priest had +forsaken the Jewish superstition, that the Temple was in ruins, and that +resistance was in vain; and exhorted him to obtain gratitude and honor for +himself, by leading his countrymen in thus adoring the deities of the king's +choice, promising him rewards and treasures if he would comply.</p> +<p>But the old man spoke out with a loud and fearless voice: 'Though all the +nations that are under the king's dominion obey him, and fall away every one +from the religion of their fathers, and give consent to his commandments; yet +will I and my sons and my brethren walk in the covenant of our fathers. God +forbid that we should forsake the law and the ordinances! We will not hearken to +the king's words, to go from our religion, either on the right hand or the +left!'</p> +<p>As he spoke, up came an apostate Jew to do sacrifice at the heathen altar. +Mattathias trembled at the sight, and his zeal broke forth. He slew the +offender, and his brave sons gathering round him, they attacked the Syrian +soldiers, killed the commissioner, and threw down the altar. Then, as they knew +that they could not there hold out against the king's power, Mattathias +proclaimed throughout the city: 'Whosoever is zealous of the law, and +maintaineth the covenant, let him follow me!' With that, he and his five sons, +with their families, left their houses and lands, and drove their cattle with +them up into the wild hills and caves, where David had once made his home; and +all the Jews who wished to be still faithful, gathered around them, to worship +God and keep His commandments.</p> +<p>There they were, a handful of brave men in the mountains, and all the heathen +world and apostate Jews against them. They used to come down into the villages, +remind the people of the law, promise their help, and throw down any idol altars +that they found, and the enemy never were able to follow them into their rocky +strongholds. But the old Mattathias could not long bear the rude wild life in +the cold mountains, and he soon died. First he called all his five sons, and +bade them to 'be zealous for the law, and give their lives for the covenant of +their fathers'; and he reminded them of all the many brave men who had before +served God, and been aided in their extremity. He appointed his son Judas, as +the strongest and mightiest, to lead his brethren to battle, and Simon, as the +wisest, to be their counsellor; then he blessed them and died; and his sons were +able to bury him in the tomb of his fathers at Modin.</p> +<p>Judas was one of the bravest men who ever lived; never dreading the numbers +that came against him. He was surnamed Maccabeus, which some people say meant +the hammerer; but others think it was made up of the first letters of the words +he carried on his banner, which meant 'Who is like unto Thee, among the gods, O +Lord?' Altogether he had about six thousand men round him when the Greek +governor, Apollonius, came out to fight with him. The Jews gained here their +first victory, and Judas killed Apollonius, took his sword, and fought all his +other battles with it. Next came a captain called Seron, who went out to the +hills to lay hold of the bold rebels that dared to rise against the King of +Syria. The place where Judas met him was one to make the Jews' hearts leap with +hope and trust. It was on the steep stony broken hillside of Beth-horon, the +very place where Joshua had conquered the five kings of the Amorites, in the +first battle on the coming in of the children of Israel to Palestine. There was +the rugged path where Joshua had stood and called out to the sun to stand still +in Gibeon, and the moon in the valley of Ajalon. Miracles were over, and Judas +looked for no wonder to help him; but when he came up the mountain road from +Joppa, his heart was full of the same trust as Joshua's, and he won another +great victory.</p> +<p>By this time King Antiochus began to think the rising of the Jews a serious +matter, but he could not come himself against them, because his provinces in +Armenia and Persia had refused their tribute, and he had to go in person to +reduce them. He appointed, however, a governor, named Lysias, to chastise the +Jews, giving him an army of 40,000 foot and 7000 horse. Half of these Lysias +sent on before him, with two captains, named Nicanor and Gorgias, thinking that +these would be more than enough to hunt down and crush the little handful that +were lurking in the hills. And with them came a great number of slave merchants, +who had bargained with Nicanor that they should have ninety Jews for one talent, +to sell to the Greeks and Romans, by whom Jewish slaves were much esteemed.</p> +<p>There was great terror in Palestine at these tidings, and many of the +weaker-minded fell away from Judas; but he called all the faithful together at +Mizpeh, the same place where, 1000 years before, Samuel had collected the +Israelites, and, after prayer and fasting, had sent them forth to free their +country from the Philistines. Shiloh, the sanctuary, was then lying desolate, +just as Jerusalem now lay in ruins; and yet better times had come. But very +mournful was that fast day at Mizpeh, as the Jews looked along the hillside to +their own holy mountain crowned by no white marble and gold Temple flashing back +the sunbeams, but only with the tall castle of their enemies towering over the +precipice. They could not sacrifice, because a sacrifice could only be made at +Jerusalem, and the only book of the Scriptures that they had to read from was +painted over with the hateful idol figures of the Greeks. And the huge army of +enemies was ever coming nearer! The whole assembly wept, and put on sackcloth +and prayed aloud for help, and then there was a loud sounding of trumpets, and +Judas stood forth before them. And he made the old proclamation that Moses had +long ago decreed, that no one should go out to battle who was building a house, +or planting a vineyard, or had just betrothed a wife, or who was fearful and +faint-hearted. All these were to go home again. Judas had 6,000 followers when +he made this proclamation. He had only 3,000 at the end of the day, and they +were but poorly armed. He told them of the former aid that had come to their +fathers in extremity, and made them bold with his noble words. Then he gave them +for their watchword 'the help of God', and divided the leadership of the band +between himself and his brothers, appointing Eleazar, the youngest, to read the +Holy Book.</p> +<p>With these valiant men, Judas set up his camp; but tidings were soon brought +him that Gorgias, with 5000 foot and 1000 horse, had left the main body to fall +on his little camp by night. He therefore secretly left the place in the +twilight; so that when the enemy attacked his camp, they found it deserted, and +supposing them to be hid in the mountains, proceeded hither in pursuit of them.</p> +<p>But in the early morning Judas and his 3,000 men were all in battle array in +the plains, and marching full upon the enemy's camp with trumpet sound, took +them by surprise in the absence of Gorgias and his choice troops, and utterly +defeated and put them to flight, but without pursuing them, since the fight with +Gorgias and his 5,000 might be yet to come. Even as Judas was reminding his men +of this, Gorgias's troops were seen looking down from the mountains where they +had been wandering all night; but seeing their own camp all smoke and flame, +they turned and fled away. Nine thousand of the invaders had been slain, and the +whole camp, full of arms and treasures, was in the hands of Judas, who there +rested for a Sabbath of glad thanksgiving, and the next day parted the spoil, +first putting out the share for the widows and orphans and the wounded, and then +dividing the rest among his warriors. As to the slave merchants, they were all +made prisoners, and instead of giving a talent for ninety Jews, were sold +themselves.</p> +<p>The next year Lysias came himself, but was driven back and defeated at +Bethshur, four or five miles south of Bethlehem. And now came the saddest, yet +the greatest, day of Judas's life, when he ventured to go back into the holy +city and take possession of the Temple again. The strong tower of Acra, which +stood on a ridge of Mount Moriah looking down on the Temple rock, was still held +by the Syrians, and he had no means of taking it; but he and his men loved the +sanctuary too well to keep away from it, and again they marched up the steps and +slopes that led up the holy hill. They went up to find the walls broken, the +gates burnt, the cloisters and priests' chambers pulled down, and the courts +thickly grown with grass and shrubs, the altar of their one true God with the +false idol Jupiter's altar in the middle of it. These warriors, who had turned +three armies to flight, could not bear the sight. They fell down on their faces, +threw dust on their heads, and wept aloud for the desolation of their holy +place. But in the midst Judas caused the trumpets to sound an alarm. They were +to do something besides grieving. The bravest of them were set to keep watch and +ward against the Syrians in the tower, while he chose out the most faithful +priests to cleanse out the sanctuary, and renew all that could be renewed, +making new holy vessels from the spoil taken in Nicanor's camp, and setting the +stones of the profaned altar apart while a new one was raised. On the third +anniversary of the great profanation, the Temple was newly dedicated, with songs +and hymns of rejoicing, and a festival day was appointed, which has been +observed by the Jews ever since. The Temple rock and city were again fortified +so as to be able to hold out against their enemies, and this year and the next +were the most prosperous of the life of the loyal-hearted Maccabee.</p> +<p>The great enemy of the Jews, Antiochus Epiphanes, was in the meantime dying +in great agony in Persia, and his son Antiochus Eupator was set on the throne by +Lysias, who brought him with an enormous army to reduce the rising in Judea. The +fight was again at Bethshur, where Judas had built a strong fort on a point of +rock that guarded the road to Hebron. Lysias tried to take this fort, and Judas +came to the rescue with his little army, to meet the far mightier Syrian force, +which was made more terrific by possessing thirty war elephants imported from +the Indian frontier. Each of these creatures carried a tower containing +thirty-two men armed with darts and javelins, and an Indian driver on his neck; +and they had 1000 foot and 500 horse attached to the special following of the +beast, who, gentle as he was by nature, often produced a fearful effect on the +enemy; not so much by his huge bulk as by the terror he inspired among men, and +far more among horses. The whole host was spread over the mountains and the +valleys so that it is said that their bright armor and gold and silver shields +made the mountains glisten like lamps of fire.</p> +<p>Still Judas pressed on to the attack, and his brother Eleazar, perceiving +that one of the elephants was more adorned than the rest, thought it might be +carrying the king, and devoted himself for his country. He fought his way to the +monster, crept under it, and stabbed it from beneath, so that the mighty weight +sank down on him and crushed him to death in his fall. He gained a 'perpetual +name' for valor and self-devotion; but the king was not upon the elephant, and +after a hard-fought battle, Judas was obliged to draw off and leave Bethshur to +be taken by the enemy, and to shut himself up in Jerusalem.</p> +<p>There, want of provisions had brought him to great distress, when tidings +came that another son of Antiochus Epiphanes had claimed the throne, and Lysias +made peace in haste with Judas, promising him full liberty of worship, and left +Palestine in peace.</p> +<p>This did not, however, last long. Lysias and his young master were slain by +the new king, Demetrius, who again sent an army for the subjection of Judas, and +further appointed a high priest, named Alcimus, of the family of Aaron, but +inclined to favor the new heathen fashions.</p> +<p>This was the most fatal thing that had happened to Judas. Though of the +priestly line, he was so much of a warrior, that he seems to have thought it +would be profane to offer sacrifice himself; and many of the Jews were so glad +of another high priest, that they let Alcimus into the Temple, and Jerusalem was +again lost to Judas. One more battle was won by him at Beth-horon, and then +finding how hard it was to make head against the Syrians, he sent to ask the aid +of the great Roman power. But long before the answer could come, a huge Syrian +army had marched in on the Holy Land, 20,000 men, and Judas had again no more +than 3000. Some had gone over to Alcimus, some were offended at his seeking +Roman alliance, and when at Eleasah he came in sight of the host, his men's +hearts failed more than they ever had done before, and, out of the 3000 at first +collected, only 800 stood with him, and they would fain have persuaded him to +retreat.</p> +<p>'God forbid that I should do this thing,' he said, 'and flee away from them. +If our time be come, let us die manfully for our brethren, and let us not stain +our honor.'</p> +<p>Sore was the battle, as sore as that waged by the 800 at Thermopylae, and the +end was the same. Judas and his 800 were not driven from the field, but lay dead +upon it. But their work was done. What is called the moral effect of such a +defeat goes further than many a victory. Those lives, sold so dearly, were the +price of freedom for Judea.</p> +<p>Judas's brothers Jonathan and Simon laid him in his father's tomb, and then +ended the work that he had begun; and when Simon died, the Jews, once so trodden +on, were the most prosperous race in the East. The Temple was raised from its +ruins, and the exploits of the Maccabees had nerved the whole people to do or +die in defense of the holy faith of their fathers.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>THE CHIEF OF THE ARVERNI<br> +B.C. 52</h3></center> + +<p>We have seen the Gauls in the heart of Rome, we have now to see them showing +the last courage of despair, defending their native lands against the greatest +of all the conquerors that Rome ever sent forth.</p> +<p>These lands, where they had dwelt for so many years as justly to regard them +as their inheritance, were Gaul. There the Celtic race had had their abode ever +since history has spoken clearly, and had become, in Gaul especially, slightly +more civilized from intercourse with the Greek colony at Massilia, or +Marseilles. But they had become borderers upon the Roman dominions, and there +was little chance that they would not be absorbed; the tribes of Provence, the +first Roman province, were already conquered, others were in alliance with Rome, +and some had called in the Romans to help them fight their battles. There is no +occasion to describe the seven years' war by which Julius Caesar added Gaul to +the provinces claimed by Rome, and when he visited Britain; such conquests are +far from being Golden Deeds, but are far worthier of the iron age. It is the +stand made by the losing party, and the true patriotism of one young chieftain, +that we would wish here to dwell upon.</p> +<p>In the sixth year of the war the conquest seemed to have been made, and the +Roman legions were guarding the north and west, while Caesar himself had crossed +the Alps. Subjection pressed heavily on the Gauls, some of their chiefs had been +put to death, and the high spirit of the nation was stirred. Meetings took place +between the warriors of the various tribes, and an oath was taken by those who +inhabited the centre of the country, that if they once revolted, they would +stand by one another to the last. These Gauls were probably not tall, bony +giants, like the pillagers of Rome; their appearance and character would be more +like that of the modern Welsh, or of their own French descendants, small, alert, +and dark-eyed, full of fire, but, though fierce at the first onset, soon +rebuffed, yet with much perseverance in the long run. Their worship was +conducted by Druids, like that of the Britons, and their dress was of checked +material, formed into a loose coat and wide trousers. The superior chiefs, who +had had any dealings with Rome, would speak a little Latin, and have a few Roman +weapons as great improvements upon their own. Their fortifications were +wonderfully strong. Trunks of trees were laid on the ground at two feet apart, +so that the depth of the wall was their full length. Over these another tier of +beams was laid crosswise, and the space between was filled up with earth, and +the outside faced with large stones; the building of earth and stone was carried +up to some height, then came another tier of timbers, crossed as before, and +this was repeated again to a considerable height, the inner ends of the beams +being fastened to a planking within the wall, so that the whole was of immense +compactness. Fire could not damage the mineral part of the construction, nor the +battering ram hurt the wood, and the Romans had been often placed in great +difficulties by these rude but admirable constructions, within which the Gauls +placed their families and cattle, building huts for present shelter. Of late, +some attempts had been made at copying the regular streets and houses built +round courts that were in use among the Romans, and Roman colonies had been +established in various places, where veteran soldiers had received grants of +land on condition of keeping the natives in check. A growing taste for arts and +civilization was leading to Romans of inferior classes settling themselves in +other Gallic cities.</p> +<p>The first rising of the Gauls began by a quarrel at the city we now call +Orleans, ending in a massacre of all the Romans there. The tidings were spread +through all the country by loud shouts, repeated from one to the other by men +stationed on every hill, and thus, what had been done at Orleans at sunrise was +known by nine at night 160 miles off among the mountains, which were then the +homes of a tribe called by the Romans the Arverni, who have left their name to +the province of Auvergne.</p> +<p>Here dwelt a young chieftain, probably really called Fearcuincedorigh, or Man +who is chief of a hundred heads, known to us by Caesar's version of his name, as +Vercingetorix, a high-spirited youth, who keenly felt the servitude of his +country, and who, on receiving these tidings, instantly called on his friends to +endeavor to shake off the yoke. His uncle, who feared to provoke Roman +vengeance, expelled him from the chief city, Gergovia, the remains of which may +be traced on the mountain still called Gergoie, about six miles from Clermont; +but he collected all the younger and more high-spirited men, forced a way into +the city, and was proclaimed chief of his tribe. All the neighboring tribes +joined in the league against the common enemy, and tidings were brought to +Caesar that the whole country round the Loire was in a state of revolt.</p> +<p>In the heart of winter he hurried back, and took the Gauls by surprise by +crossing the snows that lay thick on the wild waste of the Cebenna, which the +Arverni had always considered as their impenetrable barrier throughout the +winter. The towns quickly fell into his hands, and he was rapidly recovering all +he had lost, when Vercingetorix, collecting his chief supporters, represented to +them that their best hope would be in burning all the inhabited places +themselves and driving off all the cattle, then lying in wait to cut off all the +convoys of provisions that should be sent to the enemy, and thus starving them +into a retreat. He said that burning houses were indeed a grievous sight, but it +would be more grievous to see their wives and children dragged into captivity. +To this all the allies agreed, and twenty towns in one district were burnt in a +single day; but when they came to the city of Avaricum, now called Bourges, the +tribe of Bituriges, to whom it belonged, entreated on their knees not to be +obliged to destroy the most beautiful city in the country, representing that, as +it had a river on one side, and a morass everywhere else, except at a very +narrow entrance, it might be easily held out against the enemy, and to their +entreaties Vercingetorix yielded, though much against his own judgment.</p> +<p>Caesar laid siege to the place, but his army suffered severely from cold and +hunger; they had no bread at all, and lived only on the cattle driven in from +distant villages, while Vercingetorix hovered round, cutting off their supplies. +They however labored diligently to raise a mount against a wall of the town; but +as fast as they worked, the higher did the Gauls within raise the stages of +their rampart, and for twenty-five days there was a most brave defense; but at +last the Romans made their entrance, and slaughtered all they found there, +except 800, who escaped to the camp of Vercingetorix. He was not disconcerted by +this loss, which he had always expected, but sheltered and clothed the +fugitives, and raised a great body of archers and of horsemen, with whom he +returned to his own territory in Auvergne. There was much fighting around the +city of Gergovia; but at length, owing to the revolt of the Aedui, another +Gallic tribe, Caesar was forced to retreat over the Loire; and the wild peaks of +volcanic Auvergne were free again.</p> +<p>But no gallant resolution could long prevail against the ever-advancing power +of Rome, and at length the Gauls were driven into their fortified camp at +Alesia, now called Alise [Footnote: In Burgundy, between Semur and Dijon.], a +city standing on a high hill, with two rivers flowing round its base, and a +plain in front about three miles wide. Everywhere else it was circled in by high +hills, and here Caesar resolved to shut these brave men in and bring them to +bay. He caused his men to begin that mighty system of earthworks by which the +Romans carried on their attacks, compassing their victim round on every side +with a deadly slowness and sureness, by those broad ditches and terraced +ramparts that everywhere mark where their foot of iron was trod. Eleven miles +round did this huge rampart extend, strengthened by three-and-twenty redoubts, +or places of defense, where a watch was continually kept. Before the lines were +complete, Vercingetorix brought out his cavalry, and gave battle, at one time +with a hope of success; but the enemy were too strong for him, and his horsemen +were driven into the camp. He then resolved to send home all of these, since +they could be of no use in the camp, and had better escape before the ditch +should have shut them in on every side. He charged them to go to their several +tribes and endeavor to assemble all the fighting men to come to his rescue; for, +if he were not speedily succored, he and 80,000 of the bravest of the Gauls must +fall into the hands of the Romans, since he had only corn for thirty days, even +with the utmost saving.</p> +<p>Having thus exhorted them, he took leave of them, and sent them away at nine +at night, so that they might escape in the dark where the Roman trench had not +yet extended. Then he distributed the cattle among his men, but retained the +corn himself, serving it out with the utmost caution. The Romans outside +fortified their camp with a double ditch, one of them full of water, behind +which was a bank twelve feet high, with stakes forked like the horns of a stag. +The space between the ditches was filled with pits, and scattered with iron +caltrops or hooked spikes. All this was against the garrison, to prevent them +from breaking out; and outside the camp he made another line of ditches and +ramparts against the Gauls who might be coming to the rescue.</p> +<p>The other tribes were not deaf to the summons of their friends, but assembled +in large numbers, and just as the besieged had exhausted their provisions, an +army was seen on the hills beyond the camp. Their commander was Vergosillaunus +(most probably Fearsaighan, the Man of the Standard), a near kinsman of +Vercingetorix; and all that bravery could do, they did to break through the +defenses of the camp from outside, while within, Vercingetorix and his 80,000 +tried to fill up the ditches, and force their way out to meet their friends. But +Caesar himself commanded the Romans, who were confident in his fortunes, and +raised a shout of ecstasy wherever they beheld his thin, marked, eagle face and +purple robe, rushing on the enemy with a confidence of victory that did in fact +render them invincible. The Gauls gave way, lost seventy-four of their +standards, and Vergosillaunus himself was taken a prisoner; and as for the brave +garrison within Alesia, they were but like so many flies struggling in vain +within the enormous web that had been woven around them. Hope was gone, but the +chief of the Arverni could yet do one thing for his countrymen--he could offer +up himself in order to obtain better terms for them.</p> +<p>The next day he convened his companions in arms, and told them that he had +only fought for the freedom of their country, not to secure his private +interest; and that now, since yield they must, he freely offered himself to +become a victim for their safety, whether they should judge it best for +themselves to appease the anger of the conqueror by putting him to death +themselves, or whether they preferred giving him up alive.</p> +<p>It was a piteous necessity to have to sacrifice their noblest and bravest, +who had led them so gallantly during the long war; but they had little choice, +and could only send messengers to the camp to offer to yield Vercingetorix as +the price of their safety. Caesar made it known that he was willing to accept +their submission, and drawing up his troops in battle array, with the Eagle +standards around him, he watched the whole Gallic army march past him. First, +Vercingetorix was placed as a prisoner in his hands, and then each man lay down +sword, javelin, or bow and arrows, helmet, buckler and breastplate, in one +mournful heap, and proceeded on his way, scarcely thankful that the generosity +of their chieftain had purchased for them subjection rather than death.</p> +<p>Vercingetorix himself had become the property of the great man from whom +alone we know of his deeds; who could perceive his generous spirit and high +qualities as a general, nay, who honored the self-devotion by which he +endeavored to save his countrymen. He remained in captivity--six long years sped +by--while Caesar passed the Rubicon, fought out his struggle for power at Rome, +and subdued Egypt, Pontus, and Northern Africa--and all the time the brave Gaul +remained closely watched and guarded, and with no hope of seeing the jagged +peaks and wild valleys of his own beautiful Auvergne. For well did he, like +every other marked foe of Rome, know for what he was reserved, and no doubt he +yielded himself in the full expectation of that fate which many a man, as brave +as he, had escaped by self-destruction.</p> +<p>The day came at last. In July, B.C. 45, the victorious Caesar had leisure to +celebrate his victories in four grand triumphs, all in one month, and that in +honor of the conquest of Gaul came the first. The triumphal gate of Rome was +thrown wide open, every house was decked with hangings of silk and tapestry, the +household images of every family, dressed with fresh flowers, were placed in +their porches, those of the gods stood on the steps of the temples, and in +marched the procession, the magistrates first in their robes of office, and then +the trumpeters. Next came the tokens of the victory--figures of the supposed +gods of the two great rivers, Rhine and Rhone, and even of the captive Ocean, +made in gold, were carried along, with pictures framed in citron wood, showing +the scenes of victory--the wild waste of the Cevennes, the steep peaks of +Auvergne, the mighty camp of Alesia; nay, there too would be the white cliffs of +Dover, and the struggle with the Britons on the beach. Models in wood and ivory +showed the fortifications of Avaricum, and of many another city; and here too +were carried specimens of the olives and vines, and other curious plants of the +newly won land; here was the breastplate of British pearls that Caesar dedicated +to Venus. A band of flute-players followed, and then came the white oxen that +were to be sacrificed, their horns gilded and flowers hung round them, the +sacrificing priests with wreathed heads marching with them. Specimens of bears +and wolves from the woods and mountains came next in order, and after them waved +for the last time the national ensigns of the many tribes of Gaul. Once more +Vercingetorix and Vergosillaunus saw their own Arvernian standard, and marched +behind it with the noblest of their clan: once more they wore their native dress +and well-tried armor. But chains were on their hands and feet, and the men who +had fought so long and well for freedom, were the captive gazing-stock of Rome. +Long, long was the line of chained Gauls of every tribe, before the four white +horses appeared, all abreast, drawing the gilded car, in which stood a slight +form in a purple robe, with the bald head and narrow temples encircled with a +wreath of bay, the thin cheeks tinted with vermilion, the eager aquiline face +and narrow lips gravely composed to Roman dignity, and the quick eye searching +out what impression the display was making on the people. Over his head a slave +held a golden crown, but whispered, 'Remember that thou too art a man.' And in +following that old custom, how little did the victor know that, bay-crowned like +himself, there followed close behind, in one of the chariots of the officers, +the man whose dagger-thrust would, two years later, be answered by his dying +word of reproach! The horsemen of the army followed, and then the legions, every +spear wreathed, every head crowned with bay, so that an evergreen grove might +have seemed marching through the Roman streets, but for the war songs, and the +wild jests, and ribald ballads that custom allowed the soldiers to shout out, +often in pretended mockery of their own victorious general, the Imperator.</p> +<p>The victor climbed the Capitol steps, and laid his wreath of bay on Jupiter's +knees, the white oxen were sacrificed, and the feast began by torchlight. Where +was the vanquished? He was led to the dark prison vault in the side of +Capitoline hill, and there one sharp sword-thrust ended the gallant life and +long captivity.</p> +<p>It was no special cruelty in Julius Caesar. Every Roman triumph was stained +by the slaughter of the most distinguished captives, after the degradation of +walking in chains had been undergone. He had spirit to appreciate Vercingetorix, +but had not nobleness to spare him from the ordinary fate. Yet we may doubt +which, in true moral greatness, was the superior in that hour of triumph, the +conqueror who trod down all that he might minister to his own glory, or the +conquered, who, when no resistance had availed, had voluntarily confronted shame +and death in hopes to win pardon and safety for his comrades.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>WITHSTANDING THE MONARCH IN HIS WRATH<br> +A.D. 389</h3></center> + +<p>When a monarch's power is unchecked by his people, there is only One to whom +he believes himself accountable; and if he have forgotten the dagger of +Damocles, or if he be too high-spirited to regard it, then that Higher One alone +can restrain his actions. And there have been times when princes have so broken +the bounds of right, that no hope remains of recalling them to their duty save +by the voice of the ministers of God upon Earth. But as these ministers bear no +charmed life, and are subjects themselves of the prince, such rebukes have been +given at the utmost risk of liberty and life.</p> +<p>Thus it was that though Nathan, unharmed, showed David his sin, and Elijah, +the wondrous prophet of Gilead, was protected from Jezebel's fury, when he +denounced her and her husband Ahab for the idolatry of Baal and the murder of +Naboth; yet no Divine hand interposed to shield Zachariah, the son of Jehoiada, +the high priest, when he rebuked the apostasy of his cousin, Jehoash, King of +Judah, and was stoned to death by the ungrateful king's command in that very +temple court where Jehoiada and his armed Levites had encountered the savage +usurping Athaliah, and won back the kingdom for the child Jehoash. And when 'in +the spirit and power of Elijah', St. John the Baptist denounced the sin of Herod +Antipas in marrying his brother Philip's wife, he bore the consequences to the +utmost, when thrown into prison and then beheaded to gratify the rage of the +vindictive woman.</p> +<p>Since Scripture Saints in the age of miracles were not always shielded from +the wrath of kings, Christian bishops could expect no special interposition in +their favor, when they stood forth to stop the way of the sovereign's passions, +and to proclaim that the cause of mercy, purity, and truth is the cause of God.</p> +<p>The first of these Christian bishops was Ambrose, the sainted prelate of +Milan. It was indeed a Christian Emperor whom he opposed, no other than the +great Theodosius, but it was a new and unheard-of thing for any voice to rebuke +an Emperor of Rome, and Theodosius had proved himself a man of violent passions.</p> +<p>The fourth century was a time when races and all sorts of shows were the +fashion, nay, literally the rage; for furious quarrels used to arise among the +spectators who took the part of one or other of the competitors, and would call +themselves after their colours, the Blues or the Greens. A favorite chariot +driver, who had excelled in these races at Thessalonica, was thrown into prison +for some misdemeanor by Botheric, the Governor of Illyria, and his absence so +enraged the Thessalonican mob, that they rose in tumult, and demanded his +restoration. On being refused, they threw such a hail of stones that the +governor himself and some of his officers were slain.</p> +<p>Theodosius might well be displeased, but his rage passed all bounds. He was +at Milan at the time, and at first Ambrose so worked on his feelings as to make +him promise to temper justice with mercy; but afterwards fresh accounts of the +murder, together with the representations of his courtier Rufinus, made him +resolve not to relent, and he sent off messengers commanding that there should +be a general slaughter of all the race-going Thessalonicans, since all were +equally guilty of Botheric's death. He took care that his horrible command +should be kept a secret from Ambrose, and the first that the Bishop heard of it +was the tidings that 7,000 persons had been killed in the theatre, in a massacre +lasting three hours!</p> +<p>There was no saving these lives, but Ambrose felt it his duty to make the +Emperor feel his sin, in hopes of saving others. Besides, it was not consistent +with the honor of God to receive at his altar a man reeking with innocent blood. +The Bishop, however, took time to consider; he went into the country for a few +days, and thence wrote a letter to the Emperor, telling him that thus stained +with crime, he could not be admitted to the Holy Communion, nor received into +church. Still the Emperor does not seem to have believed he could be really +withstood by any subject, and on Ambrose's return, he found the imperial +procession, lictors, guards, and all, escorting the Emperor as usual to the +Basilica or Justice Hall, that had been turned into a church.</p> +<p>Then to the door came the Bishop and stood in the way, forbidding the +entrance, and announcing that there, at least, sacrilege should not be added to +murder.</p> +<p>'Nay,' said the Emperor, 'did not holy King David commit both murder and +adultery, yet was he not received again?'</p> +<p>'If you have sinned like him, repent like him,' answered Ambrose.</p> +<p>Theodosius turned away, troubled. He was great enough not to turn his anger +against the Bishop; he felt that he had sinned, and that the chastisement was +merited, and he went back to his palace weeping, and there spent eight months, +attending to his duties of state, but too proud to go through the tokens of +penitence that the discipline of the Church had prescribed before a great sinner +could be received back into the congregation of the faithful. Easter was the +usual time for reconciling penitents, and Ambrose was not inclined to show any +respect of persons, or to excuse the Emperor from a penance he would have +imposed on any offender. However, Rufinus could not believe in such disregard, +and thought all would give way to the Emperor's will. Christmas had come, but +for one man at Milan there were no hymns, no shouts of 'glad tidings!' no +midnight festival, no rejoicing that 'to us a Child is born; to us a Son is +given'. The Basilica was thronged with worshippers and rang with their Amens, +resounding like thunder, and their echoing song--the Te Deum--then their newest +hymn of praise. But the lord of all those multitudes was alone in his palace. He +had not shown good will to man; he had not learnt mercy and peace from the +Prince of Peace; and the door was shut upon him. He was a resolute Spanish +Roman, a well-tried soldier, a man advancing in years, but he wept, and wept +bitterly. Rufinus found him thus weeping. It must have been strange to the +courtier that his master did not send his lictors to carry the offending bishop +to a dungeon, and give all his court favor to the heretics, like the last +empress who had reigned at Milan. Nay, he might even, like Julian the Apostate, +have altogether renounced that Christian faith which could humble an emperor +below the poorest of his subjects.</p> +<p>But Rufinus contented himself with urging the Emperor not to remain at home +lamenting, but to endeavor again to obtain admission into the church, assuring +him that the Bishop would give way. Theodosius replied that he did not expect +it, but yielded to the persuasions, and Rufinus hastened on before to warn the +Bishop of his coming, and represented how inexpedient it was to offend him.</p> +<p>'I warn you,' replied Ambrose, 'that I shall oppose his entrance, but if he +chooses to turn his power into tyranny, I shall willingly let him slay me.'</p> +<p>The Emperor did not try to enter the church, but sought Ambrose in an +adjoining building, where he entreated to be absolved from his sin.</p> +<p>'Beware,' returned the Bishop, 'of trampling on the laws of God.'</p> +<p>'I respect them,' said the Emperor, 'therefore I have not set foot in the +church, but I pray thee to deliver me from these bonds, and not to close against +me the door that the Lord hath opened to all who truly repent.'</p> +<p>'What repentance have you shown for such a sin?' asked Ambrose.</p> +<p>'Appoint my penance,' said the Emperor, entirely subdued.</p> +<p>And Ambrose caused him at once to sign a decree that thirty days should +always elapse between a sentence of death and its execution. After this, +Theodosius was allowed to come into the church, but only to the corner he had +shunned all these eight months, till the 'dull hard stone within him' had +'melted', to the spot appointed for the penitents. There, without his crown, his +purple robe, and buskins, worked with golden eagles, all laid aside, he lay +prostrate on the stones, repeating the verse, 'My soul cleaveth unto the dust; +quicken me, O Lord, according to thy word.' This was the place that penitents +always occupied, and there fasts and other discipline were also appointed. When +the due course had been gone through, probably at the next Easter, Ambrose, in +his Master's name, pronounced the forgiveness of Theodosius, and received him +back to the full privileges of a Christian. When we look at the course of many +another emperor, and see how easily, where the power was irresponsible, justice +became severity, and severity, bloodthirstiness, we see what Ambrose dared to +meet, and from what he spared Theodosius and all the civilized world under his +sway. Who can tell how many innocent lives have been saved by that thirty days' +respite?</p> +<p>Pass over nearly 700 years, and again we find a church door barred against a +monarch. This time it is not under the bright Italian sky, but under the grey +fogs of the Baltic sea. It is not the stately marble gateway of the Milanese +Basilica, but the low-arched, rough stone portal of the newly built cathedral of +Roskilde, in Zealand, where, if a zigzag surrounds the arch, it is a great +effort of genius. The Danish king Swend, the nephew of the well-known Knut, +stands before it; a stern and powerful man, fierce and passionate, and with many +a Danish axe at his command. Nay, only lately for a few rude jests, he caused +some of his chief jarls to be slain without a trial. Half the country is still +pagan, and though the king himself is baptized, there is no certainty that, if +the Christian faith do not suit his taste, he may not join the heathen party and +return to the worship of Thor and Tyr, where deeds of blood would be not +blameworthy, but a passport to the rude joys of Valhall. Nevertheless there is a +pastoral staff across the doorway, barring the way of the king, and that staff +is held against him by an Englishman, William, Bishop of Roskilde, the +missionary who had converted a great part of Zealand, but who will not accept +Christians who have not laid aside their sins.</p> +<p>He confronts the king who has never been opposed before. 'Go back,' he says, +'nor dare approach the alter of God--thou who art not a king but a murderer.'</p> +<p>Some of the jarls seized their swords and axes, and were about to strike the +bishop away from the threshold, but he, without removing his staff, bent his +head, and bade them strike, saying he was ready to die in the cause of God. But +the king came to a better frame of mind, he called the jarls away, and returning +humbly to his palace, took off his royal robes, and came again barefoot and in +sackcloth to the church door, where Bishop William met him, took him by the +hand, gave him the kiss of peace, and led him to the penitents' place. After +three days he was absolved, and for the rest of his life, the bishop and the +king lived in the closest friendship, so much so that William always prayed that +even in death he might not be divided from his friend. The prayer was granted. +The two died almost at the same time, and were buried together in the cathedral +at Roskilde, where the one had taught and other learnt the great lesson of +mercy.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>THE LAST FIGHT IN THE COLISEUM<br> +A.D. 404</h3></center> + +<p>As the Romans grew prouder and more fond of pleasure, no one could hope to +please them who did not give them sports and entertainments. When any person +wished to be elected to any public office, it was a matter of course that he +should compliment his fellow citizens by exhibitions of the kind they loved, and +when the common people were discontented, their cry was that they wanted panem +ac Circenses, 'bread and sports', the only things they cared for. In most places +where there has been a large Roman colony, remains can be seen of the +amphitheatres, where the citizens were wont to assemble for these diversions. +Sometimes these are stages of circular galleries of seats hewn out of the +hillside, where rows of spectators might sit one above the other, all looking +down on a broad, flat space in the centre, under their feet, where the +representations took place. Sometimes, when the country was flat, or it was +easier to build than to excavate, the amphitheatre was raised above ground, +rising up to a considerable height.</p> +<p>The grandest and most renowned of all these amphitheatres is the Coliseum at +Rome. It was built by Vespasian and his son Titus, the conquerors of Jerusalem, +in a valley in the midst of the seven hills of Rome. The captive Jews were +forced to labour at it; and the materials, granite outside, and softer +travertine stone within, are so solid and so admirably built, that still at the +end of eighteen centuries it has scarcely even become a ruin, but remains one of +the greatest wonders of Rome.</p> +<p>Five acres of ground were enclosed within the oval of its outer wall, which +outside rises perpendicularly in tiers of arches one above the other. Within, +the galleries of seats projected forwards, each tier coming out far beyond the +one above it, so that between the lowest and the outer wall there was room for a +great space of chambers, passages, and vaults around the central space, called +the arena, from the arena, or sand, with which it was strewn.</p> +<p>When the Roman Emperors grew very vain and luxurious, they used to have this +sand made ornamental with metallic filings, vermilion, and even powdered +precious stones; but it was thought better taste to use the scrapings of a soft +white stone, which, when thickly strewn, made the whole arena look as if covered +with untrodden snow. Around the border of this space flowed a stream of fresh +water. Then came a straight wall, rising to a considerable height, and +surmounted by a broad platform, on which stood a throne for the Emperor, curule +chairs of ivory and gold for the chief magistrates and senators, and seats for +the vestal virgins. Next above were galleries for the equestrian order, the +great mass of those who considered themselves as of gentle station, though not +of the highest rank; farther up, and therefore farther back, were the galleries +belonging to the freemen of Rome; and these were again surmounted by another +plain wall with a platform on the top, where were places for the ladies, who +were not (except the vestal virgins) allowed to look on nearer, because of the +unclothed state of some of the performers in the arena. Between the ladies' +boxes, benches were squeezed in where the lowest people could seat themselves; +and some of these likewise found room in the two uppermost tiers of porticoes, +where sailors, mechanics, and persons in the service of the Coliseum had their +post. Altogether, when full, this huge building held no less than 87,000 +spectators. It had no roof; but when there was rain, or if the sun was too hot, +the sailors in the porticoes unfurled awnings that ran along upon ropes, and +formed a covering of silk and gold tissue over the whole. Purple was the +favorite color for this velamen, or veil; because, when the sun shone through +it, it cast such beautiful rosy tints on the snowy arena and the white +purple-edged togas of the Roman citizens.</p> +<p>Long days were spent from morning till evening upon those galleries. The +multitude who poured in early would watch the great dignitaries arrive and take +their seats, greeting them either with shouts of applause or hootings of +dislike, according as they were favorites or otherwise; and when the Emperor +came in to take his place under his canopy, there was one loud acclamation, 'Joy +to thee, master of all, first of all, happiest of all. Victory to thee for +ever!'</p> +<p>When the Emperor had seated himself and given the signal, the sports began. +Sometimes a rope-dancing elephant would begin the entertainment, by mounting +even to the summit of the building and descending by a cord. Then a bear, +dressed up as a Roman matron, would be carried along in a chair between porters, +as ladies were wont to go abroad, and another bear, in a lawyer's robe, would +stand on his hind legs and go through the motions of pleading a case. Or a lion +came forth with a jeweled crown on his head, a diamond necklace round his neck, +his mane plaited with gold, and his claws gilded, and played a hundred pretty +gentle antics with a little hare that danced fearlessly within his grasp. Then +in would come twelve elephants, six males in togas, six females with the veil +and pallium; they took their places on couches around an ivory table, dined with +great decorum, playfully sprinkled a little rosewater over the nearest +spectators, and then received more guests of their unwieldy kind, who arrived in +ball dresses, scattered flowers, and performed a dance.</p> +<p>Sometimes water was let into the arena, a ship sailed in, and falling to +pieces in the midst, sent a crowd of strange animals swimming in all directions. +Sometimes the ground opened, and trees came growing up through it, bearing +golden fruit. Or the beautiful old tale of Orpheus was acted; these trees would +follow the harp and song of the musician; but--to make the whole part +complete--it was no mere play, but real earnest, that the Orpheus of the piece +fell a prey to live bears.</p> +<p>For the Coliseum had not been built for such harmless spectacles as those +first described. The fierce Romans wanted to be excited and feel themselves +strongly stirred; and, presently, the doors of the pits and dens round the arena +were thrown open, and absolutely savage beasts were let loose upon one +another--rhinoceroses and tigers, bulls and lions, leopards and wild +boars--while the people watched with savage curiosity to see the various kinds +of attack and defense; or, if the animals were cowed or sullen, their rage would +be worked up--red would be shown to the bulls, white to boars, red-hot goads +would be driven into some, whips would be lashed at others, till the work of +slaughter was fairly commenced, and gazed on with greedy eyes and ears +delighted, instead of horror-struck, by the roars and howls of the noble +creatures whose courage was thus misused. Sometimes indeed, when some especially +strong or ferocious animal had slain a whole heap of victims, the cries of the +people would decree that it should be turned loose in its native forest, and, +amid shouts of 'A triumph! a triumph!' the beast would prowl round the arena, +upon the carcasses of the slain victims. Almost incredible numbers of animals +were imported for these cruel sports, and the governors of distant provinces +made it a duty to collect troops of lions, elephants, ostriches, leopards--the +fiercer or the newer the creature the better--to be thus tortured to frenzy, to +make sport in the amphitheatre. However, there was daintiness joined with +cruelty: the Romans did not like the smell of blood, though they enjoyed the +sight of it, and all the solid stonework was pierced with tubes, through which +was conducted the stream of spices and saffron, boiled in wine, that the perfume +might overpower the scent of slaughter below.</p> +<p>Wild beasts tearing each other to pieces might, one would think, satisfy any +taste of horror; but the spectators needed even nobler game to be set before +their favorite monsters--men were brought forward to confront them. Some of +these were at first in full armor, and fought hard, generally with success; and +there was a revolving machine, something like a squirrel's cage, in which the +bear was always climbing after his enemy, and then rolling over by his own +weight. Or hunters came, almost unarmed, and gaining the victory by swiftness +and dexterity, throwing a piece of cloth over a lion's head, or disconcerting +him by putting their fist down his throat. But it was not only skill, but death, +that the Romans loved to see; and condemned criminals and deserters were +reserved to feast the lions, and to entertain the populace with their various +kinds of death. Among these condemned was many a Christian martyr, who witnessed +a good confession before the savage-eyed multitude around the arena, and 'met +the lion's gory mane' with a calm resolution and hopeful joy that the lookers-on +could not understand. To see a Christian die, with upward gaze and hymns of joy +on his tongue, was the most strange unaccountable sight the Coliseum could +offer, and it was therefore the choicest, and reserved for the last part of the +spectacles in which the brute creation had a part.</p> +<p>The carcasses were dragged off with hooks, and bloodstained sand was covered +with a fresh clean layer, the perfume wafted in stronger clouds, and a +procession came forward--tall, well-made men, in the prime of their strength. +Some carried a sword and a lasso, others a trident and a net; some were in light +armor, others in the full heavy equipment of a soldier; some on horseback, some +in chariots, some on foot. They marched in, and made their obeisance to the +Emperor; and with one voice, their greeting sounded through the building, Ave, +Caesar, morituri te salutant! 'Hail, Caesar, those about to die salute thee!'</p> +<p>They were the gladiators--the swordsmen trained to fight to the death to +amuse the populace. They were usually slaves placed in schools of arms under the +care of a master; but sometimes persons would voluntarily hire themselves out to +fight by way of a profession: and both these, and such slave gladiators as did +not die in the arena, would sometimes retire, and spend an old age of quiet; but +there was little hope of this, for the Romans were not apt to have mercy on the +fallen.</p> +<p>Fights of all sorts took place--the light-armed soldier and the netsman--the +lasso and the javelin--the two heavy-armed warriors--all combinations of single +combat, and sometimes a general melee. When a gladiator wounded his adversary, +he shouted to the spectators, Hoc habet! 'He has it!' and looked up to know +whether he should kill or spare. If the people held up their thumbs, the +conquered was left to recover, if he could; if they turned them down, he was to +die: and if he showed any reluctance to present his throat for the deathblow, +there was a scornful shout, Recipe ferrum! 'Receive the steel!' Many of us must +have seen casts of the most touching statue of the wounded man, that called +forth the noble lines of indignant pity which, though so often repeated, cannot +be passed over here:</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'I see before me the Gladiator lie;<br> +He leans upon his hand--his manly brow<br> +Consents to death, but conquers agony.<br> +And his droop'd head sinks gradually low,<br> +And through his side the last drops, ebbing slow<br> +From the red gash, fall heavy one by one,<br> +Like the first of a thunder shower; and now<br> +The arena swims around him--he is gone<br> +Ere ceased the inhuman shout which hailed the wretch who won.<br> +'He heard it, but he heeded no--this eyes<br> +Were with his heart, and that was far away.<br> +He reck'd not of the life he lost, nor prize,<br> +But where his rude hut by the Danube lay,<br> +There were his young barbarians all at play,<br> +There was their Dacian mother--he their sire,<br> +Butcher'd to make a Roman holiday.<br> +All this rush'd with his blood--Shall he expire,<br> +And unavenged? Arise ye Goths and glut your ire.'</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>Sacred vestals, tender mothers, fat, good-humored senators, all thought it +fair play, and were equally pitiless in the strange frenzy for exciting scenes +to which they gave themselves up, when they mounted the stone stairs of the +Coliseum. Privileged persons would even descend into the arena, examine the +death agonies, and taste the blood of some specially brave victim ere the corpse +was drawn forth at the death gate, that the frightful game might continue +undisturbed and unencumbered. Gladiator shows were the great passion of Rome, +and popular favor could hardly be gained except by ministering to it. Even when +the barbarians were beginning to close in on the Empire, hosts of brave men were +still kept for this slavish mimic warfare--sport to the beholders, but sad +earnest to the actors.</p> +<p>Christianity worked its way upwards, and at least was professed by the +Emperor on his throne. Persecution came to an end, and no more martyrs fed the +beasts in the Coliseum. The Christian emperors endeavored to prevent any more +shows where cruelty and death formed the chief interest and no truly religious +person could endure the spectacle; but custom and love of excitement prevailed +even against the Emperor. Mere tricks of beasts, horse and chariot races, or +bloodless contests, were tame and dull, according to the diseased taste of Rome; +it was thought weak and sentimental to object to looking on at a death scene; +the Emperors were generally absent at Constantinople, and no one could get +elected to any office unless he treated the citizens to such a show as they best +liked, with a little bloodshed and death to stir their feelings; and thus it +went on for full a hundred years after Rome had, in name, become a Christian +city, and the same custom prevailed wherever there was an amphitheatre and +pleasure-loving people.</p> +<p>Meantime the enemies of Rome were coming nearer and nearer, and Alaric, the +great chief of the Goths, led his forces into Italy, and threatened the city +itself. Honorius, the Emperor, was a cowardly, almost idiotical, boy; but his +brave general, Stilicho, assembled his forces, met the Goths at Pollentia (about +twenty-five miles from where Turin now stands), and gave them a complete defeat +on the Easter Day of the year 403. He pursued them into the mountains, and for +that time saved Rome. In the joy of the victory the Roman senate invited the +conqueror and his ward Honorius to enter the city in triumph, at the opening of +the new year, with the white steeds, purple robes, and vermilion cheeks with +which, of old, victorious generals were welcomed at Rome. The churches were +visited instead of the Temple of Jupiter, and there was no murder of the +captives; but Roman bloodthirstiness was not yet allayed, and, after all the +procession had been completed, the Coliseum shows commenced, innocently at +first, with races on foot, on horseback, and in chariots; then followed a grand +hunting of beasts turned loose in the arena; and next a sword dance. But after +the sword dance came the arraying of swordsmen, with no blunted weapons, but +with sharp spears and swords--a gladiator combat in full earnest. The people, +enchanted, applauded with shouts of ecstasy this gratification of their savage +tastes. Suddenly, however, there was an interruption. A rude, roughly robed man, +bareheaded and barefooted, had sprung into the arena, and, signing back the +gladiators, began to call aloud upon the people to cease from the shedding of +innocent blood, and not to requite God's mercy in turning away the sword of the +enemy by encouraging murder. Shouts, howls, cries, broke in upon his words; this +was no place for preachings--the old customs of Rome should be observed 'Back, +old man!' 'On, gladiators!' The gladiators thrust aside the meddler, and rushed +to the attack. He still stood between, holding them apart, striving in vain to +be heard. 'Sedition! Sedition!' 'Down with him!' was the cry; and the man in +authority, Alypius, the prefect, himself added his voice. The gladiators, +enraged at interference with their vocation, cut him down. Stones, or whatever +came to hand, rained down upon him from the furious people, and he perished in +the midst of the arena! He lay dead, and then came the feeling of what had been +done.</p> +<p>His dress showed that he was one of the hermits who vowed themselves to a +holy life of prayer and self-denial, and who were greatly reverenced, even by +the most thoughtless. The few who had previously seen him, told that he had come +from the wilds of Asia on pilgrimage, to visit the shrines and keep his +Christmas at Rome--they knew he was a holy man--no more, and it is not even +certain whether his name was Alymachus or Telemachus. His spirit had been +stirred by the sight of thousands flocking to see men slaughter one another, and +in his simple-hearted zeal he had resolved to stop the cruelty or die. He had +died, but not in vain. His work was done. The shock of such a death before their +eyes turned the hearts of the people; they saw the wickedness and cruelty to +which they had blindly surrendered themselves; and from the day when the hermit +died in the Coliseum there was never another fight of the Gladiators. Not merely +at Rome, but in every province of the Empire, the custom was utterly abolished; +and one habitual crime at least was wiped from the earth by the self-devotion of +one humble, obscure, almost nameless man.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>THE SHEPHERD GIRL OF NANTERRE<br> +A.D. 438</h3></center> + +<p>Four hundred years of the Roman dominion had entirely tamed the once wild and +independent Gauls. Everywhere, except in the moorlands of Brittany, they had +become as much like Romans themselves as they could accomplish; they had Latin +names, spoke the Latin tongue, all their personages of higher rank were enrolled +as Roman citizens, their chief cities were colonies where the laws were +administered by magistrates in the Roman fashion, and the houses, dress, and +amusements were the same as those of Italy. The greater part of the towns had +been converted to Christianity, though some Paganism still lurked in the more +remote villages and mountainous districts.</p> +<p>It was upon these civilized Gauls that the terrible attacks came from the +wild nations who poured out of the centre and east of Europe. The Franks came +over the Rhine and its dependent rivers, and made furious attacks upon the +peaceful plains, where the Gauls had long lived in security, and reports were +everywhere heard of villages harried by wild horsemen, with short double-headed +battleaxes, and a horrible short pike, covered with iron and with several large +hooks, like a gigantic artificial minnow, and like it fastened to a long rope, +so that the prey which it had grappled might be pulled up to the owner. Walled +cities usually stopped them, but every farm or villa outside was stripped of its +valuables, set on fire, the cattle driven off, and the more healthy inhabitants +seized for slaves.</p> +<p>It was during this state of things that a girl was born to a wealthy peasant +at the village now called Nanterre, about two miles from Lutetia, which was +already a prosperous city, though not as yet so entirely the capital as it was +destined to become under the name of Paris. She was christened by an old Gallic +name, probably Gwenfrewi, or White Stream, in Latin Genovefa, but she is best +known by the late French form of Genevieve. When she was about seven years old, +two celebrated bishops passed through the village, Germanus, of Auxerre, and +Lupus, of Troyes, who had been invited to Britain to dispute the false doctrine +of Pelagius. All the inhabitants flocked into the church to see them, pray with +them, and receive their blessing; and here the sweet childish devotion of +Genevieve so struck Germanus, that he called her to him, talked to her, made her +sit beside him at the feast, gave her his special blessing, and presented her +with a copper medal with a cross engraven upon it. From that time the little +maiden always deemed herself especially consecrated to the service of Heaven, +but she still remained at home, daily keeping her father's sheep, and spinning +their wool as she sat under the trees watching them, but always with a heart +full of prayer.</p> +<p>After this St. Germanus proceeded to Britain, and there encouraged his +converts to meet the heathen Picts at Maes Garmon, in Flintshire, where the +exulting shout of the white-robed catechumens turned to flight the wild +superstitious savages of the north,--and the Hallelujah victory was gained +without a drop of bloodshed. He never lost sight of Genevieve, the little maid +whom he had so early distinguished for her piety.</p> +<p>After she lost her parents she went to live with her godmother, and continued +the same simple habits, leading a life of sincere devotion and strict +self-denial, constant prayer, and much charity to her poorer neighbors.</p> +<p>In the year 451 the whole of Gaul was in the most dreadful state of terror at +the advance of Attila, the savage chief of the Huns, who came from the banks of +the Danube with a host of savages of hideous features, scarred and disfigured to +render them more frightful. The old enemies, the Goths and the Franks, seemed +like friends compared with these formidable beings whose cruelties were said to +be intolerable, and of whom every exaggerated story was told that could add to +the horrors of the miserable people who lay in their path. Tidings came that +this 'Scourge of God', as Attila called himself, had passed the Rhine, destroyed +Tongres and Metz, and was in full march for Paris. The whole country was in the +utmost terror. Everyone seized their most valuable possessions, and would have +fled; but Genevieve placed herself on the only bridge across the Seine, and +argued with them, assuring them in a strain that was afterwards thought of as +prophetic, that, if they would pray, repent, and defend instead of abandoning +their homes, God would protect them. They were at first almost ready to stone +her for thus withstanding their panic, but just then a priest arrived from +Auxerre, with a present for Genevieve from St. Germanus, and they were thus +reminded of the high estimation in which he held her; they became ashamed of +their violence, and she held them back to pray and to arm themselves. In a few +days they heard that Attila had paused to besiege Orleans, and that Aetius, the +Roman general, hurrying from Italy, had united his troops with those of the +Goths and Franks, and given Attila so terrible a defeat at Chalons that the Huns +were fairly driven out of Gaul. And here it must be mentioned that when the next +year, 452, Attila with his murderous host came down into Italy, and after +horrible devastation of all the northern provinces, came to the gates of Rome, +no one dared to meet him but one venerable Bishop, Leo, the Pope, who, when his +flock were in transports of despair, went forth only accompanied by one +magistrate to meet the invader, and endeavor to turn his wrath side. The savage +Huns were struck with awe by the fearless majesty of the unarmed old man. They +conducted him safely to Attila, who listened to him with respect, and promised +not to lead his people into Rome, provided a tribute should be paid to him. He +then retreated, and, to the joy of all Europe, died on his way back to his +native dominions.</p> +<p>But with the Huns the danger and suffering of Europe did not end. The happy +state described in the Prophets as 'dwelling safely, with none to make them +afraid', was utterly unknown in Europe throughout the long break-up of the Roman +Empire; and in a few more years the Franks were overrunning the banks of the +Seine, and actually venturing to lay siege to the Roman walls of Paris itself. +The fortifications were strong enough, but hunger began to do the work of the +besiegers, and the garrison, unwarlike and untrained, began to despair. But +Genevieve's courage and trust never failed; and finding no warriors willing to +run the risk of going beyond the walls to obtain food for the women and children +who were perishing around them, this brave shepherdess embarked alone in a +little boat, and guiding it down the stream, landed beyond the Frankish camp, +and repairing to the different Gallic cities, she implored them to send succor +to the famished brethren. She obtained complete success. Probably the Franks had +no means of obstructing the passage of the river, so that a convoy of boats +could easily penetrate into the town, and at any rate they looked upon Genevieve +as something sacred and inspired whom they durst not touch; probably as one of +the battle maids in whom their own myths taught them to believe. One account +indeed says that, instead of going alone to obtain help, Genevieve placed +herself at the head of a forage party, and that the mere sight of her inspired +bearing caused them to be allowed to enter and return in safety; but the boat +version seems the more probable, since a single boat on a broad river would more +easily elude the enemy than a troop of Gauls pass through their army.</p> +<p>But a city where all the valor resided in one woman could not long hold out, +and in another inroad, when Genevieve was absent, Paris was actually seized by +the Franks. Their leader, Hilperik, was absolutely afraid of what the +mysteriously brave maiden might do to him, and commanded the gates of the city +to be carefully guarded lest she should enter; but Geneviere learnt that some of +the chief citizens were imprisoned, and that Hilperik intended their death, and +nothing could withhold her from making an effort in their behalf. The Franks had +made up their minds to settle, and not to destroy. They were not burning and +slaying indiscriminately, but while despising the Romans, as they called the +Gauls, for their cowardice, they were in awe of the superior civilization and +the knowledge of arts. The country people had free access to the city, and +Genevieve in her homely gown and veil passed by Hilperik's guards without being +suspected of being more than an ordinary Gaulish village maid; and thus she +fearlessly made her way, even to the old Roman halls, where the long-haired +Hilperik was holding his wild carousal. Would that we knew more of that +interview--one of the most striking that ever took place! We can only picture to +ourselves the Roman tessellated pavement bestrewn with wine, bones, and +fragments of the barbarous revelry. There were untamed Franks, their sun-burnt +hair tied up in a knot at the top of their heads, and falling down like a +horse's tail, their faces close shaven, except two moustaches, and dressed in +tight leather garments, with swords at their wide belts. Some slept, some +feasted, some greased their long locks, some shouted out their favorite war +songs around the table which was covered with the spoils of churches, and at +their heads sat the wild, long-haired chieftain, who was a few years later +driven away by his own followers for his excesses, the whole scene was all that +was abhorrent to a pure, devout, and faithful nature, most full of terror to a +woman. Yet, there, in her strength, stood the peasant maiden, her heart full of +trust and pity, her looks full of the power that is given by fearlessness of +them that can kill the body. What she said we do not know--we only know that the +barbarous Hilperik was overawed; he trembled before the expostulations of the +brave woman, and granted all she asked--the safety of his prisoners, and mercy +to the terrified inhabitants. No wonder that the people of Paris have ever since +looked back to Genevieve as their protectress, and that in after ages she has +grown to be the patron saint of the city.</p> +<p>She lived to see the son of Hilperik, Chlodweh, or, as he was more commonly +called, Clovis, marry a Christian wife, Clotilda, and after a time became a +Christian. She saw the foundation of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, and of the two +famous churches of St. Denys and of St. Martin of Tours, and gave her full share +to the first efforts for bringing the rude and bloodthirsty conquerors to some +knowledge of Christian faith, mercy, and purity. After a life of constant prayer +and charity she died, three months after King Clovis, in the year 512, the +eighty-ninth of her age. [Footnote: Perhaps the exploits of the Maid of Orleans +were the most like those of Genevieve, but they are not here added to our +collection of 'Golden Deeds,' because the Maid's belief that she was directly +inspired removes them from the ordinary class. Alas! the English did not treat +her as Hilperik treated Genevieve.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>LEO THE SLAVE<br> +A.D. 533</h3></center> + +<p>The Franks had fully gained possession of all the north of Gaul, except +Brittany. Chlodweh had made them Christians in name, but they still remained +horribly savage--and the life of the Gauls under them was wretched. The +Burgundians and Visigoths who had peopled the southern and eastern provinces +were far from being equally violent. They had entered on their settlements on +friendly terms, and even showed considerable respect for the Roman-Gallic +senators, magistrates, and higher clergy, who all remained unmolested in their +dignities and riches. Thus it was that Gregory, Bishop of Langres, was a man of +high rank and consideration in the Burgundian kingdom, whence the Christian +Queen Clotilda had come; and even after the Burgundians had been subdued by the +four sons of Chlodweh, he continued a rich and prosperous man.</p> +<p>After one of the many quarrels and reconciliations between these fierce +brethren, there was an exchange of hostages for the observance of the terms of +the treaty. These were not taken from among the Franks, who were too proud to +submit to captivity, but from among the Gaulish nobles, a much more convenient +arrangement to the Frankish kings, who cared for the life of a 'Roman' +infinitely less than even for the life of a Frank. Thus many young men of +senatorial families were exchanged between the domains of Theodrik to the south, +and of Hildebert to the northward, and quartered among Frankish chiefs, with +whom at first they had nothing more to endure than the discomfort of living as +guests with such rude and coarse barbarians. But ere long fresh quarrels broke +out between Theodrik and Hildebert, and the unfortunate hostages were at once +turned into slaves. Some of them ran away if they were near the frontier, but +Bishop Gregory was in the utmost anxiety about his young nephew Attalus, who had +been last heard of as being placed under the charge of a Frank who lived between +Treves and Metz. The Bishop sent emissaries to make secret enquiries, and they +brought word that the unfortunate youth had indeed been reduced to slavery, and +was made to keep his master's herds of horses. Upon this the uncle again sent +off his messengers with presents for the ransom of Attalus, but the Frank +rejected them, saying, 'One of such high race can only be redeemed for ten +pounds' weight of gold.'</p> +<p>This was beyond the Bishop's means, and while he was considering how to raise +the sum, the slaves were all lamenting for their young lord, to whom they were +much attached, till one of them, named Leo, the cook to the household, came to +the Bishop, saying to him, 'If thou wilt give me leave to go, I will deliver him +from captivity.' The Bishop replied that he gave free permission, and the slave +set off for Treves, and there watched anxiously for an opportunity of gaining +access to Attalus; but though the poor young man--no longer daintily dressed, +bathed, and perfumed, but ragged and squalid--might be seen following his herds +of horses, he was too well watched for any communication to be held with him. +Then Leo went to a person, probably of Gallic birth, and said, 'Come with me to +this barbarian's house, and there sell me for a slave. Thou shalt have the +money, I only ask thee to help me thus far.'</p> +<p>Both repaired to the Frank's abode, the chief among a confused collection of +clay and timber huts intended for shelter during eating and sleeping. The Frank +looked at the slave, and asked him what he could do.</p> +<p>'I can dress whatever is eaten at lordly tables,' replied Leo. 'I am afraid +of no rival; I only tell thee the truth when I say that if thou wouldst give a +feast to the king, I would send it up in the neatest manner.'</p> +<p>'Ha!' said the barbarian, 'the Sun's day is coming--I shall invite my kinsmen +and friends. Cook me such a dinner as may amaze them, and make then say, 'We saw +nothing better in the king's house.'</p> +<p>'Let me have plenty of poultry, and I will do according to my master's +bidding,' returned Leo.</p> +<p>Accordingly, he was purchased for twelve gold pieces, and on the Sunday (as +Bishop Gregory of Tours, who tells the story, explains that the barbarians +called the Lord's day) he produced a banquet after the most approved Roman +fashion, much to the surprise and delight of the Franks, who had never tasted +such delicacies before, and complimented their host upon them all the evening. +Leo gradually became a great favorite, and was placed in authority over the +other slaves, to whom he gave out their daily portions of broth and meat; but +from the first he had not shown any recognition of Attalus, and had signed to +him that they must be strangers to one another. A whole year had passed away in +this manner, when one day Leo wandered, as if for pastime, into the plain where +Attalus was watching the horses, and sitting down on the ground at some paces +off, and with his back towards his young master, so that they might not be seen +together, he said, 'This is the time for thoughts of home! When thou hast led +the horses to the stable to-night, sleep not. Be ready at the first call!'</p> +<p>That day the Frank lord was entertaining a large number of guests, among them +his daughter's husband, a jovial young man, given to jesting. On going to rest +he fancied he should be thirsty at night and called Leo to set a pitcher of +hydromel by his bedside. As the slave was setting it down, the Frank looked +slyly from under his eyelids, and said in joke, 'Tell me, my father-in-law's +trusty man, wilt not thou some night take one of those horses, and run away to +thine own home?'</p> +<p>'Please God, it is what I mean to do this very night,' answered the Gaul, so +undauntedly that the Frank took it as a jest, and answered, 'I shall look out +that thou dost not carry off anything of mine,' and then Leo left him, both +laughing.</p> +<p>All were soon asleep, and the cook crept out to the stable, where Attalus +usually slept among the horses. He was broad awake now, and ready to saddle the +two swiftest; but he had no weapon except a small lance, so Leo boldly went back +to his master's sleeping hut, and took down his sword and shield, but not +without awaking him enough to ask who was moving. 'It is I--Leo,' was the +answer, 'I have been to call Attalus to take out the horses early. He sleeps as +hard as a drunkard.' The Frank went to sleep again, quite satisfied, and Leo, +carrying out the weapons, soon made Attalus feel like a free man and a noble +once more. They passed unseen out of the enclosure, mounted their horses, and +rode along the great Roman road from Treves as far as the Meuse, but they found +the bridge guarded, and were obliged to wait till night, when they cast their +horses loose and swam the river, supporting themselves on boards that they found +on the bank. They had as yet had no food since the supper at their master's, and +were thankful to find a plum tree in the wood, with fruit, to refresh them in +some degree, before they lay down for the night. The next morning they went on +in the direction of Rheims, carefully listening whether there were any sounds +behind, until, on the broad hard-paved causeway, they actually heard the +trampling of horses. Happily a bush was near, behind which they crept, with +their naked swords before them, and here the riders actually halted for a few +moments to arrange their harness. Men and horses were both those they feared, +and they trembled at hearing one say, 'Woe is me that those rogues have made +off, and have not been caught! On my salvation, if I catch them, I will have one +hung and the other chopped into bits!' It was no small comfort to hear the trot +of the horses resumed, and soon dying away in the distance. That same night the +two faint, hungry, weary travelers, footsore and exhausted, came stumbling into +Rheims, looking about for some person still awake to tell them the way to the +house of the Priest Paul, a friend of Attalus' uncle. They found it just as the +church bell was ringing for matins, a sound that must have seemed very like home +to these members of an episcopal household. They knocked, and in the morning +twilight met the Priest going to his earliest Sunday morning service.</p> +<p>Leo told his young master's name, and how they had escaped, and the Priest's +first exclamation was a strange one: 'My dream is true. This very night I saw +two doves, one white and one black, who came and perched on my hand.'</p> +<p>The good man was overjoyed, but he scrupled to give them any food, as it was +contrary to the Church's rules for the fast to be broken before mass; but the +travelers were half dead with hunger, and could only say, 'The good Lord pardon +us, for, saving the respect due to His day, we must eat something, since this is +the forth day since we have touched bread or meat.' The Priest upon this gave +them some bread and wine, and after hiding them carefully, went to church, +hoping to avert suspicion; but their master was already at Rheims, making strict +search for them, and learning that Paul the Priest was a friend of the Bishop of +Langres, he went to church, and there questioned him closely. But the Priest +succeeded in guarding his secret, and though he incurred much danger, as the +Salic law was very severe against concealers of runaway slaves, he kept Attalus +and Leo for two days till the search was blown over, and their strength was +restored, so that they could proceed to Langres. There they were welcomed like +men risen from the dead; the Bishop wept on the neck of Attalus, and was ready +to receive Leo as a slave no more, but a friend and deliverer.</p> +<p>A few days after Leo was solemnly led to the church. Every door was set open +as a sign that he might henceforth go whithersoever he would. Bishop Gregorus +took him by the hand, and, standing before the Archdeacon, declared that for the +sake of the good services rendered by his slave, Leo, he set him free, and +created him a Roman citizen.</p> +<p>Then the Archdeacon read a writing of manumission. 'Whatever is done +according to the Roman law is irrevocable. According to the constitution of the +Emperor Constantine, of happy memory, and the edict that declares that whosoever +is manumitted in church, in the presence of the bishops, priests, and deacons, +shall become a Roman citizen under the protection of the Church: from this day +Leo becomes a member of the city, free to go and come where he will as if he had +been born of free parents. From this day forward, he is exempt from all +subjection of servitude, of all duty of a freed-man, all bond of client-ship. He +is and shall be free, with full and entire freedom, and shall never cease to +belong to the body of Roman citizens.'</p> +<p>At the same time Leo was endowed with lands, which raised him to the rank of +what the Franks called a Roman proprietor--the highest reward in the Bishop's +power for the faithful devotion that had incurred such dangers in order to +rescue the young Attalus from his miserable bondage.</p> +<p>Somewhat of the same kind of faithfulness was shown early in the nineteenth +century by Ivan Simonoff, a soldier servant belonging to Major Kascambo, an +officer in the Russian army, who was made prisoner by one of the wild tribes of +the Caucasus. But though the soldier's attachment to his master was quite as +brave and disinterested as that of the Gallic slave, yet he was far from being +equally blameless in the means he employed, and if his were a golden deed at +all, it was mixed with much of iron.</p> +<p>Major Kascambo, with a guard of fifty Cossacks, was going to take the command +of the Russian outpost of Lars, one of the forts by which the Russian Czars have +slowly been carrying on the aggressive warfare that has nearly absorbed into +their vast dominions all the mountains between the Caspian and Black seas. On +his way he was set upon by seven hundred horsemen of the savage and independent +tribe of Tchetchenges. There was a sharp fight, more than half his men were +killed, and he with the rest made a rampart of the carcasses of their horses, +over which they were about to fire their last shots, when the Tchetchenges made +a Russian deserter call out to the Cossacks that they would let them all escape +provided they would give up their officer. Kascambo on this came forward and +delivered himself into their hands; while the remainder of the troops galloped +off. His servant, Ivan, with a mule carrying his baggage, had been hidden in a +ravine, and now, instead of retreating with the Cossacks, came to join his +master. All the baggage was, however, instantly seized and divided among the +Tchetchenges; nothing was left but a guitar, which they threw scornfully to the +Major. He would have let it lie, but Ivan picked it up, and insisted on keeping +it. 'Why be dispirited?' he said; 'the God of the Russians is great, it is the +interest of the robbers to save you, they will do you no harm.'</p> +<p>Scouts brought word that the Russian outposts were alarmed, and that troops +were assembling to rescue the officer. Upon this the seven hundred broke up into +small parties, leaving only ten men on foot to conduct the prisoners, whom they +forced to take off their iron-shod boots and walk barefoot over stones and +thorns, till the Major was so exhausted that they were obliged to drag him by +cords fastened to his belt.</p> +<p>After a terrible journey, the prisoners were placed in a remote village, +where the Major had heavy chains fastened to his hands and feet, and another to +his neck, with a huge block of oak as a clog at the other end; they half-starved +him, and made him sleep on the bare ground of the hut in which he lodged. The +hut belonged to a huge, fierce old man of sixty named Ibrahim, whose son had +been killed in a skirmish with the Russians. This man, together with his son's +widow, were continually trying to revenge themselves on their captive. The only +person who showed him any kindness was his little grandson, a child of seven +years old, called Mamet, who often caressed him, and brought him food by +stealth. Ivan was also in the same hut, but less heavily ironed than his master, +and able to attempt a few alleviations for his wretched condition. An +interpreter brought the Major a sheet of paper and a reed pen, and commanded him +to write to his friends that he might be ransomed for 10,000 roubles, but that, +if the whole sum were not paid, he would be put to death. He obeyed, but he knew +that his friends could not possibly raise such a sum, and his only hope was in +the government, which had once ransomed a colonel who had fallen into the hands +of the same tribe.</p> +<p>These Tchetchenges professed to be Mahometans, but their religion sat very +loose upon them, and they were utter barbarians. One piece of respect they paid +the Major's superior education was curious--they made him judge in all the +disputes that arose. The houses in the village were hollowed out underground, +and the walls only raised three or four feet, and then covered by a flat roof, +formed of beaten clay, where the inhabitants spent much of their time. Kascambo +was every now and then brought, in all his chains, to the roof of the hut, which +served as a tribunal whence he was expected to dispense justice. For instance, a +man had commissioned his neighbour to pay five roubles to a person in another +valley, but the messenger's horse having died by the way, a claim was set up to +the roubles to make up for it. Both parties collected all their friends, and a +bloody quarrel was about to take place, when they agreed to refer the question +to the prisoner, who was accordingly set upon his judgment seat.</p> +<p>'Pray,' said he, 'if, instead of giving you five roubles, your comrade had +desired you to carry his greetings to his creditor, would not your horse have +died all the same?'</p> +<p>'Most likely.'</p> +<p>'Then what should you have done with the greetings? Should you have kept them +in compensation? My sentence is that you should give back the roubles, and that +your comrade gives you a greeting.'</p> +<p>The whole assembly approved the decision, and the man only grumbled out, as +he gave back the money, 'I knew I should lose it, if that dog of a Christian +meddled with it.'</p> +<p>All this respect, however, did not avail to procure any better usage for the +unfortunate judge, whose health was suffering severely under his privations. +Ivan, however, had recommended himself in the same way as Leo, by his +perfections as a cook, and moreover he was a capital buffoon. His fetters were +sometimes taken off that he might divert the villagers by his dances and strange +antics while his master played the guitar. Sometimes they sang Russian songs +together to the instrument, and on these occasions the Major's hands were +released that he might play on it; but one day he was unfortunately heard +playing in his chains for his own amusement, and from that time he was never +released from his fetters.</p> +<p>In the course of a year, three urgent letters had been sent; but no notice +was taken of them, and Ivan began to despair of aid from home, and set himself +to work. His first step was to profess himself a Mahometan. He durst not tell +his master till the deed was done, and then Kascambo was infinitely shocked; but +the act did not procure Ivan so much freedom as he had hoped. He was, indeed, no +longer in chains, but he was evidently distrusted, and was so closely watched, +that the only way in which he could communicate with his master was when they +were set to sing together, when they chanted out question and answer in Russ, +unsuspected, to the tune of their national airs. He was taken on an expedition +against the Russians, and very nearly killed by the suspicious Tchetchenges on +one side, and by the Cossacks on the other, as a deserter. He saved a young man +of the tribe from drowning; but though he thus earned the friendship of the +family, the rest of the villagers hated and dreaded him all the more, since he +had not been able to help proving himself a man of courage, instead of the +feeble buffoon he had tried to appear.</p> +<p>Three months after this expedition, another took place; but Ivan was not +allowed even to know of it. He saw preparations making, but nothing was said to +him; only one morning he found the village entirely deserted by all the young +men, and as he wandered round it, the aged ones would not speak to him. A child +told him that his father had meant to kill him, and on the roof of her house +stood the sister of the man he had saved, making signals of great terror, and +pointing towards Russia. Home he went and found that, besides old Ibrahim, his +master was watched by a warrior, who had been prevented by an intermitting fever +from joining the expedition. He was convinced that if the tribe returned +unsuccessful, the murder of both himself and his master was certain; but he +resolved not to fly alone, and as he busied himself in preparing the meal, he +sung the burden of a Russian ballad, intermingled with words of encouragement +for his master:</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>The time is come;<br> +Hai Luli!<br> +The time is come,<br> +Hai Luli!<br> +Our woe is at an end,<br> +Hai Luli!<br> +Or we die at once!<br> +Hai Luli!<br> +To-morrow, to-morrow,<br> +Hai Luli!<br> +We are off for a town,<br> +Hai Luli!<br> +For a fine, fine town,<br> +Hai Luli!<br> +But I name no names,<br> +Hai Luli!<br> +Courage, courage, master dear,<br> +Hai Luli!<br> +Never, never, despair,<br> +Hai Luli!<br> +For the God of the Russians is great,<br> +Hai Luli!</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>Poor Kascambo, broken down, sick, and despairing, only muttered, 'Do as you +please, only hold your peace!'</p> +<p>Ivan's cookery incited the additional guard to eat so much supper, that he +brought on a severe attack of his fever, and was obliged to go home; but old +Ibrahim, instead of going to bed, sat down on a log of wood opposite the +prisoner, and seemed resolved to watch him all night. The woman and child went +to bed in the inner room, and Ivan signed to his master to take the guitar, and +began to dance. The old man's axe was in an open cupboard at the other end of +the room, and after many gambols and contortions, during which the Major could +hardly control his fingers to touch the strings, Ivan succeeded in laying his +hands upon it, just when the old man was bending over the fire to mend it. Then, +as Ibrahim desired that the music should cease, he cut him down with a single +blow, on his own hearth. And the daughter-in-law coming out to see what had +happened, he slew her with the same weapon. And then, alas! in spite of the +commands, entreaties, and cries of his master, he dashed into the inner room, +and killed the sleeping child, lest it should give the alarm. Kascambo, utterly +helpless to save, fell almost fainting upon the bloody floor, and did not cease +to reproach Ivan, who was searching the old man's pockets for the key of the +fetters, but it was not there, nor anywhere else in the hut, and the irons were +so heavy that escape was impossible in them. Ivan at last knocked off the clog +and the chains on the wrist with the axe, but he could not break the chains +round the legs, and could only fasten them as close as he could to hinder them +clanking. Then securing all the provisions he could carry, and putting his +master into his military cloak, obtaining also a pistol and dagger, they crept +out, but not on the direct road. It was February, and the ground was covered +with snow. All night they walked easily, but at noon the sun so softened it that +they sank in at every step, and the Major's chains rendered each motion terrible +labour. It was only on the second night that Ivan, with his axe, succeeded in +breaking through the fastenings, and by that time the Major's legs were so +swollen and stiffened that he could not move without extreme pain. However, he +was dragged on through the wild mountain paths, and then over the plains for +several days more, till they were on the confines of another tribe of +Tchetchenges, who were overawed by Russia, and in a sort of unwilling alliance. +Here, however, a sharp storm, and a fall into the water, completely finished +Kascambo's strength, and he sank down on the snow, telling Ivan to go home and +explain his fate, and give his last message to his mother.</p> +<p>'If you perish here,' said Ivan, 'trust me, neither your mother nor mine will +ever see me again.'</p> +<p>He covered his master with his cloak, gave him the pistol, and walked on to a +hut, where he found a Tchetchenge man, and told him that here was a means of +obtaining two hundred roubles. He had only to shelter the major as a guest for +three days, whilst Ivan himself went on to Mosdok, to procure the money, and +bring back help for his master. The man was full of suspicion, but Ivan +prevailed, and Kascambo was carried into the village nearly dying, and was very +ill all the time of his servant's absence. Ivan set off for the nearest Russian +station, where he found some of the Cossacks who had been present when the major +was taken. All eagerly subscribed to raise the two hundred roubles, but the +Colonel would not let Ivan go back alone, as he had engaged to do, and sent a +guard of Cossacks. This had nearly been fatal to the Major, for as soon as his +host saw the lances, he suspected treachery, and dragging his poor sick guest to +the roof of the house, he tied him up to a stake, and stood over him with a +pistol, shouting to Ivan, 'If you come nearer, I shall blow his brains out, and +I have fifty cartridges more for my enemies, and the traitor who leads them.'</p> +<p>'No traitor!' cried Ivan. 'Here are the roubles. I have kept my word!'</p> +<p>'Let the Cossacks go back, or I shall fire.'</p> +<p>Kascambo himself begged the officer to retire, and Ivan went back with the +detachment, and returned alone. Even then the suspicious host made him count out +the roubles at a hundred paces from the house, and at once ordered him out of +sight; but then went up to the roof, and asked the Major's pardon for all this +rough usage.</p> +<p>'I shall only recollect that you were my host, and kept your word,' said +Kascambo.</p> +<p>In a few hours more, Kascambo was in safety among his brother officers. Ivan +was made a non-commissioned officer, and some months after was seen by the +traveler who told the story, whistling the air of Hai Luli at his former +master's wedding feast. He was even then scarcely twenty years old, and +peculiarly quiet and soft in manners.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>THE BATTLE OF THE BLACKWATER<br> +991</h3></center> + +<p>In the evil days of King Ethelred the Unready, when the teaching of good King +Alfred was fast fading away from the minds of his descendants, and +self-indulgence was ruining the bold and hardy habits of the English, the fleet +was allowed to fall into decay, and Danish ships again ventured to appear on the +English coasts.</p> +<p>The first Northmen who had ravaged England came eager for blood and plunder, +and hating the sight of a Christian church as an insult to their gods, Thor and +Odin; but the lapse of a hundred years had in some degree changed the temper of +the North; and though almost every young man thought it due to his fame to have +sailed forth as a sea rover, yet the attacks of these marauders might be bought +off, and provided they had treasure to show for their voyage, they were willing +to spare the lives and lands of the people of the coasts they visited.</p> +<p>King Ethelred and his cowardly, selfish Court were well satisfied with this +expedient, and the tax called Danegeld was laid upon the people, in order to +raise a fund for buying off the enemy. But there were still in England men of +bolder and truer hearts, who held that bribery was false policy, merely inviting +the enemy to come again and again, and that the only wise course would be in +driving them back by English valor, and keeping the fleet in a condition to +repel the 'Long Serpent' ships before the foe could set foot upon the coast.</p> +<p>Among those who held this opinion was Brythnoth, Earl of Essex. He was of +partly Danish descent himself, but had become a thorough Englishman, and had +long and faithfully served the King and his father. He was a friend to the +clergy, a founder of churches and convents, and his manor house of Hadleigh was +a home of hospitality and charity. It would probably be a sort of huge farmyard, +full of great barn-like buildings and sheds, all one story high; some of them +serving for storehouses, and others for living-rooms and places of entertainment +for his numerous servants and retainers, and for the guests of all degrees who +gathered round him as the chief dispenser of justice in his East-Saxon earldom. +When he heard the advice given and accepted that the Danes should be bribed, +instead of being fought with, he made up his mind that he, at least, would try +to raise up a nobler spirit, and, at the sacrifice of his own life, would show +the effect of making a manful stand against them.</p> +<p>He made his will, and placed it in the hands of the Archbishop of Canterbury; +and then, retiring to Hadleigh, he provided horses and arms, and caused all the +young men in his earldom to be trained in warlike exercises, according to the +good old English law, that every man should be provided with weapons and know +the use of them.</p> +<p>The Danes sailed forth, in the year 991, with ninety-three vessels, the +terrible 'Long Serpents', carved with snakes' heads at the prow, and the stern +finished as the gilded tail of the reptile; and many a lesser ship, meant for +carrying plunder. The Sea King, Olaf (or Anlaff), was the leader; and as tidings +came that their sails had been seen upon the North Sea, more earnest than ever +rang out the petition in the Litany, 'From the fury of the Northmen, good Lord, +deliver us'.</p> +<p>Sandwich and Ipswich made no defense, and were plundered; and the fleet then +sailed into the mouth of the River Blackwater, as far as Maldon, where the +ravagers landed, and began to collect spoil. When, however, they came back to +their ships, they found that the tide would not yet serve them to re-embark; and +upon the farther bank of the river bristled the spears of a body of warriors, +drawn up in battle array, but in numbers far inferior to their own.</p> +<p>Anlaff sent a messenger, over the wooden bridge that crossed the river, to +the Earl, who, he understood, commanded this small army. The brave old man, his +grey hair hanging down beneath his helmet, stood, sword in hand, at the head of +his warriors.</p> +<p>'Lord Earl,' said the messenger, 'I come to bid thee to yield to us thy +treasure, for thy safety. Buy off the fight, and we will ratify a peace with +gold.'</p> +<p>'Hear, O thou sailor!' was Brythnoth's answer, 'the reply of this people. +Instead of Danegeld, thou shalt have from them the edge of the sword, and the +point of the spear. Here stands an English Earl, who will defend his earldom and +the lands of his King. Point and edge shall judge between us.'</p> +<p>Back went the Dane with his message to Anlaff, and the fight began around the +bridge, where the Danes long strove to force their way across, but were always +driven back by the gallant East-Saxons. The tide had risen, and for some time +the two armies only shot at one another with bows and arrows; but when it ebbed, +leaving the salt-marches dry, the stout old Earl's love of fair play overpowered +his prudence, and he sent to offer the enemy a free passage, and an open field +in which to measure their strength.</p> +<p>The numbers were too unequal; but the battle was long and bloody before the +English could be overpowered. Brythnoth slew one of the chief Danish leaders +with his own hand, but not without receiving a wound. He was still able to fight +on, though with ebbing strength and failing numbers. His hand was pierced by a +dart; but a young boy at his side instantly withdrew it, and, launching it back +again, slew the foe who had aimed it. Another Dane, seeing the Earl faint and +sinking, advanced to plunder him of his ring and jeweled weapons; but he still +had strength to lay the spoiler low with his battleaxe. This was his last blow; +he gathered his strength for one last cheer to his brave men, and then, sinking +on the ground, he looked up to heaven, exclaiming: 'I thank thee, Lord of +nations, for all the joys I have known on earth. Now, O mild Creator! have I the +utmost need that Thou shouldst grant grace unto my soul, that my spirit may +speed to Thee with peace, O King of angels! to pass into thy keeping. I sue to +Thee that Thou suffer not the rebel spirits of hell to vex my parting soul!'</p> +<p>With these words he died; but an aged follower, of like spirit, stood over +his corpse, and exhorted his fellows. 'Our spirit shall be the hardier, and our +soul the greater, the fewer our numbers become!' he cried. 'Here lies our chief, +the brave, the good, the much-loved lord, who has blessed us with many a gift. +Old as I am, I will not yield, but avenge his death, or lay me at his side. +Shame befall him that thinks to fly from such a field as this!'</p> +<p>Nor did the English warriors fly. Night came down, at last, upon the +battlefield, and saved the lives of the few survivors; but they were forced to +leave the body of their lord, and the Danes bore away with them his head as a +trophy, and with it, alas! ten thousand pounds of silver from the King, who, in +his sluggishness and weakness had left Brythnoth to fight and die unaided for +the cause of the whole nation. One of the retainers, a minstrel in the happy old +days of Hadleigh, who had done his part manfully in the battle, had heard these +last goodly sayings of his master, and, living on to peaceful days, loved to +rehearse them to the sound of his harp, and dwell on the glories of one who +could die, but not be defeated.</p> +<p>Ere those better days had come, another faithful-hearted Englishman had given +his life for his people. In the year 1012, a huge army, called from their +leader, 'Thorkill's Host', were overrunning Kent, and besieging Canterbury. The +Archbishop Aelfeg was earnestly entreated to leave the city while yet there was +time to escape; but he replied, 'None but a hireling would leave his flock in +time of danger;' and he supported the resolution of the inhabitants, so that +they held out the city for twenty days; and as the wild Danes had very little +chance against a well-walled town, they would probably have saved it, had not +the gates been secretly opened to them by the traitorous Abbot Aelfman, whom +Aelfeg had once himself saved, when accused of treason before the King.</p> +<p>The Danes slaughtered all whom they found in the streets, and the +Archbishop's friends tried to keep him in the church, lest he should run upon +his fate; but he broke from them, and, confronting the enemy, cried: 'Spare the +guiltless! Is there glory in shedding such blood? Turn your wrath on me! It is I +who have denounced your cruelty, have ransomed and re-clad your captive.' The +Danes seized upon him, and, after he had seen his cathedral burnt and his clergy +slain, they threw him into a dungeon, whence he was told he could only come +forth upon the payment of a heavy ransom.</p> +<p>His flock loved him, and would have striven to raise the sum; but, miserably +used as they were by the enemy, and stripped by the exactions of the Danes, he +would not consent that they should be asked for a further contribution on his +account. After seven months' patience in his captivity, the Danish chiefs, who +were then at Greenwich desired him to be brought into their camp, where they had +just been holding a great feast. It was Easter Eve, and the quiet of that day of +calm waiting was disturbed with their songs, and shouts of drunken revelry, as +the chained Archbishop was led to the open space where the warriors sat and lay +amid the remains of their rude repast. The leader then told him that they had +agreed to let him off for his own share with a much smaller payment than had +been demanded, provided he would obtain a largesse for them from the King, his +master.</p> +<p>'I am not the man,' he answered, 'to provide Christian flesh for Pagan +wolves;' and when again they repeated the demand, 'Gold I have none to offer +you, save the true wisdom of the knowledge of the living God.' And he began, as +he stood in the midst, to 'reason to them of righteousness, temperance, and +judgment to come.'</p> +<p>They were mad with rage and drink. The old man's voice was drowned with +shouts of 'Gold, Bishop--give us gold!' The bones and cups that lay around were +hurled at him, and he fell to the ground, with the cry, 'O Chief Shepherd, guard +Thine own children!' As he partly raised himself, axes were thrown at him; and, +at last, a Dane, who had begun to love and listen to him in his captivity, +deemed it mercy to give him a deathblow with an axe. The English maintained that +Aelfeg had died to save his flock from cruel extortion, and held him as a saint +and martyr, keeping his death day (the 19th of April) as a holiday; and when the +Italian Archbishop of Canterbury (Lanfranc) disputed his right to be so +esteemed, there was strong opposition and discontent. Indeed, our own Prayer +Book still retains his name, under the altered form of St. Alphege; and surely +no one better merits to be remembered, for having loved his people far better +than himself.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>GUZMAN EL BUENO<br> +1293</h3></center> + +<p>In the early times of Spanish history, before the Moors had been expelled +from the peninsula, or the blight of Western gold had enervated the nation, the +old honor and loyalty of the Gothic race were high and pure, fostered by +constant combats with a generous enemy. The Spanish Arabs were indeed the flower +of the Mahometan races, endowed with the vigor and honor of the desert tribes, +yet capable of culture and civilization, excelling all other nations of their +time in science and art, and almost the equals of their Christian foes in the +attributes of chivalry. Wars with them were a constant crusade, consecrated in +the minds of the Spaniards as being in the cause of religion, and yet in some +degree freed from savagery and cruelty by the respect exacted by the honorable +character of the enemy, and by the fact that the civilization and learning of +the Christian kingdoms were far more derived from the Moors than from the +kindred nations of Europe.</p> +<p>By the close of the thirteenth century, the Christian kingdoms of Castille +and Aragon were descending from their mountain fastnesses, and spreading over +the lovely plains of the south, even to the Mediterranean coast, as one +beautiful Moorish city after another yielded to the persevering advances of the +children of the Goths; and in 1291 the nephew of our own beloved Eleanor of +Castille, Sancho V. called El Bravo, ventured to invest the city of Tarifa.</p> +<p>This was the western buttress of the gate of the Mediterranean, the base of +the northern Pillar of Hercules, and esteemed one of the gates of Spain. By it +five hundred years previously had the Moorish enemy first entered Spain at the +summons of Count Julian, under their leader Tarif-abu-Zearah, whose name was +bestowed upon it in remembrance of his landing there. The form of the ground is +said to be like a broken punch bowl, with the broken part towards the sea. The +Moors had fortified the city with a surrounding wall and twenty-six towers, and +had built a castle with a lighthouse on a small adjacent island, called Isla +Verde, which they had connected with the city by a causeway. Their +fortifications, always admirable, have existed ever since, and in 1811, another +five hundred years after, were successfully defended against the French by a +small force of British troops under the command of Colonel Hugh Gough, better +known in his old age as the victor of Aliwal. The walls were then unable to +support the weight of artillery, for which of course they had never been built, +but were perfectly effective against escalade.</p> +<p>For six months King Sancho besieged Tarifa by land and sea, his fleet, hired +from the Genoese, lying in the waters where the battle of Trafalgar was to be +fought. The city at length yielded under stress of famine, but the King feared +that he had no resources to enable him to keep it, and intended to dismantle and +forsake it, when the Grand Master of the military order of Calatrava offered to +undertake the defense with his knights for one year, hoping that some other +noble would come forward at the end of that time and take the charge upon +himself.</p> +<p>He was not mistaken. The noble who made himself responsible for this post of +danger was a Leonese knight of high distinction, by name Alonso Perez de Guzman, +already called El Bueno, or 'The Good', from the high qualities he had +manifested in the service of the late King, Don Alonso VI, by whom he had always +stood when the present King, Don Sancho, was in rebellion. The offer was readily +accepted, and the whole Guzman family removed to Tarifa, with the exception of +the eldest son, who was in the train of the Infant Don Juan, the second son of +the late King, who had always taken part with his father against his brother, +and on Sancho's accession, continued his enmity, and fled to Portugal.</p> +<p>The King of Portugal, however, being requested by Sancho not to permit him to +remain there, he proceeded to offer his services to the King of Morocco, +Yusuf-ben-Yacoub, for whom he undertook to recover Tarifa, if 5,000 horse were +granted to him for the purpose. The force would have been most disproportionate +for the attack of such a city as Tarifa, but Don Juan reckoned on means that he +had already found efficacious; when he had obtained the surrender of Zamora to +his father by threatening to put to death a child of the lady in command of the +fortress.</p> +<p>Therefore, after summoning Tarifa at the head of his 5,000 Moors, he led +forth before the gates the boy who had been confided to his care, and declared +that unless the city were yielded instantly, Guzman should behold the death of +his own son at his hand! Before, he had had to deal with a weak woman on a +question of divided allegiance. It was otherwise here. The point was whether the +city should be made over to the enemies of the faith and country, whether the +plighted word of a loyal knight should be broken. The boy was held in the grasp +of the cruel prince, stretching out his hands and weeping as he saw his father +upon the walls. Don Alonso's eyes, we are told, filled with tears as he cast one +long, last look at his first-born, whom he might not save except at the expense +of his truth and honor.</p> +<p>The struggle was bitter, but he broke forth at last in these words: 'I did +not beget a son to be made use of against my country, but that he should serve +her against her foes. Should Don Juan put him to death, he will but confer honor +on me, true life on my son, and on himself eternal shame in this world and +everlasting wrath after death. So far am I from yielding this place or betraying +my trust, that in case he should want a weapon for his cruel purpose, there goes +my knife!'</p> +<p>He cast the knife in his belt over the walls, and returned to the Castle +where, commanding his countenance, he sat down to table with his wife. Loud +shouts of horror and dismay almost instantly called him forth again. He was told +that Don Juan had been seen to cut the boy's throat in a transport of blind +rage. 'I thought the enemy had broken in,' he calmly said, and went back again.</p> +<p>The Moors themselves were horrorstruck at the atrocity of their ally, and as +the siege was hopeless they gave it up; and Don Juan, afraid and ashamed to +return to Morocco, wandered to the Court of Granada.</p> +<p>King Sancho was lying sick at Alcala de Henares when the tidings of the price +of Guzman's fidelity reached him. Touched to the depths of his heart he wrote a +letter to his faithful subject, comparing his sacrifice to that of Abraham, +confirming to him the surname of Good, lamenting his own inability to come and +offer his thanks and regrets, but entreating Guzman's presence at Alcala.</p> +<p>All the way thither, the people thronged to see the man true to his word at +such a fearful cost. The Court was sent out to meet him, and the King, after +embracing him, exclaimed, 'Here learn, ye knights, what are exploits of virtue. +Behold your model.'</p> +<p>Lands and honors were heaped upon Alonso de Guzman, and they were not a +mockery of his loss, for he had other sons to inherit them. He was the staunch +friend of Sancho's widow and son in a long and perilous minority, and died full +of years and honors. The lands granted to him were those of Medina Sidonia which +lie between the Rivers Guadiana and Guadalquivir, and they have ever since been +held by his descendants, who still bear the honored name of Guzman, witnessing +that the man who gave the life of his first-born rather than break his faith to +the King has left a posterity as noble and enduring as any family in Europe.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>FAITHFUL TILL DEATH<br> +1308</h3></center> + +<p>One of the ladies most admired by the ancient Romans was Arria, the wife of +Caecina Paetus, a Roman who was condemned by the Emperor Claudius to become his +own executioner. Seeing him waver, his wife, who was resolved to be with him in +death as in life, took the dagger from his hand, plunged it into her own breast, +and with her last strength held it out to him, gasping out, 'It is not painful, +my Paetus.'</p> +<p>Such was heathen faithfulness even to death; and where the teaching of +Christianity had not forbidden the taking away of life by one's own hand, +perhaps wifely love could not go higher. Yet Christian women have endured a yet +more fearful ordeal to their tender affection, watching, supporting, and finding +unfailing fortitude to uphold the sufferer in agonies that must have rent their +hearts.</p> +<p>Natalia was the fair young wife of Adrian, an officer at Nicomedia, in the +guards of the Emperor Galerius Maximianus, and only about twenty-eight years +old. Natalia was a Christian, but her husband remained a pagan, until, when he +was charged with the execution of some martyrs, their constancy, coupled with +the testimony of his own wife's virtues, triumphed over his unbelief, and he +confessed himself likewise a Christian. He was thrown into prison, and sentenced +to death, but he prevailed on his gaoler to permit him to leave the dungeon for +a time, that he might see his wife. The report came to Natalia that he was no +longer in prison, and she threw herself on the ground, lamenting aloud: 'Now +will men point at me, and say, 'Behold the wife of the coward and apostate, who, +for fear of death, hath denied his God.'</p> +<p>'Oh, thou noble and strong-hearted woman,' said Adrian's voice at the door, +'I bless God that I am not unworthy of thee. Open the door that I may bid thee +farewell.'</p> +<p>But this was not the last farewell, though he duly went back to the prison; +for when, the next day, he had been cruelly scourged and tortured before the +tribunal, Natalia, with her hair cut short, and wearing the disguise of a youth, +was there to tend and comfort him. She took him in her arms saying, 'Oh, light +of mine eyes, and husband of mine heart, blessed art thou, who art chosen to +suffer for Christ's sake.'</p> +<p>On the following day, the tyrant ordered that Adrian's limbs should be one by +one struck off on a blacksmith's anvil, and lastly his head. And still it was +his wife who held him and sustained him through all and, ere the last stroke of +the executioner, had received his last breath. She took up one of the severed +hands, kissed it, and placed it in her bosom, and escaping to Byzantium, there +spent her life in widowhood.</p> +<p>Nor among these devoted wives should we pass by Gertrude, the wife of Rudolf, +Baron von der Wart, a Swabian nobleman, who was so ill-advised as to join in a +conspiracy of Johann of Hapsburg, in 1308, against the Emperor, Albrecht I, the +son of the great and good Rudolf of Hapsburg.</p> +<p>This Johann was the son of the Emperor's brother Rudolf, a brave knight who +had died young, and Johann had been brought up by a Baron called Walther von +Eschenbach, until, at nineteen years old, he went to his uncle to demand his +father's inheritance. Albrecht was a rude and uncouth man, and refused +disdainfully the demand, whereupon the noblemen of the disputed territory +stirred up the young prince to form a plot against him, all having evidently +different views of the lengths to which they would proceed. This was just at the +time that the Swiss, angry at the overweening and oppressive behaviour of +Albrecht's governors, were first taking up arms to maintain that they owed no +duty to him as Duke of Austria, but merely as Emperor of Germany. He set out on +his way to chastise them as rebels, taking with him a considerable train, of +whom his nephew Johann was one. At Baden, Johann, as a last experiment, again +applied for his inheritance, but by way of answer, Albrecht held out a wreath of +flowers, telling him they better became his years than did the cares of +government. He burst into tears, threw the wreath upon the ground, and fed his +mind upon the savage purpose of letting his uncle find out what he was fit for.</p> +<p>By and by, the party came to the banks of the Reuss, where there was no +bridge, and only one single boat to carry the whole across. The first to cross +were the Emperor with one attendant, besides his nephew and four of the secret +partisans of Johann. Albrecht's son Leopold was left to follow with the rest of +the suite, and the Emperor rode on towards the hills of his home, towards the +Castle of Hapsburg, where his father's noble qualities had earned the reputation +which was the cause of all the greatness of the line. Suddenly his nephew rode +up to him, and while one of the conspirators seized the bridle of his horse, +exclaimed, 'Will you now restore my inheritance?' and wounded him in the neck. +The attendant fled; Der Wart, who had never thought murder was to be a part of +the scheme, stood aghast, but the other two fell on the unhappy Albrecht, and +each gave him a mortal wound, and then all five fled in different directions. +The whole horrible affair took place full in view of Leopold and the army on the +other side of the river, and when it became possible for any of them to cross, +they found that the Emperor had just expired, with his head in the lap of a poor +woman.</p> +<p>The murderers escaped into the Swiss mountains, expecting shelter there; but +the stout, honest men of the cantons were resolved not to have any connection +with assassins, and refused to protect them. Johann himself, after long and +miserable wanderings in disguise, bitterly repented, owned his crime to the +Pope, and was received into a convent; Eschenbach escaped, and lived fifteen +years as a cowherd. The others all fell into the hands of the sons and daughters +of Albrecht, and woeful was the revenge that was taken upon them, and upon their +innocent families and retainers.</p> +<p>That Leopold, who had seen his father slain before his eyes, should have been +deeply incensed, was not wonderful, and his elder brother Frederick, as Duke of +Austria, was charged with the execution of justice; but both brothers were +horribly savage and violent in their proceedings, and their sister Agnes +surpassed them in her atrocious thirst for vengeance. She was the wife of the +King of Hungary, very clever and discerning, and also supposed to be very +religious, but all better thoughts were swept away by her furious passion. She +had nearly strangled Eschenbach's infant son with her own bare hands, when he +was rescued from her by her own soldiers, and when she was watching the +beheading of sixty-three vassals of another of the murderers, she repeatedly +exclaimed, 'Now I bathe in May dew.' Once, indeed, she met with a stern rebuke. +A hermit, for whom she had offered to build a convent, answered her, 'Woman, God +is not served by shedding innocent blood and by building convents out of the +plunder of families, but by compassion and forgiveness of injuries.'</p> +<p>Rudolf von der Wart received the horrible sentence of being broken on the +wheel. On his trial the Emperor's attendant declared that Der Wart had attacked +Albert with his dagger, and the cry, 'How long will ye suffer this carrion to +sit on horseback?' but he persisted to the last that he had been taken by +surprise by the murder. However, there was no mercy for him; and, by the express +command of Queen Agnes, after he had been bound upon one wheel, and his limbs +broken by heavy blows from the executioner, he was fastened to another wheel, +which was set upon a pole, where he was to linger out the remaining hours of his +life. His young wife, Gertrude, who had clung to him through all the trial, was +torn away and carried off to the Castle of Kyburg; but she made her escape at +dusk, and found her way, as night came on, to the spot where her husband hung +still living upon the wheel. That night of agony was described in a letter +ascribed to Gertrude herself. The guard left to watch fled at her approach, and +she prayed beneath the scaffold, and then, heaping some heavy logs of wood +together, was able to climb up near enough to embrace him and stroke back the +hair from his face, whilst he entreated her to leave him, lest she should be +found there, and fall under the cruel revenge of the Queen, telling her that +thus it would be possible to increase his suffering.</p> +<p>'I will die with you,' she said, 'tis for that I came, and no power shall +force me from you;' and she prayed for the one mercy she hoped for, speedy death +for her husband.</p> +<p>In Mrs. Hemans' beautiful words--</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'And bid me not depart,' she cried,<br> +'My Rudolf, say not so;<br> +This is no time to quit thy side,<br> +Peace, peace, I cannot go!<br> +Hath the world aught for me to fear<br> +When death is on thy brow?<br> +The world! what means it? Mine is here!<br> +I will not leave thee now.<br> +'I have been with thee in thine hour<br> +Of glory and of bliss;<br> +Doubt not its memory's living power<br> +To strengthen me through this.<br> +And thou, mine honor'd love and true,<br> +Bear on, bear nobly on;<br> +We have the blessed heaven in view,<br> +Whose rest shall soon be won.'</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>When day began to break, the guard returned, and Gertrude took down her stage +of wood and continued kneeling at the foot of the pole. Crowds of people came to +look, among them the wife of one of the officials, whom Gertrude implored to +intercede that her husband's sufferings might be ended; but though this might +not be, some pitied her, and tried to give her wine and confections, which she +could not touch. The priest came and exhorted Rudolf to confess the crime, but +with a great effort he repeated his former statement of innocence.</p> +<p>A band of horsemen rode by. Among them was the young Prince Leopold and his +sister Agnes herself, clad as a knight. They were very angry at the compassion +shown by the crowd, and after frightfully harsh language commanded that Gertrude +should be dragged away; but one of the nobles interceded for her, and when she +had been carried away to a little distance her entreaties were heard, and she +was allowed to break away and come back to her husband. The priest blessed +Gertrude, gave her his hand and said, 'Be faithful unto death, and God will give +you the crown of life,' and she was no further molested.</p> +<p>Night came on, and with it a stormy wind, whose howling mingled with the +voice of her prayers, and whistled in the hair of the sufferer. One of the guard +brought her a cloak. She climbed on the wheel, and spread the covering over her +husband's limbs; then fetched some water in her shoe, and moistened his lips +with it, sustaining him above all with her prayers, and exhortations to look to +the joys beyond. He had ceased to try to send her away, and thanked her for the +comfort she gave him. And still she watched when morning came again, and noon +passed over her, and it was verging to evening, when for the last time he moved +his head; and she raised herself so as to be close to him. With a smile, he +murmured, 'Gertrude, this is faithfulness till death,' and died. She knelt down +to thank God for having enabled her to remain for that last breath--</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'While even as o'er a martyr's grave<br> +She knelt on that sad spot,<br> +And, weeping, blessed the God who gave<br> +Strength to forsake it not!'</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>She found shelter in a convent at Basle, where she spent the rest of her life +in a quiet round of prayer and good works; till the time came when her widowed +heart should find its true rest for ever.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>WHAT IS BETTER THAN SLAYING A DRAGON<br> +1332</h3></center> + +<p>The next story we have to tell is so strange and wild, that it would seem +better to befit the cloudy times when history had not yet been disentangled from +fable, than the comparatively clear light of the fourteenth century.</p> +<p>It took place in the island of Rhodes. This Greek isle had become the home of +the Knights of St. John, or Hospitaliers, an order of sworn brethren who had +arisen at the time of the Crusades. At first they had been merely monks, who +kept open house for the reception of the poor penniless pilgrims who arrived at +Jerusalem in need of shelter, and often of nursing and healing. The good monks +not only fed and housed them, but did their best to cure the many diseases that +they would catch in the toilsome journey in that feverish climate; and thus it +has come to pass that the word hospitium, which in Latin only means an inn, has, +in modern languages, given birth, on the one hand, to hotel, or lodging house, +on the other, to hospital, or house of healing. The Hospital at Jerusalem was +called after St. John the Almoner, a charitable Bishop of old, and the brethren +were Hospitaliers. By and by, when the first Crusade was over, and there was a +great need of warriors to maintain the Christian cause in Jerusalem, the +Hospitaliers thought it a pity that so many strong arms should be prevented from +exerting themselves, by the laws that forbade the clergy to do battle, and they +obtained permission from the Pope to become warriors as well as monks. They were +thus all in one--knights, priests, and nurses; their monasteries were both +castles and hospitals; and the sick pilgrim or wounded Crusader was sure of all +the best tendance and medical care that the times could afford, as well as of +all the ghostly comfort and counsel that he might need, and, if he recovered, he +was escorted safely down to the seashore by a party strong enough to protect him +from the hordes of robber Arabs. All this was for charity's sake, and without +reward. Surely the constitution of the Order was as golden as its badge--the +eight-pointed cross--which the brethren wore round their neck. They wore it also +in white over their shoulder upon a black mantle. And the knights who had been +admitted to the full honors of the Order had a scarlet surcoat, likewise with +the white cross, over their armor. The whole brotherhood was under the command +of a Grand Master, who was elected in a chapter of all the knights, and to whom +all vowed to render implicit obedience.</p> +<p>Good service in all their three capacities had been done by the Order as long +as the Crusaders were able to keep a footing in the Holy Land; but they were +driven back step by step, and at last, in 1291, their last stronghold at Acre +was taken, after much desperate fighting, and the remnant of the Hospitaliers +sailed away to the isle of Cyprus, where, after a few years, they recruited +their forces, and, in 1307, captured the island of Rhodes, which had been a nest +of Greek and Mahometan pirates. Here they remained, hoping for a fresh Crusade +to recover the Holy Sepulcher, and in the meantime fulfilling their old mission +as the protectors and nurses of the weak. All the Mediterranean Sea was infested +by corsairs from the African coast and the Greek isles, and these brave knights, +becoming sailors as well as all they had been before, placed their red flag with +its white cross at the masthead of many a gallant vessel that guarded the +peaceful traveler, hunted down the cruel pirate, and brought home his Christian +slave, rescued from laboring at the oar, to the Hospital for rest and tendance. +Or their treasures were used in redeeming the captives in the pirate cities. No +knight of St. John might offer any ransom for himself save his sword and scarf; +but for the redemption of their poor fellow Christians their wealth was ready, +and many a captive was released from toiling in Algiers or Tripoli, or still +worse, from rowing the pirate vessels, chained to the oar, between the decks, +and was restored to health and returned to his friends, blessing the day he had +been brought into the curving harbour of Rhodes, with the fine fortified town of +churches and monasteries.</p> +<p>Some eighteen years after the conquest of Rhodes, the whole island was filled +with dismay by the ravages of an enormous creature, living in a morass at the +foot of Mount St. Stephen, about two miles from the city of Rhodes. Tradition +calls it a dragon, and whether it were a crocodile or a serpent is uncertain. +There is reason to think that the monsters of early creation were slow in +becoming extinct, or it is not impossible that either a crocodile or a python +might have been brought over by storms or currents from Africa, and have grown +to a more formidable size than usual in solitude among the marshes, while the +island was changing owners. The reptile, whatever it might be, was the object of +extreme dread; it devoured sheep and cattle, when they came down to the water, +and even young shepherd boys were missing. And the pilgrimage to the Chapel of +St. Stephen, on the hill above its lair, was especially a service of danger, for +pilgrims were believed to be snapped up by the dragon before they could mount +the hill.</p> +<p>Several knights had gone out to attempt the destruction of the creature, but +not one had returned, and at last the Grand Master, Helion de Villeneuve, +forbade any further attacks to be made. The dragon is said to have been covered +with scales that were perfectly impenetrable either to arrows or any cutting +weapon; and the severe loss that encounters with him had cost the Order, +convinced the Grand Master that he must be let alone.</p> +<p>However, a young knight, named Dieudonne de Gozon, was by no means willing to +acquiesce in the decree; perhaps all the less because it came after he had once +gone out in quest of the monster, but had returned, by his own confession, +without striking a blow. He requested leave of absence, and went home for a time +to his father's castle of Gozon, in Languedoc; and there he caused a model of +the monster to be made. He had observed that the scales did not protect the +animal's belly, though it was almost impossible to get a blow at it, owing to +its tremendous teeth, and the furious strokes of its length of tail. He +therefore caused this part of his model to be made hollow, and filled with food, +and obtaining two fierce young mastiffs, he trained them to fly at the under +side of the monster, while he mounted his warhorse, and endeavored to accustom +it likewise to attack the strange shape without swerving.</p> +<p>When he thought the education of horse and dogs complete, he returned to +Rhodes; but fearing to be prevented from carrying out his design, he did not +land at the city, but on a remote part of the coast, whence he made his way to +the chapel of St. Stephen. There, after having recommended himself to God, he +left his two French squires, desiring them to return home if he were slain, but +to watch and come to him if he killed the dragon, or were only hurt by it. He +then rode down the hillside, and towards the haunt of the dragon. It roused +itself at his advance, and at first he charged it with his lance, which was +perfectly useless against the scales. His horse was quick to perceive the +difference between the true and the false monster, and started back, so that he +was forced to leap to the ground; but the two dogs were more staunch, and sprang +at the animal, whilst their master struck at it with his sword, but still +without reaching a vulnerable part, and a blow from the tail had thrown him +down, and the dragon was turning upon him, when the movement left the undefended +belly exposed. Both mastiffs fastened on it at once, and the knight, regaining +his feet, thrust his sword into it. There was a death grapple, and finally the +servants, coming down the hill, found their knight lying apparently dead under +the carcass of the dragon. When they had extricated him, taken off his helmet, +and sprinkled him with water, he recovered, and presently was led into the city +amid the ecstatic shouts of the whole populace, who conducted him in triumph to +the palace of the Grand Master.</p> +<p>We have seen how Titus Manlius was requited by his father for his breach of +discipline. It was somewhat in the same manner that Helion de Villeneuve +received Dieudonne. We borrow Schiller's beautiful version of the conversation +that took place, as the young knight, pale, with his black mantle rent, his +shining armor dinted, his scarlet surcoat stained with blood, came into the +Knights' Great Hall.</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'Severe and grave was the Master's brow,<br> +Quoth he, 'A hero bold art thou,<br> +By valor 't is that knights are known;<br> +A valiant spirit hast thou shown;<br> +But the first duty of a knight,<br> +Now tell, who vows for CHRIST to fight<br> +And bears the Cross on his coat of mail.'<br> +The listeners all with fear grew pale,<br> +While, bending lowly, spake the knight,<br> +His cheeks with blushes burning,<br> +'He who the Cross would bear aright<br> +Obedience must be learning.'</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>Even after hearing the account of the conflict, the Grand Master did not +abate his displeasure.</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'My son, the spoiler of the land<br> +Lies slain by thy victorious hand<br> +Thou art the people's god, but so<br> +Thou art become thine Order's foe;<br> +A deadlier foe thine heart has bred<br> +Than this which by thy hand is dead,<br> +That serpent still the heart defiling<br> +To ruin and to strife beguiling,<br> +It is that spirit rash and bold,<br> +That scorns the bands of order;<br> +Rages against them uncontrolled<br> +Till earth is in disorder.<br> +'Courage by Saracens is shown,<br> +Submission is the Christian's own;<br> +And where our Saviour, high and holy,<br> +Wandered a pilgrim poor and lowly<br> +Upon that ground with mystery fraught,<br> +The fathers of our Order taught<br> +The duty hardest to fulfil<br> +Is to give up your own self-will<br> +Thou art elate with glory vain.<br> +Away then from my sight!<br> +Who can his Saviour's yoke disdain<br> +Bears not his Cross aright.'<br> +'An angry cry burst from the crowd,<br> +The hall rang with their tumult loud;<br> +Each knightly brother prayed for grace.<br> +The victor downward bent his face,<br> +Aside his cloak in silence laid,<br> +Kissed the Grand Master's hand, nor stayed.<br> +The Master watched him from the hall,<br> +Then summoned him with loving call,<br> +'Come to embrace me, noble son,<br> +Thine is the conquest of the soul;<br> +Take up the Cross, now truly won,<br> +By meekness and by self-control.'</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>The probation of Dieudonne is said to have been somewhat longer than the poem +represents, but after the claims of discipline had been established, he became a +great favorite with stern old Villeneuve, and the dragon's head was set up over +the gate of the city, where Thèvenot professed to have seen it in the +seventeenth century, and said that it was larger than that of a horse, with a +huge mouth and teeth and very large eyes. The name of Rhodes is said to come +from a Phoenician word, meaning a serpent, and the Greeks called this isle of +serpents, which is all in favor of the truth of the story. But, on the other +hand, such traditions often are prompted by the sight of the fossil skeletons of +the dragons of the elder world, and are generally to be met with where such +minerals prevail as are found in the northern part of Rhodes. The tale is +disbelieved by many, but it is hard to suppose it an entire invention, though +the description of the monster may have been exaggerated.</p> +<p>Dieudonne de Gozon was elected to the Grand Mastership after the death of +Villeneuve, and is said to have voted for himself. If so, it seems as if he +might have had, in his earlier days, an overweening opinion of his own +abilities. However, he was an excellent Grand Master, a great soldier, and much +beloved by all the poor peasants of the island, to whom he was exceedingly kind. +He died in 1353, and his tomb is said to have been the only inscribed with these +words, 'Here lies the Dragon Slayer.'</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>THE KEYS OF CALAIS<br> +1347</h3></center> + +<p>Nowhere does the continent of Europe approach Great Britain so closely as at +the straits of Dover, and when our sovereigns were full of the vain hope of +obtaining the crown of France, or at least of regaining the great possessions +that their forefathers has owned as French nobles, there was no spot so coveted +by them as the fortress of Calais, the possession of which gave an entrance into +France.</p> +<p>Thus it was that when, in 1346, Edward III. had beaten Philippe VI. at the +battle of Crecy, the first use he made of his victory was to march upon Calais, +and lay siege to it. The walls were exceedingly strong and solid, mighty +defenses of masonry, of huge thickness and like rocks for solidity, guarded it, +and the king knew that it would be useless to attempt a direct assault. Indeed, +during all the Middle Ages, the modes of protecting fortifications were far more +efficient than the modes of attacking them. The walls could be made enormously +massive, the towers raised to a great height, and the defenders so completely +sheltered by battlements that they could not easily be injured and could take +aim from the top of their turrets, or from their loophole windows. The gates had +absolute little castles of their own, a moat flowed round the walls full of +water, and only capable of being crossed by a drawbridge, behind which the +portcullis, a grating armed beneath with spikes, was always ready to drop from +the archway of the gate and close up the entrance. The only chance of taking a +fortress by direct attack was to fill up the moat with earth and faggots, and +then raise ladders against the walls; or else to drive engines against the +defenses, battering-rams which struck them with heavy beams, mangonels which +launched stones, sows whose arched wooden backs protected troops of workmen who +tried to undermine the wall, and moving towers consisting of a succession of +stages or shelves, filled with soldiers, and with a bridge with iron hooks, +capable of being launched from the highest story to the top of the battlements. +The besieged could generally disconcert the battering-ram by hanging beds or +mattresses over the walls to receive the brunt of the blow, the sows could be +crushed with heavy stones, the towers burnt by well-directed flaming missiles, +the ladders overthrown, and in general the besiegers suffered a great deal more +damage than they could inflict. Cannon had indeed just been brought into use at +the battle of Crecy, but they only consisted of iron bars fastened together with +hoops, and were as yet of little use, and thus there seemed to be little danger +to a well-guarded city from any enemy outside the walls.</p> +<p>King Edward arrived before the place with all his victorious army early in +August, his good knights and squires arrayed in glittering steel armor, covered +with surcoats richly embroidered with their heraldic bearings; his stout +men-at-arms, each of whom was attended by three bold followers; and his archers, +with their crossbows to shoot bolts, and longbows to shoot arrows of a yard +long, so that it used to be said that each went into battle with three men's +lives under his girdle, namely, the three arrows he kept there ready to his +hand. With the King was his son, Edward, Prince of Wales, who had just won the +golden spurs of knighthood so gallantly at Crecy, when only in his seventeenth +year, and likewise the famous Hainault knight, Sir Walter Mauny, and all that +was noblest and bravest in England.</p> +<p>This whole glittering army, at their head the King's great royal standard +bearing the golden lilies of France quartered with the lions of England, and +each troop guided by the square banner, swallow-tailed pennon or pointed +pennoncel of their leader, came marching to the gates of Calais, above which +floated the blue standard of France with its golden flowers, and with it the +banner of the governor, Sir Jean de Vienne. A herald, in a rich long robe +embroidered with the arms of England, rode up to the gate, a trumpet sounding +before him, and called upon Sir Jean de Vienne to give up the place to Edward, +King of England, and of France, as he claimed to be. Sir Jean made answer that +he held the town for Philippe, King of France, and that he would defend it to +the last; the herald rode back again and the English began the siege of the +city.</p> +<p>At first they only encamped, and the people of Calais must have seen the +whole plain covered with the white canvas tents, marshalled round the ensigns of +the leaders, and here and there a more gorgeous one displaying the colours of +the owner. Still there was no attack upon the walls. The warriors were to be +seen walking about in the leathern suits they wore under their armor; or if a +party was to be seen with their coats of mail on, helmet on head, and lance in +hand, it was not against Calais that they came; they rode out into the country, +and by and by might be seen driving back before them herds of cattle and flocks +of sheep or pigs that they had seized and taken away from the poor peasants; and +at night the sky would show red lights where farms and homesteads had been set +on fire. After a time, in front of the tents, the English were to be seen hard +at work with beams and boards, setting up huts for themselves, and thatching +them over with straw or broom. These wooden houses were all ranged in regular +streets, and there was a marketplace in the midst, whither every Saturday came +farmers and butchers to sell corn and meat, and hay for the horses; and the +English merchants and Flemish weavers would come by sea and by land to bring +cloth, bread, weapons, and everything that could be needed to be sold in this +warlike market.</p> +<p>The Governor, Sir Jean de Vienne, began to perceive that the King did not +mean to waste his men by making vain attacks on the strong walls of Calais, but +to shut up the entrance by land, and watch the coast by sea so as to prevent any +provisions from being taken in, and so to starve him into surrendering. Sir Jean +de Vienne, however, hoped that before he should be entirely reduced by famine, +the King of France would be able to get together another army and come to his +relief, and at any rate he was determined to do his duty, and hold out for his +master to the last. But as food was already beginning to grow scarce, he was +obliged to turn out such persons as could not fight and had no stores of their +own, and so one Wednesday morning he caused all the poor to be brought together, +men, women, and children, and sent them all out of the town, to the number of +1,700. It was probably the truest mercy, for he had no food to give them, and +they could only have starved miserably within the town, or have hindered him +from saving it for his sovereign; but to them it was dreadful to be driven out +of house and home, straight down upon the enemy, and they went along weeping and +wailing, till the English soldiers met them and asked why they had come out. +They answered that they had been put out because they had nothing to eat, and +their sorrowful, famished looks gained pity for them. King Edward sent orders +that not only should they go safely through his camp, but that they should all +rest, and have the first hearty dinner that they had eaten for many a day, and +he sent every one a small sum of money before they left the camp, so that many +of them went on their way praying aloud for the enemy who had been so kind to +them.</p> +<p>A great deal happened whilst King Edward kept watch in his wooden town and +the citizens of Calais guarded their walls. England was invaded by King David +II. of Scotland, with a great army, and the good Queen Philippa, who was left to +govern at home in the name of her little son Lionel, assembled all the forces +that were left at home, and crossed the Straits of Dover, and a messenger +brought King Edward letters from his Queen to say that the Scots army had been +entirely defeated at Nevil's Cross, near Durham, and that their King was a +prisoner, but that he had been taken by a squire named John Copeland, who would +not give him up to her.</p> +<p>King Edward sent letters to John Copeland to come to him at Calais, and when +the squire had made his journey, the King took him by the hand saying, 'Ha! +welcome, my squire, who by his valor has captured our adversary the King of +Scotland.'</p> +<p>Copeland, falling on one knee, replied, 'If God, out of His great kindness, +has given me the King of Scotland, no one ought to be jealous of it, for God +can, when He pleases, send His grace to a poor squire as well as to a great +Lord. Sir, do not take it amiss if I did not surrender him to the orders of my +lady the Queen, for I hold my lands of you, and my oath is to you, not to her.'</p> +<p>The King was not displeased with his squire's sturdiness, but made him a +knight, gave him a pension of 500l. a year, and desired him to surrender his +prisoner to the Queen, as his own representative. This was accordingly done, and +King David was lodged in the Tower of London. Soon after, three days before All +Saint's Day, there was a large and gay fleet to be seen crossing from the white +cliffs of Dover, and the King, his son, and his knights rode down to the landing +place to welcome plump, fair haired Queen Philippa, and all her train of ladies, +who had come in great numbers to visit their husbands, fathers, or brothers in +the wooden town.</p> +<p>Then there was a great Court, and numerous feasts and dances, and the knights +and squires were constantly striving who could do the bravest deed of prowess to +please the ladies. The King of France had placed numerous knights and +men-at-arms in the neighboring towns and castles, and there were constant fights +whenever the English went out foraging, and many bold deeds that were much +admired were done. The great point was to keep provisions out of the town, and +there was much fighting between the French who tried to bring in supplies, and +the English who intercepted them. Very little was brought in by land, and Sir +Jean de Vienne and his garrison would have been quite starved but for two +sailors of Abbeville, named Marant and Mestriel, who knew the coast thoroughly, +and often, in the dark autumn evenings, would guide in a whole fleet of little +boats, loaded with bread and meat for the starving men within the city. They +were often chased by King Edward's vessels, and were sometimes very nearly +taken, but they always managed to escape, and thus they still enabled the +garrison to hold out.</p> +<p>So all the winter passed, Christmas was kept with brilliant feastings and +high merriment by the King and his Queen in their wooden palace outside, and +with lean cheeks and scanty fare by the besieged within. Lent was strictly +observed perforce by the besieged, and Easter brought a betrothal in the English +camp; a very unwilling one on the part of the bridegroom, the young Count of +Flanders, who loved the French much better than the English, and had only been +tormented into giving his consent by his unruly vassals because they depended on +the wool of English sheep for their cloth works. So, though King Edward's +daughter Isabel was a beautiful fair-haired girl of fifteen, the young Count +would scarcely look at her; and in the last week before the marriage day, while +her robes and her jewels were being prepared, and her father and mother were +arranging the presents they should make to all their Court on the wedding day, +the bridegroom, when out hawking, gave his attendants the slip, and galloped off +to Paris, where he was welcomed by King Philippe.</p> +<p>This made Edward very wrathful, and more than ever determined to take Calais. +About Whitsuntide he completed a great wooden castle upon the seashore, and +placed in it numerous warlike engines, with forty men-at-arms and 200 archers, +who kept such a watch upon the harbour that not even the two Abbeville sailors +could enter it, without having their boats crushed and sunk by the great stones +that the mangonels launched upon them. The townspeople began to feel what hunger +really was, but their spirits were kept up by the hope that their King was at +last collecting an army for their rescue.</p> +<p>And Philippe did collect all his forces, a great and noble army, and came one +night to the hill of Sangate, just behind the English army, the knights' armor +glancing and their pennons flying in the moonlight, so as to be a beautiful +sight to the hungry garrison who could see the white tents pitched upon the +hillside. Still there were but two roads by which the French could reach their +friends in the town--one along the seacoast, the other by a marshy road higher +up the country, and there was but one bridge by which the river could be +crossed. The English King's fleet could prevent any troops from passing along +the coast road, the Earl of Derby guarded the bridge, and there was a great +tower, strongly fortified, close upon Calais. There were a few skirmishes, but +the French King, finding it difficult to force his way to relieve the town, sent +a party of knights with a challenge to King Edward to come out of his camp and +do battle upon a fair field.</p> +<p>To this Edward made answer, that he had been nearly a year before Calais, and +had spent large sums of money on the siege, and that he had nearly become master +of the place, so that he had no intention of coming out only to gratify his +adversary, who must try some other road if he could not make his way in by that +before him.</p> +<p>Three days were spent in parleys, and then, without the slightest effort to +rescue the brave, patient men within the town, away went King Philippe of +France, with all his men, and the garrison saw the host that had crowded the +hill of Sangate melt away like a summer cloud.</p> +<p>August had come again, and they had suffered privation for a whole year for +the sake of the King who deserted them at their utmost need. They were in so +grievous a state of hunger and distress that the hardiest could endure no more, +for ever since Whitsuntide no fresh provisions had reached them. The Governor, +therefore, went to the battlements and made signs that he wished to hold a +parley, and the King appointed Lord Basset and Sir Walter Mauny to meet him, and +appoint the terms of surrender.</p> +<p>The Governor owned that the garrison was reduced to the greatest extremity of +distress, and requested that the King would be contented with obtaining the city +and fortress, leaving the soldiers and inhabitants to depart in peace.</p> +<p>But Sir Walter Mauny was forced to make answer that the King, his lord, was +so much enraged at the delay and expense that Calais had cost him, that he would +only consent to receive the whole on unconditional terms, leaving him free to +slay, or to ransom, or make prisoners whomsoever he pleased, and he was known to +consider that there was a heavy reckoning to pay, both for the trouble the siege +had cost him and the damage the Calesians had previously done to his ships.</p> +<p>The brave answer was: 'These conditions are too hard for us. We are but a +small number of knights and squires, who have loyally served our lord and master +as you would have done, and have suffered much ill and disquiet, but we will +endure far more than any man has done in such a post, before we consent that the +smallest boy in the town shall fare worse than ourselves. I therefore entreat +you, for pity's sake, to return to the King and beg him to have compassion, for +I have such an opinion of his gallantry that I think he will alter his mind.'</p> +<p>The King's mind seemed, however, sternly made up; and all that Sir Walter +Mauny and the barons of the council could obtain from him was that he would +pardon the garrison and townsmen on condition that six of the chief citizens +should present themselves to him, coming forth with bare feet and heads, with +halters round their necks, carrying the keys of the town, and becoming +absolutely his own to punish for their obstinacy as he should think fit.</p> +<p>On hearing this reply, Sir Jean de Vienne begged Sir Walter Mauny to wait +till he could consult the citizens, and, repairing to the marketplace, he caused +a great bell to be rung, at sound of which all the inhabitants came together in +the town hall. When he told them of these hard terms he could not refrain from +weeping bitterly, and wailing and lamentation arose all round him. Should all +starve together, or sacrifice their best and most honored after all suffering in +common so long?</p> +<p>Then a voice was heard; it was that of the richest burgher in the town, +Eustache de St. Pierre. 'Messieurs high and low,' he said, 'it would be a sad +pity to suffer so many people to die through hunger, if it could be prevented; +and to hinder it would be meritorious in the eyes of our Saviour. I have such +faith and trust in finding grace before God, if I die to save my townsmen, that +I name myself as the first of the six.'</p> +<p>As the burgher ceased, his fellow townsmen wept aloud, and many, amid tears +and groans, threw themselves at his feet in a transport of grief and gratitude. +Another citizen, very rich and respected, rose up and said, 'I will be second to +my comrade, Eustache.' His name was Jean Daire. After him, Jacques Wissant, +another very rich man, offered himself as companion to these, who were both his +cousins; and his brother Pierre would not be left behind: and two more, unnamed, +made up this gallant band of men willing to offer their lives for the rescue of +their fellow townsmen.</p> +<p>Sir Jean de Vienne mounted a little horse--for he had been wounded, and was +still lame--and came to the gate with them, followed by all the people of the +town, weeping and wailing, yet, for their own sakes and their children's not +daring to prevent the sacrifice. The gates were opened, the governor and the six +passed out, and the gates were again shut behind them. Sir Jean then rode up to +Sir Walter Mauny, and told him how these burghers had voluntarily offered +themselves, begging him to do all in his power to save them; and Sir Walter +promised with his whole heart to plead their cause. De Vienne then went back +into the town, full of heaviness and anxiety; and the six citizens were led by +Sir Walter to the presence of the King, in his full Court. They all knelt down, +and the foremost said: 'Most gallant King, you see before you six burghers of +Calais, who have all been capital merchants, and who bring you the keys of the +castle and town. We yield ourselves to your absolute will and pleasure, in order +to save the remainder of the inhabitants of Calais, who have suffered much +distress and misery. Condescend, therefore, out of your nobleness of mind, to +have pity on us.'</p> +<p>Strong emotion was excited among all the barons and knights who stood round, +as they saw the resigned countenances, pale and thin with patiently endured +hunger, of these venerable men, offering themselves in the cause of their fellow +townsmen. Many tears of pity were shed; but the King still showed himself +implacable, and commanded that they should be led away, and their heads stricken +off. Sir Walter Mauny interceded for them with all his might, even telling the +King that such an execution would tarnish his honor, and that reprisals would be +made on his own garrisons; and all the nobles joined in entreating pardon for +the citizens, but still without effect; and the headsman had been actually sent +for, when Queen Philippa, her eyes streaming with tears, threw herself on her +knees amongst the captives, and said, 'Ah, gentle sir, since I have crossed the +sea, with much danger, to see you, I have never asked you one favor; now I beg +as a boon to myself, for the sake of the Son of the Blessed Mary, and for your +love to me, that you will be merciful to these men!'</p> +<p>For some time the King looked at her in silence; then he exclaimed: 'Dame, +dame, would that you had been anywhere than here! You have entreated in such a +manner that I cannot refuse you; I therefore give these men to you, to do as you +please with.'</p> +<p>Joyfully did Queen Philippa conduct the six citizens to her own apartments, +where she made them welcome, sent them new garments, entertained them with a +plentiful dinner, and dismissed them each with a gift of six nobles. After this, +Sir Walter Mauny entered the city, and took possession of it; retaining Sir Jean +de Vienne and the other knights and squires till they should ransom themselves, +and sending out the old French inhabitants; for the King was resolved to people +the city entirely of English, in order to gain a thoroughly strong hold of this +first step in France.</p> +<p>The King and Queen took up their abode in the city; and the houses of Jean +Daire were, it appears, granted to the Queen--perhaps, because she considered +the man himself as her charge, and wished to secure them for him--and her little +daughter Margaret was, shortly after, born in one of his houses. Eustache de St. +Pierre was taken into high favor, and placed in charge of the new citizens whom +the King placed in the city.</p> +<p>Indeed, as this story is told by no chronicler but Froissart, some have +doubted of it, and thought the violent resentment thus imputed to Edward III +inconsistent with his general character; but it is evident that the men of +Calais had given him strong provocation by attacks on his shipping--piracies +which are not easily forgiven--and that he considered that he had a right to +make an example of them. It is not unlikely that he might, after all, have +intended to forgive them, and have given the Queen the grace of obtaining their +pardon, so as to excuse himself from the fulfillment of some over-hasty threat. +But, however this may have been, nothing can lessen the glory of the six grave +and patient men who went forth, by their own free will, to meet what might be a +cruel and disgraceful death, in order to obtain the safety of their +fellow-townsmen.</p> +<p>Very recently, in the summer of 1864, an instance has occurred of +self-devotion worthy to be recorded with that of Eustache de St. Pierre. The +City of Palmyra, in Tennessee, one of the Southern States of America, had been +occupied by a Federal army. An officer of this army was assassinated, and, on +the cruel and mistaken system of taking reprisals, the general arrested ten of +the principal inhabitants, and condemned them to be shot, as deeming the city +responsible for the lives of his officers. One of them was the highly respected +father of a large family, and could ill be spared. A young man, not related to +him, upon this, came forward and insisted on being taken in his stead, as a less +valuable life. And great as was the distress of his friend, this generous +substitution was carried out, and not only spared a father to his children, but +showed how the sharpest strokes of barbarity can still elicit light from the +dark stone--light that but for these blows might have slept unseen.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>THE BATTLE OF SEMPACH<br> +1397</h3></center> + +<p>Nothing in history has been more remarkable than the union of the cantons and +cities of the little republic of Switzerland. Of differing races, languages, +and, latterly, even religions--unlike in habits, tastes, opinions and +costumes--they have, however, been held together, as it were, by pressure from +without, and one spirit of patriotism has kept the little mountain republic +complete for five hundred years.</p> +<p>Originally the lands were fiefs of the Holy Roman Empire, the city +municipalities owning the Emperor for their lord, and the great family of +Hapsburg, in whom the Empire became at length hereditary, was in reality Swiss, +the county that gave them title lying in the canton of Aargau. Rodolf of +Hapsburg was elected leader of the burghers of Zurich, long before he was chosen +to the Empire; and he continued a Swiss in heart, retaining his mountaineer's +open simplicity and honesty to the end of his life. Privileges were granted by +him to the cities and the nobles, and the country was loyal and prosperous in +his reign.</p> +<p>His son Albert, the same who was slain by his nephew Johann, as +before-mentioned, permitted those tyrannies of his bailiffs which goaded the +Swiss to their celebrated revolt, and commenced the long series of wars with the +House of Hapsburgor, as it was now termed, of Austria--which finally established +their independence.</p> +<p>On the one side, the Dukes of Austria and their ponderous German chivalry +wanted to reduce the cantons and cities to vassalage, not to the Imperial Crown, +a distant and scarcely felt obligation, but to the Duchy of Austria; on the +other, the hardy mountain peasants and stout burghers well knew their true +position, and were aware that to admit the Austrian usurpation would expose +their young men to be drawn upon for the Duke's wars, cause their property to be +subject to perpetual rapacious exactions, and fill their hills with castles for +ducal bailiffs, who would be little better than licensed robbers. No wonder, +then, that the generations of William Tell and Arnold Melchthal bequeathed a +resolute purpose of resistance to their descendants.</p> +<p>It was in 1397, ninety years since the first assertion of Swiss independence, +when Leopold the Handsome, Duke of Austria, a bold but misproud and violent +prince, involved himself in one of the constant quarrels with the Swiss that +were always arising on account of the insulting exactions of toll and tribute in +the Austrian border cities. A sharp war broke out, and the Swiss city of Lucerne +took the opportunity of destroying the Austrian castle of Rothemburg, where the +tolls had been particularly vexatious, and of admitting to their league the +cities of Sempach and Richensee.</p> +<p>Leopold and all the neighboring nobles united their forces. Hatred and +contempt of the Swiss, as low-born and presumptuous, spurred them on; and twenty +messengers reached the Duke in one day, with promises of support, in his march +against Sempach and Lucerne. He had sent a large force in the direction of +Zurich with Johann Bonstetten, and advanced himself with 4,000 horse and 1,400 +foot upon Sempach. Zurich undertook its own defense, and the Forest cantons sent +their brave peasants to the support of Lucerne and Sempach, but only to the +number of 1,300, who, on the 9th of July, took post in the woods around the +little lake of Sempach.</p> +<p>Meanwhile, Leopold's troops rode round the walls of the little city, +insulting the inhabitants, one holding up a halter, which he said was for the +chief magistrate; and another, pointing to the reckless waste that his comrades +were perpetrating on the fields, shouted, 'Send a breakfast to the reapers.' The +burgomaster pointed to the wood where his allies lay hid, and answered, 'My +masters of Lucerne and their friends will bring it.'</p> +<p>The story of that day was told by one of the burghers who fought in the ranks +of Lucerne, a shoemaker, named Albert Tchudi, who was both a brave warrior and a +master-singer; and as his ballad was translated by another master-singer, Sir +Walter Scott, and is the spirited record of an eyewitness, we will quote from +him some of his descriptions of the battle and its golden deed.</p> +<p>The Duke's wiser friends proposed to wait till he could be joined by +Bonstetten and the troops who had gone towards Zurich, and the Baron von +Hasenburg (i.e. hare-rock) strongly urged this prudent counsel; but--</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'O, Hare-Castle, thou heart of hare!'<br> +Fierce Oxenstiern he cried,<br> +'Shalt see then how the game will fare,'<br> +The taunted knight replied.'</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>'This very noon,' said the younger knight to the Duke, 'we will deliver up to +you this handful of villains.'</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'And thus they to each other said,<br> +'Yon handful down to hew<br> +Will be no boastful tale to tell<br> +The peasants are so few.'</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>Characteristically enough, the doughty cobbler describes how the first +execution that took place was the lopping off the long-peaked toes of the boots +that the gentlemen wore chained to their knees, and which would have impeded +them on foot; since it had been decided that the horses were too much tired to +be serviceable in the action.</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'There was lacing then of helmets bright,<br> +And closing ranks amain,<br> +The peaks they hewed from their boot points<br> +Might well nigh load a wain.'</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>They were drawn up in a solid compact body, presenting an unbroken line of +spears, projecting beyond the wall of gay shields and polished impenetrable +armor.</p> +<p>The Swiss were not only few in number, but armor was scarce among them; some +had only boards fastened on their arms by way of shields, some had halberts, +which had been used by their fathers at the battle of Morgarten, others +two-handed swords and battleaxes. They drew themselves up in the form of a wedge +and</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'The gallant Swiss confederates then<br> +They prayed to God aloud,<br> +And He displayed His rainbow fair,<br> +Against a swarthy cloud.'</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>Then they rushed upon the serried spears, but in vain. 'The game was nothing +sweet.'</p> +<p>The banner of Lucerne was in the utmost danger, the Landamman was slain, and +sixty of his men, and not an Austrian had been wounded. The flanks of the +Austrian host began to advance so as to enclose the small peasant force, and +involve it in irremediable destruction. A moment of dismay and stillness ensued. +Then Arnold von Winkelried of Unterwalden, with an eagle glance saw the only +means of saving his country, and, with the decision of a man who dares by dying +to do all things, shouted aloud: 'I will open a passage.'</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'I have a virtuous wife at home,<br> +A wife and infant son:<br> +I leave them to my country's care,<br> +The field shall yet be won!'<br> +He rushed against the Austrian band<br> +In desperate career,<br> +And with his body, breast, and hand,<br> +Bore down each hostile spear;<br> +Four lances splintered on his crest,<br> +Six shivered in his side,<br> +Still on the serried files he pressed,<br> +He broke their ranks and died!'</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>The very weight of the desperate charge of this self-devoted man opened a +breach in the line of spears. In rushed the Swiss wedge, and the weight of the +nobles' armor and length of their spears was only encumbering. They began to +fall before the Swiss blows, and Duke Leopold was urged to fly. 'I had rather +die honorably than live with dishonor,' he said. He saw his standard bearer +struck to the ground, and seizing his banner from his hand, waved it over his +head, and threw himself among the thickest of the foe. His corpse was found amid +a heap of slain, and no less then 2000 of his companions perished with him, of +whom a third are said to have been counts, barons and knights.</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'Then lost was banner, spear and shield<br> +At Sempach in the flight;<br> +The cloister vaults at Konigsfeldt<br> +Hold many an Austrian knight.'</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>The Swiss only lost 200; but, as they were spent with the excessive heat of +the July sun, they did not pursue their enemies. They gave thanks on the +battlefield to the God of victories, and the next day buried the dead, carrying +Duke Leopold and twenty-seven of his most illustrious companions to the Abbey of +Konigsfeldt, where they buried him in the old tomb of his forefathers, the lords +of Aargau, who had been laid there in the good old times, before the house of +Hapsburg had grown arrogant with success.</p> +<p>As to the master-singer, he tells us of himself that</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'A merry man was he, I wot,<br> +The night he made the lay,<br> +Returning from the bloody spot,<br> +Where God had judged the day.'</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>On every 9th of July subsequently, the people of the country have been wont +to assemble on the battlefield, around four stone crosses which mark the spot. A +priest from a pulpit in the open air gives a thanksgiving sermon on the victory +that ensured the freedom of Switzerland, and another reads the narrative of the +battle, and the roll of the brave 200, who, after Winkelried's example, gave +their lives in the cause. All this is in the face of the mountains and the lake +now lying in summer stillness, and the harvest fields whose crops are secure +from marauders, and the congregation then proceed to the small chapel, the walls +of which are painted with the deed of Arnold von Winkelried, and the other +distinguished achievements of the confederates, and masses are sung for the +souls of those who were slain. No wonder that men thus nurtured in the memory of +such actions were, even to the fall of the French monarchy, among the most +trustworthy soldiery of Europe.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>THE CONSTANT PRINCE<br> +1433</h3></center> + +<p>The illustrious days of Portugal were during the century and a half of the +dynasty termed the House of Aviz, because its founder, Dom Joao I. had been +grand master of the military order of Aviz.</p> +<p>His right to the throne was questionable, or more truly null, and he had only +obtained the crown from the desire of the nation to be independent of Castile, +and by the assistance of our own John of Gaunt, whose daughter, Philippa of +Lancaster, became his wife, thus connecting the glories of his line with our own +house of Plantagenet.</p> +<p>Philippa was greatly beloved in Portugal, and was a most noble-minded woman, +who infused her own spirit into her children. She had five sons, and when they +all had attained an age to be admitted to the order of knighthood, their father +proposed to give a grand tournament in which they might evince their prowess. +This, however, seemed but play to the high-spirited youths, who had no doubt fed +upon the story of the manner in which their uncle, the Black Prince, whose name +was borne by the eldest, had won his spurs at Crecy. Their entreaty was, not to +be carpet--knights dubbed in time of peace, and King Joao on the other hand +objected to entering on a war merely for the sake of knighting his sons. At last +Dom Fernando, the youngest of the brothers, a lad of fourteen, proposed that +their knighthood should be earned by an expedition to take Ceuta from the Moors. +A war with the infidel never came amiss, and was in fact regarded as a sacred +duty; moreover, Ceuta was a nest of corsairs who infested the whole +Mediterranean coast. Up to the nineteenth century the seaports along the African +coast of the Mediterranean were the hives of pirates, whose small rapid vessels +were the terror of every unarmed ship that sailed in those waters, and whose +descents upon the coasts of Spain, France, and Italy rendered life and property +constantly insecure. A regular system of kidnapping prevailed; prisoners had +their fixed price, and were carried off to labour in the African dockyards, or +to be chained to the benches of the Moorish ships which their oars propelled, +until either a ransom could be procured from their friends, or they could be +persuaded to become renegades, or death put an end to their sufferings. A +captivity among the Moors was by no means an uncommon circumstance even in the +lives of Englishmen down to the eighteenth century, and pious persons frequently +bequeathed sums of money for the ransom of the poorer captives.</p> +<p>Ceuta, perched upon the southern Pillar of Hercules, was one of the most +perilous of these dens of robbery, and to seize it might well appear a worthy +action, not only to the fiery princes, but to their cautious father. He kept his +designs absolutely secret, and contrived to obtain a plan of the town by causing +one of his vessels to put in there as in quest of provisions, while, to cover +his preparations for war, he sent a public challenge to the Count of Holland, +and a secret message at the same time, with the assurance that it was only a +blind. These proceedings were certainly underhand, and partook of treachery; but +they were probably excused in the King's own mind by the notion, that no faith +was to be kept with unbelievers, and, moreover, such people as the Ceutans were +likely never to be wanting in the supply of pretexts for attack.</p> +<p>Just as all was ready, the plague broke out in Lisbon, and the Queen fell +sick of it. Her husband would not leave her, and just before her death she sent +for all her sons, and gave to each a sword, charging them to defend the widow +and orphan, and to fight against the infidel. In the full freshness of their +sorrow, the King and his sons set sail from the Bay of Lagos, in the August of +1415, with 59 galleys, 33 ships of war, and 120 transports; the largest fleet +ever yet sent forth by the little kingdom, and the first that had left a +Peninsular port with the banners and streamers of which the more northern +armaments were so profuse.</p> +<p>The governor of Ceuta, Zala ben Zala, was not unprepared for the attack, and +had collected 5,000 allies to resist the Christians; but a great storm having +dispersed the fleet on the first day of its appearance, he thought the danger +over, and dismissed his friends On the 14th August, however, the whole fleet +again appeared, and the King, in a little boat, directed the landing of his men, +led by his sons, the Infantes Duarte and Henrique. The Moors gave way before +them, and they entered the city with 500 men, among the flying enemy, and there, +after a period of much danger, were joined by their brother Pedro. The three +fought their way to a mosque, where they defended themselves till the King with +the rest of his army made their way in. Zala ben Zala fled to the citadel, but, +after one assault, quitted it in the night.</p> +<p>The Christian captives were released, the mosque purified and consecrated as +a cathedral, a bishop was appointed, and the King gave the government of the +place to Dom Pedro de Menezes, a knight of such known fidelity that the King +would not suffer him to take the oath of allegiance. An attempt was made by the +Moors four years later to recover the place; but the Infantes Pedro and Henrique +hurried from Portugal to succor Menezes, and drove back the besiegers; whereupon +the Moors murdered their King, Abu Sayd, on whom they laid the blame of the +disaster.</p> +<p>On the very day, eighteen years later, of the taking of Ceuta, King Joao died +of the plague at Lisbon, on the 14th of August, 1433. Duarte came to the throne; +and, a few months after, his young brother, Fernando, persuaded him into fitting +out another expedition to Africa, of which Tangier should be the object.</p> +<p>Duarte doubted of the justice of the war, and referred the question to the +Pope, who decided against it; but the answer came too late, the preparations +were made, and the Infantes Henrique and Fernando took the command. Henrique was +a most enlightened prince, a great mathematician and naval discoverer, but he +does not appear to have made good use of his abilities on the present occasion; +for, on arriving at Ceuta, and reviewing the troops, they proved to have but +8,000, instead of 14,000, as they had intended. Still they proceeded, Henrique +by land and Fernando by sea, and laid siege to Tangier, which was defended by +their old enemy, Zala ben Zala. Everything was against them; their scaling +ladders were too short to reach to the top of the walls, and the Moors had time +to collect in enormous numbers for the relief of the city, under the command of +the kings of Fez and Morocco.</p> +<p>The little Christian army was caught as in a net, and, after a day's hard +fighting, saw the necessity of re-embarking. All was arranged for this to be +done at night; but a vile traitor, chaplain to the army, passed over to the +Moors, and revealed their intention. The beach was guarded, and the retreat cut +off. Another day of fighting passed, and at night hunger reduced them to eating +their horses.</p> +<p>It was necessary to come to terms, and messengers were sent to treat with the +two kings. The only terms on which the army could be allowed to depart were that +one of the Infantes should remain as a hostage for the delivery of Ceuta to the +Moors. For this purpose Fernando offered himself, though it was exceedingly +doubtful whether Ceuta would be restored; and the Spanish poet, Calderon, puts +into his mouth a generous message to his brother the King, that they both were +Christian princes, and that his liberty was not to be weighed in the scale with +their father's fairest conquest.</p> +<p>Henrique was forced thus to leave his brave brother, and return with the +remnants of his army to Ceuta, where he fell sick with grief and vexation. He +sent the fleet home; but it met with a great storm, and many vessels were driven +on the coast of Andalusia, where, by orders of the King, the battered sailors +and defeated soldiers were most kindly and generously treated.</p> +<p>Dom Duarte, having in the meantime found out with how insufficient an army +his brothers had been sent forth, had equipped a fresh fleet, the arrival of +which at Ceuta cheered Henrique with hope of rescuing his brother; but it was +soon followed by express orders from the King that Henrique should give up all +such projects and return home. He was obliged to comply, but, unable to look +Duarte in the face, he retired to his own estates at the Algarve.</p> +<p>Duarte convoked the States-general of the kingdom, to consider whether Ceuta +should be yielded to purchase his brother's freedom. They decided that the place +was too important to be parted with, but undertook to raise any sum of money for +the ransom; and if this were not accepted, proposed to ask the Pope to proclaim +a crusade for his rescue.</p> +<p>At first Fernando was treated well, and kept at Tangier as an honorable +prisoner; but disappointment enraged the Moors, and he was thrown into a +dungeon, starved, and maltreated. All this usage he endured with the utmost +calmness and resolution, and could by no means be threatened into entreating for +liberty to be won at the cost of the now Christian city where his knighthood had +been won.</p> +<p>His brother Duarte meantime endeavored to raise the country for his +deliverance; but the plague was still desolating Portugal, so that it was +impossible to collect an army, and the infection at length seized on the King +himself, from a letter which he incautiously opened, and he died, in his +thirty-eighth year, in 1438, the sixth year of his reign and the second of his +brother's captivity. His successor, Affonso V., was a child of six years old, +and quarrels and disputes between the Queen Mother and the Infante Dom Pedro +rendered the chance of redeeming the captivity of Fernando less and less.</p> +<p>The King of Castille, and even the Moorish King of Granada, shocked at his +sufferings and touched by his constancy, proposed to unite their forces against +Tangier for his deliverance; but the effect of this was that Zala ben Zala made +him over to Muley Xeques, the King of Fez, by whom he was thrown into a dungeon +without light or air. After a time, he was brought back to daylight, but only to +toil among the other Christian slaves, to whom he was a model of patience, +resignation, and kindness. Even his enemies became struck with admiration of his +high qualities, and the King of Fez declared that he even deserved to be a +Mahometan!</p> +<p>At last, in 1443, Fernando's captivity ended, but only by his death. Muley +Xeque caused a tall tower to be erected on his tomb, in memory of the victory of +Tangier; but in 1473, two sons of Muley being made prisoners by the Portuguese, +one was ransomed for the body of Dom Fernando, who was then solemnly laid in the +vaults of the beautiful Abbey of Batalha on the field of Aljubarota, which had +given his father the throne. Universal honor attended the name of the Constant +Prince, the Portuguese Regulus; and seldom as the Spanish admire anything +Portuguese, a fine drama of the poet Calderon is founded upon that noble spirit +which preferred dreary captivity to the yielding up his father's conquest to the +enemies of his country and religion. Nor was this constancy thrown away; Ceuta +remained a Christian city. It was held by Portugal till the house of Aviz was +extinguished in Dom Sebastiao, and since that time has belonged to the crown of +Spain.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>THE CARNIVAL OF PERTH<br> +1435</h3></center> + +<p>It was bedtime, and the old vaulted chambers of the Dominican monastery at +Perth echoed with sounds that would seem incongruous in such a home of +austerity, but that the disturbed state of Scotland rendered it the habit of her +kings to attach their palaces to convents, that they themselves might benefit by +the 'peace of the Church', which was in general accorded to all sacred spots.</p> +<p>Thus it was that Christmas and Carnival time of 1435-6 had been spent by the +Court in the cloisters of Perth, and the dance, the song, and the tourney had +strangely contrasted with the grave and self-denying habits to which the +Dominicans were devoted in their neighboring cells. The festive season was +nearly at an end, for it was the 20th of February; but the evening had been more +than usually gay, and had been spent in games at chess, tables, or backgammon, +reading romances of chivalry, harping, and singing. King James himself, brave +and handsome, and in the prime of life, was the blithest of the whole joyous +party. He was the most accomplished man in his dominions; for though he had been +basely kept a prisoner at Windsor throughout his boyhood by Henry IV of England, +an education had been bestowed on him far above what he would have otherwise +obtained; and he was naturally a man of great ability, refinement, and strength +of character. Not only was he a perfect knight on horseback, but in wrestling +and running, throwing the hammer, and 'putting the stane', he had scarcely a +rival, and he was skilled in all the learned lore of the time, wrote poetry, +composed music both sacred and profane, and was a complete minstrel, able to +sing beautifully and to play on the harp and organ. His Queen, the beautiful +Joan Beaufort, had been the lady of his minstrelsy in the days of his captivity, +ever since he had watched her walking on the slopes of Windsor Park, and wooed +her in verses that are still preserved. They had now been eleven years married, +and their Court was one bright spot of civilization, refinement, and grace, amid +the savagery of Scotland. And now, after the pleasant social evening, the Queen, +with her long fair hair unbound, was sitting under the hands of her tire-women, +who were preparing her for the nights rest; and the King, in his furred +nightgown, was standing before the bright fire on the hearth of the wide +chimney, laughing and talking with the attendant ladies.</p> +<p>Yet dark hints had already been whispered, which might have cast a shadow +over that careless mirth. Always fierce and vindictive, the Scots had been +growing more and more lawless and savage ever since the disputed succession of +Bruce and Balliol had unsettled all royal authority, and led to one perpetual +war with the English. The twenty years of James's captivity had been the worst +of all--almost every noble was a robber chief; Scottish Borderer preyed upon +English Borderer, Highlander upon Lowlander, knight upon traveler, everyone who +had armor upon him who had not; each clan was at deadly feud with its neighbour; +blood was shed like water from end to end of the miserable land, and the higher +the birth of the offender the greater the impunity he claimed.</p> +<p>Indeed, James himself had been brought next to the throne by one of the most +savage and horrible murders ever perpetrated--that of his elder brother, David, +by his own uncle; and he himself had probably been only saved from sharing the +like fate by being sent out of the kingdom. His earnest words on his return to +take the rule of this unhappy realm were these: 'Let God but grant me life, and +there shall not be a spot in my realm where the key shall not keep the castle, +and the bracken bush the cow, though I should lead the life of a dog to +accomplish it.'</p> +<p>This great purpose had been before James through the eleven years of his +reign, and he had worked it out resolutely. The lawless nobles would not brook +his ruling hand, and strong and bitter was the hatred that had arisen against +him. In many of his transactions he was far from blameless: he was sometimes +tempted to craft, sometimes to tyranny; but his object was always a high and +kingly one, though he was led by the horrid wickedness of the men he had to deal +with more than once to forget that evil is not to be overcome with evil, but +with good. In the main, it was his high and uncompromising resolution to enforce +the laws upon high and low alike that led to the nobles' conspiracies against +him; though, if he had always been true to his purpose of swerving neither to +the right nor to the left, he might have avoided the last fatal offence that +armed the murderer against his life.</p> +<p>The chief misdoers in the long period of anarchy had been his uncles and +cousins; nor was it till after his eldest uncle's death that his return home had +been possible. With a strong hand had he avenged upon the princes and their +followers the many miseries they had inflicted upon his people; and in carrying +out these measures he had seized upon the great earldom of Strathern, which had +descended to one of their party in right of his wife, declaring that it could +not be inherited by a female. In this he appears to have acted unjustly, from +the strong desire to avail himself by any pretext of an opportunity of breaking +the overweening power of the great turbulent nobles; and, to make up for the +loss, he created the new earldom of Menteith, for the young Malise Graham, the +son of the dispossessed earl. But the proud and vindictive Grahams were not thus +to he pacified. Sir Robert Graham, the uncle of the young earl, drew off into +the Highlands, and there formed a conspiracy among other discontented men who +hated the resolute government that repressed their violence. Men of princely +blood joined in the plot, and 300 Highland catherans were ready to accompany the +expedition that promised the delights of war and plunder.</p> +<p>Even when the hard-worked King was setting forth to enjoy his holiday at +Perth, the traitors had fixed upon that spot as the place of his doom; but the +scheme was known to so many, that it could not be kept entirely secret, and +warnings began to gather round the King. When, on his way to Perth, he was about +to cross the Firth of Forth, the wild figure of a Highland woman appeared at his +bridle rein, and solemnly warned him 'that, if he crossed that water, he would +never return alive'. He was struck by the apparition, and bade one of his +knights to enquire of her what she meant; but the knight must have been a +dullard or a traitor, for he told the King that the woman was either mad or +drunk, and no notice was taken of her warning.</p> +<p>There was likewise a saying abroad in Scotland, that the new year, 1436, +should see the death of a king; and this same carnival night, James, while +playing at chess with a young friend, whom he was wont to call the king of love, +laughingly observed that 'it must be you or I, since there are but two kings in +Scotland--therefore, look well to yourself'.</p> +<p>Little did the blithe monarch guess that at that moment one of the +conspirators, touched by a moment's misgiving, was hovering round, seeking in +vain for an opportunity of giving him warning; that even then his chamberlain +and kinsman, Sir Robert Stewart, was enabling the traitors to place boards +across the moat for their passage, and to remove the bolts and bars of all the +doors in their way. And the Highland woman was at the door, earnestly entreating +to see the King, if but for one moment! The message was even brought to him, +but, alas! he bade her wait till the morrow, and she turned away, declaring that +she should never more see his face!</p> +<p>And now, as before said, the feast was over, and the King stood, gaily +chatting with his wife and her ladies, when the clang of arms was heard, and the +glare of torches in the court below flashed on the windows. The ladies flew to +secure the doors. Alas! the bolts and bars were gone! Too late the warnings +returned upon the King's mind, and he knew it was he alone who was sought. He +tried to escape by the windows, but here the bars were but too firm. Then he +seized the tongs, and tore up a board in the floor, by which he let himself down +into the vault below, just as the murderers came rushing along the passage, +slaying on their way a page named Walter Straiton.</p> +<p>There was no bar to the door. Yes, there was. Catherine Douglas, worthy of +her name, worthy of the cognizance of the bleeding heart, thrust her arm through +the empty staples to gain for her sovereign a few moments more for escape and +safety! But though true as steel, the brave arm was not as strong. It was +quickly broken. She was thrust fainting aside, and the ruffians rushed in. Queen +Joan stood in the midst of the room, with her hair streaming round her, and her +mantle thrown hastily on. Some of the wretches even struck and wounded her, but +Graham called them off, and bade them search for the King. They sought him in +vain in every corner of the women's apartments, and dispersed through the other +rooms in search of their prey. The ladies began to hope that the citizens and +nobles in the town were coming to their help, and that the King might have +escaped through an opening that led from the vault into the tennis court. +Presently, however, the King called to them to draw him up again, for he had not +been able to get out of the vault, having a few days before caused the hole to +be bricked up, because his tennis balls used to fly into it and be lost. In +trying to draw him up by the sheets, Elizabeth Douglas, another of the ladies, +was actually pulled down into the vault; the noise was heard by the assassins, +who were still watching outside, and they returned.</p> +<p>There is no need to tell of the foul and cruel slaughter that ensued, nor of +the barbarous vengeance that visited it. Our tale is of golden, not of brazen +deeds; and if we have turned our eyes for a moment to the Bloody Carnival of +Perth, it is for the sake of the King, who was too upright for his bloodthirsty +subjects, and, above all, for that of the noble-hearted lady whose frail arm was +the guardian of her sovereign's life in the extremity of peril.</p> +<p>In like manner, on the dreadful 6th of October, 1787, when the infuriated mob +of Paris had been incited by the revolutionary leaders to rush to Versailles in +pursuit of the royal family, whose absence they fancied deprived them of bread +and liberty, a woman shared the honor of saving her sovereign's life, at least +for that time.</p> +<p>The confusion of the day, with the multitude thronging the courts and park of +Versailles, uttering the most frightful threats and insults, had been beyond all +description; but there had been a pause at night, and at two o'clock, poor Queen +Marie Antoinette, spent with horror and fatigue, at last went to bed, advising +her ladies to do the same; but their anxiety was too great, and they sat up at +her door. At half-past four they heard musket shots, and loud shouts, and while +one awakened the Queen, the other, Madame Auguier, flew towards the place whence +the noise came. As she opened the door, she found one of the royal bodyguards, +with his face covered with blood, holding his musket so as to bar the door while +the furious mob were striking at him. He turned to the lady, and cried, 'Save +the Queen, madame, they are come to murder her!' Quick as lightning, Madame +Auguier shut and bolted the door, rushed to the Queen's bedside, and dragged her +to the opposite door, with a petticoat just thrown over her. Behold, the door +was fastened on the other side! The ladies knocked violently, the King's valet +opened it, and in a few minutes the whole family were in safety in the King's +apartments. M. de Miomandre, the brave guardsman, who used his musket to guard +the Queen's door instead of to defend himself, fell wounded; but his comrade, M. +de Repaire, at once took his place, and, according to one account, was slain, +and the next day his head, set upon a pike, was borne before the carriage in +which the royal family were escorted back to Paris.</p> +<p>M. de Miomandre, however, recovered from his wounds, and a few weeks after, +the Queen, hearing that his loyalty had made him a mark for the hatred of the +mob, sent for him to desire him to quit Paris. She said that gold could not +repay such a service as his had been, but she hoped one day to be able to +recompense him more as he deserved; meanwhile, she hoped he would consider that +as a sister might advance a timely sum to a brother, so she might offer him +enough to defray his expenses at Paris, and to provide for his journey. In a +private audience then he kissed her hand, and those of the King and his saintly +sister, Elizabeth, while the Queen gratefully expressed her thanks, and the King +stood by, with tears in his eyes, but withheld by his awkward bashfulness from +expressing the feelings that overpowered him.</p> +<p>Madame Auguier, and her sister, Madame Campan, continued with their royal +lady until the next stage in that miserable downfall of all that was high and +noble in unhappy France. She lived through the horrors of the Revolution, and +her daughter became the wife of Marshal Ney.</p> +<p>Well it is that the darkening firmament does but show the stars, and that +when treason and murder surge round the fated chambers of royalty, their +foulness and violence do but enhance the loyal self-sacrifice of such +doorkeepers as Catherine Douglas, Madame Auguier, or M. de Miomandre.</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'Such deeds can woman's spirit do,<br> +O Catherine Douglas, brave and true!<br> +Let Scotland keep thy holy name<br> +Still first upon her ranks of fame.'</p> +</blockquote> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>THE CROWN OF ST. STEPHEN<br> +1440</h3></center> + +<p>Of all the possessions of the old kingdom of Hungary, none was more valued +than what was called the Crown of St. Stephen, so called from one, which had, in +the year 1000, been presented by Pope Sylvester II. to Stephen, the second +Christian Duke, and first King of Hungary. A crown and a cross were given to him +for his coronation, which took place in the Church of the Holy Virgin, at Alba +Regale, also called in German Weissenburg, where thenceforth the Kings of +Hungary were anointed to begin their troubled reigns, and at the close of them +were laid to rest beneath the pavement, where most of them might have used the +same epitaph as the old Italian leader: 'He rests here, who never rested +before'. For it was a wild realm, bordered on all sides by foes, with Poland, +Bohemia, and Austria, ever casting greedy eyes upon it, and afterwards with the +Turk upon the southern border, while the Magyars, or Hungarian nobles, +themselves were a fierce and untameable race, bold and generous, but brooking +little control, claiming a voice in choosing their own Sovereign, and to resist +him, even by force of arms, if he broke the laws. No prince had a right to their +allegiance unless he had been crowned with St. Stephen's Crown; but if he had +once worn that sacred circle, he thenceforth was held as the only lawful +monarch, unless he should flagrantly violate the Constitution. In 1076, another +crown had been given by the Greek Emperor to Geysa, King of Hungary, and the +sacred crown combined the two. It had the two arches of the Roman crown, and the +gold circlet of the Constantinopolitan; and the difference of workmanship was +evident.</p> +<p>In the year 1439 died King Albert, who had been appointed King of Hungary in +right of his wife, Queen Elizabeth. He left a little daughter only four years +old, and as the Magyars had never been governed by a female hand, they proposed +to send and offer their crown, and the hand of their young widowed Queen, to +Wladislas, the King of Poland. But Elizabeth had hopes of another child, and in +case it should be a son, she had no mind to give away its rights to its father's +throne. How, then, was she to help herself among the proud and determined nobles +of her Court? One thing was certain, that if once the Polish king were crowned +with St. Stephen's crown, it would be his own fault if he were not King of +Hungary as long as he lived; but if the crown were not to be found, of course he +could not receive it, and the fealty of the nobles would not be pledged to him.</p> +<p>The most trustworthy person she had about her was Helen Kottenner, the lady +who had the charge of her little daughter, Princess Elizabeth, and to her she +confided her desire that the crown might be secured, so as to prevent the Polish +party from getting access to it. Helen herself has written down the history of +these strange events, and of her own struggles of mind, at the risk she ran, and +the doubt whether good would come of the intrigue; and there can be no doubt +that, whether the Queen's conduct were praiseworthy or not, Helen dared a great +peril for the sake purely of loyalty and fidelity. 'The Queen's commands', she +says, 'sorely troubled me; for it was a dangerous venture for me and my little +children, and I turned it over in my mind what I should do, for I had no one to +take counsel of but God alone; and I thought if I did it not, and evil arose +therefrom, I should be guilty before God and the world. So I consented to risk +my life on this difficult undertaking; but desired to have someone to help me.' +This was permitted; but the first person to whom the Lady of Kottenner confided +her intention, a Croat, lost his color from alarm, looked like one half-dead, +and went at once in search of his horse. The next thing that was heard of him +was that he had had a bad fall from his horse, and had been obliged to return to +Croatia, and the Queen remained much alarmed at her plans being known to one so +faint-hearted. However, a more courageous confidant was afterwards found in a +Hungarian gentleman, whose name has become illegible in Helen's old manuscript.</p> +<p>The crown was in the vaults of the strong Castle of Plintenburg, also called +Vissegrad, which stands upon a bend of the Danube, about twelve miles from the +twin cities of Buda and Pesth. It was in a case within a chest, sealed with many +seals, and since the King's death, it had been brought up by the nobles, who +closely guarded both it and the Queen, into her apartments, and there examined +and replaced in the chest. The next night, one of the Queen's ladies upset a wax +taper, without being aware of it, and before the fire was discovered, and put +out, the corner of the chest was singed, and a hole burnt in the blue velvet +cushion that lay on the top. Upon this, the lords had caused the chest to be +taken down again into the vault, and had fastened the doors with many locks and +with seals. The Castle had further been put into the charge of Ladislas von +Gara, the Queen's cousin, and Ban, or hereditary commander, of the border +troops, and he had given it over to a Burggraf, or seneschal, who had placed his +bed in the chamber where was the door leading to the vaults.</p> +<p>The Queen removed to Komorn, a castle higher up the Danube, in charge of her +faithful cousin, Count Ulric of Eily, taking with her her little daughter +Elizabeth, Helen Kottenner, and two other ladies. This was the first stage on +the journey to Presburg, where the nobles had wished to lodge the Queen, and +from thence she sent back Helen to bring the rest of the maids of honor and her +goods to join her at Komorn. It was early spring, and snow was still on the +ground, and the Lady of Kottenner and her faithful nameless assistant travelled +in a sledge; but two Hungarian noblemen went with them, and they had to be most +careful in concealing their arrangements. Helen had with her the Queen's signet, +and keys; and her friend had a file in each shoe, and keys under his black +velvet dress.</p> +<p>On arriving in the evening, they found that the Burggraf had fallen ill, and +could not sleep in the chamber leading to the vault, because it belonged to the +ladies' chambers, and that he had therefore put a cloth over the padlock of the +door and sealed it. There was a stove in the room, and the maidens began to pack +up their clothes there, an operation that lasted till eight o'clock; while +Helen's friend stood there, talking and jesting with them, trying all the while +to hide the files, and contriving to say to Helen: 'Take care that we have a +light.' So she begged the old housekeeper to give her plenty of wax tapers, as +she had many prayers to say. At last everyone was gone to bed, and there only +remained in the room with Helen, an old woman, whom she had brought with her, +who knew no German, and was fast asleep. Then the accomplice came back through +the chapel, which opened into this same hall. He had on his black velvet gown +and felt shoes, and was followed by a servant, who, Helen says, was bound to him +by oath, and had the same Christian name as himself, this being evidently an +additional bond of fidelity. Helen, who had received from the Queen all the keys +to this outer room, let them in, and, after the Burggraf's cloth and seal had +been removed, they unlocked the padlock, and the other two locks of the outer +door of the vault, and the two men descended into it. There were several other +doors, whose chains required to be filed through, and their seals and locks +broken, and to the ears of the waiting Helen the noise appeared fatally loud. +She says, 'I devoutly prayed to God and the Holy Virgin, that they would support +and help me; yet I was in greater anxiety for my soul than for my life, and I +prayed to God that He would be merciful to my soul, and rather let me die at +once there, than that anything should happen against his will, or that should +bring misfortune on my country and people.'</p> +<p>She fancied she heard a noise of armed men at the chapel door, but finding +nothing there, believed--not in her own nervous agitation, a thing not yet +invented--that it was a spirit, and returning to her prayers, vowed, poor lady, +to make a pilgrimage to St. Maria Zell, in Styria, if the Holy Virgin's +intercessions obtained their success, and till the pilgrimage could be made, 'to +forego every Saturday night my feather bed!' After another false alarm at a +supposed noise at the maiden's door, she ventured into the vault to see how her +companions were getting on, when she found they had filed away all the locks, +except that of the case containing the crown, and this they were obliged to +burn, in spite of their apprehension that the smell and smoke might be observed. +They then shut up the chest, replaced the padlocks and chains with those they +had brought for the purpose, and renewed the seals with the Queen's signet, +which bearing the royal arms, would baffle detection that the seals had been +tampered with. They then took the crown into the chapel, where they found a red +velvet cushion, so large that by taking out some of the stuffing a hiding place +was made in which the crown was deposited, and the cushion sewn up over it.</p> +<p>By this time day was dawning, the maidens were dressing, and it was the hour +for setting off for Komorn. The old woman who had waited on them came to the +Lady of Kottenner to have her wages paid, and be dismissed to Buda. While she +was waiting, she began to remark on a strange thing lying by the stove, which, +to the Lady Helen's great dismay, she perceived to be a bit of the case in which +the crown was kept. She tried to prevent the old woman from noticing it, pushed +it into the hottest part of the stove, and, by way of further precaution, took +the old woman away with her, on the plea of asking the Queen to make her a +bedeswoman at Vienna, and this was granted to her.</p> +<p>When all was ready, the gentleman desired his servant to take the cushion and +put it into the sledge designed for himself and the Lady of Kottenner. The man +took it on his shoulders, hiding it under an old ox-hide, with the tail hanging +down, to the laughter of all beholders. Helen further records the trying to get +some breakfast in the marketplace and finding nothing but herrings, also the +going to mass, and the care she took not to sit upon the holy crown, though she +had to sit on its cushion in the sledge. They dined at an inn, but took care to +keep the cushion in sight, and then in the dusk crossed the Danube on the ice, +which was becoming very thin, and halfway across it broke under the maidens' +carriage, so that Helen expected to be lost in the Danube, crown and all. +However, though many packages were lost under the ice, her sledge got safe over, +as well as all the ladies, some of whom she took into her conveyance, and all +safely arrived at the castle of Komorn late in the evening.</p> +<p>The very hour of their arrival a babe was born to the Queen, and to her +exceeding joy it was a son. Count von Eily, hearing 'that a king and friend was +born to him', had bonfires lighted, and a torchlight procession on the ice that +same night, and early in the morning came the Archbishop of Gran to christen the +child. The Queen wished her faithful Helen to be godmother, but she refused in +favor of some lady whose family it was probably needful to propitiate. She took +off the little princess Elizabeth's mourning for her father and dressed her in +red and gold, all the maidens appeared in gay apparel, and there was great +rejoicing and thanksgiving when the babe was christened Ladislas, after a +sainted King of Hungary.</p> +<p>The peril was, however, far from ended; for many of the Magyars had no notion +of accepting an infant for their king, and by Easter, the King of Poland was +advancing upon Buda, to claim the realm to which he had been invited. No one had +discovered the abstraction of the crown, and Elizabeth's object was to take her +child to Weissenburg, and there have him crowned, so as to disconcert the Polish +party. She had sent to Buda for cloth of gold to make him a coronation dress, +but it did not come in time, and Helen therefore shut herself into the chapel at +Komorn, and, with doors fast bolted, cut up a rich and beautiful vestment of his +grandfather's, the emperor Sigismund, of red and gold, with silver spots, and +made it into a tiny coronation robe, with surplice and humeral (or +shoulder-piece), the stole and banner, the gloves and shoes. The Queen was much +alarmed by a report that the Polish party meant to stop her on her way to +Weissenburg; and if the baggage should be seized and searched, the discovery of +the crown might have fatal consequences. Helen, on this, observed that the King +was more important than the crown, and that the best way would be to keep them +together; so she wrapped up the crown in a cloth, and hid it under the mattress +of his cradle, with a long spoon for mixing his pap upon the top, so, said the +Queen, he might take care of his crown himself.</p> +<p>On Tuesday before Whit Sunday the party set out, escorted by Count Ulric, and +several other knights and nobles. After crossing the Danube in a large boat, the +Queen and her little girl were placed in a carriage, or more probably a litter, +the other ladies rode, and the cradle and its precious contents were carried by +four men; but this the poor little Lassla, as Helen shortens his lengthy name, +resented so much, that he began to scream so loud that she was forced to +dismount and carry him in her arms, along a road rendered swampy by much rain.</p> +<p>They found all the villages deserted by the peasants, who had fled into the +woods, and as most of their lords were of the other party, they expected an +attack, so the little king was put into the carriage with his mother and sister, +and the ladies formed a circle round it 'that if anyone shot at the carriage we +might receive the stroke'. When the danger was over the child was taken out +again, for he would be content nowhere but in the arms of either his nurse or of +faithful Helen, who took turns to carry him on foot nearly all the way, +sometimes in a high wind which covered them with dust, sometimes in great heat, +sometimes in rain so heavy that Helen's fur pelisse, with which she covered his +cradle, had to be wrung out several times. They slept at an inn, round which the +gentlemen lighted a circle of fires, and kept watch all night.</p> +<p>Weissenburg was loyal, five hundred armed gentlemen came out to meet them, +and on Whitsun Eve they entered the city, Helen carrying her little king in her +arms in the midst of a circle of these five hundred holding their naked swords +aloft. On Whit Sunday, Helen rose early, bathed the little fellow, who was +twelve weeks old that day, and dressed him. He was then carried in her arms to +the church, beside his mother. According to the old Hungarian customs, the choir +door was closed--the burghers were within, and would not open till the new +monarch should have taken the great coronation oath to respect the Hungarian +liberties and laws.</p> +<p>This oath was taken by the Queen in the name of her son, the doors were +opened, and all the train entered, the little princess being lifted up to stand +by the organ, lest she should be hurt in the throng. First Helen held her charge +up to be confirmed, and then she had to hold him while he was knighted, with a +richly adorned sword bearing the motto 'Indestructible', and by a stout +Hungarian knight called Mikosch Weida, who struck with such a goodwill that +Helen felt the blow on her arm, and the Queen cried out to him not to hurt the +child.</p> +<p>The Archbishop of Gran anointed the little creature, dressed him in the red +and gold robe, and put on his head the holy crown, and the people admired to see +how straight he held up his neck under it; indeed, they admired the loudness and +strength of his cries, when, as the good lady records, 'the noble king had +little pleasure in his coronation for he wept aloud'. She had to hold him up for +the rest of the service, while Count Ulric of Eily held the crown over his head, +and afterwards to seat him in a chair in St. Peter's Church, and then he was +carried home in his cradle, with the count holding the crown over his head, and +the other regalia borne before him.</p> +<p>And thus Ladislas became King of Hungary at twelve weeks old, and was then +carried off by his mother into Austria for safety. Whether this secret robbery +of the crown, and coronation by stealth, was wise or just on the mother's part +is a question not easy of answer--though of course she deemed it her duty to do +her utmost for her child's rights. Of Helen Kottenner's deep fidelity and +conscientious feeling there can be no doubt, and her having acted with her eyes +fully open to the risk she ran, her trust in Heaven overcoming her fears and +terrors, rendered her truly a heroine.</p> +<p>The crown has had many other adventures, and afterwards was kept in an +apartment of its own, in the castle of Ofen, with an antechamber guarded by two +grenadiers. The door was of iron, with three locks, and the crown itself was +contained in an iron chest with five seals. All this, however, did not prevent +it from being taken away and lost in the Revolution of 1849.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>GEORGE THE TRILLER<br> +1455</h3></center> + +<blockquote> +<p><b>I.</b></p> + +<p>'Why, Lady dear, so sad of cheer?<br> +Hast waked the livelong night?'<br> +'My dreams foreshow my children's woe,<br> +Ernst bold and Albrecht bright.<br> +'From the dark glades of forest shades<br> +There rushed a raging boar,<br> +Two sapling oaks with cruel strokes<br> +His crooked tusks uptore.'<br> +'Ah, Lady dear, dismiss thy fear<br> +Of phantoms haunting sleep!'<br> +'The giant knight, Sir Konrad hight,<br> +Hath vowed a vengeance deep.<br> +'My Lord, o'erbold, hath kept his gold,<br> +And scornful answer spake:<br> +'Kunz, wisdom learn, nor strive to burn<br> +The fish within their lake.'<br> +'See, o'er the plain, with all his train,<br> +My Lord to Leipzig riding;<br> +Some danger near my children dear<br> +My dream is sure betiding.'<br> +'The warder waits before the gates,<br> +The castle rock is steep,<br> +The massive walls protect the halls,<br> +Thy children safely sleep.'</p> + +<p><b>II.</b></p> + +<p>'T is night's full noon, fair shines the moon<br> +On Altenburg's old halls,<br> +The silver beams in tranquil streams<br> +Rest on the ivied walls.<br> +Within their tower the midnight hour<br> +Has wrapt the babes in sleep,<br> +With unclosed eyes their mother lies<br> +To listen and to weep.<br> +What sudden sound is stirring round?<br> +What clang thrills on her ear?<br> +Is it the breeze amid the trees<br> +Re-echoing her fear?<br> +Swift from her bed, in sudden dread,<br> +She to her lattice flies:<br> +Oh! sight of woe, from far below<br> +Behold a ladder rise:<br> +And from yon tower, her children's bower,<br> +Lo! Giant Kunz descending!<br> +Ernst, in his clasp of iron grasp,<br> +His cries with hers is blending.<br> +'Oh! hear my prayer, my children spare,<br> +The sum shall be restored;<br> +Nay, twenty-fold returned the gold,<br> +Thou know'st how true my Lord.'<br> +With mocking grace he bowed his face:<br> +'Lady, my greetings take;<br> +Thy Lord may learn how I can burn<br> +The fish within their lake.'<br> +Oh! double fright, a second knight<br> +Upon the ladder frail,<br> +And in his arm, with wild alarm,<br> +A child uplifts his wail!<br> +Would she had wings! She wildly springs<br> +To rouse her slumbering train;<br> +Bolted without, her door so stout<br> +Resists her efforts vain!<br> +No mortal ear her calls can hear,<br> +The robbers laugh below;<br> +Her God alone may hear her moan,<br> +Or mark her hour of woe.<br> +A cry below, 'Oh! let me go,<br> +I am no prince's brother;<br> +Their playmate I--Oh! hear my cry<br> +Restore me to my mother!'<br> +With anguish sore she shakes the door.<br> +Once more Sir Kunz is rearing<br> +His giant head. His errand sped<br> +She sees him reappearing.<br> +Her second child in terror wild<br> +Is struggling in his hold;<br> +Entreaties vain she pours again,<br> +Still laughs the robber bold.<br> +'I greet thee well, the Elector tell<br> +How Kunz his counsel takes,<br> +And let him learn that I can burn<br> +The fish within their lakes.'</p> + +<p><b>III.</b></p> + +<p>'Swift, swift, good steed, death's on thy speed,<br> +Gain Isenburg ere morn;<br> +Though far the way, there lodged our prey,<br> +We laugh the Prince to scorn.<br> +'There Konrad's den and merry men<br> +Will safely hold the boys--<br> +The Prince shall grieve long ere we leave<br> +Our hold upon his joys.<br> +'But hark! but hark! how through the dark<br> +The castle bell is tolling,<br> +From tower and town o'er wood and down,<br> +The like alarm notes rolling.<br> +'The peal rings out! echoes the shout!<br> +All Saxony's astir;<br> +Groom, turn aside, swift must we ride<br> +Through the lone wood of fir.'<br> +Far on before, of men a score<br> +Prince Ernst bore still sleeping;<br> +Thundering as fast, Kunz came the last,<br> +Carrying young Albrecht weeping.<br> +The clanging bell with distant swell<br> +Dies on the morning air,<br> +Bohemia's ground another bound<br> +Will reach, and safety there.<br> +The morn's fresh beam lights a cool stream,<br> +Charger and knight are weary,<br> +He draws his rein, the child's sad plain<br> +He meets with accents cheery.<br> +'Sir Konrad good, be mild of mood,<br> +A fearsome giant thou!<br> +For love of heaven, one drop be given<br> +To cool my throbbing brow!'<br> +Kunz' savage heart feels pity's smart,<br> +He soothes the worn-out child,<br> +Bathes his hot cheeks, and bending seeks<br> +For woodland berries wild.<br> +A deep-toned bark! A figure dark,<br> +Smoke grimed and sun embrowned,<br> +Comes through the wood in wondering mood,<br> +And by his side a hound.<br> +'Oh, to my aid, I am betrayed,<br> +The Elector's son forlorn,<br> +From out my bed these men of dread<br> +Have this night hither borne!'<br> +'Peace, if thou 'rt wise,' the false groom cries,<br> +And aims a murderous blow;<br> +His pole-axe long, his arm so strong,<br> +Must lay young Albrecht low.<br> +See, turned aside, the weapon glide<br> +The woodman's pole along,<br> +To Albrecht's clasp his friendly grasp<br> +Pledges redress from wrong.<br> +Loud the hound's note as at the throat<br> +Of the false groom he flies;<br> +Back at the sounds Sir Konrad bounds:<br> +'Off hands, base churl,' he cries.<br> +The robber lord with mighty sword,<br> +Mailed limbs of giant strength--<br> +The woodman stout, all arms without,<br> +Save his pole's timber length--<br> +Unequal fight! Yet for the right<br> +The woodman holds the field;<br> +Now left, now right, repels the knight,<br> +His pole full stoutly wields.<br> +His whistle clear rings full of cheer,<br> +And lo! his comrades true,<br> +All swarth and lusty, with fire poles trusty,<br> +Burst on Sir Konrad's view.<br> +His horse's rein he grasps amain<br> +Into his selle to spring,<br> +His gold-spurred heel his stirrup's steel<br> +Has caught, his weapons ring.<br> +His frightened steed with wildest speed<br> +Careers with many a bound;<br> +Sir Konrad's heel fast holds the steel,<br> +His head is on the ground.<br> +The peasants round lift from the ground<br> +His form in woeful plight,<br> +To convent cell, for keeping well,<br> +Bear back the robber knight.<br> +'Our dear young lord, what may afford<br> +A charcoal-burners' store<br> +We freely spread, milk, honey, bread,<br> +Our heated kiln before!'</p> + +<p><b>IV.</b></p> + +<p>Three mournful days the mother prays,<br> +And weeps the children's fate;<br> +The prince in vain has scoured the plain--<br> +A sound is at the gate.<br> +The mother hears, her head she rears,<br> +She lifts her eager finger--<br> +'Rejoice, rejoice, 't is Albrecht's voice,<br> +Open! Oh, wherefore linger?'<br> +See, cap in hand the woodman stand--<br> +Mother, no more of weeping--<br> +His hound well tried is at his side,<br> +Before him Albrecht leaping,<br> +Cries, 'Father dear, my friend is here!<br> +My mother! Oh, my mother!<br> +The giant knight he put to flight,<br> +The good dog tore the other.'<br> +Oh! who the joy that greets the boy,<br> +Or who the thanks may tell,<br> +Oh how they hail the woodman's tale,<br> +How he had 'trilled him well!'</p> +<p>[Footnote: Trillen, to shake; a word analogous to our rill, to shake the +voice in singing]</p> +<p>'I trilled him well,' he still will tell<br> +In homely phrase his story,<br> +To those who sought to know how wrought<br> +An unarmed hand such glory.<br> +That mother sad again is glad,<br> +Her home no more bereft;<br> +For news is brought Ernst may be sought<br> +Within the Devil's Cleft.<br> +That cave within, these men of sin<br> +Had learnt their leader's fall,<br> +The prince to sell they proffered well<br> +At price of grace to all.<br> +Another day and Earnest lay,<br> +Safe on his mother's breast;<br> +Thus to her sorrow a gladsome morrow<br> +Had brought her joy and rest.<br> +The giant knight was judged aright,<br> +Sentenced to death he lay;<br> +The elector mild, since safe his child,<br> +Sent forth the doom to stay.<br> +But all to late, and o'er the gate<br> +Of Freiburg's council hall<br> +Sir Konrad's head, with features dread,<br> +The traitor's eyes appal.<br> +The scullion Hans who wrought their plans,<br> +And oped the window grate,<br> +Whose faith was sold for Konrad's gold,<br> +He met a traitor's fate</p> + +<p><b>V.</b></p> + +<p>Behold how gay the wood to-day,<br> +The little church how fair,<br> +What banners wave, what tap'stry brave<br> +Covers its carvings rare!<br> +A goodly train--the parents twain,<br> +And here the princess two,<br> +Here with his pole, George, stout of soul,<br> +And all his comrades true.<br> +High swells the chant, all jubilant,<br> +And each boy bending low,<br> +Humbly lays down the wrapping gown<br> +He wore the night of woe.<br> +Beside them lay a smock of grey,<br> +All grimed with blood and smoke;<br> +A thankful sign to Heaven benign,<br> +That spared the sapling oak.<br> +'What prize would'st hold, thou 'Triller bold',<br> +Who trilled well for my son?'<br> +'Leave to cut wood, my Lord, so good,<br> +Near where the fight was won.'<br> +'Nay, Triller mine, the land be thine,<br> +My trusty giant-killer,<br> +A farm and house I and my spouse<br> +Grant free to George the Triller!'<br> +Years hundred four, and half a score,<br> +Those robes have held their place;<br> +The Triller's deed has grateful meed<br> +From Albrecht's royal race.</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>The child rescued by George the Triller's Golden Deed was the ancestor of the +late Prince Consort, and thus of our future line of kings. He was the son of the +Elector Friedrich the mild of Saxony, and of Margarethe of Austria, whose dream +presaged her children's danger. The Elector had incurred the vengeance of the +robber baron, Sir Konrad of Kauffingen, who, from his huge stature, was known as +the Giant Ritter, by refusing to make up to him the sum of 4000 gulden which he +had had to pay for his ransom after being made prisoner in the Elector's +service. In reply to his threats, all the answer that the robber knight received +was the proverbial one, 'Do not try to burn the fish in the ponds, Kunz.'</p> +<p>Stung by the irony, Kunz bribed the elector's scullion, by name Hans Schwabe, +to admit him and nine chosen comrades into the Castle of Altenburg on the night +of the 7th of July, 1455, when the Elector was to be at Leipzig. Strange to say, +this scullion was able to write, for a letter is extant from him to Sir Konrad, +engaging to open the window immediately above the steep precipice, which on that +side was deemed a sufficient protection to the castle, and to fasten a rope +ladder by which to ascend the crags. This window can still be traced, though +thenceforth it was bricked up. It gave access to the children's apartments, and +on his way to them, the robber drew the bolt of their mother's door, so that +though, awakened by the noise, she rushed to her window, she was a captive in +her own apartment, and could not give the alarm, nor do anything but join her +vain entreaties to the cries of her helpless children. It was the little son of +the Count von Bardi whom Wilhelm von Mosen brought down by mistake for young +Albrecht, and Kunz, while hurrying up to exchange the children, bade the rest of +his band hasten on to secure the elder prince without waiting for him. He +followed in a few seconds with Albrecht in his arms, and his servant Schweinitz +riding after him, but he never overtook the main body. Their object was to reach +Konrad's own Castle of Isenburg on the frontiers of Bohemia, but they quickly +heard the alarm bells ringing, and beheld beacons lighted upon every hill. They +were forced to betake themselves to the forests, and about half-way, Prince +Ernst's captors, not daring to go any father, hid themselves and him in a cavern +called the Devil's Cleft on the right bank of the River Mulde.</p> +<p>Kunz himself rode on till the sun had risen, and he was within so few miles +of his castle that the terror of his name was likely to be a sufficient +protection. Himself and his horse were, however, spent by the wild midnight +ride, and on the border of the wood of Eterlein, near the monastery of Grunheim, +he halted, and finding the poor child grievously exhausted and feverish, he +lifted him down, gave him water, and went himself in search of wood strawberries +for his refreshment, leaving the two horses in the charge of Schweinitz. The +servant dozed in his saddle, and meanwhile the charcoal-burner, George Schmidt, +attracted by the sounds, came out of the wood, where all night he had been +attending to the kiln, hollowed in the earth, and heaped with earth and roots of +trees, where a continual charring of wood was going on. Little Albrecht no +sooner saw this man than he sprang to him, and telling his name and rank, +entreated to be rescued from these cruel men. The servant awaking, leapt down +and struck a deadly blow at the boy's head with his pole-ax, but it was parried +by the charcoal-burner, who interposing with one hand the strong wooden pole he +used for stirring his kiln, dragged the little prince aside with the other, and +at the same time set his great dog upon the servant. Sir Konrad at once hurried +back, but the valiant charcoal-burner still held his ground, dangerous as the +fight was between the peasant unarmed except for the long pole, and the fully +accoutered knight of gigantic size and strength. However, a whistle from George +soon brought a gang of his comrades to his aid, and Kunz, finding himself +surrounded, tried to leap into his saddle, and break through the throng by +weight of man and horse, but his spur became entangled, the horse ran away, and +he was dragged along with his head on the ground till he was taken up by the +peasants and carried to the convent of Grunheim, whence he was sent to Zwickau, +and was thence transported heavily ironed to Freiburg, where he was beheaded on +the 14th of July, only a week after his act of violence. The Elector, in his joy +at the recovery of even one child, was generous enough to send a pardon, but the +messenger reached Freiburg too late, and a stone in the marketplace still marks +the place of doom, while the grim effigy of Sir Konrad's head grins over the +door of the Rathhaus. It was a pity Friedrich's mildness did not extend to +sparing torture as well as death to his treacherous scullion, but perhaps a +servant's power of injuring his master was thought a reason for surrounding such +instances of betrayal with special horrors.</p> +<p>The party hidden in the Devil's Cleft overheard the peasants in the wood +talking of the fall of the giant of Kauffingen, and, becoming alarmed for +themselves, they sent to the Governor of the neighboring castle of Hartenstein +to offer to restore Prince Ernst, provided they were promised a full pardon. The +boy had been given up as dead, and intense were the rejoicings of the parents at +his restoration. The Devil's Cleft changed its name to the Prince's Cleft, and +the tree where Albrecht had lain was called the Prince's Oak, and still remains +as a witness to the story, as do the moth-eaten garments of the princely +children, and the smock of the charcoal-burner, which they offered up in token +of thanksgiving at the little forest church of Ebendorff, near the scene of the +rescue.</p> +<p>'I trillirt the knaves right well,' was honest George's way of telling the +story of his exploit, not only a brave one, but amounting even to self-devotion +when we remember that the robber baron was his near neighbour, and a terror to +all around. The word Triller took the place of his surname, and when the sole +reward he asked was leave freely to cut wood in the forest, the Elector gave him +a piece of land of his own in the parish of Eversbach. In 1855 there was a grand +celebration of the rescue of the Saxon princes on the 9th of July, the four +hundredth anniversary, with a great procession of foresters and charcoal-burners +to the 'Triller's Brewery', which stands where George's hut and kiln were once +placed. Three of his descendants then figured in the procession, but since that +time all have died, and the family of the Trillers is now extinct.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>SIR THOMAS MORE'S DAUGHTER<br> +1535</h3></center> + +<p>We have seen how dim and doubtful was the belief that upbore the grave and +beautiful Antigone in her self-sacrifice; but there have been women who have +been as brave and devoted in their care of the mortal remains of their +friends--not from the heathen fancy that the weal of the dead depended on such +rites, but from their earnest love, and with a fuller trust beyond.</p> +<p>Such was the spirit of Beatrix, a noble maiden of Rome, who shared the +Christian faith of her two brothers, Simplicius and Faustinus, at the end of the +third century. For many years there had been no persecution, and the Christians +were living at peace, worshipping freely, and venturing even to raise churches. +Young people had grown up to whom the being thrown to the lions, beheaded, or +burnt for the faith's sake, was but a story of the times gone by. But under the +Emperor Diocletian all was changed. The old heathen gods must be worshipped, +incense must be burnt to the statue of the Emperor, or torture and death were +the punishment. The two brothers Simplicius and Faustinus were thus asked to +deny their faith, and resolutely refused. They were cruelly tortured, and at +length beheaded, and their bodies thrown into the tawny waters of the Tiber. +Their sister Beatrix had taken refuge with a poor devout Christian woman, named +Lucina. But she did not desert her brothers in death; she made her way in secret +to the bank of the river, watching to see whether the stream might bear down the +corpses so dear to her. Driven along, so as to rest upon the bank, she found +them at last, and, by the help of Lucina, she laid them in the grave in the +cemetery called Ad Ursum Pileatum. For seven months she remained in her shelter, +but she was at last denounced, and was brought before the tribunal, where she +made answer that nothing should induce her to adore gods made of wood and stone. +She was strangled in her prison, and her corpse being cast out, was taken home +by Lucina, and buried beside her brothers. It was, indeed, a favorite charitable +work of the Christian widows at Rome to provide for the burial of the martyrs; +and as for the most part they were poor old obscure women, they could perform +this good work with far less notice than could persons of more mark.</p> +<p>But nearer home, our own country shows a truly Christian Antigone, resembling +the Greek lady, both in her dutifulness to the living, and in her tender care +for the dead. This was Margaret, the favorite daughter of sir Thomas More, the +true-hearted, faithful statesman of King Henry VIII.</p> +<p>Margaret's home had been an exceedingly happy one. Her father, Sir Thomas +More, was a man of the utmost worth, and was both earnestly religious and +conscientious, and of a sweetness of manner and playfulness of fancy that +endeared him to everyone. He was one of the most affectionate and dutiful of +sons to his aged father, Sir John More; and when the son was Lord Chancellor, +while the father was only a judge, Sir Thomas, on his way to his court, never +failed to kneel down before his father in public, and ask his blessing. Never +was the old saying, that a dutiful child had dutiful children, better +exemplified than in the More family. In the times when it was usual for parents +to be very stern with children, and keep them at a great distance, sometimes +making them stand in their presence, and striking them for any slight offence, +Sir Thomas More thought it his duty to be friendly and affectionate with them, +to talk to them, and to enter into their confidence; and he was rewarded with +their full love and duty.</p> +<p>He had four children--Margaret, Elizabeth, Cicely, and John. His much-loved +wife died when they were all very young, and he thought it for their good to +marry a widow, Mrs. Alice Middleton, with one daughter named Margaret, and he +likewise adopted an orphan called Margaret Giggs. With this household he lived +in a beautiful large house at Chelsea, with well-trimmed gardens sloping down to +the Thames; and this was the resort of the most learned and able men, both +English and visitors from abroad, who delighted in pacing the shady walks, +listening to the wit and wisdom of Sir Thomas, or conversing with the daughters, +who had been highly educated, and had much of their father's humor and +sprightliness. Even Henry VIII. himself, then one of the most brilliant and +graceful gentlemen of his time, would sometimes arrive in his royal barge, and +talk theology or astronomy with Sir Thomas; or, it might be, crack jests with +him and his daughters, or listen to the music in which all were skilled, even +Lady More having been persuaded in her old age to learn to play on various +instruments, including the flute. The daughters were early given in marriage, +and with their husbands, continued to live under their father's roof. Margaret's +husband was William Roper, a young lawyer, of whom Sir Thomas was very fond, and +his household at Chelsea was thus a large and joyous family home of children and +grandchildren, delighting in the kind, bright smiles of the open face under the +square cap, that the great painter Holbein has sent down to us as a familiar +sight.</p> +<p>But these glad days were not to last for ever. The trying times of the reign +of Henry VIII. were beginning, and the question had been stirred whether the +King's marriage with Katherine of Aragon had been a lawful one. When Sir Thomas +More found that the King was determined to take his own course, and to divorce +himself without permission from the Pope, it was against his conscience to +remain in office when acts were being done which he could not think right or +lawful. He therefore resigned his office as Lord Chancellor, and, feeling +himself free from the load and temptation, his gay spirits rose higher than +ever. His manner of communicating the change to his wife, who had been very +proud of his state and dignity, was thus. At church, when the service was over, +it had always been the custom for one of his attendants to summon Lady More by +coming to her closet door, and saying, 'Madam, my lord is gone.' On the day +after his resignation, he himself stepped up, and with a low bow said, 'Madam, +my lord is gone,' for in good soothe he was no longer Chancellor, but only plain +Sir Thomas.</p> +<p>He thoroughly enjoyed his leisure, but he was not long left in tranquillity. +When Anne Boleyn was crowned, he was invited to be present, and twenty pounds +were offered him to buy a suitably splendid dress for the occasion; but his +conscience would not allow him to accept the invitation, though he well knew the +terrible peril he ran by offending the King and Queen. Thenceforth there was a +determination to ruin him. First, he was accused of taking bribes when +administering justice. It was said that a gilt cup had been given to him as a +New Year's gift, by one lady, and a pair of gloves filled with gold coins by +another; but it turned out, on examination, that he had drunk the wine out of +the cup, and accepted the gloves, because it was ill manners to refuse a lady's +gift, yet he had in both cases given back the gold.</p> +<p>Next, a charge was brought that he had been leaguing with a half-crazy woman +called the Nun of Kent, who had said violent things about the King. He was sent +for to be examined by Henry and his Council, and this he well knew was the +interview on which his safety would turn, since the accusation was a mere +pretext, and the real purpose of the King was to see whether he would go along +with him in breaking away from Rome--a proceeding that Sir Thomas, both as +churchman and as lawyer, could not think legal. Whether we agree or not in his +views, it must always be remembered that he ran into danger by speaking the +truth, and doing what he thought right. He really loved his master, and he knew +the humor of Henry VIII., and the temptation was sore; but when he came down +from his conference with the King in the Tower, and was rowed down the river to +Chelsea, he was so merry that William Roper, who had been waiting for him in the +boat, thought he must be safe, and said, as they landed and walked up the +garden--</p> +<p>'I trust, sir, all is well, since you are so merry?'</p> +<p>'It is so, indeed, son, thank God!'</p> +<p>'Are you then, sir, put out of the bill?'</p> +<p>'Wouldest thou know, son why I am so joyful? In good faith I rejoice that I +have given the devil a foul fall; because I have with those lords gone so far +that without great shame I can never go back,' he answered, meaning that he had +been enabled to hold so firmly to his opinions, and speak them out so boldly, +that henceforth the temptation to dissemble them and please the King would be +much lessened. That he had held his purpose in spite of the weakness of mortal +nature, was true joy to him, though he was so well aware of the consequences +that when his daughter Margaret came to him the next day with the glad tidings +that the charge against him had been given up, he calmly answered her, 'In +faith, Meg, what is put off is not given up.'</p> +<p>One day, when he had asked Margaret how the world went with the new Queen, +and she replied, 'In faith, father, never better; there is nothing else in the +court but dancing and sporting,' he replied, with sad foresight, 'Never better. +Alas, Meg! it pitieth me to remember unto what misery, poor soul, she will +shortly come. These dances of hers will prove such dances that she will spurn +off our heads like footballs, but it will not be long ere her head will take the +same dance.'</p> +<p>So entirely did he expect to be summoned by a pursuivant that he thought it +would lessen the fright of his family if a sham summons were brought. So he +caused a great knocking to be made while all were at dinner, and the sham +pursuivant went through all the forms of citing him, and the whole household +were in much alarm, till he explained the jest; but the earnest came only a few +days afterwards. On the 13th of April of 1534, arrived the real pursuivant to +summon him to Lambeth, there to take the oath of supremacy, declaring that the +King was the head of the Church of England, and that the Pope had no authority +there. He knew what the refusal would bring on him. He went first to church, and +then, not trusting himself to be unmanned by his love for his children and +grandchildren, instead of letting them, as usual, come down to the water side, +with tender kisses and merry farewells, he shut the wicket gate of the garden +upon them all, and only allowed his son-in-law Roper to accompany him, +whispering into his ear, 'I thank our Lord, the field is won.'</p> +<p>Conscience had triumphed over affection, and he was thankful, though for the +last time he looked on the trees he had planted, and the happy home he had +loved. Before the council, he undertook to swear to some clauses in the oath +which were connected with the safety of the realm; but he refused to take that +part of the oath which related to the King's power over the Church. It is said +that the King would thus have been satisfied, but that the Queen urged him +further. At any rate, after being four days under the charge of the Abbot of +Westminister, Sir Thomas was sent to the Tower of London. There his wife--a +plain, dull woman, utterly unable to understand the point of conscience--came +and scolded him for being so foolish as to lie there in a close, filthy prison, +and be shut up with rats and mice, instead of enjoying the favor of the King. He +heard all she had to say, and answered, 'I pray thee, good Mrs. Alice, tell me +one thing--is not this house as near heaven as my own?' To which she had no +better answer than 'Tilly vally, tilly vally.' But, in spite of her folly, she +loved him faithfully; and when all his property was seized, she sold even her +clothes to obtain necessaries for him in prison.</p> +<p>His chief comfort was, however, in visits and letters from his daughter +Margaret, who was fully able to enter into the spirit that preferred death to +transgression. He was tried in Westminster Hall, on the 1st of July, and, as he +had fully expected, sentenced to death. He was taken back along the river to the +Tower. On the wharf his loving Margaret was waiting for her last look. She broke +through the guard of soldiers with bills and halberds, threw her arms round his +neck, and kissed him, unable to say any word but 'Oh, my father!--oh, my +father!' He blessed her, and told her that whatsoever she might suffer, it was +not without the will of God, and she must therefore be patient. After having +once parted with him, she suddenly turned back again, ran to him, and, clinging +round his neck, kissed him over and over again--a sight at which the guards +themselves wept. She never saw him again; but the night before his execution he +wrote to her a letter with a piece of charcoal, with tender remembrances to all +the family, and saying to her, 'I never liked your manner better than when you +kissed me last; for I am most pleased when daughterly love and dear charity have +no leisure to look to worldly courtesy.' He likewise made it his especial +request that she might be permitted to be present at his burial.</p> +<p>His hope was sure and steadfast, and his heart so firm that he did not even +cease from humorous sayings. When he mounted the crazy ladder of the scaffold he +said, 'Master Lieutenant, I pray you see me safe up; and for my coming down let +me shift for myself.' And he desired the executioner to give him time to put his +beard out of the way of the stroke, 'since that had never offended his +Highness'.</p> +<p>His body was given to his family, and laid in the tomb he had already +prepared in Chelsea Church; but the head was set up on a pole on London Bridge. +The calm, sweet features were little changed, and the loving daughter gathered +courage as she looked up at them. How she contrived the deed, is not known; but +before many days had passed, the head was no longer there, and Mrs. Roper was +said to have taken it away. She was sent for to the Council, and accused of the +stealing of her father's head. She shrank not from avowing that thus it had +been, and that the head was in her own possession. One story says that, as she +was passing under the bridge in a boat, she looked up, and said, 'That head has +often lain in my lap; I would that it would now fall into it.' And at that +moment it actually fell, and she received it. It is far more likely that she +went by design, at the same time as some faithful friend on the bridge, who +detached the precious head, and dropped it down to her in her boat beneath. Be +this as it may, she owned before the cruel-hearted Council that she had taken +away and cherished the head of the man whom they had slain as a traitor. +However, Henry VIII. was not a Creon, and our Christian Antigone was dismissed +unhurt by the Council, and allowed to retain possession of her treasure. She +caused it to be embalmed, kept it with her wherever she went, and when, nine +years afterwards, she died (in the year 1544), it was laid in her coffin in the +'Roper aisle' of St. Dunstan's Church, at Canterbury.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>UNDER IVAN THE TERRIBLE<br> +1564</h3></center> + +<p>Prince Andrej Kourbsky was one of the chief boyards or nobles at the Court of +Ivan, the first Grand Prince of Muscovy who assumed the Eastern title of Tzar, +and who relieved Russia from the terrible invasions of the Tatars. This wild +race for nearly four hundred years had roamed over the country, destroying and +plundering all they met with, and blighting all the attempts at civilization +that had begun to be made in the eleventh century. It was only when the Russians +learnt the use of firearms that these savages were in any degree repressed. In +the year 1551 the city of Kazan, upon the River Kazanka, a tributary of the +Volga, was the last city that remained in the hands of the Tatars. It was a rich +and powerful place, a great centre of trade between Europe and the East, but it +was also a nest of robbers, who had frequently broken faith with the Russians, +and had lately expelled the Khan Schig Alei for having endeavored to fulfill his +engagements to them. The Tzar Ivan Vassilovitch, then only twenty-two years of +age, therefore marched against the place, resolved at any cost to reduce it and +free his country from these inveterate foes.</p> +<p>On his way he received tidings that the Crimean Tatars had come plundering +into Russia, probably thinking to attack Moscow, while Ivan was besieging Kazan. +He at once sent off the Prince Kourbsky with 15,000 men, who met double that +number of Tatars at Toula, and totally defeated them, pursuing them to the River +Chevorona, where, after a second defeat, they abandoned a great number of +Russian captives, and a great many camels. Prince Kourbsky was wounded in the +head and shoulder, but was able to continue the campaign.</p> +<p>Some of the boyards murmured at the war, and declared that their strength and +resources were exhausted. Upon this the Tzar desired that two lists might be +drawn up of the willing and unwilling warriors in his camp. 'The first', he +said, 'shall be as dear to me as my own children; their needs shall be made +known to me, and I will share all I have with them. The others may stay at home; +I want no cowards in my army.' No one of course chose to be in the second list, +and about this time was formed the famous guard called the Strelitzes, a body of +chosen warriors who were always near the person of the Tzar.</p> +<p>In the middle of August, 1552, Ivan encamped in the meadows on the banks of +the Volga, which spread like a brilliant green carpet around the hill upon which +stood the strongly fortified city of Kazan. The Tatars had no fears. 'This is +not the first time', they said, 'that we have seen the Muscovites beneath our +walls. Their fruitless attacks always end in retreats, till we have learned to +laugh them to scorn;' and when Ivan sent them messengers with offers of peace, +they replied, 'All is ready; we only await your coming to begin the feast.'</p> +<p>They did not know of the great change that the last half-century had made in +sieges. One of the Italian condottieri, or leaders of free companies, had made +his way to Moscow, and under his instructions, Ivan's troops were for the first +time to conduct a siege in the regular modern manner, by digging trenches in the +earth, and throwing up the soil in front into a bank, behind which the cannon +and gunners are posted, with only small openings made through which to fire at +some spot in the enemy's walls. These trenches are constantly worked nearer and +nearer to the fortifications, till by the effect of the shot an opening or +breach must be made in the walls, and the soldiers can then climb up upon +scaling ladders or heaps of small faggots piled up to the height of the opening. +Sometimes, too, the besiegers burrow underground till they are just below the +wall, then fill the hole with gunpowder, and blow up all above them; in short, +instead of, as in former days, a well-fortified city being almost impossible to +take, except by starving out the garrison, a siege is in these times almost +equally sure to end in favor of the besiegers.</p> +<p>All through August and September the Russians made their approaches, while +the Tatars resisted them bravely, but often showing great barbarity. Once when +Ivan again sent a herald, accompanied by a number of Tatar prisoners, to offer +terms to Yediguer, the present Khan, the defenders called out to their +countrymen, 'You had better perish by our pure hands than by those of the +wretched Christians,' and shot a whole flight of arrows at them. Moreover, every +morning the magicians used to come out at sunrise upon the walls, and their +shrieks, contortions, and waving of garments were believed, not only by the +Tatars but by the Russians, and by Andrej Kourbsky himself, to bring foul +weather, which greatly harassed the Russians. On this Ivan sent to Moscow for a +sacred cross that had been given to the Grand Prince Vladimir when he was +converted; the rivers were blessed, and their water sprinkled round the camp, +and the fair weather that ensued was supposed to be due to the counteraction of +the incantations of the magicians. These Tatars were Mahometans, but they must +have retained some of the wind-raising enchantments of their Buddhist brethren +in Asia.</p> +<p>A great mine had been made under the gate of Arsk, and eleven barrels of +gunpowder placed in it. On the 30th of September it was blown up, and the whole +tower became a heap of ruins. For some minutes the consternation of the besieged +was such that there was a dead silence like the stillness of the grave. The +Russians rushed forward over the opening, but the Tatars, recovering at the +sight of them, fought desperately, but could not prevent them from taking +possession of the tower at the gateway. Other mines were already prepared, and +the Tzar gave notice of a general assault for the next day, and recommended all +his warriors to purify their souls by repentance, confession, and communion, in +readiness for the deadly strife before them. In the meantime, he sent Yediguer a +last offer of mercy, but the brave Tatars cried out, 'We will have no pardon! If +the Russians have one tower, we will build another; if they ruin our ramparts we +will set up more. We will be buried under the walls of Kazan, or else we will +make him raise the siege.'</p> +<p>Early dawn began to break. The sky was clear and cloudless. The Tatars were +on their walls, the Russians in their trenches; the Imperial eagle standard, +which Ivan had lately assumed, floated in the morning wind. The two armies were +perfectly silent, save here and there the bray of a single trumpet, or beat of a +naker drum in one or the other, and the continuous hum of the hymns and chants +from the three Russian chapel-tents. The archers held their arrows on the +string, the gunners stood with lighted matches. The copper-clad domes of the +minarets began to glow with the rising sunbeams; the muezzins were on the roofs +about to call the Moslemin to prayer; the deacon in the Tzar's chapel-tent was +reading the Gospel. 'There shall be one fold and one Shepherd.' At that moment +the sun's disk appeared above the eastern hills, and ere yet the red orb had +fully mounted above the horizon, there was a burst as it were of tremendous +thunderings, and the ground shook beneath the church. The Tzar went to the +entrance, and found the whole city hill so 'rolled in sable smoke', that he +could distinguish nothing, and, going back to his place, desired that the +service should continue. The deacon was in the midst of the prayer for the +establishment of the power of the Tzar and the discomfiture of his enemies, when +the crushing burst of another explosion rushed upon their ears, and as it died +away another voice broke forth, the shout raised by every man in the Russian +lines, 'God is with us!' On then they marched towards the openings that the +mines had made, but there the dauntless garrison, in spite of the terror and +destruction caused by the two explosions, met them with unabated fury, rolling +beams or pouring boiling water upon them as they strove to climb the breach, and +fighting hand to hand with them if they mounted it. However, by the time the +Tzar had completed his devotions and mounted his horse, his eagle could be seen +above the smoke upon the citadel.</p> +<p>Still the city had to be won, step by step, house by house, street by street; +and even while struggling onwards the Russians were tempted aside by plunder +among the rich stores of merchandise that were heaped up in the warehouses of +this the mart of the East. The Khan profited by their lack of discipline, and +forced them back to the walls; nay, they would have absolutely been driven out +at the great gate, but that they beheld their young Tzar on horseback among his +grey-haired councillors. By the advice of these old men Ivan rode forward, and +with his own hand planted the sacred standard at the gates, thus forming a +barrier that the fugitives were ashamed to pass. At the same time he, with half +his choice cavalry, dismounted, and entered the town all fresh and vigorous, +their rich armor glittering with gold and silver, and plumes of various colours +streaming from their helmets in all the brilliancy of Eastern taste. This +reinforcement recalled the plunderers to their duty, and the Tatars were driven +back to the Khan's palace, whence, after an hour's defense, they were forced to +retreat.</p> +<p>At a postern gate, Andrej Kourbsky and two hundred men met Yediguer and +10,000 Tatars, and cut off their retreat, enclosing them in the narrow streets. +They forced their Khan to take refuge in a tower, and made signs as if to +capitulate. 'Listen,' they said. 'As long as we had a government, we were +willing to die for our prince and country. Now Kazan is yours, we deliver our +Khan to you, alive and unhurt--lead him to the Tzar. For our own part, we are +coming down into the open field to drain our last cup of life with you.'</p> +<p>Yediguer and one old councillor were accordingly placed in the hands of an +officer, and then the desperate Tatars, climbing down the outside of the walls, +made for the Kazanka, where no troops, except the small body under Andrej +Kourbsky and his brother Romanus, were at leisure to pursue them. The fighting +was terrible, but the two princes kept them in view until checked by a marsh +which horses could not pass. The bold fugitives took refuge in a forest, where, +other Russian troops coming up, all were surrounded and slain, since not a man +of them would accept quarter.</p> +<p>Yediguer was kindly treated by Ivan, and accompanying him to Moscow, there +became a Christian, and was baptized by the name of Simeon, in the presence of +the Tzar and his whole court, on the banks of the Moskwa. He married a Russian +lady, and his whole conduct proved that his conversion was sincere.</p> +<p>But this story has only been told at so much length to show what manner of +man Andrej Kourbsky was, and Ivan Vassilovitch had been, and how they had once +been brethren in arms; and perhaps it has been lingered over from the melancholy +interest there must always be in watching the fall of a powerful nation, and the +last struggles of gallant men. Ivan was then a gallant, religious and highly +gifted prince, generous and merciful, and with every promise of a glorious +reign, full of benefits to his country. Alas! this part of his career was one +glimpse of brightness in the course of a long tempestuous day. His reign had +begun when he was but three years old. He had had a violent and cruel mother, +and had, after her death, been bred up by evil-minded courtiers, who absolutely +taught him cruel and dissolute amusements in order to prevent him from attending +to state affairs. For a time, the exhortations of the good and fearless +patriarch, and the influence of his gentle wife Anastasia, had prevailed, and +with great vigor and strong principle he had shaken off all the evil habits of +his boyhood, and begun, as it seemed, an admirable reign.</p> +<p>Too soon, a severe illness shook the balance of his mind, and this</p> +<p>was quickly followed by the death of the excellent Tzarina Anastasia. Whether +grief further unsettled him, or whether the loss of her gentle influence left +him a prey to his wicked councillors, from that time forward his conduct was so +wildly savage and barbarous as to win for him the surname of the Terrible. +Frantic actions, extravagant excesses, and freaks of horrible cruelty looked +like insanity; and yet, on the other hand, he often showed himself a +clear-headed and sagacious monarch, anxious for the glory and improvement of his +people.</p> +<p>But he lived in continual suspicion, and dreaded every eminent man in his +dominions. Kourbsky whom he had once loved and trusted, and had charged with the +command of his army, as his most able boyard, fell under his suspicion; and, +with horror and indignation, learnt that the Tzar was plotting against his life, +and intended to have him put to death. Kourbsky upon this explained to his wife +that she must either see him put to a shameful death, or let him leave her for +ever. He gave his blessing to his son, a boy of nine years old, and leaving his +house at night he scaled the wall of Moscow, and meeting his faithful servant, +Vasili Shibanoff, with two horses, he made his escape. This Vasili was his +stirrup-bearer, one of those serfs over whom the boyard on whose land they were +born possessed absolute power. That power was often abused, but the instinctive +faithfulness of the serf towards his master could hardly be shaken, even by the +most savage treatment, and a well-treated serf viewed his master's family with +enthusiastic love and veneration. Vasili accompanied his master's flight through +the birch forests towards the Livonian frontier, the country where but lately +Kourbsky had been leading the Tzar's armies. On the way the prince's horse +became exhausted by his weight, and Vasili insisted on giving up his own in its +stead, though capture in the course of such desertion would have been certain +death. However, master and servant safely arrived at Wolmar in Livonia, and +there Andrej came to the determination of renouncing the service of the +ungrateful Ivan, and entering that of the King of Poland. For this last step +there was no excuse. Nothing can justify a man in taking up arms against his +country, but in the middle Ages the tie of loyalty was rather to the man than to +the state, and Andrej Kourbsky seems to have deemed that his honor would be +safe, provided he sent a letter to his sovereign, explaining his grievance and +giving up his allegiance. The letter is said to have been full of grave severity +and deep, suppressed indignation, though temperate in tone; but no one would +consent to be the bearer of such a missive, since the cruel tyrant's first fury +was almost certain to fall on him who presented it. Believing his master's honor +at stake, Vasili offered himself to be the bearer of the fatal letter, and +Kourbsky accepted the offer, tendering to him a sum of money, which the serf +rejected, knowing that money would soon be of little service to him, and seeking +no reward for what he deemed his duty to his lord.</p> +<p>As Ivan's justice had turned into barbarity, so his religion had turned into +foolish fanatic observance. He had built a monastery near Moscow for himself and +three hundred chosen boyards, and every morning at three or four o'clock he took +his two sons into the belfry with him and proceeded to strike the bells, the +Russian mode of ringing them, till all the brethren were assembled. This +bell-sounding was his favorite occupation, and in it he was engaged when Vasili +arrived. The servant awaited him in the vestibule, and delivered the letter with +these words: 'From my master and thine exile, Prince Andrej Kourbsky.'</p> +<p>Ivan answered by such a blow on the leg with his iron-tipped rod that the +blood poured from the wound; but Vasili neither started, cried out, nor moved a +feature. At once the Tzar bade him be seized and tortured, to make him disclose +whether his master had any partners in guilt, or if any plans were matured. But +no extremity of agony could extract aught but praises of the prince, and +assurances of his readiness to die for him. From early morning till late at +night the torturers worked, one succeeding when another was tired out; but +nothing could overcome his constancy, and his last words were a prayer to +implore his God to have mercy on his master and forgive his desertion.</p> +<p>His praise came even from the tyrant, who wrote to Kourbsky--'Let thy servant +Vaska [Footnote: the abbreviation of Vasili or Basil.] shame thee. He preserved +his truth to thee before the Tzar and the people. Having given thee his word of +faith, he kept it, even before the gates of death.'</p> +<p>After the flight of Kourbsky, the rage of Ivan continued to increase with +each year of his life. He had formed a sort of bodyguard of a thousand ruffians, +called the Oprichnina, who carried out his barbarous commands, and committed an +infinity of murders and robberies on their own account. He was like a distorted +caricature of Henry VIII, and, like him, united violence and cruelty with great +exactness about religious worship, carrying his personal observances to the most +fanatic extravagance.</p> +<p>In the vacancy of the Metropolitan See, he cast his eyes upon the monastery +in the little island of Solovsky, in the White Sea, where the Prior, Feeleep +Kolotchof, was noted for his holy life, and the good he had done among the wild +and miserable population of the island. He was the son of a rich boyard, but had +devoted himself from his youth to a monastic life, and the fame of his exertions +in behalf of the islanders had led the Tzar to send him not only precious +vessels for the use of his church, but contributions to the stone churches, +piers, and hostelries that he raised for his people; for whom he had made roads, +drained marshes, introduced cattle, and made fisheries and salt pans, changing +the whole aspect of the place, and lessening even the inclemency of the climate.</p> +<p>On this good man the Tzar fixed his choice. He wrote to him to come to Moscow +to attend a synod, and on his arrival made him dine at the palace, and informed +him that he was to be chief pastor of the Russian Church. Feeleep burst into +tears, entreating permission to refuse, and beseeching the Tzar not to trust 'so +heavy a freight to such a feeble bark'. Ivan held to his determination, and +Feeleep then begged him at least to dismiss the cruel Oprichnina. 'How can I +bless you,' he said, 'while I see my country in mourning?'</p> +<p>The Tzar replied by mentioning his suspicions of all around him, and +commanded Feeleep to be silent. He expected to be sent back to his convent at +once, but, instead of this, the Tzar commanded the clergy to elect him +Archbishop, and they all added their entreaties to him to accept the office, and +endeavor to soften the Tzar, who respected him; and he yielded at last, saying, +'The will of the Tzar and the pastors of the church must, then, be done.'</p> +<p>At his consecration, he preached a sermon on the power of mildness, and the +superiority of the victories of love over the triumphs of war. It awoke the +better feelings of Ivan, and for months he abstained from any deed of violence; +his good days seemed to have returned and he lived in intimate friendship with +the good Archbishop.</p> +<p>But after a time the sleeping lion began to waken. Ivan's suspicious mind +took up an idea that Feeleep had been incited by the nobles to request the +abolition of the Oprichnina, and that they were exciting a revolt. The spies +whom he sent into Moscow told him that wherever an Oprichnik appeared, the +people shrank away in silence, as, poor things! they well might. He fancied this +as a sign that conspiracies were brewing, and all his atrocities began again. +The tortures to which whole families were put were most horrible; the Oprichniks +went through the streets with poignards and axes, seeking out their victims, and +killing from ten to twenty a day. The corpses lay in the streets, for no one +dared to leave his house to bury them. Feeleep vainly sent letters and +exhortations to the Tzar--they were unnoticed. The unhappy citizens came to the +Archbishop, entreating him to intercede for them, and he gave them his promise +that he would not spare his own blood to save theirs.</p> +<p>One Sunday, as Feeleep was about to celebrate the Holy Communion, Ivan came +into the Cathedral with a troop of his satellites, like him, fantastically +dressed in black cassocks and high caps. He came towards the Metropolitan, but +Feeleep kept his eyes fixed on the picture of our Lord, and never looked at him. +Someone said, 'Holy Father, here is the prince; give him your blessing.'</p> +<p>'No,' said the Archbishop, 'I know not the Tzar in this strange +disguise--still less do I know him in his government. Oh, Prince! we are here +offering sacrifice to the Lord, and beneath the altar the blood of guiltless +Christians is flowing in torrents... You are indeed on the throne, but there is +One above all, our Judge and yours. How shall you appear before his Judgment +Seat?--stained with the blood of the righteous, stunned with their shrieks, for +the stones beneath your feet cry out for vengeance to Heaven. Prince, I speak as +shepherd of souls; I fear God alone.'</p> +<p>The Archbishop was within the golden gates, which, in Russian churches, close +in the sanctuary or chancel, and are only entered by the clergy. He was thus out +of reach of the cruel iron-tipped staff, which the Tzar could only strike +furiously on the pavement, crying out, 'Rash monk, I have spared you too long. +Henceforth I will be to you such as you describe.'</p> +<p>The murders went on in their full horrors; but, in spite of the threat, the +Archbishop remained unmolested, though broken-hearted at the cruelties around +him. At last, however, his resolute witness became more than the tyrant would +endure, and messengers were secretly sent to the island of Solovsky, to endeavor +to find some accusation against him. They tampered with all the monks in the +convent, to induce them to find some fault in him, but each answered that he was +a saint in every thought, word, and deed; until at last Payssi, the prior who +had succeeded him, was induced, by the hope of a bishopric, to bear false +witness against him.</p> +<p>He was cited before an assembly of bishops and boyards, presided over by the +Tzar, and there he patiently listened to the monstrous stories told by Payssi. +Instead of defending himself, he simply said, 'This seed will not bring you a +good harvest;' and, addressing himself to the Tzar, said, 'Prince, you are +mistaken if you think I fear death. Having attained an advanced age, far from +stormy passions and worldly intrigues, I only desire to return my soul to the +Most High, my Sovereign Master and yours. Better to perish an innocent martyr, +than as Metropolitan to look on at the horrors and impieties of these wretched +times. Do what you will with me! Here are the pastoral staff, the white mitre, +and the mantle with which you invested me. And you, bishops, archimandrites, +abbots, servants of the altar, feed the flock of Christ zealously, as preparing +to give an account thereof, and fear the Judge of Heaven more than the earthly +judge.'</p> +<p>He was then departing, when the Tzar recalled him, saying that he could not +be his own judge, and that he must await his sentence. In truth, worse +indignities were preparing for him. He was in the midst of the Liturgy on the +8th of November, the Greek Michaelmas, when a boyard came in with a troop of +armed Oprichniks, who overawed the people, while the boyard read a paper +degrading the Metropolitan from his sacred office; and then the ruffians, +entering through the golden gates tore off his mitre and robes, wrapped him in a +mean gown, absolutely swept him out of the church with brooms, and took him in a +sledge to the Convent of the Epiphany. The people ran after him, weeping +bitterly, while the venerable old man blessed them with uplifted hands, and, +whenever he could be heard, repeated his last injunction, 'Pray, pray to God.'</p> +<p>Once again he was led before the Emperor, to hear the monstrous sentence that +for sorcery, and other heavy charges, he was to be imprisoned for life. He said +no reproachful word, only, for the last time, he besought the Tzar to have pity +on Russia, and to remember how his ancestors had reigned, and the happy days of +his youth. Ivan only commanded the soldiers to take him away; and he was heavily +ironed, and thrown into a dungeon, whence he was afterwards transferred to a +convent on the banks of the Moskwa, where he was kept bare of almost all the +necessaries of life: and in a few days' time the head of Ivan Borissovitch +Kolotchof, the chief of his family, was sent to him, with the message, 'Here are +the remains of your dear kinsman, your sorcery could not save him!' Feeleep +calmly took the head in his arms, blessed it, and gave it back.</p> +<p>The people of Moscow gathered round the convent, gazed at his cell, and told +each other stories of his good works, which they began to magnify into miracles. +Thereupon the Emperor sent him to another convent, at a greater distance. Here +he remained till the next year, 1569, when Maluta Skouratof, a Tatar, noted as a +favorite of the Tzar, and one of the chief ministers of his cruelty, came into +his cell, and demanded his blessing for the Tzar.</p> +<p>The Archbishop replied that blessings only await good men and good works, +adding tranquilly, 'I know what you are come for. I have long looked for death. +Let the Tzar's will be done.' The assassin then smothered him, but pretended to +the abbot that he had been stifled by the heat of the cell. He was buried in +haste behind the altar, but his remains have since been removed to his own +cathedral at Moscow, the scene where he had freely offered his own life by +confronting the tyrant in the vain endeavor to save his people.</p> +<p>Vain, too, was the reproof of the hermit, who shocked Ivan's scruples by +offering him a piece of raw flesh in the middle of Lent, and told him that he +was preying on the flesh and blood of his subjects. The crimes of Ivan grew more +and more terrible, and yet his acuteness was such that they can hardly be +inscribed to insanity. He caused the death of his own son by a blow with that +fatal staff of his; and a last, after a fever varied by terrible delirium, in +which alone his remorse manifested itself, he died while setting up the pieces +for a game at chess, on the 17th of March, 1584.</p> +<p>This has been a horrible story, in reality infinitely more horrible than we +have made it; but there is this blessing among many others in Christianity, that +the blackest night makes its diamonds only show their living luster more +plainly: and surely even Ivan the Terrible, in spite of himself, did something +for the world in bringing out the faithful fearlessness of Archbishop Feeleep, +and the constancy of the stirrup-bearer, Vasili.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>FORT ST. ELMO<br> +1565</h3></center> + +<p>The white cross of the Order of St. John waved on the towers of Rhodes for +two hundred and fifty-five years. In 1552, after a desperate resistance, the +Turks, under their great Sultan, Solyman the Magnificent, succeeded in driving +the Knights Hospitaliers from their beautiful home, and they were again cast +upon the world.</p> +<p>They were resolved, however, to continue their old work of protecting the +Mediterranean travelers, and thankfully accepted, as a gift from the Emperor +Charles V., the little islet of Malta as their new station. It was a great +contrast to their former home, being little more than a mere rock rising steeply +out of the sea, white, glaring and with very shallow earth, unfit to bear corn, +though it produced plenty of oranges, figs, and melons--with little water, and +no wood,--the buildings wretched, and for the most part uninhabited, and the few +people a miserable mongrel set, part Arab, part Greek, part Sicilian, and +constantly kept down by the descents of the Moorish pirates, who used to land in +the unprotected bays, and carry off all the wretched beings they could catch, to +sell for slaves. It was a miserable exchange from fertile Rhodes, which was +nearly five times larger than this barren rock; but the Knights only wanted a +hospital, a fortress, and a harbour; and this last they found in the deeply +indented northern shore, while they made the first two. Only a few years had +passed before the dreary Citta Notabile had become in truth a notable city, full +of fine castle-like houses, infirmaries, and noble churches, and fenced in with +mighty wall and battlements--country houses were perched upon the rocks--the +harbors were fortified, and filled with vessels of war--and deep vaults were +hollowed out in the rock, in which corn was stored sufficient to supply the +inhabitants for many months.</p> +<p>Everywhere that there was need was seen the red flag with the eight-pointed +cross. If there was an earthquake on the shores of Italy or Sicily, there were +the ships of St. John, bringing succor to the crushed and ruined townspeople. In +every battle with Turk or Moor, the Knights were among the foremost; and, as +ever before, their galleys were the aid of the peaceful merchant, and the terror +of the corsair. Indeed, they were nearer Tunis, Tripoli, and Algiers, the great +nests of these Moorish pirates, and were better able to threaten them, and +thwart their cruel descents, than when so much farther eastward; and the +Mahometan power found them quite as obnoxious in Malta as in Rhodes.</p> +<p>Solyman the Magnificent resolved, in his old age, to sweep these obstinate +Christians from the seas, and, only twelve years after the siege of Rhodes, +prepared an enormous armament, which he united with those of the Barbary +pirates, and placed under the command of Mustafa and Piali, his two bravest +pashas, and Dragut, a terrible Algerine corsair, who had already made an attempt +upon the island, but had been repulsed by the good English knight, Sir Nicholas +Upton. Without the advice of this pirate the Sultan desired that nothing should +be undertaken.</p> +<p>The Grand Master who had to meet this tremendous danger was Jean Parisot de +la Valette, a brave and resolute man, as noted for his piety and tenderness to +the sick in the infirmaries as for his unflinching courage. When he learnt the +intentions of the Sultan, he began by collecting a Chapter of his Order, and, +after laying his tidings before them, said: 'A formidable army and a cloud of +barbarians are about to burst on this isle. Brethren, they are the enemies of +Jesus Christ. The question is the defense of the Faith, and whether the Gospel +shall yield to the Koran. God demands from us the life that we have already +devoted to Him by our profession. Happy they who in so good a cause shall first +consummate their sacrifice. But, that we may be worthy, my brethren, let us +hasten to the altar, there to renew our vows; and may to each one of us be +imparted, by the very Blood of the Saviour of mankind, and by faithful +participation in His Sacraments, that generous contempt of death that can alone +render us invincible.'</p> +<p>With these words, he led the way to the church, and there was not an +individual knight who did not on that day confess and receive the Holy +Communion; after which they were as new men--all disputes, all trivialities and +follies were laid aside--and the whole community awaited the siege like persons +under a solemn dedication.</p> +<p>The chief harbour of Malta is a deep bay, turned towards the north, and +divided into two lesser bays by a large tongue of rock, on the point of which +stood a strong castle, called Fort St. Elmo. The gulf to the westward has a +little island in it, and both gulf and islet are called Marza Muscat. The gulf +to the east, called the Grand Port, was again divided by three fingers of rock +projecting from the mainland, at right angles to the tongue that bore Fort St. +Elmo. Each finger was armed with a strong talon--the Castle of La Sangle to the +east, the Castle of St. Angelo in the middle, and Fort Ricasoli to the west. +Between St. Angelo and La Sangle was the harbour where all the ships of war were +shut up at night by an immense chain; and behind was il Borgo, the chief +fortification in the island. Citta Notabile and Gozo were inland, and their fate +would depend upon that of the defenses of the harbor. To defend all this, the +Grand Master could only number 700 knights and 8,500 soldiers. He sent to summon +home all those of the Order who were dispersed in the different commanderies in +France, Spain, and Germany, and entreated aid from the Spanish king, Philip II., +who wished to be considered as the prime champion of Roman Catholic Christendom, +and who alone had the power of assisting him. The Duke of Alva, viceroy for +Philip in Sicily, made answer that he would endeavor to relieve the Order, if +they could hold out Fort St. Elmo till the fleet could be got together; but that +if this castle were once lost, it would be impossible to bring them aid, and +they must be left to their fate.</p> +<p>The Grand Master divided the various posts to the knights according to their +countries. The Spaniards under the Commander De Guerras, Bailiff of Negropont, +had the Castle of St. Elmo; the French had Port de la Sangle; the Germans, and +the few English knights whom the Reformation had left, were charged with the +defense of the Port of the Borgo, which served as headquarters, and the +Commander Copier, with a body of troops, was to remain outside the town and +watch and harass the enemy.</p> +<p>On the 18th of May, 1565, the Turkish fleet came in sight. It consisted of +159 ships, rowed by Christian slaves between the decks, and carrying 30,000 +Janissaries and Spahis, the terrible warriors to whom the Turks owed most of +their victories, and after them came, spreading for miles over the blue waters, +a multitude of ships of burthen bringing the horses of the Spahis, and such +heavy battering cannon as rendered the dangers of a siege infinitely greater +than in former days. These Janissaries were a strange, distorted resemblance of +the knights themselves, for they were bound in a strict brotherhood of arms, and +were not married, so as to care for nothing but each other, the Sultan, and the +honor of their troop. They were not dull, apathetic Turks, but chiefly natives +of Circassia and Georgia, the land where the human race is most beautiful and +nobly formed. They were stolen from their homes, or, too often, sold by their +parents when too young to remember their Christian baptism, and were bred up as +Mahometans, with no home but their corps, no kindred but their fellow soldiers. +Their title, given by the Sultan who first enrolled them, meant New Soldiers, +their ensign was a camp kettle, as that of their Pashas was one, two, or three +horses' tails, in honor of the old Kurdish chief, the founder of the Turkish +empire; but there was no homeliness in their appointments, their +weapons--scimitars, pistols, and carabines--were crusted with gold and jewels; +their head-dress, though made in imitation of a sleeve, was gorgeous, and their +garments were of the richest wool and silk, dyed with the deep, exquisite +colours of the East. Terrible warriors were they, and almost equally dreaded +were the Spahis, light horsemen from Albania and the other Greek and Bulgarian +provinces who had entered the Turkish service, and were great plunderers, swift +and cruel, glittering, both man and horse, with the jewels they had gained in +their forays.</p> +<p>These were chiefly troops for the land attack, and they were set on shore at +Port St. Thomas, where the commanders, Mustafa and Piali, held a council, to +decide where they should first attack. Piali wished to wait for Dragut, who was +daily expected, but Mustafa was afraid of losing time, and of being caught by +the Spanish fleet, and insisted on at once laying siege to Fort St. Elmo, which +was, he thought, so small that it could not hold out more than five or six days.</p> +<p>Indeed, it could not hold above 300 men, but these were some of the bravest +of the knights, and as it was only attacked on the land side, they were able to +put off boats at night and communicate with the Grand Master and their brethren +in the Borgo. The Turks set up their batteries, and fired their enormous cannon +shot upon the fortifications. One of their terrible pieces of ordnance carried +stone balls of 160 lb., and no wonder that stone and mortar gave way before it, +and that a breach was opened in a few days' time. That night, when, as usual, +boatloads of wounded men were transported across to the Borgo, the Bailiff of +Negropont sent the knight La Cerda to the Grand Master to give an account of the +state of things and ask for help. La Cerda spoke strongly, and, before a great +number of knights, declared that there was no chance of so weak a place holding +out for more than a week.</p> +<p>'What has been lost,' said the Grand Master, 'since you cry out for help?'</p> +<p>'Sir,' replied La Cerda, 'the castle may be regarded as a patient in +extremity and devoid of strength, who can only be sustained by continual +remedies and constant succor.'</p> +<p>'I will be doctor myself,' replied the Grand Master, 'and will bring others +with me who, if they cannot cure you of fear, will at least be brave enough to +prevent the infidels from seizing the fort.'</p> +<p>The fact was, as he well knew, that the little fort could not hold out long, +and he grieved over the fate of his knights; but time was everything, and the +fate of the whole isle depended upon the white cross being still on that point +of land when the tardy Sicilian fleet should set sail. He was one who would ask +no one to run into perils that he would not share, and he was bent on throwing +himself into St. Elmo, and being rather buried under the ruins than to leave the +Mussulmans free a moment sooner than could be helped to attack the Borgo and +Castle of St. Angelo. But the whole Chapter of Knights entreated him to abstain, +and so many volunteered for this desperate service, that the only difficulty was +to choose among them. Indeed, La Cerda had done the garrison injustice; no one's +heart was failing but his own; and the next day there was a respite, for a +cannon shot from St. Angelo falling into the enemy's camp, shattered a stone, a +splinter of which struck down the Piali Pasha. He was thought dead, and the camp +and fleet were in confusion, which enabled the Grand Master to send off his +nephew, the Chevalier de la Valette Cornusson, to Messina to entreat the Viceroy +of Sicily to hasten to their relief; to give him a chart of the entrance of the +harbour, and a list of signals, and to desire in especial that two ships +belonging to the Order, and filled with the knights who had hurried from distant +lands too late for the beginning of the siege, might come to him at once. To +this the Viceroy returned a promise that at latest the fleet should sail on the +15th of June, adding an exhortation to him at all sacrifices to maintain St. +Elmo. This reply the Grand Master transmitted to the garrison, and it nerved +them to fight even with more patience and self-sacrifice. A desperate sally was +led by the Chevalier de Medran, who fought his way into the trenches where the +Turkish cannon were planted, and at first drove all before him; but the +Janissaries rallied and forced back the Christians out of the trenches. +Unfortunately there was a high wind, which drove the smoke of the artillery down +on the counter-scarp (the slope of masonry facing the rampart), and while it was +thus hidden from the Christians, the Turks succeeded in effecting a lodgment +there, fortifying themselves with trees and sacks of earth and wool. When the +smoke cleared off, the knights were dismayed to see the horse-tail ensigns of +the Janissaries so near them, and cannon already prepared to batter the ravelin, +or outwork protecting the gateway.</p> +<p>La Cerda proposed to blow this fortification up, and abandon it, but no other +knight would hear of deserting an inch of wall while it could yet be held.</p> +<p>But again the sea was specked with white sails from the south-east. Six +galleys came from Egypt, bearing 900 troops--Mameluke horsemen, troops recruited +much like the Janissaries and quite as formidable. These ships were commanded by +Ulucciali, an Italian, who had denied his faith and become a Mahometan, and was +thus regarded with especial horror by the chivalry of Malta. And the swarm +thickened for a few days more; like white-winged and beautiful but venomous +insects hovering round their prey, the graceful Moorish galleys and galliots +came up from the south, bearing 600 dark-visaged, white-turbaned, lithe-limbed +Moors from Tripoli, under Dragut himself. The thunders of all the guns roaring +forth their salute of honor told the garrison that the most formidable enemy of +all had arrived. And now their little white rock was closed in on every side, +with nothing but its own firmness to be its aid.</p> +<p>Dragut did not approve of having begun with attacking Fort St. Elmo; he +thought that the inland towns should have been first taken, and Mustafa offered +to discontinue the attack, but this the Corsair said could not now be done with +honor, and under him the attack went on more furiously than ever. He planted a +battery of four guns on the point guarding the entrance of Marza Muscat, the +other gulf, and the spot has ever since been called Dragut's Point. Strange to +say, the soldiers in the ravelin fell asleep, and thus enabled the enemy to +scramble up by climbing on one another's shoulders and enter the place. As soon +as the alarm was given, the Bailiff of Negropont, with a number of knights, +rushed into the ravelin, and fought with the utmost desperation, but all in +vain; they never succeeded in dislodging the Turks, and had almost been +followed by them into the Fort itself. Only the utmost courage turned back the +enemy at last, and, it was believed, with a loss of 3,000. The Order had twenty +knights and a hundred soldiers killed, with many more wounded. One knight named +Abel de Bridiers, who was shot through the body, refused to be assisted by his +brethren, saying, 'Reckon me no more among the living. You will be doing better +by defending our brothers.' He dragged himself away, and was found dead before +the altar in the Castle chapel. The other wounded were brought back to the Borgo +in boats at night, and La Cerda availed himself of a slight scratch to come with +them and remain, though the Bailiff of Negropont, a very old man, and with a +really severe wound, returned as soon as it had been dressed, together with the +reinforcements sent to supply the place of those who had been slain. The Grand +Master, on finding how small had been La Cerda's hurt, put him in prison for +several days; but he was afterwards released, and met his death bravely on the +ramparts of the Borgo.</p> +<p>The 15th of June was passed. Nothing would make the Sicilian Viceroy move, +nor even let the warships of the Order sail with their own knights, and the +little fort that had been supposed unable to hold out a week, had for full a +month resisted every attack of the enemy.</p> +<p>At last Dragut, though severely wounded while reconnoitring, set up a battery +on the hill of Calcara, so as to command the strait, and hinder the succors from +being sent across to the fort. The wounded were laid down in the chapel and the +vaults, and well it was for them that each knight of the Order could be a +surgeon and a nurse. One good swimmer crossed under cover of darkness with their +last messages, and La Valette prepared five armed boats for their relief; but +the enemy had fifteen already in the bay, and communication was entirely cut +off. It was the night before the 23rd of June when these brave men knew their +time was come. All night they prayed, and prepared themselves to die by giving +one another the last rites of the Church, and at daylight each repaired to his +post, those who could not walk being carried in chairs, and sat ghastly figures, +sword in hand, on the brink of the breach, ready for their last fight.</p> +<p>By the middle of the day every Christian knight in St. Elmo had</p> +<p>died upon his post, and the little heap of ruins was in the hands of the +enemy. Dragut was dying of his wound, but just lived to hear that the place was +won, when it had cost the Sultan 8,000 men! Well might Mustafa say, 'If the son +has cost us so much, what will the father do?'</p> +<p>It would be too long to tell the glorious story of the three months' further +siege of the Borgo. The patience and resolution of the knights was unshaken, +though daily there were tremendous battles, and week after week passed by +without the tardy relief from Spain. It is believed that Philip II. thought that +the Turks would exhaust themselves against the Order, and forbade his Viceroy to +hazard his fleet; but at last he was shamed into permitting the armament to be +fitted out. Two hundred knights of St. John were waiting at Messina, in despair +at being unable to reach their brethren in their deadly strait, and constantly +haunting the Viceroy's palace, till he grew impatient, and declared they did not +treat him respectfully enough, nor call him 'Excellency'.</p> +<p>'Senor,' said one of them, 'if you will only bring us in time to save the +Order, I will call you anything you please, excellency, highness, or majesty +itself.'</p> +<p>At last, on the 1st of September, the fleet really set sail, but it hovered +cautiously about on the farther side of the island, and only landed 6,000 men +and then returned to Sicily. However, the tidings of its approach had spread +such a panic among the Turkish soldiers, who were worn out and exhausted by +their exertions, that they hastily raised the siege, abandoned their heavy +artillery, and, removing their garrison from Fort St. Elmo, re-embarked in haste +and confusion. No sooner, however, was the Pasha in his ship than he became +ashamed of his precipitation, more especially when he learnt that the relief +that had put 16,000 men to flight consisted only of 6,000, and he resolved to +land and give battle; but his troops were angry and unwilling, and were actually +driven out of their ships by blows.</p> +<p>In the meantime, the Grand Master had again placed a garrison in St. Elmo, +which the Turks had repaired and restored, and once more the cross of St. John +waved on the end of its tongue of land, to greet the Spanish allies. A battle +was fought with the newly arrived troops, in which the Turks were defeated; they +again took to their ships, and the Viceroy of Sicily, from Syracuse, beheld +their fleet in full sail for the East.</p> +<p>Meantime, the gates of the Borgo were thrown open to receive the brethren and +friends who had been so long held back from coming to the relief of the home of +the Order. Four months' siege, by the heaviest artillery in Europe, had +shattered the walls and destroyed the streets, till, to the eyes of the +newcomers, the town looked like a place taken by assault, and sacked by the +enemy; and of the whole garrison, knights, soldiers, and sailors altogether, +only six hundred were left able to bear arms, and they for the most part covered +with wounds. The Grand Master and his surviving knights could hardly be +recognized, so pale and altered were they by wounds and excessive fatigue; their +hair, beards, dress, and armor showing that for four full months they had hardly +undressed, or lain down unarmed. The newcomers could not restrain their tears, +but all together proceeded to the church to return thanks for the conclusion of +their perils and afflictions. Rejoicings extended all over Europe, above all in +Italy, Spain, and southern France, where the Order of St. John was the sole +protection against the descents of the Barbary corsairs. The Pope sent La +Valette a cardinal's hat, but he would not accept it, as unsuited to his office; +Philip II. presented him with a jeweled sword and dagger. Some thousand +unadorned swords a few months sooner would have been a better testimony to his +constancy, and that of the brave men whose lives Spain had wasted by her cruel +delays.</p> +<p>The Borgo was thenceforth called Citta Vittoriosa; but La Valette decided on +building the chief town of the isle on the Peninsula of Fort St. Elmo, and in +this work he spent his latter days, till he was killed by a sunstroke, while +superintending the new works of the city which is deservedly known by his name, +as Valetta.</p> +<p>The Order of St. John lost much of its character, and was finally swept from +Malta in the general confusion of the Revolutionary wars. The British crosses +now float in the harbour of Malta; but the steep white rocks must ever bear the +memory of the self-devoted endurance of the beleaguered knights, and, foremost +of all, of those who perished in St. Elmo, in order that the signal banner might +to the very last summon the tardy Viceroy to their aid.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>THE VOLUNTARY CONVICT<br> +1622</h3></center> + +<p>In the early summer of the year 1605, a coasting vessel was sailing along the +beautiful Gulf of Lyons, the wind blowing gently in the sails, the blue +Mediterranean lying glittering to the south, and the curved line of the French +shore rising in purple and green tints, dotted with white towns and villages. +Suddenly three light, white-sailed ships appeared in the offing, and the +captain's practiced eye detected that the wings that bore them were those of a +bird of prey. He knew them for African brigantines, and though he made all sail, +it was impossible to run into a French port, as on, on they came, not entirely +depending on the wind, but, like steamers, impelled by unseen powers within +them. Alas! that power was not the force of innocent steam, but the arms of +Christian rowers chained to the oar. Sure as the pounce of a hawk upon a +partridge was the swoop of the corsairs upon the French vessel. A signal to +surrender followed, but the captain boldly refused, and armed his crew, bidding +them stand to their guns. But the fight was too unequal, the brave little ship +was disabled, the pirates boarded her, and, after a sharp fight on deck, three +of the crew lay dead, all the rest were wounded, and the vessel was the prize of +the pirates. The captain was at once killed, in revenge for his resistance, and +all the rest of the crew and passengers were put in chains. Among these +passengers was a young priest named Vincent de Paul, the son of a farmer in +Languedoc, who had used his utmost endeavors to educate his son for the +ministry, even selling the oxen from the plough to provide for the college +expenses. A small legacy had just fallen to the young man, from a relation who +had died at Marseilles; he had been thither to receive it, and had been +persuaded by a friend to return home by sea. And this was the result of the +pleasant voyage. The legacy was the prey of the pirates, and Vincent, severely +wounded by an arrow, and heavily chained, lay half-stifled in a corner of the +hold of the ship, a captive probably for life to the enemies of the faith. It +was true that France had scandalized Europe by making peace with the Dey of +Tunis, but this was a trifle to the corsairs; and when, after seven days' +further cruising, they put into the harbour of Tunis, they drew up an account of +their capture, calling it a Spanish vessel, to prevent the French Consul from +claiming the prisoners.</p> +<p>The captives had the coarse blue and white garments of slaves given them, and +were walked five or six times through the narrow streets and bazaars of Tunis, +by way of exhibition. They were then brought back to their ship, and the +purchasers came thither to bargain for them. They were examined at their meals, +to see if they had good appetites; their sides were felt like those of oxen; +their teeth looked at like those of horses; their wounds were searched, and they +were made to run and walk to show the play of their limbs. All this Vincent +endured with patient submission, constantly supported by the thought of Him who +took upon Him the form of a servant for our sakes; and he did his best, ill as +he was, to give his companions the same confidence.</p> +<p>Weak and unwell, Vincent was sold cheap to a fisherman; but in his new +service it soon became apparent that the sea made him so ill as to be of no use, +so he was sold again to one of the Moorish physicians, the like of whom may +still be seen, smoking their pipes sleepily, under their white turbans, +cross-legged, among the drugs in their shop windows--these being small open +spaces beneath the beautiful stone lacework of the Moorish lattices. The +physician was a great chemist and distiller, and for four years had been seeking +the philosopher's stone, which was supposed to be the secret of making gold. He +found his slave's learning and intelligence so useful that he grew very fond of +him, and tried hard to persuade him to turn Mahometan, offering him not only +liberty, but the inheritance of all his wealth, and the secrets that he had +discovered.</p> +<p>The Christian priest felt the temptation sufficiently to be always grateful +for the grace that had carried him through it. At the end of a year, the old +doctor died, and his nephew sold Vincent again. His next master was a native of +Nice, who had not held out against the temptation to renounce his faith in order +to avoid a life of slavery, but had become a renegade, and had the charge of one +of the farms of the Dey of Tunis. The farm was on a hillside in an extremely hot +and exposed region, and Vincent suffered much from being there set to field +labour, but he endured all without a murmur. His master had three wives, and one +of them, who was of Turkish birth,, used often to come out and talk to him, +asking him many questions about his religion. Sometimes she asked him to sing, +and he would then chant the psalm of the captive Jews: 'By the waters of Babylon +we sat down and wept;' and others of the 'songs' of his Zion. The woman at last +told her husband that he must have been wrong in forsaking a religion of which +her slave had told her such wonderful things. Her words had such an effect on +the renegade that he sought the slave, and in conversation with him soon came to +a full sense of his own miserable position as an apostate. A change of religion +on the part of a Mahometan is, however, always visited with death, both to the +convert and his instructor. An Algerine, who was discovered to have become a +Christian, was about this time said to have been walled up at once in the +fortifications he had been building; and the story has been confirmed by the +recent discovery, by the French engineers, of the remains of a man within a huge +block of clay, that had taken a perfect cast of his Moorish features, and of the +surface of his garments, and even had his black hair adhering to it. Vincent's +master, terrified at such perils, resolved to make his escape in secret with his +slave. It is disappointing to hear nothing of the wife; and not to know whether +she would not or could not accompany them. All we know is, that master and slave +trusted themselves alone to a small bark, and, safely crossing the +Mediterranean, landed at Aigues Mortes, on the 28th of June, 1607; and that the +renegade at once abjured his false faith, and soon after entered a brotherhood +at Rome, whose office it was to wait on the sick in hospitals.</p> +<p>This part of Vincent de Paul's life has been told at length because it shows +from what the Knights of St. John strove to protect the inhabitants of the +coasts. We next find Vincent visiting at a hospital at Paris, where he gave such +exceeding comfort to the patients that all with one voice declared him a +messenger from heaven.</p> +<p>He afterwards became a tutor in the family of the Count de Joigni, a very +excellent man, who was easily led by him to many good works. M. de Joigni was +inspector general of the 'Galeres', or Hulks, the ships in the chief harbors of +France, such as Brest and Marseilles, where the convicts, closely chained, were +kept to hard labour, and often made to toil at the oar, like the slaves of the +Africans. Going the round of these prison ships, the horrible state of the +convicts, their half-naked misery, and still more their fiendish ferocity went +to the heart of the Count and of the Abbé de Paul; and, with full authority +from the inspector, the tutor worked among these wretched beings with such good +effect that on his doings being represented to the King, Louis XIII., he was +made almoner general to the galleys.</p> +<p>While visiting those at Marseilles, he was much struck by the broken-down +looks and exceeding sorrowfulness of one of the convicts. He entered into +conversation with him, and, after many kind words, persuaded him to tell his +troubles. His sorrow was far less for his own condition than for the misery to +which his absence must needs reduce his wife and children. And what was +Vincent's reply to this? His action was so striking that, though in itself it +could hardly be safe to propose it as an example, it must be mentioned as the +very height of self-sacrifice.</p> +<p>He absolutely changed places with the convict. Probably some arrangement was +made with the immediate jailor of the gang, who, by the exchange of the priest +for the convict, could make up his full tale of men to show when his numbers +were counted. At any rate the prisoner went free, and returned to his home, +whilst Vincent wore a convict's chain, did a convict's work, lived on convict's +fare, and, what was worse, had only convict society. He was soon sought out and +released, but the hurts he had received from the pressure of the chain lasted +all his life. He never spoke of the event; it was kept a strict secret; and once +when he had referred to it in a letter to a friend, he became so much afraid +that the story would become known that he sent to ask for the letter back again. +It was, however, not returned, and it makes the fact certain. It would be a +dangerous precedent if prison chaplains were to change places with their +charges; and, beautiful as was Vincent's spirit, the act can hardly be +justified; but it should also be remembered that among the galleys of France +there were then many who had been condemned for resistance to the arbitrary will +of Cardinal de Richelieu, men not necessarily corrupt and degraded like the +thieves and murderers with whom they were associated. At any rate, M. de Joigni +did not displace the almoner, and Vincent worked on the consciences of the +convicts with infinitely more force for having been for a time one of +themselves. Many and many were won back to penitence, a hospital was founded for +them, better regulations established, and, for a time, both prisons and galleys +were wonderfully improved, although only for the life-time of the good inspector +and the saintly almoner. But who shall say how many souls were saved in those +years by these men who did what they could?</p> +<p>The rest of the life of Vincent de Paul would be too lengthy to tell here, +though acts of beneficence and self-devotion shine out in glory at each step. +The work by which he is chiefly remembered is his establishment of the Order of +Sisters of Charity, the excellent women who have for two hundred years been the +prime workers in every charitable task in France, nursing the sick, teaching the +young, tending deserted children, ever to be found where there is distress or +pain.</p> +<p>But of these, and of his charities, we will not here speak, nor even of his +influence for good on the King and Queen themselves. The whole tenor of his life +was 'golden' in one sense, and if we told all his golden deeds they would fill +an entire book. So we will only wait to tell how he showed his remembrance of +what he had gone through in his African captivity. The redemption of the +prisoners there might have seemed his first thought, but that he did so much in +other quarters. At different times, with the alms that he collected, and out of +the revenues of his benefices, he ransomed no less then twelve hundred slaves +from their captivity. At one time the French Consul at Tunis wrote to him that +for a certain sum a large number might be set free, and he raised enough to +release not only these, but seventy more, and he further wrought upon the King +to obtain the consent of the Dey of Tunis that a party of Christian clergy +should be permitted to reside in the consul's house, and to minister to the +souls and bodies of the Christian slaves, of whom there were six thousand in +Tunis alone, besides those in Algiers, Tangier, and Tripoli!</p> +<p>Permission was gained, and a mission of Lazarist brothers arrived. This, too, +was an order founded by Vincent, consisting of priestly nurses like the +Hospitaliers, though not like them warriors. They came in the midst of a +dreadful visitation of the plague, and nursed and tended the sick, both +Christians and Mahometans, with fearless devotion, day and night, till they won +the honor and love of the Moors themselves.</p> +<p>The good Vincent de Paul died in the year 1660, but his brothers of St. +Lazarus, and sisters of charity still tread in the paths he marked out for them, +and his name scarcely needs the saintly epithet that his church as affixed to it +to stand among the most honorable of charitable men.</p> +<p>The cruel deeds of the African pirates were never wholly checked till 1816, +when the united fleets of England and France destroyed the old den of corsairs +at Algiers, which has since become a French colony.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>THE HOUSEWIVES OF LOWENBURG<br> +1631</h3></center> + +<p>Brave deeds have been done by the burgher dames of some of the German cities +collectively. Without being of the first class of Golden Deeds, there is +something in the exploit of the dames of Weinsberg so quaint and so touching, +that it cannot be omitted here.</p> +<p>It was in the first commencement of the long contest known as the strife +between the Guelfs and Ghibellines--before even these had become the party words +for the Pope's and the Emperor's friends, and when they only applied to the +troops of Bavaria and of Swabia--that, in 1141, Wolf, Duke of Bavaria, was +besieged in his castle of Weinberg by Friedrich, Duke of Swabia, brother to the +reigning emperor, Konrad III.</p> +<p>The siege lasted long, but Wolf was obliged at last to offer to surrender; +and the Emperor granted him permission to depart in safety. But his wife did not +trust to this fair offer. She had reason to believe that Konrad had a peculiar +enmity to her husband; and on his coming to take possession of the castle, she +sent to him to entreat him to give her a safe conduct for herself and all the +other women in the garrison, that they might come out with as much of their +valuables as they could carry.</p> +<p>This was freely granted, and presently the castle gates opened. From beneath +them came the ladies--but in strange guise. No gold nor jewels were carried by +them, but each one was bending under the weight of her husband, whom she thus +hoped to secure from the vengeance of the Ghibellines. Konrad, who was really a +generous and merciful man, is said to have been affected to tears by this +extraordinary performance; he hastened to assure the ladies of the perfect +safety of their lords, and that the gentlemen might dismount at once, secure +both of life and freedom. He invited them all to a banquet, and made peace with +the Duke of Bavaria on terms much more favorable to the Guelfs than the rest of +his party had been willing to allow. The castle mount was thenceforth called no +longer the Vine Hill, but the Hill of Weibertreue, or woman's fidelity. We will +not invidiously translate it woman's truth, for there was in the transaction +something of a subterfuge; and it must be owned that the ladies tried to the +utmost the knightly respect for womankind.</p> +<p>The good women of Lowenburg, who were but citizens' wives, seem to us more +worthy of admiration for constancy to their faith, shown at a time when they had +little to aid them. It was such constancy as makes martyrs; and though the trial +stopped short of this, there is something in the homeliness of the whole scene, +and the feminine form of passive resistance, that makes us so much honor and +admire the good women that we cannot refrain from telling the story.</p> +<p>It was in the year 1631, in the midst of the long Thirty Years' Was between +Roman Catholics and Protestants, which finally decided that each state should +have its own religion, Lowenburg, a city of Silesia, originally Protestant, had +passed into the hands of the Emperor's Roman Catholic party. It was a fine old +German city, standing amid woods and meadows, fortified with strong walls +surrounded by a moat, and with gate towers to protect the entrance.</p> +<p>In the centre was a large market-place, called the Ring, into which looked +the Council-house and fourteen inns, or places of traffic, for the cloth that +was woven in no less than 300 factories. The houses were of stone, with +gradually projecting stories to the number of four or five, surmounted with +pointed gables. The ground floors had once had trellised porches, but these had +been found inconvenient and were removed, and the lower story consisted of a +large hall, and strong vault, with a spacious room behind it containing a +baking-oven, and a staircase leading to a wooden gallery, where the family used +to dine. It seems they slept in the room below, though they had upstairs a +handsome wainscoted apartment.</p> +<p>Very rich and flourishing had the Lowenburgers always been, and their walls +were quite sufficient to turn back any robber barons, or even any invading +Poles; but things were different when firearms were in use, and the bands of +mercenary soldiers had succeeded the feudal army. They were infinitely more +formidable during the battle or siege from their discipline, and yet more +dreadful after it for their want of discipline. The poor Lowneburgers had been +greatly misused: their Lutheran pastors had been expelled; all the superior +citizens had either fled or been imprisoned; 250 families spent the summer in +the woods, and of those who remained in the city, the men had for the most part +outwardly conformed to the Roman Catholic Church. Most of these were of course +indifferent at heart, and they had found places in the town council which had +formerly been filled by more respectable men. However, the wives had almost all +remained staunch to their Lutheran confession; they had followed their pastors +weeping to the gates of the city, loading them with gifts, and they hastened at +every opportunity to hear their preachings, or obtain baptism for their children +at the Lutheran churches in the neighborhood.</p> +<p>The person who had the upper hand in the Council was one Julius, who had been +a Franciscan friar, but was a desperate, unscrupulous fellow, not at all like a +monk. Finding that it was considered as a reproach that the churches of +Lowenburg were empty, he called the whole Council together on the 9th of April, +1631, and informed them that the women must be brought to conformity, or else +there were towers and prisons for them. The Burgomaster was ill in bed, but the +Judge, one Elias Seiler, spoke up at once. 'If we have been able to bring the +men into the right path, why should not we be able to deal with these little +creatures?'</p> +<p>Herr Mesnel, a cloth factor, who had been a widower six weeks, thought it +would be hard to manage, though he quite agreed to the expedient, saying, 'It +would be truly good if man and wife had one Creed and one Paternoster; as +concerns the Ten Commandments it is not so pressing.' (A sentiment that he could +hardly have wished to see put in practice.)</p> +<p>Another councilor, called Schwob Franze, who had lost his wife a few days +before, seems to have had an eye to the future, for he said it would be a pity +to frighten away the many beautiful maidens and widows there were among the +Lutheran women; but on the whole the men without wives were much bolder and more +sanguine of success than the married ones. And no one would undertake to deal +with his own wife privately, so it ended by a message being sent to the more +distinguished ladies to attend the Council.</p> +<p>But presently up came tidings that not merely these few dames, whom they +might have hoped to overawe, were on their way, but that the Judge's wife and +the Burgomaster's were the first pair in a procession of full 500 housewives, +who were walking sedately up the stairs to the Council Hall below the chamber +where the dignitaries were assembled. This was not by any means what had been +expected, and the message was sent down that only the chief ladies should come +up. 'No,' replied the Judge's wife, 'we will not allow ourselves to be +separated,' and to this they were firm; they said, as one fared all should fare; +and the Town Clerk, going up and down with smooth words, received no better +answer than this from the Judge's wife, who, it must be confessed, was less +ladylike in language than resolute in faith.</p> +<p>'Nay, nay, dear friend, do you think we are so simple as not to perceive the +trick by which you would force us poor women against our conscience to change +our faith? My husband and the priest have not been consorting together all these +days for nothing; they have been joined together almost day and night; assuredly +they have either boiled or baked a devil, which they may eat up themselves. I +shall not enter there! Where I remain, my train and following will remain also! +Women, is this your will?'</p> +<p>'Yea, yea, let it be so,' they said; 'we will all hold together as one man.'</p> +<p>His honor the Town Clerk was much affrighted, and went hastily back, +reporting that the Council was in no small danger, since each housewife had her +bunch of keys at her side! These keys were the badge of a wife's dignity and +authority, and moreover they were such ponderous articles that they sometimes +served as weapons. A Scottish virago has been know to dash out the brains of a +wounded enemy with her keys; and the intelligence that the good dames had come +so well furnished, filled the Council with panic. Dr. Melchior Hubner, who had +been a miller's man, wished for a hundred musketeers to mow them down; but the +Town Clerk proposed that all the Council should creep quietly down the back +stairs, lock the doors on the refractory womankind, and make their escape.</p> +<p>This was effected as silently and quickly as possible, for the whole Council +'could confess to a state of frightful terror.' Presently the women peeped out, +and saw the stairs bestrewn with hats, gloves, and handkerchiefs; and perceiving +how they had put all the wisdom and authority of the town to the rout, there was +great merriment among them, though, finding themselves locked up, the more +tenderhearted began to pity their husbands and children. As for themselves, +their maids and children came round the Town Hall, to hand in provisions to +them, and all the men who were not of the Council were seeking the magistrates +to know what their wives had done to be thus locked up.</p> +<p>The Judge sent to assemble the rest of the Council at his house; and though +only four came, the doorkeeper ran to the Town Hall, and called out to his wife +that the Council had reassembled, and they would soon be let out. To which, +however, that very shrewd dame, the Judge's wife, answered with great composure, +'Yea, we willingly have patience, as we are quite comfortable here; but tell +them they ought to inform us why we are summoned and confined without trial.'</p> +<p>She well knew how much better off she was than her husband without her. He +paced about in great perturbation, and at last called for something to eat. The +maid served up a dish of crab, some white bread, and butter; but, in his fury, +he threw all the food about the room and out the window, away from the poor +children, who had had nothing to eat all day, and at last he threw all the +dishes and saucepans out of window. At last the Town Clerk and two others were +sent to do their best to persuade the women that they had misunderstood--they +were in no danger, and were only invited to the preachings of Holy Week: and, as +Master Daniel, the joiner, added, 'It was only a friendly conference. It is not +customary with my masters and the very wise Council to hang a man before they +have caught him.'</p> +<p>This opprobrious illustration raised a considerable clamor of abuse from the +ruder women; but the Judge's and Burgomaster's ladies silenced them, and +repeated their resolution never to give up their faith against their conscience. +Seeing that no impression was made on them, and that nobody knew what to do +without them at home, the magistracy decided that they should be released, and +they went quietly home; but the Judge Seiler, either because he had been +foremost in the business, or else perhaps because of the devastation he had made +at home among the pots and pans, durst not meet his wife, but sneaked out of the +town, and left her with the house to herself.</p> +<p>The priest now tried getting the three chief ladies alone together, and most +politely begged them to conform; but instead of arguing, they simply answered; +'No; we were otherwise instructed by our parents and former preachers.'</p> +<p>Then he begged them at least to tell the other women that they had asked for +fourteen days for consideration.</p> +<p>'No, dear sir,' they replied: 'we were not taught by our parents to tell +falsehoods, and we will not learn it from you.'</p> +<p>Meanwhile Schwob Franze rushed to the Burgomaster's bedside, and begged him, +for Heaven's sake, to prevent the priest from meddling with the women; for the +whole bevy, hearing that their three leaders were called before the priest, were +collecting in the marketplace, keys, bundles, and all; and the panic of the +worthy magistrates was renewed. The Burgomaster sent for the priest, and told +him plainly, that if any harm befel him from the women, the fault would be his +own; and thereupon he gave way, the ladies went quietly home, and their stout +champions laid aside their bundles and keys--not out of reach, however, in case +of another summons.</p> +<p>However, the priest was obliged, next year, to leave Lowenburg in disgrace, +for he was a man of notoriously bad character; and Dr. Melchior became a +soldier, and was hanged at Prague.</p> +<p>After all, such a confession as this is a mere trifle, not only compared with +martyrdoms of old, but with the constancy with which, after the revocation of +the Edict of Nantes, the Huguenots endured persecution--as, for instance, the +large number of women who were imprisoned for thirty-eight years at Aigues +Mortes; or again, with the steady resolution of the persecuted nuns of Port +Royal against signing the condemnation of the works of Jansen. Yet, in its own +way, the feminine resistance of these good citizens' wives, without being +equally high-toned, is worthy of record, and far too full of character to be +passed over.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>FATHERS AND SONS<br> +219--1642--1798</h3></center> + +<p>One of the noblest characters in old Roman history is the first Scipio +Africanus, and his first appearance is in a most pleasing light, at the battle +of the River Ticinus, B.C. 219, when the Carthaginians, under Hannibal, had just +completed their wonderful march across the Alps, and surprised the Romans in +Italy itself.</p> +<p>Young Scipio was then only seventeen years of age, and had gone to his first +battle under the eagles of his father, the Consul, Publius Cornelius Scipio. It +was an unfortunate battle; the Romans, when exhausted by long resistance to the +Spanish horse in Hannibal's army, were taken in flank by the Numidian calvary, +and entirely broken. The Consul rode in front of the few equites he could keep +together, striving by voice and example to rally his forces, until he was +pierced by one of the long Numidian javelins, and fell senseless from his horse. +The Romans, thinking him dead, entirely gave way; but his young son would not +leave him, and, lifting him on his horse, succeeded in bringing him safe into +the camp, where he recovered, and his after days retrieved the honor of the +Roman arms.</p> +<p>The story of a brave and devoted son comes to us to light up the sadness of +our civil wars between Cavaliers and Roundheads in the middle of the seventeenth +century. It was soon after King Charles had raised his standard at Nottingham, +and set forth on his march for London, that it became evident that the +Parliamentary army, under the Earl of Essex, intended to intercept his march. +The King himself was with the army, with his two boys, Charles and James; but +the General-in-chief was Robert Bertie, Earl of Lindsay, a brave and experienced +old soldier, sixty years of age, godson to Queen Elizabeth, and to her two +favorite Earls, whose Christian name he bore. He had been in her Essex's +expedition to Cambridge, and had afterwards served in the Low Countries, under +Prince Maurice of Nassau; for the long Continental wars had throughout King +James' peaceful reign been treated by the English nobility as schools of arms, +and a few campaigns were considered as a graceful finish to a gentleman's +education. As soon as Lord Lindsay had begun to fear that the disputes between +the King and Parliament must end in war, he had begun to exercise and train his +tenantry in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, of whom he had formed a regiment +of infantry. With him was his son Montagu Bertie, Lord Willoughby, a +noble-looking man of thirty-two, of whom it was said, that he was 'as excellent +in reality as others in pretence,' and that, thinking 'that the cross was an +ornament to the crown, and much more to the coronet, he satisfied not himself +with the mere exercise of virtue, but sublimated it, and made it grace.' He had +likewise seen some service against the Spaniards in the Netherlands, and after +his return had been made a captain in the Lifeguards, and a Gentleman of the +Bedchamber. Vandyke has left portraits of the father and the son; the one a +bald-headed, alert, precise-looking old warrior, with the cuirass and gauntlets +of elder warfare; the other, the very model of a cavalier, tall, easy, and +graceful, with a gentle reflecting face, and wearing the long lovelocks and deep +point lace collar and cuffs characteristic of Queen Henrietta's Court. Lindsay +was called General-in-chief, but the King had imprudently exempted the cavalry +from his command, its general, Prince Rupert of the Rhine, taking orders only +from himself. Rupert was only three-and-twenty, and his education in the wild +school of the Thirty Years' War had not taught him to lay aside his arrogance +and opinionativeness; indeed, he had shown great petulance at receiving orders +from the King through Lord Falkland.</p> +<p>At eight o'clock, on the morning of the 23rd of October, King Charles was +riding along the ridge of Edgehill, and looking down into the Vale of Red Horse, +a fair meadow land, here and there broken by hedges and copses. His troops were +mustering around him, and in the valley he could see with his telescope the +various Parliamentary regiments, as they poured out of the town of Keinton, and +took up their positions in three lines. 'I never saw the rebels in a body +before,' he said, as he gazed sadly at the subjects arrayed against him. 'I +shall give them battle. God, and the prayers of good men to Him, assist the +justice of my cause.' The whole of his forces, about 11,000 in number, were not +assembled till two o'clock in the afternoon, for the gentlemen who had become +officers found it no easy matter to call their farmers and retainers together, +and marshal them into any sort of order. But while one troop after another came +trampling, clanking, and shouting in, trying to find and take their proper +place, there were hot words round the royal standard.</p> +<p>Lord Lindsay, who was an old comrade of the Earl of Essex, the commander of +the rebel forces, knew that he would follow the tactics they had both together +studied in Holland, little thinking that one day they should be arrayed one +against the other in their own native England. He had a high opinion of Essex's +generalship, and insisted that the situation of the Royal army required the +utmost caution. Rupert, on the other hand, had seen the swift fiery charges of +the fierce troopers of the Thirty Years' war, and was backed up by Patrick, Lord +Ruthven, one of the many Scots who had won honor under the great Swedish King, +Gustavus Adolphus. A sudden charge of the Royal horse would, Rupert argued, +sweep the Roundheads from the field, and the foot would have nothing to do but +to follow up the victory. The great portrait at Windsor shows us exactly how the +King must have stood, with his charger by his side, and his grave, melancholy +face, sad enough at having to fight at all with his subjects, and never having +seen a battle, entirely bewildered between the ardent words of his spirited +nephew and the grave replies of the well-seasoned old Earl. At last, as time +went on, and some decision was necessary, the perplexed King, willing at least +not to irritate Rupert, desired that Ruthven should array the troops in the +Swedish fashion.</p> +<p>It was a greater affront to the General-in-chief than the king was likely to +understand, but it could not shake the old soldier's loyalty. He gravely +resigned the empty title of General, which only made confusion worse confounded, +and rode away to act as colonel of his own Lincoln regiment, pitying his +master's perplexity, and resolved that no private pique should hinder him from +doing his duty. His regiment was of foot soldiers, and was just opposite to the +standard of the Earl of Essex.</p> +<p>The church bell was ringing for afternoon service when the Royal forces +marched down the hill. The last hurried prayer before the charge was stout old +Sir Jacob Astley's, 'O Lord, Thou knowest how busy I must be this day; if I +forget Thee, do not Thou forget me;' then, rising, he said, 'March on, boys.' +And, amid prayer and exhortation, the other side awaited the shock, as men whom +a strong and deeply embittered sense of wrong had roused to take up arms. Prince +Rupert's charge was, however, fully successful. No one even waited to cross +swords with his troopers, but all the Roundhead horse galloped headlong off the +field, hotly pursued by the Royalists. But the main body of the army stood firm, +and for some time the battle was nearly equal, until a large troop of the +enemy's cavalry who had been kept in reserve, wheeled round and fell upon the +Royal forces just when their scanty supply of ammunition was exhausted.</p> +<p>Step by step, however, they retreated bravely, and Rupert, who had returned +from his charge, sought in vain to collect his scattered troopers, so as to fall +again on the rebels; but some were plundering, some chasing the enemy, and none +could be got together. Lord Lindsay was shot through the thigh bone, and fell. +He was instantly surrounded by the rebels on horseback; but his son, Lord +Willoughby, seeing his danger, flung himself alone among the enemy, and forcing +his way forward, raised his father in his arms thinking of nothing else, and +unheeding his own peril. The throng of enemy around called to him to surrender, +and, hastily giving up his sword, he carried the Earl into the nearest shed, and +laid him on a heap of straw, vainly striving to staunch the blood. It was a +bitterly cold night, and the frosty wind came howling through the darkness. Far +above, on the ridge of the hill, the fires of the King's army shone with red +light, and some way off on the other side twinkled those of the Parliamentary +forces. Glimmering lanterns or torches moved about the battlefield, those of the +savage plunderers who crept about to despoil the dead. Whether the battle were +won or lost, the father and son knew not, and the guard who watched them knew as +little. Lord Lindsay himself murmured, 'If it please God I should survive, I +never will fight in the same field with boys again!'--no doubt deeming that +young Rupert had wrought all the mischief. His thoughts were all on the cause, +his son's all on him; and piteous was that night, as the blood continued to +flow, and nothing availed to check it, nor was any aid near to restore the old +man's ebbing strength.</p> +<p>Toward midnight the Earl's old comrade Essex had time to understand his +condition, and sent some officers to enquire for him, and promise speedy +surgical attendance. Lindsay was still full of spirit, and spoke to them so +strongly of their broken faith, and of the sin of disloyalty and rebellion, that +they slunk away one by one out of the hut, and dissuaded Essex from coming +himself to see his old friend, as he had intended. The surgeon, however, +arrived, but too late, Lindsay was already so much exhausted by cold and loss of +blood, that he died early in the morning of the 24th, all his son's gallant +devotion having failed to save him.</p> +<p>The sorrowing son received an affectionate note the next day from the King, +full of regret for his father and esteem for himself. Charles made every effort +to obtain his exchange, but could not succeed for a whole year. He was +afterwards one of the four noblemen who, seven years later, followed the King's +white, silent, snowy funeral in the dismantled St. George's Chapel; and from +first to last he was one of the bravest, purest, and most devoted of those who +did honor to the Cavalier cause.</p> +<p>We have still another brave son to describe, and for him we must return away +from these sad pages of our history, when we were a house divided against +itself, to one of the hours of our brightest glory, when the cause we fought in +was the cause of all the oppressed, and nearly alone we upheld the rights of +oppressed countries against the invader. And thus it is that the battle of the +Nile is one of the exploits to which we look back with the greatest exultation, +when we think of the triumph of the British flag.</p> +<p>Let us think of all that was at stake. Napoleon Bonaparte was climbing to +power in France, by directing her successful arms against the world. He had +beaten Germany and conquered Italy; he had threatened England, and his dream was +of the conquest of the East. Like another Alexander, he hoped to subdue Asia, +and overthrow the hated British power by depriving it of India. Hitherto, his +dreams had become earnest by the force of his marvelous genius, and by the ardor +which he breathed into the whole French nation; and when he set sail from +Toulon, with 40,000 tried and victorious soldiers and a magnificent fleet, all +were filled with vague and unbounded expectations of almost fabulous glories. He +swept away as it were the degenerate Knights of St. john from their rock of +Malta, and sailed for Alexandria in Egypt, in the latter end of June, 1798.</p> +<p>His intentions had not become known, and the English Mediterranean fleet was +watching the course of this great armament. Sir Horatio Nelson was in pursuit, +with the English vessels, and wrote to the First Lord of the Admiralty: 'Be they +bound to the Antipodes, your lordship may rely that I will not lose a moment in +bringing them to action.'</p> +<p>Nelson had, however, not ships enough to be detached to reconnoitre, and he +actually overpassed the French, whom he guessed to be on the way to Egypt; he +arrived at the port of Alexandria on the 28th of June, and saw its blue waters +and flat coast lying still in their sunny torpor, as if no enemy were on the +seas. Back he went to Syracuse, but could learn no more there; he obtained +provisions with some difficulty, and then, in great anxiety, sailed for Greece; +where at last, on the 28th of July, he learnt that the French fleet had been +seen from Candia, steering to the southeast, and about four weeks since. In +fact, it had actually passed by him in a thick haze, which concealed each fleet +from the other, and had arrived at Alexandria on the 1st of July, three days +after he had left it!</p> +<p>Every sail was set for the south, and at four o'clock in the afternoon of the +1st of August a very different sight was seen in Aboukir Bay, so solitary a +month ago. It was crowded with shipping. Great castle-like men-of-war rose with +all their proud calm dignity out of the water, their dark port-holes opening in +the white bands on their sides, and the tricolored flag floating as their +ensign. There were thirteen ships of the line and four frigates, and, of these, +three were 80-gun ships, and one, towering high above the rest, with her three +decks, was L'Orient, of 120 guns. Look well at her, for there stands the hero +for whose sake we have chose this and no other of Nelson's glorious fights to +place among the setting of our Golden Deeds. There he is, a little cadet de +vaisseau, as the French call a midshipman, only ten years old, with a heart +swelling between awe and exultation at the prospect of his first battle; but, +fearless and glad, for is he not the son of the brave Casabianca, the +flag-captain? And is not this Admiral Brueys' own ship, looking down in scorn on +the fourteen little English ships, not one carrying more than 74 guns, and one +only 50?</p> +<p>Why Napoleon had kept the fleet there was never known. In his usual mean way +of disavowing whatever turned out ill, he laid the blame upon Admiral Brueys; +but, though dead men could not tell tales, his papers made it plain that the +ships had remained in obedience to commands, though they had not been able to +enter the harbour of Alexandria. Large rewards had been offered to any pilot who +would take them in, but none could be found who would venture to steer into that +port a vessel drawing more than twenty feet of water. They had, therefore, +remained at anchor outside, in Aboukir Bay, drawn up in a curve along the +deepest of the water, with no room to pass them at either end, so that the +commissary of the fleet reported that they could bid defiance to a force more +than double their number. The admiral believed that Nelson had not ventured to +attack him when they had passed by one another a month before, and when the +English fleet was signaled, he still supposed that it was too late in the day +for an attack to be made.</p> +<p>Nelson had, however, no sooner learnt that the French were in sight than he +signaled from his ship, the Vanguard, that preparations for battle should be +made, and in the meantime summoned up his captains to receive his orders during +a hurried meal. He explained that, where there was room for a large French ship +to swing, there was room for a small English one to anchor, and, therefore, he +designed to bring his ships up to the outer part of the French line, and station +them close below their adversary; a plan that he said Lord Hood had once +designed, though he had not carried it out.</p> +<p>Captain Berry was delighted, and exclaimed, 'If we succeed, what will the +world say?'</p> +<p>'There is no if in the case,' returned Nelson, 'that we shall succeed is +certain. Who may live to tell the tale is a very different question.'</p> +<p>And when they rose and parted, he said, 'before this time to-morrow I shall +have gained a peerage or Westminster Abbey.'</p> +<p>In the fleet went, through a fierce storm of shot and shell from a French +battery in an island in advance. Nelson's own ship, the Vanguard, was the first +to anchor within half-pistol-shot of the third French ship, the Spartiate. The +Vanguard had six colours flying, in any case any should be shot away; and such +was the fire that was directed on her, that in a few minutes every man at the +six guns in her forepart was killed or wounded, and this happened three times. +Nelson himself received a wound in the head, which was thought at first to be +mortal, but which proved but slight. He would not allow the surgeon to leave the +sailors to attend to him till it came to his turn.</p> +<p>Meantime his ships were doing their work gloriously. The Bellerophon was, +indeed, overpowered by L'Orient, 200 of her crew killed, and all her masts and +cables shot away, so that she drifted away as night came on; but the Swiftsure +came up in her place, and the Alexander and Leander both poured in their shot. +Admiral Brueys received three wounds, but would not quit his post, and at length +a fourth shot almost cut him in two. He desired not to be carried below, but +that he might die on deck.</p> +<p>About nine o'clock the ship took fire, and blazed up with fearful brightness, +lighting up the whole bay, and showing five French ships with their colours +hauled down, the others still fighting on. Nelson himself rose and came on deck +when this fearful glow came shining from sea and sky into his cabin; and gave +orders that the English boars should immediately be put off for L'Orient, to +save as many lives as possible.</p> +<p>The English sailors rowed up to the burning ship which they had lately been +attacking. The French officers listened to the offer of safety, and called to +the little favorite of the ship, the captain's son, to come with them. 'No,' +said the brave child, 'he was where his father had stationed him, and bidden him +not to move save at his call.' They told him his father's voice would never call +him again, for he lay senseless and mortally wounded on the deck, and that the +ship must blow up. 'No,' said the brave child, 'he must obey his father.' The +moment allowed no delaythe boat put off. The flames showed all that passed in a +quivering flare more intense than daylight, and the little fellow was then seen +on the deck, leaning over the prostrate figure, and presently tying it to one of +the spars of the shivered masts.</p> +<p>Just then a thundering explosion shook down to the very hold every ship in +the harbour, and burning fragments of L'Orient came falling far and wide, +plashing heavily into the water, in the dead, awful stillness that followed the +fearful sound. English boats were plying busily about, picking up those who had +leapt overboard in time. Some were dragged in through the lower portholes of the +English ships, and about seventy were saved altogether. For one moment a boat's +crew had a sight of a helpless figure bound to a spar, and guided by a little +childish swimmer, who must have gone overboard with his precious freight just +before the explosion. They rowed after the brave little fellow, earnestly +desiring to save him; but in darkness, in smoke, in lurid uncertain light, amid +hosts of drowning wretches, they lost sight of him again.</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>The boy, oh where was he!<br> +Ask of the winds that far around<br> +With fragments strewed the sea;<br> +With mast and helm, and pennant fair<br> +That well had borne their part:<br> +But the noblest thing that perished there<br> +Was that young faithful heart!</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>By sunrise the victory was complete. Nay, as Nelson said, 'It was not a +victory, but a conquest.' Only four French ships escaped, and Napoleon and his +army were cut off from home. These are the glories of our navy, gained by men +with hearts as true and obedient as that of the brave child they had tried in +vain to save. Yet still, while giving the full meed of thankful, sympathetic +honor to our noble sailors, we cannot but feel that the Golden Deed of Aboukir +Bay fell to--</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'That young faithful heart.'</p> +</blockquote> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>THE SOLDIERS IN THE SNOW<br> +1672</h3></center> + +<p>Few generals had ever been more loved by their soldiers than the great +Viscount de Turenne, who was Marshal of France in the time of Louis XIV. Troops +are always proud of a leader who wins victories; but Turenne was far more loved +for his generous kindness than for his successes. If he gained a battle, he +always wrote in his despatches, 'We succeeded,' so as to give the credit to the +rest of the army; but if he were defeated, he wrote, 'I lost,' so as to take all +the blame upon himself. He always shared as much as possible in every hardship +suffered by his men, and they trusted him entirely. In the year 1672, Turenne +and his army were sent to make war upon the Elector Frederick William of +Brandenburg, in Northern Germany. It was in the depth of winter, and the marches +through the heavy roads were very trying and wearisome; but the soldiers endured +all cheerfully for his sake. Once when they were wading though a deep morass, +some of the younger soldiers complained; but the elder ones answered, 'Depend +upon it, Turenne is more concerned than we are. At this moment he is thinking +how to deliver us. He watches for us while we sleep. He is our father. It is +plain that you are but young.'</p> +<p>Another night, when he was going the round of the camp, he overheard some of +the younger men murmuring at the discomforts of the march; when an old soldier, +newly recovered from a severe wound, said: 'You do not know our father. He would +not have made us go through such fatigue, unless he had some great end in view, +which we cannot yet make out.' Turenne always declared that nothing had ever +given him more pleasure than this conversation.</p> +<p>There was a severe sickness among the troops, and he went about among the +sufferers, comforting them, and seeing that their wants were supplied. When he +passed by, the soldiers came out of their tents to look at him, and say, 'Our +father is in good health: we have nothing to fear.'</p> +<p>The army had to enter the principality of Halberstadt, the way to which lay +over ridges of high hills with narrow defiles between them. Considerable time +was required for the whole of the troops to march through a single narrow +outlet; and one very cold day, when such a passage was taking place, the +Marshal, quite spent with fatigue, sat down under a bush to wait till all had +marched by, and fell asleep. When he awoke, it was snowing fast; but he found +himself under a sort of tent made of soldiers' cloaks, hung up upon the branches +of trees planted in the ground, and round it were standing, in the cold and +snow, all unsheltered, a party of soldiers. Turenne called out to them, to ask +what they were doing there. 'We are taking care of our father,' they said; 'that +is our chief concern.' The general, to keep up discipline, seems to have scolded +them a little for straggling from their regiment; but he was much affected and +gratified by this sight of their hearty love for him.</p> +<p>Still greater and more devoted love was shown by some German soldiers in the +terrible winter of 1812. It was when the Emperor Napoleon I. had made his vain +attempt to conquer Russia, and had been prevented from spending the winter at +Moscow by the great fire that consumed all the city. He was obliged to retreat +through the snow, with the Russian army pursuing him, and his miserable troops +suffering horrors beyond all imagination. Among them were many Italians, Poles, +and Germans, whom he had obliged to become his allies; and the 'Golden Deed' of +ten of these German soldiers, the last remnant of those led from Hesse Darmstadt +by their gallant young Prince Emilius, is best told in Lord Houghton's verses:--</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'From Hessen Darmstadt every step to Moskwa's blazing banks,<br> +Was Prince Emilius found in flight before the foremost ranks;<br> +And when upon the icy waste that host was backward cast,<br> +On Beresina's bloody bridge his banner waved the last.<br> +'His valor shed victorious grace on all that dread retreat--<br> +That path across the wildering snow, athwart the blinding sleet;<br> +And every follower of his sword could all endure and dare,<br> +Becoming warriors, strong in hope, or stronger in despair.<br> +'Now, day and dark, along the storm the demon Cossacks sweep--<br> +The hungriest must not look for food, the weariest must not sleep.<br> +No rest but death for horse or man, whichever first shall tire;<br> +They see the flames destroy, but ne'er may feel the saving fire.<br> +'Thus never closed the bitter night, nor rose the salvage morn,<br> +But from the gallant company some noble part was shorn;<br> +And, sick at heart, the Prince resolved to keep his purposed way<br> +With steadfast forward looks, nor count the losses of the day.<br> +'At length beside a black, burnt hut, an island of the snow,<br> +Each head in frigid torpor bent toward the saddle bow;<br> +They paused, and of that sturdy troop--that thousand banded men--<br> +At one unmeditated glance he numbered only ten!<br> +'Of all that high triumphant life that left his German home--<br> +Of all those hearts that beat beloved, or looked for love to come--<br> +This piteous remnant, hardly saved, his spirit overcame,<br> +While memory raised each friendly face, recalled an ancient name.<br> +'These were his words, serene and firm, 'Dear brothers, it is best<br> +That here, with perfect trust in Heaven, we give our bodies rest;<br> +If we have borne, like faithful men, our part of toil and pain,<br> +Where'er we wake, for Christ's good sake, we shall not sleep in vain.'<br> +'Some uttered, others looked assent--they had no heart to speak;<br> +Dumb hands were pressed, the pallid lip approached the callous cheek.<br> +They laid them side by side; and death to him at last did seem<br> +To come attired in mazy robe of variegated dream.<br> +'Once more he floated on the breast of old familiar Rhine,<br> +His mother's and one other smile above him seemed to shine;<br> +A blessed dew of healing fell on every aching limb;<br> +Till the stream broadened, and the air thickened, and all was dim.<br> +'Nature has bent to other laws if that tremendous night<br> +Passed o'er his frame, exposed and worn, and left no deadly blight;<br> +Then wonder not that when, refresh'd and warm, he woke at last,<br> +There lay a boundless gulf of thought between him and the past.<br> +'Soon raising his astonished head, he found himself alone,<br> +Sheltered beneath a genial heap of vestments not his own;<br> +The light increased, the solemn truth revealing more and more,<br> +The soldiers' corses, self-despoiled, closed up the narrow door.<br> +'That every hour, fulfilling good, miraculous succor came,<br> +And Prince Emilius lived to give this worthy deed to fame.<br> +O brave fidelity in death! O strength of loving will!<br> +These are the holy balsam drops that woeful wars distil.'</p> +</blockquote> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>GUNPOWDER PERILS<br> +1700</h3></center> + +<p>The wild history of Ireland contains many a frightful tale, but also many an +action of the noblest order; and the short sketch given by Maria Edgeworth of +her ancestry, presents such a chequerwork of the gold and the lead that it is +almost impossible to separate them.</p> +<p>At the time of the great Irish rebellion of 1641 the head of the Edgeworth +family had left his English wife and her infant son at his castle of Cranallagh +in county Longford, thinking them safe there while he joined the royal forces +under the Earl of Ormond. In his absence, however, the rebels attacked the +castle at night, set fire to it, and dragged the lady out absolutely naked. She +hid herself under a furze bush, and succeeded in escaping and reaching Dublin, +whence she made her way to her father's house in Derbyshire. Her little son was +found by the rebels lying in his cradle, and one of them actually seized the +child by the leg and was about to dash out his brains against the wall; but a +servant named Bryan Ferral, pretending to be even more ferocious, vowed that a +sudden death was too good for the little heretic, and that he should be plunged +up to the throat in a bog-hole and left for the crows to pick out his eyes. He +actually did place the poor child in the bog, but only to save his life; he +returned as soon as he could elude his comrades, put the boy into a pannier +below eggs and chickens, and thus carried him straight though the rebel camp to +his mother at Dublin. Strange to say, these rebels, who thought being dashed +against the wall too good a fate for the infant, extinguished the flames of the +castle out of reverence for the picture of his grandmother, who had been a Roman +Catholic, and was painted on a panel with a cross on her bosom and a rosary in +her hand.</p> +<p>John Edgeworth, the boy thus saved, married very young, and went with his +wife to see London after the Restoration. To pay their expenses they mortgaged +an estate and put the money in a stocking, which they kept on the top of the +bed; and when that store was used up, the young man actually sold a house in +Dublin to buy a high-crowned hat and feathers. Still, reckless and improvident +as they were, there was sound principle within them, and though they were great +favorites, and Charles II. insisted on knighting the husband, their glimpse of +the real evils and temptations of his Court sufficed them, and in the full tide +of flattery and admiration the lady begged to return home, nor did she ever go +back to Court again.</p> +<p>Her home was at Castle Lissard, in full view of which was a hillock called +Fairymount, or Firmont, from being supposed to be the haunt of fairies. Lights, +noises, and singing at night, clearly discerned from the castle, caused much +terror to Lady Edgeworth, though her descendants affirm that they were fairies +of the same genus as those who beset Sir John Falstaff at Hearne's oak, and +intended to frighten her into leaving the place. However, though her nerves +might be disturbed, her spirit was not to be daunted; and, fairies or no +fairies, she held her ground at Castle Lissard, and there showed what manner of +woman she was in a veritable and most fearful peril.</p> +<p>On some alarm which caused the gentlemen of the family to take down their +guns, she went to a dark loft at the top of the house to fetch some powder from +a barrel that was there kept in store, taking a young maid-servant to carry the +candle; which, as might be expected in an Irish household of the seventeenth +century, was devoid of any candlestick. After taking the needful amount of +gunpowder, Lady Edgeworth locked the door, and was halfway downstairs when she +missed the candle, and asking the girl what she had done with it, received the +cool answer that 'she had left it sticking in the barrel of black salt'. Lady +Edgeworth bade her stand still, turned round, went back alone to the loft where +the tallow candle stood guttering and flaring planted in the middle of the +gunpowder, resolutely put an untrembling hand beneath it, took it out so +steadily that no spark fell, carried it down, and when she came to the bottom of +the stairs dropped on her knees, and broke forth in a thanksgiving aloud for the +safety of the household in this frightful peril. This high-spirited lady lived +to be ninety years old, and left a numerous family. One grandson was the Abbe +Edgeworth, known in France as De Firmont, such being the alteration of +Fairymount on French lips. It was he who, at the peril of his own life, attended +Louis XVI. to the guillotine, and thus connected his name so closely with the +royal cause that when his cousin Richard Lovell Edgeworth, of Edgeworths-town, +visited France several years after, the presence of a person so called was +deemed perilous to the rising power of Napoleon. This latter Mr. Edgeworth was +the father of Maria, whose works we hope are well known to our young readers.</p> +<p>The good Chevalier Bayard was wont to mourn over the introduction of +firearms, as destructive of chivalry; and certainly the steel-clad knight, with +barbed steed, and sword and lance, has disappeared from the battle-field; but +his most essential qualities, truth, honor, faithfulness, mercy, and +self-devotion, have not disappeared with him, nor can they as long as Christian +men and women bear in mind that 'greater love hath no man than this, that he lay +down his life for his friend'.</p> +<p>And that terrible compound, gunpowder, has been the occasion of many another +daring deed, requiring desperate resolution, to save others at the expense of a +death perhaps more frightful to the imagination than any other. Listen to a +story of the King's birthday in Jersey 'sixty years since'--in 1804, when that +4th of June that Eton boys delight in, was already in the forty-fourth year of +its observance in honor of the then reigning monarch, George III.</p> +<p>All the forts in the island had done due honor to the birthday of His +Majesty, who was then just recovered from an attack of insanity. In each the +guns at noon-day thundered out their royal salute, the flashes had answered one +another, and the smoke had wreathed itself away over the blue sea of Jersey. The +new fort on the hill just above the town of St. Heliers had contributed its +share to the loyal thunders, and then it was shut up, and the keys carried away +by Captain Salmon, the artillery officer on guard there, locking up therein 209 +barrels of gunpowder, with a large supply of bombshells, and every kind of +ammunition such as might well be needed in the Channel islands the year before +Lord Nelson had freed England from the chance of finding the whole French army +on our coast in the flat-bottomed boats that were waiting at Boulogne for the +dark night that never came.</p> +<p>At six o'clock in the evening, Captain Salmon went to dine with the other +officers in St. Heliers and to drink the King's health, when the soldiers on +guard beheld a cloud of smoke curling out at the air-hole at the end of the +magazine. Shouting 'fire', they ran away to avoid an explosion that would have +shattered them to pieces, and might perhaps endanger the entire town of St. +Heliers. Happily their shout was heard by a man of different mould. Lieutenant +Lys, the signal officer, was in the watch-house on the hill, and coming out he +saw the smoke, and perceived the danger. Two brothers, named Thomas and Edward +Touzel, carpenters, and the sons of an old widow, had come up to take down a +flagstaff that had been raised in honor of the day, and Mr. Lys ordered them to +hasten to the town to inform the commander-in-chief, and get the keys from +Captain Salmon.</p> +<p>Thomas went, and endeavored to persuade his brother to accompany him from the +heart of the danger; but Edward replied that he must die some day or other, and +that he would do his best to save the magazine, and he tried to stop some of the +runaway soldiers to assist. One refused; but another, William Ponteney, of the +3rd, replied that he was ready to die with him, and they shook hands.</p> +<p>Edward Touzel then, by the help of a wooden bar and an axe, broke open the +door of the fort, and making his way into it, saw the state of the case, and +shouted to Mr. Lys on the outside, 'the magazine is on fire, it will blow up, we +must lose our lives; but no matter, huzza for the King! We must try and save +it.' He then rushed into the flame, and seizing the matches, which were almost +burnt out (probably splinters of wood tipped with brimstone), he threw them by +armfuls to Mr. Lys and the soldier Ponteney, who stood outside and received +them. Mr. Lys saw a cask of water near at hand; but there was nothing to carry +the water in but an earthen pitcher, his own hat and the soldier's. These, +however, they filled again and again, and handed to Touzel, who thus +extinguished all the fire he could see; but the smoke was so dense, that he +worked in horrible doubt and obscurity, almost suffocated, and with his face and +hands already scorched. The beams over his head were on fire, large cases +containing powder horns had already caught, and an open barrel of gunpowder was +close by, only awaiting the fall of a single brand to burst into a fatal +explosion. Touzel called out to entreat for some drink to enable him to endure +the stifling, and Mr. Lys handed him some spirits-and-water, which he drank, and +worked on; but by this time the officers had heard the alarm, dispelled the +panic among the soldiers, and come to the rescue. The magazine was completely +emptied, and the last smoldering sparks extinguished; but the whole of the +garrison and citizens felt that they owed their lives to the three gallant men +to whose exertions alone under Providence, it was owing that succor did not come +too late. Most of all was honor due to Edward Touzel, who, as a civilian, might +have turned his back upon the peril without any blame; nay, could even have +pleaded Mr. Lys' message as a duty, but who had instead rushed foremost into +what he believe was certain death.</p> +<p>A meeting was held in the church of St. Heliers to consider of a testimonial +of gratitude to these three brave men (it is to be hoped that thankfulness to an +overruling Providence was also manifested there), when 500l. was voted to Mr. +Lys, who was the father of a large family; 300l. to Edward Touzel; and William +Ponteney received, at his own request, a life annuity of 20l. and a gold medal, +as he declared that he had rather continue to serve the King as a soldier than +be placed in any other course of life.</p> +<p>In that same year (1804) the same daring endurance and heroism were evinced +by the officers of H.M.S. Hindostan, where, when on the way from Gibraltar to +join Nelson's fleet at Toulon, the cry of 'Fire!' was heard, and dense smoke +rose from the lower decks, so as to render it nearly impossible to detect the +situation of the fire. Again and again Lieutenants Tailour and Banks descended, +and fell down senseless from the stifling smoke; then were carried on deck, +recovered in the free air, and returned to vain endeavor of clearing the +powder-room. But no man could long preserve his faculties in the poisonous +atmosphere, and the two lieutenants might be said to have many deaths from it. +At last the fire gained so much head, that it was impossible to save the vessel, +which had in the meantime been brought into the Bay of Rosas, and was near +enough to land to enable the crew to escape in boats, after having endured the +fire six hours. Nelson himself wrote: 'The preservation of the crew seems little +short of a miracle. I never read such a journal of exertions in my life.'</p> +<p>Eight years after, on the taking of Ciudad Rodrigo, in 1812, by the British +army under Wellington, Captain William Jones, of the 52nd Regiment, having +captured a French officer, employed his prisoner in pointing out quarters for +his men. The Frenchman could not speak English, and Captain Jones--a fiery +Welshman, whom it was the fashion in the regiment to term 'Jack Jones'--knew no +French; but dumb show supplied the want of language, and some of the company +were lodged in a large store pointed out by the Frenchman, who then led the way +to a church, near which Lord Wellington and his staff were standing. But no +sooner had the guide stepped into the building than he started back, crying, +'Sacre bleu!' and ran out in the utmost alarm. The Welsh captain, however, went +on, and perceived that the church had been used as a powder-magazine by the +French; barrels were standing round, samples of their contents lay loosely +scattered on the pavement, and in the midst was a fire, probably lighted by some +Portuguese soldiers. Forthwith Captain Jones and the sergeant entered the +church, took up the burning embers brand by brand, bore them safe over the +scattered powder, and out of the church, and thus averted what might have been +the most terrific disaster that could have befallen our army. [Footnote: The +story has been told with some variation, as to whether it was the embers or a +barrel of powder that he and the sergeant removed. In the Record of the 52d it +is said to have been the latter; but the tradition the author has received from +officers of the regiment distinctly stated that it was the burning brands, and +that the scene was a reserve magazine--not, as in the brief mention in Sir +William Napier's History, the great magazine of the town.]</p> +<p>Our next story of this kind relates to a French officer, Monsieur Mathieu +Martinel, adjutant of the 1st Cuirassiers. In 1820 there was a fire in the +barracks at Strasburg, and nine soldiers were lying sick and helpless above a +room containing a barrel of gunpowder and a thousand cartridges. Everyone was +escaping, but Martinel persuaded a few men to return into the barracks with him, +and hurried up the stairs through smoke and flame that turned back his +companions. He came alone to the door of a room close to that which contained +the powder, but found it locked. Catching up a bench, he beat the door in, and +was met by such a burst of fire as had almost driven him away; but, just as he +was about to descend, he thought that, when the flames reached the powder, the +nine sick men must infallibly be blown up, and returning to the charge, he +dashed forward, with eyes shut, through the midst, and with face, hands, hair, +and clothes singed and burnt, he made his way to the magazine, in time to tear +away, and throw to a distance from the powder, the mass of paper in which the +cartridges were packed, which was just about to ignite, and appearing at the +window, with loud shouts for water, thus showed the possibility of penetrating +to the magazine, and floods of water were at once directed to it, so as to +drench the powder, and thus save the men.</p> +<p>This same Martinel had shortly before thrown himself into the River Ill, +without waiting to undress, to rescue a soldier who had fallen in, so near a +water mill, that there was hardly a chance of life for either. Swimming straight +towards the mill dam, Martinel grasped the post of the sluice with one arm, and +with the other tried to arrest the course of the drowning man, who was borne by +a rapid current towards the mill wheel; and was already so far beneath the +surface, that Martinel could not reach him without letting go of the post. +Grasping the inanimate body, he actually allowed himself to be carried under the +mill wheel, without loosing his hold, and came up immediately after on the other +side, still able to bring the man to land, in time for his suspended animation +to be restored.</p> +<p>Seventeen years afterwards, when the regiment was at Paris, there was, on the +night of the 14th of June, 1837, during the illuminations at the wedding +festival of the Duke and Duchess of Orleans, one of those frightful crushes that +sometimes occur in an ill-regulated crowd, when there is some obstruction in the +way, and there is nothing but a horrible blind struggling and trampling, violent +and fatal because of its very helplessness and bewilderment. The crowd were +trying to leave the Champ de Mars, where great numbers had been witnessing some +magnificent fireworks, and had blocked up the passage leading out by the +Military College. A woman fell down in a fainting fit, others stumbled over her, +and thus formed an obstruction, which, being unknown to those in the rear, did +not prevent them from forcing forward the persons in front, so that they too +were pushed and trodden down into one frightful, struggling, suffocating mass of +living and dying men, women, and children, increasing every moment.</p> +<p>M. Martinel was passing, on his way to his quarters, when, hearing the +tumult, he ran to the gate from the other side, and meeting the crowd tried by +shouts and entreaties to persuade them to give back, but the hindmost could not +hear him, and the more frightened they grew, the more they tried to hurry home, +and so made the heap worse and worse, and in the midst an illuminated yew-tree, +in a pot, was upset, and further barred the way. Martinel, with imminent danger +to himself, dragged out one or two persons; but finding his single efforts +almost useless among such numbers, he ran to the barracks, sounded to horse, and +without waiting till his men could be got together, hurried off again on foot, +with a few of his comrades, and dashed back into the crowd, struggling as +vehemently to penetrate to the scene of danger, as many would have done to get +away from it.</p> +<p>Private Spenlee alone kept up with him, and, coming to the dreadful heap, +these two labored to free the passage, lift up the living, and remove the dead. +First he dragged out an old man in a fainting fit, then a young soldier, next a +boy, a woman, a little girl--he carried them to freer air, and came back the +next moment, though often so nearly pulled down by the frantic struggles of the +terrified stifled creatures, that he was each moment in the utmost peril of +being trampled to death. He carried out nine persons one by one; Spenlee brought +out a man and a child; and his brother officers, coming up, took their share. +One lieutenant, with a girl in a swoon in his arms, caused a boy to be put on +his back, and under this double burthen was pushing against the crowd for half +and hour, till at length he fell, and was all but killed.</p> +<p>A troop of cuirassiers had by this time mounted, and through the Champ de +Mars came slowly along, step by step, their horses moving as gently and +cautiously as if they knew their work. Everywhere, as they advanced, little +children were held up to them out of the throng to be saved, and many of their +chargers were loaded with the little creatures, perched before and behind the +kind soldiers. With wonderful patience and forbearance, they managed to insert +themselves and their horses, first in single file, then two by two, then more +abreast, like a wedge, into the press, until at last they formed a wall, cutting +off the crowd behind from the mass in the gateway, and thus preventing the +encumbrance from increasing. The people came to their senses, and went off to +other gates, and the crowd diminishing, it became possible to lift up the many +unhappy creatures, who lay stifling or crushed in the heap. They were carried +into the barracks, the cuirassiers hurried to bring their mattresses to lay them +on in the hall, brought them water, linen, all they could want, and were as +tender to them as sisters of charity, till they were taken to the hospitals or +to their homes. Martinel, who was the moving spirit in this gallant rescue, +received in the following year one of M. Monthyon's prizes for the greatest acts +of virtue that could be brought to light.</p> +<p>Nor among the gallant actions of which powder has been the cause should be +omitted that of Lieutenant Willoughby, who, in the first dismay of the mutiny in +India, in 1858, blew up the great magazine at Delhi, with all the ammunition +that would have armed the sepoys even yet more terribly against ourselves. The +'Golden Deed' was one of those capable of no earthly meed, for it carried the +brave young officer where alone there is true reward; and all the Queen and +country could do in his honor was to pension his widowed mother, and lay up his +name among those that stir the heart with admiration and gratitude.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>HEROES OF THE PLAGUE<br> +1576--1665--1721</h3></center> + +<p>When our Litany entreats that we may be delivered from 'plague, pestilence, +and famine', the first of these words bears a special meaning, which came home +with strong and painful force to European minds at the time the Prayer Book was +translated, and for the whole following century.</p> +<p>It refers to the deadly sickness emphatically called 'the plague', a typhoid +fever exceedingly violent and rapid, and accompanied with a frightful swelling +either under the arm or on the corresponding part of the thigh. The East is the +usual haunt of this fatal complaint, which some suppose to be bred by the +marshy, unwholesome state of Egypt after the subsidence of the waters of the +Nile, and which generally prevails in Egypt and Syria until its course is +checked either by the cold of winter or the heat in summer. At times this +disease has become unusually malignant and infectious, and then has come beyond +its usual boundaries and made its way over all the West. These dreadful +visitations were rendered more frequent by total disregard of all precautions, +and ignorance of laws for preserving health. People crowded together in towns +without means of obtaining sufficient air or cleanliness, and thus were sure to +be unhealthy; and whenever war or famine had occasioned more than usual poverty, +some frightful epidemic was sure to follow in its train, and sweep away the poor +creatures whose frames were already weakened by previous privation. And often +this 'sore judgment' was that emphatically called the plague; and especially +during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, a time when war had become far +more cruel and mischievous in the hands of hired regiments than ever it had been +with a feudal army, and when at the same time increasing trade was filling the +cities with more closely packed inhabitants, within fortifications that would +not allow the city to expand in proportion to its needs. It has been only the +establishment of the system of quarantine which has succeeded in cutting off the +course of infection by which the plague was wont to set out on its frightful +travels from land to land, from city to city.</p> +<p>The desolation of a plague-stricken city was a sort of horrible dream. Every +infected house was marked with a red cross, and carefully closed against all +persons, except those who were charged to drive carts through the streets to +collect the corpses, ringing a bell as they went. These men were generally +wretched beings, the lowest and most reckless of the people, who undertook their +frightful task for the sake of the plunder of the desolate houses, and wound +themselves up by intoxicating drinks to endure the horrors. The bodies were +thrown into large trenches, without prayer or funeral rites, and these were +hastily closed up. Whole families died together, untended save by one another, +with no aid of a friendly hand to give drink or food; and, in the Roman Catholic +cities, the perishing without a priest to administer the last rites of the +Church was viewed as more dreadful than death itself.</p> +<p>Such visitations as these did indeed prove whether the pastors of the +afflicted flock were shepherds or hirelings. So felt, in 1576, Cardinal Carlo +Borromeo, Archbishop of Milan, the worthiest of all the successors of St. +Ambrose, when he learnt at Lodi that the plague had made its appearance in his +city, where, remarkably enough, there had lately been such licentious revelry +that he had solemnly warned the people that, unless they repented, they would +certainly bring on themselves the wrath of heaven. His council of clergy advised +him to remain in some healthy part of his diocese till the sickness should have +spent itself, but he replied that a Bishop, whose duty it is to give his life +for his sheep, could not rightly abandon them in time of peril. They owned that +to stand by them was the higher course. 'Well,' he said, 'is it not a Bishop's +duty to choose the higher course?'</p> +<p>So back into the town of deadly sickness he went, leading the people to +repent, and watching over them in their sufferings, visiting the hospitals, and, +by his own example, encouraging his clergy in carrying spiritual consolation to +the dying. All the time the plague lasted, which was four months, his exertions +were fearless and unwearied, and what was remarkable was, that of his whole +household only two died, and they were persons who had not been called to go +about among the sick. Indeed, some of the rich who had repaired to a villa, +where they spent their time in feasting and amusement in the luxurious Italian +fashion, were there followed by the pestilence, and all perished; their dainty +fare and the excess in which they indulged having no doubt been as bad a +preparation as the poverty of the starving people in the city.</p> +<p>The strict and regular life of the Cardinal and his clergy, and their home in +the spacious palace, were, no doubt, under Providence, a preservative; but, in +the opinions of the time, there was little short of a miracle in the safety of +one who daily preached in the cathedral,--bent over the beds of the sick, giving +them food and medicine, hearing their confessions, and administering the last +rites of the Church,--and then braving the contagion after death, rather than +let the corpses go forth unblest to their common grave. Nay, so far was he from +seeking to save his own life, that, kneeling before the altar in the cathedral, +he solemnly offered himself, like Moses, as a sacrifice for his people. But, +like Moses, the sacrifice was passed by--'it cost more to redeem their +souls'--and Borromeo remained untouched, as did the twenty-eight priests who +voluntarily offered themselves to join in his labors.</p> +<p>No wonder that the chief memories that haunt the glorious white marble +cathedral of Milan are those of St. Ambrose, who taught mercy to an emperor, and +of St. Carlo Borromeo, who practiced mercy on a people.</p> +<p>It was a hundred years later that the greatest and last visitation of the +plague took place in London. Doubtless the scourge called forth--as in Christian +lands such judgments always do--many an act of true and blessed self-devotion; +but these are not recorded, save where they have their reward: and the tale now +to be told is of one of the small villages to which the infection +spread--namely, Eyam, in Derbyshire.</p> +<p>This is a lovely place between Buxton and Chatsworth, perched high on a +hillside, and shut in by another higher mountain--extremely beautiful, but +exactly one of those that, for want of free air, always become the especial prey +of infection. At that time lead works were in operation in the mountains, and +the village was thickly inhabited. Great was the dismay of the villagers when +the family of a tailor, who had received some patterns of cloth from London, +showed symptoms of the plague in its most virulent form, sickening and dying in +one day.</p> +<p>The rector of the parish, the Rev. William Mompesson, was still a young man, +and had been married only a few years. His wife, a beautiful young woman, only +twenty-seven years old, was exceedingly terrified at the tidings from the +village, and wept bitterly as she implored her husband to take her, and her +little George and Elizabeth, who were three and fours years old, away to some +place of safety. But Mr. Mompesson gravely showed her that it was his duty not +to forsake his flock in their hour of need, and began at once to make +arrangements for sending her and the children away. She saw he was right in +remaining, and ceased to urge him to forsake his charge; but she insisted that +if he ought not to desert his flock, his wife ought not to leave him; and she +wept and entreated so earnestly, that he at length consented that she should be +with him, and that only the two little ones should be removed while yet there +was time.</p> +<p>Their father and mother parted with the little ones as treasures that they +might never see again. At the same time Mr. Mompesson wrote to London for the +most approved medicines and prescriptions; and he likewise sent a letter to the +Earl of Devonshire, at Chatsworth, to engage that his parishioners should +exclude themselves from the whole neighborhood, and thus confine the contagion +within their own boundaries, provided the Earl would undertake that food, +medicines, and other necessaries, should be placed at certain appointed spots, +at regular times, upon the hills around, where the Eyamites might come, leave +payment for them, and take them up, without holding any communication with the +bringers, except by letters, which could be placed on a stone, and then +fumigated, or passed through vinegar, before they were touched with the hand. To +this the Earl consented, and for seven whole months the engagement was kept.</p> +<p>Mr. Mompesson represented to his people that, with the plague once among +them, it would be so unlikely that they should not carry infection about with +them, that it would be selfish cruelty to other places to try to escape amongst +them, and thus spread the danger. So rocky and wild was the ground around them, +that, had they striven to escape, a regiment of soldiers could not have +prevented them. But of their own free will they attended to their rector's +remonstrance, and it was not known that one parishoner of Eyam passed the +boundary all that time, nor was there a single case of plague in any of the +villages around.</p> +<p>The assembling of large congregations in churches had been thought to +increase the infection in London, and Mr. Mompesson, therefore, thought it best +to hold his services out-of-doors. In the middle of the village is a dell, +suddenly making a cleft in the mountain-side, only five yards wide at the +bottom, which is the pebble bed of a wintry torrent, but is dry in the summer. +On the side towards the village, the slope upwards was of soft green turf, +scattered with hazel, rowan, and alder bushes, and full of singing birds. On the +other side, the ascent was nearly perpendicular, and composed of sharp rocks, +partly adorned with bushes and ivy, and here and there rising up in fantastic +peaks and archways, through which the sky could be seen from below. One of these +rocks was hollow, and could be entered from above--a natural gallery, leading to +an archway opening over the precipice; and this Mr. Mompesson chose for his +reading-desk and pulpit. The dell was so narrow, that his voice could clearly be +heard across it, and his congregation arranged themselves upon the green slop +opposite, seated or kneeling upon the grass.</p> +<p>On Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays arose the earnest voice of prayer from +that rocky glen, the people's response meeting the pastor's voice; and twice on +Sundays he preached to them the words of life and hope. It was a dry, hot +summer; fain would they have seen thunder and rain to drive away their enemy; +and seldom did weather break in on the regularity of these service. But there +was another service that the rector had daily to perform; not in his +churchyard--that would have perpetuated the infection--but on a healthy hill +above the village. There he daily read of 'the Resurrection and the Life', and +week by week the company on the grassy slope grew fewer and scantier. His +congregation were passing from the dell to the healthy mound.</p> +<p>Day and night the rector and his wife were among the sick, nursing, feeding, +and tending them with all that care and skill could do; but, in spite of all +their endeavors, only a fifth part of the whole of their inhabitants lived to +spend the last Sunday in Cucklet Church, as the dell is still called. Mrs. +Mompesson had persuaded her husband to have a wound made in his leg, fancying +that this would lessen the danger of infection, and he yielded in order to +satisfy her. His health endured perfectly, but she began to waste under her +constant exertions, and her husband feared that he saw symptoms of consumption; +but she was full of delight at some appearances in his wound that made her +imagine that it had carried off the disease, and that his danger was over.</p> +<p>A few days after, she sickened with symptoms of the plague, and her frame was +so weakened that she sank very quickly. She was often delirious; but when she +was too much exhausted to endure the exertion of taking cordials, her husband +entreated her to try for their children's sake, she lifted herself up and made +the endeavor. She lay peacefully, saying, 'she was but looking for the good hour +to come', and calmly died, making the responses to her husband's prayers even to +the last. Her he buried in the churchyard, and fenced the grave in afterwards +with iron rails. There are two beautiful letters from him written on her +death--one to his little children, to be kept and read when they would be old +enough to understand it; the other to his patron, Sir George Saville, afterwards +Lord Halifax. 'My drooping spirits', he says, 'are much refreshed with her joys, +which I assure myself are unutterable.' He wrote both these letters in the +belief that he should soon follow her, speaking of himself to Sir George as 'his +dying chaplain', commending to him his 'distressed orphans', and begging that a +'humble pious man' might be chosen to succeed him in his parsonage. 'Sire, I +thank God that I am willing to shake hands in peace with all the world; and I +have comfortable assurance that He will accept me for the sake of His Son, and I +find God more good than ever I imagined, and wish that his goodness were not so +much abused and contemned', writes the widowed pastor, left alone among his +dying flock. And he concludes, 'and with tears I entreat that when you are +praying for fatherless and motherless infants, you would then remember my two +pretty babes'.</p> +<p>These two letters were written on the last day of August and first of +September, 1666; but on the 20th of November, Mr. Mompesson was writing to his +uncle, in the lull after the storm. 'The condition of this place hath been so +dreadful, that I persuade myself it exceedeth all history and example. I may +truly say our town has become a Golgotha, a place of skulls; and had there not +been a small remnant of us left, we had been as Sodom, and like unto Gomorrah. +My ears never heard such doleful lamentations, my nose never smelt such noisome +smells, and my eyes never beheld such ghastly spectacles. Here have been +seventy-six families visited within my parish, out of which died 259 persons.'</p> +<p>However, since the 11th of October there had been no fresh cases, and he was +now burning all woolen cloths, lest the infection should linger in them. He +himself had never been touched by the complaint, nor had his maid-servant; his +man had had it but slightly. Mr. Mompesson lived many more years, was offered +the Deanery of Lincoln, but did not accept it, and died in 1708. So virulent was +the contagion that, ninety-one years after, in 1757, when five laboring men, who +were digging up land near the plague- graves for a potato-garden, came upon what +appeared to be some linen, though they buried it again directly, they all +sickened with typhus fever, three of them died, and it was so infectious that no +less than seventy persons in the parish were carried off.</p> +<p>The last of these remarkable visitations of the plague, properly so called, +was at Marseilles, in 1721. It was supposed to have been brought by a vessel +which sailed from Seyde, in the bay of Tunis, on the 31st of January, 1720, +which had a clean bill of health when it anchored off the Chateau d'If, at +Marseilles, on the 25th of May; but six of the crew were found to have died on +the voyage, and the persons who handled the freight also died, though, it was +said, without any symptoms of the plague, and the first cases were supposed to +be of the fevers caused by excessive poverty and crowding. The unmistakable +Oriental plague, however, soon began to spread in the city among the poorer +population, and in truth the wars and heavy expenses of Louis XIV. had made +poverty in France more wretched than ever before, and the whole country was like +one deadly sore, festering, and by and by to come to a fearful crisis. +Precautions were taken, the infected families were removed to the infirmaries +and their houses walled up, but all this was done at night in order not to +excite alarm. The mystery, however, made things more terrible to the +imagination, and this was a period of the utmost selfishness. All the richer +inhabitants who had means of quitting the city, and who were the very people who +could have been useful there, fled with one accord. Suddenly the lazaretto was +left without superintendents, the hospitals without stewards; the judges, public +officers, notaries, and most of the superior workmen in the most necessary +trades were all gone. Only the Provost and four municipal officers remained, +with 1,100 livres in their treasury, in the midst of an entirely disorganized +city, and an enormous population without work, without restraint, without food, +and a prey to the deadliest of diseases.</p> +<p>The Parliament which still survived in the ancient kingdom of Provence +signalized itself by retreating to a distance, and on the 31st of May putting +out a decree that nobody should pass a boundary line round Marseilles on pain of +death; but considering what people were trying to escape from, and the utter +overthrow of all rule and order, this penalty was not likely to have much +effect, and the plague was carried by the fugitives to Arles, Aix, Toulon, and +sixty-three lesser towns and villages. What a contrast to Mr. Mompesson's moral +influence!</p> +<p>Horrible crimes were committed. Malefactors were released from the prisons +and convicts from the galleys, and employed for large payment to collect the +corpses and carry the sick to the infirmaries. Of course they could only be +wrought up to such work by intoxication and unlimited opportunities of plunder, +and their rude treatment both of the dead and of the living sufferers added +unspeakably to the general wretchedness. To be carried to the infirmary was +certain death,--no one lived in that heap of contagion; and even this shelter +was not always to be had,--some of the streets were full of dying creatures who +had been turned out of their houses and could crawl no farther.</p> +<p>What was done to alleviate all these horrors? It was in the minority of Louis +XV., and the Regent Duke of Orleans, easy, good-natured man that he was, sent +22,000 marks to the relief of the city, all in silver, for paper money was found +to spread the infection more than anything else. He also sent a great quantity +of corn, and likewise doctors for the sick, and troops to shut in the infected +district. The Pope, Clement XI., sent spiritual blessings to the sufferers, and, +moreover, three shiploads of wheat. The Regent's Prime Minister, the Abbe +Dubois, the shame of his Church and country, fancied that to send these supplies +cast a slight upon his administration, and desired his representative at Rome to +prevent the sailing of the ships, but his orders were not, for very shame, +carried out, and the vessels set out. On their way they were seized by a Moorish +corsair, who was more merciful than Dubois, for he no sooner learnt their +destination than he let them go unplundered.</p> +<p>And in the midst of the misery there were bright lights 'running to and fro +among the stubble'. The Provost and his five remaining officers, and a gentleman +call Le Chevalier Rose, did their utmost in the bravest and most unselfish way +to help the sufferers, distribute food, provide shelter, restrain the horrors +perpetrated by the sick in their ravings, and provide for the burial of the +dead. And the clergy were all devoted to the task of mercy. There was only one +convent, that of St. Victor, where the gates were closed against all comers in +the hope of shutting out infection. Every other monastic establishment freely +devoted itself. It was a time when party spirit ran high. The bishop, Henri +Francois Xavier de Belzunce, a nephew of the Duke de Lauzun, was a strong and +rigid Jesuit, and had joined so hotly in the persecution of the Jansenists that +he had forbidden the brotherhood called Oratorian fathers to hear confessions, +because he suspected them of a leaning to Jansenist opinions; but he and they +both alike worked earnestly in the one cause of mercy. They were content to obey +his prejudiced edict, since he was in lawful authority, and threw themselves +heartily into the lower and more disdained services to the sick, as nurses and +tenders of the body alone, not of the soul, and in this work their whole +community, Superior and all, perished, almost without exception. Perhaps these +men, thus laying aside hurt feeling and sense of injustice, were the greatest +conquerors of all whose golden deeds we have described.</p> +<p>Bishop Belzunce himself, however, stands as the prominent figure in the +memory of those dreadful five months. He was a man of commanding stature, +towering above all around him, and his fervent sermons, aided by his example of +severe and strict piety, and his great charities, had greatly impressed the +people. He now went about among the plague-stricken, attending to their wants, +both spiritual and temporal, and sold or mortgaged all his property to obtain +relief for them, and he actually went himself in the tumbrils of corpses to give +them the rites of Christian burial. His doings closely resembled those of +Cardinal Borromeo, and like him he had recourse to constant preaching of +repentance, processions and assemblies for litanies in the church. It is +curiously characteristic that it was the English clergyman, who, equally pious, +and sensible that only the Almighty could remove the scourge, yet deemed it +right to take precautions against the effects of bringing a large number of +persons into one building. How Belzunce's clergy seconded him may be gathered +from the numbers who died of the disease. Besides the Oratorians, there died +eighteen Jesuits, twenty-six of the order called Recollets, and forty-three +Capuchins, all of whom had freely given their lives in the endeavor to alleviate +the general suffering. In the four chief towns of Provence 80,000 died, and +about 8,000 in the lesser places. The winter finally checked the destroyer, and +then, sad to say, it appeared how little effect the warning had had on the +survivors. Inheritances had fallen together into the hands of persons who found +themselves rich beyond their expectations, and in the glee of having escaped the +danger, forgot to be thankful, and spent their wealth in revelry. Never had the +cities of Provence been so full of wild, questionable mirth as during the +ensuing winter, and it was remarked that the places which had suffered most +severely were the most given up to thoughtless gaiety, and even licentiousness.</p> +<p>Good Bishop Belzunce did his best to protest against the wickedness around +him, and refused to leave his flock at Marseilles, when, four years after, a far +more distinguished see was offered to him. He died in 1755, in time to escape +the sight of the retribution that was soon worked out on the folly and vice of +the unhappy country.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>THE SECOND OF SEPTEMBER<br> +1792</h3></center> + +<p>The reign of the terrible Tzar was dreadful, but there was even a more +dreadful time, that which might be called the reign of the madness of the +people. The oppression and injustice that had for generations past been worked +out in France ended in the most fearful reaction that history records, and the +horrors that took place in the Revolution pass all thought or description. Every +institution that had been misused was overthrown at one fell swoop, and the +whole accumulated vengeance of generations fell on the heads of the persons who +occupied the positions of the former oppressors. Many of these were as pure and +guiltless as their slaughterers were the reverse, but the heads of the +Revolution imagined that to obtain their ideal vision of perfect justice and +liberty, all the remnants of the former state of things must be swept away, and +the ferocious beings who carried out their decrees had become absolutely frantic +with delight in bloodshed. The nation seemed delivered up to a delirium of +murder. But as</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'Even as earth's wild war cries heighten,<br> +The cross upon the brow will brighten',</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>These times of surpassing horror were also times of surpassing devotion and +heroism. Without attempting to describe the various stages of the Revolution, +and the different committees that under different titles carried on the work of +destruction, we will mention some of the deeds that shine out as we look into +that abyss of horror, the Paris of 1792 and the following years.</p> +<p>Think of the Swiss Guards, who on the 10th of August, 1792, the miserable day +when the King, Queen, and children were made the captives of the people, stood +resolutely at their posts, till they were massacred almost to a man. Well is +their fidelity honored by the noble sculpture near Lucerne, cut out in the +living rock of their own Alps, and representing a lion dying to defend the +fleur-de-lis.</p> +<p>A more dreadful day still was in preparation. The mob seemed to have imagined +that the King and nobility had some strange dreadful power, and that unless they +were all annihilated they would rise up and trample all down before them, and +those who had the direction of affairs profited by this delusion to multiply +executioners, and clear away all that they supposed to stand in the way of the +renewal of the nation. And the attempts of the emigrant nobility and of the +German princes to march to the rescue of the royal family added to the fury of +their cowardly ferocity. The prisons of Paris were crowded to overflowing with +aristocrats, as it was the fashion to call the nobles and gentry, and with the +clergy who had refused their adhesion to the new state of things. The whole +number is reckoned at not less than 8,000.</p> +<p>Among those at the Abbaye de St. Germain were M. Jacques Cazotte, an old +gentleman of seventy-three, who had been for many years in a government office, +and had written various poems. He was living in the country, in Champagne, when +on the 18th of August he was arrested. His daughter Elizabeth, a lovely girl of +twenty, would not leave him, and together they were taken first to Epernay and +then to Paris, where they were thrown into the Abbaye, and found it crowded with +prisoners. M. Cazotte's bald forehead and grey looks gave him a patriarchal +appearance, and his talk, deeply and truly pious, was full of Scripture +language, as he strove to persuade his fellow captives to own the true blessings +of suffering.</p> +<p>Here Elizabeth met the like-minded Marie de Sombreuil, who had clung to her +father, Charles Viscount de Sombreuil, the Governor of the Invalides, or +pensioners of the French army; and here, too, had Madame de Fausse Lendry come +with her old uncle the Abbé de Rastignac, who had been for three months +extremely ill , and was only just recovering when dragged to the prison, and +there placed in a room so crowded that it was not possible to turn round, and +the air in the end of August was fearfully close and heated. Not once while +there was the poor old man able to sleep. His niece spent the nights in a room +belonging to the jailer, with the Princess de Tarente, and Mademoiselle de +Sombreuil.</p> +<p>On the 2nd of September these slaughter-houses were as full as they could +hold, and about a hundred ruffians, armed with axes and guns, were sent round to +all the jails to do the bloody work. It was a Sunday, and some of the victims +had tried to observe it religiously, though little divining that, it was to be +their last. They first took alarm on perceiving that their jailer had removed +his family, and then that he sent up their dinner earlier than usual, and +removed all the knives and forks. By and by howls and shouts were heard, and the +tocsin was heard, ringing, alarm guns firing, and reports came in to the +prisoners of the Abbaye that the populace were breaking into the prisons.</p> +<p>The clergy were all penned up together in the cloisters of the Abbaye, +whither they had been brought in carriages that morning. Among them was the +Abbé Sicard, an admirable priest who had spent his whole lifetime in +instructing the deaf and dumb in his own house, where--</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>'The cunning finger finely twined<br> +The subtle thread that knitteth mind to mind;<br> +There that strange bridge of signs was built where roll<br> +The sunless waves that sever soul from soul,<br> +And by the arch, no bigger than a hand,<br> +Truth travell'd over to the silent land'.</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>He had been arrested, while teaching his pupils, on the 26th of August, 1792, +and shut up among other clergy in the prison of the Mayoralty; but the lads whom +he had educated came in a body to ask leave to claim him at the bar of the +National Assembly. Massieu, his best scholar, had drawn up a most touching +address, saying, that in him the deaf and dumb were deprived of their teacher, +nurse, and father. 'It is he who has taught us what we know, without him we +should be as the beasts of the field.' This petition, and the gestures of the +poor silent beings, went to the heart of the National Assembly. One young man, +named Duhamel, neither deaf nor dumb, from pure admiration of the good work, +went and offered to be imprisoned in the Abbé's place. There was great +applause, and a decree was passed that the cause of the arrest should be +enquired into, but this took no effect, and on that dreadful afternoon, M. +Sicard was put into one of a procession of carriages, which drove slowly through +the streets full of priests, who were reviled, pelted, and wounded by the +populace till they reached the Abbaye.</p> +<p>In the turnkey's rooms sat a horrible committee, who acted as a sort of +tribunal, but very few of the priests reached it. They were for the most part +cut down as they stepped out into the throng in the court--consisting of +red-capped ruffians, with their shirt sleeves turned up, and still more fiendish +women, who hounded them on to the butchery, and brought them wine and food. +Sicard and another priest contrived, while their companions fell, to rush into +the committee room, exclaiming, 'Messieurs, preserve an unfortunate!'</p> +<p>'Go along!' they said, 'do you wish us to get ourselves massacred?'</p> +<p>But one, recognizing him, was surprised, knowing that his life was to be +spared, and took him into the room, promising to save him as long as possible. +Here the two priests would have been safe but for a wretched woman, who shrieked +out to the murderers that they had been admitted, and loud knocks and demands +for them came from without. Sicard thought all lost, and taking out his watch, +begged one of the committee to give it to the first deaf mute who should come +and ask for him, sure that it would be the faithful Massieu. At first the man +replied that the danger was not imminent enough; but on hearing a more furious +noise at the door, as if the mob were going to break in, he took the watch; and +Sicard, falling on his knees, commended his soul to God, and embraced his +brother priest.</p> +<p>In rushed the assassins, they paused for a moment, unable to distinguish the +priests from the committee, but the two pikemen found them out, and his +companion was instantly murdered. The weapons were lifted against Sicard, when a +man pushed through the crowd, and throwing himself before the pike, displayed +his breast and cried, 'Behold the bosom through which you must pass to reach +that of this good citizen. You do not know him. He is the Abbé Sicard, one of +the most benevolent of men, the most useful to his country, the father of the +deaf and dumb!'</p> +<p>The murderer dropped his pike; but Sicard, perceiving that it was the +populace who were the real dispensers of life or death, sprang to the window, +and shouted, 'Friends, behold an innocent man. Am I to die without being heard?'</p> +<p>'You were among the rest,' the mob shouted, 'therefore you are as bad as the +others.'</p> +<p>But when he told his name, the cry changed. 'He is the father of the deaf and +dumb! he is too useful to perish; his life is spent in doing good; he must be +saved.' And the murderers behind took him up in their arms, and carried him out +into the court, where he was obliged to submit to be embraced by the whole gang +of ruffians, who wanted to carry him home in triumph; but he did not choose to +go without being legally released, and returning into the committee room, he +learnt for the first time the name of his preserver, one Monnot, a watchmaker, +who, though knowing him only by character, and learning that he was among the +clergy who were being driven to the slaughter, had rushed in to save him.</p> +<p>Sicard remained in the committee room while further horrors were perpetrated +all round, and at night was taken to the little room called Le Violon, with two +other prisoners. A horrible night ensued; the murders on the outside varied with +drinking and dancing; and at three o'clock the murderers tried to break into Le +Violon. There was a loft far overhead, and the other two prisoners tried to +persuade Sicard to climb on their shoulders to reach it, saying that his life +was more useful than theirs. However, some fresh prey was brought in, which drew +off the attention of the murderers, and two days afterwards Sicard was released +to resume his life of charity.</p> +<p>At the beginning of the night, all the ladies who had accompanied their +relatives were separated from them, and put into the women's room; but when +morning came they entreated earnestly to return to them, but Mademoiselle de +Fausse Lendry was assured that her uncle was safe, and they were told soon after +that all who remained were pardoned. About twenty-two ladies were together, and +were called to leave the prison, but the two who went first were at once +butchered, and the sentry called out to the others, 'It is a snare, go back, do +not show yourselves.' They retreated; but Marie de Sombreuil had made her way to +her father, and when he was called down into the court, she came with him. She +hung round him, beseeching the murderers to have pity on his grey hairs, and +declaring that they must strike him only through her. One of the ruffians, +touched by her resolution, called out that they should be allowed to pass if the +girl would drink to the health of the nation. The whole court was swimming with +blood, and the glass he held out to her was full of something red. Marie would +not shudder. She drank, and with the applause of the assassins ringing in her +ears, she passed with her father over the threshold of the fatal gates, into +such freedom and safety as Paris could then afford. Never again could she see a +glass of red wine without a shudder, and it was generally believed that it was +actually a glass of blood that she had swallowed, though she always averred that +this was an exaggeration, and that it had been only her impression before +tasting it that so horrible a draught was offered to her.</p> +<p>The tidings that Mademoiselle de Sombreuil had saved her father came to +encourage the rest of the ladies, and when calls were heard for 'Cazotte', +Elizabeth flew out and joined her father, and in like manner stood between him +and the butchers, till her devotion made the crowd cry 'Pardon!' and one of the +men employed about the prison opened a passage for her, by which she, too, led +her father away.</p> +<p>Madame de Fausse Lendry was not so happy. Her uncle was killed early in the +day, before she was aware that he had been sent for, but she survived to relate +the history of that most horrible night and day. The same work was going on at +all the other prisons, and chief among the victims of La Force was the beautiful +Marie Louise of Savoy, the Princess de Lamballe, and one of the most intimate +friends of the Queen. A young widow without children, she had been the ornament +of the court, and clever learned ladies thought her frivolous, but the depth of +her nature was shown in the time of trial. Her old father-in-law had taken her +abroad with him when the danger first became apparent, but as soon as she saw +that the Queen herself was aimed at, she went immediately back to France to +comfort her and share her fate.</p> +<p>Since the terrible 10th of August, the friends had been separated, and Madame +de Lamballe had been in the prison of La Force. There, on the evening of the 2nd +of September, she was brought down to the tribunal, and told to swear liberty, +equality, and hatred to the King and Queen.</p> +<p>'I will readily swear the two former. I cannot swear the latter. It is not in +my heart.'</p> +<p>'Swear! If not, you are dead.'</p> +<p>She raised her eyes, lifted her hands, and made a step to the door. Murderers +closed her in, and pike thrusts in a few moments were the last 'stage that +carried from earth to heaven' the gentle woman, who had loved her queenly friend +to the death. Little mattered it to her that her corpse was soon torn limb from +limb, and that her fair ringlets were floating round the pike on which her head +was borne past her friend's prison window. Little matters it now even to Marie +Antoinette. The worst that the murderers could do for such as these, could only +work for them a more exceeding weight of glory.</p> +<p>M. Cazotte was imprisoned again on the 12th of September, and all his +daughter's efforts failed to save him. She was taken from him, and he died on +the guillotine, exclaiming, 'I die as I have lived, faithful to my God and to my +King.' And the same winter, M. de Sombreuil was also imprisoned again. When he +entered the prison with his daughter, all the inmates rose to do her honor. In +the ensuing June, after a mock trial, her father and brother were put to death, +and she remained for many years alone with only the memory of her past days.</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>THE VENDEANS<br> +1793</h3></center> + +<p>While the greater part of France had been falling into habits of +self-indulgence, and from thence into infidelity and revolution, there was one +district where the people had not forgotten to fear God and honor the King.</p> +<p>This was in the tract surrounding the Loire, the south of which is now called +La Vendee, and was then termed the Bocage, or the Woodland. It is full of low +hills and narrow valleys, divided into small fields, enclosed by high thick +hedgerows; so that when viewed from the top of one of the hills, the whole +country appears perfectly green, excepting near harvest-time, when small patches +of golden corn catch the eye, or where here and there a church tower peeps above +the trees, in the midst of the flat red-tiled roofs of the surrounding village. +The roads are deep lanes, often in the winter beds of streams, and in the summer +completely roofed by the thick foliage of the trees, whose branches meet +overhead.</p> +<p>The gentry of La Vendee, instead of idling their time at Paris, lived on +their own estates in kindly intercourse with their neighbours, and constantly +helping and befriending their tenants, visiting them at their farms, talking +over their crops and cattle, giving them advice, and inviting them on holidays +to dance in the courts of their castles, and themselves joining in their sports. +The peasants were a hardworking, sober, and pious people, devoutly attending +their churches, reverencing their clergy, and, as well they might, loving and +honoring their good landlords.</p> +<p>But as the Revolution began to make its deadly progress at Paris, a gloom +spread over this happy country. The Paris mob, who could not bear to see anyone +higher in station than themselves, thirsted for noble blood, and the gentry were +driven from France, or else imprisoned and put to death. An oath contrary to the +laws of their Church was required of the clergy, those who refused it were +thrust out of their parishes, and others placed in their room; and throughout +France all the youths of a certain age were forced to draw lots to decide who +should serve in the Republican army.</p> +<p>This conscription filled up the measure. The Vendeans had grieved over the +flight of their landlords, they had sheltered and hidden their priests, and +heard their ministrations in secret; but when their young men were to be carried +way from them, and made the defenders and instruments of those who were +murdering their King, overthrowing their Church, and ruining their country, they +could endure it no longer, but in the spring of 1793, soon after the execution +of Louis XVI., a rising took place in Anjou, at the village of St. Florent, +headed by a peddler named Cathelineau, and they drove back the Blues, as they +called the revolutionary soldiers, who had come to enforce the conscription. +They begged Monsieur de Bonchamp, a gentleman in the neighborhood, to take the +command; and, willing to devote himself to the cause of his King, he complied, +saying, as he did so, 'We must not aspire to earthly rewards; such would be +beneath the purity of our motives, the holiness of our cause. We must not even +aspire to glory, for a civil war affords none. We shall see our castles fall, we +shall be proscribed, slandered, stripped of our possessions, perhaps put to +death; but let us thank God for giving us strength to do our duty to the end.'</p> +<p>The next person on whom the peasants cast their eyes possessed as true and +strong a heart, though he was too young to count the cost of loyalty with the +same calm spirit of self-devotion. The Marquis de la Rochejacquelein, one of the +most excellent of the nobles of Poitou, had already emigrated with his wife and +all his family, excepting Henri, the eldest son, who, though but eighteen years +of age, had been placed in the dangerous post of an officer in the Royal Guards. +When Louis XVI. had been obliged to dismiss these brave men, he had obtained a +promise from each officer that he would not leave France, but wait for some +chance of delivering that unhappy country. Henri had therefore remained at +Paris, until after the 10th of August, 1792, when the massacre at the Tuileries +took place, and the imprisonment of the royal family commenced; and then every +gentleman being in danger in the city, he had come to his father's deserted +castle of Durballiere in Poitou.</p> +<p>He was nearly twenty, tall and slender, with fair hair, an oval face, and +blue eyes, very gentle, although full of animation. He was active and dexterous +in all manly sports, especially shooting and riding; he was a man of few words; +and his manners were so shy, modest, and retiring, that his friends used to say +he was more like an Englishman than a Frenchman.</p> +<p>Hearing that he was alone at Durballière, and knowing that as an officer in +the Guards, and also as being of the age liable to the conscription, he was in +danger from the Revolutionists in the neighboring towns, his cousin, the Marquis +de Lescure, sent to invite him to his strong castle of Clisson, which was +likewise situated in the Bocage. This castle afforded a refuge to many others +who were in danger--to nuns driven from their convents, dispossessed clergy, and +persons who dreaded to remain at their homes, but who felt reassured under the +shelter of the castle, and by the character of its owner, a young man of +six-and-twenty, who, though of high and unshaken loyalty, had never concerned +himself with politics, but led a quiet and studious life, and was everywhere +honored and respected.</p> +<p>The winter passed in great anxiety, and when in the spring the rising at +Anjou took place, and the new government summoned all who could bear arms to +assist in quelling it, a council was held among the party at Clisson on the +steps to be taken. Henri, as the youngest, spoke first, saying he would rather +perish than fight against the peasants; nor among the whole assembly was there +one person willing to take the safer but meaner course of deserting the cause of +their King and country. 'Yes,' said the Duchess de Donnissan, mother to the +young wife of the Marquis de Lescure, 'I see you are all of the same opinion. +Better death than dishonor. I approve your courage. It is a settled thing:' and +seating herself in her armchair, she concluded, 'Well, then, we must die.'</p> +<p>For some little time all remained quiet at Clisson; but at length the order +for the conscription arrived, and a few days before the time appointed for the +lots to be drawn, a boy came to the castle bringing a note to Henri from his +aunt at St. Aubin. 'Monsieur Henri,' said the boy, 'they say you are to draw +for the conscription next Sunday; but may not your tenants rise against it in +the meantime? Come with me, sir, the whole country is longing for you, and will +obey you.'</p> +<p>Henri instantly promised to come, but some of the ladies would have persuaded +him not to endanger himself--representing, too, that if he was missing on the +appointed day, M. de Lescure might be made responsible for him. The Marquis, +however, silenced them, saying to his cousin, 'You are prompted by honor and +duty to put yourself at the head of your tenants. Follow out your plan, I am +only grieved at not being able to go with you; and certainly no fear of +imprisonment will lead me to dissuade you from doing your duty.'</p> +<p>'Well, I will come and rescue you,' said Henri, embracing him, and his eyes +glancing with a noble soldier-like expression and an eagle look.</p> +<p>As soon as the servants were gone to bed, he set out with a guide, with a +stick in his hand and a pair of pistols in his belt; and traveling through the +fields, over hedges and ditches, for fear of meeting with the Blues, arrived at +St. Aubin, and from thence went on to meet M. de Bonchamp and his little army. +But he found to his disappointment that they had just been defeated, and the +chieftains, believing that all was lost, had dispersed their troops. He went to +his own home, dispirited and grieved; but no sooner did the men of St. Aubin +learn the arrival of their young lord, than they came trooping to the castle, +entreating him to place himself at their head.</p> +<p>In the early morning, the castle court, the fields, the village, were +thronged with stout hardy farmers and laborers, in grey coats, with broad +flapping hats, and red woolen handkerchiefs round their necks. On their +shoulders were spits, scythes, and even sticks; happy was the man who could +bring an old fowling-piece, and still more rejoiced the owner of some powder, +intended for blasting some neighboring quarry. All had bold true hearts, ready +to suffer and to die in the cause of their Church and of their young innocent +imprisoned King.</p> +<p>A mistrust of his own powers, a fear of ruining these brave men, crossed the +mind of the youth as he looked forth upon them, and he exclaimed, 'If my father +was but here, you might trust to him. Yet by my courage I will show myself +worthy, and lead you. If I go forward, follow me: if I draw back, kill me; if I +am slain, avenge me!' They replied with shouts of joy, and it was instantly +resolved to march upon the next village, which was occupied by the rebel troops. +They gained a complete victory, driving away the Blues, and taking two small +pieces of cannon, and immediately joined M. de Bonchamp and Cathelineau, who, +encouraged by their success, again gathered their troops and gained some further +advantages.</p> +<p>In the meantime, the authorities had sent to Clisson and arrested M. de +Lescure, his wife, her parents, and some of their guests, who were conducted to +Bressuire, the nearest town, and there closely guarded. There was great danger +that the Republicans would revenge their losses upon them, but the calm +dignified deportment of M. de Lescure obliged them to respect him so much that +no injury was offered to him. At last came the joyful news that the Royalist +army was approaching. The Republican soldiers immediately quitted the town, and +the inhabitants all came to ask the protection of the prisoners, desiring to +send their goods to Clisson for security, and thinking themselves guarded by the +presence of M. and Madame de Lescure.</p> +<p>M. de Lescure and his cousin Bernard de Marigny mounted their horses and rode +out to meet their friends. In a quarter of an hour afterwards, Madame de Lescure +heard the shouts 'Long live the King!' and the next minute, Henri de la +Rochejacquelein hurried into the room, crying, 'I have saved you.' The peasants +marched in to the number of 20,000, and spread themselves through the town, but +in their victory they had gained no taste for blood or plunder--they did not +hurt a single inhabitant, nor touch anything that was not their own. Madame de +Lescure heard some of them wishing for tobacco, and asked if there was none in +the town. 'Oh yes, there is plenty to be sold, but we have no money;' and they +were very thankful to her for giving the small sum they required. Monsieur de +Donnissan saw two men disputing in the street, and one drew his sword, when he +interfered, saying, 'Our Lord prayed for His murderers, and would one soldier of +the Catholic army kill another?' The two instantly embraced.</p> +<p>Three times a day these peasant warriors knelt at their prayers, in the +churches if they were near them, if not, in the open field, and seldom have ever +been equaled the piety, the humility, the self-devotion alike of chiefs and of +followers. The frightful cruelties committed by the enemy were returned by +mercy; though such of them as fell into the hands of the Republicans were shot +without pity, yet their prisoners were instantly set at liberty after being made +to promise not to serve against them again, and having their hair shaved off in +order that they might be recognized.</p> +<p>Whenever an enterprise was resolved on, the curates gave notice to their +parishioners that the leaders would be at such a place at such a time, upon +which they crowded to the spot, and assembled around the white standard of +France with such weapons as they could muster.</p> +<p>The clergy then heard them confess their sins, gave them absolution, and +blessed them; then, while they set forward, returned to the churches where their +wives and children were praying for their success. They did not fight like +regular soldiers, but, creeping through the hedgerows and coppices, burst +unexpectedly upon the Blues, who, entangled in the hollow lanes, ignorant of the +country, and amazed by the suddenness of the attack, had little power to resist. +The chieftains were always foremost in danger; above all the eager young Henri, +with his eye on the white standard, and on the blue sky, and his hand making the +sign of the cross without which he never charged the enemy, dashed on first, +fearless of peril, regardless of his life, thinking only of his duty to his king +and the protection of his followers.</p> +<p>It was calmness and resignation which chiefly distinguished M. de Lescure, +the Saint of Poitou, as the peasants called him from his great piety, his even +temper, and the kindness and the wonderful mercifulness of his disposition. +Though constantly at the head of his troops, leading them into the most +dangerous places, and never sparing himself, not one man was slain by his hand, +nor did he even permit a prisoner to receive the least injury in his presence. +When one of the Republicans once presented his musket close to his breast, he +quietly put it aside with his hand, and only said, 'Take away the prisoner'. His +calmness was indeed well founded, and his trust never failed. Once when the +little army had received a considerable check, and his cousin M. de Marigny was +in despair, and throwing his pistols on the table, exclaimed, 'I fight no +longer', he took him by the arm, led him to the window, an pointing to a troop +of peasants kneeling at their evening prayers, he said, 'See there a pledge of +our hopes, and doubt no longer that we shall conquer in our turn.'</p> +<p>Their greatest victory was at Saumur, owing chiefly to the gallantry of +Henri, who threw his hat into the midst of the enemy, shouting to his followers, +'Who will go and fetch it for me?' and rushing forward, drove all before him, +and made his way into the town on one side, while M. de Lescure, together with +Stofflet, a game-keeper, another of the chiefs, made their entrance on the other +side. M. de Lescure was wounded in the arm, and on the sight of his blood the +peasants gave back, and would have fled had not Stofflet threatened to shoot the +first who turned; and in the meantime M. de Lescure, tying up his arm with a +handkerchief, declared it was nothing, and led them onwards.</p> +<p>The city was entirely in their hands, and their thankful delight was +excessive; but they only displayed it by ringing the bells, singing the Te Deum, +and parading the streets. Henri was almost out of his senses with exultation; +but at last he fell into a reverie, as he stood, with his arms folded, gazing on +the mighty citadel which had yielded to efforts such as theirs. His friends +roused him from his dream by their remarks, and he replied, 'I am reflecting on +our success, and am confounded'.</p> +<p>They now resolved to elect a general-in-chief, and M. de Lescure was the +first to propose Cathelineau, the peddler, who had first come forward in the +cause. It was a wondrous thing when the nobles, the gentry, and experienced +officers who had served in the regular army, all willingly placed themselves +under the command of the simple untrained peasant, without a thought of +selfishness or of jealousy. Nor did Cathelineau himself show any trace of pride, +or lose his complete humility of mind or manner; but by each word and deed he +fully proved how wise had been their judgment, and well earned the title given +him by the peasants of the 'Saint of Anjou'.</p> +<p>It was now that their hopes were highest; they were more numerous and better +armed than they had ever been before, and they even talked of a march to Paris +to 'fetch their little king, and have him crowned at Chollet', the chief town of +La Vendee. But martyrdom, the highest glory to be obtained on this earth, was +already shedding its brightness round these devoted men who were counted worthy +to suffer, and it was in a higher and purer world that they were to meet their +royal child.</p> +<p>Cathelineau turned towards Nantes, leaving Henri de la Rochejaquelein, to his +great vexation, to defend Saumur with a party of peasants. But he found it +impossible to prevent these poor men from returning to their homes; they did not +understand the importance of garrison duty, and gradually departed, leaving +their commander alone with a few officers, with whom he used to go through the +town at night, shouting out, 'Long live the king!' at the places where there +ought to have been sentinels. At last, when his followers were reduced to eight, +he left the town, and, rejoicing to be once more in the open field, overtook his +friends at Angers, where they had just rescued a great number of clergy who had +been imprisoned there, and daily threatened with death. 'Do not thank us,' said +the peasants to the liberated priests; 'it is for you that we fight. If we had +not saved you, we should not have ventured to return home. Since you are freed, +we see plainly that the good God is on our side.'</p> +<p>But the tide was now about to turn. The Government in Paris sent a far +stronger force into the Bocage, and desolated it in a cruel manner. Clisson was +burnt to the ground with the very fireworks which had been prepared for the +christening of its master's eldest child, and which had not been used because of +the sorrowful days when she was born. M. de Lescure had long expected its +destruction, but had not chosen to remove the furniture, lest he should +discourage the peasants. His family were with the army, where alone there was +now any safety for the weak and helpless. At Nantes the attack was unsuccessful, +and Cathelineau himself received a wound of which he died in a few days, +rejoicing at having been permitted to shed his blood in such a cause.</p> +<p>The army, of which M. d'Elbee became the leader, now returned to Poitou, and +gained a great victory at Chatillon; but here many of them forgot the mercy they +had usually shown, and, enraged by the sight of their burnt cottages, wasted +fields, and murdered relatives, they fell upon the prisoners and began to +slaughter them. M. de Lescure, coming in haste, called out to them to desist. +'No, no,' cried M. de Marigny; 'let me slay these monsters who have burnt your +castle.' 'Then, Marigny,' said his cousin, 'you must fight with me. You are too +cruel; you will perish by the sword.' And he saved these unhappy men for the +time; but they were put to death on their way to their own army.</p> +<p>The cruelties of the Republicans occasioned a proclamation on the part of the +Royalists that they would make reprisals; but they could never bring themselves +to act upon it. When M. de Lescure took Parthenay, he said to the inhabitants, +'It is well for you that it is I who have taken your town; for, according to our +proclamation, I ought to burn it; but, as you would think it an act of private +revenge for the burning of Clisson, I spare you'.</p> +<p>Though occasional successes still maintained the hopes of the Vendeans, +misfortunes and defeats now became frequent; they were unable to save their +country from the devastations of the enemy, and disappointments began to thin +the numbers of the soldiers. Henri, while fighting in a hollow road, was struck +in the right hand by a ball, which broke his thumb in three places. He continued +to direct his men, but they were at length driven back from their post. He was +obliged to leave the army for some days; and though he soon appeared again at +the head of the men of St. Aubin, he never recovered the use of his hand.</p> +<p>Shortly after, both D'Elbee and Bonchamp were desperately wounded; and M. de +Lescure, while waving his followers on to attack a Republican post, received a +ball in the head. The enemy pressed on the broken and defeated army with +overwhelming force, and the few remaining chiefs resolved to cross the Loire and +take refuge in Brittany. It was much against the opinion of M. de Lescure; but, +in his feeble and suffering state, he could not make himself heard, nor could +Henri's representations prevail; the peasants, in terror and dismay, were +hastening across as fast as they could obtain boats to carry them. The enemy was +near at hand, and Stofflet, Marigny, and the other chiefs were only deliberating +whether they should not kill the prisoners whom they could not take with them, +and, if set at liberty, would only add to the numbers of their pursuers. The +order for their death had been given; but, before it could be executed, M. de +Lescure had raised his head to exclaim, 'It is too horrible!' and M. de Bonchamp +at the same moment said, almost with his last breath, 'Spare them!' The officers +who stood by rushed to the generals, crying out that Bonchamp commanded that +they should be pardoned. They were set at liberty; and thus the two Vendean +chiefs avenged their deaths by saving five thousand of their enemies!</p> +<p>M. de Bonchamp expired immediately after; but M. de Lescure had still much to +suffer in the long and painful passage across the river, and afterwards, while +carried along the rough roads to Varades in an armchair upon two pikes, his wife +and her maid supporting his feet. The Bretons received them kindly, and gave him +a small room, where, the next day, he sent for the rest of the council, telling +them they ought to choose a new general, since M. d'Elbee was missing. They +answered that he himself alone could be commander. 'Gentlemen,' he answered: 'I +am mortally wounded; and even if I am to live, which I do not expect, I shall be +long unfit to serve. The army must instantly have an active chief, loved by all, +known to the peasants, trusted by everyone. It is the only way of saving us. M. +de la Rochejaquelein alone is known to the soldiers of all the divisions. M. de +Donnissan, my father-in-law, does not belong to this part of the country, and +would not be as readily followed. The choice I propose would encourage the +soldiers; and I entreat you to choose M. de 1a Rochejaquelein. As to me, if I +live, you know I shall not quarrel with Henri; I shall be his aide-de-camp.'</p> +<p>His advice was readily followed, Henri was chosen; but when a second in +command was to be elected, he said no, he was second, for he should always obey +M. de Donnissan, and entreated that the honor might not be given to him, saying +that at twenty years of age he had neither weight nor experience, that his valor +led him to be first in battle, but in council his youth prevented him from being +attended to; and, indeed, after giving his opinion, he usually fell asleep while +others were debating. He was, however, elected; and as soon as M. de Lescure +heard the shouts of joy with which the peasants received the intelligence, he +sent Madame de Lescure to bring him to his bedside. She found him hidden in a +corner, weeping bitterly; and when he came to his cousin, he embraced him, +saving earnestly, again and again, that he was not fit to be general, he only +knew how to fight, he was too young and could never silence those who opposed +his designs, and entreated him to take the command as soon as he was cured. +'That I do not expect,' said M. de Lescure; 'but if it should happen, I will be +your aide-de-camp, and help you to conquer the shyness which prevents your +strength of character from silencing the murmurers and the ambitious.'</p> +<p>Henri accordingly took the command; but it was a melancholy office that +devolved upon him of dragging onward his broken and dejected peasants, +half-starved, half-clothed, and followed by a wretched train of women, children, +and wounded; a sad change from the bright hopes with which, not six months +before, he had been called to the head of his tenants. Yet still his high +courage gained some triumphs, which for a time revived the spirits of his forces +and restored their confidence. He was active and undaunted, and it was about +this time, when in pursuit of the Blues, he was attacked by a foot soldier when +alone in a narrow lane. His right hand was useless, but he seized the man's +collar with his 1eft, and held him fast, managing his horse with his legs till +his men came up. He would not allow them to kill the soldier, but set him free, +saying 'Return to the Republicans, and tell them that you were alone with the +general of the brigands, who had but one hand and no weapons, yet you could not +kill him'. Brigands was the name given by the Republicans, the true robbers, to +the Royalists, who, in fact, by this time, owing to the wild life they had so +long led, had acquired a somewhat rude and savage appearance. They wore grey +cloth coats and trousers, broad hats, white sashes with knots of different +colours to mark the rank of the officers, and red woolen handkerchiefs. These +were made in the country, and were at first chiefly worn by Henri, who usually +had one round his neck, another round his waist, and a third to support his +wounded hand; but the other officers, having heard the Blues cry out to aim at +the red handkerchief, themselves adopted the same badge, in order that he might +be less conspicuous.</p> +<p>In the meantime a few days' rest at Laval had at first so alleviated the +sufferings of M. de Lescure, that hopes were entertained of his recovery; but he +ventured on greater exertions of strength than he was able to bear, and fever +returned, which had weakened him greatly before it became necessary to travel +onwards. Early in the morning, a day or two before their departure, he called to +his wife, who was lying on a mattress on the floor, and desired her to open the +curtains, asking, as she did so, if it was a clear day. 'Yes,' said she. 'Then,' +he answered, 'I have a sort of veil before my eyes, I cannot see distinctly; I +always thought my wound was mortal, and now I no longer doubt. My dear, I must +leave you, that is my only regret, except that I could not restore my king to +the throne; I leave you in the midst of a civil war, that is what afflicts me. +Try to save yourself. Disguise yourself, and attempt to reach England.' Then +seeing her choked with tears, he continued: 'Yes, your grief alone makes me +regret life; for my own part, I die tranquil; I have indeed sinned, but I have +always served God with piety; I have fought, and I die for Him, and I hope in +His mercy. I have often seen death, and I do not fear it I go to heaven with a +sure trust, I grieve but for you; I hoped to have made you happy; if I ever have +given you any reason to complain, forgive me.' Finding her grief beyond all +consolation, he allowed her to call the surgeons, saying that it was possible he +might be mistaken. They gave some hope, which cheered her spirits, though he +still said he did not believe them. The next day they left Laval; and on the +way, while the carriage was stopping, a person came to the door and read the +details of the execution of Marie Antoinette which Madame de Lescure had kept +from his knowledge. It was a great shock to him, for he had known the Queen +personally, and throughout the day he wearied himself with exclamations on the +horrible crime. That night at Ernee he received the Sacrament, and at the same +time became speechless, and could only lie holding his wife's hand and looking +sometimes at her, sometimes toward heaven. But the cruel enemy were close +behind, and there was no rest on earth even for the dying. Madame de Lescure +implored her friends to leave them behind; but they told her she would be +exposed to a frightful death, and that his body would fall into the enemy's +hands; and she was forced to consent to his removal. Her mother and her other +friends would not permit her to remain in the carriage with him; she was placed +on horseback and her maid and the surgeon were with him. An hour after, on the +3rd of November, he died, but his wife did not know her loss till the evening +when they arrived at Fongeres; for though the surgeon left the carriage on his +death, the maid, fearing the effect which the knowledge might have upon her in +the midst of her journey, remained for seven hours in the carriage by his side, +during two of which she was in a fainting fit.</p> +<p>When Madame de Lescure and Henri de la Rochejaquelein met the next morning, +they sat for a quarter of an hour without speaking, and weeping bitterly. At +last she said 'You have lost your best friend,' and he replied, 'Take my life, +if it could restore him.'</p> +<p>Scarcely anything can be imagined more miserable than the condition of the +army, or more terrible than the situation of the young general, who felt himself +responsible for its safety, and was compelled daily to see its sufferings and +find his plans thwarted by the obstinacy and folly of the other officers, +crushed by an overwhelming force, knowing that there was no quarter from which +help could come, yet still struggling on in fulfillment of his sad duty. The +hopes and expectations which had filled his heart a few months back had long +passed away; nothing was around him but misery, nothing before him but +desolation; but still he never failed in courage, in mildness, in confidence in +Heaven.</p> +<p>At Mans he met with a horrible defeat; at first, indeed, with a small party +he broke the columns of the enemy, but fresh men were constantly brought up, and +his peasants gave way and retreated, their officers following them. He tried to +lead them back through the hedges, and if he had succeeded, would surely have +gained the victory. Three times with two other officers he dashed into the midst +of the Blues; but the broken, dispirited peasants would not follow him, not one +would even turn to fire a shot. At last, in leaping a hedge, his saddle turned, +and he fell, without indeed being hurt, but the sight of his fall added to the +terror of the miserable Vendeans. He struggled long and desperately through the +long night that followed to defend the gates of the town, but with the light of +morning the enemy perceived his weakness and effected their entrance. His +followers had in the meantime gradually retired into the country beyond, but +those who could not escape fell a prey to the cruelty of the Republicans. 'I +thought you had perished,' said Madame de Lescure, when he overtook her. 'Would +that I had,' was his answer.</p> +<p>He now resolved to cross the Loire, and return to his native Bocage, where +the well-known woods would afford a better protection to his followers. It was +at Craon, on their route to the river, that Madame de Lescure saw him for the +last time, as he rallied his men, who had been terrified by a false alarm.</p> +<p>She did not return to La Vendee, but, with her mother, was sheltered by the +peasants of Brittany throughout the winter and spring until they found means to +leave the country.</p> +<p>The Vendeans reached the Loire at Ancenis, but they were only able to find +two small boats to carry them over. On the other side, however, were four great +ferry boats loaded with hay; and Henri, with Stofflet, three other officers, and +eighteen soldiers crossed the river in their two boats, intending to take +possession of them, send them back for the rest of the army, and in the meantime +protect the passage from the Blues on the Vendean side. Unfortunately, however, +he had scarcely crossed before the pursuers came down upon his troops, drove +them back from Ancenis, and entirely prevented them from attempting the passage, +while at the same time Henri and his companions were attacked and forced from +the river by a body of Republicans on their side. A last resistance was +attempted by the retreating Vendeans at Savenay, where they fought nobly but in +vain; four thousand were shot on the field of battle, the chiefs were made +prisoners and carried to Nantes or Angers, where they were guillotined, and a +few who succeeded in escaping found shelter among the Bretons, or one by one +found their way back to La Vendee. M. de Donnissan was amongst those who were +guillotined, and M. d'Elbee, who was seized shortly after, was shot with his +wife.</p> +<p>Henri, with his few companions, when driven from the banks of the Loire, +dismissed the eighteen soldiers, whose number would only have attracted +attention without being sufficient for protection; but the five chiefs crossed +the fields and wandered through the country without meeting a single +inhabitant--all the houses were burnt down, and the few remaining peasants +hidden in the woods. At last, after four-and-twenty hours, walking, they came to +an inhabited farm, where they lay down to sleep on the straw. The next moment +the farmer came to tell them the Blues were coming; but they were so worn out +with fatigue, that they would not move. The Blues were happily, also, very +tired, and, without making any search, laid down on the other side of the heap +of straw, and also fell asleep. Before daylight the Vendeans rose and set out +again, walking miles and miles in the midst of desolation, until, after several +days, they came to Henri's own village of St. Aubin, where he sought out his +aunt, who was in concealment there, and remained with her for three days, +utterly overwhelmed with grief at his fatal separation from his army, and only +longing for an opportunity of giving his life in the good cause.</p> +<p>Beyond all his hopes, the peasants no sooner heard his name, than once more +they rallied round the white standard, as determined as ever not to yield to the +Revolutionary government; and the beginning of the year 1794 found him once more +at the head of a considerable force, encamped in the forests of Vesins, guarding +the villages around from the cruelties of the Blues. He was now doubly beloved +and trusted by the followers who had proved his worth, and who even yet looked +forward to triumphs beneath his brave guidance; but it was not so with him, he +had learnt the lesson of disappointment, and though always active and cheerful, +his mind was made up, and the only hope he cherished was of meeting the death of +a soldier. His headquarters were in the midst of a forest, where one of the +Republican officers, who was made prisoner, was much surprised to find the +much-dreaded chieftain of the Royalists living in a hut formed of boughs of +trees, dressed almost like a peasant, and with his arm still in a sling. This +person was shot, because he was found to be commissioned to promise pardon to +the peasants, and afterwards to massacre them; but Henri had not learnt cruelty +from his persecutors, and his last words were of forgiveness.</p> +<p>It was on Ash Wednesday that he had repulsed an attack of the enemy, and had +almost driven them out of the wood, when, perceiving two soldiers hiding behind +a hedge, he stopped, crying out, 'Surrender, I spare you.' As he spoke one of +them leveled his musket, fired, and stretched him dead on the ground without a +groan. Stofflet, coming up the next moment, killed the murderer with one stroke +of his sword; but the remaining soldier was spared out of regard to the last +words of the general. The Vendeans wept bitterly, but there was no time to +indulge their sorrow, for the enemy were returning upon them; and, to save their +chieftain's corpse from insult, they hastily dug a grave, in which they placed +both bodies, and retreated as the Blues came up to occupy the ground. The +Republicans sought for the spot, but it was preserved from their knowledge; and +the high-spirited, pure-hearted Henri de la Rochejaquelein sleeps beside his +enemy in the midst of the woodlands where be won for himself eternal honor. His +name is still loved beyond all others; the Vendeans seldom pronounce it without +touching their hats, and it is the highest glory of many a family that one of +their number has served under Monsieur Henri.</p> +<p>Stofflet succeeded to the command, and carried on the war with great skill +and courage for another year, though with barbarities such as had never been +permitted by the gentle men; but his career was stained by the death of Marigny, +whom, by false accusations, he was induced to sentence to be shot. Marigny +showed great courage and resignation, himself giving the word to fire--perhaps +at that moment remembering the warning of M. de Lescure. Stofflet repented +bitterly, and never ceased to lament his death. He was at length made prisoner, +and shot, with his last words declaring his devotion to his king and his faith.</p> +<p>Thus ends the tale of the Vendean war, undertaken in the best of causes, for +the honor of God and His Church, and the rescue of one of the most innocent of +kings, by men whose saintly characters and dauntless courage have seldom been +surpassed by martyrs or heroes of any age. It closed with blood, with fire, with +miseries almost unequalled; yet who would dare to say that the lives of +Cathelineau, Bonchamp, Lescure, La Rochejaquelein, with their hundreds of brave +and pious followers, were devoted in vain? Who could wish to see their +brightness dimmed with earthly rewards?</p> +<p>And though the powers of evil were permitted to prevail on earth, yet what +could their utmost triumph effect against the faithful, but to make for them, in +the words of the child king for whom they fought, one of those thorny paths that +lead to glory!</p> + +<p> </p> +<center><h3>THE END.</h3></center> + + +<PRE> + +End of Project Gutenberg's A Book of Golden Deeds, by Charlotte M. 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